Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, February 5, 2024

Episode Date: February 6, 2024

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

Tonight, breaking news, a new avalanche emergency as a deadly and dangerous winter storm slams into California, prompting a state of emergency. Catastrophic flooding, inundating the Los Angeles area, rescue crews jumping into action, pulling people from rushing waters, destructive winds reaching hurricane strength in some areas, trees toppling on cars and power lines ripped from the ground. The record rainfall triggering numerous mudslides. neighborhoods evacuated as debris fills the streets, Liz Kreutz and Sam Brock live in the storm zone

and Bill Karen standing by with the latest. Also tonight raging wildfires burning out of control in Chile, more than 100 people killed, and the president warning that number is expected to rise. Rescue crews scouring through the scorched rubble, the weather conditions fueling the inferno as officials investigate if this was arson. The King battles cancer, Buckingham Palace,

announcing King Charles has cancer. The discovery made during his surgery for an enlarged prostate, the call made to his sons and what they're now doing. Migrant debit cards, New York City Mayor Eric Adams on the defensive over a plan to hand out prepaid cards up to $1,000 to migrants. Inside RFK Jr.'s campaign, the independent candidate hoping to make this election a three-way race for the White House. A new NBC news poll showing his campaign,

is gaining steam. The key issue he hopes will boost his chance to become president as he's challenged on his anti-vaccine views. Plus, scrolling, not posting. Billions of people use social media every day, but have you noticed people aren't posting as much? We're breaking down the reasons behind this big shift on popular apps like Instagram,

and what it could mean for how we interact with friends and family both on and offline. And Big Wave Queen, a Brazilian surfer, breaking the record books one wave at a time. The champion and Guinness record holder conquering a 73-foot wave, smashing the glass ceiling for women in the sport, how she lives this gnarly life. She tells us herself. Top story starts right now. Good evening. It's called an atmospheric river, and tonight it is deadly, slamming the West Coast, unleashing torrential rains, hurricane.

force winds and feet of snow in higher elevations. This is breaking right now, an avalanche reported at Lee Canyon Resort that's just 50 miles outside of Las Vegas. Officials called in to help search for several people missing. Initial reports are, though, that some

have been rescued. All of this comes as millions in California remain under flood alerts as the slow-moving storm inundates the region. In San Bernardino, three people were rescued from a tree after escaping their car and had overbeen become overcome by floodwaters.

In the famous Hollywood Hills, mudslides, sent three toppling, trees toppling and boulders sliding into homes. A home in Encino knocked off its foundation. Fire crews forced to evacuate other homes in that area. Cars trapped in the mud just outside of Beverly Hills, entire streets coated in debris, cutting off residents in several neighborhoods. The top wind gusts in high elevations reaching a category three hurricane strength,

knocking over trees and sending power lines tumbling. More than 300,000 customers without power in the state. And this life-threatening system, it's not over yet. NBC's Liz Croyd starts us off tonight there. Tonight, relentless rain battering California. Up and down the coast, the destructive atmospheric river causing spin-outs, landslides, and flooding. In northern California, three people have now died from falling trees. In Napa, storms flooding this church.

The pews now covered. in plastic. As the store moves south, Los Angeles feeling the brunt, getting more than a month's worth of rain in one day. Only leave your house if it is absolutely necessary. Overnight, several people forced to evacuate their homes near the Hollywood Hills after this mudslide tore through their neighborhood. Spencer Massimodo was watching Indiana Jones when he heard the debris and boulders rushing down the street. It's kind of scary. His dad took this video as the family escaped in their pajamas.

Now back home, their front door blocked by mud. And this is what the neighborhood now looks like. These mangled screen doors, toppled trees, electronics, rocks, boulders, debris everywhere. It's a similar story near Beverly Hills, where a mudslide buried this SUV. Did you expect it to be this bad? Who would? This is crazy out here. in Encino, a landslide seriously damaged several homes. This one nearly falling off the cliff.

Much of California getting shocking rainfall totals, parts of L.A. seeing 10 inches in 24 hours. In San Bernardino, first responders rescuing this family from raging waters. This video from the Santa Cruz coast shows strong winds blowing sea foam across the pier. Meantime, some areas starting to ease like Santa Barbara. Evacuations lifted after torrential downpour, sun Sunday, washing up this sailboat and causing flooding downtown. This backyard here is just getting wrecked. But the monster storm still hovering slowly on the move. Orange County in San Diego, now on high alert.

And with that, Liz Kroitz joins us tonight from the site of one of those mudslides in Los Angeles. Liz, I know you're going to tell us what you're seen just behind you. But first, I know you also have some new reporting on that avalanche we've been covering. Yeah, some good news, Tom. officials say they've been able to find all of those people that were missing. They are all alive. So good news there out of Las Vegas. But yeah, Tom, as you're talking about here, you can see the power of the storm here in California. This car here was up this driveway. The mudslide was so powerful. It forced it across the street. That's what we're dealing with here. And it's not

letting up. More rain is on the way. Officials telling people over the next 24 hours to work from home and stay off the roads because it is still going to be coming down over the next 24 hours. And it's moving south. San Diego, Orange County, on high alert as well. Tom. Some good news on that avalanche, but still a dangerous scene there in Los Angeles. Let's move a little north now. The storm damage not only affecting Southern California. I want to get to Sam Brock, who's live for us tonight in Napa, California, which was also hard hit by the system. Sam, you're in an area where several homes were destroyed. Walk our viewers through what you're seeing tonight.

