NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Monday, June 16, 2025

Episode Date: June 17, 2025

Prosecutors say suspect targeted 4 Minnesota lawmakers during shooting spree; Millions under flood alerts after rain devastates West Virginia; Trump: Iran is ‘not winning this war’; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, they're calling him a political assassin. The new images of his disguise and his arsenal. Officials say this is the face of evil. Suspect Vance Bolter, now facing federal murder charges, allegedly armed with at least 3 AK-47 assault rifles, were learning that he traveled to the homes of 4 Minnesota state lawmakers dressed as a police officer wearing this hyper realistic silicone mask or Maggie Vespa with an eye witness who says she spotted the suspect in a field and alerted police also breaking tonight, the new tornado threat

in the Midwest. It comes after 6 people were killed swept away by floodwaters in West Virginia, a 3 year-old among them we're on the scene as the rain returns tonight and millions are under flood watches nationwide. Plus, missiles fly over Iran and Israel. The strike then inferno at an Iranian fuel depot. Israel also targeting Iran's state TV, a broadcaster on air running amid falling debris.

With the death toll rising on both sides, can a deal be made? Richard Engel on the ground tonight. The sudden stabbing attack at a New York City courthouse caught on camera. This just in, a doctor charged in Matthew Perry's overdose death, now agreeing to plead guilty to distributing ketamine. The revolt in Europe at some of the biggest tourist destinations on the planet, the Louvre shut and tourists soaked with squirt

guns told to cool off their travel. And the smiles and the snacks. Why good grades have kids from all over running to this convenience store. Nightly News starts right now. This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamares. And good evening. Officials are describing the killings in Minnesota as political assassinations a top official saying the suspect quote stalked his victims like pray prosecutors are laying out the suspects plot to go house by house and kill lawmakers over the course of one night after

hours on the run here he is Vance Bolter surrendering in a field last night. Today he was the run, here he is, Vance Bolter, surrendering in a field last night. Today, he was in court answering to murder charges and accusations that he wanted to kill even more and had a list with dozens of names, including a U.S. Senator and a congressman. Photos show him dressed in a police uniform, incredibly chilling, wearing a mask, knocking at a state senator's door at 2 a.m. saying, quote, This is the police. Open the door before shining a flashlight at the senator and his wife and shooting them over and over before fleeing. They are recovering tonight. Authorities

also revealed his cache of weapons in his truck that he outfitted with a license plate that said police. In a moment, you'll hear from the woman who says she saw him in a field and alerted the police. But first Maggie Vespa reports from a place in deep mourning and just learning how much worse it could have been. Images show the tools prosecutors say Vance Belter used in the deadly rampage he planned for months. Firearms, ammo, a hyper realistic silicone mask and notebooks filled with scribbled notes and lists of targets, including many Democrats. His crimes are the stuff of nightmares.

Belter stalked his victims like prey. And in another disturbing twist, officials today said Belter didn't just target two lawmakers that morning. Belter went to the homes of four Minnesota state politicians with the intent to kill them. Belter was arrested Sunday night after the largest manhunt in Minnesota history. You saw him in this grass? Yeah. Wendy Thomas believes she saw Belter in the hours before his arrest, saying she was leaving a friend's house when she spotted a man in dark clothing crouching in this field.

She called her dad initially thinking it was law enforcement. I'm like, oh, they're clearing properties. So that's what I figured it was. And then the more my brain registered, I'm like, dad, there's only one person, there's no vehicle. And then I started to freaking out and doubt that you need to get out of there, you need to call somebody. Thomas says that's when she waves down police. I waved my arms and I flagged him and he's like, is everything

okay? And at this point, I'm'm shaking and I said, no, there's a person. I saw a person and as I was leaving the driveway, you could see him squatting in the culvert and I started pointing. I'm like, there he is, there he is. Belter made his first court appearance today. He's facing a litany of charges, including murder. Some of the federal charges could be eligible for the death penalty. And this was a political assassination.

Today, authorities laying out a detailed timeline of Belter's movements early Saturday morning, saying he first went to the home of Democratic State Senator John Hoffman arriving in an SUV with a fake police license plate and emergency lights flashing. They say he approached the door shouting this is the police. When Belter lowered his flashlight, which he had shined in their face, they realized that he was not a police officer. They shouted out, you're not a cop.

