the pilot safely ejected as they start to examine the wreckage, finally located in south carolina sam brock is there, and sam, some pretty big questions here >> reporter: yeah, lester, specifically, two enormous questions that remain unanswered tonight. one, how did the military lose track of a $100 million aircraft for 24 hours? and two, why did the pilot eject in the first place? now, we do have new video tonight of the extensive debris fi field. here you can see how that f-35 stealth fighter jet sheared off limbs from the trees on its way to crashing fortunately, in this case, lester, this crash happened in a sparse remote area about 80 miles from where that pilot first ejected. that was in north charleston and the timeline is very important here, because the marine corps says he ejected around 1:30 in the afternoon on sunday. neighbors that i'm talking to on the ground here tell me they didn't hear anything until after 2:00, which is to say, it is wholly possible that the plane was in auto pilot for more than 30 minutes. eyewitnesses also tell me they saw the plane inverted for a period

amazing act of heroism that may have saved an entire block of homes it was all captured on video sam brockight with the story and the dramatic pictures. >> i want you to record everything when we're leaving. >> right from those first heart stopping moments, jessica and steven pickering knew their time was precious leaving lahaina with flames on their heels. >> oh, my god. >> and a wall of smoke in their rearview mirror. >> we tried to get out of the neighborhood but were blocked by cars. >> reporter: along the way they spot a flash of fire in the bushes. >> oh, my god, it's right there in the bushes. >> what? >> the fire! in the bushes! >> steven leaps from the car to put out the flames threatening a complete stranger's house. >> steven, we're going to get stuck, come on >> were you thinking at all this is crazy, and it could cost us our lives? >> yes >> but what did his actions actually end up doing? >> i think that he saved that area of the neighborhood >> the pickerings say they barely survived without emergency sirens or even a text to warn them. >> i haven't personally heard of a sing

taking care of each other. >> reporter: and right now it's also the backdrop for a deeper connection sam brock, nbc news. >>> that's "nightly news" for this friday. thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night

tonight, a record-breaking trip to space for an american astronaut, now there nearly a year, but as sam brock reports, his history-making space odyssey wasn't actually planned >> and you see frank rubio on the right >> reporter: as far as records go -- >> having an opportunity to say good-bye one final time. >> reporter: -- when american astronaut frank rubio set off on his mission to space last september, he wasn't planning on breaking any >> and liftoff, a sunset start to the mission of rubio. >> reporter: but a trip to the iss scheduled for six months required an astronomical audible when the spacecraft sprang a leak, the trip now breaking an american record of 355 days. >> it was unexpected in some ways it's been an incredible challenge, but in other ways, it's been an incredible blessing. >> reporter: a new spacecraft won't return this crew until late september at the earliest, meaning not only have they counted off all the major holidays -- >> a happy thanksgiving >> all: happy holidays >> reporter: -- but rubio will become the first american in space for more than a calendar year. he e

after his heroic act was caught on camera while escaping the wildfire sam brock has more on this goodaritan. >> i want to you record everything while we're leaving >> reporter: right from those first heart-stopping moments, jessica pickering knew their time was precious leaving lahaina with the flames on their heels. >> we tried to get out of neighborhood but were blocked by cars >> reporter: along the way they spot a flash of fire in the bushes. >>> >> oh, my god, it's there in the bushes >> what? >> the fire! in the [ bleep ] bushes! >> reporter: steve leaps to put out the flames threatening a complete stranger's house. >> steven! come on! we're going get stuck! >> reporter: were you thinking this is crazy, and it's going to cost us our lives? >> yes >> reporter: what did his actions end up doing >> i think he saved that area of the neighborhood >> reporter: the pickerings barely survived without emergency sirens or even a text to warn them >> i haven't paeersonally heardf a single notification anybody received in all of my social network period >> reporter: out of how many people y

