Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, January 4, 2024

Episode Date: January 5, 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, the deadly school shooting in Iowa just four days into a new year. A 17-year-old student opening fire inside the school in Perry on the first day back from winter break. A sixth grader killed and five others hurt. Authorities say the suspect who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound acted alone, but now they're trying to figure out a motive. This all happening as GOP presidential candidates converge on Iowa ahead of this election's forced in the nation caucus. We have a live report from the scene. Also, the trove of unsealed court documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein, including dozens of high-profile names from royalty to former U.S. presidents, another batch of documents dropping moments ago.

Capital threats, bomb hoaxes targeting government buildings across the country for a second straight day, numerous state capitals and courthouses evacuated. So far, no explosives have been found, but put this be part of an alarming trend ahead of the 2024 election. Race Against Time, new video showing a massive landslide in Japan during that deadly New Year's Day earthquake. Rescuers now battling freezing temperatures and rain to search for survivors. A man in his 80s pulled from a damaged home after 44 hours, but officials fear the window to find anyone still alive is running out. Plus, the Love is Blind contestant filing a sweeping lawsuit against Netflix and the reality show's production company, alleging she was forced into a.

engagement with a man who she claims was violent and addicted to amphetamines. The mounting legal battles that hit show is now facing. And medical miracle, an 18-day-old baby receiving the first ever partial heart transplant. The groundbreaking surgery still a success nearly two years later. What this means for infants born with similar conditions. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Valerie Castro in for Tom Yamis. We begin tonight with that deadly school shooting and another American town shattered by gun violence just days into 2024. It happened at a combined middle school and high school in Perry, Iowa, a town with about 8,000 residents 40 miles outside Des Moines. Police say a 17-year-old student shot and killed a sixth grader and wounded several others while a breakfast program was going on. The shooter, who has been identified as Dylan Butler, turning the gun on himself, and authority says, he acted alone. Multiple vigils are being held across Perry tonight, a community grieving as investigators try to figure out a motive. The shooting taking place as GOP presidential hopefuls, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, are in the Hawkeye State, making a last-minute

push to voters ahead of the Iowa caucus. Candidate Vivek Ramoswamy posting this video on social media saying that he met with family members who had students inside the school. Arvon Hilliard was in Iowa to cover politics, but now leads us off tonight with the late breaking details on this shooting. Tonight horror for students on the first day back from winter break. A sixth grader killed and five others wounded in a school shooting in Perry, Iowa. Units, we've got an active shooter situation at Perry High School. Authorities say the shooting started at approximately 737 this morning as students and faculty arrived on

campus. Officers arrived within seven minutes. We've got reports of multiple subjects and injured at this time. They immediately made entry and witnessed students and faculty, either sheltering in place or running from the school. Law enforcement officials say among the injured four students and one school administrator, all being treated at nearby hospitals. The shooter identified as Dylan Butler, a junior at the high school. Police say he was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Butler was armed with a pump action shotgun and a small caliber handgun. Officers located during the search of the school, an improvised explosive device. Friends say Butler was bullied.

One friend says he messaged her minutes before the shooting. He said that he was fine, and he was okay. He was all good. Freshman student, Philip Gray, believes his friend was shot. I think he was, like, close to the school shooter, so I'm guessing he probably got hit and probably tried to, like, run away. Do you know how your friend is doing? I'm praying that he's okay.

A devastating tragedy hitting this small, tight-knit community. Von Hilliard joins us now from Perry, Iowa. Vaughn, what is the status of the investigation at this point? Hey, good evening, Valerie. At this point, multiple law enforcement agencies are on the ground here in Perry, including the FBI, looking into the motive of this 17-year-old. But as for the students here of the school of about 700, They're just simply at this point waiting for updates on the conditions of their fellow classmates, Valerie.

And von there in Iowa, what's the law on requiring permits for firearms like the one the shooter had? Right. There's been a lot of controversy, a lot of disputes over Iowa gun laws. And two years ago in July of 2021, a law went into effect that does not require a permit to purchase a handgun. But if somebody does not have a permit, they do have to go through a background check in order to purchase a handgun. Again, the governor, Kim Reynolds, was here on site after the shooting here, and she said that school safety will continue to be addressed here at the state level. Valerie? All right, Vaughn Hilliard in Iowa tonight.

