Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, June 12, 2026

Episode Date: June 13, 2026

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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight we're live from the World Cup in Los Angeles. Team USA about to take the field right behind me. But we begin tonight with the massive tornado outbreak across the Midwest. Monster twisters like this one ripping through the heartland. More than a dozen barreling across the region. Homes torn to shreds, this man rescued from the rubble. And Elon Musk officially the world's first trillionaire. His company, SpaceX, going public, making the biggest stock market debut of all time.

The shootout in Texas, police officers firing at a man barricaded in a building. One person killed, 10 others hurt. New video tonight from the moment a massive warehouse fire broke out, and now it's expected to take days to put out. Here at the World Cup, our interview with the U.S. players hoping to make history on their home turf. Plus, we'll take you inside the operation to secure those games across the country. While in Peru, officers dressed up as World Cup mascots, busting down doors to arrest an election. alleged drug dealer. Plus, the United Airlines flight delayed over this massive swarm of bees. And our great American this week, the voice of one of the most iconic calls in all of sports.

Top Story starts right now. This is Top Story, live from the World Cup. Reporting tonight from Los Angeles. Here is Tom Yamas. And good evening. We are live from Los Angeles, and it does not get any bigger than this. The World Cup is back in America, and just over my shoulder here in this stadium, SoFi Stadium, Team USA lacing up to kick off in their battle for global glory. 70,000 fans will pack this stadium to root on the American men as they take on Paraguay tonight. We'll have much more on that matchup and the massive security operation all across the city in a moment. But first, we want to get right to those devastating scenes in America's heartland.

At least 19 tornadoes reported across multiple states. Take a look at this massive funnel cloud, carving a path of destruction. This was in Illinois. Multiple twisters, though, touching down across the state, and videos just showing their monstrous size. Winds reaching up to 165 miles per hour. The aftermath, here it is, is devastating. Homes and neighborhoods and cars completely mangled.

And there was this unbelievable moment. Look at this. a photojournalist saving a man that was buried underneath the rubble. You can see him coming out right there. Our Maggie Vespa has made her way to the storm zone tonight. And Maggie, residents telling you they cannot believe that they made it out of it alive. And when you see that destruction, you know why. Yeah, Tom, exactly.

Look at a house like this and you completely understand. Look at this. I mean, you can see right into the kitchen of this home. This house is completely destroyed. The woman who lives here rode out the tornado, rode out the storm in her. bathtub. She can't believe she made it out alive. And keep in mind, this is just the latest wave of severe weather to slam the Midwest. Oh, my God. Stunning video of a monster twister barreling through America's heartland.

Amid a devastating outbreak with 21 reported tornadoes ravaging multiple states, including Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. I've never seen a tornado a person. In Indiana, where black class covered the sky and EF3 clocking winds up to 165 miles per hour. In hard hit straighter Illinois drone video shows this entire cul-de-sac leveled. Sherry Bogan survived hiding in her bathtub. I mean just seeing your home like this. It's so devastating. I mean it's just heartbreaking. Nearby a photojournalist finding this man buried in rubble.

I think I got a broken leg. First responders arriving minutes later. Neighbors tell us this is the home where that man was rescued. You can see it's in pieces. I talked to him over the phone. He says he has a shattered ankle and other injuries, but he's grateful to be alive. At Chicago's Midway Airport, passengers and air traffic controllers taking cover. There's a tornado warning, so we're evacuating the tower.

In Michigan, a six-year-old girl is injured after damaging winds toppled a tree onto this home, burying her underneath. Her dad frantically digging her out. Cinder block, rubble, tree, iron, all on top of the bed. I wouldn't give up. Back in Illinois, as Sherry looks around, she still can't believe she made it out alive. How do you make sense of that? God was watching out for me. He's not finished with me yet. And Maggie joins us tonight live once again from Streeter, Illinois. Maggie, it is unbelievable there. Sherry's house is behind you somewhere there. She told her. She almost didn't hear the warnings.

Right. Yeah, Tom, this might be the most insane part of her story. She, when the tornado was rushing toward this house, was taking a nap in that bed behind me, the one that the wall is leaning over. Imagine if she'd still been in that bed. She thinks she would have been killed. Thankfully, last minute, her son called. He said, I've seen the forecast.

You have to take shelter. She races over into this bathroom behind this mint green wall. She barely makes it in time. That's the only part of the house that still standing. And again, she can't believe she got there in time. We're hearing so many close calls like that. Thankfully, miraculously, Tom, no fatalities were reported as a result of this storm. That is a bit of good news there with those people that have lost so much.

Maggie, we thank you for you and your team for being out there tonight in that storm zone. There's another big story we're following, obviously, today. SpaceX storing to new heights tonight with the biggest initial public offering of all time. Elon must be coming the world's first trillionaire. and he isn't the only one making big money. NBC's Christine Romans explains. Liftoff came at 1147 AM. Shares of SpaceX began trading on the NASDAQ

and immediately soared 11%. The stock's rise launched the net worth of founder Elon Musk, making him the world's first trillionaire. He addressed employees this morning. I gave SpaceX less than a 10% chance of succeeding at all. Originally priced at $135, SpaceX shares closed for the day at 161, making it one of the 10 most valuable publicly traded companies, even though last year it lost billions of dollars. I started trading about the age of 18. 23-year-old Daniela Rodriguez works in advertising in Miami.

