Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, January 26, 2024

Episode Date: January 27, 2024

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, $83 million. That's how much former President Trump will have to pay writer E. Jean Carroll as a jury closes the book on Carol's defamation case. A New York jury reaching a quick and unanimous verdict, sending Trump a message that he is responsible for repeatedly defaming Carol. It all comes after the former president's dramatic departure storming out of the courtroom during closing arguments, his response to the verdict and a breakdown of the jury's decision. Also tonight, wild winter, millions in the South under flood alerts after rounds of unrelenting storms, record-breaking temps giving millions weather whiplash, and ice jam in Illinois melting rapidly, forcing officials to order emergency evacuations. Washington, D.C., reaching 80 degrees today, smashing its all-time temperature record for January, and tonight parts of New England are dealing with snow and freezing rain.

Meteorologist Bill Cairns is standing by to time it all out. Witness to death, Alabama carries out the first ever nitrogen gas execution. The new method facing controversy. We hear from a spiritual advisor in the room when a gas mask was strapped onto the convicted killer. Why he says he hopes it never happens again, while Alabama's Attorney General's offering help to other states to administer the practice. Plus, UN agency accused of terror, a dozen relief agency employees fired over allegations they were involved in the October 7th attack. The U.S. now taking action as a result of those accusations. This all comes as the U.N. court orders Israel to prevent genocide of the Palestinian people stopping short of ordering a ceasefire.

The fervent response from Israeli leaders on the court's ruling and the steps the court wants the country to now take. Back here at home, the teacher bonus take back. To entice teachers to work in Oklahoma, the state created a sign on bonus program after shelling out in some cases, thousand bucks, the state now wants that money back, arguing some teachers actually didn't qualify. The educators forced to come up with the money in just a matter of weeks. And a man orphaned during World War II assumed, like many other Holocaust survivors, that all was lost. But with the help of genealogy, he's now reuniting with family he never thought he had. Sam Brock with this new branch in the family tree. Top story starts right now.

Good evening. A judge rules former President Trump must pay writer E. Jean Carroll more than $83 million for statements he made defaming her. Trump was found liable back in September for maliciously attacking Carol while he was president, repeatedly mocking her allegations that he had sexually abused her. This trial was just to determine how much she should be awarded in damages. Here's a breakdown of the numbers. The jury found that Trump should pay Carol $7.3 million for a moment.

emotional harm, 11 million for damage to Carol's reputation, and finally 65 million in punitive damages. Carol was seeking at least $10 million. The jury awarding her eight times that amount. This all comes after a dramatic day in court, the former president abruptly storming out during closing arguments. NBC's Laura Jared has the late-breaking details, including a response from Trump. Tonight, writer Eaging Carol smiling, a victory lap outside a Manhattan courthouse, after a jury awarded her a staggering $83 million in damages in her ongoing defamation battle against former President Trump. The jury reaching its verdict in just three hours following a two-week trial. Earlier today, Mr. Trump abruptly leaving the courtroom during the closing argument by Carol's attorney

who accused him of engaging in defamation during the entire trial after Mr. Trump put out this video overnight. I don't even know who this woman is. I have no idea who she is, where she came from. This is another scam. It's a political witch hunt. Carol originally sued Mr. Trump, saying he sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room in the 90s. He said she was a liar.

It's terrible. What's going on? So it's a total false accusation. And I don't know anything about her. In May, a different jury found Mr. Trump had sexually abused and defamed Carol after he left office. awarding her $5 million, leaving this second jury to decide only damages for what he said about her while he was president. Carol alleged his original remarks unleashed a torrent of threats online from Trump supporters and tarnished her reputation. But Mr. Trump's attorney tonight blasting the judge for barring Mr. Trump from denying Carol's claims.

Before I walked into court, that judge decided that every single defense President Trump has, We were not allowed to raise in front of the jury. All right, Laura, Jerry joins us live tonight. So, Laura, will he have to pay all $83 million of this? I understand he says he wants to appeal. He says he wants to appeal, Tom, in his statement tonight, he says this is not America. He calls the verdict absolutely ridiculous.

He also has said these claims before, Tom, and we should mention this is the second trial. And E. Jean Carroll still hasn't seen a dime from the first one. It's been tied up in appeals. That one was $5 million. It's unclear whether she will see any. of this money at all. I predict a lot of this will be wrapped up in court for years to come, Tom. Well, that was my second question. What is the timeline here for him to pay? But it sounds

like you answered it. He'll be in court for several years trying to fight this? Yeah, the $5 million verdict, he had to put some of that in escrow in order to actually keep it safe to be able to actually represent that he would pay it if he's found that he has to. But as of right now, it's been stuck on appeal. And so if this one precedes the exact same way, I imagine this will take years for her to see if any of this money, if at all, Tom. But it doesn't mean that it isn't still a resounding verdict for her. $65 million in punitive damages is significant. A huge amount of money.

