I think this is the only solution we have. This is fire because it's impossible to explain. We want to fight against terrorism by killing a Muslim people. What I do feel powerful is to maybe do something about what's happening here. We stand with Israel. Well, these are what's going on now are ground operations, not bombardments. And as I've said before, we have seen far too many Palestinian civilians killed, and we have been urging Israel all along to do everything possible to minimize civilian casualties. The Israel Hamas war has continued to simmer on all fronts this week, from Israeli forces storming Gaza's largest hospital to humanitarian concerns taking precedence for world leaders, to dueling rallies and protests here in the US. Good evening. I'm Sam Brock in Forgotti schwartz. And now today, the head of the Israel Defense Force is saying it is, quote, close to dismantling the military system in the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli troops have also been searching a number of hospitals in northern Gaza, claiming to have found Hamas tunnels and weaponry on the premises. The Israeli military remaining confident, as do White House officials, that Hamas is even operating underneath Gaza's largest hospital, al Shifa in Gaza City.

But they have presented no definitive evidence so far to back up that claim. The United Nations says that to this point, at least 1.6 million people have been displaced in Gaza and that civilians there are at risk of starvation. Health officials in Gaza say that more than 12,000 people have been killed in that territory since the start of the war. Now let's bring in NBC's Jay Gray live from Tel Aviv. Jay, what's the latest on the operations by Israeli forces and what has come out so far of these intensive hospital searches? Yeah, and Sam, the IDF chief of Staff says that troops on the ground are expanding their mission, moving more to the south, and a lot of the fighting now in dense urban areas. They also say that a lot of the missile strikes from Hamas lately have come from the south, and so they're targeting those areas and trying to eliminate those threats. And they have a word of caution for so many who have moved to the south for safety, saying, and I'm quoting here, stay out of harm's way. And when you get to the hospitals, we know that Special Forces are still inside and still going through many of the hospitals.

They've found weapons, they've found ammo, they've found technical infrastructure. What they haven't found at this point is any defined command and control centers, something that intelligence from both Israel and the US. Has said are in some of these hospitals, though they say it's going to take some time to uncover those centers. Indeed, still obviously discordance to be finding weaponry at a hospital right now. We'll wait to see what else the IDF turns up. Jay, there are reports of some Internet restoration in Gaza after fuel went in. So what more do we know on that? Yeah, interesting, the UN was able to get two tanker trucks in to deliver fuel, and a lot of that being used to restore Internet, cell phone service, and things that have been out for more than 24 hours. Now, it won't last that long. That's not nearly enough fuel to do all that they need to do within Gaza as far as the infrastructure is concerned. But at least for now, they are back up and running a short term lifeline there for so many people who are struggling for just the basics. Jay, do we have any updates right now on hostage negotiations?

In this sobering news? We learned, of course, the IDF found two bodies right. Of hostages near the Al Shifa hospital. Yeah, just outside the facility. A 65 year old grandmother and a 19 year old soldier. Both of the women's bodies have been returned to their families, but a tough discovery for those troops on the ground. Here's what we know about negotiations. They are continuing. Diplomats in Qatar acting as intermediaries between Hamas and Israel. With the US on the sidelines of those talks, there continue to be sticking points over the number of days that fighting may cease for this to happen and who will be released, how many hostages will be released. Right now, the indication is that women and children would be the first to be released if some kind of deal is made. There's been rumors that the deal is closed, but again, a lot of those talks, as you would expect, are going on behind closed doors, and not a lot of solid information on that with hundreds of families waiting for any kind of breakthrough. Jay Gray from Tel Aviv for us. Thank you so much, Jay. And now an exclusive look at the Israeli officials who have been interrogating Hamas operatives, looking for any information on those more than 200 hostages still being held.

NBC's RAF Sanchez has the story. Israel's intelligence agencies failed to stop Hamas terrorists before they burst through the border fence to carry out their massacre. But in the days that followed, the Shin Bet, israel's equivalent to the FBI, took on an urgent mission, interrogating Hamas suspects captured in the attack, racing for intelligence about the hostages and what Israeli forces would face inside Gaza. There is a clock above your head that is ticking. This is the prisoner. Shalom. Ben Hanan is a shin Bet veteran. What's it like to sit like this with a man who, you know, massacred Israeli civilians? Sometimes you feel that you want maybe to kill him with your bare hands, but you do nothing. Okay? Sometimes even the opposite. You have to connect to some dots in his personality. Israel releasing edited videos of the questioning ammunition in a global information war. It's for the west. It's not for us. We're not showing their confessions or revealing their identities, because we can't be sure whether they spoke under duress. We see some of the prisoners bruises on their faces, marks on their wrist. Were they being tortured by Israel's security forces? They were captured in combat.

