Top Story with Tom Llamas - Feb. 28 | NBC News NOW
tonight a state of emergency declared in Southern California and the pictures are wild a monster storm trapping residents in the mountains outside of Los Angeles roads completely impassable grocery stores running out of food will talk to one family that has been stranded for days as yet another storm takes aim millions in its path from coast to coast we'll have the full forecast in just moments our other major headline tonight the student debt showdown at the Supreme Court President Biden vowing to forgive half a trillion dollars in student loans but is that plan legal with the conservative justices signaled in court today and what it means for the 40 million Americans carrying college debt trapped by War the incredible report tonight from inside of a Ukrainian Town surrounded on all sides by Russian forces the few remaining civilians forced to drink from drain pipes to stay alive will take you inside the trenches with the soldiers struggling to hold the front line plus the stunning images out of El Salvador inmates packed together inside of a new Mega prison as part of the president's quote war on gangs but is this Crackdown curbing the violence with residents on the ground and human rights Watchdogs are now sane and ready to run Florida Governor Ron DeSantis fueling rumors of a possible presidential run launching a nationwide tour to promote his new book how former president Trump is responding to this cross-country Blitz tonight and what a new poll says about who would win in a potential 2024 matchup top story starts right now [Music] and good evening we begin top story tonight with the state of emergency in California a powerful blizzard shutting down major highways and leaving residents stranded in the mountains let's take a look at some of the images coming in the Sierra Nevadas right just getting pummeled with snow you can see the white out conditions near Soda Springs in northern California plows struggling to keep up some areas expected to get up to seven feet of snow grocery store shelves empty in San Bernardino County just outside of Los Angeles where many families remain trapped the snow making it impossible for delivery trucks to get through or for those families to get out in a moment we'll talk to a family with two young children that has been snowed in for days how their mom tells us she's been keeping up everyone's spirits and at lower elevations days of heavy rain triggering mudslides parts of the fame Mulholland Drive closed after this Hillside you see it right here gave way and much of the Northeast still digging out from the major snowstorm yesterday hundreds of schools closed for the day across new York and New in New England and yet another cross-country storm look at this taking aim expected to bring much more snow heavy rain and possible tornadoes we'll have the full forecast in a moment but we begin first with Miguel almaguer and that dire situation out in California Before Sunrise the state of emergency was ordered in the mountains just outside Los Angeles already buried under as much as seven feet of snow trapped residents in San Bernardino County are rationing food and running short on supplies as another major snowstorm Barrels in crazy crazy storm never experienced this kind of a weather before in Lake Arrowhead Griffith vertigan hiked a mile through waist deep snow to get to a gas station major roads are impassable and many like Teresa Grant are stranded we haven't seen a plow in days the jackknife this once in a generation storm shutting down more than 70 miles of Interstate 80. a Lifeline for Commerce luckily I have my dad with me otherwise I'd be panicking Nationwide more than 10 million are under winter weather alerts New York City today with its first significant snowfall as thunderstorms and the threat of tornadoes close in on the South but back on the west coast another whiteout is on the way Tom travel isn't just treacherous in parts of California it's impossible this car is buried under several feet of snow and later today we're expecting another storm with 75 mile per hour winds and up to a foot more of snow Tom Miguel almaguir leading us off tonight here on top story with just one section of California bombarded by snow for a better understanding of what it's like from inside that state of emergency we're joined Now by Luke and Natalie Granger residents of Lake Arrowhead also Luke is the fire captain for the city of Colton both of those located in San Bernardino County where the state of emergency has been declared Natalie Luke thanks so much for joining top story tonight I know it's a very tough night where you guys are located first off I want to let our viewers know where you are you're just East a little Northeast of Los Angeles up in the mountains talk to us what what the last few days have been like for you and and for your family uh well it's been it's been snowing and it's been cold uh snowstorms are a common occurrence here they've always have been but this last one adopted a lot of snow and it kind of overwhelmed our our local resources uh to the point where there's nowhere no room to push the snow out of the way anymore so yeah you know we have a video that you guys sent us Luke I want to show our viewers this video because and I'm not sure if it was you pushing sort of like the snow plow machine um your car it looks like a Jeep is completely covered in snow you can't even see it and it looks like whoever's pushing that machine is really not doing a whole lot there's someone with a shovel trying to help out as well I mean how tough was