Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, January 25, 2024

Episode Date: January 26, 2024

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

Tonight, Trump on the stand, the former president defending himself in the E. Jean Carroll's civil defamation trial. Jurors are now considering how much Trump should pay up for saying that Carol lied when she accused him of sexual abuse, his testimony from the hot seat, and what he said that forced the judge to strike it from the record. Also tonight, in an unprecedented move, the RNC is considering declaring Trump the presumptive Republican nominee. NBC News obtaining a draft of the resolution that is facing major criticism even from Trump. Mickey Haley also weighing in how her campaign is responding and the statement just in from the former president. Super Soaker, millions in the South dealing with rounds of relentless rain. In Louisiana, a flash flood emergency issued as cars take on feet of water and streets quickly turned into rivers.

The risk for life-threatening flooding and severe storms plaguing the region for a fifth straight day. when we could finally see some relief. Experimental execution? Alabama preparing to carry out the first execution by nitrogen gas. The convicted killer who already underwent an unsuccessful lethal injection now expected to be executed

in a never-before-use practice. We hear from the death row inmate himself and from the children of the woman he killed. All parties concerned the method won't work again. Plus, hairstyle on trial. A Texas team punished by his school for refusing to cut his locks. His family arguing the move violates a new state law which prohibits race-based hair discrimination, how the school is responding as the team awaits his day in court.

And toxic paradise after the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history, Lahaina is beginning to pick up the pieces, but concerns are mounting over where they actually put them, an area known for its beautiful coral reef, now possibly in danger. We speak to one of the outraged residents who says the health of the community and the environment are at stake. Top story starts right now. And good evening. We're following several breaking headlines involving former President Trump.

First, Trump taking the stand today, testifying in his own defense in the defamation trial brought against him by writer E. Jean Carroll. It comes after a jury already found that Trump sexually abused and defamed her. Today, the former president standing by his denial of Carroll's sexual assault claim, but the judge was forced to strike down the second half of

his statement. We're going to explain that. Also breaking, the former president is attempting to dismiss election interference charges, citing allegations of an improper romantic relationship between two key prosecutors in the case. The motion to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis and what it means for the case moving forward. Also tonight, the RNC is considering declaring Trump the presumptive 2024 nominee? The mounting pressure rival Nikki Haley is facing from her own party now to drop out of the race. Haley's campaign firing back saying the decision should be in the hands of voters. NBC's Ryan Nobles tonight, starting us off right here. Tonight, after wins in Iowa and New Hampshire on the campaign trail, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump back in a courtroom,

testifying for only a few minutes. His testimony limited by the judge. Last May, Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming journalist E. Jean Carroll. Now a jury is weighing how much to award Carol and damages, if any. Carol is seeking $10 million. Trump was asked if he stood by his deposition, where he said Carol was lying. He answered 100%. Yes.

Later saying, I consider it a false accusation. And that he, quote, wanted to defend. myself, my family, and frankly, the presidency. The last two statements struck by the judge. Meanwhile, Trump the focus of new tensions on Capitol Hill, with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, accusing the former president of trying to derail a spending deal that would include funding for Ukraine and Israel,

as well as provide new policies and funding to deal with the border crisis. Are you concerned, though, that Trump's opposition is basically killing the supplement? Not anything to do. Trump's allies slamming the proposal, saying it allows 5,000 migrants per day to be released in the U.S. How would you respond to critics that are saying that this is just being pushed off to make it a campaign issue for President Trump? Well, is it being pushed off? I mean, I don't know. First, you'd have to go talk to the minority leader. We have record numbers of illegal immigration. Why? Because of this president's policies. While other Republicans believe Trump should be backing a deal.

Why not have him make that case to some of your colleagues? I don't know what to tell President Trump yet about the final product. From my point of view, we need relief today. Also tonight, pressure is building on Nikki Haley. Now Trump is warning Haley donors that if they keep giving to her, they will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. A threat, Haley, seemed to welcome. Her campaign now selling T-shirts, saying barred permanently.

Get on a debate stage and let's go. Bring it, Donald. Show me what you got. Ryan Noble joins us tonight from Capitol Hill to break down all this Trump news. Ryan, I really want to focus our conversation on what's happening on Capitol Hill there. We've seen all these establishment Republicans circle around and coalesce around Trump, calling him the nominee, saying he should be the nominee, essentially doing whatever he wants. So how much are his comments affecting this border bill? Well, Tom, I think we'd be naive to say that they are insignificant.

He is playing a real role in these conversations, and there are many Republicans not only in. in the House, but in the Senate as well, that take their cues from the former president. And he just released a statement tonight saying that unless they get a perfect border deal, that the border deal package could potentially be what he called a gift to Democrats. That's something that Republicans are paying very close attention to. They understand that Trump has enormous influence with his supporters. Many of those voters they need for their own elections, and that's part of why his input has been so important in these conversations.

