Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, December 4, 2023

Episode Date: December 5, 2023

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

Tonight, Israel expanding its war inside Gaza, now saying it has troops in every corner of the Gaza Strip. Explosions rocking southern Gaza as the IDF pushes a new offensive against Hamas. But hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have nowhere else to run after they fled their homes and headed south under orders from Israel. The pleas from the Biden administration to Israel to limit civilian casualties. Also tonight, an update on those premature babies. evacuated from Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, our team on the ground in Cairo when one mother was reunited with a child she never thought she'd see again. And the grim search now for the rest of those baby's parents. Here at home, widespread condemnation after pro-Palestinian protesters

gathered outside of a falafel restaurant in Philadelphia owned by a well-known Israeli chef. The group's chant accusing the business of supporting genocide? The state's governor and even the White House calling the rally an act of anti-Semitism, the concern ahead on Hanukkah that Jewish Americans are being targeted for Israel's war. Cuba's American spy, a former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, accused of working as a secret agent for Cuba for decades. Federal prosecutors alleging he helped cue the Cuba gather intelligence against the U.S. while working as a diplomat and even called the U.S. quote, the enemy, the sting operation that led to his arrest. Deadly shark attacks, an American woman killed by a shark while on vacation in the Bahamas.

The woman paddleboarding near a popular resort before she was mauled. And in Mexico, a woman pulled from the water without her leg. The investigation if a shark was also behind this attack. Threatening Miss Universe, Nicaragua taking home the crown at the International Beauty Pageant for the first time. But now the country's leader is accusing the winner of attempting a coup. We'll explain why. Plus, the deathbed confession, a man admitting to his daughter that he was an infamous bank robber who had been on the run for 50 years, just weeks before his death. His daughter joins Top Story Tonight with what it's been like to learn about her father's criminal past.

And a driver in Missouri leading police on a chase while pulling a 70-foot mobile home. The door of the trailer blown open as it drove across a median and over road signs, how the dangerous scene came to an end. Top story. Starts right now. And good evening. A war between Israel and Hamas is about to enter its third month. And now Israel's military has launched a new offensive in southern Gaza. New video released by the IDF shows Israeli soldiers firing into what they say are homes and buildings being used by Hamas.

An aerial campaign turning them into rubble, as you see here. Israel says Hamas is. hiding out among civilians in southern Gaza right now. But also crammed in that area, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. You see them here who fled fighting in northern Gaza at the direction of Israel. Many in refugee camps, the largest city in the south, communis may become the new front lines of this war. And today, a total blackout there, a near-total communication outage also reported across the Gaza Strip once again. With hopes of another troops dwindling, Israelis, including former hostages,

now asking, what will happen to the dozens of hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza, including women and children? Many expressing outrage with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But one image of hope emerging from this horrible war, a Palestinian mother reunited with her newborn baby in Egypt after the premature baby was evacuated from Al-Shefa hospital. We'll have their story in just a few moments, but we begin with Richard Engel, again from Jerusalem. Israel today dramatically expanded its ground offensive against Hamas, saying its forces are now in every area of the Gaza Strip. And as troops pushed deeper, Israel ordered tens of thousands of Ghazans to move even further south.

With almost no fuel left, Palestinians fled the city of Han Yunus on bicycles and horse and donkey carts loaded with blankets, mattresses, and wood to burn. They are pushing us from one place. to the next, and each one is worse than the last, says this man. Israel is now attacking Hamas in the south. In the very place it had ordered Palestinians to go for safety. A new phase of this war is starting, and there are mobilizations all across Israel. The chief of staff of the Israeli military says the operations in southern Gaza will be just

as intense, just as powerful as what northern Gaza has seen so far. These girls are from the Shmir family. Doctors say 10 members of the family were injured and five killed when Israel bombed their home today. The Biden administration has urged Israel to be more precise. Today, praising more targeted evacuations. But a U.S. military official told NBC News he was taken aback by the ferocity of Israel's expanding campaign. The United States urged publicly repeatedly Israel to do more to avoid civilian casualties. Do you think, are you listening to that? Have you taken that on board?

Absolutely. We're very attentive to the administration, and from a military to military perspective, we are constantly engaging with our American counterparts. There is no fairy godmother that will make Hamas disappear. Across Israel, the war against Hamas is broadly popular as the only response after Hamas massacred more than 1,200 people and took some 240 hostages. But Prime Minister Netanyahu's approval ratings are plummeting. Over the weekend, some Israelis gathered to demand he resign. As the United States continues to blame Hamas for breaking last week's ceasefire by refusing to turn over all of the women hostages it's holding. And today, calling for investigations into reports that Hamas used rape as a weapon of war. One of the reasons they don't want to turn women over that they've been holding hostage and the reason this pause fell apart is they don't want those women to be able to talk about what happened to them during their time in custody. And with that, Richard joins us tonight from Jerusalem.

