Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, August 30, 2024

Episode Date: August 31, 2024

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

Tonight, severe storms colliding with the holiday weekend travel rush. Millions on the move for the unofficial end of summer. Dramatic video out of the Midwest, torrential downpour, strong winds, and several tornadoes reported. Powerful storms forcing ground stops at airports, a record number of people on the road stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, where storms are set to strike next, and could they upend your holiday weekend plans? Also tonight, NHL star tragedy. The hockey world in morning after star Johnny Goodrow and his brother Matthew were fatally struck by a suspected drunk driver. The brothers killed while riding bikes just hours before their sister's wedding.

The driver now in custody, what he admitted to police on the scene, and the outpouring of support for a family now dealing with the unimaginable. Crisis in Gaza, the race against the clock to contain the threat. of polio. Israel agreeing to pause fighting as the urgent vaccination effort gets underway. And the teen TikTok star who documented daily life inside a war zone killed in an Israeli airstrike. Serial trial redo, the shocking move from Maryland's highest court reinstating the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, the man at the heart of the hit true crime podcast. Syed, who spent two decades in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, was cleared of all charges just two years ago, what this latest shakeup means. The disturbing findings at a boar's

head plant linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak, insects, black mold, and puddles of blood discovered in the facility, health inspector sounding the alarm on a number of food safety violations. And making Paralympic history meet the athlete who escaped the Taliban to become the first ever medalist for the refugee team, her remarkable journey to victory on the Taekwai Mondeau Matt. And majoring in TikTok, the U.S. University offering a degree in digital media influencing. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. Tonight, the holiday weekend rush is well underway as millions of Americans hit the roads and the skies ahead of Labor Day. But nasty

weather is already disrupting travel as a record-setting number of Americans are on the go. Right now we are seeing major traffic from coast to coast. Here is a live look at Los Angeles and the New York City area. In the Midwest, violent storms ripping across the region, dramatically dropping visibility on the roadways. Drivers should prepare for rough conditions like this, torrential rains and powerful winds slamming parts of the Midwest. Downpours in parts of Pennsylvania oversaturating the ground leading to this massive sinkhole. Storms are taking aim all across the country tonight and throughout the weekend. And unfortunately, there is no relief in sight. Monday's track back might be just as bumpy. The rough weather already creating chaos

for air travel. Take a look at the top five airports for cancellations and delays at this hour. TSA says they plan to screen 17 million people this weekend. Rounds of storms will persist well into the holiday weekend. Meteorologist Angie Lassman standing by to time it all out. But first, we start tonight with NBC's Shaquille Brewster. Tonight, severe summer weather clashing with the Labor Day weekend travel rush. A tornado ripping through Minnesota yesterday. Toppling trees and knocking out power to thousands. He shut the door and it went, boom, boom, bang.

I said, let's get the door closed. A mess on the roads in Pennsylvania, too. Flash floods causing this massive sinkhole. It's completely gone. I've never seen anything like that. Millions under threat as thunderstorms plow through major travel hubs, leading to flight delays at airports in Raleigh, New York, and Chicago. The turbulence was kind of bad. Across the country, more than 200 cancellations, over 5,000 delays.

The anxiety level feels a little higher, so definitely taking a couple deep breaths. A record Labor Day travel weekend at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, where we spotted Olympic champion Simone Biles and her husband, Bear Safety, Jonathan Owens, who said they were headed home. Officials here say plan ahead. What do you suggest people do? Make your travel reservations early. Try to arrive early at the airports to give yourself time and patience as well. The travel rush extending to the roads with some relief at the pump. I'm Priya Shrether here in Atlanta where gas prices here are $3.26 per gallon.

That's below the national average of $3.36, which is down almost 50 cents from this time last year. A holiday weekend blitz, capping off a record-setting summer of travel. And Ellison, the TSA says it's expecting to screen some 3 million passengers across our nation's airports today alone, making today the peak day of travel nationwide. And airport officials are reminding passengers that it's not just delays inside the airport to worry about, but the congestion that you see outside. They're inviting folks in suggesting that people take public transportation to get to the airport. That way you avoid the congestion that you see. in those drop-off areas.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Shakeel Brewster in Chicago. Thank you. For more on the Labor Day Weekend forecast, NBC News meteorologist Angie Lasman joins us now

live in studio. Angie, I know there are some severe weather threats popping up out there. What and where are you watching? Yeah, so good evening, Alison. We're watching a couple of different locations, and that's going to be kind of the general story over the next couple of days for the weekend.

