Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Episode Date: March 13, 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 questioning the special counsel, Robert Herr, taking heat for not pursuing criminal charges against President Biden for his handling of classified documents. Her in the hot seat as Republicans and Democrats grill him over his report. Democrats slamming the special counsel after writing that Biden is an elderly man with a poor memory. Her on the defense saying his characterization of the president was necessary. Republicans scrutinizing the special counsel, drawing comparison. between Biden and Trump, a breakdown of the tense exchanges on Capitol Hill. Also tonight, Haiti's prime minister calling it quits. The prime minister succumbing to pressure as violent gangs overrun the country.

The former leader insisting a transitional council be established in his absence. But the question remains if these changes can restore order to a nation plagued by crime and political unrest. Deadly house explosion, the blast leveling a home in Western PA, heard and felt by neighbors miles away. firefighters arriving on scene to complete devastation as official search for a possible cause. Ignoring hate crimes and alarming study finding an uptick and assaults on Asian Americans in one of America's largest cities. Many going underreported. We hear from survivors on these brazen attacks as communities nationwide remain on edge. The hope that coming forward will inspire others to speak out against injustice. A University of Missouri student disappears. The college

senior kicked out of a Nashville bar during a fraternity trip, hasn't been heard from since. His family pleading for answers as police combed through security footage in the hopes of finding him. Plus, stadium freeze. In January, Chiefs fans weathered sub-zero attempts to watch a playoff game. Now, some are facing the reality of losing a limb due to the frostbite suffered in the stance, the medical repercussions of one of the coldest NFL games on record. And retail theft ring, a CNBC exclusive, an inside look at organized crime targeting retailers nationwide, the investigation into how millions and stolen goods end up on marketplaces like Amazon and how law enforcement is cracking down. Top story starts right now.

And good evening. We begin tonight with special counsel Robert Herr, grilled on Capitol Hill over his investigation into Joe Biden's handling of those classified documents and his decision not to charge the president in the case. In his opening statement, Herr standing by his characterization of President Biden as a, quote, elderly man with a poor memory. My assessment in the report about the relevance of the president's memory was necessary and accurate and fair. I did not sanitize my explanation, nor did I disparage the president unfairly.

Her claiming his analysis of Biden's mental fitness was the reason he, He didn't press charges. But House Democrats slammed his depiction of Biden's mental acuity, accusing her of political attacks on the president. But you are a Republican, though, aren't you? I am a registered Republican. Yes, sir. And you're doing everything you can do to get President Trump reelected

so that you can get appointed as a federal judge or perhaps to another position. Congressman, I have no such aspirations. I can assure you, and I can tell you that partisan politics had no place whatsoever. and my work. On the other side, Republicans arguing the report is evidence of a two-tiered system of justice since former President Trump

was charged in his classified documents case, while Democrats accused her of pushing a Republican agenda, Republicans accuse him of the opposite. I want to thank you for the work that you did as far as you could, but unfortunately, you are part of the Pretorian Guard that guards the swamp out here in

Washington, D.C., protecting the elites. And Joe Biden is part of of that company of the elites. All of this as the transcript of hers full interview with President Biden became public today. Seeming to confirm that President Biden did forget the year his son Beau died. But we begin tonight with NBC's senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez. Tonight, the firestorm over President Biden's handling of classified documents is reigniting. You exonerated.

I know that the term will, Mr. Hur, it's my time. Special counsel Robert Herr, a former Trump appointed U.S. attorney testifying about his report, recommending no charges. We identified evidence that the president willfully retained classified materials after the end of his vice presidency. We did not, however, identify evidence that rose to the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Her defended, including damaging details about President Biden's mental acuity, including that the 81-year-old president had diminished faculties and would present himself to a jury as an elderly man with a poor memory. I did not sanitize my explanation.

nor did I disparage the president unfairly. But Her was grilled by both Republicans. Joe Biden broke the law. But because he's a forgetful old man who would appear sympathetic to a jury, Mr. Hur chose not to bring charges. And Democrats. You chose a general pejorative reference to the president. You understood when you made that decision, didn't you, Mr. Hur,

that you would ignite a political firestorm with that language, didn't you? Congressman, politics played no part whatsoever. in my investigative steps. Her wrote President Biden could not remember when he was vice president, or even the year his son Bo died. The president said he was outraged. Her asked him about his son. Frankly, when I was asked the question I thought to myself, it wasn't any of their damn business. But the transcript of Her's interview released today confirmed it was the president himself who brought up his son's death, as NBC News previously reported. The president asked, what month did Bo die? Oh God, May 30th. And others respond 2015. The president,