She tried to buy five shares of SpaceX in the IPO, but was allotted just one. She sold early in the trading day, pocketing an almost 20% profit. I love to be a part of something that's historical in the stock market, number one, and I love to say that I did that. And, you know, if you can cop a dollar while you're at it, why not? For a company that almost went bankrupt in its early days after its first three rocket launches failed, today, SpaceX is a NASA partner, transporting both astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station. It is Starlink, the low-earth satellite system for broadband internet. It is also social media in the platform X and artificial intelligence chatbot GROC.

This is actually going to have a generational impact on my family. Robert, who asked to withhold his last name in order to discuss personal finances, was a SpaceX engineer for five years. The shares he earned, now worth millions. For somebody who, you know, basically live paycheck to paycheck for most of the 2010s. I thought if I was lucky, they might be worth $8 million. a million. So the fact that it's worth more than that, you know, I'm kind of blown away. A reminder in IPO is a risky, volatile investment. The market today valuing SpaceX at $2.1 trillion.

That's all on hope for future earnings and a bet on Elon Musk. Tom. All right, Christine, we thank you for that. I want to bring in our panel tonight for their takes on this IPO. Dan Ives is a managing director and senior equity analyst at Wed Bush, securities of financial service firm. And Keith Snyder is an analyst at CFRA and investment research firm. Dan, you've been bullish on SpaceX. Explain how it could be a good idea to invest in a company that right now is operating at a loss. Yeah, look, I mean, Tom, I think with SpaceX, it's really much more about AI and data.

And what I really kind of view as potentially a future fourth industrial revolution. I mean, if you look at what Musk is built, look, today, just like a lot of tech companies like we've from NVIDIA, Amazon, and Microsoft, and others. I mean, this is really the start, not just of space, but what I ultimately will be data centers in space. Yeah, it could be. I mean, there's a lot of potential there, but there's a lot of what-ifs. Keith, you have been more skeptical, if you will, of SpaceX's valuation,

as have others. Your research put a target price for SpaceX, and I think that's around $115 a share. Do you still stand by that tonight? I do. I mean, a lot of the revenue growth we're looking at is somewhat speculative. And we just don't know. There's a lot of markets that we haven't seen actually develop yet.

And they're asking us to believe in a number that just doesn't make sense to me mathematically. And, I mean, you know, if you look at what their total addressable market is, according to them, it seems kind of like a fantasy right now. And so this is really a show me story. And until they start proving that they can actually build out AI, I mean, obviously, connectivity is doing quite well, and we continue to expect it to do well. And the rocket launch business is going to be something on a flywheel for the other businesses. But there's just a lot of growth that we don't know if we actually are going to see in the market. And so we just can't get beyond the $1.5 trillion mark, which is still being pretty generous with estimates and multiples. So, Dan, you know, I'm looking at this video that we're playing here.

And, you know, some people are thinking the SpaceX stock is like a rocket chip. It's going to keep going up and up. But we just heard there in Christine's piece, there are people buying this stock just to sell it. Do you see a world where the value plunges next week? I mean, look, I think, look, this continues to really be. one. The success is not going to be over the coming days or the coming weeks over years. But if you look, I mean, today was an important day in terms of what investors showed their belief in SpaceX. As well as also, look, there's a company that had, you know, pretty strong price discovery in the private markets.

And at the end, you're betting on Musk when you're betting on SpaceX and those that bet against Musk and Tesla, that was the historic wrong bet. Yeah, it's a great point. People who do bet against must sometimes lose in the long run. Keith, we know that Anthropic and Open AI are going public sometime this year as well. Should people hold off buying SpaceX to invest maybe in those two AI companies? And again, there is this larger conversation about the entire AI industry being overvalued. I mean, that is literally the trillion dollar question right there. And I'm sure Open AI and Anthropic were why. watching this IPO very closely. I think given how well it performed, they may hit the gas

pedal a little bit on their own filings just to kind of cash in. But you know, with SpaceX, right now their AI business is really just infrastructure. They're renting out to Anthropic for 1.2 billion per month and also to Google for 920 million per month. And so from our point of you, they're more or less a glorified AWS right now, and they're just renting capacity. They have to move on to being a model provider like Anthropic, like OpenAI. And so, you know, when we were valuing them, we gave them a multiple at a premium to Anthropics, current multiple based on their last round of funding, and still came up short on the valuation. And so, you know, these two companies, Open AI and Anthropic are definitely seeing.

this and they're seeing dollar science because they can IPO right now, possibly build up a big war chest in terms of cash and then invest it into their own infrastructure, their own buildouts, everything that comes with AI model development. And so right now I would say as a market, I mean, the IPO market is clearly alive and well. There was a big appetite for SpaceX. I believe that will continue with Anthropic and Open AI.

