Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, December 8, 2023

Episode Date: December 9, 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 monster cross-country storm on the move with millions in its path. The system dropping inches of snow out west, creating treacherous conditions for drivers on the roads. The storm now barreling east, threatening the Midwest with possible tornadoes, winds, and hail, before it's expected to blanket parts of the east coast in snow. Bill Karen, standing by with the track and what you need to know, heading into the weekend. New Hunter Biden charges. The president's son hit with nine federal charges for failing to pay his taxes.

Prosecutors alleging he instead spent his money on women, clothes, and adult entertainment. And now a growing number of Republicans supporting the impeachment inquiry into his father. What we're hearing about that congressional probe tonight. A remarkable medical breakthrough, the FDA approving a cure for sickle cell, a genetic disorder that can cause excruciating pain when woman involved. in the clinical trial telling us this new treatment completely changed her life. We'll explain how it works and how much it could set families back. Also breaking late today, the Oxford High School shooter sentenced to life in prison without parole

for killing four students in 2021. The powerful victim impact statements delivered in court before the teenager learned his fate. Shocking video out of Atlanta showing a woman pouring gasoline on the front porch of Martin Luther King Jr's childhood home. Two NYPD officers who happen to be visiting the site detaining her before she could light it on fire the charges she's now facing. Plus the moment a driver in Florida plowed through a red light slamming right into a patrol car how the officer who was inside is doing tonight. And truck of the future, Tesla's cyber truck, a bulletproof stainless steel ride that looks like it drove straight off a movie set is on the market and already driving some controversy. Why some

warning, it's dangerous. But others are saying there is no vehicle like it on the planet. We'll talk to one expert who put it to the test. Top story starts right now. And good Friday evening. We begin top story tonight with that major storm we've been tracking here all week. Millions on alert tonight as severe weather moves across the country. Already we've seen several inches of snow out west. Drivers slowing to, a crawl in the interstate near Park City, Utah. White out conditions, blinding drivers there. The power of this powerful, deadly storm, I should say, on full display as it inundated the Pacific Northwest, flooding neighborhoods near the coast. Now, the center of the country in the

bullseye, 9 million under alert from Texas to Kentucky, with tornadoes possible. The system expected to pummel the East Coast, bringing heavy rains, damaging winds, and snow to some areas. So I want to get right over to meteorologist Bill Kerrins, joining us live in studio here. Bill, walk us through what we should expect throughout the weekend going into next week. Yeah, it's a dangerous storm, so it's important that everyone knows the timing of when the worst of the weather is going to be heading through your area. Not seeing too bad right now. We've got light snow breaking out in Colorado. Denver, you're also going to have some light snow tonight.

There's some light snow and slippery travel in North Dakota. But the really dangerous stuff will start Saturday afternoon. This is when the storm begins to intensify, and we'll watch these thunderstorms popping up. Isolated tornadoes are possible. We're going anywhere from just outside of Houston, right through Louisiana, northern Mississippi, and up towards. Memphis and Nashville. We have about 9 million people in this slight risk of severe weather. It's not going to be widespread, but again, it only takes one tornado to make a miserable weekend for wherever that hits. So this will be again, 6 p.m. those storms will be near Nashville

and down through Mississippi. Then we take the storm to the east coast. It gets even stronger, and this is just widespread, heavy rain, gusty winds, all the way from the Carolinas to Maine. And in between, that's where we're going to worry about flooding. We now have 40 million people included in flood watches, including all of Philadelphia, New York City, and right through the heart of New England. Many areas will get at least one to three inches of rain. Isolated, could get up to four to five inches of rain. And the airports, you do not want to be at them Sunday evening. It's going to be pouring rain and very gusty winds. We're going to have considerable cancellations and delays as we go throughout Sunday afternoon, Sunday evening. And even into

Monday morning, as this storm system is over Boston, the winds are really going to whip, especially Monday morning, 60 to 70 mile power wind gusts for coastal locations. So, Tom, we will be talking about even power outages come Monday morning, too. Okay, Bill, I know you'll stay on top of it throughout the week. And now to our other major headline tonight, first reported last night here on Top Story. The president's son, Hunter Biden, hit with new tax charges in the special counsel's investigation. Prosecutors saying that instead of paying his taxes, Hunter spent millions on an extravagant lifestyle, including escorts and drugs.