then asks, was it 2015 he had died? Why did the president say that it was Robert Herr who brought up his son's death when the transcript shows otherwise? Well, the transcript clearly shows that the president was being asked by the special counsel about the book that he wrote about his son's unfortunate and untimely passing. Classified documents were found in President Biden's old offices, his Delaware home and his garage. All were returned. Democrats today comparing the case to former President Trump, who's pleaded not guilty to criminal charges for alleged. mishandling classified documents. Her writing, while Mr. Trump was given multiple chances to return the documents,

he allegedly did the opposite and enlisted others to destroy evidence. The desperate quest to invent an issue is a distraction from the 91 federal and state federal charges that Donald Trump faces now. According to hers report, President Biden shared classified material with his ghostwriter, though the president disputes that. Republicans say his motives included an $8 million book advance. It wasn't just $8 million. It was also his ego.

Pride and money is why he knowingly violated the rules. You agree with that, Mr. Hur? That language end. It does appear in the report, and we did identify evidence supporting those assessments. Gabe Gutierrez joins Top Story Live tonight from the White House. Gabe, as you mentioned in your report, this testimony puts the age concerns about Biden's center stage once again. That new transcript, I should say, seeming to show Biden did, for us. forget the year his son died. We saw your exchange there with the White House counsel's

office. What else is the White House saying about that moment and that testimony tonight? Well, Tom, the White House was pressed late today on whether this exonerated the president. Spokesman Ian Sams was careful not to use that word, but he did say the special counsel's report cleared the president, and that bottom line, this was case closed. Still, Republicans are now asking for audio recordings of the president's interview to be released. The White House says the transcript was enough, Tom. And, Gabe, the report dropped is considered one of the worst the Biden campaign has had this cycle. How concerned are they that this affects sort of the rest of the campaign, and it lingers through November?

Well, Tom, the Biden administration and the campaign are eager to move on from this. We heard the White House counsel's office trying to turn this around on Republicans, though, saying the ongoing impeachment inquiry was a waste of time as well, and that they should focus instead on passing national security funding. Still, there are persistent voter concerns about the president's age. And we do not expect Republicans to let up on that subject anytime soon, Tom. All right, Gabe, we thank you for that. Now to the growing problems for Boeing, an investigation now underway into that Latam Airlines flight that took a 41,000-foot nosedive on Sunday, injuring dozens.

This has sources close to a separate investigation, say the company has failed 33 of 89 FAA audits. Let me see Tom Costello has the details. The focus for investigators that terrifying nosedive off New Zealand, that injured dozens. Passengers say the Latam pilot claimed he suddenly lost control of the Boeing 787 when the flight data computers went dark. In 2016, the FAA issued an airworthiness directive for the 787, warning that if the flight control computers are not reset every 22 days, they could shut themselves down, which could result in flight controls that don't respond and a temporary loss of controllability. Investigators will look at whether the airport

plane was completely depowered at one point in the last three weeks. Meanwhile, two months since that midair max nine emergency sources close to the investigation say Boeing has failed 33 of 89 FAA audits. The FAA confirming it identified non-compliance issues in Boeing's manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control. If we see something that requires us to cease production or pull something down, we'll do that. In an email, Boeing's chief of commercial planes today called on every employee to precisely follow every step of our manufacturing procedures and processes. While in South Carolina, a coroner says former Boeing whistleblower John Barnett took his own life before his upcoming trial against the company.

In 2019, Barnett told NBC News Boeing was putting profits ahead of safety. From day one, it's just all been about schedule and hurry up and just get it done, push the planes out. In a statement, Boeing says we are saddened by Mr. Barnett's passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends. Under intense scrutiny, the company today called on every Boeing employee to be on the lookout for safety or quality issues and speak up. Tom. All right, Tom Costello, thank you. We want to bring you some breaking news right now just into our newsroom from the 2024 campaign trail. Joe Biden has just officially crossed the delegate threshold for the Democratic nominally.

nomination for president. The NBC News decision desk projecting just moments ago Biden winning the Democratic primary in Georgia. You can see it was not close at all. Former, I should say, current President Biden winning 95% of the vote there, just 1% and in, but that's still obviously a massive threshold there. Biden's portion of Georgia's 108 delegates allowing him to hit that magic number you see on the right hand of your screen, 1968 delegates, now making him the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. For more on Biden's big win tonight, I want to get right to NBC News White House correspondent Mike Memley. He's been covering the Biden campaign and all things Biden for us for several years. Mike, how is the campaign and or the president

reacting to this news tonight? Well, Tom, we should expect to hear from the president himself in the form of a paper statement. Any moment now, the campaign had been anticipating this moment. How did he get there? Georgia is the state that put him over the top. Georgia's primary, among others today. We just called the state for the president. Georgia, of course, President Biden won in 2020 and will be another battleground state yet again this fall. We saw the president just campaigning in Georgia over the weekend. The president tomorrow has some stops plan in another battleground state, the state of Wisconsin, which was one of the closest of the 2020 battlegrounds, decided by just over

20,000 votes. And so we should expect to see and hear from the president marking this significant moment, Tom. And I'm really struck thinking about Joe Biden's career. He's run for president now four times. successfully, 1988 and 2008, successfully in 2020. And yet again, another muted celebration in 2020. The reason, of course, was COVID-19.

