NBC Nightly News Full Episode - July 11

Tonight, the major clue just revealed in. that Air India disaster. What the pilots. said to each other just before they lost. control. The new report just in on that. crash that ended in a massive fireball, killing hundreds on board. Photos of the. burned out controls. Some of those. switches in the wrong position. immediately after takeoff. And why. investigators are looking into whether. one of the pilots intentionally cut off. fuel to the engines. Also breaking. tonight, the Jeffrey Epstein files.

dividing the top levels of the Justice. Department. The FBI official and Trump. ally threatening to leave the bureau. after officials didn't release more. files. President Trump in Texas, one. week after those deadly floods took. homes and families, saying he's never. seen anything like it. It comes as. wildfire season takes off. The giant. plumes of smoke at the Grand Canyon. forcing evacuations. The lightning. strike that set off the inferno. The. incredible new details on the man dubbed.

the devil of the Ozarks. How he escaped. prison. He used a Sharpie to make his. prison clothing look like a law. enforcement uniform. Plus, what was. inside that cart that helped him on the. run. Our Dline exclusive. The Diddy. Trial Insiders speaking out for the. first time. what his longtime personal. assistant tells us. She witnessed. firsthand. The skyscrapers sized. icebergs, a drift and heading towards a. small town. And the surprise in the sky,

the helicopter dropping money and rose. petals to fulfill one man's last wish. Nightly News starts right now. >> This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamz. And tonight as we come on the air, we. have some breaking news on that deadly. Air India crash that killed 260 people. That flight, you see it right here, fell. from the sky and crashed into a massive. fireball. Investigators now revealing. they believe the fuel supply to the.

engines was suddenly cut off. The. question tonight, why? The new report. with images and new details from that. cockpit voice recorder indicating one of. the pilots was heard asking why the fuel. supply to the engines was cut off. That. other pilot then saying he didn't do it. You can see the burned and scarred. controls from the doomed flight right. here. That may hold the clues to solving. this mystery. We begin tonight with Tom. Costello in Washington. The preliminary Air India crash report.

says that seconds after flight 171 took. off, the fuel cut off switches for both. engines went from run to cut off. Within. 1 second, the engines lost power. The. report states in the cockpit voice. recording, one of the pilots is heard. asking the other why did he cut off. The. other pilot responded that he did not do. so. The switches were flipped back to. run, but it was too late. The report. says one of the pilots radioed a mayday. as the plane soon crashed into a medical. school dormatory.

>> This report suggests that those switches. were moved by a person. Whether it was. inadvertent or deliberate, we don't know. yet, but those switches were moved by a. person. >> 260 people on board and on the ground. died. Newly released photographs show. the plane's landing gear extended as. photos from the ground confirm and the. fuel control switches back in the run. position. Sources with knowledge of the. investigation tell NBC News the fuel. switch comes with a safety guard. A. pilot must pull up and twist it to turn.

it off. The plane's black boxes. providing the first clues. There are two. black boxes on board a plane. One of. them is the cockpit voice recorder. With. multiple microphones inside the cockpit, it records the conversations between the. pilots and all of the alarms going off. The flight data recorder captures. thousands of pieces of data about the. plane's performance. Previously reported. cameras in the cockpit might also. provide critical evidence. John Ostrower. is the editor and chief at the. aircurren.com.

Why would that crew have turned off the. fuel control switches? Is there any. explanation for that? They haven't ruled. out sabotage. that that's on the table, but I would say that everything is on. the table at at this point relative to. all the possibilities for understanding. why these switches moved. And Tom joins. us now live. Tom, let's be clear here. Is there any indication of a problem. with the plane or its engines, or is. this all pointing to the actions of the. pilots? At this point, it is all about. the pilots. If investigators have found.

an obvious malfunction or defect with. the 787 or the GE engines by now, they. would have issued an urgent service. alert. But so far, none. None issued by. Boeing, the FAA, the NTSB, Boeing, GE. engines, none. And the Indian. Investigation Board says it does not. recommend systemic actions linked to. this crash. No global alert. Air India. just out with a statement. Air India. says that it stands in solidarity with. the families and those affected by the. accident and it in fact it acknowledges. receipt of the report. Tom. All right,