Dan and Keith, I'm going to tell our producers to have you guys both on in a year. And if Dan is right and Keith is wrong, Keith, you've got to buy him dinner. All right, so we'll see where the stock is in a year. Guys, thanks for being on top story tonight. We appreciate that. All right, guys, we're going to take a turn now to a serious story, some alarming video we want to show you.

There's been a shootout between a police and a gunman. At least one person is killed, and 10 others were injured in the shootout. Here's Aaron McLaughlin. Harrowing video shows officers taking cover behind a vehicle. In the middle of a shootout with a suspect barricaded in a building in Midland, Texas. Those nearby terrified and hiding. As the sound of gunfire rang throughout the city's industrial corridor. Damn!

Amidst a massive SWAT response. I saw one person, there was a person down. We got inside. We've been waiting to see what's going on. The final moments of an hour's long onslaught spanned multiple locations, killing one person and wounding at least 10, according to the mayor. The suspect was found dead inside the building. We've received this information based on the confirmation of a robot and a drone footage. The gunman identified as 45-year-old Victor Mata Villa Real, who'd been wanted for attempted capital murder after firing multiple shots at an officer during a police chase on Wednesday. The victims are being treated in two hospitals, with Midland Memorial reporting four needing surgery and five discharged.

Tonight, the FBI and Texas Rangers are investigating the deadly rampage. Aaron McLaughlin, NBC News. Back here in California, we are just moments away from the first World Cup kickoff on American soil in decades. And for the U.S. team, it's a chance to prove they belong on the world stage. USA. More than 70,000 fans will pack this stadium in Southern California. It's been a dream to go to a World Cup game period, but here in the U.S., that's going to be awesome. As the U.S. men's national team opens its World Cup bid against Paraguay, and the biggest sporting event in the world returns to U.S. soil.

Algarados, Croce. Yesterday, it was Mexico, defeating South Africa 2-0 before an ecstatic home crowd in Mexico City. Tonight, the U.S. men's national team determined to prove they belong on the world stage. Now having a World Cup on home soil, it really is something special for us. All eyes will be on star player Christian Polisic. The 27-year-old dubbed Captain America, widely considered the most talented American player of his generation. I feel we have a bit of an advantage just knowing each other so long. Defensive midfielder Tyler Adams plays professionally in England,

but says when the U.S. team comes together, they have an edge. I think our chemistry, our bond is what's going to carry us over other teams. Outside the stadium, there's another team playing high-stakes defense. We look over here, we see security, there's law enforcement officers everywhere you look, but you guys are really concerned about what's in the air. Drones? That's correct. Drones is one of our biggest concerns, but obviously we take all threats seriously.

Law enforcement using the latest tech to keep aerial threats offside. How many miles are we talking that you guys are watching to make sure no drones come in. Yeah, we've got several square miles here. As you can tell, it's a giant area, and we've blanketed it with our counter-UAS and ground intercept teams. There's a zero-tolerance policy. We will be citing and seizing your drone if you violate a temporary flight restriction. For the team tonight, it's all about the action on the field. I think that's the main thing, knowing that we left everything that we had and we can be proud of our performance and that the country can be proud of us as well. And we are so excited. We are so excited.

for this game to start. Just behind me, you may be hearing some of the bullhorns that are going off as these fans are entering SoFi Stadium. And we're so lucky to have Morgan Chesky here who's been covering a lot of the lead-up to the World Cup, especially here in Los Angeles. So Morgan, walk us through it. Is L.A. excited for this big game tonight? More than excited. The vibes are high. The anticipation is even higher, Tom. And I have to tell you, before this game is even happening, yesterday at the fan fest, to watch Mexico kick off, taking on South Africa and toppling them, we had the L.A. Colise. packed with Angelinos converging to watch their home country, or many of them still have family members, and cheering them on to make for this kind of magical moment. And what struck me is many of them were wearing the jersey for El Tri, that red, green, and white. They said, hey, I'm going to wear this today, but tomorrow it stars and stripes red, white and blue, got to cheer on Team USA. And this is an exciting moment because this is the year that a lot of people say,

this men's squad, Tom, has a chance to do some real damage in the group. and then even outside of that. They're saying it could be the best team USA ever so far. We hope, but we also know that Paraguay is a good team. This is not going to be an easy match for them. So I'm told. Look, there's a couple elephants in the room, right? You got baseball going on right now.

We're in the middle of the season. You have something called the NBA finals that are also happening. And now you have the World Cup. But you come out here and you see the people here and they're so excited and they're waving flags and they're dressed up and their faces are painted and they're dancing and they're singing. And you saw that when you're at the fan fest, right? Of course.

