canada Nightly News Full Broadcast - Sept. 27
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00:00Tonight, the staggering death toll as Helene barrels up the Southeast after leaving four
00:05million without power, the hurricane slamming Florida as a monster Category 4 storm.
00:11The impact across 15 states, more than 40 dead, historic and catastrophic flooding.
00:17In Tennessee, dozens trapped on a hospital roof airlifted out, a flash flood emergency
00:22in Atlanta, hundreds rescued across the region.
00:26Tom Yamas in the storm zone tonight.
00:29Also breaking, Kamala Harris making her first visit to the border as the Democratic nominee.
00:34Now she's hitting back at Donald Trump over immigration.
00:37And Mr. Trump meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky, vowing to negotiate a deal to end
00:42Russia's war that's, quote, good for both sides.
00:46Israel striking Hezbollah's headquarters in Beirut, the target, the group's top leader,
00:51Richard Engel on the ground for us.
00:53Prime Minister Netanyahu under pressure for a ceasefire.
00:57Israel's defiant message today to the U.N., a hacking attack on the Trump campaign linked
01:02to Iran, the U.S. has now charged.
01:06New York Mayor Eric Adams pleading not guilty to federal corruption charges.
01:11The mountain calls for him to step down.
01:13The beloved two-time Oscar winner and star from Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, remembering
01:19Maggie Smith.
01:20And live from New York, SNL's new season kicking off this weekend, celebrating 50 years of
01:27laughs.
01:28This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.
01:34Good evening and welcome.
01:35The impact of Hurricane Helene has been nothing short of devastating, its wide footprint leaving
01:40an indelible and tragic mark across more than a dozen states, from Florida where it made
01:46landfall to the Carolinas and beyond.
01:49The fast-moving hurricane blamed for at least 42 deaths across the region and fears that
01:54number could grow.
01:56Helene slamming ashore overnight with winds of 140 miles per hour, driving a storm surge
02:0115 feet high.
02:04The fierce winds and heavy rains inundating roads, forcing a dramatic airlift of patients
02:09from a Tennessee hospital.
02:11Tonight Helene continuing to weaken, but the situation still very critical in many places.
02:17Historic and catastrophic flooding continues.
02:19Atlanta recording its first flash flood emergency on record.
02:24True at all, millions are still without electricity tonight.
02:27Tom Yamas reports now from the storm zone.
02:31Tonight Helene no longer a hurricane, but still taking homes and lives.
02:36The massive hurricane that slammed into Florida, overwhelming first responders.
02:42Rescues along the East Coast from Florida to South Carolina.
02:45In Tennessee, a hospital sending out an SOS when it became surrounded by water.
02:51Homes stranded, forced onto the roof, and airlifted out.
02:55Helene made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast, but the impact stretching 1,000 miles across
03:0115 states, killing dozens.
03:05Overnight desperate residents posting previews of what daylight would bring.
03:09And in Clearwater, fire departments battling flash floods and flames, searching for those
03:14stranded.
03:15Anybody in your house?
03:17With that massive hurricane now comes the massive response, local, state, and federal
03:22resources all allocated towards Florida and the full power, of course, of the U.S. military.
03:27Here in Keaton Beach, devastation as far as you can see.
03:30We have a lot of memories of it.
03:33A lot.
03:34Boats tossed onto land and homes completely flattened.
03:38It's just sad.
03:39Janine McMullen raised her family in Keaton Beach.
03:42Her house is still standing, but half of it is underwater.
03:46I told my oldest grandson this morning that I was pretty sure my house was gone.
03:52He said it'd be all right, and that as long as we were all safe, and we are.
03:57After crushing the Gulf Coast, Helene moved north.
04:00In North Carolina, cars submerged and roads vanished amid extreme flooding not seen in
04:06almost a century.
04:08NBC News' George Solis is there.
04:10Here in Asheville, the flooding is catastrophic.
04:13Homes, businesses completely swallowed by a river that was already swollen by days of
04:17rain ahead of Helene's arrival.
04:20And in Georgia, swift water rescue teams ushering this woman and her baby to safety.
04:25NBC's Priya Sridhar is on the ground.
04:28This is one of several neighborhoods here in Atlanta that's completely underwater.
04:31It's unclear exactly when this water will recede so people can return to their properties
04:37and begin to assess the damage.
04:40In southern Georgia, our Priscilla Thompson talked to a homeowner who narrowly escaped
04:44Helene's high winds.
04:46What made you get in the hallway?
04:48When this first tree crashed on the top of the house.
04:50Bill Parmley lost 15 trees in his yard.
04:52He had just finished repairing his home from the last hurricane.
04:56A similar story back in Florida.
04:58I didn't realize that we were going to have this much damage, but it's nothing that we
05:02can't fix.
