Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, January 6, 2025

Episode Date: January 7, 2025

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

Tonight, the deadly winter slam as a sprawling storm system dumps heavy snow across more than a dozen states. Cars spinning out, trucks jackknife, and a whiteout in Washington, triggering a snow emergency. The dangerous ice storm turning streets into skating rinks and bringing down power lines. The area has seen their highest snowfall totals in decades. Also tonight, stuck in the storm. Thousands of drivers left stranded, air travelers dealing with. with ground stops, delays, and cancellations. The temperatures plunging as the next system

is set to slam the same region. Bill Cairns, standing by to time it out. Breaking tonight, the nation's first human death from the bird flu just reported. What we're learning about how that person contracted the virus and the warning tonight from health officials. Inside Trump's West Wing, President-elect Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles,

detailing to Axios her plans for his second term, whilst vowing to create a, quote, no drama zone and a peek into what will make this administration different from his past. Chaos at the country's largest ski resort, massive crowds at Park City Mountain in Utah, frustrated with hours-long lift lines as ski patrolers hit the picket line.

They're striking during the busiest time of the year, the labor dispute carving out a nightmare scenario for skiers and snowboarders. The backyard plane crash in Los Angeles video showing the mangled aircraft, jam between a home and several trees. The pilot miraculously walking away. Want to buy Walter White's home from the hit show Breaking Bad? The real owners fed up after tourists kept throwing pizzas on their roof paying homage to a scene in the iconic series. They say they

average 300 visitors a day, how much it's on the market for. Plus the cold and flu medicine just recalled over contamination concerns. Top story starts right now. And good evening. Tonight, at least four people are dead after the first major snowstorm of the year. The sprawling system impacting millions of Americans and dumping feet of snow as freezing rain turned highways into sheets of ice. In Louisville, Kentucky, take a look at this. Cars flipped, highways forced to shut down as ice-coated roads, street signs, and power lines were affected. Significant snowfall slamming the mid-Atlantic, Washington, D.C., blanche. blanketed in at least a half a foot of snow, several inches accumulating in Seaford, Delaware, making a mess of the roads there. And with federal offices and schools forced to close in our nation's

capital, hundreds of people look at this gathered for a massive snowball fight. It's a snowday tradition in Meridian Hill Park. At this hour, crews are working to restore power to more than 230,000 customers stretching from Missouri to Virginia. And flight delays and cancellations continue to rise. Right now, some of the worst airports, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas, and Reagan. Reagan announcing their temporary closing down the runways tonight because of that snow. We have team coverage tonight. Our reporters are spread out in the hardest-hit areas, and Bill Cairns is standing by with more on the bitter cold behind this massive storm. NBC San Brock is going to start off our coverage tonight from the heart of the nation's capital.

Tonight, a bout of Arctic blast, blanketing D.C. with more than a half foot of snowfall, leading to serious safety hazards on the roads like this crash today on the beltway involving four vehicles including a dump truck, a reminder of the rarity and danger of the system. We haven't had snow like this really in memory. I mean, this is the most at one time that I've ever seen since living here. Even as the snow also freezes activity into the city. No people, no trucks, no cars and a lot of empty space. It's kind of way. weird. Yeah. The sprawling storm disrupting travel. Around 2,000 flights have been canceled and more than 6,000 delayed nationwide. This morning in Chicago, a ground stop at O'Hare Airport and Kansas City International

clocking 11 inches of snow just on Sunday, its fourth largest snowfall since 1888. At Reagan National, passengers hoping to get where they're going soon. I heard about the storm, but I didn't think is it was going to be an effect. The dangerous conditions across the country's midsection, causing at least four weather-related deaths. Kentucky's governor urging residents to take caution. The most important thing that people can do today is to stay home and to stay safe. The heavy snow burying cars. NBC's Maggie Vespa is in Kansas City, Missouri. The roads here are an absolute mess. I mean, these cars clearly haven't moved since snow started

falling. And officials here in Kansas City say cleanup could take. take days. The severe weather also causing 300,000 customers from Virginia to Illinois to lose power. The snow shutting schools down across the country. In Washington, D.C., parents juggling work and child care. I think you could keep this up with your kids. Oh, God. I mean, I am emotionally prepared to have it go through Wednesday. In a city normally defined by movement and chaos, mother nature hitting pause on almost everything. Sam Brock joins us to tonight from the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Sam, that mother there had us all sort of cracking up, and there's sort of more bad news for her. Also, give our viewers an update about

what's happening at Reagan. Right, so we have a number of developments, Tom. Let's start first with DCA. So they have shut down their runways for the evening. That announcement came directly from the airport at about 6 o'clock. This was a tough night for them. Some 82% of all departing flights canceled. 70 plus percentage of flights that were arriving to DCA canceled. sources close to DCA telling us that right now they just cannot keep up with all the snow and the runways are frozen. The expectation right now is it will reopen sometime around 5 o'clock tomorrow morning, but that is not confirmed from the airport. As for all the moms and parents and kids out there that are wondering, are we getting another snow day. D.C. public school says

that, yes, tomorrow, no school as well. We do know in neighboring northern Virginia and Maryland as well. Some school districts are looking at no school through Wednesday, so this is evolving as well. Tom, we hear those kids all celebrating. We hear the parents crying in the background. Sam Brock, we appreciate you for that. For more of the tribal nightmare, this storm is causing. I'm joined tonight by Adrian Broadest from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. So, Adrian, let's start actually outside the airport. There were reports of a school bus crash in the city suburbs today. What more do we know about that? Some frightening moments earlier in the day, Tom. Those students on that bus, more than 50 of them, and seven administrators were heading to a few.

