Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, July 5, 2024

Episode Date: July 6, 2024

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

Tonight, President Biden's big test as the future of his candidacy hangs in the balance. The president making a critical stop in Wisconsin as he desperately tries to prove he is fit to lead. The high-stakes interview with ABC News, Biden admitting he had a bad night, but calling it a single episode saying only he is to blame. But will it be enough to save his campaign? The move a key Democratic senator is making to confront Biden about his future. Also tonight, barrel round two, the deadly storm slamming into Mexico, battering popular tourist destinations with high-speed winds and rain. The storm now gearing up to hit Texas, emergency crews standing by in the southern part of the state, and Bill Carins joining us to track it all out. Holiday crash horror, chilling surveillance video capturing the moment a drunk driver and former substance abuse counselor plowed through a 4th of July celebration in New York City.

killing three people, including a mother and son. The charges that man is now facing. Iran's critical election. The ballots just coming in as the country works to replace the late president who was killed in a helicopter crash last month. The hardliner versus the moderate as voters there grow more impatient with leadership. The latest results as the polls just closed. Tourist tragedy, a New Zealand woman on vacation in California,

killed during an attempted armed robbery. how the country's prime minister who personally knew the victim is responding to the loss. An airport slimed, the halls of Miami International Airport, oozing with a mysterious green goo. What officials say caused this neon mess. Plus, serious sunscreen warning what you need to know to protect your skin this summer. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. Tonight, President Biden defiant on the campaign trail saying they're trying to push me out. The president addressing the speculation he might drop out at a rally in Wisconsin, giving a strong but scripted showing in the key battleground state. The major test coming tonight when he sits down for his first TV interview since the debate. In a preview clip just into our newsroom, the president again blaming the debate performance on a cold. Take a listen. Because I was sick. I was feeling terrible. Matter of fact, the docs with me, I asked if they did a COVID test because they were trying to figure I was wrong. They did a test

to see whether or not I had some infection, you know, a virus. I didn't. It just had a really bad cold. All of this as a key Democratic senator, Mark Warner of Virginia, says he's assembling a group of Congress members to discuss a path forward for the president and whether or not running for re-election is the best choice. As the president's future in this race remains in limbo. We want to get right to NBC's senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez. He leads us off tonight from Madison, Wisconsin. Gabe, a clip of that interview just coming out moments ago. Let's listen. Let's start with a debate. You and your team have said you had a bad night. But your friend Nancy Pelosi actually framed the question that I think is on the minds of

millions of Americans. Was this a bad episode with a sign of a more serious condition? It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparing. And I had a bad night. You know, you say you were exhausted, and I know you said that before as well, but you came, and you did have a tough month,

but you came home from Europe about 11 or 12 days before the debate, spent six days in Camp David. Why wasn't that enough rest time, enough recovery time? Because I was sick. I was feeling terrible. Matter of fact, the doc's with me. I asked them they did a COVID test because they were trying to figure out what's wrong. They did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, you know, a virus.

I didn't. It just had a really bad cold. And did you ever watch the debate afterwards? I don't think I did now. Well, what I want to get at is what were you experiencing as you were going through the debate? Did you know how badly it was going? Yeah, look. The whole way I prepared, nobody's fault of mine.

Nobody's full of mind. I prepared what I usually would do sitting down as I did come back with foreign leaders or the National Security Council for explicit detail. And I realized about part way through that, you know, although I get quoted to New York Times had me down at 10 points before the debate, nine now or whatever the hell it is. The fact of the matter is that what I looked at is that he also lied 28 times. I couldn't. I mean, the way the debate ran, not my fault.

Nobody else is all. No one else is fault. But it seemed like you were having to. And, Allison, that is President Biden's first network sit-down interview since the debate. It was a crucial test with his candidacy hanging in the balance. And yes, he agreed to that exclusive interview with ABC News as George Stepan. is coming after two radio interviews he had done earlier in the week. He had been doing mostly events that were scripted via teleprompter.

But again, many people, his critics, watching that interview that just came out moments ago. And what I found interesting, Allison, is that he also referenced polling there. Clearly some contempt for some of the polling that's out there, something that his campaign has really tried to downplay, sharing internal polling that still shows a tight race. race, but we heard that polling from the Wall Street Journal from the New York Times as well. President Bylan clearly expressing some annoyance there during that interviewer, Allison. And Gabe, as we were talking earlier, and as you just mentioned, prior to this interview, Biden did have that scripted rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

He had an incredibly defiant message. I want to remind viewers of what he had to say at that rally. And then we'll talk right after. Now, you've probably heard you had a little debate last week. Can't say it's my best performance. But ever since then, there's been a lot of speculation. What's Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race?

Is he going to drop out? What's you going to do? Well, here's my answer. I am running and going to win again. Gabe, from what your sources are telling you, at the White House after all of that speculation that he talked about in that debate performance last week. What's giving President Biden the kind of confidence we saw there? Well, look, he has to have that confidence at this point. You know where to continue forward.