Ryan Nobles has the latest on the charges and the fiery response from Hunter's legal team. Tonight, President Biden ignoring questions about the new round of legal woes for his son. A nine-count federal indictment on tax charges from Special Counsel David Weiss, Hunter Biden facing the possibility of 17 years in prison. The 56-page indictment saying he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019. spending millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills, including on drugs, escorts, and girlfriends, such as $683,000 on payments to various women,

close to $400,000 on clothes, and $188,000 on adult entertainment. Hunter Biden said he was battling addiction. His attorney saying he paid back the taxes and the charges should not have been brought. If his name wasn't Hunter Biden, this would not have happened. It comes after Weiss's original plea deal for Hunter Biden, which would have allowed him to avoid prison time, fell apart under a judge's scrutiny. The growing accusations against Hunter Biden come as the GOP is investigating the finances of the Biden family, including the president, with more Republicans favoring the impeachment inquiry already underway. I will support it when it comes to the floor likely next week. President Biden has repeatedly denied that he spoke to Hunter about his foreign business dealings.

I have never discussed with my son or my brother or anyone else, anything having to do with their businesses. A former Hunter Biden partner told Congress President Biden spoke to their business associates at least 20 times. The president was pressed about it this week. I did not, and it's just a bunch of lies. Okay, Ryan Nobles joins us now live from Capitol Hill tonight. So, Ryan, does this new indictment change the calibration of what these congressional Republicans are trying to do with their investigations? It certainly does, Tom. And the biggest reason being is that, you know, there is a group of Republicans that would vote for articles of impeachment tomorrow, but not enough to make that happen. And for that group of moderate Republicans that are a little concerned that this impeachment inquiry is moving too fast, the salacious allegations in this indictment, even though Joe Biden's names is never mentioned, gives them the cover in their districts to say, we need to investigate this even more just to make sure that the president is not involved. That's why I think it's pretty clear next week when they come back, they will vote to authorize that impeachment inquiry.

Yeah, Ryan, so could you actually walk our viewers through that timeline and what we think that's going to look like, because we are approaching the holidays as well? That's right. So they'll probably vote on the impeachment inquiry perhaps as early as Wednesday of next week. Now, that is just to authorize the investigation that's already underway. Articles of impeachment, the much more serious stage of this investigation, may not happen for several months. In fact, the chairmen of the committees have said they're not going to release their final report until they get all the interviews and subpoenas taken care of. Tom. Okay, Ryan Nobles for us. Ryan, we always appreciate your reporting. As Ryan laid out in his report, Hunter Biden's team

is going on offense as these new charges come in. In a statement to NBC News, Hunter's attorney, Abby Lowell, who briefly you heard from in that piece, blasting the charges and the prosecution as political. Here it is, saying, based on the facts and the law, if Hunter's last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware and now California, would not have been brought. First, U.S. Attorney Weiss bowed to Republican pressure to file unprecedented and unconstitutional gun charges to renege on a non-prosecution resolution. Now, after five years of investigating with no new evidence, and two years after Hunter paid his taxes in full, the U.S. attorney has piled on nine new charges when he had agreed just months ago to resolve

this matter with a pair of misdemeanors. All of this, of course, playing out against the backdrop of President Biden's re-election campaign. So for more on Hunter Biden's legal pair, and how it could impact his father. I want to bring in our panel tonight here on Top Story. NBC News Legal Analyst, Angela Senadella, NBC News Senior National Politics Reporter, Jonathan Allen, and Naveen Nyack, he's president for the Center of American Progress, Action Fund, and a former Hillary Clinton campaign staffer.

