Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Episode Date: March 15, 2023

A dangerous nor'easter pummels the East Coast while a separate storm rages in the West, two Russian fighter jets collide with an American reaper drone near Ukraine, a Texas teenager abducted by a man she met online was found locked in a building in North Carolina, how one woman was scammed in a "virtual kidnapping" ploy, and the Florida man serving a 400-year prison sentence walks free after his wrongful conviction was overturned.

Tonight, a dangerous nor'easter pummeling the East Coast, the monster storm packing heavy wind, snow, and plenty of rain, creating treacherous conditions on the roads and in the sky. Plains struggling to land in near whiteout conditions, hundreds of thousands without power, and a separate storm still soaking the West Coast. Dozens of swift water rescues reported. We have reporters live on both coast and a full forecast straight ahead. Also breaking tonight, two Russian fighter jets colliding with an American refrable. drone near Ukraine. That drone going down in the Black Sea. The major fear tonight, could Russia get to that wreckage first? And growing fallout tonight from that Silicon Valley Bank meldown, the Department of Justice opening an investigation into what went wrong. Could criminal charges be coming for the bank's top brass? Oversees? A seemingly endless tropical cyclone growing

more deadly by the day. More than 100 people killed in Eastern Africa. As the same storm makes landfall for a second time. Plus the warning tonight about virtual kidnappings. We'll talk to one woman who was tricked into thinking her own sister had been taken, the terrifying phone call she received that made her think it was the real thing and what you can do to avoid falling into that same trap and stunt gone wrong. The heart-stopping moment magician David Blaine plummeted 80 feet, missing his target and dislocating his arm. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Morgan Chesky in for Tommy Amos tonight. And as we come on air, a dangerous winter storm taking hold all across the northeast. In upstate New York, treacherous conditions on the roads. Drivers struggling in white-out conditions. The governor declaring a state of emergency, urging residents in many counties to stay home. Pilots dealing with dangerous conditions in the skies as well. Take a look at this plane in Rochester, just swaying from side to side as it approaches a runway. More than 4,600 flights are currently delayed.

Those powerful winds, plus dense heavy snow, also toppling trees and tearing down power lines. Nearly 300,000 customers are without power across the northeast. In Minnesota, the roof of this mole, partially collapsing under the weight of all that snow. A sign of what could be to come when this storm finishes its path across the northeast. And we are still watching that dangerous storm out west. Dozens rescue from the floodwaters overnight. As a sign, 26 million people remain on alert tonight. Naila Charles is there in California. Bill Karen, standing by for us in the studio.

But first, let's get to Emily Aketa in Albany, New York. Emily, good evening. Hey there, Morgan. Well, at times today, we saw the snow falling at a fast clip of two inches an hour. And I want to show you the consistency of the snow. It's not light and fluffy. This is wet and heavy snow because the temperatures are hovering around freezing. And so what that means, it means tree branches will break.

Power poles will topple a risk that will continue overnight. With fierce winds, snow, and rain, tonight the season's first Northeaster is bulldozing through more than a dozen states. And after a mostly mild winter, it's delivering a brutal blow. We've been waiting for our big snow like this at least to come, so here it is. Snowfall reaching double digits in Lemster, Wilmington, and Roe. While whipping winds were the problem along the coast. expected to reach up to 55 miles an hour in Boston. The dangerous combination, snapping tree branches

and knocking out power to several hundred thousand people across the region. Flight cancellation soaring in the face of the storm. Watch this plane's bumpy landing caught on camera in Rochester. While further east in Syracuse, a Delta plane exited one of the taxiways with 61 passengers on board, according to airport officials. All south side taxiways are covered with snow. Breaking action four or forward by vehicle. From the runway to roadway,

treacherous travel conditions led to this bus crash in Massachusetts, toppled a tree onto this plow truck landing two people in the hospital in Connecticut and sent tractor trailers sliding in New Hampshire. The snow is so, like, thick and, oh, God, it's terrible. After a weekend snowstorm in Minnesota, employees scrambled to safety today when a mall roof collapsed. And across the country, a one-two punch. as another storm funnels rain and snow to an already waterlogged California.

26 million people there facing flood alerts. Overnight, remarkable rescues from Russian waters. Firefighters say they pulled 11 people to safety in Los Angeles County. Unfortunately, they don't know about the water coming down and how strong it can be. By coastal threats bearing down in the final days of winter. And Emily Aketa joins us live again from Albany. Emily, you mentioned there are several. 100,000 people in the dark. A staggering number considering the frigid conditions there.

