Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, August 18, 2023

Episode Date: August 19, 2023

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, breaking news, a Category 4 hurricane barreling toward the West Coast. The powerful storm rapidly gaining strength as it churns in the Pacific. The first ever tropical storm watch issued for Southern California. Bill Karen standing by with the latest track, plus a rare tornado tearing across the highway in Rhode Island. We've got it all covered. The grim search for the missing still underway in Hawaii after the stunning resignation of Maui's topic. emergency official. Why he's stepping down after defending the decision not to activate sirens as the flames overtook behind us. Emergency evacuations ordered in Canada where raging wildfires

are closing in on several cities. The race to get those residents to safety and how those blazes will affect the air quality right here in the states. Overseas religious violence erupting in Pakistan, mobs attacking churches, setting fires in the streets. Why the conflict between Catholics and Muslims is reaching a boiling point, and the mass arrest made as officers moved in. Ex-wife charged with murder, the stunning twist in the case of a Microsoft executive who was shot dead in the street in front of his child, why authorities believe his former spouse was the mastermind behind the deadly plot. Plus, the late breaking news on former President Trump, what sources say he's decided about attending the first Republican debate next week, and the discovery

off the coast of Maryland that took 12 million years. The rare fossil just brought back to shore. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. We begin top story tonight with severe threats on both coast in terms of weather. We are tracking a major hurricane heading for California. But first, take a look at this unbelievable video. A confirmed tornado tearing across the highway in Rhode Island, the driver of this Tesla capturing the funnel from multiple angles. That same powerful system triggering flash flooding in Massachusetts. But the huge weather threat we are following at this hour is Hurricane Hillary. This is a live

look at the radar. You can see that Hillary has now strengthened to a category four hurricane. Winds reaching 130 miles per hour as the storm intensifies off the coast of Mexico. The storm moving northwest at about 12 miles per hour. It is expected to make landfall on Sunday in Mexico before then taking aim at California, where a tropical storm warning has been issued for the first time in that state's history. 24 million under flash flood alerts across four states with this storm packing potentially record-breaking rainfall. Bill Cairns is standing by with the very latest track, but first, NBC's Antonia Hilton leads us off. Tonight, terrifying moments during the morning commute, this tornado tearing across a Rhode Island highway, one of at least

three to touch down in New England. The storm also ripping massive trees from their roots, leaving homes drenched and backyards reduced to a tangled mess. About 30 seconds of hell, that's what it was. Meanwhile, another historic storm is barreling toward the West Coast. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event that we're going to be experiencing. Hurricane Hillary is currently a category four storm with winds of 130 miles an hour. Though it's expected to significantly weaken, officials warn there could be extensive rainfall, flash flooding, and mudslides. FEMA has pre-positioned personnel and supplies in the region, and they're ready to respond as needed. A tropical storm watch has been issued for Southern California for the first time.

We haven't seen hurricanes out here, and I've been calling my friends in Florida to try to get some advice on how to handle it. California has not the best track record with driving in the rain. Some areas like Death Valley and Palm Springs could see two to three years worth of rain in two to three days. How different will the impacts of this on the West Coast be as compared to what we see happen in the East Coast, the Southeast? In Southern California, we have very dry desert-like surfaces that don't absorb that water. So as soon as that rain starts hitting, we're going to start. start seeing flooding. It's been 84 years since a tropical storm hit here, a region accustomed to fires and earthquakes, now bracing for a different kind of natural disaster.

Antonia Hilton joins us now from Seal Beach, California. Antonio, what are authorities telling residents there in Southern California that they need to do to prepare for this massive storm? Ellison, they are urging people to get out and get food, batteries, tarps, and sandbags while the weather right now is still good. And then on their part, they are getting swift water rescue teams and aircraft ready for immediate response, and they're doing outreach to homeless populations so that people are as safe as possible, Ellison. Antonio Hilton in California, thank you.

And as Antonio mentioned, while Hurricane Hillary may weaken before it makes landfall, it is still set to pack a punch in the West. So let's get right to NBC News meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill, what is the latest on the track? Good evening, Alison. And with every tropical system, whether it's storm surge or flash flooding or river flooding, there's one thing that's common in all of them.

Water is the issue. And that's going to be the biggest problem with this storm just because it's on the West Coast. It doesn't matter. It doesn't change a thing. So the storm has all of this tropical moisture. You're looking at all the thunderstorms wrapping around the center.

It's not going to look anything even close to this when it gets to California. But all of that moisture is in the atmosphere, and it's all heading northwards, and it's heading into arid deserts. It's heading into 8 to 10,000 foot mountains. So do you have tropical moisture in 8,000 to 10,000 foot mountains? It doesn't happen anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world that never happens. So that's the kind of rarity thing that we're going to be experiencing. Notice it weekends.

