Good evening, and welcome, everyone. The demand for accountability is growing louder on the Hawaiian Island of maui tonight amid the search for something to explain how so many, how so much could be taken so quickly. No cause of the fire has been determined, but the local power company, Hawaiian Electric, is coming under increased scrutiny tonight over how it responded as live power lines toppled under 80mileperhour winds spewing showers of sparks, potential sources for ignition of the incredibly fastmoving fires. The utility acknowledging shutting off power as conditions worsened was not a simple solution, but no search for answers in all of this is more urgent than accounting for the missing. Over 100 have been found dead, and there is still so much ground to be searched. Tom llamas once again leads our coverage from maui. Reporter tonight, search teams in lahaina continue their heartbreaking work already more than 100 bodies found, and theyre still looking for the lost what was once a paradise is now a mass grave. The tears just constantly coming for the families have lost a lot. Reporter the flames destroyed ty burnetts scuba business is it your belief too that the power lines started this fire absolutely. The amount of power lines that are up in that area are horrendous there should be a lot more upgrading. Hey, headsup, the line is live on the ground right there. Reporter while the cause of the blaze is still being investigated, theres increasing scrutiny on Hawaiian Electric. Data from whisker labs, a private company that monitors the grid through a network of sensors, shows 34 major electrical incidents on the power lines around lahaina literally dozens and dozens of faults occurring over that severalhour period overnight, any one of which could cause an arc fault that would cause and spark a wildfire reporter Hawaiian Electric didnt specifically address that data or the multiple lawsuits but said in part, we know there is speculation about what started the fire, but the causes havent been determined this was a preventable circumstance reporter graham lipsmith is one of the attorneys who filed suit against the utility. The ultra hazardous activity was keeping the power running during this very serious wind event. Reporter but Hawaiian Electrics ceo told me they dont have a program for shutting off power it can be seen as creating a hardship for those customers that have medical needs in lahaina. The electricity powers the pumps that provide the water, and so that was also a critical need during that time. Shutting off the power wasnt an option just to understand what you are saying . There are choices that need to be made, and all of those factors play into it reporter with President Biden set to visit maui on monday, the road to lahaina is now open do you need food or anything reporter we were with the cajun navy, an aid group that formed during hurricane katrina, as it delivered food and supplies outside of lahaina. Its been a big help for all of us here. Reporter but these signs of hope overshadowed by the names of the dead like buddy jantoc, a 79yearold musician and beloved grandfather. Its a fate this family of 16 narrowly avoided. Their escape route under siege by flames and smoke. Five of the familys homes were lost, but the entire family is safe theres a lot of families that are still not together, and so well take what we have. Were blessed. Tom, what can you tell us about the search for the missing . Where does that stand right now . Reporter well, lester, the number is hard to comprehend fema says it could be up to 1,300 people, and when you look down at lahaina, it takes your breath away in the worst possible way, and you understand why that number is so high. I spoke to one lahaina resident, who is getting a water delivery she told me she was missing some relatives. I asked how many lester, she told me nine people are missing in her family. Just awful. Just awful all right, thank you, tom. And on the ground in lahaina, the massive and grim search is picking up speed. Fema now bringing in more cadaver dogs. Miguel almaguer was given rare access to this heartbreaking effort reporter in the midst of so much ruin, this is where the search for closure begins tonight fema slowly scouring the burn zone, a debris field thats also Hallowed Ground were respectful, you know, because these are somebodys family reporter having searched only a fraction of the fires footprint. Theres an endless amount of debris to go through. Its incredible reporter nbc news was given rare access to where cadaver dogs and recovery teams are working to collect the remains of the victims. From every direction and every angle, you can see the true scope of the damage. This is what authorities are sifting through every day. The fire came through here at 80 miles an hour they need to search every building and every home before they can say their job here is complete. So far, more than 100 bodies have been recovered. Some fear hundreds more could still be here this is apocalyptic. Its just terrible, and it moved so fast people couldnt get out of the way reporter the fire was so intense, it incinerated vehicles and homes in a matter of minutes this area has been deemed safe, but these are some of the Health Hazards authorities have to deal with as they search for the missing. Among the countless stories of the missing, the search for 98yearold louise abihai, her grandson clifford waiting for word. Sorry, grandma. Hope i see you again reporter that heartbreak is why the search here is so important. So many families