Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, December 14, 2023

Episode Date: December 15, 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, breaking news, a Hamas terror plot stopped in Europe as federal agencies sound the alarm about threats on U.S. soil. Authorities in Germany and the Netherlands arresting several people, they say, were planning attacks on Jewish sites and institutions across Europe. Evidence suggesting some of the plans have been in the works since last spring. Federal agencies in the U.S. already on high alert warning about the heightened terror threat at home as the war between Israel, and Hamas rages on. Also tonight, a potential rift between the U.S. and Israel may be widening. Sources telling NBC News, the Biden administration has told Netanyahu's government to end its large-scale ground campaign in Gaza.

Border surge, thousands of migrants illegally entering the U.S. every day, and the border town of Lukeville, Arizona, now becoming the epicenter of the country's migrant crisis. A border crossing there now closed so agents can try to. and process the crush of migrants already there. But residents and business owners on the U.S. side say they are paying the price. Face to face, the leader of Guyana and Venezuela meeting over that disputed oil and mineral-rich region. One day after the Guyanese president told Top's story in an interview, he would not give up an inch of that land, despite Venezuela's much larger military. The comments from Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro moments before the two sat down behind closed

doors. Basket brawler NBA star Draymond Green suspended indefinitely after punching a Phoenix Sun's player in the face during a game. The NBA saying he has one strike too many, what it may take for him to play in the league again. Sea of trouble, a couple who appeared on the hit reality show below deck charged in an alleged prescription drug scheme, how authorities say they use the identities of the show's famous cast members to fill bogus prescriptions. of oxycodone. Plus a GoPro camera capturing the moment a skier triggered an avalanche in New Hampshire and then was caught up in it, his high elevation rescue after four hours.

And the hiker now dubbed Miracle Man after he survived a 1,000 foot fall in Hawaii. How he managed to stay alive for three days with broken bones and no food and how his family used one of his social media posts to eventually help find him. Top story. Starts right now. And good evening. We begin with breaking news. Two terror plots stopped in Europe, both believed to be targeting Jewish communities, and one was organized by Hamas.

Authorities say three Hamas members were arrested in Berlin and at least one person in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. German prosecutors accusing them of planning attacks on Jewish sites and institutions across Europe. They also say one of the suspects was taking direct orders from Hamas leaders in Lebanon, and that his efforts to find a cache of weapons may have begun in the spring. In a separate case, authorities in Denmark say they also arrested several people, believed to be, planning attacks against Jewish civilians across that country. However, it's unclear who was behind it. Details of these plans mirroring with federal agencies back here in the U.S.

have been warning about for months, stepped up patrols outside of synagogues in major American cities, after FBI director Christopher Wray said since October 7th, he has never seen so many elevated threats of terror against the U.S. all at the same time. But we want to get right to those terror plots overseas. And Megan Fitzgerald, who joins us now from our London Bureau with the late breaking details, Megan, a lot going on here. Walk us through what we know. Tom, what we know is that officials in Denmark say three people were arrested there, one arrested in the Netherlands. Now, in Germany, state prosecutors there say four suspected

members of Hamas have been arrested, one in the Netherlands and three in Berlin. German prosecutors are saying one of the members arrested was searching for this underground stash of weapons in Europe. They believe those weapons were intended to be taken to Berlin to then be used in a potential terrorist attack against Jewish institutions in Europe. Now, we are hearing from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office who's releasing a statement today, saying in part that Hamas is striving to expand its capabilities around the world and in Europe. Tom? All right, Megan Fitzgerald on that breaking news out of Europe. Megan, we appreciate that.

Israel's military leaders say they believe the war with Hamas will last several months as their assault on Gaza wages on. This says President Biden urges Israel to be more careful and international communities to call for a ceasefire. Here's NBC's Richard Engel. As Israel's war on Hamas devastates the Gaza Strip, President Biden was asked if Israel needs to tone down its military operation. I want them to be focused on how to save civilian lives, not stop going after Hamas, but be more careful. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. Two U.S. officials familiar with the discussion tell NBC News, Sullivan told the Israeli government the administration wants Israel to end its long. large-scale ground campaign in Gaza and transition to a more targeted phase of its war against

Hamas. But that Sullivan did not specify a timetable to do this. Israeli military officials tell NBC News tonight they anticipate a long military campaign, but recognize they are under pressure because of Palestinian casualties and the humanitarian collapse in Gaza. Our crew filmed the aftermath of Israeli strikes today and followed the victims to a hospital. This was in southern Gaza, where Palestinians have been ordered to go. Israel says its war is more than justified after Hamas massacred at least 1,200 Israelis

and took 240 hostages on October 7th. A month ago, we joined the David family for a Shabbat dinner. Eli blessed the wine and prayed for his brother Eviatar, kidnapped by Hamas from a music festival, and then dragged into Gaza in a headlock. Tonight, Eli was in Tel Aviv. Along with other hostage families and Israel's president lighting the menorah for the last day of Hanukkah. Away from the crowds, set Eviatar's mother, Ghalya. She's crushed and can't bring herself to be around too many people.

