adrienne broaddus covered the trial and joins me now. adrienne broaddus joins us now.rumbley was saying behind bars? >> reporter: words of the alleged statement came out at the start of the trial. judge matthews signed an order limiting james' communication. he was only allowed to communicate with his attorney, clergy and use the tablet for research after we found out about the threats. our sources said the threats were made by phone dating back to 2022, phone calls with his sister saying in part his goal was to destroy the oakland county prosecutor, and that's karen mcdonald. he told his sister that mcdonald was going to hell soon, she was done. the detroit free press was the first to report and our sources told us there were multiple calls. before the details of the threat became public i asked james' defense attorney as well as prosecutor mcdonald about the threats. here's what they told me. >> he made a lot of threats. i'm not giving any more of my intention. >> they weren't toward you, were they? >> i'm not going to talk about it. >> there was a disagreement what

crumbley, facing charges after his son killed four students in a school shooting let's get right to adrienne broaddus. adrienne >> reporter: lester, it took that michigan jury more than 8 1/2 hours to find james crumbley guilty on all four counts of involuntary manslaughter as that verdict was read, james crumbley shook his head members of the jury deliberating more than 8 1/2 hours. prosecutors argued that james crumble could have prevented the shooting that led to the deaths of those four students. the defense said their client had no knowledge. family members relieved tonight lester >> adrienne, thank you. >>> and up next for us, today's critical test in the new space race >>> finally, the faa says it will investigate a mishap during today's spacex starship launch, after the rocket and booster broke apart on re-entry but nasa and spacex say there were many successes in today's flight, and it comes as the newest class of astronauts prepares to one day ride the rocket to the moon here is tom costello >> reporter: on its third test flight, the biggest rocket ever built flew farther and faster than ev

nbc news school correspondent adrienne broaddus, what did we hear in closing arguments yesterday, andt is james crumbley's defense any different than in his wife's trial? >> ellison, there are some similarities, and key differences than in his own defense, and the prosecution's key argument of how that gun was stored, and arguing that james wrum bli could have presented the deaths of the four students that could have been killed and it is foreseeable, and preventable, and by contrast, the school arguing that if the school leaders did not suspect that ethan crumbley was a threat to others, how could his father, and also saying that james wrum bli had -- james crumbley had no knowledge of his son's intention and this is difficult for them. >> and how to interpret the evidence, and it is hard. >> we have heard it multiple time, and it is difficult to process, because it is more real. it is unimaginable pain. >> reporter: and meanwhile, the jury is split six men and six women, and five of them are gun owners. >> thank you, adrienne broaddus. >>> and now, the golden years for nickelodeon f

let's get right to adrienne broaddus. adrienne?reporter: lester, it took the michigan jury more than 8 1/2 hours to find james crumbley guilty on all four cases of involuntary manslaughter. as the verdict was read, james crumbley shook his head. members of the jury deliberating more than eight and a half hours. prosecutors argued that james crumbley could have prevented the shooting that led to the deaths of those four students. the defense said their client had no knowledge. family members relieved tonight. lester? >> adrienne, thank you. >>> and up next for us, >>> and up next for us, today's critic ♪(limu emu and doug.)♪ hello, ghostbusters. it's doug... ...of doug and limu. we help people customize and save hundreds on car insurance with liberty mutual. anyway, we got a bit of a situation here. uh-huh. uh-huh. mm-hmm. sure, i can hold. only pay for what you need. ♪(liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.)♪ ghostbusters: frozen empire. in theaters march 22. ( ♪♪ ) we're still going for that nice catch. we're still going for that swe

nbc's adrienne broaddus is following this for us. what more are we hearing from court today?reporter: chris, good afternoon to you, on the stand right now is an investigator who worked on this case, an investigator with the atf. but before the lunch hour, a big bulk of testimony here on day three came from that counselor who is currently on leave. we're talking about sean hopkins. on your screen right now you see james crumbley inside of the courtroom. you'll notice he's wearing headphones to help with his hearing assistance. now, sean hopkins, who was an oxford high school counselor at the time of the shooting testified that he called james and jennifer crumbley hours before the shooting, alerting them about disturbing images of a gun, bullets and troubling messages their son wrote on a math worksheet. he testified he was afraid ethan crumbley was going to hurt or harm himself. here's more of what he said inside of the courtroom. >> i have parents saying they have to return to work. i have a student that i don't want left alone. and so that's when i asked, is there anything

adrienne broaddus has that story for us. >> reporter: this was the frightening scene in a detroit suburb after a massive fire ripped through a commercial building. >> you have multiple explosions and a lot of debris in the air. >> reporter: those explosions sent gas-filled canisters from inside the structure flying into the air, killing a 19-year-old man. that bystander was at least a quarter mile away. a firefighter also hit by debris. terrified, residents in clinton township watched the explosions. >> i was never so afraid in my life. i'm still shaken. >> reporter: marie ainsworth filmed this video from her front yard. >> it was pretty bad and scary. it never stopped. it never stopped, the explosions never stopped. >> reporter: the building shared by a smoke shop named goo and select distributors a company that supplies vape products. authorities say it was supposed to be a retail operation. instead, inside a back room was a pallet of nitrous along with lighter fluid. they also just received a load of butane containers. half of those remain. >> there was over 100,000 vape pens that obv

