Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, April 26, 2024

Episode Date: April 27, 2024

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world.

Breaking tonight, tornado terror stretching across Nebraska and Iowa as severe storms ripping across the central U.S. A life-threatening twister charging through Nebraska, flipping tractor trailers, train cars, demolishing homes. Look at that. The National Weather Service issuing a rare tornado emergency. In Texas, the severe weather unleashing violent winds, sending debris skyrocketing. 18 million Americans right now at risk for dangerous storms packing large hail in torrential rains and the chance for nighttime tornadoes. And the threat is expected to ramp up tomorrow. We are tracking all of it for you.

Also tonight, a star witness gets grilled. Trump's defense prying at the tactics of the former publisher of the National Enquirer to purchase stories that he never published. Lawyers questioning David Pecker's memory as he wraps up his fourth day testifying as Trump's longtime executive assistant, the gatekeeper of his emails, also taking the stand. Her insight into the inner workings of the Trump. organization. And are you ready to rumble? President Biden and former President Trump dialing up

their rhetoric saying they're ready to debate. Trump says he'd face off anytime, anywhere, any place, even suggesting he would debate tonight at the courthouse. Campuses nationwide, cracking down its pro-Palestinian demonstrations, continue to sweep across more colleges. Clashes at Ohio State University now, ending in dozens of arrests. At Arizona State, officers moving in just as students set up encampments, and soon-to-be grads at the University of Southern California outraged after their graduation was canceled where that situation stands. Sounding the alarm on bird flu, the urgent warning tonight of a potential outbreak as more cows are infected. One person already diagnosed with the virus, and some experts worry it's not a matter of if, but when it will spread

to more humans, with signs of bird flu already showing up in our milk or breaking down the impacts on what you eat and drink. Plus, jailed in paradise. A third American now, facing potential prison time in Turks and Kekos after bullets are discovered in his luggage. We speak with the wife of one Virginia man trapped on the island, facing up to 12 years behind bars, how their island vacation quickly turned into a nightmare. And double cicada emergence, a rare phenomenon as trillions of cicadas rise from the ground. The unusually loud noise that they're making, prompting people in South Carolina to call 911. and where you can take a bite out of your very own cicada salad. Top story starts right now. And a good evening to you. I'm Sam Brock in for Tom Yamis tonight, breaking as we come on the air,

a tornado emergency as massive twisters carve a path of destruction across Nebraska and Iowa. The National Weather Service issuing that rare warning, urging people to seek shelter immediately. Now, this enormous tornado near Omaha, Nebraska, sweeping across busy I-80, we're told that this twister flipped over trucks, train cars, and ripped apart homes. This right here is an up-close look at that same tornado. Debris lifted hundreds of feet into the air. Now, there are reports tonight of catastrophic damage in several communities as this tornado outbreak gets underway. And a surreal scene in Waverly, Nebraska, as this twister crosses an overpass. In nearby Lincoln, we're told a building collapse there, left. 70 people trapped.

Officials saying that three of those people were injured. And this jaw-dropping video of what's called a wedge tornado near Elkhorn, Nebraska. This storm system is responsible for unleashing several tornadoes, as we've discussed, that have traveled at least 50 miles. This new video now just in showing widespread destruction in Elkhorn, Nebraska. An entire neighborhood just devastated. Violent, fast-moving storms also pushing through Texas earlier today. This ring camera right here capturing intense winds and torrential rain.

That's seen looking more like a hurricane moving through. At least a dozen reported tornadoes have touched down so far, and this system is continuing on its destructive path east. Interologist Michelle Grossman is standing by the time at all out for us. But we start with NBC's Jesse Kirsch, who is tracking the latest on this dangerous tornado outbreak. Tonight, a tornado outbreak is unfolding across Nebraska. Over a dozen twisters already reported with more severe weather.

the way in the Lincoln Nebraska area debris seen swirling as this violent tornado ripped across an interstate elsewhere some drivers heading towards the ominous skies something's just been hit and this Omaha neighborhood seeming to take a direct hit in the entire down the street there's no houses down there up the street there's no houses either it just took everything in about five 10 minutes and it's gone. Tornadoes also reported around Waco, Texas today. It looks like lots of sheet metal in the air. And further south in Austin, inbound flights were temporarily grounded because of thunderstorms. This same storm system has been stretching across the U.S. since yesterday.

In Oklahoma, this semi-truck flipped over as this Colorado home was damaged. It's so awful it happened. Now, Kansas City, Omaha, Tulsa, and Des Moines are bracing for more storm. overnight. NBC's Marissa Parra is in Oklahoma. Residents here in central Oklahoma woke up to tornado sirens, found parts of the rooftops flung onto the street, even onto cars nearby. And the threats are only expected to increase tomorrow over an even larger area, with 33 million people in the path of severe weather from the Great Lakes to Texas. That means more tornadoes, flooding, hail, and strong winds are all possible on Saturday. And there's also severe weather in

Sunday's forecast as we head into a weekend that for some will bring little relief. Just look at that. Jesse Kirsch, joining us now from Kansas City, Missouri. Jesse, these images, I mean, you're talking about roofs that are crumpled, cars flying in every which direction. What do we know right now about if there's been any injuries so far? Yeah, and Sam, I do also want to add, by the way. You can see the wind gusts starting to pick up here in Kansas City. There are millions of people still in the bull's eye tonight, including where we are in Kansas City, Missouri. As for injuries, of course, this is a fluid situation.

