NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Saturday, December 28, 2024

Episode Date: December 29, 2024

Severe weather, tornado risk in the South threatens holiday travel; At least 15 injured after Brightline train crashes into fire truck in Florida; Video shows woman walking onto wing of Alaska Airlines plane; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, dangerous conditions on the road and in the skies, and the record rush to get millions of people home. Across the South, a deadly outbreak, at least eight possible tornadoes already reported in Texas and Louisiana. Violent winds, massive hail and flash floods. The West on high alert for avalanches and mudslides, and the impact on travel. Flights delayed and canceled, the latest forecast ahead. And a terrifying crash. A train

in South Florida smashing into a fire truck, flipping it over. Shocking new video. A woman opening a plane's emergency exit and walking out onto the wing. What we're learning about why she did it. And another person found on fire in New York City just days after this woman was set on fire and burned to death on the subway. Why authorities are worried this could be a trend. And Israel's military raiding one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza. The building burned, patients and staff removed. Why Israel says it was being used for terrorism. President-elect Trump weighing in on the new battle over immigrant worker visas. Some allies like Elon Musk are

supportive, while other supporters of Trump say they are taking jobs away from Americans and the rush to return all those holiday gifts. But where do they really go when you send them back? This is NBC Nightly News with Jose Diaz-Balart. Good evening, I'm Gotti Schwartz in for Jose. And tonight, a tornado outbreak in the Deep South has turned deadly. At least one person was killed in Texas after a giant system of twisters left a trail of destruction with downed power lines and trees ripped from their roots. Unfortunately, those dangerous conditions are still threatening much of the country tonight, with 22 million people at risk for severe weather from Texas to Georgia.

And for many, that is making it a nightmare to get home from the holidays, canceling and delaying flights for so many people. And we've already seen some wild scenes at airports during one of the busiest travel weeks ever. We're going to get to that in just a moment. But we start tonight with Kathy Park in the storm zone in Jackson, Mississippi. Just hope it breaks up. Tonight, the South under siege. An outbreak of twisters slamming across Louisiana and Texas. If you're in any of these communities, you need to be seeking your shelter now. At least eight possible tornadoes cutting a path of destruction. Trees and power lines down. Parts of buildings smashed to pieces by winds of 70 miles an hour or more.

You can see its force on this traffic cam near Galveston. The inside is, it's mashed. It's in bad shape. The storm turning deadly, killing at least one person near Houston. You see all that that has picked up? In nearby Katy, Texas, Quint Lawton spotting this twister. What was your reaction when you saw that funnel cloud? It was a lot of dread, knowing that the storm was rotating and knowing that there were a lot of neighborhoods nearby. There it goes.

The extreme weather, part of a larger system, building for days. On Friday, at least five tornadoes tore through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. It's getting bigger. In Mobile, Alabama, high winds ripped apart trees and took down power lines. In Jackson, Mississippi, this massive tree smashing into a house injuring two people inside. These storms also colliding with one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, delaying thousands of flights and canceling hundreds more. Thunderstorms grounding flights in both Houston and Dallas. If you're traveling at this time of year, you got to be ready for anything. 22 million are at risk of severe weather, producing 70 mile

per hour winds and two inch hail. While out west, on alert for avalanches and mudslides. Mountain snow piling up in Washington with two feet possible on Mount Rainier, making travel difficult to impossible. The storms not taking a break this holiday. And Kathy joins us live in Jackson, Mississippi, where the severe weather threat isn't over yet. Kathy? Gotti, that's right.

The threat stretches into the evening from Texas to Georgia. Nine time tornadoes are especially dangerous, deadlier because most people are still sleeping. So it's important to have your phone on and alerts activated. Gotti. Kathy Park, thank you. Let's bring in meteorologist Angie Lassman. Angie, how much more severe weather are we looking at this weekend? Unfortunately, Gotti, we've got more to get through tonight and potentially tomorrow. Here's where we're watching through the rest of the evening hours, specifically along the Gulf Coast. We've already had an active early part of our day.

And as we head into the evening hours, those dangerous nocturnal tornadoes will be likely, specifically Lake Charles, Lufkin, and stretching out towards Mobile, the area where we see those large EF2 tornadoes. As we head into tomorrow, that destructive line of storms marches to the east. We shift that severe threat across parts of the southeast. So Raleigh, Charlotte, major hubs like Atlanta stretching down to the Gulf Coast could potentially see strong wind gusts over 60 miles per hour and a couple of tornadoes. Gotti. Angie, thank you.

