why the next 36 hours is so critical. lester holt joins us from new york right now. tonight, a suspect under arrest in the leak of classified government documents federal authorities, guns drawn, swarming an air national guardsman at his home in massachusetts what we're learning about the 21-year-old who was a member of the intelligence wing and his role in an online chat group where the documents first surfaced the key question tonight, just how was he able to gain access to top secret materials. the battle over access to abortion pills headed to the supreme court. the justice department seeking emergency action and just in tonight, a new ban set to become law in florida. a suspect arrested in the san francisco stabbing death of tech executive bob lee. police say the men knew each other.

what happened that night? surreal scenes in florida, streets overtaken with water after 2 feet of rain fell in only six hours. the airport shut down. the desperate rescues from homes and cars. how nbc's investigation on migrants working illegally in slaughterhouses revealed a widespread stolen identity scheme the new government warning about a deadly baby sleeper recalled years ago but still turning up for sale online and the inspiring school where everyone learns a language of inclusion. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt >> good evening and welcome. the potentially damaging leak of american intelligence secrets relating to the war in ukraine has been traced to a low-ranking national guardsman in massachusetts. that's where an fbi tactical team took 21-year-old airman first class jack

teixeira into custody this afternoon attorney general merrick garland announcing the arrest of teixeira in the investigation into the retention and transmission of classified national defense information. teixeira is a member of the intelligence wing of the massachusetts air national guard, though it's unclear what his authorized level of access was the leaked documents include american assessments of russian capabilities in ukraine and also expose u.s. spy efforts against allies lots of questions about all this tonight. andrea mitchell starts us off with what we know >> reporter: tonight, backed up by an armored s.w.a.t. vehicle with guns drawn, the fbi arrested a 21-year-old airman first class in the massachusetts national guard, working in i.t. in their intelligence wing, who the government says is the source of that major intelligence leak. >> today the justice department arrested jack douglas teixeira in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information.

>> reporter: "the washington post" was first to report that teixeira under the moniker "og" shared classified intelligence, including photos of the leaked documents in a private group of mostly young men on discord, an online chat platform popular with video gamers. "the post" spoke of an anonymous member of that chat room populated by gun enthusiasts who frequently shared racist memes >> i don't think there was a goal nor some sort of accomplishment he was looking for in sharing these documents. of course, there is some anti-government sentiment. >> reporter: teixeira had enlisted 3 1/2 years ago. the anonymous group member told "the washington post" he was a natural leader but not a whistle-blower >> og was not hostil to the u.s. government however, he disagreed with several occasions such as waco and ruby ridge and thought the government is overreaching in several aspects. there was no heavy snowden-like conspiracy here like some people may believe. >> reporter: the leaked intelligence was online for months, with photos of

classified documents visible for weeks. some of it was in public. >> right clearly the administration was slow on the uptake how was it not discovered and how is it that an individual like this could have the access that they did? >> reporter: in ireland, president biden downplayed the impact. >> i'm not concerned about the weightiness. i'm concerned that it happened there is nothing contemporaneous that i'm aware of that is of great consequence. >> reporter: according to "the new york times" today, one of the leaks reveals broad infighting inside the kremlin over the scale of their casualties in ukraine. and "the washington post" is reporting that the u.s. expects the war to continue into next year kristen welker asked poland's prime minister about that. >> is that your assessment >> i think so, too, because russia has huge and vast natural resources, human resources. >> reporter: now the pentagon is reviewing who has access to top secrets. >> we do have stringent guidelines in place for safeguarding classified and

sensitive information. this was a deliberate criminal act, a violation of those guidelines and if there are any areas where we need to tighten things up, we certainly will >> and, andrea, how does it happen that a low-ranking national guardsman has access to so many of our country's secrets? >> lester, that is exactly what the house intelligence chairman told me. they are going to be asking at an oversight hearing, as well as why they're not monitoring social media more effectively. whatever teixeira's motives, the attorney general indicated he is now facing serious charges under the espionage act, and that means he could face very serious penalties if he is convicted. lester >> all right andrea, thank you. now to the escalating fight over access to an abortion pill the justice department says it will now ask the supreme court for emergency action to stop new restrictions from taking effect laura jarrett has late details. >> reporter: a fierce battle over abortion now headed to the u.s. supreme court. the attorney general vowing to challenge a ruling from a federal appeals court that could jeopardize access to mifepristone, a commonly used abortion pill. >> we believe that the law is on our side. >> reporter: overnight that appeals court

