Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, January 22, 2026

Episode Date: January 23, 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, the monster winter storm targeting 170 million Americans, now just hours away from plowing across the country, as more governors declare states of emergency with officials warning the storming will be life-threatening. The growing storm emergency, blinding lake effect snow, bearing neighborhoods already, a lighthouse encased in ice, all ahead of the sprawling storm set to bring crippling ice, feet of snow, and freezing rain from Arizona to New England. store shelves emptying out and fears of widespread power outages, we have the latest track. Also tonight, new chaos in Minneapolis, the border chief launching a gas at protesters, and the outrage growing after this five-year-old was detained with his father. Vice President J.D. Vance on the ground, they're defending ICE but acknowledging their mistakes. New Greenland deal details, President Trump revealing new details on the agreement. Will the U.S. control any of the land?

The world's top banker versus the leader of the free world, why President Trump is suing J.P. Morgan and its CEO, Jamie Diamond. Baron Trump's emergency call, the president's son credited with saving a friend's life after witnessing an assault on a video call, thousands of miles away. We have the transcript of that call. Deadly Facebook marketplace meetup, the Marine veteran killed over a cell phone. What police are now warning? Buck in a bank, officers responding to burglary alarms to... find this wild scene, what happened next. Plus, the mom arrested for fatally poisoning her own daughter, how she could be connected to another crime. Top story starts right now.

And good evening. We begin tonight with that monster storm set to tear across the country in just a matter of hours, bringing freezing temps, feet of snow and crippling ice. At this hour, tens of millions are bracing for impact. Here's why. Much of the Northeast and Midwest already under heavy snow, this gas station, you see it there in Upstate New York, collapsed. under the weight with more than a foot of snow on the way. And this lighthouse frozen over on Lake Michigan, a preview of what's to come. Temps and parts of the Midwest, get this, expected to hit negative 50. That's with the wind chill, of course.

Here's a look at the sheer size of this storm, stretching more than 2,000 miles from Arizona. You heard me right, all the way to Maine, a staggering 170 million Americans in its path, and that number continues to grow. With at least six states already declaring states of emergency, empty shelves and long lines seen at grocery stores across the country. This is not good as people rush to stock up on food, water, and gas. As the race against the clock to prep the roads, as many fear parts of the South that aren't equipped to handle snow and ice are about to get slammed. Our meteorologist, you know him well, Bill Caron, he's standing by to track it all out.

We want to begin tonight, though, with Ryan Chandler, who leads us off from Dallas. Tonight, another blow of ice, blinding snow, and life-threatening cold. Listen to that. Thunder snow in New York as lake effect bans bury entire neighborhoods. The canopy at this gas station collapsing. Officials say the weight of snow and high winds could be to blame. On Lake Michigan, colossal waves crashing over a lighthouse encased in ice. And in Minnesota, visibility dropped to near zero. With wind chills now plummeting, it could feel like negative 50 by tomorrow morning.

All of this ahead of the math. massive storm stretching 2,000 miles from the plains to New England. Minus 40 to 50 degrees. If you can contemplate that, if you're not properly covered every interview, you can succumb to frostbite in seconds. Officials are urging residents to act before it's too late. I bought a propane heater just in case we lose power. From a run on propane in Alabama to lines snaking around grocery stores in Missouri. Bread, milk and water are flying off the shelves.

There are a lot of people in there. It's worse than Thanksgiving. Pretty busy in there. Yeah. The cashier is saying every day I was getting busier. The South is in the crosshairs, with the potentially crippling ice storm threatening to bring down branches and power lines. One electric company telling us just half an inch of ice can add 500 pounds of extra weight

to cables. First responders in Dallas anticipating a surge of emergency calls. The most important, we're trying to encourage people to stay off the roads if they don't need to be there. Ryan Chandler joins us tonight live from Dallas. Ryan, we heard those reports there inside of that story about people saying it's worse than Thanksgiving. We saw some very empty shelves. It's a troubling sign. What are people telling you about how they're preparing? People are taking this very seriously. We've met some very concerned shoppers today. Some of them telling us they are stalking up, prepared to stay put until this storm is over. And that really is the top advice from first responders like Dallas Fire Rescue we just heard from there. They're most concerned about scenes like this, these bridges and elevated highways all across Texas and the south.

They're going to be the first to ice and they could pose a danger to your life. So the best way to stay safe through this storm time is to stay home. All right. Some good advice there. Ryan Chandler for us. Ryan, we thank you. I want to get right over to NBC News meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill. We're just hours away from this monster storm. Walk us through the latest track and timing. Yeah, so we're starting to lock this forecast in. Of course, we were so far out in advance, knew this was coming. So we've had some shifts, have you been following along?

But now we're really locking in, and it looks like we're going to see the worst impacts in areas that are going to get the ice and some of the southern areas that are going to get this mixed bag of snow, sleet, freezing rain. So the area of ice, this is the accumulated ice that would be on your car, your trees, the power lines. When you get into the blue, a quarter inch is when you can get branches at a break. When you get to a half inch, that's when limbs can come down, trees can come down. And that's when you get like widespread power outages for days. So the blue area goes from Dallas here, almost to Nashville, and especially Shreveport, Greenville, the Tuplo to Oxford. Those areas are in that dark blue.