In South Florida, a terrifying crash after a Brightline train smashed into a fire engine, flipping it onto its side and hurting 15 people. Jesse Kirsch is at the scene. Tonight, authorities are trying to figure out why this fire truck collided with a Brightline passenger train in Delray Beach, Florida, winding up a mangled wreck near the small city's downtown. The train's nose smashed in. I heard this loud crash. It sounds like a boom or something. Alec Dunn says he was at home across the street when the train barreled through. First responders, police, fire, ambulances, and all that.

I was just like, I couldn't believe my eyes. According to Delray Beach Fire Rescue, this morning's crash about an hour north of Miami sent at least 15 people to the hospital. Three firefighters, who at last word people to the hospital. Three firefighters, who at last word were in stable condition. Everyone's conscious. We haven't been out there yet to be able to talk to them and, you know, get details on it. And a dozen people from the train who had minor injuries. This video taken by a passenger on the train showing the confusing moments in the aftermath. About six hours after the collision,

crews hoisting the wrecked ladder truck across the train tracks, and you can see just how badly it is mangled. And tonight, questions lingering with local and federal authorities investigating. And Jesse Kirsch joins us from Delray Beach, Florida. Jesse, what's this scene like tonight? Yeah, you can see behind us, crews are still trying to get what's left of that mangled truck out of the way. Meanwhile, Brightline trains are once again moving through downtown Delray Beach. Gotti? Jesse, thank you. In a week of record holiday travel, we've got some shocking new video tonight of a woman who opened a plane's emergency exit door and then walked out onto the wing.

Dana Griffin has more. Tonight, newly released video from Seattle Tacoma International shows a passenger anxious to get off the plane Sunday, opening the emergency exit door. You see her take a seat on the wing and wave for help. SeaTac officials say she was taken to a hospital for evaluation. Alaska Airlines saying in a statement, we are working with our crew and airport officials to gather more details about what may have transpired. John Cox is an NBC News aviation analyst. What circumstances would have warranted her opening that emergency door? The only case where a passenger should ever open a door is once the crew initiates an evacuation.

This comes the same week and at the same airport when a stowaway was caught after sneaking past an unmanned TSA ID check and got onto a Delta flight without a boarding pass. It's scary, especially this time of year. In a statement, Delta says there are no matters more important than safety and security. New barriers have since been installed at SeaTac. This is the second U.S. stowaway incident in the past two months. This woman managed to allegedly sneak onto a flight at JFK and made it nearly all the way to Paris before being discovered.

Svetlana Dali has since been flown back to the U.S. and arraigned on federal stowaway charges. We have one of the most complex aviation systems in the world. There's certainly going to be an investigation to see where those weaknesses are. And Dana joins us here in the studio. Dana, what else is TSA doing to increase security here? So since that first stowaway incident, they have held down halls prioritizing vigilance and they reiterate, if you see something suspicious, tell them. So alarming. Dana, thank you. And police in New York City are investigating why a man was found on fire at one of the city's busiest transit hubs.

This comes just days after a homeless woman was burned to death inside of a subway car. And George Solis has the very latest. The NYPD now investigating after a man was found with burns to both his legs and upper body at New York City's Penn Station. Police and fire responding to the scene and taping off the area Friday evening. Tonight, authorities say the 67-year-old man, who has not been identified, was rushed to the hospital, but is expected to survive. Law enforcement sources telling NBC New York the man appeared to be homeless, and a preliminary investigation revealing it does not appear to be self-inflicted. It is still unclear how the fire may have started. Yeah, I know, it's crazy. I'm unsure what to think about that. This is a person right here. The incident comes less than a week after the fatal burning of a sleeping woman

inside a New York City subway car, who officials say appeared to be homeless. Brooklyn's DA, Eric Gonzalez, speaking on Friday after a grand jury indicted the man accused of setting and spreading the fire with murder and arson. This was a malicious deed, a sleeping, vulnerable woman on our subway system. Investigators say Sebastian Cepeda, a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, watched from a platform bench as the woman burned. The 33-year-old was not present in court on Friday, and his attorney declined to comment afterwards. The violence comes as homelessness in the U.S. rose a staggering 18 percent from a year ago, according to the annual report issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The report noting the lack of affordable housing, the surge of asylum seekers, and natural disasters

