Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, June 5, 2023

Episode Date: June 6, 2023

Former Vice President Mike Pence officially filing his paperwork to launch his 2024 presidential campaign, the probe into Trump's handling of classified documents reaching a critical moment, D.C. rocked by two sonic booms as fighter jets scrambled to intercept a Cessna that crossed into restricted airspace and Apple unveiling a mixed-reality headset — its first new product in years.

Tonight, Republicans versus Trump battle lines are being drawn as the race for 2024 heats up. Former Vice President Mike Pence officially filing his paperwork to launch his campaign and take on his one-time boss. Pence joining an already crowded field striking early and hard against Trump, why multiple candidates are zeroing in on Trump's friendly relationship with Kim Jong-un, plus the other marquee named expected to make an announcement tomorrow. Also tonight, the probe into Trump's handling of classified documents reaches a critical moment. Lawyers for the former president seem leaving the Department of Justice after meeting with special counsel, Jack Smith. The grand jury set to meet on Wednesday.

Could Trump become the first president to be federally indicted how he's responding on social media tonight? Danger in the sky, D.C. rocked by two sonic booms as fighter jets scrambled to intercept a Cessna that crossed into restricted airspace. the pilot found slumped over in the cockpit before the plane crashed. Tonight, what we're learning about the victims and how this tragedy unfolded. Looking into the future, Apple unveiling a mixed reality headset, its first new product in years, but will it change the game the way the iPod or iPhone did? We'll talk to one reporter who put it to the test and wait until you hear what it costs. Plus, the box bandit, take a look, a Florida man, trying to use a cardboard box as a disguise,

while robbing a phone store, the moment that plan fell apart. And catch of the day, four fishermen sinking in deep water after their boat capsized, the captain nearby who came to their rescue with just minutes to spare. Top story starts right now. And good evening tonight, an already jam-packed Republican primary field is about to get even more crowded. A wide range of candidates throwing their hats, in the ring, united only by one thing, really, and that's their desire to take down former

President Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner so far in this race. In any other era, this would be unheard of, but this is a post-Trump moment in history. So his one-time second-in-command former Vice President, Mike Pence, filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to make his bid for the Oval Office, official, taking on the president he just finished serving. Pence just one of three big names expected to jump in the race this week, Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who was a former confidant to Trump, scheduled to make an announcement tomorrow, then Pence, and then North Dakota Governor Doug Bergam will hold separate events on Wednesday.

Those three will join the seven Republicans who have already declared their candidacy. And as that field grows larger, the jabs at the former president grow sharper. In a moment, you'll hear the new line of attacks coming from all sides. But the person who poses the biggest challenge to the Trump campaign, it could be Trump himself. The former president under investigation for his handling of classified documents after he left the White House. The documents you see here were seized at his Marlago estate last summer. Signs tonight that the investigation may be nearing its end. Trump's lawyers seem leaving the Department of Justice today after meeting with the special counsel overseeing that probe.

The grand jury in that case will meet again this week. Garrett Haik will have more on that in just a moment, but we want to start with NBC's Vaughn Hilliard from the campaign trail and the ever-expanding GOP. field. Tonight, the major move by former vice president, Mike Pence, formally filing his paperwork to run for the White House, pitting him against the frontrunner and his former boss, Donald Trump. My mom, where the Pence is. Pence, along with other Republican hopefuls, gathering in Iowa over the weekend for the annual

roast and ride. I've talked to Mike Pence a few times. I like Mike. He's a good moderate conservative. Pence will be back in the state Wednesday. People can expect we'll be back in Iowa on Wednesday. And a few more times after that? It's entirely possible.

The faithful Trump ally, until he crossed Trump's wishes on January 6th, certifying the election amid rioters chanting to hang Mike Pence. Hand Mike Pence! Now Penn's taking shots at the former president for his recent praising of North Korea's dictator. Trump posting on social media, congratulations to Kim Jong-un. Look, whether it's my former run amade or anyone else,

No one should be praising the dictator in North Korea. It's an uphill battle for Pence as Trump remains the dominant Republican frontrunner for 2024. That was really good. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who just recently announced his own bid, the only candidate anywhere near Trump in the polls, and has been delivering not-so-settle jabs against the man that once endorsed him. We need to dispense with the culture of losing that has beset the Republican Party in recent years. On Friday in South Carolina, poking holes in Trump.

Trump's claim that he can fix the country in six months. Don't let anyone tell you they can do this in 24 hours or in six months or anything like that. This is going to be trench warfare. But Pence will not be alone this week. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said to enter the race tomorrow. The Republican field is growing wide, but the distancing from Trump even wider. We've watched a number of declared candidates and almost declared candidates now who all seem to really not know what to do with them. They kind of cozy up to them.

implodes and that if they're nice to him, that they'll inherit his voters. Back in Iowa, Trump's former U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, also running, unleashing criticism. It's time for a new generational leader. We've got to leave the baggage and the negativity behind. We've got a country to save. One-time Trump voters now undecided as the Republican primary quickly approaches. You've got two candidates. Who are that? Trump and the sentence.

How do you decide between those two? You've got to listen to him. I have not made up my mind at all. What about Donald Trump? I have not made up my mind at all. So you're open-minded that it's somebody that's not Donald Trump? I am. I'm totally open. All right, Vaughn Hillier joins us now live in studio.

