Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, December 22, 2023

Episode Date: December 23, 2023

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world.

Tonight, the holiday travel rush in full swing, but could a winter storm cause a nightmare before Christmas? The nation's airports packed with 2.5 million air travelers expected per day over the holidays. More than 100 million people preparing to drive to their destination, and tomorrow is expected to be one of the busiest days on the road. But as we come on the air, 25 million people remain under flood alerts as the storm marches east. Bill Cairns is here with the holiday weekend forecast. Plus, the Supreme Court denying Special Counsel Jack Smith's request to immediately decide if former President Trump has immunity in the federal election interference case. Does this help or hurt the former president as we get closer and closer to the 2024 election? Deadly border crisis, the heartbreaking video showing migrants drowning in the Rio Grande River as they desperately try to enter the U.S.

Border officials saying 50,000 people. have crossed the southern border in just four days. Border agents say they are out of options. Busloads of migrants dropped off on the streets in a city in Arizona to free up some space. Inside the massacre, new body camera footage showing police in Prague going floor to floor of Charles University as a gunman carried out a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and dozens injured, how the city is remembering those victims. Plus, a security camera capturing the moment a Christmas tree comes crashing down at a holiday market in Belgium, killing at least one person. What caused that tree to topple over? And the warning about counterfeit, Ozzympic.

The FDA saying they've seized thousands of units of the products that could be dangerous to users. We take a look at how to spot the fakes. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. We're just A couple of days from Christmas and travel numbers are already exceeding pre-pandemic levels. TSA expecting a whopping 2.5 million air travelers to move through checkpoints each day. Airfare tracking site Hopper predicting Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson Airport will be the busiest with nearly 1.5 million travelers departing over Christmas week. Denver, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Orlando rounding out the top five.

The busiest travel times from 8 a.m. to noon. airports that will be busy. Here's a live look at a packed I-4 in Orlando, Florida. AAA estimating 104 million people will drive to their holiday destinations. The busiest days on the road expected to be tomorrow Saturday, December 23rd, and Thursday, December 28th. But a wet winter storm continues to march east, millions under flood alerts, and the Rockies bracing for heavy snow. Bill Carrens has the track in just a few moments, but we begin tonight with NBC's Tom Costello. On this massive travel day, it's all about volume. Plains and passengers with airlines and control towers, yet again managing near record numbers. 2.6 million through TSA Checkpoints Thursday, more expected today, with long but mostly fast-moving lines.

So far, it's nice because I'm here early, and so no problem. Just for some 30 to 45-minute delays. The National FAA Command Center watching every flight, tower and weather report. As soon as something happens in the airspace system, we react immediately. The good news, good flying weather across most of the country. The flight-aware misery map today highlighted big delays in red, including Miami, Denver, Phoenix, San Francisco, L.A., Houston, and Dallas. The DFW Ops Center monitoring five terminals, seven runways, and 80,000 bags a day. DFW is the second busiest airport in the country and the world behind Atlanta. Santa, 1,600 flights a day, a quarter million passengers every day after hitting a new record last summer.

So when something goes wrong in the northeast, we feel it here. When something goes wrong here, they feel it on the West Coast. Today it's also all about the volume on the nation's roads, with 104 million people driving over the holiday on mostly dry roads today. It's about five hours, so I get a lot of coffee. I try and only stop once during the drive. It's not too bad. The heaviest traffic expected on Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tom joins us now from Reagan National Airport just outside of Washington, D.C. Tom, I'm a little afraid to ask, but what is the latest on those flight cancellations and delays tonight? 3,600 flight delays nationwide. Now, that's mostly because, as we said, sheer volume, the amount of people moving through the system and planes, about 50,000.

planes today. So 3,600 delays. The good news is, on a relative basis, not that many cancellations. 75 in total flight cancellations today for the entire country, Ellison. Tom Costello, thank you. And for more on that holiday forecast and the millions under flood alerts in the southwest, let's get right to NBC News meteorologists, Bill Karens. Hey, Bill, that storm system, it is still lingering out west right. When will that region finally get a bit of relief. It's finally on the move. Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, you get your break now. You're done. You're over with. Now the storm is heading through Arizona, and that's where all the troublesome weather is. It doesn't pour in Arizona that often, but it is pouring in the deserts outside of Yuma,

Phoenix. You've got some heavy rain about to head your way. It's already rained about an inch in Tucson today. So we only get a couple of rain events like this every year throughout this region. And we do have two flash flood warnings outside Yuma. And that is possible Phoenix towards Tucson a little later on this evening, too. We just dropped Los Angeles from those flood watches. So as far as travel impacts go. This is as we go through tomorrow, from Phoenix all the way to Houston. Those are the airports. I think we have the best chance for significant delays, maybe even a few cancellations. Those thunderstorms in Houston tomorrow afternoon are going to be pretty good coverage-wise. So I think they're going to have trouble getting the planes in and out, maybe minor problems in Denver and

