Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, May 31, 2024

Episode Date: June 1, 2024

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

Tonight, Trump colliding with his new reality, that guilty verdict, a felony conviction, and a campaign that may now be really getting started. The former president back at Trump Tower, angry, railing against what he calls a rigged system, blasting the judge and DA Alvin Bragg. Trump using his speech and the conviction as a case for re-election, hauling what his campaign says is nearly $35 million after the verdict. Biden speaking out for the first time since the jury's decision, his pointed words for his opponent. Also tonight, voters and the verdict, the country, navigating new political terrain with a presumptive presidential nominee convicted of a felony, how this monumental decision will shape the 2024 election, what the latest polling shows. Roadmap to peace? President Biden outlining a new proposal to end the war in Gaza, the three-part plan to return Israeli hostages

and bring a ceasefire. The announcement as Israeli tanks pushed further into Rafah. Officer ambushed a Minneapolis police officer responding to the scene of a shooting, stopping to help a man appearing to be a victim. That man, then fatally shooting the officer. Mexico's violent election, horrifying video, a Mexican mayoral candidate gunned down at a campaign rally. The killing, the latest in a string of deadly attacks against political figures during this year's election cycle. with just days until the country's historic elections

where for the first time, Mexico may elect a woman for president. And the secret of Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West Coast, the secret trick that allowed Chinese immigrants to come to the U.S. despite racist and discriminatory laws in effect. Tonight, the stories of those who were able to build their American dream using fake identities and are reporters' very personal connection. The photo he had never seen before and the moment he says his real name for the first time. And just weeks out from the Paris Olympics, police saying they've stopped a terror plot that was targeting the games.

The details just in. Top story starts right now. And good evening. Tonight, the country navigating a new political landscape. One where a former president and current presumptive. Republican nominee is convicted of a felony. Former President Trump making his case to the American people in a long and fiery speech slamming the conviction. Trump holding a press conference in Trump Tower walking defiantly in that very same area where he first announced he would run for

president just nine years ago. But this morning striking a much different tone as he listed out his grudges and his grievances with that verdict. It's a rigged. It was a rigged trial. It's a very sad thing that's happened. happening in our country. And it's a thing that I'm honored. In a way, I'm on it because somebody has to do it, and I might as well keep going and be the one. So we're going to be appealing this scam. We're going to be appealing it on many different things. President Biden also speaking out today, this from the White House. The American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed.

And a quick reminder, Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts he faced in his hush money trial. The judge setting a July 11th sentencing day. But Trump's defense team saying this fight is far from over, arguing it was unjust from the very start. We didn't think we were going to get a fair shake in Manhattan, and we didn't. And today, Trump pointing the finger at one key witness he felt should have never been allowed on the stand. Now, I'm not allowed to use his name because of the gag order. But you know, he's a sleaze bag. Michael Cohen, Trump's former fixer, whose testimony the case hinged on, reacting to the verdict.

Were you surprised by the verdict? No. I was not. The facts speak for themselves. So much was riding on the result of this. And I wanted to ensure that my testimony was perfect. The Trump campaign trying to seize on this conviction in a major way, saying they brought in nearly $35 million in donations and urging people to donate with this image, Donald Trump

political prisoner. Political prisoner, that's a term usually used for people like this. South Africa's Nelson Mandela, Cuba's Armando Ayadadis, and Russia's Alexei Navalny, people who suffered and in some cases died protesting their governments, and though it's not a fair comparison, Is it smart politics? We're going to dig into that later. And it's not just his supporters, but also his Republican allies coming to his defense. This was not law.

This was not criminal justice. This was a political smear job. This was an attack job. This is what you see in banana republics. I think Trump benefits from this. I think they elected a president last night. I do believe the Supreme Court should step in. But what it all really comes down to and what truly matters is what these people have to say.

But as the last night, I just seen what happened to Mr. Trump. I don't think that was fair, so I'm going ahead and register to vote. Just kind of more cemented, my opinion, about the guy. All right, our reporters and analysts are covering this from all angles tonight, starting with NBC's chief legal correspondent, Laura Jarrett. Laura, you give that reaction to the camera, gets a little crazy around here. So, Laura, you're going to be part of a segment we've never done before on Top Story, so you should feel honored, right? For the first time ever, here it is. Everything you always want to know about the Trump verdict, but we're afraid to ask.

I've been waiting to do this. Okay, Laura, so first up, this is the first question that I have, right? Sentencing is set for July 11th, right? Is this date in any way? Can it slide? Can it move because the Republican National Convention is a few days later? 100%. And I would expect that we will see a motion from the defense to Judge Mershan asking for that.

We already saw the defense attorney Todd Blanche try to preview that a little bit yesterday, saying, look, he's got so many cases. We've got the situation in Florida. I got hearings. I got motions. I don't know the judgment will buy that, but they will try. Okay. Here's our second question that people want to know.

