NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Episode Date: January 8, 2025

Wind-driven fires erupt in Southern California; Trump sets sights on Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal; Soldier who blew up Tesla Cybertruck used A.I. to plan attack, police say.

Breaking news tonight, the explosive wildfires raging in Los Angeles as life-threatening winds spread danger across Southern California. Homes are burning in the iconic Pacific Palisades as officials order mandatory evacuations. Thousands racing to get out, vehicles abandoned in the gridlock, firefighters rushing to reach those trapped. The fire fueled by Santa Ana winds burning hundreds of acres, gusts of wind up to 100 miles an hour. Our team in the fire zone as the flames rage tonight. Plus the deep freeze and new winter storm warnings we're tracking right behind it. And just breaking in that Las Vegas cyber truck explosion, police now saying it was plotted using AI, including chat GPT, why they're calling it a

game changer. President-elect Donald Trump suggesting he could use the military to seize Greenland and the Panama Canal. And ahead of the second Trump administration, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announcing major changes, why he says Facebook and Instagram are getting rid of fact-checkers, former President Jimmy Carter's final journey to Washington, where he's lying in state beginning tonight. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. A windstorm is kicking up explosive and rapidly spreading brush and wildfires all over Southern California this evening.

Homes are already engulfed in flames in the Pacific Palisade section of L.A., forcing thousands to flee, creating an incredibly dangerous situation. The fire emergency fueled by incredibly powerful Santa Ana winds gusting up to 100 miles per hour and spreading for acres and acres. The plume of smoke visible from LAX. Officials had warned of extreme fire danger, the highest alert, and tonight that danger has become a reality for those caught in the path. As the flames and smoke spread today, some drivers abandoned their vehicles, causing gridlock for others, including our own Liz Croy to at one point found herself flanked by fire on both sides.

Liz joins us now from Los Angeles. Liz, it is a desperate situation with so many rushing to get out right now. Yeah, well, Lester, this is a chaotic, vile, tall situation that's unfolding here right now. We are hearing reports of people trapped. There are hundreds of people that have been trying to get out. It's created gridlock traffic. In fact, all of these cars around me right here on Sunset Boulevard are abandoned with people who just got out to get out on foot. There's hundreds of firefighters that are working this fire right now,

all of it driven by an intense wind event that is just getting started. Tonight, panic in the Pacific Palisades. As a wind-driven wildfire blazes through one of Southern California's most iconic neighborhoods. People are panicking and it's a parking lot. So there's about an hour wait at the bottom of Palisades Drive. I rushed over here to pack my belongings and I got the evacuation orders. Multiple homes burning with residents told to get out, some people getting trapped. The homeowners are saying they're unable to access any exit routes. There's fire on both sides of the road.

Many abandoning their cars in the gridlock traffic. Fire crews using a bulldozer to push cars out of the way to clear a path. We are in bumper to bumper traffic right now as hundreds of people try to get out. You can see flames here on both sides of the road with very little visibility. Right around, up and around those two homes, they didn't catch fire, but everything around them did. Our NBC Los Angeles station inside this hard hit neighborhood. This is a large clock here, a large what looks like an antique, very beautiful family clock here on the ground. There are also photo albums that the firefighters pulled from the home just minutes before the flames overtook it because they said that they felt like they at least wanted to save something.

Smoke from the growing fire seen for miles around L.A., where another brush fire ignited in West Hollywood. This is something you hardly ever see. We're in the heart of L.A. on Sunset Boulevard, where there was a brush fire that shut down the road here. All these firefighters trying to get ahead of the wind, putting out the flames that were up in these hills. Firefighters using airdrops to put out the flames. Tonight, 19 million people under red flag warnings with wind gusts throughout the state expected to reach 100 miles per hour in some areas, sending trees onto cars and power lines.

The only thing I heard above that wind was the power lines popping. The intense smoke creating dangerous air quality across Southern California with the firefight continuing into the night, where high winds are expected to only further fan the flames. Liz Kreutz, NBC News, Los Angeles. All right, Bill Cairns is tracking the fires in these Santa Ana winds. I had to look twice at some of these wind speeds. Incredible. Yeah, firefighters are in a tropical storm fighting a huge fire where it hasn't rained in eight months. That's an impossible situation. You could see the

clouds and the smoke plume heading off the coast. Areas of red have already burned. We're now over a thousand acres. Winds are now gusting up to 60 miles per hour and later on tonight they get even stronger. This fire is going to burn right down to the ocean. It's just going to be trying to protect as many structures as possible and make sure everyone's going to be safe and we're going to see the humidity low too. As far as the wind gusts, even in downtown L.A., we could have gusts to 70s. If any new fires form, those will also have explosive growth. Now let's do a complete 180 and talk about this next major winter storm going across the country. Dallas to Little Rock. I have my eyes on you. This could potentially even be historic in snow amounts. Dallas up to five inches. Little Rock

up to six to seven inches. The East Coast will get something out of this, Lester, but this will not be as big as the last storm we just finished up with. All right, Bill, Karen, there's a lot to talk about. Thanks much. Now to the latest on the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas. Police providing stunning new details about the special ops soldier who blew himself up and the artificial intelligence they say he used to plan the attack. Tom Winter is here. And Tom, a top police official calling AI in this case a game changer.