when that crash happened. Now, according to the Illinois State Patrol, no students were injured. We do know one adult was transported to the hospital. It's unclear whether or not that adult was affiliated with the school, and we do not know the extent of that person's injuries. Now, those students were able to get off of the bus safely, and another form of transportation was provided,

so they were able to continue on with their field trip. But it's unclear whether or not the weather played a role weather played a role. Early indications say that may have been the case, the snow and ice and just slippery roads earlier today, Tom. Right. And so that's obviously affecting the airport as well. Talk to us about what happened there today and if flights are taking off again. Yeah, there was a ground stop here at O'Hare earlier today. It was elifted around 930, but here we are late in the evening and we are still seeing the impact of what happened earlier this morning. hundreds of delays, hundreds of cancellations. And right now, the average delay is a little more than 30 minutes or so. That's here at O'Hare. Also some problems at our other airport. That's Midway. Delays over there averaging about 22 minutes. We just heard what Sam told us moments ago about that runway being shut down in the D.C. area. Well, guess what? Any flights that were planning or scheduled to leave from O'Hare will likely not be able to get out tonight. We do know some

travelers who we heard from earlier in the day were already stranded and looking for alternative forms of transportation time. Okay, Adrian, all those families also still trying to get home from the holidays. They're going to have to wait a little longer, unfortunately. I do want to bring in NBC News meteorologist Bill Carrens to walk us through the next few days. So, Bill, we're looking at a very active radar. Walk our viewers through what's going on. Yeah, this is the end of our storm that started on Friday in the Midwest. A little bit of light snow in the mid lane, maybe another inch, and that's going to be about it for this storm. the cold is just pouring down out of Canada.

We have cold weather advisors all along the Gulf Coast, by Houston standards, New Orleans, Mobile, Jacksonville, Florida, Orlando, and Tampa. This is cold for you. Windchills are in the upper 20s to low 30s. Windchill right now in Kansas City, 6. You're still cleaning up in your 11 inches of snow that was on top of that coating of ice. And as this cold air goes to the south, it's going to set the stage up for our next storm. This is going to be beginning on Thursday.

The blue is snow. And you see Dallas, Fort Worth in it, San Angelo, Oklahoma City, ice to the south of that, possibly as far south as Waco, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville. This could be more snow for you. Could have icy conditions through areas like Montgomery, Birmingham, heading to Atlanta, and this hill all head to the East Coast. Tom, at this point, this does not look like a nor'easter. It looks like it'll miss the northeast, but heads up to our friends in Texas. Even in Dallas, they could be talking about up to six inches of snow. Okay, it's going to be a busy week for you, Bill. We appreciate that. Okay, we also, we know you're tracking another possible

life-threatening windstorm out west as well? This is unbleu. It hasn't rained in Southern California. This is the rainy season, and it hasn't rained. It's going to be extremely windy tonight, even worse tomorrow night. So red flag warnings are up. 20 million people are in high wind warnings or wind advisories. And the bottom line is winds could gusts up to 100 miles per hour. We could have power outages, trees down. And Tom, if any fires do form, with it being so dry, they will spread rapidly. This is just a repeat of what we've been going through numerous times this fall and early winter. Before you go, Bill, what do we know about strong windstorms like that in the L.A. area?

I mean, is the infrastructure there? Can it withstand it? Are you expecting a lot of damage or it's just not that strong? The biggest thing they're worried about, Tom, is they're worried about power lines coming down and sparking fires and then fast-moving blazes. They're actually saying they could up to 100,000 people just preemptively turn off power because they don't want to worry about that happening. So that'll be tomorrow night at this time. They're saying this is the highest wind event in Southern California in a year or two. Okay, Bill, Karens for us. Bill, thank you. We do want to turn out of some other breaking news we're following tonight.

The first human death from the bird flu in the U.S. has just been confirmed. The Louisiana Department of Health reporting a patient who had been hospitalized from the virus died today. For more on this, I want to bring in NBC's Marissa Parr. Marissa, we thank you for joining us. You know, we had reported on this patient before here on Top Story. She dealt with birds regularly. Talk to us about what happened here. So we know she'd been hospitalized in December in Louisiana.

She had been exposed to both wild birds, a flock of birds in the backyard. We know she was over the age of 65 years old. She also had underlying medical conditions. But the CDC says, and the health department says, due to underlying confidentiality, patient confidentiality. Louisiana Department of Health says that that is as much as they are able to share, Tom. But they did simultaneously express with all of those details that we just mentioned, express their deepest condolences, condolences to the patient's family and loved ones, Tom. Are public health officials sounding the alarm now? I mean, should people be concerned?