You're not a police officer. Belter then announced this is a robbery and forced himself into their home. Hoffman's wife revealing they were each shot at least eight times, adding they're incredibly lucky to be alive. According to court documents at 224, Belter arrived at the home of another state rep,

but she wasn't home, so he left. 12 minutes later, he showed up at a third lawmaker's home. A police officer was already there conducting a wellness check when she approached Belter. Belter did not respond. According to the officer, he just sat there and stared straight ahead. Belter then drove to the home of state rep Melissa Hortman. He arrived around 3.30 a.m. according to the documents, with police officers pulling up

around the same time. When Belter saw the officers get out of the car, he drew his weapon and began firing. He repeatedly fired into the car. He drew his weapon and began firing. He repeatedly fired into the house and when he entered he murdered Representative Hortman and her husband Mark. Belter fled on foot. He returned to his home at some point that morning according to the court documents and texted his family, Dad went to war last night. It read, I don't want to say anymore because I don't want to implicate anybody. The documents say he later bought an e-bike and a Buick from a stranger at a bus stop.

Finding that abandoned Buick and Belter's cowboy hat along a rural highway on Sunday was a major break, officials say, which helped lead to Belter's arrest. Maggie Vespa joins us now live. So Maggie, have we learned any more about Belter's wife and what police found in her car? Yeah, Tom, we have. That affidavit also unveiled that law enforcement searched Jenny Belter's car on Saturday, finding in it documents say two handguns, roughly $10,000 cash, and passports for her and her kids who were in the car with her at the time. Now, law enforcement has since stressed Jenny Belcher was cooperative. She was never detained. We have reached out to her and we haven't yet her back. Tom. Okay, Maggie Vespa leading us off tonight. Maggie, thank you. Now that deadly flash flooding in West Virginia, at least six people are dead, including a

three year old. And tonight, first responders are still searching for survivors with the threat of more rain in the forecast. Here's George Solis. Tonight a reported tornado touching down in Minnesota. After wind and rain slammed the state following torrential rain in West Virginia, dangerous flash flooding washing away roads, cars and homes. Definitely gonna need emergency housing for the building that was in the building tonight. The death toll climbing to at least six following

Sunday storm among the victims of three year old. Others are still missing. If there's any chance to save another life, we're going to keep putting the time in. The governor of West Virginia declaring a state of emergency. The water was about half of her legs. George McCormick says the water

started rising quickly and that he escaped just in time. This now all that slept of his childhood emergency. The water was George McCormick says the quickly and that he escap now all that slept of his hard hit triadelfia. I un everything on this flood. just got out in time with everything lost away and in hard hit wheeling West cars cascading into a cr lost her way and it was quite devastating.

In hard hit Wheeling, West Virginia, several cars cascading into a creek. This is one of many vehicles, Swiftwater rescue teams are going to try and get out of the creek to make sure nobody was trapped inside. Doug flight's nearby smoke shop completely flooded. Couldn't do anything but watch. Pretty horrified. What can you do? It's Mother Nature. Flight says he's lucky to be alive. Hold up here, did on that bridge and kind of watched it all that

still haven't wrapped my head around it. George, you feel for all those people there in West Virginia and there's still a threat tonight. Yeah, that's right, Tom. More heavy rain expected tomorrow. Really putting a dampening dampening on cleanup efforts from roadways

and neighborhoods just like this one and the threat as you mentioned, not over 11 million under flood rain expected tomorrow really putting a dampening dampening on cleanup efforts from roadways and neighborhoods just like this one and the threat as you mentioned not over 11 million under flood alerts for portions of North Carolina, Kentucky and here in West Virginia. Tom. George Solis for us, George. Thank you. Now to the intensifying conflict between Israel and Iran. Iran escalating its missile barrage against Israeli cities while Israel says it now controls

the skies over Tehran. And today struck Iran's government-run TV station while they were live on the air. Richard Engel has the video. Iranian state TV was live on air, the anchor sounding defiant, when suddenly Israel bombed the building. ... Israel saying it was targeting Iran's propaganda mouthpiece.

