Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, July 13, 2023

Episode Date: July 14, 2023

Flash flooding hits part of Mississippi as the deadly heat dome swelters on across the country. The Los Angeles County Sheriff releases body camera video of his deputies ripping a baby from its mother’s arms — and punching that woman multiple times. A plastic surgeon is banned from practicing medicine in Ohio for live-streaming her procedures. A drug dealer is convicted of murder in California after a fentanyl-laced pill he sold killed a 15-year-old girl. A major political party in Guatemala is suspended ahead of a major run-off after a contested presidential election. And the emotional moment Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin honored the first responders that saved his life on stage at the ESPYs.

Tonight, an extreme weather, triple threat, a string of tornadoes tearing across the suburbs of Chicago, as a waterlogged New England braces for the possibility of even more flash flooding. The South, also getting soaked, parts of Mississippi underwater, and that heat showing no signs of breaking out west, well into triple-digit temperatures, yet again. We're tracking it all. The Secret Service, investigating who brought cocaine into the West Wing, now ending its probe, why the findings are leaving more questions than answers. Disturbing video out of Los Angeles tonight, an officer punching a mother who was holding a newborn baby in her arms,

how the department is responding as the community demands justice. A game changer in the world of medicine, the first over-the-counter birth control pill just approved, the potential risks and benefits you need to know about. Actors on strike, Hollywood's biggest union, joining the Writers Guild on the picket lines, the cast of the highly anticipated Oppenheimer movie Walking Out of the London premiere in Solidarity.

What this work stoppage means for your favorite movies, TV shows, and red carpet events. Plus, a plastic surgeon who went viral on TikTok now stripped of her medical license. What investigators say she did that put patients in danger. And dramatic video showing a close call overseas the moment a mother yanked her baby from arms way

with just seconds to spare. Top story starts right now. And good evening, everybody. I'm Aaron Gilchrist in for Tom Yamis. We begin Top Story tonight with the extreme weather taking hold from coast to coast. Tonight flash floods, tornadoes, and that brutal heat not letting up at all. Parts of Mississippi underwater at this hour. Flash floods sending water rushing into homes and businesses in the town of Louisville.

Those scenes so similar to what we've seen across the north. throughout this week, an entire summer's worth of rain falling in just a matter of days in New York and Vermont. The region on alert once again tonight as new severe storms drop even more rain on waterlogged land. That system we're watching, already carving a path of destruction across the Midwest, multiple tornadoes touching down in the Chicago area late last night. The roof of this motel just outside the city ripped straight off. And out west, while they're still baking under those extreme triple-digitial. temperatures. More than 80 million people under heat alerts at this hour. We have all sides of this

wild weather covered for you on this Thursday. We start with NBC's Aeron McLaughlin from Las Vegas. Tonight from coast to coast, Mother Nature's onslaught is unrelenting. Overnight, multiple tornadoes touching down around Chicago. Right, yep, right there. Reeking havoc at the O'Hare International Airport and leaving a trail of destruction with dozens of homes damaged. All of a sudden, it was going all around. It was blowing all over. So there was like no way to go to protect yourself from it. NBC's Maggie Vespa is there. We're here in McCook, Illinois, where if you come into room five, you can see the roof of this motel is completely gone. Here's that same shot from above. The owners says, thankfully, no one was inside when the storm came through.

Over the road. And today, flash flooding in Mississippi, triggered by torrential rains. Multiple roads and buildings submerged. My store is currently underwater. This comes as more than 84 million Americans sweat through triple-digit temperatures, triggered in part by a deadly heat dome that only tightens its grip on the southwest. In Texas today, the demand for electricity reaching its highest point ever. After 2021's rolling blackouts, there's fresh concern for that state's power grid. Miami now 33 consecutive days with a heat index over 100 degrees. And since City is scorching. Las Vegas poised to tie its all-time heat record 117 degrees this weekend. On the strip, even the pavement is dangerous. It is super hot out here, and so like the bottom of my

shoes, I'm worried that it's going to get stuck to the concrete and melt. Nevada's only level one trauma center is reporting a troubling rise in severe burns from the superheated streets. The pavement can heat up to 160 to 170 degrees. All it takes is a couple of seconds of your skin being exposed to that to create a second day. degree burn. 73-year-old Air Force veteran Christopher Malcolm was waiting for the bus when he suddenly felt faint. I was feeling overheated, and so I sat down on a sidewalk.

Unable to get up, the hot pavement seared through his pants, causing third-degree burns, which required surgery. I feel lucky to be alive. Yet another casualty of the brutal summer heat that has the potential to be the deadliest yet. And Aaron joins us live now from Laugh. Vegas. Aaron, your report is really a good reminder of just how dangerous the streets. Literally, the streets can be in this kind of heat. At this hour in the afternoon there, how hot is the pavement right now? Well, Aaron, I have an infrared thermometer right here. So let's check it out.

