Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, August 1, 2025

Episode Date: August 2, 2025

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.

Tonight, a new twist after weeks of scrutiny surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case. Why was his co-conspirator Galane Maxwell suddenly moved to a minimum security prison? A week after meeting with Trump's deputy AG, the woman convicted of sex trafficking for Jeffrey Epstein, sent to a different facility. The move in apparent violation of the Bureau of Prison Guidelines, the new reaction from the family of an Epstein accuser blasting President Trump. Also tonight, the presidential firing of a top laborer. official after a worse than expected jobs report, stocks tumbling amid new signs of a weakening economy. President Trump's rare move repositioning two nuclear subs after a threat from Russia,

the decisions escalating tensions with the Kremlin as a U.S. deadline to end the war in Ukraine nears. A jury finding Tesla partially liable in a fatal autopilot crash, the company forced to pay $243 million in damages. Blinding aircraft pilots? The police chopper? Capturing the man, they say, deliberately pointed a laser into the cockpit of the planes flying by. Drunk Airport Joyride, bizarre video showing a man stealing a golf cart, destructively driving through the terminal, how it all came to an end. And the scary octopus encounter going viral, one mom claiming this creature clunked to her child's arm at an aquarium and refused to let go, leaving terrifying bruises. Plus, military families on the front lines of food insecurity, how inflation is impacting those who say, sacrifice so much for our country. Top story starts right now.

Good evening. We begin tonight with Galane Maxwell, the convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein, on the move. Maxwell's attorney revealing today she's been transferred to a less secure prison where she'll continue serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting and trafficking minors for sex. Up until today, Maxwell was at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee. That houses both men and women. She's now at a women-only minimum security prison camp in Texas. Here's a look at that prison camp. It's called FPC Bryan, where the majority of inmates are serving time for nonviolent offenses and white-collar crimes and typically stay in dorm-style housing instead of jail cells. But she won't be the only high-profile inmate there. She'll be joining Theronaut's founder, Elizabeth Holmes, and real housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shaw, both convicted of fraud. Today's move coming just a week after Maxwell met with the Deputy Attorney General and as she appeals to the Supreme Court to overturn her conviction.

The families of Jeffrey Epstein's victims outraged by the news calling it preferential treatment. Our Peter Alexander has more on the fallout and leads us off tonight. Tonight convicted Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Galane Maxwell quietly moved to a different prison from a low security federal facility in Florida housing men and women to a minimum security women only prison camp in Texas. where instead of cells, inmates share dormitory style housing. The move comes as Maxwell's appealing to the Supreme Court to overturn her conviction and asking the president for a pardon in exchange for her cooperation. Last week, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell for two days, seeking information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims.

Outside, her attorney said Maxwell would welcome relief from what he called terrible conditions behind bars. We wouldn't keep animals the way she's been kept in prison. The Bureau of Prisons policy says convicted sex offenders like Maxwell are not eligible to be housed in a minimum security prison camp. The Bureau of Prisons would not answer questions about the move. Among those imprisoned at the Texas camp, Elizabeth Holmes and Real Housewives of Salt Lake City's Jen Shaw, both convicted of fraud. President Trump has said he has not considered pardoning Maxwell, but hasn't ruled it out. Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon. But nobody's approached me with it.

Tonight, the family of vocal Epstein accuser Virginia Jewfrey, who died by suicide at April and two other accusers expressing outrage by the prison switch. Writing, President Trump has sent a clear message today. Pedophiles deserve preferential treatment and their victims do not matter. A senior administration official telling NBC News, quote, any false assertion this individual was given preferential treatment is absurd. Prisoners are routinely moved in some instances due to significant safety and danger concerns. So many questions about the timing of this move.

Peter Alexander joins us now. Peter, I know you have some new reporting about Congress. They want her to testify in a subpoena. Yeah, that's right. Tonight, the House Oversight Committee, Tom, says that it is willing to delay her deposition, her testimony. But it says it's unwilling to give her immunity and unwilling to give her the questions in advance. She had requested both. Maxwell's lawyers right now say they'll keep negotiating.

with lawmakers. All right. Peter Alexander, great to have you here in studio on Top Story. Well, we're also going to move on now to other breaking news. President Trump firing the head of Bureau labor statistics after a troubling new report from the department said the U.S. added just 70-3,000 new jobs in July, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.2%. The president defending his decision a short time ago. I believe the numbers were phony just like they were before the election and there were other times. So you know what I did? I fired her. She gave her. She gave her. out numbers that were so good for the Democrats. It was like unbelievable. And then right after the election, she corrected those numbers with I think almost 900,000 correction. I think nobody

had ever seen anything like it. Well, today she did the same thing. Now, this coming as Trump announces a 10% baseline terror for much of the world. And the stock market closes with its worst week in months. The S&P 500 down 1.6%. For more on all the firing for the firing for the firing, and the latest in the jobs report. I want to turn to our good friend White House correspondent, Yamish Alcindar. Yamish, thanks for being here. The president is saying the jobs report numbers were manipulated. Is there any evidence to support this?

