Transcripts For KNTV NBC 20240703

He saw that first image of them finally freed and what about the more than 200 other hostages hamas still holds . All this as israeli strikes hammer gaza. A church sheltering civilians badly damaged. Lines of trucks carrying aid for gaza stranded at the egypt border. What is Still Holding them up . Also, the house gop dropping jim jordan as their Speaker Nominee after he loses a third vote. The chaos and the new candidates jumping in. The surprise in court, a former lawyer for the Trump Campaign Pleading Guilty in that Georgia Election interference case. How damaging is it for the former president . And the new drama in the new york fraud case. The social media post that just cost donald trump 5,000. The urgent manhunt after a maryland judge is shot dead at his home. The Armed And Dangerous suspect. Was he angry with the judge over his divorce . And the voices of war. The people weve met whose lots are forever changed. Announcer this is Nbc Nightly News with lester holt. And good evening. Im tom llamas in for lester. We begin with the dramatic and positive development in the israel hamas war. The release of two american hostages, a mother and her daughter, held by hamas in gaza. Judith and natali raanan. These are the first hostages to be freed among 200 or more captured during that hamas Terrorist Attack on israel almost two weeks ago. Moments ago President Biden speaking to those two american women telling them, the government will fully support them as they recover. They happen to be Family Members of our longtime Foreign Correspondent, martin fletcher. He will join us in just a few minutes with the familys reaction. And todays Hostage Release comes as israel continues its devastating bombing of gaza, considered a prelude to an expected largescale Ground Invasion. An air strike hitting a Greek Orthodox church in gaza city late yesterday. At least 16 people reported killed. The big question tonight, will more hostages be released, and will israel delay that Ground Campaign . It all comes as vital humanitarian assistance, fuel, food, water remains stalled at the border between egypt and gaza. You see it right here. We start with chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel on the american hostages just freed. Reporter tonight, theyre finally free and safe in israel. The first hostages released by hamas, and a top negotiator directly involved tells nbc news, hopefully its just the start. Judith tai raanan and her 17yearold daughter, natali shoshanna raanan are american israelis. Natali just graduated high school. They live outside chicago. They were taken hostage while visiting families at the kibbutz near the gaza strip. I cant speak to their condition, first out of respect for their privacy, second, because we havent had a chance yet maybe its happening as we speak to get our own team in there to see them, to evaluate them, and, most importantly, to reunite them with their loved ones. Reporter the release was first announced by the hamas military spokesman, who said the group freed the mother and daughter for humanitarian reasons, and to disprove what he called false and baseless claims about the group by President Biden. Earlier today there were signs that negotiations were making progress when israel confirmed that of the more than 200 hostages, the majority are still alive and in gaza. Israel said 20 are under 18, and between 10 and 20 are over 60. Its a strong indication israel has received Proof Of Life and that information is flowing. Hamas is under pressure in gaza from israeli air strikes and from arab mediators to release the hostages. On monday the group posted a video of a woman and made an offer to release foreign hostages, but senior hamas officials then told nbc news, the group is willing to release all civilians and dual nationals with the condition we are ready to release all the civilians including the foreigners. All the Civilian S Including the israeli civilians. Can i just clarify this, you say youre willing to release all of the civilians including the israeli nationals if there is a stop including the israeli civilians and all the foreigners. What are you asking for in order to do that . Do you want the air strikes to stop . Is that the condition . Stop the aggression. How can we technically, logistically it is impossible to do it. So, our viewers might hear that and say that this offer doesnt mean anything, that if youre not willing to carry it out, it doesnt mean anything. Oh, well, if you stop the aggression, it can be implemented in the next hour. Reporter israel never stopped bombing, and theres no sign its willing to. Israel is continuing its military buildup around gaza ahead of a possible Ground Invasion, and the air strikes have been relentless. Israel says its targeting and killing hamas leaders, but neighborhoods are being flattened and civilians are dying. Today, there were funerals for 16 palestinian christians. They