NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Saturday, November 30, 2024

Episode Date: December 1, 2024

Massive Northeast snowstorm threatens post-Thanksgiving holiday travel; Trump, Trudeau meet for high-stakes tariff talks at Mar-a-Lago; Pete Hegseth’s mother speaks out after accusing him of mistreating women; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

This is NBC Nightly News with Jose Diaz-Balart. Good evening around the Great Lakes tonight. They are measuring the snow in feet, not inches. The region, of course, can handle a lot of snow, but it may be a perfect storm of snow, holiday travel, and even an NFL game. Cars were trapped along roads and highways as plows raced to free them. Others across western New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan brave driving through whiteout conditions. And the Buffalo Bills are now asking fans to come

shovel out the stadium ahead of tomorrow's game. Tomorrow is also one of the busiest travel days of the year. And if you're not passing through the snowstorm zone, you're likely dealing with the cold. The freeze alerts as far south as Florida. George Solis starts us off tonight from Orchard Park, New York. Tonight, a major snowstorm is wreaking havoc during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. The storm slamming the Great Lakes region. In northwestern Pennsylvania, snow is falling as fast as three inches an hour, causing whiteout conditions. With over three and a half feet of snow already on the ground, plows are struggling to keep the roads clear.

Snow snarling traffic and stranding hundreds of cars for hours. Portions of Interstate 90 completely shut down from Ohio to New York. Some officials even forced to clear the roads themselves. Yes, sir. Here in Buffalo, crews assessing where help is needed as the terrain becomes more treacherous. Our team, along for the ride with Bill Geary, Erie County's Public Works Commissioner. All hands on deck operation. Correct. Yes, sir.

Our main mission is to make sure all the roads are passable. Between the snow event, the holiday travel, and the game, is this potentially disastrous on the roadways? It's definitely a recipe to have a lot more people on the road than we would like. Including to the Buffalo Bills football stadium. In just a few hours time, the Bills Mafia will descend here on Highmark Stadium to clear out some of this snow ahead of that big game on Sunday Night Football. The storm causing chaos as the TSA braces for the busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record. NBC's Maggie Vespa is at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Here at O'Hare, the post-Turkey travel rush is on, with the crowd coming in waves throughout the day and expected to peak tomorrow, with TSA predicting a record 3 million-plus passengers on Sunday. Tonight, millions across the country are already feeling winter's wrath, with nearly 70 percent of Americans set to be at freezing or below. Back in Buffalo, residents bracing for more snow. It's Buffalo. Bring it on. And George is in Orchard Park just outside Buffalo. George, the threat of more snow far from over. Yeah, that's right, Jose. As you can see, it is coming down hard and it continues to accumulate,

which is why parts of Western New York remain under that state of emergency. And in Pennsylvania, the governor calling in the National Guard to help some of those areas hardest hit by this snow. Jose? George Solis near Buffalo, New York.

Thank you. And now to politics and a high stakes meeting between President-elect Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The leaders met at Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago home as the president-elect threatens to impose massive tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Ali Rafa is with the president-elect. And Ali, what more do we know about this meeting? Jose, Prime Minister Trudeau is back in Canada tonight after this brief trip, making his case to the president elect to drop his threat to charge a 25 percent tariff on goods imported from Canada and Mexico unless they stop the flow of undocumented migrants and drugs across their borders into the U.S. The prime minister describing their conversation as excellent, while Mr. Trump called it a very productive meeting. But it's still unclear whether the two reached an agreement that would prevent Mr. Trump from imposing the tariffs on day one of his new term, a promise that could charge Americans more for critical goods from

