Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, February 20, 2025

Episode Date: February 21, 2025

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

And breaking tonight the series of bus explosions rocking Israel in a suspected terror attack, the startling video capturing buses engulfed in flames, black smoke filling the sky, the urgent search underway for other possible devices, and this just in. Israel announcing that the body returned by Hamas is not hostage Shiri Bebas while confirming the remains of her two young signs. Also breaking, a judge handing President Trump a legal victory, allowing mass federal firings to proceed. employees now worried they're on the chopping block and the chaos and confusion for the national parks as staff are let go. Their concerns over what the cuts could mean for your next

trip to popular parks. New York prison guards charged in the beating death of a handcuffed inmate, several indicted for murder. The emotional moments inside the courtroom coming just months after body camera video captured the officer's brutal attack on Robert Brooks. New video showing a former NFL punter tackled and arrested after giving an impassioned speech. protesting a proposed library plaque displaying the word MAGA. We hear from him tonight about what happened inside that city council meeting. Surviving a plane crash. The man inside the Toronto flight that flipped,

recalling the terrifying moment he saw fuel dripping down his window. His shock over how he somehow walked away. And the Menendez brothers speaking out. TMZ's Harvey-leven joint stop story. What the brothers told him in a rare interview about their early days in prison, and alleged assault behind bars. Plus, of everyone on the road, who are the worst drivers in America?

We'll tell you which car brand topped the charge and a surprising news study. Top story starts right now. And good evening. I'm Morgan Chesky in for Tom Yamas tonight. We're following breaking news as we come on air. Several explosions erupting on buses in Israel and what Israeli police are calling a suspected terror attack.

And new video is just in to our news. newsroom tonight showing a bus up in flames in a city outside of Tel Aviv. In fact, you can see that massive plume of smoke towering over that bus depot. Video of the aftermath shows that bus completely scorched and gutted. Fortunately, no one was on board at the time. NBC news correspondent Hala Garani is in Tel Aviv tonight. And Hala, what's the latest? Well, Morgan, as you mentioned, police are treating this as a suspected terrorist attack.

Devices went off on three buses that were. empty, there was no driver in those vehicles. They were parked in a bus parking lot, a depot, in a southern suburb of Tel Aviv. The question, of course, is who is behind this if indeed this is a terrorist attack? And meantime, it's a solemn day across the country as the bodies of four hostages captured on October 7th were returned to their families. Tonight, their faces became the symbols of Israel. hostage crisis. Ariel and Kfir Bibas and their mother, Shari, abducted on October 7th,

2023 alive. The boys, four years old and just shy of nine months at the time, today returning home in coffins to their father and Cherie's husband, Yarden Bibas, released earlier this month in a hostage exchange. At Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, it was not a day for celebration. Giel Dickman's cousin, Carmel Gott, was also taken hostage and killed in Gaza last August. For the families, it's a devastating moment, and it's a reminder for them so that we have to fight for the others. The atmosphere is certainly more solemn than on Saturdays since the signing of the latest deal when live hostages are returned. This time, the country is witnessing the return of deceased captives. The day started inside the devastated enclave where masked Hamas fighters handed four black-clad

coffins over to the Red Cross. In addition to the Biba's family, 84-year-old activist Oded Lifshitz was among those sent back. He volunteered with a group that would drive Palestinians in need of care to Israeli hospitals. The Israeli military transported the coffins to a forensic facility. The remains of Lifshitz formally identified there, tests. are ongoing for the others. Back at Hostage Square, many tell us death and devastation in Gaza need to end for everyone. We don't want to live in a constant war. It's not good for anyone. We want this war to end. And Hala, joining us again from Tel Aviv, Hala. We know you have some breaking

news about those returned bodies. What have you learned? Well, as we've been reporting the bodies of three of the Bebas family members were, we believed, returned to their loved ones. But it turns out, according to the forensic investigation, and we're learning this just now, that one of the bodies is not Cherie Bebas, that is the mother of the two boys who were abducted alongside their parents on October 7, 2023. During the identification process, we are being told it was found that the additional body received was not that of Sheree Bebas. I'm reading there, the statement that was sent out to reporters and no match was found by any other for any other abductee. It is an anonymous body without identification. We understand, according to the forensic

examination, that the two bodies are that of the two children. And we are being told that they were murdered in captivity in November 2023. So that is the latest. Now, the fourth body that was also received by Israeli authorities today. Oded Lifchitz, that body was identified formally today by the forensic examiners as that of Mr. Lifchitz, who was 83 when he was abducted in October 2023, Morgan. Hala, I do want to go back to those bus explosions. Prime Minister Netanyahu is ordering stepped-up operations in the West Bank. What more do we know on that front?

