Transcripts For WRC NBC Nightly News 20150311

Good evening. As we start tonight were watching several big stories including the search for wreckage and survivors of the scene of a deadly military Helicopter Crash overnight off the coast of florida. We want to begin here this evening with what appears to b another embarrassment for the secret service. Details just surfacing about an investigation into a possible car crash on the white house grounds involving members of t secret service including an agent assigned to president obamas protective detail. Lets go right to nbcs tom costello in our washington newsroom. Tom. Reporter lester, good evening. A Senior Administration offici is confirming to nbc news this evening that there is an investigation into the actions of two secret Service Agents including a top member of president obamas protective detail. The secret Service Tells Us its looking into what happened on march 4th when two agents drove a government vehicle into a White House Security perimeter. And tonigh fact been reassigned. The officers wanted to arrest them but were told by supervisors to let them go home. Package on white house grounds. The agents arrived using their emergency flashing lights, whi may have been a violation of secret service regulations. Government officials tell nbc news the secret service is now working with the Homeland Security Inspector General to conduct an investigation. The president is aware of the investigation. And we have learned two employees have now been reassigned. All of this coming after the former head of the secret service was forced out after a series of high profile scandals at the agency. Lester. All r tonight, thank y now to the other big story were following here. The families of 11 American Service members are receiving the worst possible news following a deadly training accident off the gulf coast of florida. The military says four Army Aviators along with seven marines were aboard a black hawk helicopter that crashed during a nighttime Training Mission near Eglin Air Force base. This is among the deadly military training accident in site. Reporter searchers spent t day looking for debris from th Army Black Hawk helicopter whi crashed overnight off the florida panhandle. Washed up shore a piece of landing gear with a medical ki nearby and what appears to be window from the downed senior military Officials Say searchers also recovered most of the human remains in the dense fog. As hampering those operations throughout the morning and day. Reporter Officials Say the crash occurred early last nigh in the santa rosa sound. They lost track of the chopper around 8 30 p. M. Erica stone lives along the sound and believes she heard t crash somewhere out in the fog. We heard a loud sound. You know, kind of like a bombi but a little different. Reporter her husband, jasper, awoke this morning to find pieces of the chopper and jet fuel coming ashore on his property. Every four or five feet or there was some beach ball size debris. Reporter onboard the chopp were seven u. S. Marines and fo Army National guard crew membe on a nighttime Training Mission. I can tell you they had several thousand hours in that cockpit and they had several thousand combat hours in that cockpit. Reporter a pentagon offici says its feared all perished. The twoengine black hawk uh60 is the combat workhorse of the u. S. Military. It can car a time with a crew of four. Ithasrange of 370 miles with a top speed of 170 miles an hour. The marines aboard were from clamp lejeune, north carolina. The helicopter battalion based in hammond, louisiana had neve lost a soldier until now. In iraq it flew Saddam Hussein after capture in 2006. And after Hurricane Katrina helped rescue thousands, plucking many off rooftops. And witnesses say the dense fo that were seeing now is not nearly as bad as it was at the time of the crash. Meantime, officials have not y suggested why that crash occurred. Lester. Mark potter covering that story tonight. Thank you. Now to a development that protesters have been calling f practically ever since a polic officer shot Michael Brown dea in ferguson, missouri. The city and the police chief, thomas jackson, have agreed to what theyre calling a mutual separation. That means the chief is steppi down effective next week. Nbcs ron allen with this report. Reporter Ferguson Police chief tom jackson has faced withering criticism since the death of Michael Brown last august. His wilsons name while releasing video of brown in a robbery, fueled calls for resignation. The Justice Department investigation found jackson was running a Police Department rampant with racial bias. More focused on raising revenu through the courts than public safety. He had resisted constant calls to step down. Jackson followed ger john shaw out the door. We expect you to do more. Reporter the Council Approved a mutual separation agreement last night. And the top judge who resigned after Missouri Supreme Court ordered a higher ranking judge to take over. Before that the city fired its