It wasn't a polite capture. There is no torture in Shabbat interrogations. And it's possible those same Hamas suspects could be freed in exchange for the hostages. I asked that officer how would it feel to watch the men he interrogated walk free? He said it would be a terrible feeling, but that he would understand if that was the price of bringing the hostages up. Raph Sanchez, thank you so much. Back at home now. And a Scathing bipartisan report has led the House Ethnics Committee chair to file a resolution to expel New York Republican Congressman George Santos. Now the motion to kick Santos out of Congress describes, quote, his egregious violations of federal law, including using campaign money on botox and only fans. The report is getting traction on Capitol Hill, with new members from both parties joining the effort to oust Santos, clearing the way for a House vote after members return from the Thanksgiving break. NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles has more. Yeah, Sam, this could really all come to a head after members of Congress return back here to Washington after the Thanksgiving holiday. We're starting to see a growing list of members of Congress, many of whom have not voted for expulsion resolutions as it relates to George Santos now coming out and saying that this new damning ethics report has put them over the edge and they now believe it is time for Santos to be expelled.

Already there is an expulsion resolution on the floor, and it comes from Michael Guest, who is the chairman of the Ethics Committee. This is the person that basically led the investigation into Santos. So it does carry with it a degree of weight. And the other part of this is that the House Speaker, Mike Johnson, put out a statement yesterday basically giving any member of Congress a license to vote in favor of the expulsion. He's not telling them whether to vote yes or no, which sometimes leadership would try and lean on these members to try and have them go one way or another. The big variable in all of this, though, is how does George Santos react to all of this? He's been very defiant from the beginning of this controversy and had said for a long time that he was never going to go anywhere. He changed his tune a little bit after the ethics report came out and he said that he was not going to seek reelection. Will he now perhaps attempt to step down and resign from his seat before his fellow members kick him out of office? Well, he does have a press conference planned for first thing in the morning on November 30 when Congress returns.

He is not signaling exactly what he plans to say during that press conference, but he's been very critical of the way that the House Ethics Committee handled this investigation, even though they point out in their report that he turned down an opportunity to defend himself or sit for a deposition. So while this process in many ways feels as though it's dragged out since that first report from the New York Times about the questions of his biography came to light, it could speed up in a very, very serious way once Congress returns after the Thanksgiving break. And there is a very real possibility that George Santos will no longer be a member of Congress when the new year turns. Sam yeah, it appears a tipping point after months there within the Republican Caucus. Ryan Nobles reporting. Thanks so much, Ryan. President Biden right now heading home after a week of high profile meetings with world leaders at the Apex Summit in San Francisco, but not before he sat down with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lobez Obrador today, who was also in town for this week's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference. The two leaders pledging to work together to address drug trafficking, crime and the influx of migrants at the border.

Nothing is beyond our reach, in my view. I really mean it. When Mexico and the United States stand together and work together as we've been doing, we see in our security cooperation. We're working side by side combat arms trafficking, to combat tackle organized crime and to address the opioid epidemic and including fentanyl. President Biden wrapping up the day by handing off the chair position to peru's President during the APEC leaders retreat. NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba has this report.

Sam president Biden wrapped up a very busy week here in San Francisco. Of course, it did start with that major summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where they were able to secure some commitments on restoring those military to military communications and then also some progress on Fentanyl, specifically trying to stem the flow of it into the United States. But it really goes on this journey globally before it gets there with those precursor chemicals in China that then make their way to Mexico. And that is a really key part of the conversation and of how they're going to try to tackle this because today President Biden met with his Mexican counterpart, andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to discuss exactly that. And so far the US. Says that Mexico has been cooperative on this, but that there is more that can be done. So both sides have agreed to try to work on that because the way that these drugs are getting in through the southern border oftentimes is through smuggling from Mexican cartels. So the US. Is asking Mexico to continue to do more on this and they believe that with both Mexico and China's commitment that really we could see some progress there given the deadly scourge of those opioid epidemic and overdose deaths that we have seen in this country.

So that was a priority coming out of this summit, but it was also meant for President Biden to try to talk about alliances and partnerships in the Indo Pacific. That's what this conference was all about. It's something that the president talked about throughout all of his meetings. And, of course, he's trying to have these conversations on the world stage while he is entering a critical reelection year. And that was something he talked to the Mexican president about as well, since there will be elections in Mexico next year. And that is why they're trying to get all of these topics out front ahead of what could be some very consequential changes on the world stage. Sam.

