Nightly News Full Broadcast - Dec. 9th

tonight tornadoes touching down in the South as a massive storm marches Northeast Twisters ripping across Tennessee this funnel cloud plowing toward Nashville live on TV this Firehouse destroyed residents trapped in homes the same storm dumping snow in the Rockies sending this van spinning where the storm is heading next also breaking the president of the IV League University of Pennsylvania resigning after criticism over how she handled anti-Semitism on campus will other university presidents b

e forced out major reversal the Texas Supreme Court blocks this woman from having an emergency abortion her lawyers say her baby won't survive birth and the mother's health is at risk what happens next as time is running out the $700 Million Man the biggest contract in American Sports history just announced Ready Set return inside the billion dooll industry of returning those holiday gifts the retailers that are now charging you to send some items back and coffee Clash the top secret McDonald sp

in-off has just opened the line 4 hours long can it topple Starbucks this is NBC Nightly News with Jose Diaz Bard good evening we are tracking a massive and dangerous storm system impacting more than 65 million people this weekend a string of tornadoes tore across parts of the South today as we come on the air Nashville is under a tornado watch and the National Weather Service is reporting homes and businesses damaged in the surrounding areas take a look at this on the left the firehouse in Ruth

erford Tennessee just hours ago on the right what it looks like now destroyed thousands are without power throughout the area and we are hearing reports of multiple injuries but the storm is far from from over take a look at this the storm stretches from the Great Lakes all the way down to the Gulf Coast and in the next 24 hours it is heading right for the Northeast We are following it all for you tonight and we begin with Priscilla Thompson in Mississippi can you see it right there tonight seve

re storms battering the South this tornado on the ground near Nashville leaving homes destroyed and people trapped an observed tornado on the ground in Clarksville Tennessee SE this massive funnel looming over these houses throughout this neighborhood the air filled with debris as tonight rescue efforts are underway to Free People trapped in destroyed homes there are some people that are injured sted that some houses have been hit moments before another twister ripping through the town of Ruther

ford were you all scared well definitely everyone around me was freaking out Ethan go captured these images and was shocked by the devastation the fire station had been destroyed there was metal everywhere this is all that's left of the fire station emergency vehicles covered by debris 65 million people in the path of this massive storm system stretching from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast marching East and creating Havoc along the way this dash cam video capturing a scary moment on a Utah hi

ghway Friday as a van slid in front of a State Trooper it caught me by surprise I miss it by a foot or two it was pretty close I thought I was going to hit him in Colorado drivers struggled through white out conditions this 21 vehicle pileup injured five State Police say shutting down Interstate 70 for hours and Priscilla joins us now from Jackson Mississippi Priscilla that part of the South is facing a risk of severe weather later tonight that's right Jose the city is at risk for damaging winds

hail and a possible tornado with the watch in effect through midnight Jose Priscilla Thompson and Jackson Mississippi thank you and that same storm system is set to create major problems in the Northeast in the next 24 hours meteorologist Angie lman joins me Angie Jose the flood alerts are already up for 54 million people stretching from Maine down to Washington DC as this system works a little farther to the east as we get into your Sunday all that moisture arrives for the Eastern third of the

country bringing the potential for some heavy rainfall some snow and on top of that the winds those Winds Don't Really ramp up until Sunday night and into Monday but they stick around for the beginning of our work week and they could be intense at times rainfall rates impressive and that could lead us to the potential for 3 to four inches of rain by the time this is all set and done we've got snowfall in parts of Upstate New York and Vermont 10 to 15 Ines in those winds 52 M hour gust possible

in Monto Jose Nantucket could inch up to 58 miles per hour so down trees and power lines are a possibility Angie lastman thank you so very much our other big story tonight the president of the University of Pennsylvania has just resigned it comes following a contentious back and forth in Congress this week over her comments about anti-Semitism on campus George Solis reports from pen my comments in the basic idea that after days of mounting pressure president of the University of Pennsylvania is

now out the Ivy League school board of trustee chair writing in a letter that President Liz McGill has voluntarily tendered her resignation during 5 hours of congressional testimony on Tuesday it was just a momentary exchange that created a firestorm for the University head I am asking specifically calling for the genocide of Jews does that constitute bullying or harassment if it is directed and severe or pervasive it is harassment if the speech becomes conduct it can be harassment yes conduct m

eaning committing the act of genocide New York congresswoman Elise stonic pressed the president of Penn Harvard and MIT in a hearing about anti-Semitism on University campuses M Gill's failure to flatly reject calls for genocide resulted in widespread backlash including from the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral Clarity and Liz McGill failed to meet that simple test following the hearing McGill attempted to clarify her remarks with this

video I was focused on our University's long-standing policies aligned with the US Constitution which say that speech alone is not punishable I was not focused on but I should have been the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate it's evil plain and simple but that video didn't quiet her critics with some of the school's Mega donors threatening to pull hundreds of millions of dollars the trustees lik

