Transcripts For WCAU NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt 20160219

Mockingbird. Nightly news begins right now. Announcer this is nbc nightly news with lester holt reporting tonight from columbia, South Carolina. Good evening. On the eve of two big votes on the road to the white house, the republicans in a primary showdown here in South Carolina where the headline tonight is donald trump losing ground. In a new nbc news wall street journal marist poll twump leads by five points, 28 to 23 , down from 16 points a month ago and rubio virtually unchanged at 15. The next seven days may provide clarity in these races in addition to the republicans voting in South Carolina, democratic voters will caucus in nevada tomorrow followed by republicans there on tuesday and then its back to South Carolina next saturday, the 27th, for the democratic primary. A time line that is ratcheting up the urgency in both races. Weve got both races covered starting tonight with nbcs katy tur in North Charleston for us. Hi, katy reporter lester, donald trump will take the stage here in just a few minutes. Its now less than 24 hours before the state votes, and as you said there are indications that this race could be a lot tighter than many had thought. Donald trump losing his commanding lead as ted cruz tries to replicate his win in iwhat. Donald trump sounding confident to a boisterous crowd in myrtle beach, but the billionaire is still on the defensive, now for a 2002 howard stern radio interview where he said he supported the iraq invasion. Are you for invading iraq . Yeah, i guess so. Reporter trump has repeatedly claimed on the trail and i was against going into iraq and i was against it since a long time. I didnt want to go into iraq. Reporter this morning on today he explained the flipflop. Its the first time the question was ever asked to me, that was long before the war started. By the time the war started i was against it. Reporter also, a new nbc news wall street journal marist poll out today showing his lead slashed. Every time they do a poll, i have a lousy poll. Reporter one potential reason, trumps accusations during the debate that george w. Bush lied about weapons of mass destruction. Sources within the campaign told nbc news trump has been warned to ease off, both by advisers and even phone Bank Volunteers who were hearing negative reaction from voters about his attacks on george w. Bush. Saturday night at the debate his temperament was on display. Reporter cruz in second punching up and down, mocking trump with his own words. Its easy to say lets make America Great again. You can even print that on a baseball cap. But the question to ask is do you understand what made America Great in the first place. Reporter and again linking marco rubio to president obama in a new ad. Marco rubio burned us once. Reporter the battle for one, two and three getting tense. All while john kasich and jeb bush struggle to gain traction. Bush bringing out his mother again today, trying to bookend a bad week. One bright spot for trump, the vatican clarified the pope ecomments today about the frontrunner saying in no way was this a personal attack, nor an indication of how to vote. Katy tur, nbc news, North Charleston, South Carolina. Reporter this is Andrea Mitchell in nevada where Bernie Sanders is pulling even with Hillary Clinton, and as time runs out the contest is getting nasty. Im not just promising free this and free that and free everything. Reporter sanders dialing up his criticism of bill clinton at the msnbc telemundo town hall. Bill clinton did a pretty good job as president , but lets be clear. I happen to think that our trade agreements from nafta through tpp have been a disaster. Reporter the clintons firing back. I just dont know where all this comes from because maybe its that senator sanders wasnt really a democrat until he decided to run for democrat. Hillarys opponent jumped all over me last night. That campaign has been remarkably factfree. I need you saturday. Reporter key to wing here, union workers, 55 latino so both candidates hit a picket line. Thank you so much. Reporter and clinton drumming up Union Support in the casinos where caucuses are held. Give us an opportunity to express ourselves, so im looking for a candidate, a person that will stand behind us. Reporter what do you care about . Immigration. Im mexican, you know. Reporter thats important . Thats important, very important. I think thats going to be a real problem if she loses here, not just because her lead disappeared because her whole argument is about eel electability. Reporter both campaigns already hitting the airwaves in the next state, South Carolina. Morgan freeman narrating a new Hillary Clinton ad today. She understands that our country cant reach its potential unless we all do. Together. Reporter with a theme pulling together that seems to imitate a recent sanders ad. Our job is to bring people together. Reporter clinton garnered the most important South Carolina endorsement, veteran congressman jim clyburn. My heart has always been with Hillary Clinton. Reporter but before clinton gets to South Carolina, she has to get out of nevada. A loss here to sanders after barely winning iowa and that huge loss in New Hampshire would damage her argument that she is more electable. Lester . Andrea mitchell, thanks. Were joined now by our political director, the moderator of meet the press, chuck todd. Chuck, lets take a look at whats online for tomorrow. Depending on the outcomes, whats at stake here moving forward in the campaigns . Well, its fair to call tomorrow shakeup saturday because in many ways this race is going to get shooken up depending on the results tomorrow. Marco rubio has a ton on the line in South Carolina. Hes got every endorsement you want in South Carolina. He has spent more money than anybody else. He appears tonight man with some momentum. Third place is not a victory this