And you and I have both covered sporting events as Super Bowls, etc. March Madness. The unity I think that you witness when you cover a World Cup is like anything that I've experienced and to see the convergence of people united behind a singular moment, a singular team. And it's really special because I think for some of the families I spoke to yesterday, you know, the generations kind of mark their moments by World Cups. I spoke to a grandmother who had her son and her grandson there with. They said, you know, there's no other place we'd rather be.

This is bigger than Christmas. And they're also, you know, not afraid to throw down for it too here, Tom. A couple flew in from Colorado Springs just to go to the fan fest yesterday. He's going to be inside this building tonight. He said he picked up some odd jobs. He failed at every raffle, every ticket, $2,000 a ticket. Is what he got? Zero regrets.

Wow, that's incredible. It's funny because you're hearing stories about empty seats in some venues and then you're hearing about $2,000 ticket. It's here. It really is strange. Talk to our viewers about the landscape where we are, because we are in Los Angeles, but this is Englewood. A lot of different police departments coming together to sort of protect SOFI. We heard from the FBI director for L.A. in my report, they're worried about the drones, but you look out and you see a lot of police here. A lot of police. I mean, just walking to this area, you're seeing officers with canine units walking by and then dozens of people wearing that blazed yellow security vest. A security higher than anything I've ever witnessed, and this has been described as, you know, more than 70 Super Bowls over the course of 39 days in Mexico, in the United States, in Canada. So the coordination at the local state and federal level is, frankly, wildly impressive. I think you mentioned in one of your pieces the anti-drone technology, the restricted airspace, not to mention just the security that fans have to go through to get inside.

My FIFA credential that I had to obtain for the press, three-hour line. So they're making sure that every nook and cranny of this event is buttoned up to the max. Yeah, and then talk to me about the watch parties here if you can't get inside. Is Los Angeles hanging out tonight watching? Everywhere, everywhere. I mean, there's official watch parties in parks across Los Angeles, and then you have the unofficial watch parties. You know, for example, if there's, you know, a restaurant that, you know, is Paraguayan,

you can rest assured that they are packed tonight. They have all the TVs on. Everyone just trying to soak up those magical moments that only have a lot. every four years. Yeah, Morgan Chesky, we thank you so much for being here for us. Team USA has their own Captain America. You're our Captain America here at NBC News. Anytime. We thank you for being here, and we thank you for saving the day

once again. We're going to have much more coverage of the World Cup later this hour. And a reminder, you can catch every moment of the FIFA World Cup, 2026, live in Spanish, on where else? Telemundo, of course, and Peacock, and in English on Fox. But you know what? It's better in Spanish. No, I'm just kidding. Still ahead on top story. Done deal. This is just in tonight. The DOG.

signing off on Paramount's plan to take over Warner Brothers Discovery. We'll tell you more about that. And new video of that warehouse fire in California, how it spread from the package shelves and grew into this massive cloud of smoke. Stay with a special edition of Top Story. We are back now with the latest twist in the controversial UFC fight night at the White House and had a federal judge knocking down a lawsuit that had tried to block the event that we first told you about last night. And now there are new concerns about possibly dangerous weather for the outdoor event.

Gabe Gutierrez is at the White House. The show will go on. Tonight, final preparations are underway for an unprecedented spectacle at the White House. After a federal judge rejected a lawsuit trying to block the UFC fight night on President Trump's birthday, also celebrating America's 250th anniversary. It's a gift to the American people. They're going to see their White House and their capital on their nation's birthday, celebrating with a historic event.

This towering claw 90 feet tall, beneath him. it, the Octagon, part of a temporary arena seating 4,000 spectators, including active duty troops. Up to 120,000 fans are expected in an overflow area on the ellipse. The remarkable display includes corporate sponsor logos, and some fighters will come out from the Oval Office. A senior administration official says that was an idea from the president who's a long-time fan of the immensely popular mixed martial arts sport.

We're all human beings and fighting's in our DNA. We get it and we like it. Some of the fighters training for the heat and humidity on the national mall. Court filings revealing the show is costing UFC and its affiliated groups at least $60 million. I've been involved with a lot of big events. I've never had an event that's had more interest in the UFC fight. It's expected to be hot and humid this Sunday, but organizers say the event will go on. Rain or shine.

Tom? All right, Gabe, we thank you for that. We have a passing to know tonight. Beloved Today's show icon and film critic, Gene Shalett, has died at the age of 100. Savannah Guthrie remembers his life and legacy in film. You know what you're looking at now, folks, is a moving picture. With his trademark mustache, bushy hair, and famous turns of phrase. Don't forego, fargo.

Dispastic, elastic, iconoclastic. Gene Shalot. was as iconic as the stars he interviewed. This is NBC. They're best. For four decades, he was an integral part of the Today's Show team, starting as a contributor in 1970. I'm Barbara Walters here at the NBC News Center in New York with Gene Shalett.

Going on to become today's entertainment correspondent and movie critic. Good morning and welcome to the Critics Corner. His reviews never mincing words. Two words, Istar is terrible. Born in 1926, Gene grew. grew up in Morristown, New Jersey, where his parents, immigrants from Latvia, owned a drugstore. He started his career as a journalist early, writing a humor column for his high school paper.