We thank you all for being here on a Friday night. Angela, I'm going to start with you. Let's go to Abby Lowell's defense. Does he have a point? Why are there these new charges if there's no new evidence? I think he has a real point, especially because Hunter Biden had admitted in open court in attempt to have this plea deal be approved that he did violate tax laws. And so then to further go and pursue charges against that

is extremely unusual. Also, I think Abby Lowell's claim that Hunter has paid all the taxes back plus penalties plus interest makes it even more unusual that they are prosecuting him. It could be up to 17 years in prison if he's convicted on all these counts. Do you think he sees prison time? How strong is that indictment? I think he's going to see very minimal, if any, prison time because a judge looks at mitigating circumstances. A judge would consider the fact that he did pay everything back with interest. And also a judge is sympathetic to somebody who was in rehab who at the time was allegedly under the influence. But as we are always told here by our colleague, Danny Savalos, the feds only bring a case if they think they can win it and they usually win it more than 90% of the time.

Oh, yes. I think the feds are going to win this case. But your question is if he's going to end up in jail, and I don't think so. Okay, Jonathan, I want to move over to you. This indictment, it's not a surprise for the Biden administration or the reelect team, right? But it's a recurring problem now. And there's really no one else to blame but Hunter because he didn't take that plea deal. So how does this affect Biden's re-election campaign? That's a great question.

I think for the vast majority of Americans, they will either continue to believe that Joe Biden is corrupt and that he's been a part of this, even though no evidence has been brought forward to suggest, and certainly not in this indictment that Joe Biden was part of the tax evasion that's been charged, and for a large part of America, they'll look at this and say, this is, you know, this is kind of a bull, and that basically Hunter Biden is not something that anybody should consider politically. But for people in the middle, people who are not necessarily partisans or who aren't paying that much attention, I think this creates a problem for Joe Biden on two fronts. Number one, his name is going to be attached, obviously, the last name for sure, and certainly his first name as well, on the political side and through any

potential impeachment hearings. And then just the other piece of it is it's a huge distraction for the White House. You know, Nevin, on that last point that Jonathan just brought up there, if you're in the Biden-Harris re-elect war room, how are you handling this differently? Does the strategy change at all? Because we've sort of heard, going back to the previous campaign, this defense from Joe Biden, that these are all lies. Well, we know that he hasn't been fully truthful about that, right? There have been contradicting statements from both him and Hunter. So do you have to change the strategy here? I don't think so at all. I actually do think that there's two different things here. One is the actual Department of Justice's investigation,

which the president is not going to touch. I'm sure it's really hard for him to watch that happening as a father. But at the end of the day, that is about his son, and nothing about the Department of Justice's investigation. If anything, it's sort of a reminder of the American people that the Justice Department is independent, and, you know, it undercuts one of Donald Trump's and Republicans' main arguments. But when it comes to sort of the political exercise that Republicans are going through with impeachment, I do think they will combat that very aggressively, because the Republicans have now been at this. They've had an impeachment inquiry for 87 days. Speaker Pelosi had her impeachment inquiry for 85 days, and in that time, they were able to

impeach the president with articles. Republicans are nowhere near to actually make the case that Joe Biden has done anything wrong. And I think, you know, Biden campaign will keep pointing that out. Angela, you know, some on the right are already saying that this indictment was a bit actually short-sighted, right? Because they brought new charges, but they sort of, they didn't investigate any of the threads that Republicans and Congress are investigating, right? Whether he didn't register as a foreign agent, whether there was any corrupt practices, what happened with Burisma and the Ukrainian oil company. So my question to you is looking at the indictment. The special counsel brings up new charges, but he stays on this track of taxes.

Why do you think the foreign deals at least didn't appear in this indictment, even though the special counsel has said the investigation is open? Yes, well, I think the first reason is what you alluded to before, which is that prosecutors only bring cases they are sure they are going to win. They're not sure they're going to win that. Also, Congress is different from the DOJ. Congress can look into the president all they want, but the DOJ historically, since the beginning of this country has not looked into prosecuting anything directly related to a sitting president. So they are continuing that history. Jonathan, you know, when we look at the president and the re-election campaign, there's already

been a lot of pressure on the president because of his poll numbers. Voters clearly concerned about his age. And as I said, night after night here on this show, the Whisper campaign has now turned into a shouting campaign about not having the president run again for reelection. Does the Hunter problem give the people in the Democratic Party that want change, that don't want Joe Biden to run again? Does that give them more credence? Does that give them a bigger argument now to make that change? I think they're less likely to make it, and certainly not on those grounds. If anything, I think Democrats are going to unify around President Biden.

