NBC Nightly News Full Episode - June 5

TONIGHT, THE SCARE OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. NASA'S EMERGENCY ORDER. SENDING ASTRONAUTS SCRAMBLING. THE ALARMING LEAKS HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM EARTH, FORCING THE CREW TO RUSH TO SHELTER IN A SPACE CAPSULE. THE EFFORTS TO REPAIR THOSE CRACKS RIGHT NOW, AND YOU'LL HEAR THE URGENT EMERGENCY ORDER FROM NASA. ALSO TONIGHT, OUR EXCLUSIVE SIT-DOWN WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP. WHY HE TELLS OUR KRISTEN WELKER THERE'S NO DEAL YET WITH IRAN. DRAMATIC VIDEO OF A MARINE VETERAN FENDING OFF A.

GROUP OF TEENS TRYING TO CARJACK HIM AT GUNPOINT. HOW HE WAS ABLE TO DISARM THEM. RUSSIAN LEADER VLADIMIR PUTIN RESPONDING TO AN OFFER. TO MEET FACE TO FACE. WITH PRESIDENT ZELENSKY, OUR KEIR SIMMONS IN ST. PETERSBURG, THE HUSBAND WHO PLOT. TO KILL HIS WIFE WITH HIS AU PAIR JUST SENTENCED. HOW MUCH TIME HE'LL SPEND BEHIND BARS. LESTER HOLT TAKES US INSIDE THE INVESTIGATION INTO LUIGI MANGIONI, TWO RETIRED DETECTIVES WHO WORKED THE CASE,

TIME. EAKING OUT T. COLLEGE STICKER SHOCK, THE LIST OF SCHOOLS THAT NOW COST MORE THAN $100,000 A YEAR. HEART STOPPING CAR RESCUE. A WOMAN SAVED JUST BEFORE HER SUV. IS FULLY SUBMERGED. AND OUR SERIES GREAT AMERICANS TONIGHT, THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR JOHN GRISHAM, HOW HE TURNED HIS LIFE AS A SMALL TOWN LAWYER. INTO LITERARY GOLD AND HOW HE'S WORKING TO MAKE THE COUNTRY HE LOVES. EVEN MORE JUST.

NIGHTLY NEWS STARTS RIGHT NOW. THIS IS NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH TOM YAMAS. AND GOOD EVENING. IT IS SO GREAT TO BE WITH YOU TONIGHT. WE BEGIN WITH THE URGENT RACE TO CONTAIN. A LEAK ABOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. AND THE SCARE THAT HAD 5 ASTRONAUTS TAKING EMERGENCY PRECAUTIONS. ON ALERT TO EVACUATE. NASA ORDERING THESE 3 AMERICAN ASTRONAUTS, YOU SEE THEM RIGHT HERE, ALONG WITH A FRENCH ASTRONAUT AND THIS RUSSIAN COSMONAUT,

TO MOVE OUT OF THE SPACETION AND INTO A SPACEX. SPACECRAFT DOCKED TO IT AS SORT OF AN ESCAPE POD. THE FEAR. THE 2 NEW LEAKS ON THE RUSSIAN SIDE OF THE SPACE STATION AND A RISKY PROCEDURE. THE RUSSIANS WERE CONSIDERING. TO USE TO SEAL ONE OF THEM, THE SPACE STATION. SOME 250 MILES ABOVE EARTH IS DIVIDED INTO TWO PARTS, ONE CONTROLLED BY THE AMERICANS AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS, THE OTHER. WITH THE RUSSIANS, AND A CATASTROPHIC ACCIDENT IN ONE HALF COULD TAKE IT ALL OUT.

OUR TOM COSTELLO PICKS IT UP FROM THERE. THE URGENT CALL FROM MISSION CONTROL THIS. MORNING ORDERED ASTRONAUTS ON THE SPACE STATION. TO BEGIN AN EMERGENCY PROCEDURE, MOVED TO THE DOCKED SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE. FOR ALL USOS CREW MEMBERS. NEED YOU TO EXECUTE. PROCEDURE EMR PROCEDURE 34 CREW DRAGON ESTABLISH SAFE HAVEN. THE ORDER CAME AS RUSSIA WORKED TO PATCH TWO NEW AIR LEAKS ON ITS SIDE OF THE STATION.

