Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, August 21, 2026

Episode Date: August 22, 2026

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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight, the rare twisters slamming the East Coast as new storms fire up right now. The waterspout turned tornado, touching down in New York, sending debris flying at this beach club. Parts of the city submerged. More twisters tearing through Delaware in Pennsylvania. The roof of this school completely torn off. New tonight, buildings collapsing in North Carolina, we're tracking all of it. Also tonight, ballroom breakthrough. The Supreme Court ruling construction on President Trump's passion project can continue for now. So when will the final decision come?

A mother and son arrested. The 18-year-old accused of killing his girlfriend and having his mom covered up. The chilling word she said while being taken away in handcuffs. Daring paraglider rescue caught on camera. First responders airlifting Amanda's safety after he crashed into a cliff. New foodborne illness outbreak. Alfalfa sprouts recall for E. coli and salmonella. Some people sick with both at the same time.

time. And let freedom rev. The IndyCar Grand Prix celebrating America 250 racing through Washington, D.C., how our nation's capital will transform into a high-speed track. Plus, the medication mix-up at a Nashville hospital that left a woman going in for a routine knee replacement paralyzed. Top story starts right now. And good evening. I'm Morgan Chesky in for Tom, and we begin tonight with the new round of storms triggering tornado warnings across the mid-Atlantic after rare twisters tore up and down the East Coast. We have some new video just coming in right now. Roads completely flooded in North Carolina. You can see those cars stalled in those fast-moving floodwaters. And this pavilion collapsed after storms tore through, heavy rain battering that

entire region, thunder and lightning rolling through as we speak. This is coming after a night of wild weather in New York. Multiple rare water spouts spotted just outside the city. At least one moving onshore as a tornado, sending chairs flying at the beach club. Widespread flooding on Long Island and in Manhattan as well. Intersections fully underwater and subways washed out. A disaster for commuters there. We also have confirmed tornadoes slamming multiple other states. This dash cam video capturing the moment this roof is ripped off in Delaware.

Aerial footage in Dover showing buildings destroyed and debris crushing car after car. And in Pennsylvania, another twister tearing. the roof off of this very school. You can see the desks in that classroom below. So where are these storms headed next? Are Bill Cairns standing about to track all of it? But we do begin tonight with Valerie Castro on the ground in New York. Tonight, a new round of severe storms striking the east, heavy rain across the Carolinas. That's really bad. This after a frightening scene just outside New York City, as many as two waterspouts spotted, at least one moving on shore as a tornado striking Atlantic Beach. Oh my God. Watch as the storm sends chairs somersaulting across the sand.

This beach club taking a direct hit. Firefighters searching cabanas for anyone trapped inside. This is the Sun and Surf Beach Club in Nassau County that sustained some of the heaviest damage from these storms. Take a look at this debris littering the sand, beach chairs everywhere. In New York City, nearly two inches of rain falling in just one hour, soaking subway stations and severely disrupting service. Riders climbing these stairs as water cascades down. In Dover, Delaware, a dash camera capturing this rain-wrapped tornado. Watch as it rips the roof off of this motel.

Aerial showing the aftermath, vehicles in the parking lot covered in debris. Really scary, to say the least. Things start flying. A thing hit a telephone pole, hit our sign and knocked it out. And west of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a tornado striking this high school. There are some rooms where you walk in, and you can see the blue sky. So the roof has totally been peeled off.

You can see into those rooms right there what appears to be computers on the tables next to the wall, papers and debris littering the floor, duct work dangling from what's left of the ceiling. Back here at the Beach Club today was all about the big cleanup and you can see some beach chairs and other personal belongings piled up there behind me on the sand. Officials say next they'll do some safety inspections here

to see if any of this can reopen before the summer is over and before that busy Labor Day weekend. Morgan. All right, let's hope so, Valerie. Thank you. And for more, I want to bring in NBC News meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill, those storms are firing up yet again, so walk us through their timing into the weekend here. Yeah, so we've had at least 60 wind damage reports today and over 100,000 new homes do not have power at this time. The worst of it in the Carolinas, isolated strong storms through Louisiana, southern Mississippi. But let me take you into areas of North Carolina and South Carolina, numerous severe thunderstorm war.

here just to the south of Florence. In between Charlotte and Raleigh, we've had a very strong line of storms that has brought some wind damage. We have a severe thunderstorm warning for the west side of Raleigh. It will probably be extended to the east side, too. 60 mile per hour winds are possible with this.

You have about maybe 20 minutes or so in the Raleigh area until that line of storms comes through. And that line of storms is moving slowly. And that means we've got flash flood problems. So with areas in the maroon is a flash flood warning around Waysboro. Everywhere in green here is under a flash flood watch, Flood Watch till tomorrow morning.

It's how long it's going to take for this rain to get out of here. During the overnight, we'll watch that heavy complex of storms from Richmond, right through the Delmarver region. Locally, someone could get up to five inches of rain. In those same areas where Valerie is, they're going to see some heavy downpours early tomorrow morning, too, especially on Long Island and into Connecticut. So we're going to watch this closely, Morgan, as we go throughout the rest of this evening. This weekend, the storms do not look half as strong as what we've dealt with the last two days.

