Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, January 30, 2023

Episode Date: January 31, 2023

3 Memphis paramedics fired for their response to the fatal police beating of Tyre Nichols, Southern ice storm prompts cancellations of more than 800 flights, migrants fight move to New York City cruise terminal over "unlivable" conditions, Texas woman says internet scam has dozens of men seeking sex workers showing up at her home, and the Oscars investigations behind one nomination.

Tonight breaking news, a 6th and 7th officer and several first responders suspended or fired over the death of Tyree Nichols. Two additional Memphis police officers now an administrative leave. One of them seen on his own body camera running at Nichols with his gun drawn and later tasing him. Plus two EMTs and a lieutenant fired by the Memphis Fire Department moments ago, what we're learning tonight about the ongoing investigation. More than 20 million people under winter weather alerts across the south. a dangerous ice storm creating treacherous driving conditions in Texas. Dozens of accidents reported, and fears tonight this cold plunge could push the power grid to its limit once again. Al Roker tonight standing by with the forecast.

Trump's primary push, the former president, kicking off his 2024 campaign, rallying in critical early voting states, New Hampshire and South Carolina. What he said about the man most likely to mount a challenge, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, plus new developments tonight over Hush Money, made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, a grand jury now convened in Manhattan, how it could impact the Trump campaign. The warning from police tonight about a man wanted for kidnapping and torture, why authorities think he could be using dating apps to avoid getting caught or to find his next victim. Plus, a bizarre story out of Texas, a homeowner bombarded day and night by uninvited guests looking for sex workers. The men instead finding this retiree on the other side of the door, how she says they're getting her address and what she's doing to get rid of them.

And record rainfall triggering a flooding disaster in New Zealand, the country's largest airport forced to shut down, stranding thousands of passengers as another monster storm takes aim. Top Story starts right now. And good evening. We begin Top Story tonight with the latest fallout in the death of Tyree Nichols. A total of seven officers now. EMTs and a lieutenant with the fire department all relieved of their duties or worse following that brutal and ultimately fatal beating. The graphic body cam footage of Nichols' arrest, which was released on Friday, sparking days of protest across the country. Take a look at this. Thousands of demonstrators gathering from D.C. to Atlanta to Memphis to New York to Los Angeles, demanding accountability and reform.

And tonight, several major updates on that front. Two EMTs and a lieutenant, you see them here, have now been fired by the Memphis Fire Department for violating protocols while responding to the scene. And the Memphis Police Department now confirming a total of seven officers have been relieved of their duties. One of them identified today as Officer Preston Hemphill, whose body-worn camera you may remember seeing here, Hemphill taking part in this initial traffic stop, approaching Nichols car with his gun drawn, at one point firing a stun gun at Nichols, and later in that body camby can be heard saying, I hope they stomp him. Hemphill suspension announced several days after these five former officers were charged with second-degree murder.

Their entire unit, known as Scorpion, permanently deactivated. But tonight, growing questions about why Hemp Hill, who was why it was not publicly named until today and why the seventh suspended officer has not been named at all. NBC's Priscilla Thompson is following all of that late-breaking details. All those late-breaking details from Memphis leads us off. Tonight, the Memphis Fire Department terminating two medical workers, Robert Long and Jamich, and one lieutenant, Michelle Williams.

who all responded to the police beating of Tyree Nichols. The department says an internal investigation found they violated numerous MFD policies and protocols. Two Memphis police officers are on administrative leave as investigations into the brutal beating death of Tyree Nichols continues. One of the officers, Preston Hemp Hill, a five-year veteran of the force, was relieved of duty alongside the five now-fired officers, shortly after the January 7th traffic stop, according to the department. They say information about the disciplinary action was not immediately released because the investigation is still ongoing. You guys are really doing a lot right now. Bro, lay down. I'm just trying to go home.

Hemp Hill can be seen on his body cam, helping pin Nichols down during the initial confrontation and tasing Nichols as he fled on foot. I hope they'll stop his ass. Nichols died three days later. An attorney for Hemp Hill says his client was never present at the second scene and is cooperating with the investigation. that he should be terminated like the other five black officers that were terminated. Attorneys for the family of Tyree Nichols calling the revelation disappointing, saying in a statement, it certainly begs the question why the white officer involved in this brutal attack was shielded and protected from the public eye and to date from sufficient discipline and accountability.

On Saturday, the Memphis Police Department announced it would permanently deactivate its Scorpion unit that the five ex-officers now charged with murder belong to. that kind, sometimes can, both in Memphis and around the country, can sometimes breed a culture of overaggressiveness. Officials declined to say whether Hemphill was a member of the unit, created little over a year ago to address violent crime. All of this has led to renewed calls for police reform. Putting pressure on lawmakers to revisit now-stalled negotiations that began after the murder

of George Floyd. In the Senate, Republican Tim Scott and Democrat Cory Booker, who who helped lead those negotiations now expressing a willingness to return to the table. But any legislation would face an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled House, where some leaders are already expressing doubt. I don't know that any law, any training, any reform is going to change. You know, this man was handcuffed. They continued to beat him. Tonight, lawmakers still divided on the path forward as Tyree's parents move ahead with funeral plans.

