Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, July 28, 2023

Episode Date: July 29, 2023

The brutal heat wave scorching the country creates dangerous conditions for 149 million Americans from coast to coast. Three of the four men that made up the so-called "Newburgh Four" -- convicted of plotting acts of terrorism in New York -- are set to be released. The U.S. State Department is urging Americans to leave Haiti as gangs take over the capital city. Thrillseekers in New York got stuck on a ride when the Music Express in Rye wouldn't stop. Residents swarmed a public safety meeting in California to demand action after a string of carjackings in the region. And an Indian ban on a type of rice export is fueling a shortage in the U.S.

Tonight, the deadly heat wave shattering record after record. 149 million Americans under alert from California up through Maine. Temperatures in Phoenix topping 110 degrees for an entire month. Refrigerated containers being brought in as morgue's near capacity. How soon could relief be on the way? We'll time it all out for you. Orders from the boss? Stunning new details emerging from Mar-a-Lago after the president was hit with three new charges

by the special counsel related to his handling of classified documents. Employees claiming Trump wanted surveillance footage from inside the Florida state deleted. What we're hearing from Trump tonight about those allegations as he takes his message back out on the campaign trail. DeSantis one-on-one are Gabe Gutierrez pressing the Republican governor and candidate for president late today, how he's defending mounting criticism from within his own party over controversial teaching guidelines related to slavery.

Embassy evacuated the State Department ordering all U.S. personnel to leave Haiti immediately as gang violence spirals out of control. Haitians seeking refuge near that embassy forcibly removed by police? So what will happen to the people left behind? What we're hearing from authorities? Plus, a raging bull loose on the streets of Peru, the terrifying moments residents were sent running. The bank robber failed. video capturing the moment one thief's getaway plan fell through, literally. And can AI take your

order? Fast food chains across the country using chat bots to run their drive-throughs. Tonight, we'll talk to one reporter who put those artificial employees to the test, what they got right, what they got wrong, and why you may be forced to eat peach pie. Top story. Starts right now. And good evening. We begin top story on this Friday night with the brutal heat wave creating dangerous conditions for 149 million Americans from coast to coast. In a grisly sign of just how treacherous the scorching summer has been, something we're seen for the first time. Officials in Maricopa County, Arizona, bringing in refrigerated trucks like these as morgues near capacity. 25 heat-related deaths confirmed with hundreds more under investigation in that county, a lot of people. Lone. Dyer conditions at the southern border as well. This one-year-old girl sickened by the heat as her family attempted to cross. And right here in New York, the heat index, more than 100 degrees, AC units and fans flying off the shelves in Brooklyn. You see it here as the city swelters under the hottest temps so far this year. And triple-digit temperatures are all over the map. Look at that. From Texas to Kansas to Washington, D.C., just brutal conditions for so many Americans. We'll have the full weekend for,

straight ahead. But first, NBC's Miguel Almaguer leads us off tonight. Tonight is the Northeast swelters through its hottest days of the year. I don't like this weather. The heat index in cities like New York, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia have all soared into the triple digits. I feel like my skin is sticky. With July expected to become the hottest month in history, today 35 states and D.C. are under heat alerts. Climate change helping to push temperatures up to 20 degrees above average. As Phoenix approaches 30 days of temperatures at or above 110 degrees, Maricopa County officials

confirm at least 25 heat-related deaths so far this year, with 249 still under investigation. This cooled homeless senior center, which also offers medical care, is saving lives. What kind of shape do you find some people in after they come in after a long day out in the heat? Oh, dehydration, we've had members coming here with dehydration. They've fallen out. They've had spasms. They're going into cabalterns. Nearby at Arizona State University, researchers are using robots to better understand the impact of extreme temperatures on the human body. Andy, this crash test dummy for heat, can sweat, breathe, and move.

You can see how quickly people heat up and potentially then go back and see what type of interventions we could have done to decrease. heat stress. At the states that border Mexico, the record-breaking conditions posing a threat to an already risky journey for migrants. Our partners at Telemundo were in Eagle Pass, Texas, as a one-and-a-half-year-old girl in need of water was at the verge of passing out. After her family attempted to cross into the U.S. in blistering heat, border patrol agents were there to give the family water. temperature of the while apprehensions along the border have dropped in Arizona

agents in the Tucson sector have yet to see numbers decline despite the unforgiving and deadly desert heat agents there responding to over 150 calls for help in the first 20 days of July rescuing more than 1,000 migrants

tonight record breaking heat compounding the dangers for those most at risk Miguel I'm Mikear joins us tonight from Los Angeles. And Miguel, going back to Phoenix and some of the reporting out of air, the heat there has been so relentless and so dangerous. One county's morgue is now preparing for a possible surge in heat-related deaths. Yeah, that's right, Tom. Maricopa County officials tell NBC News. This is just a precaution for now and that those containers that store bodies are not being used quite yet. Now, this isn't the first time that Maricopa County Morg has brought in 10 of these 8 by 20 foot refrigerated containers. When COVID was surging through Phoenix last summer, the same coolers were used to store bodies of pandemic victims, but their return is an ominous sign of just how deadly these triple-digit temperatures can be. Tom? It really is. Okay. Miguel Almaguer leading us off here. And in large parts of the country, those temperatures are staying dangerously high as we head into the weekend. So let's get right over to Michelle

