NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Thursday, January 18, 2024

Episode Date: January 19, 2024

Unrelenting winter storm impacting tens of millions across the U.S.; DOJ releases scathing investigation into Uvalde law enforcement response; Explosion levels building in Washington, D.C.; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the terrifying passenger plane scare as a deadly winter storm sweeps from coast to coast. The plane skidding off the taxiway in western New York as ice and snow stretches across the country. At least 47 dead from extreme weather. In the south, a helicopter rescuing college students stranded in the snow. Where the storm is headed next? More snow for the northeast.

Al Roker is here. Also tonight, the scathing new Justice Department report on the Uvalde school shooting. The, quote, cascading failures in the police response that cost lives. 21 killed, 19 of them children. How their families are reacting. The explosion destroying a building in Washington, D.C., the nearby daycare. 16 children evacuated just moments before the blast. The serial stabbings in New York City.

The suspect now under arrest and the surprising detail about his job. After defying a subpoena, Hunter Biden agreeing to appear in the Republican-led impeachment inquiry into his father when he'll testify. The U.S. launching a fifth wave of airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. And our exclusive, the U.S.-backed plan to end the Israel-Hamas war. The promising new study, are these the key to preventing memory loss? And the polar plunge, could you imagine doing this in Chicago's deep freeze? This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome, everyone. As the death toll rises from this month's punishing winter storms and extreme cold, forecasters tonight are warning of a series of new storms coming out of

the West, expected to deliver another major cold blast from the plains to the southeast and bring more snow along the mid-Atlantic and northeast by the weekend. Snowy conditions tonight in Rochester, New York, where regional jets skidded off a taxiway this afternoon. No one was hurt, but nationwide there have been at least 47 weather-related fatalities since January 12th. This January will be a month to remember in Buffalo, where five feet of lake effect snow has been measured since Saturday. But the cold continues to be the big story for so many across the country. Right now, 100 million people from Washington State to New Jersey are under winter alerts. Windchill alerts are in effect for 29 million.

We'll get Al Roker's forecast in a moment, but let's start with Emily Akeda. As the unrelenting streak of perilous weather powers on, tonight, a plane skidding off the taxiway in Rochester, New York. Speed your discretion. An aircraft just split off, actually off a two. Emergency vehicles surround the plane, racing to evacuate the 53 people on board. Luckily, no one was injured. One, two, three. As the deluge of snow and ice that froze over the Pacific Northwest trudges cross-country.

Treacherous roads sending cars sliding from Washington to Alabama. It's cold. It's freezing. A year since a blizzard killed dozens of people around Buffalo, western New York transformed again by winter's wrath. This restaurant is barely recognizable. Frozen by the bone-chilling temperatures and buried by feet of lake-effect snow, parts of the greater Buffalo area have seen more than 60 inches of snow since Saturday. That's almost as tall as I am.

Hundreds of trucks and snowplows working to clear roads, with schools closed for the fourth day in a row tomorrow. Any one of these snowmounds could be a car. You really have to be careful when you're driving through here. Over the last week, at least 47 people died in the extreme weather nationwide. Three of those victims killed when a power line fell on their car in Oregon Wednesday. In Wisconsin, DeAndre White's family believes the 40-year-old died of hypothermia, remembering him as someone that would always help others.

And in Tennessee, a state of emergency after the most recent winter storms claimed at least 14 lives. This dramatic video just released by state police in nearby Kentucky capturing the rescue of four stranded college students who had been camping. Winds whipping around them. As tonight the barrage of brutal conditions is burying communities coast to coast. Emily, what more are you learning about that plane that skidded off a taxiway? Lester American Airlines says the aircraft will be inspected and is blaming the incident on snowy airfield conditions as the Northeast braces