05:03Paul Millard's business was destroyed for the second time in just 13 months.
05:07It really hit me in the heart, to be honest with you.
05:09We worked so hard to bring this building where it is and to see this happen again.
05:16But among all the destruction, a bit of relief.
05:19Unable to evacuate, the staff of Tampa General Hospital set up a nine-foot aqua fence to
05:25protect patients.
05:26As the water rushed in, turning the building into an island, the fence held.
05:31All right, let's go to Tom now, live from Keeton Beach.
05:35Thompson, some have truly lost everything.
05:38Yeah, Lester, take a look behind me here.
05:40You have boats on top of homes, and tonight we have our drone over Keeton Beach.
05:45You can see the extent of the damage.
05:47I'm told many of the people here don't have insurance.
05:49They did at one point, but there were back-to-back hurricanes, and then insurance rates skyrocketed.
05:55People could no longer afford that.
05:56So now you have a new hurricane, no insurance, the home is destroyed, and now there's no
06:01money to rebuild.
06:02Lester?
06:03All right, Tom Yamas, thank you.
06:04Now to Vice President Harris making a trip to the southern border, set to propose asylum
06:09restrictions, but facing a new round of criticism from former President Trump over information
06:14just revealed by immigration authorities.
06:17Gabe Gutierrez is in Arizona.
06:20Tonight Vice President Harris landing in Arizona for her first trip to the southern border
06:25in three years, but also facing new criticism from former President Trump after the Immigration
06:30and Customs Enforcement Director sent a letter to lawmakers revealing more than 13,000 migrants
06:36previously convicted of homicide are currently free inside the U.S.
06:41And I've been saying this from the beginning of the Harris-Biden disaster.
06:46What they've done to our country with this is inexcusable.
06:52A source familiar with the data tells NBC News many entered the country prior to the
06:56Biden administration, and that ICE lacks resources to find them.
07:00All of it after Trump earlier today met with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
07:04Great honor to have you.
07:05Thank you so much.
07:06Thank you very much.
07:07Thank you so much.
07:08Trump calling it a great meeting.
07:09I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin.
07:13I think that we can work out something that's good for both sides.
07:18Meanwhile, here in rural Cochise County, Arizona, a senior campaign official says Harris will
07:23propose tighter asylum restrictions than President Biden.
07:26There's been a record 10 million illegal border crossings since Harris and President Biden
07:31took office.
07:32We do have a broken immigration system, and it needs to be fixed.
07:36Still, crossings have dropped dramatically in recent months, and Harris is slamming Trump
07:41for killing a bipartisan border bill earlier this year.
07:44How frustrating was that for you?
07:46Absolutely frustrating.
07:48Harris supporter and former sheriff's deputy, Dania Acosta, voted for Trump in 2016, but
07:52now says he's relying on fear.
07:55That's really sad that people are being used as pawns for political reasons.
08:03This has been in your family for 100 years.
08:06128.
08:07Though rancher John Ladd says the Biden-Harris administration should never have ended Trump's
08:12restrictive border policies.
08:14And Trump had it figured out.
08:16Ladd took us to a border fence constructed during the Trump administration, showing us
08:20where smugglers have cut it repeatedly.
08:22He's skeptical of Harris's promise to secure the border.
08:26That's baloney.
08:28That's an absolute lie.
08:29She doesn't care about the border.
08:32While Harris is trailing Trump on immigration, she's polling better on the issue than President
08:36Biden.
08:37And her campaign believes a trip like this to a swing state like Arizona could be crucial.
08:42Lester.
08:43All right, Gabe Gutierrez, thank you.
08:45In the Middle East, new airstrikes by Israel inside Lebanon today, including one apparently
08:50aimed at the leader of Hezbollah.
08:52As Prime Minister Netanyahu told the United Nations, Israel will not stand down.
08:57Richard Engel is in Lebanon tonight.
09:02The Israeli airstrikes were so powerful, they shook all of Beirut.
09:07An Israeli official tells NBC News the target was the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah,
09:12in a headquarters underground.
09:15Hezbollah quickly said the attack was a failure.
09:18Iran, which backs Hezbollah, said Nasrallah is safe, but neither offered any proof.
09:24I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran.
09:28If you strike us, we will strike you.
09:33The strike came just one hour after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a fiery
09:38speech at the U.N., promised an open war on Hezbollah, which has been attacking northern
09:44Israel with rockets and drones since the Hamas massacre on October 7th.
09:49As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice and Israel has every
09:55right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely.
10:00And that's exactly what we're doing.
10:04Israel has recently dealt a series of heavy blows to Hezbollah, booby-trapping its communications,
10:10killing senior commanders, and bombing suspected weapon sites.
10:14I visited one earlier today.
10:17Hezbollah says this was a motorcycle repair factory and a fuel storage location.