Good to know. A long weekend ahead, Bill Cairns, we thank you. And to Washington now, where the Supreme Court handed down a temporary win for President Trump, ruling construction on the White House ballroom project can continue. NBC's Monica Alba with the latest tonight. Tonight, the Supreme Court allowing President Trump's massive ballroom project to move forward for now. Chief Justice John Roberts pausing a lower court order that said work on construction above ground needed to stop by midnight tonight. The president's celebrating the move, saying he's grateful. But the fight's not over.

The court's decision lets work go on while it considers next steps. Unclear when a final ruling will come down. The whole project, according to the Trump administration, is already 65% complete. At issue, whether the ballroom can be finished, with critics arguing the president didn't have the authority to build it. The underground complex below it, five stories deep, is not being contested. It includes secure locations and medical facilities. The president argues the two are one in the same, and essential. to national security.

This will be the greatest military complex slash ballroom anywhere in the world. New renderings show a planned drone port on top, large seals on the outside and inside gilded walls. This is a gift to the United States of America. The ballroom, just one part of the president's many changes to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Nice job, fellas. Including a brand new helipad and granite paving on the south lawn for Marine One, set to be complete a month from today.

This will be here long after we're gone. No matter what happens with the world, this is not moving. And Monica Alba joins us now from the White House. Monica, can you remind us who's expected to front the bill to pay for all of this construction here? Yeah, that's a key question, Morgan. And the president insists that it is going to be himself and companies and private donations that are going to cover the estimated $400 million price tag here overall. But in addition to this, we've learned that secret service funds have also been redirected to cover what would be considered security enhancements for the White House complex overall. So some of that might be applied to the Ballroom Project as well. And again, there are estimates that that $400 million mark

may be a little bit low because initially the White House said this was going to cost about $200 million, that ballooned to $300 million, and again, most recently to $400 million. So it could go up again, by the time construction is said and done. And we should point out today, Morgan, the president said that he does plan at some point to release a full list of those donors to the ballroom. Comcast Corporation, our parent company, is among a partial list that has been released to the public so far. But the White House has yet to reveal some of the other donors of the president said today he will do that at some point in the coming weeks. Morgan? All right. Keeping a close eye on Alva. Monica Alba. We thank you.

We're going to turn out to a tragedy in Alaska, a plane crashing in a remote area, killing all eight people on board. Tonight, we're learning new details about what exactly happened. Courtney Kuby is following this story for us and joins us now. Courtney, we know the NTSB, the lead investigative agency here, just gave an update on what happened. What have we learned? Yeah, so one of the key details that we heard from the NTSB was that the pilots were not able to see the runway when they were going in for a landing at this location in this very remote area. You can see it there. It's called Cape Newenham. It's a very remote radar station for the U.S. military, the U.S. government.

It's part of a series of, actually, radar stations and sites throughout that area that connect with one another, and they track aircraft that could be flying in Alaskan airspace or flying along the border. Well, when this aircraft, it was a charter aircraft of Cessna by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. When it was coming in for a landing, for some reason the pilots couldn't see the runway. It's not clear why, Morgan. But that led them to have to rely on their equipment. equipment for the landing. They made one attempt to land. They came around. And the belief is the crash occurred on that second attempt to land. As you said, there were eight individuals who were on board two pilots, six passengers, all were killed in this tragic crash. It's a very

remote area, so we don't even have any, a good sense of exactly what it looks like there. Investigators made a point of saying that it's a difficult place to get to. But in Alaska, Frankly, Morgan, they're used to that in these situations. Yeah, that's a good point there. No doubt visibility weather conditions going to be scrutinized here. Courtney, what more are we learning about the eight passengers who were on board that Cessna? So we don't know a whole lot, still, Morgan. Two of them, according to the Army Corps of Engineers, were Corps of Engineers employees.

So they would have been civilian employees. And then they were among the six passengers. Then four of the others were contractors. But that's really all we know. Now, a U.S. official tells me that they were going from the main airport there in Anchorage, about 450 miles down to this base, to go and do some sort of a routine inspection. Now, one of the things they were supposed to look at was the fire suppression site, a system at this site. But the official I spoke was said, look, this is very common.

They have to fly really small planes into this area because it's not a big airstrip. And as you mentioned, weather can be a huge factor here in Alaska. but at this point, NTSB is not saying that they know that that was a direct factor. It's just one of the things they are looking at in their ongoing investigation. All right, much more to come. Corny Kubi. Thank you so much. Turning now to the killing of an 18-year-old college student, allegedly stabbed by her boyfriend in Pennsylvania. Police now saying that that boyfriend tried to cover it up with the help of his very own mother.

