is y your accidedent case wowore than i insurance o offered? call thehe barnes fifirm now toto find out.t. you might t be surprisised. tonight, the dramatic video of a russian fighter jet colliding with a u.s. drone over the black sea. newly declassified video appearing to show the russian jet dumping fuel on the drone and in another pass striking its propeller. the u.s. calling the video proof russia is lying. our team at the pentagon. also tonight, ten people now charged with murder in the death of a man restrained at a virginia mental hospital. three hospital workers and seven deputies. the family today viewing video of his final moments. his mother's heartbreaking words. the $30 billion plan to rescue another troubled bank, and treasury secretary

janet yellen today appearing before congress. what she said about the safety of american banks. the u.s. threatening to ban tiktok over national security fears. how the popular app's owner is responding. the cross-country storm, tornado warnings and hail in texas. snow in the midwest, and caught on camera, the daring flood rescue in los angeles. nbc news investigates, why is this school still open near a plant the epa says emits a toxic chemical? families demanding answers. the first big upset in march madness. the tiny school pulling off a stunner in its first tournament appearance in 40 years. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, and welcome, everyone. the u.s. tonight offering compelling evidence that russian fighter jets were the aggressors in a confrontation with an american air force drone over the black

sea this week. newly declassified pentagon video from the drone's camera captured a russian warplane spraying jet fuel directly in the path of the pilotless drone. one of several close passes by russian fighters according to the pentagon, one of which resulted in a collision. part of the american aircraft's propeller sheared off forcing the drone to crash while american officials allow the russian pilot may have accidentally bumped the drone, they say there's no question where the orders to harass the plane came from. courtney kube has more for us now from the pentagon. >> reporter: the dramatic new video showing the midair showdown all captured by a camera on the unmanned american reaper drone. you can see the russian fighter jet approaching the drone from behind, then spraying jet fuel on it. there is no collision. the drone's propeller intact. then another approach by the russian jet and more jet fuel. the moment of impact is not shown on the video, but later the drone's propeller visibly damaged after

it was struck by the russian jet. the $32 million drone was then downed in the black sea. the u.s. says two russian jets made 19 passes over the drone in international airspace before the collision. the russian government denies any aggressive action or impact occurred. the biden administration saying they declassified the video to prove russia is lying. >> given the reckless and dangerous behavior and to demonstrate publicly what type of actions the russians had taken, we felt that it was important to provide this imagery. >> reporter: the u.s. assesses the actions of the pilots were approved by top kremlin leaders according to three u.s. officials familiar with the intelligence, though the actual collision appears to be pilot error. russia insists the drone was in temporary russian airspace, though the pentagon today saying the reaper stayed about 50 miles or more from russian occupied crimea. tonight the american drone is on the bottom of the black sea. still, no u.s. efforts to recover the wreckage, but the u.s. says the russians are

trying. >> we do have indications that russia is likely making an effort to try to recover nq9 debris. >> reporter: the pentagon says they were able to remotely erase any sensitive information from the drone in case it ends up in russian hands. >> courtney, let me ask you another big headline from that region on ukraine tonight. poland says it will send ukraine four mig fighter jets. the white house not bending on sending f-16s, however. >> reporter: administration officials insist the polish announcement will not impact the decision, and that the white house still has not decided to send f-16s to ukraine at this time, but we do expect the u.s. to announce another weapons package for ukraine in the next few days. lester. >> courtney kube at the pentagon. thank you. in virginia new murder charges tonight in the death of a black man being transferred to a mental hospital. three hospital workers now charged in addition to seven sheriff's deputies. catie beck has late details. >> reporter: irvo

otieno's mother says her son was tortured by deputies after a transport to a mental hospital. >> he was my baby. >> reporter: today three employees of the mental hospital charged with second degree murder for their role in irvo otieno's death, this after seven henrico sheriff's deputies were charged with second degree murder charges in the incident all currently on administrative leave. authorities say otieno was at home and admits to a mental health crisis. after receiving a call he had been seen gathering solar powered lawn lights from a neighbor's yard and otieno's family and his attorneys say days later in custody during intake at a mental hospital in handcuffs and shackles that he was smothered to death by deputies. >> can someone explain to me why my brother is not here right now? can someone explain to me why my mother can't sleep, can't eat? we're broken. >> reporter: the area's top prosecutor saying he died from