And we heard it several times this week in these conference calls that he had both with his White House staff and his campaign staff. But multiple sources have told NBC News that earlier in the week and throughout this process, He has been torn between acceptance and defiance. This is obviously a very difficult decision that the president at one point felt humiliated after this debate performance. But you heard him right there, this defiant message, similar to the one he gave last week in Raleigh, North Carolina, president back here in Wisconsin, a key battleground. And we also heard in that rally that he really took on the issue of age head on. He repeated it multiple times. He even had some crowd interaction where he said that, well, he, you know, was he old enough to take out to take on Donald Trump and the crowd yelled out no.

So this was a key appearance here in Wisconsin and several more key appearances over the next coming days. He's expected to go to Pennsylvania on Sunday. And then he will hold a rare solo press conference at the NATO summit in Washington next week. And, Gabe, we have been watching reaction from congressional Democrats very closely over. the last week. I understand you have some new reporting on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democrat Senator Mark Warner. What can you tell us? Yeah, that's right, Allison. Multiple sources tell NBC News that Leader Jeffries is convening a virtual meeting on Sunday with congressional Democrats, Democratic ranking members, and it's expected

to focus on President Biden as he faces these calls to step aside. Also, Multiple sources telling me to see news that a key senator, Virginia Senator Mark Warner, he also plans to convene a meeting of his colleagues when lawmakers return from their recess next week to kind of see and chart a path forward for what President Biden should do. Now, a Warner spokesperson would not confirm or deny a report in the Washington Post that he planned to ask the president to step down. But this is all part of the broader context here, Ellison, is that congressional Democrats are really weighing what to do next. They went home for the July 4th holiday, probably heard from a bunch of their constituents,

and had been seeing this disturbing in some cases for them, these polls that show President Biden down more now than he was before the debate. And so they're trying to figure out what to do next and whether President Biden can turn this around. Ellison. Senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez. Thank you. For more on Biden's critical. interview. Let's get to our political pros tonight. Don Callaway, Democratic strategist and founder of the National Voter Protection Action Fund, and Matt Gorman, former senior communications advisor to the Tim Scott campaign. Thank you both so much for being here. Don, I want to start with you. Based on what you have seen of this interview so far, how would you assess President Biden's performance? Is this looking like it will be the boost he needs? Probably not. Listen, his performance in terms of his cognitive abilities throughout the interview were just fine. He said he had a bad night, and I think that's something that every American has had under work, at work, particularly under the spotlight. The question is, does it inspire confidence in the American populace that he can go out and not only last and win this election, but do the jobs another four years? I did not get that out of this interview, and I'm a big of a Biden fan that you get. I think there's been a historically successful administration.

But for what I would say to any Democrats, any talk, if we're asking President Biden to step aside, and let's be clear, that drumbeat is growing. Any talk about anyone other than Kamala Harris is an absurdist notion, both for social reasons. You cannot slap in the face the African-American voting base of the Democratic Party, but also for procedural reasons. You don't have that much time to introduce a new candidate to the American public and get the kind of name recognition as necessary. So Biden did not do a great job, but I think he's got a couple of weeks left to inspire Americans that he can do this thing. He can run this race. But if you're not talking about Kamala, you've got a whole bunch of isms shown. In this clip we have so far from this interview, the sit-down one-on-one interview with George Seponopoulos and ABC News. At one point, it seemed like there was the question from George and then the president either kind of lost his train of thought or just didn't answer it quite directly.

when you were listening to that moment, Don, was that the point where you thought, I don't know if this is going to do what they hoped it was, or was there a different moment for you? No, it wasn't that. I just didn't hear a whole lot of inspiration for the race ahead. I saw it at the rallies, the two rallies. But when I saw that pause at that question, you know, I think that all of us in media and in the world are so trained for rapid fire exchanges, we have the right to give people and public speakers have the right to be thoughtful in their responses, to listen, to hear somebody say, and to respond appropriately. So I didn't think there was any problem with his performance in the interview.

I didn't think he had a non-clearheaded moment in the interview, anything comparable to what we saw at the debates. And I continue to suggest that the real problem is with the guy who lied 30 plus times throughout the debate, and nobody's asking him to step aside. Matt, let's bring you in here. I saw you nodding your head as we talked about that interview. What stood out to you and what's your reaction to that portion of Biden's interview? And I guess we'll get the full one at 8 p.m. when it airs in full. Still, the speech, slow,

soft. That's not the Joe Biden of four years ago, certainly not if 12 years ago when he was vice president. Number two, I didn't understand his answer when he invoked the New York Times showing him down. It was a bit of a rambling answer, meandering. Didn't really make a lot of sense. And then number three, when he was asked whether or not he watched the debate back afterwards, he said he didn't remember. Again, if you're trying to inspire confidence in the Democratic base and the country writ large, he's still president, still his nuclear launch codes. Those three things stood out to me as mind-boggling and certainly not ones that will reassure the American public. Don, I do want to play a bit of an old ad for you, one that the Clinton

campaign aired back in 2008. And it was this ad where they're talking about a 3 a.m. call at the White House and that the next president will have to answer it. Let's listen. Then I'm going to ask you a question after. It's 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone? I'm Hillary Clinton and I approve this message. Biden has said that he's going to limit events after 8 p.m. and try to get more sleep. More sleep is always a good thing. But here on top story, It did remind us of this ad because the time was so specific. And if we thought of this ad from 2008, surely someone within the Republican Party has as well. I'm curious, Don, do you think Biden is opening himself up to attacks like that one that we saw from the Clinton campaign against then candidate Obama or possible candidate Obama in 2008?

