Lester Holt

NATIONAL GUARD SO THEY CAN OPEN THAT BORDER CROSSING TO TRAFFIC. LESTER? >> JULIA AINSLEY, THANK YOU. >>> IN MOSCOW, RUSSIA’S PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN WAS DEFIANT TODAY, SHOWING NO SIGN OF BACKING DOWN FROM HIS INVASION OF UKRAINE. KEIR SIMMONS WAS THERE. >> Reporter: RUSSIAN

PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN UNCOMPROMISING TODAY AT A RARE FOUR-HOUR QUESTION-AND-ANSWER SESSION, DECLARING VICTORY IN UKRAINE WILL BE OURS. THERE WILL BE PEACE WHEN WE ACHIEVE OUR GOALS, HE SAID. WHILE TONIGHT UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY CLAIMING A VICTORY. A SURPRISE AGREEMENT

ON UKRAINE’S ENTRY TO THE EUROPEAN UNION. BUT ZELENSKYY’S FAILURE SO FAR TO GAIN BILLIONS MORE IN AID DURING HIS TRIP TO WASHINGTON WAS NOTED IN MOSCOW. “THESE FREEBIES MAY END SOME DAY, AND APPARENTLY THEY ARE ENDING LITTLE BY LITTLE LITTLE.

YOU SAID IN 2004 A MAN MAY GO CRAZY AFTER SEVEN YEARS IN POWER, THIS MESSAGE READ. HOW IS YOUR HEALTH? TONIGHT A VETERAN LAWMAKER WHO SAYS THE UKRAINE CONFLICT IS AT A DEAD-END, TELLS US HE PLANS TO RUN AGAINST PUTIN IN NEXT YEAR’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

HE DOESN’T THINK HE’LL WIN. >> AFTER I HAVE SAID THAT WE SHOULD ELECT OTHER PRESIDENT, NOT PUTIN, I WAS BLOCKED FROM RUSSIAN TV. >> Reporter: RUSSIA IS ON A WAR FOOTING. AN ICE RINK OUTSIDE MOSCOW FEATURES A FIGHTER JET AND A FORMER SOVIET ROCKET.

MILLIONS VISITING A RUSSIAN EXPO THAT INCLUDES THE HISTORY OF THE SOVIET NUCLEAR PROGRAM. THIS A MODEL OF RUSSIA’S FIRST ATOM BOMB. >> WE ARE PROUD OF IT. IT’S OUR HISTORY. WE ARE A GREAT COUNTRY. >> Reporter: MEANWHILE, PUTIN ALSO

SAYS A DEAL IS POSSIBLE, THOUGH NOT EASY.

MORNING. LESTER? >> ALL RIGHT, KEN DILANIAN, THANK YOU. >>> AS CONGRESS DEBATES CHANGES IN IMMIGRATION POLICY, THERE IS A NEW FOCUS ON A SMALL TOWN AT THE HEART OF THE MIGRANT CRISIS. JULIA AINSLEY IS THERE FOR US. >> Reporter: TONIGHT, THIS IS THE NEW

EPICENTER OF THE BORDER CRISIS. TINY LUKEVILLE, ARIZONA, WHERE THE NUMBER OF MIGRANTS IS PUSHING BORDER PATROL PAST CAPACITY. MORE THAN 9,000 ILLEGAL CROSSINGS ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER JUST YESTERDAY. NEARLY 3,000 OF THEM IN THIS AREA. BEHIND ME THERE IS A

GROUP OF ABOUT 40 MIGRANTS, INCLUDING YOUNG CHILDREN THAT WERE JUST BROUGHT IN BY BORDER PATROL AFTER THEY CALLED 911 BECAUSE THEY WERE STRANDED IN THE DESERT. BORDER AGENTS SO BACKED UP, THEY’RE TAKING MIGRANTS TO TUCSON, WHERE THEY’RE PROCESSED AND MOST ARE

RELEASED INTO THE U.S. THE LUKEVILLE INTERNATIONAL CROSSING NOW CLOSED FOR 11 DAYS DUE TO OVERWHELMING DEMAND ON BORDER AGENTS FROM MIGRANTS. BUSINESS OWNERS SAY THEY’RE PAYING A PRICE. >> LAST WEEK WE HAD MADE $5,000, WHICH IS WHAT WE WOULD USUALLY MAKE WITHIN A EIGHT OF

HOUR SHIFT. >> Reporter: WE FIND PLACES ON ALONG THE WALL WHERE SMUGGLERS CUT HOLES FOR MIGRANTS. YESTERDAY CUTTING TRUE 16 TIMES. THEY MARK THE DATES HERE WHERE THEY FIX THE BREACHES. AND YOU CAN SEE THIS ONE JUST FIXED RECENTLY. U.S. AND MEXICAN OFFICIALS TELL

