Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Episode Date: September 26, 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, the monster hurricane taking direct aim at Florida's Gulf Coast. Hurricane Helene expected to make landfall as a catastrophic Category 4 storm. The National Weather Service upgrading their predictions, saying deadly storm surge could reach 20 feet high. Roads packed with millions evacuating, officials urging people to get out before time runs out. Mexico getting a glimpse of the storm's wrap. When Helene will make U.S. landfall, plus we will speak with the mayor of Tallahassee, the biggest city in direct line of the storm. Also tonight, courthouse explosion, an explosive device set off outside a Santa Barbara courthouse, leaving multiple people injured. Police detaining one person shortly after the blast. The investigation underway into why the bomb was intentionally detonated.

Deadly bus hijacking, these horrific moments as a driver is held at gunpoint. The suspect leading police on a chase through downtown L.A., the terrifying takeover, leaving one passenger fatally shot. The driver being praised for his quick thinking and what we're learning tonight about the suspect in custody. Looming ground invasion, Israel preparing its troops for a potential incursion into Lebanon. as it continues its air assault on the region. Hezbollah firing a missile at Tel Aviv for the first time and the late breaking news tonight, the U.S. trying to come up with a deal

to bring both sides back from the brink of all-out war. One-on-one with Harris. Vice President Kamala Harris sitting down with MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhl for her first solo network interview, what she's revealing less than six weeks away away from the presidential election. Bombshell McMahon Dock, former W.W.E. CEO, Vince McMahon, defending his title amid sexual misconduct allegations, the series giving a rare look at the rise and fall of his wrestling

empire. Tonight, we speak with the lawyer of the former employee accusing McMahon of abuse, assault, and sex trafficking. The new claims she says are coming to light in the wake of her client's lawsuit. And scary moments caught on camera, a coyote snatching rock star Tommy Lee's dog and taking off how his wife rescued the pub and her warning to others after the attack. Plus, with Hurricane Helene set to rapidly intensify overnight, all are Bill Karen standing by with the latest track in timing. And top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Liz Kreutz in for Tom Yamis. Tonight, Hurricane Helene forecast to reach catastrophic category four strength when it makes landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast. The National Weather Service upgrading their prediction for the storm, spelling out an alarming scenario for parts of the south. Taking a live look right now at the Florida Keys as Helene's outer band begins to lash the region. Right now, the monster storm is putting more than 40 million at risk. Tropical alert stretching thousands of miles. going well beyond Florida and take a look at the radar. This is where Helene is right now,

but the hurricane is expected to rapidly intensify, fueled by the Gulf's extremely warm waters. The sprawling system could unleash dangerous storm surge, reaching a staggering 20 feet in some spots, as you can see here, that is well above a typical one-story home. The storm also putting millions at risk for tornadoes, power outages that could last days, if not weeks, destructive winds, flash floods, and as we mentioned, life-threatening storm surge. Helene Arty making a powerful mark on Mexico, violent winds and torrential rains, toppling trees and power lines there, downpours, inundating popular beach destinations, giving us a glimpse into what is headed this way. Now, back in Florida, officials are warning residents to get out now.

Mandatory evacuation has been ordered. Police leave this area. Many seeming to heed those warnings. Highways jam with people packing up and getting out. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis putting the entire state on alert. This is a really big storm. You're going to see impacts up to 250 miles outside the center of the storm. Now for those deciding to hunker down there, now really.

is the time to stock up and gear up for the powerful system, roughly 24 hours away now from making landfall. We have a lot to get to this evening. We have full-team coverage. The mayor of Tallahassee is going to join us as his city is set to face the strongest hurricane in its history. But first, we're going to start with meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill, a busy night for you. What's the latest on the track, the timing, and where it's expected to make landfall? Liz, tomorrow night at this time, we'll be watching that northern eye approaching the coast of Florida with that landfall expected tomorrow evening. So this storm has about 24 hours to see how powerful it can get.

The hurricane center has it going up and increasing about 45 miles per hour of the max wins from what it is right now up to 130 miles per hour winds. That's a category four, the lower end of a category four. It's still possible it could be stronger than this. We hope it's going to be weaker. What we do know for sure is where it's heading. There's been excellent agreement on that. And then the storm is going to race Friday, early morning,

through Georgia, even Atlanta, could have power outages and trees down, and then historic rainfall totals to the east of that path. So all of our computer models, excellent agreement up towards Appalachicola. They called us the Big Bend of Florida. This is kind of a swampy, unpopulated area, and this looks like where it's going to take the direct hit. Tallahassee is only 30 miles inland, Liz, and that's probably the city that we are most concerned with for extreme wind damage. Yeah, Bill, this is a massive storm. It's a fast-moving storm. What is most concerning to you right now about where it's heading and the damage it could do? Yeah, so I put three headlines together. These are the things I think when the storm is over

with, we're going to be looking at the most, and these are the people that are going to need the most help. So Tallahassee, obviously, they're expecting the worst hurricane in their city's history. For the most part, Tallahassee's been, you know, on the edge of a couple, missed a couple. This one looks to be the worst, strongest winds possibly ever recorded in the city tomorrow night. Storm surge up to 20 feet. It's a mostly unpopulated area, but not confined. There are some small little towns along that big bend area, also down towards Cedar Key. So we're going to have to watch that. And then historic rain far inland.

