NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Sunday, December 21, 2025

Episode Date: December 22, 2025

U.S. Coast Guard 'in active pursuit' of third vessel off Venezuelan coast; Lawmakers demand answers from Justice Dept. after Epstein files release; Survivors and families speak out after release of Epstein files; 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.

Tonight, the latest escalation with Venezuela as the Coast Guard pursues another oil tanker. Just a day after this ship was intercepted off the coast of Venezuela, the administration says it's tracking another boat with tensions spiking from the Caribbean to Capitol Hill and President Trump not ruling out war in the region. The Justice Department under fire for its handling of the Epstein files and what it did and did not release so far. It is nothing to do with President Trump. New questions over why some images were taken down and reposted online, and now lawmakers threatening new action. Some Epstein survivors and their families describing an emotional roller coaster.

Plus, reaction to the never-before-released FBI complaint dating back to 1996. There were huge mistakes made by the government. What we don't know is why. Their pledge to keep fighting. Chaos in San Francisco, after a huge power outage, paralyzed the city. thousands of homes and businesses going dark, and look at this gridlock on the streets with self-driving cars stuck. The big question tonight, what happened? Major flooding from an atmospheric river in northern California as the last-minute holiday getaway is set to break record, which days

will be the busiest at airports and on the roads, and the messy weather that could slow down the travel rush. A school district under fire with teachers accused of putting students in this wooden box allegedly used for punishment. Inside, bare walls and a padded floor. What the governor and police are doing now. The countdown now on for the World Cup, with demand already up for rentals in American host cities, how some fans say they're already scoring big. And there is good news tonight about the sugar rush helping hundreds make holiday history. This is NBC Nightly News with Hallie Jackson. evening. We are coming on the air with the Coast Guard right now pursuing a third oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, just hours after these scenes unfolded. You see them here. Helicopters intercepting a different ship in international waters. And just a few days ago, heavily armed Coast Guard commandos repelling down onto yet another ship's deck. With today's pursuit capping a dramatic escalation of President Trump's pressure campaign against the Majuro regime in Venezuela, a push that has also included dozens of strikes on alleged.

drug boats, killing more than 100 people. Members of Congress, now growing more divided over the campaign as President Trump leaves the door open to war in the region. Argeniel Hamamjan has the newest developments. Tonight, a further escalation with the U.S. Coast Guard in active pursuit of another vessel off the coast of Venezuela. It comes just over 24 hours after they intercepted an oil tanker also off the country's coast. The third such incident this month amid growing tensions with the Venezuelan government as President Trump continues to put pressure on President Nicholas Maduro. I consider it a provocation and a prelude to war and I hope we don't go to war with Venezuela. According to two U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter, the vessel today called

the Bella One was sanctioned nearly two years ago and is currently in international waters. The officials adding that the ship is flying a false flag and under a seizure order. The oil tanker seized Saturday was not on a list of vessels sanctioned by the U.S., according to a person familiar with the list. The Department of Homeland Security saying in this case, it was the oil that was sanctioned and used to fund narco-terrorism. And earlier this month, Coast Guard commandos boarding this oil vessel known as the skipper. So far, the Pentagon has conducted at least 28 strikes on boats the administration says are used to traffic drugs, killing 104 people. President Trump hasn't ruled out war with Venezuela.

On CNN, Republican Senator James Langford was asked if he supports a regime change. And would you support it with our... Biden did that? With American arms boots. Arms is a different issue. That's a very different issue on that case. If you break it, you buy it. Danielle Hammamjan is joining us live from London.

Danielle, these seizures certainly seem to have provoked. the Venezuelan government. Yeah, and after every seizure, the Venezuelans condemned what they call an act of piracy, and they say they'll be filing a complaint at the U.N. Hally? Danielle, thank you. To the fallout over the release of the Epstein files with a top Justice Department official, now defending how it was handled as lawmakers demand answers over why some material has been held back. Our Julie Serkin reports.

