So why dont they know whats on them . A major storm on the move. Blizzard warnings in the plains and theyre on alert for tornadoes in the south. Former Vice President joe biden taking on President Trump, and what he said today of dropping a major hint about his plans. A crushing defeat throws americas closest ally to the chaotic unknown, just over two weeks from a divorce deadline with europe. A highway tragedy and the hunt for whoever threw a rock off an overpass, killing a mother of three. And the major u. S. Airport that is warning tonight you may measles. Announcer this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. Good evening and welcome to our viewers in the west. Federal prosecutors today revealed what they say is the largest case of College Admissions fraud in u. S. History, charging coaches and affluent parent, including hollywood elite in a massive bribery scheme to fast track kids into some of the countrys top universities, including yale and stanford. Among those arrested, actresses Felicity Huffman and full house star Lori Loughlin. Today the accused ringleader of the 25 million scheme pleading guilty. We have it covered from College Campuses to the courthouse, starting with Pete Williams at georgetown. And, pete, a lot of people have reason to be outraged about this story. Reporter including here in georgetown in washington, lester, where the former tennis coach is accused of taking 3 million to admit 12 students as players. Nationwide, 50 people have been arrested, parents and the College Coaches theyre accused of bribing. The colleges are some of the nations most elite, yale, stanford, ucla, eight in all. The fbi sayshetic records paid for by their parents. This is a case where they flaunted their wealth, sparing no expense to cheat the systems so they could set their children up for success with the best education money could buy. Reporter among those charged, full house actress Lori Loughlin, desperate housewives star Felicity Huffman, and top ceos and lawyers. At the center of the scam is william singer, who ran a college prep business. Getting into the right college will set the trajectory for the rest of your son or daughters life. Reporter he plead guilty today, admitting that parents paid him a total of 25 million to get students admitted as athletes, many never having played a sport. He photoshopped the faces of their children on to photos of actual athletes and got samples of a students handwriting. Singer then bribed coaches at the schools who put the applicants into their designated admission slots. The former yale womens soccer coach was paid 400,000 to admit a student he knew didnt play singer also admitted paying test proctors to let someone else take a students admission exams to get better scores. The fbi says some parents spent as much as 6. 5 million for guaranteed admission of their children, and then they disguised their payments to singer as contributions to a charity he ran so they could deduct the payments on their income taxes. The parents charged today, despite already being able to give their children every legitimate advantage in the College Admissions game, instead chose to corrupt and illegally manipulate the system for their benefit. Reporter and tonight Prosecutor Says more charges are likely. Pete williams, nbc news, washington. Reporter im Miguel Almaguer in los angeles, where actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are headed from the red carpet to federal court amid outrage at College Campuses across the country. Thats just so incredibly unfair. Its taking a spot from someone who really deserves to be here and really wants to be here. Reporter famous for her role on full house and married to designer mossimo giannulli, investigators say Lori Loughlin and her husband agreed to pay bribes totalling half a Million Dollars in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the usc crew team, despite the fact that they did not participate in crew. Court documents say they even had their girls stage photos as athletes. Im going to do a dorm room tour today. Reporter loughlins youngest daughter, followed by nearly two Million People on youtube spoke about attending usc. I do want the experience of like game day, partying. I dont really care about school, as you guys all know. I was pretty pissed off that someone is able to pay their way into a school that other students have worked really hard to get into. Reporter oscar nominee Felicity Huffman is accused of paying 15,000 to boost her oldest daughters s. A. T. Scores. Her husband, william h. Macy, is mentioned in the indictment, but is not charged. Investigators say huffman arranged for a third party to purport to proctor their daughters s. A. T. And secretly correct her answers. Its disappointing because i takes a spot from a kid that did it the right way. Reporter tonight hollywoods elite accused of paying top dollar to buy an admission to a Higher Education their children did not earn. Huffman suspend her passport. Loughlin, who was out of the country earlier today, has not issued a comment. Lester . Miguel almaguer, thank you. The faa tonight under pressure and increasingly alone over the fate of boeing 737 max 8 jetliners. Ss europe and beyond s today grounding the planes until the ethiopia and another last fall are determined. The faa, however, maintains