Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, December 15, 2022

Episode Date: December 16, 2022

More than 24 million Americans under winter weather alerts, a pilot was forced to eject from a fighter jet after a crash landing at a Texas naval base, 44 states seeing an alarming rise in flu cases ahead of the holidays, and the bombshell allegations Prince Harry levied against Prince William.

Tonight, the deadly winter storm on the move, now taking aim at the northeast, the monster system dumping feet of snow across the Great Plains, blizzard warnings in effect, creating treacherous conditions on the road. 24 million people under alert with heavy winds, snow and ice expected from Minnesota to Maine. The same system spawning more than 50 reported tornadoes in the south. Destruction on the ground in Louisiana. Our team is live across the storm zone tonight. Also tonight, the military plane crash caught on camera in Texas, an F-35 nose diving after landing. The pilot ejecting into the air will have an update on his condition tonight. Holiday outbreak, 44 states seeing an alarming rise in flu cases, hospital beds filling up from coast to coast.

The White House now offering free at-home COVID tests once again, what you need to know to keep your family safe before coming together for the holidays. Missing Teen Mystery, the desperate search tonight for a 15-year-old, last seen in her Missouri home more than 10 days ago. The clues police say they found in her bedroom. Plus, the slingshot scare in London, a cord snapping, sending riders slamming into a metal pole, how crews were able to get them down safely. And Royal Bridges burned the bombshell allegations.

Harry describing a moment Prince William screamed at him in front of his father and the queen. Is this a royal rift that can't be fixed? We'll break down the most explosive moments from the Netflix docu-series. Top Story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Kate Snow in for Tom Yamas tonight. We begin Top Story with that monster storm carving a dangerous path across the country. More than 24 million Americans under winter weather alerts now from the Great Plains all the way up through New England.

In Minnesota, near white-out conditions, creating dangerous conditions on the road. The storm now barreling up the East Coast, snow, freezing rain and ice, all concerns through the night tonight. We'll have the full forecast in moments. But we begin in the South, where more than 50 tornadoes have been reported over the last three days. The damage left behind in New Orleans, simply devastating. Two tornadoes that tour through the city late Wednesday, now declared EF2s by the National Weather Service, winds topping 120 miles per hour. One of the area's hardest hit, the small community of Colonna.

Morgan Chesky is on the ground there for us tonight. Morgan? Yeah, Kate, good evening. And the damage isolated but so intense with this entire block here in Colonna featuring homes that are total losses or significantly damaged. And tonight, many of these families left trying to figure out what they can salvage, if anything. Tonight, the deadly storm system that decimated parts of the south is on the move. Severe thunderstorms and at least one confirmed tornado in Florida. Just hours after tornadoes tore through Louisiana, where they killed at least three people.

They're going to certify somewhere between 10 and 15 tornadoes. This massive twister slamming New Orleans neighborhoods. Oh, my God. And the city's outlying suburbs. I'm watching my roof come up and they go, boom. Homes flattened. Cars flipped. The trail of destruction, isolated but devastated. Families losing everything just days before the holidays. This was my great-granddaughter's house. In Colonna, Marlonne Brown is salvaging what he can of the home that's been in his family for more than a hundred years. It made it through hurricanes, but one tornado. Yeah, unexpectedly.

Do you rebuild? Yes, yes, I guess we have to. Since Monday, more than 50 tornadoes have been reported across the south. The outbreak scientists say is driven in part by increasingly warmer temperatures. The same massive storm system also bringing blizzard conditions to parts of the northern plains. The Dakotas, Nebraska, and Wyoming pummeled with wind and snow. All is rain, ice and snow, bring dangerous conditions to the mid-Atlantic. You have to be ready to handle the worst-case scenario. Much of the Northeast now bracing for its bout.

his deadly December storm system. And Morgan joins me now from Colonna, Louisiana. Morgan, the homeowner that you spoke to, saying they've survived hurricanes, but one tornado destroyed his home. Was this area prepared for these twisters? Okay, great question. We do know that sirens did go off in this neighborhood. One man sharing that it was just seconds, though, before this storm struck.

And an important note, while some of the areas, in New Orleans were hit by that EF3 tornado back in March. This particular neighborhood had the eyewall of Hurricane Ida pass over it barely a year ago. So there is a lot of families here that had just finished picking up the pieces from that that are now faced to do it all over again. Just devastating. And Morgan, you mentioned these tornadoes are due in part to warmer temperatures. Why is that?

Well, because of these warmer temperatures, it's pushing the, season and tornado alley in areas that were typically not used to seeing them. A later tornado season happening here in December. And then that traditional alley featuring Oklahoma, Kansas, that's moving to the southeast as these temperatures become warmer. Obviously, folks here have seen these kinds of storms before, but the intensity and the speed in which it struck leaves quite a few people here, frankly stunned. Kate. Morgan, thank you. And as Morgan mentioned, the northern plains were slammed by a brutal snowstorm, with snowfall projected to reach almost two feet in some areas.

