Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, February 28, 2025

Episode Date: March 1, 2025

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

Tonight, the stunning blow-up in the Oval Office, a meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, exploding into a fiery confrontation. President Trump and Vice President Vance berating the Ukrainian leader, accusing him of being disrespectful and gambling with World War III. Zelensky firing back, arguing about who started the war, the heated clash reverberating around the world. What does this mean for the path to peace? Our teams around the globe with the very latest, and will take you to Ukraine, what's the reaction inside that country. Also tonight, new scares for the Pope, the Vatican saying Pope Francis, had a sudden worsening of his condition.

Now on a breathing machine, we're at the Vatican with the latest. Cause of death, the new details coming in on the death of actor Gene Hackman and his wife. Police just announcing carbon monoxide poisoning is now ruled out how the actor's pacemaker data is being used to solve the mystery. Narcos coming to America, one of Mexico's most notorious cartel bosses, handed over over to American authorities, the charges he and dozens of others now face here on U.S. soil. And Sky High Rescue, the frightening moment window washers dangled off the side of a Manhattan high rise, how rescue teams brought them down to safety. Plus, the father and husband of a victim

in that deadly D.C. plane crash speaking out for the first time. His message to the country. Top story starts right now. And good evening. I'm Tom. Tonight, that contentious meeting between President Trump and Vladimir Zelenskyy unraveling in the Oval Office. We're tracking all the latest developments and reactions tonight, including what Zelensky's interview with Fox News just moments ago. Here's what he had to say when asked if he should apologize to President Trump. Now, I respect President and I respect American people. And if, I don't know, if, I think that we have to be very open and very open.

and I'm not sure that we did something bad. So tonight you may be asking yourself, how did this meeting go so wrong, so quickly? Here's a clip from the beginning of the conversation, which started off Cordial. Thank you very much. It's an honor to have President Zelensky of Ukraine, and we've been working very hard, very close.

So we've actually known each other for a long time. We've been dealing with each other for a long time and very well. well. But quickly turned heated when Vice President J.D. Vance began questioning Zelensky. We want to play for you much of the exchange so you can hear it yourself. Do you disagree that you've had problems bringing people into your military? And do you think that it's respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?

A lot of questions. Let's start from the beginning. Sure. First of all, during the war, everybody has problems. even you, but you have nice ocean and don't feel now, but you will feel it in the fusion. God bless. You don't know that. You don't know that. You don't know that.

Don't tell us what we're going to feel. We're trying to solve a problem. Don't tell us what we're going to feel. I'm not telling you. Because you're in no position to dictate that. That's exactly what you're not doing. You're in no position to dictate what we're going to feel. You're going to feel very good.

You will feel influence. We're going to feel very good and very strong. I'm telling you. You're right now not in a very good position. You've allowed yourself to be in a very bad position and he happens to be right about it. From the very beginning of the war, Mr. Brown, I was... I'm not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now.

With us, you start having cards. I'm not playing cards. I'm not playing cards. I'm very serious. I'm very serious. You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War III. You're gambling with World War III.

And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the world war. respectful to the country, this country, that's back to you. Far more than a lot of people said they should have. Have you said thank you once? There's a lot of times. No, in this entire meeting, have you said thank you? Even today. You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October.

Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who's trying to save your country. Please, you think that if you will speak very loudly about the war, the war. He's not speaking loudly. He's not speaking loudly. Your country is in big trouble. Can I answer?

No, no. You've done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble. I know. You're not winning this. You have a damn good chance of coming out okay because of us. Mr. President, we are staying in our country, staying strong from the very beginning of the war. We've been alone.

And we are thankful. I said thanks. You haven't been allowed. You haven't been allowed. You haven't been allowed. We gave you through this stupid president, $350 billion. You have been alone. We gave you military equipment, and you met a brave, but they had to use our military.

What about you asked? If you didn't have our military equipment, you invited me to speak. If you didn't have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks. In three days, I heard it from Putin. In three days. This is something new in two weeks. Of course, yes. It's going to be a very hard thing to do business like this, I tell you.

Just say thank you. I said it at all time sacred to American people. We accept that there are disagreements, and let's go litigate those disagreements rather than trying to fight it out in the American media when you're wrong. We know that you're wrong. But you see, I think it's good for the American people to see what's going on. I understand, I think it's very important. That's why I kept this going so long. You have to be thankful.

You don't have the cards. You're buried there. You're people are dying. You're running low on soldiers. Listen, you're running low on soldiers. It would be a damn good thing. Then you tell us, I don't want a ceasefire. I don't want a ceasefire.

I want to go, and I want to this. Look, if you could get a ceasefire right now, I tell you, you take it, so the bullets stop flying and you men stop getting killed. Of course, we want to stop the war. But you're saying you don't want a ceasefire. I want a ceasefire. Because you'll get a ceasefire faster than an agreement. Ask how are people about ceasefire, what they think.

It doesn't matter for you. That wasn't with me. That was with a guy named Biden, who was not as small. person. This is your... This is your president. Excuse me. That was with Obama who gave you sheets and I gave you javelins.

