Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, October 26, 2026

Episode Date: October 27, 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 new charges just filed against former FBI director James Comey, the newest charge tied to an alleged leak of national defense information, what the DOJ is alleging in how he's responding tonight. The final sprint to the midterms, President Trump in deep red Mississippi right now. The Senate race there tightening as the battle for Michigan grows even uglier. The new attacks launched by the president and his new offer, $1 million to find election fraud. Powerful king tides battering both coasts, floodwaters swamping communities in Florida and in California, plus the catastrophic floodwaters in the southwest.

Entire neighborhoods submerged residents rescued by helicopter. The manhunt for an escape murderer, the images of a convicted killer breaking out of a Tennessee prison, how did he manage to sneak out? Cruise ship collision and luxury liner crashing into two container ships the damage left behind. Water bill bust one Houston homeowner says he exposed a faulty water meter reading four times what it should the test he did that you could replicate at home. Plus Anthropic disclosing it lost a staggering $80 billion as it prepares to go public why it's still headed for a monster IPO. And Dictionary.com naming its word of the year. We'll give you a hit. It's popular with Gen Z.

Can you guess it? Top story. It starts right now. Good evening. We begin tonight with that breaking news from the Justice Department. former FBI director James Comey hit with criminal charges for a third time. This round tied to an alleged leak of national defense info back in 2016. Comey accused of instructing his staff to share that classified information with the press. His legal team argues the case should be thrown out since it's beyond the 10-year statute of limitations.

Comey sharing this video online just moments after the news broke calling it an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice and defending his innocence. The case unsealed by a district judge today and at Comey's request. The ex-director had been a target of President Trump since he launched the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Our chief legal correspondent, Laura Jarrett, leads us off tonight with more. Tonight, former FBI director James Comey facing criminal allegations for a third time. Comey now accused of telling his aides to illegally reveal national defense information to a reporter, which Comey's attorney denies.

Prosecutors say in 2016, Comey sought to correct misinformation in a Reuters article, so he allegedly directed staff to speak to a reporter at the New York Times and illegally transferred classified information. Comey's legal team tonight arguing the case should be dismissed because it's barred by the statute of limitations. The president has repeatedly gone after Comey. They probably got that from the dirty cop. Comey.

You know he's a dirty cop, don't you? Dirty cup. He's a crooked guy. The former FBI director has been a fierce critic of President Trump. Criminal charges have already been filed twice against Comey, including over this social media posts with seashells arranged to say 86-47, which prosecutors say constituted a threat against President Trump. And another case now dismissed, where Comey was accused of making false statements to Congress. Tonight, Comey posting this video.

Nothing's changed with me. I'm still innocent. I'm still not afraid of these people, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. Our senior legal correspondent, Laura Jarrett, joins us now live and Laura. There's actually more news about the Comey family, but this time involving his daughter. Yes, in a different case. A federal judge here in New York Times has found that Maureen Comey was wrongly terminated. She had said that she was fired just because the president didn't like her dad, but she's a civil surgeon. She's a career employee, not a political prosecutor. And so she had said that violated her due process rights. And today a federal judge actually agreed with her. said that she is entitled to back pay going back a year. She's obviously now in private practice, has left the prosecutor's office here in the Southern District of New York. The Justice Department is saying that they do plan to appeal this.

So this fight is not quite over yet. Okay. Laura Jarrett, we thank you for that one. Okay, now to the all-out sprint to the midterms, with the finish line just eight days away. Both sides battling to the bitter end. Tonight, President Trump rallies in Republican Stronghold Mississippi emerging as yet another red state that could be in play for Democrats.

Monica Alba reports from the trail. Tonight, the final push to the midterms, and the closers are out in full force. For the GOP, President Trump has been on the trail for eight days straight, set to rally Republicans in deep red Mississippi, following a stop in critical Michigan. All you have to do is get out of them, because we have the numbers. For Democrats, former President Obama also in Michigan, slamming his predecessor. What's up with the gold? More gold. He's got the white ass looking like Saddam Hussein open a cheese cake factory.

The Senate race in that state turning especially bitter, Republican Mike Rogers, in a tight contest with Democrat Abdul-El-Said, who today fired back at President Trump's attacks. There are always a few small people who want to make America small like them. You see them. They're very loud. They bark. El-Said facing questions over whether his family is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement that several countries label a terrorist group.

He would be the only senator that will have to go through a medal. detective before he's allowed to go into the Senate. I want him to have a metal detector. El-Said's half-sister posted in 2012, quote, my family has long been M.B. Can you just explain it? But when Tom recently pressed him, he said he had no ties. I'm telling you, like, I have no ties. We have no ties. And NBC's Kristen Welker asking Rogers about the president's incendiary language. You agree with calling him a violent terrorist? Is that up to your standard? No, I don't. I've never called him a terrorist.

While here in Mississippi, incumbent GOP senator Cindy Hyde Smith is facing a closer than expected challenge from Democrat Scott Cologne, who's gone after her comments about high beef prices. Pick another protein. Colon's campaign now forced to take down this video, featuring an AI-generated image of Hyde Smith running from reporters after the Mississippi Attorney General said it may have violated state law. All right, Monica Alba joins us tonight live from Mississippi. She's on the campaign trail there with the president. And the president is offering a million dollar reward for anybody who can report voter fraud during these elections? Yeah, Tom, $1 million as a kind of reward for anybody that brings forth a tip on voter fraud that actually leads to an arrest and conviction of those responsible.