blocked a portion of a texas ruling that invalidated the approval of mifepristone, allowing the drug to remain on the market for now but the judges also rolled back several fda moves in recent years that made the drug easier to obtain. if the supreme court doesn't step in, women may soon be required to visit a doctor's office in person to receive the pill instead of taking it at home. it will no longer be available through the mail the generic version also off the table, and the pill will only be approved through seven weeks of pregnancy instead of ten. >> having more in-person visits mean women will have to take time off of work, get child care, often during the workweek. if the medication can't get into the hands of the people that need it quickly, then it isn't available. >> reporter: doctors like laura macisaac, who practiced for over three decades, alarmed by the ruling. >> that will absolutely increase pregnancy complications and increase maternal

mortality. >> reporter: restricting access to mifepristone at the heart of the original texas lawsuit. >> the fda has basically sanctioned mail-order abortions. >> reporter: erin hawley represents the advocacy groups and doctors that sued the fda. >> the fifth circuit's decision is a huge victory for women and the rule of law. the fda did not have a valid reason for approving that drug. >> reporter: while the fight continues in the courts, tonight a clash at the state house. in florida, anger erupting on the house floor. >> show the bill passes. >> reporter: as the republican-controlled legislature passed a six-week abortion ban headed to the governor's desk for signature soon >> so, laura, when do all these restrictions take effect? >> so those restrictions should begin early saturday i say should because tonight a federal judge in a different case in washington state reiterated that the biden administration must not make any changes to the availability of this drug.

the government will likely tell the u.s. supreme court it simply cannot comply with all these conflicting rulings. >> all right laura, thanks very much there has been an arrest in the murder of bob lee, the tech executive who was stabbed to death in san francisco. police say the suspect was an acquaintance. miguel almaguer reports. >> reporter: moments before a mortally wounded bob lee staggered down a san francisco street desperate for help, police say this man, nima momeni, stabbed the 43-year-old multiple times investigators say the two tech executives werere acquaintatances and were together when their gathering suddenly turned into a predawn murder near the city's bay bridge. >> the evidence is that they knew each other, and there is still more to delve into in terms of what the depth of that relationship was >> reporter: momeni, who is 38, was arrested during an early morning raid at his bay area home. a self-described entrepreneur who

attended uc berkeley, momeni launched his technology consulting company expand i.t. in 2010 was there some type of altercation they went into before the stabbing occurred? >> not exactly i can't disclose. >> reporter: lee, a tech titan perhaps best known for creating cash app, called 911 after he was stabbed at 2:35 a.m. tuesday. >> there is a male screaming help saying someone stabbed me advise he is bleeding out. >> reporter: the daily mail.com obtained this surveillance video and said lee was seen trying to wave down help minutes before officers arrived now nine days after the murder, authorities confident they have their killer, who is expected in court tomorrow before today's arrest, the city's safety came into question. but now authorities confirm this was not a random attack or a robbery, but motive remains the mystery. lester >> miguel almaguer in san francisco, thank you. 4 million people remain under flood alerts tonight in fort lauderdale and miami where they're measuring historic

rainfall not in inches but in feet. streets and an airport under water. guad venegas is there. >> reporter: airplanes cutting through water on a fort lauderdale runway that looked more like a lake than a landing zone. >> what the hell >> reporter: historic rainfall causing a shutdown in and around the airport with drivers and passengers stranded in vehicles >> reference, vehicle struck in the floodwater caller advised she does not know how to swim. >> reporter: daniel scarfone spent 15 hours stuck in his vehicle, unable to get help to move >> my big truck could do it but it couldn't handle it. >> reporter: rescue teams saving this elderly woman from her home as first responders at broward general use a boat outside the front entrance >> can't get there by car, get there by boat. >> reporter: the flash floods a result of torrential rain hammering fort lauderdale and its surrounding areas with seven months' worth of