And she's now in custody as well tonight. Our Emily Aketa with that story. In all white and handcuffs, 18-year-old. year old Royce Moser facing charges for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend to death this week. Did you kill your girlfriend? Shortly behind him, his mom, Rachel, accused of helping him cover up the killing that's rattled a small western Pennsylvania town. Initially, she denied playing a role before apologizing. I'm sorry. Our Pittsburgh affiliate WPXI says she then said, tell us why you're sorry. My son took a life.

Penn West California soccer freshman Caroline Heinz was found in her Jeep Cherokee early Thursday near campus. Hours earlier, police say the young couple was together, parked outside of Royce's father's house, now being searched by authorities. That's where during the conversation, Royce got angry, according to court documents, explaining to police, he had a demon takeover, telling Heinz, wait, I have something for you. He goes inside and grabs a large knife from the kitchen. Comes back out and proceeds to stab her in the chest area. After the stabbing, authorities say he called his mom about what happened,

and the pair allegedly tried to clean the car. It's unclear if they've retained an attorney. Police say the two were later captured on surveillance video wearing blue latex gloves and driving towards campus where they left the Jeep with Heinz inside. The 18-year-old victim's soccer team posting today, there are no words to describe the immense pain and sorrow we feel. She was a beautiful soul. And investigators were able to make the quick discovery of Heinz's death because her father had noticed her location, tracked through an Apple air tag, and her phone never made it to her dorm room, prompting him to call police. Morgan.

All right, Emily Aketa, thanks so much. We are learning more tonight about a terrifying medical mix. A family says a hospital drug mistake left at least one woman paralyzed from the chest down after she went in for what should have been a routine knee replacement surgery. Ann Thompson with this one for us tonight. At this Nashville hospital, a nightmare scenario. Four patients harmed in an apparent medical mixup at Ascension St. Thomas Midtown, leaving at least one person paralyzed.

72-year-old Glenda Dorton went to the hospital for knee replacement surgery a week ago. all seemed fine until she woke up, says Dorton's daughter-in-law, Christina Buell. She has zero feeling, movement, or response to pain from her breast bone down. We don't know what recovery looks like or if there is recovery. Buell says her mother-in-law was supposed to get anesthetic through a spinal shot. Instead, she was injected with potassium. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and state health officials are investigating. Tonight in a statement the hospital says it was an isolated

medication error in its pharmacy. Four patients mistakenly receive potassium phosphate instead of an anesthetic. It has implemented new safety protocols for high alert medications. While tragic, such mishaps are very rare, says Dr. Kulid Patel of Duke University Health System. Typically when events like this happen, it's not a a singular individual for single misstep. It's usually a series of different things that potentially have gone wrong. Christina Buell tells our affiliate WSMV that what happened to her mother-in-law is unthinkable, but the once active 72-year-old is resilient. And Ann Thompson joins us now from New York. And the big question here, if anything,

can patients do in a situation like this? Yeah, Morgan, it's a tough one. to answer there are multiple layers of verification in place in hospitals, including barcodes and labels and other safeguards for medications. But as far as what you and I could do as patients, experts I talked to today said the best thing you can do is, first of all, be knowledgeable about what medications are being used. Make sure you ask questions of your health providers about those medications. And equally as important, what procedures are in place to make sure you get what the doctor ordered. Morgan? All right, good advice, Ann Thompson. We thank you. And still ahead tonight, new details about

Hayden Penitier's final moments. What her boyfriend's brothers says they did to try and save her life. Also tonight, the new health threat. Yet another food recalled after dozens of people got sick. We'll tell you what to toss outside your fridge tonight. Plus, a daring rescue. A paraglider pulled to safety after being trapped on a cliff. Stay with us. More top story is on the way. We're back now with new details about the death of actress Hayden Panetteer, the brother of Panetteer's on-again-off-again boyfriend revealing what he says happened in those pivotal final moments before police showed up at that South Carolina apartment complex. Our Steve Patterson with this one tonight.

Tonight, a new narrative in the harrowing final moments of actress Hayden Panetteer. The brother of the actress's on and off boyfriend Brian Hickerson telling TMZ Brian gave her Narcan, the opioid overdose reversal drug. Zach Hickerson says he went to the Greenville apartment they were staying at after not hearing from them and that he knocked loudly, which apparently woke Brian up from a nap they were both taking on the pullout couch bed in the living room. When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realized she was unconscious. Also recalling he immediately called 911 and Brian gave her Narcan. jointly performed CPR while 911 was on speaker until fire and EMS arrived. At that point,

we watched as they tried every measure possible to save her life. Overdose. CPR's in progress. NBC News has reached out to Hickerson, but has not yet heard back. The coroner's office yet to determine a cause of death, the account coming on the heels of the DEA joining the investigation. I'd want to talk to the doctors. I'd want to look at the illicit drugs that were found in the location, if any, were there, and probably most importantly, put a rush on the medical examiner's report, because again, that report is going to be key to deciding if there's a criminal case here. Penitier has recently been candid about her struggle with addiction, writing in her new memoir. At one industry event, when I was around 16, a former rep pulled me aside before I stepped

onto the red carpet. Here, take one of these, she said, placing a pill in. my hands and holding out a bottle of water. It's a happy pill. On what should have been a celebration of Panetteer's 37th birthday, investigators instead working to piece together what triggered her tragic death. And Steve Patterson joins us now. Steve, to your point, today would have been Penetier's 37th birthday. Family members of hers are now paying tribute online. Yeah, just incredibly sad, Morgan. Tributes, of course, pouring in. Most notably, her ex-husband, Vladimir Klitsko, They share a young daughter, young Kaya.

