NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Sunday, October 19, 2025

Episode Date: October 19, 2025

FBI investigates potential Trump security threat; Israel and Hamas trade accusations of ceasefire violations; Thieves stage daring daytime jewel heist at Louvre; 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.

Breaking tonight the new investigation into a possible security threat against President Trump. The FBI and Secret Service calling a hunting stand suspicious, this one, with its direct line of sight to Air Force One in Palm Beach. The questions this discovery raises after two assassination attempts on the president. New attacks overseas threatening to derail the Gaza ceasefire, Israel and Hamas, accusing each other of breaking the peace deal. The big question, will it fall apart? The stunning jewelry heist at the Louvre in the middle of the morning, thieves, stealing priceless French crown jewels, then making a quick getaway. New details on how it happened and the manhunt for the suspects. Newly released video of another U.S. strike on a boat in the Caribbean as President Trump escalates tensions with Colombia.

A controversial former congressman sharing for the first time how he found out about his release from prison after the president commuted George Santos' sentence. One of Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent accusers, detailing the abuse she faced in a new memoir released after her death. Her family, in our interview, now demanding action to release the Epstein files. Mike Johnson means to do his job. That's your message to Speaker Johnson? Do your job. Plus, what Virginia Roberts Joufrey wrote about Prince Andrew

as police investigate whether he tried to dig up information about her. The United Airlines flight diverted because of a crappy. windshield. And there's good news tonight, months after a catastrophic LA wildfire, this football team beating the odds. This is NBC Nightly News with Hallie Jackson. Good evening. We begin tonight with the new FBI investigation into what's being described as a suspicious hunting stand with a sight line to Air Force One in South Florida. You see it here in a tree near the Palm Beach airport, not far from the president's Mar-a-Lago home where he spent the weekend. The Secret Service says no one was found near this perch, and it's not clear how long it's been there or what it's

for. But the discovery underscores the intense security apparatus around President Trump, who's faced two assassination attempts in the last couple years. And tonight, new scrutiny and new questions. Our Yamish Al-Sindor starts us off. Tonight, the FBI investigating a suspicious elevated stand that had a direct line of sight to President Trump. exiting Air Force One at West Palm Beach International Airport. U.S. Secret Service agents discovered the stand Thursday before the president's arrival in Florida a day later, according to a spokesperson for the agency. A senior official familiar with the investigation said the stand was about 200 yards away

from an area of the airport where Air Force One normally does not park, but that the plane did park their Friday due to construction. Agents spotted the stand while doing a new perimeter search ahead of the change. Investigators are looking into several possibilities, including whether it's an old hunting perch, a stand used by a photographer, or a possible threat. The resources familiar with the matter said the stand may have been in place for months, raising questions for experts. How much of a security concern is it that the stand could have been there for many months? No, it's a huge concern. Is it a legitimate hunting stand is there for nefarious purposes?

And who put it there? This comes during a time of heightened anxiety over political violence, including two, failed assassination attempts against President Trump last year. The president surviving shots fired at him at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. And just last month, Ryan Ruth was found guilty of attempting to assassinate the president after a secret service agent spotted Ruth hiding near the Trump golf club in West Palm Beach. Earlier this year, President Trump reflecting on potential threats. This is a very dangerous job being president. Amish is joining us now from the White House as President Trump is on his way back from Florida.

So, Yamish, what else do we know about what investigators found at the scene in Palm Beach? Three sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News, no individual's weapons or ammo were found at the scene. And the law enforcement expert, we talked to said authorities would be tracking cell phone data and looking for any footage from cameras to figure out who might be connected to the stand. Halley. Yamish Alcindore at the White House, thank you. Oversees new and serious strain on the Gaza peace deal,

as Israel and Hamas accuse each other of breaking its terms. Danielle Hamamjian reports. Tonight fears the fragile ceasefire could soon collapse as plumes of smoke once again rise above the Gaza skyline. The Israeli military says Hamas violated the deal when it fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire towards its troops in southern Gaza, killing two soldiers. A claim Hamas denies. In response, the IDF began striking in the area to eliminate the threat. Israel says it launched a massive wave of airstrikes hitting dozens of targets across the strip.

