Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, May 15, 2026

Episode Date: May 16, 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 in Beijing as the Super Power Summit comes to an end. The new details we're learning about what was agreed upon as we tracked major breaking news back at home. The stunning international operation, the FBI taking this man into custody, saying he planned terror attacks in New York, Los Angeles and Arizona. That suspect accused of coordinating attacks across Europe. This stabbing rampage in London and a synagogue firebombed in Belgium, how officials tracked him, down. Also tonight, President Trump's red carpet walkout, capping off a historic summit with China. What Trump says happened behind closed doors with China's leader, the progress he's touting over trade and how both sides came together over the war with Iran. Did this meeting mark a monumental

shift in relations between both countries? We'll explain. With a U.S. arms deal stalled, Taiwan is taking matters into their own hands. We get an inside look at a drone factory ramping up production. The massive explosion at a lumber mill, nearly a dozen injured, emergency crews rushing to put out raging flames. What set off that blast? Wildfire emergency raging flames burning through buildings, plus the dust storm, blinding drivers, sending debris flying. Waymo's go wayward, wild video of the self-driving car circling a neighborhood called the sack endlessly, bumper-to-bumper backups. Is it a serious glitch? And railroad ramming, the train, barreling through sending this truck flying, what happened next? Plus, health officials sounding the

alarm over a new Ebola outbreak where those infections are surging. Top Story, starts right now. This is a special edition of Top Story, live from China. Reporting tonight from Beijing. Here is Tom Yamas. And good evening again from Beijing. We are live from Rattan Park in the heart of the city. This park the side of an ancient altar known as the Temple of the Sun. The day is just beginning here as the superpower summit between the U.S. and China comes to an end. President Trump bidding farewell to Beijing after another round of intense face-to-face meetings with President Xi. We have new details tonight on what came out of this whirlwind summit, the potential deals on U.S. goods, and how China could help with the war in Iran.

Moments ago, the president touching down in D.C., so what promises, if it's a president, any did the U.S. come away with. We'll have more on the summit in just a moment. But first, we have some breaking news about that war and the attempt to bring it to America shores. Federal prosecutors tonight announcing the arrest of this man, the leader of an Iranian-backed paramilitary group, accused of carrying out terror attacks across Europe in recent months, and plotting new attacks on Jewish sites in New York, L.A., and even Arizona. These exclusive images show Muhammad al-Assadi being taken into custody. He's now in a New York jail Cell. Officials say he's connected to more than a dozen horrific attacks in Europe, primarily

targeting the Jewish community. And the FBI says his ties go all the way to the top of the Iranian regime. Photos show al-Sadi with former top commander Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike during the president's first term. Our Tom Winter is following it all and leads us off tonight. Tonight, the FBI and NYPD saying they foiled potential terror attacks against Jewish sites in New York, L.A. in Scottsdale, Arizona. Plots, they say, are all tied to the Iranian regime. This man, Muhammad al-Sadi, now held in a New York jail cell, is an alleged high-ranking member of the mysterious terror group called H-A-Y-I. Authorities say they've already carried out 18 terror attacks in Europe, primarily targeting the Jewish community, including this suspect,

tackled by British police after a stabbing rampage outside a London mosque. And the group carrying out the firebombing of this Belgian synagogue. Tonight, the FBI says H-A-Y-I is a front for the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah. And they say Al-Sadi's ties go right to the top of the Iranian regime. Multiple photos show Al-Sadi with former Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Kusim Soleimani killed in a U.S. drone strike during President Trump's first term. Al-Sadi has specifically threatened to kill President Trump on social media. He is certainly a leader in this terrorist organization, and he was directing an inspiring terrorist attacks.

These photos exclusively obtained by NBC News show his arrival in New York last night after he was taken into custody by Turkish authorities, according to prosecutors. They say since April he's been communicating with an undercover officer, offering to pay tens of thousands of dollars to attack Jewish sites in the U.S. Well, Tom Al-Assadi was in a federal court in Lower Manhattan today to answer for those charges after being brought over from Turkey overnight. And this was his first appearance, so he didn't need to enter a plea of guilty or not. That'll be likely at a hearing sometime later this month. He did want his attorney to tell the court and tell the judge they believed he was a prisoner of war. Of course, the backdrop of all of this, Tom, is the security threat in this country, given the ongoing tension in the Middle East and the war there, with the FIFA World Cup starting in just less than a month, Tom.

Okay, Tom, thank you. Now to the Super Power Summit here in Beijing. President Trump tonight touting new trade deals with China. Touching down back in Washington just moments ago, here's what he said as he returned to the White House. All I can say is that was a great success. It was fantastic. We made great deals.

