Transcripts For WNCN NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt 20160226

Nightly news begins right now. Announcer s from nbc nightly news with lester holt. Good evening. What a wild day it has been, one of the most dramatic and intense days of this president ial campaign so far. Hours after mocking, ridiculing and challenging donald trump on the debate stage, a rejuvenated marco rubio struck again today and then donald trump struck back with a surprise announcement of new jersey governor Chris Christie. It was all part of a nasty back and forth war of words between trump and rubio on the trail just four days before super tuesday. Nbcs katy tur starts off our coverage. Katy, what a day. Reporter lester, they say everything is bigger in texas, and this endorsement certainly came as a big surprise. Less than a month after he dropped out and just four days to go until super tuesday, Chris Christie is getting behind donald trump and trying to lay waste to marco rubio. Ladies and honor and my privilege to introduce the next president of the United States, donald trump reporter donald trump added a little jersey pride to his texas swagger in fort worth today. Former president ial candidate Chris Christie officially endorsing the frontrunner. And i really was happy with this one right here. So, chris, thank you. We love you, man. Its all makebelieve. Reporter less than a month ago christie was trying to tear down trump. I never said i could shoot somebody in the middle of fifth avenue and never lose a voter. I never called mexicans and rapists and murderers, i never said ban all muslims from the United States. Reporter the two often called bullies teaming up to eviscerate marco rubio. Last night i thought that the deal of the night was when i looked over to rubio, and i said, you remember, youre a choker and we dont want chokers in our administration. I said youre a choker and youre a liar. Again mocking rubios state of the union water bottle gaffe. Lets talk about our lightweight senator from florida. He doesnt have the talent. He doesnt have the temperament. He can never make us great. Reporter the endorsement Perfect Timing for trump after a bad debate that left him on the defensive for his inhair tans, a Trump University fraud suit and not releasing his tax returns. The irs has said that theres nothing precluding you in its rules from releasing your taxes your tax returns with an audit. Until my audit is simple, very simple. Youre not going to see anything. When you see it, youre going to see it. But im not going to camp kate things. Reporter christie, a cunning politician who many believe could have bridged gaps in washington, is picking the sure bet. Sources familiar with the governors thinking tell nbc news. But rubio after standing up to trump at the debate isnt going to go down without a fight. Katy tur, nbc news, fort worth, texas. Reporter this is Gabe Gutierrez covering marco rubios today he was riding high until the billionaire dropped the bombshell. How stunning was the christie endorsement . Stunning, look. Chris is an articulate guy. Donald probably needs a lifeline after last night and he called in Chris Christie. I respect that. I have more than my fair share of endorsements. Reporter this morning in dallas rubio had ripped into the frontrunner. What we are dealing with here, my friends, is a con artist. Reporter mocking a series of trumps misspelled tweets. And i only reached two conclusions. Number one, thats how they spell those words at the Wharton School of business where he went or, number two, just like trump tower he must have hired a Foreign Worker to do his own tweets. He called me mr. Meltdown. Let me tell you something. Last night during the debate during one of the breaks, two of the breaks. He went backstage, he was having a meltdown. First, he had this little makeup thing applying like makeup around miss mustache, had one of those sweat mustaches and then wanted a full length mirror, maybe to make wet, i dont know. Reporter rubios allout assault coming after last nights Republican Debate in hues top. He berated trump for his hiring practice. If he built the wall the way he built trump towers hell be using Illegal Immigrants to do it. Reporter his inheritance. If he hadnt inherited 2 million reporter and his repetition of Campaign Slogans and now hes repeating himself. I watched him repeat himself five times four weeks ago. I saw you repeat yourself five times five seconds to go. Reporter rubio faces a steep climb four days before super tuesday. Polls show the senator behind trump in all 11 states. Whats crucial is rubios home state of florida on march 15th where one poll has him trailing by double digits. Youre guaranteeing that you will win. Well win. Reporter what happens if you dont . Well win florida. Reporter as rubio campaigns throughout the south tomorrow, hes expected to release his own tax returns, and hes kag on the gop frontrunner to do the day when rubio woke up owning the news cycle he found himself trumped. All right, gabe. Regarding some of those allegations by rubio. Coming up weve got the inside story of how undocumented worked at the site of trump tower. Affirmative action i want to bring in our political director, the moderator of meet the press chuck todd. Chuck, our new poll asked registered voters which of the following would be their reaction to trump as the nominee. 