>>> BREAKING NEWS TONIGHT. THE 45-PAGE INDICTMENT AGAINST DONALD TRUMP FOR HIS EFFORTS TO OVERTURN THE 2020 ELECTION. THE FORMER PRESIDENT NOW CHARGED WITH THREE CONSPIRACIES TO DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES, TO OBSTRUCT THE VOTE CERTIFICATION ON JANUARY 6th, AND TO DEPRIVE PEOPLE OF THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH COMING BEFORE THE CAMERAS MOMENTS AGO TO MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENT. THE INDICTMENT ALSO LISTING SIX UNINDICTED CO-CONSPIRATORS. WHO ARE THEY? TONIGHT THE REACTION FROM MR. TRUMP AS HE ONCE AGAIN RUNS FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2024. OUR TEAM IN WASHINGTON AND OUR LEGAL ANALYSTS STANDING BY. >>> ALSO TONIGHT, THE SUSPECTED GILGO BEACH SERIAL KILLER MAKING HIS FIRST APPEARANCE IN COURT. VICTIMS' FAMILY MEMBERS INSIDE THE COURTROOM. >>> THE BIGGEST WILDFIRE IN THE U.S. THIS YEAR EXPLODING TO MORE THAN 80,000 ACRES AND PRODUCING FIRENADOS. THE FIGHT TO CONTAIN IT. >>> THE STABBING AT A NEW YORK GAS STATION THAT KILLED A GAY PROFESSIONAL DANCER. THE DEATH BEING INVESTIGATED AS A HATE CRIME. THE TEEN POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR. >>> AND THE EXTRAORDINARY LEGACY OF HENRIETTA LACKS. MORE THAN 70 YEARS AFTER HER CELLS WERE HARVESTED WITHOUT HER KNOWLEDGE, LEADING TO HISTORIC BREAKTHROUGHS LEADING TO SETTLEMENT FOR HER FAMILY. >> THIS IS "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS" WITH LESTER HOLT. >> GOOD EVENING AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. DONALD TRUMP'S LEGAL JEOPARDY BECAME MUCH MORE SERIOUS LATE TODAY AFTER THE FORMER PRESIDENT WAS INDICTED FOR A THIRD TIME, THIS TIME BY A FEDERAL GRAND JURY IN WASHINGTON. INVESTIGATING HIS ALLEGED ATTEMPTS TO OVERTURN THE RESULTS OF THE 2020 ELECTION. IN THE NEW INDICTMENT, MR. TRUMP IS CHARGED WITH THREE COUNTS OF CONSPIRACY AND ONE COUNT OF OBSTRUCTION. HE WAS SUMMONED TO APPEAR ON THURSDAY BEFORE A FEDERAL MAGISTRATE JUDGE IN WASHINGTON. THE INDICTMENT ALSO MENTIONS SIX UNNAMED AND UNINDICTED CO-CONSPIRATORS. IT SAYS MR. TRUMP AND THE CO-CONSPIRATORS USED KNOWINGLY FALSE CLAIMS OF ELECTION FRAUD TO GET STATE LEGISLATORS AND OFFICIALS TO SUBVERT THE LEGITIMATE ELECTION RESULTS. JUST MOMENTS AGO SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH CALLED THE JANUARY 6th ATTACK ON THE CAPITOL AN UNPRECEDENTED ASSAULT ON THE SEAT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. AN ATTACK HE SAID THAT WAS FUELED BY LIES. LATE TODAY, THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AGAIN CALLED IT A WITCH HUNT, AN INTERFERENCE IN THE CURRENT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN WHICH MR. TRUMP IS THE REPUBLICAN FRONT-RUNNER BY A WIDE MARGIN. WE HAVE IT ALL COVERED TONIGHT STARTING WITH SENIOR LEGAL