NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Monday, November 25, 2024

Episode Date: November 26, 2024

Record holiday travel and stormy weather expected; Special counsel dropping federal charges against Trump; Confirmation fights now loom after Trump picks his cabinet; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the storm's taking aim as millions prepare to hit the roads and skies this Thanksgiving week. We're tracking two major systems that could mean potential chaos for travelers in what may be the busiest holiday travel period on record. Plus, our inside look at the tech working behind the scenes to keep your flight on time and the scare on the ground when a Frontier plane and an American plane clipped wings. The dramatic reversal of special counsel Jack Smith moving to officially drop all federal charges against President-elect Trump in connection with the January 6th unclassified documents cases. What it all means for the incoming president.

The Menendez brothers case back in front of a judge for the first time in years. Why the judge is delaying their resentencing hearing until after the new year. Plus, what we're finding out about the bird flu that was detected in raw milk. The new warning tonight about the growing trend. What to know to stay safe. The new deep fake scam you need to see to believe. The videos designed to make you think you're talking to someone you trust. What to know? And finally, there's good news tonight as a very special Christmas tree makes its White House debut. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.

Good evening and welcome. We are entering a period of challenging days for the estimated 80 million Americans traveling this holiday week. Many of those cherished family gatherings facing literal headwinds tonight with the nation bracketed by storms from California to the northeast. In a few moments, we'll go behind the scenes and one of the country's largest airlines to see how they are preparing for what could be a record-breaking day for Thanksgiving week air travel. TSA predicting 18 million. But whether by air or car, the weather may have the final say with rain and mountain snow in California today. Rain later in the week across the Midwest and the Northeast in for a soaking that could impact Thursday's Macy's Parade. In all, 1.7 million more holiday travelers on the move this week than last year. We'll get the forecast in just a moment, but first, the travel crush. Here's Tom Costello.

With heavy rain expected midweek from the Midwest through the East Coast, travel pros warn it could be a week of delays, just as nearly a quarter of the population travels 50 miles or more. In Boston today, an American plane clipped wings with the Frontier plane. No injuries, both planes taken out of service, passengers rebooked. Meanwhile, the FAA warns a shortage of air traffic controllers could also slow operations this week. De-icing control, United 2238, gate Charlie 29. In Chicago, United captain Julie Savage prepping for the flight to Newark. I just want to confirm you guys will be de-icing at the gate. On this day, a snowstorm dropped three inches on O'Hare.

We are going through some snow and then we're going through some rain as well. So that will be our challenge operationally today. Taking a look at the snow totals we're already. At United's Ops Center, they use AI to watch flights and weather worldwide, moving planes and rebooking passengers. What goes into the decision to delay or cancel a flight? We'll look at how many passengers are on a flight. Where is it going? How can we minimize disruptions to other flights if we have to cancel or delay flights due to weather conditions? Most Americans will be driving this week, with gas averaging $3.05 nationally a year ago, $3.26. EV charging now $0.35 per kilowatt hour. Some peak congestion hours Tuesday at 3.45 p.m. on I-95 in Boston.

Wednesday, 7.45 p.m. I-5 in L.A. Sunday, 3.45 on I-65 Indy to Chicago. Monday, 5.45 p.m. I-45 to Houston. This is a full flight. While back on the flight deck. Passengers get frustrated when there is a delay or a cancellation. And we do too. We want to go on time. We also have families to go home to. Full flights and packed roads nationwide.

Tom, a fascinating look inside the airline there. You mentioned potential air traffic control delays. Where would that be most likely right now? Yeah, the Northeast. I mean, already we've had hundreds of flights canceled over the last weekend at Newark. We're seeing a shortage of air traffic controllers in Newark, also in Philly. That could slow things down this week. We'll be watching that very closely, Lester. All right, Tom Costello starting us off. Thanks. And with weather concerns expected through the week, let's bring in Bill Kerens. Bill, some bad weather on the way from coast to coast, essentially. Yeah, two storms, right, Lester? We're going to get rid of the first storm in a hurry as we go throughout your Tuesday.