The images, the reports continuing to come in. But we know from at least some officials in Nebraska that there was a building collapse with about 70 workers inside. Authorities say they got people out, but there are three injuries from that building collapse. And then in Texas, where there have also been tornadoes today, tornadoes and reported tornadoes today. One community's fire chief says that there was an 18-wheeler that was flipped over. and there were two non-life-threatening injuries from that. But again, this is clearly a fluid situation still developing across parts of the country. Sam, we'll be watching to see as those reports continue to develop.

Sam? Yeah, these images just jaw-dropping. Jesse, stay safe. We know you'll be covering this for us. Thank you so much. With this major tornado outbreak stretching from, as we said, Texas, all the way to Nebraska and tens of millions of people currently under severe storm watch, I want to bring an NBC meteorologist, Michelle Grossman.

Michelle, these images look like something out of, honestly, a movie. I mean, just the width of the tornado, as I understand, when it becomes a wedge tornado has to be a certain size and footprint. You see debris flying in every direction, just terrifying to even think about it. This is reality right now. What are you looking for as they ramp up in the next 24 hours? It is. Hi there, Sam. I know. It's hard to wrap your head around a tornado that large. Yes, it is wedged tornado. That means it's wide. It's also long tracking. This is staying on the ground for quite a while. We're seeing some large destructive tornadoes in Iowa right now. And we're going to continue to see this. in the midst of a tornado outbreak, a very classic spring set up. So this is what radar looks

like right now. It is lit up from portions of Nebraska into Iowa all the way down to parts of Texas. We have tornado watches. That is in the pink. We have tornado warnings. So many of them in the red boxes along this front here. We have the orange boxes that's severe thunderstorm warnings. Again, we could see winds gusts up to 60 miles per hour, really large, dangerous tornadoes moving in through some of these areas. And we're not out of the woods. We're going to be dealing with this over the next several hours. And then we get a little break. And another storm system comes tomorrow in the same exact area, bringing the threat for severe weather. So as we go throughout the rest of tonight, we're looking at 21 million people at risk for damaging hail,

two inches or greater. That's very large. We're also looking at the chance for more strong tornadoes. We do have some confirmed tornadoes, but it's going to take a little time to find out that number. The National Weather Service has to go in and kind of do its survey. Winds gusts up to 60 miles per hour. Where you see this orange area here, that's where we're seeing those strong storms. So the severe protection center right on as a predict. this. We're looking from Omaha to Kansas City down to Dallas, also Waco. And then that number grows tomorrow. Again, this isn't the same system. It's another system right on the heels of it. 33 million people on the board here. Four strong storms, once again, from Oklahoma City,

Wichita, also into Kansas City. Sam? All right, going to be a rocky weekend for many people there. Michelle Grossman, thank you so much. We move now to former President Trump's hush money trial in New York City, former National Inquirer publisher David Pecker, squaring off with Trump's attorneys over whether he agreed to testify for prosecutors to save one of his business deals and the critical new evidence from Trump's longtime assistant. Laura Jarrett, again for us tonight with the very latest. Tonight, the prosecution closing out the first week of testimony by offering the jury a peek inside the inner workings of the Trump organization from one of the people who knows the former president best. The state briefly calling Rona Graf, Mr. Trump's longtime executive assistant

to the stand this afternoon. Graff confirmed. claiming contacts were saved on the company's computer system for Karen McDougall and Stormy, an apparent reference to Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors say both women were shopping stories of sex with Mr. Trump ahead of the 2016 election. Encounters, he denies. At the heart of the case, a $130,000 payment Michael Cohen made to Daniels so she wouldn't go public. And how prosecutors say that payment was disguised. But Graf sheds shed a $130,000 no light on that. Testifying, even though she no longer works for the Trump organization, the company is paying her legal bills. The jury also hearing from Gary Farrow, a former banker

at First Republic Bank who helped facilitate the payment from Cohen to Daniels. But the day began with the defense team seeking to undercut this testimony of David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, and a key witness for prosecutors, testifying at length about how he helped silence people who could have hurt Mr. Trump's election chances. Mr. Trump's lawyer sought to raise questions about Pecker's memory and motives on cross-examination. Pecker defiant at one point saying, I've been truthful to the best of my recollection. The tabloid mogul also undermining the idea Mr. Trump wanted to bury those stories about women to protect his family, a common refrain from the defense. Instead, Pecker said he believed it was all to protect his campaign.

I do have to begin by wishing Melania. Happy birthday. She's in Florida. Melania, Trump, notably absent at trial. And Laura Jared, joining us now from Washington, D.C. You know, Laura, I want to pick up right at the end of your piece. Pecker's testimony, obviously compelling, but obviously attacked also by the defense, especially this idea that buying these stories was part of a campaign to protect his presidential

aspirations, Trump's aspirations. Does the prosecution need another person to back up Pecker's story? Well, they have another person, Sam. The issue is that the person that they have is Michael Cohen, who, as we all know, has issues with credibility. And even though he was sort of at the president's side, the former president's side, for many of the alleged issues that have come up at this trial, I think prosecutors have to contend with those credibility issues. And so they were having Pecker come on to sort of bolster their case, if you will, and to talk about the scheme dating back to 2015 to try to show that this went on for quite a while. Being in the court this whole week and seeing the jury's reaction in sort of the atmosphere there, how credible do you think David Pecker came off?

