Transcript of Top Story with Tom Llamas - Oct. 4 | NBC News NOW

Tonight, Americans in crisis more than a week after Hurricane Helene slam the south, the situation growing even more dire. The frantic all-out search by land and by air as hundreds remain missing trapped in the mountains, the National Guard, airlifting survivors and animals to bring them to safety, the lack of communication hampering rescue efforts, and the desperation as tens of thousands remain without running water. Our Sam Brock on the ground with the grassroots efforts to deliver supplies to communities completely cut off. Plus the concerns tonight over the next storm that could hit the South. Also, tonight, country star Dauley Parton pitching in with hurricane relief efforts. Dauley putting a twist on her song Jolene, changing the lyrics to Helene as she calls on others to step up. The massive donation to help the people in her home state of Tennessee and beyond. Hurricane politics former President Trump touting false claims alleging the Biden administration used disaster relief funds on migrants. How Vice President Harris is firing back and the urgent warning from the DHS Secretary over a lack of funding for the next major storm. Escaped from Lebanon, hundreds of thousands fleeing the country as fighting intensifies.

The massive blast in Beirut as Israel targets a meeting of Hezbollah leaders and the wife of an Israeli-American hostage speaking to Top Story, how she's holding on to hope that he will one day get to hold his children, including his newborn, coming into the world while his father was in activity. And did she do it? A Special Forces operative reported missing after never showing up for work. His wife arrested after telling an informant she fatally shot him in his sleep. The alleged cover up and what we're learning about her arrest. Plus, finding a way to prevent ovarian cancer, the new hope a vaccine could eliminate the deadly disease. Top story starts right now. Good evening. Tonight marks more than one week since Hurricane Haleen brought what was once considered an unimaginable catastrophe to the south. At this hour, people are still searching for their loved ones as a death count continues to rise. New video as the National Guard airlifts several people and their pets left stranded in the aftermath of Haleen's wrath. Search and rescue efforts facing major obstacles, including treacherous terrain and a complete collapse of communication in parts of the region. Surreal scenes of the storm still emerging.

One person taking this video, looked closely from his third-story apartment as an entire shipping container floats past his home, crunching into a power line pole. Take a listen to what happened next. Come on, baby. Miss us. It's going to hit the pool, though, right here. It didn't hit us. What you're seeing there are floodwaters pushing a building belonging to the Asheville Tea Company, narrowly missing their building but colliding into that pole. Drone video showing roads still remain impassable and debris is scattered everywhere. Some residents liken the situation to a war zone. Also, there are long lines of people waiting to get clean water, as you can imagine. The water system completely damaged, and it could be weeks, if not months, for treatment plans to get back up and running. In a moment, we'll speak with a relief group about what it's like on the ground right now. Still, 700,000 remain without power in Georgia Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Communities coming to grips with the grim reality as harrowing stories of survival continue to come to life. Mbc Sam Brock, again in the Storm Zone with the latest. In the early morning hours, helicopters are already hovering over homes, and private choppers whisking away supplies to the mountains.

The sounds of a frantic search for survivors a week after Helene made landfall. Surreal. Apocalyptic. Yeah, it's constantly in the sirens back and forth. Official fatalities standing at more than 220 for six states, and in battered Bunkum County alone, more than 70. But there are significant discrepancies over the hundreds missing figure, which officials couched last night. That's It's a communication gap that's not necessarily being unaccounted for. Communication in multiple ways. For one, cell service is compromised. Trying to communicate with my coworker was really hard. Families are going through the same thing. For another, this church group packing supplies is full of members who aren't fluent in English. They say they're relying on their own text network and door-knocking systems apart from the county. You have your method of combination. They have theirs, and there isn't a full necessarily overlap. There's not only by news. As the real number of missing remains anyone's guess.. Jamestin Tebalan, a church leader, hands out supplies today to those who need them the most. Here, we're not looking race, color, gender here at all. Religion, nothing. We're all in this together. You're just trying to help people in need.

