Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, April 10, 2023

Episode Date: April 11, 2023

Louisville bank shooting leaves at least four dead and nine wounded, ousted Tennessee legislator Justin Jones reinstated, leaked U.S. documents reveal potential weak links in Ukraine’s military, Gov. Abbott calls for a pardon of Army sergeant convicted of protester's murder in Texas, and how AI is taking old voice recordings from the dead to transform the audiobook industry.

Tonight, the mass shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, a gunman on a live stream opening fire inside of a bank. At least four people killed and several others injured, including a police officer, now fighting for his life. Police revealing the 25-year-old gunman was an employee of the bank. We're also learning more about the four victims, one of them, a very dear friend of the state's governor. Our team on the ground in Louisville speaking to witnesses about the horror that unfolded. Plus, a major update on the six-year-old who shot a teacher at a Virginia elementary school. The child's mother arrested three months later the felony and misdemeanor charges she's now facing. Abortion pill battle two contradicting court rulings, now leaving the future of a critical abortion drug up in the air, the new legal development that just happened.

Will this fight go to the Supreme Court? Ready to run, President Biden telling our Al Roker, he plans to run for reelection. so what's keeping him from an official announcement and how soon could he launch a new campaign? Plus, the announcement just in from the White House about the COVID pandemic three years after it was declared a national emergency. And the NBC News exclusive,

how one nurse's decision to get a COVID vaccine on camera brought her to the center of a wild conspiracy theory resulting in stalking and even death threats, while she's now sharing her story and the real reason behind that viral video Tonight she wants the world to know she's alive. Juice jacking, the new warning from the FBI over public charging stations at places like airports. It's free, but is it safe?

How hackers could use them to get your personal information. And Dead Man Talking, the popular character actor who will be featured in new audiobooks, but he's been dead for nine years. How new AI technology will use his voice from beyond the grave? Top story starts right now. And good evening. We begin tonight in Louisville, Kentucky, where another community here in the U.S. has been ripped apart by a senseless act of gun violence. A lone gunman, armed with a rifle, opening fire inside the old National Bank in downtown

Louisville just before nine this morning. At least four people killed and several others injured, including a police officer who was shot in the head. Here's what we know at this hour. The 25-year-old gunman identified as Connor Sturgeon was an employee of the bank. Police say he live-streamed part of that attack before he died during a gun battle with officers who responded within three minutes. Late today, heavily armed policing outside the shooter's home. Take a look. Investigators looking into reports he may have had mental health issues. But the focus tonight, the four lives tragically cut short. Police identifying them as 45-year-old Juliana Farmer.

64-year-old James Tut, 40-year-old Josh Barrick, and 63-year-old Thomas Elliott. In an emotional moment today, the governor of Kentucky revealing Elliot was one of his closest friends. According to the gun violence archive in the first 100 days of 2023, get this, there have been 146 mass shootings defined by the organizations as shootings that leave at least four people shot. President Biden today once again calling on Congress to pass stricter gun laws. Let's get right to Maggie Vespa. She leads us off from Louisville tonight. Tonight, chaos and carnage gripping another American city. Let's be clear about what this was. This was an evil act of targeted violence.

The familiar terror unfolding in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Around 8.30 this morning, police say a lone gunman opened fire inside this old national bank, killing four and wounding nine. This was terrifying. It was terrified. Officers on the scene within three minutes. Investigators say this was not a random act. White male who was employed at O National Bank. His weapon of choice was a rifle. Authorities identifying the shooter as Connor Sturgeon who died at the scene in a shootout with police. He live streamed the rampage, according to investigators, who late today executed a search

warrant on his home. Victims range in age from 40 to 64, including. including 63-year-old Thomas Elliott, the bank's senior vice president, according to his LinkedIn account, and a friend of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. Tommy Elliott helped me build my law career. Help me become governor. Gave me advice on being a good dad.

It's one of the people I talk to most in the world and very rarely are we talking about my job. He was an incredible friend. Today, I'm hurt, and I'm hurting. And I know so many people out there are as well. We lost four children of God today. Among the wounded, two Louisville Metro Police Officers. One, Officer Nicholas Wilt shot in the head.

J.D. Worley watched it happen in horror from his office across the street. I see the first officer on the scene arrive and he comes charging up these front stairs to the main landing of the lobby of the bank here. He's got his rifle out and everything. And right as he gets up to the landing, I don't know who shot first, but I just hear really loud gunfire. I see glass just exploding. The whole bank is just all glass in the front lobby. Did you see two officers get shot yourself?

Were they outside the bank when that happened? Yes, right outside the front lobby doors on this main level, elevated level, above up some stairs. At 26, Officer Wilt is less than two weeks out of the academy. Nick has come out of brain surgery. and is in critical but stable condition as we speak. Kentucky's governor praising police who raced to confront the gunman and asking for time to grieve. It seems like we argue so much in this country, so much anger.

