Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, June 16, 2025

Episode Date: June 17, 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 murders in Minnesota. The man authorities are calling a political assassin, the new images of his disguise and his arsenal. Officials calling this the face of evil, the suspect now facing federal murder charges, allegedly armed with at least three AK-47 assault rifles. We're learning he traveled to the homes of four Minnesota state lawmakers, dressed as a police officer, wearing this hyper-realistic silicone mask. Our Maggie Vespah with an eyewitness who says she spotted the suspect in a field, and alerted police. Also breaking tonight, the new tornado threat in the Midwest, coming as six people are killed, swept away by the floodwaters in West Virginia, a three-year-old among them,

homes and buildings crumbling, many lucky to get out alive, the rain returning tonight with millions under flood watches. Live on the air and under attack, the dramatic moments of TV anchor flees as an Israeli airstrike hits Iran's state media headquarters, debris falling, the building engulfed in flames, and new tonight the strike at an Iranian. and fuel depot. Courthouse chaos in Manhattan, a man with a knife, the sudden lunge caught on camera, the heart-stopping moments officers sprung into action, saving lives, some of them injured in the attack. New twist in the Diddy case, the juror dismissed, and the disturbing video evidence played in court with the jury saw behind closed doors and why it could shake the defense.

Anti-tourists backlash, the revolt in Europe at some of the biggest tourist destinations on the planet. Visitors soaked with squirt guns? The Louvre shut. down what it means for Americans vacationing overseas. And this just in a doctor charged in Matthew Perry's overdose death. Top story. It starts right now. And good evening. We begin tonight with that political assassination in Minnesota, sending shock waves through the state and the nation. Authorities calling the targeted attack the stuff of nightmares. Here's what we know about the suspect. You see him here, 57-year-old Vance Bolter, now in custody and facing six federal charges, including two counts of stocking and two counts of murder.

And here are the chilling new images released by officials. You can see him here on a doorbell cam wearing a police uniform, tactical body armor, and a hyper-realistic silicone mask. Authorities say he impersonated law enforcement in order to gain entry into the home. They also found five firearms in his car along with multiple notebooks that included names and addresses of dozens of elected officials. Investigators saying he visited four homes that night and stalked his victims like prey. The attacks triggering the biggest manhunt in state history, federal, state, and local police delayed, excuse me, deployed alongside SWAT teams and canine units, the entire state on edge until his arrest earlier today.

With the suspect in custody, Minnesota, now in mourning, as they remember the victims tonight, State Senator Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, both brutally killed in the attack. In a few moments, we speak with a lawmaker who, was with the couple the night before they died and was also named on the suspect's chilling list. But first, we want to get right to NBC's Maggie Vespa, who leads us off from Minnesota. Images show the tools prosecutors say Vance Belter used in the deadly rampage he planned for months. Firearms, ammo, a hyper-realistic silicone mask, and notebooks filled with scribbled notes and lists of targets, including many Democrats. His crimes are the stuff of nightmares. Belter stocked his victims like prey.

And in another disturbing twist, officials today said Belter didn't just target two lawmakers that morning. Belter went to the homes of four Minnesota state politicians with the intent to kill them. Belter was arrested Sunday night after the largest manhunt in Minnesota history. You saw him in this grass? Yeah. Wendy Thomas believes she saw Belter in the hours before his arrest, saying she was leaving a friend's house when she spotted a man in dark clothing, crouching in this field. She called her dad initially thinking it was law enforcement.

And I'm like, oh, they're clearing properties. So that's what I figured it was. And then the more my brain registered, I'm like, dad, there's only one person. There's no vehicle. And then I started freaking out and doubt, like, you need to get out of there. You need to call somebody. Thomas says that's when she waved down police. So I waved my arms and I flagged him.

And he's like, is everything okay? And at this point, I'm shaking. And I said, no, there's a person. I saw a person. And as I was leaving the driveway, you could see him squatting in the culvert. And I started pointing. I'm like, there he is, there he is. Belter made his first court appearance today.

He's facing a litany of charges, including murder. Some of the federal charges could be eligible for the death penalty. This was a political assassination. Today, authorities laying out a detailed timeline of Belter's movements early Saturday morning, saying he first went to the home of Democratic State Senator John Hoffman, arriving in an SUV with a fake police license plate and emergency lights flashing. They say he approached the door shouting, this is the police. When Belter lowered his flashlight, which he had shined in their face, they realized that he was not a police officer.

They shouted out, you're not a cop, you're not a police officer. Belter then announced this is a robbery and forced himself into their home. Hoffman's wife revealing they were each shot at least eight times, adding they're incredibly lucky to be alive. According to court documents at 224, Belter arrived at the home of. another state rep but she wasn't home so he left 12 minutes later he showed up at a third lawmakers home a police officer was already there conducting a wellness check when she approached Belter Belter did not respond according to the officer he just sat there and stared straight ahead Belter then drove to the home of

state rep Melissa Hortman he arrived around 3 30 a.m. according to the documents with police officers pulling up around the same time when Belter saw the officers get out of the car. He drew his weapon and began firing. He repeatedly fired into the house. And when he entered, he murdered Representative Hortman and her husband, Mark. Belter fled on foot. He returned to his home at some point that morning, according to the court documents, and texted his family, Dad went to war last night. It read, I don't want to say anymore because I don't want to implicate anybody. The documents say he later bought an e-bike and a Buick from a stranger at a bus stop, finding that abandoned

