Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, April 27, 2023

Episode Date: April 28, 2023

Former Vice President Mike Pence testifies before a federal grand jury in the special prosecutor's investigation of former President Trump, Jerry Springer's long-time friend and executive producer speaks to Tom after Springer's death at 79, a former San Francisco fire chief who said a homeless man beat him is now accused of initiating the altercation with bear spray, new video is unearthed showing a Japanese journalist moments before his death on assignment in Myanmar, and the actors bringing never-before-seen photos documenting the lives of Nazis at Auschwitz to the stage.

Tonight, breaking news, Pence testifies. The former vice president testifying before the federal grand jury, which is investigating Trump's role in the January 6th Capitol riot and the former president's attempts to reverse his election loss. What Pence's testimony could mean for his former boss and the race for the White House in 2024. Also breaking tonight a train derailing into the Mississippi River in Wisconsin, emergency crews rushing to the scene. as the river swells to record levels, thousands in the flood zone from Minnesota to Iowa, and severe storms spawning possible tornadoes in the south. Remembering America's ringmaster tributes pouring in

for iconic talk show host Jerry Springer, who has died at the age of 79. Tonight, his longtime executive producer joins Top Story to share memories of his close friend and the revolutionary show they built together. Last image is newly uncovered video showing one journalist's final report just moments before he was killed on assignment in Myanmar. Why they're coming to light now nearly two decades after his death. Hot Rod Grandpa, the moment an 84-year-old's minivan, went up in flames as he led police on a high-speed chase.

Plus, is this the new face of Hollywood, a new AI technology, revolutionizing the way visual effects are applied in moving? the incredible moment our reporter put that new tool to the test. And Auschwitz album secrets, the rare photos providing a chilling look at life during the Holocaust and the group of actors working to bring this important discovery to the stage. Top Story starts right now. And good evening. We begin Top Story with that late breaking news, a source familiar with the matter telling NBC News, Vice President Mike Pence testified today in front of the federal grand jury investigating Donald

Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. That grand jury looking into Trump on the day of the January 6th Capitol riot and the weeks leading up to it, a period of time about which Pence is believed to have critical insight. In fact, he wrote about it in his book. Just to underscore what a strange moment this is in our country's political landscape, we have a former vice president testifying in a federal probe into a former president and his former boss, a man who reported. reportedly called Pence a wimp, and also the man that could stand in the way of his possible bid for the White House in 2024 if Pence decides to throw his hat in the ring. A lot to get to here. So I want to get right to our senior legal correspondent, Laura Jarrett. So this can be confusing. It can be wild. It is definitely breaking news.

What do we know so far about the testimony? We know it wasn't short. He was there all day. We caught his car going in around 9 a.m. and he left around 4.30. exactly what he said. We will work to report, obviously, out in the coming days, but he has a story to tell. Part of that story he has told in his memoir, as you mentioned, and we know that the special counsel is particularly focused on Trump's efforts to block the certification of the election.

They had come up with this hairbrain scheme that Pence was somehow going to overturn the election and single-handedly prevent Joe Biden from becoming president. Pence didn't go along with it. And so the special counsel wants to know what exactly were those conversations like with Trump leading up to January 6th? Besides the president, the former president himself, you got to think Mike Pence is maybe number two on the list that people wanted to talk to, right?

He was there for the meetings. He's certifying the election, and he wrote about this extensively in his book. There's a lot there. There is, but there are parts of it where he's vague. You know, he talks about a conversation that I have on January 5th the night before the attack on the Capitol. He got an urgent call from the president. Prosecutors are going to want to know anything and everything that happened on that call,

not just sort of a little bit of his reflections. They're going to want to drill down, and he's going to be under-up. Oath, that's very different than just providing a little bit of color in a book. And we have a bit of news. The president was given his speech in New Hampshire earlier tonight. Our reporter, Jonathan Allen, was able to ask him what he thought about vice presidents, the vice president Pence testifying today. Trump reportedly said, oh, I don't know what he said, but I have a lot of confidence in him.

It's a curious remark, even that this is the same person who didn't check on the former vice president when people were out there with gallows in front of the U.S. Capitol and who, as you said, called him a wimp and any number of other things. It's curious, and he had tried really hard to block this testimony. I mean, we should be clear. This is happening. He is going into this courthouse like 13 hours after a federal appeals court had said, nope, Pence has to testify.

This is all happening. He hasn't even tried at one point. But he now has to testify. He has testified. We'll see what happens from here. Laura, we appreciate it, as always. We turn out to our other major headline tonight, that flooding emergency in the Midwest, far from over,

a freight train derailing along the Mississippi River tonight. The cause being investigated, Maggie Vespah, is watching it all from Iowa tonight. With floodwaters rising and the danger zone deepening, warnings about the slow motion disaster taking shape along the Mississippi River's banks, sparking new, longer-term fears. We do have several cars in the water. Tonight, a freight train derailing along the Mississippi in DeSoto, Wisconsin, at least two cars falling into the water, the cause,