No. I mean, Joe Biden is old. Whether or not a call comes at 3 a.m. Everybody knows that either one of our nominees at this point are older men. And listen, I would imagine, at least I would hope that even for a 45-year-old president, that they would have to wake up in the middle of a night for a 3 a.m. call. So, you know, I think the 3 a.m. call is a provocative notion, and it's a, that was a classic ad. But I really don't think the president's age matters about whether or not they're prepared to adjudicate a 3 a.m. call. I think that's kind of a square peg in a round hole, if you will. All right. Matt, let's talk a little about Donald Trump. He has not been making as much noise, I guess, as he would normally do on the campaign trail. At least it seems like that in the last week. Do you think that is a good strategy on his part, sort of letting Biden, I guess, flounder out in the open? Instead of addressing some of those questions, Don brought up about the numerous lies he did tell on the debate night. Do you think that's a mistake? Should he be more out in front right now in trying to drive a contact?

on at least the memory front? The contrast is on the Democratic side between those who want Biden to stay and those who don't. When your opponent's self-immolating, get out of the way. Look, you know, this is by far the most professional campaign operation of the three Trump runs. And it shows in times like this. You know, there is no reason to get in front of the headlines here. He obviously has to name a vice president. That will likely happen.

I bet you around a week from now. There's some time before the convention still. That is one of the few things that will knock this whole saga off the front page. Save that. It's a Trump card, no pun intended, when you want to reset the narrative. But right now, Democrats fighting amongst themselves, this whole saga, get out of the way and show the American people the contrast very clearly as you're seeing it with this ABC interview. Don, Massachusetts Governor Morah Healy released a statement earlier today.

And keep in mind, this is someone that the Biden campaign has used as a surrogate before, and she said in part this, quote, the best way forward right now is a decision for the president to make over the coming days. I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains or best hope to defeat Donald Trump. Don Healy was at that governor's meeting Wednesday, the one that took place at the White House. If the president cannot convince someone he knows who's defended him in the past that he's still capable of running for president after a face-to-face in-person meeting, how

can he convince voters who are wavering to come back when he does not have another debate until September? The big difference between the interview tonight is it's a much smaller audience than the debate stage would be, and it's so much shorter. Well, let's be clear. Mara Healy is one of 23, 24 Democratic governors and three members of Congress, Democratic members, that means 215 have not said anything. It means 22 Democratic governors have not asked the president to step aside. so I don't want to over-inflate Mara Healy or Lloyd Doggett's influence within the Democratic Party. I found a curious that ABC News kept saying top Democrats, top Democrats, well, you mentioned one governor out of 20-some and three members of Congress out of 215-some. You also had Tim Walls, you had Gavin Newsom, you had Westmore, you had Gretchen Whitmer all attend that meeting, and none of them came out saying that the president needs to step beside, and they haven't made statements to the contrary since.

So, you know, Mara Healy is a great governor. She's entitled to her opinion. This should by no means be extrapolated to cover the entire Democratic Party or even frankly the state of the Massachusetts Democratic Party's opinion on whether Biden should continue or not. And Matt, I only have a few seconds left here, but quickly I want to ask you if President Biden did make the decision to step aside. Who do you think Republicans are most afraid of as a possible replacement? Do Republicans think Vice President Kamala Harris is a more formidable opponent than Biden? It's a moot question because Kamala would be the nominee. I actually agree with Don here.

There's no way Democrats will bypass the first black and woman vice president. But look, here's a deal. Biden was always more popular than his unpopular policies. Kamala's less popular than her than the Biden administration's unpopular policies. That's a contrast we welcome. So you think Trump has a better chance beating Biden than Harris or vice versa, just to get a clear answer on that? Certainly the Joe Biden we see tonight, no problem. But I'm not, I'm certainly not bearish on running against Kamala, is what I'm saying.

All right. Matt, Don, thank you both. We appreciate your time and insights, as always. Turning now to Hurricane Barrel, the powerful storm making landfall in Mexico early today and now on the move towards Texas. It all comes as record-breaking heat continues to slam the U.S. amid a summer of extreme weather. NBC's Priscilla Thompson has the details. Barrel ripping through the Gulf of Mexico tonight. After slamming into the Yucatan Peninsula as a category two storm with 100-mile-per-hour wind.

The massive summer hurricane now taking aim at South Texas. We're preparing for the worst, praying and hoping for the least amount of rain. The storm already blamed for at least nine deaths after tearing through parts of the Caribbean this week, carving a path of destruction. I never really experienced a system like this yet, this is magnitude. In South Padre Island, Texas, the storm sending some vacationers in town for the holiday weekend packing. We're getting out before the hurricane. As residents collect sandbags and prepare to hunker down. It's always better to be safe and sorry.