So, Vaughn, we saw the polls there. Pence is somewhere in the one percentage, single-digit range. What is his favorability? What do Republican voters think of former Vice President Mike Pence? Right. This is the tough reality for Mike Pence as he jumps into this race. Just two weeks ago, there was a national poll in which Republican voters were asked if there was a candidate that they would not support under any circumstance. And among Republicans, 15% said they'd never support Ron DeSantis.

16% said they would never support Donald Trump. But when the question was posed about Mike Pence, 45% of Republican voters said they would not support Mike Pence under any circumstance. That means in the next eight months before the Iowa caucus, he has that much smaller of a pool of voters to work from. This is going to be really tough for him in these months ahead. Vice President Mike Pence served several terms in Congress, was a governor of Indiana, who's former vice president. He knows how politics works. He has this data. What do you think

he's seen or what do you think he believes that leads him to want to get into this race? Got to remember that candidates are humans. He considered running in 2012 for president. He considered running himself for president in 2016. He decided not to both times. He served for four years alongside Donald Trump, a tough four years. This is his opportunity in his lifetime to run for president. This is the first time since 1940 when John Nance Garner ran against Franklin Delano Roosevelt, though that a vice president is challenging the guy that he once served in the White House with. Von Hilliard with the great history lesson. Vaughn, we appreciate that. Thanks so much. Former President Donald Trump not just battling the growing GOP field. He's also dealing

with his latest legal battle. NBC news reporting that attorneys for former President Trump met with DOJ officials today, including special counsel Jack Smith. This comes as the grand jury investigating the former president's handling of classified documents is expected to meet again this week. NBC News Senior Capitol Hill correspondent Garrett Haig joins us now. Garrick, I know we don't know a whole lot, but walk us through. What do we know about this meeting between former President Trump's attorneys and the DOJ officials, which of course included the special counsel? Well, Donald Trump's attorneys very publicly asked for a meeting with Merrick Garland,

the attorney general. They wanted to complain about some of the process involved in this document's case and to make their own case that their clients should not be charged. It looks like they got half of what they wanted. They met with Jack Smith, the special counsel today, and some other senior DOJ officials were told by a source, but not the attorney general himself. That's probably just as well. It'll be Smith who makes any charging decision here, and it's possible that decision could come soon. We don't know anything about the specifics of the meeting today. But it's not unusual for defense attorneys to come in and try to make one last argument to a special prosecutor or to a U.S. attorney saying don't indict our client. Remember, the grand jury process is like a prosecution without a defense case anywhere happening in it. This is the defense case could have been just entirely that 90-minute meeting that we saw today. I suspect we'll find out soon enough, Tom. And Gary, the former president obviously hasn't been silent.

On the matter, right, he's posting this on truth social. Let's take a look to put on the screen there. After his lawyers left the Justice Department saying this is the greatest witch hunt of all time, we know the grand jury investigating Trump is reconvening this week, right? What does the timeline of events look like? And I know we're sort of guessing at all this, but is there anything more we know about a timeline or what we can expect as we head deeper into the campaign season? Yeah, look, I mean, we can make certain, you know, connections here based on past history.

And it all kind of is related here with the meeting that we saw today, with Trump's attorneys, arguably kind of this is the one chance they're going to get to make that pitch to the senior DOJ officials and to Jack Smith. And with the grand jury coming back after a month or so of not much or any public activity that we've been able to keep track up, that suggests that this investigation could be close to over. But Tom, we went through this all in New York just a few months ago. Our idea of close to over and prosecutor's idea of close to over could be very different things. But you are seeing, by the way, in that Truth Social Post, the very same political strategy from Donald Trump. He wants to say, this is a witch hunt. It's entirely political. I think we're going to hear, according to my

conversations with people close to Trump, the idea that this is all an attempt to sideline him through the Justice Department in ways that his political rivals, Democrat and Republican, have been unable to do successfully so far in this campaign season. So expect to see this become a part of the campaign whenever prosecutors make their final decisions on charging. Garrett Hake, we may be talking about this a lot this week. We'll have to wait and see. We thank you for everything. For more in the state of play for Republicans, I want to bring in our political panel tonight here on Top Story. Amisha Cross, a friend at Top Story. She's a Democratic strategist and former advisor to the Obama campaign. And Kristen

Davidson, Republican strategist and VP at Axiom Strategies. I thank you both ladies for being here tonight. Chris, I'm going to start with you. I want to go back to that conversation I was having with Vaughn Hilliard at the top of the broadcast. Pence followed this paperwork today. As we heard from Vaughn, around 45% of GOP voters saying, never Pence. What do you think Vice President Pence's brand is within the Republican Party right now? Well, thanks for having me.

You know, I think the former vice president, you know, is a good man, and I think he served the country. in the past, but really in the past. And so we see right now we have a number of folks entering this race, really the entire third tier are fighting over, you know, basically to get over 5%. These guys are going to have a hard time making the debate stage. They're going to have a hard time breaking over 5%. This is a two-person race. This is a race between the former president, Donald Trump, and Governor Ronda Santis.

And right now, Governor Ronda Sanis is the one that President Trump is afraid of. And for good reason, we saw it last week in Iowa. Governor DeSantis launched his campaign, saw thousands of people across the state. While the former president barely got 100 people out in Des Moines and didn't reschedule a rally that he had previously canceled. And so the former president has trouble in Iowa while Governor DeSantis is surging there. And these other candidates, they're all good people. They're getting into the race, but they're all going to be fighting over 5%. This is really a two-person race between Trump and DeSantis and DeSantis has momentum.

