Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Episode Date: March 14, 2024

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world.

Tonight, Haiti on the verge of collapse, the nation rapidly deteriorating as the prime minister steps down and gangs take over. The U.S. deploying a team of Marines to protect the U.S. embassy as American author Mitch Album, who helps run an orphanage in Haiti, has to be rescued, trapped in a gang-occupied territory. Also tonight, it may be time for your last dance on TikTok. The social media app closer to being banned in the U.S., House lawmakers. overwhelmingly passing a bill, requiring the app's China-based parent company to divest or else. So how exactly does the government ban an app, especially one that happens to be the most popular in the world? Politics of abortion. Former President Trump making reproductive rights a top concern as he weighs his VP pick. Exclusive reporting tonight from our own Dasha Burns on the running mates he's vetting for the top spot,

hoping they strike the right stance on reproductive rights. The Dark Side of Nickelodeon? A bombshell documentary peeling back the curtain on Nickelodeon during its golden era. The series alleging child actors were subjected to a toxic work environment and sexual abuse. Former child star Drake Bell coming forward for the first time revealing he was a victim of sexual assault at the hands of his dialogue coach. Plus, home in Los Angeles on the verge of collapse, a landslide. launching houses right off their foundations, prompting evacuations. Aerial video shows extensive damage in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood. And a reporter's life, veteran Dateline correspondent

Keith Morrison gets candid with NBC's Hoda Kotby. Morrison reflected on his impactful career as he opens up about the death of stepson and actor Matthew Perry, how Perry's words have become a source of comfort as he navigates grief. Top story starts right now. And good evening, top story coming to you live from the Telemundo Center in Miami. Tonight, the crisis spiraling in Haiti as the nation is trapped in civil upheaval, political and social stability, crumbling in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince. Take a look at it here. The nation is left without a government and gangs overtaking the region. So how do we get here? Back in early July of 2021, Haiti's president is assassinated by a group of foreign mercenaries. At the time,

protestors argued that the president had overstayed his term demanding he resign. Two weeks later, Prime Minister Ariel Henry is sworn in promising new presidential elections and an effort to restore order. But to this day, there hasn't been a single election. In January of 2023, Haiti is left without an elected government as all senators' terms expire, further worsening the political crisis. Fast forward to this February, Haitian outlaws led by the gang leader known as barbecue, carried out coordinated attacks in Porter Prince. These later, gangs free more than 4,000 inmates in the nation spirals deeper into chaos, bodies piling up on sidewalks, airports, and roadways blocked, leaving thousands trapped.

Just yesterday, Prime Minister Ariel Henry announcing his resignation following pressure from the gangs and the international community. The situation growing so dire as thousands are displaced under the constant threat of violence. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez is a neighboring Dominican Republic with the latest, including steps from the U.S. to Shorp security. Tonight, with Haiti and utter chaos, a new team of U.S. Marines has been sent to help protect the American embassy. This is what hell on earth sounds like. A nighttime gun battle on Porter Prince captured on a terrified bystander's cell phone. Another woman, Haitian-American, show Rebaugh humor, says an armed gang kicked her out of her home

and threatened to kill her if she went back. We are so frightened for our lives. We can't never go back home. She's now desperately trying to escape and meet up with her family in Miami. But the border and the airports are shut down. Also suddenly trapped best-selling author Mitch Album, visiting an orphanage as charity runs in Haiti. You can't go anywhere, you know, you can't get out.

That's how Haitians live every single day. Then a harrowing escape, a stealth private helicopter mission rescued Album and orphanage staffers. You know, the fear is that the gangs are going to shoot at the helicopters. They've done that. all on top of one another, not in seats, just a big ball of humanity. And the door closed, and within 60 seconds, we were up in the air in the dark and flying. Haiti's prime minister just said he'd step down as soon as a new interim government took

over. But a notorious gang leader, known as barbecue, is calling for civil war. Here in the neighboring Dominican Republic, the government is stopping desperate Haitians from coming. And in Florida, the governor is already deploying extra law enforcement and drones. of a possible migrant influx from Haiti. Tom? Gabe Gutierrez leading us off from the Dominican Republic tonight.

Gabe, we thank you for that. We want to stay with Haiti now and the new anti-terrorism unit from the Marines that's being sent there. I want to bring in Pentagon correspondent, Courtney Kubi. Courtney, walk us through and tell our viewers exactly what these Marines are going to be doing there in Haiti. So it's called a fleet anti-terrorism security team

or fast. That's generally known in the Marine Corps as a quick reaction force or a group of Marines who are highly trained and their specialty is moving into a country and securing U.S. facilities, generally U.S. embassies when they have a potential security threat. Now, you may remember Tom, last weekend U.S. Southern Command announced that they had sent a group of U.S. military into Port-Aprince. Essentially, they went in to do a security assessment of the embassy and of the area around there. Out of that assessment, they recommended that there needed to be this augmentation or this additional group of military sent in, not just to help with the perimeter