So what's the latest on those current power outages? So Morgan, I'll tell you the good news is that this snowfall is expected to taper off overnight. But what's going to stick around is the strong, powerful wind gusts 40 miles an hour. And that is a major point of concern for officials who point out that that makes it even more difficult for utility crews to restore power and could mean even more downed power poles overnight. Morgan? Keeping us posted, Emily, thank you. And as Emily mentioned there,

the Northeast not the only region getting slammed with winter weather, hard-hit California bracing for even more catastrophic flooding as another atmospheric river batters that state. Heavy rainfall-threatening landslides and record snow already adding to current avalanche fears along with property damage and power outages. More on the dangerous flood conditions out west. Naila Charles joins us now from.

Bahado, California, Naila. We know parts of the community are currently underwater after that levee broke during the first atmospheric river there this weekend. We can see you standing in front of what I'm assuming is a street-turned-stream. Where do conditions stand right now? Well, Cruz Morgan are getting closer to closing that breach. We are close to the levee breach, and that's why so much water from the Bahra River is coming into the community. Because of that here in Pajaro. The residents have been evacuated since Friday. Most of them leaving then when the evacuation order was sent. Since then, it's been days and they're still unable to get back. And that's been an issue for a lot of the people who live here because without that,

they don't have access to shelter, they don't have access to food. Many of them leaving their cars here. So that's been a struggle for this community. Many of them, migrants, low income and also farm workers. Another issue that faces them is on top of not knowing when they'll be able to get back into their homes. They also don't know when they'll be able to return to work because the farmland that they work on has been destroyed. Morgan? Naila, keeping us posted from an incredibly hard-hit region of California. Naila, thank you so much. And for more on these wild conditions from coast to coast storms, let's turn now to NBC news, meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill, is there any relief in sight with either of these massive

systems? They're both going to linger through tonight, and I'm very concerned with Southern California. That's one of the areas that could be the worst. We are going to watch this storm with this atmospheric river coming in here through southern California all night tonight. We are going to see very heavy rainfall, especially from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. That's my greatest concern. We could see upwards of four to maybe even five inches of rain in the mountains of San Bernardino. Remember last week we showed you all those pictures of the people that were stranded here with that heavy snow? That's the area that's going to get pounded tonight. So we get the snow melt and we're also going to be getting all that heavy rainfall. And that's the issue there.

Then as we turn here to the northeast, you know, combined with California, we have 400,000 people without power there. But in the northeast, we have about 300,000 people without power. And that's the problem. The winds are howling from this northeaster right now. The snow continues throughout this region. And as we go throughout the night tonight, winds will still gusts to 40 to 50 miles per hour in the northeast. So we got these two storms, Morgan, and it doesn't look like we're going to stay out of a stormy weather pattern. This storm in the west coast, severe weather possible Thursday in the middle of the country.

And Morgan, I don't want to ruin anyone's year week next week already, but next Tuesday, we could see another atmospheric river possible and another nor'easter. This winter does not want to end quietly. No doubt, winter definitely still here, Bill. Thank you so much. Now, to another breaking story, a face-off happening in the skies near Ukraine and Russia. Today, Russian jets collided with an unmanned American drone, clipping its propeller and sending it plummeting into the Black Sea. Courtney Kuby with that story tonight. The stunning showdown happening over the Black Sea near Ukraine and Russia when an unmanned American drone like this one, called a Reaper, was confronted by two Russian fighter jets, weaving dangerously close to it, dumping fuel on the U.S. drone and then colliding with it, the Russian jets wing striking the Reaper's propeller. After the collision, the U.S. downed the $32 million drone in the Black Sea, first blacking out its software to keep classified information out of Russian hands.

The Pentagon describing the Russian actions as reckless. Based on the actions of the Russian pilots, it's clear that it was unsafe, unprofessional, and I think the actions speak for themselves. The Pentagon says the drone was conducting a routine intelligence gathering mission in international airspace when the intercept occurred. It was over international, in international airspace over international water. The Russians disagreed, insisting the U.S. drone was in their established airspace near Crimea, and that the Russian jet did not come into contact with the drone. Late tonight, the U.S. summoning the Russian ambassador to object to the Russian pilot's actions.

The U.S. is working through options to recover the drone, but without U.S. ships in the Black Sea, the reality is the Russians can reach the wreckage before the U.S. can. And Courtney Kubi joins us now live from the Pentagon. Courtney, you mentioned the U.S. is working to recover that drone, but Russia could beat them to it. So we have any sort of timeline on how that recovery looks. And are there any intelligence concerns if Russia does get there first? So there is virtually zero chance.

