Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, November 3, 2023

Episode Date: November 4, 2023

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

Tonight, Israel defying against growing pressure for a humanitarian pause in the war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting the White House calls for a short ceasefire, saying Israel's military will push, quote, full steam ahead. The IDF now reporting hundreds of soldiers and police have died fighting Hamas, also releasing new video showing troops closing in on Gaza City. The Israeli military confirming an air strike on an ambulance, claiming Hamas is using them to move terrorists. More air strikes hitting closer to major hospitals

where thousands are seeking shelter. Then our report tonight from an oasis of peace inside of Israel, just 30 miles from Gaza, Israelis and Palestinians living side by side, their children playing together as explosions echo in the distance. Each family working towards a common goal, unity as the war challenges their mission. Back in the U.S., a backpack on an airplane exploding with people on board, passengers and crew jumping into action, dumping water before flames spread.

The source, a lithium ion battery, and this isn't the first time it's happened this year. The deadly crash manhunt caught on camera the moments a speeding driver in a Porsche 9-11 loses control, hitting a cement barricade, launching in the air, killing her passenger. The suspect now fleeing to China to evade charges. Soccer brawl, multiple arrested after a massive fight on a famous beach in Brazil. Fans of dueling soccer teams running through the sand, sending people stampeding, police firing tear gas to break it up. Plus, a home exploding in New York, completely leveling it, firefighters putting out the flames in the wreckage as more than a dozen are taken to the hospital. They were inside at the time. what we know about the potential cause of the blast.

And West Maui reopens. Just months after those deadly wildfires devastated historic neighborhoods, the state welcoming tourists as thousands of displaced residents still live in hotels. Top Story, starts right now. Good evening.

Welcome to Top Story. The U.S. making it official supporting a humanitarian pause in the war between. Israel and Hamas. America's top diplomat, Anthony Blinken, in Tel Aviv today, saying even a short break in fighting could buy time for hostages in Gaza and get more aid inside. His plane, though, touching down right after some of the most relentless airstrikes of the war so far. You may remember these from last night. NBC cameras capturing all this missiles and flares over the border between

Israel and Gaza. What you're seeing now? This is the aftermath of those overnight strikes. hitting another refugee camp, living that massive crater you see there, people digging through the rubble where buildings once stood. Prime Minister Netanyahu rejecting calls for a ceasefire of any kind until Hamas releases the 240 hostages inside of Gaza, saying the Israeli military will keep pushing, quote, full steam ahead. The IDF releasing this new video of the military surrounding Gaza City, lines of soldiers marching towards explosions in the distance.

The IDF now reporting, this is according to the Israelis, 400 troops, police, and intel agents have died fighting Hamas. Israel also facing threats from the north with Lebanon here. The leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror organization isn't calling for an all-out war at this point, but warn this conflict could spread through the region. These growing threats putting more pressure to get civilians out of Gaza. Tonight we're learning even more Americans got through the Rafa crossing into Egypt yesterday. The White House reporting 100 are now safely on the other side of the border. The harrowing reasons why people are desperately trying to escape. Footage from Gaza, you see it here, hospitals showing emergency responders racing between one disaster zone to the next.

The Palestinian Red Crescent saying one ambulance hit with an Israeli air strike. The IDF claiming Hamas was using that vehicle to transport terrorists. The Israeli military increasing its stranglehold on Gaza as the humanitarian crime, ISIS pushes the region to the brink. NBC News foreign correspondent Ralph Sanchez starts us off tonight. Tonight, as Israeli forces targeting Hamas tighten their grip around Gaza City, tensions between the U.S. and Israel over the next phase of the war. We need to do more to protect Palestinian civilians. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken meeting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, telling him the U.S. supports Israel's mission to topple Hamas

after the October 7th terror attack that killed 1,400 Israelis. It is striking and in some way shocking that the brutality of the slaughter has receded so quickly in the memories of so many, but not in Israel and not in America. But also saying the U.S. supports a humanitarian pause to try to get more aid into Gaza and get hostages held by Hamas out. Each of these efforts would be facilitated by humanitarian. Mediterranean pauses. But just minutes later, Netanyahu saying, no pause in the fighting until Hamas first releases its 240 hostages. I made it clear we're going full steam ahead, he says.

For so many Palestinian families in Gaza, any pause will come too late. Our camera crew followed rescuers to the site of what witnesses believe was an Israeli strike in southern Gaza today. An area Israel says is supposed to be safe for civilians fleeing the north. But it wasn't safe for 10-year-old Samma, pulled out from under the rubble. There's nothing her father Thar can do but wipe her face. She wanted to be like other kids, he says. He carries her into the emergency room. This exhausted doctor needs only a moment to pronounce her dead.

Thar's wife and four other children are missing under the wreckage. Israel's military did not directly respond to our question about the blast. Israel struck this ambulance near the Al-Shefa hospital tonight, saying it was being used by a terror cell. Israel has previously claimed there's a secret Hamas command center beneath the hospital. The Hamas-run health ministry says over a dozen people were killed, while in Lebanon, the leader of Iranian-backed Hezbollah breaking his silence, saying he doesn't want a regional war, but threatening more action against Israel in coming days.

