NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Saturday, September 27, 2925

Episode Date: September 27, 2025

At least 4 dead after flash flooding in Arizona; Carolinas declare states of emergency, brace for storm threat; Trump orders troop deployments to protect ICE facilities; and more on tonight’s broadcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight, the deadly flash flood emergency in Arizona as the East Coast raises for a possible hurricane. Multiple people dead as a powerful monsoon and rushing floodwaters sweep through Arizona. Urgent search and rescues. Still underway. Cars submerged. Countless people caught off gone. My hands were shaking. I barely was able to even control my hands to call 911. And on the East Coast, a state of emergency. the Carolinas bracing for a storm that could bring dangerous flooding were live in the storm zone. President Trump putting a new spotlight on his political enemies after pressuring the Justice Department to charge former FBI director James Comey.

The president also ordering the Pentagon to send troops to protect ice facilities in Portland, Oregon, as threats against agents groan. The U.S. cracking down on Colombia's president after he called on American soldiers to disobey President Trump, how the State Department is reacting. Europe, on alert. Some airports shut down after mysterious drone sightings. The big question tonight is it Russia and what are they doing there? A shocking TV interview, what a suspected killer told a news anchor about his parents

killing that had police arresting him as he left the studio. One year after Hurricane Helene, how a community is getting creative to kill and move foe. And there's good news tonight. About the surprise of a lifetime at this elementary school and the team effort that made it happen. This is NBC Nightly News with Jose Diaz Ballard. Good evening. We begin tonight with a dangerous situation unfolding in the southwest, a powerful monsoon causing deadly flash floods. This was a scene if you were behind the wheel when it started, but then the water unstoppable overnight. Take a look at at these streets completely underwater. Cars not just submerged, but actually floating away.

And on the East Coast, the Carolina is bracing for a storm that could become a hurricane and potentially bringing dangerous flooding with a second storm, Hurricane Umberto, making the exact track tough to forecast. We have complete coverage and begin with Camilla Bernal on that deadly flooding in Arizona. Raging and unstoppable floodwaters from powerful monsoon storms, leaving at least four people dead in Arizona. Look at that. In the remote town of Globe, many like Ali Mills caught off guard and swept away.

There was water coming from the windows, the speakers, the cracks from the doors, everything. I barely was able to even control my hands to call 911. A propane distributor there lost a thousand tanks, according to county officials. There's more of them. They're now spread out for miles. How am I? And brand new cars at this Ford dealership also flowing downstream. There was cars moving, propane tanks everywhere, people getting caught in the water.

You can hear people screaming. It was just really nerve-wracking. Tonight, the search and rescue operation still underway. We've got folks looking everywhere and just trying their hardest to save lives. Across the state, more severe flooding and swift water rescues. In Scottsdale, Gabby Valero's sister, taken to safety. He didn't realize how much water was coming down, and before she knew it, her car kind of shut off. In Phoenix, the heavy rainfall breaking a seven-year record and stalling vehicles, including

these self-driving cars. We got way more problems, everybody. Back in Hardest hit Globe, the destruction, still unmeasurable. I can't really put into words the amount of just devastation and debris. Camilla Vernal joins me now. Camila, how fast did this area flood? Jose, one city officials said water rose four feet in roughly four minutes last night. The flood threat in Globe is over now, but heavy rain is in the forecast for parts of southwest Arizona and here in California. Jose.

Jameela Bernard, thank you so very much. On the East Coast, millions of people are bracing for a storm that could become a hurricane. It's headed toward the U.S. The system expected to bring heavy rains and along with it, the threat of dangerous flooding. Jesse Kirsch has the latest. Tonight, dueling storm systems are sweeping through the tropics, rescuers waiting through waste-deep floodwaters. In the Dominican Republic, authorities say,

truck driver died after a bridge collapsed earlier this week. The country slammed by a still developing storm, which could impact the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida early next week, while a major hurricane spins in the Atlantic. With the track and potential U.S. landfall still up in the air here in the Charleston, South Carolina area, authorities have already put out sand, and residents are filling up. In Isle of Palm, South Carolina, Mike and Laura Judson are among those all ready for Perry. If the rain comes really fast, before it can drain off, it can come up to the edge of the doors. Officials are also watching the track. Our beach has been impacted pretty greatly over the last couple of years during hurricane season. So we have a lot of beach erosion and flooding. And you don't

need landfall for that to still be a concern? Absolutely not. North and South Carolina's governors declaring states of emergency. Even without landfall, there could still be significant flooding in the same broader region rocked by Hurricane Haleen last year. Water during the hurricane during the storm, water is not your friend. So we've got to be very careful. We'll watch the news tonight. And Jesse joins us now from Charleston, South Carolina. Jesse, what other precautions are being taken there?