He was a master at interviews sitting down with some of Hollywood's greatest stars, the big, bright, and even green. Do you think he might ever marry Miss Piggy? From the philosophical. Is that nice to be named after two presidents? It's never come up before. To the playful. What's your favorite food, Mel? Ketchup.

His laughter was. loud and contagious. They're as big as golf balls. Jean married his wife Nancy in 1950, and they had six children together. She passed away from cervical cancer in 1978. He lost his daughter, Emily, to ovarian cancer in 2012. In 2010, Shalett retired from today, like any good movie, knowing when to wrap it up. But his friendship, laughter and talent we will forever treasure.

Our Savannah Guthrie remembering Jean Chalett tonight. Coming up still here on Top Story, the wild arrest overseas officers dressing up as mascots to take down an alleged drug dealer will show you more of that video. Plus, you've heard of snakes on a plane, but what about a swarm of bees? The pain they cause for some passengers. That's next. We're back now at Top Story's news feed, starting with the Justice Department of officially approving Paramount Skydance's plan to take over Warner Brothers Discovery.

The deal valued at $110 billion. The DOJ says it signed off after deciding that it did not hurt competition or American consumers. The merger will bring together two historic Hollywood studios and reshape the U.S. entertainment industry. A new video from that devastating warehouse fire here in California. We told you about this last night. Here you can see flames breaking out at the top of a storage rack. The fire destroyed this. million square foot medical supply building, forcing people into other nearby warehouses to evacuate.

It's still unclear exactly what caused the fire, but luckily, police say nobody was heard. And bizarre video of an alleged drug bust in Peru. Police released this footage appearing to show officers dressed up as World Cup mascots breaking through a metal door and arresting a suspected drug trafficker. According to local media, they seized a bunch of cocaine and marijuana as well as a gun ammo and cash. And a United flight couldn't take off on time yesterday, but not because of bad weather or traffic issues. It got delayed because of this swarm of bees clinging to the wing of the plane. At one point, a ground crew member even put on a beekeeper hat.

The flight was headed from Cancun to L.A. It eventually got off the ground. As you can see here, just a little speed on the runway did the trick. Okay, now to the all-new dateline tonight about Anna Kinessevich, the American woman who vanished in Madrid in 2024. Our good friend Jose Diaz-Belard spoke to the detectives at the center of the case, and friends still desperate for answers. Take a look. It was an unimaginable situation.

Less than one week after her best friend Anna disappeared, Sana Rameau, flew to Madrid. I wanted to do everything to find my friend. Her first stop, the American embassy. I said this is regarding an American citizen. I need help. Sana felt sure her friend was in danger, but she couldn't imagine anyone why. wanting to hurt Anna. What was she like?

Very bubbly person, great smile. Anna was a successful businesswoman who had the freedom to go where she pleased. She said, I'm going to go to Madrid for a little while. Alex Montilla, then an agent with the FBI, took on the case. What did you got tell you? This is not a behavior of someone that would just disappear. That is her apartment.

That's her apartment building. And this is where the investigation begins? Yes. What was discovered would become the focus of an international manhood. A man with a helmet, spray painting, surveillance cameras. For me, that's a mindset of a murder. And with that, Jose Diaz-Belard joins Top Story tonight.

So, Jose, this is the first dateline that you've done. Congratulations on that. Why was this case in this story so important for you to tell? Tom, good evening. It was important for me to tell because what happened to Anna happened to someone who could have been our daughter, our brother, our sister. it's a case that really kind of touched us because this is the story of a young lady who had a very difficult childhood

and she grew up, was born and grew up in Bogota and Colombia, and in her early 20s, finally gets the opportunity to change her life and emigrates to the United States to South Florida, reaching and having that American dream. She reached that American dream upon arriving to the United States. She also met while in South Florida another immigrant, this case a gentleman from Serbia, and they met, they fell in love, they got married, and they got to work. But 13 years into their marriage and into the American dream becoming a reality, they drifted apart. And she said, you know what, I'm going to take a little pause, and I can go anywhere in the world because they had this mini empire in South Florida, Tom. She says, I'm going to go to Madrid.

And she moved to Madrid, sixth floor apartment in Salamanca, the neighborhood, one of the nicest neighborhoods in Madrid, and started anew again, dating, friends, and an incredible life. And really, Tom, in just about a month and a half after she got there, one night, she disappeared. That is terrifying. You grew up in Madrid for part of your life. What was it like to go back and to shoot this story? Yeah, you know, Tom, we were exiled in Madrid from when we left Cuba after 1959. And to go back to Madrid and to walk the streets that I had walked as a little child. and, you know, she grew up, sorry, she spent her last days in Salamanca, but those were her nights.

