Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, September 21, 2026

Episode Date: September 22, 2026

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

Tonight, chaos in America skies, the tech meltdown shutting down the airspace over much of the northeast. Thousands of flights delayed and canceled, passengers stranded for hours. New York, Boston, Philadelphia all hit. United canceling most of its domestic flights into and out of one of its busiest hubs, why the FAA took the drastic move of shutting down the airspace. The news organizations filing suit against President Trump after he banned three of them from the White House will a judge force the administration to allow them back in. Ice shooting in Austin, new protest and video from the scene

after a man was shot by federal officers while delivering for DoorDash. Cindy Crawford's son found dead. Police investigating if model Presley Gerber overdosed while in rehab questions tonight about how he got the drugs inside. Paramount's major breakthrough, the media giant, settling a multi-state legal battle, paving the way for a remote. merger with Warner Brothers, what it means for how you stream and what you see in theaters.

The NBC News poll just out President Trump's approval rating hitting a second term low, how it could impact the final sprint to the midterms. Steve Kornacki standing by. Plus, the new documentary about Gaza that got a 25-minute standing ovation, why the filmmakers are facing charges in Israel and when it's coming to the U.S. And the new study finding Americans are drinking less, the two age groups driving that drop. Top story starts right now. Good evening. We begin tonight with the air travel meltdown at this hour. Hundreds of thousands of passengers impacted by flight delays and diversions and cancellations.

Crowded scenes like this at airports from coast to coast. Some people waiting six hours from more to get on their flights after an air traffic control system and a backup failsafe all failed. Passengers at Boston's Logan Airport forced to debaward on the tarmac. Look at that as officials temporarily shut down much of the northeast airspace. Plains in Philly at a complete standstill, the FAA citing a failure with a communication circuit at that airport. And then a New Jersey transit construction team cut into a key fiber optic cable, which brought airports across the northeast grinding to a halt. United pulling the majority of flights out of Newark today. So far, more than 6,000 flights have been delayed and more than 1,000 canceled. NBC's Tom Costello leads us off tonight from Reagan National Airport. Gridlock in the northeast today, the busiest airspace in the country.

I think it's a little worrisome. My flight was canceled. Ground stops in Philadelphia, Newark, Teterboro, Liguardia, JFK, and Boston. Hundreds of thousands of passengers delayed, diverted, or stranded. United Airlines canceling most Newark flights. Some delays six hours and longer spreading from the east coast to the west. And then we just sat in the airport for a little bit and our flight was canceled. Bad timing as world diplomats are flying into New York for the UN General Assembly. We're completely shut down on departures due to an equipment outage of other facilities. The FAA says it happened when a communication circuit failed at its Philadelphia terminal radar center. Then New Jersey Transit says a construction crew cut a backup fiber optic line releasing this photo,

and that cut off critical air traffic communications. All data coming through that circuit was lost. With planes stuck on runways and ramps repair teams rushed to repair the links. trying to sterilize the airspace in the entire Northeast corridor just to make sure it doesn't cause issues for aircraft that are in the air. We're using old architecture, a 30, 40-year-old architecture. We have asked the Congress to do a whole new architecture of aviation. This is a live look at.

Today's meltdown comes the same day the FAA began rolling out a new AI tool called Smart, giving controllers more information on weather, flight paths, and diversions, while insisting controllers, not AI, will make the final decisions. Could AI take over? It cannot. Humans, humans run their system. The smart system starting in Washington before going national. Tom Costello joins us now live from Reagan. Tom, we have a late-breaking update from the Transportation Secretary. What's he saying? That's right. Secretary Duffy tweeting that they now have the telecom systems restored and they are resuming operations at these affected airports. but the numbers of delays and cancellations, as you mentioned, 6,000 delays, 1,000 cancellations.

It's going to take a while to roll through that whole system and get everything back up and running again. If you're flying, even tomorrow, check with your airline to make sure that the flight is leaving on time, Tom. Okay, Tom Costello leading us off. Tonight, three news outlets are suing President Trump after he banned them from the White House. The president called their coverage one-sided, but CNN, MS now, and political argue this is an assault on the first. Amendment. Here's Kelly O'Donnell. Today, three news organizations filed suit asking a federal judge to reverse the president's expulsion of CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House, alleging that violates their

constitutional rights. The filing says this ban could not be a more direct assault of the First Amendment, adding, he implemented the ban to coerce more favorable coverage. Tonight, after barring three major news outlets, the president sought out local news cameras, waiting not for him, but for Mayor Mom Donnie and his plan news conference that was not supposed to include the president. I never get anything positive. It's always negative. And I think that these outlets have an obligation to be fair. Earlier today on social media, the president called out the federal judge and claimed virtually every story about me is negative, wrong, and in many cases, dangerous for our country. As a result of the ban, CNN was barred from serving as the previously scheduled TV network pool,

responsible for providing pictures and coverage, broadcast by all the major TV networks to viewers everywhere. One practical impact is seen here. There's no microphone because the pool cameras aren't there. Where conservative outlet Newsmax showed the president today at a ribbon cutting for the new helipad, without the TV pool's involvement. Obviously, the ramifications are right here. Can't hear what the president's saying. All right, Kelly O'Don is going to pick it up from there. And Kelly, when could we see a judge rule in this lawsuit?