the plane is safe. Tom costello now with the latest. Reporter in baltimore today, a perfect landing for southwest 2402, a 737 max 8 arriving from oklahoma city, but outside of the u. S. And canada, the max 8 is largely grounded tonight, amid concern a deadly flaw could be responsible for two plane crashes in five months. In ethiopia on sunday, in indonesia last october. The European Union joining the uk, australia, singapore, indonesia, china, and a long list of other countries and airlines banning 737 max 8 flights. But in the u. S. , the faa says its not grounding the plane, though it insists it will act if the evidence suggests a problem. The department and the faa will not hesitate to take immediate and appropriate action. Reporter in the u. S. , united flies the longer max 9. Southwest and american fly the max 8. All say they do not have safety concerns. Im 100 comfortable of this and every other 737 max we have in the fleet. Reporter but the American AirlinesFlight Attendant union now wants the max 8 grounded. Theyre very concerned about their safety, but also the safety of our customers, who we care for every day. Reporter the faa feeling the heat as members of congress and a former transportation secretary also call for the faa to ground the max 8. Im sure the agency is feeling the pressure, and the way to relieve the pressure is to ground the planes. Reporter the central question remains whether the crashes in ethiopia and indonesia have anything in common. Both were max 8s. But tonight it appears the black boxes from ethiopia still have not been read. The ceo of the airline says theyll likely be sent to another country for analysis. In ethiopia today, an outpouring of grief at the sight where et flight 302 went down. Sky News Reporter john sparks is there. Today the site has been given over to members of the red cross, who are now looking for the remains of the passengers, 157 people, who were on that flight. Reporter among the eight americans on board, melvin and Bennett Riffel have been identified, two brothers from california. Tennessee doctor manisha nukavarapu, and antoine lewis, a u. S. Service member. Antoine is where he wanted to be. He left here doing what he wanted to do, and he is in his motherland soil. Reporter meanwhile, President Trump stirred confusion today when he tweeted airplanes are far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from m. I. T. , and the complexity creates danger. That prompted a call with boeing ceo dennis muilenburg, who made it clear he is absolutely confident in the safety of the airplanes. Late today, the faa said it has no data to justify grounding the max 8s. Meanwhile, boeing says it is pushing out an urgent Software Patch to address a potential computer glitch that may have been identified in that antistall system related to the indonesian crash. And finally, lester, most aviation experts really believe all the automation, all the computers, all the complexities have made air travel far safer. All right, tom, thank you. In just a few minutes, were going to take a look at how you know whether youre booking a flight on one of these particular airplanes still flying in the u. S. , and what happens if you want to cancel. Thats coming up. We move on now to a major storm on the move. Funnel clouds east of phoenix today and about 2 inches of snow near flagstaff, arizona. Part of the system threatening millions in the south and southwest tonight. Blizzard warnings are in effect for denver and for parts of the rockies and plains where the system moves on wednesday. Tonight former Vice President joe biden is coming out swinging, taking on President Trump in a pair of appearances that felt, at times, Like Campaign rallies without the campaign part. So is he in or out . As Kristen Welker reports, biden dropped a pretty big hint. Reporter tonight is biden on the brink . Run, joe, run reporter with the crowd urging him on, the former Vice President dropping his strongest hints yet about a president ial run. I appreciate the energy you showed when i got up here. Save it a little longer. I may need it in a few weeks. Reporter going after President Trump at two events. The guardrails we put up to prevent the abuse of power, theyre under enormous stress now. Reporter if the former Vice President gets into the race, polls suggest he would instantly become a democratic frontrunner in an already crowded field. And it could set up a trump biden showdown already playing out. Biden on candidate trump. I wish we were in high school. I could take him behind the gym. Reporter the president taking his own shots. I think he ran three times, and he never had more than 1 . So we call him 1 joe. Reporter biden recently calling himself the most qualified person to be president , but acknowledging, quote, i am a gaffe machine. Biden would tout his working class appeal, but would face a new challenge, a field of younger more progressive democrats. The question now, is it biden time . Andrea mitchell pressing him today. Nt u, vice presiden i cant think of any reason. Reporter biden declined in run in 2016 after his sons death. He says hell make his 2020 decision in the next few weeks. Lester . All right, Kristen Welker, thank you. There is new fallout tonight after House Speaker nancy pelosi publicly came out against impeaching President Trump for now. Today