♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, "rust" charges. >> this is a crime scene. >> alec baldwin facing two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of the film's cinematographer. >> you can't walk onto a set, hold a gun, point it at someone, pull the trigger, and just hope that everything went right. >> the stiff charges he and the film's armorer are facing. >> alec baldwin and the armorer have had the book thrown at them. >> why prosecutors say the set was so unsafe. >> they were not doing the things that they should have been doing. >> how many years could they spend in prison if convicted? plus kristin chenoweth. the broadway legend has always

been popular. ♪ popular you're gonna be popular ♪ >> now she's dishing on her faith -- >> i think being a christian doesn't always mean that you're just perfect. >> her engagement -- >> breaking news, do you have a date yet? >> well, i'll tell you later. >> and the moment that brought her to tears. and "the housewives" scam. >> the only thing i'm guilty of is being shah-mazing. >> as jen shah prepares for prison, we're hearing from her victims for the first time. >> i was stupid enough to get caught in a scam. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv i'm feeling better. body pain? headache? nope. all in one and done. cuh-congestion? better. cough? fever? better.

mucinex all in one relieves 9 symptoms in 1 dose. it's not cold and flu season. it's always comeback season.

♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. after months of denying any culpability, alec baldwin and the film's armorer will soon be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the death of "rust" cinematographer hell lean that hutchins. both facing substantial prison time if convicted. the embattled actor and father of eight is mounting his defense. here's abc's linsey davis. >> you can't walk onto a set, hold a gun, point it at someone, pull the trigger, and just hope that everything went right. >> reporter: a stunning development in a case that has riveted the country. actor alec baldwin now faces two couts of involuntary

manslaughter for the fatal shooting of cinemaing to photographer halyna hutchins on the set of the movie "rust." >> he shouldn't have had a real gun. he should have been using a plastic or rubber gun. he certainly was not called upon to pull the trigger. >> reporter: more than one year after hutchins' death, today prosecutors announce the charges. the film's 25-year-old armorer, hannah gutierrez reed, also faces the same charges as baldwin. >> i'm the armorer, or at least i was. >> alec baldwin and the armorer had the book thrown at them by the prosecutors. they could have said, we're going to pursue involuntary manslaughter here, up to 18 months in prison as the possible punishment. instead they've said, we're going to throw in what's called a firearm enhancement. meaning if convicted of that, alec build win could get a mandatory five-year sentence. >> reporter: prosecutors say unsafe set conditions contributed to the tragedy. why did you believe and

ultimately decide that you had a strong enough case to bring charges against both hanna and alec? >> because this set was really unsafe. it was not being run well. it was not -- they were not doing the things that they should have been doing in order to have a safety-conscious and certainly with guns, a gun-conscious movie set. three different people, if they only done their job, we wouldn't be standing here. >> reporter: in a statement, alec baldwin's attorney responded to the charges. "mr. baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun or anywhere on the movie set. he relied on the professionals with whom he worked who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. we will fight these charges and we will win." an attorney for hanna gutierrez said she did not commit involuntary manslaughter, these charges are the result of a very flawed investigation and an inaccurate understanding of the full facts. we believe hanna will be exonerated of wrongdoing by a jury." the assistant director, david

hall, signed a no contest plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. he will serve a suspended sentence and six months of probation. >> when confronted with a potential felony, carrying up to 6 1/2 years in prison, or confronted with a petty misdemeanor which six months unsupervised probation, sometimes it gets to be the weighing of which choice is better, which of the lesser evils. >> reporter: lisa torico, attorney for david halls, tells abc news her client hopes to move on with his life. >> this is such a traumatic and horrible experience, he is still processing the trauma. i don't think dave wants to go on a movie set again. >> how did he end up getting a plea deal here? >> he came in, gave an interview, and based on that interview, based on him taking responsibility, admitting culpability, we decided that he -- that we would make a plea deal with him. >> reporter: the incident occurred on october 21st, 2021