Ryan, game this out for us because you got to this question when you were talking to some of the Republicans on Capitol Hill there, though. I mean, they talk about the immigration problem every single day. There's clearly a massive immigration problem in this country. But if they vote for the bill, is it a victory for the current president, which could be a victory come November? Yeah, and that's what they're wrestling with right now is the politics of all of this time. You talk to some members, and they say they just want to fix the problem at the border. They're not worried about the politics, but there are other Republicans that suggest that unless they have a, deal that meets all the criteria that they're looking for. There's no reason to offer any sort

of assistance to Biden in his campaign. That's going to be the big conversation that plays out here over the next couple of weeks as to whether or not this package ever gets over the finish line. And of course, we're talking a lot about the border, Tom. But there's a big component of this that involves that funding to Ukraine, which right now is in real danger of never happening. Ryan Noble's leading us off here on Top Story. Ryan, thank you. There's also some new reporting from the campaign trail. The Republican National Committee seemingly trying to pressure Republicans to wrap up the primary season and select Trump as the GOP nominee. But a campaign spokesperson for Nikki Haley saying, quote, who cares what the RNC says? We'll let millions of Republican

voters across the country decide who should be our party's nominee, not a bunch of Washington insiders. If Ronna McDaniel wants to be helpful, she can organize a debate in South Carolina unless she's also worried that Trump can't handle being on the stage for 90 minutes with Nikki Haley. Von Haley, Vaughley, joins us now to give us the latest. Fawn, we knew this was going to get ugly. Walk our viewers through what happened today, and we and others have uncovered in our reporting. There was a proposed resolution, right? Right. After a 30-point loss to Donald Trump in Iowa, an 11-point loss to him in New Hampshire, there's a great many folks in Republican circles that wanted Donald Trump to be the presumptive nominee. Nikki Haley to get out of the race,

focus the party's resources on beating Joe Biden in November's general election. Nikki Haley said, sorry, that's not going to happen. Donald Trump is going to have to win more states. Her home state of South Carolina comes a month from now, so that only drags this process out. And what now the RNC is going to be putting forward at next week's RNC meeting in Las Vegas is a resolution in which they're going to ask all the members. They come from all 50 states. These are key party activists to vote on making Donald Trump the presumptive nominee. Essentially, what that would do would allow the party to begin investing dollars towards Donald Trump's candidacy, and making it all but harder on Nikki Haley to make the claim that

she still has a chance when the party is already behind Donald Trump. So a proposal's been drafted already. We've seen this. They want people to vote on this and essentially end the primary process? It would almost all but ended. There would technically still be the votes. Folks would still go vote in South Carolina, but it would be the party infrastructure, which has millions of dollars to its name, saying Donald Trump is our guy.

And for Nikki Haley, she's already having a tough time with donors. with other Republican elected officials who have not endorsed her, but endorse Donald Trump. And I think it's notable, though, literally in just the last few minutes, Donald Trump actually just put a social media post out in which he said that he does not believe the RNC should go forward with this plan because he wants to win the old-fashioned way were his words and finish the process off at the ballot box. Of course, Donald Trump is one who is not shy about wanting to have a big party, and he believes that South Carolina is a place where he can get a great amount of support and beat Nikki Haley

on her home turf once and for all. so strange because even before New Hampshire voted, you had Ronna McDaniel come out with that statement, essentially saying if there's a loss tonight, they got to rally around Trump. The person who proposed this, Dave Bossy, worked so closely with the president during the campaign. He's at the RNC now. And now Trump's saying he's not with this plan. I mean, what's going on? It's a little hectic at the Republican Party here these days. And Nikki Haley, she wants to have a debate, a one-on-one debate with Donald Trump. And that's where she called on the RNC to make that happen. Force Donald Trump to not make the agreement to it. But so far, Donald Trump has not federal

felt compelled to take part in any debate at this point. And the Republican National Committee, what they want is anything but chaos. But right now, over the next month, we could see a little bit more of it. Von Hilliarder with the news from the campaign trail. Vaughn, thank you for that. Now to the other legal drama, the former president is involved in. To remind our viewers, Trump, along with 18 other co-defendants, is being investigated in Georgia on election interference charges. But one of Trump's co-defendants in the case, Mike Roman, is alleging that Fulton County District Attorney Fawney Willis had an improper relationship with one of the special prosecutors on that case.

Nathan Wade standing next to her in the gray suit there. Now Trump is joining that motion in an attempt to remove her from the case. We've covered this extensively here on Top Story. Trump's counsel making a statement today saying in part, the motion filed today on behalf of President Trump seeks to hold district attorney Willis legally accountable, both for her misconduct alleging a motion filed by Mr. Roman, as well as her extrajudicial public statements falsely and intentionally injecting rejecting race into this case.

Alluding to comment she made last week claiming she and Wade are being targeted because of her race and his race. Here's what she said. When in three special counsel is my right to do, paid them all the same hourly rate, they only intact one. I hired one white woman,

a good personal friend and great lawyer. A superstar, I tell you. I hired one white woman. white man, brilliant, my friend, and a great boy. And I hired one black man, another superstar, a great friend, and a great boy. Oh, Lord, they're gonna be mad when I call them my own this nonsense.

First thing they say, oh, she gonna play the race card now. But no God, isn't it them who's playing the race card when they only question one. To help us understand what's at play here, I want to bring an NBC legal analyst and friend of top story, Danny Savalos. Danny, thanks for joining us tonight. So, Danny, it seems like things are only getting worse for DA Fani Willis and the pressure is just mounting. What do you think happens after this? Well, I want to frame what this motion actually asked for. It's been described as a motion to dismiss the case outright based on a relationship between the DA and the top prosecutor on our team.

