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If you're looking for new ways to get ahead, then you're our kind of person. We're Udemy and we help learners like you Upskill in AI productivity, leadership and management and more. Learn at your own pace from real world experts. You can also prep for certifications that show employers what you know upskill for the career you want@udemy.com now back to your regularly scheduled listening this week on MEET THE press.
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After Democrats swept key races on Election Day and amid a record breaking government shutdown, Kristen Welker sits down with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senator James Lankford. Plus, a Meet the Moment conversation with John M. Chu this week on MEET THE Press. Listen to the full episode now. Wherever you get your podcasts.
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Welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Bisugian. Today on the pod, NBC News exclusive reporting on allegations of sexual misconduct by a US army doctor and some new sports betting guidelines. Oh, and it's finally happened. Late last night, the Senate actually passed a bipartisan bill to end the government shutdown. With eight Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with Republicans. The bill now heads to the House where a vote could come as soon as tomorrow before it lands on the president's desk. And President Trump is already signaling he's going to sign it. But that does not mean everything goes back to normal overnight. There are still big questions. When will federal workers see those missing paychecks? When will snap benefits start flowing again? And how soon will airports get back up to full speed? Just a few of the lingering headaches left behind by this record long shutdown. With the shutdown nearly in the rear view, we are shifting gears to the US Military who said it carried out yet another strike targeting alleged drug groups in the eastern Pacific. Defense Secretary Pete HEGSETH Announcing that U.S. forces struck two vessels on Sunday, killing six people that he described as, quote, narco terrorists. As in previous operations, officials did not release the victims identities or provide evidence linking them to organized drug trafficking. It's just the latest in a string of US Military operations targeting what officials describe as, quote, designated terrorist organizations, actions that have drawn sharp criticism from several South American nations, including from the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. And today, the US Navy confirmed that the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier has arrived in the region, signaling what could be a major escalation in U.S. involvement. I want to bring in NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel, who's on the streets of Bogota, Colombia, where he's been talking to everyone from military officials to the fishermen working on nearby boats. I think one of the biggest issues here is obviously the President has not seeked congressional approval for any of these strikes, both in the Pacific and the Caribbean. And also coupled with that is there is no revelation of any of the identities of the individuals that were killed on any of these suspected. As the President is saying, you know, terrorist boats. Do we know at least are you hearing from any authorities down in Colombia and, or the fishermen even that you've been speaking to as to whether or not the boats that are in fact being targeted are trafficking drugs?
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So I spoke to the fishermen themselves and the fishermen acknowledged, yes, there are narcos, and yes, the narcos use boats. But then they were pointing to their own very small craft. And you know, one of the fishermen I was talking to, he had a 25 horsepower engine on a small little boat. You're not going to go very far on a 25 horsepower engine leaving from, from Colombia and trying to get to, to the United States. So he's saying that there are fishermen, there are narcos, but they're worried that they're going to get caught up in this operation. Now, whether these boats that have been targeted are actually drug traffickers or are they just innocent civilians, it's a very sensitive issue here. I asked the Defense Minister that question directly and he couched it. He said, well, based on media reports and our assessment and our analysis, yes, it does seem that these boats are carrying drugs, but that has not been the position of his president. His president has said that these are basically unprovoked attack and that the United States is acting like a bully and is looking for any excuse to attack Latin America and assert its dominance in the region. So it's something that the Colombians, even on the government side are, are couching. And you don't get a very straight answer from them on this.
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We mentioned the now presence of USS Gerald R. Ford and the Pentagon, saying it would, quote, disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle transnational criminal organizations. When you think about the potential objective here of the United States both in the Pacific and the Caribbean, what is your sense, Richard, with all the firepower that is being used as to the ultimate objective?
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Yeah, you don't need that to knock out a few boats that are traveling in the open sea and not responding to signals. You can do that from Miami, you can do that from aircraft. This amount of force is sending a message and has enough force to potentially either invade the country or launch a minor invasion of the country or certainly give the impression that it could launch an invasion of the country. So if they didn't get the message now with all this firepower in the region that if they start doing some airstrikes on drug labs deep in Venezuela, then it would be yet one more step in an escalatory cycle. And Maduro has more or less gone into hiding now, doesn't make public appearances. He's told his people to get ready for war. He's told his people to arm themselves and to get physically and psychologically prepared to defend against an invasion. So Venezuela, at least from Maduro's perspective, is trying to put itself in a war footing or a self defense posture. And one thing before we go that I think is important, I just mentioned that I spoke just a short while ago to the colonel who's leading the counternarcotics operation. And despite all of this antagonism between President Trump and the Colombian President Pedro in practical terms, the United States military intelligence are still working with the Colombians actively. They are raiding drug labs actively. The minister of defense said that they are going, that they raid one every 40 minutes. So in practical terms, the cooperation with the DEA, with all of the three letter agencies is still going on in Colombia. That hasn't stopped. This is more about regional politics. It's more about Maduro, and it's more about, I think the United States asserting its influence and its sphere of influence in, in the, in the Caribbean, in Latin America.