The short answer is no, Tom. The president has repeatedly said that the now former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics was rigging the numbers, including rigging the numbers in 2024 to try to help former vice president Kamala Harris get elected. There's just no evidence of any of that. What I can tell you is that this firing is something that the White House is defending tonight. I just talked to a senior administration official who said that the president had long wanted

to fire the commissioner of bureau statistics, but that he liked the last few job numbers and was in fact sort of pausing it and deferring his decision. But then when he saw the July numbers and then saw the revisions to May and June, he decided that now was the moment to act. That being said, you have now a union president who represents members and employees at the Department of Labor lashing out and saying that this is really a bad decision, calling it outrageous and irresponsible. I want to reach you part of that statement. It says the civil servants at the Bureau of Labor Statistics are not political actors. Their professionals committed to

producing accurate, independent data, regardless of who is in power, Tom. And then Yamisha do I do got to ask you, you know, the new report, as we take a closer look at it, how concerning other numbers? Well, a lot of experts saw these July numbers and said that they were weaker than expected. If you look, we can put them up for folks. You had 73,000 jobs created in July. That number was expected to be something like 100,000. And then you have in May and June, which is really what really angered the president. You had those totals go down by a combined 258,000 jobs.

Now, I want to put this in the context. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does do revisions. This is not new. But when the president saw that, he thought that the commissioner was essentially cooking the books to make him look bad, Tom. Again, no evidence of that. Yeah, and then President Trump has also taken the opportunity

to resume attacks on Fed Chair Jerome Powell. What do we know about the timeline there and what really happened today? Well, the president is now urging the Fed Board of Governors to take over the board and essentially undermine the power of Jerome Powell because he doesn't want to cut interest rates. We should remind folks that it was a vote taken by the entire board that kept interest rates steady. You also now have a board member, a Fed of Governor's board member, stepping down. The president is saying that it's because she wanted to, she wanted to cut interest. interest rates and agreed with the president. But in fact, Adriana Coogler, who is stepping

down, did not say why she's stepping down. She also wasn't at the vote for personal reasons, according to the Fed. And then you have the president essentially saying now that he wants to put someone that's going to be loyal to him, that he likes, that someone that's going to be honest, but also someone who wants to cut interest rates because that's what he's been pushing Jerome Powell to do. So it's really interesting there. He also said today, as he was leaving the White House, that he has a number of people in mind for that position. So we're going to wait to see who he ends up appointing there. And again, he's not saying that he's going to to fire Jerome Powell, but he is saying that he has people in mind to replace him once he steps

down as Fed Chair. All right, Hamish, great to have your reporting. We thank you for that. We want to stay with the White House and the president's new threat tonight. Warning Russia, he has deployed two U.S. nuclear submarines and repositioned them, a response to what he called highly provocative statements from a top Russian official. NBC's chief foreign affairs correspondent, Andrew Mitchell, has this one. Overnight with Ukraine saying new Russian drone attacks on Kiev killed 28, people, including three children, President Trump increasing the pressure on Russia to end the war, posting he's moving two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate

regions, following what he called highly provocative statements from former Russian President Dimitri Medvedev. After Medvedev called Trump's deadline for Russia to end the war in 10 to 12 days, a threat and a step towards war between Russia and the U.S. A threat was made by a former president of Russia and was a threat. going to protect our people. He was talking about nuclear. When you talk about nuclear, we have to be prepared, and we're totally prepared. It's the first time Trump has issued a nuclear threat against Vladimir Putin, who threatened to use nuclear weapons early in the Ukraine war. U.S. intelligence said it was not serious. Monday, Trump slamming Putin for continuing to escalate

the war. I'm disappointed in President Putin. Very disappointed at him. And with that, Andrea Mitchell joins Top Story tonight from Washington. So, Andrew, I know you know this, nuclear submarines, a key part of the United States nuclear triad, telegraphing their movements, incredibly rare. Absolutely. Trump did not say whether he was repositioning submarines with nuclear engines, importantly, or subs carrying nuclear-tipped missiles. The location of all submarines, as you point out, is top secret.

Now there's only, by the way, a week before his deadline for sanctions. against Putin. Tom. Andrea Mitchell for us tonight. Andrea, thank you. Next, we want to head to the Middle East, the White House Special Envoy to the region, Steve Whitkoff, and U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, making a rare trip inside Gaza to come up with a plan to send in more aid as the humanitarian crisis there is growing. NBC's Matt Bradley has a story tonight. Tonight, as more parachutes of food aid drop from the sky,

Ghazans rushing towards them. Massive crowds carrying away sacks of flour, as aid agencies warn, much more is needed. Today, President Trump's special envoy, Steve Whitkoff, and U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, making a rare trip inside Gaza, visiting a U.S. and Israeli-backed aid distribution point. Whitkoff saying he'd give the president a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and helped craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid. President Trump laid tonight.

