Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, May 18, 2026

Episode Date: May 19, 2026

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

Breaking news tonight, the deadly shooting rampage at Islamic Center in San Diego, two teenage shooters storming the facility, children inside the building, the tragedy being investigated now as a hate crime. At least three killed after two gunmen charged the mosque and school. Kids rushed to safety by officers in tactical gear. SWAT teams swarming the area. Both teenage shooters are dead. Our new reporting on this developing situation. Also breaking right now evacuations from a fast-moving wildfire. just outside of LA, firefighters racing to save neighborhoods, plus the tornado emergency, violent twisters, demolishing homes, and the threat is far from over. Bill Cairns timing it out. This just in, the police detective at the center of the O.J. Simpson case has died. What we're learning about Mark Furman's death. The crucial ruling in the Luigi Mangione case

over the key evidence found in his backpack, including his gun and notebook, which can be admitted at trial. Americans detained for breaking into the zoo enclosure for the viral sensation, punch the monkey. What's behind this stunt? After months of delays, the Trump mobile phone is here. Our reporter getting a firsthand look, testing it out himself, what he discovered, and bot banned the humanoid robot taking flight, how Southwest is changing its policy after this video went viral. Plus, new Ebola outbreak in American testing positive for the deadly virus, what you use.

need to know. Top story. Starts right now. And good evening. We come on the air with breaking news out of California. At least three people killed in a shooting rampage at the Islamic Center of San Diego. At this hour, police investigating the attack as a hate crime. Police say at around 1140 a.m., two teenagers opened fire. Three members of the Islamic Center killed, including a security guard. Officials say that two suspects, a 17 and 19-year-old, died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, so at least five dead right now. Footage shows the frantic moments. Children were rushed out of the building in lines, holding hands.

This Islamic Center also has a school for kids from kindergarten through third grade. All of those children are safe tonight. The shooting triggering a massive police response, the FBI, SWAT teams in San Diego police, rushing to the scene, that attack taking place in the heart of San Diego. And we know it comes at the start of a Muslim holiday. The police chief calling it every community. worst nightmare. Our Morgan Chesky is live at the scene and leads us off. Police and SWAT teams responding to the Islamic Center of San Diego around 1143 this morning

to a deadly shooting. Multiple victims. Shooters are not in custody. Within four minutes, officers arrived on scene and observed immediately what appeared to be deceased victims out in front. Police with guns drawn approaching the building, great school children at a school inside, rushed out hand in hand. Officers began going classroom by classroom to secure the building. They did have to breach doors to get into all of the different rooms,

extremely chaotic. One of the victims in front of the building, a security guard seen on the ground lying in a pool of blood. Witness is describing a confrontation with the gunman. Supposedly someone walked up, showed a weapon to the security guard, security guard pulled his weapon,

they started firing. Tonight, police say that security guard prevented an even worse tragedy. One of the deceased is a security guard that works there, and I think played a pivotal role in assisting from this being much worse. Police tonight describing the suspects as two teenagers, both male ages 17 and 19, found dead in a vehicle off-site. The suspects at this point appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. There were no officers involved in firing their weapons. And officers describing another scene two blocks away, where the suspects apparently started firing at a landscaper.

There was a landscaper that was doing his work that was shot at, and fortunately, was not hit. The shooter's identities and potential motives yet to be released. We are considering this a hate crime. Tonight, this message from the mayor. I want to assure our Muslim community that we will do everything. it takes to make sure that you can feel safe in this city. Morgan Chesky joins us tonight from the scene in San Diego. So Morgan, we know there are people who were also injured in the shooting but survived?

Yeah, Tom, that's right. We know an unknown number of people were taken from the Islamic Center behind me to nearby hospitals where they are currently being treated. No word yet as of this point in time, though, on their current conditions here. And then Morgan, while we have you there, we're also learning new information about some writings found in the suspect's car? Yeah, Tom, we are. And authorities said that they were able to locate those two deceased gunmen a couple blocks away from the Islamic Center. Upon closer examination of that vehicle,

according to senior law enforcement officials, they were able to find writings that had an anti-Islamic meaning contained within. Again, this investigation still within its very early stages, but we did hear from one of the lead investigators saying that they are treating this as a hate crime until proven that it's not. Tom. Okay, that's a big new development there. Morgan, we thank you for that. We're also tracking some more breaking news out west, the dangerous weather ripping across the country at this hour. Millions on alert after a wildfire erupted outside of L.A. And right now there are tornado warnings going off across multiple states. Take a look at this, flames consuming this structure in Simi Valley, California. And in the Midwest,

Another round of tornado warnings after a weekend of destructive storms. Dana Griffin, following it all from the fire zone in California. Tonight, dangerous wildfires raging in the west. Thick blooms of smoke from Colorado to California turning skies dark. The sandy fire roaring through a residential neighborhood an hour outside of Los Angeles. Evacuation warnings issued as flames rapidly spread. You can still see flames coming from this burned down home. firefighters are sending water onto the property to try to prevent embers from being carried to

other parts of the neighborhood. Neighbors shaken by how close the flames got. They saved our home. Thank God. The Lord just put his hand of protection over our property. Noel Hankinson says she rushed to pick up her 13-year-old son from school. The smoke close by. I want to get here and get him. So scared about, you know, the flames moving this way.