Those are most concerned with for a multiple day power outage. Also, a lot of blue now showing up, North Georgia through the Carolinas here, Charlotte, the Piedmont area, the Triangle, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Greensville. Those areas from Rowanoke also now towards Richmond. You could also be looking at significant power outages. And as far as what we're going to deal with with snow, it still looks to be about six to 12 inches from Oklahoma City to Wichita all the way up here into southern portions of New England. Now, some areas will get a little more than that. I'm sure we'll have at least one location that gets 18 to 24 inches somewhere in the northeast, especially the mountainous areas. As far as snow totals go for some of the big cities, that's significant.

Oklahoma City all the way up to Wichita, 8 to 12 inches. We've increased your snow totals, Kansas City and St. Louis. Now Chicago's getting a little more, too. Cleveland, Louisville, Lexington, all Indianapolis, the Ohio Valley is now getting more snow. But of course, if we're getting more snow there, the areas that are getting more ice, we knocked your totals down. That includes

Roanoke, Raleigh, Charlotte, the Norfolk area. D.C., mostly snow in the beginning over to some sleet and freezing rain. Still looks to be all snow from New York City northwards. If we're all snow in New York City, it could be 14 to 16 inches, but we think there could be a little bit of sleep possibly mixing in. We'll fine

tune that. That's not even until Sunday. That's three days from now. So the other story that we're going to have to watch closely, Tom, is what happens in areas where we get the rain, then freezing rain, because the pre-treating of the roads won't even work, and that could happen in areas like Dallas. Yeah, some areas could really be paralyzed. And then, Bill, you know, we're talking about the snow and how big this storm is, but also there's dangerous cold right behind it. Tom, even without this storm, this would be like one of our lead stories tonight, just a cold all by itself. I mean, we have 167 million. Roughly half the U.S. population is under

some type of cold warning or advisory. And these are no joke. I mean, they canceled classes tomorrow for the Chicago public schools. Wind chill is supposed to be negative 32. Look at Minneapolis, negative 42, Omaha, negative 24. The lowest I've seen is International Falls, negative 57 tomorrow. It's like minutes you'd get frostbite with exposed skin outside. And behind the storm, so we're talking high temperatures. These are not the lows. This is as warm as it's going to get in Memphis behind the storm. Sunday 20, Monday 23, Tuesday, 33. They can have a wind chill of negative six. How are we going to melt the ice? They don't have enough salt to do all the roads in the southern portions from Dallas to Shreveport in these areas. So Tom, figure the main highways

probably be treated and they'll be okay. But all of the secondary roads and bridges, I don't understand how we could go four days without people really be able to drive around safely, even through the south. That's pretty wild. All right, Bill, I know we're going to be talking to you a lot tomorrow as well. I want to bring in now meteorologist Brittany Van Voorhees. She's from NBC affiliate, WCNC in Charlotte, North Carolina. Brittany, so great. to have you on Top Story tonight. Your state is already under a winter storm watch and the threat for dangerous ice is growing. What are the biggest concerns where you guys live? Well, Tom, really the biggest concern is what you just mentioned. The increasing risk for ice here

locally. A mix of freezing rain and sleet will cause likely treacherous conditions here in the Charlotte area, not only on the roadways this weekend, but even into early next week. It's one of the reasons why NCDOT is encouraging people to not only stay off the roadways, really starting Saturday, but also not just for the safety of themselves, but the workers, too. Today in a press conference, Governor Stein telling folks that they should be preparing now for the worst of it. We also here in Charlotte are kind of known for our big, beautiful trees. At least in my mind, one of the biggest impacts from this means more trees, more branches, more opportunities for not only those branches to fall, but also for them to snap and fall on power lines. And as you mentioned at

the top of the show, too, we know that anytime you get a quarter of an inch of ice to half of an of ice that adds to all those extra pounds to power lines. So even without the added impact of trees, those power lines can snap pretty quickly. Yeah. And then before you go, people are preparing all over the country. What are they doing where you guys live? And are you guys noticing a run on supplies as well? Oh my gosh. It has been substantial. In fact, we're already seeing most of our grocery stores with no water, with lesser non-perishable foods. We're seeing people go out to get more baby formula, even stocking up on prescription medication, similar to how you would during preparation. for a hurricane. What that tells me is people are taking this very, very seriously, which is

positive news. Another big impact specific to us here in the Charlotte Metro is that we have thousands of people who move to this region a month. A lot of ones who have never dealt with a winter storm before. It's extremely rare here in the Charlotte area. In fact, we haven't seen a winter storm at all really of this magnitude since January 2016, almost exactly a decade ago. So whether they're moving here now, they've never been impacted by a storm like this before or it's been 10 years, frankly, people forget. And so as a meteorologist, that's one of my biggest issues, one of my biggest concerns, but at least so far it seems like folks are taking it extremely seriously. That's good to know. All right, Brittany, so great to have you again on the broadcast. We thank you.

Turning out of Minneapolis and that high-profile visit by Vice President Vance, calling for officials to lower the temperature as protest over ice continue across the state. Vance blaming Democrats there for not helping federal law enforcement arrest suspects while also acknowledging there have been mistakes made. Here's Maggie Vespa. Look what they did. Tonight, as anti-ice protests here rage, Vice President Vance on the ground in Minneapolis, saying he wants to turn down the temperature and support federal law enforcement officers. Because of a few very far-left agitators, a lot of these guys are unable to do their jobs without

being harassed, without being docks, and sometimes without being insulted. That's totally unacceptable. Earlier today, acknowledging mistakes. You're always going to have mistakes made in law enforcement. 99% of our police officers, probably more than that, are doing everything right. We pressed the vice president. So what do you say to people here in Minnesota who say it's the overwhelming presence of ICE officers and federal officers and their tactics that are making them feel less safe?