All right. Laura Jarrett leading us off here in Top Story. Laura, great to have you on a Friday night. For more on this bombshell verdict, I want to bring in our friend NBC News legal analyst, Angela Senadella. Thanks so much for joining us, Angela. So what went wrong here on Trump's defense? He's supposed to have the best people, hire the best defense attorneys.

was the evidence just too damaging? Well, look, at this point, I don't think he had a lot of options. So we heard his attorney say that, look, all of his defenses were limited. Now, she claims that's a problem with the judge. But no, it's because this trial was just about damages. They were not litigating over the facts of the case. But I have to say, there was one argument his team made that I found really repugnant, and my opinion doesn't matter, but it could possibly have made the jury feel the same way.

And that was when his team said that she actually benefited from this. all the lies, they assault, et cetera, that she was unknown before this, but now she's been elevated to this national stage. Essentially famous in the worst possible way. Right, and that is somewhat misogynistic. Yeah. I do want to ask you here, did Trump's lawyers make a mistake as far as controlling him, both in court and outside of court?

Because you have to understand, I know the jury probably wasn't reading, they're not allowed to read the news clips on this, but they witness all that behavior in court, and how does that affect the jury? So you give a lot of confidence to these attorneys and their ability to control. him. I imagine they did the best they could. But just like the country is divided politically on how they feel about him, if you had a jury that was sympathetic to Trump, it's possible they could have seen his antics as furthering his credibility, that he really was defending himself publicly, that he is the victim here. So I think it's a jury just didn't believe

him at all. Sometimes juries can, you know, award these, you know, there's very large amounts of money. And sometimes they, on appeal, they come back and they're cut back a little bit. Do you think this gets cut back or do you think he's going to have to pay these $83 million? Well, I think the punitive damages here are usually would get cut back. But the punitive damages are not that crazy. They're just a small multiple of what the compensatory damages were. And so often when you see those cut back, it's when there are many multiples, tens, 20s, 100 multiples. Here, it's just, I believe, four. Defamation cases, I thought, are harder to win. Does this open the door for more people to sue the former president? Because he loves to call people names. He loves to attack people.

especially on social media. 100%. I bet anyone who has been called a liar by him is consulting their attorneys right now, who will probably even take this on contingency. Once you see a defendant fall in this way, one who appears to be invincible, that always opens a door to many more lawsuits. All right, Angela Senadella, great analysis tonight. We appreciate you.

Not as severe weather in the Midwest, shifting from extreme cold to unusually high temperatures that paired with warm and heavy rains, causing an ice dam to melt in a Chicago. in a Chicago suburb flooding the entire community. NBC's Maggie Vespas in Illinois with the latest. Tonight, capping off a brutal week of punishing winter weather, warm rain, now fueling a slow-moving disaster in the Midwest. It's kind of like a sci-fi movie, a disaster movie. You can see the ice levels begin to rise.

Along suburban Chicago's Cankakee River, a flash flood emergency, after officials say a 12-mile ice jam among the largest ever recorded, on that river began melting and breaking apart this week. The nature-made dam of densely packed ice now giving way to rapidly rising water levels up more than three and a half feet since Wednesday, tonight just shy of the river's record height of 13.9 feet. In the small town of Wilmington, businesses underwater rescue crews overnight saving more than a dozen people from flooded homes.

You bought it almost 20 years ago. This is the worst you've seen. Oh, for sure, yeah. Downstream, where more ice has yet to break apart, Eric Fosna worries his home will be next. When the ice breaks apart, you can hear it? Yeah, they say it sounds like thunder. It's very intimidating to see it like this. It's so high, Bob.

Meanwhile, millions down south in cleanup mode after relentless rain yesterday brought staggering floods across parts of Texas and the Mississippi Delta. All right, Maggie Vespur joins us tonight from Wilmington, Illinois. Maggie, that area hard hit. How's the community recovering and dealing with this weather? Yeah, so Tom, for a lot of people, it's going to be a rough road. One of the men that we talked to today said he actually decided to go into a motel earlier this week, and he thought about going to a motel here in town only to have that one flood. Thankfully, he said he'd actually gone to one about 20 miles outside of town.

He's been there since. And keep in mind, his home is near part of the ice jam that is yet to break up. So he expects, even though his home's already flooded, that water to keep rising well. into the weekend. All right, Maggie Vespa on it. For more on the millions under flood alerts, NBC News meteorologist Bill Karens joins us now live in studio. So, Bill, are you watching?

What are you watching as we head into the weekend? Yeah, we obviously have consequences. When we get these extreme cold and then extreme warm, and ice jams are something we deal with in the springtime. It's pretty rare to have them this time of year. So this is the ice jam. This is the river of the Kikiki River here is Kankakee. This area is under flood watch for that reason.

