Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, November 2, 2023

Episode Date: November 3, 2023

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, a relentless rocket attack on northern Gaza as the Israeli military circles Gaza City. Rocket warfare lighting up the sky. Israel saying Hamas's defenses are collapsing. Civilians fleeing the fighting, crowds escaping at the Rafa border crossing. Today, more than 70 Palestinian Americans allowed out of the war zone. The situation in Gaza made worse by widespread fuel shortages. Israel not allowing any into Gaza and new reporting from NBC News, Hamas hoarding a massive supply of oil while hospital generators run on fumes.

Also tonight, we sit down with the Hamas senior leader who went on international television calling for more terror attacks on Israel, just like what happened on October 7th. Our reporter questioning him face-to-face how his message changed when speaking to an American audience. Back in New York, the home of the mayor's fundraising chief, raided by the FBI, the public corruption squad questioning the consultant as they searched her home. Mayor Adams on damage control forced to fly home, canceling meetings in D.C., even a trip to the White House. Plus, the investigation tonight over nude photos at a New Jersey high school generated by artificial intelligence. Students creating naked pictures of classmates using AI, then sharing them with friends. Tonight, one of the victims and her mother joined Top Story.

Crime spree, watch as a couple walking with their baby, suddenly comes across a man who tries to steal their child right from the mother's arms. Both parents fighting back, the father chasing the kidnapper down the street, the suspect arrested what else he's accused of. Plus, stolen with a smile. A ring cam was rolling as three female burglars distracted an elderly couple with kindness. One of them using that moment to sneak inside their home, stealing a safe police now on the hunt. And lucky to be alive, a man in his 70s trapped under a car while repairing it. The supports giving out, dropping more than a ton of weight on top of him, the police officers that jumped into action to pull him to safety. Top story starts right now. And good evening.

We start top story tonight with the new airstrikes bombarding Gaza as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the region. You can see it right here, flares above clouds of smoke and missiles battering the region one after another. More IDF soldiers are entering Gaza, joining the face-to-face fight with Hamas. The Israeli army saying troops are surrounding Gaza City. and Hamas defenses are collapsing. Prime Minister Netanyahu, saying he wanted to make one thing clear that, quote, nothing will stop us. As Israeli troops push further south, civilians are crowding the Rafa border crossing.

Today, nearly 80 Palestinian Americans were let into Egypt, but everyone with a chance to leave isn't taking the opportunity. Our reporter speaking to one man choosing to stay in Gaza because he couldn't bring his wife. He's choosing to stay where critical resources are running out. Even though some aid trucks are allowed into Gaza, none of them hauling fuel. Multiple officials familiar with the conflict tell NBC News Hamas could have 200,000 gallons in stock, powering its rockets and tunnel networks. As hospitals there, though, barely keep up with demand.

The reporter on that story joins us in a moment. And a major interview tonight with the senior Hamas leader, who you see right here last week calling for more terror attacks on Israel like October 7th, saying, quote, there will be a second, a third, and a fourth. Well, our reporter sat down with him one-on-one, pressing him on asking for a ceasefire while also calling for more violence against civilians. How can you ask for Israel to stop their aggression

when you go on television in Lebanon here last week and say that you will continue your aggression? You will continue to launch October 7th again and again and again? What do you want us to do? To stop? Change coming up. Tensions in the region higher than that. than they have ever been as Israel's ground assault gains more territory.

Ellison Barber leads us off now live from that Israel-Gaza border. And, Alison, we've been seeing a lot happen behind where you are right now. Walk our viewers through what you've seen over the last two hours. And I know it's incredibly dangerous right now, but just let us know what you can say. And if you have to take cover, we completely understand. Hey, Tom. Yeah. So we have seen and heard consistently in the last couple of hours.

I don't know if you could just hear that, but a pop of artillery. in the distance, a flash just now in the horizon. We have seen just this constant bombardment, constant activity throughout Gaza. What we were seeing that was so striking a little over an hour ago, and I think we have some footage we can show you of it, was in this pocket that you're looking at right now, where it's mostly dark. It looks like this that's on your screen now earlier. That area, from our vantage point from where we are located, we believe that area is the northwest outskirts of Gaza. We were seeing massive amounts of flare. appearing in the sky, and then just constant booms of explosions and activity on the ground

underneath those flares, plumes of smoke, just constant for almost an hour. We hadn't seen activity like that in such a concentrated area, really at any point since we have been reporting along the border since this war began, and that was the heaviest activity in such a small pocket. We've certainly seen since Israeli forces announced they had launched the ground and the ground invasion into Gaza, military experts who were watching that with us, Tom. They were saying they were lighting up that section of the sky, likely Israeli forces so their troops on the ground could move and see and carry out attacks moving forward.

And that was all happening right as a spokesperson for Israel's defense forces was saying publicly that Israeli forces had completed their encirclement of Gaza City. Tom. So, Ellis, I know this is a difficult question because communications are so different. as we just saw another flare there behind you. What are we hearing tonight from inside Gaza where those strikes are landing? So it's been very minimal information. We're hearing the booms again.

