Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, November 6, 2023

Episode Date: November 7, 2023

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

Tonight, trouble for President Biden, multiple polls challenging his claim that he can hold on to the White House in 2024. Six states that put Democrats in the White House swinging to Biden's top rival. New polling finding former President Trump with a competitive edge where it matters most. One major sticking point for voters, something neither man can control. Their age. What this means as Trump testifies in court and faces dozens of indictments. Gaza for the first time since the Hamas terror attacks on Israel, an NBC news journalist reporting from Gaza, embedding with the IDF, those tasked with finding and destroying Hamas' tunnel network, forces looking for clues to hopefully find hostages. The Israeli military closing in on Gaza

city, attacking more than 100 targets in the last day, and pushing the Palestinian death toll past 10,000. Breaking point at home, hundreds of protesters blocking China. shipments of potential military aid to Israel, some chaining themselves to ships from leaving port. Police in California investigating a possible hate crime after an Arab student was hit by a car, even fake bloodstains spread on the White House gates. Plus, the massive recall tonight, parents listen up, a consumer alert and reports of an injury, nearly 30,000 pounds of chicken nuggets at risk for containing pieces of metal. And the holy grail of shipwreck, Experts think there's $20 billion worth of treasure on board.

The President of Columbia accelerating plans to get it back to the surface, but a group of Americans says, not so fast, that half that fortune belongs to them. Top Story starts right now. And good evening. Welcome to Top Story. We begin with a glimpse into the 2024 election and a red alert for President Biden. New polling finds he is losing support where he needs it most. We want to show you where this is happening.

And tonight we are focusing on six battleground states that put Biden in the White House and six states that seem to be turning on him for former President Trump. Here they are on the map right here. Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. These states pushed Biden over 270 electoral votes in 2020. Some of them he won by less than a percentage point. Just take Wisconsin. He won there by over 20,000.

votes. But new polling from the New York Times and Sienna College shows Trump right now with an edge in five of those six states. What you're looking at here is 2020, where Biden ended up beating Trump, and then now the new poll results in 2024. So when we look at this, Biden won Arizona by 0.3 percent. This new poll shows Biden now behind by five points right now. Biden won by the same margin in Georgia, but has lost even more support for the next election. He, of course, flipped Michigan from red to blue last election, and now he's six points behind Trump. Nevada shows a massive swing in support with Biden now behind more than 10 points. And Pennsylvania was key in securing Biden's win, but now Biden trails Trump.

The only state, Wisconsin, really, where Biden leads right now, and it's within the margin of error there. The poll asked potential voters what they thought about Biden's handling of the economy, and as you can see right here, it wasn't good news either. Found that Trump leads him there by 12 points, and there's all. Also the age issue looming over the election, nearly three quarters of voters saying Biden is just too old to get the job done. That's significantly more than Trump. Now, in the wake of this polling a bombshell from one of the most respected Democratic strategists in the country, David Axelaw, right?

You may remember he's the man who first helped get President Barack Obama and Biden elected to the White House. Now he's worried that the age issue is too big for voters to ignore, and it's something the campaign can't change. He posted this on X on Twitter, saying that Biden, it's up to him whether he continues to run, but then asks what he needs to decide is whether that is wise, whether it's in his best interest or the countries. Today, former President Trump testified in a New York courtroom. He took the stand in the quarter billion dollar fraud case against the Trump organization. Cameras weren't allowed in for that actual testimony, but our reporter inside said Trump raised his voice at times, even at the judge. We're going to have much more on that in just,

a minute. But first, how can President Biden be in such a close race, even seeming to be losing to former President Trump, who is currently facing more than 90 criminal charges? Is the president's touting of Bidenomics not working? Is it that that are now two wars raging in Europe and the Middle East? Or is it simply he's just too old? A reminder, former President Trump is no spring chicken at 77 compared to President Biden, who is 80 years old. But to put that in perspective, both men, Trump and Biden are actually. older than the three previous presidents before them. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama are all younger, the two men leading each party. For more on these new numbers

and what they mean for the race for the White House, I want to bring in our expert political panel tonight. Hogan Gidley, his former White House press secretary during the Trump administration, Zach Peckansas, president of Pet Kansas Strategies, and a former senior advisor to Hillary Clinton. Rina Shaw, a Republican political strategist, and former Democratic New York State Senator David Carlucci. I want to thank you all for being here tonight on top story. Zach, I'm going to start with you here. And the major reg flads, right, for President Biden, in these key battleground states. When you look at these poll numbers, how troubling are they for Democrats?

Well, look, I was on the Hillary Clinton campaign. And if polls were the deciding factor in presidential elections, then Hillary Clinton would have been president in 2016. Polls a year out from the election are simply absurd. And polls were wrong going in not only to 2016, but also into 2022 in the midterm elections. If we were to believe the polls going into that, we would have seen a red wave that Republicans were calling for. But it turned out not to be the case. And the reason is that elections are not about polls. They're about choices between two candidates.