Yeah, we've seen really ghastly scenes here, Tom. It's the juxtaposition of what's going on right now. The 100-plus mudslides in Southern California. The wind event here in Northern California. Three confirmed fatalities so far. All three of them are a result of these giant trees being uprooted and then thrown on homes and cars. Check this out.

It's not just that the trees are being pulled up. It's the size of the trees. Here in Napa, this thing right here is a Douglas fir. Okay? It has been here, I'm told by the couple that lives in this house. For about 50 years at least, that's when they moved. moved in. It has never shown any signs of instability. This trunk right here is double my height. We're talking about 12 or 13 feet easily. I can't see out from underneath this. This just picks up,

falls on their house at 233 o'clock in the morning on Sunday morning, and it actually punctured the inside of their living room. Luckily, this couple, Rhonda and Linda, Ron Linda, rather, they were in the other room on the same floor back of the house, so they weren't directly exposed to it, but it's not just their only concern. The property here, and again, California, majestic redwood trees, but they are huge. On this one property, look at this. There are about three on the side of their house, right there, a grove of them, a small one. They go up 200 to 240 feet.

That is the average height of a redwood. And then on the other side of the house, there's two there as well. They bind together, which is to say, Tom, that if one of those redwood trees becomes destabilized, the other ones are likely to come down as well. And that's something that we saw in another location of Napa, where a tree went right through the front of a house and ripped the front of the house off. exposing the father to the outside with his four kids upstairs. Luckily, they were okay.

It gives you a sense of just how strong those winds were. I know you've been speaking all day to people who have narrowly escaped death in many cases from falling from falling trees, as you've been mentioning. And I understand in one case a man was almost killed just sitting in his car. Yeah, so this is just another example of how dangerous conditions are when trees start falling. This was a guy that I met earlier today. His name is Shannon. Look at his pickup truck.

You see the V dent at the back of the truck. not out of his car, Tom, simply to remove tree limbs from the street. His wife was still there in the passenger seat. The tree came down, this giant chunk of tree and protrudes through the driver's side and pushes that down where his head would have been. You see tree. He most certainly would have died had he been in that car two minutes prior. Luckily, he was not.

Tom, back to you. Sam Brock for us. Wow. Just wow. Thanks for all of that. For more on the forecast and when the West Coast might see some relief. I want to get to NBC News meteorologist. Bill Cairns. Bill, show our viewers where that avalanche happened. We understand everyone's been rescued, as Liz had mentioned. But where exactly was that?

Yeah, this is Lee Canyon. So right where we're outside of Las Vegas, right where the A is here in the word, Las Vegas. That's at an elevation of about 8 to 11,000 feet, one to three feet of snow. They were forecasting 17 inches today alone, and they had 12 inches yesterday, by far the biggest snowstorms. That's why a lot of the skiers are trying to get out there and get out in the snow. But it comes with its dangers. And thankfully, it sounds like we have a happy ending to all those missing skiers. in that area. So what is happening with this storm? It's important that people know we've all talked about California storms in the past, especially in El Nino's. We get these big rain events. This one is pretty historic. So since midnight yesterday, we've had 6.87 inches. So by the end of today, we're likely going to have over seven inches of rain. This makes it the third highest two-day total going back 147 years. And downtown Los Angeles, for a full year, typically averages 14, inches of rain. They've been getting in the last two days half of their typical rain for the whole year. So this hasn't been your normal event. We're getting a little bit of break in downtown

Los Angeles. We still, we had some pretty heavy rain over the last couple hours. We still have a flash flood warning to the north of Los Angeles heading up towards the Hollywood Hills. We still expect the possibility of another one to three inches of rain tonight and tomorrow. It'll begin to taper off time. We're through the worst of the storm, but it doesn't take much more to get additional rainfall. Things are just so saturated. Okay, Bill, we appreciate that. We're going to stay on this throughout the night. Next, though, a weather-fueled disaster in South America.

More than 100 people killed and hundreds more missing in Central Chile where out-of-control wildfires have burned entire neighborhoods to the ground, scorching heat and dry conditions, fueling those fires. Authorities now believe they were set intentionally. Guadvanegas has this latest reporting. Tonight, deadly wildfires unleashing hell in Central Chile. We know, we don't know. Firefighters surrounded on all sides risking their lives as the flames approach the National Botanical Garden, the death toe climbing to at least 122 people on Monday morning, as first responders dig through the rubble with hundreds more still missing.