I have to tell you, watching him, he's very likable. He's affable. He's smiling. He's not at all antagonistic, as I think Michael Cohen might turn out to be. He speaks slowly but confidently, sometimes haltingly, choosing his words carefully. But he doesn't come off as if he's withholding or sugarcoding anything either. I think the jury found him very. very appealing, if I had to guess, Sam.

So he is a critical witness, obviously. And then you have Rona Graff, who testified today, at least started her testimony. What is the significance of Karen McDougall and Stormy Daniels, as you reported, being saved in the company's context? Yeah, Graff is an important witness, not because she was some blockbuster person, but she was there for 34 years. She was the gatekeeper at the Trump organization, right? She's his longtime assistant. And she's now telling the jury that his Microsoft Outlook contacts have the names and contact information for Stormy, who we assumed to be a Stormy Daniels, and Karen McDougal, while the former president has tried to stiff arm them and say,

I don't really know them. I didn't have really had much dealings with them. And so what she's doing is bringing the jury in to say, actually, he was at least familiar with them enough to have their contact information, Sam. All right, Laura, thank you so much. We go now to the major news from the 2024 campaign trail. In an interview with radio host Howard Stern this morning, President Biden saying he will debate Donald Trump after months of being noncommittal about whether he would face the former president

on the debate stage. Take a listen. I don't know if you're going to debate your opponent. I am somewhere. I don't know when. I'm happy to debate him. All right, President Trump, who has been calling on Biden to debate him, pouncing on that news,

posting, of course, untruths, quote, let's do the debate at the courthouse tonight on national television. I'll wait around for more on the possibility of a debate rematch between Trump and Biden. We bring in now John Allen to really get to the meat of this, John. And obviously, you know, there was a time when there was an expectation two presidential candidates would be debating. Now I guess we're trying to solidify that. Biden's campaign have basically been refusing to answer this debate question for months. And it begs asking, how concerned is Biden world right now about the risks of putting the president onto a debate stage?

Yeah, I mean, sadly, we're not going to see a debate on the courthouse steps tonight. Obviously, that would be not only great entertainment, but informative for voters. The Biden team had been avoiding making a comment on this. They kept saying that they were going to wait to make some comment on this. Obviously, Joe Biden on the show with Howard Stern today. Howard Stern's got basically a base of middle-aged white guys. people, a set that Joe Biden needs to carve into, and, you know, I don't think it would have been good for him necessarily to back away from it. What we don't know, though, is those important

questions that Biden himself raised, when or where. So at least at this point, he's saying he's willing to, and the question's going to be, of course, if they're able to come to some sort of negotiation to have a debate or multiple debates. Okay, so details still to be ironed out, but let's drill down right out on some of what Trump has said. The former president, and in posting again on true social about, you know, a short time ago, quote, I've been waiting for crooked Joe, as you mentioned, at the courthouse. The fake news media was there also. He didn't show anywhere, anytime, any place.

Of course, Jonathan, to your point, we've come to expect this kind of dramatic language and post we don't actually expect a courthouse debate. But let's talk about the bottom line. Is this good strategy for Trump appearing to be this proactive, or perhaps is this a distraction from his legal troubles? I think any time one candidate says that they want to debate or in the way Trump has put it, you know, any place, any time, that they are sort of seizing the reins and showing themselves to be unafraid of their opponent.

Typically, you know, that's a strategy that you deploy if you're behind to try to get a frontrunner onto a debate stage. In the case of Biden, you know, the polls show a pretty even race right now. And, yeah, I think it's obviously it's an effective strategy because you've got Biden now saying that he's willing to do it. All right, I guess we'll see where the posturing and the reality takes us next. Jonathan Allen, thank you so much for that insight. We move now to those massive pro-Palestinian protests popping up still at colleges coast to coast.

Demonstrators outraged over the war in Gaza, urging their schools to divest and cut ties with Israel. Police in Arizona confronting protesters setting up encampments on their campus. Liz Kreutz is following the unrest for us tonight. From Colorado to North Carolina tonight, more universities nationwide grappling with growing tensions over the war in Gaza. Why are you being? As protests spread on college campuses. At Arizona State University, police showed up within minutes of a forming encampment. Stop the killing. We'll stop the tents. We'll stop the megaphone.

At Emory University, video shows a police officer slamming a professor at one of the protests to the ground. She was charged with disorderly conduct and battery. NBC's Aaron McLaughlin is at Columbia University, where students have been camping out for 10 days, igniting a debate about free speech versus hate speech. Student protesters say the negotiations have stalled on the issue of divestment from Israel, and they've received no assurances that the university won't send in the NYPD. Some students now concerned about the impact on graduation.

It is in our best interest to reach an agreement before commencement. Meanwhile, at University of Southern California, Many seniors who didn't get a high school graduation because of COVID left devastated by the university's abrupt decision to cancel their commencement. Outside of just being annoyed, it's just I feel pretty let down by the university. Amir Bell, who supports the protesters, tells us 15 of his family members were planning to fly in from Atlanta to celebrate his milestone moment, and now that's in limbo. I just don't understand how they could have President Obama on campus and have the adequate security for him. They could have world leaders and stuff, but they can't properly secure. a tradition that they've had since the 1800. So I think that's the most frustrating part.