Buick and Belter's cowboy hat along a rural highway on Sunday was a major break officials say, which helped lead to Belter's arrest. Maggie Vespa joins us now live from St. Paul, Minnesota, outside the federal courthouse there. So Maggie, do we know if the suspect's wife was involved in

any way in what police actually found in her car? Yeah, Tom, we're learning new details on that. The affidavit that we talked about in that piece actually reveals that while Vance Belter was on the run, over the weekend. Police on Saturday tracked down his wife, Jenny Belter, using cell phone data, and then searched her car. Finding in that car, they say two handguns, roughly $10,000

cash and passports, according to these documents for her and her kids who were in the car with her at the time. Now, authorities have since stressed that she was never detained, and she fully cooperated with authorities and with the investigation. We have reached out to Jenny Belter about this latest information, and just in general tied to this case. We We haven't yet heard back. Tom. Okay, Maggie Vespa with a bit of new reporting there. Maggie, we thank you for that. Joining us now live from Washington is Minnesota Democratic Senator Tina Smith, who has known Melissa and Mark Hortman for years and saw them at a Democratic Party function the night before they died. Senator Smith, thank you so much for joining us. I am so

sorry for your loss, for your state's loss, for that community's loss. And I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. First, let's begin with you and the latest on this investigation. is giving you or your colleagues any more of an idea what the motive was in these attacks? We really don't know anything more than everybody else knows about the motives of these attacks. I mean, I think looking at the list of people that were on his target list, you can see that they are Democratic legislators, and members of Congress, you can see that they are people who've worked in the reproductive rights movement. So I've got to believe that that has something to do with it.

But, I mean, what we have here is a terrible and tragic. example of political violence that has killed my friend Melissa and her husband and deeply, grievously wounded two other Minnesotans, including another state legislator. This is a personal tragedy. And it is also a real threat to our democracy, what we saw unfold in Minnesota this weekend. Yeah, I want to ask you, you know, we've gotten some new reporting. Your name was mentioned in one of those notebooks, if you will, on one of those lists. I have to imagine security has to stepped up to protect you and your family. I would hope so. How are you feeling tonight? What is your understanding of why your name was there? Well, I don't have any clear understanding

of why he had my name on that list along with many others. I'm grateful to say that I feel like I am safe tonight. I was so grateful for the fast response of law enforcement in Minnesota at the state and local level and the support from Capitol Police. So I personally feel that I am safe. And I want to draw attention also to the incredible work of law enforcement in Minnesota. Had they not been so proactive, who knows who else might have been caught up in this terrible plot to kill Minnesotans that this assassin had laid out? Yeah, no, it's a great point. Those cops that responded to that call are true heroes, along with the ones that tracked him down of that eyewitness that we heard from there in Maggie's report. I want to ask you, you know,

Minnesota is a blue state. Democrats have lived alongside Republicans, independence, whatever you have. You have various political parties in Minnesota. It's one of the more interesting local political states that we have in our union. But I do want to ask you, has anything happened in local politics recently? Has anything, any vote happened that may have led to this person if he did this to sort of flip? One thing I would say is having heard just the preliminary information from the U.S. attorney is that this plot was obviously very long in the making. So I personally doubt that there was anything that was a trigger recently. But I want to just draw attention to something about Minnesota politics. I mean, in some ways, it is a blue

state, but Melissa was the Democratic leader in a state House of Representatives that was perfectly split. Half Democrats, half Republicans. And in that process, they were able to navigate Melissa through her incredible legislative skill, was able to work with Republicans and Democrats to reach an agreement on our legislative, closing, finishing up our legislative session. and wrapping up the state budget. And what was really challenging times? It shows, I think, her incredible skill. And I think it shows what we need to be doing in this country,

which is people working together using the legislative process. And what happened with this horrible assassination is the people taking over the violence that is just so has no place. I also want to ask you about one of your fellow senators' reaction to the attack as well. Senator Mike Lee of Utah posted on X after the attack with one. one of those pictures of the suspect at the door writing, this is what happens when Marxists don't get their way. Tonight, this moment was captured by reporter Jamie Dupree

and posted on X as well. He says you ran down Senator Lee to confront him. What did you want to tell Senator Lee when you spoke to him? I wanted to speak to Senator Lee directly about the impact of what he had put out on social media, the impact it had on me, his colleague, and other people in Minnesota. He posted a picture of this assassin,

presumably shortly before he killed my friend. and a political leader in Minnesota. And I think it is important that people who have such a huge megaphone, like Senator Lee, think carefully about what they are doing and what impact it will have. Over 7 million people engaged with that social media tweet. And that is a power that he should be using to calm the storm and not to fuel the fire. Senator, do you think political violence is gaining steam? We had two assassination attempts on our current president.

We had Governor Shapiro's home fire bomb. have these horrific killings in Minnesota. What do you think it is? I believe that we are at a tipping point in our society right now. There is growing political violence, and this is an attack not just on individuals, but on our very democracy, on our form of government. And I think those of us who are in a position of power and have a platform to stand on need to be pulling back from this precipice. And that's why I spoke with Senator Lee, and that's what I think we all need to do. We need to not think that violence. is a way of resolving our political differences.

