NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Saturday, December 6, 2025

Episode Date: December 7, 2025

20 million under winter weather alerts as heavy snow targets West and Midwest; Hegseth defends U.S. boat strikes as Pentagon faces growing scrutiny; Russia launches drone strike on Ukraine amid peace talks; and more on tonight’s broadcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This is NBC Nightly News with Jose Diaz Ballard. Good evening. We begin tonight with 20 million of us bracing for bitter cold and a new round of wintry weather. This was a scene in Utah of the night, snowplows already working overtime to clear roads during a triple threat of strong winds, heavy snow and icy conditions. But it wasn't just there. You could see it really coming down across much of the mountain west as that system moved East. And in the Midwest tonight, temperatures plummeting. So cold, it even froze the shoreline along Lake Superior. Adrian Broaden starts us off tonight from Chicago.

Tonight, as snow plows in Utah pushed through heavy snow, a fast-moving system is putting 20 million people under winter weather alerts. Here we are. Another day in paradise. In the northern Rockies, some states picked up nearly a foot of snow. 80-mile-per-hour wind gust swept the slopes in Breckenridge, Colorado. But skiers kept going. In Iowa, fresh snow blanketing the final fall colors. Snow, ice, and wind, also creating dangerous road conditions. In Arkansas, fog is reducing visibility. And Lake Superior's frozen shoreline in Wisconsin shows how hard this cold snap is hitting the Midwest. I don't know how y'all do winter here,

because I can barely handle this. In Chicago, wind chills dip lower than many expected this week, and winter is still weeks away. This is early for us to have this much snow and these temperatures, so we're kind of bracing ourselves for a rough one this year. Never seen this much snow this early. Adrian joins me now from Chicago, and Adrian, we're tracking dangerous cold throughout the weekend.

Jose, we are. Tonight's coldest airs in the northern plains with temperatures below zero. And tomorrow's high, 10 to 25 degrees below average on Sunday, parts of Minnesota and the Dakotas will struggle to climb above single digits. Jose. Adrian brought us in Chicago. Thank you. Just in tonight, prosecutors releasing new photos of evidence related to accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione. That evidence, including items that may be important. important to the case, including clothes that he wore when he was arrested, a USB drive that he had around his neck, a fake driver's license, along with this white piece of paper that

appears to show some of his planning, including the phrase survival kit. It comes as Mangione is set to appear in court again next week. To Washington now, where Secretary Pete Hegsef said the U.S. military will continue to target boats in the Caribbean, as the Pentagon faces growing questions about possible military action against Venezuela. Julie Sarkin reports. Tonight, Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth vowing more strikes in the Caribbean. We'll keep killing them so long as they are poisoning our people with narcotics. And defending a controversial strike from September 2nd that has drawn scrutiny on Capitol Hill.

I fully support that strike. I would have made the same call myself. Admiral Frank Bradley, who ordered the follow-up strikes that killed two people who survived this attack on alleged drug boat in September, told lawmakers he was given a target list. Bradley says Hexeth instructed him to destroy the vessel and kill all 11 on board, and that he was in contact with military lawyers throughout the operation, according to two officials and one person familiar with congressional briefings. Democrats questioning the legality of these strikes. What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I've seen in my time in public

service. You have two individuals in clear distress who are killed by the United States. Military aircraft overhead spotted the two survivors waving their arms before launching follow-up strikes more than 30 minutes later, killing them and sinking the boat. Bradley acknowledged this boat was traveling from Venezuela to Suriname, another country in South America, and was not headed to the U.S., according to an official and a person familiar with the briefing. The Trump administration reporting 22 deadly strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats in recent months, leaving at least 86 people dead. On Friday, the Coast Guard posting this video appearing to show members firing at a boat,

saying it seized over 20,000 pounds of cocaine as it ramps up operations in the eastern Pacific. This says Venezuela braces for potential military action from the Trump administration. regime leader Nicholas Maduro, saying his country is not a threat to the U.S. Julie, joins me now from the White House, and Julie, the White House says they believe there are misconceptions about those strikes in the Caribbean. Jose, exactly right. A Trump administration official tells me the cumulative of impact of what they're calling narco-terrorist shipments in the region directly threatened Americans and the national security interests of the United States. Jose? Julie, Sirkin, at the White House. Thank you.