All right, Priscilla Thompson joins us now live from Memphis. and Priscilla, the Nichols family will attend the State of the Union next week? That's right, Tom. The chair of the Congressional Black Caucus invited the family of Tyree Nichols to attend the State of the Union, and we are told they have accepted that invitation. And one of the issues likely to come up during that speech, police reform. Tom? Priscilla, let's go back to Friday night.

There was so much body cam and surveillance footage released more than an hour of it. But many have asked with so many officers, why was more body cam not released? So the city of Memphis tells us that during that initial traffic stop, one officer never activated their body camera and another one had his fall off during the pursuit. And we're learning that during that second encounter, only two officers activated their body cameras capturing the deadly encounter. Okay, Priscilla Thompson with a lot of new reporting there for us. Priscilla, we appreciate it. We turn out to our other major headline, that dangerous ice storm on the move across the south. Like, blasting temperatures plunging for tens of millions of Americans, part of the region bracing for up to half an inch of ice, creating treacherous road conditions.

Morgan Chesky is in Fort Worth with the latest. Tonight, a dangerous icy mess for millions. Plunging temps from Texas to Tennessee. Blasting states with freezing rain, ice, and even thundersleep. Near Dallas, the storm hit early, leading to one icy accident. it after another. I wouldn't be out here if you don't have pulled the drive. The sudden cold snap, putting the state's power grid back in the spotlight after failing

two years ago during a historic winter storm, leaving more than 200 people dead. The grid is in great condition, just like it weathered the cold snap before Christmas. We will be able to weather the cold snap. Overnight near St. Louis, two accidents alone involved nearly 40 vehicles, both blamed on black ice. roads not the only issue frozen runways and planes led to more than a thousand cancellations nationwide with dallas love and dfw international airport canceling flights by the hundreds to the west in utah video captured near white out conditions as temperatures took a frightening plunge one northern area recording 60 degrees below zero back in texas with a dangerous 48 hours ahead the strategy is clear i'm working from home tomorrow so I'm just you know hunkering down at the house so that's it if you don't have to go out you're not going out with conditions only expected to get worse the big test comes tonight with more freezing rain on the way all right morgan chesky joins us now from fort worth

texas and morgan i want to pick up right where you left off there let's talk about that power grid sometimes with these ice storms it can cause major damage why are officials especially in texas so confident. Yeah, Tom, according to the governor, he says that there has been more power reserves available to go online to meet the demand, but a clear delineation here is the fact that the grid itself is not threatened as it was two years ago, because this particular cold snap looks to be over in about 48 hours back in 2021. We were below freezing here in North Texas for nearly a week, and it was that unprecedented demand, according to officials.

that's what initially caused that grid to fail. Here, we should be back above freezing by late Wednesday. So the main concern, local outages that ice built up on power lines could prove to be a real issue. But as of right now, Texans across the entire state, breathing a little bit easier knowing that this is a storm that is much shorter lived than two years ago. Tom. All right, we thank Morgan Chesky for that. For more on this forecast, I want to get right over to Al Roker. Al, talk to us about the latest track and all this Arctic air.

Yeah, Tom, it is really, really special right now. We are looking at not just Arctic air, but we are looking at winter weather alerts for folks who don't normally see this, especially icing. We're talking about all the way from New Mexico, Texas, on into the Mississippi River Valley, as far east as Pennsylvania, winter storm watches, advisories. Ice warnings are out, especially as you make your way through western Tennessee, on into central Arkansas, we are going to be looking at a snowy, icy mix. So what's going to happen along this front, Arctic air is going to be coming down, moisture along it,

so we're going to have areas of sleet, freezing rain from Texas to Kentucky overnight. Tomorrow that's going to continue. Another round of wintry weather will continue. Slick travel, power outages most likely, and then we move into Wednesday with more of the same icing continuing from Texas into Arkansas, plus to the south of that heavy flooding possible for eastern Texas on into Louisiana. So here's what we're looking at. Multiple rounds of sleet and freezing rains,

anywhere from a quarter of an inch to maybe even in some spots a half an inch of ice. That's going to take down power lines, trees coming down. Travel's going to be a mess, as will airports along that region. And then to the south, heavy rain with flood risks possible from eastern Texas on into parts of Louisiana and the central plane.

So we're going to be watching that very closely as well. Behind all that, we're talking brutally cold air. oldest of the season. Nineteen million people under windshield advisories and warnings. Tuesday morning, windshield, Minneapolis, 25 below, 18 in Dallas, five in St. Louis. Chicago, you're going to feel like 12. And then Tuesday afternoon, that cold air starts moving to the east. It'll feel like 15 in Buffalo, 25 in Memphis, and 15 as you get into Omaha. And that cold air spreads into the northeast. Saturday night, Tom, we are talking single digits throughout much of the I-95 Carter.

It's going to be a busy weather week. And, Al, the only thing's stronger than that storm? Al Roker. And we want to welcome you back. I know you've been working for a while, but welcome back to Top Story. It's been a few weeks. We missed you. We love seeing you here, Alan.

