Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, September 27, 2024

Episode Date: September 28, 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.

We're live tonight inside the disaster zone, the south to the Midwest, reeling from Hurricane Helene's unprecedented wrath. Terrifying images as floodwaters surround a hospital in Tennessee, dozens of patients and staff stranded on the rooftop. Tonight, the officers on that roof tell top story about the rescue effort. The dire warnings as dams threatened to burst their banks. The violent storm killing dozens across several states. Also, tonight, Trail of Discipline, destruction, Haleen leaving behind widespread devastation, entire communities level. Homes and businesses destroyed, neighborhoods completely underwater, trees ripping down power lines and cutting off streets, you'll hear from those who lost it all and why some

can no longer afford to rebuild. Also breaking tonight, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowing to continue attacks in a fiery speech at the UN, even approving a massive assault on Beirut from his New York hotel room. Israel dropping, bombs targeting Hezbollah's headquarters and leveling several buildings. The new video showing children being pulled from the rubble. New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleading not guilty to bribery and fraud charges. The mayor facing a judge for the first time accused of abusing his power, receiving lavish gifts in exchange for favors to Turkish officials.

The stunning fall as Adams, a former police captain, gets fingerprinted and his mugshot taken, how he plans to fight the charges. Also, tonight officials sounding the alarm over a potential defect in the Boeing 737, in their flight controls, the latest setback for the company amid a string of investigations into safety issues. Plus, more from Helene, the urgent efforts underway to restore power to more than 4 million from Florida all the way to Ohio. A special edition of Top Story starts right now. And good evening. Top story coming to you live tonight from Hurricane Ravage, Florida. The monster storm killing dozens of people across several states, destroying entire communities, and plunging millions into darkness. At this hour, Haleen continues to unleash life-threatening floods,

leaving neighborhoods completely underwater. We are in Keaton Beach tonight, close by to where the hurricane made landfall in roughly 80 miles south of Tallahassee. Our drone tonight is live over the ocean-loving community here. You can see the extent. extensive damage. Parts of this community completely wiped off the map. The water, they spend so much time on fishing and boating and enjoying great moments turning violent last night. And this is what's left, and there's not much. Many here with no insurance because the rates have skyrocketed after back to back to back hurricanes. Residents here could no longer afforded. They took a chance, and now another hurricane came at hurricane taking their home, and there's no money to rebuild.

And it's not just Florida getting hit hard, the massive storm unleashing historic rainfall, inundating several states, including Tennessee. A desperate situation in the northeast portion of the state. Take a look at this. An entire hospital overwhelmed with floodwaters, patients, doctors, nurses and staff left stranded on the building's roof. The National Guard sending in choppers and rafts to rescue dozens trapped. We'll speak with those involved in the dangerous rescue effort.

Major flooding also in North Carolina. triggering several rare flash flood emergencies. Waters overwhelming roadways and toppling over cars. Several dams pushed to the brink. Asheville, North Carolina, hit particularly hard. This woman opening her door, look at this, to find a rushing river of floodwaters surrounding her house. The city just announcing a curfew

as they continue to assess the widespread damage there. It's a similar situation in the suburbs of Atlanta. Roads completely cut off by unprecedented rainfall and destructive winds knocking out power to millions across 10 states. Right now, four and a half million remain in the dark. We're told some could be without electricity for days, if not weeks. This once powerful Category 4 hurricane plowed through several communities, the video showing roadways turned into rivers and water bursting through homes,

leaving many completely unlivable. We'll hear from a mother who's been devastated by the storm. Her home left in ruins. First responders working night and day to rescue people by boat and truck at this. hour crews are continuing to work and reach those who need help. The storm is still lingering as it charges further north. NBC New York meteorologist Matt Brickman is standing by with when the storm will officially move out. But back out live here, residents are taking survey of the damage trying to piece together. Where to go from here? Tonight, Haleen no longer a hurricane,

but still taking homes and lives. The massive hurricane that slammed into Florida, overwhelming first responders. Rescues along the East Coast from Florida to South Carolina. In Tennessee, a hospital sending out an SOS when it became surrounded by water. Patients stranded, forced onto the roof, and airlifted out. Helene made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast, but the impact stretching 1,000 miles across 15 states, killing dozens. Overnight, desperate residents posting previews of what daylight would bring. And in clear water, Fire departments battling flash floods and flames, searching for those stranded. Anybody in your house? With that massive hurricane now comes the massive response.

Local, state, and federal resources all allocated towards Florida and the full power, of course, of the U.S. military. Here in Keaton Beach, devastation as far as you can see. What did that house mean to you? For family. All my family came here, and I bought it for my family. We always, we have a lot of memories of it. Yeah, I've been crying all day. Everybody has. It's just been. My wife's been good because she gave me some good advice. Advice about what? Just that it's at God's hands. You can't, you can't take it back. And like the thing about it is that he won't put on more than you can chew.