All right, through all that San Francisco fog, some clear communication. Monica Alba there for us. Thank you so much. And don't go anywhere because we are just getting started. Up next, convicted murderer Alec Murdoch was back in court today, but this time it's related to the dozens of financial crimes he's accused of committing. We've got those details. Plus, is climate change causing infections to spread more quickly? Do not panic. We're going to be separating fact from fiction when it comes to something called Valley fever. And if you're trying to leave early to get to your Thanksgiving Day destination, you are not the only one who thought of that plan. We'll tell you the best and the worst days to drive and fly. We'll be right back. Are you worried about the crowds?

Yeah, I am worried, but, you know, you have to be home from Thanksgiving, so it's okay. I'll just be there ahead of time.

And welcome back. Here are some of the other headlines right now that we're tracking tonight. Yesterday, TMZ reported that Sean Diddy Combs was the subject of a secret NYPD criminal investigation. But today the NYPD says that is patently false. In a statement, the department said there is currently no such investigation. However, the lawsuit that alleges Combs abused and sexually assaulted his ex girlfriend, R B singer Cassie, still stands. Combs denies all the allegations. Former first lady Rosalind Carter has entered hospice care, her family announced today, joining her husband, former President Jimmy Carter. Mrs. Carter was diagnosed with dementia earlier this year. Caitlin Armstrong was sentenced to 90 years in prison today for the murder of professional cyclist Mariah Mo Wilson. Armstrong shot Wilson three times last year after Wilson had dinner with Armstrong's. On again, off again boyfriend Sam Altman was fired from his role of CEO of OpenAI, the company behind Chat GPT. The company said Altman was, quote, not consistently candid in his communications with the board. Chief technology officer, Mira Marati will be the interim CEO. Some bad news for some parlays. Say it ain't so, Joe. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow out for the season.

Coach Zach Taylor told reporters today that Burrow suffered a season ending torn ligament in his wrist during last night's loss against the Ravens. Taylor said it is likely that Burrow will need surgery. And that team's, once aspirational super bowl hopes, now appear to be over. Well, convicted killer and former South Carolina lawyer Alec Murdoch, striking a plea deal just days before his trial on dozens of financial crimes was about to start. Anything else with regard to the guilty plea that you'd like to say today, Mr. Murdoch? No, sir, other than I'm glad to finally be given the opportunity to plead guilty, I am happy to be pleading guilty to these charges. All right. That was a lot of charges. Murdoch pleading guilty to stealing millions of dollars from vulnerable clients during his time as an attorney, charges that included money laundering and financial fraud. This all comes one day after the judge who presided over the murder trial recused himself from that case, claiming jury tampering from the clerk of court. At least those are the allegations right now from the defense. He is the same judge who was overseeing Murdoch's financial crimes case. Murdoch's attorneys continue to push for a new trial in his murder case.

NBC news legal analyst Danny Savalos joining us now with more. Danny, we talked about that last week. It seems like every time you look up at this trial and the sort of tentacles thereof, there's something new going on. What does this guilty plea mean for Murdoch?

Now?

We're talking about for state charges he was facing, more than 100 of them related to financial crimes. This was essentially a foregone conclusion. I mean, Murdoch essentially admitted to these crimes during his murder case when he took this stand as part of a gambit where he would essentially say to the jury, yeah, I may be a financial fraudster, but I am not a killer. So now he always knew he had to pay the piper. This is that day. And he had to plead guilty because, I mean, all that evidence would have come in against him had he proceeded to trial. In all likelihood, he waited until the eve of trial to possibly reach get the best deal from the state. And maybe that worked, maybe it didn't. So reportedly, Danny, it's about 27 years as part of that plea deal that's going to be tacked on in terms of prison time. But obviously, Murdoch is also looking right now at consecutive life sentences for murder. Let's talk about this judge who only a day ago recused himself from any post trial motions in Murdoch's murder trial. What do we know about that? How significant is this development?

It is significant. It doesn't happen very often, but in high profile cases, the normal things don't happen that happen in normal cases. And here's what I mean by that. If this were a normal motion for a new trial, people allege all kinds of things, maybe they allege clerk misconduct, whatever the case may be. Well, in this case, not only have they alleged that the defense has also attached the affidavit of an ethics expert, a judicial ethics expert, who has opined that this judge violated the rules of ethics when he gave interviews after the guilty verdict. Now, in most of the cases with people you've never heard of, judges don't give interviews because they aren't high profile cases. And I have to say, just as an observer, I don't know what's happening in Cullitan County that everybody wants to be a superstar. The whole reason this case is being challenged is because the court clerk allegedly was involved with the jury. But some indisputable facts are that, yes, the court clerk did travel with the jury afterwards on a press tour, and now this judge supposedly was giving interviews as well. So, I mean, I think everyone in Culliton County, if they're frustrated at this motion practice, they have themselves to blame, at least the clerk and the judge.