investigation. Meanwhile, the USDA halting barge traffic across much of the river. More than 20 flood gauges showing major flooding from Minneapolis to Burlington, Iowa. Some cities slated to remain at major flood stage for at least another week. This is 21. Wow. This is 216, I believe. Todd Doss is scrambling to protect his Davenport body shop where the river may not crest until Monday. If they say it's going to be at your flood stage, you better. get your sandbags and sand delivered and get a plan this as brutal storms batter the south blanketing the ground in massive hailstones some 12 million under threat across the region in Florida damaging winds ripping a 30-year-old tree out by its roots okay wild out there for so many americans maggie vespah joins us tonight from davenport iowa and maggie with these flooding stories authorities are always trying to get people to get out to evacuate in certain areas it can be

difficult. What's happening in Davenport tonight? Essentially, Tom, they're encouraging people to evacuate. We haven't seen any mandatory evacuations, but people basically are being forced to. We should know. We spent a little bit of time in Pleasant Valley. It's about 20 miles outside of Davenport, and that's the area that we've shown drone video. See the homes are partially submerged. People are getting around in

boats, and they're evacuating in boats. A big reason for that, again, no official evacuation orders from authorities here, but a big reason for it is that utility companies in the area have begun cutting gas. service to homes that are partially submerged by this floodwater, 115 customers and counting. And again, Tom, this water expected to continue rising into early next week. Dangerous to stand by any way you look at it.

All right, Maggie Vespa for us, that severe weather stretching all the way to the south, as we saw there in Maggie's report. There are multiple tornadoes reportedly touching down in Florida. Yes, Florida. Jacksonville, you see it here, dark clouds forming. I want to get right over to NBC News meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill, all year we've been talking about how tornado alleys moving further and further south. Yeah, Florida's had quite a week.

I mean, huge hailstorms, multiple days in a row in Florida, and now with a possible tornado or two this evening. We've had about 28 severe weather reports. A lot of them were southern Mississippi, right through the Florida Panhandle. And then over the last couple hours, the east coast of Florida's been getting some really strong storms, including the space coast. So here's our watches. We have a new one that's out for areas from just about Little Rock to Tuplo into Alabama.

That's invalid until 11 o'clock central daylight time. So that's going to be evening thunderstorms for a lot of you. And then the severe thunderstorm watch for the east coast of Florida continues to 10 p.m. this evening. I've had my eye on these very strong storms. So this is the space coast here. This is Port Canaveral. All the bright pinks. We've got tornado warnings, three of them here.

No reported tornadoes. But at any point we can get one. Those will be heading off the shore very shortly, again, right over the top of the space coast. Then tomorrow we do this all over again. Dallas-Fort Worth down to Austin, San Antonio. Again, large hail threat, just like we've had a lot of these other storms. And it's just going to be a messy weekend. Friday, rainy weather on the East Coast.

There's that second storm tomorrow. And then by the time we get to Saturday and Sunday, what a mess on the East Coast. I hope a lot of people have alternate plans if they have anything outdoors this weekend. Okay, Bill, we appreciate the heads up there. Now to another major headline we're following tonight here on Top Story, the young airman accused of leaking classified info in court today. Prosecutors arguing to keep them behind bars saying Jack Tickshara may still have access to classified information. NBC News Chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander has the latest.

Tonight, former Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Tashara's fate is in the hands of a judge with federal prosecutors, urging the court keep him behind bars until trial, saying he's a flight risk and may still have classified material that could have tremendous value to hostile nation states. The judge opting to consider arguments and issue a ruling later. In their new filing on Tashara, who's charged with leaking highly classified military, documents online, prosecutors allege the 21-year-old took steps to conceal his actions. Authorities finding a tablet, a laptop,

and an Xbox gaming console smashed in a dumpster at Tashara's home. Prosecutors allege he has a troubling history of making racist and violent comments on social media. Last November writing, If I had my way, I'd kill an expletive ton of people.

In Tashara's bedrooms, prosecutors say, they found an arsenal of weapons, including handguns, rifles, an A.K. style high-capacity weapon and a gas mask. Tashara is accused of leaking damaging information about China, the war in Ukraine, as well as documents that reveal how the U.S. is gathering intelligence on its allies. The U.S. is under pressure to determine why an airman in tech support had access to some of the nation's top secrets.

The sad reality is that it seems like our Department of Defense has less of a rigorous insider threat and vetting process program in place than even corporate America does. Tashara has not yet entered a plea, his lawyer calling him a 21-year-old kid who lives in his hometown and would stay with his father if released. Peter Alexander joins us tonight from the White House. Peter, you mentioned that cash of weapons found at Tashara's home. Prosecutors are also pointing out some of the searches he conducted on his computer involving mass shootings. Yeah, Tom, you're right. Prosecutors say Tashara used his government computer to search for information on infamous mass shootings,

looking up terms like Las Vegas shooting, where a gunman killed 61. people in 2017, the Buffalo supermarket shooting where a white man authorities say targeted black people there, and Yuvaldi were 19 young students and two teachers were killed. Importantly, none of those searches, prosecutors say, had anything to do with the sheriff's position in information technology. Tom? Okay, Peter Alexander for us. Peter, thank you. Now to an NBC news exclusive, four GOP operatives familiar with the conversations telling NBC news that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will launch a presidential exploratory committee in mid-May before announcing a full-fledged presidential campaign later on.

