Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Episode Date: December 21, 2022

An Arctic blast is expected to bring "life-threatening" cold to parts of the U.S., officials in Washington prepare for a possible visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, a Michigan mother put up a billboard to help find her son's killer, and the warning tonight ahead of the holidays after a popular toy left one infant hospitalized.

Tonight, the dangerous winter storm strengthening potentially into a bomb cyclone as millions of Americans hit the roads. Strong wind and snow already battering the Pacific Northwest, 51 million people under alert from Seattle all the way to Chicago. Temperatures plummeting to potentially life-threatening lows. Bill Karen, standing by to time it all out ahead of the mass holiday getaway. Also breaking tonight the potential discovery in the University of Idaho murder mystery. The new lead on that white sedan police have been after for weeks. Border battle, the escalating crisis in El Paso, migrants climbing over the wall, others crawling under barbed wire. Families forced to sleep on the street as shelters run out of room.

Officials predicting the situation will only get worse when Title 42 is lifted. A Michigan mother taking matters into her own hands two years after her son was shot and killed. The billboard she put up on her own and her plea for help to know. night. Plus, the 6.4 magnitude earthquake rocking Northern California. At least two people killed, residents jolted awake in the middle of the night. Foundations, roads, and bridges cracked. The efforts to restore power to tens of thousands tonight. And a sea of celebration flooding the streets of Argentina. The men's national soccer team welcomed home as World Cup champions. We'll take you inside the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle that fans are calling the happiest day of their

lives. Top story starts right now. Good evening, everybody. I'm Aaron Gilchrist in for Tommy Amos. Our top story tonight, that massive holiday getaway and the monster winter storm threatening to make the days ahead treacherous for travel. Snow and strong wind already whipping up in northwest Washington state. Cars stuck on the side of the road in near zero visibility. Up to a foot of snow reported in some areas there. That system is rapidly gaining strength as it moves across the U.S. with the potential to turn into a bomb cyclone. Fifty-three million people from the West Coast all the way to the Appalachians under winter weather alerts through the end of the week. All of this, of course,

as so many Americans are traveling to get home for the holidays, airports like Chicago O'Hare already packed with travelers trying to get out ahead of the storm. NBC's Maggie Vespa is in Chicago and leads us off tonight. Tonight, a crippling collision course taking aim at holiday travel. A monster winter storm already blanketing the West, set to bring rain, wind, snow, and a brutal Arctic chill across some 40 states this week. Snow expected as far south as Tennessee and Arkansas, with 75 million under wind chill and freeze alerts. Please keep all boarding passes out. Thank you.

This as 113 million Americans, a post-pandemic record, take to the roads and the skies, planning to spend the holidays with loved ones. We wanted to be with our families, so we've made sure to book for today. The storm's strength building in the Pacific Northwest, already dumping a foot of snow in Washington, as airlines brace for delays and cancellations nationwide. A growing list including United, American, Southwest, and JetBlue, already waiving rebooking fees for those flying through airports in the storm's path. Officials at Chicago O'Hare, a hub for United and American, have cots ready for stranded passengers. We're out there with trucks in place just in case we start getting sleet today.

Adding to the chaos, British Airways canceling flights overnight, blaming a now-resolved technical issue. Some passengers were told they could be here up to four days. This woman is five months pregnant and concerned she may now get caught in the storm. Really worried. No one will help us. No one will talk to us. Can't get through on the phone. Meanwhile, the vast majority, 102 million Americans are hitting the roads. drive fueled by falling gas prices down 18 cents from a year ago. Should they be traveling earlier to get to where they want to go for the holiday? If you have the flexibility to get in your car and leave earlier, try to do that this week.

Really great advice there. Maggie Vespa joining us now from Chicago O'Hare Airport. Maggie, you've been reporting from the airport there all day long. People are not just worried about their trips to their loved ones. They're worried about getting back home, too, right? Yeah, definitely, Aaron. They're telling us, especially if they're traveling home on the 26th and 27th of December, just early next week. They're nervous about that route back, and experts say that's with good reasons. So they're advising people check the forecast on their route to and from their destination, knowing the ripple effects of this storm could disrupt travel into early next week. Erin.

Maggie, Vespa Forests in Chicago tonight. Maggie, thank you for more on that massive holiday storm system. I want to bring in NBC News meteorologist Bill Karens now. a lot going on weather-wise as we head into the holidays. What's happening right now in the forecast? Yeah, let's just update on where we sit as far as the watches and warnings go, who's under what? Because these numbers are changing so rapidly at this point. So 70 million people are under the dangerously cold, what we call wind chill advisories, watchers, or warnings. They go all the way from Spokane through Billings, all the way down through

South Texas, which is pretty rare, and into areas of central Georgia. And we don't even have to worry and wait for the cold there. It's already here. It is negative 31 right now in Bismarck, negative 22 in Rapid City, Minneapolis, negative 16. This is just the beginning of a very frigid air mess that's going to head all the way down to the Gulf Coast in Florida. And we just had our first blizzard warnings that have been issued for southern portions of Minnesota. Tomorrow at this time, these will be widespread here through the Midwest and into areas of the Great Lakes. And then there's this bomb cyclone that we keep hearing about that a lot of folks were bracing for later in the week, right? What's that going to be? What's that going to look like?

