the city hall insiders have a formula: grow the system, exploit the system. take mark farrell's record. after receiving the largest ethics fine in city history for breaking campaign laws. mark authorized a commission almost every year he was in office. he was even caught taking donations from people he would then appoint to commissions, including a felon convicted of bribery. san francisco's challenges demand urgency, not more of the same failed insiders. the disturbing bombshell report in a republican candidate for governor and the disturbing comments he allegedly made on an adult website. mark robinson, the gop nominee for governor in north carolina endorsed by donald trump under fire. the report alleging he

posted comments years ago on an adult forum, referring to himself as black nazi and expressing support for slavery. his defiant response denying the report and vowing to stay in the race. just in, the kentucky judge fatally shot in his own courthouse chambers. what the governor is saying. also tonight, israel striking dozens of hezbollah targets in lebanon after those deadly attacks using exploding devices. hezbollah's leader speaking from a secret location calling the attacks an act of war. the race for the white house. kamala harris bringing in the star power, holding a campaign event with oprah winfrey. and donald trump, after pushing false claims about haitian migrants in springfield, ohio, now vowing to visit the city. our nbc news investigation. the medical school that profited off leasing out unclaimed bodies for research. one woman's fight to get back her fiance's remains, and what has happened since our

first report. and the group of seniors diving in to keep cape cod clean. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening and welcome. scandal tonight rocking the governor's race in politically consequential north carolina. republican candidate and conservative firebrand mark robinson tonight facing calls to drop out of the race after a cnn report today linked robinson to a series of inflammatory online remarks, including, according to cnn, referring to himself as a black nazi, and writing in support of reinstating slavery. but robinson is strongly denying making the comments and says he is staying in the race. we have to warn you, much of the reporting in this story is graphic in nature. the cable network saying the remarks were posted on a porn website over a decade ago linked by a single user name. nbc news has not verified the authenticity of the posts.

robinson calling the report tabloid trash as some republicans are speaking out against him. laura jarrett has the latest. >> reporter: tonight, republican candidate mark robinson vowing to stay in the race for governor in north carolina, vehemently denying an explosive new report purporting to show dozens of his disturbing comments online. >> they want to focus on salacious tabloid lies. we're not going let them do that. we are staying in this race. we are in it to win it. >> reporter: the current lieutenant governor facing a swirl of speculation about the fate of his campaign after cnn today published what it called a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website' message board more than a decade ago before robinson began his political career. nbc news has not verified the authenticity of the post. cnn says includes robinson referring to himself as a black nazi and expressing support for reinstating slavery, writing "slavery is not bad. some people need to be

slaves. i wish they would bring it back. i would certainly buy a few." cnn also reporting robinson, who publicly supports a six-week ban on abortion wrote that he did not care if the celebrity got an abortion, writing, quote, i don't care. i just want to see the sex tape. cnn says comments were all made under the same user name, and that robinson used it elsewhere on the internet including product reviews on amazon. but tonight robinson blasting it as tabloid trash. >> let me reassure you the things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of mark robinson. you know my words. you know my character, and you know that i have been completely transparent in this race and before. >> reporter: no stranger to polarizing comments, robinson has come under scrutiny in the past for calling the holocaust hogwash, which he later said was a poorly worded remark that wasn't antisemitic. >> come november, i plan on being the

first black governor of north carolina. >> reporter: he's a social conservative who has been endorsed by former president trump. >> this is martin luther king on steroids, okay. >> reporter: north carolina a battleground state in the presidential race, but a tough one for democrats who haven't won it since 2008. >> and laura, the trump campaign weighing in here tonight? >> yes, lester, the trump campaign saying he is focused on winning north carolina. meanwhile, if robinson were to get out of this race, he only has until 11:59 tonight if republicans have any hopes of replacing him as their nominee. >> okay, laura, thank you so much. we're turning to stunning news breaking out of kentucky. sam brock is following this story centered on a courthouse in kentucky. sam, a judge fatally shot tonight in the courthouse. >> yeah, lester, good evening. this is something that is extremely limited in terms of the information we have and very jarring. let's go through what we know. kentucky's governor andy beshear confirming a little while ago that a district judge in