Thank you. Now to our other major headline, the cross-country storm marching east. The system bringing snow to the Southern Rockies today before hitting the heartland. Southern California residents digging out after several feet of. snowfall. That storm now set to take aim at the East Coast this weekend. So let's get right to NBC News meteorologist. Bill Karens, Bill, what is the latest on this track? Valerie, 48 hours away now we feel more comfortable giving snow forecast totals. And we've had the snow all day long in New Mexico and heading into areas of North Texas tonight. That snow

moved through southern Kansas, including our friends there in Wichita. Here's the snow forecast when the storm blows up. This is Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening, overnight into Sunday morning will be the most intense portion of it. Notice the I-95, of course, border, another storm for you. Too warm. That's D.C., Baltimore, Philly, New York to the coast. You'd be lucky to see a slushy inch. But once you get away from the coastal areas, even just 10 miles, then it gets into the plowable snows. Some areas will have a chance of getting six to 12 inches, especially there at the Catskills, Hudson Valley, portions of Massachusetts, especially along the Mass Pike and northern Connecticut. So that's going to be the blockbuster story as far as that storm goes. And again, the biggest impacts with that one are going to be Saturday into Saturday night.

All right, Bill, we know there's more to come. It sounds like, right? A more dangerous storm behind this one? Yeah, I don't like it. See, I know what's going to happen before a lot of other people do. And this time I kind of have a really bad feeling to my gut about the impacts of this next storm. So here it is. On the West coast, as we go through Saturday, we take it into Sunday. And in the West, it's going to be kind of your typical Western storm. Rain, snow, high elevations, not going to cause a lot of power out or anything like that. But then the storm blows up in the middle of the country.

A very powerful storm. Severe weather is likely. Possible tornadoes. the backside of the storm. Monday to Tuesday, blizzard conditions possible in the Midwest. And then on the East Coast, on the heels of the heavy snow, a heavy rain, strong gusty winds that will be strong enough to do damage. You're talking about melting a foot of snow with two to three inches of heavy rain temperatures in the 50s. That's a flooding nightmare for the areas in possibly southern New England. Not to mention anyone traveling Tuesday on the East Coast flights are going to be a nightmare, a ton of cancellations. And this thing will all be over

the top of us come even Wednesday morning with damaging winds, and behind it, it gets very cold, too. So we're talking power outages, tornadoes, flooding, all with one storm next week. All right, a lot to prepare for. Bill Carins, thank you. Now to the latest on those Jeffrey Epstein documents, a new batch of previously sealed pages released to the public tonight, adding to yesterday's release of more than 150 names associated with the convicted sex offender, including influential celebrities and politicians. NBC senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett has the latest. Tonight, the blast radius from Jeffrey Epstein's reach continues to grow.

Hundreds of pages of old court records now unsealed, adding more context to the wide network the convicted sex offender maintained. Powerful politicians, celebrities, not accused of any crimes themselves, but whose links to Epstein have followed them long after his death in 2019. Part of this is understanding who helped facilitate the trafficking, who was around, who knew about it. Generally, this is information that the public has not previously had. Sigrid McCauley, a lawyer for Virginia Juffray, one of Epstein's accusers, rolling out the first batch of documents late Wednesday. There's a lot more to come.

This beginning part is a small percentage. All of the materials are drawn from an old civil defamation lawsuit, Juffray, brought against Epstein's former girl. friend Jelaine Maxwell, accused of grooming Dufre and others for abuse. That lawsuit was settled back in 2017, and Maxwell was later convicted of sex trafficking after Epstein died, but questions have remained about his connections. And so the Miami Herald successfully persuaded a federal judge to unseal years' worth of court papers, including key deposition transcripts, and lengthy testimony from Joanna Schoberg, a woman who once worked for Epstein. Schoberg describing one conversation with Epstein about former president Bill Clinton, recalling Epstein told her, quote, Clinton likes them young, referring to girls.

Clinton has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and a Clinton spokesperson pointed NBC news to a past statement denying knowledge of Epstein's crimes. Schoberg also recalled a trip to Atlantic City, saying Epstein said he could call up Mr. Trump. She responded no when asked if she ever had sexual contact with the former president. And Mr. Trump has denied having a close relationship with Epstein over the years and is not accused of any wrongdoing in the documents. It was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. Schoberg's unsealed deposition also raised new names.

She described a conversation with magician David Copperfield at Epstein's home with Copperfield asking if she was aware that girls were getting paid to find other girls. He has not returned multiple requests for comment. That was Laura Jarrett reporting. For more on what legal ramifications could come of this, I want to bring in NBC legal analyst, Angela, Senadela. Angela, thanks for being with us. A new batch of documents just being released.