We're just trying to help people in need, exactly. The other reality coming to light that the vast majority of businesses and homeowners here, like Jody and Steve Dunning, have no flood insurance. There That isn't a reason to think in this framework. There's no reason for the mountains to have floods. We've never had this before. A new dimension of a flood catastrophe. Sam Brock joins us tonight from Suana, Noah, North Carolina, once again. Sam, now Are there officials where you are are also raising concerns over the safety of the water. Yeah, so the urgency on this, Tom, was dialed up considerably. Bunkum County officials saying that the river should be treated as hazardous materials, and they did not specify what specifically might be in the water. We can be left to our best guesses on that. But it is deeply concerning because you know there are communities where there are folks that are using it for things like bathing. At least that's what we're hearing anecdotally. There's no running water. We talked about this, I believe, already. People can't find toilets that are operable. They certainly can't shower, they can't use sinks, and they can't use the bathroom.

So officials want to make sure people know not to try to take the matters into their own hands and take water from the river. We witnessed this earlier today where folks were filling up buckets with it. I don't know what they plan on doing with it or what the exposure level will be if you put your hands or other parts of your body into the water, but they wanted to make it very clear under no circumstances should anyone be using river water. All right, Sam Brock with that big warning tonight. Again, those heartbreaking images. There is some hope tonight for those impacted by Hurricane Haleen. Country music legend Dali Parton, announcing today she's donating a million dollars to help the hard hit communities across the South. At one point, even changing the lyrics to her iconic song, Jolene, to Helene. Take a listen to this. Haleen, Haleen, Haleen, Haleen. You came in here and broke us all apart. Haleen, Haleen, Haleen, Haleen. But we're all here to mend these broken hearts. For more on this, I want to bring in MBC's Cathy Park, who was at that news conference today and joins us from Newport, Tennessee.

So Cathy, besides that heartfelt rendition of Jolene, what else did Dolly Parton say? Hey, Tom. Good evening to you. Yeah, Dolly Parton is beloved around the world, especially here in the state of Tennessee, because this is her home state. She actually grew up in nearby Severe County and talked about visiting Newport, Tennessee as a young girl. So coming back here, it was a bitter sweet homecoming of sorts. And she said she is crushed and devastated by what this community is going through. But she is committed to rebuilding this community. And as you mentioned, announced a very generous donation for the ongoing relief efforts. Take a listen. These are my mountains. These are my valleys. These are my rivers flowing like a stream. These are my people. These mountain-colored rainbows. These are my people. And This is my home. And so I really think that this is a time for me to step up again, for all of us to step up and do what we can. And of course, today, I wanted to announce that from myself personally, just from my own bank account, I'm donating a million dollars today. And Tom, we should also note that Dauley and her team, they have partnered up with Walmart here in this community to basically continue We're providing resources throughout Newport and surrounding areas impacted by Helene.

You might notice these large pallets of water behind me. This is up for graves for residents who need it. There are mobile showers nearby as well, and emergency Mobile Equipment Center. And we're told that there are makeshift laundry facilities in the area because as Sam mentioned, in Ashe, North Carolina, here as well in Eastern Tennessee, running water is still a commodity that they still need. And we're told that they are trying to repair some of the pumps in this area, but a lot of the infrastructure has been damaged. So that is a priority right now. But the mayor of Newport also telling me earlier today that there are still some communities that are still cut off from the essentials, Tom. Okay. Glad some of those supplies are getting to where they need to be, and they can have those showers for the people there. Kathy Park, we thank you, and we, of course, thank Dalia for what she's doing. In the communities most devastated by the flooding of Hurricane Helene, local organizations are working to help bring relief. I want to bring in Michelle Coleman. She's the executive director Director of the Ashe Dream Center, the nonprofit that's become the distribution site for donations helping communities all over North Carolina.