And Sam, USC's campus is locked down right now. Students have to use specific entrances and show their IDs to get to class. We followed up with the university given the questions that students have about this decision over commencement, but they're not commenting. Sam. All right, a lot of layers there and something we continue to watch. Liz Kreutz, thank you so much. We want to turn out of some concerning health news. The FDA revealing yesterday genetic evidence of bird flu was found in one in five samples of commercially available milk. While authorities say the milk supply is safe, and obviously that's important, the development comes as concerns mount over the potential spread of the virus.

Now, a New York Times article caught our eye recently. It warns this may be our last chance to halt bird flu in humans, and we're blowing it. The one confirmed human case so far is a person exposed to dairy cattle in Texas, but experts say now that it's a crucial moment at this point in time to contain the virus is spread. For more on what this means for our health, I want to bring in Dr. Nehid Badalia. She is an infectious disease physician and expert and the director of the Center for Emerging Diseases at Boston University, also the former senior COVID policy advisor for the Biden administration. Dr. Bedelia, thank you so much for joining Top Story. Obviously, a lot of information really

standing out there. But let's start here. How is bird flu spreading? The basics here, right? You hear avian flu, you think birds. How is it spreading from birds to cows to now our milk supply? Yeah, Sam, I think that what we know from data just coming out this week is that at some point, this virus that has been expanding the number of mammalian species, mammals that it's been infecting, has jumped from birds into cows at some point in December 2023 and then has been circulating between cows since the months since then. The problem is USDA suspects that it might be through milking equipment, the shared between the cows, and then the cows that are going from state to state as they're being transferred, and that's spreading to other herds around the country.

The concern is that majority of the virus that they're finding in these dairy cattle or the dairy cows is concentrated in their mammary glands, and so the milk has a high concentration of this virus. The good news, though, despite the fact that we found remnants of the virus after pasteurization, the pasteurization kills this virus, and no live virus has been found. That's why they believe the milk is currently safe. Is there a circumstance or circumstances under which the pasteurization would no longer be doing that? No, I could tell you from an infectious disease's perspective, there are a lot harder bacteria and viruses that pasteurization has been known to kill. And now we have both a study from FDA, as well as a study from an NIH,

from NIH, NIAID that showed that you're finding just what's left over after the pasteurization kills. There are a few more studies being run at FDA, but the data from NIH from a small sample that they showed, again, no live virus, just remnants, hence it's unlikely to be transmitting among humans. It's unlikely to pose a, it's unlikely to pose a health risk for humans who consume the milk. Indeed, indeed. So I want to read you right now this quote from the New York Times article. It's from Dr. Rick Bright.

He's an expert on the virus. He also served on President Biden's Coronavirus Advisory Board. he says, quote, there's a fine line between one person and 10 people with H5N1. He said, by the time we've detected 10, it's probably too late to contain. Now, you sound bullish, doctor, but how possible is it that 10 people already have the virus? I would say that I am concerned that there are more than the one case that we discovered. So I don't think it's a threat to the general public yet, as you've heard other states, still low risk, except, you know, avoid raw milk and, of course, avoid potentially infected or dead animals that

might carry the virus. But the concern is that if you have one person who had the virus transmitted between a dairy cow and a human, that means that other humans who are at similar risk. Dairy workers, farm workers may also be at risk. The trouble is we haven't been seeing as much testing of dairy workers, and we haven't been seeing as much testing of both the cattle as well as other animals and farms as we would like to give us a better sense of how widespread this outbreak is. Wow, so we may not have the true picture right now. Also, we have some stats that are kind of disconcerting from the World Health Organization. We're going to take a look at that. They say that from 2003 to 2024, the virus had a mortality rate of 52% globally killing more than

450 people. Those cases and the deaths are concentrated mostly in Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam, with only the one case and so far zero deaths in the U.S. So I want to circle back to that 52% global mortality rate, doctor. Would you expect that sort of an outbreak here? And is this just a function of countries that are emerging countries without the infrastructure and the medicine that we have here? How do we explain this? So for what we know, Sam, currently H5N1 is not able to efficiently transmit human to human.

So there have been about 900 cases in the last 20 years of this. And actually, this is the second case in the U.S. of H5N1, and the virus is continuously evolving. All the other times, in most cases, it's been humans who have been in touch with infected poultry who've gotten sick. And a lot of times the symptoms have been respiratory pneumonia as well as fever. And as you said, a huge percent of mortality is concerning. But I will say one thing is that when you first are discovering how a new virus presents, the sickest people come to care first. We'll notice them first.

So it might be that that number may change as we learn. more about the virus. The one case that we saw during this outbreak was actually quite mild. It was a gentleman who was exposed to an infected dairy cow who had conjunctivitis or infection of the eye that was isolated, was given antiviral medication, and resolved, and the infection resolved pretty quickly. Dr. Medellia, you mentioned so far no evidence of spreading between humans to another human, but I would ask in the event that that does happen, are there vaccines that are available? So we currently have stockpiled vaccines against H5N1, but they are against older strains of the virus. And right now the preliminary studies show that they probably are a pretty good match

to be able to use against this virus if we need to, if we need to deploy it. But the well-matched vaccines, the new ones that they have in stock that are exactly matched to this strain would need to be manufactured for de novo. And from what I'm hearing, it might take up. to 18 months to do that in additional funding. So let's hope there is no more evidence of human-to-human transmission. Yeah, we certainly hope that status quo remains the same. Dr. Badellia, thank you so much for your time. Well, still ahead tonight, a chilling deathbed confession,

the disappearance of a 10-year-old girl and her mother going unsolved for 24 years, what their killer told police just hours before he died that led authorities to their burial site. Plus, another American tourist arrested in Turks and Kekos for allegedly carrying bullets in his suitcase. Why his wife here is their one-year-old child might grow up without his father. Stay with us. We'll be right back. We're back now with a major breakthrough in a cold case in West Virginia. A man in his 80s on his deathbed confessing to the murders of a mother and daughter more than two decades ago. leading investigators to the very spot where they were buried.