This includes a document with accusations against both Prince Andrew and famous attorney Alan Dershowitz. What can you tell us? Yes, so this batch of documents that was just released appears to have some more direct allegations against these public figures, really, though, revolving around Jeffrey Epstein himself, that he allegedly directed Jane Doe No. 3, whose name remains sealed by the court as a victim and per her request, to allegedly engage in sexual activities with famed lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who was a professor in my law school, and also with Prince Andrew, and then report back to Jeffrey Epstein, allegedly, what sorts of activities transpired. So these allegations are certainly more pointed, more direct. However, it's always important to remember that these are just allegations, accusations, and the parties involved seem to have really adamantly denied any sort of impropriety. So just like the documents that we saw released yesterday. This seems to be more pointed fingers, but really

no criminal prosecutions, nothing that I can see turning into a whole lot more, Valerie. Angela, following up on that, we are seeing more names surface as we read through all of these documents. While this information is public for the first time, attorneys have seen these. So is there any chance that this could lead to criminal charges for anyone? So what we have to remember with all of these documents is that the FBI and law enforcement have had full access to these documents from the beginning. So while they were sealed to the public, to you and I, they were not sealed to law enforcement. In fact, it is this treasure trove of documents that led to the criminal prosecutions of both Jeffrey Epstein and Galane Max. So first of all, I would say that prosecutors have looked through all this and decided that those are the only.

allegations with enough meat for them to follow through on. But secondly, when you see sex trafficking rings, usually the prosecutors focus on the people responsible in those rings. And unless there was a sting with evidence that is direct, like they catch people in the act, or they catch people on camera, unless they have real direct evidence like this, prosecutors focus on who they have. And in this case, on Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell. They don't focus on the list of names that possibly get entangled in this. I do not see

criminal prosecutions coming forth. So given that, if there's little chance of further legal action, what is the value of releasing these documents now? So there's a lot of value in general, just information being made public. And that is why

even though there seems to be a lot of surprise that these documents have been unsealed, that's actually the default of our entire court system, that when these depositions are taken, when they are given and just facts and stories that are told under oath, that that information has a value to the public interest. And also knowing that this doesn't have to carry criminal prosecution. Now, I said criminal prosecution is likely not on the table, but that doesn't mean that civil lawsuits are not on the table, especially

in, for example, New York City here, where the Gender Violence Act, gender-motivated violence act allows for any sexual assault claims to be brought until 2025. There are no statute of limitations at play right now in New York City for victims of sexual assault. So all of this information, for example, as part of the Me Too movement, could possibly be used by any victims to bring forth claims. Now again, I'm not saying that any of these events actually happened, but if there is evidence here that supports a civil action that any victim would like to take. This would be extremely helpful. All right. So is merely appearing in these documents, even in a benign way, leading to a guilt by association, even if not everyone named here necessarily

did something wrong? Could that play into those possible civil cases? Well, Valerie, as a lawyer, I would like to say I certainly hope not, because you really should never be guilty by association with anything. And I also think it's important that when we look at the list of names in that if you were to read through the documents, some of those names were just present at a dinner party. There aren't always accusations attached. So I do not think there's any guilt solely by association here, Valerie. All right, Angela, Senadella, thank you. We appreciate your time. We move overseas now to the escalating tensions in the Middle East. The U.S. leveling a deadly drone strike in Iraq, targeting a key Iranian leader. Kier Simmons takes a look at the

conflict heating up across the region. Tonight, the U.S. sending a message to Iran, an American airstrike killing the leader of an Iranian-backed militia in Baghdad. A senior U.S. defense official calling it a precision strike on his vehicle, saying he was actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel. U.S. bases in the Middle East have been hit over 100 times by various Iran-backed militias, according to the Pentagon. But tonight, Iraq, furious, saying the assassination. nation breaks agreements it had with Washington. Then there's the growing threat from the Iranian-backed Houthi militia, just hours after the U.S. and others issued a final warning to the group to stop attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

The Houthis launching an unmanned drone boat loaded with explosives and detonating just a couple of miles from U.S. Navy and commercial ships, the Pentagon says. President Biden under pressure to order a stronger military response, among the options reviewed by members of his national security team Wednesday strikes against Houthi targets inside Yemen, involving the U.S. and other allied militaries, according to two current administration officials. I'm certainly not going to telegraph any punches one way or the other. We take these responsibilities seriously. The Red Sea, a critical economic route, used by 12% of global cargo shipping, as fierce amount of massive disruption to trade, fueling more inflation.

Meanwhile, Iran is under pressure too after that deadly terror attack inside Iran Wednesday. ISIS tonight claiming responsibility. And there are fears of an escalating regional conflict here in Lebanon too. Today, Hamas holding the funeral of a leader assassinated this week in a drone strike at a Hamas office in Beirut. Israel not publicly saying it was behind it, but has promised to hunt down Hamas leaders after the October 7th terror attacks. Kier Simmons joins us now from Beir, Secretary of State Blinken is heading to the region tonight, but there's a lot of challenges for his trip, right?