CORRESPONDENT LAURA JARRETT. >> Reporter: TONIGHT, FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP FACING A BLISTERING NEW INDICTMENT FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH, THIS TIME FOR HIS ACTIONS LEADING UP TO THE CAPITOL RIOT ON JANUARY 6th, INCLUDING PROSECUTORS SAY TRYING TO STEAL THE ELECTION FROM THE WINNER, PRESIDENT BIDEN. THE INDICTMENT ALLEGING MR. TRUMP WAS DETERMINED TO REMAIN IN POWER AND SPREAD LIES ABOUT WINNING THE 2020 ELECTION. SAYING "THESE CLAIMS WERE FALSE, AND THE DEFENDANT KNEW THEY WERE FALSE." THE FORMER PRESIDENT FACES FOUR COUNTS, INCLUDING CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES AND CONSPIRACY TO OBSTRUCT AN OFFICIAL PROCEEDING. PROSECUTORS DESCRIBED AN ALLEGED CRIMINAL SCHEME THAT MR. TRUMP LAUNCHED AFTER ELECTION DAY IN AN INDICTMENT THAT ALSO DETAILS SIX UNNAMED CO-CONSPIRATORS. PROSECUTORS DID NOT CHARGE MR. TRUMP WITH INCITING THE JANUARY 6th RIOT. THE SPECIAL COUNSEL SPEAKING OUT LATE TONIGHT. >> THE ATTACK ON OUR NATION'S CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6th, 2021 WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED ASSAULT ON THE SEAT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, IT'S DESCRIBED IN THE INDICTMENT. IT WAS FUELED BY LIES, LIES BY THE DEFENDANT TARGETED AT OBSTRUCTING A BEDROCK FUNCTION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. >> Reporter: TONIGHT'S INDICTMENT AGAINST THE REPUBLICAN FRONT-RUNNER, THE SECOND ONE FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH. JUST LAST WEEK, ADDING NEW COUNTS IN THAT CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE, ACCUSING MR. TRUMP OF TRYING TO DELETE SURVEILLANCE VIDEO SUBPOENAED BY DOJ. PROSECUTORS SAY CO-DEFENDANT CARLOS De OLIVEIRA TOLD ANOTHER MAR-A-LAGO EMPLOYEE THE BOSS WANTED IT ERASED. THE FORMER PRESIDENT POSTING "MAR-A-LAGO TAPES WERE NOT DELETED. THEY WERE VOLUNTARILY HANDED OVER. I NEVER TOLD ANYBODY TO DELETE THEM." MR. TRUMP HAS PLEADED NOT GUILTY IN THAT CASE SLATED TO GO TO TRIAL NEXT MAY IN THE HEAT OF THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY. AND THEN THERE IS HIS TRIAL SET FOR MARCH. MANHATTAN'S D.A. INDICTED TRUMP FOR FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS. THE FORMER PRESIDENT PLEADING NOT GUILTY THERE TOO. AND IN FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, WHERE BARRICADES ARE UP, THE D.A. SAYS SHE'LL ANNOUNCE THIS MONTH IF MR. TRUMP WILL FACE CHARGES FOR TRYING TO OVERTURN THE ELECTION RESULTS IN THAT STATE. >> WE'RE READY TO GO. >> FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS BEEN SUMMONED TO APPEAR IN A WASHINGTON, D.C. COURTROOM THIS THURSDAY. LESTER? >> LAURA, THANK YOU. IMMEDIATE REACTION FROM THE FORMER PRESIDENT. GARRETT HAAKE IS FOLLOWING THAT PART OF THE STORY. GARRETT, THE