In the region of Balparaiso, entire neighborhoods burned to ashes. Shell shocked residents recounting their harrowing escapes as the flames exploding. Luis Parra says he and his wife were able to make it out with his grandchildren, but his father and his sister were consumed by the smoke as they tried to flee. More than 165 fires raging across the country over the weekend, fueled by a week of record high temperatures and the El Niño climate pattern. The popular resort city of Binya del Mar hit the hardest with officials projecting an estimated 12,000 homes damaged or destroyed.

And an estimated 31,000 residents displaced, many still looking for their loved ones. We came to brazos-cru, the people up of those buses are desperated, not know of their families, the center of vina go laxed. The president declaring a state of emergency to make additional resources available to respond to Chile's worst natural disaster in 15 years. Instrued decreed a state of deception for catastrophe to be able to dispone of all the resources necessary that can be able to. The military also deployed to support the country's all-volunteer Firefighter Brigade and help maintain order amid the chaos. Officials now saying they believe the fires in Balparaiso may have been said intentionally. It's difficult to think that could existir people such miserable and disalmadas,

capable of causing such murder and dolor. But if these people exist, they're going to look, let us want to find, An investigation now underway with authority saying at least 10 people have been detained as the fight continues to extinguish the flames. All right, Guad Vanegas joins us tonight from Miami. So Guad Chilean authorities suspect these fires may have been started intentionally. What other details do we know? So Tom, as we mentioned, some arrests have been made,

but they're not saying which fires are connected to the individuals that were arrested. The details that we do know coming from the governor of Valparaiso is that they believe that four fires were started simultaneously in that area of Bina del Mar, the fires that cost most of the damage that we've seen to these areas where a lot of people live. We know that they are still investigating and they're asking some of the witnesses that could have seen something to talk to authorities. We also know from the superintendent from the fire department there and by Pal Paraiso that they think they have identified some witnesses who could have seen the individuals that set those fires. But again, they are dealing with a lot of fires across

the country. It's not just the ones that have cost all of this damage, but fires all across Chile with those high temperatures and the winds, Tom, causing a lot of those fires to get worse. But the good news is that for the next few days, they do expect those winds to be much more favorable for the firefighters to put these out. We hope so. Those images are just stunning and more than 100 people dead there in Chile. Okay, Guadvanegas on that breaking news. Now to the other big headline tonight. It's a busy Monday night. Buckingham Palace announcing King Charles has cancer. The statement saying it was discovered following his recent treatment for an enlarged prostate,

but they did not specify what kind of cancer he has. Embassy's Molly Hunter has more details. Tonight, Buckingham Palace announcing King Charles III has been diagnosed with a form of cancer. Just a week after the 75-year-old monarch was released from a London hospital following a routine prostate procedure. In good spirits, walking out, waving to the crowd with wife, Queen Queen. Camilla by his side. In the statement released tonight, the Palace not saying what kind of cancer it is, only revealing that during the King's recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement,

a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer. According to Buckingham Palace, Charles began outpatient treatment today in London. So the King actually by disclosing some of those personal details about his prostate, issues just recently was in some ways breaking with tradition. The Queen was certainly much more private about her health. The Palace confirms he shared his diagnosis personally with sons Harry and William and a source close to Harry and Megan tells NBC News Harry will travel to the UK to visit his father in coming days. Charles, who's been king for just 18 months,

was last seen out at church yesterday. And Buckingham Palace says he will continue to undertake state business and official paperwork and will postpone upcoming events. I think we will expect to see, certainly, William, do more duties over the next couple of months, which will be difficult for him. According to the palace, Queen Camilla will continue with a full schedule of royal duties. Molly joins us tonight from outside Buckingham Palace. So Molly, you reported that King called both his sons. There's been some tension with Harry, but clearly with this diagnosis,

the King felt there were more pressing matters. And now, Ward, as you reported as well, Harry will be traveling to London. What does this mean for the royal sons? Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, I think we will see the royal family rally around King Charles. We do know, as you mentioned, that Buckingham Palace said King Charles told both his sons personally. We know from a source close to Megan and Harry that Harry's coming over. But really, in the next couple of weeks, the burden of royal duties will fall to Prince William.

As we know, Kate, the Princess of Wales, still in the hospital. We won't see King Charles for at least a couple of weeks, certainly out of public view. So we will see a lot of Queen Camilla and certainly a lot of Prince William who will return to royal duties this week. Tom? Okay, Molly Hunter for us.

Molly, we appreciate that. Back here at home to New York City and the growing frustration over the migrant crisis. Mayor Eric Adams on the defensive over a new pilot program that would give migrants a prepaid debit card, some families receiving up to $1,000 a month. The program now drawing sharp criticism

as the city responds to their handling of recent crimes involving migrants. NBC Aaron McLaughlin has this one. Tonight, New York City's mayor pushing back on criticism of a new $50 million program to hand out prepaid debit cards to migrant families. We need to dispel the rumor that we gave American Express cards to everyone. Adams insisting the prepaid cards would curb the cost of inefficient food distribution that has led to expensive food waste, potentially saving taxpayers roughly $7 million a year.

