NBC Nightly News Full Episode - May 27

Tonight, the death toll in that deadly chemical disaster in Washington rising.The painstaking operation to fight nine still missing and presumed dead.The new video of the devastating catastrophe, this chemical tank partially collapsing, trucks tossed in the blast.New aerials show just how widespread that impact was.And desperate families now searching for answers.Our reporter is at the scene.

The new plan to keep Ebola out of the U .S.new reporting on increased screening at U .S.airports and where Americans exposed to the disease will be forced to quarantine.This just in the major twist, months after a woman went missing while on a boat with her husband in the Bahamas, with the Coast Guard just found that they say contradicts his account of how she disappeared.

Daring Cave Rescue, incredible video of five people trapped in a flooded cave for days, found alive.inside the incredibly complex operation now to get them out.The shocking remarks from former First Lady Jill Biden, saying she thought President Joe Biden was having a stroke during his 2024 debate with President Trump.The sentencing for Matthew Perry's assistant who injected him with that lethal dose of ketamine.What Perry's stepfather, Keith Morrison, told us after leaving court.seizures and the treatment denied because of her age.

Our insurance reverse course when our team called and hundreds of strangers showing up for a World War 2 veteran with no family left to lay him to rest the powerful act of community.Nightly news starts right now.And good evening.We begin tonight with the death oftoll from that chemical tank implosion in Washington State.Two people are confirmed dead, but nine people are still missing.

And today, officials announced they are believed to have been killed by the catastrophic accident at that packaging plant.We have new video tonight, taken in the moments immediately after the accident.You can see the sheer power of the blast.Trucks flipped over and crushed huge puddles of liquid, and the massive tank tipped over and crumbled.We're seeing these devastating images, families of those missing workers embracing and praying as that rescue mission turned into a recovery one.The governor says it could become the deadliest industrial tragedy in Washington state's history.

And even right now, that tank still contains 25 ,000 gallons of toxic chemicals that's now slowly still leaking into the air.Morgan Chesky and our team at the scene tonight.

Tonight, a stunning new video shows the devastation inside a Washington plant moments after the deadly rupture of a massive chemical tank.A toxic surge inside a packaging plant, leaving trucks flipped over or crushed, seen here in video obtained by an independent journalist.The leaking tank partially collapsed.Authorities confirm at least two people are dead and nine still missing from the implosion early Tuesday.This was a shift change time.They were operating and they were in their workspaces when this blast occurred.

The cause still unknown.We do not know where all nine are.We have searched the area.the area that is searchable.The tank holding nearly a million gallons of white liquor, a sodium -based chemical used in paper manufacturing that can cause severe burns if not properly handled.Enough to fill more than an Olympic -sized swimming pool.

Authorities have now sealed off the entire plant as recovery efforts continue.That leaked chemicals so powerful, even firefighters reported damage to their own gear.

The steam cloud was so big, covered everything.Couldn't see through it.

Eli Bernal was working at the plant.Today, he and his sister are remembering their father, 52 -year -old Gilbert Bernal, who they say showed up for a shift just minutes before the implosion.

He was just a very genuine person.And just within minutes of you talking with him, you felt like you'd known him for a lifetime.

Meanwhile, at an overnight vigil, hundreds gathered to pray and support the families, now left longing.for answers.

Still so many questions right now.

Morgan joins us live outside of that plant.Morgan, investigators are still trying to pinpoint the cause of how all this happened?

Yeah, Tom, they are.We do know that federal investigators arrived today, going through this scene, trying to identify the cause, as well as preventative measures.And we're also hearing from the company that owns this plant, sharing a statement.They expressed their condolences tonight to those bereaved families.

Tom?Morgan Chesky leading us off.The US today announcing dramatic new measures to keep Ebola out of the country, including increased screening at multiple airports.Our Stephanie Goss has more.

Tonight, as Ebola cases in Africa surge, the Trump administration vowing it won't spread here.

We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.

The White House announcing it will set up a state -of -the -art facility in Kenya to treat Americans infected by the deadly virus in Africa, offering them life -saving care as quickly as possible.The CDC also taking steps to stop the spread, making an urgent call to its staff.Volunteers are needed at major U .S.airports screen travelers.Only

Only Washington Dulles, Atlanta's Hartsfield -Jackson, George Bush Airport, and Houston, and now New York's JFK, will accept U .S.citizens traveling from the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda.At the airport, they'll be taken to a designated screening area, where they will complete a brief questionnaire and have their temperature checked, according to the CDC.Those without symptoms are free to leave, asked to immediately contact public health officials if symptoms develop.Dr. Ashish Jha is a public health expert.