Right now, the street is reading in at 158 degrees Fahrenheit. And experts say that's hot enough to sear in seconds. An important reminder for people and pets, this brutal heat wave. Unbelievable. Air McLaughlin Forest in Las Vegas tonight. Aaron, thank you. Now, the heat, not the only weather concern at this hour. Powerful storms heading toward an already devastated region in Vermont. Risk of heavy rain and dangerous wind in the forecast there. Downpour is expected, which could come with more flooding. This at the town, in the town of Montpelier, it's trying to clean up from what was already the worst flooding in almost a century. Search teams saying that they have rescued nearly 120 people, from their homes, from their cars. They've done that by boat. City Hall now shut down indefinitely because of extensive damage. Hundreds of volunteers coming out to lend a hand there, though, knowing that the situation could continue to get worse over the next few days.

Vermont's governor now urging residents to stay off the roads and to prepare. I want to reiterate, this isn't over, and it won't be over after this storm. On Sunday, unfortunately, there's another chance. for heavy rain statewide. All right, let's bring in a meteorologist Bill Karens now to talk a little bit more about this. Bill, we saw from some of our reporting earlier today in Vermont that we had a crew that just told us they needed to get inside. Walk us through some of the risks at this hour in that area and what the rest of the night might look like. Yeah, this is a different scenario than what we dealt with with the huge deluge of slow moving storms.

These are faster moving storms that can produce a lot of rain in a short period of time. So we're hoping that we're not going to get like the incredible rainfall totals. We may get some localized areas at four to five inches at most. You know, we had the historic flooding. It was like nine inches of rain. So we have a severe thunderstorm watch. You can see the line of thunderstorms that stretches from Binghamton all the way to the Catskills right over the top of the Capitol District.

Albany is connected in Troy and then right into the heart of Vermont. There's a lot of lightning with this too, so it was smart of our crew not to be outside standing in that. We've had one tornado warning that has now been downgraded to a severe thunderstorm warning. Here's the Albany area. This is Chatham, and this is the Pittsfield area of Massachusetts. So it's going to be heading over the Berkshires. A very strong thunderstorm with some gusty winds. And then to the north, the flooding we showed you in Mount Peeler. That's located right where my finger is here, just along Interstate 89. There's some light showers around this area, but nothing too dramatic. Down to the south and Rutland, much stronger in areas of heavy rain.

So we'll watch that. Of course, if you're watching all the stories, one of the spots Ludlow, right around where Alkemo Mountain is, that had horrific flooding. that's one of the areas that will get heavy rain tonight. So we do have one flash flood warning here, the one to the south with that big thunderstorm I showed you, and the whole region here, including much of the Springfield, the Worcester, and even Providence, is under a flash flood watch for the next two days.

The other story, Aaron, you know about this one. Yeah, it's the heat that so many people are still dealing with and talking about that heat dome that's stretching across so much of the country right now. Talk to us about what you're seeing there and when this is going to sort of dissipate a little bit. I'm just waiting for it, the peak. And that's going to be as we head towards the upcoming weekend, and then maybe we'll slowly back it off.

But, you know, when you get incredible heat domes and heat waves at the peak of the summer season, which is this week and next week, you're going to get some possible all-time highs and all-time records. So the two of them, the biggest ones, most impressive, is we have a chance to beat the all-time hottest temperature in Las Vegas this weekend. And it looks like Phoenix is going to blow by its old record of 18, 100-degree days in a row. you're going to probably end up much higher than that. So the forecast right now on Sunday in Vegas is 117. That would tie the all-time record. Notice 115 on both sides of this. It is almost guaranteed Vegas will see its three hottest days ever recorded as we go through Saturday, Sunday, Monday in Phoenix on Monday, easily breaking that 110, tying the old record of 18, then this will be 19, this will be 20, and that record will continue to play out through much of next week, Aaron. So yes, this is historic stuff.

This isn't, oh, it's hot every summer type weather. This even has the old-timer shake in their head. Yeah, let's hope we don't have to talk about it again after this is all said and done. Bill Carrens for us tonight. Bill, thank you. Let's turn to Washington now, and the investigation into the cocaine found at the White House over the 4th of July holiday weekend. The Secret Service ending its investigation without naming a suspect because of a lack of usable evidence.

Some Republican lawmakers questioning the probe and calling for stricter screening measures at the White House. Our senior White House correspondent, Kelly O'Donnell, has. the latest. Tonight, the Secret Service coming up empty. After days of investigation and sophisticated forensic testing, officials cannot identify who left a small baggy of cocaine in a storage cubby used for electronic devices near this west wing entrance. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy raising doubts. But if they can't tell us who brought it, what else is happening in the White House they can't tell us about? What else is coming into the White House they can't tell us about? What else is coming into the White house they can't tell me about. That even concerns me more now. Lab tests conducted at the FBI

