Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, June 1, 2026

Episode Date: June 2, 2026

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight we're tracking two major developments out of the White House, the rare and sudden reversal from the Trump administration over what critics are calling a $1.8 billion slush fund. Plus, the president speaking to our reporter as Iran walks away from the talks. The surprising Republican revolt against the administration's fund. Now, the White House is backing down and appearing to end the plan that critics say could have sent taxpayer money to the January 6 rioters. Our new reporting on how it all fell apart. Also tonight, what the president has told our Garrett Haake about where talks with Iran now stand after Iran announced it's walking away from negotiations. And we are following new strikes right now. Also tonight, police officer charged after he was caught on camera, repeatedly punching a woman, how he was fired from the force and now arrested.

Manhole mystery, groups of people seen emerging from New York City sewers. What were they doing down there? Fireworks factory explosion, the dramatic blast caught on camera. sending a smoke and ash cloud sky high. Nvidia's AI expansion, the company's supercharging laptops and personal computers with the power of AI when you could get one as the tech giant also dives into the world of humanoid robots. And the fireball over New England setting off a sonic boom, just the latest in a string of scares. Are we seen a surge in meteors? We'll explain.

Plus, the breakout horror films from YouTube creators surging at the box office, could it change the movie The top story starts right now. And good evening. Tonight, a $1.8 billion fund at the center of a rare and sudden reversal from the White House. President Trump appearing to change course amid growing Republican outrage, and a judge's order to shut down the anti-weaponization fund. Those $1.8 billion were set to go to allies of President Trump, who say they were unfairly prosecuted by the Biden administration.

But the move drew push back from both sides of the aisle as fear. It would pay out January 6 rioters. It comes as President Trump's push for peace with Iran is on shaky ground. Iran's saying today it has walked away from negotiations and President Trump telling our Garrett Haake on the phone today, if they don't want to talk, that's okay with me. The fighting has not stopped. Iran releasing this footage today of retaliatory strikes after the U.S. launched self-defense strikes on the regime. And in Lebanon, the Israeli military seizing this historic castle as they ramp up attacks against

Hezbollah going deeper into the country. than they have in decades. That conflict repeatedly cited by Iran as a reason to suspend peace talks with the U.S. NBC's Garrett Hakesh, tracking it all, leads us off tonight. Tonight, the Trump administration appearing to abandon plans for its $1.8 billion, so-called anti-weaponization fund, amidst stiff Republican opposition and the judge's order to halt work on it. The Department of Justice saying it, quote, disagrees strongly, but will abide by the court's ruling. People were destroyed. They went to jail. President Trump had defended the fund created to compensate people he says were unfairly prosecuted by the Biden administration.

But it drew bipartisan condemnation, including a closed-door clash between acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and GOP senators, amid concerns it could be used to pay January 6th rioters. This is just stupid on stilts. All as tonight, President Trump is facing that showdown in Iran talks. President Trump telling me in a phone interview that if a Iranian regime wants to suspend negotiations with the U.S., as Iranian media has reported, he would be, quote, very happy with that. If they don't want to talk, that's okay with me, he told me. I don't particularly want to talk either. We talk too much. The president adding that the U.S. would, quote, just go silent. We'll keep the blockade of Iranian ports, but not resume bombing. Quote, I think I can wait as long as they want, he told me. They're losing a fortune. Their country is

falling apart. Centcom says it has disabled five commercial vessels and redirected 121 others as part of the U.S. blockade. And this weekend, the U.S. launching self-defense strikes on Iran after Iranian forces shot down a U.S. drone. Iran also attacking its Arab neighbors again, firing at U.S. forces in Kuwait. But the president insisting time is on his side. We're getting what we want slowly, very tough negotiators. It takes a long time. I'm in no hurry. I'd like to say I'm in a hurry. All right with that, Garrett Hake joins us tonight from the White House. Garrett, if you're sort of watching everything and reading everything that's coming out of the White House,

there seems to be some mixed messaging. I know you have some new reporting on this. Yeah, it's been a confusing day here, Tom. Just a few hours after our conversation, the president posted the talks with Iran are, quote, continuing at a rapid pace. There's also been contradictory messages on Lebanon. The president said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and representatives of Hezbollah, who he says agreed to end combat there. But Netanyaku said after their call that the IDF will still respond to attacks and operate as planned. It's sort of a key sub-story related to the overall ceasefire, Tom, and there's a lot of conflicting information about what exactly is going on there tonight.

All right, Garrett Hake, leading us off. Garrett, we thank you for that. You may have seen this next story on your social media feed. It's the viral doorbell cam video, sparking protest in North Carolina. A police officer seen on camera repeatedly punching a woman, Now, he's been fired and charged with assault. We want to warn you some of the images you're about to see our graphic. George Solis tonight with the video and the latest in the investigation. Tonight, the former North Carolina police officer caught on camera, repeatedly punching a woman, has been charged with assault. This doorbell video shows the moment that officer, now identified as 22-year-old Carson Heider,

pushes 34-year-old Sheree Moore to the ground before unleashing a barrage of the car. punches. As he strikes her, a second officer can be seen running into the frame to intervene. Let's go. Let's go. I got it. More is eventually placed in handcuffs and can be heard asking for mental health care and pleading for officers to call her father. It's unclear what happened in the moments leading up to the encounter, which happened just outside Charlotte. Her family telling us this photo shows Moore's bloodied face. According to court documents obtained by NBC News, Moore was arrested for breaking or entering,

resisting arrest and assaulting a government official, accused of grabbing and ripping Hyder's uniform. The resisting arrest and assault charges have been dropped. Hider was fired over the weekend after video of the arrest went viral. The police chief saying officers were conducting a criminal investigation in the area when they encountered a suspicious female.