All of these areas are the south into West Virginia. This is the rain that's coming your way tonight. into tomorrow. This is what, round four, round five. We got drenched with the last one. Already thunderstorms are popping up between me in Houston, much of Louisiana. We don't have flash flood warnings yet, but all of this is going to kick through the south as we go throughout the night tonight during the day tomorrow, this huge mass of rain. Thankfully, it's moving quick, so we're not going to have it sitting over one area. This is Saturday evening. And then on Sunday, it heads up into the northeast, and there's marginally just enough cold air, especially the high

elevations of central New York, Pennsylvania, the Catskills, into the Sun. southern Berkshires, that we're going to get a snowstorm, a heavy, wet snow out of this. Mostly I-95 just rained New York City to D.C. We'll have isolated severe weather with this, too. We'll watch out for possible tornadoes, Mobile all the way back up to Montgomery, including Panama City and Pensacola areas. And this is the snowfall forecast. You notice central New York here to the Catsgill's possibility of up to about six inches of snow. Here's the Berkshires. And this is also the hills outside of Worcester that we can get some snow in southern New Hampshire. Again, I-95 should be just fine avoiding that. And then the other storm I mentioned yesterday, At atmospheric river, it is now moved into the Pacific Northwest.

This is going to linger with us, Tom, as we go throughout the weekend into next week. We'll be talking a lot about the flooding concerns in the West come Monday. All right, Bill Kerrins for us, Bill, I know we'll be watching all of that. We want to take a turn now to that first-in-the-nation execution using nitrogen gas in Alabama. Tonight, new eyewitness details of how convicted murderer Kenneth Smith died, including him thrashing on his gurney in his final moments, re-igniting the debate over capital punishment. NBC's Emily Aketa has this update.

A first of its kind execution in the U.S. tonight at the center of global controversy. The state of Alabama put convicted killer Kenneth Smith to death Thursday using nitrogen gas, which deprives the body of oxygen. You witnessed the execution, how long until he was unconscious? There were several minutes there where he was awake. There were about two minutes of Kenny Smith experiencing shaking, He was slightly thrashing on the gurney there before he fell unconscious.

Media witnesses say that was followed by several minutes of deep breaths, slowing until no longer perceptible. Smith's spiritual advisor was in the chamber. What we saw was minutes of someone struggling for their life. We saw minutes of someone heaving back and forth. Prison officials say they believe Smith was trying to hold his breath for as long as possible, and that involuntary movement was expected. But the previously untested method

has raised questions and concern from the White House and around the world. It is very troubling to us here at the White House. Rather than looking for novel untested methods to execute people, let's just bring an end to the death penalty. Alabama's Attorney General fended off criticism calling the execution textbook

and making this offer. Alabama has done it, and now so can you. And we stand ready to assist you in implementing this method in your states. For the children of Smith's victim, Elizabeth Senate, relief, more than three decades since she was brutally murdered. Nothing happened here today is going to bring mom back. But we're glad this day is over. Emily Aketa joins us now in studio.

So Emily, you know, a lot of people at home may be asking, why did Alabama decide to try this new form of execution now? Well, Tom, it's a great question. Some states have trouble obtaining the drugs for lethal injections. It's the most common form of execution. And in the case of Smith, they couldn't find his vein in a botched execution attempt in 2022. Alabama's attorney general says 43 other death row inmates have chosen nitrogen hypoxia for their executions. Tom. Okay, Emily, Akita first. Emily, thank you for that. We want to move on out of the war in Gaza. Tonight, the UN's top court ruling Israel must prevent acts of genocide against Palestinian civilians. Stop short of calling for a ceasefire. This coming as a UN agency is facing allegations.

Get this, that several employees were involved in the Hamas terror attack on October 7th. Ralph Sanchez is in Tel Aviv with the details. Tonight, the UN's highest court ordering Israel to prevent genocidal acts by its forces, but stopping short of calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. South Africa had accused Israel of committing genocide and asked the International Court of Justice, to order an end to Israel's war against Hamas. Israel has an inherent right to defend itself. The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right

is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it was justly rejected. Danny Denon is a member of Israel's parliament. And the International Court of Justice said there is enough evidence of potential genocide that there is a case to hear. What's your response to that? It was a fake case against Israel

about a fake genocide, blaming us for a genocide. That's an absurd. The judges highlighting this quote from Israel's defense minister as potential incitement. We are fighting human animals. But also calling on Hamas to immediately release its hostages. The court has no way to enforce its rulings,

which come amid a devastating humanitarian crisis, families waiting for hours for a single bowl of soup. Palestinians hope the ruling will add to international pressure for a ceasefire. It makes it very difficult for this Biden administration to continue to provide cover to Israel. This reaction from the White House. We don't believe that right now a general ceasefire is the best approach. We just have no indication that they are deliberately trying to exterminate the people of Gaza.

The White House saying, like the court, it's called on Israel to reduce civilian casualties. The U.S. also halting funding to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Amid allegations, 12 of its staff took part in the Hamas terror attack. The employees have been fired, the U.N. says, and it's launched a full investigation. And the CIA director will meet this weekend with officials from Israel and Qatar, hoping to jumpstart talks on a new hostage deal. Tom? Raph Sanchez for us, Raf, thank you. Still ahead tonight, outrage over a controversial sentencing in California.

