Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, July 14, 2025

Episode Date: July 15, 2025

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, flames tearing through an assisted living facility, killing at least nine residents. People hanging out of their windows, screaming for help. The intense rescues has fast-spreading flames, trapped seniors, smoke-filling the facility. We hear from those who thought they wouldn't make it out alive. Also tonight, a private plane with a family on board crashing into a Florida neighborhood, narrowly avoiding homes. Neighbors rushing into help those trapped in the wreckage. Out west dangerous wildfires exploding near the Grand Canyon in nearby Utah, video capturing a firenado. Plus the renewed storm threat for flood ravaged Texas, and at this hour, a new risk for flash floods along the east coast.

President Trump's new ultimatum to Russia. Trump threatening new secondary tariffs and plans to rearm Ukraine. Will this push to Russia reach a ceasefire? The dangerous subway surfing stunt caught on camera, terrifying drone footage capturing, capturing 12-year-olds and two teens climbing on top of the fast-mo-moving cars, the warning to other teens tonight. Elmo hack attack, the Sesame Street character's ex-account, posting a tirade of anti-Semitic and racist messages, the hunter who did this to Elmo, and paragliding into power lines, dramatic video as a man soars into electrical wires, sparking an explosion, and plunging into the river below. Plus, Beyonce's unreleased music, stolen.

Leaves allegedly nabbing hard drives from her choreographer just before her Atlanta show. Other items tied to the pop star also missing. Top Story. Starts right now. Good evening. Tonight, tragedy at an assisted living facility in Massachusetts after a vicious fire ripped through the building, killing at least nine residents. People trapped inside were seen screaming out of their windows for help, video capturing a firefighter, rescuing. this man carrying him down a ladder. The flames breaking out around 9.30 last night, the hallways of the facility, quickly filling with smoke, first responders rushing to the scene, escorting people away in stretchers and wheelchairs. Close-up images show the front of the building completely charred

as flames consumed the entrance. This is drone video of the aftermath, and you can see the panels around the windows of the facility scorch where the fire broke out. In a moment, you'll hear from residents about their heroin escape. Here's what we know. At least nine people were killed, 30 were taken to area hospitals, and the facility housed around 70 residents. This all happening in Fall River, a city just 50 miles south of Boston and just outside of Providence, Rhode Island. The big question tonight, how did this fire begin and could more have been done to save those lives? NBC's Emily Aketa starts us off tonight. Dramatic rescues at a senior living facility where a fire tore through late Sunday, killing nine people between 61 and 86 years old.

Be advised, we have a victim on a third floor. Firefighters squeezing residents through windows and carrying them down ladders at the Gabriel House in Fall River, Massachusetts. All the smoke from the hall were right in my face and all what I could do is just stand there and choke. Residents' desperation worsened by physical limitations. So many pooled from windows relying on oxygen tanks, wheelchairs, and water. walkers. Seventy-year-old Lorraine Ferreira says when she opened her door, smoke and gulfed her room. What was going through your mind when you realized you couldn't reach the exit? That I was going to die, and I was breathing in the smoke, and I just knew I was not going to make it.

After screaming for help, a firefighter was able to break her second floor bathroom window. What would you want to say to that firefighter? I'd want to say, I love you, and you'll always feel my prayers. And thank you. so much for favor of my life. Ambulance after ambulance transported around 30 people to local hospitals. One person, according to authorities, remains in critical condition. Do you have any of the medical units available? Negative.

There were more rescues out of this building last night than that have been in the 23 years that I've been a firefighter. Investigators saying tonight the cause of the fire does not appear to be suspicious. But some residents are raising concerns about the condition of the facility. The owner of Gabriel House did not respond to our request for comment. Fire officials say he is cooperating as the city's mayor promises a thorough investigation. What was the staffing like at the facility? What were the fire detectors working like?

What were the sprinklers like? As a heartbroken community remembers the lives lost. I'm just happy that I got to talk to. It's sad. Sorry. It's just sad. And with that, Emily Aketa joins us tonight from fall. River, Massachusetts. So, Emily, talk to us about the challenge that the firefighters were against,

because I know you were talking to them as well. Yeah, Tom, and you can see some of those challenges right behind me. The AC units blocked the largest windows of this residency and therefore some of the most critical exit points. So as you heard from Lorraine in some cases, firefighters had to smash the smaller windows in order to pull people out of those windows. The firefighter union tonight saying that if they have been adequately staff, better staff, then more lives, Tom, could have been saved. Yeah, and I want to ask you about some of the survivors you talked to because you really sort of were able to tell their story of how they survived. How are those folks doing? Because they live in that facility. They obviously need help. I can't imagine

what they're going through. Yeah, Tom, so they have been displaced from their home. That means that they are without their medications inside here. Their clothes, their family heirlooms. But so many of those residents telling me that the greatest loss, the heaviest weight of this absolute tragedy, is the loss of their dear friends. Nine people killed. This is a facility that has about 70 residents, so they're very tight-knit. Some people describing their neighbors as their family, and now they lost nine of them. Tom. It's all terribly sad. Okay, Emily Aketa leading us off here in top story tonight. Now to an incredibly close call in Florida, a plane crashing into a suburb just north of Miami with a family on board, narrowly missing homes.