That's not really what the motion is. The motion is twofold. First, it says the prosecutor was improperly appointed. He was essentially a private citizen getting an indictment against these defendants, and so the indictment is fatally defective for that reason. Part two of the motion says, hey, in case you are wondering how the prosecutor could have just forgotten to cross all the T's and dot all the eyes, here's why. They were probably avoiding getting caught in this alleged relationship. And the second part of the motion says, hey, if you don't decide,

dismiss the indictment, you should throw these two prosecutors off the case because of the appearance of impropriety. And attorneys like me are not judged on whether or not there is an improper event. Rather, the appearance of impropriety is what we have to strive to avoid according to the ethical rules. So it seems to me that Fani Wallace is looking to make public statements in a venue where she's not going to field questions. But this is a real problem for the Georgia DA's office and a real problem for this prosecution. One of the possible outcomes could be disqualifying the entire DA's office. Who then will even take up the charge? But Trump's allegations go one step further, because essentially what they're saying is there's this improper relationship between the DA and

the special prosecutor. There's now credit card statements unsealed from a divorce proceedings involving that special prosecutor that show trips between Fannie Willis and the special prosecutor. But then she goes to the church and she says this is all about race. Is that a problem when we talk about ethics, is that a problem? Can a lawyer do that? Is she able to do that? But as the DA, she has to be careful, as a lawyer, she has to be careful. Exactly right. And more so as the DA, more so as an elected official, but also as an attorney, injecting race improperly into a case can potentially raise an ethics problem. And, you know, I've actually had this come up in my own cases. And the problem is,

is that you're essentially invoking, by invoking race, you're implying that the other side is engaging in racism. And if you're going to make that kind of allegation, you have to, have to have support for it. Because courts, and I know this, I've litigated cases where other parties have brought this up, courts do not take kindly to unsupported allegations of racism because they can devastate someone's career.

So that's just a general proposition that really it was probably not a great idea. If I think if Fonnie Wills had that moment back, she might not have said what she said about race because it only created problems. It didn't help her one bit. Danny, you know, you're somebody who comes on here and you're always very measured. You're not a lawyer on TV

who just likes to sort of inject anything that's exciting or salacious. So I say that because it's sounding to me like you think D.A. Fonnie Willis is an actual real trouble, and this could come back to haunt her. I do. Originally, when this motion first came out, it seemed like a long shot, but I've read the motion.

If the allegations they have in there are true, for example, they allege that the special prosecutor had so little experience that they couldn't even find a case or two cases in which he had handled RICO cases. That is a strange thing, given you have an entire DA's office full of people who are, guess what, prosecutors, and they're very experienced. Now, now we get into kind of a twilight zone here because the defendant is essentially arguing, hey, you got a less experienced prosecutor. What about all these experienced prosecutors? It's the defendant making the... Hey, get better people to prosecute me, right? But the point is made is why a point, why pay this person upwards of, I believe, upwards of a million dollars in fees already? And, you know, look, if he build those hours, he build those hours.

But why get this person onto the case? The stronger argument right now is the technical one that the indictment may have been improperly obtained. That's a problem. I mean, we challenge indictments on technicalities all the time. You got to do everything right procedurally. But the second part, disqualifying the DA could completely derail the case as well, because it's her show. Who else is going to step in if she's somehow disqualified? This motion is a real threat to this prosecution.

All right, Danny Savalos, we appreciate all of your analysis, as always. We want to take a big turn now and talk about some of the severe flooding threatening millions of Americans, massive rainfall in the southeast, flooding homes and businesses and submerging vehicles. The storm system turning deadly in Mississippi as officials braced for more dangerous conditions in hard-hit Texas and Louisiana. Wadvinegas is there. Tonight, a soaked southern region and during a second day of heavy rain,

19 million people under flood alerts from Mississippi to the northeast, a day after heavy rain slam parts of Texas and Louisiana. We're definitely keeping a close eye because it could get dangerous quickly. In Maidenville, north of New Orleans, the low-lying area submerged in water, homes and businesses flooded,

several trap cars left abandoned. This person making use of a kayak to get around after the flash floods left neighborhoods underwater. In Texas, authorities keeping an eye on five rivers forecasted to reach major flood stages after a day of rescues in the Houston area. In Montgomery County, firefighters rescuing 17 people from flooded homes.