51 said scared, 24 said angry, and when you look at numbers like that and you look at that back and forth we just saw a moment ago, what do you make of it . I have to say, it feels like every time we think Public Discourse has deteriorated to a new low we reach a new low. Its really stunning the back and forth today that weve seen between trump and rubio. It is unpresident ial doesnt even begin to describe it, but, look the fact of the matter is youve got to give the Trump Campaign credit here. This christie endorsement, timing and symbolism are big with endorsements. A lot of times they timing of it was brilliant. You have to say that. It shows you that this is a very Sophisticated Campaign that trump had. Had this in his big of tricks ready to go when he needed it and the symbolism. Hes Chris Christie is a cardcarrying member of the republican establishment. If you believe theres five stages of grief going on, lester, the fifth stage is acceptance with republicans. Acceptor. Republicans sulking out the headlines but lest we forget democrat voters in the tomorrow. There . Well, it should be a big win for hillary clinton. If its not, it shows you that there is life in sanders campaign. Sanders needs to improve with africanamerican voters, and if he does that, well know because hell come within Single Digits of her, but if its a doubledigit big win for her is could be a foreshadowing of a long night for Bernie Sanders on super tuesday. Chuck todd, thank you. Shock and horror in another American City tonight, the scene of this countrys latest mass shooting. This time four dead including the shooter that gunman went on a rampage at multiple scenes. Most of the carnage inside his place of work. Nbcs migueling a maggier has the developments into the investigation. Reporter a chilling video on the gunmans facebook page. Police say cedric ford used an Assault Rifle to hunt and kill his victims. Close to 5 00 p. M. Thursday two shootings at two intersections, two people are wounded before ford speeds away. He then arrives at work excel industries. Detectives say ford opens fire on a coworker in this parking lot and then enters the building. All of a sudden pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. Reporter ford fires on everyone in sight. Following people out the back, and i thought he was going to shoot me. Reporter 14 are wounded and 3 killed. 24 minutes of terror only coming to an end when a Police Officer storms the building taking five as he enters. The only reason he stopped shooting is stopped the shooter. Reporter cedric ford had a 20year criminal history, a felon charged with burglary, grand theft and carrying a concealed weapon. In Court Documents his exgirlfriend asking for a protective order saying hes an alcoholic, violent, depressed. Its my belief hes in desperate need of medical and psychological help. Police served that restraining order to ford at excel shortly before the shooting. Dennis briton jr. Thought once thought about his three children as he was rushed to the hospital. I didnt want to leave them. I wasnt ready to leave yes. I didnt want to die. Reporter tonight heartbreak in this Small Community for the dead. Renee benjamin was 30, Brian Sadowski 34 and loved rock music and joshua higbee, 31, a young father who loved his little boy. He didnt deserve this. None of the people deserved this. Reporter tonight several people remain hospitalized including police say ford was armed with an Assault Rifle and a handgun. Nbc news has learned the weapons were bought by an exgirlfriend, though not the same girlfriend who filed that restraining order. Leverett, we are told 200 to 300 people were inside the lawn Mower Company behind me and had that Police Officer not engaged the suspect quickly, the death toll could have been so much higher. Lester. Miguel almaguer tonight, thank you. There is for troubling news about the zika virus which has been linked to birth defects. There are now more than 100 cases in this country, and now Health Officials have confirmed several pregnant women in the u. S. Have contracted zika with more cases expected. Nokess rehema ellis has more. Reporter for weeks the centers for Disease Control had been on the lookout for pregnant women returning to the United States from countries where zika has been linked to microcephaly. Today the cdc confirmed 9 pregnant american women with zika and is investigating another we described women who developed zika after traveling, got it from a place where zika is spreading and then are currently pregnant or delivered a child. Reporter two pregnancies ended in abortion. Of the three babies born, one had the severe birth defect. Nationwide the number of zika cases is growing. There are now 24 states and washington, d. C. With confirmed zika virus. At least 107 cases so far, all involving people who have traveled abroad and now doctors at Seattle Childrens Research Institute in washington are sounding the alarm that the birth defect linked to zika could be even more devastating than originally feared. In brain scans comparing microcephaly cases doctors found a babys brain with zika was so severely damaged it was almost gone. Suddenly seeing something this severe and this new in such numbers is unpress denchtd. Ive never seen the like in my career. Health officials are warning there could be thousand of zika cases in puerto rico this summer, and the race is on to distribute mosquito protection kits there. Raheema ellis, nbc news, new york. Still ahead tonight, millions saw donald trump accused in last nights debate of exploiting undocumented workers at the site of his trump tower. What really happened . Tonight the results of an nbc news investigation into that. Also, youre not just seeing things. Thats a unicorn, sort of. And she led police on a wild chase thats no i built my business with passion. But i keep it growing by making every dollar count. Thats why i have the spark cash card from capital one. I earn unlimited 2 cash back on everything i buy for my studio. 