hope more hostages will be set free and those recently released reveal new details about their time in captivity. also breaking, a suspected serial killer caught in los angeles after four people were killed this week how they found him the press conference late today. >> making this suspect responsible for the murder of four individuals over the course of four days. expelled congressman george santos vows revenge. how he's now trying to take other members of congress down with him. a shocking new report on air traffic controllers, caught showing up to work drunk or high or asleep on their shift what it means for air travel safety and we take you to the polar bear capital of the world. why bears are invading the town at a record rate this police car chasing one away >> there's been six that have tried to walk in the town today. yes. ♪ >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with jose diaz-balart. good evening the prospect of another cease-fire between israel and hamas and the release of more hostages is seeming far less likely after the violent events of today israel pounded the south of gaza today, the same region they told palestinians in the north to evacuate to. and hamas launch a barrage of missiles towards israel. on the diplomatic front a high-ranking hamas official said there would be no further release of hostages until the war is over. while at the same time, israel pulled its negotiating team out of qatar, the country which had been the intermediary between israel and hamas amid all of this, a massive rally in tel aviv to call for the release of the hostages. there, we heard from some of those released in the past week for the first time raf sanchez is covering this all from tel aviv, and a warning, some of the images are hard to watch. >> reporter: tonight, israel's offensive in gaza back in full force. palestinians under renewed bombardment one day after a fragile truce collapsed. israel strike focussing on the south of gaza, the same area it told civilians to evacuate to. at a hospital in southern gaza, this boy, one foot gone, his other leg amputated. she fled northern gaza hoping for safety instead, her son mohammed was killed in the south. we ran away from death and we came to death, she says. and after seven days of calm prospects of another truce now seem remote. netanyahu ordering his negotiators to pull out of talks in qatar thousands gathering in tel aviv tonight, hearing testimony from freed hostages you feel like you want to pinch yourself and wake up from this nightmare, she says. >> it's torture. it's the worst torture really. >> reporter: iris parents, americans, judy and gaud were on an early morning walk when hamas attacked her mom calling paramedics just after 7:00 a.m she said two terrorists on a motorcycle shot her and my dad that my dad is probably dead and that she's wounded she's basically the last elderly woman in gaza right now. and yet she's not out. my assumption is they can't find her. i could be wrong you never know with hamas. >> reporter: if you could speak to her now, what would you tell her >> oh my gosh, mommy, i love you so much. i will do and am doing everything to get you back >> and raf with the renewed military offensive we are getting reports of significant fatalities in gaza >> reporter: jose, the hamas-run ministry says around 200 people have been killed since the collapse of the cease-fire, on top of the more than 15,000 killed in the first seven weeks of fighting. jose >> raf sanchez in tel aviv thank you. back in this country, it was just announced that a possible serial killer was arrested in los angeles after four people were killed this week. now, we are learning new details about how is suspect was caught. dana griffin is in los angeles with the latest. >> reporter: tonight, los angeles police say a nighttime killer targeting the city's most vulnerable has been caught >> 24 hours ago we announced there was a killer on the loose. now he is in custody >> reporter: connecting the suspect arrested this week for allegedly killing an l.a. county employee to a string of murders of men, experiencing homelessness 33-year-old jerrid powell is accused of killing 42-year-old nicholas simbolon in his garage tuesday after following him home the same week, investigators say he also shot and killed three men overnight as they slept on the street >> the result of their work has positively identified the handgun recovered from mr. powell's car as being the murder weapon of our three homicides. >> reporter: punctuating the vulnerability of people without shelter. overnight in las vegas, five unhoused people were shot, leaving one dead investigators not connecting that case with the murders in los angeles. >> this is quite a bit different than that, but if our investigation takes us that route, then we'll go there. >> reporter: before today's announcement, los angeles homeless advocates were out warning the city's estimated 46,000 unhoused to not sleep alone. and while the arrest brings some relief, the killings expose an on going