Investigating the theft of a precious piece by picasso, today, september, december 6th, 2014. Announcer from nbc news, this is today, with lester holt and erica hill, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Welcome to today on this busy saturday morning. Im lester holt. Im erica hill alongside Sheinelle Jones and dylan dreyer. We start with the breaking news. Devastating news from overnight, that american hostage luke somers has been killed in yemen. His death coming as u. S. Forces tried to rescue him from the clutches of al qaeda. Nbcs chief Foreign CorrespondentRichard Engel is here with more. Richard, good morning. Good morning. There is always a terrible that the president faces that the u. S. Military faces in a hostage situation, do you attempt to rescue the hostage, knowing the risks. In this case, the president , the military decided to make the risky operation, to make an attempt, but it didnt work out. A desperate attempt to save an american hostage in yemen that ended in tragedy. Luke somers, an American Photo journalist was abducted more than a year ago in yemens capital sanaa. Held by al qaedas branch in the arabian peninsula. U. S. Special Operation Forces tried to rescue him on friday, but according to defense secretary chuck hagel, al qaeda terrorists murdered him during the operation. Somers sister lucy told the Associated Press today, we ask that all of lukes family members be allowed to mourn in peace. In a video released this week, somers had pleaded for help. My name is luke somers, im 33 years old. I was born in england, but i carry american citizenship and have lived in america for most of my life. Reporter al qaeda had threatened to kill him by this weekend if the u. S. Didnt meet its demands. U. S. Special Operations Forces had tried to rescue him last month as well, but that mission didnt succeed either. Somers wasnt there, so the u. S. , facing a deadline, tried again. And just a short while ago the president has issued a statement. It said earlier this week, a video released by terrorist captors announced that luke would be killed within 72 hours. Other information also indicated that lukes life was in imminent danger. Based on the assessment, and as soon as there was reliable intelligence and an Operational Plan i authorized a rescue plan. The callous disregard for lukes life is more proof of the depths of aqaps depravity. Aqap the al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. The depths of their depravity and further reason why the world must never cease in seeking to defeat their evil ideology. You talk about the moral dilemma, the risk of an operati operation. Two years ago you were part of an nbc news team held in syria by terrorists. Were you expecting a rescue attempt . Was it something you feared . It wasnt something i feared. It wasnt something i was expecting either. I knew if the rescue attempt came, the rescue attempt never came, but i knew if one did happen, there was a good chance that i would be killed in it. You felt your captors were waiting for that, anticipating that . Oh, yeah. Think about how difficult it is to do a rescue attempt. Youre in a house, your captors know that they are vulnerable. In this case there had already been a failed attempt so they knew it was a possibility that the u. S. Special Operation Forces could try to come again. They specifically warned them not to come again. So its a very hard thing to pull off. Youre in a room, youre locked, youre surrounded by gunmen. As soon as they hear choppers coming and they think its the rescue operation is under way, theyre probably going to kill you, to make the rescue attempt a failure. But if youre if facing imminent death and in this case they said he was going to be killed this weekend, what choice do you have . Is it better to take the shot and risk being killed in the operation, or have no one take the shot, youre killed anyway . I think if i were in his position i would say take the shot. Dilemma is the world. We have to acknowledge the bravery of the u. S. Forces that made that attempt today. Thanks very much. Absolutely. A resident in the philippines this morning are bracing for a massive storm headed straight for the island nations. Half a Million People have already fled the area. While preparations are under way today, with a storm this large at this point there may be little that people can do to get out of its way. Dylan is tracking it all for us. This is a massive, massive system. It is a huge storm system. Its no longer a super typhoon, though. Naturally, the storm is weakening. Its the equivalent of a category 3 hurricane right now. And it is expected to make landfall and then work its way through the Philippine Islands where in manila were expecting this storm to arrive by monday. Here is the good thing. Once it starts to move over land, it is going to continue to weaken. So it is not looking like it is going to be bringing that extreme damage we saw from haiyan just last year and as it weakens down to a category 2 on sunday, and then passes just to the south of manila in the philippines, early monday morning, with winds at 85 miles per hour. There is a lot of rain with this storm, so we are certainly going to see the potential for flooding, but wind damage shouldnt be as significant as originally thought now that this storm is going to continue to weakp. It is still a powerful hurricane or typhoon in that part of the world and thats something well be focusing on. Lester . Thanks. Protesters were out in force again last night and early this morning. Thousands of people around the country from new york to boston, chicago and los angeles, speaking out against a new york grand jurys decision to the to indict an nypd officer in the chokehold death of an unarmed man. And now the demonstrators are focusing on other controversial cases as well. Nbcs Kristen Dahlgren is here with more on that. Good morning, lester. This has become about those cases as well as the system opening up a lot of debate over grand juries