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Tonight, the deadly flu surge pushing hospitals to the brink.
ICU beds filling up from coast to coast patients sick with COVID, RSV, and the flu.
More than 13 million infections reported already this year.
New York City now recommending wearing masks again.
Our Gabe Gutierrez, with the doctors now battling a triple dimmock.
Double threat, a monster winter storm dumping nearly a foot of snow out west as quick moving systems take aim at the east coast.
freezing rain and snow expected from the Midwest all the way up through New England.
Bill Kerrins is standing by to time it all out.
Griner back at home.
The WNBA star touching down in San Antonio reunited with her family after spending nearly
10 months in Russian custody.
The U.S. swapping Griner for a convicted Russian arms dealer.
The growing concerns tonight about what the man dubbed the Merchant of Death
will do with his newfound freedom.
And motive for murder, disgraced former attorney Alec Murdoch back in court charged with killing his wife and son.
The new theory from the prosecution tonight, what they say drove Murdoch to do the unthinkable to his own family.
Plus the high-speed crash caught on camera in Texas, two cars racing down a highway, smashing into each other, then spinning out of control.
The charges one of those drivers is now facing.
And forget about fine art or NFTs, why so many investors are not.
now taking a shot on rare liquor bottles. Some of them go in for more than a million dollars.
We're going to take you inside the Whiskey Gold Rush. Top Story starts right now.
Good evening. I'm Gotti Schwartz. In for Tom Yamis. We begin Top Story tonight with that
triple dimic outbreak stretching hospitals to their limits. This flu season, the worst in more
than a decade. And we're going to look at some of those numbers right now. 13 million Americans
Already infected by the flu this year, according to the CDC,
120,000 people hospitalized and 7,300 debts reported.
Hospitals from coast to coast are overwhelmed with a surge of patients,
not only from the flu, but from COVID and RSV as well.
Nearly 80% of beds are full nationwide.
And in New York, that new advisory feels a lot like an early day of the pandemic.
The city is now urging people to wear masks indoors
and in crowded outdoor settings, regardless of vaccination status.
COVID cases there spiking by 50% over the last two weeks.
Gabe Gutierrez is following all of it tonight and leads us off.
Tonight, after being slammed with RSV patients for months,
ICUs are now battling the next phase of the triple damage.
It's becoming flu.
Dr. Tom Balsazak is the chief clinical officer here at Yale New Haven Hospital.
How filled is this ICU on any given day?
100%.
100%.
You're at capacity.
We are at capacity.
Today, the CDC estimated that so far this flu season in the U.S.,
there have been at least 13 million illnesses,
120,000 hospitalizations, and 7,300 deaths.
The flu test positivity rate is about 25%.
Last year at this time, it was less than 3%.
What would you tell someone who looks at what's happening and says,
look, we have respiratory illnesses every winter?
I'd say that this year's different.
This year's different because the volume of cases we're seeing
is greater. Across the country, public health officials are intensifying their preparations for a
winter surge of the flu, COVID, and RSV. Today, New York City issued a health advisory, strongly
recommending, but not mandating indoor masking this winter. L.A. is asking for the same as COVID
hospitalizations in California have soared 150% over the past month. You have a good nap? In Reno, Nevada,
Valerie Primo is grateful her two-month-old daughter Emily, once seriously ill with R.A.
is back home from the ICU.
That was when the thought of she might die across my head.
It's really scary, especially for the little ones.
Back in Connecticut, Jennifer Barna has been a registered nurse for 20 years and never
seen this many respiratory illnesses colliding at once.
It's hard for the staff.
It's hard for patients.
It's hard for families.
So it's just a tricky situation that we haven't seen before.
And Gabe Gutierrez joins us now from New Haven, Connecticut.
Gabe, what is the CDC saying about these soaring flu numbers?
Well, Gotti, as we mentioned, RSV cases seem to be leveling off, but the CDC is really
drawing attention to these soaring flu numbers.
And they say one of the key things to look out for when it comes to determining how this
is different from other years, and it's not just an issue of testing increasing, but they
point to the flu hospitalization rate.
And that, the CDC says, remains at its highest level.
in more than a decade.
Gotti?
Gabe, thank you. NBC's senior medical correspondent, Dr. John Torres,
joins us now to help break down all of this.
Dr. John, a stat that stood out to me from Gabe's piece
is that the current flu test positivity rate is about 25%
when this time last year it was about 3%.
Does that mean our immune systems are weaker from all the time
that we spent locked away because of COVID?
And, God, you know, that's not what it means,
because our immune systems are still strong,
but our immune systems work on a memory-type basis.
So if they haven't seen something in a couple of years
because we were locked down,
we weren't really socializing like the flu,
then they're going to not be able to fight it quite as effectively.
And that's one thing that's happening.
But on top of that, something even more important is happening
is we're not getting vaccinated at the rates that we should be for the flu.
And we are socializing with a vengeance at this point.
We are going back, and if you've been on an airplane,
if you've been out shopping, if you've been in any social situation,
you notice that people are going out there in abundance.
And because of that, you know,
And rightly so, because we've been locked in for a while, that flu is going to spread.
All these respiratory viruses are going to spread, and that's kind of the confluence of factors
that's causing us to see these rates right now, Gotti.