And in this race, we have President Biden, who is delivering for the American people, and Donald Trump, who everyone knows who Donald Trump is, and when the paid communication starts, and we remind folks that he's, for example, the president that oversaw the overturning of Roe v. Wade, appointing three Supreme Court justices to create the MAGA extreme majority that now allows in this country women and doctors

to be imprisoned for having or performing an abortion, even in the case of rape and incest, that is going to be the deciding factor. Jack, I want to put this up for you, though. This is the same exact poll we just showed our viewers, but from 2019, okay? And it showed, look at this. It showed Biden up, up five on Trump,

up three in Pennsylvania, up three in Wisconsin, and Michigan, he was tied even. But Democrats, including Joe Biden, used this exact same poll several years ago to say, hey, he should be the Democratic nominee. He's viable. And then now here we are in 2023, four years later, and he's underwater.

How do you explain that? The only candidate who has ever beaten Donald Trump is Joe Biden. He's the only candidate. only one. No one else has... Ted Cruz in Iowa, but yeah. No one else. No one else has been able to do it on the Democratic or Republican side. Joe Biden knows how to beat Donald Trump, and Donald Trump has a record. He does not want to

roll on, and I'm going to bring up Roe v. Wade again, and it was so important, it'll be important again. Hogan, how much of this is about the Biden presidency and how much of this is about Donald Trump? I ask you because here's another graphic I want to put up from this poll, but I think it's incredibly important. If you look at Biden's matchups with some of the other candidates in the GOP primary. The actual best Republican candidate is general, is generic Republican. Nikki Haley actually does better than Trump in some cases as well. So is this more about just people not liking Joe Biden, or do you think this about is this

about Trump being the viable candidate? Well, first things first, I'd like to congratulate you for finding the only Democrat on the planet that isn't concerned about this latest poll. People are terrified on the left here because one of the major selling points of Joe Biden was that he was the one who could beat Donald Trump. Let's stick with Joe here, even though the American people don't like his political record. They don't like him personally at this point. So let's try and use him, though, because he can beat Donald Trump. These polls fly in the face of that. But it's not necessarily about Joe Biden as a person. It's not necessarily

about Donald Trump as a person. What this really showcases is that the policies are those that a majority of the American people reject. They don't trust Joe Biden with the economy. They don't trust him with the southern border. They don't trust him with foreign wars. It's a serious problem for the left. It's a serious problem for Democrats writ large and, of course, President Joe Biden. Everyone understands this. And while we are a long way off, Zach's absolutely right about that. This is a very bad indicator for anybody thinking that Joe Biden is going to walk into a second term here. David, how seriously can Democrats be considering a second candidate? We heard what David Axelot said, but the clock is ticking.

I know some states I think deadlines have passed to file to become a candidate in the primary here. Is there any real discussions and is there a possibility? And I just want you to go with me here. If Joe Biden decided tomorrow, he said, I'm not going to run anymore. Is there enough time to get a candidate to raise enough money to put somebody else up against whoever the Republican nominee is? I don't really think so. I think we've already seen Nevada. The time is up for that to get on the primary ballot and New Hampshire for that case.

But the issue here is that it's about who does the candidate hate the least. And this is a blessing for Democrats. Why? Because it's a red flag, right? If the alarm bells are going off, we need to figure out how do we get this message. Yeah, Bidenomics, that term, is not working. But the policies are. What's not working is the communication to communities that we see are falling off in these polls. How do we get them excited?

And how do we get them energized to make sure that they're showing up for Joe Biden? She just talked about delivering a message. You just talked about energy. The face of the party is Joe Biden. He's the one who's going to be tasked with that. That's right. But the campaign has not kicked off. It hasn't gone into campaign mode.

Now Biden is dealing with some very serious issues, whether it's in the Middle East or in Ukraine or dealing with inflation. And the Republicans will keep trying to pin on Biden this inflation with the spending that he's done to save the American economy. But the reality is that inflation has been rising all across the globe. and to a lesser extent here in the United States because of Joe Biden's policies. So I think you're going to see some rebranding

about Bidenomics, but the policies are going to stay true to help middle-class families. I'm going to ask you about Bidenomics in a second. Rina, does a poll like this bolster the former President Trump and his candidacy? Can he now point to these polls and tell his supporters, listen, not only am I destroying the current Republican field, but I can now beat Joe Biden in 2024.

Putting the poll aside for a moment, I must say that to say that the Biden campaign hasn't really kicked off yet and hasn't gone into full campaign mode. It's just comical to me. He's put out a re-election video. He's ready. He's doing it. He's out there. And for the average American, they don't care whether full campaign mode is activated or not. There's a whole operative class. There's a whole punditry class that seems to just be arriving to the conclusion that so many Americans have already figured out. Joe Biden doesn't look the part. He doesn't look like he has the strength and vigor to move into a second term. And therefore, we're something to happen

to him for whatever reason, guess who steps right in? It's his VP. And there's a fair bit of, I would say, lack of trust. Can I just put it bluntly? For a moment here, we have to talk about the significant voting block that is American women. Yes, abortion will be on the ballot in 2024. But when the economy, when the cost of living just feels too heavy and too high like it is right now, guess what? No other issue seems to matter more. And that's what I'm seeing happen right now. Every day Joe Biden takes a podium and seems to come out looking like he's strong, that's all fine and well. And look, I commend him. He's overcome a stutter in his life. And then you see on the flip, a guy who's just three years his junior, the former president, who, by the way,

