president biden and vladimir putin now scheduled to talk within days. terminated chris cuomo, the cnn anchor, fired after cnn says new investigation came to light about how he helped his brother andrew cuomo deadly volcano eruption in indonesia. terrible video of people running for their lives. saving christmas toy drives overwhelmed with requests from families in need but they can't find enough toys. >> we have way more requests than we have toys and lifting spirits. why this man goes so big for the holiday and how it's brought light back into his life this is "nbc nightly news" with jose diaz-balart good evening what started as a tragedy then turned into a massive manhunt, today became a gripping courtroom drama. early this morning, the parents of the suspected school shooter in michigan were apprehended after failing to turn themselves in. they were just miles from the canadian border hours later, they were in a virtual courtroom facing charges that they are partly responsible for their son's alleged four murders, and the superintendent of the school today defended his staff's actions amid accusations they missed mtie ulclear warning signs. megan fitzgerald starts us of tonight from michigan. >> reporter: tonight, the parents of the school shooting suspect in the same jail as their son after having walked into court virtually for the first time this morning >> can you hear and see the court? >> yes. >> reporter: jennifer and james crumbley charge with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter. >> how are you pleading to count four >> not guilty. >> how are you pleading to count four. >> not guilty. >> reporter: accused of ignoring warning signs prosecutors say could have prevented the attack in the halls of oxford high that left four teenagers dead. >> your honor, this is a very serious, horrible, terrible murder and shooting and it has effected the entire community and these two individuals could have stopped it. >> reporter: overnight, it was more than a ten hour manhunt to find the crumbleys after the couple didn't show up to scheduled arraignment friday afternoon. just before 2:00 a.m >> it's the possible vehicle of the two parents of the oxford situation. unoccupied perimeter has been set. >> reporter: police say they were tipped off to a warehouse in detroit where they found the couple hiding inside. >> we believe they were assisted in that location to get there, to get in and we're gathering that information. >> reporter: today, lawyers for the couple saying they were trying to coordinate with the prosecution. >> our clients were absolutely going to turn themselves in it was just a matter of logistics. >> reporter: the judge setting a $500,000 cash bond a piece, despite the defense request for lesser amount. >> our clients are going to fight these charges. our clients are just as devastated as everyone else. >> reporter: the prosecution today seeming to begin to layout its case, saying the parents were negligent, buying a gun for their son, not keeping the firearm secure. >> he had total access to this weapon. >> reporter: the defense saying prosecutors were cherry picking facts. >> that gun was actually locked. so when the prosecution is stating that this child had free access to a gun, that is just absolutely not true >> reporter: but the prosecution is already highlighting text messages and actions from the suspected shooter's parents. >> both defendants were aware that he was searching ammunition on his phone at school >> reporter: jennifer crumbley allegedly texting her son, lol, i'm not mad at you you have to learn not to get caught. then after the shooting texting him again saying don't do it >> and megan fitzgerald joins us live from in front of the jail megan, there's new information on the shooting itself. >> reporter: jose, we know it took place between classes. students and teachers scrambling to get in rooms and lock doors the school says the suspect was not able to access any classrooms an the sheriff saying at the time the suspect was apprehended, he had 18 more rounds jose >> megan fitzgerald, thank you. this tragedy put a spotlight on who besides a child might share the blame for his alleged crimes the charges >> four counts of involuntary manslaughter. >> -- nearly unprecedented. how unusual is it for parents to be charged for their child's school shooting? >> jose, this is highly unusual i would basically say it does not happen. >> reporter: unusual because prosecutors have to prove gross negligence, that the parents knew something bad was going to occur. >> what the prosecutor is saying is given what you knew, it was so reckless, so grossly negligent to allow a child and particularly this child, with this child's problems, to have access to a firearm. even if you never intended the outcome or participated in the shooting, you two parents are responsible. >> it is rare, but charges like these have been filed before in indiana, a mother was put on probation after her son took her gun to school, threatening to kill others in michigan, jamal james was sentenced to at least two years in prison after a six-year-old took his gun to school killing another six-year-old the parents say they'll fight the charges, but it is not just them under scrutiny. >> you have to go back to the fact you had school officials that had the same knowledge base as the parents, they allowed this young man to go back into school. >> remember the timeline laid out by prosecutors. monday, a teacher sees the student searching for ammunition on his phone. tuesday, a teacher sees a drawing of his depicting a handgun, someone who is shot, and the words the thoughts won't stop. help me. the school called in his parents, suggest immediate counseling when they refuse, school administrators then return the student back to his class with his backpack. >> the signals were all there. anybody who reads this literature knows these are alarm bells going off. >> he killed four students that afternoon. >> the teacher in the classroom who found the cell phone search for ammunition and then i'm not sure if it was the same teacher that found the drawing the next morning, the day of the murders, she was doing a great job. >> yeah, but it doesn't seem like it went any further than that >> somebody dropped the ball >> where does their responsibility end >> when you are caught with drugs at school or it's even suspected you have them