And I can always rebuild, but I still have my family. I still have everything. And boats tossed onto land and homes completely flattened. He's just sad. Janine McMullen raised her family. family in Keaton Beach. Her house is still standing, but half of it is underwater. I told my oldest grandson this morning that I was pretty sure my house was gone. He said it'd be all right. And then as long as we were all safe and we are. But why do you think people keep building here? Because they love it. When you grow up doing this, that's one reason my husband had the dream of building a house on the Swanee River. That's where his granddad, he taught him to fish. Out there's where him and my son have taught my grandboys to fish. After crushing the

Gulf Coast, Helene moved north. In North Carolina, cars submerged and roads vanished amid extreme flooding not seen in almost a century. NBC News's George Solis is there. Here in Nashville, the flooding is catastrophic. Homes, businesses completely swallowed by a river that was already swollen by days of rain ahead of Helene's arrival. In southern Georgia, Georgia, our Priscilla Thompson talked to a homeowner who narrowly escaped Helene's high winds. What made you get in the hallway? When this first tree crashed on the top of the house. Bill Parmaly lost 15 trees in his yard.

He had just finished repairing his home from the last hurricane. A similar story back in Florida. I didn't realize that we were going to have this much damage, but it's nothing that we can't fix. Paul Millard's business was destroyed for the second time in just 13 months. It really hit me in the heart, to be honest with you. We worked so hard. to bring this building where it is and to see this happen again. Is it worse than you thought that the hurricane, I mean, was a pretty big storm?

Yeah, it was. Right at the last minute, you know, it was like, we were, you know, okay, it's going to be, you know, a storm. You know, we're used to them. But then right at the last minute, you know, I'm like, oh, you know, here we go. This thing's going to be way worse than I thought. It was a pretty wild ride last night, that's for sure. We didn't get a whole lot of sleep. But among all the destruction, a bit of relief, unable to

evacuate the staff of Tampa General Hospital set up a nine-foot aqua fence to protect patients. As the water rushed in, turning the building into an island, the fence held. And for more on that dramatic rescue from the hospital in Tennessee, you just saw in our report there. Joining us now is Adam Copus. He's Unicoy County Emergency Service Director, Reagan Tilson, the Irwin Police Chief, and Tim Bailey, the Irwin City Manager. We thank you all for joining us tonight. Chief Tilsen, I'm going to start with you. We heard about this story. We couldn't believe it. Then we saw the images. Talk to you about that rescue effort and how you were able to rescue all those patients and staff from the rooftop at the hospital.

It was definitely a team effort. We had a lot of support and a lot of help. We needed it. I can't even name all the agencies. And without them, we couldn't have made it happen. I think we had 64 people on the roof. And we were able to get the patients, the staff, and the first responders out with the help of the Tennessee National Guard. And, of course, the Virginia State Police sent two helicopters. And without their support and help, we would have been in more trouble than we were. The water came in so fast because of the dam breaking in North Carolina that we were unable to get the patients out in time, even though we were making that effort.

So everything went well, honestly due to teamwork, and we're very thankful for the help we got. Chief, but I'm looking at this video, right? I'm seeing ambulances that are completely submerged. I'm seeing patients that are intubated on rafts. Talk to me about the moment that this was all happening because it looks like at times it had to be chaotic and you have these kind of raging floodwaters all around the hospital. Well, it was definitely chaotic.

However, it was organized chaos due to the professionalism of the responders that came to help us. We were able to get the patients out with the help of the hospital staff, then evacuate them, and then get the officers out. And we had a lot of resources, and we definitely needed it. And luckily, we were able to get out when we did. It was chaotic. We have lost some equipment, but so far, and I'm very thankful we have not lost any lives. Adam, as we look at these pictures of the flooding and the helicopters over that hospital,

how exactly did the water come in so fast so you have you have a hospital that is that is near the river and we see unprecedented flooding and rain over the last 72 hours and water has to go somewhere and we know that water really shows no mercy and the hospital was in its sights today and then Adam, talk to me about how that sort of SOS 911 call came in. How did you hear that there was an emergency happening at the hospital? So the emergency came in through its normal primary way of we conduct our emergencies here. So once we realize the difficulty of the situation, then we have to begin to bring those resources in and try to make,

affect that rescue as best we possibly can, as safe as we possibly can. Certainly, it's not every day that those calls come in, but this is what we practice for and trained for. And in this case, we've done some preparation for it that this situation might arise. So as the chief said, it was organized chaos, but there was a plan, and we executed it and affected that rescue the way that it should have been done and as safe as we possibly could. Tim, do we know how those patients are doing tonight? We know there were several patients. A lot of them were elderly.