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Richard Engel, thank you.
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Absolutely.
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Coming up, we are heading to Fort Hood for some NBC News exclusive reporting. That's after a very quick break.
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The holidays mean more travel, more shopping, more time online and more personal info in more places that could expose you more to identity theft. But LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second. If your identity is stolen, our US based restoration specialists will fix it, guaranteed your money back. Don't face drained accounts, fraudulent loans or financial losses alone. Get more holiday fun and less Holiday worry with LifeLock. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com SpecialOffer terms apply.
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Who's ready for some football?
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All season, the Today show takes you inside the game.
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We are gonna get this party started.
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Join us every week as we go behind the scenes with your favorite NFL teams for the biggest stories on and off the field.
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Big game tonight.
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Plus game day recipes that dial up your tailgate.
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Football food, soup to nuts.
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From stadium lights to game day bit, the Today show is your home for all things football. Every morning on NBC.
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NBC News focuses on the facts, looking deeper and listening wider. It's clear reporting free from opinion, facts, clarity, calm. NBC News reporting for America.
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And we are back with Here's a scoop from NBC News. We've got a story for you, first reported by NBC News. And before we get into it, to note that the story includes discussion of sexual misconduct. All right. According to a new lawsuit filed on Monday, an Army gynecologist secretly took intimate videos of a patient under his care at Fort Hood in Texas. The lawsuit says that the woman, Jane Doe, is believed to be one of dozens with claims against Dr. Blaine McGraw. It also alleges that army leadership had allowed him to continue practicing despite receiving sexual misconduct complaints dating back years. I want to bring in senior correspondent Courtney Kuby for more on this. She covers national security and the military for us. And she's joining us now from just outside of Fort Hood on this Veterans Day. Courtney, good to have you.
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Thanks for having me.
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So court for the plaintiff in this case, it all started with a meeting with army investigators. Tell us about that meeting.
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Yeah.
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One thing.
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And we'll call her Jane Doe because she's not being identified to protect her own privacy. One thing that was really striking when she told us her story is how she said that she was so excited when she first went and met with Dr. Blaine McGraw about a year ago because she was having a lot of issues that doctors hadn't been able to address yet. When she met with him, she said he was so nice and that she said she walked away feeling excited and that she had felt very heard by him because he was so engaging with her and asking her a lot of questions and that over the course of time, there were some uncomfortable or awkward conversations or interactions that she had with him. But for the most part, that's how she felt during her treatment time with him. So her Last appointment was October 14th. On October 17th, she got a call from army investigators saying that there was issues with one of her medical care providers and asking her to come in and do an interview. At that point, she didn't know who it was. She went in the next day and she found out that, in fact, it was Dr. McGraw, her OBGYN. Shockingly to her, the investigators showed her a screen grab from a video that they said was on his phone and and said, can you identify this? And she said, that's me. I recognize the T shirt. That's my face. And it was from her appointment only a few days earlier. During the appointment, she had a pelvic exam and a breast exam and He, According to the investigators, he recorded the entire event.
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How did she feel after she learned this information from investigators that she had been filmed?
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She was devastated. She said that initially she was in so much shock, they just kept asking her questions. And that after the appointment, she got in the car and she cried the whole way home and called her mom, and she said she just felt so violated. And interestingly, we also were able to interview her husband, who has more than two decades in uniform. And his anger and sense of betrayal was so palpable during this interview. He's so angry. He talked about how this was another service member, another brother or sister in uniform, who betrayed his own family. And then he talked about how that sense of trust and comfort has been shattered by this.
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So she brought this suit. What are the allegations in it?
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It is about the videotaping, but also about inappropriate comments that he's made, inappropriate behavior that he's made. And, Yaz, what's really striking about this is, you know, Jane Doe is one of the people. We spoke with several other victims over the course of our reporting here. And what I was really shocked by was how each of their allegations of possible sexual abuse here are different. We're not only talking about women who were videotaped. We are talking about women who are alleging inappropriate sexual touching, inappropriate comments at sometimes him performing unnecessary or medical procedures that the patient specifically asked him not to do that have had serious consequences. And what's really shocking about this as well is, you know, we're talking about a physician who's not only worked here at Fort Hood for several years, but he's worked at at least one other military facility, Tripler, in. In Hawaii. So we're talking about years that he's been seeing women patients on medical facilities, on military installations.
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How many women are we talking here, Court, that are making these allegations?
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So far, army investigators have interviewed at least 25 women who they believe that there's video or photos of. So what they've done, essentially, is the forensics on it. They looked at his phone, the Dr. McGraw's phone, and, okay, this video was taken at this time. The appointment roster says that this woman was seen at that point. They bring them in, they show them to confirm that, in fact, that was them. They've done that with at least 25 women so far. But the US army has also sent out letters to more than 1,000 women who were his patients just in his couple of years here at Darnell Army Medical center at Fort Hood. That doesn't mean that all of them were Victims. But again, what was really striking to me is, as we were speaking to victims of this potential abuse, is they weren't all photographed.
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Courtney, how is the army responding to this?
