NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Monday, January 22, 2024

Episode Date: January 23, 2024

Haley under pressure in New Hampshire after DeSantis endorses Trump; Winter storms continue to pummel the U.S.; FAA urging inspection of another Boeing plane model; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, with the polls opening just hours from now, New Hampshire's Republican primary is down to a two-person race. The majors shake up former President Donald Trump and Nikki Haley, facing off one-on-one after Ron DeSantis abruptly dropped out and endorsed Mr. Trump. Haley trailing by double digits, fighting for her political life. Can she pull off an upset? Our team in New Hampshire, a dangerous ice storm across the plains and mid-south, a fire truck spinning out of control, slamming into a car, flooding in California, drivers abandoning their cars. Nationwide, at least 81 dead from extreme winter weather. The new proposal by Israel, a two-month pause in Gaza in exchange for all of Hamas' remaining hostages, plus the new U.S.-led strikes on Houthi rebels. The battle at the border over razor wire installed by Texas.

The Supreme Court weighing in today. That mid-air emergency aboard a Boeing plane, now the FAA recommending airlines to inspect another Boeing model. Our NBC News exclusive, the site where a notorious, segregated psychiatric hospital stood and the push to turn it into a place of healing. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome, everyone. The race for the Republican presidential nomination is a two-way contest tonight. Nikki Haley, the last primary challenger to Donald Trump, left standing after Ron DeSantis suspended his campaign and threw his support to the former president.

The shakeup in the race being framed as good news by the Haley campaign, appearing to invigorate the former South Carolina governor in the final hours before New Hampshire voters go to the polls for tomorrow's primary election. Haley determined to challenge front runner Donald Trump, declaring America doesn't do coronations. We believe in choices, she said. But two new polls out tonight show Mr. Trump commanding a double digit lead in the suddenly one-on-one matchup. Hallie Jackson is in New Hampshire tonight and has the latest. The sprint to what may be the finish tonight, with the Republican race down to just two candidates. It is go time. Tomorrow is the day. The campaign on the line for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in New Hampshire,

on the trail here with babies and beer, making the case with NBC's Ali Vitale. A Trump nomination is not inevitable. Let's keep in mind we don't do coronations in this country because 70 percent of Americans don't want a Trump Biden rematch. Haley now has the one on one race she's been hoping for after a dramatic dropout by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis today, perhaps with an eye toward 2028, thanking supporters after he endorsed Donald Trump when suspending his campaign. He has my endorsement because we can't go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear,

a repackage formed of warmed over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents. DeSantis, seen initially as a strong Trump alternative, ultimately unable to overcome the strength of the Trump brand in the GOP. He ran a really good campaign, I will tell you. It's not easy. Now, from Mr. Trump, a more conciliatory tone toward his former rival. He endorsed me, and we have policies very similar, actually. I think those people will all come to me. The latest polling shows without DeSantis in the race, Mr. Trump leads by 19 points in New Hampshire against Haley. What does a good night look like?

I don't know. You know what? I like wins. Mr. Trump and Haley with some stark differences, including on Ukraine. The former president critical of sending more aid, for example. In New Hampshire, Haley will need independents like Regine Phillippe to win and win big in this state. I know that she's going to do what's right for this country. And to make inroads with former Trump supporters. When Trump came in, it was a fresh face. And then as time went on, you know, there's just a lot of too much noise.

And that's why you're back in Nikki Haley? Yeah. Bob Burns has a different perspective. He grew up here, involved in state politics, a Trump backer since 2016. Now he's hoping for GOP unity. You suck it up, you get over it and you move on and you forge that alliance with Donald Trump. And, you know, you work to make our country as great as it can be. Hallie, join me now in Hallie for Mr. Trump. A New Hampshire victory would provide major momentum towards wrapping up this nomination. Yeah, Lester. And tonight at his rally, he's expected to be joined

by several former primary competitors who are now backing him. As for Haley, who is on stage behind me right now, she is under intense pressure in this critical state, but she's already looking ahead to her home state of South Carolina. Lester. Ellie Jackson, thank you. Much of the country is dealing with new severe weather tonight with more than 80 weather-related deaths reported. As Morgan Chesky tells us, ice has been one of the biggest problems. Tonight, from West Coast flooding to a southern deep freeze, a nearly coast-to-coast winter mess wreaking absolute havoc. Multiple storm systems putting 51 million people under winter weather alerts.

Freezing rain hitting southern states especially hard. In some cases, shutting down entire highways littered with wrecks. There's just no way of making it up through here. I don't think nobody's going to be able to make it up through here until they get the roads taken care of. Near St. Louis, this frightening scene. A fire truck spinning on ice before slamming into a car, barely missing a head-on impact with a house. In Pennsylvania, another close call. A jackknife semi-truck sliding towards a clinic, knocking down light poles before stopping just in time.

