NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Episode Date: December 25, 2024

American Airlines temporarily grounds all flights, snarling holiday travel; Starbucks union strike expands as workers demand pay raises; Bird flu reaches zoos, further threatening endangered species; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, more stops and starts in the sprint to get home for the holidays. American Airlines temporarily grounding all flights nationwide. The major ripple effect delaying hundreds of flights. Thunderstorms grounding planes at a major hub. And after a white Christmas Eve for millions, heavy rain and the new storm threat on the radar tonight. The brewing labor battle at Starbucks. Striking baristas closing down dozens of the coffee

giant stores all across the country. On Christmas Eve, the pope's message, Notre Dame's rebirth, Bethlehem gone quiet, few tourists in subdued celebrations as war rages. The stunning spread of bird flu cases, the rising risk to some of the world's most endangered animals, the new crackdown on drones made in China. The move Congress has been looking into that could ban sales of the vast majority of drones here in the U.S. And the Christmas visitor who came in through the chimney

taking its place as the new star on top of the tree. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening. I'm Sam Brock, in for Lester tonight. The final sprint of holiday travel once again running into some serious stumbling blocks. American Airlines passengers caught off guard this morning when all flights were grounded nationwide. The company faulting a vendor technology issue. That problem quickly resolved, but not without some missed connections and a cascading effect on the rest of the schedule.

Then there's the weather, snow slowing some departures, and in Dallas, bringing flights to a total ground stop at DFW, Americans' largest hub. And though most of the millions of Americans braving the rain and on the road have made it to their holiday celebrations, for some travelers, Christmas hasn't started just yet. Jesse Kirsch kicks us off tonight from Miami. Jesse, where do things stand at this hour? Sam, American Airlines in particular had a rough start to the day. The carrier's ground stop did wrap up fairly quickly. But according to Flight Tracker FlightAware, more than 40 percent of the airline's flights today have been delayed. And now the holiday countdown clock is running out. Just hours before Christmas tonight American Airlines is playing catch-up. I feel really

upset because I really want to go on my vacation. The airline temporarily grounded all of its flights nationwide for about an hour this morning due to what it calls a vendor technology issue impacting the system that allows for flights to be coordinated and dispatched. Everybody's stressed so there's no point of like getting angry over things that don't really matter in the long run. It's Christmas. It's Christmas. Merry Christmas. Adding insult to injury, one of America's biggest hubs, Dallas-Fort Worth, later had its own hours-long ground stop because of thunderstorms. With many people already at their holiday destinations by Christmas Eve,

American says only around 3,900 flights were scheduled today, about 2,000 less than yesterday. But the day's issues still had a domino effect. We were supposed to leave around 10 a.m. Now it's 11.30, and we were going to miss our connecting flight in Atlanta to Arizona. Travelers like Takisa Jeffers delayed in Miami on her way to see family with three young kids in tow. What's it like to have this happening on Christmas Eve of all days? Well, it's disappointing, but, you know, things happen, so I just want to get there safe. NBC's Adrienne Broaddus is in the Windy City. And in

Chicago, we've seen ripple effects, delays piling up on the big board, an hour delay for a flight to Charlotte, about 90 minutes for a flight to Atlanta, and two hours for another flight making its way to Denver, leaving travelers frustrated. AAA expects a record-setting 119 million holiday travelers nationwide through New Year's Day, the overwhelming majority driving at a time when gas prices are down. No matter how they plan to go, tonight time is running out for those hoping to get home in time for Christmas morning. Jesse Kirsch, NBC News, Miami. All right, Jesse, thank you. Let's get right to meteorologist Bill Cairns.

Bill, we saw the snow is coming gone, but storms still making trouble today and tomorrow. Thunderstorms in airports, bad combination any day, especially on Christmas Eve. And that's been the problem all afternoon to the evening in areas from Dallas, Fort Worth, now shifting southwards. We're going to have our eyes on the Houston area later on tonight as the storms shift to the south. We do have a slight risk of severe weather. We may even get some large hail out of this and also some strong gusty winds. Doesn't look like tornadoes are much of a problem. Christmas Day, east coast, fine. Showers in the Ohio Valley, Tennessee Valley. Traveling interstate 70, maybe a little snowy. But by the worst weather on Christmas Day by far, the Pacific Northwest.

In the morning, you are fine. But we are going to have a very strong storm coming in as we go throughout Christmas evening. And we're talking rain, high winds, and these winds could be strong to do damage. We have high wind warnings on the coast of southern Oregon. We could see wind gusts gusting up to 50 to 70 miles per hour. Power outages are even possible. You see Port Oxford, about 65 mile per hour gusts are expected, a story up to about 45. So in the Pacific Northwest, traveling late tomorrow, use a lot of caution. Worst weather by far in the entire country. All right. Good advice, Bill. Thank you for some folks looking for a jolt to get through their travel troubles. The union representing Starbucks baristas says it has expanded strikes to 43 states across the country.