If the Russians want to get to that wreckage, they will get there first. They're there in the Black Sea. The U.S. military does not have any kind of a salvage presence there in the Black Sea. And remember, Morgan, in order to get there, they would have to go through the Bosphorus Straits to even access the Black Sea that's owned by the Turkish government. They have not been very – they've been hesitant to allow – warships through there for the past several months. It takes quite a long time just to get permission to transit the strait and even get any ships in there. There are intelligence

concerns, of course, any time there's any kind of a loss, especially when you're talking about a surveillance asset like an MQ9 Reaper drone. But the U.S. before they downed it, they were able to black out the software. So basically what that means is they wiped all of the computer systems in that drone to ensure that if anyone is able to retrieve it. it like the Russian military, they won't be able to exploit anything or even reverse engineer it to get any kind of a class, any kind of classified information, Morgan. Understood. And Courtney, you mentioned this is not just this incident, not the only one that Pentagon's concerned about right now. That's right. So every time there is an intercept, which are relatively

common. And basically what that means is when another government's military aircraft or ships come close to one another, they sit or they'll follow each other around. Sometimes, get a little bit too close for comfort, but what we saw happened here today over the Black Sea really went to the next level with this weaving in and out in front of this U.S. military drone dumping fuel on it. I got to tell you, Morgan, it's the first time I've ever heard of that happening in an intercept, and then, of course, when the two collided. But the concern is not about just the routine intercepts that often happen, but something like this, and that it could ultimately lead to a further military confrontation where one of the two sides responds

militarily, and then even escalates into an eventual conflict. That's the worst-case scenario that we're always warned about when there are intercepts like this, Morgan. A frightening thought. Courtney, thank you so much. The war in Ukraine is causing controversy in the world of politics tonight. Florida governor and likely candidate for 2024 making headlines by saying Ukraine is not an urgent priority for the United States.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also immediately drew condemnation for his remarks from his own party. Peter Alexander has that and the fire DeSantis took from former president, Donald Trump. Tonight with a battle still raging in Ukraine, Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is facing fierce pushback from within his party for his declaration that protecting Ukraine is not an urgent priority for the U.S. Responding the questions from Fox News is Tucker Carlson late Monday. Well, the U.S. has many vital national interests becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them. The Republican backlash to DeSantis calling it a territorial dispute when Russia invaded

Ukraine was immediate. First, Marco Rubio. It's not a territorial dispute in the sense that any more than it would be a territorial dispute of the United States decided that it wanted to invade Canada or take over the Bahamas. This is an invasion. Later, Lindsay Graham tweeting, when it comes to Russian President Vladimir Putin, you either pay now or pay later, adding, he wins in Ukraine and the West capitulates, just like in the past, more conflict is coming.

DeSantis was echoing former President Trump's criticism of America's commitment to Ukraine, quickly drawing this rebuke for Mr. Trump overnight, calling DeSantis a flip-flopper, who is, quote, following what I am saying. In Iowa earlier, the former president delivered his most pointed attacks at DeSantis in what increasingly appears to be a two-person Republican race. Did anyone ever hear of the sanctus? The sanctimonious. Ron was a disciple of Paul Ryan, who is a rhino loser. But for Mr. Trump, who's made a career out of turning rival politicians into punchlines,

a possible early warning sign, his supporters offering a muted response to his jabs at DeSantis. Ron reminds me a lot of Mitt Romney, so I don't think you're going to be doing so well here. Still, DeSantis has largely avoided taking the bait, but recently touted his own leadership while serving up this subtle swipe at Mr. Trump. And so what you've seen over four years is no leaks, no drama, no powerless intrigue, just daily execution. Ron DeSantis hasn't even announced that he's running for president, but the latest poll shows he's in a tight race with former President Trump.

That national poll shows among Republicans and Republican leaders. independents, 40% say they would most likely back Mr. Trump, with DeSantis a close second, at 36% according to CNN. No other candidate is even in double digits. Morgan. All right, Peter, we thank you. Next tonight, fallout continues after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. NBC News learning of multiple investigations into actions taken by executives within that very company. NBC's Jake Ward with that story tonight. Silicon Valley Bank now under federal investigation. NBC News confirming with multiple sources the Department of Justice,

along with the Securities and Exchange Commission, have launched probes looking at, among other things, stock sales made by company executives before the bank collapsed. This has calls Grow in Washington for renewed bank regulation and accountability. I do think that certainly the profits from the sales by the owner should be clawed back because we're going to have to be raising, fees on banks in order to pay for the uninsured depositors at this bank and other banks. And today, despite several smaller regional banks bouncing back in the stock market,

Moody's announced a downgraded outlook for the U.S. banking sector as a whole. How healthy are other small institutions like Silicon Valley Bank? Analysts say we will not know the fundamentals until a Federal Reserve report provides a look at combined balance sheets two weeks from Friday. The stocks are absolutely not a reliable indicator. weeks will know if there's a big outflow or not, but that's the next kind of scheduled data point that that will get. Just before its collapse, Silicon Valley Bank blamed its troubles on elevated cash burn from

its mostly tech-focused clients. Now the concern is in part whether other regional banks are exposed to similar risk. Today, the pullback in the tech sector continued with Facebook parent company Meta's announcement it would eliminate 15,000 jobs following 11,000 layoffs at the company in November. Jake Ward joins us now from San Francisco. Jake, in the midst of all of this, the new CEO of SBB has told clients that they are, quote, open for business. Is that true and to what degree? You know, it is true, Morgan.