The governor already testing the waters on the world stage, making another stop this time in Israel. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez is there and asked Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he'd prefer to see in the White House. Thank you so much. Tonight, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on the world stage touting his pro-business record, but also firing back after Disney's life. lawsuit, which alleges he orchestrated a campaign of government retaliation.

By pushing to scrap, Disney's decades-old deal with Florida that allowed the company to govern itself. The main employer in your state now is coming back and saying that you are anti-business in this new lawsuit. What's your response to that? The idea that somehow being pro-business means giving companies their own governments, that is not what a free market is all about. They're upset because they're actually having to live by the same rules as every single. He calls the suit political, but Disney calls his actions payback for the company's opposition to Florida's law that bans classroom instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The culture battle comes as four GOP operatives now tell NBC News DeSantis could enter the presidential race by mid-May. There's not been any decisions. This global trade mission widely seen as a way to bolster his foreign policy credentials. Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons creates a risk. Today, he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What did you talk about? Talked about Iran, talked about Israel-U.Srael relations.

He's a friend of Israel. The prime minister sitting down with NBC News, declining to pick sides in the U.S. presidential race, but speaking warmly about the Santas, as well as his potential rival. President Trump has been a great friend of the state of Israel as well, and he did great things for the state of Israel, like recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. All right, Gabe Gutierrez joins us from Jerusalem tonight. But, Gabe, I want to go back to that big break from NBC News reporting on Governor DeSantis' plan to run for president. He'll likely start off like everyone else with an exploratory committee.

What else do we know? Yeah, Tom, as you said, those four Republican operatives familiar with the conversation say that announcement is likely to come in mid-May. One of those sources says that it is likely going to be an exploratory committee first with a full official announcement soon after that. The timing of all this is very fluid, Tom. You just heard the governor there saying that no final decision has been made. But Tom, he's on a worldwide trade mission trying to bolster his foreign policy credentials. Just in the closing weeks of the Florida legislative session, it appears the wheels are already in motion, Tom. Yeah, and Gabe, we've seen him go to Tokyo this week, right, Jerusalem.

Where else is he stopping? Yeah, his final stop will be tomorrow. He's heading to the United Kingdom, where he's expected to meet with a British foreign secretary. Again, then he heads back to Tallahassee, where the closing days of the Florida legislative session are next week, Tom. Gabe Gutier is reporting in from Jerusalem tonight. Gabe, we thank you. Now to the latest testimony back here at home in a civil trial against Donald Trump. The woman who says the former president raped her years ago and defamed her facing cross-examination today, and it got ugly.

The former president has denied the allegations. Ron Allen is there for us. Tensions and emotions running high for Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll on the stand today. Facing a testy cross-examination from Trump's legal team on why Carol didn't scream

during the alleged attack. You better have an excuse, Trump lawyer Joe Tecopino pushed. He raped me, whether I screamed or not, Carol loudly retorted, fighting back tears. She started to cry, and then Takapina realized

he may have gone a little bit too far and said, moment and she said no. It was almost like she was daring him. If you think you're going to make me weak in this moment, that's not going to happen. It's an accusation Carol has described many times before, and the former president has long denied. I fought. It was shocking. It was against my will. Carol also facing questions about when she went public with her allegations in 2019. Trump's legal team suggesting she wanted to sell copies of her book. Carol counters she went public in the midst of the hashtag Me Too movement.

Here's what she told NBC at the time. It just became time for me to tell my story. And I hope it helps empower other women to come forward with their story because it is not easy. Trump responding to the testimony on truth social yesterday, calling the case a scam. And saying the dress, Carol, said she was wearing the day of the alleged attack. should be part of the case. The judge presiding over the trial had previously ruled that the small amount of unidentified DNA that was found on the dress could not be brought up at trial by either side. For several years, Carroll's attorneys tried unsuccessfully to get a sample from the former president to test it. The judge refused a last-minute request by Trump's attorneys to provide a sample, apparently trying to prove it did not match what was on the dress. The judge called the request untimely, a technical shift, or just to provide a sample.

an afterthought. The judge warning Trump's defense attorney yesterday, such social media posts from Trump are, quote, entirely inappropriate. Without physical evidence, today's personal testimony, a critical moment in the trial. They're giving the jury a lot of different options for how they can hold Donald Trump liable here, right? You can do it either solely on the merits of Eugene's story, or if you need more, we're going to offer you a whole lot more, both around her particular experience and around the experiences of others. All right, Ron Allen John joins us tonight live from outside that courthouse in lower Manhattan. So, Ron, Trump's attorneys are attacking Carol's credibility, right?

They've told the jury that her allegation that she was raped is, quote, unbelievable. What else about her story did they question? Something's emotional, something's very practical. Like they asked her, for example, why there are no witnesses who've come forward from the store, sales associates or other shoppers who say that they even saw them there that day. She says that she was so engrossed in conversation with Donald Trump that she didn't notice who else was the store. She was asked why there's no surveillance video, why she didn't file a police report. She said she never asked the store about surveillance video and that she was afraid of a backlash

if she filed a police report at that time. Now, in the coming days, we expect to hear other witnesses who were going to back up or corroborate parts of her story, like two friends who she says she told about the citizen net when it happened right in that time, and two other women who say that they were also similarly sexually assaulted by Donald Trump years ago, that the jury is going to be able to hear. Tom? Okay, Ron Allen for us tonight with that update. Ron, thank you. Next tonight, we are remembering a TV legend. Jerry Springer died today at the age of 79. He was a mayor and a journalist, but Springer was best known as a ringmaster of one of the most popular talk shows to ever hit the airwaves. Some called it trashy, others called it gold.