My father's trying to come on the tractor, but he got stuck me way through. The tractor turned off. In Mississippi, authorities now reporting one weather-related death after a driver lost control of a vehicle and ran into a tree. Numerous cities in the corridor from Texas to the northeast getting more than double their average rainfall for the month of January. That wet winter weather, now marching east, threatening a dangerous end to the week. Gwad Vendangas joins us tonight from Covington, Louisiana. Guad,

you're standing in front of a river tonight. What's the concern there? Does it remain the flooding of those rivers? Tom, you can see. some of the flooding here. Yeah, so these waterways in the area are still flooded. There is a river here, but the water would normally be somewhere down there. We still have some of the flooding in the low-line areas, not just in this part of Louisiana, but all across the region. So authorities are asking people to stay away from these areas, of course, because there is a danger when people come to these low-lying parts of the region. The good news is that most of the rain has already made its way through, so we didn't get as much rain today as we had yesterday.

as the worst part of this storm is making its way through the south, Tom. Guadvenegas here. Be careful for the Gators. For more of the severe weather, NBC News meteorologist Bill Cairns joins me now. Bill, we know the worst of this storm may be done, but there's one right behind it. Yeah, 24-hour break. That's all these residents are going to get for the cleanup and for the water to receive before we had more water on top of it. So now we're down to 16 million people that are floodwashes.

And these floodwashes from Atlanta, Montgomery, are actually for the next storm coming. They've never even dropped them from this storm. So you notice we have areas of rain, but we don't have anything concentrated anymore. We don't have any flash flooding that's ongoing currently. Thunderstorms across Georgia or dying. We do some heavy raining between St. Louis and Chicago. But here's the next storm. Already going to form off the coast of Texas as we go throughout Friday.

Friday night, heavy rain develops in Louisiana once again, right where Guad was standing. And then this storm will be on the move this weekend. Saturday is a soaking rain through the south, especially the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky. And then as we go throughout Sunday, all of this rain moves into the northeast. There's going to be just enough cold air on the north side of this for some heavy, wet snow. It's going to be a marginal forecast. Temperatures are really close between if it's going to be rain or snow, higher elevations, of course. Our European computer model yesterday was saying heavier snow.

Now it's looking at lighter snow, and our models have flip-flops, if you were with us last night. Our American model was saying light snow. Now it's saying heavier snow. The bottom line is it's going to take another day to kind of iron this out where we're going to be dealing with the heaviest snow on Sunday night into Monday morning in the northeast. And in the meantime, Tom, we're going to talk a lot in the week ahead about our friends on the West. coast. An atmospheric river is heading their way with a lot of rain. Oh, not again. All right, Bill. We appreciate that. In Alabama, tonight, officials said to execute a convicted murderer using nitrogen gas. It's the first time ever

the method has been used to kill a prisoner, but people on both sides of the case say there's a lot of risk, even potentially to those present at the execution. Dasha Burns spoke with that inmate, the son of his victim, and the reverend said to deliver his last rights. The state of Alabama has already tried to execute Kenny Smith. This is a free call from an incarcerated individual at Alabama Department of Corrections. But tonight, the death row inmate is still alive. I'm terrified. It started when I was on the executing journey last November.

Now, the state will try to execute Smith again with a method that's never been used before, death by nitrogen gas. The fact that they've got me lined up to be the first with gas is really terrified. Smith was convicted for the brutal 1988 murder of Elizabeth Senate, hired by her husband and Alabama pastor. Smith has been in prison for 35 years. He was scheduled to die in November 22, but the attempt at lethal injection didn't work. I was absolutely robbed on that typele. I was checking out control of me, and so kind of run a central line in my chest.

They had me, the table everybody was going to go my head down my feet, but trying to pull the blood at my head. The third was begging for people to help me, please stop them like a bunch of jobs along and a run for the people. The third in a string of botched executions that year. How could a state give something so wrong? Chuck and Mike Senate, Elizabeth's children, went to William C. Holman Correctional that night in 2022, expecting to see the justice they wanted. Instead, they say the failed execution failed them, too. What is that emotion? Anger man.

Anger. Yeah. They're supposed to know what they're doing there, but somehow they missed. He was guilty. So how does that turn into a 35-year wait to get justice for what our mother suffered from? You guys are about to drive down this road again to witness this again. How confident are you that the state will succeed? Not much.

50, 50. 50-50? It's brand new. Who knows what's going to happen with this one? I hope nothing goes wrong. That's our final hope that it's all over with. Wednesday night, the Supreme Court rejected appeals from Smith's legal team over the method of execution. A method legal scholars say has many unknowns.

This is a method that has never been used in the history of the world as far as we know. So nobody knows what's going to happen, least of all, the state of Alabama. But state officials expressed confidence in court, testifying that nitrogen gas is, quote, painless and humane. Smith's team has argued execution by nitrogen gas could lead to prolonged pain and suffering, that Smith may vomit in the mask and choke, or it could leave him in a vegetative state or even put others in the room at risk. Like spiritual advisor, Reverend Jeff Hood, who will perform Smith's last rights.

we have gathered here. And this morning, Hood received last rights of his own. He'll be in the room when it happens, and a ghastly could be deadly to him, too. When did it start to really dawn on you that this was going to be very different from the previous times you've given last rights? I have never, ever signed a waiver before going into an execution. The waiver here talks about in the event, in the highly unlikely event, it says here that the hose supplying breathing gas to the mask were to do. detach an area of free-flowing nitrogen results creating a small area of risk. And it goes on to talk about other potential hazards.

How did you feel seeing this? I mean, the existence of a waiver in the first place speaks to the fear that they have that something could go wrong. This is the first time in human history that someone besides the person being executed is at risk of dying. in the process. And I think it's also important to point out that, you know, this human experiment

on Kenny is also an experiment on everybody else in the room. I mean, there's a concern of your own safety, and then there are concerns about how this could go for Kenny. Right, how worried are you about what you might witness? I mean, I think I'm prepared to witness a horror show. I kept asking questions, and they kept saying, trust us, trust us. Do you trust them? No.