time. He has got to get in first or second. Donald trump, he obviously cant any time hes losing, its not a good day for a guy who doesnt believe in lose so hes got a lot on the line and ted cruz cant afford third. A Bernie Sanders victory in nevada is a bigger deal to him than a clinton victory would be there so shakeup saturday, bottom line. We will eel be here to cover it all. Chuck, thanks very much. Author harper lee, a literary icon who wrote one of the most defining novels in American Culture has died at 89. Her 1960 book to kill a mockingbird about Racial Injustice in the deep south is treasured by generations of readers and is still taught in classrooms around the country. Tributes poured in today for the beloved author. Nbcs harry smith looks back at her enormous impact. Reporter in larper leas hometown of monr monroeville, alabama, today, folks put up black ribbons in remembrance of the great author, tourists by the thousands still coming to the old courthouse to see the place so perfectly detailed in the film, the place where the hero at cuss finch defends an innocent black man. And in our courts all men are created equal. Everybody wants to be atticus. Everybody wants to be the defender of the weaker, and i think thats one of the reasons why it it will live on forever. Reporter perhaps the most important story in american literature, to kill a mockingbird captured the injustice and humiliation of racism. Profound and difficult truths made palatable by the narrator, young scott you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Harper lee, to kill a mockingbird. Request. Reporter truths made evident in english classes across america for more than 60 years. Theres an Important Message to be learned from harper lees book, being true to ones self and making the right choices. Reporter while america loved her book, harper lee was no fan of celebrity, not even oprah could persuade her to do an interview. Miss lee did not publish another book until last year, go set a watchman was an Early Edition of her bestseller and the broadway version of to kill a mock bid is in the works, in america where race matters and has always mattered, her words have never rung more true. Harry smith, nbc news, new york. The battle pitting apple versus the feds has ratcheted up to another level tonight with the Justice Department slamming the tech giant for refusing to help unlock the San Bernardino killers iphone saying the company is only worried about its reputation. Tonight apple is firing back, and on top of all of that donald trump is now calling for a boycott. Nbcs joe fryar has the latest from california. Reporter with apple publicly vowing to fight a court order to create software that would unlook syed farooks iphone today federal prosecutors filed a motion arguing a judge should force the tech giant to comply. The government says apples refusal appears to be based on its concern for its Business Model and public marketing strategy, something the company denies. Earlier this week apple ceo tim cook posted an open letter saying the u. S. Government has asked us for something we do not have and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a back door to the iphone. Prosecutors responded to that today, arguing the court order does not require apple to provide a back door to every iphone or hack its own users. Prosecutors contend apple could maintain custody of whatever software it builds. The white house also weighing in. We dont want to al love terrorists to establish a safe haven in cyber space. Reporter senior apple executives feel todays filing is frivolous as the company hasnt even responded to the court order yet. Many Tech Companies are now defending apple. I think the governments interest in surveilling people, while its an important interest, shunned trump all of our interests in being secure. Reporter donald trump who sends many tweets from an iphone is calling for an apple boycott until the company unlock the shooters phone. Apple ought to give the security for the phone. Reporter tech giant now has a week to respond to the judges order. Joe fryar, nbc news, los angeles. Powerful wind gusts near 70 miles an hour swept through chicago today. Winds so strong some on the street like this woman needed help to keep from being blown over. It knocked down street lamps and threatened to blow bikes off their racks and factored into a construction collapse that crushed a car. Flying debris from a high rise forced evacuationed, and the willis tower sky deck was forced to close. Well over 100 flights were cancelled or delayed and more than 100,000 were left without power in northern illinois. Thousands paid their last respects today to Justice Antonin Scalia as he lay in repose in the Supreme Courts great hall. Among the mourners president obama and the first lady. As for who might replace scalia on the court, nbcs Pete Williams reports a new hint tonight about who the president may be considering for the seat. Reporter Antonini Scalia returned to the court for the last time, his casket carried past 100 of his former law clerks. Inside the eight remaining just tises gathered with the scalia family for a prayer from his son paul, a catholic priest. Blessed are those who have died in the lord. Reporter another son christopher writes in the Washington Post about once getting out of mowing the lawn to attend a track meet. Quote, so he did it himself after reminding me that a Supreme Court justice probably had Better Things to do. President and mrs. Obama came to pay their respects as did more than 4,000 people who waited in long lines. Also here, washington, d. C. Appeals court judges, including two Sri Srinivasan and Patricia Millett mentioned as possible successor. Vice President Biden said the nominee could be a previously confirmed judge. There are plenty of judges who have, are on high courts already who have had unanimous support of the republicans. Reporter one obvious