Richard, with this increase of a ground offensive by Israel against Hamas, even in southern Gaza, what are the latest on the talks of another possible hostage negotiation? Is that even still on the table? Of course, it's still on the table. It is infinitely more difficult, but perhaps because it is so difficult, because the situation is so dangerous, there is an incentive on both sides to try to resolve it, to try to reach agreement. When things look the most hopeless, that is when you often look for hope and look for opportunities to change the dynamics. Officially, no, both sides are refusing any compromise.

Israel says that it won't stop its ground offensive until Hamas releases more hostages, and Hamas says that it won't free any more hostages until the ground offensive is over. So if you'd listen to do exactly what they're saying, we'll never get out of this. Both sides are losing a great deal. Israel is losing some of its reputation. It's losing credibility. It's under enormous amount of pressure, and it's been criticized by the U.S. Defense Secretary, and Hamas is, well, actually losing ground right now.

So when things look their most bleak, perhaps there is the most opportunity to make a breakthrough. But so far, we haven't seen it. And Richard, can you explain more about this map dividing Gaza into a grid or sections, if you and Israel notifying civilians in Gaza of what areas more safe and where they should move to. And I ask this, as I know parts of Gaza right now, there's a blackout because of the bombing and because there's no Wi-Fi electricity. And I think that makes this map even more problematic. The map was complicated yesterday when it was first introduced.

Gazans don't understand it. People in Gaza were deeply critical of it. even though the Biden administration appears to be praising Israel for releasing this map as a possible way of notifying people in Gaza to get out of harm's way. The way that this map has been presented is it is a map of the Gaza Strip with Gaza broken up like a chessboard. And there's many, many boxes, small quadrants that Gaza has been broken into. And instead of simply telling people, as Israel did at the beginning of the conflict, move from the south, move from the north to the south, or move from the center further south. The idea is that it can be more precise by saying evacuate quadrant 1B or quadrant 2C and go to another area. But you need a QR code to access it.

If you can see the map and you've downloaded, Gazans don't understand where these quadrants are. It's not something that Gazans are familiar with dealing with. I've been to Gaza many times. It is a place where there are barely any street names. People just know the geography by having, because they've lived there so long. So it's an artificial overlay, and the people of Gaza aren't using it. So even though Israel's presenting this as a way to potentially save lives, at this stage, it doesn't seem to be working partly because,

It's culturally strange, partly because Gazans don't believe it. They don't trust it. And because, especially now, with a blackout, they can't access it. Richard Engel, with the ongoing situation there in Israel and Gaza. Now to the frightening moments in the Red Sea this weekend, a U.S. warship coming to the aid of commercial vessels under fire from hooty militants. American officials now accusing Iran of backing the attack amid the looming threat of a broader conflict in the region. Courtney Kubi reports tonight from the Pentagon. Tonight, the White House pointing the blame squarely at Iran after an hours-long drama

at sea Sunday that saw a U.S. military warship rushed to aid three commercial vessels under fire. That gun, the weapons here are being supplied by Iran. And Iran, we believe, is the ultimate party responsible for this. It began around 9.15 a.m. Sunday when a ballistic missile landed near a commercial ship in the Red Sea. At noon, the USS Karni, a Navy destroyer, intercepted the first of three drones fired towards commercial ships and the Karni itself.

Ballistic missiles later hitting all three of the cargo ships, one after another. None of the ships suffered major damage or casualties. Responding to each distress call, the Karni found itself directly in the path of Houthi attack drones. The Pentagon says there are no indications the drones were targeting the Karni but still shot them down. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have targeted Israeli-owned ships in the Red Sea before. We do not believe that all three of the ships had ties to Israel, and it goes to show you

the level of recklessness that the Houthis are operating on. In October, the Karni shot down cruise missiles and drones the Pentagon says were fired by Houthis towards Israel. Since then, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, the U.S. Navy, shooting them down. And all of this comes. as Iranian-backed militias continue to attack U.S. military bases in the Mideast despite U.S. retaliatory strikes. We spoke to the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today. Is this evidence that the war in Israel and Gaza has really boiled over into a larger regional

conflict? It could be. And so that's one of the things that we want to track closely. All right. Courtney Kuby joins us tonight from the Pentagon. So, Courtney, we've asked this question since the war started, right? Are these proxy wars going to get the U.S. involved into something with Iran? And they kind of keep saying we're watching, we're monitoring it. Are we at the point now where they're starting to really get concerned about this?

Yes, and I will say they have been very concerned about this since the date, since October 7th, that same day. People in this Pentagon started talking about concerns that this could spread into a wider regional conflict. But what's been fascinating to watch is how some of these proxy groups that are carrying out these attacks, how they have evolved since that time. Now, during the ceasefire, some of the groups, the ones in Iraq and Syria specifically like Katai He did not carry out attacks against bases during that ceasefire. They have restarted now. But the Houthis did. They continued to carry out these attacks. And the question is, why? Are they not as directed by Iran as others? Or are they potentially just more opportunists here?

And they're trying to take advantage of the fact that while they're on the world stage right now, they're getting attention for their cause in Yemen. It's not clear what that is. Now, what is clear, though, Tom, is we continue to ask the question about Iran's role here. Despite the fact that we have heard that they are enabling groups like the Houthis and arming, training, equipping them, we still don't have any indication that Iran is directing these attacks. And officials here continue to say they do not believe Iran wants a wider conflict here, Tom. Courtney Kubey for us tonight from the Pentagon.

