NBC Nightly News Full Episode - May 16

Breaking news as we come on the air. tonight. Reports of tornadoes and. intense severe storms. And in New. Orleans, the manhunt for 10 escaped. inmates. In Louisiana, the inmates had. made it out of jail overnight through a. giant hole. Their escape not detected. until hours later this morning. New. surveillance video showing them running. out of the facility and then running. across an interstate in the dark. Police. capturing one of the men in the heart of. the French Quarter. Why the sheriff says. there are indications they had help from.

the inside. Plus, severe storm damage in. St. Louis. The damage reports coming in. A man being rescued from the rubble. That's on top of 11 tornadoes reported. just a day before that toppled silos as. ranchers herded cattle to safety. Intense hail making driving dangerous. and piling up delays on travel boards at. major airports. The cross-examination of. Cassie Ventura. The defense trying to. raise issues with her romantic life with. Shawn Diddy Combmes and the twists and.

turns of their relationship over the. years. Diddy passing notes to his. defense attorney during another intense. day in court. Off the rails, the transit. strike stranding tens of thousands of. commuters in one of the busiest travel. corridors in America. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester. Hol. Good evening and welcome. Breaking. news tonight. The New Orleans manhunt. after nearly a dozen prisoners escape a. jail near the city's French Quarter. Officials say the breakout took place.

overnight, though it took over two hours. before the public was made aware. Their. absence discovered during a headcount. this morning. The sheriff saying the. prisoners received assistance in their. escape from individuals inside our. department. The early investigation. revealing they may have also taken. advantage of low staffing, inoperable. surveillance cameras, and defective. locks. And new surveillance video shows. the men escaping from the facility. Five. of the men were being held on murder. charges, one convicted. Officials.

tonight retracing their escape route. Let's get right to Pria Schrader now. with the breaking news in the case. Good evening, Lester. Just moments ago, the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. telling us that they captured another. one of those 10 inmates, which means. that now eight of them are still on the. run. Tonight, an urgent manhunt ramping. up for inmates considered by authorities. as armed and dangerous. Still on the. run, escaping from a jail two miles from. New Orleans popular French Quarter. Five.

charged, one convicted of murder, most. awaiting trial on serious felony counts. There is no way people can get out of. this facility without there being some. type of lapse in security. The sheriff. revealing that Orleans Parish Justice. Center was placed on a lockdown at 10:30. p.m. 10 inmates were able to exit their. cells because of defective locks. breaking through a door at 12:23 a.m. They then exited the jail at 10:01 a.m. through a hole in the wall behind a.

toilet seen in these photos. One photo. showing writing that appears to say too. easy. Authorities saying the inmates. used toiletries to remove some of the. bolts. New surveillance video released. by the sheriff late today of several. inmates trying to break open a door. You. can see here the inmates escaping the. facility through a dock door and running. across the interstate. This morning. after investigators became involved. They subsequently found clothing that. they shed in that neighborhood. 7 and a.

half hours later, sheriff's deputies. discovered the inmates missing at a. routine morning headcount. According to. the sheriff tonight, the sheriff saying. short staffing in the jail and. inoperable security cameras contributed. to their escape. We have indication that. these detainees received assistance in. their escape from individuals inside of. our department. The first inmate. captured Kendall Miles was found earlier. today. The sheriff's office saying. deputies found him hiding beneath a car. in a hotel parking garage in the French.

Quarter. Now the sheriff's department. facing scrutiny about how this could. have happened. There were supervisors on. duty. There were lower level folks on. duty. And they all had a job to do. The. state attorney general calling for a. full investigation, writing on X, quote, "Someone clearly dropped the ball and. there's no excuse for this." Authorities. also scouring the public for any. information and also offering this. warning. If there is anyone who is. harboring or helping these.

escapees, you will be. charged. Three authorities just released. new video of the escape. What is it. show? The sheriff saying late tonight that. three of their employees have been. placed on administrative leave. Authorities are also offering up to a. $5,000 reward for any information that. will lead to the inmates capture. The. police chief also said earlier today. that she's offering protection for any. of the victims of these men's alleged. crimes and also any witnesses who may. have been preparing to testify in their.

upcoming trials. Lester Pretty sure. there tonight. Thank you. And there's. breaking news out of Missouri tonight. where reports of severe damage are. starting to come in after a tornado. touched down inside the city of St. Louis. Maggie Vespa now with late. details for us. Hey man, it's a tornado. man. We're in the tornado. Oh, tonight, a new round of explosive. storms with Missouri in the bullseye.