nbc news' sam brock is following the latest out of south carolina. >> reporter: this morning we're learning new details about how a missing fighter jet came hurtling back to land, shaving off treetops, before crash landing in a remote area. but still no explanation as to how the military managed to lose track of the $100 million aircraft or why its pilot ejected. >> that will be something they investigate. after every aviation mishap, the pentagon investigates to get the answers. >> reporter: when those answers come isn't clear. do you feel lucky today? >> oh, yeah. lucky. >> reporter: as a wider view of the wayward path showed the pilot ejecting in north charleston but the jet ending up 80 miles away in williamsburg county. >> usually airplanes, other military aircraft in which the pilot ejected, the airplane will fly for a while, maybe 30 seconds to a minute, but several minutes, that is surprising. >> reporter: the marine corps says the pilot ejected around 1:30 sunday. residents reported their homes shaking. it could have been on autopilot for a half an hour. >> probably 100 feet the tr

rescue at sea, and the emotional reunion today between a man and those who saved his life here's sam brock >> we will never forget how you didn't just save one young man's life, but you saved an entire family >> reporter: for a village of first responders, tears, hugs, and gratitude from the gregorys their son charlie disappeared at sea for nearly 40 hours last month off the coast of st. augustine. when you're out there in the middle of the ocean, what did you think were the chances of your survival? >> zero. >> reporter: zero? >> zero, for sure. >> reporter: you thought you were going to die? >> oh, 100%. i was sure i was going to die, it was just a matter of when. >> reporter: charlie tells me his 3:00 a.m. fishing trip was in the intracoastal close to land, but when a wave knocked over his boat and dumped his flares and cell phone out, he was whisked away 12 miles, with no working motor. >> just died on me >> reporter: his eight-foot aluminum boat submerged in water was surrounded by sharks the same size. >> god, i saw probably 20 or 30 my whole time being out there. >> reporter: the od

sam brock has more from lahaina ♪ >> reporter: on shores across the hawaiian islands, a day of prayer a sacred ritual symbolizing the spirit of healing >> this is a special place. >> reporter: the community is mourning 115 confirmed deaths from last month's wildfires. the list of the unaccounted for once topping a thousand names. now, with most of them found, that number may fall to below 50 >> pending that update, we think the number has dropped down into the double digits, so thank god. >> reporter: still, questions remain >> given how much these figures have fluctuated, do you think that that gives some people skepticism or doubt? >> i've got to say yes on that. >> there was a thousand missing, and going down just to 100 is like, what, 10% that doesn't sound realistic. >> reporter: public officials are still facing questions for their response maui's mayor earlier this week admitted he didn't know who was in charge. >> the severe gravity of the impact was not clear in the initial hours. i and key members of my staff remained at the eoc, some until the next morning >> reporter: with

sam brock, nbc news, st. augustine. >> and that's "nightly news" for this thursday. of yourself and each other. good night. - [narrator] every day, our lives are filled with choices, both simple and life-changing. what's not a choice? addiction to opioids like fentanyl. but even with opioid use disorder, you still have a choice. by choosing treatment, you choose family, your career and your life on your terms. choose change, california, and find medically proven treatment options at choosechangeca.org. >>> right now at 4:30. the smokey skies lingering over the bay area for the third straight day and when we could finally see relief. >>> good afternoon. i

sam brock has more >> reporter: in a traditional hawaiian paddle out, the sounding of the shell, is a to ancestors and a spiritual cleanse. >> we just want to come together as a community and have the time and space for us to heal, have a moment in the ocean. ♪ >> reporter: hundreds of participants paddling by board and in boats >> it felt like the hawaiian spirit was alive with us. >> reporter: today mourning the loss of life in lahaina, hawaii's historic capital, touched by historic flames thinking is about everybody. >> reporter: robert kotter escaped with his wife and just the clothes on their backs his son saw someone pass away before his eyes. >> the sound of a siren, the sound of wind, hearing a fire truck go by, you're on full alert. >> reporter: the significance of one month since the fires is hard to overstate. officially, 115 lives have been lost and according to the governor, more than 60 people remain unaccounted for. >> we feel comforted that at least our uncle was verified and that we know that he was found unfortunately, not everybody has that. >> reporter: several wee