Courtney, we appreciate your reporting. With tension still boiling between Israel and Palestinian supporters amid the war in Gaza here in the U.S., protests are now expanding to involve everyday businesses. This past week in demonstrators chanting. outside an Israeli restaurant in Philadelphia, accusing it of supporting genocide in Gaza. The White House condemning the protests and calling them anti-Semitic. Stephanie Gossk has more of that story. At Goldie Falafel Shop in Philadelphia, a lunchtime rush.

Little sign of the scene Sunday night where police say four to 500 protesters gathered. We charge you in genocide. They accused the restaurant, co-owned by Israeli chefs. Michael Salamanov of supporting genocide in Gaza. Today, the White House called the protest anti-Semitic. Pennsylvania's governor said it echoed 1930s Germany. The purposeful gathering of a mob outside of a restaurant simply because it is owned by a Jewish person, well, that's anti-Semitism, plain and simple. Salamanoff has multiple restaurants in the area, specializing in Israeli food. He was born in Israel, but grew.

up in Pittsburgh. So far, the award-winning chef hasn't commented publicly. A pro-Palestinian group that appears to have organized last night's protest called for a boycott of Goldies and other Jewish-owned restaurants after the Israel-Hamas war began. The group did not respond to NBC News's request for comment. If you're protesting policies in Israel, it's one thing. It's another thing when you're sitting here chanting things like, we charge you with genocide. For some, lining up today for falafel was a kind of counter protest. People can have a lot of opinions about what's going on with the war in Gaza. I think it's a lot of things. It's tragic. It's complicated. What it isn't is an excuse to treat people badly.

The protest here was part of a larger demonstration. There was some vandalism, but police say no arrests. Tom. All right, Stephanie, Goss for us. Stephanie, thank you. We want to turn now to some other breaking news we're following tonight. dealing that gold bars featured in battle Senator Bob Menendez's bribery case are linked to a 2013 robbery. Jonathan Deans was the first to break this exclusive story. Here it is. This was the scene of the crime, an Edgewater, New Jersey penthouse, November 2013. 22 gold bars stolen from this man, millionaire developer Fred Davies. At gunpoint, Davies was tied to a chair by a gang of four. They stole 176, items in all, including a half million in cash, and those gold bars. The suspects were caught

that night. Davies later seen in court watching the robbers plead guilty. To get his valuables back, Davies had to certify each item was his, including every one of those gold bars. Each gold bar has its own serial number, Davies explained to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. They're all stamped. You'll never see two stamped the same way. A decade, later four of those gold bars with those unique serial numbers were allegedly found by the FBI in the Clifton home of Senator Menendez and his wife Nadine. Together are worth approximately $150,000. U.S. Attorney Damien Williams showed images of some of the gold bars, he said, were part of hundreds of thousands in bribes paid to the senator and his wife by Davies

and two other New Jersey businessmen. The bank stamps and serial numbers, on those gold bars playing for the world to see. News 4 has now obtained police stolen property logs from the Davey's armed robbery case a decade ago. It was on December 13, 2013, that Davey's signature and initials appear on the property release form. And four of the gold bars, Davey certified as stolen and then returned to him, appear to be an exact match to images of four gold bars included in the bribery indictment. this spells bad news for Senator Menendez because the chain of custody, it appears, is going to be really easy to prove up. NBC legal analyst Danny Savellos says showing gold bars were given to Robert and Nadine Menendez alone does not prove the crime of bribery. Was there a quid pro quo?

Was it in exchange for the senator's official acts or promises of the same? The FBI says the quid pro quo between Senator Menendez and Davies went like this. In exchange, for cash and gold bars, Senator Menendez would try to use his position to help Daeby's get favorable treatment from the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office, which in 2018 was investigating Daubes for bank fraud. Senator Menendez has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. The allegations leveled against me are just that. Allegations. The New Jersey Democrat denies he took cash from Davies, even though prosecutors say testing shows Deby's fingerprints and DNA were on tens of thousands in cash found in the senator's home. For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my

personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba. One asked about the gold bars, their serial numbers and the apparent direct ties to Davies, a lawyer for Menendez said, the senator will not be commenting on anonymous media leaks designed to prejudice his right to a fair trial. He looks forward to addressing the government's claims in court based on a complete record of the evidence. All right, NBC's Jonathan Deans joins us now live in studio. So Jonathan, you were just telling me that even though prosecutors had said the gold bars belong to that New Jersey businessman, your reporting shows the first time this has actually been linked in the public.

correct? And the linkage are the serial numbers, the fact that in a police report from a decade ago, apparently directly links those gold bars to Fred Dabies, who's accused of giving bribes to the senator. The FBI then says it went into the senator's house, pulled those bars out, and they put up in the indictment, and during the press conferences, images of those gold bars, and the serial numbers are exactly the same. It appears to show that those bars, in fact, came from. Mr. Davies. Mr. Menendez, as you may recall at his press conference, when the charges were first dropped, said he's been saving money and stashing away cash and resources because he was always afraid, as you heard in the soundbite in the piece, that he might somehow lose his

money at some point. This perhaps raises questions about how did he really get those gold bars. Very big questions. All right, Jonathan Deans, with another big exclusive for us tonight. Jonathan, thank you. Tom. All right, now we want to turn to the severe weather because we're watching out west nine million people across the Pacific Northwest remain under flood alerts as the combination of an atmospheric river and snow melt could lead to flash flooding even avalanches. For more on this, I want to bring in today's show co-anchor and friend of top story Al Roker. Al, thanks so much for joining us. Walk us through what we're expecting out west. All right, so here's the deal, Tom.

