Top Story with Tom Llamas - September 22nd | NBC News NOW

tonight the massive manhunt for the fiance of gabby potito multiple agencies now searching a 25 000 acre nature reserve in florida for brian laundry the only person of interest in her homicide underwater dive teams on scene our team in florida with the latest on the investigation breaking news the fda has authorized booster shots of pfizer's covet 19 vaccine shot for those 65 and older and high risk americans how soon could they be available bus stop horror three kids shot on their way to school at least one killed the search now for the gunman trump's 100 million dollar lawsuit the former president suing his own niece and the new york times after a bombshell report on his taxes but does he have a case hallie jackson reporting in blocking the border the governor of texas setting up a blockade of cars to deter haitian migrants from crossing into the u.s the incredible surge authorities confirming they have stopped more than one million migrants this year alone and the new images tonight haitians upset over their deportation clashing with officers as they tried to rush back onto a plane that had just landed in port-au-prince and the emotional testimony in the trial of former theron ceo elizabeth holmes one woman saying the company's blood test touted as a breakthrough technology mistakenly told her she lost her baby top story starts right now and good evening i'm tom yamas our top story tonight the intense manhunt for brian laundry the only person of interest in the death of gabby potito dive teams called into a florida nature reserve today as multiple agencies including the fbi combed through the 25 000 acre park authorities shifting through waist-deep waters infested with both alligators and snakes laundry's parents telling police they last saw their son more than a week ago heading out for a hike in that same reserve petito's death now ruled the homicide after a coroner identified remains found in a wyoming park as hers the exact cause of death though has not been released laundry believed to be the last person to see gabby alive the two setting off on a cross-country road trip from florida back in july but gabby's parents reported her missing earlier this month after not hearing from their daughter for two weeks and tonight another witness coming forward about an argument between the couple while on the road katie beck leads us off tonight from southwest florida tonight the search at the swamp continues a massive manhunt for brian laundry now a person of interest in the homicide investigation of his fiancee gabby petito we are trying to cover every acre in this preserve all 25 thousand of them the vast area now a grid search by all terrain vehicles canines and dive teams so far no sign of laundry who headed there more than a week ago with a backpack according to his parents you can't keep chocolate in utah potito and laundry had been documenting their cross-country trip since early august laundry returned to florida without petito september first her family reporting her missing 10 days later what's going on newly released police reports shedding more light on the couple's dispute while on the road we drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl a witness statement from a second person who saw the altercation telling police something seemed off officers stopped and questioned the couple but no charges were filed karen aberts lives across the street from the laundry's florida home and recalls watching the couple as they outfitted their van for the trip it seemed like you know your normal young couple just kind of hanging out aber says laundry would routinely go on walks with his parents sometimes with gabby too who previously lived with them are you surprised that they didn't contact authorities sooner about brian being missing i can't imagine my kid saying that i'm going for a hike and then two days later he's still not home so to me i would have been on the phone within hours after him not coming home tonight with laundry still missing potito's family no closer to the answers they so desperately seek all right katie beck joins us now live she's been following this story very closely for us here on top story katie you mentioned there in your report that the parents were taking those walks at night laundry's parents and now some are questioning their actions in recent days that's right the neighbor we spoke to tom she said she was really sort of suspicious after this happened as to why they didn't go to police sooner she said the family looked as though they were close she was seeing them engage on these nightly walks and everything to a you know to them appeared normal so now they're wondering how well they actually knew those neighbors and if in fact those neighbors knew more than they're telling police about where their son is tom all right katie beck leading us off tonight here on top story katie thank you for more insight on that active fbi investigation let's bring in a former fbi agent dr brianna fox she's now a professor of criminology at the university of florida dr fox let's go over this timeline so gabby was reported missing on september 11th laundry returns home september 1st and was allegedly last seen by his parents on the 14th are investigators now behind the eight ball here hi tom yeah they are unfortunately if we had more information sooner that's the best way to be able to track somebody know exactly where they're going and be hot on the case and unfortunately now we're behind you know you just heard that conversation we had with with uh katie there about the parents does their story add up so far it it seems to be missing some pieces and i agree entirely with the neighbor if that was my child that was missing for days or at least gone without any notes or calls i would certainly be willing to call the police a lot sooner so it does seem like there's some pieces here that are still not falling into place dr brianna fox we thank you for your analysis and we have breaking news into top story tonight booster decision day the fda just authorizing booster shots for pfizer's covid19 vaccine