NBC Nightly News Full Episode - Nov. 11

Tonight, the powerful winter blast, snow, ice and freezing temperatures sending early winter shockwaves through much of the country. Heavy snow pounding parts of the East Coast, cars and trucks spinning out, hundreds of crashes reported. This semi-truck left in pieces after being hit by a train. And the brutal cold freezing out the South, beach goers bundling in Florida and frozen iguanas falling from

trees more drastic cuts at the nation's airports more than 1000 flights canceled again today and the warning it could get much worse if the government doesn't reopen those cuts impacting the race back to Washington for members of Congress with a key vote to end the shutdown set for tomorrow. One House member even riding his motorcycle all the way from Wisconsin. But the question tonight, do Republicans

have the votes to reopen the government? Show of force, the Pentagon's largest aircraft carrier arrives in the Latin American region. Richard Engel on the ground in Columbia with the fishermen now more worried about taking their boats into the water. Dozens of tourists rescued after their catamaran sunk off the coast of the Dominican Republic life preservers to save passengers

stranded at sea. The president's controversial proposal could a 50 year mortgage help more Americans

afford homes. We crunch the numbers massive bridge controversial proposal. Could a 50-year mortgage help more Americans afford

homes? We crunched the numbers. Massive bridge collapse, a landslide, sending rocks hurtling down, crushing a bridge just months after it opened. The terrifying moments a tram hurls past stops because of a dozing conductor. And on this Veterans Day, the World War 2 vet reminding us all of the power of service for both country and community. Nightly news starts right now.

This is NBC nightly news with Tom young us.

And good evening winter still weeks away, but for millions of Americans it felt like it came barreling in today. A massive system pushing its way east, bringing dangerous ice, powerful winds, and the first snow of the season for so many. Several inches pouring down. Look at this in places like Massachusetts, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Cars and trucks skidding off the road. Hundreds of crashes reported in the last 36 hours. This semi truck in Indiana, look at this, left in pieces and caked in snow after it was hit by a train. And even in the South,

beach goers had to bundle up the temperature so cold, it paralyzed some of Florida's iguanas, causing them to fall out of trees. And it wasn't just the cold, dangerous wind grounded flights today

at busy airports already facing staffing crunches and cancellations because of the shutdown. Emily Akeda is tracking it all tonight and she starts us off

an early blast of winter barreling east today, dumping up to two inches of snow an hour near Lake Erie and making for dangerous roadway conditions. Car after car skidded off an interstate in Vermont, while state troopers in Indiana reported hundreds of calls for assistance from stranded drivers on Monday alone. A stuck semi truck was left in pieces

after it was hit by a train. Residents in parts of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York now digging out from eight plus inches of snow paired with powerful wind gusts. The early season wintry weather Pennsylvania and New York now digging out from 8 plus inches of snow paired with powerful wing us the early season wintry weather mixing with fall foliage across the region. New York City saw its first flakes of the season and the cold

even extending into the south. These flurries in Myrtle Beach are the earliest on record. And here's an unusual site. Beach goers bundling up

in the sunshine

state. It's real cold.

That's why I have my blanket.

It hasn't been this cold this early across Southwest Florida in nearly 60 years where temperatures dropped from the 80s on Sunday into the 30s.

Today he's just kind of like frozen in

time. A sign of weather whiplash, cold stunned iguanas falling from trees. They'll revive once the weather warms up. You actually saw the

iguana fall out of the tree. Yeah, it almost looked like a broken branch and

I saw something falling and then I heard this like some as much of the U. S.

Gets its first taste of winter. All right, we hope those iguanas wake back up. Emily Akena joins us now from New York. And those wind gusts tonight, making it feel even worse out there, Emily?

Tom, that's right, wind gusts top 40 miles an hour in parts of New York, Philadelphia, near D.C., further exacerbating flight delays in several airports. But this cold snap will be short-lived. It's expected to approach 60 degrees this weekend here in New York, Tom. All right. We look forward to that.