Emily Akeda has the very latest. Dubbed the strike before Christmas. Starbucks workers walking off the job again today and shuttering about 170 stores, according to the Java Giant. From Los Angeles to New York. No one wants to have to do this. We want to be with our families, but Starbucks has forced us into this position. Union group Starbucks Workers United is calling for better benefits and immediate wage increases and protesting alleged unfair labor practices.

We get hundreds and hundreds of orders every single day, and we're just not properly staffed. The demonstration started on Friday in three states, now spreading to 43 in the strike's final day, according to organizers, disrupting business in the heart of the holiday season. While it's been lights out at stores like this for the past several days, Starbucks says the vast majority of its more than 10,000 locations in the U.S. have remained open. The company contends it already offers pay and benefits worth $30 an hour, and the union chose to walk away from bargaining. Protesters say closed stores will reopen on Christmas, but aren't ruling out the chance for new demonstrations in the new year.

We can't count on companies to be human. We have to bring the humanity to them. Emily Ikeda, NBC News. Emily, thank you. Now to growing concerns tonight about bird flu. The CDC says the virus poses little threat to people, but some of the world's most vulnerable species could be at risk. David Noriega explains. Zoos across the country on high alert. In Phoenix, five zoo animals have died after contracting avian influenza, including a cheetah, a mountain lion and a kookaburra. Another zoo in Seattle,

losing a rare red-breasted goose to the virus. Members across the nation are all taking precautionary measures to make sure their populations are safe and secure. Experts say this strain of the virus is unusually deadly to mammals. DR. DOMINIQUE KELLER, Los Angeles Zoo, At the Los Angeles Zoo, where there have been no cases of bird flu, chief veterinarian Dr. Dominique Keller is tracking the virus closely and doing everything she can to protect the animals under her care.

DOMINIQUE KELLER, Los Angeles Zoo Veterinarian, Los Angeles Zoo Animals can get the virus from the droppings of an infected bird or by eating infected poultry or other food. The zoo now implementing safety measures to minimize exposure, including foot baths for shoes. So that's part of the protocol. WILLIAM BRANGHAMS, So that's part of the protocol. NICK SCHIFRIN, And stricter food protocol. But the greatest risk comes from above.

WILLIAM BRANGHAMS, The hardest thing for zoos to control for is that a lot of enclosures, like this one, are open, so wild birds can easily fly over or land in them. And if one of those birds is infected, then those animals are exposed. NICK SCHIFRIN, The USDA has tracked the virus in more than 10,000 wild birds across the U.S. DR. ANNE-MARIE GOLDEN, You're never going to have zero risk. So we accept that. And that's part of being a veterinarian. NICK SCHIFRIN, Some animals getting additional protection, like the zoo's breeding population of critically endangered California condors,

some of the few birds to get a bird flu vaccine. The zoo has many species of endangered birds, all of whom appreciate the extra care. David Noriega, NBC News, Los Angeles. David, thank you. This Christmas Eve marked by celebrations around the world. Just two weeks after the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris reopened, we saw its first Christmas Eve mass since that devastating fire in 2019. Pope Francis led Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican,

beginning with the opening of the Holy Door and calling for peace around the world, including the Middle East. And in Bethlehem, usually filled with pilgrims and tourists on this holy night, the streets are nearly empty, with the region rocked by war. Raf Sanchez joins us tonight from Israel. Raf, good evening. Sam, we spent the day in Bethlehem, a city struggling to figure out how to mark Christmas amid ongoing war. In the little town of Bethlehem, Christmas is barely a whisper. Palestinian scouts parading the streets, but without their traditional instruments at the end of a difficult year for this holy

city. Christmas usually looks like this, the main square dominated by a towering tree. This is where that tree should be, but with the war in Gaza still raging and few tourists, most of the official festivities are canceled this year. JOSEPH BIDEN, President of the United States, Church leaders calling for public signs of Christian hope, but muted celebrations. MUNZIR ISAAC, Bethlehem is the capital of Christmas. It's supposed to be the best time of the year. None of that is happening because we're mourning.

