Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Episode Date: February 8, 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. ...

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 Ranking tonight, the U.S. taking out a top militant commander blamed for planning a deadly attack on American forces. Officials announcing the drone strike targeted an Iranian-backed militia leader in Baghdad. It's all in response to recent attacks on U.S. forces in the region, including one that killed U.S. troops in Jordan, where things stand as concerns over stability in the Middle East, grows. Also tonight, the search for missing Marines, a desperate search and rescue mission underway. after a military helicopter goes missing. The chopper later discovered in a California forest, rescue crews battling feet of snow, making the effort to find the Marines a challenge.
Starting point is 00:00:41 The latest on the search and if weather could have played a factor. Nevada, not for Nikki, former U.N. ambassador losing to no one in the Nevada GOP primary, defeated by double digits by the ballot option, none of these candidates. Why former President Trump was never on that ballot, Plus, the growing questions tonight about R&C chairwoman Rana McDaniel after Trump said she might need to step down. Inside the mega prison, a rare look tonight into the largest prison in Latin America.
Starting point is 00:01:11 Since its creation, El Salvador's murder rate has plummeted, but the incarceration rate, the highest in the world. The president touting its success as human watch groups argue innocent people have been wrongly charged. Plus, toying with danger of family suing the school district after their daughter is, is shot with an Orby's gun. The team recovering from a serious eye injury after she was caught in the crossfire of a popular game, why her family says the school is to blame.
Starting point is 00:01:39 Orca's escape, a pot of killer whales trapped in an ice strip, able to break free how experts believe they managed to survive. And this photo of a polar bear taking a snooze on an ice cap is not just melting hearts, it's winning awards, will explain. And
Starting point is 00:01:55 Grandma Firefighter, a 75-year-old joining the front lines after surviving the deadliest wildfire in California's history her inspiring story proving you can be a rookie at any age. Top story. It starts right now. All right, let's get right to that breaking news tonight. The U.S. announcing it has killed a top militia commander blamed for planning the drone attack that killed U.S. soldiers in Jordan. The Iranian-backed militant leader was killed in a year. U.S. drone strike that hit a car in eastern Baghdad. These are pictures that have come into our newsroom. It comes on the heels on Friday and Saturdays. U.S. led retaliatory strikes for attacks
Starting point is 00:02:37 on American troops in the region. President Biden vowed last week that the U.S. response would be ongoing. New images just in show the aftermath of the latest drone strike, a burnt-out car being lifted by a crane after the vehicle was engulfed in flames. NBC News Senior International correspondent, Keir Simmons, starts us off on this breaking news from inside the region. Tonight, a vehicle in flames in the Iraqi capital. A U.S. strike so targeted, cars close by appear undamaged, others driving past. But in the aftermath, fury erupting, a crowd chanting no to America, no to Israel.
Starting point is 00:03:17 Among those killed, Abu Bakr al-Sahdi, a commander in Kathab Hasbullah, the group says, the Iranian-backed militia accused of the killing of three American service members. in a drone attack on Tower 22, a remote desert base in Jordan 10 days ago. CENTCOM saying in a statement tonight, U.S. forces conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on U.S. service members, killing a Qathebizbullah commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region.
Starting point is 00:03:50 In addition to the deadly drone strike, Iranian-backed militias have launched over 160 attacks on American targets since October and have kept on attacking American bases in Syria, even after Friday's wave of American retaliatory strikes. President Biden, who's been under pressure to launch a more forceful response, was pressed about it earlier this week. Tonight, Iraq's military immediately branding the strike a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, with tensions between Iran and the U.S. escalating.
Starting point is 00:04:25 All right, Kier joins us tonight from Erbil Iraq on this breaking news. So, Kier, what more are we learning about this strike? Well, NBC News, Tom, is just hearing from a U.S. official telling us that Iraq was informed of the strike shortly afterwards, but that the president made the decision to carry out this strike early last week. Effectively, it looks like the same time as he decided to launch that operation on Friday night, but that it was only now that the opportunity presented itself to target this figure within this group, Katab Hasbullah. And then, you know, it's interesting because we keep striking at these commanders
Starting point is 00:05:05 and yet there's been no strike on Iran, correct? That's exactly right. And again, this is targeting of a commander, according to the group itself, in an Iranian-backed militia. So it's an Iranian-backed militia. It's not Iran itself, despite the fact that at the beginning of all this, the US said that it would be targeting the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Now, maybe it did on Friday night. Maybe some of those buildings were both Iranian-backed militia and revolutionary guard. Al-Quds Force, as they're called, outside of Iran. Perhaps that's the case.
Starting point is 00:05:42 But, Tom, ultimately, there is this. No U.S. president since Carter has launched an operation inside of Iran. It would be incredibly escalatory, and for that reason, it would be a huge decision for President Biden to take. But so far, he hasn't hit Iranian targets even outside of Iran beyond these buildings and this Iranian-backed militia. So there is a lot that President Biden might do or could do that would escalate things further before striking a target inside of Iran itself. All right, Keir Simmons first. Kier, thank you for that. Back here at home to our other major headline of a desperate search in the hills east of San Francisco. Diego after a Marine Corps helicopter crashed, but its crew is still missing tonight.
Starting point is 00:06:26 Officials say five Marines were aboard when it vanished from radar overnight. Dana Griffin has more. Tonight, the urgent search for five missing Marines. Their helicopter disappearing overnight in a remote area of San Diego County during a routine training flight. Our crews are out in this rugged terrain. It's slippery. It's muddy out. We have snow.