The actions taken by one of our officers during that encounter are disturbing and inappropriate. Hider turned himself in this morning and was later released on Bond. Records reviewed by NBC News show Warren Hider have a history. Just last year, Moore pled guilty to resisting arrests in a separate case that also involved Hider. George joins Top Story Live now. George, we're hearing from the attorney representing that family. Yeah, that's right, Tom.

They've obtained and retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who in a statement on behalf of the family saying, instead of compassion, she received violence and that no one should be subjected to this kind of treatment, especially by someone who is intended to serve and protect. The family is looking for justice, and we'll be planning a press conference alongside Crump tomorrow. Tom? Okay, George, thank you.

We want to head to New Jersey now in the ICE detention center where clashes between protesters and law enforcement have grown increasingly violent. This week in the largest crowds yet showing up to protest the conditions inside Delaney Hall. Protesters facing off against police and against counter-protesters. At least 50 people were charged last night for violating the curfew. implemented by officials. NBC's Aaron McLaughlin is there tonight at the facility in Newark for us

live. So, Aaron, we know things tend to ramp up as night falls. What is the scene behind you like right now? Hey there, Tom. Well, I would say the scene is tense but calm. Let me just show you around. Over this way is a group of about 50 to 60 protesters at the moment, just calmly standing there on the corner. Over that way is Delaney Hall. They've established the security perimeter. You see dozens of officers lined up. The hall is so far away, you can barely see the hall itself. It's an indication of the precautions that our authorities are taking in anticipation of more violence tonight. And just over that way is a sewage treatment plant.

And I can tell you, this area right now, Tom, smells like a sewage treatment plan. It is very clear from the signals that state officials are sending. They do not want these protesters staying here. especially past the 9 p.m. curfew. They do not want to see the kinds of scenes that played out over the weekend. Violent clashes between police officers and protesters. The protesters setting garbage on fire, setting tires on fire, moving these metal barricades around, police responding with pepper spray, rubber bullets, and tear gas.

At times, getting so violent, the acting attorney general says that one man was arrested for biting an ICE officer, putting out a still of the bite marks. And all last night, some 50 people were detained for violating that curfew. Again, that curfew begins in just a matter of a couple of hours at 9 p.m. tonight. Yeah, I know you also spoke to a lawyer for someone who's inside the center. What do they tell you? Yeah, this all started due to allegations being levied by detainees inside of the facility, alleging extremely poor living conditions, poor food quality and a lack of medical care among the litany of complaints.

I spoke to one attorney who represents 25 of the detainees currently being held inside the facility. This is what she had to say. Most of the time, you know, the milk is either spoiled, very close to the expiration day, so it's not good. They were served bread with mold. you know, it's so I had a client that was actually released by Delaney through an abyscarpus. And after being released, he had to undergo surgery because of the food that he ate. Now, DHS put out a statement calling those allegations a, quote, hoax. The borders are Tom Homan visited the facility, according to two sources with knowledge of the visit over the weekend.

He says he sat down for a meal and said it was. quote, fine. So federal authorities disputing that account, Tom. Okay, Erin McLaughlin out there on the scene. Aaron, we thank you for that. Tonight, the Democratic Senate candidate in Maine is facing a new scandal with revelations he was sending sexually explicit text to half a dozen women while married. It may be the most important Senate race for both parties this year, and now the candidate and his wife are speaking out. Here's Ryan Nobles. Tonight, Graham Platner, the oyster farmer whose insurgent Senate campaign caught fire with in Maine now addressing his latest scandal. Amy and I have a very loving and very happy marriage.

They would very much like to try to rip that apart. Plattner's campaign admitting he sent sexually explicit text messages to at least half a dozen women while he was married. His wife had brought the text to the campaign's attention. Their existence was leaked to the media by a former staffer. I find it really shameful that there's a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip. The sexting scandal, the latest controversy for Platner, who's running against longtime GOP Senator Susan Collins. There's a series of Platner's inflammatory past social media posts, including where he

blamed victims for rape, and said a Purple Heart veteran who was shot by the Taliban didn't deserve to live. I can't tell you the number of veterans who have contacted us to say how deeply offended they were by Plattenor's comments. And then there's the tattoo Plattner acquired during his time in the military that resembles a Nazi SS symbol. Plattner said he was unaware of the meaning of the tattoo and has since covered it up and has apologized for some of his posts. Tonight, Platner facing democratic criticism. Yeah, I have concerns. That guy has questions to answer and that's what campaigns are for. But also renewed support. So do I think he can win? Absolutely. And we desperately need

somebody like him here in the rest of it. Okay, Ryan Noble joins us tonight from Capitol Hill. Ryan, how real of a chance does Plattner have of winning this seat and how much of a chance maybe did he have before? Well, Platner has quite a bit of support in Maine, Tom. In fact, so much that he drove his biggest Democratic challenger, the very popular governor, Janet Mills, out of the Senate primary. And every poll up until this point has shown him leading the Democratic primary by a wide margin.