Senator Smith, we thank you so much for joining us when I know is a very, very difficult few days for you. We thank you for that. We want to turn out of the severe weather slamming millions of reported tornado touching down late today in central Minnesota. Here's what it looks like. You can see a massive funnel cloud there.

That's a big one. And in West Virginia, the death toll growing, flash flooding killing at least six people, including a three-year-old. The state's governor declaring a state of emergency because of the images you're seeing here. and tonight first responders are still searching for survivors. Meteorologist Bill Cairns will join us in just a moment.

He's standing by, but first let's get to George Solis, reporting from the storm zone. Tonight, a reporter tornado touching down in Minnesota. After wind and rain slam the state, following torrential rain in West Virginia, dangerous flash flooding, washing away roads, cars, and homes. Definitely going to need emergency housing for the tenants that was in this building. Tonight, the death toll climbing. to at least six following Sunday storm. Among the victims, a three-year-old. Others are still missing. If there's any chance to save another life, we're going to keep putting the time in.

The governor of West Virginia declaring a state of emergency. The water was about half of her legs. George McCormick says the water started rising quickly and that he escaped just in time. This now all that's left of his childhood home in hard-hit Triadelphia. I understand you lost everything on this flood. Yes, I did. I just got out in time with my daughter. and just once everything lost her way and it was quite devastating in hard-hit wheeling West Virginia several cars cascading into a creek this is one of many vehicles swift water rescue teams are going to try and get out of the creek to make sure nobody was trapped inside Doug flights nearby smoke shop completely flooded

couldn't do anything but watch pretty horrified what can you do it's mother nature flight says he's lucky to be alive pulled up here stood on that bridge and kind of watched it all that. Still haven't wrapped my head around it. And George Sulelese joins us tonight live from Wheeling, West Virginia. George, what's the latest on conditions there? Because I know there's a new threat tonight. Yeah, that's right, Tom.

Right now, a bit of a reprieve from the rain, which is something that residents here are so thankful for. But heavy rain expected tomorrow. But the cleanup here is intense. Behind me is the main artery here into this community. Work crews have been going in and out. It is a money mess. roads are treacherous here and of course many in this community while they're grappling with the

cleanup and assessing all of their losses they're still coming to grips the reality that some members of their community have died and some are still unaccounted for the governor again making it his top priority tom to find those that are missing and make sure they are returned home safely tom it is tough with all that weather out there okay george we thank you we mentioned that reported tornado touching down in minnesota NBC news meteorologist bill kairns joins us live tonight here on Top Story. Bill, walk us through what you're seeing, and I'm already seeing that action up there just next to you.

Yeah, three active tornado warnings. We had what we call a multi-vortex tornado earlier that was about 10 miles outside of Brainer in Minnesota, and that's when you get like three tornadoes kind of wrapping around each other, and they're usually very intense. Thankfully, it was in a rural area. We haven't heard any reports. I mean, significant damage or injuries or anything like that.

So here's the active tornado watch. This goes until 9 o'clock. The tornado warnings that we're watching are in central and northern. Here's Minneapolis and St. Paul. is a thunderstorm approaching. We're going to wait and see if that intensifies. We'll keep an eye on that free over about the next hour or so. To the north, we do have a couple active tornado warnings. This is the one that produced that strong tornado. It'll be crossing Interstate 35 here in about the next half hour. So a lot of damaging wind with this and some small hail. Right now,

we saw that tornado warning until 630 time local. As far as the downpours go, it's very humid in the Mid-Atlantic. We're now getting into the summer months. We're going to get these flash flood events like we had in San Antonio over the fatalities last week. And of course, what we just saw in West Virginia. And we have numerous other areas. right now everywhere in Maroon is where we have a current flash flood warning. We've had some torrential rains around Greensboro and North Carolina. It's still raining, but the thunderstorm has ended. So be careful driving, especially around any of the interstates there. Other spots just south here of the Louisville area down on Elizabeth Town in Kentucky, thunderstorms,

and a flash flood warning for you. And all the way down along the panhandle. I mean, it's so widespread these downpours and these summer thunderstorms that, you know, Pensacola just north of there, we still have a flash flood warning. So what are we going to do tomorrow? We do it all over again. But tomorrow we're going to focus on our friends in Kansas. and especially the Kansas City area, Tom. That's where we're going to watch damaging wind and isolated tornadoes at this time. Okay, we'll make sure to have you back on the show tomorrow, Bill. We thank you.

Heading overseas down to the latest out of the Middle East, Israel expanding its attacks on Iran today, striking the headquarters of its national broadcaster while anchors were live on the air. Video showing the entire building on fire and think clouds of smoke. Iran now promising to respond with full force. NBC News chief international correspondent Richard Engels in Israel tonight. Iranian State TV was live on air, the anchor sounding defiant, when suddenly Israel bombed the building.