That's typically what you see when a party feels like its leader is under attack. This is obviously not related to an age question with Biden. You know, this is something completely separate. So my guess is that you're going to see the Democrats coalesce around him, if anything at all. If there's any change at all, it'll be to coalesce. You know, you look at his poll numbers, he is essentially polling even with Donald Trump. If you look at all the data that's out there, they're basically running even with each other right now. I think the one number that people look at a lot, Biden now has his lowest approval ratings.

And part of that is Democrats being unhappy with him as their nominee. And I think that, you know, the big struggle for the White House is going to be, and the Biden campaign is going to be to try to bring back those Democrats that are already upset with him because they don't like his policies. Some of them about his policy in the Middle East, some of them about some of his policies regarding the economy. But, you know, I think that this issue is not one that is going to split Democrats away from him. Nevin, you think it's a smart strategy for Hunter to be aggressive and go on the offense, at least during this round? He had sort of been quiet during the last campaign with the allegations against him. But once the plea deal fell apart, we have seen him write an op-ed. We've seen Abbey Lowell go out to interviews.

We've seen him being very vocal on why he says this is political. Do you think that's smart on their part? I mean, listen, I'm not going to give them legal advice, but I do think that, as his lawyer said today, that they really do feel like this has moved from being purely a legal case to being, you know, instigated by political pressure from Republicans who were really upset about the plea deal and, you know, played a role in having a collapse. And so it's not surprising to me that he's going to sort of fight for his client as a lawyer and that Hunter Biden's going to try to defend himself.

And I can't speak to the wisdom of that in terms of his own legal, you know, opportunity. Yeah, no, and I'm going to ask Angela about that. Angela, this is almost like right out of the Trump playbook, right? Get aggressive. Say it's politics. It's what we've been hearing from the former president all year. Do you think this is a smart legal strategy? Yeah, but I want to be clear.

What Abby Lowell is saying publicly could be very different what he's saying to prosecutors. And the fact that he has said on Monday he's going to be filing a slew of motions makes me feel that over the weekend he's going to be trying to negotiate with those prosecutors potentially for a new plea deal. So he can go on the offensive publicly. But the prosecutors still say, look, it would be in all of our best interests to negotiate something. Jonathan, you know, are Republicans here also sort of playing a risky game? Because Democrats have said, look, there's no smoking gun yet.

They have never provided the smoking gun evidence that connects Hunter to doing something illegally with Joe Biden so far. If they don't have that smoking gun by the end of all their investigations, does it look bad for them? Possibly, but House Republicans aren't on the ballot against Joe Biden. And this was always the case when congressional Democrats were going after Donald Trump. The person at risk is the president because those members of Congress aren't running against that president. most of them come from very safe congressional districts. Nevin, if you were advising President Biden right now, he's going to continue to be asked about Hunter Biden.

Does he have to change his answers? Because I think it's almost sort of he gives a quick response, and then he dodges and he's out the room. Does he have to sort of change his explanation about what he talked to Hunter Biden about and as far as his business dealings are concerned? No, not at all. Again, I do think the onus here is on the people doing the investigation. And if, again, nothing in the DOJ investigation suggests that this president did anything even close to being illegal or inappropriate.

And, you know, as I mentioned, the House Republicans have been investigating Joe Biden and everyone around him for more than a year now and have been at this and cannot find anything actually linking the president. You know, maybe there's a statement that contradicts him, but that is so far from anything the president should actually be dealing with in my mind. Angela, we've got about 10 seconds. Do you think this goes to trial during the campaign during the election? I think it very well could, but I still think possibility of plea deal. Okay, Angela Senadella, Jonathan Allen, Navine Nyack. We thank you so much for joining top story tonight. We head overseas now to the war in Gaza.

