NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Thursday, January 22, 2026

Episode Date: January 23, 2026

Dangerous winter storm to slam U.S. with ice, snow and life-threatening cold; Trump reveals details of Greenland ‘framework’ plan; Vance defends ICE mission in Minneapolis; 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 monster winter storm targeting 170 million Americans, now just hours away from plowing across the country. As more governors declare states of emergency with officials warning tonight, this storm will be life-threatening. The growing storm emergency, blinding lake-effect snow, bearing neighborhoods, a lighthouse encased in ice. All ahead of this sprawling storm set to bring crippling ice, feet of snow, and freezing rain from Arizona, To New England, store shelves emptying out and fears of widespread power outages, we have the latest track. New chaos in Minneapolis, the border chief, launching gas at protesters, and the outrage growing after this five-year-old was detained with his father, Vice President J.D. Vance on the ground there, defending ICE but acknowledging mistakes. Plus, President Trump taking on the nation's top banker

suing Jamie Diamond for $5 billion. New Greenland deal. President Trump revealing more about that agreement, will the U.S. control any of the land? Baron Trump's life-saving call, the president's son credited with saving a friend after witnessing an assault on a video call thousands of miles away, what he told police. Deadly Facebook marketplace meetup, the Marine veteran killed over a cell phone, what police are now warning. Buck in a bank, officers responding to this, burglary alarms, and finding a wilder. seen how they wrangled that deer out. Dazzling space light show the stunning aurora captured from above Earth.

And there's good news tonight, a true sign of love, the touching birthday celebration for a two-year-old girl going viral. Nightly News starts right now. This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. And good evening. We begin tonight with that monster storm that with every update to the forecast grows more dangerous and more wide-reaching. To give you a sense of the scale, look at this. It is set to sweep across 2,000 miles from Arizona all the way to Maine, a staggering 170 million Americans

are in its path, and already six states have declared states of emergency. In upstate New York, this is the scene there, a gas station collapsing under the snow with more than a foot now on the way, and look at this lighthouse, frozen over in Lake Michigan. Just a small preview of what's come. Temperatures in the Midwest will get this hit negative 50 with the wind chill tomorrow. The real fear, parts of the South that aren't equipped to handle snow and ice, about to be slammed by a lot of it. Already there's a run on supplies at stores across the South. You see these empty shelves, lines for propane, and warnings from state and city officials to stay off the roads and take this storm seriously. We'll get to the latest forecast in a moment, but we begin with Ryan Chandler

in Dallas as they brace for the worst of this. Tonight, another blow of ice, blinding snow and life-threatening cold. Listen to that. Thunder snow in New York as lake effect bans bury entire neighborhoods. The canopy at this gas station collapsing. Officials say the weight of snow and high winds could be to blame. On Lake Michigan, colossal waves crashing over a lighthouse encased in ice. And in Minnesota, visibility dropped to near zero, with wind chills now plummeting,

It could feel like negative 50 by tomorrow morning. All of this ahead of the massive storm stretching 2,000 miles from the plains to New England. Minus 40 to 50 degrees. If you can contemplate that, if you're not properly covered every interview, you can succumb to frostbite in seconds. Officials are urging residents to act before it's too late. I bought a propane heater just in case we lose power. From a run on propane in Alabama. To lines snaking around grocery stores in Missouri,

bread, milk, and water are flying off the shelves. There are a lot of people in there. It's worse than Thanksgiving. Pretty busy in there. Yeah, the cashier are saying it every day I was getting busier. The South is in the crosshairs, with the potentially crippling ice storm threatening to bring down branches and power lines.