Michelle, one of my producers told me that you got emotional watching our lead story from Sam Brock about some of the images and what people have been experiencing there. Talk to me about what's going through your head. I know it's been about a week since the storm hit, and our beautiful city, you can see some of the trees behind me. It is a beautiful city. We're getting right ahead into fall, the biggest time of the year for Asheville, and it's completely devastating here. It does look like a war zone. The body count was interesting to me because we've heard much different reports in our community that it is in almost to the thousands right now at this point. So that was very interesting to hear that. I think that the search and rescue is going constantly, and they're pulling bodies from trees. They're pulling bodies off the river banks. It is a consistent thing here, and there are so many missing, and we're trying to account for all of our loved ones. I hear you say this, and I just wonder, are you frustrated about the response? And you're in Asheville, which has been a focal point, but it's also one of the larger cities and communities there.

I can't imagine what's going on in other places that have been completely cut off. Yeah. Well, I mean, we're in a mountain town, so it's hard to get up into the mountains when there's mud slides down. And there's an area where we're doing our main distribution. There's a mountain right behind us, and there's eight families families right now who are completely stuck in their homes back there, and they're trying to get them out. But we're taking eight TVs up just to get food and water to these families. And that's just one small area compared to all of the mountains here in Ashe. So we We've had friends that live in other areas here, and because they've not had anyone get to them, they've been trying to just go up and get bodies themselves, try to get their neighbors. They're finding bodies. They're finding them not alive. An elderly couple just found dead by the River bank. It's horrific here. We do have a distribution site. We're serving over 60 nonprofits, churches, and groups here. We're not a big nonprofit, but we're doing what we can, and we're just saying yes to all donations, and we're getting them out to the communities that need it the most here, which is all of us.

Are you getting enough help from the federal government? We received no help from the federal government. No. I'm sorry. This is us being- I want to hear that again. You said you're receiving no help. How is that possible if you're one of the bigger relief groups, or at least one of the nonprofits that are trying to help people out there? No, we're not. We actually are banding together with all of the other nonprofits here and reaching to others outside. We are making connections, and we're getting waters in here. We're getting non-perishable food items, baby supplies as needed most right now, formula for babies. And we are just together as a community community coming together. And I think it's been so devastating. But the most beautiful thing that we're seeing is our city is coming together. It doesn't matter what we disagree on at this point. It's about humanity, and it's about loving one another right now and keeping each other alive. If you're not getting help, and that is incredible, if you're not getting help from the federal government, are you at least seeing FEMA out there helping people in your community? We've personally had a report of FEMA being at the airport.

I know that they're doing something and getting supplies out, but we've had our own suppliers trying to come in via helicopter and other nonprofits, too, and they've been stopped at the airport now by FEMA from coming in. So we're not really sure if they're just working with them now on the supplies, but we're not getting some of the supplies that we're requesting now. What do you need right now, Michelle? What do you want from the rest of the country to help you out? Well, right now, we're still in the phase, this first phase, and we've never been through a tragedy like this, but I know that there's phases. So our first phase is just we have to have water here. We have to have nonperishable food items and baby supplies. Now we're needing things like underwear and socks because there's no way to do laundry here. And so it's getting to be such a dire situation. There's no water in our city, and there's no ETA of when water is returning. I think that's very concerning. We did have a family who we knew of that went down to the river to try to get water and drink it out of the river.

So we're going We're going to take it into these neighborhoods to make sure that that doesn't happen because it is contaminated. Can you believe this is happening in a country like the United States? No, we've never seen anything like this. And I think that there's a There is a lot of fear, but then we are trying to just provide hope because we just don't have any end in sight. And I know there will be. I know there will be. But it is scary when you know that there's no food and water. And I have aging parents who's here, who've been here their whole entire lives. My mom's a caretaker for my dad, and they have no power, and they have no water here. So that's hard. Do you have a message tonight for FEMA and for the White House? I would say bring relief. We haven't seen it, and then we're just the boots on the ground operation here. I think we all try to assume there's bigger things happening out here, and there must be, but we're just not seeing it filter down to the communities with us that we need it the most.