He wrote on Instagram, you see the post up there. Today is Hayden's birthday. Instead of celebrating the way we had planned, today we celebrate her life, her spirit, and the love she brought into this world. One more passage I want to read, at a time filled with so much sadness, Your kindness has reminded me

that there is still so much good in humanity. Morgan. All right, thoughts with her family tonight. Steve Patterson, we thank you. And still ahead on top story. Hawaii bracing for a new tropical storm, less than one week after being pummeled by Hurricane Lala. We're tracking the dangerous new system.

Plus, why Prince Harry and Elton John might have to pay a British tabloid millions of dollars, we'll explain. But first, top stories, top moment, and it was already a big day for Sawyer Stroh Snyder. Remember the name, top prospect for the Brewers hitting his first career homer with the minor league Wisconsin team. But hey, guess it was on the other side of the wall to catch that milestone dinger, his own dad. Check it out. McGuire the righty deals the one-oh and Strokes-Snyder elevates one high and deep to right field. That's at the wall. It is gone.

Number one as a pro for Sawyer Stroke-Snyder. It couldn't have written a better moment. Amazing moment for both father and son. And I love seeing it from the dad's point of view. That's his son, indeed, dropping the phone, but not the ball. Congrats to both of them. Stay with us. top story coming up after this. And we're back now with an update on the Blockbuster

murder trial of Massachusetts mom Lindsay Clancy. Prosecutors saying she killed her three young children before trying to take her own life. Her defense arresting their case today saying Clancy should not be held criminally responsible because of her battle with postpartum psychosis. Our Stephen Romo with the latest tonight. The defense in the Lindsay Clancy trial has rested, but not before calling one of its most consequential experts yet. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Philip Resnick, his testimony is basically the culmination of the defense's entire case throughout the trial. Resnick has worked on many high-profile cases, including the Andrea Yates case from Houston back in 2001. He testified that Lindsay

Clancy was psychotic when she killed her three children, and therefore he believes she was not criminally responsible. Resnick described the killings as what psychiatrists call altruistic filicide. So it's his opinion that Clancy was in a delusional state and believed she was actually helping to save her children by taking their lives. Now, he also pointed out about that male voice that we've heard so much about in this trial that Clancy reported hearing, commanding her to kill the children and then herself. But prosecutors were quick to push back, questioning whether Clancy's behavior around the time of the killings actually showed someone who was in a state of psychosis. And they also emphasized that she had not reported any psychotic symptoms to her mental health care providers at any point before that.

Then the defense officially rested and then it was time for the prosecutors to immediately start their rebuttals. They called psychiatrist Dr. Avram Mack to the stand, who essentially had the opposite assessment of the defense's expert. Mack testified that Clancy did suffer from major depressive disorder, and he also reported seeing no signs of bipolar disorder in her. Something the defense has said time and again that she suffered from bipolar disorder as well as postpartum psychosis. Mack disagreed with both of those findings. He believes that Lindsay was able to control her actions, and therefore he believed she knew right from wrong when she killed her children. So now it is a battle of the experts, and it will be up to the jury to decide which experts. which narrative they believe.

And it could be in the hands of the jury pretty soon as early as next week. Closing arguments are expected sometime maybe early or mid next week. And then deliberations will begin. Back to you. Morning to come, Stephen Romo, thank you. Now to Top Stories News Feed,

starting with a Texas court reducing a $50 million judgment against Info Wars founder Alex Jones after he falsely claimed the Sandy Hook School shooting was a hoax. Now, this judgment was a judgment was lower to $1.5 million after the court said that there was no evidence that Jones's claims exceeded the state's cap on damages. Jones called the ruling a victory for the First Amendment,

and this ruling does not exempt Jones from having to pay $1.25 billion after being found liable in Connecticut. And a London court ordering Prince Harry and six others, including Elton John, to pay up $13 million to the publisher of Britain's Daily Mail newspaper. It comes after the defendants lost their invasion of privacy case last month, where they alleged the publisher illegally hacked phones that defendants have until the beginning of October to appeal. And in California, a daring rescue mission caught on camera. Take a look. These are first responders flying towards a paraglider left trapped after crashing into the side of a cliff. The chopper hovering over the cliffside while lowering a firefighter 500 feet down to safely airlift the patient back to more stable ground. And the world's

oldest woman celebrated a special milestone today turning 117 years old. Ethel Caterham, born in 1909, three years before the Titanic sank. She's been celebrated by people all over the world today, including King Charles. We all wish Ethel, the very best birthday here at Top Story. I want to turn to Hawaii now, where there are people bracing for a new tropical storm, barely a week after Hurricane Lala left many communities without power and so. some nearly completely cut off. Our crew, one of the first to arrive in the Big Island town of Nahalehu, after mudslides

buried multiple roads in. Authorities now confirming two of the storm's three reported deaths were local residents caught amid the flooding and debris that tumbled down hillsides from drenching rains. We met Cynthia Mata Leone, who shared the situation there tonight, remains dire. We are still dealing with a lot. We still really need water. We have no water, no electricity. Unfortunately, FEMA has not declared us a disaster area, even though, for example, right behind me, this blank lot, this was a house here.

