Meet the Press NOW — November 22

Hello and welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Ryan Nobles here in Washington, where we are following major developments on a number of fronts with a hostage deal now in place in the Israel Hamas War and new reporting on the 2024 presidential race, but we begin with breaking news at the US-Canada border after a vehicle explosion at a border checkpoint in Niagara Falls this afternoon. Look at this video obtained by WNBC, which shows a vehicle driving at a high rate of speed before appearing to hit something and then going airborne. According to multiple law enforcement officials briefed on the matter, that car then caught on fire and exploded, resulting in the deaths of the two people inside.

One, the CBP official was also injured in the incident, and initial search did not find a secondary explosive or device, but authorities are now trying to determine whether or not the incident was intentional. The FBI says they are investigating the incident, and New York's Governor Kathy Holkel says that she's on her way to Buffalo to meet with law enforcement and emergency responders. Now, as a result of this explosion, New York State is taking additional security precautions at the direction of federal authorities. Western New York bridges crossing into the United States have been closed, and the FFAA says that Buffalo International Airport is closed to departing and arriving international flights, but the airport itself remains open.

It's also become somewhat of a logistical nightmare as cars going into that airport are now undergoing additional screening. The White House says they are monitoring the situation and moments ago we heard from the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. This is obviously a very serious situation in Niagara Falls. There was a vehicle explosion at the Rainbow Bridge crossing.

I've been briefed by the NSIA and the Minister of Public Safety. There are a lot of questions that we are following up to try and get as many answers as rapidly as possible. We are in close contact with U.S. officials and will continue to work closely with them.

Alright, let's bring in. Now, our Justice and Intelligence correspondent, Ken Delaney and Kelly O'Donnell, is in Nantucket, where the President is for the holidays, and I'm also joined by Clint Watts and NBC News. National Security analysts and a former consultant for the FBI Counterterrorism Division. So, Ken, what more do we know and what are we hearing from law enforcement officials at this stage of the investigation?

Ryan, you heard the concern in the voice of the Canadian Prime Minister, and that's the kind of concern I'm hearing from my law enforcement sources, but they say there's so much that is yet to be determined about this incident. They are not labeling the terrorism. As you said, they are obviously investigating what happened here and what the motive was. Was it an accident or an intentional act?

And one of the most important findings of the day was the reporting by Tom Winter and Jonathan Deans our colleagues that there was no explosive found in the car. So, it wasn't a car bomb, despite this epic explosion that really alarmed a lot of people. So, authorities are trying to determine what caused that. Was it the gas tank?

And what was going on in that car? What caused the driver to drive at a high rate of speed into this checkpoint? The car was coming from the Canadian side, or sorry, from the US side into Canada, contrary to initial reports coming out of Erie County, but very little else is known about why the car was there and who was driving. So, that remains to be seen.

And this is all coming amid a heightened state of threat of terrorism, according to the FBI Director and others related to the Israel Hamas war, which has caused everyone to look at this with the utmost concern. But again, right now law enforcement officials are not labeling this terrorism. They are investigating exactly what it was right. So, Ken, just to clarify again, so the car was on the American side heading into Canada?

Is that what we're reporting? That's the latest information we're getting in. It's supported by the video. And it contradicts something that was put out, I believe, by local authorities earlier in the day.

And what the significance of that is it's unclear. But the explosion definitely happened on the American side, and one Customs and Border Protection officer suffered minor injuries, no other US government official or worker was injured. And obviously, the two occupants of the vehicle we are told law enforcement officials died in the crash. It's incredibly significant, though, that if it started in the United States as opposed to going from Canada into the US, I appreciate that clarification.

And we also just learned, Ken, that Amtrak is suspending service between New York and Canada. This, in addition to what we already reported about flights, international flights, being canceled from the Buffalo Niagara airport. What can we glean from these enhanced security precautions? Just that officials on both sides of the border are being incredibly cautious here, because if there's a chance that this was an intentional act, then they're concerned about other similar kinds of lone wolf, radicalized, and terrorist-inspired kinds of activity.

Again, we don't know what it was, but that would be the concern and what a nightmare on the busiest travel day of the year. And there are also going to be questions raised in the wake of this about the security measures at those northern border checkpoints. Were there enough barriers to prevent vehicles from picking up speed? What if this had been a vehicle filled with explosives?

The damage could have been incalculable, so there will be a lot of questions to be answered here about security measures and other things, right? All right, excellent reporting, Ken Delaney. And as always, let's move now to Kelly O'Donnell, who is with the president in Tuckett. Kelly, what's the reaction been so far from the administration?

Well, certainly there has been an attempt to get the facts, and that's where things continue to be, where the president was briefed by his team here on the ground on Nantucket. And that has come at a time when he's also balancing the whole issue of the Israel-Hamas War and the hostage deal that has been coming together. So the president's been doing calls with foreign leaders, a number of them today. And then they had to kind of change direction and give the president the latest facts on this from different officials that I've been in touch with.

They say that they are trying to learn from federal, as well as state, and on the ground law enforcement. What are the specifics? And then that helps to formulate any next steps for the president. Because of what Ken has laid out that we don't know what the intention was here, what the impact may be in terms of any motives or different kinds of precautions that need to be taken.