Tom Costello with that stunning new. report. Tom, we thank you. Now to our. new reporting about a potential shakeup. at the FBI over a disagreement about how. much information to release involving. the death of Jeffrey Epstein. Gabe. Gutierrez is at the White House tonight. Gabe, this involves a top leader at the. bureau. >> Yes, Tom. Deputy FBI Director Dan Bonino. is considering resigning after a heated. confrontation with Attorney General Pam. Bondi. That's according to a person who. has spoken with Bonino and a source. familiar with his interactions with. Bondi. One of the sources saying Bonino.

is quote out of control furious at the. Justice Department is not releasing more. information about Jeffrey Epstein and is. threatening to quit unless Bondi is. fired. Now, during his time as a. podcaster, Bonino questioned whether. there'd been a cover up over Epstein's. death. In response to all this, the. White House now says, quote, "The. continued fixation on sewing division in. President Trump's cabinet is baseless. and unfounded in reality." Tom. >> All right, Gabe, we thank you. Out west,

hot and dry conditions are stoking. wildfires, forcing evacuations at one of. the most popular tourist destinations in. America, the Grand Canyon. Steve. Patterson reports as crews get to work. on the fire lines. >> tonight. The skies above one of. America's greatest natural wonders. shrouded in plumes of towering smoke. The north rim of the Grand Canyon. National Park now closed after the White. Sage fire sparked by a lightning strike. exploded overnight, rapidly expanding to. more than 8,000 acres. Park officials.

telling tourists, "Get out now. >> We're going to have people responding, trying to combat this fire as best as. possible.". >> Wow. Morgan Lane took this video from. her property near the fire. >> We got the live evacuation notice on our. cell phones. >> Meanwhile, across the border in Utah, the Deer Creek Fire burning out of. control also forcing evacuations as. crews attack the flames from the air. Back in Arizona, a major problem. Sweltering conditions fueling the fire.

Can you feel that smoke right now? >> Yeah, you can smell it. It's crazy. It's. it's um it's very thick, you know, almost apocalyptic to just see these. clouds of smoke just coming in. >> Tom, no containment on this fire so far. The problem is crews are also battling. the forecast. Those high temperatures. mixing with very strong winds and miles. of this dry brush. All a recipe for the. flames to spread. Tom, >> Steve Patterson for us tonight. Steve, thank you. Now to the deadly flooding in. Texas that claimed more than 120 lives.

President Trump visiting the Hill. Country today, surveying that damage and. meeting with first responders and. victim's families. Here's Morgan Chesy. >> President Trump today on the ground in. Kurville, Texas, one week after the. nightmare flood left a deadly wake of. devastation. >> I've never seen anything like it. A. little narrow river that becomes a. monster. The president and first lady. meeting with griefstricken families and. defending the local response after. questions over whether more could have. been done to warn those along the river.

>> It's easy to sit back and say, "Oh, what. could have happened here or there?" You. know, maybe we could have done something. differently. This was a a thing that has. never happened before. >> With the number missing slowly dropping, the death toll remains staggering. The. floods now claiming at least 121 lives. Today, authorities identifying Kellyanne. Lal as the latest loss from Camp Mystic. [Music]. >> The eight-year-old seen here singing at. a recent Christmas concert in Dallas.

Hundreds honoring another 8-year-old. camper, Hadley Hannah, remembered with. love near her hometown. Today, survivors. reckoning with reality. >> This was a. >> living room. >> in Hunt. Lorie Low was home with her. husband, waking up overnight to water. rushing in. I knew we were in trouble by. the time we got to our truck. 3 ft deep, raging river. >> This was our bedroom. >> Danny Olivas giving us a heartbreaking. tour of his gutted home. >> We were just in shock looking at.

everything here and everything was still. inside floating and uh we even had fish. in one of the rooms in there. >> Now an army of volunteers tackling this. tragedy one day at a time. >> You got your whole house in your front. yard and yet you somehow feel like one. of the lucky ones here. very fortunate. because we're alive. >> And tonight here in Kurville, as the. number of these crosses grows alongside. the death toll, search crews tell me. they are prepared to be here working for. the next several weeks, if not months. Tom. >> Morgan Chesy again for us from Texas.