It started pouring today in areas of northern Georgia, South Carolina and the mountains of North Carolina. And that's going to continue. So we've got 36 million people under either tropical storm warnings or hurricane warnings. That storm surge, the worst of it. That's that big bend area. But even in Tampa, it could be four to eight feet of storm surge, which would be historic. So we're not going to have horrible wind or rain in Tampa. But the storm surge could be higher than any storm people have ever seen.

And that'll be a tomorrow afternoon into the early evening. And then the flood watches cover 36 million. I mentioned the rain. This storm is already drawing moisture up. It's hitting a cold front. And it is pouring from Atlanta into the mountains of North Carolina. And this is before the storm has even gotten there. So by the time the storm arrives, the ground is saturated.

The rivers are full. And then it's just going to pour with Helene when it moves north Friday morning. And everything is just going to have widespread flooding, life-threatening, you know, landslides in the mountain. areas of the Appalachians. That's this high-risk area from just outside of Atlanta to Asheville. Even in Metro Atlanta, we could have historic or rainfall problems and flooding. Then, of course, that area right near Tallahassee. That's where obviously the storm makes landfall is and we'll have a lot of rain with that too. Yeah, and Bill, on top of all of that, we also know

there's a tornado threat associated with this storm. Where's the risk zone there? Yeah, tropical cyclones, when they make landfall, some produce a lot of tornadoes, some produce hardly any. It's kind of a wild card. But we're thinking that this one actually is a chance. to produce a couple significant tornadoes tomorrow, most likely from Jacksonville, Florida, through Brunswick, up through Savannah, towards Hilton Head. That's the area of greatest concern for tornadoes. But anywhere in this yellow, including central Florida,

up to Charleston and Merle Beach, has a chance for isolated tornadoes. That's always a wild card, Liz, and we won't really figure that out until probably tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow evening when that threat materializes. All right, Bill, we know you'll be tracking this. Thanks so much.

And as Bill mentioned, this storm is expected to hit very close to the capital city of Taville. and it could be one of the strongest storms to hit that city ever. Kathy Park has made her way to Tallahassee. She's joining us right now from the ground there. Kathy, what are you seeing? What are folks doing? What's the latest?

Liz, good evening. So right now folks are literally bracing for impact. You heard Bill mentioned just a few moments ago that Tallahassee looks like we're in the bull's eye and the mayor we heard from him not too long ago either. And he said this could potentially be the worst. strongest storm the region has seen, especially if it becomes the Category 3 hurricane. If it's a category 4, which is also a possibility at something that he mentioned, it could be extensive damage. And of course, here in Tallahassee, there are a lot of trees, tall canopies.

And the big concern, of course, are those down trees and, of course, the down power lines, the extensive power outages, because those wind gusts could be sustained for an extended period of time, several hours. So we could be looking at whites for power outage in this area but of course in advance of this storm they are mobilizing quickly relying on mutual aid we're told that nine different states are pitching in they have crews coming in they'll be in later on this evening they plan on actually tripling the workforce by tonight and of course the mayor also saying that this will likely be a marathon on a sprint when it comes to recovery efforts on friday liz all right kathy park stay safe there thanks so much for that and joining us now is

the mayor of Tallahassee. John Daly. Mayor, thank you for joining us. I know it's a busy night for you. Your community, Florida there, no stranger to hurricanes, but as Kathy mentioned and you've mentioned earlier, Helene could be nothing like the area has experienced before. What are you bracing for? What are your big concerns as you prepare for it to make landfall? Good evening, Liz. That is correct. It will be the largest, most intense hurricane in the history of the city of Tallahasse if we are directly hit by category three or category four storm. So we are bracing for impact. We are bracing for the worst. We know that there's going to be a lot of damage. We know there's going to be a lot of destruction. The city as

an institution has been preparing for the past week. We are fully prepared. We have our assets all over the community. We have personnel all over the community that will be prepared to respond after the storm. The residents have done a tremendous job getting ready as well. And I want to keep stressing to please take care of yourself, your family, your neighbors, and your neighborhood. But this is going to be a catastrophic storm for us if it does hit us head on as a category three or a category four. Yeah. Do you think the infrastructure is prepared in the city for something like this? We've been working for the past week to make sure that we're strengthening all aspects of our infrastructure, whether it's the electric utility grid, whether it's our stormwater

system or water system, natural gas system. But look, when you have a category four that hits you head on, you're going to have significant damages. So we are preparing for restoration after the storm. We have called in our mutual aid agreements, and we have crews that are driving through the night as far away as Oklahoma to come help out the great city of Tallahassee, and we're very thankful for that. And it was mentioned, and it is true. We will be tripling our workforce over the evening. And then once the storm passes, we'll have other mutual aid agreements through the state of Florida and the southeast that will be able to come help us as well. Our goal is to increase our workforce by five times to restore the power. But nonetheless, we are bracing for a direct impact from a

