NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Monday, June 10, 2024

Episode Date: June 11, 2024

New video shows the moments Israeli officers rescue hostages held by Hamas, jury deliberations have begun in Hunter Biden’s gun trial, Apple announce a major push into artificial intelligence, and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, we are on Verdict Watch. The fate of Hunter Biden now in the hands of a jury. Deliberations underway in Hunter Biden's federal gun case. Prosecutors calling the evidence against the president's son ugly and overwhelming. The defense saying the government failed to make its case. The first lady in court for nearly all of it. And today, Hunter Biden declining to take the stand. Also tonight, we'll show you the dramatic new video from that hostage rescue in Gaza. Israeli forces coming under heavy fire as they

find three terrified hostages inside a fourth hostage. You may remember her face. The young woman kidnapped on a motorbike from the Nova Music Festival finally reunited with her family. The growing death toll in Gaza from the raid and our exclusive reporting. Could the U.S. cut Israel out of negotiations to free the Americans still being held? Justin, former President Trump, required to meet today with a probation officer after his hush money conviction. The massive inferno at a Miami apartment building. An employee found shot. What we're learning. New reporting on the crisis at the border. The warning from law enforcement. The dangerous gang crossing illegally and committing crimes. And Apple's big entry into the AI race. The new iPhone features. Siri's getting more chatty. And the emojis you will now be able to create.

This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. And good evening, I'm Tom Yamas, in for Lester. For the first time, the child of a sitting president facing a potential criminal conviction. Right now, a jury deliberating the fate of Hunter Biden, the sole surviving son of the president. Today, Hunter declined to take the stand in his own defense. Many of his family members, including First Lady Jill Biden, in the courtroom nearly every day of the trial. Prosecutors calling the evidence against Hunter personal, ugly and overwhelming.

Hunter Biden is charged with three felonies stemming from the purchase of a handgun in 2018 when he was allegedly using drugs, including crack cocaine. Hunter's defense team maintains he wasn't actively using drugs when he bought that gun. Our Ryan Nobles is at the courthouse in Delaware and starts us off tonight. Tonight, it's in the hands of the jury. Six men and six women now deliberating the fate of Hunter Biden, the first child of a sitting American president to be charged with a crime. Many members of the first family in the courtroom throughout the trial. All of this is not evidence, said U.S. Attorney Leo Wise in his closing statement while gesturing around the courtroom and in the direction of First Lady Jill Biden in the first row. People sitting in the

gallery are not evidence, he said, adding no one is above the law. The special counsels accused the president's son of lying on a federal background check by checking a box claiming he was not an active drug user in order to purchase a gun. Prosecutors used evidence from Hunter's laptop and also called 10 witnesses, many describing Hunter Biden's frequent drug use, including around the time he filled out that background check in October of 2018. Hunter Biden's ex-wife testified she found drug paraphernalia inside his car in October of 2018. And his ex-girlfriend, who was dating him at that same time, saying Hunter was smoking crack every 20 minutes or so. The was personal it was ugly it was

overwhelming wise told the jury today it was also absolutely necessary but defense attorney abby lowell argued the prosecution focused far too much on his drug abuse over a four-year period and saying no one witnessed actual drug use during the window of time that he purchased the gun. Ryan Nobles joins us now live outside the courthouse. So, Ryan, what type of prison time does Hunter face and will his father pardon him if he's convicted? Tom, Hunter is facing a maximum of 10 years in prison over the three counts that he's charged with. His father has already said that he will not offer him a pardon if he is convicted. The jury is expected back here tomorrow morning at nine o'clock to continue their deliberations. Tom. All right. Ryan Noble's leading us off tonight. And while President Biden's son was in court, his political rival, Donald Trump, sat down for an

interview today with a probation officer ahead of his sentencing. Laura Jarrett joins us now live here on set. So, Laura, you're getting details about the meeting with the former president. Yes, Tom, typically this type of interview is done in person, but this one was done virtually with Mr. Trump accompanied by his attorney, a source familiar with the matter, describing it as brief, lasting less than 30 minutes. Now, the former president was convicted last month of falsifying his business records to cover up a hush money payment to an adult film star. He now faces four years in prison or just probation. Typically, someone would be asked about finances, family and other factors that might support a lighter sentence. That all goes in a report. Just one piece of what the judge will

consider for that sentencing scheduled for July 11th. All right, Laura Jarrett, we thank you for that. We want to head overseas now to the harrowing new video from Israeli police of the moment forces rescued three hostages from Hamas in Gaza and our NBC News exclusive reporting tonight on what the U.S. may do to finally bring the remaining American hostages home. Here's Andrea Mitchell. Tonight, the dramatic moment when three of the four hostages were rescued. You can hear gunfire as Israeli officers approach a family home in the middle of a refugee camp, finding the hostages held by Hamas inside a back room. The officers asking for their names as the hostages answer back.

