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

Episode Date: September 25, 2024

Tropical Storm Helene expected to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane; Biden, in final U.N. speech, says world is at an "inflection point"; Israel bombards southern Lebanon and Beirut for a second day; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, Tropical Storm Helene forming in the Caribbean and potentially taking aim at the U.S. Gulf Coast as a major hurricane. A hurricane warning and watch along Florida's western coastline. A state of emergency across nearly the entire state. Up to 15 feet of storm surge expected. Mandatory evacuations in effect and we're tracking it all. Also this evening, President Biden's final address at the United Nations. It's warning to the world as wars rage in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Israel and Hezbollah exchanging new strikes as thousands flee southern Lebanon after the

deadliest day there in almost two decades. Nearly a year after the Hamas terror attack on Israel, the families of American hostages speaking out. One freed hostage fearing for her husband still in captivity. I was there in those same conditions and I thought that I'm going to die all the time. Do they feel forgotten as the war shifts to Lebanon? NFL legend Brett Favre revealing his battle with Parkinson's while on the hot seat at a Capitol Hill hearing on welfare fraud. The CEO of the company behind Ozempic and Wagovi testifying. Lawmakers demanding to know why are popular weight loss drugs

so expensive when they cost less abroad. And the WNBA playoffs tipping off as the popularity of women's hoops surges on courts across the country. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening, everyone, and welcome. We may be looking at a major hurricane striking the U.S. mainland within the next 48 hours. As we come on the air, here's what forecasters are watching. What is right now, Tropical Storm Helene is organizing and gaining strength, likely to reach hurricane status by tomorrow before making landfall in Florida sometime Thursday evening, potentially as a Category 3 hurricane. Helene forecasted to bring drenching rains and storm surge as high as 15 feet.

Hurricane and storm surge alerts are already posted along the entire west coast of Florida, and residents are being urged to finish their preparations. We'll show you some of those preparations in a moment, but first we turn to Bill Cairns for the latest storm track. And Bill, how does it all time out? Lester, 48 hours from now, we expect a major hurricane landfall with an impressive storm surge, dangerous winds, and of course, all the rain that's going to come with it. The storm is still organizing. Right now, it's just a tropical storm. By tomorrow morning, near Cancun, possibly a Category 1 hurricane. Then it's over very warm water for about 36 hours. That's when we could have rapid intensification. That's when the Hurricane Center has it paralleling the west coast of Florida on Thursday and making landfall about 9 p.m. somewhere south to Tallahassee. Then Friday,

traveling up through Georgia and raining itself out in the southern Appalachians. As far as the storm goes, don't focus on the cone. This storm is huge. About 400 mile wide tropical storm force winds well away from the center. We're going to have intense impacts. And also we're going to have storm surge problems, as you mentioned, up to 15 feet. All right, Bill, thanks very much. Marissa Parra is in Tampa for us tonight. Marissa, a state of emergency is in effect there and in most of Florida, in fact. Lester, that's right.

And that is why we are seeing preparations days ahead of landfall. Right next to me, on the right of me, this is an almost 10-foot barrier. It's called an aqua fence. And this is what is expected to protect Tampa General Hospital on the other side of the fence from the Tampa Bay, just feet away from us. Now, where we are in Tampa, this is one of the counties, one of the at least 61 counties that has declared a state of emergency. That is most of the state of Florida. And as Bill just pointed out, the massive size of this storm, remember, it's not just those in the direct path.

The biggest threat is often going to be the flooding and the storm surge. And this is why we are already seeing long lines at those sandbag distribution centers, at the gas station school closures across the state. The message here, Lester, tonight is clear. Prepare now while you can. Larissa Pera, thank you. Here in New York, President Biden took the world stage today, weighing in on the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine in his final speech before the U.N. General Assembly.