At this point, it is about making certain the president is getting all the information. We've also seen how briefings have included the Attorney General, the Transportation Secretary, and at all of those levels, certainly those senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill have also reached out wanting these briefings as well. So we're at a point now where the president is trying to juggle a few things. The international issue that he's been dealing with, he's on a family vacation for the holiday like many Americans where you're gathered with family around and personal plans, and then obviously all of these issues come into play when the president needs to be briefed on these situations.

Officials have told us they will share more when they learn it. But at this point, we don't expect to see the president publicly today, and tomorrow we will see where he may be at on this issue. Certainly, traditionally the president sometimes over this Thanksgiving holiday steps out is in the community here on Nantucket, make some calls to military and so forth. We've been expecting to keep that kind of schedule, but at this point, the president is getting information and evaluating next steps.

What about other cabinet officials, Kelly? Have we heard anything from the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas? Any of these other national security officials? Are any of them weighing in?

Well, certainly there is a whole operation of presenting information to the different departments and to try and then be able to assess the facts. What steps need to be taken? And part of what we've seen are those steps related to the airport, to transportation like Amtrak. Those kinds of things where they want to sort of reduce the potential for problems by having greater control in areas that are now affected by this.

Law enforcement in the area is obviously being directed to these events and it drains away from other things. So expect the federal government to be sharing information and trying to get more facts from on the ground from those first line of defense there who are investigating the scene, learning information, reporting it up the chain through the situation room at the White House, as well as then sent here to the president. Okay, Kelly O'Donnell with the president and Tuckett. Kelly, thank you for that.

Let's go to Clint Watts now to break down the analysis of all this. What happens next? What are the immediate things that law enforcement officials will be investigating? The key point in all of this is going to be they do know what the vehicle was.

They probably have a license plate and they likely have a vent over. They also have what I would imagine be the identities of two individuals who are inside the car. So their first question is going to be, is this individually motivated? Were these individuals actually just running from something?

That's why they were driving so fast. And this just happened to be where the crash occurred or where they're trying to get across the border or create some sort of terrorist attack with a deliberate motive around an ideological objective. The reason this comes up in terms of these scenarios, particularly on the terrorism side, is we're at a heightened level of terrorism internationally that we haven't been at in quite some time due to the Israel Hamas war. And there were calls by Hamas for a global jihad.

So everyone's been looking for those indications that there might be someone who take up this cause trying to do an attack. And a reminder for everybody that the Canadian US border has been a place where on key days, on key holidays, there have been incidents in the past. You might remember back to the Millennium plot where an individual was interdicted in Washington State coming from Canada into Washington, was going to try to do an attack right at the turn of the century in 2000. Separately, we've also seen key attacks happen around holidays or around big days like today.

This is the busiest travel day in America. This would be a day that might be a prime target for terrorism. Again, we have no indications of that. But that's why you're seeing such a high level alert at the moment.

So the question will be, what was the motive of this? Was it just an accident that got out of control, caused this massive exposure? Or did it have a larger motive that might be connected to other plots? That's where investigators going to be focused right now.

Clint, is it significant that the car was in the United States as opposed to the car being in Canada trying to get into the United States? Would that be a key data point that investigators would look into as they try and ascertain just how big of a threat this could potentially be? Over the last couple of hours since I've been on, I think that's the most significant data point, which is it's not a vehicle coming into the United States. It's one that appears to be going towards the border and maybe outside of the United States.

It really opens up the scenarios a lot. If that could be someone was on the loose and on the run, could be someone was just trying to crash into it to maybe attack a federal target. Just opens it up to a lot of different scenarios that I don't think we were all looking at right when we got the news. Yeah, including a number of politicians who were making some wild claims about what could potentially be going on during the situation without necessarily having all the facts.

So just talk to us a little bit about how vulnerable border checkpoints like this are and how soon could it be before they reopen the bridges? What are they trying to make sure of before they open traffic back up? Their biggest concern will be, is this just one of many attacks or one of other connected attacks that are related to this border or something specific around this target? Or was it a target at all?

Maybe this was coincidental and that's where the car ended up due to a high speed chase or was trying to flee across the border for reasons we don't understand. Across all of this, until all of those questions are answered, the motive is understood why that vehicle ended up there? Why was it moving in such a high rate of speed and why did it explode? They're going to be very cautious in terms of opening up the border and travel because they don't want to have another sort of situation.

Or one of the things that we have seen, particularly in an area of what we call mediated terrorism, meaning an attack occurs and several other attacks spiral out that maybe are unconnected but are inspired by something that has been seen by somebody that was considering an attack. So they're going to make sure to remove all cause for any sort of connections to any other incident before they open up that border. And what are these actions by law enforcement, the fact that they're taking such serious precautions that you see will state government, federal government, the governments of both countries are responding to it so quickly. What does this tell us about how seriously they're taking it?

I think it just indicates if nothing else that they just don't know and when, you know, you have this kind of uncertainty, they're always going to decide with caution. Separately, they have to run down some of the facts. They've got to know who the two people were that were in the car. They're going to look at what that motive is and if they can find other connections.

That can be everything for, do they have a previous criminal record? Was this vehicle spotted doing something just before this? Is there other video camera footage further up the road? We've seen some of it so far.

But is there other video camera footage that can speak to that motive and then I think the bigger picture? Were there any claims or threats that were made by these individuals out on social media to friends, neighbors, maybe coworkers? They'll want to resolve all of that before they make sure to understand that this is just a lone incident and that they're really safe for all these border entry points to open again. This is obviously the biggest travel day of the year in the United States.