rain in just seven hours. this is just one of the flooded neighborhoods here in fort lauderdale. the street looks more like a river, and we still have cars that are stuck with residents pretty much stranded h here until this water recedes jessica fall stuck overnight inside a crowded terminal with her family >> it goes up to right at the door. >> reporter: tonight fort lauderdale declaring a state of emergency. >> i'm going to go back and get your mommy and daddy, all right, bud >> reporter: after a once in a thousand year rain event as officials warn of more rain on the way. guad venegas, nbc news, fort lauderdale. it is one of the most high profile defamation lawsuits. fox news being sued by dominion voting systems in a case involving false claims of voting fraud in 2020 as emilie ikeda reports, there were new revelations as jury selection started. >> reporter: tonight jury selection is under way in dominion voting system's $1.6 billion defamation suit against fox news and its parent

company. hundreds of potential jurors facing questions like, do you avoid any fox news programs do you personally know any employees of dominion or fox? the voting machine company argues fox news destroyed its reputation by amplifying false claims the 2020 election was rigged. >> we have tremendous evidence already of fraud in this election. >> reporter: a group of 12 jurors will decide whether the top-rated cable news network knew such comments were not true or acted with reckless disregard. fox defends its election coverage and says dominion suit is a blatant violation of the first amendment. in an 11th hour twist, the delaware judge sanctioned fox wednesday for withholding evidence, including this off-air conversation between fox and a campaign staffer for former president trump. >> our understanding, again, this is the state's office that there weren't any physical issues with the machines in those inspections. >> reporter: former fox news producer abby grossberg brought those recordings to

light, though fox argues it provided information when we first learned it grossberg is also suing the network, telling nbc's cynthia mcfadden her deposition for the fox dominion case was coerced. fox calling her lawsuit without merit. >> and i realized the answer that they wanted me to say were putting me in a very vulnerable position to be the company's scapegoat. >> reporter: the high-stakes trial is expected to run for six weeks. some of fox's biggest names from rupert murdoch to popular hosts are expected to take the stand lester > emilie ikikeda here in new y york, thanknk you. in 60 0 seconds, a a investigatation. a viewewer tells u us how hehe believes s his identityty is being g used to fueuel illegal l work inin slaughtererhouses

we're back now with an nbc news investigation linking stolen identities to illegal work in slaughterhouses. julia ainsley speaks to a "nightly" viewer now sharing his identity theft nightmare, one he believes is linked to the scheme. >> reporter: felipe garcia lives with his wife and five children in holland, michigan

so he was stunned to receive w-2 tax forms from various companies in kansas and nebraska, states where people were using his identity to work in factories, on farms, and even in slaughterhouses. so this happened about eight to ten times in just five years? >> yeah. it's a lot. >> reporter: each time he has called police to file a report >> i actually have to travel to nebraska just to prove to the officer that i was the person that had that name >> reporter: you got in your car from holland, michigan, and drove to nebraska? >> yeah. >> back now with our nbc news investigation. >> reporter: then it all clicked when felipe was watching our nbc news investigation. he learned more than 100 undocumented children, some as young as 13, were hired to clean slaughterhouses by packer sanitation services inc., though

the company said it did not know they were minors so what was it that you realized when you saw the nbc story? >> i looked at my w-2 that i received that somebody was using mine, and it was the same company that you guys wrote a story about. and when i seen those kids, it bothers me because i have kids. >> reporter: felipe has no way of knowing if it was a child who used his identity, but the possibility troubled him another woman who asked to remain anonymous told nbc news her identity was stolen and used by a pssi worker in 2014. she says the company told her it would not happen again but then it did four years later. local law enforcement in multiple cities with large meat packing plants tell nbc news that identity theft in that industry is common. gary salmans is an investigator with the ford county sheriff in dodge city, kansas have you seen these ids that people are using? do they look real? >> some of them are very well done some of them are actually state ids, and some of them look like a high school attempt to get into

the bar. >> reporter: pssi told nbc news the company sympathizes with identity theft victims, writing, "the company's compliance hiring process successfully caught over 8,000 instances of identity verification issues since 2020, clearly demonstrating a commitment to rooting out violations," and says responsibility lies with workers who use fake identities. what do you want the companies who are using these employees to do about it >> i feel like they need to be more strict on hiring process. i know it's hard to get people to work, but this is not the way to do it >> reporter: julia ainsley, nbc news, holland, michigan. still ahead here tonight, these popular baby sleepers were recalled because they weren't safe so why are they still for sale online?

