Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, November 21, 2024

Episode Date: November 22, 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 breaking news, President-elect Donald Trump announcing his new pick for Attorney General after Matt Gates withdrew his name for the critical role. Trump tapping former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department just hours after his first pick, Matt Gates, stepped aside amid a firestorm over sexual misconduct allegations. And the newly revealed police report describes an alleged sexual assault by Trump's choice for defense secretary. Pete Higsef. Also tonight, the 1-2 weather punch in the northwest, the historic and deadly bomb cyclone now threatening catastrophic flooding after slamming the region with deadly hurricane force winds, where that storm is headed next. Bill Carrons is standing by. Plus, the stunning arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused of war crimes by the world body, including using starvation

as a weapon of war in Gaza. So could Netanyahu actually be arrested, will explain. Tainted alcohol deaths, visitors from around the world, including an American dying in a tourist village in Laos, why authorities are now saying liquor infused with methanol could be to blame. Twin tiger attacks, a shocking video showing the moment a wild Siberian tiger charged a man in China before running away. The wild cat then biting another person.

The search now underway for the dangerous predator still on the loose. And hearing their stories, the life-changing gift for survivors of the Holocaust, the new hearing aids helping them connect with loved ones and celebrate their golden years. And the new $50 million lawsuit against Netflix over streaming glitches during Jake Paul's fight with Mike Tyson. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. We are coming on the air tonight with breaking news. Just hours after Matt Gates pulled his name from consideration as U.S. Attorney General, we now have a new pick. President-elect Trump naming Pam Bondi, a former prosecutor who once served as Florida's Attorney General as his choice to lead to serve as the nation's top legal figure. She previously worked on Trump's defense team during his first impeachment trial.

The bombshell announcement came just hours after Gates announced that he would withdraw from his nomination for the role. Remember, just yesterday, he was on Capitol Hill trying to win over skeptical senators, Republican senators, in particular, who would have been tasked with confirming him. Today, Republicans on the Hill praising his decision to step down. There's a sense of relief about it, of course. I think he did a pretty noble thing, frankly, honorable thing by getting out himself. Gates' abrupt exit ending a nomination that was contentious from the very beginning. Gates already was disliked by many Republicans after he spearheaded the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. This moment at the Republican National Convention this year, summing up in many ways his fraught relationships. What night are you speaking? Are you speaking tonight?

If you took that stage, you would get booed off the stage. That's him trying to confront the former House Speaker. The final straw here, though, appeared to be speculation over that House Ethics Committee report, which has still not been released to the public. The committee heard from multiple women alleging that Gates paid them for sex and allegedly that he had a sexual relationship with a minor. The news also upload to President-elect Trump, who has claimed a sweeping mandate but faced a firestorm over several of his cabinet appointments.

Trump has rapidly filled out his cabinet with loyalists and famous friends, but a short list of spots are still undecided, including his pick for Treasury Secretary. The focus now likely to turn over at his choice for defense secretary Pete Heggseth. You see him there. He is also facing an allegation of sexual assault. A new police report offering horrifying details about an incident that. allegedly took place in 2017. No charges were brought and Heggseth has denied any wrongdoing.

NBC's Ryan Noble has more on Hegss's fight for his Senate confirmation, but we're going again with Gabe Gutierrez and Trump's new Attorney General Pick. Tonight, President-elect Trump's embattled pick for Attorney General is out. Former Florida Congressman Matt Gates rocking Washington by withdrawing his name. Posting on social media, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump Vance transition. On Capitol Hill, some Democrats rolling their eyes. Holy shit, I didn't see that coming.

While some Republicans seeming relieved. Are you surprised that Gates dropped out today? I was surprised by how abruptly it happened. Two Trump transition sources with direct knowledge of Gates' decision tell NBC News that he notified the president-elect earlier today and that it was Gates's call. Another source close to Trump says that Gates's withdrawal was welcomed by the transition team. adding that the House ethics report started to leak out, and there was no way for Matt to make it. Today, President-elect Trump posting, I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gates

in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well, but at the same time did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect. The sudden withdrawal comes just a day after Vice President-elect J.D. Vance accompanied Gates to Capitol Hill, sitting for closed-door meetings with GOP Senators. Senators have been giving me a lot of good advice. I'm looking forward to a hearing. Folks have been very supportive.

