NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Friday, January 12, 2024

Episode Date: January 13, 2024

Iranian-backed militia vows revenge after strikes by U.S. and U.K.; Severe weather across the U.S. causing travel headaches; FAA says it is increasing oversight of Boeing production; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the dramatic escalation in the Middle East, the U.S. leading airstrikes in Yemen, and now the Houthi rebels vowing revenge. The U.S. and allies launching airstrikes on 60 targets in Yemen in retaliation for repeated attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The Iran-backed Houthis defiant. The new missile attack today, President Biden calling the Houthis a terror group. What is he prepared to do if the attacks don't stop? Also tonight, the relentless winter weather sweeping across the country.

A bomb cyclone blizzard and whiteout conditions slamming the Midwest. Travel chaos. More than 8,000 flights canceled or delayed. Danger on the roads. 18 inches of snow or more expected. We're tracking it. President Biden breaking his silence about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, what he said about Austin keeping his cancer battle and hospitalization secret.

A first under the Biden administration, the Justice Department deciding to pursue the death penalty for the gunman who killed 10 black people in a racist rampage at a Buffalo supermarket. The final countdown, three days to Iowa, the weather disrupting candidates' events. Will this be the coldest caucus ever? And how one photo taken by a customer made these dogs the hottest in town. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome.

A widening conflict in the Middle East may be a reality tonight. The U.S. upping the ante against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for the first time launching airstrikes inside Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen. American and British warplanes and missiles hitting what the Pentagon says were 60 Houthi targets across 16 locations in Yemen, including command and control facilities and munition storage. According to the Houthis, five of their fighters were killed in the raid. In recent weeks, Houthi rebels in support of Hamas's war in Gaza have waged a series of attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, threatening commerce in the vital waterway. Tonight, the Houthis warning the U.S.-led action

will not go unanswered or unpunished. President Biden saying he will not hesitate to direct further measures. Courtney Kuby is at the Pentagon. Lester, we have late breaking news. The U.S. carrying out another strike against Houthi rebels in Yemen, this time against a radar site, according to two U.S. defense officials. The strike conducted by a U.S. Navy ship. And now the U.S. waits to see if the Houthis respond. Tonight, after the Pentagon says a punishing series of U.S. and British strikes destroyed more than 60 Houthi military targets in Yemen, the first sign of retaliation. The Iranian-backed militia saying they won't stop attacking ships, firing an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Red Sea, but hitting nothing. President Biden was pressed. What would he do if Houthi attacks don't stop?

We will make sure that we respond to Houthis as they continue this outrageous behavior, along with our allies. President Biden has been under pressure to act following months of Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, through which the U.S. says 15 percent of global sea trade travels, including oil supplies. And some companies had begun avoiding the Red Sea, a costly disruption. Last night's operation included U.S. and British warplanes, British dropping bombs, and U.S. Navy ships, including a submarine firing Tomahawk missiles, more than 150 precision-guided bombs and missiles in all. The White House says they demolished Houthi ballistic missile launchers, ammunition

warehouses, air defense radars, and more. The targets we chose were all valid, legitimate targets that went right at the Houthis' ability to store, to launch, and to guide. President Biden writing, the strikes send a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or that imperil freedom of navigation. But tonight, Iran, who supplies the Houthis with money, weapons and intelligence, condemned the strikes, saying they are fueling instability in the region. Do you have confidence in Secretary Austin? I do.

Meanwhile, President Biden criticizing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for keeping his hospitalization secret. Austin did not tell the president or the public for days that he was off the job and in intensive care for prostate cancer treatment. Was it a lot to do? I couldn't remember not to tell you earlier. Yes. Courtney Kuby, NBC News, the Pentagon. No let up tonight in the severe winter weather slamming the country all week. Bomb cyclone conditions bringing whiteouts to the Midwest,

along with dangerous cold and travel chaos nationwide. Maggie Vespa is caught in the middle of it in Chicago. Tonight, the brewing bomb cyclone already living up to its name and derailing travel plans coast to coast. How wild is it to see delays and cancellations stack up that quickly? I was shocked. We boarded twice and we got on the plane, we got off. Whiteout conditions slamming the Midwest, dumping up to two inches of snow per hour

and coating planes on this Omaha runway in ice. In Chicago, the storm forcing a temporary ground stop at O'Hare, funneling frustrated passengers into long customer service lines. Effects rippled quickly. Tonight, more than 6,000 flights delayed, more than 2,000 canceled nationwide. Among the stressed out travelers. So you're just stuck here. I'm stuck here.