And most polls showed him leading Susan. Cullen, the incumbent. But here's the catch. Susan Collins has won this seat many times before. The last time she ran for re-election six years ago, poll after poll, showed her Democratic opponent leading. She ended up winning that race comfortably. So there's still a long way to go before Election Day, Tom. All right, one of the most closely watched races. We thank you for that, Ryan. We appreciate it. Okay, we're going to turn out to another big headline we're following from overseas. The race to find and rescue two men believed to still be inside that flooded cave in Laos. signs they could still be alive after five others made it out alive over the weekend.

Janice Mackie Freyer has been covering this for us. Tonight the rescue is focusing on two men still missing, 12 days after entering the cave. Divers using ropes to repel down deep shafts with another team exploring holes for new ways to get into the cave but finding even bigger risks. Josh Richards was one of the divers. The two tunnels that were there are so razor sharp that they couldn't drop down. kind of risks dropping into holes where you know literally nothing because no one has ever done it before. When they were in there they also heard noises, scraping sounds deep inside the cave, a knock on

the rock with a hammer returning a noise that wasn't an echo. I just couldn't pin down what this noise was that I could hear. It wasn't a consistent noise either and it wasn't an echo. Weather remains a problem with torrential rains slowing the search. The plan according to rescuers, to drain the cave system so they can reach chambers beyond where five men were already found. Lower water levels inside over the weekend allowed four of them to crawl out,

over 800 feet on their own, a day after the first survivor was freed by divers. The head of the operation, emotional, telling NBC News, we have only the equipment we brought with us, but I think we did it, he says, and for the rest, we will try to do our best.

The world watching, expanding search for two men and ideally a new path to find them. All right, Janice, Mackey Farrier joins us live from Beijing tonight. Janice, what happens next in the search and rescue operation? How long do they keep searching for those two men? Well, the plan, according to rescuers, is that they're going to pump all of the water out. They want to be able to explore these other chambers because they were able to get some information from the five men who were already freed from the cave.

They were talking to them in hospital. They were able to give them a sense of what lay beyond where they were found. So they say that that was also very critical information. The other big change, Tom, is that this whole operation has now shifted from a diving operation to something else. They're going to be doing a lot of rock climbing, a lot of repelling in trying to explore these new routes to see if that can get them closer to where these two men might be. It's changed so much that at least three of the foreign divers who had joined this rescue effort are now leaving. They say that the skills now required for this search and rescue operation are beyond what they can offer.

So we are seeing a shift in this operation over the next few days. Time really does remain of the essence because as we know, these two men are without food, they're without water, and the air is increasingly toxic inside that cave system. Tom. Okay, Janice McEughyer for us, Janice, we thank you. Now, an update on those 18 Americans exposed to the haunt of virus on a cruise ship, the CDC announcing tonight, some of them have left the national quarantine unit in Nebraska to isolate it home. I want to bring in NBC's Maggie Vespa, who spoke to one of them and has been covering this for us. So, Maggie, this is a big change in policy, right?

Yeah, Tom, it really is. Remember just a couple of weeks ago, the CDC issued federal quarantine order. threatening the 18 Americans exposed on that cruise ship last month with potential criminal charges if they tried to leave that Nebraska hospital where they've been for the last three weeks. Well, cut to today, again, three weeks, so we're halfway through the six-week quarantine period. The CDC says all 18 of them have no symptoms, none of them have tested positive, therefore they can go home if they so choose. We have the state-by-state breakdown. You can see it there. Federal and state officials say basically five people took that option. Today, two flew to New York,

to California, one to Arizona, one to Oregon. All of them, Tom, traveling by private planes and ambulances and private SUVs at times with medical staff on board who were told Tom were in full head-to-toe hazmat gear. All of this paid for by the government. It was a huge operation today. And then what more do we know about what those people who return home can expect? Yeah, so they're basically under the authority of the state, whatever state they're in at this point. to one man. He's a 30-year-old New Yorker living in New York State and now quarantining in New York State. And he showed us his quarantine order that we got. If we can pull that up, you can see some of the stipulations and specific instructions that he got. Among them, you have to remain alone in your residence. You can go outside on your property only if you can avoid having contact with others.

Deliveries like food and stuff that has to be left outside the front door. Twice a day, at random times of day, County or state health officials will do symptom checks via video and you have to take your temperature, show them your symptoms. There are also 24-7 monitoring by health officials or get this law enforcement outside their door. He is a state trooper outside his door parked there 24-7. And then finally, if you develop symptoms, they say alert health officials immediately. He gave us a really strong quote if we can pull that up. Again, this is a 30-year-old New York man who spent the last three weeks in the federal quarantine unit. He said all along he's been open to quarantining at home.

All that's totally fine. And then he goes, it was just the fact of being his word, incarcerated, like held in solitary confinement. He goes, I went days and days and days and days without a single breath of fresh air or glimpse of the sun. He said that was not acceptable. I'll point out, 13 remaining at that Nebraska hospital. One of them has been speaking out the entire time. His name is Jake Rosemary. He posted on Instagram talking about why he chose to remain there.