We did great trade deals. We have great relationships. And a lot of things have happened. you'll be hearing about him. But that was a tremendous success. I think it really was a historic moment. Thank you very much. And tonight we're learning more about what happened

in those closed-door talks with President Xi, including talks on the conflict with Iran. Tonight, President Trump back home after that whirlwind summit here in Beijing. China rolling out the red carpet for President Trump until the very last moment. The president revealing more about his high-stakes meeting with China's President Xi, including on Iran, saying he did not ask China to pressure the Iranian regime

to open the Strait of Hormuz. I didn't ask him to put pressure because, you know, I don't need favors. I think he will. I think automatically he'd like to see it opened up. He gets about 40% of his energy or his oil from that, you know, from the Strait. We get none. Saying they had similar views. We feel very similar, right?

We want that to end. We don't want them to have a nuclear weapon. We want the straits open. And tonight, President Trump revealing he could support a 20-year halt to Iran's nuclear program, but that Iran must end all of its nuclear enrichment, something the Iranian regime is refusing to do. 20 years is enough, but the level of guarantee from them was not enough. In other words, it's got to be a real 20 years. On trade, the president looking to boost American businesses, bringing top American CEOs,

now touting new Chinese orders of U.S. goods, including American agriculture. The farmers are going to be very happy. They're going to be buying billions of dollars of soybeans. And Boeing tonight describing a very successful trip, reopening the China market, receiving an initial commitment for 200 aircraft. China announcing they've reached new common understandings with the U.S., but has not given any further details. All of it after President Xi took President Trump on a tour of the gardens inside Chinese Communist Party headquarters,

and the president touting their relationship at tea. He's a man I respect greatly, become really a friend. What did they accomplish? Well, I think the base minimum we could talk about in terms of accomplishment is some stability. We can say that perhaps things are less confrontational, at least for now. But no progress so far on U.S. to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy publisher and critic of China's Communist Party convicted of violating a national security law.

I brought up Jimmy Lai, and I would say the response to that was not positive. And we're going to have much more from China in just a few minutes, but now we want to turn to our new reporting on Cuba. The U.S. Justice Department now seeking to indict former Cuban leader Raul Castro. and tonight we're learning just how soon that could happen. Here's Gabe Gutierrez. Tonight, NBC News learning the Justice Department is pushing to indict 94-year-old Raul Castro, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

He's Cuba's former authoritarian leader who still wields immense power and is the brother of the late Fidel Castro. One of the sources says the charges, which a grand jury would need to sign off on, would be related to a 1996 incident when the Cuban Air Force shot down two civilian planes piloted by a humanitarian organization, brothers to the rescue. Back then, the U.S. said audio showed the Cuban pilots celebrated the shootdown.

Four Cuban Americans were killed. President Trump declining to comment on the report, but slamming Cuba's communist regime. You talk about a declining country. They are really a nation or a country in decline. Protest have erupted in Cuba as fuel shortages have escalated. On Thursday, remarkable site in Havana, the CIA director meeting with Cuban officials. And it all comes as Cuba initially rejected a U.S. offer of $100 million in humanitarian aid. Tom, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Cuba's foreign minister says that's an absolute lie, that there is no money coming. Are there any strings attached to that $100 million in aid? The only strings attach is that they have to be distributed by non-governmental sources like the Catholic Church. So what's the holdup?

Cuba's lying? Cuba. They're holdup. Yeah, they're lying. They lie all the time. And with that, Senior White House correspondent, Gabe Gutierrez, joins us again here on the ground in Beijing. So, Gabe, we have some breaking news about when the indictments may actually happen. Yeah, that's right. A person familiar with the investigation tells our colleague Kelly O'Donnell that charges against Raul Castro were set to be revealed on May 20th. That's considered Cuban Independence Day. That's next week. So that new development coming just a few moments ago.

And then I do want to ask you about this aid offer. We had heard that Cuba's going to take it. I know you have some new reporting about something else. rhetoric is ramping up now? Yes, that's right. The top diplomat for Cuba inside the U.S. in an interview with the Hill today really ramped up the rhetoric against the U.S. You remember our colleague Kristen Welker interviewed Miguel Diaz-Cannell recently, and he said that Cuba would defend itself if the U.S. were attacked. Now, this top diplomat is saying that Cuba is prepared to defend itself, that it could be a bloodbath in his words, and that he doesn't want

to see any Cuban soldier killed or any American soldier killed. But certainly, Tom, even though The U.S. aid is now being accepted, according to Diaz Canal. Cuba, the Cuban government, is still ramping up its rhetoric, and tensions are still really high between these two countries. Yeah, and the reason they're probably saying this is because they saw what happened right after Maduro was indicted, and the U.S. went in there and extracted him. Could that happen to Raul Castro is a big question. All right, Gabe, we thank you for all that.

While this historic Beijing summit has come to a close, questions about the future of a Taiwan persist. A $14 billion U.S. weapons deal still awaiting approval from President Trump, the self-governing island which China claims as its own, now preparing to defend itself if it must. NBC's Janice Mackie Freyer got an inside look at a drone factory in Taiwan, now ramping up production. In the rivalry between the U.S. and China, the biggest flashpoint remains Taiwan. And the billions of dollars in arms the U.S. sells to the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own. Yet there are mixed signals from President Trump on support for Taiwan.