And Dr. John, we're now talking about masking again.
New York and L.A. have been recommending but not mandating masks indoors.
Do you think after all this time, people will mask up without a mandate?
You know, Gaddi, I hope so.
But it's one of those things I think that if it had been a mandate, I think there would have been a lot of push
back there because we've had those over the last few years. At the same time, they're making
this recommendation, especially in areas where we know there is the flu, COVID, RSV, all these
other respiratory viruses there. We know the two tools we have that can really help prevent
these, are the vaccines, which we have for flu and COVID, and then the mask, which granted,
a lot of us are tired of this, but it is still one of the best tools we can have. And what they're
recommending, which I agree with, is if you're in an area, especially if it has high rates of any
of these, especially if you're in a situation where shoulder to shoulder with somebody else,
We need to wear the mask because that's going to help keep these things under control.
And like all the other infections we've seen, this is one of those things that's just going to take a few weeks, maybe a month or two, to get it back under control.
And then we can go back to what we were doing before, Gadi.
And Dr. John, early on in the pandemic, we saw the masks be very effective against other diseases.
Now it feels like we're in this perfect storm of COVID, RSV, and the flu that are packing hospitals nationwide.
Is this more deadly than the height of the COVID pandemic
when you start to factor in all the other diseases as well?
And at this point, it's not more deadly.
And I think part of the reason is because, yes, the flu is out there
and we are seeing these cases of the flu
and the numbers that Gabe was talking about
about the deaths and hospitalizations that are out there.
But if you remember COVID, especially in that second wave,
when we were looking at 800,000 cases,
we were looking at 3,000 plus deaths a day from COVID.
You know, that was the deadly ask.
of that virus. And now we're looking at flu, which we have tools for. We've had tools we've
used in the past. And a lot of us have some built immunity in there, so it's going to keep
us protected to a certain extent. But again, I think the word here is that we need to keep
working to protect ourselves as well. So luckily, we're not at that stage now where we wore a year
ago or so when we had all those cases and deaths, but we want to make sure we don't get to that
place, Gotti. Some important context there. Thanks so much, Dr. John. We're going to turn now to the
weather and the storm systems threatening both coasts out west. A major winter storm is wreaking
habit in northern parts of California here. Several rounds of rain and snow making for dangerous
driving conditions. And in Madison, Wisconsin, snowfall is totaled up to five inches. That quick
moving system is set to hit the northeast by the end of the weekend. For more on the forecast,
NBC News meteorologist Bill Karens joins us live now. Bill, what's the latest track on these two
systems? I mean, this is going to be an active week. I mean, not.
Just this weekend. This is going to go all the way into next week with possible tornado outbreak and then maybe even an East Coast snowstorm towards the end of next week.
But let's deal with the immediate threat and that's the storm coming into the west. We have high winds. We got everything that you typically would get with these big major Pacific storms. You get high elevation snows. You get the problem with the burn scars with the rain. And we also have high winds with this. We have high wind warnings in Northern California, coastline of Oregon. 60 to 90 mile per hour. Even tomorrow morning in San Francisco, we could see some gusty winds up to 50 to 60 miles per hour.
of rain out of this, as we mentioned, and also feet of snow, especially in the California
Sierra. That's all good news. And then, Gadi, we end this week with that snow heading into
the northeast. That's going to be Sunday evening. Not a big event, but it is the first snow
of the season in that area. So a lot of people are getting their first time and first chance to do
some shoveling. A lot of snow. Thanks so much, Bill. And now to the homecoming of Brittany
Griner, the basketball star landing in Texas before dawn today, after she was detained in Russia
for nearly 300 days.
But the debate over the cost of her freedom is still ongoing
as the man she was exchanged for Russian arms dealer, Victor Bout, speaks out.
Andrea Mitchell has the details.
Tonight, Brittany Greiner is back in the U.S., touching down in Texas
where military doctors will check her physical and mental health
and reunited with her wife Chorrell after 294 days in Russian captivity,
the last month spent in a harsh penal colony.
The WNBA and NBA celebrating the return of the seven-time All-Star known as B.G.
We are glad that she's home. We're glad that she's reunited with her family.
Brittany could return to the court in the future after 10 months in prison without good nutrition, without exercise, without physical fitness.
Well, of course, we're all hopeful. But first and foremost, what's important is that she's feeling good and that she's back with her family.
While in Moscow, Russia's notorious arms dealer, Victor Boots' homecoming, was broadcast live on state media.
Vladimir Putin taking a victory lap today.
Our new exchange is possible.
Yes, everything is possible, he says.
Nicknamed the Merchant of Death, Boot had served 11 years of a 25-year sentence in the U.S.
on multiple charges, including conspiring to kill Americans.
Before he was caught, running a global network of cargo planes delivering arms to terrorists around the war.
world, including $50 million of weapons to the Taliban, and a plan to sell surface-to-air missiles,
guns and drones to Colombian rebels. Could he again become a threat to America?
I do believe that Putin and the Russians are hoping that Mr. Boot is going to be able to restart
some of these activities. Which is why some Republicans say he should never have been sent home.
It was a dangerous concession of Vladimir Putin, and it will set a dangerous precedent going forward.
