without parole. the gunman who killed four classmates at oxford high school when he was 15 speaking out in court. what he said after being confronted by survivors and his victims' families, and the judge's scathing words as he passed sentence. also tonight, the medical breakthrough. the fda approving the first gene editing treatment for sickle cell impacting 100,000 americans, most of whom are black. how it works and how much it will cost. the major cross-country storm. danger on the roads. heavy snow in the west and now the system on the move taking aim at the entire east coast. the video causing global outrage. palestinian men, some stripped to their underwear and blindfolded, in gaza. how israel is explaining it. hunter biden indicted on nine new charges accused of evading taxes while spending money on drugs, escorts, and luxury living, the fallout for president biden as he runs for re-election. our nbc news investigation, the scams at some so-called sober homes with alleged links to organized crime. and from "love story" to "paper moon," he starred in some of the biggest movies of the '70s, remembering ryan o'neal. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, everyone, and welcome. just breaking tonight, a sentence of life in prison without parole for the michigan teenager convicted of killing four students in a mass shooting at his high school when he was just 15. the sentence for ethan crumbley was handed down near the end of a raw and emotion-packed hearing where victims, family members and others impacted by the shooting poured their hearts out before the court about what they lost, and crumbley said, i couldn't stop myself. i am a really bad person. his sentencing coming just days after the deadly shooting at unlv as that campus mourns. today's hearing in michigan reminding that the emotional trauma of mass gun violence lingers long after the shooting stops. maggie vespa tonight on a painful day in court. >> the terror that he caused in the state of michigan and in oxford is a true act of terrorism. >> reporter: tonight in michigan, a 17-year-old mass shooter handed the state's harshest possible punishment several times over. >> counts 2 through 5, the defendant shall serve the rest of his life without the possibility of parole. >> reporter: in all, the judge issuing five life sentences without parole including one for each of the four students murdered in 2021's oxford high school massacre. this moment after ethan crumbley, who claims he struggled with mental health issues leading up to the shooting, asked the judge for an eventual chance at freedom. >> i am a really bad person. i've done terrible things that no one should ever do, and i'm not denying it but that's not who i plan on to be. >> reporter: the court heeding the call of dozens of families and victims. nicole beausoleil denying her daughter died until her medical examiner showed her the body. >> i looked through the glass. my scream should have shattered it. my daughter's lifeless body was laying on a cold metal gurney. >> reporter: reina st. juliana lost her little her sister. >> instead of speaking at her wedding, i spoke at her funeral. instead of fishtailing her hair, i curled her hair in a casket. >> reporter: kylie ossege was wounded. a bullet grazed her spine. >> it's been 738 days of physical and mental pain. >> reporter: some argued life in prison isn't enough. >> in lieu of execution, i'll ask you to lock that son of a [ bleep ] up for the rest of his life. >> reporter: surprised by a murderer's last-minute plea, they are moving forward. >> it was a unanimous feeling that was insincere and feel that justice is getting there. >> maggie vespa joins us. the shooter's parents also face charges. their trials set to begin soon. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. next month, james and jennifer crumbley both face charges of involuntary manslaughter after they bought their son a gun and each pleaded not guilty. >> thanks. also, the fda has just approved a groundbreaking treatment, a cure for sickle cell disease that uses gene-editing technology offering new hope to those su debilitating blood disorders. here's rehema ellis. >> reporter: the medical breakthrough focuses attention on a long-overlooked genetic disorder affecting mostly african americans suffering from an excruciatingly painful disease sickle cell. the treatment called casgevy is the first medical use of the gene-editing tool crisper and a new era in medicine using it modifying the dna in a patient's own stem cells so they no longer produce sickle cells that can cause health complications and can lead to an early death. doctors call it transformative for nearly 100,000 people affected. >> i think it will change the landscape of science for sickle cell disease. i think it will open a lot of doors for a lot of patients. >> reporter: it's already changed luray mourning's life. this first year law school student was 1 of 46 involved in the clinical trial. diagnosed at birth with sickle cell, doctors told her mother she might not live beyond 11. for most of her life she says she suffered severe pain. >> it's consistent. it's sharp, and it's crippling. >> and that could be where, for example? >> i've had it in my knees, my arm, anywhere there is a joint. >> reporter: now luray runs and works out in the gym, things she always wanted to do but never could do before. >> it's changed your life. >> it's changed, yeah. >> you said it's given you life. >> it's given me life, yeah. >> reporter: experts argue the cost puts it out of reach for many families. the price tag is $2.2 million, but it's likely insurance will cover at least some of it. >> and, rehema, cure, what a powerful term we're talking about. is it a one-time treatment or a series of treatments? >> lester, technically it is a one-time procedure, but it's arduous lasting several months, and the young woman in our story said it was also painful but when asked if she'd recommend it to others suffering from sickle cell, she quickly said, absolutely, yes. before the treatment she was consumed with pain. now her thoughts are all focused on her future. >> rehema, thanks. we're keeping our eye on a cross-country storm. this was the scene on i-70 in western colorado today where at least 18 vehicles were involved in a pileup in snowy conditions. the