were taking shelter in a church in gaza damaged by an israeli air strike. Israel confirmed it attacked what it called a Hamas Command Center near the church and says the church itself wasnt a target. Were living a nightmare, id say. I hope that this ends very soon. Reporter anger is growing across the arab world, and hamas is gaining popularity. Today in the west bank near jerusalem, we attended a protest. Nearly all of the cheers were in support of hamas. Anger is growing here in the west bank. These are hamas supporters, and they say they must fight back against israel and are calling for attacks and calling for them to start right now. Calls for violence against israel and the United States are spreading in the middle east. Americas allies in the region fear a wider war could be coming, but tonight for one family, theres enormous relief and perhaps hope for others. Richard joins us live tonight from jerusalem. Richard, we dont know yet exactly how this deal came together, correct . Reporter we do not, and we dont know what hamas might be asking for in private. In the past, its asked for the release of palestinian prisoners, but we do know that qatar was deeply involved. Qatar has excellent relations with the United States. There are u. S. Troops based there, and it has relations with hamas, putting it in a very unique position to be a mediator, tom. Richard engel leading us off tonight on that breaking news. Joining us now is martin fletcher, our former longtime mideast correspondent. Those two hostages released today happen to be members of his family. Martin, thank you for joining us. I actually want to start right here with this feet they thats world. What do you think when you see it . How tired they look, exhausted. Look at those eyes. I mean, Teenager Natali and judith, its heartbreaking, but theyre free and theyre safe, and the question is, what traumatic damage has been done . Take me inside the family. How did you guys find out . How was it circulated . Were relatives calling each other . Yeah, i didnt realize i had seen the pictures. I didnt realize they were the family. Yeah, suddenly i got a call only yesterday saying that who they were, and i got to say that now the family is celebrating obviously because the fear was that maybe there was some kind of physical damage to them. We dont know yet what really happened, but i got to say one thing, families celebrating, i know this sounds incredible, there is another Family Member who is a hostage in gaza too. One Family Member was buried today killed in the same attack, and another one is still hostage. So, you know all the same family. All the same family, and this is the story of the families in that part of southern israel. A certain group, kind of people, who went to live there in the first place, and theyre all tightly interlinked. Theres other members. This is our family. Other families have suffered a lot worse. Martin, do you have any idea why these two were released . I dont. I dont. I mean, it could be it could be a matter of publicity. It could be the fact that somebody had to be released because of President Bidens speech and responded in some way. Why these two from my family, i dont know. A miracle. Were almost at the twoweek mark, and it has to have been torture and still is torture for the families of these hostage victims. Of course, it is. It will continue for a long time, and i think that the drama and the tortuousness of it is just beginning. Its bad enough to be a hostage, but when the Ground Invasion starts, israel is going to have, yes, a priority to save the hostages, but a bigger priority is to win the war, and we know from hamas is what we know from hamas. They were told, the difficult hostages, kill them. The rest will become human shields. At best, the Hostages Inside Gaza Today will become human shields. We just got back there, and every time there was a rocket boom the iron dome would go off, and you sort of flinch. I have to think for the Family Members who still have hostages every time they hear a boom, theyre thinking something different. Theyve lived with that, not the hostage situation, but the booms and the attacks for decades. I have one friend who lives down there, and i was walking with her in her kibbutz, and she said, do you hear that . No, whats that . You know what it was, hamas under the Ground Digging Tunnels inside the kibbutz. But now Family Members are in gaza and the bombing continues. Even worse. Even worse. I mean, it must be Hell On Earth for the hostages there and for the families, and theres so many families like this. Martin, do you think we see more hostages be released in the days to come . Hope so. There was talk about swapping women and children hostages in gaza for women and children held as Security Prisoners in israeli jails. Theres about 30 women and about 130 palestinian minors in israeli jails, so, yeah, there could be a hostage swap, but we dont know whats behind it. One