All right. So let's talk about the timing. That's the same storm, by the way, that's hitting the Pacific Northwest right now. That storm's going to dive down tomorrow into the Central Plains. Light snow, powdery light blowing all over the place snow in areas of the northern plains. Then as we go through Thursday morning, areas like Kansas City, St. Louis is going to get snow during the day. Chicago, snow breaks out during the day on Thursday. At the same time, rainy weather, D.C., Richmond, Philadelphia, New York City, Thursday evening. Then as we go into Friday morning, this is the peak of the storm. This is when it becomes a bomb cyclone.

It rapidly strengthens. And that's when the wind gusts are going to do their most damage. I'm very concerned with power outages. They could be in the hundreds of thousands by the time we get to Christmas weekend. So think of the people without power, negative wind chills, and the power crews that have to turn them on over the holiday weekend. What a nightmare this is going to be. So we got the blowing and drifting snow. At the same time, coastal flooding, southern New England, heavy rain, a lot of airport problems.

And then I'm concerned with the flash freeze. After that mess in the Northeast is done on Friday during the day in the afternoon evening, that cold air comes in. So this storm, yes, every snowstorm, we talk about snow amounts. and a lot of people have a chance of getting snow out of this. The heaviest snow is going to be in the Great Lakes, 6 to 12 inches. It's really the winds that are going to cause so many more issues with this storm, not only because it's blowing the cold air all the way to the south, but because of those power outages I mentioned.

How's this area? Negative 2 wind chill in Dallas as we go throughout Friday morning by Saturday, even central Florida is below freezing. So a pretty rare event. Wow, I would not expect that. All right, Bill Karens. We appreciate it tonight. Bill, thank you.

Now to the latest developments on that Idaho murder mystery. investigating a white Hyundai, a sedan, found abandoned in Eugene, Oregon. That's about 450 miles away from Moscow, Idaho. It is similar to the car authorities have been looking for for a while now. For more on this case, Steve Patterson joins us now from our Los Angeles Bureau, where he's been tracking this. So, Steve, what are authorities saying about this car now? Yeah, Aaron, so we've now heard from two agencies on this, the Eugene Police Department and, of course, Moscow Police. Eugene PD says, the car, a white Hyundai Allantra, like the one.

you're seeing now, was left on the street in Eugene after a non-injury crash and then in exchange of vehicle information. That was on December 15th. On December 17th, someone was found sleeping in that car. They questioned this person, and then they let this person go. The implication was that this was an unhoused person with likely nothing to do with the case. Eugene PD says they've then forwarded all relevant information to Moscow PD with their department telling us that the car was actually registered in Colorado. So that's what we know. Certainly a lot of people are hoping this was a big break in this case after police notified the public that there was this white Hyundai Alantra in the immediate area at the time those four college students were murdered.

Since then, it has become a cornerstone lead in this case, ushering in thousands of tips and theories and sightings. But at this point, we're still short of that big break. Aaron? Steve Patterson for us tonight in L.A. Steve, thank you. Next tonight to the migrant crisis at the southern border. The Biden administration asking the Supreme Court to lift a pandemic border restriction. At the same time, border officials are warning that will lead to a sharp rise in illegal border crossings. NBC's Julia Ainsley has more. Tonight, chaotic scenes in El Paso, including these migrants climbing over a border fence,

others going under barbed wire put up by Texas National Guard, all part of an ongoing surge of illegal border crossings here. And coming just as the Biden administration is asking the Supreme Court to lift a pandemic border restriction known as Title 42. A move border officials say would send the number of illegal border crossings soaring even higher to a record 10,000 per day. The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked lifting Title 42 at the request of 19 Republican states. But the Biden administration asking the court to reverse that and a filing tonight saying Title 42, is no longer necessary to protect public health. Meanwhile, in El Paso, officials say they're facing a humanitarian crisis.

