trapped for more than a week and the new winter threats we re tracking. protesters and police clashing in atlanta. nearly two dozen now facing domestic terror charges. the ntsb investigating after another norfolk southern train derails in ohio. our one-on-one with transportation secretary pete buttigieg. we asked should the company be forced to pause operations? jurors in the alex murdaugh double murder trial breaking their silence. what they say about his decision to take the stand. and he was the last original member of a legendary rock band. remembering guitarist gary rossington. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening, everyone. and thank you for joining us. chilling images tonight appear to show four americans kidnapped at gunpoint moments after crossing from texas into mexico on friday. tonight the fbi asking for the public s help, offering a $50,000 reward to help locate the americans who were attacked by armed men after crossin
they are safe? and can you ensure them that this kind of thing won t happen again? oh, my god. norah: americans trapped as california prepares for more snow. some residents are digging themselves out of their homes following a severe inter storm. norah: the fight for the future of the republican party. we will never ever surrender to the woke mob. for those who have been wronged and betrayed, i am your retribution. oh! i will try to do a show tonight without offending nobody. y all know what happened to me! getting smacked by sug smith. norah: good evening to our viewers in the west, and thank you for joining us as we begin a new week together. tonight nearly two dozen people are facing domestic terrorism charges after violence erupted at the planned site of a police training center currently under construction outside atlanta. police say a group threw rocks, bricks, and molotov cocktails during the coordinated attack. plus tonight we will reme
forces are close to encircling bakhmut. the u.s. is downplaying the strategic significance if russia wins this round of the war. also tonight, republicans are presented with the sharpest contrast yet between donald trump and ron desantis. we re breaking down dueling speeches by the former president and the current florida governor as they gear up for a potential 2024 primary showdown. and a series of new airline scares is raising serious questions about aviation safety here in the united states. from a bird strike that caused engine failure and smoke in the cabin to the wings of two commercial jets clipping on the many close cal? welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. we begin on the front lines of eastern ukraine right now, where the battle for bakhmut is growing more urgent by the hour. russian fighters making gains as they move to surround the city. cnn s alex marquardt is joining us live
another scary moment in the air. it is monday, we re glad you re with us. good morning, everyone. we begin with what you just saw, a southwest flight taking a terrifying turn. the cabin filling with smoke. we ll tell what you forced that plane to make an emergency landing. also new, a violent group of protesters stormed the construction site of a proposed meese and firefighter training senter in atlanta. what s behind the demonstrations. plus watch what you say. words hurt. you know, anybody that says words hurt has never been punched in the face. perhaps the vevent of the weekend, chris rock finally addressing what happened with him and will smith on that oscar stage. he comes out swinging. we ll get to that in a moment. we begin with protesters attacking the future site of a training facility that happened in atlanta last night. this is video capturing the moments that hundreds of protest ez swarmed the construction site wearing camouflage and masks. they threw
kidnapped in mexico. look at the video. you can see a man with a gun as people are being loaded into the back of this pickup truck. you also see a second man in a black shirt. you can see him in the video. he appears to be pulling the people into the bed of that truck. now the fbi says unidentified gunmen abducted the victims friday, shortly after they drove into the mexican border town southeast of mcallen, texas. cnn s kylie atwood joins us live from the state department. mexican authorities are expected to give an update any minute now. what are you hearing from u.s. officials, though? reporter: as you guys were saying, this happened on friday in northeast mexico. it s four americans who were kidnapped and assaulted in this area. now, according to one u.s. official, this was a case of mistaken identity. the folks that attacked them didn t know who they were, presumably, possibly didn t know that they were americans. but according to that u.s. official, they were visiti