tonight, the major ruling from the supreme court, barring states from removing donald trump from the ballot. the justices in a unanimous decision restoring the former president to colorado's ballot, after the state kicked him off, citing the 14th amendment for his actions surrounding the january 6th attack that ruling coming just hours before voters in colorado and more than a dozen states head to the polls for the super tuesday primaries. nikki haley coming off her first primary victory, why she's also welcoming the supreme court's decision the new storm slamming the west coast after that monster blizzard brought more than 7 feet of snow the international guardsman pleading guilty to leaking the pentagon secrets on a chat forum. how long he could spend in prison princess kate spotted for the first time in public since her mystery hospitalization in january. nearly five months after the october 7 terror attack, the new

u.n. report on allegations hamas used sexual violence as a weapon nbc news investigates the new technology that can spot fentanyl hidden in vehicles at the border but why are millions of dollars worth of these scanners going unused and it's one of the biggest aviation mysteries of all time, a decade after it vanished, will the search reopen for flight mh-370 this is nbc nightly news with lester holt >> good evening, and welcome, everyone the u.s. supreme court spoke with one voice today and with relative urgency, as it ruled on a key question hovering over the presidential race. tonight, on the eve of super tuesday primaries and caucuses, the court unanimously rejecting colorado's effort to disqualify donald trump from appearing on the state's primary election ballot, reversing colorado's high court, which ruled on constitutional grounds that mr. trump could not serve as president again, because he had been part of an

insurrection but today, the u.s. supreme court ruling states have no right to make that call it's a major victory for mr. trump, not only in colorado, which holds its primary tomorrow, but two other states that had also moved to strike him from the ballot. we start our reporting tonight with laura jarret. >> reporter: tonight, the u.s. supreme court dealing a final blow to states trying to ban former president trump from the ballot in a unanimous decision, the justices effectively leaving it up to voters to decide if the former president returns to the white house. mr. trump praising today's ruling >> the voters can take the person out of the race very quickly. but a court shouldn't be doing that >> reporter: the justices rejecting a colorado state court's ruling, finding mr. trump ineligible to be president under section three of the 14th amendment, a largely untested clause of the constitution, passed after the civil war, disqualifying those who engage in insurrection from holding

public office again. an elections official in maine and a judge in illinois later doing the same, banning the republican frontrunner from the ballot in those states in light of his actions on january 6th. today's ruling from high court now ending all similar efforts to disqualify mr. trump from the ballot. >> while most states were thrilled to have me, there were some that didn't, and they didn't want that for political reasons. >> reporter: the justices today saying that patchwork of different rulings across the country cannot stand finding responsibility for enforcing section three against federal officers rests with congress and not the states but, at the same time, the three liberal justices accusing their conservative colleagues of going too far, by ruling congress must enact new legislation, in order to ban a presidential candidate. writing, this ruling will make it harder to bar an oath-breaking insurrectionist from becoming

president. conservative justice barrett cautioning this court should turn the national temperature down, not up >> and laura, the court didn't really address the question of what happened on january 6 and mr. trump's actions, which was really behind these moves to kick him off the ballot, but that's still going to come up. >> yes, the justices didn't have to confront that issue today but must take it head on when they decide whether mr. trump should be immune from prosecution in the january 6 case they hear that case next month today's big supreme court victory for former president trump coming just hours before super tuesday, when voters will cast their primary ballots in 16 states and a territory. will it be a last stand for nikki haley? our garrett haake is in florida tonight. >> reporter: on the eve of super tuesday, republican frontrunner donald trump insisting legal efforts against him are giving him a big boost. >> the polls show i'm much more popular. than i was

they're nonsense cases, and everybody sees it. >> reporter: with just hours to go before polls open on the biggest single primary day, mr. trump's last remain challenger welcoming the high court ruling >> this is america look, i'll defeat trump fair and square, but i want him on that ballot >> reporter: republican voters in 16 states casting ballots tomorrow with more than 800 delegates at stake. many in winner take all states new polling shows him leading president biden in a head-to-head matchup within the margin of error. both men unpopular but unlike 2020, polls showing more americans now have an unfavorable view of mr. biden than of mr. trump. while in colorado, which holds its primary tomorrow with former president trump on the ballot, both trump supporters and detractors shrugged off the supreme court ruling today. >> trump staying on the ballot is good, because, you know, he has a tough hit. >> my biggest thing about

president trump is i think he's a terrible example on how to treat people, but i don't like the idea of people, of the government saying someone can't run. >> reporter: over the weekend, haley suggesting she may back off her pledge to endorse the party nominee, even if mr. trump sweeps all of tomorrow's contests lester >> all right, garrett, thanks tomorrow, join me and savannah guthrie for live analysis and results on super tuesday. it starts tomorrow across the platforms of nbc news. a massachusetts international guardsman pleaded guilty today to leaking military secrets. and just breaking tonight, another alleged leak of classified intelligence by one working inside the u.s. military courtney kube is at the pentagon tonight. what are you learning? >> reporter: well, david franklin slater worked as a civilian at u.s. strategic command in nebraska until april 2022 according to the indictment, he was