Either way, he and his show were hard to ignore. We will be joined by his longtime producer and close friend in just a moment. But first, NBC's Miguel Almaguer has more on Jerry's legacy. It was the show's signature moment. Jerry, Jerry! Beloved by his frenzied audience, Jerry Springer served as ringmaster, mediating family feuds and tumultuous relationships on daytime television for nearly three decades. I am the luckiest man in the world. I have a national talk show.

It's crazy, wild, silly, but I love doing it. Revolutionizing TV in the 1990s with the Jerry Springer show, the 79-year-old who died today after battling pancreatic cancer was a cultural phenomenon whose popularity transcended generations, though his tawdry show was often panned by critics. I'd like to apologize for it. I've ruined the culture. Don't apologize now. I've ruined the culture. Springer was a journalist, the mayor of Cincinnati, and considered a run for U.S. Senate, which he discussed with Lester. Do you miss politics? I always have it. I mean, I love it. Anyone who knows me,

knows that that's what I talk about in life, sports and politics. But it was his namesake show that cemented his TV legacy. He was joyful, smart, and in his own way, a unique showman wrote Mori Povich. What will you miss most about Jerry? His friendship, I mean, I love the guy. I could always count on him. While often at the center of raucous drama, at his core, Jerry Springer loved people. His signature sign-off, always sincere.

Until next time, take care of yourself and each other. Miguel Almagher, NBC News. All right, we thank Miguel for that look back. For more on Jerry's life and legacy, we are joined now by Bert Dubrow, the creator and executive producer for the Jerry Springer show and longtime friend of Jerry Springer. Bert, first of all, I'm so sorry for your loss. We thank you for joining Top Story tonight. You worked with Jerry for decades in this business. You have to be authentic, right?

Was he the person that everyone saw on television? Yeah. Yes, he was probably the most authentic person that I've ever worked with in this business, and I've been doing this a couple of years. You know, if you really, really wanted to know Jerry or see the real Jerry, you have to look at the final thought at the end of the Sprader show. That was really who Jerry was. He wrote every single word of that, and who else could make sense at the end of an hour like that than Jerry.

And he actually made that make some sort of sense. Yeah, he would sum it up, that final thought. Burr, I know that Jerry Springer's show, as America came to know, it started with a specific episode. We have a clip of that for our viewers. Let's take a look. One more time. You will have a...

Let's try and do it without hitting each other, okay? Please don't come into our home and punch each other out, okay? That's not going to be allowed. A brawl right there on stage. in front of so many viewers. How did the show that we famously know come to be? Well, first of all, that was a little PTSD for me. I'm sitting on a little, you know, wear it out,

because we never planned that at all. We never planned it. You know, people have said to me, boy, Bert, you changed the face of daytime and all that sort of thing. And I'd love to say that we had a meeting one day and said, let's have a fight, let's do fights. It didn't work out that way. What you just saw was the first fight,

And it was a race show, a show on race. And that was as big a surprise to us as you saw from Jerry as it was to the audience. So that's really how that whole thing happened. Now, we got the overnight ratings. And when we got the overnight ratings, we thought, hmm, this is interesting. The numbers went up. And then we sort of took off from there. When did you know you had a hit on your hands?

I would say a couple of months after that when we started to do that. What the rest of the public did not see, we did the show out of Chicago then, was we used to put up a thing 1-800, Jerry, and call us if you have a major problem with the relationship. If you have a normal problem, go to Oprah, go to Sally, go to Geraldo, you know, back then. But if you have a real crazy problem, come to us, and that's sort of how all that came to be, and that's when we knew we had something. Yeah, at what point did the crowd start chanting Jerry, Jerry? Not long after that. You know, the audience, you know, Ricky Lake was on there, and she had sort of the young audience,

and then we sort of took off after that, and it just became a thing. Jerry was almost like wrestling in a lot of ways. Again, not planned, and probably the person who was most embarrassed by it was Jerry. Yeah, you could tell sometimes. I mean, he would play to the camera when he honestly felt embarrassed.

The first interview we ever did that was big, we went to New York and did the Today Show with Katie, when Katie Kirk was on. And, you know, we were going over every question in our heads and we were in the car trying to figure it out. And then Jerry gets on the air. And Katie said something to him, like, would you watch this show?

And he said, I wouldn't watch the show. It's stupid. I mean, and that sort of broke everything down when he said that because that's who Jerry was. He wouldn't watch the show. I always said if you wanted to meet and see the real Jerry, you'd probably find him in a restaurant by himself reading Warren piece. Right, he was in on the joke, if you will.

But I can remember 97, 98, I was a freshman in college. Everyone in our dorm was watching Jerry Springer twice a day. It would come on in the afternoon and then late at night. I mean, at that point, how big was the audience? It was humongous. I mean, there was an opera they did of us in London. I mean, it was crazy. But let me tell you real quickly, if I may, what happened?