That kind of screening is a really important part of making sure that we don't get people coming in with Ebola who we're not aware of.

Non -US citizens, including green card holders who have traveled to the affected region in the last three weeks, are temporarily banned from coming into the US.In Africa, there are close to 1 ,000 verified cases and more than 200 people dead.But there are fears the Ebola outbreak is far bigger, and it is spreading fast.

Stephanie Goss joins us now live from JFK, where that screening will be set up.And Stephanie, what happens if someone arrives with symptoms?

Yeah, so Tom, if there's a reasonable suspicion someone has Ebola, they'll be transported safely to a designated hospital, where they'll be isolated, tested for Ebola.And if they have it, that's where treatment will begin, Tom.

OK, Stephanie Gask, we have some shocking developments tonight in the search for Lynette Hooker.You may remember her husband said she fell overboard in the Bahamas back in April.She still hasn't been found.The Coast Guard is now reopening its search because officials say his story doesn't add up.George Solis has been following this one for us.And George, they noticed a discrepancy with the GPS of the boat.

Yeah, that's right, Tom.This is a stunning turn of events.The U .S.Coast Guard is reopening its search because they say GPS data from the couple's boat contradicts what her husband Brian Hooker told us.the Bahamas.

and they had no comment.Tom?

George Solis with that big update tonight.George, thank you.Tonight, an incredible moment caught on camera when five men stuck in a flooded cave for more than a week were found alive.Janice Mackey -Frayer spoke with one of the rescue divers about the moment they were found.

Deep inside a flooded cave in Laos, through muddy water and narrow tunnels, they found them.Five men huddled on a latch, cold, famished, but unhurt.Thank you, thank you, said one of the survivors in dramatic video shot by divers.Outside volunteers were elated, yet now the real work begins to find two others still missing and get all of them out.We spoke with one of the rescuers who said the men cried when they saw him.They really cried, I'm there.

The group went into the cave last week to search for gold, when heavy rain triggered a flash flood that blocked the entrance with mud and debris.The rescue team from Thailand was involved in the 2018 operation that got 12 boys and their soccer coach out of a cave after 18 days.This rescue will be no less difficult.The survivors nearly a thousand feet inside tunnels that are less than two feet wide at parts, complicated by potentially contaminated water.and anxiety.For now, divers are getting supplies to the group to help build up their strength to soon make the daring journey out.

Janice Mackey -Frayer, NBC News, Beijing.

President Trump tonight saying he's not thinking about politics or even the midterms as he tries to wrangle a deal to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.All as former First Lady Jill Biden is making a big headline tonight with new comments on her husband's disastrous debate performance.Here's Gabe Gutierrez.

Tonight, under pressure from soaring gas prices, President Trump is brushing off any concerns that the Iran war will hurt Republicans this November.And he has this warning as he negotiates with Iran's regime.

They thought they were gonna outweigh me.We'll outweigh him.He's got the midterms.I don't care about the midterms.Look what happened last night.That was the prelude to the midterms.

People understand it.They know that, very simple, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.

The president pointing to last night's landslide primary victory for the GOP candidate he endorsed, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeating four -term incumbent Senator John Cornyn.

We just sent a Texas -sized message to Washington.

Meanwhile, President Trump stressing that he won't accept a short -term agreement that would allow Iran to keep blocking the Strait of Hormuz by threatening to attack commercial oil tankers.

The Strait will open immediately.Immediately.But it's got to be perfect.I'm not going to do this.I didn't do this to get a crummy agreement.

And President Trump is dismissing the idea Iran would manage the strait with the help of Oman, a US ally.

They would like to control it.Nobody's going to control it.It's international waters, and Oman will behave just like everybody else, and we'll have to blow them up.

All right, Gabe, let's turn to another big headline and more insight into the consequential moments of the 2024 campaign, President Biden's disastrous debate performance there, and new comments from bothFirst Lady Jill Biden.

I was frightened because I had never, ever seen Joe like that before or since.As I watched it, I thought, oh, my God, he's having a stroke.And it scared me to death.

And, Gabe, Democrats are still reckoning with that debate?

Yes, Tom, it was not even referenced in the recent DNC autopsy.And the issue of transparency is now threatening to loom over the midterms, particularly because her answer is so different from what we heard from top Democrats at the time.Tom?

Gabe Gutierrez at the White House.When we return in 60 seconds, our series, The Cost of Denial.She's only 13.Her doctor said a surgical procedure could help stop her seizures.But insurance said no.What happened after our team called?