24 million people currently under winter alerts stretching all the way from Minnesota to Maine. For more on those blizzard conditions, NBC news is Miguel Almaguerre joins me now from Duluth, Minnesota. Miguel, what are things looking like where you are? Well, Kay, they're used to snowfall here, but they got epic snowfall here, a top 10. snow event and one of the biggest snow events they've ever had in December history. The snow actually started coming down about two days ago and they're out of their well over 20 inches at this point. You can see it's still light snow tonight. This has been happening for several days now and officials say they're dealing with all kinds of problems on the roadways. While the snow is

not as big of an issue as it was this morning, the roads are incredibly dangerous. They're slick, they're wet. There's been spin outs and rollouts. And it's not just here in Minnesota. Also in Wyoming and in the Dakotas, there's been major problems on the interstate. Some truck drivers say they've been stranded for more than 30 hours, the long as they have ever been stuck during a major snowstorm. So the after effects of this snowstorm is still being felt as this system moves east, Kate. And as we head into the nighttime hours, what are officials most concerned about Miguel? Yes, that black ice on the road, Kate, they know that the temperatures here were below freezing early this morning. They've been trying to plow the roads. They're still very

slick. They're still very wet, and that black ice could certainly lead to more spin-outs and more accidents. There has been some fatal crashes in this area overall, but officials have not yet confirmed that that's weather-related, certainly a possibility, if not very likely. So that's their big concern moving forward, at least

for the next day or two, Kate. All right, Miguel Almaguer, thank you. For more on what's coming next, let's turn to NBC's Bill Karens is watching this storm for us, Bill. This is day five since it hit California. I mean, it's ridiculous. So we were worried about tornadoes today this afternoon. in central Florida. We had one confirmed Pinellas County. We had a building, two buildings with some minor damage, no injuries, no fatalities. And that was the only tornado report today. What's left of that line is heading through South Florida. This is Lake Okeechobee here. Storms are right over the top of Naples with some lightning. But these are not tornado. Tornadic. There's no more tornado watches. So that's great. These blizzard warnings have been up for five straight days since Monday night to now. So I guess four straight days tomorrow will be five. And everywhere in purple here is still under blizzard warnings. Roads are still telling everyone to stay off of them. 40, 50, 50.

Bile power gusts, periods of snow, blowing snow. I've seen drips up to seven feet in South Dakota. And then we have winter storm warnings. All of the higher elevations of interior northeast, especially New England, is getting a good dose of snow. Biggest snowstorm so far of the early season. Great for the ski resort. It's bad for anyone having to travel. There'll be a lot of kids and teachers with a snow date tomorrow because of this storm. It's going to be slow moving. Anywhere in the white and blue is already snowing hard. We've had some icing earlier today in areas, the Shenandoah Valley, areas of some of the higher elevations in West Virginia. That's just about over. maybe a little bit more in the way of ice,

but this is mostly going to be either snow or rain, depending on where you are. This is all rain from Boston, southwards, down the New York City. But once you get up into the Berkshires, the Catskills, the White and the Green Mountains, that's where we're seeing the snow and heavy snow tonight. All right, Bill, you mentioned travel. We got, what, 10 days until Christmas?

So everybody's wondering, what's the outlook, given all this, what's the outlook for travel? It doesn't look great. So this weekend is a good weekend for everyone to get all the errands done. Check everything off the list while you can. Pretty quiet. some snow showers in the Great Lakes. By the time we get to Sunday, everything's still pretty

quiet. This is the ideal weekend to get things accomplished, because next week we are going to track, it looks like a pretty good-sized storm at the end of the week, and a significant cold outbreak. Here's the precipitation forecast above normal in the northeast. When you're talking above normal precipitation and a huge cold blast coming across the country, we have the potential for a major storm on the East Coast right before Christmas. I'll have a lot more details on that in the days ahead. No, no, no. No. I don't like that for you know why I got errands the run I got a flight of Chicago right in the middle of all right All right. Thank you. Let's talk about some breaking news out of Texas now a pilot forced to eject from a fighter jet after a crash landing at a naval base near Dallas and the entire thing was caught on camera

NBC's Valerie Castro has that video and more on the investigation Tonight one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world crashing near a runway at a naval air station in Fort Worth This new video shows the F-35B Lightning 2 jet manufactured by Lockheed Martin touching down on the ground before erupting into smoke and spinning around. Oh, he just crashed. The plane eventually riding itself, then a brief flash as the pilot ejects from the cockpit landing nearby with the help of a parachute. When we arrived on scene, you certainly can see that the aircraft is certainly as crashed on the west side of the runway. You can see an ejection seat and a parachute close to the aircraft, but as far as what happened, what caused it, we'll refer those back to Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy. Lockheed Martin issuing a statement saying, we are aware of the F-35B crash on the shared runway at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth and understand that the pilot ejected successfully.