it to dig people out yeah it's it's uh it's not easy it's it's a lot easier if you can maintain it uh every couple hours but uh when you get overwhelmed and you got nowhere to shuttle that too uh what you can't see is in the background of my Jeep is a Dodge Ram truck oh wow I'm tired yeah you can't you can't even make that out Natalie what was what was the hardest part for your what's what's been the hardest part I know you guys are still under the state of emergency I think keeping up with our community's needs there's a lot of family family I'm again this for this ahead of time and even with our preparations there still are basic and vital needs that need to be met with the roads not being able to be cleared quick enough trying to meet those needs physically um are difficult you know you mentioned the roads not being cleared enough we have another still that you sent I think it was a gas truck or a water truck I'm not exactly sure uh it looked like it was stuck in the snow there very powerful image here what are some of the things you guys need right now in your community our community typically struggles um with the funding although we're within a large County of San Bernardino County it's still a very small community and very unique although we're only 30 minutes from an urban city and we we lack a lot of that funding and resources immediate needs right now are plows and not just plows major heavy equipment this is a heavy load of snow there's not a lot of areas to store it dump it we need a lot of equipment there's going to be a lot of work just in our community alone we have a lot of digging and plowing out to do and this is a large dense a rural community so we need those resources immediately and we're hoping with the state of emergency declared that those resources become immediate to us we need our grocery stores filled we need those gas trucks to get here um the last thing we need is a lot of visitors at this time until we can get those resources and get our community back to a safe and functioning life and Luke you know you're the captain of the fire department there one of the fire departments are you able to talk to the governor's office or any Emergency Management officials to get some of the things you need for your community uh that's that's above my head uh uh my at my level but the guys are doing everything they can it's just it's a large machine the logistically support uh and everybody's doing what they can um but between Caltrans and accounting of uh San Bernardino Public Works uh they're relying a lot on uh the community and our neighbors uh Travis Schneider has been over backwards trying to get his heavy machinery up here and he's just one of a dozen uh the mountain folks trying to make make our lives better and doable and get people out that are reliant on emergency medicines um trying to get to doctor's appointments uh at the roads out to be open because it's it's impossible to get through the roads right now and Natalie anything immediate that people can do viewers are watching this or people watching in California anything they can do to help I think at this point um for those family members that have been stranded down the mountain it would be helpful to get some sort of a Red Cross resource uh maybe resources like getting in touch with those who need those vital medications and transporting those up at this point they only have escorts for residents to make it up the roads to the mountains um that's where my heart is really hurting or for these parents that have needs for specific formulas and medications people that are stuck down the hill some way to get those to Red Cross or First Responders that are able to get those up to them sooner um to be honest it sounds like a joke snowshoes uh Cross Country Skis until we get more of these roads cleared that's our best bet of Transportation at this point Natalie real quick just because you mentioned this there are families that are in need of formula I mean how dire is the situation just so people watching this can understand I just have a brief access to social media here and there um from there was a family who the mother was trapped down the mountain from work and the father has the child the infant and put a call out on social media for breast milk um you know there's things where this community is so tight-knit that it will take from house to house on a sled uh if they have to to get what they need but the most important part to realize is that these employees for our stores can't even get to work uh First Responders can't get to where they need to be we would love to be out more but we have to get out so today has been the first day with our neighbor bringing up his heavy equipment that we may even have a possibility to get out tomorrow and maybe help a little further Natalie and Luke Granger we will be thinking about you and we will stay on top of this story in the days to come for more on this forecast I want to get right over to Bill Karen's bill before you hit the forecast what what can can that couple that family in San Bernardino County expect over the next couple days all right Tom I think people have to get the perspective of these are areas that are used to a heavy snow they have some of the best equipment possible and they are getting overwhelmed let me give you an example Mammoth has reported nine feet of snow in the last seven days the UC Berkeley snow lab in this year where they measure snow it's like their job they had three feet of snow yesterday alone and it's still coming down I mean we have blizzard conditions 60 miles per hour winds so it's