So a lot of questions about exactly how that would work, but it's just the latest cash incentive for Americans. It comes on the heels of several from the president, including that promise. He will give $5,000 checks to all adults if Republicans keep control of Congress. But, Tom, there are these other goodies, as the President refers to them, that he's been tailoring state by state, some of which are contingent on Republicans winning the House and the Senate, some of which are not. And we expect the President to roll out more of those in the final days. Tom. Monica Alba on the trail for us, Monica, thank you.

Let's bring in our political pros tonight. Tiffany Smiley is the founder of Endeavor Pack. and a former Republican nominee for Senate in Washington State. And Corbyn Trent is the host of the podcast, a fight worth having, and a former Bernie Sanders campaign strategist. Tiffany, I'm going to start with you. The president is out there in those deep red states. Is it making any difference?

Is this worth it for the president? Yes, it is. It's actually quite impressive that the president is running as if he is campaigning for himself on the top of the ticket. We know that his voters are energized, they turn out, and he's leaving it all out on the field. He knows that his voters will turn out. He's willing to go to red states.

You know, when you look at the polling, it's typically been unreliable and overestimated Democrats, especially in red states, which I think proves just his allegiance to doing everything he can for his cause. It's powerful. It's motivating. And at this point, it's all about getting out the vote, and that's exactly what he's doing.

And then, Corbyn, for you, we mentioned the polls there. you heard Tiffany, you know, suggesting, and they have really not been as accurate over the past few cycles when it comes to certain battleground states. Do you think the race is as close as it is? And do you think in some of those states like, say, a Mississippi, like in Iowa, like a Texas, that Democrats are that closer or even better than the Republican candidates, according to those polls? I mean, I think that they're definitely close. The polls are tight. I think the election is going to be tight. But one of the things I definitely agreed with Tiffany on is her analysis that Donald Trump is committed. He's committed to go into these states. He's committed to firing up his base. But the problem is, is why he's committed.

He's committed to keeping power. He's committed to enriching himself. He's committed to continuing to ignore the economic needs of the American people. That's what he says. Like he says, I don't think about your economic needs. I don't think about that. He starts wars that make it hard for us to get around in our daily lives. So the problem is, is that his unfavorable rating has dropped so far down.

People realize that this man is directly responsible for the challenges that we're having in our daily life, and they're looking for somebody else. That's why he's having to go to these deep red states, because that is one small place where he's still relatively well-liked. But even there, it's like what? In the 40s? I mean, it's not great. People, you know, my father-in-law and other people like that are turning their back on this man,

The diehard Trump people here in East Tennessee have had enough. And they've had so much, many of them are just going to not vote, but then some of them are saying maybe it's time for a change. Maybe it's time to start looking at Democrats. And I think that's the way generational change happens. Corbyn, let's talk about a state that is not a deep red state. Michigan, it's a battleground state. We heard some of the rhetoric from President Trump over the weekend, accusing El Sait of being a jihadist, providing no proof of that whatsoever. Here's what President Obama had to say in Michigan.

Whenever a movement builds to challenge that broken system, the people who benefit from the status quo will say and do anything to stop that train from coming. They will use lies, and they will use fear, and they will use division, and they may even use your name or your faith to somehow suggest suggest that you are dangerous and less than trustworthy and less patriotic and less American

than they are we have seen this movie before I starred in it this stuff didn't work on me not in Michigan it's not going to work on Abdul so Corbyn what do you think will this race come down to that it's gotten I think the ugliest there in Michigan though you could argue Ohio got pretty ugly last week as well but in Michigan will the president president Trump be successful in his sort of characterization of El-Sayed, especially when it comes to Jewish-American voters. I mean, I don't think, I think if I had to pick a closer, I'd going to pick Obama. He's very well-liked. He's respected in the communities all over the, all over Michigan. You know, I think he's going to bring a lot of energy where El-Saiid needs it, which is the African-American

community specifically. But better than that, he's going to bring, I think, energy. I mean, he was the hope and change president. And what we need to. right now is a dose of hope and a dose of change. So I think that that's what I would like to have if I were running in Michigan this cycle. Tiffany, what about you? I want to turn now to some of the races in Mississippi. Do you think that really a Democrat could win the Senate race? He's had some very effective ads that have aired across the state. He's picked up a lot of press coverage because of those ads. The Republican in that race making a couple of mistakes here and there. Do you really think Mississippi is in play?

I really don't. Again, I think a lot of the polling is overestimating the Democrats, which actually is a good position for Republicans to be in because we will fight hard. We will leave everything out on the field and we will do everything we can. I have to make a point, though, too, Obama is the Democrats' favorite candidate. He's still out there. He hasn't been in office for over a decade. And yet, that is all they still have.

