its chance tomorrow. the jury earlier in the day visiting the crime scene. what they saw. our team at the courthouse also tonight, the powerful winter storm battering the west coast beginning its sweep across the country. we're tracking it. the alarming discovery at a pennsylvania airport explosives hidden in checked luggage. how close did it come to being loaded onto an airplane and the passenger now in fbi custody. the horror in greece two trains colliding head-on. at least 43 people killed who police have now arrested. the warrant issued for a college football star and top nfl draft prospect linked to a crash that killed a teammate drugmaker eli lilly slashing the price of insulin, the major impact for millions of americans who need the lifesaving drug. and my conversation with john williams, the legendary composer behind "star wars," "jaws," and "indiana jones" and the very

theme you're listening to right now on making history at this year's oscars >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt good evening we're glad you're with us tonight a double murder case that has drawn national attention with a prominent south carolina family at its center is inching toward its conclusion tonight with the prosecution resting its case against alex murdaugh, but not before the jury saw for itself the family property where the former attorney allegedly shot and killed his wife and son. the jury driven to the crime scene. later in the courtroom the lead prosecutor delivered his closing arguments telling jurors murdaugh was the only one with the motive, means, and opportunity to commit the murders, and painting murdaugh as someone whose financial misdeeds were about to be exposed and killed his wife and son to buy time to figure a way out. murdaugh has denied committing the murders. catie beck has more for us tonight

>> reporter: alex murdaugh was living a lie and would do anything to protect it, that's why the prosecution says he was the only one with motive and means to murder >> the forensic time line puts him there. >> reporter: prosecutors describe a gathering storm, unbearable pressure bearing down on murdaugh in the weeks and months before the murders. confronted for stealing money from his firm and about to be financially exposed by a civil case after the 2019 boat crash involving his son paul >> and they were all reaching a crescendo the day his wife and son were murdered by him. >> reporter: prosecutors again pointing to the lie murdaugh admitted on the stand that he was never at the kennels that night >> when was the last time i saw my wife and child alive? why in the world would an innocent, reasonable father and husband lie about

that >> reporter: and a graphic description of alex shooting paul in the feed room with the family gun and maggie who heard and saw the horrific moment just moments before her own death. >> she was running to her baby, heard that shot and was running to her baby when she got mowed down. >> reporter: reminding the jury of how moments after the murders, murdaugh struggled to explain why he was tracking so many steps and why some details, the ones that help him, are crystal clear in an ever-changing manufactured alibi story. >> he's asking questions like that. he's trying to figure out what do the police have. >> reporter: replaying various interviews alex gave investigators. >> i stayed on the couch, and i dozed off. >> reporter: the crime scene shown to the jury wednesday morning taken from the court to the 1,700-acre

moselle property to walk the kennels, the feed room and the outside of the former murdaugh home. prosecutors concluding their arguments with this >> he's fooled them all, and he fooled maggie and paul too, and they paid for it with their lives don't let him fool you too. >> catie, what points do you anticipate the defense will want to talk about tomorrow? >> reporter: well, lester, we expect the defense to point out that out of 75 witnesses who have testified, not a single one has described this family dynamic as anything but loving. also, if alex murdaugh's motive was really for sympathy and distraction, he achieved neither. soon after these crimes, he was disbarred and disgraced. lester >> all right, catie beck, thank you.

our senior legal correspondent, laura jarrett, joins me. laura, did the prosecution accomplish what it set out to do? >> lester, this really is a circumstantial case the prosecution doesn't have murder weapons, doesn't have bloody clothes or a confession, so instead the strategy is to persuade the jury that he's guilty with a time line that places murdaugh at the scene of the crime just minutes before the murder his past lies about that very time line caught on tape, some of the most compelling evidence here, but what could be the prosecution's biggest hurdle, motive expect to hear the defense argue in closing tomorrow, it simply doesn't make sense that someone would kill their wife and child to distract everyone from a looming financial downfall, but, of course, the state doesn't need to prove motive to get a conviction here in this case. >> laura, thanks very much in pennsylvania, a man is under arrest after the fbi says an explosive was found in a bag he checked at the airport. the bag set off an alarm during tsa screening at lehigh valley airport before it could be loaded