not only snowing but it's also snow drifts are blowing in different areas and this will continue through tonight and then slowly improve tomorrow and there's not a lot of snow after this storm system so the cleanup will begin but you know we're talking feet of snow mountains of snow that they have to get through so about 17 million people are in the path of this storm and the snow totals in addition to what we've already had I still could get another two to four feet on top of it and there's that UC Berkeley snow lab 36 inches in the last 24 hours and by the way the Lodge at Mammoth was closed today which is very rare and they now have over 500 inches on the season they say there's snow depth right now it's between 12 and 15 feet so if you took a metal stake and hammered it down on the ground That's How deep the snow is in some areas of the Sierra then eventually this storm will make it to the Northeast but that's not till Friday night and some wet weather and also for New York City but snow in the higher elevations and Tom will end with this this storm will bring us another severe weather outbreak it starts tomorrow but Thursday is the heads-up day maybe even a few strong tornadoes all right Bill we appreciate it we want to turn now next tonight to a pair of Supreme Court cases that will impact tens of millions of student loan borrowers the court hearing arguments today on whether the Biden administration had the authority to forgive these loans NBC's Laura Jarrett has more from Washington tonight the Biden administration's plan to wipe away half a trillion dollars in student loan debt facing a skeptical conservative majority on the Supreme Court and Along Comes the government and tells that person that you don't have to pay your loans the financial futures of more than 40 million now in limbo people like Maggie Bell the first in her family to graduate from college carrying thirty thousand dollars in Federal loans that is difficult it's depressing it's stressful she wants the justices to uphold President Biden's plan to erase ten thousand dollars in federal student loan debt for anyone who makes less than a hundred and twenty five thousand dollars and twenty thousand for lower income borrowers groceries are high gas is high like seeing a vacation this year is very difficult for me right and I'm not the only person in this boat liberal Justice is today saying the proposal will help Millions left struggling after the pandemic they don't have friends or families or others who can help them make these payments the evidence is clear that many of them will have to default but the White House plan is now on pause after six republican-led states and borrowers sued several conservative Justices today questioning whether the administration overstepped its Authority by going around Congress most casual observers would say if you're going to give up that much amount of money they would think that's something for Congress to act on to speaker Rob is a college sophomore and Son of a taxi driver he didn't take out federal loans and says it's unfair to force him to pay off others debts I chose not to take this loan even though I could definitely benefit from it and I needed that money but I chose not to so how is it fair to people like myself I'm not able to um get a single penny out of this program Laura joins top story tonight from outside the Supreme Court so Laura we saw your report there I guess my question is despite the skepticism from some of the conservative Justices today where do we see this going could the suit still be dismissed yeah at times several of the justices both conservatives and liberals seemed largely unconvinced that the plaintiffs in this case who brought the actual suit the borrowers and these republican-led states actually have standing the legal right to get into court here and if they don't have standing this whole case goes away Tom so so many Americans across this country are going to be following this case because they have student loan debt does the Biden White House have a plan B if this gets struck down there's always a plan B but it may not be a course that they want to take of course this came up actually an oral argument today and the Biden Administration has to acknowledge that of course it could go through a far lengthier process using something called notice and comment which would involve potentially months up to even years obviously they would perform a more short-term solution Tom okay Laura Jarrett making her top story debut tonight as well Laura welcome to NBC we turn out a power of politics all eyes on Florida's governor Ron DeSantis ahead of a potential White House run the governor releasing a new book today and it's already the number one best seller on Amazon the page is filled with mentions of former president Trump and a new poll shows the two are a likely matchup in 2024. NBC's Ali Vitale has this one Ron DeSantis inching closer to a presidential bid God bless you all making stops across the country huddling with donors last weekend in Palm Beach and launching a new book outlining a blueprint for America's Revival people would say how'd you do it in Florida the book marks a key step in defining DeSantis outside the Sunshine State touting his controversial covet response proximity to former president Donald Trump and culture clashes including with Disney officially stripping them of their special status in the state yesterday Disney ran the show in this state for a long time until I became governor and we said you know we're going to side with the people of Florida but just because he's not in the