The park is not even taped off yet, and there are children wandering around. We just really need some assistance here. And you can see the devastation from these aerial views over the town. We did check with FEMA. The agency did declare the islands a disaster area from an April storm, but has had been. has yet to do so for Lala. And tonight, Montalione and her husband are feeding hundreds from their damaged restaurant as everyone tries to dig out of the mud there. For much more on what's to come, I want to bring in meteorologist Bill Caron's. Bill, what's the latest on this storm's path

that just became a tropical storm? Yeah, not a headline that anyone in the Hawaiian Islands wants to see, but it's not all dire. I know you saw firsthand the effects of a tropical system on high mountain peaks on the Hawaiian Islands. It can be devastating, and it really just really just brings that moisture out. So here's the Hawaiian Islands, and this is Moak. So this storm right now is more to the south than where Lala formed, and also it's a smaller storm. And so we're hoping we can keep this trend, smaller, weaker, and further south. So we have minimal impacts, especially on the Big Island, because that's where most of the destruction was done. So 45-mile-per-hour wind is moving to the northwest towards the Hawaiian Islands. So here's the all-important forecast path

from the National Hurricane Center. Notice the Big Island here, it knows how far to the North Honolulu. I don't think this is going to have any impact whatsoever on Honolulu and Oahu. Maybe possibly in Maui, definitely on the big island. Even this track to the south, all the moisture on the north side will go through the island. So it will not be a direct hit. It will not be as powerful as what we just dealt with only six days ago. So our computer lines, is there any chance that we could get, you know, a wild card, something could change. All of our computer lines showing the path to the south. And I put Lala's path on here just to show you how much different it is. So Lala only missed here by about 30 miles. So this is roughly 150, 180 miles to the south. So that's why this

will not be high winds. This will just be some rain. And it won't even be the direct rain with what we call the core of the moaks. So this is our European computer model. It does bring rain in here. This would be about 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. That's when it begins. And the hurricane center is thinking that we still could pick up locally up to 10 inches. Remember, there were areas that picked up two to three feet of rain, Morgan, with the last storm. So I think we're, we're going to, we're going to be able to deal with this. I don't think we're going to see excessive rain, but we could have isolated problems, especially on that windward side. All right, some good news there for folks who need it. Bill Carins, we thank you.

Now, top story's health check and a new warning about alfalfa sprouts. CDC says two brands have now been tied to both E. coli and salmonella infections. Now, that outbreak, spreading across 15 states currently, and so far it's sick in 55 people. And get this, two of them had both types of bacteria at the same time. For much more on this, I want to bring in NBC News Health and Medical Reporter Erica, Edward's. Erica, good to have you. Do we have any specific details about the source of this contamination here? Yeah, hey, Morgan. So the FDA says it's linked the illnesses to a Minnesota grower called Everything Sprouts. Those are sold under that brand name as well as the Calco brand. The company said it's recalling its sprouts sold in five-ounce containers with the lid. Those

products have been distributed since the end of May. Now, that recall was just announced today, so they still could be on store shelves or in home refrigerators, Morgan. So you have this health alert, Erica, that almost feels like a double threat. You have two strains of bacteria found in the same produce. How unusual? How rare is that? You know, it's unusual, but it's not unheard of. There was a 2019 outbreak involving several types of bacteria found in raw oysters. Some people had E. coli. Others had Chegella. One person had Vibrio. It's why food safety experts recommend fully cooking oysters when possible, Morgan. So, Erica, for our viewers who might already have that alfalfa sitting inside the refrigerator right now,

is there any way at all to kill or get rid of the bacteria that's already on the produce? So you can kill bacteria like E. coli and salmonella by cooking it, but that's really only useful when you're talking about meat and eggs. People generally don't cook alfalfa sprouts. They're more of a salad thing. and it's very hard to wash away this kind of bacteria. As the old saying goes, when in doubt, just toss it out, Morgan. Yeah, good advice there. And finally, Erica, between salmonella and jalapenos and you have cyclospora and lettuce, it certainly feels like this has been almost a summer of the stomach bug here.

Is there any particular reason or cause that's driving this spike we've seen in food poisoning outbreaks really across the country? It does feel like a lot, doesn't it? Believe it or not, we're having roughly the same number. of food recalls as we do most summers, the difference is the dramatically high number of people getting sick, especially with that parasite, the cyclospora in iceberg, let us fortunately, Morgan, at least those cases appear to be declining. Morgan. When in doubt, throw it out. Erica Edwards, always a pleasure.

