Transcripts For WCAU NBC Nightly News 20140918

Is nbc nightly news with brian williams. Good evening. Officials in australia say theyve broken up an urban terrorism plan inspired by isis, which if you can believe it and were forced to believe it due to what isis has done so far, the terrorist group was planning to take people off city streets in australia and execute them for the benefit of video cameras. Australian police say this was prevented and put down in a series of raids. And this comes as national and local Security Officials here have stepped up their vigilance in light of the latest isis propaganda. Its where we begin tonight with our gist is correspondent pete williams. Reporter it was australias biggest counterterrorism operation ever, more than 800 officers in sidney and brisbane stopping what Authorities Say was a plot to kidnap people and videotape their executions for propaganda. Islam means sincerity and submission. Reporter police say they acted after intercepting an International Phone call from this man, mohamed ali giving attack instructions. Originally from afghanistan, he was a bouncer, an actor in sidney, now considered a Senior Leader of the terror group in iraq and syria. Exultations, quite direct exultations were coming from an australian who is apparently quite senior in isil. Reporter american officials are worried about the latest isis recruiting videos slickly produced. While emphasizing theres no known plan for attacks in the u. S. , police in new york are more visible in public gathering spots like times square. Concerns of videos could inspire people here. While u. S. Officials say about a dozen americans may be fighting with isis at any one time, they say more than 100 citizen haves gone to the region to join up with various rebel groups. A concern expressed today in congress by defense secretary chuck hagel. Is isil capable today of sending radicalized americans back to this country to do harm to the United States . Oh, i think theyre capable of doing that today. Reporter also today, a rochester, new york, man accused of trying to recruit for isis, mufid pleaded not guilty in a federal courtroom. Prosecutors say he urged two men to join isis in syria unaware they were actually fbi undercover informants. Prosecutors say hes the first person in the United States charged with trying to recruit for isis. And they say after months of investigation theyre confident he acted alone. Brian. Pete williams at the justice department, thanks. In other news tonight, its one thing to hear about the masks that will fall down from the ceiling should there be a problem on your flight. Its quite another to have to use them. It happened to 147 people on board a jetblue flight leaving Southern California today when an engine apparently exploded. And it got dicey on the way to an Emergency Landing when smoke filled the cabin, as youre about to see in our report from nbcs tom costello. Reporter terrifying moments onboard jetblue flight 1416, long beach to austin this morning, when only a few minutes after takeoff a cabin was suddenly full of smoke. Passengers grabbing for oxygen. The pilot urgently broke into radio traffic. Runway three zero. Reporter something was wrong with the right engine on the airbus a320. Passengers recall hearing an explosion and then smoke quickly filling the cabin. Well be evacuating. Roger. Smoke on the right engine. Appears no smoke out of the right engine. Roger. Reporter once on the ground, passengers jumped on evacuation chutes. My son had to roll, tumble down and luckily another nice man grabbed his face before it hit the concrete. Reporter as fire crews moved in, passengers said when they were in the air they werent sure theyd make it. There were a few points where i thought about trying to call my parents saying this could be it. My son was the only thing i could really think about. Probably say its the best feeling i probably had in my life today, yeah. Reporter in all four people treated for minor injuries. Jetblue says its still investigating what went wrong. Tom costello, nbc news, washington. And if its possible, the fire situation in california has now worsened. At least ten major fires burning amid record heat and drought. And the biggest of them all has now tripled in size prompting more evacuations as its charred more than 70,000 acres. Our own Miguel Almaguer is in pollack pines, california. Reporter brian, good evening. Officials say this fire was sparked by an arsonist. The smoke behind me a clear indication of how powerful and quick this fire is moving. Tonight, there is plenty of fuel, plenty of dry forestland in its path. Look at that. Oh, my gosh. Reporter working around the clock the king fire named for the road it began on races out of control even at night when fire activity typically slows. Firefighters are exhausted. Little time for sleep, no break in sight. Everything down here is burning and fueling what its doing. Reporter investigators say the blaze was intentionally set. 37yearold Wayne Allen Huntsman has been arrested on suspicion of arson. Mr. Huntsman is in the El Dorado County jail with bail set at 10 million. Reporter the fire began saturday expanding thousands of acres every day then suddenly exploding overnight, tripling in size. Now visible from space. I just want to leave. I just want to leave. Reporter with 2,800 homes in danger, the priority, save structures any way they can. Lives are packed into cars, some refuse to leave. I got no place to go. Send my wife and dog down to her moms but me and my dog are going to stay. Reporter chewing through erg in its path, the blaze looks like a volcano spewing toxic smoke visible from 60 miles away. Crews are stripping away timber to slow the fires spread. The choreographed air attack led by a spotter plane. But tonight Mother Nature is in control in a fire fight far from over. With this blaze roughly 5 