Transcripts For KNTV NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt 20160

Announcer from nbc news World Headquarters in new york, this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. Good evening. For donald trump, it was a bit of an i told you so moment as a prosecutor today declined to charge the Campaign Manager with roughing up a reporter at an event last month. Its welcome news for a campaign counting on a big and important win in the state of new york next week as it searches for a way for trump to cross the finish line before this summers Republican Convention with enough delegates to secure the nomination. Nbcs katy tur is covering the trump campaign. Reporter new video released by the Florida State Attorneys Office has the trump team feeling vindicated. Authorities say this video shows Michelle Fields defying a secret Service Order to stay back at a Trump Press Conference last month. Shes moving. Shes now making her way back over. Now shes going in. This is when she goes into the protected area that shes not allowed to be in basically. Reporter prosecutors arguing Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski was justified in his actions to protect the candidate and citing the video in its decision not to prosecute the top aide for grabbing the breitbart reporter. Lewandowsky seen here for the first time turning himself in to Jupiter Police initially claimed he never touched or even met fields and called her delusional. Today the campaign releasing a statement saying the matter is now concluded. Trump riding high, set for a recordbreaking win in new york despite his rivals best efforts, both sitting down with msnbc tonight. You guys have been suffering under the misguided policies of liberal democratic politicians a long, long time. Reporter now his team is courting members of congress and gearing up for a tough delegate battle after the campaign predicted an easy win at the convention with 1,400 delegates, much more than the magic number of 1237. We went state by state, and the math added up to 1265. And im comfortable. Again, its not guaranteed. Were going to know a lot more tuesday. If he doesnt make it on the first ballot, then the second ballot, they should certainly hand it to him. Reporter tonight, john kasich, ted cruz and trump together in the big apple, trying to woo this states establishment at its annual republican gala. As for lewandowsky, donald trump laughed off the incident with reporters today, saying the aide hasnt been quite as effective lately. Meanwhile here in manhattan, protesters are already starting to gather outside of the gala as the republican race for the white house sets its sights on new york. In the democratic battle, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are colliding in their final debate showdown before tuesdays new york primary. Tonight a new nbc news wall street journal marist shows clinton up to a 17point lead in the empire state. And as nbcs Andrea Mitchell tells us, with the stakes so high, this could be the most explosive night of the campaign. Reporter tonights debate, perhaps Bernie Sanders last chance to shake up the race. This is going to be a tough primary for us. Reporter despite that recordbreaking crowd in new york, beating clinton is a steep challenge. Expect a new line of attack tonight, accusing clinton of hypocrisy, walking the line with Striking Verizon workers here but take ago a whopping 225,000 from verizon for a speech three years ago. Secretary clinton has given a number of speeches behind closed doors on wall street. Reporter expect sanders to hit clinton on wall street and trade. But sanders will also be on defense over what paul song said before sanders arrived, using past language to attack clinton for her ties to big business. Now, secretary clinton has said medicare for all will never happen. Medicare will never happen if we continue to elect corporate democratic whores. Reporter song is married to lisa ling, whose sister bill clinton rescued from north korea in 2009. Song denied he was referring to Hillary Clinton, but sanders tweeted the comments were inappropriate and insensiti insensitive. His strategy of personal attacks here in new york has failed. Reporter signaling she will also slam him on guns and foreign policy. We also have to be sure that the next president who will also be the commanderinchief keeps our country safe. Reporter the rivals shadow boxing for days. Clinton at the apollo theater. Sanders follows. He marches with those verizon strikers. Hours later, so does she. She cant match his crowds or money. We are happy now that he has set the framework of debate, but we are starting a political revolution. Reporter to win that revolution, they need to win new york, and some are wondering why sanders is leaving at midnight tonight after the debate for rome, for a vatican conference, even though he has not been promised yet what he wants, which is an audience with the pope. Lester. Andrea mitchell, thank you. There are troubling new developments and a Major Investigation into exploding air bags now linked to at least 11 deaths. A teenage girl the latest victim. The government initially required Takata Corporation to replace 28 million potentially defective and dangerous air bags. But today the feds reported the true number could be far greater. Were talking a staggering 85 million air bags. As nbcs tom costello reports, that would mean roughly one out of every three cars on the road could be affected. Reporter at Car Dealerships across the country, a fulltime, allout push to replace tens of millions of potentially dangerous air bags. Exploding air bag inflators can fire shrapnel into