Many Democrats say they disagree. Our Hallie Jackson with details now. Reporter democrats divided tonight after Speaker Nancy Pelosi took impeachment off the table for now, aiming to put policy over politics. To take our eye off that ball is not worth it, and thats why i say impeachment is not worth it. Reporter her move met with resistance today by younger progressives like alexandria ocasiocortez and rashida tlaib, who plans to introduce a resolution to try to push the impeachment process forward. Lets have a Committee Process and investigate these offenses. Reporter despite that outspoken minority, many other democrats are praising pelosis position. I think the speaker is doing exactly what she should be doing. The only thing worse than putting the country through the trauma of an impeachment is putting the country through the trauma of failed impeachment. Reporter from the white house im glad sees what the rest of us see and there is no reason, no cause for impeachment. Reporter senator Chuck Schumer pressed repeatedly on this said he thinks democrats should wait and see the Robert Mueller report. And Speaker Pelosi did leave herself some wiggle room depending on how conclusive the findings are. Thank you. Now to venezuela, where the u. S. Announced it is withdrawing all remaining diplomatic staff and their families from the Caracas Embassy this week. Blackouts in venezuela stretch into a sixth day, there are reports that some of the power was turned back on. There is breaking news were watching from americas closest ally tonight. A crushing defeat, throwing the uk deeper into political and economic chaos just over two weeks until that divorce deadline with europe. Nbcs bill neely is in london. Reporter humiliated again, britains Prime Minister theresa may failing for a second time this year to get lawmakers to back her brexit plan. The time has come to back this deal. Reporter they ignored her. The ayes to the right, 242. The nos to the left, 391. Reporter like her voice, she sounded broken. I profoundly regret the decision that this house has taken. Reporter she spent over two years negotiating her deal with european leaders. Now britain risks crashing out of europe. Its people have been warned of a National Emergency with trade and travel disrupted, medicines and food stockpiled already, fears of violence in Northern Ireland if border checkpoints with the eu are imposed. Britain is in crisis. Its link with euor t f last half century will be cut in 17 days, unless another path is found. And bill joining us now from london. Bill, whats the plan here . Only a few weeks left. What happens next . Reporter yeah. Good evening, lester. Well, here tomorrow in parliament, another vote. This time, on whether britain should crash out of the European Union without a divorce deal. Then on thursday, a third vote on whether britain should ask the European Union for a delay in that divorce. But that really is just kicking the can down the road. There is no agreement here after two and a half years on any course of action. So there could be a general election. There could be a national referendum. It really is very unclear. But what is clear is that this remains the biggest political crisis here in 50 years, and that the m she is tonight in office but not in power. Lester . All right, bill neely in london, thank you. Just ahead, a rock thrown from an overpass kills a mother of three. Tonight, the urgent hunt for suspects. Then, worried about flying after that crash in ethiopia . 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The front windshield just exploded. Reporter boyfriend Chris Rodriguez didnt even know what happened until he pulled over, giving flores cpr until she got to hospital, where she later died. She was the joy of life. To take that away, from her kids, her family and friends. I dont want nobody in the world to ever have to go through this pain. Reporter tonight, investigat investigators are still pursuing leads but say whoever did throw that rock could be facing murder charges. Lester . Morgan chesky, thank you. The growing Health Concern that today caused a scare at a major airport. Well tell you about that. And if youre flying in the states how to tell if youre booked on the same plane thats been grounded in many chris around the world. Sure its like a morn in spring more than half of our community have discovered their irish roots. Order ancestrydna, get your kit today. Ensure max protein. To give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you dont. straining ill take that. cheers 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. Ensure max protein. In two great flavors. This is jamie. Youre going to be seeing a lot more of him now. Im not calling him dad. Oh, nno. Look, [sighs] i get it. Some new guy comes in helping your mom bundle and save psive right, champ . Im getting more nuggets. How about some carrots . You dont want to ruin your dinner. Youre not my dad thats fair. Overstepped. Thats fair. Stop fearing your alarm clock. With zzzquil pure zzzs. A drugfree blend of botanicals with melatonin that supports your Natural Sleep cycle so you can seize the morning. Zzzquil pure zzzs. Tonight, Health Officials say flyers may have been exposed to measles at lax airport february 21st by a passenger on a china eastern Airlines Flight on a layover. Now to