Grossman. She joins us live in studio tonight. So Michelle, when could we see relief from this extreme heat that we've been dealing with for months now? I know. It's been so, so long. Hi there, Tom. Well, some will see some relief as early as tomorrow, even Sunday. But that's a small percentage who will see the relief. We're still looking at half, really, the country looking at 146 million impacted by heat alerts. Excessive heat warnings in the Southwest. That's in the hot pink color. We've heat alerts throughout the plains into the Ohio Valley, the southeast, into the northeast as well. So we're looking at sweltering temperatures. We mentioned that heat is deadly. Well, it happens to be the number one cause of weather-related

deaths. So this remains a very, very big story. We're looking at temperatures into the 90s as we go throughout tomorrow. Lots of triple digits two on the map in the southwest of south central states. But look at this cold front. This is a good thing. This is sinking down to the south. This will sweep out the heat and humidity. First, we're going to see it tomorrow in portions of the Midwest and to the Great Lakes and the portions of New England as well. So Minneapolis, 83 degrees tomorrow. That's going to feel good with low humidity. Chicago actually below normal tomorrow. Then this will eventually sweep through the northeast. Now the bad news is we're going to see some gusty storms, but by Sunday we're going to see so much more relief. So by Sunday, Boston,

75 degrees at 6 degrees below average, 80 degrees in Pittsburgh. There's the relief. We're going to see relief going into next week. But Tom, still in the south, we're seeing really high temperatures. Back to you. Okay, we'll stay on top of that. We appreciate having you here. tonight, former President Trump lashing out over the new charges against him in the classified documents case, as we learn more about the new third defendant, Carlos de Oliveira, allegedly telling a fellow employee, quote, the boss that he wanted the server deleted in regards to surveillance footage from inside Mar-a-Lago. NBC's Garrett Hake has the very latest. Former President Trump on the attack tonight against prosecutors and those three new federal

charges against him. They're trying to intimidate people so that people go out and make up lies about me because I did nothing wrong. In the new charges, the special counsel alleging Mr. Trump sought a cover-up to conceal classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home by deleting surveillance video. Now charging a new defendant, Mar-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliviera with two obstruction counts and with making false statements to the FBI. In the indictment, prosecutors say on June 23rd last year, the day after the government subpoenaed surveillance video from his home, the former president spoke by phone with De

Olivier for 24 minutes. The next day, Mr. Trump's personal aide, Walt Nata, who's also been charged, allegedly changed his travel to go to Florida. On June 25th, prosecutors say Nata and De Oliviera looked at surveillance video in a Mar-a-Lago security booth and walked through a tunnel with flashlights pointing out cameras. Two days later, Deoliviera spoke with an IT staffer identified as employee four, who told him the server retained camera footage for 45 days. De Oliviera allegedly saying, the boss wanted the server deleted. The employee responded, he would not know how to do that, and that he did not believe he would have the rights to do that. Deo Liviaa allegedly insisting that that's what, quote, the boss wanted, asking, what are we going to do?

The indictment does not say if any footage was deleted. Fine people, and I don't think they think that the tapes were even changed. These are my tapes that we gave to them. The new charges putting the Republican frontrunner in more serious legal jeopardy. But so far, each new indictment has been a political boost. I'm the only person ever got indicted who became more popular. Because people understand it. They read it. They see it.

The new indictment also charges Mr. Trump with possessing a top secret military document he has denied existed, but is heard on an audio recording discussing with aides and journalists. It is like highly controversial secret. There's a secret information. Mr. Trump's GOP allies leaping to his defense, noting the new charges come one day after the DOJ's controversial plea deal for President Biden's son Hunter collapsed under a judge's scrutiny. People are tired of these weaponized federal agencies,

and that if your last name is Biden, you get to live by a different set of rules versus if your last name is Trump, get targeted by these agencies. Garrett Higg joins us now. And Garrett, I know you have some new reporting about the former president's PACs, Save America, and how it's paying a lot of legal fees for some of these co-defendants. Yeah, that's right, Tom. Look, the former president has always said he's all about loyalty,

and one of the ways that this apparently is being shown, and the way it's helping him politically and legally, is he is using one of his packs along with donations that come from regular supporters to help pay not just his legal fees, the legal fees of other people involved in these investigations. We have learned, for example, that the Save America PAC has paid nearly $200,000 to the firm that was, at least until recently, representing Mr. Dea Lavera, the new person indicted in the story we just saw. So he is using essentially donor dollars to help pay the legal bills of folks who could otherwise be providing

damaging testimony against him. It's not unprecedented, but it is a very interesting wrinkle in this story as we move forward. And then, Garrett, the former president is also saying a potential conviction would not end his campaign? Yeah, he was asked that specifically today, Tom, and his answer shouldn't be much of a surprise. He says, no, a conviction or even being jailed wouldn't end his campaign. Now, look, it's likely with this new information. This case might not even go to trial before the 2020 campaign, 2024 campaign, is all the