We've got thunderstorm watches in effect across parts of Metro Detroit. We've got flood watches across parts of the Gulf Coast. those are just some of the spots that we're already seeing some active weather. And as we get into tomorrow, it's more of the same, essentially. This is the area that we're going to be watching for the severe threat. 27 million people included in that, including Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh. We'll be watching for those wind gusts to be the main threat. But the big picture look for your Saturday is heavy rain stretched from the interior northeast all the way down to the Gulf Coast where we will once

again be looking at a flood threat. Not going to be great travel across this region. The rest of the country honestly looks really quiet. We'll see plenty of sunshine. That's the story for that section of country as we get into Sunday too. But notice it remains unsettled across the southeast. We'll kind of keep that rain in the forecast and really be talking about a weekend washout across the Gulf coast. Meanwhile, some nicer conditions settle in for parts of the northeast and out west. We'll see above average conditions. But it's, again, the Gulf Coast here that we're really going to be watching to be difficult when it comes to travel over the next couple of days. This is something that we'll watch here, especially as we get into Monday with that holiday washout as folks try to travel home from

this long weekend. Alison. All right. And I understand you are also. monitoring the tropics. What's going on there? Yeah, so we have a couple of spots that we're watching. None of these are looking to impact anything for your weekend plans just yet. But there's something that they're watching. We've got a tropical depression that could potentially form in the Gulf of Mexico here over the long term, maybe next week. That one, about a 20% chance over the next seven days. We've got a better chance of this one that's going to form here again in parts of the Atlantic.

We still could be talking about a tropical depression from that system next week. And kind of more of the same with another slow developing potential system. down the line. The good thing is none of those impacting us for this upcoming weekend ahead. All right, Angie Lassman, thank you. Our other major headline tonight, the hockey world in mourning. After the stunning death of Columbus Blue Jacket star Johnny Gudrow, he and his brother Matthew killed by a suspected drunk driver while biking on the eve of their sister's wedding. Stephanie Gosk has more on the tributes now pouring in. Tonight outside the Columbus Blue Jacket Arena, a memorial is growing.

The NHL team shocked by the loss of its biggest star. They signed Johnny Goddrow two years ago. Hey, Johnny. How's it going on? Todd. Hi. The All-Star forward nicknamed Johnny Hockey gave new hope to a struggling team. On Thursday night, police say the 31-year-old and his younger brother Matthew were killed by a suspected drunk driver while riding bikes near their hometown.

Johnny was the father of a baby boy and girl, Matthew, a hockey coach and husband. Today, their sister was supposed to get married. The driver, Sean Higgins, charged with two counts of vehicular homicide. According to the arrest warrant, the 43-year-old told an officer he had approximately five to six beers. He admitted alcohol contributed to his impatience and reckless driving. The warrant alleges Higgins tried to unlawfully pass an SUV, hitting the two brothers who were riding in the narrow shoulder.

Higgins has not entered a plea. The brother's uncle, writing in part, Last night we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons, two brothers, truly two amazing humans. Jerry York was their hockey coach at Boston College. It sounds like Johnny and Matthew made a real impression at Boston College. Well, they really did. And the way they carried themselves around the campus was, you know,

something where coach dreams about. The Blue Jackets writing, they are shocked and devastated. You know, the theme that really changed, John. Tom Bunting coached alongside their dad in New Jersey. You know, people just know them as hockey players, you know. But it was a really, really tight, tight family. And it's just a horrible day. Back in Ohio, Johnny's jersey is a favorite among young players.

One youth coach saying, it's going to be a hard year. Stephanie Gosk, NBC News. We're going to turn now to some breaking news out of Dallas, where tonight authorities say a police officer is dead and two others wounded after a gunman opened fire. Dallas police confirming the suspect first fired inside of a marked police vehicle before engaging in a shootout with responding officers. The suspect then leading police on a chase before he was shot and killed.

NBC News correspondent Morgan Chesky joins us now. Morgan, Dallas Police just held a press conference late today. Talk to us about what we learned there. Alison, some stunning details revealed by the Dallas Chief of Police who broke down tragic minute by tragic minute what played out late last night, beginning in Dallas, and then ending on an interstate nearly 30 miles away.

We were able to hear the essential call for help from one of those Dallas officers after being wounded. And Ellison, they've identified this gunman who was taking part in this as an individual named Corey Cobb Bay.

He, according to police, executed on an officer in a South Dallas neighborhood and then led police on a 30-mile chase before stepping out of a vehicle and being fatally shot by officers. But I want you to hear kind of some of what happened according to Dallas police. Take a listen. I do want to make something clear. I know that the word ambush has been thrown around in the last 24 hours or so. That's not what happened here. Officer Berks was executed. So according to Dallas police, Ellis, Officer Berks was sitting in his vehicle when this suspect approached him and was videoing the encounter on his cell phone. It was shortly thereafter that he produced a firearm and, as you heard the chief say, executed Berks inside his patrol car.

Whenever the dispatch did not receive radio transmission back after checking in with Officer Berks, they dispatched more officers to that scene who engaged in a firefight with the suspect who then got inside his vehicle and then drove away to. that location 30 miles away where he was fatally shot by police. This is hitting the department incredibly hard. Keep in mind it was just eight years ago that another gunman ambushed officers killing five and injuring nine others. There were scenes of dozens of officers waiting outside the hospital last night where Berks was receiving treatment in addition to two others that were wounded. Berks eventually passing away as a result of those wounds. Ellison. And Morgan, what else do we know about the officer? that was killed.