In hard-hit Tennessee, officials now confirm at least 30 storm-related deaths, many from hypothermia, and stress the danger isn't over. While out west, thousands are without power after drenching rains unleashed flash flooding in San Diego, leaving some drivers stranded on top of their cars. Waters rising so fast, others waded through chest-deep water to escape. Our house is flooded up to our waist, so we decided to just go ahead and get out, and, you know, because we don't know how severe it's going to get.

And tonight in Texas, we've learned that flash flooding prompted dozens of calls for water rescues in San Antonio. And here in Houston, a slow, steady rain could pose a growing risk over the next 24 hours. Lester. All right, Morgan Chesky, thank you. In the Middle East, we're learning tonight that Israel has proposed a two-month pause in its war against Hamas in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages Hamas still holds in Gaza. This, according to an Israeli government official. Negotiations over the hostages are ongoing involving the U.S., Qatar and Egypt. And breaking tonight, the U.S. and Britain launching

a new round of airstrikes against an Iranian backed militia in Yemen. Pentagon correspondent Courtney Kuby joins us now. Courtney, what more do we know? Lester, this is the second round of joint strikes against Iranian backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Pentagon saying they targeted eight sites, including underground storage facilities and missile sites. Now, the Houthis have been terrorizing ships in the Red Sea over the past two months, launching nearly three dozen attacks, forcing ships to avoid the area and spiking global shipping costs. The last U.S. and British strikes were January 11th. And since then, the U.S. military has strikes were January 11th, and since then, the U.S. military has responded with strikes nearly every day to take out what they say are imminent threats to ships. President Biden, though, last week acknowledging the strikes

have not deterred the Houthi attacks. And Courtney, there's also a sad update in the search for two missing U.S. Navy SEALs. Yeah, Lester, they were on a mission to seize Iranian-made weapons bound for the Houthi rebels in Yemen when they went missing in the waters off Somalia. They've now been identified as Navy Special Warfare Operator First Class Christopher Chambers and Navy Special Warfare Operator Second Class Nathan Gage Ingram. Lester, the Navy now declaring both men deceased. All right, Courtney, thank you. Let's turn now to the legal battle at the southern border over razor wire installed by Texas officials to stop migrants. The Supreme Court tonight giving the Biden administration a win in its effort to remove that wire fencing.

Laura Jarrett is here. Laura, what's the practical impact of this? Lester, the upshot is that Border Patrol agents should be able to start cutting down or moving this razor wire that Texas officials had installed at the border, and they should be able to do it right away. Now, the Biden administration had gone to the high court over this, arguing the fencing's impractical and dangerous when migrants get stuck in there. The justices deciding to side with the administration on this issue five to four. Texas had originally installed the fencing to prevent illegal border crossings, arguing the Biden administration simply hasn't done enough to stop the number of migrants coming over from Mexico.

This case, of course, part of a much larger fight between Texas and this White House over border security. Lester, tonight, the state saying in a statement this fight is not over. All right, Laura, thanks very much. Now to the growing legal battle in Georgia. District Attorney Fannieny Willis is prosecuting former President Trump, but now she is caught up in a case involving her alleged relationship with a special prosecutor in that case. Blaine Alexander explains. She is one of the nation's most recognizable local prosecutors, charging former President Donald Trump and 18 others with election interference in Georgia.

But tonight, Fulton County D.A. Fonnie Willis is facing a separate court battle of her own, involving allegations she financially benefited from a romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a high-profile member of the team prosecuting Trump. Willis is now fighting a subpoena to testify in Wade's divorce proceedings, and today, a judge ordered those divorce records unsealed. It all stems from a bombshell court filing by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, questioning the process by which Willis hired Wade, and alleging Wade used money earned from the DA's office to fund vacations with Willis,

without providing direct evidence. A separate filing by lawyers for Wade's estranged wife included credit card records showing Wade purchased airline tickets for himself and Willis to travel together. All of it is giving new fuel to critics of the Georgia election interference case. These are corrupt people. Willis has not responded to the allegations but appeared to defend Wade while speaking at a recent Martin Luther King Day celebration. I appointed three special counsel. Is my right to do? They only attacked one. Meanwhile, Willis called the subpoena and attempt to harass her. How do you respond to her allegations? It wouldn't matter who she is and what position she holds.

If she's having an affair with my client's husband and he's spending my client's money on that relationship, I'm going to find out about it. And a judge has given Willis until February 2nd to respond to the allegations in a court filing. Her office tells us she plans to do so. Lester. All right, Blaine, thank you. Just hours now before the New Hampshire primary. And with a Trump Biden rematch appearing more likely this year, our Chuck Todd found many voters there aren't happy about the prospect. Across New Hampshire, voters are feeling fed up. I just don't understand where my party is right now. Reid and Nancy Panassetti have lived and voted in Amherst for 25 years.