but not every american will be eligible for the extra protection nbc's stephanie gosk reports all eyes on the fda tonight on the cusp of deciding who can get the pfizer booster and who can't last week an fda panel recommended people over the age of 65 and those at high risk should be eligible today the cdc met to discuss who should be considered high risk now it's in the fda's hands to make the final decision which will only apply to those who received the pfizer vaccine not those who got moderna and johnson and johnson this is not the situation where we want to be where people are eligible or not eligible based on which vaccine they got i think it'd be really helpful for the fda and the cdc to come out with broader guidance across a range of vaccines keith albert is anxious to get his booster he got the johnson johnson vaccine earlier this year i'm a little bit frustrated i i would get the j and j they would come out with it but it doesn't look too promising just yet but others aren't waiting an unknown number have already gotten unauthorized boosters with little oversight to stop them dr peter grinspoon an internist at mass general says he's been bombarded by patients who want an extra dose it does put physicians in an awkward situation because people do come to us and sort of say they're desperate they're scared and they want to get a booster and who do they call they call their physician friend and say how can i sort of game the system meantime international pressure has been growing on the u.s not to widely distribute booster shots when much of the world still waits for first doses during a virtual covid summit today president biden announced the u.s will buy half a billion pfizer vaccines and donate them to low income countries calling the pandemic an all hands on deck global situation we also know that to beat the pandemic here we need to beat it everywhere all right a lot of covet headlines coming in tonight so we have stephanie goss in studio and nbc news medical contributor dr natalie azar as well joining us live on set guys thanks for being here tonight so steph i want to start with you you could sort of hear the frustration in that doctor's voice those patients who want to get the booster they don't qualify rules or rules right rules are rules the only people authorized to get the booster right now are people who have immune systems that are compromised otherwise no one else is authorized to do it but you've got people that are as he says desperate and no one is overseeing who's getting these vaccines the truth is it's pretty easy to get them dresser what are you telling patients who are asking hey can i get the boosters can you do me a solid when they don't qualify and how patient do they have to be well you know what i feel it's a little bit maybe not fair for me to answer this because i am a rheumatologist so the vast majority of our patients are actually compromised and do fall into that category but you know i really like to stick to the rules when it comes to something like this and and i want my decisions and my recommendations to my patients to be to be evidence-based and i take the extra time to actually explain to patients that in spite of some of the medications that they're on they're not necessarily immunocompromised and that they may not need the booster right now and then it might actually be better off for them to wait and i spend that time talking to patients and once you do and you kind of explain it kind of like takes away a little bit of that urgency and that sense of of out of you know that the patients feel out of control and that they're knowing that their doctor and provider is trying to do the best thing for them you know that is science-based yeah people are so nervous because of the delta variant and steph i know you have another update for us we may be coming down from the latest peak yeah this is really great news actually nbc news data shows that this latest bike which you know was fueled by the delta variant may actually be over that it may we may have peaked last week seven of the last eight days cases have gone down that's the longest sustained decrease in cases in three months tom okay that's a positive trend but dr azar what can we tell our viewers going into the fall and in the winter experts are always concerned about the fall in the winter for what reason we're moving indoors the air is cooler the air is drier and that is just a very hospitable environment for the virus and i have to also make a plug for flu shots they are available i actually got mine today i completely forgot i did not have much of a reaction um you know we are concerned about a surge in flu cases this year because we did not have a lot of flu last year so we don't have any immunity that's holding over from that so you know everyone buckle your seats seat belts if you're a candidate for a booster you will get one if you've been vaccinated with any one of the three that are authorized in the country right now you are still very well protected against severe disease hospitalization and death okay dr azar stephanie goss thanks so much for being here today we really do appreciate it okay we're gonna also follow some developing news that we've been seeing all day out of louisville kentucky the hunt is on for a gunman who opened fire at a bus stop killing a teenager and injuring two others while they were on their way to school you know across the country gun violence against children is on the rise gabe gutierrez has the latest tonight police in louisville kentucky are searching for this vehicle after a drive-by gunman shot three teams at a bus stop one of them a 16-year-old died i knew that my nephew had his whole life ahead of him and he was destined for greatness the city's police chief outraged well we can't sit here with our thumbs up our do nothing different and think we won't be back at this podium in chicago yesterday three kids were among 15 people shot in d.c five people hit including a 13 year old when someone brazenly fires into a crowd of people striking five people innocent people in this instance that's unacceptable across the country more children