Tonight, the bipartisan duo behind the effort to force the Department of Justice to release, the Jeffrey Epstein files, escalating pressure on Attorney General Pam Bondi, after her agency failed to release all files related to Epstein ahead of last Friday's deadline set by the law. The quickest way, and I think most expeditious way, to get justice for these victims, is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi. Republican Thomas Massey and Democrat Rokana, announcing they will attempt to use the rare oversight tool that in this case would require the support of Republicans. Bring it on. We are doing everything we're supposed to be doing to comply with this statute. In an exclusive interview with NBC's Kristen Welker, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche

claiming the delay is justified. The statute also requires us to protect victims. And so the reason why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our process is simply that to protect victims. If Congress votes to hold Bondi and inherent contempt, she could be detained. until the DOJ complies with the law. Some Democrats saying, I think that's premature. Blanche also defending the nearly 700 pages completely blacked out in the DOJ's initial release of the Epstein files

and the removal of more than a dozen photos, including at one point this image, showing a picture of Epstein, appearing with President Donald Trump, alongside other framed photos of the convicted sex offender, posing with celebrities and politicians. The photo was posted on Friday, Then, it was gone without immediate explanation.

After backlash, the DOJ explaining it was taken down out of an abundance of caution for further review and has since been reposted. It is nothing to do with President Trump. There are dozens of photos of President Trump already released to the public seeing him with Mr. Epstein. So the absurdity of us pulling down a photo, a single photo, because President Trump was in it, is laughable. Julie is joining us now from South Florida, where the president is spending his holiday. And Julie, we expect to see more documents released over the next few weeks, right? Halley, it could take a couple of weeks to see what's left. The deputy AG said that his team is going through one million pages of documents redacting sensitive victim information.

The DOJ saying they have hundreds of lawyers reviewing the files. That's why they say this process is taking so long. Hallie? Julie Sarkin, thank you. We are also hearing tonight from some Epstein survivors and their families who say even with the release of some of this material, their fight is not over. For some survivors and their families, weeks after Congress forced the turnover of DOJ documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, that triumph tempered now with skepticism and disappointment. I would say it's a very, it's a mixed bag of emotions right now. Sky Roberts is the brother of Virginia Roberts Juffray, one of Epstein's most prominent accused.

users. She died by suicide in April. How do you think your sister would see this moment? She'd be really proud of her survivor sisters. But she'd also know, she would know. There's so much more to go. The DOJ, acknowledging it's released only some of the Epstein documents in its possession, saying it's reviewing material to protect victims. But one survivor's advocacy group today calling the limited release a step backward for transparency and accountability.

I feel like they're still trying to hide something. thing. Among the documents that have emerged, this FBI report dated September 1996, detailing a complaint about child pornography. Did you know immediately when you saw that document, Annie, what it was? Yes. It was very clear. Annie Farmer's sister, Maria, filed that never-before-seen complaint, which says Epstein stole underage photos of her sisters, then threatened to burn her house down if she told anyone. I was with my sister, so I ran down the hall to find her, and we would just embraced and cried together to finally have it at least, you know, confirmed that she had been telling the truth, that she had reported these criminals. I think that was a tremendous amount

of relief, but also it just highlighted the sadness about the fact that this was not able to be stopped. Just seeing it in black and white made me feel a little sick, too, to think about how differently it could have unfolded. For Farmer and others, still many questions left. I think that that piece of paper highlights the fact that there were huge mistakes made by the government. What we don't know is why. And I think that's what we deserve answers to. Why was more not done? I think we still have a big fight ahead of us. We understand that. And we won't stop. We won't stop until true justice is actually served. Roberts and Farmer also say they're frustrated at the administration's handling of Gielaine Maxwell, Epstein's convicted co-conspirator. After the deputy attorney general cited threats against her as the reason why Maxx,

Maxwell was moved to a lower security prison camp this summer. To the West now and new questions over a paralyzing power outage in San Francisco that left millions in the dark and ground to a stop those driverless Waymo cars. Here's Liz Croix. Tonight, the lights slowly coming back on in San Francisco where instead of the typical fog, blanketing the city, it was miles of darkness. Looks dystopian like a Hollywood movie. A massive power outage Saturday left some 130,000 PG&E customers. about 30% of their users across the city without power for hours. This map showing just how widespread the outage spanned.