President Xi would like us not to, and I'll have that discussion. With China's leader Xi Jinping, warning any mishandling by the U.S. could jeopardize relations. Beijing wants Trump to delay or even scale back weapons deals, including a $14 billion package in limbo for months. On Air Force One, President Trump acknowledged that she asked him directly if he would defend Taiwan. He asked you if you would send troops, if you would ask me if I defend them. I said, I don't talk about that. After Tom's interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week,

nothing has changed in the way the U.S. views the relationship with Taiwan. It will defend Taiwan as has been historical. U.S. policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanking the United States for, quote, clarifying that it supports and values Taiwan's trepice. But concerned that America, may no longer have Taiwan's back. Taiwan is expanding its own defense industry,

producing drones. Companies like Thunder Tiger that got its start making remote control cars now pivoting to drones for military use. Low cost, high volume, and built without any components made in China. We have the capacity and the capability to set up our own fortress,

you know, the manufacturing fortress here. and first of all, it's non-red. That non-red, meaning not Chinese supply chain. Funder Tiger, the biggest drone maker here, has its own motor factory. So how many pieces a day? There's about a thousand pieces per day. And then it's roughly about 33 pieces per second. The motors made here end up on drones like this.

This is an attack drone. And this one company is making 2,000 a month. Taiwan's drone industry grew out of lessons learned from Ukraine, where the war with Russia transformed what were specialized tools into cheap weapons and shown how much drones have shaped the battlefield. But the real catalyst here is China. Taiwan's government is pouring $1.4 billion into developing drones. Heavy armor still has a role, but in Taiwan's terrain, it's more constrained and vulnerable.

The U.S. is also interested in Taiwan's air and sea drones, to reduce reliance on drones made in China. You want to shift from foreign military sales, which take a long time to deliver, to direct commercial sales, which are dual-use kind of technologies that can deliver faster. With uncertainty in Taiwan about how far the U.S. might go to defend the island, drones are seen as a way to scale up and buy time. All right, Janus joins us now here live in Beijing. So Janice, the big question, how does Taiwan view what happened this week here in China?

Well, with those comments by President Trump and Secretary of Ruby, Taiwan has taken the chance to weigh in in a statement to remind people that China's military is routinely doing drills around the island and engaging in so-called gray zone tactics. China has never made any secret of its ambitions to unify Taiwan with the mainland, and it's why Taiwan has watched this summit so closely, and has been messaging for weeks and pointing to those recent weapons sales as evidence for China that U.S. support for Taiwan is still there. What are the lasting impacts you think of this summit? Well, this summit came at a critical time for the U.S., for China, and for the world for that matter. And the goal from the outset seemed to be stability for these leaders to prove that they could cooperate or at least manage tensions. And that for the most part has happened, but on Chinese terms. Yeah, we'll see what happens when President Xi comes to Washington later this year.

Janice, we thank you for all your reporting this week. With a diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and China taking center stage this week, We wanted to get a window into how young people here view American culture and our country. I sat down with three young adults who live in the Beijing area, and we talked about everything from President Trump to Taylor Swift to their hopes and dreams for the future. Lori Giao, Luci and Chen and Viola Ma are all college grads or about to graduate, living in and around Beijing. I was curious about their thoughts on America. So what are some American brands? or products you like?

Apple? Yeah, Apple. Yeah, Apple Watch here. Yeah. What are some American artists you like? My favorite artist will be Lady Gaga. Yeah, I'm a little monster. I was the fun of Taylor Swift's

Love Story. I always feel there's a connection between me and her. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For me, I've never been to the States. I think I've been growing up watching American films, mostly Disney and Pixar films. films and of course Universal Studio and everything. So for me, my impression of America mostly comes from those films.

Mostly America is like a land that encourages creativity and freedom and kindness and purity. So for me, that's my impression. I was exchanging there for a semester and I do like the lifestyle that people are practicing there. Do you guys all use chat chibiti? Yes, of course. Yeah? Yeah, but for me, I think it's more convenient to use like dobal.

Just do bao. Doebao is like the most prominent AI tool here in China right now. And I think the very core difference from chat chipe t is that dobao is more fun. Dobao is more interesting. It's more interactive. So I don't just use dobal for like research, search or work. I use Doebao just for fun to chat.