REPUBLICAN FRONT-RUNNER TONIGHT SLAMMING THESE CHARGES AND THIS PROSECUTOR. >> THAT'S RIGHT, LESTER. THE FORMER PRESIDENT AND HIS CAMPAIGN HAD LONG ANTICIPATED HE WOULD FACE CHARGES IN THIS CASE. AND THEY WERE READY WITH A STATEMENT ALMOST A MOMENT THE INDICTMENT WAS UNSEALED, CALLING THE CHARGES PART OF AN UN-AMERICAN WITCH HUNT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT AND ASKING WHY IT TOOK 2 1/2 YEARS TO BRING WHAT HE CALLS THESE FAKE CHARGES RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF PRESIDENT TRUMP'S WINNING CAMPAIGN FOR 2024. THE STATEMENT ANSWERS THEIR OWN RHETORICAL QUESTION, SAYING THIS IS AN ACT OF ELECTION INTERFERENCE, ECHOING SOMETHING WE'VE HEARD REPEATEDLY FROM MR. TRUMP ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. NOW REACTION IS STILL COMING IN FROM REPUBLICAN ELECTED OFFICIALS AROUND THE COUNTRY. MOST REPUBLICANS COMING TO THE FORMER PRESIDENT'S DEFENSE WITH STATEMENTS PREPREPARED FOR THIS MOMENT. MOST OF HIS OTHER CAMPAIGN RIVALS SO FAR STILL SILENT. HIS TOP RIVAL RON DeSANTIS OUT WITH A STATEMENT SAYING HE HAS NOT READ THE INDICTMENT, BUT SUGGESTS THERE IS POLITICAL PROSECUTION AT WORK HERE, SOMETHING THAT HE WOULD END SHOULD HE BE PRESIDENT. LESTER? >> GARRETT HAAKE, THANK YOU. LAURA JARRETT BACK WITH ME AS WELL AS CHIEF JUSTICE CONTRIBUTOR JONATHAN DIENST. IF YOU STEP BACK, THIS IS ASTONISHING WHAT WE WITNESSED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS. CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE CONFIRMATION OF THESE UNINDICTED CO-CONSPIRATORS AND WHY THEY WOULD NOT BE NAMED OR INDICTED A THIS POINT? >> WELL, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE SPECIAL COUNSEL'S OFFICE IS STILL GATHERING INFORMATION ON SOME OF THEM. WE'RE WORKING TO CONFIRM SOME OF THE NAMES. BUT BASED OFF OF WHAT WE CAN PIECE TOGETHER FROM WHAT'S PUBLIC, IT APPEARS MANY OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY THE FORMER PRESIDENT'S OWN LAWYERS, WHICH IS QUITE UNUSUAL AND PART OF WHAT MAKES THIS CASE SO COMPLICATED. >> JONATHAN, YOU'VE DONE SOME REPORTING ON THAT? >> YES. IT'S FOUR LAWYER, ONE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL, ONE POLITICAL CONSULTANT. WE SPOKE WITH AN ATTORNEY FOR JOHN EASTMAN, ONE OF THE LAWYERS WHO IS AN UNINDICTED CO-CONSPIRATOR NUMBER 2. HIS LAWYER CONFIRMS HE IS NAMED IN THESE CHARGING DOCUMENTS AS UNINDICTED CO-CONSPIRATOR NUMBER 2, AND HE ALLEGEDLY CAME UP WITH THIS PLAN, THIS IDEA TO PRESSURE THE VICE PRESIDENT TO NOT CERTIFY THE ELECTION RESULTS TO COME UP WITH THIS FAKE ELECTORS PLOT, ALLEGED PLOT, AND THAT HE WAS BEHIND IT. NOW HIS ATTORNEY TELLS US THEY PLAN TO FILE A MEMO WITH THE SPECIAL COUNSEL'S OFFICE TO SHOW THEM WHY THIS WAS JUST LEGAL THINKING COMING UP WITH IDEAS AND WHY HE SHOULD NOT BE PROSECUTED