We're like, oh my God, and when we find out later and later, most of the things that we planned were canceled. The blackout forcing restaurants and businesses to close on one of the busiest holiday shopping weekends of the year. Like San Francisco, are you okay? On the streets. Chaos and congestion. Oh, no, just very much.

Videos show multiple Waymo self-driving cars stalling at dark intersections. The Waymos are stuck. Unclear how to navigate the down traffic lights. Waymo temporarily suspending its operations, saying we are focused on keeping our riders safe and ensuring emergency personnel have the clear access they need to do their work. The fire department says at least some of the outages were because of a fire that broke out inside this PG&E substation. I can say that this is a control.

contributing factor to the lights out in the area, stop lights and lights out in the businesses. But the full cause still under investigation, PG&E saying the damage from the fire is extensive and that the repairs and safe restoration will be complex, but not yet explaining how they believe this happened. A blackout dimming Christmas cheer in the Golden City. Liz is joining us now from California. And Liz, so many questions about how to make sure something like this, something this dramatic doesn't happen again. Yeah, that's right. A lot of questions tonight. And people just want to know when are they going to get power back. We know most of the power has been restored, but there are still entire neighborhoods and thousands of people that do not have electricity.

PG&E says they are actively working on this and they expect to have all power restored by midday Monday, Hallie. Liz Kreutz, thank you. In the West, heavy rain is creating some real flooding concerns. Look at this. Water nearly up to the shoulders in one town in northern California. and with record-setting travel expected over this Christmas week, the messy weather could mean trouble for travelers. Ryan Chandler is at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Ryan, how's it looking so far? Well, Holly, that weather's a big factor for so many travelers at some major hubs. The long lines, though, we're seeing them pretty much everywhere.

Airlines for America is estimating some 3 million passengers will fly each day through this busy season, and that weather's not making it any easier. We've seen high winds causing up to two-hour delay. in San Francisco and New York's JFK today. Most people, though, are just choosing to drive. More than 100 million people are hitting the roads. If you are flying, though, Halley, the next busiest day will be right after Christmas. Ryan Chandler and Dallas, thank you. For more, let's bring in meteorologist Matt Brickman from our NBC, New York station. And Matt, as we're looking ahead to Christmas, there may be

some headaches on the way there, right? Yeah, Hallie, here in the Northeast Tuesday is the especially troubling day. Quick hitting snowmaker for New York and New York. England that could make for slick and slippery roads and probably slow things down in New York area airports. Out west, it's been a wet pattern, and that will continue through Tuesday and into the day on Wednesday, as that expands beyond California into Nevada and more of the southwest. Flooding possible there, in fact, five to ten inches of rain possible out west through Christmas week. That'll make a mess of the roads and the airports as well. By the time we get to Christmas State. It's still raining out west. Very quiet in the Midwest. You could see record highs over the

South Central U.S. Back to you. Matt Brickman, thank you. Still ahead for us tonight, the school district under fire over a wooden box allegedly used for punishment. Take a look at this dramatic police body cam video from Canton, Ohio. You can see two shoplifting suspects being held in the back of a Walmart and then watch. One of them pulls a gun on the officers before this chaotic scramble to subdue him. Incredibly, police say the gun actually jammed when he tried to fire it. The suspect is now facing more serious charges, including attempted murder. Growing anger tonight at a New York school district accused of using a wooden box to punish students. As Valerie Castro reports, the governor is now ordering an investigation.

Outrage in a northern New York state school district. I'm here to speak for my grandson who was put in that box. Over what family's claim is depicted in these photos, a wooden box which appears to be in the corner of a classroom and used as punishment for students, including some who have special needs. Chrissy Onientahase Jacobs, a parent and former Salmon River Central School District Board member posted the photos to social media, given to her, she says, by teachers who recently left the district. It broke my heart. When I received those photos, I myself became physically ill. New York Governor Kathy Hokel calling the allegations alarming, ordering the state's independent education department to rectify this situation. Many parents speaking out at a public meeting Wednesday night. He explained to us that if you are angry or if you are sad, this is where you go when it's time to calm down.