A woman convicted of stabbing a man more than a hundred times after smoking high. hype, potency marijuana, why a judge decided she did not deserve any time behind bars. Plus, dash cam video capturing the dramatic end to a high-speed chase in Florida. What deputies say, those suspects tossed out of the window just before they were caught. And multiple teachers in Oklahoma given $50,000 bonuses by the state, only to be told just weeks later they need to pay it all back. So what happened? We'll take a closer look. Stay with us. Top story, just getting started on this Friday night. Back now with the shocking allegations involving one of the biggest figures in pro wrestling, W.W.E. founder, Vince McMahon. The lawsuit filed by former employee, Janelle Grant,

who worked there up until March 22, alleged she was, quote, the victim of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault, and trafficking at WWE. adding that McMahon forced her to have sex with him and other men at the WWE headquarters in return for job security, among other explosive and graphic allegations. In a statement, though, Vince McMahon's spokesperson says, quote, this lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene, made up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth, he will vigorously defend himself. For more on this lawsuit, attorney for the plaintiff, Anna Callas, joins us now live. Anna, thanks for joining Top Story tonight.

The allegations in this lawsuit painted very disturbing image of the man at the top of the WWE. What alarmed you most as you worked on this case? Well, probably the dehumanization, the devastation, the devastation, the way that our client, Janelle felt discarded, was striking when I first met her personally. You know, there's a lot of allegations in the lawsuit that are incredibly graphic. Explain why you had to detail those horrific acts. Well, she's going up against a multi-billion dollar corporation, the WWE, a multi-billionaire, Vince McMahon, and a powerful person, Laurenitis. And the only weapon she has are facts and details.

and she thought and her legal team thought that was the way to establish a fair playing field for our client where she had been in a disadvantaged state the entire time she was employed at WWE and afterwards. The lawsuit mentions a non-disclosure agreement. Grant was put under, quote, immense pressure by the to sign in 2022, under which Grant was supposed to receive $3 million. Now, under this agreement, I understand your client also said at the time that the relationship was consensual. How did that fall apart? Why are you now seeking to void that NDA? Well, she was under duress. We're seeking it statutorily, and we're seeking to void it under common law. But wasn't there also a lack of payment? Didn't the payment? Didn't the payment?

stop at some point? Exactly. Yeah. She was paid $1 million and then it ceased. They claimed that she violated the MDA. NDA. That NDA is not the only one McMahon has had to pay out, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal. In 2022, the W.W.E. Leader also agreed to pay $12 million in hush money to four other women. Are you aware, are you in contact with the other women McMann settled with? No, we are not. We're aware of them, just like anybody else, the public. We are aware of those, but we have not yet been in contact or they have not contacted us. McMahon has denied these allegations, but the lawsuit was filed the same week as some very big developments for the WWE. On Tuesday, McMahon was at the New York Stock Exchange

with the newest board member of the parent company, TKO, who we see here is Dwayne the Rock Johnson. There's also a streaming deal with Netflix worth billions of dollars for the streaming rights. you guys choose now to file the suit well we it was a developmental process and a long arduous process to put this all together with the input of Janelle with all the evidence that we had at this time with the collaboration of our legal team so we filed at the absolute proper time for us when the complaint was ready and ready to be filed has anyone from the Has she reached out to Janelle at all since she filed the suit? Has she received any support from her former colleague?

She was an employee there. She has not. I don't know if that will be coming. She has had friends there, were fond of people that she had worked with, and I hope that they would return those sentiments. Is it your client's understanding that she thought she was, taking a job, a regular job at the WWE, and in essence, when she got there, she was, as a lawsuit describes almost sort of like, I don't even know how to describe it, but it almost

sounds like a person who was just there to provide sex for Vince McMahon. That's the lawsuit you allege. And not only Vince McMahon, but other employees at the WWE. And that's why she was paid? Yes, it was really, you know, when I first met her, I'll have to say, it was really striking. She was in such a desperate and unhopeful state when she met Vince McMahon. And when this job was beginning to be offered to her, she wrote notes, very, very hopeful notes about what she thought she could do, what she thought she contributed. She finally has a purpose in her life. And then when she gets there, she has a made-up role, which is administrator-coordinator. She really doesn't have anything to do.

Anything that they give her, she grasps that because she really wanted to do a good job. She really wanted to contribute. She really thought that this was her chance to have a purpose in her life, have a job, have her well-being starting to be restored since she was so aggrieved by the death of her parents and in a very, very vulnerable state. And then for this to be happened to what happened to her, and that is being degraded, being a sex slave, turned into a shadow, a further shadow of who she was. She had told me she felt like a ghost. And it was just a horrific, a horrific time for her. And Callas, we appreciate your time here on Top Story. And we will talk to you,

I'm sure, in the near future. Now to the growing controversy surrounding the sentencing in a manslaughter case in California, a woman convicted of stabbing a man. She was dating more than 100 times the judge handing down no prison time because she was in a psychotic state at the time of the killing after smoking marijuana. David Noriega has our emotional interview with the father of the man who was killed. Tonight, outrage growing after the sentencing of Bryn Spacier after she was convicted of stabbing a man she was dating, Chad O'Melia, more than 100 times. This is video of her being taken out on a stretcher the night of the killing. This week, a judge sparing her from prison, sentencing her to two years of probation with 100 hours of THC education.