One electric company telling us just half an inch of ice can add 500 pounds of extra weight to cables. First responders in Dallas anticipating a search of emergency. emergency calls. The most important, we're trying to encourage people to stay off the roads if they don't need to be there. Ryan Chandler joins us live. Ryan, we heard it there in your report, worse than Thanksgiving. Those store shelves looking very empty. What are people telling you about how they're preparing? And Tom, listen, people are taking this very seriously. We met concerned shoppers today. Some of them telling us they're preparing to stock up to stay put

throughout the duration of this storm. And that really is the top advice from first responders. The best way to stay safe, Tom, is to stay home. All right, Ryan Chandler for us. Ryan, thank you. Bill Cairns joins us now live. And Bill, the snow and ice start tomorrow with no end in sight. Yeah, and the cold, too. So let's get right into it. We've had some changes in the forecast in the last two days. But now we're starting to lock in. The winter storm warnings are up from areas Oklahoma City to Dallas. And tomorrow, they'll be extended all the way through the northeast. The areas of greatest concern for freezing rain. We're talking power outages that could

last for days. The areas in blue from Dallas to Shreveport, and especially our friends in northern Mississippi, and also here in areas of North Carolina, South Carolina, and those poor people that were hit by Helene, those people can be looking at days without power once again. Snow, highest totals, Oklahoma City to Wichita all the way through the Ohio Valley. Some areas will get close to a foot of snow. And in the northeast, big cities like New York and Boston, maybe over a foot. Yeah, Bill, this is an incredible storm, and one of the most dangerous parts of is that it's going to get very cold right after. Yeah, the cleanup is not like a normal storm in South. There's no big warm-up in sight. So we have all these people under cold watches and cold

warnings. The temperatures tomorrow are going to be brutal from Chicago to Minneapolis, International Falls. Look at these negative 57 in northern Minnesota. And then after the storm, we don't even get above freezing in areas like Memphis until Wednesday. So snow and ice, untreated roads, a mess for days. A brutal stretch of winter. All right, Bill, thanks for that. In Minneapolis, today a high-profile visit by Vice President Vance in the middle of those chaotic protests against ICE. Vance blaming Democratic officials there for not helping federal law enforcement carry out arrest while also acknowledging some mistakes. Here's Maggie Vespa. Look what they did. Tonight, as anti-ice protests hear rage, Vice President Vance on the ground

in Minneapolis, saying he wants to turn down the temperature and support federal law enforcement officers. Because of a few very far-left agitators, a lot of these guys are unable to do their jobs without being harassed, without being doxed, and sometimes without being insulted. That's totally unacceptable. Earlier today, acknowledging mistakes. You're always going to have mistakes made in law enforcement. 99% of our police officers, probably more than that, are doing everything right. We pressed the vice president.

What do you say to people here in Minnesota who say it's the overwhelming presence of ICE officers and federal officers and their tactics that are making them feel less safe? Well, one thing I would say is, first of all, we saw in 2020. the biggest one-year drop in murders in the history of the United States of America. Are you saying that they're not perceiving it correctly? If you understand this in context, this is the inevitable consequence of a state and local government that have decided that they're not going to cooperate with immigration enforcement at all. In fact, they're going to aggressively not cooperate.

Minneapolis's Democratic mayor responding. We've got this huge influx of what feels like an occupation. Tonight, critics pointing to this image of a five-year-old. boy with a federal officer on Tuesday. Columbia Heights Public Schools saying Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, were detained in their driveway, accusing ICE of using a five-year-old as bait. All I want is for him to be safe and back here. Tonight, DHS responding, saying officers did not target a child, but were targeting his

father, who's in the U.S. illegally from Ecuador, saying the father fled on foot, abandoning his child, and that, quote, one of our ICE officers remained. with the child after his mother refused to accept custody. What are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a five-year-old child freeze to death? Are they not supposed to arrest an illegal alien in the United States of America? Meanwhile, this video showing Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, tossing gas to disperse protesters who had followed officers to a convenience store, throwing food and objects at them.

We were set up on rioters who tried to stop us at every point. yesterday. Where was Minneapolis Police Department during that eight-hour stalking events? Maggie joins us tonight. Maggie, the Justice Department also announcing new arrest tonight after anti-ice protesters disrupted that Sunday church service. What do we know? Yeah, Tom, that's right. Remember those protesters said they thought a pastor at that church worked for ICE. Well, now the DOJ announcing arrests of three protesters with charges, including conspiracy to deprive rights, a lawyer for one of them telling him, They were arrested for, quote, doing a peaceful, nonviolent protest in a church.

Tom. All right, Maggie, thank you. President Trump returning to Washington tonight after securing what he called a framework deal over Greenland. And tonight we have new reporting about what's in it. Peter Alexander was with the president in Switzerland. President Trump tonight returning home, leaving allies rattled, but touting a win on Greenland, even as he says negotiations over a future deal, are just getting underway. Essentially, it's total access.