Well, Tom, first the Trump administration gets to formally respond to the lawsuit. That's done in writing. And then Wednesday, there is a hearing scheduled where the news organizations we've been talking about can argue their request for a temporary order, which would block this ban. That's what they're trying to seek. So we'll learn at some point after that. Now, what we know is that these news organizations are saying this is about their First Amendment rights, but also their Fifth Amendment rights. And that has to do with due process. They were not notified in writing and were not given any opportunity to respond to the President's plan to ban

them from the White House grounds. We've also seen in court history when it comes to these issues with media organizations that if the government opens the gates here at the White House, House or in another government building to some news media that it is not permitted to restrict certain outlets because of the content of what they report. That's called viewpoint discrimination. That's part of the argument these three news organizations are making, that the president doesn't like what they report, and that's why he banned them. The president has said as much in some of his public comments, but it will be up to a court to decide what the facts and the law and the circumstances are here. Tom?

Okay, Kelly O with the White House for us, Kelly, great to see you there. As we saw, President Trump is in New York tonight, set to take the global stage at the UN, where he'll hold a series of high-stakes meetings, including potentially, with the president of Iran. Here's Monica Alba. Tonight in New York for a high-stakes speech at the UN... Well, I can say, from my standpoint, I love New York, and this represents New York. The president first making a stop to see Democratic Mayor Zoran Mamdani, the third, sit down for the political opposites. We appreciate the president's commitment to the city.

President with more key meetings this week, including possibly the president of Iran. They're not going to have a nuclear weapon. All as he's facing pressure over rising gas prices. And now three U.S. airlines to cut back on holiday flights due to fuel costs. The Trump administration trying to lower energy prices by getting more oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, past Iranian attacks. Tonight, sent Koms saying it's escorted tankers with one billion barrels of oil through the street. straight in two months. I think we all have to accept that so long as the Iranians are trying to terrorize international shipping, we of course are going to try to push back against that, but that is

why gas prices are so high. And the war could expand, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacking an airport in Saudi Arabia, all as the president intensifies his blockade on Iran. Centcom saying it's blocked 110 vessels from Iranian ports. Our foot is on the neck of the Iranian economy. Okay, Monica, Alba joins us live from the UN. Monica, I know you have some new reporting for our viewers on what the president will say and potentially who he's going to meet with this week. Yeah, it's really going to be a very busy day here tomorrow, Tom. The president will start it off with his speech here at the UN General Assembly.

Last year's address was just under an hour. We'll see if he goes over that tomorrow. But after that, he is going to be meeting. We understand, have his first face-to-face with the interim leader of Venezuela. Deli Rodriguez. In addition to that, he's going to be meeting at some point with Ukrainian president Volodomir Zelensky. In addition to that, he'll have some kind of sit down with the head of the UK, the leader of Japan, as well as a meeting with key leaders of Gulf nations where there could be some critical developments potentially on that widening war if that happens against Iran

or any kind of timeline or update. And beyond that, as we mentioned, it is possible. that the president could sit down with the president of Iran. They are leaving the door open to that and what could be a very high-stakes day of back-to-back meetings here in New York City. Tom? Okay, Monica Alba for us. Monica, thank you for that. I want to bring in our Keir Simmons, who is in Saudi Arabia for us tonight live. Kier, you're in Riyadh, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked an airport on Saturday. This was a major move by them.

What are you seen on the ground there, and what are you hearing from people who live in Saudi Arabia? Yeah, Tom, you wouldn't know, would you, looking behind me, that this was a capital city that had faced an attack just this past weekend. But it did. The Saudis say that the missiles were intercepted. And it is worrying people here. We've spoken to people who heard a noise whose houses, shook as a result of those interceptions of those missiles. And Yemen, where the Houthis are, is a distance away from here. So it just illustrates the way that this is escalating in this part of the region now, that it's a, if you like, a new front in the Iran conflict,

and it's sucking in a key ally for the United States, Saudi Arabia, where I am now, Tom. And then, Keir, those strikes directly on Saudi Arabia's capital. They mark a significant escalation, right? Talk about what's behind the intensifying attacks. Well, the Houthis are trying to put pressure on Saudi Arabia. for a number of reasons. All of this, one of the catalysts for all of this was a flight from Iran to Yemen

with Houthi officials on board. Saudi Arabia effectively trying to interdict with that flight. In other words, trying to prevent Iran from strengthening its stronghold with those pro-Iranian Houthis. So that's one aspect of all of this, Tom. But another aspect, too, is our own Courtney QB

reporting tonight, citing two U.S. officials that in fact President Trump did call off a major plan for a major strike on Sunday. Now, Courtney's reporting suggests that there are them, those in the Trump administration, who are arguing that, frankly, that the US would not gain from such strikes, that the Houthis would turn on U.S. interests, and that it wouldn't defeat the Houthis. But there are others in the Trump administration who are, suggesting that this is a betrayal of a key ally, Saudi Arabia. And indeed, we have heard that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

has been in contact with the Trump administration, and reporting says, has been asking for the Trump administration to help with air strikes against the Houthis. Because the question now is, if the Houthis are left to gain more territory and gain a further ability to threaten another key shipping lane off the coast of Yemen, then what does that mean for U.S. power in this region? What does that mean for oil prices? What does that mean for the stability of this region, Tom?