It's about 33 degrees here in downtown El Paso, where migrants are sleeping and huddling together for warmth. You can see the city has come through here to clean out trash. Others have donated clothes, and right now, officials say they're overwhelmed. We spoke to Natalie, who traveled from Venezuela with her daughter Rosa. The girl without shoes in frigid temperatures after losing them on the journey. They fell off, Natalie says. Her cheeks are burned from the trip and the cold. Natalie told us she was surprised that they were able to just walk across the border into El Paso

without being stopped by Border Patrol. I walked through, she told us. And then we met Gabriela. How are you keeping warm? Our hands are freezing and our ribs, the headaches, the body, feet. It's unbearable, she says. El Paso is in its. fourth day of a state of emergency. Officials saying city resources are maxed out and they're pleading

for federal help. There's not enough money. There's no community that could take an influx like that. We have seen a significant increase. Ruben Garcia runs a network of 15 migrant shelters in El Paso and said he has had to turn migrants away because they don't have room. What do you think things will look like here in El Paso when Title 42 is eventually lifted? I think it's something that we probably can't even describe. The numbers will be very, very high. And Julia joins us now from El Paso, Texas. Julia, first, can you explain the scene where you are there in El Paso tonight? I see people behind you. Yeah, you might see them moving really quickly here. A food truck, a truck carrying food that they're passing out to these hungry and cold migrants has just arrived.

Some of these people will be lucky enough to spend the night inside Sacred Heart Church tonight. Most of those women and children. Others will be left to sleep on the streets as the temperatures get into the low 30s. We've seen people, just citizens of El Paso come here, pop over their trunks full of clothes, food, whatever they have to share as these migrants have come to try to take what they can to survive this weather and to get through the next few days as they try to get to their final destinations. But this is all because the city says they're too full to shelter these people. And Julia, I understand that you are also learning that the Biden administration, is considering some changes at the border as well, right?

Yeah, that's right. Because of criticism about the Biden administration's border policies, they're now weighing a plan that would make it harder to claim asylum at the southern border than make it easier to claim for humanitarian parole and other protections from home countries. That, though, I'm told by immigration advocates would be like slamming a door and cracking a window. There would not be as many paths open to come legally to the United States. as there are for asylum seekers who show up here at the border. But they're trying to do it because when Title 42 does eventually lift,

and we're waiting to hear from the Supreme Court on that, they think there could be an even stronger pull to the southern border. And cities like this one say they just can't take that. Julia Ainsley-Forest in El Paso tonight. Julia, thank you. And we have breaking news tonight, both the White House and Capitol Hill, preparing for a possible visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

White House correspondent Monica Alba has the late-breaking details from the White House tonight. Monica, what do we know? Yeah, this would be an incredibly significant visit, Aaron, but you can imagine there are a lot of security considerations. So according to five sources familiar with the preliminary planning, this could happen tomorrow, but there are so many different moving pieces that everything could still shift. If he does make this visit to Washington, it would be the first time the Ukrainian President has left the country since the start of the war after the Russian invasion in February. There are talks of him coming to Capitol Hill to address a joint session of Congress in the House

chamber and then also to meet with President Biden here at the White House, if all goes according to plan. All of our sources stressed that there is a lot of delicate negotiation around how this can happen given the security concerns. But it's notable as well because it could come on a day when the White House is expected to announce a new Ukrainian aid package that could include as early as tomorrow the Patriot missile defense system, something that Ukraine has been asking for for a long time. It's also possible that the president will discuss with the Ukrainian president what would happen next, but the U.S. has been a staunch defender and supporter of Ukraine throughout this war. Aaron? Monica Alba at the White House tonight. A burning question in New York

tonight, who is George Santos really? Voters just elected the Republican to Congress, but a New York Times report is questioning his credentials, including his degree and his involvement in a non-profit that apparently does not exist. Gabe Gutierrez has more on the potential political and legal fallout for Santos. This campaign was never about me. It was always about the people. Just weeks after pulling off a midterm upset, tonight New York Republican congressman-elect

George Santos is facing mounting pressure after a bombshell report in the New York Times, alleging much of his life story may be fake. He has spat in the face of every resident in the third congressional district and said that facts do not matter. Baruch College, NYU, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup all tell NBC News they have no record of Santos, despite being listed on his campaign biography. Also, a tax-exempt animal rescue group he claims to run is not listed on the IRS website. The Times raises questions about how Santos managed to lend his campaign $700,000. The paper also reports unresolved criminal charges against Santos involving fraudulent checks in Brazil.

The local GOP chair calls the allegations serious and says he looks forward to Santos' response. Democrats are now calling for a House ethics investigation. He's got to stand up and say whether or not he's been honest. And if he hasn't, then he should not be seated. Santos' attorney did not respond to specifics of the Times report, but said in part it is no surprise that Congressman Alex Santos has enemies at the New York Times who are attempting to smear his good name with these defamatory allegations. Robert Zimmerman ran against him. A number of the issues in that article were not shocking to us. It was documented in the opposition research that was done during the course of the campaign.

And Gabe Gutierrez joins us now. So Gabe, why are these allegations just now coming to light? Well, Aaron, that's a very good question, especially since Santos actually ran unsuccessfully for Congress back in 2020. But now the New York Times taking this detailed look at this long list of allegations of misrepresentation that, yes, only now is starting to get traction. And we heard from one of the former opponents of Santos in your piece there. What do these allegations say about the opposing party, in this case the Democrats' research during the campaign process? given that he also ran for Congress in 2020. Right. Well, some national Democrats are criticizing the local campaign for not paying enough attention to this.