And the judge probably should have recused himself. It's a fascinating point between the clerk of court and now the judge recusing himself. Having done interviews after the fact after the trial, what do you think it means, him recusing himself? Does it give the defense any more ammunition for their efforts right now to try to retry the murder trial? Danny, do you think there's going to be any connection there? The reason I think that's a minor victory is that when you make a motion before a judge who tried the case and you say, essentially, hey, Judge, you didn't control the jury and you didn't give us a fair trial. Well, as you can imagine, judges aren't inclined to be that critical of themselves. They're inclined to say something like, well, no, I think I did give you a good trial. So now they're going to get at least a new judge and a new judge's eyes on it, and that might be a minor victory. But look, when you're a convicted criminal on appeal, grabbing for any straws, you can, any victory is arguably a huge victory, and this could be a significant one. We will see what the next couple of weeks and months have to hold, but always appreciate your insight.

Danny, thank you so much. Well, tonight, on an all new dateline, we are hearing from the lead detectives behind the Murdoch murder case for the very first time. They revealed a moment that they knew. They say that the case had been blown wide open. You can tune in starting at 09:00 Eastern on NBC. And welcome back. Here are some of the stories that are happening out west that we're following right now. Initially, fear it rippled through the Golden State that a portion of the 10th freeway in Los Angeles could be shut down for a month. But some good news for traffic gridlock drivers there. It is expected to be reopened no later than next Tuesday, just in time to accommodate all of that holiday traffic. Last week, a fire damaged columns that support a section of the freeway. Turns out the damaged section would not have to be completely rebuilt, significantly shortening the timeline for repair. While three teenagers accused of beating a high school student to death were in a Las Vegas courtroom this morning, a fourth teenager also arrested, appearing in court later in that day. An absolutely awful story. All four of them will be tried together as adults for murder.

Police have the group of teens beat 17 year old Jonathan Lewis at school until he became unconscious. Lewis then died from his injuries a week later. Four other teens charged in the beating are expected to make their first court appearance on December the 6th. And soon, California students are getting a primer on spotting fake news on the internet, equipping them to perhaps be better than other students in other states. That's because beginning next year, all K through twelve students will have a media literacy skills integrated into their everyday curriculum. That requirement comes from a law signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom last month, and it's designed to make students think more critically about what they see online. Well, scientists right now warning about a surge in fungal infections linked to climate change, particularly something called valley fever, which is caused by a flesh eating fungus. The infection is triggered by inhaling fungal spores that thrive in hot, dry environments. Think the know places like California, Arizona, New Mexico. But one study is predicting that climate change could push valley fevers range eastward across the Great Plains and northward to the Canadian border by the end of this century.

Embassy News medical contributor Dr. Kavita Patel. Joining us now with more Kavita, so good to see you. I remember when we used to talk on a weekly basis. It's been a while, but I'm glad to have you on. Although when you hear fungal infections and flesh eating bacteria, not really something that many people feel good about. Can you walk us through this? How do you know if you've been exposed to valley fever? How serious are the symptoms?

Sam so I would normally say that this is something that happens in the southwest part of the country, and that would be a trigger to think about things that if you develop kind of a flulike illness, that you just couldn't shake. And then it went deep into your lungs. Anybody who's trained in the southwest part of the country would think, AHA, that could be valley fever caused by two species, two types of fungi called coccidiomycoses. But because of climate change, we're not just seeing them in the southwest, we're seeing them as far north as the Pacific Northwest. So symptoms really do look like the flu, nausea, vomiting, headaches, fevers, chills. There can be a rash sometimes. Sam but sometimes that doesn't happen. And then that's the early stages or valley fever, and then it can get much worse and develop into all sorts of very bad consequences. But there are tests for it. Doctors have to look for it and there's treatment for it if you can catch it early enough. So that's good news. But you really have to kind of identify these symptoms. Comes from spores from the soil. People ask me this all the time.

How does this happen? Comes from spores in the soil. They go airborne and that you breathe in and that's how the process starts.

Wow. Okay, so you inhale the spores you mentioned Katita there are treatments. Is there a vaccine to prevent it?

