Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, January 17, 2025

Episode Date: January 18, 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, Trump's inauguration Audible, the president-elect deciding to move the ceremony indoors due to the extreme cold. The decision setting off a scramble in Washington. Organizers racing against the clock with just 72 hours to get the rotunda now completely set up. The thousands of spectators forced to watch the ceremony elsewhere are exclusive access to the security communication center as the Secret Service prepares for this massive change. Also tonight, TikTok in limbo. The Supreme Court dealing a major blow to the popular app, upholding a law requiring its Chinese-based owner to sell or be banned. But the Biden administration says they won't implement it. So what will happen to the 170 million Americans on the app when this ban goes into effect on Sunday? We'll explain.

Dodging SpaceX debris, commercial flights forced to reroute after a SpaceX rocket. rocket explodes mid-air. The fallout tonight over the scare in the sky. Are you getting a check? The IRS is sending out $1,400 payments to 1 million taxpayers. The reason why and who's eligible for that money. Terrifying moments in New York City, a bus crashing into a barrier left dangling over a highway, massive piles of debris plunging onto that roadway, the incredible close call for those on board. And could this be Bad Bunny's greatest album yet? The Internet, going crazy over Devi Tired Mas Photos as the rap artist puts his own twist on traditional Latin music, the incredible raw reaction from people of all ages, as his tracks bring the spirit of

Puerto Rico to life. Plus, this just in Israel's security cabinet approving the ceasefire deal with Hamas, when hostages will begin to be released, will tell you. Top story starts right now. Good evening tonight. A massive change for President-elect Trump's inauguration ceremony. Dangerously cold temperatures forcing the proceedings to move indoors. For the first time in four decades, the president will be sworn in inside the rotunda. The last time it was held there was in 1985 when Ronald Reagan was being inaugurated for the second time. The high temperature was seven degrees outside that day, and the wind chill put it in the negatives. If Trump's inauguration had been held outside, the high would be a...

Around 20 degrees this weekend, the president-elect saying that would have put too many people at risk. But you might remember, President Obama's first inauguration in 2009 was freezing cold. People outside with the high just 30 degrees, even colder with the wind chill. Right now, organizers are racing against the clock to get the rotunda set up in time. There will be limited space inside, and that means thousands hoping to get a glimpse of the president-elect from the national mall won't be able to do so. I mean, we came all the way to worse than from Oklahoma, and now we're not going to get to see it. We might as well stay at home and watch it on TV. The Capitol One Arena, which is just a mile away from Capitol Hill, opening up 20,000 seats for those who want to watch part of the ceremony.

Trump's saying he will join that crowd just after. Despite being moved inside the inauguration, despite moving inside, the inauguration is still a massive security feat. After two assassination attempts on President-elect Trump, the secret service. remains on high alert. NBC senior White House correspondent, Kelly O'Donnell, starts us off tonight here on Top Story. Tonight, frigid weather becomes the first clear threat to safety for Monday's inauguration. President elect Trump on social media. I don't want to see people hurt or injured, as he announced, I have ordered the inauguration address, prayers, and other speeches to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda. Noting the same move inside happened for Ronald

Reagan. So help me die. Mr. Trump said the ceremony could be watched inside Washington's 20,000-seat Capitol One arena. Contingency planning prepared for changes, including weather. The threat environment obviously changes as we move along. So we look at all of those different areas and we plan from the ground up. The U.S. Secret Service is leading this national special security event involving more than 25,000

responders. A secure perimeter includes a record 30 miles of anti-scale fencing. Drones deliver expansive visibility from above. Police robots ready to check packages and places for dangerous materials. Washington's special agent in charge, Matt McCool. There's no stone unturned. There is no threat that is not mitigated. What happened? Shaped by real-world crises, like the summer assassination attempt.

You'll see people on roofs. You'll see lots of officers and agents on roofs. And the deadly New Year's car attack in New Orleans. It starts with no vehicles. Then it starts with checkpoints. And then it gets a little bit tighter as we get closer. Here, NBC News has exclusive access to this multi-agency communication center, where teams of experts from across government, 40 agencies, track and triage any issues. With all levels of law enforcement out on patrol. curing the city also means guarding the water. Local authorities out on the Potomac to detect

anyone using the river to get close to official events. Also at the ready air support, Fairfax County is able to keep watch and fly in, life-saving medical services if needed. We have to get it right. It's a no-fail operation, and I believe we're as well prepared as we ever have been. Tested by brutal cold and varied threats to safeguard Washington's biggest stage. All right, Kelly O'Donnell joins us live now. Kelly, great access there with the Secret Service. But as I was watching your report, I'm thinking all the plans are now going to have to change. Take us inside Washington and inside some of those rooms. What are the biggest concerns now that President Trump, President-elect Trump, has called this Audible?