But pressure has been building on Gates for days. How troubling were the allegations against Gates? I think very troubling. A growing number of Republican senators were demanding the release of a House ethics report into allegations he paid women for sex, including a 17-year-old back in 2017. Just today, a source familiar telling NBC News there was allegedly a second sexual encounter with a 17-year-old that included another woman. Gates has repeatedly denied the accusations,

and a Justice Department investigation into similar allegations ended, with prosecutors filing no charges against Gates. Tonight, multiple sources tell NBC News at least five Republican senators were prepared to vote against Gates's confirmation, and he could only afford to lose three GOP votes. Matt Gates. All of this, a blow to Trump, who had been looking for someone to shake up the Justice Department,

which he blames for launching what he calls, partisan prosecutions against him. Just days ago, saying he had no second thoughts about the pick. Are you reconsidering the nomination of Matt Gates? No. Tonight, it's not clear what's next for Gates or his political career. Apparently, he was aware of reality. And Gabe Gutierrez joins us now with more. Gabe, talk to us about Pam Bondi, the former Attorney General of Florida, President Elect Trump's new Attorney General pick. Hi, there, Allison. As you mentioned, she's He is a longtime ally of President-elect Trump. She was Attorney General Florida from 2011 to 2019, and she was involved in several

controversial instances, including undermining the 2020 election. And as you said, she was also one of President Elects Trump's lawyers during his first impeachment trial. This pick, though, does send a message. He said in his announcement that he wants to end what he calls the weaponization of the Justice Department. One Trump advisor who I just spoke with told me that Bondi is basically Matt Gates without the baggage, Elson. Gabe Gutierrez on Capitol Hill. Thank you. For more on Gates' withdrawal and taking his bid to be Attorney General out of the picture.

And the woman that has now been picked to replace him, let's bring in a Republican who called for the release of that House Ethics Report on Gates. Charlie Dent is a former representative for Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District, and he served as the chair of the House Ethics Committee in the past. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us on a really busy newsday. Before we get into some of the discussions and questions about that report and the House Ethics Committee's what they will do now, let's just get your reaction to what we have learned this evening with the selection of Pam Bondi as the next Attorney General. Is that someone that you think is a better pick here? Well, certainly she's a better pick than Matt Gates. I mean, she's not going to have the character questions, and she's clearly got experience as a prosecutor served even before she was attorney general.

You know, her challenge, of course, will be she's very loyal to President-elect Trump, and there'll be questions about her role, perhaps, in the impeachment and on the 2020 election. So she'll have to answer for that, and so certainly she'll have to also answer, you know, about questions about retribution. Will she carry out Donald Trump's intention to, you know, torch the Justice Department and go after his political enemies? But that said, you know, she's certainly a much better candidate than Matt Gates and has a much better chance of confirmation than Matt Gates ever did. His nomination, of course, crashed at take off. So, yeah, earlier this week you penned an MSNBC op-ed with the headline, don't let Matt Gates escape accountability.

And you wrote in part this, quote, when members of Congress resigned because of scandal, they usually leave. quietly and go about the task of quietly rebuilding their lives, relationships, and reputations. They don't get nominated for U.S. Attorney General. You went on to say there's a compelling case for the release of the Ethics Committee report on Gates. The Senate is demanding to see the report as part of its official record and constitutional duty to advise and consent. We often hear people rightly remind officials on Capitol Hill, average citizens, you work for us, right? There's still, regardless of what has happened with Gates, a argument to be made that the public has a right to know more about

what is in this report, because we don't know what Gates is going to do from here. Do you still believe that the House Ethics Committee should make this report public so that people can have a look at it, regardless of Gates' appointment or withdrawal for Attorney General? Well, Gates' withdrawal has taken a little bit of pressure off the Ethics Committee, but we should remember that there have been other cases of allegations of sexual misconduct where a report or statements were released by the committee after the member departed Congress. As you may remember, there was Mark Foley back in 2006 who had sent inappropriate text

messages to pages. And after he resigned, there were members of Congress who were sitting members who were deposed to answer questions about what they might have known about that situation. More recently, Blake Farronhold, a congressman from Texas, In Texas in 2018, after he resigned, the committee made a statement about, it was a sexual harassment case, and then there was some kind of a settlement associated with it. Back in 1990, there was a case of a congressman on allegations of having sex with a 16-year-old. He resigned, and a report was released after he left Congress.

So in these cases of allegations of sexual misconduct, there has been greater pressure on the committee to release these reports. And in the case of Matt Gates, I thought, you know, of course, he's going to be Attorney General. The public does have a right to know in the Senate. But I suspect there's still going to be a strong case to be made to release the report. Let me ask you a question, kind of my question to you is, can you explain this to me like I'm a five-year-old? But in terms of just logistics and the way things work on the Hill, what could happen with Matt Gates next? Is there a window where he can say, oh, I resigned, never mind, I'm unresigning?

Could we see him launch another campaign, or could he be appointed for the Senate? I mean, what are the possible avenues where we could see or could we see Matt Gates back on the hill and soon? Well, his resignation letter was read across the desk or on the floor of the House of Representatives and said he was resigning for this current Congress, which ends in a few weeks, and then he also said it was his intent not to serve in the next Congress. So what does that mean his intent? So I guess conceivably, you know, he could still try to be sworn in for the next Congress. Of course, the Ethics Committee would still retain jurisdiction then, and then would certainly release the report if he stayed. Now, obviously, the Trump administration might want to put him in a position that does not require confirmation by the Senate.

