Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, July 16, 2026

Episode Date: July 17, 2026

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

Breaking news tonight, we're following two health emergencies, the likely source of that stomach illness outbreak just identified as dangerous smoke clouds cloak major cities across the United States. Our new report in the FDA investigating iceberg lettuce from one particular farm sold at Taco Bell as a suspected source of the parasite that has sickened thousands across several states. What you need to know. Plus, skylines nearly unrecognizable as dangerous smoke chokes tens of millions. People masking up. Lifeguards pulled from beaches. We speak with the doctor about the risks. Plus our Bill Cairns with how long it's going to last. The flood emergency in Texas, desperate nighttime rescues. This family escaping the floods waiting for help in their attic. Neighborhoods completely underwater. Los Angeles water main break chaos, raging waters rushing into cars, homes and garages inundated two men scrambling out of the sinkhole near the iconic sunset boulevard. And dramatic video bystanders rushing in lifting up this plane to try to free the pilot trapped inside.

And the Odyssey, to watch The Odyssey, why some diehard fans are traveling thousands of miles to catch the new Christopher Nolan movie. Plus, the major cholesterol breakthrough, the new pill just approved by the FDA, that could be a game changer. Top story starts right now. Hey, everybody, good evening. I'm Yasmin Vasugian. In for Tom tonight. We're going to begin with breaking news in that stomach illness outbreak. Investigators zeroing in on iceberg lettuce sold to Taco Bell as a possible culprit. The FDA saying they think Taylor Farms, the nation's largest supplier of lettuce and leafy greens, could be the source for the outbreak in five states.

That's according to a person familiar with the investigation. And they are specifically looking at the iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell. The fast food chain pulled some ingredients from the menu just a couple of days ago, but at the time had not been officially linked to the illness. Now, there's nearly 7,000 cases across 34 states as sick Americans deal with severe stomach pains. Ann Thompson leads us off with the latest. Tonight, the FDA thinks a possible culprit for the outbreak in five states is iceberg lettuce, supplied to Taco Bell by Taylor Farms, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

Nationwide, nearly 7,000 Americans have gotten sick with something called cyclosporiasis, a parasite-borne illness triggering cramps and severe diarrhea. Identifying a potential source is the first step in solving a problem that impacts 34 states. How soon could it end? It could end several weeks after they've identified a source and been able to issue those consumer safety recalls or being able to kind of make sure that any source is off the market, out of refrigerators, off shelves completely. In Michigan, there are 4,000.

312 cases and climbing. One of them is Natalie Webb. I mean, I don't ever want to have to experience anything like that again. Taylor Farms, the nation's largest supplier of lettuce and leafy greens, has been linked to previous outbreaks. It voluntarily recalled yellow onions after E. coli was found at some McDonald's restaurants in 2024. And Ann Thompson has joining us here on said, I understand you got some late breaking news on this. I do. In fact, just in the last few minutes, FDA investigators have said that they are looking at five states now, outbreak in five states that could possibly be connected to this lettuce. It's Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Now, even though they're looking at this, and it's those five states, and there are many more states, 29 more, the advice remains the same, Yasmin, and that is to wash any produce that you get. If you buy lettuce, buy whole heads of lettuce, stay away from the bag stuff, and then you take the outer leaves of the heads of the lettuce and then wash the inside what's left again.

They are urging you to be very careful. But this is, as people who have been sick with this, say this is nothing to mess with. And they're not just sick for a day or two. They're sick for weeks. Wow. And washing with cold water, the temperature doesn't matter. Yeah, cold water. They just cold, clean, running water.

And the other thing that's really interesting about this and somewhat scary is the lag time here because it could take up to two weeks after you've eaten the contaminated produce to get sick. So even if this is the source, we're not out of the woods yet. That is the incubation period two weeks. Ann Thompson, thank you. You're well. Appreciate it. I want to get to the other urgent health emergency. Canadian wildfire smoke pushing dangerous air across major American cities,

skylines in Chicago, Philly, New York, shrouded in smoke. Right now, tens of millions under hazardous air quality alerts, forcing many to break out those masks for the first time in years. We speak to a doctor in a moment about the serious health risks tonight. And the big question, how long is this thing going to last? Our Bill Cairns is standing by to track all of that. But first, our Maggie Vespa is in Chicago, where residents are facing some of the worst air quality in the world.

Tonight, a smoky cloak of misery covering military, across the U.S. a thick haze swallowing iconic landmarks like the Empire State Building in New York and Chicago's Navy Pier Ferris wheel along Lake Michigan. It's insane here in Chicago. The smoke is so thick, we can smell it through these mats. And officials today pulled lifeguards from these beaches just pleading with people to stay inside. Multiple Midwestern states now breathing the worst air in the world. I've been pressing into my eyes because it's just like smoke. It's hurting your eyes. Yes, and you could smell it. like taking big deep breaths, like every breath felt heavy. In New York City, people masking up.

Right now, the air quality is at a point that we have not seen since 2023. The culprit then and now wildfires in Canada. This stunning video shows the smoke there from above. More than 100 fires deemed out of control. Tonight, officials stressing the health dangers, even for those without respiratory issues. At unhealthy levels, Everyone, not just people with asthma and heart conditions, not just older adults, everyone may feel health effects. Dr. Carly Hampshire warning our Aaron McLaughlin.