The Republicans hold all three chambers of government right now. And it's an uphill battle, but the Democrats continue to shoot themselves in the foot. Tom, that's why I think, like, states like Mississippi, it just shows that President Trump is going to fight and work in every single state to win, to persevere, to make sure that he can continue to deliver for the American people. And sure, there's fatigue, right, on the affordability front, on the wars, on the gas prices and grocery prices. But he's making a pitch that stick with me. We will get through this, and I will make it better. The Democrats are offering nothing more. Yeah, it's funny, Tiffany. You're like, other than foreign policy and domestic issues, he's doing a great job. Other than abroad and at home, the trifect of Republicans are running this country great.

And I agree. Democrats should be running away with this, and they're not. No, I mean, you know, that's the interesting thing. You know, former campaign staffer for Bernie Sanders, former campaign staffer for OC, I think the Democratic Party needs to recapture its FDR spirit, its rebuilding spirit. I think we need to stop running away from things like Medicare for All. And I think that's the kind of party that's being born right now with the candidates like Angie Nixon, Abdul al-Said. I think you see these folks at Malat Kiroz and others all across this country, even in Tennessee with Justin Pearson. I think that a new Democratic Party, one that's ready for the moment that we're in right now, one where our lives are unmanageable, unaffordable, and our country's lost respect all across this globe. That they created, mind you don't want to see more Trump. I mean, if you had a union party. There's no question.

I think we're in an opportunity where the Republican. will hold the Senate. And I think we can make arguments on both sides for the House. But it all comes back to turning out the vote. And that's exactly what President Trump is doing. He's relevant. He is the president. We hold all three chambers. And all the Democrats have right now is President Obama, who hasn't been in office for over a decade. Yeah, Tiffany, I want to jump in here. I want to pull up a graphic. It shows all the battlegrounds in the Senate races that Democrats need to hold on to the states that they already control and then flip four more. They've got several paths to victory here, as you can see on your screen now. What is the path for Republicans when you

look at this map? For the Senate, like I look at states like Maine with Susan Collins. I think she easily wins that state. I think it was wishful thinking for the Democrats to think that they could flip that seat. I also think of candidates like Michelle Trefoia running in Minnesota. There's a lot of fatigue on fraud, the waste and abuse that has gone on in this country, Tim Walsfraud. She's an excellent candidate. She's an amazing candidate, actually, and sort of embodies everything that we are

in the Republican Party. So there's a lot of opportunities, typically in a season, in a political season, where Republicans shouldn't be this poised. But we are, and we're doing the work. And we're showing the American people that we will continue to. So you mentioned one,

and then you mentioned another one we didn't have on that map. Brett, let's put that map back up. But Tiffany, walk me through your night. What do you think is going to happen here? Right? Because you mentioned Maine, okay? What else do you think, right?

Because you've got to make sure you don't lose those four. So you think Texas, you hold North Carolina looks like it's going to go blue, right? You have a very popular ex-governor there. Texas, we hold for sure. Iowa. We went Iowa with Ashley Hinson. She's working hard. She's an amazing candidate. We take that.

What about Kansas? What about Kansas? You're worried in Kansas? We keep Kansas and Alaska. We keep Alaska. Corbyn, what about you? What do you think? What states are you picking off here for the Democrats?

I'm picking off Michigan. We're keeping, we're keeping, um, Georgia. We're taking Michigan. I think we're taking North Carolina, Texas, Ohio. I think Maine is going to, I mean, it's going to be a little more of a challenge, but I think that's a good shot. You think Texas is real? I think we end up with a three. You think Texas is real? The numbers there are real? No. I do. I've saw the Beto thing happen, and that was nowhere near the kind of the depth and the breadth of the Tala Rico movement, A, and B, the problems weren't there. It wasn't as dire circumstances. I mean, it's getting real expensive to roll coal. You know, diesel fuel is real high, and Texas don't like that.

I mean, it's really impacting the ranchers. It's really impacting the folks that like to drive around in big diesel trucks. There's a lot of people that are feeling the pain. Corbin Trent, Tiffany, Smiley, always love having you guys on. There's a lot to talk about in the days ahead. I'm sure we're going to talk again. Thank you for being here tonight. You can dive deeper into the midterms for the NBC News polling page,

early vote data, expert analysis, and more subscriber-only content. Scan the QR code on your screen to subscribe now. Okay, we're going to turn out of the growing flood. threat from coast to coast, powerful king tides, fueling days of floods, submerging streets and threatening waterfront homes. Our Dana Griffin is in Long Beach, California tonight. And Dana, people are preparing in case they might have to evacuate? They are, Tom. One woman tells me she's got her bags pack in case things get a little dicey here. Other residents say they're pretty confident with the work that the city of Long Beach is doing behind me, trying to restore this

beach by dumping sand back onto it. And this work is going to continue through November as Southern California prepares for peak El Niño conditions. Tonight, dangerous conditions on both coasts as a high tide phenomenon unleashes flooding and swamps communities. In Southern California, business owners scooping out water from their flooded shops. Water gushing through this Orange County neighborhood as residents lug in sandbags to stop the flow. In Florida, flood waters from high tides overtaking streets and. communities. This dog park in Beiro Beach submerged. We got a lake right here.

Watch as cars try navigating these roads in Fort Lauderdale completely underwater. A similar scene in South Carolina. The coastal threat comes after a weekend of volatile weather across the west, including flooding in the four corners region. In southwest Colorado, floodwaters washing away a section of this highway forcing it to close. This video is showing a helicopter to rescue from a flipped RV. The Colorado National Guard hoisting a couple and their pets to safety. And in Santa Fe, a tornado tearing through this neighborhood Saturday night, with winds uprooting trees and damaging roofs.