Okay, Kyrs Simmons, stay safe there in Riyadh. Back here at home, protest erupting in Texas after an ice officer shot and wounded a man in his car in Austin. Tonight we have new video of those chaotic moments and a warning. Some of this video is disturbing. Ryan Chandler is there. Why you do that to him? Tonight new video shows the moments officers surround an Austin food delivery driver, an ICE officer shot in the back. It's not clear why ICE initially pursued him and opened fire. You see law enforcement handcuffed 28-year-old Wilbur Rafael Garcest Perez as he bleeds from his back,

cutting his shirt to reveal the bullet wound. Gunshots from the incident captured by a nearby driver's phone on Sunday. Oh my God. Two bullet holes visible in the back window. The Department of Home Home's, Homeland Security says Garces Perez was hospitalized in stable condition, then taken into federal custody for removal, adding he's from Venezuela and in the U.S. illegally with a final order of deportation. He didn't know that he was being hit by ice. And when he realized what was going on, he was trying to pull over. But they rammed him again and then shot him. Today, his attorney tells us Garces Perez was delivering food when an unmarked car pursued him. What do you want the world to know about your client tonight?

Wilbur is just like any of the rest of us. He's a young man. He's a door-dash driver. He was out on the road trying to make some money for his family. A senior administration official tells NBC News he did not have a criminal history beyond his immigration violation. His lawyer says he was an asylum seeker who entered the country through a parole program. Ryan Chandler joins us tonight from Austin, Texas. Ryan, that bullet wound looks pretty clear there in that video.

Do we know why doctors apparently have not removed? the bullet from his back? Well, Tom, Garcest Perez believes it's because it's too close to his spine to remove safely. And on that note, Tom, we're receiving a new update on his medical condition just in the last several minutes. We're hearing from San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro, who says that Garces Perez is currently being taken back to the hospital out of that processing facility. The congressman says he's being taken to the hospital because he's in tremendous pain and

tells us that the bullet is still inside his left side. He cannot move the left side of his body. The congressman is joining this chorus of condemnation, calling it abuse that Garcès-Perez was moved from the hospital into a detention facility so quickly, Tom. Okay, Ryan Chandler for us, Ryan, thank you for that. Now to the final sprint to the midterm elections, a new NBC news poll showing that President Trump's approval rating is at a second-term low. And with inflation still on the rise, voters say that that issue is top of mind as they prepare to cast their ballots. I want to get over to our good friend Steve Kornacki at the Big Board. Steve, walk us through this poll, starting with that approval rating.

Yeah, Tom, you see it right here. This is our new NBC News poll. 41% say they approve of the job that President Trump is doing. That is the lowest our poll has found during his second term. When he first came back to office, this number was up even into the high 40s, now down at 41%. What is driving it? By far and away, it's probably this number one. Views of how Trump is handling the economy.

His economic policies look at this, only a quarter. 26% of voters say his policies are helping a majority now say. 55% say his policies are hurting among independents. This number close to 60% here. And one thing that that's also contributing to, very alarming number for the president and his party. We asked voters your vote in the midterm election this November. Are you going to use it to send a signal of opposition to the president?

Look at this. 43% say yes. They want their vote in November to show opposition. to Trump. Look at the previous presidents in their midterms, including Trump back in 2018. This number is higher than anything we've seen over the last two decades for presidents in midterm elections. And then, Steve, while we have you here, how do voters feel about both parties as a whole? Yeah, so I've given you the bad news that Republicans are facing those headwinds, where Republicans are drawing hope is this. The view, I should say first, let me show you in terms of the key issues here, the Democrats with an advantage on all but immigration over the Republicans.

Where the Republicans are drawing hope is this. It's the image of the two political parties. And you can see right here, this is right now. Republicans are not popular, 49 negative 36 positive. But look at this, the Democrats, much worse. Only 29% positive. The view of the Democratic Party, 50% of voters say they have a negative view of the Democratic party.

Go back to Trump's first midterm. This is a difference from them. Back then, the Republican numbers were not good. The Democratic numbers were a little better than the Republican. So there is a lot of skepticism that voters have about the opposition. And that's what Republicans are hoping. They're saying, look, as voters who want to send a message to the president, will they end up having some pause because of the alternative? You know, Steve, while we have you here, I'm going to throw you a little bit of a curveball.

I've been reading today that when they look back at 2018 and they sort of compare 2018 now to 2026, the Democrats had a bigger advantage going into the midterms as far as all the collective polling was going. Does that matter at this point? And should Democrats be concerned at all? Yeah, well, look, in our poll, the generic ballot, when you ask folks, which party do you want to see control Congress? It's at five points right now. That's the Democratic advantage. In our final poll 2018, before the election, it was seven.