Spending one day in poor air quality like this has often been compared to the equivalent of smoking about seven cigarettes. And back here in Chicago, as I took a picture of the city's smoky skyline, my iPhone assumed my lens was dirty. Tonight, danger lurking into haze overhead hovering across America. And Maggie Vesp has joined us now from Chicago. I mean, Maggie, look, it's summertime, right? You've got families that have kids, they're at camp. Right. They're spending a lot of time outside.

You have a mask on because of the air quality issues right now. What are the recommendations for folks in the days ahead in dealing with this? Well, Yasmin, I mean, the ultimate recommendation, this won't shock you, is to not go outside if you don't have to, or at least definitely try to limit your time outside. Don't do any strenuous activity like run or exercise outside. especially if you live in a place or you're in a place that looks like this. I mean, look at that. That's the skyline of Chicago. You can barely see it tonight. By the way, down here on the river walk down here, it's normally packed with people. It's dead for a summer evening here in Chicago. And you're right. I mean, we've had these masks on all day, but my producer and I were just talking, we can taste it,

we can smell it. My producer even felt like a little bit kind of almost sick to her stomach. Like, it really gets to you in strange ways. It's that strong. So just, again, staying inside as much as you can is the ultimate. guidance here, yes. Yeah, I got to say my kids had camp today and they had to stay inside all day because they were told they could not go outside because the air quality even here. Maggie Vesma for us, stay safe. Thank you. Want to get to meteorologist Bill Karens who's standing by forest and tracking all this. I mean, and I said it, Bill, right? It is summertime. Folks want to be outside. They want to play, right? So at what point are we going to be able to do that again? When is this going to move on? And when will the fires go out? I mean, that's the

culprit, right? The fires are burning, uncontrolled in Canada. It's not like when we have fires in California or Utah, Colorado. We have all these fixed-wing aircraft fighting them. We have the parachute jumpers go in. This is in rural areas of Canada, where there's not even any highways. These fires are just going to continue to burn until either the rain puts them out or we get towards winter. So that's a scary thought of what the rest of the summer could possibly look like. And it's not an isolated thing. This is widespread. So all of these numbers, just to give you some, to compare it to something. So when we get to the very unhealthy, that's very unhealthy. That's fair and healthy for everyone. And then when we get up to the top, which is called hazardous,

is when the air quality numbers get above 300. That's above 300. We're not even like, Duluth is at 996. You know, just to show you where Maggie was located, Chicago's at 691. That's double the hazardous numbers. I mean, we're talking, you should definitely 100% have a mask on in all these areas. Green Bay, you're right there too. As we go into northern Michigan, we're at 391, 405. Look at Toledo, Ohio at 805. Detroit's at 500. It stretches for about a thousand miles. And now that thick, dense smoke is slowly leaking towards the northeast.

And the numbers are starting to go up and up. New York City now is at the highest number. It's been at 243. For comparisons, when we talk about 2003, in the middle of the day, the smoke came in, the street lights turned on, people had their headlights on. That was like 450. So we're not quite at that level yet, but just to give you a comparison. But look at the numbers in Pennsylvania now. State College is at 356.

Pittsburgh is at 417. So that really dense smoky air is starting to come. And tomorrow it's going to be over the top of areas like Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. So these are the areas that are impacted, obviously. And here's our computer models projecting where the smoke plume will be the highest concentration. This is tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Notice that New England, it starts the sink. Connecticut's going to be much better.

Boston, Providence. New York City will get better during the morning tomorrow. But the worst of it will be all through the Mid-Atlantic, back towards Pittsburgh. Still, I'm sorry, Cleveland for you. Detroit, all through Michigan, up towards Green Bay. Chicago, you're actually going to improve during the day. Watch as we go through the afternoon, the smoke begins to clear out. So you're going to get a little reprieve, at least momentarily, but not for our friends in Pennsylvania, not for D.C.

And in New York, it looks like it will return Friday night and be with us during the day Saturday. And, of course, one of the million-dollar questions is that World Cup final is on Sunday at MetLife, Open Air Stadium, it's going to be an interesting forecast. I mean, it could be really dangerous for those players out there if this smoke continues. Yeah, we'll get more into that tomorrow to get a better feel for that. Right now, a cold front goes through. New York's going to clear out, but then the smoke's likely to return during the day Sunday. When it happens, and if it's during the match or not, that's going to be a tough forecast.

But we've got three days to figure it out. It is a busy weather time, Bill Karen. So I'm going to ask you to stick around because we've got to talk about the floods that are down in the south. as well, but I do want to bring in Dr. Natalie Azar right now joining us on set to break down and kind of the health implications of this whole thing. And I just talked about it, right, the potential of a World Cup soccer match, the finals on Sunday. These guys have to play in this potentially. Talk to us through what it is like to be out there for a minute, two minutes versus 10 minutes, what that's actually doing to your body and how worried we should be. Yeah. So you're bringing up a lot

of really good points. One, I should just say from the outset, exercising outside, not recommended. So we're going to see what's going to don't, exactly. Those kinds of outdoor things, kids and cam, you know, that kind of thing. Yeah. So you're bringing up a good point because we're talking about the impacts of this smoke. Dose and duration are important. So anyone who is out there for a few minutes, you could feel a scratchy throat. You're going to feel maybe, you know, itchy eyes or even have a little bit of a cough.

