Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, February 9, 2023

Episode Date: February 9, 2023

Chinese spy balloon had 'multiple antennas' for collecting signals intelligence, anger grows in Turkey as earthquake death toll passes 20,000, President Biden takes his message on entitlements to Florida after tangling with Republicans, outrage in Philadelphia after a racist video of high schoolers surfaced, and Rihanna prepares for the Super Bowl halftime show.

Tonight, the new evidence recovered from the Chinese spy balloon, revealing just how much of a threat it posed. The FBI analyzing debris pulled from the ocean after that massive balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina. Tonight, senior defense officials revealing the balloon had multiple antennas on board, the sensitive communications they say it could have picked up. And tonight, we asked President Joe Biden about his decision to shoot that balloon out of the sky. Does he regret not knocking it down sooner? That answer, and much more in a wide-ranging interview with Telemundo's Julio Vacquero, including what the president said about his plans to run again in 2024. The death toll in Turkey and Syria passing a grim milestone.

More than 20,000 people killed in those devastating earthquakes. Our team on the ground near the epicenter, where survivors are still somehow being pulled from the wreckage. But tonight, why some are furious with Turkey's lives? for his response to the crisis. More than 200 political prisoners released from Nicaragua landing in the U.S. today, including former presidential candidates, arrested for their political views, why their government decided to send them here and how the State Department is responding to the surprise move today.

Plus, coming ashore, imagine going to shoot a sunrise on your iPhone and seeing this. The striking video showing the moment a group of Haitian migrants reached Florida's coast, jumping off a crowded sailboat, nine days at sea, they say, will talk to the man who captured all of this on his camera. And the dramatic images of a bus terminal going up in flames. What we're hearing about injuries on the scene. Top story starts right now. And good evening.

It's the story people can't stop talking about. And tonight we are learning more about what the Chinese were trying to do with that massive spy balloon. First spotted near Montana and later shot down off the east coast. For the first time, we're getting major intel on what exactly was on board and what information it may have captured. The Navy able to recover large portions of that balloon in the ocean near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The remnants recovered and it's massive, roughly the size of a car.

Dive teams packing up some of the wreckage in these black boxes you see right here. But portions of that balloon, we've learned with information about what China may have captured, still likely sitting at the bottom of the ocean. Counterintelligence experts from the FBI now pouring over the pieces that they do have, looking to glean whatever information they can about China's spying capabilities. The major news on that front, top defense officials today, revealing the spy balloon contained multiple antennas, capable of detecting phone calls, text messages, even emails.

That new detail, amplifying concerns about this balloon, which floated over the country you'll remember for days. Telemundoz, Julio Bakato, press President Biden today about the decision to let the balloon reach the ocean before shooting it down. You will hear his answer to that, plus what he said, about a possible bid for re-election. We'll have much more of Julio's interview in a moment, but first, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent, Andrea Mitchell, starts us off. The debris gathered from the search and data from U2 spyplanes that circle the balloon as across the U.S. reveal multiple antennas capable of collecting signals intelligence, say U.S. officials.

That could let China get information from phone calls, radio frequencies, emails, and text messages. FBI counterintelligence experts on electronic spying or studying the debris. And a senior U.S. official says the amount recovered so far adds up to the size of a small car. But searchers have not yet found the payload, likely by now on the ocean floor, which could provide critical information on what sensitive intelligence the Chinese may have gotten. The balloon, which flew over Montana, today outraging its senators. Quite frankly, I'll just tell you, I don't want a damn balloon going across the United States.

I guarantee you they could have taken that balloon down, that spy balloon, and the greatest risk would have been hitting a cow, a prairie dog, or an antelope. The president tonight on Telemundo. Do you regret not having insisted on bringing it down sooner? No. I wanted to shot down as soon as possible. And they were worried about the damage it can be done even in a big state like Montana. This thing was gigantic.

What happened if it came down and hit a school in the rural area? They made a wise decision. They shot it down over water. We cannot allow a balloon to enter U.S. airspace. That's a spy balloon. That simply is unacceptable. When should they have shot it down? I think at the time that they noticed that, in fact, it was headed towards

our U.S. airspace. Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski agrees. I am so angry. I want to use other words, but I'm not going to. The fact of the matter is Alaska is the first line of defense for America.

All right, Andrew Mitchell, joins us now live here on Top Story tonight. Andrew, we've been talking about this for days now. Our defense officials are trying to get in touch with their counterparts in China, and they still haven't been able to do this? And it's really a problem, a defense official telling the Senate today, China's military is still refusing to talk to the Pentagon at all,

calling this really dangerous in case there's an accident or miscalculation. By the way, also in Julio's great interview with the president, the president said he does not consider this a major intelligence breach, but it is a violation of international law. Andrew, before you go, what was the sense on Capitol Hill about what they learned from the intelligence community about this balloon. It sounds like outrage, but did people think that this is what they were going to find, or are they hearing about even more things that they didn't imagine?