and teens are being caught in the crossfire gunshot injuries at pediatric trauma centers are up in fort worth memphis and hartford connecticut we have never seen this much of an increase over an extended period of time last year more than 5 100 kids were shot nationwide at least 1300 of them died this year firearm deaths are up 13 overall and more children and teens have been shot than at the same time last year why do you think that is there's been a surge in gun sales we saw with the pandemic we've seen that the pandemic we saw people released from prison the courts have been closed i think all of these things together are contributing to the number of children we're seeing who are injured by guns all right gabe gutierrez joins us live now gabe going back to that shooting at the bus stop you mentioned the top of your report in louisville the family of the teenager who died today believes he was caught in the crossfire yeah tom they say that he was not the intended target but so far police have not identified a suspect they hope that the surveillance image of that jeep with illinois plates might provide some clues tom gabe gutierrez for us tonight gabe thank you for that let's get to politics former president donald trump filing a lawsuit against a member of his own family and the new york times accusing his estranged niece of taking part in a quote insidious plot to obtain his tax records and hand them over to the times nbc senior washington correspondent hallie jackson reports a hundred million dollar family feud tonight trump versus trump with the former president in a new lawsuit accusing his niece mary trump the new york times and three of its reporters of an insidious plot to get his tax records mary trump now clapping back describing her uncle as a loser acting out of desperation the lawsuit alleges reporters from the times convinced mary trump to smuggle records out of her attorney's office and that she broke her confidentiality agreement by sharing those documents the records became the foundation of a pulitzer prize winning series published by the times in 2018 detailing what the paper called a history of tax schemes and fraud by the former president and his company the times defending its reporting calling the lawsuit an attempt to silence independent news organizations one of the reporters sued by trump tweeting i knocked on mary trump's door she opened it i think they call that journalism mr trump has never released his tax records himself breaking long-time precedent every president since the 70s has been fired from the irs but as president you know the only one that cares about my tax returns is the reporters okay you don't think the american for her part mary trump talked about her collaboration with the times in her book out last year saying then she was ready to accept any consequences i know my family to be quite vindictive and donald has a rather passionate following but all of that aside i this neat i needed to do this i felt it was my responsibility the former president repeatedly distancing himself from his niece she was not exactly a family favorite we didn't have a lot of respect or like for her i would have never said that except she writes a book that's so stupid and so vicious and it's a lie the former president they're talking about his niece hallie jackson joins us now from washington and ali you know we both covered the first trump campaign and before he was even in politics donald trump used this tactic before filing lawsuits to get what he wanted how much of this do you think is about revenge i.e getting some money and damages and how much of this do you think is about intimidation so it doesn't happen again it's such a good question tom and i think you know truly probably only donald trump can answer that one right but here's the thing you make such a good point he is litigious right that's an objective fact we know that about donald trump and this is part of that pattern he has sued news organizations in the past largely for stories that he felt were unflattering to him and even before that you had that analysis on the campaign you and i covered in 2016 that before he ran for president 3 500 plus lawsuits were filed by him or his business right so this idea of lawsuits from donald trump is not unusual here's what i'm watching for tom and here's what's particularly interesting about this suit if it moves forward right if it goes to the next phase and the next one after that it is very possible that donald trump will for example have to be deposed and under discovery there is a risk that mr trump faces that information that he doesn't want to get out there right ends up getting revealed so that is the line that is the balance it's going to have to happen on this one moving forward tom hallie jackson for us tonight hallie thank you for that as we wait to see if president trump will have his day in court we want to take a closer look at the allegations in this suit let's bring in barbara mcquaid she's a former federal prosecutor and a professor at the university of michigan law school so barbara as hallie just mentioned right there former president trump he's going after his niece and the new york times his team has accused both parties of quote an insidious plot to get his tax returns but does he stand on any legal ground here and how hard will this be to prove in court well it's interesting tom this is not a defamation lawsuit and so he is not denying the truth of any of of what has been reported about his financial records what he says instead is mary trump promised not to disclose anything relating to the litigation involving uh his uh deceased father's estate way back and that by sharing this information with the new york times she breached that contract and so he is going after her for breach of contract what's interesting here will be what does the language of that contract say the complaint says it protected the litigation she has produced the underlying document so uh there will have to be some interpretation of that contract the new york times is alleged to have tortiously interfered with that contract by urging her to produce