NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Monday, October 7, 2024

Episode Date: October 8, 2024

Hurricane Milton explodes into Category 5 storm; Urgent recovery effort continues in North Carolina after Helene; One year after Hamas terrorist attack, day of remembrances in Israel; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight the monster hurricane we're tracking, Milton, explosively intensifying into a Category 5 storm and taking dead aim at Florida. Milton rapidly strengthening over the past 24 hours, now packing winds of 180 miles per hour. The strongest hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico in nearly 20 years. In Florida, a state of emergency. Storm surge warnings up to 15 feet. The race to get out, mandatory evacuations. Al Roker has the new track for us tonight. It comes as Florida and the southeast are still reeling from Hurricane Helene's blast just 11 days ago. Thousands still without water.

We're with the National Guard on an urgent mission to deliver relief. And in Tennessee, growing questions at a plastic factory where nearly a dozen workers were swept away. Also tonight, the solemn ceremonies as Israel marks a year since the deadly Hamas terror attack. Here in the U.S., the memorials for the victims and the hostages and protests returning to campus as the deadly war expands to new fronts. The race for the White House with just 29 days to go, Kamala Harris launching a media blitz, and Donald Trump under scrutiny after suggesting bad genes

are to blame for migrants who commit murder. And like father, like son, LeBron and Bronny James taking the court together and making NBA history. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome everyone. In Florida tonight, the calls to evacuate are being met with a renewed sense of urgency as Floridians, with fresh memories of Hurricane Helene, prepare for the second major hurricane to strike the state in just two weeks. Hurricane Milton has rapidly intensified today, now a Category 5, spinning sustained winds at an eye-watering 180 miles per

hour, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. The storm powering its way across the Gulf of Mexico toward the Florida Peninsula tonight, where forecasters anticipate it will be an extremely serious threat to Florida as it aims toward the state's widely populated midsection, likely late Wednesday into Thursday. The storm potentially will dump up to 5 to 10 inches of rain, local amounts up to 15 inches, and expect to generate a storm surge potentially as high as 15 feet. Right now, 51 Florida counties are under states of emergency with many coastal areas under mandatory evacuation orders. Al Roker is here now with the latest on Milton's path. Al, good evening.

Good evening, Lester. Much of the state of Florida under hurricane watches, hurricane warnings tonight as we watch this system start to push in. We can see right now 180 mile per hour winds moving east at 10, 80 miles west northwest of Progreso, Mexico. As this system pushes to the east, we look for landfall sometime tomorrow night as a Category 3 storm. Don't worry about the categories. It's this system that is going to be a monster storm. We're talking about storm surges, 5 to 10 feet from Cedar Key to Tampa, 10 to 15 feet from Tampa to Sarasota,

6 to 10 feet down through Fort Myers, 11 million people at risk for tornadoes, damaging winds as well. And we're looking for anywhere from 10 to 15 inches of rain, a moderate risk of flash flooding, river flooding. And Lester, this is just going to keep going right on into Thursday. It finally clears out, but we're going to be talking about this right into next week. All right, Al, thanks very much for that. There is an urgent race to get out of the storm zone in Florida and clear out the debris from Hurricane Helene that could make this new hurricane all the more dangerous. Tom Yamas is there. And Tom, this isn't definitely a race against the clock. It is, Lester. And you can see why just behind me. There's damage all the way down this block

from Hurricane Helene. And residents know this next hurricane is even more powerful. Plus, they're dealing with this right now. Piles of debris, which is going to make the storm surge even more dangerous. And it's going to add projectiles to the air because of those hurricane force winds. Tonight in Florida, residents facing mountains of debris from one hurricane, and now another monster storm barreling towards them, the second time in less than two weeks. And this one may be even more catastrophic. You always worry, but this one, there's something about this one that I'm feeling very uneasy about. With Hurricane Milton strengthening to a dangerous