Tonight, Israel is defending its treatment of a group of Palestinian prisoners shown in their underwear and photos sparking outrage in the Muslim world. This has intense new fighting pounds southern Gaza. NBC's Richard Engel has the late details. Israeli troops lined up more than 100 Palestinian men, many stripped to their underwear. Palestinians call it collective humiliation. The images sparked global outrage. Tonight, the Israeli military said Hamas fighters are dressing as civilians, and the men were

detained in what it called Hamas strongholds in northern Gaza and questioned about why they didn't escape to the south. But southern Gaza now is where Israel's war. offensive against Hamas is intensifying around the city of Han Yunus. At the start of the war, our camera crew captured this moment of volunteers digging through rubble. They cheer and pull out a young girl somehow alive. 14-year-old Miral Nijam, her mother, grandmother, and two siblings were killed. Our crew found Miral again in black, along with her nine-year-old.

older sister Mira also rescued that day. They're back in the line of fire, sheltering in Han Yunus. They've already been displaced seven times. We keep everything we have ready here in case we need to move again, Miral says. Her sister's leg is broken, Miral's arm is in a sling. She says they're not going further south to Ruffa for now, because there's no food or place to stay there. The UN today said its humanitarian program is collapsing.

Live on the Arabic language Al Jazeera network, a woman tells her reporter Hamas is hoarding aid meant for civilians. He takes the mic and says what little aid is coming in is being distributed. She wags her finger, saying Hamas fighters are taking it to their homes, and they can shoot her if they want. Richard Engel joins us tonight from Jerusalem. Richard, quite the moment there. That's the first time I've seen such defiance.

against Hamas from a Palestinian in front of a camera. What does that mean for the larger war? Well, I think it's hard to know. There certainly is frustration with Hamas. There was frustration with Hamas before this began. Hamas was not popular in Gaza. People were afraid of Hamas before this began. Hamas was voted into office at one stage in Gaza many years ago,

and then it entrenched itself and people had to live with it. So it's not that the group was wildly popular and it enjoys this support. People don't like coming under attack. People don't like what's happening from Israel. A lot of the anger and an outrage and fury is addressed toward Israel. But people also don't like Hamas for having put them in this position. There are a lot of people who don't agree. with the group's necessarily hardcore Islamic agenda.

But what we saw extraordinarily was this woman saying it on camera in front of a crowd. That is unusual. And then to have her say in the end, I don't care if they shoot me, I don't care what happens. That phrase in itself indicates that the group is intimidating, that she feels that by speaking out, she could be putting herself at risk, but she doesn't care anymore. I don't think we're at a stage where there's going to be some sort of popular uprising against Hamas. People are just trying to survive the day, trying to figure out where they're going to sleep, what they're going to eat, how they're going to stay warm. It's very cold here, Tom, in the evenings.

I don't know if you can hear there's somewhat of an echo inside. We've moved to an inside location because it's very windy, very cold outside. and if you're in Gaza, it's a desert climate at night. It's cold. We're in the heart of the winter now. So people are angry. They're angry with Hamas. They're outraged with what Israel is doing.

Whether this will translate long-term to some sort of movement against Hamas, we'll see, and we'll see if they have the ability to do anything about that, because at the end of the day, Hamas, locally anyway, has all the guns. Richard, Engel, for us again from Jerusalem. Richard, please stay safe out there. Back here at home, the teenager convicted of killing four students in a mass shooting at his Michigan high school handed multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole. This comes after an emotional day in court with dozens of victims detailing their pain. NBC's Maggie Vespa has the story. The terror that he caused in the state of

Michigan and in Oxford is a true act of terrorism. Tonight in Michigan, a 17-year-old mass shooter handed the state's harshest possible punishment several times over. Counts two through five that finish he'll serve the rest of his life without the possibility of parole. In all, the judge issuing five life sentences without parole, including one for each of the four students murdered in 2021's Oxford High School Massacre. This moments after, Ethan Crumley, who claims he struggled with mental health issues leading up to the shooting, asked the judge for an eventual chance at freedom. I am a really bad person. I have done terrible things that no one should ever do, and I'm not denying it, but that's not who I plan on to be. The court instead, heating the calls of dozens of families and victims. Nicole Bousselaer remembers denying her daughter Madison died until the medical examiner showed her the body.