Hail pummeling the area around St. Louis. And late today, at least one. suspected tornado tearing through the. heart of the city, wrecking homes, damaging a church, and downing trees. Firefighters saving a man from the. basement of this collapsed building to. cheers from his family. Well, he was up. under two stories of house, so we didn't. really like know if he was going to be. okay. And we were just really just. worried about. him. And we're just relieved to know.

that he's alive. Staff huddling in the. basement of city hall. Elsewhere, the. twister leaving utter devastation. Everything start falling. The roof just. fell in. The lights, the ceiling, all. that stuff just fell down. This tap room. in St. Louis torn to pieces. People. inside telling our St. Louis affiliate, KSDK, they barely escaped with their. lives. This man says someone at the last. minute told him to move out of harm's. way. If he wouldn't have told us to.

move, we would still been sitting there. We'd have been probably dead. Meanwhile, this apparent tornado crossing a highway. in Kentucky and flash flooding sweeping. across the Northeast with wild weather. wreaking havoc at airports across the. country, temporarily delaying or. grounding flights in New York, DC, even. Minneapolis. All of it adding to a. chaotic week. Overnight in Michigan, sparks flying along power lines as. violent storms knocked out power for. hundreds of thousands. Oh my god.

Yesterday's tornado outbreak spawning at. least 11 reported twisters across the. Midwest. Homes and buildings today left. torn to shreds. It's just a mess. I. don't know what I'm going to do. At this. farm near Milwaukee. Here we go. Here we. go. Got one. We got one. Dozens helping. to move this herd of cows away from the. damage as cleanup gets underway and more. storms fire up tonight. And Maggie, as. we say, things are developing as we're. on the air here. We're getting word of. injuries in St. Louis Lester, injuries.

and deaths. St. Louis's mayor just. confirming four people have died. Also, a hospital spokesperson telling us 10. children have been admitted. One is in. critical condition. Lester Maggie. Vasper, thank you. Let's get to Bill. Karen's already a very volatile night of. weather. This could get worse. Lester, we've already had tornado warnings in. seven different states, including. metropolitan areas of Baltimore, and of. course, we saw what just happened in St. Louis. This threat will continue through. the afternoon, well into this evening, and even after midnight. The area of.

greatest concern is going to be here. heading through Kentucky, Indiana, and. eventually even northern Tennessee. This. hatched area is where we could see. additional strong tornadoes, and we're. especially watching these storms that. just exited Paduca heading towards. Bowling Green. As far as tomorrow goes, isolated severe storms, a break for the. areas getting hit today. But watch out. in Dallas Fort Worth. We could have. strong storms, maybe isolated tornadoes. later on tomorrow afternoon. And then on. Sunday, we do it all again. Things ramp. right back up and we're going to have. another severe weather outbreak with. tornadoes likely in the plains as we.

head towards Sunday and Monday. All. right, Bill Carage, thank you. New. Jersey is home to the third largest. public transit system in the country, but a strike today has driven all of its. trains, including uh in New York City to. a screeching halt. Emily Aeta has. details. with hundreds of train engineers off the. job and now on the picket line. What do. I want? Tonight, commuter chaos in the. country's most populated region. So, how. much longer is your commute now? Like 40.

minutes. Tens of thousands who rely. daily on New Jersey Transit trains left. scrambling today as the sprawling train. system that stretches into Philadelphia. across the Garden State and New York. City came to a standstill. Train. scheduling boards today blank. Parking. lots outside of stations completely. empty and platforms eerily quiet. Now my. husband is going to be skipping work to. come pick me up, drive me home. The. strike is the first of its kind in New. Jersey in more than four decades and the.