But as he just heard in the piece, the campaign says, look, we knew of at least some of these misrepresentation. And there was some mention of them in local media. But again, it has not gotten this amount of traction until the New York Times laid it all out. and then those basic misrepresentations, or at least allegations, we have not yet heard from Santos himself on the specifics of this, but if he did misrepresent where he went to school, where he worked, that raises a lot of questions as he is set to be sworn in in just a few weeks, Aaron. Gabe Gutierrez reporting here in New York.

Tonight, thousands of people are cleaning up after a large earthquake rattled Northern California. It was a 6.4 magnitude quake that struck in the middle of the night, damaging homes, roads, and businesses, and many people are still without power. NBC's Miguel Almagare has the latest. Jolted out of bed and into chaos, residents in Humboldt County, California, waking up this morning to their lives, turned upside down. Structural collapse with entrapment. A powerful and deadly 6.4 earthquake damaging homes, destroying businesses and severing roads. You have a broken window and there's several cracks in the building.

Striking at 2.34 a.m., much of Northern California was rattled, centered 200 miles north of San Francisco, and just outside the small town of Furndale, locals say the violent tremor shook for nearly 20 seconds. This is ground zero. We have several of the residents that have been red-tagged. First responders say two people suffered medical emergencies and died. Eleven others were injured. Even before sunrise, the apparent damage was widespread. Homes slid off foundations, and inside virtually everything was strewn across floors. Over 70,000 lost power, gas lines rupture. For some, there was warning. State officials say California's My Shake app alerted 3 million people the shake was coming, 10 seconds before the ground started shaking.

With damage assessment underway, today's quake comes exactly one year to the day, a 6.2 tremor rocked the same region. Tonight for communities living on shaky ground, just under 100 aftershocks are rattling not just the region, but also nerves. Miguel Al-Miguerre, NBC News. And still ahead tonight, emergency crews on the scene of a massive train derailment in Tennessee, a train slamming into a tractor trailer, then careening off the tracks. The new images coming in at this hour.

Plus, a warning tonight ahead of the holidays, the popular toy that landed in. a baby girl in the hospital, what her mother wants other parents to know. And in Michigan, another mother's billboard plea, how one woman is taking her son's unsolved murder into her own hands. Stay with us, top story just getting started on a Tuesday night. And we're back now with a mother's desperate plea. A Michigan mom is taking her son's unsolved murder case to the public, putting up a billboard in an effort to catch her son's killer.

NBC's Kathy Park has that story. Tonight, a mother and beloved community activist in Michigan is calling out the police department with this billboard. Her son was shot and killed outside their home. And now she's pleading for the public's help. Just like the billboard said, I saw who killed them. I walked outside on the porch after I heard the gunshots. And I looked right over there and I saw them running.

Shamaim Harris says her son, Chenyalu Humphrey, was on Neighborhood Watch January 26, 2021, trying to keep crime away when he was killed. I want the killers to know that I saw you. I saw you. I saw you run away after you shot my son five times. Now nearly two years later and no arrest, Mama's shoe, as Harris is affectionately called, is taking the case into her own hands. I can't sit around this city and not do nothing about it. The scene almost reminiscent of the Academy Award-winning film three billboards outside Eving, Missouri. I don't know what the police are doing. I hadn't heard a word from them in seven goddamn months.

I'll tell you this, I've heard an awful lot for them since I put them billboards up. Now, the real-life scene playing out near Detroit. My police report got lost a couple of times. I had to resubmitted it twice. First Highland Park, police had it. Now it's down to Wayne County. and it's like no movement. I can't even get a call back.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said they returned the case to Highland Park for further investigation in June, adding Michigan State Police are now the investigating agency. Michigan State Police say they were asked to take a look at the case last week after the billboard went up, but also say they, quote, do not have it as of yet. The issue of unsolved murders is felt beyond Mommishu's neighborhood. In 2021, only about 50% of homicides were solved. in the U.S., according to the murder accountability project, which tracks a so-called clearance rate. We don't have enough trained police. We don't have enough support personnel and laboratory capacity.

We don't have enough of everything. But in Highland Park, only two of the nine homicides reported in 2021 were cleared, less than a quarter. Their clearance data for homicide is proof that they are insufficiently resourced to meet the challenge. The Highland Park Police Department telling NBC News, quote, we believe that there is a lot of misinformation going around regarding this case, adding it could not provide a formal response due to time constraints. Even before the 2021 homicide, Mama's shoes spent more than a decade trying to save the neighborhood after her two-year-old son died in a hit and run in 2007. We deserve to have a quality living environment. While celebrating victories along the way, what you're doing is so incredible. Tragedy struck again, leaving her with few options and a renewed sense of purpose. It'll stay up another month if I need for it to stay up another month.