But if you have underlying heart disease, if you have underlying lung disease, asthma, COPD, those kinds of things, then your exposure, even in that short amount of time, could certainly do more damage. The same groups that we talk about were always worried who are vulnerable to infections are the same types of groups that are vulnerable to the smoke. Very young kids whose lungs are still developing, pregnant women, and how young are older individuals. When we say children, we're usually talking under the age of five, but under the age of two, right?

These are still kids who are still maturing. And again, elderly and pregnant people, that's also worry about for exposure for any duration of time. Should you just avoid going outside altogether? Well, look at, I mean, the astronomical numbers that Bill was reporting, those numbers like Maggie wearing a vest, you need to be wearing a vest. And we're not talking about a surgical mask. We're talking about a KN95 or an N95. Yes, resurrected from the pandemic.

But levels above 300 are in the danger zone. That is above the level that is in the hazardous zone. And so you want to spend as little time outside as possible without wearing a mask. What's the level that is safe when you're looking at the kind of toxicity in the air on your weather map? When do you know, okay, now I can go for that run. Now the kids can get back to camp. Everybody needs to remember air now.gov. That is a, that's the website that's from the government, which is you plug in your zip code and you get a meter of where your city, where your town lies. And if you're in a safe and healthy zone, that's when you can go out. Now, again,

you know, you might be able to push it a little bit if you're young and otherwise healthy. That same level may not be the same for every single person. Again, if you have the underlying, you know, lung disease and heart disease. If you're an individual in a home that doesn't have an air conditioner, you're going to want to open up your windows. It's hot. It's summertime. And then you got the fans moving through. Is that a good thing? Is that a bad thing?

What do you do in a scenario like that? So that's really important because the recommendation is to stay indoors with air conditioning. and importantly, air conditioning that's using recirculated air. Your HVAC system needs to use recirculated air, not bringing fresh air from the outside. This is one of those times, again, where we know when we have these extreme heat waves and we advise people to go to cooling centers, et cetera,

being inside your home with the windows open is not safe. Is it better than being outside? Of course. But it's still coming in. If you can get to a friend's house, a family's house, or some sort of, you know, recreational area in your town, that would be advisable. Also, after a big smoke event like this, you want to replace your HVAC filters, right?

And then when you're inside, you want to avoid any other kinds of pollutants, like burning candles, smoking cigarettes, fried foods, vacuuming without a filter or a purifier because you're just bringing up all that air again. So there's a lot of good information out there for folks, but I think the main take-home message is when you go to AirNow.gov, you see where you are, but you can also tell, right? You go outside

and it's smoggy and whatever. If you're outside for any extended period of time, please put that mask on and when you can try to stay indoors with that AC using recirculated air. Yeah, Dr. Natalie Azar, thank you. I appreciate it. Good to see you. All right, want to get to the deadly flash flood emergency sweeping through Texas as I was talking about with Bill Caron's first responders battling powerful floods to save trapped families. More than 20 inches falling in some areas. Our Ryan Chandler is in the storm zone. Tonight, the desperate efforts to rescue families trapped in another historic hill country flood. The Guadalupe River again pushing a deadly surge of water downstream. When they talk about a wall of water, it is literally a wall of water.

First responders battling their way through black water to reach those trapped in the middle of the night. rescuing Robert Shelton and his family from their flooded home in Kerrville. Within a blink of an eye, it was already waist level, and then the door broke open and more water came rushing in. He says they sheltered in the attic for more than two hours until rescuers could save them. I was scared the house is going to break apart. Daylight revealing the heart-sinking scope of yet another disaster here in Texas. Two people are dead. More than 70 already rescued from the waters. It's the second thousand-year flood in just over one year.

The devastated community still reeling from the unprecedented Fourth of July flood last year that killed 119 people in Kirk County alone. It happened again. Unbelievable. A memorial dedicated to the victims of last year's floods unveiled just two weeks ago, now underwater. The major highways left impassable in and out of the area. The water swelling into homes here, leaving some like Khernsk,

Carolyn Lampie, unsure whether they'll have a home left. Well, my husband is fixing to be 90 years old. So this is really, really hard on him. He's having a really difficult time wrapping his head about maybe losing everything, you know, at age 90. And Ryan Chandler is joining us now from Yvalde. Ryan, there are still those camps along the Guadalupe River tonight. We know that they are safe. Can't imagine, though, what they are going through amidst all of this after last summer.

There is a reason, though, for their safety. Well, Yasmin, there is a real sense that Texas made meaningful changes in the years since the July 4th floods, including a new law named after the victims that died at Camp Mystic, the Heavens 27 Camp Safety Act, that mandates emergency procedures at camps, prohibits cabins from being in floodplains. The parents of those victims think that that really could have saved lives. And an inspiring sentiment from the parents of Lila Bonner, one of the victims at Camp Mystic, who said that they hope the progress they've made over the the last year saved lives today and that Lina Bonner's legacy and the legacy of all of the Heavens 27 girls is a legacy of heroes. Gassman. Ryan Chandler-Force.