Adding the cards can only be used for food and baby supplies, with a limit of up to $1,000 per month for a family of four. If this is successful, we're going to expand it even more. The pilot program drawing immediate criticism, including from Rapper 50 Cent, who went on to social media to vent his frustration, writing maybe Trump is the answer. I told 50 Cent to hit me up.

I would love to accept. explain it to him. And over the weekend, Texas Governor Greg Abbott joining the choir of criticism while on Fox News, calling the program insanity. It may be the most reprehensible thing that I've seen take place over the past 48 hours. It's the latest effort by New York City officials to deal with the ongoing migrant surge. More than 173,000 migrants and asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022.

Both the New York Democratic governor and the mayor have been pleading for federal. support insisting the city is at a breaking point. This has hurt us and where the White House needs to make adjustments. The move as the search continues for migrants who were caught on camera attacking two New York City police officers last month. Seven suspects were arrested and six of those were released without bond. Police say they believe at least six more people were involved. Get them all and send them back. You don't touch our police officers. Governor Kathy Hockel now publicly challenging Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, saying she believes none of the migrants should have been released without bond. An assault on a police officer means that she should be

sitting in jail. Bragg defending his decision while condemning the attack, saying he didn't request bail out of caution, adding he needed to send the right people to jail. The video is the start of the process, not the end. We will continue to work to identify all the those responsible and will hold them accountable for their specific roles. Tonight, the Big Apple, looking to D.C. for answers as $118 billion bipartisan bill moves through Congress to impose tougher asylum and border laws. Well, earlier today, we were hearing from Governor Hokel. She was calling on New York's congressional delegation to support that bipartisan border

deal. She's saying it's, quote, the most significant immigration reform in decades. Tom. Aaron McLaughlin for top stories tonight. Aaron, we appreciate your reporting. Still ahead tonight, the murder mystery in Indiana. Two women in their 50s killed in the same way and their bodies found in the same place, just days apart. Is that a pattern? What authorities are saying tonight? Plus, cartel campaign? The bombshell report alleging the president of Mexico received millions of dollars from the country's notorious gangs during his first run for president, we'll explain. And the shocking discovery during a routine port inspection. how the Coast Guard found a dog who had been locked in a shipping container for at least a week. How that dog's doing tonight.

Stay with us. Okay, next night, into a sweeping investigation into the President of Mexico, his campaign and possible connections to powerful drug cartels. A bombshell report by ProPublica outlining the U.S. government's investigation into President Andres Manuel Lobes, Obrador,

and allegations his first presidential campaign received millions of dollars from illegal drug traffickers. NBC's Marissa Para has this story. Tonight, Mexico's president defending his legacy after bombshell reports this week raised questions on whether his first presidential campaign received millions in funding from drug cartels. No, there's no proof.

They're some vilees calumniators. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Punching back at a press conference Wednesday after journalists pressed him on simultaneous reports published this week, including by inside crime in ProPublica, each citing more than a dozen interviews with U.S. and Mexican officials, as well as a review of government documents. The extensive report claims authorities uncovered evidence suggesting Lopez Obrador's failed presidential run in 2006 was supported by cocaine money from an infamous trafficker known as La Barbie. in return for a promise that his administration would help facilitate the cartel's illegal activity.

La Barbee apparently gave something on the order of $2 million through people on his payroll to people in the campaign logistics operation. One of those operatives ended up becoming a confidential source and an active collaborator of the DEA investigation. We spoke to the author of the ProPublica report, Tim Golden. He had access to an investigation carried out between 2010 and 2011 by their federal prosecutor's office of the Southern District of the New York and the DEA, from which the claims originate. According to ProPublica, that investigation, quote, did not establish whether Lopez Obrador stanchioned or even knew of the traffickers reported donations. The DEA investigation did not establish firmly whether he even knew about the donations that were made. There was some evidence that he may have. We didn't think that some of the details were clearly enough corroborated to go into it.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said in part that the department fully respects the sovereignty of Mexico and remains committed to working shoulder to shoulder with the country in the fight against drug cartels. No one has been charged. He hasn't come up with any substantive really challenges to the accuracy of the reporting. I think it's also very, very clear that the Biden administration, is extremely uninterested in doing anything that might provoke the ire of Lopez Obrador. They are negotiating with him on border security, on holding back the flow of migrants, an essential campaign issue.

Lopez Obrador, who went on to win the 2018 election by a landslide, claiming U.S. officials were behind this week's wave of investigative reporting, but offered no further information or proof. To the media, denuncious to the government of the United, to permit these practices immoral. The latest allegations on his presidency's relationship with cartels threatened to cast a shadow over him and his party, months ahead of Mexico's next presidential election.