OR CHARGED CRIMINALLY. AGAIN, TODAY IT WAS TRUMP AND TRUMP CHARGED ALONE. THERE ARE SIX OTHERS NAMED AS ALLEGED CO-CONSPIRATORS, UNINDICTED CO-CONSPIRATORS. AND TO BE DETERMINED IF IN THE DAYS AND WEEKS AHEAD THEY GET TARGET LETTERS NOTIFYING THEM THAT THEY COULD BE CHARGED NEXT. >> AND LAURA, LOOKING AT WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR, IT'S LIKELY SOME IMPORTANT MEETINGS THAT THE FORMER PRESIDENT TOOK COULD LOOM LARGE IN THIS PROSECUTION. >> AND YOU SEE MANY OF THEM DETAILED HERE. AND IT ALSO APPEARS THAT MANY PEOPLE TOOK NOTES, INCLUDING THE FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TOOK CONTEMPORANEOUS NOTES THE PROSECUTORS GOT THEIR HANDS ON AND CLEARLY THEY'RE USING TO BOLSTER THEIR CASE. AND THEY ALSO LAY OUT AGAIN IN DETAIL HERE ALL THE TIMES THAT MR. TRUMP WAS TOLD THAT THE THINGS THAT HE WAS SAYING WERE FALSE. TOLD BY PEOPLE LIKE THE VICE PRESIDENT, BY SENIOR LEADERS OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, BUT THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, THAT THE REASON THAT THEY'RE INCLUDING THAT INFORMATION IS THAT PROSECUTORS HAVE TO SHOW THAT HE HAD A CORRUPT MIND-SET. ONE OF THE WAYS THAT IT APPEARS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO THAT IS TO SHOW THAT HE WAS PUT ON NOTICE BY PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THE BEST POSITION TO KNOW THAT WHAT HE WAS SAYING WAS NOT TRUE. >> DO WE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE JUDGE OR HAS A JUDGE EVEN BEEN ASSIGNED? >> LAST I CHECKED THE JUDGE HADN'T BEEN ASSIGNED. WE'LL SEE WHO IS ON THE WHEEL HERE. IT'S WORTH NOTING THIS IS A DISTRICT VERY WELL ACQUAINTED WITH THE FACTS OF THE CASE, AS EVERYBODY IS ON JANUARY 6th. BUT THIS DISTRICT HAS OBVIOUSLY HEARD SO MANY CASES FROM THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY STORMED THE CAPITOL. SO ALL OF THE JUDGES ARE GOING TO BE VERY MUCH UP TO SPEED ON THE FACTS. >> ALL RIGHT, LAURA AND JONATHAN, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR ALL THAT. >>> MEANWHILE, IN NEW YORK, A FIRST COURT APPEARANCE TODAY FOR THE MAN CHARGED WITH KILLING THREE WOMEN IN THE SO-CALLED GILGO BEACH MURDERS ON LONG ISLAND. FAMILY MEMBERS WERE THERE AS WELL TODAY. STEPHANIE GOSK HAS LATE DETAILS. >> Reporter: THE HEARING WAS BRIEF. ACCUSED SERIAL KILLER REX HEUERMANN STOOD HANDCUFFED, THE TALL TALLEST IN THE COURTROOM, WHILE FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE VICTIMS LOOKED ON. THE 59-YEAR-OLD DENIES MURDERING THREE YOUNG WOMEN OVER A DECADE AGO ON LONG ISLAND. OUTSIDE THE COURTHOUSE, HIS DEFENSE ATTORNEY WAS ASKED HOW HIS CLIENT WAS DOING. >> HE IS A MAN WHO HAS NEVER BEEN ARRESTED BEFORE. HE IS MAINTAINED HIS INNOCENCE FROM THE INCEPTION OF THIS CASE. SO HE IS DOING THE BEST HE CAN AT THIS POINT IN