We're going to get into that a little later in this conversation. Amish, I want to bring you in here. What are Democrats thinking, right? we're seeing so many Republicans enter this race. How do you think the Biden campaign sort of takes a step back and watches what's happening here? They think it's a good thing or a bad thing that all these Republicans are getting in? A good thing, because it showcases what we saw in 2016.

One of the reasons why Donald Trump was able to clear the field in the way he did in 2016 was largely because there were so many Republicans who decided to run. It's basic math at this point. The more Republicans assume that there is a weakness in Donald Trump, be it because of the court cases and everything that. he's seemingly running away from with his legal battles, the more that they jump in. But none of those legal battles or legal woes have, quite frankly, made any type of dent in his popularity. He's still tracking. He's still the strongest candidate in the race. And yes,

we still have ways to go between now and election day. But barring anything significant changing, the name of the game right now for the Republican Party is Donald Trump. And Joe Biden has run against Donald Trump before, not only as defeating him as president, now twice, but also in the midterms. We saw the midterms and, you know, the wins that Joe Biden and the Democrats made irrespective to what everybody thought would be a red wave. So I think that they know what the playbook is for Donald Trump. It has always been the same if he is nothing but consistent. And Democrats are ready for that. Kristen, you know, we've talked about this at length on this show, right? If more Republicans

join in, it only helps former President Trump. And Amisha's brought up that point as well. But I got to tell you, and I know we're still very early, all these candidates are getting in. You mentioned this at the top of your comments. They're polling at the single digits, right? And you're right, Governor DeSantis is the only person so far who's entered the race, who's showing any real poll numbers. So my question is, I think there is a lane for an anti-Trump candidate as long as they can gain some steam. The question is, will that be Governor DeSantis?

Will it be former Governor Chris Christie? What do you think about him entering the race? Because I've got to be honest, if there's anybody who's really gone after former President Trump in a real way, it's the former New Jersey governor. Sure. Well, I think the biggest mistake that folks are going to make about this race and this primary is comparing it to 2016. This is going to be a race like no other. You basically have an incumbent president who hasn't been able to get over, you know, roughly 25 percent of the endorsements he had when he was running for reelection in 2020, who is stumbling in

the first primary state of Iowa, who clearly is vulnerable as the incumbent. And you have a surgent candidate in Governor Ron DeSantis, who is the only one. one the former president is afraid of. There's a reason why the former president never mentions any other candidate, that he only talks about and is obsessed with Ronda Santis, is because Ronda Santis is the future. And this isn't a difference between an anti-Trump candidate or not. This is about who's going to be the candidate of the future. And Ronda Sanis has shown that he will, and this is not just taking people, getting their

vote of people who don't like the former president. There are so many people we heard across Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina and Nevada just over the last few days who said they really like the former president. They think he was the best president of their lifetime. But they're ready for the next chapter. And Ron Sanders is offering that. But I got to tell you something, you know, and I want to go back to 2016 because there was a candidate named Jeb Bush, who a lot of established for Republicans were so excited about, who raised all this money, who was the serious candidate, right? Who got up on the stage with Donald Trump and got destroyed?

What leads you to believe that Governor DeSantis can go toe to toe with former President Trump if President Trump actually gets on the debate stage? Well, because we've seen him do it. We've seen Governor Ronda Santis on the debate stage. Some of the highlights of his electoral career, both in Congress and running for governor, he's been a star on the debate stage. And so I think that's why. I got to push back a little bit on that. He's not, I mean, maybe to his base, he's a bit of a start on debate stage.

He's not known for his master of his debate skills. I mean, he had some lines in his last debate. I remember he was getting criticized that they sound like they were a little too canned. But you feel comfortable that if he were to debate the former president one-on-one, he would be okay? Absolutely. 100 percent. I mean, just look how the governor handled a heckler at one of his events in South Carolina two days ago.

He shut it down. He stood up for it because Ron DeSantis takes on fights so the former president has not. He has not taken on this woke cultural fight that we're facing right now. He's Trump sided with Disney while Ronnas took Disney on. So there is a lot there, a lot of battles that the governor is stronger on than the former president. And I don't even know if the former president will join the debate. He canceled a rally.

He said he wasn't sure if he was going to join the debate. I don't know if he's going to sign those pledges. And I think it's because he's scared because he knows that Ronda Santis is the only one that can take him on on the debate stage. We've seen the other candidates. We've seen some of the debate with the former president. And it's very entertaining, but they aren't offering a new chapter the way that Ron DeSantis is.

And the difference between 2016 and now is that in 2016, no one really knew, no one really saw what was happening on the ground, this MAGA movement that was developing. No one thought that the former president could win. Everyone thought they could make their way to the end. That's why you saw Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and John Kasich all stick it out. That's similar to what's happening today, except right now what people are missing in the media is that they aren't seeing the movement happening behind Governor Ronda Santis. And so I think you'll see shortly after Iowa there will be a consolidation here to the field because so many people will want that next chapter and you'll see people drop out of the race a lot sooner than the- Amisha, I want to turn to the Democrats and President Biden.

