NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Saturday, November 9, 2024

Episode Date: November 11, 2024

Wildfires are burning on both coasts; President-elect Trump has accepted President Biden's invitation to an Oval Office meeting next week; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

This is NBC Nightly News with Jose Diaz-Balart. Good evening. We begin with a wildfire erupting overnight. Residents forced to flee their homes. Firefighters now battling to contain it. But this isn't happening out west. It's happening on the east coast in Redding, Pennsylvania. This is the scene there today, with helicopters dumping water from above

in a race to stop the fire from spreading. This was the scene in the heart of Brooklyn overnight. Yes, Brooklyn, part of a popular park on fire as a brush fire spread. Right now, there are fires raging in New Jersey and in Connecticut. All of it traced back to this right here, a brutal drought that's on pace to become one of the worst ever. We begin tonight with George Solis on the fire lines in Redding, Pennsylvania. Tonight, raging wildfires throughout the Northeast have transformed vibrant fall scenery into hellish landscapes. Trees and brush burning going up the hill rapidly. In Redding, Pennsylvania, an overnight inferno of about 170 acres in these mountains prompted the temporary evacuation of about 100 homes.

They said that we have to leave because it's for our safety. It's getting too close to our house. Even with the winds dying down, hot spots like these are still a major concern. Firefighters heavily dousing these areas with plenty of water. Fire officials now hoping to catch a break from Mother Nature. You know Mother Nature, it doesn't always cooperate, or she doesn't always cooperate with what we need all the time. In New Jersey, crews responding to around 40 fire calls in the last two days, including this one in Popton Lakes.

We're putting a lot of labor into putting these fires out. It takes a lot of water. While overnight in Brooklyn, New York, firefighters rushing to contain a brush fire caused by heavy winds and dry vegetation in Prospect Park. This video from the Citizen app showing firefighters spending more than three hours fighting the fire. The smoke blanketing the iconic New York City skyline. In Southern California, this video showing water drops from one of the nearly 3,000 first responders battling the mountain fire, now 17% contained. It was a matter of minutes. It was that quick. It was like a storm I've never seen before, just swirled and took everything.

While some homes were spared, others were not. A chimney, all that's left standing from this home. Back east, tonight 27 million remain under fire alerts, with danger far from over. And George joins us from Running, Pennsylvania. George, firefighters are a little hopeful for tomorrow's forecast? Yeah, that's right, Jose. Firefighters here at this command post excited for just about any amount of rain, about half an inch is expected. And while it's not the heavy rains they hope for, they say they'll take whatever they can get to make sure they can get the upper hand on this fire. There is breaking political news tonight. President-elect Trump has accepted President Biden's invitation to an Oval Office meeting next week. The visit, a symbolic step in the transition of power

from one president to the next, a step that did not take place four years ago. Aaron Gilchrist has details. Tonight, America's transition of power begins. The White House announcing an Oval Office meeting between President Biden and President-elect Trump. I'm going to see him on Wednesday. Biden following through on his promise earlier this week.

On January 20th, we'll have a peaceful transfer of power here in America. Trump and Biden spoke by phone on Wednesday, the president-elect describing the call to NBC's Kristen Welker as very respectful both ways. The invitation of a turn to tradition that Trump bucked, never inviting Biden to the White House after he won the 2020 election. Trump only agreeing to an orderly and peaceful transfer of power back then after a violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6th. In 2016, then President Obama sat with Trump in the Oval Office, extending an olive branch after Hillary Clinton's defeat. We now are going to want to do everything we can to help you succeed, because if you succeed, then the country succeeds. Bush to Obama, Clinton to Bush, Bush to Clinton,

Reagan to Bush, and Carter to Reagan. This was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. Meanwhile, Trump is working out of his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, focusing on building his new administration. The president-elect already choosing his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, as his new White House chief of staff, the first woman to ever serve in that role. Trump also favoring cabinet candidates who come from outside Washington and have business experience over members of Congress. That's according to two sources familiar with the process. And Aaron, we have late breaking news on some former Trump administration officials who will not be joining the new one. Jose Trump just posted on his social media platform that he will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to join his new administration and said he appreciated working with them previously. Jose? Aaron Gilchrist in

Washington, thank you. Iran is responding tonight to accusations it was behind an assassination plot against President-elect Trump. And we're getting a new look tonight at some of the new high-tech security around Mr. Trump to keep him safe. Marisa Parra reports from near Mar-a-Lago. New twists in the thwarted murder-for-hire plot targeting multiple people, including President-elect Donald Trump, alleged by the Department of Justice. The DOJ pointing fingers directly at Iran, whose foreign minister tonight called the accusations fabricated and a disgusting conspiracy. But the FBI has now charged three men.