Ralph Sanchez joins us again live from Ashtad Israel. Raf, how should we interpret, and the international community interpret that last part of your report there, right? The leader of Hezbollah saying he doesn't want a regional war, but he's also threatening more attacks against Israel. Tom, the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, is a sworn enemy of Israel. He is committed to its destruction. But he also has domestic politics of his own in Lebanon to manage. That country is going through a years-long economic crisis. Very few people there want a full war with Israel. So this looks like Hezbollah doing enough to show its supporters.

that it's fighting Israel, but at the same time, trying to avoid a full-scale war. And then, Raf, I know you have some new reporting. We know those hostages, so many of them, still being held in Gaza. We know Americans are among them. And now U.S. aircraft are getting involved in the search? That's right, Tom. The Pentagon is now saying that American reconnaissance drones are flying over Gaza as part of the search for the hostages.

They say these drones are not armed, and they are not directly taking part in these Israeli airstrikes. All right, Ralph Sanchez, leading us off tonight on this Friday night here on Top Story. Raf, thank you for that for more on the escalating diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and Israel. I want to bring in Hagar Shamali. She's a former National Security Council Director for Syria and Lebanon during the Obama administration and a former spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the U.N. Thanks so much for joining Top Story tonight.

I want to start there with Anthony Blinken and his question. call and his suggestion. And I don't know how we should characterize that, a demand for a ceasefire, at least temporary, to help alleviate the situation to maybe get these hostages freed. And yet Israel is not listening. Israel's saying we need to march on and we're moving, quote, full steam ahead. To be honest with you, Tom, I'm not very surprised with Israel's response. And the reason is I have a lot of experience of working with Israel in my time at the White House. And the U.S. will try to press them to do, to pursue a certain action they feel is right, a certain policy they feel is right. But at the end of the day, Israel will do what it feels is best.

And that's their view. And Netanyahu's made that very clear, right? So I think the United States should continue pressing them. And I hope that they continue using the aid that we give to Israel. The United States gives $3.8 billion a year in aid to Israel. that's 16% of Israel's military budget and try to use that as leverage and say, hey, listen,

some of this is about leverage, but some of this is also about Israel's broader goal, which is a secure Israel. And the U.S. believes that they don't believe in a ceasefire because they believe in obliterating Hamas. However, to really win the war for a secure Israel, limiting those civilian casualties is paramount. Hagar, I got to ask you,

how would you rate, and I understand he's your colleague, and I also understand that you work for the Obama administration. But how would you rate sort of how efficient our Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has been so far in this war? I asked because it took weeks for the Rafa crossing to open. It's taken weeks for any hostages to come out alive. There are still so many being held.

The bombing of Gaza is relentless. They're not going to have a ceasefire. So I'm just curious, you know, having worked in that field and having done similar jobs, how is Blinken doing this? Well, personally, I've liked the response from the Biden administration. I'm going to be completely honest with you. This is, we have to remember how this started with this horrific terrorist attack by Hamas.

And I know Hamas inside and out. Hamas was in my portfolio when I worked in counter-terrorist financing at the Treasury Department. This is nothing but a terrorist organization that has terrorist goals to annihilate all of Israel and to do that by pursuing jihad against Jews. That is verbatim from their charter. That's not me opining. And the reason why it's so important for Israel to kill the Hamas leaders, to take down their military capabilities, their governing capabilities, is because they tried to work

with them in the run-up to what happened to October 7th, and clearly that ended up only exposing their vulnerabilities. Now, that said, you have a situation where I've seen, what I've seen from the United States, there are a few things they're pressing that are very unique to this round of violence compared to the last five rounds. And this time, they are pressing for more humanitarian aid, faster humanitarian aid. I know from my friends that they're frustrated with the pace of humanitarian aid, and they are calling for humanitarian pauses.

They've also been asking Egypt and Jordan to take refugees. All of those things are new compared to the last rounds of violence. And the reason I highlight that is because that means that the U.S. does not intend to call for a ceasefire. They intend to continue backing Israel. And they're trying to find creative ways to protect civilians as much as possible. The thing that I wish they would use is their leverage. I mean, we give a lot of aid to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan. These are among the largest recipients of aid.

We have to use that as leverage to push our policies better. So real quick, because we're running out of time here. What would you say are the Biden administration's accomplishments so far? Well, in this, Biden has visited Israel during war time. Israel is one of our major allies. I would not expect however Israel pursues its bombardment, its military strategy in Gaza, I do not expect the Biden administration to change its policy or its support. Israel is a major ally. And I thought it was great that Biden went in person in wartime

Israel to go stand by Israel to stand by his side. I also think it was great how quickly they moved to put military assets in the Mediterranean and in the Red Sea. Already those military assets intercepted missiles coming from Yemen. That's a whole new, that was a surprise to everybody. And I think that that presence helps prevent a multi-front war, which is significant. So some of the accomplishments are you're only going to see because these are things that may not happen, right? Where I really hope is if they can put a humanitarian pause and a humanitarian zone, this would be a major success if they can get refugees into Egypt and Jordan. But we have not seen that yet. Hagar Shumali for us tonight here on Top Story.