at school, they call out police dogs, they search the locker, your bag here it is believed someone might have a gun at the school, use it to hurt other students, and they didn't bother to check his bag. >> they can tell you we are suspending your son right now, you have to remove him from the building. they didn't do that. >> in a statement today, the superintendent said police still have not said if the gun was in his bag and that before the student was returned to class, quote, at no time did counselors believe the student might harm others based on his behavior, responses and demeanor that appeared calm. and tonight the school announced they will have a third party investigation into how everything was handled. tonight, president biden is facing a major foreign policy crisis there are reports russia is planning an invasion of ukraine and late today the white house announced the president will talk with vladimir putin early next week. monica alba is at the white house. >> reporter: tensions high tonight on the ukraine/russia border as new intelligence suggest that russia is in the early stages of planning an invasion of ukraine as early as next year >> i'm not sure what they're going to do. to me, that's a terrible impact on the stability and security of our european friends. >> reporter: "the washington post" obtaining photos showin a troop build up of more than 175,000. both the pentagon and white house monitoring the situation closely. >> we're going to continue to do everything we can to help provide ukraine the capability to protect the sovereig territory. >> reporter: a diplomatic tinder box as president biden prepares for a video call with russian president vladimir putin set to take place on tuesday >> my expectation is we're going to hav a long discussion. >> reporter: mr. biden is expected to call out russia for hostile rhetoric and recent military movements. >> we often talk about saber rattling i would say in this case the saber has been drawn out of the sheath and vladimir putin is aggressively waving it in the face of the ukrainians. ukraine must stay steady, rely on the united states in this crisis. >> reporter: russia demanded the u.s. guarantee that ukraine won't join the nato military alliance. but president biden has been clear he rejects any such conditions >> i won't accept anybody' red lines. >> monica alba joins us from the white house. it is not often these two leaders talk to each other >> reporter: that's right. presidents biden and putin met in geneva earlier this year, had one known phone call since then tuesday's video meeting is the first time they will be face to face since the high stakes summit in june. jose >> monica alba at the white house. thank you. it is now very clear that the omicron variant is spreading inside the u.s. with more cases detected in the past day. what is less clear, how severe this parent may be bu researchers are looking at new information. kathy park has more. >> reporter: tonight, the omicron variant on the move, with cases detected in roughly 40 countries, at least 13 states in the u.s. health officials warning expect the numbers to climb. >> we are equipped and prepared to fight the omicron variant head on >> reporter: meanwhile, in sout africa, the first country to report cases of omicron, infections are climbing, and scientists say the new variant is spreading twice as quickly as delta hospitalizations are rising too the world health organization says no one has died from omicron, but that could be a matter of time >> it takes time unfortunately when the incidence rate goes up it takes a week or two to result in the hospital admissions or deaths >> reporter: a study suggests it shares genetic code with the common cold, making it more infectious. experts warn not to take early research to mean the omicron variant is a less dangerous form of covid. >> i think the jury is still out on that because the number of cases is low and many of these mild cases were in younger individuals who tend to get milder covid anyway. >> reporter: dr. levi is a member of the vaccine advisory committee, says scientists are combing through data on omicron for answers on transmissibility, severity, resistance to vaccines. >> that involves obtaining blood sample from people that have been immunized against coronavirus or recovered from covid and testing those blood samples outside the body to test to see whether the antibodies in the blood are able to block in the tissue culture, through the test tube, they're able to block the omicron variant, and those tests will take another week or two to read out >> do you think we might need a new vaccine all together >> i hope not, right but the jury is out. we're going to need that real world evidence. >> and kathy park, not joins us this evening. kathy, with all of the focus on omicron, what happen to, wl, delta? >> reporter: jose, that is right. delta is still a prominent threat becaus it is the dominant variant, fueling an average of 1100 deaths every day in the u.s jose >> kathy park in new york thank you. still ahead, new information cnn says came to light in its investigation into its star anchor, chris cuomo. plus, a terrifying video of people fleeing a volcano eruption we're back with breaking news. cnn has just fired one of its main prime time anchors, chris cuomo he had been suspended earlier this week following revelations he was more deeply involved in his brother's defense strategy than he had acknowledged anne thompson has the latest >> reporter: four days after suspending anchor chris cuomo indefinitely, cnn had enough, firing the younger brother of former fov governo andrew cuomo for failing to tell the whole truth about his involvement in the politician's defense the network saying we retained a respected law firm to conduct the review, and have terminated him effective immediately. while in the process of that review, additional information has come to light. cnn adds it will investigate as appropriate. andrew cuomo's political career imploded earlier this year after a series of women accused him of sexual harassment. accusations andrew cuomo denies, forcing him to resign as new york governor. transcripts and text messages made public this wee by the state attorney general office show almost from the beginning chris cuomo worked behind the scenes to help protect his brother. the cnn anchor joining the then governor's inner