Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, January 6, 2023

Episode Date: January 7, 2023

Kevin McCarthy gets closer to securing the House speakership, a 6-year-old student shoots their teacher at a Virginia elementary school, 'Real Housewives' star Jen Shah sentenced to 6.5 years in prison, nearly 30 people killed in Mexico following the arrest of El Chapo's son, and the man who went from serving in Iraq to exposing white supremacy here in the U.S.

Tonight, all eyes on Capitol Hill. Can Kevin McCarthy finally pull out a win? Republicans failing to elect a Speaker of the House in 13 straight votes, the longest stalemate in more than 160 years, but signs tonight of progress. The major concession that flipped 14 votes in McCarthy's favor will explain, plus the critical votes scheduled for later tonight. Also breaking the teacher shot at an elementary school in Virginia, police now saying the shooter was a six-year-old, and they believed the crime was intentional. Catching a killer, the new images coming in from Moscow, Idaho, boxes removed from the scene of a horrific quadruple murder that we've been telling you about, the father of one of those

victims speaking out after coming face-to-face with the suspect in court. What he revealed about the moment a surviving roommate called 911 hours after the killings and why it took so long for authorities to be notified. Against all odds, Bill's safety, DeMar Hamlin, breathing on his own. after spending days on a ventilator. The emotional moment he fac-timed his teammates and the tributes planned across the NFL as play resumes this weekend.

Overseas China's COVID-crush cases exploding after the country's strict controls were lifted. Emergency rooms overrun, some patients ask to bring their own beds. Janice McEugh-Frayer reporting from one of those hard-hit hospitals tonight. Plus, killer wave, a surfing legend, dying while catching a monster wave

off the coast of Portugal. beach the site of some of the biggest waves recorded in history, the tributes pouring in tonight. And from Bravo to the big house, real housewife star Jen Shaw, sentenced to prison after scamming elderly victims out of millions of dollars, her tearful apology in court, and how much time she's now facing behind bars. Top story starts right now. And good evening. After four days of stonewalling, tonight, House Laws. are on the verge of bringing this historic vote to an end. Republican Kevin McCarthy suffering a 13th straight loss in his bid for Speaker of the House.

This now the longest the process has taken since before the Civil War, but in his latest defeat, signs of progress, which started as 20 conservative holdouts now down to just these six McCarthy's promised to allow lawmakers to remove the Speaker with just one vote in the future, winning over many of his opponents, but he still needs to pull four more of his. Republicans over to his side. Lawmakers huddled together on the House floor and negotiating behind closed doors all day, the House adjourning until 10 p.m. McCarthy late today is saying he is confident, he has the votes he needs, and the momentum certainly seems to be in his favor. So let's get right to NBC Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles, who leads us off from Washington

tonight. Tonight, after the longest standoff in 100 years, top Republican Kevin McCarthy is now within striking distance of the Speaker's job. What are you doing? Why are you confident you have to vote? Because they count. It comes after McCarthy and his ally spent hours hashing out a deal with some of the 20 hardline conservative holdouts. The outreach worked. Republican cheers on the floor each time a vote flipped to McCarthy.

Part of the deal, that major concession by McCarthy, to allow just one member to call for a vote to remove the speaker. That framework serves as the test. template by which we're going to be holding him accountable. But while 15 Republicans flip to McCarthy, six holdouts remain. Two more than McCarthy can afford in his quest for the top job. And many of the six seem dug in, still slamming McCarthy for not withdrawing. One must wonder, Madam Clerk, is this an exercise in vanity for someone who has done the

math, taken the counts? But the few holdouts increasingly becoming isolated. Many Republicans leaving the floor in protest during that speech by Florida's Matt Gates and other holdouts like Virginia's Bob Good not answering questions. You've been talking to us all week. Why not now about what the situation is? Meanwhile, the House remains completely shut down with limited constituent services and lawmakers not able to hold classified briefings with key government leaders. Today, McCarthy was pressed whether the current chaos is a sign of things to come for a narrow and divided Republican majority. Because it took this long, now we learned how to govern. So now we'll be able to get the job done.

Okay, Ryan Nobles joins us now from Capitol Hill. So Ryan, talk to us about how it's looking for McCarthy and what we expect in the near future. So, Tom, he needs at least two of these six holdouts to vote for him tonight. There is a scenario where some could vote present and then only one votes for McCarthy and that gets him over the finish line. But aside from the vote counting, what you need to know is that even his critics tonight believe that he will ultimately get over the finish line and become the next speaker of the House. And it could happen as soon as tonight. They're scheduled to vote again at 10 p.m. Eastern time.

And they're also going to get right to work. There is a plan to swear members in, get the House back up and running, and they could even vote on that first rules package to govern the House of Representatives in this next Congress. Yeah, they need to get back to work. They've already lost a week. Okay, Ryan Noble's leaving us off tonight from Capitol Hill. And we have some breaking news out of Virginia where police say a six-year-old is in custody. after a shooting at an elementary school in Newport News.