arrested saturday fo allegedly sharing classified information through a foreign online dating website, slater held a top-secret security clearance and attended sensitive briefing regarding russia's war against ukraine. and also today, a massachusetts international guardsman pleaded guilty to leaking sensitive national security secrets, including highly-clfr highly-classified military documents about the war in ukraine. under a plea agreement, jack teixeira faces 11 to 17 years in prison sentencing is scheduled for september. tonight, the biden administration is turning up the pressure on israel and hamas to agree on a cease-fire in gaza. as the toil among civilians only grows. raf sanchez has the latest some of what you will see in the report is quite upsetting. >> reporter: tonight the war in gaza rages on. despite a new and urgent u.s. push for a cease-fire >> we are in a window of time right now where we can actually get a hostage deal done >> reporter: vice president

harris today meeting a senior member of israel's war cabinet at the white house the meeting one day after she delivered some of the administration's most forceful criticism of israel yet. >> the israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. no excuses >> reporter: u.s. hoping to secure a deal before the start of ramadan this weekend. a proposed six-week cease-fire would see the release of 40 hostages in exchange for around 400 palestinian prisoners. an israeli official tells nbc news, one major obstacle to talks in cairo is hamas' refusal to say which hostages are still alive. over the weekend, the u.s. military dropping 38,000 ready meals into gaza by parachute and promising to do more but this family tells us their home was destroyed by an israeli strike and say that what they need is not aid from the sky but u.s. pressure to halt the bombing.

19 people were killed, the family says, including a husband and twins. they were born october 13th, one week into the war. a blessing after years of ivf treatment, and never knowing a day of peace in their short lives. who will call me mama now, she asks who will call me mama now? and a new u.n. report says evidence indicates hamas fighters committed rape at at least three locations during the october 7 attack and that there is clear and convincing information that some hostages in gaza have been subjected to sexual violence while in captivity. lester >> these are not easy stories to tell raf, thank you in the sierra mountains another storm is poised to dump at least two more feet of snow in a region bu buried by it over the weekend. our steve patterson is

there, good evening. >> reporter: after 72 hours of non-stop snowfall there was a break today, allowing officials to clear the road and open a major interstate but that was before new snow from a new system started falling. tonight, an entire region digging out in the aftermath of a winter weather thrashing. >> we woke up to a lot of snow yesterday, and it never let up >> reporter: this weekend, the storm of the season unleashed a life-threatening assault on the mountain west, dumping five to ten feet of snow across the region and spawning blinding whiteout conditions on roads. >> it kind of felt like we were swimming through the snow almost >> reporter: just south of lake tahoe, several cars temporarily trapped when an avalanche crashed on the road. thankfully no one injured. the region's major thoroughfare, interstate 80, shut down for days a perilous mix of wind and snow stranding drivers for hours. the road finally reopening today.

the blizzard bringing snow total up to 7 feet in some communities. winds gust up to 90 miles per hour -- >> it was whiteout conditions today relief blizzard warnings lifted for the first time since last week >> this really turned out to be a storm. we were all kind of laughing and we were like, eh, it's snow. we've got this, and then snowmageddon >> reporter: the storm moving out, allowing residents to catch their breath ahead of a few more inches of snow predicted right around the corner. steve patterson, nbc news, truckee, california now the contrast to texas, where yet another wildfire tore across the state's panhandle over the weekend in the last week, more than one million acres have burned hundreds of homes have been lost and two people have died morgan chesky is there. >> reporter: in texas, frustration over more than a million scorched acres, only

matching fatigue from another firefight. flames targeting sanford. c crews fought a familiar battle. some pulled from fires elsewhere to make sure this community stayed home. >> we're not used to the conditions having lined up like they did this week with the high winds and the low humidity for such a long event. it was all just lined up to be the perfect storm. >> reporter: burn scars now visible from space these satellite images showing the city of fritsch before the wildfires. now blackened earth. authorities say the cause of the fire is under investigation. but a new lawsuit alleges xcel energy, a utility company, is to blame for the smokehouse fire. the suit stating a wooden poll xcel energy failed to properly properly inspect snapped off at the base, power lines

hitting the ground, igniting a fire. xcel saying they're cooperating with the investigation. the loss of land and livestock crushing they are trucking out cattle and hay until they can find a temporary home for the herd with the more than million-acre blaze just 15% contained, firefighters finally getting help from a cold front, but everyone's hoping for rain forecast later this week >> morgan chesky in texas. we'll take a break in 60 seconds, the princess of wales seen for the first time since her abdominal surgery earlier this year and her prolonged absence from public life late details coming up after this

it's been nearly two months since princess kate underwent surgery in the uk. and since that mystery hospitalization, she hasn't been seen in public until today. here's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: the picture is grainy but appears to be the

princess of wales in sunglasses being driven by her mother the photo agency says it was taken near windsor castle where the princess of wales is recuperating from abdominal surgery. the 42-year-old mother of three hasn't been seen in months not since christmas day with her family. in january, kensington palace admitted sh had been admitted to the hospital for planned abdominal surgery. the surgery was successful and she did not have cancer just under two weeks later, she returned home and was making good progress, according to the palace, but would not be attending public events until after easter with little information being released, social media buzzed with conspiracies, some about the seriousness of her condition. the rumors were fueled last week when prince william made a last-minute decision not to attend a memorial service for his godfather. citing a personal matter the palace issued another statement, the princess was doing well, and adding that it made clear in january the