Kathy Park, NBC News. Turning now to a warning for our viewers during this holiday week, one mother's sounding the alarm about a popular toy. She says her infant daughter accidentally swallowed a water bead and it nearly killed her. NBC's Valerie Castro has the story. Baby Kennedy now eating and smiling, but last month, her mom says she had a near-death experience, undergoing several emergency surgeries to clear a blockage in her small intestine, all because she accidentally swallowed a small toy. It was really scary. It was the hardest time in my life to be there for my child, but not be able to, like, physically help her. Her mom, Felicia Mitchell, saying it was a water bead, part of an activity kid given to an older sibling. She's on a ventilator and a lot of different medicines.

Mitchell documenting the horrifying ordeal on social media, updating her daughter's milestones and setbacks. Today is three weeks that we've been here. And I'm just very discouraged because I don't even have the privilege of doing the most basic thing for her, which is feeding her. What were they telling you about her chance of survival? There were a couple times that her chance of survival was like 50-50. They couldn't tell me that she was going to be okay or that she would make it.

After five surgeries and countless long nights, Kennedy and her mom are back home. She has three older brothers, and they all missed her a lot. It's been great to just have us together as a family again. According to the National Poison Control Center, swallowing a water bead can cause life-threatening intestinal damage, since it can expand up to 200 times its initial size when it absorbs water. After Kennedy's story went viral in November, Target pulled the toy by chuckle and roar that included water beads from their shelves. Target telling NBC News the item was removed

while they addressed these concerns with the vendor, and we are treating the situation very seriously and send our heartfelt sympathy to this family. Chuckle and Roar's parent company Buffalo Games did not return NBC's request comment. There is a warning label on the box saying it's a choking hazard and meant for ages four and up, but Mitchell thinks that doesn't go far enough. I just don't think they're an appropriate toy. For now, Mitchell is just happy to have her baby back in her arms. You know, it's a long recovery still for her, but I'm always going to be here for her, and I just feel incredibly lucky to have her. And Valerie joins us now. Valerie, we know that this, in this case, Target has

pulled the toy and won't be selling it, but can people still buy these water beads? Yes, so they're made from several different manufacturers, and you can buy them online or in stores. And in some cases, they're sold as a sensory toy. In this case, mom says she bought them for her nine-year-old son, who is on the spectrum. Now, I know initially that Kennedy's mom said she didn't really know what was wrong, right, in this case. Do we have any idea about signs and symptoms that there might be a problem like this? So in an infant, there are symptoms that can probably look like a lot of different

things, but the American Academy of Pediatrics says refusing to eat, drooling, violence, vomiting, wheezing, and abdominal pain can all be symptoms, but they say if parents witness their children actually ingesting one of these beads, they should seek professional treatment right away, maybe even call poison control. Some really important reporting for parents tonight. Valerie Castro, thank you. We appreciate it. When we come back, the Amber Alert issued after twins were abducted in Ohio, the five-month-olds taken from a parking lot in Columbus, where one of the boys was found safe as the search for his brother continues. Back now with Top Story's News Feed and the statewide Amber Alert in Ohio after two twin boys were abducted in their mother's car. Police say Caillard and Kashan Thomas were left in their car seats while their mother went inside a Columbus pizza shop. A suspect driving away with that car and the five-month-olds inside it. Kairair was found hours later at the Dayton Airport.

His brother is still missing. Police have identified 24-year-old Nala Tamir. Michael Jackson as a person of interest in this case. Several emergency agencies responding to the scene of a massive train derailment in Collegedale, Tennessee. Police say a freight train slammed into a truck that was pulling a 60-foot concrete barrier. At least 10 box cars barreling off the rails there, spilling a large amount of diesel fuel. Two employees on that train were hurt, but they are expected to be okay. Emergency evacuations underway in Colorado as a fast-moving wildfire threatens nearby homes.

This, as a structural fire Monday afternoon burning in the mountains of Boulder County is believed to have started this, mandatory evacuations in place for nearly 1,000 residents at this point, 200 firefighters still battling the blaze, which is just 25% contained. And Wells Fargo slapped with the largest fine ever from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the bank agreeing to pay $3.7 billion after it was accused of a variety of consumer banking violations from 2011 to 2022. The Bureau says more than 16 million customers were affected by things like misapplying payments on home and auto loans

and improperly repossessing cars. Next tonight, we have an NBC New York exclusive. One woman now saying she was kicked out of Radio City Music Hall after the venue used controversial facial recognition technology to detect a conflict with her attending the show there. NBC New York's Sarah Wallace has the investigation for us tonight. It's the Christmas season, and I was excited, and my daughter was excited to go and see the Radio City Christmas spectacular and see the rock cats. Kelly Conlon's daughter is a Girl Scout.