During the days she would go to the Prado Museum and she would go to cafes and nightclubs and bookstores and wine bars. And a lot of those experiences were experiences that, with the exception of bars, I had had growing up. And to kind of think what she was feeling as she was walking down cobblestone streets that are hundreds of years old and that have so much history, but that those cobblestone streets for her were a new road to a new life. It was a really interesting way of reconnecting with a part of my life. And I shared that with her as exiles. we were growing up in a city where those roads were the road to a new future. Yeah, you spoke to a lot of people in this case that were very close to Anna, close to the investigation. What's one thing that's going to stick with the viewers and with you?

You know, Tom, one thing that I think all of us that watch will agree on is that Anna had some extraordinary friends. This is the story of Anna Kinesovic and her daughter. disappearance. But it's also the story of three extraordinary women, two of Anna's best friends, and Agent Alex Montilla of the FBI. Those three women refused to accept no for an answer. They needed to know what happened to Anna. They didn't stop until they found out what had happened to her. And I think that our viewers, will get a good idea of what determination grit and love are all about. Jose Diaz-Balart, we cannot wait to watch that.

Dateline's Missing Anna airs tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern, 9 p.m. Central, of course, on NBC. Still ahead tonight here on Top Story. It's one of the most iconic sounds in soccer. That's the voice of legendary broadcaster, Andres Cantor, our great American this week. We talked to him about his path to the world stage. Coming up next on this special World Cup edition of Top Story. We are back now from L.A. and all eyes on the American men set to face off against Paraguay in their first match of the World Cup. I want to bring in someone who knows World Cup competition well. Josie Altudor is a former Team USA striker and now World Cup commentator for Telemundo.

You're doing both languages. Yeah, I'm going to try. Congratulations, man. That's amazing. Thank you for being here. So we're just moments away from kickoff here, which is going to be. So incredible. Tell me what America. Americans everywhere should be watching for for this team.

I mean, I think a team that's going to come out and really try to get the fans on their side. You know, it's important anytime you're playing the first game in a World Cup, you need to make sure you get the public involved, right? And your play is going to do that. And I'm really excited to see the boys take the field today. A lot of work and prep has been done for this moment. So in a lot of ways, it's also a celebration. You know, and this is no disrespect to you.

Some are saying this is the greatest Team USA soccer team. Do you believe that? Is that the truth or is that hype? Well, you gotta show it on the field. And I think these guys, that's what motivates them, right? They wanna create their own legacy, they wanna create their own stories and their own history. So I think it'll be all on show today. They have the talent, that's not in question.

It's one of the most talented groups who've ever seen. And let's hope they can put it together now during this tournament. Let's go sort of micro. How is their bracket? Is it a difficult bracket? Can they use it to their advantage? Yeah, I mean, every World Cup, the brackets are difficult. Right? Every team has qualified, has earned the right to be here.

so there are no easy games. I think, listen, it doesn't matter what side of the bracket you're on, you're going to have to beat the best teams, right, to win the tournament. And so for the U.S., it's no different. It's a challenging group, but a group that I know they can thrive in, so hopefully tonight is the first opportunity to do that. And tell our viewers, I mean, it's Paraguay, but this is not an easy match for Team USA.

No, no, anything but easy. Paraguay is a fantastic team. They've done a great job. They have to qualify in a very difficult region with some of the best teams in South America, so they're going to be here ready to play. Talk to me about the captain here. the main man, Christian Polisek. Why is he such a great player?

Christian's special. I mean, for a number of reasons. I think he's coming to the program at a young age and really start to establish himself, you know, showing up in big moments. So it's no surprise to see his continued growth. And obviously he's going to be a key guy, but I believe the supporting cast as well will be really important in this tournament to make sure they take some of that weight off of his shoulders. So we were just here. We're up on a balcony and some fans were hollering out at you. Yeah. You're such a big star in this sport. You're now going to be in the broadcasting booth. Talk to me about the prep for that, because it's going to be in Spanish,

and you have to do all the research, obviously, for the World Cup. Yeah, I mean, with anything you're doing, right, there takes work, it takes preparation. But I'm just really excited to have the opportunity to participate in what is such a historic tournament on home soil. So it's going to be a great memories that we're going to make this summer, and I'm honored to be a part of the broadcast. Give me your honest assessment, because you grew up with this sport, you've seen it grow in the United States.

Is it where it needs to be, or do you think we're still sort of in maybe a baby phase of soccer in America? Yeah, look, you can't beat time, right? And we're up against countries that have had teams and leagues for 100 years. Now, we're slowly getting there. It's, you know, 30-odd years in our professional league. And so, you know, I think the growth will come. It has to take time. Josie, thank you so much. Good luck. Congratulations. We'll be listening to you in both English and Spanish. So thank you. Thank you. All right. And when it comes to announcing soccer, there's perhaps no voice more iconic than our great American this week. His legendary goal calls have come to define broadcasting for the sport. Our great American this week, Andres Cantor.