doesn't have clean hands. He's coming out and seeming to shake a podium every day with the same strength that he seemed to have in the White House. This is a moment in which so many Americans feel conflicted. Not only do they not like these two bad choices, it seems, we feel like we're on a path to nowhere. Who is actually going to bring America back to greatness and do it with something that he's connected? Rina, I want to get back to Zach. Great points. I want to get back to Zach here. Zach, this poll shows some of the major issues Biden is having problems with key demographic voters, younger voters, black voters, Hispanic voters. Let's put them up here on the screen. Among black voters in those six swing states, Trump has the highest support against Biden

of any Republican candidate in the modern era, at 22 percent. With Latino voters, Biden only has a single-digit lead over Trump, 50 to 42. But as we pointed out in Nevada, he's doing And then among voters under 30, he only has a one-point advantage over Trump 47 to 46. I mean, this is your guy's bread and butter. What's going on? I mean, again, I just, I go back to the point that we've been saying here, that the campaign is actually not kicked off in earnest, not to insult all the great pundits who are out there talking about this. But there is about to be a billion dollars of TV and radio and digital reminding voters what life was like under Donald Trump when he went out to. there and is taking personal credit for overturning Roe v. Wade. And I just don't think people fully appreciate what an election campaign is going to be like

when that is sprawled all over everybody's TV and digital ads, and not what he will do to Roe v. Wade, but what he has done to Roe v. Wade and the stories and the impact on people, you mentioned all those demographics right now, those are really powerful images when a 10-year-old has to have the child of her rapist because of Donald Trump. Imagine what that's going to do in a campaign. Hogan, I want to talk to you and David, too, I want to get you in on this one, about Bidenomics, right? Because the president is trying to tout Bidenomics.

We have some new reporting here from our colleagues at NBC News. I'll put it up the screen for you here, calling Bidenomics a jumbled mess. The Bidenomics brand leaves nearly everyone, including Biden, baffled, essentially saying that no one actually knows what the word Bidenomics is. even means. Even President Biden himself is quoted in the article as saying earlier this year, I don't know what the hell that is. David, I mean, if that's your brand and that's your brand going into 2024, you've got to be worried. Well, that's right. A year out from the election, right? We have this warning signal to everyone. Hey, we're in trouble if we don't shift gears. And Bidenomics,

it might have sounded good originally, but I think you're going to see some major rebranding on that. Again, it's about the policies that are delivering. And that billion dollar campaign is going to have to juxtapose what Biden has actually done and what a Trump presidency will do. I think Trump is benefiting from being in the basement, if you will. He's been in court. We haven't really seen too much of him. And that's really benefited Donald Trump by him not having one gaff after the other and one insult after the other. I think a lot of voters will start to... He has been in court. He has been in court. He is facing more than 90 criminal accounts. But Hogan, I mean, he's been out on the campaign trail as much or maybe more than the current president.

Yeah, okay. I've been doing political communications now for about 25 years. Don't blame the messenger, folks. Everyone wants to blame the comms guys and the press guys. The fact is it's hard to sell a bad product. Bidenomics is not working. First things first, adding anomics at the end of someone's name is not new. They act like it was some kind of revolutionary thought process. Second of all, the American people aren't feeling whatever the Biden administration is trying to tell them their policies are doing to them. In fact, they feel like, It is not helping their families. It is not providing them a potentially strong future for their children. So you can have the best messengers in the world. You can have the president out there with his podium and with his teleprompter. It still doesn't resonate with people because they don't feel what Biden is telling them when they're paying more for gas and for groceries and for rent and for car payments and for mortgages. It's a problem.

And the American people know it. You can't tell them any different. Rina, I'm going to ask you the question I asked you earlier because you kind of went on a tangible. but that's okay. I'm going to put the graphic up again because I want to get your take on whether this is about President Trump and the campaign he's running, or is it more about President Biden? Because when we put up the graphic of the other Republicans, right, and you see how Governor DeSantis, how Nikki Haley does, and then you have the generic Republican. You can see in general Republicans are looking good when it comes to these polls.

Does this give any fire to the candidates going into the debate on Wednesday because they are so far behind President Trump right now? Right now, it's looking like Nikki Haley is best positioned to make up that runway between herself and President Trump, former president, excuse me. So the biggest thing here is, yes, there's a little bit of energy injected as these guys go into the third debate. Let's not forget, there's going to be a fourth debate next month. And so I believe that, of course, what's going on between Israel and Hamas will reign the day, but also economy will be very, very important. And former governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, is an accountant by trade. It's very simple here, Tom.

we have to look at the issue of economy like this and why Trump is sort of being well looked at favorably right now in these polls. Number one, these polls are kind of different because you've got some very far right wing people answering them. And then also people are just nostalgic. You don't

have to be a political expert to know why people are sort of thinking, well, when that guy was in the White House, things seem to be going better. So again, Nikki Haley, in two debates, has made a really great argument which I think can do well in a general election. She stands to really benefit the most here. But again, I caution folks at looking at these polls. There were 80 million Americans who did not vote in 2020, despite us having record

turnout. And I just think there are a lot of these Americans are unaccounted for in these polls. So again, please be wary. Take this all with a grain of salt. 2016 taught us something. Before we go, I want to ask you the same question. I'll start over here with the Democratic strategist. Will Joe Biden be the nominee a year from now? Absolutely. Yes. Hogan? I think so. Okay, Rina, it's a one-word answer. So yes or no? No.