By the time it gets to California, the key period is going to be Sunday evening sometime around 5 p.m. to about midnight. That's when the whole storm will be flying. The storm's been moving at 30 miles per hour. It's going to be in. It's going to be out in a hurry. Excellent agreement with all of our computer models, almost right over the top of San Diego, and likely going just east of Los Angeles. Wind damage, maybe 5% of the overall total damage monetary-wise. About water will probably be about 95%.

There's the warnings and there's those watches that erupt from Malibu southwards all the way down to San Diego. Flash flood warnings already around Vegas. This is monsoonal moisture, not associated with the hurricane. But this is the problem, Ellison. When we see areas possibly getting up to 10 inches of rain, We're going to have communities that get cut off. We're going to have mudslides, rock slides, debris flows. The mountainous areas outside of the cities is where all the devastation will likely occur.

All right. The time is to prepare right now. All right, Bill Caron, thank you. We appreciate it. It has been 10 days since one of the deadliest fires in U.S. history ripped through Maui and the region's top emergency management official has now resigned after criticism over his decision not to sound emergency sirens. This, as the death toll, reaches 111, with crews. still searching for the missing. Miguel Almegare is on Maui.

All right, we're going to do a follow squad three down here. As the Grimm's search for the missing approaches its 11th day and the death toll continues to climb, tonight Maui's top emergency management official has resigned. Citing health reasons, Herman and Daya has stepped down amid withering criticism. He literally failed to sound the alarm. Do you regret not sounding the sirens? I do not. As the nation's deadliest fire in more than a century ripped through Lahaina, and Daya never activated the emergency sirens most often used for tsunami warnings, saying had he done so, he feared the public would have moved towards the fire in the hills.

Counties in the state of Hawaii will tell you that sirens have not been used for brush fires. But Maui County's website lists wildfires among the very hazard sirens can be used for. The siren is instant, immediate. It's going off. Something's going on. I'm alert. It's sort of difficult to believe that you would be compelled to run toward flame. Amid the growing frustration, a new NBC news review of public meeting records found,

Andaya repeatedly downplayed the use of sirens, calling them a last resort. If I would have had access to that button, I would have pushed it. Do you think the sirens going off would have saved lives? I do, yeah. Andaya's resignation comes as Hawaiian Electric faces multiple lawsuits, alleging the utility is to blame for igniting the fires. The power company says it doesn't comment on pending litigation, stressing the causes of the fires have not been determined. It comes as the death toll balloons to well over 100, with more than half the burn zone searched. I'm heartbroken, bro. I'm heartbroken. Where is Canada explained?

because I keep hearing of, you know, people I know that I care about is still unattended for. With upwards of a thousand people still unaccounted for, the few who have been identified so far are mostly the elderly. The latest 71-year-old Donna Gomes, known for her tough love and big heart, perhaps closure for one family, as so many others brace for the same. I want accountability. It destroyed more than half of the people we know. And just now, like, we're seeing the pictures of, for seeing the faces, the pictures of the people we lost. Tonight, the pain here, unimaginable, as is the loss.

Miguel Almaguer joins us now from Lahaina. Miguel, just heartbreaking stories of those lost and those still missing. The pain is incomprehensible for most of us. The search, though, it is still ongoing. What more can you tell us? Yeah, Alison, at this hour, it remains underway, and we just learned that the ATF is now actually on scene. They join their federal partners like the FBI.

They are trying to get to the bottom of the cause of this fire. But again, here, it is just a heartbreaking scene behind me, as families here are awaiting word from the ashes. Ellison. Miguel Almaguerre in Lahaina, thank you. The search for the mid. missing compounded by the search for answers for the residents of Lahaina. More than a week after the evacuations, that overwhelming sense of loss remains as they face

the reality of what comes next. Tom spoke with one resident, Dustin Kaleopu, last week, just after he lost his home. This is unprecedented. The footage that I've seen of my home, my hometown, there's nothing left, nothing to go back to my family is thinking. of just leaving the island completely. We have nothing but the clothes on our backs right now. Everything is gone. And Dustin Kaleopu joins us again tonight. Dustin, our viewers first met you a week ago.

I know a lot of people have been thinking about you and thinking about your family. How are you all doing tonight? You know, we've moved on from that initial shock, the initial sadness. Now we're just trying to figure out where we're going from here. community, as a family, everyone's just trying to figure out what the next steps are. Do you feel like you have access to resources, people, organizations to help you navigate those next steps, or do you feel like more help is still needed? I think I'm one of the lucky people. My family's been really fortunate to have access to

donations and family members taking us in, but there's still a lot of people out there who don't have the same needs. You know, we've learned a lot more about the lack of warning before the fires. Do you feel like more should have been done when people are talking about these alarm systems, the idea of sounding them and whether or not people would have run towards the wildfires or if they would have at least just woken up and known something was there? What do you think should have happened? Should they have sounded those emergency sirens? I understand the concern that if the alarms were sounded, people would have assumed it was a tsunami. They'd want to head to higher ground. That's what we're used to. But the siren

would have made people at least turn on their radios in their cars and, you know, start to get activated and start to move and know that something was wrong. So it could have been a help, but I can't say for certain. You and your family escaped the fire. You are safe now, but you do have friends whose families they were at least missing. Do you know if they've gotten any answers or found anything out about where their family members are? That woman you showed right before I came on, Donna Gomes, that is my friend Tihani's grandmother. And I had to watch her posting on Facebook to different groups, asking about if anybody had seen her.