This is my son's birthday. Eviatar is one of dozens of young men still held hostage. Freed hostages say Hamas has been beating and torturing them. The male hostages seldom get talked about in the news. They still hope and believe that they will come home. The guitar will come home, safe. And a new U.S. intelligence assessment says that about 40 to 45 percent of the roughly 29,000 air-to-ground munitions that Israel has dropped on Gaza were unguided, so-called dumb bombs. which are far less accurate. Tom?

Richard Engel for us. We want to take an in-depth look tonight into Israeli hospitals which have been treating wounded soldiers since the war broke out. NBC's Halagorani went inside some of them to hear their stories. Inside the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv

since October 7th, an entire floor is now dedicated to the rehab of wounded Israeli soldiers. It was an open fracture and my tibia bone here completely shattered. Our access granted by the Israeli military brought us to a soldier named Yuval, who also spoke with Lester back in October after the initial Hamas attacks. He is still recovering and remains determined to fight.

Every soldier here in the hospital, everybody want to get the quickest recovery with the cane, so to be back on the battlefield. Every day here, choppers bring in Israeli soldiers wounded in the combat in Gaza. Dr. Eyal Hashavya says he needs to work fast. The casualties keep coming. Ever since October 7th, we've been getting more than 500 soldiers, injured soldiers. We're getting severely injured patients by the missiles. Beyond the fighting today, some like former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are now sounding the alarm that there is no post-war plan.

The main problem in my mind is not in the fighting. There we are fighting to the extreme heroic way we can. Problem is that Israel has no vision, no thinking, no planning as to what stand. And despite international pressure to scale back the intensity of the fighting in Gaza, polls here show that Israelis remain overwhelmingly in favor of the war. Tom? Hello, thank you. As this conflict prints on with no end in sight, Palestinian children continue to be caught in the crosshairs of this war. The Gaza Health Ministry reporting that 70% of the victims in Gaza are women and children with a death toll rising every day.

For more on this crisis, I'm joined tonight by Dr. Yara Asi. She's a fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, D.C., and an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida, focusing on global health and human rights. Dr. Thank you for joining Top Story tonight. We see these pictures. We can. talk about this war. And when you look at what's happening in Gaza, it's horrific. You don't know how anyone has survived, and yet some children have survived. Absolutely. What are the stories you're hearing from Gaza, and how are you helping those Palestinians? So the stories are horrific, as you've said, the videos, the images. We know that there's around at least 8,000 children that are dead, hundreds, if not thousands, more trapped under rubble. We've heard about 25,000 children have lost either one or both parents.

And in some of these cases, they have lost their entire extended family. They are the last surviving child. Every child is out of school. There is no stability. The best case scenario for a child right now is that they are in one of these very crowded, very underserved shelters, hopefully with some surviving family left. Which aid groups are running those shelters, are trying to help these children out? So the main aid group on the ground right now is Unrua, which is.

as the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. They provide most of the services in terms of health and education, but even they are saying that in these conditions, they're hardly able to do even basic triage, provide food, water, even bathroom access to these people. What is sort of the therapy for those children that, as you mentioned, that have lost two parents? Does that therapy even start now, or is it just pure survival? And they can't even get to that point yet? Yeah, I think at this point, it's pure survival, especially with a ceasefire at this point. We are seeing some efforts by humanitarian workers on the ground to offer puppet shows and painting classes for some of the surviving children, but with bombs

falling all around, with such uncertainty, lack of food we're hearing of children starving. It's very difficult to see a way out. What type of training prepares you for this, right? Because how do you answer a child when they ask, what happened to my parents? There is no training. What we're hearing from a lot of health workers is that they are, especially if it's a child pulled from rubble, they are simply not telling them yet that their family has not survived. We are seeing humanitarian workers themselves breaking down because of what they've seen. And let's remember, they too have been living this for two months dealing with the same physical and mental stressors worrying about their own children. So they are really in survival mode, just trying to

make it through the day. What is the one thing that those children need the most right now? What they need is a ceasefire and an end to the violence. And even humanitarian agencies have told us We cannot even provide the most basic aid until there's a cessation of hostilities. We can't navigate the roads. Our trucks are not safe. People are too scared to leave their homes. I know this is a very complicated question. I know you're not a politician.

I know you do not work for the military. Is there, I'd like to say, a grassroots effort or at least some type of conversation that's happening organically. And I understand it during the type of war that we just, whoever, whoever, has the hostages, whether it be Hamas, another militant group, because we know they've split up, another terrorist group that is holding these innocent Israelis. Has there been any talk from Palestinians to say, can we just end this? Can we let people go? Let's try to get to a ceasefire. Let's try to stop the bombing. Does that happen from the Palestinian side, or is that an

impossible conversation to have? Well, I think, again, they're kind of in survival mode. They are, let's remember that these almost 10,000 children that have been killed don't have anything to do with this. And what we are seeing is that they are in these videos, as we're bearing witness to this tragedy, they are calling on us the world to help them. They feel entirely powerless. And I think they would do anything to stop the bombing and to try to get back to some semblance of normalcy that they had just three months ago. You know, I don't want to say the children have been ignored in this conversation, but when you think about those stats that you're saying and you think about all the children who have lost parents, why do you think the world has

has not spoken more about this or at least had this conversation? So I do see, you know, a lot of the humanitarian efforts that have moved forward are focusing on children. But I think right now we're kind of caught in these political conversations and we've lost sight of the humanity of the people that are left behind, seeing children wailing for their dead parents, seeing parents whaling for their children. I think these images, after a while, especially now as a death toll has risen, unfortunately can become normalized, and we get caught up in these other conversations, and we lose sight of what is needed on the ground right now, which is an end of violence and unimpeded access to aid.