Well, the IDF is also saying that it is going to be blocking exit and entry points into the West Bank as a result of these explosions that are being investigated, as we've been mentioning, as a potential terrorist attack. Now, the Prime Minister's office has released a statement as well, and I'm looking down here. The Prime Minister Netanyahu has now concluded a briefing and that he has instructed the IDF, the Israeli military, to carry out a massive operational. in the West Bank against, quote, terrorist hotspots. Now, this is coming on the heels of almost a month, several weeks of Israeli raids into certain parts of the occupied West Bank, in particular the Janine refugee camp that has led to quite a lot of destruction inside the camp and some pretty significant displacement of Palestinians in that part of the West Bank as well, Morgan. covering the breaking news for us tonight from Israel.

Hollowie, thank you. And back here at home, President Trump now marking one month in office as his administration presses on with those sweeping federal workforce cuts. Some employees at the IRS now find themselves on the chopping block. As concerns grow, those moves could cause massive delays during the upcoming tax filing season. Peter Alexander at the White House for us tonight. Tonight at a conservative group's conference, Elon Musk showing off a chainsaw to celebrate his Department of Government Efficiency's efforts.

to help President Trump slash the federal government. Musk touting plans to return some of the money saved to taxpayers, though that would require the approval of Congress. It's money that's taken away from things that are destructive to the country and from organizations that hate you to you. That's awesome. It comes as White House officials say the Trump administration is now preparing to fire many IRS workers, some likely from cities outside the nation's capital.

The Treasury Secretary is studying the matter and feels like 35. 500 is a small number, and probably you can get bigger. Democrats are urging the White House not to implement those mass layoffs, warning they could have a catastrophic impact on the filing season. IRS workers like Daniel Sharpenberg in Kansas City say taxpayers will suffer the consequences. The work's going to get backed up, and so private citizens are going to be like the IRS is not doing their job. And it's because we're getting hollowed out. Even one of President Trump's fiercest allies, Fox News host Jesse Waters, just urged the president,

to rethink the firings after learning a friend, a military veteran, was set to be cut at the Defense Department. We just need to be a little bit less callous with the way, Harold, we talk about doging people. Roughly 30% of all federal employees are veterans, including Marine veteran Andrew Lennox, who was just fired without warning from his job at a VA hospital in Michigan. We're not some deep state that has ulterior motives. I want to go to work. I want to help veterans. the president is showing no interest in slowing down his remaking of the federal government. It is first month signing more than 73 executive orders with Musk's doge cost cutters

now operating at least 18 separate departments and agencies. We found billions, tens of billions of dollars of fraud and waste and abuse, and that's just the beginning. But while Republicans have praised the president for slashing what they view as wasteful spending, the White House has provided no evidence of fraud, which is a crime. Also tonight confirmed by the Senate, the president's FBI director pick Cash Patel, despite stiff opposition from Democrats and to Republicans who've repeatedly questioned his qualifications and his commitment to the Bureau's independence. When everyone else in the first Trump administration said, no, I won't do that. That crosses moral, ethical, and legal lines, Cash Patel said, sign me up. And Peter Alexander joins us live now from the White House.

Peter, we also have some breaking news tonight on one of the legal challenges to these federal workforce cuts. President Trump can for now continue those sweeping layoffs of federal employees, rejecting a suit that was brought by several labor unions who were looking to temporarily halt the firings. Morgan. All right, Peter Alexander from the White House. Peter, we thank you. And another agency hit hard by the Trump administration's push to cut the federal workforce is our own national park service. Since last week, about 1,000 employees who helped manage the country's public lands were laid off abruptly and just months away from the busiest season. Our team went to Yosemite, where early impacts are already being felt. Tonight, from Half Dome to Old Faithful and as far as Gettysburg, growing concerns at national parks after roughly 1,000 federal park employees were laid off. In Yosemite, that means less staff to handle crowds who came to see the iconic firefall during a busy holiday week.

I really felt like my world was taken out from underneath me. Ola Chimura blindsided by his termination later Friday. I spent a lot of time squeaging the toilets, the bathroom floors out. So after one day of me not being there, it's already pretty visually disgusting. The abrupt dismissal of probationary park employees sending shockwaves coast to coast. Stacey Ramsey lost her dream job as a ranger at Arkansas's Buffalo National River. It was so sudden and swift, didn't have time to prepare myself at all for it. So that made it even more difficult.