That's next.In our series, The Cost of Denial, we investigate the struggles Americans have with insurance.Tonight, one little girl's agonizing battle with daily seizures.Her doctors recommended a procedure to help, but the family's insurance refused to pay until after we investigated.Here's Maggie Vespa.

Three camera C. Minutes into our interview with Brandi Sharp about her daughter Cambry's seizures, we had to pause.If he's coming down.

Do you need to go?You can go.

Dad, Brian, brings 13 -year -old Cambree in the midst of a seizure to the couch.Her eyes glazed over, fists clenched.Norris, the alert dog, by Cambree's side.

Good boy.What are those 15 to 20 minutes like as a mom?They're hard.It's like watching the Cambree light go out.

It's OK. I got you.It's a scene this rural Illinois family wants to share.Cambree, who has a severe form of epilepsy,goes through as many as four seizures a day.She had a second seizure just a few hours later.

I worry that every minute that she has a seizure is damage to her brain.These are the medications that she has used.

Having exhausted the list of possible medications...Brandy says their doctors recommended neuromodulation with deep brain stimulation, in which surgeons place probes deep in the brain that send electrical stimulation to help prevent seizures.NBC News spoke with pediatric neurosurgeons not involved with Cambry's care, who agree the procedure can be effective.I know that there are other children who have it.Had your doctors told you that it had been done in other children?Yes.

And covered in other children?Yes.

Finally.But for Cambry, insurance said no.Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield denied coverage days before the surgery was scheduled to take place.

They said it was not FDA approved for children under the age of 18.

And that's true.But the doctors treating Cambry tell us the procedure usually is approved by insurance for minors who qualify.To Cambry, it felt personal.Apparently they don't care for my safety.Do you think that they were thinking about you when they said no?

All I think is that they were thinking about themselves or their money.

NBC News reached out to Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield asking about Cambry's case.Three days later, the insurer reversed its decision.Anthem Blue Cross telling NBC News it previously had not received all of Cambry's medical information.And once we received that information demonstrating that hertreatment options are limited, we approved the deep brain stimulation treatment.

Go ahead, it's in the middle there.

We showed the statement to Brandi.

She was skeptical.They have been her insurance provider since she was maybe a year old.They have all of her records.Why do you think they reversed their decision?I believe that they reversed that decision because NBC News reached out to them, and they knew that there was going to be coverage about the fact that they were denying care for a child.You think it's that simple?

I do.

Can I have a hug?Cambry's surgery is now scheduled for next month.

I told her that no matter what it takes, I'll always fight for her to get the care she needs.

Her mom fighting for her every step of the way.Maggie joins us now.And Maggie, you have new reporting tonight on what the insurance company here decided to do.

Yeah, Tom, that's right.Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield telling us it's now changing its policy to cover the surgery Cambry was seeking for pediatric and adolescent patients who meet other clinical criteria, potentially saving other families from the struggles the Sharps have endured.Tom.

Great work tonight, Maggie, by you and the team.We're back in a moment with the prison sentence today for Matthew Perry's assistant.Perry's stepfather, Dateline's Keith Morrison, speaking out to us.That's next.We are back now with major developments in the death of Friends star Matthew Perry.Today, Perry's personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, was sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison for injecting Perry with the ketamine that eventually killed him.

Perry's stepfather, Dateline's Keith Morrison, spoke to us after the sentencing.

He took advantage of Matthew's addiction in order to put himself in the position of some control over Matthew's life.

And our thoughts, of course, are with him.and his family.Four others have already pleaded guilty.When we come back here on Nightly News, the power of showing up, how a community came together to honor a World War II veteran.That's next.Finally tonight, a World War II veteran recently passed away, leaving behind no family.

But when hundreds of strangers in his small Massachusetts town found out, they did something you're about to see that defines the word community.The line stretched down the block, hundreds of strangers showing up for a man most had never met.This is beautiful.

He would have loved this.

Navy veteran John Bernard Arnold III served in World War II.He passed away at 98 years old, leaving behind no family.

His mother died when he was very young.

His father died when he was in his 20s.But the community of Hanson, Massachusetts wasn't going to let him be laid to rest alone, inviting the public to come and honor a man who served his country.The turnout, staggering.Talk about no family.Yes, you had a big family.Police officers, firefighters, former military, and community members paying their respects.

People traveling from near and far.A celebration of life for a man who gave so much.And a community honoring a veteran most didn't know but will never forget.an incredible show of support.We want to thank our affiliate, WJAR New England, for bringing us that story.That's nightly news for this Wednesday.

I'm Tom Yamas.We thank you so much for watching.Tonight, and always, we're here for you.Good night.We thank you for watching tonight.