Dr. Yara Asi, we thank you so much for joining Top Story tonight. Thank you, Tom. We want to turn now to the Americas and the new developments coming out of the high-stakes meeting between Venezuela and Guyana. Guyana's president meeting for the first time with Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro face-to-face, hoping to resolve growing tensions over Maduro's threats to take over part of Guyana, and oil-rich region that both countries say belongs to them. NBC's Guadvanegas explains.

Tonight, two South American leaders meeting face-to-face after weeks of escalation over an oil-rich territory in South America. The president of Guyana, Mohamed Irfan Ali, arriving in St. Vincent early Thursday for a high-stakes conversation, followed by Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro. We're going to approach to the maximum in function of that our America, that peace threatened by a dispute over the Esakibo region, a stretch of land making up more than half of Guyana that Venezuela argues belongs to them. Today, both leaders agreeing to meet on neutral ground.

President Ali making an important announcement after the meeting as talks are expected to continue. The region remains a zone of peace. The meeting attended by other South American leaders hoping for a peaceful solution. to the dispute. What's your overall expectation after this meeting today? I don't think we'll see the matter resolved today. I don't think either side is going to unilaterally back down this. I don't think Guyana is going to give up. Just before the historic meeting, President Ali speaking with Tom calling Maduro's moves reckless. He shows that he's an outlaw and any move by Venezuela to occupy any space within Essequo that belongs to Ghana. I will be illegal, illegitimate,

and against international law. Would you be willing even to give up an inch of land in the Escobilo region? Not a single inch. Esikoba belongs to Guyana. We are not giving up a single inch. Guyana's president also emphasizing the importance of the international court in the matter.

The controversy must be resolved at the ICJ. The meeting comes weeks after threats from Maduro, was seeking to annex the Esakibo. Ultimately, Nicola Mats Maduro in Venezuela is doing this largely for domestic reasons. I think he's mostly not to distract from the fact that the Venezuelan opposition, the Democratic opposition in Venezuela, has been gaining force, has been organizing, unifying, and was looking increasingly likely to really give him a run for his money in 2024 elections. The United States military holding exercises in Guyana amid rising tensions.

You don't want to see this come to blows. There's no reason for it to, and our diplomats are engaged in real-time on this. A diplomatic challenge with both countries standing their ground. And so many in the region watching to see what happens with this meeting, Guad joins us now live from Miami. Guad, both parties have emphasized they intend to find a peaceful solution. But yesterday, President Ali made it very clear to me that Guyana was not the aggressor in the situation. For weeks, Maduro has been saying the region belongs to Venezuela. Was there any agreement to who can claim the region as their own?

What do we learn today? So, Tom, there's a few things to keep in mind. One is that Guyana considers Diazikibu to be part of its territory. And although Maduro says it wants to annex it, today President Ali of Guyana said that they have the right to control investments, also to issue licenses and concessions to extract natural resources in that region. We know that it's a very rich, very rich in oil. And also, we have to keep in mind, Tom, that technically.

Venezuela has not taken any action inside of that territory to attempt to take over, Tom. Okay, Guavenegas for squad, thank you. We want to head over to Russia, and the war continues between Russia and Ukraine. Vladimir Putin holding a marathon press conference, promising victory to his people despite mounting battlefield losses. But are the Russians standing behind him in this war? Kier Simmons in Moscow speaking with the man who says he'll run against Putin next year. Russian President Vladimir Putin uncompromising today at a rare four-hour question-and-answer session, declaring victory in Ukraine will be ours.

There will be peace when we achieve our goals, he said. While tonight, Ukraine's President Zelensky claiming a victory, a surprise agreement on Ukraine's entry to the European Union. But Zelensky's failure so far to gain billions more in aid during his trip to Washington was noticed in Moscow. freebies may end someday, and apparently they are ending little by little, Putin said. The Russia's leader of 23 years did see some dissent on the text messages appearing on screens behind him. You said in 2004, a man may go crazy after seven years in power, this message read, how's your health? Tonight, a veteran lawmaker who says the Ukraine conflict is at a dead end,

tells us he plans to run against Putin in next year's presidential election. He doesn't think he'll win. After I have said that we should elect other president, not Putin, I was blocked on Russian TV. Russia is on a war footing. An ice rink outside Moscow features a fighter jet and a former Soviet rocket. Millions visiting a Russian expo that includes the history of the Soviet nuclear programs. This, a model of Russia's first atom bomb. We're proud of it. It's all history.