Yeah, this is heartbreaking in every sense of the word. He had just recently joined the police force after serving as a high school math teacher for more than 15 years. So despite being, I guess, one of the, I hesitate to say, elder officer, but he had had a full career prior to joining police, and he was described by those who knew him as an upright individual with incredible character. Allison. All right.

Morgan Chesky, thank you. Turning overseas now to the urgent race to vaccinate children inside of Gaza against polio. Israel and Hamas agreeing to pause in fighting starting this weekend to get the critical doses to Palestinians after a baby tested positive for the virus. This as the family and friends of beloved content creator mourned his death after he was killed by shrapnel from an Israeli air strike. Ralph Sanchez reports. Tonight, with polio spreading in Gaza, the UN ramping up for a vast war zone vaccination campaign. This is a massive operation. The security, of course, is paramount.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to three-day pauses in the fighting starting Sunday to give the UN time to inoculate 640,000 Palestinian children. Polio affects mainly small kids and was stamped out in Gaza 25 years ago. But it's making a return in the contaminated water that many depend on for bathing and drinking. After Gaza's water treatment system collapsed. The UN hopes to roll out more than a million vaccine doses. One challenge, keeping them cold in the sweltering Gaza heat with little reliable electricity. I'm not going to say this is the ideal way forward, but this is a workable way forward. Not doing anything would be really bad.

We have to stop this transmission in Gaza. The campaign will come too late for Abdul Rahman. The first child in Gaza confirmed to have polio. This was him earlier this summer, learning to crawl in the tent his displaced family calls home. Now he's paralyzed in one leg, confined to an old car seat. His life has changed 180 degrees, his wife has changed 180 degrees, his wife. Mother Naveen says. Doctors have now vaccinated his nine siblings, but there's little they can do

for Abdul Rahman, who was born just weeks before the October 7th Hamas attack, and never vaccinated amid the chaos of war. And in Han Yunnan's heartbreak for the family and friends of a young man who showed the world what life in Gaza is like. I try to make videos every day. TikTok creator Meadow al-Halimi was killed after he was hit with shrapnel from an Israeli air strike. I lost a piece of me, and it feels strange to live without him. His best friend, Talal, a frequent collaborator in his Day in the Life videos. Episode one of the Garland Experience. Talal, any signal?

He wanted to show the rest of the world how hard it is for us to live in a tent, for us to be displaced. Back in June, NBC News Digital Profiled Halimi, who told our team, he often stayed up until 4 a.m. just to upload his work. I am showing that us Palestinians are very resilient, and we're going to survive and live no matter what. His latest video posted just hours before his death. I went to the tent cafe to get connected to the internet, and I edited the video.

Then I went live on TikTok. Talal says the airstrike hit while they were planning another video shoot on Monday. Alimi was rushed to Han Yunus's Nasser Hospital, but died a short time later. He was very ambitious. He had a lot of dreams. We wanted to help people.

That's why he had such followers and such friends and such family. Everyone loved him. And Raf joins us now from Tel Aviv. Raf, the U.S. is said to be pushing Israel to make changes when it comes to civilian evacuations in Gaza. What are you hearing? So, Alison, throughout the war, Israel has issued these evacuation orders where they're They basically tell Palestinian civilians get out of whole neighborhoods inside of Gaza because they're about to attack. The IDF says this is about getting civilians out of harm's way.

But for many of these civilians who've been displaced multiple times, this is pretty traumatizing. Being told, grab what you can, get out of the area. It's not safe for you to be there. What the U.S. is telling Israel at this point is these evacuation orders have to stop while the vaccination campaign is underway. because it is simply too disruptive, thousands of people moving from place to place. The U.S., the U.N. wants these people to have access to these vaccinations when they are rolled out. So we will see if Israel heeds that American warning about the evacuation orders, and we will see if both Israel and Hamas abide by these pauses in the fighting.

Elson. Powerful reporting. Raf Sanchez, thank you. Now, to power and politics and the growing backlash against former President Trump over his comments to our Dasha Burns yesterday, saying he opposes Florida's six-week abortion ban. Trump also under scrutiny for promising to make the government or insurance companies pay for IVF treatments. NBC's senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez has the details. Tonight, former President Trump bowing to pressure from conservatives calling on him to oppose a ballot

measure to overturn the six-week abortion ban in his home state of Florida. So I'll be voting no. It comes after NBC's Dasha Burns. pressed him Thursday, and he didn't give a clear answer. How are you going to vote on that? Well, I think the six week is too short. It has to be more time. I'm voting that I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks. His campaign later tried to walk that back.

I think all the president is saying is that he thinks that there should be more than six weeks. That caused a firestorm with anti-abortion advocates. It was discouraging and disappointing to hear the president really use talking points from really the abortion lobby. There are also mounting questions about Mr. Trump's new proposal regarding fertility treatments. For people that are using IVF, which is fertilization, we are government is going to pay for it, or we're going to get or mandate your insurance company to pay for it. The Trump campaign is not providing details about how the pricey procedures would be paid for. An NBC News estimate puts the total cost at around $8 billion a year.