Safety is our priority and we will follow appropriate investigation protocol. According to the company's website, the aircraft is known for its ability to land. land vertically like a helicopter, a maneuver the pilot appeared to be doing today. Emergency vehicles surrounded the wreckage as police work to secure the area. But we're trying to give really the Navy and DOD Department of Defense an opportunity to do their own investigation and to keep people away from their scene. The Joint Reserve Base, where the jet is assembled, known for its constant flight operations, now the scene of a frightening mishap.

Valerie Castro joins me now here on set. Valerie, when you watch the video, it looks like it was so low when the pilot finally ejected. Do we know anything about their condition? So far we know tonight that the pilot is safe and under medical observation, according to local police. But as far as what actually happened, that is all still under investigation. And there was another military jet crash, I believe, at this same area, what, less than two years ago? Yes, there was a different military plane. It crashed about a mile north of this same base. In that incident, two pilots ejected. They landed in a neighborhood. They were injured, but they survived. They were hospitalized after that. In that case, it was an instructor and a student that were involved. All right, Valerie Kester,

thanks so much for the reporting. Appreciate it. Up next tonight, an urgent new push by the White House for Americans to get vaccinated for both the flu and COVID. Major concerns ahead of the holidays as cases of both of those are rising. But there is encouraging news when it comes to the respiratory virus, RSV. Peter Alexander has more. Tonight, as Americans head into the holidays, fears that the flu is hitting harder and earlier than any time in the past decade at Rhode Island Hospital, ER beds, now 100% full. Flu hospitalizations, they're doubling in the last two weeks. What does the trajectory look like right now as it relates to the flu in your community and across the country? We're seeing it about a month earlier than we have in previous years, so it is very frightening at this point in time.

The most recent CDC data shows 44 states reporting high or very high flu activity. Part of a dangerous trio of viruses this winter, including COVID and RSV, a respiratory illness that impacts children, but now showing signs of easing. Are we still facing a triple-demic where RSV flu and COVID are all surging at once over the holidays? RSV nationally looks like it has clearly peaked and it's on its way down. Probably the worst flu outbreak we've seen in a decade. And then we talked about COVID, where clearly it's on an upswing with increasing number of cases. To combat COVID, the White House today is restarting its program to make available four free at-home COVID rapid tests per household.

More free tests will also be sent to schools, community health centers, and rural health clinics. The government also increasing access to vaccines with mobile and pop-up vaccination sites. Major cities like L.A. and New York are recommending people once again wear masks indoors. All of it comes after president. President Biden declared three months ago that the pandemic was over. How has that complicated the messaging to keep Americans vigilant facing COVID? The president was also very clear that COVID is not over. And obviously we continue to see people getting infected, getting sick.

Unfortunately, too many Americans needlessly dying of COVID. White House with some recommendations for Americans heading into the holidays as well. Dr. Jaa urging Americans to get the flu and updated COVID vaccines. and for those who test positive for COVID, he says, talk to your doctor about treatments like Paxlovod, especially for those over 60. Kate? All right, Peter, thank you for more on this medical crisis,

one we feel all too familiar with. I want to bring in NBC News medical contributor, Dr. Kavita Patel. Dr. Patel, great to see you. So this tripledemic, as we keep saying, it's not only getting people sick, it's keeping people sick for weeks at a time, it seems. How concerning is it that all, All these illnesses are overlapping.

Yeah, Kate, it's very concerning, not just from a public health standpoint, but you were just talking about going into the holiday season. It is absolutely going to get worse. There's just no way unless we all take some pretty important precautions. But I just don't see people having the appetite to do that, but I hope they'll listen tonight. Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted to ask. The White House is now restarting the program to make at-home COVID tests available to all of us, right? and also increasing access to vaccines.

It feels a little bit like last winter right before Omicron. Are we taking this seriously enough right now? We're definitely not taking it seriously enough. And I do want to put a little bit of some good news. If you compare it to previous surges, including last winter, we are seeing a lower death rate. I don't want to say that that diminishes the threat of death, but it's lower.

And where are we seeing the death? It's really, unfortunately, in people over the age of 60, and especially considering that only one and three Americans in that age population have had their updated boosters, that alone can be a significant contributor to that death statistic. But I also do think people want to be out and about. So maybe if they listen, that there are some basic things you can do to stay safe and keep people around you safe, you can have a great holiday season. I was going to ask, is it inevitable that we're going to have a repeat of last year, or is this very, very different?

It's very different for people who have had, I would say, updated boosters and who are taking precautions, like when you're getting into crowded space, putting your mask on, and just like we heard from the White House, getting access to testing and to treatment. But, Kate, not many people really thinking about all those things, but you can stay very safe by doing all of that and still enjoy time with the holidays. So we will see an increase in cases. Two out of three viruses have a vaccine. The third one, RSV, can also be prevented by wearing a mask and doing simple things like washing your hand. So the tools are in our tool belt. And the RSV cases seem to be going leveling or going down a little bit, right? So people heading home for the holidays. You know, I'm traveling next week. So many people are going to go with