They're not talking very much about it, but certainly when talking to people on the Hill today and as they came out at these hearings, they're not getting answers to all their questions. Partly that's because the payload has not been discovered. That's really going to be the intelligence gold. you know, what equipment is still in there. But they did see, as we reported, sensors, you know, cameras, antennae. So it was a spy balloon. There's no question about that.

And this kind of intelligence would be stored in the payload. So that's why they really want to, you know, get those submersibles and get down there. And hopefully they can find it. All right, Andrew Mitchell, a lot of new reporting for us here leading us off on Top Story tonight. We do want to head overseas now to that catastrophic earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey. The death toll an unfathomable number now, more than 20,000 lives lost since that first 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit early Monday morning. Among them, at least three Americans dead. Now, many are losing hope for survivors, even as more help arrives from other countries.

NBC News correspondent Gabe Gutierrez is on the ground for us tonight in Central Turkey. Tonight, incredibly, the rescues are not over. Nearly 100 hours after this week's devastating earthquakes, this young girl is pulled out alive. A moment so overpowering, one of a rescuers collapses in tears. Just moments ago, we witnessed a 57-year-old woman pulled out on a stretcher. And this boy smiles after he and his family are hoisted to safety. People rejoicing against all odds, even as the death toll tops a staggering 20,000. including American Barack Farik, who sent his family this photo after the first quake,

saying he was okay, but his building later collapsed. He and his family were on the fifth floor. They died together, the children being held in the parents' arms. The World Health Organization is now warning of a second disaster for quake survivors, enduring brutal conditions. In Kahaman Mirash Turkey, the quakes epicenter, a massive tent camp has sprung up inside a stadium. Among the most soft after items here, coats and blanket for another miserably cold night. This couple's grandson is among the missing, believed to be trapped when his home collapsed.

What are you most praying for today? We pray for patience, he says. For others, their patience is wearing thin. This woman just learned her son was killed. Logistical problems, blocked roads and poor communication have complicated rescue efforts. So has the sheer size of the disaster. Among some bystanders here, there is frustration that a professional, specialized rescue team didn't arrive to this location in a busy city center until four days after the earthquakes.

As the window is closing for finding survivors, more international search teams are on the ground, including two from the U.S. NBC's Matt Bradley is with them. So this American Search and Rescue Team is from Fairfax County in Virginia. They just got here, and there's talk that there might. be someone living inside this rubble still. People are really trying to help. They're doing amazing things, but it is chaotic. In northwestern Syria, the situation may be even more dire.

The UN says only 5% of damaged areas are being covered by search and rescue operations. All right, Gabe Gutierrez joins Top Story tonight. Gabe, we've just seen that video. It's just coming to the newsroom of that rescue you just witnessed with your team. What more can you tell us? Well, Tom May it was remarkable to see rescuers say that it was a 57-year-old woman, and she was alive, she was conscience, and she was actually speaking with the rescuers, and she was rushed to the hospital. Somehow, they say she managed to survive inside that pile of debris behind me in a very tiny space. Now, rescuers have moved in and excavator a little closer to try and get better access, so it's hard to see right now, but there's a lot of activity here, and that's because search crews believe there could be.

at least one other person trapped alive inside that debris top. Yeah, no, we just saw someone run just behind you, and it's incredible because when you look down at that rubble game, you really can't see any air pockets. It's incredible people are still alive, and they're trying to find them. Talk to me about the temperature right now in Turkey, as far as the way people are feeling about the government. It's been four days, and I know a growing number of citizens there in Turkey are angry with the president because it's taken so long to get search and rescue teams to certain parts. Well, Tom, it is remarkable to see all of these rescues happening four days after these earthquakes. But yes, we spoke with several people today, some who thought the government was doing the best they could.

Look, the sheer scope of this disaster is huge. Multiple major cities affected, not just here in Turkey, but of course in Syria. But they think there are some who feel that the president has not done enough to get search and rescue teams, professional search and rescue teams, here on time. Here at this site in a major city center, a professional, specially trained rescue team did not arrive until today. But thankfully, Tom, there is some good news. More international aid is getting into places like northwest Syria, which of course has been rocked by civil war. The first U.N. aid convoy managed to make it into Syria from Turkey earlier today. Tom. That's an incredible development. All right, Gabe Gutier is on the ground for us

there in Turkey. Gabe, we thank you back here at home. we want to turn to politics. And at the top of the broadcast, you saw some of Telemundo anchor Julio Bakato's interview with President Biden in Andrea's story. They talked about a wide range of topics, including the question on everyone's mind. Will he run for president again? And when will he announce that decision? Here's part of what he said about his re-election prospects. You've said now multiple times that you have an intention to run for re-election, but you haven't made the decision yet. What's stopping you from making you from making?

that position? I'm just not ready to make it. There's no motive behind that? No. Yeah. So 37% of Democrats believe that you shouldn't run again. Not true. That's what the polls say, but they don't count.