We have been trying to check in with our teams to get constant updates on what's going on. But it's very, very difficult to get information. Most of the information we tend to be getting, be it from contacts or other members of our team, our voice notes and messages right now. And one person I'd spoken to just the other day talked about how even though Power had come back. Internet connectivity had come back. It's in waves. So it's difficult to know exactly what this looks like on the ground right now because so much of the activity has been in these late night hours. The majority of civilians had been told to lead northern Gaza, as you know, Tom, and the Israeli military has said a lot of people have heated those warnings. But Gaza City, that is the most populated area on the Gaza Strip. Before the war, there were about 600,000 people living there. We don't know exactly how many are there in that area. tonight, but we know not every civilian has been able to evacuate even just to the south. Tom.

All right, Ellison, Barbara, for us tonight. Ellison, you and your team, please stay safe out there. We know at least 79 Americans safely fleeing Gaza through the now partially open Egyptian border crossing, with hundreds more still remaining inside. The White House tonight reiterating its call for pauses in the fighting in Gaza, but refusing to call for a full ceasefire. Ralph Sanchez is on the outskirts of Gaza tonight and has the latest. Tonight, for dozens of U.S.

citizens, a week's long nightmare in Gaza coming to an end. More than 70 Palestinian Americans passing through the Rafa crossing into Egypt today. Thank you very much, thank you. You got out today, 74 American folks. Dr. Barbara Zind, a pediatrician from Colorado, was among the first Americans to leave. How did you feel when you finally got out of Gaza? Sad and relieved. I mean, you're, of course, relieved to be safe yourself, but so sad that you can't, we couldn't

exit with 2 million people. I mean, Gazans can't get out of Gaza. But hundreds more Americans still inside Gaza, some trapped in bureaucratic limbo, with exit permits for themselves, but not their loved ones. And I can't leave without my wife. The president overnight

confronted by a protester demanding a ceasefire. I give you to call for a ceasefire right now. Telling her, he supports a humanitarian pause, though not a full ceasefire. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says more than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 3,600 children.

The U.N. saying a strike today killed 20 people at one of its schools. And with Ghazan hospitals desperately low on fuel, Hamas is hoarding a stockpile of more than 200,000 gallons. U.S. officials tell NBC news. While in Israel, families urging the world not to forget the hostages. All these people are from one kibbutz, Kafar, Azaa. At least 17 hostages were kidnapped from there, including several children. Among them, siblings Agam, Gal, and Tal, kidnapped along with their mother, Hen. Their father and older sister, both murdered by Hamas.

Hell on earth. I don't even know what to say. The children's aunt, Inbar, vowing, never to give up on them. They are the future of the state of Israel. We have no existence without them. They have to be here. They have to. All right, Raf Sanchez joins us now live from Ash. on Israel. Raf, we heard in Ellison's reporting just before you that Israel says it is now

encircled Gaza City. And I know you have some new reporting about a major development, possibly out of Lebanon. Tomorrow we are expecting to hear from Hassan Nasrallah. He is the leader of Hezbollah, the powerful Iranian-backed militant group that dominates Lebanon. This is going to be his first speech since the start of the war. His forces are already exchanging fire with Israel over the Israeli Lebanon border. Today, they struck a number of Israeli military posts. That's according to Hezbollah. But all across the region, people will be watching his speech tomorrow very closely, looking for any sign on whether he plans to escalate. Tom.

All right, Raf Sanchez first tonight. Raf, thank you for that. For more on the experience of leaving Gaza. I'm joined tonight by Maha al-Bana, a Palestinian-American from New Jersey, who was stuck in Gaza where she was an aid worker. Maha, I understand you recently arrived at your hotel in Cairo. How are you doing tonight? Yeah, hi, Tom. I arrived here about a few hours ago. Exhausted, of course.

The trip was about 12 hours long. I'm not sure how I'm feeling. I mean, I'm just watching the reports you just showed and thinking that my brother and sisters and all my family are still there. So it's hard for me to think I'm relieved. No, I hear you, and I can't imagine what you're going through right now. Walk me through what it was like to sort of wait on that border and actually find out you're going to be allowed out of the war zone.

Yeah, like last night it was not clear to me. Like I went to bed, I was not sure. The list of names gets published very late. So at 5 a.m., I woke up and I found the list. And I shared it with my daughter. She was the one who was able to see my name, and she sent me the, yes, my name is on the list, and I could go to the border. I didn't sleep afterwards, and I was there at 8 a.m.

Maha, you know, we just saw some video there of a man, you know, searching the names, and who knows if he was on that list or not. It almost feels like it's from a different century, right? and yet this is happening right now. Talk to me about just being part of that and being able to leave, but you just mentioned your family is still stuck in Gaza. Yes, I have 12 people.

I left behind, like, immediate family, my brother and sisters and their kids and a lot of cousins, a lot of friends, and all my coworkers, everyone. Like, thank God my kids are in the States. But, you know, I have a lot of family back in Gaza. So it was not easy for me to take the decision to actually leave. But I know I had to.