Emily, thank you. Wind isn't the only thing causing problems at the airports. The FAA cut 6% of flights today because of the government shutdown in all. More than 1200 flights were canceled across the country. Here's Tom Costello. Tonight, a warning from the Trump administration. Airline cancellations could jump this weekend and Thanksgiving travel could be at risk

if the House doesn't agree to reopen the government

this week.

You may find airlines that stop flying.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says aviation risk levels have risen during the shutdown.

We have seen incursions on runways, we've seen loss of separation in the airspace. And we've seen heightened complaints by pilots of the communication they're having with air traffic controllers.

The FAA ordered airlines to cancel 6% of flights today, more than 1,200 flights, though ATC staffing levels have improved. The 40 busiest airports, the most affected, from New York to Chicago, Atlanta to San Francisco. I am going on our 11 in San Juan Airport

in Puerto Rico. I will never travel again. If I travel again, it'll be I

will drive because I don't trust any airports. The airlines expect to carry 31 million people over Thanksgiving. But tonight their warning airlines reduced flight schedules cannot immediately bounce back to full capacity right after the government reopens. The president threatened to dock the pay for controllers who have not come to work

writing. You didn't step up to help the USA as fear of another shutdown next

year looms. They're going to make different choices of how can I do this career, how long can I last.

And that stress and pressure isn't going to be relieved.

All right with that, Tom joins us now live from Reagan National Airport. Tom, we just heard it there in your story, when the government reopens, when it comes to flying in this country, it's not going to be like they're just going to flip a switch. Not at all. The airlines are saying it will take a couple of days to resume normal operations once they get the green light from the FAA. By the way air traffic controllers will get 70 percent of their back pay within 48 hours. The rest of it within a week or so. Tom. All right. Tom Costello for us. Tom we thank you to the final push now to reopen the government. A deal has been reached to end the shutdown, but there's one last hurdle. Ryan Nobles joins us now live. And Ryan, it has to be approved by the House.

That's exactly right, Tom. The bill to reopen the government has already passed the Senate, and now Republicans are working to ensure they have the votes to get it through the House. And ironically, it is the shutdown that is complicating efforts to end it. One Republican, Derek Van Orden, is riding his motorcycle from Wisconsin 16 hours to get back here to Washington to avoid shutdown related airport delays. Now Democrats are encouraging their members to vote against this bill, but Republicans are confident that it will pass tomorrow night and that President Trump will sign it into law.

Tom?

It's going to be a chilly ride, but it is worth the drive. All right, Ryan, thank you for that. To Latin America now, where America's largest aircraft carrier has just arrived. Part of President Trump's show of force to deter cartels from smuggling drugs into the U.S. Richard Engel is in Columbia tonight for us.

The Pentagon today announced the USS Gerald Ford arrived in the Latin American region, part of President Trump's war on drug cartels. The Ford is the biggest aircraft carrier in the American fleet and has accompanying warships, far more firepower than needed to sink a few alleged drug smuggling boats. The target could be Venezuela. President Trump calls its authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro, a narco-terrorist.

Neighboring Colombia is also on edge.

Colombia is a drug den. It's a drug den, and it has been for a long time.

I met the chief of Colombia's elite counter-narcotics

division. He was emphatic. His troops fight drug smugglers. What do you think when people in the United States, critics say that Colombia, your forces aren't doing anything? Every day we continue to carry out intelligence, land and air operations to combat this scourge of drug trafficking, he said. The U.S. military strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs heading for the United States

is having a chilling effect on fishermen here in Columbia. Normally these boats go far out to sea to find their catch but now fishermen tell us they're too afraid worried that if they

go far from the shore. They could be hit by us strong. These fishermen only brought in a meager haul after six hours at sea. Richard Engel, NBC News, Santa Marta, Colombia.

OK, we want to head down to the Dominican Republic, where a tourist excursion on the water took a shocking turn. The tourist catamaran sinking and sparking an emergency rescue operation. George Solis tonight with the video.

Dramatic video capturing the tense moments passengers were left floating in the Caribbean Sea after their catamaran sank. The stranded tourists can be heard shouting, one person appearing to hold a cell phone in the choppy water. And this is the moment rescuers tossed in life preservers

attempting to save the passengers. The life preserver, the life preserver is heard as someone is pulled out of the water. This photo capturing people floating before they were rescued. Authorities say tourists from a German cruise line went on a catamaran contracted by the cruise company. The excursion just off the coast of the Dominican Republic, took an unexpected turn on Sunday.

