prison in gaza tonight, the u.s. striking back on iran-linked targets in retaliation for that deadly drone attack on u.s. forces in the middle east. the u.s. launching strikes on more than 85 targets in iraq and syria. the first video in tonight. our team aboard a u.s. aircraft carrier in the red sea launching separate strikes on houthi rebels. president biden's message tonight just hours after those three fallen americans made their final journey home also tonight, closing arguments in the trial of a michigan school shooter's mother jennifer crumbley back on the stand under cross-examination. the grilling she faced from the prosecution the judge in former president trump's federal election interference case postponing his trial set for just a month from now as he fights for immunity. and the d.a. prosecuting him in

georgia, the romantic relationship she just disclosed. how it could impact the case. another atmospheric river storm aimed at the west coast potential life-threatening flooding with water levels running high. the fiery plane crash into a florida neighborhood three killed, two on the ground inside gaza's tunnels and what we found. israelis calling it a hamas dungeon. and from "rocky" to "predator" to "happy gilmore," remembering the great carl weathers. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, and welcome, everyone. breaking tonight, a campaign of american retaliation has begun in the middle east long-range u.s. bombers launched from the continental u.s. utilized in a series of punishing u.s. air strikes this evening against iranian-backed groups implicated in last weekend's deadly attack on american forces the pentagon confirming 85 targets

were hit tonight inside iraq and syria including command and control operations, intelligence centers, rockets, and missiles. news of the attacks coming just hours after the somber return to the u.s. of the remains of three fallen soldiers. in a statement tonight, president biden saying, the american response will continue at times and places of our choosing and warning, if you harm an american, we will respond it's where we begin tonight with peter alexander. >> reporter: tonight, the american retaliatory strikes have begun u.s. central command saying late this evening, u.s. forces began striking more than 85 targets in iraq and syria using numerous aircraft including long-range bombers flown from the u.s. the targets, iran's islamic revolutionary guard quds force and affiliated militia groups hitting their command and control operation centers and intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, and unmanned air

vehicle storage among other sites. president biden tonight saying, our response began today it will continue at times and places of our choosing, adding, let all those who might seek to do us harm know this, if you harm an american, we will respond the u.s. strikes come in response to that deadly drone attack by iranian-backed militias that struck tower 22, a desert outpost in jordan killing three u.s. service members. that attack among more than 160 against american targets by iranian-backed militias since october. president biden had previously authorized limited strikes in response that even he acknowledged had not deterred the militias, and the president has been under pressure to respond more forcefully, especially after american service members were killed. all of it just hours after the commander in chief performed one of his most solemn duties, attending the dignified transfer at dover air force base as the remains of those three u.s. service members returned home. the president and first lady joining the grieving families of

46-year-old sergeant william rivers, a soldier's soldier, his cousin said, 24-year-old sergeant kennedy sanders, whose family said, she was always full of life, and 23-year-old sergeant breonna moffett, her parents remembering how she could light up a room. the u.s. today also launching preemptive strikes on the iranian-backed houthis. nbc's courtney kube is in the region tonight. >> i'm here on the "uss eisenhower" in the red sea where just a couple hours ago nearly a dozen f/a-18 fighter jets took off from the deck of this aircraft carrier. their mission, to stop multiple incoming drones fired by houthi rebels in yemen. they were supported by ea-18 growlers protecting the fighter jets from houthi air defense forces these actions tonight were not part of the larger retaliatory actions that the u.s. has been talking about all week >> our thanks to courtney kube in the region tonight, and, peter, you've got reporting on what was hit in these attacks >> lester, that's right. two u.s. officials tell nbc news tonight that at least half a

dozen facilities were struck and that those sites were linked directly to attacks against the u.s. and coalition forces in the region tonight, as we said, president biden putting out a statement saying among other things that he does not seek a wider war in the middle east or anywhere else in the world. lester >> peter alexander, thanks. i'm joined now by admiral james stavridis, former nato supreme allied commander. admiral, you've heard the list of weaponry and some of the aircraft involved. what does that tell you about the nature of this response? >> three things. one, lester, this is going to be a long campaign we're going to bring in all kinds of assets from the long-range bombers, drones, aircraft operating off ships. number two, this is clearly a signal to iran that we are willing to fully commit in this campaign, and, number three, we are serious. it is time for iran to back down. >> admiral james stavridis, thank you in a michigan courtroom today, closing arguments in the involuntary manslaughter trial of