The father of the slain daughter, finally finding some closure. Our Elwyn Lopez has all the details. It was a mystery for more than two decades. Whatever happened to 10-year-old Natasha Alex Carter and her mother, Susan. I made up some flyers, posters, missing child posters. I was putting them everywhere. The young girl's father says he did everything to find them, but it wasn't until now, 24 years later, that he got answers.

Police say the stunning confession came from an 82-year-old man, Larry Webb, who was on his deathbed. He detailed for us exactly how he murdered both women, how he wrapped their bodies in bed linens, how they spent two days on the basement floor of his home, while he dug a shallow grave in his backyard. Officials then uncovered the remains of both Susan and Alex in a yard on Webb's property, where mother and daughter lived at the time they went missing. The confession comes four years after officials found out. a blood-stained bullet located behind a baseboard in what was once the missing girls' bedroom. The DNA on it was hers. The discovery led to Webb's indictment for murder, but his health took

a turn for the worse, causing multiple delays in the case. Now authorities say they know not only who killed Alex and Susan, but also why. The reason that he shot Susan Carter was that he had some cash money that was in the home that he went back for and that cash money was missing. Officials say Webb admitted to shooting Susan in an argument and killing her daughter Alex to cover up his tracks. Those tracks now visible, closing decades of uncertainty, plaguing Rick's life, ever since his little girl disappeared. Never give up. I mean, you know, I don't care who you have to write. They may think you're bugging them or whatever, but, you know, just never give it up. Never. Because someone's going to listen. Eventually, someone would listen.

And Sam, officials admit that there were mistakes made in this case. We know that law enforcement is now looking into that. And police also recovered that 10-year-old girl's hairpin. They say that she was buried with it. They handed it over to her father. A difficult yet palpable reminder that the search is over. Sam. Wow, haunting and moving at the same time, Elwyn, thank you so much.

Now an update on a story that we have been watching closely. A third American tourist arrested in Turks and Kekas for illegal possession of ammunition. That's a crime that comes with a. mandatory minimum of 12 years in prison as of 2022. The latest man arrested, a paramedic and a father of a one-year-old child whose wife tells us the two bullets were left in his bag by mistake. Tonight, a third American tourist arrested in Turks and Caicos, facing the possibility of 12 years in prison for allegedly bringing ammunition onto the islands. It ruins our lives. It ruins my son's live, like, because he'll grow up without a dad. Virginia paramedic Tyler Scott

Wenrich, a father of a one-year-old, was wrapping up a relaxing trip with his friends when his wife says officials at a security checkpoint in Grand Turk found two bullets in his suitcase. It was an accident. He does have a concealed carry license. In the particular bag he took on the trip had all of his emergency equipment. He's a paramedic. Wenrich has been placed in prison until his next hearing in June. His arrest, the third of an American, in just the last three months. Fathers Brian Hagerich of Pennsylvania and Ryan Watson of Oklahoma both say they accidentally brought hunting ammunition on their respective trips. I never recall putting that ammunition in that bag, but somehow they ended up in there. According to Turks and Kekos officials, there have been eight firearms and ammunition prosecutions of American tourists since the government tightened its laws in 2022 and implemented a mandatory minimum 12-year sentence. Many, including Wenrich's wife, wondering how that ammo made it past TSA. in the United States in the first place.

It's just so frustrating because none of this would have happened if our TSA essentially had done everything possible and scanned all of the bags appropriately. In Ryan Watson's case, who was arrested just over two weeks ago, TSA confirming its agents in Oklahoma City did not detect the bullets and, quote, an oversight occurred, which they're addressing internally. Still, there's a sliver of hope for the men currently staring down more than a decade behind bars. It's very heartbreaking because I know the pain that they're going through. Teresa Pafao's son, Michael Grimm, was also arrested in Turks and Kekos last year,

but served just eight months in prison due to exceptional circumstances. We both have sought professional services to help us deal with this trauma and this PTSD. The government of TCI says that in four other cases with exceptional circumstances, the offenders were only fined. Criteria can be when the courts find no criminal intent or when the suspect has demonstrated, quote, good character in standing at home. A threshold, Wenrich's boss says he meets. Tyler is the servant leader professionally as a paramedic and as an executive. He's world class.

Nonetheless, the Virginia man's wife is worried. That will not be enough. What if they don't decide that he's exceptional? So next week, a trial for Brian Hagerich begins. The Watson family says they'll be watching that very closely, as it could indicate what's in store for the other two men and their families. When we come back, the latest on that tornado outbreak we've been reporting on across both in Nebraska and Iowa and Texas, a massive wedge tornado.

You're looking at it right here, touching down just outside of Omaha, homes damaged, trees down, even a train overturned. We speak to a storm chaser on the ground who's getting a firsthand look right. now at the devastation. And we're back now with the very latest on that tornado outbreak in the central U.S. violent outbreak. More than a dozen tornadoes reported so far, including a massive long-track tornado touching down an Elkhorn, Nebraska that's just outside of Omaha.

