feature on more than 2.5 million tesla cars. lester holt joins us in new york right >> breaking news tonight, the explosive wildfires raging in los angeles as life threatening winds spread danger across southern california. homes are burning in the pacific palisades as officials order mandatory evacuations. thousands racing to get out. vehicles abandoned in the gridlock. firefighters rushing to reach those trapped. santa ana winds burning hundreds of acres and gusts of winds up to 100 miles per hour. plus the deep freeze and new winter storm warnings we are tracking. just breaking in the las vegas cybertruck explosion police are now saying it was plotted using

ai, including chat gpt. why they are calling it a game-changer. president-elect donald trump suggesting he can use the military to seize greenland and the panama canal, and the head of meta, mark zuckerberg announcing major changes and announces facebook and instagram are getting rid of fact-checkers. jimmy carter begins his lie in state beginning tonight. the member of a legendary folk trio that gave the world puff the magic dragon. remembering peter yarrow. >> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening and welcome. a wind storm -- homes are engulfed in flames in the pacific palisades section of

l.a. forcing thousands to flee and forcing an incredibly dangerous situation. santa ana winds gusting up to 100 miles per hour and spreading for acres and acres. the plume of smoke visible from lax. officials warned of extreme fire danger, the highest ert. tonight the danger has become a reality for those caught in the path. as the flames and the smoke spread today some drivers abandoned the vehicles causing gridlock for others, including our own liz kreutz who found herself flanked by fire on both sides. liz joins us now from los angeles. liz, it is a desperate situation with so many rushing to get out right now. >> reporter: lester, this is a chaotic situation. we are hearing reports of people trapped. hundreds of people are trying to get out. it is creating gridlock traffic. all of the cars are abandoned

with people who got out to get out on foot. hundreds of firefighters are working the fire right now, and all driven by an intense wind event that is just getting started. tonight panic in the pacific palisades. a wind-driven wildfire blazes through one of southern california's most iconic neighborhoods. >> it is a parking lot. >> i rushed over here to pack my belongings. i got the evacuation orders. >> reporter: multiple homes burning with residents told to get out and some people getting trapped. >> there is fire on both sidesive the road. >> reporter: many abandoning cars in the gridlocked traffic. fire crews using a bulldozer to push cars out of the way to clear a path. >> reporter: you can see flames here on both sides of the road with little visibility. >> evacuation orders are in

place for approximately 30,000 residents. households threatened, approximately 10,367. >> this is a large clock here, what looks like a beautiful family clock on the ground. there are photo albums that the firefighters pulled from the home minutes before the flames overtook it. they felt like they at least wanted to save something. >> smoke from the growing fire seen from miles around l.a. where another brush fire ignited in west hollywood. we are in the heart of l.a. where there was a brush fire that shut down the road here. all of the firefighters trying to get ahead of the wind and putting out the flames that were up in the hills. firefighters using air drops to put out the flames. tonight 19 million under red flag warnings with wind gusts expected to reach 100 miles per hour in some areas, sending

trees on to cars and power lines. >> only thing i heard was the power lines popping. >> reporter: the intense smoke creating dangerous air quality across southern california with the firefight continuing into the night where high winds are expected to further fan the flames. liz kreutz, nbc news, los angeles. >> i had to look twice at some of the wind speeds. incredib. >> firefighters are in the tropical storm fighting a huge fire where it hasn't rained in eight months. areas of red have already burned. we are now over 1,000 acres. later on tonight they get even stronger. the fire burns right down to the ocean. it will be trying to protect as many structures as possible and make sure everyone will be safe. as far as the wind gusts, even in downtown l.a. we can have gusts in the 70s. new fires will also have

explosive growth. now let's talk about the next major winter storm, dallas to little rock, i have my eyes on you. this could be historic snow amounts. dallas up to five inches and little rock six to seven inches. this will not be as big as the last storm we finished up with. >> now to the latest on the cybertruck explosion in las vegas. police providing stunning new details about the special ops soldier that blew himself up and artificial intelligence they say he used to plan the attack. police calling the use of ai a game changer. >> it has been one of the most talked about emerging problems by law enforcement officials coast-to-coast over the last year. officials say matthew livelsberger used chat gpt to use searches about laws and what he would need to set off the