So you use the chat bot like a friend? Kind of. Yeah, kind of treat Dolba as a friend. When you're on, you know, an AI bot or you're on the internet, can you tell that you're being censored that the government is blocking you from, like, firewall or like blocking you from searching something or you're not getting, or maybe you're getting propaganda? From the experience that I've had, I rarely met a situation like this before. because still we can search many things on the internet

and probably everything, but I think there are some sensitive topics. Can you get on American news sites? Yes. Without a problem? Yeah, that wouldn't be a problem. What do you think about President Trump? So, I used to hate Trump,

but I have to mention one person which changed my mindset about Trump. This is JD-1 seminar. I read about his book, his book and it, wow, totally changed my mind. You read J.D. Vance's book? Yeah. Hillbilly Elogy?

Yeah. Some political correctness in America, you know, is rising, you know, recently. And maybe Trump, you know, he also represented some people who hate this kind of, you know, political correctness. I don't think that extreme political correctness is right now in America. So you hated Trump, but now you kind of like him? Kind of like him. And this answer from Lori about religion, where in China the communist government encourages atheism, surprised us.

Anything else in American culture that you guys love? Well, I wouldn't say it's love, but I've been really interested in Christianity recently. Christianity? Yeah. Like, I'm not religious, but I have a couple of friends that I met there. And then they were a Christian, so they taught me something about it. But, like, I am atheist personally. So, like, yeah.

So you're Christian curious. Yeah, I wanted to know why they believe in God. I also asked about a social media trend where young Chinese lie flat, just like this after graduation. Some say it's a protest to China's slowing economy. Some of them, you know, they were told to study hard, study hard by their parents, maybe since their primary school. Yeah, and then they can't find a job. Not everyone. I don't think it's not everyone. But, you know, under huge pressure, they don't know what, they really want to do.

They were just told what they should do. I feel like personally I have a very different story to tell because just judge from the experience of me and like my peers around me, we don't really kind of lay flat. I feel like it's more about trying to explore where the opportunity lies instead of just like saying directly that you can't find a job. But lying flat is very different. Lionfly is like to find a place for you, to be who you are instead of being who you are instead of being pushed forward.

What is happiness for you, do you think, looking into your future? I think just, I will stay focused on my job for a long time in the future. I want to make real impacts. So for me, happiness is like to have your own house, to have the books you like. I think my wish is simple, but of course it's not very easy to accomplish since nowadays the houses are very... expensive to afford. And with Beijing hosting that historic summit between President Trump and Xi Jinping,

I wanted to know how they saw the future. Do you think in 10, 20 years, China and America are still friends, or do you think they are enemies? I would picture them as friends, because I feel like the relationship between big powers is never like zero-sum games. And I definitely feel like cooperation would bring more opportunity to both sides. Well, I would say that I hope they would be friends. But, you know, I think the reality is not like that. And that sentiment is where we leave you tonight.

We came to China to help us understand and show you what was going on. In front of the cameras, President Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping were all smiles. But behind closed doors, we need. now know China was direct about interfering with Taiwan. The Secretary of State told us the U.S. will not change its posture of supporting Taiwan. And that remains the biggest question mark. And in the battle for trade and tech dominance, America's CEOs were here, but we saw firsthand China's efforts to try and lead the world, building and exporting EVs on a mass scale. And at a price point, Detroit right now cannot match. And we walked among world.

and rows of robots. It's plain to see these large, heavy machines will likely be used to do more than dance and clean dishes. As for the people in China, many of them are living in modern times. In major cities, cash is almost never used. Everything is done on the phone, on an app, and under the watch of this government. Much has changed in China since Nightly News started reporting from here in the 80s.

Tom Brokaw and his team at times had to hide their cameras, their cameras attached to bicycles to tell the real story during crackdowns. Now, cameras are everywhere, but to watch everyone. So in many ways, China remains the same. As I walk Tiananmen Square, there is no escaping Mao Zedong looking down on the masses or the columns of surveillance. And as China grapples with its future and the U.S., we hope to keep coming back and tell its story.

I also want to thank our NBC news team here in China and across Asia for their incredible work this week. I do know there's still much more news to get to tonight back in the States, and I want to turn it over to my colleague and friend Ellison Barber at the Top Story Studios in New York. Ellison, good evening. Hey, Tom, thank you so much and thank you for letting me be a part of watching your extraordinary reporting all week. What an incredible job you have done. We'll continue the news from here. We hope you get home safe. Still ahead tonight on Top Story, the fiery explosion.

at a lumber mill, prompting a massive emergency response. You'll hear the desperate call just moments after the blast. Plus, the huge dust storm blanketing a highway in North Dakota. Millions at risk for severe storms we are tracking it all. And wild video showing the moment a train barrels into a truck. What happened to the driver inside? Stay with us. And we are back now with breaking news out of Maine.

A massive fire and explosion rocking a lumber mill sending multiple people to the hospital. NBC's Emily Aketa is following it. A devastating fire ripping through a lumber mill in Maine today. Flames reaching above the tree line. Searsmont firefighters who are volunteers had responded to a silo fire that then exploded, according to one fire department in Maine, injuring firefighters and civilians, as well as destroying several fire trucks. The Searsmont Fire Chief telling a local paper the explosion blew him 15 feet right through the air.