You heard that right. He's six years old. Authorities say a first grader shot their teacher and that they believe the shooting was intentional. The teachers expected to survive and no children were hurt. Police are now working to figure out how that child got that gun. Okay, we do want to turn out to other details in the quadruple murder case in Idaho. The father of one of those victims describing the long-awaited moment in court

as he sat in the same room as Brian Coburger, the man who allegedly killed his daughter. The new details he revealed about why it took so long for authorities to be notified by the surviving roommates the day of the murder. Dana Griffin is there tonight. Tonight, activity at the scene of the murders, men in gloves removing mattresses and boxes from the house.

This is the father of Kaylee Gonzalez speaks out after coming within feet of his daughter's alleged killer. I seen an individual that was over his head and was overwhelmed by the situation. and I was a little bit surprised that he was in that spot. Steve Gonzalez is describing the tense moments in court when he had hope to make eye contact with Colberger. He's a defendant and he's innocent tell proven guilty,

but you're going to have to look me in the eyes and you're going to have to be a man. You're going to have to show me that you're innocent or you're guilty. Colberger's first Idaho court appearance as police revealed new and chilling details of the gruesome November stabbings of four University of Idaho students. Mattie Mogan, Zana Carnotel, Ethan Chapin, and Kaylee Gonzalez, the 18-page affidavit, just the start of the public case against Coburger.

I feel like for as good a job as they did in an affidavit, I bet it's even going to get stronger and more impressive by the time it's over and said and done. Perhaps the most alarming revelation of the affidavit, one of the two surviving roommates telling police she came face to face with the killer. At one point walking past her as she stood in frozen shock and then locking herself in her bedroom. Police say they weren't called to the home until noon that day for reasons still unknown. You got to remember these two girls were so upset that when they went outside after seeing this, that these girls were saying one passed out and the other one was so hyperventilating that the message wasn't clear enough for the operator. Those unsettling details playing over in some residents' minds.

as they, along with prosecutors, attempt to piece together Kohlberger's alleged motive. I think a lot of people are wondering, like, how we planned it out, how it all came together and why, of course. A collective sigh of relief in Moscow, Idaho, as students at the university prepared to head back to class on Monday. I think that there will be more so a sense of relief once more evidence comes out. Right now, I think, can breathe a good sigh, which is really good for the students coming back also. All right, Dana Griffin joins us now live from outside that home where those murders happen. Dana, I want to go back to that cleanup effort we saw earlier today. We know that they were brought to a halt when the news broke that an arrest was made.

Do we know if that court order has been lifted or are family members collecting belongings? So it didn't appear to be family. These were men wearing medical gray gloves. We could see through the protective covering on one of those mattresses. It appeared to be stains. Now, that court order was issued Friday when Kohlberger was arrested to halt. clean up here at this home, whether that order has been lifted, Tom, still unclear. All right, Dana, Griffin, for us tonight, Dana, we do appreciate it.

As families begin to process the troubling details of that affidavit, so many questions remain about the suspect and why he might have targeted his victims. I do want to bring in former FBI profiler, Greg McCrary. He has decades of experience in understanding the mind of killers. Greg, first, as prosecutors have been careful to point out, Coburger is still innocent until proven guilty, but they laid out a lot of strong evidence. What was your impression of Koeberger from what we've learned in the affidavit? Was he a criminal mastermind who made some mistakes, or do you think it is possible he maybe wanted to get caught?

I think it's far less likely he wanted to get caught. I think he is kind of a narcissistic individual. Many of these killers are, and again, he is obviously allowed his presumption of innocence. But my experience is a lot of these guys are very narcissistic. They think they're smarter than everyone else and that they can get away with these things. And then they end up doing something that appears stupid or careless that gets them caught. But it isn't that they want to get caught. Do you think, and it's still unclear, but when the alleged killer, and of course Belize you're saying it's Kohlberger, when the alleged killer walks by one of the surviving roommates, do you think that that killer made eye contact with that roommate or knew that

somebody else was still alive in that house, or do you think there's a possibility that the killer didn't see this person, didn't know that they had been spotted? That's difficult to know. It's very high stress for the killer at that time and obviously very high stress for the witness. She described him as having bushy eyebrows, so he certainly was looking in her direction, whether he saw him. saw her clearly or was aware of that, it's just difficult to know. What do you think his biggest mistake was? I mean, obviously, the sheath with the DNA print has, police are saying, led them to Coburger.

Do you see any other sort of glaring mistakes? I think it's a series of things. Again, using his cell phone when he was apparently casing the place. And he turned it off while he was in there committing the murder, apparently. But that was rather foolish, as well, because it was picked up before and after. You know, I don't want to educate killers, but been smarter maybe to leave it at home with the cell phone on, and then it would have attracted right to his residence. But it's a series of those mistakes, using his own car, doing the casing with his cell phone on,

which the historical records show. All of that, it's the culmination of all those things. And, of course, the knife sheath there with the DNA in all of the. of that. But also, keep in mind that the investigation continues. It isn't over. It's certainly a milestone that the arrest had been made. But they'll be searching the car. They'll be searching his residence where he lived. They'll be taking probably all the trash that he was putting out in the neighbor's trash, as I understand, in going through all of that. And he was very bloody when he left the scene. So there may be transferred blood in the car. There may be transferred blood

that is in his residence as well. So, yes. Yeah, I have two more important questions for you. What does it tell you as someone who's profiled killers before that, to use your words, and according to the affidavit, he was casing this place, that he had been there at least 12 times, according to police? Right. Yeah, this is a targeted crime.