Oh, they're sure are, Valerie. He's going to make nine stops in a week as far afield as Greece all the way to the West Bank and to the Gulf region. And the Secretary of State's team admitting openly that he's going to have to have some very difficult conversations. He's hoping to try to reduce tensions. He's hoping to try to deter those huthy attacks in the Red Sea and multiple other issues on the agenda. Of course, including Gaza itself, it is incredibly difficult and it's difficult to see how he will come away from this with all of the answers that he wants.

Akir, you mentioned in your report that Iraq was furious about the strike. Should we expect to see any retaliation from them? There are those inside Iraq who are saying that there should be. They are saying that when the U.S. targeted Qasem Soleimani or in the Iraq region, that then the Americans should have been pushed out, if you like, and they are saying, well, that should happen now. Now, remember that Iraq these days is very close to Iran, but it's just another example of how difficult this region is becoming for the U.S.

Simmons. Thank you. Turning back home for a second day in a row, government buildings across the country have received bomb threats. The authorities say are part of a hoax. It's part of a pattern of government workers being targeted with violent threats. Wadvenegas has the details. A wave of bomb threats against state government buildings continued across the country today. Roughly a dozen states targeted with hoaxes in just the last two days. In Mississippi, multiple bomb threats at various locations across the state. In Arkansas, a courthouse also receiving a bomb threat forcing it to evacuate. And in Maine, courthouses across the state were evacuated after similar threats. So what went through your mind when it happened? Perfect, the day that

I'm here, you know, but I'm just, I'm hoping that it's all a false alarm. This comes after yesterday's threats against state capital buildings across the nation. At least eight state complexes forced to evacuate yesterday because of bomb. threats from Michigan to Kentucky. The threats were all hoaxes sent by email. No bombs or explosives were found. Just threatened that we have a bomb in the building. And I contacted the FBI, contacted our partners with the Kentucky State Police, and they right away started taking a look at it. But the threatened violence is part of a pattern of intimidation. In just the last two weeks, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green says she has been the victim of a swatting attempt with authorities

called to her residence. And in May, Secretary of State Sheena Bellows, also the target of swatting, after ruling former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the state's primary ballot, a ruling being appealed by him. We have had an astounding number of threats against public servants over the last several years. I think that when career public servants in the Justice Department and in election workers, and airline crews, when they are singled out, this can lead to threats of violence and actual violence. Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold says she's received dozens of threats. Most recently, after being named as a party in a lawsuit that led the Colorado Supreme Court to rule that Trump is ineligible for that state's primary ballot.

Within three weeks of it being filed, I had 64 death threats. Since the decision, I've received dozens of death threats. The judges have just been swamped with death threats. But I'll tell you, it's been a really scary situation. As the voting and caucusing are set to begin in this critical election year, the threats of violence adding tension to a nation and electorate already on edge. Okay, Gwad joins us now from Miami. Guad, in addition to the government buildings, a large number of synagogues, also receive threats.

what can you tell us about these and are they related? Valerie, on Tuesday, over 100 synagogues in California received an email claiming that explosives were on their property. Authorities, of course, became involved. These synagogues were forced to shut down. Now, they did not find explosives on those properties, and authorities believe that those claims are not credible. As these investigation continues, now we don't know if there's any connection

between those threats to the government buildings and the synagogues, as the investigation in California does continue. continue. Valerie. All right, Guadvenegas, thank you. Turning now to Iowa, with less than two weeks to the Republican caucus, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are attending two separate town halls tonight. For DeSantis, Iowa could be make or break. NBC's Dasha Burns spoke to him on what he believes his path to victory is in the Hawkeye State. Tonight, 11 days until the Iowa caucuses rivals to dominant Republican frontrunner Donald Trump hoping for a breakout night, with pressure mounting on Florida governor Ron DeSantis for a strong showing.

Can you name another state you could win? Yes, yes. Wait till what happens when we get out of Iowa. We have a great organization in New Hampshire. We have a great organization in South Carolina. We can have a lot of great organizations throughout Super Tuesday. So you're going to see this is very dynamic. We're going to be able to win.

So stay tuned. DeSantis and Mickey Haley now locked in a tense showdown. Polls show Haley doing better in New Hampshire than Iowa. She raised eyebrows with this comment. in New Hampshire to voters overnight. Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it. You know that you continue to go.

It's a slap in the face to Iowans to say that they somehow need to be corrected. It's almost as if like she's acknowledging she's not going to do well here. And so she's blaming the voters. You know, that's unacceptable. DeSantis escalating his attacks on Haley. I'm the only one that has a chance to beat Trump and win the general election. Nikki Haley can't get conservative voters. She's the darling of the never-Trumpers.