Starting point is 00:06:49 Military officials confirming the military officials confirming the military Officials confirming the missing Hilo was located this morning, now a rescue effort for the five on board. All were assigned to the third Marine aircraft wing. They were flying a CH53E Super Stallion helicopter like this one. In a statement, the Marines say the crew departed from Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas Tuesday night, heading to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego County. Super Stallion is primarily used for transporting heavy equipment. It was last detected around 11.30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Cal Fire, 50 miles east of its destination.
Starting point is 00:07:26 Once the aircraft was reported overdue, search and rescue teams were dispatched. They had to go on foot to search the area of the coordinates of the last known location of that helicopter. Overnight, conditions near the crash were a mix of rain and heavy snow. It's unclear if the severe weather was a factor in the crash. All right, Dana Griffin joins us now live. Dana, what more do we know about the search for the Marines right now? So, Tom, I can tell you that a caravan of search and rescue crews came into the staging area. Another group went out, so it is safe to say that at this hour, they are still searching the snow-covered, rugged terrain.
Starting point is 00:08:03 Officials have not given us an update on the search and rescue, but we can also tell you that a similar helicopter crashed in California just over five years ago during another training mission where, unfortunately, Tom, four Marines were killed in that crash. Yeah, Dan, and I want to ask you about that, right? Because you look at the size of that helicopter, and it's not easy to kind of evacuate a helicopter. It's not an ejector seat like you can in a jet, and that's not easy either. Do we know what leads the military to believe and give them hope that maybe these Marines are still alive? Well, it's possible that they may have crash landed, and maybe those Marines tried to walk out. Maybe they are trying to find their way back. Remember, we're in a pretty remote area, so you may not know which direction.
Starting point is 00:08:46 direction you're walking to. So that is the hope. We also don't know if they have found any of them, if they have the Marines usually notified next akin first. So we won't know any details until they release that information. But obviously, the hope is that those Marines survived and everyone is wishing them well, hoping that they come back home. Yeah, that is right. Dana Griffin live from that search base camp tonight for us. Dana, we appreciate your reporting. For more insight on this and into the crash and the challenges that lie ahead for the search teams, I'm joined tonight by rescue expert and survivalist Tom Coyne. He's the founder of Coyne survival schools. Tom, if these Marines survive the crash landing as we were just talking about there, if they were
Starting point is 00:09:26 able to walk off the helicopter, jump off it just in time, can they survive in those mountains in these conditions? Yeah, so these are strong, capable, well-trained individuals. So if the crash was survivable, I don't have any information on the condition the aircraft was found. However, if the crash was survivable, these kind of people, marine air crew, marine pilots like this, are in some of the best position to survive it. They're all going to have some level of training on what to do after a crash. I'm a former Hell attack firefighter, and even guys like me got Dunker trained, what to do if we went down in the water. So they know what to do when they strike the ground. The helicopter is going to be equipped with certain firefighting systems.
Starting point is 00:10:15 It's going to be equipped with some survival. gear. The pilot may even have some survival gear in their flight suit, which is a fairly standard operating procedure. So if it is survivable, now normally these people are taught to stay near the aircraft because it's much easier to find a giant helicopter in the wilderness than an individual. What I'm hoping is since they're not near the aircraft, which is quite odd, right? I'm hoping that because of the storm, because they have probably some level of survival training. The pilot especially, it may have even gotten a full-blown survival course from the Marines, that they just went and sheltered up through the storm, and they're going to be found
Starting point is 00:10:58 just a little cold and agree. That's the hope. And if anybody's in a condition to survive something like that, it's people, that kind of training. So you bring up a good point. The training is to stay by the helicopter because it's such a large, I guess, a large marker from the sky. if you're, if you're searching? Yeah, exactly. So for one, all their, all their clothing is going to be camouflage, right? So they're not exactly going to stand down that mixed chaparral and Tinder out there. And it's much harder to find them than the helicopter.
Starting point is 00:11:32 And pieces of helicopter can even, or parts of the helicopter can even come in handy for sheltering or shading up. That helicopter may also be equipped, also in aircraft, are equipped with GPS devices that go off when you crash automatically, they send a certain amount of G-Force, they start pinging. So that also means you're more likely to be found from the PLB going off. So Tom, you know, we're showing our viewers where this was, where this happened and where was located. Can we put that back up there, please, that map so we can take a look at it one more time?
Starting point is 00:12:07 These kind of mountains in the winter, is this survivable? If they're not by the helicopter, can they survive this exposure? can they survive this exposed to the elements well the the the big consideration there that is that these are marines so that that's going to take a big part of it they're trained to endure a lot and and mentally and physically they're there so they are at about three four thousand feet conditions kind of suck right now because it's right in between freezing and wet that is some of the most dangerous you would almost rather it be 100% frozen because being cold and wet is a whole different situation.
Starting point is 00:12:46 It's much harder to light a fire when it's wet than in the snow as well. So it is difficult. It is very steep. It is arduous terrain. However, it is only hovering around freezing overnight. They should have good gear. They should have survival gear with the ship.
Starting point is 00:13:03 And I believe for these types of individuals, as long as when they hit the ground, they were okay. I believe it's quite survivable. Would you be able to hide? down those mountains without any trail markers, without sort of any paths that have been carved out? Or would that be too difficult? Because I'm wondering, you know, you would know if you were going down, if you were headed down the mountain, but I just wonder if that's even possible.