The president promises to keep pressing to free another American, the U.S. says, is wrongfully jailed in Russia.
Businessman and former Marine Paul Whelan.
But these negotiations have not included American teacher Mark Fogel, like Griner, arrested at a Moscow airport, possessing 17 grams of marijuana.
He says for chronic back pain, more than Griner had.
How do you feel about the U.S. government?
I'm a bit disenchanted with them at times.
I feel like they have not given us a straight story.
The White House says that they made a national security assessment about Victor Boot before
the president signed off on releasing him, and a senior official says they will continue to protect
U.S. security interests and make sure that Victor Boot does not again become a threat to American
lives.
Gotti.
Andrea, thank you.
For more on Brittany Greiner's return home, and the challenges she faces next, I want to
bring in Liz Cathcart, the executive director of hostage U.S., a nonprofit that supports
families of Americans wrongful.
detained abroad. Liz, thanks so much for joining us tonight.
Brittany is now safely back here in the United States.
There's a lot of relief going on, but what issues do wrongfully detained prisoners face when
they get home?
Thanks so much for having me and for being interested in the support side of things.
You know, we're thrilled to have Brittany home and, of course, saddened every day that there's
many more families who aren't reunited.
But we're hoping with, you know, the advocacy of the Bring Our Families Home campaign and the
administration's work, we can have this conversation many more times to come and have folks
return home more so this year. So the first thing to recognize it, and, you know, the question
is what do they face? And the first thing to recognize is that they really do need that
support, right? There's buckets of practical issues, of physical health issues and mental health
issues that you need to address when you come home for, you know, captives of any, any length
of time and Brittany being held for 10 months is a significant period of time to be held in pretty
abysmal circumstances.
The first and foremost thing that she'd want to get checked out, which she's doing in San Antonio,
is that physical health aspect.
You know, oftentimes people come home with issues of malnutrition, having really poor diets,
not seeing the sunlight for 10 months, you know, can have a really, really serious impact on
your just day-to-day health and your vitamin D levels, on your sleep, and things like that.
like that. So what she's doing now is vitally important.
And in your experience, what is Brittany going through psychologically now that she's back?
Yeah, and that's a really important piece of it, because this ordeal is such a long-term,
constantly stressful situation. So for 10 months, she's dealt with high, high levels of anxiety and
stress for such a long duration that, you know, you come home and it's, it's, it's, it's,
It's a sense of, of course, relief, but it's also a sense of what's next and decompressing from that time of high stress and high anxiety.
One of the really big challenges for former hostages is actually just a piece of lack of concentration.
You know, you have spent so many months just worrying about your safety and your freedom.
You haven't had to make many decisions on your own, and you come home, and it's really difficult to concentrate on any time.
decisions that you have to make and start to rebuild that capacity for decision-making and
concentration.
And before we let you go, another really quick question.
I want to talk about the other American that's wrongfully detained in Russia, Paul
Weillan.
He's now approaching his fourth year of his detainment.
Do we know whether he's aware of her release and what is this news due to his mental state?
Yeah, it seems from other reporting that he is aware.
And it's, and he said that he's, you know, pleased to hear she's released, but also, you know, devastated that he wasn't included in that. And, you know, we can only imagine how devastating, right? That is the word. How devastating it is for him to spend another day in prison, rightfully for the family, you know, his family and the other families who are waiting for their loved ones to come home as well. It's a joyous moment to see a family reunite, but it's also a family.
a, you know, moment to recognize that it's another day that they are without their own loved ones.
Liz, thanks so much for joining us tonight.
And now a major move in Washington and out in the southwest, Arizona Senator Kirsten Cinema
announcing she is registering as an independent just days after Democrats secured a razor-thin majority
in the Senate.
Ryan Nobles has more on how Cinema's move could impact the balance of power.
Tonight, a political sonic boom from Arizona.
Senator Kirsten Cinema announcing she's leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent.
Registering is an independent and showing up to work with the title of independent is a reflection of who I've always been.
Nothing's going to change from me.
Cinema often votes with Democrats, but it had been a holdout on key items of the Biden agenda.
My stand today is about joining the many Americans and lots of Arizonans. In fact, the majority,
of registered voters who don't believe that any political party fits them perfectly.
Her stunning move comes just as Democrats had been celebrating, winning their 51st vote,
a clear majority after Raphael Warnock's runoff victory in Georgia.
But the impact of the change may be minimal. Democrats will still maintain narrow Senate
control. Cinema, along with Centra's Democrat Joe Manchin, had shown a willingness to buck her
former party on a range of issues, including opposing a move to change his.
historic Senate filibuster rules to allow Democrats to pass legislation without Republican
support. Our mandate, it seems evident to me, work together. While her votes have sometimes
angered Democrats, tonight the Senate's top Democrat calling her a, quote, good and effective
senator. The White House saying they believe their relationship with the Arizona senator won't
change. We have every reason to expect that we will continue to work with her successfully. And
Tonight, Arizona voters reacting to the news.
She did a disservice and misrepresented the Democratic values that we voted her in for.
And so I'm actually really glad that she is leaving.
I think it's good to show that somebody in power can actually be an independent rather than just Republican or Democrat.
And this is a political calculation for cinema.
There are more registered independent voters in Arizona than there are Democrats.