contained, tonight crews say flames are moving away from homes. But already as much land as the city of atlanta has been burned. This fire will likely go for weeks. Brian. Miguel almaguer in california tonight, thanks. A very different problem through much of the southwest this evening as the remnants of a hurricane turn streets into rivers and parts of the desert southwest, arizona, new mexico, texas, one of the hardest hit cities, el paso where there have been over 100 rescues reported thus far. There are new developments tonight in the manhunt for a cop killer and survivalist on the loose in northeast pennsylvania. The suspect has just been added to the fbis ten most wanted list. Schools remain closed there as a Community Gathers to mourn with Police Snipers guarding the funeral. Our report tonight from nbcs Stephanie Gosk in Blooming Grove, pennsylvania. Reporter the funeral for corporal bryon dickson, husband and father of two boys, packed the local cathedral. Thank you for all that youve done. God speed, hammer. We love you and we miss you. Reporter the crowd spilled out on to the street in to a sea of state troopers. From as far away as south carolina. When one passes away, unfortunately, its like a brother or sister. Reporter with snipers on rooftops, the manhunt for alleged shooter eric frein widened today. Military enthusiast role play. Ben met frein during regular war games like this one posted on youtube. The group of people was a group of educated hobbyists and outdoorsmen who like to get out and have some fun. Reporter long says frein never did or said anything alarming. We just want to know. Want to know what happened, you know . Where is he . If he did it, why . Reporter people here in Blooming Grove want to know where he is too, so their lives can go back to normal. Schools were closed here again today. And there are still residents locked in their homes, brian, who arent coming out unless its absolutely necessary. Stephanie gosk, Blooming Grove, pa tonight. Stephanie, thanks. A major headline into the investigation into new Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his administration. Federal officials tell nbc news that after five months investigators have concluded there is no evidence that governor christie had advance knowledge of any politically motivated scheme to shut down lanes on the George Washington bridge, which is the worlds busiest span. This is the federal investigation, mind you. While a separate grand jury continues to investigate over alleged abuses involving the port authority, no headline tonight. The headline here however, the federal charges are now ruled out for Chris Christie and the affair that came to be known as bridgegate. The polls have closed in scotland. And by tomorrow morning we will know if it is still part of the United Kingdom. The vote over independence went down to the wire, closer than a lot of people imagined. And the wild card may be the voting age of 16. Nbcs Kelly Cobiella live in edinburgh for us tonight. Kelly, good evening. Reporter good evening, brian. No tanks on the streets, no shots being fired, but this could still be a revolution. Millions of scots went to the polls today to decide if this country, no bigger than south carolina, with less than a tenth of the United Kingdoms population, will end a union more than 300 years old. The people of scotland put Everything Else on hold today to decide their future. Thats how important it is. Reporter a sense of history in the making. If not who, then who . And if not now, when . Reporter should scotland be an independent country, yes or no . A simple question with complicated Unanswered Questions about who would get what, north sea oil reserves, nuclear submarines, nato membership, even the british pound. Scotland could pay a price if it chooses independence. For the first time voters as young as 16 had a say. Show of hands, whos a yes vote . Whos a no vote . But theyre split just like their parents. No vote too. No voter, why no . I think there are too many uncertainties. I think if we get independence to look back and say we helped. It would be a really good thing. Reporter both sides used social media to get their point across. Kate smith was in the novoters. A yes vote would mean her husbands job moves south. Im very, very sad that its come to this in scotland. Reporter the man at the center of the independence movement, reassurance for scotland and the rest of the world. So the u. S. Has nothing to be worried about . Nothing whatsoever. Reporter still, scotland is restless tonight. From living rooms to pubs, this country and the United Kingdom it may soon leave are in for a long, sleepless night. The polls are closed, the counting has started. We wont know the result for several hours yet. Meantime, another historic vote today, st. Andrews, that legendary and elite golfing club, voted to allow women for the first time in its 260year history. Change is in the air, brian. Lets call that the first early result from scotland tonight. Kelly cobiella in edinburgh tonight. A welcome in washington with less than what he wanted. Addressing a rare meeting in congress he said his soldiers need help fighting those russianbacked rebels. They need nor military equipment. Lethal and nonlethal. My vision also important but cannot clean the room with blankets. President obama met with poroshenko at the white house said only nonlethal aid would be provided. Still ahead tonight, another nfl player arrested for Domestic Violence, accused of assaulting his wife and child as our new poll about this nfl scandal reveals some surprises from the fans. And later, a big announcement in latenight and the snl secret most viewers didnt know until now. Breathin] [ inhales deeply ] [ sighs ] [ inhales ] [ male announcer ] at cvs health, we took a deep breath. [ inhales, exhales ] [ male announcer ] and made the decision to quit selling