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So they've been pretty clear about the fact that they immediately suspended Dr. McGraw as soon as the allegation came in on October 17th. And we know from Jane Doe that that was exactly when Army CID reached out to her that same day and asked her to come in. They started immediately interviewing people. They pulled his badge. He's not seen patients since then. We've had a couple of statements from the army talking about the importance of health and safety of their men and women. But beyond that, until the investigation, the criminal investigation is done, I don't think we'll hear a whole lot more about any details of this case.
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What does Jane Doe want out of all of this?
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I asked her that question. She got pretty emotional. So she's looking for accountability. She is looking for, you know, Dr. McGraw, if, in fact he's found guilty. She's hoping that he is. He serves time in jail is what she told me. But she also wants to make sure that the women, you know, no matter how many there are, ultimately that they find who may have been victimized here. She wants to make sure that they all get help, mental health help, and the support that they need. That was one of her big reasons for speaking out, because it takes a lot of courage, and it's an emotional moment to sit and tell your story when something like this happens.
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Courtney Kuby, an incredibly important story. Thank you. Thanks. We should note here that an attorney for Dr. McGraw said in a statement the doctor has been cooperating with the investigation. He said he was concerned that the plaintiff's attorneys were publicly citing inaccurate information, quote, apparently learned from government sources. And he also said he'd let the investigation finish before commenting. All right, let's get to some headlines. President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to overturn a jury's finding that he sexually abused and defamed writer Eugene Carroll after she accused him of assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in 1996 and then later calling her claims a, quote, hoax and a con job. In the recent filing, Trump's lawyers argued that the 2023 trial was tainted by a, quote, series of indefensible evidentiary rulings, particularly the admission of testimony from other women who also accused the president of sexual assault. This appeal is just the latest effort to challenge the verdict, which a federal appeals court previously upheld, ruling that the trial judge did not err and that the damages were reasonable. The Supreme Court's decision to take up the case would be the final potential avenue of relief for Trump in this segment of the ongoing legal battle. Carol's lawyers did not return our call for comment. The families of six children and two counselors who died in the catastrophic July 4th flash flood at Camp mystic in the Texas Hill country have filed two lawsuits against the All Girls Christian Camp and its owners, alleging gross negligence. The lawsuits, which seek more than a million dollars in damages, each accused the camp's leadership of prioritizing profit over safety by housing young girls in cabins located in flood prone areas and failing to develop or execute adequate evacuation plans. Despite repeated warnings from the National Weather Service. Kent Mystic's legal counsel said in a statement to NBC Dallas Fort Worth that they empathize with the families but disagree with the accusations, vowing to prove that the flood was an unexpected surge of water that far exceeded any previous event. Major League Baseball says it is tightening its rules on sports betting after the latest gambling scandal rocked the league. Starting today, all wagers on individual pitches, things like whether it's going to be a ball or a a strike or even how fast it is thrown, they're capped at $200 nationwide. Those so called micro bets also can't be bundled into parlays anymore. That is when multiple bets are linked together into one high risk, high reward wager. The league said it is part of this new integrity push between the MLB and its Sportsbook partners after two Cleveland Guardian pitchers were indicted for allegedly rigging their own pitch by pitch bets. Lawyers for both players deny any wrongdoing. The league says the goal is cut down the incentive for cheating and protect the integrity of the game. Sticking with sports it seems like the chant of these NBA fans came to fruition.
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Fire Nico.
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Fire Negro. The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly firing general manager Nico Harrison just nine months after his heavily criticized trade sending franchise star Luka Doncic to the Lakers. The move follows a 38 start and mounting fan backlash, with many calling the deal one of the worst in NBA history. Harrison, who defended the trade over concerns about Doncic's conditioning, is out as the team tries to move past the fallout. In foodie news, if you're craving penne alla vodka in 2026, you may just need to take a shot of Belvedere and then call it a night. The tariffs are hitting a pantry staple. Italy's largest pasta exports are preparing to withdraw from the American market. In September, the US Commerce Department found that 13 Italian companies were selling pasta below market value, so now those imports are getting hit with a whopping 107% duty. In the words of A.J. soprano. So what?
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No.
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Maybe A.J. maybe the wall Street Journal spoke with multiple Italian executives about potentially removing products from American grocery stores. Brands like Barilla and La Moli San could leave the shelves in January of 2026. All right, that is going to do it for us today. But before we go, we want to take a moment to thank all of the veterans who have served our country. Your courage, your service and the sacrifices made by you and your families make the freedoms that we enjoy possible from all of us that here's this group from NBC News. Thank you. I'm Yasmin Vasugin. We'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may bring. And if you like what you heard, then like us, back wherever you get your podcasts.
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The holidays mean more travel, more shopping, more time online and more personal info in more places that could expose you more to identity theft. But LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second. If your identity is stolen, our US Based restoration specialists will fix it, guaranteed or your money back. Don't face the drained accounts, fraudulent loans or financial losses alone. Get more holiday fun and less holiday worry with LifeLock. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com Special offer terms apply.