Salt Lake City. And in Denver, we actually go from rain over to snow. You'll wake up Christmas Eve morning with about two to four inches of snow on the ground. So early on Sunday, we could have some airport delays there. And then Minneapolis, it looks like mostly rains. same for you in Kansas City. Also storms in New Orleans. So, Allison, it's been worse, but it's not perfect. Bill, and what else are you seeing that we should be aware of as we head towards the holidays? Yeah, we have a lot of people driving, too, so a lot of people like to know what's going to look like. So this is Saturday's map for the whole country. East Coast, totally fine, no issue. Some light rain kind of, you know, cloudy, gloomy from the Cincinnati towards

Detroit, wet roads anywhere from Arizona, New Mexico, into Texas. By the time we get through Sunday, this is when that storm gets a little bit bigger. We got some snow to deal with an area. is from Nebraska, anyone driving through the Dakotas, northern Minnesota, and heavy rain, maybe even some flash flooding concerns. I know we've had a drought in Louisiana and areas of East Texas, but there's going to be a lot of rain over the period this weekend. And by the time we get to Christmas Day, unfortunately, a rainy day for everyone in the deep south, back up through areas of the Ohio Valley.

And if you want that white Christmas, maybe Omaha, maybe Sioux Falls, that area of the country, at least the kids may be happy with a little bit of snow when there we go. All right, Bill Cairns, thank you so much. We are also following multiple breaking headlines tonight in the legal battles of former President Donald Trump. The Supreme Court denying Special Counsel Jack Smith's request for an expedited ruling on Trump's immunity claims until after they're reviewed by lower court. It comes amid new reporting on a recorded phone call showing Trump personally pressured Republican officials in Michigan not to certify the 2020 election in that state. NBC News senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett is covering it all for us. Tonight, the U.S. Supreme Court handing Donald Trump the practical victory he wanted, punting for now on a legal issue that could make or break the federal case that accuses him plotting to overturn the last election.

The High Court declining the special counsel's request to answer right now whether Mr. Trump is immune from prosecution. A lower court concluding the presidency doesn't confer a lifelong get-out-of-jail-free pass, a decision Mr. Trump. Trump had appealed, arguing complete immunity for anything that happened while he was in office. That led prosecutors to ask the Supreme Court to step in and quickly resolve the issue now. Today's decision all but guaranteeing the existing trial date set for March will slip. All this as the prosecution's hand is strengthened on a different front. The Detroit News reporting, it reviewed audio recordings of Mr. Trump pressing two local Republican officials not to certify the 2020 election results in Wayne County, Michigan,

telling them we can't let these people take our country away from us. He thanked me for my service, asked me how I was doing. NBC News has not heard or verified the audio. The Trump campaign maintains the former president was focused on election integrity. The call itself only described benignly by one of those local officials at the time. Are you saying the president's call had no influence on you? recalphal your vote? Absolutely. Alison, back to that immunity issue for just a moment. A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C.,

is now set to take up that issue on January 9th. Whoever loses in front of that court can then appeal once again to the U.S. Supreme Court. Allison, back to you. Laura Jarrett, thank you. For more on all of these developments and what they mean for the 2024 race, let's bring in our panel tonight, NBC News Legal Analyst, Angela Sinadela, and Matt Gorman, former senior communications advisor to the Temscott campaign. So there are so many legal and political issues wrapped up in all of this. Angela, let's start with you on the legal side of things. Let's start on the Supreme Court's decision denying Special Counsel Jack Smith's request for an expedited ruling on Trump's immunity claims. When you look at that from the

legal standpoint, it seems like that's a setback for the special counsel, but what does that mean for Donald Trump and his legal team? Is this a win? It's a huge win for Donald Trump, because at this point, any delay will only help him. So ultimately, if the trial does not happen before the election and he wins the election, he takes control of the Department of Justice, which means all of these prosecutions come under his personal jurisdiction, at which point all of these trials could go away. So the March 4th trial date is now in deep jeopardy because the appellate court scheduled for January 9th. After that, an appeal to the Supreme Court means that it would likely be months before there'd be any final decision on this immunity.