being piled on and couldn't breathe. >> it's just cruel and a demonstration of power that is unlawful. i mean, it killed him. >> reporter: thursday otieno's family and attorneys viewed footage from inside the jail and mental hospital where he later died. attorneys described him left naked in his jail cell handled harshly into transport and then during intake at the mental hospital a brutal 11-minute pummeling where they say with restraints on otieno is pushed off a chair onto the floor suffering the full weight and force of ten people on top of him. >> you could see his hair being pulled, and you could see knees toward his head. it was excruciating to watch. >> reporter: the henrico police union says they're standing behind the deputies. an attorney for one says otieno was

being combative and had a history of mental illness incidents and says these charges are premature. >> i believe still they were doing their job and doing it the best they could. none are known as bullies. >> my son was treated like a dog, worse than a dog. i saw it with my own eyes on the video. >> catie, do we know if the video will be released publicly? >> reporter: well, lester, the commonwealth attorney here says that video is a key piece of evidence in their case and to preserve the integrity of the ongoing investigation, she's now going to be releasing it at this time. otieno's family and attorneys, however, say transparency is necessary for justice. they feel like the public should be able to see what really happened. lester. >> all right, catie beck, thank you. just days after two of the largest bank failures in u.s. history and with treasury secretary janet yellen today insisting americans' deposits are safe, we just learned about a new multibillion dollar move to prevent a third bank from failing. nbc business reporter brian cheung joins us. this is a group of larger banks that

saved a smaller bank. >> that's right. the california-based bank had been fighting to stop depositors from pulling their money but after markets closed 11 banks rushed to rescue first republic by depositing 30 billion into the fund. this comes after treasury secretary yellen told congress she was worried about contagion after the failures of silicon valley bank and signature bank. >> concerns about the banking system are adding to talk about recession. >> lester, many economists were already worried about a recession and the treasury secretary said that if more banks fail, that would be a source of signature downside economic risk. translation, the unease in the banking sector certainly doesn't help those recession fears, lester. >> brian thunk, thanks so much. tonight we've learned the biden administration is threatening to ban tiktok if the app's chinese owners don't sell the company. it comes amid concerns that the chinese government could use the popular app to gain access to americans' personal information. kristen welker has the latest from the white

house. >> reporter: tonight, a dramatic ultimatum from the biden administration to the chinese owners of the hugely popular app, tiktok. sell your shares in the company or face a possible ban of the app in the u.s. a source close to the company tells nbc news. it comes after bipartisan pressure on the white house to take action against the app, which has 100 million monthly users from students to small businesses. the fear, the fbi warns the chinese government has stolen more of americans' personal and corporate data than any other country, and experts say tiktok could be giving them access to american users' information including contacts and calendars, location, and could allow them to target people with specific videos. >> one-third of americans get their news from tiktok every single day. one-sixth of american youth say they're constantly on tiktok. that's a loaded gun, congressman. >> reporter: tiktok is responding tonight writing in part, if protecting national security is the objective, divestment

doesn't solve the problem saying, they are already implementing robust third-party monitoring. the chinese government saying, the u.s. hasn't been able to prove with evidence that tiktok threatens u.s. national security. former president trump had pursued a tiktok ban in 2020 but was blocked in federal court. now, the biden administration threatening a similar move, a major shift in policy amid mounting tensions with china. does the president think that americans should be on tiktok? >> what i can speak to is what the president believes that he needs to do, which is making sure that the safety and privacy of americans are protected. >> reporter: today the uk became the latest country to ban tiktok on government devices. it follows a similar move here in the u.s., lester. >> kristen welker, thank you. we're tracking a dangerous storm sweeping across the country tonight, tornado watches up in texas and oklahoma. at least one confirmed near fort worth. more than 20 million people on alert, and

already some of them are seeing damaging winds and large hail. to the north heavy snow making travel treacherous in the midwest and great lakes. in california, after days of heavy rain, the dramatic rescue of a man who fell into the los angeles river. a fire department rescuer was lowered by helicopter and was able to place a sling around the man. both of them were then lifted out of the river to safety. in paris police fired tear gas and water cannons tonight as thousands protested against president emmanuel macron's decision to impose pension reform by decree. under it the retirement age will be raised from 62 to 64. today's violence sparked after macron went around parliament forcing the changes without a vote. in 60 seconds, the stunning upset in march madness today, plus the controversy involving one of the tournament's biggest ststars and a a murder case. new detatails right t after ththis.