Just when candidate Joe Biden started to really gain that momentum, big wins on Super Tuesday. COVID-19 essentially shut down the campaign. He celebrated that milestone moment with the rest of us in COVID lockdown. Tonight, the president is in the White House. He'll certainly mark that moment in a more celebratory way when he's out on the campaign trail tomorrow, though. Mike, there have been persistent doubts about whether Biden would actually end up being his party's nominee, given concerns about his age among Democrats' polling numbers. Is there any sense that those whispers will now be shut down by this result, or you think we'll be hearing those calls for him to step aside through the convention? Well, Tom, you only need to look at the story you were talking about with Gabe earlier for one of the reasons why there have been persistent questions about the president and his candidacy this year.

his age. We saw, though, that state of the union address just last week really was a real shot of confidence for a lot of Democrats who wanted to see President Biden showing that fire, showing that fight ahead of what's going to be the longest general election campaign, one of them in American history against Donald Trump, and President Biden certainly showed that on Thursday night during that state of the union address. One thing to watch for, Tom, though, there still are going to be primary elections between now and June. There are states like in Michigan, in Minnesota, where we will see uncommitted or some version of uncommitted on the ballot. There are still a lot of Democrats who have concerns about this president who want to send him

a political message about his support for Israel in their war against Hamas and the treatment of Palestinian civilians. And so that will be sort of a protest vote that still continues that we'll be watching closely. But for the perspective of most Democrats, this is a nomination that's sealed up and delivered for the president. Mike, walk our viewers through what we can expect for the reelection campaign and what it's going to look like for President Biden. and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Well, it's certainly been a slow start, hasn't it, Tom, for the president. Hasn't been out necessarily on the campaign trail. And the way a lot of Democrats would have liked to have seen, that really has changed, though. You saw the president using Super Tuesday when Donald Trump became essentially the presumptive Republican nominee to really sharpen that contrast. He is now in what the Biden campaign is calling a month of action, ramping up his travel schedule, as is the vice president who was in another battleground state, Colorado today. going to be seeing the two of them out in force. The Biden campaign actually announcing a joint

campaign event for the president and vice president later this month in North Carolina. And you have seen not just on the campaign trail, but in all forms of media campaign spending. The Biden campaign announcing they're going to be spending more on TV and digital ads in the next six weeks than they spent all of 2023. And also the use of prominent campaign surrogates as well. That's something we're also starting to see fan out in force. Yeah. Talk to me about those. surrogates because we're going to have one of the longest general election campaigns we've seen in a very long time. We're not even in the middle of March, and yet we know who the nominees are

likely to be. So who are the team of surrogates, and who would you put at the top of that list for the president that are going to help him campaign through into November? Tom, I think this is one of the more interesting parts of the Biden reelection strategy, because as one senior official in the Biden campaign put it, we have LeBron James. Now, some might disagree that Biden is the LeBron James of politics, but we have LeBron James out there, but we need to put a supporting cast around them. And the president has called himself that bridge to the next generation of Democratic talent. And they have what's called the National Advisory Board, more than 50 Democratic up-and-comers, really,

who are going to be out in different ways to support President Biden's reelection effort. You look to see just what we saw over the weekend. President Biden went down, as I mentioned, to campaign in Georgia on Saturday. Who was with him? Governor Westmore of Maryland, seen as real part of the future for Democrats going forward. see them using this stable of surrogates to address some of the real vulnerability. So let's talk about Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost. He is the youngest member of Congress in his 20s. He is going to be a key emissary for the campaign to young voters. You look at the likes of Governor

Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan, Governor Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, potential future Democratic presidential candidates themselves. They're going to be spending a lot of time for the president in their home states, which are battlegrounds, not just campaigning, but using their political muscle using their own political operations to support Biden in those key states. And don't forget about President Obama. He is going to be—he has committed himself. He said he's all in for his former running mate's reelection effort. He's, of course, joining Joe Biden later this month, along with Bill Clinton, for a rare three-presidents fundraiser. And when you talk about Barack Obama, you also have to talk about Michelle Obama. We were the first to report the statement from

the former First Lady expressing her support for Biden and Harris in 2024. She's likely to have a more limited role than her husband. But she is certainly somebody with big star power in the party that a lot of Democrats hope to see out as well. Mike, if you can take out your political crystal ball for a second here, for the benefit of our viewers, if you will, do you think we will see a debate between President Biden and former President Trump? And will we see just one or do you think we'll see the traditional three or four? Well, there are so many layers to this discussion, Tom, of course. There is that traditional, the commission of presidential debates that tends to organize these. They've already announced dates and locations for the presidential,

as well as the one vice presidential debate, but neither campaign has committed to participating in them. There is eventually going to be potentially some negotiation among emissaries for each campaign. We've already heard from Donald Trump, even though the Republican National Committee platform states that they will not participate in any of these CPD debates, Trump has made it clear now. He thinks he wants to participate with the president. The Biden campaign has not yet committed. And they point to the way those 2020 debates were handled to express why they're hesitating about participating. One, there, of course, were COVID protocols that were violated in the Biden team's view

by the Trump team in that first debate. Of course, we found out Donald Trump. Then the president had COVID-19 when he was on the stage with Joe Biden four years ago. But also the way in which the rules of the road for these debates that the candidates are supposed to agree to were essentially ignored by the candidates. So there has been some discussion of maybe there isn't. going to even be a debate, what we might see are back-to-back candidate forums involving both of these candidates, where they would be subject to questions from a panel or at least an individual

moderator. That would be unprecedented and unusual, considering what we typically see, but a long way to go in this unprecedentedly long general election campaign. Yeah, I was going to say, Mike, it's been a very unusual campaign, so we shouldn't be surprised by anything. Mike Membley, we appreciate all your reporting. We thank you. If you're just tuning into Top Story, we've been following some breaking news tonight that just came in a moment ago. So President Biden has won the state of Georgia, NBC News projecting that he has won the primary, the Democratic primary in Georgia. By winning this primary now, President Biden has reached that threshold you see on the right hand of your screen. More than 1,968 delegates going to Joe Biden.

He is now the presumptive nominee. So President Joe Biden going to go on to the Democratic Convention, where he'll get the official nomination here. But NBC News projecting tonight, he is the presumptive nominee president. Joe Biden. Okay, we're going to turn now to some other breaking news we're following out of Haiti, the chaos there. The country's embattled Prime Minister announcing in a video message that he will resign. This coming as the country's capital is rampaged by violent gangs. NBC's Andrea Mitchell has more. With criminal gangs overrunning his country, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henri, agreeing to step down as soon as a transitional governing council is created. His resignation under pressure

after a crisis meeting, Secretary of State Tony Blinken held with Caribbean leaders in Jamaica late into the night. A political crisis, escalating violence, unrest, this has created an untenable situation for the Haitian people. Henri is widely blamed for the worst turmoil in Haiti's long troubled history. Gangs attacking police stations, breaking prisoners out of jails, looting the port, thousands displaced. They're selling their stuff to survive. political and security crisis has turned into a humanitarian crisis. Henri has denied a judge's report he helped plot the assassination of Haiti's president in 2021. He promised to hold elections but never did.

A U.S. special envoy in Haiti quit to protest U.S. policy there. What do you think is the critical problem? We have never let them choose their leaders. The U.S. needs to give them space. Just one time. That's all they're asking. In Florida's Haitian American community, Terry Isaac is desperate to rest. rescue his wife and six-month-old baby with a heart condition.

It's not knowing whether or not those guys are eventually going to pop up in your neighborhood and start shooting people and start doing crazy things. The UN voted last year for Kenya to lead a multinational force to restore order. But tonight Kenya says it won't go in until Haiti has a new government, Tom. Andrea Mitchell for us, Andrea, good to see you tonight. Back here at home, we want to turn to a massive house explosion that killed two people in Pennsylvania. The blast rattling an entire neighborhood, damaging several homes just outside of Pittsburgh. The investigation now underway as officials try to determine what exactly happened there.

NBC's Emily Aketa has the latest. Tonight, officials in Western Pennsylvania are investigating what caused a massive explosion that killed a man and woman and obliterated this home. The shell of a basement is all that remains. I'm on the scene. I got a house on the ground, completely on the ground. It happened just before 9 a.m. The blast caught on surveillance video, sending debris soaring above the tree line and damaging several nearby homes. Witnesses felt its force across the river and miles away. It sounded like a bomb went off.

Everything was just in a rubble. The fire department sits just down the hill from the explosion site. We all felt and heard the explosion. Instantly, we did a quick search trying to find the occupants. Unfortunately, we were able to find two deceased occupants. The son of the victims identifying the couple. to NBC News as David and Helen Mitchell. The deadly incident comes exactly seven months since another Allegheny County House

explosion that killed six people. While no cause has been pinpointed in the latest tragedy, officials say there was a private gas well and propane tanks at the home. The Department of Environmental Protection, ATF and Fire Marshal, now investigating the devastating explosion that's left this community shaken. So we know many people in Pennsylvania use private gas wells that produce natural gas. But unlike getting gas from a utility company, sometimes gas from private wells. They may not produce an odor, little to no odor, to alert the user of a potential gas leak.