All this is Harris in her first extensive interview. since President Biden dropped out of the race, defended some of her policy reversals since she last ran for the White House in 2019. My values have not changed. On immigration, she once raised her hand when asked whether the border should be decriminalized and said this about unauthorized crossings.

I would not make it a crime punishable by jail. It should be a civil enforcement issue, but not a criminal enforcement issue. Now... Do you still believe that? I believe there should be consequence. We have laws. that have to be followed and enforced, that address and deal with people who cross our border illegally.

And Gabe joins us now from the White House. Gabe, I want to go back to former President Trump's statements this week on that Florida abortion ballot measure saying he will vote no to overturning the ban, but he wants more than six weeks in Florida. You outlined some of the outrage over those comments. Talk to us about how concerned or if his campaign is concerned. concerned that this could cost him some votes within his base. Well, Alison, you only need to look at how quickly the campaign rushed to clean this up. Just shortly after Mr. Trump spoke with our Dasha Burns yesterday and gave that unclear answer, the campaign already tried to walk it back so quickly. And the former president himself gave a blunt answer when asked about it this afternoon, much clearer than he did the previous day.

So we know that at least one prominent anti-abortion group spoke with the president last night. This is a powerful constituency in Republican politics, and clearly, the campaign made the calculation that they didn't want to risk upsetting them by speaking out against the Florida ban. Alison. Gabe Gutierrez, thank you. Still ahead tonight, the surprising shakeup in the case against Adnan Sayyah, the man at the center of the hit serial podcast, was cleared of murder just two years ago. But now a Maryland court ruling for a redo of the very hearing that set him free. We'll explain. terrifying moments at Walt Disney World, people sent running, some even hiding in shops over false

reports of an active shooter, what officials say actually happened. And do you want to be an influencer? One university now offering a degree to help turn your social media presence into a business. Stay with us. We're back now with the latest twist in the case against Adnad Sallad, a case that gained global attention through the serial podcast. In a 4-3 ruling, Maryland Supreme Court deciding the trial must be redone and that his murder conviction will be reinstated for now. Siyadh was first convicted more than 24 years ago in the killing of his high school ex-girlfriend, Heyman Lee. The new ruling coming just two years after prosecutors dropped old charges against him. To explain what this means,

we're joined now by NBC News legal analyst Angela Sinadela here in studio. This probably was a surprise to a lot of people who maybe weren't following the little legal moments back and forth, but essentially what we had was the court ruling on an appellate court's decision, and they really were centering this around what they say prosecutors didn't do in terms of speaking with the victim's family, right? Walk us through what happened here. Yes, that's exactly right. So the Maryland Supreme Court here decided that both the trial court and prosecutors made

illegal errors in not including the victim's family, not not notifying them through this process. Now, it's not just that they were rude to the victim's families, but it's that according to Maryland state law, victims have to be included in any hearing that could potentially reduce the sentence of a defendant. So the first error here happened at the trial court when the judge held the first evidentiary hearing behind closed doors in judges' chambers and didn't include the victim's family. Now, after the decision was made to vacate the conviction to have it just go away entirely, the victim's family decided to appeal. As they were appealing, the prosecutors then decided to formally dismiss the charges. So prosecutors have this

option. After a judgment is totally vacated, they can either go backwards and retry the entire case, or they can dismiss the charges. But the problem here was that they did it while the victim's family was appealing, which then made their appeal go away, it made their rights go away. So the court there was just saying they should have waited. And so as a result, it's getting kicked back, rewound? Just two steps there. Okay, so two questions for you. One, was this a pretty egregious error by prosecutors? Like, should they have known better to begin with? And two, when we're talking about it going back to the lower courts, does that mean it is going to be beginning to end as if nothing

happened prior to this moment? So first, in terms of egregious error, I think it was a very close Supreme Court decision. It was four three, and the dissent was very strong, saying this is ridiculous. It's obviously moot. It's obviously irrelevant. The evidence here still stands to have the conviction vacated. This is entirely procedural. Now, in terms of what would happen next with regards to Adnan-Sayed and the actual conviction, there was almost no discussion with regards to that having to be retried or having his guilt questioned.

Really, it just mentioned the procedural issues. And because when you look at why they decided to vacate, it's based on such strong evidence of UDNA testing that happened, also evidence that was excluded and not presented. to the defense, new prosecutors who came in in 2022 decided to re-investigestate this case. You know, I really don't think that his future is in jeopardy. It's just going to take a little bit longer. So what happens to Adnan Syed in the meantime? Does he have to go back to jail while he waits? So what happens right now is it goes back to a different court, so not the first trial court. And that'll be up to the trial court's decision. That seems unlikely here, given

that the threat to the community, et cetera, seems unlikely. And also that this process could take a long time again because the Supreme Court here is saying that an appeal has to be heard prior to any decision to dismiss charges. So if that means that site has to stay in jail until charges are formally dropped, that could be a long process, which seems unfair to him, given that no decision was made about his conviction. All right, interesting stuff. Angela Sinadella, thank you, as always. We appreciate it. Coming up, the foul findings at a boar's head facility, the disturbing violations at the deli meat plant linked to a deadly listeria outbreak. Health inspectors discovered bugs, mold, and blood what we're hearing.