while the low-budget western was filming on bonanza creek ranch in new mexico. baldwin was rehearsing with a pistol when the gun fired, hitting hutchins, wounding director joel sues zan. according to court documents, both the armorer, hannah gutierrez reed, and assistant director dave halls, handled the gun before baldwin. but the district attorney says it was still baldwin's responsibility to check the weapon. >> he says that that wasn't his responsibility, that that's why you have the armorer there. >> we've spoken with several actors, lots of people involved in the movie industry. and universally they say that either the actor should have checked or should have had it checked in front of him before he took the gun. >> reporter: baldwin described the moment in an interview with abc's george stephanopoulos in december 2021. >> i'm handed a gun and someone declares, "this is a gold gun." cold gun means there's no

charge. there could be dummy rounds. >> reporter: halls' attorney says his client did not say cold gun. he maintains he did not hand alec baldwin a gun and shout "cold gun." has your investigation borne that out? >> it's unclear. i know he handed him a gun earlier in the day. we're not sure at that exact home if he actually handed him the gun. >> reporter: baldwin insisted to abc news he did not pull the trigger. >> i let go of the hammer of the gun, and the gun goes off. i let go of the hammer of the gun, the gun goes off. >> at the moment -- >> that was the moment the gun went off, yeah, that was the moment the gun went off. >> it wasn't in the script for the trigger to be pulled. >> well, the trigger wasn't pulled, i didn't pull the trigger. >> so you never pulled the trigger? >> no, no, no, no, i would never point a gun at someone and pull the trigger everybody. >> reporter: but the fbi's report concluded the gun could not be made to fire without pulling the trigger. alec baldwin told george

stephanopoulos he did not pull the trigger. the fbi came back with a different conclusion. how did that impact your investigation? >> well, that was one of the reasons this investigation took so long. we were waiting on that fbi report to show us if that gun was a fully functional gun or not. and what it showed us was that it was a fully functional gun, and it did not misfire, it would not misfire. the trigger had to have been pulled. so alec is wrong. >> reporter: in footage released from the sheriff's office in april, we see baldwin rehearsing the scene just before the incident. baldwin is seen practicing how to draw his gun. the crew then breaks for lunch. guiterrez reid told investigators she loaded the gun before lunch with dummy rounds and that the casings look similar to live ammunition. rehearsals resumed that afternoon. the camera was not rolling when the gun went off. in the initial confusion, the body camera footage shows baldwin waiting to talk with deputies. >> how's it going, sir? so my understanding, you were in

the room when the lady -- >> i was the one holding the gun, yeah. >> okay, all righty. >> what do you need? >> reporter: meanwhile, another lieutenant has found gutierrez reed, the film's armorer in charge of the weapons on set. >> that's the gun. >> okay. >> reporter: gutierrez reed and the movie's assistant director, dave halls, both cooperating amid the confusion. >> do you have those rounds i gave you? >> what? no -- >> those -- >> they're out in the car. >> are they? >> i don't know. >> who did $you give them to? >> i gave them back to you. >> reporter: at the sheriff's office, after being read his miranda rights, baldwin has one question. >> my only other question is, am i being charged with something? >> no, we're just interviewing. >> reporter: after he's interviewed by police, baldwin gets the heartbreaking update. >> i do have some very unfortunate news to tell you. >> what? >> she didn't make it. >> no! i want to go call my wife. >> reporter: alec baldwin, now 64, has often been at the center

of controversy. >> he's always been a polarizing figure. he's had antics and fights with the paparazzi, he left a very unsavory, controversial voicemail for his oldest daughter ireland, and more recently, he's been in the headlines a lot for his expanding family. >> reporter: in the months following the shooting, multiple civil lawsuits were filed, including a wrongful death lawsuit by hutchins' husband, matthew, against alec baldwin, producers, and crew members of the film. that suit was settled in october of last year for an undisclosed amount. hutchins' husband is now an executive producer for the film as part of a wrongful death settlement. proceeds of month the movie are expected to go to the couple's son. >> everybody understands that this was a mistake. and a horrible tragedy. but it will always be an asterisk next to alec baldwin's name, that he was the one who killed a cinematographer on the set of one of his films. >> reporter: the family's attorney tonight says they support the charges and

fervently hope the justice system works to protect the public and hold accountable those who break the law. the district attorney's office announcing they will file criminal charges by the end of the month. a judge in new mexico will then conduct a preliminary hearing and determine if there's enough evidence to go to trial. >> for prosecutors to win this, they're going to have to convince a jury that alec baldwin should have known, should have known that there were safety problems on the set, and he should have known that he should have reviewed and looked at that gun first before firing. >> we needed to get to a place where we could get justice and accountability for halyna hutchins. she died in all of this. i think that gets lost sometimes, that a person died because of this negligence. because of this -- this recklessness. >> our thanks to linsey. when we come back, kristin chenoweth.