crime lab did not develop latent fingerprints and insufficient DNA was present for investigative comparisons. Officials said they used video and entrance logs to compile a list of more than 500 individuals who had access to the entrance in the days before it was found July 2nd. But without physical or video evidence, officials could not connect the drug to any suspect. It's a complete failure. I mean, this thing is ridiculous. The White House said it is reviewing the findings. Democrats acknowledge, despite law enforcement's efforts, the mystery remains. It seems like at this point, it's just inconclusive. And Kelly O'Donnell joins us now from our D.C. newsroom. So Kelly, I understand the Secret Service didn't find

any real tangible evidence to use here. Is there at least a working theory about how all this happened? Well, talking with investigators, they look at more about this entrance. Who was going through it? There were private-led tours and visitors. Certainly, there are staff that go through there. Also, contractors working on a renovation of the Situation Room. There is a drug policy and drug testing for White House staff. And so some of the people familiar with the investigation think it could have been a visitor who didn't know the rules and didn't know what to expect when they got to the White House. Erin? Kelly O'Donnell for us in Washington tonight. I want to bring in Bobby McDonald now. He is a retired supervisory secret service agent and a lecturer in

criminal justice at the University of New Haven. We appreciate you being with us tonight on top story. You know, we look at the situation here. Investigators had the visitor logs. They had the surveillance videos. Samples went to top-notch labs in different parts of the country. No fingerprints, though. No suspect at this point. How does this conclusion sit with you? Are you surprised that this is the end point? I'm a little disappointed. Good evening, Aaron, nice to be with you. A little disappointed, a little disheartened, having been a criminal investigator for many years, you know, we have not been able to get to the who done it here. But sometimes in an investigation, and I hope that is the case here, we just don't have evidence of fingerprints. We don't have a very good video within the building there to follow. We don't have any DNA on the bag of cocaine that was found. Sometimes you come to a dead end. And look, there are other ways that the administration can follow through on this, checking its employees. that work in and around the White House to follow up to see who was coming in those doors, if there were tours, or, as Kelly said, contractors, there are other ways to keep going.

But I think the Secret Service is concern right now is that there's not a lot of tangible evidence that they really can follow with respect to this situation. The optics of it, I'll agree, are very, very poor. Well, yeah, I want to ask you more about that in a second here, too. But you look at the timeline here, right? It's been roughly two weeks that this investigation has gone on. to some people, it seems quick to be closing the book on this. Do you think that, you know, this is over because we're talking about a little baggy of cocaine here?

If officers had found anthrax or a big knife or a gun or something like that, would the search still be going? Well, I think that it's unfortunate that we're not talking about it any longer. We're kind of letting this situation dissipate. You know, the holiday weekend didn't help the situation. the president then went on a trip to Europe. Not a lot of questions being asked. Your colleagues in the press room the other day didn't really press the issue.

There are ways that this can stay in the mainstream and find a way to continue to talk about this. But unfortunately, the Secret Service, with respect to its investigation, really doesn't have a whole lot much more to go on at this point. Yes, they have narrowed it down to 500 people, but I think they're trying to figure out a way to develop additionally,

if possible, but there may not just be anything there, and it's really unfortunate. Sometimes you just come to the end of the road with an investigation. You talk about narrowing it down to 500 people, right? We understand that if there's a theory here, the leading one seems to be that a visitor likely brought this into the White House. What's your understanding of how investigators are able to rule out White House employees or folks who work for the administration coming in with this? Well, I think they're going to need some cooperation from the administration if they want

to continue to delve into this situation to see who potentially was involved. If we have those 500 people, then I think the administration as the employer of those people should be following up as any employer would when potential nefarious activity like this excuse me, took place at the White House. Look, this is the most secure building in our country and we should be able to figure out an investigation that took place inside those walls. We don't have that luxury with a lot of investigations. We know who would in there during that protracted period of time. So again, I think that the Secret Service is going to continue to evaluate and reevaluate its policies as it does every day to try to continue

to better its protection process, excuse me, as it does every day in and around the White House. A lot of good things going on in the Secret Service. This is unfortunately at the forefront, and we're talking about this now, and we need to put this to bed. You make a really good point there, and I was thinking about this. I mean, suspect or not, The incident itself is not a good look for the Secret Service. What would the after-action look like for something like this at that particular agency? What's the lesson learned here for the Secret Service, the agency in charge of law and order at the White House? Well, the message is we've got to continue to stay vigilant.

Vigilant in our security sweeps, in our practices, in our procedures, and our protocols. Again, a lot of people come through those turnstiles every day, and we have to have a zero-fail situation. They're going to need to look at their policies and procedures at the gates, at the screening areas, and just see what can be fixed, what could be tightened up so that something like this doesn't happen again. The Secret Service, the men and women of the Secret Service, both on the agent side and the uniform division, do a phenomenal job across the country and in foreign countries every day. Just coming back now, President Biden from his trip over to Europe and very successfully from a security standpoint. But they'll continue to look and reevaluate and see how to get better. That's what the service does every day. All of its policies and procedures that it uses every day are based upon instances that have happened in the past.