Canada, like crude oil, gas, produce and car parts. Jose. Ali Rafa in West Palm Beach. Thank you. Also tonight, the mother of Mr. Trump's pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is speaking out after an old email surfaced of her accusing her son of mistreating women. Julie Serkin has details. Tonight, growing controversy surrounding Donald Trump's pick to lead the Defense Department. Pete Hexeth accused of routinely mistreating women for years by his own mother. In a 2018 email to her son obtained by The New York Times, Penelope Hexeth wrote, on behalf of all the women, and I know it's many you have abused in some way, I say get some help and take an honest look at

yourself. Penelope told the New York Times on Friday that her statements in the email were not true and she sent it out of anger and emotion when Hegseth and his second wife were going through a divorce. NBC News has not independently obtained the emails and has reached out to Penelope Hegseth for comment but has not heard back. The Trump transition team slamming the reporting as an exercise to malign Mr. Hexeth. They added, Ms. Hexeth quickly regretted her emotional statement. Families argue and say regrettable things all the time. It comes after the Army National Guard officer turned Fox News personality was chosen by Trump as the nation's next Secretary of defense. Ahead of a lengthy

confirmation process in the Senate, Hexeth faces scrutiny over comments he made earlier this month about women in the military, saying they should not serve in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated. And over a 2017 sexual assault complaint, which he denies. No charges were ever filed and authorities did not give a reason as to why. The matter was fully investigated and I was completely clear. And that's probably it. And Julie joins us now from Capitol Hill. Julie, the president-elect just named another potentially controversial pick, Charles Kushner, to be ambassador to France?

Yeah, that's right, Jose, the father-in-law of Mr. Trump's daughter, Ivanka. Charles Kushner is a real estate mogul who Trump pardoned in 2020 after he went to prison for criminal charges, including tax evasion. Jose? Julie Serkin, thank you. To the Middle East now, where Hamas just released a new video of an American hostage being held captive in Gaza. Now, his parents are speaking out. Hala Garani reports from Jerusalem. Tonight, the mother of American hostage Idan Alexander speaking out to us. I'm still shaking, very shaky from the video.

After seeing this new video of her son released today by Hamas. Dear President Trump, my name is Idan Alexander. In it, the 20-year-old American-Israel dual citizen who was captured October 7th, almost certainly under duress, urges the president-elect to strike a deal to free the hostages. The first time when I watched the video, I was shocked. It's been 421 days since we saw or heard Idan. Idan, seen in these home videos, was raised in New Jersey and after graduating from high school two years ago, joined the Israeli military. This video is like he's screaming to everyone, look at me, I'm alive, please bring me home. There are currently 101 hostages being held in Gaza, including seven Americans. Tonight,

Idan Alexander's family says the prime minister called them, saying conditions are ripe to negotiate a deal to bring Idan and the other hostages home. If you could speak to your son now, what would you tell Idan? I'm just going to say to him that we love him so much. He's such a brave young man, and we love him. And just be strong, survive, and you're coming back home soon. Hala joins us now from Jerusalem. And Hala, the prime minister there making a promise to Adan's family about bringing him home. Where do the talks stand right now?

Well, Jose, though Israel just struck a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, there are no real expectations that a deal to end the war in Gaza will happen anytime soon. Jose? Hala Gorani in Jerusalem, thank you. Another major development in the Middle East, a surprise offensive in Syria. Rebel forces within Syria have moved on Aleppo, the country's second largest city. The governor of Aleppo, police and security branches have withdrawn from the center of the city. The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights says rebels have taken control of a majority of Aleppo.

The fighting is part of a 13 year long civil war as Bashar al-Assad fights to hold on to power. Back here in the U.S., we're getting the first numbers about the record amount that Americans spent on Black Friday. Brian Chung has the details and how it could have an impact on prices for the rest of the holiday shopping season. The early read on Black Friday is in and it's a record, almost $11 billion in sales online, showing an American consumer willing to open their wallet. And MasterCard says retail sales on Black Friday rose 3.4% from last year, a slight improvement from just 2.5% from last Black Friday. Shoppers increasingly opting to do most of their spending online,

where sales were up almost 15%, compared to in-store, up just 0.7%. It's fun to be here, but there are definitely easier ways to find deals online than coming into stores. What do the Black Friday numbers tell you about how the overall U.S. economy is looking? The fact that consumer spending is showing up strong for Black Friday is quite consistent with the idea that the consumer is continuing to be engaged in this economy. Even though shoppers spent more this year, they still kept budgets tight.