10:21It was directly hit by two Israeli airstrikes that completely destroyed the area.
10:27You can still smell the burning fuel.
10:29It is still smoking.
10:31And scenes like this are spreading now all across Lebanon, as Israeli airstrikes in the
10:35south and in the east and in Beirut are intensifying.
10:40Nasrallah's death would be a major setback for Hezbollah, decapitating the group, which
10:45is a sworn enemy of Israel and the United States, and which has many rivals inside Lebanon.
10:52Israeli officials say it's too early to tell if Nasrallah was killed.
10:56And tonight, Israel has begun a new round of airstrikes here in Beirut.
11:00Lester.
11:01Richard Engel, thank you.
11:02The Justice Department announced charges against three Iranian operatives accused of hacking
11:06into the Trump campaign and stealing documents, officials calling it part of an elaborate
11:11effort to interfere in the election.
11:14Here's Ken Delaney.
11:15Tonight, the Justice Department charging three men it calls Iranian government hackers with
11:21a plot to stoke discord and erode confidence ahead of the U.S. election.
11:26The 37-page indictment describing a wide-ranging hacking campaign, alleging the men targeted
11:32Trump campaign officials' e-mails, stealing internal documents, including debate prep,
11:37and shopping them to the news media and the Biden-Harris campaign.
11:40The defendants' own words make clear that they were attempting to undermine former President
11:46Trump's campaign in advance of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
11:50The alleged hackers facing terrorism, fraud and identity theft charges.
11:55They worked for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to the indictment.
11:59All three live in Iran, likely outside the reach of U.S. law enforcement.
12:03The Iranian government has denied involvement.
12:06U.S. officials are battling propaganda and disinformation efforts not just out of Iran,
12:11but also Russia and China.
12:13Microsoft, saying this staged video of men beating up a woman in a Trump shirt was cooked
12:18up by a Russian troll farm to discredit Kamala Harris.
12:22Matthew Olson is the DOJ's top national security official.
12:26There's no question that our adversaries, Iran and Russia, China, they view our election
12:31as a moment of vulnerability for us.
12:34And that's only going to increase as election day approaches.
12:38Garland said there's no evidence anyone on the Biden and Harris campaigns replied to
12:43the e-mails offering them stolen Trump documents.
12:45Lester?
12:46All right, Ken, thank you.
12:48Here in New York, the mayor of America's largest city, Eric Adams, appeared before
12:52a federal judge today and pleaded not guilty to bribery, fraud, and other charges.
12:57Laura Jarrett is here now.
12:59How did it all play out in court?
13:00Lester, a pretty remarkable scene if you think about it.
13:02A man, once a former police captain, now the sitting mayor of New York City, going down
13:08for processing just like any other defendant, a mugshot, fingerprints all ahead of his arraignment.
13:13He pleaded not guilty in court, while outside of court.
13:17His defense team already sort of previewing where they're going to go with this case,
13:20going to move aggressively and try to file a motion to dismiss as early as next week.
13:24And there are signs that this is an active investigation.
13:27Very active and potentially widening.
13:29NBC News confirming tonight, according to three sources, that one of Mayor Adams' top
13:33deputies, a top advisor, was actually raided today.
13:38Her phones were seized as she was landing here in the U.S.
13:41Now her attorneys say she is fully cooperating.
13:43We're going to follow this as they're back in court next week.
13:45All right, Laura, thank you.
13:47Coming up, tens of thousands of port workers set to strike will explain the potentially
13:51deep impact all ahead of the holiday shopping season right after this.
13:58Time is running out tonight to avert a potential shutdown at several U.S. ports.
14:02It could cost billions of dollars a day and snarl supply chains just before the election
14:07and the holiday shopping season.
14:10Christine Romans explains.
14:12These ports could stand still and the goods in these containers stalled if dock workers
14:17walk off the job.
14:18From Boston and New York all the way down to New Orleans and Houston, the International
14:22Longshoremen's Association represents at least 25,000 workers at these ports.
14:27They're at an impasse over a new six-year contract.
14:30They want higher wages and less automation.
14:32The union boss in recent weeks defiant.
14:35These companies are making billions of dollars.
14:36They should take us along.
14:38Port officials preparing for a shutdown at midnight on Monday.
14:41All activity in the port of New York and New Jersey with regards to containerized cargo
14:47and automobile cargo will cease.
14:49The United States Maritime Alliance representing shippers and ports blamed the union's quote
14:53repeated refusal to come to the table and bargain.
14:56A strike could cost up to $4.5 billion a day.
15:00Everything from canned goods and chocolate, car parts and electronics move through these
15:03ports.
15:04Some of the biggest retailers import goods here like Walmart, Samsung and Home Depot.