why the popular broadway actress is sharing her philosophy about life. ♪ you'll hang with the right cohorts you'll be good at sports ♪ ♪ know the slang you've got to know ♪ ♪ so let's start because you've got an awfully long way to go ♪ a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable,... i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. check. when uc held me back... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc got the upper hand... rinvoq helped visibly repair the colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief. lasting, steroid-free remission. and a chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check. check. and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin cancer; death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older... with at least 1 heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq... as serious reactions can occur.

tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. put uc in check and keep it there, with rinvoq. ask your gastroenterologist about rinvoq. and learn how abbvie could help you save. i used to pre-rinse dishes cause my old detergent didn't actually get 'em clean. but new cascade platinum plus has me doing dishes...differently. scrub? soak? nope. i just scrape, load and i'm done. only platinum plus is bigger. with double the dawn grease fighting power and double the scrubbing power. so you can load this, and get this. i'm not the type to break the dish rules...or am i? scrape, load, done. new cascade platinum plus. pain hits fast. so get relief fast. only tylenol rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast for fast pain relief. and now get relief without a pill with tylenol dissolve packs. relief without the water. my most important kitchen tool? my brain.

so i choose neuriva plus. unlike some others, neuriva plus is a multitasker supporting 6 key indicators of brain health. to help keep me sharp. neuriva: think bigger. business can happen anytime, anywhere.

so help yours thrive and stay connected with the comcast business complete connectivity solution. it's the largest, fastest, reliable network. advanced gig speed wifi. and cyberthreat protection. starting at just $49.99 a month. plus, you can save up to 60% a year when you add comcast business mobile. or, ask how to get up to a $750 prepaid card. complete connectivity. one solution, for wherever business takes you. comcast business. powering possibilities.

♪ broadway star kristin chenoweth is sharing her philosophy about life, love, and faith. emotional reunion with her birth mother and what she's saying about her upcoming marriage. kristin chenoweth, welcome to "nightline." i'm so happy to have you here. >> i'm so happy to be here and see you again, sir. >> right? we first met back in 2008.

you were kind and gracious and wonderful then. you're kind and gracious and wonderful now. >> thank you. >> you're covering up now, i was blinded by that ring earlier. tell me about that. >> i got engaged last year. >> congratulations. >> we're actually going to try to do it this year. >> breaking news. do we have a date yet? >> well, i'll tell you later. >> congratulations. all right, so we're going to talk about your new book, your "new york times" bestseller, "i'm no philosopher but i got thoughts." i read it, it's a wonderful book. what prompted you to write it and what's the spirit of the book, from your perspective? >> remember when covid hit us all, i went from 110 to zero. i don't know about you but i was like, what now? what am i going to do? i looked through when you journals, and i was like, maybe the book could kind of be this. i wanted it to be an inspirational book but also a shout of joy and showing the darkness of "me too" and make

people laugh. >> sure. >> you talk about scripture and your relationship as a proud christian woman. but also you drop a couple of f-bombs in this book. >> it happens. i'm not sure how my mom and dad feel about that. i think being a christian doesn't always mean that you're just perfect. my grandma, i write about this in the book, had -- gave me a great piece of advice when i was in college. she said, "you know what i do when i read the bible, i take the meat that serves me well, but i don't choke on a bone." some in my face would call it cherry picking. to me, no, it's not. it's just taking what serves you most and moving on from something that doesn't. >> you have this wonderful book coming out. you also, this wonderful tv show, apple tv, which you're a star. we're going to take a look at a clip and talk about that on the back side. ♪ trials and tribulations ♪ ♪ strife and tribulation ♪ ♪ grief and consternation ♪