This is one of the first ones that I can really recall. There's a winner being crowned before the race has happened. All of a sudden you feel like, oh my God, the race could end here. Yes. Hope, but hopefully not. Nancy, like nearly 40% of New Hampshire voters, is an independent. In this state, independents outnumber Democrats and Republicans, like her husband, Reid. They are both desperate for something new. I will always be a Republican, but I am slowly losing my party and I want to know how I can get it back. Are you ready to accept this binary choice of Trump versus Biden? Are you hopeful something else happens? Still hopeful. What is that? What are you hoping for?

That it's not Donald Trump. With so many New Hampshire independent voters dreading the idea of a Biden-Trump rematch, some are holding out hope for a viable third party or independent challenger. The Democratic Party has become far too liberal for me. The Republican Party has become far too conservative. In Milford, New Hampshire, independent Kathy Carson feels politically homeless. I'm open to a third party candidate. You want to kick the tires on a third candidate, see if there's something there. If Biden and Trump are my choices, yeah. That frustration with this year's political offerings is echoed at Yankee bowling lanes in Manchester. I can't pull the lever for somebody

that I don't believe in. We would like new people. New people, fresh minds, fresh ideas. That's the best we got. Come on now. But amidst the political despair, we did still find some hope. Would you describe our politics as broken? Misled. It's not broken. This is what democracy is about. It's just kind of off track a little bit. We just need to bring it back. I like it. You got a little bit of optimism. You have to. You have to. Chuck Todd, NBC News, Manchester, New Hampshire. In 60 seconds, the FAA expands its call for inspections of popular Boeing 737 jets after that midair emergency forced the grounding of another model in the fleet. Details right after this. The FAA is urging airlines to inspect the door plug on another Boeing model to make sure it's

properly secured, even as the MAX 9 remains grounded after that blowout over Portland. Tom Costello is in Seattle. Tom, we're talking about the 737-900ER. Yeah, that's right. This is not a MAX, but the 900ER does have the same kind of door plug that covers up the unused emergency exit. And that, of course, is what blew out on the MAX 9 over Portland more than two weeks ago already. For that reason, the FAA telling airlines, inspect your ERs, check the door plugs, make sure that they are properly attached. We have already seen four million ER takeoffs and landings with Alaska, with Delta, with United. No reports of any door plug issues whatsoever. Meanwhile, the MAX 9 remains grounded as the airlines have now conducted the first 40 inspections of 171 grounded planes. The FAA is now reviewing all of that data before deciding what to

do next, how to proceed. That means hundreds of flights still canceled with United as well as with Alaska Airlines. And they've now found some loose bolts on those airline door plugs as well. Lester. All right, Tom, thank you. And tomorrow night, Tom's exclusive interview with the CEO of Alaska Airlines about this and more. It's his first sit-down interview since the midair incident. And next, a symbol of our segregated past now becoming a place of healing and a potential model for treating the mentally ill. Back now with our NBC News exclusive. Antonia Hilton is out with a new book titled Madness, Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum. It tells the story of one of the last segregated asylums in America. Now, 20 years after it shut down, we got an exclusive tour of the grounds

as the community prepares to turn a sad chapter in history into a space for healing. In the heart of a forest in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, cadaver dogs search through the snow. They pause every time they identify a soul. Many were buried in this cemetery as numbers, not names, from their time as patients in a historic, segregated asylum that shaped the lives of locals like historian Janice Hayes-Williams. Is this land sacred to you? 100 percent. Yes, this is sacred. Crownsville Hospital opened in 1911 and closed in 2004. For decades, it was the only place that accepted Black Marylanders suffering with mental illness. It was notorious for overcrowding and abuse and as a symbol of America's racial divide. If you lived here, this was a place you did not want to go.

As a child, you were threatened by your parents or others. If you don't do what I tell you, I will send you to Crownsville. With Janice's help, this land will become a 500 acre memorial park that turns dilapidated hospital buildings into mental health treatment spaces, public gardens and biking paths. The need is great. Last year, a record number of Americans took their own lives. Anne Arundel County Executive Stuart Pittman worked with Janus to secure $30 million in funding from lawmakers. What do you want people to see when they walk onto this property?

Great work being done by a lot of people from diverse backgrounds to make the human experience better. Former Crownsville patient Reverend Sonia King shares that dream. She came to Crownsville when she was a college student battling a deep depression. It was stressful and overcrowded, but a team of nurses helped her recover. It was hard. I was confused. Didn't know if I could continue on. What do you think the potential is for this land? I think this land has great potential. Healing needs to occur. And from healing comes new growth. Healing propels this project. Janice is the descendant of slaves who worked for the Maryland governor. County Executive Pittman,

the descendant of those slave owners. Do you think about that? I think we wear that like a banner because we are truly this county. Why do you think so many Americans are having a hard time having these conversations about history, collaborating with people who are different from them? Fear of the unknown. Reverend King has started to share her story. Just because you go through something doesn't mean that's the end. She hopes that this new memorial park becomes a model for our nation's healing.

Antonia Hilton, NBC News, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Thanks for watching, everyone. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.