Lopez Obrador might be ineligible for this year's Mexico election once his term is up. But you heard his response to these reports. His allegations that the United States government is behind. these reports without any proof. And even though he is not on the ballot for this year's Mexico election, this doesn't bode well for the fragile relations between the two countries, both of them heading into their own respective presidential elections. And we know that the war on drugs is a big part of the campaigns for presidential candidates

on both sides of the border. Tom. All right, Marissa Parra for us. Marissa, we thank you for that. When we come back, lucky to be alive, new body camp footage showing police racing towards a burning car struggling to pull a man out, how they eventually managed to save his life right before the car became engulfed in flames. All right, we're back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with a murder mystery out

of Indianapolis. Police say two women were found stabbed to death, just days apart. Both women were white, similar in age, and were local to the area. Police also say they were killed in a similar manner and their bodies discovered nearly in the same spot. Police say it's unclear yet if they're connected, but are stepping up patrols and urging anyone with information to come forward. A driver in Georgia is lucky to be alive after he was rescued from a burning SUV. Take a look at this video here. Body camp footage shows deputies about 40 miles outside of Atlanta, racing towards the fiery

wreckage. One officer using his flashlight to break the driver's side window. As a man struggles with his seatbelt, police then quickly using a knife to cut him loose, narrowly pulling him to safety as flames engulfed the car. He was taken to the hospital, but is expected to survive. Police say he lost control of his car and hit a tree, causing the car to catch fire. And a dog rescued after spending more than a week trapped inside of a shipping container in a Texas port.

Video shows Coast Guard officers in Houston finding that puppy after they heard barking coming from inside a container during a routine check. The dog was later taken to a nearby animal shelter where she was checked out and given food and water. She's recovering tonight, will eventually be put up for adoption. No word on where that container came from. Okay, time now for power and politics in the race for the White House. RFK Jr., the son of Bobby Kennedy, mounting a third-party campaign. He's come under fire for his views on COVID vaccines, even clashing with members of his own family. But he's determined to give voters a third choice this fall as campaign officials for both Biden and Trump worry about

who he's going to pull voters from. Von Hilary. Leonard has this story. Kennedy! Tonight, with the Biden-Trump rematch looking likely, there is an independent. Tommy! Trying to make this a three-way race. If you give me a sword and some ground to stand on, I will give you back your country. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is mounting an increasingly credible bid to qualify for the

2024 ballot, more than 55 years after his father's presidential run. How confident are you that you could actually win the White House? I think I can win the White House. A new NBC news poll shows 34% of voters suggesting they could see themselves supporting him. But both Biden and Trump's allies fear he could play spoiler. Who do you think you will draw more voters away from Donald Trump or Joe Biden? I mean, I hope to draw equal numbers from both of them. I think at this point I'm probably drawing more from President Trump.

Trump himself, even praising Kennedy. He's a very good man, and his heart is in the right place, and he's doing really well. President Biden has not even publicly acknowledged Kennedy's campaign. In environmental lawyer, Kennedy left the Democratic Party last year. You're a Republican, and you're saying that you would be open to considering RFK Jr. Yeah. Kennedy speaks often about America's income gap. What's the main issue for you that brought you to him?

Oh, corporate greed, for sure. But he has drawn scrutiny from Democrats, including for his discredited assertions, vaccines cause autism and his recent staunch criticism of the COVID shots. Would you have tried to stop the FDA from approving the COVID vaccine? I would have said that they need to do science to show that the vaccine is actually going to invert more problems than it's causing. So would you have sought to stop the FDA from approving the COVID vaccines? My policy is not going to interfere with anybody who wants to take a vaccine.

Some of his views led four prominent members of his own family to say he does not share the same values as their father. Why should Americans ignore those words? Well, you know, listen, I disagree with my family on a lot of stuff. I have family members who are strong to support me. Vaughn Hilliard for us tonight. Vaughn, we thank you for that. For more on RFK Jr.'s White House bid. And what it means for the election, let's bring in NBC News's chief political analyst, Chuck Todd.

Chuck, thanks for being here tonight. So two questions first. One, will he get on the ballot in most states and dozens of states in every state? And if he gets on the ballot, who do you think he ultimately pulls from in November? Is it pulling from Republican voters or from Democratic voters? Well, let me start with the ballot access question first, because that's quite difficult. And he's trying to do it without a political party. And I don't know if you've noticed he's back flirting with the libertarians again,

because if you can get one of these minor party endorsements, whether it's the libertarians, whether it's the Greens, It is a way to sort of fast-track ballot access in certain states. So it would certainly, and in some states, you almost have to create a political party out a whole cloth in order to qualify for the ballot. He's going to spend a lion's share of his money. He's been complaining about this because of how hard it is to get on these ballots. So I'm very skeptical he's going to get on all 50 without the assistance of an actual political party. So I'm very curious to see if the libertarian flirtation goes to.

answer your second question. There was actually some new polling data I was looking at today. We were very careful. We haven't put Kennedy's name in yet specifically. We've tested him as favorable, unfavorable. It's a little early to put it. You want to see how many ballots he gets on. But I was looking at some other polling data today out of UMass. And he definitely takes right now more from Trump than from Biden. He's unique in that respect. All of the other third party candidates take more from Biden than Trump. Tom. So, Chuck, the last time we saw a serious third-party candidate was back in 1992. And I say serious because I know Ralph Nader was a serious candidate in several elections, but let's talk about Ross Perot.