That's what the polls say. How do you win Democrats again? Many of them are concerned about your age? Well, that's not what I hear. Look, do you know any polling that's accurate these days? You all told me that there's no way we were going to do wellness off your election. told you from the beginning we're going to do well. You all told me I couldn't win the general election. We did well. I feel good about where we are. I feel good about the way things are,

and I feel good about the reception I get. Telemundo anchor and my friend Julio Bakero joins Top Story Live now. Julio, incredible interview. Talk to me about what else the president told you about his plans for 2024. He's obviously coming off the state of the Union, and the first state he heads to is the battleground state of Florida. That's correct, Tom. Thanks for having me. It's interesting, right? The first, second stop he makes after the State of the Union,

and he comes to Florida, the home of two of probable contenders to the presidency, former President Donald Trump, and Governor Ron DeSantis. So we also ask him about that. Who would you rather run against? And especially, would there be a difference if he runs against President Trump

and Governor Ron DeSantis? Because I think it's an important question. He's always talking about how divided the countries and how he wants to unite it. And I wonder if it would be different to see a campaign Trump versus Biden take two or a Trump or Biden versus Rondezantis. He said basically he thinks both of them are the same, they operate the same way, and he doesn't see any difference between them. So I thought that was an interesting answer too. Yeah, no, and an important question to ask, no doubt. You also asked him about the border and our border policy right now. Let's take a listen to that.

What's the policy that your administration is going to have in the border after Title 42 is lifted? Well, the tough policy we're having is if, in fact, first of all, we engaged the parole policy for those five stuff, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, and the immigration, the number of people coming has declined over 90% because there's a regular path to do it now. And what we're trying to do is I'm making sure that we ask the Congress to provide us more security at the border, number one, more agents, number two, number three, more sophisticated machinery. For example, we have these basically moving x-ray machines that can x-rays about everything. Well, we need about 54 of them. We have 15. we should pay to get them done and we can uncover

the fentanyl coming in the country and people being smuggled and there's a lot we can do. Just to be clear, you're not considering and you wouldn't consider deporting massively non-Mexican immigrants to Mexico? I'm saying we have not done that. But would you

consider it in the future once Title 42 is lifted? I don't think we have to do that. We have to consider that. Okay. I know you were Just in Mexico, you've done a lot of reporting from the border, along with your teams there at Telemundo. Talk to us about the repercussions once they lift Title 42, when that happens. Well, it would be a huge repercussion, I think, Tom, especially because right now it's the only policy that's keeping migrants from entering the United States and staying in the United States. So once this Title 42 is lifted, it would mean that migrants could enter easily without being immediately deported.

That's why this question was so important. With today's reporting from the Washington Post suggesting that the administration is in talks with the Mexican government to deport to Mexico, non-Mexican immigrants, we thought it was important to clarify exactly what was this about. And DHS has denied these claims, and as you see here, President Trump also denied, President Biden, I mean. to say it's also denying these claims and he's saying that it's not in his plans to deport not Mexican immigrants to Mexico. But you had to press him on that to get some clarity. All right, Julio, really great interview. Thanks so much for joining us tonight. For a closer analysis on Biden's political future, that interview you just saw there and the latest on the Republican

back and forth between former President Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis. I want to bring in our friend Alencia Johnson, political strategist and former senior advisor to President Biden's campaign. And Carlos Grubello, former Republican congressman and an NBC News political analyst. I thank you both for joining us tonight. Alencia, I want to start with you. So Joe Biden has this big State of the Union speech, right? By and large, a lot of people giving him great notes on it. He then the first state, one of the first states he heads to is the state of Florida. Talk to me about this sort of strategy. And he sits down, I should also mention with Julio Baketo, who, of course, is the national anchor for Telemundo. Well, I think it's showing us two things. One, that interview that

you just mentioned is showing that Democrats are going to not just only continue to invest in Latino communities, but actually go and speak directly to them. And that's why you saw him on Telemundo. Going to Florida is extremely strategic. I will be honest, the Florida Democratic Party didn't get as much national attention in the 2020 election, excuse me, 2022 election. And that's why we saw the Republicans went at such great numbers. And so President Biden going down there is one, showing this contrast between both the national party. He was talking about the difference in his party proposal versus the Republicans who want to get rid of Medicare and Social Security.

But he's also showing Florida Democrats that Florida is still in play. Yes, Republicans over the last four years have registered nearly 400,000 more voters than Democrats. But we shouldn't give up on Florida in one of the third most populous state and that it's still in play and it's still very important to the national democratic strategy, especially if someone like DeSantis is going to get into the race. Carlos, people sometimes underestimate our current President Joe Biden, and he surprises people time and time again. But can Florida really go blue? We just had two back-to-back presidential elections where Donald Trump won in that state. Well, Tom, certainly the trends point in the opposite direction, but I do think it's significant that President Biden did come to this state, did send the message clearly that Democrats aren't giving up on the state because a lot of people, including Democrats, assumed given the results.

in 2022, where Governor DeSantis was reelected by a whopping almost 20% here, that Democrats will start abandoning the state, that Democrats didn't think they can win the Latino community here anymore in the numbers that they need in order to win the state. But President Biden and his team are clearly trying to send the opposite message. Now, visits to the state are important, but at some point, Democrats are going to have to start closing this voter registration gap, which continues to grow in favor of reports.