This case is an example of yet another flagrant attempt by the government of Iran, not merely to silence those who speak out against them, but to take the lives of American citizens. The three men charged, Carlisle Rivera and Jonathan Lodholm, arrested in New York, and Farhad Shaqiri, believed to be at large in Iran. Shaqiri allegedly told federal agents he'd been directed by an Iranian official with the Revolutionary Guard to surveil then-candidate Trump and create a plan to assassinate him. A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry tonight called that story completely baseless. U.S. prosecutors say an American journalist was also a target for assassination by the

same criminal network. Iranian-born Masih Alinejad says she was that target. I was invited to go to Fairfield University. The FBI came to my house the same day and warned me not to go. Long openly critical of the Iranian government, Alinejad vows she will not back down. They want to kill me. That makes me more determined to give voice to Iranian women, Iranian men, fighting shoulder to shoulder to bring the wall of dictatorship down. Following the two other assassination attempts against President-elect Trump during the campaign, security at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, now at new heights.

This robotic dog captured walking on its metal legs around the grounds, just feet away from armed guards patrolling by land and water. The Secret Service in Florida on alert with just over two months before Trump returns to the White House. Marisa, back to that Iranian plot on President-elect Trump. Why would the regime be so bold as to continue targeting him? Jose, that's a great question. The DOJ says part of the motivation is vengeance for the death of Qasem Soleimani. That is the Iranian military officer who was killed by U.S. drone strike during the Trump administration in 2020.

Jose. Marisa Parra in West Palm Beach, thank you. And join Kristen Welker tomorrow morning for Meet the Press. Her guests, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Wyoming Senator John Barrasso. And now to the war in the Middle East and a major setback today in the talks between Israel and Hamas. Now the country mediating those talks says it is out. Danielle Hamamjan is in Beirut tonight. Danielle, how big of an impact is this? Well, Jose, that's right. Out of the talks, unless Qatar says both sides get serious about

ending the fighting, it's the clearest sign yet negotiations are going nowhere. The Qataris, a small Gulf nation hosting talks between Israel and Hamas, putting out a statement tonight saying it's pausing its role as a mediator. In a sign of frustration, Qatar said it would not allow talks to be used as a cover to continue the war. This is a blow to hopes for peace, given the Qataris were key to the one and only ceasefire deal that saw some of the hostages released last year. However, Qatar said it would resume its role if both sides negotiated in good faith. Jose? Danielle Hamamjan in Beirut, thank you.

Coming up, Princess Kate's royal return to official duties today after her cancer diagnosis. What Prince William is now saying about her battle. Also, a major break in the race to capture those lab monkeys that escaped in South Carolina. Tonight, America's transition of power begins. The White House announcing an Oval Office meeting between President Biden and President-elect Trump. Biden following through on his promise earlier this week. On January 20th, we'll have a peaceful transfer of power here in America. Trump and Biden spoke by phone on Wednesday,

the president-elect describing the call to NBC's Kristen Welker as very respectful both ways. The invitation of a turn to tradition that Trump bucked, never inviting Biden to the White House after he won the 2020 election. Trump only agreeing to an orderly and peaceful transfer of power back then after a violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6th. In 2016, then-President Obama sat with Trump in the Oval Office, extending an olive branch after Hillary Clinton's defeat.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States, We now are going to want to do everything we can to help you succeed, because if you succeed, then the country succeeds. That meeting following decades of precedent. Bush to Obama, Clinton to Bush, Bush to Clinton, Reagan to Bush, and Carter to Reagan. This was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. Meanwhile, Trump is working out of his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, focusing on building his new administration. The president-elect already choosing his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, as his new White House chief of staff, the first woman to ever serve in that role. Trump also favoring cabinet candidates who come from outside Washington

and have business experience over members of Congress. That's according to two sources familiar with the process. And Aaron, we have late breaking news on some former Trump administration officials who will not be joining the new one. Jose, Trump just posted on his social media platform that he will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to join his new administration and said he appreciated working with them previously. Jose? Aaron Gilchrist in Washington, thank you. Iran is responding tonight to accusations it was behind an assassination plot

against President-elect Trump. And we're getting a new look tonight at some of the new high-tech security around Mr. Trump to keep him safe. Marisa Parra reports from near Mar-a-Lago. New twists in the thwarted murder-for-hire plot targeting multiple people, including President-elect Donald Trump, alleged by the Department of Justice. The DOJ pointing fingers directly at Iran,