I spoke to Steve Whitkoff. He had a meeting on getting the people fed, and that's what we want. Huckabee saying over 100 million meals have been served at these aid sites. in two months. But the U.N. says more than 1,300 people have been killed since May, mostly by Israeli attacks, while seeking food at those distribution sites. The places where we get food and aid have become death traps, says this man. Israel disputes that death toll and says they only fire at people who threaten Israeli troops. Tonight, this man says a young boy was shot while trying to bring back food, his brother

hugging his body. Gunfire erupted, many were injured. I returned within nothing for my starving family, he said. Wyckoff blames Hamas for blocking a ceasefire deal, and tonight, Israel's military saying that if a deal isn't reached soon, it will fight on in Gaza. Tom? Matt Bradley from Israel. Back here at home, we are learning more tonight about how investigators were able to track down a teacher, now facing capital murder charges for the brutal killing of two parents

from Arkansas. Prosecutors promising to use the full weight of their office to bring justice. Here's Sam Brock. The 28-year-old great-old great-son. school teacher turned murder suspect. Andrew James McGahn is behind bars in Arkansas tonight after he was formally charged with two counts of murder accused of the stabbing deaths of Clinton and Kristen Brink at Devil's Den State Park. It comes as we're learning new details about his capture, including the importance of this

black Kia Stinger and how it led authorities to follow McGahn right through the doors of a barbershop. A witness saw a man with blood on his face drive off in a black car, according to court filed by prosecutors, which also say investigators use security footage to figure out the make and model, then tracked it to the salon, where McGahn walked in mere minutes before law enforcement arrived. I had chills as soon as I kind of saw through the hair that was in his forehead. I saw his brimps of his eyes. They were very sunken.

According to those documents, McGahn acknowledged he was the car's owner. Investigators noticed cuts on his hands and searched the Kia, finding blood inside and arresting him. They later matched DNA from blood at the crime scene to the suspect's hair. It is the intention of this office to at least give the jury the option to seek the death penalty in this case, so the state will not be waiving the death penalty in this matter. McGahn's arraignment is set for later this month. All right, Sam Brock joins us.

So in that video, we see how they tracked them down with the Kia inside the barbershop. The big question, though, I keep asking this. Do we know the motive yet? Yeah. Nothing about this, according to police or prosecutors, this case, has been conventional in any way. What they're doing right now is reconstructing a timeline or trying to to see what McGahn was doing in the days and weeks, Tom, leading up to this murder. He had just moved into the state. We know the family came originally from California via then North Dakota. They've got to then reach out to those communities and see, is there any overlap or possible connection? They're saying right now it's likely a random attack. But I've got to interview all these different community members to see whether or not they might have known each other in some way.

Then there was also a search warrant that was executed in the house and in the car. We don't know what police have found so far, but they're hoping it provides some clues into what might have motivated the car. I'm sure we'll get that in the coming weeks. Sam, we thank you for that. Okay, an urgent manhunt underway in Montana tonight after a shooter opened fire, killing four people at a bar in the town of Anaconda. That's about 100 miles southeast of Missoula. Let's get right to NBC's Morgan Chesky. Morgan, what more do we know about the investigation so far? because from what we were reporting earlier, the entire town was on lockdown.

Yeah, Tom, and right now, authorities are saying that this is an individual who is considered armed and extremely dangerous. We have learned that they've identified the suspect in this shooting that has left four people dead. Take a good look. He's been identified as Michael Paul Brown. He's a 45-year-old who lives very close to that bar, we're told, from where this shooting began around 10.30 this morning. He stands 5'10. He was last seen driving a 2007 white Ford. F-150, wearing a tie-died shirt, blue jeans, and orange bandana. Now, back to that white F-150,

Tom. Authorities saw that leaving the town of Anaconda. This is about 25 miles to the west of Butte, Montana, and they gave a short chase, and then essentially they lost him. And that's where the manhood stands right now. We do know that for a brief period of time, the Tan of Anaconda was placed on lockdown. They're currently asking people to be incredibly vigilant because they do still believe this man to be armed. and again, dangerous. We still don't know the motive here, Tom, only that the shooting began around 10.30 this morning

in a local bar there, in that town. We have learned within the past few hours or so that SWAT team members did conduct a search on the interior of the residence of this primary suspect, the only suspect we believed, opened fire. We don't know what, if anything, they recovered from that home, but it's certainly going to go to building their case going forward. This is, to be clear, an incredibly rural,

area that is very vast. And so finding this man at this point in time, particularly as the sun goes down, is going to be very tough. And that is why particularly considering how armed and dangerous he is, it certainly goes to show the threat that this area continues to face until they can be brought into custody here. Tom? Incredibly dangerous. All right, Morgan Chesky, Morgan, thank you. A major update tonight in a trial we've been following a jury in Florida finding Tesla partially to blame for a 2019 deadly crash involving a driver using its autopilot software. NBC's Dana Griffin has the details. Tonight, a Florida jury forcing Tesla to pay $243 million to victims in a deadly 2019 crash.

The jury finding flaws in Tesla's self-driving software were partly to blame. We can be proud that we stood up and that we did everything in our power to help shine light on what's going on. She's right there. She's right there in the bulletin. Dylan Angulo was seriously injured, and his girlfriend, Nybel Benevides, died after the Model S electric vehicle seen here and driven by George McGee crashed into them. McGee testifying he believed the autopilot would break if an obstacle was in the way.