Stormchaser Thomas Hintedorpha joining us now from the west side of Elkhorn and a show us some of the damage there. Thomas, take me through what you're seeing. We obviously can see the trees down behind you. How deep, how extensive is the damage where you are? Yeah, good evening. The damage here is phenomenal. It's very significant. Unfortunately, we have seen some houses swept off their foundation. Some houses are now no longer livable. They're just a bit further down the road from me. But just around me here, we've got a lot of trees down. Every home has suffered some sort of damage. But thankfully, as far as we know, there are no fatalities in this immediate area.

We've had some injuries, and those people are taken off the hospital. But as far as I'm aware, no fatalities, which is obviously the main thing in a devastating situation like this. I'm so happy you brought that up, Thomas, because I was going to ask you if you're hearing anything on the ground about possible injuries or fatalities. It's incredible, given how surreal these images are. It looks like it's something crafted from a movie studio. Just the debris swirling around in the pictures that you took. We've been watching that of Holmes, as you said, uprooted and split in the middle. Just the size of this thing.

Talk me through. How long have you been doing storm chasing? And how does this particular string of tornadoes compare to others you've covered in your career? So this is my seventh or eighth year coming to America. I'm from Australia. But this is my seventh or eight year coming to America chasing tornadoes. And this is probably going to be up there. one of the strongest I've personally seen myself.

We were about one mile away from the tornado when it came through Elkhorn. We're on the southern side coming into central parts of Elkhorn while it was impacting the western side of town. And this is certainly up there with one of the most devastating tornadoes I've personally seen myself. Some of the damage is obviously

it blows your mind that people were able to survive this, but thankfully people have survived this. We've seen the community coming together really well in the past hour or so. We've been here about three hours, helping with the search and rescue and then the clean-up. And we've seen the community come together really well to not just help themselves,

but to help emergency services, help their neighbours, help everyone who's in need. If there's a big tree over the driveway, we'll get five people to come and pick it off the driveway and just so that person can then get into their driveway or into their house. So it's been a great community effort, which is obviously going to go on for a long time now.

as this cleanup continues and the rebuild continues for Elkhorn. Yeah, I've been on scenes like that, Thomas, and you know, one of the humbling things about it is obviously everyone's lives are uprooted, and yet people are coming together to help one another, even in their darkest hours. It's an incredible thing to see. Thank you so much, sir, for being on the ground

and providing us with your perspective. Not a problem. We move now overseas to the war in Gaza where Palestinians landlocked and desper are grappling with Israeli strong. strikes from all directions. The IDF designating certain zones as safe for civilians and telling them to relocate there, but even those areas are still facing bombardment. Now many Palestinians are left wondering where is left to go. NBC's Hologarani investigates.

March 26, 24, 4 p.m. The aftermath of an airstrike in Rafah in southern Gaza. Victims buried under the rubble. A father on the scene spots his daughter. in the chaos. Rima Shabir is rushed into an ambulance, desperate. He attempts first aid. An NBC news investigation reveals that this is one of at least seven deadly strikes in zones our Gaza team filmed after the IDF had explicitly designated them as safe in December. This one in Rafas El Zuhur neighborhood, identified as an evacuation zone in a leaflet dropped over Gaza and on the Israeli military's website in a map of safe zones last updated in December. When asked if there was anything more recent, the IDF told us the map was, quote, still accurate.

NBC News has tracked almost 50 airstrikes in Rafah since then. More than half a dozen of those in areas the Israeli government had directed Gazans to for safety by name. The leaflet dropped on December 18th, lists in addition to El Zahur, El Shibura, and Tal al-Sultan as safe zones. Our investigation reveals that the IDF targeted those three areas after it told residents to head there. On January 9th, an airstrike in Tallal Sultan. The attack hits the home of the Noffal family there, killing 15. Our crew films the aftermath of the attack and the wounded treated at the knee.

nearby Kuwaiti hospital. They told us that the Sultan area was safe, but unfortunately it was not. Many of my cousins were killed. One of the survivors of the attack tells our team. On February 12, 2024, our crews filmed the aftermath of an airstrike on Al-Shabura camp. They asked us to go to the Shabura area because it is safe. This is the safe area. Look around you. What happened? A man on the scene of the attack says. On April 20th, at 10 p.m., also in the Shibura district, a building leveled. Among the dead brought to the hospital, a pregnant woman whose premature baby briefly survived only to perish in the war it was born into.

In addition, the Israeli government has repeatedly called on Gazans to evacuate to El Mawazi, a small plot of land on the coast, which it called a humanitarian zone on October 14. posting a map of the small enclave on its website. On November 4th, Israeli defense minister Yoav Galant says there's a safe zone which is located in Almwazi, where there will be no strikes and anyone there will be in a safe place. But January 4th, three children die when their tent is hit in Al-Mawazi. NBC News documents this attack. The footage shows a crater.

and the hospital treating survivors. 14 people are killed. If Al-Mawazi is not safe, where should we go? No one is protecting us, says a man named Kamal Salah on the scene. The IDF has posted on X evacuation orders to Al-Mawazi 11 times by NBC News as count since January 1st while continuing to strike the area. We asked the Israeli military multiple times to comment on the

strikes documented by NBC News, providing precise locations and dates. It addressed one of the attacks featured in our report, replying, the IDF is not aware of any strike at the provided coordinates and times in the query, adding the IDF follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm. Human Rights Watch Israel Program Director Sari Bashi tells us the strikes in Israeli military designated safe zones are not isolated incidents. People evacuate, people use the roads they were told to use, they go to the places they were told to go to, and then they get hit either by an airstrike or by a ground force invasion.