I still believe that love and compassion and humanity can lead us to a better place. Now this is hard. It's really hard. Maggie Vespa joins us not live from Louisville, Kentucky. Maggie, we always have so many. questions after these mass shootings. Do we know if the gunman had a history of mental illness, how he was able to get a gun and what type of gun was used here? Yeah, so it's interesting, Tom, in that piece you heard police say that basically he had a rifle on him. And at this point, they're being pretty tight-lipped. They're only really giving

that detail. They're not saying what kind of rifle it was. They're not saying how the suspect may have gotten access to it. And to that potential history that you point out of mental health issues. We only know about that from two senior officials who say, again, the suspect was an employee at this bank, and that he may have had a history of mental health issues. Again, they're not revealing much more than that at this point, but just saying they expect a lot more to come out in the coming days. And Maggie, as we reported, we know an officer is fighting for his life shot in the head. Can you give us the latest on the other victim's conditions? Yeah, so Officer Nicholas Weld, who, again, we just heard about, is in critical condition. Again, nine people, nine

patients total taken from this scene to the University of Louisville Hospital. Of those nine, three, including Officer Wilt, are in critical condition. And we should note the other officer who heard about in that piece who was shot, were told sustained minor injuries, and thankfully should recover. Tom? The latest horrific mass shooting again happening here in this country. Okay, Maggie Vespa tonight. Now to another major headline, a story we've been following a lot here on Top Story. A grand jury inditing the mother of a six-year-old who shot a Virginia teacher in January. That mother, Deja Taylor, now facing felony, child neglect, and misdemeanor firearm charges. As an attorney for the teacher says more people need to be held accountable. NBC News

National Correspondent, Miguel Almagir has those details. Tonight, three months after the shocking school shooting, the mother of the six-year-old Virginia boy who shot and seriously wounded his first grade teacher is facing criminal charges. Today, a grand jury in Newport News, indicting 25-year-old Deja Taylor on charges of felony child neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child. Who would be prepared for a six-year-old to bring a loaded weapon on to school or a weapon on to school? After authorities announced the six-year-old would not be charged with a crime, the Commonwealth's attorney saying today, Every criminal case is unique in its facts, and these facts support these charges, but our investigation into the shooting continues.

I just will never forget the look on his face that he gave me while he pointed the gun directly at me. That's something that I will never forget. It's changed me. It's changed my life. Abigail Zwerner, who told Savannah Guthrie the bullet still remains lodged in her body, is suing school administrators for $40 million, dollars alleging gross negligence. Zwerner said staff failed to act on several warnings that the six-year-old had a gun or made threats. There were failures in accountability and multiple levels that led to Abby being shot and almost killed, writes her attorney.

We will not allow school leaders to escape accountability for their role in this tragedy. All right, Miguel Almagher joins us now. Miguel, how is the mother here, Taylor, Deja Taylor, how is she responding tonight? Well, Tom, the attorney representing the mother of that six-year-old said she plans to turn herself in later on this week, and they also wish to thank the Commonwealth Attorney's Office for informing them of the indictments. This legal process just beginning to play out, Tom.

Okay, Miguel Almagher for us, Miguel, we appreciate that. With this case presenting a unique challenge for prosecutors because of the young age of the shooter, they're now putting the responsibility in the hands of the mother, it appears. But will this hold up in court? I want to bring in a friend of top story, legal analyst, Angela Senadella. You may know her from TikTok, the lawyer, Angela. Angela, thanks for joining us tonight. I have a lot of questions.

I want to start from the beginning, though. Do we know why it took so long for a grand jury to indict the mother? We know that the kid was only six years old. How did he get a gun? We've learned now that they're accusing the mother of that. Yes, well, I don't think it took the grand jury that long to indict. I think what happened is the prosecutor started with the shooter, which was the six-year-old child, and they decided the six-year-old child didn't have the mens rea or the competency to stand trial.

And then the prosecutors moved backwards, and they thought, well, who then could possibly prevent this from happening again, this terrible tragedy? And they landed on the mother. So talk to us about the charges, because I think people may be listening to this. I know I was, and sort of surprised that the first charge is a felony. Child neglect, that sounds right. But that the firearm charge is a misdemeanor? Explain that. Yes, well, the firearm charge is just leaving a firearm. loaded and unsecured around a minor.

So it's not even relevant that this six-year-old child then took the firearm and ended up shooting his teacher at school. They are focusing solely on charges where the child is the victim. So this almost has nothing to specifically do with Abigail's Werner. Okay, I want to go back to that, though, because I want to really spend time on this. Leaving a loaded firearm in front of a child in the state of Virginia is only a misdemeanor? That is true. It's actually a statute.