possibility, judge jane kelly of iowa unanimously confirmed in 2013 with the support of the Judiciary Committee chairman, republican Charles Grassley who just happens to be from iowa. Im pleased to support her confirmation. Reporter tomorrow justice scale gentlemans funeral at bat sill can a. Natural shrine of the Immaculate Conception with his son paul celebrating mass. Pete williams, nbc news at the Supreme Court. Theres a lot more ahead for us tonight. The crackdown on hoverboards. The hottest fad of the past year in more ways than one. Now the fed says none on the market is safe. What to do if you have one in your home. Also, the man who is now tasting freedom after four decades in solitary confi man dear mr. Danoff, my wife and i are now participating in your mutual fund. We invested in your fund to help us pay for a College Education for our son. Weve enclosed a picture of our son so that you can get a sense there are real people out here trusting you with their hardearned money. At fidelity, we dont just manage money, we manage peoples money. For called squamous adnonsmall cell,er previously treated with platinumbased chemotherapy, its not every day something this big comes along. A chance to live longer with. Opdivo, nivolumab. Opdivo is the first and only immunotherapy fda approved based on a Clinical Trial demonstrating longer life. For these patients. In fact, opdivo significantly increased the chance of living longer versus chemotherapy. Opdivo is different. It works with your immune system. Opdivo can cause your immune system to attack normal organs and tissues in your body and affect how they work. This may happen any time during or after treatment has ended, and may become serious and lead to death. See your doctor right away if you experience new or worsening cough; chest pain; shortness of breath; diarrhea; severe stomach pain or tenderness; severe nausea or vomiting; extreme fatigue; constipation; swollen ankles; loss of appetite; headache; confusion; hallucinations; rash; or muscle or joint pain, or flushing as this may keep these problems from becoming more serious. These are not all the possible side effects of opdivo. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions including immune system problems or if youve had an organ transplant, or lung, breathing or liver problems. A chance to live longer. Ask your doctor if opdivo is right for you. Bristolmyers squibb thanks the patients and physicians who participated in the opdivo Clinical Trial. Big news tonight involving those socalled honchds that were some of the biggest sellers over the holidays. They have also been involved in dozens of fires across the country, some having burned homes to the ground. Today the Consumer Products Safety Commission is taking dramatic action, announcing none of the, hoverboards currently on the market is safe, and it could soon conphysical case or recall every one of them. Nbcs tom costello has details. Reporter it was a very close call for a family of six in nashville. The fox familys home destroyed by fire. Two of their children trapped inside managed to escape by jumping out of secondstory windows. When the door opened, the smoke and the flames, it was so hot that the smoke was just so black i couldnt get into the house. Reporter cause of the fire, a hoverboard. We almost lost two of our children, two of our children almost died because of the christmas gift. Reporter one of at least 52 hoverboardrelated fires in 24 states. Its on fire reporter destroying at least two homes and a car. In december the nations airlines banned them. For months the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been testing all makes and models, diagnosing why the lithium ion batteries can suddenly overheat and catch fire. Today the agency notified hoverboard manufacturers, importers and retailers that all hoverboards must comply with new ul Safety Standards and threatened to confiscate or recall any of them that dont. Elliott kay runs the agency. Is there any hoverboard on the market that you think is safe right now . Im not aware of any that meet current standard. Reporter zero . Zero. Reporter in december alone customs and bothered patrol seized more than 1,300 hoverboards at jfk airport. Now any hoverboard that arrives at a u. S. Port can be phone kiss kated if it doesnt meet the standard and for reports of those falling and breaking bones, safety regulators remain hoverboards are inherently unstable. If you own one, tonight the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends putting it away and demanding proof from the retail their it meets the new Safety Standards. Tom costello, nbc news, washington. Were back in a moment with something the cdc warns americans are not gettin they say you shouldnt spoil your kids. But your grandkids . How about front row seats to the best show in town . And that is why you invest. The best returns arent just measured in dollars. Td ameritrade®. Try phillips fiber good gummies plus energy support. Its a new fiber supplement that helps support regularity and includes b vitamins to help convert food to energy. Mmmmm, these are good nice work, phillips the tasty side of fiber, from phillips. Every Auto Insurance policy has a number. But not every Insurance Company understands the life behind it. Those who have served our nation have earned the very best service in return. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. Get an Auto Insurance quote and see why 92 of our members plan to stay for life. Could protect you from diabetes . What if one situp could prevent Heart Disease . One. Wishful thinking, right . But there is one step you can take to help prevent another serious disease. Pneumococcal pneumonia. If you are 50 or older, one dose of the prevnar 13® vaccine can help protect you from pneumococcal pneumonia, an illness that can cause coughing, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and may even put you in the hospital. Even if you have already been vaccinated with another pneumonia vaccine, prevnar 13® may help provide additional protection. Prevnar 13® is used in adults 50 and older to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. You should not receive prevnar 13® if you have had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. If you have a weakened immune system, you may have a lower response to the vaccine. Common side effects were pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, limited arm movement, fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain, less appetite, chills, or rash. Get this one done. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about prevnar 13® today. News tonight that will not come as a shock to the millions in this country who constantly find themselves tired and dragging. The cdc says a third of americans arent getting enough sleep and that raises their risk of obesity and Heart Disease. Among other issues 6 a 5 are sleeping seven hours or more. Researchers suggest more us need to get to bed at a regular time and turn off tv and electronic devices. As youre probably saying to yourself right now thats probably easier said than done. The last of the prisoners known as angola three is free tonight. Albert woodfox has been released as part of a plea deal. As nbcs jacob rascon tells us, its been a hard fought battle to gain his freedom. Reporter few may ever understand freedom like Albert Woodfox released tonight on his 69th birthday after his attorneys say he spent more time in solitary confinement than any other prisoner in american history. It started with a prison riot in Louisiana State penitentiary in 1972. Prison guard brent miller was stabbed 32 times. Woodfox and Herman Wallace were convicted of the murder and sent to solitary confinement. Prisoner robert king also was convicted for the same crime. King was released in 2001 after 29 years alone in a cell. Im free from angola but i dont feel free as long as albert and wallace are in priss on. Wall as was set free 2013 and died of cancer two days later and today Albert Woodfox plead no contest to the killing and was sentenced to 32 years and already had served 45 years so was released. In a statement he said i hope the events of today will bring closure to many. After more than four decades free. Jacob rascon, nbc news. When we come back. What voters here in South Carolina kelme about some cash back cards are, shall we say, unnecessarily complex. Limiting where you can earn bonus cash back. Then those places change every few months. Please. Its time you got the quicksilver card from capital one. Quicksilver earns you unlimited 1. 5 cash back on every purchase, everywhere. Doesnt get much simpler than that. Whats in your wallet . The newer poll numbers we talked about at top. Newscast that show a tightening of the gop president ial race in South Carolina underscore how fluid things appear tonight. I dropped in at a local barbecue place during the lunch hour to take my own scientific measure of whats driving peoples decisions. Want an ice tea. Sure. Sweet or unsweet. Sweet in South Carolina. Its not hard to found South Carolina republicans who havent made up your minds. Youre not unusual. I dont think im the only one. I think a lot of people are starting to give another look to some of the candidates. Here at docs barbecue many folks said their vote may not go to the candidate that they want but rather the person they think they can win. Do any of you believe in the polls . Yeah, i do. What do the polls tell you right now . Well, they are telling me that probably going to be between trump and cruz. I was really liking ben carson, but pollwise i dont think hes going to do so well anylonger. Youre influenced by the polls, may not vote for him. I think it may be a wasted vote so i may go elsewhere. How about you, robert . I cant help it. Im looking at who has the best chance of winning. You watching the polls carefully in. I would like to vote for the candidate who has the best chance to defeat hillary and at some point have you to vote for the right person, who is standing up for america. Were you captivated by trump at any point in the proses . I really like listening to him but at the end of the day, you know, just his demeanor just doesnt speak leader of the free world to me. Is there anybody among the candidates you think that could unite country . I wish i could say yes, but all i can do is hope. Do you see a healer out thereto among this republican lineup . I wish i could say so but honestly, no, i feel like trump is so polarizing, cruz is so far right that i dont think hell be able to bring the democrats and republicans together, and so, no, i dont really see someone who is going to be that middle of the road candidate. Just some of the things on the minds of South Carolina Republican Voters on this night before the primary. That will do it for us on a friday night. Im lester holt reporting tonight from columbia, South Carolina. For all of us at nbc news, thank you the passion of the trump. Can donald recover from his unholy war with the pope . His new interview today about the controversy, now on extra. Donald trump branded the antichrist. Does he now regret picking a fight with the pope . With the pope, does it give you pause . From morning tv to late night, trumps very bad friday. And donald said, of course im a christian. Do you know how many carpenters named jesus i have working for me . Plus, what Hillary Clinton is doing with britney. Kris jenner versus kanye. Why jenner is dropping the hammer on kanyes wife after the tirade. Shannen doherty in tears. Her new confessions about her Breast Cancer battle. For me, that was the hardest part. And the shocking reason she didnt catch it early. Then, new photos. Patrick dempsey vacationing with his exwife. Are they officially back together . Plus, why Michael Strahan is on a crusade to get a. J. A raise. This dude is