TIME. >> Reporter: TODAY PROSECUTORS DISCUSSED SHARING EVIDENCE WITH THE DEFENSE. >> YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT 13 YEARS WORTH OF INVESTIGATION. IT IS A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF MATERIAL. AND DON'T FORGET, IT'S CONTINUING, BECAUSE THE INVESTIGATION IS CONTINUING. >> Reporter: FOUR HARD DRIVES, 8 TERABYTES OF DATA. THOUSANDS OF PHOTOS, AUTOPSIES, SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE AND DNA REPORTS, ACCORDING TO PROSECUTORS. AND THERE WILL BE MORE. INVESTIGATORS COMB THROUGH HEUERMANN'S HOME, REMOVING TRUCK LOADS OF POSSIBLE EVIDENCE, INCLUDING THE D.A. SAID NEARLY 300 GUNS STORED IN A WALK-IN VAULT. PHOTOS FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE OBTAINED BY "THE NEW YORK POST" APPEAR TO SHOW HOW EXTENSIVE THE SEARCH WAS. INVESTIGATORS APPARENTLY REMOVING A PANEL FROM THE BATHTUB. TODAY ATTORNEYS FOR HEUERMANN'S WIFE AND CHILDREN RELEASED A STATEMENT SLAMMING THE POLICE FOR THE WAY THE HOME WAS LEFT. WRITING "THE DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS THEY ARE NOW LEFT TO LIVE IN AFTER THE ROUGHSHOD WHOLESALE UPENDING OF THEIR HOME BY POLICE INVESTIGATORS IS ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE. WHILE HIS FAMILY STRUGGLES, HEUERMANN WILL REMAIN BEHIND BARS, HELD WITHOUT BAIL. HIS ATTORNEY SAYS THERE IS NO TALK OF A PLEA DEAL. >> WE'RE PREPARED TO GO FORWARD. WE WILL DEFEND THIS CASE IN A COURT OF LAW, AND WE WILL GO TO TRIAL IN THIS CASE. >> Reporter: BUT THE TRIAL MAY NOT HAPPEN SOON. THE PROSECUTOR SAYS THERE COULD BE MORE CHARGES. HEUERMANN IS THE MAIN SUSPECT IN THE DISAPPEARANCE OF A FOURTH WOMAN. THE VICTIMS' FAMILIES HAVE WAITED OVER A DECADE FOR AN ARREST. A CONVICTION WILL TAKE LONGER. >> AND STEPHANIE JOINING ME NOW. STEPHANIE, YOU WERE IN THE COURTROOM. WHAT WAS HEUERMANN'S DEMEANOR? >> HE CAME IN WAS THERE ANY REACTION WHEN HE WALKED IN THE ROOM? >> YOU KNOW, LESTER, HE CAME IN EXPRESSIONLESS. HE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING OVER THE COURSE OF THE HEARING. THERE WERE VICTIMS' FAMILY MEMBERS IN COURT. THEY DIDN'T REACT EITHER. THE PROSECUTOR SAYS THEY'VE BEEN A PART OF THIS PROCESS EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, LESTER. THE NEXT COURT HEARING IS SCHEDULED FOR LATE SEPTEMBER. >> ALL RIGHT, STEPHANIE GOSK, THANK YOU. >>> FITCH DOWNGRADED ITS UNITED STATES CREDIT RATING FROM TOP TIER AAA STATUS TODAY. FITCH ONE OF THREE CREDIT RATING AGENCIES SAID THE DECISION REFLECTS THE EROSION OF GOVERNANCE FOLLOWING THE DEBT CEILING STANDOFF EARLIER THIS YEAR. FITCH JOINS THE S&P, WHICH ALSO STRIPPED THE U.S. OF AAA STATUS MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO. THE WHITE HOUSE STRONGLY DISAGREEING WITH THAT MOVE TONIGHT. >>> NOW TO THAT MASSIVE WILDFIRE