Well, part of what they have done is built into their planning contingencies for a lot of things, including weather. So some of the ways they're responding were built into a plan they never thought would see. the light of day. But, to be honest, lots of expensive opportunities to carry out this ceremony in a way that it would be witnessed by the public are clearly changing. That is disappointing, and it is also causing a lot of extra work over these next 48 hours to move things that were sort of in the plan C, D, or F, or right up to plan A now as they try to get ready for Monday. Yeah, you really feel for those visitors from Oklahoma that were so excited, and now they're not what they're going to do. So that leads me to my next question, right? There's going to be

this rally or the parade, whatever you want to call it, at the Capitol One arena. This takes weeks and weeks, if not months of planning usually. How are they going to scramble the next few days to figure out tickets, to figure out security? Again, we don't have to remind our viewers the president-elect there were two assassination attempts on his life. Well, they are using that arena for another event, and so there's already been some advanced work done on the planning. But you raise the issue of tickets. The capacity is a fraction of the notable guests that were expected. And so that will make some very hard choices.

And certainly, it is disappointing, not only for the public that wants to come, the people who've worked on it, the expense, the people who raised the money, and certainly the President elect who would have liked to have had the traditional ceremony. So they're trying to make something work that would allow people to experience it, and they have the systems in place. to try and make it happen fast. But there will be likely some rough edges that we'll all be watching over the next few days. All right, Kelly O'Donnell, we appreciate you leading us off tonight. For more on the bitter cold blast on inauguration day, NBC News meteorologist

Michelle Grossman joins us live tonight. So I guess, Michelle, the big question first, I mean, is it going to be really that cold? And does the president-elect have a point? He has a point, yeah. It is going to be that cold. And Tom, it's really not just the air temperatures. We're looking at winds gusting up to 25 miles per hour. And then it's going to feel like five. to 10 degrees. So standing outside for a long period of time gets to be a little bit dangerous. Keep in mind it's snowing on Sunday, right? So you're going to have snow covered grounds. People are going to be standing on that for a long period of time and that's going to make it feel even colder. So take a look at some of these temperatures. This is well below freezing and

it's an extended period of time. We're not seeing these temperatures increase throughout the day. 9 a.m. just 20 degrees. Yes, it'll be sunshine, but it's going to be windy. So we're going to feel anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees. What does that mean? You need to wear layers, light loose layers. stacked on top of each other, so it kind of traps that heat inside. You want to cover any exposed area because it's going to be very, very cold by 12 o'clock, just climbing two degrees at 22 and 21 by 3 p.m. So we're actually seeing a dip in those temperatures. And keep in mind, this is going to go down as one of the coldest inaugurations in history, 1985, 7 degrees for the second inauguration of Ronald Reagan was the coldest in history so far. Back to you. Okay, Michelle Grossman,

thanks for taking us back. They're appreciated. The inauguration shake up coming as another one of Trump's Cabinet picks faces her Senate confirmation hearing. Christine Nome, nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security, pressed on the new Trump administration's plans to handle the southern border. This, as the President-elect prepares a historic flurry of executive orders for his first stay back in office. Garrett Hake tonight with the latest from Capitol Hill. Tonight, a high-stakes confirmation hearing for one of the key officials President-elect

Trump will turn to on immigration. Border security must remain a top priority. Homeland Security pick, Christine Nome, promising to. to bring back the Trump-era remain-in-Mexico policy, which keeps migrants out of the U.S. while they make asylum claims. The president and I have talked extensively about this and will 100% partner with him to reinstate the remain-in-Mexico policy and make sure that it's in place.

And previewing Trump's controversial mass deportation plan. We would work every day to make sure people are safe and that those with criminal convictions are immediately removed. With Trump's second inauguration now just three days out, his day one priorities coming into focus. Trump looking to bypass Congress with dozens of executive orders expected on issues ranging from cutting climate regulations

to issuing tariffs on adversaries and allies. Trump telling senators last week the border tops his agenda for his first few hours back in the Oval Office. He's going to do everything you can to get the border secure. Some prominent Democrats have said they'll skip Trump swearing in,

including Nancy Pelosi and Michelle Obama. But President Biden will be there and was asked today if he plans to talk to Trump. No, it's coming up real quick. I'll see with an inauguration. Garrett Hake joins us tonight. Gary, you mentioned there briefly in your piece the flurry of executive orders that Trump and his team are preparing. I know we can't look into the future, but what are we expecting? Well, we know the general issues that they want to hit, primarily immigration. That's going to be the biggest. It's the thing Donald Trump has promised most to deal with on the campaign trail. And there are some Biden-era policies that he can fairly quickly reverse with executive orders there.

Also, I expect to see some regulatory executive orders dealing with energy production. Beyond that, it's a little bit harder to say. There's not much he can do with paper. He needs Congress to send him money, and he needs them to install some of his people at the top of these agencies to really enact the kinds of major promises that he made as a candidate. And Garrett, also out there in political news, we now know Vivek Ramoswami will not be the next senator of Ohio, but he may want to be the next governor of Ohio? Yeah, that's right.

I mean, look, this is a young guy. He's somebody who's clearly got a lot of ambition politically. Now that there is an appointment for the Ohio Senate seat, the governor's mansion starts to look a little bit more appealing for Ramoswami. By the way, Tom, I think this also tells you something about Doge, that cost-cutting enterprise that Ramoswerex and Elon Musk are going to be in charge of. It suggests to me that the actual power of that organization is maybe less than advertised. If Ramoswami is also saying, well, I'm remaking the entire federal government approach to spending, I might be running a governor's campaign too. It's a good point. Okay, Garrett Hayfors, Garrett, we appreciate that. Now to the fate of TikTok in limbo again tonight.