security of the embassy, but also to support the Marine Security Guards who are already there. They tend to be about 50 U.S. military, and as I said, they're highly trained. They tend to also have specialized training in urban warfare and urban combat. So this is exactly the kind of situation that they are ready and trained for, Tom. We know Haiti's being run by gangs right now. Do we think that the Marines are going to be targets of these gangs? Great question. It's something that the military says they're prepared for, but the hope is that they will be able to be more of a defensive deployment there, that they'll be there

primarily focused on making sure that Americans who are there are safe and also maintaining some sort of semblance of operations out of the U.S. Embassy in Porta Prince. And I have to say, one thing that we have been told over and over, Tom, is that the military still has no plans for what we consider, or we would generally think of as boots on the ground or some sort of an offensive deployment into Haiti. It's still at this point defensive. Now, the one caveat on that is they are ready, if called upon, to have a larger presence there for a non-combatant evacuation. But again, at this point, State Department has not requested that of the Department of Defense. And then do we know the embassy? We know that there's just some personnel working there, right?

Do we think that they're going to evacuate all U.S. personnel inside the embassy? So I think that's very possible. Again, at this point, it's not, that has not been decided or ordered, but the people who were talking to here in the Pentagon says they say that they are literally evaluating that almost on an hour by hour basis. Last weekend, they did take out non-essential or non-emergency personnel. They are ready. The military says that they are ready, if asked by the State Department, to get the rest

of the personnel out of the embassy. But at this point, I will say, Tom, the feeling that we get from the Pentagon anyway is that the hope is they'll be able to maintain. some sort of even limited operations out of the embassy as long as they possibly can. All right. We hope so. Courtney Cuby from the Pentagon. Courtney, thank you. We want to turn out to our other big story we're following tonight. TikTok. Now one step closer to being banned in the U.S. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passing a bill that will move on to the Senate. TikTok is pushing back asking Senate leaders to consider the facts, listen to their constituents,

and realize the impact on the economy. NBC Savannah Sellers has more. The bill needed two-thirds of the House to pass, and it got that easily. The yeas are 352. The nays are 65. Now it goes to the Senate, where it will likely face a tougher road. If signed into law, it would give Chinese parent company bite dance just six months to divest TikTok or face the possibility of a ban on the app. The legislation prompted by national security concerns, including fears the Chinese government could access Americans' personal data

and feed them content that would influence their views. Our intention is for TikTok to continue to operate, but not under the control of the Chinese Communist Party. 50 Democrats and 15 Republicans voted no. It's an overly broad bill that I don't think would stand First Amendment scrutiny. It's opening Pandora's box, and I'm opposed to this bill. Aligning with former President Trump, who once tried to ban TikTok, but now says he's against that.

TikTok fighting back hard, even flying creators to Washington. Hello, this is my son. Jason Linton shares his life as a dad with his 13 million followers. What would it mean for you and your family if TikTok were to be banned in the U.S.? It would be devastating. Being able to just launch out a positive message would be completely stopped. Wish it was a bad dream, but it's not. J.T. Layborn uses TikTok to promote his clothing company.

Do you think this could impact how people vote? 100%. There will be people that will not be reelected because of the way they choose to vote on this fan. TikTok says it has 170 million users in the U.S. According to an NBC News poll, 22% of voters say they use the app once a day or more. The potential political fallout with those young voters, not lost on some senators. Cutting out a large group of young voters is not the best known strategy for re-election. Republican Mike Gallagher, one of the bill's sponsors, says that's not a good enough reason. to ignore a looming national security threat.

I don't think courting the cliques of 17-year-old should take precedence over allowing our foremost foreign adversary to dominate what is increasingly becoming the primary news source for Americans under the age of 30. TikTok says its CEO was on the hill today, but it's unclear if he met with lawmakers. The company maintains it is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government.

Tonight, TikTok says this process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason. It's a ban. Savannah Sellers joins Top Story tonight from Capitol Hill. So Savannah, now that this bill will head to the Senate, do we know when this could go to a vote? And what are the chances it's going to pass? We do not know.

Its future is completely uncertain, Tom. In fact, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been noncommittal about when he would bring this to the floor. That being said, the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee have praised this bill, and they have urged Senate action. On the other end of the spectrum, though, some senators are saying they are concerned about how young voters would feel about this. They say they will not rush the process and they may want to make amendments to the bill, Tom. And then Savannah, walk us through this. If this bill

were to pass theoretically, right, and it becomes law and there is a TikTok ban, what does that mean? Does the app disappear from people's phones? Does the Apple App Store stop selling it? What exactly happens? So it's a great question, Tom. What happens if this actually goes into law is essentially the clock starts on the opportunity for TikTok's parent company, bite dance, to divest the company, essentially to sell off TikTok. If that is not done within six months, that is when that ban would go into effect. And theoretically, you would no longer be able to download it in an app store or access it on your phone. Now, TikTok says six months is just simply not a realistic timeline for divestiture, even if they were interested in that. So should this

go forward, that will still be uncertain as well. What happens next, Tom? All right, Savannah Sellers from Capitol Hill for us. Savannah, we appreciate it. And like Savannah mentioned, this bill was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support today with 352 representatives voting in favor of the bill, including our next guest. Republican Congressman from Tennessee, Tim Burchett, Congressman, thanks so much for joining Top Story tonight. We appreciate your time. So I want to put something on the screen here for our viewers. This is a statement that you posted to X after the vote, saying,