When we have been seeing these atmospheric rivers at a pretty quick clip from the fall right on into this winter. So we've got what we're calling a pineapple express coming out of Hawaii and making a beeline into the Pacific Northwest, bringing heavy rain, and it's going to continue. As you mentioned, 9 million people from Bellingham all the way to Brookings, back to Spokane, under flash flood watches, and some flash flood warnings. And the problem with this is it's bringing all this moisture, so this is warm moisture along the coast. It is going to be dumping a ton of rain. As it pushes in, this atmospheric river brings more rain into the Pacific Northwest.

And because it's so warm and wet, it's enhancing the risk of the risk of the water. of avalanches, flooding, and mudslides. Then we move on into Wednesday. Rain will continue from Washington to California. Gusty winds, 45-mile-per-hour winds, and snow with the highest peaks. So we're going to look for anywhere from 8 to 11 inches of rain in some of the upper elevations of the Olympics, three to six inches of rain or more along the coast. The Cascades will see six to nine inches.

And as you get above 9,000 feet, we are talking about snowfall levels anywhere from six. to 18 inches of snow as you get to Sun Valley, Jackson, Crater Lake, as well. So, and this is just going to keep going, Tom. We're going to see another parade of systems as we go on into the midweek and latter part of the week for the Pacific Northwest. Tom? Okay, Al Roga for us, Al, we thank you for that. We have more developing news tonight.

A former high-level U.S. diplomat arrested and accused of working as a Cuban agent for decades. Victor Manuel Rocha, the former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, breaking down in tears as he appeared in a Miami federal courtroom this afternoon accused of working on behalf of the Cuban government. For more on this, let's get right to Guadvanegas in Miami. Guad, and this criminal complaint, prosecutors lay out an elaborate sting operation, right? They used to unmask Rocha as a Cuban agent, deployed an undercover agent that pretended to be working for Cuba as well. What was that undercover agent able to find out? Tom, that legal complaint says the FBI found out that he was working as a spy in 2022, and they

an undercover agent who met with Rocha. Now, these documents detailed that conversation, and the details, Tom, are fascinating. In the conversation, they say that Rocha referred to Fidel Castro as commandante, the word commonly used in the communist countries for the commander. He referred to his contacts in the Cuban government as comrades or Companeros, a word that, again, is used by members of the Cuban government. And then he also said at one point that his work was more than a grand slam.

what he had done for Cuba while he worked as an employee of the State Department for the United States, working all across Latin America. So, you know, it's believed that he would have had a lot of information while he worked in different countries, Tom. Yeah, so people are going to be asking, okay, Gwad, he was an ambassador to Bolivia, right? That was his last major post, I believe. But he was also on the NSA at some point. So he had access to all types of diplomatic cables, was he sort of gathered. that information and then passing along to the Cubans.

So, Tom, he also advised the U.S. Southern Command. The Southern Command is based out of Miami, and they are responsible for all of Latin America. And, of course, the Caribbean being an advisor for them, of course, he would have seen classified information that could have been shared. You look at his resume, Tom. He worked starting in the 80s in the Dominican Republic. He was in Honduras, in Mexico. And the time when he was in Bolivia is something that investigators are going to be looking

into because he was ambassador to Bolivia right around 2000, 2001, 2002. That's when Evo Morales was becoming popular right before he won the presidency. And Evo Morales, many people say, was one of Fidel Castro's protégés. Fidel Castro always supported Evo Morales, who was a socialist president. Now, at the time, when Evo Morales gained that popularity, Rocha was in Bolivia. So a lot to look into. We still don't have the specific details of what information he shared, and that's what we're expecting to learn as this legal process continues. Quad, before you go, we know you're outside the courthouse now. What was court like today, and what is Rocha and or is lawyers saying?

So it was a very quick hearing about 15 to 16 minutes. The judge shared one detail we didn't know is that the prosecutor shared a video with a judge. We believe this is the video of the meeting that he could have had with the FBI agent. And that video was not shared with Rocha or his attorney. So the judge did ask the prosecutors to share the video with Rocha as they move forward. We also know that tomorrow prosecutors are expected to file new charges. These could have more details as to what information could have been shared. And the next hearing would be on Wednesday. That is a bond hearing. The prosecutors want him to remain under custody as the legal process continues, but that'll be for the judge to decide, Tom. Guad vanegas with an incredible

report out of Miami tonight, Guad, we thank you for that. Still ahead, a deadly shark attack in the Bahamas, an American tourist killed while paddleboarding with her family, the popular resort where she was staying. Plus, a fatal stabbing out of Macy's in Philadelphia packed with holiday shoppers. What the shoplifting suspect did just minutes before targeting two security guards and threatening Miss Universe, a pageant queen from Nicaragua, taking home the crown for the first time, why the president of her own country is now accusing her of taking part in a coup? Top story. Just getting started on this Monday night. We're back now with that deadly shark attack in the Bahamas.

