Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, November 8, 2024

Episode Date: November 9, 2024

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

Tonight, the FBI announcing an Iranian-backed murder-for-hire plot to kill President-elect Trump. Officials taking three men into custody, including one man, with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. What we're learning about their elaborate plan as Trump assembles his new administration, the new reporting on who is under consideration, and the mounting questions over Trump's call with Ukrainian President Zelensky, after he reportedly passed the phone to Elon Musk. Also tonight, Israeli soccer fans targeted and beaten during violent clashes in Amsterdam. The disturbing video of the anti-Semitic attacks, fans chased down and swarmed by rioters. Some sent to the hospital. More than 60 people arrested. Israel sending over commercial planes to bring citizens back home.

We speak with several witnesses about how the terrifying assault unfolded and the safehouse, some are now staying in. Wildfires burning from coast to coast back here at home. In California, more than 100 houses destroyed as flames consume neighborhoods, firefighters taking desperate measures on the front lines, and the inferno spreading across New Jersey tonight, fueled by dry and windy conditions where this situation stands. A new legal twist in the Menendez brothers case, the Los Angeles DA who pushed for their resentencing was just voted out of office,

what a new DA now means for their chances of walking free. A Texas husband accused of killing his wife who, vanished nearly a month ago. The San Antonio mother and prominent realtor went missing after a neighbor said they could hear the couple arguing. What one of the daughters in this case said breaking her silence, what she's accusing her own father of doing. Inside the caravan, migrants rushing to get into the U.S. the southern border crossing it before Trump takes office after the president-elect vowed to carry out large-scale deportations, an up-close look at the caravan as it pushes north. And the 2025 Grammy nominations just announced

Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, and Sabrina Carpenter earning top spots in several coveted categories. Plus, the urgent space heater recall after some units burst into flames. What you need to know. Top story starts right now. And good evening tonight, the Justice Department saying it foiled an Iranian plot to kill President-elect Trump, taking three people in the custody, that shocking announcement coming just two days after Trump won the presidential election. The Department of Justice saying a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps instructed one of the defendants to surveil and come up with a plan to carry out an

assassination on Trump. Three men were charged, including two Americans. The Americans arrested in New York are accused of helping the Iranian government surveil another U.S. citizen originally from Iran. Trump's team releasing the statement saying, quote, like Trump is aware of the attempt that assassination plot by the Iranian terrorist regime, nothing will deter President Trump from returning to the White House and restoring peace around the world. That scheme coming to lie just as Trump continues to build his new administration, still

a number of roles left to be filled. These are some of the candidates in the running for top positions we reported last night that his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, was named White House Chief of Staff, the first woman to ever take on that role. Also tonight, new reporting from Axios detailing a phone call between President. like Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky. During that call, Trump reportedly handed the phone over to Elon Musk. Questions continue to swirl over what role the tech billionaire will play in a second Trump term. We've got a lot to get to this evening. Let's start off with Garrett Hake tonight. President-elect Trump has already survived two assassination attempts, and tonight the FBI is saying it foiled

a third. This one, a plot by Iran, to kill Trump before the election. These individuals allegedly plotted to murder an American citizen on our assault. soil at the direction of a foreign terrorist organization. According to a criminal complaint, Iranian operative Farhadj Shakiri told the FBI the plot was hatched by a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. Shikeri said he was asked by that Iranian official to kill Trump in September. Shikari replied, it would, quote, cost a huge amount of money. Shakiri said the official then said, we have already spent a lot of money, so money's not an

issue, then telling Shikari to provide a plan within seven days to kill Trump, and if not, to wait until after the election, because Iran believed Trump would lose, quote, and afterwards, it would be easier to assassinate him. Two of Shikari's alleged associates were arrested. Photos of their weapons were included in the DOJ complaint, while Shikari is at large, believed to be in Iran. Trump supporters now demanding the president-elect get more security. They are trying to kill right now as we speak, President-elect Trump. They think they can get away with it. And that is what's so disturbing. A Trump spokesperson saying, quote, nothing will deter President Trump from returning to the White House and restoring peace around the

world. It comes as Trump's decisive margin of victory is growing. NBC News projecting that Trump will win Nevada, which means he's won six of the seven battleground states. Only Arizona remains unsettled with Trump in the lead. Trump tonight working out of his Mar-a-Lago home, focused on filling out his new administration, reportedly favoring cabinet candidates who come from Washington and have business experience over members of Congress, according to two sources familiar with the transition process. We're also told that billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Besant is now a leading contender for Treasury Secretary. I'm going to do whatever President Trump asks. Meanwhile, a federal judge granting a request by special counsel Jack Smith for a one-month pause

to decide how to proceed in his case against Trump, which will likely come to an end. And tonight, some Democratic governors announcing they'll resist new Trump policies. Massachusetts when her Mara Healy was asked if her state police would cooperate on mass deportations. No, absolutely not. Every tool in the toolbox has got to be used to protect our citizens, to protect our residents, and protect our states. Okay, Garrett Hake joins us tonight from Washington. Garrett, so many headlines to talk about. Let's go back to that foiled Iranian plot to assassinate the president-elect. So he has these threats from domestic actors,

and now we have this issue with Iran as well. What's the status of a secret service detail? Are they stepping up security measures? At this point, Tom, his detail is essentially as stepped up as it can be. And that's really been the case since after that second assassination attempt. There have been more security measures put in place since then. A lot of them haven't been reported in part because the Secret Service and the Trump campaign don't want to talk about any of it on the record. But they believe, at least the Secret Service does,