He just didn't pick this house at random. So there will be some connection between them. And it could be very superficial. It could be that he bumped into him at a bar or a party and said something inappropriate or they dissed him, and then he got locked on them and targeted them. He had a history of making inappropriate comments, apparently back in his undergraduate days in Pennsylvania, enough so that local brewery and bar owners were aware of that. And so it could be something like that, but it's not—he just didn't walk into a

house not knowing what was in there. I think he knew those people. Whether they knew him or not, that's another question, but it was clearly targeted for them. And then Greg, what can you tell us about his sort of demeanor, his body language since he's been arrested? We haven't heard him say anything at all, and he hasn't said anything to cameras like, I'm innocent, they have the wrong person, I didn't do this? Do you think that's on advice of counsel, or do you think there's something else play here? I'm certainly thinking his counsel would tell him not to say anything at this point. I haven't seen enough body language to make any informed, you know, ideas about that at all.

But again, I think what you'll see, the narcissism playing out, that he thinks he's smart, smarter than other people. He may try to, if it goes to trial, he'll want to testify, but his attorney won't let him if he's smart. But we'll see how all this plays out. see how all this plays out. Greg McCrary for us tonight, former FBI profiler. Greg, we do appreciate that. We turn out of the major headline in sports against all odd, good news for Damar Hamlin. The Buffalo Bill's safety now breathing on his own four days after he went into cardiac arrest.

His team and supporters feeling a sense of relief as the bills set to suit up for the final regular season game. Maggie Vespa has the latest from Cincinnati. Tonight, another big step on DeMar Hamlin's road to recovery. The Buffalo Bill's safety now breathing on his own talking to family, doctors, even facetiming his teammates. He said, I love you boys. And of course, I think I got the guys. They stood up right away and clapped for them and, you know, yelled some things to him. And it was a pretty, pretty cool exchange. Here on the back of my neck stood up when he said, I love you boys, man. And the room went nuts. It was just, it was awesome. Hamlin from a hospital bed lifting his team. The thing that makes me laugh is, is he's

did this to the guys, you know, right away. That call coming more than a day after the 24-year-old Pennsylvania native regained consciousness inside this Cincinnati hospital, asking first with pen and paper who won Monday's game, where after a tough tackle, he suffered a cardiac arrest. Hamlin's progress, a needed boost for teams heading into the final weekend of the regular season. The NFL announcing it will not reschedule the Bills-Bengals matchup and encouraging clubs to honor the safety, suggesting they outline. Hamlin's number on their 30-yard line in bills, red or blue, or wear black t-shirts reading love for DeMar 3 during warm-ups. The bills will be honoring their missing teammate wearing special

patches when they play the Patriots Sunday. We want to go out there and play for three and hopefully we can get them back soon. It will be a challenge for our team to be able to manage the emotions. There's going to be tears out there. I don't know what's going to happen the rest of the season on the field. I really don't. This is a group of winners. And I will forever remember this team. Tonight, fans over the moon outside Hamlin's hospital. God answered the trainers. That's just tremendous.

And back in Buffalo. Knowing today that he's speaking with the team and the tubes came out and he's alive. And we feel alive again too. Maggie Vespa joins us tonight from Cincinnati yet again. So Maggie, since this happened, the support for Damar has been pretty remarkable. Do we know if he's aware that the entire country is sort of rooting him on that he gets over this? Yeah, you know, it seems like it is because during that press conference today, when the GM and the coach of the bills were talking about the FaceTime, his toy drive in particular came up. You know, that toy drive that he started in 2020.

It had the goal this year of $2,500. That's now close to $8 million. The GM said his mom brought it up, again, with everybody there and just said they're blown away by it. And the GM, Tom, actually made a joke to DeMara saying, hey, you usually hand out toys. I think you're going to have to start handing out cars. So it's slowly dawning on him, for sure, Tom. And then do we have any sense of Damar's road ahead? Do doctors have an idea of whether he'll make a full recovery

or even be able to possibly ever play again? You know, at this point, the doctors, as you've seen, are so optimistic. And they have said that they think he'll make a full neurological recovery. And that was yesterday. And obviously, today we have these new updates. They haven't said specifically, and actually yesterday, they declined to say if they expect a full recovery, and if he'll play again. They said it's too early to talk about that. But right now, they're not

flagging any major concerns, at least that they're letting us know that would make them think otherwise. So all optimism here, but too early to tell for sure, Tom. Yeah, and all the steps right now in the right direction. Okay, Maggie, thank you for that. We turn now to China's COVID crisis as we head overseas. The record surge in cases are creating new travel restrictions here in the U.S. Since Thursday, all airline passengers from China must show a negative COVID test despite vaccination status. Meanwhile, in China, funeral homes and hospitals pushed to their limits. Our Janus Mackey Freyer tonight takes us inside one of those places. In Beijing's crowded emergency rooms, the patients are mostly elderly, and they're struggling.