Starting point is 00:13:30 So once you have an emergency in the air, the pilot's going to start looking around for the best landing zones, right? He's going to look, he or she is going to look around for the best places to set the aircraft down if that is possible. And if they see a major road system or something like that nearby, perhaps because of the conditions, because, you know, the mix of rain and snow and wind, if they saw something nearby, it may be worth leaving the help taking the gear that you can, leaving the helicopter and going for it. If that is the case, then I believe that they'll will be found shortly. All right. Tom, we appreciate your time
Starting point is 00:14:11 and your analysis tonight here on Top Story. Also in California, at least nine people confirmed that after that severe weather swept across the state. More than 400 mudslides reported in the Los Angeles area. And tonight, with the ground dangerously saturated, a new storm
Starting point is 00:14:27 moving into the region, threatening even more damage. Let's get right over to NBC News meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill, before you start, I know you were listening to our conversation there, what type of weather is over the search area right now where those missing marines are thought to be located. Yeah, things got quiet. It was raining this morning. Things got quiet, actually snowing at the level where the aircraft was. And then that quieted down. The problem is that we have
Starting point is 00:14:49 this next storm coming in. So as the search and rescue operation is going on, we have roughly about six hours until we get another batch of rain and snow that will be moving right over the crash site. So, and then by the time the sun comes up, this storm will be gone. So we'll have Difficult conditions probably for about three hours or so. They'll probably have to stand down on what they're doing as the storm goes through. And then in the morning, everything should be fine from then all day to morrow. So here's a look at the storm talking about. Went through San Francisco, you're done.
Starting point is 00:15:19 It's right over the top of Fresno. And this, thankfully, is moving fast. It packs a punch. I mean, this has heavy rain with it. It's even had some lightning with it at times. The snow levels are pretty low. So the mountain passes are going to be a problem even outside of Los Angeles. So here it is coming on shore around San Luis Obispo.
Starting point is 00:15:35 Here's the Fillmore area. Here's Los Angeles. So, L.A., it's right around maybe 10 p.m. or midnight or so. It looks like when we'll start to see the rain in your area. So here's the timing of it. You notice as it heads down here through San Diego, it's pretty quick. By 8 a.m., it's done. It's over with. So for the crash operations and rescue, hopefully, that should be fine during the daylight hours. Then this all moves into Utah and areas of southern.
Starting point is 00:15:58 Possibly the heaviest snow will be in actually areas of Arizona up on the rim just south to Flagstaff. So Los Angeles, you're back under a flood watch. Again, 19 million people, including Oceanside, all the way down to San Diego. This is not the 8 to 9 inches, but because of all those mud slides, so many hills are just barely holding on. And if we add another inch of rain quickly, what we're afraid of is that additional hillsides will give way and we'll get those rock slides and those debris flows, Tom. And that would be occurring late tonight during the overnight hours. Hopefully won't be too bad, but it is possible. Okay, I know you're going to stay monitoring that, Bill. We appreciate that. We want to move to Capitol Hill now in the breakdown in Congress. Tonight, over that border security bill and funding for Ukraine and Israel,
Starting point is 00:16:39 this coming after the embarrassing failure by House Republicans to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. NBC's Ryan Nobles has been covering it all for us, and here he is with his report. Tonight, Capitol Hill in a state of chaos. It's a big leadership challenge that we need to find a solution for. 24 hours after that embarrassing defeat for Republicans, narrowly failing to impeach. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas following a dramatic turn of events. Democrat Al Green rushed from his hospital bed to cast the deciding vote against it.
Starting point is 00:17:12 Republicans had accused Majorcas of unlawfully allowing millions of migrants to cross into the U.S. The House Speaker tonight vowing to hold another vote when a top Republican returns from medical treatment. Mayorkas needs to be held accountable. The Biden administration needs to be held accountable. And we will pass those articles of impeachment. While the Senate tonight attempting to start the process to push through a new bill with funding for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine, money supporters say is critical with a new round of strikes by Russia on the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. But that package had originally included billions for border security too. Bipartisan negotiators touted an increase in detention centers and raising the standards for asylum. But GOP critics slammed the proposal, saying it was not tough enough, and that President Biden could solve the crisis by bringing back Trump.
Starting point is 00:17:59 border policies. The deal was voted down today. You think House Republicans are as interested in bipartisanship at this point? Well, what they're going to have to do is show their ability to govern, right? NBC's Morgan Chesky is on the border in Eagle Pass, Texas. Crossings here are down at the moment, but firefighters tell us they've been overwhelmed, especially after seeing migrants drown while trying to cross the Rio Grande. Can any of you even count the number of body recoveries, you've been a part of it anymore? I lost count. I'm hoping that the federal government will cut a deal
Starting point is 00:18:33 and completely stop this madness. One conservative Republican telling us he's fine with the gridlock. Could that mean like a government shutdown in the near future? Well, it could be as far as I'm concerned. I mean, most of my voters would love to see this place shut down because they don't think it works for them. But Speaker Johnson, with a different view. What would you say to Americans concerned
Starting point is 00:18:53 that Congress isn't able to? do basic functions. Well, it's just simply not true. We're governing here. Sometimes it's messy. Okay, with that, Ryan, joins us once again from Capitol Hill. Ryan, Speaker Johnson has already been threatened that he will be ousted by at least one notable Congresswoman if they bring any Ukraine aid bill to a vote.