Here's part of that. This whole experience has totally traumatized me. I'm afraid to leave this room until I know that I will not get sick. I do not want to leave here until I know that there's a 0% chance of me getting sick, a 0% chance of me risking my family and friends getting sick or the general public getting sick. I don't want there to be a minimal risk. I want to be a 0% chance risk. So again, Tommy's one of 13 remaining there for the rest of the six-week period.

Okay, Maggie Vespa for us tonight. Maggie, we thank you for staying on top of that one. Still ahead on top story, Sabrina Carpenter's desperate plea. Have you heard about this one? A man allegedly showed up to her home numerous times. The legal action she's now trying to take against that alleged stalker. Plus, the tennis legend getting back in the swing after four years off the court, Serena Williams mounting a comeback. Will the GLP once she's been so public about taking impact your game?

Plus the manhole mystery group scene climbing out of New York City sewers. So why were they there? Stay with us. We're back now with a surprise announcement from Serena Williams, the tennis legend, set to return to the court after stepping away nearly four years ago. But there are questions on how seamless her re-entry to professional competition will be, and if the GLP won drugs she's been so open about taking could impact her game. Here's Jesse Kirsch. Tonight, the tennis world is spinning.

Serena Williams returning to the game nearly four years after her last professional match. The 44-year-old tennis icon posting this teaser video as she gears up to play professional doubles in London later this month. Back in 2022, fans thought Williams might be putting down her racket for good. Is there any chance you'll reconsider? I don't think so, but you never know. I don't know. Williams turned pro in 1995 and dominated the sport for decades, winning 73 singles titles, including 23 majors. After stepping away from tennis, she started taking and promoting a GLP1 weight loss drug through Roe, in which her husband had invested.

They say GLP1's her weight loss is a shortcut. It's not. It's science. Williams says the medication made her healthier than when she was competing. I always say, oh my goodness, I wish this was available, you know, when I was on tour because it really would have been able to help me a lot. The key with taking a GLP1 is you lose body mass and you can also lose muscle mass. You have to be an amazing tennis player and you also have to put in the work to build muscle. That's why I think it's been helpful for her, but you have to put in the work. Work tennis fans hope will keep Serena Williams serving up more thrills in the days to come. Yeah, it's going to be fun to really watch her play, Jesse.

So she's expected to play later this month as you reported. What happens after that? Do we expect her to join some of these other big tournaments? I think at this point it's anyone's guest, Tom, exactly where this goes. However, when the buzz started building on social media, this tournament where she's going to be competing in is a tournament that is played on grass for people who are not avid tennis fans. There are multiple services that the various tournaments are played on. Wimbledon is the most famous tournament that is played on grass. and that tournament's account put out a little comment on social media, giving a hat tip, effectively saying we love seeing Serena Williams playing on grass.

So question is, will she try to make a run at some of the majors later in the air? Will she just be using this as a year to work things out? Or is this really where this will end up at this point? Anyone knows. But one thing that seems to be pretty clear, Tom, in a couple weeks, we're going to be talking about Serena Williams playing tennis again. Yeah, that sounds great. Jesse, thank you for that. We're going to turn to a story here in New York City, the mystery.

unfolding beneath the city. Police are investigating after groups of people were caught on camera emerging from manholes. So what were they doing down there? Our Stephanie Gossk investigates. Tonight, a mystery in Brooklyn. Why are people climbing out of this manhole? And what are they doing in the New York City sewer system? One, two, three, seven altogether can be seen coming out at this busy intersection in the very early morning hours on Friday. Some with shovels in their hands and flashlights. One nearly gets hit by a car. We need to know who they were, what they were up to. And it was a similar scene in another neighborhood of Brooklyn on Thursday. According to police, a car dropped the group off at 11 p.m. About three hours later, they climbed back out.

During Friday's incident, police say the crew picked up this manhole cover and went down at 1 a.m. They believed they were looking for valuables that people flushed down the drain. It's a dirty business, and it's also a crime. Underneath New York City, a sprawling underground network of more than 7,500 miles of sewer lines. The Department of Environmental Protection warning it can be extremely dangerous between toxic chemicals and flooding risks. But there were no injuries during these incidents, according to the NYPD. Why is it a crime to go into a manhole? It's dangerous.

It's the same as jaywalking. We're walking down the middle of a highway. So if they choose the wrong one, they could end up in real trouble. They could be electrocuted. They could be overcome this gas. lines down in, there's electrical lines down there. Investigators telling NBC News, they looked into similar incidents in the last two years, and in those cases, people were scavenging for valuables.