Yeah, Jose officials tell us 150 National Guard soldiers have been activated with high water vehicles and search and rescue teams at the ready. Jose? Jesse Kirshin, Charleston, South Carolina, thank you for more. Let's bring in WNBC meteorologist Matt Brickman for the latest forecast. And Matt, it's a complicated forecast. Yeah, we've got a couple of storms, Jose, that could play off of one another. Right now, Tropical Depression 9, still relatively weak, 200 miles northwest of the eastern tip of Cuba, but bringing heavy rain to Jamaica and the Bahamas. Over the next couple of days, this will gain strength, becoming a tropical storm and

potentially a hurricane. What happens from there still a little bit of a question? We're starting to see this trend of a shift out back to sea. Earlier, yesterday, most of the models were bringing this storm onshore towards Georgia and the Carolinas. Now it looks as there is a shift to the right following what is Hurricane Umberto out to see. That's good news. It should really cut down on the flood threat along the coast of the Carolinas where they could still see several inches of rain. But if that storm pulls away following what is now Cat 5, Umberto, that will be a lesser impact on the United States. Jose, back to you. Matt Brickman, thank you.

Now to President Trump taking action amid growing threats against ICE agents, ordering troops to Portland, Oregon to protect ICE facilities. Adrian brought us reports. President Trump applying pressure to his immigration crackdown, saying he's sending troops to Portland, Oregon to protect ICE facilities and, quote, authorizing full force if necessary. State leaders pushing back. There is no threat to national security, and there is no need for me. military troops in our major city. It comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi said she's, quote, deploying DOJ agents to ICE facilities to increase security. DHS recently saying ICE officers are facing a more than 1,000 percent increase in assaults. Just this week, authorities say a gunman

targeted agents during a shooting in Dallas, killing one detainee. Bondi issuing this warning. Anyone who threatens or assaults are federal officers will be arrested. and charged federally. In Chicago today, No hate, no fear. Immigrants are welcome again. Hundreds demonstrating against immigration enforcement in the city. We are here to say that ICE needs to stop.

It's rain of terror on our communities. And in Iowa, outrage after ICE says it arrested the head of the state's largest school district Friday. The Des Moines superintendent is from Guyana. DHS says Ian Roberts says, he came to the U.S. in 1999 on a student visa and was given a final order of removal by an immigration judge last year. The agency says he has existing weapon possession charges and had a loaded handgun, hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash at the time of his arrest. And tonight, the Des Moines School Board is meeting for a special session to determine next steps. Jose?

Adrian brought us in Chicago. Thank you. Also tonight, the State Department, cracking down on the President of Columbia after he spoke on U.S. soil outside the U.N. headquarters in New York. President Gustavo Petro says his U.S. visa was revoked after urging American soldiers to disobey President Trump's orders. Those comments were made at a pro-Palestinian rally. The State Department saying Petro's comments were, quote,

reckless and incendiary. President Trump putting a new spotlight on his political enemies it comes after he said more will be prosecuted following the Justice Department's indictment of former FBI director James Comey. Yamish Alcindor has this report. Tonight, President Trump targeting another former FBI director accusing Christopher Ray of lying to the American public.

The president posting online, the FBI secretly placed 274 agents into the crowd during the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol and alleging those agents probably acted as agitators and insurrectionists. The president adding this is different from what Director Christopher Way stated over and over again. The FBI did not comment on the president's post. But a DOJ Inspector General report last year found no undercover FBI employees were at the protests or the Capitol that day. This comes just days after a grand jury indicted former FBI

director James Comey on two counts, obstruction and lying to Congress. I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I'm innocent. So let's have a trial. President Trump saying the Justice Department will likely be targeting more people. It's not a list, but I think there'll be others. I mean, they're corrupt. Meanwhile, Attorney General Pam Bondi, who the president has publicly pressured to go after his political enemies, saying the DOJ is just getting started.

Whether you are a current state or local elected official, whether you're a billionaire funding organizations to try to keep Donald Trump out of office, everything is on the table. A source also confirming to NBC news that the Justice Department has issued a subpoena for records related to the travel history of Fannie Willis, the Georgia District Attorney who charged President Trump in a sweeping election interference case. And Amish, the president also focusing on someone who's not even in government anymore. That's right. On Friday, the president demanded that Microsoft fire Lisa Monaco, an executive who served as Deputy Attorney General during the Biden administration.