And then I see that she's on the newspaper with her mom giving a DNA sample. Like this is all really fresh everyday hearing more names of people that we know. It's a small community. So, of course, we're going to know these families. For people who are looking at this and trying to wrap their head around the gravity of the situation, trying to remember that the numbers are people like you, what do you hope they remember the most right now about what's happening to the people of Lahaina? That although we're hurting, but we're still, we're a strong community and we are making sure that our voices are heard, that we won't let this happen again, that we're working together to move forward as a good. community. All right, Dustin Kaliopu, thank you so much for being with us tonight.

We are glad again that you and your family are safe and thank you for helping us continue to shine a light on this story. We appreciate it. Alahum. Now of the growing disaster to the north, thousands of Canadians forced to evacuate over the ongoing wildfires. Thick plumes of smoke covering towns as emergency officials try to contain the massive fires. NBC's Emily Aketa has the details.

Tonight, our northern neighbor awash in an eerie red glow, as more than 1,000 blazes sweep across Canada in the country's worst wildfire season on record. Officials say half of the population in Canada's northwest territory has been displaced, now blanketed in smoke. Lines at gas stations stretching down roads as residents geared up to get out ahead of the weekend. When you see all this, I honestly want to get out of here. Towering flames now at the doorstep of one of the. remote region's largest cities, yellow knife, throngs of people there boarding buses to escape the fire danger, while more than 1,000 people left on evacuation flights, according to officials. Just before I left to go to the airport today, another community was evacuated.

Kikisa. I've never seen anything like it, and I've never heard anyone speculate that in my lifetime something like this would happen. Further south in British Columbia, residents watched in horror as thick blooms of smoke darkened the sky. It was like 100 years of firefighting all at once in one night. There was a significant number of structures that were lost last night. And we're going to do our best to improve that. Smoke from the flames streaming into the U.S. impacting Minnesota and Wisconsin today. Americans have felt the effects of Canada's wildfire season all summer, worsening air quality to record levels in parts of the U.S. scientists warn it's more fallout from climate change's impact on fires.

It's concerning simply because you just don't expect to see it. And if you can see it, you know that you're breathing it. And tonight there's mounting frustration from Canadians trying to find information about the fires on Facebook. Meadow, which owns Facebook and Instagram, started blocking Canadians from viewing or posting news links after the government there passed a bill that would require big tech to pay local news outlets fees for showing their content. I'm asking them to go back on their decision and allow people to have access.

to news and information. In a statement to NBC News, a met a spokesperson said people in Canada can continue to use our technologies to connect with their communities and access reputable information, pointing them to a feature called safety check. Tonight, Canada's wildfire season blazes on, leaving evacuating residents unsure of what they will return home to. Officials say the next few days in the firefight will be absolutely critical in protecting the city of Yellowknife with changing winds and little rain in the foresight.

forecast. So far this year, more than 34 million acres have been burned by wildfires in Canada. To put that number in perspective, that is 20 times more what has been scorched here in the U.S. Ellison. Emily Aketa, thank you. Next tonight, a strong show of unity among the United States, Japan, and South Korea, as President Biden met with those countries' leaders at Camp David. This as threats from China and North Korea play out in the Pacific. Senior White House correspondent Kelly O'Donnell has more. For the first time, President Biden hosted an international summit at Camp David today.

We meet in this historic place to make a historic moment. Bringing together Japan and South Korea, each longtime U.S. allies, but notably the two neighbors only recently softened their own decades of tension. Together now, facing common risks from North Korea's nuclear provocations and China's more aggressive show military strength in the region, while also recognizing all three countries trade with China. Today is a day that is not about being against anything. It is about being for something. Today's summit announcing a range of security and economic agreements, including a new defense partnership to swiftly consult on urgent threats. That means we'll have a hotline to share information and coordinate our responses whenever there is a crisis in the region.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with world leaders, a more personal matter surfaced. After one full week of silence on the appointment of a special counsel investigating his son Hunter's business dealings, the president was pressed to respond. I have no comment on any investigation that's going on. That's up to the Justice Department, and that's all I have to say. Today's setting, here at Camp David, is itself a message about the significance of the meetings. Presidents passed have also used this retreat at pivotal moments. A place that has long symbolized the power of new beginnings and new possibilities. And Kelly O'Donnell joins us now from Camp David. Kelly, obviously, China is a concern for all three of these nations.