family. What do we do? And I hope you don't just say wear a mask and, but what do we do as we're trying to get ready to see loved ones? What do we do? Let me tell you what I'm doing. I'm going to pack some of those free home managing tests. I've got some from the last go-round. I'm going to pack some of those. I'm going to make sure that when I get to my destination, I'm going to test just to make sure we're all still negative. I am going to carry that mask because on planes, trains, you're boarding a plane, especially, and the train sitting on the plane is on the ground. Great time to put a mask on you and any children. And then I've got a little bit of, you know, hand sanitizer in every nook and cranny in pocket. And I'm going to try to just make sure that I use that. And my family

uses it. And I don't think that that's too much to ask for. And then on top of that, I am going to try to see where there is like a convenient, urgent care if I do need to get access to Paxilvitt. I'm a doctor, so I know other doctors who could probably do it for me. But just have those things ready at hand to you don't get so stressed out and you'll be well prepared. Yeah, that's a good tip. I have to ask as a mom. Can I ask a mom question? I wonder about schools again because we're hearing some cities start to say maybe we should bring masks back? Do you think we're headed for that in the new year? I just had a conversation with our school. I'm shocking. Shocking as this might seem, Kate,

I'm on their COVID committee. And I said, look, we should talk about what we need to do when we get back. We did talk about the fact that maybe we'll ask people now that we have free home managing tests available to do a test the day before and the day of when they return to school. I think that'll be at least the first step. And then we are talking about what situation we might have masking come in, especially looking at local numbers. Each of our counties are seeing rises in COVID cases, but we have to keep an eye on that in the next several weeks. Yeah, and that does seem like an easy thing to do that test before kids go back into the

school. I know my district did that last year, too. All right, Dr. Patel, I could talk all day. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Let's get to a rocky day on Wall Street now. As investors process the Fed's latest hike and new numbers out today showing shaky retail sales, The Dow falling more than 750 points. That's its worst day in three months, and the S&P and NASDAQ both tumbled lower as well. The free fall accelerated by those worse than expected retail sales numbers. Wall Street was expecting sales to fall 0.3%, but actually they fell 0.6% between October and November. NBC News Business and data reporter Brian Chung joins me now here on set.

So, Brian, first off, can we dig into these new numbers that we had showing what happened during November? What happened in terms of people's buying? Yeah, well, as you mentioned, economists expected that retail sales might take a little bit of a slip in November, but not by this much. So 0.6%. That's how much retail sales contracted in November compared to October. Now, some contributors to that, a gasoline, for example, so it's not just necessarily retail itself. This report covers a lot of other things as well. But when you take a look at things like furniture, auto parts, those also seeing price declines as well. This is really interesting because,

Because November tends to be a time where people go out and spend a lot, right? It's kind of getting close to peak holiday season. And to be fair, we might not get a full picture of the full holiday season spending until we also get the December report. Kind of have to look at both of them together. But this does forebode an American consumer that is starting to pare back because of high inflation, because of concerns about a recession. These are things that are very much looming over the economic outlook as we get towards 2023. So zooming out from that, as we mentioned, the big picture was kind of rough for the market.

this year, right? And today, year-to-date, the S&P's down almost 19%. The NASDAQ is down 30% year-to-date. Should Americans be hopeful for 2023 if we're looking at our 401ks? Well, first of all, looking at your 401k right now, and I mean, across all of 2020, it has not been good. It's a little scary. You don't want to open it up every single day. But look, broadly speaking, when it comes to what's happening in the stock market, all of this is coinciding with concerns about what the economy is going to look like. And we just talked about the Federal Reserve over the last few days when it comes to their decision yesterday to further raise interest rates, there is a real concern that higher borrowing costs, which they hope will lower inflation,

will also come at the cost of rising unemployment, which would be much more recessionary dynamic than we are seeing right now, right? Because the unemployment rate is still 3.7 percent. That's still historically low. But the stock market and everyone broadly is worried that in 2023, as the Fed continues to hike rates, if the economy slows too fast, that could really, really throw the economy into a real hole, which everyone wants to avoid. Yeah, and I think the other thing people are worried about is, is those jobs, right? We've seen tech layoffs, media companies are laying people off. Yesterday, the Fed Chair told you that there would be more pain ahead.

Is this going to expand beyond just the tech and media industries? Yeah, for right now, again, I mean, we're looking at what's happened with META and Amazon, and certainly when you see thousands of people losing their jobs in one go, that's certainly a big issue. But when you take a look at the overall jobs market, the tech sector is only a fraction of the overall labor market, right? But there is that concern, which was underscored by what the Fed chairman, J. Powell, told me yesterday in the press conference, that that could spread. That's the pain that he's been warning about.

But for right now, it seems like that's not happening yet. But again, as the Fed makes borrowing costs more expensive, that makes it more expensive for companies to operate. If they want to preserve their margins, they might then start laying off workers to cut costs. That's a concern that could be happening in 2023. It's not happening yet, but that is a concern. as said by the Fed share. Right.