That whole building is gone. Maine Health Medical Center saying it's now treating 10 patients at its level one trauma center. You can see life flight helicopters arrive as officials declared a mass casualty event. I walked up to this very chaotic scene initially and not because of the efforts of the first responders, but because of the magnitude of the fire involvement and the amount of sheer buildings that were on fire. Maine's governor urging folks to stay clear of the area, swarmed by local, state, and federal agencies, including the ATF. Dron video capturing the aftermath, you can see buildings reduced to ash.

Robbins Lumber, a family business that owns and manages 30,000 acres, says all of their employees have been accounted for. Buildings can be replaced. Employees cannot. As fire officials investigate what caused this perilous blaze. Emily Ikeda. NBC News. Now, the wildfire and severe storm threat across the country that is putting millions at risk, as flames sweep across portions of the south, dramatic video showing a wall of fire lighting up the night sky in Kansas.

And in Texas, fast-moving fires burning all across the panhandle, people evacuating as the flames reach their doorsteps. And in North Dakota, a dust storm sending debris flying, drivers forced to navigate blinding conditions. NBC Miami meteorologist Larissa Abraejo joins us now with more. Larissa, you've been tracking like multiple threats. So take us through what you were seeing and what is the timing looking like. So we're going to start things off with this red flag warning across many locations expanding from the west coast of California to the four corners, back towards the Texas panhandle, and then up through the northern plains.

A red flag warning issued when we have critically low humidity. very strong winds and of course dry conditions over the area. That's why critical fire danger is going to be, well, critical as we continue throughout the weekend and into early next week. Let's move on and talk about the severe storms expected here as we head towards tomorrow. You could see the bullseye, the middle of the country, including places like Nebraska, where we could see strong wind gusts of up to 75 miles an hour in addition to large hail. Now, as we head towards the day on Sunday, this is when we could see widespread severe weather. We're talking 12 million people at risk to see a few strong tornadoes, long-lived tornadoes, in addition to damaging hail and strong wind gusts. And then on Monday, probably the worst day because you could see how many people at risk, around 43 million people with similar impacts with a few strong tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds across the state.

across portions of the Midwest and back through the Southern Plains. Larissa Abrae, thank you so much. We appreciate it. And coming up, a near tragic situation involving a high school senior assassin game and a realistic looking water gun. The new warning tonight. Plus, the wayward waymos. These empty robotaxies are taking over a Georgia neighborhood driving in circles for hours. What the company says it's doing about it. We're back now with the terrifying close. call caught on camera. A police officer nearly shooting a team playing with a water gun after a neighbor called 911 concerned about a burglar. NBC Stephanie Goss has the warning tonight

over the popular senior assassin game. Get on the ground. Tonight new video showing how quickly the water gun game senior assassin can turn deadly serious. A police officer responds to a 911 call late at night in the Michigan suburbs believing there might be a burglary in progress. according to local officials. He gets ambushed by a teenager with a gun, a water gun. Get on the ground.

The rattled teenager apologizes. I'm sorry. We're looking for people stealing cars. The officer made a split-second decision not to fire. The teenager wasn't stealing cars. He was playing senior assassin. In the game that has become a spring pastime, players are assigned to target,

a fellow classmate, to shoot with a water gun. The winner is the last one who stays dry. It's supposed to be just harmless fun. But police departments nationwide are asking students to think carefully about how they play and use water guns that look like toys. The problem is some look like this, which has led to a string of close calls. Last week in Stona, Massachusetts... He's got a black hoodie on. He's got a gun in his right hand.

A frightened neighbor called 911. It looks like he's about to ambush somebody. They're on the ground. The teenager was holding a water gun that looked like the real thing. Put it down. And in Wisconsin, police also responding to a 911 call. This time, a 17-year-old hiding behind a building. That's how you get shot over something stupid.

The high school principal in Michigan is now calling on students to stop playing the game altogether because a senior prank like this can easily turn into a tragedy. Outside of that community in Michigan, police departments are saying they would prefer kids not to play this game at all, but if they are going to play, make sure they use water guns that look like toys, avoid disguises, and also don't trespass. They say stay off of private property and out of restricted areas, Alison. Stephanie Gosk, thank you. Not a Top Stories news feed, and Justin tonight an emergency landing at an airport in Kansas City. American Airlines flight touching down after smoke was reported in the cockpit. Kansas Congressman Tracy Mann says that he was on that plane and shared these photos.

You can see passengers here evacuated on the tarmac. Luckily, officials say no one was hurt. And a scary scene in Virginia when a speeding train slams into a truck. Watch. That truck was destroyed. Chesapeake police say the driver was rushed to the hospital but is now in stable condition. The wreck apparently caused a temporary hazmat situation. Investigators say it appears the truck blew through a stop sign right before the collision.