I don't think I could have handled any more time there. So you live in New Jersey. Explain to our viewers, because we've seen the pictures. I was in Israel reporting on the Israeli side during the war. But explain to our viewers in America, having lived in America, living in America, being in America, what is Gaza like right now? I mean, even before the war, Gaza was not liable. It's a place where people really strive to have a life, but they've been under siege for 17 years. Traveling is a huge disaster.

Borders are always closed. There's a blockade that prevents everything from coming in and out. You see this with the water, this has always been a problem with water. The water in Gaza is very soft. There isn't enough water. Electricity, like during normal time, it's eight hours a day. Right now, there is no electricity. The streets are broken down.

Some are sandy. It's not easy to travel. And with all this that's going on, Gaza's probably been brought back to hundreds of years back. Right now, about 1,400,000 people have become homeless. I was an IDP for the past three weeks. I became an internally displaced person. I was lucky enough to leave,

but other people are not. And when this ends, and I hope it ends soon, about half a million will not have homes to go back to. I know you hope for this to end. We have seen no sign of that. Is this, I don't want to say the end of Gaza, but you just said something there that struck me that you said this has put Gaza, I think,

I think 100 years or 200 years back, is there any building back or coming back from this? Or is it, I mean, it looks like it is, you know, post-apocalyptic out there? It is. But what's surprising about people of Gaza is that they love life. We sing, we dance, we do sports, we read. People there, they just love life. They just want people to give them a chance to live. there's always a chance to rebuild.

But this time, not only Palestinians, the entire world has to help, has to give a helping hand to Palestinians, to people in Gaza to rebuild and to live. Do you have a message for the Israelis? And I know it is a completely complicated situation. But if there's anything, if you had a chance to speak to senior leadership in Israel, what would you say having just escaped Gaza? it's time all the loss of life stops there's nothing that cannot be solved through talks it's not the answer to go on killing women and children there's no reason why one more

life needs to be lost there there must be another way there must be another way through talks and through all diplomatic efforts I would love to see all this come to end, everyone deserves a peaceful life. I know you are fully aware of what happened in Israel with the terror attack and all the innocent civilians that died there as well. If you could also speak to Hamas leadership, what would you tell them? I've worked as a journalist for 10 years. I've avoided politics as much as I could during my entire life. I always give the message to people.

of the world, freedom lovers, people who are willing and can make a change, save lives. Anyone who can save lives and help Gaza rebuild. Okay. Mahalbanah, we thank you for your time. I'm happy you're out. I know your struggle is far from over, but we will be thinking about you and your family tonight. Thank you. Thank you so much, Don. As some foreign nationals are getting out of Gaza and some Americans like we just spoke to there, there are still more than 200 hostages being held captive by Hamas. NBC News tonight pressing one of the organization's top leaders about those hostages,

there are calls for a ceasefire, and incendiary comments made on television, Arabic TV, advocating for the horrific attacks on October 7th to be carried out again and again. NBC foreign correspondent Matt Bradley with this interview. In Beirut, Lebanon, we sat down face-to-face with senior Hamas official Razi Hamid. Pressing him on the more than 200 hostages his organization is holding in Gaza tonight. Will you release all of the hostages for a complete ceasefire? Look, I think we are a human being. We want these people to go home. We want them.

And also we want our prisoners now to go home. So I think we are ready now to have complete compromise, complete deal in order to raise all the hostages, either military or civilians, and they release all the prisoners from the Israeli detention centers. But calls for compromise a far cry from this warning that sent shockwaves around the world. Hamad saying the Hamas terror attack on October 7th was just the first and that there will be a second, third, and fourth attack on Israel. But how can you ask for a ceasefire? How can you ask for Israel to stop their aggression when you go on television in Lebanon here last week and say that you will continue your aggression? You will continue to launch October 7th again and again and again?

If you're asking for a ceasefire, If you're asking for a ceasefire, it has to be two ways. No, I am talking that we want to continue against securcation. This is our legal right to fight against occupation. It is according to international law, according to all the regulation in the world. In Europe, you fight against the resistance. But then what happened on October 7th when there were clearly civilians who were killed? How would that make you a good partner to a peace negotiation with a room?

I don't have any details about this. But the details of the shocking and horrific attack carried out by what the IDF said were thousands of Hamas terrorists are painfully clear. Fourteen hundred people killed, including at least 260 people attending a music festival. We pressed Hamad about the devastating civilian toll. But did Hamas kill civilians on October 7th? Look, we never had intention or decision. It is something is a prohomet in our religion, in Islam.

It is prohibited to heart or to kill any civilians. But what happened maybe in the first day that when people went inside and there is a wide area, there's people, there's some complication there. We are against killing or hurting the civilians. And yet the world saw, plain as day. This is 10,000 who were killed in Gaza, 99, 99.9% are civilians. You want to talk about the civilians in the Gaza Strip. And I'm happy to talk about the civilians in the Gaza Strip.