Does anything prevent a convicted felon from running for president or becoming president? No. So we're good. He's good. That's it. The Constitution says nothing about it. The Constitution says you need to be 35. You need to be born here.

you need to be a resident. It doesn't say anything about being a convicted felon. Why? Because they thought the political process would take care of that. They never thought a convicted felon would be elected president. Okay, here's one that's a little tough. Former President Trump on election day, he's going to be a convicted felon. He is a resident of Florida. Can he vote for himself on election day in Florida? Yes, it appears so. Basically, the way it works, every state does a little different. Florida says you have to look at the state where he's been convicted, which would be here in New York. In New York, you can vote as long as you're not behind bars. And so if Judge Mershan ultimately opposes a sentence, say, of probation, and he's not behind bars, he can still

vote. Okay. On the issue of sentencing, is there a chance that he is sentenced to prison? Here's how I come down on this. He is approaching 80 years old. He has no criminal history. It's a nonviolent, low-level felony, yet he has showed no remorse. And so the judge is going to be balancing all of those different factors. And so I think I would say it is highly likely he will get probation. I'm not willing to rule out jail time, but I would be shocked if he had any jail time imposed. Okay, so we've already heard this at the top of the broadcast, but here's the next question. Does he have a good chance at an appeal? Here's what his lawyer told our friend Savannah Guthrie this morning. This was a verdict that we were expecting. We're going to appeal, and we're going to

went on appeal. I mean, that's the goal. The goal is, this is a step in the process of our justice system, and the goal is to appeal quickly and hopefully be vindicated quickly. So what do you think? He's got a lot of good grounds for appeal, none of which have been the ones that have been articulated so far. It's not about Michael Cohen. They say that testimony was corroborated. It's not about the judge giving the Biden campaign $15. That's, I think, or the judge's daughter, I think the best legal grounds are the ones they can win at. The fact this has never been tested before. The fact that they tried to combine two misdemeanors to get a felony, something that we've, again, never seen before. Those are legal grounds. Those are

possible areas for appeal. Okay, finally, and this is a big one, right? Because I was watching the news conference as you were, and he really stepped on the line here. So the final question is, has he violated that gag order? So there's a question about whether the gag order is even still in effect, because the whole purpose of it was so that he couldn't influence the testimony of witnesses at trial. Now that the trial is over, You could see a situation where he says, I shouldn't be barred by this gag order while I'm running for president. We haven't seen the judge lift it. We haven't even seen the defense ask for it to be lifted.

All we've seen is on appeal it being affirmed. So I think this is an area to watch very closely, but he believes he's still under this gag order. All right, Laura Jarrett, leading us off here on Top Story, Laura, we thank you for that. The question now looming over all of this, really the most important question, what do the voters think to break down how Americans are perceiving this trial and how it could affect their vote in November? I want to get right over to NBC News National Political Cornycki at the Big Board. Steve, great to have you here on Top Story tonight. So looking back at this trial, how much has it actually impacted the race so far? Yeah, Tom, you know, it's interesting.

Just talking about the trial itself, the six weeks of testimony, witnesses, all of the media coverage surrounding everything until the verdict. We do have numbers that say it didn't really move the needle in this presidential race. Take a look at this. The Marist poll, the Quinnipiac poll, that's what you see here. They both had polls taken just as the trial started. And one had Biden ahead by three. One had the race tied. They also both had polls in the last few days

just before this verdict came out. So people who absorbed six weeks of the trial. And what you see here is in the Marisk poll, Biden's lead went from three points to two points in the course of the trial, so he lost one point. And in the Quinnipiac poll, it went from a tie to Biden by one point. So Biden gained a point there.

One point gained, one point loss. really no net effect. Broaden that out. Here's the average of all the polls. At the start of the trial, Trump led in the average by three-tenths of a point, at the end of the trial by nine-tenths of a point. And one more interesting finding here, Tom. The Quinn of the Act poll at the start of the trial asked folks, do you think Trump did anything illegal? Forty-six percent said so then, six weeks of testimony, 46 percent still said he did something illegal. And it's also interesting who was paying attention in the six weeks of the trial here. Democrats, Closely following it, almost 40 percent Republicans, almost 40 percent independence,

a lot less interest in the day-to-day proceedings of this trial among independents. It seems the folks who were most plugged in were they either hardcore Trump supporters, hardcore Trump opponents. Yeah, but even 25 percent of independence, I mean, that could be the entire race right there. Let's say you have your wish list, right? What polling do you want to see in the coming weeks? What kind of data about this trial that could tell us more about the election in November? Yeah, well, Tom, that's exactly. We say the trial didn't affect public opinion, but the verdict. This is getting so much attention. Obviously, it's going to become a major part of this campaign. How are folks going to absorb the news of the verdict? So you want to see in the next week or so, obviously, I'm looking for horse race polls. You know, Biden versus Trump, has it changed? Has Biden opened up a lead? Are there voters who actually are supporting Trump now in reaction to this? Republicans think that's a possibility, too. And then it comes to these independents we talk about.

They weren't as plugged in day-to-day following the trial, but will they be more plugged in when it comes to following the verdict, the reaction to it? Will that change things? So I think it's going to take a couple days to a week, so I think we will get some numbers. It'll be very telling to see if anyone switched their vote as well. Now, Steve, Trump's been going after the Manhattan DA, Alvin Bragg, as you know, very hard.