At this point, if someone were to somehow have not heard the news and were a client of Silicon Valley Bank and were to show up there, they'd be, you know, ushered by a very polite FDIC representative into Silicon Valley Bridge Bank. That's the new name for it. And it is one of the great privileges of being an American that when the FDIC takes over a bank like that, it holds everybody involved to account. And so anyone walking in there will, in theory, be able to continue whatever business they were doing with Silicon Valley Bank,

now under this new name Silicon Valley Bridge Bank. Keeping track of all of it, Jake Ward, we thank you. And for more on the recent banking crisis, the consumer price index decline, and what it all means for the Federal Reserve's rate decision. I want to bring in Raghu Rajan, professor of finance at the University of Chicago's Booth School, and the former governor on the Reserve Bank of India. Agroom, thank you for joining Top Story tonight. We have some other big headlines out of the banking

world. Today, as Jake mentioned, Moody's, the major credit rating service, cutting its view on the entire banking system from stable to negative following the failures of these big banks. And Credit Suisse, finding material weaknesses in financial reporting, just the latest setback for the investment bank. It's likely unrelated to the fall of SBB and other banks the past few days. But is this any indication in your eyes that investors and everyday Americans should be concerned about the state of where they keep and invest their money? Well, they should be concerned, but not panicky at this point. What we have is the classic banking problem. You've borrowed short term. You've lent long term. We saw that with SVB bank.

They put a lot of their money in long term. treasuries and mortgage-backed securities and what we saw as interest rates went up rapidly is those portfolios fell in value and Silicon Valley Bank lost a lot of value in the process as a result depositors started panicking and many of them were large uninsured depositors so they pulled their money in a big way now this need not happen through the banking system but I think the concern that Moody's has is there's about 600 billion in losses on bond portfolios, which lies somewhere in the banking system. Were those banks hedged, had they offloaded some of that risk, or does it lie still

in those banks? And, you know, will it be absorbed effectively or will there be further panics in the banking system? So that's one source of concern. Trade Suisse is a different kettle of fish. It's been looking for a business for a long period of time. It had a strong wealth management business. That is not so strong anymore. And it took a lot of risk in the meantime, being involved in every big scandal there's been in the last few years, Green Sill, Arcagos. And so it's lost money. And investors are worried about credit suites and its risk management. Raguam, I want to ask about the news that the DOJ, as well as the SEC, are investigating certain

practices leading up to the collapse of SBB. Do you think there may have been bad players involved in this major failure? Well, I think selling stock a few weeks before you collapse is not a good idea if you knew about it. And that's what the Justice Department will be investigating. I mean, there's a further issue, which is that they paid out a lot of bonuses the day before they were closed. And so, you know, there will be some concern. should we claw back those bonuses that were paid out, because after all, someone is on hook for the losses at this bank, maybe other banks to the deposit insurance fund.

So, I mean, these are bad practices. I don't know if they're illegal. That is what is going to be investigated. And finally, Ragu Ram, the new inflation report out today. February's consumer price index climbed 6% compared to one year ago, which is exactly what had been predicted. So on one hand, we have this report. there shows interest rate hikes might be working to combat inflation. And on the other hand,

you have the fall of all these big banks largely credited to higher interest rates by the Fed. I want to add, you have also done research on how the Fed tightening impacts the banking system. So in light of all of this, what do you think Jerome Powell and the Fed will do when they decide on interest rates come next week? Well, they're really in a fix, right? Inflation is too high for their liking. It's been coming down, no doubt. But services inflation is still. strong. Housing inflation may come down, but it hasn't as yet. So these are concerns for the Fed. And the Fed really wants to bring it down to the point where you don't notice inflation. It has a long way to go. To pause now is to create a problem because immediately

financial markets will celebrate and they'll make it harder for inflation to come down because it'll be hard to bring down consumption. So the Fed is in a bind there. It's in a bind on the banking sector because we've just seen fragility and it doesn't want to precipitate further bank failures. So my sense is they'll choose a middle road. They won't. They'll throw out the 50 basis points they were contemplating, but they will not pause given so long as, you know, we don't see further panic in the financial system. They'll probably do a 25 saying we're watching and waiting. Plenty of moving parts and yet somehow you are keeping track of all of it. Ragulam Rajan, you. Turning now to a disturbing and important story, every parent needs to hear. A 13-year-old

girl went missing from Texas, and police found she'd been chatting online with a 34-year-old man. That digital footprint led them right to their suspect and that little girl in a nightmare situation. NBC's Valerie Castro with more. This run-of-the-mill backyard shed becoming a 13-year-old girl's prison after she was allegedly lured from her home in Dallas, Texas, and trafficked more than a thousand miles away to Lexington, North Carolina. Her mother, who we are not identifying, recalling the last time she saw her daughter nearly two weeks earlier. The night before, she gave us a hug and a kiss, and said good night. The suspect, 34-year-old Jorge Camacho, now facing several felony charges, including child abduction, human trafficking, and statutory