Here in Yosemite, with uncertainty mounting over staffing levels, officials have already put summer reservations on pause for several popular campgrounds, putting the park's peak summer travel season in potential jeopardy. NBC News spoke with more than a dozen current and former park service employees who warned visitors should expect significant impacts due to reduce staffing, from upkeep of trails, campgrounds and restrooms to longer lines and wait times and even safety concerns. I'm the only person available to rescue someone, to do CPR, to carry them out from a trail if they got injured. Near Yosemite, Alex Wilde was the only certified EMT Ranger at Devil's

Postpile National Monument. If you're no longer at the park and an emergency happens, then what? Maybe a local county fire department or search and rescue team could respond, and it would take hours. I mean, it could mean life or death for someone who's having an emergency. And for more on the concerns over staffing at the National Park Service, I do want to welcome Hazel Galloway. She educated parkgoers about science at Olympic National Park in Washington State before she was laid off just a few days ago and also spent time as a ranger at Yosemite. Hazel, thanks so much for joining us. And I do know this is a difficult situation for you and so many others. So we are curious.

Can you first describe the moment you found out you would lost your job and what was going through your mind? Sure. Yeah, I was fired while I was working at the office last Friday. And then shortly after that, I met with my supervisor and, you know, had my laptop taken away. And I would just say when you don't have a chance to close out anything you're working on or even, even to communicate to the folks you work with in some cases that what's happening, it just feels calculated to be as painful and as chaotic as possible. So it was pretty tough and a pretty tough way to leave a job.

You went from essentially working there full time to being told to leave the premises in a matter of just minutes, it sounds like. Yeah, I had a little bit of time and I did anticipate it as much. many of us did. But one of—for the past few weeks, there's just been this fear that we've all been experiencing and kind of living under when we're getting messages that we should be concerned for our jobs, and just a lot of communication from the Office of Personal Management about hiring freezes, rescinded job offers, asked to report colleagues for certain things and just, it's pretty hard to do your job if you don't know what's going to be coming

around the next corner or if you'll have a job next week. So it has been challenging to work recently. But yeah, not something that I was shocked at that day, but it didn't make it less hard. No doubt. We actually appreciate you sharing your termination letter. We'd like to share it here. It reads in part the department that determined that you have failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment because your subject matter, knowledge, skills, and abilities do not meet the department's current needs, and it is necessary and appropriate to terminate during the probationary period your appointment. Now, we also have your most recent performance review, Hazel, and I want to share this. In it, your supervisor rates you five out of five for outstanding in all categories. as you can get. So what's your reaction to the apparent difference in messaging here? I'm not sure I ever expected my performance review to be on TV in my life. So I'll just, you know,

I think that these firings were, they felt, they felt totally senseless. You know, the folks who were fired on Friday. It seemed to be most folks across the Park Service who were in their probationary period, which is just an administrative category where you don't yet have all the protections of civil service. But there was no effort made to check into what those individuals did. Your interview with Alex Wilde, I think, touched on that. But in addition to that, it seems like, you know, I'm no lawyer, but it does seem that there's an issue. here where the justification being given for the firing doesn't match actual performance reviews. And, you know, in that case, that means that for me and for all these incredible people who

have committed their careers to the Park Service, our work and our service. And, you know, our dedication is being taken away from the parks that we work at and from the American people that we serve. All right, Hazel, thank you so much for sharing your insight. And we will be watching to see what happens with the parks in the months and weeks ahead. Thank you. I want to go to the major announcement now from one of the most influential Republicans in Congress. A former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announcing come next year, he will not be running for re-election. You heard that right. McConnell was first elected Kentucky Senator back in 1984,

rising through the ranks of the upper chamber to become Senate Majority Leader, a position he held for more than 15 years. But a series of recent health scares have raised questions about his fitness to serve, including two apparent freezes while addressing the press. For more on McConnell's big announcement, I want to get right to NBC Capitol Hill correspondent Julie Sirkin. Julie, we know Senator McConnell has had a contentious relationship with President Trump dating back to his first term.

Do we know if that contributed at all to his decision to retire? Well, certainly, Morgan, especially if you look at the last couple of months where McConnell stepped down from his post as Senate Majority Leader, Senate Republican Leader, being the longest-serving party leader in either side of the aisle, in the Senate hitting a record of 18 years, and certainly when you step down from a position like that, especially at McConnell's age, it's not lost on any of us that he's announcing this on his 83rd birthday today. He doesn't really have much leverage anymore with the members of

the Republican Senate, especially given how different the chamber has become. I've been covering this place since 2019. It was even different then under the first Trump administration. Certainly we've seen it change more and more and tilt more in the direction that Trump wanted it to be in. And certainly, Trump effectively kicked McConnell out of that position. He wasn't able to get key proposals across the finish line, including aid to Ukraine last year. He's kind of lost his leverage with his very colleagues that once respected him. But he did have a message today on the Senate floor to his critics. Watch this.

So lest any of our colleagues still doubt my intentions for the remainder of my term, I have some unfinished business to attend to. The Senate is still equipped for work of great consequence. And to the disappointment of my critics, I'm still here on the job. He's definitely still here in making his voice known. He's voted against three of President Trump's nominees. He didn't really share that with other colleagues. Of course, he can't really convince them to do that either.