the documents but again you'd have to show that the the contract covers this behavior but also that the new york times knew about the contract and intentionally tried to get her to breach it so that's another question that'll be before the court and i think with regard to both of them one of the elements a plaintiff has to prove is damages that they their reputation suffered as a result of this i think donald trump might be that unique plaintiff who is incapable of suffering damages those who love him don't care what happens he could kill somebody in new york shoot someone in times square and their opinion of him wouldn't change and for his critics there isn't anything worse you can tell me about donald trump that would make me think any worse of him and so it may be that he is incapable of being able to demonstrate damages but as hallie said i think uh the litigation poses some risk of discovery so it'll be interesting to watch this one on that point briefly if there were to be depositions i mean those would have to happen unless they settled beforehand correct absolutely and i think in a case like this where damages are an issue in the case even if you can prove that this contract was breached you're going to have to show what did it do to his ability to generate income and i think to figure that out you need to look at a full accounting of his financial picture uh including his tax returns and so i think this one might be more about some bluster and getting some headlines and the ability to complain that he can't get a fair shake when it comes to uh the press than it is about getting his day in court barbara mcquay we thank you for your analysis we want to head down to the southern border thousands of haitians are still sheltering under that texas bridge and there could be thousands more on the way authorities revealing they have already stopped more than 1 million migrants at the border this year nbc's morgan chesky is in del rio texas tonight tonight on the texas border these are the faces of those who don't know what tomorrow holds our crew given rare access to the camp more than 5 thousand haitian migrants still call home and this has been the closest we've been allowed to get to this camp and as we look this direction it is hard to believe some of these men women and children have now been beneath this very bridge for more than a week trying to create whatever shelter they can to stay cool everyone's future here incredibly uncertain just two days ago homeland security secretary mayorkas with this public warning to migrants if you come to the united states illegally you will be returned dhs officials tonight telling nbc news thousands of migrants who were under that bridge have been released into the united states many given notices to appear at an immigration center within 60 days to get a court date for an asylum hearing just yesterday mayorkas was pressed for specifics on the surge how many people have been returned how many people are being detained how many people have been dispersed to all points around america uh senator i would be pleased to provide you with that debt i want them now why don't you have that information now uh senator i do not have that debt why not back on the border for those who have made it to del rio texas those images of agents on horseback chasing children and adults alike are still fresh in their minds john who hides his face out of fear telling telemundo he was amongst that crowd law enforcement doubling down so this is where pretty much everyone came across right the dam where thousands crossed now empty with texas state trooper cars lining the riverbanks dps tells us up to 600 haitian migrants are now making their way towards del rio but it's the other areas that have them worried the biggest concern now is that we still have gaps along the border we have individuals that we don't know who they are where they're coming from but they're crossing into our country okay morgan chesky joins us again from the border tonight there in del rio texas morgan i want to turn to some other news that we're following haitians deported from the u.s on tuesday assaulting the pilots on board one of those flights when it arrived in port-au-prince and the images are out tonight yeah tom they are and this was confirmed through dhs documents and this happened after one of those deportation flights of several coming from texas straight to port-au-prince landed we're told a group of haitian men made their way off one of those flights on board another plane where they assaulted three ice agents in addition to multiple pilots on board that plane now fortunately none of those injuries are life-threatening but this underscores the tension that's only rising here as these deportations go up tom morgan chesky with that new reporting tonight morgan thank you next to the drama unfolding in the spanish canary islands a volcano erupting for days lava now threatening more neighborhoods on the island of la palma we have a reporter there tonight sky news correspondent haranag is there straight from the core of the earth it roars pulsing and powerful it's a spectacle not seen in half a century they can't help but watch but this old foe has consumed sways of the island of las palmas it's divided villages with putrid lava and swept away homes miguel remembers the last eruption 50 years ago but says nothing compares to this it is not comparable to this one this one has done a lot of damage the other one didn't destroy anything nothing this one is uh a disaster a disaster even picture-perfect views are being eaten away days after its eruption cumbre vieja continues to bubble and spit molten lava into the night sky that unmistakable orange glow consuming this town it could be like this for weeks and it could get worse with threats of lava flows toxic gases and acid rain as if this town hadn't been through enough as i speak to you tonight we are being covered in volcanic ash this is like the molten tap no one can turn off ashnaharanag sky news for nbc news in la palma back to you tom ashana we thank you for that report when we come back elizabeth holmes on trial once a silicon