whose foreign minister tonight called the accusations fabricated and a disgusting conspiracy. But the FBI has now charged three men. This case is an example of yet another flagrant attempt by the government of Iran, not merely to silence those who speak out against them, but to take the lives of American citizens. The three men charged, Carlisle Rivera and Jonathan Lodholm, arrested in New York, and Farhad Shaqiri, believed to be at large in Iran. Shaqiri allegedly told federal agents he'd

been directed by an Iranian official with the Revolutionary Guard to surveil then-candidate Trump and create a plan to assassinate him. A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry tonight called that story completely baseless. U.S. prosecutors say an American journalist was also a target for assassination by the same criminal network. Iranian-born Masih Alinejad says she was that target. I was invited to go to Fairfield University. The FBI came to my house the same day and warned me not to go. Long openly critical of the Iranian government, Alina Jod vows she will not back down. They want to kill me. That makes me more determined to give voice to Iranian women, Iranian men fighting shoulder to shoulder to bring the wall of dictatorship down.

Following the two other assassination attempts against President-elect Trump during the campaign, security at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, now at new heights. This robotic dog captured walking on its metal legs around the grounds, just feet away from armed guards patrolling by land and water. The Secret Service in Florida on alert with just over two months before Trump returns to the White House. Marisa, back to that Iranian plot on President-elect Trump. Why would the regime be so bold as to continue targeting him? Jose, that's a great question. The DOJ says part of the motivation is vengeance for the death of Qasem Soleimani. That is the Iranian

military officer who was killed by U.S. drone strike during the Trump administration in 2020. Jose. Marisa Parra in West Palm Beach. Thank you. And join Kristen Welker tomorrow morning for Meet the Press. Her guests, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Wyoming Senator John Barrasso. And now to the war in the Middle East and a major setback today in the talks between Israel and Hamas. Now the country mediating those talks says it is out. Danielle Hamamjan is in Beirut tonight. Danielle, how big of an impact is this? Well, Jose, that's right. Out of the talks, unless Qatar says, both sides get serious about ending the fighting. It's the clearest sign yet negotiations are going nowhere.

The Qataris, a small Gulf nation hosting talks between Israel and Hamas, putting out a statement tonight saying it's pausing its role as a mediator. In a sign of frustration, Qatar said it would not allow talks to be used as a cover to continue the war. This is a blow to hopes for peace, given the Qataris were key to the one and only ceasefire deal that saw some of the hostages released last year. However, Qatar said it would resume its role if both sides negotiated in good faith. Jose?

Danielle Hamamjan in Beirut, thank you. Coming up, Princess Kate's royal return to official duties today after her cancer diagnosis. What Prince William is now saying about her battle. We're back with a British royal milestone. Princess Kate making her official return to royal duties today after her cancer diagnosis. Megan Fitzgerald reports from London. Tonight, Princess Kate back in the public spotlight, attending her first official event since revealing her cancer diagnosis in March. Kate joined by Prince William and King Charles

for the Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall, honoring the nation's sacrifices in World War I. Kate has slowly returned to public duty since announcing in September she completed chemotherapy. KATE HILL, My path to healing and full recovery is long, and I must continue to take each day as it comes. JANE FERGUSON, Last month, she made her first community outreach since her diagnosis, an unofficial event, joining William to visit the families of three girls killed in a stabbing attack this summer. Also lending support to fellow cancer patients, meeting 16-year-old Liz Haddon at Windsor Castle.

But questions about her health remain now that she's returned to public duties. We don't know a huge amount about Catherine's present state of health. Does that mean she's in remission? Does that mean she has any cancer at the moment? This week, William reflected on the year. It's probably been the hardest year of my life, he said, adding, I'm so proud of my wife. I'm proud of my father. King Charles is still receiving cancer treatment, but just completed a whirlwind tour of Australia and Samoa. And tomorrow, he will join Prince William to lay a wreath at the Remembrance Day ceremony.

And, Jose, the palace has confirmed that the Princess of Wales will be in attendance alongside other senior members of the royal family. Jose? Megan Fitzgerald in London, thank you. So, to have the future of health care, the new way doctors are beaming into exam rooms from hundreds of miles away. And are you ready for the holidays? The world's most famous Christmas tree is here.