We are a great country. Putin also said that a deal is possible, though not easy, for detained U.S. nationals, Paul Whelan, and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gerskiewicz, who the U.S. says are both wrongfully accused of espionage. Tom? We hope that's true. Okay.

Thank you so much, Kier. Let's head to the U.S. southern border in the migrant crisis. Their authorities stretched past their limits, thousands of migrants a day cross the border illegally. A key border crossing in Arizona now closed, and residents in surrounding towns on the U.S. U.S. side are feeling the effects. Julia Ainsley is there tonight.

Tonight, this is the new epicenter of the border crisis, tiny Lukeville, Arizona, where the number of migrants is pushing Border Patrol past capacity. More than 9,000 illegal crossings along the southern border just yesterday. Nearly 3,000 of them in this area. Behind me, there's a group of about 40 migrants, including young children, that were just brought in by Border Patrol after they called 911 because they were stranded in the desert. Border agents so backed up, they're taking migrants to Tucson, where they're processed and most are released into the U.S. The Lukeville International Crossing now closed

for 11 days due to overwhelming demand on border agents from migrants. Business owners say they're paying a price. Last week we had made $5,000, which is what we usually would make within an eight-hour shift. We find places along the border wall where smugglers cut holes for migrants. Yesterday, cutting through 16 times. They mark the dates here where they fixed the breaches. And you can see this one was just fixed recently. U.S. and Mexican officials tell NBC news one reason for the rise, Mexico's Border Patrol equivalent is running low on funds and stopping fewer migrants. But Republicans blame President Biden's border policies for encouraging migrants to come and are demanding changes before they'll pass more funding for Ukraine. This tonight

from the Border Patrol Union. What we need to see from this administration, is that they're serious about border security because when you're allowing so many individuals to come across the border that preoccupies a lot of agents. President Biden calls GOP proposals extreme. Migrants tell us they're desperate. We are tired. I had to carry my daughter so we could keep going, said Jacqueline from Ecuador. And this man said, we knew this was going to be hard. We do it for our families. Tom, just while I've been here today at Lukeville, Arizona, I've seen probably over 150 migrants come right through here. It's quiet right now, but especially in the morning, it was busy.

We've seen toddlers come through here. A lot of them have been picked up in some of the remote areas around here and brought here to be processed by Border Patrol. And they'll later be taken to Tucson because we know that Border Patrol processing in this area is way over capacity. Meanwhile, the Governor of Arizona is asking President Biden to redeploy some National Guard to this area so that Customs and Border Protection can send their men and women back to that border crossing and reopen it because she says it is imperative for businesses here and is demanding that it be immediately reopened. So more to come here from Arizona as we keep an eye on this. And meanwhile, another border crossing is closing as well this week in Sanja D'ercidro.

And of course, the local officials in those towns, Tom, say that really the impact is wide on the residents there. And so they're trying to do all they can to alleviate that pain, Tom. Julia Ainsley, with the ongoing crush at the border all over the southern United States. Okay, we're now going to track a turn to the weather, and we're tracking a system expected to bring in heavy rain, wind, and even snow to much of the eastern part of the country this weekend. I want to get right over to meteorologist Bill Karen. So, Bill, what are you watching tonight? We kind of already see that system bubbling up there. Yeah, this isn't the tornado outbreak from last weekend, thankfully.

But this is going to be a huge inconvenience and a cold December rain is about the least thing anyone wants on a busy holiday, pre-holiday weekend. You know, you got parties, shopping errands. So the storm system in Colorado, heading into areas of Kansas, snow coal, is going to combine with all of the bright, white moisture in the Gulf of Mexico. Tomorrow is kind of quiet. There will be some rain in the Key West area here to Key Largo, but Miami northwards, you're pretty dry, not a lot of rain. This all changes, though, as we go throughout Friday night into Saturday,

and the map just really fills in. You can go from Key West to Jacksonville, and it'll be pouring on Saturday. Gusty winds along with it. I do not think we're going to get a lot of severe weather. Urban flooding, poor drainage areas. Yes, but not so many tornadoes or wind damage and things like that. But notice Florida, about the time we get to Sunday, about noon, it's over with. So the heaviest rain in Miami southwards, possibly up to three inches, one to three inches widespread.

Locally up to five will be worst-case scenario. And then here's the plan Sunday. I'm actually more concerned with Charleston, Wilmington, Myrtle Beach, some of those areas of coastal flooding problems on Sunday, especially Sunday evening. The rain shield by 1 p.m. Sundays in Washington, D.C., heading into New York. So we got football games in Charlotte, Cleveland that'll have to deal with a lot of rain. Baltimore's got a game Sunday evening that'll have a ton of rain. And then 6 p.m. Sunday, it's raining from about South Carolina all the way to Maine. And unfortunately, Tom, you're going to see a lot of people complaining coming into work in the I-95 quarter.