What do you love most about America? The freedom that you have, the freedom to dream, the freedom that you can really fulfill your dreams. With one word, Andres Cantor took a sport once considered foreign in the U.S. and gave it a voice. And this summer, that booming voice faces the ultimate test. biggest World Cup in history. It has to do, I mean, first and foremost, how much air I have in my lungs.

For Telemundo's legendary play-by-play man, it is a marathon, hundreds of hours on the air, and an instrument that has to withstand it all. There's so much prep. Just getting your voice ready, what do you do? I take voice lessons before every World Cup. Born in Argentina, Cantor was a teenager when his family moved to California in the 1970s. He spoke no English. What do you remember about that experience?

I remember crying with my parents when we called our family back home and we had the stopwatch for three minutes because if you've gone the long distance call more than three minutes, you know, was very, very expensive. It was very, very tough at the beginning. He found his footing both on the pitch and writing for the school paper. I always tell the same joke. You know, I didn't go pro because there was no league way back when I graduated from college at the USC. At one of his first jobs, he was thrown into play-by-play, instinctively unleashing the roaring, elongated calls he grew up listening to in Argentina. He became a U.S. citizen in 1992. Then two years later, last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup.

Those signature calls turned him into an overnight pop culture icon. I have no control. What did you think as you were riding this roller coaster? What did I think? I'm just as simple. I love soccer. Soccer is my life. That love on full display in 2022 when his beloved Argentina led by Lionel Messi

captured the trophy once again. Cantor's raw, tearful call went viral worldwide. Do people come up to you and just scream, goal? You have no idea who they are? All the time. All the time. I am super-moving. up to this day when people come up and say,

you made me cry. I cried with you, and I'm not even from Argentina, because you transported me two times that I watch soccer with my family and with my parents that are not longer here, or my grandfather that is no longer here, and I cried for Messi, I cried for you, and I cried with you, and that is very, very powerful. Decades ago, Cantor coined a phrase for the U.S. men's national team,

The Selection de Tos, everyone's national team. What do I mean by that? We owe a great deal of gratitude to this country. When the U.S. plays, it's everyone's national team. Because if we're here, we're here, mostly because we wanted to be here. It's a wonderful feeling. And I love this country as much as I love Argentina. Now an extraordinary moment.

Watching a country he loves embrace the game he lives for. And you can catch Andres and his colleagues calling all of the FIFA World Cup 2026 games live in Spanish on Telemundo and Peacock. And you can watch the games called in English on Fox. Coming up, a special edition of Bingeworthy. What's new on streaming this week? Plus some of our favorite soccer movies and songs to get you in the mood for the World Cup. Top story. Back from L.A. right after this.

We were back down with a very special edition of Bingeworthy. Our look at the best things to watch and listen to this week. And joining us tonight is Darren Carp live in Los Angeles, pop culture expert and host of the podcast after the edit. We've gotten some new releases and some soccer picks to get everyone excited for this World Cup. Darren, so great to see you. Good to see you. Yeah, this is cool. Look at the game.

I know you're a huge soccer fan, right? USA, baby. Here we go. Yeah, you're going, right? I'm going to root hard, face paint and all. I'm going to look for you. Are you really or no? Of course.

Are you? Okay. With the yellow or no? No, this is my Tom Yamaz's outfit. All right? I got to put respect on the name. That's a lot of look. All right, so big news for Peacock, the mother ship, surviving Earth.

Talk to us about what this is. Give us like a little sneak peek because we're going to have a clip to show. Yeah, this is an eight-part documentary series on Peacock, brought to by Tim Haynes. This is more than just being into T-Rexes. And this is about five extinction events that really shaped the Earth. What's really interesting about this is it's like it's not the fact that dinosaurs roamed and what caused them to go extinct, but really what we can learn from that. And bringing that into present-day culture with climate change and animals and stuff like that.

It is beautiful. Sounds great for the weekend. Climate change, extinction. Oh my God, so much fun. Let's look at a clip. This is the story of life on Earth, shaped by catastrophic events, where creatures of every kind have always had to find a way to survive. You know what, Darren, we were just talking during this clip.

You're saying you learn a lot, which is always good. Yes, you do. And sometimes right before you go to bed, you kind of like, it's fun to watch these. There's a calmingness to it, even though it's about like these huge world events. There's something. It's an air raiders. Yeah, and also the narrators. But the CGI is truly impeccable, incredible.

You almost be time warped into that period. It's really cool. Next up, we're talking about prime video, a drama series, Y.A., young adult, right? People are into it based on a very popular book. This is every year after, and here's a clip. You're always there for each other. I just want to be there for him now. Hey.

There you are. Percy, this is my girlfriend, Taylor. Hey. My oldest one, sorry. So we were talking again during the clip, Darren, as we like to do, and you're asking, are my kids too young for this? My oldest 13, Y.A. is kind of like, you know, it's okay, but you've got to be careful. So let me ask you.

What is this? Does it get too risque? Yeah, no, no, it's not too risque. This is good. This is based on Carly Fortune's novel, but they actually turned it from every summer to be every year after, as opposed to every summer, because. they really want to expand it into different years.