Yes. I gave you the javelins to take out all those tanks. Obama gave you sheets. In fact, the statement is Obama gave sheets and Trump gave javelins. You got to be more thankful because let me tell you, you don't have the cards. With us, you have the cards. But without us, you don't have any cards. After that meeting ended, there was supposed to have

It seems to be a lunch and a press conference, but White House officials say Trump decided Zelensky was not ready to discuss peace. Minutes later, Zelensky was seen leaving the White House, the intensity of the meeting felt by many in the room. The Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. seen here with her head in her hands. We're also getting reaction on the ground in Ukraine. The Washington Post interviewing a Ukrainian military officer who said, quote, we still have a lot of work to be done, better war than shameful peace. We're going to have much more of the reaction abroad, but first I want to get right to NBC senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez. Gabe, we know there was tension before the meeting between Trump and Zelensky. President Trump had called him a dictator before walking that back, and top Trump officials had clashed with him on the minerals deal.

What more do we know about the tone going into this meeting? Well, Tom, it was really remarkable going into this meeting. White House officials were hopeful. When Zelensky arrived this morning right here at the White House, there was a cordial handshake with President Trump, The president even joked about what Zelensky was wearing. And then inside the Oval Office, he said that he was honored to have Zelensky there. But as you just played, things devolved very quickly. And I asked White House officials whether, as one Democrat, Chris Murphy, suggested today that this was some sort of planned ambush.

White House officials insist that that was not the case. They were walking into there, they say, ready to sign this deal for those rare earth minerals. And they were just as surprised as anyone that things dissolved. devolved so quickly, Tom. And then, Gabe, you know, we are hearing from the White House after that interview Zelensky just gave. Is there any appetite to return to the negotiating table? At this point, Tom, no. We did hear from President Trump as he was departing the White House. He didn't seem very eager, at least in the short term, to speak with President Zelensky.

It's not clear if they'll speak again. Just moments ago, though, I did speak with a senior White House official who had watched Zelensky's Fox interview, and this person said, quote, he didn't learn a thing. At this point, it is really unclear about the future of U.S.-Ukraine relations after this unprecedented confrontation in the Oval Office time. All right, Gabe Gutierrez, we thank you for that. Moments ago, I spoke to Lisa Yasko, a member of the Parliament of Ukraine, about today's confrontation in the Oval Office. And I began her discussion by asking her what she thought and how she thought President Zelensky handled the exchange. I respect and I support the way how Zelensky spoke.

he spoke the voice of Ukrainian people and Ukrainian people were waiting for this meeting for a long time between the President Trump and President Zelensky to get the deal, the minerals deal done and also to hear about security guarantees and to know what is the plan regarding the security. And so far, we unfortunately didn't hear that. So for the President Zelensky, it is very hard to actually find

what would he deliver to Ukrainian people and he doesn't exactly know what is the position of American leadership at this point is and we are very concerned when the aggressor is not called an aggressor I think this is very important to call things with their real names

if we want to live in a real world not in illusions And what are the people in Ukraine saying tonight? What has the reaction been of your country, men and women? So people are not sleeping. All of them are watching, watching what President Trump says, what Gideven said, what others said, what Zylansky said. It looks like everyone is talking about American politics today. Because as I said, we really anticipated that it will be something very important.

And then finally, we will hear something about the security plan. and how we can be a part of negotiations and what is the plan. But we don't want to be treated as, as I said, emotional economic asset. The language is also very important. And for me personally, I can say that I don't like when someone tells that we're doing business with Ukraine. We're happy to talk about reconstruction. We do appreciate every support and investment

of every American taxpayer, but we do need to be very constructive. and we're open to that. And I really hope that it will happen sometime in the future because the time has arrived. Ms. Yasko, you have our president, who's now in a war of words with your president. Here in the U.S., President Trump is also pulling back foreign aid to places all around the world.

Are you worried this meeting and the desire to pull back on foreign aid could mean less resources are not going to go to Ukraine as you are still in the middle of war? Of course, it is going to be harder for Ukrainians, but I want to emphasize that we continue our fight because we believe this is something that is very important for the future of our generations, the freedom of our children and no war in the future. So we really hope that the leadership coming from other countries will be much stronger and that we will build the security alliances that will matter in the future. that will not be just on the paper. Mrs. Lisa Yasko, a member of parliament in Ukraine, we thank you so much for joining Top Story

tonight. Thank you. For more on the reactions to this explosive meeting, both around the world and here at home, I'm joined tonight by NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel and moderator of Meet the press, Kristen Welker. Richard, I'm going to start with you. You've just returned from the front lines of the war there in Ukraine. And I guess the biggest question tonight is for the people of Ukraine.