I voted against allowing the Chinese Communist Party to control an enormous. information mining source in the United States. This isn't a bill to ban TikTok. It just requires TikTok to get out from under the Chinese government's thumb. Can you tell us more about your decision to vote yes today and what that really means? Yeah, the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, is actually on the board of TikTok, of the corporation that owns it. And the interesting thing about it is, is that the U.S. version of TikTok, it's banned in China. They only allow kids 30 minutes a day on their own version that's controlled by the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party.

Nearly every NATO country out there bans it. It's just a way they mine information, and we've been told by security people that they will, they can use this to influence elections. So I'm not, it's not a ban. It just says the Chinese communist or an enemy cannot control an information source that's feeding garbage to our children. Congressman, I'm trying to understand this, though, right? There are two wars overseas, a crisis at the border, Haiti's in chaos, inflation is impacting millions and millions of Americans, and Congress came together on TikTok? Why is this so important now?

It's the lanes that we're in. Every committee, you know, Transportation Committee, people say, well, why are you dealing with potholes or trains or whatever? Well, that's what the Transportation Committee does. and the committee of jurisdiction that handled this, handled this bill, and the sponsor did it through those proper committees. That's what Congress is supposed to do. Just because we have Hunter Biden on the witness stand, or he chooses not to come, doesn't mean the other committee stop. So it's just the committee of jurisdiction and the time for it came up, came up, and the sponsor moved it

forward. I guess maybe I should have asked the question in a different manner then. Why did this this issue unify Republicans and Democrats? I think the mistrust and the things we're being told about what the Chinese Communist Party is doing and their ability to mine this information from our children and to influence things. And, of course, it is an election year. We're moving into an election cycle. And TikTok, of course, told their kids, all the kids that were on it before they could even log in that they had to place a call to their congressman's office. And they locked down the phones in Washington for the last few days.

Maybe that was their strategy, but I suspect the lobbyists that came up with that idea is probably out of a job today because that was a pretty dumb move because you lock down everything. Constituents, you know, trying to important things, Medicare, Medicaid, things like that, disability, that kind of thing, our veterans. And we weren't allowed to even talk to them because of that. Some of the offices weren't. Congressman, I want to play some sound of former President Trump on. CNBC earlier this week addressing his stance on TikTok. Let's play that now.

There are a lot of users. There's, you know, a lot of good, and there's a lot of bad with TikTok. But the thing I don't like is that without TikTok, you're going to make Facebook bigger. And I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people, along with a lot of the media. But do you believe that TikTok is a national security threat or not? Because if it is, and I believe that the emergency powers order that you had put in place at the time suggested that it was. Was that not true? I do believe that. I do believe it. And we have to very much

go into privacy and make sure that we are protecting the American people's privacy and data rights. Congressman, it doesn't sound like he's totally in support of the ban. This is your presumptive nominee of the party. Is he wrong on this issue?

No, I just political expediency. I don't put it over national security right now, because I feel like our national security is the most vital and important thing, and we've ignored it in other areas, the border and other things. But in this instance, we know we can't because both parties agree that it is just that important. Do you wish the former president was more forceful on it then? No, I don't. It's up to him whatever he wants to do. I mean, he's a private citizen. He can

say and do whatever he wants to, but I have to answer to the people of the second congressional District of Tennessee, and they're overwhelmingly believe that this is a data harvesting effort by the communist Chinese, and they don't have our best interests at heart. So that's where I feel on it. What do you say to people who are worried about sort of freedom of speech, and by taking away TikTok, you were taking away sort of a platform that millions of people use, millions of Americans use to communicate? What would you say to that? I would tell them that we are not taking away their platform.

All we're doing is saying the Chinese communists can't own it and it can't be under their thumb. Some of the – I suspect a couple of good Americans on Shark Tank are probably trying to figure out sharpening their pencils how they can buy it. I would just tell them that we don't need – you know, this thing is – it's bogus, really. You can sit there and talk about an issue or talk about a product, and then lo and behold, all of a sudden, there's a video that pops up on this – on the app. So they are listening to what you're saying. They are mining our information. They are marketing to our children. They are influencing them psychologically, obviously, we've seen. So I think it needs to be American-owned. It doesn't need to have somebody with the Chinese communist influence, especially one sitting on the board of the corporation that

owns it. I think that that's pretty self-explanatory. We don't need to be in bed with the Chinese communist. They have nothing good for this country to offer. I don't feel. Congressman, we thank you. We thank you for your time tonight. We thank you for talking out this vote and how you came to that decision. We thank you for your time. We want to move on now to the wild weather out west and a major snowstorm developing over the Rockies. Much of the region now under winter alerts, up to four feet of snow when winds gusts topping 40 miles per hour, set to make dangerous travel. The Denver airport urging travelers to check the status of their flight and expect delays.