are waiting for answers from the ashes miguel almaguer, nbc news, lahaina, maui. In georgia, the d. A. Prosecuting former President Trump on electionrelated racketeering charges is proposing his trial start march 4th. That would put it in the heat of the president ial primary season, one day before super tuesday, but many legal experts say a trial in this case is unlikely before the 2024 election. In kansas, a stunning reversal today involving that small town newspaper raided by police, which raised alarms around the country about press freedom. Stephanie gosk has late details reporter missing cell phones and hard drives, publisher eric meyer says he barely got the weekly edition of the Marion County record printed in the morning. There was a not so minor miracle that happened last night. We were here until after 5 00 a. M. Reporter then late today, the county attorney for this small kansas town said there was insufficient evidence to justify last weeks police raid of the paper and withdrew the search warrant. All of the items seized now being returned the Kansas Bureau of investigations says it will keep investigating. Do you think that this search violated your Constitutional Rights yes, absolutely it was designed to create a Chilling Effect on our publication. Reporter National News organizations, including nbc news, called the raid, a violation of the first amendment. The response was like that of to the Medellin Drug Cartel with this massive raid that occupied all the police in the whole eastern half of the county. Reporter the search warrant accused reporters at the paper of Identity Theft and computer crimes while investigating a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell Newell said the paper illegally obtained her driving record, which included a dui meyer denies the allegations. He says the raid was a bullying tactic and believes the stress contributed to the death of his 98yearold mother, who coowned the paper. If she had known that her death would have caused some people to notice this issue, i think she would have felt very proud about that. Reporter in the last five days, meyer says hes received 2,000 new subscriptions, most new readers who dont live anywhere near marion, kansas stephanie gosk, nbc news far from the southern border, Many American cities are struggling tonight to handle the high number of migrants. New yorks mayor says the city is at a breaking point but is now facing sharp criticism from the states governor Gabe Gutierrez has more for us on that tonight. Reporter tonight, a new battle is brewing over how new york city is handling the recordbreaking influx of migrants mayor eric adams pushing back after the states governor, kathy hochul, a fellow democrat, accused him of not doing enough. If her observation is that, heres some things that you can do differently, were all in one thing no one is stating that we didnt do, house 100,000 people, unlike any other city reporter it comes after a lawyer for the governor today sent a scathing letter saying the city faces a serious crisis and has failed to accept the states offer of assistance and should do more to act in a proactive manner the mayor opening two new shelters, and hes repeatedly slammed the federal government for not doing enough to help the city. Today, we spoke with carla from ecuador with her 4yearold daughter outside the Iconic Roosevelt Hotel in manhattan, which has been turned into a migrant housing facility give us an opportunity, she says many of us just want to work. Across the country other major cities are also struggling with the influx, and the Massachusetts Governor just declared a state of emergency its unsustainable. Reporter in new york since last year, more than 100,000 Asylum Seekers have arrived. More than 58,000 are now in shelters, and officials estimate housing and caring for migrants will cost city taxpayers 12 billion by 2025. Business owner Joe Germinata says one of those shelters is impacting his neighborhood theyre hanging out on the sidewalks theres trash. You know, we found hypodermic needles its become a real nuisance. Reporter mayor adams argues, a major step to solve this crisis would be allowing migrants to get work permits lester all right, gabe, thank you. Tonight, a special prosecutor tells nbc news charges against alec baldwin are being considered in the deadly shooting on the rust movie set it comes after a second analysis of a gun concluded that it worked properly and that the trigger was pulled, which baldwin denies the test was included in a defense motion by armorer, hannah gutierrezreed, who has been charged in the case initial charges against baldwin were dropped in april. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in the incident in 60 seconds, the latest in the blind side controversy. The family now firing back after former nfl player michael oher accused them of duping him out of millions. The family depicted in the hit movie, the blind side, is firing back after the football star at the center of the film claimed they never really adopted him. They now accuse him of a shakedown. Heres kaylee hartung. Hey, my name is Leigh Anne Tuohy my kids go to windgate. Reporter the family made famous in the oscarwinning film blindsided by a ludicrous lawsuit is what they call it filed by michael oher. These people are truly devastated i mean, this was their son. Reporter the tuohy family attorney speaking out tonight disputing the former nfl players accusation that he was tricked into making the tuohys his conservators in 2004 instead of being adopted. Were