Yeah, so the CDC is maintaining that the risk to the general public is low. Of course, keep in mind, this is coming at a time. At least 67 cases around the country. We know 10 states have reported bird flu cases since the start of 2024. But the CDC, for the reasons I'm about to mention, is saying that the risk to the general public is low. They say that the majority of the public who has contracted this virus. The case has been very mild. The majority of the people who contracted this as well were exposed directly to animals. And so far, there is no indication of human to human spread. However, they did say that they have taken samples from that Louisiana patient, and they are keeping a very close eye on possible mutations. And something that we learned during

COVID and since COVID is how much mutations can happen with further spread. So for a lot of reasons, you want to take a look at these tips because for many reasons, one, you don't want this, too. We talked about those mutations that can happen. So the advice to the general public is, one, mainly avoid contacting or even having your pet contact sick or dead animals and don't eat undercooked foods. But as we mentioned, Tom, something that they and we are all keeping a very close eye on are those mutations. But so far, no indication that the public is at a high risk, Tom. Okay, Marissa, we thank you for that. We do want to head back to Washington where lawmakers today certify the electoral victory of President-elect Donald Trump.

It comes exactly four years after rioters stormed the Capitol in a failed attempt to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss. Garrett Hake spoke with Vice President Harris moments before she presided over-the-count, certifying her historic defeat. Tonight, in a joint session lasting just 40 minutes, Congress counting state electoral votes. Donald J. Trump, in the state of Florida, received 30 votes for president. certifying the sweeping election victory of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office as the 47th Commander-in-Chief. As President of the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris overseeing the certification of her own defeat. Donald J. Trump of the state of Florida has received 312 votes.

Kamala D. Harris of the state of California has received 226 votes. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance sitting in the front row. We spoke to Harris on the way into the ceremony. What should people take away from today? The only disruption, a snowstorm blanketing the Capitol, a stark departure from the violence four years ago, when a mob of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol, delaying the count for hours, a deadly riot where many were also injured, including Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Ganel.

Many of my colleagues were injured, to the point of even losing eyes. And these are the type of people that Donald Trump and his ally are trying to pardon. Candidate Trump regularly downplayed the violence and his role. That was a day of love. And repeatedly suggested he might pardon some or all of the more than 1,200 people who pleaded guilty to or were convicted of crimes involving January 6th. Those people have suffered long and hard. And there may be some exceptions to it. I have to look.

President Biden, who campaigned on a claim Trump was a threat to democracy, was asked last night if he still holds that view. I think what he did was a genuine threat to democracy. I'm hopeful that we're beyond that. Okay, Garrett Haig joins us tonight from a snowy Capitol Hill. So, Garrett, this is coming as Republicans are debating how to handle some of President elect Trump's biggest second-term priorities like the border and tax cuts through the process of reconciliation. Some had said they wanted two separate bills, but this weekend we found out the president-elect just wants one.

Walk our viewers through what's happening here. Tom, and then again this morning, Donald Trump suggested maybe he'd be fine with two after all. This is not a president who's heavily invested in the process by which his agenda gets accomplished, but he's made it clear he expects it to get accomplished, and he expects it to get accomplished quickly. The problem for Republicans right now is basically fellow Republicans. They have such a narrow majority in both chambers, but especially in the House where these bills will have to start, that they're going to have to be in 100% agreement on everything to accomplish anything. That was part of the thinking about an early win with two bills versus tying everything together in one giant package

so that if you don't like some of it, maybe there's something else in here that will get you aboard. I think Republicans have been way optimistic at how fast and how large they can go with this plan, but we'll find out in earnest probably as soon as this weekend when House Republicans are set to go to Marlago and meet with the President-elect, what their strategy is going to be at least at the start. But as we learned in the early stages of the Biden administration, these processes with reconciliation bills, one-party efforts, always take longer than the party envisions. Tom? Garrett Hake for us tonight, Garrett, great to talk to you for more on the lasting impact of January 6th, and what it means as the President-elect prepares to take office. I want to bring in Peter Baker. He's Chief White House correspondent for the New York Times.

Peter, thanks so much for being here. You've covered national politics in this country for decades. This was one of the darkest days in our modern history. And now four years later, America has reelected the man, many believe, was responsible for it. Did America forget about January 6th? Well, I look at America forgot about January 6th, but America prioritized January 6th. And it didn't prioritize it as the number one priority, at least 49.9% of the voters who cast ballots for Donald Trump didn't. And I think it's important to understand that there were other issues on their minds, right?

The issues of the economy, the issues of immigration, the issues of America, you know, progress in the world, disappointment in the Biden administration, inflation, the cost of, you know, prices at the grocery store. All of those, I think, played a big role in that election. That doesn't mean that the people who voted for Trump necessarily approve of his conduct on January 6th, but it meant that they didn't think it was disqualifying, clearly, otherwise they wouldn't have voted for him. I want to ask you about the Justice Department first and then about the Democrats after that. Did the Justice Department make a major mistake here? Did the investigation and prosecution take too long, essentially waiting after the January 6th hearings?