The vessel, named Boca de Yuma, collided with an unknown object in the ocean and began taking on water, according to officials. Part of the 40-foot vessel seen here, before mostly disappearing into Samana Bay, a tourist hotspot. In a statement to NBC News, the cruise company saying in part, the rescue of the guests was the top priority and that they'll work with the authorities during the investigation.

Everyone on board, around 50 people, including the captain and crew, was saved according to officials. Tonight, the search for answers into this high sea rescue continues.

George Solis, NBC News. And tonight, families of counselors and campers who were killed in that catastrophic flooding on the 4th of July have filed lawsuits against Camp Mystic. They allege the camp didn't do enough to protect their girls. Here's Laura Jarrett.

They've become known as Heaven's 27, the young campers and counselors who died at Camp Mystic as floodwaters ravaged central Texas last summer. Now, more than a dozen of those victims' families have sued, including the parents of nine-year-old Ellen Gedden.

I want her to be remembered as sweet and kind and joyful.

The Geddens and others alleging the camp and its longtime owners prioritize profits over safety, refusing to relocate cabins in dangerous, flood-prone areas.

If someone had said, this camp is located somewhere that is known as Flash Flood Alley,

I would never have sent my kid there.

The family's laying out a disturbing timeline beginning at 1.14 a.m. on July 4th, when the National Weather Service issued a life-threatening flash flooding warning. Yet instead of evacuating, the camp's director, Dick Eastland and others, squandered critical time according to court filings, spending over an hour working to keep camp equipment dry and securing canoes.

That's atrocious.

You move the curls first.

This picture from 3.26 a.m AM showing some campers fleeing to a nearby wreck house but the lawsuits say other counselors and campers were told to stay in their cabins even as the floodwaters rose Eastland later killed in the flood as he

tried to drive campers to safety. An attorney for the camp saying in a statement they intend to prove the sudden surge of floodwaters far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes, and that no adequate warning systems

existed in the area. Camp Mystic plans to reopen one of its sister sites this summer. Laura Jarrett, NBC News.

Tonight we have an inside look at a remarkable new AI technology to help with translation for police out on the beat. And now we've learned ICE is interested in using it for federal law enforcement. Julia Ainsley shows us how it works.

Tonight, new translation technology out on the beat. Joliet, Illinois police using the latest AI tech, allowing officers to translate conversations

on their body cameras. Seeing people when they know that they're understood you see their

faces light up. Since June police here have translated over 23 different languages in 1,800 conversations all with this device made by Axon. This body cam footage showing officers using it to get critical information and Vietnamese to solve a missing persons case.

You said the last time you saw your daughter was last Thursday, right?

We stopped by a store to test it out.

What do you sell here in your store?

It translates my question to Ivan.

And his answer.

We sell Colombian products.

Okay, Colombian products. Very cool. Here in Juliet, where the population is nearly 35% Hispanic, officers here say they don't know how they did their jobs before they had this device. The remarkable device could help federal law enforcement too. ICE eyeing this AI technology to help officers in cities like nearby Chicago and around the

country. After leaders at ICE's training academy say they canceled a five-week Spanish class in an effort to speed up hiring.

It looks like we cut out five weeks, but we didn't really because we replaced it with something else in the field that is actually so much more efficient.

But DHS officials tell NBC News ICE has not yet allocated new funding to purchase the translation devices. And a Joliet lieutenant telling us as helpful as the technology is, it won't work in every case.

For something serious like a homicide, armed robber, or a sexual assault type case,

you're still gonna need that Spanish speaking officer.

Tonight, ICE tells us those Spanish classes have been replaced with robust translation and interpretation services that cover multiple languages. But they did not tell us what those services are.

Tom?

Okay, Julia Hensley. Julia, thank you. We're back in 60 Seconds with President Trump floating a major shakeup to the housing market, a 50 year mortgage. But would it save you money in the long run?