Category 5, at least six counties have issued mandatory evacuation orders. If you remain there, you could die. My men and women could die trying to rescue you. Highways are clogged with people fleeing inland. On NBC6 South Florida, meteorologist John Morales reporting on Milton's intensification. It has dropped 50 millibars in 10 hours. I apologize. This is just horrific. That rapid intensification fueled by climate change just like helene before it the remnants from helene broken furniture and downed trees are still everywhere this creates a safety hazard and it also will increase the damage that milton could do with flying debris florida's governor has called it a debris removal mission, asking counties to work

nonstop to get rid of all this junk, even ordering waste and landfill sites to stay open through the night. NBC News' Marissa Parra found that effort continuing today in overdrive. I'm in Treasure Island, one of Florida's barrier islands. It is filled with debris like this. They've called in all reinforcements to remove it. Just look at this line of city trucks, garbage trucks behind me. All over the Gulf Coast, they're getting ready, including at Tampa General. This video went viral during Helene. Facilities Chief Dustin Pastor checking the aqua fence as it kept Tampa Bay from entering hospital rooms. He hopes it's strong enough for Milton.

Twelve feet with a high tide gets us very close to our limit here. And so that's a little concerning if that's actually what we see. In nearby Madera Beach, we were with Abby Lewis as an emergency notification went off telling her to evacuate. Helene took her home and Milton may take more. You don't even have time to cry. Well, you can't. No, no. So that'll be like after Milton or what's to follow. Tom Yamas, NBC News, Madera Beach. And in western North Carolina, no end to the struggle after Hurricane Helene's floodwaters isolated so many communities, many people forced to rely on each other for help. Antonia Hilton is there. Tonight, President Biden sending 500

more troops into North Carolina as the reality of recovery sets in. Thousands still without running water, some loved ones still missing. The National Guard showing NBC News their challenging operations as they navigate through North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. Wyatt Bumgarner grew up in this terrain, a cowboy and professional horse trainer. Hey, sweetie. When Helene hit washing away roads and homes, that homegrown knowledge became crucial for towns like Burnsville. Come on, friends. Word got out that Wyatt and his friend Tracy Adams had the skills to head up into hills and bring hay and food to isolated farmers and rescue horses lost in the storm.

How does it feel for you to see people experiencing that kind of loss, to be finding animals who've been stranded for days in some cases? That's kind of hard because it is such a devastating time. Call on your community and community will show up. Residents here feel they're getting less federal support than the city of Asheville and that when help does come, people aren't always equipped. We've been having constant landslides. There is quicksand everywhere.

There's mud that looks solid, but if you step on it, you'll sink up to your hips. This Blackhawk blowing away community supplies on Sunday night when they failed to land. For many, federal aid feels slow. Have you seen anyone from FEMA? No. Fueling some misinformation about how FEMA works. My understanding is they're broke. I mean the most are giving us like $750. Governor Roy Cooper and FEMA assuring residents today funds and help are here. FEMA has, I think, more than 104,000 people who have registered for assistance.

More than $31 million has been distributed. But the list of needs is only growing as the weather gets colder. Mom Maria Sebastian telling us her daughters have been asking what happened. Was it a little scary? But they trust kind neighbors will get them through. And Antonio, thousands of residents are still without power tonight as well. When is it expected to be restored? Governor Roy Cooper announced that as much as 90 percent of the power supply could be back on tomorrow, but that fixing the water systems will take time, Lester. All right, Antonia, thank you.

In Israel and beyond, a day of mourning on the anniversary of the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack that left 1,200 people dead and sparked a war that has killed tens of thousands in Gaza. Here's Raf Sanchez. As the sun rose, Israel stopped to remember. A nation still reeling in grief, thousands gathering at the site of the Nova Music Festival at 6.29 a.m., one year to the minute that the terror attack began. This is the last track that played at the festival before the music stopped and the shooting started. Of the 1,200 people massacred by Hamas on October 7th, nearly a third were killed here,

executed on the festival grounds or gunned down trying to escape. We first visited the Nova site five days after the attack. Scattered belongings, the debris of lives cut short. This was a place of music, a place of joy, a place of dancing, and now there is just a deathly, deathly silence here. One year later, Noah Yaffe returning to the place where her little brother, Binyahu, was murdered. A musician with big dreams, he was killed weeks before his 23rd birthday. If you could speak to your brother, what would you tell him? That I love him and I miss him so much. I just want to hug him and listen to his voice again. Amid the bloodshed, 251 people taken hostage, men, women and children.