rape of a child under the age of 15. Investigators believe he lured the girl through social media. consistent with grooming and enticement, and he enticed her to actually leave the home where he picked her up in the area. Her mother, quick to give police her daughter's online activity and accounts. We provided her her Instagram, her Discord, her account, the game that she was using. This is why it's absolutely imperative that families have usernames and passwords for social media. because the mother there was able to show law enforcement, that she, in fact, had been communicating with somebody and that person had actually lured her out of the home.

Ranya Mencarios, author of the online world, What You Think You Know and What You Don't, warning that online predators are constantly at work. The FBI has released a number. They said that at any given day, there's anywhere from 500,000 to 750,000 predators online looking to target at least 10 children. That's at any given day.

She says predators are mostly after content from children, but abductions like this can happen. Investigators in Texas say traffic cameras captured Camacho's vehicle near the teenager's home. They tracked it down to North Carolina, eventually discovering the girl, locked away in this shed, and arresting Camacho. Camacho's attorney declining to comment on the allegations,

but adding, quote, will let the criminal justice system handle the matter. Police say the girl did not appear to have physical injuries, though emotionally there's no telling what she lived through. Tonight, she is back home in Texas. Very happy, thankful, glad, big hugs, tears. But law enforcement with a grim warning for other families. I'm very thankful. I thank God that we were able to find this young girl.

It may not be that case forever, and what these children must go through. they don't think what they're who they're talking to just a horrifying story in every aspect Valerie castor joined us now from new york valerie do we know any more about the property where that little girl was found morgan we've now learned the suspect was actually living inside the shed where the girl had been locked up the owner of the property says he'd been living there for the last couple of years he's a friend of the family though she never imagined he'd try to keep someone captive there camacho made his first court appearance yesterday and the local sheriff's department says he could potentially face even more charges. Morgan?

Valerie, the story frightening for any parent out there. Is there anything more that they can do to try and prevent this from happening from their own children? So our expert says telling your kids not to talk to strangers online might not be all that effective. She says predators spend time studying children that they're targeting and eventually might be able to create a relationship and even establish communication so that it no longer feels like stranger. She says parents should routinely ask children, not just about their school day and friends in real life, but also ask questions about what they're seeing and doing online and who they're talking to. Morgan. Good advice, Valerie. We thank you. Still ahead tonight, insulin prices slashed. Weeks after Eli Lilly cut their prices by 75%.

A second pharmaceutical company following suit will have the big details. Plus the update tonight on Jesse Smollett. The actor convicted of staging an attack on himself back in 2019 what two of his accomplices are revealing about how that failed hoax unfolding. And the warning tonight about so-called virtual kidnappings. We'll talk to one woman who was convinced her sister had been kidnapped, only to find out she had been tricked how to avoid that scam. Coming up. And we're back now with a new development in the case of just a new development in the case of just. Smollett, the actor convicted for lying about an attack back in 2019, where he paid two men to assault him, now being called out by those same men who give new details about what led

up to the hoax and what may have been Smolett's motive behind that staged incident. Maya Eglan with that story tonight. Tonight, the two brothers who say they were paid by actor Jesse Smollett to attack him, breaking their two-year silence and explaining their part in the 2019 Chicago fake assault that dominated headlines for months. This is where we waited for Jesse to come before we attacked them. As part of a five-part documentary series called Jesse Smollett Anatomy of a hoax on Fox Nation, brothers Bola and O'Sendero described the plan Smolet had come up with.

They say Smolet told them to be near his apartment at 2 a.m. with no phones, alleging he said it was so they wouldn't lose them. He turned around, looked at us, and that's when we started yelling, the famous slurs he wanted us to yell. Hey, aren't you that empire in the empire? Empire f***. It's a meg of country. And then he said, what did you say to me? And then that's when I threw the first punch at him. The apparent hate crime shocked the nation. A shocking ambush on the star of TV's empire. Smolett, an openly gay black actor, told police he was a victim of a homophobic and racist attack

by two men wearing ski masks in January of 2019. He also said that they placed a news around his neck. What Smollett presumably didn't realize is that surveillance footage captured images of the Osendero brothers, leading to their arrest. They were eventually released, and authorities then arrested Smollett in February 2019, accusing him of recruiting the brothers to stage the attack. Police said at the time Smollett orchestrated the incident to advance his career. A claim he and his attorney have continued to deny. We remain 100% confidence in our client's innocence.

From the first day of this case, his case has been prejudged. His case has been tried in the media. And had this to stay in court after being sentenced. I am not suicide. I am innocent and I am not suicidal. Smollett was convicted of five counts of disorderly conduct for falsely reporting a fake crime and sentenced to two years. probation with 150 days in jail in March of 2022.