For more on the storm system, let's get right to NBC News meteorologist, Bill Karens. Bill, what's the latest on the status of the storm? Yeah, Tom, this one is going to hit hard tonight, especially the front range areas, Denver, all the suburbs, Boulder, southwards, down towards Evergreen. Someone's going to end up with three, maybe close to four feet of snow, and it's not going to be the fluffiest stuff you associate Colorado with. It's going to be heavy, wet snow, limb cracking, all over the place, power outages, possible, too. Temperatures are still above freezing.

That's why it's raining right now. Later on tonight, around 10 p.m. or so is when we expect the temperatures to drop and change over to snow. About 5 million people are being impacted by the storm, not just in Colorado, southern Wyoming, mountains of Utah, and also northern New Mexico and northern Arizona. But the areas that'll see the heavy snow, the crippling stuff, the stuff that's going to keep people home all day tomorrow, is going to be in the areas from I-25 west. That's called the foothill region, and that's where we could see up to that 48 inches. Let me give you the updated forecast for the Denver area. We're looking at least a foot in downtown. The western suburbs could get up to about two feet of snow.

So it's a big difference, east or west. Denver's kind of that dividing line. I know the city of Evergreen, the forecast is for 30 to 36 inches of snow. It's pretty rare you see a forecast call into three feet of snow. And Tom, also, we do have a new tornado watch up for the Kansas City area. It's on the warm side of this storm. We do have a chance for some isolated severe weather, too. And then, Bill, I also know you're watching a severe weather threat in the Midwest.

Yeah, this will be as we go through tomorrow. So the storms tonight are in Kansas and Missouri. Tomorrow we are going to push these storms into areas from Chicago towards St. Louis, all the way down to Little Rock and down to the Dallas area. And we will see chance for isolated tornadoes. So at the same time, the crippling storm is ongoing in Colorado, a severe weather outbreak is possible. Tomorrow, very large hail with a lot of these storms,

and we could see stuff the baseball size, isolated tornadoes too. And as far as what happens after that, thankfully the storm will weaken a little bit. heads through the Great Lakes, but still on Friday, isolated strong storms on the Gulf Coast. All right, Bill, Karen, for us, Bill, we appreciate that. Now to breaking weather news in L.A., a landslide slamming homes in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood, about 12 miles northwest of the cities downtown. The L.A. Fire Department reporting several people have been evacuated from one home,

but no known injuries so far. For more of this terrifying incident, Elwyn Lopez joins us tonight from L.A. Ellen, what more do we know about the landslide? Yeah, Tom, incredible images here. All of this happens. the middle of the night, early morning hours, about 12 miles from downtown L.A. and Sherman Oaks. We know that one of these homes, just take a look at this one. This one was under construction. Thankfully, no one was inside here. And just unbelievable, what's left of it is essentially just the roof,

most of it on the ground next door. The slide pulled away the deck where it cracked and buckled along with the pool. Firefighters tell us that they drained it to reduce the weight on the hill. And officials say at least one of the residents in it, the pool, basically. almost exploded, scary moments there and something that, you know, can you imagine just happening in the middle of the night? We know that one home was evacuated and all of this happening, of course, like, well after the storms were over. And so it's something that these residents, of course, were not expecting because the weather was fine outside. And then all of a sudden this happens, we're just lucky that no one was injured. Firefighters still trying to figure out

what the cause of all of this was. And right now, that's still. unclear, but we know that at least 600 mudslides have taken place since January 1st. We got 16 inches of rain that is twice as much as we typically see this time of year. And while officials are looking into this, it still seems that that might be the cause, is that severe weather that saturated the ground here. Tom. All right, Ellen Lopez for us, Ellen, we appreciate that. We want to go to some breaking news in the 2024 race for president. NBC News has learned that independent presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has offered his vice presidential slot to someone, and they have accepted the offer.

Kennedy has said he will announce his VP pick on March 26th. I want to bring in NBC's Vaughn Hilliard, who helped report the story out for NBC. Vaughn, tell us more about your new reporting. Right, Tom. The source familiar says that, in fact, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who switched from being a Democrat last year to an independent to mount this dark horse third-party presidential campaign. against Donald Trump and Joe Biden is set to make his vice presidential pick. And in fact, he has already made the decision, offered it to an individual, and that individual has accepted.