What more did President Biden have to say today? Very much a part of the substance here, but also under the surface, Ellison. And that's because certainly when you look at Japan and South Korea, they each are strong trading partners with China. So is the U.S. And those complex relationships need to go forward in a constructive way. So China's certainly been a part of the conversation today, but they wanted to focus it more on the relationships between the three countries. That said, it's always about China. A superpower is certainly going to take some of the focus here.

And that was certainly the case with some of the military provocation. we've seen from China as well as North Korea. The president was also asked at the end of his time with the two leaders if he plans to be meeting with President Xi Jinping of China anytime soon. We've been waiting for a long time for any communication between the U.S. and China at the leader level. And he says he hopes to be able to do that in the fall. Ellison? Kelly O'Donnell, thank you. In Idaho tonight, a motions hearing for the suspect in the brutal murders of those four college students last November. Attorneys for Brian Koeberger are arguing they need more information from prosecutors, including the DNA evidence and methodology

they used to tie him to the crime. Joining us now is Andrew Trakaski. He is a criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor. Andrew, let's start with sort of just what we heard in court today, the testimony from multiple genetic genealogy experts. Is that common practice in a non-specific trial hearing, right? This is just emotions hearing. Is that normal to have now?

Right. The defense wants more information about the DNA in this case, and that's important for them because it's very difficult to understand, and that's going to be a key part of their defense, is making sure that the DNA matches what the prosecution says that it matches. So they want that information. They put up witnesses for that, and they made a decent case to get that extra information. Currently, in terms of the timeline, this case is supposed to go to trial at the beginning of October, if I'm not mistaken. The defendant here, they have not waived their right to speedy trial. Do you expect the defense team will do that soon? What would you be advising a client to do? Well, the prosecution really wants this to go fast, but the defense wants the time necessary to get all of the information and prepare their defense appropriately. We have to remember that if he is convicted and gets the death penalty, this will go through years of appeals.

And so what the defense and the prosecution need to make sure they're doing is everything possible because a case like this coming back years from now for a retrial would be tragic for the families as well as anybody else involved. So the prosecution right now is also asking for more information from the defense team in terms of Koberger's alibi for that night. They say that he was driving alone by himself. The burden of proof in these cases is always on the state, not the defendant. How much information does the defense have to give to the prosecutors? Well, the alibi element is a fascinating element in this case because it's essentially a who done it.

Obviously, it was a terrible murder. And Koberger is now saying that he wasn't the one to do it. So then where was he? The government has to have an opportunity to investigate any sort of information that the defense may present at trial, suggesting that he was somewhere else. So the prosecution wants more information about where he might have been so that they can run that down and create their descriptions of why he wasn't there before it gets to trial. Since you have been a defense attorney, also a prosecutor, two questions for you on that front.

On the defense side, what would you say is the strongest, and weakest point of their case right now, and same for the prosecutors? Well, I think the defense case is terrible. I think the evidence is overwhelming against him, but that doesn't mean the defense just has to throw up their hands and give up. In fact, they have a duty in order to continue to fight and run down every lead possible and make sure that everything is investigated, both that their client tells them as well as what they discover throughout their investigation.

So they're doing what they need to do, and that's, again, very good because it prevents this case from potentially being overturned on appeal. Do you expect this to happen in October as planned? I don't. I think that there is a lot to do yet. And I don't think that there's any sort of intellect in pushing a case to trial that the Supreme Court even could come back and say that that went too fast. So it's important to take your time.

This is going to be a case that lingers for years and years even after a conviction if that happens. So why rush this and give the defense a reason to appeal on that ground? All right. Andrew Tarkaski, thank you so much for being here. Thank you. Still ahead tonight, the news on former President Trump and the Republican debate. What sources are telling NBC about whether or not the GOP frontrunner will show up on stage next week.

Plus, a new development in the shocking murder of a Microsoft executive, why authorities have just arrested his ex-wife and who she allegedly roped in to carry out her deadly plot. And caught by a cameraman, a news crew spotting an escaped inmate while they were putting together a story about him, how they helped police get that man, Back behind bars. Stay with us. Back now with the new charges in the killing of a Microsoft executive who was shot in front of his two-year-old daughter, his ex-wife now facing murder charges. Our Valerie Castro has more. Tonight, the ex-wife of a Florida man murdered in front of his two-year-old daughter, now facing charges for his death.

As Garner, I will indicate that. this you're being held without bail. Shanna Gardner is the third person arrested in connection with the case, and prosecutors say she was the mastermind. Shanna Gardner's indictment acknowledges her central and key role in the cold, calculated, and premeditated murder of Jared Bridegan. Prosecutors say Jared Bridegan was shot several times on a Jacksonville Beach Street last year after he pulled his car over to move a tire blocking the roadway. His daughter still strapped to her car seat. This investigation has uncovered the truth of Jared's murder.