In Colorado, firefighters racing to put out this wildfire. Crews tackling the flames from above. This charred building still smoldering. Meanwhile, menacing funnel clouds tearing through America's heartland after a weekend of severe weather. Wow. This twister ripping through a field in Nebraska. Breaking. Breaking.

Debris flying through the air as a funnel cloud forms. The damage in St. Paul, devastating. Tearing these homes from their foundations, leaving behind crumpled cars. east coast sweltering temperatures setting in an extreme start to the week being felt coast to coast all right Dana Griffin joins us now from Cemi valley California Dana we see that burnt out house there behind you sort of in the distance there but firefighters were able to stop it and save the rest of the neighborhood oh yeah Tom at one point wind with 20 miles per hour I want to show you just behind me the fire crew is starting to pack up some of these hoses and we can

actually walk closer to this burnt out home so you can get a better look. I just spoke to a fire official. He tells me that a change in wind direction has actually been key in helping them to get this fire under control. There's not as much smoke right now because at first we had that dry desert wind that was blowing. Now we're starting to get that cool ocean breeze. Unfortunately, this home is a total loss. But for parts of this neighborhood that was spared, many of the neighbors here are breathing a sigh of relief. Tom? Terrible how that happens in neighborhoods. Sometimes one house goes up in flames and the others survive. It's good for those other ones, but that one home, it's so tough for the owners. Dana, thank you. I want to bring in NBC meteorologist Bill Caron's now. Bill, this is,

the threat isn't over yet. There's still active tornado warnings all across the country. I know it's a busy, busy week when it comes to weather. Oh, extreme weather all over the maps. And this is following yesterday's tornado outbreak. So we're tracking numerous severe thunderstorms and storms that are producing tornadoes as I speak. Tornado watches. extend all the way to North Texas, back up into southern Iowa. It's this area, though, in northeast Kansas, right where it meets areas of Nebraska, into Iowa, just north of Kansas City. This is where the worst of it has been. We've had numerous tornadoes that have been reported. Most of them so far have been in kind of rural areas. The one tornado warning for Polk,

that's a particularly dangerous situation, and also to the north of that. So this is right just south of the Iowa border into northern portions of Missouri. And as far as other concerns go, areas we're going to watch Manhattan, Kansas. You have an insurface. You've been in search. strong line of storms going through. Tornado warnings to the north of you, just north of the Mill Creek area. And as far as the other concerns go tonight, we're really going to be watching it extending southwards down into areas of Oklahoma with isolated storms. Tomorrow, we'll notice 57 million people at risk, not tornadoes tomorrow, but we'll have a lot of damaging wind and the possibility of some very large hail throughout this area. Tornado warnings will should

end by about midnight tonight. But the flash flooding threat, that'll continue through the night. Flash flood warning, St. Louis, Indian Right along Interstate 70 late tonight as those storms come between Kansas City and also St. Louis, watch out for a lot of problems on the roads. And then the heat continues too in many areas. And that's going to be a big issue as we go through tomorrow, 95 in New York City. And we're not even to Memorial Day. And I have a feeling we're going to be talking every day this week. All right, Bill, we thank you for that. We're also following two major disease outbreaks. The CDC confirming a U.S. citizen in Africa has tested positive for Ebola. This as the crew has finally let off that hantavirus cruise ship. Here's Maggie Vespa tracking it all.

Tonight, American Dr. Peter Stafford testing positive for Ebola in Africa, according to the medical missionary group, Surge, with the CDC confirming an American was exposed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The agency now working with the State Department to move the patient to Germany for specialized treatment, along with six other exposed Americans. How urgent is it to get this American? to a place like Germany that can give them proper care. I think it's very urgent.

You can dramatically improve the survival rate. Health official stress risk within the U.S. remains low. Ebola is primarily transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids. Meanwhile, stunning new images from the cruise ship at the center of the deadly hauntavirus outbreak. Teams in full hazmat suits seen here removing bins, suitcases, even a mattress. The 27 crew and medical staff on board disembarking to begin a strict. six-week incubation period. Health officials say none are symptomatic, but in Canada, another passenger testing positive. Clearly this is not what we hoped for, but it is what we planned for.