Now to an incredible reunion caught on camera, a man who suffered a massive heart attack on a southwest flight was surprised by the very passengers and flight attendant who helped save his life. Gabriela Baccaro with our Phoenix affiliates has this one. It's really good to be alive. 77-year-old Patrick McGee is up walking and talking three weeks after his heart stopped on a southwest flight from Omaha to Phoenix. I'm Irish. I'm supposed to be real lucky in life. Well, I am. For the first time since July 29th, he's reuniting with three of the people who saved his life in the narrow aisle of that plane. That was your lucky day.

It was. You're just, you're not done here yet. Patrick had a heart attack as the plane was landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Southwest flight attendant Nina Castro jumped into action, calling for doctors or nurses and grabbing an AED machine. Anybody can serve you a snack and a Coke, but flight attendants have to be ready for any emergency situation at any time. Retired critical care nurse Laura Holton was the first to start CPR. And then nurse practitioner Caitlin Lockheim relieved her. After just a few minutes, he was breathing again. And you opened your eyes and I will never forget you looking at me. And I said, sir, you're going to be okay. Can you tell me your name? And you did. I literally melted down. It was, it was overwhelming.

The doctors and nurses at Abrazo, Arizona Heart Hospital have been helping him since. He's undergone open heart surgery. When we did this operation, you know, your work was fully evident. Right. And it was It was really well done. Their team effort saved Patrick's life. The right people fell into place. I don't know how much luck here I compete in that. But it's not all luck. His medical team says it was immediate effective CPR that gave him a second chance.

There's only a few critical minutes that you have to save a life. Patrick will be going home soon, but he says he won't be leaving without knowing he now has a family in Phoenix. I can't wait to give my grandkids, my son, my brothers. All the people that, you know, all the people I love, a big hug. It's my second chance to do so. And that was Gabriella Briccaro from our Phoenix affiliate, KPNX. Still ahead on top story tonight. The high-speed race through the streets of D.C.

Cars ready to rip through the nation's capital at 180 miles per hour. The president himself planning to take a lap too. in the Beast. Plus, our series, Great Americans, will introduce you to a veteran giving back, helping those injured in combat through a unique underwater program. Stay with us. We are back now with the high-speed race zooming through our nation's capital. This weekend, the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix will race through parts of downtown D.C. And the starting line, in full view of the Capitol building, where drivers will put the pedal to the metal, likely topping more than 180 miles an hour in areas that normally have a 25 mile an hour speed limit.

The 1.7 mile course will take drivers past iconic landmarks, including the Air and Space Museum, national archives, and the National Gallery of Art, even barreling straight through the National Mall. I want to bring in Gary Grumback, who is hitting the track for us ahead of the big race. Gary, your assignments typically take you, I feel like deep into policy and procedure. Glad you're getting a bit of a breather here. You got a chance to ride through the course. Any favorite parts? This one feels pretty unique.

It is an incredibly unique course. It is an incredibly unique experience to be out here. It's just like any other IndyCar street race, except for the fact that that's Pennsylvania Avenue, that's the U.S. Capitol, and then you've got the archives right here, the Washington Monument right over your shoulder. I mean, it is a really unbelievably unique experience

for the 140,000 viewers. They're going to be packing the sides of the track here both days tomorrow for practice and then Sunday for the 250-mile Freedom 250 Grand Prix. We know the president is going to be here. He'll be taking a lap around this track in The Beast. We know that he'll also be waving the green flag to start the race and to get people going. You can see they're coming by with street cleaners right now, making sure the streets are clean

because this is, again, the streets of Washington, D.C. They haven't done a whole lot of fixing of the streets of Washington, D.C. So what you see is pretty much what you get here, Morgan. Yeah, it looks like. Gary, I know the White House were open out. They were open advocates in helping secure bringing this race to D.C. Can you walk us through how this event even came to be here? Yeah, this race actually almost didn't happen, Morgan.

And that's because members of Congress were really unhappy with the initial plan, which was that it was going to be around the U.S. Capitol and a square around the whole U.S. Capitol complex. They didn't like that. Members on both sides of the aisle said, no. Roger Penske was going to pull the plug on this whole thing, and the leaders of Penske were going to pull the plug. And then they got a call from Secretary Sean Duffey. of transportation, he said, listen to this. President Trump's going to sign an executive order

and he's going to make it happen. And that's exactly what ended up happening here. The president signed an executive order and today we are standing here 48 hours ahead of the race. It shows you the power of a presidency and how President Trump is really using that to his advantage. In particular, in this case. Now, it is important to note this is largely being paid for by the Penske Corporation and by private donations. The taxpayer dollars come in when it comes to security. you'll note that 4,200 members of the National Guard still stay here in Washington, D.C., and are still on duty in Washington, D.C. every single day, every single day. That's going to be where the taxpayer dollars come in. Morgan.