Is there anywhere safe in Gaza? No, there's nowhere safe in Gaza. Beyond the strikes on areas explicitly named in leaflets, the Israeli government has continued to target southern Gaza, where people were told to seek shelter and were more than half of the strip's population has run out of land, literally nowhere else to flee. The IDF itself said in November it had dropped 1,524,000 leaflets telling people to head south. In a follow-up email to NBC News, the Israeli military blamed Hamas for telling people to ignore military directives, and that, quote, the IDF will act against Hamas wherever it operates, with full command.

commitment to international law while distinguishing between terrorists and civilians. But for many, there is no escape. And for Rima Shabir, the girl whose father's blood-stained t-shirt, told of his frantic attempt to revive his child, it was too late. Rima died in a place where she and others were told they would be safe from harm. Hala Gharani, NBC News, Tel Aviv. There's nowhere safe in Gaza. We'll be right back.

We're back now with the first sounds of what you might call cicada get it. The harmless bugs already so loud in parts of South Carolina that some people are dialing up 911 with concern. It's all part of a rare double emergence event for the bugs, the first of its kind, in more than 200 years. NBC's Maya Eagland has this look into why folks across the country are bugging out. In Newbury, South Carolina, this sound is so irritating. Some residents are calling 911. Biblical, you know, like the locust coming. But Sheriff Lee Foster says there's no cause for alarm. That noise, a cacophony of cicadas. I kind of remember back several years ago when we had them like this, but I don't think it was still this loud as it's been. And tomologists say they're not surprised at the growing concern.

When you go into a woods full of cicadas, you'll be there for at least 20 minutes and get in your car, your ears are still ringing like you've been to a rock concert. Nature's own summer concert, billed as the battle of the broods. A rare once-in-a-lifetime event, bringing two broods' worth of cicadas out at the same time, which means trillions of bugs. The last time they emerged together was in 1803 when Thomas Jefferson was president. Cicadas are just now starting to crawl out across the Midwest and South. The broods overlapping in multiple states, including Illinois and Iowa. You can really kind of see those eyes. You kind of see how they're purplish.

In suburban Chicago, the underground invaders are still planning their escape. Before the emergence, the cicadas tend to make their exit tunnels like at least several weeks before. But some are welcoming the noise-making critters. At the New Orleans Intersectarium, they're getting ready to say bug appetite. On the menu this year, cicada salad. Feturing apples, almonds, and real fried cicada nymphs on top. Every culture has things that they love to eat and maybe things that are taboo or things that people just sort of wrinkle their nose and frown their brow at. And there's no reason to do that with insects.

The taste similar to toasted seeds or nuts. I like to tell people if it's coming from a New Orleans kitchen, even if it's bizarre, it's going to be tasty. From the kitchen to your backyard. That ear piercing sound does signal some good news. Summer is just around the corner. Maya Eaklin, NBC News. I love Cajun cooking. There is no way you could pay me enough money to eat that dish.

Maya Eklund, thank you so much. When we come back, a look at what you can binge watch and listen to this weekend, because it is Friday, the blockbuster hit, anyone but you, now available to stream. Plus, the new docu series on the iconic band Bon Jovi and new music by Jess Glenn. Stay with us. All right. We're back now, and if it's Fri-A, and it is Fri-A, we have bingeworthy our look at what to watch and listen to this weekend. I'm joined now by our friend of Top Story, Darren Karp.

She's also the host of the podcast Shaken and Disturbed. Thank you so much for joining us, Darren. Let's start right now with a scary one, literally. It is called Them the Scare, and it's the second season of the horror anthology from Amazon Prime Video. It is about a gruesome murder of a foster home mother in the 1990s. Here's a preview. he's killed before you don't start out this proficient at it I think he knew his victims

feels personal this guy's left no eyewitnesses who could not be noticed the last thing we need right now is a serial well that's what we got sir are you scared shabby do you not understand what went on in it

no human is capable of that kind of evil All right, Darren, this feels like kind of a psychological thriller, obviously a turbulent time in L.A., the 1990s. What can people expect from this one? Yeah, if you got to see the first season, which was The Covenant, this whole series is EP by Lena Waith, so it's super layered, it's very smart, it kind of has double meaning. But if you saw the first season Covenant, this is now, we're fast forwarding about 40 years later into 1991. And yes, LAP detective Don Reeve is her new assignment is kind of uncovering this whole. horribly gruesome murder. I mean, they sort of talk about it in the trailer, but it's kind of

beyond the pale. It's really well done. I actually prefer season two over season one. So if you were kind of iffy on season one, I do recommend kind of coming back to this. But it is, it's definitely creepy. It's definitely a psychological thriller. And also like a little, it's got a little monster scare to it. I'm not going to lie. So definitely check out. I kind of felt those vibes as well. So it's a little dark, but definitely interesting. If we're talking now more aspirational, Next is the series, The Big Door Prize, also back with the second season. Now, this show is on Apple TV Plus. It is about what happens to a small town when a mysterious machine just appears, promising to reveal everyone's true potential.

Let's take a look. The people in this town completely upended their lives. Because of a card they got from a machine. That thing will tell you your life's potential. The morphos made everybody think about their dreams. and now it's saying Are you ready for the next stage? How do we get to the next stage?