Matt, let's bring you in here, because given these delays, even if the court ultimately rules Trump does not have immunity, it is possible Trump has the Republican nomination wrapped up before a trial would even begin. So politically speaking, how much of a win do you think this is for Donald Trump and his team? Yeah, I think stepping back a bit, I think, you know, folks, a lot of voters can get lost in illegal machinations. What this essentially does, I think, to Angela's point is the key part is whether or not this trial will happen while voting is still going on before the election, really. I think what this seems to do is put that in jeopardy because not only can he take control

the Justice Department, but he also takes control of the narrative if he is not on trial while he's also running for president. So I think there's a lot of back and forth right now legal machinations. The key, though, is whether he will be on trial while voting's happening or the nomination still to be had. That doesn't seem to be the case right now, thanks to some of these rulings. Okay, so, Angela, let's turn to these phone recordings out of Michigan. A lot of people remember immediately that phone call that took place between Georgia's Secretary of State and President Trump, where he asked him to find additional votes. That phone call became a central piece of the

case in Fulton County that is still ongoing there. When you look at this phone call out of Michigan and hearing what we heard in Laura Jarrett's reporting, the woman who is on that call, saying she absolutely did not feel like she was pressured to change how she was voting. What do you make of that call, though? I mean, is there some sort of window here for that call in Michigan to possibly become part of what the special counsel is looking at or to be its own case separate of all of it? Yes, there is a possible window. And I think it's because Donald Trump's defenses across literally all of his litigation,

civil and criminal, has been that he has not been intimately involved in any of the details. He is too far removed. He is too busy. He was the president of the United States. Now, this obviously shows something different that he was allegedly involved in the details. That's it. Is it a smoking gun? I don't think so because I think his side could easily turn it to show that he really believed here that he was the president, that he was the winner. And so with fraud, you need to prove that he didn't know and or sorry that he did know and went against it. But I don't think this phone call shows that. And his team has already started to push back on this and said in a couple of statements that he was making the call because he cared about election integrity. You think that is already them laying that groundwork in the event.

This does become a legal issue? Yes, absolutely. And I think that is an argument that the courts will have to look at. It is going to be bundled up with the question of immunity. Because before you get to the question of whether or not he has any criminal liability as president, you also have to look at whether or not those acts themselves were presidential acts. So I believe that the circuit court will likely address this and very issue. Matt, let's talk about the 2024 outlook here because you look at almost any poll, and it's very clear that President Trump is not just ahead of his primary opponents right now.

He is crushing them, right? Despite 91 criminal counts against him, does anything that we're talking about right now possibly move the needle at all in the Republican Party? We see the former president constantly amongst his base not have released. strong political ramifications for any of these legal cases. But it does put those who are trying to be the Republican nominee instead of him in a difficult position because we have what happened this week with the Colorado ruling. You have other Republicans then coming out to defend the former president. So what sort of political impact could all of this have on the Republican

primary in general? Yeah, step by step. For example, the Colorado ruling along with a lot of these indictments, when time and attention is at a preem, like it is right now in the in the presidential race, less than 30 days till voters start in Iowa, you need to be able to contrast with your opponent. You saw DeSantis and Haley doing that to an extent to whatever way they feel is appropriate. But when you're forced to defend, rightly I believe,

the Colorado ruling are some other things. It takes time and attention away. And rulings like this, news like this, takes up the oxygen in the room when you're trying to get any sort of momentum to close that gap. I mean, Nikki Haley seems to be within striking distance in some polls in New Hampshire.

So this is almost vintage Trump in 2015, 2016, where he'll do something, say something, something will happen to him. He takes all the oxygen out of the room and forces other people to have to respond to him and play on his turf. It's a huge disadvantage of running against Donald Trump. So, Angela, when you're looking at all of these different cases that the former president is still dealing with, if you are a part of his legal team, which one are you most focused on or most worried about right now?

still Georgia? Well, I think the D.C. one is actually of greatest concern, largely because that judge was committed to have it done as soon as possible. Now, we do know March 4th is likely not going to happen, but that doesn't mean the trial couldn't still be happening over the summer. So for that, I think the implications are the biggest, whether or not he really did try to subvert this election. And I think the implications could also go farther to all of his other cases. So that is what I would be most concerned about. All right. Angela and Adela. Matt Gorman. Thank you both for being with us. We appreciate your time and insights as always. Thank you. Now to the migrant crisis at the southern border. Tens of thousands crossing into the

U.S. just this week alone. Officials there are struggling to cope with the surge and the horrifying new video tonight. Two migrants drowning as they tried to cross the Rio Grande River. NBC News, Homeland Security correspondent Julia Ansley, has the latest. Tonight, customs and border protection overwhelmed by an unprecedented number of migrants crossing the southern border. Nearly 50,000 undocumented migrants crossed in just four days this week, shattering records never seen before. The record levels pushing border stations past capacity.

An Eagle Pass, Texas, migrants crossing dangerous waters and waiting by the hundreds to be taken in by Border Patrol. In Arizona, agents dropping off migrants in downtown Nogales to free up space. This single mother from Mexico says she wants to get to family and family. South Carolina. She said life in the state of Chiapas was too dangerous. We cannot work. There is too much violence, she tells us. With her, migrants from Africa, China, South America, young and old. Officials telling us dropping off migrants like this is a last resort. Here, migrants receive help from nonprofits before boarding buses, paid for by the county,

then brought to shelters in Tucson. The director of nonprofit Casa Ali says they need more help or migrants could be left lost and homeless. The funding that we have set aside for our work is not meeting the demand that we've seen. Biden administration officials plan to travel to Mexico next week to talk about curbing the record migration. More people are on the move in this hemisphere than that's been the case since World War II. The border crisis leading to more migrant deaths. This horrific video captured just before two young migrants sank under muddy water at the Texas border and drowned. Taken Nogales, thousands continue to arrive.