category four hurricane, and it's going to be devastating. And I cannot stress enough for the residents that we need to shelter in place. If you want to leave, you must leave now. Find a safe place to be, go to one of our shelters, and let's be safe and let's be smart. Well, I was going to ask you that, Mayor, what's the mood on the ground there? What are you seeing as you drive around, do you feel like people there are truly taking these warnings seriously? Absolutely. Liz, we're also a college town. We've got Florida State University, Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University, Tallahassee State College. We have a student population of about 70,000. And working with the presidents of those institutions yesterday, they shut down

the college campuses. We have encouraged the students to go home to be safe, those students that will be remaining. We have great shelters in place where they can also go to be safe. But the residents here, look, we have a saying we're Tallahassee strong. Unfortunately, we are familiar with hurricanes, although we have never been directly hit by a storm of this magnitude. But we know how to prepare, and we have taken time to prepare, and we will be ready. We have panned. It's just a matter of what is Mother Nature going to bring us? We'll do the assessment. We'll roll up our sleeves and we'll get to work as soon as we possibly can when it's safe. Yeah, have you talked to the governor? Is there something you're specifically asking or any resources that you're getting from

the state ahead of the storm? I am very pleased that we've had a conversation with the governor's office, and he has declared a statewide state of emergency. Very pleased, and I've had the opportunity to speak to the White House and the Biden administration. President himself has declared a national state of emergency for our area. Both those actions, along with the local state of emergency, opens up tremendous resources, cuts a lot of red tape, gives us tremendous flexibility to be able to respond. And so we are in the proper position.

We have properly prepared. We have the assets either coming into our community or already staged. We have the personnel coming into our community to complement our workforce as well. We will be prepared. The question is, how bad will the damage be? And if I can, Liz, I just want to really thank all the incredible men and women that work for the city of Tallahassee, both in the utilities, our first responders, state level, federal, all of the mutual aids that are coming in, all the personnel in the surrounding counties,

they're doing an incredible job to try to keep us safe. All right, well, Mayor Daley, thank you so much for taking the time, stay safe, and we're thinking of all of you. Thanks so much. Thank you. All right. Also in the crosshairs of Hurricane Helene is Florida's Big Bend region, which is bracing for up to 20 feet of life-threatening storm surge.

The area now preparing for its third hurricane in just over a year, including Hurricane Adalia in August of last year, which caused millions of dollars in. damages and left several people dead. Our Jesse Kirsch is in that area right now. I know he's joining us from a car because conditions there are taking a turn for the worst. Jesse, where are you right now? How are you doing? What's the latest where you are? Hey, Liz. Yeah, we're just making our way into Perry, Florida. You're talking about Adali and Debbie. I was here for Debbie. I was not here for Adelaie, but I know our teams were in the area when that's for it as well. We had some

light cards to the outside to make sure we're not in dangerous conditions is starting to calm down right now and this is that literal out of the textbook calm before the storm as you're talking about you can see it on screen that we're seeing for quite a bit of storm surge really powerful winds in this area we came from cedar key earlier and people were boarding up buildings there but frankly It's unclear how much of a difference that will make because we're looking at storm surge that could be well over my head when I was standing out on the street early. You can see that's, yeah, some footage from where we were earlier. People were filling sandbags as well as their homes in preparation to build those fortifications and then get out. I think one thing that stood out to me.

We spoke to a gentleman who said he had left when a dolly came through. He decided to stay home during Debbie and was clearly spooked, it seems, by the winds that came through from Debbie. That was a cat one. We're talking about something that could be dramatically more powerful this time around. And so he said he's not taking chances, and that, frankly, for any hurricane in the future, he's not going to be sticking around. So good to hear that kind of reaction from someone because you do not want to be in the path of these storms when they're coming through.

And it's not even so much about the wind damage. As the officials have been saying throughout the day, you can hide from the wind, but you run from the water. And that is the biggest concern for people who are living very close to the coastline. They will be potentially in the face of that storm surge. You do not want to be in that position, Melissa. Absolutely, Jesse. We thank you for joining us with that report.

We know the communication signal was going in and out because of the storm there. But thank you and stay safe. All right, Tampa is also bracing for Hurricane Helene, the city expecting up to eight feet of storm surge there as businesses closed down and residents prepare for the storm's impacts. Marissa Parra joins us now from Tampa. She's been there all day. Marissa, what's the latest on preparations there? Are you starting to feel the weather shifting? Hey, Liz.

Well, we are feeling the outer bands of Helene. And you can see some of the preparations happening behind me. In fact, this is a normally bustling riverwalk, and it is completely empty. And if we shift around here, you'll see the impacts of evacuation. So these stores have all been evacuated. And what you see instead of people going in and out of them, Sandbags and these panels, these front protection panels, have sort of been built as a fortress outside of storefronts like this one. So Liz, today we've been spending our time talking to people in those evacuated areas, those evacuated zones, especially those low-lying flood-prone, storm-surge-prone zones.