Health officials say the patient is in their 70s and was traveling with a partner who's testing negative. Both are now isolating in a hospital. Back home, 18 Americans remain isolated and asymptomatic at the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, as health officials scramble to contain both outbreaks, Dr. Ashish Jaha, who served as the Biden administration's COVID response coordinator, warning tonight. What we've seen both with Hanta virus and Ebola is a CDC that's responding far more slowly. And the world is really missing that leadership that usually comes from the CDC. Maggie Vespah joins us now. Maggie, there's a new travel ban in place tonight to contain the Ebola outbreak. Yeah, Tom, that's right. The CDC today banning foreigners from entering the U.S.

if in the last three weeks they've been to areas of Africa impacted by the Ebola outbreak. And those include Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congro, and South Sudan. At the same time, the United Nations tonight, tracking more than 480 suspected Ebola cases and 116 deaths. Tom. All right, Maggie, thank you. I want to stay on this right now and bring in Dr. Ashjeejah, who we just heard from briefly there. He's a physician, a researcher, and of course the former White House COVID-19, we're responsible. coordinator. Doctor, thank you for joining Top Story tonight. This latest outbreak of Ebola seems to be

intensifying quickly. You've done extensive research on this disease and it spreads. What concerns you most right now? Yeah, Tom, thanks for having me back. Number one concern is how quickly it is growing and how long we missed it. It looks like this outbreak probably began many, many weeks ago. And for many, for all of that time, it was spreading silently. And that concerns me because I suspect the numbers we're seeing right now are going to probably go up quite substantially in the days and weeks ahead. Just to give a primer to our viewers, Ebola, I know it comes from a fruit bat. How do people get it? Yeah, so people can get it basically by either eating the fruit bat directly. I mean, people eat that in places in the world. They can get it from contaminated, from fruits, actually, that are

contaminated by the droppings of the fruit bat. But once it begins, then people spread it person to person. when people develop symptoms, they can spread it through sweat, they can send through blood, semen, any bodily fluid. Okay, and then we know this type of Ebola, it's highly contagious, right? It has no approved vaccine or treatment. Then what do officials do? What do people like you do to save lives? Yeah, so, right, as you said, no vaccines, no treatments,

and a pretty high mortality rate. So basically what you do and what this, for instance, this American who's going to Germany is going to get, is really high-quality medical care of just supportive care, fluids if they need it, antibiotics if they develop a secondary infection, but all the things to support them and get them through it. But boy, it'd be much, much better if we actually had specific treatments for vaccines against this. And then what about the spread to the U.S. and other countries outside of the region? Is that likely? Well, look, I mean, the more this disease

spreads in DRC and in the Democratic Republic of Congo or Uganda, the risk goes up. And especially once the disease gets to a major city, then someone can get on. an airplane, end up anywhere in the world, and eventually the chances that such a person could end up in the United States goes up. When we saw this in 2014, when that person arrived in Dallas. So the most important thing right now is to surge resources to the places where the outbreak is to bring it under control so it doesn't spread globally. And then while we have you, let's talk about the haunt of virus, which was the other outbreak everyone was talking about around the world just last week. Based on what you've observed these last couple weeks, was the U.S. prepared to deal with this outbreak? You know, Tom, over the last year, we have seen really a dismantling of the CDC, just all of our key personnel who work on these things, vast majority of them being fired. And we saw the effect of it this week. I mean, the last two weeks, we've seen a slow CDC.

We have not heard about these outbreaks from the CDC. We've heard about it from elsewhere. And then eventually, days or sometimes as much as a week later, the CDC response. Usually we are in the front line. We are leading these efforts and responses. Now we're really in the back. step and actually worries me about the long-term American leadership in this space. Okay, we're going to have to wait and see what happens there. Dr. Always great to talk to you. We thank you for that. We want to go to Washington now in a controversial new move by the president to create a $1.7 billion fund with taxpayer money to compensate people that the administration says were wrongly

targeted under the Biden administration. Kelly O'Donnell's tracking this one from the White House. Hey, Kelly, this is all in exchange for the president dropping lawsuits. There is an important exchange. here and here's how it would work. On the one hand, we've got this extraordinary legal drama that's playing out. So the president would drop multiple suits he has filed against the federal government. You may know about the one against the IRS for $10 billion. That related to a leak of his tax returns. There were others, including against the Department of Justice, and that had to do

with the raid at his Mar-a-Lago home in the classified documents case. But in exchange for dropping those. The Trump administration today created what it calls an anti-weaponization fund. And it put in that fund using sort of a patriotic number, $1776, so $1.776 billion. That's taxpayer money that would be used to pay compensation to Trump allies who say they were unfairly prosecuted by the Biden administration. They would apply for this compensation. that could possibly include January 6th rioters. He was asked today specifically if they would be eligible. You know they were all pardoned by President Trump.

He did not answer that directly. Now, Democrats are calling this corrupt. They're saying it's an abuse of power. Some are saying nearly 100 House Democrats are saying they are filing a brief to try to stop this deal. But so far, a judge has accepted that the IRS suit filed by President Trump and members of his family is now over. and we'll be tracking this to see when there are developments dealing with payouts should those come. Tom? All right, Kelly O'Donnell for us. Kelly, we thank you.

Now to the crucial ruling in the Luigi Mangione murder trial here in New York, a judge saying some of the evidence cannot be used in the state's case against him. Mangione is accused of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December of 2024. Our Stephanie Gosk has the details. Tonight, evidence in the state case against Luigi Mangione thrown out. backpack at the McDonald's was improper warrantless search. The accused killer in court today, listening as the judge ruled that his passport, a loaded magazine, cell phone and wallet, could not be used as evidence against him in the upcoming murder trial.