Here's what he said about the campaign more than three decades ago. Five and a half million people came together on their own and put me on the ballot. I was not put on the ballot by either of the two parties. This is a movement that came from the people. This is the way the framers of the Constitution intended our government to be. a government that comes from the people. 1992, you can argue, Ross Perot, catapulted Governor Bill Clinton into American history books.

Do you think something like that could happen in November? Look, I don't believe it will, and yet I understand why we're all looking around wondering if it might. I mean, on one hand, look, this is a giant vacuum that the two parties have left here. Right? You have collectively a frustration with a big chunk of the sort of the non-activist, either activist, Democrats, or actors, Republicans who don't like this choice of Trump and Biden. So in theory, there is a market, 30 to 40 percent of the electorate that tell us and polls and say, I want another choice, but we know what happens 90 percent of the time they end up going back to the party they normally vote with in these cases.

Because, you know, Perot, because it looked like he could win, it was different. He also had an unlimited amount of money at the time. It brought him even. I just don't see anybody today. I think Kennedy is already too polarizing. Look, if you told me the Rock tomorrow was going to announce and he's running for president and he was tired of this or somebody sort of from the outside of our normal political zeit guys, I take a listen.

But I just think that while there's a demand for. it, there's not the candidate that I think will fulfill the demand. I wanted to have this conversation because I want to get to some brand new polling from NBC news from over the weekend, which shows our current president some serious trouble, right? The most alarming numbers yet for the Biden campaign. Let's put it on the screen for our viewers. In a head-to-head general election matchup, former President Trump now leads Biden by five points, his largest lead ever in our NBC News poll.

And one major factor that could be driving is an abysmal approval rating for President Biden and now sitting at just 37%. That's the lowest rating we've measured since the second Bush administration. What's your reaction to these numbers? I know it's early, but it's got to worry Democrats. It's got to worry the White House. Well, there's two ways to look at these polls.

It should worry them because, you know, that approval rating? You know what age group? His approval rating is the lowest with? 18 to 34, right? They're at 26% approving of the president, Tom. So you can see what Biden's problem is. And that's why I say, you know, there's two ways to look at our poll. On the one hand, Trump has consolidated the Republican vote, right?

In these head-to-head matchups, he's got most of the vote he would like to get. Biden, on the other hand, has got all sorts of holes in his coalition, or if you want to look at it as a boat or whatever you want to, a metaphor you want to pick. And there's a lot of leakage, whether it's among young voters, whether it's among college-educated men, whether it's among independents. clearly, though, the left of the Democratic Party, of all places, is where he's got the biggest problems, and it's all over one issue. It's over Gaza. And I think that's why you've seen him attempt a few little, I'd call them band-aids, right? Sanctioning, putting out leveling sanctions

against settlers in there, little things like that on its way to Michigan. But overall, when I look at our poll, he's got to just simply get his coalition back together. And that's why he's losing here. Trump has his together. Biden doesn't. What do you think about this? This stat sort of shocked me. The stat on independence, right? So you have 48 for Trump, 29 for Biden. You remember we were just doing the numbers out of New Hampshire on election night. Trump was only getting one out of every four independents versus Nikki Haley. What's going on here? Again, this is more of a rejection of Biden, as you can see in there, and there's a huge chunk of undecided, a lot of The independents are the largest chunk of voters who are interested in a third party.

That shouldn't be a surprise. They're also the least attached to either one of these two candidates. But when you look at independent voters, you know, I always am careful there. Some of these far left voters call themselves independent, right? And some of these far right voters also call themselves independent. So you could sometimes be a little bit, it can feel misleading on where it's coming from. But clearly two issues, I think, are sort of hovering over all of this. One is Biden's age.

It comes through all over the place in different ways. Whether you ask about it directly or you look about it indirectly, you know, he doesn't really seem to have, you know, on top of the job or where's he been or you get... Well, Chuck, hold that thought. And it's a thought because we have... I want to put this up for our viewers because you led to my next question, which is, what can they do to improve this? And when you look at what the Biden reelect team is doing right now, he just announced

they're not going to do a Super Bowl interview, right? They've signaled they may not participate in the debates, and his last major TV network interview was in October of 2023. I have not heard of any future dates, but we can always be surprised. It doesn't sound like he's going out there. That's a total mishandling. I mean, I can't, I'm sort of previewing what I'm writing about later this week. I think this has been a debacle in how this White House has handled the president here. You know, first of all, have you noticed we've launched at least over 100 different separate strikes on different military.

targets in the Middle East. And the president has not spoken to the nation. I don't get it. It comes across as if they are fearful of him in public. They shouldn't be. You know, that phone call he had with the family of one of the soldiers that was killed. You know, that was of a president that was on top of things. I do not understand why they prevent him from interacting with the press, from interacting with the public. I think this is a thing that is hanging over all of his political problems is he doesn't seem forceful. Greg Abbott is beating him bullying him down on the border. Mike Johnson is bullying his border bill in D.C. Take charge, take command here. And I have to tell you, I think that is more than anything. And I think they

protect them like a Faberge egg. I think you've got to let the public get used to him and get comfortable with them. They're used to Trump. A lot of people think he's erratic, but the more he's out there, the less erratic he comes across to some people because it's constant. I kind of think that the Biden White House ought to rethink their strategy with the president. Chuck Todd for us tonight from Washington, Chuck, we always appreciate your analysis. Thank you, buddy. All right, Tom, now to get a check of what else is happening around the world, which means it's time for Top Story's Global Watch.