After the Supreme Court ruled to uphold a ban on the widely popular app, the unanimous decision effectively leaving the future of TikTok and its 170 million American users in the hands of President-elect Trump, NBC Savannah Sellers explains. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court said the TikTok ban stands, rejecting the company's free speech argument. The court upholding the law passed in April that says the video sharing app had to divest from its Chinese-based parent company bite dance or effectively be shut down in the U.S. as of this coming Sunday. Always remember this moment when you think of the future, oh, is the government going to do the right thing? No, they're not.

Some TikTok users quick to make their feelings known. All nine Supreme Court justices, you guys are mean, boldies. But the Supreme Court said TikTok's very popularity is. is part of what makes it a threat to national security, noting a foreign adversary's ability to leverage its control over the platform to collect vast amounts of personal data from 170 million U.S. users. And while the court's ruling was clear, what actually happens next is anything but. Today, the Biden administration saying TikTok should remain available to Americans,

but simply under American ownership. With a sale by Sunday seemingly all but impossible, the administration says now it won't implement the very very. law President Biden himself signed. Rather, it will punt next steps to the Trump administration. That move giving TikTok hope. The company's CEO posted this message today. I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States. As president in his first term, Trump tried to ban TikTok but has signaled support for it more recently. Today, Trump says he spoke by phone with China's

President Xi about the app and posted to social media. that his decision on TikTok will be made in the not-too-distant future. Savannah Sellers joins us in studio. So, Savannah, I feel like we've been talking about this all week, but it's the big question. What's going to happen Sunday? Yeah, a direct quote from a source of mind inside TikTok. It is totally up in the air.

They are not exactly sure yet if the service providers, companies like Apple, Google, Oracle, the things that make TikTok work, if they are going to feel comfortable enough with continuing to provide those services, is it enough protection? what we've heard from the Biden administration, from the Department of Justice right now, for them to not be concerned about being hit with those big fines.

They are scrambling internal conversations right now, active conversations with those external companies to try to figure out what to do. Going dark would be a lost resort. And then the CEO of TikTok, we know, is going to be at the inauguration, whatever that looks like now on Monday. But that being said, does this sort of signal that President Trump is going to want to reverse the ban? Yeah, so we actually heard him say today he will make his decision on what he's going to with TikTok very soon, as you heard there. Also, what you saw in our piece is the CEO of TikTok already put out this video today totally praising President Trump. It was we are so happy to have

a president who understands the importance of free speech, even though keep in mind the fact that what the Supreme Court said was this is not a free speech concern. That's not what's at play here. That's exactly why they upheld the ban. They are certainly putting their eggs in the basket of a soon-to-be President Trump, who did also speak with the Chinese president today. We are not exactly sure what he will do, but his incoming national security advisor has signaled they have a plan to intervene, and he also has said straight

from his own mouth, I want to save TikTok. All right, Savannah Sellers, we thank you for that. We want to head overseas now to the Middle East. And breaking news moments ago, the Israeli government approving that ceasefire and hostage release deal after hours of deliberations. The vote was delayed for an unspecified last-minute

crisis, and far-right cabinet members threatened to quit over the agreement. Richard Engel has what happened. It has been more than 15 months of war, sorrow, and destruction. Gaza obliterated nearly 47,000 people dead. And Israel reeling, after a savage Hamas terrorist attack, killed 1,200 people, 250 taken hostage. Tonight, it may be ending, Israel's cabinet agreeing to the ceasefire and hostage to go into effect Sunday.

But it will be a slow process. Israel will end its assault on Gaza and release Palestinian prisoners. But a permanent ceasefire is still to be negotiated. And Hamas has agreed to release 33 of its hostages in the first phase. But only three are expected to be released Sunday, according to Israeli media. Daniel Lifshitz thinks he'll wait several weeks before he sees his 84-year-old grandfather Oded. father Oded. What's going through your mind?

First of all, I'm really happy. Of course, until it's done, I'm trying to stay calm until it's done because we are dealing with the worst people on planet Earth, the worst terrorist exists. We visited Odette's house just after October 7th. Here the whole roof collapsed. Hamas shot Odette, kidnapped him and his wife, and burn their house down. Tonight, Daniel telling us he's been desperately waiting for a deal. So why now, do you think?

Trump being elected. In Gaza, at a soup kitchen, eight-year-old Abu Zaidi is waiting too, here for hours with his pot to take home to his family. The crowds are so big, he says he often leaves empty-handed. When I heard there was a ceasefire, I was happy. Here, there's no food, he says. When the distribution begins, the chaos. is total and tragic.

Abud manages to get some rice and runs off. This is what Gaza has been reduced to after 15 months of war and siege. With a deal, fragile as it is, there's a chance for relief. As for the hostage release, families tell us they've been told to expect the first three will be women.

Tom? Richard Engel for us, Richard, thank you. Still ahead tonight, the scare in the sky. The SpaceX rocket explosion and putting other planes at risk. How other aircraft were forced to divert as debris rained down. Plus, the New York City bused losing control and left, look at this dangling over a highway.

The terrifying moments for that driver. And the Home Alone House officially off the market. How much the iconic property in the Christmas classic went for? Stay with us. All right, we're back now with the latest on the SpaceX rocket that blew up during a test flight yesterday. As the debris fell to Earth, a number of passenger and cargo flights in the Caribbean were forced to change course. The FAA now ordering SpaceX to pause operations as they investigate.