And we've also been talking to people at sandbag distribution sites. And so we kind of met a combination of people who were going to those sandbag distribution sites for the first time. Some of them, as we heard from Jesse and Kathy, we've talked to people who are still recovering from the impacts of previous storms, now taking this one more seriously as a result, Liz. And Marissa, Tampa International Airport is suspending all its commercial and cargo operations beginning at 2 a.m. Eastern tomorrow. We understand what else is closing down? Well, we've seen many different facilities closing down, just to name a few. We actually just heard from Governor Ron DeSantis, 62 different facilities around the state. We're talking about hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities.

We know that there are many different schools across the state, the region, ranging from, of course, elementary schools all the way through universities that are closed. And of course, businesses, businesses in evacuated zones like our hotel earlier. But bigger names, of course, Bush Gardens in Tampa. That has announced that they are closing down. And we know that places like Disney World, Universal Studios, they're still operating, but they're closing some of their activities for now. Of course, all of that could change depending on what we see once Helene makes landfall is. Absolutely. And you just briefly, if you want to share, I know you were evacuated from your hotel.

Where were you, what happened, that you had to get out? Yeah, we were an hour away. We were doing our job. We're reporting on the ground outside of a sandbag distribution center. And then we got a notification. expecting to get, which is that our hotel downtown Tampa was being evacuated. So we were one of many who had to clear out our things and find a new place to stay overnight. And we're fortunate that we have that ability. But Liz, I will point out when it comes to the privilege here. We did

speak to people in mobile home residences that said that they did not feel like it was that easy for them to pick up and leave. They didn't have the financial ability to do so. So it is something to remember here that there's a lot of people from all walks of life trying to stay safe. And that is something that authorities are doing their very best to make sure everyone from every walk of life can do, Liz. Absolutely. Marissa, such an important point. Thank you. Stay safe. And I'm sure we'll be checking in with you over the next 24 hours. Thanks, Marissa. All right, we also want to point out that Tom Yamis is traveling to the hurricane zone right now. He will have the latest on Hurricane Helene as it prepares to make landfall right here tomorrow

on top story, starting at 7 p.m. Eastern tomorrow night. All right, meantime, we're going to move on now. We are also following some late-breaking details tonight of an explosion at a California courthouse. Officials say an improvised explosive device went off, resulting in multiple injuries. Authorities taking one suspect into custody, who they say threw a bag at the screening station containing that explosive. The blast happening at a courthouse in Santa Maria, that's about 150 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. NBC's David Noriega is live for us tonight in Santa Maria. Good to see you. What more are you hearing about those injured in this attack? Liz, so a press conference on this literally just started a minute ago, so we're hoping to get more information on both those injured and the suspect and anything else that we might want to learn about from there.

But as far as the injured, we know that there were six injuries. They were all taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Five of them arrived by ambulance. What the hospital told us is that three of them are in fair condition and two are in good condition. So no life-threatening injuries there. A sixth. injured person was taken to that same hospital in a private vehicle. We don't know the condition of that injured person. But what the authorities have been saying all day is that none of these injuries are life-threatening. Of course, of any of that changes. We will update you. But so far, the damage does not seem to have been as bad as it could have. And some of the witnesses that we spoke to have also said that, you know, they were shocked that this happened, but also relieved that

it wasn't worse. Liz? Absolutely, David. And we know that press conference is ongoing right now, so we will get some updates. But do we have any additional information yet on the suspect that officials arrested? A motive for why this person did this? We know very little is, and the motive is really the big pending question. So the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office has said that it is an adult male, that he is in custody, and that they believe he acted alone. That is about all we know. We also know that the FBI is involved in this case, and one big thing that we're paying attention to is whether the FBI takes over the investigation. Because if they do, that would indicate that there's something special about this suspect or his motive for it to require

a federal investigation. That is one of the main things we're hoping to find out from this press conference. Liz? All right, David, we'll let you get back to that. David Noriega, thank you for joining us and we'll get some updates soon. Meantime here in Los Angeles, the dramatic scene of a gunman hijacking a bus, the incident unfolding early this morning, leading police on a massive chase around the city and leaving one person dead. Steve Patterson has the details. Downtown Los Angeles besieged by a storm of sirens. As a small army of squad cars tailed this hijacked L.A. Metro bus for an hour.

The driver, police say, steering the bus at gunpoint. This operator continued to operate the bus in a safer manner as he could. Police say the bus came under assault shortly before 1 a.m. The hijacker, identified by police, Lamont Campbell shot one passenger, sending others running from the bus. The operator initiated the emergency protocols on the bus. Police say the driver remembered a piece of life-saving training, pressing a panic button to display a distress signal on the bus's message board.

911 call police emergency, spurring the LAPD into action. Deploying spike strips, funneling the bus into a trap. The SWAT team surrounding the bus. It's surrounded and come out with your hands up. Storming in, pulling the driver to safety, arresting the suspect, alive and unhurt. He surrendered immediately, and there was no use of force at the end of the pursuit. Police say one passenger was shot multiple times. The victim later died at the hospital.

No one else was hurt, a small wonder, police say, thanks to the quick thinking of the man steering away from danger. They are civil service heroes. Courage under fire, calm behind the wheel. Wow, a terrifying incident unfolding here in L.A. Steve Patterson joins us now. Steve, do we know anything more about the suspect, the victim, and what may have led up to this? Yeah, Liz, a little bit more about the suspect.