Residents rushing into action to rescue any survivors in a community that has seen an alarming number of these crashes in recent years. Here's Tom Costello tonight with the incredible video. The people who live nearby say it sounded like a semi-truck crashing on their street, plane debris on their front lawns. A small Cessna Skymaster slamming into a tree just after 8 p.m. Immediately, neighbors ran to help. As smoke poured from the plane, one neighbor grabbed a garden hose. Others grabbed an axe and fire extinguisher, working fast to pull the victims out. Meanwhile, fellow pilots radioed air traffic control.

Yeah, there is a downed aircraft here. It looks like a short final two-eight left. NBC 6 in Miami reports four people were on board, including members of a family, all with minor injuries. There's a blessing in this that nobody was killed, and that's primarily because the plane didn't blow up. Flight aware shows the plane had spent more than three hours flying from the Turks and Caicos to the North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, Florida, where it crashed short of the runway. The mayor of Pembroke Pines says there have been more than 35 crashes over the past five years involving that airport. He's calling on Broward County to launch a full investigation. Tom.

Incredible. Everyone survived there, Tom. Thank you. Okay, to the Grand Canyon now. We're two Wildfires are burning out of control, forcing hundreds of evacuations and destroying dozens of structures, including the iconic Grand Canyon Lodge. Steve Patterson is at the historic National Park with the latest. Steve, we can still see that thick black smoke behind you. Tom, from here, you can see it, you can feel it. And right now, crews are fighting against it on the cliffs of his 6 million-year-old canyon. Firefighters hoping to extinguish the flames, threatening a natural wonder. Tonight, for Grand Canyon tourists, taking in that iconic ever-breath-taking vista, the view now comes with an unwanted filter, towers of smoke. What's it like to see it just covered in smoke? It's very depressing.

Across Arizona's majestic canyon, firefighters struggling for control as the twin fires rage, forcing hundreds of evacuations. We are all getting evacuated right now as fast as possible. The destructive Dragon Bravo fire began on July 4th, along the canyon's north rim. Days later, the massive white sage fire started 35 miles north, at one point growing 20 times in size in 24 hours. Both still burning out of control. The remote beauty of the north rim devastated. Any progress at this point? We still have 0% containment. We're in full suppression mode. We're throwing everything we got at it. Park officials confirm 70 structures, including the homes of park employees, have been destroyed. At least 500 people forced to evacuate, leaving everything behind.

It has been a trying week for everyone. The loss is devastating. A big part of that loss, the nearly century old Grand Canyon Lodge. Only about 10% of the canyon tourists travel to the north rim now shut down for the rest of the season. While across the border, winds whipping up this firenado as firefighters take on the Deer Creek fire in Utah. Tonight, back here at the Grand Canyon. You can barely see the photos. It just looks black. The flames still staining, that picture-perfect beauty. Steve Patterson, NBC News, Grand Canyon National Park. Okay, we want to head to Texas now where there are new concerns as heavy rains threatened to bring more flooding to the area's hardest hit by those recent deadly storms.

This has new reporting reveals details about the response to the floods at Camp Mystic, where dozens tragically lost her life. NBC's Morgan Chesky has more. tonight dangerous downpours threatening the texas hill country with flood watchers covering areas in recovery mode the death tolls statewide from the flooding now more than 130 people as new details emerge about the crucial moments the waters rose at 114 a.m. on july 4th a family spokesman tells nbc news dick eastland the owner of camp mystic received a national weather service alert on his cell phone the spokesman says eastland then walked outside to assesses the property, called family on walkie-talkies, and between 2 and 2.30 a.m., staff began

moving campers to the Mystic Rec Hall. Eastland later died in the floods. Following the tragic loss of life, growing scrutiny over the lack of warnings from officials who are the only ones able to tell residents to evacuate or shelter in place. It wasn't like a tornado. It wasn't like a hurricane even. It lasted all day. We asked Curville City Manager Dalton Rice on who has authority to issue alerts at a city level. And who, what person would that be? So ultimately, ultimately, it's me. Ultimately, I have the ultimate authority to be able to make those decisions based on.

Rice, adding he was managing rescues and says other local officials can also blast out citywide warnings. Did you issue one? Yeah. So I did not. But that does not mean that something did or did not get issued. I don't know. We haven't dove into looking at the after action stuff.

Officials say full reviews are still coming. Until then, the search for the missing now in its second. week. These divers clearing off debris above before scouring the murky depths below. A painstaking process for closure that may never come. And Morgan joins us tonight live from Kerrville, Texas. Morgan, what do those flood warnings tonight mean for the search and recovery effort? Yeah, Tom, all the authorities have said that volunteers needed to vacate this river area because the levels are still high. They're telling all of those individuals to stay on higher ground. But as for the search and rescue crews or recovery crews, unfortunately. You can see they are still

absolutely in this river, even though there are hazards beneath the water here, Tom. They have been scouring this stretch of the riverbank here on the Guadalupe. And unfortunately, Tom, with more rain in the forecast that could pose an issue for them, but just a testament to their tireless work. And you have yet another helicopter flying up above us. Tom, it feels like this has really been a nonstop effort since this flood began. Now 11 days ago here, unfortunately, that number missing, not dropping as fast as families would like. But the one thing we continue to hear from these crews that are out on this river every single day is they're going to stay here as long as it takes to try to make that closure happen here. Tom? All right, Morgan Chesky for us.