I think that would be very, I think that would be very controversial. And, of course, that would also cause more cries to release the Senate. report if he's going to continue in serving the public in some way. And by the way, this issue about releasing reports, you know, there is no rule. There is no rule that prohibits the committee from releasing these reports. It's only been a tradition or a custom or, frankly, a courtesy to resigning members at reports not be released. That has been the case because, again, most of them go quietly and nobody really wants to pile on. But this is a different case. It's quite exceptional. All right, really interesting insight. Charlie Dent, thank you so much. We really

appreciate it. Thank you. As we were saying, Matt Gates is not the only cabinet, potential cabinet pick under fire tonight. The man who is vying to become the next secretary of defense went to Washington today to try and make his case, even as damaging new details about an alleged sexual assault came to light. NBC's Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles has more on former Fox News host Pete Heggseth in his day on Capitol Hill. Tonight, President-elect Trump's pick for defense secretary Pete Hegseth, defending himself after a potential new hurdle in his confirmation fight. NBC News obtaining a police report detailing a woman's allegation he sexually assaulted her.

Sitching sexually assault woman in Monterey, California. It's very simple. The matter was fully investigated, and I was completely clear, and that's where I believe it. According to the police report, the woman says she met Hegseth at a hotel where he was speaking in 2017, saying at one point she blacked out, alleging he took her phone and blocked her attempt to leave the room and said that she remembered saying no a lot. Police investigated and did not file any charges against Heggseth. He said the encounter was consensual. His attorney said Hexeth later paid her to keep her from going public, so his career would not be heard, and saying Mr. Hegeseth is innocent. It was fully investigated by police

and video surveillance as well as multiple eyewitness statements show that she was the aggressor. Heggseth today on Capitol Hill with Vice President-elect Vance, meeting with Republican senators who will decide if he gets the job. Senator, did you talk to him about the sexual assault allegations? It's a disgrace that those allegations are nothing but what you said, allegations that are, he said, she said. This is a case that has been dismissed. Are you concerned at all that he did pay her to keep her story quiet? I don't know the circumstances behind it. I think all those will come out, but I believe his story.

Heggseth is a former Fox News host and decorated combat veteran. lack of government experience raising questions among some GOP Senators over his qualifications to run the largest federal government agency. There needs to be legitimate vetting. When I say legitimate, I mean just thorough vetting that the committees do. This is our job. Two other Trump picks facing new backlash. Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic Congresswoman and military veteran, picked as the Director of National Intelligence, slammed by Nikki Haley overnight. This is not a place for a Russian-Iranian-Syrian-Chinese sympathizer. A Trump transition spokesperson responding that Tulsi Gabbard is a combat veteran who saw devastation caused by wars championed by people like Nikki Haley. And tonight there's newly revealed audio of Health and Human Services pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticizing Trump supporters eight years ago.

The way that you build a truly vicious nationalist movement is to wed a relatively small core of belligerent idiots. RFK Jr. saying, I no longer hold this belief, and I now regret having made those statements. And Ryan joins us now from Capitol Hill. Ryan, let's go back to Pete Heggseth for a minute. What do we know or what more do we know about his meetings on the Hill today? Any indication that he was able to sway people who were skeptical of his selection as defense chief? Well, Alison, the vast majority of the senators that Hegsef met today were people that were likely already in his camp. and they left those meetings feeling very confident that they believe that Hegsef has a path to confirmation. They believed his side of the story when it comes to these sexual assault allegations.

So unlike Matt Gates, he doesn't appear to be on the verge of withdrawing his nomination. That being said, there is no doubt that there are skeptical members of the Republican Party right now. But at this point, not a single one of them has come forward to say that they would not support Hegsef as the next defense secretary. Alison. Ryan Nobles on Capitol Hill. Thank you. For more on Trump's transition and the bumpy start to his cabinet selection, let's bring in our panel. Robert Blewey, the Daily Signal President and Executive Editor and Antoine C. Wright, a Democratic strategist. Robert, let me start with you. And if we can, let's just pick up where Ryan Nobles and I left off there around this discussion about Pete Heggseth for Defense Secretary. I want to play some sound that we have from a Republican North Dakota Senator Robert Kramer. This is what he had to say about Heggseth. To the sexual assault before examination, that could really pause with him. Well, it's a pretty big problem given that we have a sexual assault problem in our military. All right, so Senator Kevin Kramer there is seeming to express that he does have some concerns.

I'm curious, Robert, what do you make of his point? Well, ultimately, Ellison, I think that Pete Heggseth will win confirmation, as the senators you saw, they're saying they want to scrutinize his record and these recent allegations. But at the end of the day, I think there's something more going on here with Pete Heggseth, and that's the fact that he doesn't come from the military industrial complex. He didn't get his credentials from Raytheon or General Dynamics and other places that so much drive policy at the Pentagon. And frankly, he wants to shake things up. So I am not surprised that some of the establishment in Washington, D.C. are taking issue with him. That being said, we should hear him out at the

confirmation hearings and let this play out as they normally do. Antoine, what do you make of it? Well, my Republican friends often will say publicly that we should run government like a business. And most of these nominees, if they were interviewing, forget about interviewing, they would not even qualify for an interview to even have a chance of having any of these roles based on not just their merit and their skill set, but some of the clouds, the dark clouds that follow around them. And I think we should all take that to note.