Republicans, and they're going to have to recruit and elect leaders that can carry the banner for their party right now. They have no elected officials at the statewide level. Yeah, I've heard that from Democrats in the state time and time again, that they want the organization there, they want the infrastructure, and they're playing catch-up at this point. Alensi, I do want to show you a clip from President Biden, from the state of the union, and get your thoughts on the other end. Let's play that. Some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I'm not saying it's a majority. So that's generated a lot of headlines and obviously a very strong reaction from Republicans.

Look, we know the truth here, right? You have one Senator Rick Scott who brought this up, but he's leaning into this. The president is definitely leaning into this. And obviously, it's smart politics. I don't know how truthful it is, but it's definitely smart politics, especially in a state like Florida. How smart of a tactic do you think this is? Oh, it's extremely smart. I mean, we can cut the campaign ads already from the Republicans literally flipping.

They walked right into it. And President Biden, he has been, since the State of the Union, going out and showing the Republican plan compared to the Democratic plan. And let's be clear, who is benefiting from Medicare and Social Security? Older voters, particularly older people, and overwhelmingly, older white people are voting for Republicans. And so President Biden is out here making a contrast about not only what Democrats stand for when it comes to protecting Medicare and Social Security, but also as some of the many bipartisan pieces of legislation that have been passed over the last year are now actually being felt by people. He is making it very crystal clear on who is working for the American people on both sides of the aisles. And I think it's very smart strategy that he, not only President Biden, is out here this week.

He has Vice President Kamala Harris out on the road as well, getting to the voters and getting to people who might be on the middle of the road and saying to them, listen, this is what Republicans stand for, but this is what we've done. you were feeling today in your pocketbooks and your kitchen table. Carlos, I want to put up a poll for you real quick to get your thoughts on this. As Julio mentioned, he asked the president about this. Should President Biden run for a second term? This is among Democrats. Only 37% said yes. 62% said no.

If I'm somebody thinking about running for office, I'm obviously, that number is going to hurt me. But the question then becomes who else is going to run or who will take Biden on? Well, Tom, these are remarkably low. numbers for an incumbent president. And certainly it should worry Democrats, because if Joe Biden does run for re-election and if he does win the nomination, Democrats might not be as enthusiastic in November of 2024 with so many people in his party thinking that Democrats should elect another candidate. I think this is probably the most worrisome number for the president, because you always need your base. You need your base in order to be,

competitive, of course, to win. You actually need to get some of those middle-of-the-road swing voters. But without your base, it doesn't really matter what happens with a swing voter. So this is something that should deeply trouble the Biden team and more broadly, Democrats throughout the country. All right, Alentia, let's turn now to the Republicans who are running for president or who may run for president. I want to talk about former President Trump. You really have to have a lot of guts, Alencia, right, to run against former President Trump because he's going to come after you. And we already saw him come after Governor DeSantis. He reposted a meme, if you will, which showed Governor DeSantis, allegedly with some younger girls that he taught when he was a high school teacher,

insinuating that he was grooming high school girls with alcohol as a teacher, making that allegation right there. Ron DeSantis has fired back saying he's not going to smear Republicans. He's going to focus on taking on Joe Biden. But do you think this kind of strategy is going to scare DeSantis, scare him to the point where he won't run? I actually don't think it will scare DeSantis. I think what we're seeing, and you all can correct me if I'm wrong, but what I have heard from a lot of Republicans, what I have been reading about is that these Republicans are actually kind of tired of the Donald Trump tactics.

Oh, Valencia, I get that. I'm not talking about the voters. I'm talking about Ron DeSantis, the man, the man who is married, who has a wife, who has a family. I mean, ask Senator Ted Cruz, ask Senator Rubio, ask Chris Christie. I mean, he is, ask former President Bill Clinton. As Hillary Clinton, I mean, he really has no shame when he's campaigning against someone. So what my question is, do you think Ronda Santis has the guts to take him on? I absolutely do.

I mean, look at the things that he is doing in Florida to show, I am waging all of these cultural wars. I am doing all of this here to set a national tone for how I will run for president. I think he does have the guts. And I think we are trying to underestimate how people are going to weather some of these, you know, personal attacks that former President Trump will throw at them. But if Ron DeSantis was concerned about former President Trump, if he was concerned about these attacks, he would not be setting himself up on the national stage the way that he is.