No. And this is something that I think scientists look with COVID we got really lucky. We were able to develop vaccines. This is something that we really do have to just be on alert and look for and you can prevent. Sam if we know that you're working with soil or we know that there are areas that might be high with this type of fungus or kind of fungal spores sam the basics protect you a mask. But that doesn't mean you need to kind of walk around in the dirt wearing a mask. It just means that climate change is real. It's affecting all of us and that we need to have a heightened awareness. If you got a cold and flu that you can't shake, go see a doctor and just kind of think about things that are atypical. If you just have something that doesn't fit with a normal pattern of getting sick you and I have both been sick, but if you can't shake it and it's getting worse, then take a moment to think about it.

Yeah, talk to a physician. And lastly, you mentioned climate change. So are there other kinds of diseases that could get worse as a consequence of climate change?

Yeah, I don't want to scare people, but all of them could get worse, especially things that depend on other vectors like mosquitoes or ticks. Because we're seeing an increase all around the world of diseases that are spread by animals, by insects, that don't normally live in certain parts of the country and that don't normally live during the winter. For example, we're seeing malaria popping up during the winter seasons in parts of the country we don't expect. We're seeing ticks that spread Lyme disease in parts of the country that we have never seen before. We're seeing changes in the kinds of species in Alaska that can carry other certain kinds of viruses. Sam so this has been something doctors have been dealing with and scientists for several decades, but it's becoming very real with some of the headlines and some of the illnesses around the world.

Yeah, definitely. A lot of things we don't like to hear, but these are the consequences of a changing planet. Dr. Kavita Patel, thank you so much for all of your insight, as always, take care. Well, to clear the air on that. You too. To clear the air on that. We have more rain, which is expected in Southern California after a short break. There as another storm system is now approaching off of the coast. NBC News meteorologist Bill Karens joins us with a look at the forecast and whether most importantly, it's going to stick around long enough to impact holiday travel. Bill. Oh, good evening to you Sam. And this storm is going to be one we're to going be tracking for the next five, six days. It's going to plague people in their travel issues starting tonight and then going all the way through about Wednesday morning. So let me take you through it. You can see the huge cinnamon bun swirl here. This is our storm. It's actually been sitting off the coast for a couple of days now. It's beginning to really send a lot of moisture inland, even some heavier rain around Santa Barbara and the mountains.

There potential for some flash flooding. So this will mostly be impacting through the night tonight. And then as we go through the overnight, by the time we get to 09:00 a.m. Saturday, just some scattered showers left over San Francisco northwards will be some of the steadier rains. Then as we go throughout the day we'll watch some of the heavier rain moving into the Pacific Northwest with a different cold front. So we kind of got these two storms that'll plague the region, especially Saturday. By the time we get to Sunday they kind of break apart as they move through the intermountain west, one piece will bring some snow to the high elevations here, the four corner region. Other areas to the west, especially the northern Rockies, will get some snow. But much of California Saturday is the issue and then Sunday it improves. Pacific Northwest kind of the same for you. So here's the rainfall totals. It does look like some of the mountainous areas here. As I mentioned here, Santa Barbara, one to two inches tonight. Northern portions here, the Sierra mountain chain and also north of San Francisco has the best chance of getting that one to two inches of rainfall.

For La and San Diego, some spotty rain, but less than about a quarter to a half inch. Snow levels are really high. This is a really warm system. So really if they go to the Wasatch range here, we will get some snow. In this year the highest peaks could get six to twelve inches. But again it's way up there throughout, even higher than some of the passes. And then eventually, and this is welcome news, they've been needing some snow in the mountains of Colorado. You will get some as we go throughout this weekend. So here's the weekend outlook for everyone. The rain that we've been tracking all day throughout Pennsylvania and New York that'll be exiting the Northeast Saturday morning. So the eastern half of the country, no issues, really dry, just kind of breezy. That rainy, windy conditions will be in the west then as we go through Sunday. The storm system that was in the west. Some isolated strong storms late in the day. But the real problems begin with that storm on Tuesday. It picks up moisture from the Gulf tuesday's by far, if we're going to have the ripple effect with airports atlanta, Charlote, Raleigh, DC, Richmond into New York Tuesday night, areas of rain and windy conditions.