Smith says his biggest fear is that he might survive again. This is not going to go right. I'm expected to take the bird of the Department of Directions that they're going to get it right. It's all about what's going to happen to him, but nobody's talking about what he did to our mother or why he's in that situation because he killed her. This is what it's about for you all?

Yeah. It's all it's ever been about. What would you say to her mom if she could hear you right now? I love you. And I hope we find out. to get you justice. All right, Dasha Burns joins us tonight live from Atmore, Alabama. Dash, as you mentioned in your piece, this is a very new method of execution, and yet I

understand officials, they're not exactly being transparent about some of the protocols? Yeah, Tom, that's right. They did release a protocol, but it was heavily redacted. The press, the Senate family, and Reverend Jeff Hood, who you heard from there, have all been asking questions, trying to get more information to understand exactly how this will all on. But a lot of those questions have gone unanswered. Hood especially has been really dissatisfied with the lack of answers from the state about his own safety. You can imagine he and his family are really concerned about that.

And Tom, as we stand here right now, I'm right now in the media center that's across the street from the facility where Hood will under where he will undergo this. Kenny Smith will undergo this procedure. We are right now waiting on some final legal processes to play out. We're waiting for one more word from the Supreme Court based on another case that Smith's attorneys filed trying to get this, trying to get a stay, trying to get this execution paused. We're expecting to hear from the Supreme Court shortly. This is typical with these sorts of executions. Usually there are legal maneuvers sort of up until the last minute. We know that when the process will really kickstart is when.

some witnesses, some of the media folks here that were selected as witnesses are going to be transported there. So that's when that happens, that's when we know that the process will actually begin. But when it's going to be over and what's going to transpire tonight, it's still a question, Tom. Dasha Burns right there at the center of it all. Okay, Dasha, we thank you for your reporting on what is a very tough story. We want to turn out of Michigan in another tough story where a historic trial is underway for the mother of school shooter Ethan Crumley, the teenager sentenced to life in prison after killing four students at his high school nearly three years

ago. Now his parents are both facing charges of involuntary manslaughter, accused by prosecutors of failing to prevent the shooting. Adrian Broderas has a look at the trial not underway for Crumbley's mom. Jennifer Crumley didn't pull the trigger that day, but she is responsible for those deaths. Tonight, prosecutors laying out why they believe Jennifer Crumbley should be held accountable for her 15-year-old son's actions. He killed four people at Oxford High. high school. The defense hitting back. He did something she could have never anticipated or fathomed or predicted. Crumbly charged with involuntary manslaughter, the first parent in the U.S. ever charged in a mass school shooting carried out by their child. They didn't do any number

of tragically small and easy things that would have prevented all this to be happening. The defense, appearing to shift blame onto Crumbly's husband, James, who has a separate trial. James Crumbly was responsible for getting the gun out, putting the trigger lockback on, storing the gun. Prosecutors showing this video of Jennifer and Ethan together at the gun range and calling its first witnesses. So it entered here and exited here. Teacher Molly Darnell showed jurors where she was shot. That memory still wrong. So I looked down and I realize he's raising a gun to me.

Crumbly tearful at times, leading to a heated exchange in front of the judge. To have not just the defendant, her lawyer sit there sobbing. I didn't know. Tonight, the defense asking jurors to keep an open mind. And we also learned today Jennifer plans to take the stand. Her attorneys say they aim to show who she was as a mother. As for the prosecution, they say they plan to call more than 20 witnesses, including some who were inside of the school the day of the shooting.

Tom? Adrian Broadress for us tonight. Adrian, thank you for that. We want to head overseas now to the ongoing negotiations to release the hostages still held in Gaza. A top U.S. official is being tapped by the Biden administration to help broker that deal. CIA director William Burns now heading to Europe this week. weekend for top-level meetings. With more on this development, I want to bring in NBC News foreign correspondent, Ralph Sanchez, who joins us now from Tel Aviv. Will the CIA director,

Raf, be able to do what so far, no international diplomat, nobody from Israel and or Hamas has been able to do? It's the big question, Tom. The CIA director will be meeting his Israeli counterpart, the head of the Mossad spy agency. He'll be meeting the prime minister of Qatar, who has been the key mediator throughout this process. And his hope is to jumpstart these negotiations towards the ceasefire, towards getting those Israeli hostages released. The last ceasefire, Tom, you'll remember, collapsed on the 1st of December. And the big sticking point since then has been whether any pause in the fighting going forward

will be temporary or permanent. Hamas is saying it needs to be a permanent ceasefire. They say they will not release any more hostages until the war. ends. Israel is saying only a temporary pause in the fighting. They say the war will not end until Hamas is destroyed and that they plan to resume military activity on the other side of a hostage deal. Tom, it is worth noting. It feels a little counterintuitive. But the fact that the fighting is so intense right now in southern Gaza could actually be a sign that the Israeli military believes that a ceasefire is imminent and it feels it wants to make as much progress

on the battlefield before any agreement comes to the place. We hope so. You've been covering sort of every moment of this terror attack and now war and hostage negotiations. Do we know what the thinking is because our Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has spent so much time over there. He's been trying to do this. And now they're calling in the CIA director. And I just wonder what the calculation may be from the Biden administration.