And so I think he does have the guts. And to be honest, as a Democrat, I want them to cannibalize themselves so that we have the weakest option to go against in 2020. Carlos, quick answer here. I know there's already been some chatter among Republicans in the state and across the nation, consultants, if you will, Can Ron DeSantis take a punch from President Trump? You live in Florida, can he?

Well, that remains to be seen, Tom. I do agree. Ron DeSantis is not afraid of Donald Trump. Ron DeSantis, I don't think, is afraid of anyone. That's not his nature. But how is Ron DeSantis going to handle Donald Trump on a debate stage when they're out on the stump? When he actually has to directly respond to Trump and can't afford to postpone this fight any longer, which is what's going to happen this summer?

That's when we're really going to see what Ron DeSantis is made up. As you said, Donald Trump is very good at testing people. And for Ron DeSandis, going up against his old mentor, is going to be the ultimate test. Okay, guys, Alencia, Carlos Cruebello, thank you so much for joining Top Story tonight. We want to turn now to the Americas and a huge story, the unexpected release of more than 200 political prisoners from Nicaragua. One of the biggest prisoner releases the U.S. government has ever negotiated. The prisoners detained by authoritarian leader, Daniel Ortega, who for years has been targeting political opponents and critics. NBC's Ali Rafah has this one.

Tonight, 22 political prisoners from Nicaragua aboard this flight, touching down on U.S. soil, after the country's leader, Daniel Ortega, decided to set them free. As the plane taxied, the terminal at Washington's Dulles Airport was filled with anticipation. The now freed prisoners. greeted with songs of home. Among the crowd, Ariana Gutierrez Pinto, still in shock waiting for her mother's arrival. My sister gave me a call early in the morning telling me that my mom was on the way, that she could be on the way, but I was very hopeful that she would be on that plane. Earlier today, a Nicaraguan judge denounced the deportations, calling those released

traders to the country. Good afternoon. The U.S. State Department confirming their release. The Biden administration then sending a plane to retrieve the prisoners. This was a unilateral decision on the part of the government of Nicaragua to release these individuals. We decided that we would be in a position to accept these individuals and to welcome them to the United States. Nicaragua's leader had imprisoned political opponents and others behind 2018 street protests. A story followed here on top story. If you're being this video,

it's because it's been incommunicado or captured. This summer, the Ortega administration arrested several presidential challengers effectively destroying the opposition and campaigning unopposed. Many of those presidential challengers among the prisoners released today.

I'd like to thank you, and to thank all the institutions, all the people, all the abogados, all the countries, The family has made possible this miracle, the miracle of La Libertad. The family is reading out a list of the names of the prisoners. As each name was read out loud, the same chant, liberty.

I was very excited. It was surreal because that has been a form of torture to the family members. We had heard that before that they're going to be free. Oh, yeah, you're getting out tomorrow or they're out already, but it didn't happen. And now it wasn't different because it was all over the place. The news were all over the place, and it was surreal. But amid the celebrations, some uncertainty. We don't know what the logistics are or what the United States have planned for the political prisoners of Nicaragua. And free speech remains a major issue in the country.

President Biden hoping today's action could move the needle. Telemundo's Julio Vacero asked him about it earlier. How did this happen? And this is a government that your administration had criticized extensively. So are you in conversations with this government? Look, they know that we were moving. We believe all political prisoners should be released. Now, whether this is a token of their demonstration that they're ready to begin to change

the human rights policies or not remains to be seen. But the fact that they were released, we're happy to receive them, and I'm glad they're out. an incredible moment for those dissidents of Nicaragua and those families who have waited so long for their safe release from prison. Allie Raffa joins us now from Washington. Allie, I know the State Department has said this was a unilateral decision, but given the tough crackdown from the Ortega regime in recent years and the volume of prisoners released, was there any trade done in order to guarantee their freedom? Yeah, Tomwell, a senior Biden administration official speaking on the condition of anonymity says the government of Nicaragua decided unilaterally to

these prisoners. And Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement today that the United States facilitated their transport. But all parties involved are stopping short of saying that an actual deal was made here. A State Department spokesperson was repeatedly asked about this at a press conference earlier today and didn't answer that specific question. It's also still unclear why Ortega decided to do this now and why so many prisoners were released so quickly and seemingly easily, Tom. You know, these more than 200 Nicaraguans are clearly political refugees. They have a textbook case to seek asylum in this country. Do we know what the future holds for them? Well, Blinken also said in that statement earlier today that right now they're getting the legal

and medical support that they need. And a White House spokesperson is telling me tonight that they've been paroled into the U.S. for two years, which is going to allow them to get work authorizations. They say, this isn't a new process. This is just a standard humanitarian problem. parole process. So all in all, Tom, just a very long-awaited happy ending for these hundreds of people. Allie, Raffa, with that big news out of Nicaragua tonight, Ali, we thank you for that. We turned out of the intensifying migrant crisis right here at home and a piece of video that caught our eye earlier today, a sailboat completely overcapacity with what appears to be as many as 100 Haitian migrants arriving in the Florida Keys. They came ashore near the city of Tavenir.