Well, one thing I would say is, first of all, we saw in 2025 the biggest one-year drop in murders in the history of the United States of America. Are you saying that they're not perceiving it correctly? If you understand this in context, this is the inevitable consequence of the of a state and local government that have decided that they're not going to cooperate with immigration enforcement at all. In fact, they're going to aggressively not cooperate. Minneapolis's Democratic mayor responding, We've got this huge influx of what feels like an occupation.

Tonight, critics pointing to this image of a five-year-old boy with a federal officer on Tuesday. Columbia Heights Public Schools saying Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, were detained in their driveway, accusing ICE of you, of using a five-year-old as bait. All I want is for him to be safe and back here. Tonight, DHS responding, saying officers did not target a child, but were targeting his father, who's in the U.S. illegally from Ecuador, saying the father fled on foot, abandoning his child,

and that, quote, one of our ICE officers remained with the child after his mother refused to accept custody. What are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a five-year-old child freeze to death? Are they not supposed to arrest an illegal alien in the United States of America? Meanwhile, this video showing Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, tossing gas to disperse protesters who had followed officers to a convenience store, throwing food and objects at them.

We were set up on rioters who tried to stop us at every point yesterday. Where was Minneapolis Police Department during that eight-hour stalking events? All right, with that, Maggie joins us live again from Minneapolis. Maggie, the Justice Department also announcing new arrest tonight after anti-ice protesters disrupted that Sunday church service. What do we know? Right, Tom. This is a stunning development. Remember those protesters said they thought a pastor at that church worked for ICE? And they still think that. Well, now the DOJ has arrested three protesters with charges including conspiracy to deprive rights, meaning the rights of the parishioners, who the DOJ alleges they scared out of being able to worship inside their church. It's important to know we talked to the attorney for one of the protesters arrested. The attorney said that they were simply arrested for, quote, doing a peaceful, nonviolent protest in a church. They're blasting this move by the DOJ.

Tom. Okay, Maggie Vespa again, Maggie, we thank you. Now to Washington where President Trump is returning home after securing what he called a framework deal over Greenland. And tonight we have new reporting about what's in it. Here's Peter Alexander. President Trump tonight returning home, leaving allies rattled but touting a win on. Greenland, even as he says negotiations over a future deal, are just getting underway. Essentially, it's total access. There's no end. There's no time limit.

NBC News has learned the president has discussed adding U.S. troops and more military bases in Greenland, in part to support his Golden Dome missile defense system, still in its planning stages, according to two former U.S. officials. And the New York Times, citing eight senior Western officials, reports proposals include giving America a sovereign claim over part of pockets of Greenland's territory where U.S. bases would be located. Denmark's prime minister tonight saying we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty. And the president today acknowledging a deal might not include U.S. ownership of the Danish territory. Anything's possible. But in the meantime, we're getting everything we want,

total security, total access to everything, have as many bases, have all the equipment that we want. An existing Cold War era treaty between the U.S. and Denmark already allows the U.S. to expand, and its military presence in Greenland. President Trump and other leaders are right. We have to do more there. We have to protect the Arctic against Russian and Chinese influence. President Trump earlier launching his own international organization, the so-called Board of Peace, created after the Gaza ceasefire,

where he serves as chairman and the only one with veto power. This board has the chance to be one of the most consequential bodies ever created, and it's my enormous honor to serve as its chairman. More than 50 countries invited to join, at least 20 already on board. With Russia's Vladimir Putin still considering the offer and allies like France and the United Kingdom declining, citing concerns it could undermine the United Nations, whose emblem is similar to the Board of Peace's logo revealed today with the U.S. front and center outlined in gold. All right, Peter Alexander joining us now from Switzerland. Peter, on the sidelines there in Davos,

President Trump also meeting with Ukrainian President Vlodomir Zelensky. Yeah, Tom, that's right. The meeting taking. place behind closed doors afterwards, Zelensky saying that the documents, he said, are for an agreement to end the war with Russia, are nearly ready. He said they are nearly, nearly, nearly ready. Really an optimistic tone there. But late today, it's also worth noting the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also the special envoy for the president, Steve Whitkoff, met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And then notably tomorrow, and this may be significant for the first time since the war began, almost four years ago, representatives for

the United States, Russia, and Ukraine. We'll all sit down together in the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi to be specific. Among the outstanding issues they've been dealing with to this point, the topic of territory, of course, a post-war recovery, and also security guarantees. The real question is, what is Vladimir Putin okay with? Will he sign on to this as well? But certainly some signs of progress, but still more work to do. Tom. All right. A lot of new reporting there. Peter, we appreciate it. Now to that fiery hearing on Capitol Hill, former special counsel Jack Smith appeared as part. part of a House investigation into his indictments of President Trump.