But he walked free after serving only six days, pending an appeal by his lawyers. The brothers now slamming the actor for his lies. This dude crazy, man. He shut a tear, man. This dude, wow. NBC News reached out to Smollett's attorney, but has not hurt back. This team, filing documents two weeks ago, are seeking to overturn the conviction, saying in part his rights were violated when he was prosecuted.

a second time after originally reaching an agreement with the Cook County State's attorney when charges were dropped in 2019. And Maya Eagland joins us now from New York. Maya, I'm curious, do we have any reason why these brothers are finally speaking out now? So, Morgan, they say they want to clear their names from some of the complications of the legal battles and correct the record. They say they aren't racist or homophobic, and they're looking to put this scandal behind them once they share their perspective of the story.

Hi, Eelan. Thank you so much. Now, the frightening moment for a woman who received a call from her sister's phone number, claiming she was being held hostage and demanding ransom money. But it was all a hoax designed to scare her into handing over cash. NBC Stephen Romo explains this virtual kidnapping. Tonight, a TikTok video going viral with more than 6.6 million views. I was terrified that he was going to kill my sister. Warning of a scam so realistic that it brought one woman

what she calls the scariest moment of her life. It literally sounded like he was desperate walking down the street and grabbed someone who happened to me, my sister. And so, so, so, so what I, what, what, what, you? Beth Royce got a call early in the morning last week. She says it looked exactly like a call from her sister Kayla, who lives in Seattle. It was basically as if she was calling me.

And I answered it. I heard crying on the. the other end. And I said, Kayla, what's wrong? What happened? And then I heard a man's voice. Beth says that person on the phone told her he'd kidnapped her sister Kayla and her life was in danger. He was like, you're not going to tell anyone. You're not going to speak a word. You're not going to call the police. I have your sister. I'm going to kill her. I heard muffled sobs in the background that sounded like a woman's voice. So of course I was like, oh my God, that's my sister. I fully 100% believed that this was real. She alerted her mom.

who was staying at her Pennsylvania home. Then she went outside talking to this supposed kidnapper. I know I'm trying to see here on security camera video she shared with NBC News. He was a little unorganized. Like he had to call his girlfriend and got her phone number for Venmo. It didn't feel thought out in any way, which made it seem all the more real. Beth says she did end up sending $1,000 half through Zell and half through Venmo. So it went all the way through?

Yep, it went all the way through. before realizing her mom had gotten the real Kayla on the phone. She called me, and the first thing she said was, are you real? And I was like, excuse me? Like, I was really taken back by that. And she was like, where are you? Kayla says she was finally able to convince her mom she was okay. And then Beth, who was still talking to that scammer, got to talk to her sister.

You could tell she just never thought she was going to hear my voice again. She was like, yeah, I'm fine. And my immediate thought was, well, then who does this guy have? Because this is really scary. It seemed so real. It never even occurred to me that it was a scam. Spoofing, where scammers make their calls appear to come from other people's phone numbers are not uncommon.

We found warnings from local police and from the FBI about them. However, experts say the scams continue because they work. They're really playing on the emotion of the individual they're talking to. They're talking to a mother, father. A loved one, you know, a husband, a wife that truly cares about that person. And to pay $500 or $1,000 for their well-being, they'll just go ahead and pay it. Beth and Kayla's mom called 911, and Beth filed a police report about what happened and the stolen money, which has still not been recovered. You don't realize what you'll do in the moment for a loved one.

And Stephen Romo joins us now. Stephen, pretty scary situation here all round. What experts say you should do if you end up getting a phone call like this? Yeah, Morgan, it is a scary situation. And there was some talk of maybe setting up code words with your family members and trying to use that. But ultimately, experts say the best thing to do is just hang up that phone and call right back. And it should actually ring your loved one's phone and hopefully eliminate that scared situation. By the way, Beth, in this story, she's saving for a wedding and says it was not easy to send that $1,000.

and she's really hoping to recover that money. Morgan? Oh, goodness, fingers crossed for her. Stephen, thank you so much. When we come back, a school bus crashing in Massachusetts, the terrifying moments all captured on surveillance video, but we're learning about the injuries at that scene. And that stunt gone wrong on a Las Vegas stage,

magician David Blaine plummeting 80 feet, how the members of the audience stepped into hell. Stick around. And back now with Top Story's News Feed, and we begin with a major update in that toxic train derailment in Ohio. The state attorney general suing Norfolk Southern, alleging the company violated hazardous waste and water quality laws, and that its negligence caused both the derailment and the toxic chemical spill in East Palestine. The state is seeking monetary damages from the company. This suit runs parallel to the hundreds of complaints already filed by private citizens.