Monday morning, a soaking rain along with gusty winds and cold temperatures. Ugly. All right, not a good way to start that holiday week. All right, thanks so much. Bill still ahead tonight, a reality TV couple in a sea of trouble. The pair seen on Bravo's below deck accused of stealing their castmates' identities to fill bogus prescriptions for opioids, how they're defending that scheme in court. Plus, Draymond Green, suspended indefinitely because of this, what the NBA says he has to do now before he can lace up again. And terrifying video of the moment, a skier triggered an avalanche in New Hampshire and was sent tumbling down a mountain.

How he's doing tonight. Top story, just getting started on this Thursday. We're back down with stunning charges filed against a couple who appeared on the popular reality show below deck. The husband who was a doctor accused of stealing his castmate's identities so he could write fake prescriptions for oxycodone. NBC New York's Pacey Chang reports. Dr. Francis Martini and his wife, Jessica, left court without speaking to reporters. But the couple who has appeared on the Bravo reality. show below deck.

Pancakes on the side, just regular butter about pancakes. Are in a sea of trouble, accused of prescribing and filling bogus prescriptions for oxycodone, using the names of crew members from the show. The couple were among the guests who chartered the show's luxury yachts in 2019 and 2020. Following the broadcast, they went to events to promote the show with crew members. The investigation began some time after that. It began in early 2023 working with the DEA. Suffolk County police

said Jessica brought a handwritten prescription for oxycodone to this Kings Park pharmacy, which raised flags. The pharmacist alerted authorities. What's been charged is four prescriptions and approximately 150 pills. Prosecutors allege Dr. Martini, who is a

urologist in Fort Salonga, wrote multiple bogus scripts and his wife then picked up the pills at various Suffolk County pharmacies paying for them in cash. The indictment charges each with eight counts, including criminal sale of a prescription and falsifying business records. My clients pled not guilty, which means the government has to prove each and every element

beyond a reasonable doubt, and they look forward to clearing their names on their day in court. In court, prosecutors say when they arrested the couple, they were quick to tell officers, we didn't sell any of it, it was all for us. In a statement, the DEA said these arrests are a reminder that a doctor's illicit drug diversion can lead to irreparable harm, like the drug overdoses and poisonings, currently plaguing our nation. Anytime you have someone who is in a position of authority and trust such as a doctor is diverting these dangerous opioids, it's concerning.

The martinis are each facing five to 15 years, if convicted, they were released today on their own recognizance. And one final note, Bravo, which airs below deck, is part of NBC Universal Comcast, our parent company. Reporting from Hopog, Paisi Cheng. Tom, back to you. All right, Paisi, we thank you for that. Now to the NBA four-time champion, Draymond Green, who's been suspended indefinitely for punching a player during Tuesday night's game.

This comes after years of similar altercations and multiple suspensions. The league now trying to crack down on Green's behavior. Our Valerie Castro has the details. Tonight, NBA bad boy, Draymond Green, facing the harshest punishment yet for this punch. Oh, man. Striking Phoenix Sun's center, Yusuf Nurkich in the face during Tuesday's game. The NBA handing down an indefinite suspension.

Green initially tried to play it off as an accident. He was pulling my hip, and I was swinging away to sell the call, made contact with him. As you know, I'm not one to apologize for things I meant to do, but I do apologize to youself. I didn't intend to hit him. The NBA citing Green's repeated history of unsportsman-like acts. and will require him to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play. ESPN reports Green and his agent are meeting with his team about possible counseling. This is what the league does when it's not quite sure how long this should be

or doesn't want to put something definitive on it because they're trying to ride out a wave of bad PR. This is already the three-time All-Stars second suspension this season and sixth since joining the league. In November, Green was sidelined for five games. after putting Minnesota Timberwolves Rudy Gobert in a chokehold. He showed no remorse for his actions. I don't live my life with regrets. I'll come to a teammate's defense anytime that there's a, I'm in a position to come to a teammate's defense.

Near the end of last season, Green was ejected for stepping on Sacramento King's De Montes-Sabana's chest. He once again was glib about the violence. I got to land my foot somewhere. He's even battled his own teammates. In October, 2022 leaked video from a warrior. practice session showed Green punching former teammate Jordan Poole in the face. He was fined for an undisclosed amount.

I don't just hit people. We know stuff that you don't say amongst, man. You know what I'm saying? We, you know, we know things that you have to stand on. Former teammate Kevin Durant, who had tensions with Green when they played together, sharing his concern. Never seen that before in the basketball court, an NBA game. I hope Draymond gets the help he needs.

It's been incident after incident. This latest suspension of the former defensive player of the year, dealing a big blow to the Warriors' chance at another championship. Yeah, we need him. We need Draymond, but he knows that. We've talked to him, and he's got to find a way to keep his poise and be out there for his teammates. Tom, we're still waiting to find out exactly how many games Green will be suspended for,

but he stands to lose $154,000 per game up to a 20 games. game suspension. If he's suspended any longer than that, then the amount will increase. Tom. All right, Valerie Castro for us, when we come back, a major Coca-Cola recall. Why, the company has pulled more than 2,000 cases of Diet Coke and Sprite off store shelves. That's next. Okay, we are back now with Top Story's News Feed and the University of Arizona boosting police patrols over a potential kidnapper. Police in Tucson say a woman told him she was followed by a dark-colored car before the driver got out and grabbed her from behind last week.