In nearby shiprock, aerial video showing the extent of the damage from floodwaters, debris covering homes and roadways. Back in California tonight, the danger isn't over. These are the massive sandburns built to block rising water, but take a look at this. massive pipeline is pumping out more than a billion pounds of sand back onto the battered shore all to help protect homes just beyond the beach. Dana Griffin, NBC News, Long Beach, California. All right.

Let's bring in our meteorologist Bill Carrons. Now, Bill, how long will that threat last? And who will be the most impacted there in California? Yeah, Southern California, definitely probably the worst of it. Up till Thursday is how long this coastal flood warning is going to go. Now, with a full moon was last night, but it's still going to have residual effects over the next couple days. We have the flood warnings from Long Beach southwards. We did reach eight feet today, which was the highest going back to 1925 on the southern portions of California coast. So this was

a sunny day flood event, nothing to do with the storm at all. It has to do with the El Nino, which raises sea heights, and we had the full moon on top of it. The east coast of Florida, different story. Yes, you had the full moon, the king ties, but you also have this easterly wind flow, and we had really high water early this morning. The next high tide is going to be about two hours from now. 30 mile per hour winds coming on shore. So we do expect coastal flooding to be a problem tonight and especially tomorrow morning. And to give a heads up on the next storm, it's going to come into California as we go through this upcoming weekend, another flood event in the four-corner region. And this storm will move across the country. So this one will bring some more flooding problems

to areas that were just hard hit, especially in Arizona. And then the storm comes out into the middle of the country. And of course, Tom, you've been talking about all night. Election Day on Tuesday, big storm in the heartland. A lot of states that are going to be. toss-ups for the Senate are actually going to have impacts from heavy rainfall, including areas like Iowa, possibly, Michigan, and maybe even Ohio. So we'll talk more about that in the week ahead. All right, Bill Cairns, great to see you at the start of this week. We're going to move to Venezuela now in the stunning return of exiled opposition leader Marina Maria Corina Machado. She fled the country fearing persecution for protesting Nicolas Maduro's regime and now returns

less than a year after it's captured by the U.S. with thousands of supporters lining the streets to greet her. Gabe Boutier's reports. Tonight, Venezuela's top opposition leader is back in that country following 10 months in exile. Maria Carina Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, greeted by thousands of cheering supporters, some lining overpasses, others swarming her call. Great changes and hope are coming, this woman says. A senior State Department official now says the U.S. is trying to help revamp the judicial system in Venezuela by the end of this year. to set the stage for credible elections, potentially months after that.

Machado had gotten into hiding after leading mass opposition to Venezuela's disputed 2024 elections. I don't know anything about it, but I think she's a very nice woman. She gave me her Nobel Prize. Her return comes less than a year after U.S. Special Forces arrested authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro, who's now awaiting trial in New York on federal drug trafficking charges, which he's denied. Despite those crowds surrounding Machado, back in January, President Trump had said it'd be tough for her to leave. She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country. Now,

We do like to see Deli Rodriguez facing Maria Corrina Machado in a presidential election in Venezuela. Well, that would be interesting. Today, Venezuela's interim president, Delci Rodriguez, called Machado's return a show, but added she hopes there's repentance and a change of course. Tom. All right, Kay. For more Machado's return to Venezuela, I want to bring in journalist Anna Vanessa Herrero. She's live in Caracas tonight for us. Anna, first, my question to you is, so Machado doesn't seem to be afraid, right?

She's in those massive crowds throughout different parts of Venezuela, and she's there without any kind of bulletproof with it doesn't appear, you know, security guards on top of her in front of her. She's out in convertible cars, and she's waving, and she's unafraid. I mean, that speaks a lot to her and what she thinks about the faith in the Venezuelan people. Absolutely, Tom. You're absolutely right. But we have seen her like this before. We have never seen her surrounded by security. She's pretty confident that not only the Venezuelan people surrounding her, but also the attention that she's getting right now is going to protect her against any kind of threat. Still, the assassination, which is something that analysts say, used to say, was a possibility. One of the reasons she went into hiding last year is not something. that she has to be worried about. Now, people believe and analysts believe that her being arrested is the real threat here. Still, we don't see that happening anytime soon.

She came and the people just threw themselves out to the streets together, to welcome her. And that image alone speaks volumes, not only to the rest of the world, but to Donald Trump's administration and to the interim presidency. But as you know, there was the Collecivo, right?

Which was the armed civilians that Chavez and then Maduro put weapons into their hands, and they essentially were civilian armies, gangs that protected the interests of Maduro in Venezuela. So my question to you is, what has happened to those people? Are they behind Delci? Do they not care anymore? I mean, they're still armed. And that's why, you know, I brought up the issue of the assassination for being so brave. There are still large factions of people that rely on government aid.

that are still loyal to that old regime? Well, at least now what we can see is that that is not the case right now. There is not that amount of people supporting the interim government, Els Rodriguez and Nicolas Maduro. And we saw that January 3rd. Everyone thought that the collectibles were going to go out to the streets and take over and control over not only Caracas, but the rest of the country, and that never happened.