At the end of the day, what I think this represents is the Trump administration, income administration, grading their own homework and making assumptions just because they won the election. That means they're going to get their way politically. And I don't think that's going to be the case. There's always a process when it comes to the nominees. And this deep, dark history that some of these nominees have will see the light of day because the process is in place.

and the process will not be removed, regardless of the politics. Okay, Robert, let's shift to the Attorney General News. I feel like we're just like ping-ponging between so many topics, so I apologize for being scattered here. But shifting to Attorney General News, we'll talk about Matt Gates. But if we can, Robert, let's start with Pam Bondi. This is the former Florida Attorney General. As we mentioned earlier, she was part of Donald Trump's impeachment defense team

at his first impeachment trial. She is someone who spoke, if I'm not mistaken, at the RNC Convention. in 2016 and then again in 2020. She's frequently been on TV. She's someone that I think is very clearly well known in conservative circles and someone Donald Trump has had a relationship with for quite a while. And she's been for everything we can see publicly, a strong ally and supporter of Donald Trump. Why do you think Trump didn't just go with her first? Because objectively on paper, regardless of any controversies or political opinions people may have, legally, she has a lot more qualifications than Matt Gates had on the legal front. Why not start with Pam Bondi instead of

Matt Gates when it seemed obvious from the outset that he was going to be a difficult pick to get through the Senate? Well, Russ remember that Matt Gates has a history in his time in Congress of going after the Department of Justice, specifically on the issue that Donald Trump cares about most. And that's removing the weaponized attorney general and replacing that with a person who's going to follow the rule of law. And so Matt Gates' record was quite clear on that. And I think that's probably one of the reasons that he decided to move in that direction. As for Pam Bondi, I mean, remember, Pam Bondi also was a prosecutor. She spent two terms as Florida's Attorney General, and then Trump picked her to serve on a task force to work on the opioid epidemic. So she has

quite a whole list of experience that I think will serve her well in this position. And I do think, as the congressman said in the previous segment, that she will stand a much easier path to confirmation. Antoine, what do you think about the selection of Pam Bondi? And if we can go back to were you surprised that after everything we saw yesterday, all of the push and the efforts made on Capitol Hill that Gates made the decision to step aside? I was not surprised at all because politics is a game of addition and multiplication, not subtraction of division and or division. And as we say in my neighborhood, the math simply was not mathing for Matt Gates.

In top of, we knew that there was going to be more exposure into some of the challenges in his background as the days and weeks to come as we move through this confirmation process. So I was not surprised at all. He became, what, the seventh quickest nomination to be snatched from the process in the history of this country. And so as we shift to Pam Bondi in another election denier, some would argue insurrection supporter, someone who's now a registered lobbyist, someone who was paid $25,000 by way of a donation in 2013.

And as a result of that, many would argue. that she did not prosecute a civil case against Trump University when she had the opportunity. So we know that she's a loyal character to the former president. That's the first pledge of allegiance for all of his nominees. And so the process may be easier for her than Gates. However, I do think there will be some exposure about her record and her background. And that's what the process is all about. Right. Yeah, she made some claims about fake ballots coming in late back in 2020.

In an interview on Fox News, certainly things that will come up. in a Senate confirmation hearing, but as Gabe Gutierrez reported, some of his sources saying that in a lot of ways, she is very similar to Matt Gates, but doesn't have any allegations related to sexual assault. Gentlemen, thank you both for your time tonight. I wish we had more time. I have so many questions, but we'll do this again. I imagine in the very near future. Thank you both. We appreciate it. Thanks, Alison. We're going to turn now to the forecast as we head into a busy weather weekend, millions bracing for the impacts of coast-to-coast storms in the North West residents on high alert for a dangerous once-in-a-decade atmospheric river, while much-needed rain falls in the northwest and a winter weather blast hits the Midwest. NBC's Steve Patterson is in the storm zone. Tonight, the Northwest recovering from the first of a one-two punch after a so-called bomb cyclone slammed parts of Washington State, knocking out power to almost 300,000.