So my expectation is that the Secret Service will take this unfortunately poor optical situation and turn it into a positive and tighten up its protocols in and around the screening process. All right. We appreciate your perspective and your expertise on this. Bobby McDonald, former or rather retired supervisory Secret Service agent. Thank you. And now we turn to the president's visit with NATO allies. President Biden welcoming Finland into that alliance while telling Russia's president he's already lost the war in Ukraine. NBC's chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander traveling with the president tonight from Helsinki. Tonight, as the fighting rages on in Ukraine with that country's counteroffensive against Russian forces stalled, President Biden declaring the outcome is already clear.

Putin's already lost the war. Here in Helsinki, the president formally welcomed NATO's newest member, the alliance bringing in Finland that shares an 830-mile border with Russia, demonstrating how President Biden says Vladimir Putin's invasion has backfired, insisting Russia cannot keep up this fight for years. Eventually, President Putin is going to decide it's not in the interest of Russia, economically, politically, or otherwise, to continue this war. The president tonight singling out Putin in the same room where fight. Five years ago, former President Trump seemed to accept Putin's denials about election interference over the assessments of U.S. intelligence agencies. Mr. Biden also weighing in on that failed military rebellion, led by one-time Putin-ally Yevgeny Progosian, who has not been seen in public since.

We're not even sure where he is. If I were here, I'd be careful what I ate. The president here taking aim at a growing controversy back in Washington, too, slamming Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville for blocking hundreds of senior military military promotions, including for a new Joint Chiefs Chairman, to protest the Pentagon's recent policy change on abortion. He's jeopardizing U.S. security by what he's doing. It's just totally irresponsible, in my view.

Tuberville's been objecting to the new policy that provides government paid time off and reimburses travel costs for service members and their dependents seeking abortions. He says that change required Senate approval. You can't turn around and change the law with the memo. I mean, that's all I'm saying. All I've asked is, let's get a vote on the floor. Tuberville is also facing criticism from fellow Republicans for holding up those military promotions, and we just learned Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Tuberville tonight, warning him about the impact on military readiness.

Aaron? Peter Alexander in Helsinki tonight. Now we turn to that shocking new body camera video out of Los Angeles. Sheriff's deputies there ripping a baby from the arms of its mother during an arrest. One of the deputies punching that mother multiple times. Steve Patterson reports, and we should warn you, some of the video you're about. to see may be disturbing. Tonight, a mother's desperate cries as Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies

forcefully remove her and three-week-old baby from her arms for arrest last July. The newborn, taken after the woman, refused to let go. One of the deputies was caught on camera punching the woman multiple times. No, punch we room! I found the punching of the woman in these circumstances completely unacceptable. L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna releasing this dramatic video late Wednesday, nearly a year after it happened, but just days after he says he learned about it. I took swift action upon learning about this incident.

Authorities say the incident started after the car was pulled over for driving without lights on. A male driver arrested on suspicion of driving with a suspended license and driving under the influence. Also inside the car, four women and three infants. Authorities say none of the babies were in car seats required by law. Deputies on scene made the discretionary decision to arrest the passengers and the driver for felony child endangerment. She's going to grab the baby. Can you guys wait, wait, wait, no, listen, please, please. The sheriff says the deputy was relieved of field duty a few days ago.

The community expects us to hold our employees accountable, and that's what we'll be doing. And Steve Patterson joins us from Los Angeles now. Steve, there's still a question of what happened to the people in that car. This video is from a year ago. Do we know what happened to the driver, the mother, those children? Yeah, Aaron, the people arrested in that traffic stop have not been identified, and unfortunately no update was given. about their status or of the status of their cases.

The sheriff is referring the incident to the DA for a criminal investigation, so we may get more then, but until now, unknown. Aaron? Steve Patterson for us in Los Angeles tonight. Steve, thank you. And tonight, a major strike coming to Hollywood. Sag Afterra, the union representing more than 160,000 actors voting to stop work after contract negotiations failed.

Actors will join writers on the picket lines. They've been striking since early May, amid their own district. with the studios. NBC's Dana Griffin has more on this historic move and how it might impact your favorite shows and movies. Everybody straight ahead. Tonight an unprecedented Hollywood shut down. SAG after, which represents 160,000 actors, saying they'll strike at midnight after failing to reach an agreement with the alliance of motion picture and television producers, which represents studios including NBC Universal. How they plead poverty that they're losing money left and right when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEO's.

It is disgusting. Starting Friday, actors will join writers who have been picketing since May for the first joint strike since 1960. The breakdown in negotiations came down to streaming residuals and AI protections. Disney's CEO Bob Eiger responding to the actor's demands in an exclusive interview with CNBC. There's a level of expectation that they have that is just not realistic. That is quite frankly very disruptive. Today at the London premiere of Oppenheimer, Matt Damon and Emily Blunt

walking out after appearing on the red carpet amid news of the strike. They are fighting not for themselves but for the rest of the guild because the most powerful members can pick up the least powerful members. The duet strike is unlike anything we've seen in decades. Films currently in production like Deadpool 3 and Wicked are expected to immediately come to a halt. Movies already set to be released, like Barbie and Meg 2, will still hit theaters, but a-list celebrities won't participate in any promotion, which will impact studio profits. The strike comes as studio scramble to cash in on streaming, while at the box office, Indiana Jones and The Flash have failed to break even. Tonight, questions remain how long it could take to get the show back on the road.