Hospital resources stretch so thin, families are being told to bring their own beds. In Shanghai and elsewhere, video shared on social media showed the same race for treatment. with COVID barreling through China like never before. We've seen people lying in hallways, in lobbies, even on lawn chairs. There just isn't enough room. The scale and severity of this massive surge isn't clear because of a lack of credible data. The World Health Organization now accusing China of not giving the world an accurate picture. We believe that the current numbers being published from China underrepresents the true impact of the disease.

in terms of hospital admissions, in terms of ICU admissions, and particularly in terms of deaths. By narrowing the way China counts COVID deaths, officially only 30 people have died from the virus since strict COVID controls were lifted here a month ago. Overcrowded funeral homes tell a different story. Crematoriums designated to take COVID victims are at full capacity. We were told the waiting time is two weeks. Funeral services are sometimes being held at hospitals. Here, empty caskets stay stacked in the alley. It's quite possible that there will be a million deaths or more this winter from COVID in China. The worry that COVID has yet to hit rural areas, where hospitals aren't as well resourced, and older people may not be prepared.

Mr. Zhao, who was 70, says officials should have told people about precautions, so they could have at least bought medication. The abrupt change to tough COVID rules caught most of the country off guard. Now streets, restaurants and stores are getting busy again as more people are recovering. And the biggest travel rush in years is set to begin, with borders reopening to international travelers and the Lunar New Year expected to see millions on the move again, raising concerns that another wave of infection will hit here within weeks. There are also concerns about the potential for new COVID variants here. Several countries, including the U.S., have offered to help China by sending vaccines,

but so far, Beijing has refused. Tom. Okay, Janice, Mackey Frere, with a stunning look at what's happening there in China. Still ahead tonight, the killer wave, a surf legend dying while trying to conquer a giant wave off the coast of Portugal, what he was practicing when he went under. Plus, cartel violence engulfing Mexico, we've been telling you about this. gang members now battling it out with authorities after the arrest of El Chapo's son, why he will remain in Mexico for now.

And the harsh reality for Real Housewives, Jen Shaw, the Bravo Star, sentenced for a multi-million dollar telemarketing scheme, just how long she'll spend behind bars. Stay with us. Top story, just getting started. Okay, we're back now with the sentencing of Real Housewives star Jen Shaw. She's being sent to prison for fraud, running a multi-million dollar telemarketing scheme that defrauded elderly people out of their savings. Valerie Kastford tonight with this story. Tonight, a Salt Lake City Real Housewife star will call a federal prison her new home.

Jennifer Shaw leaving Manhattan federal court without saying a word, sentenced to six and a half years behind bars, more than double the three years her legal team argued for. The only thing I'm guilty of is being Shaw Amazing. Despite her tagline on Bravo's reality show, Shaw pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for running a multi-million dollar telemarketing scheme that defrauded senior citizens. People are wondering, like, how'd you get so rich? My background is in direct response marketing for about 20 years, so our company does, you know, advertising. But Friday in court, where cameras were not allowed, Shaw broke down in tears, saying she was deeply sorry for her crimes and said, quote, I take full responsibility for the harm I caused,

vowing to pay the court-ordered restitution of more than $6 million. We're looking for 10 Shaw. She just left. Shaw was arrested during filming of season two of the Housewife's franchise in Utah. Federal agents arriving as cameras were rolling. Initially, Shaw fought the allegations. After the arrest, did you consider quitting the show? I was like, no, I'm innocent, and I felt like,

I need to tell my story. But just a week before the trial's jury selection, she entered a guilty plea. Along with restitution, Shaw was ordered to forfeit an additional $6.5 million and hand over 30 luxury goods like designer handbags and jewelry, as well as dozens more counterfeit items. After the sentence, U.S. Attorney Damien Williams saying in a statement, Shaw finally faces the consequences of the many years she spent targeting vulnerable elderly victims. Shaw is not the only Bravo housewife to face legal trouble.

Erica Jane Girardi of the Beverly Hills installment was hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit last year, accusing her of being a, quote, frontwoman in a criminal racketeering enterprise. Girardi has denied the allegations pointing the finger at her estranged husband. At the end of the day, you have to pay for the plane. The plane isn't free. And Teresa Judice of New Jersey spent almost a year in federal prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of fraud.

I signed papers without reading them. Shaw will be locked up for much longer and will have six more weeks of freedom. This is like my happy place before moving into her new federal home. Okay, Valerie Castro joins us now on set here. So Valerie Jen Shaw, she's headed to prison. She's a be-less celebrity. Do we know what type of prison she's going to? Well, she's hoping for and has requested to be sent to a minimum security women's prison

camp in Texas, but it'll be up to the Bureau of Prisons to make the final call. She could end up at a higher-level security facility. After she serves her time, she'll still be under-supervised release for another five years, and Tom, the judge warned her against trying to profit off of this crime. Wow, okay. Valerie, we thank you for that. We want to turn to some tragic news from the surfing world, a famous pro-surfer, killed by a giant wave while performing a stunt off the coast of Portugal. NBC's Gabe Boutierrez has this one.

He once called himself a soul surfer. His passion for riding waves, friends say, outshined only by his infectious smile. But tonight, the worldwide surfing community is mourning the loss of Madzio Freri, who died Thursday off the central coast of Portugal. The fishing village called Nazaree is known for its record-breaking waves, caused by a three-mile canyon underneath the water. Freddy died after falling while tow-in surfing. a technique that involves a surfer being pulled into giant waves by a jet ski.