Smith defended his work while Republicans attacked the prosecutions as politically motivated. NBC's Ryan Nobles has more. Please rise and raise your right hand. Tonight, former special counsel Jack Smith, defending his investigation into President Donald Trump. I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including the decision to bring charges against President Trump. Smith, a career prosecutor, has been a target of Republicans since his two-of-eastern. indictments of Trump, one for the mishandling of classified documents, and the other for interfering with the results of the 2020 election, fell apart before Trump's second term. It was always about

politics, and to get President Trump, they were willing to do just about anything. In a tense hearing, Republicans accused Smith of spying on members of Congress by unlawfully seeking their phone records. Did you inform the judge, or did you hold that back? My office didn't spy on anyone. In the room, police officers on duty during January 6th, one tangling with a Trump-supporting protestor. President Trump was watching the hearing and accused Smith of being, quote, deranged, adding he hopes his attorney general Pam Bondi is, quote, looking at what he's done. Do you agree with that?

And was that appropriate? That's up to the Justice Department, but I have complete confidence in this Justice Department. A threat Smith is taking seriously. Do you believe that President Trump's. Department of Justice will find some way to indict you. I believe they will do everything in their power to do that because they've been ordered to by the president. But he never wavered. Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity.

Okay, Ryan Noble joins us live from Capitol Hill tonight. Ryan, as the president suggested, could Jack Smith face DOJ charges? I think, Tom, in the era that we are in right now, who is a political enemy of Donald Trump should expect that there is always the possibility that they could face some sort of criminal investigation that could end up in a prosecution. We've seen a number of President Trump's political enemies meet that same fate. The question that has yet to be answered, though, is exactly what type of charge could Jack Smith possibly face from the Attorney General's office?

They've been very vague on the different things that they've accused him of, and none of them really seem to meet the merit of a full-on prosecution. that would end up in some level of conviction. But as we saw in this very explosive hearing today, Smith is preparing for that possibility. He is, of course, a skilled lawyer with a lot of prosecutorial experience of his own, so he will be very prepared for whatever

the Department of Justice may throw at him. Tom. OK, Ryan Noble's first, Ryan, thank you for that. We're following another update from President Trump tonight. The president suing J.P. Morgan Chase and its CEO, Jamie Diamond, for $5 billion. dollars, claiming that the bank improperly closes accounts for political reasons. Debanked him, as they say. To help us understand what it all means, I want to bring in Ron and Sana,

a good friend, a top story, a financial journalist and author of The Message of the Markets on Substack. And also NBC News, legal analysts and another good friend, Danny Savalos, we thank you both for being here. So, Danny, I'm going to start with you, their bank, their rules. They did tell the Trumps, they wanted to close their accounts for a variety of reasons. Does President Trump have a case here? Not for debanking, because debanking isn't a cause of action. The reality is the contracts that everybody signs with these banks usually gives the bank the right to terminate the account for essentially any reason. And so instead, the complaint alleges causes of action for things like trade liable, sort of these vague ideas of you harmed us essentially by removing our bank accounts. But generally speaking, the banks can cut off your account for whatever reason.

Even if Trump may be right, and I'm not a lawyer here, but not for whatever reason, right, with the infringing on your civil rights or something, right? They can't just close your account. So, for example, a good example would be if they close your account based on your race or your religion. That's the kind of discrimination. Well, yes, to some degree, but I mean, what exactly is the difference between your political affiliation? It's not treated the same as religion and race and some of the other protected categories. So in this case, it's going to be a really tough thing to prove, even if Trump proved,

even if Trump proves that J.P. Morgan did discriminate against him. And I don't mean legal discrimination that they decided to close his account because of whatever he was involved in. That may not be a case. Ron, one of the reasons why this is interesting, you have the most powerful man in the world going after the world's most powerful banker in the world. We know that Jamie Diamond is not a pushover. He's been the CEO of that bank for, I think, almost two decades or maybe more than that. What do you think happens here? And how does J.P. Morgan and Jamie Diamond respond?

Well, I think they said they'll have their day in court, and J.P. Morgan said it's more than willing to defend itself and suggested that the regulations that exist in the banking community effectively resulted in their decision to, if you will, debank President Trump after January 6th. If they have any reputational risk, if they have any legal liability associated with anyone who might down the road face prosecution, they can make that decision to debank their customer. So as Danny was saying, this is well within. the scope not only of the bank's rights, but of the regulatory framework in which they operate. So, listen, they made $57 billion in profits last year and $180 billion in revenue. They could afford it if they even took the hit. But as Danny says, I doubt there's any chance that they would be found guilty of doing anything wrong in this particular instance. Yeah. Ron, you read my mind there because I was going to say that's a big number, right? North of $50 billion in profits.