way sewn up. But Donald Trump has made the idea that he's being criminally targeted and investigated a central plank of his campaign. He thinks it's useful for voters to say he's going to fight all the way through this. And so the fact that he says today that even if he's convicted, he'll stay in it. I think it's just further fuel for that fire with his most dedicated supporters. All right, Garrett Hake for us tonight. Garrett, we appreciate all that. Now to the race for the White House of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis facing more backlash for new black history standards in his state that include teaching slaves benefited from some skills they learned while enslaved. One of his Republican rival, Senator Tim Scott, blasting the newly approved

teachings. Are Gabe Gutierrez pressing the Florida governor on the new standards just moments ago? Tonight, Governor Ron DeSantis in Iowa, under fire. There's no silver lining in freedom. His GOP rival Tim Scott, the only black Republican senator slamming the state of Florida for adopting new public school standards that teach how slaves develop skills, which in some instances could be applied for their personal benefit. It's a line of attack first launched by Vice President Harris. They want to replace history with lies. Another black Republican member

of Congress, Florida's Byron Donald's, who endorsed former President Trump, has also criticized that portion of the new standards. But DeSantis argues that line has been taken out of context. I would also note some of those congressmen are putting out information that's totally false. You've got to be willing to stand up and fight back against false narratives, and that's what we do in Florida every day. One of the scholars who helped develop the Florida standards is also defending them. This curriculum is devoted to telling the truth, whereas Kamala Harris has retailed a lie. After laying off more than a third of its staff, the DeSantis campaign is trying to reset, holding more up-close events with voters and their families. What is that?

I see? Yeah, that's probably a lot of sugar, huh? While Mr. Trump is still dominating the field. If we make it about the vision for the future, we're going to win. Obviously, with me as the nominee, you know, we're going to focus on Biden's failures and our vision for the future. That's what the election will be about. If Donald Trump is the nominee, it's going to be about all those other issues.

With all due respect, Governor, you're down by 30 points, though. Well, no, I mean, that says you. I mean, I can tell you, we've been in Iowa. I'm the one showing up at all these places. We're signing up people day after day. All right, fresh office, big interview. Gabe Gutierrez joins us now from Des Moines, Iowa. Gabe, I was just listening to there to your exchange,

and we understand DeSantis' stance on the criticism he's getting over the new standards in the Florida education over slavery. What I want to understand is what is everyone getting wrong? What did Kamala Harris get wrong? What did the Republican representatives get wrong? What does the media getting wrong? Yeah, Tom. And look, Governor DeSantis is making this point. He's saying that the media and his opponents are lying because, as he sees it, these standards are more than 200 pages long, and that the media, again, as he sees it, and his opponents are focusing on this one sentence. And he says, overall, this is not an issue of saying that slavery was beneficial in any way, but he says that his opponents are latching onto this narrative, in his word, he sees it as a lie. of black Republican lawmakers are coming out against it, and he sees it, frankly, as dishonest.

So I should point out, Tom, you know, here, we're here at the Lincoln dinner here in Iowa, with 13 presidential hopefuls here. And this will be the first time that Governor DeSantis and former President Trump are at the same event here in Iowa so far. Again, Governor DeSantis and his team betting big on this state, Tom. And, Gabe, before you go there, you know, DeSantis is also getting some criticism for comments he made about RFK Jr. but I want to play these comments so our viewers can hear exactly what he said.

I'm aligned with him on Fauci and the corruption and the health bureaucracies 100%. And I think he's probably said some other things that I agree with too. But at the end of the day, you know, he's more liberal, very liberal on some. So on that regard, it's like, okay, if your president, you know, sick him on the FDA if he'd be willing to serve or sick him on CDC. But in terms of being Veep, if there's, you know, 70% of the issue, that he may be averse to our base on, you know, that just creates an issue. So I got to be, I got to be honest here, when we listen to that soundbite, he does sort of float

that idea, you know, like, I know that they're saying that he never said that some Republicans are saying, oh, he never said he would head up the CDC or the FDA, but it sounds like he's suggesting that. What is the DeSantis campaign saying? Well, there was actually some news on that today. He did do an interview with Megan Kelly, where he kind of walked back a little bit. If you listen closely, he said that he wanted RFK Jr. to sick him on the FDA and the CDC. He now says he didn't mean he wanted them to head up the FDA or the CDC, but perhaps he wanted him to head up a bipartisan outside panel to look into those agencies. So there's that distinction. But you're right, Tom, it is so interesting

because he's trying to latch onto this COVID vaccine issue, perhaps as a wedge issue of embracing technically a Democrat, but perhaps he's using it as a wedge issue to distinguish himself from former President Trump. Some of his critics, though, are seeing as just bizarre. But again, he walked those comments back just a little bit today, Tom. All right, Gabe Gutierrez, on the campaign trail. Big interview tonight. Gabe, we appreciate all of that. We also have a major update tonight in the case of the so-called Newburgh Four. You may remember this case from years ago. Three of the four men convicted of plotting acts of terrorism in New York more than a decade ago, now set to be released. Why? Well, the federal judge calling their convictions an FBI

orchestrated conspiracy. Ellison Barber has the details. A victory in court for three men convicted in a terrorism sting more than a decade ago. Police arrested the men last night as they were allegedly planting what they thought were real bombs outside a Jewish temple. A federal judge ordering the release of Anta Williams, David Williams, and Laguerre Payne, three of the men known as the Newburgh Fort, arrested for a plot to blow up synagogues in New York City and shoot down National Guard planes and up.