As for Tesla, the verdict is a significant setback for the automaker, focusing much of its attention on developing self-driving taxis. They use production vehicles as, as big. beta tests on our public roadways. And then, unfortunately, when incidents occur, as they like to say, they make changes. The problem is for the people affected like my clients, an incident is a funeral. Tesla says it plans to appeal, writing, the driver is solely at fault. The driver's foot was on the accelerator, which overrode autopilot as he rummaged for his dropped phone without his eyes on the road. Misty Maris is an NBC News legal analyst in

trial attorney. This is an unprecedented case because for the first time, even though the driver of the car admitted that he was distracted causing this fatal accident, Tesla was still held responsible for safety failures with the autopilot system. A reminder, as this technology improves, drivers should be alert. All right, Dana Griffin joins us live. Dana, good to see you tonight. the jury found Tesla partially to blame. Break down how that works. Yeah, so, Tom, in this case, it boils down to the percentage of liability. So the jury assigned Tesla one-third of the blame and two-thirds to the driver who was sued separately. The jury found that the plaintiffs experienced pain and suffering, totaling $129 million,

but Tesla will be required to pay only a third of that, or $43 million in compensatory damages and 200 million impunitive damages. So that money will go to the surviving victim in his deceased girlfriend's family. But this case is far from over and it could play out for months because, as Tesla says, it is planning to appeal. Tom. All right, Dana Griffin for us. We're back in a moment with the last thing any mother taking her child to an aquarium expects an octopus that won't let go what the mother of that six-year-old boy is saying about the scary encounter. Plus, former Vice President Kamala Harris explaining to Colbert why she won't be running for California governor and why a presidential run in 2008 may be on the table.

And the hidden struggle for America's military families, hungry mothers, depending on food pantries just to feed their families, some going to three of them in a single day. Ellison Barber has our report coming up. Welcome back. San Antonio, Texas now, where a mom says she had a scary moment at the local aquarium's touch tank when, according to her, a massive octopus grabbed her son's arm and wouldn't let go. NBC's Camila Bernal has this one. The unexpected strength of this giant Pacific octopus forcing a mother to sound the alarm.

I'm pretty sure when I tell you what this is on my son's arm, you're not going to believe me. Brittany Terran says the powerful sea creature recently clung to her six-year-old son Leo at the San Antonio aquarium you start saying mom it's not letting me go and way too calmly octopus starts coming out of the tank she says they're regulars and had touched the animal multiple times but on july 14th she had to scream for help finally a guy comes walking very nonchalantly towards us and he's like oh isn't she playful today i'm like this hot octopus is halfway out the tank like trying to eat my son but yeah playful sure it took three adults to get the octopus off she said leo was was left with purple suction bruises from his wrist to his armpit.

Why does the octopus not let go? Octopus arms are their primary way with their vision, that they sense and explore their environment. Their arms are covered in taste receptors. And so the way that an octopus explores its environment and understands what's going on, everything like that is with its arms and its suckers. The encounter has now gone viral on social media and it's raising serious questions about safety and whether visitors, especially children, should be touching these animals.

Oh, yeah, she's super strong. The aquarium posted an explanation of the bruises on TikTok, although the video did not directly reference the incident. All this suction motion, sometimes it will create hickies. We call them octopus kisses, but they're bruises, and it's basically where blood comes up to the surface of your skin. and she's not trying to be harmful in any manner. But even their staff.

You can't come with me. I'm sorry. Having some trouble with the suction. That's some tough love. Tough love that in this case left its mark. It's a wild animal. Okay, Camilla Bernal joins us now. Camilla, have we heard any more from the family?

Yeah, Tom, the mom has posted quite a bit on social. media and a really important thing to point out here is that she's not calling this an attack. In fact, she's gone back to the aquarium with her child to see this octopus. But the one thing she continues to stress is that she never got any sort of warning about what could happen here. So she wants to be the one to warn other parents because she said her child was calm, but you just never know how a child is going to react to something like this and it could definitely be traumatic. Tom? Yeah, good to know. Camilla, I don't mean to put you on the spot here, but what was the name of the octopus?

Cthulhu is, I believe, what the octopus was called. That's what the woman at the aquarium called it. I think he was just maybe, or she was just having a bad day. Okay, thanks so much. When Top Story returns, a major scare at a resort in Ocean City, Maryland, more than a dozen involved in a carbon monoxide emergency. And the cost of denial, victims of the Los Angeles fire say it's their mortgage companies that are burning them.

Liz Kreutz, with our report just ahead. But first, Top Story's Top Moment and one actor reprising an iconic role with the help of Kim Cardack. Have you seen this? It's called Skim's Seamless Sculpt, Face Wrap, and it's supposed to stimulate collagen production throughout face compression, okay? The product has been drawn a lot of buzz online, including comparisons to Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs.

So actor Anthony Hopkins, try it out for himself. Take a look. Hello, Kim. I'm already feeling 10 years younger. Oh, that's creepy. And here is Hopkins, of course, starring in the 91 Classic Horror. So what do you think? Regardless, go ahead and enjoy that fine Kianti.