Okay, we're going to have to wait and see. I want to thank everyone on this panel. We thank you so much. Great to be with you. Staying on the race for 2024, tonight, former President Trump lashing out against Iowa's governor after she endorsed Ron DeSantis for president. The move could be a major boost for the Florida governor

as he reboots his struggling campaign ahead of the First of the Nation caucuses. In a broadcast exclusive, NBC's Dasha Burns sat down with both Reynolds and DeSantis. Tonight, Governor Kim Reynolds explaining why she's breaking with the Iowa tradition of staying neutral and endorsing Ron DeSantis. I just felt like I couldn't sit on the sidelines any longer. We have too much at stake. I truly believe that he is the right person to get this country back on track. It's arguably the biggest endorsement of the primary and a much-needed win for the DeSantis campaign,

which has invested significant time and resources here. This one's obviously very meaningful because Kim has proven to be a great leader that Iowans love. With two months to go, former President Trump maintains a dominant 27-point lead among likely Iowa caucus goers, with DeSantis and Nikki Haley tied for second. For those who criticize you and say, why are you endorsing a guy who's been slipping in the polls? Trump is 30 points ahead. What do you say to those critics? I don't base my decision on polls.

I take a look at who I believe is the right person for the right job. I believe that Ron is the right person for the right job, and I believe he's going to win. Do you worry about the risk that she's taking by endorsing you? No, I don't. I mean, first of all, I respect the fact that that's not her calculation, which is rare amongst elected officials. I've had people come to me and say, you know, that they endorsed him because of the threats and everything like that. If you can look in the mirror and say you did what you think is right for the right reasons, then just let the chips fall where they may.

Mr. Trump was quick to attack Governor Reynolds for her endorsement, calling her America's most unpopular. governor. What is your relationship like now with the former president? Well, you know, I assume it's, it's, well, I don't know. I really can't tell you. That's probably a question for him. Have you spoken with him recently? No, I haven't. When's the last time? Probably the last time he called to ask if I would endorse him and I said I wasn't at this point. The question now of her endorsement of DeSantis will make a difference. I just hope that it'll help persuade some of those voters to take a look at him closer. Does it impact my vote? I don't know for sure at this point. He's been on my radar. So I maybe I'll feel like I know a little bit more after the debate. Do you believe Trump can't win? Yeah, I believe he can't win. And I believe Ron can. If DeSantis wants to prove Trump is beatable, he'll have to do it here. All right, Dasha Burns joins us tonight live from Desha. So Dasha, you know, the conventional wisdom used to be that endorsements were nice to have, but they didn't really matter. And then four years ago, Representative Clydeburn, of course, endorsed Joe Biden, and it turned around his entire campaign. And it helped him

become president. What do you think this endorsement means for Governor DeSantis moving forward into Iowa? Well, look, Tom, Governor Reynolds told me an interview that this isn't just lip service. It's not just a symbolic endorsement. She is going to be hitting the campaign trail for him hard. She's going to be putting her weight behind him, putting her operation behind him, and that matters a lot in a state like this where she is so popular. The other question from here is, what does this mean for those other governors, those other influential figures? where there has been speculation, folks, like Governor Kristen Nunu of New Hampshire, like Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia, whether they were thinking about endorsing someone like

Nikki Haley, for example, are they now going to wait and hold back? Are they going to potentially present a united front behind Ron DeSantis? It's going to be really interesting over the next couple of months here, Tom. All right, Dasha Burns with another big exclusive as we head into that Republican debate on Wednesday. Dasha, we thank you. Staying with Trump, we head to a Manhattan courthouse where the former president testified for hours in his $250 million fraud civil trial. The case brought by New York's Attorney General

accuses Trump of dramatically inflating his net worth. NBC's senior legal correspondent, Laura Jarrett, has the latest. Tonight, a combative Donald Trump testifying for hours in a Manhattan courtroom with his real estate empire on the line. Mr. Trump showing flashes of anger as he sparred with the judge in the New York Attorney General's office, brushing off accusations that he doctored financial statements

to inflate the value of some of his most well-known properties, like Mar-a-Lago, Trump Tower, and 40 Wall Street, all to defraud banks and lenders. But at the end of the day, the only thing that matters are the facts and the numbers. And numbers, my friends, don't lie. Already found liable for fraud, the former president now trying to fend off a $250 million penalty, growing heated today when pressed about whether he overvalued assets. found in the Trump organization's annual financial statements. His face turning red, raising his voice, pointing directly at the judge seated inches away, yelling, he called me a fraud, and he didn't know anything about me, a reference to the judge's pretrial decision that ruled in the state's favor,

also going after the attorney general herself, watching on in the courtroom, Mr. Trump calling her a political hack. I will not be bullied. I will not be harassed. This case will go on. And Mr. Trump did make some concessions, admitting today he probably saw some of the disputed financial statements that went to banks and lenders, while repeatedly dismissing them as not important because they included certain disclaimers, saying today that his net worth is actually far greater than what's reflected in his financial statements, touting the value of the Trump brand. The numbers are much greater than on the financial statement. We've already proven that. They said Marlock was worth $18 million. The judge's worth anywhere from probably 50 to 100 times worth of that. The judge's patients tested at times by that same rhetoric on the witness stand, calling parts of Mr. Trump's testimony irrelevant and rambling.