The fact that we've seen these major thoroughfare shut down and then of course the airport itself shut down to international travel. Do they not take these risks unless they really believe there is something that could be a threat? Does the timing of all of this tell us anything about what there could potentially be that they found over the course of their investigation? Or would they take these precautions no matter what time of year it is?

They could take these precautions for both of what we call a threat assessment or vulnerability assessment. I mean a threat assessment they found something related to these two individuals and why they did this incident that was related to an attack. We have no indication of that yet though I would say we need a lot more information before we could say that. But separately it's very normal in what we call the vulnerability portion of it is to look at all travel points.

All border crossings all train crossings and all airports and try and lock that down particularly because there may be accomplices that we don't know about. Even if it's a criminal scenario with an incident like this of such international importance to the way it's rated this ripple effect. They may want to make sure that there's nobody else involved with the plot or trying to flee the situation or create a secondary sort of attack. So just out of an abundance of caution until they probably get more information they're going to move very slowly and try and make sure they keep all of these transportation notes tied down.

And you made this point earlier but maybe expand on it a little bit more. How much of the reaction that we're seeing here could be because of the heightened precautions over these ongoing wars and the heightened tensions around the world as a result? Three aspects to it. One, this is a border crossing, international border crossing.

So it's going to be taken very seriously. Anything that is inter-jurisdictional between two countries is going to raise in terms of significance. Second, the Hamas leadership call for international jihad, a global jihad, where you attack where you are. Meaning that isn't coming to a specific location, let's say in Gaza or Israel.

It's a attack where you're at in a attack of violence and solidarity with the Hamas leadership. This is very similar to the Amwar aliki era you might remember of al-Qaeda which is do terrorism at your home or at your locale. They're going to be exploring that and very concerned about it. The other part, it is a holiday period.

And so any time there's a holiday period, we naturally have increased risk. You've got people traveling. It's a day of significance. Where if you're trying to gain media attention, this is the day to do it, it really causes a major impact.

Those three things I think are probably what's driving a lot of this law enforcement to be very cautious. All this law enforcement activity would be very cautious about arriving to a conclusion too quickly. Well, clip-wise, as always, excellent analysis still a lot. We don't know.

So we're going to continue to keep a very close eye on this situation out of Niagara Falls. If we do get more information, we'll bring in those developments as we learn them. Clint, thank you so much for being here. We're going to turn now, though, to the breakthrough in the Israel-Hamas War.

After a deal was formally announced last night to free some of the more than 230 hostages that have been held in Gaza since the October 7 terrorist attack. The deal is set to unfold in stages over four-day pause in fighting, which could begin as early as tomorrow morning. Hamas has agreed to release 50 women and children kidnapped in held hostage. Some Americans are likely part of that group.

In exchange, Israel will release 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails. The pause in hostilities could also be extended in exchange for 10 hostages released each day. In addition, the pause will allow much needed humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. This afternoon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal was a result of both diplomatic and military pressure.

The combination of the military effort and the diplomatic effort, this is what made the conditions ready for the release of the hostages. And I believe that this combination will enable the return of more hostages. I wish to be clear. The war continues.

The war continues. And we are going to continue with this war until we achieve all of our goals to bring back all of our hostages to obliterate Hamas. He didly emphasize that any pause is temporary as you just heard from the Prime Minister. And with just hours to go until the deal is expected to take effect, flares and smoke were still visible on the Israel Gaza border.

Netanyahu said that he spoke to President Biden today as a White House says that three Americans are among those expected to be released, including a three-year-old girl. But even with a breakthrough, administration officials are still urging cautious optimism. Until we have eyes on the hostages, the American hostages and all of the others, we can't be certain about who exactly will be delivered in this deal. We don't have proof of life on everyone.

It's why they're doing this in a staged way to ensure that Hamas is actually following through on the people it says it has. We know hundreds of families of hostages facing an agonizing wait, hoping for news of loved ones, and that their family members will be among those released. NBC's Erin McLaughlin is in Israel with the latest. Here in Israel, the families of more than 230 hostages are all tonight asking the same question.

Will my loved one be released? It's very much on the mind of Hadass called her on October 7th. Her mother and her niece were killed by Hamas, her ex-husband, her 11-year-old son, and her 16-year-old daughter were kidnapped and brought into Gaza. She has not heard from them since.

She was telling me just how desperate she is for any piece of information I asked her. When will she know? And she looked at me and she said, I'll know when I hug them. Take a listen.

You know how you'll see them. I don't know how it's going to happen. I know it's a moment I see them and hug them. Then I know that my nightmare is finished.

To them, everything is open. My day gets inside you. Well, Calderon's ex-husband is unlikely to be released tomorrow. This deal is restricted to women and children only, but she says her hope is that this deal will lead to subsequent deals so that her family can be reunited.

Now, in terms of what to expect for tomorrow, there will be a pause in hostilities scheduled for 10 a.m. local time. And from there, the ICRC will facilitate that hostage exchange. Hostages will be brought into Israel.

Once they are in Israel, only then will their families be notified that they have been released. And only then will the Palestinian prisoners be exchanged. This is expected to play out over four days with the possibility of an extension. Back to you.

All right, Aaron, thank you so much. Let's spring in now. John Kirby, the Strategic Communications Coordinator for the National Security Council. John, thank you for being here.