It is a misdemeanor up to one. year in jail or likely less if she doesn't have a past criminal record. This is much different, but some viewers may think about this. What happened to Ethan Cromley? You'll remember he was the student in Michigan involved in that mass shooting at his school. His parents were charged with involuntary manslaughter. I believe that was the charge. Did that open the door for a case like this? Or are these two very separate cases? So they are very different, but you are seeing a trend in this country to hold people responsible for these deaths who aren't just the shooter, especially if you're not.

that shooter is underage, as you saw with Ethan Crumbly. But those charges of involuntary manslaughter had to do with resulting in the death. So that's to right the crimes and the wrongs of those victims of the four people who passed. This is almost solely a child neglect and abuse case. So in this case, the prosecutors are saying this child is the victim here. It's the six-year-old. We're going to charge a felony here for victimizing this child and also for allowing him access to a firearm. If she is convicted, how many years in prison is she looking at the mother, do we think? Well, I think for felony, it's likely a few years, but for the misdemeanor, it's only up to one year.

Do you think because the teacher survived, these were the charges, or do you think these are the only charges the prosecutors could find on the books? Yes, so I think you're hitting that on the nail there. With Ethan Crumbly, the involuntary manslaughter was a greater charge because they were deaths that resulted. In this case, the injury was not a death, so as a result, they can't go to any of the homicide or manslaughter statutes. They have to stop at who was the victim here, and that was the child. We heard from the teacher who spoke with Savannah Guthrie there in Miguel's piece. She is suing the district for $40 million. Will this criminal case have any impact on that civil suit?

Very possibly, depending on what comes up. But again, here, the responsibilities are very different. So the criminal charges are against the mother with the child being the victim. The civil lawsuit is about the teacher saying the school district should have kept her safe at work. So actually, the defendants are very different here. But as you see with any trials that happen, much comes out, and that can be cross-applied to both cases. All right, Angela Senadella, great legal analysis, as always, we really do appreciate it. Sticking with gun violence now in the showdown in Tennessee after two state lawmakers were expelled over a gun protest.

Late today, the Nashville Council voting to reinstate one of those lawmakers. Kathy Park has the breaking details. Thank you, Vice Mayor. I would like to nominate Representative Justin Jones. Tonight, a political showdown in Nashville. The former Tennessee lawmaker, Justin Jones, back to the statehouse just days after his expulsion. The Metro Nashville Council voted unanimously in favor of his reappointment. This is a message that partisanship has gone so far as to be a force in violating basic principles of democracy.

This special meeting comes after a rare move by House. Republicans to remove three Democratic lawmakers after they joined a gun control rally on the House floor, which Republicans say violated the rules. You can call it peaceful, you can call it whatever, but they had a protest against House policy on the floor. No accent, no peace. Among the Tennessee three, only one survived the vote, Gloria Johnson. It might have to do with the color of our skin.

GOP leaders say their decision was not based on race, but that Johnson didn't go as far as her two freshman colleagues. No peace. Representative Justin Pearson will learn his fate Wednesday in his own district with a special meeting in Memphis. Meanwhile, the political battle doesn't end for Jones as he awaits a special election, and he's vowing to return. Okay, Kathy Park joins us now live from Nashville with some of that breaking news. We can see a crowd of supporters just behind you pushing for that reinstatement. You were there as Representative Jones walked back into the Tennessee Capitol.

Talk to us about what happened. Yeah, Tom. There was certainly so much momentum, so much buildup leading up to that critical vote. And we got a sense of vindication when that vote officially came in and he was sworn in. We saw Representative Jones flanked by Gloria Johnson as he walked into the House Chambers. We heard his supporters, Chanty, welcome back, welcome home. And in turn, he acknowledged those supporters in the gallery, thanking them for their ongoing support. And he said that he's hopeful for more promising days ahead here in Tennessee because of their actions.

Kathy Park for us on that breaking development tonight. Kathy, thank you. Time now for politics. We turn to the race for the White House, and President Biden making his most definitive comments yet on the 2024 election, saying his plan is to run for re-election, talking to our Al Roker during the annual White House Easter egg roll. Take a listen. I plan on at least three or four more Easter egg rolls. At least three or four more. Maybe five. Maybe five. Maybe six. What the hell?

Are you saying that you would be taking part in our upcoming election in 2024? I'll either be rolling an egg or being the guy who's pushing them out. Come on. Help a brother out. Make some news for me. I plan on running now, but we're not prepared to announce it yet. All right. You heard it right there at the end. Kristen Welker joins us now from the White House North Lawn. Kristen, you're the chief White House correspondent. You spend hours and days traveling around the world with the president.

And then it's the weatherman. Roker who gets the big scoop here. What was the reaction inside the White House? Well, Tom, first of all, I might be out of a job. Let's start there. But look, White House officials are trying to downplay the news, noting that President Biden has said consistently he intends to run. Still, as you said, these are some of the most definitive comments that we've heard yet from the president, an incredible job by Al. And the thing to know is he's essentially been running unofficially for months now. during his state of the union address, talked about the need to finish the job.