It's really interesting, Tom. We have seen the spies, the intelligence of the government. officials acting as the sort of shadow diplomats throughout this crisis. So Israel's lead negotiator has been the head of its own foreign intelligence agency, the Mossad. This is a man who has been going to Arab countries with whom Israel does not have diplomatic relations and negotiating on behalf of the Israeli government. And it may be that the Biden administration feels that CIA director, Bill Burns, who is a diplomat by background, but is now the head of the CIA, a man who has unparalleled insight into the vast intelligence resources of the United States,

that he may be the man to go in and clinch the deal here. They're certainly hoping so. And we actually saw him making similar trips before that last ceasefire deal came into place back in November. Tom. Raf Sanchez from Tel Aviv tonight, Raf, thank you. Still ahead. The shocking new allegations against W.W.E. founder, Vince McMahon. A former employee now accusing him of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and abuse, also alleging she was forced to perform sex acts in exchange for her job.

The graphic details coming up. Plus, the high school student now going to trial over this hairstyle, while his school district has kept him out of class over his locks, and why his family says that's breaking the law. And Manhattan's Freedom Tower may be dethroned as the tallest skyscraper in the U.S. So can you guess where this would be built? The answer may surprise you. Stay with us. Back down with some shocking allegations involving one of the biggest figures in pro wrestling.

WWE founder Vince McMahon accused of sexual abuse and sex trafficking by a former employee and a warning. Some of what you're about to hear is graphic. WrestleMania! Tonight, one of the best of the best. biggest names in professional wrestling facing stunning new accusations, including sex trafficking over several years, a former employee accusing WWE founder and former CEO Vince McMahon of physical

and emotional abuse, sexual assault, and trafficking at WWE. In the lawsuit, Janelle Grant, who worked there up until March 22, says McMahon texted her, quote, I'm the only one who owns you and controls who I want to expletive you. Grant's claims include sexual acts involving defecation, restraint, and aggressive use of sex toys, and that McMahon forced her to have sex with him and other men at the WWE headquarters in return for job security. The new lawsuit seeks to annul a non-disclosure agreement from 2022, settled between Grant and McMahon, where she would receive $3 million.

Grant says she stopped receiving payments. after an initial $1 million payout. If, as alleged, McMahon stopped making those payments, she might have a breach of contract claim. But that's not what she's really alleging in the complaint. She's alleging violations of federal human trafficking law. In a statement, Vince McMahon's spokesperson says this lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene, made-up instances that never occurred,

and a vindictive distortion of the truth. He will vigorously defend himself. Last year, McMahon, who has not been criminally charged, spoke to CNBC in broad terms about his overall legacy. Let me just say, I've made mistakes, obviously, both personally and professionally through my 50-year career. I've owned up to every single one of them and then moved on. The explosive lawsuit and graphic allegations come at a critical time for the WWE. Just this week, McMahon was at the New York Stock Exchange celebrating their newest board member, DeWain the Rock Johnson, Also, Netflix just acquiring WWE's streaming rights worth billions of dollars.

But now, all eyes on the WWE, who the plaintiff's attorney says they will hold accountable, claiming they turned a blind eye to the abuse and then swept it under the rug. And tonight, WWE's parent company, TKO, is also responding. TKO tells NBC News, Mr. McMahon, does not control TKO, nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE, adding they, quote, take Ms. Grants for Rating. allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally. When we come back, the dangerous traffic stop in Oklahoma, a car plowing into a stop vehicle, a state trooper going airborne.

Luckily, somehow everyone is okay. But tonight, authorities issuing a warning to other drivers. We'll explain. Okay, we are back now with Top Stories News Feed. We begin with the death of a New York City. dancer linked to mislabeled cookies. According to a new lawsuit, the 25-year-old wanted to shock after eating cookies from the local supermarket, Stu Leonard's. According to the woman's lawyer, the packaging did not say the product contained peanuts, but did. The supermarket said the supplier

changed a soy ingredient to peanuts that they were never notified. Part of the historic church in Connecticut collapsed today with at least one person inside. Take a look at this. New video shows the roof caved in on a church in New London. Search crews were called in, but official say they believe only one person was inside at the time that she was safely evacuated. No one else was hurt. That church built back in 1810. Oklahoma authorities issuing a warning to drivers after a dangerous crash caught on camera. Everyone in this video so you know is okay. A dash cam capturing the moment, a passing car slammed into a stop vehicle, sending a state trooper you see there flying to the ground. Three people, including the trooper, were treated for injuries

at the hospital, but have since been released. Highway Patrol reminding drivers to pay attention to the road and always move over if you see a stop vehicle. And the tallest skyscraper in the U.S. may be coming to Oklahoma City. Yes, you heard that right. A new rendering by AEO architecture shows the proposed brick town tower. According to a press release, the building will be 1,9007 feet. That number honors the year Oklahoma became a state. It would also make it more taller than the Freedom Tower in Manhattan

and the fifth tallest building in the world. Pretty incredible. Okay, next tonight to an update on a case we've been tracking, a Texas school district is now headed to court to determine whether a black high school student can continue being punished for refusing to change a hairstyle he and his family say is protected by a new state law. NBC's in Clay Asimwa has the latest.