Starting point is 00:19:15 Yeah, that's right. Marjorie Taylor Green has said that many times in the past. But, you know, the speaker has said multiple times that he's at least open to the idea of bringing Ukraine aid to the floor. if it's conditioned with a ton of oversight that doesn't currently exist in the prior aid packages. So he hasn't completely ruled it out as a possibility. It's just the form and fashion
Starting point is 00:19:35 in which he'd bring it to the floor that's still an open question. He's already signaled that if this Senate bill does end up passing on the Senate side of the Capitol, that he may be forced to not even bring it up at all for a vote or break it up into individual pieces
Starting point is 00:19:49 and have each piece of the possible legislation voted on separately, Tom. So, Ryan, get us up to start. speed, where does that stand right now? So the Senate has decided that they are going to go home for the night, that new piece of legislation where they've pulled the border package out of the broader supplemental piece is still a pending situation. There's negotiations happening right now between Republicans and Democrats.
Starting point is 00:20:11 Ironically, Tom, one of the things that we're hearing is that Republicans are actually asking for amendments to this legislation in which the border package was pulled out. That would be amendments that would deal with the border situation, which was something that was already part of the original package. So senators are trying to find a way to make this happen. They hope they can get something passed by the weekend, but all of it right now is up in the air.
Starting point is 00:20:34 Tom. Okay, Ryan Nobles for us. Ryan, thank you for that. Not a power in politics and a shocking defeat for Nikki Haley in Nevada. The former UN ambassador losing to no one in the state's GOP primary, defeated by the ballot option, quote, none of these candidates.
Starting point is 00:20:49 Yeah, the spot that says none of these candidates, that slot got more votes than she did. Why former President Trump was never on that ballot and the big win he's expecting in the state in tomorrow night's caucus. It's a little confusing. Vaughan Hillary's going to explain it all for us. What a great-looking crowd. Tonight, a stunning rebuke of Nikki Haley in Nevada, losing to no one. With former President Trump's name not even appearing on the state's primary ballot, the former U.N. ambassador, losing by double digits to the ballot option, none of these candidates.
Starting point is 00:21:19 I voted none of the above for the primary year. And I'll be at the caucus on Thursday. I think everybody believes it's going to be Donald Trump anyway. Haley, electing to participate in Nevada's state-run primary, not Thursday's party-run caucus, as former President Trump opted to do, despite the fact that the caucus is the only contest that actually awards delegates. Talk to the people in Nevada. They will tell you the caucuses have been sealed up, bought and paid for it for a long time.
Starting point is 00:21:48 Haley accused the Nevada Republican Party of being in the bag for Trump. It's party chairman even endorsing Trump and campaigning for him. I give you the next president of the United States. Donald J. Trump. The chair, just one of the party leaders here, indicted on criminal charges in the state for being alleged fake electors after the 2020 election. So thank you very much and thank you, Michael. I'm thrilled to be back in Las Vegas.
Starting point is 00:22:12 Haley's staggering loss here only further damaging her efforts to invigorate an anti-Trump movement in the party, a campaign spokesperson saying in a statement, were full steam ahead in South Carolina and beyond. She has vowed to fight it out through at least her home state primary in two and a half weeks and then on Super Tuesday, March 5th, but already. Jesus hates dryers. Haley running into boisterous loyal support for the former president while at a campaign stop in California. While they are loud and chaotic, that is every reason we have to get motivated.
Starting point is 00:22:45 And as Trump is set to fly to Las Vegas Thursday for a caucus night victory party, his presence felt on the national GOP stage as well. Just days after he suggested RNC chairwoman, Ron and McDaniel may need to step down amid criticism of her leadership in the party. I would say right now there'll probably be some changes made. The RNC suggesting that might just happen, saying in a statement, this will be decided after South Carolina.
Starting point is 00:23:11 Okay, Vaughn Hillier joins us tonight live from the campaign trail in Las Vegas. So, Vaughn, McDaniel has been one of Trump's most vocal support. on the national stage, and he handpicked her in 2017 to lead the party when he won the White House. So what happened at the RNC for Trump to suggest it's now time for her to move on? Was it the debates this year? Right. There are deep frustrations. Yes, Donald Trump has won this nomination, or almost won this nomination handily. But look, after not only losing the White House in 2020 and losing key races, not only for governor, but Senate seats in 2022, there is a market. number of fundraising dollars that had been reported here in just the last week.
Starting point is 00:23:54 At the end of 2023, the RNC only had $8 million cash on hand. Compare that to the DNC, which had more than $20 million cash on hand. I was talking to an RNC committee member just this afternoon who told me it is in disarray in the RNC. Right now is there is deliberation and debate over what the future of it is. There is only nine months left until November's general election. Tom, and this is a moment in which the Republican Party does not want to be having inner turmoil. But that is what across the country, R&C members are now currently debating as they look to who the R&C chair may be. And it could even stick and continue to be Ron and McDaniel, but we won't know until after that South Carolina primary on February 24th, Tom.