NBC NEWS ONE REASON FOR THE RISE, MEXICO’S BORDER PATROL EQUIVALENT IS RUNNING LOW ON FUNDS AND STOPPING FEWER MIGRANTS. BUT REPUBLICANS BLAME PRESIDENT BIDEN’S BORDER POLICIES FOR ENCOURAGING MIGRANTS TO COME AND ARE DEMANDING CHANGES BEFORE THEY’LL PASS MORE FUNDING FOR

UKRAINE. THIS TONIGHT FROM THE BORDER PATROL UNION. >> WE NEED TO SEE FROM THIS ADMINISTRATION IS THAT THEY’RE SERIOUS ABOUT BORDER SECURITY. BECAUSE WHEN YOU’RE ALLOWING SO MANY INDIVIDUALS TO COME ACROSS THE BORDER, THAT PREOCCUPIES A LOT OF AGENTS. >> Reporter: PRESIDENT BIDEN CALLS GOP

PROPOSALS EXTREME. MIGRANTS TELL US THEY’RE DESPERATE. “WE ARE TIRED. I HAD TO CARRY MY DAUGHTER SO WE COULD KEEP GOING,” SAYS JACQUELINE FROM ECUADOR. AND THIS MAN SAID, “WE KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO BE HARD. WE DO IT FOR OUR FAMILIES.” NOW ARIZONA’S GOVERNOR IS ASKING PRESIDENT

D.C., A LOT OF PROBLEMS IN THE NEXT THREE DAYS. LESTER. >> ALL RIGHT. BILL KARINS, THANK YOU FOR THAT. >>> NOW TO THE DEATHS OF THOSE THREE ISRAELI HOSTAGES SHOT ACCIDENTALLY BY THE ISRAELI MILITARY DURING INTENSE FIGHTING AGAINST HAMAS, AND NOW THE

FAMILIES OF SOME OTHER HOSTAGES ARE DEMANDING A DEAL TO GET THEIR LOVED ONES OUT. RICHARD ENGEL HAS LATE DETAILS. >> Reporter: THIS VIDEO WAS TAKEN BY 28-YEAR-OLD YOTAM HAIM ON HIS KIBBUTZ NEAR GAZA. HE SAYS A TERRORIST INFILTRATION IS UNDER WAY. SOMETIME AFTER, HAMAS

MILITANTS SET FIRE TO HIS HOUSE. WHEN HE OPENED THE WINDOW FOR AIR, HE WAS KIDNAPPED. TONIGHT, ISRAEL ANNOUNCED THAT HAIM ALONG WITH TWO OTHER ISRAELI HOSTAGES, 25-YEAR-OLD SAMER TALALKA AND 26-YEAR-OLD ALON SHAMRIZ, WERE KILLED WHEN ISRAELI TROOPS MISTOOK THEM FOR HAMAS

FIGHTERS AND SHOT THEM. THAT’S ACCORDING TO THE ISRAELI MILITARY, WHICH SAYS THEY MAY HAVE ESCAPED OR WERE ABANDONED BY THEIR CAPTORS. PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU WROTE IN PART, TOGETHER WITH THE ENTIRE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, I BOW MY HEAD IN DEEP SORROW,

CALLING IT AN UNBEARABLE TRAGEDY. TONIGHT, FAMILIES OF OTHER HOSTAGES ARE CALLING TO RESTART TALKS TO FREE MORE CAPTIVES. >> WE CANNOT HANDLE MORE DEATH. WE WANT THEM NOW HERE. >> Reporter: ISRAELI TROOPS ARE FIGHTING HAMAS STREET TO STREET AND BOMBING INTENSIVELY.

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS URGING ISRAEL TO SWITCH TO A MORE TARGETED CAMPAIGN. >> WE’RE NOT HERE TO TELL ANYBODY, YOU MUST DO X, YOU MUST DO Y. WE’RE HERE TO SAY, THIS IS OUR PERSPECTIVE AS YOUR PARTNER, AS YOUR FRIEND.

>> Reporter: THE ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS IT DOES MORE THAN ANY OTHER ARMY IN THE WORLD TO AVOID CIVILIAN CASUALTIES, INCLUDING WARNING PALESTINIANS WITH LEAFLETS AND ROBOCALLS. TONIGHT, IN THE WEST BANK, I MET GAZANS WHO WERE WORKING INSIDE ISRAEL AND ARE NOW TRAPPED.