state New York. The suspects allegedly conducted surveillance and took photos of possible targets. In a scathing decision, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon accusing FBI agents of trying to arrest petty criminals by radicalizing the men to participate in a plot she called in FBI orchestrated conspiracy. McMahon adding, quote, the real lead conspirator was the United States. That sounds like strong language, but it's just a pure description of the facts of this case. The judge also accusing the FBI of using a, quote, villain of an informant to prey on the poor, then manipulate the men to commit a fake crime in exchange for cash, materials, and even groceries. The defense is certain to raise questions about the informant and whether these men were duped.

Every step of the way was all the FBI. These guys couldn't, they had no driver's licenses. They couldn't find Google Maps of where these targets are that the FBI informant told them to use. I mean, they came up with not one single part of the spot. It was all the FBI. That FBI informant, Shahid Hussein, who made headlines again when a stretch limo operated by his company crashed in rural New York, killing 20 people. Man slaughtered in a second to grade. Hussein now serving a five to 15 year prison sentence for that crash.

We have not heard back from his lawyers. The FBI says this man, James Crimmody was the alleged ringleader. In the Newburgh case, the federal judge who granted the release also accusing Hussein of recruiting James Cromedy, who was believed to be the ringleader of the terror plot. We think that both Mr. Cromedy and the others, number one, never should have been arrested, never should have been convicted by a jury. And we had certainly hoped that on appeal, you know, many, many years ago, their convictions would have been reversed.

He was not included in this compassionate release request, but the attorney who represents him says he's confident Cromedy would be entitled to the same relief. Late justice is better than no justice. As for the Williamses and pain. Their 25-year sentence is pulled back to 90 days, giving lawyers and officials time to prepare for their release, according to the judge. Their attorney hoping for more compassionate releases in the future. I think that the FBI is still doing and has been doing a lot of these unfair sting cases where they prey on mentally ill young men who really are not interested in terrorism.

We've reached out to the FBI and Department of Justice, but have not heard back. Ellison Barber, NBC News. All right, we also have some breaking news tonight out of the Americas and that ongoing violence in Haiti, the U.S. Department of State now urging U.S. citizens and non-emergency personnel to leave the country as gangs take over the capital city. U.S. officials say Americans are becoming a target. Guadvinas has more. A humanitarian crisis worsening in Haiti, violent gangs overpowering police and now pushing out Americans.

The U.S. State Department now ordering all U.S. government employees, non-emergency personnel and their families, to leave the country, citing the kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure. The order following a travel advisory from the U.S. Embassy in Haiti on Thursday, advising all U.S. nationals to leave the country immediately due to escalating clashes between gangs and police and port of prints. According to a UN report, gangs control almost 80% of the capital and have already forced more than 165,000 Haitians to flee their homes. No one deserves to live in border person right now. You are offered of being kidnapped for a money that you don't have. We cannot continue to live in a country that don't respect us. This week, those who couldn't flee desperately seeking safe refuge outside. the U.S. Embassy. The gangs just shoot and take control of the area. They took her house

and now we're on the street, said this woman camping outside. Yet the group was later removed by police. The Caribbean country has been in freefall since the assassination of President Juvenel Mois two years ago, which left a state without an effective government. I've seen the situation for myself. Conditions are desperate, but solutions are possible if we act now. Amid the crisis, the UN also attempting to distribute humanitarian support after a report found that more than 5 million people require aid to survive. In making matters worse, data indicates violent crimes, including homicide and rape, more than doubled in 2023 compared to last year.

A critical time for a country rapidly deteriorating into chaos. And tonight, Guad joins us from our Telemundo Center in Miami. Guad, U.S. authorities say they cannot provide assistance for any Americans who choose to remain in the country. And that's a pretty dire warning right there. Tom, that's correct. That means that Americans who stay would have to depend on the national police and local ambulances and hospitals.

Keeping in mind, there are shortages of gasoline, electricity, and medicine. Also, Tom, both private and public hospitals in Haiti often lack the equipment and the staff to treat patients the way they need to. They would also have to deal with the violence. All of this if they choose to remain in Haiti, Tom. A situation that gets worse by the day. Okay, Guad, thank you. Still ahead tonight, the carjacking outrage, video capturing a shocking confrontation in Oakland. You see it here in broad daylight.

that just one of 900, you heard me right, 900 carjackings reported this month alone the calls for action tonight from angered residents, plus President Biden breaking his silence about his seventh grandchild, the statement just in, and Taylor Swift fans taking shake it off to a whole new level. The city where they dance so hard, a minor earthquake was detected. Top story just getting started on this Friday night. All right, we're back now with another story of an amusement park ride gone wrong. Riders stuck on a coaster in New York that would not stop. It was also going reverse. It's just the latest in a series of theme park mishaps across the country. Emily Akata tonight, with the moments that fun turned to fear. At first glance, this looks like a thrill-seekers' paradise.