And a close call in Baltimore, a driver cruising by a stopped school bus almost hitting a child. Police releasing this video showing the driver slamming on the brakes just as some kids got off the bus and ran across the street there. The red lights flashing on the bus's stop sign. It is unclear if the driver received any sort of tickets for citations. Now to a new age neighborhood nuisance. In Atlanta, Georgia residents say streets have been overrun by dozens of self-driving Waymo taxis going rogue and then cruising in circles without any passengers. NBC's Tom Costello has this one. You might call them wayward waymos, one after another driverless taxis, streaming into several Atlantic cul-de-sacs at virtually all hours of the day and night. So as more we're coming in, more we're going out. It was just a constant stream of coming in around the circle.

After roughly 50 of them showed up last weekend, the annoyed neighbors put out a traffic turtle, but that only led to longer backups. One of them almost did run over our cul-de-sac cat buddy, and so that was the final straw. The robotaxies appeared to be in a holding pattern, waiting for their next assignment. Waymo tells NBC News it has already worked with our partner to a drive. this routing behavior. It's the latest Waymo speed bump coming just days after the company recalled nearly 4,000 robo taxis for software fix after some cars in Texas and California drove into flooded streets and stalled. In recent years, Waymos have also failed to yield to school buses and caused rush hour gridlock. Nothing we are doing today with automated vehicle technology

is safe enough. It's got to be better tomorrow. And that is the change in trajectory we need for vehicle safety in America today. Waymo says it's already identified a software fixed for the flooding issue and it's refining its operations in extreme weather and says it's 13 times safer than humans and crashes involving pedestrians. Tom Costello, thank you. Now to our NBC News series, Business in America, where we speak to CEOs of some of the biggest companies in the U.S.

And tonight our Christine Romans takes a drive through the suburbs of New Jersey with the CEO of Zillow. Take a look. Take a left and then an immediate rate. It's not every day your chief navigator is the chief executive officer of one of the biggest real estate platforms in the country. Careful for us here. Look at this little sweet little place in the corner.

But that's what I did with Zillow CEO Jeremy Waxman, checking out homes during another tough spring housing season for Americans. How are you feeling about the spring selling season? What is the Zillow data telling you? The Zillow data says that this is going to be a challenging year in the housing market, maybe a little bit better than last year. The typical age of a first-time home buyer is now 40 years old, a record high.

Home prices have never been more expensive this time a year. And there simply aren't enough homes for sale and mortgage rates have doubled in the past five years. But one promising trend, Zillow says people can afford a little more this year. The reason the affordability picture is getting better is as income growth outpaces home price growth, that narrows how unaffordable things are for people.

And so the long, longer that happens, the more the market will slowly get back into balance. You navigate, I'll drive. Okay. Waxman using Zillow's data showed us some of the features that make homes marketable today. First, character sells. Some cedar shakes, bright green door. If you look at the photos on Zillow, you see kind of unique features, right?

So exposed beams and a big fireplace. Zillow says exposed beams can add 0.3 percent to a home's price, a fireplace, another 8 tenths of a percent. Turnkey is really in demand right now. Second, Waxman says with affordability top of mind, buyers don't want to have to pay to also renovate, making turnkey homes more appealing. Homes that are moving ready are selling for two, three percent more. Another hack, the more the listing shows, the better. If you're a seller and you give that information to a buyer, that's going to attract them to your listing. They're going to spend more time with your listing, and that actually helps your house so faster.

More features like virtual staging. You can really imagine your style what it would be like to live there before you even come see the house. In the 20 years since Zillow first came onto the scene, it's become more than just a real estate site. I need a new fantasy. Then you need Zillah. Sparking an S&L spoof, even the HG TV show Zillow Gone Wild. I'm Andrea. And I'm Michael.

And this is our home from the future. Phrases like Zillow surfing becoming a regular part of real estate lingo. Zillow exploded overnight just by putting Zestimates on the web, giving people a chance to say, well, what might this house be worth? Zestimit is the site's tool that assesses a home's market value. It's not perfect, of course, with some critics arguing it could undervalue or overvalue a home. Zillow saying Zestimates have gotten more accurate with time, but we've always been clear that no algorithm replaces a local agent or a formal appraisal.

Hey, hi, ladies. What do you think of this house? Zillow is not alone. Other sites like Redfin and Realtor.com also give users access to the real estate data traditionally reserved for agents like price comps. What do you say to the agents who are like, wait a minute, you know, Zillow is just too big, too much of a behemoth and it's eating into my job? Yeah, I mean, technology comes, regardless of whether it's Zillow or not.

And our job is to help give agents the technology to keep up and become technology enabled for buyers and sellers. As for what could turn around the housing market, Waxman says the key is putting more money in buyers' pockets. A little bit of relief in mortgage rates, a little bit of relief in incomes rising, but over time, the affordability picture is only getting better when incomes catch up to home prices. Christine Roman's NBC News. When we come back, a deadly Ebola outbreak, the highly contagious virus ripping through villages overseas, what you need to know. We are back now with Top Story's Global Watch, starting in India, where over 100 people are dead after storms ripped through the country's northern region.