And Dana Griffin joins us now from Los Angeles. Stena, you mentioned in the piece there. This is truly a historic moment here, right? I mean, we're talking more than 60 years since we've had both writers and actors on strike at the same time. How much bigger could the impact be with both of these groups having walked out? Yeah, Aaron, it's major. Some actors may struggle financially being out of work, but it could also impact the local economy. In Los Angeles, hundreds of businesses provide services to the industry during production,

So this could cost millions of dollars a day. And if actors aren't making movies, studios will also lose profits. Erin? Dana Griffin for us in our Los Angeles Bureau tonight. Dana, thank you. And still ahead tonight, the first person to be convicted of murder for dealing fentanyl. A California man selling the deadly drug to a 15-year-old girl. Tonight, emotional accounts from the families devastated by this growing epidemic.

Plus, a doctor who went viral on TikTok stripped of her medical license. what she's accused of doing that put her patients in danger. And video showing the moment police rescue a four-year-old boy in Florida what authorities say kept him afloat in that pond. Stay with us. Back now with the once viral TikTok doctor just stripped of her medical license. The plastic surgeon known for live streaming her procedures is now banned from practicing medicine in the state of Ohio.

the medical board there saying that surgeon was too focused on posting to social media after three of her patients went for emergency care after their procedures. NBC's Mara Barrett has more. This is really great in any area that you have skin laxities. This is plastic surgeon Dr. Catherine Grawey. She liked to film her surgeries and post them on TikTok, sometimes even live streaming procedures. Tonight, she's had her license to practice revoked.

Don't just spend me at my man's been. Most known as Dr. Roxy, to her over 800,000 social media followers, she would even do dance numbers in her operating room. This is perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. In a hearing in front of the Ohio State Medical Board, Grawi said she posted the videos to teach people about plastic surgery. And sometimes I did silly or fun videos, simply to make people smile in this world, which is often negative and difficult now. referencing one liposuction surgery she live streamed the board wrote your attention to the camera meant at those moments you were not looking at the patient and called her practice a danger of immediate and serious harm to the public three of her patients sought emergency medical attention after their surgeries reporting skin tears infections and a perforated bowel according to medical board records she has single-handedly forever changed life at least three people grawley and her lawyer have not responded to NBC News's request for comment The decision comes after five years of warnings from the state medical board. The lack of professionalism and poor judgment and delegated responsibilities to others appear to have significantly contributed to her falling below the standards of care.

The board temporarily suspended her license last year, following patient complaints that they were injured after surgery. Mary Jenkins successfully sued Grawe in 2019 after the tissue of her breast reconstruction died, telling our Columbus affiliate WCMH. It'll never go away. because every time we look down and we see a scar, we're going to remember. Those scars having a lasting impact. There's now also a Facebook group with more than 2,000 members,

many of them alleging that they were also harmed by Dr. Grawe. In addition to losing her license, the plastic surgeon was ordered to pay a fine of $4,500, and there still is the possibility that she could appeal the board's decision. Erin? And overseas in London, actor Kevin Spacey, in court, giving emotional testimony for the first time in his U.K. sexual assault trial. He broke down saying, quote, my world exploded, that after the accusations against him became public. The House of Cards actor is being charged with 12 counts of sexual assault involving

four men for incidents that happened as recently as 2013. NBC's Allie joins us now from London where he's been monitoring this from the courthouse. So, Ali, talk to us more about what Kevin Spacey had to say while he was on the stand today. Hey, Aaron. So the prosecution wrapped up their closing arguments yesterday, and today was the turn of Kevin Spacey's lawyers to present their case. And he had to defend himself against some pretty serious allegations. His alleged accusers are saying that he is a vile sexual predator. They painted a picture of a man that was very aggressive sexually towards them. One of the accusers that we heard from was an aspiring actor. He said that he'd

reached out to Kevin Spacey as a mentorship to get advice from him, that he felt very special when Kevin Spacey got in touch with him. He met up with Kevin Spacey, went back to his apartment. He said that they smoked marijuana together, and then he alleges that Kevin Spacey spiked his marijuana, drugged him in some way, and he passed out only to wake up hours later to see Kevin Spacey performing a sex act on him. says that all of that is entirely untrue, that any sex he had had with any person while he was in the UK was purely consensual. We heard from another plaintiff who said he was in a car with Kevin Spacey, and while they were driving along the road, Kevin Spacey violently grabbed

his crotch so hard that the car almost swerved off the road. And Kevin Spacey said, there's absolutely no truth in that, that he wasn't on a suicide mission while he was here. Another plaintiff had said that Kevin Spacey had been very violent towards him sexually, and Kevin Spacey said that he had had a very loving relationship with this man, that they had had a lot of fun with one another, and these allegations that he's making against him are completely untrue and a knife in his back. But what this is all going to come down to, Aaron, is who the jury believe, whether they're going to believe the plaintiffs or Kevin Spacey's defense in this very, very high-profile trial.