top clerk and two Police Supervisors resigned after the doj report linked them to racially charged emails. The fallout may continue as federal investigators press for reforms theyve said dismantli the Police Department is not o of the question. In a statement to nbc news, jackson said hes confident th city will pull through these trying times. The Ferguson Police supervisor will now take over while the city conducts a nationwide search for a new police chief. Lester. Ron allen, thank you. National leaders for the video singing racial slurs say that the chant is not part of the fabric of their organization. But there are questions tonigh about whether the song or at least the sentiment in it has been heard in chapters beyond the one at the university of oklahoma. Nbcs Gabe Gutierrez has been looking into it. [ bleep ]. Reporter sigma alpha epsil today said racist behavior entered its university of Oklahoma Chapter three to four years ago calling it a horrible cancer. We had to cut that cancer before it infects too many other groups. Reporter saes National Spokesman says the fraternity has so far been unable to veri reports of similar chants at other campuses. Parker rice, one of the sae members in this video, said th song was taught to us. When somebody says it was taught to us, we know it was not the national headquarters. It wasnt even something that would be part of our history a all. Reporter rice said i am deeply sorry for what i did saturday night. It was wrong and reckless. I admit it likely was fueled b alcohol consumed at the house before the bus trip. But thats not an excuse. The parents of a second Fraternity Member in the video levi pettit also apologized, h made a horrible mistake and wi live with the consequences forever. Its an old fraternity tradition of singing these typ of songs. Reporter andrew who in college was in sae and now outspoken critic of greek life racism is alive and well in american campus especially fraternities. Reporter active member of the university of Cincinnati Black Student Association and proud sae member. We do not act like that. Bad behavior is not something that we represent. Reporter in 2013 the sae chapter at washington universi in st. Louis was suspended following allegations that pledges sang racial slurs to africanamerican students. Last year clemson universitys chapter was suspended for holding a racially themed part now at ou the growing scandal has sparked a rallying cry. And today the normally silent statues spoke volumes. All the members have moved out of the sae house here on campu and now the National Organization is looking to kic them out permanently. Lester. All right, gabe, thank you. New developments to report tonight in the controversy ove Hillary Clintons use of a private email account for government business. The state departments watchdo said today that many emails b mrs. Clinton and other officia may not have been saved automatically as clinton claimed. Nbcs Andrea Mitchell has been looking into it. Reporter defending her use of private emails, Hillary Clinton said her emails to he state Department Colleagues were saved by them. It was my practice to communicate with state department and other governmen officials on their dotgov accounts. So those emails would be automatically saved in the sta Department System to meet recordkeeping requirements. And that indeed is what happened. Reporter but only 24 hours later a new state department Inspector Generals report say for the past five years most important state Department Emails for all of the state department were not properly archived. The report says a computer upgrade in 2009 when clinton took office failed to preserve thousands of key policy email for example, in 2011, employees archived only 61,156 emails o of more than 1 billion sent. Why . Inspectors found employees did not receive adequate training. The Computer System kept breaking down. And some employees deliberatel avoided creating computerized records that could be searched later. The state Department Just wasnt saving its emails. Not mrs. Clintons, not all th responsible people for our foreign policy. Repor being challenged for her claim she never sent a classified email. I did not email any classified material to anyon my email. There is no classified materia reporter republicans were skeptical. And even the white house didn rush to her defense. Ultimately i think it will up to all of you to make your own determinations about sort how secretary clinton has resolved this matter. Reporter clinton stumbled over how shes handled this controversy have in fact persuaded advisers she needs t speed up her Campaign Launch n likely in just a few weeks. Lester. Just to be clear, this repo a coincidence the timing. Totally. Theyve been investigating for three years. Andrea mitchell, thank you. Heated moments in the nations capitol when official from the Obama Administration came facetoface with republicans who signed a lette warning iran that any nuclear deal that it could strike with the u. S. May not be worth the paper