The weekend after Thanksgiving, members of her troop and some moms took a field trip to the famous venue. But to MSG entertainment, Conlon isn't just any mom. This is a photo of security guards approaching her inside the lobby. It was pretty simultaneous, I think, to me, going through the metal detector that I heard. heard that over a loudspeaker. I heard them say woman with long dark hair and gray scarf. I was asked my name and I was asked to provide my identification. Did they say something about facial recognition? I believe they did. I believe they said that our recognition picked you up. A sign says facial recognition is used as a security measure to ensure safety for guests and

employees. Conlin says she posed no threat, but the guards still kicked her out with this explanation. We know that you are an attorney, and they knew my name before I told it to them. They knew the firm that I was associated with before I told them, and they told me that I was not allowed to be there. Conlon is an associate with the New Jersey-based law firm, Davis, Saperstein, and Solomon, which for years has been involved in personal injury litigation against a restaurant venue now under the umbrella of MSG entertainment. I don't practice in New York. I'm not an attorney that works on any cases against MSG.

But MSG says she was still banned, along with fellow attorneys in that firm and others. A spokesperson saying in a statement, quote, MSG instituted a straightforward policy that precludes attorneys pursuing active litigation against the company from attending events at our venues until that litigation. has been resolved. While we understand this policy is disappointing to some, we cannot ignore the fact that litigation creates an inherently adverse environment. All impacted attorneys were notified of the policy, including Davis, Saperstein, and Solomon, which was notified twice. This whole scheme is a pretext for doing collective punishment on adversaries who would

dare sue MSG. Other firms have sued over being blacklisted. Conlon says she thought a recent judge's order in one of those cases made it clear that ticket holders like her may not be denied entry to any shows. I was just a mom taking my daughter to see a Christmas show. MSG says in this particular situation, only the one attorney who chose to attend was denied entry and the rest of her group, including the Girl Scouts, were all able to attend and enjoy the show. So you waited outside?

I did. I waited outside. It was embarrassing. It was mortifying. Separating a mother from her daughter and Girl Scouts that she was watching over, and to do it under the pretext of protecting any disclosure of litigation information is absolutely absurd. The fact that they're using facial recognition technology to do this is frightening. It's just un-American to do this.

Davis is now upping the legal anti-challenging MSG Entertainment's liquor license. A spokesperson says they are confident their policy is in compliance with all applicable laws, including the state liquor authority. From Midtown, Sarah Wallace News for New York. So let's talk a little more about this case now. NBC News legal analyst Danny Savalos is joining us. Danny, a lot of questions here. I mean, what's the legal precedent, if any, for a company, prevent? attorneys pursuing active litigation against them entering one of their venues. Was this handled the right way, do you think? Well, first, I've never been so biased on a story in my life.

I mean, I practiced this kind of litigation, and it's a scary thought to think that companies might institute policies, large companies, that prevent attorneys involved in litigation from attending events at their venues. But I have to admit that it has long been the case, that when you are a ticket holder to a concert or a sporting event, that is a mere license. It's not a guarantee that you're going to get in. And the venue owner, the property owner, the restaurant that you're eating dinner, they can choose to have whoever they want in their restaurant. And that is really only limited by civil rights laws.

You can't exclude people based on race or some other protected class. But other than that, you can kick people out for any reason, including a bad reason. And if you're using face technology to do it, it's just an extension of the same. rule. And I want to get more into the technology here, point in a second. But MSG said that litigation creates a, quote, inherently adverse environment. Are there any sort of exceptions when it comes to these sorts of policies that the lawyers in this case might be able to argue the lawyers for MSG?

Well, first, notice, MSG is facially inconsistent here. They say the facial recognition is for everyone's safety. But then they say, oh, no, we're keeping law firms that are litigating against the out because we think that's bad. So really, which is it? I mean, look, I think it's pretty clear here what happened. At least I think what happened was they went to the firm's website, downloaded all their pictures or got them some other way, and they put that into the system. I seriously doubt they're running every human being who walks by there. By the way, Aaron, that includes you and me. We walk by that exact building probably every

day. So who knows if they're picking up our images? I mean, that really drives at home. but we're probably not on the list of that particular law firm and the people suing MSG. I think about, I guess, back in the day when if a business didn't want you to come in, a restaurant would make put your picture up behind the counter or your name and say, hey, don't do business with this guy. But is this AI technology just the way of the future when it comes to security at large-scale events? Do you think are venues required in any way to let people know that they're under this sort of surveillance? This is absolutely the wave of the future.

in the not too far future, you won't even need to be notified. It'll just be an expectation of society that you don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy when you're walking around in public or attending a public venue. I mean, what I'd like to see is this facial recognition track down some more of America's most wanted and not some lawyer trying to take her daughter to the Rockett. I just think this is probably not the best application of this terrific technology. Yeah, all right, NBC News Legal Analyst, Danny Savalos, with us tonight. And next tonight, a look at the new NBC News Now special, Scorched East Africa's climate crisis. It features reporting on the ground in Kenya by NBC News Chief International correspondent Kier Simmons.