Allie-Roozy for us in London tonight. When we come back, Mom to the Rescue, video capturing a mother in Cambodia, pulling her son to safety just moments before the roof of their home collapsed. Stay with us. Back now with Top Stories news feed, and we begin with a federal jury deciding the Pittsburgh Synagogue mass shooter is eligible for the death penalty. Robert Bowers was convicted on 63 federal charges last month for the October 2018 shooting that killed 11 people, the deadliest recorded attack on the Jewish community in this country in history. The jury will now hear more arguments and evidence before deciding whether he will be sentenced to death. The Federal Trade Commission investigating the maker of ChatGPT about potential harm to consumers.

The probe is seeking extensive records from OpenAI to see whether that service damaged people's reputation, with its responses and misused personal data. The FTC saying existing consumer protection laws still apply to AI technology. New video capturing the moment of four-year-old with autism was rescued from a Florida pond. The body cam footage showing officers near Tampa searching through thick shrubs there, then spotting the child at the edge of the water. Officers say tall plants were keeping the child afloat. He was pulled to safety and returned to his family with no injuries.

The sheriff's office is trying to figure out how he got there. And Olympic gymnast, Gabby Douglas, announcing a return to the mat in a series of Instagram posts, the 27-year-old three-time gold medalist confirmed she is training again. She also suggested she's preparing for the Paris Olympics with the hashtag 2024. Gabby hasn't competed since 2016. Back in 2012, you might remember, she became the first U.S. gymnast to win the all-around and team titles at the same Olympic Games. and she became the first African-American to win all-around gold. Turning now to America's fentanyl crisis,

a drug dealer from California convicted of murder after selling fentanyl-l-laced pills that caused the death of a 15-year-old girl. It's the first type of this conviction in that state, and families who lost children to overdoses hope it is not the last. Maya Eagland has that story. Two Northern California families brought together by grief. Before I tell you about how my son died,

I want you to see how it lived. Now getting a victory in court. Laura Didier connecting with the family of a 15-year-old girl who died from a fentanyl overdose last year because her own 17-year-old son Zach died after taking a fentanyl-laced pill in 2020. We stick together. We look out for each other. It's a very specific way to lose a child, a very traumatic way to lose a child that's very hard for anyone to relate unless you've lived it. Didier, alongside that family in court, when 20,

21-year-old Nathaniel Cabagigan was convicted of second-degree murder this week for selling the deadly fentanyl to the 15-year-old girl, becoming the first person in the state of California ever convicted of murder in connection to a drug overdose. Knowing the details of the case is as intimately as I do, I feel it's entirely appropriate, given the evidence and the details of this case. I'm grateful to see justice come for this family. According to police, Cabaggan sold that young teen who has not been identified, what turned out to be a lethal dose of counterfeit percassette pills. His public defender did not return our request for comment. These cases highlight those dangers and the importance of knowing the risks of these counterfeit pills and the fentanyl that's available on our streets. In a statement to NBC News, the Placer County DA explaining their decision to charge him with murder, writing they are committed to, quote, aggressive prosecution of dealers who knowingly sell deadly fentanyl with no regard to the lives of others. We've seen a number of these cases. As with all of them, the victim's family's

devastated. The DA's office reporting that the county saw a 450% increase in fentanyl deaths from 2019 to 2021. Nearly half of the deaths in 2020, people under 25 years old, including Laura's son, Zach. The dealer in that case also arrested, now serving 17 years in prison for charges including involuntary manslaughter. For Kabakugan's cause, Didier saying the victim's family is grateful for the conviction. They just expressed such gratitude, you know, that it was taken on in this way, that it was investigated so thoroughly, and that this, you know, person has been taken off the streets and, you know, nothing brings our beautiful kids back. that will net, that pain will never go away. But it's important, you know, that we know that

our kids mattered. The fentanyl crisis, not just in Placer County. In the state of California, fentanyl overdose deaths reached over 5,000 in one year. And data shows there were an estimated 76,000 overdose deaths involving fentanyl in the U.S. in the 12-month period ending in February 2003. A number, the U.S. Secretary of State warned could grow. If we don't act together with fierce urgency, more communities around the world will bear the catastrophic costs that are already affecting so many American cities, so many American towns. Didier hoping serious convictions like Cabagans can help prevent more teenagers from dying. It's a horrific club. It's when no one wants to join.