We're back now with Top Stories news feed, starting with the stampede at Disney World caused by a false claim of an active shooter. Social media video showing a crowd attempting to exit the park and terrified guests hiding in a superiors. souvenir store, then police searching the area moments later. The Orange County Sheriff's Department saying fears were sparked after guests heard a fight and a popping sound, which they now believe was a balloon. A dancing with the Stars Pro arrested in California on suspicion of felony domestic violence. Police in Napa County saying Artem Chen Vincent was arrested yesterday by deputies responding to a domestic violence call. No information has been released about the victim, but he is married to former W.W.E. wrestler Nikki Bella. The Russian dancer and TV star was released

on $25,000 bail. And the University of Texas at San Antonio launching a bachelor's degree program that teaches students to become online influencers. The university saying its digital media influencer degree combines the science of audience psychology with the art of content creation. The program is offered both online and in person. next tonight to the disturbing new details in the deadly listeria outbreak tied to boar's head deli meat inspectors finding insects mold and even puddles of blood inside one of the company's facilities in virginia the outbreak already linked to nine deaths here's NBC news correspondent mora barrett with the concerning details tonight a disturbing new report revealing a slew of health violations inside a boar's head plant linked to the deadly listeria outbreak documents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which were first obtained by CBS News, outlined 69 instances of noncompliance with federal regulations at the plant in Jarrett, Virginia, from August 2023 to August of this year. The report goes on to describe insects crawling on the walls

and flying around the room, a black mold-like substance and green algal growth throughout the plant. Regulators also finding heavy discolored meat buildup on a hydraulic pump, ample amounts of blood and puddles on the floor and rancid smells. According to the CDC, nine people have died and 57 people have been hospitalized after eating boar's head products contaminated with Listeria, marking the worst outbreak of the infection in 13 years. What distinguishes Listeria from some of the other food poisoning is this bacteria tends to target the central nervous system. And so in addition to fevers and chills, upset stomach, maybe diarrhea, you also start getting headaches, stiff neck. That moves into meningitis, and that can be the point where it starts turning deadly, and it starts

affecting people who have weakened immune systems. Since July, the company has recalled 7 million pounds of deli meat. The recalled products have either EST-12612 or P-Dash-12612 inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels. Some of the products have sell-by dates into October 24. If you have these meats, the CDC says throw them away. If you had one in refrigerator, you need to get rid of that product, completely clean out the refrigerator. And I would throw out any food that have been close to it because cross-contamination is very easy to do with the bacteria. A spokesperson for Borishead tells NBC News they deeply regret the impact this recall has had on affected families. And the company says production has been paused at the Jarrett Virginia

facility as they conduct an extensive investigation. And Mara joins us now from Chicago. Mara, I understand you have some new reporting that there's now been a lawsuit filed against Boar's Head? What can you tell us? Yes, just in the last couple of hours, Ellison, this is a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the family of Gunter Morganstein. Morganstein was an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who bought some of the Selling Meat earlier in the summer. It became so severely ill he had to be hospitalized and ultimately passed away. Again, he's one of nine people that we know about that have passed away and are connected to this outbreak. Alison. Mara Barrett, important reporting. Thank you.

Now to Top Story's Global Watch, protests in India intensifying in response to the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a government-run hospital. Footage from earlier this week showing police in Kolakata firing tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters. Thousands of doctors have been on strike since the crime occurred 22 days ago. Protesters are now calling for the resignation of West Bengal's chief minister. And the Brazilian Supreme Court ordering the suspension of the social media platform X after the company refused to comply with court orders. The move coming after a months-long feud between the platform's CEO Elon Musk and Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moras. The justice ordered the company

to suspend dozens of accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation months ago. Musk denounced the order as censorship. We head now to Africa and the vaccine rollout underway there to combat impox, formerly known as monkeypox. Cases of the virus are rising at an alarming rate. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has seen a suspected 18,000 cases and recorded more than 600 cases so far this year. Nigeria now receiving 10,000 vaccine doses from the U.S., the first African country to obtain those shots. For more on the state of the Impox Health Emergency in Africa, we're joined now by Dr. Jean Casaya,

the Director General of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Casaya, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. Let's just start with the severity of what is happening with Impox and Africa in the region right now. Talk to us about what you were seeing. What is the most concerning aspect to you? Thank you so much for having me. I'm currently in DRC where I came to meet leaders and also to discuss with communities to go to visit some people who are affected.