And we also asked about the school shooting tragedy just a few miles away. DeSantis saying cities and states should take the lead on gun laws. So there's no change that you would advocate for at the federal level? Well, I don't support infringing the rights of law-abiding citizens with respect to the ability to exercise their constitutional rights. People can count on me to hold criminals accountable, be very serious about holding accountable people that represent a danger to society. but at the same time protecting their constitutional rights. Dasha joins us now from Iowa. Dasha, we heard DeSantis talk a little bit about gun laws on the federal level in your piece,

but he is talking more about what he would do in office tonight, right? Yeah, that's exactly right. He also talked about what he would do when it comes to the ATF, the alcohol, tobacco, and firearms agency. Now, he's been critical of the agency before, but in a recent interview, he actually said that he would flat out, eliminate it altogether. That is a step significantly further than what he's articulated in the past. And Josh, I want to ask you more about your interview with Ron DeSantis. What more did he tell

you about his future in this race? Well, look, a few things stood out to me from our conversation. First, you know, he is locked by all accounts, all of the polling that we've seen in a battle for second place with Nikki Haley now. But he pushed back pretty forcefully on that. He claims he is very much still the top contender, the best person in the race to actually beat former President Trump. But there's no denying that this race has not gone the way that he has planned. He started as the guy that was, you know, really vying for first, and now he's vying for second. But he really blames the large number of advertising, negative advertising dollars on some of the challenges that his campaign has faced.

We also talked to him, given the anniversary of January 6th as coming up this weekend, we asked him about that day and what lessons he thinks he and the country may have learned from what we saw. He denied that that is a topic that should be talked about. He called it a politicized event. He said that this is something that the left is really obsessing with, but it's not something that he hears on the campaign trail. was really interesting to hear because, you know, when I'm out here, there's really quite

a range of what I hear from voters on the one hand. There are people that have actually left to the Republican Party because of what they saw and the reaction from the right to January 6th. And then there are people that are responsive to the reaction from Florida Governor Ronda Santis. And as we know, as we've watched him on the campaign trail, he has really tried to play to the right of former President Trump, to try to win over and chip away at some of Trump's voters. And that kind of answer is one way that he's tried to do that. So a fascinating interview, really interesting to see where he stands today and just the

trajectory of that candidate and that campaign. All right, Dasha, thank you. And for more on the political strategy ahead of the Iowa caucus, let's bring in Kevin Madden, Republican strategist and former senior advisor. and spokesman for Governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns. Kevin, let's start where Dasha left off on DeSantis. How critical is Iowa for his campaign? Well, it's very critical.

I mean, he's put a lot of resources in there, and he's built up an organization there. But I think expectations right now are pretty manageable in the sense that he doesn't necessarily have to win the Iowa caucuses in order for his campaign to survive. But he has managed expectations to the point where he does have to get some. second place. And if you look at some of the trend lines there, and clearly I think you see how reflexively defensive he is about any questions about Nikki Haley, that there is some momentum for Nikki Haley, not only in Iowa, but in many of the early primary contests across the board, that his sort of poll position as the chief alternative to Trump is certainly

being threatened. The momentum in many of these other states is actually with Nikki Haley. The Momentum is also with Nikki Haley on her fundraising. So for DeSantis, it's critical that he comes out of Iowa with the second place. Because if Nikki Haley were to get second place, it would really harm his chances going forward. All right, and we know DeSantis is not the only one going after Haley. Trump has taken out ads targeting Haley in New Hampshire. The Haley campaign is saying that the Trump campaign feels threatened. Do you think he sees her as his biggest threat?

Well, look, yeah, I do. And like, at this stage of the race where you're two weeks away from the caucuses starting and primaries in New Hampshire, your advertising is always a reflection of what your internal polling says. And so for Trump to focus on Nikki Haley, that tells you that they are seeing some momentum there, that she could very quickly emerge as like the key, as the, as the chief alternative to Trump. And so they're seeing that trend line right now, and they're trying to get ahead of that trend line by taking her on with advertising. I think the key for Trump strategically is also to have her, to have Haley's campaign end in New Hampshire. So they're trying to drive down those numbers in New Hampshire, so she doesn't even have a chance to get to South Carolina and some of these other early primaries and Super Tuesday. And Kevin, looking ahead, Trump has the opportunity to be the first non-incumbent president. candidate to win both Iowa and New Hampshire. He is as close as you can get to an incumbent.