Andre, he says. The daring daytime mission later resulting in a firefight, the IDF says, as Hamas opened fire on the hostages and rescuers as they escaped. The high death toll of Palestinians potentially complicating delicate ceasefire negotiations with Hamas. Secretary of State Tony Blinken in Israel tonight demanding Hamas agree to a deal. Israel has accepted the proposal. The only party that has not accepted, the only party that's not said yes, is Hamas. That's who everyone's waiting on. All four hostages were taken during the October 7th Hamas terror attacks at the Nova Music Festival. Noah Argamani, 26 years old, who became the face of the hostage horror,

seen on the back of a motorbike being kidnapped into Israel, her boyfriend still held captive tonight. Agamani hugging her father and reunited with her mother who was terminally ill. Amagmeir Yan, 21 years old, coming home just one day after his father died, but arriving before his mother's birthday. I couldn't stop hugging him. I couldn't stop. And tomorrow is my birthday, so I got my present. 40-year-old Shlomo Ziv and Andrei Kozlov, 27, falling to his knees when he was reunited with his mom. But while there's celebrations in Israel, in Gaza there's mourning. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatant and civilian deaths, says 274 Palestinians were killed in the rescue mission, including 64 children.

One woman telling our crew in Gaza, The family is destroyed, and my house is destroyed. This is NBC News is reporting exclusively the U.S. is discussing a dramatic new move if ceasefire talks fail, making a unilateral deal with Hamas to release the remaining American hostages, negotiating through Qatar and without Israel, according to two current and former senior U.S. officials. My number one priority as Secretary of State is to ensure the well-being of Americans who are in harm's way anywhere in the world. If that's your top priority, wouldn't indirect talks for the Americans at least bring those Americans home, where possibly? The most effective way to

do that, to achieve that, to actually get them home, is through the proposal that's on the table. So, let's see if we get an answer from Hamas. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu has still not publicly backed the deal, and is now facing more intense pressure from his far right to reject it. Tom. Andrea Mitchell from Tel Aviv tonight. Back here at home, we're learning more about a disturbing video showing police dropping off a homeless man, then driving off as he collapses on the sidewalk.

Here's Morgan Chesky with that video. It's the video igniting a blame game between Los Angeles and a neighboring city over the alleged dumping of a homeless man outside their jurisdiction. Two Burbank police officers seen on a North Hollywood street in LA, taking a man out of their cruiser and removing his handcuffs. Moments later, he falls to his knees, appearing unable to walk. Once the Burbank cruiser pulls away, the man collapses onto the sidewalk. Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krikorian, whose office surveillance camera captured the ordeal, says multiple agencies are now investigating. This is callous, cruel, inhumane. Burbank police say they were responding to a call of a naked man at a bus stop. The department says he'd been taken to a Burbank hospital from an L.A. neighborhood. After declining medical help,

police say they offered him a ride, adding he voluntarily got into the patrol vehicle and was driven towards L.A.'s metro station before he asked to get out for a coffee and officers complied. The controversy comes amid the backdrop of a historic homeless crisis in L.A. with 46,000 people without housing. We've known for a long time that other cities, other jurisdictions prefer to just push people into Los Angeles rather than addressing the problem themselves. And tonight, Burbank police tell NBC News the department is conducting their own investigation, reviewing both body and in-car camera footage, all of it centered around the actions of those two officers. Tom?

All right, Morgan, we thank you for that. And this just in, a suspect is in custody after a massive inferno at a Miami apartment building. Here is what it looked like earlier today. The mayor now saying the suspect allegedly shot an employee and then intentionally set that fire. Officials say more than 40 people were rescued, some forced to evacuate from their balconies. The wounded employee, a resident, and three firefighters had to be taken to the hospital. Okay, we head to the border now and some new reporting.