And a Massachusetts driver has been cited following a major school bus crash. Nest surveillance footage shows that a school bus veered onto a curb, striking a utility pole before crashing into a home in Falls River. One child was hospitalized for a minor back injury. Power was knocked out to homes in the immediate area. No one inside the home was injured. New video shows the terrifying moment, extreme illusionist David Blank, Injures himself during a Las Vegas performance, you see Blaine jumping off an 80-foot platform towards a pile of boxes when he falls through the set, dislocating his right shoulder.

Now, thankfully, some E&Ts and orthopedic doctors were actually in the audience and came on stage to help Blaine reset his arm and finish a show. Blaine, who has a residency in Vegas, is expected somehow to be okay. And pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk, announcing they will slash the cost of their interest. insulin products by up to 75 percent. Beginning January 1st, a vial of Novalogue will cost just $72 compared to the $289 it currently cost. The Danish drugmaker is the second company making this announcement following rival Eli Lilly, along with French drug maker Sinofi. The three companies make up more than 90% of the insulin market in the United States. And now to a stunning new report fueling frustration among America's drivers. Car thefts are surging.

stopping the staggering million mark in 2022. Some cities so fed up, they're taking major automakers to court. NBC's Maggie Vespa explains. Tonight, American car thieves capping a banner year. Just got my car back from being stolen. Leaving a staggering number of drivers stalled. This is what they did to my car. A new report shows car thefts nationwide are surging,

topping one million last year. In Chicago, up 55%. You feel helpless. Thieves stole Teresa McKinney's car in June. Investigators found it a day later only to have the steering wheel fall off. My car has not been right since it's been stolen. It don't drive right. It don't do nothing right. Police pushing steering wheel locks and parking in secured areas.

As for what's driving this, researchers say on the list of most stolen makes, too, have become frequent targets. Yeah, I'd be aware of this new Kia and Hyundai break in. challenge. On TikTok, tricks for hot wiring Hyundai's and Kia's have become a viral trend. Now the automakers facing federal lawsuits with multiple cities, alleging Hyundai and Kia failed to install adequate anti-theft technology in certain models, causing thefts to soar. This has spread so quickly. It's just frustrating because this is something that's easily preventable. The technology has been there for years. Both companies offering free upgrades to security software, adding their are in compliance with federal safety standards.

Kia, adding, it's deeply concerned about this trend, and Hyundai says it's committed to the security of its customers. Morgan. All right, Maggie Vespa, thank you so much. Now to an NBC news exclusive, nightly news anchor Lesterholtz sat down with the acting head of the FAA as he prepares for an upcoming safety summit. This comes to his recent runway near misses

and unruly passengers have led to significant concerns in the sky. At airports across the country, alarms are being raised over dangerous near-misses. From the runway at Austin-Berstrom Airport, where a controller cleared a FedEx 767 cargo jet to land on the same runway that a Southwest 737 full of passengers was taking off from, just 75 feet from disaster. Southwest Board, FedEx is on the go. To an unsettling close call at Boston's Logan Airport. where a Lear jet pilot took off without clearance as a jet blue flight was landing on a crossing runway. And now NBC News has learned of another near disaster last week at Reagan National, where a regional jet pilot rolled in front of a departing United Airbus jet.

Oh, you're not 2003, 2003. We're boarding takeoff, boarding takeoff, United 2003. All among the recent close calls that led FAA acting administrator, Bill, Nolan to call for tomorrow's safety summit. Some of the headlines are downright scary. Is flying safe right now? Lester, I can say to you, to your audience, to the American people, that flying is absolutely safe. We have the safest, most complex system in the world.

We work at it every day, and it is absolutely safe. Why is this summit so important right now? We've had these events over the past few weeks that gives us a moment to say, stop, let's reflect, let's ask ourselves the question, are we missing anything? Is there anything that we should be doing different? And remind ourselves, always, always, that we can never become complacent and never take this incredible safe directive for granted. We're seeing more of these, or is this what you would describe as a cluster? I would describe it as a cluster. We've seen over this last few months, more than you'd expect

to see. Maybe you have an average of one or two per month. I will kill every man on these And then there are the concerns about what's happening on board. The FAA has zero tolerance for unruly behavior, and we will indeed use every tool, every resource at our disposal where someone interferes with a cabin or a cockpit crew member. We will go for civil penalties and federal prosecution were warranted. My suggestion to you is to stay home because if you act up in flight, we're going to come after you. With airports full for spring break and the summer travel season not far away, Nolan insists the FAA is prepared as they seek to avoid a repeat of last summer's meltdown. Flying has come back with the vengeance, so to speak.

Our goal is to make sure that we're proactive and where we can be, to be as predictive as we can be, to make sure that our demand matches up. Lester Holt, thank you so much. Coming up, the cyclone that's been leaving death and destruction in its path now for quite some time. It's been active for more than a month, hitting some countries twice, said to become the longest-lasting cyclone in history. Stick around. Top Stories next. Now to today's Top Stories Global Watch, and we begin with a deadly hit-and-run in Canada. At least two people were killed after they were struck by a van in.