So it is a little bit less than that. Where that comes into play is the reality, when you look at the playing field for control of Congress here, for control of the House, Democrats are going to have to make some incursions into some pretty Republican territory if they're going to have the kind of night there. hoping for. And in that scenario, yeah, the difference between five and seven around the margins could be a considerable. Steve Kornacki, always great to have you. We are excited to have you also during the midterms. Thanks for being here. I want to bring in our political pros to discuss Amisha Cross as a Democratic strategist, a good friend at Top Story, and Carlis Grubello, a former Florida Republican congressman, and an NBC News political analyst, also a good friend to the show

and live in person here in New York as opposed to being with us from Florida. Carl, so I'm going to start with you since you're the guest here in studio. I think the time is up, right? I mean, Republicans aren't going to change the narrative on anything. How do they go on offense at this point? Is it possible? Well, there's two things you want to do in this kind of environment, Tom. Number one is disqualify the opposition. You heard Steve say Democrats aren't popular, so Republicans want to stick some of those label socialism. You hear the president saying communism sometimes to try to disqualify the opposition. And then the other thing to do in some districts, and we've seen that in South Florida with Congresswoman Maria Salazar is distance yourself from the president in order

to save your life. And you're seeing her do that. You're seeing Ashley Hinson starting to do that in Iowa for an important Senate seat there. So those are the two strategies left to Republicans at this late hour. Amisha, you know, we still see in that poll that there are a lot of voters voting against the president, right? More so than voting for Democrats. Do the Democrats have a strong enough argument or a message heading into November, right? How can they get prices down? Because it's tied to so many things, including the war with Iran. No, absolutely. So the Democrats have an uphill battle in undoing a lot of what this president has done, because even with his own Republican Party in leadership currently when it comes

to Congress, he has circumvented a lot of them to get a lot of these things done. We talk about tariffs. He didn't take a vote on that from Congress. When we talk about joining into the war in Iran, that he still doesn't want to call it a war, he didn't get congressional approval or authority to do so. Democrats are going to have to work towards doing what they can, of price reductions, some of that is going to be done at the local level and partnerships with governors, but also with city council members and other members in the local apparatus. But a lot of this is also going to come with investigations as well as pushing back significantly on some of the acts and the moves of what we saw in the Big Beautiful Bill Act that have also

caused skyrocketing things like health care costs. I think it's extremely important for people to remember that even though the Democrats didn't get us into this mess, like every election cycle where Republican as previously won, the American's view of the economy typically goes down because Republicans have handled the economy poorly day in and day out for years at a time. So the workarounds and the rebuild is typically always done by Democratic administrations. That is not going to be done overnight. And unfortunately for the American public, they are fed up. The bleed continues. And folks' pocketbooks cannot handle any more strain. So Democrats have to get in and they have to act

swiftly as swiftly as they can to be able to ensure that any bit of delay between them and the Republican party actually outlast the tragedy in Americans' wallets right now. Speaking of close racing and close polling, I do want to go to the Texas Senate race, Amisha, but you can walk us through this one right here. James Talrico is the Democrat. He's going up against Ken Paxton, the Republican there. Right now, the polling is showing that Talrico could have an advantage. Do Democrats actually think this could be the Senate race where they finally put a Democrat

from Texas back in the Senate? Well, I think we've seen time after time that polling can be quizzical and has little actual value when it comes to a day of race, as it's a turnout race, and the Democratic Party is treating it as a turnout race. We are very excited that we've seen people like John Ossoff go down to Texas and campaign with Tala Rico. That Tala Rico is spending, his campaign is spending dollars. When we talk about black media and black community outreach, we know that this is going to be a tight race. So getting the demographics of color in order to align around his message and to show up in November is going to be a huge deal. We're not looking specifically at polls to see the win here. We're looking at the facts on the ground and people actually getting out to vote and making sure that there are folks on the doors every single day.

There are people within community, that there are church organizations and other respective groups on the ground that understand the importance of this work, and that those individuals make sure that they bring out those communities that matter the most in tight races in November. Carlos, do you think the Democrats have a chance in Texas for the Senate? They definitely have a chance, Tom. But there's a scenario here where this is like 2020 was for Republicans. Everything looks great for Democrats today. I was in these studios in 2022. We were expecting a big red wave.

Florida, Republicans had some pickups there, New York area, some pickups, and then that was it. So there's a lot of anticipation here. But if Democrats can't close in states like Texas, where it would be very difficult and surprising for them to do, then you could see a night where maybe Democrats win the House, but Republicans hold on to the Senate, and it isn't as much of a blue wave as people are expecting. Let's turn to a state you know better, Florida. You have run races there. You have won races.

You've lost races. Maria Salazar came out with a campaign ad that generated a lot of attention last week where she spoke out against the president's immigration policies, saying it's gone too far. Will this help her? Did she have to do that? And do you think she had President Trump's blessing? She had to do it. She probably gave them a heads up.

You saw in the NBC News poll, Tom, Republicans still have advantage on immigration, not in places like South Florida, not in places like South Texas. So Salazar is clearly in a tight race. I represented the district next to hers, even though those districts have gotten a little more red recently. They still have a competitive streak to them. So she had to do this because the president's immigration policies are not popular. How tight is her race? It's probably close to a tie right now. Yeah, Amisha, what did that send, what kind of message did that send to Democrats? I know you guys are doing great when it comes to polling on immigration, and they still don't trust Democrats in part because of President Biden's policies.