onto an allegiant air flight to orlando. when the agents inspected the bag, the fbi says they found the device with two fuses hidden inside the lining yet again, the threat of tornadoes and severe weather in parts of the south and it only gets worse tomorrow bill karins is tracking it. bill, what do we need to know? >> here we go, lester. a tornado watch already issued for texarkana, little rock to memphis for this evening and large hail is possible, and then tomorrow, this will be the headlinevent we already have what we call a moderate risk of severe weather from the dallas-fort worth area the storms will form and then spread over the same areas of louisiana and southern arkansas, and we not only expect tornadoes, but a few strong tornadoes are likely tomorrow afternoon right into tomorrow evening so that's going to be a big concern, then the cold side of this storm. it looks like northern new england is going to get a snowstorm friday night into saturday morning a wintry mess through central new england, just rain south of new york city and a heads-up to our friends from chicago to detroit, lester, a heavy, narrow band of snow someone is going to

get nailed, and there will be power outages. >> all right, bill, thank you for that officials in greece say it appears human error is mainly to blame for a horrific head-on crash between a passenger train and a freight train that killed at least 43 people. the rescue effort ongoing. matt bradley has late details. >> reporter: tonight greece's prime minister mostly blaming human error for the deadliest train crash in the country's history. train cars turning into piles of twisted metal when a freight train and a passenger train collided head-on, a now we're aring from the survivors who somehow were able out. [ speaking non-english "we heard a bam," this man said, "and i got propelled forward. he rail cars spun around and ended up on

their side." "we were being burned," said this survivor "fire was right and left." officials said temperatures in the burning cars reached more than 2,300 degrees. now families demanding to know how two trains could have raced toward each other on the same track reportedly for a full 12 minutes before they collided according to the head of greece's rail workers union [ speaking non-english "we all want those responsible to pay for this mess," said this father, who was still looking for his son. many passengers were young people returning from a carnival. greek police arrested the manager of a nearby train station but gave no reason why, and the country's transport minister resigned, he said, out of respect for those who died authorities say they still don't know exactly what caused the crash, but greece already had among the most dangerous train systems in europe. lester >> matt bradley, thank you. a new assessment by u.s. intelligence officials says the debilitating ailment known as havana syndrome cannot be linked to any foreign adversary or weapon and the report casts doubt on suspicions that russia or another country caused brain injuries reported by u.s. diplomats and spies overseas while not discounting it, officials cited pre-existing medical conditions and

environmental factors as possible causes. back home the ceo of norfolk southern now set to testify before the senate next week about the company's train derailment in ohio it comes amid concerns about where the toxic waste from that disaster is being taken. with more, here's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: nearly a month after the norfolk southern train derailment in ohio, the presidents of u.s. railroad unions say workers have fallen ill at the site as federal regulators promise to improve railway safety nationwide with inspections. there are also new concerns about where some of the hazardous materials are heading. among the sites spread across several states is one longtime incinerator in east liverpool, ohio, about 20 miles south of east palestine. how many of you are worried about the situation? we spoke with several residents here who have been fighting the plant run byitage thermal services previously known as waste technologies industries for

decades. since the plant opened in 1992, it's faced protests and lawsuits from environmental groups the epa said the plant released high levels of toxic chemicals 195 times between 2010 and 2014. >> they've just not been showing themselves to be good neighbors. >> the facility never should have been here in the first place >> reporter: the company has denied wrongdoing do you have any coerns that this site will be able to handle this toxic material >> overall i don't. >> reporter: mayor greg bricker lives with his family near the incinerator. >> they gave me their assurances, and i'm going to rely on them. >> reporter: heritage thermal services says it is fully permitted to manage the materials generated at the derailment site and ands rdy to do its part to help protect human health and the environment. >> i would just ask that they don't forget about us. >> reporter: these longtime residents are skeptical. >> we're in a crisis right now. it's choking me up it's emotional >> reporter: also today, norfolk