Yeah, you're not taking any chances. Just being prepared. This as 140 million people face heat alerts nationwide. More than 50 cities from the Pacific Northwest to Arizona expected to break record highs. In northern California, another wildfire exploding overnight amid triple-digit temperatures. This one near Yosemite National Park. National Park. The fast-moving French fire already forcing evacuations. NBC's Steve Patterson is there. Here in Mariposa County, whole neighborhoods that were under siege. This fire came just feet away from

this town. Firefighters able to stop it just in the nick of time. Look at how close. It came to the football field, maybe 15 feet away. Wildfires, dangerous heat, plus a hurricane on the move, all marking what could be another summer of extreme weather. And Priscilla Thompson joins us now from South Padre Island, Texas. Priscilla, I see a lot of people behind you seeming to enjoy their time on the beach. Do you get the sense that people are taking this seriously? Yeah, Alison, it's a holiday weekend. There are tons of people out on the beach, and that's something that the governor and state officials here were very concerned about,

that people are on vacation and not necessarily paying attention to what's going on with the weather. And so they're trying to get the word out. We've talked to some folks here who say they are cutting their vacation short in order to get out of the way of this potential storm's impacts. But there are other folks who say their hotels feel safe and that they're willing to ride it out and wait and see where exactly this storm is going to track along the Texas coast. Ellison. Priscilla Thompson in Texas. Thank you. For more on the weather, let's turn to NBC meteorologist Bill Karens with the forecast. Bill, what can we expect in the coming days now that Barrel could potentially upgrade back to a hurricane?

Yeah, we have 72 hours, and then the storm's done. We're finally over with it. But it's that last 24 hours what it will be on the Texas coast and moving inland. And then we have the rain, the wind, the surge. It's just a matter of how strong can it get. Right now, it's a weak storm. The winds are not strong at all. It's still a tropical storm, but it's not causing any damage. But it's going to be over the warm water for the next two days. And eventually, not probably tomorrow, but by Sunday, things can get a little more favorable for it to start to spin and start to intensify. And that's why the hurricane center goes from 70 max wind, 75. to 80, and then before a landfall, getting up to 90. All of a sudden, that's strong enough to get some wind damage out of this thing. A little bit of storm surge problems, too. And no matter what the intensity is, we're going to have rainfall problems in Texas. So that's guaranteed. We're kind of pinpointed in here on Corpus Christi area. And as far as the forecast where the rain goes, Ellison, I mean, you know Houston. Houston gets five to ten inches of rain. We're going to have some issues. So that's what we've looked forward to on Monday, unfortunately. And Bill, what is the latest on this heat wave we continue to see across the country?

What a day. Raleigh, North Carolina, hit 106 degrees today. The hottest they've been in over 130 years. The hottest temperature ever recorded there. And we're close to the hottest ever temperature recorded in Reading right now. It's at 117. And this weekend, the West Bakes. Some areas of the East will cool off a little bit, but the humidity is still unbearable. And these temperatures are going to continue to be very hot. Look at Reading, 117, Phoenix, 116. And as we said, Ellison, Las Vegas and Redding are two spots that could set all-time record highs this weekend. All right, Bill Cairns, thank you. Heading overseas now to Iran, where voters cast their ballots today in the nation's runoff presidential election. The close race for the presidency coming after a record low turnout in the first round of voting, as the nation's economy continues to suffer, and tensions in the Middle East continue to rise. NBC's Sahel Kapoor has more. Tonight, Iranians voting in a critical runoff election to replace the late president, Abraham Raeisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash last month, setting off an unexpected

race for the presidency that has narrowed down to two options. Voters choosing between hardline former nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, who has advocated for deepening ties with Russia and China, and Masud Pazeshkian, a heart surgeon and moderate who wants to improve relations with the U.S. and the West. This is only Iran's second presidential runoff since 1979, and both presidential contenders have said they will revive the nation's struggling economy that was hit hard by U.S. sanctions imposed in 2018 by former President Donald Trump. The runoff comes after an initial round of voting last week that saw the lowest turnout

ever for an Iranian election in which no candidate got over 50 percent of the vote. residents voicing their apathy about the candidates. This woman saying she came to vote between bad and worse. Another voter saying they don't expect the next president to perform miracles since it won't happen. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Kamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, casting his vote from his residence Friday. Saying God willing, people vote and choose the best candidate. But some critics and activists have called for a boycott of the vote, arguing that a large

turnout could validate the Islamic Republic. And Sahel Kapoor joins us now. Sahil, what do we know about where this runoff election stands tonight? We are still in the preliminary stages, Allison. Voting was supposed to end at 6 p.m. local. It got extended to midnight. Voters inside were still allowed to drop in their ballots. The state-run broadcaster said counting would begin immediately.

with initial results expected on Saturday. And how is the U.S. reacting to this race? It's probably something they are watching closely. Reacting with a shrug. The U.S. State Department has said ahead of this runoff election, that they don't believe elections in Iran are free and fair, and that they don't believe any outcome here would fundamentally change Iran's direction.