Before we turn to Israel, I do want to ask you about the situation in Buffalo. What more do we know about the cause of this explosion at the U.S. Canada border? Well, Ryan, we actually don't know a whole lot more.

I mean, we are monitoring these reports coming in actively here at the White House. We've got federal law enforcement on the ground assisting local law enforcement. They're still investigating, obviously, a very active scene. So I don't want to get ahead of them or what their learning and what conclusions they might reach.

But we're watching this very, very closely, obviously. All right, thank you for that. Let's talk now about the hostage negotiations. Who's responsible for making sure that both Hamas and Israel uphold the deal?

And how do you make sure that other Iranian-backed proxy groups don't try to take advantage of the situation? Well, obviously, we're dealing with Hamas here, a terrorist organization that doesn't have a strong track record in meeting all their commitments. So we're going to be watching this very, very closely. We're grateful for Prime Minister Netanyahu's willingness to sign on to this deal, as well as the Qataris for their role in brokering this with Hamas and, of course, President C.C.

of Egypt. So there was a lot of folks involved in this, including President Biden at a very senior level. He was very personally engaged in helping this deal get over the finish line. So we're all going to be watching it very, very closely in the hours that come to see whether Hamas actually meets its commitment and releases these people.

On the timeline that it promised it would do. The administration has also said that it's hopeful there will be a pause on the Northern border with Lebanon as well. Were there any specific commitments by Hezbollah as part of this deal? I would just say we don't want to see this war escalator widen, and we certainly don't want to see a second front opened up in the north of Israel.

We want this to stay contained to fighting Hamas in Gaza. Now, there have been exchanges of rocket fire cross-up order. You've seen that. But we have not seen Hezbollah make any commitment or make any state of commitment or make any indication of any activity by Hezbollah.

That would tell us that they are willing to jump in both feet forward here and help Hamas. Now, Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas. We've just heard the Prime Minister say that this is not an end to the war, but if this deal does not get extended. And the pause in fighting does not continue.

How difficult will it be to get a second hostage deal? How important is it for this one to be successful? It's very important for this to be successful. If for no other reason, right, and they get these 50 women and children back with their families where they belong, that is important enough as it is.

We obviously want to see all the hostages come home, and that means that we're willing to engage in brokering further negotiations for more hostage releases in coming days. I don't want to get ahead of where we are right now. Our focus is really on making sure this first deal gets implemented. And if it can, and it can go successfully, that certainly would lead us to believe that our chances are better at moving forward on other hostage deals.

But again, I don't want to get ahead of where we are. We're going to have to watch this one in implementation very, very closely. And can you tell us anything about the Americans who are expected to be part of this deal and how many other Americans remain as hostages in Gaza? Well, we know there's about 10 unaccounted for Americans, and that means that there could be 10 overall hostages that are American.

We don't have perfect visibility on all of them and where they might be, but that's sort of the pool that we're looking at. I would tell you, in this first installment, under this deal, there will be three Americans that we would expect to see released two women and, of course, young Abigail Maureen, who turns four on Friday. We definitely want to make sure that she's in this group of 50 that are coming out and getting her back with her family where it belongs. So our expectation would be three two American women and Abigail, and then we'll obviously continue to work on getting all the other hostages released after that.

And the U.S. has often provided Americans detained abroad with resources to help with reintegration. Is the administration going to be able to offer those resources to the Israeli government once these hostages are returned? We'll certainly do whatever is acceptable to the Israeli government in terms of reintegration.

We know how to do this. We know how to get folks that have been in captivity for a long time. Hostages are wrongful detainees. I get them reintegrated back into society.

They're going to need health care. They're going to need mental health care. Certainly we'll be standing by for all the Americans that we can get out for any follow-on transportation they might need. We know how to do this.

And look, the Israelis do too. It's not like they haven't dealt with this kind of problem before. But clearly, whatever the Prime Minister might require from us in that regard, we'd be happy to help. And you mentioned this already, but maybe can you expand a little bit more about the specific role that President Biden played in these talks?

Just last month, Arab leaders called off a summit with President Biden. Where does his relationship stand with many of those leaders now? Well, that summit, just to be clear, wasn't called off by the Arab leaders. That was a mutual decision by all sides that it wasn't the time to go to Jordan.

And so that part of the trip was canceled because of, again, a mutual decision. But to your question, we're going to, obviously, continue to work with Arab leaders throughout the region to make sure that we get the humanitarian assistance in, to make sure that we continue to get people out. There's roles to play by all those partners. And as I said earlier, Connor has been enormously helpful.

Jordan has been helpful. Egypt has really been helpful down at the Rafa Crossing in terms of helping us get aid in and get people out. All right, John Kirby, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.

My pleasure. And let's turn now to Avi Mayer, who's the editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, to get his take on everything that is happening in relation to these hostages being returned. First, Avi, your reaction to Prime Minister Netanyahu this afternoon. What was your biggest takeaway?

Well, I think the Prime Minister made clear that this is a top national priority. It has been for a month and a half now. Israelis have been wrought with anxiety over the fate of these hostages, not knowing whether they're in fact alive or dead, what their wellbeing might be. And so he made clear that this has been a top priority for his government and for the entire country, bringing these people home.

But he also stressed that this is not the end of the military campaign in Gaza. And once this pause is completed and once this transfer ends, that Israel will continue to do whatever it must ensure that Hamas never again has the capacity to carry out a massacre like October 7 ever, ever again. How important is this deal for Netanyahu domestically in terms of his standing with the people of Israel? Does he still have the confidence of his people and his ability to lead this emergency wartime government?

