NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Thursday, June 26, 2025

Episode Date: June 27, 2025

New twisters rip across southern Minnesota; Prosecutors make closing arguments in Diddy trial; Pentagon reveals new details of U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear program; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight as we come on the air, the new tornadoes touching down as the heat turns deadly again. This new twister tearing across the heartland. The summer storm striking from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast. The field of debris across Florida. The doorbell cam capturing homes being pulverized. You'll hear from a woman as she races to get out alive. Plus 76 million people under heat alerts and the warning tonight as a postal worker

passes out and later dies. Inside the B-2 bombing the Pentagon saying 15 years in the making, the mountain studied at what the pilot saw after the bomb hit its target. Brad Pitt's break in LAPD searching for three suspects after the star's home was ransacked as he promotes his new film how police say the crooks got in closing arguments in the Sean

Diddy combs sex trafficking case when the jury could start deliberating the cost of denial our team meeting respirators to enter one family's home damaged by the L.A. fires they say their insurance company keeps stalling by changing adjusters. What happened after we started asking questions. The moment of impact the semi

careening into a worker in a bucket truck. That man left dangling but surviving. Nightly News starts right now. This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yomas. And good evening.

Tonight as we come on the air, we're tracking a dangerous situation in the Midwest. A funnel cloud, you see it right here streaking across the fields of southern Minnesota tonight. In another spot, you can hear those sirens are blaring as flash flooding is washing out parts of New Mexico. And overnight, terrifying moments blaring as flash flooding is washing out parts of New Mexico and overnight terrifying moments when a home was blown off its foundation in Largo Florida near

Tampa. A woman nearby caught in the middle of it. Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh I'm in a tornado. And all of this happening as the heat is setting nearly 150 record highs. We begin tonight with Shaquille Brewster tracking those tornadoes. New video tonight of a funnel cloud racing across the farmland in southern Minnesota. Warning sirens activated as one storm chaser captured these frightening images of a tornado on the move. The severe the Midwest coming less t

doorbell video captured a through Largo florida and the homes lifted right off a 76 year old woman insid daughter. In the video, y crashing back down. John, a tornado that sam cell phone video where yo

of debris swirling in the recording it racing to ge tornado going around. Oh the local police, no serie scope of the physical dam obvious in overhead imagi Police no serious injuries, but the scope of the physical damage from this storm obvious in overhead images. The early summer severe weather bringing this wild waterspout to Leeville, Louisiana this

morning and flash flooding to New Mexico today. All as 76 million people are facing heat advisories tonight, part of a record wave that set close to 150 new daily highs. It's a sauna death. Really hot. The's a sauna death. Really hot. The extreme heat life threatening. The death of North Texas postal worker Jacob Taylor now under investigation.

He collapsed Saturday while on his route in Dallas where the heat index reached 99 degrees. And in South Carolina, 61 year old Mitch Huggins was umpiring a youth softball tournament Saturday afternoon when he passed out. His sister said he died from heatstroke at the hospital. They said he was telling them it's hot, that heat was not a good day for nobody. Shaq joins us live tonight from Chicago where Shaq I'm seeing here the heat index more than

100 degrees. But let's go back to Minnesota, walk our viewers through what's happening there with those tornadoes. Well, Tom, there was some damage tonight, according to police, including in the form of downed power lines as that storm ripped through. And this is a threat that will extend into the evening where there are tornado watches in effect in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Tom, Shaquille Brewster with that ongoing severe weather. Shaq, we thank you.

The Pentagon tonight revealing the first reaction of the B-2 pilots after they dropped those bunker buster bombs on Iranian nuclear sites. And the UN's nuclear watchdog is weighing in as well. Here's Gabe Boutieres. Tonight the Pentagon revealing new details of that secretive mission. The B-2 bomber crews that targeted Iranian nuclear sites with 30,000 pound bunker buster bombs. When the crews went to work on Friday, they kissed their loved ones goodbye, not knowing

when or if they'd be home. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs saying it was 15 years in the making, showing footage of the bombs being tested, saying it all went according to plan. The weapons all guided to their intended targets. the bomb. The investigation is still in the making, showing footage of the bombs being tested, saying it all went according to plan. The weapons all guided to their

intended targets. Anyone with, you know, two year. Two eyes, some years in a brain can recognize that kind of fire power with that specificity at that location and others is going to have a devastating effect. It all comes after a leaked initial assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggested Iran's nuclear program was set back by just months, but the agency also saying it had low confidence in its initial

findings. Well, today the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog said the Iranian nuclear program has suffered enormous damage and centrifuges at the Fordo site are no longer operational. The Joint Chiefs Chairman revealing the B-2 pilot's own description of their nighttime mission's impact. The pilot stated, quote, this was the brightest explosion that I've ever seen. It literally looked like daylight. Despite images showing trucks outside a nuclear site the day before, today the president insisted Iran did not move any uranium.