101 remain in captivity, including seven Americans. The youngest hostages, Kefir Bibas, nine months old on October 7th, and his four-year-old brother Ariel, unaccounted for. Their fate unknown. Israel fighting back against not just Hamas in Gaza, but also Hezbollah in Lebanon and their backers, Iran. The U.S. supplying Israel with weapons, but also trying and failing to secure a ceasefire. The war that started on October 7th, now a deadly regional conflict. In Gaza today, no memorials. Palestinian families just hoping to survive. In Israel's effort to destroy Hamas, it's killed

41,000 Gazans, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Almost half of them children. Manal Abu Hater is responsible for her eight grandkids. Their fathers, her two sons, were both killed in an Israeli strike. I cannot bear their loss, she says, but setting her own grief aside to care for children trapped in a year-long war that feels like it may never end. And, Raf, we understand the sirens have been going off in Israel throughout the day. That's right, Lester. The Israeli military says it intercepted rockets and missiles fired from Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen today. No one was killed here, but it underscores just how widespread this conflict has become. Lester.

All right, Raf Sanchez, thank you. The anniversary met with remembrance and rage in the U.S. with pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators marking the attack and the deadly war it sparked in Gaza. Stephanie Gosk has our report. Demonstrations growing tonight on the anniversary of the October 7th attacks, fueling familiar tensions across the country, especially at Columbia University. How do you feel with this demonstration going on here on campus today? I feel unsafe as a Jew. We are a group of people just supporting and mourning the loss of lives taken. That's all we want to do is to mourn.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators, many with faces covered, calling for an end to the war. People are dying. We're doing nothing about it. Outside the gates, pro-Israel demonstrators waved flags and prayed for the hostages amid heightened security. First-year grad student Sarah Kashani says she considered not studying at Columbia. It's hard as a proud Jew and a proud Zionist to commit to a school that doesn't value you as a person. While for many today was a day of remembrance, recognized by President Biden with a candle lighting ceremony in the White House, nationwide universities have been bracing for protests at USC and the University of Maryland. On this day in particular, it's very difficult for the Jewish community.

This is our chance to make sure that our campus community is actually aware of what's happening in Palestine. In the last year, schools have struggled balancing freedom of speech and safety on campus. University presidents testified on Capitol Hill. I'll be the first to admit our existing rules and policies are falling short. The clashes at colleges reflecting growing anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the country. More than 10,000 anti-Semitic incidents in the last year. And a 69% increase in complaints about Islamophobia. Tonight there are dueling protests in New York, including here in Times Square. There's a large police presence and they've set up barricades to prevent confrontation. Lester. All right, Stephanie Goss tonight. Thank you. In 60 seconds,

a new battle over abortion playing out in the Supreme Court on the first day of the new term. Plus, with one month to Election Day, why new comments about immigrants are drawing heavy scrutiny. With the election now 29 days out, Vice President Harris is shifting her media strategy into overdrive and facing tough questions about her economic policy, while the White House is criticizing former President Trump for new comments about migrants convicted of murder. Here's Gabe Gutierrez. Tonight, after facing criticism for avoiding unscripted events, Vice President Harris on a new media blitz on CBS Press on her economic plan.

How are you going to pay for it? Well, one of the things I'm going to make sure that the richest among us who can afford it pay their fair share in taxes. But we're dealing with the real world here. The real world includes... How are you going to get this through Congress? You know, when you talk quietly with a lot of folks in Congress, they know exactly what I'm talking about.