All right. Stay with us. We're back in just a moment. Back down with power and politics in Kamala Harris' first big interview since she lost the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump. Harris appearing on the late show with Stephen Colbert. The former VP further explaining her decision not to run for California governor,

despite polling indicating she has strong support in the state. Take a look. Recently, I made the decision that I just, for now, I don't want to go back in the system. I think it's broken. And I always believed that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend. our most fundamental principles.

And I think right now that they're not as strong as they need to be. And I just don't want to, for now, I don't want to go back in the system. Okay, for more on the interview, Harris's future and the future of the Democratic Party. I want to bring him back our friend from Top Story, of Top Story, I should say, NBC Senior National Politics Reporter, Jonathan Allen. He joins us again. John, we were talking about this just before when she made the announcement. She wasn't going to run for governor. Give me your initial reaction to the interview, what you thought about what she said. I think what's fascinating that she is positioning herself as an outsider, somebody who's grown up in the system and talked about how she thinks she needs to kind of look at life from the other side for a little while.

With the exception of George H.W. Bush and Joe Biden, every president since Watergate has run an outsider campaign. And what I heard in her framing of that was her trying to position herself in a place where she can come back and say that she has learned a lot from being outside. outside the electoral system. How was the interview itself? Did she have those word salad problems that she's been sort of accused of having before? It's all sort of how you want to define it. I mean, I did see some of the criticism of that,

that there was word salad, but it's interesting. The criticisms I saw of that seem pretty clear to me what she was intending to say. I do think that she's somebody who needs to get a little cleaner and a little clearer. She's somebody who has been a prosecutor before. somebody obviously has been a senator and vice president and may not think that she needs to work on those things But I think presentation is one of the things she does have to improve on if she hopes to be president in 2028

Harris telling Colbert what surprised her most about the second Trump term was the level of what she called capitulation And people in Washington trying to just ride out what she described as a storm take a look I believed That on some level, you know, there are many there should be many who consider themselves to be go guardians of our system and our democracy who just capitulated. And I didn't see that coming. So hearing that, do Democrats need to go beyond resistance to Trump and offer a real alternative? And do you think she was talking about Democrats there?

I think she was talking about Democrats, but I think she was also talking about Republicans who have been in government in the past, talking about people who have been in the past, talking about people who are now serving the Trump administration, who have not stood up to the president. Of course, they're working for him, and we saw today, in fact, that somebody is non-controversial as the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics,

the commissioner there, getting fired because the president didn't like the numbers that were coming out. So I think she was talking a little bit to both sides there. I think what's really important about that, though, is, again, her positioning herself as somebody who will come from the outside.

and try to get rid of the establishment. Democrats have had trouble articulating what it is they're fighting against. And, of course, they don't have power right now to mount more than rhetorical objections to what Trump is doing. So the president, you mentioned Trump, they're also weighing in on Harris's interview and her upcoming book about the 2024 election. The president sticking to his personal attacks, but also acknowledging the uphill battle Harris had in 2024. Well, she can't speak. She can't talk. She can't do an interview. She wasn't a skilled person.

You know, you have skilled politicians, really skilled politicians, and then you have some that aren't. And she was put in a very tough position, I think. Yeah. As soon as Harris declares she's running in 2028, she immediately becomes a target of President Trump. Is it in her best interest to sort of put that off as long as possible? Yeah, not only a target of President Trump,

but all of the other Democratic rivals that are looking at 2028, you know, which I think was harmful to her when she was vice president, that there were a lot of other Democrats that were thinking about their own futures and not necessarily supportive of hers, you know, before she became the Democratic nominee. But, yeah, Donald Trump will go after her if she is running for president in 2028, and it makes sense for her to put that off for as long as possible. And you know what, Tom, she has some advantages in that way. She'll have a bigger fundraising list than anybody else that runs if she does run. She has, you know, full name recognition across the country. That's something that's very expensive, difficult to. to build up. And of course, she's been out on the campaign trail before. This wouldn't be the first time. So, you know, she has some reasons if she chooses to think that she starts with an advantage a little bit further down the road than some of the other candidates. But I think she's also going to want to take a look and make sure not only that she could win a primary, but also win a general election. Before you go and just briefly here, what does your spidey sense tell you? Do you think she runs? Yeah, I think she does, Tom. Okay. Jonathan Allen, we're going to

replay that, and we'll let you know if you were right. Okay. John, have a good Friday. Thanks for Now at Top Story's news feed, starting with a major scare at a beach resort in Ocean City, Maryland. First responders were called to the ashore hotel after a carbon monoxide detector went off. 13 people were treated at the scene and four people were taken to the hospital. Officials say those hospitalized are in stable condition. The hotel says the leak came from a boiler that is being repaired. A man arrested after allegedly blinding airline pilots in Colorado with a laser. This video is crazy.

Look at this. Video from a Colorado state police chopper showing a bright green laser. shining into their aircraft after reports from multiple commercial pilots. Authorities later tracking down the suspect from the air, catching them just a few miles away. The suspect was charged with a felony for unlawfully aiming a laser device at an aircraft along with drug charges. And the CDC releasing data saying U.S. childhood vaccination rates have dropped

as exemptions reach an all-time high. New numbers show a decrease in vaccinations from 2024 to 2025 among children entering kindergarten. Experts say outbreaks are more common when rates reach below the 95% threshold for herd immunity. It comes as the U.S. experiences a record number of measles cases since the disease was declared eliminated 25 years ago. And a man caught on a drunken joyride at New York's Buffalo Niagara Airport, video capturing the man plowing a stolen golf cart through a moving walkway, mowing down the glass paneling. Airport workers begging for him to stop.