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march madness is back and already has its shares of upsets and controversy. the alabama crimson tide advancing from the first round today all after the team's star player was linked to a deadly shooting. we get more from sam brock. >> reporter: the first two days of march madness are a basketball blitz. 32 games in 48 hours marked by last-second theatrics like furman pulling out this incredible steal and three-pointer to knock off virginia. >> furman has won! >> reporter: but this year there's a major headline off the court, brandon miller. >> the past three months the tide's on court success has been overshadowed by a shooting in january. >> reporter: the top player on the number one overall seed miller has been linked to a tragic killing in tuscaloosa after a police officer testified in court miller brought a gun to a former teammate that was ultimately used to kill a 23-year-old mother. two men including that former teammate face capital murder

charges. miller has not been charged with a crime, and his attorney maintains he had no idea what the gun was for. >> so the situation is just really heartbreaking. >> reporter: now the player widely considered the best in the tournament has armed security at games. how unusual is that set of circumstances? >> i've never seen it before in my career covering the ncaa tournament. >> reporter: dan writes for "usa today" and covers college basketball. the legal system decided that there were no charges merited. the university of alabama says brandon miller is clear to play, but what does the court of public opinion say? >> inside all of college sports is a little bit of dismay that alabama's handled it this way and essentially said as long as there were no criminal charges brought against brandon miller, that standard, that's the bar. >> reporter: the next test, how a nation will respond if or when the crimson tide makes a run thrusting miller even deeper into the spotlight. sam brock, nbc news. coming up, we take you to the place with one of the highest

cancer rates in america. why is this school still right next to a factory even after learning it's emitting dangerous chemicals? our nbc news investigation is next. our our investigatio n oooohhhhh, it is c cold outsie time to prprotect yourur vehie frfrom wintersrs wrath oooohhhhh, it is c cold outsie of c course the e hot sun can n be tough o on vehicleseo yoyou need weaeathertech all l year roundnd! come on, protect t your invesestment all l year roundnd! laser measasured floororls and cacargoliner all l year roundnd! willll shield ththe carpeting from sand d and snow all l year roundnd! for r your intererior, there's s seat protetector and sunshade plus, mudflapsps and bumpspstp fofor the exteterior order amamerican madade pros atat weathertetech.com plus, mudflapsps and bumpspstp fofor the exteterior surfs s up yeyeah, rightt there e are some t things that g go better..... togethe. buburger and f fries... soup andnd salad. there e are some t things that g go better..... togethe.

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levels of a likely human carcinogen. so why after seven years are kids still breathing toxic air? here's cynthia mcfadden. >> reporter: 4-year-old george says he loves going to school at fifth ward elemementary inn reservrve, louisiaiana, bubut according to the federal government, going to school here could be shortening george's life, as well as the lives of his 400 or so primarily black classmates. one of your neighbors says it's like sending the kids to a gas chamber. >> exactly. exactly. >> reporter: 83-year-old mary hampton is george's great grandmother. she lives a few blocks from the school. her father bought the land once worked by slaves giving parcels to his nine children. >> he thought he was leaving us a legacy. he actually left us a death sentence. they don't care about us. it's racial. they don't care. just inhale and die. >> reporter: hampton and her friend robert taylor had been

fighting to have the kids moved from the school and the air quality improved ever since the epa said seven years ago that an unsafe level of a likely carcinogen called chloroprene was being emitted from the denka plant right next door to the school. denka makes wet suits and other products, the only plant of its kind in the country. >> we've been dealt a sacrifice zone. i don't know how they would be allowed to sacrifice the lives of anybody. we had the highest cancer risk. epa informed us of that in 2017. >> the highest cancer risk in the country? >> in the country. >> what was your reaction to that? >> i was floored. >> reporter: though denka said they reduced emissions by 85%, emissions at the school far exceed the recommended 0.2 level as we saw when we visited with environmental scientist wilma zubra. what's the result?