But when you saw her come out and put out that ad, what did you think? Well, I thought that she needed to basically create a life raft for herself and her race. But I do, you know, you take your wins as they come. I think that what we've seen from this administration is a president who did, and we have to be honest about that. He did decrease a lot of the border crossings, and he could have stopped there. He decided not to. He decided to do Operation Midway Blitz, which affected my hometown of Chicago.

that it was okay to send ICE agents who injured and in some cases killed Americans. And I think that the more that we see the progress of this administration and its ice raids and the way the ICE is treating everyday people on the streets across this country who are not violent criminals, who are not people who are presenting any type of threat, that the questions that are being asked and the reason that a lot of people are upset across multiple communities in this country is because the people that he said he was going to target are far, not being targeted right now. These are people who are, you know, they are daycare workers, they are grocery workers, they are individuals taking and picking their kids up from school.

These are not the hardened criminals President Trump said he was going to go after. And I actually applaud Salazar for actually finally jumping out and speaking. But at the end of the day, I think that it is too little too late. Unfortunately for those communities that are under siege, but also and probably for her. Amisha Cross, Carlos Grubello, always great to speak to both of you. We're back in a moment with the death of Presley Gerber, son of supermodel. Cindy Crawford, 27-year-old, found dead inside of a rehab facility. How could that have happened? Plus, are GLP ones making people go blind? The possible link as new lawsuits pile up.

And the country club crash, a driver caught on camera barreling into a pro shop. More of that wild video ahead on top story. We're back now with the tragic death of Presley Gerber, the son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Randy Gerber. He died yesterday at a rehab facility in Southern California, and police are now saying they're investigating the 27-year-old's death. as a suspected overdose. Here's Liz Croix. Tonight we're learning new details about the death of model Presley Gerber, the son of Cindy Crawford. Authorities now investigating the possibility he overdosed at a rehab center on Sunday. Gerber was just 27, the son of Crawford and businessman Randy Gerber, his younger sister, the model and actress Kyah Gerber.

Santa Monica police saying at this time there's no indication a foul play. Authorities say around 9.35 Sunday morning, they responded to a report. of a possible overdose and that upon arrival, officials located an adult male who was deceased. A source close to the investigation tells NBC News he had just checked into the facility the night before. Like his famous mother, Gerber began modeling as a teenager and was recently part of a major ad campaign for Viori alongside his family. In recent years, he began opening up about his private struggles with mental health issues and substance abuse. I've struggled with mental health, depression, and a lot of things that come along with that.

Even hosting a weekly series, he called Mental Health Mondays on social media. Today we are going to be talking about ketamine. Just last month, Presley's younger sister, Kaya, referencing his battle with addiction in an interview with Vogue, saying, my parents for most of our lives were very, very private and didn't share anything. And now we have this absolute teacher, my brother, who says, I'm going to be very human for everyone. Tonight, the family asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time. It is so sad, and you feel for Cindy and her family. Liz Coitz joins us from Los Angeles.

Liz, people are going to be hearing that he may have overdosed at a rehab facility. That sounds a little confusing. Do we know what happened? Tom, I mean, there's so many questions still. We have reached out to that rehab facility. We have not heard back from them. The law enforcement source we're talking to says that it's believed that he was likely dead for some time before he was found Sunday morning. They say that he checked in around 10 p.m. the night before the cause, the exact cause and manner of death.

That's all still under investigation by the medical examiner's office that could potentially take months. So a lot of questions here. But Tom, even though right now the family is asking for privacy, so we haven't gotten a fuller statement from them in response to what's happened. We do know they're clearly so tight-knit. His sister, Kaya, last year, described him as her best friend. And whenever he posts about his addiction and his struggles on social media, you can just see right there in the comments, Cindy, his dad, his sister, cheering him on. saying how proud of him they are, Tom. Just so sad.

Yeah, it is sad. Liz Kreuz for us, Liz, thank you. Coming up here on the broadcast, putting down the glass, new data shows fewer young people are drinking alcohol. So what's driving that trend? Is it weed? Plus the unusual catch out at sea will show you what a group of fishermen just pulled in off the coast of Florida.

Look at that. But first, top story's top moment in the young Eagles fan who had his football dreams come true over the weekend. Eight-year-old Bo was ready to watch the Eagles take on the Titans from the comfort of his couch when mom and dad had a different idea. Take a look. We're going to watch in real life. Yeah.

I mean you were going to watch the Eagles today? You know, this is what I've been wanting to do ever since I knew what the Eagles were? Oh, that's so great. Glad he got to go to the game. Bo had an incredible time at his first NFL game, leading chance with the crowd and witnessing the birds. come from behind victory against Tennessee. What a great memory, Bo. Stay with us. More Top Story after the break. We're back now with Top Story's newsfeed in the verdict and the trial of a man accused of shooting three Palestinian college students in Vermont. A jury there today convicting Jason Eaton of attempted murder for allegedly firing at the three men as they were walking near his home in 2023. The attack left one of the students paralyzed and the other two wounded.