We're taking care of all of the Asheville Housing Authority properties right now and trying to get into those communities. I don't know where the big help is. I'm sure it's coming, but we need it. So please come. Michelle Coleman, we thank you for your help. I know it's not easy to say that. And thank you for your time because I know it's incredibly busy and stressful. We will be thinking about you. We promise we are not going to forget your community. Thank you. All right, we want to turn now to the forecast. I want to bring an NBC news meteorologist, Bill Karens. Bill, I almost hate to get this forecast, but we have to do this, right? We're tracking another system, unfortunately, in the tropics. What do we know at this hour? I'll just start with the fact that it's not heading for the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, upstate South Carolina or in Georgia. Those areas, the recovery efforts will continue unabated because of the weather. Florida is the concern. So right now, we just got an area of showers and storms. You can see the bright white clouds just off of Veracruz in Tampico, Mexico.

That's the area of concern. That's the area to watch this upcoming weekend. So it's all the way on the Western Gulf of Mexico. And anytime something forms in the Gulf, it has to hit something. Right now, the Hurricane Center says 50/50 chance if this will actually be our next name system. Regardless of development, a lot of rain is heading to Florida But especially Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of next week. Our computer models, this is our European computer model, one of our more accurate long-range models, does take it just south of Tampa here. More likely as a tropical storm, maybe, worst case scenario, it'll be a low-end category one hurricane. That's still going to be problematic, but it does not look to be like a Halleen type scenario. And rainfall looks to be the biggest issue. Some areas here, almost everyone should get about 5 to 10 inches from Tampa to Orlando southwards. Someone will have a chance of getting a foot of rain out of that. And if we get a name on that one, Tom Milton, is the next name on the list. We've actually had a bunch out in the Atlantic like Kirk and Leslie, but there are no threats to anyone.

Just to be clear, Bill, it could possibly turn into, when we say a system, a tropical storm and/or a hurricane, or definitely a tropical storm. Tropical storm unclear about the hurricane. So there's a hurricane center puts probabilities on it, and there's a 50% chance that it becomes a track system, which would mean a tropical depression and then leading to a tropical storm. That's where we're at. That's where we're at with this right now. Worst case scenario looks to be low-end category one. We've been tracking that heat, I know also out West as well. Where are we on that? Yeah, we are once again just crushing record highs all through the West. Phoenix today, 11 days in a row, record highs. Vegas, this is 104 right now. That's the longest ever in the year that you've been there. Let's just take a look at Phoenix. Tom, we're going to break record highs all the way up through the weekend into the beginning of next week. Unheard of going over two weeks straight with a record high each and every day. We're talking about comparing this to dust bowl type records. Bill Karens for us tonight. All right, Bill, we thank you for that.

We'll stay tracking that system all weekend. We want to turn to politics now, the latest on a very tight presidential race. As you know, former President Trump attacking the Biden administration's response to Hurricane Aline, launching some false accusations that they stole FEMA money to bribe undocumented immigrants for votes. This as Vice President Harris campaigns in Michigan, seeking support from organized labor. Nbc Senior Capitol Hill Correspondent, Garrett Hake, reports. Tonight, former President Trump back in the storm zone in Must Wind, Georgia, alongside Republican governor Brian Kemp, a sometimes Trump critic, now backing the former President. I'm not thinking about voters right now. I'm thinking about lives. A lot of lives lost, a lot of people missing. Trump also facing new criticism for this false attack on the administration's hurricane response. The Harris Biden administration says they don't have any money. They stole the FEMA money just like they stole it from a bank so they could give it to their illegal immigrants. The White House slamming that as a lie. It's just categorically false. It is not true. It is a false statement. In the last two years, FEMA has distributed over $1 billion in taxpayer money to shelter the record numbers of migrants in cities across the US.