BUT FIXING THE SECOND LEAK MIGHT INVOLVE USING A SAW TO GAIN REPAIACCESS.IRST, THEN RUSSIA DECIDED TO PAUSE THE WORK TO TAKE MORE MEASUREMENTS. THE ASTRONAUTS ALLOWED TO RETURN TO THE STATION. SO WITH THAT, WE ARE COMFORTABLE BACKING OUT OF THE SAFE HAVEN CONFIG. FOR YEARS RUSSIA HAS DEALT WITH CRACKS AND LEAKS IN ITS MODULE THAT. NASA SAYS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A CONCERN THAT IT WATCHES VERY CLOSELY. TODAY THE RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY SAID THERE IS NO THREAT TO THE SAFETY OF THE CREW. FORMER ASTRONAUT STEVE ROBINSON,

WELL, THERE'S BEEN A SLOW LEAK OF AIR TO THE VACUUM OF SPACE, AND OF COURSE WHEN YOU'RE IN SPACE THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING. YOU WANT TO KEEP THE AIR ON THE INSIDE OF THE SPACE STATION. NO WORD ON WHEN RUSSIA WILL AGAIN ATTEMPT TO PATCH THE LEAK. THIS IS THE SIMULATOR VIEW FROM THE SPACE STATION. LOOKING OUT AT THE EARTH FROM THE CUPOLA. NOW THIS HAS BEEN CONTINUOUSLY CRUDE SINCE THE YEAR 2000. THE INTERIOR OF THE STATION IS PACKED WITH EQUIPMENT, PIPING, AND EXPERIMENTS. IT'S CERTAINLY CONCERNING AND IT'S SOMETHING THEY WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT, AND SO THEY'RE TRYING.

TOM JOINS US NOW. TOM, AS WE FOLLOW THIS, WE UNDERSTAND THE RUSSIANS, THEY COULD ATTEMPT THIS REPAIR IN THE FUTURE, TRIGGERING A SIMILAR REACTION FROM NASA. YES, I THINK IT'S POSSIBLE NASA COULD AGAIN TELL THE ASTRONAUTS TAKE. SHELTER WHEN AND IF RUSSIA TRIES TO MAKE THIS PATCH AGAIN. YOU KNOW, TOM, JUST LIKE TRYING TO DO HOME REPAIRS, THE WORRY IS YOU CAN MAKE IT WORSE, AND THEY DON'T WANT TO DO. THAT ON THE STATION. INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS RIGHT UP THERE IN SPACE. OK, TOM, WE THANK YOU FOR THAT. NOW TO OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP. MEET THE PRESS MODERATOR KRISTEN WELKER, SITTING DOWN WITH THE PRESIDENT IN WISCONSIN,

WHERE HE WAS HOLDING A MIDTERM CAMPAIGN EVENT. SHE PRESSED HIM TONIGHT ON WHY THERE'S STILL NO DEAL WITH IRAN. GABE GUTIERREZ HAS MORE. TONIGHT PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYING THE IRANIAN REGIME HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO MAKE. A DEAL DURING AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH MEET THE PRESS MODERATOR KRISTEN WELKER. YOU HAVE BEEN SAYING FOR MONTHS, MR. PRESIDENT, THAT IRAN IS BEGGING TO MAKE A DEAL. THEY ARE SO DESPERATE TO MAKE A DEAL. WHY HAVEN'T THEY MADE A DEAL WITH YOU YET? BECAUSE. THEY, IT'S A VERY HARD THING FOR THEM.

THEY'VE HAD GREAT INNDENCE. THEY'VE DEALT WITH VERY WEAK AND INEFFECTIVE. LEADERSHIP ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED STATES, AND. UH, OTHER COUNTRIES, FRANKLY, THAT WERE THAT ALLOWED THEM TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER. AND I DON'T, I THINK THEY CAN'T BELIEVE THEY'RE IN THE SITUATION WHERE THEY'VE BEEN. VIRTUALLY DECAPITATED. BUT IF THEY'RE SO DESPERATE, MR. PRESIDENT, WHY HAVEN'T THEY SAID YES TO THE TERMS YOU'RE PROPOSING? THEY'RE PROUD. THERE ARE THINGS THEY NEVER THOUGHT THEY'D BE DOING THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO. THEY'VE GOT NO CHOICE,