>> higher than 0.2 concentration. >> how much higher? i know it varies depending on wind and how much the plant is manufacturing, but i mean, what's the extreme? >> i've calculated it here 10 times, 20 times, 50 times. >> the acceptable level? >> yes. >> reporter: nevertheless, not that the state of louisiana or the epa has forced the plant to comply with the 0.2 recommendation or order the children moved nor have members of the local school board. patrick sanders, the recently retired head of the school board who is a local mortician, grew up right next to the plant. many of his neighbors have died of cancer. including his father and sister. he's fighting cancer for the second time. >> there's going to be a lot of people sitting at home going, hold it a second. why wouldn't you at least move them as far away from the plant as you could. >> i would agree with those people for the safety of those kids. >> but you didn't do it. >> no, i didn't.

>> why? >> i didn't -- not -- i didn't -- um, i was 1 member of 11. it takes a majority of the school board. >> but did you stand up and say, this is wrong. we've got to fix it? >> um, no, i didn't. >> why not? >> um, there's not a reason as to why not that i can definitively give you. did i stand up and beat on the table, no. >> do you wish you had? >> looking back, yes. >> reporter: but a glimmer of hope just as we're packing up to leave. the epa sent us an email. they decided to file a lawsuit in federal court to require denka to significantly reduce positive chloroprene emissions from its manufacturing facility. >> yes, we won. that's what we're fighting for. oh, my god. >> reporter: but robert taylor is not so sure this will change anything. an emergency order

you're afraid isn't going to do anything? >> no, not while they're still operating. >> you're saying shut them down. >> shut them -- this should have been done years ago. >> reporter: shut them down for george and all the other people here who just want to breathe clean air. >> so, cynthia, let me ask you this, anything changed in the two weeks since you were there and the epa announced the lawsuit? >> well, so far the epa has not shut the plant down, though they tell us the community is a top priority for them and that they will soon take additional actions. now, denka tells us they're breaking no laws and deny emissions are putting folks at any increased risk of cancer, and the kids, well, they're still going to fifth waward elementntary scschool. lester. >> all right, cynthia, thank you for r that. up nexext with theheir homemeland torn n apart by war, ukrkrainian skikiers sosoar with anan assist from teaeam usa. "inspiring america" is next. doctctor about b breztri. brbreztri giveves you better brereathing, symptom m improvemenent, anand helps prprevent flarare. symptom m improvemenent, breztri wowon't replacace a rescscue inhalerer

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finally tonight, the ukrainian skiers defying gravity and the war at home wiwith a littlele help from some friendnds in utah.h. for ukraraine's aeririal skiing team, moves like this feel like e freedom. >> all the feelings disappear. >> reporter: the athletes flilip, twist and fly, landing gravity-defying tricks in one of winter's most awe-inspiring sports. last february, oleksandr abramenko won his second olympic medal. days laterer, russia

invaded his country. >> i forgot about my silver mededal immediately after r war starart. >> reporter: unable to ski in ukraine -- >> w what's up, brother? how are you doing? >> r reporter: - -- park city, ututah, becameme theieir temporarary home trainingng alongsidede the u.u.s. team. >> just t knowing hohow meananingful beieing able to conontinue to c compete and to represent their country is to o them, any way ththat we can help is s uplifting g for ouour team, asas well. >> repororter: the ukrainian skiers have done their best to settle in, training, relaxing and enjoying american f food. >> my favoritete one is panda express. >> reporter: but home can n feel far. . abramenknko's wife and childrenen live in kyiv.. he facacetimes thehem twicice a day. his son loves cars. >> he ask me to bring him new one from united states. >> reporter: out on the slopes, the team is fueled by an unwavering pride for their country. >> this is our battlefield. this is s our job fofor

us, knowow especialllly we rerepresent ouour country. >> reporter: hopeful one day their country will see peace. >> we have challenging days until we will come back home. we have just one home, and this is ukraine. >> 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.

nbc bay area is streaming now live on peacock. in the dark. it's been 48 hours since the last winter storm, and thousands still have no power. some may have to wait another 48 hours to get the lights back on. good afternoon, i am audrey asistio. welcome to nbc news at 4:30. one area in the south bay is still dealing with power issues. and an nbc news bay area exclusive. we are talking about lessons learned from a campus scare.