NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Thursday, April 4, 2024

Episode Date: April 5, 2024

Biden takes tougher tone in phone call with Israel's Netanyahu; Desperate search for trapped earthquake victims in Taiwan; Stronger marijuana linked to more psychosis in teens; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, President Biden's warning to Prime Minister Netanyahu after that deadly Israeli strike on aid workers. The two leaders holding their first call since those seven workers were killed in Gaza. President Biden calling it unacceptable and warning Israel risks losing U.S. support if it doesn't do more to protect civilians. Also tonight, a lawyer for Kansas City Chiefs Star Rasheed Rice acknowledging he was driving one of the speeding sports cars that caused a six-vehicle crash in a Dallas highway. The occupants leaving the scene. Will Rice now face charges.

The deadly spring storm battering the Northeast and New England. Hundreds of thousands without power. The race to rescue survivors trapped after the deadly earthquake in Taiwan. New images. A boulder crushing a car. Our team in the disaster zone. The hunt for thieves who stole $30 million in one of the biggest cash heists in Los Angeles history. How did they get in? Our NBC News report on the rise of marijuana and the risk of psychotic events among teens and the bond

between brothers, one in the U.S., one in Gaza, bringing life-saving relief to the war zone. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. President Biden tonight signaling growing impatience with Israel over the conduct of its military operations inside Gaza and possibly conditioning American military aid to reforms. In a phone call today, President Biden telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel's strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers earlier this week and the overall humanitarian situation in Gaza are unacceptable and issued his strongest warning yet that the U.S. could shift its policy toward Israel. Tonight, the White House calling on the Netanyahu government to take concrete steps to protect civilian lives. And according to two U.S. officials, implying military aid from the

U.S. to Israel could be on the line. White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez has the story. Tonight, President Biden is warning Israel that without immediate action to protect civilians in its war against Hamas, U.S. policy towards its staunch ally will change. The direct message coming during a phone call between the president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The president emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable. The 30-minute call was the first between the two leaders in nearly three weeks and marks a much tougher tone towards Israel. The White House says

the president made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers. The White House has repeatedly said Israel faces a genocidal threat from Hamas, just this week saying there will be no change in policy. But two U.S. officials tell NBC News the president today strongly implied he may condition American military aid to Israel on whether Netanyahu makes immediate changes over humanitarian concerns in Gaza, including getting to a ceasefire. The White House saying changes must happen in days or even hours. Do you think the prime minister is really listening? It was, I think it was evident in the phone call today.

It was a good discussion. Direct, no question, but a good discussion. Today's call was arranged in direct response to the Israeli strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen workers, including 33-year-old Jacob Flickinger, a dual American-Canadian citizen. NBC's Ralph Sanchez spoke with his parents. RAF SANCHEZ, NBC's RAF SANCHEZ, We are two people who suffered because we've lost our only self, but we're only two. There are thousands and thousands there. Israel says the strike was a grave mistake and was not intentional.

Late today, the U.S. said Israel had agreed to open three new humanitarian aid corridors into Gaza, including one that would allow in trucks from nearby Jordan. Gabe, let's turn back to that military aid. The U.S. is still supplying arms to Israel. Yes, Lester. Just days ago, the Biden administration signed off on sending Israel more than 1,800 bombs and is pressing Congress to approve selling Israel more F-15 fighter jets. The White House says that was already in the works and is unrelated to this war. Lester. All right, Gabe Gutierrez, thank you. And join me tomorrow night when I sit down with families

of American hostages who were captured by Hamas on October 7th. After almost a week of uncertainty, a lawyer for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rasheed Rice said today that Rice was, in fact, driving one of the cars involved in that multi-vehicle crash in Dallas. Here's Priscilla Thompson. Tonight, an attorney for NFL star Rasheed Rice confirming his client was behind the wheel in this dangerous crash caught on camera. Mr. Rice acknowledged that he was driving the Lamborghini. Police say that Lamborghini and this Corvette were speeding down the expressway in Dallas when both drivers lost control, hitting four other vehicles and sending two people to the hospital. It comes a

day after Rice confirmed in a statement that he spoke with Dallas police about Saturday's crash and apologized to the victims. He's going to do everything in his power to bring their life back to as normal as possible in terms of injuries, in terms of property damages. He'll make certain that he is responsible for helping them. You guys all right? You guys just going to leave it?

The occupants of the vehicles in question all left the scene, investigators say, without checking if anyone needed medical attention or exchanging information. Here you have a young man, 23 years old, never been involved in anything like this. People were injured. His heart goes out to them. The NFL said today we continue to monitor all developments in the matter. But tonight, with Rice's reputation and career all on the line, his attorney asking the public not to judge him based on this incident alone. He's a young man that made a mistake. How many of you have made a mistake? Rice's attorney says we could hear from the NFL star

within the next week. Meanwhile, no arrests have been made or charges filed. Lester. All right, Priscilla Thompson, thank you. Here in the Northeast, one more blast of severe weather. The tail end of a nor'easter dumping a foot or more of snow on parts of upstate New York and northern New England. For more than a day now, this storm has brought dangerously high winds that brought down trees and power lines and left hundreds of thousands without power. This week's violent weather has led to some severe turbulence encounters in the sky, causing injuries to airline passengers and crew members. And federal investigators are looking into a close call involving one New York control tower.