Well, as you said, this is indeed an emergency government. It was formed for the intense purpose of making it through this war in a unity sense. There are members of the opposition who have joined it in order to ensure that we are unified at this fraught moment in time. But I don't think that his political woes are behind him.

In fact, some might say that they lie ahead at the very end of this war. There will be a reckoning. As to the failings of October 7, how they came about, how is always caught on the wares in a most dramatic way, resulting in the deaths of over 1200 people and the abduction of 240? So yes, I think it's important, obviously, that this is happening and I think that it may boost him on some level, but there will be a significant reckoning to come.

I'm not sure that people survive that. That is such a good point, right? He's faced quite a bit of criticism for not taking responsibility, right? For the failures that led to October 7, does the deal take any of that pressure off?

And does it put a lot of pressure on him as well from these hostages' families? How much they have been putting this pressure on him into the government's decision as to how to handle this? Did he up the timeline, I guess, is what I'm asking to get this deal done? Well, it's important to note, these are 50 people and we certainly hope they will indeed all be released, but that leaves about 190 others.

We're still going to be in some ostentivity. That is a huge number of people. We're talking about sons and daughters and fathers and grandfathers in some cases. They too need to be released.

And so there will be tremendous pressure on the part of their families, obviously, but also entirely society to ensure they are indeed released in an expeditious way. So whether that reduces the pressure or adds the pressure, I think that this will simply wet the appetite of the Israeli public. We can say, look, it is possible to reach a deal. Let's see what we can do to release the rest of these 190 hostages.

We hope that at least a large percentage of them are still alive. And there were some of the ministers who were part of these negotiations who initially opposed the deal. They did end up voting for it. What was behind that switch?

Look, this is a very difficult decision. I think it was Minister Gantz who was up until recently a member of the opposition, who said it was the most difficult decision he's ever made to vote in favor of this deal. You have to understand, we're talking about 150 terrorists, people who have been convicted or held by Israeli authorities in connection with terror offenses. We know that there's a track record of people who have been released in the context of deals like this one, returning to the cycle of terror, in fact, Sinwar, who's the leader of Hamas and Gaza, who perpetrated, who mass reminded, the October 7th massacre was himself released from Israeli prison in the context of a hostage deal in the past.

And so there is significant concern that this could happen again. So there were members of the government who had opposed it. Some of them did ultimately vote in favor, but some remained opposed to the very end and actually voted against. They're concerned not only for the possibility that some of these members might return to the cycle of terror, but also that the terrorist group itself, Hamas might rearm and regroup during the course of those four or five days and just continue their assault on Israeli people.

And that's part of why Israel has this last-minute kind of opportunity to prevent something like this from happening this 24-hour window for petitions to the court. What are your expectations about that? Could it be possible that the court could stop this? And how unusual would it be for them to stop a prisoner from being released?

Well, it certainly is possible. The court does have that authority. And it's possible that the family members of certain victims of October 7th or others might petition the government and say this is not right. We should not be letting these people free.

They have been convicted of terror offenses, and they should not be allowed to return to the cycle of terror. I think it's highly unlikely though that the courts will intervene. I expected the deal ultimately will go through. All right, I'm your mayor.

Excellent. Inside is always we appreciate it. Thank you for being here. And ahead, we continue to get new details on the breaking news of the US-Canada border.

The FBI is investigating a vehicle explosion at the border checkpoint between Niagara Falls and Canada. We'll update you on what we are learning after this quick break. It's more context and clarity from the reporters you trust. Download the NBC News app now and subscribe for more.

We'll take a deep dive into the day's top stories with NBC News' trusted journalist. It's a fresh take that's sharp, thoughtful, and it's informative, bringing you closer to the headlines and conversations that are shaping our world. The front page of the zeitgeist. Here's the scoop from NBC News.

Listen daily on SiriusXM. We're walking up the road, and we've seen this car come into town, towards the border. And he was flying over 100 miles an hour. There was a car in front of him.

He swerved out, went in front of the car, hit the fence, went flying. Up into the air, I think there was an elevation car. He went up into the air and we just seen a fireball and that's all we can see, which is covered in smoke everywhere. So the car was coming from the U.S.

into Canada? Yeah, so it was going towards Canada, yes. That was an eyewitness to the explosion at the border crossing between the United States and Canada today. The FBI continuing to investigate the incident at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.

This video obtained by our New York station, WNBC, showing the vehicle traveling very fast before appearing to hit something and going airborne, just like the eyewitness recounted. Law enforcement officials tell NBC News that the people inside of that vehicle are now dead. NBC News investigative correspondent Tom Witcher joins me now to update us on the latest investigation. Now, Tom, this is significant, right?

And we heard it now from the eyewitness. There was some discrepancy in the initial reporting about where the car was when this all took place. But the fact that the car appears to have originated or was at least on the American side and crashed into the American border is a significant part of this investigation, am I right? Well, yes, Ryan, you're exactly correct.

And to take a step back, one of the reasons why we were so intently watching this incident from earlier today is that the Northern border has actually been a place where there have been some significant terror investigations over the last 20, 25 years or so. And so we pay attention to that when we see an incident at the Northern border, particularly individuals coming in from Canada. But all throughout the day, here at NBC News, we have specifically not said where this vehicle was coming from. There were some discrepancies, as you quite accurately described, amongst law enforcement agencies, they were trying to determine where this vehicle was coming from.

