NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Saturday, January 31, 2026

Episode Date: February 1, 2026

Heavy snow brings near blizzard conditions and dangerous cold to Southeast ;Federal judge orders release of 5-year-old boy from detention facility; Explosions put Iran on edge as tensions skyrocket with U.S.; 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 that winter storm taking aim at the south. Just days after last weekend storm hit the eastern U.S. brutal temperatures now resulting in more than 100 deaths, parts of the Carolinas seeing up to a foot of snow tonight. Take a look at this, a truck stuck in the snow and gets smashed by an oncoming train. Luckily, no one was hurt. airports are also impacted. Thousands of flights cancel.

All of it as more than 100 million Americans endure brutal cold. We're covering it all for you tonight, and we begin with Aaron Gilchrist in North Carolina. Tonight, heavy snow slamming the Carolinas. Six days after a winter storm that wreaked havoc on the South's power grid, a new system is dumping more than a foot of fresh powder, with some places seeing near blizzard conditions. North Carolina transportation officials releasing this video of a semi-eastern. stuck in snow and ice.

And in this video, released by Gastonia Police, you can see a train plowing into a semi-truck stuck on the railroad tracks. The truck completely crumpled, police saying, thankfully no one was hurt. And in South Carolina, cars littering ditches along highways, officials in both states begging people to stay off the roads. Guilt for Metro 911 is being overrun today

with calls for people that are getting out and about. And with 137 million people, across the country under cold weather alerts, the death toll connected to this winter crisis, now in the triple digits. This is an incredibly difficult and painstaking decision. And off the coast of Massachusetts, search and rescue efforts suspended after a 72-foot fishing vessel sank in frigid waters. One body recovered, the other six aboard now presumed dead. Also tonight, more trouble at airports, a ground stop today in Charlotte where plows were busy clearing the snow. Nationwide, flight cancellations once again reached into the thousands.

Kate 2's from Los Angeles stuck in the storm zone for the night. Hopefully I get to go out tomorrow. Fresh snow today also in hard-hit Tennessee, where tens of thousands remain without power, now for nearly a week, frustrations boiling over. This is the coldest and the worst I've ever been in my life. And Aaron joins me now from Jacksonville, North Carolina, where as you can see, the snow is coming down hard. and what safety measures are being taken where you are?

Well, Jose, the biggest safety message to people here in North Carolina is to stay off the roads. The plow crews are going to be out there through the night working to clear the roads. There are curfews and places in some counties here in North Carolina through the night tonight. Of course, we know that this storm could get bigger as the night goes on. And then there's that Arctic blast that comes after. The wind chill here is eight degrees right now. That cold air is going to stay in place for at least several more days, Jose. Aaron Gilchrist, Jacksonville, North Carolina. Thank you. I want to bring in a meteorologist Matt Brickman from our NBC, New York station. He's tracking this storm as well. Matt, what can we expect from it?

Jose, this storm is bringing a real taste of winter to a lot of folks who don't typically see this. Throughout the Carolinas, they have been seeing accumulating snow throughout the day to day. And this storm is not done just yet. Another three to five inches throughout the Carolinas. As the storm begins to pull away and move up the coast, we'll see. stronger winds that could lead to some coastal flooding here throughout the northeast. 30 to 50 mile an hour gusts also driving much colder temperatures, 137 million folks across the eastern half of the country impacted by extreme cold temperatures running 20 to 30 degrees below average through Monday, which will drop wind chills in Atlanta down near zero. Jose? Matt Brickman, thank you. Just in tonight, a federal judge ordering immigration authorities to release a five-year-old boy who was taken into custody, sparking outrage across the country.

Maggie Vespa reports from Minneapolis. Tonight, as protesters lined the streets of Minneapolis, a major update to a case that's fueled outrage here and nationwide, a federal judge ordering the release of five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father from a detention facility in Texas. The two taken from their snowy Minnesota driveway by federal officers last week. In a scathing rebuke to the Trump administration, the U.S. District Judge writing, the case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently implemented government

pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children. The order coming, even as another federal judge today, declined to block ICE's operation in Minneapolis. Homeland Security Secretary Christine Nome praising that decision. We're grateful when a court sees that the right thing has been done. Protesters today telling us they've had enough. We are born citizens and we are Minnesotian, so that's why we are out here. And it's very important to be out here. Call 911. I'm right at the corner of Jefferson. And raising new concerns tonight, this dash cam video provided to Minnesota Public Radio. I will not get out of the car. Federal officers with guns drawn appearing to forcibly take a driver from her car on Thursday.