An American tourist killed while paddleboarding near the Sandals Resort in Nassau. Her death coming just hours after her mother was killed in Mexico after authorities say a shark bit her in the leg while she was playing with her five-year-old. NBC Stephen Romo has more. Tonight, tragedy in paradise, an American tourist killed by a shark while on vacation in the Bahamas. The female, along with a male relative, for a paddle boarding just at the wear of a resort. The Bahamas Royal Police say the woman who was visiting from Boston and is believed to be in her 40s was paddleboarding about three quarters of a mile from the shoreline of the popular Sandals Resort in Nassau when she was attacked just after 11 a.m.

CPR was administered to the victim. However, she suffered serious injuries to the right side of her body. including the right hip region and also her right upper men. Police say they race to get the woman by boat and perform CPR as she was brought to shore, but the victim, who has not yet been identified, could not be saved. In a statement to NBC News, Sandals Resorts saying, quote, we are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of a guest while on a paddleboarding activity nearly a mile from the shore. We wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the guest families and loved ones.

The shocking attack coming just hours after this horrific scene on the beach of Malake on Mexico's Pacific coast. Video showing a woman pulled from the water, her leg apparently severed. A local official telling the Associated Press, the 26-year-old was bitten in the leg by a shark while swimming with her child near a floating play platform like this. The child unharmed. But officials say the woman died of blood loss from the bite wound. Now, red flag warnings up and down the coast, officers warning people to stay out of the water, a beachside community barren in the wake of tragedy. Stephen Rombo joins us in studio now.

Stephen, you know, I'm sure the Bahamas, which sort of tourism is are bread and butter, right, are concerned about this. What are they saying about this sort of very public shark attack? Yeah, we talked to the program director for the shark attack file, the University of Florida, saying that when you have this many different species of sharks thrown together with that many tourists, that are there right now. It explains why it can be such a dicey situation. In the past decade, there have been three deadly shark attacks in the Bahamas. And with this happening right now, you can imagine just how fearful people are. Yeah, definitely. Stephen Rommel for us. Stephen, thank you for that. Okay, we turn out to the Americas, where the director of the Miss Nicaragua beauty pageant is facing conspiracy charges by police over an alleged, quote,

Beauty Queen coup. This coming just days after Nicaragua took home the crown and the Miss Universe pageant, the charges coming after photos resurfaced, allegedly showing the beauty queen protesting the country's leader years ago. Mora Barrett explains. The new Miss Universe. Tonight, an historic beauty pageant win, now overshadowed by her home country's claims of conspiracy and treason. Nicaragua! 23-year-old Chinese Palacios from Nicaragua was crowned Miss Universe, the first in her country to win the title.

Her tears of excitement matched by those back home. As Nicaraguans took to the streets to cheer her on. The country's leader, Daniel Ortega, joining the celebrations, calling to win a moment of, quote, legitimate joy and pride. But the exuberant mood quickly shifted after photos seemingly showing Palacios at 2018 protests against the dictator surfaced online. In 2018, those protests turned violent as the government tried to silence claims of Ortega's repressive rule. Human rights officials say 355 people were reported killed by government forces. Over the years, Ortega insists the protests were an attempted coup with foreign backing. Now, Nicaraguan police accusing the contest's local director Karen Siliberti and her family

of rigging contest so anti-government winners would be elevated at pageants. The police criminally charging her and writing in a statement over the weekend that Siliberti promoted innocence in a conspiracy that has worked to go. convert the contests in political traps and ambushes financed by foreign agents. Adding that there is proof in phone records, Celebrity has not responded to NBC's request for comment, and Palacios has remained silent since her win. Since 2018, Ortega hardened his approach against anyone questioning his authority, arresting and expelling opponents, targeting religious leaders and the press, and stripping others

of their citizenship. Thousands have fled in exile. Nicaraguans are largely forbidden to protest or carry the national flag in marches. But many took advantage of the Miss Universe win to take to the streets with the traditional blue and white flag, rather than Ortega's black and red flag. Ortega hasn't directly responded, but of the celebrations, his wife and vice president wrote in a statement, let them stop manipulating the well-deserved triumphs of a pretty girl to hide their insignificance and inability. Yikes. Okay, Maura Barrett joins us now from our Chicago Bureau.