southern's ceo agreed to testify on capitol hill next week lester. >> all right, gabe, thank you. a major move today to bring down the high cost of insulin, one of the biggest manufacturers announcing it will drastically reduce the out-of-pocket cost here's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: tonight it's being hailed as a huge win for diabetics. drugmaker eli lilly announcing it's cutting the list price of its most commonly prescribed insulin by 70% and capping out-of-pocket costs at $35 a month. >> such a relief it's a huge significant step in making this disease manageable. >> reporter: anne marie gibson's sons both use eli lilly insulin for their diabetes they spoke to nbc news in december as costs in america soared for the lifesaving drug. >> i'm so angry. it's exhausting. >> reporter: in january the inflation reduction act imposed a monthly cap on insulin costs for seniors on medicare, but millions of

younger diabetics were still paying much higher rates the move comes after years of political and patient pressure. >> i think we all have heard enough about insulin affordability. here in america we should be able to solve this problem ourselves. >> reporter: eli lilly's cap automatically applies to people with private insurance. those without coverage will be eligible as long as they sign up for a savings card through the company, but only about 30% of the nation's 8.4 million diabetics who rely on insulin get it from eli lilly. >> do you expect to see the other drugmakers following suit? >> i certainly hope that they do i think that in general all of the insulin that the drug manufacturers make should be affordable and accessible. >> reporter: today insulinmakers sanofi and novo nordisk pointed to their own savings plans for participants for mom anne marie gibson, today is a good start to saving lives. >> rationing insulin gets scary some have died >> reporter: knowing her sons now face a

future where a vital prescription won't carry such a hefty price. kristen dahlgren, nbc news in 60 seconds, he's one of the most sought after football stars for the draft. why police now want him arrested

arrest warrants have been issued for a college football star and top nfl draft prospect police say jalen carter is facing charges for a january crash that left a teammate and a team staffer dead here's miguel almaguer >> i would like to, but jalen carter has got him again. >> reporter: widely considered the nfl's top prospect, tonight arrest warrants have been issued for 21-year-old jalen carter, who now faces misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing after a fatal accident in january that took the lives of one of carter's teammates and a university of georgia staff member athens police say hours after the georgia bulldogs celebrated their national championship,

the superstar standout is suspected of racing another car driven by recruiting staffer chandler lecroy saying both vehicles drove in opposite lanes of travel and overtook other motorists. lecroy's blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. her car traveling at about 104 miles per hour slammed into power poles and trees killing her and offensive lineman devin willock. >> there's one person that never did anything wrong, and i got sensitive in cincinnati i get sensitive talking about it just because i love him >> reporter: notified he's facing arrest while ducking the nfl combine today, carter says he expects to be fully exonerated and will make certain that the complete and accurate truth is presented. tonight, a promising star facing legal trouble before even taking the field miguel almaguer, nbc news and up next for us tonight, the new warning about a cancer being seen in more people at a younger age.

i was injured in a car crash. i had no idea how much my case was worth. call the barnes firm to find out what your case could be worth. we will help get you the best result possible. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ there is a new warning from the american cancer society, rates of colorectal cancer in those under 55 are rising fast, and most are at advanced stage. tom costello has more. >> reporter: at 45 justin kelly thought he was probably too young to get colon cancer, but when his doctor said the recommended screening age had dropped from 55 to 45, he ordered a