It's been 40 days since he announced, I don't think he's had a single campaign event. What's going on? Is this what we should expect? Absolutely not. This president is focused on, well, currently he's also a sitting president, so he's focused on the work of the presidency. But in addition to that, he has a slew of fundraisers that he's going to be hosting, one of them in my hometown in Chicago, with Governor Pritzker at the state of Illinois.

And he's got several others that are lined up. I think that what he is focused on right now is ensuring that America's economy reaches its full potential, ensuring that, you know, we understand what his job creation is, what it does, and how it has affected people's everyday lives. I think that this president is hard at work, doing the work of the American people. And that's one of the things that has always been his priority. But when it comes to getting out on the campaign trail, we see that that schedule is revving up. But right now, again, he is very focused.

We just saw the debt-sealing negotiations basically wrap up just a few days ago. He's focused on the work of the American people. Amishu, you worried at all about RFK Jr. He seems to be getting some buzz. Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, I think just endorsed him. He's getting a lot of media coverage. People are wondering if he could be the insurgent candidate on the Democratic side. Should President Biden in his campaign be worried at all about this candidacy?

Absolutely not. They don't think that any Democratic voters or moderate voters or any middle of the road voters are looking at Jack Dorsey in regards to who they should follow when they go to the polls next November. The interesting thing here is that we keep seeing these sideline candidates, candidates who aren't really able to get any traction. Dr. Cornel West announced that he was going to run today, as well. I would probably say that Kennedy is probably the least likely and most, more, less fashionable Kennedy that we've ever seen run for anything. Somebody who's an anti-vaxxer,

someone who has these cultural beliefs that are outside of lockstep with not only the Democratic Party, but most people with common sense, I don't see him being a formidable challenger at all. Okay. Kristen Davidson, Amisha, we thank you so much for joining Top Story tonight. You guys are a great guest. I'm sure we're going to have you back on very soon. I want to turn now to the political tensions over immigration. Today, a flight carrying 20 migrants from South America, landing in Sacramento, California. This coming just days after more than a dozen migrants were flown and left at a Sacramento church. California officials now opening an investigation, alleging it was all coordinated by Florida's government. Valerie Castro has more.

Tonight, back-to-back flights carrying South American migrants touching down in California's state capital, and state officials say it was all orchestrated by the state of Florida. The first flight arriving over the weekend carrying 16 migrants in total that were later dropped off on the doorsteps of a Sacramento church building. They're in shock. I think they're very exhausted. They were mostly young men carrying only backpacks ranging in age from 18 to their mid-20s from Colombia and Venezuela. California's Attorney General quickly launching a probe into who could have organized the trip saying that some were carrying government documentation from Florida, showing they were moved under Florida's emergency management division, all part of the state's

migrant relocation program. The contractor helping coordinate the flights is the charter company Virtal Systems, also behind the second flight that landed in Sacramento today, carrying 20 migrants. Both Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Virtal Systems have not responded to NBC's requests for comment. It's called their voluntary transportation program, and they've hired virtual systems. The state of Florida has to identify migrants in Texas, not in Florida, in Texas, and move them to other states. The migrants telling local aid groups they were approached by individuals

outside a processing center in El Paso and offered help finding jobs. They were then taken to New Mexico and then boarded the private charter plane unaware they would end up in California, according to California Governor Gavin Newsom who met with the group. Newsom later tweeting a picture

of the California state code that outlines kidnapping saying, Ron DeSantis, you small pathetic man, this isn't Martha's Vineyard. Kidnapping charges? It's potentially illegal. It could violate criminal laws. It could violate civil laws. So we're continuing our investigation. We'll get to the bottom of that. We want accountability. Attorneys from lawyers for civil rights now on the ground in Sacramento looking into the situation on the migrants' behalf. Certainly there is a range of possible consequences and liability for anyone who undertakes this type of conduct, whether it's government officials or private actors like the plane company in this instance.

Virtual systems also facilitated the transportation of some 50 migrants last summer from Texas to Martha's Vineyard at the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis. The move costing the state around $1.5 million. DeSantis now named as a defendant in a civil class action lawsuit filed on behalf of the Martha's Vineyard migrants claiming they were tricked. DeSantis insisting the migrants chose to board the flight to the island. It was clearly voluntary and all the other nonsense you're hearing is just not true. and why wouldn't they want to go, given where they were? All right, Valerie Castro joins us now live in studio. So Valerie, I guess my question to use,

if California officials are blaming the Florida state government for this, how is that funding working? So earlier this year, Governor Nassantis passed legislation to the tune of $12 million to fund these relocations, and it was backed by state GOP lawmakers and specifies in the legislation that migrants can be relocated from anywhere in the country. So, you know, while we're talking about immigration here,

there's been some high-profile resignations over the last week in the Biden administration concerning immigration. Do we know what's going on? So just last week, the Chief of U.S. Border Patrol, Raul Ortiz, retired after three decades. He and Johnson were tasked with leading their departments through what became a chaotic end to Title 42. The numbers at the border have dropped in the last couple of weeks, but those two empty seats are now a hole in the Biden administration that needs to be filled. And, Tom, it's unclear who would fill either of those spots. Okay. Valerie, we appreciate that. Thank you. Now, to an investigation tonight is that deadly plane crash in Virginia.