Among them, this seaside coffee shop. In all, at least 23 people were killed today, according to local health officials. These were civilians, just sitting there. They had no rockets, no weapons, he said. Some of the dead included children. Where is Donald Trump, this man asked. President Trump repeating today, Hamas has to disarm.

Well, they promised they would. They said they would. It's down that they would. Since the deal came into effect, the IDF has killed several Palestinians who they say crossed the so-called yellow line to where the Israeli troops have withdrawn. Most people here don't have internet connection. They don't know where the line is. They cross it. And then they're hit by snipers or drones. Only now over the weekend have Israeli troops started to mark that line on the ground. Despite those airstrikes, the IDF says it is sticking with a ceasefire agreement. What's unclear tonight is just how much aid Israel is allowing into Gaza.

Hallie. Danielle Hamamgen, thank you. To Paris and a stunning heist at one of the most famous museums in the world, with visitors inside having to be evacuated. And now the scramble to find the thieves who did it. Our Molly Hunter is at the Louvre tonight. It all happened in just seven minutes, a brazen daylight heist at the most visited museum in the world around 9.30 this morning.

And tonight, those thieves still on the run. The robbery is so dramatic like a scene out of the Netflix show, Lupin. The necklace belonged to Marie Antoinette. We're going to steal it. The interior minister says the experienced burglars used this ladder mounted on the back of a truck, then broke a window with a disc cutter, forcing their way in during museum hours. The apparent target, La Gallerie de Poulin, on the second floor, home to the French crown jewels, smashing two display cabinets, according to the culture ministry, stealing nine priceless royal items in all,

including a tiara, a sapphire necklace, a single sapphire earring, an emerald necklace and a pair of emerald earrings, a brooch, another tiara, and corsage bow, both belonging to fashion icon, Empress. Eugenie, Napoleon III's wife. In the gallery, the thieves left behind the 140-carat regent diamond, one of the Louvre's most prized possessions. And in the getaway, it appears they dropped something on their way out. A crown belonging to Empress Eugenie was found outside the museum. When you rob the Louvre, that's a big deal to all of France. Officials say the operation was nonviolent, but tourists already inside were evacuated and the museum shuddered

for the rest of the day. And tonight, the race is on to find those responsible. Molly Hunter is joining us now from outside the Louvre, which Molly had already been navigating these huge crowds generally. Talk to us now about the manhunt because police say they're doing everything to track down, not just the thieves, but of course the jewels. Hallie, that's right. Good evening from a very rainy Paris. But there are about 60 police officers on the case tonight. We're told officials believe there were likely three or four thieves who were involved in the operation. They say they made their getaway on motorbikes. And one of the clues they're looking into tonight is a high-vis vest left behind on the scene by one of the

thieves. Hallie? Molly Hunter, on the scene there in Paris. Thank you. Also tonight, President Trump, ramping up pressure on Colombia, saying in a new post online, he's cutting off aid to the country and calling the Colombian president an illegal drug dealer, in his words. That leader has accused the U.S. of killing a fisherman in a strike on a boat this week. Defense Secretary Pete Hegessef, posting a new video today, showing a strike on what he says was a boat operated by a Colombian rebel group that the Trump administration says was carrying drugs. Also tonight, we are hearing for the first time from a controversial former congressman, now out of prison after President Trump commuted his sentence.

Stephen Romo was following this, and Stephen George Santos says he feels like he's getting a second chance. Yeah, healthy, today we heard from Santos for the first time after his release from prison on Friday, apologizing to the public and saying he wants President Trump to know he won't disappoint him. Santos was serving a seven-year federal sentence for convictions of wire fraud and aggravated theft. He talked about the moment he found out that sentence and restitution were commuted.

I wasn't even aware until I learned it off of the quiron of mainstream media inside of the prison myself. Other inmates saw it and called me over to see it. I spoke to an alleged victim of Santos, who is outraged by this. calling it unjust. When Santos was asked if he would run for office again, he ruled it out at least for the next decade. And, Hallie, he announced he's back on the app cameo,

selling personalized videos starting at $300. Hallie? Stephen Romo, thank you. Also tonight, new allegations from one of Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent accusers and a new call to action from the family of Virginia Roberts, Joufrey, ahead of the release of Jufre's posthumous memoir. One of the most prominent Jeffrey Epstein accusers, telling her story in her own words, months after her death.