Morgan, we thank you for that. I want to get right over to NBC New York meteorologist Bioleta Yas, who joins us tonight here on Top Stories. So it has been related. for parts of Texas right now, and millions across the East Coast are at risk for flash floods. What are you tracking tonight? Hey, Tommy, yeah, it has been a very rough rush hour across the northeastern U.S. with torrential slow-moving downpours now advancing across that I-95 quarter. You can see numerous flash flood warnings in effect. We're seeing not only that, but we've got flood watches in effect through this evening impacting 46 million people.

You can see that really includes that whole I-95 quarter. So we've been seeing this all afternoon long. This is going to be the focus through the next couple of hours. It's not just the amount of rain, but the fact that these thunderstorms are very slow moving in a very densely populated area of the country, the most densely populated area. So this has been causing big issues as delays have been piling up here across some of our major airports, D.C., Baltimore, up through Philadelphia, Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK as well. So very stormy afternoon. We can expect potentially significant flooding here. That's going to be the Bullseye area, unfortunately, from D.C.

up through Philadelphia into the New York City area as well. In terms of how much rain we're talking, you can see a general injure so, but locally in some of those heavier downpours, we're talking totals on the order of three to five inches of rain, certainly enough to cause flooding, especially when you're talking about a short period of time. So expect very difficult travel here through the next several hours. Certainly a situation where if you don't need to be heading out the door, you definitely don't want to do that. So very unsettled weather here through this evening, heavy downpours in the forecast here, really through tonight before conditions start to improve as we head into tomorrow. All right, Biolita, let's talk about the Gulf now and what's happening just off the east coast of Florida, but why we're tracking it tonight?

Yeah, I actually do have an update for you. We now have tropical disturbance, a 93L in Best that essentially formalizes this as an area that we're going to be watching. Still hasn't developed into a tropical storm or anything like that, but conditions are going to be favorable through the next couple of days. So this is going to be tracking across Florida into the Gulf the next couple of days. So if it does intensify, this would become Dexter through the remainder of this week. Now the rainfall totals here, you can see on the order of three to five inches, locally even more from parts of central and southern Florida extending right through the panhandle into the remainder of the Gulf state. So this is an area that does need to be on alert through the next couple of days. Is there enough room, enough time for this to sort of develop into something potentially deadly? Do you have some time for this to intensify. It's possible. It doesn't necessarily do so before tracking across Florida.

But once this moves into the Gulf and we've seen this time and time again, those very warm water temperatures, conditions are favorable in this particular area for that intensification. So we'll need to watch out for that. But another thing we've seen through the last several years is that you don't want to get too hung up on the exact categorization because this is going to provide very heavy rainfall and the potential for flooding in all of these areas regardless of whether or not it does form. intensify into a tropical storm eventually. All right, Bioleta Yas, we thank you so much for being here tonight. In Washington, President Trump announcing a new plan to rearm Ukraine as Russia intensifies its attacks on the country. Trump's saying he'll also impose 100% secondary tariffs on Russia in 50 days if a deal to end the war isn't reached.

Garrett Hake has fallen it off in the White House. Tonight, as Russian troops push across the battlefields of eastern Ukraine, President Trump unveiling a new plan to force Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, rearm Ukraine with American military aid, including Patriot Air Defense Systems that will be distributed and paid for by NATO allies. This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO, et cetera. They're paying for everything. We're not paying anymore.

President Trump also setting a 50-day deadline for Putin to make a deal to end the war or face imposition of what he called secondary tariffs, meant to choke off Russia's economy through steep penalties on its trading partners. We're going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days. It's very simple. And they'll be at 100%. The president making plain his frustration with Putin's flattery and failures to follow through on talks of peace.

I go home, I tell the first lady, and I spoke of Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation. She said, oh, really? another city was just hit. So it's like, look, he's, I don't want to say he's an assassin, but he's a tough guy. Ukraine's President Zelensky reacting, saying, I am grateful to President Trump for his readiness to help protect our people's lives. Tonight, President Trump also responding to former President Biden,

who, in a new interview with the New York Times, called Trump and other Republicans liars for saying his aides had used an auto pen without his authorization for thousands of pardons and clemencies issued in his administration's final weeks. Biden telling the Times, quote, I made every decision while acknowledging his staff used an auto pen to apply his signature because he said, we're talking about a whole lot of people. Trump, who has also made use of an auto pen, responding. I guarantee you he knew nothing about what he was signing. I guarantee it. All right. Gary Higg joins us tonight from the White House there. Garrett, it looks like it may be a

stopped raining. You were in a monsoon earlier tonight. I want to get back to the president's announcement of the war in Ukraine. There's a major change in tone towards Russia from President Trump since we've seen him since inauguration day. Have we heard from the Kremlin yet on this? We have, Tom, but you wouldn't know this was a major change if you read the statements from Moscow. Russian officials are largely downplaying the president's changes here, saying that the U.S. was providing weapons to Ukraine before. They are providing weapons still, albeit through a different means and suggesting that continued negotiations without some kind of threat would be more fruitful. One Kremlin official saying that a lot can change in 50 days on the battlefield and in politics,

perhaps a reference to Trump's shifting tariff deadlines in other contexts, Tom. All right, Garrett Hake for us at the White House. Garrett, we thank you. We're back at a moment with new details in a deadly shooting spree in Kentucky that left a mother and daughter dead and three others injured, including a state trooper. Plus, our NBC News exclusive with the parents of Idaho murder victim, Ethan Chapin, what it was like for them to see Brian Koberger in court for the first time and why they're at peace with his guilty plea.