Suppression motions are really hard for the defense to win, so the fact that they had a victory at all was very surprising. A partial victory for the defense, but not a total win. The alleged murder weapon, including a silencer, will still be part of the case, as well as as a notebook that prosecutors say Mangione used to plan the 2024 murder of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson. The shocking early morning killing in Midtown Manhattan triggered a massive manhunt. Five days later, a 911 call from a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. I have a customer here that some other customers were suspicious of that he looked like

the CEO shooter in New York. The defense argued that police violated Mangione's rights when they searched his backpack during the arrest. And the judge, agreed, but everything discovered back at the police station is admissible. There is also other evidence in the case, according to the DA's office, beyond what was in the backpack, including DNA and fingerprints found near the scene. And prosecutors say hundreds of hours of video tracing Mangione's steps after the shooting, all part of the state's case as they get set for a trial just months away. All right, Stephanie Goss joins us now live in our studio along with Danny Saval. It's great to see both of you. Stephanie, I'm going to start with you. You were there,

Were people surprised, I mean, that this happened? Yeah, I mean, I think they were surprised for a couple of reasons. One, because it's difficult for the defense to get evidence suppressed. But also because, remember, there are two cases here. You have the state case and you have the federal case. And a federal judge heard those same arguments from the defense team about this evidence. And that judge said all of the evidence can be used. And now you have a judge in the state case saying some of it can't, some of it can't.

And they're specifically calling that search in the McDonald's, an illegal. go warrantless. Danny, the defense attorneys here, they're not going to have an easy job. There's still a lot of evidence that is going to be admitted. This is still an uphill battle, but a massive win for the defense who has chipped away at this case, little by little, whether it's getting rid of the death penalty in the federal case, or now winning a motion that defense attorneys like me file all the time. And most of us have only won a handful of times, including me. So this is very rare. I did not expect. I thought this would be denied across the board, as Stephanie as it was in federal court.

So this is something that was a big victory for the defense. But as you pointed out, they still have a long way to go. There's a lot of other evidence against this defendant. And let's talk about that evidence now, right? Stephanie, we have the notebook. You have the gun. The silencer can be used, but the loaded magazine, cell phone, passport and wallet cannot.

I mean, this is going to be a win, obviously, for the defense, right? But like we said, there's these big pieces of evidence that they're still going to have to talk about. Yeah. Well, there's also a whole bunch of evidence that was not in that backpack, right? And the DA last week made a point of sending out this note to everyone saying, hey, don't forget, we have DNA and fingerprints found near the scene. We have hundreds of hours of video to use as evidence.

And you have the murder itself. You have that video of the murder itself. All of that is going to be introduced in trial. Danny, we're getting closer and closer to this case. Do you think it starts in September? That trial date or do you think it gets postponed again? If you're just playing the odds, there's always a good chance that there will be a continuance. But I expect, especially in the federal case, within the next eight, nine months, you might have some minor delays.

But really, all the suppression issues, all the motions issues are out of the way, and there's very little standing in the way between now and trial. Maybe a few status conferences, but not much more. All right. So great to see both you guys. Thank you for being here. We're going to be back in a moment with the high stakes primary elections. Steve Kornacki warming up, stretching up. He's ready.

booting up the big board, he's got the jumper cables, to break down the key races to watch tomorrow night. Plus, the Trump mobile phone is finally here. Our Brian Chung has one and puts it to the test. And chaos erupting at swatch stores over the luxury co-lab we told you about. We'll show you the videos ahead on Top Story. Back down with the countdown to election night, voters across six states heading to the polls tomorrow to cast their votes in primary races and what could be a critical test of President Trump's influence over the Republican Party.

Our Steve Kornacki's at the big board to break it all down. So Steve, we got a little preview of what's to come this weekend, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, long-serving Republican who voted to remove President Trump from office following the January 6th Capitol riot,

failed to secure his party's nomination. It's actually kind of interesting because he was running ads where he's with Trump, but what happened there? Yeah, Tom, well, the short answer is Trump was not with him. Trump was against him.

Trump instead backing Congresswoman Julia Letlow, and you can see Cassidy didn't just lose. I mean, he got clobbered, not quite a quarter of the vote for a two-term incumbent Republican senator in a Republican primary. He becomes the first sitting senator, elected senator from either party to lose a primary since 2012. It had been 14 years, and honestly, this one went back about six years. It was in January of 2021 when President Trump was on his way out of office after January 6th, that second impeachment of Donald Trump back during his first term, Cassidy was one of the few Republican senators back then who voted to convict Trump. President certainly has a long memory, and in this primary, Trump tried to settle the score, and certainly seems that he did so.

And then Congressman Thomas Massey of Kentucky, this is the big one that really the entire country that is into politics is watching, facing a similar test in Kentucky. Walkers through that race. Yeah, for different reasons, but the president here is not with Tom Massey, Republican incumbent in the fourth district of Kentucky. This primary tomorrow night. This is basically going to be the suburbs of Cincinnati. That's where most of the vote in this district is going to come from, though. The district is geographically expansive here. But the president has endorsed Ed Golrain, the challenger to Massey here.