Peter Alexander now with his urgent message. Tonight, President Biden's farewell to the U.N., his fourth and final address. The choices we make today will determine our future for decades to come. With fears the violence between Israel and Hezbollah could grow, the president again today calling for a negotiated end to the conflict in the Middle East. Full-scale war is not in anyone's interest. Even if the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible. But for months, a ceasefire and hostage deal have remained elusive. The president also bluntly insisting that Russian President Vladimir

Putin's invasion of Ukraine has failed, touting the strength of alliances he helped expand. We cannot grow weary. We cannot look away. And we will not let up on our support for Ukraine. Three years after declaring America is back following former President Trump's time in office. To deliver for our own people must also engage deeply with the rest of the world. The question looming over this year's UN whether Trump and his America first policies are coming back. Our test is to make sure that the forces holding us together are stronger and those are pulling us apart. But tonight, Republicans argue the world has grown more dangerous since President Biden took office. What we've seen is chaos throughout the world.

Is America and our allies safer today than it was four years ago? The answer is absolutely not. Reflecting on his five decades in public life, including his abrupt decision to step aside under pressure from within his own party, this powerful message to Democratic leaders and dictators alike. Let us never forget, some things are more important than staying in power. It's your people that matter the most. And Peter, we've just learned that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak on Friday. Yeah, that's right. Lester, President Biden is not, as of this moment, expected to meet with him while he's here. Meanwhile, we do know that both the president and vice president will be

meeting with Ukraine's President Zelensky later this week. Zelensky will also meet with President Trump while here. Okay, Peter, thank you. And in the Middle East, Israel widened its deadly air assault on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon today, forcing tens of thousands to escape from the region. Matt Bradley is in Beirut now with late details. Israel pummeling Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group for a second day. A day after inflicting the highest death toll in Lebanon since the 2006 war. The two-day death toll, more than 550 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry, and nearly 2,000 more injured. The enemy doesn't differentiate between civilians and militants, this man said. We're all civilians.

The Israeli military releasing this video of a strike today in Beirut, it says, killed a top Hezbollah commander. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed today to keep it up, urging Lebanese civilians to rid themselves of Hezbollah. We'll continue to pound Hezbollah, he said. Anyone who has a missile in their living room and a rocket in their garage will not have a home. Hezbollah has been firing back, launching projectiles over the border toward Israeli towns. The huge uptick in Israeli strikes sparking a panicked exodus in Lebanon's south. Traffic backed up for hours for those fleeing, some with serious injuries. This hospital has already received dozens of injuries from the south. Some of them are being intubated in the ICU, but they're preparing to get even more. Doctors here say all of the injured

they treated were civilians. We received usual war injuries, chest, broken legs, abdominal injuries. Many who escaped death and injury have found themselves homeless, seeking refuge in makeshift shelters. Ilham Abdallah fled southern Lebanon with her family and only the clothes on their backs. She said that after they fled, half of her home was leveled by Israeli strikes. There's no house, she told me. And when I asked her if she was afraid for the future, she said, of course. And Matt, you were in Beirut tonight. You've talked to people.

What is the sense of their biggest concerns right now? Well, Lester, following those huge aerial bombardments and those walkie-talkie and pager explosions last week, the worry here is that Israel could be preparing for a ground invasion of the kind we saw back in 2006 that laid waste to southern Lebanon. Lester. All right, Matt Bradley tonight. Thank you. The escalation of the Mideast war threatens to further overshadow the unresolved hostage crisis in Gaza. Today, I sat down with anguished American families still waiting to bring their loved ones home nearly a year after the October 7th Hamas attacks. It's been nearly a year now since we first saw their faces, those kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7th, including the families of these Americans

who we spoke to today. Are you fearful that the world's attention is shifting away from Gaza and the hostages? We're here today, again, to appeal to the people of the world that are failing to see who are the innocents here. You know, the innocents are our loved ones and the citizens of Gaza and the region that just want de-escalation and just want the war to end, and that should start with the release of the hostages. We've been speaking with these families since their nightmare began, but this is our first conversation with Aviva Siegel. She was a hostage herself, freed last year, but her husband Keith is still being held. Keith and the hostages are thrown underneath the