hearing evidence behind closed doors before making their decision on whether Law Enforcement should stand trial. There were even bigger crowds in boston n miami, and chicago where they shut down lakeshore drive. I cant breathe. Reporter in new yorks suburbs marchers had a message. That their complaints go well beyond what happened in the chokehold death of eric garner, or fergusons Michael Brown. You can talk about kenneth sr. That was shot in the projects, d. J. Henry. Theres never a special prosecutor in case of police killings. Reporter in cleveland where a grand jury was impanelled after 12yearold tamir rice was shot by police for brandishing what turned out to be an air pistol, his family has filed a wrongful death Law Enforcement against the officers and the city. While in brooklyn, the grand jury will hear evidence in the killing of 28yearold akai gurley, an unarmed man shot and killed by Police Two Weeks ago. All his hope and dreams and aspiration are taken away from him so innocently. Its not right. I need justice for my son. Hands up. Reporter in the wake of the ferguson and garner decisions, some are now questioning the grand jury system. Long hailed as a way to weed out weaker cases. The system itself is clearly problematic and ridden with conflicts when it comes to investigating Police Officers. Reporter but some legal experts say secrecy allows those who arent indicted to move on without bias. While new yorks governor told savannah what the system has now is a perception problem. People have to believe theyre represented by the Justice System or we have a fundamental societal problem. Reporter now when eric garners death on Staten Island and Michael Brown in ferguson, the prosecutor did release some of the material presented to the grand jury, but obviously a lot of scrutiny on grand juries right now and a lot of people watching closely to see what happens in some of those cases. Thanks very much. There was some breaking news overnight. We also want to get to about a top al qaeda member overseas. Sheinelle is following that one for us. Pakistani military Officials Say a top al qaeda operative was killed in a raid early this morning. Saudi national Adnan Shukrijumah was on the fbis most wanted list for his alleged role in a terror plot against new york citys subway system. Prosecutors described the plot as the most serious threat to new york since the 9 11 attacks. Hes also linked to a group of men accused of plotting to blow up fuel pipelines in new yorks john f. Kennedy international airport. Back at home one person is under arrest and four people in the hospital after a man started stabbing people aboard an amtrak train late friday. Nbcs john yang has the latest. Reporter amtrak train 364 was headed from chicago to port huron, michigan, with more than 170 on board, when out of nowhere, police say, a 44yearold man wealding a knife turned on fellow passengers. I see him have his fist up and then bring it down. Oh, my god, hes punching the guy. Then i saw his bring his fist back up and noticed there was something in his fist resembling a knife blade. Then he stopped stabbing the guy in front and he lurched forward towards these two other women. Reporter an emergency call went out to the miles, michigan, police department. The attacks were under way when the train pulled into a station and an officer rushed on board. Suspect was armed with a knife. The officer used a taser and subdued the suspect and took him into custody. Reporter four victims, three men and a woman, were stabbed. All were taken to hospitals. At least one in serious condition. Amtrak tweeted this message, were aware of an incident on board one of our trains. Local authorities are investigating the incident with support from Amtrak Police department. Niles police have not released the name of the suspect and no word so far on any motive. All i know is that he seemed to be talking to himself and acting strangely. Reporter amtrak arranged for the rest of the passengers to travel on to their destinations. For today, john yang, nbc news, chicago. Tourists in hollywood also had some frightening moments friday after police shot and killed a man just steps from the walk of fame. Authorities say they were responding to a call after the suspect, armed with a knife, assaulted two people. Officers then fired after seeing the man approach them with the knife. Federal authorities are now investigating whether a deadly hit and run in kansas city was a hate crime. Authorities say a muslim teenager was deliberately run down and killed by a man driving an suv outside a Somali CommunityCenter Thursday night. The suspect was arrested when he tried to run away following the crash. There is a considerable amount of evidence to that leads us to believe this was an intentional act. Worshipers say in the weeks before the crash, they saw a black suv painted with antiislamic messages at the center. The teens funeral is being held today. A 6yearold is recovering after getting trapped in a manhole in a busy street in utah. His Family Called Police after he didnt come home friday. A any bores found the boys bike near a drainage hole and a bloodhound tracked the scent to the manhole. Hes being treated for mild hypothermia and broken arm. Pga star luke donald was about to line up a shot in south africa when, watch this, someone yelled, watch out. So he turns around and says suddenly look at this, a bam boon rushing toward him here. He jumped out of the way as the baboon trotted across the fairway. After the round he tweeted he was embarrassed by his reaction. He says his caddie didnt flinch but he jumped. He did a he was a big boy though. What would you do . Huge. A big baboon. They yelled watch out, instead of fore. He knew it was something other than a golf ball. Resident golfer dylan. Sheinelle, thanks. Dylan back with a closer look at the forecast in the u. S. For the weekend like sometimes you get the great days that are good movie days. A lot of people are going to see that up and down the east coast through