The investigation leading Jacksonville Beach detectives to Mario Fernandez-Seldana, Gardner's current husband. Prosecutors allege Fernandez-Seldana planned the murder while his tenant, Henry Tenon, carried it out. Fernandez-Saldana has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, while Tenon pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, agreeing to testify against any co-conspirator. Now a grand jury indictment leading to Shanna Gardner's arrest and a judge. charge of first-degree murder. In response to a request for a statement, her attorney telling NBC news, quote, I do not comment publicly about pending matters. Everything in my soul and body told me that she was behind it. Bridegan's widow speaking out after the announcement. Shanna's arrest ends one horrific chapter of our pursuit for justice for Jared, and now we open a new one.

This next chapter will be excruciating. But we are confident in the ability of the state's attorney's office and law enforcement to bring truth to light. Prosecutors say they intend to seek the death penalty for Gardner, as well as Fernandez Saldana. A life was taken and countless lives are impacted by that. So I believe that the harshest punishment is justified here. Valerie Castro joins us now in studio. Valerie, have prosecutors said what the motive was here? So far they've not released those details, but Gardner was arrested in Washington State yesterday. That is where she had her first court appearance

today. She will be extradited sometime later on. She has another court hearing in September, but as the judge said, she's being held without bail. Such a complicated and disturbing story. Valerie Castro, thank you. Next tonight, a lucky capture in Maryland aided by an unlikely source. Authorities arresting an inmate who escaped from a prison van, but only after a news crew spotted him while they were working on a story about his escape. affiliate WBAL talked to the photojournalist who describes the moment he put the puzzle pieces together. Tommy Clark reports. Staden County Police spent seven hours Wednesday searching for Randy Morris. The 38-year-old escaped from a prison van in Annapolis Junction. The command center cleared out around 3.30. Not long after that, a WBAL TV photographer spotted Morris.

I was in the car editing the story for 5 o'clock, and I just happened to look up from my laptop, and I saw Mr. Morris. Photographer Mack Finney and reporter Kate Amara were covering news of the escaped inmates. He gave me his name, and at that time I was calling 911, and I got 911 on the horn, and when he realized I was talking to 911, he started running a little bit through this parking garage. Amara's cell phone video shows Morris, then running away across railroad tracks into Brush and down a nearby street. What happened next, unfolded live from Baltimore's only news helicopter, Sky Team 11. Alluding police for nearly seven hours here in this area. Police left cleared out. Oh, they apparently, let's go to Captain Roy right now.

Roy, did they just nab him? Yes, they have caught him. We're showing live video right now of the individual that has just been arrested by local law enforcement here. Binney says the encounter was surreal and a first for the experienced photojournalist. This has never happened to me in 40-some years of covering, you know, thousands of news stories. According to police, Morris was not handcuffed or shackled during transport to a medical appointment. And investigation is ongoing as to how he was able to escape. that prison van, our thanks to Tommy Clark for that report.

When we come back, deadly clashes breaking out overseas, mobs burning churches, and setting fires in the streets of Pakistan. Why tensions between Catholics and Muslims have reached a boiling point and the massive crackdown as police moved in trying to restore order. Stay with us. We're back now with Top Stories News News, feed, and we begin with an update tonight on who will be on the stage for the first Republican debate. Two sources tell NBC News, former President Donald Trump will skip the debate next Wednesday,

and instead sit for an interview with former Fox News host, Tupper Carlson. No details yet on the timing of that interview. The debate will still go ahead in Milwaukee, hosted by Carlson's former employer, Fox News. We are also following breaking news out of Miami tonight, Lolita, the beloved orca whale, who spent decades in captivity at the Miami. Sammy sequerium has died after a short battle with a renal condition. The killer whale, also known as Toki, was preparing for a return to her home waters. At 57, she was the oldest living killer whale in captivity at the time of her death. And a remarkable discovery, 12 million years in the making.

An exceedingly rare bird fossil was discovered in the Chesapeake Bay just off the coast of Maryland earlier this week. The fossil is an almost intact bird skeleton from an ancient ganes. net. The discovery is highly unusual because bird bones are typically too delicate to fossilize. Moving overseas now to Pakistan, where mobs have burned churches and attacked Christian homes after two men allegedly desecrated a Quran. Pakistani authorities arresting nearly 150 rioters, now searching for even more suspects. Matt Bradley has the latest. Tonight, authorities in Pakistan cracking down after days.

of religious violence in the country, mobs setting fire in the roads of Punjab province, burning five churches and attacking dozens of Christian homes. Police deploying more than 6,000 officers and troops, arresting at least 146 Muslims in connection with the attacks. There was absolutely no logic or reason to attack or ransack the Christian worship places or the houses for that matter, because somebody who has not done that crime cannot be punished for that. Police also arresting two Christian men who allegedly tore pages and wrote insults in a copy of the Quran, the Holy Book of Islam. It was that supposed act of desecration that triggered

the violence. Some police have reportedly been fearful to intervene in such attacks in case the mob turns on them. This protest are asking, are Punjab police? Are they not Muslims? If they are, why are they siding with the scoundrel blasphemer? The Christian community in the region left devastated. This Pakistani Christian saying, when I saw my house, I felt a jolt in my heart. We haven't committed any crime. All this is a grave injustice towards us. The U.S. State Department speaking out against the violence. Violence or the threat of violence is never an acceptable form of expression.