He was one of three Brazilian surfers who became known as the Mad Dogs after being featured in a 2016 documentary where they rode the massive wave jaws in Hawaii. On social media, tributes are now pouring in. Hawaiian pro-surfer Matt Miola remembers Freddie as a pioneer of a sport. But he did it purely for the love. Sebastian Stoidner set a world record at Nazaree, riding an 86-foot wave in 2020.

He says more safety regulations are needed. It needs to change, and it should have changed a long time ago. Frere repeatedly said that he considered surfing a lifestyle, not a profession. He was 47 years old. Tom. Okay, Gabe, when we come back, the record fine for Peloton. The company reaching a settlement to resolve charges at knowingly distributed dangerous treadmills that resulted in the death of a child,

just how much they will have to pay up. Stay with us. All right, back down with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with the shooting at a French Montana video shoot in Miami. Authorities say an argument spilled over to a restaurant where the video was being filmed when shots were fired. The rapper was not shot, but at least 10 other people were,

including New Orleans-based rapper Rob 49. Police are not looking for those responsible. An update tonight on the escalating violence in Mexico following the arrest of El Chapo's son. We told you about this last night. Cartel violence erupted in the northern state of Sinaloa after Mexican security forces took Oviedo Guzman into custody. He's the son of the notorious drug kingpin, Joaquin Guzman.

Officials say nearly 30 people have been killed, including at least 10 members of Mexico's military. Mexico today halting Oveill's extradition to the U.S. And Peloton agreed to pay a historic fine. This is a sad one. The company will pay $19 million for failing to quickly report. poor treadmill dangers, and then for distributing recalled treadmills. The treadmill is responsible for dozens of injuries and the tragic death of a child.

Today marks two years since the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Lawmakers gathered on the steps of the billing to commemorate those injured in the violence and the life partner of that Capitol police officer who died after the riot, now suing former President Trump. NBC's Peter Alexander reports. On the steps of the Capitol today, a poignant remembrance. House Democrats and one Republican sharing 140 seconds of silence. One second for each officer injured during the attack two years ago today.

Those haunting images still seared into America's memory. On this day, two years ago, our democracy held, because we the people, as the Constitution refers to us, we the people did not flinch. At the White House's ceremony celebrating courage in the face of chaos, President Biden awarding the Presidential Citizens Medal to 14 people, some posthumously, who resisted efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Like Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shea Moss, Fulton County, Georgia election workers who faced racist taunts and were forced from their homes. Ruby and Shea, you don't deserve what happened to you, but you do deserve the nation's

eternal thanks for showing the dignity and grace of we, the people. Also honored Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, the target of racial slurs and harassing. as he stood his ground that day. What do you hope the Americans take away from this anniversary? How everybody has a job to do to protect this democracy. Everybody has a role to play. We can't just take this for granted. Two years later, the FBI and Justice Department's investigation is ongoing.

More than 900 arrests and nearly 500 guilty pleas. But authorities have not yet arrested 250 other rioters wanted for assaulting officers on January 6th. Tom? All right. We thank Peter Alexander for that. Now to a man who watched horrified as some members of the veteran community participated in the Capitol riot. He served in the Iraq War more than a decade ago, but after January 6th, Christopher Goldsmith says he went on the offense to expose far-right extremism. And some of his tactics are controversial.

NBC's Pentagon correspondent, Courtney Kuby, has his story. A neo-Nazi group is gathering in Texas having carefully vetted attendees to make sure footage like this doesn't exist. Except they weren't expecting Christopher Goldsmith. He served in the Iraq War and today has made it his mission to expose hate in America. This is the Nazi hunting station. Goldsmith shows us how he infiltrates white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups from his office. When I see a swastika on the ground made of firewood that they can burn, I now know this is where the neo-Nazi conference is going on. To get intelligence about this October meeting of the Aryan Freedom Network,

He went undercover. After you study these people for years, I can talk like them, so I can convince them that I am one of them, right? So they'll let me into their private chats, whether that's on Telegram or, you know, some other fringe app. And it was via Telegram last July that Goldsmith learned of the event the group was trying to keep a secret. Law enforcement, because of the First Amendment, cannot infiltrate a neo-Nazi organization the way that I do. In October, someone with the alias Daisy Barr, a reference to the leader of the women's KKK chapter a century ago, told him to be ready to be vetted by video chat. What kind of questions did they ask? They're vetting for me to infiltrate the Air and Freedom Network was just confirming that I was white.

Hey, can you see me? I showed them on video wearing a skull mask, which is popular with the neo-Nazis. They saw blue eyes and white around my face, and they said, all right, you're in. A few days later, he got another message to me. meet up at a gas station in a remote town in East Texas. This right here was the meeting spot. His team followed the convoy from the gas station to the rural home where members of the Area and Freedom Network were gathered.

They flew a drone the whole way. Rather than put a human being at risk, we send this out to go spot the neo-Nazis. Using the drone footage, he notes the make, model, and license plates of vehicles in hopes his information will help connect the dots between individuals. and hate groups. What would you say are your ultimate goals for your efforts here? Our ultimate goals are to make being a neo-Nazi very uncomfortable and expensive. An AFN member initially sued Goldsmith for flying the drone over private property, but dropped it with the option to refile.