its printed on. More from nbcs peter alexande reporter with the white house and Congressional Republicans clashing over a nuclear deal with iran, today direct confrontation on capito hill. Secretary of state john kerry blasting the letter sent by Senate Republicans to irans leaders this week. In my reaction to the lette was utter disbelief. Reporter that letter warns one of americas enemies that any Nuclear Deal Reached with the president and u. S. Allies could be undone if it isnt approved by congress. Kerry called it irresponsible and misleading. It purports to tell the wor if you want to have any confidence in your dealings wi america, they have to negotiat with 535 members of congress. That is both untrue and profoundly a bad suggestion to make, i think. Secretary, i know thats a wellwritten speech not a speech, my friend. This is not a speech. This indignation and breast beating over this letter is absolute nonsense. Reporter this morning on today rand paul who signed t letter insisted it doesnt undermine the president. Were going to have to get this agreement by congress and in doing so maybe the president will negotiate a more appropriate deal. Reporter Hillary Clinton took aim at potential republic opponents in 2016, like rand paul, tweeting, no one considering running for commander in chief should be signing on. Tonight, more than 170,000 people have petitioned the administration to file charges against those 47 republican senators for violating whats called the logan act that forbids citizens from negotiating disputes between t u. S. And a foreign government. With that many petitioners by its own rules, the white house will have to respond. Lester. Peter alexander at the white house, thank you. Now to a war that continue to create some unlikely alliances. Iran is now playing what could turn out to be a decisive role in the fight against isis in iraq. The battle to win back a major city from isis militants. Its the biggest counteroffensive against isis far. Nbcs bill neely with more tonight from northern iraq. Reporter its a decisive moment. Iraqi fighters surrounding tikrit trying to drive isis out of a major city for the first time. Theyve begun slowly to push into the city that gave berth iraqs former dictator Saddam Hussein. But outnumbering the flags of iraqs army are those of shiit militias, a rainbow thats alarming the u. S. Because these are men armed, trained and backed by iran. Directing them from tikrit is the head of the Iranian Revolutionary guards elite force. Americas top general told Congress Today that of the 24,000 men attacking tikrit, 20,000 are iranianbacked. The activities of the iranians to support for the Iraqis Security forces is a positive thing in military ter against isil. But we are all concerned about what happens after the drums stop beating and isil is defeated. Reporter but the u. S. Is a onlooker watching irans men from the sidelines, no air strikes here, no help. The u. S. Believes tikrit will fall. And fears the iranianbacked shiite militias could go on th rampage against its sunni population. Isis may lose tikrit, iran intends to win the bigger batt for iraq. And that would be no gain at a for the u. S. Bill neely, nbc news, irbil, iraq. Theres a lot more to tell you about here tonight includi the story of a simple booster shot one that many of us have had that may have helped this cancer patient live to see her grandchildren. Its fascinating. Also news abou who survived a terrible car crash and waters of a frigid river. Well be back. Crash and waters of a frigid river. We doug. Youve been staring at that for awhile, huh . Listen, Td Ameritrade has former floor traders to help walk you through that complex trade. So youll be confident enough to do what you want. Ill pull up their number. Blammo. Lets get those guys on the horn. Oooo looks like it is time to upgrade your phone, douglass. For all the confidence you need. Td ameritrade. You got this. Fact. 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Reporter but she took part in a Duke University medical trial that extended her life. So the grandmother of two can now proudly say she is a grandmother of six. The study was small, 12 people altogether. Following standard surgery, chemotherapy and radiation all received a novel therapy that uses the bodys own immune system. Six were also given a dose of wellknown vaccine, the tetanus booster. If you give patient a boost of tetanus, it sort of puts the lymph nodes as well as the entire immune system on alert acting like a siren to the rest of the cells. Reporte immunotherapy is given, doctor believe the body is primeight the cancer cells more aggressively. The median rate for the six wh received the tetanus was over six years, thats twice as long as the patients who received standard therapy. Hillburns success exceeded al expectations. And she still has no sign of a tumor. Doctors say its too early to know for sure but theyre hopeful the research can help fight other aggressive cancers as well. I have such a good quality of life. And i