jennifer crumbley, the mother of a teenager who shot and killed four students at oxford high school maggie vespa now with late details >> reporter: tonight, jennifer crumbley's fate will soon be in the hands of a jury after closing arguments in her involuntary manslaughter trial honed in on whether the 45-year-old michigan mom broke the law by failing to stop her son from killing four classmates at oxford high school >> the shooter learned how to shoot and was given the murder weapon by his parents. >> no one could have expected this including mrs. crumbley. >> reporter: prosecutors suggesting crumbley ignored red flags. >> he was struggling he was hallucinating he was seeing things she did not give him the help that he wanted >> reporter: the defense hitting back >> trained professionals told mrs. crumbley her son was not a risk. >> reporter: nine days of testimony culminating with crumbley, the

defense's only witness. she was cross-examined by prosecutors today >> and you don't deny that you never once, never once took him to see a therapist or counselor? >> no, i did not >> reporter: prosecutors also pushing back on crumbley's earlier testimony that her husband, james, who is set to be tried in march, was responsible for securing ethan's gun. >> well, you didn't trust him to get out of bed on time. >> correct. >> but this is the person you trusted with a deadly weapon >> i did. >> reporter: the defense making one final plea. >> i am asking that you find jennifer crumbley not guilty, not just for jennifer crumbley, but for every mother who is out there doing the best they can, who could easily be in her shoes. >> reporter: jury deliberations begin monday on a landmark question, at what point is a parent legally required to stop their child from carrying out a mass shooting. lester >> all right, maggie, thanks. in washington, the judge in the federal election interference case against former president trump

formally postponed the start of his trial scheduled to begin next month, while in georgia, fulton county d.a. fani willis addressed allegations that have threatened to derail the georgia election case against mr. trump. here's blayne alexander. >> reporter: tonight, a defiant district attorney, fani willis, is breaking her silence. in a 176-page filing, she acknowledges a personal relationship with nathan wade, the special prosecutor she appointed to lead the georgia election case against former president donald trump, but willis denies any financial benefit or conflict of interest writing, while the allegations are salacious and garnered the media attention they were designed to obtain, they do not provide any basis for her to be removed from the case that's what trump co-defendant, michael roman, has asked for accusing willis of financially benefitting from a romantic relationship saying, wade used money he earned from the d.a.'s office to pay for vacations together, but in her

response, willis today provided her own receipts saying travel was evenly split between the two and arguing wade made more money than the other special prosecutors only because he did much more work the filing included a sworn affidavit from wade, who said while the two were professional associates and friends when he was hired on the case, they later developed a personal relationship, but in a response of his own, michael roman says he has witnesses who will testify the relationship actually began before wade's hiring all of it has brought intense scrutiny to the closely watched case against donald trump and to willis herself. mr. trump has also sought to have the charges dismissed and today posting, this scam is totally discredited and over it all comes amid new pressure from congress, where republican congressman jim jordan has subpoenaed willis seeking documents to determine whether she misused federal money, and back in georgia, willis and wade have been subpoenaed to

testify on these allegations in two weeks, but willis wants a judge to cancel that hearing and vows to fight the subpoena, calling it an attempt to embarrass and harass her personally lester >> all right, blayne, thank you. in clearwater, florida, investigators are trying to find out why a single engine plane lost power and crashed into a mobile home community causing a big fire and killing three people including the pilot. shortly before the crash, the pilot called for help saying that he was losing the engine and we're keeping a close eye on the weather tonight in california where yet another atmospheric river is expected to bring very heavy rain over the weekend and into next week this on top of so much rain and flooding we've seen this week new flood watches are already in effect tonight. another surprisingly strong jobs report today. the economy added 353,000 jobs in january, almost double expectations