I looked through the glass. My screams should have shattered it. My daughter's lifeless body was laying on a cold metal gurney. St. Juliana lost her little sister, Hana. The two had hoped to play lacrosse together. Instead of speaking at her wedding, I spoke at her funeral. Instead of fish-chilling her hair for a game, I curled her hair in a casket. Kylie Osage was one of seven wounded. A bullet grazed her spine. It has been 738 days of constant physical and mental pain. Some argued life in prison isn't enough. So in lieu of execution, I'm going to ask you to like this son of a, for the rest of his pathetic life. Tonight, families, surprised by a murderer's last-minute plea, are moving forward.

It was a very unanimous feeling that it was insincere. We feel that justice is getting there. And in another key hallmark of this case, the shooter's parents also facing charges. James and Jennifer Crumley's trial is set to start as early as next month. Each of them facing involuntary manslaughter charges. For prosecutors say, buying their son a gun and ignoring clear warning signs, about his mental health. They've each pleaded not guilty. Tom. All right, Maggie Vespa for us. Still ahead tonight, a suspected arsonist targeting Martin Luther King Jr.'s home. The woman seemed

dumping gasoline on the front porch, the off-duty officers who actually stepped in to detain her before she could strike a match. Plus, that huge medical breakthrough, the FDA approving a cure for sickle cell, how it works and what it could cost families. And the truck of the future is here. Take a look at this, what Tesla calls its cyber truck. Some are warning it could be a danger on the roads and others are racing to get behind the wheel. Stay with us. All right, we're back now with one of the most unique and polarizing vehicles to hit the market. After more than four years of waiting, the Tesla cyber truck is finally hitting the roads,

boasting impressive specs and a futuristic design. the new truck grabbing a lot of attention, but also drawing questions about its safety. Jake Ward now on the hype and the concerns. Finally, the future will look like the future. It's the newest truck on the market, known as the cyber truck, a futuristic take straight out of a sci-fi movie. The comparisons already rolling in. Massive trucks in the alien franchise to the Delorean from the film Back to the Future.

The car just hitting the roads days ago, but already supercharging its way into the zeitgeist. Tesla's founder and CEO Elon Musk personally delivering the first batch of about a dozen trucks. We're heading over production cyber trucks to their actual owner. The estimated wait list now, over 2 million people long, with some told to expect their truck in five years. The top model, the Cyberbeast, with a price tag starting in nearly $100,000. Tesla says it has a stainless steel bulletproof exterior can go zero to 60 in 2.6 seconds, even having it drag race and beat a Porsche while. towing a Porsche and the first ever vehicle to fully feature steer-by-wire technology.

I want one. Matthew Watson is one of several car experts and aficionados. Tesla flew to Texas to try the cyber truck firsthand. It's really hard to damage it. A lover of gas engine cars, Watson says it's still one-of-a-kind in the market right now. Tough as you like. You're not buying it necessarily for why some people would buy an electric car. You're buying it because it's a cyber truck.

But some safety experts are not sold. are being sold as kind of like manhood accessories. While they say the cyber truck shares safety concerns common to other EV trucks, such as higher weight and rapid acceleration, it also has unique challenges. The ultra-hard, cold-rolled stainless steel poses some challenges we think in crashworthiness and also poses a threat to pedestrians in many ways. The concern is its stiff steel exterior, one that could cause more harm to, quote, softer cars. Musk addressing these industry safety concerns.

This has passed all of the regulatory tests and is reliable. But it might be a while before the cyber truck makes it into any government crash test programs. They only crash vehicles that have a certain volume of production. Small batch vehicles are going to be excluded from those crash tests due to cost concerns and other things. It's Tesla's effort to stand out in an increasingly crowded market. Some people hate it. Some people love it. but it's different, it's interesting.

Now, Tom, this is a very expensive, very high market vehicle at a time when dealers are reporting they're having a very hard time selling conventional vehicles in any form. Prices are falling like crazy across the auto industry. So we just don't know whether somehow the fan base of Elon Musk and of Tesla will deliver again for him this time. We're going to have to wait and see,

but you have a five-year-long wait list. Wow. All right, Jacob Ward, thank you. When we come back, an officer rushed to the hospital after this terrifying crash. Take a look. A suspected drunk driver barreling through an intersection crashing into the officer's patrol car will have an update on his condition. And McDonald's, did you hear about this, launching a spin-off chain called Cosmix? What you can order there and where the very first location just opened.