Though late today the station was back on air, that anchor seen in another location. Still the message to Iranians could not have been clearer. Israel can hit where and when it chooses. real announcing today it had achieved full aerial superiority in the skies over Tehran during day 4 of Israel's operation targeting Iran's nuclear program these before and after images showing damage at multiple Iranian nuclear sites Israel is also dealt a major blow to Iran's military killing a number of its top generals.

But NBC News confirmed president Trump nixed an Israeli plan to kill Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. official. Today, Prime Minister Netanyahu would not rule it out in the future, saying the assassination would end the conflict, escalated. Iran is promising to respond with the most powerful missile bombardments in Israel's history according to Israel Iran has fired some 350 missiles at Israel since Friday the vast majority of them shot down. But a few got through including hitting this residential building outside Tel Aviv we followed Lucy book I up to her family's

10th floor apartment, it's trashed windows shattered no power. For you to see your family house like this. I have no words to I feel it's a movie. It's a bad movie. She does not want to come back. How? How can you continue live here? If such thing can happen.

Richard joins us tonight live from Israel. And Richard, we have new reporting tonight about the US getting more heavily involved in all of this. Tom, we already know that the U.S. military is helping Israel defend against Iranian missile attacks. But now the Pentagon is sending another U.S.

aircraft carrier to the Middle East, the U.S. Nimitz, along with other ships, according to two U.S. officials. Tom. OK, Richard, first night, Richard, thank you. Tonight, President Trump declaring Iran is, quote,

not winning this war and again, vowing Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Gabe Gutierrez is with the president at the G7 Summit in Canada. Tonight, President Trump on the world stage at the G7 Summit here in Canada. But dominating this high stakes meeting is the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.

Israel's doing very well right now. With Iran facing a ferocious Israeli air campaign, high-stakes meeting is the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Israel's doing very well right now. With Iran facing a ferocious Israeli air campaign, President Trump tonight acknowledging Iran has reached out, wanting to de-escalate. They'd like to talk, but they should have done that before. Let's say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately before it's too late. The president meeting today with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, skipping his previous

taunts of Canada becoming the 51st state. I have a tariff concept. Mark has a different concept. We're going to look at both and we're going to see what we're going to come out with something hopefully. But for Canadian businesses that rely on steel, Valley Metal in Calgary, tariff uncertainty is brutal. We're just being bullied.

Jeff Loeb's grandfather started this company 60 years ago. What is your message to President Trump? Lighten up brother. Lighten up. You don't have the right to talk to people that way or treat people that way. The Trump administration also shifting its mass deportation plan. According to an internal policy memo obtained by NBC News, ICE is now pausing workplace immigration raids on farms, hotels and restaurants after the president said those industries

complained they were losing long-time workers. Tonight, President Trump says he wants to focus on certain democratic-run big cities instead where federal immigration laws are not enforced. The cities are where you really have what's called sanctuary cities, and that's where the people are. I look at New York, I look at Chicago. Meanwhile, gave another headline at that summit tonight involving President Trump's new comments about Russia. Yes, Tom, President Trump reiterated

that he thought it was a mistake to kick Russia out of what was then the G8 in 2014, even though Vladimir Putin had annexed Crimea. That's the stage for a potentially tense meeting with Ukraine's President Zelensky here tomorrow. Tom? Gabe Gutierrez from Alberta tonight. Gabe, we thank you. Now to the terrifying moments back here at home in New York City. After a man attacked multiple court officers inside of the courthouse,

the suspect stabbing and slashing the officers, all of it caught on camera. Here's Stephanie Goss. It happened in seconds. A man lunged at court officers just as the day was beginning in Manhattan Criminal Court. Surveillance video capturing the terrifying moments. The man appearing to calmly approach the metal detectors

and out of nowhere attacked with what looks like a knife. His motive is still unknown. For officers that with the location, the quick acting officers wrestled him to the ground but were injured in the process, according to court officials, two were stabbed and a

third was hurt during the melee. The suspect now in custody, an eyewitness rattled by what she saw. As I was in there, an officer was stabbed. I'm not sure how bad it was. I did see that there might have been a gash on his face. The shocking violence taking place at the same court where just last week Harvey Weinstein was on trial. Last year, President Trump was convicted here in the Hush Money case.