I got to tell you that 50 bucks you owed me before you left, you still owe me that 50 bucks. With interest. With the Vig. All right, Al. Welcome back. Thanks, dude. All right, we want to move on now to power and politics as former President Donald Trump hits the campaign trail in two key states and his run to take back the White House.

remains the only GOP candidate to announce so far, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is emerging as the strongest possible challenger. Trump now leveling attacks in his direction. This says NBC News has confirmed tonight in earlier New York Times report that a grand jury has now been convened in Manhattan, investigating those hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 Trump campaign. NBC's Vaughn Hilliard is in South Carolina for us. Donald Trump hitting the campaign trail for the first time. picks president. Since announcing his bid for a second term in the White House, we're starting, we're starting right here. He spent the weekend in critical early primary states, South Carolina, and New Hampshire, hoping the state's Republican voters pick him again, just one year from now.

The former president fighting claims that his campaign has gotten off to a rocky start. They said he's not doing rallies. He's not campaigning. Maybe he's lost that step. I'm more angry now and I'm more committed now than I ever was. In South Carolina, he was flanked by his new leadership team, including the state senior senator, Lindsey Graham, a longtime ally. The good news for the Republican Party, there are many talented people for years to come, but there is only one Donald Trump. Trump is so far the only major candidate in the GOP field, but it's expected to grow.

NBC News has learned that the first Republican presidential debate is likely to take place just six months from now. The man mentioned as his most likely competition. Good morning. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. In New Hampshire, a new poll release last week shows he may be a real concern for Trump. DeSantis with a 12 percentage point edge in the Granite State. New Hampshire had been Trump's first primary win in 2016, key to his early momentum. We love you. We're going to be back a lot. We're not going to forget you. You started it. Remember, you started it. Governor DeSantis hasn't formally announced anything yet, but he's widely speculated to be planning a presidential run,

with advisors, quote, actively preparing, according to the Washington Post, citing two Republicans with knowledge of the conversations. Trump sticking to his well-known playbook, taking aim at his once-allied-turned-potential rival. Is Southwest Florida Trump country or what? Recalling he campaigned for DeSantis the first time he ran for governor in 2018.

I got him elected. Iran would have not been governor. wasn't for me, and that's okay. Then when I hear he might run, you know, I consider that very disloyal. Trump! Trump! Trump! Several voters we spoke to still strongly side with Trump in this potential battle. You like DeSantis? I do. I don't dislike. I would love to see a Trump-a-santis ticket. So Trump is your absolute number one? Of course. No questions asked. In NBC News polling, two-thirds of Republicans say this support the MAGA movement. But as Trump's family corporation faces investigations and lawsuits and the former president himself is under

scrutiny for his actions after the 2020 election, some Republican voters are leaving the window open for a different option. Is there a chance you'd vote for a Republican that is not Trump next year? There is a chance. It's a short list, though. Now, one of those potential candidates, Nikki Haley, the former U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration and the former governor of this state here, South Carolina, Donald Trump said over the course of the weekend that she actually placed a phone call to him recently and suggested that she was considering running for president herself and challenging him. Now, Trump said that he welcomed her to jump into the race, despite her at one point saying she would not run if he were to run. But the

thought process here is that a fractured, more crowded field would only dilute the vote that would not be for Donald Trump. This is going to be a busy few months ahead here, Tom. All right, Von Hilliard for us, Vaughn, we appreciate that on the campaign trail. For more analysis on the former president, DeSantis and the future of the GOP, I want to bring in our experts, former Republican member of Congress, Carlos Grubello and NBC News Analyst, and former communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee and a friend of top story, Matt Gorman. Matt, I want to start with you.

We have some new NBC News polling out, and of course we just saw some of this in Vaughn's report. But Vaughn mentioned that 64% of those that identifies Republicans are MAGA movement supporters. That's a very big number. But then out of those same Republicans, only 33% say they are more a supporter of Donald Trump than the Republican Party. But, Matt, here's the reality. 33% is a great number. If two other people run for the nomination, Donald Trump runs away with this.

What's your take on that? Sure. But right now, we're about a year out from when people start even voting. So, look, that's a long time away. And I think also to people who make concrete parallels from 2016 to now, it's just a different time. I mean, back in the day, I worked on Jeff Bush's campaign. Trump would blot out the sun with a tweet or just an offhand remark would get coverage for days on end. that's not the case right now. I mean, can anyone really pull or think of a line from a speech that he started since the campaign? I can't think of one. It's not the same media environment. He's not getting the blanket coverage he once did. And that's key. It's a good point. Carlis, you said a few weeks ago, unmute the press, that Trump has no longer control of the party. But we've seen this win, right, with Rona McDaniel as the R&C chair and his rallies this week and drawing crowds. What do you make of these recent events? Because we know that McDaniel was in the Trump.

camp for a long time. She may still be. Will that have any pull or hold over the party going into the primaries? Well, Tom, I think it's important to realize two things. Number one, Donald Trump is weakened, as Matt said. This is not 2016. It's not 2017. This is a new reality. But at the same time, you know, MAGA, Donald Trump and his movement, that is the new Republican establishment. That is why Ronna McDaniel won again, because she is someone who, uh, won the first time with Donald Trump's support. You saw Rhonda Sannis try to come in and undermine her right at the end of her campaign. That didn't work.