concern. >> they always sleep with one eye open so with this, it's unfortunate but the reality is it's another day for them. >> it's sad that, you know, somebody is actually doing that because we didn't ask to be like this, you know what i'm saying we didn't ask to become homeless. >> reporter: police had used these grainy surveillance photos pleading to id a man they already had in custody. >> dana griffin joins us from los angeles. we're getting new details, dana, on how they tracked down the alleged killer >> reporter: jose, investigators reveal that the suspect's vehicle pinged a license plate reader in beverly hills. having had that system not been in place, the suspect may have killed more. jose >> dana griffin in los angeles, thank you. now to politics. former congressman george santos is threatening revenge on his former colleagues in congress, just hours after he became the sixth house member ever expelled from the house aaron gilchrist has the latest. >> reporter: one day after george santos' historic expulsion from the house of representatives -- >> congressman what do you say to your constituents. >> excuse me you guys have to get out of my way. >> reporter: santos making clear he's not going away quietly, taking to social media and going after his former colleagues, promising to file monday morning ethics complaints against new york republicans nick lalota, nicole malliotakis and mike lawler, as well as new jersey democrat rob menendez, each of them dismissing santos' threat he is a scorned and known serial liar menendez spokesman saying we will not expend any energy responding to his botox-fueled fits of rage 311 house members voted to remove santos on friday. 105 of them republicans. his name almost immediately removed from his now former house office, moments before the locks were changed the ouster coming on the heels of a house ethics report that said he used campaign money to pay for designer clothes and casino trips and after federal charges that he defrauded donors and laundered campaign money santos has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. >> i need people i can work with and george santos just took up space. >> reporter: new york's governor saying she'll announce a special election date to replace santos soon a crucial contest that could narrow the gop's already razor thin margin in the house voters in the empire state's third congressional district seem ready to move on, too. >> i'm hoping that both sides vet their candidates very strongly so we don't have to go through something like this again. >> aaron, with santos' former position as a u.s. congressman give him any special bearing to these ethics complaints he says he's going to file >> jose, it does not really. anybody can make a submission to the office of congressional ethics, but a submission does not automatically mean an investigation. jose >> aaron gilchrist, thank you. on the campaign trail, the battle for iowa is heating up with former president trump and florida governor ron desantis both campaigning today it comes as trump was handed new legal setbacks in court in just the last 24 hours. dasha burns reports from iowa. >> we're going to win the iowa caucuses -- >> reporter: at a campaign rally in cedar rapids, iowa, tonight, former president donald trump kept his focus largely on president biden and the general election >> joe biden wants to make this race a question of which candidate will defend our democracy and protect our freedoms i say to crooked joe, and he is crooked. the most corrupt president we've ever had we will win that fight, and we're going to win it very big >> reporter: the rally comes on the heels of the latest legal setback for the gop front-runner a federal judge denying two motions by mr. trump's lawyers to dismiss the election interference case against him. >> i'm being indicted for you. thanks a lot i appreciate it. >> reporter: trump's appearance in iowa today providing a political split screen with one of his main republican rivals. >> you ready to make history, iowa >> reporter: florida governor ron desantis completing his tour to all of iowa's 99 counties today. appearing alongside the state's two most coveted endorsements, governor kim reynolds and evangelical leader -- bob vander platt >> we need somebody to know they fear god they don't believe they are god. >> reporter: in an interview for nbc's "meet the press" -- desantis made his case to moderator kristen welker >> is iowa do or die for you, governor >> we're going to win iowa i think it's going to help propel us to the nomination. but i think we'll have a lot of work that we'll have to do beyond that. i don't think you take anything for granted. >> reporter: and while former south carolina governor nikki haley wasn't on the trail in iowa today, she's been rising in polls around the country and here as well with many caucus goers still considering their options ahead of january's first presidential contest >> dasha, donald trump has a large lead in the polls coming out of iowa. what's the significance of his