Tonight, a heated dispute between a Houston area school district and one of its black high school students is headed to trial. Daryl George has been serving an in-school suspension and facing other disciplinary actions for more than four months now, all because of his hair. Why, like, why me out of everybody in that school? The Barbers Hill District says it's because Georgia's lock hairstyle violates its dress code policy, which limits hair length for boys. But Georgia's family and critics say the move is a violation of the Crown Act, a new Texas law,

which took effect in September and prohibits race-based hair discrimination. I wrote the Crown Act. I filed it, and it is clear. Locks, band two knots, twists, braids, washing goes, blowouts, however you wish to wear your hair, wigs should be accepted. Barber's Hill ISD is stealing his high school experience and breaking the law. A state judge now setting a February trial date to determine if George's punishment is a violation of the law. The family has a real case here, especially given that the authors of the bill really believe.

that this is a situation where the Crown Act would apply. The outcome of this case will absolutely set a precedent, especially within the state of Texas. George's mother said she was disappointed. The judge did not grant a temporary restraining order that would have stopped her son's punishment until the trial. I have a son 18 years old that wants to go to school that wants to get his education and y'all messing with him. Why? Barber's Hill superintendent telling NBC News in part the Crown Act says nothing about hair length, adding it was meant to allow braids, locks, or twists, which the district has always allowed. The law was never intended to allow unlimited student expression. In a paid ad that ran earlier this month in the Houston Chronicle, Pool stood behind

the district's decisions. The ad reading, quote, we will not lose sight of the main goal, high standards for our students by bending to political pressure or responding to misinformed media reports. These entities have lesser goals that ultimately harm kids. Greg Poole is a liar. It is about the fact that he does not like braids, locks, or any sort of African-American hairstyle, which he said, and I'm going to prove it to you. We spoke with George in December shortly after he was suspended for a second time due to his hair. How has this all felt for you?

It's very stressful. I'm trying to maintain being a student while also having to deal with this. Why should I cut my hair for my education? My hair has nothing to do with my education. What does your hair and your hair style mean to you? It just means a lot to me. It made me feel more closer to my people. Being without my hair is like cutting me from my people,

not letting me, you know, express myself how I feel I should be. Zinclair Samoa and BC News. Okay, we thank Zinclair for that story. Now the Top Story's Global Watch, the check of what else is happening around the world. We start with those six nuns we had told you about. They have been released after being kidnapped in Haiti. The Archbishop confirmed the nuns, along with two other people, were freed on Wednesday.

It is unclear their condition or if any type of ransom was paid. As we reported, the group of eight were kidnapped while on a bus in the capital city. Pope Francis had also called for their release. Okay, Taiwan has begun its extended mandatory military service. Starting today, recruits will serve for a mandatory one year. Instead of four months, Taiwan announced the extensions in late 2022 over concerned. about China's rising military threat. According to the army, conscripts will undergo more intense training, operate more powerful weapons, and receive combat instructions used by U.S. forces.

And Costa Rica, giving its residents more freedom over their last names, the country's Supreme Court lifting a requirement that placed the father's surname before the mother's on identification. In many Spanish-speaking nations, people often use the last names of both parents. Well, the court's decision now allows citizens to choose the order in which they appear. Okay, coming up, officials in Lahaina cleaning up toxic debris from the devastating wildfire. So where is it going? Debris by the truckloads now being offloaded at a temporary dump site, not far from the ocean. One outraged resident joins top story, he explains to us and shows us some of his evidence that officials are not doing enough to protect the area's natural habitat.

We'll bring you all the sides. Coming up after this. We're back now with our continuing coverage of the aftermath of those deadly wildfires in Lahaina. The New York Times today reporting officials are working to dispose of thousands of truckloads of toxic debris. But the chosen temporary disposal site in Oluwalu, drawing outrage from native Hawaiian residents and those concerned with protecting a nearby prized coral reef. One of those vocal opponents to the dump site is Eddie Garcia. He joins Top Story tonight. He's a farmer in Oluwalu, which is a few. few miles south of Lahaina on the western Maui coastline.

Eddie, thanks for joining us tonight. You said you've been analyzing schematics and drone footage of the dump site, and you believe the site's overall design is flawed. Looking at this drone footage and the images that we have here for our viewers, why do you believe the site's construction is an issue? Well, there are several factors. One is just the sheer surface area of non-permeable surface. Like when you're thinking about catching water off of a roof, you're.

you have to have such a certain size of catchment to handle the amount of square non-permeable surface that will fill that catchment tank. So if you look on the shot that you guys are showing now, you can see that with over six acres of surface area, that thing produces about 160,000 gallons of rain water for every inch of rain. We're known to have four-inch rains, not that uncommon. It would close to fill the million-gallon reservoir. In fact, a small rain last week filled it with 400,000 gallons.

