NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Sunday, January 21, 2024

Episode Date: January 22, 2024

Ron DeSantis suspends his 2024 presidential campaign; New details revealed about attack on U.S. military base in Iraq; Man who survived 6 days trapped in truck after crash tells story; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

This is NBC Nightly News with Kate Snow. Major political shakeup today. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suspending his presidential campaign ahead of the New Hampshire primary, making the Republican primary effectively now a two-person race between former President Donald Trump and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Dasha Burns reports from the campaign trail in New Hampshire. Thank you. Tonight, the Republican presidential field won candidates smaller. I can't ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don't have a clear path to victory. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropping out of the race. Accordingly, I am today suspending

my campaign. The decision coming just days after DeSantis committed to staying in through the South Carolina primary at the end of February. Are you in through the end of March? Do you have the money and the staff and the ability to compete through the end of March? Yes, I'm not 100 percent. We can do that. DeSantis wants the top contender to take on former President Trump now endorsing his rival. Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear. I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee

and I will honor that pledge. The Florida governor had staked his campaign on success in Iowa, pouring the vast majority of his resources into the Hawkeye state and still losing to Trump by 30 points. Late today, Donald Trump said in a statement he was, quote, honored to have his endorsement. I want to say to Ron, he ran a great race. He's been a good governor. Nikki Haley now remains the lone contender to the former president. With the New Hampshire primary just two days away away haley hammering trump again today i don't know if he was confused i don't know what happened but it should be enough to send us a warning sign after mr trump appeared to repeatedly refer to nikki haley instead of former speaker of the house

nancy pelosi nikki haley is in charge of security we offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guard, whatever they want. They turned it down. Mr. Trump later saying, I feel my mind is stronger now than it was 25 years ago. The latest poll from CNN and the University of New Hampshire has Trump at 50 percent, Haley at 39 percent. The question now, where that 6 percent supporting DeSantis goes? And Dasha's with us now in Manchester, New Hampshire. Dasha, do we expect Governor DeSantis to show up at a Trump rally anytime soon? Kate, a campaign source tells me that they are not planning anything like that as of now. The governor is taking time at home in Florida with his family. Kate.

Dasha Burns, thank you. Let's get right to Vaughn Hilliard with the Trump campaign in New Hampshire. Vaughn, the former president hoping the race for the nomination will be over after Tuesday. That's right, Kate. It's not just the Ron DeSantis endorsement that is giving the Trump campaign momentum in this race, but it's also the fact that here in just the last week, former primary rivals Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy and Doug Burgum also threw their weight behind him. Trump won Iowa with more than 50 percent of the vote last weekend in South Carolina, where Haley served as governor. An average of recent polling this winter shows him with a roughly 30 point lead over Haley on her home turf for that primary next month. The other problem for Haley were the supporters of DeSantis' turn.

I just talked to one New Hampshire resident a few moments ago outside of this Trump rally tonight. He went to a DeSantis campaign, stopped just 48 hours ago, and was wang voting for him. Tonight, he's here for Trump and tells me that Nikki Haley is not the viable alternative that he was open to.

Kate? Von Hilliard, Forrest Vaughn, thank you. The deep freeze that's been impacting most of the country finally about to thaw out. Temperatures will be seasonal tomorrow after being far below normal the past few days. The real warm up will happen in the middle of the week, especially in the east, where temperatures will be nearly 25 degrees above average. Now to a potential escalation in the war in Ukraine. Twenty-five people were killed in an attack on a Russian-occupied region of Ukraine. The shelling happened at this busy market in the eastern city of Donetsk, which is now controlled by Russia.

Neither Ukraine nor Russia took responsibility for that attack. It comes after an explosion caused a fire in St. Petersburg, Russia, at a facility used to export natural gas. The Biden administration tonight is pledging to protect U.S. military forces stationed in the Middle East after Saturday's attack on a U.S. base in Iraq. That attack prompting fears of a wider war in the region. Raf Sanchez reports now from Tel Aviv. And a warning, some of the video here is disturbing. Tonight, the White House vowing to do whatever it takes to protect U.S. forces in the Middle East after Iranian backed militants hit this airbase in Iraq with ballistic missiles,

leaving an unknown number of service members with potential traumatic brain injuries. We're going to do what we have to do to protect them. I mean, these attacks have to stop. And we've made that very clear. While in Gaza, a once unthinkable milestone reached. 25,000 people killed, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry. The majority, women and children. The U.N. Secretary General speaking out. Israel's military operations have spread massive destruction and killed civilians on a scale unprecedented. Are there bullet holes in the car? And in the occupied West Bank, NBC News uncovering new details about the killing of 17-year-old Palestinian-American Tawfiq Abdel-Jabbar.