Meanwhile, former President Trump, who's called for the mass deportation of migrants, is igniting new controversy by suggesting undocumented immigrants convicted of murder have bad genes. You know, now a murderer, I believe this, it's in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now. That type of language is hateful. It's disgusting. It's inappropriate and has no place in our country. The Trump campaign tonight saying the former president was clearly referring to murderers, not migrants, while Trump is also slamming the Biden-Harris

administration over their response to Hurricane Helene, saying they're not getting help to devastated communities fast enough. Kamala Harris has left them stranded. They send hundreds of billions of dollars to foreign nations, and you know what they're giving our people? 750 bucks. The White House says that's not true. The $750 is only an upfront payment for emergency costs, while FEMA assesses people's eligibility for more. Some $200 million have been allocated so far. Lester. Gabe Gutierrez of the White House. Thank you.

Also tonight, the Supreme Court declining to take up the Biden administration's appeal in a case involving emergency room abortions in Texas. That leaves in place a lower court's ruling that found Texas hospitals are not required by federal law to perform emergency abortions that would violate the state's ban. Up next for us tonight, we'll take a closer look at the flooding tragedy at the plastics plant in Tennessee. Loved ones asking why were so many people still working when the storm rolled in. Multiple investigations are underway more than a week after flooding from Helene swept away workers at a Tennessee plastics plant. Guadalcanagas spoke to survivors and family members who are asking why were so many workers there as conditions deteriorated.

Tonight, a week after six workers from a plastic plant went missing trying to escape flooding waters from Hurricane Helene, officials defending the rescue efforts in eastern Tennessee. Water moved in fast that morning and I know that we had rescue personnel in the area. County officials say the remains of five of the six employees missing have now been recovered. Impact Plastics worker Berta Mendoza is among the victims. Her husband says she called him moments before she was swept away in the rising waters. What did she tell you? This is getting really ugly.

I don't know what's going to happen. But tell my children that I love them very much. I don't know what's going to happen. But tell my children that I love them very much. Multiple Impact Plastics employees who survived the flood say by the time they were told to evacuate the industrial park, it was too late to escape. We had no evacuation plan. I'd never seen one. Nobody stood around. We were all trying to get out. We just couldn't get out. The cars were already up to get out. We just couldn't get out. The cars were already up to their windows and watered. There was no way out. Impact Plastics refutes these accounts, saying employees were given ample warning. Employees were told to leave

the plant at least 45 minutes before the gigantic force of the flood hit the industrial park. There was time to escape. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations now leading a probe into the timeline of events that morning. An attorney representing workers and some of the victims' families says he believes the deaths could have been avoided and they plan on taking legal action. Lester. All right, Guadalcanagos, thank you. We'll take a break here, then coming up, father and son together on the court of King James. Next.

And now some good news tonight about the legendary father-son duo who just made NBA history. Here's Steve Patterson. In the 22-year reign of King James, no conquest nor proclamation may be as proud as this. You can wait for it. The moment he welcomed his rightful heir to court. LeBron James and LeBron James Jr. are on the floor at the same time. That is nice. For four short but sweet minutes, the NBA became a family affair.

LeBron and Bronny James making history, playing together as a father-son duo. Definitely a moment that I will never forget, and it's pretty cool. At 39 years old, after achieving nearly everything, another career high. Ultimately, you know, to be able to work with your son, I think that's one of the greatest things that a father could ever hope for. Bronny's road wasn't easy. Last year, his career was nearly sidelined after suffering a cardiac arrest at USC. Now he's taking advice from a lifelong teammate. Just having that work ethic and he's, you know, driven into my, in my head my whole life. But Pops has one hard rule. You cannot call me dad in the workplace. Once we, once we leave out of the private facility and the gates close, I could be dad again.

A doting dad squeezing all the seconds he has left in the game just to spend more time with his son. Steve Patterson, NBC News, Los Angeles. What a proud moment. That's nightly news for this Monday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night, everyone.