And we urge Pakistani authorities to conduct a full investigation into these allegations and call for calm for all of those involved. Pakistani officials now opening a probe, searching for even more of the hundreds who took part in the attacks, the violence drawing new scrutiny to Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which says that anyone who insults Islam or its key religious figures can be sentenced to death. In the wake of these latest attacks, Amnesty International calling for the abolition of those laws. Battles over religious desecration, reaching a flashpoint worldwide over the last month.

Quran burnings in Sweden and Denmark triggered widespread protests across the Middle East. Demonstrators storming the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and setting fires in the streets, calling for the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador. But in Pakistan, the violence is personal, targeting a small Christian community whose place here remains precarious. Matt Bradley, NBC News. Now to Top Story's Global Watch, and we begin with an update on the efforts to get F-16s to Ukraine. The U.S. formally approving the ship. of the fighter jets from the Netherlands and Denmark in a major win for Ukraine's military operations.

But as we reported here last night, after I got the chance to fly at an F-16 myself, these aircrafts require an extensive six months of training for pilots, and the start of that training has faced delays. As a result, the fighter jets are not expected to be used in combat in Ukraine until the summer of 2024. On the other side of this war damage reported in central Moscow after a drone was shot down. Russia says its air defenses intercepted the drone, which they say came from Ukraine, but the falling debris damaged an exhibition center in the capital city. No casualties reported. The drone attack is one of about 20 in Moscow in the last several months. Kiev has not claimed responsibility for the attempted strike. And in Iran, authorities detaining at least a dozen female

activists, according to local women's rights groups. The arrest seemingly part of a crackdown ahead of the one-year anniversary of mass protest that overtook the country. Those demonstrations led by women erupting in the wake of the death of Masha Amini after she was detained by the morality police for violating their strict dress code. One man has also been arrested. Coming up next, Rookie of the Year, the brand new firefighter still in training who helped one couple through one of the scariest moments of their lives. That story next.

We want to share a wild story with you out of Orange County, California. A newly hired 911 dispatcher keeping cool when he got a call for a medical emergency. The patient in full cardiac arrest and time was ticking. All right. Firewoman, you out of the emergency. Yeah, my husband just had a heart attack. He collapsed on the floor. He's turning red and purple, please come.

The Orange County Fire Department had rookies on the job. The day Sharon Kilty dialed 911. How old is the patient? Especially so early in my career, I have to say this was a little unexpected. Chris Carvalho was a dispatcher in training when he got the call. He just went down. He made just a deadly sound, I can't even imagine. I think it's probably his last breath.

Sharon was desperate after she saw her husband of 34 years collapse after complaining of chest tightness. But Chris knew exactly what to do. I need you to press hard and fast at a rate of about 100 per minute, okay? You're going to follow this cadence, one. Two, three. My savior, Chris, came on the phone immediately. It doesn't seem like he has a pulse. Keep going.

You're acting as his pulse right now. Remember that. So just keep going. I didn't feel alone in the moment. Help me get through it. Firefighters came to the rescue within minutes. We were able to take over care and start CPR and deliver that first shock that got his heart back going. Getting Steve to the hospital, where he underwent a series of procedures over the span of four.

14 days, turning to family and faith. He came every day and prayed over Steve and gave him anointing of the sick when we didn't know if he was going to survive or not. We enjoy our life. We have fun together, you know, and these are our golden years to go have more fun. And in the darkest hours, when you didn't know if he was going to survive, you have to start contemplating that. And I couldn't imagine living my life without him.

Finally, Steve was released with no permanent brain damage and a new normal brain damage and a new normal began for these empty nesters. The fifth one you take two times a day, baby. There's one of these I take twice a day. A focus on health. Oxygen is 98. Now a top priority. Together, they're grateful.

It's a minor inconvenience. For each other. It's great to be alive. And they're heroes. They met on the worst day of their lives. But now, they're a family. They saved my family. I'm indebted to them.

But we've also said we're now family together. So we'll stay in touch. of the job and something that we do. Something like this happens, we don't mention it after work, but to have gotten to meet the family and getting to meet people who come out when things go well is really something different. And now Sharon and Steve are determined to share an important message. Everyone needs to learn CPR. Everybody can do this. I think we'd all like to be participants in helping someone survive than being onlookers and watching and not doing a thing. After all, the golden years are just beginning.