Israel saying it was targeting Iran's propaganda mouthpiece. Though late today, the station was back on air, that anchor seen in another location. Still, the message to Iranians could not have been clearer. can hit where and when it chooses. Israel announcing today it had achieved full aerial superiority in the skies over Tehran during day four of Israel's operation targeting Iran's nuclear program. These before and after images showing damage at multiple Iranian nuclear sites. Israel has also dealt a major blow to Iran's military, killing a number of its top generals. But NBC News confirmed President Trump nixed at Israeli plan to kill Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Hamanee,

according to a U.S. official. Today, Prime Minister Netanyahu would not rule it out in the future, saying the assassination would end the conflict, not escalated. Iran is promising to respond with the most powerful missile bombardments in Israel's history. According to Israel, Iran has fired some 350 missiles at Israel since Friday. The The vast majority of them shot down, but a few got through, including hitting this residential building outside Tel Aviv. We followed Lucy Bukai up to her family's 10th floor apartment. It's trashed.

Windows shattered. No power. So what is it like for you to see your family house like this? It's, uh, I have no words. It's just, I feel it's a movie, it's a bad movie. does not want to come back. How? How can you continue to live here? Something can happen.

With that, Richard Engle joins us tonight live from Tel Aviv. So, Richard, we have some new reporting tonight that the U.S. may be getting more involved in this conflict. Tom, we already know that the U.S. military and U.S. intelligence provide assistance to Israel, particularly when it comes to shooting down those high-altitude ballistic missiles. This isn't the first time that Israel and Iraq. Iran have exchanged fire and every time the U.S. military has come to Israel's aid. But this time is different. The two countries appear to be an all-out war. Prime Minister

Netanyahu is suggesting that regime change might be his objective. He's called on the Iranian people to rise up. And the U.S. military is behaving differently. It's helping with Israel's defense and the Pentagon said today that it is sending another aircraft carrier to the region. Tom. Okay, Richard Engel there first. Richard, we thank you. With the war in the Middle East, top of mind, President Trump meeting today with G7 leaders in Canada. Trump pressing Iran to come to the table and strike a deal, as he says, before it's too late. Gabe Gutierrez is in Calgary, traveling with the president tonight. Tonight, President Trump on the world stage at the G7 summit here in Canada.

But dominating this high-stakes meeting is the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Israel is doing very well right now. With Iran facing a ferocious Israeli air campaign, President Trump tonight acknowledging Iran has reached out wanting to de-escalate. They'd like to talk, but they should have done that before. I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately before it's too late. The president meeting today with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, skipping his previous

taunts of Canada becoming the 51st state. I have a tariff concept. Mark has a different concept. We're going to look at both and we're going to see what we're going to come out with something. Hopefully. But for Canadian businesses that rely on steel, like Valley Metal, here in Calgary, tariff uncertainty is brutal. We're just being bullied. Jeff Loeb's grandfather started this company 60 years ago. What is your message to President Trump? Lighten up, brother. Lighten up, but you don't have the right to talk to people that way or treat people that way.

The Trump administration also shifting. mass deportation plan. According to an internal policy memo obtained by NBC News, ICE is now pausing workplace immigration raids on farms, hotels, and restaurants. After the president said those industries complained they were losing longtime workers. Tonight, President Trump says he wants to focus on certain Democratic-run big cities instead, where federal immigration laws are not enforced. The cities are where you really have what's called sanctuary cities, and that's where the people are. I look at New York. I look at Chicago. Gabe Gutierrez joins us tonight from Calgary.

So, Gabe, as this conflict is escalating in the Middle East, we know the president is also making some headlines when it comes to Vladimir Putin as well. Yeah, that's right, Tom. Ukraine is not part of the G7, but its leader, Ukrainian President Zelensky, was invited, and he is scheduled to meet with President Trump tomorrow. Now, this all comes after President Trump today

said that it was a mistake for Russia to have been kicked out of what? was then the G8 back in 2014 after Vladimir Putin illegally annexed Crimea. Tom? All right, Gabe Gutierrez traveling with the president, Gabe. We thank you. And we are back in a moment with the chaos inside of a Manhattan courthouse. Check this out. Two officers stabbed while on the job? The terrifying moments caught on surveillance, why authorities say it was a targeted attack. Plus the Trump organization unveiling its brand new phone plan. What we're learning about the Trump mobile service and what it will cost customers.

and protesters in Europe shooting crowds of tourists with water guns. How it's putting a new spotlight on the hot bust question, has tourism gone too far, or are Europeans complaining too much? Stay with us. We're back now with a terrifying stabbing attack in New York City. Surveillance cameras capturing the moments a man charged at officers, slashing them in the lobby of a Manhattan criminal courthouse. NBC Stephanie Gosk is.

at that courthouse tonight. It happened in seconds. A man lunged at court officers just as the day was beginning in Manhattan criminal court. Surveillance video capturing the terrifying moments. The man appearing to calmly approach the metal detectors and out of nowhere attacked with what looks like a knife. His motive is still unknown. The quick-acting officers wrestled him to the ground but were injured in the process.

The quick-acting officers wrestled him to the ground but were injured in the process. According to court officials, two were stabbed and a third was hurt during the melee. The suspect now in custody, an eyewitness rattled by what she saw. As I was in there, an officer was stabbed. I'm not sure how bad it was. I did see that there might have been a gash on his face. The shocking violence taking place at the same court where just last week Harvey Weinstein was on trial. Last year, President Trump was convicted here in the hush money case.