Law enforcement sounding the alarm about members of a dangerous gang entering the U.S. illegally and committing crimes, raising additional questions about the vetting process at the border. We get more now from Julia Ainsley. Tonight, the new warning from law enforcement that among the record number of migrants that have crossed into the U.S. are members of a Venezuelan street gang. NBC News learning there are more than 100 Homeland Security investigations involving suspected

members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, according to two DHS officials. In the past week, the NYPD says a suspected member of the Venezuelan gang shot two of its officers. So we know that he entered the country illegally. NBC News has learned the gang is suspected in criminal cases in at least five states. In one case, three Tren de Aragua gang members who crossed the border here in Texas in the last year threatened two Venezuelan women and said they would kill their family members if they did not cooperate in a sex trafficking ring, according to court documents. The women ended up in Baton Rouge, and police say they were forced to have sex with up to four men a day in this apartment building. How big of a

threat is Trin Theriot? I mean, they are a grave threat. The NYPD's assistant chief, Jason Savino, tells us they often know very little about the gang members. I've heard it referred to almost as a ghost criminal. Everything about that individual could potentially be misrepresented. And why does that make them dangerous? Because if you come here and we can't even track

you, we're not even sure of who you are. All of it adding to the growing questions about the vetting process at the border. Venezuela is one of several countries that will not share criminal records of its citizens with U.S. authorities doing migrant background checks. Because we cannot validate their criminal record history, typically, unless we get it from Interpol or they already have a criminal record inside the United States, we won't know who they are. The vast majority of migrants have no criminal background. Though former President Trump is calling attention to recent high-profile crimes, police say were committed by migrants. Migrant crime, it's a new

category of crime. An NBC News review of both administrations' track records reveals roughly 64,000, or 2 percent, of migrants encountered in the Trump administration were found to have criminal records. Under the Biden administration, more than 103,000, or 1 percent, of migrants were found to have criminal records. In a statement, DHS tells us if an individual poses a threat to public safety, they denied them admission, detain, remove, or refer them for prosecution. Tom? Okay, Julia, thank you. In just 60 seconds, Apple jumping into the AI race,

Siri getting an upgrade, and emojis you create. And the new tool to stop retail theft. Would you shop at a store where employees wear body cams? That's coming up. All right, we're back now with Apple's big reveal today. The tech giant just announced a major push into artificial intelligence with a huge impact on how you use your iPhone. Brian Chung is at the conference where it was announced. Brian, show our viewers what we can now expect. It's called Apple Intelligence, and CEO Tim Cook says it's a game changer.

Today, the company demoed how a smarter Siri will answer more complex requests, like when is mom's flight landing, or bring up that article about some topic. Apple Intelligence will also be able to summarize emails and generate Genmojis, emojis that you create. Apple insists that its intelligence will never store user data and will only process data relevant to whatever you're asking Apple intelligence to do. Apple announced today that its software will also integrate OpenAI's ChatGPT as an option, a huge partnership between the hottest AI company and the world's top smartphone maker. It's game on in the AI race. Tom. It is. All right, Brian, we thank you for that. A rash of retail thefts leading to a new trend in crime prevention. Tonight, more stores are taking security to the next level,

in some cases using body cameras. Emily Akeda explains. Scenes like this have plagued stores from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, where dozens ransacked an auto zone this morning. A concerning trend companies are desperately trying to reverse, investing in off-duty officers, AI-driven fraud detection, ditching self-checkout, and you probably have seen those locked cases. I feel like everything is being locked up nowadays. Customers will also start seeing body cameras.

TJX, the parent company of low-cost retailers tj max marshalls and home goods has started rolling out body cameras used by specially trained employees telling nbc news they hope the cameras will help de-escalate incidents and deter crime adding video footage is only shared upon request by law enforcement or subpoena the new layer of protection driving mixed reaction. I feel like everything's being recorded anyway. There's cameras anywhere. Others wish surveillance didn't go that far. I don't like any of it, right? But I think it's a sign of the times. Some analysts question whether retail crime is overblown with limited

precise data. The vast majority of retailers report that shoplifters are more aggressive and inventory losses primarily driven by theft swelled to $112 billion in 2022, up from $94 billion the year before. The number one criteria now is safety. There's harm to the individuals involved, harm to that place and harm to that organization, but also harm to that neighborhood. TJX isn't alone in its use of body cameras. One survey shows more than a third of retailers are researching the technology and 11 percent are already testing it. TJX says the cameras have already made a difference for them as a new landscape of crime ushers in new defenses. Emily Ikeda, NBC News.

All right, we're back in a moment with this bull's rodeo rampage after it got loose at an Oregon arena. We're back with a wild scene at an Oregon rodeo where three people were hospitalized after this bull escaped the arena and charged at members of the crowd outside. Veterinarians said the bull named Party Bus was unharmed. All of the injured have now been released from the hospital. That's nightly news for this Monday. Thank you so much for watching. I'm Tom Yamas in New York. Have a great night.