They see it going multi-season. What's brilliant about this and what I really like about it, which is why your kid might be interested, is it's a tale as old as time, but it's friends kind of turned into something more into a romantic environment. That's how I met my wife. And so there's something there for teens as well as adults,

and it really harkens back to that. Just fun rom-comness. All right, Amazon Prime. We are here at the World Cup, of course, and we are so excited about the game tonight, but also soccer movies. Nothing like a good soccer movie. This is going to get you out, Tom.

This is it. Here's my pick. We'll go by pick and then you can go to your pick. My pick first is a documentary, which was incredible. It came out in 2019 about Diego Maradona. It was on HBO. You could still stream it. Here's a clip.

The most poor of Italy, the player the best share of the world. Napolona in the first place, we've been provoked. It was, it was. For us, One of the greatest to ever play this game. No one played like him.

No one partied like him, whether it be in Italy or in Argentina. The legends are everywhere. He won a World Cup. He beat England in one of the most memorable matches ever. I mean, the guy was just an animal in every sense of the world, but fans loved him. I mean, I loved him too. I mean, he was probably the single-handedly outside Pele,

the name that I grew up playing soccer with. They have a move named after him. It's kind of this 360. pirouette on the pitch that I used to play with. But this documentary is really interesting because it's 500 hours of unseen footage. You get to know Maradona in such a different way. And it actually covers the years that he's in Napoli, which changed the Italian soccer club forever.

So it's about 1984 to 1991. He obviously had a very tumultuous personal life as well. We get to see that in this doc. But to your point, it's going to get you amped for the Wolfcombe. And you know what? He was not a big guy. And Messi, very different personal life than Marilona. He's a family guy.

But they're both not large athletes, and they're incredible on the pitch. I mean, like, nobody can touch them. That's what's good about soccer, though, is because it really has nothing, it actually has nothing to do with size. And technically, the smaller players do better because you're a little bit more agile and you can move quicker. Speaking of the greatest ever, your pick, maybe have the greatest comedic actor ever. Roger Dangerfield. Roddy Dangerfield, yes. I chose Ladybugs for you, only because this was the defining moment of my soccer career.

I played for about 15 years. I loved soccer. And we would always have... Wait, ladybugs? And you're the defining moment of your song. Okay. Just listen, okay. Sorry, go, go.

You know, we had sleepovers as girls' soccer. The girls' soccer in the United States is really, really, really strong. And so we'd have pasta parties. We'd always watch Ladybugs. This is from like the early, early 90s with Rodney Dangerfield. But it's about teamwork. It's about heart. And honestly, as a New York Knicks fan, I take a lot of the lessons that I learned from

Lady Bugs into the Knicks right now. You just got to play and you got to trust and communicate. And you never know what could happen. We have a clip. If we can roll it. My company sponsors a girl's soccer team. I'm coaching the ladybugs. It sort of goes into the promotion, you know?

It's a big office right next to mine just waiting for a guy like you. What the hell you know my soccer? You kick the ball down the field into the neck. Try and control the ball. Oh God, Dangerfield is so great. But this is a good movie, too. It's a good reminder. It's a phone to watch with the kids too.

Let's turn to music and FIFA World Cup music. FIFA actually releasing an album for this World Cup with new music from Daddy. Yankee. This song is called Echo. Let's take a listen. Love seen Daddy Yankee. I thought Daddy Yankee had retired. Am I wrong? I thought he had announced something, but he's back out with this song. Yeah, he's back out with this song. I think people come out for the World Cup. I mean, what's beautiful about the FIFA Sound Initiative is it's bringing together all different cultures and all different types of sound together. The World Cup is the World Cup. Unlike the World Series, America only cares about it.

This is such a global phenomenon, and this bringing in Latin and Caribbean influences. It's hard not to listen to this and want to get on the pitch yourself. There's been some bangers from the World Cup. You have going back to Ricky Martin, Pitbull. You have Shakira, of course. Is there a banger yet this year? Do we have a 2026 song, World Cup song? It's like exploding.

Not yet, right? I think if USA wins tonight, whatever plays after that's going to be the banger here. We actually have one more to play. And this one is called Goals. And we all have goals. We do. So let's listen to this one. That's Lisa, Anita, and Rema.

It is called Goals. And you're right. That one does. So is it. A lot of poppy bangers, it slaps, it's a bang. Is that still a cool word or not really? For you, Tom, I'm going to count it. For you, Darry.

Thank you, but Asia, South Africa influences. I mean, this, I listened to it this morning, and already I was just like hyped up, amped up, ready to go. I think people are going to be listening to this far past the World Cup, which is for the next 39 days or something. So this one's a banger. I think it's going to be on a lot of people's Spotify playlist.

Darren Carp, always so great to see you. Thank you for bringing here for Top Story and for Binchworthy. We appreciate it. And we thank you for watching this special edition of Top Story reporting from the World Cup here in Los Angeles. I'm Tom Yamis. Stay right there. More news on the way.