Alison. Sahil Kapoor, thank you. Still ahead tonight, a California vacation turned deadly. A woman visiting Newport Beach killed after she was dragged by a getaway car during an attempted robbery. The details just end about the suspects and why the Prime Minister of New Zealand is now reacting to the horrific crime. Plus, holiday crash horror, the shocking moment caught on camera when a drunk driver plowed through a 4th of July celebration in New York City, killing three, including a mother and a son. The emotional moment the victim's family confronted that suspect.

And another July 4th scare. in Washington State tipping over while people were still on it. The investigation now underway. Stay with us. Top Story is just getting started. We're back now with a shocking crime out of Southern California. A woman from New Zealand killed during an attempted armed robbery in a popular shopping center. She and her husband, a well-known businessman from Auckland, were here on vacation. New Zealand's prime minister, who knew them, now responding to the tragedy. Adrienne brought us has the late details from authorities.

Tonight, New Zealand responding to tragedy in the Golden State. After one of its citizens, a 68-year-old tourist was killed in this small parking lot. The police say it happened Tuesday during an attempted armed robbery in Newport Beach, California. The suspects, who authorities say were from out of town, now behind bars. To hell with these guys. They came into our city, knowing that they were going to commit crime, and a woman is dead today because of it. In a news release, the Orange County District Attorney saying she and her husband were visiting

from New Zealand when two men attempted to rob them. There was a struggle, and at this point, we believe the suspects dragged her into the street. According to the District Attorney, the two men firing three shots and missing. Then a third person arrived with a getaway car and ran Patricia over, pulling her 65 feet before leading police on a high-speed chase. Yeah, you're always shocked. It's a terrible thing. Obviously, it's to feel terrible for the people that were victims of crime. Police say the youngest suspects, 18 years old, Jaden Cunningham and Malachi Edward Darnel, the third 26-year-old, Leroy Ernest Joseph McCrary. The Orange County District Attorney says McCrary has a history of crimes in California, including three felony convictions.

According to the DA, all three men are facing several charges, including. including murder. They're being held without bail. We have to do better as a society because we cannot tolerate this. The victim's husband Doug is a prominent Auckland businessman and former Auckland Council Chief Executive. Now, New Zealand's Prime Minister, who happens to know the couple, offering condolences saying, quote, my thoughts are with the McKay family after the devastating loss of Trish. They're great people, and my heart goes out to Doug, their family, and all those who knew Trish. Officials in New Zealand.

pausing for a moment of silence. Join with me in sending our very deepest and most sincere condolences to the Mackay family. And back in Newport Beach, the memorial at the shopping center, a reminder that tragedy can strike anywhere. I feel really sad because, you know, it's a member of family. And Adrienne brought us, joins us now from Chicago. Adrienne, it's a horrible tragedy. Do we have an update on how the husband is doing? And do we know if anyone else was hurt in the course of this?

Well, according to police, Ellison, no one was physically injured. And I say physically because emotionally, that's an entirely different story. The DA also said in that news release, he released just a short time ago that Doug was forced to the ground, held at gunpoint by those suspects who were demanding his watch. A Good Samaritan did try to help. Ellison. Adrienne brought us in Chicago. Thank you.

When we come back, American teen missing in Europe, the desperate search underway for a 14-year-old boy disappearing in Germany while on vacation with his grandmother, where authorities say he was last seen. Stay with us. Back now with Top Stories News Feed, starting with a Carnival Ride accident at a July 4 celebration in Washington State. The video shows wreckage of a swing ride after it tipped over while people were on it. This happened in Oak Harbor. That's about 90 miles north of Seattle. At least six people were hurt. A city spokesperson said the ride passed initial inspections. It's being re-inspected now to try and see what happened.

Authorities in Germany are searching for an American teenager who went missing while on vacation. According to local police, 14-year-old Aidan Brown was last seen leaving a cruise ship on his own Thursday morning in the port of Rostock. currently traveling with his grandmother. Police are also looking for a witness who they believe might have interacted with the team at a nearby train station. And the halls of Miami International Airport were not flowing with red, white, and blue this 4th of July. Instead, some travelers were greeted with neon green goo. Video shared by passengers shows fluorescent green liquid gushing from the ceiling and flooding part of a terminal. Cruise quickly determined to the situation was not hazardous. An official says it's actually water from the AC system that's dyed green so

crews can determine the source if there is a leak. Turning now to a fatal 4th of July collision in New York City, a suspected drunk driver crashing through celebrations in lower Manhattan, killing three and enduring several more. That man now in police custody as a community tries to make sense of the tragedy. NBC's George Solis has this story. This surveillance video shows the terrifying moments before a suspected drunk driver plowed through a New York City park filled with families celebrating July 4th. Watch again. The pickup truck zooms past a pedestrian on the sidewalk and blows right through a stop sign. Then you see the sparks fly as the truck crashes into the park trapping people underneath. Responding officers

who did arrive on the scene did smell some alcohol. Two women and one man died including Lucille Picney and her son Herman. Eight others were injured. How much did you have to drink? Tonight, fueled by outrage and heartbreak, loved ones of those killed screamed at the suspect. She has a son out home with no mother and no brother. Took two dozen family and what's dropped? Authorities charging, Daniel Hayden with driving under the influence. Hayden, who police say suffered these injuries in the crash, works as a substance abuse counselor

and even wrote this book about living with addiction. He's no stranger to legal troubles. arrested in February for assault and court records show in 2015. He pled guilty to a drunk driving charge in Wisconsin. Nowhere yet on an attorney for the suspect. Tonight that suspect also faces additional charges of vehicular homicide, assault, and driving without a license. Ellison? George Solis, thank you.