How big of a margin does he need to win by to prevent an opening for Haley or DeSantis to come back? Well, we see national poll trends right now where Trump has a lead of anywhere between sometimes 25 to 35 points. I think in these early contests where voters are really checking in, it's not going to be that great. But he does have to keep it, I think, in the double digits. He's got to keep it somewhere around 12 to 15 point lead in those states. Because I think if we see that in places like Iowa and New Hampshire, where he gets into the single digits with, you know, and the trend line starts to look like it's going against him, that could offer the idea to many voters that there's a chink in the armor here, that somehow he is vulnerable and that somehow so many of these other distractions that he has, whether it's his legal problems or whatnot. that they're taking a toll on his standing with some of these early primary voters. So that'll be the key distinction, I think, coming out of these early contests,

is whether or not he can keep that pretty sizable double-digit lead in a victory. All right, a lot of strategies at play here for sure. Kevin Madden, thank you. Great. When we come back tonight, track trouble here in New York City, a subway train derailing inside a station with 300 people on board. What caused the scary scene at the height of rush hour? Plus, the love is blind lawsuit, the season five contestant claiming the show's producers ignored her concerns over her safety and forced her into a potentially dangerous relationship.

And the return of masks, the mask mandates are back in place at hospital systems in several states as new COVID variants cause a spike in cases again. Stay with us. We're back now with shocking allegations by a lot. a participant on the hit Netflix series, Love is Blind. The point of the show is to find a match and fall in love. But one woman says all she got was trauma after she was paired with a, quote, walking red flag. NBC entertainment reporter Chloe Malas has the details.

Pots are now open. Tonight, a bombshell lawsuit exposing the alleged dark side of reality television. Renee Pochay, a contestant on season five of Netflix's Emmy-nominated reality show, Love is Blind. accusing the streaming company of intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to a complaint obtained by NBC News. Also named is Delirium TV, the show's production company. Renee suffered things that she never should have been.

She was paired up with somebody that they should have known better than to pair her up with. According to the complaint, Poche claims that she was matched with a walking red flag, a man named Carter Wall, who according to the lawsuit was homeless, violent, estranged from his family and actively addicted to drugs, adding she was forced to spend long stretches of time alone with him, despite voicing her concerns. The lawsuit also alleging Wall regularly berated Pochet, stole from the set or places they visited and solicited others to buy painkillers and amphetamines for him. Poshay, whose storyline with Wall was never aired by Netflix, sharing her story on the Out of the Pod's podcast in October. So they all saw his violence. I think they were just as

scared as I was. So eventually I was just like, I don't want to be with him alone. Describing why she thought her screen time was cut. So much bad stuff happened. I knew a lot of things just wouldn't even be appropriate for Netflix. According to the complaint, Delirium initiated arbitration against Pochay for purportedly violating her non-disclosure agreement and is seeking $4 million. Although Pochay claims it's illegal and unenforceable, adding she only made $8,000 from her

appearances. The problem with these releases are is that there is no safety valve. You're basically supposed to keep it all bottled up inside, and that's a recipe for emotional disaster. Generally speaking, if you sign an arbitration clause and a non-disparagement clause, it's likely to be enforced by the court. Carter and Netflix did not respond to NBC's request for comment. NBC News was unable to contact Delirium TV for comment. Welcome to Love is Blind. It's not the first time the hit.

Netflix series has been slapped with a lawsuit. In July 22, Jeremy Hartwell, a contestant on the show's second season, sued the streamer and the show's producers, alleging they supplied the cast with alcohol and deprived them of food and water, while paying rates that were below Los Angeles County's minimum wage. The producers telling Variety Hartwell's allegations are without merit, adding they will, quote, vigorously defend against his claims. All right, Chloe Malas, joins us now in studio. So, Chloe, what has Poche said about the lawsuit against her? Well, she believes that Delirium TV, the production company behind Love is Blind, is trying to silence her. Remember, her storyline didn't even make it into the show.

And she says she only made $8,000. But the production company is suing her for breaking her nondisclosure agreement that she signed when she signed the contract for the show for $4 million. So Mark Garagos, the attorney for Pochay, is saying this doesn't add up, and that the contract had said, is illegal. And so it's unclear what sort of damages they are seeking. But depending on how this all plays out, it could change the face of reality television as we know it. All right, Chloe, thank you. When we come back, race against time, the massive landslide ripping through a town in Japan during that deadly earthquake. But tonight fears of more landslides as rescuers battle heavy rain and freezing temperatures in a last ditch effort to find

any survivors. We're back now with Top Stories news feed, and we begin with the train derailment in New York City. New cell phone video shows firefighters evacuating passengers from packed subway cars. Authorities say an empty subway train rear-ended another one full of passengers at a low speed during the evening commute. That train going off the tracks. The FDNY says 300 people were on board at the time. at least two dozen passengers suffered minor injuries. A man is arrested after allegedly attacking a flight attendant on an American Airlines flight.