Tonight, officials warning, whatever is hiding in the city's sewers, simply isn't worth the risk. Both of these manhole incidents took place in Brooklyn, about five or six miles from each other, and within 24 hours of each other. They haven't made any arrest yet, but among the things that they are looking at is whether there is a connection between the two. Tom? It's a strange story. All right, Stephanie. Thank you. Coming up, we're going to keep staying underground. The massive tunnel just discovered near the U.S.-Mexico border, why authorities believe the complex passageway may have been used in illicit drug trafficking. Plus, the sonic booms heard around

the country the mysterious sounds shaking up homes and leaving residents from Texas to Massachusetts looking to the sky for answers. Stay with us. We're back now with some breaking news just coming into the newsroom. Pop star, Sabrina Carp has followed the restraining order against an alleged stalker who showed up at her home. Steve Patterson is following this story out of LA. And Steve, I know there's some images, too, that have been put out there. There have been, yeah, a lot of this just coming into our newsroom, as mentioned, Tom, including the fact that a judge granting a temporary restraining order to Sabrina Carpenter,

the pop singer, against 31-year-old William Applegate. This is the guy allegedly that you're going to see on your screen in this doorbell camera. That's because he is accused of on May 23rd going to the pop singer's home through trespassing through a neighbor's yard, trying to go in through the front door, allegedly grabbing the door handle, forcefully trying to go inside of her home. Then a security team comes out, confronts the man. Applegate says that he presents himself like he knows Carpenter, that he is going to meet her. They try to turn him away forcefully, but he won't leave the premises until they'll. the police are called. He's then escorted off the property, comes back the next day on May 24th, where the same pattern emerges. He's confronted by that security team, leaves the premises,

then comes back even again the next day on the 25th where he's then escorted away by police once again. We're reading some of these documents. One says that according to Carpenter, the approach was deliberate, calculated, aggressive, which is deeply alarming. Another excerpt says that she is in genuine fear for her personal safety at the time of the incident and continues to fear for her safety to this day. Again, that temporary restraining order was granted. There will be another hearing to find out if that restraining order, which is temporary, will be made permanent. Tom.

All right. Steve Patterson for us. Steve, we thank you for that. Now to the battle to become the mayor of Los Angeles election days tomorrow. And the latest poll show, it's anyone's game. Mayor Karen Bass, a few points ahead of her challenger, including Spencer Pratt. each of the candidates firing pointed shots at each other in the final stretch of this race. NBC's Liz Kreutz is reporting from the Pacific Palisades tonight. And Liz, you're there in one of the areas obviously hardest hit by the wildfires, which is central to Pratt's campaign.

You spoke to some voters about him. Let's listen. I don't believe that Mr. Pratt has what it takes in the political world. I know he's a Hollywood person and maybe if he starts a little lower than wanting to be mayor. I'm definitely voting for Pratt. Why is that? Because I'm voting for change. What they did here in the Palisades was really wrong, very neglectful.

Well, that last lady gives a little bit of umph, if you will, into Spencer Pratt's campaign. Only the top two candidates can move on, so what have been the final pitches for these candidates? Yeah, hey Tom, well, both Spencer Pratt and Nithia Rahman, who is the progressive challenger in this race, have been cast themselves in these final days as the candidate for change. The alternative to the incumbent mayor Karen Bass, who has an approval rating, according to a poll from a couple months ago, of just 24%. Nydia Rahman is saying, look, you can either have the status quo in Karen Bass or you can have a right-wing extremist in Spencer Pratt. Spencer Pratt, though, Tom is calling himself. He says he's the look around candidate.

He goes, just look around L.A., see the homelessness, see the crime, look around the race, see the other candidates, and he's the common-sense choice. and I know you've talked to him extensively. You've been here in Pacific Palisades. This is his base. This is where he lives. This is where he lost his home. We've been talking to voters all day here today. Almost every single person we're talking to is voting for him whether or not they want to say so publicly. That goes back to this idea of maybe there's the shy Spencer Pratt voter. The big question is whether or not he's going to be able to expand his coalition beyond the west side of L.A. And actually, I was out yesterday at a campaign event he had in the eastern part of the city in a heavily Latino neighborhood.

So he is certainly reaching out. The big question is will he be able to do it, Tom? And Liz, just because people who may not be familiar with LA, you're in the Pacific Palisades, not all of it burned to the ground, as we can see behind you. But there's a lot of it that has burned and a lot of it that has not been rebuilt. Exactly. Right behind me is the disaster recovery center right next to where people are voting. But where I'm looking here to my right is a building that burned down all around this

community. As you know, there are homes that are either still just flat rubble or being built. But the problem here in a big issue of this campaign has been that people feel like the mayor mismanaged the initial response to the fire, mismanaged the recovery. They feel like there is a slow rebuild process, and that has become a central issue in this race, along with issues of crime, homelessness, and also the issue of Hollywood. There's been a big decline in jobs in production here in Hollywood, and that's also a central part of this race. All issues that Spencer Pat has really made the key hallmark part of his campaign that a lot of people are resonating with whether or not they want to vote for him. It's going to be such a big election tomorrow. We can't wait to watch

your coverage. Liz, we thank you for that. Now to Top Stories News Feed, starting with an appeals court ruling that transgender troops can remain in the U.S. military. The majority opinion by a three-judge panel ruling that the Pentagon's order to exclude transgender troops from military service like violates their constitutional rights. However, the military can still block transgender people from enlisting. The administration is expected to appeal that decision. And a stunning underground discovery near the U.S.-Mexico border, federal agents uncovering an 869-foot tunnel, roughly three football fields long, connecting Tijuana with the San Diego border. Mexican officials say the tunnel was likely a hub for weapons and drug trafficking. And Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupting

in a fiery display. Video shows lava just spewing from the volcano on Hawaii's Big Island. Officials warning those nearby to be careful of ash and other volcanic debris. Kilauea has been experiencing intermittent eruptions, as you know, since December of 2024. Now to the growing mysteries up in the air since the start of the year, a string of dramatic fireballs and meteors have little disguised, including one in New England this weekend. We've told you about so many of them on the broadcast, and it had us wondering, have there been more of these incidents than usual?

and what is NASA doing? What are they looking at? Stephen Romo takes a closer look. Fireballs lighting up the sky. Whoa! Sonic booms rattling homes. Animals sent scurrying. And one meteorite crashing through a roof. Boom! Did I hear it? Boom.