We thank you so much for joining us. Back here at home to a shocking moment on a jet blue plane in New York. A passenger's backpack erupting in flames while boarding after a battery or charger exploded inside. The fast-acting flight crew scrambling to extinguish the fire, but it's just the latest in a string of dangerous battery incidents on planes. Here's NBC's Tom Costello. It happened as the JetBlue flight was still boarding. Flight attendants and passengers poured water on Jimmy Levy's backpack after a battery or charge. caught fire.

A giant explosion came, and the ball of fire, which was my backpack, came right towards my face. I was shocked. JetBlue says its crew immediately responded and addressed the situation. It comes as the FAA reports stunning data. So far this year, 60 onboard battery incidents through early October, more than one every week. In March, a Spirit Airlines flight made an emergency landing after a passenger's device caught fire, passengers to area hospitals.

The fire is out and it's in the lab. In February, an emergency landing in San Diego after a battery pack caught fire. The problem, lithium batteries can overheat going into what's called thermal runaway. It's why the FAA doesn't allow batteries in checked luggage. If a fire breaks out on the cargo hold, it's something you can't see because it's beneath the floor. And that could have catastrophic consequences because you have no access to try to try to access to try to put it out. And lithium ion batteries are in everything from phones to tablets, vape pens to laptops, hundreds on every plane. Also leading to home fires with serious injuries.

An important warning as we go on to the busy holiday travel season, many people traveling with lithium ion devices or receiving one as a gift. All right, Tom Costello for us, Tom. Thank you for that. Next to the verdict in the fraud case against one-time crypto billionaire, Sam Bankman. We brought you that breaking news last night. The jury taking just hours to convict on seven counts, CNBC's Kate Rooney was at the courthouse covering the trial since it started. Before he was 30 years old, Sam Bankman Fried was already worth an estimated $26 billion.

He founded and ran the crypto trading exchange, FTX. Its name splashed across a Miami sports arena with celebrities in corporate commercials, politicians in Washington sought his advice, magazines asking if he was the next war on Buffett. Tonight, he is a convicted felon facing a possible lifetime in prison. A jury in his federal case taking just a few hours to convict him on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. Bankman Freed's lawyers indicating they will appeal. My client, Mr. Bankman Freed, maintains his innocence, and we're going to continue to vigorously fight the charges against him. But prosecutors whose case laid out how Bankman Fried used customer money from FTX to cover bad bets at his crypto hedge fund,

buy expensive real estate and make political contributions, called it one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history. The cryptocurrency industry might be new. The players like Sam Bankman-Fried might be new. But this kind of fraud, this kind of corruption, is as old as time. The collapse of FTCS and the downfall of Bankman-Fried now putting renewed focus on Congress's efforts to regulate the crypto sector. They've been unable to do it, and part of the reason for that is because Congress can't even agree on what cryptocurrency. currency is, let alone on how to regulate it. In the week ahead of FTX's bankruptcy, customers rushed to withdraw their money. The company didn't have it.

And soon, there was what amounted to a run on the bank. Jake Thacker says he lost more than $200,000 worth of investments. I feel like it is vindication of a lot of what people and myself went through, right? This wasn't something that we did. This was something that happened to us. All right, Kate Rooney joins us now in studio. So, Kate, you mentioned there in your report, he could face life. in prison. What exactly is the sentencing?

So sentencing, Tom, March 28th. We'll get that. But first, he's got to face another indictment about campaign finance violations. So he spent about $100 million in the midterms. That's been a big conversation around this, is his influence in politics, in crypto lawmaking, but just politics writ large. So he's got to deal with that. But in the meantime, he's going to be MDC in New York, so he'll be in prison until then, until he's sentenced. The other thing, Interesting for someone like Sam Bankman-Fried, this is somebody who very much lived his life online. He was a crypto trader. He played video games. He was very much an online presence. He told me, I met with him when he was on house arrest in Palo Alto. He told me that he would rather be in jail with internet access than be free on house arrest, walking without it.

So this is someone who's so addicted to the computer and to the internet. That is torture for him. It is the worst punishment is him not having internet, let alone facing the rest of his life in prison. but without internet is a big factor here. Yeah, once he is in prison, I wonder if he'll still feel that same way. I want to ask you out, how is this case affecting sort of the larger investment market into crypto, right? Because it's had some ups and downs. A lot of people have made a lot of money off it.

He was the face of this. So was FTX. So is it scaring investors, especially people that are just trying to get into it? It was absolutely a black eye for this industry. It hit the credibility. He was the credible face in the industry. He was someone lawmakers relied on. They were advertising everywhere.