AND IT TAKES A LITTLE WHILE, YOU KNOW. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. 47 YEARS OF GETTING AWAY WITH WHATEVER THEY WANTED. I MEAN, WE SHOULD, THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE LONG AGO. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE BY OTHER PRESIDENTS OR OTHER COUNTRIES. WHEN PRESSED, PRESIDENT TRUMP ADDING THAT IRAN HAS 21 OR 22% OF ITS MISSILE CAPACITY LEFT. TODAY HE ARRIVED IN WISCONSIN BACKING REPUBLICANS HERE AHEAD OF THE MIDTERMS, TOUTING PROGRESS IN THE IRAN CONFLICT AND ON THE ECONOMY. THE JOBS NUMBERS,

THEY JUST GOT RELEASED AND THEY SMASHED ALL EXPECTATIONS BY. ACTUALLY 3 TIMES, MAKING A PUSH ON THE ECONOMY, TOUTING TODAY'S STRONGER THAN EXPECTED JOBS REPORT. THE US ADDING 172,000 JOBS, PLUS THE NATIONAL GAS PRICE AVERAGE HAS DROPPED MORE. 30 CENTS IN TWO WEEKS, BUT PRICES ARE STILL UP SINCE THE IRAN WAR BEGAN. JODI LOFTUS'S FAMILY OWNS A TRUCKING COMPANY. WHAT IMPACT HAS RISING GAS PRICES HAD ON YOUR LIFE?

A LOT. WE HAVE FAITH THAT IT'S GOING TO GET BETTER, AND WE HAVE SEEN IT GO DOWN. SHE SUPPORTS PRESIDENT TRUMP. STILL, DEMOCRATS HERE THINK THEY HAVE AN OPENING. FARMERS ARE FEELING THE SQUEEZE, IN PARTICULAR WITH THE RISE OF DIESEL PRICES, AS WELL AS THE RISE OF FERTILIZER PRICES. AS FOR THAT INTERVIEW, KRISTEN AND THE MEET THE PRESS TEAM CONDUCTED IT HERE IN. WISCONSIN INSIDE A BARN AT THE REQUEST OF THE WHITE HOUSE. THERE WERE MULTIPLE INTERRUPTIONS WHEN RAIN REPEATEDLY. WAS HITTING THE METAL ROOF OF THE BARN.

FOLLOWING THOSE CHALLENGES, AS WELL AS A BACK AND FORTH ABOUT ELECTION. INTEGRITY WHERE THE PRESIDENT DISAGREED WITH THE QUESTIONS, PRESIDENT TRUMP ENDED THE INTERVIEW. ABOUT 50 MINUTES AFTER IT BEGAN. TOM. GABE GUTIERREZ TRAVELING WITH THE PRESIDENT, AND YOU CAN SEE THOSE MOMENTS AND MUCH. MORE OF KRISTEN WELKER'S EXCLUSIVE WITH THE PRESIDENT. THIS SUNDAY ONLY ON MEET THE PRESS. AND WE HAVE DRAMATIC NEW VIDEO OUT OF MARYLAND TONIGHT. SHOWING A MARINE VETERAN FIGHTING OFF A GROUP OF TEENAGERS. AFTER ONE OF THEM POINTS A GUN RIGHT IN HIS FACE.

HE'S NOW SPEAKING OUT TO OUR RYAN NOBLES. JACOB BORDA WAS WORKING ON HIS TRUCK IN HIS QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD IN SUBURBAN MARYLAND. WHEN HE NOTICED A GROUP OF TEENAGERS WALK BY. THEY START PUTTING HOODIES ON. I WAS LIKE, I, I FEEL SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN. SURVEILLANCE VIDEO FROM THE MARINE VETERANS HOME SECURITY CAMERA. SHOWS ONE OF THE TEENS PULL A GUN AND STICK IT IN BOORDA'S FACE. I TOLD THEM I RAISED MY HANDS UP AND THE KEYS ARE IN. THE CAR IS ON. AND HE SAW MY PHONE. HE WAS LIKE, GIVE ME YOUR PHONE TOO.