Morgan, thank you. Now to the violent. clashes as protesters try to block ICE. agents from carrying out immigration. enforcement operations, including at a. cannabis farm in California. Liz Kro is. there. Tonight, we're learning more about this. chaotic showdown between ICE agents who. arrived at two Southern California. cannabis farms executing search warrants. and the protesters trying to stop them. >> This boy now looking for his mom, who he. says is two months pregnant and among.

those detained Thursday. >> I want to go to get my mom, but. >> I can't get her. >> Guadalupe Torres says her husband, a US. citizen and Iraq war veteran who works. as a security guard here, was also. detained. Video shows him arriving in. his car, talking to agents and later. backing up as tear gas is deployed. >> Where is the Constitution in this? Where. is the US in this? Like, we fought for. this. We fought for your freedom and. he's not even free. >> ICE tonight telling us Torres's husband.

was among several US citizens arrested. for assault. Borders are Tom Hman. condemning the violence against ICE. agents, including these protesters. throwing rocks at them. And the FBI. tonight looking for this man appearing. to pull out a gun and open fire on. officers. >> What happened in California is just. another example of protesters becoming. criminals and and they've been. emboldened by even members of Congress. who compare ICE to Nazis and racists and. terrorists. >> This latest clash comes after two. violent incidents in Texas. In Alvarado,

police say attackers opened fire during. a planned ambush on an ICE detention. center, wounding an officer. And in. Macallen, an armed man was killed after. shooting at a border patrol station. Back here in California, DHS saying 200. undocumented workers were arrested and. at least 10 migrant children, some as. young as 14, were found working there. >> This marijuana plantation is a clear-cut. example of labor trafficking and child. trafficking, which are heinous crimes. >> But immigrant advocates slamming.

President Trump's deportation efforts. >> What is the mood right now in this. community? There's a lot of concern and. a lot of fears to have the tear gas. against civilians. The cruelty is the. point. >> And tonight, the farm says they fully. comply with search warrants. Meanwhile, we've learned that a worker who fell. during the chaos of the raids is now on. life support. The farm workers union. previously said he had died. Tom. >> Okay, Liz, we thank you. Tonight, we're. learning stunning details in the escape. of the convicted murderer known as the. devil in the Ozarks. A black Sharpie and.

a can lid. Some of the items he used to. escape. Pria Shrether has our story. >> tonight. New details emerging on how a. former police chief turned convicted. murderer managed to escape an Arkansas. prison. According to officials, Grant. Harden, seen here escaping an Arkansas. prison back in May wearing a makeshift. law enforcement uniform pieced together. from old prisonisssued clothing that the. 56-year-old colored with a Sharpie. He. designed a homemade badge from a can.

lid, a button, and a Bible cover. Do we. have any indication as to how long he. had been preparing for this escape? >> Uh, not a specific. It had probably. been, you know, the ballpark of six to. eight months as to when he was probably. actively getting the material together, starting to manufacture the uniform. >> Authorities add that Harden had with him. a pair of wooden pallets fashioned. together to make a ladder and later set. up a base camp near the prison. Two. Arkansas prison employees have been. fired. One for allowing Harden to go.

outside the kitchen area where he worked. unsupervised and the other for opening. the gate from a watchtowwer and letting. him walk off prison grounds without. verifying his identity. >> You don't open that gate for anybody or. anything. um when there's not a ground person. there to verify who it is. Harden, the. subject of several true crime. documentaries, was dubbed the devil in. the Ozarks and was serving an 80-year. prison sentence for killing a man and. raping a school teacher. He was.

eventually found a mile and a half away. from the prison. He has now been moved. to a supermax facility and faces new. escape charges for which he's pleaded. not guilty. Pria Shrether, NBC News. And. we'll be right back with an exclusive. with some of the key witnesses in the. Diddy trial now speaking publicly for. the first time to Dineine about the. abuse and Diddy's instructions in those. so-called freakoffs. Now to exclusive new interviews and.

details about Shawn Diddy Combmes's. criminal trial a week after it ended in. a split verdict. Combmes's former. assistant and an exotic dancer involved. in those so-called freakoffs now. speaking out to Deline. Here's Andrea. Kenny. >> Tonight, several insiders at the center. of Shawn Diddy Combmes's criminal trial, once part of his closely guarded world, are speaking out to Deline. >> It was mania and it was just toxic. >> Capricorn Clark, a former personal. assistant to Combmes, who testified for.