ground on a filthy, dirty mattress with no human rights. They're not allowed to talk. They're not allowed to move. It's dark there. They've got no oxygen. But for us, worrying about them and me, sick to my stomach, worried about Keith and theages, because they're there and they're just waiting. What will be the next thing the Hamas terrorist will do to them? If they're going to rape them again, starve them again, hit them again. I was there in those same conditions. And I thought that I'm going to die all the time. It's hard to hear these stories. And Yael, what is it like to hear these stories for you? Yael's 20-year-old son, Idan, was also kidnapped. It's very hard stories to hear. I'm worried sick for the well-being of Idan.

Every time that I'm meeting Aviva, I'm giving her the biggest hug that I can, and I'm feeling like I'm hugging Idan because to see her, it's a miracle for me. She's like an angel. Mika is Idan's sister. It was so surreal, like texting and talking to Idan like two days before and then hearing on October 7th that I was just not going to be talking to him. And now it's been a year. So it's been like a year that like my best friend, like that I was growing up with has just been like, like gone from my life. I'm sorry.

No, it's okay. It's been very difficult. And Aviva, at the same time, looking at you here, it is a sign of hope that it is possible. It's a sign of hope. But I want to tell you that I look strong, but I'm broken up into pieces for all the families and the hostages that are there. I'm going to scream as much as I can until they come back. How would you describe this past year? We simply just miss them so deeply, so deeply. My sister and her husband's bodies are being held as bargaining chips still in Gaza.

We cannot do anything besides trying to think how to get back Itayi home. And no joy in our life. The group has met frequently with Biden administration officials. Is there a deal to be done, perhaps between just the U.S., an independent deal? Is that doable? I believe that the administration needs to look at all of its basic assumptions, re-evaluate them each day, all over again, and see what is the best way to get its citizens out, that the U.S. has an obligation to get them out of harm's way.

Governments at this point, in order to end the madness, have to be willing to get out of their comfort zones to press Hamas first and foremost. One year on, it's almost too much to bear. Lister, walking up here from the train this morning, a person saw my shirt and kind of threw haphazardly, do you really think there's anyone alive there? And I told him, yes, I do. It's my son there. What do you mean? Yes, my son is there. Can you imagine what a nightmare it is to wake up every morning and not know if your child is alive, to know that they're in this horrible conditions for almost a year now and that their life is at stake every single day? Part of our emotional conversation earlier today

here in New York. We'll take a break. And in 60 seconds, the Justice Department accuses Visa of illegally monopolizing debit card transactions, saying it has cost consumers and merchants billions in fees. Plus, NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre reveals his health battle. Stay with us. After taking on Google and Ticketmaster, the Justice Department now has its sights on Visa, the DOJ filing a major antitrust lawsuit over Visa's debit cards. Christine Romans is here. Christine, how does the government say Visa is hurting consumers? You know, the Justice Department accuses Visa of killing competition and running an illegal monopoly that raises prices for just about everything. According to the complaint, more than 60 percent of debit transactions in the U.S. run on Visa's network, and that allows it to charge more than $7 billion in fees, transaction fees, each year.

The Justice Department says Visa does that by penalizing companies for not exclusively using its payment processing network. Retailers have complained for years of the high cost of processing debit and credit card payments. The government says those fees are passed to consumers. Now, a Visa spokesperson called the suit meritless, saying there's an ever-expanding universe of companies offering new ways to pay for goods and services. They say today's lawsuit ignores the reality that Visa is just one of many competitors in a debit space that is growing. But this is the latest move in a tough antitrust stance from the government, also targeting online ticketing and digital advertising, Lester. All right, Christine Romans, thank you. On Capitol Hill, a major announcement

from legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre. The 54-year-old Hall of Famer telling lawmakers he's been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. It came during a hearing on the alleged misuse of welfare funds in Mississippi. Favre has been accused of accepting more than a million dollars in fees from a welfare program for speeches he never gave. He denied wrongdoing, paid back the money, and has not been criminally charged, but was named in a civil lawsuit filed by the state. And up next here tonight, they could be game changers when it comes to people's health. So why are the costs of those breakthrough weight loss drugs so high? On the hot seat, the CEO of the company that makes the popular diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Lawmakers demanded