Sonic booms rocking the D.C. area after military fighter jets were launched to follow a private plane in restricted airspace. But the pilot of the private plane was seen slumped over in the cockpit before the aircraft crashed. Tom Costello has more. In a remote, thick Virginia forest, investigators are piecing through the decimated remains of that private citation jet that apparently ran out of fuel and crashed, as Air Force fighter jets watched unable to help. Just prior to the incident, the pilot was slumped over. Family members tell NBC New York that Adina Azarian, a prominent real estate broker, was on board with her two-year-old daughter, Aria.

Their nanny and the pilot headed for the Hamptons. We're just devastated. You have to tell people every day that you love them. It started at 1.13 p.m. Sunday as the plane left Tennessee headed for Long Island, New York. But at 128, just 15 minutes later, the veteran pilot, stopped responding to air traffic control commands. The plane continued north all the way to Long Island before doing a U-turn on heading back towards Tennessee, still failing to respond to controllers. Number 611, Victor Goss, contact, Washington Center, 127.4902 acknowledged. Six Air Force

fighter jets were scrambled along the east coast. As the plane approached restricted DC airspace, two F-16s were authorized to go supersonic. They had to break the sound barrier to get up the speed to get to get to the aircraft in question. Their twin booms, startling residents and pets on the ground. As they fired flares, then flew straight at the citation, calling the pilot. This is armed air defense fighter. You have been intercepted. They quickly saw the pilot was slumped over and unresponsive as his plane continue flying into Virginia where it crashed, having traveled 300 miles without radio communication.

The NTSB is considering whether a sudden loss of cabin air pressure could have incapacitated everyone on board. Just as golf legend Payne Stewart and five others were killed in 1999, when their plane lost cabin pressure, then crashed in South Dakota. You have a matter of seconds to get your oxygen mask on or you will not be able to breathe. It could be anywhere from a matter of 15 seconds, up to a minute, to get that mask on. And if you don't, you will indeed pass out. All right, Tom Costello joins us tonight from Washington. Tom, I guess the big mystery is right.

How does this thing make a U-turn if the pilot appears to be unconscious at the time? Yeah, incapacitated. That's the question I've been asking investigators. Here's one leading theory. It's only a theory. The theory is that the pilot pre-programmed the officer. as he left Tennessee to go on to Long Island, and then once at Long Island, turn around and come back to Tennessee.

And so when the plane flying on its own, the pilot incapacitated, made its way to Long Island, it hit what they call a waypoint. That was the point that the autopilot decided, okay, time to go back to the next destination, and that was back to Tennessee, back south again. And I know from your reporting, sometimes when you're inside the cabin and you're flying in an airplane, at times the loss of cabin pressure can be hard to take. tell the symptoms explain. Well, first of all, they should have alarms going off inside the cockpit if you lose cabin pressure. But the immediate effects are you get a headache very quickly. You get

nauseated, your fingers start to tingle, and you get confused. That's a bad state for a pilot. And if it continues, literally 45 seconds or less, you can lose consciousness. So there's a lot of obviously questions that we don't have answered yet. Will we ever get to the bottom of this investigation? I think from your reporting also, there's not necessarily a black box in these types of planes? Yeah, the NTSB says that this plane was not required to have a black box. They're not sure whether it had one anyway. They have to check on that. They're also hoping that maybe other avionics on board might provide a clue. The bottom line here is that the remains are so charred and so destroyed in that Virginia forest, it'll be difficult. But I talked to one of

the lead NTSB investigators today. He said, we'll get to the bottom of it. It largely may be supposition, but we'll get to the bottom of it. Okay, Tom Costello. We think. Thank you for that. Heading overseas now in another close call between the U.S. and China. New video showing a Chinese warship nearly colliding with an American Navy destroyer over the weekend. The incident coming amid months of escalating tension over Taiwan, here's Janice Mackie for air. Tonight, tension mounting between the U.S. and China after another close call, this time in the Taiwan Strait. They want us to stop flying and sailing and operating in support of international law. Not going to happen.

releasing this video, showing a Chinese warship nearly colliding with an American destroyer, coming within 150 yards of it, forcing the ship to slow down to avoid a crash. The encounter happened Saturday during a joint military drill with the Canadian frigate. But it was in Singapore, where the incident boiled over, with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and China's Minister of Defense Li Shang-Fu at the same security conference. and traded Barb's over provocation. Secretary Austin accused the People's Liberation Army or PLA of being unsafe. Accidents can happen that could cause things to spiral out of control.

Lee telling the U.S., the best way to avoid problems here is to, quote, mind your own business. As the PLA modernizes and as it expands, it's able to conduct more intercept so they become more normal. It's happening more often. Just last week over the South China Sea, a Chinese fighter jet flew across the nose of an American surveillance plane. And earlier this year, NBC News was on board a U.S. Navy aircraft when it was intercepted by a Chinese jet that flew 500 feet off the wing for over an hour. U.S. China relations have hit new lows since the U.S. shot down that Chinese balloon earlier this year. China says these encounters are justified to safeguard and safeguarded. sovereignty in what is a deepening rivalry with the U.S. in Asia. Tom? Oh, hey, Janice Mackie