What was the mood that night? A lot of anger, a lot of sadness. The district superintendent issuing a statement saying, At no time was the item depicted in the photographs used by any student at Mohawk school. The district also serves a nearby indigenous tribe, tribal leaders calling for the superintendent's removal and an independent investigation. This is not right at all. The district's board of education announcing an investigation while reassigning the superintendent to home duties pending the outcome. But some community members say the damage is already done.

Valerie Castro, NBC News. We are back in a moment with the rental rush already ahead of next year's World Cup. Next year's FIFA World Cup may still be months away, but demand is already spiking for short-term rentals here in the U.S. And as Jesse Kirsch reports, some fans are scoring big. United States of America. Its most group stage matchups now revealed... Now we announce the CDs. Many soccer fans around the globe know where and when to travel for next season.

summer's FIFA World Cup. And tonight, the beautiful games faithful are already locking in plans. The 11 American host cities are seeing a 215 percent spike year over year in short-term rental bookings for the group stage match nights. Oh, I'm so excited. I think it's awesome. I think that, you know, it kind of has the same vibe as when the 96 Olympics came to Atlanta. So it's just a big deal. Austin Colsey is a travel agent who lives outside Atlanta, where eight World Cup matches will be played. He says his homeowners association typically only allows residents to rent their houses for a minimum three months. But he says the HOA waived that rule for next summer. And instead of spending money on soccer tickets, CAUSE is hoping to make money for a family vacation. I mean, we are

always looking for an excuse to travel. So anytime we can go, hey, if, you know, this part's covered over here financially, then that gives us a new place to shift the dollars and go explore the rest of the world. He's probably not the only one thinking that way. Airbnb says its hosts could earn up to $210 million. And that's just one modern rental option that did not exist when the U.S. last hosted the World Cup in 1994. Does that play into the benefits that people will be able to get locally they couldn't 30 years ago? Yeah, certainly the case. And of course, this is good for cities, right? Because the money that gets spent on Airbnb is a lot of that's going to stick in the host cities and not go back to some big corporate monolith in some other city.

Victor Matheson is a sports economist and professor at the College of the Holy Cross. He says this type of rental can also be an efficient way to meet demand. You might need an extra 10,000 hotel rooms during a big event like this, but you certainly don't want to build a new hotel that's going to sit empty, you know, 90% of the year. Short-term rentals helping meet the moment so that when soccer stars score big next summer, their hosts can too. Jesse Kirsch, NBC News. There is good news tonight

about a sweet small-town holiday tradition going global. Laura Magone's kitchen has a lot going on. It smells amazing, like butter and sugar. It's about more than baking. And her love for it goes far beyond the kitchen. They look beautiful. In Washington County, McGone gathered

hundreds of bakers and online, even more joining in from coast to coast and around the world to trade sweet treats and make history. I feel like I have nine new best friends. It's like I've known them all my life. The goal? To set the record for the world's biggest Christmas cookie exchange. I love this. People lining up to get a taste and get to work, voting for that coveted title, Best Cookie Table. The kid doesn't smile when there are cookies. I don't. He was making them last night, and I'm like, stop eating them. On the second day of playing was my two. From a goan, it's more than just a sugar rush.

This is about connections and love and people coming together to do something for somebody else. Ten years ago, she started a Facebook group called the Wedding Cookie Table Community to honor a local Pittsburgh tradition, setting up cookie displays to celebrate big life events. Nearly 400,000 members strong, the community now. Now swaps secret ingredients and steps in during tough times. And they've already made history. You have set a new world record title. Six years ago, McGone set the record for the world's largest wedding cookie table. And soon, she will have a second world record under her belt.

The record setting number? More than 83,000 cookies. And for the winning table. Oh, my God, I can't believe. Tears are coming because I'm like all the things we went through. I still, I'm in disbelief. It just increases your faith in humankind. And I feel so blessed to be able to be here and surround the bite so much love.

It's just another wonderful thing around the holidays. And that is nightly news for this Sunday. Stick around for Sunday night football. I'm Hallie Jackson. For all of us, thanks for watching. And have a great holiday week.