Warning the Republican frontrunner, this is not a political rally. NBC senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett joins us now from Lower Manhattan. Laura, we just saw your report there, right? The headlines all about this case are about those outbursts in court, a lot of emotion, but did we learn anything new today? Yeah, Tom, you do, the former president was actually forced to admit on the witness stand at one point that he had looked at those disputed financial statements in 2021. He said, I was so busy back then.

You know, I was dealing with things, Russia, China, forced to admit he wasn't actually president in 2021. And so that's why this case matters for a credibility determination. With the judge being the trier of fact here, there's no jury. It's a bench trial, and so the judge can take those things into effect when he makes his ultimate decision. And then walk us through that because we're getting closer and closer to that point, correct? What's coming up in the next few days? Well, at least right now, the defense, singly, they're actually going to move for a mistrial.

They believe that the former president has been treated unfairly. They think that the judge, along with his principal law clerk, are biased against the former president. So they said flat out in court today, they are going to move for a mistrial in coming days. But for right now, Tom, this case is moving forward. forward with the former president's daughter set to testify on Wednesday morning, Tom. Okay, Laura Jared for us tonight. Laura, thank you for more on what today's testimony means for the former president. I want to bring in NBC News legal analyst, Angela Senadella, who joins us now live in studio. So Angela, remind our viewers, because I think it's always good to sort of not forget

this. What's the worst that can happen to Trump in this case? Well, the $250 million penalty, which is significant. And I also think it's possible that there could be a criminal prosecution. What do you mean? Well, this is because the Attorney's General's office has made clear that they believe he's also violated federal criminal laws and that they can refer him to the federal prosecutors to then follow up with the criminal prosecution. So that's worst case scenario. What do you think is actually going to happen here? Well, we do know that there's already been summary judgment, right?

We know that there's been a finding of fraud. The question here is, and what are the damages that will be paid out? I'm going to guess that they're not going to be that huge. They're not going to be $250 million. And that's because if you understand a civil lawsuit, but the money that's awarded is supposed to make the victims hold. Whatever losses the victim's experience is supposed to be equated in the damages. Again, the victims here are the banks, right?

And they didn't lose any money. And nobody is claiming to be a victim. No, I mean, the state is saying, you know, the people of New York are also a victim overall, but that's a stress. So who would get the money then? The state. It would go back to the state. Okay, so the president apparently lashed out at the judge. One of the president's, former president's attorneys went out, spoke to the media,

lashed out at the judge also. There is no jury here. It's a bench trial, so the judge is going to decide everything. Is the judge trained to sort of ignore that, or will the judge sort of take that all in and make that part of his decision? Yes, I mean, a judge is supposed to be totally trained, to take out of context or remain, keep in context what is relevant to the trial and what is outside of the trial. But that said, it is one man, it's a human, which is why no lawyer, no attorney would ever advise their client to go this strong. But even one of his attorneys, like, attack the judge today. Right, which makes it, which begs the question, outside shot.

Maybe they're trying to egg the judge on to have the judge that make a misstep to set them up for an appeal. That's the only possible outside strategy at this court. And they're asking for a mistrial already, right? They are, yes. But you don't think that's going to happen? No, a mistrial, the bar is extremely high. But it is going to go to the appellate court for sure. What do you think, how much longer do you think we have in this case?

Because I was just talking to you while we were watching Laura's report and you were saying the defense is going to put up their witnesses. There could be a lot of witnesses or there couldn't be. Yeah, we don't know exactly who's going to be a witness. But we do know that these witnesses, the Trumps have already testified on behalf of the prosecution. So you imagine on the defense side, it's not going to be that extensive. But I do still want to see what the banks are going to say, because as we talked about before, the banks are the ones who are supposed to do their appraisals, have the fiduciary duty. And if they did approve these loans, and maybe perhaps there is subjectivity in these appraisals.

All right. Angela Senadella, we thank you so much. We appreciate it. That is some breaking news out of Colorado, where an Aurora police officer has been found, not guilty for his role in the 2019 death of Elijah McLean. You may remember the 23-year-old black man was killed after he was put in a chokehold and given a powerful sedative. For more, Steve Patterson joins us now live on this. Steve, this is the second officer to be found not guilty in McLean's death. What reactions are we hearing on the ground out of Colorado?

Tom, reaction very similar to what we saw immediately following the other verdict, disappointment and from the family some real stark anger. Remember that first verdict was a split between. two officers, one guilty, one not guilty of reckless homicide and third-degree murder. Following that, we heard some outrage online, some protesting, but louder than all of that, tangible pain and disappointment from McLean's mother. Similarly, this time, we've seen the outrage online, we've seen a statement from the Attorney General's office saying they will remain steadfast in their pursuit of justice.