want to know. Does this mean this war is going to go on much longer? What they're mostly concerned about is did they just lose the support of the United States through President Trump? Was this meeting so catastrophic that there can be no recovery? There's been two reactions in Ukraine, as far as I can tell tonight. One are people who say, good on you, President Zelensky. You took a week of insults. You went there to sign this controversial mineral deal with many Ukrainians were worried about. They thought that he was being summoned to the White House to effectively sign away 50% of the country's natural resources, particularly rare earth minerals. They were uncomfortable about that. He went. And then when he went there asking for security guarantees, which is what people in Ukraine really want, he was humiliated, he was shut down, he was shouted over. So there is a group of people who say, good, you stood up for your principles, the same way you stood up for your principles. against Vladimir Putin three years ago. But there is another camp that is saying,

well, what are we going to do now? Europe is not in a position to provide the kind of security guarantees that Ukraine needs, at least in the short term. The US is really the only life raft that they have access to, and maybe that lifeboat is pulling away right now. And those people are wondering, did Zelensky misread the room?

Did he, should he have just stayed quiet? Does he now need to resign? And there's concern among a certain population of Ukrainians that this country is going to now find itself all alone. The reason I think he did act, and he gave some hints about that in an interview he gave just a short while ago to Fox News, is that all of the cumulative statements were demoralizing the Ukrainian people. And I saw that as well on the front lines. The soldiers were hearing President Trump's statements saying, oh, that Zelensky is a dictator, no elections, that Putin didn't start the war, that it was the Ukrainians, and they were starting to feel discouraged, that they were out there

fighting for no reason, and they're in the middle of a hot war. So Zelensky was trying to correct some of this narrative, but correcting Vance, correcting Trump in real time in English, which is not his native language backfired tremendously, potentially gave them an opportunity to go after them. What people are asking me in Europe is, was this some sort of ambush? Did they deliberately try and sandbag them? Or was this just a meeting that got out of hand? But the reaction generally, I can say over here, Tom, has been, oh my gosh, what is President Trump willing to do to his allies when they come in a time of need? And you know, we should point out, as we did at the top of this that, you know, the meeting actually started out pretty cordial, and then it took that turn.

Chris, I do want to ask you, for the first time for many people, we're seeing what happened sometimes behind closed doors when countries negotiate, right? Diplomacy can get ugly. I guess my question to you initially was going to be, what does this mean politically for our president, but he doesn't have to run again? And do you think for a segment of the population, this might have been actually a good thing for President Trump? Well, in the eyes of some, it will undoubtedly emboldened President Trump. We're hearing from some of his allies on Capitol Hill, for example, Senator Mike Lee saying, thank you for standing up for our country and putting America first, President Trump and Vice President Vance.

But he's getting criticized as well, no surprise from Democrats. Leader Chuck Schumer saying Trump and Vance are doing Putin's dirty work. But Republican Representative Don Bacon also critical saying it was a big. bad day for America's foreign policy. Ukraine wants independence, free markets, and rule of law. It wants to be part of the West. Russia hates us in our Western values. We should be clear that we stand for freedom. And I think, Tom, it's really an open question. Is the United States going to be more isolated from its traditional European allies? A number of them today coming out, making it very clear that they stand with Ukraine, that they stand for President Zelensky. Are there national security

concerns. All of that, I think, remains to be seen in the wake of this extraordinary, unprecedented event that we saw today evolve in the Oval Office. And it counters the president's argument that he could solve this war in just a matter of days. It's gotten much more complicated. Richard, I do want to ask you, just last night, we were reporting that North Korean troops, more troops are heading to Ukraine to fight against the Ukrainians on Russia's side. Do you think this emboldens Putin now to launch further attacks and maybe annexes even more territory in Ukraine? Absolutely. And if you saw the reaction that has come out of the Kremlin so far, the reaction has been ecstatic.

There was one in particular said, finally, that insolent pig has gotten a slap down in the Oval Office. That pig, according to the Russian official, is a lot of the law. So, and I'm sure over the next days, weeks, months, that 11-minute clip is going to be played time and time again on Russian television, because Russian television has been amplifying the message from MAGA supporters. And they would love to see this moment of division between President Trump and their arch enemy, President Zelensky. So the reaction in Europe is concern because they see President Trump appearing to side with Putin, saying that the war was not Putin's fault, and even taking that position to the UN, and now giving the Russians an enormous amount of fodder to chew on. And that gives them confidence.

Yes, having more troops come available online from North Korea gives Russian advantage. Chris, and I do want to ask you, it also seems the vice president saw a moment here, right? Vice President Vance, because the optics with the Secretary of State Marco Rubio were vastly different. It almost seems, and some have pointed this out, that the vice president sort of almost started this fight, picked this fight, or at least was defending the administration, depending on how you want to look at this. But it clearly was a moment for Vice President Vance. There's no doubt about that. And, of course, there's a lot of speculation.

Is he the heir apparent to president? Trump, the MAGA-era parent, was he trying to take hold of that mantle? He saw an opening and took it. And of course, there are a lot of questions. Was this, in fact, orchestrated beforehand? I've been speaking to administration officials who deny that, who say it was not, but there's no doubt that the vice president was center stage here today. And I do think it goes back to, more broadly speaking time, what you just raised, which is that this is a campaign promise by President Trump. He said he could end this war in 24 hours. By the time he was inauguration. By the time he was inauguration. Those things did not happen.