race yet doesn't mean other Republicans aren't anticipating the primary battle ahead I like what he's done I'm a trump supporter he'll have to prove to me that he would be a better president than president Trump if if elected a new poll shows DeSantis Trails Trump in the theoretical match-up but sets the stage for an early two-man race DeSantis book gives a fresh sense of how he could take on his main rival which is to say not directly if at all the book mentions Trump more than a hundred times in 288 pages and showcases DeSantis as a steadfast Ally both in Congress and as Florida Governor at one point calling Trump the most famous person to run for the GOP nomination since Dwight Eisenhower and saying that in 2016 Trump had almost instantly built a massive following and was now the man to beat in the primaries he also parroted Trump's disdain for the media calling investigations into alleged Russian collusion a media driven hoax designed to cast doubt on the results of the 2016 presidential election and strangle the Trump presidency in the crib it comes as others who once stuck by Trump are drawing their own indirect contrast with him like former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley I think we need to have a new generation I think we have to leave the status quo I think we have to leave the old issues behind and Trump's former Veep Mike Pence implicit in saying you're considering running is the idea that you think you could be at least a different president if not a better president than your former boss can you delineate just one policy difference that you might have with him well I think the times call for different leadership and I'm confident we'll have better choices than my old running mate uh come 2024. all right Ali Vitale joins us now from Washington Ali I want to go back to something you reported in the book Governor DeSantis mentions president Trump I think it's around 100 times is what you reported has former president Trump responded to that yeah he's responding today Tom and using words and phrases that we've heard him use before when it comes to Ron DeSantis specifically calling him Ron de sanctimonious again and in true Trump fashion referencing recent polling that shows Trump ahead of DeSantis that's true and has long been true as we've been looking not just at recent polls but polling Trends but really when you look at those it's clear there are always two men at the top of this field it is Trump and DeSantis both even at this early point and then Ali I know you have some new reporting for us tonight here on top story about this sand this is a schedule you know if we sort of study what governor DeSantis has done over the years he's been Governor he hasn't traveled a whole lot outside of Florida but now I know you have some new reporting and and sort of a follow-up to that we know that he's not going to attend CPAC which is a big conservative conference that a lot of would-be contenders like to attend at least they did in the past yeah ditching out on CPAC is pretty notable especially because it really is and has become during the Trump years as you know a key conservative Gathering and a place where they can really huddle with the Grassroots earn some media coverage DeSantis though not going to that conference this year neither though are people like former vice president Mike Pence Trump of course is going that's fertile ground for him but at the same time too if you look at desantis's other travel that his team is apparently mulling some trips not just in relation to his book tour where he's going to be going to places like Texas Alabama and California but he also might be thinking about making trips to states that we typically look for presidential candidates or presidential hopefuls to go to I'm talking Iowa New Hampshire South Carolina and Nevada those could be on the schedule in the coming weeks too I'm told okay Ali Vitale Ali we appreciate it we want to head overseas now authorities in Russia were on high alert today after reporting a series of drone attacks near the border with Ukraine and elsewhere in Russia no casualties were awarded and tonight NBC's cure Simmons has a rare look inside Crimea the territory in southern Ukraine that Russia has occupied since 2014. this is of you American news crews rarely get to be this close to the Russian Navy President Putin's prized Black Sea Fleet we're in sevastopol Crimea home to a crucial navy base that both sides may now be ready to fight for this is what President Putin will be determined to defend this is his real red line Moscow illegally annexed Crimea nine years ago Ukraine wants it all back but removing Russia from this city teaming with Putin's soldiers would not be easy Diana happily shows us her passport isn't your Russian passport yeah this may be a sign of what's to come an explosion last October that took out the critical bridge that links Crimea to Russia Russia accuses Ukraine of the attack Ukraine never admitted responsibility we traveled here by train on that same Crossing across what the UN calls Ukraine's internationally recognized border the bridge reopened just last week this is where that explosion hit this bridge last October at around this time in the morning Ukraine's president zielinski told the West give us more weapons and we'll get back what's out but Crimea where we saw new signs for Airaid shelters has many pro-russian residents who say it's theirs is Crimea Russian or Ukrainian is Russian yeah of course Russian 73 year old praxovia tells me we travel to the town of batistura traditional home of crimea's Tata ethnic group