What about them? Did they ask for this? They knew that they would be punished by the actions of Hamas. They have no political alternative to Hamas. They do not vote for another organization. You forget that about 2 million people since 17 years living under the sanctions and blockade and embargo and collective punishment?

You forget that? I have not forgotten. I've been to God so many times. 17 years living in very miserable situation. And no one take care about them. And this is solaceous and militarized around us imposed. the closures on Gaza. It's hard to see how Hamas's October 7th operation advanced any cause, least of all, that of the Palestinians.

But Hamad said the main benefit was that the Palestinian cause is now front and center on the global stage and has inspired protests around the world, including in the West. So you got people in the streets, in capitals throughout the world, protesting in favor of the Palestinians. It cost you the lives of thousands of people. Innocent people. Yes. Will you do it again? You've said you will to advance that cause again.

Look, look, the question. Will you kill more civilians to get more protesters in the streets of Washington and London? We are still fighting. You want us to stop? If we are stopped now. You're asking for a ceasefire. If you stop now, we will go back to the miserable situation, to humiliation, to be under the occupation. Matt Bradley joins us tonight from Beirut.

Matt, having sat down with Ghazi Hamad, did you get a sense that there was any softening about what he said about the October 7th terror attacks, what he said in Arabic, essentially that they would do this again. And is that still the mindset he has and Hamas has? Well, no, I didn't really get that sense because, you know, it was only a week ago that he made those comments to Lebanese TV here in Beirut where he said that he would launch those attacks or Hamas would do that again and again and again. You know, what I did get this sense of is that he's very willing to say something completely different to an Arabic Middle Eastern audience than he is in English to a Western or an American audience.

That stands to reason. Of course, he's going to be saying different things to different audiences, but it just goes to show the disparity in the understanding of between these two cultures and how he can say something like that and how he would be celebrated for saying something like that, that he would continue these attacks and how if he were to say that to a Western audience in English, he would be very harshly criticized. This is a man who was a spokesperson. He speaks fluent English. see that. He understands how to speak to different audiences. It's unclear whether he thought that what he said on Lebanese television was going to be something that the rest of the world would hear and that other people might call him out on that. You know, we even heard today

from the White House commenting on his comments, him specifically. So, you know, he probably didn't expect that those things he said on Lebanese television were going to make the kind of waves that they did. Matt Bradley with a very powerful interview for us tonight. Matt, we thank you for that. As we mentioned at the top of the broadcast, the reports that hospitals in Gaza are running dangerously low on fuel, multiple officials familiar with this conflict, tell NBC News in a new report that Hamas is hoarding. Get this, more than 200,000 gallons of fuel for its rockets and its underground tunnel, ventilation, and electricity. We're joined tonight here on Top Story by the reporter who broke that news. NBC News Investigations Unit Senior Producer Anna Schecter. Anna,

it's a stunning headline. Tell us what you learn from sources. Hey, Tom, thanks for having me. Well, multiple sources in the U.S. and in Israel, they have looked at all the intelligence. There's a plethora of intelligence, and 200,000 gallons, at least, is stored by Hamas. So you saw Ghazi Ahmad talking about the Ghazan people, but really what Hamas is doing is they take the fuel for themselves and for their war effort. And what I found really interesting about reporting this story is that during Hamas's negotiations with Qatar and the U.S. where they were trying to get Hamas to open the Rafa gate and let people out, fuel was central to the demands that were just unmeadable by Israel because they know they're

going to use it to fuel the war machine. So that was fascinating. And it even came into play during the negotiations to free the hostages as well. Fuel is central. And Hamas wants more fuel. And meanwhile, the Gaza population are suffering. We've seen such horrific images, and the hospitals are about to run out. It's terrible, and I want to point our viewers to another headline from NBCNews.com, because it speaks to this. Look at this. Two hospitals in Gaza have run out of fuel. The health ministry says, so this is Hamas saying this.

Two hospitals in Gaza have run out of fuel, and yet your reporting is that they have 200,000 gallons. Has Hamas reacted to your story? Because I know your story has sort of gone viral. It's all over the Internet. are talking about this, but is Hamas saying anything? Not about this specific story, but what leaders of Hamas have said publicly, similar to what we saw on Lebanese TV, is that the Gaza population, UN, and even Israel as the occupying force, should be taking care of the people of Gaza, not Hamas.

So they make all kinds of excuses, and their reason is that they want to get the fuel, the resources to fight. you saw the results of Israel letting down their guard what happened. Anna Schechter for us tonight right here on Top Story, Anna, great story and great breaking news. We appreciate it. Still ahead tonight. A developing story out of New York City, the FBI raiding the home of one of Mayor Eric Adams' campaign fundraisers.