Get all the fucking off of me. Get your hands off of me. Get your f*** hands off. The driver who asked not to be identified telling NPR news she's a U.S. citizen from St. Peter and that she had been recording federal agents from her car. The woman, after being briefly detained, returned home with the help of local police, NPR reports. One more incident fueling the anger tonight on the streets of Minnesota. Maggie Vespa joins me now from Minneapolis. Maggie, any response tonight from the Trump administration about that new video? Jose, not yet.

We've asked both the Department of Homeland Security and ICE about that video and about the details in the Minnesota public radio story. So far, no response. Jose. Maggie Vespa in Minneapolis, thank you. And now to the Middle East and explosions rattling parts of Iran. It comes as tensions skyrocket between that country and the U.S. Kier Simmons reports.

Tonight, Iran says the blast that tore through this residential building in a port city did not kill a naval commander. The explosion and a fire in southwestern Iran caused by a gas leak officials say. Iran's supreme leader appearing in public for the first time in weeks, attempting to project stability, but his country is on edge. Tomorrow, its Revolutionary Guard is set to carry out missile tests and a live-fire naval exercise. President Trump has sent an aircraft carrier strike group and says he's prepared to use it. It's number one, no nuclear and number two, stop killing protesters.

Despite an internet blackout as mass protests were crushed in a massacre two weeks ago, a U.S. team that scours Iranian social media says pro-regime messages are being allowed. Its analysis shared with NBC News, finding the regime trying to project defiance. And they're clearly trying to volley counter threats that US assets will be vulnerable. Desperate to de-escalate neighboring countries intensified diplomatic efforts today, speaking to the Iranian foreign minister and President Trump's envoy. But across the region in Gaza, Israeli strikes killed roughly 30 people, 30 people, including children, the highest death toll in weeks, testing October's peace deal.

The Israeli defence forces said it was targeting Hamas and Islamic jihad for violating the ceasefire agreement. Tomorrow, Israel is set to allow the raffer crossing with Egypt to reopen for the limited movement of people. Tonight, President Trump continues to weigh his options over Iran, saying in an interview this evening they are negotiating, but adding the last the negotiated, quote, we had to take out their nuclear and we'll see what happens. Jose? Kier Simmons, thank you. Also tonight, a new push in Venezuela could lead to the release of political prisoners there.

Family members rallied outside a notorious political prison after Venezuela's acting leader, Delci Rodriguez, announced a new bill that could mean freedom for hundreds of political prisoners. The move, a major concession from Frulriguez, who became Venezuela's leader after the U.S. captured Nicolas Maduro on the 3rd of January. Here at home, new information is coming to light from the millions of newly released documents from the Epstein files, including a new batch that was released overnight. Melanie Zanona has the latest. Tonight, the DOJ's latest batch of Epstein files revealing new connections between the late convicted sex offender and other powerful men. with another data set posted overnight.

One of the documents appears to be a 32-count draft indictment prepared against Epstein before the non-prosecution agreement he reached in 2007. It reveals the government was looking to charge three co-conspirators alongside Epstein with a conspiracy to procure women under the age of 18 between 2001 and 2005. Their names are redacted, but they are described as assistants who helped schedule appointments, make calls, pay victims, and more. Some new images also appear to show Britain's former Prince Andrew kneeling over an unidentified female. There are no details provided about the circumstances or timing of the photos.

And there's no indication of wrongdoing in these images. He has denied prior accusations of sexual abuse by one of Epstein's victims and has never been criminally charged. The DOJ also posted, then temporarily removed without explanation, a spreadsheet of complaints made to the FBI, including unverified allegations about both President Trump and former. President Bill Clinton. Per the document, the FBI determined some of those claims were found to be not credible. Trump and Clinton have denied any wrongdoing, and they have not been accused by authorities. The DOJ says the files contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that are

unfounded and false. We did not protect President Trump. We didn't protect or not protect anybody. A group of Epstein survivors criticized the DOJ for heavily redacting some of the files, saying in a statement, this is not. over. We will not stop until the truth is fully revealed and every perpetrator is finally held accountable. Jose, some of the Epstein documents are heavily redacted. President Trump's Justice Department said the White House had no oversight of the review of these new files. At least two

congressmen have already requested to see unredacted documents. And remember, the Deputy Attorney General said they're not releasing millions of pages of additional files, including some involving internal deliberations about the case. Jose. Melanie Zanona at the White House. Thank you. Most of the federal government is shut down this weekend. There is a good chance it could reopen soon. You see, the Senate passed the bill late last night to keep the government running, but the House won't vote on it until Monday at the earliest.