The latest came over the weekend. A five-foot meteor exploding above Massachusetts with a boom heard across the region. Here in New England, that's pretty insane. canky of the American Meteor Society has been tracking it all. When we observe daytime fireballs, they're kind of special, okay? They get people excited. They often have the booms. They have to outshine the sun. In Ohio, a meteor blazed across the sky in March and a sonic boom followed. That month in Houston, reports poured in of a bright fireball and a loud blast. Later, a homeowner found a meteorite had punched into her house. Just where it came in it. Extremely rare, as most media,

burn up in the atmosphere. Along the Jersey shore in April. A lot of people have been reporting seeing something streak across the sky. A daytime meteor drawing hundreds of reports, loud booms follow. In the Pacific Northwest, a vivid green fireball streaking overhead in late April. And in South Carolina just last week, a mysterious boom shaking the state and confusing residents. The USGS ruled out earthquakes and experts say a large meteor is. a leading theory. Is this something that people should have on their minds all the time? Not at all. Most of them are associated with objects that completely burn up in the atmosphere. But is there an uptick in these events? There was a big uptick and noticeable uptick.

It came on quickly and it turned off quickly. Hankies saying March alone had more than double the average media reports, but that spike ended this spring. The latest flurry we've seen, he says, is anomalous. As we watch these. jaw-dropping videos, scientists say they are glued to the data. All right, Stephen Romo joins us. So, Stephen, is there anything to this uptick? I mean, what are they saying? Yeah, it's really sort of alarming to learn that NASA is not tracking things nearly as much as

I thought they were. Even that one over Boston that was five feet around, yeah, they weren't keeping a close eye on that because there's just too many things that are zipping around space right now. It's really got to be the size of a football field before they can actually keep a good track on it. but they do say there's really nothing we could do about it here on Earth, but they are tracking those large dangerous ones, and they do have an eye on that.

Incredible, the sound and the force, even from that five-foot object, how much it can do. Thanks so much, Stephen, for looking into that. Just ahead, the push to get high-powered AI chips into laptops and into your home, how Nvidia is doing it, plus the massive explosion tearing through a fireworks factory. Look at this bad boy. So what happened here? Stay with us. We're back now with Top Stories Global Watch,

We're starting with massive clashes between police and thousands of ultra-Orthodox demonstrators in Israel protesting mandatory military enlistment. Israel's police had demonstrators blocked major intersections and officers using horses and water cannons to try to disperse the crowds. The clash is coming amid threats to long-held military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews. Progressive political commentators, Hassan Piker and Jank Uger, have been barred from entering the UK to speak at public events. Uyghur co-hosts the YouTube series, The Young Turks, and his nephew broadcast commentary on the video platform Twitch. They said they've been blocked because of their views on Israel. The British Interior Ministry said their travel authorization has been canceled because their presence in the UK may not be conducive to the public good. And video capturing a massive explosion at a fireworks factory in Malta.

You can see the moment the blastsons a massive fireball into the sky. Fireworks exploding all around. Officials say no workers were inside the factory at the time, so no one was seriously injured or killed. The cause is still under investigation. Local media reporting the blasted damage nearby farms killing some livestock. Now to new moves in the AI tech world, that could be a game changer. InVIDIA unveiling its first computers designed specifically to be powered by AI agents or assistance. The PCs will be as light as three pounds and as slim as 14 millimeters, thinner than most. pens and run by NVIDIA's new RTX smart AI computer chip, lauded as the most efficient ever built.

They'll be sold at a premium price point, the target audience, creators, AI developers, and gamers. Joining me now to discuss this is NBC News's chief technology analyst Joanna Stern. Joanna, always great to see you. So what makes NVIDIA's new computers different than what's already out there? Well, the biggest one is that NVIDIA hasn't made computer chips like this for consumer. market ever. And so that is a big, big deal. They have made chips for the gaming side. They've made graphics processors. Now this is Nvidia saying, hey, we want to help make the whole stack and we're teaming up with Microsoft to give a full AI PC experience. What they believe, or what Jensen Wong said

in Taipei when he announced these, a reinvention of the personal computer. And as you mentioned, the point of these is to be able to use AI right on the device. So instead of only going out to the cloud to connect to the internet to use AI. More of this will happen locally on the PC. So if I'm five years old, explain this to me. Does it mean it's just faster? The AI is just instant when you ask for it? Well, that, and you might experience that. But the big thing is that you might not be using as much data center processing power, right? So everything that's now done through AI is going out and it's doing a complicated process called inference and it's going out to the data center to deal with your query or your chatbot, whatever you've put in,

whatever you Tom have asked the chatbot to explain to you as a five-year-old. So that's how it works right now. But what they might do with these Nvidia PCs is be able to say, actually, the model is going to run right on the computer. We don't need the internet connection to give you that answer or to do various tasks that the agent might do on your behalf. All right. You mentioned another key phrase there, the AI agent.