Now, I should underscore that we still do not know the cause of this latest explosion, this latest home explosion. But we know the DEP is among the agencies investigating. Tom. Okay, Emily, thank you. Still ahead tonight, the urgent search for a missing college student. the 22-year-old vanishing after he's kicked out of a bar in Nashville on a trip with his fraternity brothers. The new surveillance video released from the moments just before he disappeared. Plus, a Kansas City hospital reporting several chief fans suffered severe frostb and required amputations after that frigid playoff game.

We speak to one fan who was in the stands as temperatures reached negative 30 degrees. And from quarterback to running mate, the news just in that Jets QB Aaron Rogers could soon appear on a presidential ticket will explain. with us. We're back down with the search for a missing college student, last seen in Nashville, where he was on a trip with his fraternity brothers. Police say 22-year-old Riley strain disappeared last Friday night after he was asked to leave a downtown bar. Surveillance video capturing his movements in the moments shortly afterwards. NBC's Kathy Park spoke with his family and has the latest on the investigation.

Tonight, police in Nashville are. urging the public to take a close look at the surveillance video. One of the last moments we see University of Missouri student Riley Strain, who disappeared late Friday night. I does need to know where my son is. The 22-year-old is spotted crossing the street in downtown Nashville, Friday at 9.47 p.m. just minutes after police say he was asked to leave a nearby bar, owned by country singer Luke Bryan. His parents say he was visiting the city with his fraternity brothers, who look for Riley when they returned to their hotel, about a half a mile away from the bar. His room key was there, but Riley was missing.

Did he actually make it to the hotel from your understanding? He never made it, never made it to the hotel from what we know. His fraternity brothers trying to call and locate him via Snapchat maps, but his phone was turned off according to his parents. You were saying this is just really out of character for him to not be in touch with a family member. You know, it's very odd. I mean, Friday night when they got there, he had sent pictures. He'd called. Metro Nashville police say they've searched the area by air and on foot, including the Riverbank.

His family leading their own search efforts over the past few days. We went back down Sunday night and walked the area again, just kind of asking questions. We talked to several of the homeless. one of them recognized a picture and he called him Larry Bird because Riley's 6'7 blonde hair, blue eyes, 160 pounds. So he stands out. The bar where he was last seen telling NBC News, they're continuing to work closely with the Metro National Police Department to provide security camera footage and any other potentially helpful information. Riley's fraternity, Delta Chi, saying they're actively engaged with university officials who are providing access to

in-person resources for local chapter members. Tonight, his family desperate for answers. If anybody knows anything, please just call the police, please. And not giving up hope. Yes, we're hurting and everything, but right now, we are still expecting a positive outcome. Riley's parents drove directly from Springfield, Missouri to Nashville as soon as they found out their son was missing.

And as they continue helping with the ongoing search, they're also standing by for additional clues that may be revealed from surveillance footage in the area. Tom? We hope they get new information, okay, and they find their son. Kathy, thank you. Next tonight to football fanaticism taken to the extreme. Several fans who watched the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Miami Dolphins in a January wildcard game where wind chills reached nearly 30 degrees below zero, suffering from frostbite,

some of them forced to have fingers and toes amputated. NBC Stephen Romo has more. It was a critical wildcard win for the Kansas City Chiefs, but for some fans in the stands, the January 13th game was a life and body altering event, a local medical center reporting some patients who braved the frigid temperatures to watch the chiefs defeat the Miami Dolphins needed amputations due to frostbite. Before what ended up being the fourth coldest game in NFL history. We are going to go over what I am wearing to this possible record-breaking cold game. Fans posting Get Ready With Me videos of what layers they plan to wear.

So everything I have is accumulation of trial and error over seven years. But no matter how many tips. Got the flannel underneath, the heated socks going. Or clever signs the fans brought. The moment you took your gloves off, it hurt. It was no match for temperatures that dropped to negative four degrees, which felt like negative 27 with the windshield factor. You can even see icicles forming on Chief's coach Andy Reed's mustache. My eyelashes started to freeze over.

Research Medical Center saying it treated nearly 30 patients for frostbite over an 11-day span that included the game. It's the perfect place for frostbite to occur. You add in the mix of alcohol and substances as well. Twelve of those patients have undergone amputations primarily of fingers and toes due to exposure. The center confirming some of those patients attended the chiefs. Chiefs Dolphins game and saying more amputations are possible. We start to feel pain in your fingers and your toes and your ears. Then you know that's a sign that you are at a strain temperature.