Yes, M-Pox is a reality. Yes, M-Pox is severe in DLC. And on daily basis, we are reporting cases. And currently, we have around 22,000 cases in Africa. And as you said, around 18,500 cases in DRC. Yes, we have also some countries in addition to the 13 countries that we are. reporting, we have two additional countries. They say they have suspected cases, but they don't have a machine to confirm these cases. It means the outbreak is really moving and we have so many countries affected. 10,000 doses of vaccines, as we mentioned, arriving in Nigeria this week, but it really seems like that is a drop in the ocean of need. Your organization has estimated that 10 million doses is what is actually needed in Africa.

Why has there been such a delay getting Impox vaccines to the continent? And when do you expect there to be enough vaccines to meet the demand in the DRC and in other countries on that continent? I believe that the world didn't listen from the COVID lesson. Let me remind you that in the early days of COVID-19, the virus was not immediately. recognized as highly deadly or globally descriptive. Now, it's the same issue that is happening with MPOX.

This is why Africa CDC took the proactive measure to read all data, to analyze data, and to make the decision to declare the public health emergency of continental security followed by WHO a day later. Why the vaccine is not available? Because first, this vaccine is not manufactured in Africa. And second, because when the vaccine was manufactured, Western countries, they kept that for themselves. They didn't even share some doses to Africa. And today, we are facing this huge stockout of vaccine,

even if there is some commitment to increase production. We already secured around 3.6 million doses. premium coming from Japan and 600,000 coming from Bavaria, Nordic. But this one is still far from what we need exactly in Africa. And we are calling from our partners to come to join us to give more vaccine to Africa and to do the transfer technology for Africa to start to manufacture also this vaccine. That will decrease the price and will increase availability. Talk to us a little more about that because I remember during the COVID-19 pandemic,

was this discussion of saying, okay, well, if, and this is going to be a non-medical way to describe it, but basically, if you would share that recipe with other countries, we could manufacture more and we could do it faster when there is a global need. Do you feel like that is something that could happen here, that this could be shared, the recipe, if you will, with different organizations or different countries inside of Africa where manufacturing could speed up that way? Or do you think it really is just going to be a situation where the ones that's already been made, those that have been developed, it should just be passed on. This is what we don't want to hear from our partner.

And we started to negotiate with this company called Bavarian Nordic, and we signed even a joint statement where they say they will be the transfer technology to African manufacturers. Even we already selected this African manufacturer that can benefit from this transfer of technology and to start to manufacture the vaccine. We believe that this one will become a reality because all of us were engaged. And we want also to say clearly to our partners, we need more vaccines for many reasons. The first one, our surveillance system is not strong enough.

It means the number of cases we are giving you is just the peak of iceberg because we don't know exactly how many cases we have in Africa. We are at reporting based on the weakness of our surveillance system. The second one, we don't have machines to do the testing. You can imagine we have countries, the testing rate is still 18%. I was talking for Minnesota a few days ago. He was telling me we have suspected cases, but we cannot confirm. This is why we cannot declare the outbreak.

And when you have this kind of context, You have to vaccinate so many people that get a number of groups to stop this outbreak. This is why we need so many vaccines in Africa now. All right. Well, Dr. Jean Casaya, thank you so much for the work you do and joining us tonight. We hope we can talk to you again soon when the situation improves. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Thank you for having me. Thank you so much. When we come back from tragedy to triumph, the Paralympian who fled the Talibbean, who fled the Taliban, now taking home a historic medal for the refugee team. Her incredible journey to Paris. Next. We're back now with the Paralympics and the athlete taking home the first medal ever for the refugee Paralympic team.

But her journey to Paris, it was no easy road. In red, representing refugee Paralympic team, Zakia Kudadani. On night one of the Paralympia, the Paralympic team, on night one of the Paralymp. Olympic Games of victory that goes far beyond sports. And it's a bronze medal for the Refugee Paralympic team. Afghan refugees Zakiya Kudadadi taking home bronze in Taekwondo, the first ever medal for the refugee Paralympic team. I'm so so so happy because this medal is my dream.

I'm so excited for joining this medal for my family kids here and for all the refugee in Paris and in the world, and I'm continuing hard my tegwondo. Kudadadadi was born without a forearm in Herat Afghanistan. Despite a physical limitation, she began taekwondo at nine years old. But those early days at the gym were fraught with fear and shrouded in secrecy. Without opportunities for women to safely practice sports, she had to begin training in a hidden gym. She was forced to evacuate her home country of Afghanistan in 2020. after the Taliban took over once again.

She fled to Paris, where she was able to train alongside French athletes. And now she's on one of sports biggest stages, one of eight para athletes who make up the game's largest ever refugee team. The Olympic and Paralympic refugee teams were created in 2016, made for athletes who were forced to flee their own countries to escape war, violence, and human rights violations. Last month, boxer Cindy Nagamba from Cameroon took home a bronze during the Olympics. It was also a first for that team. For Kudadadi, she says this medal is more than just a personal victory.