Thank you, Ryan. I appreciate it. For more on that flood emergency, I want to bring back NBC News meteorologist Bill Caron's. The threat is still incredibly active there. Yeah, not over. It's not over. We do think we've seen the highest water on like the Guadalupe River and Kerrville and Comfort, but we're still going to get flash flooding going later on tonight.

This is night four of this. And everywhere that we've seen, you know, maybe 20 to 25 inches is some of the highest totals. So the drive from about San Antonio all the way to Del Rio, a little over about 100 miles. There is literally a stretch here from Hondo all the way just to Del Rio. There anywhere in yellow on this got 10 inches of rain. These isolated spots picked up 25. And the highest on our list here, drive free of Rio, not so dry, 27 inches of rain in the last three days. So as far as the radar now, notice more than.

Finderstorms filling back in in between Uvaldi and San Antonio. They're moving kind of quickly. They're only going to drop a couple inches of rain, but obviously when you're dealing with water levels this high, just a couple inches triggers it quickly. And as far as tonight goes, most of the heavy rain will be moving northwards. It's not going to be as bad. Doesn't mean we're not going to have any damage done out there with this.

And then finally, we dry things out as we head through Saturday and even Sunday, too, yes. And so it's been a rough three to four days. I don't even think we've seen the worst of what happened today yet. we just can't get into those areas. So many roads are washed out. Yeah, Bill Cairns for us. Thank you, Bill. Want to get to Southern California now and the massive water main break in West Hollywood that flooded streets and homes and created a giant sinkhole right near Sunset Boulevard. NBC's Steve Patterson is there with more. A surge of raging floodwaters rushing through the streets of West Hollywood. Look at the force of the water, thousands of gallons, damaging homes and businesses along its path. This aerial footage,

showing the widespread flooding, cars smashing into each other, water filling this metro bus yard. John Kitty's Clemack from NBC Los Angeles was on the scene. This is by far the worst because as you see everything coming down, it looks incredibly dramatic. Officials say a major water main break caused the deluge early this morning. A sinkhole opening up near the sunset strip, this video shows two men as they scramble to get themselves out. Whoa, did the ground just fall? Watch this person caught clinging on in the rushing waters, struggling to keep from being swept away. Now, the major operation happening in the middle of the sunset strip.

Take a look at the sinkhole behind me. This is the middle of sunset boulevard, part of the road and the sidewalk, both collapsed. Couples Stacy and Nate are in disbelief. In the garage below, they see at least 50 cars trapped under the floodwater, including theirs. It's a complete mess here. And steam joins us now from West Hollywood. We know this was obviously a water main break, but we're also learning the pipes are really old there. Yeah, part of the worry here is the infrastructure. Officials today said the main that ruptured is from 1916,

so more than 100 years old. Look, the good news here today, no injuries reported, the drinking water is safe. The bad news, of course, still some minor power outages in the area. and, of course, no timeline given for when this work wraps up. It's about 425 in Los Angeles. I promise you, traffic is going to be worse than it usually is. Yes, Ms. Steve Patterson, Forrest. Thank you, Steve.

Now to the White House, where President Trump is set to deliver a primetime address tonight, but notably his teleprompter operator will not be there. The longtime aid suspended after accusations he was betting on what the president would say in speeches. NBC News, Chief White House correspondent Garrett Haake explains. When President Trump addresses the nation tonight, he'll do so without the help of his longtime teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez, now on unpaid leave. After allegedly making more than $90,000 on the prediction market, Kalshi, from placing bets on the president's past remarks. There will be a teleprompter operator tonight, of course, but it will not be the one, unfortunately, in that story. Kalshi first spotting the suspicious bets on words and phrases in presidential speeches in March, then handing over their findings.

to federal investigators. The president's reaction? He believes it's deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace. The president's prime time remarks is set to focus on election integrity and his push to pass a federal election's overhaul stalled in the Senate. It doesn't get bigger because without free and fair elections, you don't have a country. The president is expected to present declassified information. He'll say shows foreign interference in the 2020 election, according to a person familiar. Years of recounts, audits, lawsuits, and reviews have found no evidence of fraud sufficient to overturn his loss to Joe Biden. Why is the president unable to let this go?

Well, first of all, Garrett, I think part of the problem is that the media has refused to acknowledge that tens of millions of Americans across the country share the concerns of this president about the sanctity of our elections. The White House press secretary says the president may also address the economy and the war in Iran tonight on this, the sixth consecutive night of those renewed airstrikes. Yasmin. Thank you, Garrett. And you can watch President Trump's address to the nation tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern right

here on NBC News Now. We are back in a moment with the high-stakes launch for SpaceX just scrubbed, why the critical test flight was aborted. Plus, new details in the Nolan Wells case, the timeline of the day he disappeared, now being pieced together. And the race to rescue a pilot from a plane. that crashed into a pond, multiple people jumping into the water, even lifting up the wreckage. We're going to show you that scene ahead on Top Story.

We are back now and following a day of setbacks for Elon Musk's SpaceX, the 13th test of the mega rocket that could one day take humans to the moon. Scrubbed just moments ago, aborted after we saw and heard those boosters light up in the launch pad. It comes after days of major slides for SpaceX stock. I'm joined now by Tom Costello, NBC News, senior correspondent, NBC's Alley Canal, who covers SpaceX closely as well. What happened, Tom? Well, we don't know yet. But here's what was interesting. We came all the way down to just a normal takeoff.