You can see them here, swimming ashore, celebrating as they stepped on dry. land. One of those migrants saying this after reaching shore, saying they had been at sea for nine days. Listen closely. Good morning, America. I'm so happy to be here today. And like, I think it's a first going to you all right. I came from in Haiti. A lot of bad thing. In Haiti, not really, a lot of bad life. But after nine days in the sea, like we just be there today, I feel so happy just in my heart. And welcome to America. I think you go to France. And I said, and I said, You can hear that man there saying he loves America, but also talking about the situation in Haiti, that it was very dangerous, that there was no security.

The man who shot that video joins us now on top story. Michael Diaz is a real estate broker and investor with Miami Brokers Group out of South Florida. Michael, thanks so much for joining us. So talk to me about this video because it is rare that we get to see sort of these migrant landings in real time. And you happen to have your camera in your hand when you spotted something this morning. morning. Well, today I was like when we woke up in the morning and we were just going to shoot like a sunrise video. I'm celebrating my 15 year wedding anniversary. And as we were kind of shooting a video with the sunrise, I saw in the background a sail ship coming in with all these migrants in the boat. And then so, you know, I stopped the video was doing and started recording them and watched them come ashore. They hit an area that's, that's a little shallow, so they couldn't come any closer, so they all jumped off the boat. The boat started to kind of capsizing to the side a little bit, and then I just saw them swimming in and took to the video. Michael, you know, I know you're from South Florida.

You have Cuban-American roots. This is probably not new to you, but to see this in real-time might be. What was that moment like when you saw all of these fellow human beings jumping off a boat and just trying to make it to shore? Well, first off, I mean, it was super-house. to see that they made it, that they got to shore. Obviously, when you think about this throughout the day, I've been thinking about it, if it's the bad deal, you know, the fact that they have to go through all this to get over here,

you know, obviously coming from Cuban parents, knowing other family members that have to go through this to get here. It's crazy. And then it was interesting. Your video, it's incredibly dramatic and powerful. And then when they reach the land, they all start to sort of celebrating. You capture this as well. Right.

They were super happy to be here, you know, very nice, very, very happy to be in America. You know, they're trying to live a dream. You know, a lot of these kids are young that were coming here. They were just super happy to be here. What did they tell you about, what were they telling you about the journey or about Haiti? Well, it took nine days out there in the ocean. I mean, you're sitting out there and you're looking at the elements that they're going through. It's super windy.

I'm a boater, so I know that what they must have. gone through to get here it's it's it's it's a crazy experience and then and then the coast guard the police eventually arrived and it started to process them yeah so police arrived uh and then quickly after they came in with the buses and picked them up and started to process them you know count them and all the stuff and then and then and then move them over to the bus and pick them and finally i mean you you captured you captured all this on video you've been sharing it with news organizations throughout south florida and with with our show as well what's your takeaway from of experiencing something like this you know that you know we live here we take a lot of

the stuff for granted uh or the freedoms that we have here and the ability to uh to live our lives uh so you know we just got to make sure that we're we're not taking in for granted and we're we're working towards an angle of uh freedom michael diaz we thank you for your time and for that video still ahead tonight the racist video sparking outrage in philadelphia several high schoolers seen sprain another teens face black, the discipline those students are now facing. Plus, the late-breaking news on former Vice President Mike Pence, why he has now been issued a subpoena. We'll explain. And the update tonight on his former boss where President Trump is returning after a two-year ban.

Stay with us. Top story, just getting started on this Thursday night. prompting outrage from the community. In the video posted to social media, high school students were seen making racist comments as one teenager's face with spray painted black. NBC's Valerie Castro has more on the outrage from parents and the archdiocese.

We want to warn you. This video is disturbing. Philadelphia teens caught in this shocking racist video, spray painting one girl's face black and making comments like this. A black and brown! In another part of the video appearing to mock black history month. You're a black girl.

You know your roots. It's done you, worry! The appalling video posted on social media and then shared widely, leading to protests outside St. Hubert's Catholic High School for girls, where three of the teens are students, according to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. How dare them? Some needs to be dead to dead. Parents and civil rights activists calling on the school and archdiocese to take immediate action.

I want justice. I want reform. They have to do something. Nicole Heinz saying she pulled her daughter out of the school after alleged racist conduct. They would scream N-word or they would, you know, just a lot of microaggressions pull on their hair and laugh about it, video it. The Archdiocese says it was only made aware of that video yesterday, but has seen it and forwarded the matter to the Office of Catholic Education. This video recorded off-school grounds is no less disturbing. This was doing my laundry. A fourth teen in the video was from another school.