And he was making so much money, everyone thought. And people who were skeptical about crypto that may have gotten in, who were convinced by that, I think we'll never touch it again. We'll say that's just not worth it. It's hit a lot of the offshore exchanges, so people are now going to look towards more regulated onshore U.S. exchanges. In terms of the price, though, interestingly, Bitcoin's up something like $5,000 in the last few weeks or so. There are other big kind of macro factors that we talk about that are affecting prices. and there are the ever optimists in tech, in crypto, that will still keep investing and say, this was an isolated case of fraud, there's promise in the technology, we're still going to keep

going, and they say that Goodridden's out of the way, we can keep going. So they go through sort of these hype cycles. It's very much what you call bear market right now, but you should expect some sort of resurgence. It happens in cycles. Kate Rooney for us, Kate, great having you on. We turned out of power in politics and some surprising moves coming from the president's son, Hunter Biden this week, first writing an op-ed in USA Today, slamming Republicans and conservative media outlets. Writing in part, we'll put it up on the screen here, my recent haircut turned into a wild conspiracy to evade drug tests, tabloids steadily splashing nude pictures of me on their covers, and even a member of Congress displayed revenge porn of me on national

television. Hunter also writing about his struggles as an addict. And then today, NBC News reporting Hunter's legal team asked federal prosecutors to investigate one of his own former business associates for lying to the FBI about a deal Hunter allegedly made while his father was the vice president. We should remind you, Hunter Biden is facing federal gun charges and is still under investigation for alleged tax crimes. For more and all of this, I want to bring in NBC News Justice and Intelligence correspondent Kendallanian, an NBC News senior national politics reporter who breaks a ton of stories for us, Jonathan Allen. Guys, I wanted to have you both on because we cover Hunter Biden. We cover a lot of these stories, and I was really confused by a lot of this. So, Ken, I'm going to start with you. What exactly is he asking from here?

And how strange is this for somebody who's under investigation to then contact the Justice Department and say, launch another investigation? It's not typical, Tom, but it is part of a strategy that Hunter Biden and his lawyers have been carrying out for about the last year being really out front and in the face of the people accusing him. And in this case, his antagonist here is a man named Tony Bobbalinsky, who is one of his chief accusers who has come forward, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, and has said that he was involved in meetings where there was talk about reserving some of the money from some of the business dealings, including the foreign business dealings, for Joe Biden, Hunter Biden's father. In fact, there was one meeting he said he attended in 2017 where there was talk of 10% for the big guy, which he interpreted as meaning that money would be funneled to. to Joe Biden. That's something the Biden family disputes. Now Hunter Biden's lawyers are saying that he lied to the FBI about that meeting. He wasn't actually there. And they would like the Justice Department to investigate that and potentially charge him with lying. My reaction to this is that the FBI is pretty good at figuring out whether people are telling them the truth.

And if people lie to the FBI in an interview and they find out about it, generally they charge that person. Bob Bolinsky has not been charged. So either the FBI completely missed the boat on this or there's more to this story. Jonathan, let's talk about the politics of all this, right? Because I'd say during the campaign in 2020, up until now, Hunter Biden has been trying his best, I believe, to sort of stay out of the limelight, live his life, let his father be president.

And now we're seeing him gold on the offense. And I would say in a major way this week, do we know how this is playing out in sort of on the Biden reelection team? That's such a good way of looking at it, Tom. And this is Hunter Biden going on offense. I think the clear conclusion that anyone who's been watching this would draw is that Hunter Biden is going to be a topic for Republicans from now through the general election a year from now.

And so what you're seeing here is Hunter Biden, like you said, going on offense in a couple of different ways, right? So there's obviously the legal strategy, but that fits really into a public relations strategy too. There is now a talking point for Democrats trying to defend. Hunter Biden, he is accusing his accuser of lying to the FBI, of making up a story of not having been present for a key meeting that implicates, at least, you know, arguably implicates President Joe Biden.

The White House has said Joe Biden did nothing wrong, that he received no money from his son's business dealings with China, and so now there's something for Democrats to kind of push back on. And then, on the other hand, you've also got Hunter Biden connecting himself. to people in this country who have struggled with addiction, who are struggling with addiction, who have family members who are struggling with addiction, and basically making himself the avatar of people who believe

that they may be targeted. He basically says, you know, if they can target me, they can target you, and this will make people not want to seek treatment. Now, that is obviously an effort to make him a more sympathetic character, and the reason to do that is because he is going to be, at least on the political level, The reason to do that is he's going to be in the news for the next year. So absolutely what you're seeing is a move from the back foot defensive to the front foot offensive from Hunter Biden and more broadly from the Biden family. Ken, even if this is all part of a massive PR strategy, right, doesn't this make things even more complicated for President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland?

This is the Justice Department under the Biden administration. You have investigations into current president, former presidents, Hunter Biden, and that's, Now you have Hunter contacting the Justice Department in a very public way. Does this sort of muddy the waters, and could this backfire on Hunter? Yeah, it's an extraordinary situation. It puts a lot of pressure, as you said, on Attorney General Merrick Garland to either investigate these claims or explain why he or the FBI is not investigating these claims, and that's something that Justice Department doesn't like to do.