She reportedly started to scream and he ran away. According to police, another woman said she was groped near the campus by a man matching his description, and a third woman reported being followed. Okay, a skier in New Hampshire surviving an avalanche and capturing the whole thing on camera. Look at this. GoPro footage showing the moment the snow underneath him gave way, and he became caught inside that avalanche. was pulled 500 feet down before coming to arrest with a broken leg.

His ski partner able to temporarily treat his injury with a medical kit after four hours, rescuers airlifted him to a local hospital. Pretty scary. Coca-Cola recalling some of its most popular products over concerns. They could contain, quote, foreign material. The impacted products include nearly 2,012-packed cases of Diet Coke, Sprite, and Fanta Orange. They were sold in Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. No word yet on what that foreign material is.

The Recall Diet Coke has a best-by date of January 29, 29, 2024, while the Fanta and Sprite are best by July 29th, 2024. Okay, and the hit show, Curb Your Enthousiasm, will end after 12 seasons. Larry David, writing in a statement that the show's final season will premiere on February 4th on HBO and will consist of 10 episodes. Curb launched in 2000 and ran for eight seasons before taking a six-year break. It returned to 2017. The beloved series has earned a staggering.

Get this. 51 Emmy nominations and is currently HBO's longest-running series. Okay, now to power in politics and another set of very troubling numbers for President Biden, a new Bloomberg and morning consult poll painting a grim picture for President Biden's re-election campaign. In seven battleground states, including six Biden won just three years ago, he's now trailing former President Trump. And in one case, by almost double digits. Let's take a look at the picture in Georgia, where President Biden scored a narrow victory over Trump in 2020.

This poll has him down six points against the former president, less than a year out from the election. In Michigan, where Biden beat Trump by almost three points in 2020, the script is now flipped. Trump now winning by four points there. And in North Carolina, the only swing state poll that Biden lost in 2020, Trump has extended his lead from three years ago from just over a point to nearly 10. For more on what these polls mean for President Biden's re-election hopes, I want to bring in our panel tonight, David Jacobson. He's founder of JNZ Strategies and a former Hillary Clinton campaign staffer. And Mark Lauder, Chief Communications Officer at the America First Policy Institute and Director of Strategic Communications on the Trump 2020 campaign. Thank you both for being here. Dave, I'm going to start with you since you're the Democrat here in the panel. It's less than a year out now, and these poll numbers for Biden keep getting worse and worse, especially in battleground states. concerned should Democrats be right now?

Look, undoubtedly Democrats should be concerned, but I think what's key here is a couple components. Number one, Trump's not above 50 percent in any of these polls. Number two, we are not yet at a binary choice in this election. And so to me, you know, this is sort of an opportunity for Democrats to take Trump seriously, obviously, but turn this into not just a campaign against Joe Biden, obviously, but to turn it as a referendum on Donald Trump. He's not yet the nominee.

We look like, obviously, in polling, it looks like he's going to get there. Clearly, he's leading by a substantial margin amongst the Republican field. But I think once Democrats are laser-focused against Donald Trump, and they draw a clear contrast, it's incumbent upon Democrats to make the case against Trump, but also not just focus on the president, but on the issues. Joe Biden is aligned with the American people on issues like abortion, gun safety, tackling climate change, student loan debt, and a range of other issues. Donald Trump, on the flip side, is deeply out of touch with the American people.

Moreover, we've got a number of court cases coming up with Donald Trump facing criminal charges. And I think the American people will never vote for a lawless president. David, but it's a much different story, as you know, when it comes to the economy and the border and what's happening overseas with two wars ongoing right now. Mark, I want to turn to you. How much of this is Trump doing better and how much of this is Biden doing worse? Well, I think it's a combination of both. I think this is the first campaign that we are going to see in over 100 years where one of the candidates is not hypothetical.

Both of them, one of them is the president, one's the former president, and people remember that they were better off. The world was safer. The border was secure when Donald Trump was president, and they can compare that to the mess that we have going on right now. And when you look at each of those issues in those battleground states, the real issues Donald Trump is favored by double digits, the economy, energy, crime, inflation,

the border, all of those issues, people choose Donald Trump over Joe Biden. Dave, let's look at Georgia, right? I'm going to have our great director, Brett Holi, put up the Georgia numbers real quick, because you mentioned the cases, right? The criminal cases against the former president. How do you explain Georgia? This is a state that he lost. It was a huge win for Joe Biden three years ago. And now he's being accused of trying to, the former president, former President Trump is accused of trying to steal that election, and yet he's doing better in Georgia now, right? How do you sort of explain this?