Stephanie Goss joins us tonight from outside that Manhattan courthouse. Stephanie, you mentioned this happened right outside of the metal detectors. Do we know if the suspect had any intention of trying to get inside or were the officers themselves the targets? Well, you know, like most courts around the country, Tom, this one has those metal detectors right at the front. It's what you go through the second you walk through the doors. Court officials believe that actually it was his intention, or at least it appeared to be his intention, to target those officers. And, you know, the union for those officers are very concerned tonight. They say that this highlights, quote, severe safety deficiencies in the system.

And they think they need changes and possibly more personnel. But when you watch that video, it is remarkable not only how quickly he attacks them, but also how quickly those officers take him down, Tom. Yeah, they were incredibly brave. I'm glad you pointed that out. Stephanie Goss for us tonight. Stephanie, thank you. When Top Story returns major developments in the trial of Sean Diddy Combs,

One juror dismissed as prosecutors show videos for the first time of those infamous freak-offs. And in our health check tonight, demand is still soaring for those popular weight loss drugs. But for many, the price tag is still out of reach how one company is working to change that and that big price. But first, top stories, top moment, and the ultimate Father's Day for U.S. Open winner JJ Spawn. With the difficult conditions at Oakmont, Spawn was the only player to finish under par. He secured his first major championship with one perfect shot, a 64-foot putt. Take a look. Just want to cozy it up.

Don't need to make it. Two putts. Listen to that crowd. And get this, a 34-year-old champ and father of two. off the win after making an emergency trip to CVS at 3am to get medicine for his young daughter who had a stomach bug. Talk about dad of the year hugging his kids there and his wife. Stay with us.

We're back in just a moment. We're back now with the latest in the trial of Sean Diddy Combs, and it's been a dramatic day in court. Juror number six dismissed after he allegedly gave conflicting answers. about where he lives. The man who took his place and his fellow jurors were then shown clips of those so-called freak-offs for the first time. NBC's Chloe Malas was in the courtroom today

and joins us from outside now. Chloe, quite the day in court. In addition to that juror being dismissed, there might be another issue with the juror over conversations he may have had with a colleague. Walk us through everything that's going on with that jury. Tom, this has been so dramatic and it spilled into the weekend.

Colmes' legal team writing a fiery, about 13-page letter to the judge saying that prosecutors, they didn't want to dismiss juror number six because of where he was living in residency issues, that this was racially motivated because he was a black man. The judge having none of that this morning, I was in the courtroom. He seemed annoyed by these allegations. He said this has nothing to do with race. This has to do with this juror's ability to be credible. And for that reason, because he's been inconsistent with his answers on his residency, they had to strike him, and they replaced him. And they replaced him. with juror number one who happens to be a white man but again Combs's legal team saying

that this came down to race and they wanted a mistrial and that was denied and like you said there's another jury issue that's going to be handled tomorrow morning another juror a man he had a conversation with a former colleague potentially about his jury duty right now and that is a huge no-no you know Tom like they can't talk to each other they can't talk to their friends and family and they certainly can't read anything about the case right now so we'll see what happens tomorrow about that. All right, that's good to know there. And then, Chloe, today was the first time jurors were shown videos of those explicit sexual encounters. We've heard so much testimony about. Explain how they were shown to them and what were the reactions?

So the jury, they put on headphones and they have these screen protectors on the screens in front of them. It was turned off the cameras for the rest of the gallery so we couldn't see it. And these are sealed from the media to protect people's identities. But these were videos taken off of Cassie Ventura's laptop that was turned over to prosecutors. They watch several videos and they watch portions of them. These are videos from freak-offs or hotel nights. You've heard about those, these sexual encounters that were drug-fueled with male escorts. But I'm quite shocked to having the fact that we're about six weeks into this trial, Tom, that they're just now getting to watch these videos. I mean, prosecutors, they're about to rest their case on Wednesday.

and then they turn it over to Diddy's side to begin their defense case, which could start as early as Friday. But again, all this testimony about these hotel nights, these freakoffs, and jurors finally getting a chance to see what really goes on in those rooms. Okay, Chloe Malas, good point there. Chloe, we thank you for that. Now at Top Stories News Feed, the doctor charged in connection to Matthew Perry's overdose death. He's expected to plead guilty. Court documents filed today show that Dr. Salvador Placencia, known as Dr. P., will plead guilty. plead guilty in all four charges of the ketamine distribution. Ketamine was the drug that killed the friend's actor. According to medical examiners, Placencia could face up to 40 years

in prison. And a small plane made a crash landing on the roof of an aircraft hangar at a Kansas city airport. Look at this. The two passengers on board managed to walk away with only minor injuries. Luckily, no one was at the hangar at the time of the incident. The cause of this crash, though, is still under investigation. And listen to the moment, police found a six-foot-long alligator roaming around outside a motel in northern Virginia. Dan, that is an alligator. I would bring your dog inside. There's an alligator over here.