When we come back, Bingeworthy, the hit book, Red, White, and Royal Blue, now a movie, plus the Netflix series Pain Killer, starring Matthew Broderick and Hozier with his first album in more than three years. That's next. And we are back now with Bingeworthy, our look at the best things to watch and listen to this weekend. Darren Carb, friend of Top Story, joins us now back from L.A. a pop culture expert and host of shaken and disturbed, a true crime podcast, not impacted by

the writer's strike or the actress strike if people need other options. No, true crime is recession-proof. All right, good binge-worthy option. We have a few more for people as well, so thank you for joining us. Let's start with one of the movies that we have. This is based on a popular book that's the book is not on Amazon Prime. The show is on Amazon Prime video. Books probably there, too. It's called Red, White, and Royal Blue. It is a rom-com about the first son of the United States. and a British prince. Take a look. I think so what you might say to convince the world that we're actually friends.

I love hanging out by this guy. I mean, I'm not to see each other again. You're expected at my New Year's party. Can I do something wrong? Do you wonder who you'd be if you were an anonymous person in the world? I have no idea what you're talking about. You're as thick as it gets. I mean, a little Nazek soundtrack.

You're starting on the right foot. I was going to say, you know what's kind of queer maybe, if Lil Nas X has got the main theme song, but yes, to your point, this is a rom-com, it's a gay rom-com, although it is rated R, so it's not necessarily family-friendly because they do have some explicit sex scenes, but essentially the son of the American president and British Prince Henry, you know, they aren't getting along very well, so in order to maintain world order, they feign friendship, and they fall in love and romance ensues. How every good Hallmark movie starts. It's kind of like that. You kind of have to lean in and

really love it to, like, believe it, but it is right at our. So it's got some, you know, some adult content in there, which I like. All right, worth watching. Okay, next up, I'm very excited about this. Yeah. The return of only murders in the building. Of course. Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, and some other really big name guest stars this

season. Let's watch. It's opening night, and a big star drops dead on stage. Oh, my God. My leaving man is dead. Is this really happening? Well, you know, who are we without a homicide? The killer is someone in this room. My show is hanging on by a thread here.

Finding this killer is the only way you'll have a show. Want to make a podcast with me? Paul Rudd, we're just saying missing out of millions of dollars by not having a skincare line. He looks great. Like, side by side, him and Clueless and him and this, it's like actually crazy how young he looks. But yeah, Paul Rudd, Merrill Streep. I mean, this is a star-studded cast as if Martin Schrook. short, Steve Martin, and Selena Gomez, and it rounded out.

Season 3 is back. I am a true crime fan, and I have a true crime podcast. So this is kind of up my alley. This is kind of autobiographical. It's about me. Yeah, sure. In New York. Yeah. Absolutely. You love the show.

I love the show. I like the show. It's like one of those things where it just kind of all falls in a place. I mean, their humor always seeing Steve Martin and Martin Shorts going to make me laugh. But it is almost a little too perfect for me. It's not like edgy enough, but it is great entertainment. comes out every Wednesday. All of the episodes will come out on Hulu every Wednesday, and

it is fun. I'm glad it's back. It's like family-friendly, kitsy fun. Yes, it's a good one if you want to binge and kind of turn your brain off but be a little bit engaged. But it's not like true crime, you know, death, murder. It's more like making fun of the podcasting community, which I'm all about. I'm so prolificated podcaster. So I'm

here for it, I promise you. But you won't learn any lessons on how to save yourself in a real life scenario. Not. But you do get to see some great Manhattan real estate, which is right. You get to look at all the apartments you could never afford. Correct. So next, we have another comedy.

This one right here on Peacock. It's coming back for a second season. It is called The Killing. Take a look. We're driving here. We're prepared to purchase her entire crop. What do you say? Jillian, back desk now.

We're in business. No back seats. The second, our business, got even a tiny bit of success. People showed up trying to take it. I want to talk to you about a proposition. What happens about saying no? What do we think? You just were silent there for a second.

I'm going to like, you take it. Killing it, season two, coming back on Peacock. You know, it's funny. It is a Craig Robinson. You know, he is a very funny guy. It's sort of this odd dark take on capitalism. We kind of left off from season one as he killed all these pythons, you know, for doing it for the American Dream, got the money.

Now is in a pharmaceutical kind of business growing this place. plant to sell to pharmacies. And he wants to make money, but he also wants to be moral. And sometimes in capitalism, he wars in his mind about it. I find it ironic because he's kind of making fun of capitalism while also doing all the benefits of capitalism. So that's also my problem with it. But it is funny. And if you like Craig Robinson, it's a good comedy to catch. I want to add. The next one, if you want to think this weekend, this is a heavy one, but people seem to really be enjoying it, learning a lot from it, just about the history of the opioid epidemic in this country. So this series, it is based on the origins of the opioid crisis in the United

States. It's called Painkiller. It is on Netflix. Look. Pain is no longer something we have to tolerate. We have an answer. How can something legally prescribe be killing so many people? Tell me what words you associate with oxycodone. Oxy what? Oxycoffins! Oxycoffins. Excuse me? Don't put that in the notes.