JARED BOWEN, Reverend Munzur Isaac is the pastor of Bethlehem's Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, where this unusual nativity scene reminds worshipers of the thousands of children killed in Gaza since last Christmas. We see Jesus and every child pulled from under the rubble in Gaza. We walked the quiet streets past struggling souvenir shops to the home of Nuhat Tarazi, a Christian born in Gaza. She still has two surviving siblings there. That's why I didn't put the Christmas tree. I will not feel well if I did this, why they are suffering there. Reaching them by phone, impossible some days. No connection. But the next morning, our team in Gaza found Nuh's brother Atala and sister Samia

at the church where much of the strip's dwindling Christian community is sheltering. My greetings to all. Rejoice as much as you can, they tell their distant sibling. Back in Bethlehem, there are still moments of Christmas joy. How do you feel when you're here in Bethlehem? So blessed. Foreign workers living in Israel, thousands of miles from their families, gathering at the Church of the Nativity. Normally, in the run-up to Christmas, you'd have huge lines of pilgrims from all around the world

waiting to get into this holy place, and instead you can see today we have it pretty much to ourselves. The church built on the spot where Jesus is said to have been born, a refuge in a turbulent world. Worshers drawing strength from centuries of tradition and comfort from the light of their faith. Raf Sanchez, NBC News, Bethlehem. NICK SCHIFRIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, RAPH SANCHEZ, CHRISTMAS THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS THERE.

Raf, thank you so much. In 60 seconds, the new government crackdown on Chinese-made drones. American officials warn they're a security threat, but some who rely on them are already sounding the alarm. Next. And we're back now with a new crackdown on Chinese-made drones. About 80 percent of all drones sold in the U.S. are made by a Chinese company that the U.S. government says has links to the Communist Party. And as Ken Delaney reports, Congress is on the verge right now of banning them. Hi, good morning. I would like to notify of a UAS drone operation happening today.

On the rocky slopes of this California vineyard, farmer Al Staley's team uses drones to spray pesticides on grapes. The computer controls the rate per acre, which is very important to us when we're putting on nutrients or pesticides. Making it faster and safer than applying the old way. There's not the trip and fall issues. There's not the knee injuries. All the things that we worry about with hand application. From farms to electric utilities to police departments, drones have become essential for both government and business, including NBC News.

The vast majority are made in China by one company, DJI, inside this futuristic factory. But the Pentagon calls it a Chinese military company. If that software is being originated in China and controlled ultimately by the Communist Party of China, at any point, that drone could become a liability. JOHN YANG, U.S. Congress has passed a bipartisan bill that paves the way to ban the sale of Chinese-made drones in the U.S., including consumer models used by millions of Americans. After a year, sales of new Chinese drones would likely be halted, but existing ones could still be used.

JOHN BARRON, Former U.S. Secretary of State for International Development, We're all going to be safer if these drones are made somewhere other than at the end of the day controlled ultimately by the Chinese Communist Party. HARI SREENIVASAN, In January, the FBI warned that the threat from Chinese-made drones poses a significant risk to critical infrastructure and U.S. national security. The fear? That images and data collected by the drones could secretly be sent to China.

DJI strongly disputes any connection to the military or the Chinese Communist Party, and says it's willing to work with U.S. leaders to prove its drones are harmless. DR. CHRISTOPHER D. We have asked for evidence that there's some sort of backdoor or data security issue with our products. All we have gotten in response is hypotheticals about what our products could do, but no evidence of actual wrongdoing.

NICK SCHIFRIN, Al Staley says, for him, the ban would be a setback. And nothing on the market is as good as D.J.I.'s drones. AL STALEY, D.J.I.: There are some American-made. The wait list is extreme, costs a lot more money. What is the risk to society if China knows what I'm doing in my vineyard? Ken Delaney, NBC News. When we come back, there's good news tonight about this family's surprise visitor who came in through the chimney just in time for Christmas. Back now with Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, one of the most active in the world, erupting again,

sending lava there, spewing and smoke billowing on the big island. The U.S. Geological Survey says there are no immediate threats to infrastructure. Finally, there's good news tonight about a surprise gift that one family found on top of the Christmas tree. Here's our Joe Fryer. Look at that guy. This barred owl is no angel, but it's now a star. He's like, this is the perfect spot. In fact, the owl knocked over the star to claim this perch

atop the Burgoyne family Christmas tree in Arlington, Virginia. I mean, I didn't even know what to think. I definitely didn't know what to do. The family says the owl flew in through the chimney, soaring back and forth from treetop to kitchen cabinets. Sergeant Spencer Murray with the Animal Welfare League of Arlington got the call. How hard is it then to catch an owl in a situation like this? Yeah, any bird that's inside an open area. You kind of just have to let them tire themselves out a little bit.

Let him go back and forth. It took about 10 minutes before the exhausted owl was low enough to catch, then quickly release. Off into the night. It was a highlight experience for Christmas season. It conjured up memories of another

owl discovered four years ago when the Rockefeller Center tree fittingly given the name Rocky as for the Arlington Owl this week, the Animal Welfare League brought the family a new tree topper, a fake owl. They say it's a reminder to cap your chimneys, but rest assured tonight Santa will still find his way in.

He is, after all, as wise as an owl. Joe Fryer, NBC News. You might say, owls well, that ends well. That is nightly news for this Tuesday. Thank you so much for watching. I'm Sam Brock for all of us here at NBC News. Thank you again. Have a great holiday. We'll see you next time.