storm is heading east going to the weekend. bill karins is tracking it for us. bill, what's the latest? >> good evening, lester. with so many in the path of the storm, it's important to know when the worst is heading your way, saturday afternoon, slight risk of severe weather for 9 million people outside of houston, backs up through memphis into nashville, and as it heads east, a ton of rain is heading for the east coast, especially for northern portions of new england. under flood watches for about 40 million people. anyone could see two to three inches of rain, and the airports are not where you want to be sunday night with the heavy rain and the gusty winds and even by monday morning, boston through northern new england, we're going to see wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour. this will be a storm we'll be dealing with into the beginning of next week. >> bill, thank you. israel is defending its controversial treatment of a group of detained palestinian men, some stripped to their underwear. israel says the men were apprehended in a hamas stronghold. here's richard engel. >> reporter: israeli troops lined up more than 100 palestinian men, many stripped to their underwear. palestinians call it collective humiliation. the images sparked global outrage. tonight, the israeli military said hamas fighters are dressing as civilians, and the men were detained in what it called hamas strongholds in northern gaza and questioned about why they didn't escape to the south, but southern gaza now is where israel's offensive against hamas is intensifying. around the city of khan younis. at the start of the war, our camera crew captured this moment, of volunteers digging through rubble. they cheer and pull out a young girl, somehow alive. 14-year-old miral. her mother, grandmother, and two siblings were killed. our crew found miral again in black along with her 9-year-old sister mira also rescued that day. they're back in the line of fire sheltering in khan younis. they've already been displaced seven times. "we keep everything we have ready here in case we need to move again," miral says. her sister's leg is broken. miral's arm is in a sling. she says they're not going further south to rafah for now because there's no food or place to stay there. the u.n. today said its humanitarian program is collapsing. live on the arabic language al jazeera network, a woman tells a reporter, hamas is hoarding aid meant for civilians. he takes the mic and says, what little aid coming in is being distributed. she wags her finger saying, hamas fighters are taking it to their homes, and they can shoot her if they want. >> and richard joining us now. richard, there are troubling new signs the violence is again spreading in the region, this time a u.s. embassy was targeted. >> reporter: the u.s. embassy in baghdad targeted by multiple mortar attacks. iranian-backed militias likely responsible. there were no reports of significant damage or casualties, lester. >> all righ. richard engel, thanks. in albany, new york, the suspect accused of firing a shotgun near a synagogue appeared in federal court today. he is charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. police say he is a u.s. citizen who was born in iraq. they say he fired two rounds into the air outside temple israel and was arrested soon after. responding officers say they heard mufid mawaz alkhader say, "free palestine". new legal troubles tonight for hunter biden after the president's son was indicted on nine tax charges. ryan nobles now with that story. >> reporter: tonight, president biden ignoring questions about the new round of legal woes for his son, a nine-count federal indictment on tax charges from special counsel david weis. hunter biden facing the possibility of 17 years in prison. the 56-page indictment saying he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019, spending millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills including on drugs, escorts, and girlfriends, such as $683,000 on payments to various women, close to $400,000 on clothes, and $188,000 on adult entertainment. hunter biden said he was battling addiction. his attorney saying he paid back the taxes, and the charges should not have been brought. >> if his name wasn't hunter biden, this would not have happened. >> reporter: it comes after weis' original plea deal for hunter biden, which would have allowed him to avoid jail time fell apart under a judge's scrutiny. the growing allegations come as they're investigating the biden family including the president with more republicans favoring the impeachment inquiry already under way. >> i will support it when it comes to the floor likely next week. >> reporter: president biden has repeatedly denied that he spoke to hunter about his foreign business dealings. >> i have never discussed with my son or my brother or anyone else anything having to do with their businesses. >> reporter: a former hunter biden partner told congress president biden spoke to their business associates at least 20 times. the president was pressed about it this week. >> i did not, and it's just a bunch of lies. >> reporter: and that same business partner testified that he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing by the president. next week house republicans have subpoenaed hunter biden to testify. if he doesn't show, they plan to hold him in contempt of congress. lester. >> ryan nobles, thank you. in 60 seconds, a deadly salmonella outbreak tied to tainted melon making people sick in dozens of states. what you need to know right after this. when it comes to your hair, ingredients matter. that's why herbal essences is packed with naturally derived plant ingredients you love, and none of the stuff you don't. our sulfate-free collections smell incredible... ♪ and leave your hair touchably soft and smooth. ♪ herbal essences lowering bad cholesterol can be hard, even with a statin. diets and exercise add to the struggle. today, it's possible to go from struggle to cholesterol success with leqvio. with a statin, leqvio is proven to lower bad cholesterol by 50% and keep it low with 2 doses a year. common side effects were injection site reaction, joint pain, and chest cold. ask your doctor about twice-yearly leqvio. lower. longer. leqvio® a health alert to tell you about