Both Dr. Davis and fan Alex Vanderveen say preparation is key, wearing warm layers, but not so tight you can't move normally and avoid getting sweaty. Also, maybe avoid taking that shot of whiskey that you think will keep you warm. In the beginning, it gives you that kind of rush that that sort of, you know, feeling of warmth, but what it does, it causes all the blood vessels to dilate, and it causes you to really drop your core temperature more. Not only making you colder, but also affecting your decision-making abilities. How do you explain to somebody who's not a sports fanatic, why you would go to something that felt like negative 27 degrees? It was never an option not to go.

Players have to be there, and I don't want them to play in a quiet stadium. Yeah, the players also have medical teams that are watching every play. Stephen Romo joins us now live in studio. So, Stephen, you know, the game was months ago, was in January, I think. Why are we hearing about this now? Yes, an interesting point. Dr. Davis, who we talked to in this piece, said that doctors do all they can to try to save this tissue.

They don't want to amputate it. They want it to see if it'll heal on its own, so they wait weeks, sometimes months, before they decide to finally amputate. That's why there could be even more amputations that we see from this game back on January 13. And then, Stephen, explain this point again. I know they say it in the story, but they think alcohol, we don't know what happened with these individual cases, but it's even more dangerous in these these freezing temperatures. Why? Yeah, many different reasons. Actually, people think sometimes taking a drink, maybe a shot of something will warm me up.

That is not true. That, as the doctor said, can dilate tissue, make it more susceptible to freezing, but also, of course, it affects your decision-making abilities. So you're more likely to stay out in the cold and then suffer this very real exposure. This is a crazy story. Okay. Stephen Ruma, we thank you for alerting us to it. When we come back, an in-depth Top Story report. An alarming new studies showing half of Asian Americans in New York City say they were physically or verbally attacked over their race last year. Our team speaking to victims of past attacks and community members on how they're working to protect their own as violence continues. That's next.

All right, we are back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with an update in the bus stop shooting in field. Philadelphia that injured eight high school students. Police say two 18-year-old men have been arrested for last week's shooting. Both suspects are facing several charges and are being held on more than $2 million bail. Police are still investigating if the shooting was connected to a murderer days earlier. Convicted murderer, Scott Peterson, is back in court after the Los Angeles Innocence Project took on his case. Peterson appearing via live stream at a status hearing today. Four motions were filed in a California court claiming that,

New evidence supports Peterson's claim that he is innocent and his wife Lacey witnessed a break in across the street from the couple's home. In 2004, Peterson was found guilty of murder for the debts of Lacey and their unborn child. Jets quarterback Aaron Rogers could soon appear on a presidential ticket. A spokesperson for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirming to NBC News that the independent presidential candidate is considering Rogers as a running mate. spokesperson saying former Minnesota governor and former wrestler Jesse Ventura is also on the short list for RFK Jr's running mate. Rogers, the Jets, or Ventura did not immediately respond to request for comment. And Airbnb says it is banning the use of security cameras inside all of its rental properties. The online rental platform says the move aims to prioritize the privacy of guests.

Airbnb users have previously voiced concerns about the use of indoor surveillance cameras. The updated policy also bans the use of outdoor cameras. as that point inside properties. The policy change set to take effect at the end of next month. Okay, shifting focus down to a top story investigative report. A chilling new study found more than half of Asian Americans in New York City reported being harassed, threatened, or attacked

because of their race last year. It's an issue we've been reporting on for years now, but the advocates say it's now being underreported to police. Ellison Barber spoke with victims about how they are coping and breaks down the latest troubling data that's also reflected across the country. At this martial arts studio in Queens, New York, some students are learning more than just exercise.

I really built this confidence to be like, okay, it's okay, I can go out there and help somebody. In addition to Kung Fu and Tai Chi, owner David Chang is also teaching self-defense and what he calls bystander intervention. The type of students we love to have is a person who seeing something wants to step in and stop an attack or something bad that's about to happen. He started those classes because having to step in or fight back has become a common fear for many Asian Americans in New York City. Good job.

According to an alarming new study by the Asian American Foundation, across the city's five boroughs, one in five Asian Americans reported experiencing physical attacks or a source. assaults in 2023. And over half of those surveyed from that community reported encountering hate towards them because of their race. We have experiences of people who are being spit on, punched, pushed, kicked from behind in broad daylight. For Joanna Lynn, that fear became reality last August. When she says she was attacked on the subway by a 16-year-old girl who saw Lynn recording her as she appeared to assault an Asian American woman and verbally harass her family. What happened so fast? She just like dart over and just like punched me. I was, I covered my head

to protect my vitals and I was so stunned. The NYPD confirmed the unidentified team was arrested and charged with two counts of assault. The district attorney's office said the case has been moved to family court but declined to give us further details. I've had similar incidents that happened to me and I really saw myself and my family taking the subway when we're young and we were so helpless and I just didn't want this family to experience what we had to. On a national level, about one-third of Asian adults say they personally know another Asian person in the U.S. who has been threatened or attacked because of their race or ethnicity since 2020.