She won. The new establishment in the Republican Party is Donald Trump. It's not the Bush's, it's not the Cheney's, that's over. It's Donald Trump. So whoever is going to be running, whether it's Ronda Sanis or someone else, they are going to be running as anti-establishment candidates. And believe it or not, that means that they're going to be running against Donald Trump and his political apparatus. Matt, let's whip out the calendar here, because I know you love dates very much. This is the primary season, as it looks right now.

It could, of course, change. We know that the DNC calendar is going to change a little bit. We start with Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. Why do I put this up for you, Matt? One, because Iowa, even though the president didn't win this in 2016, former President Trump, he did win it in 2020 against Biden. New Hampshire, he wins in 2016, and he just takes off after that. I put this up because, you know, momentum is so important, right?

Momentum is so important in the primaries, and if there is a fracture field and you have a calendar that possibly benefits the former president, doesn't that put him in the poll position, or at least maybe leading off before this thing starts? I think one key point that you'd have this time that you didn't have in 2016 is, let's not forget, Democrats are likely not to have Iowa or New Hampshire first like there was in 2016. And in New Hampshire, particularly, that's an open primary, so independents can vote. So therefore, if Democrats aren't there anymore, Republicans are the only game in town. You could have independence then voting in the Republican primary, and that would benefit

somebody who isn't Trump, per se, could appeal those moderate voters, whether that's even a governor, Chris Sununu, or somebody else who is running. So I think that's going to moderate the primary where you didn't have that necessarily in 2016. Carlis, I'm going to ask you about Desantis in a moment, but Matt, while I still have you, I do want to ask you about this news that NBC News confirmed tonight. The New York Times had this earlier today. There's been a grand jury convened in Manhattan investigating those hush money payments that were made back in 2015 to Stormy Daniels during that 2016 campaign. I have to ask you, there's a lot of investigations involving the former president.

How does this affect his campaign overall? Does he rise above it? Does he ignore it and just keep campaigning? I feel like we've been through this so many times before. I mean, just over a couple months ago with the classified documents. And also, I'm glad Albert Bragg's finally prosecuting somebody because he's not doing violent criminals in New York. But look, the only way you're going to defeat Trump, in my opinion, is at the ballot box. You're not going to be doing it by trying to take him off the field somehow.

He can run as a martyr. If you want to defeat Trump, you do it in the voting booth of the ballot box. Carlos, the Washington Post is reporting that the man who possibly could take on the former president, Ron DeSantis, the governor of your state, is starting to prepare for a presidential run. You're there in the Sunshine State Force. What are you hearing from the Republican Party there? Does everyone think he's going to run? Tom, everyone knows that Ron DeSantis is going to run for president in this state, and I can tell you, at least in this state, we'll see if he can, you know, push this out into the rest of the country, but at least in this state, Ron DeSantis is extremely popular in all of the polling that I've seen for the last few months. He is well ahead of Donald Trump. A lot of Republicans here tell you, we like Donald Trump, we appreciate what he did, but it's time for him to let another Republican. come forward and run for the presidency.

And most people in this state think that that should be Ron DeSantis. Carlos, you've been critical of Ron DeSantis before because it's much different to run a national campaign than it is to run in the state of Florida. You can ask Jeff Bush that. But we see that he's starting to make some changes. There's been some reporting that he's, you know, catering to donors, doing things like this,

trying to glad hand, if you will, maybe become a little more accessible. Do you think he has what it takes to take on Donald Trump because it's not easy? It won't be easy, and relationships matter in politics, Tom. And this is something that Ron DeSanta has not dedicated a lot of time and resources to over his career. So he is making a greater effort. He is remembering that he not only has to win a primary, but also a general election.

So I think that we're going to see over the next few months, Ron DeSantis, try to become a more complete candidate, someone who can have broader appeal beyond Florida, beyond the critically important issue of the pandemic. But the pandemic is now behind us. So Ron DeSantis has to find new ways to attract voters to distinguish himself from Donald Trump, while at the same time keeping a lot of those Trump supporters who do want to continue to see the movement go forward.

So it'll be a careful balancing act, and right now, Ron DeSantis is trying to prepare for that. Carlos and Matt, before you guys go, I want you to each predict. When do you think DeSantis throws his hat in the ring? I'll go first, being a Floridian, I think it'll be right after the legislative session, which ends in May, so I think June, July, the latest. Gears up in the summer. Matt, what about you?

I said, I think the same thing. There's no advantage for a dissanice getting in right now. Matt Gorman and Carl Scrobella, we love having you on top story. Thank you. Okay, we want to turn now to the ongoing migrant crisis here in the U.S. Tonight, some asylum seekers choosing to sleep on the streets of New York after city officials attempted to move them from a Manhattan hotel to a large. larger temporary shelter at a cruise terminal in Brooklyn. Some of the migrants calling the conditions

unlivable. Our Valerie Castro spoke to some of the men who are protesting the move and has that story tonight for us. Tonight, the efforts to house migrants in New York City growing more chaotic as officials try to force some of them from this Manhattan Hotel to a new shelter. The migrants protesting the move instead sleeping on the street. Some of them say the conditions at the Brooklyn cruise ship terminal, which the city set up with a thousand. and beds for single men are unlivable, with reports from men who were there of only limited bathroom facilities. We cross the street like this for take a shower and come back to this.