Pardon me, the launch is playing again on my phone. We went to a normal countdown for a launch that was supposed to go at 645 Eastern Time. Five, four, three, two, one, ignition. And then you see the flames. We saw flames. we saw smoke coming out of the bottom and then stopped it right there. Wow. So minutes ago, the reason I was on my phone is because Elon Musk just tweeted.

Here's what he said. Some of the engines didn't start triggering an automatic launch aboard. They're now offloading the propellant. That's 11.5 million pounds of fuel. The next launch attempt, he says, will hopefully be in a few days. So this is, there's two ways to look at this. A setback because it didn't go. On the other hand, automatic shutdown to prevent a disaster.

and preserving the architecture, the rocket, right, and the booster and the top of it, which ultimately someday they hope will carry astronauts to the moon and maybe Mars. So they preserve the rocket, and they've got to figure out what happened, and they'll probably try again in a few days. But the point here is that this is now the third version of Starship, the biggest rocket ever built. It stands at 400 feet tall. That's the Empire State Building standing right there. They've made some modifications since the last attempt, which was in March. They thought, well, they knew then they had some rocket engine problems. So they thought they'd resolved it. They worked with software and hardware. This was going to be a big attempt. And then

now we've got to figure out what happened. Isn't it problematic, though, that last minute engines won't start up? I mean, is that not worrisome? But isn't that something you would make sure that, at least that part is good to go? Well, but you want everything is automated at that point, right? There's nobody at that point pushing the button. So for whatever reason, the system, the computers, detected an anomaly and shut it down. The program to do exactly that. I mean, that's what you want to have happen. You don't want to have a rocket blow up on the pad as we had just six weeks ago.

In the case of the Jeff Bezos Blue Origin rocket, the whole pad blew up, taking with it much of the architecture there on the ground. That was catastrophic. In this case, they can go back, figure out what's going on. Right now, they're offloading all of that fuel, and then they can dissect the problem. So when we talk about Elon Musk, when we talk about SpaceX, we talk space, we talk AI, we talk money, right? And SpaceX stock hitting a new low today. Yeah. And then this happened, so.

Yeah, and right now the stock is falling in after hours trading. We're down another 4% trading at just around $126 a share in after hours. Remember, the IPO was priced at $135 a share. And this was the first day that the stock actually closed below its IPO. price. And if we're basing it off that IPO price since the peak that we saw in mid-June, the company's market value has shed more than $1.2 trillion dollars. That's trillion with the T. And there's a few reasons why. And Yasmin, we talked about this, right? The valuation is so high. There was a lot of excitement when this company was set to debut. It seems like that post-IPO

honeymoon period that's faded a little bit. We've had a lot of short sellers piling in. So those are investors that are betting for the stock to fall. And it's typical for IPOs that we see this volatility. If you look at companies like meta, like Uber, they also fell below their IPO price for quite a bit. So sometimes it just takes a little bit to stabilize here. But what's interesting is that this is a company that was added to the NASDAQ 100, was added to the Russell 1000. That prompts forced buying. And you would think that would support the valuation here, support the pricing. We just didn't see that. It hasn't been, it hasn't been kind of playing out. Yeah. Well, me, to be clear, Musk, you and I were talking off camera, Musk has promised the moon

and promised Mars to SpaceX investors. Well, okay, how do you value that? A lot of people bought into it, absolutely believed that if he promised it, it must happen. Yeah. But now reality is something like this happens. It's certainly problematic. And on the Wall Street firms out there, they have a buy rating on the stock. They are telling their clients to buy the stock. So the longer term vision, seems to be intact, but when you have setbacks like this, it definitely calls in a question where this company goes from here. All right. Now, thank you.

Tom Costello, thank you as well. All right, still to come tonight, new questions over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Another person killed in federal custody, what we're learning. Plus, the new pill just approved to slash bad cholesterol, what it could mean for millions of Americans. We'll be right back. We are back now with an update on the Nolan Wells case, the Mississippi teen who died after a July 4th boating trip with friends.

Tonight we're learning new details about the key moments before Wells disappeared. NBC's Aaron Gilchrist has this one. Tonight, state records revealing new details about the day Nolan Wells disappeared. The 18-year-old went to Horn Island off the Mississippi coast and a boat with friends on July 4th. A timeline obtained by NBC News through a records request shows the boat departed for Horn Island at 9.56 a.m. and arrived just over an hour later. It remained there until 4.30 p.m. at 4.31, the boat was. towed for nearly three miles at a very low speed. It returned to the mainland at 5.54 p.m.

A mom of one of the friends who traveled on the boat wrote online that the group left around 430 because their boat malfunctioned and that Nolan decided to stay behind. How can I help you? Hey, we're at the west tip of porn and our village stopped working. We're going, we're sinking. Can you all please come? The records include audio of a phone call for help the group placed around 4 p.m. What do you want to do? Do you want to be told back? I want to get this boat on sank and towed back, yes. That night, Nolan's mother called police to say he was missing.

A park ranger found his body along the shoreline two days later. Melissa Miller spent the 4th of July with her own group of friends on Horn Island, sharing videos of dozens of boats anchored as she approached that morning. The weekend of the 4th of July, it was really busy. And as questions swirled about why Nolan's phone was left on his friend's boat, according to his family, Miller and others tell NBC News, it happens often at the island. After they're taking their pictures, you know, and then they put, leave their phone there and jump back in.