letcher county, kentucky, lester, this is about two and a half hours southeast of lexington, was shot and killed in his chambers. now the coroner this case has confirmed his identity as kevin mullins who was appointed back in 2009. he was prosecutor for a decade prior to that. the question right now is what exactly transpired. we don't know. we're out to letcher county. a state trooper has confirmed one person is in custody. they will not confirm who that is at this hour. >> thanks. israel on the defense against hezbollah launching conventional military attacks from the air in southern lebanon, still on edge after deadly waves of deadly booby-trapped pagers and hand-held radios exploded earlier this week, targeting their hezbollah owners. keir simmons is there. >> reporter: israeli air and artillery strikes pounding southern lebanon today, targeting hezbollah as the leader of the iran-backed militia appeared from a secret location, vowing

revenge for two days of unprecedented attacks. 5,000 pagers and walkie-talkies were booby-trapped by israel, he says. calling it a massacre in minutes. the number killed rising today to 37, according to lebanese health officials, and thousands more wounded. israel has not said it was them. airlines today banning pagers and walkie-talkies from flights out of beirut. and images like this, children close to an explosion in a grocers emerging amid accusations of international law violations. among those killed, 9-year-old fatima abdullah. >> we have 12 operating rooms, and all our teams are exhausted. >> reporter: dr. salah zeineldine at the beirut medical center has been treating a heavy stream of those injured by the explosions. >> more from the patients that are very sick, injuries to the eyes, to the hands. >> reporter: the synchronized assassination was

clearly long in the planning. masterminded by israel, two u.s. officials tell nbc news, a clandestine trail of companies from hungary to taiwan to japan, denying involvement. but one senior israeli official here tonight now says the timing was not part of a wider escalation, saying the chance the detonated devices was slipping away, a use it or lose it situation. tonight, iran promising a crushing response, and the u.s. secretary of state in paris, trying to de-escalate the conflict. >> the population in both northern israel and southern lebanon has had to flee their homes and we all want to see them be able to go back to their homes. and that requires a secure environment. >> reporter: tonight israel says it has arrested an iranian agent aiming to kill its senior leadership. the potential for an all-out war still feels very real here. lester?

>> all right, keir simmons in beirut, thank you. now to the race for the white house. the fight over key battleground states ramping up with vice president harris bringing extra star power on to the campaign trail. here is gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: tonight, vice president harris once again in the critical swing state of michigan, this time getting a celebrity boost from oprah winfrey at a live-streamed event. >> what we're hoping is going to be one great big giant voter rally. >> reporter: just weeks after the tv icon's high wattage endorsement at the democratic national conversation. >> let's all choose kamala harris. >> reporter: and with in-person early voting beginning in several states tomorrow, a new poll showing just how tight this race is. harris and former president trump tied at 47% nationally. and in the key state of pennsylvania, harris has a slim lead within the margin of error. meanwhile, the former president overnight looking to boost republican congressional candidates, making a pitch in deep blue new york.

>> with terrorists and criminals pouring in, and with inflation eating your hearts out, vote for donald trump. what the hell do you have to lose? >> reporter: while harris has attacked trump on health care -- >> they intend to end the affordable care act, all based on concepts of a plan. concepts. >> reporter: the former president is pledging to lift the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions known as s.a.l.t., even though the controversial cap was part of his signature tax law in 2017, a move critics said targeted democratic-leaning states with high property taxes. now -- >> i will cut taxes for families, small businesses and workers, including restoring the s.a.l.t. deduction. >> reporter: focusing concerns over immigration, trump now says he plans to visit springfield, ohio, where he has faced fierce criticism for his comments about immigrants. lester? >> gabe gutierrez at the white house, thanks. emotional testimony today in the inquiry into the