for another storm tomorrow. Hard to imagine even more snow here in western New York. Emily, thank you. Al Roker is tracking the deadly storm. He joins us now. Al, how is this going to play out the rest of the week? Well, we've got a wide swath, Lester, right now from Washington state to Washington, D.C., of winter weather advisories for over 100 million people. As you can see, some areas are going to be looking at these storm warnings that spreads across 30 states right now. Here, as you can see on the radar, we're starting to see that lake effect snow pick up again. When this is all said and done through Saturday, we're going to be looking at about six to eight inches of snow down to the Appalachians, upwards of a foot or more between Cleveland and Erie. In fact, some places could pick up to another two feet of snow, Lester. And we've got 29 million people under windshield

watches, advisories and warnings by Saturday. Chicago minus 13. That's what it'll feel like for a little rock minus four in Buffalo and three in Atlanta. We'll have the latest details. But good news, Lester. We're going to see a little bit of a break as we get to the end of the week. I like the word break. All right. Thanks very much. We'll turn now to the scathing new Justice Department report of the Uvalde school shooting that left 21 dead, including 19 students. The report finding a series of, quote, cascading failures in the police response that ultimately cost lives. Morgan Chesky is in Uvalde. Tonight, a year and a half after a teenage gunman's rampage left 21 dead in a Uvalde school, the U.S. Attorney General not mincing words.

The law enforcement response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary was a failure. The Department of Justice releasing its massive federal investigation into the Texas town's darkest day, which found cascading failures of leadership, decision-making, tactics, policy, and training. The scathing report, topping 600 pages, it determines the most significant failure was officers treating the gunman as a barricaded threat and not an active shooter. Had the law enforcement agencies followed generally accepted practices in an active shooter situation and gone right after the shooter to stop him, lives would have been saved. During the 77 minutes from when officers arrived to when

the gunman was killed, the report found no one assumed a leadership role, which led to officers remaining outside the classrooms despite the gunman firing 45 rounds and a student inside calling 911. A lack of action by adults failed to protect children and their teachers. The report also finding some students wounded by gunfire were not immediately given first aid. Children with bullet wounds were put on school buses without any medical attention. One of the most painful mistakes uncovered, untrained officials telling families loved ones had survived, when in fact, they were already dead. I hope that the failures end today.

Mother Kimberly Rubio credits the report for shining a light in the response but says she still has unanswered questions is there anything that isn't in this report that you wish was there more emphasis on why law enforcement didn't do something sooner it wasn't about being scared of an 18 year old they were scared of a weapon the 18 year old possessed her beloved daughter lexi one of the many victims now honored in local murals. You relive that day how often? Every day. For Berlinda Areola, precious minutes wasted,

leaving her wondering if her own granddaughter, Amory Jo, could have survived. This is why I am so angry with those officers that were right outside the door, right outside the door. Well, we were sitting out there wondering what was going on inside there while they were sitting there lying to us. And they had the opportunity to go in and they didn't. Seventy seven minutes. Seventy seven minutes. Morgan, joining me now, Morgan, I know many of the families say they want more accountability what would that

look like for them yeah Lester they do and they say following this report that would look like officers who clearly did not rush in to save those students be terminated from their jobs or even face criminal charges right now we do know that the district attorney is conducting a criminal investigation

but as of last check no charges have been filed yet. Lester. All right, Morgan Chesky, thank you. In New York City, an arrest has been made in a series of random stabbings. Police say Jermaine Reguerre is the man seen holding a hunting knife in this surveillance image. The 27-year-old is facing charges for at least five stabbings over nine days. According to police, he works as a hospital greeter and has no arrest record. A massive gas explosion leveled a building today in Washington, D.C., just moments before 16 children were evacuated from a nearby daycare center. Yamiche Alcindor on the quick thinking by firefighters that save lives. A daycare exploded and a building was leveled in southeast Washington, D.C. Thursday morning.