So the truth is that these groups are controlled by the government, or were controlled by the government, and now the government is being overseen by the United States. So really, how much control can they have right now? What is your sense of this timeline that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has outlined on getting the elections into a place where they are fair, they are safe, they're secure, and then Machado potentially can sign up and run in that race? How long do you think that could happen,

and are they just saying this to buy time and maybe more time for Delci? Well, I think that was the case before, but now that Maria Corrina-Metado is here in the country, there is definitely a lot of pressure over that idea. So we are not going to see that this year for sure, but for next year, definitely we will see steps approaching free elections, which is, by the way, Tom, something that every single Venezuela wants, those who support Valci Rodriguez and those who support Maria Corina Machado as well. All right. We thank you, Anna Vanessa, for being here so much on Top Story tonight.

We're back in a moment with the urgent search for a convicted killer who escaped from prison. The video just into was showing him stealing a truck while on the run. Plus, new footage tonight of Chris Brown beating a music producer with a tequila bottle at a nightclub. The decision just handed down by a judge on whether he could face time behind bars. And foul on the field, police called to a youth soccer game in Florida. The parents of a three-year-old soccer prodigies say it was because their son was too good. We'll explain ahead on top story. We're back now with the manhunt for a convicted murderer who escaped late last night from a

prison in Tennessee. Authorities warned he could be dangerous, releasing surveillance images of the man, and a truck that was stolen just miles from the prison. Aaron Gilchrest reports. Tonight, a convicted murderer is on the run escaping from a Tennessee prison, now a manhunt for 28-year-old Jacob Allen Morley. Corrections officials putting out these recent surveillance images showing him in a prison uniform with glasses. and a thick beard. Officers from local, state, and federal agencies now scouring Northwest Tennessee, setting up checkpoints and using a helicopter and search dogs in the hunt. Authorities say Morley, who was serving a life sentence, escaped from the Northwest Regional Complex late Sunday night,

getting through a perimeter fence before disappearing into the darkness. Tonight, state investigators releasing this surveillance video of Morley stealing a pickup truck about six miles from the prison. Police asking residents to check doorbell and trail cameras for any possible sightings. He's nowhere close to here, you know. That's the last place he'd want to be. Morley was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Cody Birchfield back in 2022. Witnesses told investigators at the time that Morley was the last person seen with Birchfield before he went missing. Investigators discovered the victim's body stuffed inside a metal box beneath Morley's house and found Birchfield had been shot. Officials aren't saying how Morley was

able to escape, but they are warning the public to consider him to. dangerous. Morley now on Tennessee's most wanted list with a $2,500 reward for his capture. All right, Aaron Gilchrist joins us tonight. Aaron, we saw that video of Morley stealing that pickup truck. Just how wide of an area could authorities be searching right now? Yeah, Tom, we learned about that pickup truck late today, and that really could be a game changer in this situation for Morley, right? We know that this prison is a sprawling complex in a very rural area, and it essentially is right on the Missouri and Kentucky line with Tennessee. And so it's possible that in the late night hours or the early morning hours, Morley was able

to get that truck, and then he would have been able to perhaps get into Missouri or into Tennessee. We know that there are state and local officials who are really leading this search for Morley. There were helicopters that were put in the air. But the U.S. Marshal Service is also involved here. And so if Morley was able to get into another state, the U.S. Marshals are going to to be looking for him and potentially other law enforcement agencies, too. We did hear from one of the local sheriff there in Lake County, Tennessee, Tom, saying that they didn't believe that there was a reason for folks who live in that local area to be concerned, which I think reinforces

the idea that they believe morally could be outside of Tennessee at this point, Tom. Okay, Aaron Gilchrist, good to see you tonight on the show. We'll stay on top of that manhunt. Coming up, video captioning on luxury cruise colliding with two other ships. What went wrong? And AI giant, Anthropic, gearing up to go public in what could be the biggest stock market debut of all time. So how is the company still losing billions of dollars? We'll break it down. But first, top story's top moment and the talented team of otters at the Oregon Zoo going viral for shooting some serious hoops. But instead of a basketball, the aquatic athletes got a little festive. Take a look.

Good good basket. Basket. Good. Wow, those otters are great. That is some serious. Pumpkin Duncan. Get it? All right, stay with us. More top story after this. We're back now with the Middle East on edge tonight as fears grow over a possible return

to all-out war in Iran, and Israelis are set to decide who will lead their country during this critical time. Richard Engel joins Top Story live tonight from Tel Aviv. So Richard, what are we learning about the potential for renewed fighting? Well, a lot of it depends on who wins the election here in Israel. And there is a growing scandal tonight, just hours before the polls open. with numerous Israeli media organizations reporting that Prime Minister Netanyahu tried to restart the war in the run-up to these elections. And that the Israeli intelligence agency, the Mossad, felt uncomfortable about it, didn't want to do it.