They don't like to talk about pending investigative matters. Meanwhile, you have Hunter Biden, he's in big trouble. He's facing felony gun charges after a plea deal collapse that would have led to no jail time and a plea to misdemeanors. And there's every reason to believe that he may be charged in California with tax charges on top of it. So he is not only going to be in the news, he's going to be in the courtroom over the next year or so as his father gears up a presidential campaign, unless they can reestablish negotiations and find some kind of way out of this, some kind of plea deal. But, yeah, it's all very complicated for Hunter Biden, which may explain this political and PR strategy of fighting back against his accusers, Tom. Jonathan, is there any talk, and I really don't know the answer to this question, but you may, is there any talk that Hunter Biden, for the better part of a decade, did whatever Hunter Biden wanted to do, regardless if his father was vice president or not? Again, he did have problems with drugs and alcohol. But could this also be a case right now of Hunter going rogue, of Hunter doing whatever he wants?

to both protect himself and his own family and his future and not considering his father's re-election, or do you think this is all connected? I think it's impossible to believe that Hunter Biden's lawyers are not seeking the best outcome for Hunter Biden. That may not necessarily always comport with what Joe Biden sees as his best outcome or his lawyers see as his best outcome. All that said, though, it's also hard to believe that Joe Biden, who has kept Biden close to him for all of these years, who has done absolutely nothing to shun his son,

who has talked openly about how close they are, impossible to believe that Joe Biden is going to distance himself from his son. I think there are people who support Biden who worry that he is too close to his son, that he has sacrificed political capital on behalf of his son. John, just real quick, I'd love to get your sense. Were you surprised by both moves the op-ed and then this letter to the Justice Department? Yes, for the reason you said before, Tom, because Hunter Biden has been trying to stay out of the news, and now he is very much trying to make the news and dictate the narrative. Ken Delaney and Jonathan Allen, I thank you both for joining Top Story on this Friday night.

Great insight. I always do appreciate it. Still ahead. Missing in Guatemala, a California woman, vanishing while on a yoga retreat, why her family tells us they're now funding the search effort themselves and what we're learning about what witnesses may have seen. Plus, shocking video showing us feeding Porsche out of control, flipping off the sun, of the road killing a passenger inside, where authorities believe the driver who somehow survived has now fled to. And a major recall tonight involving a popular baby lounger. What parents need to know, stay with us. Top Story, just getting started.

We're back now with the frantic search for a California woman who went missing while on a yoga retreat in Guatemala. Her family hiring their own private search team as They try to piece together how the 29-year-old disappeared. The pilot leading the search telling us some witnesses have not been forthcoming. NBC's Valerie Castro has the latest. Tonight, the desperate search for Nancy Ing, a California woman who vanished from a yoga retreat in Guatemala. We just really want to find Nancy and bring her home. We want the truth.

We want to understand what happened. The 29-year-old from Monterey Park disappearing near Lake Atitlan, a tourist hotspot popular for retreats and wellness getaways. A place Nancy had visited once before. She had gone on the same Guatemalan yoga retreat last year as well. Same host, mostly the same itinerary as well. But she loved it so much, she wanted to go back again. Just a few days into this trip on October 19th, her father says he received a strange phone call from the retreat center, saying something had happened to Nancy and she was missing. But the details of her disappearance painfully sparse.

We don't really know exactly what happened. The witnesses that were able to see what happened have not been extremely communicative. The Inge family was unable to provide more details about those potential witnesses or what they may have seen on the advice of their attorney. But they tell us the Guatemalan Navy stopped its search after 72 hours, prompting them to hire a private company to scour the volcanic lake from the air using drones and helicopters. Volunteered divers have been searching the water. He searched pretty much 90% of Lake Attidland. Chris Sharp is leading the operation with his helicopter company, frustrated that no one can pinpoint exactly where or how Nancy vanished. I can't confirm she ever went in the water.

There were witnesses who've now returned to the United States who've not been forthcoming. It could potentially be a murder or a homicide. We don't know. The U.S. State Department and the FBI, both telling NBC News, they are in contact with local authorities in Guatemala. The FBI now assisting them with the missing person's investigation. Nancy's sister Nikki, recalling the last time the family was together, just a few days before she left for her trip,

now just wondering if she'll get to see her again. It was like a joint birthday celebration, so we had a family dinner. And we didn't know that that'd be the last time that we'd see her. Nancy was due back in the United States on October 22nd. Her family is now raising money through a GoFundMe to continue to pay for those private search efforts in hopes that she is found and brought home. Tom. All right, we hope they find Nancy. When we come back, a home explosion rocking a New York neighborhood with so many people inside, the blast flattening the house, leaving a smoldering crater of debris, at least 15 people injured.

What we're hearing tonight about the possible cause, that's next. All right, we are back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with the multi-country manhunt for the driver behind a deadly high-speed crash in Washington. Traffic camps capturing the moment a speeding Porsche 9-11 hit a barricade and went airborne, flipping multiple times before crash in a belt. The passenger killed. But police say the driver, you see her here, crossed the border into Canada after she was released from the hospital and flew back to her home country of China.

International Law Enforcement now joining the search. A home explosion in New York sending more than a dozen people to the hospital. The blast, look at this leveling a house just outside of Poughkeeps, you can't even make it out. Officials say 15 people who were inside of the time were hurt. Some of them are in critical condition. The cause is still under investigation, but the local utility company says a contractor struck a gas line while digging. And a consumer alert tonight, Amazon recalling more than 4,000 baby loungers for not meeting safety requirements. Regulators saying the design of the Yucca baby lounger may cause infants to suffocate, fall, or become trapped.