that his security right now is on par with the President of the United States. There's very little more that can be done for him at this point. Yeah, and Garrett, also in your piece, you know, you talked about the jockeying, for positions in the cabinet, and that the transition team seemingly favoring non-politicians, possibly, people outside from D.C. What does that mean for people like Senator Tim Scott and Senator Marco Rubio, who are also close to the president-elect? Well, it may mean they're on the outside looking in when this process is over. Tim Scott seems to have made that conclusion himself. He announced just today that he's going to run to be the NRC chairman, the person

essentially in charge of electing Senate Republicans in the next cycle, suggesting he'll be busy being a senator. Marco Rubio seems to still be in the mix for a couple of different positions. It's not as though there will be no lawmakers selected by Trump and his team to serve in the cabinet. But they look back at his first administration and feel like the people who came in from the outside world, like Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, or Ben Carson, stayed longer, were more loyal and ended up being less scandal-prone than the lawmakers they picked without the risk of somebody being replaced by a Democrat in a special election, which they simply cannot afford given how close the margins are going to be in both chambers of Congress.

All right, Garrett, long week for you. No worries. All right, we thank you, Garrett. As the new Trump administration begins to take shape, Democrats' fears are growing about what the President-elect could do to further reshape the Supreme Court. Trump appointed three justices in his first term alone, but in the next four years, he may have the chance to impact the trajectory of that court even more. Gabe Boutierrez has this one. Tonight, in the wake of President-elect Trump's decisive victory, there's growing scrutiny on what it means for the U.S. Supreme Court. Republicans celebrating after Trump picked three

justices during his first term. We could get to appoint another one or two, maybe, but I do watch that very closely. He also worked with Senate Republicans to confirm 234 federal judges. With voters giving control of the Senate back to the GOP, Democrats are now dreading what could be next. What most concerns you about a second Trump term? He said he's going to get to appoint more Supreme Court justices and take a court. that is already out of touch and make it more extreme. Some Democrats are also privately asking whether liberal justice Sonia Sotomayor, who's 70 years old and diabetic, should step down so President Biden could replace her.

Sonia Sotomayor needs to retire right now, a Democratic official working in the Biden administration, told NBC News. She's shown no indication of doing so. Meanwhile, Democrats are analyzing how the Harris campaign raised a billion dollars and still lost. The party itself has increasingly become. become a smarty-pants, suburban college-educated party, and it lends itself to the kind of backlash that we've seen. Late today, vice presidential nominee Tim Walz weighing in. It's hard to understand, while so many of our fellow citizens, people that we have fought so long and hard for wound up choosing the other path. Gabe Gutierrez joins us tonight from the White House. Gabe, I want to go back to that whisper campaign to try to get justice, so to

to retire at some point before Biden leaves office. Is that gaining steam? I mean, she's the first Hispanic to ever be a Supreme Court justice. Is this something the Democrats want to sort of have their fingerprints on? Look, Tom, it's unlikely at this point. I spoke with one lawmaker today who stressed it was entirely her decision. And as we said, she has shown no signs of stepping down. Also, it'd be hard to get anyone confirmed in such a relatively short time frame. And there's a risk no one would be confirmed by the time Republicans take over the Senate. So Right now, this sounds like just chatter at this point, but it does speak to the deepening anxiety among Democrats, especially as they try to avoid a repeat of Trump choosing Ruth Bader Ginsburg's replacement. It's a lot of good point. And as the Democrats do some soul searching now, after this defeat, I know former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is weighing in on Vice President Harris's defeat. And what is she saying tonight, Gabe?

Yeah, former House Speaker Pelosi is telling the New York Times that it would have been better if President Biden had gotten out of the race sooner. So the party could have had an open primary to choose his replacement. And she said President Biden endorsing Harris right away made that impossible. She now says, we live with what happened, perhaps an attempt at washing our hands of the election loss amid all the criticism of party leadership. Tom? All right, Gabe Gutierrez first. Gabe, we thank you for that for more on Trump's possible impact on the court and his transition teams search for his new cabinet. And everything that's going on with the Democratic Party right now.

I want to bring in Julia Manchester, national politics reporter at the Hill and a friend of top story. Julia, always great to see you. First, I want to pick up where Gabe left off there about this news from former speaker Nancy Pelosi, right? It seems like there's a lot of finger pointing right now. And for someone like Pelosi to come out and say Biden should have stepped aside earlier, I mean, shouldn't they've had that conversation earlier and shouldn't they've put the pressure on like they did after the debate? You would think so, Gabe, but they didn't. I think there was definitely this fear to really speak out against President Biden.

He was already in that position. I think a lot of Democrats, you know, going into President Biden's term after the 2020 election, you know, there was this lack of clarity as to whether he would be running for a second term. He later, you know, confirmed he would. But, you know, I certainly think there were a lot of closed-door conversations, but no one really brought it up because there was a fear of repercussions or backlash, really, from the top of the party. But it's really no surprise hearing that from former Speaker Pelosi. We know that she was one of the most vocal voices to get Biden to step down, really working the gears behind the scene there in Congress and getting her allies together to speak out against it at the time.