victims of Human Rights abuses the UN says for opposing Moscow we all pray to the same God this mother tells me why can't we share bread then we find a father with a lot to lose your son is fighting for Russia how old is your son what's that 20 he tells me then he says zelenski will not get Crimea back because we have our commander-in-chief in this year-long war new battle lines are being drawn now to the Americas the shocking images out of El Salvador's new Mega prison we're now seeing the first arrivals of 2 000 alleged gang members packed together like sardines while El Salvador's president hails as a victory human rights groups are sounding the alarm Valerie Castro has this story hundreds of inmates Barefoot and stripped down to white shorts Scurry into El Salvador's new Mega prison ordered to crouch down on the ground one after another these alleged gang members are the first prisoners of the complex named the center for the confinement of terrorism with a highly produced speech to police celebrating the massive prisons opening a Cornerstone of his war on gangs also tweeting they're not scary anymore are they the new complex capable of holding 40 000 inmates considered to be the largest of its kind in the Americas the president touring the facility fully equipped with armed guards and prison staff workshops for inmates to manufacture Goods as well as dark isolation cells meant for solitary confinement and harsh punishment for quote anyone who tries to make any trouble with no mattresses to sleep on or even any visitors allowed ukella declaring a state of emergency last March as violence plagued the country with more than 60 homicides reported in just one day top story has been following the story since then reporting on the Mass arrests that followed as police hunted down alleged criminals they say they've arrested over six thousand suspected gang members the emergency declaration meant to be temporary but extended several times suspended some constitutional rights like arrest warrants and access to legal representation Human Rights Watch documenting the arrest of thousands which include children that led to then the Detention of 64 000 people including 1600 children what do you make of his use to social media to for the the publicity of this campaign is making enormous efforts to control The Narrative of what is happening in the country when he does that through social media despite the controversial show of force some say the crime Crackdown is working the president seeing the highest approval ratings of any other Latin American leader is El Salvador's National civil police reporting a sharp decline in homicides this February compared to years past while the violence has gone down some believe the cost may be too high we don't know if those who are being detained have committed a crime or are just there because they were tattooed and were in the wrong place at the wrong time all right Valerie Castro joins us now here in studio kind of interesting 90 approval rating and yet people were still afraid to go on camera to talk about his presidency some people are questioning the timing of this opening of the mega prison because of an indictment that was unsealed here in the U.S that's right Human Rights Watch is saying this is a way for the president to distract from that indictment that was unsealed last week against several alleged MS-13 gang members here in the United States it includes allegations that they were engaged in quote secret negotiations with government officials in El Salvador for things like reduced prison sentences and special treatment in exchange for reducing the number of public murders that would potentially we benefit the president's approval as you mentioned Tom but he has denied those allegations in the past okay Valerie cash for Valerie we appreciate that still ahead tonight the carjacking nightmare police in Chicago searching for this BMW after it was stolen from a pregnant woman in a violent carjacking why authorities are blaming Volkswagen for delaying their investigation and the stunning new statement from the director of the FBI what he said today about the theory that covet was leaked from a lab in Wuhan China top stories just getting started on this Tuesday [Music] we're back with a terrifying carjacking just outside of Chicago Police now looking for two suspects that ran over a pregnant woman and stole her Volkswagen with her two-year-old son in the back seat law enforcement says Volkswagen could have helped track the vehicle but refused until they paid up NBC Steven Romo has more tonight the Hunt is on for this BMW and two suspects wanted in connection with a violent carjacking involving a toddler just outside of Chicago Police say this Pursuit was slowed down when the company that monitors the stolen car's tracking device initially refused to help find the suspects it just makes me scared and frightened you know it's very sad I wish I could do something investigators say a pregnant mother was run over by these carjackers who took her Volkswagen SUV with her two-year-old still in the back seat the woman told police she pulled into her driveway last week and brought one child inside her home and when she went back to get the second child she found that white BMW had pulled in behind her an individual got out of the stolen BMW attacked the 34 year old victim uh shoved her to the ground and jumped in the driver's seat of her Volkswagen that mother sustained multiple fractures in her lower body according to investigators and is now in stable condition after she was run over she was still able to call 9-1-1 