There's no end. There's no time limit. NBC News has learned the president has discussed adding U.S. troops and more military bases in Greenland, in part to support his Golden Dome missile defense system, still in its planning stages, according to two former U.S. officials. And the New York Times, citing eight senior Western officials, reports proposals include giving America a sovereign claim over pockets of Greenland's territory, where U.S. bases would be located. Denmark's Prime Minister tonight saying we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty,

and the president today acknowledging a deal might not include U.S. ownership of the Danish territory. Anything's possible, but in the meantime we're getting everything we want, total security, total access to everything, have as many bases, have all the equipment that we want. An existing Cold War era treaty between the U.S. and Denmark already allows the U.S. to expand its military presence in Greenland. President Trump and other leaders are right. We have to do more there. We have to protect the Arctic against Russian and Chinese influence. President Trump earlier launching his own international organization,

the so-called Board of Peace, created after the Gaza ceasefire, where he serves as chairman and the only one with veto power. This board has the chance to be one of the most consequential bodies ever created. And it's my enormous honor to serve as its chairman. More than 50 countries invited to join, at least 20 already on board. ready on board, with Russia's Vladimir Putin still considering the offer, and allies like France and the United Kingdom declining, citing concerns it could undermine the United Nations, whose emblem is similar to the Board of Pieces logo revealed today, with the U.S. front and center outlined in gold.

And Peter, there's another headline we're tracking tonight. President Trump also making news announcing he's suing one of America's biggest banks and its very powerful CEO. Tom, that's right, President Trump has sued J.P. Morgan Chase and its CEO, Jamie Diamond, accusing them of closing his accounts, dropping him as a client for political reasons. The president says five years ago after the January 6th Capitol attack, the lawsuit is seeking $5 billion in damages. J.P. Morgan responding tonight saying it believes that that suit has no merit. Tom. Peter Alexander for us. All right, we're going to turn out of that fiery hearing on Capitol Hill, former special counsel, Jack Smith, who brought

brought charges against President Trump before his re-election, grilled by Republicans today, but he did not back down. Here's Ryan Nobles. Guys and raise your right hand. Tonight, former special counsel Jack Smith, defending his investigation into President Donald Trump. I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including the decision to bring charges against President Trump. Smith, a career prosecutor, has been a target of Republicans since his two indictments of Trump, one for the mishandling of class of documents, and the other for interfering with the results of the 2020 election, fell apart

before Trump's second term. And it was always about politics. And to get President Trump, they were willing to do just about anything. In a tense hearing, Republicans accused Smith of spying on members of Congress by unlawfully seeking their phone records. Did you inform the judge, or did you hold that back? My office didn't spy on anyone. In the room, police officers on duty during jail.

January 6th, one tangling with a Trump-supporting protester. President Trump was watching the hearing and accused Smith of being, quote, deranged, adding he hopes his attorney general Pam Bondi is, quote, looking at what he's done. Do you agree with that? And was that appropriate? That's up to the Justice Department, but I have complete confidence in this Justice Department. A threat Smith is taking seriously. Do you believe that President Trump's Department of Justice will find some way to indict you.

I believe that they will do everything in their power to do that because they've been ordered to by the president. But he never wavered. Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity. It's not clear what, if any, charges the Department of Justice might bring against Jack Smith, but his appearance here today made it clear he's not afraid of any potential prosecution. Tom.

Ryan Nobles on Capitol Hill. We have new details tonight about an emergency. call that Baron Trump, the President's son made that may have saved a young woman's life. Garrett Haake has a story. Just days before his father's second inauguration last January, President Trump's teenage son Baron placed an urgent call for help to police in London. Quote, I'm calling from the U.S., Baron Trump told an operator at the UK's 999 emergency line. I just got a call from a girl, you know, she's getting beat up, adding, it's really an emergency.