thing im pretty sure of, in this area of the world, nobody does something for nothing. Martin, when you get a chance to speak to your relatives, these two women, what will you tell them . I just hope the remaining hostages come out. Thank god youre okay. Martin fletcher for us, thanks. Thank you, tom. And almost from the beginning of this war President Biden and other u. S. Officials have said they are doing everything they can to secure the release of those hostages. Andrea mitchell tonight with an inside look at the diplomatic efforts under way. Reporter tonight, the urgent push to get all the hostages released from gaza. They include men, women, young boys, young girls, elderly people from many nations. Reporter secretary of state tony blinken now saying the focus is on the ten additional americans who remain unaccounted for along with around 200 others. The urgent work to free every single american, to free all other hostages continues. Reporter Working With Qatar and other countries he visited last week, shuttling around the mideast, pressing them to use their connections to hamas to get the hostages out. The freed americans, judith and natali raanan, once theyve gotten medical treatment, will be invaluable sources for how the remaining hostages are being treated and held. Nbcs david rohde was held hostage in 2008 before getting out in a daring escape. Theyll talk immediately to them and see where they were held and how many others were held with them and just get a sense of what hamas is doing with all of these captives. Is there any way to find them . Is there any way to rescue them . Its a much bigger issue, Hostage Taking for civilians and for them and its allies to how to stop this kidnapping from happening. Reporter the u. S. Does not trust the terror groups promises, but hamas says it will release all nonmilitary hostages if israel halts the air strikes. Should even the air strikes be stopped to see if you could get more people out . Its very simple. Hostages should be released immediately and unconditionally. And, andrea, we know the president just spoke to those freed american women. What can you tell us about that . Reporter tom, the president did tweet that he just spoke with the two americans and let them know their government will fully support them as they recover and heal, and that he and the first lady will continue Holding Close in their hearts all the families of unaccounted for americans. Tom. A bit of good news in this ugly war. Okay, andrea, we thank you for that. Now to the other crisis in washington. More paralysis in congress where republicans today abandoned their effort to make jim jordan house speaker. Ryan nobles is at the capitol. Explain to our viewers whats next in all this. Reporter well, tom, republicans plan to meet on monday night for a new Candidate Forum where they hope to elect a new or nominate, i should say, a new candidate for speaker of the house and almost a dozen republicans have said that they are considering a run for the top job. This after jim jordan was forced to step aside. Jordan lost yet a third ballot on the house floor for the speakership, and then in a closed door meeting a majority of republicans voted that he should step aside. Now, the house has left for the weekend in search of a path forward for a chamber thats been unable to pass any legislation now going into a third week. Tom. 12 republicans. Its going to be quite a week. Ryan, thank you for that. In 60 seconds, a surprise in court, a former lawyer for the Trump Campaign Pleading Guilty in that Georgia Election interference case and what it could mean for the former president. Stay with us. The best . Egglands best. The only eggs with more fresh and delicious taste. Plus, superior nutrition. Because the way we care is anything but ordinary. Why didnt we do this last year . Before you were preventing migraine with qulipta® . Remember the pain . Cancelled plans . The worry . That was then. And look at me now. Youll never truly forget migraine. 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Part of what makes ken chesebros plea so damaging to the former president is that chesebro has now admitted that one of the central parts of this scheme to reverse trumps Election Loss was not some legal strategy, but, in fact, was a crime. Mr. Trumps legal team saying tonight that this plea was the result of the states, quote, looming threat of prison time. Then theres drama also in the Trump Civil Fraud Case here in new york, and its something that started with social media. Thats right, and its actually not as bad as it could have been for the former president. The judge handing down a 5,000 fine tonight against mr. Trump for posting a disparaging photo of the judges law clerk. Now, he took one down from his social media site after the judge made him, but he kept one up on his Campaign Website for days. Mr. Trumps attorney saying, it was all a big mistake, but the judge found it to be