And it is very likely that she would face a stiff challenge.
and a Democratic primary if she runs again in 2024.
Gotti?
Thank you for that.
And for more political analysis,
let's bring in senior national politics reporter John Allen.
John, we saw the White House there offering support to cinema publicly.
They're saying that their working relationship will not change.
What does this new split mean for the Senate?
And what's it going to do with the balance of power?
And the Biden agenda, is she more of a lynchpin now?
I mean, ultimately, I don't think it's going to have that big of an effect on Washington.
She's going to continue to support the Democrats as the majority parties serve on her committees.
The numbers really won't change as far as that goes, simply the numbers that we report in terms of number of Democrats, number of Republicans, number of independents.
But there are now three independents, her, Angus King, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, all of whom caucus with the Democrats.
She likes to say she doesn't attend the Democratic caucus meeting.
So I guess she doesn't technically caucus with them in that sense.
But for balance of power issues, it really shouldn't change much.
I think the real question is, what does this do to the political map in 2024?
Should she seek re-election in Arizona?
And, you know, Democratic powers that be in Washington are going to have to make a decision about
whether they're going to back her and try to clear the field of Democrats, back her as an independent,
or if they will support a Democrat and risk splitting the Democratic-examination.
independent votes they would need to beat a Republican in that race.
Now, I didn't bring up 2024, you did, but since we're on the topic, she hasn't confirmed
whether she's going to run for re-election, but if she does, how does her dropping the Democrats
to be an independent impact who's going to run as a dim and who's going to run as a Republican
in Arizona? Are there any names that are already being floated out?
Yeah, I mean, the beautiful thing about our Democratic system is that nobody controls who runs.
And Ruben Gallego, a congressman from Arizona, a pretty progressive Democrat, was rattling its saber about a potential primary run against cinema.
His name has absolutely been in circulation today as a possible Democratic candidate for that seat.
In addition, what our colleagues at NBC have been reporting today, particularly Mark Caputo, my colleague on the digital side, reporting that Mark Lamb, the sheriff of Punoz County, Arizona, which is,
He's pretty famous for its harsh treatment of suspects and particularly of immigrants.
He's basically been asked to run by some of the Poo-Bas in the Arizona Republican Party.
Arizona remains a state to watch.
Thanks so much, John.
Thank you.
And still ahead tonight, motive for murder.
Former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdoch back in court,
why prosecutors now say he allegedly killed his wife.
life and sun. Plus, the drag racing crash caught on camera on a Texas highway. The charges
one of those drivers is now facing a World Cup shocker. Tournament favored Brazil knocked
out by Croatia. Who that team will now face in the semifinals. We've got that coming up just next.
who appeared in court today leading up to the trial for the murder of his wife and son.
Prosecutors now saying his motive was to take attention away from the laundry list of other alleged crimes.
Sam Brock has the latest.
Tonight, the once prominent South Carolina attorney Alec Murdoch back in the courtroom yet again,
unshackled to prevent bias, wearing a sports coat, spectacles, and a new head of hair since his last appearance.
He faces murder charges for killing his wife Maggie and son Paul,
And as attorneys want to know, what evidence the prosecution will bring to trial.
The reason that we have asked for a bill of particulars is because, as your honor knows, that character evidence, evidence of bad acts, other criminal conduct is not admissible in a criminal trial.
The bill of particulars, a common defense tactic, according to legal analysts, to feel out where the state might be going with its case with 1.2 million pages of government.
This is commonly called by defense attorneys haystacking. When the prosecution dumps
terabytes of data and documents on the defense, and the defense has to look through it for
that proverbial needle in the haystack. South Carolina prosecutors nonetheless painting a
picture of why they think Murdoch might have done the unthinkable. The sion of a prominent
family, about to be exposed, they said, for years of financial crimes. This is an unbroken chain
of constant lies and misappropriations and thefts
that has been going on for so long,
a hamster wheel on which this man has been on constantly
having to borrow, to earn, to steal millions of dollars.
Murdoch was charged by a grand jury in July,
more than a year after the murders occurred,
and he's pleaded.
Not guilty.
But he also faces more than 80 other charges
for various crimes, including forgery,
drug trafficking, and money laundering.
The South Carolina,
Carolina man's fall from grace as a powerful attorney disturbingly layered.
There's alleged criminal behavior, opioid addiction, and mysterious death surrounding his family.
Murdoch's attorneys have previously admitted some financial wrongdoing and drug use.
Look, he's reconciled to the fact he's going to prison.
But today, all lies on the upcoming murder trial.
Why this particular individual would murder his own life and son?
And the answer is because
it allowed him to escape the accountability that was coming upon him
that he'd never had to deal with in this entire life.
And Sam Brock joins us now from Miami.
Sam, one of the key points of this hearing seemed to be about Murdoch's shirt from the day of the alleged murders.
What do we know about that?
Yeah, this was an interesting conversation, Guady.
This was the first part of the hearing today where SLED, the South Carolina law enforcement department,
had looked at the shirt that Alec Murdoch was wearing the night of the murders.
The analysts they hired to look at it, said, initially, there's no blood spatter on here.
Then later decided, yes, there is blood spatter, but is it human blood?
That seemed to be an open-ended question.