The system sparked a dust storm, slamming neighborhoods with hail, strong winds and flooding. Officials have attributed many of the deaths to lightning, falling trees, and collapsed buildings. And in Russia, Ukrainian drones hitting an oil refinery in a city southeast of Moscow. Ukraine's military says they were behind the strike. You can see that refinery engulfed in flames. It comes after Russia bombarded Ukraine over the last three days, firing more than 1,000 drones at Ukrainian cities. And an Ebola outbreak just declared in a remote province in Congo,

the highly contagious virus killing dozens with over 200 cases suspected, according to public health officials in Africa. NBC's Raf Sanchez is tracking it. Raf, good evening. Hey, Alison. Yeah, this latest Ebola outbreak concentrated in a fairly remote part Eastern Congo near the border with Uganda. The African CDC is saying at this point, at least 65 people have been killed in the outbreak. They're saying that there are around 250 suspected cases. Not

many of those have been laboratory confirmed at this point, but people showing up at medical centers displaying the symptoms of Ebola. Now, that number, of course, could rise. And Congo, for better or for worse, has a lot of experience in deal. dealing with Ebola. This is the 17th outbreak in that country since the virus was first detected there back in 1976. Now, the World Health Organization is saying that means the country does have some stockpiles of both treatments and vaccines. That is the good news. The less good news is that that stockpile is aimed at what seems to be a different strain of the Ebola virus. So it isn't clear how effective it's going to be against this current outbreak.

One of the big challenges in the Congo is you have a lot of population movement. There's a lot of violence in the country, populations moving in response to the violence, and that can mean that the virus is spreading as those populations move. Quick reminder, Ebola has about a 50% fatality rate that is significantly higher than COVID, obviously. It's higher than the Hanta virus, which we've been talking about recently. It can be transmitted from human to human, usually in the fourth. form of bodily fluid, secretions, blood, things like that. The worst recorded Ebola outbreak back in 2014, 2016, concentrated in West Africa. You might remember, President Obama took some heat

politically for sending American teams to go and help fight that outbreak. Ultimately, that outbreak was contained, and public health officials say they are hopeful that they will be able to contain this outbreak as well. Allison. Ralph Sanchez, thank you. And when we come back, a new Yellowstone spin-off is out. Plus, the dark comedy rivals returns for another season. Benjworthy is up next. And we are back now with binge-worthy. Our look at the best things to watch and listen to this weekend. Joining us tonight is Ralphie Aversa, USA Today's Senior Entertainment correspondent and good friend to Top Story. Ralphie, thank you so much for being here. It's so good to see you, as

and especially on a Friday. Allison, likewise. We got a lot to get to. We got a lot to get to. Let's start with true crime fans. Obviously, I'm obsessed. This is a new true crime documentary that drops on Netflix today.

It's called The Crash. Let's take a look. A car crash claimed two young lives and injured a third early yesterday morning. Dom and Kenzie. They love you, baby. They're such a duo. That was Davian's best friend.

We're going to be on stop. that split second changed all of our lives forever. I've actually, I never see the things we haven't been to really usually because I'm old. This I have already seen early. And I'm not cool enough to be like you to be like, I've already seen it. Before it comes out is actually the main thing. It's not age. It's just coolness.

I've seen this one. And it's really good. It is so good. We are doing an episode two on the podcast that I have on Netflix, allegedly on Wednesday about the case. Watch the documentary this weekend and then maybe watch our show. You tell them what it's about. I found the documentary to be so fascinating, shocking, and just full of so many layers that I didn't even expect when I started watching it.

Yeah, quick step back. Mackenzie Shirilla, obviously, is kind of the focus of this documentary. Her, her boyfriend, one other person, or her boyfriend and one other person were killed in this crash. She was going 100 miles an hour. And there was this whole question of intent. Did she have a health issue or did she actually mean to ram this car and crash it? And so that's kind of what this documentary explains. She was found guilty. Spoiler alert there. But the real big thing, obviously, as you saw, is McKenzie sits down for this doc.

And so we get to hear her words with her lawyer off camera, which is also very interesting. But yeah, definitely like Allison said, watch this about 90 minutes on Netflix and then tune into the allegedly episode about it as well. Yeah. And it is interesting because she still says even in the interview, she's like, I didn't do this. And so to go through some of it. She really tries to hammer in. Yeah. She's going to hold her spot here as far as like there was no intent to, injure anyone, to kill anyone. You'll be the judge after you watch it. This next one is on Paramount Plus. It's Dutton Ranch, which is in the Yellowstone universe. Let's look. I miss waking up to the mountains. This life here is going to work, isn't it?