timelines of the princess' recovery and we'd only be providing significant updates. the palace declined to comment on today's photo adding to the health concerns for the royal family is king charles' unspecified cancer diagnosis tonight an image that may provide some solace wishing a princess a speedy recovery coming up, the new technology to crack down on deadly fentanyl pouring into this country why is it sitting unused our investigation next back now with our

nbc news investigation into the fight against fentanyl at the southern border authorities there have new advanced scanners that can detect fentanyl in vehicles but we've learned millions of dollars worth of these scanners are sitting unused here's julia ainsley >> reporter: tonight, we're on the front lines of the fentanyl crisis, nogales, arizona. half of all fentanyl seized coming in from mexico is stopped here but critics say the biden administration is not doing enough with fentanyl overdoses now the leading cause of death for americans, aged 18 to 45 acting cbp commissioner tells us virtually all fentanyl is brought across in vehicles >> it's by women, men, young, old, u.s. citizens, mexican citizens >> reporter: and he tells us, border agents have begun using a new technology to identify

fentanyl hidden in vehicles we watch as officers first question drivers and inspect cars then they may be referred for a scan this is new technology that's been installed to x-ray cars that officers suspect may be car carrying narcotics it's considered the ground zero for fentanyl trafficking. but less than 5% of vehicles and 20% of commercial vehicles coming into the u.s. are actually scanned with more technology, he wants to bring that number up to 40% of cars and 70% of commercial trucks, but not for another two years. why not scan every vehicle through an x ray >> we see a million people crossing our border every single day. if we tried to scan every single shipment and person coming into the country, we would shut down legitimate trade and travel >> reporter: and tonight we've learned millions of dollars of taxpayer-purchaed

fentanyl scanners are sitting in warehouses unused. it's money you've already spent but it's sitting there. is that frustrating for you? >> extremely frustrating. >> reporter: but in tucson, theresa guerrero is demanding authorities do much more every year enough fentanyl is trafficked into the u.s. to kill every american >> the border needs to be closed we're super highway. you saw how close we are. and they're just pouring in this is, i believe, our last picture together >> reporter: guerrero lost her son jacob four years ago when cocaine he ingested was secretly laced with fentanyl. he was athletic, a free spirit and always ready to help his friends. >> if only, if only. you always ask those questions. but i don't want another parent to have to say "if only". >> reporter: tonight the biden administration is calling on congress for more money so they can start using those currently unused scanners. lester >> julia ainsley, thank you.

up next, the mystery of flight mh-370. ten years after it disappeared. inside the renewed push to find the missing airplane

finally, it's one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries. what happened to malaysia airlines flight 370? now nearly ten years since that plane vanished, the search may be back on tom costello explains why. >> reporter: in the vastness of

the southern indian ocean, another search may begin for malaysian airlines flight 370 after first searching in 2018, american company ocean infe infinite wants to ry again. using autonomous drones to find the plane and the 239 people on board. the prime minister of malaysia says he's open to a new search, with ocean infinity only getting paid if it finds the plane. >> whatever need to be done must be done. >> reporter: it was on march 8, 2014, that the boeing 777 disappeared on the red eye from kuala lumpur to beijing. radar and satellite data suggested the plane made a mysterious u-turn, flew back over malaysia and eventually headed towards the southern indian ocean the search zone 1500 miles south of australia the leading theory is that one of the pilots hijacked the plane, flying it into the ocean. while small pieces of the plane

have washed ashore, experts believe the plane itself could be miles under water >> it's what we wanted to hear. >> reporter: in malaysia, talk of a new search brought relief to families gathered to mark ten years. sarah lost her boyfriend philip wood she has since married and runs a resort in panama >> i don't know if it was intentional or accidental, but, but errors had to have occurred for this to have happened, right? >> one day maybe someone will come forward and tell what's really going on, the truth. that's all we want until, we're longing for that >> reporter: ocean infinity says it has been innovating its technology and narrowing down the potential crash zone for a new search lester >> tom, thank you. that's nightly news for this monday thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other goodnight.

what do i see in peter dixon? i see my husband... the father of our girls. i see a public servant. a man who served under secretary clinton in the state department... where he took on the epidemic of violence against women in the congo. i see a fighter, a tenacious problem-solver... who will go to congress and protect abortion rights and our democracy. because he sees a better future for all of us.

i'm peter dixon and i approved this message. . right now on "nbc bay area news tonight," another bay area district attorney on the verge of a recall. the campaign against alameda county d.a. pamela price. plus -- >> we were supposed to go over this weekend, but we couldn't. >> it's going to be a while before things are back to normal in tahoe. the sierra digging out after this weekend's blizzard. so how bad is the traffic, and when will the resorts reopen? we're live in tahoe. and have you voted yet? tomorrow is super tuesday, and several races are tight. what you