BUT THEN HIS HAND AND MILITARY COMBAT TRAINING KICKED IN. IT WAS THAT SPLIT MOMENT WHEN HE MOVED HIS HAND FROM MY HEAD TO THE SIDE OF MY HEAD. THAT'S WHEN I. GRAB HIM. AND PULL IT, UH, PULL IT MY WAY. YOU CAN SEE BORDA WRESTLING THE TEAM WITH THE GUN TO THE GROUND. HIS BROTHER RUSHES IN TO HELP. LISTEN AS THE GUN FIRES DURING THE STRUGGLE. IN THE MIDST OF THE MELEE, THE TEEN'S GUN WENT OFF, BUT FORTUNATELY NO ONE WAS HURT. THE ONLY GUNSHOT ENDED UP HERE IN THE TRUCK. BOORDA'S FATHER THEN CHARGES IN RIGHT BEHIND.

TOGETHER, THE FAMILY SUBDUING THE TEENS. POLICE SAY TWO SUSPECTS ON THE SCENE WERE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY. WAS THERE ANYTHING IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND LIKE. MAYBE THESE GUYS MESSED WITH THE WRONG DUDE? NOTHING. THE, THE FIRST THING I THOUGHT WAS, HOW AM I GOING TO WORK IF THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE MY CAR. THAT'S THE FIRST THING I THOUGHT. RYAN NOBLES, NBC NEWS, OXEN HILL, MARYLAND. WE WANT TO HEAD OVERSEAS NOW BECAUSE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT. VLADIMIR PUTIN TONIGHT REJECTED AN INVITATION FROM UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT ZELENSKY.

FOR FACE TO FACE TALKS, PART OF A MAJOR ADDRESS IN ST. PETERSBURG TONIGHT, AND CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT KIR SIMMONS IS. THERE IN THE ROOM FOR US TONIGHT. TONIGHT, RUSSIA'S PRESIDENT. PUTIN. SAYING HE SEES NO SENSE IN MEETING WITH UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT ZELENSKY FACE TO FACE. AND ADDRESSING RUSSIAN SOLDIERS IN UKRAINE. PUTIN URGING THEM, KEEP WORKING, BROTHERS, TO APPLAUSE FROM A HALL OF SENIOR RUSSIAN OFFICIALS. PRESIDENT TRUMP HAD ENCOURAGED THE MEETING AND HIS REPRESENTATIVE.

HERE IN RUSSIA WAS SITTING IN THE FRONT ROW. A GOOD HELLO FROM YOUR FRIEND. PRESIDENT TRUMP. EARLIER SPEAKING TO NBC NEWS. DO YOU THINK YOU'RE MAKING PROGRESS WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR PEACE IN? ONE IS ALWAYS HOPEFUL. BUT IN A LONG OPEN LETTER, ZELENSKY TOLD PUTIN. WAR WAS PUTIN'S PERSONAL CHOICE. AND SUGGESTED. PUTIN'S EXISTENCE WAS THREATENED IF IT CONTINUED, A LETTER THE RUSSIAN LEADER.

CALLED RUDE. HOW LONG CAN RUSSIA KEEP FIGHTING? UNTIL THE GOALS OF THE SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION ARE ACCOMPLISHED, RUSSIA'S DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER TOLD US TONIGHT. DESPITE ALL THIS, PRESIDENT PUTIN'S ENVOY TELLS NBC NEWS. HE'S STILL TALKING TO THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. AND PREDICTS PROGRESS. TOM. KIR SIMMONS, GREAT TO HAVE YOU ON THE BROADCAST. WHEN WE RETURN IN 60 SECONDS, LESTER HOLT'S NEW REPORTING. IN THE. MANGIONI CASE. FOR THE FIRST TIME YOU'LL HEAR FROM THE DETECTIVES WHO WORKED THE CASE,

REVEALING THE BIG SLIP UP THAT BROKE THE CASE WIDE OPEN. THIS JUST IN, THE MAN WHO PLOTTED WITH THE FAMILY AU PAIR TO HAVE HIS WIFE MURDERED, HOW LONG HE'S GOING TO PRISON, AND OUR SERIES GREAT AMERICANS HOW JOHN GRISHAM. WENT FROM ONE NOVEL THAT FLOPPED. TO MORE THAN 50 BESTSELLERS. WELCOME BACK. TWO FORMER NYPD DETECTIVES ARE SPEAKING OUT FOR THE. FIRST TIME ABOUT HOW THEY TRACKED AND CAPTURED LUIGI MANGIONI.