The special takes viewers inside that country's devastating hunger crisis. Kier visiting a girl's school where they are forced to choose which girls to feed because there isn't enough food. Here's a look at what he found. are learning to hope despite horrifying hardship. Finally, they have fresh water at some perpetual girls' school, part of UNICEF's work to ease a fast developing drought in East Africa, while their headmistress is an inspiration. You can show these girls that a woman can...

Can make it. Can make it in life. Even in these harsh times, with the little they have, with no food, no food, they can still make it. And for more on the special and the country's catastrophe, really. Kier Simmons is joining us now from London.

Kier, we really appreciate you joining us and you're reporting on this. Tell us a little bit more about your experience reporting in Kenya. Not only did you visit the girls' school there, you also spoke with some families that are selling gold to feed themselves now, right? Yeah, that was a community, Aaron, that we had to drive some distance to reach.

I mean, they were very distant from anything. I mean, these were people, our people, who lived on livestock. The livestock has passed away because of the drought, because there's nothing to eat. And so they've gone to a place where there is nothing. There's no schools. There's no running water. There's no hospitals. In fact, UNICEF arrived while we were there, and they set up a health clinic using things like this little packet of, it's a nut-based paste,

that just helps children suffering severe malnutrition. This one, by the way, is out of date. I haven't taken one that could have been used. But it just strikes you that small things like this can make a huge difference to what is a huge crisis. Millions are suffering from the effects of climate change as well as war and the war in Ukraine as well as local wars. There are so many aspects to this, but here's one aspect of it, Aaron, you know, these people

didn't cause climate change. The contribution to climate change is infinitesimal, and yet they are suffering from it. And I think that's why there's a real responsibility around the world to help. Yeah, we have to take that into account the reality that so much of what they're dealing with is not done at their hands. I do want to ask you, just before we let you go, what surprised you the most about your visit to Kenya that you're really looking forward to sharing with viewers? in the special, not to steal too much thunder from you there.

People's resilience, just the extraordinary ability of people to help, to try and find hope when there doesn't seem to be much hope, that girls' school where they're trying to build a future, despite the fact that girls' school only just got running water, can't feed many of its students. And in this special, Aaron, you know, we talk to people talking to us from Africa, from this part of Africa, about their ideas, about how you can build a sustainable future. that doesn't just help people now but helps them, you know, in the long run. People are incredible, even despite this hardship.

And again, that is why I think we really have a duty to pay attention. Keir Simmons for us in London tonight. And you can catch much more of Keir's reporting tonight on the NBC News Now special, Scorched, East Africa's climate crisis that streams at 1030 Eastern right here on NBC News Now. Coming up, two brothers seeking answers. They helped Americans fight the Taliban. in Afghanistan, but now the wall at the U.S. southern border is keeping them apart. Their story is next.

We are back now with the Americas and another story from the border. This one about two brothers from Afghanistan, both worked alongside American troops in the country, but now their stories couldn't be more different. One is here living freely with a visa. The other is in detention. Julia Ainsley has the story. These two Afghan brothers put their lives at risk to help Americans in the fight against the Taliban. From 2010 to 2019, Sammy as a translator and Wasi as a member of Afghan special forces.

He's my brother. We lived through struggle and stress. We lived every moment of our life together. But the two brothers, who once shared the same mission, now both of them living two different realities. Today, Sammy is living freely in Houston, thanks to a visa he earned for his service to the U.S. But Wasi is in federal prison, facing charges for crossing the U.S. border illegally. Nobody answered my question. Why am here?

Answers the brothers are now seeking. We spoke to Wasi by phone from his prison in Eden, Texas. Everyone just said you're illegally close, but no one here my reason. His reason, Wasi says, is he was running from Taliban soldiers who wanted him dead. Wasi tried to get a special immigrant visa like his brother, but was told he did not qualify because he was not paid directly by the U.S. for his service in Afghanistan. After the fall of Afghanistan, he was one of the thousands of Afghans attempting to flee on one of the last flights out of the airport in Kabul.

Having no such luck, he escaped to Pakistan and got a humanitarian. humanitarian visa to Brazil. From there, he traveled as so many migrants do, thousands of miles, through the dangerous Darien Gap, into Panama, and finally up through Mexico to the U.S. border. Sammy, who earned his visa to the U.S. in 2015, waited to hear from his brother on each leg of the trip. Sammy said his brother was beaten and tortured along the way. So it was the hardest reality and him finding himself in most difficult moments of his life where he's being called terrorists, wherever he was going, being tortured and different types of torture he received from different countries.

Sammy said Wasi kept his hopes alive by dreaming of the day he would cross into the U.S. and explain that he had helped Americans in Afghanistan. So he thought that once he made it to the U.S. border, then he would be safe. He thought that if he comes to America, he will be treated as a hero. Instead, he was apprehended by the Border Patrol and prosecuted for crossing the border illegally. The charge is a misdemeanor under U.S. law, and many thousands of migrants are released daily without prosecution for committing the same crime.