For more on all of this, I want to bring in Tom Costello, who's been following the situation closely. So, Tom, break down what happened last night and the impacts to air travel. Well, let's talk about the debris, as you can see, falling right here from the starship that fell out of the skies, and it fell over the Turks and the Caicos Islands, and some of it also over Haiti. While nobody was injured on the ground, there are reports of some property damage in the region. Nothing that's significant. But with falling debris, air traffic controllers had to quickly declare a large section of airspace off limits to planes. Hundreds of flights had to detour around this area or hold on the ground, and we had some that had been in the air for quite a while coming in from overseas, and they were short on fuel.

They were forced to declare a fuel emergency to fly through that airspace at their own risk. Listen to this Iberian pilot coming in from Madrid, Spain. He had 283 people on board. We declare emergency Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, May Day, May Day, Abragette 3-7-9. We request the policy of someone. Yeah, May-day, May-day, because the only way that they would be legally allowed to transit through airspace that have been declared off-limits is to declare an emergency and then go through a space. their own risk, which they did. All flights, by the way, landed safely. Now the FAA is requiring

SpaceX to conduct a mishap investigation before another launch attempt. But, you know, Tom, when you've got hundreds of flights that had to take evasive action or stay on the ground, think about how lucky we all are that none of that debris falling from the sky hit a plane or, of course, people on the ground. Yeah, and there was so much of it. How big of a setback is this for SpaceX? And do we have any sense of when operations could resume? I think it's still to be determined. And frankly, some of it's because we now have a new administration that's about to take over. And of course, Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, is very prominent in the Trump administration. Now, we did have, of course, a successful launch prior to this whole debacle with the starship portion, the spaceship

portion of it, coming apart at altitude. But we did see the booster rocket come back down, land successfully in the pincher mechanism, if you will. That went very well. The question's going to be why this redesigned starship apparently exploded up in space. That's going to be a part of the investigation. And listen, it may delay the next mission, which they wanted it to be in February, but that may be delayed now. Okay, Tom, we thank you for that report. That is some news in the media world, a Florida jury finding CNN liable for defamation for a 2021 report about Navy veteran Zachary Young and his work as a private security contractor in Afghanistan. The screenshot you see here is from a report which aired in November 2021 on the lead with

Jake Tapper about Young and other contractors who were helping people flee the country. Look at the text on the screen. It refers to, quote, black markets, which Young's lawyer argued falsely implied he engaged in illegal activity. Young sued CNN for this report, accusing the network of ruining his reputation and his business. The jury, order CNN to pay him $5 million for defamation as they prepared to deliberate on how much CNN would additionally pay him punitive damages. CNN settled that portion of the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum. In a statement, a spokesperson for CNN writing, quote, we remain proud of our journalists and our 100% committed to strong, fearless, and fair-minded reporting, though, we will, of course,

take what useful lessons we can from this case. For more on this, I want to bring in David Fulkenflik. He's a media correspondent for NPR News and a friend to Top Story. us through for our viewers at home that maybe aren't as versed on defamation or how these kind of reports are put together. Walk our viewers through what the jury found and what the ruling essentially says. Sure. So defamation is a case where you're saying something that is untrue or wrong, and you're also saying something that is going to be harmful to how the public will perceive that person. Now, Zachary Young is a former U.S. Navy veteran. He's a private security contractor, and this affected his business, his lawyers argued.

He's not a public official. He's not a celebrity. So the bar for him to exceed is not as high as it would be, at least on the first half of defamation and the first $5 million verdict that you just informed readers about. So they have to say, basically, does it seem reasonable to think that a reader or viewer would come away with this wrong inference that he had engaged in illegal activity?

The black market idea was really stressed throughout the trial by his attorney guy named Devin Friedman. And also, secondly, you know, does the implication of the larger story, does a reasonable reader or viewer of the versions, the stories that CNN put out there, think that this is a bad guy and has acted in ways that are wrong? And his lawyers, you know, successfully made that case. I want to show you some of the text messages into our viewers as well that were shown in court, right?

These were text messages between CNN staff about Zachary Young that say, quote, we're going to nail this Zachary Young, MFer. you know what that refers to, quote, what a punchable face, among others. We should mention that CNN producers and reporters did not deny these text messages, but denied the messages implied that the story was a, quote, hit piece. How do you think these messages were interpreted by a jury that does not work in a newsroom, right? That does not understand how people may talk about people, though I would argue if you're investigating someone, you don't want to be texting these kind of things either.

