NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Episode Date: January 3, 2024

Two planes collide in deadly crash on runway in Japan; Harvard President Claudine Gay announces resignation; Top Hamas leader killed in Beirut strike; and more on tonight’s broadcast. 

Tonight, the deadly plane collision in Japan just hours after a powerful earthquake rocked the country. The massive fireball as a Japan Airlines plane collides with a Coast Guard aircraft on the runway, then bursting into flames. Smoke filling the cabin, all 379 people on board escaping, but five on the Japanese Coast Guard aircraft killed on their way to help with earthquake relief. How did they end up on the same runway? Also tonight, the desperate search for survivors after that Japan earthquake killed dozens. The major announcement from Harvard's president after the backlash to her testimony about anti-Semitism and plagiarism allegations. The senior Hamas leader killed in a blast not in Gaza but north of Israel in Beirut.

The growing fears of a widening war. Just in, former President Donald Trump appealing Maine's decision to ban him from the 2024 ballot over his conduct around January 6th. The standoff at the Colorado Supreme Court after an armed man breaks in and opens fire. New details in the deadly New Year's crash into pedestrians in western New York. The SUV packed with gas cans. And the mystery in Michigan, who's holding the Powerball ticket worth $842 million. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Hello and welcome. It is good to be back with you.

Officials in Japan tonight are piecing together the tragic chain of events that left two planes on a collision course, ending in a fiery and deadly impact on a runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Surveillance cameras captured the moment of disaster as a Japan Airlines Airbus with 379 people on board collided with a much smaller Japanese Coast Guard plane that for some reason was on the same runway officials say was assigned to the arriving jet. After the impact, the passenger jet continued down the runway leading a trail of fire, but remarkably everyone on board the wide-body jet survived and safely evacuated. Tragically, five people on board the Coast Guard plane were killed. A pilot was the only survivor. The Coast Guard crew was responding to an earthquake disaster when disaster struck on the runway. Tom Costello has late developments. Fire and terror on the runway in Tokyo as a fully loaded Japan Airlines passenger plane arriving on a domestic flight crashed into a smaller Japanese Coast Guard plane.

The massive fireball rolling down the runway. Airport is closed. Airport is closed. Inside the JAL plane, terrified passengers saw flames outside their windows, smoke rolling through the cabin. Swedish tourist Anton Debo was on board with his family. I looked to the left and I see flames all over the windows. And the plane starts to shake and all the lights turn dark and everyone starts screaming in Japanese. Once stopped, passengers evacuated down two emergency chutes. As airport firefighters attacked the flames, the evacuated down two emergency chutes. As airport firefighters

attacked the flames, the plane's tail collapsed to the ground. Exactly the kind of worst-case runway incursion the NTSB has warned about in the U.S. after so many close calls in 2023. The crash happened on runway 34R, precisely where the JAL Airbus A350 had been cleared to land. The question for Japanese investigators, why was that smaller Coast Guard plane on the same runway, possibly preparing for takeoff? Of the six Coast Guard crew members on an earthquake relief mission, only the captain survived, now in critical condition. But all 379 people on board the passenger plane survived, including eight infants,

precisely what flight crews in the U.S. and abroad train for. Regardless of the size of the aircraft, the FAA requires that within 15 seconds of the aircraft stopping for an accident, it must be able to start evacuating everybody out through the windows, through the doors in just 90 seconds. That FAA rule is the global standard. Get up, get out, leave everything! Critical to surviving, leaving everything behind and getting out. When an American Airlines plane caught fire in Chicago in 2016, some passengers still grabbed their carry-ons.

When passengers do not follow the instructions and do not leave their belongings in the airplane, they're not only putting themselves at risk, they're putting others at risk because of their blocking exits. In Tokyo, tragedy, but survival on the runway. And Tom, another grim reminder of why we need to listen to those safety announcements. I understand Japanese investigators will be joined by French investigators looking into why this happened. Yeah, that's right. Because it's an Airbus jet, the French team will be assisting. They're going to look at whether there was a communication breakdown between the tower and the Coast Guard plane

and whether the passenger jet pilots could even see the smaller plane on the runway, Lester. All right, Tom Costello, thank you. And the day after that devastating earthquake in western Japan, at least 55 people are now reported dead as rescuers race to find survivors. Janice Mackey-Frayer is in Japan for us where officials say the death toll is likely to rise. Tonight, Japan's military and rescue crews are searching from the air and on the ground. Trapped under buildings that have collapsed or caught fire. According to officials, at least 55 people are dead.

A toll that's expected to rise from the powerful New Year's Day earthquake that rocked train platforms. Shook grocery stores, homes, and this news station. And sent thousands across western Japan scrambling for safety. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida saying rescue efforts are a battle against time. On the Noto Peninsula near the coastal epicenter, buckled roads make it difficult to reach the area's hardest hit. Thousands of homes without water or electricity. Everything has fallen off, she says.