But it's clear, I think, from those photos and from those pictures and from the witnesses statements that appears at this incident originated on the U.S. side. Now, what specifically led up to it is something that is very much under investigation. My colleague, Jonathan Deansdenai, reporting just here in the last 30 seconds that they're continuing to look over the routes that they believe that they've traced the vehicle back to at least one location earlier today.

And so they're looking at this and still trying to determine why it happened. That was an intentional or accidental. But we also have this video, and you showed it moments before, where the vehicle is clearly going at an incredible rate of speed, hits a median, gets up in the air, and lands at that position. You're looking at this video now.

Right there at the top of your screen, you can see the vehicle gone airborne, described as a white sedan, and then lands into this Customs and Border Patrol facility at that bridge, at that border crossing, and from there, burst into flames. And the flame pattern clearly indicates that the gas was leaking from the vehicle and the flames were following that. So that's what we know at this time. The specific person involved, a bit of up in the air in a question, something we're looking to nail down.

But obviously, the thing that I think matters most to people is to, why did this happen? Was there some sort of an innocuous thing, a medical episode? Was there another crime that was involved? Or was this something much more nefarious?

And that's going to be the question that needs to be answered here, and likely will be in the next several hours. And to that point, Tom, two different updates. First, we are expecting to hear from New York's Governor Kathy Holkel, who's going to hold a briefing here at any moment. And also, the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who, of course, represents New York, just tweeted that he was briefed by the FBI on the incident at the Rainbow Bridge.

So he was given a briefing by the FBI. From that briefing, he said that the initial reports indicate that two people were killed in the car. But this is an important part. And part of what you're talking about, Tom, nothing's been determined about their identity or motive.

So that appears to be an open question. How does this work now with the US and Canadian officials? You obviously have two completely different countries involved in this investigation. How well do they work together?

And will they share information that they're trying to figure out what went wrong? Basically, what they're trying to do is just, I mean, there's going to be tremendous information sharing back and forth. The US law enforcement agencies have great relationships with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the authorities there. That's a relationship that is particularly strong with respect to New York State, certainly the New York State Police and NYPD.

I can tell you, we have an excellent relationship with their counterparts across the border. Everybody understands the importance of this. So this is a team that's very much working together. Again, assuming that there's a Canadian nexus, and that appears very much to be in doubt.

And you, Tom, have been quite a bit reporting about just how the federal government has been, has a heightened level of concern given all the conflicts around the world. That there could be the possibility of terror attacks, even lone wolf terror attacks here in the United States. Is that part of the reason that we're seeing such an incredible response to this? A hundred percent, Ryan.

I mean, between the NYPD saying it's a heightened threat environment. The FBI's Director's comments earlier this week, which couldn't have been more clear or more stark about the potential challenges facing US law enforcement, heading into the Thanksgiving holiday on the eve and in the course of the busiest travel day of the year. And all of a sudden you have this pretty unbelievable incident at the US-Canadian border. It's going to garner everybody's attention.

We've seen vehicle ramming attacks before. I know there were initial indications or reports that there was an explosion. There's no indication, based on law enforcement officials we've spoken to, that there were any sort of actual explosives involved. But certainly, if you were an eyewitness and heard this and saw this, it would have sounded like it.

Very, very understandably, I think people are on edge and are paying attention to it. I think that's why you saw the FBI spring into action. It is a federal facility. So, of course, they have jurisdiction in the ability to investigate.

So, that's why you're seeing a lot of the response and the attention, frankly, that we're paying to it at this point. All right, Tom Winter. Excellent reporting. As always, let us know if you get any new information and we'll put you right back on and get that out to our viewers.

But we are expecting to hear at any moment from New York's Governor, Kathy Hochl, on this situation. We'll bring it to you as soon as it begins. We'll be right back. Welcome back.

As we mentioned, we are still waiting to hear from New York's Governor, Kathy Hochl after that vehicle explosion in Niagara Falls. We will bring you those remarks when they begin. But before we get to that, let's turn to the campaign trail, where it has been a wild 24 hours for Florida's Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, as he tries to turn around a struggling campaign. Starting with the good news, DeSantis notched an endorsement from Bob Vanderplatz, the Iowa Evangelical leader, who's back the winner of each of the last three contested Iowa caucuses.

It comes after DeSantis nabbed an endorsement from the state's Governor, Ken Reynolds. But, and there's always a bud, NBC News reports, there is growing infighting inside the never-backdown, which is, of course, the largest super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis with a candidate and his wife at odds with its leadership. A new super PAC was launched by some close, DeSantis allies just last week. Joining me now, talk about this is Betsy Woodruff-Swann, the national correspondent at Politico and an NBC News contributor, Cornel Belcher, a Democratic pollster, and the NBC News political analyst.

And Steven Hayes, the editor and CEO of the Dispatch, who's also an NBC News political analyst, so thankful to have all of you here the day before Thanksgiving. So, Betsy, let's talk about this good and bad news for Ron DeSantis. I saw a stat that showed that every time Bob Vanderplatz is weighed in on an Iowa caucus, the candidate skyrockets up the polls, doesn't necessarily lead to a Republican nomination down the road, but certainly helps in Iowa. Is it going to help this time around?