So it is my knowledge that we've not had any negative outcomes from the rescue events today. And that's a big, that's a big plus for us. Unfortunately, in this early of the situation that we're in and the rescue efforts that we're in, we've not really learned much about any patient outcomes yet. Yeah. Adam, when you think about what happened, what took place in your county and your town, how this successful rescue operation unfolded, what do you think? I think it's a once-in-a-lifetime an event.

I don't know that, I don't know if there's any roundtable or tabletop exercises that can prepare you for something like this. I think it comes with trust and teamwork and the ability to affect the rescue safely. And at the end of the day, everyone who responded and everyone who is part of that event hopefully has a great outcome. And that's about all we can say for it. Certainly as the days come and pass, we'll reflect an event. reevaluate our tactics and how we did things and hopefully to improve better into the future. But we've got a lot of work ahead of us. We've got a lot of long days and long nights as this recovery operation and rescue operation

continues. So it's going to be quite some time before we're able to actually look back and see in the rear of your mirror what the big picture was for us. Chief, do we know why or how that the hospital got inundated so quickly that there was no way to get out or evacuate. They had to go to the roof. I do believe what happened was the dam breaking up river in North Carolina. We were over there trying to affect the evacuation. We started that as early as possible. And once the water table rose as fast as it did, we were just trapped. However, the fact that we were trapped with the patients, wherever we get

them to the roof, with the officers, the staff, and The EMS crews, we were able to do that and make that happen very quickly, which made everybody as safe as we could be until we could get some more support. I am not sure that I've ever seen the water rise that quickly, to be honest with you. It was very quick, it was very devastating, and it is a catastrophic flooding event. However, again, with everybody safe, and that is the main thing. Chief, did the patients and or the doctors and nurses thank you. Were they able to tell you anything as this rescue operation was going underway? Well, we worked very closely with them through Unified Command, and yes, they all did.

Multiple people have, and, you know, whether it's the family of the patient, or the staffed themselves, and we were very happy that everybody got out okay. It was kind of dire for a little bit, but everything did work out in. Chief, what's the one lasting image you're going to remember about this event? I'll be honest with you, I don't even know about a lasting image right now. Yeah. All right, well, we thank you for your time. We thank you for telling us about that. And I know a lot of people are thankful for your effort. So thanks for joining Top Story tonight. Yes, sir. Thank you.

Okay, let's go to Georgia and talk more about Helene's impact. there. Priya Shreither is in Atlanta. And Priya, you saw its first ever flash flood emergency today in Atlanta, which is pretty incredible. Talk to us about what you're seeing and what happened there. Yeah, that's right, Tom. Normally here in Atlanta, you hear about flash flood watches or flash flood warnings, not flash flood emergencies. And the result of that, you'll be able to see right behind me here. This is a neighborhood where we've spent most of the day. And as you can see, it's still somewhat submerged. You can actually see on that brick wall of the garage and the house behind me there, just how high that water got. And so it has significantly receded since then.

Now, some of these houses are raised up on stilts. I was told that there was quite a bit of flooding that occurred here back in 2009, about 15 years ago. But this, everyone is telling me, is much more significant than that. It's important to keep in mind, Tom, that it's actually been raining here in Atlanta, or it was raining from Wednesday evening all the way to Friday morning with two back-to-back storm systems. So Atlanta saw the most rainfall it's ever seen in 150 years, and that prompted authorities here to conduct dozens of swift water rescues. We saw a very dramatic video of a woman with her baby being evacuated from her home.

Many residents I spoke to here today said that they decided to leave their house when they found out it was flooding. Others frantically tried to move their furniture upstairs. Still others actually spent hours and hours in the top floor. of their house only coming downstairs and now finally exiting their homes as the water finally was receding and the rain finally stopped Tom. And then Priya, with Helene moving out of Georgia now, what are officials and first responders priorities sort of in this aftermath?

Yeah, as you mentioned, a million people here in Georgia lost their power and that's largely due to those high 50 mile per hour wind gusts that were just toppling trees over on to So that's certainly one of the first priorities. Governor Kemp did say that they have 10,000 linemen from Georgia power on standby, working to restore power to people across the state. But they also warned that it could take some time. The other top priority, Governor Kemp also mobilized around 1,000 Georgia guardsmen. And their main task at this hour is to clean up debris and make sure that all the main thoroughfares are cleared

so that emergency responders can take people, you know, if they have emergencies to the hospital. to the hospital and people can essentially move around the city and across the state, Tom. All right, Priya Shreither for us. Priya, we thank you for that. Thank you for covering everything there in Atlanta as this developing story continues. We want to turn now, as we mentioned, Hurricane Helene, now a tropical depression, but millions remain under flood warnings and also just seeing where the weather goes from here. Tornado watches as well, affecting others across the country. WNBC meteorologist Matt Brickman joins us now live. Matt, walk us through where Haleen is at this moment and what exactly it is.