He's been traveling across the country, selling what he sees as his top accomplishments. Still, as the president said today, he is not prepared to officially announce, Tom, so we continue to wait and report. Yeah, Kristen, do we have any idea what's preventing the Biden administration, or at least the president from announcing making an official announcement? Yeah, well, look, one long-time advisor said the president wants to, quote, preserve the option not to run. This is a very Biden approach to making a final announcement.

And there are some good reasons to delay. Once he announces, there are all sorts of campaign finance laws that have to be observed. Plus, there's broad agreement in democratic circles that there's really no rush to announce, particularly now that former President Trump, the GOP frontrunner, was just indicted in dealing with a mountain of legal problems. Yeah, there's a lot going on right now, so we're going to have to wait and see what the president decides to do. Since I have you here, Christian, a lot of news coming out of the White House today, apparently. We just got a news alert. I know you have some new reporting on this.

The president has terminated the national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Explain exactly what this means to our viewers. This was a Republican-led bill that has passed through Congress. The president now signing this officially into law, and it is significant. It changes the posture by which the administration will be approaching, fighting the COVID pandemic. We're not going to have those ongoing briefings that we've been having for years now. Look, the challenge here is how to make sure they still stay on top of prevention and making sure that people are getting the medication and medical care that they need.

But, Tom, this is astounding. It comes more than 1,000 days after the start of the pandemic, more than a million lives lost. So still a challenge moving forward, but it does mark a significant shift in the way the United States approaches the pandemic. Kristen, with that new development from the White House, Kristen, we thank you for that. Next tonight, the growing fallout from the leak of dozens of classified U.S. intelligence documents that ended up on social media. Intelligence officials now saying they believe most of the documents are real, and they don't know if more leaks are still to come. NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell has this one. The leak documents include sensitive and top-secret intelligence about U.S. adversaries and allies,

potentially jeopardizing U.S. spies in hostile countries and electronic surveillance. We don't know who's responsible for this, and we don't know if they have more that they intend to post. The documents show Ukraine running low on ammunition and using U.S. intelligence to strike a Russian target. Russia's military struggling in Ukraine. South Korea reluctant to help the U.S. supply artillery to Ukraine. Is the worst damage the Russian sources and methods behind the insults? information from Russia on the Defense Ministry. I think the greatest concern is that some of our sources, both human as well as technical

collection systems, could be compromised as a result of this. Another document has the leaders of Israel's intelligence service, the Mossad, backing anti-government protests, though Israel denies it. The senior director of the Mossad and our senior officials in the Mossad were not involved in any way. The stolen intelligence first showing up on a chat server for the Minecraft video game, according to open source intelligence agency Bellingot, before. appearing on other sites. Slides showing conflicting Russian casualties in Ukraine

indicates some of the documents could have been doctored, but officials believe most are real. The Justice Department is investigating to find the source as officials fear the leak has exposed critical vulnerabilities in U.S. intelligence. Tom. Okay, Andrea, as the Pentagon works to discover the sources behind those leaks, will it be able to do damage control with U.S. allies and prevent the release of more classified information? NBC News Intelligence Correspondent, Kendolynian, joins top story tonight. Ken, love having you here tonight on this very important story. I want to start with the intelligence on the war in Ukraine, right? Some of these documents

were very specific on why certain weapons have failed recently, including bombs. What impact could this have on the balance of power in the war? And does this seem like it was an effort by the Russians to tip the scales? Are their fingerprints all over this? It certainly benefits the Russians, Tom, but the fact that it was leaked and made public argues against a Russian spying operation, because why would they want to do this? that if they had a channel of classified documents. But you're absolutely right. Ukraine is the biggest loser here. There was a detailed intelligence report about the weaknesses in their air defenses and the fact that they're running out of ammunition. That is not a good day for Ukraine. They must

be outraged that their information was made public like this. They are trusting U.S. intelligence to keep it secret, and that's not what happened here. You know, Ken, no one's going to admit this, but every major country spies on each other, whether they're an ally or not. This leak gave some insight into how the Pentagon spies on some of those allies for us? How damaging will this be for the U.S.? You're right. It's embarrassing when the allies are confronted with something they know happens, but they don't want to deal with their public being mad about it. I think what's more damaging is it shows the Russians, the fact that we've penetrated, the United States has penetrated their military with signals intelligence, communications intercepts to a great extent. And now this

allows them to take a look at where they may be being listened to and to try to close some of those channels down. That could be the real lasting damage from this time. Ken, while I have you, I also want to ask you about the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gerskovich, who is detained in Russia. We've been following this story here. The State Department officially designated as a wrongful detention. What does that designation mean and what power does it give the State Department? It empowers the State Department and other parts of the government to devote more resources and really a whole of government effort to try to free him. And it makes it the hostage envoy empowered by the White House is now in charge of this case. And there are a number