But, you know, certainly a lot of questions as to whether this could be avoided if Biden only planned on being a one-term president in the first place. You know, this is still all very fresh, but do you think that eventually when they write this story in the history of what happened here? President Biden is going to get the blame for not sort of making the decision that he wasn't capable to run again and he should have stepped aside earlier? You know, it's quite possible. I think right now, you know, there's obviously a lot of, you know, hurt feelings, personal feelings, you know, particularly among president, you know, with President Biden. You can assume that. Look, he had that very public, very disastrous debate performance, you know, and then, of course, had that backlash. And we know that he was. incredibly reluctant to step down, very stubborn. But at the same time, there are some theories out there. There are some Biden people, and those close to the former president, excuse me, saying that, you know, he perhaps could have won if he stayed on the ticket. I don't know if that would necessarily have happened. You think people really believe that, Julia, after the

results, you think people, I mean, the polling was not there ever? And I don't know if Democrats want to accept that or understand that. But I mean, do you think they really believe that if he stayed on the ticket, he would win? Yeah, you know, Tom, I don't, I think it's a lot of wishful thinking, but I got to say, it's a lot of spinning, right? Yeah. It's a lot of spinning, but I got to say, I mean, before, in the days before President Biden stepped down from the ticket, I was writing a story about how the Trump campaign was feeling enthusiastic and starting to spend more money in Virginia, which we know is a blue-leaning state. We know that New Mexico, for example, Minnesota, the Republicans had their eyes on those states. So the map was not looking in favor of Biden. But look, there are different factions of the Democratic Party right now pointing fingers.

and we can expect to see this spin, and this I told you so, really, from all factions of the party. What do you think about this whisper campaign when it comes to Sotomayor? I mean, do you really think Democrats would want their fingerprints on something like that? Is that a real fear? You know, I think it goes back to, in many ways, you know, during when Ruth Bader Ginsburg was on the court, you know, sort of this pressure that we know that former President Obama, you know, could put on her to step down in the case that there could be, you know, essentially what happened where there would be an opportunity to replace her with a conservative justice. Right now, Democrats are very concerned about the way the Senate is looking. Republicans are going to take control, and there's a fear that there could be, you know, if one of these

left-leaning justices were to step down for whatever reason, that would give Donald Trump full authority to replace him or replace that justice with a conservative justice. We've seen how consequential the court has been on a number of issues like the overturning of Roe v. Wade. So the concern is absolutely there. But we'll see what happens. I mean, we've seen, you know, Supreme Court justices stay on the court well into their 70s and 80s even. So, you know, we'll just have to wait and see. Yeah, let's turn over to Trump now in the transition team, right?

A lot of reporting happening. And this is getting flashbacks of 2016 in the first Trump administration, when there would be 10 different stories written every hour, about the Trump administration. It's sort of incredible how much that pace has changed now, and he hasn't even been inaugurated yet. I do want to ask you, do you think any of this stuff is true? We can take a look at some of the people that may or may not be on the short list, right? We never know. There is some reporting that he wants outsiders. There's a lot of people in Congress that have grown very close to the president. We see them here. Who do you think has the best shot? Look, I think Senator Marco Rubio certainly has a very good shot of being

Secretary of State. And looking at that list just in general, one indicator is that all of those people are, most of those people are making the rounds on cable television. We know that this is how former President Trump likes to audition those close to him for these positions or to be on his campaign. We know that during the vice presidential nomination process or his pick choosing process. We saw Rubio, J.D. Vance, obviously, all over the airwaves. So we see all of those contenders on the airwaves. But look, I've been hearing. a lot of chatter about Senator Rubio, North Dakota Governor Doug Bergam for energy, but also Congresswoman Elise Stefanik for United Nations ambassador. I mean, that's pretty notable to me,

given that she has become really a very pro-Israel voice among Republicans and a voice that has spoken out very strongly against anti-Semitism here in the U.S. and around the world. We'll remember roughly a year ago or just under a year ago, there was that hearing with a number of the Ivy league school presidents, and she had that very viral moment, you know, questioning them. So Elise Sophanik definitely wanted to watch for that role. And if not that role, I think we could see her in some sort of more of a house leadership capacity. Julia, Manchester, we want to thank you. We want to thank Gabe Gutierrez and Garrett as well. A lot of great political coverage tonight. We thank you for all that. Turning now to Europe

and what authorities are calling an outburst of anti-Semitic violence on the streets of Amsterdam. This story is so wild. A tax on Israeli soccer. fans after a match last night, leaving dozens of people injured. NBC's Megan Fitzgerald is there tonight for us. Tonight, a violent and hate-fueled attack on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam. The mayor saying it was at the hands of anti-Semitic hit-and-run squads. I got a punch in my face, in my lip. It was organized.

It happened in the hours after a game between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Iax, as fans poured out of the train station in the center of the city, including Edo Gold. We saw a huge crowd, hundreds of people running in towards us shouting, Uden Uden, that means Jews. The Israeli embassy in Washington says this video shows an Israeli fan being ambushed, though it's not been independently verified by NBC News. Dutch officials say people on scooters actively sought out Israelis to attack, punching and kicking them.

That this happened in the Netherlands, and it's a terrible anti-Semitic attack. Tensions had been building here ahead of the game. This video shows Israeli fans chanting death to Arabs. Another shows a Palestinian flag being ripped down. There's a history of heated clashes between passionate soccer fans, but Gold told me he has no doubt what motivated this attack. It's not football, it's not sport, it's not politics, it's because I'm Jew. Prosecutors say 62 were arrested. Up to 30 people were injured, according to the police chief,

with five taken to the hospital. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared the violence to Kristallnok the night 86 years ago tomorrow when mobs attacked Jewish people in Germany. 18-year-old Tavelle Caro is hiding in a safe house with other frightened Israelis. Well, all the Jews in one building like we're in the Holocaust again. later and it still feels the same in Europe. Some fans left on commercial planes sent by Israel. Tonight, they're grateful to be home. Okay, and with that, Megan Fitzgerald joins us tonight from Amsterdam.