But he also is going to control the purse strings for the Pentagon for the Defense Department in his new role. on a subcommittee for the appropriations a defense committee and that's going to be important as you watch what develops in ukraine over the next couple of months yeah exactly and to your point he is still very much here and but we know plenty of kentucky republicans are already lining up campaigns to replace the senate majority leader uh who do you see as the most likely contenders right now julie it didn't even take minutes before the first press release hit my inbox from andy bar who is uh kentucky representative currently in the house he's somebody who said he's

still considering again running for the seat. He's kind of teased this before. He's certainly interested in it. He said he'll make a decision soon. This is somebody who's also saying that he'll be more close, work closely with Trump than McConnell ever has, that he'll be America first. The other person that we're watching closely is former Kentucky State Attorney General Daniel Cameron. This is somebody who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2023. He also was a longtime McConnell aid. So certainly you could see that Trump probably won't go for him, even though McConnell and his allies will. There's a whole other bunch of folks throwing their names in the ring, including some state representatives. But the Kentucky governor, Andy Bashir, did confirm that he's out today.

All right. Much more to come in the race to replace. Julie, thanks so much. Now to the new developments in the case of Robert Brooks, a New York man who was killed while serving time inside of a state prison. Five corrections officers are now charged with murder for the brutal and fatal beating that was captured on body cameras. NBC's Marquis Francis has this report, and we do have a war. morning, the footage you're about to see is graphic. Marjor up, murder up, murder up. Tonight, tense moments in court, as one by one and in handcuffs, nine former or suspended New York State Corrections officers

made their first appearance before an Oneida County judge. Five of them, Nicholas Anzalone, David Kingsley, Anthony Farina, Christopher Walrath, and Matthew Galaherer facing murder charges for the December death of inmate Robert Brooks. Redacted body camera video from that day shows the group of officers repeatedly kicking and punching Brooks in the legs and chest and trying to jam an object down his throat. These men murdered my father. It was all video. The whole world got to see it. The alleged murder happened inside a medical examination room at the Marcy Correctional Facility in upstate New York on December 9th of last year. Robert Brooks committed a crime. He was doing his

time. He had a right to safety, to humanity. He was denied that. This is unacceptable. Three other corrections officers, David Walters, Michael Fisher, and Michael Mischaw facing charges of manslaughter. And one, Nicholas Gentile, of tampering with evidence. Our investigation further revealed that there was no provocation by Robert Brooks that would have precipitated any physical response whatsoever. Never. providing the physical response that was inflicted upon all defendants pleading not guilty today late formal proceedings entered and pleaded not get to the off charges at this time and released on bail or in genteel's case of his own recognizance brooks was serving a 12-year sentence for stabbing

his girlfriend and died from his injuries the next day i would never get my father back the man ride me up that opportunity Robert Brooks's father among those watching today from the courtroom You marched them out. You let them go. My son didn't get that opportunity. My son didn't have a bell. And my son didn't have a murder charge. And Marquise Francis joins us now. Marquise, there is one more individual in this case facing a murder charge who did not appear in court at all today. Yeah, that's right, Morgan. There is a sixth defendant, unnamed defendant, that was also charged with murder. And in fact, this person's name was redacted in the unsealed court documents that were revealed in court today. Now, what we did hear from the district attorney, this person was unable to surrender themselves today and appear in court, but they are not a flight risk. Even though we do not know their name, they are expected to appear before a judge in the near future.

And we know you'll be watching all of it. Marquise, we thank you. To the forecast now where we're tracking the six winter storm in two weeks that has taken a deadly term. in North Carolina. A semi-truck slamming into a stop traffic group of cars in an area outside Chapel Hill. The 53 car pile up, killing one, hospitalizing six. Now, that storm is now pulling away, but record cold is still sending temperatures plummeting for millions of Americans. NBC news meteorologist Bill Karens joins us now. Bill, we know you've been tracking this all week long. What's the latest on this batch of winter weather? It was pretty intense. We're almost there, Morgan. We just got to hold on like another 20,

hours, and by the beginning of next week, people are going to be running around like spring fever. So let's get into this record cold for one more night. We don't have any extreme wind warnings or extreme cold warnings, just a few cold advisories out there, especially along the Gulf Coast, and we are going to see new record lows. But these are the 24-hour temperature changes. We're about 33 degrees warmer right now in Billings than we were yesterday at this time. It's already started to warm up in Houston, but we are still very cold from Atlanta all the way down to Florida compared to yesterday. When you wake up tomorrow morning, It's going to be record cold, New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio, everywhere shaded in blue, even Kansas City at negative three.