I don't think we can rebuild it again. There have been hundreds of aftershocks. The quakes triggering tsunami warnings along Japan's west coast. Those warnings now lifted, with officials saying nuclear power plants were unaffected. But these familiar scenes of disaster have raised anxiety here. After the devastation in 2011, when a massive magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami killed at least 20,000 and left parts of Japan in ruins. The extent of the damage from this earthquake still emerging. In the quake zone, it's a race to reach those who need help. At the same time, people are being warned to stay away

from their homes. Officials say there is a high risk of more earthquakes this week, possibly as powerful as this one. Lester. All right, Janice, thank you. Here at home, the president of Harvard University, Claudine Gay, resigned today, weeks after her controversial testimony before Congress about anti-Semitism and as she faced mounting accusations of plagiarism. Erin McLaughlin has the story. Tonight, embattled Harvard president Claudine Gay stamping down, abruptly ending her turbulent six-month tenure as the institution's first black president, the shortest term of anyone in that position. In a letter to the Harvard community gay writing, it has become clear that it is in the best interest of Harvard for me to resign,

and that it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor to bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am, and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus. Anti-Semitic rhetoric when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying. Calls for gay's resignation followed backlash to this response at last month's congressional hearing when Republican Elise Stefanik pressed her about anti-Semitism on college campuses. Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard's rules of bullying and harassment? Yes or no? It can be depending on the context. It does not depend on the context. The answer is yes. Pressure grew in the following weeks with

Gay facing multiple allegations of plagiarism in her academic work. Harvard initially standing by Gay, but today the board accepting her resignation, saying she had acknowledged missteps, but also faced deeply personal and sustained attacks. Tonight, Stefana claiming credit, saying this is just the beginning of what will be the greatest scandal of any college or university in history.

Gay's resignation, leaving the campus divided. I'm glad that, you know, it seems like we're moving in a direction where Harvard might begin to repair its public image. I was flabbergasted. I was more than surprised. I was shocked. I don't think she was really given a chance from the start. And Erin, this is now the second university president to step down after those hearings on anti-Semitism on campus.

That's right, Lester. The president of the University of Pennsylvania resigned following backlash to her testimony. And there's now a congressional investigation into all of this. Harvard has announced an interim president, Alan Garber. Gay will stay on as professor. Thanks very much. Now to the killing of a top leader of Hamas today in Beirut, sparking new concerns about a wider conflict. Josh Letterman is in Israel with the latest. Tonight, the fiery aftermath of an apparent assassination. A senior Hamas leader killed in what Hamas says was an Israeli drone strike on a Hamas office in Beirut.

Salah al-Aroui was a deputy head of Hamas on a U.S. wanted list, accused of involvement in multiple terror attacks. Hamas saying seven people were killed in the strike, including two commanders. Israel won't say whether it was responsible, but only one country is at war with Hamas. Israel is at war. Whoever did this has a gripe with Hamas. Israel's military has vowed to hunt down Hamas leaders worldwide, saying they're living on borrowed time following the to hunt down Hamas leaders worldwide, saying they're living on borrowed time, following the October 7th Hamas terror attacks that killed 1,200 people.

Tonight, as protests erupt in the West Bank, Israel is bracing for potentially massive retaliation, not just from Hamas, but from Hezbollah, another Iranian-backed group allied with Hamas that's also targeted Israel. The new Israeli foreign minister today declaring, we're in the midst of World War III against Iran and radical Islam. The assassination raising the stakes for Israel's cabinet, which postponed a meeting to discuss Israel's new plan for Gaza after the war. An Israeli official telling NBC News the plan involves local Gazan clans or tribes

handling civilian governance, like doling out aid, while Israel controls security indefinitely. This is Israel signals the war is entering a new phase with thousands of Israeli troops on the way out of Gaza, even as Prime Minister Netanyahu says the war will last many more months. Palestinian groups are calling for more protests tomorrow over the assassination, including in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. Lester. Josh Letterman in Tel Aviv. Thank you.