In California, wind speeds clocked as high as 98 miles per hour. Now, the second blow, a relentless deluge of rain. A fire hose of moisture has already dumped about nine inches of rain onto parts of Northern California, with as much as 15 inches expected, five feet of snow could fall in the mountains. Roads aren't the greatest condition, so you've got to be really careful. Officials now bracing for the possibility of catastrophic flooding and life-threatening mudslides. Roadway conditions can change very quickly. Rether can change very quickly. quickly. It's one in a series of storms from coast to coast, from the atmospheric river out west

to much-needed rain in the northeast and the first real winter weather mess in the Midwest. In Illinois, coated roads led to spin-outs and stranded passengers while several inches of snow blanketed parts of Ohio. But in the east, the weather is a welcome site. The region reeling from a dry season spawning historic drought near New York and hundreds of brush fires, including the Jennings Creek fire that torched more than 5,000 acres in New Jersey and New York. There's no words for it, you know, for what, almost three months now without any steady rain. A procession of storms, sieging coast to coast, bringing relief, worry, or woe, depending on where you live. And Steve Patterson joins us now from Reading, California.

Steve, it is hazy dark behind you. Talk to us about the conditions there. Do officials feel prepared to handle whatever comes next? Alison, it is just rain all day long, rain for the next 24 hours, and then we do it again, and then we do it again. Even through Saturday, they're starting to say there's another system behind this one. So it is just straight rainfall. The good news, if you can see my shot, it's falling straight down. So we're not going to get that same blast of wind that Washington State had, but this could be

even more calamitous based upon if this hits burn scars, if it raises up the water level, of the river that you see behind me. It could cause flash flooding. That's what officials are focused on. They are just trying to do their best to keep people's, people off the roadways. That is their number one goal right now. If they can do that, keeping people, you know, sort of clear out of the way of crews who are trying to do their work, clearing roads, getting trees off the road, then they think they can get a handle on this. But I think the main problem is they don't know exactly what's going to happen next because we don't know when this rain is going to stop. Ellison.

Steve Patterson in California. Thank you. For more on those conditions out west, let's bring in NBC News meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill, what are you watching? Well, we're going to see a batch of very heavy rain and gusty winds late tonight. So we have a new system developing for the west. We had the bomb cyclone. That's this spin right here. And look at this new bright white batch of clouds forming. This is another rapidly forming system, not quite as strong as the one that just got done with. But this one also has that atmospheric river component that's going to point right towards northern California. that's going to come on shore. So we already have steady rain, but we think it's even going to get heavier and creep northwards in between Fort Bragg and Eureka during the overnight hours. And that's when we're most worried about mudslides, flash floods, and burn, squads, you know, debris flows. So that's the areas are under the flood watch. And we do think we have a chance of getting at least another two to four inches out of this in major cities, a lot more than that in the mountains. And how about New York City? Finally, an inch of rain. And I even think New York City in the middle of the night, if you look outside, you may see your first snowflakes. We did that. today in Chicago, southern Wisconsin, through the Ohio Valley. And we got a snowstorm tonight in areas of Poconos, Catskills, Southern New York, and towards the Scranton area, Allison. So, two coasts, very active weather. All right, Bill Cairns, thank you. Moving overseas now into the Israel-Khamas War, the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier today, citing, quote, the war crime of starvation

and crimes against humanity. This comes as the death toll in God. Reaches 44,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. NBC News, international correspondent, Raf Sanchez, has this report. Tonight, with hunger and desperation still stalking Gaza, the International Criminal Court making a landmark decision, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Joav Ghalen, saying there are reasonable grounds to believe they use starvation as a weapon by blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza. intentionally targeted civilians. At least 44,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start

of the war, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel says Hamas deliberately hides among civilians. What in God's name are they talking about in the Hague? And tonight Netanyahu denouncing the court ruling as anti-Semitic, saying, they falsely accused the one democracy in the Middle East Israel, thereby imperiling the right of all democracies to defend themselves against murderous, terrorists, and tyrants. The White House also condemning the court's decision. We've been very clear, not just today, that, you know, we do not believe that the ICC has a jurisdiction here.

Netanyahu is in little danger of imminent arrest, but now joins Vladimir Putin in the lonely club of world leaders wanted for war crimes. And like Putin, could in theory be arrested if he steps foot in any of the 124,000, countries that are members of the court, including the U.K. and all of Western Europe. The court also demanding the arrest of Hamas's military chief for his role in the October 7th attack, though Israel says it killed him in a strike months ago. While in Gaza, a weary understanding that this ruling won't end the war. Well, what is the point of such an announcement if they don't want to take an immediate

actions? In Han Yunus, a painful crush at a soup kitchen. These kids have learned the hard way. If they don't shove, they don't eat. 14-year-old Saja, one of the lucky ones. I'm so happy that today I got rice, she says. One pot to feed 11 members of her family. Today, smiles.