And Aaron Gilchrist has joined us now. Aaron, authorities are asking folks for help, the public. Yeah, you're absolutely right. You saw some of the video we had in the piece there that Melissa Miller shared with us. And that's the exact sort of thing that law enforcement wants to see. Melissa said she doesn't believe there was anything in her video that showed anything related to Nolan Wells. have said that they want people to send in that video, to send in their pictures anyway, and let the investigative team comb through it, look at all of it, and see if there's anything

there that may be useful for them. They are still requesting that people submit those photos, submit that video to them so that they can try again to piece together as complete a picture of the hours before Nolan disappeared and the hours before his body was discovered along the shoreline as well. We also know that the legal team for Nolan's parents, Ben Crump and his team, They said that they've gotten dozens of calls and dozens of pieces of information sent into them as well that they plan to share with the sheriff's office for their investigation. All of this, Yasmin, really, again, trying to help to paint as complete a picture of what happened here as possible. The ultimate file that comes from the investigation here will be turned over to the district attorney and presented to a grand jury. We don't have a timeline for when that may happen just yet, Yasmin.

Aaron Glucross for us. Thank you, Aaron. Now to top stories at News Feed, start with dramatic new video out of Massachusetts. Here you can see a crowd of people working to lift a small plane that crashed into a pond today. They were trying to free the pilot that was trapped inside, officials saying he was the only one on board and that he was rushed to the hospital but eventually died from his injuries. And the FDA approving a first of its kind pill that can drastically lower cholesterol. It's made by Merck and called Lifendra. It's part of a powerful class of medications that used. to be only available through injections.

People can take the pill once a day, and it works in a different way from satins. Trials show the pill decreases LDL levels the so-called bad cholesterol. And a piece of Star Wars memorabilia just set a new record at auction. Luke Skywalker's original lightsaber, selling for more than $3.7 million.

He used the prop in the fifth Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back, wielding it in this icon. face off with Darth Vader. I am your father. You can see it there. Part of Luke's cut off hand and his weapon, according to the auction house. It's the most expensive prop ever used on screen from the Star Wars films.

Ticket to turn now to growing questions over the death of a man in federal immigration custody. Ice sang a 45-year-old Venezuelan man died while being transferred between facilities in Georgia. The official causes pending further medical examination, they say, though his family says he was not given his medication. He becomes the 22nd person to die in ICE custody this year. NBC's Julia Ainsley has been following this closely and is joining us now. Julia, what else do we know about this man's death? Well, according to the family statement, which came from the sister of Jesus Silva, they said that they begged ICE officers not to take him into detention because that he needed this medication. And he was being transferred between two facilities.

This was in Georgia. And he passed away while he was being transferred. And they're saying that it's because he wasn't given adequate medical care and that he didn't have access to some of the care and the medication that he needed. But what ICE is saying is that they haven't determined the cause of death. death and that there will be an investigation as there always is, and often they'll work with a state medical examiner to do that. But while all of this is pending, I think it's important to look at what the president used to be.

There used to be reasons why someone could not be detained. Often they wouldn't detain pregnant women. Often they wouldn't detain people who might have a medical condition that couldn't be adequately cared for in a detention setting. These were all ways they could find alternatives, such as ankle monitors, such as having people check in at a court or at the ICE office as they moved through what, which they moved through, could eventually turn into a deportation. But there were alternatives. Now, though, there's so much pressure for people to be arrested and detained until they're deported that we're seeing a rise in

deaths. You mentioned this is the 22nd one this year. When we talk to ICE about that rise, they say that it's just because there are more people in detention and that the rate is the same. But we've spoken to epidemiologists who have looked into this and done papers on the rates of deaths inside ICE detention. And they say the rate itself is increasing. It's not just a matter of the going up, and they blame that on the population that is being detained, as well as just the overcrowding that's happening in some of these facilities where people aren't able to get the care that they need, and sometimes we've even seen a rise in suicides. Look, then there's a question of what are they going to do about it, because this death is coming on,

as we have seen those high-profile ICE-involved shootings in recent weeks. How are they handling the fallout of these fatal incidents? It's so interesting that you bring that end of this conversation because I think that those shootings that we see during an arrest get so much more attention. Those are the ones that are bringing people out into the street and protesting, making ICE have real conversations about whether or not they should push forward with vehicle stops. But the ones happening in detention or transferring between detention locations, those aren't always caught on video.

Those aren't witnessed by people in neighborhoods. And so sometimes they don't get enough attention. But they're really all part of the same story and that ICE has been. told that they need to increase their arrest. Those quotas, those mandates that we saw in 2025, that are some of the reasons why we saw those surges in cities like Los Angeles and Minneapolis and Chicago. It's coming back now, and we're seeing it as there's a pressure to try to arrest 2,000 people per day, so they're detaining more people, and they're under immense pressure to go out and arrest as many people as they can, even if they're in a vehicle like we saw

with those fatal shootings in Houston and in Maine. Julie Ainsley, thank you. Still ahead tonight, the World Cup Showdown. A look at the final matchup between Argentina and Spain and the viral photo coming full circle for two the country's biggest stars, plus a remarkably rare discovery. The new species scientists just found swinging around in an African rainforest. That's next. Back now with our series that caused denial, tonight Liz Kreutz has more from her investigation into the recovery and rebuilding efforts after those devastating L.A. wildfires. and speaks with families who say they feel pressure to move back into homes that aren't safe. A year and a half after the Eaton Fire, Chonsie and Libby Godwin are still displaced from their Altadena home.