mail-in cologuard test the result was positive a colonoscopy confirmed stage 3 cancer, and justin began an experimental fall. therapy last >> i'll share what my doctor told me when she came in to share the news she said, you wouldn't have made it to 50 without coming in to see me that's how far along it was >> reporter: justin is part of a younger generation of americans whose colorectal cancer rates have nearly doubled over 25 years. in 1995 11% of those diagnosed with colon cancer were 55 and younger. by 2019 it was 20% >> unfortunately, there has been a rise as well in advanced stage diagnoses where the colon cancer has not only spread to lymph nodes, but also to distant organs in the form of metastases. >> reporter: the symptoms to watch for, a change in bowel habits, blood in the stool, abdominal pain, unintentional weight loss, fatigue and shortness of breath. but while it's the second leading cause of cancer death, many people are reluctant to discuss their

symptoms or seek help. >> there needs to be open communication between patients and their family members about what might be going on, as well as patients and their primary care providers. >> reporter: the risk factors include obesity, physical inactivity, a diet low in fruits and veggies but high in red and processed meat, smoking, heavy alcohol use and a family history, with black americans, native americans and alaska natives at an elevated risk justin kelly is just grateful he took the test. >> i do see it as a close call. if i hadn't gotten that physical, i would have been in a very different spot. >> reporter: diagnosed and now cancer-free. tom costello, nbc news, washington and up next for us tonight, his scores accompany our lives. my one-on-one interview with composer john williams

finally, the history-making oscar nomination for the man behind some of hollywood's most memorable film scores. at 91, john williams is up again for best movie score, now the oldest nominee ever to compete for an oscar [ playing the theme from "jaws" from terrors of the deep to visitors from deep space [ playing the theme from "encounters of the third kind" john williams' musical scores have lifted us. [ playing the theme from "e.t." and raised our pulse [ playing the theme to "star wars"

john, i have to tell you knowing i was going to sit down with you this morning, all morning long, i'm hearing your themes in my head from certain movies ♪ da, da, da, da, da, da ♪ what do you think when people start humming back your tunes? >> well, no one could ever have guessed it when you're writing it and recording for a particular purpose, and we finish the film, and it's done, you put the music in a drawer. >> reporter: his music endures. ♪ >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news. >> reporter: including the signature theme he wrote for this broadcast 38 years ago. >> the piece is about four minutes long, and they said, if we have a slow news day, we'll play the whole piece >> reporter: well, now john w the news ♪ for his oscar nomination at 91 is it still a thrill to hear your name? >> absolutely. i guess i -- well, it's now 53 oscar nominations, which seems unreal that anybody could be that

old and working that long >> reporter: his nominated this time for "the fabelmans." ♪ once more showcasing one of hollywood's most lasting partnerships, john williams and director ♪steven spielberg >> it seemed that our score should be very lean, very simple, very touching, if possible >> reporter: "the fabelmans" is personal for spielberg, a loose telling of his own story. did that present a challenge to you as you began to score the film >> well, every film is a challenge, of course you want to search for what should the film sound like, as well as look like. this is a particular and interesting challenge. it's sten being so frank, so unguarded about his family. >> reporter: the pair's work spans five decades. ♪ williams' last oscar win was nearly 30

years ago. he has won five for his movie scores i think most people would think you would have won more because your music is so familiar >> well, my wife thinks i should have won more, and someone asked of samantha, why do you always wear black dresses to the oscars, and she said, because we lose every year. >> rter:in o lose, john williams is still harnessing the power of music to bring images to life what would a score of your life story sound like >> oh, dear. don't know i hope it has a cello so in it somewhere, then we can have yo-yo ma i've just been so fortunate in it and so truly blessed to work in music ♪ >> the oscars will be awarded on march 12th. that's "nightly news" for this wednesday please take care of yourself and each other. good night

i'm raj mathai. next on nbc bay area news tonight, a fight between students turned deadly. we have the latest information with that stabbing in a high school classroom in the north bay. also, snowed in the sierra. stunning images of the record-breaking blizzard, including an avalanche that covered an apartment complex near palisades, tahoe. plus -- >> we're really excited too under this administration to really address the basic needs. >> we're talking to oakland mayor thao about potholes, the ransomeware attack on her city and the fired police chief. could he be coming back? and cashing in on the silicon valley layoffs. high-end furniture capitalizing on the empty