explosive powder, how and where to buy the fireworks for the explosive and if he used a firearm to set off the explosive what speed a bullet would need to travel to get a powder to explode and asked ai how he could avoid detection. the nypd says ai has already been used by isis to help them make anonymous propaganda. >> very specific information. did the officials talk about the suspects writings? >> yes. the sheriff called it a manifesto and said the email sent to the podcaster is authentic, referenced drones, chinese spy balloon and other events tied to the military. >> important information. tom winter, thank you very much. less than two weeks before taking office again president-elect trump outlining dramatic steps to try to acquire

the panama canal and greenland and even rename the gulf of mexico. gabe gutierrez has more. >> reporter: in a marathon news conference at mar-a-lago president-elect trump not ruling out using economic or military coercion to retake the panama canal and acquire greenland. >> you are talking about panama and greenland. i can't assure you on either of those two. i can say that we need them for economic security. the panama canal was built for the military. >> trump saying the u.s. decision to return control in the 90s gave too much influence to china. >> china has taken it over. >> arguing the u.s. needs greenland for national security. >> you have russian ships all over the place. the people are going to vote for independence or to come into the united states. >> reporter: donald trump jr. visited greenland today, and the danish prime minister vowed his

country's territory is not for sale. but his father laying out an aggressive foreign policy, expanding the u.s. influence and even wanting to change the name of the gulf of mexico. >> the gulf of america. what a beautiful name, and it is appropriate. it is appropriate. mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. >> reporter: after mocking canada as the 51st state trump is using the idea of economic, not military force to annex the ally. >> canada and the united states, that would really be something. you get rid of the artificially drawn line and take a look at what that looks like. >> the outgoing canadian prime minister responded that there isn't a snowball's chance in hell canada would become a part of the united states. overseas trump is warning hamas to releases it hostages soon. >> if they are not back by the

time i get into office all hell will break out in the middle east. it will not be good for hamas. >> reporter: the judge says special counsel jack smith's report on the now dismissed classified documents case against trump can't be released until an appeals court weighs in. trump called it good news and a new york appeals judge denied trump's request to delay sentencing in the hush money case. >> it is a shift in the political and the social landscape proumpting big changes announced by facebook parent meta. our hallie jackson explains. >> reporter: new fallout after meta's megamove to eliminate traditional fact-checking. >> we reached a point where it is too many mistakes and too much censorship. the fact-checkers are too politically biased and created

more distrust. >> reporter: instead meta will rely on community notes or user input as part of a broader move to moderate how meta lifts contest and lifts restrictions on hot button topics and allows more politics into peoples feeds and move the trust and safety team from liberal california to ruby red, texas, days before president-elect trump retakes the white house. >> the recent elections feel like cultural tipping point to prioritizing speech. >> reporter: a political evolution for meta, four years after facebook suspended trump's acts in the wake of january 6th and months after trump accused zuckerberg of plotting against him in 2020, calling for life in prison if he did it again.ted to the trump

after the win zuckerberg travelled to mar-a-lago and now dana white is joining meta's board. >> i think they have come a long way. >> do you think he is responding to the threats you made in the past? >> reporter: what do you see as the trump factor, if you will? >> this is obviously a political decision. >> reporter: over the next four years the trump administration sets key policy on antitrust and ai, and as meta pushed into the world of artificial intelligence, new tonight nbc news found ai chatbots that seemingly violated meta's policies. nbc news review found two dozen ranging from hitler and jesus christ to taylor swift and captain jack sparrow. meta took down the individual accounts and in a statement says they are continuously improving detection methods. >> hallie jackson, thank you.

historic scene in washington as the body of former president jimmy carter arrived at the capitol rotunda. here is kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: steepedn enduring rituals and ceremony, america saluting a man who valued a humble life and attaineds it highest oefs. >> he served the people, and he left the world better than he found it. >> reporter: the honor of lying in state brings together the carter family with leaders, dignitaries, and the american people. showing gratitude and respect. >> to honor an extraordinary man, a man who modeled the virtues of service and citizenship. >> reporter: the poignant return to the beginning of where jimmy carter governed, the carter center in atlanta. the home base of the carter's global humanitarian work.