doomed titan submersible mission to the "titanic" as we learn about a malfunction days before the deadly dive. here is jesse kirsch. >> was just very happy to go. >> reporter: that's how renata rojas remembers titan's five-man crew preparing to dive to titanic's wreck, and ultimately their deaths last year. >> nothing is going bring our friends back. >> reporter: today coast guard investigators questioning rojas, a former mission specialist for oceangate about the company's submersible which imploded last june, killing everyone on board. the coast guard now releasing this new video showing titan debris on the sea floor. oceangate's former scientific director testifying about potential warning signs ignored, including on titan's last dive attempt before the fatal mission. >> the bow of the submersible was pointing up in the air. the pilot crashed into the rear bulkhead. the rest of the

passengers tumbled about. >> reporter: rojas says she was clear-eyed about risks she believes are worth taking. >> i hope that this investigation creates an understanding that with exploration, there is risk, and without taking that risk and the exploration, the world would still be flat. private citizens are the ones funding the expeditions. and i hope that -- does not stop. >> reporter: jesse kirsch, nbc news. in just 60 seconds, the new warning about popular social media and streaming platforms. how much personal data are they harvesting from you? and how much money are they making? shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose.

an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. the best moments deserve the best eggs. especially when they're eggland's best. taste so deliciously fresh. with better nutrition, too. we love our eggs any style. as long as they're the best. eggland's best. tonight, federal investigators are accusing social media and streaming companies of a massive campaign to collect personal information on users even nonusers. here is tom costello. >> reporter: federal

investigators call it a vast surveillance of anyone using some of the most popular social media and streaming companies, including amazon's twitch, facebook, youtube, twitter x, snap, tiktok, reddit, whatsapp and discord. gathering user, age, gender and location, even marital status and income to target ads and sell the data to third parties. >> even vast profiles of just about every american, including americans that don't even use the service. >> reporter: the ftc says companies are too often failing to protect personal information, exposing users, including children and teens to a range of threats from identity theft to criminal stalking, and congress needs to create tough new privacy laws. what are these companies doing with the data they collect on all of us? >> we were quite disturbed by the fact that some of these companies did not even know all of the third parties with whom they were sharing data. >> reporter: today many of the companies refuted or declined to comment on the report,

though in the past meta facebook ceo mark zuckerberg has defended his company. >> we give people the ability to connect with the people they care about, and to engage with the topics that they care about. >> reporter: online advertisers today said consumers understand the value exchange and welcome the opportunity to have access to free or highly subsidized content and services. but security pros say most of us simply scroll through the long user agreements when we sign up. >> it's either opt in or you don't get to use the service. many people are in a hurry and they don't read it. >> reporter: the bottom line, it may be easy to delete an account, but not your digital footprint. that could live forever. lester? >> okay, tom, thanks. coming up, our follow-up to our bombshell investigation. when we asked a state medical school about selling parts from unclaimed dead bodies without consent, they shut down the program. our new reporting and the families waiting for closure, up next. hi, i'm greg.

i live in bloomington, illinois. i'm not an actor. i'm just a regular person. some people say, "why should i take prevagen? i don't have a problem with my memory." memory loss is, is not something that occurs overnight. i started noticing subtle lapses in memory. i want people to know that prevagen has worked for me. it's helped my memory. it's helped my cognitive qualities. give it a try. i want it to help you just like it has helped me. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. dude? dog food in the fridge? it's not dog food. it's freshpet. real meat. real veggies. real weird. he was bad luck anyway. liberty mutual customized my car insurance so i saved hundreds. with the money i saved i thought i'd get a wax figure of myself. cool right? look at this craftmanship. i mean they even got my nostrils right. it's just nice to know that years after

i'm gone this guy will be standing the test of ti... he's melting! oh jeez... nooo... oh gaa... only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ as a prosecutor, i never asked a victim or a witness: 'are you a republican or a democrat?' the only thing i ever asked them: 'are you ok?' and that's the kind of president we need right now — someone who cares about you and is not putting themselves first. i intend to be a president for all americans, and focus on investing right now in you, the american people. and we can chart a new way forward. i'm kamala harris and i approve this message. inez, let me ask you,

