NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Nightly News Full Broadcast (January 20th)

Episode Date: January 21, 2024

Nikki Haley questions Trump’s mental competence in lead-up to New Hampshire’s primary; Deadly Arctic blast impacts much of the United States; Attack on U.S. military base in Iraq raises concerns of wider conflict in region; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the fight to the finish in New Hampshire as the candidates ramp up their attacks. Nikki Haley going after former President Trump, alleging he's not mentally fit to be president after he seemingly confused her for Nancy Pelosi in a speech last night. When you see them hit a certain age, there is a decline. How he's now going after her Indian heritage. Deadly deep freeze across America. Almost every state dealing with brutal cold temperatures. This lighthouse frozen over.

So when does the U.S. thaw out? U.S. forces under attack in Iraq from a large missile assault on a U.S. base there. Multiple service members evaluated for injuries. The Georgia D.A. who charged former President Trump accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a prosecutor on the case. What new evidence reveals the heart pounding caught on camera rescue. This man buried under an avalanche. I didn't think I was going to make it. How these snowmobilers rushed to the rescue. This is NBC Nightly News with Jose Diaz-Balart.

Good evening. In the race for the Republican nomination for president, one of the more puzzling aspects has been how Donald Trump's competitors have held their fire against him. Well, that changed today. Today, Nikki Haley unloaded, even going after his mental fitness for office. The stakes could not be higher. We are just three days away from the New Hampshire primary, and if the former president cleans up there, he may very well be unstoppable. And with Ron DeSantis only casually competing in the first-in-the-nation primary, Nikki Haley is making a real run at Trump in the polls there. Today, she saw an opening trying to turn what could be described as a senior moment for Trump into a breakthrough moment for her.

Dasha Burns reports from New Hampshire. This is not personal. With three days until New Hampshire, Nikki Haley now going after former President Trump's mental competence. When you see them hit a certain age, there is a decline. That's a fact. Ask any doctor. There is a decline. Her attacks come after these comments last night. You know, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, you know, they did, you know, they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything. Where Trump seemed to repeatedly confuse her for Nancy Pelosi when talking about January 6th. Because of lots of things, like Nikki Haley is in charge of security.

We offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guard, whatever they want. They turned it down. They don't want to talk about that. But when you're dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we can't have someone else that we question whether they're mentally fit to do this. We can't. The former president, meanwhile, has been sharpening his attacks on his former U.N. ambassador. She is not presidential timber. What I have seen is through these temper tantrums, Donald Trump is telling a whole lot of lies. With Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in South Carolina today, New Hampshire is shaping up to be a two-person race.

The latest Boston Globe tracking poll has Trump at 53%, Haley at 36%, and DeSantis in single digits. Meanwhile, Trump is campaigning in the Granite State with top officials from the next primary race, South Carolina's Governor Henry McMaster and Senator Tim Scott. We need a president who understands the American people are sick and tired of being sick and tired. We need. And Dasha joins us now from a Nikki Haley event in New Hampshire. Dasha, is there a path forward for either Haley or DeSantis if Trump wins big in New Hampshire?

Well, Jose, in my interviews with both of these candidates, they struggled to answer that question. DeSantis couldn't name a state that he could win. And Haley couldn't say that she could win her home state of South Carolina. Jose? Dasha Burns in New Hampshire, thank you. Right now, a deadly deep freeze is sweeping across the country in nearly every state, and it's already led to dozens of deaths as temperatures dip far below normal. George Solis has the latest on how long it could last. Tonight, dangerous and bone-chilling weather gripping much of the nation. This is what it looks like along Lake Michigan.

The lighthouse in Grand Haven, frozen solid. Wind chills in the single digits. This week's brutal snow, ice and wind responsible for more than 60 deaths across the country. And it's been a nightmare on the roads too. Here in Philadelphia some cars have yet to be clean on roads that have yet to be plowed. Real concern as roads ice over leading to even more treacherous terrain. On a scale of one to frigid how cold are you? I'm close to frigid, honestly. We've got poles all up and down this route. The West getting pounded too.

In Oregon, ice and wind down trees and cut power lines. Back in the Northeast, the Buffalo area, buried in more than three feet of snow after eight straight days of storms. Today, Bills fans once again digging out Highmark Stadium ahead of tomorrow's matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. We're willing to help whatever it takes for our team, you know. And part of the South won't be spared either with near record lows forecast tonight in places like Bryson City, North Carolina, Greenville, Mississippi, and Myrtle Beach. George Solis is in Philadelphia. George, when can we expect some relief from these frigid temperatures? Yeah, Jose, the hope is that snow piles like this one don't go any larger as these bitter

temperatures and this cold weather is expected to move out of the Northeast by Monday. Jose? George Solis in Philadelphia. Thank you. Overseas, a new attack on a U.S. military base in Iraq. And one of the biggest in the region is raising concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East. Ralph Sanchez joins us now from Tel Aviv. Ralph. Jose, U.S. Central Command says a number of American service personnel are being evaluated for traumatic brain injury after multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were fired at the Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq. Some of those missiles were intercepted, but others did get through, and the military says it is still assessing the damage.