So, Mara, we know that national police have targeted the National Beauty Pagent Director, as we saw in your report there. But have they said anything about charging Miss Universe with similar crimes? Well, Tom, Palacios has been in the U.S. actually since her win in the pageant in neighboring El Salvador. And as of now, in Nicaragua, she's not facing any charges for crimes. Now, this all unfolded largely over the weekend, but as of tonight, Palacios nor the Miss Universe organization has yet to make any comment. All right, Mara Barrett with that story for us tonight. Mora, we thank you for that. When we come back, House on the Run.

New dash cam footage capturing a police chase with a driver towing a mobile home. How police finally stopped the driver after multiple attempts. All right, we are back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with the deadly stabbing at a Macy's in Philadelphia during the holiday rush. Police said the suspect tried to steal hats from the Macy's, and when he was caught by security, the suspect was escorted out of the store, but returned a few minutes later, stabbing one of the guards in the neck and another in the face and arm. One of the guards died from his injuries. The other is expected to survive. The suspect has been arrested. Police in Missouri finding themselves chasing a house. New dash cam video from police shows them near Kansas City.

officers trying to pull over a speeding truck that was hauling a 70-foot mobile home, that driver running over road signs and dragging the house on the ground, trying to get away after a few failed attempts police eventually managing to get in front of the driver and arresting him. Luckily, no one was hurt. And BMW recalling more SUVs as part of that larger Takata airbag recall. This recall covering nearly 500 X-3s, X-4s and X-5s, investigators say an airbag inflator exploded in October, leaving a large piece of metal in the driver's lung, along with other shrapnel. The inflators manufactured by Takata, already part of several recalls, as you may remember, worldwide and linked to more than two dozen deaths. Okay, we want to turn out

to development in the Ozempic craze. New studies show that the type 2 diabetes drug and its weight loss counterpart, Wagovi, may curb alcohol cravings in some users. This raising new questions about the drug's ability to stop compulsive or even addictive behaviors. For more insight, I want to bring in NBC News medical analyst, Dr. Vin Gupta, who joins us now live in studio. Dr. Gupta, thanks so much for being here. So we're hearing all these stories about OZempec. It can actually help with people trying to sort of battle their alcoholic addictions.

Well, Tom, this is early data, but it's compelling on a proof of concept that these medications, semaglutide is the active ingredient in Wachovie in Ozempic, that what they're really doing is they're reducing dopamine surges, what drives us to want to eat if we're hungry, what drives, say, somebody who's addicted to alcohol to want to drink, that it's reducing that surge of dopamine and that underlying activity that happens after that surge. So if somebody is addicted to, say, drugs are alcohol or to food, taking this medication, it appears, again, in a very small study, it reduces that urge, and in doing so, it reduces intake. Is there a flip side, another side of that coin, by reducing dopamine?

Can that harm you in the long one? Is there anything that you've got to be careful about? Well, you're touching on what's critical here. There's so many known unknowns. We don't know what the risk factors are. I worry, does somebody need to take this every single day? And what happens, Tom, if they stop, is there a withdrawal. Do they go back to their addictive behavior, whatever that may be?

That's a critical unknown. We just don't know. Yeah. There's so many headlines coming out about Ozempic and what go. These drugs are wildly popular. People taking them, obviously, for diabetes. Other people taking them for weight loss. Are we going to get to a point where,

it becomes this miracle drug and people are using it to solve all their problems if they want to shed 10 pounds, if they want to stop drinking too much wine? You know, we're not there yet, and it's a supply demand mismatch. We're in an interesting period the next 12 to 18 months where this is a very pricey, expensive drug. Tom, it's about a 10 times more expensive here in the United States than it is in Japan, eight times more than the United Kingdom. So there's the economics of this make it inaccessible to the many who might actually benefit

from it. But as we move into the oral formulations of this medication, likely in the next 18 months, exactly to your point, more will benefit. It's going to turn into a pill from the injection? That's what we believe. There's actually pill forms that are equally effective in phase three trials, likely to get approval in the next 18 months. That's going to bring down the cost, hopefully increase access.

And to your point, if you have addiction disorder, if you're overweight, if you have type 2 diabetes, hopefully we'll see greater access as a result of it being cheaper. Dr. Gupta, breaking down all of this for us tonight, we really really, appreciate your time. Thank you for that. Coming up, the volcanic eruption on Indonesia's Sumatra Island, a group of hikers on the mountain when it erupted, at least 11 people killed why rescue operations for a dozen missing climbers is delayed. Back now to Israel's war with Hamas, the devastation in Gaza hitting its most vulnerable population. Babies separated from their families as the ongoing battle rages on. NBC's Aaron

McLaughlin on the efforts to save them. these infants born into war. Nur al-Bana can't take her eyes off her little girl. She's beautiful. Her name is Leanne, she tells us. A moment this new mother once feared impossible, now overwhelming. That was your first time touching your daughter? Yes, I'm very happy, she says.

Nor thought she might never see Leanne and her twin sister again. The girls were among some 39 babies separated from their families as violence engulfed the Al-Shefa Hospital. Israel, the U.S. and the European Union alleged Hamas used hospitals to conceal its military operations and patients as human shields. Allegations Hamas denies. Days into the siege, doctors say the babies began to die. These images of the sick babies emerged from Al-Shefa. While at the evacuated Al-Nassar hospital, this footage of the remains of babies began to die. the footage of the remains of babies left behind. The Hamas Run Health Ministry says they were prevented from evacuating them.