How can the president be so sure that no uranium was moved? We were watching closely and there was no indication to the United States that any of that enriched uranium was moved prior to the strike. A senior White House official tells NBC News the administration now plans to limit intelligence sharing with lawmakers after the early damage assessment leak. Tom? Gabe Gutierrez at the White House for us. Now to the closing arguments in the Sean Diddy Combs criminal trial. Prosecutors making their final case

accusing Combs of using power, violence, and fear to get what he wanted. Chloe Moloss has been following it all for us from the courtroom. Chloe, what else did prosecutors say today? Tom, so prosecutors took a little under five hours to deliver their closing arguments, and they really zeroed in on the racketeering charge

that Combs faces. Remember, he could go up to life in prison if convicted on this. And prosecutors saying that he ran a criminal enterprise. They called it his kingdom, that he had people working for him like assistants carrying out illegal activity on his behalf. Everything from kidnapping, arson, bribery, and transporting drugs across state lines. All the jurors have to believe, Tom, is that he committed two of those acts, and that could potentially be life in prison, like I said. Tomorrow, the defense will deliver their closing arguments,

and the jury could begin deliberating as soon as tomorrow afternoon. Okay, Chloe Molosferos. Chloe, we thank you for that. Also tonight, the Supreme Court making it easier for states to target funding for Planned Parenthood. The court ruling along ideological lines today a 6-3 decision in favor of South Carolina's effort to defund the organization. The conservative majority blocking Planned Parenthood from suing over Medicaid funding. It could pave the way for other states to try to defund as well. Now to the ongoing immigration raids being carried out all across the country by federal agents.

And tonight we have new NBC News reporting on who is being rounded up. Here's Jacob Sokoloff. In Southern California, dramatic videos show federal agents detaining day laborers in Home Depot parking lots and chasing farm workers across fields. What you're doing is kidnapping. This street vendor clung to a tree as agents tried to bring her into custody.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 1600 people have been taken into custody in LA alone in the last three weeks. An all out blitz promised by border czar Tom Homan at the start of the race. Are there more days coming ahead? Absolutely. We're going to be out there every day. President Trump reiterating today, he wants to deport a million undocumented immigrants

a year. What we're doing is we're really going after the criminal aliens of which we have plenty to work with. But according to new ICE data obtained by NBC News, 120,000 out of the 185,000 immigrants arrested by ICE since October have committed no serious crimes. Alejandro Barranco says that includes his father Narciso, an undocumented landscaper who was cutting bushes at an IHOP when he was pinned to the ground by federal agents last weekend. DHS says he tried to assault the agents with a weed whacker, a claim Alejandro refutes.

You served in Afghanistan. What would have happened if you would have treated a det. DHS says its officers use the minimum amount of force in detaining Barranco. If President Trump is watching, what do you want to say to him? I want President Trump to know that not all these undocumented people are bad. Most of them are bad people. They're not good people. They're not good people. What do you want to say to him? I want President Trump to know that not all these undocumented people are bad. Most of them are here, hardworking people.

Tom, late today, DHS has released a list of criminals that they say have been arrested under this operation in LA, but our reporting indicates that it's only 6% of undocumented immigrants who have been known to have been convicted of a homicide who have been detained since October. All right, Jacob Sobovich, great to see you. Thank you. Thank you. Overseas now to what doctors in Gaza

are calling death traps, a growing number of people killed while going to distribution points to get desperately needed aid. Richard Engel has the latest, and we do want to warn you, the images are graphic. At the NIC unit in Nasser Hospital in Gaza, Aya is just four days old, born premature, suffering liver failure and totally reliant on formula, which is in short supply.

We're relying on the supplies that we have, extremely limited. They're rationing every day. Doctors here, including several visiting American volunteers, say Gazans are starving because Israel, which controls all access to Gaza, only lets in a trickle of food and that getting to it can be deadly. It's a common term, it's a death trap. It's a slaughterhouse.

The doctors here say almost every day they treat dozens of Gazans wounded while trying to reach aid distribution sites run by an Israeli and American-backed group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation set up to replace the UN and ensure that aid is not stolen by Hamas. But human rights groups say the new system has a fatal flaw. As desperate Gazans rush for supplies, Many have been shot at by Israeli troops. 410 killed this month, according to the UN.

Doctors here say 14-year-old Fahed was killed while trying to collect food. The boy was brought back to Nasser Hospital along with the empty bag he'd hoped to fill and take back to his family. And while our team was filming, this boy was brought in. His name is Jihad. His family says he was shot by Israeli forces while collecting water. Can you guys still lift his leg? Okay, so left leg weakness and decreased sensory sensation.