sam brock, nbc news. >> that's "nightly news" for this friday. thank you for watching.ter holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night. >>> the news at 4:30 starts right now with the developing story in the east bay. the scene is now cleared in fremont. alft

nbc's sam brock spoke to jessica and steven pickering of lahaina. saw flames in front of a neighbor's home as they were evacuating. steven pickering jumped out of the car, used a hose to put out the fire. that home survived the fire. the pickerings also say they didn't get any official warnings about the blaze. >> i haven't personally heard of a single notification that anybody received in all of my social network period. >> out of how many people you think you've talked to? >> hundreds. >> our audrey asistio spoke with nbc's sam brock this afternoon about the mixed messages still coming from hawaii leaders about those warnings and about what those living in maui right now still need. >> we got to speak before this just about the ohana spirit. it sounds like you've been seeing a lot of that. can you talk to us about what that looks like? >> reporter: for sure. i have a great example of that. audrey, there were three musicians, slack key musicians they're called. they got together and performed for us about a week ago for the first time since the fir

sam brock, nbc news, west maui. >> we thank sam for that. >>> still ahead, taylor swift's box office> and later, you'll hear for the first time from that team that found the missing titan submersible. can't sleep? just a lot on my mind. i can't sleep either. it only gets tougher with age. mom, what? well, knowing progressive can protect your home, auto, and business should help you relax. good, because i could use a good night's sleep! me too. d'yknow how early the chimney sweep gets up every day? wait, is this all a dream? why would jamie be in my dream? i am america's biggest spokesperson! -debatable. -i said biggest! well, he's got you there. (fan #1) there ya go! that's what i'm talkin' about! -i said biggest! (josh allen) is this your plan to watch the game today? (hero fan) uh, yea. i have to watch my neighbors' nfl sunday ticket. (josh allen) it's not your best plan. but you know what is? myplan from verizon. switch now and they'll give you nfl sunday ticket from youtubetv, on them. (hero fan) this plan is amazing! (josh allen) another amazing plan, backing away from here very

and these kids get to experience that firsthand. >> reporter: sam brock, nbc news, vero beach, floridan june 3, 1959, the very first class of cadets graduated from the newly established air force academy. among them a future pioneer of space travel named karol bobko. bobko grew up in new york, the son of parents who ran a beverage distribution company. after graduating from the air force academy, he trained as a fighter and test pilot, later serving in the manned laboratory program, an early effort to develop reconnaissance satellites in a space station. when the program was canceled in 1969, bobko, who went by bo, was transferred to nasa. right around the time neil armstrong and buzz aldrin were making their historic walk on the moon. after working on nasa initiatives including the soyuz project with cosmonauts, bobko got his chance to travel into space. >> three, two, one, zero and liftoff of the orbiter challenger. >> on april 4, 1983, he piloted first mission of the shuttle "challenger," the same spacecraft that would explode tragically three years later with seven different crew m

sam brock jointing me from indiantown, south carolina. take us through what happened.he pilot, thank goodness, ejected safely. the jet kept on flying. they didn't know where it was for a while. >> reporter: that's right. it was in autopilot. to be clear from the outset, we have not received anything that approximates an explanation or answer yet as to how this is possible. how you lose a $100 million aircraft, one of the most sew sophisticated in the u.s. military and why the pilot ejected. a second pilot was able to land on the same training mission. what happened in this case? two hours away and here we are in indiantown. the population is 1,000. i'm told there might not be that many. the luck here is hard to overstate. this is the debris field over my shoulder. not clear how far it goes. could be a couple of miles, maybe more. the sheriff's department did say right now there is an extensive debris field. they are warning communities not to go in there. it's blocked to begin with. as i have these conversations with folks, they tell me people that live right around th

sam brock, nbc news. >> we continue to keep the people of maui in our hearts and prayers.hat note, i wish you a good night. i'm simone sanders-townsend in for stephanie ruhle. she'll be back on monday. you can catch my show every weekend at four pm eastern, and new original episodes on mondays on peacock. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late. see you this weekend. >> hello, i'm andrea canning. and this is dateline. >> i saw a lot of police cars. >> that woman was a fighter. she would never leave her daughters. she would never do it. >> michele ran the home. >> she was very proud about how she was able to make ends meet. >> lloyd helped with the kids. >> they're wonderful girls. they're amazing. >> the end came much too soon. >> she's motionless. and i'm concerned.