With that, here's Tom Costello. Now under FAA and NTSB investigation, a close call with the LaGuardia Airport Tower on March 23rd. Southwest Flight 147, Nashville to New York York hit thick fog and heavy wind as it approached runway 4, waving off its first landing attempt as a tailwind pushed it to the right of the runway. In Southwest 147, we got to go around. But on its second attempt, the pilots were even further off course. Controllers radioed an urgent warning. Go around, go around. I maintain 2,000. I maintain 2,000, 2,000. But the plane passed right over the top of the airport terminal and close to the control tower, though the precise distance is hard to calculate. The controller

clearly rattled. This was definitely too close, so there's a lot of questions here. It was definitely a close event and very, very bad weather. The plane diverted to Baltimore before returning safely to LaGuardia. Southwest tells NBC News, we are reviewing the event as part of our safety systems. Meanwhile, Wednesday's violent weather caused two cases of severe turbulence. A Southwest flight forced to land in Tampa with an injured flight attendant and passenger, while a Delta flight, Milwaukee to JFK, diverted to Baltimore. I was screaming. Everybody was screaming. Another reminder of the importance of seatbelts.

Tom Costello, NBC News, Washington. Two days after that powerful earthquake that killed at least 10 people in Taiwan, it has now become a desperate search for dozens who are missing and may still be trapped in the rubble. Janice Mackey-Frayer is in Taiwan for us tonight. Tonight, the urgent rescue effort to get to survivors on Taiwan and an all-out search is underway in the mountains for people trapped. Caught off by massive landslides triggered when the earthquake hit. With major roads and tunnels blocked, there's no way out.

Rescue crews were able to reach some people, leading them to safety on foot. And in some cases, helicopters are being brought in to get people out. But at a hotel in a national park here, dozens are still waiting for help. This bus, now a mangled mess, blocking the road. As we were leaving, rocks were still falling, he says. Dash cam video of when the earthquake hit, showing boulders rolling down a road, crushing cars. Dramatic images showed just how powerful the quake was here.

Water from a rooftop pool spilling down the side of a building. And nurses scrambling to protect newborns in the hospital. Tonight in Hualien, just 11 miles from the epicenter, a major cleanup is underway. This building leaning precariously, but still intact. I thought it was a train at first. Leona Bergen, a student visiting from Chicago, was staying in a hotel right next to it when the earthquake hit. The whole place started shaking and rumbling.

And I didn't, it took me a while to realize what was going on. Strict building codes and wide public awareness mean Taiwan is better prepared for earthquakes. And it's why this building, officials tell us, will be demolished. Lester. Janice Mackey-Frayer in Taiwan. Thank you. Back home, no labels. The bipartisan group that was working on a third party presidential ticket announced it is ending its efforts. No label said it could not find a candidate with a credible path to winning. NBC News has reported at least a dozen candidates, including Chris Christie and Joe Manchin, turned them down. And as election season ramps up,

there are growing concerns about the safety of America's election workers as they face a rise of threats and disinformation. Julia Ainsley has our Vote Watch report. Tonight, election workers calling on the Biden administration to do more to protect them ahead of November. In Philadelphia, Commissioner Omar Sabir says he and his staff have received threats every year since the 2020 election, including this phone call. We are a thousand steps ahead of you. You're walking right into the line. We want from the federal government more resources to protect our election workers and to protect our election officials. He says part of the problem,

baseless claims from former President Trump like these. Guard the vote and you should go into Detroit and you should go into Philadelphia and we got to watch those votes when they come in, when they're being, you know, shoved around in wheelbarrows and dumped on the floor. Around the country, election officials reporting physical threats, even receiving fentanyl in the mail. Biden administration officials tell us their hands are often tied by free speech protections. Tonight, NBC's David Noriega oppressing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who says they'll step in if election officials are in danger.

We work very closely with state and local election officials, as well as law enforcement, the law enforcement community, to ensure the integrity of the election process, to ensure the physical safety of election workers. But experts say DHS under the Biden administration is doing less than the Trump administration did to alert social media companies about online election disinformation. There's been a real pullback since 2020 in sharing that information. DHS's critical infrastructure agency tells us it pushes back against election rumors on its website. Lester. Julia, thank you. In 60 seconds, they were denied abortions, even though it was deemed

to be medically necessary. The legal battle in court right after this. Back now with one of the biggest cash heists in the history of Los Angeles, the FBI and police are hunting for thieves who allegedly stole 30 million dollars from a money storage facility on Easter Sunday. It's not clear how they got in, but video appears to show a hole on the side of the building covered by plywood. Also tonight, the battle over abortion and the group of women in Tennessee challenging the state's near total ban who say they were denied care despite major health complications. Here's senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett.