There has long been a history of aggression against Asian Americans, but it rose to new levels and new heights during that pandemic period. I want to turn now to a disturbing rise and attacks on Asian Americans. Putting communities across the country on edge. We're not only worried about our health, but our safety as well. Over 10,000 anti-Asian hate incidents were reported in 2021. That same year, 65-year-old Vilma Carey was very. maliciously attacked on her way to church in the heart of New York City.

He said the words, f-you-asian, you don't belong here, and he kicked me, and I fell on the ground. I wanted to scream, but I could not. And I just looked at him and was thinking, please stop. The man who attacked Kerry, Brandon Elliott, was sentenced to 15 years in state prison. this February, pleading guilty to one count of assault in the first degree as a hate crime. How have your behaviors changed? As I told Mr. Elliot, you put fear in my heart. And that fear will linger.

I have fear of going out by myself. I have fear of being around people. How long did it take you to realize that this was a hate crime? At that moment, I was not really thinking about all those. things I'm just focusing on the pain how am I gonna walk how am I gonna bathe how am I gonna eat how am I gonna do you know just the daily life mom was in a mentality of she really didn't want anybody to know she felt like she wanted to deal with her pain and understand the incident and really didn't want to make a

big commotion about it we have this in our culture If we encounter any kind of violence, any kind of attack, verbal, physical, anything, we don't tend to report because of that shame. We don't want to call attention to ourselves. It's an issue the commanding officer of the NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force tells us he wants to fix. It's not surprising that they're still underreporting going on, and it's certainly not surprising that people feel this way. Do you feel comfortable in saying that the objectives are being met right now,

or is there still more work to be done? There's always work to do. There is always work to do. We're continuing to work on our outreach, that grassroots approach to building trust. And Vilmikeri is hoping that by sharing her pain, others will find the strength to do the same. Do you see what you've done as courageous?

Yes, yes. I felt I was given a voice to speak about it, and I intend to use that voice. spread the word that there is help. There is hope. Alison, Barbara, joins us now in studio. You know, Alison, you think about Vilma. She has all this courage to sort of sit down with you and retell this story and speak out. And I understand her and her daughter are also doing something else to sort of help out the community. Yeah, so they started this nonprofit. It's called AAPI Belong. So AAP, Parentheses, I Belong.

And it's a nonprofit that it's focused on providing a safe space for people who have experienced anti-Asian hate to share their story. anonymously or publicly to connect with other people, to raise awareness about what is happening, and also they say to create a space where they try to alleviate shame from the discussion. One thing Vilma told me was she said growing up in the Philippines, she said there's a word in Tagalog they have for shame, and it's called Haia. And she said, but it's bigger than shame, because the idea, too, behind it is don't embarrass your family or your community. And she said part of the culture around that word means that people don't feel comfortable

coming forward and saying, hey, I was a victim because they're embarrassed. They think it will embarrass their family. And she said she and her daughter realized they had these two different life experiences, one growing up in America, the other in the Philippines, where culturally maybe there was some space to talk about that it's not shameful if something happens to you. It's actually not your fault at all. And you should have help and recourses and you should feel safe reporting it. And so they're trying to foster that space. She talks about that shame in your story and you wonder how many Asian Americans aren't reporting these crimes because of that shame. What type of resources are there in the AAPI community?

So one thing that was interesting in the report that was conducted by TAF, the Asian American Foundation, and we mention it in our piece, is what we're focusing on. Most respondents said they wanted better relationships with police and also mental health access and just options available to them. So on their website, they do have some things that people can go to and find. There's a local advocacy group. They list or nonprofits in your city that are working to combat AAPI hate, whether it's through education, self-defense, or working with government officials.

The Asian American Federation has also launched an anti-hate campaign, an anti-Asian hate campaign listing safe zones, victim support services as well as safety training. And we're talking about New York specifically. The NYC Commission on Human Rights has launched a website to report harassment or a crime. That's available in multiple languages. And then neighborhood advocacy groups like Main Street Patrol. You heard from one of their members in our piece.