That his army, chief of staff, refused, wanted specific orders in writing because he was worried that the attacks would have a political overtones. And there are American media outlets saying that Netanyahu, appealed to President Trump to also restart the war and that President Trump said no. So this has quite a significant, could be quite significant, as Israelis head to the polls, if they see Netanyahu as someone who is trying to use the war for political gain, trying to scare people, trying to restart the war in order to keep himself in office. Netanyahu denies this, but it is being widely reported tonight just a few hours.

before Israelis start voting tomorrow. And then, Richard, you've been out there, you've been covering this one. You know, since October 7th, we've been to Israel a couple of times, covering things there. And one thing that I noticed were the protests against Netanyahu, especially in the months after the October 7th attacks. What are you seen and hearing from people there? I mean, can you get a sense yet of what you think is going to happen on Election Day? Well, Election Day is very soon.

So as soon as the sun comes up here, Election Day begins, and we're going to have preliminary results by the end of tomorrow. Opinions poll, opinion polls put Benjamin Netanyahu Israel's longest-serving prime minister, effectively in a dead heat with his main rival, Gaddi Eisencott, who is a former Army chief of staff, a retired general, very different personality from Netanyahu. Netanyahu is an experienced politician known for his rhetoric, excellent public speaker.

Gary Eisenkot, much quieter, rarely speaks at all, not fluent in English. But Eisenkot is running on a platform of accountability for October 7th. Three years have passed, but many Israelis feel that they've never had a good explanation about what the government knew, what Prime Minister Netanyahu may have known in the run-up to the Hamas massacre on October 7th. Netanyahu has never accepted any responsibility, saying that it was the fault of his security services, that they missed the warning signs. And Gaddi Eisencoat says there should be a proper inquiry and that Netanyahu was asleep at the wheel

and that it is time for him to be removed from office and for Israel to turn a page after three years of warfare. All right, Richard Engel for us. Richard, I'm sure we'll talk much more tomorrow. Thank you. For more exclusive video, expert insights and inside access to our reporters on the ground, and download the NBC News app and subscribe. Now to Top Stories News Feed and a new video of Chris Brown beating a music producer over the head with a tequila bottle at a London nightclub. Police there released this edited footage

from the attack three years ago. In court today, a judge gave the Grammy-winning singer an eight-month sentence suspended for a year, meaning he won't go to prison unless he commits another offense during that time. Brown pleaded guilty to a single charge and apologized for the brawl. In Germany, a luxury cruise ship packed

with passengers slamming two container ships. It happened while it was leaving port right in the middle of a storm. Some tugboats tried to help, but they weren't enough to stop the collision. It caused serious damage with debris and pieces of the boat falling into the water. That cruise liner trip to the Canary Islands now canceled. And a big announcement from dictionary.com releasing its word of the year for 2026, and it's a popular one for Gen Z. It is Maxine. Have you ever heard of it? Well, they say it's the practice of pursuing an activity to the fullest or optimizing a certain aspect of your life. I like to newsmax. That's what I do. That's a way to you. That's a way to

use it. These were the other top contenders for the word of the year. Affordability, Data Center, Odyssey, and Unk. That is an older person. All right. In Florida, police called to a children's soccer game where a three-year-old prodigy was dominating the competition. His parents say those cops were called because their son is too good. George Relief breaks down with the video shows. They call the police on a three-year-old because he's too good. In Winter Park, Florida, police called to the scene of a youth soccer game this weekend, where three-year-old Nevada had been dominating the field, dribbling through the defense,

kicking the ball between other players' legs, even scoring with his heel. They called the police on a three-year-old because he had the ball for too long. According to Nevada's parents, who recorded this video, their son was being picked on for playing too well. They had a whole meeting by a three-year-old.

How y'all going to have a whole meeting by the three-year-old? A league official saying he called the cops because it was the family causing a disturbance. There's a parent here just really, really disruptive, like following me around and calling me names in front of this whole bunch of people that's here. That's the sports league director on the line who is seen here talking to police.

So the kid is good, right? It's fantastic, it's great, real good. But he pushes the kids and did all that stuff. So I try to tell them, hey, stop, don't let me push. We want to pay without pushing, right? The three-year-old's mother saying they typically stand apart, from the other families at games. We stand on the other side.

We don't never stand with the other parents, so we're not getting into it with other parents. We're always on the other side. Everybody can tell you that we're always on this side. You guys have a better day, okay? All right. Ultimately, the family left voluntarily. Police determining the matter was a civil dispute.

In a statement, the leak says it's reviewing the incident of a young child caught in the middle of a very grown-up dispute. All right, with that, George Sleese joins us from Miami. George, good to see you there. Do we know if this child will be allowed to play in the future? Yeah, Tom. So Nevada's mom actually going on a podcast to talk a little bit more about what happened in the aftermath. She says the league did offer them a refund and that they actually offered them to let them play for free at a different league. Now, the mom says she certainly doesn't want to do that. She says her child, Nevada is very stressed out. He doesn't want to play anymore. She's really disheartening for her. She says she is working to figure out a solution.

But this has also drawn so much attention on social media that a number of influencers and athletes have also reached out. So this is one. We'll continue monitoring. Yeah, maybe Team USA will let them try out soon. All right, George, thank you for that. Now to Money Talks, and our first look behind the curtain at Anthropics finances as they prepare to go public. It's expected to be one of the largest stock debuts in history, likely in the trillions. But while the company is showing explosive growth, it also lost $80 billion in the first half of this year. How does that happen?