What we're learning tonight about possible charges that person could be facing. Plus, a shocking kidnapping attempt captured on camera in St. Louis, look at this. A man trying to snatch a baby out of a woman's arms. who stepped in to fight him off and a massive recall you need to know about from Toyota why the automaker is pulling more than a million rap fours off the road. Stay with us. We're back down with a developing story here in New York. The FBI is searching the home of the chief campaign fundraiser for New York City Mayor Eric Adams

in what appears to be a campaign finance-related investigation. Adams abruptly ending a trip to Washington. in D.C. where he was scheduled to meet with the Biden administration about the ongoing migrant crisis. NBC New York's political and government affairs reporter Melissa Russo has the late details. The Brooklyn home of Mayor Eric Adams' chief campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, searched this morning by the FBI. An FBI spokesperson would only confirm they were conducting law enforcement activity at this Lincoln Place address in Crown Heights, but other sources told news for the search was related, in part, to questions about campaign fundraising.

Brianna Suggs is and has been a key fundraiser for Mayor Adams, whose re-election campaign has already raised more than $2.5 million dollars less than halfway into his term. Suggs is also a registered lobbyist, representing clients in real estate, according to her website. Campaign filings show numerous donations to Adams from other Suggs family members, members in the same home. Initially, aides to Mayor Adams would not say whether this morning's raid was the reason Mayor Adams bailed from an important migrant-related meeting at the White House this morning after he had already made the trip down to D.C. and posted from the plane.

We headed to D.C. to meet with the National Delegation and the White House to address this village who would be signed with a migrant. As the White House meeting was about, to take place, the mayor canceled everything on his public schedule and boarded another plane back to New York, a high-ranking official at the time telling us he returned to deal with a matter. But late this afternoon, a spokesperson for the mayor said he heard of an issue related to the campaign and takes these issues seriously, so he wanted to get back to New York as quickly as possible. We are also told that investigators visited this Williamsburg building today in search of information. Campaign finance records show multiple campaign donations to

Adams from workers associated with this business address. And with that, Melissa Rousseau joins us now in studio. Melissa, it was kind of incredible when you watch your report, the sort of back-and-forth whiplash from the PR people of the mayor. What exactly happened there? Well, it was interesting because we started to notice this morning that something was a little off because we were trying to cover the mayor's trip to Washington and to the White House. We weren't getting any answer. about exactly when and where this was taking place. All of a sudden, we hear the mayor's back on a plane coming back to New York, and some of his own aides were unable to even explain to us

because they didn't know why he had bailed out on this very important meeting. And it took many hours, but later in the day, they actually admitted that it did have something to do with this investigation that came to light this morning. I think for him to turn around, it speaks to how big of a deal this was. It doesn't. Some people think it doesn't look good, and that maybe if he hadn't turned around and gotten back on another plane, this story might not have bubbled up to the extent that it did. It kind of piqued everybody's speculation and curiosity. Like, why would the mayor turn around and come home? And we know it's his chief fundraiser, right, Suggs, but there's also a personal relationship there? This is a woman, she's a young woman who's worked with Mayor Adams for many years. There are some connections between the mayor's top. advisor and this young woman, she may be her goddaughter.

I wasn't able to confirm that, but that's how several people around the mayor describe her. She worked with Mayor Adams when he was borough president in Brooklyn, starting in about 2018, worked with him raising money for his 2021 campaign, and is helping him to win re-election in 2025. And even though we have no reporting that says the mayor is a target in this investigation, the mayor's campaign has had trouble before, specifically here in Manhattan. Right. So I should say that the mayor's campaign lawyer from 2021 is saying that no one from the investigative world has reached out to Mayor Adams personally. They have received no subpoenas. But what was your question? About there was a local investigation in Manhattan, D.A.

So in this case that we talked about today, we have no reason to believe yet that the mayor is a target, at least not now. There was a separate investigation by DA Bragg in Manhattan where six individuals were charged with a straw donor scheme, which means that they basically tried to circumvent campaign finance rules and limits by making donations, fake donations, essentially, under friends and families' names. And that also, in New York City, we have a public matching fund program. So it pulls down a lot of additional money.

It's like $8 public money for every $1 that's. donated. But again, in that case as well, there was never any indication that Mayor Adams was a target of that investigation. It's just something that is underway. All right, Melissa, Melissa, thank you for being here tonight. When we come back, a difficult story out of New Jersey that parents are going to want to hear high school students using AI technology to generate fake explicit photos of their classmates. Coming up next, we'll talk to one of the female students affected by this, what she went through and how she's dealing with the fallout.

All right, we're back now with Top Stories Newsfeiting. We begin with Alabama Supreme Court ruling that the state can execute an inmate with nitrogen gas. The state's attorney general indicated in court filings he would use it in the execution of convicted murderer Kenneth Eugene Smith. Last year, an attempt to execute him via lethal injection was unsuccessful. It would make Alabama the first date to carry out a death sentence using nitrogen gas. Chilling video captured the attempted kidnapping of a baby from her mother's arms in St. Louis.

Take a look. You can see the mother carrying her child. She's in the purple there. When man comes up behind her and tries to take the baby before being chased away, police later arresting 19-year-old Anthony McGee, he's also accused of hitting a woman on the head with a liquor bottle and choking an 82-year-old woman breaking both her arms, all in the span of just a few hours, he is now facing, as you can imagine, several charges.