Shash Savaram, whose plane from Florida was diverted, making her miss her connection to India to see family. How stressed are you right now? Extremely. I was excited to go meet my mom. 60 million Americans tonight remain under new winter weather alerts. 125 million under wind alerts. Roads across the Midwest also a mess. Here, visibility in Kansas practically down to zero. Wisconsin, meanwhile, slammed with more than 10 inches of snow and counting. Two snowstorms back to back feels like a little much.

I have never seen anything like this before. The storm now roaring east. New York's governor even urging Bills fans to avoid Sunday's playoff game against Pittsburgh. We're anticipating at least 18 inches of snow. It's just better if you stay home and tune in on television. It'll be safer for all of us. A plea for safety amid America's third severe winter system this week. And Maggie joining us live from O'Hare.

Maggie, how's the travel looking ahead into the weekend? Yeah, so Lester, long story short, this whole mess could take a few days to work itself out. And in the meantime, with this storm still on the move, the FAA is on alert, saying they're working with airlines to monitor this storm's impact on flights through the weekend. Lester. All right, Maggie, thank you. The snow and bitter cold and high winds will stay bad through the weekend. Bill Carrings is here, and that radar is pretty concerning.

Yeah, good evening, Lester. Travel is difficult, almost impossible in Iowa, Wisconsin, and spreading quickly into areas of Michigan. We're also going to be watching an additional maybe 3 to 6 inches in areas of Wisconsin and Michigan higher than that. The official forecast for that Buffalo Bills game, 40 to 60 mile per hour winds, single-digit temperatures, and 1 to 2 feet of snow blowing all over the place. That is going to be interesting to watch.

As far as the east goes, the heavy rain is moving in. Many rivers are still flooded. And so we're going to add one to two inches tonight. And my friends in Maine get ready for a record-breaking high tide tomorrow with a storm surge. And then in the Midwest, we've already had wind chills all day today in the negative 40 degree range. As we go throughout this next three days, it just settles right in. That Kansas City Chiefs football game, negative 20 degrees on all eyes on Texas. Look at Dallas. Negative one. They are predicting record energy demand Tuesday of next week. All right, Bill Kerens, thank you. In Iowa tonight, the bitter cold impacting the candidates in a heated race for Republican support just three days before the caucuses. Garrett Haik is there tonight.

Tonight, the final sprint towards Monday's Iowa caucus frozen by the blizzard sweeping across the Hawkeye State. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley urging supporters to turn out Monday, no matter the record cold caucus forecast. I don't think you'll ever be able to cast a vote that has more impact. It's going to be negative 15, but I'm going to be out there. DeSantis and Haley still seen in a race for second to front runner Donald Trump, who holds a key advantage. Raise your hand if this is you're going to caucus for Donald Trump. All three of you. The most recent NBC News Des Moines Register poll shows 63 percent of first time caucus goers, often new to politics or new to Iowa, plan to support the former president.

I look at everybody, but he's my only choice. Trump's ability to recruit first-time caucus goers like Leroy Schnothorst and turn them into active volunteers, key to his strength here. I just want to support Trump because he's putting America first, and that's the biggest reason why I'm out here. But Trump isn't alone in drawing new caucus goers. Ryan Clair has voted for Joe Biden in 2020. Now he's crossing over to caucus for Nikki Haley. I feel like there needs to be a new generation that comes in the White House. It can't be Trump or Biden. Tonight, the snow and treacherous conditions causing every campaign to cancel some events, something that could make

it that much harder for Mr. Trump's competitors to shake up this race with just three days to go. Lester. All right, Garrett, thanks for braving it in the snow. The FAA says it is increasing oversight of production at Boeing after that decompression explosion on a Max 9 plane last week. It also is investigating whether Boeing failed to deliver safe planes as required by law. Here's Tom Costello. It was a week ago tonight that the door plug on that Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 blew out over Portland. Today, the FAA suggested that accident raises serious concerns about Boeing's safety culture, announcing its increasing oversight of production and manufacturing at Boeing and its suppliers, including Spirit Aerosystems, which manufactured