But the good news is once we get past that, the sun goes to work and then temperatures warm up. Look at Denver, 60s. Kansas City, you go from negative 4 to 60 degrees by Tuesday. Chicago's in the 40s, Dallas, near 80. Even on the eastern seaboard, Atlanta, near 70. And in New York, 50 degrees, Morgan, is going to feel like a heat wave. So we're just about there after a brutal February. Patience is everything. Bill Cairns, thanks for breaking it all down.

Still ahead tonight, the former NFL player tackled and arrested, heated moments inside the city council meeting over a proposed library sign, displaying the words, make America great again. We speak with the football player about his decision to take action. Plus, New York City Mayor Eric Adams will not get booted from office for now. The decision from Governor Kathy Huckle and the proposers she's changing. And surviving a plane, crash. You'll hear from one man who miraculously walked away after an aircraft burst into flames and overturned. Stay with us. And we're back now with the dramatic arrest of a former NFL player at a city council meeting right here in Southern California. After he spoke out against a plan to display a plaque, inscribed with the words, Making America Great Again at a local library. NBC's Dana Griffin has that video

and what that player is saying tonight about the arrest. I will now engage in the time-honored American tradition of peaceful civil disobedience. Former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Cluey kicking up a fuss, getting arrested at Tuesday's City Council meeting in Huntington Beach, California. Clue swarmed by police officers who carried him out of the room. Before the arrest, a fiery denouncement of President Donald Trump's Make America Great Again movement. MAGA stands for trying to erase trans people from existence. MAGA stands for resegregation and racism.

MAGA stands for censorship and book bans. Kalui was protesting plans for this 50th anniversary plaque for Huntington Beach's Central Library inscribed magical, alluring, galvanizing adventurous, or MAGA, and below it, making America great again. I felt the first officer come up behind. I warned him I was going to go limp, went to the ground. They asked if I was going to walk out. I said, no, you're going to have to carry me out. Once the meeting reconvened, council member Chad Williams justified the plaque.

If you look at the bottom of the plaque, you'll notice some other words where people are not offended. It says through hope and change. Who said that? That was Obama. Our nation is built back better. Built back better. Who said that? That was Biden.

Moments later, the city council unanimously approving this version of the plaque, still with MAGA at the bottom. Tonight, council member Gracie Vandermark defending the inscription. So is it safe to say yes, the council is part of the MAGA movement? Well, do we want America to be great again? 100%. And I think everybody should. And if you don't want America to be great, you're probably not in the right country because there are millions of people who risk their lives just to come to America. Kalui was released from jail after a few hours charged with disrupting an assembly, a misdemeanor.

This is the MAGA movement. It's not about community. It's not about building anything. It's about doing whatever they want and damn you if you object. Kaluy hasn't been shy about speaking out in the past, writing on Deadspin in 2014 that he believed he was fired from the Vikings for his public support of gay marriage, telling CNN. When it came to my head coach saying, hey, you need to stop speaking out about this. I said, well, no, that's not the right thing to do. The Vikings saying in a statement at the time, Chris was released strictly based on his football performance.

Yeah, that video just wild to see. Dana Griffin joining us now on set. Dana, I'm curious. You've had a chance to hear more from Cluey. Is he sharing any other thoughts about this particular incident? Oh, yeah. So he was a history policy major at UCLA. And in the interview that he did with NBC today, he went on to say that some of the things that President Donald Trump is doing, dismantling parts of the government, he says mirrors what Hitler did before it turned into a dictatorship. Strong comparison. He also went on to say that he also went on to say that He wishes more elected officials would either get arrested or resist the president's plan. And he says that he hopes that more people will take action by seeing what he did.

I mean, he says civil disobedience is the best way or the best way to make a change. But in this case, clearly it didn't work because the black is going up, but it got a lot of us talking. Right. We're starting this conversation right now and we'll see how it goes, where it goes from here. Dana Griffin, thanks so much. Thank you. Next to a survivor's story from that plane crash at Toronto Pearson's International Airport. One of the passengers on that flight is now out of the hospital and detailing the terrifying experience to our Lexington, Kentucky affiliate, W.L.EX, including the moment he thought he might not make it out alive.

Anchor Michael Burroughs with that story. It's not often the victim of a plane crash. We'll be able to tell you all about it days later. Everything seemed normal. The flight had been pretty uneventful. And then it wasn't. The rear wheel of the Delta Regional Jet hit the runway during landing in Toronto, and the aircraft rolled, snapping the right wing and sending it on its top in a cloud of smoke and flames. Nate Richie was on board. Immediately, you know, heard the loud crash, boom, and then we started to do a barrel row.

And, you know, I was slammed against the side of the plane. The images from the outside are hard to forget. Imagine being on the inside. Complete chaos. People screaming, crying. All 80 people survived the impact, but Nate knew they weren't out of the woods just yet. There was fuel, jet fuel running down the windows at the plane. You can smell it, you can see it.