Were the authorities there not prepared for this, Megan? Well, Tom, you know, what we usually see at high-profile games, like the one we saw last night, is a police presence around the stadium. And fans tell us that's exactly what they saw. They say that they felt comfortable at the game, and when they left the game, it's when they took the train here to the center of Amsterdam that things started to get violent and dangerous, and they said that police were not around. And then what's next for that Israeli team playing in Europe? Right. So, you know, we're just now hearing from Turkish officials who say that the game that's meant to be with Maccabi Tel Aviv at the end of the month in Turkey is now going to be moved to a move to America. more neutral location. And they say they're trying to prevent any nefarious or dangerous behavior

from taking place at that game. But discussions are still underway as to where exactly that game will be taking place. Tom? Okay, Megan. We thank you for that. Now to the wildfire emergencies here at home amid a prolonged drought, the mountain fire in California burning 20,000 acres and destroying at least 132 homes. The Santa Ana winds dying down, but firefighters now racing to contain the blaze before windy conditions start up. again. Dana Griffith is in Southern California. Tonight in Southern California, the devastation revealed 132 homes and counting have been destroyed dozens more damaged. Santa Ana wins dying down, but the firefight continues. Firefighters using this small reservoir on a nearby ranch to

scoop up the water and carry it to the front line. At the height of the firestorm, fear and uncertainty heard over crew radios. We're going to have numerous fatalities in here if we don't have companies engaged. Damage so vast, a state of emergency declared by California's governor. Overnight, Brandon Francis's family returning to utter devastation. I haven't heard or felt winds that intense before, so I knew something was coming. It smells like fire. This was the scene as the fire approached their Camarillo home. So that's a fire.

There's three around us right now. Evacuating Wednesday with a seven-week-old baby. What are you most grateful for? Should I live my family, just that we got out in time? The family's intimate moments. once shared in this home, now a pile of rubble. Are all of your memories gone? No, they're right here. They're right here and they're up here. You know, these are just things. It's just stuff and what we really want to count on is family. In New Jersey, firefighters working through the

night to stop growing flames that prompted new evacuation orders in Bergen County. In the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, 50 million are under red flag warnings. Back in California, crews are confident they'll knock this fire down as they brace for windy conditions next week that could stoke more flames. Okay, Dana Griffin joins us now live from Camarillo tonight. So Dana, you're there at an avocado nursery that was on fire earlier. How were firefighters doing with this wildfire that seems to be growing out of control? Well, Tom, the good news is those Santa Ana winds have calmed down. And what we're seeing behind us, this was some sort of flare-up slash spotfire. This area had been taken care of yesterday, but then it started going, and for most of the day, we've seen some activity here. We've seen firefighters doing airdrops to try to put as much water to suppress some of the flames.

You can see some of the smoke in the background. Even the owner of this avocado nursery, he went out with his own dozer to try to scoop up some of the mulch. And I can actually hear a helicopter in the distance, Tom. I don't know if you can see it. It's coming our way. These are the helicopters that are dropping waters as we speak. And they've been coming around, you know, just within a matter of minutes, one after the next. We'll see if they drop one, you know, live on air here.

But they are trying their best to try to stop these sort of flare-ups from happening. And so this is what the real-life firefighting scene is like out here. For those who've never seen it, this is how they try to attack it from above because some of these canyness areas are just so hard to really to really tackle here. Okay. We appreciate it for more on the wildfire dangers on both coast. NBC news meteorologist Bill Cairns joins us tonight. So, Bill, walk us through the conditions and what they're like heading into the weekend.

Yeah, first where Dana is located here on Camryo. And you can notice they were about to do that air drop on some hot spots. The winds have been down, so the fire is not spreading rapidly anymore. There's just a lot of hotspots. And we're going to get another Santa Ana Wind event in the middle of next week. So they want to get this mopped up this weekend and cleaned up so we don't have to deal with it, you know, explosively growing again by the time we get to the middle of next week.

good for there. As far as the areas that burn, most of the structures are on this southern portion here, just north of downtown Camarillo. In the mountainous areas, here was the larger area, but not as many structures up here in the hills. So tonight, the winds are lower, humidity's up, firefighters should get a good grip on it. Now to the northeast, numerous brush fires, including that one that was just outside of New York City this morning with smoke blowing into the Bronx. And they were actually dipping water buckets in the Hudson River to put it out. I never heard, never said that before. So tomorrow, all the way, way through southern New England, down through Long Island, including the New York City area.

Read a flag warning again tomorrow, gusty winds, dry conditions, and then things may begin to improve. There are still some high winds out there this evening, but this will come down later on as we go throughout the overnight hour, so that'll be good. Any brush fires that did form they should be able to put out. And here's the best news of all, Tom. We actually, for the first time since the end of September, six weeks ago, have some rain coming through the northeast. This will be Sunday afternoon. This is not a ton of heavy rain, but we'll take whatever we can get about a quarter inch to a half an inch Sunday evening. Yeah, we will take it. It's been dry out there. Okay, Bill, we thank you for that. Still ahead tonight, the husband of a missing Texas woman

charged with her murder. The shocking social media post from one of her daughters accusing her dad of that crime. Plus, the car explosion, look at this rocking a New York City neighborhood. What was left inside that car that led to the blast? And the LA District Attorney voted out of office? Could this mean bad news for the resentencing of the Menendez brothers? Stay with us. Okay, we are back now with the story we've been following out of Texas, a beloved wife and mother vanishing last month after a neighbor saw her get into a fight with her husband. Her daughter alleging in a post on social media that her father killed her mother in a moment of rage. Now, tonight, police have filed a murder charge. NBC's Valerie Castro reports.