Right. So right now, Tom, Haleen is a post-tropical cyclone. It's about 50 miles south and southeast of Louisville, Kentucky. And you can see the rain shield here extending through the Ohio Valley across Indiana, back into southern Illinois as well. The storm is going to basically park itself over Kentucky over the next couple of days and bring periods of heavy rain into the weekend. So catastrophic flooding ongoing right now in a western North Carolina, parts of Virginia. But out west of there, you've got flash flood watches through parts of Kentucky and into Tennessee as well. Seven million folks impacted by ongoing flood concerns here through the weekend. For tonight, the worst of that is going to be

centered right around Roanoke, Virginia, but you can see how far west this extends all the way down to Memphis for those flood concerns through the night tonight. Now, as we get into the weekend, you'll see that area of low pressure not really moving a whole lot. That means heavy rain is going to be allowed to fall through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys. We've got that flash flooding risk and a few gusty winds mixing in there as well. As we get into the back end of the weekend, that rain shifts to the northeast. You're going to see things cool down as that rain continues to fall. Breezy conditions there up around Cincinnati, you've got some heavy rain,

and then scattering closer to the D.C. area as well. Rain totals here somewhere in that rain. one to three-inch range. You can see the worst of that is going to be spreaded just to the southwest of Lexington in the Kentucky area, and then some lighter totals to the north and east. Now, this was a relatively quiet start to the hurricane season in the Atlantic, but we have ramped things up recently, not just with Helene, but with Hurricane Isaac, tropical storm Joyce. Thankfully, both of those storms not expected to make impacts to the United States. However, we are watching this area with a 30% chance of development,

over the next seven days that could be moving back into the Gulf. So we'll be watching that throughout the next week, Tom, a slow starts of the season, but certainly we have seen the power of just one storm, what that can do across the country with Helene. Back to you. Yeah, Matt, you know, I wanted to ask you about that, because what sort of has impressed me and surprised me is that you had a hurricane formed category four, but now it's affected 15 states over 1,000 miles.

I mean, can you think of another storm system? and I'm sure you can, but that has sort of been surprising because as violent as hurricanes are, it almost seems like Colleen refuses to go away. That's the thing. The speed of the storm as it made landfall drove the huge storm surge that we saw. But now that it's overland and it's not moving much, you've got those compounding flood concerns because the storm just isn't moving and it's bringing continued rain over the same area tonight, tomorrow, and into the weekend. All right, Matt Brickman for us, Matt. We appreciate that. We thank you for joining Top Story tonight.

We also want to turn out to some of the communities who felt Helene's wrath. First, I want to bring in Marissa Parra. She's live for us tonight in St. Petersburg, Florida. You may remember some of her reporting from last night at the top of the broadcast there. This is just outside the Tampa Bay area. So, Marissa, so much of that catastrophic flooding we saw last night was happening in your area where you are now. I've been hearing from friends who live in that area who say they were caught off guard about the extent. extent of the storm surge. What are you seen in hearing? Well, Tom, I can tell you that I'm hearing also the same. A lot of people, including a lot of people who were rescued overnight, which of course I'm sure we're going to talk about in just a moment, but a lot of people were caught by surprise. I can tell you, though, being on the

ground here, watching all of the news conferences, the press conferences, all of the messaging. The messaging has been clear, especially from Pinellas County, where we are right now, which incorporates Clearwater, incorporates St. Petersburg. The messaging has been so clear. from the sheriff that they expected record levels of storm surge. And I think the question is, if people did not heed the evacuation orders, perhaps it was either because maybe the message somehow still did not reach them or they didn't believe it. And we're hearing a little mixture of both. And I can tell you right now, people on this street where we are, St. Petersburg, is very prone to flooding. So I think people knew that there would be some flooding. They experienced

flooding during Hurricane Adalia. We actually walked around one of the neighbor's homes. It's just across the street, but I just want to point out, you can probably see a little faint water line behind me. The water got up to here. They had flooding from Hurricane Adalia, but everyone here did not think it would be as bad as it was, Tom. And I think, you know, we've heard this messaging over the last 24 hours, rapid intensification. This is something that we all need to be so aware of because, you and I are both Floridians. We have seen this before. People who don't necessarily take it seriously when they hear it's a cat one coming, their way. But with climate change, it can be very quick that all of a sudden the cat

one becomes a very dangerous category four, which is of course exactly what we saw here, Tom. You know, Marissa, before you go, something that stood out to me was what the sheriff in Hillsbury County said today after the storm passed. And as active rescues were going on, tell our viewers about what happened there. Right. So I think the messaging that we've heard across the board, across agencies, because again, the damage, the scope of this, and we're just talking about Florida alone. We've heard this is across states, but in Florida alone, it is up and down the west coast, Tom. But yes, Hillsborough County deeply impacted. We actually had a chance to go on a ride along with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. I don't know if you can see