We know 51-year-old Lamont Campbell booked on suspicion of murder now being held on $2 million bond. The motive, of course, still under investigation. It's still very early, only that there was some sort of altercation leading to the shooting on the bus. Meanwhile, we know first responders tried to revive that shooting victim on the scene, who later, of course, died at the hospital. Liz. All right, Steve Patterson. Thank you. Moving overseas now to the Middle East and the escalating war tonight for the first time, Hezbollah launching missile strikes targeting Tel Aviv. Israel's military saying it's preparing for a full-blown ground invasion.

The U.S. is trying to de-escalate the crisis with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken working on a ceasefire proposal between Lebanon and Israel. Richard Engel is in Beirut with more. Israel now says it strikes into Lebanon are preparatory to take out Hezbollah fighters and weapons before a possible ground invasion. The chief of staff of the Israeli military today told his troops a maneuver is being planned into Lebanon, with a death toll from air attacks, has been rising. for days. You will go in, destroy the enemy there, and decisively destroy their infrastructure, he said. Hezbollah leaders are promising to inflict heavy casualties in a ground war.

And to prove their undeterred, the Iranian-backed militia group for the first time launched a missile at Tel Aviv. The missile was shot down by Israeli defenses. The last time Israel invaded Lebanon was in 2006. That war crippled Lebanon and destroyed it. its infrastructure. After heavy losses, Israel ended the operation. President Biden today still hopeful. An all-out war is possible, but I think there's also the opportunity we're still in play to have

a settlement that could fundamentally change the whole region. There needs to be a two-state solution. But his calls for diplomacy are going unheard. Beirut is already filling up with refugees. Public schools turned into shelters to accommodate The tens of thousands of Lebanese who have left the south and the west areas that are being shelled by Israel right now. Israel says it will fight until Hezbollah is disarmed. Hezbollah says it will fight until Israeli troops stop attacking Gaza, and neither side shows any sign of backing down.

A woman I spoke to tonight who evacuated to Beirut with 21 of her relatives told me she hopes the U.S. government will act and not allow Lebanon to become the next guy. Liz? All right, Richard Engel, thank you. Still ahead tonight, an up-close look at the rise and fall of WWE CEO Vince McMahon, the new series diving into the creation of his wrestling empire and controversies that ultimately ended his career, his direct response to sexual assault allegations, and we speak with the lawyer of the former employee filing a bombshell suit against him.

And was the deadly Baltimore bridge collapse preventable? the new lawsuit claiming the catastrophe was avoidable. We'll explain. Plus, star gymnast Jordan Childs taking another shot at getting her bronze medal back. Will her latest appeal win over the court of arbitration? Stick with us. billion-dollar wrestling empire and the scandals surrounding his rise to power, including multiple accusations of sexual abuse by former employees. Chloe Malas spoke to the attorney for one of those former staffers just hours after the series was released. You're fired. Vince McMahon, the larger-than-life creator of World Wrestling Entertainment.

WrestleMania. An over $8 billion business empire that spans massive live events in TV specials, creating household names of wrestlers like Dwayne the Rock Johnson, John Sina, and Hulk Hogan. In the world of professional wrestling, Vince McMahon. He's easy to hate. Now McMahon is the subject of a new Netflix documentary, Mr. McMahon, a six-part series featuring interviews with WWE stars and McMahon himself. No one really knows me.

Chris Smith of Tiger King fame sat down with the embattled wrestling Titan two years ago for over 100 hours of interviews. The series chronicling his rugby. and fall, with McMahon directly addressing multiple allegations involving sexual abuse and drugs through his decades-long career. From being accused of rape in 1986 by a former W.W.E. Referee. If I wanted a half a million-dollar-year contract, I had to satisfy him. When you're accused of rape, you're a rapist. But it was consensual and actually, had it been a rape, um, these statute of limitations had run out.

in 1993 for allegedly distributing steroids of which he was eventually acquitted. It wasn't illegal to buy steroids from infosition. I bought some from him. But it was a bombshell civil lawsuit this January from former employee Janelle Grant that ultimately led to McMahon fully resigning from what had become his life's legacy. A lawsuit against him that contains some of the most graphic details imaginable. Grant accusing him of sex trafficking, civil battery, and emotional distress. She's been fearful since she's been sex trafficked. Grant, who did not take part in the documentary, alleges that McMahon forced her into a relationship

in exchange for a job at WWE, and that McMahon shared sexually explicit images and videos of her without consent, even recruiting others, including former WWE executive John Laurinitis to have sexual relations with her. We think it's, and Janelle thinks, she needs to tell her story in her own way and at the right time for her. She's not a WWE storyline. She wants to take ownership of her own story, and I think she deserves the dignity of that. Laurenitis and McMahon, both named in the lawsuit have denied the accusations. At the time, McMahon released a statement calling the suit replete with lies, obscene made up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth.