And you have this case for $5. We've seen President Trump go after news networks before. He's going after J.P. Morgan now. If you were legal counsel at J.P. Morgan, you say, hey, fight this or settle this for a quiet amount so you don't create more problems with the administration. Almost every time a company settles a case, it is not for a legal reason. It is a business decision. So that is entirely up to J.P. Morgan. They can consider the cost of litigation and the amount demanded, but I highly doubt they will look to settle right away. Why not file a few motions? Why not try to throw this case out? Why not defend? Because you don't want to send the signal as J.P. Morgan or any large company that when people file

lawsuits a day or two later, you're talking settlement. Because I promise you, the sharks, and I'm including myself, Tom, will start circling. Ron, J.P. Morgan probably pays millions, if not tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars to different companies, different people to make sure they don't have problems with political figures and or administrations, right? Every big business does this, Every big bank does this. Is it worth it to J.P. Morgan to try to keep fighting this, or do you think they eventually settle this for an amount that makes the president happy? I'm not a lawyer. If I were, I'd be advising them to fight this all the way to the end, because it does open a can of worms, because then anyone could come out of the woodwork and suggest

that they were debanked for some reason that maybe wildly amorphous or not within the framework in which banks operate. So there's no reason to, there's no fundamental reason to settle because the bank did nothing wrong. Now, the fact that Jamie was sued individually as well may be problematic for him, but again, he didn't do anything wrong. He's working within the constructs of banking regulation. So I think they should fight it because the cost of fighting it is probably less than $5 billion, or even whatever amount of money they might nominally settle for. I think in this instance it's worth the fight because it seems to me that it's a false claim. Real quick, Danny, because you mentioned Ron brought the good point that Jamie Diamond is being sued also individually here.

If the case is thrown out, reminder of yours, what happens to the legal fees? Does Jamie Diamond still have to swallow all the legal fees he has to pay a very high-priced lawyer to take on the president's lawyers? Well, in all likelihood, it would be covered by J.P. Morgan. They'll pick up his defense. And Ron brings up a really, really good point. There's every bit of incentive to fight this tooth and nail because there's no way you're going to pay your attorneys $5 billion. So you might as well put in a good defense, fight this case, because arguably they may not even have a cause of action. This could possibly be tossed on a motion to dismiss. So I would follow Ron's advice, fight the case as long as you can. Danny and Ron, great talking to you both.

We appreciate it. We're back at a moment with the emergency phone call from President Trump's son Barron, how it might have helped save a woman who was being attacked. Plus a mother charged with killing her daughter after allegedly poisoning her, what we're learning from investigators. And going buck wild inside a bank will show you the massive deer that broke in, leading cops on a crazy chase, how they finally managed to wrangle it back outside. That's all ahead of the top story. We're back now with new details tonight about an emergency phone call involving the president's son, Baron Trump. Transcripts revealing a violent encounter in the UK in which Barron apparently helped save a friend from an attack by an ex-boyfriend.

Garrett Hake has some of the details. Just days before his father's second inauguration last January, President Trump's teenage son Baron placed an urgent call for help to police in London. Quote, I'm calling from the U.S., Baron Trump told an operator at the UK's 999 emergency line. I just got a call from a girl, you know, she's getting beat up, adding, it's really an emergency. That calls transcript released by prosecutors now key evidence in the London trial of 22-year-old Russian National. Mattveh Rumiyzev, accused of rape and assault, which he denies. The January attack allegedly witnessed in part by Trump, whose late-night video call to the victim was briefly answered by the defendant, whom Trump would describe in an email

to prosecutors as a, quote, shirtless man with darkish hair, according to British media covering the trial. The victim reportedly praising Trump in testimony Wednesday, quote, he helped save my life. That call was like a sign from God. at that moment. Barron Trump, the only son of the president and First Lady Melania Trump, keeps a low public profile with no public speeches and few appearances. His father crediting the team for his help finding ways to reach young voters. He knew the youth vote. On the night of the incident, the operator pressed Trump for details about the victim and how he knew her. Quote,

I don't think those details matter. She's getting beat up, Trump replies, adding, I met her on social media. British media reporting that the defendant testified today that he told the victim in the fall of 2024 that he was, quote, upset about her talking to Baron Trump. Both the White House and the First Lady's office declined to comment on this case. Tom? All right, Garrett, thank you. Coming up on top story, the alarming study out today on the new leading cause of cancer deaths among people under 50 will tell you about it. Plus, some of the nation's top health insurance executives grilled on Capitol Hill as the cost of health care continues to soar is relief on the way. But first, top story's top moment. And for new parents, Kate and Ryan, their first stop after the birth of their baby boy wasn't

their home. It was McGadies of all places. Baby Brooks getting a warm welcome at the Golden Arches Drive-Thru in Pennsylvania. Take a look. Oh, we have the drive-thew? Is this your first drive-thru? Oh, my gosh. Come on, no, look at face, baby. I know. Look at the face. Baby. I miss your face. Cheers. Mom says those famous French fries played a big part of her pregnancy journey, so they had to stop and introduce the newest crew member to the fast food family. All right, congrats to those new parents.

Stay with us. Okay, we are back now with the Americas and what could be the next target of the Trump administration's activities in the region after the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. New reporting from the Wall Street Journal indicates the U.S. is actively seeking regime change in Cuba by the end of the year. adding that the Trump administration is, quote, searching for Havana insiders who could cut deals to end the communist rule. For more, I want to bring in one of the authors of that report, Vera Bergen-Gruwen, who covers national security for the journal.

Vera, thanks so much for coming here. This article grabbed our attention. Set the stage for us. Cuba has been reliant on oil out of Venezuela, right? But as the president pointed out on social media earlier this month, quote, there will be no more oil or money going to Cuba, urging the Cubans to cut a deal. Do we have a sense of what this deal could look like?

Because Cuba's so different from Venezuela, right? They don't have oil there. What do they have that President Trump would want? That's right. I mean, it's important to remember that a lot of people are on President Trump, just have a lot of interest in just toppling that regime and having it be gone. They see it as a malign influence on the region.