So the defense wanted the communications between this analyst and the state, so they could see for themselves exactly what that back and forth was.
And oh, by the way, the shirt itself has been destroyed so it can't be tested again.
The judge found in favor of the defense.
And Gotti, just to give you some context for this conversation and the importance of this family in South Carolina, as they're having it, we learned there's a portrait of Murdox
grandfather in the courtroom that has to be removed before the trial in January.
Gotti?
It was such a fascinating case.
Thanks so much, Sam.
When we come back, the possible shark attack in Hawaii.
A woman goes missing while snorkeling what her husband says happened just before she disappeared.
Back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with a search for a woman who went missing
while snorkeling with her husband in Hawaii.
Her husband telling authorities the couple came across a shark off the coast of Maui.
When the 60-year-old disappeared, he then swam to the shore, called 911.
Now, authorities say they did not find her, but they did find a snorkel equipment and part of her bathing suit.
And now to the drag racing crash caught on camera on a Texas highway, a dash cam capturing the moment.
Two speeding cars slammed into each other in Dallas, causing one to roll over.
at least two people were hospitalized. One of those drivers is now facing several charges,
including DUI. And the latest in the World Cup tournament favorite Brazil has been knocked out
by Croatia. The five-time World Cup champions losing in a penalty shootout, despite that loss,
though, Brazilian star Nimar, scoring his 77th goal tying soccer legend Pele as Brazil's top men
score. Croatia will now face Argentina in the semifinals on Tuesday. And now,
to our NBC News investigation into sexual harassment among law enforcement.
We've examined dozens of cases in four major U.S. cities over the last five years,
and we've found they've cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
Now, this is a deep dive that our Stephanie Gossk has been working on for months,
and here's what she uncovered.
Women make up less than 20% of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Linda Alstad used to be one of them, working in internal affairs.
I remember as a child, that's something.
thing that I always admired. I'd see police officers, and it was just something about them
that they'd always be the ones helping, and it was like a family. So I was like, I want to be a part
of that. Nearly a decade on the force, until she says she was sexually harassed by her boss.
And I'd be speaking to him, and he'd glance up and down, you know, from my head. I could see it.
And he'd make comments, you know, to me. You know, you look good in that. You know,
you could wear that for me any time.
He also kept asking questions about her personal life.
He would start asking me, who are you dating?
And you don't come see me anymore because I'm keeping my distance.
I thought I've told him, that's not your business.
Allstadt says he then crossed the line and used LAPD internal surveillance on her.
What I thought he stopped, he did not.
Because weeks later, I had found out that I was surveilled.
to find out who I was dating.
What runs through your mind in that moment?
I mean, you had your superior saying things to you that were inappropriate.
This is now another level.
What are you thinking?
I didn't know what to make of it,
because this is something that I haven't ever seen happen.
The whole thing was a nightmare.
She eventually made the tough decision to tell management.
Are you worried about your career?
Absolutely.
My pension, my career, my assignments, everything.
But nothing happened to him. Instead, she says, there was even more surveillance.
And my daughter's looking out the window. She says, Mom, she says, why are they following you?
Just aren't you the police? Why are the police following you?
Your daughter asked you that?
Yeah. That is the hardest thing to have to explain to a child.
And that's stuck with me forever.
Allstad is not alone in experiencing sexual harassment and retaliation from a fellow officer.
An NBC News investigation of law enforcement agencies around the country,
found female officers are often punished for coming forward with allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace.
A review of 65 sexual harassment cases within the last five years in four major cities, including L.A., cost taxpayers more than $40 million.
Carolyn Clark, a canine officer in the LAPD, says she went through something similar.
Do you miss the job?
Every single day.
Every single day. I love it. I loved it.
What was it that you loved about it?
Just working with the dogs I loved.
I could have done that for the rest of my life.
Clark felt things change when her new supervisor joined the team.
He would do a lot of like touching me and touching my shoulders and showing up to a lot of my calls.
One of the guys in the unit said, yeah, he's made some weird comments about you.
And he told me what those comments were.
And I just remember wanting to get in my car and try home.
Can you tell us what he said?
I get now why you wanted to be a bloodhound handler,
because if I got to run behind that, I'd want to be a bloodhound handler too.
I thought, that's such a weird thing for a supervisor to say
about his female employee.
Two of Clark's fellow officers, Dave Doros and Elliot Zibley,
say they saw it too and tried to stop it.
He came into the unit and started almost immediately
talking about her body.
We had collective talks where he cornered him
and basically told him to just knock it off.
This has to stop. This has to stop now.
It didn't stop.
No.
I would say it doubled down.
And I got to the point where I wouldn't go to the K9 office
or I would drive by and if his truck was there, I wouldn't go in.
Together, they reported the harassment.
But just like in Allstod's case, there was retribution.
Their bosses took away opportunities
and made it harder for them to do their job.
jobs. So now we can't train when we want to train. We can't train where we want to train. If we want to train, we need a supervisor there. If you're training is suffering, then your work is going to suffer. And it just, it was like everything that they could touch, they touched. Her male colleagues felt it too. We broke the rules. We broke the code of silence. We came and brought misconduct and misconduct of a supervisor to light. And so,
we were going to be punished for that.