of steps they can take. What's unusual about this is usually the detainee has to meet with consular officials before this happens. But the Russians have not afforded Evan Gershowitz that right under national law. The State Department has still not met with him, but they have designated him a wrongful detainee. Okay, Candelani, with some great insight for us tonight, Ken, we appreciate it. We head overseas to the ongoing violence in the Middle East. Israeli troops killing a 15-year-old Palestinian boy during a raid in the occupied West Bank, the continuing violence amid the overlap of major Jewish, Muslim, and Christian holy days. Ralph Sanchez has this one. Tonight, Israeli forces raiding a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank,

capturing a Palestinian militant, they say, but also killing a 15th. year old boy. His body found by his own father. I came closer and realized it's my son, he says. The latest child lost to the violence gripping the Holy Land. Two Israeli sisters from a West Bank settlement killed by a Palestinian gunman on Friday. And today, their mother also succumbing to her wounds, a family destroyed. Israeli settlers staging a mass. protest in the Northern West Bank, joined by far-right members of Israel's government. We head to the nearby Palestinian city of Janine,

where Israeli troops are fighting near daily battles against Palestinian militants, including these gunmen from the Alaksa Martyrs Brigade. When the Israeli occupation raids Janine, we are waiting for them, he says. Looming over us, posters of their comrades killed fighting Israel. Into Petitadofo? Did you know him?

Yes. You knew him. Was it worth it? Did they achieve anything? You're seeing the stars of the martyrs, he says. They were defenders of freedom, defending themselves and our people. Men prepared to kill and die for their cause. And earlier tonight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned his citizens, our country is under attack. He also said he was unfiring his defense minister,

who he said he was dismissing two weeks ago, after the minister spoke out against his controversial plan to weaken the Israeli Supreme Court. Tom? Raff, thank you for that. Back here at home, we have some new developments tonight on the battle over an abortion pill used for more than 20 years. It's now the focus of competing rulings by two federal courts, but tonight there are new developments. Dasha Burns reports on its uncertain future. Tonight, the fallout from dueling court rulings. The future of the abortion pill is hanging in the balance after a Texas judge,

invalidated the FDA's approval of MIFA Prestone. The Department of Justice is now appealing that decision. What this ruling effectively is is a backdoor ban on abortion. What options are available to the administration here? We've been waiting for the judge to rule, and what we did is what we believe is the best strategy, which is to appeal this decision immediately. Minutes after the Texas judge's decision on Friday night, a federal judge in Washington state with equal authority dropping a contradictory ruling, ordering the FDA to maintain access to the drug. It all sowed confusion nationwide and created a legal standoff. Used with another drug, Mifaprestone is the most common method for terminating pregnancies in the U.S.

It's been approved since 2000 and used safely more than 5 million times. But the plaintiffs in the Texas case, a group of anti-abortion doctors and medical organizations, alleged the drug is dangerous, and the FDA didn't follow proper protocol when approving it. I spoke with the group behind the lawsuit before the ruling. The result, if you win, is that abortion access will be significantly limited. Is that the goal of this lawsuit? No, the goal of this lawsuit is to correct American women and girls from dangerous chemical abortion drugs.

It's not, we are not seeking a nationwide abortion ban. Meanwhile, today, lawmakers in blue states vowed to do whatever necessary to protect reproductive rights. It harms patients, undermines medical expertise, and takes away freedom. Tonight, MIFA Prestone remains legal as the battles rage on in the courts. Dasha Burns joins us now in studio. And Dasha, I know you have some new reporting, a bit of news that's come out from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. That's right. So this is coming from the Fifth Circuit where the DOJ and the manufacturer of the drug Mitha Prestone, which is in question here where they have asked that court to stay the judge's ruling in Texas that suspends the

FDA's approval here. Now, we just heard from the court that they are asking the plaintiffs in the case to respond to the DOJ's filing. A lot of legalese here, but point being, the Fifth Circuit is moving very quickly here because the DOJ is asking for them to remove that deadline imposed by the Texas judge, that deadline of midnight on Saturday. which case his order would go into effect. Essentially freezing that ruling and waiting for the court of appeals. Exactly, exactly. Essentially freezing that ruling and keeping the status quo, they are asking to put a pause

on all of this and allow everything to move through the courts. There's a lot of confusion here, a lot of attention, of course, women's rights at the center of this. Do we think this is eventually going to end up in the Supreme Court? When I talk to legal experts, most of them say that is likely where this is headed, especially because you have these two conflicting rulings from these federal judges that both, both have equal authority. And the FDA is saying, look, we cannot comply with both of these orders. Where does this ultimately get solved? Most likely in the highest court in the land, Tom.