culmination of a year'slong battle over. wages. The union contends their. engineers haven't received a pay bump in. more than 5 years and make at least $10. less per hour than their counterparts at. other train services. We'd rather be. running trains. We'd rather be working. to be perfectly honest with you. The. governor alongside New Jersey Transit. CEO says they support wage increases. that won't blow up the AY's budget, calling on the union to negotiate in. good faith. It is frankly a mess of.

their own making. And it is a slap in. the face of every commuter and worker. who relies on NJ Transit. But between. the fingerpointing, commuters are caught. in the chaos as travel throughout the. already congested New York City area is. derailed. The union tells me. negotiations are expected to resume on. Sunday. If an agreement is not reached, you can expect those commuter wos to. worsen since more people tend to work. from home on Fridays. Lester. Okay, Emily, thank you. Lawyers for Shaun. Diddy Combmes questioned Cassie Ventura.

again today, trying to paint the music. mogul's ex-girlfriend as a willing. participant in their often toxic. relationship. Khloe Bolos reports from. the courthouse. In her final day on the stand, Cassie. Ventura spoke again about the day Colmes. brutally beat her in a hotel hallway in. 2016. Ventura, who is potentially days. away from giving birth, testifying that. Comolmes was blackout at the time of the. assault from drugs and alcohol. At one. point reading a text she sent him after.

the violent attack. I am not a ragd. doll. I am someone's child. Following 20. hours of testimony this week, her. attorney, Douglas Wigdor, speaking. outside the courthouse, reading a. statement from Ventura. I hope that my. testimony has given strength and a voice. to other survivors and can help others. who have suffered to speak up and also. heal from abuse and fear. Today's. cross-examination focusing heavily on. Ventur's allegation that Cols raped her. in 2018 after they had ended their.

relationship, which he denies. The. defense showing text messages between. the former couple the day after the. alleged rape, including one in which. Ventur sent a heart emoji to Combmes. Combmes's team also trying to poke holes. in Ventur's timeline. That is not the. gotcha moment that defense attorneys. think it is. I mean, at the end of the. day, witnesses are not great on specific. dates, particularly when they go back. years ago. The defense also pointing to. a text exchange between Ventura and. Colmes from 2012 in which she wrote, "I.

don't want to freak off for the last. time. I want it to be the first time for. the rest of our lives." At times today, the defense appeared to struggle to. maintain momentum, facing frequent. objections by prosecutors and regularly. stopping Ventur's questioning to whisper. together. Commes appeared to be actively. involved, passing his lawyers notes. In. a striking exchange with Col's lawyers, Ventur saying, despite it all, I don't. hate him. I have love for the past and. what it was. We also saw musician Don.

Rashard take the stand. She says that. she saw Combmes be violent with Ventura. Combmes denies all of the allegations. against him. Lester Chloe Milos, thank. you. Former FBI director James Comey. facing an investigation tonight after he. posted a now deleted photo that Trump. allies say calls for the president's. assassination. Gabe Gutierrez is at the. White House. And Gabe, the Secret. Service is now involved. Yes, Lester. A. law enforcement official confirms James. Comey will be interviewed by the Secret. Service in person tonight. The agency.

says it takes rhetoric like this very. seriously. While President Trump said. today the former FBI director was. calling for his assassination and knew. it. This is the image Comey shared on. social media. What he described as a. shell formation on a beach that formed. the numbers. 8647. Trump allies saying 86 meant not. just getting rid of but assassinating. the 47th president. Comey, of course, was fired during Trump's first term and. became an outspoken Trump critic. Comey.

explains he thought it was a political. message, not a violent one, adding. quote, "I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down." Lester. Okay, Gabe, thank you. The death toll is. rising after Israel launched a new. series of strikes in Gaza. It comes as. President Trump is on the way home from. his Middle East trip and says many. civilians in Gaza are starving. Here's. Matt Bradley. Tonight, a new wave of Israeli strikes. in Gaza. Israel's military says it struck over.