The building just exploded. The blast happened shortly after firefighters were called to investigate a suspected gas leak. The gas was very noticeable. You could hear it leaking as well as smell it from the street. Once on the scene, firefighters soon realized they could not stop the leak. They had just 15 minutes to evacuate the building and those nearby, including a daycare before it exploded. That quick thinking meant 16 children got out safely. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she was shocked at the damage. When I saw the building itself, my mouth fell open

because if the children had been in that building, they would have very definitely been impacted. Bricks and rubble crashed on the street as firefighters spent hours putting out the flames. Smoke from the explosion filled the D.C. skyline for miles. Tonight, officials say the cause of the leak is still under investigation, but credit the fast-acting firefighters for avoiding what could have been a mass tragedy. I think we're very lucky today. We're just grateful to the firefighters for making the necessary and quick decision to remove everyone. They got the kids out of the building quickly, and they all saved lives.

Miraculously, only one person suffered minor injuries from flying debris. It will take weeks to get the area cleaned up. Lester. Yeah, Michelle, Cinder, thank you. After defying a subpoena, Hunter Biden will testify after all in House Republicans impeachment inquiry into his father. The Oversight Committee announcing the younger Biden will sit down for a closed door deposition on February 28th. Previously, he said he'd only testify publicly in the probe. Republicans have paused their efforts to hold him in contempt of Congress. And in the race for 2024, Donald Trump back in Florida today attending his mother-in-law's funeral. And with him off the trail, Nikki Haley is turning up the heat in New Hampshire

with the primary just five days out. Garrett Haig now with more on that and how the crisis at the border is impacting the race. Tonight, facing a make or break New Hampshire primary in just five days, Nikki Haley ramping up her attacks on the front runner. Now, I know that Donald Trump went on a temper tantrum about me last night. Defending her record on the hot button issue of immigration. I said, I don't just want a border wall. We've got to do a whole lot more than that.

We will defund sanctuary cities once and for all. No more safe havens for illegal immigrants. The former South Carolina governor under relentless assault by the Trump campaign on the stump. Nikki Haley will never secure the border. She doesn't believe in these secure borders. And over the airwaves. Nikki Haley, too weak, too liberal to fix the border. For the frontrunner, former President Trump, border security remains the signature issue. On day one of my new administration, I will seal the border. We had the safest border

in history. We're going to make it the safest border in history again. Under President Biden's current border policies, roughly 85 percent of migrants who cross the border are released into the U.S. pending court dates. Mr. Trump is vowing to force asylum seekers to remain in Mexico and wants to complete a southern border wall. President Biden has called Trump proposals extreme. The former president overnight urging House Republicans negotiating with the White House not to accept any compromise deal short of perfect as Congress debates linking aid to Israel and Ukraine to border security. President Biden pushing back. I think the vast majority of members of Congress support aid to Ukraine. The question is whether or not a small minority are going to hold it up. This could be

a disaster. And tweaking Mr. Trump over the low turnout in Iowa in his landslide victory. I don't think Iowa means anything. Lowest number of votes anybody's won got. And then there's Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who campaigns here tomorrow before heading to South Carolina, which doesn't hold its primary for more than a month, and where polls show Mr. Trump also has a lead. Lester. All right, Garrett, thank you. In just 60 seconds, the U.S. launching a fifth round of airstrikes in Yemen, plus our exclusive inside the U.S. back plan to end the Israel Hamas war. Breaking overseas, U.S. forces have launched new strikes against an Iranian backed militia threatening ships in the Red Sea. And President Biden was pressed today. Are the strikes working?

Keir Simmons reports. Tonight, for the fifth time in just a week, the U.S. again striking Houthi targets inside Yemen, this time with F-18s. U.S. Sancom says the strikes were on two anti-ship missiles aimed into the southern Red Sea. After determining an imminent threat to commercial and U.S. Navy ships, the Pentagon says the Houthi missiles were destroyed. But the Houthis are still terrorizing ships in the Red Sea despite the U.S. retaliation. Pressed by NBC's Gabe Gutierrez, President Biden acknowledged US actions were not deterring the Iranian-backed militia. Are the airstrikes in Yemen working? Well, when you say working, are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister met face to face with his Iranian counterpart this week.