Laurenitis calling the accusations misguided and that he would be vigorously defending these charges in court, not the media. All kind of crap like that, but people are digging up and trying to find something on you. As for the documentary, McMahon has accused producers of using typical editing tricks to support a deceptive narrative and hopes viewers will remember that there are two sides to every story. Most recently, McMahon finding himself under federal investigation once again, this time by the Southern District of New York for sex trafficking, after it was revealed in an explosive 22 Wall Street Journal report that McMahon allegedly paid millions of dollars to four women

over more than a decade to secure NDAs after they accused him of sexual misconduct. Grant's attorney said their office is looking into other potential claims against McMahon. We were inundated to the fact where my partner, Eric Holland, was concerned some of these women that were listening to these stories that work with us and men were beginning to feel traumatize themselves. What other sorts of allegations are you hearing about? There is a culture of victimization of women. We've heard from women and men that there wasn't really a safety net there. All right, and Chloe Malas joins us now. Chloe, we just heard Janelle Grant's lawyers say they're looking into the possibility of more claims against McMahon. What could that mean?

for the federal investigation, and where does that stand right now? Hey there, Liz, Anne Callis, who is Janelle Grant's attorney, who just heard moments ago in our piece tonight. She says that Grant is cooperating with federal investigators. Remember, this civil lawsuit that she filed in January, investigators asked her to press pause while they do this investigation. As for whether or not witnesses have gone forth to testify before a potential grand jury, and if individuals have been subpoenaed, she would, wouldn't say, and she wouldn't say anything more than Grant is cooperating. But what she did say that I found really interesting is that the individuals that have been calling their office,

now they haven't decided if they're going to take on any other clients or file any other civil suits against McMahon. She has said that she is pointing them. She and her colleagues are pointing them to federal investigators. So that could mean that some of the people calling her office might be working with the sex trafficking investigation by the Southern District of New York, Liz. That is really interesting. Chloe, and I know you have done a lot of reporting on Vince McMahon this summer. What can you tell us about what he's been doing as he faces these allegations? He's incredibly defiant. He has been living his life, traveling the world out with friends all across New York City. He lives in Connecticut, not too far away from the WWE headquarters.

And it's a family business still. His son-in-law is running WWE after he stepped down. and his son-in-law is married to his daughter. But according to our report that we did a few months ago, he is not involved in the day-to-day, but he still has contact with people there. Look, we've reached out to McMahon multiple times to do an interview ourselves and to speak with him, but right now he is speaking out through his attorneys

saying that he is fighting these accusations against him. And, you know, it looks like this is a story that we will keep following, and it will keep developing, Liz. Absolutely. Well, really fascinating details in interview, Chloe. Thank you. All right. When we come back, Vice President Harris sitting down for her first solo network interview, her one-on-one with MSNBC's Stephanie Rule, and how she plans to tackle the economy and issue former President Trump is currently leading in the polls.

All right, we're back with Top Stories News Feed, starting with the allegations by Maryland State investigators that the deadly bridge collapse in Baltimore was, quote, entirely preventable. In a new lawsuit against the owners of the Dolly cargo ship, investigators say the ship's at sale despite finding unresolved power issues the day before. The filing follows two separate lawsuits from the Department of Justice and the families of the six victims. Rising sea levels causing the 10th house in four years to collapse along a stretch of North Carolina's coast, video showing a house on the outer bank you can see that they're tumbling into the water. It's debris pushed towards the shore by waves.

Just four days earlier, debris from a different house nearby also crumbling into swell. Officials saying no injuries were reported, but a section of the beach has been closed down due to dangerous debris. The wife of Motley crew drummer Tommy Lee rescuing the family's dog from the jaws of a coyote. New video showing the coyote running into their backyard and grabbing the dog, from the edge of the pool in broad daylight. Lee's wife, Brittany Furlin, you can see then chasing the coyote down, snatching the dog out of its mouth. Furlan says the dog is okay, but that the coyote struggled to get over the fence,

which is the only reason that she was then able to catch it. And American gymnast, Jordan Childs, filing a second appeal now to get her Olympic bronze medal back. Child's legal team filing a new application with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court seeking to reopen the discussion around who should be awarded the bronze for the Olympic women's floor exercise. USA gymnastics saying the court of arbitration for sports refused to consider audiovisual evidence proving that her coach did indeed file an inquiry into her score in the required time limit. And all right, we're going to turn now to power and politics. Vice President Harris sitting down with MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle, her first one-on-one network interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. The conversation taking place following Harris's rally in Pittsburgh,

focusing on the economy and promising a new way forward for the middle class. So let's bring an NBC new senior White House correspondent, Kelly O'Donnell, who is in Pittsburgh tonight on the campaign trail with Vice President Harris. Kelly, good to see you. I know you're there covering the speech on economic policy by Vice President Harris. MSNBC's Stephanie Rule asked Harris about how she plans to take on Trump when it comes to the economy. Let's take a listen. There have been tremendous economic wins, and you've just laid out a big plan, but still, polling shows that most likely voters still think Donald Trump is better to handle the economy. Why do you think that is? Well, here's what I know in terms of the facts.