Overwhelming an already broken system. Julia joins us now from Washington, D.C. So, Julia, what are officials telling you is the reason behind these record migration numbers and do officials you're speaking with expect those numbers to continue to grow in the coming weeks? Now, there's definitely multiple reasons that's driving these numbers. They know that there's an unprecedented number of people who are displaced around the world for conflict, for climate change. A lot of people are fleeing their countries for a number of reasons having to do with poverty

and violence. But another reason that I am hearing from officials is that they're worried about what might come next as they start to talk about stricter asylum restrictions at the Senate, what that might mean for migrants, or if Trump is elected again, what policies he might put on the border. That fear is driving some migrants to come now, and cartels are repeating that to migrants to tell them now is the time to come. And yes, officials do expect numbers to stay high. They did dip just slightly yesterday from a record 12,000 to 11,000,

but that is by no means out of the woods. And yes, they are worried that these numbers will continue to stay at these incredibly high levels. And, Julia, while we have you, I do want to ask you about another video, a disturbing video that's emerged from the U.S. border. It appears to show Texas National Guard soldiers ignoring cries for help from a mother and her infant child as they are crossing, swimming through the Rio Grande River. I want to play some of it, and then we'll talk right after. So we'll keep showing this video so viewers can see the extent of the video that we have

and what we have access to see. At one point, you hear her continue to screen Ayudarme saying, help me, help me in Spanish. Julia, what is the Texas National Guard saying about this video tonight? Well, they're saying that they stood close by, that they monitored, and that they did not see signs of distress. Now, National Guard has historically had a very different line for distress and the need for medical attention than federal agents with Customs and Border Protection do. We saw the same thing this summer when some people in Texas National Guard said that they were leaving people in extreme temperatures, being dehydrated, passing out. And some people with huge skin lacerations when they were trying to get through that razor wire. So repeatedly we're seeing the Texas National Guard draw a really tough line on this.

And we do know that this woman did get back to safety. She swam back to the Mexico side of the border. But it's raising a lot of questions about what happens when state. law enforcement is there to carry out federal policies. And it's something that we know that the Texas governor wants more of in his state. And that's why he just signed a bill into law this week so that they will be doing more of that. Julia Ansley, thank you. Turning overseas now to that deadly mass shooting in Prague, the attack, the deadliest mass shooting in modern Czech Republic history. Tonight we're seeing firsthand the police response and learning more about some of the

victims. NBC News, foreign correspondent Ali Arusi, has this report. You can hear the terrifying moments in Prague's historical town as a lone gunman opened fire with a rifle from the balcony of a Czech University setting off the massacre. Czech police rushing inside, releasing this blurred body camera footage as they cleared the Charles University Arts building floor by floor. They say the gunman was a 24-year-old student at the university and that he took his own life.

Investigators believe he acted alone, killing his own father earlier that day. Amongst the dead, Lenka Halakova, the university's faculty head of music. And a Czech national newspaper says one of its employees, proofreader and first-year student Lucy Spinderov, was killed in the attack. Tonight, directors of Charles University says the academic community is deeply shaken, halting all classes and tests. Our friend was shot in the accident, so we came here to honor what happened. As the sunset, the crowd around a memorial outside the university continues to grow.

I think they just need to be here also because we just need to be together, like the Chaco Public in this moment. Ali Arusi joins us now from Prague. Ali, we saw that growing memorial outside of the university. What have we heard from the country's leadership during this incredibly tragic time? Hey, Alison. Well, the government here have announced a day of national mourning tomorrow. The Interior Minister has asked people not to focus on the killer and his crimes so as not

to inspire somebody else to carry. out a similar crime, something that they've been worried about. They're reviewing their gun laws, but this is a country that's grieving during the holiday period when they should be celebrating. Instead, they're going to be mourning and burying their dead. Allie, understandably, so many people have questions about this shooter, wanting to understand why he did this and possibly how to prevent it down the road. One thing that we are learning more about are the gunmen's possible ties to another killing.

What can you tell us about that? That's right. The police here believed that he was connected or responsible to a killing last week in a forest just outside Prague. It was a double murder where a father and his two-month-old daughter were killed. The police have searched the gunman's home. They turned up ballistic evidence that matches evidence in the crime scene in the forest. They're further investigating that, Ellison.