A sign of the season arrived outside our doorstep today here in New York. The world-f famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree rolling into midtown Manhattan this morning. The 74 foot Norway spruce comes from the Albert family in West Soxbridge, Massachusetts, and it'll be all lit up with more than 50,000 bulbs on the 4th of December. If you've ever tried to get a doctor's appointment recently, you know it can be weeks, months before you can even see anyone in person. But that shortage of health care workers has inspired a new high-tech solution. Real doctors beamed right into patients'

rooms as holograms. Priscilla Thompson explains how it all works. Imagine walking into an exam room. Hello, Mr. Deepak Modi. How are you today? And your doctor is a hologram. Can you show me how it looks like? I don't see any like swelling or redness there. The tech made by Holoconnects, sometimes seen in hotels or shopping malls, is being used for the first time ever inside a hospital just outside Dallas. All of us are fighting for the same nurse or doctor, and there's less and less of them. Part of the reason Crescent Regional Hospital CEO Raji Kumar began bringing in holoboxes earlier this year. Research predicts a shortage of roughly 100,000 critical health care workers by 2028. Are there going to be areas where we can have a hollow nurse do a lot of things

while the real nurse at the bedside is doing things that cannot be done by someone else? Here's how it works. A doctor steps in front of a camera and a microphone. And appears as a hologram in the exam room ready to see patients from anywhere in the world. How is having this impacted your day-to-day work? It's gonna save my one and a half hour of travel time. Cardiologist Dr. Saad Hussain says the tech, primarily used for post-op visits,

has already been a game changer for him. In my day-to-day work, I go for four hospitals. Rather than driving 45 minutes to their particular hospital, I just do the hologram. Less time on the road, more time with patients. Absolutely. Some patients, like Deepak Modi, say it's better than a standard video visit. You can see the body language of your

doctor, what he feels. He can also see all the body language of mine. Healthcare is among the industry seeing an artificial intelligence boom from calling patients. Dr. Chu asked me to check in on you after your discharge from the hospital. To transcribing doctor's notes. But with some holoboxes costing tens of thousands of dollars, the technology isn't cheap. There are critics who say this is expensive technology and it doesn't offer that much improvement than a telehealth appointment. I disagree. I see this as the beginning. You can even use specialists that are not even from this area to now concert on our patients.

Everybody can have access to the best. Correct. We are a hellebox. A dose of technology, now part of a new prescription for treating patients. The blood pressure is good. And then you're exercising. Priscilla Thompson, NBC News, Lancaster, Texas. When we come back, there's good news tonight about the students who helped this teacher get across the finish line. There's good news tonight. You know, so often the good news just doesn't get as much attention as the bad.

So every Saturday, we highlight the many people who spread joy and love. These are just some of those stories this week. At the New York City Marathon, teacher Malia Bruce had her very own cheer squad. Look, it's a wave of support from her current and former students at PS270 in Brooklyn. The kids jumping for joy when their beloved Miss Malia ran by at mile nine right outside their school. I feel seen. I feel loved. It's truly one of my favorite moments of teaching outside of the classroom. She sees it. In Kentucky, this birthday surprise brought 15-year-old Isabel Mazden-Pike to tears. Go look at it.

But for Isabel, that car there is so much more than just a birthday present. It's a powerful connection to her past. You see, it belonged to her dad, Brian, who built the Mustang when she was just a little girl. But after he passed years ago, it was lost until loved ones recently tracked it down for her. I told you he was going to get it, didn't I? She says it's a comforting reminder of the man she calls her guardian angel. And here's what a second chance at life looks like that's lisha walters finding out her niece cassidy lundy is giving her a new kidney lisha has been on the transplant list for years and when cassidy got the call that

she was a match she surprised her aunt with a poster saying it's a go. It definitely means everything because she is so deserving. I feel so blessed to be able to just give her a better life. There were these military homecomings in Milwaukee as about 100 members of the Wisconsin Air National Guard finally returned from overseas, rushing right into the arms of loved ones. Major Andrew Kiefler, a pilot aircraft commander in the National Guard, hugging his family for the first time in months. Including cousin Jenny Grace, who was there honoring Andrew and all the service members there that day. This was so much more than just a homecoming for a family. It's also a celebration of service.

Everyone that serves is definitely a hero. Andrew, why is it that you decided to serve? We have several different family members, uncles, grandfathers, and my dad that have all served. So it's something that early on I really wanted to be a part of. So what was it like for you to reunite in this massive ceremony? It is a very special moment for each and every person that walks off the airplane. When you come back as one and become a whole piece of the puzzle once again, it's pretty special. And we'd like to honor and salute all our service members ahead of Veterans Day. That's NBC Nightly News for this Saturday. I'm Jose Diaz-Balart. Thank you for the privilege of your time. We leave you tonight with a live look at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree

surrounded by scaffolding, getting ready for its big debut.