Inflation is still pretty high, I find, for certain items. I mean, prices have definitely gone up. So, you know, definitely limits how much you want to get. Retailers fighting for consumer dollars offered the best discounts in months. And with Cyber Monday coming up, signs that the deals could continue as a strong consumer continues to propel the U.S. economy. NBC News has been tracking the prices of items like these AirPods Pros and found that prices this Black Friday weekend were over 30 percent off, the best price we've seen since at least July. There's real purchasing power, and that is allowing the consumer to continue to show up and spend.

And Brian Chung joins us live from East Rutherford, New Jersey. Brian, Cyber Monday is coming up. What can shoppers expect? Yeah, experts tell us that the steepest deals will likely be on Cyber Monday for things like electronics and apparel. And because the online sales for Black Friday were so strong, that bodes well for what could be another record-breaking day on Cyber Monday as well. We're back with an alarming crime spree that could impact the holiday shopping season. Across the country, thieves are breaking into parts of the supply chain, stealing from warehouses, raiding trains and shipments of goods heading to stores. And as Priscilla Thompson explains, it could make the holidays even more

expensive this year. At first glance, it looks like business as usual. A pallet of goods pulled to a dock for loading. But look a bit closer. That garage door has a hole cut in it. The men unloading the goods are thieves who walked away with half a million dollars in stolen electronics just outside Dallas, police say. Amid the holiday shopping crush, burglars are now targeting warehouses, semi-trucks, and trains, with Monday expected to be the peak day for criminal activity. We have about a four-day period where the freight terminals, the ports are thinly staffed and very quiet, and that's when the criminals like to strike. This video appears to show thieves crawling on the floor during a break-in at a computer

warehouse in North Carolina this month, just weeks after dozens of criminals were seemingly caught on camera raiding this freight train in Chicago. It's very lucrative for them. It's low risk for a lot of prison time in their eyes and very high reward. A truckload of liquor could be worth a half a million dollars. Last quarter, CargoNet recorded a 14% increase in cargo theft across the U.S. and Canada, totaling more than $39 million. The hottest commodities? Alcohol and electronics, the majority of which are stolen from California,

Illinois, and Texas. And now, experts say fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated, even hacking into email accounts to coordinate fake shipment pickups. Ultimately, who pays the price for these crimes? In the end, we all do, all the citizens do, because it costs the cargo and freight companies more money for security, for cameras, for GPS tracking. That's passed on to the consumers. Back near Dallas, seven people were arrested

in connection with that warehouse heist, part of a multi-million dollar operation responsible for thefts across the area. Bus like that can take months, experts say. Until then, shoppers may be the ones left holding the bag this holiday season. Priscilla Thompson, NBC News. When we come back, there's good news tonight about the powerful celebration for a teacher who is fighting to keep her history and culture alive. There is good news tonight during this Native American Heritage Month about celebrating

tradition and the hard work that often goes into keeping unique and extraordinary cultures alive. In Southwest Oklahoma, students and staff at Comanche Academy Charter School in Lawton honoring beloved teacher Lynette Amparat with a traditional intertribal dance. Surrounded by her students, she told me it was a sacred moment she calls magical. You just recently got a massive surprise by your students. This was a huge honor and a huge blessing. I didn't get my degree for recognition. I got my degree to show our children how hard work pays off.

That celebration for Ms. Lynette, as her pre-K and kindergarten students call her, was for completing her bachelor's degree in elementary education. Our ancestors say we... It was a lifelong dream, a journey she started nearly 30 years ago, finally finding the courage to cross the finish line to help kids here preserve their Comanche language and history. You speak with such passion and such emotion about how your blood and your culture means so much to you. I think that through our culture and our ceremonies that we do have, it does ignite a certain spirituality inside of you to give you the purpose. That spirituality, that sense of purpose, so clear. When her students talk about why Ms. Lynette's lessons mean so much.

She's the best teacher ever. So what do I need the power of? One teacher's lessons, inspiring the next generation with a deeper understanding of their past. I can't put it into words of the honor I feel getting to be here every day. It is a blessing to be their guide. Miss Lynette and the Comanche Academy will soon be featured in a documentary film called Comanche Academy Healing Journey. That's NBC Nightly News for this Saturday. Holly Jackson will be here tomorrow night.

I'm Jose Diaz-Balart. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Good night.