video, but we took to the streets. We were there with the team that was doing rescues throughout the night. They didn't get any sleep. Just this team alone did about 20 rescues overnight, including of a 97-year-old woman who needed medical attention and she was able to get it because they were able to rescue her and they carried her and then got her to the hospital. But I want to take you to what we heard

from the sheriff's office and I'll explain more on the other side. This was the worst storm that I've seen in 33 years. Sometimes all of us stand here and we ask you to heed the warning and we feel like we're crying wolf because the storm surge doesn't come. The wind and the rain doesn't matriculate.

The storm surge came this storm, and it caused a lot of havoc for a lot of individuals. You heard him. The worst storm he has seen in over 30 years, Tom. And I want to point something out. As the cleanup is beginning here in St. Petersburg, there are islands on the coast, the Gulf of Mexico, barrier islands, that there is still no access. In fact, they're shutting off the water. They're trying to get people off of those islands.

And this is still a very precarious situation, so we're going to try to make our way there tomorrow. So look out for our reporting there. But again, there are people in the island that have not been able to make their way off yet, Tom. All right, Marissa Parra. Excellent reporting over the last 48 hours. Joining us now is Laura Bradford, her home in Clearwater Beach, near where Marissa is, was flooded and destroyed by Hurricane Helene. Laura, her husband who works for the city of Clearwater, Fire, Ocean Rescue Division, and their two young children evacuated prior to the storm to remain safe while their entire home was filled with four feet of water. Laura, first, thanks for joining us.

You're in your car because you just left your home. That's what I'm being told by our producers. First, how are you doing tonight? I'm sorry for what you're having to go through. And what did you see when you got to your home? Yeah, thank you for that. Definitely tired. We're doing the best we can under the circumstances.

You know, we're grateful our families at the end of the day that's what matters most. and the devastation comes after that. I have some friends that live in St. Petersburg, and they were telling me how surprised they were, that they knew the storm surge was coming. They knew this hurricane was big, but they got way more water than they have ever experienced before. Was that a similar situation with you?

It was, and I think for us, we're a family that always evacuates. We never chance it. If there's even a mandatory evacuation or recommended evacuation, we're gone. It's just not anything that we play with. So during Adelia, our home, unfortunately, took on a few inches of water as well. That storm surge came in around four feet. And so this next storm, they were saying it's going to be five to eight. We installed floodgates.

We felt like we had done what we could to mitigate that compared what we had gotten with Adelia, but in the end, this surpassed completely what we had gotten that storm, and it was definitely shocking. You know, you have children, and you know that a home is much more than a house, and I know today's probably a tough day. Have you been able to speak to your kids, and what's going through your head right now? Yeah, so my kids evacuated with me, so I was with them this morning. We have family with them now, which we're so grateful for. Luckily, they don't know anything different.

When we left the beach, it was on an adventure to see family. It wasn't anything about the storm. We kind of shielded them from that. And that's how we'll treat it moving forward. I mean, that's all about them and keeping them safe and that's what we do. What's next for you? And how long have you gotten any kind of idea? How long till you can get back to your house?

have power, things like that? I think there was power on the beach, but unfortunately there were some issues last night I heard with power surges, a few homes caught on fire, unfortunately, so I think the people who are down there right now are playing it very safe and they're keeping their power off just to prevent any type of issues. Timeline, we're hoping to get full access back to the beach tomorrow. I mean, that's definitely going to help us all be able to go in and, really, you know, rolling up our sleeves and working together and figuring out how we move

forward from here. So we look forward to getting access soon. And I imagine it's going to be a really long recovery for many of us. Laura, these storms always tend to teach us something, right? We always remember something about each of these hurricanes. What do you think the storm taught you and your family, at least? Definitely to never let our guard down. I think it can be easy, you know, this is probably the fifth year in a row that we've evacuated for a storm. And I wouldn't say that we're always one of the few, but I'm always very vocal about it. That safety comes first and any inconveniences from evacuating come second.

But it can be easy year after year as nothing happens or the storm shifts to let your guard down. And I think this is just a good reminder that, you know, it's worth the inconvenience of keeping your family safe and getting out when they say to. Okay, Laura Bradford, we thank you so much for joining us on such a difficult day, and we hope the best for you and your family and that you can rebuild and move back into that house or a house that is perfect for you and your family. Yes, thank you. And you can follow the latest on Hurricane Helene on NBCNews.com, but now I want to send it back to New York. and my colleague Valerie Castro in our top story studios who is following the day's other top headlines, including a major scandal involving New York City's mayor. Valerie, good evening. Good evening, Tom, and thank you. Still ahead tonight, New York City Mayor Eric Adams in court.