AFTER HE ALLEGEDLY KILLED THAT UNITED HEALTHCARE CEO IN B DAYLIGHT. IN MIDTOWN MANHATTAN. LESTER HOLT SPOKE WITH THEM EXCLUSIVELY. FOR A DATELINE NBC SPECIAL. WHEN UNITED HEALTHCARE CEO BRIAN THOMPSON WAS MURDERED ON. A STREET IN MIDTOWN MANHATTAN IN DECEMBER 2024, DETECTIVE SERGEANT JOHN GRIFFIN OF THE NYPD'S MAJOR CASE SQUAD. HELPED COORDINATE THE HUNT FOR THE KILLER. WAS YOUR INITIAL HUNCH. TARGETED? YEAH. 100%.

NOW RETIRED, THIS IS HIS FIRST INTERVIEW ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION. HE SAYS HUNDREDS OF TIPS FLOODED IN, MANY ABOUT HEALTH INSURANCE DISPUTES. THESE PEOPLE WERE FINGERING SOMEONE WHO THEY THOUGHT HAD. A BIG ENOUGH OF A GRUDGE TO COMMIT VIOLENCE. WHEN THEY WERE LEGITIMATE TIPS, YOU HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT PERSON WASN'T HERE. IN NEW YORK WHEN THIS HAPPENED TO TRACK THE SHOOTER, INVESTIGATORS TAPPED A RESOURCE ALL OVER THE CITY, SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS. SO THAT'S THAT'S CONTROLLED BY THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE, CORRECT?

SOSOMETHING HAPPENS HERE. THE CASE DETECTIVES GONNA LOOK AT THAT CAMERA FROM HIS DESK. AND FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU WENT. DETECTIVE JOE MITSOPOULOS, ALSO NOW RETIRED, WAS ON THE MAJOR CASE SQUAD THEN TOO. I REMEMBER US REVIEWING. TONS OF THE CAMERAS THAT ARE ALWAYS ON THE CORNERS LIKE THAT, AND THEN IT LED TO ANOTHER BLOCK AND THEN LED TO ANOTHER BLOCK, AND INVESTIGATORS DID SOMETHING THAT SOUNDS COUNTERINTUITIVE. SOMETIMES THE BEST THING TO DO IS GO BACKWARDS. SOMEBODY COMMITS A CRIME. AND THEY JUST WANNA GET OUT OF THERE. SOMETIMES THE.

12 HOURS BEFORE THAT THEY MAY NOT BE THINKING ABOUT THE CRIME. THERE'S GONNA BE LITTLE SLIP UPS, BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU COUNT ON IS THE SLIP UP. EXACTLY. THE SLIP UP HAPPENED AT A HOSTEL ON MANHATTAN'S UPPER WEST SIDE. A CAMERA CAPTURED AN IMAGE OF THE SUSPECT. HIS MASK LOWERED, EXPOSING HIS FACE, THAT WAS THE ONE WHERE HE WAS SMILING. THAT'S WHEN WE WERE LIKE, OH, WE HAVE SOMETHING HERE TO RUN WITH. 911, WHAT IS THE ADDRESS OF YOUR EMERGENCY? FIVE DAYS LATER, IT'S NOT REALLY AN EMERGENCY. I HAVE A CUSTOMER HERE THAT SOME OTHER CUSTOMERS.

WERE SUSPICIOUS OF THAT HE LO LIKE THE CEO SHOOTER. FROM NEW YORK. LUIGI MANGGIONI WAS ARRESTED AND CHARGED WITH MURDER. HE HAS PLEADED NOT GUILTY AND IS SET TO GO ON TRIAL IN SEPTEMBER. LESTER HOLT, NBC NEWS, NEW YORK. AND MAKE SURE TO WATCH MUCH MORE OF LESTER'S NEW INTERVIEWS. ABOUT THE LUIGI MANGIONI CASE TONIGHT ON AN ALL NEW DATELINE. AT 10:00 9 O'CLOCK CENTRAL. WE'RE BACK IN A MOMENT WITH THE DEPUTIES WHO SPRANG INTO ACTION. LOOK AT THIS, TO SAVE A WOMAN.