But then all that kind of helps with inflation potentially, right? It's all the big balancing act, yeah. Hiro. Brian Chunk, thank you so much. Appreciate it. While popular app TikTok has not announced any massive layoffs yet, the company is facing some other problems here in the U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle now moving to ban the app from government devices,

accusing TikTok of posing a national security risk. NBC's Hallie Jackson has what it could mean for users. TikTok, among the most visited sites in the world, used by an estimated 100 million Americans every month, massively popular, except maybe in Washington. I've been expressing concerns about TikTok for months on end. The Senate now passing a new GOP-led bill that would keep government devices from accessing TikTok, an app owned by a parent company based in China. This administration needs to force TikTok to put up a firewall, the U.S. TikTok, between itself. of Beijing. A separate bipartisan proposal introduced this week would ban TikTok altogether in the U.S. citing security concerns. Neither bill is likely to become law this session, but it all highlights

the growing push in government. A dozen states, including two more today alone, now forbid TikTok on some or all employee devices. We do have national security concerns, at least from the FBI's end. TikTok has said it does not store U.S. user data in China and does not share information with the Chinese government. It's negotiating a deal with the Justice Department to address security concerns. The legislation that you've seen in the states and in the Senate doesn't actually solve any real problem at all. We've been working with the federal government on a solution that we believe solves any perceived problem with TikTok beyond a shadow of a doubt. Some lawmakers do use the platform to get their message out, just like tens of millions of

Americans who use TikTok not just for fun, but for news, info, and more. I don't think using TikTok increases the risk you face from Chinese espionage. It doesn't mean we should like TikTok, and Congress clearly doesn't, but nothing that users need to worry about right now. And Hallie Jackson joins me now. Congress is billing TikTok as a national security risk here, Halley. If it's that big an issue, do you think we could see any sort of ban or restrictions for regular U.S. users of TikTok?

Right, like all of us beyond those who have a government phone. The proposal's out there. I mean, that was introduced actually just this week, a piece of legislation that would prohibit any of us from having TikTok or using it on our phones or for it to be operating in this country. I will tell you, the chances of that seem very slim of passing this

Congress for sure. I mean, that hasn't even gotten through the Senate yet. It has to get through both chambers. The question becomes, Kate, though, you know, down the road, once Republicans take control of the House of Representatives, they will almost certainly try to amp up pressure on the Biden administration to do more about TikTok. So yes, some of this is messaging, but some of it is a question mark as we head into the next congressional session. Yeah. And the military,

the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, as I understand it, have already been restricting TikTok from devices under their control. So why is this legislation happening or needed right now? The one to ban TikTok on government devices. I think some of it is because the agencies you mentioned are big, but they're not the whole enchilada, if you will. There's still a lot of other government employees who have government phones and laptops and iPads and everything else. And so that's part of the concern here. The other thing is you have to look at who's behind this. I mean, Senator Josh Hawley, for example, has long, for years been a voice concerned about TikTok and the role that TikTok has and the national security concerns. It is not just a solely Republican

issue, Kate. You have Senator Mark Warner, for example, who our team talked with today, who said, he's been talking about this for months. You know, he's not sure that the plans that are out. there are the exact right ones that we should be adopting, but there is, I think, growing pressure on TikTok from government regulators. There's one other piece gate that I think is important, and that's this deal that TikTok is trying to work out with the Justice Department. That is really critically important because that is not a done deal yet. So there are question marks as to how this building pressure could affect these negotiations between the company and the DOJ. I asked TikTok a rep about that today. They said, hey, the ball is in the DOJ's court. They feel good about getting

something over the finish line. All right, Hallie Jackson. Thank you. Still ahead tonight, guilty of manslaughter, a former Texas police officer convicted of shooting a woman, killing her through the window of her home, how much time he could now spend behind bars. Plus, the urgent search for a Missouri teenager who ran away, why her parents believe she's in danger now. And the unexpected porch pirate, the moment a black bear stole a food delivery left at the front door, what the homeowner says the bear took and what it left behind. Stay with us. Top story. Just getting started. Now to an excruciating mystery for a family in Missouri. Their 15-year-old daughter is missing.

She's been missing for more than 10 days now. They're fearing the worst and worry that she could just get labeled another runaway. NBC's Stephen Romo has more. Tonight, a desperate search underway for a missing Missouri girl. 15-year-old Emily Doobes vanished on December 4th, According to authorities, her family, saying on Facebook, they didn't think she planned to be gone long. She has left the house without permission two times before this. And both times she was back in less than six hours.