Both Allsdott and Clark felt they were left with no other option.
They each ended up suing the city for sexual harassment and retaliation.
You took the case to court.
Was that scary?
Terrifying.
To me, it was about I want the truth to be told.
And I want them to believe me that here's all the evidence that I have.
And I had a lot.
So I had no choice but to go forward.
It's only a lawsuit.
that gets her attention, because they can just swipe everything else under the rug,
but they can't do that with a verdict.
Doroz and Zibley also sued with Clark.
It came to a point where something had to be done.
We either basically turn around and walk away and let this continue,
or we take a stand, because this can't continue.
Do I teach my son that it's okay to be abused and just show?
shut up about it. And do I teach my daughters that it's okay for men to treat women like that
in an institution, in an organization like the LAPD?
Clark settled her case for $1.6 million and the city did not admit wrongdoing. But her male
colleagues went all the way to trial and won. The jury unanimously found they were retaliated
against and the city paid them $6.7 million. Allsdott also went to trial and had a unanimous
jury verdict. She received nearly 1.9 million, but says it was only a partial victory.
Do you feel like your career was kind of robbed from you? Absolutely, because I was going to do
more. The Me Too movement changed the conversation in workplaces nationwide.
Rise up for the women of the world, for the women of the world rise up. But in law enforcement,
these officers say little has changed. You think it's probably a more common experience than
is reported.
The sexual harassment?
Yeah.
Oh, absolutely, because I've spoken to many women about it.
In a statement, the LAPD says it is untrue that sexual misconduct is rampant and has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment and retaliation, adding,
there are individual instances where members of the organization have fallen short of our expectations.
When you look back at how all of this played out, would you have done anything differently?
It's really sad to say it, but I would have kept my mouth shut.
And that feels so wrong to say it.
We did all this and what came out of it.
There's no change.
There's nothing happened.
Clark is speaking out now because she hopes change is possible.
But in these two cases, no one accused was fired.
Everyone who came forward left the job.
Stephanie Gosk, NBC News, Los Angeles.
Stephanie, thank you.
And we'll be right back.
And that was the great Willie Nelson during the 1981 Austin City Limits singing the classic Whiskey River.
But fast forward to today, whiskey is in high demand, just not for drinking.
Collectors are investing in rare liquor bottles, and some of them are going for millions.
We got the chance to get our hands on some of that liquid gold.
Take a look.
Long gone are the days where two fingers of whiskey was just.
just a drink of choice.
Nowadays, it's the bottle so many are after.
As more investors trade stocks by day, but collectors booze by night.
And the amounts they are paying on rare and fine bottles is staggering, but so are the returns.
Up 402% over the past decade, beating out luxury cars and fine art.
It's like liquid. Gold. Gold, liquid, wouldn't even be worth this much, right?
It's probably right, yeah.
Peter Jargeur, is the owner of flask, fine wine, and wine.
whiskey in Los Angeles. The storefront might look like your ordinary liquor store,
but behind the scenes, in a highly secured off-site showroom, you can find some of the most
expensive bottles of whiskey in the world. So how much are you selling this guy for?
It's about 190,000? A hundred and ninety thousand? Yeah, be careful. Oh my gosh. Yeah,
here, you take it. I don't. Thank you. That makes me very nervous. That is a down payment on a
house. You might think no one buys bottles this expensive, but old whiskeys are now regularly
fetching six figures at auctions.
A report released this year by Scottish Investment Bank, Noble and Co, found that strong
investor demand has pushed the value of fine and rare single malt whiskeys up by more
than 20% this year.
How often are he selling something like this?
Pretty often.
I mean, you know, it is a retail store, so like we're supposed to be selling stuff, but it
really kind of breaks my heart when people buy stuff like this because we don't have it anymore.
And as the markets continue their roller coaster ride, rare and fine whiskey could be a tempting
investment rivaling gold and silver.
Whoever bought this off the shelf paid 50 bucks for it.
Now it's about $7,7,500.
That is, if you don't pour yourself a glass first.
So when it comes to whiskey and investments, it's not just by low-cell high, it's like, don't drink it, ever.
If you have the whole power, yeah.
And with those prices, I think it might stick with the house.
Big thanks to Peter for showing what is on the tippity, tippity top of that shelf.
And when we come back, I'll look at what you can binge this weekend.
Aubrey Plaza, in an action.
movie. And speaking of Aubrey, it's a good weekend to catch up on White Lotus, plus a special
holiday treat, the podcast for Christmas movie lovers.
And we're back now with Bingeworthy, a look at the best things to watch and listen to this
weekend. We are joined by entertainment reporter and TV host Jasmine Simpkins. Jasmine,
thanks so much for being with us. Thank you for having me. There's one thing I love to do besides
watching films. It's watching television. And binge watching is the best way to do. And binge watching.
Watching, yes. That is really a favorite pastime.
We are going to start off with this movie on Netflix starring Aubrey Plaza in her crime movie debut.
It's called Emily the Criminal.
Here's a quick look.
Emily, yo, let me hook you up.
In the next hour, you will make $200 cash, but you will have to do something in a lot.
Won't be in danger, but you will be breaking the law.
Yo, you're going to pay for that?
Sorry?
I said you're going to pay for that.