adrienne broaddus in clinton township, michigan, for us.e investigators looking into right now. >> reporter: right now, the big thing is pinpointing what exactly led to the explosion which was followed by that massive fire, which could be seen miles away, you mentioned those canisters being a cause for concern, yes, that's because when they exploded and landed not right here in this area, they landed up to a mile away, if they still contained gas they could explode and that could cause more problems, so that's a big concern, what started this fire is still unclear. a 19-year-old was killed who was about a quarter and a mile away because investigators said one of those canisters hit him in the head. we spoke with the fire chief a short time ago, he said he heard this before he saw it and he was seven miles away. listen in. >> walking out of our building you could feel -- you could hear it and you're like, please, that's not what we're going to. arrived on scene here at the concussion of the explosions you could feel the shake in your car. >>

nbc's adrienne broaddus has made her way to that scene. what's the latest there? >> reporter: hoda, good morning. some terrifying moments. and we learned a 19-year-old was killed. this after the chief of the fire department says containers of all sizes like this were flying through the air. now, investigators are trying to determine what started the explosion. overnight, massive explosions lighting up the sky in michigan. causing a massive factory fire at an industrial site about 25 miles outside detroit. >> we have multiple explosions. we have a lot of debris in the air. >> reporter: authorities say the blaze erupted at a plant, which distributes baked products and other items in michigan's clinton township. debris projected into the air, traveling as far as a mile away as canisters became projectiles, residents were asked to avoid the area, stay inside and close windows. >> i want any standing around, video taping in the cars or anywhere near this cleared out immediately. >> reporter: neighbors describe hearing a loud bang which sounded like fireworks shaking th

nbc's adrienne broaddus is covering the latest from us.now about these threats that james crumbley allegedly made from jail? >> reporter: here is what an oakland county sheriff's department spokesperson said, in part, crumbley's jail phone and electronic messages have been limited due to threatening statements he made while on the phone and in electronic messages. this spokesperson didn't provide any additional details so we don't know who these alleged threats were made toward. we do know crumbley can still communicate with his lawyer, clergy and can use his tablet for research purposes. today is day three of testimony, and the trial continues. on the stand right now at sean hopkins, he was a guidance counselor at the time of the shooting back in november of 2021. hopkinss testified that he called james and jennifer crumbley hours before the shooting to alert them about disturbing images he saw on a math worksheet, images their son had drawn. we're talking about a handgun, bullets and messages saying in part thoughts won't stop, please he

nbc's adrienne broaddus is outside the courthouse, also with me legal correspondent, lisa rubin.from court. >> reporter: the second witness is on the stand. we heard opening statements from both sides, the prosecution and the defense early this morning. the assistant prosecuting attorney told members of the jury that james crumbley was in the best position to prevent these shootings. james has pleaded not guilty. by contrast, the defense attorney representing james crumbley said there's no way james who pleaded not guilty had any knowledge of his son's intentions. listen more to the conversation from both sides. >> she crouched down, like i don't know if it was -- i don't know if it was in -- i don't know why she did it. it was in a fetal position, and the shooter ran right up to her, and put the gun right on her head and she just fell over. >> reporter: and that was one of the witnesses who was testifying that you just heard from. he described what he saw when he responded to the scene. the other big question is a lot of people are wondering what will be the difference in james'

nbc's adrienne broaddus joins us from pontiac, michigan.r today? >> reporter: good morning to you. on the stand right now is the prosecution's first witness, a former teacher at the high school who was also shot prior to this witness taking the stand, we heard opening statements from both sides, the prosecution and the defense. let's begin with the assistant prosecuting attorney mark keith who told members of the jury that james crumbley was in the best position to prevent these shootings, saying in part, quote, these murders were preventable by him and foreseeable by him. preventable and foreseeable will be key in this trial. he also told the jurors that these involuntary manslaughter charges, remember four counts, one for each student killed, are rooted in negligence. now, on the flip side, the defense attorney, clear and concise only speaking about seven minutes during her opening statement saying in part to members of the jury, ladies and gentlemen, james crumbley did not know what his son was going to do. he did not purchase the gun wi

nbc's adrienne broaddus joins us from clinton township. what is the latest we know there?: well, chris, through much of the morning and now entering into the afternoon, firefighters have been working behind us trying to cool those hot spots after this massive fire which could be seen at least five miles away. i want to take you through the timeline of what happened. first of all, the fire chief telling us this was a vape shop and inside they had at least 100,000 vape pens with lithium batteries. just before 9:00 last night, the first call came in, reporting explosions. soon after, that big fire. now, this fire lasted for hours, and so did the explosions. what caused it is unclear. but the fire chief says the people who were inside were able to escape. a 19-year-old, according to investigators, who was about a quarter of a mile away was hit in the head by some of the flying debris. much of the debris, canisters containing butane and nitrous gas went flying into the air, landing up to a mile away. meanwhile, investigators are trying to determine what caused this. and who, if

all right >> all right., adrienne broaddu for us i thank you. >>> meanwhile, we are following >>> meanwhile, following several developments in the legal troubles that surround former presiden several developments in the legal troubles that surround former president donald trump, including a highly anticipated including a highly anticipated ruling expected today in the georgia election interference case. laura jarrett has been following it for us. >> so the issue for the judge is whether d.a. willis benefitted financially from having her boyfriend lead the trump case. she says she didn't. the state was paying his salary. that is the heart about why she should be removed from the case. if the judge takes her off the case, it is not just her, the entire office is disqualified and another prosecutors could decide to drop charges or change the charges in some way. the former president and his codefendant tried to get the d.a. and her office kicked off the whole case, alleging she benefitted financially from her boyfriend taking lavish vacations together. the judge disagreed there was an actual l