FROM HER SINKING CAR. THAT'S NEXT. BACK NOW WITH THE PRISON SENTENCE FOR A FORMER IRS. AGENT WHO PLOTTED WITH HIS AU PAIR TO KILL HIS WIFE. AND ANOTHER MAN. BRANDON BANFIELD WAS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON. HE WAS PREVIOUSLY CONVICTED FOR. THE PLOT TO KILL HIS WIFE AND A STRANGER. THE AU PAIR, YOU'LL REMEMBER, PLEADED GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER AND WAS SENTENCED. TO A DECADE BEHIND BARS. THIS ALSO TONIGHT, THE COST OF COLLEGE. IS HITTING A NEW MILESTONE,

SOARING ABOVE $100,0. NEW YORK MAGAZINE WAS FIRST TO REPORT BIG NAMES LIKE NYU, DUKE, AND GEORGETOWN, AND A DOZEN MORE WILL CROSS THAT MARK. THAT $100,000 PRICE TAG IS THE ESTIMATED ALL-IN COST, SO THAT INCLUDES TUITION, ROOM AND BOARD, AND OTHER ADDED EXPENSES LIKE BOOKS. AND TALK ABOUT BRAVERY. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS, THE DRAMATIC RESCUE BODY CAM VIDEO. SHOWING SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES IN BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA. RUSHING TO SAVE THAT WOMAN FROM HER. VEHICLE AS IT STARTED SINKING IN A CANAL.

DEPUTIES THROWING THAT FLOTATION DEVICE OUT TO THE DRIVER, PULLING HER TOWARDS THEM. AND CARRYING HER FROM OUT OF THE WATER. THE DEPARTMENT SAYS THE CAR DISAPPEARED IN JUST SECONDS. PRETTY INCREDIBLE. WHEN WE COME BACK TONIGHT, OUR SERIES GREAT AMERICANS, AND JOHN GRISHAM IS UP TONIGHT. HE OPENS UP ABOUT HIS BLOCKBUSTER BOOKS THAT. CAME ALIVE ON THE BIG SCREEN. AND WHY HE'S A FAR BETTER WRITER THAN LAWYER. THAT'S NEXT.

FINALLY TONIGHT, OUR WEEKLY SERIES ABOUT GREAT AMERICANS WHERE. WE TALK WITH THOSE WHO'VE ACHIEVED SO MUCH. AND HELPED SO MANY ABOUT THEIR LIFE. AND THIS COUNTRY. TONIGHT I SPOKE WITH A MASTER STORYTELLER, THE KING OF THE LEGAL THRILLER WHOSE. BOOKS HAVE BEEN TURNED INTO MAJOR BLOCKBUSTERS, AND NOW. HIS MISSION TO MAKE THE COUNTRY EVEN MORE JUST. OUR GREAT AMERICAN THIS WEEK, JOHN GRISHAM, WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT AMERICA?

I LOVE THE UH HISTORY. I LOVE THE. DIFFERENT CULTURES IT'S JUST SUCH A DIVERSE. COUNTRY. FOR JOHN GRISHAM, THE MOST COMPELLING SLICE OF AMERICA IS FOUND IN THE SOUTH. WRITERS WRITE ABOUT WHAT THEY KNOW, AND. THAT'S WHERE I COME FROM. WHEN YOU HAVE A PLACE WITH SUCH A TORTURED HISTORY AND A LONG. PERIOD OF CONFLICT AND SUFFERING. YOU HAVE GREAT STORIES. WRITERS ARE THIEVES. WE STEAL STORIES. WE STEAL EVERYTHING. WE STEAL NAMES. WE STEAL SCENES. WE STEAL.