They wear masks when inside their living room just as it was when they evacuated in January last year. The Christmas tree is still standing. It's hard to believe that it's real. The couple says their house isn't safe to live in due to the smoke damage, but that they feel, by their insurer, farmers insurance, to move back. They're kind of cartoonish in their villainy. It really feels to me that they're sitting behind their desks, twirling their mustaches. After months of back and forth, the Godwin safe farmers has now agreed to pay for at least part of the belongings inside their house.

So far, roughly $150,000. But the bigger fight is over the home itself. Testing, the Family Commission found confirmation of persistent carcinogenic and toxicogenic residues in their house. and recommended full interior demolition down to the studs estimated to cost more than a million dollars. But farmers rejected that recommendation after its own testing suggested the house could mostly be cleaned, paying the family some $80,000 for cleaning and repairs of the home instead. How much longer are you both willing to fight? We'll fight for as long as it takes.

Yeah. Oh, they found the right ones. If they want to fight, we'll fight. But the Godwins are now among the 38% of L.A. fire survivors. who report they'll soon or already have run out of their additional living expenses. Money provided by insurance for temporary housing no more commonly as ALE. Without ALE money, they're left paying for the mortgage on their home and a rental at the same time. Looking at our rent and looking at how long it's going to take, it's an entirely frightening situation. Farmers says it cannot comment on individual claims, but tells NBC News in part, our goal is to pay claims quickly and fairly, taking into account the circumstances of the loss and the terms of the policy.

If they can force us to cave, they don't have to pay for it. And that's what this is all about. In fact, just next door, like the Godwins, John Moss is also fighting with farmers' insurance. The window was melted shut. Over whether his smoke-damaged home needs structural remediation or can just be cleaned. But unlike the Godwins, the Moss family, including three young kids, made. the difficult decision to move back in. What reservations did you have about moving your family back in here? For my wife and I, our biggest was, of course, the contamination. He says last year, farmers accused the family of delaying and prematurely cut them off from their remaining ALE. They were given $135,000

for cleaning and repairs of the house, a fraction of their policy limit, and far short of the $1.5 million, the family's contractor told them would be needed to restore the home. We said, okay, we need to try to get the house back in order, use what little money we received, and the rest we will do our best out of pocket. Farmers won't comment on their case, but in a court filing denied each and every allegation made in a lawsuit the family has now filed against the insurer. In the meantime, John's left with the fear his house could be making his family sick. We hope we did it right. I hope we did enough. Yeah, because I don't want to go down there.

Liz Quartz, NBC News, Altadena. Let's get to Top Stories Global Watch and a check on what else is happening around the world. We start in Ukraine where thousands are taking to the streets to protest President Vladimir Zelensky's move to fire his defense minister. The 35-year-old was known for helping boost the country's drone technology, but Zelensky says he clash with more traditional military leaders. And in Hong Kong, authorities are cracking down unbooked. Local media is reporting police rated two stores and arrested five people. Law enforcement officials saying they're suspected of selling seditious publications that could spark opposition towards the city's government. This is the third round of arrest this year, targeting independent bookstores in the Asian financial hub.

And an extremely rare discovery deep inside the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Scientists just identified this new monkey species. You can see it here with those. distinctive orange lips. Researchers are already calling for it to be classified as an endangered species because of its small habitat and population size. This is only the fifth new species of African monkey to be found in the past 75 years. And next tonight, the stage is set for the World Cup finals. Lino Messi hoping to lead Argentina to become back-to-back champions. While the young team from Spain is in pursuit of their first trophy in over a decade, both teams winning hard-fought battles to make it this.

far want to bring in NBC's Jesse Kirsch. Before we talk finals, Jesse, I want to talk about yesterday's match between Argentina and England. You got a lot of people talking about these moments. During the game, Messi appearing to put English player Jude Bellingham in a headlock. And then after the match, Bellingham is seen on camera slapping Argentina's Valentin Barco. This match, there's a lot of history there. It got very heated. Why is it stirring so much controversy? Yeah, I mean, you have to go back decades to look at the history here, Yasman. We're talking about something that traces its roots, at least, to the Falkland Islands War in 1982. Shortly after that, you have Maradona with the hand of God goal punching the ball into the net against England.

You're not allowed to do that for people who don't know the rules of soccer. Then years later, David Beckham gets a red card when England was playing Argentina. So again and again, these two teams had these epic, tight-in clashes. And yesterday proved to be the same case. through more than two dozen fouls. It was a chippy game, a lot of tension, a lot of energy in the building. It was a really incredible emotional game to watch. I got to tell you, I was sitting in my office watching the whole thing.