The victim's father, recalling the moment the sentence was read. I told him straight away. Right after he said it, I said, you just gave everybody in California that smokes marijuana a license to kill people. The pair had been dating a few weeks when Spacier visited O'Melia's California home in May 2018. Experts during the trial said they were smoking high-potency marijuana when the drug caused spacer to slip into a psychotic state, stabbing O'Melia with three different knives, a total of 108 times. Two sheriff's deputies came to my home, and they said, well, he's deceased.

And then when I heard that, I literally collapsed. I dropped to my knees. And then the deputies said, well, we need to let his mother know. I said, you need to sit down for a minute. and now I can see that she's worried and I sorry I looked her in the eye I looked her in the eye and I said Michelle Chad is dead and

you know So just like you turn on and off the light switch, I could see in her eye that she just, she broke. Body camera from responding officers shows Spacier then stabbed herself with a 10-inch serrated knife, clipping her carotid artery. Sheriff's deputies tased her four times before rushing her to the hospital. He found this expert, prosecution expert, that Ms. Spacher was not able, to be consciously or cognitively aware of what she was doing at the time of the stabbing. She was not an experience user or knowledgeable about the potency of the marijuana that anybody can buy from a marijuana dispensary or in this case a marijuana delivery service.

She had no clue at all. This fall, prosecutors downgrading the original murder charges in the case to involuntary manslaughter due to what they said was Spacier's psychotic state at the time of the killing. She faced up to five years in prison until a Ventura County Superior Judge this week decided Spacier would not serve any time. The law presumes that she will go to prison. The judge had to make the extraordinary finding that it was in the interest of justice, which is a specific finding, to not send her to prison.

There was a strong verdict, and that this judge then gave her the benefit of the doubt beyond reason is very concerning and troubling to me as a clear prosecutor. Since the day I found out, I have not slept through a full night. Michelle, she got depressed, and a year and a half after we lost Chad, she died. I felt the system had failed, Chad. Absolutely. Such a sad and bizarre story. David Noriega joins us now from Los Angeles. David, does this really mean that others could use a marijuana defense moving forward in these types of cases? Tom, it's one question whether criminal defense attorneys will try to use this case to get their clients off the hook,

but it's a different question whether such strategies will work. One legal expert we spoke to said that it's unlikely that this case will actually set a legal precedent because it's in a couple of different ways pretty anomalous. For one thing, you had experts for both the defense and the prosecution saying that Spacer was in a state of acute psychosis. That's why the state downgraded those murder charges to involuntary manslaughter charges in the first place. Now, none of this changes the fact that the sentence was very surprising and to the family of the victim very upsetting. Okay. All right, we appreciate all that. Thank you for your reporting. Coming up next, a major update on the Idaho College murder case, suspect Brian Cobroger, who's accused of killing four college students back in court today.

What we're hearing tonight about when that high-profile case could head to trial. That's next. All right, we're back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with an arrest in Maryland after a violent crime spree and sent shockwaves through the community. Authorities in Prince George's County say a woman is in custody tonight after she allegedly committed three hit and runs and two stabbings late last night. At least six people were injured. Two stabbing victims, one just 15 years old, remains in critical condition.

Detective say they believe the attacks. were random. Brian Coburger, the suspect in the Idaho college murders may not be heading to trial until summer of 2025. Coburger appearing in two separate hearings today. In one, the judge denying his request to dismiss the case. The judge then declining to set a date for the trial after the prosecution pushed for the trial to begin this summer. Coburgers' public defender arguing they will not be ready to present their case until 2025. Coburgers accused of killing poor students at an off-campus house at the University of Idaho in November of 2022. A high-speed chase involving suspected drug traffickers coming to a wild end in Broward County, Florida.

Dash cam video shows a police cruiser using a pit maneuver to send the speeding truck into a guardrail. Police arresting the three men inside who admitted they were on their way to sell a kilo of cocaine when officers tried to pull them over. Deputies say they saw the suspects throw bags of drugs and guns out of the truck as they fled. They're now facing a slew of charges, including cocaine trafficking. And authorities tonight searching for the suspects who ran off with a statue of Jackie Robinson. Surveillance video capturing the heist in progress at a youth baseball facility in Wichita, Kansas. It's a little difficult to make out, but you can see clearly what was left behind just Robinson's cleats after the thieves cut the statue off at the legs. Police are calling for anyone with information to come forward.