When we come back, sunscreen warning, a wave of skin care misinformation circulating online. What experts say you need to do to keep you and your family safe this summer? That's next. back now to an alarming trend on social media misinformation about sunscreen circulating wildly online but the american cancer society among many others says use it and thompson has this look at what you need to know just in time for the dog days of summer a wave of misinformation about sunscreen flooding some social media sites the sun does not cause skin cancer i think sunscreen causes skin cancer.

Sunscreen is a scam. As a teenage lifeguard, Jessica Jordan says sunscreen was not a priority. When I was younger, I didn't wear sunscreen. I was in the sun 24-7. In her late 30s, she says she paid the price. I have basal cell carcinoma. There's so much skin damage that it cannot be undone. That's what dermatologists like Jennifer Stein want people to avoid.

Damage can accumulate in your skin, which eventually could cause skin cancer and definitely ages the skin. Gives you brown spots and wrinkles. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S. with 9,500 people diagnosed every day. The most serious melanoma is expected to kill some 8,000 people this year. Sunscreen can protect you. There are two kinds, chemical and mineral. In chemical sunscreens, UV-absorbing ingredients, oxybenzone and octanazate,

can have toxic effects on marine. Green Life. Sunscreens with those ingredients are banned in Hawaii, Key West, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. If those chemicals are a danger to marine life, are they dangerous to humans? Right now, we don't know. There's a question mark. So if you're not sure, you can just go with the physical sunscreens for now. Those are the mineral sunscreens with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. Doctors say you should use a water-resistant broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 and apply it every two hours. Prevention to make sure your fun in the sun is safe. Anne Thompson, NBC News. For more on this summer sunscreen warning and how to keep your family safe, I want to bring in board

certified dermatologist Dr. Michelle Henry. Dr. Henry, thank you so much for joining us. Let's just start with sort of the broad concept of what you are hearing from your patients right now as it relates to sunscreen, this trend we're seeing on social media with misinformation related to sunscreen. Are you getting more questions from patients who are worried about using sunscreen? Absolutely. So, you know, the great thing about social media is there's a lot of information, but not a lot of education. So patients are receiving all this information, but they're not getting appropriate orientation. And a lot of it's scary. So I have patients coming in wondering, are these chemicals dangerous? What can I do? What I always say, it's a great time to be alive.

for someone who wants to use sunscreen because we have many options. We have many safe options. We have mineral sunscreens. We have chemical sunscreens. We have sunscreens that have been proven safe. And so there are many options that one thing that is critically important is that sunscreen is prevents cancer. UV light is a carcinogen. And it really is critical to prevent the skin cancer epidemic. So talk to us about some of those different types of sunscreen you mentioned. When we're at the store or if we're planning to head to the beach, what sort of thing should we be looking for in our sunscreen? Yes. So when you're looking for a sunscreen, what the American Academy of Dermatology recommends

is at least SPF 30 for daily use, SPF 50, if you're outside for more than an hour. We want you to reapply that sunscreen every two hours looking for something that is water resistant, so 40 minutes or 80 minutes. That's what you're looking for, something that you can use quickly, readily reapply to really keep yourself safe. What's your take on this chemical versus mineral sunscreen back and forth? How do you make that choice? What would you advise for your own family? So both of them work well.

And I think that chemical sunscreens that we have on the market are safe and that the physical sunscreens we have are safe. You want to make sure they're broad spectrum. So chemical sunscreens historically are more elegant. So they blend into the skin more beautifully. They're not going to give a white cast. They're easier to spread. Some have concerns that there have been some data in the mouse.

model, so in mice that are really using much more than we use on a day-to-day basis, that they may have some effect on the hormones. If someone is concerned about that, then physical sunscreens are completely safe. So those contain zinc and titanium dioxide. So they're inert. They stay on top of the skin and we do not absorb them. And so I think both of them are safe. But if you are oriented in one way or the other, there are options for you. Okay, so I am going to make this segment a little about me, in part because when I was 26, 27, I hadn't been in the sun in years. And I went to the dermatologist and turns out I had what was at the time they diagnosed as stage one melanoma. And I had to have two big surgeries for it, have a massive scar on my back.

It's changed the way I live my life moving forward because I have to be more vigilant, go to the doctor more frequently, because I now have a more likely risk, I guess, moving forward that maybe I could get cancer. But so because of that, I do want to show you a mistake. I hate to say I made recently, but I did do it. Dr. Henry, I was on vacation in Mexico and I was using a spray sunscreen. I use those religiously, like I take them everywhere because I find that they're easier and quicker to use, but I have a really embarrassing photo that we're going to show you on national TV because we care about your skin. So this is me, and you can see my knees are just toasted.