All of this, setting up a much larger battle over funding for the Department of Homeland Security and major changes that Democrats want to make to how ICE operate. No matter where football is played, it's always 100 yards of blood, sweat, and sometimes tears. But that doesn't mean every field in the NFL is created equal. One of the things that we see a lot in the NFL, though, is we have such a wide array of variability. NFL field director Nick Pappas oversees all of it, from the growth of natural fields at about a dozen local farms across the country to the turf composition of the 15 stadiums that use

His role especially important now, with the NFL rolling out new rules for field safety. We're using the East Star Advantage anytime we can. We met Nick checking on the field at Levi Stadium outside San Francisco, the site of Super Bowl 60. We have indoor fields. We have outdoor fields. We have synthetic turf fields. We have natural grass fields. We have hybrid fields. Everyone's field is a little bit different. Each of the NFL's 30 stadiums must meet new consistency standards, whether they're turf or natural grass, by 2028. And the league is serious about enforcement, using two interactive tools to make sure

they're hitting the bar, strike and beast. Testing every surface for performance. Broadly, what is this task for? Ultimately, it provides us information on traction and stability. The goal being getting all those fields to play and feel as similar as possible for our athletes. How players feel, a key part of the new standards. The more players prefer turf or prefer grass or I mean, look, I think you hear the common rhetoric that's out there, right, is that the players prefer grass. I think the players prefer something that they can then be prepared for. The NFL says injury data is the same across surface materials.

In a statement, the NFL Players Association said, while player members have been clear about their overwhelming preference for high quality natural grass surfaces, the new rules are taking a step in the right direction. The league's new decree of fairness across stadiums designed to level the playing field literally. Steve Patterson, NBC News, Santa Clara, California. 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 as we count down to the Super Bowl next week, some lucky fans got a special gift from their favorite teams. Now this is what excitement looks like.

That's a Johnny Crenshaw getting the surprise of a lifetime. Two tickets to Super Bowl 60 from former Chicago Bears running back to Rick Cohen. It was just amazing. The Bears thanking him for his work to prevent gun violence with every town and capital dreamers, a nonprofit he founded. But for Ajani, the best part is that he gets to bring his dad a lifelong Bears fan. He's never been to a Super Bowl. He's the biggest Bears fan in the world.

But Johnny wasn't the only one who stepped up for his community. What? That's Danny Solomon. But to these kids, he's coach, Boom. Danny brought youth football to his neighborhood in Cleveland 32 years ago and coached every year since. For him, football is about more than just the game. To have that kind of opportunity to impact

and instill some values, a sense of family and commitment to that many young man for this many years. I'm grateful. That's why the Browns are sending him to the Super Bowl to thank him for his dedication. Over here. Near Buffalo, New York, hard work paying off. Thank you. Army veteran Jack Hofstadter worked the very first Bills game at Highmark Stadium all the way through the last. Thank you for being here for so many years.

We're closing down the stadium and moving to the new stadium. And now he's heading to the big game. I don't have words for it. And for a man who played a huge role for so many, an even bigger surprise. Two tickets to Super Bowl 60. That's Chris Curry, founder of the Pittsburgh Flag Football League, who has coached more than 2,000 kids. There you go.

The Steelers giving him those tickets to thank you. Thank him for his commitment to the sport and the kids. We wanted to thank you for growing the game of football and NFL flag, especially here in Western Pennsylvania and for all the girls. What's the message you want all of us to get? And we've got the surprise of a life. Everybody can do something. We want to have impact.

So it's a matter of saying, how can I impact my community? How can I impact kids around me? Kids, hey, man, get it up right now. This is a 16 years worth of work. A flag football. This is a real thing now. What do you want kids that are watching this moment that you get the two hottest tickets on planet Earth? If you've got that dream, run after.

If you've got that vision of something where others can't see, find those that do. Surround yourself with people like that. And that's NBC Notely News for this Saturday. I'm Jose Diaz-Bull. Thank you for the privilege of your time and good night. Y'all go out to the group boat.