Eaton now faces up to life in prison he had pleaded not guilty by reason. of insanity. And some wild video tonight from just outside of Boston. Here you can see a car smashing into a country club, the driver barreling through the wall of that pro shop, knocking over two workers and causing some serious damage. Police say the employees and driver were hurt but are expected to be okay. Investigators now looking into what caused that crash. And an unusual cash for a group of fishermen off the coast of Florida. Look closely. The charter company says they were on a six-hour trip over the weekend when they pulled in this huge drone. Unclear what kind it is and what doing way out at sea, but one of the fishermen told her local affiliate, they quickly got a call

from U.S. officials who went and picked up the drone later that day. That's big. Turning now to an update on those popular weight loss drugs. Some patients reporting a scary side effect, vision loss. NBC Stephanie Goss spoke to one woman who had to quit her job after losing some eyesight and is now suing one of those drug makers. Tonight, an alarming side effect possibly linked to GLP-1s. The drugs millions of Americans are taking for weight loss and diabetes. A sudden and possibly irreversible eye condition called N-A-I-O-N that can lead to permanent blindness.

There are no known treatments. Oh, I woke up one morning and I was like, what is wrong with my eye? There was no warning sign at all. Diane Worth had to quit her job as a nurse practitioner and now she can no longer read. She was on a GLP 1 for weight loss. Now she has lost almost all of her vision in her right eye.

It's fair to say this has upended your entire life, hasn't it, Diane? Oh, for sure. For sure has. It's been very challenging. Worth is one of hundreds of Americans who are suing GLP1 drug makers, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, saying they were not adequately warned of the potential danger of vision loss. And the label needs to be updated if the companies want to do the responsible thing. Nova Nordis, the maker of Ozempic and Wagovi says it is vigorously fighting the lawsuits,

adding it believes they are without merit. Eli Lilly maintains patient safety is its top priority, and it will continue to review data. While a study by the American Academy of Ophthalmologists did not find evidence of a consistent overall increase in NAION risk in the available data, adding that more research needs to be done. Meanwhile, overseas a different story. The European Medicines Agency concluded NAION is a very rare side effect, and the EU has added it to the labels for OZempic and Wolle. But the wildly popular drugs have proven to be effective in fighting diabetes and weight loss. And medical experts say people considering taking them should speak with their doctors. The overall health benefits of these drugs would likely far outweigh the very small

increased risk of this very, very rare complication. The symptoms onset suddenly. It's described as a kind of stroke of the eye. And the woman we interviewed said, imagine someone taking Vaseline and putting it on your eyeglasses. She woke up with that just overnight. It's irreversible. There are no known treatments, Tom. Stephanie Goss, thank you. Staying on the topic of health.

New research out today shows that young Americans are behind a drop in drinking. A study published today in the annals of internal medicine finds that American drinking rates have fallen for the first time since the pandemic. It's a small decrease of just 1%, but it's being driven by Gen Z millennials. Some college students are even swapping out day drinking for wellness dardies. That's what this is, which include yoga, group runs, and ice baths instead of pounding alcohol. But the study also points out that overall drinking rates are still higher than they were before the pandemic, partly because people between the ages of 50 and 64 reported an increase in heavy drinking. NBC News Medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar joins us now to break this down.

So Dr. Azar, this new data is in line with what we've been reporting that younger generations are drinking less. Do we know why? Yeah, no, this is really very interesting. And we have been following this for some time. I think that the message regarding alcohol and toxicity is finally getting to everybody. We've been talking for a number of years. You may recall the Surgeon General's report a few years ago about the increased risk associated with alcohol in terms of cancers. What's so fascinating about this data, as you pointed out, is that we're seeing this, but we're seeing this predominantly in males and in younger generations, Gen Z, drinking a little bit less.

but this predominantly was seen in millennials, Tom, who have a significantly less drinking significantly less in terms of a definition of heavy drinking, which is very different, of course, than just casual. So government stats show that the number of Americans age is 12 or older who used marijuana in the past year apparently increased by nearly 10 million between 2021 and 2025. So are people basically switching out that six-pack for joints

and just lighting up and, you know, vaping or just getting high? Yeah, well, unfortunately, it does appear that the data is supporting that, Tom. You know, just a recent federal survey that was out showed that about 21 million Americans either use marijuana daily or almost every day, and that was in contrast to 17 million Americans using alcohol. And this is, you know, as a result of decades of legalization as well as changing social norms. You know, the concern here, of course, is that there's a problem.

a false sense that marijuana is safe or that it is safer than alcohol, but we know that there can be long-term consequences, cognitive mental health, as well as respiratory complications if you're smoking and cardiovascular risk. So it's not without potential issues. And that is something that I think we need to concentrate on getting the word out. Yeah, even though maybe there's not a hangover, right, you still got to be really careful about some of those repercussions. We mentioned wellness dardies, which I think is the worst sort of phrase ever, which are ways for people to have fun together without alcohol. We used to call it exercising, but is the drop in drinking also tied to a drop in socialization? Our members of Gen Z just spending more time alone? I know they're

doing these things, these group exercise sessions together, but are people sort of, I don't know, migrating to their dorms or their apartments and just hanging out in their phones? Yeah, I mean, I think that that is a concern a lot amongst a lot of experts that, you know, that relationships, you know, dating, things like that have been decreasing, people who are sexually active, have been decreasing, and that is a concern because people are spending more times on their devices, gaming, et cetera, and they're able to sort of fill their days without those social interactions. However, you know, there is some, you know, there is a little bit of a way to look at the cup half full. People are engaging in social activities without alcohol, as we talked about, and that is a good thing.