Well, that's right, Lester. The potential use of AI by criminals and terrorists in planning violent incidents has been one of the most talked about emerging problems by law enforcement officials coast to coast over the past year. Officials in Las Vegas say Matthew Livelsberger used ChatGPT to conduct searches about laws and what he would need to use to set off explosive powder. Specifically, they say he asked ChatGPT the amount of explosives he would need, how and where to buy the fireworks for his explosive, and if he was to use a firearm to

set off the explosive, what speed a bullet would need to travel to get a specific powder to explode. He also asked AI how he could avoid detection. Police in Las Vegas believe this is the first large scale incident planned with help from chat GPT in the U.S. The NYPD says AI has already been used by the terrorist group ISIS to help them make anonymous propaganda. Some very specific information there. And did officials talk about the suspect's writings released by a podcaster? Yes, Lester. The sheriff confirmed and called that a manifesto and says the conspiracy-laden email sent to podcaster Sean Ryan is authentic. It referenced drones, the Chinese spy balloon, and other events tied to the military, some of which NBC News has confirmed are not true. All right. Important information, Tom Witter. Thanks very much. Less than two weeks before he takes office again, President-elect Trump tonight outlining potential

dramatic steps to try to acquire the Panama Canal and Greenland and even rename the Gulf of Mexico. Gabe Gutierrez has more. In a marathon news conference at Mar-a-Lago. President-elect Trump not ruling out using economic or military coercion to retake the Panama Canal and acquire Greenland. You're talking about Panama and Greenland. No, I can't assure you on either of those two, but I can say this. We need them for economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military. Trump saying the U.S. decision to return control the canal to Panama in the 90s gave too much influence to China. China's basically taken it over. And arguing the U.S. needs Greenland for national security. You have Russian ships all over the place.

We're not letting that happen. The people are going to probably vote for independence or to come into the United States. The provocative comments come as Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland today, and the Danish prime minister vowed that his country's territory is not for sale. Just here as tourists, seeing it looks like an incredible place. But his father laying out an aggressive foreign policy, expanding U.S. influence, even wanting to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name.

And it's appropriate. It's appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. And after mocking Canada as the 51st state, Trump is floating the idea of using economic, non-military force to annex the U.S. ally. Because Canada and the United States, that would really be something. You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security.

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responding, there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States. While overseas, Trump is again warning Hamas to release its hostages soon. If they're not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas. Meanwhile, Lester, Judge Eileen Cannon says special counsel Jack Smith's report on the now-dismissed classified documents in January 6th cases against Trump cannot be released until an appeals court weighs in. Trump called that great news. Also today, a New York appeals judge denied Trump's request to delay his sentencing in his hush money case.

Lester. All right, Gabe, thank you. And it's the shift in the political and social landscape that prompted the big changes announced today by Facebook parent Meta. Our Hallie Jackson explains. New fallout tonight after Meta's mega move to eliminate traditional fact checking on the world's biggest social media platform. We've reached a point where it's just too many mistakes and too much censorship. The fact checkers have just been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they've created, especially in the U.S. It's a significant shift from the fact checking put in place after Donald Trump's first win.

Instead, Meta will now rely on community notes. In other words, user input, similar to what Elon Musk's X platform does as part of a broader move to loosen up how meta moderates content. The company will also lift restrictions on hot button topics like gender identity and immigration, allow more politics into people's feeds and move its trust and safety team from liberal California to ruby red Texas. All just days before President-elect Trump retakes the White House. The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech. It's a political evolution for Meta,

four years after Facebook suspended Mr. Trump's account in the wake of January 6th, and just months after the president-elect accused Zuckerberg of plotting against him in 2020, calling for life in prison if Zuckerberg did it again. But after Mr. Trump's win, Zuckerberg traveled to Mar-a-Lago. His company donated a million dollars to the Trump inaugural fund. And now close Trump ally and UFC head Dana White is joining Meta's board. Meta, Facebook, I think they've come a long way. Do you think he's directly responding to the threats that you have made to him in the past?