The city buss some people to the facility over the weekend, many who fled political turmoil and economic instability in Venezuela. They feel safer sleeping in the streets rather than sleeping in what reminds them of an ICE detention center. Several returned to Manhattan, warning others not to go, resulting in the sidewalk encampment under scaffolding. And I'm going to go to go to go back there. But all of them will soon be forced to leave. The city saying the hotel will become a shelter strictly for families with children. What are they saying, if they can't get here or they're going to move? Some of the men say they've been through New York City and now moving around various shelters or hotels.

The city saying 42,000 asylum seekers have come here since last spring. How do you feel of the situation? No, one of the local, no, I don't think that this will be going to pass here. the mayor's office in a statement saying quote we continue to surpass our moral obligations and insisting the Brooklyn site will provide the same services as other city-run relief centers but local elected officials said in a joint statement their scheduled tour of the facility supposed to be set up for the next three months was postponed by the mayor's office arguing if the shelter was ready for people to begin arriving Saturday it should be ready for elected

officials to visit on Monday. Despite the uncertainty, Ivan Pereira, who fled Venezuela, says he has faith. Kastra joins us now from Manhattan. Valerie, how many people have been sleeping outside in front of the hotel the last few nights? Tom, mutual aid workers here tell us that there were about 50 people who slept outside on Saturday night. They said Sunday night it was between 80 and 100 people. Again, people are expected to camp here tonight. Over the weekend, the weather was actually mild by New York standards in January, but Tom, the temperatures are expected to drop in the coming days.

You know, this increase in migrants coming to New York City has been a huge problem for the current mayor. Some people have criticized the number of bathrooms that have been available at that new shelter. What is the city saying about all these issues? The city tells us that there are adequate bathroom facilities, both inside the terminal building and in some trailers that were brought in. They tell us there are about 90 toilets available. They wouldn't specify how many showers. Again, people are concerned about the conditions once they arrive there. And we've asked the city, if people are actually staying in that shelter. They tell us that there are people that have spent the night but couldn't specify exactly how many we're staying there.

Tom. Okay, Valerie Castle for us. Valerie, we appreciate it. We want to head overseas now to the escalating tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visiting Israel today pleading with both sides to stop the violence after a string of deadly incidents. Kelly Kobie has the latest from Jerusalem. With Israel on its highest terror alert, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on both Israelis and Palestinians

to stop a rising tide of violence. It's the responsibility of everyone to take steps to calm tensions rather than inflame them. On Saturday, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy shot and wounded in Israeli father and son. This video showing the moment an off-duty soldier fired back. And hours earlier, a Palestinian gunman opening fire on worshippers outside a synagogue in Jerusalem, killing seven, including a 14-year-old Israeli boy. All of it after this Israeli raid on Palestinians last Thursday, leaving 10 Palestinians dead. Israeli officials say it was a counterterrorism operation, and most of those killed were militants.

The Palestinian Authority says civilians also died. Meanwhile tonight, the New York Times, citing intelligence sources, reports Israel was behind a drone attack on an Iranian military facility Saturday. Our policy and my policy is to do everything. everything within Israel's power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Tensions tonight still high as Secretary Blinken prepares to meet the Palestinian president tomorrow. Tensions tonight are complicated by both leaders here. Prime Minister Netanyahu leads Israel's most hard-line government vowing to expand settlements, angering Palestinians, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas,

who Blinken meets with tomorrow, has serious credibility issues with most Palestinians. Tom. Okay, Kelly Kobiea for us, Kelly, thank you. Now to a stark warning from a top U.S. military general of a coming war with China. Four-star Army General Mike Minahan telling his air mobility command service members in a memo, quote, I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025. She secured his third term and set his war counsel in October of 2022. Taiwan's presidential elections are in 2024, and G-Waw for a reason. United States presidential elections are and 2024 and will offer she had distracted America. The general responsible for the 50,000 person unit in the Air Force,

also telling the troops, quote, if you are comfortable in your approach to training, you're not taking enough risk. I want to bring in retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis. He has more than 20 years active service and is a senior fellow at defense priorities, a military think tank. So, Colonel, at times leaders have to motivate their troops. Is this just a case of that, or do you think there's more to this? Do you think he was being honest?

Yeah, for sure, that's a requirement. I remember when I was in the second Armory Cavalry Squadron, patrolling the east-west border during the Cold War of the East and West Germany. And any time the Soviet Union could potentially have come across him, we constantly kept at the forefront of our ideas and our mind and our training that this could be real at any time. So that's ordinary and normal. This one, though, does seem to be a little oddly specific, you know, especially talking about how to take your personal weapon and shoot for the head. because things seem to be, you know, coming to a head. It just seemed a little more specific than what you would typically expect. You know, he also said this on that point and tell me if this is normal.

General Minnehan apparently told his forces, quote, consider their personal affairs and whether a visit should be scheduled with their servicing-based legal office to ensure they are legally ready and prepared. He also told them to update their emergency contacts and essentially get their personal affairs in order. It sounds like someone who's ready for a war. Well, again, that's very specific, and I specifically remember before I deployed into my first combat zone, that that's exactly what we did. We got all those things done, and we saw all the lawyers and got our wheels updated and all those kinds of things.