kicking off law enforcement's frantic search contact is a male unknown tall and Finn wearing a light gray Zippo putty and a light green covet style map the Lake County Sheriff's Office says a detective realized the stolen Volkswagen SUV was equipped with a tracking service known as Carnet that could help them find the vehicle and the toddler but they soon hit a roadblock Sheriff's officials saying they were told they had to pay about a hundred fifty dollars to reinstate that service because the family's free trial had ended the detective said Hey listen this is life or death an abducted two-year-old child that was just violently taken from his mother uh the employee indicated that we would have to pay to re-initiate the service for him to provide us that information investigators say this caused a delay in tracking that SUV from Libertyville Illinois but luckily they got help from a Good Samaritan who saw the carjackers dump the child in a parking lot in nearby Waukegan unharmed authorities say the SUV was also recovered all before Carnet got the payment and helped in the search Volkswagen telling NBC News in a statement they have a procedure in place with a third party provider for their Carnet Services involving emergency requests and quote unfortunately in this instance there was a serious breach of the process we are addressing the situation with the parties involved but security expert Bill Stanton says the people and systems that monitor such Technologies need to be streamlined because the delay in assistance was unacceptable people have to know even though they have a job maybe a simple job is answering the phone to use that discretion okay Stephen Romo joins us now on set Stephen do we know how long investigators believed they were delayed because of this issue with the tracking device yeah they say it took about 30 minutes for them to find the way to send that payment and for them to actually get that information and in that time police were able to find that SUV on their own and this Good Samaritan was able to find this child in just about 15 minutes so that is the good news but police say these two suspects are still on the loose and that data could have helped them track these people down as well yeah okay Stephen Rome with a very strange story about an important one Steve thank you when we come back an update on the University of Idaho murders we've been following closely here on top story authorities unsealing the arrest warrant for Brian coburger the man accused of killing four college students last fall what police found inside of his parents home on the day he was arrested that's next [Music] all right we are back now with top stories news feed FBI director Chris Ray sane on camera for the first time that the agency believes the source of covid was a lab leak in China take a listen the FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan or you're talking about a potential leak from a Chinese government-controlled lab that killed millions of Americans and we want to mention of course he made those comments to Fox News today the FBI first made that assessment with moderate confidence a year ago but raised comments come a day after NBC News reported the energy Department also assessed covet began with a Chinese lab leak first reported by The Wall Street Journal the White House has previously said there is no consensus consensus within the U.S government about where
the virus came from New details in the arrest of Brian coburger for the murders of Ford University of Idaho students a newly unsealed search warrant revealing authorities seized four medical style gloves one flashlight a pair of Nike shoes and multiple items of clothing from his parents Pennsylvania home they also took a DNA swab investigators executing that search warrant during his arrest on December 30th he's currently in Idaho awaiting trial for those murders an Ohio bus driver is being hailed a hero after saving a student's life take a look security video shows driver April wise pulling a student to safety by his book bag right as a speeding car stops next to her school bus this happened just outside of Dayton wise was later honored with an award for her quick actions no word yet on any consequences for that driver and the FAA is investigating a close call between a Learjet and a JetBlue flight according to an FAA statement exclusively obtained by NBC News the incident occurred when the pilot of a Learjet plane took off without clearance as the JetBlue plane was preparing to land the FAA says the JetBlue plane had to take evasive action to avoid the other plane no word yet on just how close they came okay not a Washington where there are new calls to close a security gap on Capitol Hill a former capital police Sergeant who was fighting off rioters on January 6 is now speaking about a loophole that allows members of Congress to carry guns onto the house floor our Ryan Noble spoke to some lawmakers who are now waiting on the controversy the deadly violence of the January 6 riots revealed glaring gaps in security the officer in the middle of this melee from that day is former Capitol Police Sergeant aquilino ganell it's disturbing he's still worried that vulnerability remains and it could lead to a big problem the protocol is for them to pass us around security members of Congress are never security screen when they enter the capital complex and some openly brag about carrying guns even down to the house floor you know I'm actually really enjoying the United States capital to start feeling like America again a little more freedom after the capital Riot then