The mayor pleading not guilty to federal bribery and corruption charges. Adams denying he received free plane tickets and luxury hotel stays in exchange for favors to Turkish officials, what we're learning tonight. And the controversy swirling around supermodel Naomi Campbell, why she's being barred from serving as a charity trustee. Plus remembering beloved actress Maggie Smith, the acting legend known for her roles in Downton Abbey and Harry Potter, the tributes pouring in. Stay with us.

We're back now with Vice President Kamala Harris's trip to the U.S. southern border. Her arrival tonight, marking her first visit since entering the presidential race, coming just 38 days from Election Day. Our Gabe Gutierrez is there in Arizona with more. Tonight, Vice President Harris landing in Arizona for her first trip to the southern border in three years, but also facing new criticism from former President Trump after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director sent a letter to lawmakers, revealing more than 13,000 migrants previously convicted of homicide are currently free inside the U.S.

And I've been saying this from the beginning. of the Harris-Biden disaster. What they've done to our country with this is inexcusable. A source familiar with the data tells NBC News many entered the country prior to the Biden administration and that ICE lacks resources to find them. All of it, after Trump earlier today met with Ukrainian President Zelensky. Great honor to have you with this. Thank you very much.

Thank you some awesome. Trump calling it a great meeting. I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President. Putin. I think that we can work out something that's good for both sides. Meanwhile, here in rural Cochise County, Arizona, a senior campaign official says Harris will propose tighter asylum restrictions than President Biden. There's been a record 10 million illegal border crossings since Harris and President Biden took office. We do have a broken immigration system, and it needs to be fixed. Still, crossings have dropped dramatically in recent

months and Harris is slamming Trump for killing a bipartisan border bill earlier this year. How frustrating was that for you? Absolutely frustrating. Harris supporter and former sheriff's deputy, Donya Acosta, voted for Trump in 2016, but now says he's relying on fear. That's really sad that people are being used as pawns for political reasons. This has been in your family for more than 100 years. 128. The rancher John Ladd says.

says the Biden-Harris administration should never have ended Trump's restrictive border policies. And Trump had it figured out? Ladd took us to a border fence constructed during the Trump administration, showing us where smugglers have cut it repeatedly. He's skeptical of Harris's promise to secure the border. That's baloney. That's an absolute lie. She doesn't care about the border. While Harris trails Trump on immigration, she's polling better on the issue than President Biden. and her campaign believes that a trip like this to a swing state like Arizona could be crucial. Valerie?

All right, Gabe, thank you. Back here in New York and the stunning developments with Mayor Eric Adams arraigned today on corruption and bribery charges pleading not guilty in federal court. It comes as legal scrutiny grows over two more allies of the mayor, including one of his closest advisors. NBC's Chief Justice contributor Jonathan Deans has details. Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Mayor Adams walked in.

to federal court this morning giving a thumbs up. The mayor then surrendered to the feds where he was fingerprinted and photographed, like any other criminal defendant. In court, he was asked, how did he plead to the five counts? The mayor said, I am not guilty, Your Honor. The arraignment lasted less than 20 minutes. Then he was released on his own recognizance, but not before Judge Catherine Parker ordered him not to discuss the case with any witnesses. After the hearing... Eric, I love you! The mayor let his lawyer. lawyer do the talking. We'll be filing a motion to dismiss. We expect these charges to be

dismissed. This case isn't even a real case. This is the airline upgrade corruption case. Adams's lawyer referring to charges the mayor got free and discounted business class seats for trips across the globe. The FBI says Adams also got free hotel suites in all more than $120,000 in free trips over the last decade. Prosecutors say those trips were bribes paid for by Turkey. In exchange, prosecutors say Mayor Adams agreed to help Turkey. One example is the Democratic nominee for mayor. Adams allegedly pressed the fire department to sign off on the opening of a new Turkish consulate building, even though it had failed a safety inspection. Turkey's foreign ministry said it was out of the question for Turkey to interfere in the internal

affairs of any country. Adams is also accused of engaging in a straw donor scheme. The Fed say he illegally accepted foreign money into his 2021 campaign for mayor and lied about it. Prosecutors say as a result, up to $10 million in city matching funds to his campaign were obtained improperly. Adam's lawyer again disputed that allegation. The entire body of evidence is one staffer, one staffer that says there was a conversation. What you have not learned is that that staffer has lied. This, as the corruption investigations into and around city hall ongoing. Today, another top Adams advisor, Ingrid Lewis Martin, had her phone seized at the airport

and her home searched by federal and local investigators. Her lawyer, Arthur Ida, said she will cooperate fully with any and all investigations, and Ms. Lewis is not the target of any case of which we are aware. And in another search, the city's Department of Investigation went to the sheriff's Long Island City office. to learn how that office handled cash seized from illegal smoke shops. The sheriff Anthony Miranda, an ally of the mayor, did not comment. Jonathan Deans joins us now here on set.