Police in Ashland say Emily likely cut the screen on a bedroom window and left her home without her parents' knowledge. They tell NBC News she was grounded and did not have access to her phone but took a backpack. Regardless of what caused her to leave, her parents and authorities agree she's at risk. We called her in as missing. It's been put out that she's just a runaway. I just want people to know. She's not just a runaway. While we still do not have any credible evidence that Emily is in danger, common sense tells us the longer a 15-year-old child remains missing,

the higher the probability is they run into dangerous situations. Ashland police say her case doesn't meet the requirements for an Amber alert, which, among other criteria, requires law enforcement to have a reasonable belief that an abduction occurred or that the child is in imminent danger. Even without that alert, the police chief says he is, quote, out chasing down leads on this case in another community. For a 15-year-old to run away on her own is a big step. Private investigator and missing persons expert Bill Stanton says, in case. Like these, social media use and communication with friends can often produce leads. Every day, now day 11, that this child is not at our home, she exponentially puts herself in more danger. She may or may not be in control of this situation. The community gathered Wednesday for a vigil to get the word out about Emily's disappearance. She is in trouble. Can't tell me that a 15-year-old girl that...

has gone missing for 10 days, even if they want to call it runaway, has not fallen into some trouble. The Ashland Police Department also set up a website to collect tips from the public about where she may be. We would love Emily home for Christmas. We just want her home safe. That's just so sad. Stephen Romo joins us now here on set. So a lot of families with missing children, and they ask for amber alerts, right? And you would think that those would always be issued. But it sounds like that's not the case. That doesn't always happen.

What do authorities say about that? Yeah, so many families have questions about this. Well, the Department of Justice says they just don't want to overuse amber alerts because they don't want the public to become desensitized to them. Ideally, they want people to stop and pay attention when those amber alerts pop up on your phone or on screens and not just dismiss them if they turn out to be things like runaways. And that criteria, including law enforcement, thinking and abduction has happened, are ways the filter that out. But police point out just because there isn't an amber alert,

it does not mean they aren't investigating, and it doesn't mean, Kate, that they don't want tips to come in from the public. Yeah, all right, Stephen, we'll keep following that. Thank you so much. When we come back, the slingshot scare, the frightening new video, a ride, malfunctioning, and slamming into a metal pole, what we know about the two people who were stuck inside. We're back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with the former Texas police officer found guilty of manslaughter today. Aaron Dean was convicted of shooting and killing a Tatiana Jefferson through the window of her Fort Worth home back in October 2019. The 28-year-old was playing video games with her eight-year-old nephew. A neighbor called police because Jefferson's front door was open.

When Jefferson heard noise outside her home, prosecutors argued she did not know the noise was coming from a police officer, and she brandished a legal firearm. Dean now faces up to 20 years in prison. Three more people have been sentenced for a failed plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The three men receiving 12, 10, and 7 years in prison. Those are the longest prison terms handed down so far in this case. The three men were convicted in October

of providing material support for a terrorist act. A homeowner in Florida getting a big surprise after receiving a fast food delivery. Take a look at this. A home security camera in Seminole County, Florida, capturing the moment, a black bear walked right up to the front door of a home and slowly stole a part of a Chick-fil-A delivery that had just been dropped off. Luckily, the bear did not come into contact with any humans.

According to the homeowner, the bear took the chicken nuggets and left the salad, of course. And Harvard made history announcing a new president today. Dr. Claudine Gay will be the first university black president at Harvard, and the second woman to take that position. Dr. Gay is currently the dean of faculty of arts and sciences at Harvard and has been a professor of government and African-American studies at Harvard since 2006. She is set to take office in July.

We turn now to Texas, where a group of parents are accusing multiple school districts of ignoring blatant racism they say their children face every day. Those parents now filing a civil rights complaint. NBC's Antonia Hilton has the details. When the Kemp family moved to Lubbock, Texas two years ago, they knew that sending their son Brady to a new school might come with some challenges. But nothing prepared him, his mom, Tracy, or stepdad Seth for what they were about to endure. We feel singled out. We feel the racism here.

I just feel like it's blatant incompetence from the schools. Over the last two school years, Brady Kemp and at least nine other black children say they have been suffering from constant racial harassment. They hear classmates call them monkeys. Some students place sounds on their cell phones that mimic the crack of a whip. I feel like I get looked down at it. How often would you say you heard the N-word? It's an everyday thing. Last spring, someone created an Instagram featuring the school's logo,

encouraging classmates to send photos of monkeys. His mother was shocked to see a post of her son. We watched him change, like his mood. Not wanting to go to school, being sad. Parents brought their concerns to the Lubbock Cooper School District, but eight months later, they say they've never received an update and that white students keep taunting their kids. Without local action, they felt they had no choice but to turn to the federal government. This week, lawyers filed joint complaints, alleging that administrators in Lubbock and neighboring Slayton, Texas, violated the civil rights of their students by failing to prevent and respond to racial bullying. Attorney Page Duggins Clay represents the families.

The parents in these complaints and the students, they're not asking for money. All they're asking is for equal treatment under the law. Keith Bryant, the district superintendent, says the school has taken appropriate action, and that staff are trained to report bullying. Do you believe there's racism here in Lubbock Cooper? I believe that there is, do I think our society is racist? Absolutely. Do I think it spills over in the schools?