talking about a family trying to help someone in need the tuohys did not control any of mr. Ohers finances. Reporter the attorneys also hammering ohers claim that he was unaware of the conservatorship until six months ago calling out his 2011 book where oher writes, sean and leigh anne would be named as my legal conservators. Honestly, i didnt care what it was called we were a family the family insisting the conservatorship was to secure ohers ncaa eligibility to play college football. Because he was over 18, they say lawyers advised they couldnt adopt. At the center of all of this is money the tuohys alleging oher threatened them in an attempted shakedown for 15 million before filing suit claiming he was lied to and exploited. Are you going to protect the family, michael . Yes, maam. Reporter oher says the tuohys gave away the rights to his life story for the blind side whe profited now he wants the money he believes hes owed. Theyve never needed his money mr. Tuohy sold his company for 220 million. Reporter a source close to the film tells nbc news, the tuohys received approximately 700,000 total. Michael got every dime, every dime he had coming reporter oher wants an end to the conservatorship, and the tuohys say, they will never oppose that lester kaylee, thank you coming up, the potential dangers lurking near millions of homes the threat of abandoned wells. Back now with our nbc news investigation into a hidden danger in communities across the u. S. , abandoned oil and gas wells that can leak toxins into the water and even cause homes to explode, and as Cynthia Mcfadden reports, millions live near them. The fact that the two of you got out is such a miracle yeah, we were lucky. We had somebody watching over us. Thats for sure. Reporter it was a sunday afternoon after church 13 years ago that Beverly Butler and her husband bob lit a fire she says moments later, their home exploded this ball of fire hit me in the face, and the next thing i knew, he hollered, we got to get out, the house is on fire. Reporter like the house that blew up over the weekend in plum, pennsylvania, the butlers home three hours north in bradford is surrounded by old abandoned and unplugged oil and gas wells. The butlers fire was so intense, investigators said they could provide no conclusive explanation for the gas explosion, and the cause of the explosion in plum is still under investigation, though pennsylvania officials told nbc news abandoned wells are being looked at as one possible cause the dangerous remnants of 100 years of searching for oil and gas, often dug by companies now long out of business, leaving open holes, which can cause toxins and dangerous Greenhouse Gases to leak into Water Supplies and, in some extreme cases, cause explosions nearly 5 Million People across the country live within a half mile of one so thats the well yeah. I mean, it just looks like a pipe. Reporter like this leaking methane. Sam shaheen is studying the secondary effects of methane released by leaking wells here in the Allegheny National forest. The upstream looks pristine. And then suddenly it turns orange. Yes. Reporter thats because methane leads to the release of arsenic. The arsenic concentration i measured in here was almost twice the epa limit for drinking water. Reporter how long has this well been here oh, 100 and probably 150 years reporter ed atwoods well water was contaminated by long abandoned oil wells on his property. His only option, connect to the towns water system he says it cost him 20,000. Did you have to sell stuff to do it . Yeah, oh, yeah, we had a utility pickup. We sold that mother cashed in her i. R. A. Reporter we tracked the Fracking Company that caused the contamination to a post office box, but they did not respond to repeated requests for comment. I wasted 40 years trying to get a well plugged. Reporter pennsylvanias problem is particularly acute because of the oil boom here in the 1800s. Weve taken an aggressive posture. Reporter the states new governor, josh shapiro, has made plugging the wells a priority often homeowners have been bearing the brunt of this. And thats terribly unfortunate, and i think thats the problem that weve seen over generations in this country where corporations were given a free pass, particularly when it came to corporate polluters. Reporter but its slow going weve already capped 70. Well have 100 done by labor day. Reporter though there are at least 350,000 wells in pennsylvania, some think more than twice that number to cap at a cost estimated to be over 17 billion yes, it will be costly, but its also something that can help us combat climate change. Reporter as for Beverly Butler, she wants answers. The kids kept telling me, mom, theres Something Else hes got in store for you, Something Else you have to do, and i kind of figure, maybe this is it, what he wants me to do to see this through. To make sure that this does not happen to anybody else. Reporter Cynthia Mcfadden, nbc news, bradford, pennsylvania and up next for us tonight, the new push to bring more African American players onto the field. Finally, Major League Baseball is searching for its next generation of stars as it looks to bring more diversity to the diamond. Heres sam brock reporter for a sport that puts as much reverence into numbers as baseball, these elite upandcoming players care most deeply about two, the 44 on their backs for the legendary Hammerin Hank aaron and 42, Jackie Robinson. Playing on the same fields that Jackie Robinson played on, it means a lot to me, you know. It makes me want to play the game even harder. Reporter these athletes are part of the hank aaron invitational, one of many mlb events aimed at reaching new talent from diverse communities, because gone are the days of griffey, gwynn and henderson when about one in five players were African American. That number has now dropped to 6. 