Starting point is 00:24:38 And then there were some sort of rumors today, some reporting, some tweets, if you will, about former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. Is that true or are those just rumors? There are a number of names being thrown out there. It's notable that Matt Gates, the controversial Florida congressman, who was one of the leading House members to oust Kevin McCarthy from the Speaker, was the one who first floated Kevin McCarthy. Kevin McCarthy was known as a successful fundraiser for House Republicans, yet at the same time, it's questionable whether Kevin McCarthy,
Starting point is 00:25:10 after retiring from Congress just two months ago, would be eager to get back into the ballgame in this capacity. Yeah, especially in this environment. Okay, Vaughn Hilliard for us. Vaughn, we always appreciate you. Heading back overseas now into Israel tonight, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is dismissing the latest proposal by Hamas for a ceasefire and hostage release after four months of war.
Starting point is 00:25:30 Ralph Sanchez reports on that and a new tunnel in Gaza that Israel says was used by Hamas leaders to hold those hostages. Tonight, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken insisting there's still a path to a deal to free Israeli hostages after Israel's Prime Minister rejected a new. list of demands from Hamas. Clearly, there are things that Hamas sent back that are absolute non-starters. But at the same time, we see in what was sent back space to continue to pursue an agreement. Hamas was responding to an American-backed proposal, saying it will free all its hostages
Starting point is 00:26:13 in exchange for a four-and-a-half-month ceasefire, leading to an end to the war. the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners and a total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Tonight, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling the Hamas proposal delusional. Giving in to Hamas's bizarre demands not only won't bring the release of hostages, it will just invite another massacre, he said. In Gaza, Israeli strikes hitting the city of Rafa. Muhammad stares at his hands, shaking uncontrollably. In Han Yunus, we followed Israeli troops deep.
Starting point is 00:26:48 deep underground into what they say was a tunnel for top Hamas leaders. This is years of building. And then a disturbing discovery. The Israeli military says this was a cage where at least three Israeli hostages were held. You can see there is a slot for what they say was delivering food and here a lock from the outside. Somewhere in these tunnels, more hostages, waiting desperately for a deal. All right, Raff joins us tonight from. Tel Aviv. Raf, the way you end your report there, it's a good reminder if anyone needs one of
Starting point is 00:27:23 what's at stake here, right? So where do these negotiations go from here? So Tom, Hamas says it is sending a senior delegation to Cairo to continue the negotiations. Now, on the one hand, that is a positive sign because it shows that from Hamas's perspective, despite that pretty flat rejection from Prime Minister Netanyahu tonight, they feel these negotiations are worth continuing. As you heard, from Secretary Blinken, he feels there is still a path forward, but it is also a sign, Tom, that this deal remains far from being agreed. There is going to be more back and forth before we get to a final agreement. Secretary Blinken meeting tomorrow with the families of some of those
Starting point is 00:28:04 hostages. He says their pain is unimaginable. You know, Ralph, you've taken our viewers into these tunnels a few times now from your reporting there in Israel and in Gaza. What have you sort of pulled from your experience inside these tunnels? and what have you learned? It's really striking, Tom. When you get to the entrances of these tunnels, there is just a wave of hot, damp air that hits you right in the face.
Starting point is 00:28:31 It is so striking how long these tunnels are, how deep they are. You are just walking in darkness, minute after minute after minute. And what you find yourself thinking, as you walk through, is what must the hostages have felt as they were brought here, to have woken up in their own beds on the morning of October 7th,
Starting point is 00:28:52 and then to have been marched, many of them barefoot in their pajamas, deep down into the earth beneath Gaza. Tom. Okay, Raf Sanchez for us. Raf, thank you for your reporting. The war overseas continuing to spark tensions here at home. Tonight, a Texas community calling for hate crime charges for the stabbing of a Palestinian-American father over the weekend.
Starting point is 00:29:12 The incident unfolding just after a pro-Palestinian rally outside of the Texas state capital in Austin. His family believes he may have been targeted over a traditional Arab scarf that was on his car. M.C. Zinclair S.M.A.S.M.A. details. This hate that's going around need to stop. A Texas community outraged after 23-year-old Palestinian American, Zachariah Dowar, was stabbed outside the University of Texas, Austin, Sunday night following a demonstration, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. His friends called me, saying, Uncle, you need to come back. So what happened? He goes, somebody's
Starting point is 00:29:46 That's your son. Austin police arresting 36-year-old, Bert James Baker, now charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. File hate crime charges. But there are mounting calls for him to be charged with a hate crime. The attacker targeted the men because they had a kufia. Like the one I have. And a sign that read free Palestine on their car. Doar's father, Nizar, says his son was in a car with three friends. When Baker allegedly approached that car at a stop sign, pulled that a kaffia. scarf on the door handle and tried to force open the door. My son sitting in the passenger side, he get dragged out of his feet to the ground. According to Nizar, his son and his
Starting point is 00:30:27 friends tried to de-escalate the situation, but alleged Baker ran at one of them with a knife when Zachariah stepped in. My son charged and tried to protect his friend, try to take the knife away in the scuffle. He gets stabbed. We reached out to Baker's attorney. He has no comment at this time. In a statement, the Austin Police Department says, says it believes the incident is, quote, bias motivated and says its hate crime committee determined the case meets the definition of a hate crime. The Travis County District Attorney's Office will now decide if hate crime charges will be filed. Zachariah, a father to a five-month-old, is now recovering at home from a broken rib
Starting point is 00:31:04 and a stab wound that narrowly missed his heart, according to his father. He want to be around his son, you know. Nizar's hopes going far beyond justice for his son, hoping for an end to the violence at home, that he believes is fueled by the Israel Hamas war. It's hunting us back here in our homeland. This is taking an effect on everybody around us right now. And the suspect, James Baker's next hearing, is set for February 23rd. We did ask the Travis County DA's office on whether or not they plan to prosecute this as a hate crime.