So we're suspecting a spinal cord injury. The doctors say he has a bullet by his spine. They worry he may never walk again. The Israeli military says it does not fire on civilians at those aid sites, but has acknowledged that soldiers have targeted individuals who approach them, appear threatening, or are in unauthorized areas. Tom? Our thanks to Richard Engel and our teams in Gaza for that one.

Now to our series back here at home, the cost of denial and the role of the adjuster, the person who helps determine how much you should be reimbursed by insurance when your home is damaged. But for those hit by the Los Angeles fires, many are asking why their adjuster keeps changing. Liz Kreutz has our story. It's a house frozen in time. Gingerbread houses left on the kitchen table. A calendar still set to January. Makes me sad. Stephanie Newports Alta Dena home hasn't changed since January 7th, the day she evacuated from the Eaton fire,

which you can see here burning through part of the house causing significant smoke damage, leaving her stuck in what she describes as an insurance nightmare. Sorry, I mean, my community is pretty much gone. I am very grateful that the house is still there. However, from an insurance standpoint, I think it would have been easier if it had burned. Newport's living room covered in layers of toxic ash and debris.

We've been to a lot of smoke damage homes since the fires. This is without a doubt the worst that we've seen. The swimming pool, black. Newport who is covered by State Farm says her biggest challenge, her adjuster, the person responsible for managing her claim, keeps changing. In five months, she's been assigned not one, not two, but. Seven adjusters. Seven adjusters, yeah.

What is it like to get passed around and passed around like this? It's extremely frustrating. It's like starting over every single time. NBC News also spoke to five other State Farm policyholders impacted by the LA fires who describe a similar pattern. Just this month, California's Department of Insurance announced an investigation into State Farm's handling of fire-related claims. The commissioner citing specifically the frequent reassignment of multiple adjusters

with little continuity in communication. You think they're intentionally trying to stall. It feels that way. Newport says once an adjuster is taken off her claim, they completely disappear. Okay, so I'm going to try and call Stephanie's last adjuster to see if we can find out why he was taken off. It seems like this is a defunct extension now. We're just getting kind of put in circles through automated voice message systems. Not really able to get in touch with this guy. State Farm declined

to comment directly on Newport's case, citing customer privacy, but said in a statement to NBC News, it has paid out more than $4.15 billion in response to the L. A. Fires and that when there are catastrophes of this size, it may mean that multiple team members assist with the customers claim in response to the state's investigation. The insurer says it is cooperating and that a review will find thousands of customers are very satisfied. Everything has felt like a fight. So far, Newport says State Pharmacy center about $140,000 to fix her home, but an outside adjuster she hired to help with her claim

says it would cost more than 10 times that, based in part on testing that recommended the home be taken down to the studs. Of the seven adjusters, she feels only one has given her the whole truth. One of them has said, don't let them tell you no, just keep pushing because they're hoping you're gonna give up. But I'm not giving up. only one has given her the whole truth. One of them has said, don't let them tell you no, just keep pushing because they're hoping

you're gonna give up. But I'm not giving up. Liz joins us now. So Liz, tell our viewers what happened when you started asking questions. Yeah, so Stephanie says just days after NBC News reached out to State Farm asking about her claim that she was contacted by the insurer

and they've offered to give her an additional 54,000 more dollars to pay for her pool and fix it and also to conduct their own testing of her home, which is something she had been asking for for months, Tom. All right. Getting some results. We thank you for that, Liz. And when we return ransacked, Brad Pitt's LA area home, the latest to be hit by thieves. So how did they get in?

That's next. We are back now with the break inin at Brad Pitt's LA home. It comes as the star has been traveling to promote his new film, F1. The LAPD is investigating thieves ransacking his home. Police are now looking for three suspects who climbed over a front fence, breaking in through the front window. Police haven't yet said exactly what was taken and Pitt was not home last night when it happened. It's just the latest in a string of high profile home break-ins in the LA area.

Also tonight, take a look at this shocking video, a worker fixing a traffic light high above an intersection when an 18-wheeler, you see it there, takes a wide turn and smashes into the bucket truck, leaving the worker dangling for dear life. It happened in Denham Springs, Louisiana. This is not far from Baton Rouge. Police there say the worker only suffered minor injuries. That's good. And that they're investigating what happened here. That worker is lucky to be alive tonight. And if you thought you had a rough morning, just think of Noel Colon from Staten Island as he was heading to work, a turkey sneaking up, attacking him as Noel runs for safety. But that's one quick and apparently mad turkey.

Noel told the local paper he later found turkey eggs nearby, likely leading to that angry bird. That's Nightly News for this Thursday. I'm Tom Yamas. Thank you so much for watching. Tonight and always, we're here for you. Good night.