And of course the west is fine. But again, the ripple effects could have problems. By the time we get to Wednesday, though, kind of everything dries out and clears out, just some lake effect snow. So you may be delayed on Tuesday getting to your destination, but by the time we get to Wednesday, the airport should be able to catch back up. And here's kind of how it looks on the maps here as we go through the holiday Tuesday and then Wednesday, maybe even some snow in the north. So an active forecast, Sam, but I do think everyone will get to their destination. All right, well, unless of course you're traveling on Tuesday and you're held up by the weather bill, thank you very much. So let's talk about the timing of all this. Planes, trains and automobiles, all of them taking tens of millions of Americans to their families, we hope, for Thanksgiving, and experts say that the next several days could be a record breaker in terms of just the volume. NBC News correspondent Tom Costello has more. Six days till Thanksgiving. It's the start of the travel rush crescendo. With the TSA expecting to screen about 30 million passengers over the next twelve days, that would make it the busiest holiday travel period ever.

Airports are going to be very busy and preparation is key. At Chicago O'Hare, some travelers are on a pre Thanksgiving trip and already thinking about next week's crowds.

We have two trips back to back. We're visiting my mom here in Chicago, then we're flying back to DC. And then we're driving to Connecticut for Thanksgiving.

We got a lot of travel.

Yeah, we got a lot of travel. I'm flying on Monday for Thanksgiving? That's right.

And what are you thinking? Are you worried about the crowd?

Yeah, I am worried, but you have to be home for Thanksgiving.

The busiest days to fly next Tuesday and Wednesday before the holiday and Sunday after Thanksgiving, when the TSA says 2.9 million passengers could pass through checkpoints in Orlando. They're anticipating a 17% increase over last year's travel volume and say passengers should arrive even earlier than they would for a typical trip. Remember to follow. Three, two, one. Passengers should be at the airport ticket counter 3 hours before their flight, at the checkpoint 2 hours before their flight and at the gate 1 hour before departure. From the skyways to the highways where AA projects more than 55 million people will drive to their Thanksgiving destinations over five days. The worst times to hit the road late afternoon, Wednesday, midday, Thanksgiving, and then starting around noon, the Friday after. The good news for drivers. Gas prices right now are averaging $0.40 cheaper per gallon than this time last year. Even cheaper in the south. You're below $3 right now. We haven't seen that in a long time. Yeah. Importantly, TSA PreCheck now has 17 million people signed up, 4 million more than a year ago. They're still keeping the lines for PreCheck at about ten minutes or so, 30 minutes if you're not PreCheck.

So that's the incentive to sign up for PreCheck and get yourself prescreened and go through that entire background check in advance. Back to you. Yeah, I'm sure, Tom. Thank you. That many people saying ten minutes to get through. TSA, I would. Where do I sign on the dotted line for that right now? Up next, getting out of Gaza. When the war first broke out, fleeing that area was extremely challenging. We'll share the story of an American teenager who was lucky enough to escape. Stay tuned, and welcome back. Let's take a quick look now around the world, starting in India, where 40 workers remain trapped in a collapsed highway tunnel for a 6th straight day last Sunday. Part of the tunnel fell apart during a landslide today. Rescuers were drilling deep into the rubble to create space for an escape pipe. You actually saw it in one of those images there. The men trapped inside have received food, medicine, and oxygen through a much smaller pipe. Over in the Philippines, a powerful undersea earthquake shook the southern parts of the country today. Officials there said that they are investigating the report of at least one death.

It was a magnitude 6.7 quake, which was centered at depth of some 40 miles, but thankfully, no tsunami warning was issued. And finally, over in Russia today, president Vladimir Putin is claiming this country's economic growth will exceed 3% this year. Last month, Russia's central bank projected growth under 3%. Why is that significant, you ask? Let us not forget that Russia's economy actually shrank by more than 2% last year. A number of civilians have been trapped in Gaza since the war began over a month ago, and that includes Americans. Tonight, Aaron McLaughlin has the harrowing journey of one teenager who finally did make it out.

And even if you didn't die, you still feel like you're in the worst nightmare that you've ever lived. 17 year old Farah Abu Olba says nowhere in Gaza is safe. The Pennsylvania teen was visiting family in Gaza when the war started. Farah and her family were forced to evacuate south. Even here, it's not safe. NBC news joined Farah and her mother on their trek to the Egyptian border. At one point, their bus was bombed. Farah says shrapnel struck her hand. She lost two fingers. My hand falls like this, and this finger flew. I took my hijab, I wrapped my hand around, and I didn't scream, I didn't cry. I just kept praying. The teen and her family then walked 2 miles to Al Qud's hospital. The entire road of the Goods hospital is just dead bodies. Al Jazeera capturing this moment. Shortly after Farah and her family arrived at the emergency room, they were trapped inside Al Kuds for eleven days. Ferris's bombs were dropping all around. So many people were in their rooms that got hurt. A guy that we knew, he went downstairs just to smell fresh air. One of the planes above started shooting all around, and the gunshot went through his head.