Starting point is 00:31:38 They said they could not yet share details about timing at this time. Tom. Okay, Zinclai, SMAW, for us tonight. Still ahead, chaos outside of Philly, a home erupting in flames as police responded to calls of a child shot. The suspect immediately opening fire when officers arrived shooting two of them. What happened with this fire afterwards? Plus, a California high school student at risk of losing her vision after she was shot with a type of toy gun. The alarming trend that now has some lawmakers calling to ban the products, we're going to tell you about this.
Starting point is 00:32:09 And quite the site over Las Vegas today. Look at this, a man climbing to the top of the sphere. What we know about the daredevil tonight, why did this? Stay with us. Back down with a warning about a popular kind of toy gun made popular by a viral TikTok trend. The plastic guns typically loaded with tiny water beads, but those little beads can be huge, can be very dangerous. One California high school student now unable to see out of her right eye after she got caught up in a game her classmates were playing. NBC's more a bear it explains.
Starting point is 00:32:47 Tonight, a high school student in California fearing she could lose vision in one eye forever after getting shot by a water bead loaded into a toy gun. The student who wishes to remain anonymous says she was sitting in her car in the school parking lot when she was hit. Part of the so-called assassins game, an unsanctioned competition among seniors that involves students using toy guns to shoot at other students. I'm just sitting there like, oh my, like kind of like in shop, like I'm like worried like, like, if it's like if my eye is bleeding, like if there's something seriously wrong with my eye, like. Some of her classmates used spring-loaded plastic guns like these, loaded with water beads. It's crazy how they grew so fast. The toys exploding in popularity during the pandemic as the Orby's challenge took over TikTok.
Starting point is 00:33:30 Tick-Tac made me buy it. Though it's not clear of Orby's, a brand name of water beads, were used in this incident. I'm just like, like, distraught. Like, they hurt. The lawyer for the student's family says doctors diagnosed the student, with blunt force trauma and say it's unclear if she'll ever regain vision in her right eye. The student's family placing blame on the school district. We know that the school district had noticed that students were using these guns on campus. They had noticed even that this was happening during this school year.
Starting point is 00:34:01 These concerns echoed by lawmakers and safety experts looking to ban the colorful water beads that can be used as ammo. But it's not just their use in guns. The beads, which grow in size when put in water, can be dangerous for small. children who can easily swallow them. I know people are going to say to me, do you have to prohibit these completely? Aren't there some that are safe? The answer is no.
Starting point is 00:34:22 There are none that are safe. We have to ban them. In a single small package, you can have $2550 or even $75,000 of these tiny beads. And it just takes one to cause harm to a child. Now, several major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target have prohibited the sale of water beads marketed to children, according to the Consumer Federation of America. But similarly branded guns for the beads are still available online. Back in California, the injured student frustrated that her life has been altered over a game.
Starting point is 00:34:52 It kind of discouraged me to go to school a little bit because, you know, you go there for your education and then you come home with one less eye. All right, Maura Barrett joins us now. More of these guns that shoot water pellets, are there age recommendations on them? And how would you compare them to something like a Nerf gun and the damage it can do if it hit someone? if it hits someone? Well, Tom, when you think of a Nerf gun, you think of those styrofoam pellets that if it hits you, it's annoying, but not super painful.
Starting point is 00:35:21 Nerf actually makes what they call a gel blaster as well, and that's what these water bead toy guns are. They're actually compared to the power of an airsoft gun, but with a squishier, biodegradable, water-filled bead. And several ER doctors who reviewed the product say that it's still really dangerous because there's more power behind it. And so most of the brands gear the product towards more of a preteen age group, recommended for 14 or up for the most part. And so the danger around these is actually we've seen in real life, the Consumer Product Safety Commission actually pointing out that there's been nearly 8,000 cases, kids going to the ER either because of the issue around swallowing them or getting hit in the eye.
Starting point is 00:36:01 Eye injuries are one that ER doctors called out the most. Now, I should note, I reached out to the school district involved in the story we were reporting on. they did not respond, but they did post a warning to parents on the school website about the assassins game and the risky behavior associated with it. Yeah, I'm glad we did this story to get that warning out there. Okay, Maura Barrett for us. More, we appreciate that. Coming up inside one of the world's largest prisons, our partners at Telemundo getting rare
Starting point is 00:36:26 access into El Salvador's mega prison that houses tens of thousands of alleged gang members. We hear from prison directors who call the inmate some of the most dangerous people in the country, but human rights activists say some of the those incarcerated are actually innocent. We're going to explain it all. Stay with us. Okay, we're back now with Top Stories newsfeiting. We begin with those police officers shot during a violent standoff in Pennsylvania.
Starting point is 00:36:57 This is new aerial footage. It shows a home on fire just outside of Philly. Police say they were responding to reports of an 11-year-old shot when a suspect inside that home immediately opened fire on officers. Claims erupting as more officers arrived on the scene. So far, authorities have not been able to get inside. Both officers are expected to survive. A cargo train derailing in Colorado spilling hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel.