I will certainly say it can. We work really hard to try to mitigate that. there is no place in Lubbock, Cooper, I.S.D. for racism in any form or fashion. Bryant says the investigation into the racist Instagram account remains open. They talked to hundreds of kids and never found out exactly who it was. I was frustrated about that. I sought the help of the FBI behind the scenes. You interviewed hundreds of people, but none of the black students whose faces were posted on that Instagram page say that they were interviewed. Well, I can't speak to that because

the administration at that campus did that. Monday night, families arrived to a school board meeting wearing all black. We will not quit. We simply will not go away. Their hope is that the federal government, which can withhold funds from schools that violate the law, will intervene. For Brady, he plans to spend the next few months focused on getting good grades. Next fall, his family hopes to move to a new town.

Still, Brady has a message for the classmates. he'll leave behind. I blew the same blood as you do. We do the same classes together, and you still shoot me differently because I'm darker than you. Why? Antonio Hilton, NBC News, Lubbock, Texas.

Disturbing and important reporting. Now let's switch over to Top Story's Global Watch. And heavy rain flooding the streets of Madrid. New video shows water rushing into metro stations there and submerging streets. The floods disrupted transportation services in the city. So far, no injuries reported. Now to the terrifying moment caught on camera at an amusement park in London, new video shows one of the wires on a slingshot ride snapping, sending the

riders smashing into one of the towers. Two teenagers inside the ride at the time left dangling midair before being lowered down. Thankfully, neither rider was seriously hurt. The park says the ride is now closed while they investigate the incident. And staying in the UK, we're more than 100,000 nurses are on strike. The nurses with the National Health Service walked off the job in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. They're demanding better pay. It's the first national walkout for NHS nurses, and it comes during one of the busiest times of the year for hospitals. Coming up, Royal Rumble, new episodes of Prince Harry and Megan's Netflix special now streaming what Harry revealed about a fight between him and his brother that took place in front of the late Queen. That's up next.

Back now with more criticism of the British royal family leveled by one of their own, Prince Harry, detailing a rift with his brother, claiming Prince William shouted at him in front of the queen. All of it in the last three episodes of the Netflix docu series. It just came out this morning, and it's already been watched by tens of millions of people breaking Netflix records. NBC's Keir Simmons has more from London. Tonight, the royal family. at a charity event called Together at Christmas after a day that exposed the true rift

between Prince's William and Harry. The Duke of Sussex describing a furious row with his brother. It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren't true and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in. In the last three episodes of their Netflix docu-series, Megan and her family talk about her wanting to take her own life. over negative headlines, some with racial undertones.

That's not an easy one for a mom to hear. And they describe her miscarriage while fighting a legal battle with the Daily Mail. Inevitably, viewers are divided. We watched with broadcaster Afia Hagan and journalist Katie Nicholl. Why shouldn't you try and protect yourself? You can absolutely understand why he made the decision to leave.

I think the big question mark and a lot of what people have is how they did it. it. And Kier Simmons joins us now. Kier, the first episodes were mostly things I feel like we already knew, but these episodes go further in revealing private inside moments. You've covered the Royals a long time. Is this unprecedented? Well, it's certainly stunning, Kate. If you think back, there have been other examples of members of the royal family, revealing very, very private, intimate facts about themselves, not least the king. himself, King Charles, when he gave a famous interview many decades ago, talking about his

affair with Camilla. Now, the Queen Consort, but we really haven't seen anything quite like this in quite some time. And there will be people watching who will ask that question about private details about Harry and Megan revealed, while at the same time, of course, they are complaining about their privacy being infringed and the British newspapers printing things about them. I think what they would say is that this is about them having control. And it's important to remember that this docu-series was by them, from them. There were no opposing voices, if you like. That's a crucial aspect. Yeah, and not just a docu-series. Prince Harry says he wants to move on, but his memoir is still set to be released next month, right?

Does it seem like he's ready to move on? I don't think he's going to be able to move on. When you listen to that six-part series, just the depth of his anger at the headlines. Well, of course, the headlines aren't going to stop. And just think about this irony, Kate. Netflix says that this was their highest rated debut documentary ever. Well, that tells you something about the demand for stories about Harry and Megan. That demand is not likely to change.

So Harry and Megan, if you like, are kind of on this train. You do have to wonder where it goes from here. Kier Simmons for us tonight, Kier, thank you for a closer look at Prince Harry and Megan's accusations and separation from the royals. I want to bring in NBC News Royal Commentator Tim Ewert. He's the author of two books on The Life of Queen Elizabeth. Tim, good to see you. This latest episode was very raw, and we saw some more insight into the rift between William and Harry. What do you think Harry's goal is in airing this all out?

Harry's got a lot of grief to get off his chest. I think, Kate, and he's chosen to do it, not least, one should add, because of the money. There's a lot of money being paid by Netflix for this doco series. It's very important to Harry and Megan that they're able to tell unedited, unhindered, their side of the story. They think they've had a raw deal from the British media, that they've been basically trashed in the British newspapers, particularly the tabloid newspapers here, over the last two or three years. So it's very important for him to get that over. Now, to be honest, it could have been worse. Expectations were that there might have been more about the personal relationships within

the royal family. And at least, Harry, apart from this one reference to William shouting and screaming at him and Charles lying to him and the queen sitting there silently, there were no other direct personal attacks on the royal family. There were, of course, plenty of attacks on the royal family. There were, of course, the institution and the people who work in it. Yeah, and I want to ask about that scene that you just mentioned. You've written multiple books about the late Queen, so I wonder what you thought when you saw that scene play out, the fight between the princes, the Queen sitting there looking on, what could have been going through her mind?