Next week he'll be delivering his joint address on Tuesday. He undoubtedly wanted to be able to tout some progress toward a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine. He now won't be able to tout that when he delivers that joint address. So the optics, the politics, incredibly fraught as we continue to track the fallout from that blowup in the Oval Office, Oval Office, which I have to say I've covered the White House since the first Obama administration, Tom. I have never seen anything like it in public view.

Kristen Welker, Richard Engel, we thank you for joining Top Story tonight. Of course, we want to remind you at home. Don't miss meet the press on Sunday. Kristen will have interviews with Senator Bernie Sanders, Speaker Mike Johnson, and Senator James Langford. We all look forward to that. And for more on the fallout of that fiery Oval Office meeting, I want to bring in Hogan Gidley, former White House, Trump White, Deputy Press Secretary, and Simone Sanders. and former senior advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris and an MSNBC anchor. Guys, we thank you both for being here on a Friday night. Hogan, I'm going to start with you. You know why Trump does what he does. What do you think set him off today and led to what we saw in the Oval Office?

I think it was clear the level of arrogance, the lack of self-awareness, the ungratefulness from Vladimir Zelensky was a real problem. People talked about his body language, the eye rolling, the shrugging of the shoulders. This guy was given a gift on a silver platter, which was economic stability, safety measures included inherently with that because if you have American businesses investing in Ukraine, you're going to have a level of security from the United States of America, and he completely botched it. He was given this. He could have taken this back to his people and shown an investment that would have changed their lives in that country for generations to come because of the agreement to drill for these minerals and other rare substances in Ukraine. This would have been revolutionary and historic. And instead of taking him up on that deal, after remind you that

Zelensky traveled on a C-17 military airplane paid for by the taxpayers to, to campaign for Kamala Harris, Trump said, you know what, I'm going to be benevolent here, we need to get this deal done because I want to end of the bloodshed, and Zelensi couldn't do it. It was astounding to watch. Simone, do you think that the vice president, J.D. Vance, knew it was going to go this way and had this in his mind? I don't want to call it a setup, but was ready for something like this to happen? I honestly don't think it was a setup. I think that if you go back to the Munich Security Conference And coming out of the meetings that President Zelensky had with Trump administration officials,

including the vice president, there was some consternation. Clearly, they're coming out of that. Vice President Vance said he did not appreciate President Zelensky's characterization of that meeting. And then the rhetoric has then snowballed from there. President Zelensky criticized President Trump and just administration more broadly, a little more forcefully, since that meeting. and Vice President Vance said that he should not be doing that. So there was this tip for tack going back and forth.

Honestly, if you look at the whole meeting and you said this earlier time, I mean, this was really the last 10 minutes where it devolved. And I think the devolution came when President Trump was answering a question. He spoke and answered it. President Zelensky didn't say anything. He did have body language, but he didn't respond. And then Vice President Vance jumped in and said, let me add one thing on top of that. And you saw President Zelensky's body language change.

And then he said, J.D., can I have? ask you a question, and that is where it devolved from there. Those two clearly not getting along. Yeah. Very much so not getting along. But, you know, at the end of the day, President Zelensky was there to try to further these relationships with the United States, because, as he said on his Fox News interview, they cannot survive this war without the U.S., and he understands that.

So, Hogan, I want to ask you, you've probably witnessed President Trump screaming at people in that manner when he does get upset. Can the president forgive? Is this relationship gone? Can it be fixed? No, absolutely not. It can be repaired. And I heard Kristen before say that now President Trump won't have something to tout in this vein for the State of the Union next week. Who knows? This could change over the weekend. We could have a deal done because this thing was written, set up, ready to go. So you can never say never with Donald Trump. Who knows where it goes from here? But it was very clear after this meeting that the advisors around him, the stories are now leaking out, that they said this is fruitless to this point. He doesn't need to be here. And he got kicked out of the Oval Office. I should remind you, though, remember, Joe Biden had a tit for tat with Zelensky as well months ago in which Zelensky was, didn't even thank Joe Biden for the billions of dollars and instead wanted more money. And that made Joe Biden angry too. So he has a history of doing this type of thing. So regardless of that, Trump wants to end the war. between Russia and Ukraine that should have never started in the first place, even though Biden

asked for the incursion or permitted the incursion, I should say. And he wants to get lasting peace in the region. He wants to make economic deals that benefit the American people and help stabilize the region as well and make us less reliant on China. This did all of those things. I can't understand why Zelensky came in there with that attitude. Simone, you know, we are going to hear from the president on Tuesday when he addresses both chambers of Congress and the American people. He can tell us. progress in Israel. Back here at home, it's a tougher argument, right? Egg prices are high, inflation is still stubborn. Yes, he's been here two months. But now with Ukraine, this is clearly