SCORCHING CALIFORNIA DESERT AND NOW SPILLING INTO NEVADA, FUELLED IN PART BY RECORD HEAT WITH LITTLE RELIEF IN SIGHT. MIGUEL ALMAGUER HAS THE LATEST. >> Reporter: FACING AN OUT-OF-CONTROL BLAZE AND EXTREME CONDITIONS, TONIGHT THIS IS THE DANGEROUS FIREFIGHT FOR CREWS IN CALIFORNIA'S MOJAVE DESERT, REMOTE OR BUT EXPLODING IN SIZE, THE YORK FIRE HAS TORN ACROSS 80,000 ACRE, THE LARGEST IN THE COUNTRY SO FAR THIS YEAR, NOW SPILLING INTO NEVADA. >> WE WERE PRETTY CONCERNED THAT IT COULD START COMING DOWN AT US. >> Reporter: AS THE UNUSUAL DESERT BLAZE DESTROYS PROTECTED JOSHUA TREES AND THREATENS ENDANGERED ANIMALS. >> JUST HEARTBREAKING. >> Reporter: THE ERRATIC CONDITIONS HERE HAVE CREATED FIRENADOS, A VORTEX OF SWIRLING FLAMES AND SMOKE. BAKING IN TRIPLE-DIGITS, FIREFIGHTERS ARE BATTLING AN INFERNO WHILE WORKING INSIDE AN OVEN. >> IT GETS REALLY BAD. IT'S HARD TO BREATHE. >> Reporter: IF THE HEAT WASN'T ENOUGH, SMOKE IS DRIFTING ACROSS TWO STATES, SMOTHERING PARTS OF LAS VEGAS WHERE A THICK HAZE TRIGGERED FLIGHT DELAYS AND IS IMPACTING AIR QUALITY. >> YEAH, IT'S HUMID. IT'S HOT. >> Reporter: FOR SOME 43 MILLION TODAY UNDER HEAT ALERTS, THE CONDITIONS OUTSIDE ARE STIFLING. IN JULY, PHOENIX AVERAGED NEARLY 103 DEGREES. THE WARMEST TEMP FOR ANY U.S. CITY IN ANY YEAR. AND ACROSS THE WEST, THE START OF FIRE SEASON WAS DELAYED BECAUSE OF OUR WET WINTER. BUT NOW CONDITIONS ARE PRIMED FOR DISASTER. LESTER? >> MIGUEL ALMAGUER, THANK YOU. >>> IN 60 SECONDS, THE MANHUNT FOR THE SUSPECT WHO STABBED TO DEATH A GAY MAN AT A NEW YORK CITY GAS STATION. >>> AND LATER, SHORT-STAFFED AND BURNED OUT, 911 DISPATCHERS ARE WARNING ABOUT DIRE >>> POLICE IN NEW YORK ARE SEARCHING FOR A 17-YEAR-OLD IN CONNECTION WITH A STABBING AT A GAS STATION THAT LEFT A GAY PROFESSIONAL DANCER DEAD. THE FATAL INCIDENT BEING INVESTIGATED AS A POTENTIAL HATE CRIME. HERE IS ANTONIA HYLTON. >> Reporter: O'SHAE SIBLEY WAS LIVING OUT HIS DREAMS IN NEW YORK CITY AS A TALENTED DANCER WORKING WITH ALVIN AILEY AND PERFORMING IN THE UNDERGROUND VOGUING SCENE. NOW FRIENDS ARE STRUGGLING TO MAKE SENSE OF A SUDDEN LOSS. >> IT SEEMED VERY SURREAL. STILL KIND OF IN DISBELIEF. >> Reporter: WITNESSES SAY LATE SATURDAY NIGHT, THE 20-YEAR-OLD 28-YEAR-OLD WAS DANCING TO BEYONCE MUSIC WITH FRIENDS OUTSIDE OF THIS GAS STATION IN BROOKLYN WHEN A GROUP OF MEN APPROACHED, SHOUTING ANTI-LGBTQ SLURS, DEMANDING THEY STOP DANCING. IT ESCALATED. THEN POLICE SAY A MAN PULLED OUT A KNIFE AND STABBED HIM. SIBLEY'S CLOSE E FRIEND OTIS PENA WAS THERE. HE POSTED THIS VIDEO TO FACEBOOK DESCRIBING THIS HORRIFIC SCENE. >> I HAD TO RUN TO HIM AND HOLD HIS WOUND AS BLOOD IS DRIPPING ON MY HANDS, AS BLOOD IS ON MY CLOTHES. >> Reporter: POLICE SAY THEY'RE SEARCHING FOR A 17-YEAR-OLD SUSPECT AND INVESTIGATING THE INCIDENT AS A