Israel slamming that is false, but also a perverse exploitation of innocent lives. Back at El Shifa, 31 babies made it out alive, a dozen brought here to a Cairo hospital. They brought them for us with a very bad general condition. Now more or less stable. Dr. Mohamed Abu Sikine says all but two are alone. Dr. Sakein takes us to see baby Halema, known only by his mother's name. What happened to his eye? Removed, exclusion, all the building, all the neighbors died.

Doctors say this is what baby Halema looked like when he arrived, now growing stronger every day. During his leaving, I dream by this boy. You dream of this boy? Yes. Actual. What do you dream? A dream that is happy. This boy is happy.

Tonight, as the bombs drop in Gaza, that dream for all its children never seemed so far away. Egyptian government sources tell us they're coordinating with Palestinian authorities to locate the families of the El Shifa babies or make sure they're cared for once they fully recovered. Tom? We thank Aaron McLaughlin for that. Now a check of more headlines happening around the world and the deadly volcano eruption in western Indonesia. New video shows a massive cloud of ash spewing into the sky during the eruption on the island of Sumatra. At least 11 hikers were killed and a dozen remain missing when they were climbing the mountain as it erupted.

Search and rescue operations are delayed as volcanic activity continues in that area. ISIS has claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing at a church service in the southern Philippines. New video shows the injured being carried away from the scene after a bomb ripped through a university gym where a Catholic mass was taking place. At least four people were killed and dozens more hurt. The U.S. condemned the horrific terrorist attack in a government statement. An actress Florence Pugh hit in the face by a thrown object at a Brazil Comic Con. Video showing Pew posing for a photo on stage with her Dune castmates when something flies out of the audience and appears to hit her right in the face. Pew appeared to be okay, no word yet on what that object actually was.

The incident follows a trend of celebrities being hit on stage, including Harry Stiles, Bibi Rexa, and Ava Max. Okay, when we come back, the incredible true crime story, a man nearing his death confesses to his daughter, he's not the man she thinks he is. But instead, a fugitive bank robber who's been on the run for 50 years, how he did it and why police could never catch him. That's next. Finally, tonight, this story may have you asking yourself, what would you do if you found out your father was a fugitive?

That's the question one person answers in a shocking new podcast that caught our eye. It's called Smokescreen, My Fugitive Dad, and it tells a story of an infamous bank robber who disappeared and was never caught. Ted Conrad stole $219,000 in 1969 from inside a vault, leaving with a paper bag full of the money, a bottle of whiskey, and a pack of cigarettes. For context, that would equal about $1.8 million today. Conrad was never caught and only revealed the truth to his daughter weeks before he died. We're joined now by that daughter, Ashley Randall, the daughter of bank robber Ted Conrad, the subject of this podcast, who she knew as Tom Randall. So, Ashley, thanks so much for joining Top Story. First, get our viewers up to speed here. How did your dad tell you that he was this bank robbing fugitive?

So we were sitting in the living room, my mom, my dad, and me, and watching NCIS, and he very nonchalantly said, ladies, just in case something ever comes up after I pass, I just wanted to let you know that when I moved here, I changed my name, you can't tell anybody because the authorities are probably still looking for me, and I don't want to talk about it. and I thought this is the worst dad joke ever and then realized that he wasn't actually joking so the next day I said you need to tell me your name

I deserve to know my dad's name and therefore my name and he looked kind of scared but that's when he told me his name was Ted Conrad and then when you googled him you found this story I googled him that night at about 2.30 in the morning

alone in my childhood bedroom. And the first thing I saw when I put in Ted Conrad missing was a bunch of headlines saying, fugitive missing, vault teller steals money. And I thought, oh my God, my dad is a wanted fugitive. My life is a lifetime movie. This is insane. And then how did you know your dad was telling you the truth?

I mean, were you able to verify? Could you tell from the photos? Yeah, I saw the photos, and I thought, wow, that would be my dad if he were younger. I'd never actually seen photos of him when he was a kid. He said when he moved here, his story was that his parents had died in a car crash and that he was an only child, didn't have any other family, and so he just left, left everything behind, and came here.

So in talking to him, I realized it was the same birthday, just two different years, and his parents' names were the same, the same first names. and the more we talked, the more stories he told and realized that this was real and that he had been hiding for 52 years. What did your mom say? Did your mom have any idea? She had no idea.

I was the one who ended up having to tell her because my dad just couldn't bring himself to tell her and hurt her with this. And I've never seen her look more shocked in her life. She just kept saying, oh, my God, oh my God, over and over again, as she scrolled through all the articles on Google. Why did your dad tell you?

Why do you think he told you? So he was really sick in the spring of 2021. He was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer, and he realized that he didn't have a lot of time left. And I think that he was worried that if the other shoe ever dropped, my mom and I would be so blindsided and never get some of the answers. So I think he realized that time was short. and he did need to tell us.