What's the difference between an AI agent and an AI chatbot? Great question. I can really explain this to you as a five-year-old. An AI chatbot answers a question. You put in the query and you get an answer back. An AI agent takes multiple steps to do something you've asked it to. So you might ask it, hey, do my school shopping for my kids. Do my food shopping for the house. It can go out and go out to the web, take those multi-step process for you, and maybe even pay for you. That's incredible. So when will this be available and how much do you? Do you have any idea yet how much is going to cost for this computer? We don't, they haven't released prices yet on these devices. They said they have many partners. So, Nvidia is going to be teaming up with Dell and many other kinds of computer makers like HP or Lenovo.

They're going to be selling these in the fall of the fall of 2026 and probably more around holiday time frame. So these new PCs are just one of the latest headlines from Nvidia. They're also diving into physical AI, right? Developing tech to power humanoid robots and autonomous vehicles. Big picture, are we unlocking sort of a new era of AI innovation and direct consumer access? And is Nvidia diversifying? No, Nvidia's been a big player in this space already.

They've already had a lot of self-driving computing and graphics process units and these cars. They've been having them more and more in these humanoid robots. That was one of the big announcements today. They're teaming up with one of the Chinese makers of humanoid robots named Unitry. So this is a big place that Nvidia's already played in. What they're announcing now is just more progress, better chips to do this, better platforms to do this. And the real thing with all of this stuff, Tom, is that the data needs to be better. They need more data to collect for the humanoid robots to navigate in your house.

They need more data to get the cars to drive themselves. And so that's what the platforms that Nvidia is making is to then take that data and teach these machines how to learn and navigate our world. Okay. And then Joanna, AI giant anthropic maker of Claude and rival to Open AI is planning on going, public, and I know you're not an investment banker, right, but if maybe you can get out of your comfort zone for just a little bit, there is a lot of talk about an AI bubble, right? And people are wondering about their 401ks and their investments. Is this something people should go run and invest in? And again, not looking at investment advice. What I'm asking you is, are these companies overvalued now and is Anthropic now about to become the king of AI?

Well, look, Anthropic has been one that has been consistently very much watching their checkbook and really focusing on being profitable. Now, they're not fully profitable. but they have shown that they have quite a bit of revenue and that they're working towards that. And that this is, that they're likely in a better spot than OpenAI. And so these two companies have sort of been at, they're the most fierce competitors in the AI space, but we're going to be watching for both of these IPOs

is which one has the better books and which have the better future going forward with the models that they have. All right, Joanna Stern, my five-year-old self thanks you. We thank you for being on Top Story tonight. We are just days away from the NBA final. We're going to take a tough turn here from AI to the NBA finals. But trust me, it's all going to come together with tech.

This has been over two decades in the making. The San Antonio Spurs taken on the New York Knicks, and the stakes aren't just high for the players. The staggering ticket prices and big potential betting payouts are raising the stakes for fans. So we're here now with our good friend Steve Kornacki at the big board. So, Steve, the big question,

what are the odds? Do the Knicks have a chance? What does Vegas think? A rematch 27 years in the making in Vegas. Honestly, pretty much what it said 27 years ago. This minus 210 means the Spurs are favorites. They're pretty big favorites in the series. The Knicks are the underdogs.

That was the setup back in 1999. The Twin Towers of Duncan and Robinson against the Ewingless Knicks. And of course, that series did end 4 to 1 with the Spurs winning the title. It's still going to be a great series. The prediction markets, right? A lot of people are talking about these. You said they haven't changed much. I mean, this is kind of where they're at.

How do they see this matchup? Yeah. I mean, again, I think the Knicks, you know, they're 53 and 29 this season. The Spurs were like 10 games better in the standings. I think there's that. There's a question of size with the Knicks here. There's also just size in terms of the money that's being bet here. I mean, month to month, the American Gaming Association came out with a study recently.

You're looking at somewhere around $15 billion every month is being bet on sports. I mean, you get the big events like this. That really drives that number. Yeah. And people are still also betting on things like the most valuable player. I mean, all those great prop bets. Yeah, you could bet anything. Take a look at this. So here's the odds to be the finals MVP here.

And I think basically if you're looking at this, first decide which team you think is going to win because that's where the MVP is going to come from. But obviously the battle of the stars. I mean, look at that division there. Wemby for the Spurs, Brunson for the Knicks. Those are the two shortest prices. And then it's a long shot that it would be anybody else. And Steve, if you have the opportunity to go to the game, right?

Talk to me about ticket prices here. I heard a rumor that it's cheaper to actually fly to San Antonio, get a hotel, watch a game there, I fly back than just to actually watch at the garden. Yeah, I think you better hit some of these bets if you want to go to some of these games, because take a look at this. This is just to get in the arena. Cheapest price here in San Antonio, basically $1,000 for game one, a little bit more for game two. You get to MSG, the numbers jump.

But what kind of seat is this? You're in the noseblee. No, no, that's like a regular bad seat. That's a bad seat? You want a good seat in the garden? 4,600? You want a good seat on the ticket market in the garden right now. How about $181,000 for the best available seat in MSG?