2 , the lowest its been since the early 90s, though baseball does boast incredible international diversity. For Sam Richardson from mississippi, it was baseball from the beginning. My dad put the bat in my hand, and i just fell in love with it. Reporter but for some, other sports are more accessible or less costly. Baseball takes a lot of money reporter the players dont have to foot the bill to attend these camps all part of efforts to expand the game. What does success look like to you consistency were not there yet, but were getting there. I can see it i can taste it reporter tony riggans, the leagues chief development officer, says the efforts are starting to bear fruit. Four of the top five picks in the 2022 draft were African American players all of them participated in mlb hosted camps for baseballs future stars, its a start. Were putting in the work every day, and were looking to be those kids that the younger kids look up to its kind of the end all be all. Reporter theyre also a living testament to where baseball is going. Jackies integration into Major League Baseball changed the world. Didnt change the game, it changed the world. Reporter yes and these kids get to experience that firsthand. Reporter sam brock, nbc news, vero beach, florida thats nightly news for this wednesday. Thank you for watching im lester holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. When youre weary feeling small when tears are in your eyes ill dry them all im on your side when times get rough and friends just cant be found like a bridge over troubled water i will lay me down sail on silver girl sail on by your time has come to shine all your dreams are on their way oh, if you need a friend im sailing right behind like a bridge over troubled water i will ease your mind i will lay me down [cheers and applause] kelly welcome to the Kelly Clarkson show, give it up for my band that was bridge over troubled water, the original song was written by simon and garfunkel in 1969 but one of my favorite versions is from eva cassidy life at blues alley. She wasnt able to get funding from a major record label them quarter music so she used money she saved working at a plant nursery paying for a venue in turtle nights, her incredible album thats where it was born, that was the results. I love it. She was like a chance the rapper, she did it on her own i love that. Moving on to our first guest she has earned many impressive accolades over her career she is one of time is most influential people, one of forbes most powerful women and also happens to be an amazing actress and human being. You can see her in the crime video series citadel streaming now and her new movie is called love again. Said hello to my friend Priyanka Chopra jonas. [cheers and applause] how are you . Im so good, this is the first time ive actually come to your show, it was virtual last time but i got emotional when i walked in and i thought all these people on the walls you have actually interviewed, you are in your Fourth Season come on. Its so funny you said that i had to leave the other day i work in the studio, working on my album and i never go down that hallway. I went down the hallway and i was like oh, my god. I remember when you first started, the show came out look at that. [cheers and applause] good to see you, your daughter is one now . She is one. Kelly thats exciting, are you loving at . Shes the most chill, amazing baby, she has the best personality laughing all day and is super curious. Its terrifying, she bumps her head like five times a day, she only wants to play with wires, knives. Constantly like that to. Kelly i remember that im so glad its not that phase right now, there are other ones. It gets different but its awesome, my daughter was curious like that also wall so. She is going gray hair. I love that from a young age, even when she was one that i could tell she is going to have a very good sense of who she is and very bold and brave and he will love that. She is brave, she knows exactly what she wants. Kelly its also going to give you gray hair. I think its starting. Kelly nick sings to her, right . I think thats adorable, even when she was in the womb, what kind of music . For those who dont know, we had a really rough journey, she was in the icu for 110 days and pretty much the hold third trimester. Used to go in with his guitar and sing to her and update my audiobook. Not like that. Its mamas voice. Shes the only fan of my voice, the only person in the world. Kelly you and nick have a ritual i didnt know about called a show and tell, this is cute. It just happened because of necessity, we both didnt know much about each others careers. I know of the Jonas Brothers but different generations. I didnt really grow up with the music, i didnt know the history, even though we both have 22 year careers we started showing each other each others work and we would sit and be like this was the most traumatic day on set was my first movie and he goes this was my most traumatic show, we would show each other our careers and highlights and talk about what we were feeling and its become this thing that we do whenever we are by ourselves at home, go down the rabbit hole. Kelly you met and got together pretty quickly, its kind of cool you