The Israeli military says it does not target civilians, and alleges Hamas exploits hospitals for cover. On Tuesday, the IDF evacuated Al Quds. We reconnected with Farah from the safety of Cairo. What do you want other teenagers in the United States to know about Gaza? They're just like us. These little kids that have great big dreams. Half of them got their lives taken away for no reason. Why does everyone there have to live through this? Aaron McLaughlin, NBC News, Tel Aviv.

They're just like us. Well, before we go, it is time for the Future of Everything. Elon Musk is in hot water once again, this time for what he's been posting on his own platform, X. Those details are next, so stay tuned. Welcome back. Tonight, in the Future of Everything, elon Musk once again facing backlash over his posts on X, the platform that he owns, this time for supporting an anti Semitic claim posted by another user. Now, earlier this week, Musk responding to a post accusing Jewish people of hating white people by writing, you have said the actual truth. He followed that post up with directly criticizing the ADL, accusing the organization of pushing anti white messaging. This is not the first time that Musk faces scrutiny over his posts. Certainly he even defended them in an interview with CNBC back in May. Take a listen. This is freedom of speech. I'm allowed to say what I want. You absolutely are. But I'm trying to understand why you do. Because you have to know it puts you in the middle of the partisan divide in the country. It makes you a lightning rod for criticism. I mean, do you, like, know people today saying he's an anti Semite?

I don't think you are. No, I'm definitely I'm like a pro Semite. Okay, well, here we are again. Since Musk's latest post, some companies have started pulling advertising from X, and that includes IBM, Apple and Lionsgate Entertainment, among others. Even the White House wang in condemning the post in a statement today, calling it an abhorrent promotion of anti Semitic and racist hate. NBC's Jake Ward joining us now, taking a closer look at the fallout sam? The tech billionaire Elon Musk has walked right into it, seeming to endorse the sentiments of a poster on his platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in which that poster essentially I don't even really want to reiterate the sort of anti Semitic sentiments that he put out there, but suffice it to say very ugly and very tired. Tropes were perveyed. And afterwards the CEO of that company weighed in and wrote, you have said the actual truth and with those six words seems to have gotten himself into again, a tremendous amount of trouble. This, of course, follows a pattern we have seen in the past. Elon musk pushing antisemitic remarks. He at one point in 2018 posted, you know, who controls the news media?

Hello. He went on to then claim in a later tweet that he did not mean Jewish people. He meant instead simply the powerholders in America. But the AntiDefamation League, among many others, have pointed out over and over again that he basically trades in these tropes. As a matter of it's not clear entertainment politics. What is this? He has posted photographs of Hitler claiming that they are a joke. He has let the artist formerly known as Kanye West back onto his platform after his repeated anti Semitic activities. And now here we are again. Now, Elon Musk went on in this same Twitter thread that has gotten into trouble here to critique the Anti Defamation League, with whom he has a years long running feud. He accuses that organization of having cost his organization an extraordinary amount of money. But of course, this time it is his words that are costing him money. IBM and the European Commission have both said that they will pull advertising from the platform going forward. They say that they cannot have anything to do with this. And Elon Musk is now in trouble with the White House, which put out a statement which said, among many other things, that these sentiments in this are abhorrent.

They specifically called him out. And important to note here, Sam, that this is someone with whom the White House has a relationship. Elon Musk runs the company that is the top private provider of transportation into space for the United States, and he runs the company that owns the single largest constellation of communication satellites in the world. And so a very complicated moment in which this multi billionaire tech CEO has again walked into anti Semitic tropes and gotten himself into trouble. Sam, Jake Ward, thank you so much for that breakdown. Well, we are following breaking news right now out of New Hampshire, where a gunman opened fire at a psychiatric hospital. As we take a look at the images right now, police say that one person was killed in the lobby of the hospital and that the gunman was fatally shot by a state trooper. All this happening around 330 this afternoon in Concord, New Hampshire. All patients in the hospital were safe and no other information about the shooter or their motive has been released. As police right now continuing their investigation under nightfall, we will continue to monitor this developing story. Well, we know the expense of housing and how critically and difficult that can be for so many professions, including teachers who are having to break the bank to just afford a place to live.

But in Aspen, Colorado, high school students there are quite literally building a solution for teachers who have been priced out. NBC's Valerie Castro has the full story.

In the heart of the Rocky Mountains, a house is taking shape.

We're just going to nail them in bit by bit.

The master builders high school students in Aspen, Colorado.

Seeing the walls actually come up in the first place, that was really cool.