Well, a lot of people think so. A lot of people in Washington think so. Even I think President Biden privately has told people something to that effect, that Judge Garland, remember he had been an appeals court judge for many years, was perhaps because of that experience in this view, too cautious, too slow. to committed to following the normal processes and letting things play out rather than trying to find a way to expedite things. Now, his defenders would say, look, if he didn't do it by the book, if he didn't follow all the rules, if he didn't take it cautiously,

he would have been accused of politicizing even more than they actually were, and there would have been more justification for it. So yes, it's a big debate in Washington, but in the end, what we see is that four years after January 6, no accountability for Donald Trump for the actions that he took, not just that day, but the days and weeks leading up to it, when he told the country things that weren't true about that election that, in fact,

inspired the people to storm the capital thinking that an election had been stolen when it hadn't been. Yeah, I'm going to talk to you about that in a moment. I do also want to ask you how the Democrats sort of played the political hand when it came to January 6th, right? Do you think they overplayed that hand? It was interesting in the exit polls, as we were watching them come in on election night, democracy was the primary issue, right, for both Republicans and Democrats, but of course, that can mean different things to different people. Do you think they over-campaigned on January 6th, the bringing out of Liz Cheney in the final weeks of the campaign?

Do you think that meant anything? Should they have focused more on the economy? Well, you certainly hear a lot of second-guessing among Democrats about that, certainly. Obviously, any time you would lose an election, especially one as close as this one, remember, this is not some big landslide that Donald Trump likes to claim it was. It was a difference of 1.4 percent and 1.5 percent of the popular vote. That's a very, very close election. So anything could have made a difference, right? So you hear a lot of Democrats say, yes, we lost touch with our working class base. We lost touch with the people who have voted Democrats over the years by not appealing more to their everyday concerns and focusing too much on democracy. But, you know, I think the argument is, look, this was a singular moment in American history.

If you did not make an issue of that, are you letting them off the hook and simply saying, well, we wash our hands of it. It's not that important. So that brings me to my next question, right? As Garrett mentioned there in our last report, President-elect Trump has repeatedly said he's considering pardons for January 6 rioters. Okay, for context, nearly 1,300 people have been convicted for their actions on January 6th,

stemming from the largest single investigation in the history of the Justice Department. More than 1100 have been sentenced with nearly two-thirds given jail time. Right? So you just think about that for a second. Just today, the former chairman of the proud boys, Enrique Atario, who is serving 22 years for his role in planning that attack, asked Trump for one of those pardons,

for himself personally. Do you think those pardons happen right away? You know, the former president-elect, I should say, has said it's going to happen on day one. And does it get in the way at all of his agenda? Yeah, he has said it'll be on day one. So I think we should expect something to happen on that first day. It may not be everything all at once. He's been kind of vague about this. We don't know, for instance, does he sign a pardon that simply pardons a class of people,

or does he actually go through individually these 1,300 or what? what have you, and say, these people get it and these people don't. We don't know, obviously, at this point. But anything he does will be, you know, explosive in a lot of ways. He's going to be saying that the justice system shouldn't hold accountable people who attack the capital of the United States, and not just attack the capital, by the way. They stormed through that building chanting, hang Mike Pence. They were looking for Nancy Pelosi to do her harm. They tried to stop the county of the electoral college votes that we saw happen peacefully today in order to stop the transfer power from one president to another. It's hard to think of an event in American history that's

parallel to that. You know, Peter, you report for the most influential paper in the country, and though you don't write the history textbooks, you do write the first draft. How do you think history, especially here in this country, is going to look back at January 6th moving forward? Well, it's a great question. I think you're right to put your finger on that, because history does tend to revise itself through the lens of whatever era we're looking back on, right? Now, January 6th is a partisan event. It's looked at through these lenses of pro-Trump or anti-Trump. I think that when more distance has occurred between these events and the future, his stories

will look back on it and see it as a black mark on American democracy. And we'll ask questions about why or whether enough accountability took place for such an extraordinary event. Again, this isn't a protest the guy out of hand. This was a plotted, planned event. in order to stop the process of an election that it happened. And I think that that's something that historians will look back on and consider to be a pretty important moment.

Peter Baker for us tonight. Peter, we thank you for coming on top story. And as President-elect Trump prepares to head to the White House in just a few weeks, his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is speaking out. In a rare interview with Axios, the woman Trump calls the Ice Maiden, gives insight into her expectations for the incoming administration, saying she aims for the West Wing to be a call. quote, no drama zone. Wiles will be Trump's fifth chief of staff and make history as the first

woman to serve as the head of the president's executive office. I want to bring an Axios Trump White House reporter Mark Caputo, who got this huge interview. Mark, happy new year to you. You had a wide-ranging interview with the incoming White House chief of staff. I want to read a little from your piece so our viewers can get a sense of it. She told you, quote, my team and I will not tolerate backbiting, second-guessing, inappropriately drama. These are counterproductive to the mission. What does she mean by that? Because those essentially were the things that, I don't know, you could use all those words to describe the first Trump administration. Well, that's just it. While Susie Wiles is not one who would take shots at her predecessors, it's pretty clear what she

means, is that Trump 47 is not going to be Trump 45. When Trump first took office in 2017, he had three separate advisors, his son-in-law, his top political advisor, and his chief of staff. who are all sort of in a circular firing squad, and everyone got caught in the crossfire. And what Wiles is saying here without calling them out is this is going to be a new era. She's got staff that she trusts, whom she sees is very competent, and who are very sort of mission-oriented toward accomplishing the president-elect, in this case, his goals. And that's going to be, at least in her estimation and hope, a big difference between this administration, for Trump and his first one.