My Eglon, NBC News. Now to Top Story's Global Watch and the deadly attack on police in western Mexico. Law enforcement there saying suspected cartel members set off explosives on the side of the road in Halisco. At least four police officers and two civilians were killed there. Mexico's government calling it a, quote, act of terror, adding the suspects tricked authorities into thinking human remains were buried at that scene before detonating explosives. In Cambodia, a mother narrowly saving her child, as their home collapsed. Take a look at the video here. This is new video showing that mother running from her home as their ceiling began to crumble. When she realized her baby was left behind

in the walker, you see there in the middle of the screen, the mother pulling that child to safety seconds before that entire ceiling came crashing down. Nobody was hurt there, no word yet, on what caused that collapse. And parts of northern China submerged following days of heavy rain. New video there showing a bridge overflowing with torrents of water to cascade down both sides. Roads across that region are underwater now. More than 40,000 people have been evacuated, and more rain is in the forecast. Now we turn to the Americas in Guatemala. The presidential election there thrown into chaos after a political party in favor of reform was suspended ahead of a major runoff election, a move testing the nation's democracy

and leaving citizens uncertain about their future. Ellison Barber has details. Tonight, Guatemala's presidential election descending into deeper turmoil. Demonstrators rushing to the streets overnight, protesting the bombshell announcement that one of the nation's leading political parties, headed by moderate reformist and anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arrivalo would be suspended ahead of next month's runoff election. This is a full-fledged attack, assault on Guatemalan democracy. Now they're doing everything they can to attack the will of the people. Aerevalo, who finished a surprising second in a contentious battle with the frontrunner and former first lady, Sandra Torres, saying he will not comply.

The ministerial public, nor the justice, they have the capacity to suspend the personality juridic of any partido. But the nation's attorney general's office says Arevalo's seed movement party was suspended for a lot. allegedly violating the law while gathering signatures it needed to establish the party. Some residents aren't buying the story. I feel it's sad for what he's trying to do, really, I frustra much, but very esperanzed, with much faith that we're going to get in the same day, Guatemala's top electoral body certified the first round of votes after weeks of waiting. On Thursday, just hours after that certification, the Attorney General's Office rated the

headquarters of the election authority in what they say was to search and seize evidence from voter roles. This is going to test the Guatemalan democracy and the belief in democracy in Guatemala. And I think tensions will continue to increase. Democracy in Guatemala, reaching a critical point. Sandra Torres and her allies repeatedly questioned the election results despite international and domestic election observers saying there was no fraud. In this case, a page that was taken out of the U.S. playbook, and we saw it played in Brazil, and now we're seeing it being played in Guatemala. And right now, just 17% of Guatemalans say they trust the electoral system, and only half of eligible young people are registered to vote.

A nation now bracing themselves for a turbulent political landscape as their election hangs in limbo. And Allison joins us now here at the desk. So, Alison, obviously, we've seen the distrust in government, as you talked about there, but This is a people that are really frustrated with the way their government is working. Yeah, and election watchers outside organizations monitoring human rights, things like that, say they have very good reason to feel that way in this process. But one of the really big telling signs is if you look back at the initial election results from mid-June,

there was about a fourth of voters who went to vote, but then did a protest vote. They either voted null or they said no vote because they are so frustrated in the system and they don't trust what is happening. And so how is the U.S. government responding to what's been happening there in Guatemala? So the U.S. State Department issued a fairly lengthy statement about this, saying that they are deeply concerned by what is happening there. They went on to say, in part, quote, these actions put at risk the legitimacy of the electoral process at the core of Guatemala's democracy. The U.S. then saying the June 25th election results that were certified and the Guatemalan Supreme Electoral Tribunal upheld both the credibility and integrity of that, that those, in what was, as they described, the most observed electoral process in Guatemala's history,

they said that those results, the runoff between Torres and Arivalo, those should set the stage for a free and fair election on August 20th. But right now, we really don't know what is going to happen. It's sort of this weird limbo freeze of they're saying this party is ineligible. That candidate Aravalo is saying, doesn't matter, but we don't really know what's going to happen come August. Aaron? All right, Alison Barber. Thank you. And coming up, a revolutionary just approved an over-the-counter pill, a birth-controlled pill, available for the first time ever. What doctors want you to know about this new drug? Stay with us. The summer travel season has already seen costly interruptions because of severe weather.

Now some airlines are turning to artificial intelligence to forecast minute by minute to help cut delays and cancellations and even possibly avoid severe turbulence. Tom Costello explains. The challenge for the nation's airlines navigating a summer of weather extremes, record heat, rain, tornadoes, lightning, and historic flooding. In St. Pete Clearwater, four people were injured after an Allegiant Air Flight hit severe turbulence while on approach. We have reported several head injuries and one possible broken ankle. Now artificial intelligence is helping to micro-forecast the weather to the zip code to help airlines cut delays and could soon predict the kind of severe. injury causing turbulence we've seen in recent years. Attention all radios, 431 LaGuardia has been caught in a ground stop.

The AI program is called Gail. Is my flight going to leave on time from LaGuardia Airport this afternoon? The company is tomorrow I.O. What we're seeing here is the expected weather forecast for that flight at that exact time over the course of the day. Gail uses satellites and thousands of other data points, sensors on planes, drones hovering over a zip code. Even connected cars reporting windshield wipers have activated. JetBlue relies on it even investing in the program. You're going to head to 23.