Virginia Roberts Joufrey and her memoir, Nobody's Girl, containing disturbing and graphic descriptions of the abuse Epstein and others put her through. And for the first time, details of the years of abuse before that by other men, including allegedly her own father, starting when she was just seven years old, something she says she hid from her brothers until much later. You confronted your dad. What did you say to him? I just, I said, we know.

I mean, you were dead. You sexually abused your daughter. It's absolutely heinous what he did. Sky Roberts is five years younger than Virginia, who was groomed to be Epstein's, as she put it, sex slave when she was 16. She recounts in her memoir, the moment Epstein pulled out a grainy photograph of Sky,

then in middle school. We know where your brother goes to school, Joufrey says Epstein told her, you must never tell a soul what goes on in this house. Later, Jufre suggests Epstein may have paid off their father in exchange for his silence. I do remember my dad buying decently nice things at certain points in our life, like a new vote. And if there was a payment wired to him, like it would be disgusting. It would be disgusting that he accepted money. Their father, also named Sky Roberts, denies allegations against him, telling NBC News,

never once did I ever abuse my daughter? And in a statement in the memoir, says he never knew what was going on with Epstein until he saw it online. The memoir details Joufrey's abuse under Epstein, who died by suicide awaiting trial in 2019. And under Gilane Maxwell, Epstein's co-conspirator, who was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021. She's described by Joufrey as an apex predator who made her own sexual demands of the girls she groomed. Joufrey says Maxwell introduced her to Prince Andrew when she was 17. My daughters are just a little younger than you, Joufrey remembers him saying, adding he behaved as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright. Just today, a spokesperson for Britain's Metropolitan Police tells NBC News they're actively looking into reports Prince Andrew tried to obtain personal information about Joufrey. He has not commented on the newspaper reports and did not immediately respond to NBC's request for comment. The prince has long denied Jufre's allegations. in 2022, settling a civil sex abuse lawsuit with Joufrey out of court, and in a statement, without admitting wrongdoing, said he never intended to malign Jufre's character and regrets his association with Epstein. On Friday, the King's younger brother said he would stop using his Duke of York

title after new questions over his relationship with Epstein. Maxwell also denies the allegations against her and has sought to overturn her sex trafficking conviction, though the Supreme Court recently denied her appeal. Jufre leaves other men unnamed. She writes, maybe in the future, I will be ready to talk about these men, but not now. Joufrey's co-author, Amy Wallace. This book was never intended to be a list of names. It was intended to describe what it's like to be a 16-year-old girl and enter this world and then have to navigate it. Joufrey details threats she faced in the years after coming forward, home break-ins, a suspicious car in her driveway, and her death by suicide in April of this.

this year led to lingering conspiracy theories. Her brother was in Australia, visiting Virginia when she died. I knocked on the door and no response. I was like, okay, that's weird. I jiggled the door handle. No response. But I kicked the door open. And that's where I found my sister and I tried to resuscitate her.

For 45. minutes. Paramedics came and they pronounced they're dead shortly after. So, unfortunately, it's a suicide. And I hope you can see that through the pain because it pains me to have to say that too. In the family's pain, anger, too, at what they now see as a stalled fight for accountability. Because of the political turmoil, we haven't been able to like rest or feel at peace. A bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives aims to force a release of the Epstein files. Just one vote short, and a newly elected Democrat has pledged she'll back it.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson says she won't be sworn in until the government shutdown ends. Mike Johnson needs to do his job. That's your message to Speaker Johnson? Do your job. Do your job. Absolutely. Her family says Joufrey supported President Trump before the election. hopeful he'd release the Epstein case files. I think she would feel a huge betrayal by the way this administration has consistently called it a hoax

and has just disrespected survivors over and over again. So far, President Trump has not ruled out a pardon for Maxwell. If he receives the label of what would be called a petto protector, then where does that go? Can you really stand behind a president that supports or protects pedophiles? Do you think that's what he's doing? I think there's a lot of questions right now that we need answered. Now, a family's fight for justice and for their sister's legacy. I feel a deep responsibility as her brother.