Freyer. Still ahead tonight. A major update in the case of a six-year-old who was shot his teacher in Virginia. The boy's mother now facing federal charges. The two counts just handed down, we'll explain. Plus, Prince Harry reprimanded by the judge overseeing his phone hacking case, why he's being called out for not showing up. And the box banded, a man attempting to rob a cell phone store, you see it here, using a cardboard box to hide his identity. The moment that plan, well, it fell apart. Top story is just getting started on this Monday night. All right, we're back down with Prince Harry's lawsuit against newspapers for allegedly hacking into his phone, but it was the Duke of Sussex who was reprimanded by the judge today

after he was a no-show on the first day of trial. The prince expected to take the stand tomorrow and give historic testimony. Josh Letterman has a story. Tonight, Prince Harry getting blasted by the judge after being a no-show in the opening day of his trial, suing newspapers for allegedly hacking his phone and violating his privacy. In Harry's absence, the judge reprimanding his lawyer. Although the prince will testify tomorrow, Judge Sir Timothy Fancourt said he was surprised Harry wasn't there today and argued the first witness should have been able to take the stand if there was time. Harry's lawyer, David Sherbourne, explaining he wasn't in court because he was attending his daughter

Lilibate's second birthday party in Los Angeles. Harry detailed the negative role the press played throughout his life in his autobiography, Spare. My existence was just fun and games to these people. I wasn't a human being to them. I wasn't a 14-year-old boy hanging on by his fingernails. I was a cartoon character. The prince's testimony tomorrow set to make history, as Harry will be the first royal to take the stand

in over 100 years. Prince Harry and others are suing Mirror Group newspapers over alleged unlawful information gathering. The mirror's attorneys say Harry is wasting the court's time. The case involves 148 articles published between 1996 and 2010 that revealed information about Harry's personal life that he claims was obtained illegally. Harry's lawyers detailing in court the lengths the publisher and journalists went to

in order to obtain private information, including they, They say phone hacking, gaining information by deception, and the use of private investigators. Sherbourne saying no aspect of the young prince's life was safe from press intrusion. And details of his relationship with ex-girlfriend Chelsea Davy were all revealed and picked apart by the three mirror group titles. I put the chances at 50-50, maybe 60-40 I'd ever see Charles again. Odds were, the press would cost me another person I cared about. Lawyers for MGM, categorically rejecting Harry's allegations, saying there is no. evidence that any mobile phone owned or used by the Duke of Sussex was hacked on even one occasion.

MGM's parent company, Reach and Reach, has apologized for one instance where the Sunday People newspaper unlawfully sought information about Harry, but has denied all other claims. Harry's allegations against the press evoking memories of the troubles faced by his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car accident while being chased by the paparazzi. I've been told that perhaps chased Mommy, that they'd hunted her like a pack of of wild dogs. I hadn't been aware before this moment that the last thing mummy saw on this earth was a flashbulb. Prince Harry now said to appear in court tomorrow for his historic testimony and could face up to a day and a half of cross-examination from MGM's lawyer. Tom, this case is

casting a spotlight on very uncomfortable issues for the royal family. And many here in the UK are asking whether Harry will come to regret the deeply personal questions he's going to have to answer an open court. But Harry has said changing the media's behavior is his life's work, in large part, because of what happened to his mother. Tom? Okay. Josh Letterman Forrest. Josh, we appreciate that. When we come back, a tragic update from Iowa.

The bodies of the remaining missing residents found a week after a building collapsed in Davenport. The sweeping lawsuit just filed against the building's owner and the city. All right, we are back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with an update on the building collapse in Davenport, Iowa. Here it is. The bodies of three people who were previously unaccounted for have been found inside the wreckage. Authorities say they do not believe any more people are missing. But a lawsuit has been filed today against the building's owner, the city of Davenport, and building workers alleging they failed to act on known safety issues and kept residents in danger. Okay, another update tonight of Virginia Mother, now face. facing federal gun charges after her six-year-old son shot his teacher.

You may remember this case. Federal charging documents alleged Deja Taylor. You see her here, lied about marijuana use when purchasing a handgun last year. She's also facing state charges after her six-year-old son managed to get access to her loaded handgun and then shot his teacher inside of a classroom in Newport News back in January. Taylor is expected to plead guilty to the federal charges as part of some type of deal. And in Florida, you won't believe this one. A man caught on camera stealing from a phone repair store with an unusual disguise. Surveillance video shows the suspect with a cardboard box on his head, breaking the glass at a store in Miami Gardens, taking off with 19 iPhones and $8,000 in cash.

However, his disguise did fall off eventually, and police were able to identify the suspect and later arrest him. He faces numerous charges, including grand theft and burglary. Okay, tonight we have an NBC news investigation into human trafficking in the illicit marijuana industry. NBC's Jacob Soberoff reports that a sophisticated international money laundering partnership may be to blame with deadly consequences. It's early on the morning in Riverside County, California. These sheriff's deputies are about to execute a dozen search warrants on residential homes. They say they're going to find illegal marijuana grows there and victims of human trafficking working on those grows. But first, they're going to go after the leader of the aisle.

operation. Is this person a mid-level operator, Kingpin Mastermind? I would say this is a mid-level operator. We believe that the people that are ultimately in control are likely in China. What did you guys find in there? We found in there? We found several documents that ultimately link these suspects living in this home to several of the other locations that we've been investigating. The couple's arrested and deputies focus on the organized crime ring, they say this grow appears to be a part of. We don't know how large this organization is, but we do believe that it is global to some extent. If it is so big, how come you guys are out here alone? Where's the federal government? Where is the DEA? That's a great question. That's a great question.