am grateful for the vaccine for that. Reporter Sandy Hillburn is the walking proof. Stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. Were back in a moment wit late word in the arrest of the attempted kidnapping caught on late word in the attempted kidnapping c it may seem strange, but people really can love their laxative. Especially when its miralax. It hydrates, eases, and softens, to unblock your system naturally. So you have peace of mind from start to finish. Love your laxative. Miralax. You total your brand new car. Nobodys hurt,but there will still be pain. It comes when your Insurance Company says theyll only pay threequarters of what it takes to replace it. What are you supposed to do, drive threequarters of a car . Now if you had Liberty Mutual new car replacement, youd get your whole car back. 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Scrubs. Dries. Floormate deluxe. Starting at one thirty nine. This was the scene on i94 in michigan today between dearborn and detroit. A tanker truck carrying thousands of gallons of fuel exploded in a big fireball. No one was seriously injured, but the blast caused a daylon traffic headache in both directions. Now an update to a story w brought you last night about this brazen abduction attempt caught on tape. Police say theyve arrested a 15yearold suspect. But theyre not releasing a na due to his age. Hes accused of snatching a 22monthold from a park and then abandoning the victim after the toddlers siblings and others gave chase. And an update tonight on that baby girl who somehow survived after her mothers ca crashed into a frigid utah river. 18monthold lily grossbeck wa reunited with her family today and was released from the hospital four days after she w rescued from the overturned an partially submerged car. She remained upsidedown for almost 14 hours and was able t escape the water. Sadly her mother did not survive. When we come back here tonight, why some folks are really happy about getting a ticket from the police. About getting a ticket from the po. Introducing. A pm pain reliever that dares to work all the way until. The am. New aleve pm the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour strength of aleve. To be honest, i thought a lot of toothpastes were pretty much the same. But then my husband started Getting Better dental checkups than me so i did what he did i went pro with crest prohealth advanced. My mouth is getting healthier. My teeth are getting stronger. Crest prohealth advanced gives you a healthier mouth, and is superior in these key 5 areas. This is going to go well. I know it. I guess all toothpastes arent the same. You know, just because your bladder is changing, it doesnt mean you have to. With tena, let yourself go. Be the one with the crazy laugh. And keep being their favorite playmate. With tenas unique super absorbent micro beads that lock in moisture and odor. Tena lets you be you. Anyone have occasional constipation diarrhea, gas, bloating . Yes one Phillips Colon Health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these occasional digestive issues. With 3 types of good bacteria. Live the regular life. Phillips finally tonight, for anyon who has suffered the aggravati of getting a ticket from the police, this ones for you. Harry smith found a police for in New Hampshire on the look o for good behavior. Sergeant Driscoll Farmington police. Reporter when Police Sergeant Brian Driscoll walks the beat he keeps an eye out for the activity that goes unnoticed. You guys have been using every single crosswalk. Reporter New Hampshire, they gi citations for good behavior. Heres a free gift ca pizza. Thank you. Reporter well, not citatio really. But gift cards for a free slic of pizza or an order of fries. Wary citizens quickly warm to the idea. What did you think when the policeman was coming up to you . It was just like, okay, wha did i do . Reporter the tactic was dreamed up by chief jay drury he watched a man go out of his way to use the crosswalks duri a snowstorm. I thought to myself this gentleman deserves a medal. Reporter he brought the id to a local convenience store. And they jumped onboard. Its given us a different perspective and now were out looking for good things. Reporter while farmington looks like a yankee version of mayberry, beneath this Norman Rockwell facade is a town hit hard by drugs and domestic violence. We end up seeing 10 of the people 90 of the time. Reporter so the gift cards help form connections and buil community trust. I just wanted to thank you guys for doing the right thing and making my job a little bit easier. Well, thank you for doing this. This is a neat program. Youre the reason why we do it. Reporter an idea so simple it might just work. Harry smith, nbc news, farmington, New Hampshire. And that will do it for us on this wednesday night. Im lester holt. Thank you for joining us. For all of us at nbc news, goo night. Lights, camera access. How bad did it get . Dr. Phil nick gordon moment that no one saw coming. Please dont put this on tv. As