But again, the strongest statement comes from Sheenan McLean. She said this, quote, my son was murdered by killer cops and their accomplices and the system, the justice system, allows for them to continue their crimes. All right, Steve Patterson for us tonight. Steve, we appreciate your reporting. Still ahead tonight, we're going to take you inside Gaza. An NBC News reporter allowed into the war zone for the first time since the start of this conflict, the utter destruction our camera is captured as the Israeli military hunts for Hamas terrorist.

Plus, an alert for parents tonight, a popular kind of chicken nugget pulled off the shelves. What to look for in your freezer? and forklift to the rescue, how a quick-thinking worker stopped and attempted car thief in his tracks. Top story, just getting started on this Monday night. We're back now with a look at the deepening Israeli military campaign in Gaza. A key target of the campaign is Hamas's vast network of tunnels underneath Gaza.

Ralph Sanchez was able to accompany an IDF unit inside Gaza, becoming the first NBC correspondent to cross that border since the war began. Several miles inside Gaza, Israeli forces are on high alert. At first, it's not clear why. Nothing in this devastated landscape looks like it could challenge their overwhelming firepower. But for Israeli troops, the threat is coming from below. Squads of Hamas fighters bursting out of tunnels to mount ambushes like this. They're coming out.

going back to the tunnel and then running to another tunnels. NBC News was granted rare access inside Gaza by the Israeli army, following combat engineers tasked with blocking the tunnels and stopping the attacks. As a condition of joining them, we agreed to blur some faces and to show Israel's military sensors our raw footage, though not our final story. Nearly one month after Hamas terrorists stormed out of Gaza through this border fence, We joined a column of Israeli troops heading the other way. Our first stop is one of the only houses in the area still standing.

The family kitchen is abandoned, but the backyard holds a secret. This is the entrance to one of dozens of tunnels they've found in this area. They say it's about 15 yards deep that Hamas fighters popped out to ambush them from it and that their mission has destroyed this tunnel and all the others across Gaza. It's no easy task. Israel says there's a vast network of tunnels concealed beneath civilian areas. They now hide under schools and other hospitals because they know that we as the Israeli defense forces, we will not attack hospital or we will not.

But this war will be different. Israel claims it has no choice but to strike in densely populated areas. But the toll on Palestinian civilians has been devastated. Not far away, Major Mayan Mullah leads us through the ruins of a beach. beach resort. We found out three tunnels that connected to each other. Their solution is simple. Graffiti here reads, return the hostages.

Every tunnel, a possible site of captivity. Have you seen any sign of the hostages? No. Unfortunately, not yet. A search that continues ever deeper into the strip. Raph Sanchez, NBC News, northern Gaza. And when we come back, anger over that war, spilling onto the street. streets here at home, crowds of demonstrators blocking a military vessel believed to be carrying

aid to Israel at two U.S. ports, plus a hate crime investigation at Stanford University after a Muslim student was hit with a car, and the moment a Democratic Party organizer was kicked out of an NFL game for inferling a U.S. Israeli flag. His threats now to the Eagles and the NFL. We're back now with Top Stories News Feed, starting with a surprising plea in connection to the mass shooting at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, last year. The father of the suspected shooter pleading guilty to seven counts of misdemeanor, reckless conduct, one of each of the victims. He was indicted for helping his son get an AR-15-style weapon, despite previous threats by his son to harm himself and others. As part of that deal, the charges were downgraded from felony counts. He'll serve just 60 days in jail.

two years probation. An attempted car theft in Ohio stopped by a forklift. Take a look at this. New body cam footage from police in Akron shows officers finding a car suspended 20 feet in the air with a suspect inside. Workers at the junkyard say when they realized the man was trying to steal the car, they used the equipment to raise it. He was lowered and taken into custody. Employees say the same man had broken into the yard three other times. And a very important consumer alert tonight, nearly 30,000 pounds of chicken nuggets geared for kids. kids are being recalled over concerns they could contain metal. Tyson Foods issuing the recall of frozen dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets

after consumers found metal pieces in the chicken. Officials say there have been at least one, there's been at least one reported injury. The nuggets were distributed in nine states and all have a best buy date of September 4th, 2024. There's much more information on our website, NBCNews.com. And NASA says Saturn's rings are going to disappear from view in just 18 months. According to NASA, the massive planet will tilt enough to make it nearly

perfectly aligned with Earth from the spring of 2025. This will make the rings too thin to see for stargazers here on Earth. The rings are expected to be visible again by 2032. Okay, we want to turn back now to the impact that the Israel-Hamas war is having right here at home. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters attempting to block a military ship they believe was headed to Israel, while tensions in cities and college campuses across the nation reach a breaking point. Here's NBC's Emily Aketa. Tonight, tensions over the Israel-Hamas war reaching a boiling point in the U.S. Hundreds of protesters gathering at the Port of Tacoma in Washington, blocking a military vessel they believe to be carrying U.S. military aid to Israel.