So, Mark, just so our viewers understand, the Ice Maiden is a compliment, right? To President-elect Trump, that's actually a compliment for her. But how do you think she sort of does this job? Because as you point out, she's going to be his fifth chief of staff. People didn't last in that job very long, and she's going to be the first woman. One of the things that made her successful as the campaign manager for Trump

is not only did she stick by his side from 2021 on, he was at a very low point after January. She earned his trust as being a loyal foot soldier. But she assembled a staff and she ran a campaign that didn't try to really control Trump, didn't try to rein Trump in, and just sort of let Trump be Trump. And his prior chiefs of staff, certainly his first and second, were much more interested in trying to control him

and getting him to act in more of a normal fashion. Donald Trump is not a normal politician. politician. He is not your typical president. He was not your typical president. And she knew that. And that was sort of, and that is sort of priced into the product. And Donald Trump likes that. So in her estimation, a wild's estimation, is Donald Trump is his own force and his own force of nature. And she doesn't really try to control that. She just tries to channel what he's doing. I used in the story that you just featured more of a computer metaphor. I called her sort of the motherboard of the MAGA mainframe. That is, she's the central processing unit. And what Donald

Trump is is sort of the programmer who decides, here's what I want to do. And it's her job to try to put that into place. Well, it's funny. It's funny you sort of put this in a tech perspective because my next question is, how does she deal with the Elon Musk factor? Somebody who has no boss, who does not, is never told what to do, wants to do things his way. How is this working out in the sort of this in the Trump world? This is a guess on my part, and I probably shouldn't freelance like this, but you know what the heck, is Susie Wiles has succeeded because she knows her lane and she sticks to what she knows and what she's good at. And Donald Trump has, as this advisor, this new friend of his,

Elon Musk. I don't really see Wiles getting in the way of that. That's sort of not her charge. And to the degree that Elon Musk is Donald Trump's problem, that's Donald Trump's problem. Trump's problem. Now, if Donald Trump wants her to do something about it, she'll certainly do something. But one of the secrets to her success is focusing on the things she can deal with. Or as I've said in other contexts, it's sort of the Maga Serenity Prayer, is that she doesn't try to change the thing that she cannot change, and that's Donald Trump, and she seeks the wisdom of the strength to change the things she can, which are all the other things. I don't really see Elon Musk fitting into that all the other things category.

Trump likes Elon Musk. He has great respect for people who make money. Elon Musk is the richest man in the world. Therefore, Donald Trump likes him a lot. I don't see Wiles really getting in the middle of that. Finally, Mark, and we have about a minute left. I do want to ask you, you know, I saw a headline today on our friends at CNBC, and it was Trump 2.0 and it had something to do with the economy. But, you know, we've written and we've reported on Trump 2.0 so many times over the years. But a lot of people say this does feel like a sort of a new Trump, right? He seems a little bit more restrained. He's not maybe as aggressive on social media as he was before. Listen, it could come with age. Maybe he knows the game a little better. Who knows? Or it could be

Susie Wiles. What do you think it is? I think it's all the things you've mentioned. The reality is, is Donald Trump, it's eight years later. He's what, 78 years old. So that's a big difference from when he first took office. He also learned a lot of things. And I think he understands that there's a limited amount of time. One of the things that Susie Wiles had said in the piece I wrote is that there is the best chance to make a difference between the president's inauguration and the midterm. They understand that the clock is ticking, Donald Trump does, and they're really focusing on getting in people who they say are confident, who are mission-oriented, and we're going to accomplish those goals with the idea that there's a limited amount of time and the clock is already running.

Mark Caputo, with a big story to start the new year. Mark, we appreciate you. You can read him, of course, in Axios. Okay, we want to update now our viewers on what's happening in New Orleans where President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited tonight five days after that devastating terror attack that killed 14 people on New Year's Day. But questions remain about how safe the bustling French Quarter really is ahead of some major events in the city. NBC's Jesse Kirsch has this report. Tonight, President Biden and the First Lady in New Orleans visiting the growing memorial on Bourbon Street

as his administration promises more federal resources to protect the city. The White House saying next month's Mardi Gras celebrations will now have support comparable to the Super Bowl. The announcement comes as NBC News has learned from the company that makes the new bollard barriers being installed on Bourbon Street ahead of the Super Bowl that they're only guaranteed to stop cars going a maximum of 10 miles per hour. Some experts say that's not nearly enough. They hit the gas instead of the brake and they roll it. into the ballard, that's what that's designed for. It's not designed to stop a ramming attack like we saw on New Year's Eve. New Orleans's mayor now says she wants a tactical expert to review

the city's safety plans. The city of New Orleans will always remain focused on improving public safety measures, no doubt about that. Meanwhile, federal investigators revealing Shamsuddinjabar visited New Orleans at least twice in the months before his deadly rampage. The FBI releasing this blurred video from October, which they say Jabbar recorded with smart glasses while riding a bike through the French quarter. Jabar also seen looking at himself in the mirror to test the glasses. Authorities say he was also wearing during the attack. Investigators also releasing this new video of his movements.