But the White House and FEMA say that's from a separate government program, not for disaster relief, and there's no evidence funds have been diverted. Hey, folks. Today, President Biden praising Vice President Harris's role handling crises this week, including the storm response and the now resolved port strike. I'm in constant contact with her. She's aware we're all singing from the same song sheet. She was a major player in everything we've done. It comes as tonight, Harris campaigns in a must-win state of her own, Michigan, hoping to shore up support from organized labor after yesterday's decision by the International Association of Firefighters not to back a presidential candidate this year. Harris has the endorsement of virtually every large union, and today went after Trump. Donald Trump's track record is a disaster for working people. He is an existential threat to America's labor movement. Just look at his track record to know. While President Biden raising concerns about Trump's reaction if he loses. I'm confident it'll be free and fair. I don't know whether it'll be peaceful. Garret Hake on the campaign trail once again for us from Flint, Michigan, tonight. Garret, I know you have some new reporting tonight about more aggressive attacks from the Harris campaign against Trump.

What exactly does that mean? That's right, Tom. Our team reporting that the Harris campaign is going to get more aggressive and more negative against Trump in the coming days, trying to move some more numbers in Kamala Harris's direction and essentially force fence sitters numbers off the fence and into one camp or the other. Something that will look like what we saw in the piece there with Harris targeting Trump on his record on organized labor. I think a lot of this is going to play out on television. Harris has raised more money than she could spend in almost any other way. I think you're going to see a bombardment of negative ads against Trump that could start almost immediately. Tom? Okay, Garret Hake for us tonight. Garrett, we thank you for that. For that, we want to move overseas now to the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Iran threatening to strike Israel again if necessary. Necessary while the IDF continues its fight against Hezbollah and Lebanon. Mbc's Chief Foreign Correspondent, Richard Engle, has the latest. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Hamanei, led Friday prayers in Tehran today for the first time in more than four years.

He said Iran is ready to strike Israel again if necessary. To drive home the point, the 85-year-old cleric clutched an assault rifle. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is at war with Iran's network of allies. The main battleground is Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has been attacking Northern Israel with rockets for nearly a year. In response, the group says to Israel's war on Gaza. Beirut is now rocked by Israel day and night. Here, Israel targeted what an official said was a meeting of Hezbollah leaders. In Southern Lebanon, Israel is trying to carve out a buffer zone free of Hezbollah. Israeli strikes are taking their toll here. The city of Tair, one of the biggest cities here in Southern Lebanon, has effectively been evacuated. There are very few civilians left here. Hezbollah has taken a beating in recent days, but the group remains intact. Every day down here, we have seen and heard outgoing fire. Lebanonese officials say 1,400 people have been killed. In Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his War cabinet are still deciding how and when to respond to Iran's missile attack. That decision will be felt across the Middle East and beyond. Tom. All right, Richard Engle, for us.

We're going to have much more from the region later in the broadcast. Our Raaf Sanchez, sitting down with the family of an American Israeli hostage, now held in Gaza. Almost a year later, one of his children, born after October seventh and has never met him, will have the powerful message of hope from his wife. Also ahead tonight, the apparent confession landing a Utah woman behind bars. The wife of a special ops guardsman, allegedly admitting to shooting and killing her husband in his sleep, what she reportedly told a police informant about the murder. And the alarming warning over threats to synagogues this Monday, marking that one year anniversary of the October seventh attack, the heightened fears for Jewish Americans, plus the shocking video of a 10-year-old behind the wheel of a stolen car. That's right, 10-year-old driving that car through a school playground. I'll tell you what happened to him next. We are back now with a chilling revelation in the case of an apparent murder near Salt Lake City. The wife of a Special Ops National Guardsman who had disappeared, telling a confidential informant she shot her husband in his sleep, then tried to cover it up.