She's always had my back. It's my turn. Two-phrase memoir comes out Tuesday. NBC received a copy in advance. And a reminder, if you or somebody you know is struggling, you can call or text. the suicide lifeline at 988. Still ahead for us tonight, new developments in the search for a missing woman

who never made it home after her overnight shift. And the numbers are in for those No King's protests over the weekend. How many people organizers say turned out across the country next? We are back with the new developments in the search for a missing woman in Philadelphia with the discovery now of human remains

and the arrest of a suspect who police say kidnapped someone else just months ago. Here's Liz Croix. Here in a shallow grave behind this abandoned middle school is where Philadelphia police have recovered the human remains, believed to be those of 23-year-old Kata Scott. Investigators say they made the discovery after searching the same area where Scott's personal belongings were found days earlier following an anonymous tip. They're now awaiting official confirmation from the medical examiner's office. No one is happy that this is the ending. This person has been deceased for a few days and so for some time.

Scott went missing two weeks ago, shortly after arriving for her overnight shift at a senior living facility. Ten days later, the suspect, 21-year-old Keon King, turned himself into police. He was the last person with her. He was traveling with her when her phone goes offline. We have every reason to believe at this point she did not go willingly. In this chilling video, investigators say you can see King shortly before he kidnapped and assaulted a different woman earlier this year. Go away, b***. Don't come over here. The Philadelphia DA's office says that case was dropped after the victim failed to appear in court. But the office is now refiling those charges, along with kidnapping and other offenses related to the disappearance of Scott.

Her father saying she was creative, loved fashion, and participating in beauty pageants. I would also ask something to pray for Ms. Scott's family. Record show King is currently being held on $2.5 million bail. He has not entered a plea and his attorney has not responded to NBC News & request for comment. Liz Kreutz, NBC News. We are back in a moment with the United Flight, diverted after the windshield shattered at 36,000 feet. That's next. We are back with breaking news just into us.

What appears to be a major accident at Hong Kong International Airport, a cargo plane arriving from Dubai, reportedly sliding off the runway and into the sea while landing in Hong Kong. Search and rescue crews are at the scene right now, and at least one person in, is reportedly missing. We're going to keep you updated if we hear anything more on this. Here at home, new numbers tonight on those No Kings demonstrations across the country this weekend. Organizers now say about 7 million people turned out to protest the Trump administration Saturday from small towns to big cities, calling it one of the largest single-day demonstrations in American history. And in the West, United Airlines says a flight

from Denver to L.A. had to be diverted to Utah after the windshield shattered at cruising altitude, about 36,000 feet. United says the windshield has multiple layers and that only one of them ended up cracked. The NTSB is looking into this. When we come back, there is good news tonight about one football team and the power of teamwork in the face of destruction. There is good news tonight about teamwork in tough times and what it means to leave it all on the field. This season at Palisades Charter High School, these football players have been showing their grit on the field and off. Actually, Mike, you'd be right here.

The Dolphins, pushing through a year that's been anything but ordinary. We've got to have a waiver and faith in each other. The Palisades fire ripping through their community earlier this year, burning down part of their school and destroying the place they called home. The team, not sure if they'd even have a season. But they got creative, traveling to different practice fields across L.A. Adaptability is one of our biggest strong suits. One, two, three.

We were there for the team's homecoming. Senior Matthias Hernandez lost his house in the fire. It's not at the end of us. That's the start of something new. Starting with our football team. Showing that we can continue to win after something so big that felt like a loss. For Matias' mom, Tracy Mestras, this season has been inspiring and healing. We are a resilient community.

We care about each other. Let's go defense. And we really are there for each other. And at the end of the fourth quarter, are you ready? The dolphins coming out victorious. Not just this game, but every game. far, they're undefeated.

Beating the odds and moving forward together. I love those guys. I love them to death. They're my brothers, you know, and there's no people I'd rather be playing with. Go, dolphins, win or lose. That's nightly news for this Sunday. Stick around. More football is up next with Sunday night football. The Falcons up against the 49ers. Tom will be back tomorrow. I'm Hallie Jackson. For all of us here at NBC. Thanks for watching and have a great week.