POSSIBLE HATE CRIME. FOR MONTHS NOW, LGBTQ PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WARNING OF AN INCREASE IN THREATS AND ATTACKS. THERE HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 350 INCIDENTS OF ANTI-LGBTQ HARASSMENT, VANDALISM, AND ASSAULT SINCE JUNE OF 2022. DO YOU THINK SOME QUEER NEW YORKERS ARE GOING TO START PULLING BACK BITS OF WHO THEY ARE OR NOT EXPRESSING THEMSELVES FULLY NOW? >> I THINK THAT'S ONE OF MY BIGGEST FEARS IS WE'LL SEE PEOPLE CLOSETING THEMSELVES. WE'VE DONE SO MUCH WORK TO BE OUT, LOUD AND PROUD AND BE WHO WE ARE. >> Reporter: O'SHAE'S CLOSEST FRIEND SAYS CHANGE NEEDS TO HAPPEN. >> PEOPLE ARE LITERALLY DYING, DYING BECAUSE YOU ARE TAKING AWAY OUR RIGHTS. AND WHEN YOU TAKE AWAY OUR RIGHTS, YOU ARE NONVERBALLY COMMUNICATING TO PEOPLE THAT WE DON'T MATTER. >> Reporter: ANTONIA HYLTON, NBC NEWS, NEW YORK. >>> UP NEXT HERE TONIGHT, THE CRITICAL SHORTAGE OF 911 DISPATCHERS. WE'RE INSIDE A CALL CENTER, TRYING TO COPE WITH LIFE AND >>> WE'RE BACK NOW WITH AN ALARMING TREND AT 911 >>> WE'RE BACK NOW WITH AN ALARMING TREND AT 911 CENTERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. NOT ENOUGH OPERATORS AND DISPATCHERS TO DO THE JOB, WITH SOME CALLERS PUT ON HOLD WHILE THEY WAIT FOR HELP. WE GET MORE ON THIS FROM TOM COSTELLO. >> Reporter: THE PHONES NEVER STOP RINGING. >> MONTGOMERY COUNTY, 911, WHAT IS THE ADDRESS OF THE EMERGENCY? IS THERE A CHILD INSIDE THE VEHICLE? WAS ANYBODY INJURED? >> Reporter: NATIONWIDE, 600,000 911 CALLS FOR HELP EVERY DAY. >> KEEP YOUR DOORS AND WINDOWS LOCKED FOR ME. >> Reporter: NOW A NEW SURVEY FINDS 82% OF 911 WORKERS REPORT THEIR CENTERS ARE UNDERSTAFFED, WITH OPERATORS AND DISPATCHERS LEAVING THE JOB, OFTEN EMOTIONALLY SPENT AND BURNED OUT. >> CHEST PAIN, MEDIC 703, AMBULANCE 733 SQUAD 703 RESPOND. >> Reporter: MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND HANDLES 2200 CALLS EACH DAY. CAR ACCIDENTS, FIRES, MEDICAL EMERGENCIES, SHOOTINGS. BUT 911 STAFFING LEVELS HERE ARE DOWN 47% IN JUST ONE YEAR. >> IT COULD BE A MYRIAD OF REASONS WHY PEOPLE LEAVE, WHETHER TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL TOO STRESSFUL, TRY TO PURSUE A DIFFERENT CAREER. >> Reporter: AND 911 DISPATCHERS CAN'T WORK FROM HOME. IN SOME CITIES, CALLERS SAY THEY BEEN PLACED ON HOLD OR THEIR CALLS NEVER ANSWERED. IN OAKLAND, IN ST. LOUIS. IN 2021, A FORT WORTH MOTHER WOULD NOT GET THROUGH TO 911 WHEN HER 2-YEAR-OLD STOPPED BREATHING. FRIENDS FINALLY DROVE THEM TO THE HOSPITAL. POLICE SAY THEY'VE SINCE INCREASED 911 TRAINING, PAY, AND STAFFING. >> I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. NOBODY TELLS YOU WHAT TO DO IF 911 DOESN'T ANSWER. >> Reporter: NATIONWIDE, STAFFERS BLAME LONG SHIFT, MANDATORY OVERTIME AND LOW PAY. AND SOMETHING ELSE IS ADDING TO THE