So our message to everyone, including our neighbours in Iran, is that we need to work together towards de-escalation. And in an interview with NBC News, another stunning shift, openly discussing a possible deal to normalise relations with Israel and a US strategic partnership. But there can be no deal, he says, without a ceasefire and a two-state solution. But what we feel is key at this time is to find a credible, irreversible path to a Palestinian state. With Hamas vowing more terror attacks, Israel's president today saying no one is thinking about the peace process.

Every Israeli wants to know that he will not be attacked in the same way from north or south or east. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outright dismissing a Palestinian state. Doesn't that make a deal with Saudi Arabia impossible? Again, I cannot speak to what decisions the Israeli government will make. America's support for a Palestinian state and Netanyahu's rejection of it now risking a rift. You need to be able to say no, Netanyahu said today, even to your best friends. Lester. All right, Keir Simmons, thank you.

We're back in a moment with news about the link between multivitamins and your memory. We're back now with a health alert about multivitamins. Millions take them and now there's new evidence they can have a very real impact on your memory. Stephanie Gosk explains. A healthy diet is good for the body and also good for the mind. And multivitamins could play an important role. It's biologically plausible because we know that nutrition is so important and also good for the mind. And multivitamins could play an important role.

It's biologically plausible because we know that nutrition is so important for optimal brain health. A new study directed by Mass General Brigham found that participants taking multivitamins daily prevented memory loss and slowed down the process of cognitive aging by the equivalent of two years compared to a placebo group. We found the strongest benefit for memory in slowing of age-related memory loss. One in nine adults say they have experienced confusion or memory loss, according to the CDC. By 2060, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer's is projected to reach nearly 14 million. When we talk about Alzheimer's disease and other related dementia, that's not normal aging and those diseases are fatal. It's really important that we think about strategies for prevention. We think about strategies such

as engaging in healthy lifestyles to keep our brain as healthy as we can as long as we can. The researchers who conducted the multivitamin study are encouraged by the findings because it is a cheap and easily accessible option for most people. But they caution that the supplements are not a substitute for good nutrition. But people should still eat their spinach. Absolutely. We are saying that multivitamins, dietary supplements will never be a substitute for a healthy diet, healthy lifestyle, regular physical activity, and everything like that. That is really key. The best time to take action, doctors say, is before cognitive decline begins. So, Stephanie, does this study then link to the idea that people should go out and start using multivitamins for their memory? No, and they aren't saying that. More work needs to be done to set those guidelines. But the doctor

who I spoke with said there are proactive things people can do to slow cognitive decline, and nutrition is a really good place to start. All right, Steph, thanks very much. You're welcome. When we come back, the big chill, rain or shine, even ice. Why this guy's taken the plunge every day for years. The Windy City with a wind chill of 13 degrees today, but that's not stopping one guy's daily plunge into Lake Michigan. Our Maggie Vespa tagged along for today's swim. As the sun rises over frigid Chicago, Dan O'Connor chips ice from ladders along Lake Michigan so that he can seemingly defy all common sense and do this.

Stunning from every angle. The painfully arctic plunge into today's 35 degree water, especially jaw dropping, knowing the 56 year old beverage salesman dives daily and has since 2020. There were the three Ps that were happening and that was the pandemic protests were going on and politics. And I came down here, hungover, and I jumped in. It was like a new awakening. You did hungover.

Yeah. That reprieve from chaos became a year-round addiction. I'll be real. NBC is paying me to stand here right now. And I'm in like a sleeping bag coat. You couldn't pay me enough to dive in there. What is the drive for you? Like I said, I mean, just that endorphin rush, it's attacking the day. His drive, breaking the ice with fans on social media.

The first anniversary of his first jump drew hundreds. It's definitely been 100 percent, you know, a mental health uptick for me. So much so the husband and father of three now dubbed the Great Lake Jumper today alongside a friend for safety jumped twice. It brightens the day every day. And that's why I keep doing it. Maggie Vesta, NBC News, Chicago. Yeah, anyway, that's nightly news for this Thursday. Thank you for watching.

I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other, and I'll find the words. Good night.