valley superstar now she's accused of defrauding investors about a blood test that did not work a former patient taking the stand saying the test incorrectly told her she had a miscarriage plus tragedy on the gridiron the 14 year old dined from a football injury reigniting the debate about the game safety and the massive warehouse fire why it took firefighters two days to put it out you're watching top story we're just getting started [Music] next on top story inside the high stakes fraud trial of former theron ceo elizabeth holmes heartbreaking new testimony from a patient that used the now shuttered company's blood test the results incorrectly telling her she lost her baby jake ward reports tonight disgraced theranos executive elizabeth holmes under the microscope first they think you're crazy then they fight you and then all of a sudden you change the world facing emotional testimony in her fraud trial holmes and her former lover and co-defendant ramesh balwani created a high-profile high-tech blood testing company valued at more than 9 billion but it all collapsed after researchers and regulators discovered the technology did not work i feel devastated that we did not catch and fix these issues faster what do you hold yourself responsible for i'm the founder and ceo of this company anything that happens in this company is my responsibility at the end of the day brittany gould the first of 11 patients to testify described hearing her nurse practitioner deliver devastating theranose test results about her unborn baby she told me your numbers are falling unfortunately and that i was miscarrying a visibly emotional gold said another company's test later showed everything was fine and she delivered a healthy baby the question before the jury now is whether she and balwani believed in their technology or committed fraud by hyping something they knew didn't work it's our actions that our little girls will see when they start to think about who do they want to be when they grow up defense attorneys for holmes argue that the company tried hard to disrupt the blood test industry just as countless companies have disrupted other industries and that it was all in good faith this says the lab test reinvented in short that's what you're doing that's the dream failure is not a crime defense attorney lance wade said in his opening statement trying your hardest and coming up short is not a crime holmes in belwani are charged with a dozen felony counts and face the possibility of as many as 20 years behind bars if convicted all right jake ward joins us now live here on top story jake talk to me about these unsealed court documents and what they tell us about the defensive strategy well those documents suggest tom that holmes may in fact call experts to testify that she was a victim of psychological sexual and physical abuse at the hands of balwani her co-defendant and ex-boyfriend she says that that was the the horror she was subjected to and it is presumed that the defense will then say that that affected her state of mind and changed in some way her intent when it came to the possibility of fraud balwani meanwhile denies those charges and his trial begins in january of next year time all right jake ward reporting in for us tonight jake we appreciate that still ahead on top story the major health update for the reverend jesse jackson and his stern message for the unvaccinated and it's that time of year again retailers already gearing up for the holiday shopping season stephanie rule in the house on top story tonight she explains why some small businesses are now get this hoarding this year's must-have gifts that's all coming up you're watching top story [Music] back now with top stories news feed a roundup of what's making headlines across the country bipartisan police reform talks have ended with no deal senator cory booker announcing negotiations on a sweeping policing bill spurred by the death of george floyd have broken down adding democrats will now explore other options in a statement republican senator tim scott blamed democrats for walking away from negotiations president biden saying he will continue to work with members of congress on police reform all right a grim milestone in oakland california the city now recording its 100th homicide this year the police chief calling it a crisis after opening a press conference with 100 seconds of silence in honor of the victims there in oakland just one of several u.s cities seen an uptick in homicides since the pandemic began an investigation tonight into the cause of a massive warehouse fire in arkansas take a look at this video firefighters in little rock battling the recycling plant fire for a second day in a row highly flammable materials fueling the blaze with tractors and propane tanks causing a series of explosions plumes of black seen for miles even detectable on weather radars a neighboring budweiser factory was saved so far no injuries reported reverend jesse jackson is back home tonight after he was hospitalized with covid19 the civil rights icon released from a physical rehab center today after he was admitted to the hospital more than a month ago while battling the virus and parkinson's jackson today telling reporters he is now urging people to get vaccinated for survival and mcdonald's is phasing out plastic toys from their happy meals the fast food giant has already started rolling out some sustainable toys with hopes to eliminate fossil fuel-based plastic and happy meals worldwide by 2025 the company reportedly testing out 3-d paper-based items all right turning now to money talks what consumers and investors need to know from the business world and beyond supply chain issues fueled by the pandemic will make those popular holiday gifts hard to find and now small businesses are trying to keep up with big box stores and hoarding toys ahead of holiday shopping season nbc's stephanie rule explains catherine newin owns three toy stores in chicago we are celebrating 25 years next month but this year she's facing shortages like never before supply chain backlogs are making it hard to get products on the shelves and with the holidays