That calls transcript released by prosecutors now key evidence in the London trial of 22-year-old Russian national Matveh Rumietsov, accused of rape and assault, which he denies. The January attack allegedly witnessed in part by Trump, whose late-night video call to the victim was briefly answered by the defendant, whom Trump would describe in an email to prosecutors as a, quote, shirtless man with darkish hair, according to British media covering the trial. The victim reportedly praising Trump in testimony Wednesday, quote, He helped save my life. That call was like a sign from God at that moment. Baron Trump, the only son of the president and First Lady Melania Trump, keeps a low public profile with no public speeches and few appearances.

His father crediting the teen for his help finding ways to reach young voters. He knew the youth vote. On the night of the incident, the operator pressed Trump for details about the victim and how he knew her. quote, I don't think those details matter. She's getting beat up, Trump replies, adding, I met her on social media. British media reporting that the defendant testified today that he told the victim in the fall of 2024 that he was, quote, upset about her talking to Baron Trump. Both the White House and the First Lady's Office declined to comment on this case. Tom. Garrett, thank you. When we return at 60 seconds, the Facebook marketplace murder.

How a Marine was ambushed when he tried to sell a cell phone online. Stay with us. We're back now with a Facebook marketplace meetup that police say turned into a deadly ambush. NBC's Morgan Chesky explains. Oh, you know, we have a shot fired with a confirmed victim. It's the police called to a crime scene, leaving a Marine veteran dead and four teenagers in police custody. Police say 42-year-old Michael Ryan Burke was gunned down in Columbia, Missouri late Sunday. and what they're calling an online sale turned robbery.

There is one confirmed patient. I know where the suspect is. Investigators say Burke listed his phone for sale on Facebook Marketplace, but the potential buyers arrived armed, stealing his phone before opening fire. According to a longtime friend, even fatally wounded, Burke still called 911. He did not want these people to just get away with this,

literally get away with murder. Followed by a final call to his family. Unfortunately, they didn't pick up. and so they decided it's just to text them. And he just said, I am dying and I love you. Authorities later arresting 318-year-olds and a juvenile suspect on murder and robbery charges. It's not the first Facebook marketplace deal to turn violent. An off-to-Ny-YPD officer was shot trying to buy a car in 2023.

And another reported deal turned deadly in Texas. Tonight, Burke remembered as a beloved friend dedicated to serving others. And we've learned that one of those teen suspects has pleaded not guilty. Facebook, meanwhile, has yet to return our request for comment. Tonight, experts say in transactions such as these, find a safe exchange zone, such as a police station parking lot. Tom. All right, Morgan, thank you. When we returned this chaotic scene, police responding to a break-in at a bank, how they caught this four-legged perpetrator.

That's next. We're back now with an alarming health trend. And new studies has colorectal cancer is now the number one cancer threat for people under 50. Death rates have been climbing in younger people since 2005. But cancer deaths overall have been down 44% since 1990. And look at what police found when they responded to a bank robbery alarm. This was the scene after a buck broke through a window and got trapped inside of a bank in New York. The body cam video shows the buck panicking, but officers were able to eventually guide it safely out.

And check out this studying new angle of an Aurora from the International Space Station. A Russian cosmonaut took the video of that amazing light show earlier this week. Okay, when we come back tonight, there's good news of family's moving birthday gift for this two-year-old girl. Finally, there's good news tonight about a heartwarming birthday celebration for one little girl that's going viral. Her friends and family surprising her with a unique rendition of happy birthday. One, two, three, happy road, happy moon. It's a song you've heard before, but this birthday serenade is one of a kind. The familiar notes performed not just by voice, but with hands,

all to surprise two-year-old Ayana Sanchez, who was born deaf. Her eyes were just litting up. Like, I was so emotional, but I was like pushing through singing and signing to her. Parents, Jeanette Reyes and Nico Sanchez, worried about their daughter missing out, working hard to learn American Sign Language or ASL. They just see a bunch of people talking and they're not involved. And I didn't want her to feel like that. And when it came time to plan Ayanna's second birthday,

the parents hatched a plan to get the whole family to learn happy birthday in ASL. Everybody in my family and her family is so, you know, like, supportive and can't wait to learn. Every single family member making the effort. She knows she's loved. A sweet surprise and a sign for a Jana that she's never alone. What a great story. That's nightly news for this Thursday. I'm Tom Yamas.

We thank you so much for watching. Tonight and always, we're here for you. Good night.