Mbc's Dana Griffin has more on the investigation. Tonight, a gory twist in a Utah missing person's case. The estranged wife of a US military Special Ops member, seen here in handcuffs, arrested for her husband's murder. 41-year-old Jennifer Gledhill reported her husband, Matthew Johnson missing in Salt Lake County late last month, launching a weeks-long investigation. Our detectives have been working this nonstop 24 hours a day since it began. Over 25 search warrants that we've sought. Police saying they uncovered evidence of a significant cleanup inside the couple's home, including a large blood stained spot underneath the bed, a newly bought mattress, and Matthew's abandoned truck just two blocks from their home. It's shocking to the senses in our community. This is It's not an everyday occurrence here in Colette. We have not had anything similar like this in 10 years. We don't have homicides up here. The case, stomping investigators until Jennifer allegedly confessed to a confidential informant, according to police. The informant told Police, Jennifer admitted she killed her husband by shooting him in the head while he slept, dumped his remains in a shallow grave, and had been removing items from the home and destroying them to cover up this crime, according to the police affidavit.

The tragic loss hitting the community hard. Guys like him, they're not out there looking for accolades. They're not looking to be on the front page of the hometown newspaper. Now, three children are going to be without their father, and it looks like their mother also. As Jennifer awaits her first court date, police say she has confessed nothing to them, and the search for Johnson's body continues. We're still looking for the deceased body, and we would like to put that to rest. Tom, investigators have served several search warrants, but it appears they have not pinpointed exactly where Matthew Johnson was buried. They are still collecting evidence and have requested Jennifer to remain in jail without Bill because police claim they have information she has threatened to harm herself. It's not clear if Jennifer has retained an attorney. Tom? All right, Dana Griffin first. Dana, thank you for that. Coming up on Top Story, a new fight against ovarian cancer. Researchers in the UK say they're developing the first ever ovarian cancer vaccine. How they say it works and could potentially save thousands of lives. Stay with us. Out of power in politics, former President Donald Trump returning to Butler, Pennsylvania.

Trump planning to hold a high-profile rally on Saturday, nearly three months after that shocking assassination attempt. Ardasha Burns is there ahead of the event as major security preps are now underway. Take a look at what happened. Down, down, down, down. Nearly three months after surviving that attempt on his life, with those images of blood on his face and his fist in the air, former President Trump is returning to Butler, Pennsylvania, this weekend. I have an obligation to go back to Butler. We never finished what we were supposed to do. Back then, rallygoers watched in horror as the gunmen climbed onto an unsecured rooftop and opened fire. A scathing Senate investigation later detailed massive security failures by the Secret Service. About 100 yards behind me is the building from where the gunmen took shots at former President Trump. Last time around, people could get pretty close to Mr. Trump from outside the rally perimeter. This time around, we can't anywhere near the area. In fact, they're even putting up. You can see these shipping containers that are blocking line of sight from outside the rally perimeter. Tonight, the Secret Service telling NBC News they've made comprehensive changes and enhancements, and that the former President is receiving heightened protection.

Joining Trump Saturday, the family of Cory Comperator, the firefighter dad who was killed. Back then, I spoke to Dr. Joseph Maine, who rushed over to help. The man was definitely killed in a instantalist. A moment, he says he can't forget. Them bringing the body down where I saw that. Stick with me the end of my life. Do you think you're going to go? Yes. Why? I refuse to be terrorized to the point where I feel like I'm only safe at home. Also returning mother and son, Donna and Joe Hutz. I knew my son was scared to death because he was holding my hand. He had held my hand since he was probably five or six years old. How are you two going to support each other through this? Hold hands? I don't know. How are you doing now? I'm doing a lot better. I ended up in trauma therapy. If the way I described it to my therapist, I said, I can't get out of the bleachers. They hope to turn a weekend of tragedy into a time of healing. You're not going to scare us away from the rally. Defiance. You don't get to win.

Dasha Burns joins us tonight from Butler, Pennsylvania. Dasha, this has to be somewhat surreal for you. I can't imagine what it's like for the President as well. He's been talking about this moment, and that rally is going to be quite significant. Thank you. Yeah, that's right. They want this to be an important, symbolic moment, both for the campaign and for the people that went to that rally, for the people who were impacted by those events, for the family of Cory, for a tour, and for the campaign staff, too. I mean, everyone that was there that day was impacted by those moments. So there's the humanity piece of it, Tom, right? Of having to go back, having that feeling of discomfort but also of healing and catharsis being there. Then there's a political piece as well. I mean, it's been just about three months since that day. I will tell you, when you talk to voters in this area, they did feel galvanized by that assassination attempt to absolutely get to the ballot box and to call their friends and to get them to the ballot box. I don't think events like this necessarily pull those swing voters one way or another, but they certainly do get the base together, get the base rally lead, and that's another piece of what is going to be happening here tomorrow, Tom.