A Chicago area high school evacuated this morning after a ceiling collapse. Students and staff arriving at, look at that, Lockport Township High School's central campus, finding a third floor classroom covered in insulation and debris. No one was hurt. The campus was evacuated. City officials now investigating the cause.

And Toyota issuing a massive recall of more than 1.8 million Ravours, the company saying some report, replacement batteries can move during forceful turns posing a fire risk. The recall affecting some route force made between 2013 and 2018. The company says it will notify owners by late December if their car is affected. Okay, we want to turn now to a disturbing story about an incident involving female students at a New Jersey high school. The Wall Street Journal first to report this story, just listen to the opening paragraph. When girls at Westfield High School in New Jersey found out boys were sharing nude photos of them in group chats.

They were shocked. Not only because it was an invasion of privacy, the images weren't real. So how did they do this? One or more of the male classmates apparently used AI technology. The images are fake, but the faces of these students are very real. It's unclear if this is criminal. We will discuss that with our legal analyst in a minute, but it is disgusting and it should have never happened. First, joining us right now is one of the students affected by the students.

this, Francesca Mani, a sophomore at Westfield High School, and her mother, Dorota, Mani. I want to thank you both for coming on. I know this is a very difficult time, and Francesca, I'm sorry you had to go through this. You did want to speak out. Can you tell our viewers why? I just want everyone to know how this is, like, I want everyone to know how this is, like, not okay. I think I want justice for the girls, and I just don't think it's okay. Did you feel when you learned that you were one of the targets in this sort of sick sending around to photos?

I couldn't believe my ears. When I heard it was one of my classmates, I was shocked, I'm not going to lie, I did start crying because I was very emotional. But while I was walking through the hallways, I saw a group of guys laughing at a group of girls who were crying. And that's when I got really mad and like I wanted to change this and I wanted to make sure that everyone knew it wasn't okay. Dorota, you're the mother.

I'm a parent. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you as well. Yeah, I mean, it has been shocking, has been shocking on many levels. One, as Francesca just point out, we are dealing with classmates. So it can happen to any, anyone of us, by anyone. It has been, at best, interesting on how the administration of the administration of of the Westfield High handle the situation. But listen, I feel the most important thing

is right now to learn from it, use it as a platform to grow, send a clear message to the girls, not only of our school, but just to the girls in general, that, no, this is not okay. And if no one is standing up for you, you should self-advocate.

And for anybody on the other side of the spectrum who is creating those AI images, that there will be consequences. Also, I feel it's a little bit more complex, right? We should also look at the legislation in place right now. I find it unacceptable that New Jersey has nothing in place to protect our children. So that's something that myself and Senator Bramnik sit down on Monday and immediately decided to change to make sure that not only New Jersey children are protected.

And I say children, because it could happen not only to girls, but also to boys. But also that we can, yeah. Did they have to explain to you sort of what had happened here? I mean, because it is a little complicated. And at first, I got to think you were sort of in a state of shock when you heard this. Yeah, you got it. That's exactly how I felt. I felt shocked.

Explanation was somehow vague. There were a lot of misleading information coming out of the administration. And I'm talking here of school administration. emails versus what has been a printed in Westfield leader to what other parents were informing me off. So it's almost he said, she said nothing concrete, nothing that parents would be able to grasp and understand truly what is going on. Francesca, how did the girls find out about this? So basically the day before we all found out, all the guys were keeping a secret from us. and one guy, by mistake,ly, told another girl,

and that's when the girl told all the girls, and that's how we found out. I mean, you know, these are people who are your friends. You said your classmates, I got to think that all of you, all of your friends, just sort of felt incredibly terrible and also violated in a way. Yeah, they, right now they're uncomfortable walking, like, the hallways if they see him, like, they're scared to take him.

a test next to him so am I like I just don't think it's like normal for us to just think yeah no no I hear you we know the school did send out an email to from what I understand the parents of the school we want to put it up on the screen it reads in part at this time we believe that any created images have been deleted and are not being circulated this is a very serious incident we are continuing to investigate and will inform individuals and families of students involved once the investigation is complete. The email also says the school is offering counseling.

Dorota, do you think this is a crime? Listen, it's not for me to decide. That's why we have legislations. But I think I want to point out one thing is that the school says all images has been deleted. They have no proof of such a thing. Also, we all know there's a digital footprint. So if somebody says, don't worry, and that's something with the vice president, inform me over the phone on Friday, October 20th.

Don't worry, it was just Snapchat images. They last for three seconds. And by the way, they were deleted. It just makes me nervous, very nervous that this vice president is running high school with, or, you know, lack of knowledge or just lack of empathy. Francesca, have any of the people involved in this, allegedly involved in this, have they apologized to you? Um, no, no one, no one from that group has apologized from me.