Donald Trump left us with the worst economy since the Great Depression when you look at, for example, the employment numbers. It was during COVID, and employment was so hard. because we shut down the government, we shut down the country. Even before the pandemic, he lost manufacturing jobs by most people's estimates at least 200,000. He lost manufacturing plants. My perspective on the economy is when you grow the middle class, America's economy is stronger. And there's empirical evidence to prove my point correct. All right, so Kelly, it seems no coincidence.

Harris is doing this interview following an event on her economic plan. What do you make of what she says there, and how important is it right now for Harris to make sure she has an effective message when it comes to the economy? Well, if you look at polling, she is behind on this issue. She has closed the gap quite a bit since she entered the race as the top of the ticket candidate and compared to President Biden. But Donald Trump still has that edge when you talk to voters about the economy and who do they think would handle it better. And clearly, the economy is one of the biggest issues because it affects voters. across the board, those that are worried about making ends meet, those that are worried about saving for the future, those that operate a small business, a whole range of voters are affected by it. And so she has been pressed to come up with more plans, to explain her positions.

And some of that is what she did at the Economic Club here in Pittsburgh today, where she talked about different pillars of her views. And she described it as being a pragmatic approach, not rooted in an ideology, but trying to do things that would make some more affordable, deal with investing in entrepreneurs, and also bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. So it's a big issue. Voters are following it, and she's trying to answer some of the questions that they have. Liz? Yeah, it seems so. And Kelly, in addition to the economy, Vice President Harris was also asked about immigration, which we know is another major issue for voters. Did we really hear about how Harris plans to tackle that issue in the interview?

Well, when you pair the two together, the economy and immigration for Donald Trump, voters, those are top-of-mind issues. And so addressing both of these makes a lot of sense from the Harris campaign perspective as we get this deep into the campaign season to try to answer questions and to try to pull off support from Trump or from those who have not yet decided. So she was asked about immigration and her views on that. Here's a portion of what she said to our colleague, Stephanie, Ruhl. Communities around the country that have legal immigration, many have said we're at capacity. And many feel like the government has said to them, well, adapt, sit down, be quiet, this is how it is.

What would a Harris administration do for those communities who've taken in many, many legal immigrants but are at capacity? Well, first of all, we do have a broken immigration system, and it needs to be fixed. And if we take a step back, months ago, some of the most conservative members of the United States Congress came together with others, proposed a border security bill that would have put 1,500 new border agents on the border. Donald Trump got word of the bill, realized it was going to fix a problem he wanted to run on and told him to kill the bill,

don't put it up for a vote. He killed a bill that would have actually been a solution because he wants to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem. And that's part of what needs to be addressed. And my pledge is that when elected president, if the American people will have me, I will bring that bill back

and I will sign it into law. And of course, Arizona is a key battleground state in the map of 2024, and Harris is headed there on Friday. And we've learned that she will be making a stop along the border. That's different than the issue of immigrants who have been moving into cities and changing some of the dynamics there. But the southern border is always a hot button,

and Harris will be talking about that on Friday. Liz? Oh, yep, all eyes will be on her there. Kelly, O'Donnell, thank you so much. All right, coming up next, the devastating wildfires raging in Ecuador. Dramatic images coming in tonight as residents raced to put out the flames themselves. Stay with us. All right, back now with Top Story's Global Watch.

India has confirmed its first case of a deadlier strain of M-Pox. Health authorities in the Kerala state say the clad 1B strain was detected in a 38-year. year old man who recently traveled to Dubai. The strain had previously been contained to the Democratic Republic of Congo, but has since spread to several countries. Last month, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency. An update now on those devastating wildfires in South America. Evacuations continue to Ecuador's capital city. New video shows residents attempting to put out the flames themselves with buckets of water. Fires are burning in multiple areas of keto right now. covering the city in smoke. So far, no injuries reported, but multiple homes have burned.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it does come amid the country's worst drought in 60 years. And Thailand has become the first country in Southeast Asia to officially legalize same-sex marriage. The monarchy approved the marriage equality bill passed by the Senate, making it law. LGBTQ couples can register their marriages starting January 22nd, 25. Thailand is the third Asian nation recognizing same-sex marriage after Nepal and Taiwan. And okay, coming up, reporting from the war zone. An in-depth look at what it's like for journalists on the ground in Gaza. The reporters putting their lives on the line to document the war. All right, we return now with the war in Gaza and the unprecedented peril that journalists

face working on the ground. More than 100 reporters have been killed in Gaza, according to the International Federation of Journalists. In addition to the danger, the media is facing crackdowns. Over the weekend, Israeli defense forces shut down the Al Jazeera offices in the nearby West Bank, accusing the Qatari-owned broadcaster of inciting terror. Now, in the third part of a months-long investigative series, Hologarani has this in-depth report on the journalists caught in the crossfire. as the current fighting between Israel and Lebanon escalates. Our reporting begins with an Israeli bombing on the border a year ago. And a warning, some of the material is disturbing.

A group of journalists says it finds itself under attack in southern Lebanon. What happened? What happened? What happened? Oh, fuck. Two rounds of tank shells fired from an Israeli position across the border. October 13th, 2003, a day colleagues Christina Asi and Dylan Collins will never forget.