Alley-Aruzzi in Prague. Thank you. Now to the latest in the Israel-Hamas war. We are learning tonight about the first known death of an American hostage, believed, kidnapped by Hamas. This comes just as the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for more aid to Gaza. NBC news correspondent Jay Gray has this report. Tonight, we've learned an American hostage won't be coming home. His family says Gadhi Hagai, an Israeli-American, was shot during the October 7th attacks. Exactly when he died It is unclear, and tonight, his wife, Judy, remains in captivity. That tragic news announced today as negotiations for the release of the hostages have apparently

stalled. The humanitarian resolution before us calls for urgent steps. And after a week of delays, this afternoon, the UN Security Council, with the U.S. and Russia abstaining, passed a resolution calling for creating the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities, not a full ceasefire. and an increase in humanitarian aid for Gaza. Aid like this. These are the first pictures of trucks

passing through the newly opened Karim Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza. About 80 trucks a day move through Karim Shalom, stopping here for inspections, and then all of the food, water, and medicine moves across the border and into Gaza. A colonel in Israeli's military telling us In terms of food, the reserves in Gaza Strip are sufficient for the near term.

There is no food shortage in Gaza. The images of children waiting hours for a bowl of soup to feed their family and the words of those on the ground tell a much different story. Twelve-year-old Norhan tells us, when we were home, we were eating meat and rice, but today we didn't eat anything. The U.N. calls the hunger crisis in Gaza catastrophic, more than 500,000 classified as starving and struggling to find drinkable water with the war zone now on the brink of famine. And Jay joins us now from Jerusalem. Jay, the IDF claims there is no food shortage in Gaza. We have seen so many videos of lines of people waiting to get pieces of bread. I've spoken to people inside of Gaza who have talked about. going to the grocery store and not being able to find any vegetables or if they do waiting

hours and hours to get it. What sort of evidence does the IDF have here to support that claim? Yeah, and you know, Alison, we push them on that. They wouldn't answer directly, but alluded to the idea that there may be some sort of capacity or distribution problem with the humanitarian groups on the ground inside of Gaza. I asked if a ceasefire might help to increase the aid to the region, They would not talk at all about any pause in the fighting. Jay Gray in Jerusalem. Thank you. Still ahead tonight, state of emergency.

A tractor trailer exploding after crashing into a bridge in upstate New York. Flames sent 200 feet in the air. Officials in the area now monitoring the air quality. Plus, the warning over counterfeit Ozympic. The FDA says they've seized thousands of products that look similar to the real thing, but can be extremely dangerous. We'll tell you how to spot the difference. and stranded at sea how a rogue wave knocked out power on a Norwegian cruise ship with hundreds of passengers on board.

Stay with us. We're back now with the warning for patients using the popular weight loss drug, Ozimpe. The FDA is saying they have seized thousands of counterfeit versions of the drug from the U.S. drug supply chain. The news worrying doctors because it's still not known what was actually in those fake pens. NBC news correspondent, Maura Barrett, has that report and shows you how to spot the fakes. Tonight, the FDA warning consumers of counterfeit versions of the popular diabetes and weight loss drug, OZempic. The agency announcing they've seized thousands of units of the product in the legitimate U.S. drug supply chain

and are testing them alongside Novo Nordisk, the drug's manufacturer, but do not have information yet on the drug's identity. or safety. The medication typically prescribed to treat diabetes became increasingly popular as dramatic weight loss proved to be an appealing side effect. The hype is real. Iris Felder started using Ozempic in February. I was doing two a days for 12 weeks and I got nothing. It's helped her finally reach her weight loss goals. I can see myself being on this medication for a while and then kind of weaning myself off of it. That popularity surged though, impacting supply, nationwide, forcing some, like Anne Slater, to turn to a compound version.

I did have a friend on TikTok who was already using a compounding pharmacy, but they weren't available in my state yet. So I started Googling, trying to find like a telehealth company that would be able to do it. Now, a specific warning about counterfeits, advising sellers and pharmacies to halt sales of any fake products with this serial number in Lat NAR-0074, adding that FDA analysis found the needles in the samples are also counterfeit, presenting a potential increased risk of infection. Is it typical for a drug like this for counterfeits to come on the market? I was very shocked and surprised. It's incredibly scary that we don't know where the medication was made, where the compound was made, where it comes from, whether or not it's even sterile,

safe to inject, whether or not it would lead to infection. People who have ozempic injections from the lot number in concern should report it to the FDA office of criminal investigations. The FDA released these images to show the difference between what the authentic ozempic needle should look like versus the counterfeits they've seen. Patients, even though they very much want to start on these medications, should really take a step back and really maybe talk to their regular health care provider about alternative means to get authentic medication. The agency says it's aware of five adverse reactions from U.S.