THEY’D ALL UNDERGONE BACKGROUND CHECKS BY ISRAEL. AHMED TOLD ME HIS WIFE AND FOUR CHILDREN WERE KILLED IN GAZA BY AN ISRAELI AIR STRIKE A WEEK AGO. HE SHOWED ME THEIR PICTURES. “I HAVE ONE LEFT,” HE SAYS. NEARLY EVERYONE HAS HAD AT LEAST ONE

RELATIVE WHO’S BEEN KILLED. >> HE’S TELLING ME THAT WHAT BOTHERS HIM THE MOST IS NOT THAT HIS BROTHER DIED — THANK YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH — BUT THAT HE’S STILL UNDER THE RUBBLE OF THE APARTMENT HE WAS IN. >> Reporter: THEY

DON’T KNOW WHEN THEY’LL GO BACK TO GAZA AND SAY, EVERY TIME THE PHONE RINGS, IT’S USUALLY BAD NEWS, THAT SOMEONE ELSE IS EITHER INJURED OR DEAD. OF THE 210 GAZANS AT THAT CENTER, 150 HAVE HAD THEIR HOMES

“NBC NIGHTLY NEWS” WITH LESTER HOLT. >>> GOOD EVENING, AND WELCOME, EVERYONE. BREAKING LATE TODAY, A DEVASTATING LEGAL BLOW FOR FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI. A FEDERAL JURY IN WASHINGTON, D.C. HANDING DOWN A $148 MILLION CIVIL JUDGMENT AGAINST HIM, ORDERING HIM TO PAY TWO

ELECTION WORKERS FROM GEORGIA, WORKERS WHO HE FALSELY AND PUBLICLY ACCUSED OF TRYING TO STEAL THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN THAT STATE WHILE HE WAS HELPING FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP SPREAD BASELESS CLAIMS OF FRAUD. THE LIES UP ENDED THE LIVES OF SHAYE MOSS

AND HER MOTHER RUBY FREEMAN WHO TESTIFIED THEY FACED RACIST AND VIOLENT THREATS AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE FALSE ACCUSATIONS. AFTER TODAY’S VERDICT MOSS TELLING REPORTERS HER WISH IS THAT NO ELECTION WORKER EVER EXPERIENCES ANYTHING LIKE WHAT WE WENT THROUGH. GIULIANI TONIGHT

CALLING THE $148 MILLION SUM ABSURD AND VOWING TO APPEAL. >> Reporter: TONIGHT A JURY IN WASHINGTON, D.C. IMPOSING A MASSIVE PENALTY FOR ELECTION LIES. ORDERING RUDY GIULIANI TO PAY MORE THAN $148 MILLION IN DAMAGES TO TWO FORMER GEORGIA ELECTION WORKERS HE

FALSELY ACCUSED OF ELECTION FRAUD. >> TODAY’S A GOOD DAY. A JURY STOOD WITNESS TO WHAT RUDY GIULIANI DID TO ME AND MY DAUGHTER AND HELD HIM ACCOUNTABLE, AND FOR THAT I’M THANKFUL. >> Reporter: THE JUDGE ALREADY FOUND HIM LIABLE. THE JURY AWARDING MORE

THAN $33 MILLION TO SHAYE MOSS AND RUBY FREEMAN FOR DEFAMATION AND 40 MILLION FOR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS AND ORDERING HIM TO PAY $75 MILLION IN PUNITIVE DAMAGES. >> THE ABSURDITY OF THE NUMBER MERELY UNDERSCORES THE ABSURDITY OF THE ENTIRE PROCEEDING. >> Reporter: GIULIANI

HAD POINTED TO THIS VIDEO OF THE TWO POLL WORKERS AS EVIDENCE OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. >> QUITE OBVIOUSLY SURREPTITIOUSLY PASSING AROUND USB PORTS AS IF THEY’RE VIALS OF HEROIN OR COCAINE. >> WHAT WAS YOUR MOM HANDING YOU ON THAT VIDEO?

>> A GINGER MINT. >> Reporter: MOSS AND FREEMAN EXPLAINED HOW GIULIANI’S FALSE CHARGES LED TO RACIST THREATS THAT PROMPTED THEM TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES AND THEIR JOBS. >> MONEY WILL NEVER SOLVE ALL OF MY PROBLEMS. I CAN NEVER MOVE BACK

INTO THE HOUSE THAT I CALLED HOME. I WILL ALWAYS HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHERE I GO AND WHO I CHOOSE TO SHARE MY NAME WITH. >> Reporter: TONIGHT GIULIANI VOWING TO APPEAL AND REFUSING TO BACK DOWN ON HIS CLAIMS ABOUT THE WOMEN.

>> I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT MY COMMENTS WERE MADE AND WERE SUPPORTABLE AND ARE SUPPORTABLE TODAY. >> WITH GIULIANI PROMISING TO APPEAL WHAT COULD BE NEXT IN THE CASE? >> Reporter: YEAH, LESTER, LEGAL EXPERTS SAY THIS VERDICT COULD BE ADJUSTED ON APPEAL,

BUT IT’S LIKELY MR. GIULIANI STILL WILL HAVE A