Tomorrow, the grueling search for food begins again. And Raf Sanchez joins us now from Tel Aviv. As you mentioned in your piece, Netanyahu could, in theory, face arrest in any country that's a member of the court. Does this mean he and Israel will become more isolated moving forward? Like, what does this mean for Israel standing on the world stage? And is Netanyahu able to travel for diplomatic meetings and things like that? That's one of the big questions. And you can imagine that the lawyers inside the Israeli government are frantically trying to figure it out. The diplomats trying to seek assurances from

Israel's allies that Netanyahu would be safe if he did visit their countries. But what's clear, Ellison, is Netanyahu has always thought of himself as Israel's best diplomat. He would go not just to the White House, but Ten Downing Street in London, the Elise Paris, in France, and he would make Israel's case. But when you look at the map right now, the number of countries he potentially is no longer welcome in is absolutely enormous. So that limits his ability personally to advocate for Israel. But just in a broader diplomatic sense, we are already seeing the Israeli government canceling a visit by the Dutch foreign minister that was scheduled for next week because the government of the Netherlands said they would abide by these arrest war. And so if that is the path Israel is going down, it is likely to be very diplomatically isolated at the end of this.

Awesome. And, Raf, I was so struck by that 14-year-old in your piece and how she said she felt, happy because she got rice. It's just not something that you think, or you know, a child should not have to be saying or experiencing the idea that there's happiness just because they got something so basic as a bit of rice that day. Is there any chance this arrest warrant or these arrest warrants could put some pressure on Israel and other officials in the area to allow more aid into Gaza? Yeah, it's a really good question. In some ways, the threat of these arrest warrants has been a source of pressure on Israel. You could imagine now that the court has effectively

done its worse, that the Israeli government feels, well, there's nothing left for them to do to us at this point. What we have seen consistently throughout this war is the real thing that Israel responds to is pressure from the United States, especially the threat of the U.S. cutting off military support. Israel has somewhat increased aid over the last couple of weeks in the face of pressure from the Biden administration. Humanitarian groups are saying it is still nowhere near enough, especially in northern Gaza where the U.N. says famine is imminent. But, Alison, I think the reality is that when President Trump takes office in January, it is very likely that a lot of that pressure is going to go away. Alison.

Raf Sanchez in Tel Aviv, thank you. Now, to the war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force alleging Russia fired an intercontinental range ballistic missile or ICBM at the eastern city of NEPRO last night. But U.S. officials say that missile was actually experimental, intermediate range ballistics, not ICBMs. All of this comes as Russia has just revised its nuclear doctrine earlier in the week, lowering their threshold for when they would launch a nuclear strike in response to conventional attacks. All the while, Ukraine is launching long-range missiles provided by the United States and the United Kingdom into Russian territory. For more on those missiles and strikes, let's get right to NBC's chief international correspondent, Keir Simmons.

Kier, talk to us about these missiles. A lot of letters, acronyms, intermediate range ballistic missile. Russia fired yesterday. How does that differ from ICBMs? What does the average person need to understand here? Well, you're right, Alison. There are a lot of debates about... about the language, but in some ways that don't matter. I mean, this was a medium-range ballistic missile. It's described as experimental, fairly new. The Russians have clearly been working on it. It's probably an iteration of a previous missile.

It can travel at high speeds over long distances. And what President Putin said in a televised address today is that you can't intercept it, you can't stop it. And that was part of the message I think the Russians were trying to send. So it's not an intercontinental ballistic missile, but it can travel thousands of miles. It is nuclear capable. It wasn't, in this case, carrying a nuclear warhead. And I think that's part of it, too.

It's part of this nuclear warning from Russia after lowering that nuclear threshold. Putin said that the strike on the city of NEPRO, which is a large city in Ukraine, was retaliation for Ukraine's use of long-range missiles against Russia. Neapro has been struck many times throughout the course of this full-scale. invasion. But I'm curious from what your sources say inside of Russia and what you're seeing and hearing from inside of Ukraine. Are we entering a new phase of this war? Well, that's what President Putin wants us to believe. He wants us to believe that the U.S. authorizing long-range weapons, attack and weapons made by the U.S., storm shadow weapons made by the U.K. and France, that that is a step change, that that is a step change, that that is a

a completely different thing. Of course, the reality is the Biden administration has been shifting things over, frankly, month after month during this war. Russia has threatened. It hasn't carried out threats. One example, the Chinese put pressure on Russia, officials say, not to use nuclear weapons. It's a frightening prospect, isn't it? But as we stand right now, the Russians haven't used them over all of these years. And U.S. officials say there's no sign of the moving nuclear warheads in order to utilize them. That brings me to my next question with Putin saying that Russia could actually attack military facilities of countries that supply Ukraine or supplied Ukraine with those missiles.