At 153 a.m., he plants the first cooler containing an explosive device. At 2.20 a.m., Jabar planted the second bomb. 55 minutes later, they say he rammed the truck. down Bourbon Street. The explosives never detonated. Still, 14 people were killed. Tonight at the city's iconic cathedral, their families, the community, and the president gathering to honor the lives lost. Jesse Curse joins us tonight. Jesse, you know, you explained there that the president has vowed to help New Orleans with federal funding, but New Orleans has the Super Bowl coming up, Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. Explain how exactly those federal funds

are going to help them. Yeah, so Tom, the way that events are classified by the federal government is based on having international, national relevance and the security concerns around that. And the Super Bowl is at the top of that list, right? That is a truly global event. It is watched by people over the world. We are always reporting on how there are security and law enforcement concerns around the Super Bowl every year. Mardi Gras was a step below that, a tier below that. And the mayor of New Orleans had said yesterday that she planned to talk with the president about getting an upgrade for Mardi Gras. That has now happened, according to the Biden administration.

So that just means more federal resources potentially at the disposal of the city when they get to Mardi Gras. And as you mentioned, there are a lot of events coming up. And there's already another test really in motion tonight for the city of New Orleans. They have two parades planned around the French quarter, and that is kicking off the carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras. And just again, Tom, because I know both of us have been on the ground covering this really something to see the mayor now acknowledge. She cannot guarantee that they have enough safety precaution in place here, Tom. It's a major moment. Okay. Jesse, we appreciate all your reporting down there. There's still ahead tonight the latest turn

in President-elect Trump's legal battles. A New York judge denying Trump's request to delay his hush money case. Will he still face sentencing days before taking office? Plus, a ski patrol strike wreaking havoc at one of the country's most popular ski resorts, skiers and snowboarders facing massive lines, a limited number of trails, and potentially dangerous conditions. We'll explain what's happening here. And check your medicine cabinet, the cold and flu pills. Costco says you should now throw out.

We'll explain why. Stay with us. We're back now with the ski patrol strike, shutting down parts of the country's largest ski resort. In Park City, Utah, hundreds of runs are off limits and guests are raising safety concerns as the resort struggles to staff the mountain. Morgan Chesky with the video and the story. Tonight, one of the country's most popular skiing destinations paralyzed. Terrible line.

As a ski patrol strike stretches on, hours-long lines and massive crowds seen at Park City Mountain in Utah. After ski patrollers walked off the job at the height of the winter season. season. At the largest ski resort in the United States, only 25 of the mountains 41 lifts are open, offering access to just about 100 of the 300-plus runs. Many guests infuriated, with the lift tickets running about $288 a day. We had everything packed up, ready to go. We flew out to Salt Lake. We got to the resort, and that's when we found out there's a strike happening. Peter Nystrom says he spent more than $20,000 to take his Minnesota. Soda family skiing out west as a special Christmas present.

But instead of finding open skies and fresh powder, he says they got long two to three hour lines and packed runs. You kind of had to laugh about and say, oh my gosh, we're here in one of the best mountains in the country waiting three hours in line. This is ridiculous. The Park City Professional Ski Petrollers Association, which represents more than 200 patrolers and mountain safety personnel when on strike against Vail Resort. on December 27th after months of bargaining.

Now they're asking for a $2 increase in hourly pay and better health benefits. It's a mountain town and like all mountain towns, really many places nowadays, it's extremely expensive to live here. And so we would just like to see the company acknowledge that and pay people so they can afford to be a part of this community. In a statement online, Park City pushing back saying the union's wage demands average $7 per patroler. Adding patrol wages have already increased more than 50% over the last four seasons. But as the stalemate continues, those images of massive crowds sparking concern for ski patrollers

who were the first responders on the slopes. They also do important avalanche control and plenty of mountain safety work. Guests who've been talking to us while we're on the picket line or have been writing to us, they say that lift lines are inexorbitantly long and that people who have been injured are waiting a long time to get that medical first response. At bail resorts, our mission is to provide guests with an experience of a lifetime. Vail Resorts, a $6.7 billion company owns destinations like Beaver Creek, Keystone, and Whistler. The company now relying on ski patrol managers to keep Park City operating, the union says. And they're also bringing in patrollers from their other properties to keep some runs open.