here's nbc correspondent sam brock.e hurdling back to land before crash landing in a remote area. but still no explanation as to how the military managed to lose track of the $100 million aircraft or why it's pilot ejected. >> that will be something they investigate, believe me. the pentagon does what the pentagon does. they'll investigate to try to get the answers on what happened. >> reporter: when those answers come isn't clear. do you feel lucky today? >> oh, yeah. feel lucky that it hit the field. >> reporter: as a wider view of the wayward path shows the pilot ejecting in north charleston, but the jet ending up 80 miles away here in williamsburg county. >> usually airplanes, other military aircraft in which the pilot ejected, the airplane will fly for a while, maybe 30 seconds to a minute. but several minutes, that is surprising. >> reporter: the marine corps says the pilot ejected around 1:30 sunday and residents reported their home shaking around 2:00, meaning it could be flying on autopilot for more than a half

joining me now to talk about this is sam brock who's in maui. sam, great to talk to you.the promise that the house speaker's making two residents there? >> it's pretty simple. good to be with you. speaker mccarthy's promising money, promising resources and oversight to figure out what exactly went wrong. so we can make sure this kind of disaster never happens to lahaina, and never happens to maui again. as far as the buildup to the trip some political back and forth, once the delegation got on the ground it felt harmonious, it felt purposeful in terms of who made it out. democrats and republicans, representing maui, we have dave joyce a republican who has the house appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding fema. dare jared mark school it's a democrat from florida, he ran a management agency. you have a good -- around here. as far as speaker mccarthy's concerned he says he doesn't want to see lahaina rebuilt in a manner that doesn't reflective of the culture and heritage here that's so important for him he wants answers to questions about everything from power po

nbc news correspondent sam brock spoke to a couple who they say they saw it just before it crashed. > off tree tops before crash landing in a remote area. but still no explanation as to how the military managed to lose track of the $100 million aircraft or why its pilot ejected. >> that will be something that they will investigate. believe me, after every aviation mishap, the pentagon does what the pentagon does, they'll investigate it to try to get the answers on what happened. >> reporter: when those answers come isn't clear. do you feel lucky today? >> yes. i feel lucky that it hit a field. >> reporter: as a wider view of the wayward path shows the pilot ejecting in north charleston, but the jet ending up 80 miles away in williamsburg county. usually airplanes other military aircraft in which the pilot ejected, it -- the airplane will fly for a while, maybe 30 seconds to a minute. but several minutes, that is surprising. >> reporter: the marine corps says the pilot ejected around 1:30 sunday and residents reported their homes shaking after 2:00, meaning it could have been flying on

augustine, sam brock, back to you. >> a bigger boat.ws and when you think of sinking cities the midwest might not immediately come to mind but because of climate change, a new risk is lurking behind one of america's most well-known skylines. laura barrett reports. >> reporter: beneath chicago's iconic architecture, living labs are tracking how heat could make a city sink. >> we're measuring temperature in the underground environment, to basically monitor the amount of heat that continues to be injected into the ground. >> hundreds of the sensors are giving us a new look into what researchers are calling a hazard. >> we found out chicago as many other major global cities are affected by a phenomenon called underground climate change. >> the professor and his northwestern research team installed the sensors beneath the surface in parking garages and subway tunnels and boiler rooms which found that temperature changes are causing significant stress in the infrastructure that supports the city's skyline. >> we are looking at the amount of h

through hardship there's always been the steady harmony of their music stories >> and our tlarngss to sam brocke through music. >> thanks >>> right now at 5:00, back to school. classes resume on a high school campus locked down last friday by gunfire. we're live there this morning with the changes parents and students can expect to