Starting point is 00:37:21 Officials say the train was carrying sugar when it derailed in Loveland. No one was hurt. Officials said the spill was contained and no waterways were contaminated. Cruz are working to clean up all that fuel. And a man is in custody after he climbed the Las Vegas Fear. You know what we're talking about, right? that new attraction? Well, you can see the man walking over to the top of the 366-foot-tall venue before he descends. The man had been identified as a, quote, urban climber who scales
Starting point is 00:37:49 buildings across the U.S. in protest of abortion. He was arrested in Vegas in 2021. No word on if the sphere was damaged at all, but it comes as fans travel to the city for the Super Bowl in Vegas on Sunday. And Americans are struggling to afford rent as prices continue to skyrocket. New data from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies found a record 22.4 million renters, which is about a half of all renters nationwide, spent more than 30% of their income on rent in 2022. According to the data from CashNet USA in cities like Miami and Boston, less than 10% of rental listings were considered affordable, comparable to compared to the average salary in those cities. Okay, let's turn out of the Americas and a rare look inside Latin America's
Starting point is 00:38:35 largest prison. Our partners at Telemundo going inside the controversial mega prison in El Salvador, that prison housing tens of thousands of gang members. Most of them arrested after the country's president declared a war on crime. But as we've been reporting here on top story, human rights groups are concerned that some prisoners may have been unjustly detained without due process. Juan Venegas has the chilling images from inside. A late-night visit in the heart of El Salvador. Telemundo cameras are given rare access to Latin America's largest prison. Inside this mega prison, you'll find some of El Salvador's most dangerous gang members
Starting point is 00:39:17 packed into massive cells, towers of bunk beds, and what looks like bird cages. It's a source of pride for President Nayibuquele that almost two years ago declared a war on crime. A detention center, the size of seven football stadiums with capacity, to hold 40,000 prisoners, the largest of its kind in Latin America. Known as the Center for Terrorism Confinement, it opened its doors in 2023 after the government declared a state of emergency. The move limiting civil rights and allowing massive arrest of tens of thousands of gang members. The director says the detainees have to sleep on heart surfaces to avoid giving the mattresses that could be used to hide objects.
Starting point is 00:40:10 Their diet consists of simple meals that repeat every day. It's all part of the rice, an huebo duro in the morning. The menu of the desiuno is a repete in the sen. It's all part of the president's tough stance on crime that some say solidified his re-election over the weekend, winning in a landslide earning 70 percent of the vote. The government says the measures are working and the homicide rate has now dropped to 2.4%. This after just years ago, El Salvador was considered the most dangerous country in Central America. But the massive arrest have come with criticism. Under the current law,
Starting point is 00:40:54 children as young as 12 can now be charged as adults. Also, mass trials can be held. And international watch groups say innocent people are being caught in the raids. sounding the alarm last year calling for transparency. We don't know if those who are being detained have committed a crime or are just there because they were tattooed and were in the wrong face at the wrong time. And for those who end up here, the director says there is no separation even between rival gangs, all sleeping in the same large cells with no rights to visitation, the dark side to the radical change that brought peace to the streets of a nation.
Starting point is 00:41:35 Guad Venegas joins us tonight from Miami. Guad, incredible access there by our partners at Telemundo inside this prison complex. But, you know, sometimes, I know you've done these embeds before when you go in, you're not allowed to be everywhere. Is there any concern about what we weren't able to see inside these prisons? Well, Tom, we've heard from a lot of these human rights watch groups. Abnesty International shared a report recently that they say includes details that come from former detainees. These detainees saying that there are a lack of essential services, unhealthy conditions that can contribute to the spread of disease, even saying that some debts of former prisoners could have been linked to these unhealthy conditions. Now, the president has admitted that these are harsh measures, but he's also said, Tom, that when the gangs ruled the streets of El Salvador, they did not take human rights into consideration.
Starting point is 00:42:27 The president has gone as far as asking the human rights groups to come to El Salvador and take the gang members out of the country. to a place where he says they can look after their human rights so you can see the stands that's being taken by the president standing firm by his decisions, Tom. Okay, Guad vanegas for us tonight, Guad, we thank you for that. Time to get a check of what else is happening around the world, which means it's time for Top Story's Global Watch. We start with that deadly Russian missile strike on Ukraine's capital. Four people were killed in more than 30 wounded in Kiev following a strike on a residential
Starting point is 00:43:01 building there. At least one other person was killed in a strike. in the South, Ukraine says Russia fired 64 missiles and launched drones just today, damaging several power lines and gas lines. Protests erupting in Haiti as residents called for the Prime Minister to resign. Three days of fiery demonstrations have shut down banks, schools, and government offices. The protests are against the UN-elected government of the Prime Minister, who took over power shortly after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Mase.
Starting point is 00:43:32 The latest administration has seen a rise in violent. gangs, which has displaced some 300,000 Haitians. Okay, switching gears here to something that's simply incredible. Look at this photo. It's a polar bear sitting on an iceberg, and it just earned a top prize in photography. Now, you could see the bear there napping on the ice bed off the coast of Norway. It was taken by an amateur British photographer and is now the winner of this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award.
Starting point is 00:44:00 Okay, that's a lot. According to organizers, a record, 75,000 people voted in the last. the competition. The photographer says she feels the image inspires hope in the midst of climate change. And a happy update to a story we brought you last night. It appears the pot of killer whales trapped in an ice drift off Japan's mainland has safely escaped. The 13 orcas were seen stuck in a tiny gap of ice Tuesday morning, sparking concerns, but officials say they were spotted north of the area last night and were gone by this morning. Experts believe that means they were able to free themselves from the ice as gaps grew.
