tonight the new images and our new reporting on the final moments before that deadly bridge collapse in Baltimore our first up close images of the cargo ship under the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key bridge two construction workers found dead four others missing and presumed Dead new dash cam video of them on the bridge hours before the collision and the wife of One Survivor revealing now what they were doing when the ship hit plus the emotional tributes at the Orioles opening day all so tonig
ht the suspect in a stabbing rampage that killed four people in Illinois in court among the victims a 15-year-old girl and a mailman what the suspect says set him off former crypto Mogul Sam bankman freed sentenced to 25 years for massive fraud his apology in court before learning his Fate on the East Coast the soaking rain and flood risk the race for 2024 President Biden sharing the stage tonight with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at a star studded fundraiser just miles away former president Tr
ump at the Wake for a slain NYPD officer as he campaigns on the issue of crime the mission to protect the Giants of the sea inside the new whale traffic control and as small town papers disappear Harry Smith takes us to Maine where local news is getting a Lifeline this is NBC Nightly News with Lester Hol good evening and welcome tonight we are getting our closest look yet at the precarious remains of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge and the out of control container ship that toppled it our t
eam out with the Army Corps of Engineers today as they prepare for the formidable challenge of clearing the block Channel tonight special equipment is on the way to begin the work while the search for the bodies of four missing workers continued the wife of a surviving worker telling NBC News my husband doesn't know how to swim it is a Miracle he survived authorities also revealing they have begun interviews with a captain and crew of the container ship but the NTSB now saying its final report d
etailing a probable cause of the accident may be two years away at in Baltimore a city still in shock Oreo fans took part in a moment of silence at the team's home opener Tom Costello has late developments from the accident scene out on the water with the Army Corps of Engineers and the first up close look at the massive Dolly container ship and the wreckage of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge laying on top of it the doll's bow crushed under a massive piece of Steel that weighs somewhere bet
ween 3 and 4,000 tons we have one of the largest cranes coming in here tonight on the Eastern seab board that picks up 1,000 tons at a time the water so muddy and dark divers and drones have struggled to get a clear view submerged under the wreckage the remains of four Bridge repair workers still missing this dash cam video shows them on the bridge a few hours before the disaster the wife of Julio cantes who survived tells NBC News the workers were on a break in their cars when the bridge sudden
ly collapsed amazingly centus survived even though he doesn't swim the Army Corps of Engineers will have a lead role now in clearing and reopening America's ninth busiest port here's the challenge they need to clear a 700 foot stretch right here to allow ships to get in and out but it's not just above water of course it's below water and all of that Twisted bridge that metal underwater it is razor sharp posing a potentially lethal threat to ships and the divers working underwater this work is ve
ry unforgiving and the planning has to be done in extreme detail and that's the work that's going on today potentially very dangerous incredibly dangerous again today a team of NTSB investigators on the ship interviewing the ship's Pilots captain and crew members the ship's black box shows alarms going off at 1:24 a.m. indicating a loss of power the ship's pilot made an urgent call for tugboats and to drop anchor it's raining it's slippery of course we have the Hazardous Materials uh we have con
tainers that are open uh we certainly have um structural damage everywhere with massive cranes and barges arriving as soon as tonight experts believe it could take a month to clear the wreckage when the green button is pushed and go is given by the incident command for those cranes to start picking it out of the water it will go faster than most people can expect but the size and scale of the job unprecedented we certainly understand the demand to get this port functioning and open again we're g
oing to do that but we're going to do it safely and Tom you're getting a better idea just how involve this cleanup operation is going to be yeah that's right the Army Corps tells me that a fully loaded ship like the dolly it is going to be just within 12 to 18 in of the river bottom and that that the depth is 50 ft so they need to clear everything off the bottom all the way down to the sand because otherwise any debris could pose a lethal risk to Future ships moving through there Lester yeah tou
gh and dangerous work Tom thank you today even President Biden acknowledged what he called a brutal stabbing attack in Rockford Illinois that killed four people and wounded seven others prosecutors say the suspect blame drug use for the sudden attack here's Maggie Vespo tonight as Rockford struggles to understand the Carnage the accused attacker in Wednesday's deadly stabbing spree 22-year-old Christian SoDo in court facing 13 charges from first-degree murder to home invasion for police say a ra
mpage spanning five crime scenes across this Northern Illinois Community they say SoDo attacked 11 people total killing four including a mother and son a mailman on his route and a 15-year-old girl Jenna Nukem Jenna died saving her sister and her friend prosecutors today saying the Spree started when Soto visited a friend in the first house who he said gave him laced marijuana Soto said he became paranoid after the drug usage he said he retrieved a knife from the kitchen and proceeded to stab Ja
cob and Ramona to death from there they say he targeted at random driving his truck onto Lawns breaking into one home where three teenage girls were watching a movie grabbing a bat he started swinging the bat striking all the female victims Darlene Weber says SoDo came in their back door attacking her and her children he looked at me he just had the world's biggest smile on his face he was smiling he looked like the devil incarnate they say the family dog Brandy bit SoDo on the leg as Weber's so