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Symbicort doesnt replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. Symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. Symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. More than twice a day. Symbicort contains formoterol. Medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. Symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. You should tell your doctor if you have a heart condition before taking it. Symbicort could mean a day with better breathing. Watch out, piggies children giggle symbicort. Breathe better starting within 5 minutes. Call or go online to learn more about a free trial offer. If you cant afford your medication, now to that controversy that has roared back into the headlines about donald trump and one of the most Famous Properties that bears his name, trump tower. Trump, who vows to deport all undocumented immigrants, was accused in last nights debate of using undocumented labor himself at the site of trump tower. Nbc news has investigated what went on there for months now, and tonight nbc news Senior Investigative correspondent isntiaia mcfadden reveals what we found. Reporter last night marco rubio let loose on donald trump. You lied about the polish workers. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was 38 years ago. I guess theres a statute of limitations on lies. Reporter in the 1980s undocumented immigrants did do much of the initial work on the crown jewel of his empire in new york, trump tower, which raises the question is donald trump a hypocrite . Is it accurate to say construction of it, began on the backs of polish workers who are unpaid . Oh, absolutely. Its constructed on the blood, sweat and tears of the polish brigade as they were known in the industry. Reporter back then attorney wendy sloan sued donald trump, his company and others claiming they failed to acknowledge at least 150 undocumented polish men working off donald trump testified and was asked what working off the books in the Construction Industry meant. His response, i really dont know. Reporter they had no protective equipment, no helmets, hard hats. Reporter in his 1990 testimony donald trump denied he knew illegal. Did it ever come to your attention that any of those polish workers were illegal aliens . I really still dont know that. Nobody has proven to me that they were illegal aliens. Reporter it seems he was saying in essence that everybody else in town on his own job site and he didnt. Reporter daniel sullivan, a Labor Relations consultant who had been convicted of tax evasion, testified that during the demolition trump himself knew he was using illegal workers on the site. Theres no question in my mind. I mean, he shade it to me point plank. Reporter nbc spoke with sullivan in 1989. He has since died. Donalds lying. Flat out. He knew exactly what was happening. Reporter one of those workers says he was promised 5 an hour but wasnt paid for all of his work. Must have been angry . Very angry about that. Reporter he was one of only a few polish workers with a green card. Several undocumented workers testified at the time they were making only 4 an hour while the American Union workers were making 12 to 14. They also said they were not paid for months of work, but at the time were too afraid to protest they are looking for not legal people so that people are very afraid of all of that. Reporter mr. Trump told us it was the contractors responsibility to pate demolition workers, not his, and a federal court agreed. Still, he never reported the workers or tried to get them deported. Mr. Trump also told us he would have done nothing different. Again, last night, defended himself. Ive hired tens of thousands of people over my lifetime. Many from other countries instead of hiring americans. Let me talk. Ive hired tense of thousands of people. He brings up something from 30 years ago. It worked out very well. You paid the law was totally different. It was a totally different world. Reporter in spite of what rubio claims what trump ultimately paid to settle the matter was sealed by the court. Nonetheless, in the final ruling on yet another case involving the polish workers and trump tower, the u. S. Court of appeals wrote generally reveals what a falsehood hopes to hide. But when it comes to mr. Trumps appeal among voters consider this. Mike, one of the polish workers who didnt get fully paid, told me he thought donald trump might be a very good president and was considering voting for him. Lester. Cynthia mcfadden tonight, thank you. Were back in a moment with that irs hack, far worse than we were first told. How youll be able to te your body was made for Better Things than rheumatoid arthritis. Before you and your rheumatologist move to a biologic, ask if xeljanz is right for you. Xeljanz is a small pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. Xeljanz can reduce joint pain and swelling in as little as two weeks, and help stop further joint damage. Xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma, and other cancers have happened. If you have an infection. 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 monitor certain liver tests. Tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common, and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. Xeljanz can reduce the symptoms of ra, even without methotrexate. Ask your rheumatologist about xeljanz. Song thats life song thats life song thats life song thats life thats life. You diet. You exercise. And if you still need help lowering your blood sugar. This is jardiance. Along with diet and exercise, to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. It works by helping your body to get rid of some of the sugar it doesnt need through urination. This can help you lower blood sugar and a1c. And although its not for weight loss or lowering systolic blood pressure, jardiance could help with both. Jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration. This may cause you to feel dizzy, faint or lightheaded, or weak upon standing. Other side effects are genital yeast infections, urinary tract infections, changes in urination, kidney problems, and increased