Ali Klanal joins now to break it all down. Ali, that's staggering $80 billion in losses. What does that mean? Yeah, so the $80.7 billion loss, that doesn't mean the company is spending that much cash. In fact, a lot of this is tied to some wonky accounting adjustments as the company's valuation is soared. But at the end of the day, this is a company that's still not profitable.

It's still not making any money. Despite the fact that we've seen some pretty impressive revenue growth, if you go all the way back to 2023, Anthropic generated just $41 million in revenue. year, though, 4.6 billion. And then in the first six months of this year, more than $16 billion, up 1,300 percent from a year ago here. So investors, they're not just looking at how much money Anthropic is losing. They're also betting on how much more money Anthropic could possibly make, especially if they're able to keep up this pace of growth. But you have to be a believer in the AI story.

Well, on the AI story, there's been sort of a lot of, if you will, bad press on AI. Are they, to wipe out humanity, data centers not being welcomed in communities across this country. Is that affecting the IPO? Well, Anthropics specifically called out some of these risks in the filing. For example, the company warns that growing opposition to data centers, concerns around electricity, water usage, that that could actually delay construction and inhibit the ability for Anthropic to grow here. And then there are those safety concerns.

Anthropics says that as these AI systems develop, they could go rogue. They could misbehave without human direction. All of these risks are things that investors need to be aware of if they're going to be putting their money into this company. At the same time, despite all the skepticism, though, there's some really deep-pocketed investors that have already poured billions privately into Anthropic, and they believe in this story. And that's why this is a company that's choosing to go public now. There are still those backers out there. A lot of times when you have growing businesses, there are other companies that are sort of intertwined, right? And with Anthropic, you have customers, but also investors that could include companies like Google or

Microsoft, I mean, their clients and their investors, but they're all sort of tied in. If this doesn't go well for Anthropic, what does it mean for sort of the rest of the tech industry? Yeah, you think of Google, Microsoft, Amazon. They are all customers of Anthropic. They're all competitors to Anthropic. They provide the cloud infrastructure. So like you said, they're all very interconnected. This is something that Wall Street calls circular financing. And to your point, if any of those big names pull back on spending or investing, that could create a serious ripple effect across the entire AI ecosystem, especially since Anthropic has a lot of financial commitments. For example, the company has committed about $417 billion in minimum payments,

mostly tied to data center construction, computing infrastructure. So if they want to invest that heavily in the future, they need to make sure that they have the cash coming in to do that. And again, that's part of the reason why it's choosing to go public right at this moment. Before we go, I saw another headline that stopped me in my tracks. It was Microsoft's offering buyouts to 60,000 employees. That's a wild number. We don't know if it'll get to 60,000, but just the fact that they're offering 60,000

of their labor force, and they may take them out of that labor force. That says a lot. What's behind that headline? Yeah, 60,000 employees, that's about a quarter of Microsoft's workforce. Now, to your point, that doesn't mean 60,000 workers are going to be out of a job. Microsoft does not expect that many people to accept this voluntary buyout. But I think it shows how much and how quickly AI is changing the big-tech landscape here, right? I mean, Microsoft is spending billions of dollars in AI, and they're pulling costs away from other areas,

and that includes its workforce. Microsoft isn't a loan. We've seen that from other tech giants out there, and it's interesting because it's not like Microsoft is struggling on the financial side, right? It's still producing mass amounts of profits. Now, I think when we take a step back and look across the economy, we haven't seen evidence of mass layoffs tied. to AI, but I do think it creates uncertainty for this tech labor force in particular, and the ramifications of that. I think we're going to have to continue to monitor. And then what happens to these employees, too? Do they create their own startups? Do they go to

other companies like an anthropic, for example? That's something we want to monitor as well. Okay, Allie, thanks for being here. We always appreciate it. Still to come tonight on top story, the homeowner versus the water company, you're going to love this story. The simple test one Texas resident used to expose a faulty meter and win back hundreds of dollars. Plus the stomach turning diamond theft, a man convicted of stealing nearly $800,000 in Tiffany jewelry, then swallowing the evidence how investigators crack the case right after this. We're back now with an investigation out of Houston, unusually high water bills, leaving some struggling to pay and prompting one man to take matters into his own hands.

Amy Davis from our Houston affiliate takes a closer look as part of KPRC series enough. A couple of days ago, I got a call from the... the city of Houston. They left the voicemail. They were alerting me that they had noticed excessive use on my water in my house. Water customer at Grizavala worried when he got a $479 water bill in July and an $820 bill in August. His house is on the market and he and his wife were renting and staying somewhere else. It reported that I had used 27,000 gallons in the last month, which I knew didn't make sense. I was, you know, nearly a thousand gallons a day for a house that is not occupied. So Edgar grabbed a five-gallon bucket from his backyard while we

recorded him and his meter in real time. Have all the water in the house shut down so the meter shouldn't be moving at all. I'm just going to get the hose. I'm going to put in my five-gallon bucket, and now I'm just going to open the faucet. And we're going to see when I open. We're going to it. All right. Take a look at the face of Edgar's meter. This is the meter register where you see the readout. Do you see how fast the red dial and the numbers are spinning?