e letter to pen Community today quoting Miguel saying it has been my privilege to serve as the president of this remarkable institution George Solis is on Penn's campus Tonight George what comes next yeah according to that letter from the board chair Liz McGill will remain here at pen as a tenure faculty member and in the coming days plans will be announced for interim leadership here at pen Jose George sois in Philadelphia thank you that anger boiling over at colleges comes as the war in the Mi

ddle East reaches a new level of desperation today we're learning new details about the death of a hostage during an alleged rescue attempt by Israeli forces hlee Jackson is in Tel for us tonight Israeli strikes pounding Gaza tonight as we're learning more about an Israeli hostage killed there 25-year-old Sahar baruk seen here in this video released by Hamas they claim he died in an Israeli rescue attempt but Israel late tonight blames Hamas for his death the IDF also says it tried to free hosta

ges in a raid in which two soldiers were badly hurt it's only the second time the IDF has publicly acknowledged trying to rescue abducted Israelis private Ori Meades freed during the first attempt in October in Tel Aviv tonight other now former hostages released in last week's truce describing how every day felt like hell in captivity barely fed barely sleeping constant fear Shuki Benjamin's brother still is not home kidnapped as he learned just last week at least after you know 56 days we know

we have some information about him for yarden gonan a devastating Hanukkah without her sister Romy my family and I were not lighting candles this year because our light is in captivity Israel hunting Hamas including in schools they say like this one in the north and releasing this video of soldiers ripping open a stuffed teddy bear inside a rifle guys all this is inside all this is inside the school that we see right now NBC News has not verified that footage in the south of Gaza which used to b

e a safe Zone the injured flooding a hospital after air strikes at another hospital a child in the arms of a first responder and near the border at this Camp people lining up for bags of flour desperate for food the Biden Administration saying another border crossing is expected to open soon to help inspect Aid trucks even as the UN Secretary General warns Gaza is on the brink of a humanitarian collapse and Hale joins us now hie we're seeing more Fallout from that us decision to block a United N

ations security Council V to call for an immediate ceasefire that's right Jose there's new praise tonight from the Israeli Prime Minister but condemnation from others like Syria with Iran warning us support of Israel could explode the situation Jose H Jackson in Tel Aviv thank you tonight an urgent twist in the country's battle over abortion the Texas Supreme Court has blocked a ruling that would have allowed a pregnant woman to get an emergency abortion which she says she needs to protect her l

ife Liz CZ has more tonight a major legal battle over abortion rights unfolding in Texas with the state supreme court stepping in to temporarily block a pregnant woman from obtaining an emergency abortion she's seeking after learning her fetus is nonviable I am extremely disappointed but not really surprised Molly Dwayne is the attorney represent 31-year-old Kate Cox the pregnant mother of two suing the state claiming she's being denied care because of Texas's 6 week abortion ban Cox who is 20 w

eeks pregnant recently told NBC news that doctors said proceeding with her pregnancy could pose significant risk to her own health and her ability to have more children in the future I was you know shocked when I found out I would not be able to get the medical care that I need know here in my home state on Thursday a Texas judge ruled that could terminate her pregnancy but overnight the state supreme court temporarily halted that ruling in response to an appeal from State Attorney General Ken P

axton This legal battle now becoming one of the most high-profile abortion cases yet since the US Supreme Court overturned Row versus Wade in last year's Do's case what is the significance of this case in terms of the broader debate over abortion access What's significant here is that we're now trying to hammer out some of the nuance of the Supreme Court's decision in DOS and what we're finding is that things are a lot more complicated than simply the right to abortion or not the right to aborti

on issuing a temporary stay on the lower Court's decision will now give the Texas Supreme Court more time to issue a final ruling but Cox's attorney says meantime Cox's health is in limbo for Kate this is health care that every hour every minute certainly every day really counts Liz given the urgency of this case what comes next well Jose a decision from the Texas Supreme Court could come at any time but Cox's attorney says time is really of the essence that Cox has already been to the emergency

room four times due to complications from this pregnancy Liz critz thank you very much coming up MC mystery revealed the new McDonald's spin-off finally open can it take on Starbucks also MLB's new $700 Million Man the team that landed the baseball star with an astonishing New Deal [Music] it is the McDonald's mystery that has left fast food fans hungry for details what is their secretive new spin-off chain today we have our answer Maggie vesa reports from the restaurant opening outside Chicago

as the golden arches prepares to enter the battle for your coffee cash hi welcome to Cosmic how may I help you today tonight the hot new contender in America's coffee Wars finally unveiled after a McFlurry of Mystery complete with a super sized rager in its parking lot we cut it off coming this way America's first ever cosmics is bringing suburban Chicago traffic to a standstill today's drive-thru line stretching for more than a mile through this Bowling Brook shopping center wait times topping