You've also talked about how you aren't concerned about harassing people, some of these groups as part of your methods, and some people might argue that's inappropriate. What do you say to that? Force Butler does not harass or docks people. We simply do not do that. What we do is we take away a veil of secrecy that is being used to hurt people. You will not replace us. The United States is experiencing historic levels of extremist incidents around the country

propelling Goldsmith's Drive. He grew up on Long Island with a dream of serving his country, realizing it right after high school with a deployment to arrive. When you came back, how were you changed by that experience? I had severe post-traumatic stress disorder in Iraq. That PTSD led to a dark period in his life, including an attempt at taking his own life the night before his second deployment to Iraq. Missing his flight resulted in a less than honorable discharge from the Army in 2007.

Since then, he's been advocating for veterans' rights on Capitol Hill, the very site where On January 6th, 2021, some members of the veteran community were among those who stormed the building. He watched, outraged, but says he wasn't surprised. Veterans aren't innately drawn to these extremist organizations, but these extremist organizations know how to manipulate veterans. They know how to identify veterans who are vulnerable like I was, and they fill these questions that we have with conspiracy theories as answers. So he founded Task Force Butler to employ other veterans to help him fight extremism. His team members stay undercover while he goes public with information they gather.

Veterans carry social capital in a way that other folks don't. Those who are targeting us with those messages are more likely not just to, when they get us, not just the one of us, not just the one veteran, but a social network. Goldsmith has focused much of his work on the Patriot Front, a group that was responsible for disseminating more than 82% of the almost 5,000 white supremacist propaganda messages spread across the country in 2021, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Last June, 31 members of the group were arrested who authorities say were planning to riot at a pride parade in Idaho. I've got access to their rocket chat server, which is like an open source

version of Slack. And I'm able to see from the inside, we know that our research has been used to help support at least one lawsuit. That lawsuit filed against members of the Patriot Front who were filmed allegedly vandalizing in Arthur Ash mural with spray paint in Virginia. The two men were served in November and have not responded to the complaint. They did not respond to requests for comment from NBC News. You know, the thought of infiltrating a group is, that seems really scary and potentially dangerous. That is not scary compared to getting in a up-armored Humvee and driving through Baghdad every day for a year. Go for whites.

For Goldsmith and his task force Butler team, a new mission here at home, and they say still in service to their country. All right. Courtney Cuby joins us now from the Pentagon. And Courtney, of course, as we just heard before you there from Peter today, is the second anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Christoffer told you he found Task Force Butler. He founded it after watching the events unfold on that day. And there is sort of a military aspect to this. Do we know how many U.S. military veterans or current service members have been charged for their actions on January 6th? Yeah, that's right.

He said he watched that day and he was outraged knowing that there were probably military veterans there. So the George Washington University has this program on extremism. that tracks meticulously everyone who has been charged for some role on January 6th. And of the 940 defendants, they have on their database, about 118 people have some sort of a military background. The vast majority of those are people with former military service. So most of those would be veterans. But you can see that's still a relatively large proportion of that 940 total people. And those are the exact people who the task force,

Butler people are trying to target with their efforts here, trying to teach that, trying to expose them and teach them to change their ways. Yeah, more than 10 percent. Do we know what's next for Goldsmith and Task Force Butler? He says that they are not stopping, that they're going to continue their efforts there, and they're actually hoping that they can even expand their veteran and volunteer network in the future. Courtney Kubey for us, Courtney, we thank you for that.

Coming up, the Winter Wallop in California, we switch gears covering all that extreme weather, parts of the state of California trying to clean up after a dangerous storm and another one now on the way. Forecast next. All right, we are back now with California after that deadly bomb cycle and rocked the state. Residents in hard-hit

Santa Cruz County waiting through flood waters today, the massive Pacific storm killing at least two people and causing millions of dollars of damage. And in Capitola, you see it here, part of the historic wharf swallowed by surging surf and hurricane force winds. For more on the forecast, NBC News meteorologist Bill Cairns joins us now in studio.

Bill, we've been talking about sort of this double and triple threat-hailing California. Where are we right now? What can we expect in the state? I'm concerned about Monday, Tuesday. We have a series of storms this weekend. Monday, Tuesday, it looks like it could be much worse than the New Year's Eve storm and the one that we just did. So right now, we just have areas in Northern California, just getting some rain. They're going to be fine.

We're not going to see really additional problems. So let's take a bigger picture here because the Pacific is very big and has a lot of storms lined up. So here's storm one, the one coming through tonight. Then we're going to see another storm. This one's going to have minor issues around San Francisco, minor isolated flooding. That's storm number two. The one, I think, is going to be a bigger issue with a long-duration atmospheric event is going to be Monday and Tuesday, and that's with this storm.

It's not that organized yet, but it looks to be more powerful and a lot of heavy rain. So Tom, next seven days, some areas could get 12 inches of rain. The river forecast in Sacramento is expected to break the record from 1997, and that was a billion-dollar weather or disaster. Wow, I know we'll be on top of this month. Monday and Tuesday with you and your team. Okay, Bill, we thank you for that. When we come back and look at what to binge this weekend, the TV series from the National Treasure franchise, plus the star-studded thriller film now available to stream, and new music by the one-and-only

Shania Twain, the first binge-worthy of the new year. Up next. Welcome back. It is Friday, so it is time for binge-worthy, a preview of what we think you should watch and listen to this weekend, and we're joined in studio by entertainment journalists, of our close friends here at Top Story, a big friend to the program, Shogun Oulow, Shagoon. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. Look, I'm so happy to be here in New Studio. This play, this is amazing.