Quebec. Nine others were injured, including an infant and a three-year-old. The driver initially fleeing this scene, but later turning himself into police. An investigation is now underway, but authorities say the incident was not an act of terrorism. In Brazil, a landslide caused by heavy rains has killed at least eight people there. And video shows the aftermath of that natural disaster in Manaus, with streets flooded, homes destroyed. Locals and rescue crews are working round the clock together to look for survivors somewhere in the wreckage. We do You know, at least three survivors have been pulled out, according to local reports. And in Japan, a celebrity YouTuber termed lawmaker has been expelled from Parliament without ever setting foot inside.

Yoshikaze Tani, known for making videos about celebrity gossip, was formerly ousted by his Senate colleagues after failing to show up to work for the last seven months. The lawmaker believed to be hiding out in another country to avoid facing fraud charges and defamation claims from celebrities. He's just the third parliament member to be expelled in the country's history. And now to an update on Tropical Cyclone Freddy and its path of absolute destruction in southeastern Africa. This high-energy storm hitting the continent twice in just one month, leading to more than 100 people killed and many more injured. And it's now on track to be the longest cyclone in history. Megan Fitzgerald has more on the devastation. Tonight, Cyclone Freddie wreaking havoc across parts of Africa.

Leaving behind a path of death and destruction. More than 100 people killed, hundreds more injured and displaced. The cyclone forming early last month near Indonesia, then quickly accelerating across the Indian Ocean, first making landfall in Madagascar, before looping back, slamming the island nation again. Freddie on track to be the world's longest-lasting tropical cyclone and one of the strongest storms ever reported in the southern hemisphere.

It's traveled more than 10,000 kilometers. It's generated as much accumulated cyclone energy as an average North Atlantic hurricane season. This is one storm. Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar facing the brunt of the storm, 150 mile per hour winds ripping off roofs, torrential rains submerging homes and devastating landslides washing away entire towns. This man said, I have never seen something. terrible like this. My neighbor's houses are all gone. The family members are gone. They are missing. In some instances, the father is alive, but the wife and the children are gone.

The relentless rainfall, only exacerbating the damage caused by Freddie's first pass through the area. Despite the devastation, miraculous stories of survival. We hear a voice of a child, client. Please save me. please save me. Then after opening the door, the mud all over. There is a mat. Southern Mozambique

receiving more than a year's worth of rainfall in just one month. Madagascar getting three times the monthly average in one week. And Megan, Ms. Jail, joins us now from London. Megan, we know this cyclone's been churning across that area for about

a month now. So the big question, do you think the worst of this storm is finally over? Well, you know, Morgan, meteorologists are saying that the region is not in the clear yet. While the system is weakening torrential rains, followed by massive flooding and strong winds, still expected in the coming hours. Morgan? Stunning images. Megan Fitzgerald, thank you. Coming up, he's been behind bars for more than three decades, serving a shocking 400-year sentence for a crime he did not commit.

Now he's finally walking free. finally tonight the wrongful conviction overturned a florida man originally sentenced to 400 years in prison is now walking out free a free man after three decades in prison in a broward county florida courtroom this is the last time sydney holmes will wear the prison uniform he's dawned for decades spending 34 years behind bars no longer is the wrong man confined to a florida state prison he was serving an unheard of 400-year sentence for a 1989 robbery conviction. The original prosecutor wanted no chance of parole. He has maintained his innocence, and a recent reinvestigation by the state attorney's

conviction review unit agreed. Finding no evidence leaking homes to the robbery, and that eyewitnesses likely confused him with someone else. We had an opportunity to exonerate a man who's been in prison wrongfully. We had an opportunity to do the right thing today, to right or wrong. Holmes broke down in tears while in court Monday, embracing Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor. Outside, family members waiting anxiously.

It's over, long, long, long time overdue. We have lost loved ones while he's been incarcerated, his father, his grandparents. And then, dressed in a button-down shirt and blue jeans. The moment Sidney Holmes had been waiting for. Hugging his husband. mother Mary Holmes, crying, tears of joy. I just praise God, and I thank everybody who've been so good to make this day possible. I know this day was going to come.

I'm going to later. That's a day of today. One by one expressing gratitude to the family members that had stood by his side for years. Thank you, Jesus. Grateful to everyone who never gave up fighting for his freedom. like to say that community members who've been rallying behind you, waiting for this day. Thank you. Thank you for everything.

Lots of family hugs to catch up on. We do want to thank our NBC station right here in Miami for their help with that beautiful story. And thank you so much for watching Top Story tonight for Tom Yamis. I'm Morgan Chesky. Stay right here. More news now. It's on the way.