This comes 24 hours after the Kennedy campaign tells me that atop his list, he had former Minnesota governor, Jesse Ventura, who ran in the early 2000s for governor after a long history as a WWE wrestler. He ran on the reform party ticket line, had a surprise victory, as well as, get this. New York Jets quarterback, Aaron Rogers, the 40-year-old quarterback, who is still playing football. He missed most of last season after just four snaps. But, well, despite him being down in Costa Rica right now at the moment, he's a potentially serious candidate on Kennedy's mind.

I am also told that by Ventura's own son that his father was not formally offered the vice presidential pick. So really, that calls into question. If Aaron Rogers and Ventura were at the top of the list, is Aaron Rogers, the NFL quarterback, about to be a vice presidential candidate, Tom? Running, mate, this would be totally crazy, but again, we cannot be surprised by anything in politics in this day and age. I do want to ask you, how is Robert Kennedy Jr. doing when it comes to his deadlines and getting on the ballot in various states? Right. He's already qualified per his campaign in four states, because in order to get on the presidential ballot as an independent, you've got to get a certain number. signatures at very state-to-state. They have groups of volunteers that are trying to hit those

deadlines, but those deadlines are fast approaching. And having somebody like Aaron Rogers could bring more attention to this effort, could bring more donations, more money to even hire on signature gatherers. And so, you know, this calls into question how serious of a campaign this is, because just a little over a month ago, it was Kennedy, to me. He told me that he intended to announce his VP by March 5th. But of course, we are now 10 days past March 3rd. 5th and that deadline is come and gone. And so this calls into question. We're only seven and a half months from November's general election. Kennedy told me that he believes he can win this outright. And polling suggests that he'd be able to at least pull a cross-section of the

American electorate. But this is a big uphill battle, but one that could be notable for an independent. At the same time, that individual could very well take votes away from the likes of Trump and Biden. So this is a serious candidate to watch here at this point of time, Tom. And we should know who that running made is in about 10 days. or more. Von Hilliard, we appreciate you and all your reporting. Thank you for that. President Biden and former President Trump, we should also mention both clinch their respective party

nominations last night. And Trump has also his VP pick at the top of his mind. Exclusive new reporting from NBC News showing the former president laser focused on the issue of abortion as he considers which Republican will join his ticket. Dasha Burns is in Florida tonight with the candidates

now on that list. God bless you all. Thank you. Tonight, former President Trump's search for a running mate coming into sharper focus. And one issue dominating the discussions, abortion. We're living in a time when there has to be a little bit of a concession one way the other. And I think, you know, I want to get it right. Multiple sources telling NBC News, Trump views abortion as a singular liability for Republicans in November and is screening candidates for a running mate for possible vulnerabilities on the issue. Trump even reportedly surveying his own

guests at Mar-a-Lago about potential VP picks and their views on abortion. For 54 years, they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it. And I'm proud to have done it. Trump's three nominees to the Supreme Court were critical in overturning Roe v. Wade. But he now blames recent Republican losses on what he sees as the party's poor messaging on reproductive rights. Abortion, say bad, legal. Since the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe in June 2022, abortion rights have gone virtually undefeated in ballot measures from coast to coast. And polls show voters trust President Biden

over Trump on the issue. Trump now determined to make sure his ticket doesn't face the same fate. Can a change in messaging to be more moderate really have an impact? Republicans have yet to find that silver bullet or that tightrope that they can walk that gets them suburban voters but also doesn't alienate or disassociate themselves from past positions. Among the top VP candidates, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, a former 2024 rival who has since endorsed and campaigned with the former president. But his hardline stance on abortion has some concern in Trump world. I would literally sign the most conservative pro-life legislation that they can get through Congress. South Dakota Governor Christine Nome also on the list and also under scrutiny after her state's trigger laws went into effect when Roe was overturned, instituting a near total ban.

Noam defending those laws, which do not have exceptions in the cases of rape or incest. In an interview with CNN, Noam was asked about the possibility of a 10-year-old rape victim seeking abortion treatment. In South Dakota, the law today is that the abortions are illegal except to save the life of the mother. Because I don't believe a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy. New York Congresswoman Elie Stefaniq, currently in House leadership and considered a rising star in the party, has expressed support for a different approach. a 15-week national ban with exceptions. We stand for life. We are proud to stand for life,

and we will oppose this very radical anti-life agenda that we're seeing from House Democrats. The New York Times reports Trump supported a 16-week ban in private, a claim his campaign denies. As Trump seeks to walk a fine line between appealing to the majority of Americans who support some abortion rights without alienating the pro-life base,

that's critical to his campaign. All right, Dasha Burns joins us tonight from West Palm Beach, Florida. Dasha, great reporting as always. But tonight I also want you to do the homework for our viewers, right? If this is the calculation, give us two names that could make this work for the former president. Get moderate voters and people on the fence, especially women, who are on the fence about Trump and abortion. Right. So this is the tricky part because Republicans really have been on the back foot.