unemployment remained at 3.7%, and that should be good news for president biden, who is expected to coast to victory in tomorrow's democratic primary in south carolina, but as gabe gutierrez reports, there may be signs of trouble for november >> reporter: at south carolina state university today, vice president kamala harris trying to rally a critical part of her campaign's 2020 coalition, young black voters >> every day we fight for you. >> reporter: four years ago, black democrats in south carolina's primary jolted the struggling biden campaign back to life >> we've won big because of you [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: now, nbc news polling shows nationwide, black voters favor president biden over republican front-runner donald trump, 73% to 17%, but among black voters under age 34, biden's support drops to 60%, and trump's support jumps to 28% in a tight election, that could be disastrous for democrats. >> are you excited about joe biden? >> no, not really. >> reporter: we spoke with kennard holmes

and other students who supported biden but had their doubts >> it's very difficult to get excited, because a lot of people kind of subscribe to, i'm picking the lesser of two evils. >> reporter: olivia strongly disagrees with the president's handling of the israel-hamas war. >> it's mass murder every single day. >> reporter: and has concerns about his age. >> seeing him stumble, seeing him stumble over words, it's hard to see -- it's hard to be comfortable with that >> reporter: caylin wrighten credits the biden administration with forgiving her mother's student loans but acknowledges former president trump speaks his mind. >> we had a panel discussion a few days ago with some students, and we said, we like that energy. you know, sometimes we want that for ourselves. >> reporter: she feels the biden campaign hasn't communicated well enough to young people like her. >> how concerned are you that this community won't show up this november >> i'm very concerned. >> reporter: though president biden is expected to win big in tomorrow's primary, any drop in enthusiasm could mean trouble for his campaign later

this year. lester. >> all right, gabe, thank you. in 60 seconds, our reporting on the criminal investigation of vince mcmahon. federal prosecutors now looking into allegations of sexual abuse and sex trafficking against the former wwe mogul

there's a new twist in the case rocking the world of professional wrestling. after wwe founder vince mcmahon was accused in a lawsuit of sexual assault and sex trafficking, it turns out he's also under scrutiny by the feds here's tom llamas, and we want to warn you, some of the details in this report are graphic. >> this is it. >> reporter: tonight, the founder of the wwe, vince mcmahon, under federal criminal investigation. known for playing a ruthless boss in the ring, now in real life, accused of being a sexual abuser and sex trafficker nbc news learning mcmahon has told

associates federal officials seized one of his phones. "the wall street journal" first to report federal agents also delivered a subpoena to him for documents related to any allegation of rape, sex trafficking, and sexual assault against current or former wwe employees >> wrestlemania. >> reporter: the criminal investigation unfolding as a lawsuit was filed last week by former employee, janel grant, who worked at the wwe until march 2022 in the suit lawyers allege mcmahon texted grant, quote, i'm the only one who owns you and controls who i want to expletive you, that she was forced into sexual acts involving defecation, restraint, and aggressive use of sex toys, and that mcmahon forced her to have sex with him and other men at the wwe headquarters in return for job security >> there's a lot of allegations in the lawsuit that are incredibly graphic. explain why you had to detail those horrific acts. >> well, she's going up against a multibillion dollar

corporation, the wwe, a multibillionaire, vince mcmahon, what happened to her, and that is being degraded, being a sex slave turned into a shadow, a further shadow of who she was. >> reporter: one day after those allegations went public, mcmahon resigned from the wwe, which is now owned by parent company tko days before, mcmahon was at the new york stock exchange celebrating tko's newest board member, dwayne "the rock" johnson. also, netflix just acquiring wwe's streaming rights worth billions of dollars. in a statement, mcmahon vows to vigorously defend himself adding, the lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth. >> and, tom, there could be more legal challenges in all of this. >> lester, you're right about that we're learning that a class action lawsuit may be in the works. you may remember

mcmahon has already paid out $12 million in settlements to women who brought allegations against him. he may have to pay even more money and now facing a criminal investigation. lester. >> all right, tom, thank you. coming up, our look inside a hamas tunnel and what israeli forces are calling a dungeon. we'll hear from a former hostage who survived it next

in the middle east, negotiators are awaiting the decision from hamas on that newly proposed hostage