We appreciate everyone being here today. In a Tennessee courtroom today, the stories of seven families rocked by loss. Each of them received a fatal fetal diagnosis. Each was told that continuing the pregnancy would pose serious risks. Women denied a medical exemption under the state's broad abortion ban, forced to go out of state for care, or in one case, deliver a stillborn at 31 weeks. All now suing to get clarity on the law. None of them wanted to leave their existing child without a mother. The suit in Tennessee won of a series

across red states, asking courts to say who can still qualify for an abortion when the right to one is no longer constitutionally guaranteed. Tennessee law allows doctors to use reasonable medical judgment to decide when the procedure is necessary to prevent a patient's death or serious injury. But some doctors say the law is too vague, while potentially exposing them to up to 15 years in prison, leading at least two doctors to join the lawsuit. The state arguing today those concerns are overblown. That statute contemplates a broad leeway of discretion for physicians to act in any given number of medical scenarios. And pushing back on the claim that the law forces doctors to deny life-saving care. It is absolutely not the state's position that a woman needs to be in the middle of a

life-threatening emergency before she can file suit. One of the plaintiffs, Monica Kelly, was told her baby had trisomy 13 and was unlikely to survive, but says she was told she couldn't get an abortion in Tennessee. I definitely don't think the doctors who were speaking to me were under the impression that there was any exception at all. And Monica tells us that she ultimately went to Florida for that procedure, a place, Lester, that will soon have a six-week ban on all abortions. And that ban begins May 1st. All right, Laura, thank you.

Up next, why heavier use and stronger cannabis is being linked to psychosis in teens. As more states legalize the sale of marijuana and more smoke shops sell it, a health alert tonight about the risks of the drug and psychotic events, especially in teens. Here's senior national correspondent Kate Snow. Kristen Gilliland wishes she could play one more song with her son Anders. He, a very loving, creative, deep thinker. This is him. Around 14, Anders started smoking marijuana. Kristen didn't approve, but also wasn't overly concerned.

It's already medically legal in California at the time. Maybe it's not such, like, the worst vice to have. Exactly, because when I was growing up, it was much less potent than it is now. You didn't realize that? I had no idea. No idea. She's not alone. Government surveys show adults increasingly see marijuana use as less risky,

and nearly 30 percent of high school seniors reported having used marijuana in the past year. At 17, Kristen says Anders started losing contact with reality. He thought that there were higher beings that were communicating with him. Kristen happens to be a neuroscientist and now believes smoking weed led to her son's psychotic bouts and triggered his eventual schizophrenia. Anders started self-medicating with other drugs to quiet the voices and died from an overdose when he was 22. I knew something was wrong. If he had never started using cannabis, he might still be here. You really think that?

Yeah. The number of smoke shops and dispensaries are skyrocketing with more states relaxing marijuana laws, making it easier for anyone to get a hold of high potency THC products. Marijuana in the 60s, 70s, 80s, early 90s was about two to three percent THC. And nowadays, with the commercialized products, they are routinely 20 plus percent, so about 10 times more potent. Child psychiatrist Dr. Christian Thurstone says that's playing a role in the rise in cannabis-induced psychosis among teens. Research is still ongoing, but one study found daily use of high-potency marijuana with over 15% THC resulted in five times the risk of psychosis. Another study found nearly half of patients with cannabis-induced psychosis went on to be diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Come on. Kristen now heads outreach at Vanderbilt's Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery and urges young people to avoid marijuana. If they could understand the superpowers they have with their developing brain, why would you want to put anything in it that's going to take away that superpower? Kate Snow, NBC News, Nashville. After a break, the brothers half a world apart, helping those suffering in Gaza. Finally, two brothers on opposite sides of the world, but still finding a way to work together to help those who need it most. Here's Monica Alba. In northern Gaza, amid the ruin and rubble of war, a rare sight, pots filled with warm food. This soup kitchen run by brothers a world apart. Hani Al-Mahdoun lives in Virginia. His baby brother Mahmoud lives in Gaza. They've lost

family and friends to the war, now trying to save others from starvation, including their parents. They grinded corn and grain meant for rabbits and pigeons. And this is this broke me. They've lost everything. They're basically homeless now. It started small. Mahmoud cobbling together some tomato paste, cooking oil and just enough wood to burn a fire. There are no farmers, he says. We collected the potatoes and carrots that had already come from the rainwater. Their first stews fed around 120 families. For many, they're only real food in days. What does a hot meal mean to somebody?

It means survival. It means somebody sees you. Now sustaining up to 3,000 people daily. We're not serving strangers. We're serving people we grew up with. Hani has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars online. Money the family uses to buy what they can locally, avoiding the red tape many international aid agencies encounter. But prices have skyrocketed. It's out of reach for most people. The mission, bonding these brothers in ways they never imagined. This is my punk little brother. Now he's doing something good.

It's brought you closer together despite being on opposite sides of the world. We're all play apart and it's really just beautiful distraction. Every single family member of ours needed. Finding a shared purpose in serving others. Monica Alba, NBC News, Alexandria, Virginia. And that's nightly news for this Thursday. Thank you for watching, everyone. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.