That's next. All right, back now with Top Stories News Feeding. We begin with an arson attempt on Martin Luther King Jr. birthplace in Atlanta. Video from a bystander shows a woman dousing the front of the historic house with gasoline, the home was closed for rehab work at the time,

two off-duty New York police officers eventually detaining the woman before she could start a fire according to local authorities. The suspect was arrested and now was charged with attempted arson and attempted interference with government property. A terrifying DUI crash

caught on camera outside of Miami. The car speeding through a red light watches before slamming into a police SUV causing the cruiser to spin across the intersection. Authorities say the officer and two people from the other car were taken to the hospital. They are expected to be okay. The driver has been charged with driving under the influence and drug possession.

Two ice fishermen and a dog rescued after they fell into a frozen lake outside of Minneapolis. Body cam video shows a deputy carefully sliding his way out to the men on the ice before using a rope to pull them to safety with the help of other first responders. Their dog also making it to shore, officials say the fishermen were taken to the hospital for hypothermia, nowhere yet on their condition. And a new spin-off restaurant from the world's largest burger chain launching today in a Chicago suburb, McDonald's opening its first Cosmix, a smaller restaurant focused on beverages designed to compete with chains like Starbucks, the menu featuring dozens of new drinks

that won't be available on the regular McDonald's menu, and some familiar food items. Ten locations are expected to open by the end of 2024, mostly in Texas. Okay, we want to take a turn now to a remarkable medical breakthrough we want to tell you about the FDA approving a cure for sickle cell, a blood disease that can cause debilitating pain. NBC's Rahima Ellis spoke to one of the first patients to get that life-changing treatment. The medical breakthrough focuses attention on a long-overlooked genetic disorder affecting mostly African-Americans, suffering from an excruciatingly painful disease, sickle cell. The treatment called Casjevi is the first. first FDA-approved medical use of the gene editing tool, CRISPR, and the beginning of a new era in medicine using this technology. It modifies the DNA in a patient's own stem cells

so they no longer produce sickle cells, which can cause health complications and can lead to an early death. Doctors call it transformative for nearly 100,000 people affected. I think it really will change the landscape of science for sickle cell disease. I think it's going to open a lot of doors for a lot of patients. It's already changed Luray Morning's life. The 29-year-old first-year-law student at American University's Washington College of Law was one of 46 patients involved in the clinical trial. Diagnosed at birth with sickle cell, doctors told her mother she might not live beyond 11.

For most of her life, she says she suffered severe pain. It's consistent, it's sharp, and it's crippling. And that could be where, for example, on your body? I've had it in my knees, my arm, anywhere there's a joint. Now Luray runs and works out in the gym, things she always wanted to do but never could do before. It's changed your life. It's changed your life. You said it's given you life.

It's given me life, yeah. Experts argue the cost puts it out of reach for many families. The price tag is $2.2 million, but its likely insurance will cover at least some of it. Technically, this is a one-time procedure, but the entire process is arduous lasting several months. The young woman we spoke with said it is also painful, but it's worth it. Tom? Rahma Ellis for us tonight. Rahima, thank you for that.

Now to Top Stories Global Watch and a look at what else is happening around the world. We start with a rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Iraqi officials say over a dozen rockets struck the embassy in Iraq's capital. Some landing near the compound's gates, while others feel. fell into the river. There were no reports of injuries or infrastructure damage just yet. Iranian-backed militias have claimed responsibility for that attack. A state of emergency declared in the Seychelles after a pair of disasters. New video shows a moment an explosion rocked an industrial site on the island of Muhe, flattening buildings and injuring more than

100 people. The blast occurred at a construction depot where explosives were apparently being stored. It happened as heavy rains and floods also slammed the East African island killing three people. And a major update for Russian athletes hoping to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Olympics International Committee confirming that Russian and Bella Russian athletes can compete in the Paris Summer Games, but only, this is the big caveat here, if they do so under a neutral flag, not as representatives of their countries. Russia has been barred from competing as a nation since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Okay, coming up next, turning the page, a new study finding Gen Z readers are actually flocking to libraries, ditching their e-books in favors of physical

copies. What experts say is driving this digital detox. Plus, the one resource available at the library you might not even know about. Stay with us. Well, well, here we are. I want to congratulate you for being on time. Excuse me, sir. I think there's been a mistake. I know it's detention, but I don't think I belong in here. Welcome back. In case you didn't know, that was a scene from the Breakfast Club. The classic 80s movie where a group of high schoolers are forced to spend the day in detention in the last place they want to be, the library.