a setback. What do you think, or how do you think, he sort of spins what's happened over the last two months to the American people? I think we're going to hear what we've heard from the president before, that we're touting peace through strength, that we're standing up to anyone, including our allies, which is not something I think I would have heard. an American president say before. Look, the president of A. Mary Well put in his State of the Union address this thing about the minerals and Ukraine. When you do a State of the Union, obviously, there are many different sections. And a State of the Union or an address of Congress, Americans want to hear about America. So the foreign policy sections are usually smaller,

but these foreign policy issues are really dominating all of the conversation, even in folks' dinner tables right now. But I will just note this. The Minerals deal has nothing to do with peace. The minerals deal is a deal that basically an MOU that Ukraine would sign that would allow American companies to mine these minerals. Minerals by which, if you even talk to senators, will tell you that the majority of those minerals are situated in areas that Putin currently controls in Ukraine. So this has nothing to do with peace. This has everything to do with Donald Trump making someone that needs something from him, from our country, our ally, give him something. in order to go back and say, okay, now maybe I can do something for you. Maybe that works when you're doing real estate deals.

But that is not American diplomacy. And I really think it's important that we separate a minerals deal for some companies from a peace agreement that the president says he wants, but he seems more excited about the minerals deal than peace because he just berated our ally in the Oval Office. Hogan, before we go, you got 30 seconds here. What does the president tout in that speech on Tuesday? Oh, I think he's going to talk about all the things he's done to secure the southern border. and prevent, you know, illegal aliens from coming in and draining our resources and committing

crimes. I think he's going to talk about his economic vision for how he's going to get inflation under control and bring down the cost of gas and groceries, for example. I think he's going to talk about the foreign policy that he wants to implement, too, that brought us safety and security around the world the first time around. But understand, Trump has a record as president of the United States, so he had those types of successes. And even this early on in his administration, He has a lot of things to point to that have gone to make people's lives better, regardless of your race, religion, color, or creed. And so as he moves forward, he's going to have a shorter time with which to accomplish those things because, as you know, the midterms will be coming around the quarter soon, and Congress will be focused on that. But Donald Trump is going to give a good one, I'm sure, on Tuesday night.

And it's clear the honeymoon period is definitely over. Hogan, Simone, probably going to talk to you next week. Thank you so much for being here tonight. Still ahead, new details on the investigation into actor Gene Hackman's death. How his pacemaker might help police piece things together. Plus, Pope France is taking a turn for the worst. We're going to take you to the Vatican for more reporting. And heart-stopping moments high above Manhattan.

Look at this. Window washers in there, dangling 78 stories up, how they were rescued. Stay with us. We were back now with new details just in about the death of Gene Hackman and his wife. Investigators give you. an update late today. They now say Hackman's pacemaker is a key clue as they rule out one major theory in the case. NBC's Liz Croix reports tonight from Santa Fe. Tonight new clues into the mysterious deaths of actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Araikawa,

and their dog. The sheriff revealing that Hackman had likely been dead for at least 10 days before a maintenance worker found the couple Wednesday afternoon in their Santa Fe home, pointing to data from his pacemaker. An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr. Hackman's This revealed that his last event was recorded on February 17, 2025. That is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life. The sheriff also saying that an initial autopsy revealed no signs of carbon monoxide poisoning in either body, and that investigators have removed several items from their home, including heart and thyroid medications, Tylenol, medical records, two cell phones, and a calendar.

We're doing a timeline from the time of death and the autopsy and the the results and we're going to start working our way backwards. According to the search warrant, 95-year-old Hackman and his 65-year-old wife were found in separate rooms. Arrakawa found in the bathroom with prescription pills scattered on the counter, her body showing signs of mummification. Based on what you know about the conditions of both the bodies, who do you believe died first? That's a very hard thing to determine because that's a question that we want answered. With so much still unknown, tonight more tributes to the two-time Oscar winner pouring in, Dustin Hoffman calling him a giant among actors.

I'm going to hurt you. Unforgiven co-star Morgan Freeman, writing that working with him is one of the personal highlights of my career. After retiring, Hackman and his wife have lived a quiet life in Santa Fe, a place he reportedly grew to love while filming Westerns there earlier in his career. We are heartbroken over this. It's an end of an error of this generation of actors, and that's heartbreaking as well. Liz joins us tonight from Santa Fe, Liz, the initial autopsy finding.

have been released. What other details are we learning tonight? Yeah, Tom, well, in addition to us learning that they've ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning. They've also said that the initial autopsy showed no indication of trauma to the bodies, just adding to the mystery about what happened here. We do know that additional testing is being done, a toxicology report, but that likely won't be released for several weeks. And so tonight, there's still many more questions and answers. Authorities here are saying that there's a lot of things they don't know. They wouldn't say or don't know exactly how the dog died, although they're Maybe he died of starvation locked in a kennel. We don't know, though. They're hoping that cell phone data that they can analyze from the cell phones they took from the home might be able to help them piece together the timeline, figure out who may have, they may have lost had contact with, who may have died first. But they say that there's no surveillance video that they know of, and the couple was very private, making this entire investigation even more challenging, Tom.