cigarettes in our cvs pharmacies. Now we invite smokers to quit, too, with our comprehensive program. We just want to help everyone, everywhere, breathe a little easier. Introducing cvs health. Because health is everything. Introducing cvs health. This is kathleen. Setting up the perfect wedding day begins with arthritis pain and two pills. Afternoon arrives and feeling good, but her knee pain returns. Thats two more pills. The evenings event brings laughter, joy, and more pain. When jamie says. Whats that like six pills today . Yeah. I can take 2 aleve for all day relief. Really, and. And thats it. This is kathleen. For my arthritis pain, i now choose aleve. Get all day arthritis pain relief with an easyopen cap. Tonight scandal continues to envelope the nfl and its embattled commissioner Roger Goodell. Tonight a goodell must go banner flying ahead of thursday night football tonight in atlanta. All of it playing out as were learning new details about another nfl player just arrested for alleged Domestic Violence. Our report tonight from our National Correspondent peter alexander. Reporter this is the latest face of the nfls Domestic Violence crisis. The Arizona Cardinals Jonathan Dwyer charged with aggravated assault after fights with his wife at their phoenix home in july. Court documents say dwyer headbutted her breaking her nose. Neighbors called police. The defendant was hiding in the home and had told his wife that if she alerted the police to what this defendant had done that he was going to kill himself. Reporter the next day police say the 229pound running back punched his wife in the face then picked up a shoe and threw it hitting their son in the stomach. Dwyers wife, who fled to another state with the toddler, contacted authorities last week, three days after the ray rice tmz sports video went public. Dwyer denies the allegations, but the cardinals quickly pulled him from all team activities. A new nbc news maris poll finds 53 of americans disapprove of the scandal. But 85 say the crisis will not affect how much football they watch. Last weekend four different nfl games got over 20 million viewers. And i think that that is an indication that people are going to continue watching no matter what. If anything its drawing more viewers. Reporter and nfl sponsors including anheuserbusch that put out a tough statement this week want to make sure those fans ta. The moral authority of professional football in this country became a beer company. Thats how bad things have gotten. Reporter today, Brandon Marshal with three arrests for Domestic Violence and nfl suspension in 2008 spoke candidly about the complex realities of Domestic Violence. Marshal was never convicted. Its not an epidemic. So i would just say that pay attention. Because the more we talk about it, the more people are going to get help. Reporter despite nearly two weeks of blistering headlines including calls for nfl commissioner Roger Goodell to step down, our poll found fewer than 30 of americans believe goodell should resign. Brian. Peter alexander on the continuing saga of the nfl. Peter, thanks. Were back in a moment with a surprise announcement tonight from one of the richest men in the world. And the late news a Damage Assessment from that Security Breach at home depot. Just how bad it really was. Sfx opening chimes sfx ambient park noise, crane engine, music begins. We asked people a question, how much money do you have in your pocket right now . I have 40, 53, 21, do you think the money in your pocket could make an impact on something as big as your retirement . Not a chance. I dont think so. Its hard to imagine how something so small can help with something so big. But if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years, that retirement challenge sfx crowd cheering might not seem so big after all. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat . Campbells healthy request soup lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. [ mm. ] great taste. [ tapping ] sounds good. Campbells healthy request. Mm mm good. ® feet. Tiptoeing. Better things than the pain, stiffness, and joint damage of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. Before you and your rheumatologist decide on a biologic, ask if xeljanz is right for you. Xeljanz tofacitinib is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. Xeljanz can relieve ra symptoms, and help stop further joint damage. Xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. Dont start xeljanz if you have any infection, unless ok with your doctor. Tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. Your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz and routinely check certain liver tests. Tell your doctor if you have been to a region where fungal infections are common, and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take. One pill, twice daily, xeljanz can reduce ra pain and help stop further joint damage, even without methotrexate. Ask about xeljanz. A change at the very top for oracle, the Huge Software company. Larry ellison who cofounded oracle and is today the fifth richest man in the world abruptly announced today hes stepping down as ceo. He is 70. He stays on as chairman. His old job will be split by two coceos. Ellisons enjoyed his money over the years gobbling up land in hawaii and jets and fast cars and his sponsorship of the american cup. We can now put a number next to the Security Breach at home depot. They now say upwards of 56 million debit and credit cards have been compromised over a fivemonth period this year. That would make this much bigger than the christmas time breach at target stores. As a result of this many banks are going ahead and sending out new cards to customers. There were lights in the skies over the rockies a few days ago that everybody chalked up to a meteor shower. But we now know better. The folks in the federal government