But he also has to thank Bragg, right? Because he went up in the primary polls after Bragg indicted him. And a lot of his opponents during the Republican primary said, the race was basically over when all the indictments came in because Trump's poll numbers took off. Is there anything to lead us to believe that this could actually happen with the general election as well? It's so striking. Let's just show folks what you're describing there. This is the line chart of the polling in the Republican primary race. And look at this. We're going back here to March of 20. This is when Alvin Bragg indicted Donald Trump.

And look at the race between Trump and DeSantis was as close as it could be as it ever got then. and it exploded, and it never got close again. So a lot of folks say that rallied Republicans around Trump. The idea he was being attacked by a political enemy in their view, they rallied behind him. Now, general election, obviously, not just Republicans. Trump needs independence. He needs folks who aren't necessarily as enthusiastic about him. Are there other voters out there outside the Republican Party who would see something in this verdict

and in this decision in this trial what Republicans saw in the original act? active brag to bring it. That's obviously a question here, but different voting universe certainly than in the primary. Steve Kornacki, we will be checking in with you in the coming weeks when new poll numbers come in. For more in the political fallout for the former president from his conviction yesterday. I'm joined tonight by Chuck Todd, chief political analyst here at NBC News. Chuck, we just heard from Steve there, right, that it seems most voters will not change their minds based on the outcome of this trial, at least from what we have so far. But we have another batch of numbers, too, I want to ask you about, right? And this is the Maris NPR

PBS NewsHour poll. Vast majorities of both parties and independents said a guilty verdict would not change their vote. But take a closer look at the independents. Fifteen percent said they were more likely to vote for Trump if he was guilty versus just 11 percent who said they'd be less likely. I know it's early, right? But what do you expect to be the ultimate impact of this trial? And, you know, we know it's going to be razor tight. It's going to be small margins. Does this move the needle at all anywhere? I'm skeptical that it will. And I'm not just sort of saying that. We can look at both recent history in presidential scandal politics, and frankly, you can go back 100 years, more than 100 years, to the original sort of presidential

sex scandal. And all of them have shown the public react the exact same way. You go to Clinton's impeachment in 1998. The Republicans ran on it. Clinton's personal ratings were terrible, but his approval ratings went up, more Republicans ran on it in the 98 midterms. It hurt them. Democrats ended up having a better midterm election. Let's fast forward. Let's go back to the Access Hollywood tape. In many ways, it's about the closer parallel, considering one of them was Trump. In the immediate aftermath, Tom, we were in the field, NBC News was, there was an immediate fallout. And it literally went away after about 10 days. So it hit him hard. He went from even to down 10. And basically, after 10 days, the race went back to where it had been, which is a three to five point national spread.

So I think if you take that all into account, I think it particularly because what the subject matter of this trial was about, sort of moral and character failings that the voters had already processed the first time they voted for him, just like with Bill Clinton, already processed his moral failings the first time they voted for him. Voters are looking forward, particularly the voters that are left. Other than being a fundraising sugar high for both campaigns, I think this verdict's going to end up being, have very, very, very little impact unless one of the campaigns talks about it too much. That leads to my next question. I want to ask you about the massive fundraising hall. The Trump campaign says happened overnight, right?

In the seven hours after the verdict, the Trump team says, again, this is coming from them. They raked in nearly $35 million from small dollar donors, shattering their single-day fundraising record. And take a look at this. Before this month, the Biden campaign had a massive cash advantage over Trump about $36 million. Pretty ironic. Roughly the same number there, just raised overnight. Do you think this fundraising boost continues for Trump? Do you think it's real? Look, let's also remember this is literally the last day of the month. And as you know, just look at your own inbox. We're flooded with political donations time. So this was a bit of a concerted effort anyway for last day of the month type of pressure and then you throw this on. But go back to the Kornacki numbers there of who was paying attention to the trial. Don't be surprised when the Biden campaign puts out a number.

It may not be $34 million, but it also may have a huge number of donations 24 hours in. But again, I go back. I think this is sort of immediate sugar high stuff combined with there was an already sort of professional push for end of the month fundraising. I want to show you an image that I saw today, and it sort of stopped me as I was reading and researching and on social media. The Trump campaign put this out after the verdict. It's a black and white image showing Trump with his fist raised labeled a political prisoner. Okay, I know you're not Cuban, but I know you grew up in Miami, hearing about political prisoners. We live in such a great country that political prisoners, real political prisoners, is something that is sort of foreign to Americans, right?