speaker Nancy Pelosi put up magnetometers around the chamber but the second Republicans took the majority the mags came down so you know there are fellow members that have weapons on the floor of the house absolutely the day the metal detectors came down maybe the day before who knows this loophole is something California Congressman Jared Huffman wants closed it's crazy to just assume that all of these people are immune to those factors and that they can bring guns into the United States capital and nothing will go wrong it is going to happen at some point in a letter shared first with NBC News Huffman asks President Biden to appoint a new architect of the capital who's responsible for the administration of the security of the complex and will deal directly with this issue Sergeant Cannell argues the lack of screening for potentially hundreds of people makes the job of Capitol Police more difficult when you have members of Congress uh inciting by inciting the people to come and breach the capital and then imagine they all have weapons inside and we would be chaos and with threats against lawmakers at an all-time high the mix of political passion and guns makes GOP Congressman Troy Nels a former Sheriff nervous I support two-way I'm all about that but this is United States capital and and it's kind of like you know would you allow people to carry weapon weapons at the County Courthouse in civil trials dealing with divorce proceedings no the emotions are too high Ryan Nobles joins us tonight from Capitol Hill live Ryan I got to think that this issue is so serious that it had to be brought up and now enter the public forum even though by highlighting this there's a lot of risk in the exposing a vulnerability at the Capitol how's the Capitol Police responding to all this tonight time they didn't want to comment on it it's not the capitol police's responsibility to create this policy it's only their responsibility to enforce a policy like this it is the capital police board's responsibility to do that that's part of the reason that Congressman Huffman is asking the new architect of the capital to weigh in on this but I can tell you Tom this is something that people talk about on a regular basis up here that the 535 members the people that they're traveling with are never security screened at any point when they enter this building it is a security loophole and it is one that people are finally starting to talk about needing to be closed okay Ryan we thank you for that we turned out of top stories Global watch and chilling new details about the migrant tragedy off the coast of Italy prosecutors say the suspected Smugglers charged 8 000 Euros about 8 500 US dollars for for a trip that they're now calling the quote Voyage of death the ship carried an estimated 200 migrants from Turkey crashed and broke apart near Calabria the bodies of at least 65 people have been pulled from the sea and an oil tanker sank off the west coast of the Philippines causing thousands of liters of oil to spill into the sea new aerial footage shows the spill which the Coast Guard says spans about three miles the tanker was traveling with 20 crew members on board where it experienced engine trouble and became partially submerged All crew members were rescued and we have another report tonight from the war in Ukraine our partners from Sky News taking us inside a mining town on that front line that is under constant bombardment from Russia's military the few remaining residents trapped by War even forced to collect rain water from drain pipes to survive Alex he's there this is the scarred and battered mining town of volidar it's held by Ukraine but is being attacked continuously by Russian forces foreign we entered with a military escort as it came under Fire again the soldiers taking us towards Frontline positions warn us to space out and not hang around we need to move fast over this bit is the constant threat of an artillery strike it is a gut churning zigzag across the Broken Ground thank you while taking cover there are moments of quiet before another shell whistles through the sky this place has been absolutely devastated by the fighting every apartment block has had the windows blown out there are shell craters all around us and there's still plenty of incoming fire as well about 15 000 people lived here until it was smashed by War only a handful remain there are no services and they collect rain water from drain pipes to survive always staying close to cover it is watching perhaps nothing sums up the insanity of the war more than this the wholesale destruction of people's lives and possessions about two kilometers enemies then about two kilometers the town we're told is strategically important as Ukrainian forces can Target Russian supply lines it's why moscow's forces are desperate to capture it is inside a bunker one of the commanders has just coordinated a counter-attack he shows us a panorama of the town and the body of a dead Russian Commando on a live stream beamed from a drone uh foreign we were taken to another position near the town this time with a different Brigade a message comes through that Russian troops are on the move since the start of the kremlin's new offensive they've been very active along the line of contact the soldiers in the trenches respond by laying down an arc of Fire the razor wire in front of them is a last defense against Russia's human wave assaults the trenches in this part of the front extend for miles and miles now the team here their job is to spot for any movement the Russians are only a couple of kilometers away and they also