Trump admits that even when it comes to this issue. So walking that fine line is really tough. One of the names that came up as potentially palatable to look like suburban women, right? For example, is Elise Stefanik just in terms of she's closer to where Trump reportedly stands on this issue. She's looking at 15 weeks has been very vocal on exceptions, which is a big concern for the former president. He really wants to, every time he talks about this issue, make sure that those exceptions are in there. The other name that came up was Dr. Ben Carter. who's been a little wishy-washy on the issue,

but Republican strategists I've talked to feel that his record is older. His position on it isn't quite as radical. And it's just a little bit more distance of time, right? Where with Scott or Nome, Democrats can pull those soundbites from just the last year and play them in ads. And Democratic strategists have talked to said that is what they're intending to do, Tom. And then, Dasha, is abortion, a make or break issue for, the former president. I mean, I know he can change his mind on a dime. But do you think this is

something he's going to stick with heading into November and making that decision before the convention? Well, so I asked a couple of the people I talked to for this. Is this a litmus test, right? Is this so central to that decision? They were hesitant to call it a litmus test, but they did say that since the 2022 midterms, when he saw the wave of losses that the GOP faced. And a large part because of this issue, he's been laser focused on it. He's really been thinking about how the party can talk about this differently, especially pivoting to the general election. But let's not forget, he, of course, also consistently takes credit for the overturning of Roe versus Wade. So he's also trying to walk this fine line, but does understand that it could be

a major vulnerability for Republicans and wants to make sure it's not his own Achilles heel with this VP pick, Tom. All right, Dasha, thank you. Still ahead tonight, the disturbing allegations against Nickelodeon. A new docu series alleging mental and even sexual abuse on the sets of some of the most popular shows in the 90s and early aughts, the famous child actor coming forward as a victim. Plus, new surveillance video released of a missing University of Missouri student from the night he disappeared where he was spotted stumbling to the ground. And the explosion caught on camera at a pizza place in Texas would cause the blast inside of a pizza oven. Look at that. Stay with us.

We're back now with the shocking accusations about what was going on behind the scenes of some of the most beloved Nickelodeon shows of the 90s and early aughts, including all that, The Amanda Show, and Drake and Josh. A new docu series shining a spotlight on claims of discrimination, sexism, and even sexual abuse. Here's NBC Stephen Romo. They will mass it TV hits for kids. kids in the 90s and early 2000s. Nickelodeon shows like Drake and Josh, I Carly, all that, and more. Nickelodeon was kid everything, and you better hope that your house had cable. Quiet on set, the dark side of Kids TV is a new investigation discovery documentary series

raising disturbing allegations about some of these beloved shows and the people behind them, like Powerhouse creator and producer Dan Schneider. Business Insider first reporting on some of these allegations in 2022, but the new series delves deeper with interviews from some on and off-camera team members. Two women writers on the Amanda show starring Amanda Binds say the production was a hostile work environment for women, accusing Schneider of telling them that women aren't funny. There are also accusations of sexual abuse against members of Schneider's staff. A major accusation that came to light in a new teaser trailer, actor Drake Bell, co-star of Drake and Josh, coming forward as an alleged sexual abuse victim of dialogue coach and actor Brian Peck, who was convicted of child sex abuse back in 2004. The minor who was previously identified as John Doe is said to be Bell in the docus series.

One of our reporters got an advanced screening of Bell's accusations. He asked the producer to essentially imagine the most horrible. form of sexual abuse possible. And that's what happened to him. Bell, his face disturbing charges of his own. In 2021, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years probation for felony child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating harmful material to a juvenile after a woman says Bell attended to groom her when she was 12. In the documentary, he kind of said that he took responsibility for that. What this documentary kind of highlights with those two cases juxtaposed with each other is that a lot of times there's a cycle of abuse. A spokesperson for Schneider told

NBC News that he was the biggest champion for child actors on these shows and said that an investigation by Nickelodeon after Schneider's departure found he was a challenging, tough and demanding person to work with nothing else. These revelations, a stark contrast. from the happy go lucky shows they stem from. Stephen Romo joins us tonight from our studios in New York City. Stephen Nickelodeon still is a huge name for kids programming. What does the channel want people to know about how it's handling these allegations? Yeah, well, Nickelodeon tells us that they can't corroborate or negate these allegations from decades ago.

But they do say they've adopted new safeguards since this happened. They also went on to say they're dismayed and sadden to learn about these allegations from Drake Bell. that happened when he was allegedly just 15 years old. That is a sentiment shared by many fans of this beloved show, Tom. All right, Stephen Romo for us, Stephen, thank you. When we come back to high seas hijacking, take a look at this new video. It shows an armed man climbing aboard a cargo ship off the coast of Somalia. Officials say at least 20 men stormed the boat.

They actually attacked the cargo ships on those little skiffs. We're going to have much more video and the rest of the story coming up after the break. We're back with Top Stories News Feed. We begin with an update in the death of Oklahoma Teenager, Next Benedict. A medical examiner ruling the 16-year-old died by suicide. The teen who was transgender died the day after a fight inside of a school bathroom. Their mother says they were being bullied at school. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the suicide and crisis lifeline.