A very, you know, some funny reels and things like that on social media about today's Bachelorette parties versus those from 20 or 30 years ago, which we can sort of chuckle about. But I think that there is a trend towards this wellness in younger adults, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Okay, Dr. Natalie Azar, we thank you, as always. Still to come on top story,

the emotional on-stage apology from Ed Shearer after McElmore was dropped from his tour over pro-Palestinian comments, how fans are reacting. Plus, Paramount, now one step closer to that blockbuster merger with Warner Brothers. The terms of the settlement just reached

and how it could impact movies hitting a big screen near you. Stay with us. We're back now with a major update on Paramount and its efforts to merge with Warner Brothers Discovery. California's Attorney General announcing the 12-state coalition that sued to block the merger has now reached a settlement with Paramount Skydance. That agreement now clears the way for the merger valued at 110 billion dollars to move forward. A reminder of finalized

deal would not only unite two of the largest movie studios in the world. It would also put CBS News, CNN, HBO, HBO, MADMACS and Paramount Plus all under one umbrella, led by Paramount CEO David Ellison. NBC's Chloe Malas joins us. She's been following all of this. So what are the specific terms of the deal? And do we know what sort of was the straw that broke the camel's back when it comes to the attorneys general? There's so much to unpack here. And you have to wonder what made these states make such an about shift? Was it money? Was it money? Was it the fact that Paramount was threatening to basically take Hollywood out of Hollywood and relocate to Texas or

Atlanta, Georgia. And the biggest thing here is that Paramount says that over the next five years, once this merger goes through between WBD and Paramount, they're going to put out about 30 to 32 movies a year. That is incredibly ambitious. They also say that they're going to be investing Tom millions of dollars in independent movies into a fund and several more million dollars into a workers fund to try to help train employees. Because you got to imagine that when these companies merge, there are going to be job cuts. Because you have some called the NOAA's ARC problem, where you have kind of two of everything in a sense. So the consolidation does potentially mean layoffs when you look at big mergers and pass this precedent.

But again, they are looking to appease these 12 states by saying, well, we're going to put our money where our mouth is and look at all the areas in which we are investing. And now you have these 12 states saying, okay, fine, green light. Going back to what you said is producing 30 movies a year? Is that feasible? Can they do that? I have some data points for you. So I looked at how many movies Paramount, out last year about nine, then you have 11 from Warner Brothers. Yes. So if you have about 20-21 movies a year and now you're talking about 30, it is ambitious. Adding another 10%. And also it's not necessarily, and while I chose journalism to avoid that, but it's not necessarily

doesn't mean they're all going to be the Odyssey or big blockbuster types of movies. So they could be indie films or straight to streaming. But again, that is a lot to achieve over those. A lot of People were concerned about the CNN CBS News merger, and would that affect each of those news organizations? They're going to form some kind of editorial board. What do we know about that? We don't know much. We know that they now say that they are going to have this independent editorial board so that they can have their journalistic integrity. A lot of questions about Barry Weiss as she's been running CBS and how much of a hand she's really playing in her role at 60 minutes and overseeing that network. There's been a lot of concern at CNN as whether or not they're going to have create a, editorial independence, but who is on this board and at what level does it rise to them sort of

of stepping out of turn and then what happens in the case that the board says that, let's say, someone has been meddling in the editorial of, let's say, CNN. What happens then? What do the Ellison's do? Do they pay a fine? How do they correct that course? So a lot of questions there as to who will be on this editorial board. Okay. Chloe Malas, a lot of reporting. We always thank you. The New York Film Festival kicking out Friday, among the documentary set to be screened Naza, a film about the actions of the Israeli military forces inside of Gaza. It was condemned by the Israeli government, but praised at the Venice Film Festival. Now it's coming to the U.S.

NBC News, as Matt Bradley, has a story. The documentary, Naza is mostly anonymous interviews, darkened figures speaking on the rooftops of Tel Aviv. Two dozen conversations with people identified as military and intelligence officials each describe how Israel's military knowingly killed civilian. in the Gaza Strip, with the help of sophisticated AI-driven software. The film has only been shown to a few audiences, but now Naza is headed to the States, likely dragging controversy with it.