All right, Dasha Burns for us, Dasha, thank you. Still ahead tonight, pardoned for a killer, a U.S. Army sergeant convicted of fatally shooting a protester at a Black Lives Matter rally. But the governor of Texas says he may let that man walk before he sentenced the outrage from the victim's family. Plus, neighborhood rocked the home explosion caught on camera in Wichita, Kansas, what was inside that house that made the situation even worse. And juice jacking. Have you heard about this? The warning tonight against those free charging stations at places like airports. Is it giving hackers easy access to your phones? Stay with us. Top story. Just getting started. Okay, we're back now and bringing you to Texas where a newly convicted murderer may walk free

after Governor Greg Abbott back calls to part of the man who shot and killed the Black Lives Matter protester in 2020. Dana Griffin spoke with the victim's family and has the latest. Only a day after U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Perry was convicted of murder. Texas Governor Greg Abbott calling for his pardon. Perry shot and killed Air Force veteran Garrett Foster from his vehicle nearly three years ago in Austin at this Black Lives Matter protest in July of 2020. On Friday, a jury decided to convict him. The jury found the defendant Daniel Perry guilty of the offensive murder. Perry's defense arguing, the shooting was justified under the state's stand-your-ground law,

which allows deadly force to be used by those who feel they're in danger. Perry telling detectives at the time, When I saw him raise his weapon, that's what I'm going to revolve on. Foster was openly carrying an AK-47 during the protest, which is legal in the state. But witnesses say Perry was the incident. The driver of this vehicle intentionally and aggressively accelerated into a crowd of people. And the jury agreed. After the conviction, Foster's family telling reporters they were happy with the jury's decision. There's no winners in this. And it's just glad it's over.

But it's not quite over. Perry hasn't even been sentenced yet, but Governor Abbott tweeted over the weekend, I am working as swiftly as Texas law allows regarding the pardon of Sergeant Perry. I cannot believe this is happening. Foster's fiancé reacting. It's really shocking and it's extremely devastating. And it's just taken so long to get to get here. It's been a long and hard three years. Unlike presidential power in Texas,

the parole board must first recommend a pardon before the governor can act. How unprecedented is it for a governor to call for someone to be pardoned before they've even been sentenced? I'm not aware of that happening in any other circumstance ever in the state of Texas and potentially across this country. Garrett's family is asking supporters to write the parole board in an effort to stop Perry's potential release, as they also encourage the governor to reconsider. I want him to know that Garrett Foster was a very good man. And before he lets out somebody who was just found guilty of murder and lets him off, he really needs to look into exactly what happened.

And I think he'll probably change his mind once he does. All right, Dana Griffin joins us now from Los Angeles. So, Dana, this is a governor-appointed parole board. How likely are they to grant this pardon and how soon could that happen? Tom, very likely. According to the county's former assistant district attorney, attorney, Rick Hofer. He says he fully expects for the pardon to be issued, but it could take months. Remember, for a person to be considered for a pardon, the trial has to actually be

complete, including sentencing. The governor is now directing the Texas Parole Board to expedite the review. He says he looks forward to approving the board's pardon recommendation. And Dana, you know, you spoke to the family there. We saw that in the report. What's the response that Governor Abbott is getting from around the country as well? So it's been very mixed. You've got several Texas GOP leaders that. that have praised support for the pardon. But as you mentioned, the victim's family says that this has been very devastating. They tell me that they've even been getting hateful comments online since the governor's tweet.

Tom. All right, Dana Griffin for us, Dana, we appreciate it. When we come back in NBC News exclusive, how this viral video of a nurse fainting made her the target of an online anti-vaccine conspiracy theory. You may remember it. It even led to death threats why she's choosing now to step forward and speak out about her story. Stay with us. All right, we are back now with Top Stories News Feed. We begin with a stabbing at a mosque in New Jersey during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

An Imam was leading prayer when the suspect ran up from behind him at the mosque. You see him right there. It's happened in Patterson, stabbed the Imam several times in the back. Worshippers chased the attacker and held them until police arrived. The suspect has been charged with attempted murder and authority. are investigating a motive. The victim, though, is expected to be okay. That's good news. An investigation is underway into a deadly home explosion in Wichita, Kansas. New cell phone video shows the home on fire when a massive fireball erupts. A 48-year-old man was found dead inside.

Officials say there were reports the homeowner was manufacturing fireworks at the home prior to the blast. Investigators did find fireworks in the debris. In Hawaii, a surfer was attacked by a shark off the coast of a popular beach in Oahu. Police say an eight-foot tiger shark bit the surfer on his right leg just a few miles away from Waikiki Beach, but their surfers pulling him out of the water and applying a tourniquet until first responders arrived. He is in serious condition. Beachgoers are being warned to stay away from the area.