And a new twist in the New York City mayoral race, former Governor Andrew Cuomo jumping back into the race as an independent, why he thinks he has a chance after his humiliating primary defeat. Stay with us. We're back. Now with the investigation to a deadly shooting spree in Kentucky. Police say a gunman shot a trooper, stole a car, and then opened fire at a church this weekend, killing two and injuring two others there.

NBC's Maggie Vespa reports on what we're now learning about the suspect's criminal past. New details tonight in the deadly shooting spree that police say left a Kentucky mother and daughter dead and three others injured, including a state trooper. My mom was down there cooking, defeat everybody doing what she loved. State police say 47-year-old Guy House shot the trooper who pulled him over near Lexington's Bluegrass Airport Sunday, then carjacked another car and drove to Richmond Road Baptist Church. Family of the victims telling the Lexington Herald leader, House entered looking for the mother of his three children who they said wasn't there. They told the paper he said, well, someone is going to have to die then and opened fire, killing her mother and sister, Beverly Gum and Christina Combs, also critically injuring Gum's husband. Pastor Jerry gum and another man.

Guy knew the schedule. Like he knew they were all about to let out for churches. Why he, you know, came down to the fellowship hall. House later died in a shootout with police. Court records show he had a lengthy criminal history, including felony robbery, for which he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Record show House was due in court this morning for an ongoing domestic violence case involving a different woman who filed a restraining order against him earlier this month.

Maggie joins us now live. Maggie, a couple questions for you. First, you mentioned that state trooper who was shot and injured. And then I was also thinking about what you just reported there at the end. How did he get all these weapons if he had these prior convictions? Tom, we know of one possibility. We talked about that protective order that reportedly an ex-girlfriend just filed here earlier this month. In it, she wrote, among the other factors that kind of tied to his escalating behavior. She said that he had broken into her home and stolen her guns, plural. Now, police were asked today whether or not they knew or could say whether where he got his weapons and they declined to do so we can't definitively tie that to the shooting, but obviously it's a distinct possibility based on that document. As far as the trooper is concerned, authorities are not naming him, but just saying that he has serious injuries, but tonight an update is stable and recovering at a local hospital. So good news there. Okay, that is good news. Maggie, we thank you for that. Now to our NBC News exclusive, the parents of one of those four-mortared Idaho college students sitting down for the first time. since Brian Coburger's plea deal was announced, how the family is reacting to the news and moving forward. Here's Liz Kreutz. He's going to get what's coming to him. I really don't care what happens to the guy. He's off the streets and he can't hurt any more kids. Jim and Stacey Chapin say they can finally breathe again, knowing that Brian Coburger, the man who killed their son, his girlfriend,

Zana Kernodal, and her housemates, Kaylee Gonzalez and Madison Mogan, will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Did you kill and murder Ethan Chapin, a human being? Yes. Coburger recently pled guilty in a deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty and gave the parents the assurance he'll never be allowed to appeal. The Chapin spoke to NBC exclusively for the first time since that chilling confession. Was that your first time seeing Brian Coburgar in person? Yes. Why was that like? Honestly, I really didn't give it a thought because it doesn't matter it's done it's just shocking the wreckage that is that person their focus now remembering Ethan his parents and triplet siblings maisie and hunter reflect on his life in a new amazon prime

documentary one night in idaho Ethan was definitely like the leader like i would go to him and hunter would go to him we were raised very centered around family so we were friends with everyone but we were best friends with each other the family remembers their best friends with each other the family remembers best friend by holding on to things he loved. Ethan's Jeep still parked in the garage. It was just so him. I mean, he even had the flag and the grill. In what ways do you feel Ethan's presence?

Everywhere in this house. Yeah. I mean, he just could just blow into any room and had something funny to say. We feel very fortunate to have had him for 20 years. Is closure a word you could use to describe the plea deal for your family? Yeah. Absolutely. Now we get to just move on. Yeah.

Yeah, there's big time closure. Liz Kreutz, NBC News. All right, still ahead right here on Top Story, a dangerous and growing trend. Four kids busted for this in New York City subway surfing. Two of them, just 12 years old. What happened to them when police caught up to them? Plus, unreleased Beyonce music stolen during her Cowboy Carter tour,

thieves breaking into an SUV, making off with unreleased music. concert plans, and more. But first, tonight, top story's top moment, and one unexpected pizza delivery. Police in Tempe, Arizona, say they arrested a delivery driver during a traffic stop. What happened next came as a shock to the customer waiting for her food. Take a look. Hello. How are you doing?