The documentary premieres in New York, September 26, before a nationwide release in the following months. It's already received adoration abroad, like a record-setting 25-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, where it also has a won the special jury prize. But the Israeli filmmakers Yuval Avraham and Rachel Zor now face condemnation at home. Avraham said he's afraid to return to Israel. Protesters appeared outside the Israeli home of Zor's parents where they waved flags and chanted death penalty for traitors. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants to strip the filmmakers of their Israeli citizenship. This is simply a propaganda

piece. The fact that it was done with people from within that is deeply disappointing for Israelis. Spielman and other Israeli leaders complained they weren't asked for comment about the accusations and that the anonymous testimonies are impossible to check. But filmmakers say they verified their subjects' identities and jobs with help from the UK's Guardian newspaper, which produced the documentary. But they didn't say how they did it. NBC News hasn't been able to see the film, and the filmmakers didn't answer our questions. Among Naza's most explosive claims, that the IDF authorized the killing of hundreds of

civilians. But there was a sure of 500 kielo. The IDF called that completely false. Israel has faced years of withering criticism from its three-year war in Gaza. But this time, the backlash has been particularly intense, perhaps because the documentary's harshest allegations come from Israelis against Israelis. Matt Bradley joins us tonight. Matt, this documentary was a late ad to the New York Film Festival Slate.

organizers say about bringing it stateside? Yeah, well, as you can imagine, this is going to land with a lot of controversy. It already has here in the Middle East and in Europe. The head, the artistic director of the New York Film Festival, called it an important documentary about one of the greatest catastrophes of our time. And these filmmakers, they've won past awards, they won the Academy Award for the film No Other Land about settler violence in the West Bank, a topic that we've been covering. but as I said, it's likely that you're going to hear quite a bit about this once this film hits New York. All right, Matt Bradley for us. Matt, we thank you for that. The war in Gaza, also the topic of an apology from Ed Shearin, the singer taking the stage for the first time, since McElmore was dropped from his tour saying he was sorry for how he handled the controversy, calling the situation in Gaza unjustifiable. But not all fans were convinced. Here's Sam Brock. Ed Sheeran's first comments since controversy overwhelmed his concert tour.

And I've had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I'm so, so sorry. Were this apology? The world-renowned singer, emotional about finding himself in a firestorm. And I've never wanted to be an activist musician. The issue at hand, the war in Gaza spotlighted by opening act MacLamore earlier this month. I said free Palestine. The fallout coming when Robert Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium and his supported efforts to combat anti-Semitism, said Shearin couldn't perform there unless Macklemore wasn't part of the tour.

Kraft writing in part, MacLamore's recent actions and a broader history of anti-Semitic rhetoric and imagery has been deeply offensive to the Jewish community. Sheeran said his promoter opted to remove McLemore and then other acts dropped out in solidarity. the singer to call Hamas's October 7th attack horrific, then saying this. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. Sheeran's comments sparking a wave of backlash from the decision to read from a teleprompter to his addressing both sides. If you're not going to call it what it is, shut up, turn that microphone off.

If you have to read an apology from a teleprompter, it's not a sincere apology, Ed. Others, echoing Sheeran's own sentiments about keeping the stage about music and unity. Not every concert stage has to become a political rally. Now, all lies turned to this weekend with the next scheduled concert set for Friday night. Sam Brock joins us now and set. Sam, Ed Sheeran's next show is at Gillette Stadium, which we know is owned by Robert Kraft. Do we know if there's a protest already forming for this? There's at least one protest called Stop the Madness that has been planned.

It is interesting, Tom, the fact that these two next dates, the 20th century. and the 26th this Friday and Saturday. Both happen to be at Gillette Stadium all over again. Robert Kraft has not weighed in since Sharon made these comments over the weekend. Also, though, one of the artists that was on his tour who dropped out, it's an Irish singer-songwriter by the name of Aaron Rowe, said, you've got the wrong person here. You really, those who are critical right now should be so of Robert Kraft,

not of Shiren for, in his words, silencing speech, although he wasn't crazy about Sharon's response to all of this. But the reality is, what is the public sentiment on it? If you look at ticket prices right now, you can find, starting at about $70. At one point, they dipped all the way into the 40s. There are floor seats that are available for $300 plus dollars, but a lot of it is sold out,

which is to say that there are going to be people attending this concert. Yeah, still, Ed Shearing fans out there. Okay, Sam Brockney, thank you for covering this one for us. When we come back tonight, we're going to switch gears, and we're going to reverse the roles, how a baseball team flipped the script for some young fans at a children's hospital, putting a special twist on a classic card-sounding event. That's next.

Finally tonight, the Cincinnati Reds recently brought fans together for an autograph signing to remember with one special twist. Take a look. How are you? Let's see that autograph. These Cincinnati Reds players have done plenty of autograph signings in their day. But few quite like this. How's it going? Do you please sign your card on me?

I can, but you've got to give me yours first. The major league. meeting with kids from Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Hey, what's up, baby? How are you? And instead of trading cards, they're trading roles, collecting the autographs instead of giving them. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Awesome, of course. Thank you. What's up, buddy? It's all nice to meet you. Each kid signing their own custom-made official tops cards. How are you doing? Can I have running your cards?

The event organized by Reds Outfielder T.J. Friedel. As a kid, he spent months in the hospital, and now he's paying it forward. Yeah, you sign this one and this one. I get two of your cards? Yeah. Thank you. He wants to pay me back. Oh, that's a lecture.

Collecting cards and memories to last a lifetime. He said, I love you. I love that. What a great idea. All right. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamerson, New York. Stay right there.

More news on the way.