Because we were always on in the morning. And I was doing another talk show at that time. And we only had an 11 o'clock time slot in L.A. with this other show. And I wanted to see what would happen with Jerry at night. So I switched them. We switched the time period. And I called Jerry and said, we're going to put you on 11 o'clock at night here in L.A.

And he's, no, no, no, no, do it. We're doing so well in the morning. I said, you know what, it's just going to be for three or four weeks. And we did it, and it exploded and beat the Tonight Show when Jay Leno was doing it. And then I called him to tell him we were going to put it back. And he's, no, no, don't put me back. Leave it at 11. And that's how the late night part of Springer started.

You know, by accident again. Bird, the Jerry Springer show also may have ruined some people's lives, right? You were revealing some people's darkest secrets. Did you ever feel guilty? Did you ever feel dirty because of a broadcast? There were times as a father. I walked away and went, hmm. But in a way, the crazier got, the better it was, meaning when it became a zoo, people

got the joke. It was a joke. And in some cases, by the way, most of them, these were our neighbors. Jerry used to say this all the time. We shouldn't be such elitists that we think that we're above all this. Because, you know, these people in some cases weren't on planes and first island planes, first time in hotels. And it was their only way to get sort of their story out. So, but yeah, there were times, I think, that we all felt.

But once again, once it was, when I say get the joke, meaning it was an entertainment show. That's what it was. We never pretended that it was anything other than that. And, you know, eventually I moved upstairs and oversaw the show on Richard Dominic, who I had hired way back when, EP'd the show, and he took it, you know, to another level. And, you know, and I guess, as they say, the rest is history. So did Jerry just go along with everything? I mean, you mentioned him as somebody who was, you know, almost, I don't know if an introvert is

what you were saying, but somebody who was, you know, very well-educated, very smart, and yet he ran this Jerry Springer show. Did he ever just weigh in and say, guys, this is too gross or too violent or too dumb? We had a couple of shows that we did not put on that were like that. Jerry said that, or I might have said it, or one of the other producers might have said it. But generally, no. No. Jerry got it. If you watch it closely in the beginning of the show, he never went on that stage. And he was always in a jacket and tie.

And that was intentional to sort of separate him from the audience. But as time went on, the tie came off. He ended up on stage. It really became, you know, it was like wrestling. People understand what wrestling is. People understood completely what the Springer show was. And Jerry always had a little weak in his eye, always had a wink in his eye,

which is why he never really got in trouble. What was the craziest thing you saw on that show with Jerry? Pardon me? What was the craziest thing you saw on that show with Jerry? Oh, wonderful question at a hard. It was, you know, first of all, the word crazy. I mean, one of the early shows I remember we did with a gentleman by the name of Walter Hudson, who was obese.

And we cut off the side of his house to get him out of the house to get help. We did a show where a man was let out, how do I put this nice, in love with his force. Can I stop there? Please? You could stop there, yeah. You can stop there. You also run a program now called Daily Blast Live. And Jerry co-hosted the show, and it's one of his last on-air appearances.

Here's just one moment. I wanted to get your reaction today. Sure, sure. But here's the thing, when Pixel came out, I thought what any normal person would think is that his poor wife fell off the horse backstage. Oh, my gosh. So I said, stop, stop. You know, will we do this? Is she okay?

And then the executive producer is screaming and saying, no, that's his wife. You telling me that's the wife. I thought it was Richard. Oh, nicely done. That's awesome. We love you. Look at this full circle. Only on the Jerry Springer show.

Burr, we're running out of time here. I do want to ask you, though, what did Jerry Springer and the Jerry Springer show tell us about ourselves? Nobody's perfect. Nobody's perfect. We all have issues. We all have problems.

We all like to laugh. And by the way, in the world today, we probably are to laugh a little more. But understand, Jerry was an amazing man. He was like a brother to me. He was like a, he was my family, I was his family, and he was very, very, very special. Bert Dubrow, we thank you so much for your time and for looking back fondly on your friend, I mean, you work with, but also we're so close to personally as well.

Bert, thank you. Thank you. And still ahead tonight. An update on those inmates who escape from a Mississippi prison where authorities tracked down one of those men more than 400 miles away from the jail he broke out of. Plus, a violent attack caught on camera in San Francisco, a homeless man swinging a metal bar at a former fire commissioner? Why, some believe that victim may actually be the assailant.

We'll explain it all. And hot rod grandpa, the moment in attempt to flee from police, went up in flames. Look at that. Stay with us. Top stories just getting started on this Thursday night. Okay, we're back down with a violent confrontation caught on camera in San Francisco, a former San Francisco fire commissioner, viciously hit with a metal rod by a homeless man earlier this month.