We'll make it work. Welcome to Texas, honey. Sun scorched planes of South Texas than a hand out of the ground. It's like, what is it? What is happening? Yeah, there's a lot going out here. There's fires, there's snakes, as you It's a Yellowstone spit off as Rip and Beth, Cole Houser, Kelly Riley. They're trying to start a new here. They got this new life that they think is ahead of them.

But what's going to pop up here on this new season of this new show? Well, again, some rivals that maybe are animals, others come in human form perhaps. Annette Benning, the incredible actress, is a part of Dutton Ranch. She's incredible. Celebrating a birthday soon, by the way.

So happy early birthday to Annette. But she's awesome in this as well. First two episodes are streaming right now on Paramount Plus. You went to the premiere, right? I did. So you have seen. So you're in it.

You're in the world. I got to screen some episodes. I got to chat with Cole who told me that he was surprised by this. When he's in New York, he gets called Rip quite a bit. There you go. I didn't think New Yorkers really watch Yellowstone. They do it. I'm sure they'll be watching Dutton Ranch.

Yeah, New Yorkers will surprise you. We watch it all, right? Exactly. Yes. This next one is on Hulu. It is called Rivals, and it is a dark comedy, right, that's set in the 1980s. Take a look. Back together again.

Sorry I'm late, darling. I've got a terrible headache. Rupert Campbell Black and Declan O'Hara. We are ready to knock them out of the competition. I am so intrigued by this. This is one that I'm like, this is on a big to watch list for me. Tell us about it and should it stay on my big to watch list. Absolutely, especially with the reviews that are coming in as well.

David Tennant, of course, who you know from Doctor Who is in this very highly anticipated. This was renewed back in 2024, and now we have the first three episodes streaming this weekend on Hulu, based, of course, on Jilly Cooper's Ruthless Chronicles as well. And yeah, if you like that dark humor and that kind of elitist world that they're exploring here, this is right up your alley this weekend. So a lot of people looking forward to this. And there's a lot going on with it. I'll just leave it again.

Okay, keeping it on the high-to-watch list as soon as we've got windows for it. The next one that we have is on Peacock, and this one is a movie. It is streaming right now. It's a romantic comedy called You, Me, and Tuscany. Take a look. What do I do? You can pretend to be his fiancé, or you go to prison. Either way, it's very romantic.

I'll kind of get out of here. Bonjour, no. You pretended to be the white Italian man's fiancé, but ended up catching feelings for the black Italian cousin, brother? I'll use some Shonda Ron. Okay, at first when I saw the title, I was like Stanley Tucci making pasta, what's the vibe? And then I was so pleasantly surprised that I was like, wait,

with Hallie Bailey and Ray Gay-Jampage on page. Like, I'm sad. What do you make of this one? Tell us what is it about? And you're excited? It's a bit of like a rags to riches kind of thing because Haley's character kind of gets caught up in a situation that she doesn't fully realize that she's caught up in. And by the time she realizes it, she's got to kind of fake it until she makes it a little bit,

if that makes sense. And there's a little bit of a love triangle in this as well. So it's an easy, if you're looking for an easy watch this weekend, streaming on Peacock, only about 90 minutes. It's a fun rom-com. So it's like, Reggae Jean-Page is such a good actor. Like he really has so much range that I'm always really surprised. I mean, not that, I mean, you know, he's great, but I'm always just like, wow, you can do that too. You can do that too.

You can do that too. You can do that, you know, hey, both easy. Yeah, guys. That doesn't hurt either. Beautiful people. Exactly. Okay, should we do music? Oh, oh, boy.

Drake. How much time do we got left? Just listen. Drake's got a new album. Listen. Y'all forgot about Drake. Y'all forgot if I gave you a hand you under the thumb. Convenient amnesia from all you ballerinas.

Not one but three new album. Yeah, and that line right there was one of a couple lines dissing, allegedly dissing. LeBron James, make them remember is the song. All right, so Three Iceman's one album. Then he got Habib T, then you got Made of Honor as well. They all kind of have different vibes. Whether he's dropping bars, whether he's talking to the ladies, perhaps,

whether he's maybe making music for those outside, as the kids say. Yeah. Out in the club, perhaps. Nonetheless, three different albums. We were expecting one, not three, from Drake this weekend. Oh, my goodness. We don't have time to get to everything else that's popping out, but it's like Gracie Abrams has a new one too, right?

Hit the Wall. Yeah, new single, emotional burnout she's singing about. She's got a new album coming out in July. So do The Rolling Stones. They have a new album out in July and a new music video as well, where they use deep fake. technology. Very, very interesting. Look at you just getting every genre for all of the people, a man of the people. That's what we're doing. That's what we're doing. Ralphia there. So thank you

so much. We appreciate you being here. And thank you at home so much for watching Top Story. For Tom, I'm Ellison Barber in New York. Stay right there. More news is on the way.