Jonathan, so where does this case go next? Well, there are numerous investigations ongoing into allegations of corruption in and around city hall. You have the Manhattan DA's office. You have the city's Department of Investigation. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, the FBI, the IRS, It is widespread, so we're going to be seeing developments ongoing for weeks to come.

Next question. When can we see Adams in court again? He's doing court on Wednesday. His lawyer says they're going to try to file a motion to dismiss some, if not all of the charges. They say it's a weak case. Prosecutors expected to present additional evidence to show why they feel this case should move forward regarding alleged corruption involving the mayor. All right, Jonathan, thank you. When we come back, the new massive strike on Beirut, Israel carrying out targeted attacks on the head of Hezbollah, the bombs leveling entire buildings as Prime Minister Netanyahu vows to continue the assault on the militant group. Back now with the Declaration of War in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing continued retaliation as Israel says it struck Hezbollah's main headquarters in Beirut.

It comes as Israel's new offensive has killed nearly 700 people across Lebanon just this week. Our Richard Engel has more. The Israeli air strikes were so powerful, they shook all of Beirut. An Israeli official tells NBC News the target was the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, in a headquarters underground. Hezbollah quickly said the attack was a failure. Iran, which backs Hezbollah, said Nasrallah is safe, but neither offered any proof. I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran.

If you strike us, we will strike you." The strike came just one hour after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a fiery speech at the UN promised an open war on Hezbollah, which has been attacking northern Israel with rockets and drones since the Hamas massacre on October 7. As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that's exactly what we're doing. Israel has recently dealt a series of heavy blows to Hezbovah,

booby-trapping its communications, killing senior commanders, and bombing suspected weapon sites. I visited one earlier today. Hezbollah says this was a motorcycle repair factory and a fuel storage location. It was directly hit by two Israeli airstrikes, have completely destroyed the area. You can still smell the burning fuel. It is still smoking. And scenes like this are spreading now all across Lebanon as Israeli airstrikes in the south and in the east and in Beirut are intensifying.

Nasrullah's death would be a major setback for Hezbollah, decapitating the group, which is a sworn enemy of Israel and the United States, and which has many rivals inside Lebanon. Israeli officials say it's too early to tell if Nasrallah was killed. And late tonight, Israel has begun a new round of airstrikes here in Beirut. Valerie? Richard, thank you. And while the fighting intensifies between Israel and Hezbollah, there are Israeli families who live near the northern border who have been displaced since the attacks on October 7th.

But they are divided on the escalation with Hezbollah and if it will make a difference. Arraf Sanchez spoke with some of those families. With Israel's bombing campaign across Lebanon escalating by the hour, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today offering the world his central justification for the assaults. In the last year, completely unprovoked, a day after Hamas massacre on October 7th, Hasbala began attacks against Israel, which forced more than 60,000 Israelis on our northern border to leave their homes. We're becoming refugees in their own land. We won't rest until our citizens can return safely to their homes.

This rocket hit a residential street in the northern town of Kiryat Bialik. We visited the area as crews work to repair the damage. Israel has one of the world's most advanced air defense systems, but it hasn't been able to stop everything, and this is one of the sites where a Hezbollah rocket came crashing through. As IDF troops massed for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon, Some residents of northern Israel say they're glad their government is finally taking action against Hezbollah.

For the past 11 months, it just felt like we've been abandoned. And now, well, personally, I'm happy that the government has started to do something in Lebanon. But others doubt it will restore safety to their homes. I don't believe my enemy. I don't believe my government. And I must protect my family. Yossi Malka's eldest son, Matan, was a paratrooper, killed fighting against Hamas on October 7th. A budding tennis star remembered in trophies, photographs, and the ink on his father's arm.

He volunteered the parachute, and he was a great warrior. On October 8th, Hezbollah's rocket fire began. Before he even knew Matan was dead, Yosi was forced to evacuate his wife and three younger children from their home. Did you ever imagine you'd still be out of your home a year of year later? No. No, we didn't imagine it. Do you think this operation will get you back into your home? My family? In the end of the day, I don't think so. How come? It's hard to say, but kind of, don't have confidence in the politician. Do you think maybe you won't go back home?

We lost our boy. That's it. I can't lose anything else anymore. In January, we visited the village of Henita, nestled on the border with Lebanon. Our guide was Erez Hadar, head of Hanita's security squad. We followed him into an abandoned house and up the stairs to a top floor devastated by a Hezbollah mortar. This week, we check back in with Erez.