You kind of need to be familiar with the terrain. to do a good job. And so I'm sure all the people who are being sent out here are qualified, but they're not familiar with this area. Park City's C-O-O saying in a statement, safety is our top priority, and we're opening the lifts and terrain so we can open safely each day. Peter, however, telling us the conditions he faced were unsettling.

Our youngest son is five and a half years old. So as we're skiing down the mountain, for the few runs we were actually able to get in because of the conditions, and we had to literally kind of create a box around him so other people weren't running into him. Park City, day two. Now, many skiers and snowboarders wondering if the two sides will come to an agreement

before the snow melts this spring. Okay, Morgan Chesky, we thank you for that. When we come back, the Mayday call before a plane crashes in Los Angeles, the aircraft just avoiding a home landing in a backyard like this. What we're learning about what happened to those in the cockpit.

Stay with us. Okay, we are back now with Top Stories news feed. A judge denying President-elect Trump's request to delay his sentencing in his New York hush money case. Trump is scheduled to appear for the proceeding this Friday just 10 days before his inauguration. Judge Juan Mershahn has signaled that Trump will not be jailed for his 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. A small plane crashing into the backyard of a home northeast of downtown L.A. Drone footage showing the single-engine Cessna buried between trees and trubs after narrowly missing a house. Officials saying two people were helped out of the plane?

No one on board or on the ground was hurt. That's incredible. It's still unclear why the plane went down, but its pilot issued a Mayday just before the crash. A consumer alert, we want to tell you about Costco is recalling a tainted batch of Kirkland brand cold and flu medication. The retail giants saying the recall the recalled severe cold and flu capsules were, accidentally released despite being potentially contaminated by an unidentified foreign material. Costco saying affected products were sold between October 30th and November 30th. They should be returned for a full refund or thrown out.

Okay, we're turning now to a TikTok scheme gone wrong. Students at a small Massachusetts university facing charges for allegedly luring a man to their campus with a dating app, ambushing him, then framing him as a predator, all while recording him. This Christ says the details. In Worcester, Massachusetts, authorities arrested six college students who they say lured Amanda campus using a dating app, where he was then chased down by a group of 25 people assaulted and falsely accused of being a sexual offender. The ploy, police say, inspired by a social media fad that they say may be based on the former NBC TV series to catch a predator. You see on social media all the time, but you never expected to happen right next to you,

right in your own school. It happened at Assumption University. where in court documents, police say a man was invited to campus by an 18-year-old student who used her real profile on the dating app Tinder. Authorities say when he arrived, the man whose family says is 22 said he and his alleged date were watching a baseball game in the student lounge when the mob appeared and began calling him a pedophile and accusing him of liking sex with 17-year-old girls. The man told police the group chased him to his car where they punched him in the head and slammed his car door on him. He got away and called police, who say surveillance video shows the group of students. students, many of whom were filming the incident on their phones, laughing and high-fiving with each other. In a statement, the Catholic University calling the behavior abhorrent in that they have launched an immediate and thorough investigation. But the incident not isolated, 11 teenagers in Mount

Prospect, Illinois, have also been charged after police say last year two men were allegedly lured and beaten after arranging to meet up with a person using a dating app. Authorities saying some of the teens got the idea through a viral social media trend they saw online. University, the family of the victim says he's active duty military. He was in town visiting for his grandmother's funeral. Charges against the students ranged from kidnapping to intimidation and assault and battery with a deadly weapon. They are set to be arraigned later this month. Tom. Okay, coming up, the dangerous flash flooding overseas torrential rain submerging Saudi Arabia's holiest city wiping out roads. The new images just coming in with more rain in the forecast. That's next.

We are back now with the stunning announcement by Canada's Justin Trudeau. The prime minister stepping down. The move coming amid mounting pressure within his own party as the country now faces growing political uncertainty. Here's Andrea Mitchell with the details. Tonight, deeply unpopular at home because of soaring prices and ridiculed by President elect Trump, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau bowing out. I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister.

after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process. The son of a popular Prime Minister Trudeau's movie star looks and photogenic young family made him an international star. But in recent years, he was criticized for inflation and immigration. Three weeks ago, his closest advisor, the deputy prime minister, resigned. It has become clear to me that if I'm having to fight internal battles, I can I cannot be the best option in that election. A final blow tension with President-elect Trump, who threatened Canada with 25 percent tariffs. Despite Trudeau rushing to Marilago to appease him, Trump blamed Canada for fentanyl and undocumented immigrants crossing the border,

and Canada's trade advantage with the U.S., mocking him on truth social as a governor. Posting today, many people in Canada love being the 51st state. What's the impact of having a leadership crisis in Canada? I actually think it probably smooths the relationship, since clearly Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau were not on the same page. Trudeau will still be Prime Minister for the first few months of Trump's presidency

while Canada decides how to replace him. Tom? All right, we thank Andrea for that. Now, to Top Stories Global Watch and a check of what else is happening around the world, Guatemala and El Salvador becoming the latest countries to send troops to Haiti to combat gang violence. The 150 officers arrived this weekend, joining Kenyan forces leading the U.N. mission against those gangs who control an estimated, get this, 85% of the capital.