There's no question it's helpful. How much it helps is very difficult to see. And the reality is that Trump is far and away the front runner in every Republican contest. And at this point, it certainly looks like Haley and DeSantis are basically fighting to see who gets the biggest participation trophy.

What's fascinating about the NBC News' DeSantis reporting is that it shows that even as DeSantis has gotten this endorsement, he got the Iowa governor endorsement just within the last week or two, the super PAC situation for him is just wild. Because never-backdown, his super PAC is more than a regular super PAC. They've actually pushed the boundaries of how closely a super PAC can enmesh itself in a campaign. And what you guys reported is that the result of this has been that voters understand what's going on.

So when the super PAC has run these attack ads going after Nikki Haley, according to the reporting, voters blame DeSantis for it. And the result is that the chickens are essentially coming home to roost. DeSantis is realizing he can't have his super PAC and eat it, too. And this is part of the reason that now there's this second DeSantis super PAC that's set up, and the whole thing just doesn't bode well whatsoever for his campaign.

I mean, Betsy, it was such a great point, right, Stephen, that they are pushing the boundaries of how these super PACs work. They can't specifically talk to the super PAC. They've essentially formed a lot of the fundraising out to the super PAC, not raising its right, hard campaign donors. So this is the problem here.

If you can't control it, and then they're kind of left to their own devices and you're left with this just a couple months away from the caucuses. Yeah, I mean, I think there's been widespread reporting of frustrations in DeSantis will broadly, particularly in the super PAC, about the candidate's message, about the way they've run the campaign, about fundraising, about organization. And I think that's reflected in the reporting on the blow-ups inside the campaign. I think the bigger problem for Ron Santis's numbers, right, he came out and looked like he was going to be the alternative to Donald Trump.

They've raised and spent some hundred million dollars in the time since, and his numbers have dropped more than in half. And I think there's a lot of people questioning, including DeSantis supporters. Why did the DeSantis campaign and the super PAC decide to go after the small sliver of the 30% or so of people who seem committed to Donald Trump and try to peel off those voters rather than look to people who were open to alternatives to Trump and maybe opposed to Trump? I mean, I've just told him I hear that the New York Times is reporting that the CEO of Never Back Down is stepping down.

In some cases, you do step down at the time. But as an example of the decision there, you know, Cornell, it's interesting because it always seemed as though Ron DeSantis was the candidate that Democrats feared the most. Is that the case still? No, I think I don't know if he was ever the candidate that Democrats feared the most.

Look, Ron DeSantis's problem hasn't been money or hasn't been coordination. I don't think they're blurring the lines with super PAC. They've smashed those lines. And seriously, when you look at what campaign finance reform is supposed to be, the spirit of the law is just isn't tatters.

And at some point, I hope we do go back and revisit this because there's too much money in our politics to your point. There's already been hundreds of millions of dollars spent without any votes being taken right now. So I wonder about our democracy. But Ron DeSantis's problem is Ron DeSantis, right?

Some candidates are good on paper, you know, you know, see Scott Walker, et cetera. But in reality, they just don't pan out. It's not going to be fixed by money. It's not going to be fixed by change in strategy.

What is it fixed by Stephen? I mean, is there any scenario by which any of these candidates can topple Donald Trump at this point? Yeah, I mean, look, Donald Trump, depending on the poll, has a 40 to 50 point lead among his Republican opponents. I mean, I think that's a Cornell's point.

It's interesting to watch the DeSantis campaign. These endorsements that Betsy mentioned have come at an interesting time when he seems to be losing momentum. And Nikki Haley seemed to be gaining momentum. I think there was, if you would have pulled sort of informally Iowa political insiders a month ago, many of them would have bet that Kim Reynolds, Governor, would have endorsed Nikki Haley.

And in fact, she didn't. And Bob Vanderplatz has been sort of signaling that this endorsement was coming for a long time. Both are given this endorsement at a time where it could revive Ron DeSantis in Iowa. But you're seeing Nikki Haley's polling improve in New Hampshire and elsewhere around the country, in a way that I think is likely to all re-down to the benefit of Donald Trump.

Yeah, right. We're agreement. To that point, a new ad from Ron DeSantis regarding, from the super pack I should mention, blurring the lines, attacking Nikki Haley. Take a look at this and we'll react to it.

We know her as crooked Hillary, but to Nikki Haley, she's her role model, the reason she ran for office. I often say that the reason I got into politics was because of Hillary Clinton. That's actually the reason that I made the jump. I mean, to the point that fellas are making here, Betsy, I mean, this is not a recipe for anyone other than Donald Trump to be successful in a primary like this.

Yeah, there's no question. And this is what happened in 2016, then 2015, too. There were too many anti-Trump Republicans who stayed in for too long, and the result was that the anti-Trump cohort got totally diluted, and by the time it could have been competitive, Trump had essentially walked away with it. What's going to be interesting to see with this ad, which is obviously a fascinating piece of content, is the question of whether or not a backfire is your guy's own reporting set, some of the attack ads that just answers the super pack.

Loved against Nikki Haley actually hurt DeSantis. Well, this is another super pack ad, and if the Iowa voters have been bombarded with enough content that they now substantially know never back down is working on DeSantis's behalf, it'll be really interesting to see. Does a spot like this help or harm DeSantis? Yeah, I wonder, too, Cornell.