It's not to a lot of other countries. But then as I was looking at this, I was thinking, wow, I wonder what this is doing to his base and to others. Do you think that's smart politics? Look, not right now. I really don't. If you asked me six months ago, and if he were trying to appeal to primary voters, I'd say, okay, that might be good politics in the moment, right? Make it a rallying cry on that front. This is what the point I was making at the end of my first answer there, Tom, which is, I think there's a penalty for lean.

meaning for either Trump, for running on this and being Mr. Grievance, and not talking about the issues that the last slice of voters care about. Cost of living, immigration, foreign affairs, uniting this country. And I think there's a penalty if Democrats try to sort of overuse it themselves, spike the football. You know, there ought to be a pall here. You know, I think the messaging out of the Democrats, it should be not, I'm surprised that the president didn't say this is a sad day for a country, and it's really sad when you have a half of a, you know, the country trying to delegitimize this. Let's respect jury verdicts. Let's also respect his process. He kind of did that, but there's been this smack of, you know, and that's something

that could boomerang. I just think that the last voters remaining, and I keep going back, it's not, who's left to persuade? They don't want to hear about any of this. So the line, and that's where the penalty comes in. And the list seems to be getting longer to to join the ticket with former President Trump. A lot of the people that are on that list were out yesterday on cable news, on Fox News, making their arguments, making their points. Here's a montage of that. I think the trial is part of an eight-year-long attempt to people who are, you know,

been trying to take down Donald Trump since he won in November 16. I agree with the former president that this system was rigged, that the verdict and the outcome is a hoax of a trial. I think this is disgraceful. I don't care what you call it. Trump is disgraceful? Is that what you're saying? I think this proceeding, this legal proceeding is disgraceful. But what about Trump calling their country a fascist state? They're trying to throw him in prison for a paperwork violation, Wolf. The fear now is that there are plenty of Democrats, sorrows, left being Marxist prosecutors prepared to charge people on the right with crimes in order to get them out of politics. And that's a very scary place to be. I never thought I would

live in the United States of America that had that feature of his politics. It's sort of interesting, Chuck. It's almost like the potential running mates had stronger opinions, were more upset than actually Trump was today at Trump Tower. Should voters expect this through the convention until he actually makes that pick? If they do, again, I think it's, it all depends on what those people who want to be on the ticket think Trump wants to hear. Because I go back to, there's no, you know, I've warned all of our reporter colleagues, don't, you know, whatever source tells you anything. This is a Trump decision about the only thing that I feel confident about from my reporting on this is it's not

going to be someone like Mike Pence. He had something he needed from Mike Pence at the time. You know, he needed evangelical buy-in to his candidacy. He needed that a little bit and the establishment buy-in. In his mind, the question's going to be, what does he need? Does he want somebody who's loyal? Does he want somebody who helps him with a constituency group? Does he simply want somebody who can write a bigger check to his campaign. The reason I single all that out, that's Doug Bergam could write a check. He may believe Marco Rubio helps with a constituency group. He may believe Tim Scott helps with a constituency group. But ultimately, you know, from what I understand his thinking, it's simply that. What he believes he needs, not what somebody else tells

them that he needs, by the way. Let's talk about President Biden, right? We have Biden addressing the nation today reacting to this verdict live for the first time. Here's some of what he had to say. It's reckless. It's dangerous. It's irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don't like the verdict. The justice system should be respected, and we should never allow anyone to tear it down. So, Chuck, this is not exactly so cut and dry, right? This is not an easy win for President Biden. He sort of has to be careful, right? Because it wasn't the Justice Department. It was the Manhattan DA. This is a historical time, not a great time for the country's history. and yet he somehow has to use it to his advantage. I just say that because he has to win an election.

He does, but I also believe he's got to figure out how to re-promise what he failed to do and what he said he'd do in his inaugural, which is work on bringing this country together. And I think going after him on his sort of criminal stuff isn't the way, isn't the path to bringing the country together. I think they have a conundrum here a little bit. I honestly do. Chuck Todd, always a pleasure to have you on the show. We thank you for being here.

We actually want to head back to the White House now. It's been almost eight months since the Israel-Hamas war began. President Biden is calling on Hamas to accept the latest Israeli proposal for a ceasefire. Tonight we have the details and somewhat of a positive reaction from Hamas. Kelly O'Donnell has more. Today, President Biden made a new and explicit call for peace in Gaza. It's time for this war to end. Endorsing an Israeli-backed three-stage proposal that would return hostages, release Palestinian prisoners, and lead to an immediate six-week ceasefire.

The president said Israel's military has accomplished a key goal after the Hamas terror attack. Hamas no longer is capable of carrying out another October 7th is one of the Israelis' main objective in this war and quite frankly a righteous one. The plan would withdraw Israeli forces from populated areas and ultimately include a major reconstruction of Gaza. The president with a blunt message to Hamas. Hamas says it wants to cease fire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it. Hamas needs to take the deal. Late today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he authorized negotiations but will not stop until Hamas is completely.

defeated. Against a backdrop of intense political pressure, including for the president with protests around the world, today Mr. Biden asked for help. Everyone who wants peace now must raise their voices and let the leaders know they should take this deal. Hamas responded with a statement saying it views positively President Biden's support for a permanent ceasefire. Tom? Kelly O'Donnell at the White Kelly, thank you. And still ahead. Killed in cold blood. A Minneapolis officer finally shot by a man he was rendering aid to the community now in mourning as an investigation gets underway. Plus, terror attack foiled the event French authorities say a teenager was planning to target during the Paris Olympics. And a potential major breakthrough, a new study

finding a drug is highly effective in treating a rare and potentially deadly type of lung cancer. Stay with us. All right, we're back now with a deadly ambush in Minneapolis. An officer arriving on the scene of a shooting, rendering aid to a man who was apparently injured. But that man pulling out a gun and shooting the officer who tonight is being remembered as a hero for his brave actions on the job. NBC's Maggie Vespa reports. Tonight, Minneapolis in shock after authorities say the city lost a hero in an ambush. Bystander, Corey Jones, filmed on his cell phone as he took cover Thursday.