DIALOGUE. GRISHAM HAS TURNED THOSE STOLEN MOMENTS. INTO A MASSIVE GLOBAL EMPIRE OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION. ADVISED MY CLIENT TO TAKE THE 5TH, THE UNDISPUTED KING OF THE LEGAL THRILLER. WE SACRIFICED THE LIBERTY THE FRAMERS THOUGHT THEY GUARANTEED US, SPANNING SEVERAL STAR-STUDDED BLOCKBUSTER FILMS. AND 52 NUMBER ONE BESTSELLERS. 52. WHEN DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT, I MEAN, DOES IT HIT YOU, OR IS IT JUST, IT'S WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO? BOTH. WHEN I STARTED 40 YEARS AGO,

I WAS A LAWYER IN A SMALL TOWN IN MISSISSIPPI. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS DOING. I GOT LUCKY TO GET IT PUBLISHED IN '89. IT WAS A TOTAL FLOP. TIME TO KILL. WE COULDN'T GIVE THEM AWAY. BACK THEN. WHEN THE FIRM CAME OUT 35 YEARS AGO, IT WAS A BIG BOOK IMMEDIATELY AND CHANGED EVERYTHING. THE SON OF AN ARKANSAS COTTON FARMER, GRISHAM GREW UP IN A FAMILY OF FIVE CHILDREN, EVENTUALLY WORKING HIS WAY THROUGH LAW SCHOOL, BECOMING AN ATTORNEY, AND EVEN SERVING IN THE MISSISSIPPI STATE LEGISLATURE DURING THE 1980S.

WERE YOUOOD LAWYER? UH, I DON'T KNOW. MOST OF MY CLIENTS WENT TO PRISON. I. DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT. MOST OF THEM WERE GUILTY. UH, YOU KNOW, I WAS A GOOD LAWYER FOR THE 1ST 5 YEARS, AND THEN I GOT THE BUG TO WRITE, BUT IT WAS HIS TIME AS A CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY. THAT PROVIDED THE ULTIMATE RAW MATERIAL. AND FOR GRISHAM, NO STORY WAS MORE PERSONAL THAN HIS VERY FIRST PROTAGONIST. IS THERE A CHARACTER YOU STARTED WRITING? THAT YOU JUST LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM.

JAKE BERGANZ FROM A TIME TO KILL. YOUR HONOR, I BELIEVE DEPUTY LOONEY. HAS EARNED. THE RIGHT TO SPEAK HERE TODAY. THAT WAS VERY AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL. I WAS LIVING THAT LIFE, SMALL TOWN LAWYER, UH, STRUGGLING. WITH A. PRETTY YOUNG WIFE HAVING BABIES AND WONDERING ABOUT THE FUTURE IN MISSISSIPPI AND. WANTING THINGS TO CHANGE DOWN THERE AFTER SO MANY YEARS OF. OF INJUSTICE, IT NEVER HAPPENED IN REAL LIFE. I HAD TO CREATE IT IN FICTION. THAT REAL WORLD INJUSTICE EVENTUALLY PULLING GRISHAM OUT OF THE REALM OF FICTION,

LEADING TO HIS WORK WITH THE INNOCENCE PROJECT FIGHTING. TO FREE THE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED. THERE ARE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE IN PRISON, AND MOST FOLKS DON'T BELIEVE THAT. ONCE I STARTED MEETING THEM. AND RESEARCHING, IT STILL. KEEPS ME AWAKE NOW. WRITING ABOUT THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM, WHAT HAS IT TAUGHT YOU? IT'S TAUGHT ME THAT. FOR THE MOST PART, OUR LEGAL SYSTEM WORKS. BUT THERE ARE SO MANY PROBLEMS THAT COULD BE FIXED,

AND I'M VERY FRUSTRATED BY THE FACT THAT WE CAN'T FIX THESE PROBLEMS. AN AMERICAN LITERARY ICON STILL CAPTURING THE SOUL OF A COMPLICATED NATION. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS STILL REAL, YOU KNOW, ALMOST ALL OF US BELIEVE THAT. WHERE YOU WERE BORN AND WHAT YOU'RE GIVEN, YOU CAN ALWAYS IMPROVE. AND A LUCKY BREAK HERE OR THERE, SOME. HARD WORK, YOU CAN GET AHEAD, YOU CAN STILL MAKE. THE DREAM COME TRUE. JOHN GRISHAM, THIS WEEK'S GREAT AMERICAN. AND THAT'S NIGHTLY NEWS FOR THIS FRIDAY.

I'M TOM YAMASS. WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING. TONIGHT, AND ALWAYS, WE'RE HERE FOR YOU. GOOD NIGHT.