Even if some of these guys get out, isn't there a real possibility that even somebody like Ron DeSantis gets out maybe after Iowa and then endorses Donald Trump? Well, to consolidate, you really have to consolidate, right? I think that's true, but also I would say I think that ad is a stretch, right? The connect, Nikki Haley to Taylor Clinton, I think that's an incredible stretch.

I think that's a desperation. But to your point, when you look at the second choice, look at the second choice in Iowa. When Donald Trump is sitting there at 45, 46 percent, and he's the second choice of it, he gets at least 12, 13 percent in a second choice. They're running out of votes, right?

At some point he is at the majority and he wins it because they're running out of votes. We're going to have to leave it there. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Thank you for being here.

We appreciate it. Betsy Cornell and Stephen have a great holiday. And we just received word that New York's Governor Kathy Hochl's update on the deadly crash at the US-Canada border will now begin at the top of the hour, 5 p.m. Eastern time.

So we'll bring you that briefing right here on NBC News Now as soon as it begins. But we'll be right back with more news after this. Live look now in Niagara Falls, New York where we expect New York Governor Kathy Hochl to give us an update on the deadly vehicle crash at the US-Canada border. That briefing is set to begin five minutes from now and you'll see it live right here on NBC News.

But as many Americans gather for Thanksgiving celebrations tomorrow, we're drawing attention to another celebration. November is Native American Heritage Month. That's when the US honors the rich history and the many contributions of Native American tribes across the country. For more on Native American Heritage Month, I'm joined by the Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.

Chief, thank you for being here. Of course, as we mentioned, it is Native American Heritage Month. And what can people around the country do to honor this month and not just pay lip service to it as they celebrate Thanksgiving this week? Well, thanks for having me on and covering Native American Heritage Month.

I think what Americans can do is spend some time really educating themselves and look as a country collectively, we've got our work cut out for us in terms of deepening our knowledge of tribes in this country. We have to remember tribes were here before anyone ever heard of the United States. We were exercising the rights handed to us by the creator to govern ourselves as free people. I think exploring that and it's something moms and dads can do with kids.

There's a lot of resources out there including Cherokee Nation's own website with a lot of other resources where you can start thinking and talking, I think in particular, to the generation coming up about the history of this country, about the areas of suppression and oppression, about the great atrocities visited upon tribal people. But I think just as important about the great progress that tribes are making, I mean, think about the Cherokee Nation. I think we're one of the most progressive and dynamic governments in the country. I think we're leading in a lot of ways that a lot of Americans would come and see what we do and say, this is what we want from our government all while maintaining our culture and heritage.

So I think there's a great deal to learn in this country. I think education is the key though. Well, expand on that a little bit. What are some initiatives that are most helpful to honoring and preserving the Cherokee and heritage specifically?

Well, I think the education piece is important. I mean, Indian country is not a monolith. Tribes are diverse. We have diverse cultures and histories.

And I think when it comes to Cherokee Nation, that's a good way to sort of learn about Native American history broadly though, because there's common themes. I mean, you can talk about and explore our forced removal, the trail of tears, the removal of the Cherokee people across the country because the government of the United States wanted to solve an Indian problem. And I think when you start thinking and exploring that part of our history, you can think more and again, talking to this generation coming up about what this country did that was wrong, but what we're doing is right today in terms of honoring tribes and recognizing tribal sovereignty. I think thinking about the fact that the Cherokee Nation has treaties with the United States going back to the founding of this country.

And one way to explore treaties is to think about the Cherokee Nation's right to a delegate to Congress. I mean, think about that. A nearly 200-year-old treaty gives us a right to a delegate in the House of Representatives. That's a living document.

That's a document that's still the law of the land. And so talking about the fact that there are rights that have not yet been secured and many Americans, whether you're Native American or not, can get behind that idea that America ought to keep its promise. And then we have a beautiful culture. We have a wonderful language that had been endangered, but people can explore how the Cherokee Nation is revitalizing its language.

There's a lot to learn across all of Indian country on a lot of those subjects. And you mentioned your representative in Congress. You recently elected the Cherokee Nation delegate, Kintihi, but she's yet to have been seated because of everything that's happening in Congress. Where do things stand right now in those conversations with Washington in terms of getting your representative in office?

Well, frankly, on my part, there's a mix of frustration that's also taking the long view on this subject. It's a 200-year-old treaty right. We asserted it for the first time in 2019 when I nominated Kintihi and our council confirmed her and they did that again earlier this year. The frustrating part is, to me, it's a simple proposition.

The language is simple in the treaty. The Congress of the United States can choose the only correct path. There's not a lot of gray area here. There is a promise and a promise ought to be kept.

So there's the frustrating part. The part that is where I need to exercise patience is to know that nothing in this country when it comes to Native peoples or other marginalized populations, nothing comes easy. We have to keep being persistent. So we're spending time educating the public and members of Congress.

I think after we get past the end of this year, Congress will have been past its recent leadership changes and the difficulties surrounding that. Congress will have hopefully stabilized the government from a fiscal standpoint and we can maybe stop worrying about shutdowns for a while, and we can bring this issue to the forefront. But we haven't let up at all. We're educating the public on this right.

A promise made is a promise kept. That's what Indian country deserves. All right. As someone who covers Congress every day, I also hope for that stability.

Cherokee Nation, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. Thank you so much for being here. I have a very happy Thanksgiving. And we want to thank you for being with us this hour.

NBC News now coverage continues with Halle Jackson right now. Have a terrific Thanksgiving. I'm Craig Malef, cheers. Look at the world that we too.

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