So far, Microsoft has declined to comment on this issue. Jose? Yamish Alcindor at the White House, thank you. And don't miss Kristen Welker's big lineup tomorrow on Meet the Press. That's tomorrow morning right here on NBC. NATO says it will conduct even more enhanced vigilance and ramp up its air defenses in the Baltic Sea in direct response to drone incursions into Europe this week.

Molly Hunter is in London for us tonight. Molly, what's the latest? Jose, in the last 24 hours, police say unidentified drones were spotted near Denmark's main military base. And earlier this week, drone sightings shut down the NATO country's biggest airport. The Danish Prime Minister was clear saying there is one main country that poses a threat to Europe's security and it is Russia. A reminder early this month, NATO fighter jets shot down Russian drones over Polish airspace raising alarm across the continent. And today, Russia's top diplomat, Sergei Lavrov, told the UN any aggression against. his country, will be met with a decisive response. Jose?

We're back with the recovery effort from Helene. It's been one year since floods from that storm devastated the western part of North Carolina, or Kathy Park went there to see how some people are getting creative as they try to move forward. One year after the remnants of Helene tore through Western North Carolina, the power of water still haunts many who live through the disaster. Actually seeing the mountains funnel the water down directly on top of you, it's just hard to fathom. Live shattered overnight, landscapes destroyed. The space that was really important to me is now gone forever.

Tristan Turner and Isaac King captured both the horror and hope through their camera lens. We didn't really have a solid plan, but we knew what our attentions were, so we just went out and shot it. And they took it a step further. pulling gallons of water from the same rivers that tore through communities to develop their photos. You literally developed the film using the river water. Yes. We use the river water as the solvent. The film itself that you're watching is affected by the same waters of the images depicted within the image. Chemical reactions from the contaminated water left behind chilling distortions, grainy shots of destruction and rubble, even signs of resilience. He was a

clown statue that washed out of one of the buildings in the River Arts District, people put signs up and it said hope even when the creek rises. And so that's really been kind of the through line for our project. Their work is now part of a larger crowd source collective, aptly titled Come Hell or High Water. It includes a digital portal for community members to submit whatever holds meaning for them in remembering Helene, whether that's poetry, songs, personal accounts, photos, videos. A living archive preserving not just a historic damage, but also holding space for the memories.

Kathy Park, NBC News, Asheville. When we come back, there's good news tonight about a huge surprise for these elementary school kids and the team effort that made it all possible. There's good news tonight. So often the good news. doesn't get as much attention as the bad, so every Saturday we highlight the many people

who spread joy and love, and these are just some of those stories this week. In Ohio, fifth-grader Lainey Ballard has been cheering on her classmates for years. But now, it's their turn to cheer for her. Lainey was diagnosed with lymphoma this year, and her friends wanted to show their support by doing this,

one after the other, 30 of Lainey's classmates shaving their heads to show her just how much she means to them. It, like, made me feel so good, and it made me feel like cancer is just nothing, and I could get there for how much support this is for me, and it actually makes me so happy. At this park in South Florida, 11-year-old Mia is about to meet her hero. Who is Richard? Who used to be a stranger? until she saved Mia's life. So he couldn't know you okay.

Bridget Addison came to the rescue after Mia fell into this lake and couldn't get out. And get this, Bridget didn't know how to swim. Mia thanking Bridget with his handwritten card. And Bridget brought gifts to balloons, a stuffed animal, and her own card. I wanted you to know how very special you are. Continue being the beautiful person God has created you to be. A message of kindness from a hero who became family. Look at this.

Newly was Ryan and Shelby Hunter about to share a special surprise on their wedding day when something catches the groom's eye. Ryan had lost his grandfather and a close friend, but they were still there for him on his big day. That's because Shelby went out of her way to include them in a powerful way that the couple will share forever. I wanted him to feel, like, seen with the painting. It was probably one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me.

And for these kids at Hancock Elementary School in San Diego, they never expected a visit from their favorite baseball team. That's the San Diego Padres and the Bikes for Kids Foundation, and surprising kid after kid with brand new bikes. But the biggest surprise? Everybody's getting a bike. Their community was rocked by a jet crash earlier this year. But the Padres hope these bikes will bring more smiles.

I almost cried because I was so happy. I wanted to jump up and scream because I was so happy. Third graders, Carly Lyman, and Riley Romero, couldn't contain their joy. It, like, helped me cheer up because, like, I was focused on more important things. And now Padres have a new fan. Now I want to start watching Padre's games. One, two, three. Go, Padre!

That's NBC Nightly News for this Saturday. The Great Holly Jackson will be here tomorrow night. I'm Jose Diazbollard. thank you for the privilege of your time and good night.