Liz Krois, we thank you. Next night to what the Vatican is calling a sudden worsening in the condition of Pope Francis. The 88-year-old put on a non-invasive respirator as he remains hospitalized with double pneumonia. For the latest on how the Pope is doing tonight, NBC's Ann Thompson joins us tonight from the Vatican, where she's been reporting for us all week. And, you know, we had just been talking about the Pope taking a turn for the better. Now this news, what can you tell our viewers? Mm-hmm.

Yeah, this is a setback, undoubtedly. and it was a tough day for Pope Francis. He had what the Vatican is calling an isolated crisis of bronchospasm, what's akin to an asthma attack or coughing fit. And that made Pope Francis vomit, and some of that went down his airways. So doctors had to go in and remove that. And then they put him on that non-invasive breathing machine. Now, he is not on a ventilator.

He has not been intubated. But doctors in the states were not working on. on Pope Francis case, they described that non-invasive breathing machine to me as something like a CPAP machine, where you would have a mask that covers the patient's nose and mouth, it creates a seal, and then the machine pumps oxygen in a pressure to go directly into the nose and mouth, and that helps the patient breathe. Vatican officials say Pope Francis responded well to that treatment, that he was alert and oriented throughout the day.

But the next 24 to 48 hours will be crucial as doctors assess his condition. Tom? Ann Thompson, they're in the Vatican for us. And we thank you for that. When we come back, the man the White House called the most evil cartel leader in the world now facing charges in the U.S.

Why Mexico handed him over and dozens of others to the U.S. We're going to explain that. Plus, it was once the tallest, fastest roller coaster in the world. So today, they blew it up on purpose. Why? We'll explain. That's next. We are back now with Top Stories News Feed, a jury finding an Illinois man, Illinois man, guilty in the deadly stabbing of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy.

73-year-old Joseph Shuba convicted of murder and hate crime charges in the 2023 death of Wadi al-Fa-Umi. Prosecutors saying the attack on the boy and his mother, who lived on Shuba's property was fueled by anti-Muslim hate. Deliberations took just over an hour. He now faces life in prison. Two window washers left dangling high above New York City this morning after the rig broke off. Video showing the scaffolding, twisting and turning 70 floors above Manhattan.

78 floors, I should say. Authorities say the crew's platform started to swing out of control thanks to the wind, smashing into the windows. Rescue teams were able to pull the pair to safety. They were taken to the hospital and are expected to be okay. A roller coaster once called the fastest and tallest in the world, now just pieces. King de Kha collapsing in a planned implosion today at Six Flags, New Jersey theme park. It opened in 2005, launching passengers to more than 120 miles an hour and 450 feet in the air, but it wasn't without

mechanical issues over the years. The removal is making room to the construction of a new coaster. Okay, now to the government, the Mexican government's massive extradition of 29 cartel members to the U.S. Among them, one of the most notorious. cartel bosses, accused of the brutal murder of a DEA agent back in the 80s. The move comes just days before the Trump administration plans to impose a 25% tariff on all American, on all Mexican imports. NBC's Priya Shrether, covering it all. One of Mexico's most notorious former cartel bosses, Rafael Caro Cantiero, co-founder of the Guadalajara cartel, finally in front of a U.S. court today to face drug trafficking and murder

charges. As alleged, these terrorists fed off the horror and fear of their rivals and the public alike. It's just the latest development in Mexican authorities' surprise handover of 29 high-profile cartel figures to the U.S. this week, including security chiefs and finance operatives, as the Trump administration's threat of 25 percent tariffs loom heavy over America's southern neighbor. Mexican officials saying the extradition effort was massive. Elaborating that it included a total of 3,512 elements, 342 vehicles, and 20 aircraft, while sending prisoners to eight major cities scattered across the U.S. But Cantero's arrival alone, who the White House is called the most evil cartel leader in the world, a major victory for American authorities. There may be no more dangerous job than the world these days than being an undercover.

agent for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Tonight, one of those undercover agents is missing. Apparently the victim of drug vengeance. Kintiro's brutal torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique Kiki Kamerana back in 1985, launching an international firestorm. The American drug agent was kidnapped last Thursday in broad daylight on the streets of Guadalajara. Most recently, becoming the focus of Amazon documentary, The Last NAR.

I've had this little thorn in my heart, knowing the truth about what really happened in Kiki. And even providing the basis for season one of Netflix's Norco's Mexico. Agent Camarena, welcome to Guadalajara. You're the best agent we have. Mexican authorities eventually putting Kintiero behind bars. But American leaders had wanted to extradite him for years to hold him accountable for his crimes on U.S. soil. The world-one transfer of him into U.S. custody this week

now means he'll face trial here in the United States. Kintiero pleading not guilty in court today, those charges carrying potential sentences of life in prison or even the death penalty. Priya Shrether, NBC News. All right, we thank Priya for that. When we come back, a tribute plan for the lives lost in the plane crash over the Potomac.