And the FBI is advising people to avoid using charging stations in airports, hotels, and other public spaces. The agency saying hackers can use the free chargers to install softs. that gives them access to your devices. The scheme is known as juice jacking. It could potentially give them access to personal information, such as usernames and passwords. The FBI suggests traveling with your own charging cords

and finding regular electrical outlets instead. All right, next, few Americans know what it feels like to be the target of a frenzy of conspiracy theories. But since the day, Nurse Tiffany Dover fainted while getting her COVID vaccine, life has never been the same. And tonight, she's speaking out for the first time in an exclusive interview with NBC's Brandy Zedrosny. Tiffany Dover wants the world to know one thing. My message is simple.

It is that I am alive. I'm well. That's it. I hope they believe it. They are the massive online community of conspiracy theorists who've been convinced she's dead for more than two years. I made a whole podcast about it. Tiffany wasn't ready to share her story then, but now... I'm ready to just put my story out there, own my story.

That story begins in 2020. Tiffany was working as a nurse manager at CHI Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, putting in grueling hours on a COVID unit. When vaccines arrived that December, Tiffany became one of the first people at her hospital to get the shot. I felt okay during that. Then she stood up to answer questions. I'm sorry.

I don't say that? You step away. I ended up passing out. So that created the opposite effect of what I would have liked. But you got right back up. I did. And this is something that's happened to me my whole life. I do have episodes where I pass out.

But in that moment, a conspiracy theory was born. People thought that I was dead. People thought that I was an actress, paid to do this. that I was paid off by Big Farm. It was completely overwhelming, to be honest. It snowballed, fast. I had people showing up at my house. I had people reaching out to my friends, my family.

I even received death threats. Were you afraid for your family? Absolutely, yes. Through it all, Tiffany kept silent, and that only made the online frenzy worse. Why not come out and dispel these rumors? Initially, that was exactly what I wanted to do. And unfortunately, I was told that that absolutely would not happen.

The hospital told you not to speak out. Correct. Yes. It would be irrecoverable damage, is what I was told. If I was to speak out and have another episode. Instead, the hospital put out this video, intending to show she was alive. But the so-called Tiffany Truthers picked it apart and used it as fuel. Online anti-vaxxers and the movement are sort of using you as their,

poster girl. It's hard to think that you are being used to detour somebody from getting the vaccine. And that was really hard for me to cope with. Are you saying you blamed yourself? Yes, absolutely. I wish that we would have used it as a platform to speak out on the fact that people do pass out after getting shots, vaccines, but that is not a reason to not proceed with getting them. CHI Memorial has repeatedly denied knowledge of any directive asking Tiffany not to speak or post, including in an interview for our podcast. I'm not aware of anything that asked Tiffany not to respond. The hospital recently telling NBC News, we have no new information.

A year ago, Tiffany left CHI Memorial. And while she hopes to work as a nurse again one day, for now, she's focused on reclaiming her life. Even after all of this, there will be people who say, we don't believe you. What then? At this point, you know, I've done what I needed to do. I've put it out there that I'm alive. They have to choose whether they believe that or not.

And that's all I can do. It's without the truth. And with that very powerful report, Brandy's a drawsney makes her top story debut. Brandy, thanks so much for being here. Incredible report that you and your team have put together. I do want to ask you, in the digital story on NBCNews.com, you mentioned that in a lot of ways, the nurse decided to come forward because of her daughter? Yeah, she stayed silent for two years, and when she quit her job, she thought that she would be, you know, want to come out and tell her whole story.

But COVID was really hard on a nurse in a COVID unit, and her grandmother died in her unit, and it was a really, really, really hard time. She was being plagued with harassment and conspiracy theorists showing up at her door. And so she didn't quite want to talk until January. She started a TikTok, and she noticed that her daughter didn't want to post. And she said to me that she looked at her daughter and said, I don't want her to be afraid of social media or the internet. I'm a strong woman and wanted to tell my story, why am I running now? And so she stopped running. You know, this sort of phenomenon of the genie being out of the bottle with social media does happen.

Is there anything people like Tiffany can do to protect themselves when disinformation campaigns are sort of off to the races? Yeah, I think so. That's what this story has really told me. For a long time, we sort of subscribe to Don't Feed the Tristan. controls, right? Or it's called in media, strategic silence. You just don't say anything and hope things will go away. I think the story has taught me that we're past that era now and that truth needs an advocate and people are going to have to step up for themselves. And even more importantly, organizations that have employees like Tiffany, like news reporters, every

organization, really, election workers, they're going to have to make sure they have safeguards in place and that they stand by their employees. Because that strategy of don't give it oxygen could actually be harmful in some regards. Absolutely. What has to be? happens when you have a knowledge vacuum is people fill it. Brandy, thank you so much for that. And for the bonus podcast, scan the QR code on your screen right now or search for Tiffany Dover is dead wherever you get your podcast. Brandy again, thank you so much. That was a great, great report. Still ahead, horror on the slopes, the avalanche caught on camera in the French Alps, the tragic discoveries made by rescuers. That's next.

more than a headline. It informs. It inspires, and it still matters. To cover it, you have to be in it. And that's what we're going to do. Every night, we take you to the front lines of the story where it's actually happening with NBC News journalists on the ground from all over the world. We cover what you need to know and bring your news feed to life. In primetime and streaming live, it's your news playlist every night. Top Story with Tom Yamas, weeknights at 7 on NBC News Now. All right, time now for Top Stories Global Watch. And an update tonight, a pilot has been charged for a deadly hot air balloon crash in Mexico. As we told you last week, a hot air balloon burst into flames earlier this month near Mexico City.