appearance there today >> reporter: well, jose, trump believes if he can win big in iowa, he can effectively end the primary. but iowa is notoriously unpredictable. desantis or haley can defeat him here they could make the case to the rest of the nation they are the alternative to lead the republican party jose >> dasha burns in cedar rapids, thank you. don't miss "meet the press" tomorrow morning for more of kristen welker's exclusive interview with florida governor, ron desantis still ahead tonight, a disturbing new report about air traffic controllers drunk or high on the job. as we take you to the small town being invaded by polar bears. we are back with a shocking new report about air traffic controllers, some allegedly showing up drunk or high to work jesse kirsch has the details >> reporter: tonight, disturbing new allegations and questions about the safety of american air travel >> that was shocking >> reporter: according to "the new york times," over the past two years, multiple air traffic controllers had been reported for falling asleep on the job. others allegedly districting traffic under the influence of alcohol and illegal drugs. the "times" reports one air traffic controller showed up to work drunk joking about making big money buzz, and anothe routinely smoked marijuana during breaks. >> it's a very, very difficult job. and you wouldn't want anybody impaired with drugs or alcohol in that environment. >> reporter: citing dozens of interviews and government documents, not reviewed by nbc news, the newspaper describes an overworked staff, at times struggling with mental and physical health. michelle hager says she's a former controller who regularly worked six days a week >> that is not a sustainable lifestyle to be working that hard at a job that requires so much mental focus at all times >> reporter: thousands of controllers retire, 77% of critical atc facilities are understaffed according to a recent government report shortages coming with serious close calls at u.s. airports also under scrutiny. 23 this year alone >> southwest abort fedex is on the go >> reporter: like when a fedex plane almost landed on top of a southwest jet in austin, texas tonight, the faa calling "the new york times" report not reflective of the overall high safety standard that exists throughout the national air space. the air traffic controllers union writing the article does not portray the professionalism and skill with which air traffic controllers perform their complex and stressful duties everyday but both the union and faa acknowledge there are staffing issues, something the faa says it is working to fix with so many lives at stake. jesse kirsch, nbc news we're back in a moment with close-encounters up north with polar bears and why police cars like this one are chasing them now more than ever now to our climate challenge series and a growing problem in the polar bear capital of the world. a polar bear invasion is overrunning a small town very far north in canada because there isn't enough ice in their natural habitat. anne thompson went there to see it for herself >> reporter: polar bears draw tourists to tiny churchill, canada here where the forest stops and the tundra starts they come to see the bears make their annual track to hudson bay sea ice to feed on seals. want to know how close you can get? take a look. we're about 12 feet from this polar bear >> reporter: fine from a protected buggy, but dangerous -- >> a bear in our house >> a bear in our backyard. >> reporter: when hungry bears come to town and when they are spotted, conservation sergeant ian van ness gets the call. >> and we're going to be there in about one minute. >> reporter: his polar bear alert team on this day tracking bears at 5:00 a.m. in the town of 900 people. >> judging by the size of the tracks it's a sub-adult. >> reporter: one of the bears was spotted near our hotel it was a juvenile. the warning shots woke us up when they find one of the bears -- >> we'll usher them to the west. >> reporter: they fire shot blanks in the air to scare it away >> it's all about trying to steer that bear in the right direction. >> reporter: by afternoon, it's a day to remember. >> there's been six that have tried to walk in the town today. >> six >> yes >> is that an unusually high number is that the most in one day? >> today set the record for this season >> reporter: government officials say this year they're seeing more than twice as many bears in town compared to 2022 on the tundra where the bears belong, polar bear international's jeff york says the lack of sea ice due to climate change is the problem. >> the longer these bears are on shore, the more likely they're going to start looking for alternative versus nutrition that could be communities, could be human food, it can also be other bears. >> reporter: how hungry are these bears? >> these bears have been generally fasting for five months >> reporter: an issue we first saw in 2013. as a result, polar bears like this mother and cub that you see behind me, they now must spend