Very nervous the entire time. Don't tell the bosses. No, do not tell the bosses. Well, I just told them. But if we look ahead to the finals, right, you have to talk about this photo that is now going viral. This 19-year-old photo showing Argentina's Messi with Spain's La Menia Mall as a baby. And now how incredible is this full circle moment, right? The two are going to face off against each other in the World Cup finals. What more do we know about this picture and why it was

taken? Yes. So what was going on here is this is when Leonel Messi was playing for FC Barcelona in Spain. And you had Lamin Amal, a baby, fairly newly born baby as well. And there was a charity photo shoot being put together in Barcelona. And so effectively, Yamal's family, won a raffle of some kind to be able to be in that photo. And you fast forward all these years later, he wasn't just taking a photo with any baby in Spain. He was taking a photo with someone who was seen by some as heir apparent to his legacy, not just as a star for Barcelona, but as potentially the next generation's superstar. He still has some way to go to prove himself. Of course, you've got Leonel Messi, someone who just continues to hold his place in the record books.

But this is going to be an incredible multi-generational snapshot, a 39-year-old superstar, up against a 19-year-old rising star, and we will see who can prevail. You know, baby Yamal is just looking at Messi saying, I'm coming for you, bro. I am coming for you. And we're all going to be watching on Sunday. That is for sure. Jesse, thank you. When we come back, The Odyssey finally hits theaters tonight. But with tickets selling out months ago, not every fan has been able to score a seat the incredible lengths that we're going to to see the epic movie. That is next. We're back now with The Odyssey that some fans are going on just to see The Odyssey. Tickets have been hard to get for months, especially to see the movie in IMAX 70mm. So some diehard fans are crossing state lines just to catch director Christopher Nolan's latest blockbuster on opening weekend.

Stephen Romo caught up with one of those dedicated movie goers. For some movie fans, going to see The Odyssey has turned into an Odyssey all its own. The minute tickets for the summer blockbuster went on sale. For two hours, I sat refreshing the page. Many theaters sold out right away. Getting tickets for the Odyssey today has been crazy. And only 25 theaters in the country are showing it in IMAX 70 millimeter. Oscar winning director Christopher Nolan's preferred format.

Tickets for the film produced by NBC Universal went on sale a year in advance. That's when movie lover Noah Nordingrin started planning. I was going to go no matter how far away it was from my home in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He ended up on an epic journey of his own, traveling more than 900 miles from Minnesota to Nashville. That's even farther than the distance between Troy and Ithaca, just to see it on the largest screen possible. Nordengrin did not have to outwit a cyclops or escape the sirens like the movie's namesake, though his quest included plenty of sightseeing en route to the Tennessee movie theater. talked to him just after he made it inside. Everyone I know has been super supportive and super thrilled

about this. They're like, of course he would go so far across across the country to go see a movie. The film is based on Homer's 3,000-year-old epic tale of Odysseus, played by Matt Damon, making a dangerous trip home after the Trojan War. It stars plenty of big names like Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Lupita Nyango, and Zendaya, to name a few. What is it about this movie that has people kind of going berserk. People are so excited to go out to the movie theater to see the latest Christopher Nolan epic and they want to see it on the biggest screen possible. Whether it's Nolan's reputation after Oppenheimer, the star-studded cast, or just the promise of an old-fashioned silver screen epic, the frenzy may be another sign audiences are still willing to go on extraordinary

adventures all for a movie. Well, I just got out of the movie and oh my gosh, was it incredible. incredible. And Stephen Romo is joining us now. Steve, if someone really wants to see The Odyssey here, what are their options by someone I mean, me by the way? Well, if you want to see it on that massive IMAX 70 millimeter screen, your best bet is to refresh the theaters page and see if someone may have canceled their ticket. And I am not kidding. That is pretty much the only way you're going to get it. I did check in New York City. There are some regular size screenings available this weekend if you want to see it. Many people, though, are opting for that special IMAX experience.

My brother-in-law wanted to come to New York to see it, but he waited too long for that. I thought the idea was a little crazy, a whole trip just to see a movie. Turns out he is not alone in that. I may have been the crazy one to think people wouldn't do it, because as we see in the story, so many people doing just that. Everybody wants to see the honesty right now. Stephen Romah, thank you. I appreciate it. Finally, tonight, a family who lost everything in the devastating Utah wildfires we covered last month,

surprised with a new home donated by members of the community. A powerful example of neighbors helping neighbors. Tom has more on their story. Are you kidding me? A life-changing moment and a hug she'll never forget. Cindy Abbott was living with her partner James Stettler when the Cottonwood Fire swept through southern Utah last month. This RV, the place they called home, burned up. along with everything inside.

They had just moved cross-country to Utah in April and were managing a campsite. NBC News was there last month, right after they saw the damage. We had five minutes to get what we could. But during their darkest times, they didn't turn their back on their new community, sticking around and helping rebuild. So in their time of need, that new community stepped up. We're not leaving. That's for you guys.

A local bank and Chamber of Commerce raising the money to buy Cindy and James a new mobile home. What? Daisy, what? This is one of the nice beautiful places we've ever been, and not just the pornography,

but the people, too. I'm speechless about the graceful to charity, and that the community members here have opened their, complete arms and hearts up to us. And we just want to pay back. Thanks for all you're all doing. Thanks for all your burden. Our thanks to Tom for that one. And thank you for watching Top Story. I'm Yasmusugin in New York.

Stay right there. More news on the way.