The deployment follows a Christmas Eve attack on a hospital that killed two journalists and a police officer. Several other countries also pledging to send troops, but it is unclear when they will arrive. Okay, in the Middle East, flash flooding overwhelming streets in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Video showing floodwaters washing over the streets in the holiest city for Muslims. Cars have been swept away or fully submerged. Severe thunderstorms and hailstorms slamming the area. No word yet on any injuries or deaths.

And the oldest living person in the world is now a 116-year-old nun from Brazil. Sister Ina Kanabaro, born June 8, 1908, became the world's oldest person after another 116-year-old Japanese woman passed away last week. She lives in a retirement home in Puerto Aligre and is a dedicated fan of the local soccer team which was founded after she was born. The team celebrates with her every year on her birthday. She credits her faith for her longevity.

Okay. When we come back, do you want to live like Walter White? Probably not, but you could live in his house for a whopping $4 million. The New Mexico family now putting the iconic real breaking back at home up for sale why they say it's worth the multi-million dollar price tag that's next That, of course, the iconic pizza slinging scene from the hit show Breaking Bad. And we're showing that clip because tonight Walter White's house is for sale.

The asking prize for the modest four-bedroom, one-bathroom New Mexico home? Four million bucks. But Zillow comps are way below that. Danielle Tedesco, with our NBC affiliate, K.O.B. and Albuquerque, has this look inside the home and explains why the owners are looking for their big day after several big headaches. It looks like any normal Albuquerque neighborhood home, but breaking bad fans know, this was Walter White's house. And even more than a decade after the show ended, it still draws tourists from all over

the world. You video on us or what? The house. Fans take pictures outside all day and night, but most people aren't allowed inside. Hi, Joanne. Hi. Thank you for letting me in. Oh, you're welcome.

Come on up. Joanne Kintana and her siblings own the Northeast Albuquerque home now. It's where they grew up. Their parents, Fran and Louis Padilla, bought it back in 1973. Then one random day in 2006, a knock at the door changed their lives. And my mother never, ever answers the door. And she did. And they introduced themselves and handed her a card and said,

we would like to use your house for a pilot. And she's like, you want to buy a bridge in Brooklyn? What are you talking about? Fran confirmed that the project was legit. And it was just a pilot, so they took the leap. Two weeks later, filming began. We were, like anybody, it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You got to meet the actors, the actresses.

You got to see how they set up the equipment, what it all takes. We got never before-seen pictures. Despite popular belief, they only used the inside of the home for gear and prep, not for scenes. But the family was there for all of it. iconic pizza scene? Joanne says they had boxes of pizzas lining her sidewalk in case Brian Cranston didn't get it on the first take.

He nailed it on try one. And this pivotal scene when Skyler walks into the family's pool, the family snapped this as they filled it with 90-degree water to make the actress comfortable. And Fran always had cookies for the crew. What was funny is Brian Cranston, he couldn't eat not one cookie. Why? Because he had cancer in the show, so he was losing weights, and so he would pass, but everybody, all the directors, all the writers, everybody would eat the cookies. The last day of shooting, he takes a picture holding my mom's biscotti, because he finally got to eat her cookies. I love that.

Erin Paul had to grunt and get angry, you know, and to get into his character of Jesse, that was awesome. and the magic of Hollywood, nobody will ever get to experience what we did. But then the show became an international sensation. And the fans started coming. We would go out there, my mother and I, and we would take pictures with them. When did it start to get to a point where you said, we've got to put the fence up? Around 4.30 in the morning, the doorbell rang. My mom got up and opened the door, and there was a package.

Addressed to Walter White at the Padilla family's home, they called the Bomb Squad. My brothers said, that's it. We're done. Fences going up. That's too close for comfort is the front door. Now cameras alert them when someone's outside. We average 300 cars a day. Come balloon fiesta. Hundreds of thousand people come for balloons. Balloons go up. They go down. Where do they come here? As Joanne's parents got older, it got harder for her to protect them inside. Nobody knew that there was two. people very sick and eventually on hospice and eventually passed away. Now she says it's finally time to sell. This was our family home from 1973, almost 52 years. So we're going to walk away with just our memories. Zillow estimates the 1900 square foot home would go for under 350,000.

But the family only got paid a fee per shoot, no residuals. So with that multi-million dollar price, tag, the family does expect it won't be a family home anymore, and they don't think it should be. I hope they make it what the fans want. They want a B&B, they want a museum, they want access to it, go for it. For years, people have shown up with luggage, scammed into thinking they rented the home, even... Show me the pool. I'd love to see it. Okay, we can go this way. A speedo-wearing man who paid $1,000 for just a dip in the pool.

It's got a pool. Oh, pool is nice. The backyard could be a little bigger. Besides the front of the house, this is a huge part of what people want to see. This is what they want. They want the iconic pool. They can have it for $4 million. In Northeast Albuquerque, I'm Danielle Tedesco, K-O-B-4.

Four million dollars. All right, good luck to them. Hope there is a buyer out there. We thank you so much for watching Top Story Tonight. I'm Tom Yamas back in New York. Stay right there. More news. the way.