I'm like this for women of my country, and we are together win one day, I'm sure. And I'm continuing for women of my country. From a hidden gym to the world stage, Kudadai. showed what these games are all about. When we come back, a look at what you can binge watch and listen to this weekend. Only murders in the building back for a fourth season, plus the hit movie The Fall Guy, now available to stream and new music from Chris Stapleton. We're back now with binge-worthy, our look at the best things to watch and listen to this

weekend. I'm joined now by Will in Jovo. He is a TV, radio, and podcast. podcast host, joining us all the way from the UK, and people can find you everywhere, social media, all the places. Literally, TikTok, the lot. Everywhere. Okay, well, we're so glad you were here. To start, we are going to go with a very popular series that is back for its fourth season. Yes.

Only murders in the building on Hulu. Let's watch a clip, and then we'll chat. We thought it would be a good idea if we do character study. Are we attached to Mabel? I'd say so. Guys, we're going to Hollywood. Oh, my God. Says?

There's been another murder. Yay! They just keep adding the guest stars. Literally, I'm so happy that season four has come back of a bang because I think prior people were like, is it going to be good? Will it live up to its expectations? And of course, the story follows three true crime podcasters who are heading to Hollywood.

You know, Hollywood exec said, I'm going to make you a star, baby. And then, yeah, so they're heading off to Hollywood Of course, those three true crime podcasters aren't just any random podcasters. They are Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, Martin, Short. And the funniest thing about this is, right, on TikTok, people are like, can Selena Gomez actually start a real true crime podcast? Yes.

Because she's so good in this, and I can actually see it happening. I actually really could, too. Like, the cooking show, it actually really makes sense. Very good at that. But the critics are calling it really, really funny, and the critics are saying that they can see this lasting for at least another five seasons. It's just feel good television, really. You know, it's funny, and I love the fact that they touch on issues like loneliness, they touch on aging, all while not being too, too heavy.

And there's a lot of comedy in this, the writing is lovely, and I think it's just a good watch, you know, to feel good vibe. Yeah, I do too. I love to the first three, and I'm very excited to get into the fourth. Yeah, everyone should watch it. It's vibe. So this next one, it's going to be Netflix, and this is Adam Sandler. He's out with his first special since 2018. Yeah. It is called Love You. This is a teaser. We've lost control. What the fuck has happened?

My man. That you're going to get you. All right, I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I am definitely focusing on the wrong thing, but I'm like, why is it so dark? He's so dark. Like, is there a light?

But you know what? What's iconic about this is it isn't your typical comedy special. Yeah. When you look at that and when you watch the whole thing, it actually feels a bit like a documentary because it starts off, you've seen him getting out the car, walking in the studio, things going wrong, the project's not working, the wrong coffee order, him in a dark studio, as you saw.

But I think the funny part of this is how Adam Sandler reacts to everything, like in a comedic way, and then we see him on stage with his material. And there's a lot of music in it as well. You know, Adam Sandler's playing the guitar, and he speaks about how much he loves music. And again, he injects comedy into, all of that. The critics aren't too happy about it, right? They're basically saying that they

feel like maybe his 2018 comedy special was better. But I love it personally. I feel like anything Adam Sander puts his hands on is just fabulous. I love that. Okay, this next one, I saw in theaters fall guys starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. It is now streaming on Pica. I'm upset. I'm excited. Let's watch and then talk. The star of the movie. Tom Tom, Tom, Tom, Raider. Is missing. We need you to find him. Why me? You're a stunt man. No one's going to notice whether you're here or not.

No offense. I mean, some taking. Tom. Full disclosure, he has fallen in with some shady people. Just checking in on you. And they're not going to like you sniffing around. I'm just a stunt guy. So when I saw this in theaters, I immediately texted my sisters and was like, you've got to go see this.

Because I feel like it's the best adult rom-com I have seen in like maybe a decade. It is, of course, Emily Blund and Ryan Gosling are starring in it. And Ryan Gosling, of course, plays like a Hollywood stunt double. And what I quite love about this is, Ryan has spoken out and said, he's only just learned the amount of work that Hollywood stunt doubles have to do. Of course, there's a part in the film where we see him falling from like a 20-story building. And he basically had his sunglasses on, and he said that he's actually scared of heights. But look, the good thing about this is, of course, that it's going to be streaming on Peacock.

But we're not just getting the full guy. We're getting the four guy extended. That's 20 minutes of unseen footage that we have not seen yet in the theaters. So you are all in for a tree. Yes. Okay. Ooh, I have so many things to watch this weekend. This next one I started.

I've seen one episode in so far. I love true crime. This is called The Worst X Ever. And of course, it's on Netflix. And it is from the producers of the worst roommate ever. Here's a look. Let's be very careful with evidence, please. There was blood spatterned.