Early morning, some rain on the East Coast. That'll be exiting by noon. Then all the attention goes to the West. This new storm coming into California is not like the two big ones last week, but it will have its issues in the Intermountain West, especially as we go through Wednesday. Watch out in Colorado. Anyone driving 70 in the mountains, maybe I-25, some rain and snow mix. But then by Thanksgiving Day, this storm gets to the East Coast. It gets energized, gets a little stronger. Any flights or travel, the I-95 corridor, especially early in the day on Thanksgiving, you have a chance for some very heavy rain.

We're also going to watch air cold enough for possibilities of moderate to even significant snow at higher elevations of New York and all of central and portions of northern New England. So this will be a storm to watch, altering your plans Thursday evening. All right, Bill Kerens, thanks very much. Now to that remarkable shift by special counsel Jack Smith, dropping the federal election interference and classified documents cases against President-elect Trump. Laura Jarrett has late details. Tonight, in a striking move, the Justice Department abandoning the federal criminal charges that had loomed over now-President-elect Trump in Washington and Florida for more than a year. Special Counsel Jack Smith saying his decision does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged,

the strength of the government's proof, or the merits of the prosecution. But the DOJ has a long-standing policy against prosecuting a sitting president. The department believes the Constitution requires dismissing the cases before the defendant is inaugurated. The judge in Washington signing off on that today. The move by Smith, while expected, a notable defeat after launching a pair of historic cases, a first of their kind against a former president. We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone. The Trump team calling today's dismissals a major victory for the rule of law,

as the president-elect had made his criminal exposure a centerpiece of his campaign. I'm being indicted for you. Don't worry about these fake indictments. It's actually driven our poll numbers way up. Mr. Trump often railing against Smith. I would fire him within two seconds. Smith expected to step down on his own soon. His case is never getting close to trial, stymied in appeals. In Washington, the Supreme Court finding Mr. Trump immune for some of his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

While in Florida, a federal judge found Smith was wrongly appointed, dismissing the accusations Mr. Trump unlawfully ordered associates to keep classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after he left office. And Laura, join me now. So the federal cases, that's been written. What about the state cases still out there? Yes, Lesester. Real questions about whether that election interference case in Georgia can move forward. It's been bogged down on an appeal over an alleged ethical conflict with the D.A. there. And then in New York, we wait to see what the judge here does with a dismissal potentially of the entire conviction for Mr. Trump. All right, Laura Jarrett, thanks much. Let's turn out of the Trump transition. Now that the president-elect has made his cabinet picks, the focus is shifting to potential confirmation battles in the Senate. Gabe Gutierrez now with that story. Tonight, the Trump administration is taking shape. Just three

weeks after his big election win, the president-elect has picked his entire cabinet. Now his team gearing up for potential clashes over confirmations. Trump's choice for Secretary of Defense, former Fox News host and combat veteran Pete Hegseth, under growing scrutiny, including over his opposition to women in combat. He didn't want women in combat. When 18 percent of our military is made up of women, that really concerns me. Hegseth also under scrutiny for a sexual assault allegation in 2017. Police investigated and no charges were filed. He paid a settlement to the accuser last year, his attorney says, to avoid hurting his career.

Trump's pick for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, a former congresswoman and combat veteran, is also facing Democratic backlash, accusing her of sympathizing with Syria and Russia. Well, I think she's compromised. I think by going to Syria and basically backing a brutal dictator there, I mean, Russian-controlled media called her a Russian asset. She's rejected those claims and previously said her military service has made her skeptical of military interventions. I think it's really interesting that anybody that has a different political view now is being cast as a Russian asset. It's a slur, quite frankly. A new poll shows 59 percent of Americans approve of how Trump is handling the transition. The cabinet picks all

Trump backers, but also ideologically diverse. Former Democrats like Gabbard and Health and Human Services pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Scott Besant, a former Democratic donor who's been tapped as Treasury Secretary. Trump's incoming national security advisor has already met with his Biden counterpart, a name that's showing transition collaboration. Lester. OK, Gabe, thanks. In Los Angeles today, the Menendez brothers case was in front of a judge for the first time in years. Lyle and Eric Menendez fighting for a resentencing after serving decades for killing their parents. Liz Kreutz joins us. Liz, what more do we know? Well, Lester, it's now essentially impossible that the Menendez brothers are going to be out of prison by Christmas, as their attorneys were hoping for. That's because the judge here has postponed their key resentencing hearing until next year, citing in part respect for the new district attorney who takes office next week.