n fought him off and I grabbed a syrup bottle and started beating him with it I'm not even kidding if it wasn't for him I don't think I'd be standing here talking to you right now I really don't it did it was frightening tonight a woman who identified herself as Soto's mother telling NBC News he's a loving person and he has never hurt anybody before we never felt threatened by him we can't believe that is my son Maggie vaspa NBC news Rockford Illinois here in New York this sentence was 255 years
in prison today for Sam bankman freed the one-time crypto King whose FTX exchange collapsed cnbc's Kate Rooney has details convicted of seven criminal counts of Fraud and conspiracy last November today Sam bankman freed learned his fate sentenced to 25 years in federal prison just a couple of years ago bankman freed was a young billionaire living in the Bahamas running crypto exchange FTX exerting influence in Washington and courting celebrity endorsements then it all came crashing down it does
appear that they are filing chapter 11 FTX and its sister hedge fund collapsed customers left unable to access their funds bankman freed long maintained he had not done anything wrong I didn't ever uh try to commit fraud on anyone but today in court bankman freed was contrite telling the judge he made selfish decisions adding it haunts me every day I was the CEO of Ft TX he said I was responsible the judge admonishing bankman freed saying there is a risk that this man will be in position to do
something very bad in the future and adding in his 30 years he's never seen a performance like bankman Freed's trial testimony saying when he wasn't outright lying he was evasive how are you feeling today bankman Freed's parents solemn outside the courthouse saying in a statement they are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son bankman Freed's lawyers say they plan to appeal it was really really difficult I mean I couldn't eat sleep seil cavi lost $2 million when FTX imploded today he
says he's still waiting to get that money back I think that it goes some way some closure but I don't think it it fully reflects the financial and the emotional toll on customers Kate when FTX collaps there were real questions about crypto's future how is it fairing now at the time last year Sam bman Freed's fraud was seen as irreparable damage for the industry but a year and a half after this FTX drama unfolded Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are now back at all-time highs Lester Kate Roone
y thank you just in dramatic dash cam from a deadly school bus crash in Texas the footage showing the moment a cement truck crosses the center line and hits the bus sending it rolling over last Friday more than 40 prek students were on board one was killed along with a driver in a car behind the bus no charges have been filed tonight much of the East Coast continues to see a steady and soaking rain in an area extending from the Carolina to Maine 12 million people remain under flood watches throu
gh early tomorrow rainfall will range from 1 to three Ines now to the race for the White House with President Biden attending a star studed fundraiser in Manhattan with two of his predecessors here's Gabe Gutierrez tonight President Biden arriving in New York Side by side with it former running mate under heavy security the Biden campaign hosting a star studded fundraiser a Hall of Presidents at Radio City Music Hall Biden Obama and Clinton with celebrities including lizo and Queen Latifa the ca
mpaign says the event will rake in at least $25 million as Democrats set the stage for the general election I've never been more optimistic about our future I know I'm only 40 years old time 2 + one but a new poll shows former president Trump performing well in a head-to-head matchup and that just 38% of Americans approve of President Biden's handling of the economy just 30% on immigration we here today the president's visit to Manhattan sparked protest over the war in Gaza AIDS have said former
president Obama like many Democrats has been worried President Biden could lose but last summer during a private lunch at the White House NBC News reported the two men discussed what was at stake in 24 former president Obama now taking an increasingly active role in the campaign as Democrats Tonight Show a united front against former president Trump as you know Joe is an extraordinary friend and partner he was by my side for eight years Mr Trump just a few miles away today attending the wake of
NYPD officer Jonathan Diller who was shot and killed this week during a traffic stop New York City's mayor says the suspect had more than 20 prior arrests the former president today meeting with officer Diller's wife and and their one-year-old son we have to stop it we have to get back to Law and Order we have to do a lot of things differently because this is not working this is happening too often Gabe let's turn back to that Biden fundraiser it comes as Democrats are doing really well in rais
ing money yeah that's right Lester over the past several weeks Democrats have far outpaced Republicans when it comes to fundraising but these Pro Palestinian protesters you can hear them in the background amid this heavy security they continue to make their voices heard at this event this is something the Biden campaign is having to deal with Lester all right gab thank you in just 60 seconds fun without the sun why the coming eclipse is making cities like Cleveland and buffalo spring break hotpo
ts the disappearing act next the FAA says spring break travel will soon hit its peak as the upcoming solar eclipse fuels a tourism boom in some unlikely places here's Jesse kers it's that time of year and airports are packed flying during the Spring Break season when it's not for spring break it's awful completely awful even though spring break is in full swing The Season's busiest time to fly is still days away we'll just take it and roll with it the FAA expects air travel to Peak next Thursday
and Friday with almost 100,000 flights combined some Americans hoping to catch a glimpse of April 8's total solar eclipse Clips heading to destinations like Dallas Indianapolis Cleveland and buffalo airfare and hotel rates are soaring in cities along the path it's like Super Bowl prices week over Week hotels are up about 550% in cities like Jackson Missouri where it'll cost on average more than $600 a night in Erie Pennsylvania it's almost $ 800 this map from Airbnb shows bookings Eclipse weeke