Is that something that officials in the United States and beyond think is a serious threat? And if that were to happen, do we know what that would look like? Oh, I think they think it's a serious threat. I think there's a question about whether they're taking it seriously because just think about the escalation that would involve. Say in Poland, where there are bases with large amounts of supplies for Ukraine, if Russia was to launch an attack on those facilities, it would be an attack on a NATO country, and you know the result of that. Countries would be compelled to go out to defend each other. So he would be taking on a huge offensive. It would be very risky from his perspective. And that's the point.

really? Is he bluffing? Is this saber rattling? Or is there a real risk? The Biden administration has worried about the risk, but so far, even now, it hasn't played out the way Russia and President Putin has threatened. And I think there's something there to take in. And as we keep saying, all of this in the end is about President-elect Trump when he takes office, saying that he will demand the two sides do a deal. President Putin's threats, I think, are part really of that negotiation. A lot to think about. Kier Simmons, thank you. Still to come tonight, the new murder charges for a Kentucky sheriff, that former cop accused of shooting and killing a judge in his own chambers when he's expected to appear in court. Plus, the mysterious string of deaths

in Laos linked to tainted alcohol. What is sickening a growing number of tourists from around the world. And twin tiger attacks, the big cat caught on camera, charging a man in China and then biting another. Authorities now searching for that predator still on the loose. Stay with us, Top Story is just getting started on this Thursday night. We're back now with a mass poisoning in the Southeast Asian country of Laos. An American is dead along with tourists from several other countries. Some of those deaths being attributed to tainted liquor containing a toxic substance that attacks the body from the inside. NBC's international correspondent, Megan Fitzgerald, has this story. Tonight, an adventure abroad turning into a nightmare. U.S. officials confirming a U.S.

citizens' death in Vang Viann Laos. The tragedy announced amid a sudden string of deaths and illnesses in the town popular with tourists, some of them attributed to drinking tainted liquor. U.S. officials offering condolences to the family of the victim whose name has not yet been made public. Australian tourists Bianca Jones died Thursday after drinking alcohol contaminated with methanol, according to Thai police. Methanol is used as a solvent, pesticide, and alternative fuel, according to the CDC, but is sometimes added to liquor by bootleggers to increase alcohol content. A Thai police superintendent saying the cause of death is likely from the consumption of methanol from fake liquor. It's poison and cannot be

consumed. It causes swelling of the brain and caused the death. Bianca was just 19 years old. This is every parent's very worst fear and a nightmare that no one should have to endure. All Australians offer them our deepest sympathy in this time of heartbreak. Government agencies across the globe reporting eerily similar tragedies. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark telling NBC News two Danish citizens also died in Laos. New Zealand's embassy in Bangkok reporting contact from a citizen who was unwell and may be a victim of methanol poisoning in Laos. The UK's Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office telling NBC News they are supporting the family of a British woman who died in Laos.

It's odorless, colorless, tasteless, so it's very commonly. included sometimes in sort of bootleg liquor type things. So your body breaks them down into these very nasty chemicals for maldehyde formic acid. And these chemicals attack the cells of the body, resulting in organ failure. The tourist destination between Thailand and Vietnam has one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

A paradise of culture, nature and history. Welcoming millions of visitors per year and steadily growing in popularity. But now a dark side to the South Asian paradise, some referring to the recent crisis as mass poisoning. I know that so many members of our community are connected to these girls, to these families. I feel your grief. Our hearts are broken.

Australian officials say yet another victim, Bianca's friend Holly, remains in critical condition and on life support, her parents at her bedside. side. Allison, tonight, the government of Australia and New Zealand have gone as far as updating their travel advisory to Laos and tourists have taken to social media, encouraging others to be mindful of the dangers. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department says they are monitoring the situation and they have offered consular assistance.

Ellison? Megan Fitzgerald, thank you. When we come back, a new E. coli alert, the USDA recalling 160,000 pounds of ground beef after 15 people got sick. We'll tell you where officials say that beef was shipped. We are back with Top Story's news feed and an update on the Kentucky Sheriff that allegedly shot a judge in his chambers back in September. A Letcher County grand jury inditing former sheriff Mickey Steins on one count of murder for the death of Judge Kevin Mullins. Steins is set to appear in court on Monday for his arraignment. He pled not guilty to murder charges two months ago.

Democratic Senator Bob Casey conceding to Republican Dave McCormick in the race to represent Pennsylvania in the Senate. Senator Casey saying he called McCormick to congratulate him on winning the race, which was decided by less than a quarter of a point. The video statement coming days after the state began recounting ballots due to the narrow margin of votes between those candidates. And a consumer alert, more than 160,000 pounds of ground beef, recall due to E. coli contamination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture saying ground beef samples from Wolverine Packing Co in Michigan tested positive for E. coli. The product was shipped to restaurants nationwide, but no word yet on which restaurants are impacted. At least 15 people have been

sickened. And overseas, the search underway in China for a wild Siberian tiger who attacked at least two people. Surveillance video showing the massive tiger charging at one man outside of his home. That man luckily was able to get away, but authorities say another man was bitten and needed immediate surgery to save his arm. Coming up, lawsuit loading. A new Netflix class action lawsuit has been filed. The $50 million suit against the streaming giant over glitches during the Jake Paul Mike Tyson fight. So how likely is a payout? Stay with us. We're back now with the latest fallout from that highly publicized fight between YouTube or Jake Paul and legendary boxer Mike Tyson.