But panic started to set in when the music express in Rye, New York, wouldn't stop earlier this week. Park goers pleading to pull the plug as the wheel of car spun for an extra three to four minutes. The maintenance team ultimately shutting down power, according to a Playland spokesperson, who blamed an electrical issue and reported no injuries. Everybody was afraid. Everybody, you know, was shocked. Nobody know what to do. It's the latest incident in a series of wrong turns at amusement parks and carnivals across the country, leaving some on edge about the summertime staple. Carowin's tallest coaster straddling the North and South Carolina border remains closed and under review tonight after a visitor discovered a frightening crack earlier this month. The support beam visibly shifts when the coaster comes through. I'm not an engineer, but that's not good.

That same weekend in Wisconsin, roller coaster riders got stuck hanging upside down for three hours after a mechanical failure. There are roughly 32,000 injuries from amusement rides annually, according to. to federal data, but many industry experts maintain they are safe with hundreds of millions of people flocking to carnivals and parks every year. Tom. All right, moving on now to Northern California where recent carjackings in Oakland and San Francisco have left residents feeling unsafe and frustrated. Hundreds of residents flooded into a public safety meeting this week demanding more action from their local leaders. NBC Stephen Romo has more. A terrifying moment for a driver in Northern California's Oakland Hill.

playing out in just seconds. Come on now. A white car swerving into the street, the driver jumping out with a gun, rushing over to the driver's side of the other car and then banging on it. Within seconds, the woman trying to escape the armed person speeds around them. Oakland police are still investigating, but have arrested three people in connection with the attempted carjacking. This scare is just the latest in a string of carjackings in the region. Oakland police receiving more than 900 reports in the last month alone.

Residents in Oakland are fed up. The pendulum swings the other way into the stupid land where you guys are just all the way hands off. This week, hundreds of people gathered at a public safety meeting, many of them victims themselves and now demanding answers from local officials. For them to stop me while I'm driving and pull me out of the car at gunpoint, what are we doing to address this? Across the bay in San Francisco, officers responding to this incident over the weekend. The crash grabbing headlines after a vehicle flew through trees before careening over a set of outdoor stairs. But that too turned out to be a carjacking. Police now arresting two suspects in the case.

after they fled the overturned car and ran off. Near the popular tourist spot, fishermen's wharf, one intersection saw 374 reported break-ins last year, up 161 percent since 2018, according to police data. San Francisco Mayor London Breed says crime rates are getting better, yet a city survey says 62 percent of people feel safety has gotten worse. The mayor sitting down with CNBC's Deidre Obosa saying that the The media is portraying this worse than it really is. We have some problems.

We have problems with crime and with safety, but when we look at the data as far as what is actually happening, it just paints a different story. I think now more so with social media. Both cities by the bay now forced to reckon with reputations and safety concerns. Stephen Romo, NBC News. Absolutely unbelievable. Okay, when we come back, the failure to flee, a man trying to get away from police falling right into their hands. See it right there, the charges he's now facing.

Stay with us and in a garbage camp. All right. All right, we are back now with Top Stories News Feed in the search for a missing person after a boat capsized in a Chicago Harbor. Emergency crews racing to the scene pulling six people from the water and rushing the them to the hospital. They're all expected to be okay. But a seventh woman is still unaccounted for. Chicago fire officials say this is now a recovery mission. Okay, the Alabama woman behind a kidnapping hoax we told you about has been criminally charged. Carly Russell rested in charge with false reporting to law enforcement today. She has since been released after posting bond.

Russell had told police she was kidnapped after trying to help a toddler on the side of the highway. Her attorney confirming earlier this week she made the whole thing up. Now to the suspected robber in Ohio caught on camera falling through a bank ceiling and right into the hands of police. Look at this new body cam video showing the man dropping a duffel bag through a ceiling panel before falling straight into a recycling bin. Police immediately moving in to make the arrest. That man charged with breaking and entering and cracking into a safe. Okay, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are breaking their silence on Hunter Biden's four-year-old daughter. It's first reported by People magazine, and NBC News has obtained a statement from the president

where he says Hunter and the child's mother are working together on a relationship that is in the best interest of their daughter. The president adding, quote, Jill and I only want what is best for all our grandchildren, including Navy. The Bidens have come under fire recently for not mentioning that girl who was proven to be Hunter's daughter following a paternity suit in 2019. Okay, Taylor Swift fans at two shows in Seattle, shaking it off so much. they cause seismic activity. This waveform showing the crowds dancing and jumping triggering the equivalent of a 2.3 magnitude earthquake,

the swift quake, as it's being called, even more powerful than the 2011 beast quake after a touchdown from Arshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks. Okay, we now turn to another type of tremor, the AI earthquake, and it's coming soon to a drive-thru near you. Hardee's rolling out the technology

at hundreds of U.S. locations, the service aiming to e-staffing shortages. But will it end the low-wage labor market? Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern took the tech for a test drive. Every time you go through this Hardy's drive-thru, you'll hear... Would you like to try a peach pie for 159? Nope. Would you like to try a peach pie for 159?