I use spray sunscreen, but I didn't rub it in after spraying because I thought that was sort of the point of spray sunscreen, right? I've since been told that was a rookie mistake, and I have heard from unofficial experts you should rub in the spray, like after you spray it. Is that true or is spray sunscreen just not as good as a more traditional sunscreen lotion? So that is absolutely true. So, you know, it's easy to use, especially for moms with kids, it's easy to chase a kid with a spray sunscreen. So I hear that a lot in my office. What I actually recommend is that your first application of sunscreen should be a lotion for that very reason. You want to make sure you're covering all of your skin that you don't have any skip areas.

If you are using a spray, you absolutely must rub it in. But I think a pro tip is to use a lotion first, and then when you're reapplying, use a spray. It's less risky. Great advice. Dr. Michelle Henry, thank you so much. We are so glad to have you and your expertise. We appreciate it. Thank you for having me.

Still ahead tonight, a look at what you can binge watch and listen to this weekend. The buzzworthy show about the cutthroat real estate market in New York City, plus a new installment of the Beverly Hills Cup franchise 40 years after the original was released, and new music by Lana Del Rey and Cuevo. We're back now with Bingeworthy, our look at the best things to watch and listen to this weekend. We're joined now by Samantha Rowland.

She is the deputy editor of Entertainment and Business Insider. Samantha, thanks so much for joining us as I immediately drop my paperwork. But we'll get started with a pretty big week for Netflix. A lot of the ones we're focusing on are coming out on Netflix. This first one is a docu-serie.

that it's about a man who is a prolific and also maybe nefarious and or not good and lying about all of it, sperm donor. And it leads into this kind of legal chaos. We hear from families who have been, in their view, victimized by this donor. Let's watch a clip, and then we'll talk after. I got to know him on the internet. He has curly hair. We really hope that our kids have his hair. We were totally sold.

I'm ready to have beautiful babies. Nine months later, I had a baby boy. But that wonderment was totally ripped from us. She said, your donor is quite famous. This guy is a serial donor. How many? How many children do you have now? So this is on Netflix, Man with a Thousand Kids.

What do you make of it? Well, it's a pretty depressing story, but a very interesting legal case. All of these families who realized that their donor hadn't just donated to maybe a few families, but had actually maybe donated to 500,000th. There were many countless more that he donated to outside of the sperm banks. And this man who is Dutch traveled the world donating his sperm. The motive is really unclear whether he really wanted to help families or he had something else going on where he felt he needed to.

But many families are now, of course, concerned about accidental incest, things with their offspring, and bring some legal action against him. He's also already spoken out about the documentary when he's been reached for comments, and he's called the Netflix documentary misleading. So we will see if he pursues any legal action. And if I'm not mistaken, that one is a three-parter, and pretty easy to just kind of roll through it. Yes. Okay, so next one we have, this is a new movie from a very famous franchise that stars Eddie Murphy.

This one is called Beverly Hills Cop Axel F. It is also on Netflix. It's over 300 years since the – that is not right. Over 30 years since the original movie Beverly Hills Cop. This is a clip. This isn't my first time in Beverly Hills. Yeah, I saw that. 84, 87, and then 94.

But this place has changed to baby. What brings you back to 902 or no? I got a call for Billy. He's in trouble now. What do you want for me? I want you to be a cop again. You got to do something. Axel, if you damage any city property.

You're in a snowplow? Okay, so one question. I did have about this. Why Axel F? Like, why didn't we do a full last name? Are there two axles in the movie? It does look good. Yeah, I mean, it's getting medium, decent reviews, and especially after 30 years with no movie. Fans are finally happy to have something. These are the movies that made Eddie Murphy famous in the 80s. And there's actually a really fun cameo in this one. His daughter makes a cameo as one of the police officers who arrests him in the movie. And another thing. That's his real daughter. Yes, yes. His daughter real plays one of the cops, female cops, when he gets arrested at one point, which is a really, she really wanted to be in the movie. And so they found, like, a little role for her. She has a couple lines. Oh, that's fun. The benefit of having Eddie Murphy as your father. Yeah, it's great. Okay, we love to see that. This next one that we have, it looks pretty good. I haven't seen it yet. Love Emma Roberts. It stars her, and this is one that is streaming on Amazon Prime. It's about Emma Roberts, who's playing a bartender, who decides that she's going to just go for her child.

childhood dream of becoming an astronaut and gets in to the NASA space program after a fluke slash some playing, I think, with her resume. This one is called Space Cadet. Dear NASA. Oh, girl. This resume will never get you in. But let's make a few changes that will. Dear NASA, I've accomplished everything I've ever wanted.