use of the drug in this lot. But all of them were consistent with known side effects related to the authentic version of the drug. Mara Barrett joins us now from Chicago. So Mara, these weight lost drugs, they come at such a high price. Does that mean we might see even more of these fake or off-label, whatever you want to call it, versions? I think that's likely, and that's what a lot of manufacturers and regulators are concerned about, especially as I'm talking to doctors, they've said that this drug is really helpful for their patients and they'd like to be able to prescribe it more. But the reality of the situation is that they are so expensive. OZempic or an alternative like Wagovi costs about $1,000. And so doctors need to see either more affordable

options get approved and regulated or more insurance companies start to approve the medication for their patients. Otherwise, they worry we might see even more of these fake and potentially dangerous alternatives gain even more traction. Ellison? Mara Barrett, in Chicago. Thank you. When we come back, a holiday tragedy overseas, a security camera capturing the moment a tree crashed down at a Christmas market in Belgium. At least one person killed. What caused this horrifying scene? Next.

Back now with Top Stories News Feed, we began with a massive explosion in upstate New York. Video shows the fiery wreckage after a truck carrying propane slammed into a row. railway bridge about 30 miles north of Albany. The driver suffered third-degree burns, but no other injuries were reported. Officials say they are monitoring the air quality, but so far, they say they have not found any issues. President Biden issuing pardons for thousands of Americans with convictions for possessing marijuana on federal lands and in D.C. He issued a similar pardon for those with federal convictions of simple marijuana possession last year. The president also granting clemency for 11 people serving time for nonviolent drug charges.

A Norwegian cruise ship with hundreds of passengers is stranded in the North Sea after a rogue wave. Cell phone video shows high waves hitting the ship after it was caught in a powerful storm while sailing from Norway to the UK. One of those massive waves shattering windows that caused the ship to lose power and its navigation capabilities. All passengers and crew members are said to be physically safe. A rescue operation is still underway. And a holiday tragedy in Belgium, security footage captured the moment. A 66-foot Christmas tree slowly leans over before it comes crashing down at a holiday market about an hour outside of Brussels.

At least one person has died and two more are injured. Officials are trying to figure out what caused the tree to collapse. Officials say a storm that was packing strong winds possibly caused it to topple. The market has been canceled. Turning now to a dire warning from UNICEF, the agency saying millions of children in Sudan are at risk after the deadly civil war in the country engulfed a former safe haven. Officials warning this new wave of violence threatens the safety of some of the most vulnerable citizens and could send malnutrition rates to historic highs. Tonight, the U.N. sounding alarms over a looming child safety crisis in Sudan as a civil war that started in April expands to Jaze. a region known as the country's breadbasket.

Across the country, 5.5 million people have been internally displaced. At least half of them are children. Access to clean water or proper nutrition or health services is very dire. If those food systems get disrupted in a country struggling with war for nine months now, the impact on malnutrition will be even greater than it is now. The fighting between the leaders of the Sudanese armed forces and a powerful paramilitary group known as the rapid support forces has wrecked havoc across Sudan, killing approximately 9,000 people, according to the UN. But local doctors groups and activists say that number is likely higher. Their battle for control of Sudan and its resources has left hundreds of thousands of people facing the agonizing decision of whether to flee their homes or stay.

and risk injury or death in the violence. Ceasfires have not worked, and the fighting deteriorated humanitarian conditions. Many have fled to nearby Chad for the temporary safety of a refugee camp, but only some make it. This woman says members of the paramilitary group clubbed her 12-year-old son to death. She says when he died, the family was forced to leave his body behind and continue their journey to Chad. While some humanitarian aid is available, UNICEF says it's not nearly enough, adding that they

are appealing for $838 million to help children in Sudan and that the international community needs to do more. The needs have just so quickly outpaced the resources that the same attention that has been put in other crisis needs to be now diverted a little bit to Sudan because the implications It's very serious. We know violence breeds violence, and this could be the case if the Sudan crisis is not dealt with accordingly. UNICEF says Sudan is now the largest child displacement crisis in the world, and that was before this latest expansion of fighting. Coming up, the daring rescue in California. A man trapped inside a San Diego cliff for days after falling down a narrow hole. a group of teenagers hearing his cause for help, the 20-hour mission it took to get him out.

Back now with a dramatic rescue in Southern California. A man trapped for days deep inside a beachside cliff finally freed after a 20-hour mission. How some passing teenagers helped get him to safety. NBC News correspondent Liz Croix has this story. Tonight, a dramatic end to a dangerous rescue. A man finally free after being trapped deep inside a cliff along the San Diego coast. The harrowing around the clock rescue taking more than 20 hours and 150 crew members. This man has now emerged for the first time in potentially days.

Crews carefully bringing him to safety. Officials say the man fell 15 feet into a narrow hole just over a foot wide. He told authorities he had been screaming for days. There was no way to moving him down. They were pinned from the midsection down through their legs. The man who has not been identified discovered Thursday afternoon by these teenagers who heard his cries and called authorities. They took this video as they tried to help. And you could see his hand?