No, peach pie for 159? No, thank you. Peach pie? No peach pie. I have one peach pie. No peach pie. That's because that's an AI chat bot. now takes all the drive-through orders at this Hardy's location on Kent Island in Maryland.

Well, unless the bot needs human help. One moment, let me get a team member to help you. And this tech may be coming to a restaurant near you. Made by a company named Presto, it's available at 350 locations in the country, including Carl's Jr., Del Tacos, and Checkers. It even uses some of OpenAI's GPT tech. But how does the tech work? And is it really taking over real jobs?

I designed three challenges and drove through this drive-thru about 30 times. Thank you for choosing Hardy. Thank you for choosing Hardy. To find out how good this thought is at feeding hungry humans. Okay. And with that, senior technology correspondent, Joanna Stern joins us now from the Wall Street Journal, of course. She's also now an NBC News contributor. And Joanna, you know you have a good story when the entire floor crew is

watching your story and listening to this. So tell me, what was your first your big takeaway from doing this? My big takeaway, look, I went to Maryland to test this AI chatbot that lives in a Hardy's speaker box. And I really did not expect to be impressed. I thought, okay, I'm going to fool it. I've got all these ways to fool it. And I didn't fool it as much as I wanted to. It understood the simple orders, what you'd expect, right? The combo, the burger and fries, the large Coke, got all of that. But even when I tried to confuse it, it still kept up with me. There were a few instances where a human had to step in, but AI was pretty good. And I think there was three times where the human had to step in. We have a clip of that, if we can play that now. I am allergic to

gluten. Is there gluten in that? No. There's definitely gluten in that bread. Can I speak to a human? One moment, please. Let me get someone to help you. Hi, I'm sorry about that. We do have a lettuce rap. Presto said this was an error, and that any allergy questions should trigger the bot to get a human. Okay, look, I mean, I was watched this thinking, look, that's a little, that's a tough one. The technology is great, but if you're a parent and you're worried about your kids, especially with something like gluten or dairy, you can't make a mistake there. Absolutely. And the company said that was a mistake of the system. They don't want the AI answering questions about allergies.

But in this case, it did fail. It didn't say nope. And I'm not sure if it actually said nope to that question or I thought I was responding to something earlier. Another place where the human had to step in is I asked how many calories were in one of the meals. And that was a tough one I found. Like, would the human even know that? I don't think the human would know, but, you know, he says it usually in the board. So it's like, okay, you probably have been programmed to know some of the things on the menu.

But overall, you were pretty impressed. I was impressed, especially. You were so used to talking to Siri and Alexa and just expecting these little flubs, right? You talk to Syria, Alexa, and it does something completely. Or it doesn't understand that. Or let me search the web for you. When I asked these questions, and I mean, look, I sound very clear. This is part of my job is talking.

But I would sound pretty clear. Even when I played some barking sounds from dogs, I played babies crying. It hurt over all of that. So I have a coffee shop in my neighborhood that's closing down because they couldn't find workers. It was a brand new coffee shop after a few months, I think. It's closing down now. Will this kill jobs or will this help restaurants fill jobs that they can't fill right now? The latter is what these companies are saying, both the fast food restaurant chains and the company that's making this technology,

the company that made this technology specifically there is named Presto. They are saying that they are filling a void. that right now, and since the pandemic, there has been this glut of labor in fast food, in restaurants, and that this is now able to keep the staff members at these restaurants not as burdened and not as stressed on the job. And that is actually what I saw there. I saw a lot of humans working behind the scenes,

chiming in when they could, but they had time to do other things. Finally, America wants to know they need to know. Did you try the peach pie? I tried the peach pie, even though it tried to ups out. me every single time I went through, 30 times almost I went through, and it asked every time, would you like a peach pie for 159? Is it good? It was pretty good. God, I want peach pie. But it was very warm and it was 100 degree day. So they should have upselled the milkshake, is all I have to say. Joanna Stern, thank you so much. You're doing phenomenal work over there. We love having you at NBC as well.

Coming up, bull on the loose, a bull running through the streets in Peru and charging at pedestrians, how the scary scene finally came to an end. All right, welcome back. Time now for Top Story's Global Watch, and we start with the super typhoon that hit the Philippines, now taking aim at southeastern China. This is new video, and what you're seeing here is the moment winds tear the roof off a sports arena. Hard to see there, but you can see the pieces of the flying debris. The typhoon, which is the second largest to hit the area since 2016, has left at least 25 people dead. It's now been downgraded, though, to a tropical storm. Okay, over on this side of the planet, El Salvador announcing plans to try accuse gang members in mass trials.

The new law and effort to expediate tens of thousands of pending cases after a harsh crackdown on gang violence sent many, many inmates to crowded mega prisons. More than 70,000 people arrested in total after the president declared a state of emergency, suspending constitutional rights. Critics of the rule say will deny individuals the chance for a fair trial. and a bull wreaking havoc in central Peru after escaping from an arena. The runaway bull rushing at people in the middle of a crowded street, then sending terrified crowds running for safety. The bull charging at a young woman.