Do you think this operation will mean you can go home safely? I want to believe, and I can get the answer, only it will end. So right now, it's too early for you to say. Yeah. The White House is pushing a 21-day ceasefire, but that gives Erez little confidence. If there's a deal and the shooting stops, is that enough? No, because we don't believe anything that Hezbollah said. Another Israeli ghost town.

Unclear when or if, life will return. And authorities in Lebanon say half a million of their civilians have now been displaced by the fighting, a number that surged in recent days as Israel has stepped up its attacks. Valerie? All right, Raf, thank you for that report. Coming up the new urgent warning over Boeing 737 planes,

the potential defect involving a key component to steer the aircraft but we're learning about the possible malfunction. Back now with Top Stories news feeds, starting with the urgent warning for some Boeing 737s, an NTSB report finding critical flight controls on some 737 NG and 737 max jets could jam and fail. The FAA says United Airlines is the only U.S. airline that was still using the part but has since stopped. The 737 Max was behind two fatal crashes overseas that left more than 340 people dead. An update tonight on the explosion that rocked a California courthouse earlier this week.

Authorities say the 20-year-old suspect was about to be arraigned on an illegal gun charge when he set off the blast in the Santa Maria Court. He reportedly tossed a bag that detonated near the screening station injuring five people and shutting down nearby buildings. Officials are still investigating if he is all. also behind a string of recent ars. British supermodel Naomi Campbell is barred from being a charity trustee in England and Wales for five years over alleged financial misconduct.

The UK's Charity Commission set a three-year investigation into Campbell's Fashion for Relief Charity found thousands of dollars of charity funds were used to pay for things like Campbell's stay in a luxury hotel, spa treatments, and even cigarettes. In a response to the Associated Press, Campbell says she was extremely. concerned about the findings and is ordering her own investigation. Next tonight, remembering legendary actress Dame Maggie Smith, the two-time Oscar winner, who was most recently known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, died today at a London hospital, according to her family.

Megan Fitzgerald takes a look back at her incredible career and legacy. When I call your name, you will come forth. I shall place the sorting hat on your head. Maggie Smith, one of the world's most revered actors, a star on stage, screen, and film. Smith burst on to the scene in the 1950s, winning her first Academy Award for her dramatic role in the prime of Miss Jean Brody in 1970. I am a teacher, first, last, always. Her comedic role as an Academy Award loser.

I need another drink. The last one wore off in the lift. Won her another Oscar. I just really can't believe it. We're ready for you now. Follow me. Smith was arguably most known for two roles later in her career. Mr. Weasley. Professor Minerva McGonagall at the Magical School, Hogwarts, in the Harry Potter movies.

That was bloody, brilliant. And as the Dowger, the Countess of Grantham and Downton Abbey. What is the weekend? My age, one was ration, one's excitement. Smith, mother to two sons, was gracious and humble around fame, with countless awards and recognition over more than six decades. But perhaps the most meaningful of all, Damehood, an honor given to her by the late Queen Elizabeth. Dame Maggie Smith, at 89 years old, remembered by legions of fans. Megan Fitzgerald, NBC News, London.

When we come back, SNL at 50, the iconic sketch. show celebrating five decades on the air. We take a look back at some of the show's most iconic moments and the legendary comedians behind them. Plus what's in store for season 50. Live from New York, that's next. Finally tonight, a special anniversary here at 30 Rock, specifically upstairs at Studio 8H. This weekend, the 50th season of Saturday Night Live begins. It's been half a century since the sketch comedy show debuted on NBC, giving us iconic laugh-out-loud moments and launching the careers of countless comedians. NBC's Joe Friar looks back at the legendary show's history.

Little did anyone know when John Belushi and Company kicked off the first sketch in 1975. Live from New York. Saturday Night Live would still be around 50 years later. The not ready for primetime players have given us memorable characters. Hello, I'm Baba Wawa. both real and imagine. Well, isn't that special? With fearless comedians

who never needed a stunt double. Here's you, here's Matt, there's you there. How do you sum up S&L's impact on culture? They weren't going to pander to the audience. They were going to produce material that they thought was cool. I don't have a mean bone in my body. No one spared from their slapstick skewering, strategy, certainly not politicians.

I can see Russia from my house. With moments that generate laughs and court controversy. Like when Shnade O'Connor ripped up a picture of the Pope. At times, the show was criticized for a lack of diversity. But it remains a launching pad for A-list stars. Ego Wodom hopes to follow in their footsteps, as she starts her seventh season. To be a part of SNL, what does that mean to you?

I'm going to meet more of my comedy heroes. Just like the character, Sally O'Malley. After half a century, SNL's still kicking. Joe Fryer, NBC News, New York. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Valerie Castro in for Tom Yamis. Stay right there. More news on the way.