Good. How are you? Brandon? Yes. So you're a pub guy got arrested, so. Oh, still deliver your pizza. Oh, I really appreciate pizza. Yeah, the Grubhub delivery driver apparently arrested,

bringing a whole new meaning to what these officers did, and that is to protect and serve. Get it? Okay. Stay with us. We are back in just a moment. Back now with Top Stories News Feed, the Supreme Court today said President Donald

Trump may proceed with his plans to carry out mass layoffs at the Department of Education in the latest win for the White House. The justice is lifting a lower court ruling that put an indefinite pause on Trump's plan while legal challenges play out. Trump ordered mass layoffs at the department earlier this year, cutting its workforce in half, but lower courts have blocked that effort, noting that the Education Department was created by Congress in a skating dissent. Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the decision, quote, indefensible. Here in New York City, were spotted by police drones riding on top of train cars. It's a dangerous trend known as subway surfing.

Two of the boys were only 12 years old. It's hard to believe. Police boarded the train, and all four kids were taken into custody. The incident comes after a 15-year-old boy was killed on July 4th while subway surfing. Police and MTA officials believe the practice has increased in recent years due to social media urging people not to glamorize it. Former Major League Baseball player Dan Serafini has been found. guilty of murdering his father-in-law and trying to murder his mother-in-law after a 2021 Tahoe Area home ambush and shooting. The motive, according to the prosecution, was rooted in longstanding

family tensions and financial disputes. Key testimony came from Serafini's wife, Aaron Spore, who said she didn't believe the family's disagreements could lead her husband to commit murder. In addition to murder and attempted murder, Serafini was found guilty of first-degree burglary, His sentencing set for August 18th. And police in Richmond Heights, Ohio, capturing the moment three women twerked on a cop cruiser, then using a facial recognition platform, they identified them. Take a look at this. So dash cam video shows a woman climbing onto the car with others later joining.

Police say the brazen act, which involved this type of dancing you see here, happened back in June. It damaged the vehicles because of that twerking with dents and scratches. A detective telling us with the use of clear. view AI facial recognition. They were able to identify two of the women who were twerking. Warrants are out for their arrest. They're still searching for a third. Okay, and a paraglider making it out unscathed after a run-in with a power line in North Dakota. This is pretty incredible. The paraglider flying steadily until you see this coming in close with those power lines, setting off the sparks, then plunges into the Red River. Crews are able to rescue the

paraglider, helping him to get to shore. Thankfully, he was unharmed. Incredible, he survived that. Okay, to Atlanta now in a major theft, shaking up the music world. Atlanta police say hard drives containing unreleased Beyonce music were stolen during a car break in last week. The hard drives also included footage plans for Queen Bee's show and future set lists. For more on this, I want to bring in NBC's Priscilla Thompson, a proud member of the Beehive. Priscilla, thank you for this. So talk to us more about the break, and I mean, this could be pretty huge, especially if it is all of Beyonce stuff, and they end up putting it somewhere on the internet. Yeah, Tom, incredibly huge, especially for such a high profile celebrity as Beyonce.

We have obtained the incident report that shows that this happened last Tuesday, just as she was kicking off her Atlanta leg of the Cowboy Carter tour. And it happened at Crog Street Market, which is this very popular food hall in Atlanta. Now, according to Beyonce's choreographer, Christopher Grant, and also a dancer, D'Andre Blue, they pulled into this market at around 8 o'clock at night. an hour later, they went out to the car and they noticed that the window towards the trunk was damaged. And they found that two suitcases were missing. And inside those suitcases were hard drives that contained watermarked music, unreleased music, footage plans for past and future shows, and also set list. We know that in addition to all of those very important things to Beyonce, I'm sure, there were also laptops, headphones, different kinds of electronics. So lots of

about why that would have been left in a vehicle in a parking garage, but definitely not something that such a high-profile celebrity would want to fall into the wrong hand. Yeah, no, I hear you. And, Priscilla, do we think this was random, or do we think they were targeted? Like, they knew these people worked for Beyonce? That is definitely the big question. Now, police have not said whether it was random or targeted. But what is interesting, that, you know, a lot of folks have the Find My app that connects all of their Apple electronics.

And so police were actually able to ping the headphones and the computers and they sent out like multiple units to this area. We know that they interviewed a man in this area and that they were also looking at a vehicle that appeared to be moving as the items that they were tracking were also moving. And what's more, there is video police say that this parking garage had video cameras. The entire incident was caught on video. We know that they took fingerprints at the garage. And police have said that they have issued a warrant for. the arrest of the suspect, but they say that an ID is, quote, not yet available for release. So unclear if they have that identity and just aren't releasing it to the public yet, but obviously

it comes as Beyonce is probably about to take the stage any minute now for her final concert in Atlanta before the tour moves on. Tom? Yep. All right, Priscilla Thompson. We appreciate that reporting. Next to night to Tesla's new legal battle over its autopilot driving system. A 2019 Florida case where a woman was killed when a Tesla crashed into her parked car now at the center of a federal trial. The jury seated today must decide if the company bears responsibility for the fatal accident. NBC's George Solis has some of the details.