circle to draft public statements, prep the older cuomo for a press conference, and pass along what he thought was potentially damaging intel about two of the governor's accusers chris cuomo also tol investigators he tried to get information when asked to do so by his brother's top aide, saying when asked, i would reach out to sources, other journalists to see if they had heard of anybody else coming out. tonight, chris cuomo tweeting this is not how i want my time at cnn to end, but i have already told you why and how i helped my brother. family ties that cross journalistic lines and cost cuomo his job anne thompson, nbc news, new york. still ahead, toy drivtr sgluging to meet surging demand this holiday season. indonesia's tallest volcan erupted today. sending a cloud of ash tens of thousands of feet into the sky. on the ground, people ran for their lives, chased by vers of lava that destroyed at least one village. at least one death is reported, more than 40 injuries. blizzard warnings are up tonight in, of al places, hawaii snow is falling in the mountains of the big island with wind speeds topping 100 miles per hour, visibility in some places is zero. forecasters say that by the time the storm is over snow accumulations could total a foot christmas is three weeks from today, you're not alone scrambling for gifts this year, toy drives are facing an unprecedented amount of requests from families in need and not enough toys. savannah sellers has more >> reporter: he remembers one christmas from his childhood. >> we had no toys under the christmas tree. >> reporter: now as th pastor of another chance church, those memories fuel him. >> we're giving a family a different narrative, giving them hope. >> reporter: that's the motivation behind operation cover chicago. his toy drive that served 22,000 children in 2020. this christmas requests for gifts have more than doubled as families fall on hard times donations so far, far short of demand. pastor, last year, all these pews were filled, 15 rows back this is what we are starting with right now? >> yes yes. less than 1200 toys here. >> reporter: charities across the country are facing the same uphill battle pamela of the toy foundation say new toy donations have fallen in dollar value near l 80% compared to 2019. >> no ships come in and moving product t the stores into the hands of kids is the biggest challenge this year. >> reporter: one simple wish runs a website where donors can fulfill a foster kid's wish. >> shipping delays are really hindering the idea to get wishes to kids and young adults before the holidays come. >> reporter: still, it is a challenge organizations like operatio cover chicago are up for because of families they impact families like christina williams. >> it went from us sleeping in my car sometimes and trying to wash up in bathrooms of restaurants and things like that. and i'm sorry. >> five kids, right? >> i have five as a mother to see your child and say for christmas i don't have anything, didn't have a tree, i didn't have a living room but coming to operation cover chicago, they did not turn me away. >> reporter: now, year later, she's a member of his church and volunteering for the toy drive. >> what is it like for you to now get to help those families and see that joy >> i remember my kids when they didn't have and they were like oh, my god so, yeah for me, literally, it is priceless it is priceless. >> reporter: even during this holida scramble, hope springs eternal. savannahel srsle, nbc news, chicago. when we come back, one man's christmas mission, heart felt reason he goes so big for the holidays there's good news tonight about finding the light even in dark times and the man whose over the top christmas displays bring much needed comfort to him and so much joy to others tonight, a winter wonderland brought to life by more than 100,000 dazzling lights >> santa is here. >> and a little christmas magic. all in one home in a small new jersey town. the man behind the magic, johnny rose, nicknamed johnny clause, doing this nearly 25 years. >> why do you do this? >> when i was younger, my brother started me with it. she taught me how to do the trees, bushes, ho thuse e. all that other people like the lights i like to give them what they see. we all have a great time >> you actually got a bigger yard some years ago, right >> i bought the lot next door to make it bigger >> for johnny and his family, the most special place here can't be seen easily from the street. it is a spot they call the holy area where two angels sit on display, one for rose's daughter who passed away from cancer at age 13, and the other for his granddaughter who died only a few years ago both losses happening right around christmas. ye ah lot of downfalls, and it was always around christmas, so the only thing you could do is look forward to it and focus on one thing like we focus on the angels >> the display, shining bright to the heavens, a message from rose to those he's lost. >> as long as they're happy up there, that's what's okay. >> and he is spreading so much happiness. and wonder >> thank you over there. >> thousands travel from across the country to see the display each year, a holiday tradition. >> it is wonderful for everybody. >> we come every year. it is nice it is nice sorry. >> what's in the back? >> and a beacon of hope each december. >> it is more than just lights they're seeing, isn't it, john. >> it is the spirit. you coming there's never negative spirit here. >> and johnny starts planning next year's display as soon as he takes down this year's that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday kate snow will be here tomorrow night i am jose diaz-balart. thank you for the privilege of your time and good night enjoying the festivities. plus, the spirit of giving strong in the east bay. how a community is getting together into support afghan referees. the news at 6:00 starts now. >> the omicron variant is starting to spread as more holiday traditions returns to the bay area. some are made changes this year. >> christy smith shows us the drive through dickens fair at the cal palace. >> so far, so fun. i love they keep us happy as we waited. >> reporter: a big change from years past. but a welcome return. >> we just wanted to support the venue and all the performers and the venders and everything.

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