Some critics concerned. Fact-checking is not censorship. What do you see as the Trump factor, if you will, here? This is very obviously a political decision. Over the next four years, the Trump administration will set key policy on critical tech topics like antitrust and AI. And as Meta has pushed into the world of artificial intelligence, new tonight, NBC News has found user-generated AI chatbots

that seemingly violated Meta's policies against creating characters based on religious or real-life figures. NBC News Review found some two dozen chatbots ranging from Hitler and Jesus Christ to Taylor Swift and Captain Jack Sparrow. Meta took down those individual accounts after our team reached out and in a statement says they are continuously improving their detection measures.

Lester. All right, Hallie Jackson, thank you. A historic scene in Washington tonight as the body of former President Jimmy Carter arrived at the Capitol Rotunda. Here's Kelly O'Donnell. Tonight, steeped in enduring rituals and ceremony, America saluting a man who valued a humble life and attained its highest office. He served the people and he left the world better than he found it. The honor of lying in state brings together the Carter family with leaders, dignitaries, and the American people to show gratitude and respect.

To honor an extraordinary man, a man who modeled the virtues of service and citizenship. Today's poignant return to the city where Jimmy Carter governed began 600 miles away at the place where his legacy endures, the Carter Center in Atlanta, home base of the Carters' global humanitarian work. For the journey to Washington, a presidential aircraft designated as Special Air Mission 39 carried the late president to Joint Base Andrews, the day's destinations telling the story of the 39th president, a stop at the U.S. Navy Memorial that he authorized in 1980. President Carter began his public service at the Naval

Academy and as a nuclear submarine engineer. A horse-drawn caisson retraced the route where Carter set a modern tradition of walking the parade route on inauguration day. Once a political outsider at rest in the rotunda tonight. At Thursday's national funeral, President Biden will deliver the eulogy, a personal request of President Carter. Lester. All right, Kelly O'Donnell, thank you. We'll take a break here. And in 60 seconds, the new government investigation into a feature in more than two and a half million Teslas. The crashes now under scrutiny. Back now with the federal investigation into a Tesla self-driving feature that owners can use to make their parked vehicles come to them. Here's Emily Aketa.

The technology is head turning, allowing your car to come to you from anywhere in the parking lot through Tesla's phone app and the touch of a button. No driver inside. But tonight, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is raising concerns about the actually smart summon feature in an estimated two and a half million Teslas, saying it is launching a probe over reported problems of failing to detect posts or parked vehicles resulting in a crash and the operator not having enough time to react. The announcement comes less than two weeks after we aired a story on a summoned Tesla. No driver, no passenger. It was an empty car that was driving itself

into my car. Our Washington, D.C. station, WRC's Susan Hogan, went to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to test a version of the technology. Finding success on the first try. It says the summon is complete. But a different result with the later attempts. I'm going to stop that. And in one case, almost jumping the curb. Between actually SmartSummon and its preceding software, the federal investigation is considering 13 crash complaints and three media reports. Fortunately, none of the incidents had injuries. Tesla did not reply to our questions about the probe, but online says.

Like all autopilot features, you are responsible for your car. And that the technology is meant to be used only on parking lots and driveways located on private property. Michael Brooks heads the Center for Auto Safety. You're limited in your control. And at that point, you're somewhat ceding control of, you know, your future potential liability to a robot. Amid the latest twist on the road with self-driving cars. Emily Ikeda, NBC News. Coming up, the amazing connection at a bakery in Chicago where their bond went far beyond the sweets. The good news is next. There's good news tonight from a bakery on Chicago's south side

where the owner and a customer discovered an incredible connection. Here's Laura Jarrett. Their connection started over sweets. The pancakes was just like the best I'd ever had. For more than 10 years, Vermar Hunter found himself drawn to Gimme Some Sugar. The owner, Lenore Lindsey, took up baking after retirement. I just wanted to have a little place, you know, like Cheers, where everybody knows your name. Years later, their easy rapport became more. As Vimar discovered, he was adopted as a child. And with the help of a genealogist and investigator, they found his biological mother.

You can't tell this story without talking God, because I was led the entire way. Led to Lenore, who had placed him for adoption when she became pregnant at 17. Once Lamar's investigator found her 50 years later, she had only his name and number to call, thinking he'd be a stranger. I caught him from the bakery line. Give me some sugar pops up. I didn't order anything. I'm thinking, why?

Then I heard a voice. I like miss lenore right yeah i'm like this is for mars yeah there's a lot of it was a lot of oh my god oh my goodness no yeah no that's it so we were just yeah we just went on like that but just as the two were making up for lost time, Lenore was fighting breast cancer and running the shop was taking a toll. So Vimar decided to step up, quitting his job to now run the bakery full time. He loves it like I love it. Mother and son now together feeding the souls of this community. Laura Jarrett, NBC News, Chicago.

And that is nightly news for this Tuesday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.