Those are things you do when you're getting ready to deploy into a combat zone. It's not something that you ordinarily do, and the fact that he brought that up, again, it just makes you wonder if he knows some more than what he's telling. This memo has made headlines all over the world. For sure, China is looking at this as well. So my question to you is, do you think the tensions between China, the U.S. and Taiwan there in the middle, are they at an all-time low? And do you think that we are getting to a point now where a possible war with China is inevitable? Well, it certainly is not inevitable. And we need to make certain that it's not inevitable.

But there's no doubt that the tensions are about as high as any. time that I've seen in my lifetime. And that's really from all sides. You see China continuing to amp up what it's doing. You see the United States increasing its presence in the Middle East. We have designated China as the pacing threat, which basically calls them the enemy. We're increasing the number of troops we have, even closer in there, into Guam, into Japan, into several other places in the area there. So, of course, China's responding to all that. And it just feels like that we're kind of, you know, tit for tat, both sides kind of amping up. And we definitely need to cool the tensions here because there is nothing in Taiwan that's worth the potential of losing

thousands of American service members or ships being sunk and airplanes being knocked out of the sky, all of which would happen if we go to war with China over Taiwan. And that's something we have to avoid because Taiwan is not a treaty ally like South Korea and Japan are. And, you know, just like in the Europe, where we're helping Kiev defend against Russia. We can help Taiwan, and we should, but we should not enter into a war against nuclear-armed China. Yeah, the idea of two superpowers facing off is incredibly dangerous and scary, and hopefully we don't get to that point. Okay, we want to thank you so much, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis.

Thank you for joining Top Story. Still ahead tonight, the dating app predator, an urgent man hunt underway for a man accused of kidnapping and torturing a woman. Why police fear, he could actually be using. dating apps to lure other victims. Plus, the late breaking news out of Florida, at least 10 people have been shot in Lakeland, and authorities are searching for those

responsible what we've just learned from police. And a Texas homeowner, this is a strange one, confronted with a series of uninvited and inappropriate guests, why they're showing up at her house looking for sex workers and how she's getting rid of them. Top story. Just getting started on this Monday night.

All right, we're back now with an urgent warning from police in Oregon, who say that a man who allegedly kidnapped and torture a woman is now on the run. Police say he might be looking for more victims and he's using dating apps to find them. Stephen Romo has the latest. Tonight, police are on an all-out man hunt for an Oregon suspect accused of torturing a woman he held captive. Benjamin Obadiah Foster is believed to be armed and extremely dangerous, according to police, who released these surveillance images. they say show Foster on the run. Investigators believe the 36-year-old may now be online looking for new potential victims. Detectives were able to determine that the suspect Benjamin Foster had been accessing social media sites for the dating applications.

And we fear that he may be targeting women in the area either to lure them into helping his escape or into possibly being additional victim. He's been on the run since last week after police found a woman unconscious and bound at a home in Grant's Pass, Oregon. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition. On Thursday night, police raided Foster's home, but he managed to escape, allegedly aided by a 68-year-old woman who was arrested for hindering prosecution, according to police. Ben Foster is from the southern Oregon area, so he has a lot of friends, a lot of contacts within this area. so it's possible that he could be getting assistance in remaining around the area. Foster is now accused of attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault. He had previously been convicted in Nevada for keeping his ex-girlfriend captive for two weeks back in 2019.

Investigators say she was found with broken ribs and other injuries, having been bound with zip ties and duct tape, but she managed to escape. We know that recently he attempted to murder. a woman in a savage way where he tortured the person. Very serious crime. And he's done it in the past. It would be logical to believe that he's going to do it again. All right, Stephen, Stephen, this is pretty scary stuff here. You mentioned in the report, he gets arrested and convicted for doing that thing to his girlfriend, kidnapping her, breaking her ribs, apparently. How did he get out of jail? Yeah, back in 2019, when this happened, he actually was hit with five different charges for that faced decades in jail, but reached a plea deal. And because of that,

he ended up with time served. He was only in jail for about 200 days and was able to get back up. Yes, 200 days. Right now, police say they got this $2,500 reward, and they are hoping that that will allow them to get him behind bars again. Yeah, I'm putting the picture out there. Hopefully somebody sees him. All right, Stephen Romo for us, Stephen, we appreciate it. We want to turn out to an internet sex scam creating a real-life nightmare for one Texas retiree. For months, more than two dozen men have mistakenly showed up to a woman's home expecting, expecting to hook up with sex workers. NBC's Dallas-Fort Worth's Maria Guerrero has this story. I'm frustrated, I'm irritated, and I'm beyond done.

Instead of basking in her retirement, Elaine White has been left with sleepless nights, wondering. How can a man, a grown man, go to a house in a neighborhood thinking they're going to get sex? How or why is her East Plano home being used online to lure men looking for sex workers? As many hookers and prostitutes are out there, go get one. Leave me alone. I'm not here for that. What are they saying to you? They're saying they're here for an appointment for Nikki. Some are for Kelly. Some for Nikki. Now it's Rhonda. Since last year, White says around 25 men have come to her door at all hours, young and old. All if, Niscities, locals, and from as far away as Laredo, pressing her ring doorbell. Excuse me?