And don't miss Kristen Welker's big lineup on Meet the Press tomorrow morning, right here on NBC. New Russian drone strikes burned down a rail station in central Ukraine overnight as Moscow launched another major assault. This comes as U.S. officials try to negotiate a path towards peace between the two countries. Danielle Hamajan is in London tonight with the very latest, Danielle. Jose, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said today, they're closer than they've ever been to peace. On the ground, yet another barrage of Russian strikes pounding Ukraine overnight. More than 700 drones and missiles knocking out power in several regions of the country. On the other side, Moscow says it shot down more than 100 Ukrainian drones and among the targets a major Russian oil refinery.

On the diplomatic front, American and Ukrainian officials met again today with Zelensky speaking afterwards by phone to Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner, agreeing on steps for more talks and expect to see Zelenskyy here in London. on Monday, as he's set to meet with leaders from Germany, France, and the U.K. Jose. Danielle Hammamjian in London, thank you. Back here at home, we're hearing for the first time the terrifying moments inside the cockpit of a passenger plane when an off-duty pilot tried to cut the aircraft's engines and what he told police in the moments just after he was arrested.

Morgan Chesky has more. Tonight, new video shows authorities escorting an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot from a passenger flight. minutes after his actions led to chaos inside the cockpit. This audio from that 2023 flight capturing Joseph Emerson as he tried to pull the plane's fire suppression handles, killing power. What's going on? Horizon, we need to make an emergency landing. I'm sorry, who's that? That's Horizon 205.9.

We've got a jump scooter just try to set our engines off. We need to go direct to Portland now. Throttle. Throttle. Horizon flight 2059 was bound from Everett to San Francisco, but averted catastrophe by making an emergency landing with more than 80 people on board. On the ground, Dash Camp shows police question the veteran pilot. So were you trying to kill yourself? I was trying to wake up. I'm trying to wake up.

I don't. I don't feel like this is real. I didn't feel like it's real. Emerson told investigators he'd taken psychedelic mushrooms two days prior and hadn't slept in around 48 hours, admitting he was struggling with depression. So when did you finally notice that this was real? When I saw the look on people's faces when I came and you guys brought me out. And just weeks ago, a federal judge sentenced Emerson to credit for time served and three years

supervised release. before that sentencing, Emerson stressed that he was not a victim and was only in that courtroom as a direct result of his own actions. Jose? Terrified. Morgan Chesky, thank you so much. We've got some pretty wild new video tonight for you of a train plowing into a car as it drove near the tracks. Take a look at this. You can see the car about to go across when the train hits it head on. It happened in Wilton, Iowa. police say the driver was quote very lucky to escape major injury there's good news tonight so often the good news doesn't get as much attention as the bad so every saturday we highlight the many people who spread joy and love and these are just some of those stories this week just listen to that crowd That's the sound of victory for the Grafton High School Blackhawks.

Not just any victory, a Wisconsin State championship to teams first in more than 40 years. For head coach Jim Norris, the only thing sweeter than a win is hard work finally paying off. And one, reach two, a three. They say practice makes perfect. A turn and step and flick. But this is a lot. a normal rehearsal. That was really good. For this young girl, it's a performance and her dream of dancing in the Big Apple coming true. That's competitive dancer, Lily Santisi, showing her poise and

strength as she battles cancer. But with help from Garden of Dreams and the Make a Wish Foundation, she moved with the very best, the Radio City Rockettes. It feels like really special because once in a lifetime, I'm so glad I like had the opportunity to do this. William, it's my great pleasure to introduce you to your hero, the hero to us all, your donor, Carissa. That's Carissa Picchona, meeting the boy who she saved, four-year-old William Jones, who she's bonded with forever. Carissa stepped up to donate her bone marrow to William after his parents found out they couldn't, and she saved his life. His parents beaming with gratitude for their hero. I'm so happy to see that he's doing so well.

I'm just honored to be a piece of the puzzle. And in Virginia. Seven-year-old Sutton Bullock is ringing in a new chapter officially cancer-free, and there's someone special that wanted to celebrate her. That's Washington Capitol's hockey player, Logan Thompson, who has been in her corner since they met last year. She was not only, like, his biggest fan,

but he felt like, you know, a big fan of Sutton's. And that really made Sutton feel so incredibly special. But to really celebrate Sutton, wrapping up 800 days of chemotherapy, Logan and the Capitals had another surprise in mind. She rang the bell again, this time at a Capitals game. And the crowd went wild. How would you describe the importance of friends, family,

and people that you don't even know in any way personally, and yet they became so involved in her story? It was really incredible, and it really made it feel like, okay, we're not in this alone. We have this incredible group of people behind us. Thank you so much. That's NBC Nightly News for this Saturday. Hallie Jackson will be here tomorrow night.

I'm Jose Diazboart. Thank you for the privilege of your time. And good night.