But with the release of new videos, he's now being blamed by defense attorneys for inciting the incident using bears spray on the homeless man before the attack happened. Maya Eagland has the details. Tonight, another brutal attack in San Francisco causing an uproar, With videos released pointing blame at both men, a homeless man swinging what appears to be a metal bar at a former fire commissioner, Don Carmenani, leading to three felony charges. Two video clips released by Carmenani's attorney appear to show him lifting his hands to protect himself from a man identified as Garrett Allen Doty, who is homeless. The second video from before the attack appears to show Doty pulling a metal bar from the trash and swinging. Carmenani's attorney says he was beaten and chased for two city blocks, leaving him with

serious head injuries and a fractured jaw. But there may be more to the story. Doty's public defender released two videos prosecutors turned over as part of evidence, one appearing to show Carmenani approaching Doty and spraying him. Doty's defense lawyer saying this instigated the altercation and cited a third-party witness saying Karminani threatened Doty. Along with the video, Doty's defense also released evidence of eight separate incidents of bear spray attacks against homeless people in the neighborhood over the last two years, including this one from November 2021, the suspect fitting Carmenani's description. But he hasn't been charged in relation to any of the incidents. He sprays with a massive can of bear spray, the same weapon used

in the Doty incident. In an interview with CBS's local affiliate, Carmenani saying he approached Doty for camping out and doing drugs outside his mother's home. He did admit to using pepper spray in, quote, self-defense. Also saying he was informed by his attorneys, he might be facing charges himself. According to NBC Bay Area, Karminani's attorneys strongly deny their client being involved in any prior incidents. He's missed his last two court appearances, his lawyers citing the, quote, severity of his injuries, leading to Doty being released until a hearing next month. Maya Eagland joins us now in studio.

So, Maya, there's obviously a lot to this story, but there was also some reporting that the DA in San Francisco may eventually drop the charges against the man who had the metal bar. Right. So Doty's attorneys are saying that he used that metal bar in self-defense. But the DA put out his statement saying that they're going to continue pressing charges here and use every power possible to hold violent offenders accountable. We also know that Doty's been served with a criminal protective order and will have to stay 100 yards away from both the crime scenes. and the former fire commissioner. Tom? Okay, Maya Eklund for us, Maya, thank you. Now to the latest on the multi-state manhunt for those Mississippi inmates. Police arresting one of the three remaining escapees in Texas today.

And get this, it was more than 400 miles from the jail. Blaine Alexander has the latest. After five days on the run, tonight, officials have captured 51-year-old Jerry Raines arrested near Houston, Texas. This surveillance image shows him entering a gas station in the air. on Sunday. His arrest comes more than 400 miles from where officials say he and three other inmates escaped from this Mississippi jail. The break sparked a massive multi-state manhunt across the south with two other inmates still on the loose. A fourth 22-year-old Dylan Arrington died Wednesday after a shootout with police. He barricaded himself inside this house, officials say, which went up in

flames. Tell me about this facility. Hines County Sheriff Tyree Jones oversees the detention. Center. He says they escaped through a hole in one of the cells. So they literally walked across the roof. Right. And then jumped off. Jumped off the roof and went into this wooded area right here where they were able to escape the grounds of the facility. Once out, police say they left a violent trail that claimed at least one life. Officials say Pastor Anthony Watts stopped to help when he saw Arrington, one of the inmates, wreck a stolen motorcycle. Moments later, police say Arrington shot. the pastor to death and stole his truck. Sheriff Jones says over the past year they have seen several inmates escape from this facility. Why does this keep happening? How are inmates still able

to repeatedly escape? Because like we said, we're still facing some challenges. We still have challenges regarding the physical plant of the facility as well as some of the staffing issues. How frustrating is it to you as sheriff that you say you don't have the resources to just fix this? It's very frustrating at times because safety is always priority. And Tom, officials tell us that it was an anonymous tip that led to Rains being taken into custody. We're told that he was arrested at a hospital in Texas as he was waiting to be discharged. Tom? Okay, Blaine Alexander for us, Blaine, thank you.

When we come back, the video that landed six D.C. firefighters on administrative leave. Look at this. The clip showing the men appearing to brawl on the streets what the department is saying about that incident tonight. and slimming down what weight loss staple, Jenny Craig, is telling staffers about the future of the company. Stay with us. All right, we are back now with Top Stories News Feed,

and we begin with an investigation into a brawl involving six DC firefighters. Shocking video shows the firefighters throwing punches while responding to a scene. Authorities have not released details about the cause of the fight, but DC Fire is now placing the six. employees on administrative leave.

The department saying in a statement to NBC, Washington, the actions depicted in a video of the incident are completely unacceptable and do not reflect the behavior we require of our members. And the daring moment, Wisconsin officers rescued an 84-year-old from a car fire. Dash cam video shows Kenosha police attempting a traffic stop on that minivan driver when a flat tire began sparking and then burst into flames and looked like back to the future. The fire quickly spreading to the whole car. were able to pull the driver from the van after he came to a stop.

Miraculously, no injuries were reported. And weight loss company, Jenny Craig warning staffers of possible mass layoffs. Employees telling NBC news they received communications about staff cutbacks and the winding down of physical operations as Jenny Craig continues at search for a buyer. Documents sent out by the company and acquired by NBC saying the layoffs will likely affect all employees in some manner. Representatives for the company have not responded to our requirements. for comment. Okay, we head overseas now to the brave final moments of a Japanese journalist

kill the Myanmar. New footage coming to light after 15 years, the reporter's missing camera has resurfaced. Tonight, his family speaking out and hoping that these images once again shed a light on Myanmar's brutal military regime. Keir Simmons with the fallen journalist story. These are the last images just released of a journalist who was trying. to spotlight a ruthless military crackdown. The army has arrived, Kenji Nangai says, and they are heavily armed. Within minutes, he'd be shot dead. Nangai filming his own report in front of protesters in Myanmar.