They didn't have anything they could do except actually stick it right back into the ground in the forest cinder area and drain it right on top of the water table, 600 yards from the ocean. Eddie, a lot of our viewers aren't familiar with this area. Can you kind of walk us through the video that we're looking at? What exactly are we seen there in that drone footage? So you're looking at a cinder cone that's really a cinder cone. That's really a cultural historical site that used to have a dump next door to it. So they basically hollowed it all out.

What you're looking on the screen right now is them actually dumping the leachate water right into the ground. That's their only safe fail, fail safe right now. If it were to rain four inches up on us, it would create a whole new reservoir. Their only answer is that it's a closed loop system. This is after they drained it. They don't have a way to pull the leech eight out or the solid material. They have not given us any protocol. The overall top reservoir that you see on the top of this lower area, which is the leachate containment tank,

it has too much surface area as well to actually contain it. It's bound to overflow on the low side. And then what happens if it overflows? Where does that water go? That's going to wind up right in the ocean. And they're saying it's not going to wind up in the ocean because you won't see it. But basically, this is a cinder pit. One of the most porous sort of areas that we have,

the Hawaiian Islands, and they usually have lava tubes underneath them. In fact, you can notice they drained almost 400,000 gallons of water in just a few hours. There's really only a few places on the island. You could even do that without it just saturating the ground and puddling up. So this year, the sites you're seeing now is after they drained it from the first rain, it filled up this much here with less than four inches of rain. The top one you're looking at now is the bad design, and you can also see that the puddle is in the bottom corner.

And that only took a few inches of rain to get it to that point. So this is just... Yeah, there's thousands, like we said, thousands of truckloads, if you will, pounds of debris from Lahaina. They have to clean it up. Where should it go? Well, there's been a lot of proposals put forward. Some companies that were willing to ship it to the mainland and pack it and ship it to

the mainland. It was a little more expensive. But there's a bunch of solutions on the table right now, including packing it into a 7 or 8,000 containers, the contaminated area. Instead of contaminating a whole other area, this place is much more volatile. Due to the nature of the cinder and the drainage right into the water table, this is some of the strongest wind on the island. Their argument is that they need to contain it and get it out of a volatile situation. But what they're actually doing is putting it in a much

more volatile situation. Plus, they're putting it where now everyone on the island has to pass by it within 15 feet of their way station. They're putting it in a super windy area that the wind blows right offshore. So they should actually be putting signs up that this is toxic to the public. People should roll their windows when they go by. The cross-contamination from the trucks is ridiculous and draining right down onto our farm and escort. There's a lot of aspects of this going on that are wrong. Eddie, you know, officials, yeah, you know officials have promised that all the material at the dump site will be dug up and then relocated to a permanent site later, but they have yet to select that destination from my understanding.

Are residents like you concerned that once they dump it at this site, it's never going to move? In fact, it's a fact probably that it's never going to move because if you look what we were told as a community, it was going to be wrapped up in a burrito or a chimichunga, and then it was supposed to be set in the temporary site, and then there's a possibility of moving it. But think about it, 40,000 trucks with 400,000 cubic yards of material, but now you're mixing it with 600,000 yards of cubic material of cinder and blue rock. Now you're soaking water in it like a teacup, so you're contaminating all of that material. You just over doubled the problem, and now you still have to take that to a permanent site. So all the arguments about the transportation, the cost of moving it, if it costs them $40 million,

to move at eight miles and it's only 40,000 trucks, imagine what it's going to cost them to move 140,000 trucks 20 miles, while the island has a lot more tourism and people on it because of the recovery two years from now. Eddie Garcia, we appreciate your time. We thank you for coming on Top Story tonight, letting us know about this issue. We're going to stay on top of it as we've covered every moment

since that wildfire in Lahaina. We thank you for your time. All right. We're going to be right back. Please stay with us. Finally tonight, we're just six months away from the Summer Olympics. Paris gearing up to host the world's top athletes and what it's calling a new era of games. Arir Simmons is there with an inside look on how the city is prepping for this historic event. The clock is ticking down to the Paris Games.

The merchandise already on sale. The venue's almost ready. We got a look at the Athletes Village. It's going to be ready. Oh, yeah. That's the crucial question. We are perfectly on time. Really early.

Six months from the Games, and they tell us the Olympic Village will be ready in six weeks. 3,000 apartments for more than 14,000 athletes and staff. Many venues are being recycled. The 1924 Paris Olympic swimming pool is being refurbished. Are you putting the water from the Sen in here? No. No. The Sen, the centerpiece of the Games.

hosting the first opening ceremony outside a stadium. Other iconic landmarks will become venues like the Plast de la Concorde, where Olympic breaking will premiere. Sonny Choi will be there for Team USA. I'll be like sitting on the plane then all of a sudden I feel like tears in my eyes and I'm like, wait, I'm going, this is happening, like right now.

As for the hometown fans, basketball is a huge draw with NBA star Victor Wenbanyama expected to lead team France. Which country is going to get gold in the basket? Friends. You sure with that? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Honestly, I think the U.S. is going to get it. The U.S.?

We'll see in just six months. Can't wait for those games to start, and a reminder, all the action on NBC. We thank Keir Simmons for that report, and we thank you for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way. Thank you. Thank you.