A ton of money has come into this race. How much? Currently, this is the most expensive congressional primary in history. That's how much money has come in here. So the president really trying to go after Massie. This is an interesting district, though. Those suburbs of Cincinnati, I'm talking about they can be a little funky politically. They are kind of libertarianish, and Massey certainly has a libertarianish streak to him. So the president coming off, what he was able to pull off in ousting Cassidy in Louisiana, is going to try to turn around and do it again here in Kentucky tomorrow night. And then, not to put you on the spot, do we know where that money is going? Is it pretty evenly splitters?

There's one candidate who's pulling ahead in the big buck stakes. Yeah, no, it's coming for on both sides of this thing, certainly. You know, the Trump side has come in heavy against Massey. There's been some support from Massey as well in this. So it really is a test sort of of, I say, the libertarianist streak of the district versus the clout of Trump with Republican voters. And then speaking of the president, there's some new polling out today that shows his approval rating is slipping yet again. Yeah, this is for certainly general election. You're thinking ahead to November past these primaries, but this is starting to loom large. Trump's approval rating overall in this New York Times poll down to 37 percent.

But I think much more alarming for Republicans is this. From the same poll, the generic ballot, look at that advantage for Democrats, ballooning to 11 points here. Republicans have been taking Salas and other polling earlier this year that showed at least that generic ballot was closer for them. If this is the start of a trend here, and this poll shows the war in Iran, in particular, weighing down Trump, those are the numbers that put a lot of Republicans in danger in the fall. Okay, so great to have you here, Steve. As always, tune in tomorrow night.

special rolling coverage of those primary elections. Steve and I were just talking about. Coverage begins at 6.30 p.m. Eastern right here on NBC News Now. Still ahead tonight, the dramatic mid-air collision, new video of two fighter jets crashing at an air show. The pilots ejecting. So how do they survive?

But first, top story's top moment and one man marking a major milestone at the finish line. Just 10 days before his 90th birthday, Daniel Farkasheran, 13. 1 miles earning his medal at this year's Brooklyn Half Marathon. Take a look. Big birthday this month, DeNeil is turning 90. Finishes the half marathon. Denial, the oldest person to ever run this race.

Congrats to him. I can't even believe that 90 years young. That's incredible. Happy early birthday, buddy. Stay with us. More top story on the way. We're back now with that new video of that mid-air collision in Idaho. fighter jets slamming into each other during an air show, exploding just seconds after the crew ejected. NBC's Jesse Kirsch has new video of that crash. Tonight, this new video shows another angle of that harrowing moment at an Idaho air show. Watch these U.S. Navy planes fly side by side before they collide, appearing to stick together

mid-air. Their crews safely ejecting. Before this fire fire. crash. Remarkably, the U.S. Navy says everyone on board survived. The plane crashed. Another angle also showing the collision Sunday at the Mountain Home Air Force Base. Suddenly, the jets in F.A. 18 variant known as the growler, collide, shocking the crowd. In the skies above the fiery wreckage, those four parachutes. I just keep seeing the two planes hitting and the four pilots ejecting, and that's what I keep seeing in my head. At first, Ruben,

V. Alpando thought this was part of the show. They were supposed to have a pyro show there today, too, but then I realized I was like, no, both the planes went down. Videos later appearing to show the plane's crews landing back on the ground. And tonight the Navy says one air crew member is being treated for a non-life-threatening injury at a local hospital, while the other three crew members were not injured. Meanwhile, aircraft recovery has now begun. Tom. Incredible work by those pilots here to survive that crash. Thank you for. for that, Jesse. Now to Top Stories Newsfe, we want to start in California because a jury unanimously ruled to toss Elon Musk's landmark lawsuit against OpenAI and the company CEO, Sam Altman. The jury deciding that Musk, he just waited too long to file that suit against the company behind ChatGPT. Musk was an early investor in OpenAI and claimed the company and its leaders violated a promise to operate it as a nonprofit. Chaos erupting around the world over

demands for swatches hyped up pocket watch co-lab. Video from New York over the weekend showed police pepper spray and rowdy crowds. And in Milan, fights broke out for these watches that are plastic. This is just outside one of several locations forced to shut their doors. The watch retailers asking customers not to rush stores, emphasizing the pocket watches will be available to buy for several months. And Southwest Airlines is banning all robots on flights. You heard me correctly.

The move comes after a video. went viral of a man bringing a humanoid on a plane, raising some eyebrows among passengers and staff. A Southwest spokesman says the policy change was not in response to a specific incident, adding that the main issue is the robot's lithium ion batteries, which can pose risks during flights. Good point there. Okay, we're going to turn to a story our team has been tracking for nearly a year. In June, you'll remember President Trump's sons revealed Trump Mobile, a new venture promising a golden smartphone. Well, NBC News Business and Data Correspondent Brian Chung placed an order then and months later, finally got delivered today.

Gold casing, a flag stamped on the back. This long-awaited T-1 phone from Trump Mobile is finally here. It was in June last year that the president's sons announced a bold new venture. Today we're here to introduce Trump Mobile. The phone marketed as a patriotic alternative to big tech and promised as an American-made phone. We're keeping our data onshore. We're going to be manufacturing the phones. Trump Mobile said the phone would be released in August.