coming up there is no time to waste and i'm begging emailing texting the vendors doing whatever it is i can cajole uh them to ship me product are you now hoarding product in anticipation of shipping delays absolutely i am major retailers are facing backlogs too but to avoid extra delays and items made in other countries like china target walmart ikea and home depot are chartering their own private cargo vessels and ordering larger quantities of items they know will be in demand so retailers are chartering their vessel to invest in their consumer consumers are expecting that products are there come holiday season but as these chartered container ships set sail ports in places like los angeles and long beach are becoming increasingly congested with wait times lasting over a week so if they're chartering their own vessels it's going to hurt the backlog right now there's only so many container terminals that can offload vessels and it's very much a pay to play which makes it hard for small business owners like catherine who knows she'll be having tough conversations about out of stock items with customers this season i've never put out a holiday catalog that i wasn't certain that i would have a hundred percent of the the items in the catalog and this year fifteen or twenty percent of those products in there we won't even ever see her advice you really like it i really think that your kid's gonna want it get it all right stephanie joins us now live on set so in order for these retailers to get what they want they're going to have to pay more so that means we're going to have to pay more well they're certainly paying more those big retailers right now can pay up to 10 times what you would regularly pay what they would pay to get their products here yet even still they're struggling so for small businesses they really don't have a shot so when you think about the consumer you and me if low prices and fast shipping are your number one priority well i can promise you tom this is not going to be your year but if you're somebody who says shopping local is important to me this is your year to do it but what i really want people to pay attention to is when you make your holiday budget be aware of this because prices are likely to be up and i'm not saying oh throw in another 100 bucks you might not have that so just budget for it know that you could be paying 10 more and get ready now no it's smart give yourself a reality check you always have the best advice for our viewers what's one tip then for this holiday shopping season to not try to beat it but at least try to get what you want and save money i'm not trying to be cute i know we say it every year shop early shop early this year for real 50 million americans are expected to be shopping this month and if you're looking for a particular item i'm talking about our kids this one item get it now don't try to game this system and feel free i know you feel weird ask a store manager say what day do you get your shipments and you might want to try the store that day okay what are you getting me no it's called my press thank you so much for that we always do appreciate it all right justin tonight sources telling nbc news the fda says it will grant emergency use authorization of the pfizerkovit19 booster for americans 65 and older and higher risk americans it comes as questions are swirling over those breakthrough coveted infections for the fully vaccinated is there a cause for concern as the delta variant races across the country nbc's tom costello reports hey guys i'm out of the hospital i was in there for three days cove it hit me really hard with celebrities athletes and politicians sharing their stories of contracting covid even after being fully vaccinated it may seem like so-called breakthrough cases are becoming the norm while it is a small but growing number many experts say the term breakthrough incorrectly implies that the vaccines don't work there is no vaccine in the world that completely protects you from every infection importantly what they are supposed to do is to protect us against severe disease so just how many cova cases are there among the fully vaccinated tracking can be difficult partly because the cdc no longer tracks many asymptomatic and mild cases but the agency does monitor hospitalizations and deaths from so-called breakthroughs which indicate just how rare terrible outcomes really are as of last week the cdc says just over 10 000 required hospitalization with slightly more than 2500 deaths among fully vaccinated symptomatic covet patients that's a tiny fraction though compared to the more than 180 million americans who are fully vaccinated and more than 675 000 overall cova deaths just in the u.s still catching the coronavirus can be concerning for anyone kathleen hipps received two shots of modernist vaccine last spring then contracted covet in july i really didn't think i was that sick it just kind of felt like a typical cold and then it just kept deteriorating despite getting sick and having some lingering symptoms kathleen is still grateful her belt with covet wasn't worse i have two little boys i can't imagine them growing up without a mother i can't imagine how much worse it would have been for me if i had not had the vaccine some experts are warning we could see more breakthrough cases in the coming months partly because vaccine immunity is waning for some also due to the ongoing spread of the delta variant especially among the unvaccinated it's also why vaccine makers are pointing to data that they say shows booster shots could be a helpful tool in preventing more cases in the fall but other scientists argue that while protection against mild disease may somewhat decrease over time the vaccine effectiveness at preventing severe disease or death endures these vaccines are amazingly protective against getting severe disease landing in the hospital and dying from covid one other note here and that is concern about whether if you do get one of these breakthrough cases you may be at risk for developing long-haul cases of covid where you're sick for months on end but a new study in the british medical