We were covering for around 50 minutes before we were attacked the first time. I immediately lost sensation my legs. So I started screaming for help, and then seconds later we were attacked again. Asi lost her right leg. Dylan Collins also injured. Reuters journalist Isam Abdallah was killed in the same strike. Why are so many journalists dying covering the wars in Gaza and Lebanon? Since October 7th, at least 116 journalists have been killed and dozens more injured.

53 are in detention. The deadliest conflict for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists began records. Nearly all of them, Palestinian, two, were Israeli killed in the Hamas attack on October 7th. At the time of the strike on journalists in southern Lebanon, the IDF denied talking about targeting the group. We've had extensive exchanges in that area between Hezbollah and our forces. We do not target journalists, not by any stretch of the imagination. But for Dylan Collins, who says the journalists were visible to the Israeli military

before the strikes, that explanation doesn't make sense. It was two strikes, 37 seconds apart from the same direction. It's a sustained targeted attack against a group of journalists that I think was clearly and not just to scare people away, not just to kill one person, but to kill all of us. For this three-month-long investigation, NBC News has spoken to 21 media professionals and organizations in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Egypt, who all describe killings, arrests, and attacks on their profession. Journalist Noor Harazin left Gaza for Cairo in April.

After sending her children to live abroad, she spent months reporting on the war, losing friends and colleagues. Does she think they were hit intentionally? No one is safe in Gaza. No one is safe. It does not matter if you are a man, a woman, a child, if you are a militant fighter, or if you are a civilian, if you are a doctor, a journalist. As long as you are in Gaza, you could get killed, you are targeted.

But despite being safe and out of Gaza. I do not feel that I belong here. And to be truthful, I can't say that I'm happy. Yeah. I'm not happy. But you're, at least your children are safe. My children are safe, my family are safe. Among the journalists killed by Israel in Gaza, Al Jazeera's Ismail Al-Gul and his

colleague Rami al-Rafi, a direct hit on their car on July 31st on assignment. We do everything. We wear our press jackets. We wear our helmets. Their colleague, Hind al-Kuderi, breaking down on air, announcing the deaths. The Israeli military says Al-Gul was a Hamas terrorist and even took part in the October 7 massacre, putting out a document that lists him as an operative as far back as 2007. when he would have been only 10 years old. Often initially they deny having killed the individual at all. Then they will accuse the journalist of having either been a terrorist or engaged in militant activity.

But the Committee to Protect Journalists has called his death murder, accusing Israel of a smear campaign. The group's chief executive, Jody Ginsburg. He had actually been arrested in the Al-Sheifer hospital raids back in March. So if Israel believed him to be a terrorist, I think we have to ask why he wasn't detained and held at that point. In a statement to NBC News, the IDF says it has never and will never deliberately target journalists. Since October 7th, at least four Al Jazeera journalists and their families have died in attacks by the Israeli military. In the network's offices and the occupied West Bank, pictures of reporters, killed on the job are everywhere.

Bureau Chief Walid al-Omeri says Israel's accusations that his employees are linked to Hamas are baseless, that Israel has allowed several of his correspondents to leave Gaza since October 7th, one of them badly injured. How, how it's coming? If he was from Hamas as they, in their accusations. So you're saying if he was a Hamas member, the Israelis would never, they would never let him leave? Of course. Beyond the deaths and arrests, Gaza has been impossible to cover on the ground for international

and Israeli journalists. Access to the battlefield blocked, by all accounts, unprecedented in war coverage. This letter sent to both the Israeli and Egyptian governments requesting access into Gaza was signed by more than 50 journalists, including myself, NBC's Richard Engel, and Sky News. It reads in part we urge the governments to allow free and unfettered access to Gaza for all foreign media. But apart from rare military embeds, only one international journalist has been allowed into the besieged enclave since October 7th on a very brief visit.

But the Israeli government doesn't see it that way. This has been one of the most reported conflicts ever. But not freely by the international media. The international media, Sky News, are only allowed. accompanied by Israel on very, very limited trips. It is a very dangerous war zone for the safety of these journalists, but we're keeping them out. We asked the IDF when foreign journalists would be allowed in, but it did not respond

to our question. Back in Cairo, we head to the new home of Veteran Agence France Press correspondent Adel Zanun. He left Gaza in April with his family. Why Israel target the journalist? Israel don't want to see independent journalists, independent media, independent press to cover the war. I think this is... Why not?

For Israel, there is no red line. Inside Gaza, there are those who've decided to stay. Moore Swirke is one of them, living in a tent a few yards from her life position at a nearby hospital. I call that Noor Villa, a displaced, gaza, women, mother, and journalists. She says the Israeli military is going after media workers. We spoke to her via Zoom.

And what makes you say that? Because too many of our colleagues have been targeting while they were in the city. They were making their job and they were tired. For Christina Asi, it's been a long road to recovery. months of therapy and pain. She carried the Olympic torch through the streets of Paris this summer, pushed by her colleague Dylan. She says that when she's better, she'll get back to work. Hala Gaurani, NBC News, Jerusalem. And we thank Hala and her team for their reporting and, of course, all of the journalists who

are risking their lives to share those stories. Thanks so much for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Liz Kreutz in for Tom Yamis. Stick with us. More news now is on the way.