To push for answers, we met Bill Bodner, DEA's special agent in charge of Los Angeles, for an exclusive interview. In our reporting, we've seen Chinese nationals involved in the illicit cannabis trade. The law enforcement that we've been talking to says that they believe that the bosses of those operations are back in China. How is that connected to what you're seeing? The Chinese criminal organizations have such a desire for U.S. dollars in cash that they're getting into a variety of criminal enterprises to create that cash. And I'm not surprised to hear that them running cannabis grows. It's generating cash that they're then using to accomplish capital flight out of China. In other words, the DEA says this form of organized crime is one that extends far beyond black

market cannabis and is rooted in a desire for Chinese nationals in the U.S. to get their money out of China due to recent restrictions and how much they can take out of the country. A U.S. Treasury official tells NBC News that Chinese criminal organizations are operating in the U.S. now working with Mexican cartels by helping them launder money made from meth, fentanyl, and other drugs. They do so by loaning out the cartels dollars to unsuspecting Chinese people living in America. These criminal organizations are then repaid in Chinese currency back in China, and the money launderers buy Chinese products and have them shipped to Mexico, where they're sold and give that money in pesos back to the cartels. In the end, no money actually crosses international borders,

and the Treasury Department says the dirty dollars are, quote, disappearing into thin air. The DEA says instead of products like the clothes and appliances that were once widely available here in L.A.'s wholesale district, the products money launderers are sending from China to Mexico are deadly. Guess which product is very available in China that's not available here at all? Precursor chemicals. It was the synthetic drug explosion in 2015 and 2016. When this capital flight model started, precursor chemical, were used as a way to transfer wealth. In Mexico, the precursors are made into meth and fentanyl.

Synthetic drugs that have caused U.S. overdose deaths to more than double since 2015. Hey, Sinaloa cartel, let me introduce you to Chinese organized crime. That's what happened. And by working together, they've been able to get millions, if not billions, of dollars out of China into the United States, and they've been able to use a synthetic drug trade to do it. For you in the DEA, how do you go after stopping this from happening?

Our focus is 100% Cinelloa cartel, halisca, new generation cartel. And it's because of this synthetic drug trade. It's like nothing we've seen before. Until then, Mexican cartels and Chinese organized crime continue to use the United States as their middleman, with no end in sight. All right, Jacob Soberoff joins us now from Los Angeles. So, Jacob, we saw in your piece there. You spoke to Bill Bodner from the DEA about their greatest concerns.

Why is this all happening now? Because it does seem sort of confusing. It's a terrific question, Tom, and the short answer is capital flight out of China, as the special agent in charge, Mr. Bodner told me. Around 2015 and 2016, China placed limits on the amount of currency that a Chinese national could take out of China, including to here in the United States. So one way around that is bringing your money out of China in a sophisticated money laundering scheme, which exactly is what we're looking at here. And what the Chinese organized crime and Mexican cartels have figured out is by getting together and essentially fueling the opioid and meth sales here in the United States, Chinese nationals can take vast amounts of money out of China and bring it to the United States out of that gaze of the Chinese government in order to circumvent those restrictions. And then the money laundering happens how exactly?

Because I know there's a transfer of products. It goes through China, the U.S. Mexico. Go. Couriers, again, is the short answer. And that means that money is being transferred within each of these countries inside the United States, inside Mexico, and inside of China. But none of that money actually ever crosses international borders. So there will be people. And the U.S. government has not laid this out in detail. It's something that we're continuing to investigate. The U.S. government has not laid out, excuse me, Tom, how it looks. But what we know is that there are individual couriers in the United States. States in Mexico and China, actually moving the physical money. But because of those transfers, the way that this works, it doesn't actually cross international borders, which is making it so hard to trace. Jacob, sober off for us tonight. Jacob, we appreciate it. Not at Top Stories Global Watch and new details on that catastrophic train collision in India. Railway officials saying a preliminary investigation found an error in the electronic signaling system let a passenger train to change tracks leading to the three-way train collision. At least 275 people died.

The country's deadliest train crash in more than two decades, authorities will continue to investigate if the error was human or technical. We go to Haiti now where a flooding emergency is causing widespread devastation. New video shows roads turned into rushing brown rivers about 18 miles outside of Port-au-Prince. Authorities saying at least 42 people have died and dozens have been injured, but several people are still missing. Nearly 1,400 homes have been flooded, forcing people across the country to evacuate. the World Food Program reporting the greatest damage in Porter Prince at Haiti's Western region. Okay, and a deadly conflict on the usually peaceful border between Egypt and Israel. Israel's military saying two of its soldiers were shot and killed by an Egyptian security services member who was crossing through the border fence.

The Israeli Prime Minister calling the act a terrorist attack demanding a joint investigation with Egypt. Egyptian officials say they are working with Israel to figure out exactly what happened. Okay, coming up, Apple's new product launch, a virtual reality headset. We'll show you what it can do, how much it costs, but will it be Apple's next breakout product? That's next. We're back now with a virtual reality check, Apple unveiling its groundbreaking AR headset during the Worldwide Developers Conference in California. NBC's Jake Ward was there and walks us through the product's features and what customers can expect for the massive price tag. The wait is finally over.