You saw it right there slamming her into a staircase. In all five people were injured by that crazy bull. Authorities were able to capture it after about 30 minutes. Okay, now to another global story that's being felt here in the U.S. India banning the export of a certain type of rice following devastating floods, there. Many here in the states now rushing to stock up amid price increases and shortages. NBC's Megan Fitzgerald has this one. Tonight, India's ban on exporting different varieties of non-Batimati rice, triggering panic buying

across the U.S., people stocking up, clearing shelves and waiting in long lines as many stores from coast-to-coast limits sales and hike prices, in some cases, more than twice as high. There is no rise in the stores, basically, after the ban, just so crowded. Some stores, like, there are people waiting for, like, 100 to 100 people waiting in the lane. Experts say the culprit climate change. The Indian government announcing the ban after torrential rains and flooding devastated crops in the northern region of the country, sending prices in India soaring, citizens paying nearly 12% more. Indian officials say it's a measure taken to ensure supply.

domestically and keep costs at bay. But it's a move felt across the world. Something as far away as a monsoon in India will affect your grocer and your hometown here in the United States. India is the largest exporter of rice, shipping 40% of the world supply to the more than 3 billion who depend on the grain as part of their daily diet. But it's also a key grain used in many of the items that we eat. It's a key ingredient. That's going to have a ripple effect. You know, we will see prices increased as we, you know, go to the grocer. We'll see prices increase when we go out to eat at the restaurants. You will not live your life without, you know, being affected by this.

The rice ban coming days after Russia pulled out of the grain deal with Ukraine, preventing millions of tons of food from leaving Ukrainian ports and reaching the rest of the world, bringing food supply in some countries to a breaking point. Some will go hungry. Some will starve. Many may die. An urgent warning from the United Nations, as the devastating consequences of war and climate change are felt across the globe. Tom, experts say we could be feeling the effects of the rice ban for several months, if not into the next growing season.

But if next year's crops are also hit by severe weather, we could be seeing these shortages for even longer. Tom? For months or longer, okay, Megan Fitzgerald, we thank you for bringing us that story. When we come back, I look at what you can binge this. weekend. The new docu-series about boxing legend, Oscar de La Jolla, plus the new movie about Beanie Babies. Have you heard about this one? And new music, I should say, incredible music by John Batiste. We'll have it all for you. Stay right there. All right, welcome back. It is Friday, which means it is time for binge-worthy. Our look at the

best things to watch and listen to this weekend. And tonight we're joined by USA Today's host of Entertain This, Ralphie Aversa, who always entertains me. Ralphie. Thanks so much for being here. We appreciate it. Thanks for having me back. Yeah, it's been a while since I've done binge-worthy, so I'm happy to be here as well. We're going to start out with one of my picks. It's Golden Boy, and it stars Oscar Delahoya. It's a documentary following his life. It's on HBO Max. We have a clip. Let's play that now. Oscar Delahueyer was the most popular fighter since Muhammad Ali. I've never told anybody what really happened.

At six years old, I'll come the gloves, started fighting kids, punched in the face. My father told me, be tough. You're going to take us out of this lifestyle. It's a lot of pressure. Oscar de La Jolla, in his own words, what I loved about this series is that it's raw. He answers all types of questions, executive produced by two of his friends Mark Wahlberg and Mario Lopez, who's in your world as well. But what I like is that you got to hear Oscar Little Hoya and the story from his side. And again, he admits to a lot of things, including being a liar.

Have you had a chance to watch some of the clips? Well, yes, I have had to watch some of the clips and seen some of the press runs that Oscar has done because that has also made headlines. And it's been really interesting to kind of hear him talk about not just inside the ring in his life now as a promoter now that his career is done, but also, again, the substance abuse and the personal relationships. So this two-part doc on Macs, really good stuff. Yeah, I mean, as we're watching this, and you bring up a lot of really good points. It's that people sort of know his story. It's very reminiscent of Tiger Woods, where he was a prodigy as a child, grew up playing his sport, never really had a childhood, becomes an adult, becomes a multi-millionaire, and then the story takes off from there. All right, Ralph, we like that one.

The next one up is The Beanie Bubble. And it's about the Beanie Babies of the 90s, which people, I mean, were crazy with. This is a movie. It's on Apple TV. Let's take a look at the clip. You want to sell high-end stuffed Himalayan cats? Understuffed, actually, for a greater possibility. We're professionals.

We're giving the people what they need. I would tell you he did it all. Which is as crazy as believing stuffed animals are gold. Did you see the truck crash? Insane. Poor beanie. Ralphie, I don't think I'd ever want to binge something about, Beanie Babies, but this looks great, and the cast is amazing, right?

You never got into Beanie Bay. It was not me, man, no. I don't judge you people. I were into what I mean. I was a big collector, so, like, I remember the Princess Di Beanie Baby. I'm not going to go off on a tangent on Thai Beanie Babies, but nonetheless, yes, the Beanie Bubble about the rise of Beanie Babies, the unlikely rise to say the least, and some very familiar and funny faces there. Oh, Shib from Succession.

Yes, Sarah Snooks in there and Zach Alphanakis and Elizabeth Banks as well. This looks great. Apple TV Plus to check it out. Okay, definitely may watch that this week. And so now we have a reboot movie, 15 years in the making, some of the cast of the Nickelodeon show, Zoe 101. I don't know anything about this one, but let's watch the clip. I got proposed to the other night on a second date.