♪ strife and tribulation ♪ >> the show takes place in the 1940s, but that voice is timeless. >> thank you. >> tell me about the show. why you ended up doing it? we've seen the edgy part of you. >> oh, yeah, that was a fun character. i love the concept of the show. keegan-michael key and cecily strong, two of my heroes, play the leads. normal people who get trapped in a musical. >> why won't you answer the question? >> fine, yes, if it's a way to get out of here. >> it's an ode not only to music lovers but people who don't necessarily like music theater. and to the golden age of musicals. >> one of the things i appreciate about you, your amazing gifts, your remarkable voice. i think of your great work in productions like "wicked." >> thank you.

>> and some of the songs in there, popular again on tiktok, that's awesome. >> i know. ♪ popular you're gonna be popular ♪ >> this incredible gift that you have, and you recognize it as a gift, comes from a painful place, from your father, your mother, and how you embrace the all. >> yeah. when i was born, i was adopted to the best parents ever. jeannie and jerry chenoweth. god knew what he was doing when he put me in that house. but every year on my birthday -- i write about this in my book -- i used to go in a bedroom by myself and say, dear lord, if my birth mom could hear me, could you give her some feelings that i love her so much and that i'm happy. many years later i met her. she goes, "you're me, i'm you." i'm like, "i'm you, you're me." it was crazy. she said, "are you mad at me?" "mad at you, no, i love you, you gave me a life and my parents gave me a-." she said, "every year on your

birthday --" sorry. "every year on your birthday i would go into a room, i would thank god for you and say, if she can feel me, if you could tell, let her know that i'm thinking of her. so when we talked, we found that each other was doing the same thing. thank you. >> you're welcome. >> no matter how often i talk about it, it's still emotional. >> hey, that's understandable. i have to say, right, we've known each other since 2008. there seems to be a sense in your eyes and your spirit of full happiness. sitting across from each other years later, it feels like whatever that was, you found it? >> i did. it took me awhile. i went through some wonderful men and some turds, like everybody. but i found a great man. and he lifts me up. he's my rock. i'm his rock. we are soul friends. and lovers. and i just love that josh, i'm

so lucky i found him. >> he's a lucky man as well. we are lucky to have you on "nightline." come back any time. you're always welcome. >> thank you. >> it's great to see you, my friend. >> you too, byron. >> god bless you. >> love you. >> kristin chenoweth's new book "i'm no philosopher but i've got thoughts" is now available. coming up, jen shaw, for the first time we're hearing from the victims of the real housewife's telemarketing scheme. in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away

if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. ask your health care provider about the ozempic® tri-zone. you may pay as little as $25. aah, it's a good day to cough. oh, no! bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! hmmm, ok. not coughing at yoga? antiquing not coughing? not coughing at the movies?! hashtag still not coughing?! aaah. oww! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. it's not cough season. it's always comeback season.

housewives" star jen shah reports to prison next month. for the first time we're hearing

from some of her victims. here's abc's arierielle reshef. >> reporter: for is first time two victims of jen shah's nation would it wide telemarketing scheme are speaking out. >> i'm telling the world, i was stupid enough to get caught in a scam. and i'm not a stupid person, but i did make a big mistake. >> reporter: shah sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison forrer on committees trading a decade-long scheme that targeted the elderly and vulnerable. 75-year-old tricia tells us ever since being duped out of half her life savings, she has been rocked by shame. she didn't want to share her last name. she paid $47,000 on the false promise that shah's company would help her start an online business. what was your reaction when the ftc contacted you and said, you may have fallen victim to a scam they were investigating? >> i mean, i was shell shocked. but it turned out to be true.

>> how has the combination of this situation, this financial situation, and your health issues, impacted you? >> i am just recovering from being in deep depression. and i'm going to cry. you get to the point where there is no way out. i don't have the money to take care of myself. >> the complete episode of "impact: the housewife's scan, the real life of jen shah" new streaming on hulu. new episodes of "impact" drop every thursday. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch full episodes on hulu. see you right back here same