Recall impacts all cloth baby loungers sold after June 23rd, 2022. Consumers are advised to immediately stop using the products and contact Yucca for a refund. Okay, we have an update tonight out of Hawaii. Three months after those devastating fires, all of West Maui, except Lahaina, officially welcoming back tourists. Governor Josh Green championing this push to re-over. but many residents in the area feel it is still too soon. Dana Griffin, who was on the ground in Maui in the days that followed those fires, has this update.

Nearly three months since one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history. The beautiful but embattled beaches of West Maui are officially back open for tourism, except for some of the hardest hit areas of historic Lahaina. But the decision to welcome back visitors a popular tourist destination is being met with some frustration.

I don't know how the governor and the mayor can be deaf and blind to what the people of Lahaina are experiencing right now. Last month, more than 17,000 people signed a petition asking state leaders to delay the reopening, voicing their demands at a Lahaina strong rally outside the Capitol building. We have no schools. We have no daycare. We have no grocery stores just opening up. The hierarchy of needs has been turned on its head. Governor Josh Green ultimately pushing forward with his plan, assuring a slow but necessary return to tourist operations. I respect people who protest. I respect the petition, but also it's my job to give us some certainty. Many business owners eager for tourists to return in order to make

ends meet, with the island losing as much as $11 million a day in revenue and visitors dropping by nearly 58% since the fires. Tourism is obviously very important for us to get the economy going and all that, but there's a fine balance. The drastic drop in tourism was felt almost immediately after the tragedy. At airports, incoming passengers dropped by more than 70% from before the fires. Now, airlines reporting they are already seeing an increase in passengers coming in from the mainland. Maui's reopening coming as 6,808 displaced Maui residents are still living in 36 hotels across the island,

leaving many locals feeling abandoned. If you don't have the opportunity to work through what we've experienced, that takes time. And my concern is that if we're not given that time, that trauma will rear its head in some other form. those who are traveling, the impact of their visit weighing heavily on them. We're just here to support your businesses and your families. And we're only here for, you know, support.

We're not here to, you know, take anything away from what happened. A balancing act for both residents and tourists alike, all on an island, struggling to heal. Dana Griffin, NBC News. All right, coming up next, soccer fans, brawling on the streets of Rio. police using tear gas and rubber bullets to break up clashes between fans of two rival teams, days before the match even starts, how the city is now ramping up secured. Stay with us. Amid the horrors of war, a story of hope.

One small village in the hills between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, a place where Palestinians and Israelis have found common ground and unity. Jay Gray and his team are the only American broadcast media given access to that community And tonight, they take us inside this oasis of peace. Tucked away in the hills of central Israel, about 30 miles or so from Gaza. The sound. A children plane climbs above the echo of explosions in this tiny village known as the Oasis of Peace. We are trying to offer the world how we can do it peacefully without killing each other.

For more than 40 years here, Israelis and Palestinians have lived side by side. As neighbors, as partners, for a dream, for a community, that's based on coexistence and equality and peaceful standards. That dream much more difficult with the nightmare of what's happening in Gaza. It's not easy for both sides. Is it something you talk about? Yes, yes. We have talks. First, Jews with Jews, then Arabs with Arabs, and then both together talking about the situation, how we feel about it, what we expect each other, what we need from. each other.

And one thing, more than any other, keeps these families working for unity. We have to be the bridge between the ugly reality and the future that we wish to our kids. At the community school, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian children sit side by side in classrooms where lessons are taught in both Hebrew and Arabic. They play together during recess, seemingly unfazed by the roar of fire. fighter jets overhead, but fully aware of all that's going on around them. Me and my brother were sitting on a swing. We heard three bombs. Boom, boom, boom. I looked at the swing and it was vibrating. Every day, I'm thinking about this situation. When the rockets are

coming, when the sirens are going off, I'm always thinking about war. A war that challenges the core of this community's mission. This is a hard work, and this is the test for us. Can we pass the hard time, like now I think one of the hardest time, can we pass it as partners? Partners have crisis, but it's okay. But we should know that we want to continue, and we will continue together. Providing a glimmer of peace in a place where it's so hard to find right now. And their message of peace and unity is spreading. 85 percent of the students from the Oasis of Peace School come from outside the village

with hundreds more and a waiting list to get in. Tom? A terrific story, Jay, and one we have not seen yet during this war. We thank you and your team for that. Now, the top story's global watch and the deadly cyclone sweeping across Europe. The powerful storm ripped through Italy's Tuscany region. Look at this.

Overnight, unleashing record-breaking rainfall and deadly flooding. Rescue teams on inflatable rafts paddling through flooded streets and cars nearly underwater. At least 14 people have been killed so far, including six in Italy alone. One person is still missing, but search efforts are ongoing. Russia's military intensifying attacks on the Russian-held Donetsk region of Ukraine.