I mean, it's like the second we turn 30. Everybody just becomes obsessed with... Will you be my maid of honor? Shut up. We don't know what I do without my best friend there. Chase is going to be there. It's going to be fine. It'll be the reunion we all need.

I need another drink. All right, so people may recognize some familiar faces in there. Give us the backstory and then tell us what this is about. All right, so Zoe 101, which, you know, I wasn't in two as a kid. I probably wasn't the target demographic for that. You weren't with your beanie babies, man. You're too busy. I was more with the beanie babies and watching baseball.

Yes, exactly. But Zoe 101, Jamie Lynn Spears. This is the sequel movie to that series. Zoe 102, all these years in the making. Jamie Lynn Spears is all grown up now, and she plays a producer who has to choose between producing the finale of the reality show that she's working on, or being the made of honor at her best friend's wedding. There's some romantic interests involved there is too. So if you're a fan of Zoe

101 and again of nostalgia, this is right up your... Paramount Plus. What are the reviews? Are people liking this one? People are so happy it's back. Really? Yeah, so happy. It's one of those things where, again, you held on to Zoe 101 as a kid, and now you're finally seeing it back and you could binge it this weekend. Yes. Next one up is a documentary, I believe, on Netflix. You want to set up this clip, the Lucy Blackman case on Netflix. And I think we have the clip, but what's the backstory here? It's a British woman who goes missing in Tokyo? Yeah, she was 21 years old. She went missing in Tokyo back in 2000. And the international investigation to find her really took a lot of different turns. You had leaders

involved and so on and so forth. It's called Missing the Lucy Blackman case. Here's a clip. I was sitting in the garden at home, and I got a telephone call to say that my daughter, Lucy had gone missing. My first reaction was, well, how do you know she's gone missing? Well, we've not heard from her for a couple of days. She's not answering her phone, and we haven't had the emails. Okay, I'm all bought in. I didn't even know about this one.

Okay, this sounds terrific. It seems like a lot of people forgot about this. It happened back in 2000. Lucy moved from the UK to Tokyo. She was taking a gap year and worked at this restaurant as a hostess. Well, apparently it was just common. for the hostesses after, you know, a customer was done drinking to go out to another establishment with that customer. That's what Lucy did, and then she went missing and no one ever found from

her. But again, you know, the father gets involved after he gets win that his daughter's missing. He gets Tony Blair involved. He puts pressure on the Japanese government to investigate a lot of twists and turns in this. If you're a fan of true crime and, you know, something that really did happen, this is the doc. I'm going to be watching TV all week and this one looks really good as well. This is going to be sort of a strange turn here. We're going to do a retro clip, right? And Netflix has sort of re-released the airport movies. And I've spent the last two weeks watching these in bits and pieces.

Here's a clip of one of them. Again, this is old school. I'm sitting down and be quiet. Oh, you hurt me. You hurt me. Stop me. You're hysterical. Help me.

Help me. Help me. No. No. No. No. No. No.

No. No. No. Stop! No! No! You stay where you are! Guerrero, listen to me. You'll kill yourself for nothing if you explode that bomb.

All right, that was the great thing, Martin, there. So listen, that was a weird clip to show, okay? I don't fault the producers of this fine segment for that. That's kind of a weird. There's a lot of backstory to that one, including the woman getting slapped. But the airport movies, there were disaster thriller movies that came out in the late 60s into the mid-70s. Incredible actors, talking about Jack Lennon.

And then talking about George Kennedy, talking about Burt Lancaster. Amazing, amazing actors. And there's three of them. And some of them got bad reviews. It's where the airplane sort of funny movies came out of that. But I got to tell you, if you watch all three going back, the special effects, the writing, the acting, it's all, it's a 10. This was nominated for Best Picture. There you go.

I think people forget that as well. And Helen Hayes won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as well. So, no, hey, Tom knows what he's talking about here. Come on now. Really good stuff. I'm going to paraphrase the movie. This show is built for anything except a bad guest. But, thank you, you, no, you're great.

I love you, Robert. This is great. Okay, we want to move on now to some music. John Batiste has a new song that I can't stop listening to. I think we have a clip. Let's listen to it. So take a deep breath, tree water. You know the districts just not wrong on.

Take a deep breath, drink water. You know the day straight is just not come down, oh, come down, or come down, or come down. Whenever you feel like you might draw, no, come down. John Batiste from New Orleans, of course, has put out such good music over the last few years. I'd argue and say this is his best song so far. I love this, can't stop playing it.

One of the catchiest, and one of the reasons why you worked with John Bellion, who is an incredible singer-songwriter-producer from Long Island. Most recently did the Jonas Brothers album as well. And then he had Fireboy DML on there, who's from Nigeria. He had a song with Ed Shear, and you might remember, Karl Roo. Great stuff here. Okay, next up, Calvin Harris.

So I always get excited when he's got new music. He's with Sam Smith. I haven't heard this one, but I heard it's great. Let's listen now. We have run out of time, but it's a great song. Yes, it is. And you're a great guest. Rafi, thank you, as always.

Always a pleasure, man. I'll catch you out there jogging. As always, thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yammis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.