the front seat of a car. Today the nations top safety regulator was on capitol hill. Thats the difficulty of the situation. A piece of Safety Equipment is putting people at risk. Reporter the tenth and most recent air bag death, was driving on a texas highway last month when she hit the car in front of her. Her air bag exploded on impact. When this fragment punctured and severed her jugular and carotid artery, she was dead in an amount of seconds. Reporter honda insists it mailed the family multiple recall notices, but records indicate the repairs were never completed. The family, not the original buyers, insist they never received the notices. Takata says it has no comment. While roughly 75 of recall notices do lead to repairs, that means millions of vehicles go unrepaired. Thats a scary proposition because that means one in five vehicles that youre going by has an open safety defect on it that could manifest itself at any point in time. Reporter while federal law theres no similar law requiring used cars are fixed before theyre sold. How do you know if your car is on a recall list . Find your vehicle Identification Number or vin on the lower left side of the dashboard or on the doorjamb. Then enter the vin at safer car. Gov to find any outstanding recalls. Simple steps to keep you and others on the road safe. Tom costello, nbc news, arlington, virginia. Turning overseas now, russias military is brushing off american complaints about a tense Close Encounter on the high seas this week when russian fighter jets repeatedly buzzed a u. S. Warship. Vladimir putin had tough talk of his own today for the u. S. When he took public questions during his annual callin show. We get more from nbcs kelly co kelly cobiella. Rsh tonight russia responding after that dramatic confrontation at sea. A pair of unarmed russian jets buzzing the uss donald cook, flying within 30 feet. The Russian Defence Ministry Said they were just training flights and blasted the, quote, painful reaction from the u. S. The ships commander firing back. Its not about fear, but its about safe and professional behavior. Reporter president putin didnt talk specifics on his annual callin show today but says the u. S. Must respect russia. During the fourhour q a, questions from factory workers, a kids hockey team, and this question written by a 12yearold girl. If turkey and ukraines president s were both drowning, who would you save first . If someone decides to drown, he said, its impossible to save him. Putin calling president obama strong for admitting mistakes in libya and talking 2016 too. Not picking a favorite, but the man whos been president for 12 out of the last 16 years saying if its clinton, wheres the change . When asked will you run again, he answers, too early to say. For now, clearly focused on showing his people and the rest of the world a russia that wont back down. Kelly cobiella, nbc news, london. History was made on the Basketball Court last night when the Golden State Warriors smashed a record that many thought untouchable. With their 73rd win of the regular season. While in los angeles, cobee bryant closed out his career with one last astounding performance. Nbc News National correspondent Miguel Almaguer has more. Reporter what a night for basketball. Hes got another one reporter kobe bryant, a story book ending for a legend. For the lead. Reporter in front of kanye, jay z and jack, one last comefrombehind victory. A 60point game for kobe bryant. Reporter a curtain call. The finale for a 20year career. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. God, i love you guys. Reporter in los angeles, its the end of an era while here in the bay area, it could be the beginning of a dynasty. For the warriors, a golden performance. Threepointer. Bang. Reporter sharpshooter steph cur curry. But the number of the night was 73. Number 73, the greatest regular season in nba history now belongs to the 2016 Golden State Warriors. Reporter the warriors eclipsing the record set by the 9596 chicago bulls. Michael jordan tweeting, records are made to be broken. Curry told us this was for oakland. Were doing something special, and this is a great time to be a warrior fan. Even when we were a losing Team Reporter a young team poised for the future and a legend whose time has come to say goodbye. Miguel almaguer, nbc news, oakland. Theres more ahead as we continue tonight. Slashing Student Loans. The new way you can find better rates and potentially save thousands. Also inside the broadway smash hamilton with its creator and star. Hes got the hottest tickets in town. Why theyre practically giving some away for the price of a song. Were back with a new way to relieve the crushing burden of Student Loans. The average student graduates with an incredible 35,000 in debt. Now refinancing is easier than ever. Nbcs Olivia Sterns found new Companies Ready to help slash away thousands in repayments. I knew there was no way she could afford it on her own. Reporter Colleen Mccallum always knew that college for her daughter olivia wouldnt be cheap. Did you have any idea you would be 50,000 in debt three years later . I kind of suspected Something Like that. Reporter but what the tulsa, oklahoma, mom didnt suspect was that shed be paying 6 to 8 interest to help olivia with her 33,000 tuition to arizona state. What was the breaking point for you . When i saw that i had paid 4,000 in interest in 2015, none of which went towards the principal. I was pretty outraged. Reporter colleen went online and realized she had options, including a new crop of companies that specialize in refinancing stund debt. She managed to cut her loans from 6 to 8 to just 4. 