15:09George Barry owns a small trucking business and hauls shipping containers at the port
15:12of Virginia.
15:13It's actually something that touches every grocery store cart, right?
15:16And every family budget if you really game it out.
15:20100%.
15:21We're looking at the possibilities of empty store shelves.
15:25We're looking at the possibility of homes stop being built because there's lumber needed.
15:30There's steel needed.
15:31The president has the power to break a strike, but right now the White House says he is not
15:34considering doing that.
15:36Christine, you mentioned retailers.
15:37Will this affect the holiday shopping season?
15:39So retailers have seen this coming and they have been basically stockpiling their goods
15:43for the holiday shopping season.
15:44But if they move forward with a strike here, supply chain experts tell us for every day
15:48the ports are closed, it can take up to five days to catch up.
15:52Lester.
15:53All right, Christine.
15:55Up next, our tribute to the legendary Dame Maggie Smith from Harry Potter to Downton
15:59Abbey just ahead.
16:02Back now with a historic honor for a tennis legend, Billie Jean King.
16:06Billie Jean King is now the first individual female athlete to be awarded the Congressional
16:10Gold Medal.
16:11King, the 39-time Grand Slam champ who famously beat Bobby Riggs in 1973's Battle of the Sexes,
16:19is being recognized for advocating equal rights on and off the court.
16:24And the acting world has lost a legend.
16:25Maggie Smith, who won two Oscars and then a whole new generation of fans with the Harry
16:30Potter movies and Downton Abbey, has died.
16:33Megan Fitzgerald now on her extraordinary career.
16:36When I call your name, you will come forth.
16:41I shall place the sorting hat on your head.
16:45Maggie Smith, one of the world's most revered actors, a star on stage, screen and film.
16:52Smith burst onto the scene in the 1950s, winning her first Academy Award for her dramatic role
16:58in The Prime of Miss Jean Brody in 1970.
17:02I am a teacher first, last, always.
17:05Her comedic role as an Academy Award loser.
17:07I need another drink.
17:09The last one wore off in the lift.
17:11Won her another Oscar.
17:13I just, I just really can't believe it.
17:15We're ready for you now.
17:17Follow me.
17:19Smith was arguably most known for two roles later in her career.
17:23Mr. Weasley.
17:24Professor Minerva McGonagall at the magical school Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies.
17:33That was bloody brilliant.
17:35And as the Dowger, the Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey.
17:39What is a weekend?
17:40My age, one must ration one's excitement.
17:44Smith, mother to two sons, was gracious and humble around fame, with countless awards
17:49and recognition over more than six decades.
17:52But perhaps the most meaningful of all, Dame Hood, an honor given to her by the late Queen
17:58Elizabeth.
17:59Dame Maggie Smith at 89 years old, remembered by legions of fans.
18:06Megan Fitzgerald, NBC News, London.
18:09And we'll take a short break here.
18:11Coming up live from New York, it's Saturday night.
18:13The good news is.
18:15NBC Saturday night.
18:18Finally, there's good news tonight as SNL returns this weekend right here on NBC and
18:24celebrates 50 years of laughter.
18:27Here's Joe Fryer.
18:29Little did anyone know when John Belushi and company kicked off the first sketch in 1975.
18:38Saturday Night Live would still be around 50 years later.
18:45The not ready for primetime players have given us memorable characters.
18:48Hello, I'm Baba Wawa.
18:51Both real and imagined.
18:54Well, isn't that special?
18:57Fearless comedians who never needed a stunt double.
19:04Here's you.
19:05Here's Matt.
19:06There's you there.
19:07How do you sum up SNL's impact on culture?
19:11They weren't going to pander to the audience.
19:13They were going to produce material that they thought was cool.
19:16I don't have a mean bone in my body.
19:19No one spared from their slapstick skewering.
19:22I'm not.
19:23Strategery.
19:24Certainly not politicians.
19:26I can see Russia from my house.
19:29With moments that generate laughs and court controversy, like when Sinead O'Connor ripped
19:36up a picture of the Pope.
19:37At times, the show was criticized for a lack of diversity, but it remains a launching pad
19:45for A-list stars.
19:47Ego Wodim hopes to follow in their footsteps as she starts her seventh season.
19:52To be a part of SNL, what does that mean to you?
19:55I'm going to meet more of my comedy heroes.
19:58Just like the character Sally O'Malley.
20:01After half a century, SNL's still kicking.
20:06Joe Fryer, NBC News, New York.
20:09The fun times return.
20:11That is nightly news for this Friday.
20:14I'm Lester Holt.
20:15Please take care of yourself and each other.
20:17Good night.
20:18Okay, thank you, Father.
20:19Yeah, you're welcome.
20:20Yes, thanks very much.
20:21Super.
20:25Thanks for watching.
20:26Stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app, or follow us on social media.