She's confronting some of them. Are you supposed to meet someone here or no? Which name? Rhonda. For drugs or sex? Um, second one. Well, you know what? This is a bait house and you have about 10 seconds to get away from it or the cops are going to get you.

She says police have responded but only make the men leave, telling her she could be the innocent victim of a sex trafficking ring posing as a massage website. Some sex website that nasty old men go and look for sex. They pay Venmo for the services and then they get my address and they come here. Security signs aren't keeping Johns away. Neither is this spray painted sign she's resorted to. Kelly does not live here. Look at the sign on my front door.

Oh, okay. Get the fuck off my front porch. Fed up, she's backing up this warning on her door. Yes, I have my Smith and Weston, 357 Magnum, loaded four-inch barrel next to me. Okay now. And I answer the door with it. While incredibly frustrating that this keeps happening and no one is being arrested, Ms. White says she does appreciate the quick response from police anytime she calls.

Yeah, do not mess with Elaine White. Okay, we want to thank our Dallas station for that story. When we come back, the close call in Hawaii, a massive object crashing through the wall of this home, missing the woman inside by just inches what that object was and how it may have gotten loose. Next. Okay, time now for Top Stories News Feed. We begin with that mass shooting in Florida. Police say at least 10 people were shot in Lakeland between Tampa and Orlando.

At least two of the victims are in critical condition. Authorities say they do believe the shooting. shooting was targeted and that drug were found at the scene. No word yet on any arrest. An alleged car thief in Atlanta was rescued by police after crashing onto train tracks. This is a crazy story. New aerial footage shows the car flip onto the tracks and officers been smashing the windows and managed to pull the man out just seconds before a train smashed into that vehicle. No one was hurt, the 28-year-old suspect now facing several charges. And a woman in Hawaii, lucky to be alive after a boulder crashed into her home, a home security

cam capturing the moment that five-foot boulder crashed right through the home's cinder block wall. Wow, narrowly missing a woman. No one was hurt. The family had just moved into that home last month. The incident followed days of heavy rain in the area. Okay, turning out of the trial of Alec Murdoch. Today, the jury getting a closer look at his weapon collection. NBC's Blaine Alexander has this one.

In a South Carolina courtroom, a dramatic show and tell. Let's see what else is in this box. On the stand, investigator. Jeff Croft, revealing gun after gun found at the hunting property of Alec Murdoch, the disbarred attorney on trial for the murder of his wife and adult son. And again, if you can, uh, show that to the jury, please. The murder weapons have not been recovered. Murdoch's defense attorneys repeatedly objected to the guns being shown, saying

ballistics tests had already determined these were not involved. They're just not relevant, but sending, you know, just weapon after weapon back into the jury room during jury. deliberations we think is unfairly prejudicial. This agent gathered 12-gauge weapons for a reason because 12-gauge rounds were used to murder Paul Murdoch. Today, jurors watched body camera video showing investigators searching Murdoch's gun closet and recovering old shell casings from the property not involved in the murders. Jurors also heard recordings of an emotional Murdoch questioned by law enforcement several days after the killings. When asked about his wife, he breaks down.

They're a wonderful wife. During that recording, Murdoch also references a 300 blackout rifle. The same type of weapon, investigators say, was used in Maggie's death. The people often use 300 blackout to shoot hogs. They do. The day began with Murdoch's attorneys suggesting, because there were two weapons used, there may have been two different shooters. One explanation, not the one.

Not the only one. Yeah, not the only one. But it is a reasonable explanation, just like one shoe, right up that way, correct? Sure. But the state pushed back on that, saying it could also mean there was one shooter using two guns.

Tom? Okay, Blair, Alexander, for us. Blair, we appreciate it. Not at Top Story's Global Watch and the deadly bombing of a mosque in northwestern Pakistan. Officials say a suicide bomber attacked a mosque that was inside of a police compound

while more than 300 worshippers were inside. You can see the devastating pictures there. Nearly 60 people killed and more than 150 wounded. Authorities say, of the victims are police officers, it's still unclear who is responsible for that attack. A U.S. professional skier was killed in an avalanche in central Japan. Officials say at least five people were swept up by the avalanche at a ski resort in Nagano. At least two people were

killed the wife of U.S. skier, Kyle Smaid, confirming in an Instagram post that he was among the victims. Three other skiers were rescued from the snow and the debris. And record rainfall causing a flooding emergency in New Zealand. Take a look at this. Video shared on social media show travelers waiting through water. This is actually inside Auckland's airport. Hundreds of passengers were stranded and flights canceled. At least four people have died in this flooding, which also closed roadways. More dangerous weather is in the forecast. All right, coming up and back here at home, have you heard of valley fever? It's a fungal infection that can spread to the brain. Its cases are climbing and officials are warning that warming temperatures

could make the spread even faster. We'll explain it all. That's next. We're back now with a dangerous fungal infection, putting health officials on high alert. The symptoms may sound familiar, cough, fever, tiredness, headache, and chills, but it's not COVID, RSV, or even the flu. This one is called Valley fever, and now doctors are concerned of warming temperatures will cause it to spread. Gotti Schwartz has this one. 24-year-old Devin Buckley's freshman year of college was supposed to be the time of his life. Life is great, actually, at the time I got sick. I had, like, no complaints. But in spring of 2018, the University of Arizona students suddenly started losing weight.