The boy didn't apologize to me, but a lot of other boys like came and asked if I was okay and if I needed anything, but the boy didn't apologize to me. Dorota, the school is not confirmed to NBC News whether or not any disciplinary actions have been taken. What is your understanding of how this incident is being handled by the school and our students being suspended? Are their parents being spoken to? Sure. So as of right now, we are not very clear if it was just one boy or it was a group of boys. That's something that it's still being investigated and really not transparent to

us parents from outside. But we did, we're aware that one boy was suspended over the weekend for Monday. He chose not to come back on Tuesday. He was. back on Wednesday. And then, Dorota, how concerned are you about how this could potentially impact your daughter in the future? Well, a lot, right? I mean, she's taking power in her own hands right now. She's advocating for herself and other victims.

She's creating a website that will be helping AI victims. But we all know digital foodbend lasts forever that might at some point impact her socially, academically, professionally. It did definitely impact her emotionally. So, yeah, there's definitely that. Francesca, before we go, your mom talked about some of the work you're now undertaking. I mean, I know I think you're only 14 years old. I feel so bad that you have to go through this at such an early age.

What steps are you taking to make sure this doesn't happen to other girls just like you? Well, as my mom said, I want to make a website with all the AI resources. So if any girl needs help, they can go to that website or if any boy needs help, they could also go to that website. And I just want to bring this worldwide so everyone knows what can happen, even

like if it's your classmate. It doesn't have to be some creep on the internet. Francesca Manny and Dorota Manny, we thank you for your time and your courage for coming on Top Story. So the big question here, as we asked Dorota's mother, as we asked Dorota, were any laws broken here? I want to bring in NBC News Legal Analyst, Angela

Senadella, for more on that. So Angela, we know that the images were fake, right? They were created by AI, but they used real photos of these girls, 14 years old, still a little girl, in my opinion. Is this a crime? Yes, and I'm going to say that definitively, now knowing Francesca's age, which is 14. So if any image is obscene, sexually explicit, and involves a minor, that is child pornography. It doesn't matter if it was created. It even includes cartoons, depictions, drawings, art. Anything that involves a child, a minor, that is sexually explicit, is child porn. It has nothing to do that this was AI, that that this AI won't cover this, right? That it is

clearly possibly child pornography. Yes, it doesn't even matter whether or not you are drawing someone, and there's no even clear indication of who that child is. So I understand there's not explicit legislation involving AI. But when you look at a statute, you look at the meaning. The fact that they include drawings and cartoons would easily cross-apply. to AI. So I would definitively say this is child pornography. There's so many questions here because you have potentially another child who used the AI software to create this pornographic image. Is the technology moving so fast that the laws and definitely the regulations have not caught up yet? Yes, and that's a problem with big tech overall. Even these giant lawsuits we're

seeing against Google and Amazon, by the time the government has done their research, done their discovery, big tech has moved 10, 100 steps ahead. So in this case, the regulation is far behind. But this is why I think stories like Francescas are so important to share and why it's so wonderful you're sharing this on your show, because lawmakers respond to what's in front of them. So laws then will change as a result of this. And from what I understand, some lawmakers, including senators, are meeting with this family.

Do the parents in this case have any legal recourse? I think they have a few different options here. So first, against the perpetrator, look, harassment, intentional affliction of emotional distress. In Texas, a woman won $1.2 billion against an ex-boyfriend for revenge porn, also potentially against the software, the AI company. Those services are not supposed to allow children to manipulate images into child porn. And then lastly, in hearing this interview, potentially to school districts. School districts are sued all the time for bullying incidents where they don't pay attention and they let things like this happen. So these families

potentially have a lot of options here. What do you think the takeaways, here. You know, you're a parent, I'm a parent. We both have daughters, and it's like, you think about the ages where your kids can get phones. Other kids are going to get phones whenever they want. But, I mean, the technology is moving so fast, and obviously there's no regulation. I mean, it's a pretty scary world. Yes, which is why in circumstances like this, what matters most is being a parent, is talking to your own child. The laws will never catch up. There will always be things kids can do that will take them much farther ahead into deeper trouble than what's written statutorily.

Angela Senadella, first night. Angela, great having you on. We thank you for that. Coming up next, stealing with a smile. Three female burglars caught on a ring camp using their charm to lure an elderly couple out of their home, while one of them breaks in and steals a safe, literally walking out with it. The video and the story coming up next. Back now with an alarming burglary unfolding in broad daylight on an elderly couple's front porch.