A selfie-style narration to camera just moments before he was hit by a bullet. This now famous picture shows how he fell right where he was filming, still holding his camera despite the fatal wound, standing over him, over him, a soldier with a gun. They are images from 2007 during the height of an uprising against Myanmar's military hunter, called the Saffron Revolution after the color of the monk's robes who was central to the movement. Many died, and today many more are still dying.

Under the shadow of military rule, in a country riven by a complex conflict, the world seems powerless to end. By one estimate, 30,000 lives have been lost this past two years. The family of Kenji Nagai, who was Japanese, were given his camera and released the chilling images, hoping to refocus world attention on the bloodshed, just as he was trying to do. Authorities in Myanmar maintain he was killed by a stray bullet, but Japanese, media obtained footage showing him pushed to the ground and shot at point-blank range. The picture of him wounded with his camera won a Pulitzer Prize in 2008.

Now the world can see what he was doing minutes before. New evidence from the hands of a journalist killed doing his job, determined to highlight the brutality of Myanmar's hunter, not knowing that same violence would soon take his life. All right, with that, Keir Simmons joins us tonight from London. here. Talk to us about how the family was able to get this camera back after 15 years. It's extraordinary, isn't it? Fifteen years it took to get this camera. A group called the Democratic Voice of Burma, which is another name for Myanmar, says it was involved in the exchange, won't say how it happened, but says that a good citizen was involved. Doesn't want to put that

person at risk. And I can imagine that the family think is. certainly was a good citizen. Yeah, totally unbelievable. And as you mentioned in the story, the unrest there in Myanmar, it sort of has resurfaced quite again. Do we know, is there any chance for a resolution to the nightmare for the people there? It's a nightmare, Tom. It really is. I mean, it's a crisis. It's a disaster.

The UN talking about 18 million people needing urgent help. Hundreds of thousands have fled the country, and it just gets worse and worse. there are now different militia in the country. It really is an incredibly complex picture. Now, Myanmar is a strategically important country, but the U.S. seems reluctant to get involved because it's right on China's border.

It doesn't want to get into a kind of proxy war there. China worries about getting involved in a quagmire in Myanmar, so the disaster just continues, Tom, while the world just doesn't seem to be paying attention. Keir Simmons from London for us, Kier, we thank you for that. Now to Top Stories Global Watch, and we begin with the latest seizure of a foreign-owned oil tanker by Iran. The U.S. Navy says Iran seized the tanker with Marshall Island flags as it was passing through the Gulf of Oman and headed towards Texas. Iran says the vessel had collided with an Iranian ship, but the Navy tonight slamming the move, saying Iran's actions are, quote, contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security.

In Kenya, a second pastor has been arrested after nearly 100 worshippers were found dead due to starvation. Authorities today arresting Ezekio Ambok Odero on criminal charges, quote, related to mass killings of his followers. It is unclear how many deaths have been linked to his church, but the arrest comes just days after 100 bodies were found in a shallow grave at a different church. That pastor charged with encouraging his parishioners to starve themselves to death in order to see God. And in Sudan, the military agreeing to a last-minute, 72-hour extension of that ceasefire we've told you about. The three-day pause in fighting, which has decreased fighting temporarily, was due to expire at midnight.

Heavy fighting still reported near the capital of Khartoum, though, as foreign countries race to evacuate their civilians. Hundreds of people have been killed during the nearly two weeks of conflict between the army and paramilitary rebels. Okay, coming up, artificial intelligence AI hits Hollywood in a big way. The technology bringing actors back to life, a body double even taking the place of our correspondent, and what used to only exist in science fiction. We'll show you. That's next. Back now with the latest in the AI revolution and how the rapidly evolving technology

is bringing some major changes to Hollywood. CNBC's Julia Borsden has a story. Hollywood production is being transformed by artificial intelligence. Deep voodoo is a visual effects company that specializes in what they call facial replacement AI. What's a funny face I should make?

Like, like, in about 30 minutes, they scanned my every expression to learn my facial movements. And two weeks later, we put the algorithm to the test with a body devil and a live camera. Okay, we go. Oh, my God. That's so weird. Not my hair, but it's totally my face. While visual effects have a long history in Hollywood, Deep Voodoo's precision and live render feature have won over celebrities, like Kendrick Lamar, who used their technology to wear the faces of other celebrities.

In a traditional VFX scenario, it would be stuck in post, and they wouldn't be able to see it until it was a finished shot. So you can have actors wear the mask of another actor's face while they're shooting the movie, rather than having to wait until it's all done to do the face swap. Absolutely, yeah. Julie, you don't have to show up for work anymore. Deep Voodoo says it's working with studios to put actors' faces on stunt doubles, and even to revive deceased movie stars. How much does your technology threaten people's jobs?