And he said he wants to make his own recommendation in this case, which could differ from the outgoing DAs. Now, here at the status hearing today, two of the Menendez brothers' elderly aunts gave emotional testimony in support of the brothers. Ultimately, though, it's going to come down to whether or not a judge believes the brothers were sexually abused. And if so, whether or not he then believes they should get a lighter sentence. The original prosecutor on the case has maintained that the alleged abuse does not justify the murders. Now, here in court, we had expected to see Eric and Lyle come virtually from prison, appear virtually from prison by Zoom. That didn't end up happening because of technical difficulties. So the next time we could now see them will be at their hearing scheduled now for January 30th. Lester. All right. Liz Kreutz in Los Angeles. Thank you. The war in

Ukraine is intensifying ahead of what could be an attempt by President-elect Trump to negotiate an end to the conflict when he takes office. Richard Engel is inside Ukraine tonight. Russia fired more missiles at the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Odessa. Ukraine's President Zelensky saying the attacks must not go unanswered. The war in Ukraine is escalating, with both sides rushing to gain territory before President-elect Trump's promise to bring a ceasefire. And in what may be the late rounds of this long fight, Russia has the upper hand. Despite recruitment drives, Ukraine is running out of men. So increasingly, women are taking up the responsibility.

We joined a group of soldiers arming up near Kiev. They call themselves the Witches of Bucha. 90% of this unit are women. Many of their sons and husbands are out fighting on the front lines, so they have stepped up, volunteering to defend the capital. These women don't believe that even if Trump brokers a deal, Putin will honor it. So they're training for close combat. Valentina is a grandmother. Her son and son-in-law are both out on the front lines. I don't believe this war can be stopped with a negotiation, she says. Putin can't be trusted. In three to five years, he'll come back. NATO is so concerned about escalations here that tomorrow officials from the alliance and Ukraine hold an emergency meeting to coordinate strategy. Lester. All right, Richard Engel and Keeve, thanks. In 60 seconds,

bird flu found in raw milk, adding to the debate over whether raw milk is safe. What do you need to know about the growing trend right after this? Back now with our health alert and the discovery of bird flu in raw milk from a California company, raising new questions about unpasteurized milk and the spread of bird flu. Here's Anne Thompson. A batch of whole raw milk being voluntarily recalled tonight in California after health officials detected bird flu in a sample sold in stores. It comes from Raw Farms LLC of Fresno in quarts and half gallons with a best by date of November 27th. Raw Farm says its own tests were negative. I can't imagine any benefits from drinking raw milk. Megan Davis is an environmental health professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg.

Were you surprised that there's a recall of raw milk in California? I was not surprised to hear this because right now California is the epicenter of the current outbreak of H5N1 in dairy cows. There are 29 confirmed human bird flu cases in California, all with direct contact to infected cows except for a child. None are linked to raw milk. Officials have long warned that raw milk can pose serious health risks because it can carry dangerous germs such as E. coli, salmonella, and listeria. What is it that makes raw milk so risky? Raw milk comes from the udder of the cow. The cow itself can have an infection that can be shed into the milk. Pasteurization heats milk at high temperatures to kill the germs.

Despite the risks, raw milk has some high-profile proponents. Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. two years ago. Since I was here last year, I only drink raw milk. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow says she puts raw cream in her coffee. Social media filled with lesser-known advocates. This is why you should be drinking raw milk. A risk some 10 million Americans are willing to take each year. Anne Thompson, NBC News.

All right, coming up, why that person you might be talking to on your screen could be an AI-generated scam. We're going to have a new warning for you just ahead. If you've had problems with Microsoft Outlook and Teams today, you're not alone. Thousands of Microsoft 365 users reported problems with email, Teams, and other applications. The company said it's working to address the issue but was facing delays in the recovery effort. The exact cause of the problem was not specified. We turn now to our series, AI Revolution, and a warning about the newest and growing trend in AI scams, fake video chats designed to make you think you're talking to someone you can trust. Your senior national correspondent, Kate Snow.