Transportation authority officials say he was noticeably intoxicated. He was eventually arrested and faces a number of charges, including grand larceny. Okay, time now for our series, The Cost of Denial. And a struggle, some people who lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires are facing mortgage lenders. Renigging on a 90-day forbearance agreement. Here's Liz Kreutz with the homeowners who say they were promised help only to have it taken away. In fire-scarred Altadena, rebuilding is underway. But for some, the construction doesn't tell the full story.

For every house like this. Oh, there's like five like me. Okay, for real, for real. Neil Smith's entire home, including the office for his architecture business, was destroyed by the Eaton fire. So when he heard about a state-led initiative for homeowners designed to temporarily delay mortgage payments for 90 days without penalty, what's commonly known as a forbearance,

he jumped at the offer, feeling he needed the extra cash. I don't need any more stress. And it was presented to me as an option. However, if I had to do it again, I wouldn't have gone anywhere near it. That's because Smith says promises were broken. The state agreement explicitly states that when the forbearance period was up, a homeowner would be offered payment options that do not require immediate repayment in a lump sum, a so-called balloon payment.

And Smith says he was also told his credit score wouldn't be effective. affect it. But he says both things are exactly what happened. They want the whole amount due. And they go, no, no, no, until you pay it off, it's still going to have an adverse effect on your credit. And I'm just going unbelievable, unbelievable. Amy Williams is an attorney whose firm is assisting Smith and others. 400 mortgage servicers signed up to abide by these bare minimum standards for mortgage relief. Homeowners are instead being offered the complete opposite. You're seeing people get told, okay, your months are up, pay up, or we're going to begin the foreclosure process. Her client, Eltona resident Lisa Mason, says she's been threatened with foreclosure, all because her auto payments stopped when her mortgage company mistakenly enrolled her into forbearance against her wishes.

She only found out it happened when her credit score took a 120-point hit. I really think they want me out. They want me to give up. That's truly what I think at this point. So that what? so that they can take the property or that I'll sell it. Neither Mason nor Smith's mortgage providers responded to our request for comment. For Smith, who's committed to staying in Altadena, he says what was supposed to be much-needed relief

has instead made things like getting a loan even harder. So having this lower credit score now, is it slowing down your rebuilding process here? Oh, certainly, certainly. You don't have as many options, obviously, and you're going with your begging bowl. Your begging bowl. Yeah. That's what it feels like. Oh, yeah. The whole thing is like walking around with a baking bowl. That's what it's like.

The governor's office, Tom, says they're proud of the agreement made with mortgage lenders and that it's unacceptable for providers to not adhere to their commitments. The state agency that oversees financial institutions says it's received more than 100 complaints so far and that they have been able to resolve most of them, but the homeowners we spoke with still haven't received resolution. Tom. All right. Let's crush. Let's thank you. When we come back, they serve our country, but can't always afford to feed their kids. we ride along with frontline families lining up at food pantries, the growing hunger crisis facing many in the military. And the massive sandstorm, look at this, swooping across Peru, shutting down stores

and sending pedestrians fleeing. That's next. Welcome back. Inflation has stretched budgets for millions of Americans since the pandemic. But for military families who are more vulnerable to increasing costs, thanks to frequent moves and the likelihood of a single household income, put food on the table can be an everyday struggle. Ellison Barber visited with military families who are fighting on the front lines of food insecurity.

Almost everyone in this food line is either an active duty service member or married to one. Twice a week, just outside of Fort Hood, Texas, the Armed Services YMCA holds a free food distribution for the military community. And every week, there are more faithful. families in the line than food to serve. Lately, it's just been, we've been having to use it a lot often. Chantelle McLeod's husband is an E7 sergeant first class, and she has a part-time job that lets her work from home.

On paper, you would think y'all would be good. Totally not true. In my opinion, it doesn't really keep up with the growing of the economy, what they pay the soldiers. Five relocations, two deployments, and three kids later. She says food pantries have become a lifeline. It kind of frees up a lot so my kids can be kids, you know, and not worry. We caught up with Michelle Megan and Crystal.

Army wives on their weekly food pantry carpool as they visited three in a single day. This really takes up a lot of our time. It's my birthday, and I'm at a pantry because if I miss today's pantry, that's going to determine how the rest of the week goes. And if you don't go to the food pantry, that means you're going to have to spend money on food, and then your kids aren't going to be able to go to the pool in the summer or do basic kid stuff. gas or toilet paper. A USDA study last year estimated one in four active duty troops are now food insecure, more than double the rate for civilians. And despite a recent 10% pay raise, specifically for junior enlisted troops and the expansion of a stipend for those most in need,

food insecurity in the military does not seem to be going anywhere. Do you all feel like you're living in poverty? Yes. Yes. According to Pentagon data obtained by NBC News through a record's request, Nearly 40% of children at DOD-run schools on U.S. military bases currently qualify for lunch assistance. That's up from 30% just six years ago. Civilian pantries in the Fort Hood area have seen an uptick in military families using their services, too. When we came on back in 2017, less than 5% of the families coming through our doors were military families. And now we're up in the 20 to 25% range. And these pantries have been hit by inflation, just like everyone else.