Moments before, police say Officer Jamal Mitchell was responding to a call of a double shooting and rendering aid to an apparently injured man when that man pulled a gun and shot him. Seeing the cop on the ground and then a guy laying by the car. A shootout followed. Another cop. I'm good. Officials say four people were hurt, including another officer and. a firefighter. Two others were killed in the chaos, including one person in a nearby apartment

who police believed died earlier and the suspect who was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators have yet to name him or reveal any sort of motive. Officer Mitchell was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. And today is a devastating day in the city of Minneapolis. A law enforcement procession escorted his body to the medical examiner's office Thursday night. It was hundreds of cars long. This officer gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect and save the lives of others. His life, his service, and his name will forever be remembered in the city of Minneapolis. A name that carries a history of heroism. In February of last year, Mitchell and another officer raced into a burning home to save an elderly couple.

We got to get out. The house is on fire. You see him here on this body camera video. Is there anyone else in the house, guys? No. Okay. It was his third day on the job. Our affiliate care interviewing him later.

We're not training running the fires, but being in the field of policing is a potential. You know, we're here to serve our community and we're often first unseen. At 36, authorities say Mitchell was a father, engaged to be married. His death comes a little more than three months after three first responders in suburban Minneapolis were shot and killed responding to a domestic disturbance call. The city's police chief writing, Jamal just happened to be the latest victim of this senseless and troubling trend. It's become too easy to attack our police and it needs to stop. Tonight, witnesses struggle to make sense of what they've seen. I just want to let them know that I appreciate them.

It takes a strong person to be a police officer. With that, Maggie Vespa joins us now from Chicago. Maggie, it's just a sad story. There are so many questions that looming over this case, right? Including who the man behind this ambush is and the connection to the person killed in the apartment. Do we know any more about that? Tom, at this point, Minneapolis authorities are really keeping this tightly under wraps.

They say they want to be thorough for obvious reasons. This is close to their heart. They're not releasing the name of the... of Officer Mitchell's killer at this point and no kind of details on motive. They're also at this point telling us they haven't made any more arrest, they're not naming any more suspects. So, so many questions looming over this. As far as the apartment, that is such a weird detail, for what it's worth, reportedly,

that's more than two blocks from the scene where Officer Mitchell was shot and killed. So if they are indeed connected, we are talking about a huge crime scene, which may be adding to the complexity of this case. All right, Maggie Vespa, we thank you for bringing this to us. Mexico's violent election. Have you heard about this? A candidate for mayor assassinated at his final campaign rally. He's one of nearly three dozen. Yes, three dozen candidates killed in this election cycle. So do voters feel safe heading to the polls? We have a team on the ground asking them to that. That's next.

All right, we're back now with Top Stories News Feed, and this is just in a Florida deputy who fatally shot a black airman in his home has been fired. As we reported earlier this month, body camp footage, you may remember it here, shows the deputy shooting Roger Forston as he opened the door to his apartment while holding a gun that was pointed down. In a statement, the Okalusa County Sheriff said the deputy's use of force was not appropriate. An investigation is ongoing. Overseas authorities in France say they foiled a terror attack on the Paris Olympics. Police saying they arrested an 18-year-old this month, suspecting him of planning an attack on spectators in the Olympic soccer stadium.

He's now facing terror charges. Officials alleging the team was inspired by the Islamic State's jihadist ideology. Paris remains on its highest state of security alert with less than two months to go before the summer games. And new research finding that a Pfizer drug is highly effective against a rare type of lung cancer. Oncologists saying Pfizer's lung cancer drug, Lorbrenna, prevents ALK positive lung cancer from progressing for over, five years. The new findings show it's more effective at extending life than any other lung cancer drug. Out positive lung cancers are often deadly and tend to occur in younger patients. Okay, time now for the Americas end. This weekend's historic election in Mexico. The country likely

to elect its first female leader, but at the local level, this has been a bloody election cycle that has left dozens of candidates dead. Just this week, a mayoral candidate assassinated at his final campaign rally, Guadvinegas is in Mexico City, where voters, say they have safety concerns as they head to the polls. Tonight, nearly 100 million voters in Mexico are getting ready to head to the polls. But this historic election, overshadowed by violence. On the last day of campaigning, Jose Alfredo Cabrera Barrientos, a candidate running for mayor assassinated at point-blank range.

The assassination taking place in the state of Guerrero, an area dominated by criminal violence where half a dozen people seeking office have been killed this election cycle. We have been living in Mexico a process of violence, insecurity, and penetration of crime organizations, trying to get control of local and municipal governments over the past 10 years. According to Mexican political consulting firm Integralia, at least 35 candidates or people seeking office have been killed during the campaign period. In April, mayoral candidate Gisela Gaitan was killed on her first day of campaigning in the state of Guanajuato. Gaetan was a member of the ruling party Morena and had requested protection just days before her murder.