Authorities now searching for three women captured on ring. CAM, asking the grandparents to cut their flowers before forcing their way inside and stealing thousands of dollars. NBC's Valerie Castro reports. This seemingly pleasant interaction, quickly taking a sinister turn in San Jose, California. This woman, seen smiling and bowing on an elderly couple's ring camera, asks for permission to cut some flowers from the couple's garden. According to the couple's grandson, two women then distract the elderly man, while a third woman appears to go inside the home. Her face clearly captured on camera. She disappears from view and

begins to search the home going door to door. Never seen them, no recognizable faces. Because all our doors, ways were broken into so they took a look into every room, it seemed like. After finding the family safe, a struggle ensues. One of the suspects even pushing the elderly woman back as her accomplice leaves with the safe with more than $10,000 stashed inside, according to the couple's grandson. It's very outrageous that they would do in broad daylight and had to do with a smile on their faces, knowing that they're ticking away from those who can't defend themselves. The family says they don't know how or if the suspects knew there was a safe in the house. They're just shocked that it happened that they've been living here for more than 25 years

and when they first came here, they said it was much different than how it is now. The neighborhood now on high alert. We need more security for all the neighbors and scary yeah yeah because it's in dread of the day so sometimes it's we alone at home another neighbor certain she was also a potential victim after she says the suspects knocked on her door too offering to buy her plants the san jose police department says this is an open and ongoing investigation they wouldn't share any more information for fear that it could interfere with the case they do ask that residents report any suspicious activity tom okay we think We do have some breaking news tonight here on Top Story.

Sam Bankman-Freed, guilty on all seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. The 31-year-old was accused of mismanaging customer funds, stored his crypto exchange, FTX, to enrich himself and his family. We're talking about potentially $10 billion in losses. Angela Senadale is back with us. She's obviously one of our legal contributors here. You've been following this case for us. Guilty in all seven counts, you were following the case throughout this. I mean, it was tough for him to put up a defense.

It was really tough. And frankly, I think it was lost the moment the prosecution turned the three lieutenants who were closest to him, especially Caroline Ellison, his former CEO. So it all started there. And that's the reason why I think Sam Begman-Fried even stood up on the defense stand at all. He had no choice. Everyone said it was him who masterminded the entire operation. He gets up on the stand.

He says, it wasn't really me. I'm pretending to be a naive person who didn't know what was having. happening, but all of the evidence proved otherwise. Yeah, essentially what he was doing, what he was accused of and now convicted of, is basically mismanaging investors' funds, right? He was sort of taking money from one pot, putting it to the other. He became the face of crypto excess, right, with FTX, and then it all collapsed on him. And on those investors, they lost their money.

Right, it's true. So to some extent, his team tried to argue that they were scapegoated, that they were just being prosecuted because he was trying something new. He was going into a brand new industry, making these huge strides. And then when it uploads, he alleged that the government just prosecuted whoever they thought was responsible while not knowing what was going on. So that's what he was saying, that he was an entrepreneur, an engineer, a visionary. This news is still very fresh. Do we know about what type of prison time he could face?

Well, the sentencing hasn't happened yet, but it could be for the rest of his life, Tom. The financial crimes were that severe that this man could go to jail for the rest of his life. Yes, they were for fraud. They were mismanaging so much money. using them for lavish expenses and lying continuously. So there were multiple counts of fraud. One of the key witnesses in this case, right, was his former girlfriend, and she ran the hedge fund arm of this cryptocurrency.

And at one point, I know there was this exchange that was sort of very damaging for the defense where she didn't even know where the money was coming from and how it was being moved around, correct? Yes, that's true. So his defense attempted to say that I just looked at these spreadsheets, but I didn't look closely enough, that I just kind of check some boxes. The problem is, Caroline Ellison testified that he mastermind did everything, and the biggest loophole was why he hired her and paid her only $200,000. If he was going to hire someone spectacular to really take over all the finances, you would

expect that person to be paid a lot and be very well qualified. But when you have Sam Bickman-Fried as the founder, hiring someone very low-level, paying them a small amount of money, and then claiming that he's not the mastermind, that's a contradiction, I'm assuming the jury couldn't get around. How much of a role did cryptocurrency itself play in this case, right? Because it's a type of currency that not everyone understands it exists. A lot of people invested it. It's gone up and down. If you got in early, you're still doing pretty well on it. But he became the face of this. And it also, I don't want to say it shows the uncertainty of it, but there have been a lot of big-name investors, namely Warren Buffett,

who have stayed away from this. How does this impact that market? It impacts it a lot because it gives the idea that you really never know what's happening. And if you don't know what's happening at an industry, these people might just be children who are playing with your money. And once you saw the stories of them using this to pay for an arena and to pay for these lavish real estate parties, you start to understand that maybe this industry that's unregulated can have pitfalls. Do we know when the sentencing will take place? It'll take pretty close to this verdict that we just had. Right. The judge will determine the date. So if he didn't set it yet already, and we should know very shortly.

And then in the meantime, he was reprimanded. He was brought from the Bahamas where he was essentially holding up, right? And he had moved part of his business there. Yes, he was extradited from the Bahamas. But also, this is not the full extent of his trial. So they actually separated these charges. And he will be on trial again in March. So it is possible that in addition to this guilty verdict,

there will be even more decades of jail time in front of him. All right. If you're just tuning in, Sandbank, Ben-Fried the face, the head of FTX convicted on seven counts today in court in lower Manhattan. We thank you so much for watching Top Story. We're ending tonight with breaking news, a little strange, but keep it locked here. We're going to continue to follow this breaking news. I'm Tom Yamerson, New York.

Again, stay right here.