We're just spending so much more for groceries than we ever have. It is not sustainable in the long term. Dorina O'KAM runs development for the ASYMCA nationally. In 2019, the nonprofit operated six food distribution sites on or near U.S. military installations. Today, they have 22. We will run out of food probably by 11 o'clock this morning. And the line will still be there, and we will have to turn people away. O'Kam says sky high child care costs nationally and lengthy wait list.

military subsidized daycares put military spouses in a tough position. Where I live currently $2,800 a month just for one infant to go into a non-D subsidized child care facility. It's just unattainable. And so the reality is they choose to stay home and live off of the single income. And we just don't live in a world where we can live on a single income anymore. We had a 40-plus million dollar military parade in D.C. There are some people who looked at that and said, there's a lot of places that money could have gone instead, one of them being making sure that particularly enlisted personnel

are making a salary to be able to feed their families. I think that the military parades in terms of recruitment, that they believed that that was an important piece to it. I think the DOD puts just as much emphasis, though, on taking care of current. serving people. You have it for that one day, but then they have to go back to their actual lives, whereas though they're back to wondering and thinking like, okay, well, I need groceries to cover me for the next month, you know. McLeod's husband is retiring from the military this summer. I've heard a lot, like, it's a volunteer service. Yeah, but you work so hard and you're

out there risking your life, you know, you want to feel sound and mind knowing that your family is going to be taken care of. In Colleen, Texas, Ellison Barber, in BC News. A DOD official told us the Pentagon is working to ensure that military families have access to affordable, nutritious food, in part by supporting spouse employment. And earlier this spring, the first of three new child care centers in partnership with the ASYMCA Open at Virginia. Moving overseas now to Top Story's Global Watch, we start in El Salvador, making major changes to the presidency. Lawmakers approving constitutional reforms abolishing presidential term limits and extending each presidential. term to six years. The changes will allow President Naib Bukeli to run an unlimited number of times. Human rights groups argue it's another move for Bukeli to clinch power after jailing

thousands of people in a crackdown of gangs and civil rights groups. Okay, scientists in South Africa using new radioactive technology to combat rhino poaching. The team injecting a harmless isotope into the rhino's horns in a move that will allow customs officials to trace the smuggled horns worldwide. South Africa is home to the largest rhino population in the world. A local conservation charity says more than 400 rhinos have been poached every year since 2021. And a massive sandstorm sweeping across Peru. Look at this. Video shows the massive dust cloud sweeping through the southern city of Ica. The storm sending pedestrians fleeing, closing down stores, and even turning the skies orange. Experts say strong winds caused by a high pressure system in the

South triggered that event. Okay, coming up, if it's Friday, you know it's bingeworthy, the new Jason Mamoa drama series fans have been buzzing about, a new post-apocalyptic action series out on Peacock, and my own personal music wrecks for your playlist this weekend. Don't go away. Welcome back. It is Friday, which means it's time for bingeworthy. Our look at the best things to watch and listen to this weekend. And tonight we're joined by our good friend Chris Witherspoon, NBC News Entertainment Contributor and CEO of pop viewers and all-around great guy. Chris, so good to see you on this Friday.

All around the great guy. I'm pumped. You know why? Because this first series here, Chief of War, Apple TV, it's gotten a lot of buzz. The only two things you need to know, Jason Mamoa and Hawaii. Let's take a look. Tell me of the outside world. It's strange.

The pale skin honors no God. of land, it will be coming soon. If this island is divided, this kingdom will fall. Chris, I'm definitely binging this weekend because, first of all, I love the history of the South Pacific Islands. I've read about it. I'm into it. I love Jason Mamoa. This looks like it's right up my alley. Tell me, tell me it is. I'm still hung up on Carl Drogo from Game of Thrones when Jason Mamo first gave us this, but this is him. This is a passion, project for him. He's directing, he's producing. He actually wrote some episodes of this, which is like Jason Momoa writes episodes of TV shows. I love it. But it's based on real history

set in the 1800s. This chief trying to kind of unite the Polynesian Islands to kind of prevent colonization. But it's powerful, it's historic, is Jason Mamoa shirtless. Some folks are going to sign up for that. Okay. And it's really good. He's, I feel like, kind of entered this sweet spot in his career where he can do no wrong. It's an incredible history. It's a history that I don't think a lot of people know because the history of Hawaii starts in Fiji. And a lot of those people leaving Fiji going to Hawaii. And again, as you said, United the Islands, it is a beautiful story, a very tough story as well. And an all-Pongnesian cast, which I think is great to have that kind of . Wow, that's great, too. They actually kept it real. Sometimes, you know what they do. You know what

they do sometimes. I know what they do, Tom. And they do it to everybody. They get in trouble. Next up, this one is from the mothership, Peacock. Of course, we're very excited about this. You've seen the ads everywhere. It's called twisted metal. Let's take a look. I am Calypso, and I'm hosting a tournament. If you win, I will grant you a single wish. Kawabunga, motherfels. It's time for the outsiders to get their fair share. If we win, we can wish to bring down all the walls.