Experts telling us criminal groups have taken advantage of a broken system. If a criminal in Mexico wanted to kill someone, what are the chances they can get away with it? Statistically speaking, 99 out of 100. 99% they get away with it. 98, 99%. On Sunday, in addition to local elections, Mexican voters will choose their next president and a raise led by two female candidates,

both vowing to try and make the country safer from rampant cartel violence. Tendran a president more valiant, to the president that is in front of the delinquency. But voters we spoke to say there are real concerns among the public before they head to the polls. It's a lot of violence and even as a citizen, I don't feel so safe being the street. You don't know what's going to happen. You don't know if there's going to be an outburst in violence. Guad vanegas joins us tonight from the campaign trail in Mexico City.

Guad, given all the recent violence and everything we saw there in your report, what security measures are in place for Sunday? Well, Tom, government officials said two weeks ago that they had 260,000 members of the armed forces patrolling different parts of Mexico. That included Marines, Army, National Guard, but it didn't really make a difference because we still had two more assassinations happened this week. They have said that specifically for Sunday, the day Mexican voters go to the polls, they will have 20. 27,000 members of the National Guard patrolling that area so that voters feel safe when they go vote on Sunday, Tom. All right, Guad vanegas for us covering that historic election in Mexico City, Guad. We appreciate that. Coming up, a special look at a chapter in history you may not know about.

More than a century ago, some Chinese immigrants using fake identities to bypass racist and discriminatory laws and reach America. Are Richard Louis traveling to California's Angel Island with a look at that journey, while uncovering some of his own family's story and learning his real name. You won't want to miss this one. Stay with us. We are back now with the legend of the largest island in San Francisco Bay, Angel Island. Once a guided missile side, it holds a hidden chapter of history, one that helps us better understand the Chinese-American experience. Richard Louis has this very personal story tonight.

America's tech capital has a secret. In the shadows of Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay, another island with other stories of lawbreakers called Angel Island. My grandmother came here by boat. Like many newcomers, welcomed by the Golden Gate. She did lie. She memorized the life that was not her own. Katie's grandmother, Fannie, arrived on Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West, at age 12, claiming to be a U.S. citizen. This is your grandmother's transcript.

There's a discrepancy. Inspectors are pointing that out. But she wasn't a U.S. citizen. So for weeks, she was interrogated and detained. As immigration officials tried to prove, she was not who she claimed to be. The intent of these hearings was to find mistakes. The assumption, the immigrant, that he's lying. Park Ranger Casey Dexter Lee saying Fannie Kwan could have been sent back

because she was illegally in the U.S. Fannie passed that test, but would not speak of her secret for decades. He sat on her bed in her bedroom, and she finally told me the story about how she came through Angel Island. Katie's father only learned of the illegal story in his 20s, the only time she mentioned

what she endured on Angel Island. The experience was probably pretty similar to being in jail, the frustration, the anger. Ed Tephorn, the executive director for the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, telling us 200 people would be forced into rooms designed for only 50. The majority of individuals who were held in detention here never talked about it with their children, their grandchildren.

Many of them took with them to the day they died. Lying to the government, hidden detainment practices, and family secrets, why the silence? It goes back to a race-based 1882 law. It banned Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. saying they endangered the good order. It was the first ever major law to ban a specific racial or national group. But then, an earthquake in 1906, turning San Francisco into rubble. Earthquake and fire led to the destruction of the buildings where records were kept, including birth records.

A loophole opening up, a system where Chinese could enter illegally. Here's how it worked. Chinese people already in San Francisco claimed they were U.S. citizens, but the quake destroyed their papers. Many then filed names of their children, some true, some false. In turn, they sold these identities in China, which allowed the buyer's entry into the U.S. This paper son and daughter system was one of the only ways around the Chinese Exclusion Act. One in three Chinese in America today estimated as part of or descended from this system. That's why Fannie Kwan became a paper daughter and why she kept secrets.

When I was 14 years old, she was told that she had one year to live. And so I would visit her once a week and got to learn a little bit more about her. This drove Katie to illustrate her grandmother's story. Her looking out a barred window is a really strong image. A little surprise here, which are some of the records for your family, Richard. and these are for your grandfather, who was also a paper son. Today is the first time I've ever seen this picture. For a lot of families, this is the only photograph they may have of their ancestor.

My grandfather never told us until we saw his tombstone. We had a false name, Louis. And for the first time, our real last name was publicly displayed, Wong. How does this story fit in to the national discussion on immigration? This immigration station serves as a living landmark for experiences of detention, of racism, of exclusion, but also of hope and determination. Are you glad she broke the law? I am very proud and very glad that she did. That's a strange thing to say.

Yes. and a strange life to live inside the barracks walls, many carving poems of despair and hope into the wood. One reading, There are tens of thousands of poems on these walls. The day I am rid of this prison and become successful, I must remember that this chapter once existed. Richard Wong, NBC News, Angel Island.

And Richard joins us now. So, Richard, first, what was it like to say your original name? probably for the first time ever on camera. Yeah, very strange. When I was saying that Richard Wong on camera, I was thinking, I haven't done this ever, and I've been doing this for about 20 years, and you know what it's like.