5 . What a lot of people dont know is for every 3 in Student Loans outstanding, 1 to be refinanced to a lower rate. Reporter the ceo of credible says the average user cuts the interest on their loan by 37 . Credible is a market place for refinancing student debt. You simply enter your loan info then compare offers, including many of those startups. One tradeoff of a private lender, you lose the government protections on federal loans. But for colleen, her deal means shell pay 12,000 left over the life of the debt. Ill probably be able to retire a little bit earlier and maybe take a trip to italy this summer. Reporter Olivia Sterns, nbc news, tulsa. Were back in a moment with a wild chase when a chimp escapes from the zoo. Just wait till you see what happens. Now a wild chase caught on kaermt. A chimp pan zee escaping from a zoo in japan, trying to avoid capture with authorities scrambling to get him back safely. At one point hes even swinging from power lines as the drama went on for two hours. We get the tale of the tape from nbcs steve patterson. Reporter the highwire drama was carried on live japanese tv. The escaped chimpanzee named chacha fled a zoo in northern japan and showed no interest in going back. The 24yearold male perched above and swinging across electrical lines. Reporters calling the play by play live for nearly two hours. He just got hit, one yelled, after a tranquilizer dart stung the ape. The chimp is yelling. Hes so angry, a zoo worker warns. Hes dangerous. Go away. Dont be here. Then the sedative starts to sink in. Hes falling. Hes trying to grab the cable. Hes about to go down, they say. And then the spill, off the wires and onto the ground, caught with a safety net. The ape is dazed but isnt hurt. A happy ending for the zoo but not for chacha. Steve patterson, nbc news. What an adventure. When we come back, the broadway smash hamilton. How a bunch of High School Students score the hard to come by tickets for a History Lesson they wont forget. Announcer nbc nightly news is brought to you by pacific life. For life insurance, annuities and visits, choose pacific life. The power to help you succeed. The end of the run for three suspected purse snatchers. We have exclusive video of the take down. Jess take vo and the news that more and more bay area families are getting. But is no less difficult to take. Jess next close the news is next. Finally tonight, a History Lesson thats so much more and its happening on broadway of all places. The mega hit musical hamilton, a story of one of this countrys Founding Fathers has people waiting months for tickets or paying thousands of dollars to brokers. Which makes the opportunity being offered to some select High School Students all the more remarkable and a teachable moment. Reporter hamiltons smash success on broadway has made history hot. And the shows hiphop take on americas painful birth is a lesson that came full circle yesterday as teenagers performed their own History Lesson for the hamilton cast right before the matinee. What is the Governments Task . Give us liberty or give us death. Reporter these public School Students are the first of 20,000, mostly from new yorks lowincome areas, getting a shot at seeing the hottest ticket on broadway for just a hamilton. What did i miss . What did i miss give me my home sweet home. Im going to give you a kiss. Reporter with the help of a 1. 5 million grant from the rockefeller foundation, a special curriculum was created for these High School Juniors with a focus on americas forefathers, including alexander hamilton. He started off really like an immigrant, which we can relate to. It doesnt matter where you come from. It matters where you go. I think thats the very essence of the american dream. Reporter the shows creator and star, linmanuel miranda, also attended new york city public schools. In 2008, he picked up a biography about an or fan from the caribbean, who would become one of americas youngest Founding Fathers. The story hit home. I related enormo enormously to that. I saw my father do it when he came from puerto rico at age 18, speaking no english. Reporter the rest, as they say, is history. The last thing i would think anyone would do a hiphop version of Alexander Hamiltons story. Thats the part that everyone sort of laughs about until they hear the story. Reporter hamilton tickets are hard to get and expensive, but miranda was determined to make the show more accessible. We were not a family that could afford to go see broadway shows all the time. I fell in love the same way kids are falling in love with hamilton now, which is listening to albums over and over and imagining my own version in my mind. Are you thinking that there is a real History Lesson here . Absolutely. I think from the second we opened, the conversation went from okay, we have a show and its done, to how do we provide access to the kids who are going to be learning about this stuff . Reporter from the opening number, hamilton struck a chord. This is like one of the greatest performances ive ever seen in my life. Reporter for the story and its diverse cast. I relate to them, like they look like me and my family. Reporter even miranda acknowledges hamilton only skims the surface of a complicated story. The hope is that for these kids, it inspires deeper learning and that a tale of americas past can be an investment in its future. It was one of the most Amazing Things ive ever experienced, period. The way that he shows history through the arts is just beautiful, and i could never put that into words. I think she put it in the perfect words. You can see much more behind the scenes at hamilton sunday on the new sunday today show with w