New video shows the passenger being taken off a flight in handcuffs after allegedly punching a flight attendant. The flight, which was heading from Bozeman, Montana to Dallas, was then diverted to Amarillo, Texas. That man now facing federal charges. Some hospital systems across the country are bringing back mask mandates amid a surge in respiratory illnesses. hospitals in at least six states, including California and North Carolina, have reinstated indoor masking rules. In New York City alone, 11 public hospitals resuming the requirement. Cases of COVID-19, RSV, and flu have been on the rise in recent weeks. And Microsoft, making the first big change to its keyboards in 30 years, the co-pilot key will

launch an AI chatbot that can answer questions and even perform some tasks. According to Microsoft, it will replace the menu key and is the most significant keyboard update since the Windows key in 1994. It will be available on new Windows, PCs, and laptops starting this month. Now to a troubling headline out of Uganda, a prominent LGBTQ rights advocate, Stephen Kibouye, was stabbed by two attackers on a motorcycle. This attack just one of hundreds targeting that community since the president of Uganda signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act into law in May. The law, which has received global condemnation, makes same-sex acts as crime punishable by life in prison, and some even resulting in the death penalty. Joining us now is Frank Mugisha. He is a prominent Ugandan LGBTQ plus advocate and executive director of sexual minorities

Uganda. Frank, thank you so much for being with us tonight. You are an accomplished advocate. You've been a voice for LGBTQ rights in Uganda for a very long time. What was your reaction when you first heard about what happened to Stephen? Thank you so much for having me and a good evening from Kampala. Well, for me, it was really scary because we've been saying how much the anti-legislation has created hatred, how much hate speech from politicians and extreme religious leaders is creating homophobia and transphobia for the LGBT community, and Uganda hasn't been listening.

For me, getting the news that morning was so scary and I was worried because I've been receiving similar threats. Frank, the numbers are just staggering. The number of attacks on LGBTQ plus people in Uganda is just enormous. Convening for Equality Coalition in Uganda reports 306 violations based on the victim's sexual orientation and gender identity were committed from January to August of 2023 alone. As we've mentioned, Uganda has strict law. punishing homosexuality, but is there any punishment for those who commit attacks against the LGBTQ community, or do officials just simply turn a blind eye? There hasn't been any much support on cases that have been reported to the authorities.

The community hasn't received any support. Hate crimes, hate speech goes unpunished. The community has been verified for a very long time. Religious groups and anti-gap groups have impunity in this country. They can do almost what they want. They are promoting so much hatred that radicalized Ugandan's against a very small minority. And no one is saying anything about that. We know that law that was recently passed the anti-homosexuality law.

It is being challenged right now in the Constitutional Court of Uganda. You've played a large part in trying to overturn that law. What do you think the future looks like for members of the LGBTQ community? There's a lot of fear within the LGBT community in Uganda. Many people are trying to flee the country because of what they are seeing, what just happened to Stephen Caboier, but also because of the many cases and the stigma, the trauma the community is going through. We believe that at some point we might be able to overturn the laws because of our advocates

and resilience, but changing the hearts and minds of Ugandans who have been radicalized But these extreme Christians, majorly supported by some American evangelicals, is going to take us a very, very long time. Such an important conversation, Frank, thank you. Now to tough stories, Global Watch and an update in the kidnapping of migrants in Mexico. Mexican authorities say they've rescued 32 people, including nine children, after their coach bus was seized by gunmen on Saturday. The vehicle was headed to the U.S.-Mexico border when it was held up. The migrants who came from multiple South and Central American countries were taken to the hospital for evaluation. Now to the latest on that deadly earthquake in Japan, newly surfaced video shows a massive landslide in Wajima, sweeping through a village and taking out homes in its path.

The slide triggered shortly after the quake, fears of more landslides hampering search efforts, but in a nearby city, rescuers pulling a man through the roof of his home after he was trapped inside for more than two days. So far, nearly 80 people have been confirmed dead, but many are still missing. Convicted murderer and former Olympian Oscar Pistorius has been released from prison. The six-time gold medalist released on parole nearly 11 years after he was convicted for the murder of his girlfriend. The 37-year-old was approved for parole in November. He will live under correctional supervision until his murder sentence expires in 2029. Coming up, fighting the cost of fertility care, procedures like 3,000. IVF or freezing your eggs often cost women upwards of $50,000 or more.