To see their instructor, John Fisher, this.

Next piece of siding the project is.

More than a hands on learning tool. This 190 square foot tiny home will one day house a teacher from this very district. Where would you sleep?

So you're going to sleep in the loft?

Okay.

To be able to lay down and not raise up and hit your head.

An answer to the need for more affordable housing. Aspen is a billionaire's playground. The median home listing price around $3 million. But properties like this easily go for much more, pricing out teachers with a starting base pay here of just over $50,000. If they didn't have that affordable housing yes. Would you be teaching here? Oh, I would not be teaching here if they did not have the affordable housing, because the first question I asked during my interview was, is there housing available? The tiny homes are still in the works, but 37% of Aspen school district employees do live in other district provided housing and apartments, like journalism teacher Kimberly Zimmer. That was the game changer because there is absolutely nowhere I would never have been able to break into this community. And that's the point of the tiny dwellings. You've heard of starter homes? Well, consider these starter rentals.

If you're spending more than half of your income as a teacher on your place to live, that's not viable. And that's the situation for a lot of our educators here.

Scott Cooper works on the board that oversees the project, gathering grant money and donations to pay for construction materials and tools. And Aspen teachers are not alone. Across the country, renting, even a one bedroom, is a stretch for teachers in a slew of cities. According to the National Council on Teacher Quality, the least affordable school districts san Francisco, Portland and San Diego, where starting teachers would pay more than 40% of their salaries for the average rental. New York, Boston and DC not far behind. That's driving some districts to fund affordable housing developments popping up in places like New Mexico, Texas and Arizona. The Chino Valley Unified School District, north of Phoenix, also opted for tiny homes. And the country's second largest teachers union opened this affordable housing for teachers in West Virginia. Back in Colorado, four x four students who work on the homes learn trade skills and in some cases, can also earn college credit. In just a few months, when this is all completed, more than 50 students will have had a hand in the design, construction and finishing touches on this tiny home.

And then on the back, you have a window.

Senior Jonathan Kelly works to fine tune the blueprints for another tiny home. Is this something you're interested in as a career?

Yeah, I like to go into architecture.

A tiny blueprint building a foundation for a big career and a place for a teacher to call home.

Here's to those students changing the world one house at a time. Valerie, thank you so much. Well, finally tonight, a supersized 60 seconds of joy to end your week. Because we all need this. We are less than a week away right now from Thanksgiving, so we thought you could use a second helping of joy. And this story surely does not disappoint. Meet a barber out of Kansas City who is clipping hair as he collects food to help feed his community. Dia Walt from our NBC affiliate KSHB has more.

You just can't miss Fred danceler.

You see the curls now? Wait till Thanksgiving.

You see him. You definitely hear him. Yana regulator and you feel the energy of everything he does.

I'm cool. I got this microphone. No, though, I'm going to hit you back.

He's got that microphone on because he wants to share the story of his feed. KC food drive with me.

2020. COVID hit us pretty hard, so we were only able to feed twelve families at that time. I was like, okay, we just got to keep pushing this every year and try to take off with it. 2021, we end up feeding 27 families. 2022, we hit 96 families and this year we hit 150. So it was fire.

He got started back in 2018 around his family's Thanksgiving table.

I was sitting there, I'm like, dang. I'm looking around and watching everybody open foil and I'm like, man, there's families out here that ain't got nothing to eat.

So he decided to change that by going big. After all, that's who he is.

We going to provide the turkeys, the cake mix, the butter, eggs, everything that they need to cook meals at home for their families.

And this week, all of his scheduled clients got a text.

No turkeys, no cuts. So I was not cutting no hair. If you didn't walk in with that bird and not a Cornish hen, I want some big birds.

Fred is giving up his salary this week to ensure 150 family tables in his community are full for Thanksgiving.

I thought it was just amazing. I didn't think it was for real. So I was like, sure, I want to make sure that I'm here. A couple of days ago, I'm posting on all my social media, like, hey, guys, we need 133 gallons of Hawaiian punch. Can you cash app or go get yourself whatever and cash app blows up. I went and got all 133 in my two door car and put them all in there like this. We all loaded these boxes up so these boxes are actually ready to go to the families.

Donations are still coming through the door to bring more holiday plates to people who really need them.

A character there with an appetite for helping people, an incredible story. Thank you so much to Dia Wall for that report. That is going to do it for us tonight on the eve of this holiday weekend. I'm Sam Brock. I will see you Monday, but until then, orgatti will see you Monday or one of my colleagues will see you Monday. Until then, stay tuned. Thanks for watching. Stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social media.