Netflix is now being sued for $50 million over technical issues with its live stream of the event, which they say was viewed by more than 60 million households. Let's bring in NBC News, legal analyst Angela and Adela for more on this class action lawsuit. Break this down for us. What are the basics here? What does the paperwork say? Okay, so look, this man in Florida says that he was a paying subscriber of Netflix and he was promised access to live streaming services. Because of these technical and connectivity issues, he is claiming that Netflix did not deliver on their promise, did not deliver the services that he had paid for. He also says he asked Netflix for a refund, Netflix refused, and as a result, he's bringing this lawsuit asking not only for breach of contract violation damages, but also on behalf of a whole class of consumers.

So he's hoping to represent really anyone nationwide who experienced connectivity issues while they were watching this fight. Yeah, I mean, I watched this fight had to reboot a bunch of times go online to be like, why am I getting this buffering result because it was so overwhelmed. So it absolutely happened. A lot of people were talking about it. Netflix apologized in some capacity for it. But how would you prove you were impacted by it? So it's not even a question of impact.

For me, I see that if you are bringing any lawsuit that is based on breach of contract, what do you do? You look at the contract because you're saying there was a promise that they didn't deliver on. This is the terms of use. So as a lawyer, I went. I reviewed the terms of use. And there are, unfortunately, for this plaintiff, a number of provisions in the terms of use that would really, I believe, stop this lawsuit from moving forward, period, let alone recovering damages.

First is a class action waiver. So when you subscribe to Netflix, you agree to never bring a claim on behalf of other people, only yourself. Second, an arbitration agreement, you are agreeing only to arbitrate your claims or bring them to small claims court, never like this in a court of law. And then third is, most substantively, a disclaimer of warranty. So Netflix says in caps, big caps, they never guarantee any connectivity, any error-free service. And also, they don't guarantee any refunds. If they ever do offer a refund, it is entirely out of their goodwill.

So for all of these reasons, it's very hard to bring a breach of contract case against Netflix. So this case probably doesn't have any legs, and you're saying we should probably read our terms of services more closely before we buy or something. Yeah, well, I just think in general, if you do bring a case where you're alleging breach of a contract, you have to look at the contract. What did they actually promise you? It's not just that this was advertised on Netflix. It's that in the contract, they say they can offer anything and they can offer it in whatever way and quality they provide. And you really don't have rights as a subscriber here. All right. Interesting stuff. Angela Sinadella, thank you for explaining that. We appreciate you as always. When we come back, the gift of hearing, a group here in your New York City, gifting Holocaust survivors with hearing aids, one of them turning 102 this year. What he's looking forward to hearing the most. That is next. Finally tonight, we bring you the story of a 102-year-old Holocaust survivor facing hearing loss. He's among hundreds of survivors in Brooklyn, New York, experiencing a similar struggle.

Our Valerie Castro has a story of how a nonprofit organization is making. a difference with an incredibly special delivery. Holocaust survivor Alfred Locke has been alive for more than a century, and with age has come hearing loss. I think he has to clean my ears. But on this day in Brooklyn, New York, about 100 Holocaust survivors like him are getting a gift. Now we're going to get you some hearing aids, okay?

Are you excited? It's a highly appreciated. Oh, good. You're excited. All thanks to the Miracle Ear Foundation. a non-profit providing free hearing aids. How do I sound? Can you hear me okay? Yes, I can hear you.

After a short consultation and hearing test, whenever you hear the beep, just press the button for me, okay? Yes. The new devices are delivered on the spot. The gold piece is going to face you. You can slide it over your ear. Uh-huh. Learning to put them in takes a little practice and some fine tuning.

Slide it up over your ear. See the button? It's like a TV remote. But it also means hearing a special song. Happy birthday to you. Thank you. Thank you. Alfred turned 102 years old this month,

and he's one of 10,000 aging Holocaust survivors who call Brooklyn home. Holocaust survivors tend to live seven years longer than their counterparts. You can call it the survivor gene, the resilience gene. And these are the years. We're in the twilight years of their survival. Alfred survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, remembering when Hitler arrived in his native Austria. Went to a Jewish school in Vienna, but in 1938 when Hitler came, it was impossible to live.

After living through that trauma, improving quality of life in his golden years, is what this day is all about. I would say a significant portion of them are financially needy. So when coming to a person and saying to them for free, we can give you something that will enhance your daily life experience, increase your dignity, and hopefully increase the level of joy in your life, it's tremendous. For Alfred, his enhanced ability to hear, means more phone calls with his grandchildren. Hello, Rivka. Yes, speak, speak.

How are you? Okay, okay. How are you? Speak slow. You don't slow. Valerie Castro. Okay, I love you too. NBC News.

Bye, bye. All right. Thanks to Valerie for that report. And thank you so much for watching Top Story. For Tom Yamis, I'm Ellison Barber in New York. Stay right there. More news is on the way.