That's an alligator for sure. Fairfax County police say they were able to locate the owner of the alligator who told them, get this, they were transporting the animal from New York to a zoo in North Carolina. And if you were wondering, it is illegal to own exotic animals in the state of Virginia, especially at a motel. And children playing on a beach in Florida, Florida's Gulf Coast, stumbling across a World War II-era bomb when it washed ashore. Those children say they thought it was an old scuba tank

touching and taking photos of it before police informed them that it was actually an airdrop bomb. A nearby bomb squad and Air Force officials removed the explosives after determining that it was, in fact, inactive. Pretty incredible on the Gulf side that was found. Okay, the Trump Organization today unveiling a new business venture called Trump Mobile, which will offer both cell phone services and smartphones. Here's what we know, a monthly plan that,

It includes unlimited talk, text, and data will cost $47.45 and $45% per month. An apparent reference to the fact that Trump has served as the 45th and 47th president of the United States. It will also include roadside assistance and telehealth services. The company also announcing it will sell a $400.99 T1 mobile cell phone. All of this, the company says, will be available in September. And the president, son, Eric, and Don Jr., asking that they make the announcement from Trump Tower were 10 years ago today, their father formally launched his first campaign. just the latest example of the family capitalizing on the popularity of the sitting president.

NBC News Business and Data correspondent Brian Chung joins me now. Brian, what more do we know about how this is all going to work? Are there major cell carriers involved in this? And how will this plan compare to others currently on the market? Yeah, Tom, again, the details on this are fairly thin beyond what was advertised in this splashy press conference earlier this morning. But this Trump mobile plan would be priced at a little bit higher than its other competitors when you take a look at other offerings on the market, like a visible and a boost where unlimited service would be somewhere closer to $25 a month. T-Mobile and Spectrum prices are somewhere closer to $30 a month. So yes, that price point is a little bit higher. Although, as you mentioned,

it is largely symbolic because those numbers are referenced to the president's, you know, respective line in terms of the number of presidencies that have been in the White House. Now, when it does come to the features, though, they're hoping that people will shell out a little bit more because of those added features, which again are a bit thin on how they would do that. Things like roadside assistance and telemedicine. Again, we don't really. know exactly what is meant by telemedicine, presumably some sort of plug-in with this mobile service plan where you can then maybe get plug-ins to drug prescriptions. Again, we don't really know at this point in time, but they're promising this as something as alongside they're also

trying to commit to this smartphone, which they say will be released later on this year, Tom. All right. And then, Brian, before you go, the Trump organization saying they're going to manufacture these phones in the U.S., but by many estimates, it costs thousands of dollars to manufacture a smartphone here. So how realistic is that? Yeah, well, and again, this company is promising a smartphone, which will be gold. It will have T1 on the back, a very clearly branded phone for the Trump administration and for President Donald Trump himself. They want that to release in September, but contacts that I have spoken to the industry said it is not really possible to release a phone from scratch, at least as they're also trying to promise that this will be

a phone that would be made entirely in the United States. Among the smartphone makers around the world, there is only one manufacturer in the entire world that assembles in the United States. It's a company called Purism-based in Carlsbad, California. I spoke with them. They said that it took them six years to go from the creation of a phone to actually selling one that's manufactured here in the United States. So again, unclear how this Trump organization will be able to create this phone in that short of a time period.

But again, they're taking pre-orders right now. Where that money goes to, it's unclear. This is just part of a suite of products that the president has branded his own name on things like sneakers, Bibles, guitar, as well, as you recall, in the lead-up into the election as well as, post-presidency with crypto projects as well. I should mention all this part of branding that the president still continues to do while he's in office time. All right, Brian Chunk for us, Brian, thanks for breaking that down for us. Now at Top Stories Health Check and major news tonight

on a steep price drop to one of those popular weight loss drugs, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announcing one of its most prescribed medications, Zeppelbound, will cost a lot less. All approved doses of the medication will be available for about $499 or less a month, regardless of insurance status. This comes as the company behind Wagovi, a competitor to Zepbound, introduced a similar program earlier this year, all of this indicating a major shift in the weight loss medication industry. I want to bring in board-certified endocrinologist,

Dr. Caroline Messert, a good friend, a top story. Doctor, so great to see you. Hi. So nice to see you. I saw this headline. The first thing I thought was, if they can sell it for $4.99, why were they selling it for so much more a few months ago? So I think the real issue is that the pen devices were

so expensive and there was a shortage. So these discounted drugs are actually using vials rather than the actual device. And so since that was the backlog, now that doesn't exist as much. What does this do? Is this sort of a game changer? Is this a market employee? I mean, how do you think this affects people who want the medicine, but more importantly, people who need the medicine? I think this is a game changer. I mean, we have to keep in mind that it's still $49 a month. So it's obviously expensive and prohibitive for a lot of patients. But for so many patients, is the difference between being obese and having diabetes and having sleep apnea and being healthy.

And so patients are really treating it like a necessity. So for my practice, it's been huge. Every time I have you on, you know, we talk about when we'll sort of insurance cover this for people that don't have diabetes, maybe aren't obese, but want to take the medicine because maybe they're heavier than they want to be. Do you think we'll get there anytime soon with insurance?

We are getting there. So now it's getting easier to get covered if you have heart disease. And then if you have sleep apnea, We're hoping that soon, if you have fatty liver, it'll be covered. So, yeah, the number of indications is rapidly expanding. And then when I have you on, I also ask you, you know, we're learning more and more about these medicines.

We're having, like, sort of a longer time period that we're looking at. Any dangers, anything else, any warnings you give to patients for when you talk to people about or is it still just, you know, I don't want to call it a miracle drug, but people that take it obviously swear by it. And we do all that reporting on all the benefits. But I do want to ask you about maybe if there's anything that people should be worried about. Constipation. Yeah.