Okay, on the eve of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a blessing to share for both a Holocaust survivor and a family member, he never knew he had. Shalom Karai was discovered as a toddler in a Warsaw ghetto and saved from certain death. He went his whole life not knowing that he had any living family members left until a researcher and a DNA test changed everything. Sam Brock has his powerful story. Oh, this is the one that really looks like you. Stuart, my brother. Until about five months ago, Anne Medin Hellman and Shalom Karai didn't have any inkling about the other's existence. It's a miracle because Yiddhidia's family was completely annihilated in the Holocaust.

Her great-uncle's family, all assumed killed, and Shalom lost all his loved ones as a child, only to be rescued by a famed Jewish teacher and psychologist Laina Kichler-Zilberman, known for saving about 100 children. Fast forward several generations, and online genealogy can work wonders. With the company My Heritage flagging Shalom as a second. cousin. That's pretty high up, but not knowing who this person is. That's a close relation. Except he was listed as Petro Courchuk, stumping Anne, who couldn't trace the name. So she reached out to the researchers studying those rescued children who would Shalom take the DNA test in the

first place. She said he has no names in his tree. I'm thinking, no names? That's impossible. And then I found out he was a Holocaust survivor. And he never knew his name. Petro had been given to him when he was two years old and found. Now Shalom. His lengthy life journey began in the Warsaw ghetto in 1941, where he was found in a potato sack by Kichler Zimmerman. After World War II, she brought him and other children to an orphanage in a different part of Poland before Shalom immigrated to Israel in March of 1949. Around three quarters of a century later, the revelation that he has family thousands of miles away in Charleston, South Carolina. Is there a vocation?

that can describe the shock that you experienced in that moment? Probably the vocabulary word was a scream. It was like... Anne's family tree, which is still evolving, now include Shalom. She's at the bottom right-hand corner under her grandfather, Abraham. His brother, Yadiddea, is on the other side of the tree. And now below that branch, Shalom, under his original name, Petro. On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, when we're looking at all these Jewish

lives that have been lost, you've just gained a relative. Does it change the perception of that holiday and remembrance for you? By all means, I feel like I've saved him from the ashes. Now the pair talks weekly with simple English translators and some other tricks too. But the real contact and payoff is still coming. Anne, who's a mother and grandmother, also has a significant extended family. And in July, Shalom is flying to town to meet them and write a new chapter in the family history book. I've found lots of surprises on my mother's family, but this is the first surprise on my father's family. And I'm just sorry that he's not here to know that somebody survived. On this Friday evening, not just rest for Shabbat Shalom, but truly peace for this family. Sam Brock,

NBC News. Okay, we thank Sam for that. Not a Top Stories Global Watch, another check of The stories happening around the world. We start with an update on the international efforts to fight gang violence in Haiti. A Kenyan court blocking the deployment of 1,000 police officers to Haiti as part of a peacekeeping mission backed by the U.N. The judge arguing Kenya's National Security Council lacks the legal authority to send police outside the country. The Kenyan government says it will appeal that decision. Armors in France shutting down traffic today to protest low food prices and excessive regulation. Drome video shows dozens of tractors blockading the country.

the main roads linking Paris and France's northern cities. Farmers also dumping crates of imported produce in front of government offices as protests marked their second week. The demonstration struck by tragedy earlier this week when a woman was killed in a crash at a blockade. The French Prime Minister now conceding he will scrap plans to reduce a key tax break. And Ecuador finding a new purpose for seized illegal drugs as part of an effort to combat organized crime.

Police say they've converted more than 20 tons of cocaine into cement. to be using the creation of concrete platforms. Authorities say the method prevents the drugs from contaminating the environment or being recovered and that the drugs used would have been worth hundreds of millions of dollars on the black market. Okay, coming up, several Oklahoma teachers

given bonuses some larger than their annual salary. We're now being asked to give it all back to the state. The frustration and confusion surrounding Oklahoma's financial incentive to educators. We turn out to Oklahoma. We're a dream for one school teacher A $50,000 bonus has now turned into a nightmare. The Oklahoma Department of Education demanding she pay the money back immediately,

saying she shouldn't have gotten that bonus in the first place. Stephen Romo has a story. When Oklahoma teacher Kristen Staddleman got a $50,000 bonus, it almost seemed too good to be true. It was kind of like a weight lifted off the shoulders. Just after welcoming a new baby, the fifth year special education instructor, for a statewide bonus program and was approved last November for the full 50 grand. That's actually for money that I'm making here.