And I thought, if we don't get out of here, we're going to die. Eventually they made it out. Nate snapped this picture once they did. 21 people were injured. Nate was among them. He was taken to a hospital for tests and scans with more to come. come, he said. He moved from Lexington to Florida just a few years ago. He's making his way back there now by car. Can't even buy them getting on a plane at this point. I don't. Yeah, I don't know.

And if that was his last flight, he boarded that plane with 79 strangers. I don't know if I'll see those people or tough those people again, but there would definitely be a bond there. But those he's closest to are waiting for him in Florida. Thankful, right, to be allowed. Um, I can't wait to be reunited with my family. Michael Burke, L.E.X.18 news. When we come back, the bomb scare in Washington, D.C., the Kennedy Center forced to evacuate after police received a 911 call about a threat. What we're learning tonight. Stay with us.

Back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin in Washington, D.C. where the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was at least temporarily evacuated due to a bond threat. The Kennedy Center says the threat was directed at performances of Shin Yun, a touring dance group that is banned in China for its association with a religious group. Security did

sweep the building and has since given the all clear for performances to proceed. And the latest on the Mayor Eric Adams' corruption case, New York Governor Kathy Hokel announcing she will not remove him her office, at least for now. Hokel hoping to still hold the mayor accountable, saying she plans to implement oversight measures closely supervising Adams administration.

Those proposals would include appointing a state inspector general to oversee the mayor and allowing the city's comptroller to make federal government-related decisions. City and state legislators will have to approve those measures before they go into effect. And a 79-year-old skier rescued after spending a night outside in some frigid cold. Video shows the man getting airlifted from the Blackhead Mountain ski area in western Montana. The local sheriff's office says he got lost after veering off his ski trail, then spent the night in a tree well. That's the part of the tree under its branches where snow typically doesn't reach.

He is expected to be okay. We turn now to the border, and the Trump administration officially designating several drug cartels foreign terrorist organizations. That move comms as Mexico ramps up its troop levels at its border with the United States. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez is there with an exclusive look at this ongoing deployment. In Juarez, Mexico tonight, a show of force. This is the Mexican National Guard and Army, part of the 10,000 extra troops deployed by the country's new president, Claudia Scheinbaum, after President Trump threatened a 25 percent tariff on all Mexican goods coming to

the U.S. Major Alexander Vasquez Hernandez tells us he now has a lot of reinforcements. troops patrolling the border fence and searching for drug and human trafficking tunnels. This one discovered recently, four by six feet, sophisticated, with lighting and ventilation. Most of the fentanyls snuck into the U.S. not through rural areas, but through legal ports of entry. That's why there's an increased military presence here. NBC News granted exclusive access weeks before a 30-day pause in Trump's tariff threat is set to expire. Critics say the troops will do little to help crack down on illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl and instead amount to a wasteful political stunt.

Is this all a show for President Trump? We don't have that answer, he says. We're just under orders to maintain a presence. Illegal border crossings dropped dramatically after the U.S. tightened asylum restrictions during the last part of the Biden administration. Since Trump was reelected, they've fallen even more, 35 percent from December to January. Trump's borders are now says they're down to 229 a day. down from a peak of 11,000 a day during President Biden's term.

Marcos is a coyote, a human smuggler in southern Mexico who's concealing his face and last name. The troops won't make a difference, he says, it's foolishness. But he does concede Trump's stricter border policies have caused his business to plummet about 80% since inauguration day. Do you consider yourself a criminal? No, he says, I've never abandoned or robbed anyone. Instead, he considers himself a travel agency that might have to raise prices. And we have new developments regarding the detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Multiple sources tell NBC News they've all been cleared out. 177 deported to Honduras, one more sent back to the U.S. A senior Homeland Security official says the administration does plan to keep sending migrants to Guantanamo Bay as a staging area. Morgan? All right, Gabe Gutierrez, we thank you. Now to Top Story's Global Watch and an update. Spain's former soccer chief is found guilty of sexual assault. Luis Rubialis was convicted for kissing player Jenny Aramoso without her consent

following the team's 2023 World Cup win. Rubiales ordered to pay a fine of about $10,000 to Eremoso. He's also banned from communicating with her for one year. He will not face prison time. And we have another legal update. Manslaughter charges dropped in the death investigation for one director singer Liam Payne's death. Argentine prosecutors acquitting Payne's friend

and two staff members who were at that Buenos Aires hotel where Payne fell to his death last October. Judges saying Payne's friend Roger Nortez did not help the singer obtain the drugs and alcohol that were found in his system when he died. An archaeologist in Egypt finding the long-lost tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh. The tomb is the first royal tomb discovered in Egypt

since King Tuts was found back in 1922. Researchers from the Joint Egyptian and British Archaeological Mission saying it belongs to a pharaoh whose reign ended back in 1479 BC. And we turned into another disturbing incident in the sports world, a young British tennis star breaking down in tears during a match after spotting a man in the stands who had approached her one day earlier and exhibited, quote, fixated behavior. NBC's Maggie Vespa explains.