New video shows Ukrainian officers working to evacuate the last few people still living in the frontline city of Arivika. Ukraine's military says they believe Russia is trying to regroup near the small village before launching even more attacks. And in Brazil, clashes erupting between soccer fans and police, ahead of a major soccer final. Police seem firing tear gas and rubber bullets on the Copacabana beach in Rio

after violence erupted between fans of a Brazilian team and a team from Argentina just days before this big match. At least nine people were arrested. More than 2,000 officers have been deployed into Rio for the game tomorrow. Okay, when we come back, a look at what you can binge watch and listen to this weekend. A new comedy outstarring Aquafina and Sandra O,

plus the story behind the final beach, song made with AI and new music by Olivia Roderigo. Stay with us. And welcome back. It is Friday, so that means it's time for bingeworthy. Our look at the best things to watch and listen to this weekend. I want to bring in NBC New York's digital reporter Kay Angram. She is our bingeworthy co-host for this Friday. Kay, so great to have you. So great to be here, Tom. I'm really excited to get into this. We're excited too. So let's start because there's so much to talk about. It's a new movie on Apple TV. It's jam-packed with big stars. It's science fiction, romance. It's called fingernails.

Here's a clip. I founded this institute to take the risk out of love. No more uncertainty. No more wondering if you've chosen the right partner. No more divorce. We were the first to build the machines to conduct the test to make the bond of love stronger. I really want to work here. A lot of famous people study there. Really? Like who? Spice. She's my favorite. So you're already laughing. I love the actors. I love the music. I love

the idea. Looks like a fun movie. Tell me more about it. It is so good. I mean, the ginger spice comment that took me out. I'm like we all of a Spice Girls moment. But it stars Jesse Buckley and Jeremy Allen White. And the two play a couple who have been together for a long time. It's set in the not so distant future. And the idea is that there's this new invention, this technology that helps couples find out if they actually are each other's one true love. But it turns out that the main character, Anna, she learns that her one true love may not be the person she's actually in love with. So she ends up working at the Love Institute that came up with the invention, falls in love possibly with her coworker, and things get a little messy.

All right, don't tell us anything. No spoiler alerts. I like Apple TV and I like this, so I'm going to definitely check this one out. Our next one up starts. Aquafina and Sandra O. It's called QuizLady. It's a really funny premise. It's on Hulu. Here's a taste of that. Annie, it's finally happened. Oh, my God. It's okay. I'm here. We're open, oh my God. You're working Annie. She's not dead. She ran away. Tough bitch. And yum. Your mom owes me 80 grand. When you have him, you'll get your dog back. I don't have any money. You can sell your eggs. It's not like you're using them. No. There has to be another way. All right. It's called quiz. Quiz Lady, right?

So tell me more about it. Okay, so Quiz Lady stars, Aquafina and Sandra O, like you've never seen Sandra O before. I mean, you could already tell from the trailer, it is an incredible film. It premiered at Toronto Film Festival. Folks were cracking up. And the premise of the movie is that we have two sisters who are essentially going beyond to figure out how they can win back money that their mother has lost from gambling. And we've also all loved a trivia. show, a quiz game. And so one of the sisters played by Aquafina. She is super into trivia shows.

And this one trivia show hosted by Will Ferrell is one that she tries to get on. Oh, Will Ferrell's in this too? He's in it as a trivia host. Okay, great. And this is on Hulu. It's on Hulu. Okay. And so it's great because not only do you get the family aspect, right? Two sisters coming together to help their mom out, but you also get the representation aspect of it as well. So the director spoke a lot about how she's hoping that this film will, you know, push beyond the model, minority aspect of Asian-American representation, which I think is pretty neat. Amazing, and I will watch that one as well. Next up, one of the biggest reality shows on the planet is calling Selling Sunset.

I know you love it. Seven season on Netflix. Let's take a look. Things are moving pretty slow in the market right now. We have to work harder. Buckle up because things are changing. You guys have gotten a little bit complacent. The agents in OC work their asses off.

I just hope that the OC office doesn't end up. subsidizing this new LA office. I'm really trying to figure out this balance of work and social settings. All right, Selling Sunset, there it is. I guess the high interest rates, mortgage payments affecting all of this. No, I have no idea. It's not the only drama. It's not the only drama.

So tell me why you love Selling Sunset so much. Oh, my gosh. Okay, so I feel like if you haven't seen Selling Sunset, the best way to compare it is if you took HGTV meets the Kardashian. meets a telenovela. It's giving lavish real estate drama, and it just constantly keeps you on your toes. And if you have seen it,

you know that you've probably thought about possibly getting a real estate license just because these homes are extravagant. But this season, this new season that's coming out, in it they've got a new twist, a new agent is joining, and so that's going to just add to the drama. It's going to be so good.

And all these people are real estate professionals, clearly. Yes, they are. All right, they are. Okay, Kay, I'm going to take your advice on that one. Next up, we have a documentary It's combining AI and the world's biggest band ever, The Beatles. Let's take a look at this. When we lost John, we knew that it was really over.

I was talking to Yoko, and she said, oh, I think I've got a tape of John. Paul called me up and said he'd like to work on now and then. He put the bass on. I put the drums on. It's the last song that my dad and Paul and George and Ringo will get to make together. How lucky was I to have those men in my life? So I love music, love the Beatles. People who love the Beatles have literally seen everything so far. They've seen every clip, every documentary.