bad cholesterol. Do not take jardiance if you are on dialysis or have severe kidney problems. Stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of an allergic reaction. Symptoms may include rash, swelling, and difficulty breathing or swallowing. Taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. So talk to your doctor, and for details, disturbing news from the irs today revealing that a cyber attack may have affected far more people than first reported. In all 700,000 households may have had their information stolen. Experts say we could see a surge in fraudulent tax returns. The irs says it will notify the affected taxpayers in the coming days. A hollywood passing tonight to note tonight. Tony burton, what was best known for playing in the rocky movies has died. Burton was a successful prize fighter of his own as a young man before moving into acting, appearing in six rocky films in all. He was 78 years old. The 88th Academy Awards are this sunday an its one of the most competitive in recent history. Many are betting Leonardo Dicaprio will take home his first best actor oscar for the ref advantage and brie larson is the best actress favorite for room and overshadowing is all is controversy. Some like spike lee and will smith are boycotting the awards because of lack of color in the top acting cat guess grace. Coming up, the great unicorn escape and chase had many were they seeing. Ibsd. You know the symptoms when they start. Abdominal pain. Urgent diarrhea. Now theres prescription xifaxan. Xifaxan is a new ibsd treatment that helps relieve your diarrhea and abdominal pain symptoms. And xifaxan works differently. Its a prescription antibiotic that acts mainly in the digestive tract. Do not use xifaxan if you have a history of sensitivity to rifaximin, rifamycin antibiotic agents, or any components of xifaxan. Tell your doctor right away if your diarrhea worsens while taking xifaxan, as this may be a sign of a serious or even fatal condition. Tell your doctor if you have Liver Disease or are taking other medications, because these may increase the amount of xifaxan in your body. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan on becoming pregnant, or are nursing. The most common side effects are nausea and an increase in liver enzymes. Talk to your doctor about new xifaxan. With my moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, the possibility of a flare was almost always on my mind. Thinking about what to avoid, where to go. And how to deal with my uc. To me, that was normal. Until i talked to my doctor. She told me that humira helps people like me get uc under control and keep it under control when certain medications havent worked well enough. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Raise your expectations. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, control is possible. Finally tonight, whether you knew it or not, its National Tell a fairy tale day, and do we ever have the right story for the occasion. Its about a beloved pet that got loose and had some thinking maybe just for a split second are unicorns real . Nbcs joe fryer has reporter one can only imagine what drivers in Rural California were thinking when this galloped into sight. The calls were coming in as a unicorn running around out there on the roadway. Reporter it happened once upon a team in merdio ranchos, california where this creature led police on a three hour chase. Avenue 12 and road 33, the owner is trying to corral sneer turns out the unicorn was a phony, shes a pony. Her name is juliet and she belongs to 5 reporter juliette wears the horn to pose with professional pics with children and during the shoot this week she made a run for the rainbow. She got afraid and runned away. Reporter and dashed through orchards and darted in she turned out to be stealthier than we would have imagined. Reporter a situation reminiscent of last years llama drama in arizona. Juliet was eventually wrangled by a neighbor with a horse that pony out of hiding. The call came out that the 00 corn was in custody. As tbs tense as the situation was, that was the comedic relief that was needed at the time and i laugh and i reporter while juliet escaped the wrath of the law, tatum was not so generous. She got in a timeout because she was being a bad pony. Reporter her unicorn horn is now gone replaced with two other horns, but at least everyone in this fairy tale lived happily every after. Joe fryer, nbc news. And that will leave us with a smile on our face on this friday night. Reporting from los angeles. For all of us at nbc news, thank you for night. Im no hero. I just dont back down from people. Right now at 7 00, a garner man taking matters into his own hands. What he did when he saw people breaking into his neighbors car. Dozen of violent fugitives off the streets in the sand hills tonight. We have the result of operation zero hour. A Durham Deputy reunited with a dog she helped save. Were following breaking news out of apex, Wake County Sheriff Donny Harrison is on scene of a shooting on arrowhead drive in apex. Were told this involves multiple victims. Scene. Information. A shooting on arrowhead drive in apex. Im sean maroney. And im sharon taswell. A garner man was held at gunpoint when he tried to catch the man that broke into a sheriffs deputys car. Wncns david hurst spoke to the man and joins us from the neighborhood with this story. Reporter he chased the four suspects throughout his neighborhood here. Even while they were shooting at him. He says he stopped following them after one of the shots hit his front bumper. The criminals continued driving that way where at least one of them eventually got caught. This is where the bullet hit the truck. Reporter this man never hesitated chasing four criminals. The 57yearold didnt want to get his name but is receiving credit for catching one of the men