Dr. Tiffany Simpson, you have been selected for astronaut training. I'm going to be an astronaut! Johnson Space Center. I'm actually here. Legally blonde takes space vibe, maybe. I was just about to say it's giving Legally Blonde in space, which I kind of love. And Emma Roberts definitely loves it too. She said that when she was going to sign on to this movie, she also signed on to produce

because she'd been doing a lot of very dark projects. She was just an American Horror Story. She really wanted to do something light and fun and inspiring. This is definitely it. It's just some fun. You know, it's probably pretty implausible. but you can just sit back and just let it wash over you it's a good summer it seems like a good all ages in the family can probably get on board with this someone with two sisters and many different opinions these types of movies when they come on it's like okay yeah that one we can all watch so good summer option there the next thing that we have is a reality show people are obsessed with real estate reality shows this one is called owning Manhattan and it is about one of the biggest real estate firms in Manhattan there's reality drama luxury real estate everything a lot of people want

Watch. Welcome to New York City. We have a good, bad, ugly, crazy. Ready, set, Sirhan. The real estate business in New York is cutthrow. I've sold over $300 million in real estate. I want to set a record. Confidence is my middle name.

I plan on being a top producing agent in New York City. These new agents are just different. I'm like a Ryan Sirhan and a Kim Kardashian combined. This is my competition? OK. So in the control room, our executive producer, says it's been watched in his house and their fans, what do you think of it? Well, if you're a fan of shows like selling Sunset, selling the O.C., there are many others,

I think, buying London, this is another installment that you will probably like. It's of the genre where you'll see a lot of luxury real estate, but you'll also get a lot of people fighting and outrageous outfits. So if that's for you, also this one being in New York City, one of the big plot points is trying to sell this penthouse for $250 million over Central Park. So if you like looking at how the other half lives in New York City, this is a special one. I was going to say, I feel like most people watching this, half of my friends, it's like, are we watching this just because we know we will never ever be able to buy in this economy,

those types of homes? But okay, sure, let's watch it on TV. This next one on our list, it's called American Barbecue. It's back for a third season on Netflix, and of course it has to do with a lot of barbecue. Check it out. I just hope this decision I made was a good one. Amen, sister. These cooks are here to show us their.

And you won't believe what we have in store for them. Ooh, I love a plot twist. We're serving up some tangy twists. We're serving up some tangy twists. I told y'all things are gonna be different. I love barbecue. I'm from Georgia, so I'm like, these are my people. My uncle actually professionally competes in barbecue competitions.

He has his own barbecue sauce. So like this, I get the vibe. Not on this one. Pitmasters, but this one's been really popular, right? Yeah, it's pretty popular. This is its third season, so it's still going. It's also hosted by Michelle Buteau, who is a comedian. So she is really great.

She hosts a lot of shows. She's very funny. It adds a little bit of something different from a lot of these very, very serious food competition shows. This one I kind of like to think of it as chopped, but for barbecue. There are different competitions. You know, you might have to, like, smoke something underground or, like, do things barbecue in a different way or with a different cut of meat.

So if you're not having any barbecues this weekend, you can salivate on Evel, for sure. You can dream through the screen. Michelle Bintot is, like, hosting a lot of the new Netflix game show, reality shows. I loved her doing The Circle. I did too. That's a big sell for me. Okay, this next one, it is going to be music by Kendrick Lamar. And it's different because this song is already out.

If you haven't heard it, I don't know where you have been. It's iconic, but he's released a music video to accompany his disc track about Drake, not like us. This is the video. I'm gonna do my stuff. Why are you trolling like a bitch? Ain't you tired? Trying to strike a chord. And it's Polly A minor.

They not like us. They not like us. They're not like us. I mean, playing off, it looks like, on just the insane concert that he had in L.A. Where everybody just turned out and knew every word to this song. Like, I'm a huge Kendrick Lamar fan. What do you make? Yeah.

I mean, so am I. And this is definitely just a victory lap. For him, this feud, it's obviously not over. This definitely brought it back up, but we were doing this all the way in May. So it is back now, and there are a lot of cameos in this. There are some from producers, but the biggest one is his fiancé and his children, as you can see here, are in it. And that is a very, very pointed message to Drake, who has said some pretty nasty things

about his family or alleging that there was domestic abuse, things like that. So by putting them all together, you're showing there's a united front. Okay, so this next song, it's a collab between Cuevo, who's a rapper from Atlanta, was in the group Migos, does a lot of his own stuff, and is also great, and Lana Del Rey. It's called Tough. Here's a listen. I didn't know. I needed a Lana. Del Rey Cuevo collab, but maybe this is the collab we didn't know we need that we need. Yeah, I think their voices actually mesh really well together.

This is kind of a return to her collaborating with rapper, something she hasn't done in a while. It was more than 10 years ago that she had the National Anthem music video with ASAP Rocky, which is kind of similar to this in its aesthetic. And I really love it. It's interesting. We don't really know whose song this is, who's a collaborator if it's both of them, but Lana has said that she's having a country-inspired album coming out in September.

So not that this is country, it's a little bit of hip hop mixed with country, but we'll see if it ends up on the album. All right, a lot of good options. Samantha, thank you so much for being here. We really appreciate it. And thank you at home for watching Top Story. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. Stay right there. More news is on the way.