a warning for parents. a popular baby sleeper was pulled off the market after being linked to dozens of infant deaths. but it's now popping back up for sale online hallie jackson has what you need to know. >> reporter: a new warning tonight on the resale of a recalled infant sleeper that the consumer product safety commission says is linked to the death of about 100 babies, including emma richter who died at just two weeks old in the fisher-price rock 'n play >> the recall came too late in my case. and it really pains me that there are parents who are still using

the product, or who might not know about the recall, even years after. >> reporter: nearly 5 million rock 'n plays were voluntarily pulled off the market for than three years ago. the recall even re-announced in january, but the cpsc says thousands of secondhand listings are still being listed on marketplaces like facebook marketplace >> that means dangerous products like the fisher-price rock 'n play are being passed on to new consumers who don't understand the risks that are involved. >> reporter: now the head of the agency is calling on facebook's parent company, meta, to do more >> they have the resources and technology to be able to stop these from even being listed, from anybody seeing it. >> reporter: selling recalled products is not allowed on marketplace, and in a statement to nbc news, meta says, "we take this issue seriously, and when we find listings that violate our rules, we remove them."

>> look at your babies take the time. do your research before you click buy we all need to look out for each other. >> reporter: fisher-price tells nbc it's willing to boost how much of a refund people can get if they send part of the rock 'n play back to the company, reiterating customers should not use it or resell it. lester >> hallie,e, thank youou > up next, t the inspspiring schohool program hehelping everyoyone join ththe coconversationon

finally tonight, april 15th is american sign language day. and we wanted to highlight the

inspiring change being seen in the deaf and hard of hearing community. here is rehema ellis >> reporter: this classroom in connecticut is silent. these students are all deaf or hard of hearing, communicating using american sign language, or asl >> you're late. >> reporter: while more and more deaf actors are appearing in films, enhancing understanding of deaf culture, few people know how to sign that makes life outside of this special hartford school a challenge >> many hearing people have the misconception that deaf people can't. we can do anything the only thing we that we don't have is hearing. >> reporter: 120 miles south in this new york city school, students are bridging the language gap it's the city's only sign language school where hearing or hard of hearing students outnumber the deaf most classes are bilingual in english and asl, but some classes no spoken word

at all, immersing students in deaf culture. >> i feel happy that i'm here. >> reporter: before now, 14-year-old sabrina morales, who is hard of hearing, was in a mainstream school and says she felt isolated from hearing students >> i can just show who i really am. >> because you see yourself here? >> yes >> i'm here because i want to have a better communication with my brother. >> reporter: shirley's brother omar is fully deaf she's learning to sign because like most little sisters, she wants to be heard. do you think it's made you and your brother even closer than you would have been otherwise? >> yeah. made us a lot closer every time i sign to him, i see a smile on his face. >> reporter: after high school, shirley is planning on becoming an asl interpreter. >> for example, i'm going to the store. >> reporter: so how would you sign that? >> i go to the store. >> reporter: and she is already getting started. >> i feel like there should be a lot more interpreters out there for people like my brother. >> reporter: a sign of

what's to come rehema ellis, nbc news, new york >> expanding horizons and awareness tonight. that's "nightly news" for this thursday thank you for watching, everyone i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night - lilife is uncertain. everyday pressures can feel overwhelming it's okay to feel stressed, anxious, worried, or frustrated. it's normal.

with calhope's free and secure mental health resources, it's easy to get the help you and your loved ones need when you need it the most. call our warm line at (833) 317-4673 or live chat at calhope.org today. a break in the case of murdered cash app founder bob lee. police say lee knew his killer. what we're learning about the suspect and what happened in the days leading up to that crime. plus, san francisco specifically calling out elon musk for spreading

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