We start with the deadly protest in Senegal over a postponed presidential election there. New video showing police using tear gas to disperse demonstrators in the Capitol city of Dakar, as lawmakers voted on a bill that would officially delay the February 25th election. At least one of the opposition candidates was detained. The president announcing the delay on Saturday, claiming it was over issues with candidate eligibility. Opposition leaders have accused him of a, quote, constitutional coup. Soccer fans in Hong Kong outraged after Intramiamese Lionel Messi decided to sit out a sold-out exhibition match. 40,000 fans packed the stadium, some who spent more than $600 to see the soccer star play.

But he spent the game on the bench amid speculation about a hamstring injury. Fans in the stands booing and calling for a refund, Inter-Miami is set to play in Tokyo later this week, but it's unclear if Messi will take the field. And an alcohol shortage is hitting one of Africa's most popular travel destinations. Officials say a supply chain issue affecting Zanzibar has caused the price of a beer there to increase by almost 100%. Some of the hotels now reportedly not selling alcohol at all.

Local business owners worry this will affect the island's tourism, which makes up about 90% of its revenue. Okay, coming up, have you been posting less on social media? If you're only logging on to scroll, you're not alone. About 60% of users say they're scaling back on posting. So could this signal the decline of social media use altogether, and can it have an impact on your mental health? You try to answer those questions.

That's next. Welcome back. Lately, have you found yourself scrolling on social media, spending hours on the apps, but not posting? Well, you're not alone. A recent story in the Wall Street Journal caught our eye. It's titled, We aren't posting on social media as much anymore. Will we ever? In the article, it says billions of people access social media monthly, but users are posting less and favoring a more passive experience.

It goes on to say 61% of U.S. adult respondents with a social media account said they have become more selective about what they post. And according to data from polling company Gartner, 53% believe the current state of social media has decayed. Gartner predicts 50% will abandon or significantly limit their interactions with social media by 2025. Here's what social media users told our top story camera about their social media use. I don't post this that much. Like if I don't feel that my photo is good enough or I don't have enough confidence in the stuff I'm posting, then I'm not going to post it. I feel like the quality of

like everyone's individuality has decreased. I feel like sometimes we feel fresher to post because we feel like we need to show people like what we're doing at all times. And I think I started like caring less about that. For more on this topic, let's bring in Lance Yulinoff, the U.S. editor-in-chief at Tech

Radar, the online tech expert publication and psychotherapist Dr. Robbie Ludwig. Guys, thanks so much for being here. So Lance, I'm going to start with you. What's happening here? People getting tired of social media or social media getting too curated so people think it's too nice just to put my regular photo on there? I mean, I think it's a little bit of both. It's, you know, people are a little tired of it. There was the golden age of social media, 2009, 2014, wonderful,

happy. People didn't really understand it entirely. But, you know, a lot has happened since then. We've had data breaches. We've had manipulation of information. We've had harm that has occurred through social media. And so everybody's kind of grown up with it. In fact, the youngest cohort have really grown up with social media, Gen Ziers, and they know more about it, it seems, than everyone else. And I think they're a little tired of it, and they're a little tired of manufactured reality on these platforms, and they're starting to look for more reality.

Doctor, is this actually a good thing? Well, it certainly can be a good thing, because I think people were posting to impress, and I think it was also causing some problems interpersonally or at work. If you post your opinions, it can come back to bite you. And a lot of trial and error, people were noticing that they weren't feeling as good about themselves either posting or just seeing that it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. What they imagined it would be showing themselves and getting good feedback, they weren't exactly getting that. Lance, this can't be good for the social media companies.

This sort of reminds me of when the stats started coming out on Twitter a couple of years ago where it turned out like 3% of Twitter users were generating 90% of the content. That's not exactly. But it was something like that. Can these social media platforms survive if people don't post if it's just influencers? No, they can't survive if those are the only people that are posting. But they're trying to diversify right now. They're trying to offer smaller experiences. One of the things that Facebook is doing is noticing a lot of people sharing things on direct message or messaging.

In fact, they're all noticing that. So they're trying to expand that part of it. Because what people have started to realize is they want their social network to reflect their real-life network, be smaller, more controlled. and not, you know, be subject to the barrage of feedback they get for just posting a picture. What do you think that the phenomenon of the influencer, has it essentially sort of, I don't know, elbowed out regular people to share their moments on social media? I don't think so, but it could cause people to post less because they feel that it has to be a curated image or it has to look a certain way.