an extra month on land, ten years later, the risk is even greater. researchers say the polar bear population here in western hudson bay has declined 27% in the last five years. the bears are smaller and this year the sea ice is taking even longer to form inside the tundra buggy, york shows us what's happening. >> you can see in hudson bay, there's really no ice at all >> reporter: if this was normal, how much of hudson bay should be frozen >> historically by now we would see ice coming well down in the fox basin and see ice forming around the shelf, especially down here in the corner around churchill. >> reporter: increasingly putting churchill in danger. next year, york hopes to add something called bear darts. >> status alert. >> reporter: to detect threatening bears. so jeff, what is this? >> this is a tower this is the bear dart. >> reporter: this is it? but churchill mayor mike spence is just as worried about the other threat, the changing climate. how much do you worry that one day churchill will no longer be the polar bear capital of the world? >> well, i mean, yeah, i think of it at times naturally we're proud of the fact that this community is pretty special. that there's no other place like it so we do our part to make sure that we can continue to coexist. >> reporter: a town doing its part, hoping the rest of the world does the same. anne thompson, nbc news, churchill, manitoba. when we come back, there's good news tonight about the magic of seeing snow for the very first time. ♪ ♪ there's good news tonight. you know, often the good news doesn't get as much attention as the bad, so every saturday we highlight the many people who spread joy and love. these are just some of those stories this week. >> for the win. >> reporter: if winning the game wasn't enough for university of washington kicker grady gross -- >> i'm thankful for grady gross. [ cheers and applause >> reporter: this is the moment that changed his life. >> and you know what all grady gross is thankful for, the scholarship he earned. his coach surprising him with a scholarship. >> all the hard work. >> reporter: his years of dedication as a walk-on paying off. [ cheers and applause ]. >> reporter: in california, another athletic achievement was heart. that's cardiologist dr. steven lone, running a half marathon. alongside him, greg gonzalez and michael hyalman. a year ago, all three ran the same race, but separately when -- >> cardiac arrest at the finish line. >> reporter: dr. lone saw greg and michael both experience cardiac arrest at different points in the course, saving them each with cpr and an aed shock. the three vowing to run it again once they made full recoveries and crossing the finish line together. >> i started crying 50 yards from the finish line. >> it was great to have the release of finishing and having done it all together was extra special. >> reporter: and in michigan, sixth grader sledding for the very first time. he had just moved to michigan from venezuela and had never seen snow before that's when his teacher, katie lilmars had an idea. >> i saw esteban and said, we have a sled, we're going to go sledding. >> reporter: and she brought the whole class along. >> it was so cool. and it brought a tear to my eye. ♪ and in ohio, the magic of the holiday season on full display. >> three, two -- whoa. >> that's 3-year-old brooks and 2-year-old blake desanto. >> what do you guys think? >> reporter: marveling at a tree decorated just for them. get this, it's not the desanto family tree. it's the neighbor's, the robinson's tree. >> our kids think that is their christmas tree that is up year round. >> three, two -- >> reporter: for two years they decorated the tree for brooks and blake. >> that little effort or that little gesture was kind of a big deal to brooks and blake, wasn't it >> the second they lit that tree, it was just, you know, just amazing >> reporter: the tradition lighting up the season for both families >> we just want to bring joy to the neighborhood. >> it's something really small that we can do that makes a big difference for other people, so we're happy to do it every year. >> whoa. >> that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm jose diaz-balart thank you for the privilege of your time and good night right now at 6:00, putting a dent in san francisco's housing crisis. hard work by volunteers giving new homes to families trying to make it in the bay. also, the temporary truce is over. the calls for another cease fire between israel and hamas. the news at 6:00 starts right now. thanks for joining us. i'm terry mcsweeney. >> i'm gia vang. we know how hard it can be to make it in the bay. today that dream of becoming a homeowner was made a reality for several families. >> thanks to habitat for humanity, eight families have new emergency efficient forever homes. christie smith gives us a look inside and shows us what it means for those families. >> we are super excited to get the finalization of everything being done. >>

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