More than a month after San Antonio mom Suzanne Simpson vanished, tonight Texas police have charged her husband, Brad Simpson, with her murder. We realize that this doesn't bring closure to Suzanne's family, but we hope it will allow them to enter the next phase of their grieving process with more clarity. The mother of four and local realtor. I'm Suzanne. I've been in real estate for 13 years. Last seen in early October. When a neighbor told investigators they saw her husband of more than 20 years, fighting with her, grabbing her outside the couple's home. This week, their daughter, making a stunning allegation in a social media post obtained by our San Antonio affiliate, writing, My father took my mother's life in a state of rage and control. As my mother's daughter,

I will tell our story over and over again with every breath. I will make sure you remember her name. I just don't understand. I don't understand why it happened. Police first arrested Brad late last month on charges including assault and family violence. They now say they have enough evidence to charge him with murder, though they have not shared specific details, and Suzanne's body has not been found. The search for Suzanne is still ongoing. Brad Simpson's friend and longtime business partner James Cotter is out on bail tonight after he was arrested and charged with evidence tampering. According to police, Cotter allegedly hid an AK-47 belonging to Brad behind a wall two days after his wife disappeared. neither Mr. Simpson or Mr. Cotter's attorneys have responded to NBC News' request for comment.

Suzanne's family tonight making this emotional appeal to her alleged killer to help locate her remains. This is our sincere hope and prayer that Brad will find the compassion and courage to end his family's suffering by cooperating with the authorities to help us find his wife. But until Suzanne's body is found, her family saying the charge has at least started to bring closure. This helps us come to terms with the reality that Suzanne is no longer with us, allowing us to continue the difficult process of grieving and focus on rebuilding our lives for the sake of the children and our extended family. Valerie, Castro, joins us in studio. So Valerie, do we know what new evidence police have that they were able to charge the husband? Right now we don't, and it could be 30 days before we have any more information.

The judge has ordered the arrest affidavits sealed in this case until then, because investigators say it still contains a lot of sensitive information. Remember, they are still looking for Suzanne, presumably her body. In the meantime, her husband, Brad, is being held on a $2 million bond. Okay, Valerie Castro, we thank you for that. Next night to the latest dramatic development in the Menendez Brothers push for freedom. The current DA, who just weeks ago recommended they'd be resentenced, has been voted out of office.

You can see here the incumbent George Gascone defeated easily by the former prosecutor and defense attorney Nathan Hockman. NBC's list Croits on what it could mean for the case and new reporting from Dateline about the case. The Menendez brothers bid for freedom taking another twist as a new Los Angeles district attorney is set to take over for progressive DA George Gascone, who has been supporting Eric and Lyle's request for resentencing. Sources close to Nathan Hockman tell NBC news he's likely to delay the key resentencing. hearing, set for just nine days after he takes office next month. But he's vowed to move quickly. And if I need more time, I'll ask the court for more time. But I won't engage in delay for delay sake. The Menendez's need to know what the answer is. Renewed fascination in the brothers who

say they killed their parents in self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father. And we are never going to be. Fueled by Netflix's dramatic retelling of their story, with some celebrities and sympathetic TikTokers calling for their release. What's the other side that maybe folks aren't hearing right now? They're probably not hearing so much from the people who actually worked on the case. Those people take a much harsher view of this case than social media does than those celebrities do. Now the original prosecutor on the case telling Dateline she's been receiving threats as she questions a new piece of evidence. A letter Eric allegedly sent his cousin stating he fears his father.

I'd love to know when that letter was written. You don't think it was written when they say it was written? No, I don't. I think people fabricate things. Okay, Liz, joins us now live from LA. So, Liz, has the DA-elect Hockman said any more about how he intends to handle this case? Well, Tom, he has not indicated where he stands on it, but he did release a statement where he said that once he gets into office, he is going to review all the facts and evidence. He is going to read both the transcripts from both of the trials.

He's going to go over the confidential prison files. He's going to talk to family members. He's going to talk to the DAs, those who support the resentencing and those who don't. And then he will form his own opinion on this. If he ends up not supporting the resentencing recommendation that the outgoing DA has made, he could then submit filings with reasons explaining why he does not support it to the judge. So while he doesn't have the power to ultimately stop their release, he can make it a lot harder for them, Tom. Yeah, good point.

Okay, Liz, Liz, we appreciate that. For more of Keith Morrison's reporting and interview, you can watch. Watch a special two-hour date line tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on NBC. When we come back inside the caravan, thousands of migrants now headed to the U.S. southern border, what some of them are saying about President-elect Trump and if his election will deter their journey north. Stay with us. We are back now with Top Stories News Feed. We begin with the FBI's investigation into racist text messages targeting black Americans

across more than a dozen states. The anonymous messages use the person's name, and while the text varies, some say the person was, quote, selected for slavery or to report to an address for slavery. The texts were received throughout the week, some targeting middle, high school, and college students. No word yet on who exactly is responsible.

A car explosion rocking one New York City neighborhood. Take a look at this, a home security cam capturing the moment. Wow. An infinity SUV blows apart in Queens. Luckily, no one was in the car at the time and no one was hurt. That's incredible. Five homes and nearby cars were damaged. Officials saying there was a leaking pressurized gas cylinder in the car that caused that explosion.

Pretty crazy. Okay, more than a half million space heaters. Half a million space heaters recalled after seven fires and a burn injury. The Consumer Product Safety Commission saying the Govi Life and Govi Smart Electric Space Heaters can overheat leading to potential fires and burns. the defective heaters were sold on Amazon and TikTok, the commission telling people to stop using the heaters and contact the company for a full refund.