Okay, new video has been released in the search for a missing University of Missouri student who we first told you about last night. Newly obtained surveillance video shows 22-year-old Riley Strain, stumbling into a pole and falling down on Friday night. You see it right here. The same night he disappeared, another angle from outside that smoke shop also captured him struggling to stand up straight as he walked. Police say Strain was on a vacation with friends when he was kicked out of a bar. He has not been seen or heard from since. And a frightening moment caught on camera at a pizza restaurant in Texas. Take a look at this.

Video shows the restaurant's owner opening a pizza oven when all of a sudden a fireball erupts, knocking him to the ground. He then quickly removes his shirt and runs for safety. He did suffer burns, but tonight we're being told he is okay. The owner says he believes a gas bubble was inside, and that is to blame. Okay, we want to turn out to another important story that we're following the trial of the Michigan school shooter's father.

Tonight, his fate in the hands of a jury. Prosecutors accusing James Crumbly of failing to secure the gun his son Ethan used to kill four students back in 2021. The trial coming just one month after his wife was convicted on the same crime. Here's Adrian Brodus with more. Tonight, a jury has started deliberating whether to convict James Crumbly of involuntary manslaughter and make him the first father to be held criminally responsible for a school shooting committed by their child. James Crumbley is not on trial for what his son did. James Crumby is on trial for what he did and what he didn't do.

You heard testimony from over a dozen witnesses. None of them told you that James knew what his son was planning. His wife, Jennifer, found guilty on the same charges last month in her own landmark trial. It was chaos. The prosecution calling many of the same witnesses this time around, arguing James Crumley didn't do enough. to stop Ethan from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021. The most freshest in my mind was his smile. He had those braces on for a long time, and he had literally just got them off a couple months before.

James Crumbly was presented with the easiest, most glaring opportunities to prevent the deaths of these four students. And he did nothing. A key issue, how James Crumley store at the gun, purchased a few days before the mass shooting. Prosecutors reading excerpts from Ethan's journal, saying in part, quote, I will have to find where my dad hid my nine millimeter before I can shoot up the school, Ethan wrote, and saying, quote, I have zero help for my mental problems, and it's causing me to shoot up the expletive school. Unlike his wife, James Crumbly did not take this stand,

and the defense called just one witness, his sister, Karen, who took this stand today. Your nephew never wrote you a note and said, help me. No, sorry. And he never drew a picture next to that note with a gun. Did he? No. Tonight, after four days of testimony, another landmark case is in the jury's hands. Seeing the evidence and seeing the testimony says enough for itself.

And just seeing us there as a present for our children, it says enough. And the jury deliberated about an hour and a half today. They will return tomorrow morning to continue their deliberations and the families, the parents of the students who were killed say they will be waiting for that verdict. Tom? All right, time now for Top Stories, Global Watch and a check of what else is happening around the world. We start in Sudan and the ongoing Civil War there. Soldiers cheering after Sudan's army regained control of the country's national broadcast headquarters

from the Parrot Military Group known as the RSF. The building located just across the river from Sudan's capital city of Khartoum, extending the area the army has regained. RSF had seized the headquarters in April of last year when fighting initially broke out. A Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship hijacked in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia. Take a look at this. The video shows a man, you can see him climbing up the side of the massive ship in an apparent attempt to board it. Maritime security officials say about 20 armed people stormed and seized control of the vessel as it headed from Mozambique to the UAE.

The incident comes as hijackings by Somali pirates have surged in the region. No word on the status of the ship's crew. And a rocket exploding seconds after launching from Western Japan. Video shows the spacecraft blasting off and just, wait for it, blowing up in midair. Debris raining down, sparking a massive fire on the ground as well. The rocket launched by Japanese Startup Space One was said to be the country's first private space mission. and to put a satellite in orbit. No word yet on what caused the explosion.

No injuries were reported either. That's good news. All right, coming up, the legendary Keith Morrison, one of our own. We'll look at his incredible career from the front lines of history to his story, dateline crime reporting. He'll also share a tragedy that has hit his family

that you may have heard about, the loss of his stepson, friend star Matthew Perry. That's all next. We're back now with an interview with one of NBC's own and a pop culture phenomenon. Keith Morrison, the veteran Dateline correspondent, joining today's show co-anchor, Hoda Codby, on her podcast,

making space, detailing his latest project and opening him up about the sudden and tragic death of his stepson, the late actor Matthew Perry. Hoda Copy has more. Hello, I'm Keith Morrison, and this is a dateline mini-mystory. GQ calls him the granddaddy of true crime. He's regularly parodied on S&L.