for the ourney to washington, a presidential aircraft, desiated air mission 39 carried the mission to joint base andrews,tellingnavy thememoria of the nation's 39th president. president carter began public service at the naval academy and as a nuclear submarine engineer. retracing the route where carter set a modern tradition of walking the parade route on inauguration day. once a political outsider, at rest in the rotunda tonight. at thursday's national funeral president biden will deliver the eulogy, a personal request of president carter. >> we will take a break. in 60 seconds a new government

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back now with a federal investigation into a tesla back now into a federal investigation into a tesla self driving feature owners can use to make parked vehicles come to them. here is emilie ikeda. >> reporter: the technology is head turning, allowing your car to come to you from anywhere in the parking lot through tesla's phone app and the touch of a button with no driver inside. tonight the national highway traffic safety administration is raising concerns about the actually smart summon feature in 2.5 million teslas, launching a probe over reported problems over failing to detail parked vehicles in a crash. the announcement comes less than two weeks after we aired a story on a summoned tesla. >> no driver. no passenger. it was an empty car driving itself into my car. >> reporter: our washington dc station went to the insurance constitute for highway safety to

test a of the technology. success on the first try, but a different attempt with the later attempts, and in one case almost jumping the curb. the federal investigation is considering 13 crash complaints and three media reports. tesla did not reply to our questions about the probe but online says -- >> you are responsible for your car. >> reporter: and that the technology is meant to be used in parking lots and drive ways located on private property. >> you are limited in your control. at that point you are somewhat ceding control of your future liability to a robot. >> reporter: amid the latest twist on the road with self-driving cars. emilie ikeda, nbc news. >> up next, he wrote puff the

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a gigi a giant in the music world has died. peter yarrow of peter, paul and mary whose music was a soundtrack of the 1960s social activism. he was 86. here is anne thompson.

>> reporter: this song, and many others earned peter yarrow a place in music history. he co-wrote puff the magic dragon, and as peter in peter, paul and mary took it to number 2 on the hot 100. the trio's harmony would make hits of if i had a hammer, john denver's leaving on a jet plane. the activism that marked their music and era was seen in 1963's march on washington, a performance making this bob dylan song a protest classic♪. >> the words, the specific dedication of the march. >> reporter: less well known

yarrow's guilty plea in 1970 to taking indecent liberties with a 14-year-old girl, served less than three months in jail and was pardoned by president carter, but other accusations followed. 2019 he apologized for any pain and injury he caused. actions in contrast to his popular music, a polished sound that helped to shape a generation. anne thompson, nbc news. >> coming up, the amazing connection at a bakery in chicago where their bond went far beyond the sweets. the good news is next. arthriti. ...with my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling. if you still have symptoms after trying a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq works differently. rinvoq is a once-daily pill that can rapidly relieve joint pain, stiffness, and swelling as fast as 2 weeks for some. and even at the 3-year mark, many people felt this relief. rinvoq can stop joint damage.

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ask about repatha. the las vegas bomber used chatgpt to help plan his there is good news tonight from a bakery on chicago's southside where the owner and a customer discovered an incredible connection. >> reporter: the connection started over sweets. >> pancakes were the best i ever had. >> reporter: more than ten years he had found himself drawn to gimmie some sugar. >> i wanted to have a little place like cheers where everybody knows your name. >> reporter: years later it became more as he discovered that he was adopted as a child.

with the help of an investigator they found his biological mother. >> can't tell the story without talking god, because i was led the entire way. >> reporter: led to lenoir, who had placed him for adoption when she became pregnant at 17. once the investigator found her 50 years later she only had his name and number to call, thinking he would be a stranger. >> i called him from the bakery line. >> i didn't order anything. i am thinking why. then i heard her voice. i am like miss lenoir. i am like, yeah. i am like this is lamar. >> oh my goodness. no! no! no! yeah. we went on like that. >> reporter: just as the two were making up for lost time, lenoir was fighting breast cancer and running the shop was taking a toll.

he decided to step up, quitting his job and running the bakery full time. mother and son, now together and feeding the souls of the community. laura jarrett, nbc news, chicago. >> that is "nightly news" for this tuesday. thank you for watching. i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night.

rushed over here to pack my belongings, and i got the evacuation orders right on nbc bay area news tonight, we're watching a destructive and fast moving, powerful wildfire burning through pacific palisades. we're tracking where the danger is right now and what we can expect in the coming