Still there. still there. So, you know, patients who have underlying constipation, you certainly have to treat that first. But in terms of catastrophic side effects, really very few. Sometimes gallstones, but the whole fear of medullary thyroid cancer in rodents has not panned out in humans. It's really a very safe med with so many benefits. Any other trends you're seeing with this medication? I mean, are people still when they get off it? Are they still gaining the weight back when they come off it? Or are anything, any new breakthroughs lately that you've noticed her trends? Yeah, so there's a lot more microdosing. That's become the new... Microdosing. Okay. So that is like a trendy. Is that recommended or is that? Sure. Oh, it is.

Okay. I mean, it's not FDA approved, but lots of us are doing it. So basically, let's say you've lost all the weight. And now on the lowest possible dose, you're still losing weight and you feel like you're getting too thin. You're getting the typical Ozzympic face. You can do half of the recommended dose. And it's very easy with the vials, which are now the ones that are cheaper.

Okay. So you can do half the dose. You can space out the doses. So that's probably the newest trend with these medications. Nothing dangerous to microdosing osempic. I just want to make sure that. Nothing dangerous. I mean, beyond the regular dangers of these medications, which are very minimal.

But you should still get a medical opinion about those microdocuses. You shouldn't just try to do it yourself, right? Yeah. I mean, although any concerns we'd have with microdosing, we would also have with higher doses. It would just be less. So I'd say it's a pretty safe option. Dr. Messer, always great to see you. Thanks so much for being here.

Coming up, taking on the tourists, the mass protests across Europe this weekend against tourism. Visitors in Barcelona hit with water guns and the strike shutting down. the iconic Louvre Museum in Paris. What does it mean for Americans traveling overseas on vacation? And the missing hiker in India found alive after nine days in the wilderness, how he survived alone and injured in the Himalayan Mountains. Stay with us.

We were back down with some breaking news from the White House. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt confirming that President Trump is coming back tonight from the G7 summit in Canada, citing the conflict in the Middle East as the reason. For more on this, I want to go back to Gabe Gutierrez. Gabe, update us with your new reporting. Hi there, Tom. Well, a lot of fast-moving developments here, as you mentioned, just a few minutes ago. Actually, a few moments after we last spoke with you,

President President announcing that the President was suddenly leaving back to Washington. Now, he is expected to go to two more events later on today. A group photo, it's known as a family photo, with other world leaders. here at the G7 summit in Canada, and then he's expected to head to a dinner. After that, we do expect him in Washington. Now, we're still working to try and find out exactly what led to this. But a short time before the announcement was made, President Trump posted on social media speaking about the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, saying Iran should have signed the deal. I had told them to sign the president wrote. Simply stated, Iran cannot have

a nuclear weapon. I said it over and over again. And then he said, he said, he said, He said, everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran. Certainly, Tom, a lot of questions there, knowing that Tehran is a city of about 10 million people. We're trying to get more information from the White House about what exactly he meant by that. But we're also getting new wire reports that say from the French president Macron saying Americans had made an offer to meet with the Iranians. Now we will see what happens. So certainly, again, fast-moving developments here, some possible diplomacy underway. starting the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.

Okay, Gabe Gutierrez on that breaking news. Gabe, we thank you for that. We want to stay overseas, or head overseas, we should say, with Top Stories Global Watch. At least one person has been killed in a major earthquake that Rock Peru's capital city. Video shows churchgoers fleeing mass at that 5.6 magnitude quake. Look at that. At least five others were injured as the quake shook. Homes damage, roads, and you can see flying debris, even some of that hitting the road.

Four people in Spain sentenced for committing hate crimes. against Real Madrid star, Venetius Jr. The defendants were found guilty of hanging an effigy of the soccer star from a bridge ahead of a match against rival Atlactico Madrid in 2023. Venetius has been outspoken about the racist attacks he has faced since joining the club in 2018. One suspect is facing 15 months in prison, the other three sentenced to two to seven. All have been banned from future games. And a nightmare at the museum, new video of the moment's tourists break,

Swarovsky, Crystal studied art piece in Italy. Look at this. You see the pair sneakily taking photos with the chair at a museum in Verona back in April when the man loses his balance and sits all the way down, breaking it. Look at this. No, shouldn't have done that. The chair was made between 2006 and 2007 and is inspired by a chair painted by Van Gogh. The museum says the chair has been repaired, but that the identity of the couple remains unknown. All right. Staying overseas now, thousands of people taking to the streets again this year and in some cases picking up squirt guns. to protest over tourism in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Locals saying the summer travel crush is making housing scarce and raising prices in the cities they call home. NBC News International correspondent Molly Hunter has this one. Tonight, the most visited museum in the world failing to open due to a spontaneous strike by the Louvre staff,

warning that the home of the Mona Lisa is buckling under the weight of mass tourism, leaving hot, sweaty tourists with tickets in hand waiting outside. It comes just a day after coordinated anti-tourist protests swept across a dozen European cities. As tourists in Barcelona sat down to enjoy tapas or a cold beer on Sunday, they were instead hit with water guns to cool down runaway tourism. We need responsible tourism, not mass tourism, this protester says. tourist Bill Dorsensky was sprayed with a water gun too.