This same cargo ship also blocked. just a few days ago in Oakland when demonstrators chained themselves to the ship's ladders. We attempted to stop the ship from moving by calling on the workers and those on the ship to stand on the right side of history. When the ship started to move, the community took it upon themselves to actually occupy the ship. Long live Palestine! On Sunday, crowds of pro-Palestinian supporters marching through the nation's capital. Police say the demonstration was mostly peaceful. But at night, some protesters began banging on the White House gates and even climbing them.

Handprints in red paint left behind this morning and nearby statues vandalize. The U.S. Secret Service says no arrests were made. In Philadelphia, this moment going viral. George Norcross, a well-known New Jersey businessman and Democratic Party organizer, ejected from an Eagles game after he displayed an American-Israeli flag from his suite. Look, look, they're taking the flag. The Philadelphia Eagles declined to comment on the situation, but the stadium's policy prohibits, quote, signs, banners or similar items that are obscene or indecent, not event-related, potentially offensive to other patrons, or those that contain commercial messages, logos, or political endorsements. In a lengthy statement, Norcross questioning why his flag was not allowed and threatening to sue.

Writing in part, I've watched the Eagles NFL make clear and strong statements on numerous important civil justice issues and ethnic and world conflicts, including supporting the people of Ukraine. Meanwhile, violence breaking out on college campuses. Police in California say they are investigating a possible hate crime after an Arab Muslim Stanford student was hit by a car on campus and sent to the hospital. The victim says the driver yelled, F you and your people, as he sped off. The university calling the incident profoundly disturbing. And across the country, a University of Massachusetts Amherst student who pled not guilty was arraigned today for allegedly assaulting another student at a rally in solidarity with the hostages being held by Hamas.

The surge in violence and threats on college campuses leaving students on both sides of the conflict on edge. I want people to know that the Jewish people are hurting. We're very strong. We've been through a lot, so we know how to deal with these issues. But that doesn't mean that we're not affected by it and that we're not upset. Is there any part of you that's fearful and even sitting down in this interview on camera with me today? I'm very afraid of that, actually.

I've been put on a website, and there's been articles written about me. If I'm too scared to even say anything, like, what does that say to my eyes? identity of being Palestinian, like, who am I to be silenced? Emily Ikeda, NBC News. Now at Top Stories Global Watch and the deadly earthquake in Nepal. Video shows total devastation fainting out in all directions from the epicenter of the 6.4 magnitude quake, which hit late Friday night just west of Kathmandu. At least 150 people killed.

Entire neighborhoods flattened and homes completely destroyed. It is the deadliest quake to. strike the Himalayan region since 2015. And a caravan of hundreds of migrants left southern Mexico on Sunday, heading for the U.S. border. This smaller caravan is expected to join a larger migrant caravan that left on foot about six days ago. According to organizers, about 7,000 people are expected to arrive at the U.S. southern border.

This is reportedly the largest caravan so far this year. Okay, coming up, an NBC News exclusive. Matt Bradley sitting down with Hezbollah's second-in-command, as the group continues to fight Israeli forces on the border with Lebanon. His threat to Israeli civilians if rocket fire from Israel continues. We're back now with more on the Israel Hamas war

and an exclusive sit-down interview tonight. Hezbollah second-in-command telling NBC news the group will respond in kind to Israel's attacks in Lebanon, even targeting Israeli civilians. NBC's Matt Bradley with that interview. Tonight with tension, at the Israel-Lebanon border reaching fresh highs.

Hezbollah's second-in-command, Naeem Kassim in American TV exclusive, providing a rare glimpse into the militant group's strategy. So right now, Hezbollah is simply trying to distract the Israelis from their military action in Gaza. That's your main goal. Of course, Hezbollah participates for the sake of lowering the pressure on Gaza and for the sake of preventing Israel from Israel. achieving its objectives.

In addition, as a clear message that if you expanded, there will be serious consequences. These messages have been delivered and are still being delivered. But distracting Israel is far from Hezbollah's only goal. The group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, vowing to kill one Israeli civilian for every Lebanese civilian casualty. A threat taking on new urgency after an Israeli airstrike killed a one. woman and three children in Lebanon on Sunday. According to state media, Israel says Hezbollah has already fired 30 rocket strikes and

retaliation. Are you going to expand your attacks? Are you going to deliberately target Israeli civilians? We normally don't discuss our operational activities and how we will behave. What we will do, you will see in the press, God willing. But Hassan Nasrallah did discuss his plans. Hassan Nasrallah did say one Lebanese civilian for one Israeli. civilian. That sounds like a plan. That sounds like a plan to kill Israeli civilians.

You can start counting and you will see whether or not our calculations are correct or not. Israel says it's now leading what it calls a global battle against Iranian-backed groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah. What we see is a broader battle between civilization and barbarism. The barbarism is led by an axis of terror. But what Netanyahu calls the axis of terror, Iran and its allies in the region call an axis of resistance. And lately, the axis of resistance has been more active than ever, striking American military

and Israeli targets across the Middle East. Can you tell the other members of the axis of resistance to stop harassing the Israelis and the Americans? It's a question directed at America and Israel. upon them to stop the aggression so that things do not expand. And if they do, only God knows how much it might expand. Well, Tom, you saw Naim Qasem's reaction to my question about deliberately targeting civilians, that kind of an eye-for-an-eye mentality. And alongside Hezbollah's stated commitment to escalating their attacks against Israel, if Israel escalates