How companies like Starbucks are helping offset those costs even for part-time employees. Back now with the jobs, some women are taking to have a shot at motherhood. Employers like Starbucks and Amazon offering benefits that cover the cost of expensive fertility treatments not included in all health care plans. Some women even taking a second job just for the insurance coverage. CNBC's Emily Lorsch reports. It's my first day of work at Starbucks for fertility benefits so I can pay for IVF should I need it. Just to get her shot at motherhood, Autumn Lucy learned the secret to a perfect latte, making hundreds of them at Starbucks. I never would have thought I would end up with two boys. It was not something that I thought

was in the cards for me. After years of trying to conceive, doctors told her that in vitro fertilization or IVF was their best option for expanding their family. But treatment is expensive. The average out-of-pocket bill for IVF is close to $50,000. And when I saw the price tag, I was like, there's just, there's no way. There's absolutely no way. As of 2021, only about a third of large employers cover IVF in their health care plans. One of the largest coffee giant Starbucks, which even offers the benefit to part-time employees. I was able to start working right away, and I only needed to work 20 hours a week to qualify for benefits.

So I worked for 20 hours a week for three months, and at the end of the three months, I was qualified. And she's not the only one who has pursued a job opportunity solely to help cover the costs associated with IVF. I started looking and becoming a part of these groups, and these women were saying how. Starbucks offers benefits. Maria Mendevelle has worked at Starbucks, Amazon, and tractor supply company in the past three years, all with one goal in mind, building her family. Probably was a lot for you just physically, mentally.

It was a lot, but for me, it was what I do. I guess I adapt. I was just telling myself like this, there's a goal. There's a goal in mind. Like, I know what I have to do. I know I just have to be persistent, you know. Both Maria and Autumn, sharing their stories honestly online. Many of you may know that my husband and I had a miscarriage.

Maria now planning to be a foster parent, but thankful that her journey is helping other women. This one says pregnant. And Autumn is now a proud mother of 30. 14-month-old Lord, and Taz's second little boy on the way. It's the best thing I could have asked for, and it was worth every single latte, every single coffee I poured, absolutely. I would do it all over again. And Emily Lorsch joins us now here in studio. Emily, as you mentioned in your report, more companies are offering these benefits. What is the rationale for making that switch?

I think more companies are doing this to attract talent and also improve retention. And it's a socially responsible way to do that, right? According to the CDC, about one in five women are unable to get pregnant after about one year of trying. So in addition to that, more couples these days are trying to get pregnant later in life. They're prioritizing their jobs, other opportunities. So I think having this benefit and the luxury of not having to worry about the cost, whether that's for IVF treatments or maybe even to freeze their eggs, this really can make

a huge difference for so many people. Okay, Emily, thank you. when we come back medical miracle the newborn receiving the world's first partial heart transplant how he's doing now and a look at the groundbreaking procedure that saved his life finally tonight a story of hope owen monroe receiving the world's first ever partial heart transplant at less than three weeks old a new journal article out this week detailing the operation that saved his life a little owen's parents say he's doing now It's the simple everyday moments like this that Owen Monroe's parents thought might never come.

Owen was born with an extremely rare congenital heart defect, truncous arteriosis. One of his heart's two valves was missing, but the other was leaking blood back into his heart. It's pretty terrifying. We didn't know about until about eight hours or so after Owen was born that he would need a transplant. Nick and Taylor Monroe had spoken to Dr. Joseph Turrick, Chief of pediatric. heart surgery at Duke Health. He told them he could do a traditional heart transplant, but finding a donor could take months, and the possible outcomes didn't look good. So he presented another option. Maybe we can use parts of the heart and not use the full heart. The surgery would replace just the top

of Owen's heart, putting in the two valves he needed. Using a fresh heart would allow the transplant to grow with Owen as he matured, but the operation carried a unique risk. I did ask him how many he had done before. I said we've done it in the laboratory five times on piglets. Owen's partial heart transplant would be the first in the world. After 17 agonizing days, the Monroe's got the call that a donor was available. By that afternoon, Owen was in surgery. The longest eight hours of our life. We were able to meet with Dr. Turek around midnight. I've done that before. The surgery was a success. I felt more relief and hope. After that, then I had at any moment since he was born.

Now, almost two years removed from that day, Owen is a healthy young boy. Today, he literally climbed up a stool ladder onto our kitchen island. And I thought to myself, you know, I could get mad and upset about this and tell him no. Or I could enjoy the moment. We never knew if we were going to get this opportunity to see our child acting like a child. owen's partial heart transplant now giving him a full life and for his parents and his doctor a reason to be proud since owen's operation roughly a dozen other infants have had similar procedures being able to represent a possibility for hope for progress for other families has just been the greatest benefit and the greatest blessing i had someone reach out to me on social media and she basically said that sorry

her child is going to have to have a heart transplant she was always kind of sad at the fact that where is the special hurt going to go but she thanked me and Nick for saying yes because now they could potentially take parts of his heart that they're taking out of him and save another child. That's the greatest gift I think naked I could ever have. All right. We're glad to see Owen doing so well.

Thanks so much for watching. Top Story. For Tom Yamas, I'm Valerie Castro in New York. Stay right there. More news now on the way.