So, look, I was actually just talking about this this afternoon with my editor, because I think there are ways in which, you know, you have to unpack journalism the way it works, what it's like in the moment for a jury who may be unfamiliar with that, and a jury, in fact, in a deeply red part of the country, the Florida panhandle, may be unsympathetic to that. Not only were there the questions of the text that you just showed to viewers about the seemingly, you know, kind of enjoyment of it all. At one point, the guy says, I'm going to, the reporter said, I'm going to get it. Another editor says, I'm going to hold you to that cowboy. It seems like kind of this outlaw ethos, right? Actually, to my mind, more damaging in watching the trial day after day

were the texts in which editors internally expressed misgivings about the story, saying they didn't think it was fully there that they hadn't nailed down. You know, you talk about the concerns of Afghans that they're being charged exorbitant prices as they're seeking to get out of Afghanistan during the collapse of the American occupation there and the handover to the Taliban in August 2021 in the ensuing weeks and months. But Zachary Young was the only contractor named, so even though he was never directly accused of criminality,

even though he was never directly accused of wrongdoing precisely, viewers could reasonably come away concerned about that, and so were the editors concerned about that prior to even the written version of the story running on the website. It's a great point. said this is 80% emotion, 20% facts, and things like that, that was pretty damning. Yeah, no, incredibly damning. So, you know, the last time we talked to you was when ABC decided to settle with President Elect Trump and give him about $15 million and donate it to the museum

that they'll build for President Trump one day. There's this case now with CNN, and then there's a report in the Wall Street Journal on their website right now that just came out, that CBS has had discussions about settling with President Trump on a lawsuit he filed against 60 minutes. So my question is this, is there just mistakes being made in journalism or has the environment changed? You know, as we sometimes say to our kids, yes and, this is a circumstance in which I think all of the above apply, that journalists are fallible, that, you know, when these things go to court and they're able to gain evidence from inside the process, it can be messy. but also that these cases are far more frequent than they used to be. Litigation is both a legal strategy, at times a public relations strategy. It's also been on behalf of President-elect Trump, who sued ABC, as you mentioned,

and CBS, as you've mentioned, something of a political strategy. And one other common element, these major networks are owned by major media conglomerates and companies that have a lot of business currently and in the future in front of federal regulations. that are going to ultimately be answerable to President-elect Trump himself in just a few short days. And so you're seeing the impulse, I think, ABC and possibly at CBS as well, to resolve this to get on Trump's good side, to that there are no problems as he ascends to office. David Folken, a flick from NPR. We always appreciate talking to you. Have a great weekend. Coming up, are you getting money from the IRS? The checks in the mail for one million Americans

that are worth up to $1,400. We'll explain who qualifies. Okay, we're back now with Top Stories News Feed. A new Department of Justice Report found the Louisiana State Police have engaged in a pattern of excessive force for years. The report detailing the use of excessive force during arrests and vehicle pursuits, along with a, quote, particularly concerning use of stun guns. The investigation began after the 2019 deadly arrest of black-months. motorist Ronald Green, who was beaten and tasered by LSP troopers. A scary scene in New York City when a city bus crashed into an overpass. Look at this here.

New Citizen App video shows the front of the bus dangling over the stone wall with one of the tires also off the edge. Debris from the wall scattered across the roadway. The driver reportedly lost control after missing a turn. He was the only person on board at the time and was rescued without serious injury. No one else was heard. And the iconic home alone house is officially off. the market. The red brick Georgian-style house, you may remember it, of course, featured in the 90s

holiday classic, has sold for $5.5 million, $250,000 above its asking price. It's located about 20 miles north of Chicago. The property underwent a full renovation and expansion in 2018. It boasts five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a movie theater, and an indoor sports court. Just wait for the burglars. Look out for them. Now to Money Talks, what consumers and investors need to know from the business world and beyond. Tax season is here, and this year, one million people are going to be getting a boost. You may have heard about the IRS stimulus checks. These are $2.4 billion worth of automatic payments that are being sent out to eligible people

who didn't claim the recovery rebate credit on their 2021 tax returns and meet certain income requirements. To dive into the specifics of who is eligible and who's getting the money, who's getting the check. I'm joined now by CNBC Senior Personal Finance Correspondent, Sharon Epperson. She's also the author of CNBC's Money 101 Newsletter series. So, Sharon, people are watching. Tell us who's getting these checks? Well, first of all, this is not a fourth stimulus payment. This is not a new stimulus payment. This is money that is owed to you if on your 2021 tax return, you qualified for it, but you didn't get it. So this is money that is now due to you. And the people that qualify for it, it depends on your income, and the payments can vary.

You can get up to $1,400 as an individual as long as you have adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less, and then it starts to phase out to $80,000. If you're above $80,000 for the 2021 tax year, you won't get it. Mary Couples, it goes $2,800 is the maximum payment that you could get, and that is if your income is below $150,000, it phases out to $1,000. $60,000 above that amount, you're not going to get a check. Okay, so if people think they are owed a check, but they don't get it, what can they do? Well, the payments are automatic, so this is something that you should get as long as you have filed a

2021 tax return. If you didn't get it, you can apply for the recovery rebate credit on your current tax return by April 15th. And so how many people roughly are getting it across the U.S. Just remind us? Over a million people are eligible to get this and have not gotten it yet. Okay. Sharon Epperson, we thank you. Sure. As we get closer and closer to President-elect Trump's inauguration, we want to turn back to immigration and the families racing to get their cases through the legal system before President

elect Trump takes office for a second time amid uncertainty over what his time in the White House could mean for those granted protections under DACA. is the story. In the federal courthouse in downtown Phoenix, please raise your right hand and repeat after me. Yulisa Noriega becomes an American citizen today. And congratulations to our newest U.S. citizen. And while that's a big deal for Yulisa,

it's an even bigger deal for her husband, Miguel. I said to myself, I'm going to be there in about four years. Help him fix his own papers after decades as a dreamer, and just under the wire, before a new term under Donald Trump, could throw half a million like him into uncertainty. Miguel was six when his parents brought him to Phoenix from Mexico City, crossing the border without papers. Ten years ago, he was granted DACA, an Obama-era program for those brought to the country unlawfully as children.