And Tesla once again hitting a $1 trillion market cap after President-elect Trump's victory. Shares growing a whopping 23% since Wednesday. The dramatic shift and fortune for the company also boosting CEO Elon Musk's net worth to around $300 billion. Musk frequently campaigned for Trump and may even be tapped.

for a new role in the administration. Okay, we're going to turn now to the Americas where thousands of migrants are rushing to make it to the U.S. before President-elect Trump is sworn in, promising to conduct mass deportations as soon as he takes office. A caravan making the journey north through Mexico shrinking to half its original size

following news of Trump's win, according to officials. But U.S. border authority still preparing for a possible uptick in crossings. Ellison Barber has the details. Tonight, hundreds of miles south of the border in Mexico, a caravan of migrants chanting we are not criminals, is rushing to make it to the U.S.-Mexico border before the Trump administration is sworn in. Many carrying their belongings in plastic bags and on their backs.

And already starting to voice their fears about not being able to cross into the United States come January. I think it will be much more complicated now, says this man who's traveling from Venezuela. Now we are thinking about finding a way to get through before Trump takes the presidency. DHS officials telling NBC News that they have not yet seen a surge in migrants heading to the United States, but that they want CBP and ICE officials to be prepared. One of the first calls I'm going to make is to Mexico. So you stop letting people come in through our border.

Trump now vowing to deport millions of undocumented migrants, saying his plan has, quote, no price tag. He's also threatening to impose a tariff of 25% on Mexican imports unless Mexico's government curbs what he describes as an onslaught of immigration. Those promises now creating uncertainty and anxiety among migrants. making the taxing journey. This caravan, which set off with nearly 3,000 people on Election Day, has dwindled to just about half of its original size, according to Reuters. This man from Venezuela saying, now that Trump has won, he doesn't know what to do, but returning to Venezuela for him is like being shot in the head. Migrants in Mexican border cities

waiting for legal entry through the CBP-1 program now also worried their plans might be upended. Some, like this woman, are anxious that the appointments they've waited months for under the CBP-1 program could be canceled. On Friday, Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum saying she had a, quote, very friendly phone call with Trump in which they congratulated each other's presidential wins and said there will be time will be time in the future to discuss the border issue. Time that many migrants now fear is running out for them. Okay, Alison, Barbara, joins us now in studio.

So, Alison, going back to that CBP-1 app that you mentioned, this is something the Biden administration set up. Has the Trump administration or the Trump team said anything yet about what they're going to do with that? So it's interesting because they obviously spend so much time talking about their plans as it relates to the U.S.-Mexico border. But in terms of comments about CBP-1 in particular, really. not a lot of detailed comments from Donald Trump himself. However, back in mid-September,

we did find where he mentioned CBP-1 in a post on X and True Social. He said in part this, quote, we will stop all migrant flights, end all illegal entries, terminate the Kamala phone app for smuggling illegals, put in parentheses there, CBP-1 app, and then he went on to list a couple of other things. So he talked about it. And that could be kind of chaotic because people are in the queue already in some situations. Right. People are in the queue. And what he hasn't said, which is what's making so many people panic, he's made this comment saying, would terminate that app but hasn't said when that would happen, hasn't said how, or how it would fit into his broader immigration policies moving forward. And that's part of why so many people

are like, we don't know what's going to happen next, but you said you might get rid of this, even if it was in that one post, it's leading to a lot of additional questions. And I'm sure we'll learn in January as soon as he takes office. Ellison, we thank you for that, and we will be right back. All right, we are back now with this year's Grammy nominees. Here's a look at some of the top artists who made the cut. Heavy hitters like Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Charlie X-E-X, and of course, Beyonce,

she's making Grammy History tonight becoming the most nominated artist ever with 99 total nods. That's incredible. Priscilla Thompson has more. Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. Queen B, rodeoing her way into Grammy history again.

This year's nominees for Album of the Year are Cowboy Carter, Beyonce. Her debut country album, racking up 11 nominations, bringing her career total to 99, making her the most nominated artists ever. Looking to hold Grammys in the night's biggest categories,

Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and the Coveted Album of the Year, which Beyonce, the most awarded artist in the show's history, has never won. and everyone and never won album a year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn't work. This year's category led by a pack of female stars who have dominated the charts. I took the miracle.

Including Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department and Breakout Stars Charlie X, CX, Chapel Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter. Yonsei hoping the Grammys will get in formation and finally put their love for her album on top. Finally, you put my love on top, baby. Priscilla Thompson, NBC News. And we will talk much more about music and top stories.

Bingeworthy up next. Lady Gaga out with a new song and video plus. On our watch list, Yellowstone is back after a two-year high. and we're already talking about Christmas movies. Stay with us. Welcome back. It is Friday, which means it's time for binge-worthy. Our look at the best things to watch and listen to this weekend. I'm joined tonight by Darren Carp, our good friend. She's a pop culture expert and Bravo personality. Darren, thanks so much. Do you want to introduce your friend? I got friends now? That jacket. That jacket needs an introduction. Can you give us the backstory? Tom, I only wore this for you. Yeah. Okay?

The Beatles got nominated for a Grammy, probably going to be their last. So I wore my nice Beatles looking jacket. It looks cool. It is very, very cool. How many times a year can you wear that, though? I feel like people will remember it. I'm never wearing this again on air. This is it.

It's just for you, Tom. It's very cool. And we love the Grammys. We just heard about the Grammys. We've loved the Grammys on Top Story. But no, the Grammys are amazing. We're looking forward to this. Trust me, we are.