Introducing Apple Vision Pro. Apple revealing a mixed reality headset for its first new product in years. You can see, hear, and interact with digital content, just like it's in your physical space. This is what it looks like. When Steve Jobs revealed the iPhone back in 2007, Apple went on to change our lives, putting social media at our fingertips and upending the music business. It released the iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, but the company that, has been looking for something as transformative as the iPhone for more than a decade. Today, announcing a $3,500 headset.

We believe Apple Vision Pro is a revolutionary product. The Vision Pro offering life-size video calls, life-like app experiences, and the ability to capture and watch multidimensional videos. Apple now rivals with meta and Google in this space. Mark Zuckerberg renamed his company, the market leader, in honor of his virtual reality ambitions, and released a new VR headset last week. But the market doesn't really exist yet.

While Apple sells more than 200 million iPhones each year, fewer than 9 million headsets have been sold by any company. The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern, a contributor for NBC News, was among the first to test drive Apple's new headset available to U.S. customers early 2024. In comparison to other VR headsets out there, this thing is very sleek. It is very comfortable to wear. But that is in comparison to what are some pretty clunky, what I call nerd helmets. The big question I had when I was using it is, what are going to be the killer apps of this thing, right?

And they did show me a few, the fact that I could FaceTime with someone, and it felt like they were there, and it wasn't actually them. But it was really kind of a 3D version of this person. The company known for inventing new categories, fighting to dominate one that hasn't quite materialized, at least not yet. Jacob, joins us tonight from Cupertino. So, Jacob, I'm going to play devil's advocate here, right? So the question would be, why does a headset, why does Apple want to get into the business? of a headset if an audience doesn't really exist there. I would argue Apple tends to invent products sometimes, and the audience follows. Do you think that's what's going to happen here?

Well, that certainly seems to be their ambition here, Tom. We are looking at a company, you know, that launched a million other companies by virtue of a single product, and that was the iPhone. When that thing came out in 2007, we saw industry after industry transformed by it to the point where it went from being a sort of status symbol to now being the way that we board planes and meet loved ones. It is a, you know, a staple of the logistics of our lives. I think Apple is looking for that kind of potential out of an entirely new product category. And that's why they're going after this particular product category, the first in many, many years, Tom. You know, Jacob, now that I have kids and also just, I guess, I guess friends in general that are getting

older, I've noticed the phone as such, it's transformed people, right? They've become, I don't know if I use the word addicted, but it's become a companion to many people, right? It's no longer just a way to call or communicate with others. It's a way that just it's part of your life. Do you see this new headset sort of doing the same thing? I mean, does it have features where people would just sort of sit down and veg out and that's what they're doing? Well, it is interesting that you raise it. I think it's a very interesting point you're making.

I mean, we know that the science, right, clinical science has shown increasingly that, you know, the problem with technology right now is more having to do with being a little too immersive. The problem is not, you know, that it's not immersive enough. And so what is this a solution to? It's not entirely clear. Certainly immersion is the word of the day. In theory, this will give you the experience of watching a movie on a 100-foot screen or connecting with someone in a life-size virtual environment

or, you know, even photographing, you know, filming your children in such a way that you can visit them in 3D later on. This is all about immersion. And I think it has far more to do with trying to invent a new problem. product category, one in which all sorts of new industries can, in theory, be launched than it does with the growing realization of just how much trouble we all got into with the last round of technology we all enjoyed, Tom. I'm just thinking about being immersed in the top story, watching on a 100-foot screen, watching this conversation, being in the middle of it. Jake Ward, thanks so much, man. We appreciate it. Coming up, the capsized rescue. Have you heard

of Captain Bobby? It's pretty famous in his fishing grounds, and the water is where he fishes off New Jersey. He came across something pretty incredible. He rescued a bunch of other fishermen. You won't believe what he did right after he rescued these guys. Stay with us. You'll see it right for this break. Finally tonight, rescue at sea, a fishing vessel capsizing off the coast of New Jersey, leaving four fishermen in the water without Life Fest until another charter boat, also a fishing boat, came by and rescued them. And you won't believe what happened after these men were pulled from the water. Yeah, he's in the water.

There's a guy in the water. Off the New Jersey coast, an urgent call for help. Yeah, he's got to hold on, but the boat is going to go down. A small fishing vessel capsizing Sunday morning, and the crew left struggling in the water. I mean, that boat went down the blink of an eye, and all the life jackets were down in the cabin where they couldn't get them. Thankfully, a packed fishing charter boat was anchored nearby. Anybody else?

But with the Coast Guard more than an hour away, Captain Bobby Quinn and his crew jumped into action. The crew grabbed the man overboard ladder. We put it where I thought it was the best spot to grab them. And one by one, we started getting each guy back into the boat right away. It was a race to get them as fast as we could out of watering it to the big boat here. Once all four men were safely on board, Captain Quinn had a recovery plan all his own. The coast car goes, well, it seems like you got everything under control. What are you going to do? I go, well, I'm going to dry him off. I'm giving some food, something to drink, and I'm going to give him fishing rides and let him fish the rest of the day. They're like, you're kidding, right? I go, absolutely not.

What could have been a tragedy, luckily ending as a fishing trip with some new friends. I'm just glad nobody got hurt because if it was another, they were in that water for another five or ten minutes, I think it could have turned a lot differently. We thank Stephen Romo for that story, and we thank you for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamas here in New York. Thanks so much for watching. But stay right there. More news on the way.