Well, Tom, I think it's also important. You know, Mark made a couple points, and I think facts matter. The reality is we had border issues during the entire Trump administration. Frankly, the border issues were worse during the Trump administration than during the Biden administration. In terms of jobs in the economy, you know, currently have unemployment at 3.7 percent. It was double that when Donald Trump left office. And so I think facts matter, and it's critically important when we're talking about economic issues that we have, that we're talking about the reality. Now, in terms of Georgia, we just won two U.S. Senate races in.

in Georgia. We're dominating statewide contests at the federal level, obviously, in Georgia. So look, going back to my point of making this a binary choice election, we're not there yet. There's still a nominating process on the Republican side. You've got Nikki Haley surging in polls. I still think Donald Trump is obviously going to be the nominee, but we're months away from that process sort of fizzling out. And so it's incumbent upon Democrats to be laser-focused at that point, once Donald Trump is the official nominee, to draw a clear and coherent contrast on the issues that matter, passing common sense gun violence issues, abortion rights, tackling climate change, standing with the LGBTQ community. These are issues that align with

Democrats and the vast majority of the American people. Polling shows this. The AP has a poll out that shows 73 percent of Americans support abortion rights. According to a Fox News poll, just a couple months ago, 61 percent of Americans support comprehensive laws that ban assault weapons. And so Joe Biden may not be in the strongest position in these polls today, but once we get to a clear contrast with Biden versus Trump, if Biden is laser-focused on the issues, that's where the American people are going to be. And I feel like these numbers will close the gap a little bit. Dave, just real quick, a fact check. What are you talking about the immigration was worse under former President Trump? Are you talking about numbers? Because we are seeing record numbers at the border

under the Biden administration. Obviously, we can have a discussion about the way migrants were treated under the Trump administration, but I was a little confused when you said that earlier in your answer. Yeah, to clarify, I mean, it's not like we haven't had border issues throughout the last 15, 20 years, right? Obviously, we were grappling with a tremendous issue at the border right now. However, things weren't perfect during the Trump administration. It was far from that. Things weren't perfect during the Bush administration or the Obama years, obviously. This has been an issue, I guess my point, that we have, as a nation, been grappling with for years.

Frankly, Democrats want to pass comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. The Republicans refuse to do that. Right? If it was a Democratic-controlled Congress, obviously, you'd probably have bills passing legislation. I want to get over to Mark. Mark, if you were advising former President Trump right now, is what he's doing working as far as campaigning and essentially going to court and waiting for trial? Is that working? Because he's not really hitting the campaign trail hard and he's skipping all the debates. No, but he is getting his message out and I think so. And he is doing rallies and he is doing events in some of the early primary states. But keep the pressure on. I hope the Democrats and Joe Biden follow my counterpart's advice because if that's the campaign message you've got, you're going to lose. People want lower prices. They want someone that's going to make sure that they can afford the basics, and they can't afford the basics under Bidenomics, under Biden inflation, and they know it.

And so if they go out there with a gun control and amnesty platform, they're going to lose. Real quick, because we've run out of time, Mark, a couple more Republican debates have been added to the calendar. think Trump attends any of them? No, I don't think there's any reason to. He's up 50 points nationally. He's up 25 to 30 points in the early states. This thing is all but done except for counting the actual votes. Dave Jacobson, Mark Lauder, loved this conversation. I thank you. Coming up next, stranded at sea, the Coast Guard, racing the airlift six people to safety after their boats sank off the coast of the Dominican Republic. The cruise ship nearby that alerted authorities to those people in distress. That's next.

Back now with Top Stories Global Watch, and we begin with a dramatic rescue off the coast of the Dominican Republic. New video shows the U.S. Coast Guard airlifting six people who were stranded in the ocean after their boat sank about 30 miles north of Puerto Plata. The Coast Guard receiving a call for help after a carnival cruise ship saved six other passengers from a life raft the day before. All 12 people are now expected to be okay. The World Health Organization urging vaccinations amid a measles outbreak in Europe. The agency says more than 30,000 cases of measles were reported across 40 European countries in 2023. They say that's 30 times higher than 2022 when cases were below 1,000. Measles, as you know, is highly infectious and can lead to complications, including pneumonia, even brain damage.

The WHO says cases are rising at an alarming rate due to plummeting vaccine rates. And a British child missing for six years has been found alive in France. Alex Batty was 11 and under the guardianship of his grandmother when he vanished along with his mother and grandfather while on a trip to Spain. Authorities believe the child was abducted by the pair. According to local reports, he was found hitchhiking in southern France this week after walking alone for several days. He's undergoing medical evaluation, no word on the location of his mother or his grandfather.

Okay, next tonight to the West Bank and Bethlehem's Silent Night. The city believed to be where Jesus was born more than two. thousand years ago, desolate during this Christmas season. Officials there canceling all holiday festivities in solidarity with their fellow Palestinians in Gaza. Hotels, restaurants, and shops once filled with tourists now empty. NBC News now anchor Holly Jackson has this report. The bells at Bethlehem's ancient Church of the Nativity still ring, but the courtyard here is empty. This is the oldest continuously used place of worship, shared by multiple Christian denominations, who believe it's the birthplace of Jesus.

But this Christmas, the pilgrims and tourists who usually flock to this ancient city are nowhere to be seen. This is the worst Christmas ever. Bethlehem is shut down for Christmas. No Christmas tree, no joy, no Christmas spirit. You know, Bethlehem was, during Christmas, was beautiful. People from all over the world used to come.