So many of the passengers on board were so young, and young figure skaters. Our Emily Aketa spoke to one father who lost his son and his wife, how he's remembering them both tonight, as some of the biggest figure skaters in the world. Prepare to pay tribute. We'll tell you how. We're back now with an update on that tragic mid-air crash over Washington, D.C.

67 people killed so many of them, young rising stars in the figure skating community. This weekend, some of the biggest names in the sport will come together to honor the lives lost. Emily Aketa sat down with one man who lost both his son and his wife to talk about what that moment will mean. This is one of Doug Lane's favorite family photos. That's real life to me. I mean, because I think anyone who's a parent knows it's not picture perfect every day. It's always a little bit chaotic. That chaos now a treasured memory after losing his wife, Christine, an older adopted son, Spencer, in the plane crash over the Potomac a month ago.

The plane suddenly collided with a black hawk over the Potomac River. I just happened to pull up a news webpage and I saw at the top there was just a one line little news alert that said, you know, that a plane had a small plane had crashed in the Potomac. I just kind of immediately knew that something was wrong and, you know, my heart just literally was pounding out of my chest. Christine and Spencer were returning from a prestigious training camp and among the nearly 30 people connected to the ice skating community on the flight. Many of the victims, young skaters with Olympic dreams. I think more than anything, I think what makes me a little emotional is the thinking about all the friends back at the rink. Because I think while this is painful, obviously for me and my family, it's painful for all of them as well. And so thinking about them, it is tough.

On Sunday, that tight-knit community will come together in Washington, D.C. to honor the lives lost in legacy on ice featuring more than two dozen skating superstars including scott hamilton ilia malanin and nathan chen who inspired spencer to start skating to see that list of skaters participating what does it mean to you it means a lot seeing them all performing and and honoring him is really going to be special for me and my family and i'm sure a lot of other people that are that are feeling this uh this event in providence rhode island we walked through a memorial remembering the lane This is the Spencer way to ride a bike. It's got to, you know, it looks dangerous, but I'll be fine.

Spencer's fearlessness showed from a young age, balancing on his bike seat. And Christine's vibrant personality was reflected in her creative projects. I feel like creative is an understatement for her. Yes, she kind of went through, you know, I've been talking about it kind of like it's the creative eras tour where she just had these different phases through her life. photography needlepoint quilting this is let's see and vlogging along the way guess what friends it's back to school time she really felt this drive to share what she was doing and you know encourage others to try new things same for spencer who documented his meteoric rise in figure skating on social media these are his medals he won almost all of them in just the last year on the

day of the crash he posted these photos from national development camp writing it has been my goal almost ever since i became aware that it was a thing i learned so much i met so many amazing people are you able to find any solace in the fact that spencer's last week was doing what he loved yes 100 percent he was with some of his best friends in the world he was with his coaches all three of them he was with his mom and uh doing yeah just absolutely in his element doing what he loved. Legacy on ICE is raising money to support the victims' families, along with the first responders and aviation professionals who responded to the tragedy.

You can catch that tribute on Peacock this Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern. And we will be right back. Welcome back. It is Friday, which means it is time for bingeworthy. Our look at the best things to watch and listen to this weekend. And this week, we are so lucky because Chris Witherspoon is in the house. NBC News Entertainment Contributor. And I want to say entrepreneur, too. I mean, there's so much more going on here.

He does a lot. He does a lot of things. Fashion icon. Something like that. Look at that. Trying to keep up the studio. Look at this suit. It's amazing. Chris, thanks for being here. Thanks for having me. Okay, we're going to start off with Running Point,

which is on Netflix. Kate Hudson, that's pretty much all you have to say for a lot of fans out there. Has she done anything recently? Not really, right? I'm in a scripted TV series in a very long time. Okay, so that's a good setup. Let's watch.

I'm making you the president of the waves when I was a little girl daddy never believed in me and I started to doubt myself I need you to stop because I don't care about any of that you are the president of the waves this shocking but on behalf of all women don't ever make a mistake it looks bad for all of us

all right Chris a lot of star power in here Justin Thoreau so pick it up from there yes it's so much great star power Kate Hudson plays this woman who inherits the basketball team basically She has to become the head of this NBA team called The Waves, and she's a party girl. So she has a lot to prove. She's trying to turn a new leaf, but she has a great cast in here. Brenda Song, who had a Sweet Life of Zach and Cody show she was on for a while, Jay Ellis, Justin Thoreau. But to me, the big breakout star is Chet Hanks.

He is tattered up. If you guys see it, you won't even know it's Tom Hanks' son. This is the Tom Hanks. This is the Hanks' Son. That sometimes makes headlines, right? 100%. To me, to me, is the breakout star. It's a great comedy.