We cannot hear what is going on, but it doesn't look good, does it? It happened early in a second round match at the Dubai Championships. 22-year-old British tennis star Emma Radukhanu turning to an umpire in tears. And this is very, very concerning. This morning, the Women's Tennis Association revealing a man who just one day earlier had approached Radukanu and exhibited fixated behavior was in the first few rows during Emma's match. Radukhanu shot to stardom in 2021, winning the U.S. Open at 19. but the spotlight quickly proving dangerous. In 2022, a British man was convicted of stalking her

and placed under a five-year restraining order. He showed up at her home on three separate occasions. Yeah, he stole things from her parents' home. The incident on the court sparking memories of a harrowing scene with another young tennis player more than 30 years ago. In 1993, star player Monica Seles, was stabbed in the back during a tournament in Germany by a member of the crowd. Though Sellis returned to playing, she later said the attack left lasting psychological damage,

and today many female athletes are still wary. I fear that I'm being stalked, and I genuinely don't know what to do or who to go to. Last month, Olympic track star Gabby Thomas said a group of men had been aggressively following her at various airports despite her private travel schedule. Tennis star Coco Gough and gymnastics icon Simone Biles commenting that similar incidents have also happened to them. Also last month, authorities charging a Texas man with stalking WNBA star Caitlin Clark after they say he sent lewd threats on social media and drove to her home. The judge in the case entering a not guilty plea on the suspect's behalf. Emma Raducanu calling her experience difficult but saying I'll be okay and proud of how I came back.

NBC News. And when we come back, the Menendez brothers giving rare insight into their life behind bars. What a new interview reveals about their early days in prison, including alleged attacks. And we are back now with a new interview with the Menendez brothers, the two men convicted of murdering their parents back in 1989. The brothers speaking by phone to Harvey Levin of TMZ on the two Angry Men podcast about a number of issues, including their renewed fame, as results of the Netflix. miniseries about their crimes. Eric also detailing the brutal conditions he faced when he was first in prison roughly 30 years ago. Take a listen. Prison was hard for me. I faced a lot of bullying and trauma. There was,

it was a dangerous environment. What happened to you? I was picked on, bullied violently, and it was traumatic, and it was continual. I was separated from Lyle. the day that I was told Lyle just got assaulted and got his jaw broken, and it was, I'm thinking he's over there, I'm going through this over here, and at least we could protect each other maybe if we were together, but we were not even allowed to be together. So it was difficult. And for more on this, we're joined now by TMZ, executive producer and host of the two Angry Men podcast himself, Harvey, thanks for making time. And I do want to know that you were a local Of course. I want to know you were a local reporter here in LA during the trial of the Menendez brothers.

So I'm curious, you know, your initial takeaways from this interview, what surprised you the most with your conversation with the two brothers? They are not the same people that I covered way back when they were on trial for murder. As a matter of fact, I told Eric straight out that my view of Eric and his brother, were that they were spoiled brats and that it wasn't just my opinion, others covering the trial had the same feeling. And he owned that and said, we were. And then he went on to explain the evolution of his life. And Morgan, I have to tell you, it was stunning that these are two guys who had absolutely

no hope until a year ago, they were sentenced to there until death. I mean, that was their sentence. And, you know, I thought of what I would be like in a situation like that. Would I try to improve myself if I knew I was never going to get out? And they have done just that. They have gotten college degrees. They have started hospice programs. They counsel inmates who are on the edge of suicide.

They created green spaces. And this is when they had absolutely no hope. And it is something they want to carry forward. whether they get out of prison or not. And honestly, having talked to them at length, I believe them. They are just evolved, different people. Harvey, as we mentioned, their case is getting a lot of renewed attention. Of course, a brand new audience, really, from that Netflix series.

Did they share how they're feeling about some of this rediscovered fame and what their life is like now behind bars? It's interesting. They were, they did not like the concept of the real estate of the real estate. Ryan Murphy series at the beginning before they had seen anything. They've seen a lot of it. They haven't seen the full series, but they've seen enough. And they're happy about it because, you know, there are parts of it that show them as cold-blooded murderers, and then there are parts of it that show what happened in the four walls of that house on Elm Street, on Elm Drive.