nd they're not just here spending on hotels but they're going to take in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a lot of other great things going on in the community bars restaurants and others but a city's Grace for the influx some officials are recommending people stock up on water food and fuel and the FAA warns airports in the path of totality could see unusually high traffic plus delays adding flights could be rerouted as well Cleveland's airport is Staffing up we have more people on hand on the fr
ont of the house to make sure that you know lines are moving this spring break instead of racing to the Sun many Americans are hoping to see it fade away Jesse kersch NBC News Cleveland up next as we continue a new program that helps ships keep their distance from the gentle Giants of the sea could it help save endangered whales a continent [Music] away back now with our series climate challenge for years our friend Anne Thompson has reported on the risk whales face in the waters they share with
cargo ships and fishing lines tonight she tells us about a new approach to protect these Giants of the sea it happens quickly a spout a dorsal fit as killer whales some endangered surface in the Salish sea off Seattle weighing up to 11 tons they can be hard to spot oh my gosh boats are supposed to stay 400 yd away in the miles of channels and Straits across the US Canada Border including Puget Sound this is very much a working Waterway last year some 300,000 commercial vessels traversed these W
aters water is where 23 different species of whales corpuses and dolphins swim sightings of those species called sitations now tracked in a new program led by the US Coast Guard and this is the nerve center this is it Lieutenant Commander Margaret Woodbridge gives us a rare look inside the cation desk is it like an air traffic control center but for boats in some ways yes instead of radar looks like we have another killer whale report here the Coast Guard relies on sightings looks like 1 2 3 fou
r five we're hoping to really tap into all those eyes on the water and get that information into this this database and alert system containership MC saona so that we can let that larger shipping traffic know um when there are whales nearby it's all done on apps apps even the coast guard uses on the cutter ad Deli it was seen today at 10:20 20 yeah about 40 minutes ago 40 minutes ago that's where we're headed down slowing down those ships is key to the whale survival says Noah's Lyn Barry does t
he geography put them on a potential collision course there is challenging geography here we've got many islands we've got small channels pinch points where whales and ships want to share these Waters applied similar to the North Atlantic right whales on the East Coast we told you about last year is that a calf yes it is that calf is one of five right whales reported dead this year two from vessel strikes one caught in fishing gear now this early warning system on the Pacific there was killer we
ll sided off their port B may chart a new course there we go to help protect those top predators on both coasts an Thompson NBC News Seattle and up next tonight good news on the front page har Smith goes on a paper route through Maine and the mission to save a cherished local news source 1987 we did this finally tonight Harry Smith with the news from Maine about the vital role and a Lifeline for local news at Ry in Central Maine many a customer digs into the Lewiston Sun Journal along with their
breakfast locals have relied on it since 1847 but like many many a local paper its future was anything but certain it's been tough I mean I it's no secret advertising spending is is down exponentially our subscriptions are down Sun Journal publisher jod jalbert has lived in Lewiston all her life we did as much as we possibly could not to pull the resources out of our newsrooms but everybody was tight until last summer when the Sun Journal four other main dailies and 16 weekly paper were sold to
the not for-profit National Trust for local news thank goodness now it was it was huge relief um huge relief The Newsroom was estatic they were so thankful Mara Hoffman runs our night Dash executive editor Judy Meyer introduced us around a newsroom full of experienced journalists who knew exactly what needed to be done last October when a gunman opened fire in a bowling alley and bar here almost everybody in this Newsroom is bold at that bowling alley we've been to shis we know where it is we k
now the people who were involved and I think we approached it as this is not a crime story this is a crime against our community where the colle a story The Sun Journal continues to work on 5 months later long after the rest of us have left town as a local daily though High School sports Drive interest as does restaurant news and we run birth notices in our papers who does that anymore not everyone loves the paper though some elected officials Community leaders we're like pest says Meyer there's
a lot of Mischief that can go on in the dark and that happens when you don't have local journalists keeping track of what's going on Mayers have relied on the Sun Journal for more than 175 years thanks to the trust they still can and be Assured Delivery person Beth Colmes will see that you get your copy even at your back door terrific story and a topic near and dear to all of us who practice journalism Harry that's your final Nightly news story you're leaving us what's next it's time to move on
and I'm going to be heading to Iowa this fall to teach at my alma mater Central College in Pella I'm going to be teaching a course on curiosity so we appreciate all the opportunities we've had here at at NBC and especially thanks to you bler and thank you and curiosity really defines who you are that constant hunt for the story we appreciate everything you've done thanks very much har thank you all right that is Nightly News thank you for watching everyone I'm Lester Holt please take care of yo
urself and each other goodby thanks for watching stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social media but
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