who track such things now say despite their denials, it was a russian Spy Satellite coming to the end of its life. The cosmos 2459 showed up on local weather radar east of cheyenne, wyoming. Its fiery death leaves an estimated 98 Spy Satellites from various countries orbiting up there and looking down on all of us. Longtime snl cast member and bill clinton imitator Darryl Hammon has been chosen to replace don for saturday night life. Truth be told over the past few years as don was in Failing Health on and off, it was hammonds voice we heard doing impression on that broadcast unbeknownst to the audience. Don passed away in august after 70 years with nbc. When we come back, go big or go home. A big anniversary for the reigning king of the road and those of us who enjoyriding up high. Yeah, girl high. Thinking about us and, uh, i just cant fight it anymore its bundle time bundle mm, feel those savings, baby and thats how a home and auto bundle is made. Better he learns it here than on the streets. The miracle of bundling now, thats progressive. Walgreens knows that heartburn sufferers can sometimes find themselves at the corner of mmm, home cooking and umm, i think thats enough. Thats why walgreens offers new nexium 24 hour, protection Strong Enough for whatever your day dishes out. Walgreens makes it easy to treat frequent heartburn. With new nexium 24 hour, now get nexium level protection without a prescription. At the corner of happy and healthy. When a pro at any 2014 pga tour event sinks a holeinone, quicken loans will pay your mortgage for an entire year. That is how its done. Truly amazing get in the holeinone sweepstakes. Enter today at pgatour. Com quickenloans and you could have your mortgage paid for an entire year. Its in this spirit that ingu u. S. Is becoming a new kind of company. Ing u. S. Is now voya. Changing the way you think of retirement. Before we craft it into a sandwich. The tender, slowroasted turkey, the zesty cranberry mostarda, the freshly baked flatbread paired perfectly with our autumn squash soup. A delicious meal made just for you only at panera bread. Lots of them, right . But when you try to get one by using your travel rewards card miles. Those seats mysteriously vanish. Why . All the flights you want are blacked out. Or they hit you up for some outrageous number of miles. Switch to the venture card from capital one. With venture, use your miles on any airline, any flight, any time. No blackout dates. And with every purchase youll earn unlimited double miles. Now were getting somewhere. Whats in your wallet . Finally tonight, if youre trying to get around one in traffic, they are lumbering dread naughts. If on the other hand you have a big family or a lot to haul, they are lifesavers on four wheels. The chevy suburban has reached an important milestone. Its not for everyone, except for everyone who owns one or has ever loved one. Our report tonight from nbcs Kevin Tibbles deep in the heart of texas. Reporter 24 hours a day across 4 million square feet, 3,500 people produce an icon for the american road. The chevy suburban this month celebrates its 80th birthday. The oldest, longest running automobile name plate in the world. And a mainstay in the family driveway. People love them because they can put their kids in there and all the equipment for the Sporting Goods or wherever theyre traveling. Reporter that hasnt changed since your grand dads suburban was made in detroit. But today all the work is done here at gms massive arlington, texas, facility. From the stamping of the metal to the assembly to finished product rolling off the line. Its like baseball and apple pie. Reporter to learn all things suburban, just ask 81yearold charlie hall, hes been making cars for gm for 58 years. Youve been here longer than ive been on gods green earth. Thats what a lot of them say. Reporter he calls coworkers family. And why not . Granddaughter cara works down the line. I honestly like working with my papa. Reporter the original sold for a mere 685. Todays base model is about 50,000. In torrence, california, proudly pampers his 56. Like the music you heard when you were a kid, its like the cars you saw when you were a kid. Reporter the chevy suburban may look sleeker and fancier, but it will still carry anything. Just ask the dad down the street who coaches little league. Kevin tibbles, nbc news, arlington, texas. And that is our broadcast on a thursday night. Thank you for being here with us. Little bit of news since weve been on the air. We want to let you know the senate followed the house and voted to approve arming and training Syrian Rebels in this fight against isis. The president is due to comment on it a few minutes from now. We wanted to let you know if youre out and about or away from television, you can watch it on our website, nbcnews. Com. I am brian williams. We hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. Good night. Joan rivers doctor tracked down by extra on the treats of new york. Out caughtoncamera con f n fronation right now on extra. Joan rivers throat doctor to the stars out of hiding and ducking for cover. Is it true to you took a selfkbri . Joans daughter melissa speaking out today. Will she sue . A Mushroom Cloud over the set of the new view. Rosie at war on and off the set . He doesnt love people . I dont think so. What happened when they were both reportedly called into the boss office. The magician takes the crowd on agt. Now the big question, is howard stern planning a disappearing act . Are uh you retiring a enmoving to florida . Then chris brown and out of jail and in the extra hot seat. What was that experience like . A humbling experience. Do you feel like hes changed . Plus, his new album x. And new clues primetimes biggest mystery. Where on earth is olivia pope . Okay, go. Bring it. Where is she . Now on extra, from Universal Studios hollywood, the entertainment