Yeah. Yeah. We were trying to pull him up. Unfortunately, we were unable to. And at that point, we realized just how stuck he was. The mission so challenging that some crew members had to go into the tunnel upside down, held up by their feet to drill through the rocks. At times, hampered by high tide and concerns he could drown. He started losing a lot of consciousness through the lightning house night. Cruz giving him an IV and gatorade to keep him

alive, working overnight through lightning and torrential rain, little by little, chipping away at the rocks until they could ease him out. The man injured, but alert, thanking Cruz as he was rushed to the hospital. Neighbors watching, overwhelmed and grateful. It's a Christmas It's all I can say. Liz Kreutz, NBC News, San Diego. Next tonight, it is the tale of one man's sacrifice for his family and his daughters, thank you. 30 years in the making. Tom Yamis has the story of this Christmas surprise, and it's one to remember.

It was 1990, and Navy vet Ted Lover was struggling to keep his family afloat. My wife and I, you know, probably a week before we were just talking about, you know, times are hard. He didn't have much, but he did have this, a Dan Marino rookie card. That was my absolute favorite card. Even at six years old, Lindsay Moore, his daughter, remembers her dad stopping at the comic bookstore to sell his prize possession for 50 bucks. Your dad was selling this thing that meant so much to him? Oh, yeah, I definitely realized, like, okay, like, yeah, that's a pretty big deal,

you know, given his favorite card, his favorite player, selling that so that we could have or pay bills. Lindsay made a promise to herself that she would one day get that card back for her dad. When we were kids, he married my mom and took us on when I was four, five, and he's always been our dad, the only dad that we've known. So Lindsay had the camera rolling this Christmas season when their family did a secret Santa exchange. I got his name. I was like, oh, this is it. This is the time we're doing it. I felt your sacrifice. It taught me. Her mom started by reading Lindsay Card. Halfway through the reading of the card, I kind of knew what the gift was. You know, it just brought back all the memories and, you know, and I just was really overwhelming. And when

Ted unwrapped his gift, I know what it is. There it was. Number 13, Dan Marino. What are you thinking about right now, Ted? How great my daughter is. A Christmas gift, 30 years in the making, a football card that once went for 50 bucks now for this dad is priceless when we come back a look at what you can binge watch and listen to this weekend myestro starring bradley cooper already getting oscar buzz and now available to stream plus where you can watch all of your holiday favorites and the christmas version of the i'm just kin song from the barbie movie stay with us we're back now with binge Our look at what we think you should watch and listen to this holiday weekend.

Joining us tonight is none other than entertainment journalists and pop culture expert. One of our favorites, Brian Balthazar. Brian, thank you so much for joining us. We're going to definitely get to some holiday fun, but let's start with an incredibly, highly anticipated, very talked about movie starring Bradley Cooper, Maestro, and it is on Netflix now, right? Let's watch a clip. Oh, she's so beautiful.

Tell me about it. Oh, she's wonderful. She was a lovely girl. What age are we living in? One can be as free as one likes without guilt or confession. Please, I know exactly who you are. He can be the first great American conductor. So this movie has gotten so much buzz.

He's been on night to watch us. He's great. And Kerry Mulligan as his wife. Oh, my gosh. Obviously, the story of Leonard Bernstein, but also not just his music accomplishments, but his personal life, which is intriguing beyond words. There had been that controversy about him wearing a prosthetic nose. You will get lost in the story.

You will get lost in the acting, the performances. It's really remarkable. If you love a biopic, this is one to watch. And Leonard's family said they love it, right? Yeah, they signed up. They actually responded to that controversy saying, we're on board with this. We love Bradley Cooper and just watch it and enjoy. It's a complicated movie, a complicated story.

but really a great performance. Okay. The next one we have is the return of a series that's on Peacock, a pretty popular one called Dr. Death. It's back with the story of a doctor who committed major medical malpractice. Look. Been trying to get an angle on this medical piece, Palo Macquarini, who's developing artificial organs.

Medical miracles. The work I do, this could change the world. I take a 3D-printed tracheum and transform it into a living organ. This is groundbreaking work. The implications are historic. Perhaps you'll even bring the Nobel home. This sort of stuff just makes my skin crawl. Right.

Prepare to be horrified. This is season two, which is a completely separate story from season one. So you have Edgar Ramirez in the lead role and Mandy Moore, playing the reporter who's investigating this doctor, who's up to no good. You think he's doing these remarkable revolutionary procedures, but in fact, they are incredibly blatantly sometimes malpractice or just destructive. I can't even get over that this happened. And then Mandy Moore plays the reporter,

journalist doing a story on him who then falls in love with him has a relationship but then plays an instrumental instrumental role in bringing him down so it's an incredible story inspired by the podcast the scripted version here is originated as a podcast okay so next we have a movie that was popular in theaters it's a thriller comedy called saltburn yeah here's a look at that my parents they've got problems what kind of what do you mean problems i don't think i'll ever go home again why don't you come home with me come to saltburn Mr. Quick. Wow.