. >> reporter: from earth, sam brock, nbc news. >> so cool >>> wendy's is serving up a cheesy deal in drink it hase■ whipped cream and caral drizzle. it is available for a limited time only, if you can call it a drink. more like a dessert and everything in it.e >> thanks for watching "rlea >>> right now at 5:00, battle lines being drawn in oakland as the search drags on for a new police chief. the drastic new threat from the mayor if commissioners don't step up their game. >>> plus -- >> whoever the officer is, falsifying race data goes

couple of hours until the man burns, and we'll show you the latest conditions there, and then also sam brock from nbc news will be joining us from maui to talk about his past week there. there's still questions about the emergency systems, what happened, what didn't, why it happened, why it didn't happen, so he'll talk about what he learned today. >> reporter: he's been there over the past few days now, yes? >> absolutely. yeah. he's been there for about a week. he says tourists are slowly starting to come back as well. starting to come back as well. >> sound good, looking forward earn your master's in cybersecurity degree online from gcu. online students received nearly $130 million in scholarships in 2022. visit gcu.edu/myoffer to see the scholarships you may qualify for. your brain is an amazing thing. but as you get older, it naturally begins to change, causing a lack of sharpness, or even trouble with recall. thankfully, the breakthrough in prevagen helps your brain and actually improves memory. the secret is an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, preva

. >> joining us now is sam brock. he is live on maui. i know you've been out there reporting for a few days now. and you've been hearing so many stories from the community there. what's really stood out to you so far? >> reporter: the depth of tragedy without question, audrey, and good to be with you. the fact that you have 6,000 plus people who are displaced living in hotels and airbnbs, getting assurances from the federal government and the state and the governor that they will have a roof over their heads for at least nine months, if not 18 months, and many also want answers. they don't understand how this could have happened, what was the time line for providing notifications to people, not just that emergency sirens weren't activated but simple text messages, how were they not sent out, and if they were, why did they not get through to people because we have -- >> and sam has been on maui for the past week. watch his full story on the ground next on nbc nightly news. >>> still ahead at 6:00. remembering a rock star who grew up in th

sam brock talked to the guy. ter: craig, savannah, hoda, good morning look, you could say it is eyes wide open when you are surfing in the shark bite capitol of the -- capital of the world. it's lived up to its name. this summer, that is five reported incidents now in less than five months, including what happened to mark somerset who came face to face with a shark who bit him in the face we have to warn you, some of these images are graphic the daytona beach area boasts some of the best surfing anywhere in the world. but for the south carolina native it the lure of the waves came at a heavy cost. >> the pain is still here. it still hurts. >> reporter: he's reeling for a severe bite to the face, requiring 18 stitches. he never saw the shark coming after finishing a wave and jumping off his board. >> i felt this pressure on my face it felt like a bear trap i think he rips down a little bit. sharks have five rows of teeth, so he tore me up pretty bad. he let go. >> aerial shots showed a number of the highly feared f

we are learning more about that fighter jet that disappeared and later crashed in south carolina sam brocktalking to people who saw it all unfold. hi, sam. >> reporter: about 80 miles away from where the pilot ejected, a couple saw the jet drop and flying inverted. that story coming up next. >> all right, sam. >>> also, new hope in hollywood this morning after a strike that has dragged on for more months, has dragged on for more months, a high stakes meeting is set to thursday night football on prime. it's on. welcome to thursday night football. thursday night football is on! it's daniel jones, holy mackerel. up against christian mccaffery. for a touchdown! as the new york giants take on the san francisco 49ers. stream thursday night football. only on prime. >>> still to come, ryan seacrest sitting down with willie as he gears up to take over "wheel of fortune." >> and during their chat, they spoke about vanna white's future on the show. we'll have that right after your local messages elp keep others f. at pfizer, we're driven by this impulse. and we keep innovating. whatever comes next, w