They are now using social media. and other platforms to try and educate the community on how to stay safe when they're traveling on the subway. Allison, a big thank you to you and your team for bringing this story to us. We appreciate it. Coming up, the retail crime crackdown, a CNBC investigation with exclusive access. Inside a ride-along on a police takedown

at a million-dollar mansion, the major theft ring stealing products and selling them online. That's next. We're back now with an exclusive on California's Retail Crime Crackdown. Organized crime rings that target the country's retailers are prompting a nationwide aggressive clampdown by law enforcement. For months, CNBC got exclusive access to the California Highway Patrol as they targeted theft rings who set up thriving businesses to steal and sell online.

Here's CNBC's Courtney Reagan. A convoy of law enforcement vehicles is about to descend on an unlikely place, a mansion in San Diego County, complete with its own vineyard and chapter. Police believe it's also the headquarters for a lucrative theft ring that steals items from Alta Beauty Supply and other retailers and resells them on Amazon. As we pull up, authorities tell us they have the suspected ringleader in handcuffs. Her name is Michelle Mack. And according to the search warrant, she's accused of giving a dozen women across the country a list of stores and merchandise to target. These Alta Beauty products then ending up on an Amazon digital store. storefront called the online makeup store at deep discounts. The next morning, a team from

Alta unloads the hall along with CHP officers, $387,000 in stolen items. I think people feel like it's hopeless. I want the retailers and the victims of this to know that that's not true. For months, we got exclusive access to the California Highway Patrol watching up close how it fights organized retail crime. Retailers specifically pointing to theft as a growing problem in recent years include Target, Foot Locker, Walgreens, and ALTA. We're absolutely fed up. Alta Beauty CEO Dave Kimball spoke to us in an exclusive interview about the issue. What do you think in this case, as we're speaking of in California, that Amazon could have done

to know that these were stolen goods? What I would say more broadly is there is technology available, there's use of advanced analytics and data capabilities to try to understand. behaviors that are indicative of reselling stolen goods. Amazon declined an on-camera interview, but a spokesperson said, we invest more than $1 billion annually and employ thousands of people to fight fraud, adding it uses sophisticated detection and prevention solutions. As for Michelle Mack, she's pled not guilty to charges of conspiracy,

grand theft, and receipt of stolen property. Her husband and seven others connected to the ring were also charged and pled not guilty. NBC News, Courtney Reagan, Bonzal, California. Okay, time now for global watch and a check of what else is happening around the world. We start in India, moving forward with a controversial new citizenship bill that excludes Muslims. The law paves away for non-Muslims who fled religious persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan before 2014 to become Indian citizens. It does not provide a route to citizenship for people who fled religious persecution in non-Muslim,

nations, including the thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees currently in India. Critics of the law say it violates India's constitution, which prohibits discrimination on religious grounds. The first aid ship to Gaza has set sail from Cyprus. Video shows the boat. It's called Open Arms, leaving the Cyprus, southern port. The ship is taking about 200 tons of food to Gaza as the population stands on the brink of famine. The mission was organized by Chef Jose Andres, World Central Kitchen, as part of a pilot, project to open up a new sea route for aid. The ship is scheduled to dock in two days. And torrential rain submerging Argentina's capital. New video shows good Samaritans rescuing a

driver from a car in Buenos Aires. The storm also causing flight delays and submerging crops in areas around the city. Local media reporting at least one person has died. B.A. is recording historic rainfall this month and more storms are in the forecast. Okay, coming up, the incredible story of a seven-year-old beating the odds. Born with half a hard. He's battled surgeries to now live a healthy life and the nurse who cared for him as an infant becoming his mother. This is a great story. Stay with us. Finally tonight, the boy born with half a heart that is making a North Texas family whole. Katie Blakey from our Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate has this inspiring story.

Reed Tomlin was born with half a heart. All right, bud. Now on the ball. It lives life to the fullest. For somebody that's got half a heart, he loves people so much. By age seven, he's had three open heart surgeries. The first, when he was a week old, after being born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. A severe form of congenital heart disease, so basically the whole left side of his heart never formed. He was also up for adoption in the care of a nurse practitioner ready to grow her family.

Yes, I remember finding out the night that he was also up for adoption. that he became eligible for adoption and that he was going to need a home. And I actually told my husband, I think that he's supposed to be our baby. Two years prior, ovarian cancer took away Holly's ability to have more children. I mean, he completed our family. He has been so special and changed our lives forever in so many ways. God made comments that fly. Skilled in pediatric cardiology at children's health,

Holly counsel's families facing the same unknowns. We don't know fully. what's in the future for him and what that looks like with the perspective of a mother who knows the challenges and the joy honestly our faith is what carries us and you know he's a reminder to live every day like it's our last he has taught us how to love life and live life to the fullest katie blakey nbcc 5 we thank the tomlin family for sharing their story and of course the help we got from our dallas station kxas and we thank you for watching top story tonight. I'm Tom Yamerson, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.