Public works confirmed this is happening because this meter register is not compatible with Edgar's meter. He doesn't know this. But do you see the model number right here? A Badger Model 70 meter register is made to fit on a one inch meter. Edgar's meter is five eighths of an inch. Houston's public works director says they have spent the last two years replacing broken water meter equipment that caused inaccurate bills. And he's acknowledged several hundred of those were installed incorrectly, including Edgers. All right, so this is almost to the very top, so I'm going to go ahead and shut down the water.

All right. So the water's closed again. So you can see it's closed and now let's go see. Let's go see what this meter tells us. Edgar had written down the number on his meter before he filled the bucket. Now he's checking it again. The 218 is now as a 240. So we went from a 218 to a 240. So that's about 22.

To Edgar, the proof was pretty clear. But when a city technician showed up to his home two weeks after he called the city, Edgar says that tech didn't seem willing to listen. What I've reported is inaccuracy in the meter. I said, and I've run a test to prove that. He says, well, I'm not with the accuracy department. So he says, you know, I can't help you with that. He says, I'm here to identify whether you have a leak and you have a leak.

So I just need to tell you have a leak. I said, well, I said, how do I go about addressing this is, well, that's not my department. So this is not what I do. Full disclosure, Edgar did have a small leak in his water meter box that he was able to fix. Edgar says there's no way that accounted for 27,000 gallons of water. But he says the small leak is all the technician would discuss. Well, I'm just going to show your neighbor. I said, no, but hold on a second.

Let me talk to you. And he just hung up on me. He hung up on me. He hung up on me. How long did you wait for somebody from the city to come out, and he hung up on you? And then, yeah, he hangs up on me, went to chat with my neighbor. And I could see him on camera, you know, for a few minutes. And I try to call the phone back, the number back, because I had a number that had called me.

So I'm like, hey, the guy's still there. Let me talk to him. I just need to know how to go about what my next step is. and he would not answer his phone. When we took these findings to the director of public works, they replaced Edgar's meter register the same day. Another bucket test showed five gallons of water actually registered as five gallons on the new meter register.

The city credited Edgar's account for $870 and said they believe the error was an isolated instance. And now a lot of people are telling us they are getting buckets to try this simple test, hoping this will finally lead to some answers and lower water bills. Tom. Amy Davis from our Houston affiliate, KPRC. We thank you for that great story.

Okay, we're going to turn out to a bizarre one out of Florida, a man convicted of a robbery after stealing diamond earrings from Tiffany's and swallowing them once police caught up to him. The evidence in his stomach captured on x-ray. Jesse Kirsch has this one. Get it out. Tonight, the jewel thief take down and a desperate attempt to hide the evidence. Get it out.

Get it out. This video obtained by the smoking gun shows Florida Highway Patrol trying to get a suspect to spit out diamond earrings worth three quarters of a million dollars. Investigators say in February 2025, Jathan Gilder walked into this Tiffany store in Orlando claiming to represent an NBA player. Surveillance video shows Gilder inside a VIP room. Watch as he grabs over a million dollars worth of jewelry. Investigators say he then struggled with a store employee and fled with two pairs. of diamond earrings worth more than $760,000. About 250 miles away, troopers caught up with Gilder during a traffic stop that quickly escalated. Later at the jail, a scan of Gilder's body revealed these mystery items, according to a police

detective affidavit, which also says Gilder asked staff, am I going to be charged with what's in my stomach? Diamonds may be forever, but these did not stay missing for long. About two weeks after the theft, prosecutors say authorities recovered the jewels. Adding that earlier this month, a jury found the 34-year-old guilty of robbery and grand theft. Jesse Kerrish joins us tonight. Jesse, do we know how much time this diamond swallower could be facing in prison? Potentially decades, Tom. So his sentencing is set for December, according to prosecutors. And we reached out this afternoon to get clarity on the potential extent of his sentencing.

What we were told by the prosecutor's offices, one of the charges was a first-degree felony, and he had been found to have been a habitual offender. That means he faces, according to prosecutors, a maximum of life in prison, Tom. All right. Jesse Kerrish for us tonight here on Top Story. Jesse, good to see you. When we come back tonight, a special welcome home for one father, reuniting with his four daughters after being deployed for months.

Stay with us. Finally, tonight, an Army Sergeant Dad surprising all four of his daughters at school. The emotional reunions, nine months in the making, filled with hugs and tears. And as you can imagine, lots of love. In a gym full of people, one fan stood out. Sisters, McKenzie and Elizabeth Shaw jumping into their dad's arms. Staff Sergeant Leland Shaw is stationed in Texas and hasn't seen his girls since February. Coming home to surprise them as they warmed up for a volleyball game in Northern Virginia.

I saw him like through the bleachers and at first I didn't believe it. I was like there's no way my dad's here. I just wanted to give him a hug. So I ran over and I like jumped on him. Their younger sisters, Hannah and Emmeline, surprise as well. Emelan nearly knocking dad over with the force of her hug. Mom, Deborah, says it's been hard on the girls. The best part was just seeing how surprised they were, but also,

just to see that that connection that they have hasn't gone anywhere. Four surprises, four hugs, and four sisters happy to be back with their dad. Just seeing them all together, I can't even express that amount of joy. So glad to be back with dad. All right, that does it for us. Thanks for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamas in New York. Stay right there.

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