the fuselage with the suspect door plug already installed. This is a brand new aircraft. It has just come off the line and it had significant problems and we believe there are other manufacturing problems as well. The FAA chief announcing an audit of the MAX 9 production line to ensure Boeing's compliance with quality procedures, increased monitoring of any in-flight events, and assessing whether a third party should oversee Boeing quality control rather than Boeing employees acting as FAA inspectors as Congress has mandated. Today, Boeing says it supports all actions that strengthen quality and safety, and we are taking actions across our production system.

None of the Dash 9s will fly with an unsafe condition. That I can promise. Meanwhile, several passengers are suing Boeing, claiming physical and emotional injuries from last week's accident. With Alaska and United's MAX 9 still grounded pending inspections, the FAA chief says they will not be rushed into service. We're going to go with it when it's safe. Meanwhile, the door plug involved in that explosion is now at the NTSB lab in Washington and will undergo analysis this weekend. Lester. All right, Tom, thank you. In a first for the Biden Justice Department,

federal prosecutors in Buffalo, New York, say they will seek the death penalty against the man who killed 10 black shoppers and staff at a top supermarket in 2022. Peyton Gendron faces federal hate crime charges and is already serving life without parole after pleading guilty to state murder charges. Israel said tonight a deal has been reached to allow medicine to be delivered in the next few days to the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. As the war rages on, there is also growing unrest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Richard Engel reports, and a warning, some of the images in this report are disturbing. Already at war with Hamas in Gaza and under threat from Iranian-backed militias across the Middle East, Israel may face a new front closer to home. Since the Hamas attacks on October 7th,

Israeli troops have intensified counterterrorism raids in the Palestinian West Bank, where locals accuse Israel of heavy-handed tactics. We recently traveled to the Nur Shams refugee camp. Suleiman al-Zuhairi, a community leader, took me to a building where he says Israeli troops arrested a man accused of making bombs and then blew up three apartments. This is what we call collective punishment for the people. Down the street lives Sarah Mahamid. She showed me the spot where she filmed her 16-year-old brother as he was shot by Israeli soldiers during another raid. Her cell phone video is difficult to watch.

When her brother, on the left, looks around a corner, he's shot dead. When her father tries to recover the body, he's shot too. Seriously injured, he manages to limp back home. Our blood is cheap for them. They're killing us every day, Sarah says. The Israeli military said its troops fired on terrorists during an operation in the area at the time. We attended the funeral for Palestinians who've just been killed during another Israeli operation. This funeral is for three people, but scenes like this are happening now all across the West Bank. Opinion polls suggest that the popularity of militant groups has skyrocketed since October 7th. One opinion

poll said that their popularity has increased by 90%. Palestinian officials say more than 330 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7th. UN and Arab diplomats have warned the West Bank is at a boiling point. Lester. Richard Engel, thank you. We'll take a break now in 60 seconds. The dangerous flu season on top of more

COVID infections, how to protect yourself and your family, and what doctors say you should know about fevers. Stay with us. If it seems like everyone you know has been sick lately, it may have a lot to do with the rise in both flu and COVID cases this season. Stephanie Goss now on the major concerns among doctors. Flu season is raging. Fever, aches and runny noses, especially in the South. We had a very early start to our flu season. Dr. Andy Shane is the head of infectious diseases at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, where cases of COVID and both flu A and flu B are up. She says the flu vaccine appears to be working this year. The problem is people aren't getting the shot. Vaccination rates

of children are much lower this year. Uptake of vaccination has been less. The CDC says numbers of outpatient flu cases decreased last week, but they have remained higher than expected since November. Altogether, this flu season, there have been 14 million cases and nearly 10,000 deaths, numbers back to pre-pandemic levels. Deadly illnesses are hitting even those young and healthy, like Quentin Thomas, a 27-year-old father of three who died last week after his family says he contracted flu A and B at the same time. Your son was otherwise a very healthy young man, right? It's a healthy, hardworking young man. I mean, it's hard to believe. It's too fast. It's too sudden.