journal the lancet finds fully vaccinated people with these rare breakthrough cases are 50 percent less likely to get long-haul symptoms than the unvaccinated and long-haul as we've reported many times can be debilitating lung and heart issues brain fog but again far less likely in the fully vaccinated who contract these rare breakthrough cases a piece of positive news there tom thanks so much time for our america segment what's making news across central and south america mexico has filed a lawsuit against its ex-security chief allegedly linked to the sonola drug cartel the suit filed in miami aiming to recover illegally obtained assets from gennaro garcia luna the former security minister is charged with using his time in the government to ensure the safe passage of drugs and share key information to the cartel which was once led by el chapo he has pleaded not guilty and brazil's health minister has tested positive for covet 19 while attending the un general assembly here in new york marcelo quiroga testing positive just 24 hours after meeting uk prime minister boris johnson and other british officials he is now the second member of the brazilian delegation to test positive while in new york and will have to quarantine here for 14 days turning now to europe and the apparent assassination attempt on a top aide to ukraine's president authorities saying rounds of automatic gunfire you can see the bullet holes there hit a car carrying the senior officials the aide walked away unharmed but the driver was injured investigators looking into if the shooting was intended for the country's president who happened to be in new york for the u.n general assembly the president saying he does not know who is responsible this week nbc news is covering the range of extremes when it comes to our climate tonight we take you to scotland and its many iconic castles while they have survived countless attacks throughout history now they face a new enemy climate change here's nbc's keir simmons scotland known for its rolling hills picturesque valleys and rainy days but as our climate changes so does the weather towering above the country's capital the iconic edinburgh castle one of hundreds of scotland's historic sites feeling the effects i met with david harkin a climate scientist working to protect these places good to meet you predictably it's raining i mean classic scotland really yeah welcome great view though unbeatable i'd say with a history dating back almost 3 000 years it's the site's worth saving so this is castle rock it doesn't get much more historic than this i know absolutely i mean you're actually almost certainly standing one of the longest continuously inhabited places in the uk amongst the stones stories of royalty war and sieges people tried to attack this castle again and again oh absolutely yeah yeah various points throughout its history you always know places are old when the spaces between buildings are tiny with some traditions still kept alive today i'll be able to hear again soon but now the castle is on the front line of a different kind of battle last july an extreme rainstorm turned a 17th century courtyard into a waterfall it was like living through the graphs and stats that i see every day and documents and reports and journals etc but in real life so a real wake-up call the weather can quite literally shut this place down much like the old battles and the old sieges used to do this castle has fought against adversary after adversary that's right has it ever faced anything like climate change today in the 21st century climate change i would say is arguably the the greatest threat that the castle faces threat is maybe not even the right words because i would describe climate change as being a sort of present risk you know it's here now and we're already seeing the impacts of it for scientists like david the writing is on the wall so you've had what's called delamination a thin surface layer sort of has fallen off this is supposed to happen in a way um but not fast but not as fast as climate change will make it happen it's not just edinburgh castle a quarter of scotland's buildings are historic its many neolithic sites abbeys and ruins threatened by sea level rises and storms to preserve the past conservationists draw on techniques both old and new tracking decay using digital mapping techniques and maintaining sites with constant repairs with all this heritage to protect perhaps it's not surprising that scotland is a world leader in climate change mitigation by 2045 the scots aim to reduce net greenhouse gases to zero and in a rare glimpse from the castle roof beauty and vulnerability on full display you stand here and you realize how exposed this castle truly is to all of the elements that's right yeah i mean the the castle and its different structures and components will be really exposed and vulnerable to you know every passing storm we already know that scotland's about one degree warmer we know that our wettest days are getting wetter we know that our hottest days are getting hotter scotland with its rich history now working to protect its future all right kiera simmons joins us now from london and here this is something that not just scotland is dealing with but countries all over the world including the us with their own monuments and that castle we were talking about there in your report 400 years old but they're using a cutting-edge type of technology to find that water damage that's exactly right tom they're using thermal imaging cameras and microwave moisture monitors to look inside these ancient walls and figure out exactly where water is getting in and causing damage and then i guess more simply just upgrading drainage systems so that when there is a big downpour of water sometimes unprecedented the castle is able to deal with it but here there is a reality here because there are a lot of beautiful castles and forts in that kingdom of yours but not all of them can be saved correct yeah you know that's absolutely right and you know our castles here our ancient monuments are part of our historic memory they're part of our culture it really just brings home