DACA got him a work permit, and it created a pathway, though a long and difficult one, to legal status. DACA is now on the ropes, facing court challenges and a president-elect who says the program is illegal and tried to end it in his first term. Trump has also said he'd like to find a different fix for dreamers. You said once back in 2017, they, quote, shouldn't be very worried about being deported. Should they be worried now? We have to do something about the dreamers, because these are people that have been brought

here at a very young age. And many of these are middle-aged people now. They don't even speak the language of their country. At the same time, in his first term, Trump put up obstacles not only for undocumented immigrants, but for legal ones as well. The Trump administration cut legal immigration in virtually every category, in virtually every way that you can think of. Immigration lawyers, like Yasser Sanchez, haven't forgotten those years. Under the first Trump administration. How did his moves on legal immigration specifically? How did that affect your business and the business that your office does? It made a simple case such as a citizenship go from four, six, eight to 12 months. So between 30 to 50 green card cases a month,

dropped to three to five a month. So now, Sanchez and attorneys across the country say they can't take any chances, and they're accelerating every case they can. Any case that we can get in now before January 20th, we're pushing through. And we're talking about legal immigration. We're talking about people with clean files. We want to make sure that they get in because we don't know what's coming. Among those cases, Yulisa's citizenship. And now Miguel's green card too, which he just became eligible for now that his wife is an American.

Her becoming a U.S. citizen opens the gates to America, basically for Miguel. And then we'll get this out to immigration. As of today, you're an American citizen. And Miguel now has options that he didn't have before. How does that make you feel? I'm happy. I'm excited. We were rushing to make sure that this gets done. I am relieved. It's a big relief.

Miguel's green card application will take months to process. But with the paperwork filed, the future feels a little bit more certain. certain. So where do you see yourselves in five years? You know, it's hard. It's hard they ask that question. What do you see yourself in five years? I never said anything. Whatever life gave me is what I would answer. Now with this, I can say, what am I going to be doing in five years? It's probably working hard and having a family together. David Noriega joins us tonight from Los Angeles. So, David, this is a moment of uncertainty. Are some immigration lawyers out there maybe taking advantage of people's fear?

Definitely, Tom. First, let me clarify that even though Yulisa and Miguel, who you just saw in that piece, have the same last name as me, we are not related. That is absolutely a coincidence. But to answer your question, yes, there are some immigration lawyers out there taking advantage of people's fear, taking their money, getting them to file things that aren't ultimately going to make a difference in their cases. Good immigration lawyers, like the ones you saw in that piece, have, in fact, been warning some of their clients not to rush, not to file any paperwork unless they're absolutely certain they qualify for relief because doing so might actually get them into more trouble than doing nothing.

Tom? All right, David Noriega for us. David, we thank you for that. When we return, we're going to switch gears. The new album from Bad Bunny, that is getting a lot of headlines, bridging generations of fans. The regga-dong and rap megastar paying homage to his Puerto Rican roots and going back to the roots of Latin music.

The video is now going viral as fans young and old can't help but connect to this album. Stay with us. Back now with Superstar Bad Bunny's chart-topping new album. It's a celebration of Latin culture and also ties in emotional and powerful references to his home, Puerto Rico. NBC's Valerie Castro has a look at how a new generation of fans are connecting with his new work. Bad Bunny's new album, Debbie Tirarmas Photos, has been called a love letter to Puerto Rico, mixing his urban sound with the traditional rhythms of the island, including salsa, plena, and bomba. The result, his fans now sharing the songs with their parents and grandparents. And going viral, as older generations turn into Bad Bunny fans with just one listen.

As soon as I heard all of his songs were salsa, I was like, my grandfather's going to freak over this. So I went over that day and I was like, do you have a speaker? Like, I really want to play Bad Bunny's music for you. Kenya the Hesuz posted this moment when her grandfather, who lives in Puerto Rico, heard the new album for the first time. I thought it's going to bring us together. That's what came to my mind. Dang. Bo Abdel says the tracks have helped him share his rich culture with his granddaughter. Now the young people at my granddaughter is grasping what Latin music is all about, what I'm all about. So I have to thank Bad Bunny for bringing these generations together.

Would you say you're a fan now? Are you a convert? I am a convert to what he's doing. I think I converted him to a Bad Bunny fan for sure. who is the world's most streamed artist, also released a short film alongside the album and included visualizer videos with each track, highlighting Puerto Rico's storied history, heroes, but also its struggles. The star also recently announcing

that he'll hold a 30-show residency in Puerto Rico where the first several performances will be reserved for locals. I don't know what is being said, but I got it just a bit. I read something there. I would have cried. But the album's reach,

going far beyond the Latin community, community. Why am I crying? Social media users connecting with the emotional tracks, even if they don't speak the language. And it's even getting celebrity attention. Stars like soccer legend Ronaldino and DJ Steve Aoki posting montages to Bad Bunny's tracks. The music and response, bringing Bad Bunny to tears. as the album tops the global charts.