Other migrants who crossed with WASI were also released. I don't know why I'm here and another guy there was with me. Now you're at home and you're okay. The Justice Department said they could not comment on Wasey's case beyond what has been filed in court. Court papers show he is being detained without bond, not because he poses a threat to national security, but because the judge considers him a flight risk. It has failed everyone, but it didn't help me.

Now I come here by my house to save my noise. Now this semi-treated to the jail. Sammy says he now has trouble sleeping and is distressed that he cannot help his little brother. Being held in prison and the same state he now calls home. I'm coming from a family that we have done nothing but sacrificed for this country. He said his brother is paying the price of a failed U.S. evacuation. So what's my brother's fault in this whole situation? when the collapse happened, he deserved to be evacuated.

He worked with American soldiers, and American soldiers in government knew that if he is captured by a Taliban for the work that he have done, he will be tortured and killed in the worst way possible. And Julia joins us again now from El Paso, Texas, right at the southern border. Julia, just a really powerful story here. What is Sammy doing now to help his brother get out of detention? Any options for them?

Sammy's doing everything he can. He's already tried to petition members of Congress. He's tried to do everything he can through the U.S. government. And now he's trying to get his story out, his brother's story out, as much as possible. And you can learn more about those efforts at Justice for Wasey.com. Julia Ainsley reporting for us tonight from El Paso, Texas along the border there with Mexico. Julia, thank you. When we come back, the unbelievable scenes in Argentina, fans packing the streets there, welcoming home, their World Cup champs, one of our NBC News producers on the ground there with them.

We're going to check in with him next. I mean, talk about a party. That is drone footage of the massive crowds in Argentina's capital, all there to celebrate their men's national soccer team's World Cup win. Government declaring the day a national holiday there. That celebration so large, the players actually had to be evacuated from their parade bus by helicopter. We want to turn now to Borino-Sires and today's show producer Lucas Vasquez. Lucas, we appreciate you being able to join us tonight to talk about what has really been an incredible few days for Argentina.

The images we just showed of the celebrations, it looks like everybody in the country was in Buenos Aires today. And what were the celebrations like? I mean, the scenes speak for themselves is it was just unbelievable. It's, you know, this soccer is like a religion here in Argentina. And winning the World Cup is the peak. You know, it's the happiest day of so many people's lives. can tell you that and you know being there in the middle of the crowd it started at 7 a.m. even earlier in that people slept there overnight and camped out because they wanted to

have the first look at the players just a two second glance at Messi and they'd be ecstatic for the rest of their life but it was absolute madness you have people chanting hugging each other strangers that seem like brothers and sisters at times all over the city I mean five million people in the city that is about three million people that's you know the entire was out celebrating. So it was just madness. It really is beautiful to see. I wonder about you in particular. Can you tell us about your decision to leave New York, to go to Argentina to celebrate this World Cup victory in Argentina? Yeah. I mean, my family grew up in Argentina. Most of my family's here. So I've come here a lot during my life. I've got to school with our friends here.

But I wasn't planning to come here. And then when Argentina made the final, it clicked. I had to be here. I got a ticket. I didn't know if the celebrations be this large, you know, but, you know, this was expected. And, you know, you could go to Qatar to see the game, that'd be legendary as well. But, you know, to be here for the celebrations is a different kind of emotion, different feeling, you know. You can look back at this is a historic moment and say, I was here. I can, I was in the streets.

I can feel what the people felt, and it was, I didn't want to miss out. You know, it's a very important moment in this country's history. Yeah, I want to ask you a little bit more about that. I mean, obviously in this country, I think there are some people in the U.S. who are just coming around to how big a deal soccer is around the world. But they're in Argentina, it really is a big deal. What does this mean, this win mean to you and to the people of Argentina? Yeah, I think, you know, Argentina's Third World Cup.

And I think it's a generational, it is something generational about this. You know, my generation, I'm 28 years old. I never got to see Argentina win a World Cup. parents did because Argentina won in 1978 and 1986. So we, my generation, though, was a little above me, grew up hearing all these anecdotes, all these stories about what it was like in 86, what it was like in 78 in the streets. We always wanted to live that at one point in our lives, you know. It was our dream of our life and we, I don't know if I would have ever lived that. But then, of course, Messi saved us and we got to live it. And, you know, we're able to tell our kids about it,

our grandkids, and hopefully they will be able to live it as well. But it's something that's eternal. And it means the world. I can imagine a lot of kids who are born in the next few years will be named Leonel, so it moves a lot. All right, a dream come true for sure. Congratulations to you. Congratulations to all of Argentina for this big win. Lucas, thank you. We appreciate it. You got it. I appreciate it. And thank you so much for watching Top Story. For Tom Yamis, I'm Aaron Gilchrist in New York. Stay right there. More news now is on the way. For me, every day I want to go. Just the world's living,

that's the sentiment and so can't ban.