We crunch the numbers next. All right, we are back now with President Trump's controversial new idea to help with housing affordability, a 50-year mortgage. It comes on the heels of a report from the National Association of Realtors saying

the age of the typical new home buyer is now at an all-time high of 40 years old. Brian Chung is here now. And Brian, walk our viewers through how a 50-year mortgage would work. Yeah, Tom, mortgage brokers are telling me this might help a few buyers here and there. There is no question, however, that home affordability is worse now than it used to be. The median home is now over $120,000 more than it was 10 years ago, with a 30- year mortgage rate at 6.3 percent more than two points higher.

Now the idea here is stretching the debt of that home over 50 years instead of 30 years. So in other words smaller monthly payments over a longer period of time. But there are some hurdles to this. The law may not allow the government to guarantee these type of mortgages. Some within the GOP don't like this and experts say it overlooks the lack of housing supply as kind of the main affordability problem here. Okay, but if this does become an option, walk us through the math. How, crunch the numbers for us.

Yeah, if you'll forgive me for doing a little bit of math on the nightly news here. But again, what we're talking about here is at 6.3% on a $410,000 home at 30 years, that would be $2,288 per month. That would be $200 more than you would get on a 50 year mortgage at $2029 per month. Now, if you talk about what's going to happen with regards to the overall length of the overall mortgage,

well, at a 50 year mortgage, you could be paying almost $400,000 more over that period of time, because again, at a 30 year mortgage, you're paying that over a shorter period of time. That is a huge difference. All right, Brian Chung first, Brian, we appreciate that. We're back in a moment with the conductor on this commuter train accused of dozing at the wheel as they take a dangerous curve. What happened to her next?

Welcome back. Take a look at the stunning bridge collapse caught on camera, watch the bridge just completely buckle and tumble into the valley below after being hit by a landslide. The bridge sending up a massive plume of dust and debris. According to Chinese state media, it had recently been completed along a national highway.

No one was injured. OK, to frightening video out of San Francisco now. Transit officials say the driver of a light rail train fell asleep while operating it during the morning rush in September, blowing past stops, you can see the passengers

jolting sharply multiple times. Some even fell down. Transit officials say it was going 50 miles per hour around the curve too fast for the route the driver has been taken off the job ever since,

and in Clearwater, FL man stuck inside of this Porsche engulfed by flames. Good Samaritans rushing to his rescue pulling the 74 year-old out some even tried to extinguish the fire glad they got him out OK when we come back the nation honoring those

who serve from president Obama surprising veterans to co workers celebrating a war or 2 that those moments next. across America today, tributes to the men and women who have protected this country day in and day out. Streets became parade routes to pay tribute to their sacrifice. President Trump dedicating a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery, and President Obama surprising an honor flight of Vietnam and Korean War

veterans from Wisconsin. And as we honor those who serve, we wanted to introduce you to a World War II veteran proving age is just a number and inspiring everyone around him. Kathy Park has his story. At 98 years old, service never

really ended for Navy veteran Ron Gibbons.

Well, they say you've been here 17 years. I said, yeah, they keep me here till I do

it right. So customers call him Mr. Ron. Most days you can find him working in the lawn and garden department at Lowe's in Ulster, New York. What's the best type of plant to get in the ground right now? The moms are out now.

And I tell them the dads will be in later.

After serving his country and 35 years with IBM,

Gibbons couldn't sit still for long.

If you don't work when you retire, you're going to just rust.

That's boot camp.

You looked real happy at boot camp.

I was very happy.

Gibbons was drafted at just 18 years old. He remembers that time fondly, the camaraderie, and the heartache. What does Veterans Day mean to you?

I lost two friends. And two of my buddies I grew up with and my uncle. It means a lot.

On this Veterans Day, he honors those who served beside him and his colleagues found time to honor him too. What's the message that you have for our men and women in service right now?

God bless you. You're working for the best and greatest country in the world.

Cathy Park, NBC News, Mooresville, North Carolina.

And a big thank you to Ron and all the veterans out there and their families for all that they sacrifice. That's Nightly News for this Tuesday. I'm Tom Yamas. Thanks so much for watching tonight. And always, we're here for you. Good night 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

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