How did he pull off the heist? So it was premeditated, as we've learned. He did do some research with one of his friends to see how easy it would be to get another social security card. And in 1969, it's not that hard. You just have to walk into a registrar's office and say, hey, I need a social security card. And they give you one.

He also wasn't fingerprinted at the bank. Not that it slipped through the cracks, it just wasn't something they did at the time, fingerprinting all employees. And he worked in the vault. He was the vault teller. So he was in charge of the books for the vaults. He took the money on a Friday. On a long weekend, I think the Apollo mission was launching. They didn't know until Monday.

And by then, he was gone. He got on a plane Friday night. And how was he able to sort of keep this secret? And I asked this question. I don't mean to speak ill of your father. But, I mean, he cut off all ties, right, so the law would not catch up with him. I mean, was your dad a sociopath in a way? I mean, because you've got to think about cutting off from everyone you'd known your entire life

to live this new life and to live a double life for so long. Yeah, so I think that I inherited from him the gift of being able to put things in a box and put it on a shelf and sort of forget about it because he had to. There's no way he could have started over. And thankfully, when he landed in Boston in 1970, he found a great group of friends. He built a life, and then in the late 70s, he met my mom. My mom has a huge extended family, and he sort of found what he was looking for. And he just settled into this suburban dad life.

Did you think different of your father when he told you this? I think there's that moment of shock. but my dad was, and still is, my favorite person. He was always there for me growing up, even into my 30s. I would talk to him about everything from career advice or help me with a school project or, you know, what do I do about boy troubles? And he was always there at every soccer game, driving me to school every day. So I told him, this doesn't change how I feel about you.

I love you. Mom and I both love you. But we have to talk about this because it does explain why you did keep lots of secrets and why you only told half-truths because you were keeping this bigger secret from us for our lives. What are some types of things that he would do that would sort of half-truth drive you crazy? So, well, looking back, when I was in high school, we had an opportunity through French class to go to France, and it was less expensive because it was through the school, and they said, parents can come as chaperones. You know, you need to pay your way, but we never

would have been able to afford to travel to Europe, ever, if it weren't subsidized. And my mom said, sign me up. I'll be a chaperone. Tommy, you come too. We'll all go. And he said, nah, I don't really think I want to go to France. And we thought that was so weird. He only wanted to travel within the United States. And at the time, I just thought, he's a little kooky. I guess he really likes the United States. But I look back now and I realize, no, he couldn't get a passport because he doesn't have a birth certificate. You need that for a passport. You need that for a passport. Wow.

He might have a Social Security card. Has anybody from his previous life, have you been able to connect with him or talk to them, and what do they say about this? Yeah, I've been able to talk to his, a couple friends of his, a couple ex-girlfriends, and they all say the way that they describe Ted Conrad is exactly the way that Tom Randall's friends describe him as a really dependable, good, solid guy that they never would have suspected was a fugitive. So it was nice to know that this day in July when he took the money, I mean, we learned that it wasn't really about the money. He loved the Thomas Crown Affair

and that might have inspired him to say, hey, I work in a bank, I could take the money. But he really was trying to get out of a not-so-great family situation that he was in. And I think he always wanted to start over. But when you're 20 years old and you're working in a vaultful of money, how much easier is it to start over with a bag of cash? It was a crime. It was a crime that was committed. The feds were after him for decades. And I know you've built a relationship with one of the law enforcement personalities that was trying to chase him down for so many years. Yeah, with Pete Elliott, who is the son of John Elliott, the original Marshall on the case back in 69. Pete, my mom and I have this great relationship

especially the first year after... Wait, wait, let's just slow down, because that just sounds so bizarre. I'm sorry. So you, your mom, and the son of the marshal who was chasing your father's entire life and never caught him are now all friends? All friends. I just, I adore Pete. I think he is an amazing stand-up guy.

And this is going to sound crazy. But I think that if he and my dad had met under different circumstances, they would have been friends. Like, if my dad hadn't been on the run and Pete hadn't been looking for him, they're very similar. They're both genuinely nice, good men who are living good lives. Does your family owe any money? I mean, I called Pete three days ago. Does your family owe any of this money back? Have the bank, the feds asked for it back?

Yeah, so my mom, I mean, there's no money. I mean, that money was gone before he even started dating my mom in the late 70s. I think that it's public record that my parents filed for bankruptcy in 2014. So there's no hidden money. There's no money to give back. And my mom and I also, you know, not part of the crime. So we're told pretty much immediately that we're not in trouble, but we can help answer some questions about the crime. Not part of the crime, but telling an incredible true crime story.

Ashley Randall, we thank you for your time. We look forward to listening to the entire podcast. Tell our viewers where they can hear it before you go. Yep. Yep. So it is available everywhere you listen to podcasts. The first episode is available ad-free today. It's called Smok Screen, My Fugitive Dad.

But if you subscribe to the binge, then you can listen to all six episodes all at once right now. All right. It's incredible. Ashley Randall, we thank you so much. And thank you for joining Top Story tonight. And we thank you, of course, for watching. I'm Tom Yamis in New York. Stay right there.

More news on the way. Thank you.