His distraught father, Robert, telling us Quentin was unvaccinated. Are you going to go get vaccinated now? Yeah, I probably think I am. I guess I am. I got grandbabies around, but, you know, I love them. They ain't gonna follow me. Vaccines remain the best defense, according to doctors. They really are the optimal way and the sort of foundation of all of the efforts that we recommend to prevent the transmission of flu and COVID. And Stephanie, we tend to determine how bad we are by the number on that thermometer.

What are you hearing about the thinking on fevers? Yeah, you know, Lester, parents worry a lot about fever. And what pediatricians say is focus less on the number. Look at the effect that the fever is having on your child. And also pay attention to how quickly it's elevating. If it's elevating really quickly, quickly, that can be more concerning. All right, Stephanie, thank you. Coming up, it's the other presidential election the entire world is watching closely this weekend.

Some say the stakes are war and peace. Next. The world will be watching this weekend as voters in Taiwan pick a new president. The high stakes race with the potential to reshape the tense relationship between the U.S. and China. Janice Mackey-Frayer is in Taiwan's capital, Taipei. Taiwan's presidential election has been described as a choice between war and peace. With growing concerns, China could invade the self-governing island, which it considers its own territory. That looming threat put the biggest source of tension between the U.S. and China and the key issue at the center of this vote.

The election here has become a very tight race and the outcome will reach far beyond Taiwan. William Lai, with the ruling Democratic People's Party, says he's ready to defy China. We have to win because we have to protect democracy. China sees Lai as favoring independence. Chinese military officials vowing today to smash any attempt at that. Polls show Lai neck and neck with Hou Youyi of the Kuomintang Party, which is open to dialogue with the mainland. We can never ignore their existence, Hou says of

China. Misunderstandings will lead to conflict. China makes no secret of its intentions when it comes to Taiwan. Xi Jinping in a New Year's speech saying reunification is inevitable. For years, China has increased surveillance, fighter jets, even missiles around the island. It's also ramping up disinformation, including messaging to sow doubt about U.S. health. The message is that there will be no knight in shining armor

to save you when things really go down. The third candidate, Ko Wen-je, wants stronger ties to China and the U.S. Finding a balance between the two, he says, this is the toughest job for the Taiwanese president. A crucial vote for Taiwan, with the U.S. and China looming over it. Janice Mackey-Frayer, NBC News, Taipei. And up next, how one frank photo turned things around for a restaurant people have come to relish. Finally, a family-owned restaurant in Oklahoma was struggling with business being slow, but now it's having trouble dishing up enough dogs for customers.

Morgan Chesky on how one photo changed everything. In Norman, Oklahoma, at Spirals Hot Dogs and More, you'll find owner Scott Hoschuk living his dream. I just wanted to be able to take care of enough people to keep the doors open and make a little bit of money. His spiral sliced dogs, gourmet creations, just as beloved as the man who serves them. Scott's just a great person. I mean, fantastic guy. You can't leave in a bad mood. Hard to believe just a few weeks back, business slowed so much, Hosick's dream was dying.

When you walk in that day, what's your first thought? Um, I didn't know if I made the right choice. Stopping by for lunch, customer Nick Chappelle was confused. The place was dead, but the food amazing. And Hosik, incredibly kind. So he snapped this pic of Hosik waiting for customers, then told a few friends to swing by. Have you ever done anything like this before? Not even close, man.

I don't share anything on Facebook. I'm never really on social media. I'm staring out the window. He takes the picture. I have no clue. The next day I'm at the register the first hour and I'm getting buried. Thanks to those friends, Chappelle's photo went viral. Hosts are selling more hot dogs in a single day than in weeks prior. And it hasn't slowed down since. We all grew up on hot dogs and we secretly love hot dogs. One day you're trying to figure out what will I do and then suddenly to be resurrected, yeah, I'd say one man saved the show. It's good to see you too. And saved a dream. Every one of our hot dogs were made

with love, so the more love we give, the better off we're going to be. Morgan Chesky, NBC News, Norman, Oklahoma. And that's nightly news for this Friday. You can catch the NFL wildcard action on NBC and Peacock starting tomorrow. Thank you for watching, everyone. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.