STRESS. AS AMERICA HAS BECOME LESS CIVIL AND MORE SHORT-TEMPERED, DISPATCHERS SAY CALLERS ARE FAR MORE VERBALLY ABUSIVE. >> PEOPLE FORGET THAT THEY'RE CALLING US FOR HELP. WE'RE HELPING YOU. WE'RE A RESOURCE. AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ABUSE THAT. >> Reporter: IN A BUSINESS WHERE SECONDS CAN MEAN LIFE OR DEATH, 911 CENTERS THEMSELVES ARE IN NEED OF HELP. TOM COSTELLO, NBC NEWS, GAITHERSBURG, MARYLAND. >>> AND NEXT, SHE BECAME A MEDICAL PIONEER. HER CELLS CHANGING MEDICINE, AND HER STORY MAKING TO IT THE BIG SCREEN IN HOLLYWOOD. WHY HENRIETTA CK >>> FINALLY, AFTER MORE THAN 70 YEARS, A MEASURE OF JUSTICE FOR THE FAMILY OF HENRIETTA LACKS, WHOSE CELLS WERE TAKEN WITHOUT HER FAMILY'S CONSENT AND LED TO GROUNDBREAKING MEDICAL DISCOVERIES. HERE IS JAKE WARD. >> Reporter: HENRIETTA LACKS IS INSIDE ALL OF US IN TREATMENTS AND VACCINES HER CELLS MADE POSSIBLE. AND TONIGHT HER FAMILY IS FINALLY BEING COMPENSATED FOR HER CONTRIBUTIONS. >> SUCH SACRIFICE THAT SHE HAD TO GIVE OF HERSELF THAT BENEFITTED ALL THE WORLD. >> Reporter: LACKS DIED OF CERVICAL CANCER IN 1951 AT JOHNS HOPKINS, WHERE IN A RACIALLY SEGREGATED WARD, DOCTORS CUT OUT A SAMPLE OF HER CANCER CELLS WITHOUT HER PERMISSION. THE CELLS, NICKNAMED HELA, WERE THE FIRST TO GROW WELL IN A LAB, AND ARE NOW A BEDROCK OF MODERN MEDICINE. HER FAMILY SUED MULTIBILLION MULTIBILLION THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC IN 2021 SAYING, QUOTE, THE COMPANY MADE STAGGERING PROFITS BY USING THE CELL LINE, ALTHOUGH IT HAS KNOWN THAT HELA CELLS WERE STOLEN FROM MS. LACKS. THE FAMILY SETTLED FOR AN UNDISCLOSED AMOUNT MONDAY. THERMO IS PLEASED THE CASE IS RESOLVED BUT HAS NO FURTHER COMMENT. >> TODAY ON HER 103rd BIRTHDAY, WE GOT JUSTICE. HER LEGACY IS IN GOOD HANDS. OUR FAMILY IS STANDING TOGETHER IN SOLIDARITY TO PUSH FORWARD. WE'RE GOING TO KEEP MAKING SURE HENRIETTA NEVER DIES SUCH AS HER HELA CELLS NEVER DIE. >> Reporter: LACKS WAS AN IMPOVERISHED TOBACCO FARMER, A MOTHER OF FIVE WHEN SHE DEVELOPED CERVICAL CANCER, AND NEVER KNEW HER UNIQUE CELLS WOULD BE PART OF EVERYTHING FROM GENO MAPPING TO THE ERADICATION OF POLIO. >> MADE ALL OF THAT MONEY OFF OUR MOTHER. >> Reporter: THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS BROUGHT WORLDWIDE ATTENTION AND TO EXPERIMENTATION ON BLACK BODIES BY SCIENCE. >> THERE ISN'T A MOMENT IN MEDICAL HISTORY THAT DOESN'T SOMEHOW CONNECT TO HER CELLS. >> Reporter: A BIPARTISAN BILL INTRODUCED LAST WEEK WOULD GIVE LACKS A CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. AND NOW HER FAMILY, SEVERAL OF WHOM SUFFERED CHRONIC ILLNESS WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE OVER THE YEARS WILL SHARE IN THE BOUNTY THAT HER BODY MADE POSSIBLE. JAKE WARD, NBC NEWS. >> AND THAT'S "NIGHTLY NEWS" FOR THIS TUESDAY.