The attack was carried out by an Iranian-backed militant group known as the Islamic Resistance. And it's the latest in a string of more than 140 attacks on U.S. bases across the Middle East since the start of the Gaza war. Now, this same air base was targeted by Iran four years ago in retaliation for the U.S. assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Jose. Ralph Sanchez in Tel Aviv. Thank you. A new U.N. report says women and children are the main victims of the Israel-Hamas war, with about 16,000 killed in Gaza.

Tonight, our Josh Letterman has just one of their stories and a warning. Some of this report is hard to watch. It was a rare moment of hope in Gaza. Just weeks ago, a baby girl saved from the rubble. Her name? Tala, less than a year old. Her father, Ahmed, rescued a few feet away. But that airstrike killed Tala's mother, brother, sister, grandmother, and three uncles, a whole family erased.

The next day, the emotional reunion between father and daughter. All they had left was each other. But this week, tragedy once again. Baby Tala has died. Exactly how Tala died is unclear. But doctors say her injuries, broken legs and deep burns were likely too much. This is the heartbreaking moment Ahmed laid his youngest child to rest. Baby Tala was just days away from her first birthday. This is her last photo.

An innocent child, Ahmed says. What did she know about war? I don't want others to lose their children because war, he says, is destruction. Josh Letterman, NBC News. Back in this country, in Georgia, a top prosecutor who charged former President Trump is under fire over allegations of an improper relationship with another prosecutor who she put on the case. Marisa Parra has the details. Fulton County's District Attorney Fannie Willis, who's been leading the election interference case against former President Trump, now finding herself at the center of calls for an investigation amid questions of an alleged affair with Nathan Wade, one of the outside special prosecutors she hired for the case against Mr. Trump. One of Trump's co-defendants, Michael Roman, has been calling for his case to be dismissed entirely, claiming without direct evidence Willis and Wade have been in a, quote,

improper clandestine personal relationship and profiting significantly at the expense of taxpayers. New court filings from Wade's estranged wife in their divorce case include credit card statements that she alleges show Wade paid for flights and cruises to remote locations for him and Willis. Fulton County Commissioner Republican Bob Ellis telling NBC News he will be pursuing a full investigation and finds the allegations grossly concerning. Writing a letter to Willis questioning if she, quote, misused county funds and accepted valuable gifts and personal benefits from the man she hired. Trump last night raising similar questions. How bad is that, paying a guy almost a million dollars who had zero experience, but it's their boyfriend. And then they traveled all over the

world. Norwegian cruise lines. Oh, isn't that nice? I'd like to do that. I just don't have time. At a church service last Sunday, Willis suggesting race is behind growing controversy surrounding her and Wade. I'm just asking God, is it that someone will never see a black man as qualified no matter his achievements? But her comments from a 2020 campaign appearance are now being used by Willis's opponents. I certainly will not be choosing people to date that work under me. Let me just say that. Marisa Parra joins me now. Marisa, what happens next with these allegations? So first, Willis is trying to fight a subpoena for her to testify in Wade's divorce allegations and proceedings.

That is happening on Monday. Then separately, there is a different hearing. This with the same judge in the election interference case over these improper allegations. That, Jose, is happening in mid-February. Marisa Parra, thank you. We're back with a heart pounding new video of a man rescued after he was buried by an avalanche. And tonight he is speaking out to our Dana Griffin. Tonight, we're getting our first look at the shocking moments just after an avalanche buried a man in Utah last week. Everyone, go to search. Turn your beacons off. Go to search.

You can hear the screams after the wall of snow barreled down Utah's American Fork Canyon. Underneath it all, 60-year-old Bob Tillotson, who was riding his snowmobile. How many? How many? One I know of. I'm not sure. Within minutes, another group of snowmobilers race to the rescue. Oh, my gosh. Using avalanche beacons, pinpointing Bob's exact location. Get the snow out of the way. Get him so he can breathe. Get the snow out of the way.

Get him so he can breathe. Get him so he can breathe. You can see them using their fingers and shovels to clear snow from Bob's helmet. Hang on. Get you there. Give up. Dustin Sweetin was there, trying frantically to get the man out. The snow was packed around his mouth, his nose, everything.

He had no room in there to breathe at all. He was kind of a purple killer, and he was not responsive. He estimates the man had been buried for 10 minutes, longer than most survive. Anybody know him? It's at that moment Dustin realizes he's rescuing his own friend. Who's Bob Pilson, man? Pilson!

Bob and I have known each other for 35 years. All of a sudden, his family flashed through my mind, and I thought, okay, I have to get him out of here alive. And that he did. Watch as they pull him from the snow. Minutes later, Bob was finally free. What emotions does that bring up for you? Had I been seconds longer, I think it would have been a whole different outcome. The lifelong friends believe their faith helped them that day and decided to share the GoPro video Dustin's son unknowingly captured. An incredible story of survival. Thanks to a well-trained friend who was at the right place at the right time.

I owe these guys my life. Dana Griffin, NBC News. I'm Jose Diaz-Balot. Thank you for the privilege of your time and good night.