Oh, my God.
Sorry, man.
Oh, that is a gritty, gritty, Aubrey.
I mean, like, you look at her and you're about to laugh,
and then you're like, wait, no, she's being serious.
Can she pull it off, you think?
I think she can pull it off.
I mean, she was nominated for a Gotham Award for this performance
and an Indy Spirit Award nomination for this performance.
I think critics are loving her.
People think that she's really doing a phenomenal job in this particular work.
I'm so fascinated by this particular role for her
because she said that she was approached with the script
like four years ago, just read it recreationally
and was like... Recreate, like for fun, just on her own time?
She someone handed it to her on set for another project
and she was like, she said it was a page turner.
She just was like, oh my God, but she didn't think it would actually get made.
And then finally they're like, no, we're going to make it,
you're going to play the lead character.
And she's like, what?
And she says that she really does feel like the preparation
and all the action she's had to do for this particular role
is hands down some of the best she's ever done.
And I do really believe that we're going to see her doing a lot more stuff like this.
I'm obsessed with her.
Her range is incredible.
There's nothing she can't do.
But I will say, like, it took a little bit of a transition to see Jim from the office
all of a sudden become like a ripped action figure, you know?
So we might have a little bit of that going on here.
And next we've got this miniseries on Hulu, Kindred.
It's based on the popular novel with the same name.
It's part historical drama, part sci-fi.
Shall we watch?
That's watch.
What is this?
Am I dreaming?
Is this a dream?
The day, the year.
Tell me the year.
It's 1815.
We just heard a lot of screaming.
Is everything okay in there?
Wow.
What can you tell us about this?
Oh, my gosh.
Okay, so Octavia Butler, who was a very well-known sci-fi writer.
She passed away in 2006.
She had books like Parable of the Sawyer, Kendrit.
This is the first of several of her books that have been adapted and have now made it to the big or the small screen.
So several of her projects are in the works to come to life on screen.
But this is the first one to come through.
And it's really, really, you know, it's this kind of like time lapse, you know, back.
into this slavery time for this character.
Mallory Jenkins, I believe Johnson,
sorry, is the lead actress in this.
And it's just phenomenal.
And a lot of people are just really excited about this
because it's the first time we've seen Octavia's work on, you know, on screen.
I know so many people follow her books,
but this is her opening up her universe
and we're going to be able to watch it.
And like you said, it's just the beginning of many projects to come.
Yes.
And so this character, she's a TV writer, right?
living in Los Angeles and all of a sudden
she's transported back to like the
1800s on this plantation and
from there the action just goes
and you don't really know what's going to happen.
So I think it's just like it's one of those series
that I think people are going to be watching
episode to episode which is why it's great to binge
just let them all stack up so that you
can just like look at it all.
That one's going to be right on my list.
Next we've got this movie that was very popular
in theaters. It is now streaming
on our mothership peacock
Ticket to Paradise starring George Clooney
and Julia Roberts. Here's a clip.
In four days time,
our daughter's going to marry a guy. She just met
who, Bali, millions of miles from home.
I just really want to kiss you.
It's like I looked up for the first time and realized
everything I ever wanted was right in front of me.
She's throwing her career away.
Just like her mother did, so I'm the only one who can stop her.
She doesn't listen to him.
No, champagne.
Oh, two, please.
Just leave the bottle. Thank you.
I mean, just watching them on screen together.
It's the best.
It's the best.
It's the best. They're fifth time in a moment.
movie together, by the way. They shot
this in Australia, not in Bali, but
it's just so beautiful. It makes you want to
just plan your next vacation. It's like, where
am I going to go? That's going to be tropical
and beautiful. Hopefully, you don't
end up with an ex on the vacation
that you hate. Plot
twists, though, you know, in the end,
maybe, maybe not, they get back together. You'll
see if you guys watch on
Peacock, but it's just great. I mean,
Julia and George together, it's
just a perfect film. Every time.
Cinematic heaven. Absolutely.
Yeah. And next we're getting in the holiday spirit.
First, a Christmas comedy special on Showtime starring actor Matt Rogers.
It's called Matt Rogers. Have you heard of Christmas?
Let's take a look.
You know the one, Rockefeller Santa.
I want to see Jimmy Fallon come out the building because that's where he works.
I want to see Al Roker come out the building because that's where he works.
I want to see Jenna Bush Hager come out the building because that's where she.
And I want to say the big, the big, the big, the big, big, big tree, tree at Rockefeller Center.
Is that Hoda?
Rockefeller Center.
It is Hoda, Rockefeller Center.
I wish I could live at the center.
Hi, girl.
That's like, move over Jingle Bell's, it's the bop of Christmas this year, right?
It really is.
I mean, it's definitely Matt trying to be Mariah, right?
Like, he wants to have the crown.
Don't we all, though, when we're, yeah.
Yes.
You want to have the best.
Christmas song of all time.
He's doing a medley of what will be now.
He thinks new Christmas classics
in this mixed in with some of his comedy,
some of his comedic friends
are going to pop by and have a good time.
I think this is a great alternative to just watching
Christmas films, Christmas cartoons
if you're into that kind of thing. Something like
this, I think it's just like very funny,
very laugh out loud,
and a great way to spend it with like some of
your friends during the holiday.