tonight. a deadly outbreak of salmonella linked to cantaloupes. anne thompson is with us. anne, what's the major concern here? >> reporter: health officials are worried about two things, first of all, the growing number and severity of these illnesses. these cases doubled in the past week, the cdc reported 230 people have fallen ill, almost half needed to be hospitalized. in this country, three people died. the fda says the contaminated melons are sold under the malachita and rudy brands. the voluntary recall targets whole and precut cantaloupe. federal officials say don't eat that precut cantaloupe if you don't know which brands were used, and if you have any of this recalled cantaloupe, throw it out, or return it to the store, lester. >> all important information, anne. thank you. up next, they thought they were getting help battling addiction and instead got caught up in a huge scam. our investigation coming up next. to pet food. they're quitting the kibble. and kicking the cans. and feeding their dogs dog food that's actually well, food. developed with vets. made from real meat and veggies. portioned for your dog. and delivered right to your door. it's smarter, healthier pet food. get 50% off your first box at thefarmersdog.com/realfood feeling sluggish or weighed down? 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[sneeze] dude you coming? ♪ alka-seltzer plus powermax gels cold & flu relief with more concentrated power because the only thing dripping should be your style. plop plop fizz fizz winter warriors with alka-seltzer plus. we're back now with our nbc news investigation into a scheme of so-called sober homes targeting arizona's vulnerable tribal members battling substance abuse. as liz kreutz reports, instead of getting help officials say many wound up dead or wound up missing. >> reporter: on the navajo reservation in northeast arizona -- >> this is the navajo missing persons list. >> reporter: -- sergeant roland dash says his people are being targeted. dash says he's identified over 120 were missing. one day loved ones were here, the next driven away in unmarked cars or white vans like these. according to state officials, tribal members battling substance abuse have been the target of a nearly billion dollar medicaid scam. >> she never came back. >> reporter: a woman named jenny who told us her son who struggles with alcohol addiction is one of them. >> i don't know where he is. there's times i can't sleep. there's times i can't eat. >> reporter: officials say native americans from several states including arizona, south dakota, montana, and alaska have been lured from their reservations and then taken to sobriety homes hundreds of miles away in phoenix and other major arizona cities with the assurance of addiction treatment, but an nbc news investigation found that in many cases the patients never received that treatment. >> we don't have many options. >> reporter: raquel moody, a recovering alcoholic, says over the course of six months, she was shuffled between ten homes. she says she was moved every time she questioned the quality of care. >> all clients, they all started drinking. >> open alcohol. >> yeah, i found these in the trash can. >> reporter: officials and sources pointed us to one community with multiple sober homes where we were shown these photos of patients passed out around the neighborhood. we also found patients aimlessly wandering the streets like this apache man who told us he had just left a sober home in mesa, arizona, a hundred miles from where he was picked up. >> i want to go home. >> reporter: all this while state officials allege the providers of these homes made millions off fraudulent medicaid claims billing for services not given as well as for people in prison or had even died. so far, arizona's attorney general has issued 60 indictments including 10 just this week and sees $95 million from fraudulent providers including luxury cars, mansions, and stacks of cash. >> it certainly will be one of the worst frauds in the history of arizona and one of the biggest scandals we've ever seen. >> reporter: law enforcement sources tell nbc news there is clear evidence it is part of structured organized crime operated in part by people from several central african countries. they say the scammers took advantage of the state's medicaid plan for native americans, which allows providers to bill the state directly for claims without third-party review. >> where is the oversight? >> the oversight sits with us. >> reporter: carmen heredia currently oversees access, the state agency responsible for approving medicaid claims and was appointed after the fraud was found. >> people have told us the state's not doing enough. that this is still happening, that people are still missing and, worse, in some cases their relatives have died. what can you tell these families? >> it's so heartbreaking. i think that something i'm very sorry for is that they were coming forward two years ago saying something is fishy, something is happening, and they weren't listened to. >> reporter: heredia says the agency is staffing up and cracking down and have already suspended more than 300 potentially fraudulent providers, but raquel says the damage has already been done. >> every day it's somebody new that's missing from the res, and they were all brought out here for rehab, and now they're all on the streets. >> reporter: with perpetrators gaming the system, taxpayers footing the bill, and native americans paying the price, and we've learned the fbi is now involved. lester, we're going to continue to investigate this story as we understand that even more indictments are expected in the coming months. >> all right, liz, thanks very much. up next for us tonight, one of the country's top art events, caught in the cross fire of war. r project helped me find the strength to go further than i ever thought possible. - [narrator] i was able to come outta my shell and really connect with others. - [narrator] so i can feel like part of a team, part of the community again. - [narrator] it's possible to live better. - [narrator] it's possible to have a voice and to be heard. - [narrator] to feel understood. - [narrator] to find peace. - because i've experienced firsthand that anything is possible. 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