I think if tourism goes away, then there's a lot of money that comes with it. And in Venice, the protests specifically targeted the star-studded wedding of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez scheduled for next week. Campaigners argue mass tourism and specifically the touristification of hotspots forces locals out of the city center and raises the cost of living. It's growing too much, this protester says. Up to a certain point, tourism was fine, but now it's leaving us without homes. Tom, part of the issue is sheer numbers.

So travel experts say there are simply more people traveling now, and those main attractions have stayed the same size. So the Louvre, for example, is just not set up to handle the 8.7 million visitors they get every year. The other factor, travel experts say, is actually Instagram. So suddenly, everyone has access to these do not miss locations that they can geolocate, they can navigate to, they have access to. So suddenly these off the beaten track locations, everyone can go to, and they are overburdened with foot traffic. And these European cities, especially the ones protesting over the weekend, are expecting an even busier summer.

The European Travel Commission reports that European tourism already up nearly 5% compared to last year. Tom? In India tonight, an American hiker recovering in the hospital after surviving for nine days on his own, lost in the Himalayan mountains. NBC's Kathy Park has more on his heroin survival story and his family that never gave up hope. I didn't think anyone's going to come to save me. This is 44-year-old American Samuel Vingrinovich, appearing weak and injured, but remarkably alive, after his family says he endured nine brutal days lost in the Himalayan wilderness of India. surviving on bugs. If I go up the mountain, maybe I see camps.

Yeah. But there was no camps. He's given food as he recounts his desperate search for civilization and sustenance. And then I got thirsty. I had to go back down to the river. His sister Natasha says a harrowing ordeal started on June 6th. Her brother setting out on a hike after telling them he saw the Dalai Lama during an extended visit to India and Nepal. He texted the family saying, I saw him. It was amazing.

Tomorrow I'm going on a two-day track. But that glacial trek at the base of the Himalayan Mountains soon turning into a nightmare when he got separated from the group. He must have fallen. I don't know how long it took him to then start walking on a broken fractured ankle. Indian media reporting a major coordinated search and rescue effort under harsh weather conditions, with police even bringing in drones. We're desperately trying to raise funds to cover urgent search and rescue operations. His family creating a good. fund me account to finance additional search efforts, hiring a helicopter and a private rescue team

from Israel, where Ben Grinovich also has citizenship. He said that he saw the helicopter in this in the sky, but it was too far away. He could see hikers in the distance, but they were too far away. He could see the city in the distance, and that he just followed the river towards the city. Finally, Natasha getting a 4 a.m. phone call on Sunday that he had been found. He was like, dude, I walked nine days and eight bugs. Getting to video chat with him shortly after. What did he look like when you saw him? I saw that his nose is fractured or broken, that he has some kind of discoloration burns on his top of his head,

that there was dried blood on his nostril, that he looked malnourished. But, you know, he was there and he was alive. And with that, Kathy Park joins top. story tonight. So, Kathy, what do we know about the recovery of this hiker who has already survived so much? Yeah, Tom, he still has a long journey ahead of him because according to his sister, he's still in the hospital with several injuries, a broken nose. A pin has to be placed in his ankle, not to mention the mental anguish that he's dealing with now. The plan is for their father to travel to India to meet Sam, reunite with him, but that will take some time. And eventually, the goals they get him

to Florida where the parents currently reside, so they still have a few hurdles ahead of them. Tom. All right, Kathy Park first. Kathy, we thank you for that story. A head on top story tonight from corner store to community hero, the bodega owner, turning good grades into good meals, and now his actions have gone viral. Finally tonight, one New York convenience store manager who is rewarding kids good grades with free food, the gesture that started with a bet between him and a student who was a regular customer has now become an online viral phenomenon. NBC's Sam Brock has that story. Am I seeing this, Malik? Yep. 96, 100, 100, 100. There's something undeniably sweet happening on Staten Island. No, I'm not.

I told you I'll get honor roll. Kids coming in flashing glowing report cards. I got my honor roll. And getting a big boost. Good, let's go. From the man who owns the corner deli, Wael Wali al-Selwe, doling out groceries for good grades, all starting in 2023 with a sixth-grader Zemir, who was trying and trying to make honor roll.

You're the man, Zemir. I was so proud of him, man. I was like, yo, man, go ahead, grab whatever you want. What would Wally tell you? He's like, you know, dream bag. An idea was born. Wally, a father of three whose children are living in Yemen, was initially pang out of his own pocket. But his word of mouth spread, his brother started a go-fund me to help more high achievers.

All kids are smart. They just need someone to believe in them. At first, he said it was mainly chips and sodas. But that gradually changed to all kinds of groceries that families need. For a whole month straight, all I see is kids. The first thing is eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs. The program now formally grades for grabs, giving kids a reason to believe in themselves. If I'm able to change kids' lives, it's my mission to just keep going.

Rock, NBC News, Staten Island. That might just be the best bodega in all of New York City. All right, we thank Sam for that story. We thank you for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way. Top Story is coming to you live from Poiraz, Mexico,

reporting over the skies of Mahaina. Every weeknight, it's your news playlist. Top Story with Tom Yamas, streaming weeknights at seven on NBC News Now.