We've shown you how imposters can use artificial intelligence to clone voices on the phone. It's literally a matter of dragging and dropping audio clips into this program. That's it. As a way to scam loved ones or colleagues who think they're talking to you. Hello? Are you crazy busy? I forgot my corporate card. Oh, no. But as technology advances, the scams do, too.

Experts now warning you can't always trust what you see. Take this case in Florida. The owner of a title company, Lauren Albrecht, was trying to verify the identity of a woman who was selling property. Margaret. And luckily, caught on. After the second pause, I realized, like, this is 100% a video playing on a loop. It is not real. Her first clue?

Margaret, can you raise your right hand? The fake person could not. That's a red flag. But not every scam gets caught. We are seeing horrible extortions that are happening to individuals, to grandmas, to grandpas. We're seeing CEOs being attacked. We're seeing CEOs being attacked. We're seeing organizations being attacked. Hani Fareed is a professor at UC Berkeley and co-founder of Get Real Labs, which works to detect deep fakes.

So let me share my screen here. We asked his team to show us just how convincing AI can make a video call using material of me they could find online. It's about seven seconds, okay? Hey, sweetie, can you pick up milk, eggs, and cereal at the store on your way home tonight? Thanks. See you later tonight. Oh, my. These pre-produced videos troubling enough, but Fareed says there's more. Now what I can do is in real time on a video call like this one, I could be a deep fake. The man you see here in the lower left demonstrating how to pull off the ruse through live video chat using AI to superimpose a face on top of his own in real time. A new report by the Alliance to Counter Crime Online warns of a tsunami of fraud using deep fake technology.

In Hong Kong, an employee sent $25 million to a fraudster thinking senior officers from the company had instructed her to make the transfer on a video conference. We're trying to sound an alarm and we're also trying to urge our lawmakers to do more to regulate these dangerous technologies. Experts say every family should create a code word to verify their identities to each other. This is the world we're entering in. It's now going to have to be physical interactions that are the only things we trust. Because seeing is no longer believing. Kate, I just want to let out a big sigh. It's like, you know, you're constantly having to be on the defense. So you talked about a code word, good idea. What's some other things people can do to protect themselves? So, for example, if you get a call, a video call, Lester, from someone you

think you know and it doesn't feel right, maybe they're asking for your personal information or money, hang up, call the person back, make sure you really know who you're talking to. All right. Okay. Important information. Thanks. Up next, the special delivery at the White House, the Christmas tree that survived the hurricane to become a national symbol of hope. Finally tonight, the good news about the Christmas tree we first told you about last week, today finishing its journey from hurricane-battered North Carolina to the White House. Here's Stephanie Gosk. By horse-drawn carriage, a special 20-foot Fraser fir, arrived at the doorstep of the White House today.

The end of its roughly 400-mile journey from Cartner's Christmas tree farm in North Carolina. They named it Tremendous for the extraordinary hope that it represents. Cartner's and other farms in the region were hit hard by Hurricane Helene. T-R-E-M-E-N-D, M-E-N-D, us. So this tree's going to mend us. Tremendous will stand tall in the Blue Room, a first floor parlor in the White House. In the 50s, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower placed a tree there every Christmas,

a tradition that has carried on through administrations. The honor of supplying the tree goes to the farm that must first win state regionals, then nationals, only to be dubbed Grand Champion Grower. We visited the farm last week, where the fir began its journey to stardom. The taper's number one. It's got absolutely perfect taper on it. What makes perfect taper? Well, it's not too this way. It's not too slim. It's just right. Handpicked at the farm by White House staff, volunteers from around the country

will now do the decorating. Out of the whirlwind of glitter and garlands will come the warmth and comfort of the season. I can't wait for you all to share in it. The White House ending the great Christmas tree debate. A tree this nice can definitely go up before Thanksgiving. Stephanie Gosk, NBC News. And that's nightly news for this Monday. Thank you again for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other.

Good night.