NBC News put down the $100 deposit that same month. Thank you for your order, Brian Chung. But nine months passed with 12 phone calls and countless emails to the company. But one day after this report last week, here we are in May of 2026, and there appears to be no sign of it. Someone on behalf of Trump Mobile contacted me and said devices were going out to the media. And okay, here it is. Here is the long-awaited Trump mobile phone. The phone is taller than an iPhone 17 and comes with 512 gigabytes of storage at a relatively cheap $499, which the company says is promotional pricing. Truth Social, pre-installed on the phone.

Like any other phone, it can make calls, send texts, do some wide angles, and takes pretty good photos too. The phone looks different from how it was originally advertised. The original language on the website said the phone would be made in the USA, language that has since been scrubbed from the website, now saying American proud design, with an American flag that has only 11 stripes. Experts say the phone resembles a phone made in Taiwan. It looks very similar. It has a very distinct shape. Yeah, that does look really similar.

Almost identical so far. We're not set up for a mid-range kind of mid-budget phone to be made in that. in that way here in the United States. If I had to put money on it, I would say that's the HDC U-24 Pro. Representatives for Trump Mobile did not respond to questions about whether the phone is made in the U.S. And the White House did not confirm if President Trump himself is using the phone bearing his name. All right, with that, Brian Chung joins us. Brian, we have so many questions.

You've got the phone. First, how does it work? You've been playing with it all day. Yeah, I mean, it works like any other phone. It's got Android on here. I think, again, it's going to be a surprise to people that there's a truth, social, preloaded onto the phone. And you'll also do...

I mean, it's a Trump mobile phone. It is a Trump mobile phone. And again, there's been a lot of chatter about the 11 stripes on the back instead of 13, although maybe the Trump mobile is the 13th. But I think a lot of people are asking a lot of questions. Again, this was a phone that was supposed to be made in the USA.

The side of the box here says proudly assembled in the USA. What does that mean? Well, there are implications. So the FTC actually declares whether or not you can say if a phone is made in the USA, it depends on the parts. If you say assembled in the USA, that means that the parts could come from abroad, but if a substantial amount of the assembly

happens in the U.S., then you can say it's assembled in the U.S., but again, not exactly what was originally advertised when this was first announced in Trump Tower in June. Yeah, and then we noticed just talking to this, the hole in the top of the phone, because we haven't seen a mini jack in a long time on a cell phone. Which I think people will remember. That's where you used to plug in your phones. Now everyone's doing wireless with the earbuds or the AirPods, but this has a little bit of a throwback feature on there.

And by the way, it's a reason for why some analysts are saying this. This is likely a version of another phone because it's such an unusual feature. Only a few of them really have them these days. And so they saw the 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, all the other features of this phone. He's a throwback. I mean, those minis aren't coming back or anything, right? Well, I mean, I've seen people in New York City wearing the wired headphones. Well, I've seen that too.

But maybe it is popular again. But again, I think that this could just be a situation where whatever company, the Trump mobile people wanted to contract with to get this done, they had a 3.5 millimeter jack in there. And that's what they went with. Brian Chung. Thanks for staying on top of it. that one first. Appreciate it. Yep. Okay. We're going to turn now to that infamous Cars for Kids

commercial, the jingle that probably just got stuck in your head the second I said the name. But tonight, the music is stopping in California after a judge banned the ads. Our Steve Patterson explains. That Cars for Kids jingle. An earworm that lives rent-free in people's heads. Cars for Kids, a business model you don't understand and a jingle that will haunt you forever. 877 Cars for Kids. But if you live in California, a judge ruling that the charity has 30 days to pull the ads from state airways

for violating false advertising laws. The lawsuit was filed by Bruce Puterball, who donated his Volvo after he says that melody got to it. But he says he felt misled after learning where the money actually went. According to testimony from the charity's COO, much of it goes to a New Jersey-based Jewish organization, which uses the funds for summer camps, trips to Israel, even a matchmaking service. Part of Barr's attorney saying his client's issue wasn't the organization, but that he didn't know who was receiving the funds. Maybe he wanted to send it to poor disadvantaged kids in California, which is what he thought

the ads were doing, and it wasn't. The judge, finding that children, especially needy or underprivileged children, were not the exclusive recipients of the donations. The nonprofit calling the decision deeply flawed, saying it's well known that we are a Jewish organization and our website makes it abundantly clear, adding that they plan to appeal. 1877 cars like kids. Steve Patterson, NBC News, Los Angeles. And this is just in tonight. We're learning of the death of Mark Furman. You'll remember he was the former LAP detective at the center of the OJ Simpson murder trial. And Thompson has this one. People call Detective Mark

Furman. He was the controversial witness in the O.J. Simpson trial. Mark Furman, then a Los Angeles police detective discovered the bloody glove at the former football player's home after Simpson's ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman were murdered. Detective Furman, can you tell us how you feel about testifying today? Nervous? Reluctant. Simpson's defense team accused Furman of planting evidence, being racist and using the N-word. Is it possible that you have forgotten that act on your part? No, it's not possible. Are you therefore saying that you have not use that word in the past 10 years, Detective Furman. Yes, that's what I'm saying.