All right, so, Darren, let's get started. The first one is a show that I just learned you loved. Yellowstone. That's awesome. But this is interesting. It's going to be the first season. without Kevin Costner. Let's take a look. Our family legacy is this ranch.

When I protected of my life. Old lions die in the jaws of younger lions, and you are the younger lion. This knife where's my blood? This knife, where's my? We were brothers down. So we're getting in this fight? We can figure out who to fight and how to fight them.

Darren, take it away. You've never seen Yellowstone? seen Yellowstone? Oh, no, I have. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was not to, like, open pan on you right now. I'm not caught up on this, but yeah. Okay, so this is going to be the final six episodes. Well, Taylor Sheridan has said that it's going to be the final six episodes, although there have been rumblings that maybe not. They are going to have spin-offs. They've had spin-offs. They've had prequels and sequels all over. They're going to take Beth and I think can spin her off. But final six episodes, not with Kevin Costner, which is why this trailer kind of bothers me,

because you do see Kevin Costner in it, so all the fans were very excited. But it turns out he's not going to be in it for the finale, for the final six. Curious to see how they kind of kill him off, he left being governor. So not really sure how it's going to be. Let's have some shop talk real quick. So where do people find this? Because it's not Paramount Plus, right? It is not Paramount Plus.

It's actually on Paramount Network. First episodes come out out. That's Cable. That's Cable. First episode comes out November 10th at 8 p.m. The reason that you're not going to get it on Paramount Plus, which I think a lot of people are kind of wondering why. My hunch is that before Paramount Plus was actually created, they sold the rights to Peacock,

where we are right now, who has been having the first five seasons on our network right now. So I don't think that they can stream it on Paramount Plus. They didn't even have Paramount Plus in mind before Peacock bought the rights. Does your friend have any comments on Yellowstone or not? Beatles are obsessed. Paul McCurney, favorite show, obviously. That is the last joke I'm going to make. Okay, next up, this one actually looks really interesting.

Just go with us here. Watch the clip. It's called Investigation Alien, and there's a journalist involved, and it's real-ish, I guess. Watch. Last year, the Pentagon debuted Arrow to investigate the UFOs. Arrow has found no evidence. If they would go to such lengths to discredit this topic, it tells us we're going to have to do it ourselves. We need solid evidence, and we need it now.

We've had some pretty dramatic UFO encounters all over the world. Wow. Something weird happened to those bulls. Something happened to those bulls. Obviously. So, okay, give us the whole premise, set it up for us. Okay, so George Knapp, who's been this famous investigative journalist for the past 30 years, has always been really fascinated in aliens and life outside this realm, I guess I'll say.

And so this is actually a six-part investigative docu-series about what he is sort of uncovered. Obviously, we know a lot of alien footage, and I'm using air quotes here, exists. I think UFOs have been in the nomenclature for quite some time. I was saying to you during the break, a little bit that bothers me is that every single footage we have of these UFOs tend to be the grainiest, worst, you know, technology possible. We can never figure it out, which always makes me a little hesitant, but it's fun. Of course there's life out there. Of course there is.

No, it's interesting. Let me ask you a question. If aliens came down and they approached you and they said, we either have to take your close friend Andy Cohen or that jacket, which one are you giving up? Buy Andy? Yeah, buy Andy. What are you talking about? The second is fire.

That's it. I promised the last year. I'm going to ask to borrow the jacket. I'm so jealous. Okay. Up next, this one's called Countdown Tyson v. This is Paul on Netflix. I'm so excited about this fight,

but I do want to give you my thoughts about it afterwards. Let's watch the teaser clip. Mike is the greatest heavyweight of all time, in my opinion. But it's my time. Hard work defines me. I look at myself as a liberator. I created guys like Jake Paul. Being good shape because your health depends on it.

We're going to war, and he's getting knocked out. Okay, so this is not the fight we're talking about here. This is like the lead-up. This is the lead-up. This is the three-part docu-series. The first two episodes are already out on Netflix. The final one is actually coming out on the 12th, Tuesday, leading up to the big fight on the 15th. You know, listen, as someone who isn't a usual boxing fan, I don't really know even a lot of names in boxing. Even I'm kind of excited about this. You know, Mike Tyson is not a spring chicken in the way that he used to be in terms of fighting. He had a health scare a little bit a while ago. Arguably, Logan Paul is at his peak physical shape.

But he's kind of an untested fighter in a way that Mike Tyson. certainly is not. So I'm curious to see how many young... That's some boxing analysis. I love it. Yeah. Here's my two cents on it. One, I think you're 100% right. The big names are going to draw viewers. But here's my concern. Mike Tyson, that health scare he had. This fight had to be rescheduled because of that health scare. He's 50, I think, eight. That's... You need to retrain again. I'm concerned about Mike Tyson getting hurt in this fight.

But I will say this. In the beginning, I think he used the word exhibition. Don't quote me exactly, but essentially saying they're not going to go full speed till the death in this fight, till knockouts. But I am worried about Mike Tyson. I will watch, again, like, super interested. It's a great... And I love, like, these lead-ups. I love the lead-ups into them.

Okay, next one up. This is going to look a little familiar. It's on Peacock. It's called St. Dennis Medical. Here's a look. We have a new floor nurse starting today. Stick! Okay.

Wrong side. Got myself. I feel like I need to go to the hospital. Oh, it's not always glamorous. Like, we're all here for the same reason. and we want to help people. Ma'am, I'm coming. Glassing parking, shallow breathing.

They told me that you're the one that saved my Lori. Oh, your wife. Yes. Thank you. Every now and then a moment comes along where you truly change someone's life. Okay, so walk us through this one. It kind of reminds you of the office a little bit.