the questions a lot of nervous flyers are asking. How do i know if im booking one of those planes ground around most of the world and what happens if i want to cancel . With more on that, heres joe fry fryer. Reporter at aitsasseers are paying closer attention to what type of plane theyre flying in. On their minds, the boeing 737 max 8 grounded virtually everywhere except north america. A lot of times people are already scared to fly. And when things like this happen, it makes the fear even more apparent. Reporter the max 8 complete morse than 8500 flights a week. We spoke to passengers after one flight. I saw it was the same plane, you got a little concerned. Theres nothing i can do. All i could do was pray that the pilots knew what they were doing. Reporter how do you know your plane type . Its easiest to check while booking, but if you already have a ticket, you can get that information by going to the Airlines Website or app and looking under equipment or aircraft type. If you still cant find it there, there are other sites like flightstats and seat guru, but keep in mind planes can change at the last minute. Two u. S. Airlines use max 8, southwest and american. We think at the very least that the airlines should refund passengers any cancellation or change fees. Reporter southwest already doesnt charge change fees, but is waiving any potential fare difference for passengers who want to change flights out of concern. So far american is not changing its policies. Lester . All right. Joe fryer, thank you for that. Up next, the runner and his best friend, ready to make history. Breach your firewall in london you start to panic. Dont. Because your cto says weve got allies on the outside. Security algorithms on the inside. That way you can focus on expanding into eastern europe. That makes the Branch Managers happy yes, thats the Branch Managers happy. At t provides edgetoedge intelligence. It can do so much for your business, the list goes on and on. 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And savings and checking accounts with no fees or minimums. Because thats how it should be. You can open one from right here or anywhere in 5 minutes. Seriously, 5 minutes. This is banking reimagined. Whats in your wallet . College admission scheme. The reason one College Counselor says she isn t surprised so many bay area parents are involved. And the obstacle now cleared that could change the south bay skyline as we know it. That s next. In tonights in in tonights inspiring america, a runner ready to go the distance this weekend, and the best friend leading the way. Here is kristen dahlgren. Reporter when thomas panek heads out for a run, its never without his dog, because gus isnt just a good training partner, he is toms eyes. I have to follow his footwork very closely. Reporter when a genetic condition took toms sight in his 20s. Its basically like seeing the world disappear in front of you. Reporter one of the things he really missed was running. Human guides could lead him, but he craved more independence, so he had a thought. Dogs love to run, and i love to run. So it sort of made sense. Reporter it takes special training. Hold my arm and close your eyes. Reporter and a special kind of trust. Wow. Are you trusting him . Im trying. Reporter gus leads us around obstacles in central park and makes sure were not dogging it. Gus, youre setting a fast pace here, buddy. Reporter thomass organization guiding eyes for the blind helps train dogs for others, and this month he will become the first blind runner to complete a Half Marathon with a canine companion. Where did you get so fast . Reporter three dogs will take turns guiding tom, but it will be gus who crosses the finish line, his final task before retiring. He deserves a medal, he really does. Reporter a man and his dog showing the rest of us if you have a disability, there are really no limits. Reporter but there are plenty of finish lines ahead. Kristen dahlgren, nbc news, new york. And good luck to both of them this weekend. Thats nightly news. Im lester holt. For all of us, thanks for holly, and a stanford coach. Prosecutors call it the biggest ever college actresses, ceo and a stanford coach prosecutors call it the biggest ever College Admissions scheme and it involves many bay area parents. They think you have to win at all costs. This College Counselor says shes not surprised by todays indictments but first this isnt about politics its about public safety. A Murder Investigation in san jose reignites the immigration debate the reason some are saying the accused murderer should not have been on san jose streets. The news at 6 00 starts right now. Thanks for joining us im jessica aguirre. Im raj mathai. This is a story we broke on our digital platforms this afternoon. At this hour were getting more information. The man accused of the murder inside a san jose home is an undocumented immigrant who the feds repeatedly tried to deport but they said Santa Clara County would not cooperate. The murder of bambi larson has triggered a new sanctuary city debate. Reporter and the attorney issued a statement about this saying she wants to see a change in county policy for undocumented immigrants who are violent or serious felonies. I know where this is headed and the questions will come, so ill answer them now. Reporter police chief eddie