He was extremely tired, struggling even to walk to the bathroom. It took six weeks to get a diagnosis of fungal infection called Valley Fever. Had you ever heard of Valley Fever? No, I had never heard of it. Valley fever is caused by breathing in microscopic spores that live in dirt. It sounds like you were extremely close to death. Yeah, they were telling my mom to prepare for that. He's still not better, spending five years in and out of the hospital.

At his worst, he was on life support for two weeks. At 23, you have your whole life ahead of you. This is an exciting time. And he's just open to have a day where he's not in pain all day. So it's a challenge. Some people with Valley Fever experience just mild disease, but 5 to 10% of cases lead to serious long-term lung problems. The disease can spread to the breast

disease can spread to the brain joints and in some cases is fatal. The spores that cause valley fever thrive in dry desert environments like this. Two-thirds of all cases reported in the United States originate from right here in Arizona. And researchers say that the disease's reach is expanding. In recent years, valley fever cases rose 32 percent and experts worry it could get much worse. One study shows the spores that cause it could spread beyond the southwest through the Great Plains as the earthworms due to climate change. And while there is no cure for valley fever,

researchers say they are close to developing a vaccine. It's been found repeatedly. Dr. John Galgiani has been treating and studying Valley fever for 40 years. If we could prevent this with a vaccine, that would be a real game changer. Researchers at the University of Arizona have created a vaccine for dogs that could be approved by the USDA early next year. It would be the first fungal vaccine approved in the U.S. for animal or human.

Dr. Galgiani says it looks promising for people, too. How hopeful are you that we're going to see a vaccine soon? I'm really quite hopeful, in my view, right now. We do have a candidate that deserves to be evaluated, and I think we'll probably be effective and we'll be using it. And he says time is of the essence. Gotti Schwartz, NBC News, Tucson. Okay, we thank Gotti Schwartz for that one. When we come back, the Oscars investigation, one of the best actress nominees at the center of a social media.

campaign during Oscars voting, did the film's creative team with the help of several A-list celebrities violate Academy rules to get her in. The details. Next. Calling Grandma, you do not call my mother. She is my mother. You do not call my mother. You do not call my mother. You leave her out of this. That intense scene was a clip from the 22 film to Leslie. And there's a good chance you probably haven't seen that film or even heard about it until recently. And that's because the low-budget indie flew mostly under the radar. But the movie star is now in the running for best actress at the Oscars.

However, how she made it into the category is now at the center of an investigation. NBC News now anchor Joe Fryer explains. Tell me I'm good. An Academy investigation is underway after this surprising Oscar nomination. Andrea Reisborough in Telesley. Gaspes could be heard after Andrea Rysborough was nominated for her performance in Telesley, a drama about an alcoholic woman who wins the lottery. Oh, well, I feel a lot better than yesterday.

The little-known indie movie has only grossed about $27,000 at the box office, and the film and Rysboro failed to get nominated. for most other major awards, including the Golden Globes. It's by your best effort, I ain't going nowhere. But right before Oscars voting, a star-studded word-of-mouth campaign began to surface, with A-listers like Gwyneth Paltrow, Edward Norton, Sarah Poulson, and Demi Moore, all promoting Riseboro's performance. Some even used the same language in their posts, almost all of them calling to Leslie a, quote,

small film with a giant heart. Even the best actress frontrunner, Kate Blanchett, mentioned Rysborough during one of her recent acceptance speeches. It is extremely arbitrary considering how many extraordinary performances there have been by women, not only in this room, but, you know, Andrea Rysbore and Tang Way. The actors wouldn't have done this for the most part if they didn't like the performance. So I don't want to take anything away from that. But to say this was organic and grew out of nothing is misunderstanding how Oscar campaigns work. At issue, did the social media campaign violate the Academy's rules against lobbying for votes? In a statement, the Academy's Board of Governors announced that it's meeting Tuesday to review, quote,

campaign procedures around this year's nominees to ensure that no guidelines were violated and to inform us whether changes to the guidelines may be needed in a new era of social media. and digital communication. The rules are the rules, and the way the rules are written right now is you are not allowed to excessively lobby people or disparage other campaigns. Adding to the nomination's blowback, two black actresses who were heavily favored to score best actress nods were left out. The woman King's Viola Davis.

Some things are worth fighting for. And Tills Danielle Deadwild. This was my boy. Riseborough herself even expressed shock, telling Deadwell. after the nominations. I'm not entirely sure how this happened. He ain't never going to speak to me again. It is rare for the Academy to rescind a nomination. In 95 years, it has only happened nine times. I don't think that Andrew Riceboro will lose her nomination. And the most important thing is they will probably put a rule in place giving better guidance for what is okay and not okay on social media and to make outreach to people in the community during voting.

We reached out to Riseboro as well as her managers for comment, but did not hear back. Joe Fryer, NBC News. We thank Joe for that, and we thank you for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamis here in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.