the ohio river valley. It is a movie day with heavy rain off and on throughout the entire day. The yellow and the red stretching down into mississippi and alabama. This is extending up into ohio. We are starting to see some light showers in new york city and even some snow up across parts of new england. Although this will be replaced with the rain as the warmer air moves in with that warm front sitting just to the south. Now we are going to see the rain pretty much last all day long and then it will fizzle out by early sunday morning. Were not looking at much. About an inch or two, higher amounts up across cape cod. As far as snow an inch or two of snow. Its not a big event chlkt good saturday morning. Im meteorologist michelle grossman. Rain ends over night. Clearing skies. Windy on sunday. Mostly sunny skies, high of 43. Monday, clouds building in. Tuesday, watching for the potential for a coastal storm, rain and wind. 48. Snow showers on wednesday. 38. Still in the pos on thursday. Could see a couple of snow showers as well, friday. Partly sunny, chilly. High of 44. Were going to stick with weather as we talk about the nonstop rains on the west coast this week. Unfortunately those rains just a drop in the bucket for many folks. California is still dealing with its worst drought in 1200 years. Many people there are being told to conserve water, wherever and however they can. The situation, though, is even worse for residents in one particular town who are now living without any water at all. The weather channels dave malcough has their story. We just didnt realize how much of a blessing a hot shower is. Reporter free hot showers at the church is just one new reality for california families like the blackburns. Its rough. A lot of people wouldnt understand, you know. Why its necessary to have such things. Reporter just down the road, wells are drying up. These are donated pumps and tanks. Crews cant hook them to homes fast enough. My name is yolanda. I ran out of water since midjuly. Reporter it all started last year when this house ran out of water, then yolandas and then this house. But not all the houses are dry. This house and this house still have water. Their wells are deeper. If they have a deeper well, they still have water. Reporter this cube doesnt look like its a lot of water. Its not. Reporter once a week the city of porterville, about an hour south of fresno, delivers 300 gallons each to these homes. Community leaders estimate as many as 5,000 people may have run out of water in this county alone. When i run out of water in my tank, i have to get a bucket of water from the neighbors to use the toilet. Thats the way were doing the things. Reporter yolandas son is filling the shower bucket. Its a sponge bath every day. Warm up the water on the stove and i pour it on the orange bucket there. Reporter those pumps keep coming. They cant move. Whos going to buy a house with no water . Its 12,000 to dig a deeper well. Even harder to explain it to their friends. Come live. You wont like it. I mean we have no choice but to live it. Whoever has water here in this neighborhood has hit the jackpot. Reporter for today, dave mall cough in californias central valley. One of miami beachs event is in full swing. The art basel event draws some of the biggest celebrity names for the glitz the glamour and art. Nearby an art world mystery. Who stole a piece of work by picasso. Nbcs mark potter following it all from miami beach. Good morning. Good morning. Since art basel came here in 2002 to miami beach it has grown from a lowlevel art fair to a Huge International event bringing in celebrities, artists and wealthy collectors from all over the world. Reporter for 75,000 people, crowded into art basel miami beach, this is the place to be and be seen, in america this weekend. The star of the show is 3 billion worth of modern and contemporary art. This piece sold for several million dollars. This picasso, and a richard print photo, for a million each to the big money crowd, high priced art is selling fast. Tycoons, millionaires, all come together and thats miami beach, everyone at the same time. Reporter for the 13th time art basel has come to miami beach from its home in switzerland. Over the years its grown and changed dramatically. No longer just an art fair. Its now a happening. Attracting more and more celebrities. I think the closest analogy you can make is to the Cannes Film Festival in france. Reporter on this night, all eyes are on kim kardashian. Getting images, photographer larry more ran no remembers, when art basel was nothing like this. The biggest thing you would have is iggy pop maybe performing on the beach, outdoor concert. Now youve got paris hilton deejaying. Reporter this year kicked off with a concert by miley cyrus. Other celebrity sightings, usher, leonardo dicaprio, tobey maguire, solange knowles, kate hudson and owen wilson. Celebrities come to enjoy the art and some are artists presenting art and some come just for the parties. Reporter all drawn to the hottest art show in the world right now. Now, meantime at a neighboring art fair in miami, Officials Say a picasso silver plate at about 85,000 appears to have been stolen from a booth there thursday night. Police are still looking for it. One blemish in an otherwise stellar week here for the art world in south florida. Lester . All right. Mark potter, thanks very much. The art is fine, the celebrities. I would go for the weather. The weather would be great. Sheinelle and i both at the same time said in marks piece said trillion airs . I didnt know there were trillionairs. A billion dollars when there you go. Im still reeling over that one. I would like to know a trillionair. You wont believe some of the toys we found at the banned toy museum in california. Theres such a place. Would you buy your child something that had actual Radioactive Material inside . I guess at one time people did. First this is today on nbc. You didnt have that . 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