They then played a tape of the detective using the N-word. We, the jury, and the above-entitled action find the defendant, Ornthal, James Simpson, not guilty of the crime. Simpson was acquitted and Furman accepted a plea deal for perjury. He served no jail time. Furman retired from the LAPD and moved to Idaho. He wrote books about high-profile crime cases, including the Simpson case. He appeared on Fox News as a crime expert and hosted a radio show in Spokane, Washington. Furman died this month. TMZ reports it was from an aggressive form of throat cancer.

Furman was 74. Ann Thompson, NBC News. All right, coming up, the tension soaring between the U.S. and Cuba, the new reporting about the Island Nation's drone arsenal and whether it could be used against the U.S. Plus, the scare and the enclosure for the viral Japanese monkey punch to Americans detained. So what's behind this strange stunt? Stay with us. Top story, just getting started. We're back now with the Americas and escalating tensions tonight between the U.S. and Cuba.

According to a new Axios report, Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones and his way in attacks on the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, military vessels, and even Key West. All that according to classified intelligence shared with Axiote. The outlet notes this intelligence could become a pretext for military action. Cuba's leader Miguel Diaz-Canel today saying Cuba poses no threat and has no, quote, aggressive plans or intentions towards the U.S., the island's foreign minister, accusing media outlets of being complicit in what he called the U.S. government's fraudulent case to justify an attack on Cuba. The Axios reporter behind that story, Mark Caputo, joins us now. Mark, you know, critics of maybe Axios, critics of the entire... U.S. policy towards Cuba may scratch their heads and be like, this sounds a little familiar.

This almost sounds like maybe a little bit like the origins of the Cuba-U.S. relationship and yellow journalism and is this the pretext to set up something even bigger, an excuse to go to war? Your reporting shows that these drones weren't just purchased last week. They've been purchased since 2023? Correct. The reason the United States knows about it now, according to the people we spoke to, is that Venezuelan intelligence, which is now working more closely with the United States ever since the toppling of Maduro, had informed the U.S. that the Cubans had been purchasing this equipment. And allegedly, in intercepts of what they would call chatter, this was overheard.

The United States overheard these Cuban officers, Cuban intelligence, discuss the possibilities of plans of doing these various attacks. Now, our story did say that the United States doesn't believe there's an imminent attack, And they don't believe that there's an imminent threat posed by Cuba. But the position here is pretty simple. Cuba's a long-time enemy of the United States and vice versa. There are Iranian agents, Iranian military agents and advisors there, as well as Russian and Chinese ones. And the United States doesn't want to take the risk, doesn't like the risk, of having an opponent 90 miles south with this sort of technology that can cause trouble. It's a big headline.

And you kind of were reading my mind there, 90 miles key west from the coast of Cuba, drone could get there pretty fast. Do we know what the security implications are here? I can't say what the security implications are directly. Not familiar with what Naval Air Station, Key West and Boca Chica has in terms of the ability to intercept the sort of equipment. But I remember as a kid growing up in Key West in the 90s, there was a Cuban mig pilot who had flown over under the radar and it freaked everybody out. I mean, it takes an F-16, probably about eight minutes, ten minutes, to go from Key West to Havana and perhaps vice versa. So, So, though these are relatively long distances by boat, by plane, it's a much different story.

I think the important thing to remember when it comes to this relationship is the United States and the Cuban government, they just don't trust each other. And it doesn't look as if, despite all the talks they've been having, any trust has really been built up. And it looks like more pressure and more pressure is being rationed up by the United States. I was surprised by some of the reporting when one of the targets was Guantanamo Bay. have a base there. I was sort of searching my memory bank. I cannot remember a time, though, when Cuba has attacked Guantanamo Bay. Has that ever happened before? And maybe it has. I just couldn't remember. I don't recall. I'm a bit of a student of history and have read a little bit of Cuban history, but that I don't remember. Do remember this, though, or do understand this,

is the broader context of the United States, like worry about drones is rooted in Iran. Iran has shown and Ukraine has shown to a degree what drone and counter drone warfare looks like. Ukraine has been able to fend off a larger opponent in Russia by employing anti-dron technology and using drones. And Iran, to a degree, has been able to fend off the United States more thanks to its drone program and to menace the neighbors, the Gulf Arab states of Iran. And so when the United States hears that Cuba is inquiring of Iran, how it uses its drones, is inquiring of Russia how to buy more drones, that's according to U.S. intelligence that they've told us, it's just going to be more and more of a worry. One interesting note is that according to the intelligence officers or officials that we spoke to, about 5,000 Cuban soldiers

have been sort of drafted or were sent over to Ukraine or to Russia to fight on behalf of Russia against Ukraine. And in the course of those battles and that experience, the Cuban soldiers came back and said, while this drone technology works pretty well, it's helping the Ukrainians fend off the Russians. So in that respect as well, it makes sense that Cuban intelligence, the Cuban military, is looking at drone technology as being something that's possible that sort freaks out or can help fend off Americans. In this case, though, it's upsetting the Americans little more, and it's leading to a bit more of a... And Cuba's trying not to upset the Americans. You've broken a lot of stories recently about what's happening in this relationship between Cuba and the U.S.

as sort of the Caputo news satellites start picking up chatter. There's a lot that's happened over the last week. How can we sort of read those tea leaves? I think the best way to look at this is just the United States doesn't appear ready to engage in military action, but it wouldn't surprise me if it suddenly happened.