I should think she was horrified and bewildered. But as Harry himself said in the doco, the Queen puts the institution first. She has to, or she had to. That was her role, and that is now, of course, the role of King Charles. So despite her personal feelings for Harry, and we know, we've known for a long time that they were very close, despite her personal feelings for Megan. And all the signs were at the beginning when Harry and Megan got married. The Queen embraced Megan and welcomed her into the royal family.

But she couldn't do any more, really, than do whatever it took to protect the institution. And that meant taking a back seat because the people in charge, even then, were her son and her grandson, Charles and William. They were the ones who were calling the shots. I have to ask, do you think this is it for Prince William and Harry? I mean, for the brothers, is there any hope for redemption or resolution? This is it, if you want me to be blunt. I have to say, I cannot see any way now that Harry and Megan. can come back here on a permanent basis.

There might be visits, and there will be visits in the future. It'll be interesting to see what happens next year for the coronation of King Charles next May. But as far as the family healing the wounds, as far as Harry and Megan being accepted back into the role of senior roles, too many bridges have been burned, too much has been said about the folks within the institution of the monarchy. it's just gone too far. And for another thing, I very much know that Harry and Megan would really want to come back now. They've built a new life. So no, I'm afraid, as far as I can see, it's over.

The royals are notoriously tight-lipped, right? We probably, I would expect, will not hear any response to this docu-series. What do you think, though, might be going on inside palace walls? Are they doing damage control quietly? Are they ignoring this altogether? They're not ignoring it. They've put on a show of unity just in the last few hours with a big Carol concert at Westminster Abbey in London where all the senior roles turned out in a sort of show of unity and devotion, as it were. I think one of the things that this series of documentaries

will have done is to force the royal family and those who work for them to have a look at themselves, because whether or not some of the accusations were exaggerated, whether we didn't hear both sides of the story, which we didn't. Issues were raised about the way that that institution is run, specifically about what Harry called institutional bias, and by that he means racism, they're going to have to have a long, hard look at themselves and decide that going forward. They have to be absolutely sure that no vestige of that is apparent in the way that they conduct themselves. So whatever they may think about Harry and Megan, and I suspect they're pretty angry about the whole thing, I think that there will be lessons for them to take from

this, and they will have heeded what has been said about them. Tim Ewart, thank you so much. When we come back, the health care worker turning pain into portraits, the orthopedic tech, artistic skills to cast injuries in a new light. Stay with us. Finally, tonight we bring you the story of a California orthopedic technician going the extra mile, and it's all to make injured kids heal better and give them a smile. Every child that comes into his care gets a customized cast drawn by him. He may not consider himself an artist, but the kids do. Naila Charles has the inspiring story. Breaking bones can be scary for kids. And for Diabcardo, that's an understatement. More than scary. It hurts. It just

hurts. But orthopedic tech, Louise Ruiz Velasco, has the soft touch to brighten dark days. Now we're starting the middle. The nose is the key. That way, I center it. And now we do a little of this. By turning their cast into a canvas. Why did you choose Sonic? Because Sonic's my favorite character. And I think he's cool. He is cool. And I like him because he's blue and he's very fast. Diab's only eight years old, but this isn't his first cast.

It's so many that I don't remember. Really? Yeah, he's very tough. He's been through a lot. He has muscle congenital myopathy, making him prone to injuries. It's hard to do a lot of things. Like, it's hard to get up by myself. It's hard to pick up things by myself.

I can't even put a blanket on myself. My mom has to do it for me. But he looks forward to this part. When you look at your cast and you see the artwork, how does that make you feel? Calmer and happier. That feeling is exactly why Ruiz Velasco didn't stop drawing after a patient at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles made the first request 10 years ago. He asked for me to do a happy face.

I actually told him I don't think I can. I'm not very good at it. He said, please. I said, okay, let me see. I made a little happy face, but it lit him up. He practiced to get better, making thousands of casts since. That's the main reason I do this, is to make it feel good and smile. She's got too cool hands.

Devin Kaler needed to have surgery to separate her fingers. Ruiz Velasco customized her cast, too. She's just been so strong and confident and proud of who she is and how she's different. And, yeah, I really think that the experience that we've, had here has helped. You keep doing all your therapy. The kid's doctor says the artwork helps eliminate their fear of injuries. That positivity translates into trust and confidence that they can get through this. It's making it that much easier for them to get back up each time they fall. I feel like a strong boy. He's my little hero. What started as a small, kind gesture? I love it.

Now turning painful experiences into warm hearts. Naila Charles, NBC News, Los Angeles. Okay, he's a really good artist, right? Those are great drawings. Thank you so much for watching Top Story. For Tom Yamis, I'm Kate Snow here in New York. Stay right there. More news now on the way.