all as contributing factors. Tonight, the investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made as police still try to figure out what caused that fire. Dottie? George, thank you. And overseas, Russian President Vladimir Putin is speaking out and apologizing to the president of Azerbaijan for that plane crash that killed 38 people. Putin calling the crash tragic, but not claiming responsibility for it. And tonight, Israel's military says it completed a dramatic raid on one of the last functioning hospitals

in Gaza. Raf Sanchez has this report. Tonight, the U.N. says northern Gaza's last major hospital is out of service following an Israeli military raid. The Kamal Adwan Hospital was in an area under siege for more than 80 days, according to the World Health Organization, with repeated attacks by Israeli drones, while terrified patients and staff sheltered within. Israeli forces stormed the facility yesterday, calling it a Hamas stronghold, and saying they arrested 240 terrorists. Asked for evidence of their claims, the IDF provided these pictures of handguns and what they said was a bomb. The IDF also denying its forces started this fire, which broke out during the siege.

Medics say troops forced them to evacuate even gravely ill patients, and that staff members were stripped and interrogated. This doctor and two other witnesses tell us Israeli troops beat people coming out of the hospital. The IDF says it's seen no proof of that. They kept us in the cold outside while we were naked, this patient says. The hospital's director, Hussam Abu-Sufiyah, was among those arrested. NBC News has interviewed him several times. Please, help us. Israel now calling him a suspected Hamas operative without providing evidence.

And the UN says the lives of 75,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza are now at risk with no major functioning hospital in the area. Got it. Raph, thank you. And still ahead tonight, the online battle over visas that may be opening a rift between some of Donald Trump's supporters, plus a dramatic cliffside rescue and the moment this hiker got pulled to safety. And we are back with a dramatic hiker rescue in Northern California. This is the moment it happened along the cliff at Devil's Slide in San Mateo County on Friday. You can see the hiker dangling there from the helicopter above those waves. And now to politics and a growing rift in President-elect Donald Trump's inner circle.

Trump expressing his support for H-1B visas, which are usually granted to immigrant tech workers. The New York Post quoting Trump is saying, I have many H-1B visas on my properties and that he has always been in favor of the visas. This comes amid a very public division on the issue of visas among some of his biggest supporters. Aaron Gilchrist reports. Tonight, an immigration cyber battle brewing among supporters of President-elect Donald Trump. Far-right activist Laura Loomer taking to X to slam Trump's new artificial intelligence advisor, Shriram Krishnan, for his past support of easing restrictions on skilled foreign workers coming to the U.S. Loomer launching a series of posts such as,

our country was built by white Europeans, actually, not third world invaders from India. Other MAGA figures like Steve Bannon joining in. It's about taking American jobs and bringing over essential become indentured servants at lower wages. The controversy is over H-1B visas, a program that lets foreigners with highly coveted tech skills work in the U.S. for up to six years, a program applauded and defended by some of Mr. Trump's closest advisors, including Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and others in the tech industry,

which is heavily reliant on foreign skilled workers. Musk responding to the online barrage by saying, if you want your team to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be. I think this is sort of a pregame, a sign of things to come. These tensions between the sort of what you could call the populist nationalist wing of the Republican Party and the new tech elite. While Trump has promised a hard line on illegal immigration and mass deportation, many in the tech industry are pushing him to expand legal immigration for high-skilled workers, an idea he's hinted he's open to for foreign students. Somebody graduates at the top of the class, they can't even make a deal with the company

because they don't think they're going to be able to stay in the country. That is going to end on day one. At some point, something's got to give. They got to decide what is the orientation of immigration policy is going to focus on attracting the best talent to the country or a more protectionist model where we we put up fences. Aaron Gilchrist, NBC News, Washington. And we are back in just a moment with the rush to return some of those holiday gifts and a closer look at where your returns really end up after you send them back. And we're back with a basketball superstar holding court behind a chessboard. NBA phenom Victor Wambanyama posting a call out on social media for a pickup game of sorts at New York's