And it looks as if the U.S. policy and posture right now, the Trump administration posture, is to just keep increasing pressure on Cuba. There's going to be the indictment that's supposed to be unveiled or released on Wednesday against Raul Castro for the 1996 shootdown of the Brothers to the Rescue Plains. But the real story that we're probably not paying enough attention to in terms of the effects on Cuba is the effects that the secondary sanctions that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is imposing on businesses

and companies that do business in Cuba. It's causing more and more of them to flee. It's also under a May 1st executive order that Trump had signed under Rubio's sort of supervision and input. And that's just causing more and more chaos or more and more financial trouble in Cuba that is making the situation there even more dire. Mark Caputo, you can read his byline in Axios. Mark, we thank you for joining us tonight. Thanks, Tom. I appreciate you. That of Top Stories, Global Watch and clashes in Bolivia between mine workers and police during a second week of labor protest, heating up. Video from today shows police firing off tear gas, protesters appearing to set off fireworks. and workers there demanding labor reforms and that President Rodrigo

posse's resignation as the country deals with its worst economic crisis in a generation. A tragic update on that humpback whale we've told you about that was rescued off the coast of Germany. Authorities now confirming they found the animal dead near a Danish island. It comes just two weeks after those controversial efforts to move the sick whale in a barge towards the North Sea because it kept getting stranded in shallow water. A major legal win for Grammy winner, Shakira, Spain's high court ruling that the Latin music superstars in her favor, awarding her $70 million after her 2021 tax fraud fine was overturned.

The judge ruled that government prosecutors failed to prove Shakira was in Spain for the required amount of days to be considered a resident in that country for tax purposes. Okay, we're going to stay overseas now. Wild video showing an intruder breaking into a Japanese zoo enclosure, home to the internet sensation, punch the monkey. The young primate went viral for his bond with a stuffed orangutan and now draws thousands of visitors every day. Two men were detained by police for the stunt. Kathy Park has the details. A bizarre break-in at a Japanese zoo is gaining global attention. Watch closely as his person wearing a bright blue suit and a smiley-faced mask hops over the fence, dangles dangerously on the concrete barrier before dropping directly into the monkey enclosure at the Ichikaze.

Zoo, home to the mega popular primate, Punch the Monkey. Spectators captured a group of startled animals huddled together, staying away from the uninvited visitor who seemed walking and climbing onto part of the exhibit. The zoo released a statement saying the intruder and a second person have been turned over to the police and they've strengthened security measures. Local media reports they were American. This part of zoo gets thousands of visitors daily, hoping to get a glimpse at punch. The baby monkey became an internet sensation after being rejected by his mother and bullied by other monkeys.

His only friend, an orangutan plushy. Oh my God, I love him so much. Punch the monkey. Oh my goodness. He's just so cute. While the zoo said no abnormalities have been reported in the animals this weekend, it's prompted officials to consider suspending requests to film from YouTubers and others. The costume worn by the intruder may be linked to meme coin cryptocurrencies.

One group hosting under the handle the meme coin cult saying they're aware of the stunt carried out by one of their community members and warns everyone to respect local laws. This isn't the first high profile zoo breach. In March, a man came face to face with a viral pygmy hippo, Moodang in Thailand. At the time, zookeeper said the animal was unharmed, but may have been alarmed. Back in Japan, growing scrutiny over this stunt and the culprits crashing the home of one of the most famous zoo animals in the world. And starting Tuesday, the zoo will be beefing up the popular enclosure that houses punch by restricting the viewing area. The plan is in saw these so-called intrusion prevention nets and add permanent patrols. Meanwhile, the two men currently being detained will be questioned by prosecutors tomorrow. And the New York Times citing police say they're denying charges of obstruction. Tom?

When we come back, the big time basket on the court meet the student who sent fans into a frenzy with this sweet. Stay with us. Finally, more on the top moment we brought you earlier this month, a Minneapolis area middle schooler who loves basketball, scoring in front of all his classmates in a moment he'll remember forever. It was a full court frenzy. Sixth grader Wyatt News, who has Down syndrome, making this incredible shot at his middle school's annual student versus staff game.

His classmates going wild. sporting the jersey of his favorite player, Golden State Warrior Steph Curry. Even pulling his signature, night-night move. Night-night! Wyatt learned about the move during the Paris Olympics. The whole place went wild. He gave high-fives, the sleeper pose, and everybody, the whole school community just cheered, and we really rocked it.

Wyatt's mom writing on social media, this was joy, this was belonging, this. This was Wyatt being exactly who he is, fully included, fully celebrated, and fully ready to take on the teachers again next year. Is the teachers gonna win? No, of course. Do you think you're gonna win? Yeah. Who's gonna go down?

Oh. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamerson, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.