Good clarification there. Gary, we've seen high-speed races in cities like Vegas and Miami before. This is a first for D.C. How exactly is a city preparing for all this in addition to what we're seeing right behind you? Well, it depends who you are, right? If you're a big fan of IndyCar, you are here, you are excited. You cannot wait for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If you're just living here in D.C. and you want to get to work, or you want to get to the museums or some of the restaurants even right around here in the National Mall area, that's going to be a bit of a problem here because it is really shut down the whole area for weeks. I mean, this kind of stuff takes weeks and weeks to put together,

and it's going to take a few weeks to break down as well. Even the federal courthouse right behind us here had to cancel all their hearings today because nobody could get to the courthouse. And so it has really caused an impact on D.C., but even Mayor Muriel Bowser is excited about this. She's hoping this becomes an annual tradition. Morgan? Yeah, a little history alongside sports.

No doubt that brunch journey for some folks going to be a bit tougher this weekend. Gary Grumbach from the front lines of the big race. Gary, thanks so much. Turning now to our series, Great Americans, where we talk with those who have achieved so much throughout their lives and for this country. Tonight we meet a man who's dedicated his life

to service first as a Marine, and now through a unique aquarium program helping injured veterans discover the healing power of the water. Our great American tonight, Marine veteran and advocate, Jason Bush. What I love most about being an American is the only place in the world where you can be who you want to be, love who you want to love, believe in what you want to believe in. The sky is the limit.

For Marine veteran Jason Bush, service has been a lifelong calling. I think it's really important to live my life for others. Today, that calling is taking him below the surface, helping fellow veterans, he has been. from the wounds of war through water. As veterans, those that deal with both visible and invisible wounds of war, there's a lot of noise. It turns all of that off to where you have no choice but to be in the moment. Bush enlisted in the Marine Corps at 19, what he calls the proudest moment of his life.

His unit, part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and his commitment to this country never wavered, coming more into focus as he returned home. Not knowing that I would ever make it home. and then landing in California. There's a lot of people that had flags and were welcoming us home in the United States. I had a sense of pride that I never had before. That pride pushing him to give back, even after the war, working for a decade as a firefighter, then answering another call, now helping injured vets through the military salute program

at the Georgia Aquarium. Bush battles PTSD and understands what it's like to return home with wounds no one can see. Why did I come home? And why did my brothers or sisters didn't come home? That answer belongs to something much bigger than us. I challenge myself and my fellow veterans to find that why. Bush's why now looks like this. Swimming with veterans alongside schools of fish rays, and even a whale shark. It's just a sense of peace that is something that can't be found as easily above water. On this day, he's helping vets from the Wounded Warrior Project.

I have completely forgotten about everything. The pain, like anxiety, everything, details, everything goes away. The most rewarding part of this job is to give them hope. We don't just change an afternoon. This program has changed entire outlooks. Still ahead, everything you can binge watch and listen to this weekend, including a new docu series about the Yukon women's basketball team's rise to dominance, a psychological thriller featuring Anne Hathaway about a pop star forced to confront her past,

and new music from Stella Lefty who rose to fame with that hit song so many people love Boston. Stick around. Sometimes I wish things never changed. And we're back now with bingeworthy. Our look at the best things to watch and listen to this weekend. Joining us tonight, USA Today's Senior Entertainment Correspondent Ralphie Aversa. Ralphie, good to have you. Want to start out with a new doc about the University of Connecticut's legendary women's basketball team.

It's called The Dynasty. Yukon Huskies currently on Apple TV. Let's take a look. Winning a national championship is like a drug, and you desperately won another one. But then when you lose, Mississippi's ended the stake. People rejoice in your misery. Women's basketball was all about Pat Summitt and Tennessee. That's what fueled coach.

He was always pissed. What the hell was that? And now put your fucking hand off. Dog, you need to chill out. Tough to remember when Yukon was not a powerhouse. Break this one down for us. It looks, you know, kind of that 30 for 30 feel. Definitely 30 for 30, although we got a three-parter on this.

This one, as you mentioned, Morgan, streaming now on Apple TV. I spoke with Gino Ariama, the Hall of Fame coach about this for USA today, and I asked him, why would you want to do this? He's got a reputation for being a bit of a curmudgeon with the media. And a lot of these successful coaches, especially when they're still coaching, don't like to look back. However, what Gino told me was that he wants people to understand kind of everything that's gone into these 12 national championships and 26 final four appearances, absolutely staggering numbers. And people will get to see that from G now and, of course, from some of his past players, as you see here in the trailer, including Diana Tarasi, Brianna Stewart, and Paige Beckers. Yeah, pulling the curtain back a little bit.

Love it. I want to talk now about another documentary, this time on Netflix. It's called Free Fall, a reckoning for Boeing, and it's investigating that mysterious death of a Boeing whistleblower who accused the company of cost-cutting safety failures. Here's the clip. I just want to ask your opinion, man. I think they're saying. Would you fly on one?