Born and raised in Louisiana, he was shot dead Friday by an Israeli settler, his family says, killed at the wheel of his truck. And Tawfiq was driving when he was See the blood? You see the blood all over the seat? See the blood going through the hole? See the blood right here? Israeli police say they're investigating whether an off-duty officer fired the fatal shot. But Israelis are rarely prosecuted for violence against Palestinians, human rights groups say. I carry my son out of the truck, shot, two bullets, in the head, in the chest. My son was killed. I buried my son today. As mourners gather at the family home, Tawfiq's father, also an American citizen,

says he holds the U.S. responsible for backing Israel. He was killed in cold blood from weapons that is being sent from my country, from U.S. And Raf's with us. Raf, there's an update tonight separately on those two Navy SEALs who went missing earlier this month. Kate, U.S. Central Command is saying that after an 11-day search by sea and air, those two Navy SEALs have now been declared dead. They lost their lives off the coast of Somalia

on a mission to intercept Iranian weapons. Kate. Ref Sanchez, Forrest Reff, thank you. Still ahead tonight, an NBC News exclusive with a man who spent six days stuck in his wrecked truck under a bridge. His remarkable story of survival and hope. We're back with an NBC News exclusive and an incredible story of survival. We told you last month about a man who survived six days in a crumpled pickup

truck that careened off a highway and landed under a bridge where drivers couldn't see him. But tonight he is on the mend and speaking out to our Dana Griffin. This emergency rescue underneath the Portage, Indiana overpass took hours. For Matthew Ream, the will to survive took even longer, six days. What did you eat? What did you drink? So I didn't eat anything. All the water and stuff from the road above me would wash down and land right in my sunroof. And I would take my sweatpants to where it would collect that water, and then I would basically suck the water out of my sweatpants.

Last month, Matthew says he was heading to a friend's funeral when he swerved to avoid a deer. The guardrail basically just showed up on the left-hand side of my truck. And, you know, after that, it was all downhill. He was pinned inside his mangled truck, hidden underneath an overpass. I can't feel the lower part of my leg. There's something wrong. His phone wedged on the other side of the dashboard. I was just yelling, you know, please somebody help me. And I could hear sirens and I could hear voices out in the distance and I would yell and nothing. As the days went on, Matthew lost his will to live. He even considered ending his life. There was just that voice in my head of my best friend just saying stop. But finally, on day six, a father and son-in-law, Mario Garcia and Navarro De La Torre, went out for a walk when they noticed

Matthew's wrecked truck underneath the bridge. What did you think when you first saw him laying there? I didn't know if he was alive or not because he was out at that moment. His first thing is, are you real? And yeah, I'm real. Matthew was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition, later having his leg amputated, but gaining a new lease on life. Who was Matt before the accident? Who is Matt now? So Matt before the accident suffered with anxiety, depression. So my mission going forward, I want to make people happier.

As Matthew regained his strength, he also gained a family. Two weeks ago, the men reunited for the first time at the hospital. And today, they reunited once again. It's amazing to see all three of you here. How does it feel to be reunited? It changed my life meeting Matt. You know, that's something positive. He's like my son now.

It's always amazing to see him. I don't think that even in 20 years, my thoughts on that will change. Dana Griffin, NBC News. More health news from the British royal family. Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of skin cancer called malignant melanoma. The 64-year-old Duchess received the news just six months after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Her spokesperson says she's in good spirits and that her doctor's making sure the cancer is caught early. When we come back, we'll talk about Super Bowl tickets and the good news tonight for a lot of worthy people who got an enormous surprise. There's good news tonight as we count down the days until the Super

Bowl. People nationwide already gearing up for the big game. And for some lucky fans, it'll be the game of a lifetime. You and your dad are going to the Super Bowl. No, you're joking. Across the country. I'm going to the Super Bowl. These football fans are celebrating. Before you go, we have one more surprise for you.

You're going to Super Bowl 58. Surprised with tickets to Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas next month. I served for 20 years in the Air Force. Fans like Air Force veteran Joseph O'Neill. There he is. Let's get ready. Honored for his service and sacrifice for our country. We are honoring you with two tickets to Super Bowl 58. I'm still shocked.

I had absolutely no idea. Vikings fan Bentley Rowe and his mom are going to. Your mom and you would love to come to the 2024 Super Bowl. Oh, thank you. Yes, yes, I'm going to Vegas! What's up? Isaac. Kansas City Chief Superstar Patrick Mahomes delivered these tickets in person.

We're giving you Super Bowl tickets to Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas. And speaking of superstars... Where's Sydney? Country music's Luke Bryan thanking this woman for her work helping first responders. We would like to give you two tickets. No. Two. The Super Bowl. I'm going to the Super Bowl. This was the jaw-dropping moment Ohio principal Nicole Barfield Davis got her tickets from the Cleveland Browns for being an inspiring educator. What is it? Two tickets to the Super Bowl?

Oh, my God! It was a thrill for everyone at General Johnny Wilson Middle School. Can you do a little play-by-play for me? I felt like I had been blessed. And, you know, it was just one of the most amazing moments of my whole 50 year life. Wow. I'm so excited for you. I just wondered if there's a message here.

Does it mean something bigger? It means that, you know, hard work really pays off. And when you build relationships with people from the heart and not just because it's a job, good things will happen to you. That's a great word to end on. And that is NBC Nightly News for this Sunday night. Lester Holt will be back with you tomorrow. I'm Kate Snow. For all of us at NBC News, stay safe. Have a great night.