Tonight, Tesla on trial. In a first for Elon Musk's electric car company, Tesla will now have to defend itself before a federal jury against claims its driver assistance technology is to blame for a deadly 2019 crash in the Florida Keys, those fateful moments caught on the Tesla's own cameras. In a lawsuit brought by the victim's family, the plaintiff's attorneys say the driver was using the electric cars autopilot,

which failed to detect the substantial profile of the Chevy SUV parked at an intersection. It goes on to say the vehicle struck the Tahoe at almost 70 miles per hour, causing it to violently rotate. The resulting collision, claiming the life of 22-year-old Naibel Benavides-Leon. The next scene that we knew was the police coming, five in the morning, just say, you know, You little Gary's not going to come home anymore. And seriously injuring her boyfriend, Dylan Angulo. I woke up in the hospital, and I didn't know what happened to me. I dropped my phone.

The aftermath also captured on police body cameras, the Tesla's driver, admitting to taking his eyes off the road moments before the crash as he searched for his phone, according to court documents. The core of the case centering on whether Tesla is liable when its autopilot tech is involved in a crash and how it was marketed to drivers, according to the lawsuit. In 2016, the company posting this video of a Tesla appearing to drive itself. The text on screen reading, The person in the driver's seat is only there for legal reasons.

He is not doing anything. The car is driving itself. Today, the company warns that autopilot is intended for use with a fully attentive driver who has their hands on the wheel. Tesla has denied responsibility for the 2019 crash. In a statement to NBC news, Tesla says in part, the crash had nothing to do with Tesla's autopilot technology. Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cell phones were invented,

this was caused by a distracted driver. Tesla's autopilot system has faced legal challenges as recent as last year. In three separate California cases, Tesla either settled or was found not liable. Getting into the Robotoxy. The outcome could not only threaten Tesla's reputation, but also impact its self-driving footprint as it begins a push for Robotaxies nationally. Musk himself. did not appear in the courtroom today.

All right. With that, George Solis joins us tonight from Miami. So, George, the jury already seated today. What do we know about the makeup of the jury? And how long do we expect this trial involving Tesla to last? Yeah, Tom, the jury was just elected in a couple of hours. It's made up of six women and three men. And some of them were weeded out during some of the questioning, saying they couldn't participate because of their feelings about Elon Musk.

Others saying they were just supporters of Tesla and Elon. Now, this whole trial is expected to take about three weeks. Tom? All right, George Salis. For us, George, thank you. Back here in New York City, a major announcement in the race for mayor. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo announcing he's still in the race after losing the Democratic primary, saying he will compete as a third-party candidate in this November's general election. Cuomo releasing this video on X, making it official. As my grandfather used to say, when you get knocked down, learn the lesson and pick yourself back up and get in the game, and that is what I'm going to do. The fight to save our city isn't over. Only 13% of New Yorkers voted in the June primary.

The general election is in November, and I am in it to win it. All right, to break down what this means for the mayor's race. I'm joined tonight by Kevin Frye, Washington correspondent at New York One. Kevin, thanks so much for being here. So Kevin, Cuomo just quoted his grandfather, learn the lesson, put yourself up, and get back in the game. But he lost by double digits in the primary. So what lesson did he learn here? It seems some of it comes down to tactics. Cuomo ran during this primary campaign, what could be likened to essentially a Rose Garden strategy, even though he wasn't the incumbent. He was certainly running as the former governor with basically universal name ID, whereas Zordon Mamdani was very much on the ground. It was a tactical campaign. He was out interacting with the public. And today in that video and in a statement that Cuomo sent out to his supporters, he basically said that he was not aggressive enough in that early campaign. And so he seems to be

trying to take on a different approach. The other thing that was notable in the comments that he made in that video is he talked about affordability, which was really the hallmark of the Mamdani campaign. It wasn't necessarily something that Cuomo made front and center of his. So is he adopting some of that language that seems to be somewhat of the approach here? Does he have a point, though? I mean, if only 12% of the voting electorate participated in that primary election, I mean, is there a chance? He's got a chance? I mean, he comes in. basically the most well-known man in New York City, arguably, though Mamdani, if you look at some of the preliminary polling, and it's very preliminary, still has the edge here. The major foil for Cuomo is that he is seemingly fighting for the same pool of voters as some of the other unaffiliated candidates or third-party candidates that are in this race, including the sitting mayor, Eric Adams, as well as a Republican candidate, Curtis Slewa. And so if they're all fighting for the same piece of the pie, that does. give Mamdani, it seems, again, preliminary polling, but does give him certainly a lane where he can

kind of fight for his own way to win this. And if you have so many candidates, you don't have to get 50 percent to win. You just need to have the most. Yeah, let's talk about a controversy involving Mondami right now. He's facing the past few weeks. He has said previously that he doesn't consider himself black or African-American, despite being born in Uganda and living there for years. And yet the New York Times has learned through hacked documents shared with the paper, Momdani identified as both Asian and African-American on an application of Columbia University. Mamdani, of course, put his Muslim faith in South Asian descent front and center in his campaign. How is this revelation playing with New Yorkers?