New Year. New Shagoon. New Shagoon. New Shago. Same Shagoon, man. Same energy. All right. Same energy.

We love that. All right, so let's get to it. First thing up. So I was surprised about this. National Treasure. A lot of people may know it because of Nicholas Cage. If you're into the Da Vinci Code kind of things, the Explorer, mysteries, riddles. I don't know if you are.

I am. I love that kind of stuff. But this is completely different. Talk to me about this new show in Disney Plus. So it's a series, right? It has Harvey Keitel. It's got Catherine Zeta Jones. It's got Lizette Oliveira. And you would think, coming from super producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, that this is going to be

great. It is not. What? It is not a national truck. This is not worth like a red penny. Wait, hold on. Let's watch a clip. Let's see if the viewers like this. I got to say. All right, let the viewers are saying. So we're talking like an honest-to-God treasure map.

Yeah. Where did you get that necklace? It was my dad's. He died when I was a baby. What is it? That's the symbol on your necklace. I know. What if I told you everything you know about your dad is a lie?

So, look, it's a different take, and to be transparent here, we have our producers, our fine producers of Bingeworthy over there, where some people are shaking their head to go. They don't agree with you. They like this show. Right. Look, don't at me, producers, but I'm going to be honest. That's why I come. It is, it's bad. First of all, the riddles are trite. Like, this isn't even interesting, at least the Da Vinci Code and the original National Treasure. It made you think this is very popcorny, very, you know, just, well, actually, not even popcorn. It's just corny. Yeah. It's corny, and it's got better actors than the material deserves. And you want it to be more. But is it for a younger audience, maybe? Like, kind of my kids' boxes?

I mean, it's Disney doing that box checking that a lot of the streamers are doing, which we have to have a Latin American and a black person and the LGBTQ. And when you check all those boxes but you don't have a good source material, then it just plays pretty dull. That's a rough review.

I don't know if they're going to invite you to Disney World, to the theater. All right. Next one up, Ginny and Georgia. Tell me about this one. Okay, love Ginny and Georgia. This is season two. I invite everyone to go back, watch season one. This, when you check the boxes, is actually a good story.

Think of Euphoria that starred Zendaya, but you can actually talk about it at work because these scenes are actually safe to talk about. So how is it like Euphoria, then? Because it's teens, it is, there's murder, there's teen angst, there's drug use, there's sex. It's got some of the elements that Euphoria has. Same type of genre. Just not as graphic. Not just, not as graphic. It's on Netflix.

We have a clip. Let's play that now. Jenny, your mom is a dangerous person. I know you think she wouldn't hurt. You were your brother. But that doesn't mean she wouldn't hurt someone else. My whole family's broken. She's getting hard to pretend that something's not going on with you.

All right, so this one gets the Shagoon Shimmy. This gets the Shoehmmy. This gets to watch it. Like, whoever in the back is watching National Treasure, put that down. Watch this. This is way worth it. All right, this next one up, though. I want to show the clip first. Okay.

I think people are going to like this one. I'm excited about this. When it's on Showtime, let's take a look. Northside is our home, but we have issues in this community. It's fire! You! I'm a police officer for North Minneapolis and coached for the North High High School. Kind of weird, but I'm building bonds with police.

I love coaching North, but it's definitely difficult to. right now. All right, docu-series, high school football, some big names behind it. Tell us more. So the biggest name is Peter Berg, who created Friday Night Lights. And we have all recently seen watching Monday Night Football just how dangerous and violent this sport is. But it also brings us together. And Boys and Blue is, it is worth the price of admission. And it's not going to cost you really much to see it. You can watch it from your living room. Four-part docu series where it shows how football can unite a community, how these kids in North Minneapolis come together. It gets them off the street. It gets them doing something positive where they had to

deal with the aftermath of COVID with George Floyd. Yeah, I was going to say that's a big subplot here, right? The aftermath of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Yeah. So it's, it's, it's, it's the whole story is followed through the eyes of these kids as they tell you what it's like to live in their neighborhood, going through high school, we just beat COVID, then we get hit with George Florida, all of this is swirling at the same time. And when you are watching it, you say to yourself, wow, this team sport can unite not only these kids, but a community, you know, which is a feel-good story after what we've seen the other side of football. This is why we come and watch a docu-series, right? So you can watch a couple episodes of the time. Sounds good.

HBO Max, in my opinion, just putting out. They get it what they get it right. Home run after home run. They have some Miguel is out called the menu let's watch the clip first take a look tonight will be madness welcome we'll endeavor to make your evening as pleasant as possible okay welcome welcome to hawtholne here we are family we harvest we ferment, we don't. Okay, I'm being told by that, the top producers here at Bingeworthy, the ones who may or may not at you later, come to your house, that this was in the theaters, and HBO Max acquired it because it was up their alley.

Yeah, it is great. So this is satire, done smart and fun. Okay, I'm going to annoy people again because they're fans of the onion. I was going to say this reminds me of the glass onion. It reminds me of Triangle of Sadness. It sort of reminds me a little bit of White Lotus, too. Yes. I don't know what the genre is called, but it's sort of like this vacation genre.