sam brock, nbc news. >> we continue to keep the people of maui in our hearts and prayers.e sanders townsend in for stephanie ruhle. she be back on monday. you catch my show every weekend at four pm eastern, a new original episodes on mondays on peacock. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late. see you this weekend. weekend we have breaking news tonight involving the case against donald trump and his alleged coconspirators in the state of georgia now, if you've been following this case, you know that former trump chief of staff mark meadows has been trying to get his trim -- criminal trial moved from state court into federal court. mr. meadows claimed that all of the alleged criminal activity he was accused of in fulton county, all of that was actually just part of his duties as chief of staff to the president. and since the chief of staff is a federal official, meadows

sam brock has more. >> reporter: a high-level mystery in south carolina this morning. $100 million f-a presley trying to get a read on how this search went off the radar. are people talking about how strange it is? >> yes, especially that cost that much amount of money, yeah. that's not something that happens every day. >> reporter: the aircraft went missing after the pilot was forced to eject on sunday. the military base making a plea to the public, if you have any information that may help recovery teams locate the f-35, please call the base operations center. how details of this mishap were communicated not sitting well with congresswoman nancy mace. >> our community deserves basic minimum answers. >> reporter: the military is not commenting on what might have caused the unexplained series of events. the faa is also also not responding to our request for comment, but is working with the military. in the wake of this incident and two deadly crashes involving marine corps aircraft in the last month, the acting commandant ordering a safety standdown for all military aircraft this week

sam brock joins us now with details on the rescue and the reunion. e charlie gregory was brought bacg right here after 40 hours at sea. he was out fishing at 3:00 in the morning when a big wave came, capsized his boat, pulled up the anchor and he ended up 12 miles out in the ocean one of the first responders said it is like finding a needle in a needle in a haystack, but miracles do happen these grainy images showing charlie gregory on an eight foot aluminum boat miles off the atlantic coast came at his darkest moments of despair. >> what did you think were the chances of your survival >> i thought it was going to die. >> reporter: and with no flairs or phone, the likelihood of spotting him was hard to quantify. >> it is like finding a needle in a haystack. a person in a raft in the middle of the ocean outside of the search pattern that we had already searched already, just incredibly difficult. >> reporter: throughout the nearly two-day ordeal, more than a dozen boats passed charlie many, he says, within a stone's throw. >> reporter: that's all i had

nbc's sam brock is in williamsburg, south carolina, where the plane kwebt down. od morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. the sun is still coming up here in indiantown but the situation is still shrouded in darkness. behind me is a military barricade you can see. it's not clear, hoda, exactly how far beyond this point the debris field actually sits, but what we do know this aircraft did not land in one of the several area lakes that many expect to land in. now the investigation ramping up into how the military lost a $100 million fighter jet for 24 hours. a high-level mystery this morning. a $100 million f-35 fighter jet missing for a day, eventually found last night where it crashed in this rural area according to the military. one resident thinks he heard it go down. >> i heard a plane coming across. i said, that plane is mighty low. and i heard boom. >> reporter: others like vanessa presley trying to get a read on how this search went off the radar? >> are people talking about how strange it is that a fighter jet disappeared for 24 hours? >> yes, yes. especi

. >> sam brock, thank you very much. >>> and that's going to do it for me today. "deadline: white house" starts right now. >>> hi there, everyone. it is 4:00 in new york. on capitol hill today, the justice department, it really exists for those of us on earth one, came crashing up against the fictitious alternate reality of a supposedly weaponized justice department on which the republican party lives. merrick garland was before the committee chaired by ohio republican jim jordan. he reiterated the independence of the justice department. >> our job is not to take orders from the president, from congress, or from anyone else about who or what we criminally investigate. as the president said and i reaffirmed today, i am not a president's lawyer, i will add i am not congress' prosecutor. >> now, over to the news on earth two. republicans made it clear before the hearing started with members telling reporters that nothing, nothing merrick garland could or would say today was going to satisfy them, but they would pedal so peddle all sorts of conspiracy theories. the fi