you're using head & shoulders, right? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head & shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here. i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair. make every wash count! and for stubborn dandruff, try head & shoulders clinical strength. ♪♪ from this can't miss moment... ..to this hello new grandpa moment... ...to that whatever this is moment... your moments are worth protecting against rsv. if you're 75 or older, or 60 or older with certain chronic conditions. you're at higher risk of being hospitalized from rsv. and there are no prescription rsv treatments. you have options. ask your doctor about pfizer's rsv vaccine. because moments like these matter.

we're back now with part two of an nbc news investigation into a texas medical school that was studying -- dissecting unclaimed bodies, even at times as their own family was searching for them. liz kreutz tonight with a look at how widespread this practice may be and the ethical questions it raises. >> reporter: it was a lucrative business. a state medical school near dallas making money by dissecting,

studying, and exporting hundreds of unclaimed bodies. but after a nearly year-long investigation by nbc news, the school, which initially defended the practice, made a stunning reversal and suspended the program. >> we were completely failed by the entire system. >> reporter: despite the change, for many of the families impacted like michael coleman's, there is still so much left unanswered. >> i used to cry all day, every day. now i just cry at least once every day. >> reporter: coleman's fiancee louisa and his sisters shea and tisha spent months searching for him after he didn't come home. it turns out he had died, possibly hit by a car near his apartment. within days, michael coleman's family began searching this neighborhood, even putting up missing person flyers, all while michael was languishing in a hospital minutes away. but despite the family calling the hospital, calling police, calling the medical examiner's office, nobody connected the dots. when the family finally did, it was too late. the health science center was already preparing his body for

a 12 to 24-month study. >> i told the lady, give his body back. and she was like well, no because he was donated to us. but he was wrongfully donated to y'all. >> reporter: ten companies and medical schools that pay the university to use body parts have since told us they did not know the parts often came from unclaimed bodies. one of those companies, national bioskills laboratories paid $900 for the torso of u.s. military veteran victor honey, who we told you about earlier this week. were you aware that your laboratory was using body parts of unclaimed people? >> no, not at all. first time i heard about it was when nbc news contacted me. it says donated on the paperwork. >> reporter: what did you think that meant? >> that they donated their bodies for this purpose. >> reporter: are you going to change course in any way now knowing what you know? >> yes, absolutely. we need to know exactly who consented. i would like to know that. >> reporter: while training on unclaimed bodies is legal in most of the country,

many u.s. medical schools have halted the practice. a few states, including hawaii, minnesota, and vermont have outright banned it. but because no national data exists about how common it is, nbc news conducted its own survey, reaching out to 51 major medical schools in 29 states. 44 of them told us they don't use unclaimed bodies. the rest didn't answer. what is the moral question here? >> what do we owe the dead? and what do we owe their loved ones. >> reporter: eli shoup is a bioethicist fighting for national ban. who is likely to be an unclaimed body? >> people who die poor. these are marginalized communities being affected by this. in terms of diversifying their cadaver labs, they'll come out and say this is a great way for our students to get training on black bodies. but i don't think that that's a feather in your cap if you've just taken that black body without consent. >> reporter: without consent. >> i think that in

some sense it is modern-day grave robbing. >> reporter: that's exactly what coleman's sisters feel happened to him. he was a black man with a criminal record. do you think that the official took your family seriously? >> no. >> because of his past, because he is black. >> reporter: officials with dallas and tarrant counties and the health science center have declined nbc news' repeated request for interviews. but ju this week, after the university suded its program and aftenbc news aired the first part of this story, both counties held meetings addressing the failures. for louisa -- >> we just another body to them. >> reporter: it's a step towards closure, but still, no justice. >> he wasn't a missing person. he had family that love him. he wasn't nothing. that's how they treated him, like he was a nothing when he was everything to me. >> reporter: liz kreutz, nbc news, dallas. and we'll take break. when we come back, together they take the plunge to clean up underwater waste. meet the women with a passion for restoring polluted ponds. meet the wh