What did they? fine when they opened up the trunk of that car it was my boyfriend's body oh wow and crowds of true crime obsessed fans stopping for selfies at events like

crime con and South by Southwest I just don't get it at all but you know it's quite nice people are very nice to me Keith humble since the day I met him won't say it himself but the attention is very much warranted Over the last handful of years, Dateline has exploded with 11 number one original podcasts

and 1.4 billion downloads, Keith's famous voice, the main character. These are great stories, and you're unshackled when you're doing podcast storytelling. So I love doing them. Keith joined the Friday News Magazine in 1995 after a career at both NBC and in Canadian TV. Over the span of his more than 50-year career, Keith has covered stories worldwide, interviewing everyone from veterans to student protesters in Tiananmen Square to the biggest names in entertainment. But for the last several years, true crime has taken center stage. Keith's upcoming project, Murder in the Hollywood Hills, is about a band of women who would come face-to-face with a killer. Off camera, Keith lives a relatively quiet life in California with this woman.

wife of 43 years, Suzanne. Together, they've raised six kids, including the late actor Matthew Perry, who was just 10 when Keith and Suzanne married. I never tried to replace his dad. I was there for him, and he knew it, and we were close. Their family suffering an unimaginable loss in October of 2023. How are you and how is your wife after Matthew's passing? Well, it's a, as other people have told me, hundreds of times, it doesn't go away. It's with you every day. It's with you all the time. And there's some new aspect of it that assaults your brain.

And, you know, it's not easy. It's especially for his mom. Toward the end of his life, they were closer than I've seen them for decades. and texting each other constantly. So he was happy, and he said so. And he hadn't said that for a long time. It's a source of comfort, but also, you know, he didn't get to have his third act,

and that's not fair. As he said himself, if I suddenly died, people would be shocked, but not too many people would be surprised. And he was right, I think. Did it surprise you? It was the news you never want to get, but you think someday you might. So yes and no, I guess, is the answer to that.

Yeah. Do you still feel his presence? Do you sense him? You know, we do this, it's become this funny trope of Dayline, lit up a room, right, or the center of the room. Well, he was, and he was always the center of attention everywhere he went. That kind of personality. He was goofy, he was funny, he was acerbic, but even if he didn't say a word, he was the center of attention. So yes, I mean, it's gone, but you still feel the echo of it everywhere.

Matthew's passing, coming just a year after the release of his memoir, which chronicled the actor's ongoing battle with addiction. As he put it himself in his book and in the talks that he had about his book, it is a disease, and it's a very, very difficult one to beat. He felt like he was beating it, but you never beat it. And he knew that, too. Keith, I'm really sorry. Yeah, well, thank you. I'm really sorry. In the wake of Matthew's passing, family and friends have started a foundation in his name.

The goal is to do whatever can be done, to help organizations rescue people in difficult situations and get them some help. Keith, doing in life what he does so well at work, amplifying the voices of others no longer hear. to tell their own story. I still find it remarkable that you can be in a room with a half a dozen other people, a couple of television cameras, lights everywhere, and the knowledge that what you're saying will be seen by millions of people, and they do trust us. These are truly, truly, truly deep and difficult things to get through. But I come away from those conversations feeling it's a gift.

We're lucky people, you and I. We are. We are. For more of Hoda's great conversation with Keith, you can search Making Space wherever you get your podcasts. When we come back, the newest member of the Beehive, a seven-year-old going viral for her cover of Beyonce's Texas Holdom, and it even got the attention of Queen Bee herself. How the pop star surprised the young singer.

That's next. She's a seven-year-old aspiring singer, making a name for herself in the music world by her recently posting a clip of herself learning to play Beyonce's Texas Holden, the viral video catching the attention of Queen Bee herself. NBC's Ellison Barber picks up the story from there. My mom and Tom Met when I was a young, we were our born superstars. Seven-year-old Zoe Arianna was born to perform. spotlight last year on America's Got Talent, receiving a standing ovation from the audience for her performance of Lady Gaga's born this way and capturing the judge's hearts.

It's a four years from your favorite judge. Her time on the show, kickstarting her music journey. One, two, three. Zoe's family documenting her incredible talents on Instagram to more than 500,000 followers. showcasing her ability to learn songs just from listening to them. This girl is a ball. Mastering everything from Alicia Keys

to cold play. To Bach. We found out that she had perfect pitch around age two. When I hear a song, when I like look at the music to the song, then I can see the notes of my head. Her latest challenge, learning to play Beyonce's hit country song, Texas Hold'em, without any sheet music.

Whoa, good job. The kindergarten composer beaming when she nails it. We have a special delivery. Zoe's musical mastery catching the attention of Beyonce herself. Queen B. surprising the superfan with a heartfelt bouquet and note. What does the card say? Will you read it to us? Sure.

It says, Zoe, your rendition of Texas Holden brought me so much joy. You are brilliant. Please keep it up. All my love, Beyonce. Since you have the piano there, is there anything, do you want to play something for us? Sure. Zoe, I cannot wait to come to your concert one day. You're amazing.

Zoe Arianna, we're going to remember that name. We thank you so much for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamis in Miami. Stay right there. More news on the way.