And it keeps it super topical too.
Yeah. And sticking with the festive season, we've got a
podcast. I'm so excited about this podcast. It's called A Cinematic Christmas Journey created by
Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsley, or you might know him as Ralphie. They are celebrating the
nostalgia of classic holiday films. Here's a quick look at that. Welcome to a cinematic journey
where we explore the themes, scenes, and elements of the films that we love. I am your host,
Peter Billingsley. My name is Nick Shank, pronounced like a prison knife, but spelled differently,
of course. Nothing says Christmas like homemade prison weapon. Hey, you got that right.
That's our kind of our show.
Ralphie got a glow-up, right?
Oh, Siri, it's glow-up.
I know.
I'm really excited about this podcast
because they are celebrating
all of the nostalgia of Christmas,
some of the best Christmas films
to ever be created,
Home Alone, as we saw,
quick little, like,
snip it up.
I mean, is the best.
Exactly.
And they have so many cool little stories.
Like, one of the stories they were telling
was Chevy Chase, you know,
basically that epic Christmas
rant that he did during Christmas
vacation. Apparently they said
that he was running around the
room and everybody was wearing
a cue card with one word on it
and that's how he was able to go on this
epic rant. He was
just reading off of one cue card and that would
set him off and then another one and that would set him off.
So it's all these cool little Hollywood
tidbits that are hidden behind the movie.
We all want to know. We all want to know about some of our
favorite films and how they got made and some of the
insider behind the scene stuff that was
going on. I just love this podcast. And last
but not least because it is our favorite.
On our watch list, White Lotus, this weekend is the conclusion of the second season of the hit show.
So if you aren't caught up, you can binge it now.
We don't want to show you any of the movie, but we will show you the opening credits because everybody is talking about these opening credits and what they might mean.
Apparently there's like hidden meanings.
There's so many conspiracy theories on what all of this means.
Some of them are a little bit risque, but what do you think?
I mean, like, what can we read into here without giving everything?
This is what we know.
Okay.
We're going to find out who the killer is.
Right.
And we're going to find out about this corpse.
Or killers.
Mm-hmm.
And we're going to be.
Who's corpse?
Who's the body?
Twitter, I love going on Twitter and just looking at everyone's theories.
Everyone thinks they figured it out.
Right.
Oh, totally.
Everyone thinks they know who did it.
Everyone thinks they know who dies.
and I just love sifting through.
So, okay, here's what I, here's the consensus.
You've got one, because the one that's got me is, so we know Aubrey Plaza, P.S.
Aubrey, Queen, of this entire segment.
But when her name pops up, you see two birds, and then I saw somebody on TikTok saying that Cam has a tattoo of a bird attacking another bird.
So, like, you just don't know what to read into.
So people think Cameron's the corpse, right?
Ah.
But the killer could be Tanya or Ethan.
This is what I'm seeing on Twitter.
Oh, my gosh.
This is, those are the, that's the consensus.
But it could go either way.
I love this series.
I love how it started out as a limited series.
You didn't know, even though everyone loved it so much,
if it was going to get picked up for a second season.
Now it's going to get a third season.
I think HBO realizes it has a hit on its hands.
We will see more White Lotus.
I don't think three will be the end for this series.
I really don't.
Do you think that there's something about the theme of like,
beautiful locations, eat the red,
Rich? Because you see it with White Lotus. You see it with the last season. You see like,
my favorite show right now is below deck. Same kind of vibe. No murders. But it's like this peeling
away at this life that everybody wishes that they had. Yeah. So far out of reach. And I think
that's what makes this show so popular. It's a satire, but it really is looking at what the absurdly
rich, the wealthy people with all this access and money and just how absurd they really are.
and really kind of poking fun at that
and how oblivious they are to reality in a sense.
And I think it really is funny to watch,
but at the same time,
it's just so witty and so well-written
that you're just drawn in episode after episode.
I can't wait for more.
And we're going to turn now to some music,
scissors out with a new album
featuring a lot of great collaborations and new hits.
Let's take a listen to one of her songs.
Nobody gets me.
It's too late I don't want to lose.
What's left of you?
A very supposed to tell you
I don't want to see you with anyone but me
Nobody gets me like you
I'm supposed to let you go
A very different vibe, right?
I mean talking about range
What can she not do?
I think the thing, the theme that is consistent
is, you know, Sizzle loves talk about love.
You know, love lost, the hope of love.
And so we find that on this album,
23 tracks on this album
Nobody gets me. It's just one of
23 tracks. It's very moody.
You know, it's very Siza.
One of the features, because she's got
quite a few people who were featured on this album,
but one that was like big and trending
was Old Dirty Bastor. A lot of people were like, wait,
what, ODV? On one of her songs.
I just think it really just speaks to, she took her time
over the last five years to really put together
an album that really just speaks to who she is
and where we are musically in the world.
And I think a lot of people are now just listening, you know, and enjoying it.
And I'm seeing all the comments online.
Folks are loving it.
We are so grateful.
She's back.
We are.
Jasmine, thank you so very much.
And thanks so much for watching Top Story.
For Tom Yamis, I'm Gotti Schwartz in Los Angeles.
Stay right there.
More news is on the way.