After taxes, a total of roughly $30,000 was deposited into her account. Staddleman telling our affiliate K-4, she received an email two weeks ago demanding the full $50,000 be sent back. She and her fiance now searching for solutions. So imagine when they lay this bomb on your family and you're just looking at your kids as a father as a mother trying to figure out what am I going to do for them. According to the non-profit Oklahoma Watch, which first reported on this, there are at least nine teachers being asked to repay bonuses ranging from $15,000 to $50,000, which they were also approved for last year. They didn't try to defraud as far as we can tell. The bonus program was created by Oklahoma State

Superintendent of Instruction Ryan Walters. It was designed to help alleviate the state's years-long teacher shortage, particularly in grades kindergarten through third and in special education classrooms, according to the State Department of Education. The program eligibility table lists the amount of money each educator could receive based on the grade taught and years of teaching experience. Oklahoma Watch says she and the other teachers listed their employment history on the applications, but they were approved anyway. Walters, though, skeptical of those who receive that money by mistake. If any individual lied throughout the process did not agree to follow the stipulations and the contract that they signed, we have been very clear from up front. We will

claw back those dollars. And time is ticking on that repayment. The state has given them only until the end of February to repay the amount in full, leaving these educators and their families unsure what to do next. All right, Stephen Romo joins us now on set. So Stephen, I mean, I guess the The big question is, what if these teachers can't pay this money back? What's going to happen to them? Yeah, a lot of concern about that. They have 30 days now, around about to get that money together, $50,000 in some cases. And if they're not able to pay it, this is going to be sent to collections.

Of course, that could affect their credit if they're going to try to buy a house, which many of these are young people who are just starting out. A big concern for a lot of them. We'll have to see what happens. Yeah, okay. We'll be right back. All right, welcome back. You know it's Friday, which means it's time for bingeworthy. Our look at what to watch and listen to this weekend. And I'm joined now by a friend of the program, Darren Karp. You know her. We love her.

She pulls Double Duty as host of the podcast, Shaken and Disturbed, and Bravo TV. Thanks for joining us today, Darren. Thanks for having me. Yeah, good to see you back here. Okay, so we're going to start. There's a lot going on in TV, a lot going on in movies. There's Oscars. There's all kinds of stuff. Yeah. Let's get started first with TV shows and stuff we want to watch.

The first thing we are talking about is expats on Prime Video starring. Academy Award winner, Nicole Kidman. Here's a look. You know, Hong Kong was supposed to be a fresh start for me. A fresh start, really? At 24? I think my marriage is over. Do you ever imagine yourself living a completely different life? You're just watching them every single life. You're just watching them every single.

and even when your eyes are closed. Expatriots in Hong Kong. It looks really good. I'm excited about this, honestly. Amazon Prime, this kind of takes place in Hong Kong in 2014, where three women's lives intersect after this tragedy. Nicole Kidman's son goes missing. This isn't really a spoiler alert.

We kind of got a hint of it there. But it's beautifully well done. Very, very nuanced. I love it. Sarah, Blue, is going to be in it. It is fantastic. Two episodes so far, and then they drop. I'm being told every Friday.

Yes, six. episodes in total. Can I tell you something? Is the sort of dropping episodes every week back in fashion? I feel like there was a while there where everything was dropped on the day would debut, and now you have to kind of wait. Well, yeah, because when they dropped a series, 10 episodes in one day, people would watch that, and then they'd have to wait a whole year. Right. And then, like, you lose the buzz. If you drop two episodes, people start talking about it, and then you stay with it. So viewers should expect that. Okay, that's good to know. Next up, I'm excited about this one. Griselda, Netflix, all about the woman who is a narco queen pin. It tells the story of

Colombian businesswoman, Griselda Blanco, who created one of the most profitable cartels in history. Take a look. I want to cut her head off. All right. A lot of people have been talking about this one. This story, of course, became famous with the Cocaine Cowboys documentary from probably 10 years ago now. We can't talk about the way Sophia Vergara looks. She gets very offended about this, as Kelly Clarkson learned. But tell us more about the series.

Yeah, so this is going to be a fabulous series. It's from the creators of Narcos. I was a huge fan of that. has gotten a lot of press recently. This was shot like two years ago. We've been talking about this. Obviously, Sophia Vergara's transformation is wild. She's supposed to be amazing in this, but they're under a lawsuit currently. Griselda and her team from her family are actually suing the movie right now for unauthorized use of likeness. This also happened with Pablo Escobar and Narcos. This isn't necessarily something that doesn't occur with things like

this. But it is interesting to note that they are suing them for this and the fact that they don't really care that they're doing this. I kind of love it. On Netflix, Carol G's in this as well. I've been seen it on the Coming Soon deck for a while. It's live now. You can watch it now. You can watch it now. Okay, awesome. Next up, I'm really excited about this one, two. Masters of the Air. All-Star cast from the executive producers that brought us

Band of Brothers and the Pacific, which were incredible. Let's take a look at this one. You are in charge of 35 planes and 350 air crewmen. Don't you die on me before I get over there? something big is brewing the eighth will be sent in up the largest aeromata ever assembled

in the history of mankind straight into Hitler's territory all right viewers may recognize Austin Butler Callum Turner the first two episodes are out new episodes every Friday again we're following this trend here

Is this great I know there's a lot of buzz behind it A lot of buzz and I think worth it I think the CGI alone I mean first off it really gets into war in air, which we don't necessarily see. We've seen wars on the ground, you know, we've seen them fought at sea, but in the air, you really feel the intensity and the pressure. Barry Keegan is also in this coming off of his saltburn run. What I noticed, actually,

first and foremost, outside of the fact that it's brought to us by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, is that Austin Butler lost his Elvis voice, which we never thought was going to go away. I think he's still kind of working through it, but he's in it. He's a star in this, and it's really, really well done. Band of Brothers and Pacific were so great. That this is even half as good as those, it's going to be a great watch. Apple TV, if you want to watch it. We've been talking about the Oscars, and Darren's an Oscars expert. And there's a ton of stuff you can actually stream right now that is up for an Oscar.