150 terror targets. An effort it says to. defeat Hamas and pressure the group to. release more. hostages. But for Gazins, it's one of. the bloodiest days in months. The Hamas. run health ministry says the air strikes. killed at least 250 people in 36. hours. About half of them children with. thousands displaced. All of it as. President Trump wraps up his M East. trip, receiving lavish welcomes in three. countries aimed at strengthening ties. with the Arab world. We have to help.

also out the Palestinians. You know, a. lot of people are starving on Gaza, so. we have to look at both sides. Israel. has blockaded all outside aid for the. past 10 weeks. Aid agencies warned the. population is on the verge of famine. In. addition to the relentless toll of. Israel's offensive, this was once a. family home in southern Gaza. Wednesday. night, an Israeli air strike destroyed. it, killing 10 members of the Zenati. family, including the entire family of. Ree's uncle. My cousin's name is Mina.

She said she was one year younger than. me. And just yesterday, she was with me. And tonight, we've learned the Trump. administration is working on a plan to. potentially relocate up to a million. Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to. Libya. Five people with knowledge of the. effort have told NBC News. But the. details are still murky and no agreement. has been reached yet. Lester. All right, Matt Bradley, thanks. We'll be back in. 60 seconds. A massive multi-vehicle fire. that temporarily shut down the airport. in Jacksonville. Plus, a pregnant mother.

on life support and required to have her. baby. Her family's emotional appeal over. a controversial law coming. up. Back now to a case in Georgia. A. mother there is saying her brain deadad. daughter is being kept alive because. she's pregnant, raising new questions. about the state's strict abortion law. Laura Jared reports. It started with headaches. April Newkerk. says her 30-year-old daughter, Adriana. Smith, was pregnant with her second.

child when something started to go. terribly wrong. They did a CT scan and. she had blood clots all in her head. Speaking to NBC affiliate WXIA, Newkerk. says soon after that, Adriana was. declared brain dead by Emory Doctors. That was back in February, but she's. still in the hospital, Newkerk says, on. life support. The doctors haven't. withdrawn because that would mean the. unborn fetus Adriana still carries would. also die. A potential violation of.

Georgia's strict abortion law. It's. torture for me. I come here and I see my. daughter breathing on a ventilator. She's not there. The law bans most. abortions after roughly six weeks of. pregnancy with narrow exceptions. Emory. says it doesn't comment on patient. cases, but the hospital uses quote. individualized treatment recommendations. in compliance with Georgia's abortion. laws. It's all raising fresh questions. about the reach of the law. Republican.

state senator Marty Harbin says he still. supports it. We have already determined. that she does not have life, but yet the. baby does have life. The current plan, Newkerk says, is to keep Adriana alive. until doctors can deliver the baby. safely via C-section. For now, her. mother waits. I'm not saying that we. would have chose to terminate her. pregnancy. What I'm saying is we should. have had a choice. Laura Jarrett, NBC.

News. We'll take a short break. When. we're back in a moment, the home that. became historic overnight. The Pope's. childhood house now up for sale. Why it. may take a lot to win the. auction. We're back now with a huge fire. that temporarily shut down Jacksonville. International Airport. The airport. reopened this evening after this. multi-vehicle fire in the parking garage. closed the airport entirely and grounded. flights for a few hours. Fire officials. say the blaze spread to about 50 other.

vehicles. They say the situation there. is now under control. And it's been a. week since Pope Leo was elected. And now. his childhood home is up for auction. The Pope's former home in the Chicago. area was listed for less than. $250,000 before it was taken off the. market when he was elected. According to. its listing, the three-bedroom, three-b. home is being advertised as a piece of. papal history. And that's nightly news. for this Friday. Make sure to watch a. newsy meet the press with Scott Bessent.

and Mike Pence. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Hull. Please take care of. yourself and each other. Good. night. Thanks for watching. Stay updated. about breaking news and top stories on. the NBC News app or follow us on social. media.