You're taking them all down. Sit them the walls all up. Oh, girl. Okay, Chris, I'm going to be honest with you. I know there's been a ton of promotion for this. I don't know anything about this series. Okay, okay. There are fans out that they probably played this video game.

It was really hot in the 90s. It was called Swisted Metal on PlayStation. They turned it into a TV series. This is the second season. Anthony Mackie, who's Black Falcon and all the things in the Marvel Universe, is in this show. He plays the lead character who forgot his kind of memory of, like, how he wound up where he is in this post-apocalyptic wasteland. But he's delivering a package across the country. Season two, there's this huge tournament, kind of like Mad Max.

It's very post-apocalyptic, very dark, but Anthony Mackey. How is it? Do people love it? People love it. And there's that huge, like, video game kind of like fan-based thing watches this show. And it does huge numbers for Peacock. Okay, next up. If you love true crime, we know you do because Dateline's so popular. We got one up next, the Yogurt Shop murders.

This is on HBO Max. It's a docu-series. Let's take a look at this. In 1991, four teenagers were shot and murdered inside a yogurt shop in this strip mall. I don't know that the city of Austin has ever been the same. It was just unspeakable.

The place was set on fire. They were bringing in anybody who was a little bit different. They're just kind of killed from there. They're using techniques that can lead to false confession. Based on the unsolved murder of four teens in 1991, right? This is so scary. This story is crazy.

There's these 14s. Two of them are sisters who went to this place called, I can't believe it's yogurt in Austin, Texas, in 91. They were gagged, bound, shot at close range, and no one knows what happened. So it's a cold case, unsolved mystery. You're getting a lot of prosecutors, lawyers, eyewitnesses that are still in this town that kind of haunts them 30 plus years later. Never been solved. And it looks like they go back to a lot of local news footage, but also they did their own sort of digging and investigating. Yes. And a lot of like old footage of like home video cameras. So you kind of learn who these girls are and their families who are still kind of like shook and it's not solved all these years later. Next up, my Oxford Year, this is on Netflix. It's a movie inspired by Julia Wheelan's novel. Let's take a look at this one. So, Anna, why did you choose Oxford? You don't have this back home, this history. I just love being among those dusty old first editions.

If you have time, then there's something that I'd like to show you. I think it's quite special. Behold the inner sanctum. This is just fun, right? Fun. Fun. So fun. So fun.

A little romance here, huh? Yeah. Maybe open that bottle of Kianti, huh? What are we doing? I want her right now, Tom. But we don't get that many good romance films, and it's kind of giving Emily and Paris, but instead of Emily and Paris, she's in Oxford. Okay.

It's this girl from New York, Sophia Carson, who folks know from the descendants. She has a huge following there, who moves to Oxford, England for a study abroad year, follows up with her professor. And there's sort of a sad part to this story. He has a terminally illness. criminally ill. So you kind of find that out. But it's a beautiful love story. She's a poet, lots of great poetry, and it's beautifully shot as well. On Netflix, make sure to watch that one. All right, next up, we're going to talk music and spoon. We have a treat. These are two of my

treats for summer. All right. Tom's tracks, we're going to call these, very excited about these. First up is a great band. They have a new song out called Passion. Let's take a listen. So this is sounding like an anthem to me. I just can get it up my mind. Passion. So this is Milky Chance. Don't know anything about them. They popped up on the Spotify algorithm.

Songs called Passion, really good, really fun. Just very chill for summer. Yeah. You know, maybe you're starting out your night with this song. Maybe you're ending your night. I don't know what you're up to, all right? I feel like it might be ending your night. You're right.

But I love the whole video and like the fruit everywhere. It's weird. It's out there. It's like the forbidden fruit. They're a German band. They're kind of playing rock and reggae and kind of create a new sound. Yes, I agree with that. And I love the visuals for all of their music.

And I learned a lot from what you just told me because half of that I didn't even know. But yes, very cool band. They're huge on TikTok, by the way. Next band is actually so big. Honestly, they're so big. If you love punk, if you love hardcore. But don't let that turn you off. This is turn style.

This is their new single. It's called Never Enough. It's so good. Listen. It's still you're sticking to the floor. It's never been done. All right, Chris, Sama, what do you think? I mean, you know it's funny?

It does not feel like hardcore punk to me. It's like this cool Baltimore sound. I love the visuals. It's their fourth studio album. Their lead single. And I kind of love that it came out in June, but it's now kind of popped because Tom Yama said it's hot.

It's officially popping. There's a great photographer, great artists for the Today Show. Photo Nate. You probably know, Nate. That's the homie. guy loves music. He recommended Turnstile years to me. I've been a fan ever since.

Great new album. Please check it out. Nate is always trendy. He's great. He's great just like Turnstile, just like you. Chris, thank you so much. Good to have you. Thank you for watching Top Story all week. We'll see you next week. Stay right there. More news on the way.