It's thrown about the entire hallway. Our heart's dropped at that point. There was a male voice that screamed, please don't kill me, I don't want to die. She'd do whatever she could and get whatever she wanted. He grabs me by the hair, pulls me down to the ground, and I am just thinking that this is probably going to be the day that I die. So that last one is the episode I saw,

and I haven't seen the second one yet because it did kind of freak me out a little too much. It is a lot. I mean, if you love true crime, this is for you. This, of course, highlights your note. relationship stories that have turned quite lethal and gone wrong and look a lot of the conversation around this on TikTok and social media has been when you go online dating be careful who you meet because you never know but sometimes you could you know meet someone and think that you know them but you just might not you know and one of the stories you know is about a woman who

found out you know her man just basically didn't have the identity that he said that he did and then he ends up being a completely other person so it's just about stay safe guys you know it's It's quite grim, so if this is a bit much for you, then take a bit of a step back. But again, it's an interesting viewing, and I think an interesting kind of perception and a view into the world of true crime and the reality of how some relationships do go wrong. But check that out on Netflix, as I say, if you like this stuff. And I kind of do, which is quite bizarre. In some ways, it's good and helpful, I guess, to also be a good reminder and spotlight on

the realities of domestic violence and help maybe notice signs and know there are resources Sometimes you can't notice the signs, and I think that's what's interesting about this show. You really watch, and you're like, you know, you've known someone for three years and you think you know them, but then you just don't. But that's, you know, that's the word of true crime. That's why everyone's so fascinated about it. All right, this next one really doesn't need much of an introduction. It is Love is Blind UK. Just watch, and then we'll talk right after.

Yeah. Get your watch parties ready for the first ever Love is Blind UK reunion. We catch up with all of our couples and dive into the real connections that were made. I was already certainly, even after date one, that that was the kind of woman that I'd like to spend the rest of my life with. The drama that unfolded. I wish none of that ever took place. I really do.

So, say I'm sorry to Nicole, please. And what has gone down since the weddings? This is like my guilty obsession. And guys, Will and Jobu was there. Give us all the tea. You were at the reunion. You were backstage and then in the front row. Oh, my gosh.

Or the tea. Honestly, it was so tense in there. Like, from what we saw in the show, the show is tense. The reunion show is tense. But watching the Stephen and Sabrina situation unfolding of all time was like, whoa. Yes. So look, you will know that Love is Blind is a show that we've been watching for years, big franchise.

The UK version has just kicked off recently. That was season one of Love is Blind UK. And, of course, you know, the concept of the show is 30 Singleton's. Enter the pods. not everyone finds love, but six couples do. We focus on those six couples and we follow their journey up until they get married. Some of them get married. Some of them don't.

What I love about reunions is that. Obviously, you know, we see the six couples, but we see how things have panned out because the show was filmed a year ago, right? So we're not watching what's happened. Some of them have stayed together. Some of them haven't. I'm not going to spoil it for you. Don't you worry.

But the reunion show was iconic. A lot of drama went down. Of course, we saw Demi and Ollie speak about their situation without giving too much away because I am the queen of spoilers, so forgive me. I'm going to try my best. It's really hard, I know. As I say, I would say that the energy in this studio was that it was very tense. I mean, even after the filming, it's real.

And one thing that I've kind of discovered from interviewing the cast members, because I have done on my show, is that these people really did go in there looking for love. This wasn't a show where, you know, like some reality shows, like people just like they want to be, like, famous or they want the Instagram followers. These people actually wanted love. So, you know, there was real life drama. and I also hosted the grand finale screening. And God, the drama continued.

Oh, my goodness! The drama continued, and that's where we learned about the fallouts of Demi and Jasmine, who were, of course, best friends. Demi exclusively told me on my show that they're now not talking anymore. Jasmine told me the same thing. The issue kind of happened at that grand finale screening. But look, there's a lot of drama happening at the reunion show, and there's a lot of drama happening after the reunion.

The story continues, basically. And for people who want to watch that interview you did with Demi, Where can they go to find that? You can watch that on my podcast. That is the reality with Will & Jovey podcast, on my TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, or the jazz. Okay. That is amazing. We're going to turn now to music because country singer Chris Stapleton has a new song out with a music video.

This one is called Think I'm in Love With You. Listen. I thought about thinking through. Every time I do I find I want to make your dreams come true. Come in love with you. Oh, I think I'm in love with you. All right, I see the finger stamp. I'm just here for it, because that's what we need to be hearing on our way to this long week end.

It's a lovely, like, melody, lovely vibe. The music video actually depicts, you know, like, I know this sounds bizarre, but, like, quite a positive version of the afterlife where we're seeing, like, kind of, like, people meeting their loved ones in the afterlife, and it's just quite a positive and upbeat video and an upbeat song. It just makes you feel good. I was getting ready to it today, and I just thought, yeah. This is going to be on my playlist all weekend. Why not?

I love that. Will and Joe Booth, all the way from the United Kingdom. Thank you. An absolute pleasure. And we hope you will come back soon. And thank you at home for watching Top Story. I'm Ellison Barber in New York for Tom Yamis. Stay right there. More News Now is on the way.