a violation of the order that he imposed weeks ago warning that further violations could result in potential jail time, tom. All right, laura jared for us. Laura, great to see you. Coming up, a judge in maryland shot and killed in his driveway shortly after ruling in a Child Custody Case. The father in that case now the main suspect. The manhunt for him when we come back. Like a porcelain doll. If you have postmenopausal osteoporosis and are at high risk for fracture, you can build new bone with evenity®. Ask your doctor if you can do more than just slowing down bone loss with evenity®. Want stronger bones . Then build new bone; evenity® can help in just 12 months. Evenity® is proven to reduce Spine Fracture Risk by 73 . Evenity® can increase risk of heart attack, stroke, or death from a cardiovascular problem. Do not take evenity® if you have low blood calcium, or are allergic to it. 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We are back now with the massive manhunt under way after a judge was fatally shot in front of his maryland home. The Armed And Dangerous suspect, a man whose Child Custody Case was overseen by that judge. Tom costello now on the urgent search. Reporter it happened in a quiet neighborhood in western maryland. Circuit court judge Andrew Wilkinson gunned down in his driveway. His wife and son inside the house. This was a targeted attack on judge wilkinson. Reporter the suspect is 49yearold pedro argote, police say. Earlier in the Day Wilkinson had denied argote Visitation Rights after a history of domestic violence. Law enforcement moved to protect other judges after the move. We placed officers and troopers at the local judges here in the county at their residence just as a precaution initially. Reporter the u. S. Marshals report threats against federal judges and courts peaked at 4,500 in 2021 after the last election. Last year there were 1,362 threats. Its not common for any judge to be murdered, though, in 2017 an ohio judge was shot outside a courthouse. In 2020 a gunman killed the son of federal judge esther salas when he opened the door to the family home in new jersey. Last year a former wisconsin judge was killed by a suspect hed sent to prison. Now, in maryland a judge who grew up here murdered outside his home. You had a husband and now you dont. You had a dad and now you dont. Reporter tonight local authorities are searching for argote who they warn is Armed And Dangerous. Tom. There is a Major Development involving travis king, the u. S. Soldier who was detained in north korea after running across the border in july. The army has now charged king with desertion and other counts including soliciting Child Pornography and assault. King returned to the u. S. Last month. All right, coming up, the voices of war. The people feeling this devastation firsthand. 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The terrorists were on every corner, on every vehicle you could imagine, going on the road, off the roads with missiles, motorcycles. Prepared like hollywood movie. You looked into these terrorist eyes. What type of people they are . I dont think theyre people. I mean, when you look and make eye contact with a human, you see a little bit of his soul and no soul, i mean, they were shallow, empty. I dont know how to explain it. Reporter some Israeli Americans answering the call like this father from new york. My kids, of course, ask question, my kids, you know, said, do you have to go, also when i said, yeah, i have to go. Youre ready for fight for israel and ready to fight till the end . Its not just till the end. The mentality is, well do whatever needs to be done. Reporter in gaza, a daily battle for survival. There are not enough people. There are not enough beds in the hospital. There are not enough ventilators. This is absolute carnage. There is no safe haven in gaza. Theres nothing. Theres nothing but bombs and bombs and bombs and blood and bodies. Reporter and so many children living with war. We wanted to leave the area where my father and my mother have died. Your father and brother died . Im collecting bullets. I want to keep them. Itll make me feel better. She doesnt understand although she has entered bombing into her vocabulary, and its very complicated, but our goal one day is peace. And we are thinking and praying for all those affected by this war. Thats nightly news for this friday. Thank you so much for watching. Have a great weekend. Good night. Now at 4 30 a brazen breakin. Thats what youre looking at here, caught on camera. We did speak with the store owner in the south bay cleaning up this afternoon. Good afternoon. Im audrey asistio. Welcome to nbc bay area news at 4 30. Our ian cull is at that morgan hill store right now. Hell be joining us live in just a few moments. We are tracking some other stories on this friday including caltrans getting ready for another weekend long closure. This may impact you. This time southbound highway