I wouldn't fly on one of these planes. Alaska, 1282. We're sick off. There was a high-pitched whistling sound, and then boom. When I got the mask on, there was no oxygen. I turned my head, and I see open sky. This feels right up the alley for any lover of true crime here. Absolutely.

sequel to the 2022 documentary Downfall, which was also about Boeing, Rory Kennedy, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker, a part of both of these. And yeah, as you mentioned, that whistleblower, John Barnett, who died in March of 2024. Prior to that in January of 2024, there was another incident with the Boeing airplane, and that's what spurred on the sequel to this. Just want to say real quickly here, there is a similar statement in the documentary, but as Rory and her team kind of investigates some of these latest incidents with Boeing and what may or may not be behind them. Boeing issuing a statement to USA today saying the allegations in this film have been widely reported over the past several years. Some remain unfounded claims to this day, while others are issues that Boeing thoroughly addressed or continues to approve upon under the rigorous oversight of our regulators.

So you'll be the judge for yourself if you watch this this weekend. It's about 90 minutes on Netflix. All right. Yeah, not too long. We love a good deep dive. I want to turn out of a way. psychological drama starring Anne Hathaway, who seems to be all over the place these days, new to streaming this week. Mother Mary on HBO Max, and check out this clip. What's on me you singing? I'll play a few if you want.

I don't want to break my streak. Or what? I'm not listening to your music. I didn't mean to cut you out. No, you did. You can't really hate me. Oh, yes, I can. Is that what we're doing here?

You're making me a hate dress? You'll see. From The Odyssey to, that dinosaur movie, The End of Oak Street, to now this. Ms. Hathaway's been busy. She has been very. I mean, what a, seriously, what a 2026 for Ann Hathaway. And this film came out earlier this year, as you mentioned, streaming this weekend on HBO Max, about two hours, Anne playing a pop star, trying to reconnect with her old self.

And so she reconnects with a fashion designer. And it's interesting, you know, the filmmaker, David Lowery, telling USA Today that there's no casual way to talk about what happens with Anne's character in this film. Perhaps you'll watch for yourself this weekend. Yeah, absolutely. The Jean Return here, have to have a good horror film. How about one about a demon hitching a ride on a couple's road trip? It's called Passenger on Paramount Plus.

Let's take a look. I saw these on the car last night. Three scratches just like that. You didn't stop, did you? It's something unholy. Something's following us. Okay. admittedly not a horror guy.

So sell me on this one, Ralphie. How am I going to say, by the way, I'm not really that much of a horror guy either, so this is going to be just a tough sell period. And especially this time of year, because, you know, you got around this time of year, maybe Labor Day weekend, you're going to do a little road trip. This is not the film to binge this weekend. However, if, you know, you love horror and or you're not going on a road trip anytime soon, you can see these two characters who kind of, you know,

they don't necessarily live in a van down by the river, but they kind of live this nomadic lifestyle. And then, yeah, they stop for someone after a horrific crash that they run into. They stop for someone. And now they're dealing with some of their own horror. This one, 90 minutes streaming Paramount Plus this weekend. Yeah, a couple's road trip can be tough enough. Let's just throw a demon in there for fun.

Your words. Hey, your words, not mine. Don't get me into trouble with my wife, buddy. Fair enough, fair enough. Front Man of the Killers. He's out with his third solo album. And here's just a little bit of, Does it ever cross your mind by a very own Brandon Flowers?

Take a listen. As a Texas guy, Ralphie, I got to say, if I heard this song come on in a honky talk, I feel like I'd start two-stepping a little bit. I'd have no idea it's Flowers. Right, exactly. Brandon Flowers, obviously we know him as the lead singer of the Killers, this shiny rock and roll band from Vegas. But we forget that Brandon was raised in a small town in Utah,

was born there rather, and that this album, which is his first solo wanted about, a lot of decade or so, was recorded entirely in Nashville. And so you're hearing those, certainly those, as you mentioned, kind of those country influences, a la Johnny Cash, on this LP. That particular song, he's talking about this kind of happenstance meeting of how, you know, the universe can put you next to someone that you might spend the rest of your life with. So Brandon Flowers, Thrasher, new solo LP out today. Yeah, man, a big talents. And let's stick with kind of the country theme here. Stella Lefty just released her debut album. This is, summer you were mine. I love this one. Let's take a listen.

the charts by Storm out of nowhere. Stella really coming to fame with her song, Boston, which is on this debut album that's out this weekend. And that song, Boston, interpolates Noah Khan's stick season. So that's why the melody maybe, if it's in your head, you're like, wait, I've heard that before. You kind of have, that was obviously a big hit as well. But with Stella, a lot of the conversation is around the fact that she's from Chicago.

And of course, her father is the co-founder and CEO of Groupon worth a reported $5 billion. I don't think she fits the Nepo baby, you know, title by definition per se, but she's clearly very talented and her music resonating with an audience again, her album out this weekend. Yeah, I'll have to give it a listen. Plenty to watch, plenty to listen to. Ralphia Versa, always a pleasure. Thanks for joining us. Thanks, Morgan.

And that, of course, that'll do it for Top Story tonight. I'm Morgan Chesky in Los Angeles for Tom Yamas. Stay right here. More news is on the way. The one.