You remember there was a lot of security guards around Maduro when they grabbed him that were Cuban. So, you know, they just want that regime to be gone. And they assess, according to the CIA and other recent intelligence assessments, that the government has never been weaker. And they think that this is a moment that they really want to seize and finally bring down this government that they've been trying to. I mean, the United States has tried several times in its almost seven decades. Yeah. And part of this, right, the Cuban regime has resisted decades of U.S. pressure.

And there's history between both countries, obviously, including the CIA back Bay of Pigs invasion back in 1961. Could a raid like that one be used, like the one that they used to capture Maduro work in Cuba? Is that what you're reporting is talking about? Or is this something much different where it's just economic pressure until it just falls? It could be a combination, but largely what we're hearing from sources is that President Trump really, in his own way, is allergic to the term regime change, right? And so a lot of people around him tell us that he doesn't think of this as old-fashioned regime change. It's really kind of spotting opportunities, trying to make deals. And currently, as you mentioned, trying to find Cuban government insiders who, like in Venezuela, could possibly, you know, kind of thaw that all up and allow them to make some kind of deal.

Obviously, after the Maduro operation, it's always backed by the threat of military force. Yeah, Cuba is right now in a really, really bad spot economically. I talk to friends over there and family. My family is in communication still with our cousins over there. There is a sickness going around, a mosquito epidemic because of all the trash. that hasn't been picked up. There's no food. There's no energy. There's no lights. There's no gas. I mean, it is what our friends and family are telling us the worst situation it's ever been, which is saying a lot because in that special period after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba was also in a dire situation, which led to the rafting crisis. But right now, things are so bad

in the island right now. Is the, I guess the big question that your reporting points out is, are there those Cuban insiders, right? The people that are in Havana that would work with the government, kind of like we're seeing with Delci in Venezuela, with this new administration, right? The vice president under Maduro somehow cutting some type of deal where she was able to stay in power, but the U.S. seems to be in control. Are there people like that in Cuba because it has been a very long time that those people have been very loyal to the Communist Party? Exactly. As you pointed out, I mean, Cuba is not Venezuela, and from everything we're hearing, it's way less likely that there are people like that because there's nothing really in it for them.

And the other important part to remember is, you know, unlike Venezuela, there isn't, you know, there haven't really been elections, of course. There's no organized opposition movement. It hasn't seen these kind of mass protests in its entire six decades. There's only been two instances of mass protests. So it's lacking all of those elements that even if for some reason they find people within the government willing to work with them, it's really unclear what would replace the government.

It really is very different from Venezuela. And yet it looks like they're trying to follow us. similar playbook. Yeah, we're also following some sort of new developments and strange news out of Venezuela, the diplomatic relations with that country, Joint Chief's Foreign Policy Advisor, Laura Dogu, taking on the role of America's top diplomat with Venezuela, a position previously held just recently by U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, John McNamara. What does her appointment mean for the U.S. President in Venezuela, and what do we know about

sort of this change up? Yeah, she's a very experienced diplomat. She previously served as the ambassador to Nicaragua and Honduras. And, you know, it does feel like they really want to set up a renew a diplomatic presence, which is quite significant since they haven't been there since 2019. So what remains to be seen there is whether they're going to take more steps to set up these U.S. Venezuela relations and really acknowledge the government of Deli Rodriguez, as you mentioned, a Maduro holdover, or whether they're going to kind of slowly set up a presence in order to push them out

and lay the groundwork for a democratic transition. So it's just significant in general that they have a new person there now. All right. We thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate having you on tonight. We're going to turn out at Top Stories News Feed, former University of Michigan head football coach Sharon Moore, appearing in court today. He's pleaded not guilty to charges, including felony, home invasion and stalking.

Moore was fired last month after an investigation revealed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Now his defense team is pushing to get that arrest warrant thrown out. Moore is due back in court next month. An alarming new study out today showing colorectal cancer is now the number one cancer threat for people under 50 here in the U.S. Death rates have been climbing in younger people since 2005, and researchers say it's unclear what is causing the trend, but cancer deaths overall have been down 44% since 1990. Police in New York now responding to a burglary alarm at a bank, but when they got there, here's what they found inside.

That deer trapped there and running wild. causing a mess throughout the building. Suffolk County police officers, which is on Long Island, trying to grab it by the horns and guided to safety. They eventually lassoed it and helped it jump out through a broken window. Wow, that's a crazy one. And big news for fans of the hit show, Heated Rivalry. HBO Max announcing the breakout stars Hudson Williams and Connor Story

officially selected for the Olympic torch relay ahead of the games in Milan Cortina next month. It's unclear exactly where or when they'll be carrying the torches. Okay. That in North Carolina, where a woman is facing murder charges in two separate cases, the first involving the alleged poisoning of her daughter, the second for the death of a man killed more than 20 years ago. George Solis joins us tonight from Miami. George, the details so far sound disturbing.