Dasha Burns for us tonight. Dasha, we thank you. When we come back one year later, an American Israeli hostage held in Gaza since October seventh. His wife now speaking out about what life has been like without him, including the birth of their third child, the feeling of hope she is still holding on to. All right, we are back now with In Top Story's news feed. We start with the 10-year-old arrested for driving a stolen car through a playground in Minneapolis. Surveillance video shows the car speeding right by the school playground that was packed with children. Luckily, no one was hurt. The 10-year-old was later arrested and is facing charges in juvenile court. And we also have much more news here. The FBI and National Center for Disaster Fraud, our warning of scams targeting victims of Hurricane Helene. Authorities say scammers are claiming to work for contractors and insurance companies in an effort to obtain personal information. Scammers might call, text, or email, promising quick and sometimes even going door to door. Authorities say to try to avoid scams, ask for official identification from the person contacting you. Fema personnel will not ask you for any financial information.

That's an important one. The world's first ovarian cancer vaccine is being developed in the UK. University of Oxford scientists say they are creating a vaccine that teaches the immune system to recognize and attack the earliest stages of ovarian cancer. Researchers say the vaccines had the potential to save thousands of lives, especially in women with the BRACA gene mutation. And authorities in New York stepping up security around synagogues. New York state police directed to work with local law enforcement to enhance patrols after multiple synagogues received bomb threats during the Jewish high holiday of Rosh Hashana. None of the threats were credible. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are also warning of potential threats ahead of course on Monday, which marks one year since the October October seventh attacks in Israel. As Israel prepares to mark that grim anniversary of October seventh, more than 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, including several Americans. Our Raph Sanchez sat down with the wife of an American Israeli hostage who was waiting for her husband to return home to her and her three young children, including one baby who was born while he was in captivity. In those playful hours after school and before dinner, Avital Dekelhan and her young daughters for their dad to come home.

They've been waiting for 364 days. And we're missing so much. My daughter is asking about him every single day. Thirty-six-year-old Saghee Dekelhen is a hostage in Gaza, one of 101 still held captive after being kidnapped by Hamas on October seventh. Among them, seven Americans, three confirmed dead. Saghee, among those, thought to be alive. And the only with young children. Three-year-old Gali asks about her dad, but the hardest questions come from Bar, who's seven. Where's my daddy? Mom, why he's not come back? Why daddy's not here to celebrate a It's my birthday. And what do you tell your daughters? My heart is broke, but I need to be strong. So I tell them, I hope. Daddy is okay. We don't know, but I hope. Sagheeh grew up between Israel and Aston, a Red Sox fanatic who played center field for Israel's junior national team. He and Avital, high school sweethearts, together for 20 years, raising their children in near Oz, a kibbutz two miles from Gaza, and one of the first communities overrun by Hamas on October seventh. Sighy went out to defend the kibbutz. It was the last time Avitar saw him. For the next 10 hours with terrorists going house to house, she sheltered their children in a safe room.

And I said to my daughter, Please be quiet. And she asked me, Gaza in my house? Daddy is dead? When they were finally rescued, Bar narrated this video. We're very worried about our dad, she says. And through it all, Avital in the final months of pregnancy. In December, she gave birth to their third child, Shahar, Hebrew for Dawn. Today, Shahar is 10 months old. Her father her has missed every moment of her short life, never held her or seen her smile. I can't wait for them to meet. Really, it's every day I wait for this. That's why my wish. Sighy may not know his family survived October seventh. Avital texts her husband updates about the kids, knowing he can't read them. I do it for Saghee. I write for him what I feel and what I want to tell him. How much I miss you, Sag. Even after 10 months, it feels like the first day. Saghee's own father, Jonathan, a pillar of support for Avital and the girls, and campaigning tirelessly for his son's freedom, including multiple visits to the White House. What have your meetings with the President been like? Extraordinary, in a word, that the leader of the free world, Furtzwell, will take the time to sit down with us and just talk about the hostages and what he's doing.