Washington Square Park. That chess invitation racking up millions of views and you can see people lining up to try to take him on despite the cold and the rain. And it turns out he can more than ball. You could say he puts the the rook in rookie of the year. And out of the secret world of holiday returns and the surprising place, some of those gifts you sent back really ended up. Brian Chung shows us how companies and shoppers are cashing in. If you remember returning this grill, these mouse ears, or this holiday lawn flamingo, you might be surprised to find that holiday gift you just

didn't want. Well, it didn't go back on the shelf. It comes to places like this, where tens of thousands of items a day will come in, returns that will be someone else's discounted treasure. So how big is this facility? This building is just over 100,000 square feet and has about 10,000 items coming in every day. Jeff Rexigle is the general manager of liquidity services, part of a growing industry of companies that have made a business off of returns with a boost from the holidays. For retailers, checking returns, then putting them back on the shelves takes time, costs money and requires more staff. There's also an unboxing that has to happen. If a retailer is online only, there's a warehousing aspect. So instead, companies like Jeff's take the stuff off their hands and

then turn around and sell it. And they're busier than ever. Sometimes we will do this as a service to retailers and sometimes we'll just buy this inventory from them directly. Each day, bringing literal truckloads of surprises. So what's coming off the truck? You don't know what's in there. Could be anything under the sun. Step one, sort through all of those returned items. We're walking by pallets of mostly returns. And again, this is any kind of product. We see furniture.

We see home items. We see kid pools. Step two, inventory the items and check the quality. Then a quick photo for listing online where buyers bid. You win the auction. Then you come and pick up your items. So you come here once a week about? About once a week.

Stacey Adam buys home products at 80 to 90% off, then resells them on Facebook. It's kind of like treasure hunting, right? It is. It's like Christmas every time. Giving returns a second life is a win-win. Shoppers say big and that unwanted stuff doesn't end up in a landfill. Consumers really want great deals, and then they want product that they feel good about buying. Although, once taken off the lot, all sales are final. No returns.

Brian Chung, NBC News, Pittston, Pennsylvania. And someone in Northern California just got the best holiday gift of all. Just one person won that massive $1.2 billion mega millions jackpot last night. The odds of winning one in more than 300 million. And when we come back, there is some good news tonight about the challenge that brought these close friends back together and the bond they now share forever. And there is good news tonight about friendship in the most trying of times, and the special bond that turned two close friends into sisters.

I can't believe you're looking! How are you? There were tears of joy at the Christ Hospital in Cincinnati this month. Relief after Jessica Haas finally got a life-saving kidney transplant. It was a gift from donor Megan Schultz. The first thing I asked when I woke up was, Megan, like, is she okay? Jess was so incredibly thoughtful. When I finally got to go to my hospital room, she had it decorated. Oh, thank you.

There were balloons that said hero and banners. She made me feel so incredibly special throughout the whole process. Jess, thank you so much. But how these two connected is remarkable. Jessica first met Megan almost 20 years ago when they were Pi Beta Phi sorority sisters at Ohio State. They'd lost touch, but when Jessica's kidney disease got worse last year, she posted about kidney donation on social media, and she soon got a call that forever changed her life. I have some exciting news for you.

I am a match. No, Megan, you're not. Yes. I'm excited to be able to do this for you. Oh my God, I love you so much. Megan had gotten tested and it turns out was a perfect match. It just feels like fate brought you guys back together. Yeah. Whatever higher power you believe in, they put us in each other's lives for this reason. The surgery a success. These longtime friends back in each other's lives and now sharing a bond forever. You guys were sorority sisters before this. Now you're closer than actual sisters. Yeah. Blood, everything, DNA. Yeah. Like they're our family now. This is your

Christmas present. Oh, thank you. And this season of giving gifts of love, life, and new beginnings. Oh my God. I love that. Megan, did faith motivate you here? This whole process has really made me look around and

appreciate friends a lot more. It just really shows that they're still good and there's still a lot of love out there. There's the kidney, which is an incredible gift, but there's also the gift of like perspective, right? I feel just reborn. It was just, the feeling was indescribable. I'm like, I don't need anything. Like I've got a second chance at life. Like, what more could you ask for? And that is NBC Nightly News for this Saturday.

I'm Gotti Schwartz. For all of us here at NBC News, thank you for watching and have a great night.