Yeah, Tom, very disturbing. Gudgeon-Casper Lankin-Goole is facing charges related to the murder of her daughter. She's accused of poisoning her and two others. Now, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, that alleged poisoning took place last November around Thanksgiving. But that's not all. The Bureau also saying that during the course of the investigation, detectives found get this evidence linking the woman to a cold case murder from back in 2007, but they didn't specify what that evidence was. Now, we have reached out to local and state authorities multiple times today, but did not hear back. Now, the 52-year-old

suspect now faces charges of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, as well as counts of distribution of prohibited food or beverage. According to court documents, the suspect did waive her right to an attorney and was denied release after her arrest, but it's not clear if she's since retained an attorney since that time. Now she is scheduled to be back in court next month. Tom? Okay, George, thank you. Now to Capitol Hill, where some of the nation's top health insurance execs. Based tough questions today. The CEO is sitting down for back-to-back hearings that at times got heated as members of Congress shared personal stories of their own health care denials. Listen. It took me eight denials myself to get a medicine.

that I need to exist. A year and a half, I'm a physician and a member of Congress. It took me eight times through CVS to get that medication. I didn't pull any strings. I did what I was supposed to do. Imagine the average person in the country. For more, let's go to NBC's Melanie Zanona, who's been following all this all day.

Melanie, this sounds like the series we launched right here at NBC News, the cost of denial, and affecting even members of Congress as well. It wasn't just Republicans there, but also executives getting pressed by Democrats as well? Yeah, that's right, Tom. Republicans and Democrats alike really taking these health care executives to task. They grilled the executives about why health care costs so much in this country and questioned why the executive themselves get to be paid multimillion dollars salaries

while everyday Americans struggle to afford their medicines and their health care bills. And they also pressed them on the prevalence of health care denials with one lawmakers saying this is shameful and this is why so many people hate their health insurance companies. But while there was some agreement among Republicans and Democrats, there were some differences to how they approached this hearing.

Republicans slamming Obamming Obamacare, blaming that for the reason why the American health care system is so expensive and so broken, while Democrats pointed out the fact that it was Republicans who failed to extend the Obamacare subsidies at the end of last year.

And just as a reminder, once those subsidies expired, that caused skyrocketing premiums all around the country for millions of Americans, Tom. And one more thing, insurers obviously pushing back, pointing the finger at providers, drug makers, and even lawmakers for those rising costs. These hearings, just weeks after those Obamacare tax credits expired,

is there any relief in sight for Americans seeing higher premiums and worried about their insurance? Well, there was a brief glimmer of hope on Capitol Hill, but I do use that in the past tense. Earlier this month, the House was forced into voting on a three-year extension of those Affordable Care Act subsidies, and that did inspire the Senate to try to come together on a bipartisan deal. Since then, that deal has fallen apart. And while President Donald Trump did release his own health care plan last week, is extremely light on specifics. And at this moment, there are no plans to take it up on Capitol Hill.

Tom. All right, Melanie, we appreciate that. Still to come tonight, the Facebook Marketplace meetup turning deadly, what police are warning tonight. Plus, the stunning light show in the sky. A look at the Aurora captured hundreds of miles above the Earth. That's next. We're back with the emotional moments inside a Texas courtroom.

as a jury acquitted a former Yuvaldi school police officer of charges that he failed to protect students during one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Here's Priscilla Thompson. Hurt and anger among the families of the 19 children and two teachers killed at Rob Elementary School. Not guilty. After late Wednesday, a jury found former Uvaldi School's police officer Adrian Gonzalez, not guilty of 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment for his role in the response. I feel let down. Not just not personally for me, but for my daughter. All her friends and her teachers.

The prosecution argued Gonzalez, the first officer on the scene, failed to engage the shooter. The defense said that convicting an officer for imperfect action would set a dangerous precedent. Guys, careful! Gonzalez, who did not take the stand in his own defense, speaking after the acquittal, about what's next. Just picking up the pieces and moving forward. The two-week trial, at times emotional. The sister of Irma Garcia, a teacher killed in the rampage, banned from the courtroom after this outburst. This case, a rare instance of an officer being prosecuted for failing to act.

In 2023, a jury found an officer in the Parkland Florida school shooting not guilty of neglect and negligence. Tonight, families of the UVVACTS. families of the Uvaldi victims, not giving up. I'm broken as a man and as a father, and I don't want anybody else to go through this again. And you may remember that Adrian Gonzalez was not the only officer charged in relation to law enforcement's response on that day. The only other officer charged was the Uvaldi School's police chief Pete Aradondo, and no date has been set for his trial. Tom. Next to that Facebook marketplace meetup that turned into what police,

are calling a deadly ambush. The victim, a veteran who survived war zones only to be gunned down near his own home. NBC's Morgan Chesky explains. It's the police called to a crime scene, leaving a Marine veteran dead and four teenagers in police custody. Police say 42-year-old Michael Ryan Burke was gunned down in Columbia, Missouri late Sunday, in what they're calling an online sale turned robbery. There is one confirmed patient and then where the suspect is. Investigators say Burke listed his phone for sale on Facebook marketplace,

but the potential buyers arrived armed, stealing his phone before opening fire. According to a longtime friend, even fatally wounded, Burke still called 911. He did not want these people to just get away with this, literally get away with murder. Followed by a final call to his family. Unfortunately, they didn't pick up. and so they decided it's just to text them. And he just said, I am dying and I love you. Authorities later arresting 318-year-olds

and a juvenile suspect on murder and robbery charges. It's not the first Facebook marketplace deal to turn violent. An off-to-the-NyPD officer was shot trying to buy a car in 2023. And another reported deal turned deadly in Texas. Tonight, Burke remembered as a beloved friend dedicated to serving others. Morgan Chesky joins us tonight. And Morgan, this is terrifying for anyone who uses these apps. What are police saying about how to protect yourself?