Well, it's a mockumentary style. So think about scrubs, but a little bit more mockumentary. I think this will... I think people that miss scrubs will find a little bit of a wink and a nod to that. I mean, it's kind of a funny medical drama. stars Wendy McClendon Covey, who I absolutely adore. She was hilarious and bridesmaids.

I really love her. David Allen Greer stars in this. We get some fun cameos along the way. But yeah, it's about a hospital that's understaffed, overworked, too many patients. Chaos kind of ensues. I think it'll be interesting. Okay. Okay, no, I'll definitely give it a shot.

Looking forward to it. The next one is called Meet Me Next Christmas. It's an interesting premise. Let's run the clip, and then I'm going to give you my two cents after. Okay, let's watch this. When James and I met, it was like magic. And we made a deal. But if we meet next Christmas at the Penitonics concert.

Shut up. Fry a personal concierge service. They can get you anything you can think of. Hey, I'm Teddy. I've worked with almost every ticket broken in the city. Listen, Teddy, my entire romantic future might hinge on this ticket. Okay, so set it up, and then I just want to find a couple cracks in this plot. So Christina Milan is in this.

Okay, so it's Christmas, right? Obviously, we're in Christmas season. it's November, so, you know, the things are a little bit light and airy, but essentially... And we want to love a good Christmas movie. We'll give it a shot. It's a rom-com, you know, she has a relationship that's going on, she meets this very handsome guy at a rendezvous at an airport, and they decide to meet a year later at a pentatonic's concert, yes, a pentatonic concert, the Acapella Group, and she kind of gets into a little bit of a quarrel with her boyfriend, and they break up, so she is trying to find tickets to go to this pentatonics

concert. I can't say this enough. It is the hottest ticket in town to find. So you have to accept that in a world where Taylor Swift and Beyonce and Olivia Rodriguez tickets, it's pentatonic that they can't find tickets to. Don't be hating on them. Okay, I'm not. Yeah, don't be hating. And I wish I could sing Acapella, but why?

They're agreeing. What is the tie in? At first when I saw this. They agreed to it. Are they in the movie? Well, first when I saw this, I was like, this is, like, ridiculous. But they're in the movie. They make a cameo. And I think they're in on the joke.

I think that's sort of the... Also, if someone's pickup line is like, hey, I'm going to take you to the Penitonics concert. That's how you met your wife, Tom. Stop. Please. Stop. Stop. Spoiler alert. So true. Okay, let's talk music. We were talking pentatonics. Yeah. Let's talk about my girl, Remy Wolf. You heard about her first here on bingeworthy. She's blowing up. She actually was on the campaign trail, too. She was doing stuff for the Harris Walls ticket. That didn't work out. But her music is definitely working out. Let's listen. Now, fans of binge-worthy, will tell you

tell me your last one. Now, I'm feeling so in Lugging. Now, fans of Bingeworthy will tell you that the video we saw last time, which I think was for Champagne, was that right? I think that's what it was. That video is really funny, and it's out there.

This one is much different, more produced. It's good. I think Remain Wolf's solo album is incredible, and this is a pretty good addition to it. She was actually writing and working on the song for half of a decade, so she's been working on this song? This song?

five years, teamed up with Zed. And I love it. Great job. You can't believe her, you know, hating on her. She teamed up with Zed, who just really wonders for female vocalists. You know, he's got Marin Morris Middle, which is one of the biggest pop stars of all time, biggest pop songs of all time, paired up with her, showed her his new album. Yeah.

And they reworked it to kind of get this five years later. So it's been a sort of a labor of love. The video is really cool. Very cool video. Very, very well produced. And again, I'm all in on all things, Remi Wolf. Okay. Finally, Lady Gaga, she's got new music.

heard of her, huh? Yeah. Kind of big. Is it pentatonic? Is she in pentatonic? Yeah, she, I don't know. She would actually be good, good addition. This video is actually very cool. Let's watch. totally bizarre. Yeah, I mean, it's maximalist. You know, she... Maximalist. Look at this. What can I say, Tom? Daryngar, you're so good. What can I say? Wait, first of all, what's maximalist? I have no idea. I know what minimalist is, but... Think about everything going to the extreme, that Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga is maximalist. She takes everything... Extreme costumes, extreme storyline. She's fighting her inner demons here. She actually

came out with an Instagram post talking about how this was sort of her inner turmoil. No matter where you are, you know, that phrase, like, kind of no matter where you go, there you are. This is her. She's fighting with her inner demons. No matter where. she goes, if she's on tour, if she's sleeping in bed, if she's on the street, she's fighting them. And obviously came out right before Halloween, which is a great drop. And this is kind of leading up to her seven studio album, which is set to drop in February. So we're going to see. Looking forward to that. Darren Carp, one of the bingeworthy Hall of Famers. You're so good. So great to talk to. I'm glad to you up to. Real quick, plug, what are you up to?

Talk to me about the podcast. What's the latest? Yeah, I'm working on shaking and disturbed right now. We're doing all things Menendez brothers. We're actually going to break down a Netflix stock that talks about who killed John B'nai Ramsey. So hopefully we'll be able to solve that. Netflix is actually just came out with a doc about who killed who was the zodiac killer they solved that as well so we're doing a lot of that stuff and then i get to you know be on e-news and get to go to Miami in a few weeks for bravo fan fest and i'm monitoring a bunch of panels there so enjoy the greatest city in the world all right uh darren so good to see you as always and we thank you obviously always for watching top story all week on such a busy news week i'm tom yamas in new york

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