to know why Americans pay so much more for them compared to other countries. Here's Stephanie Gosk. The drugs Ozempic for diabetes and Wagobe for weight loss have created a revolution in health care. At a Senate hearing today, Lars Jorgensen, the CEO of Novo Nordisk, the Danish company that makes the drugs, was grilled. Stop ripping us off. Senator Bernie Sanders pointing out that the list price for these drugs is much higher in the U.S. than in other countries. Look at the difference in Ozempic in Germany or Wagovi in Denmark. The outrageously high price of these drugs could bankrupt Medicare and radically increase premiums

to absolutely unaffordable rates. And that could mean people who need what may be life-saving drugs may not get them. Is this acceptable to you? Senator, any prospects of patients not getting access to the medicine they need, I think is terrifying. We don't decide the price for patients. That's said by the insurance companies. Jorgensen argues the pricing system in the U.S. is mostly to blame, specifically pharmacy benefit managers or PBMs that wield enormous power over access to drugs and the prices patients pay, according to a recent study by the FTC, which says these powerful

middlemen may be profiting by inflating drug costs and squeezing Main Street pharmacies. We shouldn't let up on having Mr. Jorgensen and other CEOs here impressing him, may be profiting by inflating drug costs and squeezing Main Street pharmacies. We shouldn't let up on having Mr. Jorgensen and other CEOs here impressing him, but we got to get serious about the PBM reform. Senator Sanders announcing three of the largest PBMs say they are willing to expand access to the drugs if the company lowered its prices. Sit in a room with us and work on an agreement. I'd be happy to, as I said, do anything that helps patients. While some on the panel took note of the company's achievement.

Novo Nordisk is not the villain in this story. They're a hero. We should be here celebrating this miracle innovation. The hearing ended without a commitment from Novo Nordisk to lower prices. Stephanie, joining me now, what could the results be if the PBMs and Novo Nordisk do come to the table? Well, Lester, the largest PBM in the country is CVS Caremark, and they shared with NBC the letter they sent to Senator Sanders that assures a price drop would lead to expanded coverage and expanded access. Now the pressure is on Novo Nordisk to drop that price. All right, Stephanie, thanks very much. And coming up, who's got next? Has women's basketball surges in popularity in college and the pros? Neighborhood courts filling up from Brooklyn to Tokyo. Finally, there's good news tonight about women's basketball

with the WNBA playoffs now underway. It's not only the pros courting so much attention. Here's Antonia Hilton. Every Wednesday night, as the sun goes down on this Brooklyn basketball court, dozens of women line up and start shooting hoops. This is Hoop York City. The brainchild of Alex Taylor. What's the feeling, the culture you're trying to create? The culture I'm trying to create is just a space where women can come and feel comfortable to be themselves and to make friends and just feel a little bit lighter.

Just as star rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have helped fuel a 170 percent increase in WNBA viewership this season and women's basketball participation across the country is up nearly 44 percent over the past five years. Taylor's pickup league has exploded too. What started in 2018 as a casual email list of women now has a wait list in the hundreds. Tournaments, partnerships with Adidas, and even inspired a similar club in Tokyo. Some girls, they do it for their mouth to help. For me personally, I just love the camaraderie. It just lifts my spirit so much after just being around the girls. Taylor says sometimes when Hoop York City shows up to a court with permits in hand,

the men don't go quietly. We've had guys try to play us for the court, like trying to just not let us play us for the court. It's so silly, but it's real. It's really helped me come into my power, having to advocate for this whole army of women that are behind me. Now she says there are new fans even at her pickup games, and Taylor

welcomes them, but also wants them to remember. We're not new to this. We're true to this. Antonia Hilton, NBC News, Brooklyn, New York. And that's nightly news for this Tuesday. Thanks for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other.