No excuses, no clichés. We are weeks away from an election. Are you worried about this hostage crisis getting caught up in the politics in the United States? We've begged leaders on both sides of the aisle to not politicize the hostage issue. I am concerned that as the days and weeks go by towards the general election in November, that the parties, the campaigns, will be tempted to politicize it, particularly from the Republican side. In Israel, the hostage crisis is already deeply political, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets, demanding their government make a deal to bring the hostages home. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's open to an agreement. But Israel's military offensive into Lebanon has put ceasefire talks on the back burner. And under intense pressure from the far right of his government, Netanyahu also refusing to pull Israeli troops back from the Egypt-Gaza border, a key stumbling block in negotiations. We asked him at a recent press conference. If the price of your refusal to withdraw from the Egypt-Gaza border is more hostages are killed, is that a price you are prepared to pay? And is that a price the people of Israel will accept?

I'm committed to getting all of them out. I got more than half out and more than half of the hostages alive out because we employed the pressure points. We the pressure, we're going to get no one out. His answer, not convincing Sigey's family. Prime Minister Netanyahu and his coalition partners have made it clear that lip service is one thing to the importance of getting the hostages home, their actions speak entirely differently. Israel was not established in order to kill our enemies. Israel was established to protect the Jewish people. There is absolutely no justification education, militarily, strategically, ethically, morally, to not do what we must to get the hostages home. Last Thanksgiving, a brief ceasefire led to the release of 105 hostages. Bar's hopes, raised and dashed. To run to home and say, mommy, mommy, have a hostages deal. Dadies will come, that is will come. I think it's a hard situation to stand and to explain to my daughter, yes, we have a hostages deal, but our dad is not in this deal. And I remember how Bar, she so cried, Why not? Why not? Why not? Why not my daddy? But the deal did offer a glimmer of hope.

Freed hostages said they'd seen Saghee in a tunnel in November, wounded but alive. And you feel in your heart he's still alive. Yes, yes. Almost Every day I go to sleep and I dream about Saghee, and we meet in dream, and we talk about everything. I feel Segui is alive, and we must do everything to bring him home. Raph Sanchez joins us tonight, once again, from Kyriat Shemona, Israel, near the border with Lebanon. Raph, when I watch your story and we go over these reports, I can't help to think what the families are thinking as they wait for any word or any rescue attempt with their loved ones, and this expanding war and the expanding bombing campaigns. Yeah, Tom, they are deeply, deeply worried that this expanding what feels like a regional war is really overshadowing the hostage crisis. These ceasefire negotiations were pretty badly stalled three weeks ago before Israel began its operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Now they appear to have ground to a complete halt. You can tell the Biden administration's diplomatic bandwidth is very, very focused on, one, the crisis inside Lebanon, but two, trying to prevent this escalation between Israel and Iran spiraling into an all-out conflict.

There is very little discussion right now, very little movement on these hostage negotiations. And it is striking, even here in Israel, in the couple of days leading up to October seventh, people aren't talking about the hostages that much. They're very focused on what's going on in Lebanon. And in fact, Some of the commemorations that were planned for October seventh have had to be scaled down because of the security restrictions here in Israel as a result of what's going on on the Israel-Lebanon border. Tom. Raph Sanchez for us. Raph, we thank you for that, and we will be right back. Raph Sanchez for us tonight. Raph, we thank you for that. We thank you for watching Top Story all week. I'm Tom Yamous in New York. Thank you for watching. Stay right there. More news on the way. Thanks for watching. Stay updated about breaking news and top stories on stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social media.