It's bringing families closer and helping share traditional Latin music with the world. I think it's the greatest thing that's happened because now my music that's appreciated by a local fan base and it's worldwide. Valerie Castro, NBC News. It's a great story and a great album. Okay, when we come back, I look at what you can binge watch and listen to this weekend. The documentary about the life and legacy of Avici, plus the hit show Severance back for a second season and new music by Shibusi.

Welcome back. Time for bingeworthy. Our look at the best things to watch and listen to this weekend. And tonight we are joined by one of our favorites, Darren Karp. She's a pop culture expert, Bravo personality, and host of the podcast, shaken and disturbed. And a recently engaged office. the market. Damn, congratulations. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Excited to obviously spend my engagement at Bingeworthy. I'm, this is going to be...

Wait, when did you get engaged? A couple weeks ago. Oh, wow. Okay. Yes, keeping it a little bit. Mom had to tell you, of course. I remember you were mentioning it last time we talked. That's so... I'm very happy for you. You wanted to mention it before it happened. I didn't want to jinx it. The wedding video maybe one day can be part of Bingeworthy. Yes. Oh, yes. Please. We're going to start with the documentary that I've been binging. It's on Netflix. Very powerful. It's called Avici. I'm Tim. Let's watch.

Ultra Week is coming, and Tim said, I'm headlining the whole thing, and we're going to have a live band. I'm listening in my ear for the cue. Tick, tick, tick. And then he breaks it down. And I felt like something is wrong here. People were booing. He was really broken about it. I knew that the touring was really having a toll.

I was running after some idea of happiness that wasn't my own. So Avicci, of course, an incredible DJ music producer had amazing hits for such a long time. And also rose to start him so fast. It's all part of this documentary, but also an incredibly tragic story as well. Yeah, I was actually reading about his Wikipedia. His Wikipedia is so long, and let's not forget, he only lived to be 28 years old. So think about what he could have accomplished had he been able to live longer. He had a tragic ending to his life in 2018 in Oman we were talking about.

And this documentary really shows sort of the underbelly, the dark side of being very. this famous. I think when people really look at a DJ like that, everybody know, you know, my parents know who Ovecci is. And you look at somebody like this and just the pressure that they're feeling. This is an up-close and personal documentary about him kind of withering away on this tour, being loved by millions, but kind of doesn't love himself. And also the musicians he worked with span all eras, all types of music. Absolutely incredible. The access is incredible. You can tell they were shooting content because he was such a big star. It all comes together in a really, really, really powerful documentary on Netflix.

Next up is another icon, Jerry Springer, who, as we know, passed away, but he had one of the most incredible runs in TV that anyone has ever had. Let's take a watch. It really was. The modern version of the Roman Coliseum. Springer is the first talk show host ever to knock Oprah Winfrey off her throne as the Queen of Daytime Talk. It became a cultural icon. I want the show to demonstrate outrageousness.

Yes. The bigger that show got, it raised questions about what really went on backstage. So I'm going to take you back to 1997. Yes. A freshman in college. The dorms are kicking. We're just having a great time. And we're watching Jerry Springer twice a day.

We're watching after class. And then it would come back on at 11 o'clock at night. Appointment viewing. Everyone would order pizza. And we were watching it every night, like Monday through, Friday twice. It was huge. It was so big. I mean, I was... Do you remember? I was nine years old when you were a freshman in college, and I was watching it. You were watching it. We were watching it after school. Everyone, it was one of, it was less

like the series of the daytime talks. You know, they had more, they had all of these great shows. Jerry Singer, Jerry Springer actually eclipsed Oprah in the daytime talk circuit, which is crazy. Which is crazy. Just goes to show how big this show really was. And now looking back in 2025, I can't believe this was on air. And he had an incredible sort of interesting life. He was the mayor of Cincinnati. He was in politics. I heard he was the nicest man alive and didn't really understand kind of, you know, he is on this doc sort of mentioning that people are blaming him for kind of ruining culture.

You know, and I think there's an argument to be made for that, but I also think it was of a time. I mean, was he the father of Bravo? I don't know. Court TV and Jerry Springer created what unscripted television is today. And so I think he actually added to a lot of culture. I think we can look back and say that was of a time. but this is a two-part talk on Netflix.

It is a must watch. You and Andy ever say thank you, Jerry? I mean, you guys... Every night before bed. That makes sense. This one is a really popular series. I started to watch it. I'm going to talk to you about it.

My take on it after. It's called Severance. It's the second season. It's on Apple TV Plus. People love this. Let's watch. So what the hell did you guys see up there? It's not our world up there.

died a few years ago, except the woman is Miss Casey. So what are you going to do? I got to get her out of here. So Adam Scott, yep, we were talking about good old Adam. Love him. I think he's hysterical, great actor. I started watching first season, and I think I watched maybe one or two episodes, and I kind of peeled away. Bored? I mean, I don't know. I just, it didn't. But then people who watch it love it, and they're like,

you have to stay with it. Well, certainly, the first season was three years ago, so I think if you're going to start with season two, You gotta watch season one, and you certainly need to watch a recap because it has been so long. This is a very expensive show. And for those who aren't familiar, it is about getting severed. So there's the in-y life that you're in the office. What happens if you could essentially not know what you did during the day? And then you went home and were an entirely different person.