At least two passengers killed and another hurt. That balloon was apparently unregistered. The pilot was found at the hospital. It's now charged with homicide. To France, where an avalanche has killed at least six people, eyewitnesses captured the deadly avalanche from a ski resort near Mont Blanc. The victims were found buried. under the snow. At least one person was sent to the hospital. The National Weather Agency had not

issued a specific avalanche warning at that time. No word yet on what caused the tragedy. And growing fear in the Mediterranean where a ship with 400 migrants has been left adrift. The captain of the ship reportedly abandoning it between Greece and Malta. Human rights groups say due to the number of people on the boat and the weather conditions, there is a high risk. The boat will capsize. They are urgently calling for authorities to send rescue. All right. When we come back, Dead Man Talking, the popular character now being used to voice new audiobooks. However, he's been dead for almost a decade. How they're bringing his voice back to life. That's next. We're back now with a story that first caught

our eye in the Wall Street Journal. Edward Herman was a popular character actor seen on Gilmore Girls and Nixon. Now he's lending his voice to new audiobooks. But here's the thing. He's been dead for more than nine years. So how is he doing this? NBC Stephen Romo has more on how AI is behind this new audio narration technology and the ethical implications behind it. Tonight, the next frontier for AI audiobook narration. Be the sound of the world with Deep Zen AI. Meaning celebrities can now offer their voice services from beyond the grave. The Wall Street Journal reporting companies like Deep Zen are taking real voices of actors and narrators and using AI to create new content with synthetic voices that

sound like the real thing. I'm not trying to replace your father. Among Deep Zinn's offerings, actor Edward Herman from shows like The Gilmore Girls. I think we're both up to the challenge. Shall we? Here, Edward is narrating an audio book on Thomas Jefferson. Disorder, which Jefferson hated, threatened harmony, which he loved. And here is Edward's synthetic voice created by Deep Zen narrating that same audio book. Disorder which Jefferson hated, threatened harmony, which he loved. That's despite the prolific actor's death in 2014. Deep Zin was able to use old recordings of his voice with the permission from his family

to voice more books like this. Captain Hidalgo swiveled in his chair. What if we license his voice and bring his voice back to life and use it? for different projects starting with like audiobooks, dubbing, and kind of like bring his legacy back to life. It's an advancement that professional narrator Tanya Ibi says is already having an impact. I'm angry. I think, honestly, it's a real threat.

Five years ago, it was a thing of the future. And then the future suddenly happened within like the last six months. And it's been really crazy. My work is down about 50%. And I've been in the business for 20 years. Just this year, Apple launched Apple Books Digital Narration, saying Apple Books Digital Narration makes the creation of audiobooks more accessible to all.

There was something achingly familiar about her. Some narrators making the case that it's just not the same. I've tried listening to AI. I am trying to be open to technology and go with it. And what happens is for the first few minutes, it sounds right. And then you notice that your mind starts drifting. So whatever that magical quality of storytelling with a human telling a story to another human is lost with computers. But the tech is improving so much, so quickly.

The technology uses previous recordings of the voice actor to guess how that person would speak. In fact, this sentence was not recorded by me. but an AI engine trained on my voice. And it's so easy to produce. We used a site that allowed us to upload only about a minute of my voice reading a previous story. Paste in the script that we wrote,

generate the audio, and you have my AI recording in just a few minutes. AI is going to play a key role, expanding the content, making it available to the masses, if it is used in the right way. All right, Stephen Romo joins Top Story in studio tonight. And Stephen, I mean, this story really blew all of our minds, especially when they were able to recreate your voice.

What are the ethical, the legal sort of ramifications here? What do the company say? Yeah, well, the company says they get all of the required licensing from all the parties involved. For Mr. Herman, they actually got approval from his agents and his family. They also say his family put conditions in place, like they didn't want his voice used for things like video games, for example. So they do have some freedom there. As the technology expands, though, the question of whether parity laws may help protect this, That is largely untested right now. But one fascinating thing about this, I didn't want to note,

Debson, that company we talked to, says they have emotional control over these voices using these eight perimeters. They can mix them around and get the emotion across they want to, making it even more uncanny Tom. Pretty incredible. And we should tell our viewers, right? We should let them in on the secret. Yeah.

This is not Stephen Romo, right? This is AI. The hologram. Pretty incredible. No, we're joking. That is Stephen Romo. The original. Stephen.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamerson, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.