It's like Clue murder mystery, but the writer, Seth Rees, used to be the head writer at The Onion, the satirical news outlet. Oh, the Onion, you're not talking about the Glass Onion. No, no. This reminds me of the Glass Onion, okay. But it should, well, it's, this is the Glass Onion only done better because the Glass Onion is not good. Skip that. Go to the menu. Like, the Blooming Onion, this is, watch this.

It's got Nicholas Holt. It's got a really good cast of actors acting, where they're not super big names, but they all work in their respective roles. This is, it satires the rich. It's actually it savages the rich and their like absurdity, which is a lot of fun to watch if you're not as rich. Right, right, right. But think like Hell's Kitchen. Ray Fines is playing, you know, a Gordon Ramsey kind of weird chef. But I loved it.

I invite everyone to watch it. This feels like it's a whole genre. It really does. I mean, like, you're saying this, and it almost sounds like the film Triangle of Sadness, which is great, and I definitely recommend that as well. Maybe we'll talk about it next week. You really wanted to add Triangle of Sadness. You watched that over the front of digits. Definitely, I thought it's a very interesting movie.

What do you call this? I call that popcorn. Wrong. Popcon. All right. Our next artist, Drake, they got a new one. It's called, actually, you want to pronounce this? Because I'll probably, I'll butcher this. No, no, no.

You've ready got me with the popcorn. This is all you. We could done? We got done. We got done. Okay, let's try. Let's take it with them. You have to put it in my field some of my flow can tell.

Bolly for friends which up, me still wish them well. Wolli by record break. Bolli per show get shell. From you say, we name a great it's bell. True. Try if you rush me off. Try if you brush me off, I see. Bad man likes scull and knee from a new league.

Wipe. Wipe. Wipe. Drake, Popcon, Popcon, for those people who don't know from Jamaica. Yeah, get your popcorn movie. Drake Drake's like sort of rapping there with like almost a little patchwall going

he's got the rhythm going I'm a big Drake fan as you know I like the song what's your take So I'm popcorn for popcorn but we're throwing popcorn at Drake We don't want Drake to do a Jamaican accent Don't do it you are not Jamaican You are from Canada

Stick to that Popcon is great If Popcon was just doing the song Without Drake it would be fire When I hear there are only a few rappers that can do a Jamaican accent, like Buster Rhymes can do it. Drake is not one of those dudes, and I know it'll be big. I'll get added because everyone loves Drake, although y'all didn't really buy his last

album, so what do you think about that? Which one, which one, with 21 Savage or the last solo album? Kind of both. Both? I think they're both great. Okay. How do you agree? I mean, I like them both. They're both great. We're going to take a turn here. Shania Twain.

Oh. Let's just listen. Okay. We'll get the Shigoon take out. Okay. Come on, come on, make a jump. Smile for miles. Hold up on my bed.

My face. Where? Shit. Because we ain't got time to wait. Get to it. Up in the giddy, up, giddy, get it up. Up and you get it up. Junk in the city.

Got a lady on the cup. Up and you get it up. Oh, sorry. I'm just, I'm just, the producers are talking here. A lot of interactive segments. Uh-uh. So this is from last year. Is that what you're telling me?

No. The video. I'm confusing. But anyways, what did you think? No, bootscoot buggy this out of here. I am a die-hard Shaniya Twain fan. Look, I like her. She is country royalty.

This is, this is like, this almost gave me a cavity. It's so sugary sweet. It's like, it's just going to be played in honky tongue, you know, square dance bars. It doesn't have any, I don't know, it doesn't have any heart to me. It's not been an earworm. Yeah, she's amazing. Incredible. So you don't get the Shania voice.

You don't get the Shania's sort of passion in this one, no? There's none of the stuff that you go to Shania Twain for this felt like it could have been done by a much younger artist trying to establish themselves with a dance song. She doesn't need this in her repertoire. She's like she's minted. She's already Shanaia Twain. She's up there. What happened today? What happened today?

Well, I like a few things. You woke up. Did you get the coffee? You're okay? Well, I'm a teacher. People cut you off. What would happen? You came.

No, because in 2020. You came with it. Okay, no, you're keeping it real. No, I like it. I appreciate it. I like honesty. Radical Transparency. Finally, this is from the entire top story staff here.

They love this. We're talking about White Lotus, too. The theme song, Remixed, DJ Tiesto. Is there a video? Are we watching something, guys? We are. Let's go for it. All right, so taking a chance there, what you think?

Are you feeling it? I'm like the crowd. The crowd was watching Tiesto, like, oh, he likes it more than we should. Okay, go. You don't think so. I think people were gone. I'll tell you a little story. We played this in the newsroom, and I had four producers dancing that I've never seen

dance before. And it brought a tear to my because it was so beautiful. Were they dancing or were swaying like, they were like, no, they were moving. They had some moves and I didn't know about it. You can't. It wasn't a Shagoon shimmy, but it was definitely, it was a move. Shagoon, thank you. Thank you for always bringing it. First, first binge worthy of the new year. Is that right? No, it's not right. Okay, but anyways. It's your first bingeworthy of New Year. It is. It is. It is. Okay. The producers have already started drinking. Thanks so much for watching Top Story in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.