They've listened to every song, except now. So my question to you is, if you are a Beatles fan, will you love this? You absolutely love this. It's a 12-minute documentary on Disney Plus, and not only are you getting behind-the-scenes look of how this song came to be, but you're all. getting the story behind it as well, right? And so I won't give away too much, but it is a demo clip that had John Lennon and his son is involved, Yoko Ono, and so they found this clip, and they were able to use AI technology

to help complete the song that had never been finished. And so I think it's going to be a really fun look at all that went into it if you're a Beatles fan or just a fan of really good music. Lately, I've actually dug deep into George Harrison in his solo career, and so I'm interested I didn't see this because I was just watching him there and seen him again. So nice. Last on our watch list is a movie you can stream right now on Hulu. This one is a

haunting in Venice. It also has an all-star cast. Let's take a look. Detective, you are here to discredit me, but I can't talk to the dead. I'll give all I have to hear my daughter's voice. If someone wants to be heard,

we are here. Listening So, okay, we were seeing some people we saw earlier in the show, but also Kenneth Brana, Tina Faye, Jamie Dornan, who we love from Yellowstone. So how is this? Is this good? It is thrilling, to say the least. It is a film adaptation of Agatha Christie's, Halloween party. So if you're an Agatha Chrissy fan, you're definitely going to love the thrill and the chills. I know we're past Halloween, but for those of you who can't get enough of it, this is going to get. I like to get scared sometimes. It's horrific, but in a great way, in a great way,

because it follows the longtime detective, the Belgian detective, famous, right? Hercule Perot, don't make fun of my French. No, no, no, Perot, you nailed it. Thank you. And, you know, he's been approached by this opera singer who wants to make. contact with his dead daughter. I feel like we need like a blois track behind that. But so we find some thrills. We see some faces, things popping out. You're probably going to be popping out of your chair while watching this. If I get scared, I can call you this weekend. Anytime. Anytime. We listen to a lot of Olivia Rodriguez in our home. She's out with a new song for the Hunger Games franchise new movie. This one's called Catch Me Now. Can't Catch Me Now, I should say. Here's some of that.

Not I'm in the breeze, my footsteps on the ground. You see my face in every place, but you can't catch me now. Through waiting grass, the months will pass, you'll feel it all around. I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere, but you can't catch me now. Not exactly a video, but you can get the sense of the song. You've heard it there. Beautiful ballad. It's a ballad.

Beautiful ballad. Beautiful ballad from Olivia Rodriguez. Because I feel like everything we get from Olivia Rodrigo is always like pop and jumpy and it's fun. And this is a little more chill. This is something different from her. I mean, she taped this or recorded this maybe a couple of days or weeks after she had finished her album guts. Yeah. And so it's interesting to see that difference that you're talking about.

But the movie that's coming out soon from The Hunger Games, November 17th, and this is leading up to it. And folks are really excited to hear this different sound from. Olivia. After I hear this song, can I call you also? Okay, yes. You might need to listen to this after watching that horror film. I feel that I'll put you in a mood. Okay, next up, a song that I can't stop listening to. Drake J. Cole. This one's called First Person Shooter. It is amazing. Let's take a listen. Big is the Super Bowl So thirsty to put me in beef I set in my words and start looking too deep

I look at the tweets and start sucking my teeth Jay Cole, Drake, some great, great bars there Not for kids, clearly not for kids, but it's a great song And how's the album doing? Because I've heard some other tracks off the album's pretty good. The album's doing well, the single is doing well, Drake is doing really well,

having already tied with Michael Jackson And 12 Hot 100 leads. And so... And Jay Cole, first time I think Top 100, right? First time. Wow, which is surprising, because Jay Cole's so great. I thought the same thing. I was like, this is his first time as number one.

That was really shocking. But this is off of Drake's album for all my dogs, which is really neat to see because folks love Jay Cole. We don't hear from him often. But then to hear him with Drake is incredible. First person shooter, this song drew 42.2 million streams. Yeah. And 4.3 million radio airplay audience impressions. Safe to say, people like it.

And also the line, can we talk about it? Yeah. Not the three, and not the two, but the U-N-O. Whoa, that's the one. I also love playing Uno. It just, it really hits you. It really hits you, Tom. They both are at a different level.

No, I love that. You know, we talked about the biggest band in the world, but some people argue the biggest band in the world is BTS. Do not ever come at them or their fans. The K-pop group, of course. Well, one of their artists has a solo album out. Here's that song. Sundar in the fire next to you know it's steeper than the rain.

It's deeper than the pain. When it's steep like DNA, something they can't take away. Hey, tick, tick, tick, tick off. Jung Cook, all right, solo album. If you're into K-pop, I'm not saying it's bad. I'm just not a huge K-popper. Is this a hot album? It's a hot album for a lot of people, even if you're not a part of the VTS Army.

I like the BTS and Coldplay collab a couple years ago. That was great. Fire. So good, right? Being able to cross, you know. Language is everything barriers. All the things. But this one's really exciting because, first of all, again, the BTS Army is super excited about the song.

But it's poppy. You've got the moves. You've got the songs. And then we're seeing, again, you know, members of the BTS group coming out and doing their own thing. And so to see Junkuk, you know, do this is incredible. So it's a great song. Kay, thank you so much. Your first time on Bingeworthy, it was a home run.

You're amazing. Thank you for that. We hope you have an amazing weekend. We thank you so much for watching Top Story all week. I'm Tom Yamas in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.