I'll give you a deal, though. Yeah. Settled for third row at MSG, a mere $141,000. Wow, $141,000 for third row. There's a lot of money here in New York. You're not even ex-Kiley-Generer and like Timothy Schaimble. Okay. You're close.

All right. Steve, so great to see you. When we come back tonight, the major box office shakeup, the YouTube stars creating two hit horror movies. Could it upend the film industry? And the impromptu piano performance. Have you heard about this? this one. It's going viral. We'll show you the man who stepped up to the keys and stunned the audience. Stay with us. We are back now with a pair of stunning box office triumphs. Horror hit backrooms

based on a popular YouTube series, blowing past opening weekend expectations, raking in more than 81 million bucks domestically and making history as the largest ever original horror movie debut. It's 20-year-old director, Kane Parsons, now the youngest to ever open a film at number one globally. And it comes after the wildly successful opening of another horror sensation, obsession, also from the mind of a Gen Z YouTuber. It made $148 million worldwide and cost less than $1 million to make. Imagine that investment. So is the YouTube or YouTube in general now the king of Hollywood? I want to bring in NBC's Chloe Malas to break it down for us. So, Chloe, let's start with backrooms, and we see the backrooms here just behind us.

We're in the backrooms. I saw the preview for this. I wasn't really scared by this movie, but maybe it's scary. What is the big deal and why do people in Gen Z love this? Okay, well, first of all, this started as a viral internet meme, and it was just a picture of a backroom, as you can see behind me. And people started creating all of these theories about it all. And then you saw Kane Parsons really take this

and really just go off into the sunset here on YouTube by creating these different shorts and videos around it, eventually racking up millions and millions of views with A-24 approaching him. saying, hey, it's everybody's dream, right, to get that phone call. Want to make a movie? And he did, and it's huge. Is it mostly young people going to these movies? So it's Gen Z, and it's Gen A, which is what our kids are in that generation. Gen A, okay. So get used to saying that. What we've seen from different data is that there's about a 25 to 30% increase in

the last couple of years since the pandemic of this younger generation going to the theater. I think you really just have to look at the COVID-19 pandemic. People were, really craving those IRL experiences. That means in real life, Tom. Oh, no, I know. That one I know. And it's about they want to have that sense of community. It feels old school maybe to us where I'm like,

I love being able to just watch streaming from home. But this younger generation, they want this. But then they also have loved these guys from YouTube. These are YouTube creators who have built these massive, loyal audiences. And I think that the big question that we need to think about is, does a, studio have to spend $100 million to make a movie to have it be successful. And I think when you look at Disney's Mandalorian, it's a Star Wars movie, it has been dethroned. Right. It's incredible. I don't know too much about obsession. What is obsession about it? What kind of movie is it? It's exactly what you think. Have you ever seen the movie with Michael Douglas and Glenn Close? Yeah.

And it's fatal attraction? Fatal attraction. Thank you. And it doesn't go so far as to have like a bunny boy. but it's about a guy who wants his this girl that he loves to be obsessed with him and he makes a wish think of it like a very dark version of big remember when Tom Hanks makes that wish like ride playland he wants to be a big guy of course and so basically it's like how love can go so so wrong and how it can turn into obsession and it's a horror film it's a horror movie so I don't want to ruin anything ruin anything for you, but both of these movies are scary and creepy, but they're not like jump scare films, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where you're going to be like jumping out of your sea, but definitely is going to give you nightmares. Are they R-rated? Are they kind of like

not for kids, little kids? They're not for little kids, but you are seeing teenagers go out in droves. I mean, I remember when I saw Halloween H-2O, and I was not 18 years old, and I begged my mom to let me go see a Halloween horror movie. So I think the parents maybe sometimes make exception with the horror movies. But look, these are two directors. that potentially could go on to have really big careers. But when you're looking at Curry Barker, he has already inked a deal to be a part of the next remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which is really incredible because he actually credits that film

with really what made him fall in love with the horror genre. And he'll bring all those kids into that genre, into that intellectual property as well. We're looking at horror films. I don't know if you're necessarily going to see a successful rom-com come out of the YouTube creator world, but never say never. What if Mr. Beast wants to make a movie? I think all bets are off.

It would be so great, right? It would be like the best for the next five years. Chloe Malas, always great to have you. We thank you so much. Finally, tonight, we have another great story when an orchestra's keyboard player suddenly fell sick. One man in the audience stepped into the spotlight to save the day.

Here's that incredible moment. Is there somebody in the audience who is an amazing sight reader? It's a moment any performer would dream of. Okay. You want to go to our guests? An orchestra presenting music from the beloved Hollywood film La La Land. When the keyboardist suddenly fell ill. Director and composer Justin Hurwitz turning to the crowd for help.

Anybody like an amazing sight reader? 21-year-old university student Sterling NASA answering the call. Quickly finding himself center stage, holding his own. side by side with the pros. Even taking on one of the film's most challenging solos. NASA says he studied music for years. That training, kicking in on stage. It's always nice to, you know, get some applause, get some response,

but I think also just a little bit of terror. I was panicking, to be honest. As soon as he started playing, like I was, I was impressed. You're in an amazing orchestra with an amazing two-time Academy Award-winning conductor, so just enjoy it. An unforgettable night with the Hollywood ending. All right, that does it for us. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamerson, New York.

Stay right there. More news on the way.