have a Russian radio and they're able to listen in to their Communications the soldiers here say they can defend their positions they are renewed to this hell but Russia is a powerful enemy and doesn't seem to care how many men it pushes forwards guy news in eastern Ukraine we think Alex and his team for that incredible report coming up election turmoil in Nigeria voters targeted by gunfire and ballots being counted for days the opposition now claiming the ruling party has rigged a high-stakes election the threat tonight to Africa's largest democracy and the impact it could have far beyond the country's borders stay with us back now with the turmoil in Nigeria following the country's presidential election this weekend officials taking days to count the votes sparking violent protests and accusations of corruption in what was considered Africa's largest democracy Matt Bradley tonight with the latest as the contested results come in they started out peaceful and orderly but Nigeria's elections have descended into disorder they want to make sure they suppress others from voting protests against election officials foreign [Music] serious fights but if Saturday's vote looked like chaos tonight's contested results show support for continuity handing a sweeping Victory to Bola tanubu the ruling Party candidate over atiku abubakar running for the main opposition the results infuriated Nigeria's main opposition parties who walked out of the vote counting Center calling the polls a sham and demanding a rerun they say long Waits at polling stations so we are still waiting on them along with days of delays counting the vote or a sure sign the ruling party is cooking the election boss much of the anger here is aimed at Nigeria's Election Commission voters are Furious the results from Saturday's polls were still being counted on Tuesday [Music] Nigeria's elections are a turning point for a troubled Nation it's the fiercest presidential contest since military rule ended here in 1999 but Nigeria is fending off a bloody ismist Insurgency in the north Rising crimes like kidnappings and a currency crisis that's caused a shortage of cash many young Nigerians have now put their hopes in Peter Obi who pulled off an upset win in Lagos the leading party's home territory the country has gone through okay ob's Dark Horse candidacy was social media Savvy rejected traditional tribal politics and challenged establishment Titans for the first time but regardless of who wins these results will be felt far beyond the borders of Africa's largest country a nation many seen as setting the tone for the entire region Matt Bradley joins top story tonight Matt you had an important line there towards the end of your report where you said this election will be felt Beyond Nigeria's borders explain to our viewers why yeah it's not just because Nigeria has the largest population in Africa or the largest economy but also because governance can be contagious good elections that are well run can Inspire neighbors and also bad elections and political violence can dissuade them Tom it's a great Point all right Matt Bradley for us Matt we appreciate that coming up back here at home tick tock under threat Congress moving to ban the popular social media app over fears China is using it to get sensitive material from here in the U.S stay with us finally tonight the battle over Tick Tock the popular social media app ordered to be taken off all government devices the platform now in the crosshairs of Congress lawmakers considering a nationwide ban over concerns it gives China access to sensitive user data Jake Ward tonight with how the company and users are responding every time an American opens Tick Tock each of them might be handing over personal information like names email addresses even physical location it all forms a vast database on Americans inside a chinese-owned company and that has made tick tock the latest front in a deepening war of words with China the White House saying it needs to curb foreign adversaries access to America's data while China's foreign minister criticized the world's number one superpower for being afraid of a mobile phone application that young people like so much I'm 18 we're all 18. like let me share my information with China if I want to like I literally could care less federal employees have 30 days to delete tick tock off all government devices the house Foreign Affairs committee voted today to give President Biden authority to essentially Outlaw it for all Americans already 41 states have some sort of ban in place or under consideration the ACLU says a ban would violate the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans experts say that in fact a national ban has little precedent here in the U.S but it's common in China China typically bans big Tech and social media companies uh from their citizens being able to access them ostensibly for some of the same privacy concerns and reasons last year a tick tock executive addressed concerns about personal data under no circumstances would we give that data to China in a statement Tick Tock calls talk of a ban political theater and urged lawmakers not to censor millions of Americans but a rare bipartisan Coalition is nonetheless threatening to ban one of the most popular other apps in the world Jake Ward NBC News New York we thank Jake Ward for that and we thank you for watching top story tonight I'm Tom yamas in New York stay right there more news on the way foreign thanks for watching our YouTube channel follow today's top stories and breaking news by downloading the NBC News app
2023-03-03 03:48