what we could be losing because of climate change tom all right keir simmons for us tonight keir thank you for that back here in the states coming up the high school football tragedy a 14 year old dying after he suffered a head injury during a game how experts say schools and coaches can try and protect players stay with us back now with that high school football tragedy a teenager dying after sustaining a head injury during a game one of several similar incidents this year and it's all adding to the debate over kids playing that sport nbc news now correspondent priscilla thompson has the story tonight teenage deaths fueling more debate over the safety of kids playing football tyler chrisman kicked off his freshman year with hopes of scoring touchdowns on the football field but that field now holds a far more tragic memory his dad writing on facebook tuesday we always knew you were meant to stand out this is not the way we envisioned it but this is what we have been dealt chrisman died this week he suffered a head injury saturday while playing in a high school game in northern new york he was only 14 years old his father jason chrisman sharing this heart-wrenching message we all prayed for a miracle to happen for you to be saved sadly the damage was just too much this is the same kind of miracle steve hamm prayed for in 2015 when his son ben was sidelined after a tackle i said ben you know who i am and he just i'll never forget it's god-awful groaning somebody recognized he was having seizures paramedics rushed the high school junior to the hospital little over a week later he was gone we made the family decision to unplug the machines and he didn't last five minutes on average over the past three years there have been around eight high school football deaths per academic year according to the national center for catastrophic sport injury research already this year there have been six and it's only september what is the actual issue here that needs to be addressed our first goal of course is to prevent them from happening in the first place but when they do happen the goal is then to act and work to mitigate any severe consequences experts say schools should have an emergency action plan in writing and rehearse it follow state guidelines to determine when a player returns to the field after a concussion keep a defibrillator and a certified athletic trainer nearby and report every incident that occurs the chrisman family is going through now what you went through what is your message to those parents i will be praying for you i will pray for strength it's been six years i'm still crying so heartbreaking to hear from that father there nbc news now correspondent priscilla thompson joins us now from the bronx here in new york city priscilla you know i have to ask you high school football is such a part of americana it's a part of so many cities across this country what are researchers exactly recommending and are high schools listening yeah so researchers tell us that those changes are being made things like having that emergency plan in place keeping those defibrillators and certified athletic trainers nearby and the federation that oversees high school football has also made changes to protect players in recent years including eliminating the blind side block and tightening rules around blocking below the waist and to broaden out and put this into context researchers tell me there are around 1 million high school football players in any given year and so these kinds of deaths are fairly rare but certainly for the researchers and the families impacted they're hoping they'll be non-existent one day tom priscilla thompson with a very powerful story tonight on top story priscilla thank you for that when we come back the unique birthday wish the 12 year old going through what so many families are in this pandemic the gift he's asking for to help save lives stay with us finally tonight the 12 year old from new jersey inspired by his own loss to make a special birthday wish for the last year gavin roberts has had one birthday wish in mind he was always saying well it's the vaccine we're gonna get that so this sunday on his 12th birthday a nurse granting him that wish he was finally old enough to get his first dose of the covet 19 vaccine she gave me the dose and we waited 15 minutes after see if i had any reaction then she gave me my vaccine card what came after was a painful side effect of longing that piece of paper a reminder of just how cruel the virus could be last year coveted 19 took his father's life police officer charles rob roberts i think it was april 21st he collapsed and then on may 11 we let him go officer roberts was just 45 years old his wife says he was healthy when he was taken down by covid he took the virus very seriously but because other people all didn't and there wasn't vaccinations then and there wasn't great testing i mean he never had the opportunity to get the vaccine alice roberts an elementary school teacher was left with three children to raise on her own throughout this whole experience we've felt that if we can turn a really sad horrible moment in our lives into something that can help people we want to do that we see the only way out of this pandemic is to get as many people vaccinated as possible a birthday wish and now the public learning this family's story they hope will help save lives by seeing us hopefully it personalizes it for people and it's a real thing and it really happened to us we're not paid actors it really happened and it can happen to anyone i hope that people just learn that it's very hard to go through and i hope no one else will i know some people are going to experience but i hope a lot of people don't experience this a 12 year old teaching us all something very important thanks so much for watching top story i'm tom yamas we'll see you tomorrow night thanks for watching our youtube channel follow today's top stories and breaking news by downloading the nbc news app

Channel: NBC News

Views: 374,378

Keywords: NBC News NOW

Id: KzhXnhhJOyw

Length: 49min 53sec (2993 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 23 2021