And it impacts a person's self-esteem. If they're constantly looking at themselves and they're constantly posting and trying to get the right post, they can feel badly about themselves. And there's this compare and despair that goes on with posting and social media, constantly looking at others and seeing if we're measuring up. And I think people are realizing, I don't want to feel badly about myself. Maybe if I don't post as much, that's the answer. Lance, I want to put a graphic up on the screen for our viewers here.

This is a time long ago when you may remember some of these here, MySpace and Friendster, Vines. And to a lesser degree, you know, Twitter, now X, Facebook. You wonder how many people are using those still to this day, not as popular as they once were. Is there a shelf life for social media? And essentially, that's what we're seeing now. I feel like when we communicate with our phone, whether it be emojis or memes, I mean, everything seems to have a shelf life. And it sort of goes out of style. And I just wonder if that's what's happening with social media now.

You know, until the next one. Right. Social media is still so new, really. It hasn't been around. So we just had the 20-year anniversary of Facebook, right? So that's the longest existing one. and many have come and gone in between that. But we really don't understand exactly what the life cycle of all these things are.

But what I will say is that when you look at the Gen Z, people who have kind of said they've taken a step back, well, they've also taken a step forward toward TikTok, which is the biggest social network at the moment, and currently on sort of a growth cycle, right? That's where they're getting all the information. But every time a younger generation comes in, they don't want to be where their parents are.

And so they kind of shift to the next thing. So I don't think it's the end of social media, but there are a lot of changes coming. And one of the things you have to keep an eye on is regulation, because I think that's going to steer the future of social media. Dr. Finally, I would think if people are spending less time on social media, or they're posting less, maybe they're interacting with real people more, and that might be better.

Absolutely. There's an appreciation of privacy, too. We want to have private lives, and we want to interact in a more meaningful way. The superficial interaction is no longer making us happy or feeling fulfilled. So people are spending more time calling each other, texting each other, and spending quality time face-to-face, and that's a good thing. All right, guys, thanks so much for joining here. We guys appreciate that. When we come back, big waves and big dreams. Up next, we introduce you to a Brazilian big wave surfer who just landed another big win a decade after a near fatal accident. You will not believe the size of waves she rides. Her journey to Guinness World Record holder status and how she hopes to inspire others to always get back on board.

We'll be right back. Finally, tonight, you're about to meet a real-life superwoman. She's a Brazilian surfer who just notched another big victory. She's been at the top of her sport for more than a decade, fighting through life-threatening injuries, gender bias, and even racking up a few world records all along the way. Ellison Barber takes a look at her incredible story of resilience and how she hopes to inspire the next generation of surfers. Wow. That's a beautiful right. For Brazilian surfer, Maya Gaberra, her dreams have always been as big as the waves she serves.

The world record was always a dream of mine. For nearly 20 years, the 5-foot-5 big wave surfer has taken on the male-dominated sport by storm. I love to be in the ocean. I think I'm probably more comfortable and happy in the ocean and land. She's a seven-time world champion and holds two. Guinness World Records, including this record-smashing surf in 2020. I was a little bit frightened at that moment, to be honest. Maya riding a 73-5-foot wave in Nazari, Portugal.

I just heard that immense explosion, and I realized not only it was really, really tall, but it was very powerful and it was very close to me. The biggest wave surfed by anyone that year, and the biggest wave ever ridden by a woman. This January, another victory. At 36 years old, Maya, once again, taking the top spot at Nazaree's Big Wave Challenge. I was coming back from an injury, so that's always very challenging. Her journey to greatness is a story of perseverance and courage. Every day, you would go to the beach and not really see any girls in your everyday, like, surfing routine.

She moved from Brazil to Hawaii. when she was just 17, quickly getting herself into big wave competitions and winning. I kind of ventured into the world of surfing always with boys. But in October 2013, one of those massive Nazaree waves nearly killed her, knocking her unconscious and breaking her ankle before a fellow surfer helped pull her out to safety. warned her she may never be able to compete again. But she got back on the board, setting her first Guinness World Record just five years later. I think that's in sports, right?

I mean, every sport you fall and you get injured and you want to get back up because you love it. Her love for the ocean, also something she works on off the board. She's an ocean conservationist and an advocate with organizations like UNESCO and Oceana. I just tried to find all the ways I can maximize my time out there. I think it's a great place to get in touch with nature, to learn, to be connected. And one more thing on her resume, children's book author, writing stories inspired by her real-life experiences of breaking records and gender stereotypes, plus overcoming her own challenges like Asmy.

I got one little girl come up to me once after the book, and she, She grabbed on to me. I think she was around six or so. She was like, but do you really have asthma? I was like, yes. She was like, I have it too. So it's unique when you can connect to kids like that. Now, Maya's inspiring other young surfers to take on the waves,

even if it means getting knocked off once or twice. Those are some huge waves. What an incredible athlete. We thank Ellison Barber for that story, and we thank you for watching. top story tonight. I'm Tom Yamison, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.