Franklin Town Charter issuing a statement condemning hateful behavior in saying the former student who took part has, quote, no place at our school. It's unclear if the student was enrolled at the time of the video. The Archdiocese issuing a statement calling the behavior vile and saying the students allegedly responsible are not present in school and are being disciplined appropriately. Adding any other students involved will also face disciplinary action. Quote, we take this opportunity to be abundantly clear that there is no place for hate, racism, or bigotry at St. Huberts or in any Catholic school. The community leaders are calling for more. When I saw the video, it was a form of oppression and a form of marginalization. Chad Dion Lasseter, director of the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission, says the Civil Rights Enforcement Agency is offering bias and cultural sensitivity training to the school.

I think it's very important for these young people to know what black face is. But we also need to make sure that we're not assuming that they don't know what blackface is. But he says outside the classroom is where the work really needs to occur as well. The school can do what they need to do, but the work really in earnest has to happen in the community, in those homes. All right, that video hard to watch. Valerie Castro joins us now. Valerie, do we anything more about the investigation or the punishment that these girls may face? So the Archdiocese says there is an ongoing review of the incident. And they quote, don't, want to leave any stone uncovered. As for possible punishments, they say it ranges from a minimum of suspension with counseling. The maximum, of course, would be expulsion. The school has gotten

some general threats since this all came to light. The Archdiocese says students will be learning at home for the rest of the week as a precaution. Okay, Valerie, we thank you for that. We want to turn now to the double murder trial of Alec Murdoch. The jury today heard from one of the people closest to him, his best friend, Chris Wilson. Wilson says he's been close to Murdoch for decades and was stunned to learn he was stealing from his firm and his clients. Remember, Murdoch faces almost 100 financial charges, separate from the murder charges. He's on trial for now. Joining Top Story Live now is NBC's Ellison Barber in Waterboro, South Carolina.

She's been covering the court case for us. Ellison, I first want to play part of Chris Wilson's testimony. He describes the moment he learned of the murders, and he was quite emotional. My wife comes in kind of just hysterical. She said, you got to wake up, you got to wake up. My wife is telling me what's going on. I just told her, I said, I got to get some clothes. I've got to go to Moselle.

Alison, talk to us about that moment in court there. I mean, again, this was the man who was best friends with Alex Murdoch. It was an emotional moment for him from the stand. We also saw Alec Murdoch get emotional as well. Well, Wilson talked about going to the farm that night, getting that call, showing up, going past all of the commotion that was happening down at the kennels where Maggie Murdoch and Paul Murdoch were killed and going up to the house to be with his friend, Elyke Murdoch. He talked about spending months by his side trying to comfort him, help him grieve, only to then find out that his closest friend, the person he called his best friend, had stolen $192,000 from him. personally. Wilson and Murdoch, they did not work at the same law firm, but they were both lawyers, and they worked on some personal injury cases together. And during one of those cases

where they had a major million-dollar settlement at the end, Murdoch allegedly tricked his friend into writing checks to him personally instead of his law firm and then stole that money. Then when he was trying to replenish the fund to sort of cover up his tracks, once his law firm started asking questions, he borrowed $192,000 from his friend that he never paid back. He talked about confronting him and realizing all of this was happening and just feeling, Tom, this deep sense of betrayal. Never a good sign when your best friend testifies against you in a murder trial. We're talking a lot tonight about financial crimes.

Explain to our viewers what the prosecution is trying to do here, trying to tie these financial crimes to the larger murder case that's in front of them. Right. I mean, you said it. He's facing separate financial crimes, almost 100 charges related to that, but that's not this case here. This case is around the murder allegations, the murder charges that he faces. And the financial crimes have only come into play because the prosecution is trying to lay those out to establish a motive. They say that Murdoch was under the gun. He'd been caught for stealing all of these funds and that in an effort to cover his tracks, he decided to kill his wife and son to gain sympathy. and shift the attention away from his other financial crimes. All right, Alison, Barber, for us, Alison, we appreciate your reporting tonight. When we come back, an outpouring of emotion at a New Jersey high school, students demanding action after the tragic death of one of their classmates,

the changes they're calling for next. All right. Now to Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with the outrage at a New Jersey high school following the death of one of their classmates. This is a very sad story. Students at a high school in Bayville walking out today after a 14-year-old died by suicide. Authorities say the freshman took her own life 48 hours after a video surface showing her being viciously beaten up in a school hallway. Fellow students and her parents claim the school is not doing enough to stop bullying. And this just in tonight, former Vice President Mike Pence has reportedly been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating former President Trump. A source familiar with the matter confirming to NBC News tonight that the subpoena is related to the Capitol riot. Special counsel Jack Smith is leading the Justice Department's inquiries into former President Trump, including his role in January 6th and his handling of classified documents after he left office. And speaking of former President Trump, his Facebook and Instagram accounts are officially back up. Meta reinstating the former president's accounts after a two-year

ban. The company first suspended the accounts in the aftermath of the Capitol riots. So far, he has yet to post on either of his accounts. Okay, now an update on those devastating tornadoes that ripped through the southeast last night. A small community in Louisiana hit the hardest. The reality on the ground yet again is one of destruction and devastation. Sam Brock has this one. In a wild and historically rare bout of severe weather to kick off 2023, the latest area left reeling by a devastating tornado, Tangipahoe Parish, Louisiana. The tin was ripped off, and the bricks just came down. Brenda Nevels bracing for impact in the only room in her house without a window.