And here he is now. Oh, beautiful eyes. Oh, how wonderful. Yeah, I told you it wasn't a minga. Oh, but darling, you're kind about everyone. You can't be trusted. She is great. This is streaming on Amazon Prime.

Yes. What do you make of it? I'm not seeing the comedy. It's like a deep psychological thriller. I'm terrified by the time I watched the thriller. The trailer, Barry Kagan, who just won an Oscar for Band. She's of Inichiren, if I said that right. And then we also have Jacob Allorty, who's like the hot actor right now giving a great performance.

Also, again, we have Rosamund Pike, and we have Carrie Mulligan again, but this is about aristocracy and the difference in class. And there's some stuff that goes down in this movie that's a little bit terrifying. How's that? I'm not really telling you much. Stuff goes down as things should be creepy, but you'll laugh too. I think it's like looks like edge of your seat kind of chilling, yeah. Would you put this above the first one in your to watch this weekend? Oh, well, okay.

I'm watching this one this weekend, but I already watched Maestro. Okay. Sorry. So I guess yes. And then this later. It's just no order. This one looks more intriguing to me. I just love this kind of thing.

All right. Okay. So let's go to the next one. This is a new series that's on Disney Plus. It is about a 12-year-old Dimmigod and his newfound powers. This one is Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Let's take a look. Percy Jackson, your father needs your help.

The master boards has been stolen. If you don't turn the boat, there will be war. That is your quest. I know it sounds daunting. But you won't be alone. A quest is always undertaken by three. Percy Jackson, this is a very popular series. Right, an incredibly popular book series.

There have been a couple of films, one in 2010 and I think another in 2013, which were, did okay. But this one looks really strong, and it's perfect for that age group. You're looking at the age group that it's for, and great effects, great story. Check it out if you want. All right. So let's now go through. This is a top story. Just let us tell you what we like, a little

element, because we want to make sure you know where to stream some of our favorite holiday movies. So on HBO Max, you can watch Elf and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. You can catch Home Alone, a classic one and two, I think, on Disney Plus. A Charlie Brown Christmas is on Apple TV Plus, and you can catch

the classic White Christmas on Netflix. So, Brian, two questions for you. One, what are your favorite holiday movies? And two, as a cocktail aficionado, what is your go-to holiday cocktail? Classic, it's white Christmas all the way. I don't like when they don't communicate, though. Like, just work that out. Like, just talk to each other. That bothers me. You don't have to

go down to New York. Okay, and then I love Elf, because it's just like a classic new kind of contemporary movie. And as drinks go, I love a smoky old-fashioned. Everyone's invited. Come to my place. I'll make you a smoky old fashion. The smoke is important. And then a paloma, which is great food. And generally, tequila, but I use mescal, which is the

smokier version, kind of of a tequila. It's fantastic. That's like a warmy Christmas drink. I like it. We could do a whole segment on this, so call me when you're ready. Yes, okay. I mean, I both strongly for that. Let's shift to music before we both get fired. Elegia Keys is out with a new song. It is off the Color Purple movie album, and it's called Lifeline. Listen. I mean, Alicia Keys is one of those people that I'm just like, I have to stare at everything she's doing because she's so charismatic and talented and it's just like she never misses. Super talent, right?

This is from the soundtrack of music from the film and inspired by the film. So there's 16 tracks from the film and 17 more on this album from the color purple artists from the film and outside the film. And that music video just came out today, it's about overcoming adversity. And this film is coming out this weekend, this holiday weekend. So if you want to go to a theater, I mean, you leave, people go outside the house nowadays? Occasionally, once in a while, check it out in theaters. That's a great one.

That's very good to know. Okay, so this next one, kind of a, I don't even know, a curveball. It's Ryan Goslin. He's out with a new re-recording with Mark Ronson of his hit song for the Barbie movie. You know what this is. I'm just Ken. Maybe it's the Christmas song we didn't know we needed. I was going to say, the cow has done bin-milk because there are three new versions.

There are three new versions of I just Ken. They're on Spotify. This is the Christmas version, which from what I can tell is just Christmas sounding. I don't think it's actually any different. And there's a disco version, but the song is enormously popular, and they're going to work it. Get all your streams. We respect it. Keep it going.

It can replace all of the Mariah Carey hits. Absolutely. It's done. It's going to be in line. Brian Balthasar, thank you for being here. And thank you at home for watching Top Story and happy holidays from all of us. For Tom Yamis, I'm Ellison Barber in New York. Stay right there.

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