We all want to know what we're capable of. So, Darren, take us inside here, the Morpho. This series has people wanting to find out their true potential. Is it going to work? You know, it does work. It's actually pretty funny. It's from the Writers of Shits Creek, which is one of my favorite shows, kind of of all time.

But now this is season two, like you said, the Morpho machine tells people. It's kind of like the Zoltar thing in big. It tells people their potential, which is great and exciting, and you want to see your potential, but kind of knowing what your final goal is and what you should be puts a lot more pressure on you. And it kind of upends your relationship. Should I be with this person? Should I be doing this job? It doesn't really tell you how to get there. So it kind of makes your mind wander and kind of go nuts. And that's where sort of the comedy lies in this. I do really, really like it.

And I don't know if I really want to know what my full potential is. Maybe a little ignorance is bliss here, I think. I don't want to go nuts. It pushes us into self-reflection. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I get you on a weekend. Maybe you want to be a little bit more low-key. Now, we got to talk about one where it was in theaters initially. It's now being streamed. I'm going to admit this right now. My wife flagged this movie. We watched it. It's a guilty pleasure. It was as good as you would imagine. A rom-com starring Sidney Sweeney and Glenn Powell. It's called Anyone But You. Take a look at us. That's the jerk who he got when she was on a break from Jonathan. I could never be with someone like This girl's a disaster.

We're going to ruin our wedding. Sorry. Maybe we should just tell everyone we're together. What? It would solve that problem for me, and you clearly want Margaret. There's no way we can convince anyone we actually like each other. You know I said things about that night we spent together. Shut up.

Now this, my friends, is weekend viewing, and I will say you've got beautiful people. You have snark. They're banter. is amazing. I'm all in, okay, but you know I've seen this already. Are you planning on watching and what would you tell folks about this, Darren? Yeah, this is, this is high praise coming from me. This is actually, I actually like this R-rated rom-com. It gets a little bit raunchier. I think that we're normally expecting in our rom-com world. It's Bia and Ben, they go on kind of this great first date, and then they reunite an indefinite period of time later at this wedding

in Australia, and they hate each other, literally anyone but you here. And they pretend to be a couple to get through this wedding. It's got very, very light moments, but again, it's a little bit raunchy and is rated R so I don't recommend it necessarily for the whole family, but I will be watching it this weekend. Why not? Yeah, don't watch it with your parents, but other than that, you're good.

And Darren, finally on our watch list, we have a docu series on Hulu. It's called Thank You Good Night, the Bon Jovi story, and it's about the highs and the lows of the band and the lead singer's health issues. Let's take a look at the preview. John's choruses demand to be sung by 20,000

people in an arena. We were just crushing it. Anything that every one of those bands talks about, we did it. It was real fun. And I thought everybody else was enjoying it, too. Wrong. People love behind the scenes, right? And I'm just curious, for John Bon Jovi, I mean, is this sort of the most authentic

interview we've seen from him about what life was like behind the curtain? Yes, it gives personal, excuse me, I had a coughing vet. It gives personal videos and photos, and as a Jersey girl, I'm loving it. I was more of a Bon Jovi person than I was a Bruce Springsteen person, but it's a four-part docu-series. It goes in depth. It really captures it in his intimate and vulnerable moments, the highs and lows of a band of being on tour all this time.

So it's actually incredible in just how they kind of managed to reinvent themselves, even when the public kind of wanted them to stay the same. How do they kind of do it? It's actually really impressive. And I do recommend whether or not you're a John Bon Jovi fan or not, you should absolutely see the stock. Indeed. And for so many of us, part of our childhoods and college years was listening to Bon Jovi songs and bars and just sort of like where that takes us in that stage of our lives. So yeah, very curious to see the story of the band of Bon Jovi. Let's go now as we're talking

about music to another topic here. So far in 2024, we've seen queer women dominating in the music industry performing at Coachella, getting major wins at the Grammys. And with this being lesbian visibility week, we have some new music from lesbian and queer artists. Yes, two thumbs up, too pump this up. And we think you should listen to. First, we're going to start with singer Jess Glenn. Is that with new music? This one is called Easy.

Let's take a listen. You make it easy, when is that easy? When I get that feeling, just breathe is hard. You make it easy. Give me what's needed when I'm in my head, like in the dark. And Darren, correct me if I'm wrong. Is that a grandma in the video? which if it's true, I love that.

I believe so, which is pretty great. I mean, Jess Glenn, I mean, she's just massive in the U.K., obviously, came over here to the United States, but she's so different. She's so fun. She just has one of those iconic voices. I couldn't think of a better person to kind of represent the queer community, even though I know she doesn't love labels, the queer community, especially for this kind of week. And so talk about the movement itself. What has sort of brought all these prominent artists really to the spotlight now? Listen, I mean, I think it's 2024, and I think people are way more.

more comfortable about actually embracing who they are, really discovering who they are, certainly at a younger age. I mean, just this week, Billy Eilish kind of came out with this bombshell thing about her sexuality, writing about a song, wanting to be with a woman. I mean, this is sort of taken up by storm. And as someone who has been out for the better part of their life, I'm kind of excited to see it. And I'm just happy that we live in a place right now that we're able to kind of come forward with not only without reservations, but sort of with celebrations. I think this is just a good sign of the times. Indeed, a sign of progress, at least in this space. Absolutely. Darren Karp, thank you so much.

And thank you guys at home for watching Top Story. I am Sam Brock. In for Tom Yamis. Stay right there because we have more news coming up on the way.