deal, and tonight we have rare access with israeli troops inside hamas tunnels in gaza where some of the hostages were held raf sanchez now on the chilling sights inside. >> reporter: beneath the city of khan younis in gaza, hamas tunnels, and a darkness that feels like it may never end. this tunnel just goes on and on and on until you reach this, israeli troops showing us what they called a hamas dungeon. five cells with doors that lock from the outside and a single larger room. >> you lose the sense of direction, the sense of time. >> reporter: it was here israeli troops found these, drawings left behind by 5-year-old amelia aloni, who was kidnapped during the hamas attacks and held here with her mother danielle >> the only sentence i could say, please god help us, please god help us. >> reporter: she told us how on october 7th they desperately ran into the safe room hamas terrorists were outside setting the house on fire.

>> i covered my daughter, i don't know why, because, of course, it didn't help, and i told her, i'm sorry, my love, but we are going to die here. >> reporter: their awful choice, better to go out and be shot than suffocate inside. >> we open the window, and i'm waiting for get killed. >> reporter: instead they were taken to gaza and marched barefoot into the tunnels. >> i was in this tunnel for one hour, and it was hot, and it was hard to breathe. what was it like to be there for 36 days? >> horror, suffering every minute. >> reporter: every day a battle to keep her daughter's hope alive. >> we told stories we played with mattresses like it's a tent, and we are hiding in the tent >> reporter: danielle appearing in this hostage video, her

family's only way of knowing she was alive. they were eventually released in november today, amelia is back in kindergarten. >> is she still the same little girl she was before october 7th? >> no. if she can't see me, she's screaming, mom, mom, where are you she will never be the same kid she was >> reporter: something forever lost in the darkness of the tunnels. raf sanchez, nbc news, tel aviv we'll take a break here coming up, we'll remember actor carl weathers known for his role as apollo creed in the "rocky" films and so much more

finally, he squared off with rocky as apollo creed and had so many memorable roles in movies and tv stephanie gosk now on the passing of carl weathers >> apollo creed! >> reporter: back in 1976, few guessed a movie about boxing would go on to shape a generation >> nobody goes the distance with me. >> reporter: carl weathers was apollo creed, the ultimate bad guy, who turned good guy. >> eye of the tiger. ♪ >> reporter: next to sylvester stallone, he became the face of the rocky franchise, the most successful sports movies ever made >> i'm going to stop this fight >> reporter: weathers died in his sleep thursday at the age of 76, his family said adding, carl was an exceptional human being who lived an

extraordinary life he has left an indelible mark his acting career began after briefly playing linebacker in the nfl. weathers, it turned out, was a much better actor than football player in 1987 he had a role in "predator." >> you son of a [ bleep ]. >> reporter: matching biceps with arnold schwarzenegger the consummate tough guy and action hero aware there weren't many actors like him in the '80s. >> there's a void in terms of action films that star guys who have skin this color there is a void in that. >> reporter: but it wasn't just action movies weathers turned to comedy in "happy gilmore," a one-handed golf pro with quite a story. >> an alligator bit my hand off. >> oh, my god. >> you come here >> reporter: weathers' final role was in the "star wars" tv series, "the mandalorian," a five-decade-long career that started when he tossed his hat into the ring, stephanie gosk, nbc news that's "nightly news." join "meet the press" sunday on nbc when kristen welker has an

exclusive with speaker mike johnson thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night not just any whiteboard... ...katie porter's whiteboard is one way she's: [news anchor] ...often seen grilling top executives of banks, big pharma, even top administration officials. katie porter. never taken corporate pac money - never will. leading the fight to ban congressional stock trading. and the only democrat who opposed wasteful “earmarks” that fund politicians' pet projects. katie porter. focused on your challenges - from lowering housing costs to fighting climate change. shake up the senate - with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message.

. i'm raj mathai. next on "nbc bay area news tonight." we are on the eve of another powerful storm, this one with a lot of wind. we have an hour-by-hour timeline as we head into the weekend. also, no more right turns on red. san francisco preparing to ban it in a large section of the city. that's my guy right there. the king