We are saying Tom Yamasor, Richard Louis. And that same experience, though, is probably the way my father felt. Because when he saw that tombstone, it was the first time he realized in his 40 years of life, he wasn't a Louis. And he had to go to his siblings and say, what has happened here, and he determined, indeed, that his parents came to America illegally.

Right. When you saw that picture of your grandfather for the first time, you said you'd never seen that photo, I mean, he's a child. He is. Coming to a new country. He was under a plan that's not legal and a story that's not true. I mean, can you just imagine what's going through his head? You know, and they were very good at memorizing what that supposed story was. They were given these big maps of your town that you were supposedly from. Most of them were 10 or 12 years old. My grandfather was that age. But he came from a very poor farm. He wanted to make sure that whoever he would marry, which he never met, but he did marry her, that they would have a better future. And sure enough, they had to break the law to do it. Was this only a Chinese story

or were other groups involved? This is largely a Chinese story. The paper son and paper daughter system was something that was done uniquely in San Francisco. And so when they were selling these, they sold for about 30,000 in today's dollars to be able to get that name. And when they these cheat sheets that we were alluding to, when they came in through the Golden Gate, there was no bridge then, by the way. They would throw them over the side of the boat. Wow. Some of them didn't listen and kept them. And when you go to the museum, you'll look at these, and they're so intricate, but they had to memorize every single thing about it. the story down Pat. So your grandfather, he lives in California, he raises a family. He never

changes the name back to Wong. Why? You know, I think they were worried for several reasons. Number one, they get deported. That's my grandfather. And so my grandmother felt the same. So when my father found out, I think there's a generational hangover on top of that, because he learned why he wasn't told his real last name. So he said, we're going to keep it. And I must admit, I didn't realize I had this immigration background until it was a commercial break when I was at CNN. And I did a star on immigration. And I was like, oh, my gosh, I'm of that story that we just reported on. Louis was the name he bought?

Louis is the name he bought. Wong is the name that is actually my last name. Oh, my God. I don't know what to call you. I'm going to call you whatever you want me to call you, Richard. I'm going to call you friend because you're such a friend. Richard, thank you for bringing these amazing and powerful stories that are the story of America. That's right.

So we always thank you for that. Thank you, Tom. All right. We're going to be right back. Hey, welcome back. It is Friday, which means it is time for binge-worthy. Our look at what to watch and listen to this weekend. I want to bring in our friend, TV personality,

and host of the Bake Show podcast, the one and only, pound for pound, the toughest entertainment journalist out there. Baker, Maci-Machado, Baker. So good to see you, man. Happy Friday to you. Yes, you too, Tom. I know we have sort of like a documentary theme. on Bingeworthy, a lot of great docs out this weekend.

We're going to start with one that is on Netflix. It's about influencers and social media and a cult. It's called Dancing for the Devil, the 7M TikTok cult. Here it is. They would say, like, cut off your family because you need to work on yourself. You have to die to your family in order to save them. As a man of God, I wasn't thinking that he would ever do anything wrong to me or someone. When you raise somebody and all of a sudden to see a shell of your daughter,

I don't know who this person is. So, Baker, this looks really interesting, but I just want to get my head wrapped around this. It's a cult. It's about TikTok. It's about a church, and it's about influencers. Check, check, check. I mean, this is like all the makings of one of the greatest documentaries ever. Yeah, this is now on Netflix. It's just dropped this week. And as you mentioned, this follows this group of influencers on TikTok who joined this management company called 7M that also is affiliated with a religious organization as well. spiritual leader of all this, apparently, allegedly, was taking some of the profits from these TikTok influencers and convincing them to leave their families that way they could meet them in the next world.

This cult, by the way, I know you're going to ask this, is still around to this day, which is interesting. So Netflix was able to interview former members of the cult and family members of those who still have family members inside this cult. Just when you thought you knew everything about TikTok. No, it gets crazy. Then you learn about this. Okay, next up, you probably don't remember this. but do you remember movie phone? Oh, yes.

You do, okay, okay. I used to call, be like, what am I going to watch this? Okay, so you may remember movie phone. Movie phone was hysterical. It's a great Seinfeld episode. But before that, there was, or after that, actually, was Movie Pass, which if you love the movies, you might have had movie pass. Now there's this incredible doc on Max. Let's take a look.

Movie Pass doubled the revenue in theaters. We were worth $80 million plus. We had a product that no one could stop. Mitch was making a toast. He said, mark my words, everyone's going to be rich. They just spend, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin. Going to Coachella, partying with Big Boy, John Travolta. They burnt of $250 million.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, whoa, whoa. All right, so for reviewers that never had a movie pass, you had one, Baker. It makes sense. How did it work? It was one of the greatest things ever. It was a red debit card, and it was the hottest ticket in town. If you could get one of them, basically you could see a movie. every single day, as much as you want, for $10 a month.

Sounds incredibly. Unlimited. Unlimited. You can see at least once a day, but you could see as many movies as you wanted it, so I guess 30 for the entire month. This was why MoviePass really took off. It was one of the hottest companies on the planet, and as you saw in the trailer, burned through billions of dollars in their cash to go through all of it. But it really sort of redefined the movie-going experience.