their assaults on the Gaza Strip, which, by the way, they're almost certain to do. They've said they're going to continue to do that. Well, then you've got the recipe for an expanding region-wide war. Tom? That is the big fear. All right, Matt Bradley, for us tonight. Matt, we thank you for that. Hezbollah and Hamas are both backed by Iran, but they're not the only groups. Iran and its allies also believe to be behind attacks on American military targets across the Middle East. U.S. defense officials now reporting at least 45 U.S. service members may have been injured in drone and rocket attacks on bases in Iraq and Syria. It's nearly double the original number,

and we're now hearing some of them may have been seriously hurt. I want to bring Courtney Kubi, who's been closely following this story. She joins us tonight, of course, from the Pentagon. So, Courtney, what more do we know about why this number is twice what was originally reported? So most of these additional two dozen or so service members who have reported injuries include traumatic brain injuries. So that is people who may have had some symptoms initially, But they have since had their symptoms maybe get worse, maybe they've seen even more symptoms than after the initial incident, and they've reported increasing the number.

And I have to say, Tom, most likely this number that we're hearing now, this 46, is going to change again in the coming days, weeks, and even months, as some of these service members, as their symptoms that may have been mild, could get worse, or vice versa. But these have been carried out by a number of militia groups, Iranian-backed militia groups, and we're now up to at least 38 attacks against bases housing American troops in Iraq and Syria since October 7th. It's a pretty dramatic uptick from where we were only a month ago, Tom. And then as we've mentioned, U.S. officials believe these attacks are linked to Iran. Have we learned anything else about how or why these attacks were carried out? So the majority of the attacks have been what the military calls one-way attack drones.

So they are drones that fly in. They generally have some sort of explosive on them. And they literally just crash into an area with the idea of the explosive causing casualties in the immediate area. There's also been a couple of rockets, some indirect fire, and even some mortars. But of those 38 attacks, the vast majority have not been effective in causing any casualties that includes any kind of injuries or even any damage to infrastructure on these. basis. So far, four of the 38 have caused minor casualties and some damage to the infrastructure. And they are believed, according to U.S. officials, to be carried out by these Iranian-backed groups. Katab Hasbola is one of the main ones that operates in the area in Iraq and in Syria. Now, the U.S. as a way to retaliate and try to prevent further attacks,

carried out a series of strikes about 10 days ago. If these attacks continue, the U.S. maintains their option to carry out more strikes to try to deter future attacks, Tom. Yeah, that was exactly what Matt was just talking about there, this war possibly expanding. Okay, Courtney QB first. Courtney, we appreciate all of that. When we come back, the race to recover a nearly 300-year-old shipwreck, the President of Columbia reportedly trying to lift the wreck before his term ends in 2026. It's rumored to contain $20 billion worth of treasure. Could explorers here in the U.S. get half of that fortune?

We'll explain. Finally tonight, the race to pull the Holy Grail of shipwrecks off the ocean floor. On board the 300-year-old wreck of the San Jose, gold, silver, and emeralds, potentially worth $20 billion. The Colombian government accelerating plans to exhume that ship, but an American company claims half that treasure on board belongs to them. Here's Valerie Castro. Tonight, the Holy Grail of shipwrecks, potentially one step closer. to resurfacing for the first time in 300 years. Bloomberg reporting Colombian president Gustavo Petro has ordered the recovery of the $20 billion treasure, telling the country's

Minister of Culture to, quote, pick up the pace and pull the wreck off the ocean floor before the end of his term in 2026. But questions tonight about who can claim ownership of the treasure on board the San Jose, a Spanish galleon which sank off the coast of Cartagena in 1708 during a battle with the British Navy. Believed to be on board, priceless artifacts, gold and silver, gems and jewelry collected by South American colonies to be shipped to Spain's king. It's a triumph major. The wreck's exact location, a closely guarded secret. The Colombian Navy says it found the storied ship in 2015. Constituly one of the most grandes alligues and identifications of patrimonialed

submerged, if it's more grand, they're in the history of the humanity. But American company, C-Search Armada, says it discovered the wreck in the 1980s, making a deal with Colombia to get half of the value in exchange for the coordinates. They're now suing Colombia, seeking half the value of the fortune.

Colombia rejecting the company's ownership rights earlier this year. I get excited about what it means historically. Professor Charles Beaker, who says the wreck lies within Colombian waters was an advisor to a Colombian delegation in 2014. Colombia should split nothing. It's 100% something they have. Let's appease everybody by making sure that these objects can be, again, loan to Spain, long term, long, central America, in Colombia for exhibits. And these resources should be protected for public benefit,

not for private gain. Bloomberg reporting President Petro is pushing officials to set up a public private partnership or do a deal with a private firm to recover the riches. 700 feet of water today is not that difficult. I mean, divers cannot go there, but remote operated vehicles can go there, but it's still costly. I mean, to do underwater work is a costly endeavor. Draw the line that you're not using artifacts to pay for it. The race to the ocean floor coming at a price. Valerie Castro, NBC News. All right, we thank Valerie Castro for that story. And we thank you for watching. Top stories. tonight. I'm Tom Yammis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.