it's book club in the wayborhood, y'all. eddie this table. i got this at wayfair after the last book club. every book club should have this much shopping. what did everyone think of the chapter "the right area rug for every budget"? i'll say it, the section on washable rugs was thrilling. thoughts, richard? the part about the floral rugs really spoke to me. [ sigh ] i want to know who's going to play the rug in the movie? why is nobody discussing the plot twist? wayfair ships fast and free. [ gasps ] ♪ wayfair. every style. every home. ♪ if you're living with hiv, imagine being good to go without daily hiv pills. good to go off the grid. good to go nonstop. with cabenuva, there's no pausing for daily hiv pills. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. it's two injections from a healthcare provider. just 6 times a year. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or if you're taking certain medicines

which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions, post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney problems, mental health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects include injection-site reactions, fever, and tiredness. with cabenuva, you're good to go. ask your doctor about switching. t-mobile “savings”, take one. ...missed me the last couple... try just standing and say... “at t-mobile, you get tons of benefits and you can still save versus the other guys.” forget it. check out the t-mobile savings calculator to see how much you can save. are these my only lines? they sure are! after careful review of medical guidance and research on pain relief, my recommendation is simple: every home should have salonpas. powerful yet non-addictive. targeted and long-lasting. i recommend salonpas. it's good medicine. ♪ hisamitsu ♪

what happened to no phones at the table? sorry, honey. it's a work thing. it's good medicine. yep, work over here, too. got a text from alan saying your business vehicle is now protected with progressive. just like your home and auto. why'd you text it? i thought that's what we were doing. nothing brings us together like eggland's best eggs. always so fresh and delicious. plus, superior nutrition. for us, it's eggs any style. as long as they're the best. eggland's best. (woman) did i read this? as londid i get eggs?e best. where are my keys? (vo) don't wait while memory and thinking issues pile up. these issues may seem like normal aging bu the sooner you talk to your doctor, the more options you may have. visit amyloid.com for additional information.

finally, there is good news tonight about a league of female divers. if you look in the chilly ponds of cape cod, you can find them on a mission to clean up underwater trash. stephanie gosk has their story. >> reporter: ladies of a certain age like to gather. they play cards, drink tea, chat. >> oh, look at that, yeah. >> reporter: not this group. >> this is perfect! beautiful plastic bottle. >> reporter: these are the self-proclaimed

old ladies against underwater garbage. olag for short. and they're cleaning the fresh water ponds in cape cod, massachusetts. what is a good day in the garbage department? >> 100 pounds. >> reporter: 100 wounds? pounds? >> 84-year-old susan bauer came up with the idea herself. >> water is magic. you're immersed in it. you're in a different world. >> reporter: a swimmer and a naturalist, she was seeing too much garbage, along with her beloved turtles. so she got her friends together. >> i've always loved nature. wanted to do something at my age to give back. >> it's a skill i didn't even know i had, finding trash in ponds! >> reporter: there are strict rules on membership. divers older than 64, no men, and they have to pass the tryouts. >> you have to swim a half mile in under 30 minutes. but you also have to be able to handle a mile. >> water is murky. there are snapping turtles. there are eels. so it's too bad that the cutoff is 64 years

old or i'd totally be there helping them. >> reporter: they've pulled up remarkable things. car batteries, garden gnomes, a and the find of all time, a toilet bowl. but in the end, the benefit is greater than just the cleaned up ponds. when you finish one of these days, how do you feel? >> empowered, tired, and like i'm 10 years old. >> we realize that we were a lot happier when we came out of the water than when we went into the water. >> reporter: because big garbage is big joy. >> and that is success. >> reporter: steph doing. that's "nightly news" for this thursday. thank you for watching. i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night.

to address our housing crisis, but what will they actually do? good afternoon. i'm audrey asistio. welcome to