People were waiting for this moment. And as you can see now, it is a ghost town. This is my great-grandfather. Joey Canavati's family has owned the Alexander, hotel for generations. And here in Bethlehem, the holiday season is the busy season. We were fully booked, October, November, December. We were 120% capacity. We were looking different hotels to send the people because there's no room. There was no room in the inn in Bethlehem. The Israeli Tourism Ministry estimates 120,000 people visited during the week of Christmas last year.

We had at least 120 people having dinner here every night. Kavanaughi hoped they could see even more people this year. But now all what we get on the email is cancellation after cancellation after cancellation. So it is a catastrophe. One hotel manager tells the Associated Press nearly 70 hotels are now closed across Bethlehem, leaving 6,000 workers out of a job this holiday season. And a lot of your carvings are, for obvious reasons, of the nativity scene. Nativity scene, because this is what represents Bethlehem.

Our Richard Engel spoke with Richard Tabish, whose family has run this nativity shop since 1942. He says the 8 to 10 busloads of tourists and customers he used to get each day are gone. And when was the last time you had a single customer? Well, it was on the 6th of October, just the day before the war. Then from the 7th up to today, it's zero business. What about all your staff, all the people who work here with you, the people who carve all these objects, the people who sell them?

I know, I know. You know, Battleham relies 80% on tourism. In my store, we have with us around 30 employees. around 30 employees that we work in the store and we buy our merchandise from more than 100 to 150 merchants that do most of the carvings. They are all locals and do all these beautiful carvings in Bethlehem and it all stopped. Some restaurants forced to change their operations. Nowadays we are working around 10 percent, 15 percent maximum, maximum, yes.

Catering to local families instead of tourists, but in a city where people from many religions and denominations have lived and prayed side by side for hundreds of years. We are praying for peace, for peace, you know. Bethlehem is the city where peace was born. So it should be the messenger for peace to be spreaded all over the world. Praying for an end to first the war and then to Bethlehem's silent night. Hallie Jackson joins us tonight from Haifa Israel. Holly, so as we saw in your report, their Christmas canceled in Bethlehem. We've seen security concerns as Jewish communities gather to celebrate Hanukkah, not only in Israel, but across the world.

What's your sense being there, right? Are people able to find any sense of happiness or light as this war rages on, or is that just impossible at this time right now where you are? It's such a great question, Tom. I'll tell you, for the fortunate few, they have been able to find a miracle. And I'm talking about some of those hostage family members whose loved ones have been returned over the last few weeks. And I'm thinking about one man we spoke with whose three little kids and wife had been taking captive. And they were released. And he told me that he feels like it is a miracle at this moment, even just like watching them brush their teeth and living their life.

For a lot of other people, though, here in Israel, and certainly for people in Gaza who are just living through very difficult conditions, it is hard to find a moment to be hopeful. It is hard to find a way to cling to that, although I will say that some of those hostage family members we've talked to in Israel say hope is all they have at this point. And if they don't have that, it's tough to get out of bed, Tom. And all those prayers continue even during this holiday season. All right, Hallie Jackson for us from Israel. Hallie, thank you. All right, when we come back, the Miracle Man, hiker Ian Snyder, falling more than a thousand feet while hiking in Hawaii. So how in the world did he survive?

You'll hear his story right after this break. Finally tonight, the story of an incredible rescue after a hiker fell a thousand feet off a trail in Oahu, surviving at the base of a waterfall for three days, suffering from several broken bones and sipping from a small stream to stay alive. First responders calling him The Miracle Man. Here's Mahalani Richardson from Hawaii News Now. Walking slowly and recovering from broken bones, bruises, and puncture wounds, 34-year-old Ian Snyder doesn't remember the moment. He fell a thousand feet to the bottom of a mountain from the Koalau Summit Trail near the Palinacius Trail in Uwanu.

But he and his parents wanted to say Mahalo to the first responders, who saved his life December 7th. For three days near the bottom of a waterfall, he survived with only stream water. I had to reach over all the way across to grab water with my right hand. in the stream. It was a little trickle. And faith that his life was in God's hands. I had made my peace and said, if this is my, if this is my time, I'm ready to go. But if it's not my time, I know that that patch of sky in front of me, I'll be able to wave at a helicopter. I had made my peace with God. I will be okay whether I live or whether I die. That helicopter did come, as did a coordinated rescue effort involving first responders.

Oahu hiking community and many others from down that dangerous mountain. Made it to Kuna Hoonui and fell like here. Based on what we saw from Air One and the terrain, we were amazed that to be a thousand feet down from the trail and to have survived is, as we've said, many times a miracle. We still are baffled by it. As you can imagine, Mr. Snyder, your call was the most memorable that day. Not every day our department sees a situation like this. Falling 1,000 feet from my trail is no joke.

Thank you. Oh, my God. Can I get a hug? Yes. Hikers who helped with the search wanted to meet the man they had been tracking on his social media. And I thought the best gift we could give to the family was that we had found a body. And when we found a whole human living and breathing and waving at the sky, I was like, Merry Christmas, I guess. Mahalani Richardson, Hawaii News Down.

Thanks so much for watching Top Story tonight. in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.