So let's put up the graphic for our viewers here so they can see what they can stream this weekend and binge watch. So talk to us about a couple of these. These are for Best Picture. Yeah, for Best Picture. I mean, the rental ones I actually want to pay close attention to. These were three of my absolute favorites, Oppenheimer Anatomy of a Fall and Past Lives. I love Past Lives. Greta Lee was actually snubbed in the director category here.

Anatomy of a Fall is my pick for Best Picture. I don't think it will win. You said the movie's awesome. The movie is incredible. It is intellectually. It just, it doesn't matter what the truth is in a court case. All that matters is what you can prove in court. And I feel like it, even though it takes place in the UK, I really, in Europe, I do really

think this is a perfect example of whether or not the truth matters. Sandra Hewler is incredible. She was also in zone of interest. Unfortunately, I don't think this is going to pull out the best picture. I think it's going to go to Oppenheimer. I do think Oppenheimer is just going to absolutely sweep the Oscars in every category. NBC universally, you know? Yeah, I'm not complaining about it.

It was a good movie. I just loved Anatomy of a Fall. I loved Poor Things, although you can't stream it right now. But all the Academy Award Best Pictures, you can pretty much stream except for poor things. Okay, great. Let's move on now. A great movie that looks kind of funny. Julia Louise Dreyfus, right?

Yep. You hurt my feelings. Here's a clip. Look. Come on, come on him. Can you say anything? can't. It feels too late. Oh my God. Oh, my God.

I think I'm going to throw up. Okay. Wait, what is that? Right here? No, I don't think I can. I can't. If I did, say that. You took it out of context. Are you going to gaslight me now? He's been lying to be this whole time. I wasn't lying. I was encouraging.

That's not true. You were lying to be encouraging. I haven't even watched this and I'm laughing because I think the promises is is sort of funny, right? Tell our viewers. You're married, right? Yeah, I'm married. I think you kind of get it. First of, Julie Louis Dreyfus, I mean, I'm a Seinfeld connoisseur, so with anything she is in, I am going to watch it. But this is moments of levity, and it is very funny, but it also shows the nuance of a marriage.

It's basically what she's a writer, and the marriage kind of starts to fall apart when she accidentally overhears her husband being truthful about what he thought about her book. Right, which wasn't very nice. Or she interprets it as not being very nice. the subtle white lies that people tell each other in a marriage. It's very well done. It's on Paramount Plus. Paramount Plus, is it still in theaters or it's already out?

It's been out. Yeah, now it's streaming. We got Snoop Dog in the house. Our newest Olympic correspondent, he's got a movie called The Underdogs. We'll talk about it on the flip side. It's on Prime Video. Let's take a look.

You pled guilty to charges of speeding and damage to city property. I'm recommending community service with the Long Beach Recreations Department. I thought I was getting like some Martha Stewart kind of treatment. You too good for the community that raised you from the depth of the sea

back to the black Snoop Doggay dog I am football legend Jason to Jay's Jennings your new head coach Legend let me get a picture with Charo we'll put for Twitter

So Snoop Dogg Is that football coach Former NFL player Yeah it gets into trouble Gets into a crash Is forced to serve community service By coaching this Pee We football team It sort of transforms his life

It's a formulaic movie I'm sure you can even Kind of particular plot that happened But it's funny And I love Snoop. I love seeing Candy Burris as a Bravo person on there. Yeah, former Real Housewife of Atlanta. Oh, hey, she's current. Oh, sorry.

Sorry, don't get me in trouble now. Yeah, it's been a while. Finally, we got new music from Justin Timberlake. Before we even say anything, we want you to hear it first here. So if I get jealous, I can't help it, I want every video. I guess I'm selfish. But I can't fight it. J.T. It's been a while.

And this song is, this is first album in five years. Everything I thought it was is coming out in March, but this is kind of the first single. The video was good. He looks great. And the song is a banger. He's still dance? He's still got it. He's got the moves. He's always had it.

He's very smooth. And he's having a, I don't know if it's a surprise show. I guess it's not, but he's having this concert here to every post for free. For free. And fans can go, they can register if they win tickets. Free. I love JT, but you couldn't pay me to sift through the crowds there. I'm sure it's going to be an incredible concert, but we look forward to that.

Darren, thanks for coming here. We appreciate it. Thanks for all the suggestions. And we thank you for watching Top Story all week. I'm Tom Yammis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.