The first thing anyone does when they come through these doors is go through the metal detector, but court officials say it appears that the attackers' target was the officers themselves. Tonight, the union for those officers saying that this incident highlights, quote, severe security deficiencies in the system. Tom?

Stephanie Gosc for us in New York. Stephanie, thank you. In other news, 49 states have approved a 7.4 billion dollar settlement with Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. The agreement will resolve thousands of opioid lawsuits against the drug maker and members of the Sackler family. The family has continued to deny any claims of wrongdoing. When we return, the world's most popular museum shut as staff are furious over the toll of tourists, the growing protests sometimes involving squirt guns about the millions of travelers, many of them Americans that come to Europe every summer. Stay with us. Welcome back. Visitors

hoping to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa were left outside the Louvre today. It's just the latest form of protests across European cities over the influx of tourists. Details now from Molly Hunter. Tonight, the most visited museum in the world failing to open due to a spontaneous strike by the Louvre staff warning that the home of the Mona Lisa is buckling under the weight of mass tourism, leaving hot sweaty tourists with tickets in hand waiting outside. It comes just a day after coordinated anti-tourist protests swept across a dozen European cities. As tourists in Barcelona sat down to enjoy tapas or a cold beer on Sunday, they were instead hit with water guns to cool down runaway tourism. We need responsible tourism, not mass tourism, this protester says.

American tourist Bill Doroszczynski was sprayed with a water gun too. I think if tourism goes away, then there's a lot of money that comes in with it. And in Venice, the protest specifically targeted the star-studded wedding of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez scheduled for next week. Campaigners argue mass tourism and specifically the touristification of hotspots forces locals out of the city center and raises the cost of living. It's growing too much, this protester says. Up to a certain point, tourism was fine, but now it's leaving us without homes. cost of living. It's growing too much, this protester says.

Up to a certain point, tourism was fine, but now it's leaving us without homes. And Tom, as you heard from that protester, it's not just about the sheer numbers, it's also about the changing character of these cities that are now set up to really cater to the tourists instead of the local population. Tom? Molly Hunter for us. Molly, thank you. Up next, the breaking news in the Matthew Perry case,

the plea deal, just in involving a doctor accused of supplying the Friends star with ketamine. That's next. Welcome back. A physician known as Dr. P, who faces charges connected to Matthew Perry's death, agreed to plead guilty to distributing ketamine, according to court documents filed today.

It's the drug the medical examiner says killed the beloved Friends actor in 2023. Dr. Salvador Placencia could face up to 40 years in prison. Take a look at the shocking new video. It shows the lone survivor of that deadly plane crash last week. Moments after it went down in India, you can see the man walking away from the aftermath of the crash. As the fiery wreckage explodes behind him. At least 270 people were killed. He calls his survival a miracle. And it's one of the most popular weight loss medications on the market, ZetBound. Eli Lilly announced today that all doses of the injectable medication

ZetBound will soon cost $500 or less on its website, including for patients who don't have insurance. Adults who have obesity and a prescription from their doctor are eligible. Okay, when we come back, groceries for good grades, the deli owner, rewarding students and why it's attracting kids from all over. There's good news tonight. That's next. Finally, there's good news tonight about a deli owner rewarding kids for good grades with groceries. the sweet happening on Staten Island.

Kids coming in flashing glowing report cards. And getting a big boost. Let's go from the man who owns the quarter deli while Wally all sell we doling out groceries for good grades all starting in 2023 with a 6th graders of here was trying to try to make on a roll. The man's in there. I was so proud of them and I was like oh man go ahead and grab whatever you want what will we tell you.

You know dream big. An idea was born Wally a father of 3 whose children are living in Yemen was initially paying out of his own pocket, but his word of mouth spread his brother started to go funding to help more high achievers all kids are smart they just need someone to believe in them. At first, he said it was mainly chips and so does but that gradually changed to all kinds of groceries that families need

for a whole month straight. All I see is kids the first thing is eggs eggs eggs eggs. The program now formally grades for grabs giving kids a reason to believe in themselves. I'm able to to change kids lives. It's my mission to just keep going. Sam Brock NBC News Staten Island. What a mission that's nightly news for this Monday. Remember, tonight and always, we're here for you.

Thanks so much for watching. I'm Tom Yamares. Have a great night.