Using Gail to shift its operations around extreme weather down to a specific runway, even the exact time to start de-icing planes during the winter. In a business where time is money, JetBlue says this micro forecasting is already saving it. $300,000 every month, $3.7 million in each. year. The rate in which we have canceled flights, the rate in which we've delayed flights associated with weather has improved remarkably just in one year's time frame. Driving the extremes, climate change. We are facing the greatest challenge, arguably, that our generation is going to see in weather and climate. A new AI tool to help airlines micro-prepare for the extremes. Tom Costello, NBC News, Boston.

And now to the significant news regarding women's reproductive health in this country, the FDA approving the oral contraceptive O-Pill for over-the-counter sales. It is now the first birth control pill available in the U.S. without a prescription. NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar is joining us now to help us understand what this all means. And so I'll ask you that first. Just help us understand the significance of this drug now being available over-the-counter. Yeah, absolutely. This will be the first hormonal contraceptive that is available over-the-counter in this country.

Currently, Aaron, what we have available are barrier methods. You think condoms and things like that, which are not nearly as effective as hormonal contraception. This is not a new pill. This is a pill that was first FDA approved in the early 1970s, but required a prescription. The FDA has now decided that women are able to decide for themselves whether or not they think that they are good candidates for this and are able to read the label and take the medicine the way it should be taken. So was it that simple? I mean, this wasn't an issue of the efficacy of the drug.

It was really people work. I mean, literally those two things. The database has been there for decades. There's never really been a question about the effectiveness or the safety. Literally, the FDA was tasked with those two things, Aaron. And this is what they studied. They did multiple studies on this to see whether or not women could read the label and take this medicine appropriately and whether they could do something called

de-select themselves, meaning that if they weren't appropriate candidates for this pill, could they identify themselves as such? And the main contraindication is a current risk of breast cancer, but a past risk of breast cancer, a history of cirrhosis, unexplained vaginal bleeding, taking certain medications, a woman would not be considered a candidate for this pill. Wow, okay. So, and more than 40 years to get the answer to those questions. I do wonder, though, what do people need to be thinking about, concerned about, but things? thinking about for sure before they decide that this is going to be something they pursue over the counter? Yeah, we'll see. I think, you know, one thing I think the knee-jerk reaction is that now

women are going to be going in droves to the pharmacy to get this over-the-counter. Just because it's available over-the-counter doesn't mean that a woman cannot enlist the counsel of her health care provider. And I think we sometimes sort of conflate those two issues. But I think the larger issue, Aaron, is that there are roughly three million unintended pregnancies every year in this country. And there are what we call sort of these reproductive deserts in this country where women don't have easy access to health care in general or reproductive health care. And it's really going to serve that population of women, I think, the most. You know, unintended pregnancies have negative maternal outcomes,

and they have negative outcomes on the offspring. It's high time that the U.S. has caught up with many, many other countries who have made contraception like this available over the counter. All right, Dr. Natalie Azar, we appreciate the lesson here. Thanks for helping us understand. And when we come back, Heroes Honor, DeMar Hamlin, presenting an award to the Buffalo Bill's medical team that saved his life six months after he suffered a cardiac arrest during a game. The emotional moment at the SB's next.

And finally this evening, a night of inspiration from the sports world, the top athletes gathering for the SB Awards. Among the night's big highlights, the U.S. women's national soccer, team winning the Arthur Ash Award for courage. That's for their years-long fight for equal pay. And LeBron James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, making a major announcement.

I don't care how many more points I score or what I can or cannot do on the floor. The real question for me is, can I play without cheating this game? The day I can't give the game everything on the floor is the day I'll be done. Lucky for you guys, that day is not today. There it is.

You know, the most emotional presentation of the night, though, was when Buffalo Bill's player, DeMar Hamlin, took the stage, and he honored the team that saved his life. Tom Yamis has that special moment. The audience rising from their seats, some of the biggest names in sports showing their support for an emotional DeMar Hamlin. The Buffalo Bill's safety peering up on stage at the Espeas,

as he honored the men and women who saved his life. Just six months ago, during a game in Cincinnati, Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after a standard tackle. And that is Damar Hamlin. Members of the Bill's athletic training team, led by Nate Breske, and including Denny Kellington, rushed onto the field. And they are intensely working on Demar Hamlin. Providing what was likely life-saving CPR as the world watched.

Please welcome this year's recipient of the Pat Tillman Award for Service. The training staff of the Buffalo Bills. Wednesday night, Hamlin brought them all on stage. His mother, tearing up, watching her son share a hug with the people that saved his life. Tomorrow, first and foremost, thank you for staying alive, brother. Recently, Hamlin has been advocating for CPR education, a push. echoed on stage. Learn CPR and how to use an AED because they save lives. The response to DeMars injury was able to bring our nation together for a moment. Let's remember that feeling

of unity and use it to make sure we can save the next life too. Tom Yamas reporting there. Thank you so much for watching Top Story tonight for Tom Yamas. I'm Aaron Gilchrist in New York. I'll see you back here tomorrow night. Stay right there. NBC News Now is on the way.