But according to a new study, that perception may be changing. Researchers found that younger Americans are actually visiting libraries at higher rates than the generations that came before, fueling a whole new appetite for reading among Gen Z and Millennials. NBC's Maura Barrett has this story. In the quiet corners of libraries across the country, a reading renaissance led by younger generations is underway. Teens read, teens read a lot. A new study from the American Library Association

revealing that Gen Z and millennials are visiting libraries at higher rates than older generations, with 54% saying they've visited a brick-and-mortar location in the last year, Is that surprising to see the interest in checking out physical books when teens have so many digital distractions? I think what's interesting about this age group is they are just very fluid in terms of their platforms. I feel like it's kind of sort of in parallel, right, to how they deal with the world. Sivirama Krishnan is the director of young adult services at New York Public Libraries, where she's made it her mission to encourage younger people to visit the library,

whether it's to check out books or take advantage of its resources like book clubs or college application help. I think that to me what's really important is that libraries are able to meet young people kind of where they're at. This becomes a part of their life. This becomes a key space between like school and home where they are able to pursue their interests. The authors of the study believe libraries and reading could offer a non-digital alternative for Gen Z and Maloney. I think that there's an assumption that Gen Zian millennials are pretty digitally oriented. What our study found is that, in fact, they love printed books. They love going into libraries.

So we wonder whether printed books and libraries might be a digital detox for them. They're hopeful their research will help turn the page for the younger generation. There's been a narrative around, oh, maybe Gen Zine millennials aren't raining as much or aren't going to the library, which just isn't true. This Gen Z-led book club village fairy started on TikTok, where the founders set out to prove that point while also building community. I personally love like a physical copy of a book after you've been on the phone all day or your computer. It's fun to have something that is not looking at a screen and something to bring along with you on a trip. New to New York, Ellie McCoy and Isabella Harrison started their club in search of friends that shared their love of reading. It can be really daunting moving here.

I think having like a solid group of friends around you can just change your experience completely. And so that's kind of been, I don't know, the most important and like our North Star and all of this. A new chapter of friendship, all thanks to sharing a physical book. Maura Barrett joins us now in studio. So Maura, it's so great to see Gen Z in this younger generation wanting to have a digital detox. Did the people you talk to, do they tell you, give you other reasons why they wanted to go to a library and actually hold a physical book? Well, I think we can all understand. on our screens so much. It's really nice. Just give your eyes a break. But another point

that Isabella brought up, actually, with the Village Fairy Book Club. She said it all started with a book swap because they were trying to save money, swapping books back and forth. But there's also a sustainability aspect, too. When you go to the library where you're not buying new books, not necessarily printing more books, there's this green element that they're more in tune with. And research has showed that Gen Z is paying it more attention to the climate crisis and how they can help with sustainability. Definitely more in tune with that. You know, I'm a huge fan of Libby. which is like the app that you can check out library books on it. It's so easy.

It is digital, obviously. Is that becoming popular with this generation as well? Absolutely, because remember, this is the younger generation. They're trying to save costs wherever they can, too. That's another reason to go to the library. But what's great about Libby, it's a free app that has relationships with over 20,000 libraries across the country. Earlier this year, they cited one billion downloads.

And so you can go out, check an ebook out from your library if they have it available, and even download it to use it offline. And so it's this on-the-go mobile situation that these people can use and still access their books. You use it all the time. All you need is a library card. Okay.

More Barrett, great to have you in studio, too. When we come back, what to binge, watch, and listen to this weekend. The fan-favorit TV show Monk is back after 14 years. But this time, as a movie, plus a new documentary about the life and death of John Lennon.

And new music from the Queen Bee herself will tell you all about it. Stay with us. Thank you.