Starting point is 00:44:34 wider. That is great news. Okay, coming up, no way out. An NBC News investigation finding nearly half of the victims of the Lahaina wildfires all lived in the same small neighborhood. So what went so wrong? And could their deaths have been prevented? That report next. Welcome back. It's been six months since devastating wildfires tore through the Maui town of Lahaina. Now in NBC News investigation reveals at least 43 of the fires 100 victims lived in one small neighborhood trapped with no way out. Here's Steve Patterson. You look and, you know, you see that house on fire, that house on fire. Above the ruined remnants of Lahaina, Anthony Steele remembers those awful August flames. This was gridlock, this line on the road. And for so many,
Starting point is 00:45:25 the narrow escape. You need to go, bro. Yeah, go, go, go. The lifelong Maui resident lost three family-owned properties, his job, and the only place he's ever called home on August 8th. Steele says he's lucky he has his life. Many of his closest neighbors died that day, including his tenant and close family friend, Bernie Portabes. Do you remember the last thing he said to him? I'll drive you wherever we've got to go.
Starting point is 00:45:48 He just told me that he's going to stay a bit longer. It's very hard. Something I got to live with, you know. An NBC News investigation discovered Portabas and at least 42 others who died in the Maui wildfires. all lived in the same small neighborhood within Lahaina, a neighborhood of narrow streets and tight turns. You couldn't get a fire truck through my neighborhood,
Starting point is 00:46:13 not on those sharp turns with everybody parking all horribly, you know. Satellite photos taken after the smoke cleared revealed a deadly bottleneck after a down tree blocked one of the few ways out. We just can't get out. Yes. They're working on the fire. All I can tell you is to get out of that area. The area called Kahua Camp was the remnant of once temporary housing built for workers' growing sugar cane.
Starting point is 00:46:46 The home's average size originally were only like 500 square feet. Crystal Smyth grew up in Kuhua Camp and says as families grew, so did the homes and the neighborhood got more congested. It was already a one-lane road. They started parking on the streets because of the homes are adding second stories. Some were adding cottages in the back. So it became more and more dangerous that way. NBC News spoke to more than 30 people, including current and former residents of Kahua Camp,
Starting point is 00:47:13 to understand why it came to account for so many of the fire's fatalities. For years, residents say they complained about access issues, cars and boats blocking the streets, some fearing they may one day face the unthinkable. We're trapped right now. We're trapped. Then they did. Shoal. Maui County officials declined a comment on the neighborhood's long-running congestion and access problems.
Starting point is 00:47:36 Though a spokesperson for the police department confirmed a dispatcher notified officers of a down tree in the area, but said officers were busy elsewhere, and it was not addressed. What is this kind of lost due to a community like this? It's definitely wounded. You are never, ever going to be the same. Haina will never be the same. I know that for a fact. He does hope it can be safer one day when he rebuilds.
Starting point is 00:48:02 We just want to go home. We can't go home, though. Steve Patterson, NBC News, Maui. And when we come back, another story of survival after a wildfire, the 75-year-old grandmother who lived through California's campfire, now signing up to fight fires herself. Why did she decide to volunteer and how it felt to go through the training in her 70s? Stay with us.
Starting point is 00:48:27 Finally tonight, after her northern California hometown was devastated by wildfires, a 75-year-old grandmother joining the ranks of her local volunteer fire department, all to serve a community that means everything to her. NBC's Kathy Park has that story. Out of the ashes of the 2018 campfire, one of the deadliest and most destructive natural disasters in California's history, emerged the newest volunteer firefighter. 75-year-old Mary Jarsky. Sometimes people will say something like, oh, I'm old, and I'm like, well, yeah, that's going to happen to all of us. But that doesn't mean that we have to quit doing the things that we enjoy doing or, you know, quit being challenged. According to the Butte County Fire Department, anyone over the age of 18 who wants to help their community can join its volunteer firefighter squad. And Jarsky fit the bill.
Starting point is 00:49:22 But she knew the training wasn't going to be easy. I keep thinking, man, if I'd started when I was 30, I'd be so just excuse the expression, badass. I mean, it's still pretty badass at 75, but really, I wish I'd done it sooner. Every day I'd show them and say, I'm just going to try. And at the end of the day, yeah, no, I feel pretty proud of myself, actually. She was one of 19 cadets in the program. Some of them nearly six decades her junior, all of them, training for more than 200. hours. How demanding is the training program? It's fairly physical. They have to drag charge
Starting point is 00:50:01 hose lines, wear heavy packs. We have our self-contained breathing apparatus that they have to wear. We do a live fire training. But Jarski is no stranger to pressure, spending 30 years on the front lines caring for others as a registered nurse. And she's hoping all that experience can be put to use in her new role. It takes time, I think, to develop and to be able to look at someone and assess them and kind of know what to do. And that's where I feel pretty confident. Jarski plans a volunteer at the fire station in her hometown of Conkow after graduating from the program this weekend.
Starting point is 00:50:36 And this grandmother is set to make history as the oldest cadet ever to complete the academy. I want people to see me out there and think to themselves, hey, maybe I could do that too because it's a great opportunity to, you know, we, to serve your community. community and just we need it. It doesn't bother me that I'm 75. I'm happy to be here. Proof that it's never too late to start something new. Kathy Park, NBC News. Thanks so much for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamerson, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.

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