There certainly seems to be some voters that are saying this is a bit of a bridge too far, but this, of course, does come in as Mamdani has faced criticism on various other fronts, including his lack of a desire, or at least a lack of willingness, to condemn, for example, the idea of globalize the intent. There are these various aspects of Mondani that some voters are clearly not very comfortable with. One of the things that he is trying to do right now, and he's doing this to some degree with some success, is to basically get all of the mainstream front and center Democrats behind him as they go into now the general campaign. Whereas Cuomo had a lot of endorsements from, for example, labor unions and other groups during the primary.

They're now lining up behind Mamdani. One of the key folks to keep an eye on, at least that I'm watching here in Washington, is Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Chuck Schumer. Jeffries is not yet endorsed nor has Schumer, and Jeffries is set to have a conversation with Mumdani in person at the end of the week. Obviously, he is the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, could be Speaker of the House, depending on House and key races fall next year. When Mayor Eric Adams ran in one, he ran on crime. He's former police officer. What is the top issue you think in this race? At this point, at least it seems, and if anything, you can take away from the primary,

it seems that affordability is front and center, whereas back in 2022, or 2020, what year is it now, 2021 rather, really front and center was we were coming out of the COVID pandemic. There was a peak in crime, and so part of Adams' successful message as a former member of the NYPD was, I'm going to push back on crime. Now we've kind of turned the corner on some of those crime rates, and it seems that the affordability crisis, the inability to afford rent and so forth, might be really the defining mark for this race. It's going to be an interesting race, and there's a lot of months. I'm sure there'll be investigations and articles and a lot of OPL research in that time.

So great to have you on the show tonight, Kevin Fry. We appreciate it. No problem, Tom. Elmo's world now causing controversy, the X account for the beloved Sesame Street character, posting a string of racist and anti-Semitic comments over the weekend. workshop, the nonprofit behind the popular children's show confirming Elmo's account had been hacked. NBC's Melanie's Anona had been following this for a while and joins me now. Melanie, thanks for joining Top Story tonight. I thought Elmo might be too young to be on X, but apparently not. He has an account. In all seriousness, though, break down this for us and also why this is so sad, right,

for X? Yeah, this all started on Sunday when Elmo's account began posting this very hateful and racist content. And it also posted some derogatory comments about President Donald Trump in connection to the Jeffrey Epstein case. Now, we should know that NBC News was not able to independently verify these posts before they were deleted. But Sesame Workshop, that's the nonprofit behind Elmo and Sesame Street, did put out a statement confirming that the account was hacked, although it is still unclear at this point who was behind the hack. I want to read you part of their statement. They said Elmo's ex-account was compromised today by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including. including anti-Semitic and racist posts. We are working to restore full control of the account.

And since that statement, it does appear that they have been able to regain control and secure that account. The posts were deleted. His bio, Elmo's bio was restored, but this caused quite the nightmare on Sesame Street, a beloved Muppet and character that really did, you know, he's done these other things in the past,

gone viral for starting a mental health conversation saying, Elmo checking in, how are you doing? So just a very sad sort of situation to see play out here. Yeah, those hackers are pretty heartless. I do want to ask you, this is sort of the second or third or fourth hate speech scandal to hit X in under a week. Coming just days after Elon Musk's AI chatbot made a series of anti-Semitic posts, which have since been deleted. Does Elon Musk or the team behind X show any signs of cracking down? Well, the AI company that's behind Grok did issue apology for what they called horrific behavior on the platform.

The company also said they did conduct an internal investigation, and they determined that the root cause was an update to the code path upstream of the GROC bot. However, it isn't clear what additional measures or crackdowns they are going to take to prevent this from happening again. And this is not the first time that we've actually seen this type of hateful comments popping up on the GROC chat bot itself. And so there is also going to be a resignation we already saw from X, the CEO, of X stepping down. They also did introduce a new version of GROC, GROC 4, right after these alarming posts, but there are still calls for more accountability to prevent the platform from not always spreading this hate speech, but from providing it itself. Yeah, and before you go, Melley, since we have you here, it's sort of in the same vein.

All of this happening as the Senate is expected to vote this week on whether or not to take back funding for the corporation for public broadcasting, which supports children's programming like Sesame Street. Is there any talk of a possible connection here? here to this? Well, these cuts had actually been in the work for quite some time on Capitol Hill. Both PBS and NPR have been top targets of Trump who's really pushing Congress to get this over the finish line and get it to his desk this week. But Tom, I got to tell you, there are Republicans who have concerns with this bill. There are Republicans like Susan Collins who have concerns with the cuts to foreign aid programs. And then you have other Republicans who are

concerned with the cuts to PBS and NPR, which they say are crucial to providing not only news, also weather alerts to rural eras, which of course is top of mind after those horrific floods in Texas last week. So we could see some changes to the bill. If that happens, though, it needs to go back to the House. And the time is ticking here because Congress has a deadline of needing to act by July 19th, which is Friday. All right, Melanie, we think, thank you for having you on top story tonight. Up next, what might be the strangest bust you'll ever hear about, German officials foiling a plan to smuggle 1,500 tarantulas into the country. and you won't believe where they found them.