Now, as a result, AMC and every theater chain out there has their own subscription membership model as a result of this. But there's a lot more that this documentary gets into that we didn't realize that we're under the surface, allegations of racial bias, fraud charges for allegedly deceiving investors when it came to their financial statements, bankruptcy, all of this stuff. Now, movie pass is still accompanied today. It went under in 2019 and it was brought back to life in bankruptcy court in 2022. But either way, incredible sort of where this company went and fell as a result of all of us. Maybe we can work on the movie phone document. I would love this.

I hope there are no dark secrets. Yeah, Kramer will voice it. Next up, Disney Plus. I'm so excited about this one. It's a documentary about the life of Jim Henson. We have a clip tonight. Let's take a look. Holy.

Crackers come about from many different ways. It was my mother's coat on a ping pong ball. That's how it all started. He had so many ideas and so many things he wanted to do. His inner life must have been sparkling. The space he gave to. and the expression of imagination. I see that and everything that he did.

I love you. I love you, too. I can't wait to watch this with my kids. I have so many questions about this, but let us know where can we watch this, and is it a single film or is it a series? Yeah, so this is a single film on Disney Plus. Ron Howard actually directed and put this all together,

and as we see, it's all about the life, the trials, the tribulations, and the interesting aspects of Jim Henson's life. We forget he died at 53 years young, and he crammed so much of his life into that in terms of creating and becoming a puppeteer, the greatest one on the planet as well. He also goes into details about how he created some of the characters, including Kermit. He created Kermit out of his mother's coat and cut a ping pong ball in half for the eyes. And that's how it all started, right? That's what it all started. Exactly. But it also goes into the details of the family. We're really sad because he worked so much, didn't spend a lot of time with his family.

So it's really an incredible documentary. A lot of awards chatter on this one as well. I just learned he also started a children's school in Connecticut, which is very interesting. And I'm also curious to learn what happened once CGI came in. Those graphics came in and it sort of changed the game for puppeteers. Finally, on stuff to watch, we have on our watch list this week. New series that's on Peacock, The Mothership. It's created by our Chicago affiliate.

A lot of producers on Top Story were very excited about this one. It's called It's Okay to Ask Questions. Here it is. I think we're in this time. where we're scared to ask about being gay or being non-binary or being, and like, it's okay. Yeah. Let's talk about it. Oh, we're going to talk about it.

I'm Matthew Rodriguez. Join me and some of my friends as we have a series of very candid conversations about what it's like to be queer. You learned your music from the church. And now we've got people banning drag queens from the church. So tell us about this one, Baker. Yeah, so this is in celebration of Comcast NBC Universal's upcoming Pride is Universal campaign. This was a glad media nominated series that's on the NBC Chicago Affiliates channel.

And as you mentioned, this is now streaming on Peacock. Great interviews in this one. Rosie O'Donnell is in this one, JoJo Sewa, so many others as well. And the host on this was also just on the Today Show this week, promoting it this week as well. And there's a lot of people that can get confused with what all the letters mean, the pronouns, of what some of the terms mean. And this sort of is a show for people like that to sort of educate and help.

Yeah, and I think the premise of it is really interesting not to be afraid to sort of ask questions, especially when you are curious about a lot. Yeah, because you can get some times, you can ask a question, and then they, you know... Absolutely. So this one sort of tries to really go to the root of a lot of those questions. All right, Baker.

Now, this is sort of a tough turn. Probably not the best programming, but it worked out this way. Eminem, he's got a new song. It's just like his old stuff, which also is kind of weird, but it's an interesting song. Let's play it.

I've been running that full speed and that's why I'm a head like my nagin'n and I'm the fight y'alladine. When you debate who the best but I'm some white chalking when I step up to that mic cockettin, oh my god attached, you can die out again. All right, Eminem. I didn't say the name of the song, I didn't say the name of the album, Philson, Baker. It's called Houdini, yeah. Houdini, right?

Back again. When I first heard this, I thought maybe he was doing a song with Duolipa, who also had a song called Houdini. But this, of course, comes off of his new album. that's coming out later this summer called the death of Slim Shady. And the video also got dropped this morning. Tons of celebrity cameos in this. Dr. Dre's in this. Pete Davidson, 50 Cent, Snoop Dog, comedian Shane Gillis, also in this as well. And also the publicity campaign for the new album, again, that comes out later this summer, is really interesting. He took out a fake obituary in his hometown Detroit Free Press proclaiming the death of Slim Shady in promotion for this.

Seems like a little odd. It's a little kind of fun. It's a little kind of fun. It's a I will tell you this is a throwback to the original Eminem and Slim Shade. Yeah, it does, yeah, yes. Very nostalgic. Anyways, there's a rumor that you were going to take on the winner of the Mike Tyson, Jake Paul fight. Is that true or not true? I don't know who would win that one if I would send that with that.

We miss seeing you in the ring. All right, Baker Machado. Thanks so much for being here. We thank you for watching Top Story all week. It was a big news week. I'm Tom Yamas in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.