And they felt that that needed to get out, and people needed to connect with that, and they believe that Ryan Murphy did that. So they're actually ultimately grateful for the series. But, you know, I don't know if, I doubt that's going to have any impact on what happens to them next month when they go before a judge and ask to be resentenced. Right. And speaking of that, because their cases essentially in limbo while the new DA reviews whether to resentence them, did they share specific feelings about their chances of out. Yeah, I mean, they are, they have some optimism because they had no optimism for many, many, many years. Remember, they exhausted their appeals. And until they got this new evidence a year ago,

there was no hope. So just the fact that they have this chance to, you know, to make their case to a judge, gives them some optimism. But they are also realistic. And they know it could fail. They seem actually more concerned about the family members who are supporting them, who are getting older and aren't going to live that much longer, who want to connect back with them. They seem more concerned about them than themselves. I mean, they have made peace with what they did. They regretted deeply, and they are accepting the consequences, but they feel like they've served, you know, almost four decades and that they deserve that shot because when you look at you know what the judge is going to consider they're going to consider are they

rehabilitated do they pose a danger to society and several other factors and honestly Morgan i got to say i walked away i think they checked all the boxes much more to come in what's really become an ongoing saga that you've had a front row seat to harvey levin thanks so much for making time my pleasure Coming up next, the new study revealing which car brands are tied to the worst offenders on the roads. So is your car on the list? We'll see. Stick around. Finally tonight, the new study on a topic that really hits home for all of us here in L.A., bad drivers. The new numbers from Lending Tree helping answer the question, which car brands have the worst drivers?

And turns out the biggest offender is Tesla, believe it or not. The analysis of insurance quote data finds Tesla drivers had more incidents per person. 1,000 drivers than any other car brand. This analysis counts incidents as accidents, like DUIs, speeding tickets, citations, and rounding out the top three, RAM and Subaru. For a lot more on this, we want to bring in Rob Bott. He's an insurance analyst with a lending tree who worked on this very study. Rob, thanks for being here. Thank you. It's my pleasure. Rob, do you and your colleagues have any ideas why these cars are so high on the list? And is it more about the cars here or the drivers?

You know, we think it's more about the drivers than the cars, because if you look at the cars that make up the top three with the most common instance, they're very different types of vehicles. I mean, you know, ram trucks appeal to a different type of driver than Subaru's, and Tesla's also appeal to a different type of driver. So really, one of the things this shows is that you could have an incident in any type of vehicle. It is true.

Rob, I'm curious. So Tesla is the only predominantly electric car manufacturer in the top 10. And these cars, as we know, are a little bit faster than their fuel-powered counterparts. Even though slower Teslas, I think they can go zero to 60 under six seconds. So is it possible that Americans don't need all that speed here? Well, you know, you look at all the major harbor brands. They all have electric vehicles now from a few to several. So we noticed that the other brands, obviously, Tesla is all electric.

but some of these other brands with electric vehicles ranging from BMW to Audi to Ford, they're all like kind of dispersed throughout the ranking. So, you know, I don't know if we have enough data to say it's just because they're electric cars. They're certainly fun to drive. Yes, I'll have to take your word for it. I'm sticking with the old-fashioned gas gozzler for now. Rob, are there any differences between the brands in the type of incidents that these drivers are getting into?

You know, usually what we expect to see is if you had a lot of high rate of DUIs, you'd also have a high rate of accidents. But one of the surprising things we found was that, you know, you look at a make like Pontiac, which for some reason, there's still a lot of people driving Pontiacs, even though the brand has been discontinued. And Pontiac's had a very low rate of incidents overall, and yet it had a high rate of DUI. So that was surprising. With Tesla, what we saw was that they had a high rate of accidents and DUIs, and that's a little troubling.

But, you know, generally, the cars with the most incidents were also high in these specific categories, too. Rob, we also want to point out that the study shows which brands have some of the best drivers on the road here. I have to acknowledge that. The analysis found Mercury drivers have the least incidence per thousand drivers of any brand on the road. Pontiac, as you mentioned, and Cadillac owners are also receiving top marks. And you mentioned this, but I feel like I need to say it again, neither Mercury nor Pontiac have been in production for more than a decade now. So why is it these cars?

Do they have more conscientious drivers? Any thoughts there? Well, part of it might just be with an older car. It's really tough to get going really fast in them, so that might be part of it. You know, we have seen in other studies, we've noticed data that shows that people are keeping their cars longer. And so that explains the presence of these other models that have been discontinued on the road, still being out there. But, you know, those would be some of the factors. Generally, if you have a high-performance car or a car that's going to perform

really well, it's probably easier to get in trouble driving that one than something that's older and maybe not moving as quickly. Sure, yeah. Pontiac and Mercury drivers can breathe easy tonight. All the focus is on those Tesla drivers. Rob, you so much for joining us and sharing that insight. It's my pleasure, and regardless of the vehicle make you drive, please drive safely. Well said. Spoken by a pro. And thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Morgan Chesky in Los Angeles for Tom Yamas tonight. And stay right there. More news now is on the way.