Plus, pediatricians sounding the alarm over nicotine poisonings and children, the number of kids getting sick from nicotine pouches and other products skyrocketing. What parents need to know, that's coming up right here on Top Story. We're back now with Top Story's Global Watch, and we begin in South Korea

where officials there are ordering airlines operating Boeing aircraft to inspect fuel cutoff switches. The mandate comes amid safety concerns raised about the airplane parts after the deadly air India crash. Officials have now provided a timeline for inspections. In 2018, the FAA recommended inspections of the switches on Boeing models, including the 787.

Officials in Germany follow the plan to smuggle 1,500, get this young tarantulas into the country inside sponge cake. The eight-legged venomous creatures were discovered in chocolate cake boxes shipped from Vietnam to Cologne's airport. Many of the spiders did not survive the trip. Those that did were given to an expert handler. Criminal proceedings have been filed against the intended recipient. All right, and France celebrating its largest national holiday Bastille Day with festivities nationwide.

In Paris, at least 7,000 marchers in a parade along the Champs-Lise with horseback riders and armored vehicles. A drone showing also happening, I should say, happening over the Eiffel Tower and fireworks in nearly every city. The holiday marks the day. Parisian stormed at Bastille Prison on July 14th, 1789, sparking, of course, the French Revolution. Now, at Top Stories Health Check and an urgent new warning for parents, the number of babies and toddlers with illnesses related to nicotine products has skyrocketed. A new study from the Medical Journal of Pediatrics, saying more than 130,000 cases of nicotine poisoning in kids under the age of six were recorded from 2010 to 2023. Most of the cases attributed to contact with products like nicotine pouches and vape e-liquids. For more on what you can do to protect your kids from exposure and sickness, let's bring in NBC News medical contributor, Dr. Natalie Azar.

Natalie, so great to see you. I want to give this stat to our viewers because this is one of the reasons why we're doing it. The number of nicotine poisoning shot up almost by 7. It shot up 763% in kids in just three years. So how are these kids ending up sick from nicotine? And is it those zinning? pouches that have become so popular. Yeah, well, I mean, I agree, Tom, that I think we've seen a significant rise in the popularity of a lot of different products in lieu of people smoking cigarettes, including these nicotine pouches as well as vapes. And they're almost really ubiquitous. I think, you know, children are uniquely susceptible to toxicity from these, Tom, given simply their size.

The average amount of nicotine that is contained, let's say, in a pouch of Zin is anywhere from about one and a half to 15 milligrams of nicotine, but as little as one to two milligrams can be toxic to a toddler as opposed to really a much, much higher amount that adults can tolerate before they can experience toxicity. But I guess the big question is, Doctor, is there why are kids getting into them? Is there something that these nicotine products now look like that they didn't look like before? So kids have always been susceptible to putting things in their mouths that they shouldn't. You know, it's not necessarily that they're flavored. You know, we talk about that a lot with vaping and with teens, but I think it's just it's something small lying around the house. Children are going to put that in their mouths quite simply. They can suck on them. It's the exactly the right size or the wrong size, you know, for exposure if you have little ones in the house, Tom.

Dr. Azar, if your child does suffer from nicotine poisoning, what are some of the symptoms? And do you call 911? Should you rush your child to the ER? Yeah, so in the first couple of minutes after exposure, Tom, some of the symptoms could include sweating, agitation, nausea, vomiting, a high heart rate. But after that, that's when it gets kind of critical, where children can experience a drop in blood pressure, a drop in their heart rate, and even coma. And so if you ever are suspicious about any kind of exposure or ingestion of nicotine with those early signs or symptoms that I mentioned, you need to call 911 immediately.

All right, Dr. Azar, always a pleasure to have you on Top Story. We thank you so much. We learned a lot here. When Top Story returned some hope in the midst of heartache, the Texas camp that gave children with disabilities a place to belong, nearly wiped out by the floods until an army of volunteers stepped into help. Their stories coming up next. Finally, tonight, a sign of hope in Texas as one camp reopens more than a week after tragedy struck the region. More than 1,000 volunteers banding together to restore a flood damage facility that hosts campers with disabilities every summer. NBC's Ryan Chandler has that story for us. Welcome to camp. After 10 dark days, smiles start to rise above the Guadalupe River.

It's these campers' first day back at camp, and spirits are high. In Center Point, Texas, this is a place for those who can't always go to other camps, a refuge for kids and young adults with disabilities. 21-year-old Kenny is a veteran camper. Welcome back, Kenny. Welcome back. I'm grateful that I get this opportunity, but at the same time, it's rough knowing everyone else is still suffering. Parts of the campgrounds were destroyed by those deadly flash floods. More than 1,500 volunteers stepped up.

Some with shovels, others with chainsaws. The outpouring so large, some were turned away. It gives you an incredible belief that, yeah, tomorrow can be better than today because there are people out there who will make it so. This community has a lot of hard tomorrow's ahead. But today, camp is open once again. This river has caused so much pain this week. But as you've seen, it can also be a source of joy.

The most healing and growth often happens after the largest tragedies. Sometimes the darkest storms can bring the largest growth. After so much heartache, a glimmer of hope. Ryan Chandler, NBC News, Centerpoint, Texas. And we thank Ryan for that story. We thank you for watching Top Story on this Monday night. I'm Tom Yammis in New York. Stay right there.

More news on the way. Thank you.