the prosecution, said she witnessed. several disturbing incidents during her. decade with him, including an assault on. his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. And I took Cassie back to Puff's house. and the minute we walked in, he started. beating her up in front of me. What do. you do? >> Cry. Unfortunately, he had on underwear. and a robe. He kicked her the entire. time. Sheree Hayes, an exotic dancer who. also testified for the prosecution, participated in the so-called freakoffs.

involving Ventura, all while Combmes. watched. The instructions was I was not. supposed to look at him, acknowledge. him, talk to him, and we both were. supposed to act like he wasn't even. there. >> Despite that, Hayes says Combmes. directed the action, and Ventura seemed. willing to follow his instructions. >> I can't look at those. >> reactions and and confidently say it was. the rest. You know, it may have been, but I I didn't read it that way. >> Ventura sued Combmes in 2023, accusing.

him of sexual abuse and sex trafficking. He settled for $20 million with no. admission of wrongdoing, but not before. it became public. After that came the. criminal charges, the trial, and the. verdict heard around the world. >> In the matter of US versus Combmes, count one, not guilty. Transportation. for prostitution, guilty. >> Combmes was found not guilty of. racketeering and sex trafficking. charges, but will be sentenced in. October for his conviction on two other. lesser charges.

Andrea Canning, NBC News New York. >> And you can see much more of Dayine's. exclusive interviews with those insiders. tonight at 9 8 Central. And we're back. in a moment with a wild scene in Detroit. where it was literally raining money. Thousands of dollars worth. Why? It was. one man's dying wish. Stay with us. And we're back now with massive icebergs. floating dangerously close to homes in. Greenland. Look at that. These. incredible images of skyscraper sized. icebergs close to crashing on shore.

Local officials say they're aware of the. iceberg's movement and are prepared for. the worst. In Detroit, money literally, look at this, falling from the sky. A. helicopter hired to drop 5,000 bucks and. rose petals to honor the last wish from. Daryl Thomas who died last month. His. sons got the chopper to drop all of that. money. Thomas was a professional race. car driver who was also a brother, father, and grandfather. And here at. home, we're remembering a giant of.

politics. David Gurgen died yesterday. He was a top adviser to four presidents. across the political spectrum. Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He then was a. mainstay as a political analyst on our. televisions. David Gurgen was 83 years. old. And when we come back tonight, when. a gunman showed up to his church, a. deacon used his truck to stop a. potential mass shooting. Now the. community is giving him the keys to a. brand new set of wheels. >> Thank you so much. >> So happy. >> Finally, tonight, there's good news.

about the deacon who risked his life to. save his community. Shaquille Brewster. has this one. So did our games. But that. doesn't mean that we didn't have. >> The live stream showed parishioners. inside a Michigan church hearing. gunshots and scrambling for cover. >> Please everybody come to the back. >> But outside just moments before, Deacon. Richard Prior was in his Ford F-150. running late for church that Sunday. morning in June when he saw a gunman. approaching the building wearing a.

tactical vest. >> It wasn't a smile. It wasn't a smirk. just kind of looked at me and he just. turned and and continued walking. >> with a gun in hand. >> Yeah. Yes. Yeah. >> He called 911, but knowing even seconds. were critical, Prior struck the gunman. with his truck, giving church security. time to take out the suspect, helping to. save dozens of lives. >> He put a round through my truck that. disabled my truck. >> The incident leaving Prior without a. truck to use. >> But now, thank you again.

>> Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. a local Ford dealership gifting Prior a. prepaid 2-year lease on a brand new. F-150. >> I was overwhelmed. It was hard for me to. uh kind of keep my emotions under. control. >> A more than 400 horsepower reward for. his massive act of bravery. >> All of us are capable of protecting each. other. >> A grateful community celebrating a. deacon's heroic instincts. Shaquille. Brewster, NBC News.

And that's nightly news for this Friday. I'm Tom Yamos. Thanks so much for. watching tonight and always. We're here. for you. Good night. [Music]. We thank you for watching and remember, stay updated on breaking news and top. stories on the NBC News app or watch. live on our YouTube channel.