We are under-induced. investigation. Sometimes I feel a little nervous when I see something tackle something that is still ongoing and is such a difficult thing for society. And making it entertainment, yes. Yes. And I felt like I was going to have mixed feelings about this. But then when I watched the trailer, I sort of felt like there were some layers there that are important for people to understand. Yes. And here's what those layers in. So Matthew Broderick plays kind of the head of the Sackler family, which is really, you know, who kind of created OxyContin. And then Uzo Aduba plays sort of the government portion, the person who's trying to like,

why is this an epidemic? How can we kind of get to it? And the reason that this has so many layers is it tackles it from the victims, it tackles it from the families who have to deal with the addiction, and also how kind of easy it is to be addicted to OxyCon. And, you know, they kind of describe you get an injury, you just want it for pain, but then weeks and months later, it kind of all happens. No one kind of sets out to be a drug addict in a lot of ways. And so I think it does shed a lot of light on what's going on with the epidemic and kind of helps people understand. Also, on the flip side, it is a pain medication. It does help a lot of people. And it isn't all bad.

And so I like that that shows the balance of kind of both, but really the marketing scheme that went behind. All of a sudden, it just flooded the market. Which is so important for people to understand because we have to know how that worked the first time to hopefully not have a repeat. Correct. Yes, absolutely.

That one is a good one to watch. Definitely on my list. This next one, I'm not so sure about it. It's called Heart of Stone. It's a movie on Netflix. Heart is what gives the charter. It's power. We can crash a market or drop a plan out of the sky.

If you own the heart You own the world This is what I mean... Stop, I need your help. This is what I'm out of roots. We've been bridged. What's happening? Our systems are offline.

We've lots of heart. And now he wants it to me. It kind of reminds me of like that scene in the holiday When Cameron Diaz's character is like, I make movie trailers for a living here's one. And like, that's what it felt like when I was in a world where, yeah. We're looking at it. Yes, definitely. This was not highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes. I will say that, which was kind of a bummer because the story actually has all the pieces of kind of making a good movie, but it just doesn't really click. But Galgado, Jamie Dornan, are both in this movie. It's a thriller. You know, she plays an intelligence operative who's trying to stop these hackers from stealing their number one asset from this global peacekeeping organization. So it definitely has some elements of like risk and that, but it just doesn't fall completely together. I think there's actually better thrillers to check out. But it is available.

and it is there and it is Galgado. We're in the middle of a strike. You got to do it. Well, you got to do it. You got to do it. Okay. So let's move on to music now because Hozier is back with his first album in over three years. The album is called Unreal Unearth.

This is a song from it. Okay, so I love the darkness cut, blackness out, if you want it done. Okay, so I love Posure, like cool. This video is a little hellish. It stars Donald Gleason, who I fell in love with with the patient. So he's kind of got this dark, maniacal way about him. But it's in this murderous loop. He kind of kills himself and is forced to bury himself and just live in a state of perpetuity doing this.

Fun time. It's not for the family to watch, but if you have a little, little bit of a dark sense. It's a good song and the video is very, like, macab in the right ways. For someone who's into true crime, I do like it. It's dark. Okay. But, I mean, he is a great actor to have him in the music video. It was like that. It was like a floor

that he got him. So it was a really like cinematic piece. That's very cool. Okay, so last song we have Renee Rapp. She also has a whole new album out today. The album is named Snow Angel. Here is a song off of it. This one is called Pretty Girls. You think that I'll be flatter It's pathetic because you're right

In the PM, all the pretty girls They have a couple drinks, all the pretty girls So now they want to kiss all the pretty girls They got the other taste of a pretty girl And they are all the pretty girls I can never happen in another world Okay, we're ranting and raving about Renee Rapp on the side Because she's amazing, amazing voice

People love her. This song, I will say, like the start of the beat It did. It reminded me of like early 2010's music and then you listen to the lyrics. And I thought it was a really interesting and tough conversation of like what it is like at different points in queerness for people to identify how they are, somebody else maybe being at a different place in their journey and processing that. It's interesting you say that because the song is really about girls who kiss each other at a party but aren't necessarily dating other women. And for me, as a gay person, that's

kind of the first step, right, into doing something. But it can also lead to a lot of heartache and a lot of disappointment. And I love Renee Rapp. I love her in Sex Lives of College Girls. I know she's not coming back. Spoiler alert, she does come out as a lesbian in that show. And so having this song come out, I'm like, you are Layton. Layton is you. Like, I want you to come back. It is throwing me for a loop. But Kara de Levine actually directed this video and kind of responsible for the look of this. So a lot of queerness kind of coming into it, but it's really beautiful. It's dark. It's got a lot of interesting lighting to it. I actually love the song and it hits close to home for this gay girl. All right. That's awesome. We love it. Thank you for

being here, Gary Carpev. So great to see you back again. And thank you at home for watching Top Story for Tom Yamis. I'm Ellison Barber in New York. Stay right there. More news now is on the way.