This enables people to do their jobs quicker, better, and cheaper, but it's a creative tool, and it needs to be operated by creative people. But with all of this new technology, come new concerns. The Screen Actors Guild telling us, quote, our goal is to ensure that our members are protected from unauthorized use of their names, voices, and likenesses. We intend to expand those protections as AI uses are addressed. On movie sets like this one, AI is not only being used to clone actors' faces and

voices, it's also being deployed to do CGI and visual effects faster and easier than ever before. Wonder Dynamics quickly transformed me into these characters. Their AI technology can replace a human actor with a computer-generated figure in hours. It's waving its arms around the way I move my hands when I talk. Actor and company co-founder Ty Sherry, Sheridan was inspired to improve visual effects after his experience wearing motion capture sensors on Stephen Spielberg's Ready Player 1. We always wanted to tell stories that were bigger than our pockets, and that's really kind of what led us to start in this company. Along with his co-founder Nikola Todorovic, Sheridan is hoping to make premium visual effects easier and more affordable. A one-minute scene like this would normally take weeks to render.

With our technology, we're really hoping to bring it to a day or a couple of hours, depending on what shot is. So it becomes much faster, but also more cost efficient. Exactly. And more accessible because all you need is a browser, web browser, and a camera. Wonder Dynamics says hundreds of thousands of users have signed up to try its platform, and productions in the works for Netflix are already using it. Is it going to eliminate the need for actors? Absolutely not. I never put myself out of work. No, I think it's going to, if anything, I think it'll create more opportunities for actors to be in these type of films.

And if it works, what used to be science fiction can become an AI reality. Julia Borsden, NBC News, Los Angeles. Amazing stuff. We thank Julia for that story. Coming up next, secrets from the Holocaust. Photos discovered from Auschwitz that show an eerie view from the death camps and now the story that is coming to the stage from it will explain. Stay with us. Finally tonight, an intimate look into a rare photograph collection, never before seen photos, documenting the life of Nazi officers at Auschwitz.

Eerie images now being turned into stage production titled Here There Are Blueberries. NBC's Valerie Castro was there with the cast when they saw the original photographs for the first time. It's just incredible to see the actual thing. It's like living history. This set of old photographs collected dust and stains for decades. You can see the outline of the second Christmas tree. The images, part of an album with 116 photos in all. In one series, the lighting of a Christmas tree.

And others, a group of women laughing entertained by an accordion player. These pictures show a group in lounge chairs, relaxing, enjoying their leisurely time. People captured in black and white from a dark chapter in modern history. It's wild to be in the presence of something that was so close to a Nazi. The artifact in question, discovered by an American soldier in 1945, Frankfurt, Germany, brought back to the United States and donated to historians in 2007. Dr. Rebecca Erbelding saw them first. She's a historian with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

She immediately recognized a face in one of the photos. This photo here was the first time that we noticed that Joseph Mengele is in the image. the infamous Nazi doctor. Then realizing these were never before seen images. This is the summer of 1944. The Hungarian deportations have just happened. So this is kind of when Auschwitz becomes Auschwitz. The photo album belonged to Carl Hoker, a high-ranking SS officer at Auschwitz,

documenting life at what amounted to be a resort camp for both men and women, less than 20 miles from the infamous death camp. This is the leadership of the camp. So you have the original commandant Rudolf Heurz who built Auschwitz, who first tested the gas chambers and experimented with that. The people in the pictures grabbed her attention, but it's what they were doing that left her stunned. You don't see any photos of kind of stereotypical Auschwitz photos as we would think of them. What you see instead are parties. You see people having fun.

You see people taking tours. You see the SS life of Auschwitz, the life of the office. And when you do see images of them lounging and celebrating a holiday, what emotions does that stir for you? I mean, for me, it stirs a lot of discomfort. It stirs curiosity. I think there's an expectation that people will be visibly evil. This album really gives us a lot of insight into the minds of these perpetrators, and I think it asks a lot of questions. Can you have a party while you're also staffing a killing center? How the photos were discovered and what they revealed about the perpetrators of the Holocaust caught the attention of an award-winning playwright who thought this story was made for the stage.

As soon as I mentioned the word concentration camp, they are suddenly quiet. The photos are the mystery and the play tries to delve into the mystery and perhaps tell us something about our lives today. Moises Kaufman and co-playwright Amanda Gronick are behind the play, here there are blueberries, named for the inscription on a series of photos in the album. There's such joy and excitement about the fact that they have found this delicious fruit. If you look at that moment, you wouldn't make much of it. But the fact that they're doing that next to the largest killing center in the history of the world, recontextualizes what it means.

Ah, great. For weeks, they've been rehearsing. But before the show's opening night, the cast went back to where the story first began with those original photographs. We were there as they saw them in person for the first time at the Holocaust Memorial Museum's archives. You can see, I mean, how small they actually are. Elizabeth Stallman, who plays Dr. Erbelding, is one of the actors portraying a real-life figure

in the show, set to grace the Shakespeare theater company's Harmon Hall in Washington, D.C. next month. The facts are extraordinarily important to get right and to make sure that we learn the facts so that we can properly supplement the story. A poignant moment about the past that grapples with questions of complicity. I think we all need to wrestle with is that these people are doing monstrous things, but they were not born monsters. They made choices. The scars of those choices taking on a second act. The telling of history is dependent on that which, history leaves behind. Without evidence, you have no story. Looks to be a powerful piece of

theater. We thank Valerie Castro for that and the team that worked on it. And we thank you for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamerson, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.