Yeah, Tom, law enforcement says that security is absolutely paramount when you're dealing with the transactions following these Facebook marketplace deals. That is why they're urging anyone who uses this to have a safe exchange zone that is critical to following through on this deal. Oftentimes, they can be in the lobby of a police station or even in a police station parking lot where there is 20, 24-7 surveillance. They say as long as the other person agrees to that follow-through. If not, cancel that deal immediately. Tom. All right, some good advice here. Morgan Chesky first. Morgan, thank you. Not at top stories, global watch and check of what else is happening around the world. In New Zealand, heavy rains triggering powerful landslides that slammed a campground and a home.

Officials confirming at least two people are dead and multiple others are missing. Emergency crews have been digging through the rubble searching for possible survivors. And another train incident in Spain, authorities say six people were hurt today after a commuter train collided with a crane that was near the track. Here you can see some of the aftermath. This is the country's fourth rail accident in less than a week. We told you about those two other major crashes that left more than 40 people dead. And a stunning look at the aurora lights captured on camera high above Earth. A Russian cosmonaut filmed the scene earlier this week from the International Space Station.

As the bright red and green colors you see there lit up the sky, he wrote on his telegram channel, felt like we were sailing inside that light. So cool. Okay, when we come back tonight, sign of love, the touching celebration for a little girl as her friends and family come together for a heartwarming rendition of happy birthday. Stay with us. All right, a situation that we have been monitoring. There's been a lot of chatter, a lot of speculation. The map is beginning to light up here. A picture coming into focus. This involves Harry Styles and something apparently called Together Together. This looks like it amounts to pretty much a massive year-long event here, starting with 50 shows in seven different global cities. Yes, that was our very own Steve Kornacki, but not on his usual political beat. Instead, breaking down Harry Stiles' 2026 World Tour on his Instagram page, and it's already racking up more than 4 million views.

The former One Direction star announcing the tour dates for Together Together, ahead of his fourth solo album, Kiss Allstate. the time, disco occasionally. All right. You may be wondering how political pro Steve Kornacki became a part of the Harry Stiles hysteria. Well, so are we. And joining us tonight here on Top Story, the man himself. Steve, thanks so much for being here. What just happened there? I mean, how did this happened? You're wondering, so am I. You know, no, it was very cool to be a part of this, very unexpected, obviously. You know, the Harry's team had reached out, you know, not long ago, you know, said they were looking to kind of, I think their idea was basically, it's a little more complicated, I think, than a normal tour for them.

There's this long residency in New York. I think they're doing one in London, too. Like 30 shows at the garden kind of thing. And they're layering all the different ways to buy tickets. Their idea was to have me kind of break it down. Just like an electoral map. It's as confusing as that if you want to see Harry Stiles Live. When you get a request like this, because you're obviously a serious news, man.

But you have such a great personality. I mean, is it an automatic yes? You're like, wait, wait a minute. How does this work? I mean, I think I had some questions about this one. Not just because it's so different than what I normally do. And to be honest, it's like I'm not the most up on, like, modern music and culture. But it was once I kind of, like, took a look at it and found out a little bit about him and everything, I was like, no, this will be fun.

Are you a Harry Stiles fan? I am now. Yeah, you are now. And it wasn't that I didn't, I just didn't really know anything about him or much about him before. But, like, I've listened to some of the music. And, no, I, yeah, totally a fan. And apparently we're being told the fans that they're going crazy for this. This was just yesterday.

We saw them lined up around the block here at 30 Rock, the first listen of his new single with more than 50 shows around the globe, including 30 right here at Madison Square Garden. I wonder if he's trying to break a record. Will Steve Kornacki be at the Harry-style show? They told me 5% off tickets now. Five percent? I hope they'll get more than that.

I love to go. Yeah, hopefully I can get in there for one of those. Steve, very cool. And maybe you get to meet Harry. Maybe we'll get Harry on here and you can do the map with you. That would be kind of fun if he knows anything about politics. Who knows? But Steve Kornacki, man, very cool.

We'll keep watching that club. It's awesome. Finally, tonight, it's the heartwarming birthday celebration for one little girl that's going viral tonight. Her friends and family surprising her with a touching rendition of happy birthday entirely in sign language. One, two, three, happy birthday. It's a song you've heard before, but this birthday serenade is one of a kind. The familiar notes perform not just by voice. but with hands.

All to surprise two-year-old Ayanna Sanchez, who was born deaf. Her eyes were just living up. Like I was so emotional, but I was like pushing through singing and signing to her. Parents Jeanette Reyes and Nico Sanchez worried about their daughter missing out, working hard to learn American sign language or ASL. They just see a bunch of people talking and they're not involved. And I didn't want her to feel like that. And when it came time to plan Ayanna's second birthday, the parents

Hatched a plan to get the whole family to learn happy birthday in ASL. Everybody in my family and her family is so, you know, like supportive and can't wait to learn. Every single family member making the effort. She knows she's loved. A sweet surprise and a sign for Ayanna that she's never alone. All right, that does it for us. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamison, New York.

Stay right there. More news on the way. Thank you.