I think folks will like this one. And the basketball, all that is very believable. It's very believable. I think the NBA feel is all there. You feel like you're at a game most days. Okay. Spoon, we're going to take a turn and kind of a turn down, I don't know, the Old Testament lane, right? And this is very unbingeworthy, like. But our producers are telling us this show is good. I heard you've been binging it too. Yes, yes, yes, okay, completely different from everything we've ever done. House of David. It's about the life of the biblical figure. David, and that's right, what happens with Goliath. Let's take a look. Can one act of defiance create the legend? I will tell you the story of David.

A simple shepherd boy. Why do my brothers get to fight? And I'm stuck here. David, you are not a man of blood. An outcast, who became one of the most famous kings who ever lived. Okay, I'm going to be honest here. I do love biblical stories

when they're done well. Yes, right? And there's some classics that are out there that are amazing. How is this one? This one feels like a big budget kind of sweeping biblical saga. Think about like how Amazon Prime does like Lord of the Rings, those big budget films. This is kind of that kind of vibe. So they spent a lot of money on this? A lot of money. And it's the story

of David, how he went from a shepherd boy to actually slaying Goliath, this really tall giant, a metaphor for life in many ways. Whoa. There's a huge, come on. There's a huge faith-based audience that also loves to watch this kind of content. They show up in droves, and I think Prime Video is very on that. Yeah, it's a total smart play, too. Goliath looks massive in this.

Oh, yeah. It's smart for the marketing. Yeah, he's a 6-8-M-MA fighter named Martin Ford, but he's 10-8. They make him 10 feet in the show. It is ridiculous how tall looks. But he's not really 10 feet. No, he's 6-8. I'm joking.

Chris, and you've been watching this, you said it's good. It's actually really good. It's done well. Next up, we're going to talk about some documentaries that are out there, and this one is about Matthew Perry. I was reading his book when it came out, his autobiography, and it was so powerful. And, of course, unfortunately, he passed on.

But so many people are so interested in how this happened and his story, let's take a look at that. I genuinely don't think a lot of people realize what fame really is. All of your worst instincts are going to be catered to. His life was overtaken by addictions. Hollywood is full of enablers. They'd really preyed on somebody. vulnerable.

Breaking news. He drowned in his jacuzzi. So, Chris, this follows what happened to him, his death, and I guess the big question of why. So he passed away in 2023, but a year later, the prosecutors revealed that there's like these people that were around him that basically were forcing ketamine on him or going and getting ketamine. So two medical doctors, a living personal assistant to this woman, a Hollywood drug dealer called

the ketamine queen. So this is really about the ketamine queen and how these people basically brought the drugs to Matthew Perry and maybe we're responsible for his death, two of the folks will go on trial later on this year. But it's a one-hour documentary on Peacock. So many unanswered questions trying to get answered here. Yeah, definitely going to watch that one. Sticking with the documentaries in the docu-series, we want to talk about Gabby Petito, which we covered a lot here on Top Story. It unfortunately was a crime that captured the nation. So sad. But in part, it also captured sort of this new trend that's been happening in American culture, the van life, and also social

media was all part of what happened here. Let's watch a clip from that. The happiest people on social media usually have the darkest skeletons in their closet. I'd like to report a domestic dispute. Gentleman was slapping the girl. Can you say that the white van? It's like something like hitting you in the face. The Gabby Petito has not been heard from for weeks. We had officers go to the laundry family home. We don't know, I understand. So this is part of the Netflix series, American Murder. Tell us more. What more can viewers expect? Yeah. So you want to see all these like never before seen videos that they captured in this van life, the four months trip that they were on, but also text messages between her and Brian Laundry,

who we now know is convicted of murder from murdering her. But Brian's family has really spoken out and said this is very one-sided. It's more Gabby's family, a part of documentary. It's a three-part docu-suaries. But it's chilling. It's gripping. And it does also kind of peel back a layer around what really happened. I heard it's also leading to some conspiracy theories as well. And I guess my question for you, Chris, is if you followed the story a lot, will you learn new things? I think from the family, hearing from the parents, you know, the interviews that they gave are very short. This is like more vulnerable and raw, and the last things they heard from Gabby. I see it all over Netflix.

It seems like it's almost on every shelf. This genre is trending heavily over there. We're going to take another turn now. That's a very serious story. We're going to turn to some music. Lizzo, who we all love, who's always a lot of fun. He's got a new song out. It's a little different.

I'm going to put a thought in your head. The beat sounds like the strokes last night, if you know the strokes at all. But listen to this because it sounds a little different. Yeah, let's play it. Okay, so what's the verdict here? So I think it's a vibe. She's lost a ton of weight.

She's been on this weight loss on her, about 70 pounds. And went through a lot the past two years with, like, a lawsuit. But now she's coming back. Yes, this is her first single from her new album called Love in Real Life. I'm kind of good for it. All right, all right. You're going to be listening to it. We thank you, Chris, for always being here.

Please come back. We love when you're here. I'll bring a new suit. If you can, man. I got to go shopping with you. Aspoon, thank you so much. We thank you for watching Top Story Tonight. I'm Tom Yomis, New York.

Have a great weekend. Stay right there. More news on the way. Thank you.