Same body, same figure, but your Audi and your in-y kind of don't coalesce. Your corpus callosum is severed, if you will. This is kind of what happens in the series, and I think in season one, it was really slow-moving, great set design, I mean, even the office culture is supposed to represent office culture, kind of boring, a little bit of a bank teller's office. But the set design was absolutely beautiful. And the action really comes in the final few episodes. And I think the concept of it was so unique that people were just obsessed with it. I definitely am. I have been waiting so long for this to come back. Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, just a fabulous cast. And they did this amazing stunt

in Grand Central Station the other day. I don't know if you saw it. They set up a glass office, all of them together, and they were kind of wandering around the office while people were just, like, taking pictures. Ben Stiller was there because he directs the show, taking, like, proud photos of it. Yeah, there it is. You can see the stunt. It was just great. I feel like this is your sweet spot. Take me back to the iny and the outer that point. You mean, you kind of took me back. I felt like I was back in my dorm room. Like, I was like, whoa. I was like, where we're like? I mean, if you could go home and not remember anything, I mean, I know you want to remember bingeworthy forever. I understand. I don't take offense. But if you could sever yourself, so when you left 30 Rockefeller Plaza, you never remembered, would you do it? I'd be so dope. I think so. I think some people would. Yeah. You know? No, you got me into it.

I'm sold. Okay, next we have a true crime documentary that I loved. It's so cool. You have to watch this. It's called How to Rob a Bank, and it's based on a true story. What happened here read straight from a movie script. His moniker was Hollywood. He wears heavy makeup, a wig.

His co-star is this 9-millimeter handgun. God. Everyone on the floor. He said, man, this is the easiest thing. It's like taking candy from kids. I just thought, this is insane. Steal from the rich and give to the poor. How noble is that?

Seattle in the 90s, Nirvana, Microsoft, and apparently like the best bank robberies on the planet. He was the most prolific bank robber of all time, is what they say. They actually called him Hollywood because he would wear this heavy makeup, a wig. He was also very handsome, so he was a very charismatic guy. A lot of these successful crime people end up being the most charismatic people. Tom, watch out there. You never know.

This actually came out in the summer, so I don't want people thinking that this was a new release. It came out in June of last year. So it's been out for a while. The buzz has been really amazing. It's got 100% on the tomato meter. And so the critics were obsessed with this. This was a very, very powerful documentary. And it does kind of blend like an animated theme to show what's going on.

It's very well done. It's very well done. And they got all the main characters, which is really hard to do. sometimes with these true crime documentaries. It was very, very well done. We're going to turn out of music, and I've been DJing. No, I'm joking. I can tell you.

You have a lot of music choices today. We are into a lot of these tracks. The first one, and I had to be told this, because I didn't even remember this. It's a remix, but it's sort of like a whole new song. It's called These Words. Let's listen, and we'll talk about it on the other side. So I will admit, I'm so old, I was trying to play this for my wife. And she's like, why does this song keep skipping?

I'm like, no, that is the remix. But she was like, drying her hair or something. She was like, she couldn't really hear it. Anyways, I was, I'm very into this song. I think it's cool. Are the young people into it? Yes. This was sort of haphousard.

I mean, a lot of people gave Sabrina Carpenter, Charlie X-EX, the song of 2024. but this, if you're into DJ sets and kind of like this remake of a song, this was really the song of 2024. This came out a few months ago. What I love about it, though, so this is Natasha Bettingfield's original song, and because the producer created an entirely different composition, it's actually considered a new song, not a remake, so they both get credit on the song, which I love.

So it was the hot song of 2024. I'm listening to it now, so, okay. Sort of cool, but not really. Shibuzi's got a new one. That's right. Nobody should be seen it. Let's listen to this one. Happy end of my wrongs.

I need some good news. Sitting there's sipping on cold truth. Nobody knows what I'm going through. But the devil will you walk in my shoes. Okay. Okay. Talked you about the song. It's a second big hit, but his whole album's great.

His whole album's great. Second big hit. He performed it on SNL when he was the musical guest with Paul Muscal. I loved it. It came out in November. I mean, so good. Shaboozy, at least for these past two songs, Tipsy, and of course, this one, you really only need to listen to it once for it to be stuck in your head the entire day.

I agree. That is a mark of a great song. It's fun to say, just Shibuzzi. Shaboozy. That's it. You're already having a good time. Yeah, Tom Shabuzzi. Like, Darren's Shaboozy.

There you go. Makes sense. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, if you don't know, reality stars, they lost their home. They did. In the Fire is terrible. Very terrible. But they asked for people. to stream their song. Heidi has a song out. Let's play it. See if we'd like it because a million people.

in college in 2010. The song is from 2010? The song is from 2020, but the video just came out, and because they lost their entire home in the Palisades Fire, their fans are standing and they are streaming,

streaming, streaming just to help them out. So that's why it's kind of been in the mix lately, even though the album itself is old. So it just goes to show that they have still is such a strong fan base. Yeah, it's all right. It's good. Okay, all right, all right, we'll take it.

We'll stay positive. Darren, thanks so much for being here. Congratulations again. Thank you. Lots of love. Looking forward to that wedding. Hopefully we'll get the invite. I don't know.

We'll see. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. Have a great week, and I'm Tom Yamis. Stay right there. More news on the way.