4 hours I have been waiting this line since 9:45 this morning so it's been it's about 117 right now I have my my order unposted I'm ready to go you got your order written out we wrote at home fresh off Friday's grand opening cosmics is the for now drive-thru only side Venture of fast food giant McDonald's hi people Cosmic here I popped in from outter face though it's named for an 80s era McDonald's character cosmics may be a nod to the Future this is McDonald's taking aim at Americans love for

customizable drinks what the company's CEO called a$ 100 billion doll industry dominated by coffee icons like Starbucks and Duncan so McDonald's wants a piece of this business because it's very profitable and it's profitable because customers will visit frequently during the course of the day they will add flavors that will cost them a little bit extra and they're often very loyal can I get a an island pickme up punch please on our trip through the drive-thru menu choices seemed endless how insa

ne has this been insane with nine more cosmics slated to open Nationwide next year the question can this fast food giant Drive American coffee addicts to start saying I'm loving it m that is really good that is really good Maggie vesa NBC News Bowling Brook Illinois still ahead we take you inside the new ways retailers are trying to make returns easier what you need to know before you hit the stores we're back with an astonishing Major League Mega deal Angels player sh Otani just made a $700 mil

lion deal to play for the LA Dodgers it's the biggest Sports contract in American history it came after a wild bidding war for the free agent T is the rare two-way player who both pitches and hits and it was a lucky night for lottery in California take a look at this gas station it's a Chevron in Southern California listen to this it sold two winning Mega Million jackpot tickets last night both winners will split the nearly $400 million jackpot with more of Us shopping online this holiday season

sending stuff back isn't always easy in fact it can be a real headache but now some companies are working to make returns a whole lot easier but others could cost you here's Jake Ward with what you need to know before you buy inside this Southern California warehouse they are preparing for their Super Bowl this December we're looking at you know millions of returns they come in by the truckload boxes and boxes of clothes that didn't fit and toys that weren't wanted and they say business is boom

ing last year Americans returned nearly a trillion dollar worth of stuff but the process it's just a hassle it be a little bit annoying to leave my house and stand on long lines the process of returning something is terrible if you returns are really they're the worst part of shopping online David soia is the CEO of happy returns one of several companies springing up trying to make returns easier over 800 companies including L and and everlane work with them they have 10,000 drop off locations a

round the country and they don't require boxes or labels we joke in our office the tape is a four-letter word just bring your product in a QR code and leave it and happy returns is not alone Amazon allows you to drop off an item with no box at various stores return mates will pick up right from your door for a fee Target lets you return without getting out of your car but someone's got to pay for it and sometimes it's you retailers are bearing this burden of the free returns and so now they're t

rying to balance their books recently bigname retailers like Amazon and H&M have started charging for some returns so it's up to you to learn the system first check the return policy how long do you have and are there any hidden fees some charge you to send it back While others offer free return shipping but there may be a restocking fee getting to the happy returns Warehouse is half the journey we've sorted them by Merchant and now we've taken all of lands and returns and we prepare those items

to be sent back to land end in bulk right on trucks that leave here so this really is like a like a fulfillment center in Reverse that's right and they're ready for when the season of giving turns into the season of giving it back Jake WD NBC News Santa CL the California when we come back there's good news tonight the firefighters stepping up with hugs and haircuts to help one of their own there's good news tonight so often the good news doesn't get as much attention as the bad so every Saturda

y we highlight the many people who spread joy and love these are just some of those stories this week in California that's Jena nun surrounding by Family waiting to get the results of her bar exam I at last the results they'd all prayed [Music] for she's a first generation Salvadoran American who always dreamed of being a lawyer my parents are imigrants from El Salvador um they're Farm Workers and I think this moment was like a big moment for our entire family it feels like the American [Music]

dream and in Connecticut there was this sweet connection caught on camera between UPS driver Frank Sims and 2-year-old Owen May who lives on Frank's delivery route you're welcome I love you oh I love you too Mom Lillian watched from the driveway as her toddler gave Frank a hug thank you hi buddy how you doing how you been the pair reuniting again during the busy holiday season look what I got for you bring joy and love in this world nowadays it's like it's what the children should know and look

at this little fighter from Pennsylvania that's Ellie Cordes the first grader now cancer-free is getting her chance to shine and come on right over we here she was the guest of honor Who lit up Pittsburgh's downtown Christmas tree 2 [Applause] 1 you lit the tree Alie awesome and in Virginia moving show of support for Christiansburg firefighter Jeremy Compton the dad of three undergoing Cancer Treatments was getting his head shaved at the Station House when suddenly his fellow firefighters one af

ter another after another cut their hair too did you know all the brothers were going to get their hair thing uh no I did not I was blown away fellow firefighter Mike Hutchinson says they're all in this fight together it was an no-brainer when Jeremy started to lose his hair I was going to be there Jeremy you know this guy by your side is not just brother but body's become family to you I'm blessed with the support that I have you know thank you is is not enough I tell them all the time you know

the only thing I can tell you is thank you that's NBC Nightly News for this Saturday Kate snow will be here tomorrow night I'm Jose Diaz BL reporting from New York thank you for the privilege of your time good night 1 two three yay thanks for watching stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social media