I was scared. I was scared. Did you worry that you might not survive the night? No, I really wasn't thinking about not surviving. I was thinking about survivage. This video captures the funnel cloud that caused so much damage. An infant and toddler needed to be rescued from this trailer and a gas station partially collapsed. But miraculously, no fatalities, much to the surprise of some longtime residents. What was the experience like for you last night? It was just horrible. I just heard something wrong. I was laying down and got up and failed.

And then, you just, you know, it's just something that I ain't ever seen in my life. Overnight, there were a reported five tornadoes, four in Mississippi, and the fifth here in Louisiana. Flooding also saturated the southeast, with some parts of Arkansas pummeled with more than four inches of rain. There was pretty much water all around the entire house, just about an inch away from the door. But the greatest danger and devastation delivered in southeast Louisiana.

Oh, so it did flip. Robin Robertson came back to her house after a grocery store visit that might have saved her life. The home in Tatters, her bedroom, buried under dressers, clothing, and wood. I ain't never come back and see anything like this. I mean, this is, oh, what can you say? What being shocked when you see this? Where are you going to go?

I don't know. I don't really don't know right now. I don't know. With dozens of people looking at displacement, and their homes literally turned upside down, the National Weather Service has issued a preliminary assessment of this as an EF2 tornado with wind speeds that start at 111 miles an hour.

But it's going to be the coming hours and days that we find out the size and width of the tornado and its actual wind speeds. Tom? 111 miles per hour. Okay, Sam Brock for us. Coming up, the massive fire in a major city, the bus terminal with the out-of-control blaze. Look at this. Emergency officials racing to the scene will have the latest. Back now in top story, time for Global Watch, and Brazil is expelling tens of thousands of miners

from indigenous lands. Government officials burning a plane and seizing boats, weapons, and gasoline used by the miners in a remote region of the Amazon rainforest. Officials say an estimated 20,000 illegal gold miners have invaded the indigenous reserve, harming an indigenous group in the region. The removal operation could take months. All right, now to the inferno at a bus terminal in the Philippines. New video from social media shows this.

Flames tearing through that terminal in Manila. Look at that. At least one person hurt and the area evacuated. Dozens of businesses destroyed. The cause of this fire, though, is still unconstitutional. investigation. And a recent study suggesting no new variants emerged from China's recent COVID-19 outbreak. You may remember we report a lot on that outbreak here on Top Story. The study was Chinese funded, we should point out, but published in Lancet. It found more than 400 samples

were collected from Beijing, and it showed no new variance since China dropped its strict COVID restrictions. Researchers found 90% of the cases from a recent outbreak were sub-variants B-5-2 and BF7. Okay, coming up, Riri, the Super Bowl, and a teaser on what to expect. She's one of the biggest names in music, and she hasn't performed live in nearly a decade. But now Rihanna is ready to rock that epic stage that will be seen by tens of millions all over the world. So is she nervous? How long will she play for?

And what's the set list? Some of those answers right after this break. To cover the news, you have to be in it. We'll take you to the front lines of the story, bringing your news feed to life. Streaming live every night. It's your news playlist. Top Story with Tom Yamas, weeknights at 7 on NBC News Now. So let me a light.

Hey, hey, hey, yeah. You said a question that bad for I just let me like. Oh, hey, and got no time for no way and drives. Just flip your life. Such a classic. That, of course, was Rihanna's 2008 song, Live Your Life with rapper T.I. It's one of the many hits from the Barbadian superstar who is now preparing to perform on one of the world's biggest stages. You may remember this now viral video posted to Twitter announcing Rihanna would be the halftime performer at this year's Super Bowl,

fans anxiously waiting because she hasn't performed live since 2018, and it's been even longer since she released new music. But the weight is almost over. Rihanna is speaking about Sunday's performance today at a pre-Super Bowl event, revealing she will try to cram the hits from her eight albums into just 13 minutes, calling it a, quote, celebration of her catalog. She says the track list has changed about 39 times, but she's ready to get back on stage. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world. So as scary as that was, because I haven't been on stage in seven years. There's something exhilarating about the challenge of it all. And it's important for me to do this this year. It's important for representation. It's important for my son to see that. It feels like it's going to be a good performance.

Rihanna has collaborated, as you know, with many artists. But no word yet, if anyone is planning to join her on stage. However, there will be many other performances to look forward to. Country star Chris Stapleton will sing the national anthem. That's going to be great. and R&B singer Babyface and avid elementary actress and Broadway star Cheryl Lee Ralph will also have pre-game performances so we look forward to all that you can watch it all on Sunday of course and we thank you for watching top story

tonight I'm Tom Yamas in New York stay right there more news on the way