Less than two weeks before the start of the presidential primary season, former President Trump appealed the ruling in Maine that bars him from the primary ballot there. Garrett Haake is following all this. Garrett, what more do we know? Well, Lester, Mr. Trump's appeal calls Maine's Democratic Secretary of State, who banned him from the ballot there, biased, saying she had no authority to act. Last week, she ruled the Republican frontrunner ineligible for Maine's ballot, saying he was in violation of the 14th Amendment's prohibition against insurrection for his actions on January 6th. Tensions are also high in Colorado,

where the Supreme Court banned Mr. Trump from the ballot. Though today, police say a shooting that damaged the Colorado Supreme Court building this morning was unrelated to any threats against the judges there. Mr. Trump is expected to appeal that decision, too, which is campaign as criticized as election interference. Colorado Secretary of State is also asking for the U.S. Supreme Court to settle all of this. Mr. Trump will remain on both states' ballots through the appeals process. Lester. All right, Garrett Haig, thanks. Let's turn now to that terrifying and deadly car crash early on New Year's Day outside a concert in Rochester, New York. Police tonight saying the driver appeared to be trying to run over the crowd. Here's Emily Aketa. Tonight, new details emerging about what led to this fiery crash in Rochester, New York, less than an hour into the new year.

Investigators now identifying 35-year-old Michael Avery, saying he made at least half a dozen purchases of gasoline and fuel containers after driving to Rochester and then renting an SUV at the airport, later heading towards the Kodak Center and a crowd coming out of a concert. Avery sped up, crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic, and appears to have intentionally been driving towards the pedestrian crossing. Avery then struck a rideshare vehicle that had been pulling out with a force that pushed both SUVs into people, injuring nine pedestrians and killing two passengers in the rideshare, Josh Orr and Justina Hughes, whose families say were best friends. This tonight from Rochester's mayor. I have been getting inundated with questions as to why

this individual would choose, number one, Rochester, New York, and why he would appear to target concert goers. Those are all questions that have been raised and things that we just don't have answers to yet. As investigators comb through Avery's belongings, the FBI is underscoring. So far, we've uncovered no evidence of an ideology and no nexus to terrorism. Police say in speaking with Avery's family, they believe he may have been suffering from undiagnosed mental illness. He died in the hospital overnight. Lester. Emily Akeda, thank you. Coming up, why a case of cyber kidnapping led police to a foreign exchange student freezing and alone in a snowy canyon.

The warning from law enforcement next. In Utah, a Chinese foreign exchange student has been found alive after officials say he was targeted in a terrifying cyber kidnapping scheme. Liz Kreutz now with the bizarre details and a warning from police. Hold up alone in a tent deep in these frigid Utah mountains. Tonight, a Chinese foreign exchange student has been found safe after police say he became the victim of a suspected cyber kidnapping scam. He was cold, scared, and relieved when we found him. Riverdale police say 17-year-old Kai Zhuang was reported missing by his high school outside Salt Lake City on Thursday.

His family in China said they had received a photograph of their son indicating he was abducted and that they had sent roughly $80,000 to bank accounts in China as a ransom. Authorities began a days-long search, assisted by the FBI and the U.S. Embassy in China, finally finding him in this wooded area New Year's Eve morning with little food and no heat. How is the family doing right now? Absolutely relieved. They were terrified, believing their son was being held captive and being harmed. Police believe Kai's virtual kidnappers are in China and had been manipulating him for weeks, threatening to hurt his family.

As part of the disturbing scam, they say victims like Kai are ordered to isolate, then monitored via FaceTime or Skype, and coerced into taking photos of themselves to make it appear they are being held captive. What can people do to keep themselves and their kids safe? Have a good communication plan. Have a planned time to talk and then having code words, a code word that means you're under duress or something's not right. And officials say foreign exchange students are often targets of these cyber kidnapping scams. Authorities say if you or your family are ever threatened, go right to police. Don't send money and stop all contact

with suspects. Lester. All right, Liz, thank you for that. Coming up, the talk of a small town. Who's the neighbor? Suddenly, $842 million richer. Finally, one lucky winner is beginning the new year. $842 million richer. Maggie Vespa is in the small city where the big Powerball ticket was sold. For millions of Americans, the kickoff to 2024 called for the classics. But in this small Michigan city, You just want two tickets for Powerball? it's safe to say one lucky person managed to top the ball drop millions of times over. Someone bought a ticket here that's now worth more than $800 million.

I know. Isn't that insane? $842.4 million, to be exact, or a lump sum of $425.2 million for the still anonymous Powerball player who picked these six lucky numbers drawn Monday night. I was talking to my priest and he said, did you win that? And I said, no. He said, oh man, we were looking for a big contribution. Your priest hit you up. The jaw-dropping jackpot, Powerball's fifth largest ever. And in the contest's more than 30-year history, it's first drawn on New Year's Day.

The mystery winner made that life-changing purchase at this family-owned food castle in Grand Blanc, Michigan. This is like an hour north of Detroit. It's the best feeling because it's like the community deserves it. Good way to start off the year, you know, for a big win. Now the question, will the lucky winner come forward to ring in the new year rich? Maggie Vespa, NBC News, Grand Blanc, Michigan. That's nightly news for this Tuesday. Thank you for watching, everyone.

I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.