Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, June 20, 2024

Episode Date: June 21, 2024

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.

Tonight, state of emergency, Americans grappling with the effects of a deadly tropical storm, dangerous heat, and raging wildfires. Millions along the Texas coast remain on high alert as Alberto leaves a destructive mark. The storm battering Mexico, leaving several dead in its wake. Further east, a relentless heat wave smothering 80 million people in unbearable temperatures. At this hour, severe storms charging across the region, the deadly wildfires place, leaking New Mexico. Tonight, the mayor of Rio Doso speaking with Top Story after residents there were forced to flee their homes to escape the flames. And the massive dust storm blinding drivers near Albuquerque causing a major pile up. Also tonight, fit to judge. The alarming

new reporting from the New York Times, the judge in Trump's classified documents case urged to step aside before the case began. The growing scrutiny Judge Eileen Cannon faces as the legal The battle hangs in the balance. TikTok slamming the U.S. as it fights a potential ban on the popular app. The company arguing the Biden administration's sale or ban law sets a dangerous precedent. Do they have a case? And when could the possible ban take effect? China's pirate attacked, a shocking video of an armed confrontation in the South China Sea.

The Chinese Coast Guard brandishing knives and axes as they circle a Filipino naval fleet. guards seen slashing a Filipino vessel. The chaotic moments as tensions escalate in the region. A brazen hit and run caught on camera. The disturbing video as a driver mows down two cyclists out on a group ride. You'll hear from the cyclists who miraculously survived being run over. Weight loss drug warning, health officials sounding the alarm on fake versions of popular weight loss medications, the insane demand prompting a spike in counterfeit options, posing a serious health risk. Plus, whales escape war, a Ukraine aquarium caught in the crossfire of Russia's unrelenting assault, the incredible plan to rescue two beluga whales and the harrowing journey

to their new habitat. And the inspiring story of an Iraq war vet working to overcome trauma through music, his remarkable debut on one of the most iconic stages. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. Tonight, extreme weather continues to ravage millions across the U.S. parts of Texas still reeling from what was Tropical Storm Alberto. A dangerous heat wave scorching the east and wildfires continue to burn out of control out west. Beach towns along the Texas coast still underwater after the first-named storm of the hurricane season pounded that region. Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in Mexico this morning. The storm leaving at least four people dead as it slammed the country with heavy rain

and intense flooding. Right now, 82 million continue to grapple with record-breaking temperatures and it could get worse tomorrow. The heat index for several cities, including New York, will approach triple digits. Adding insult to injury, tonight's severe storms could rumble through parts of the plains and the northeast. Millions at risk for thunderstorms, damaging wind gusts and hail. And massive wildfires, they continue to burn. in southern New Mexico. At least two people were killed and thousands forced to evacuate in a moment's notice. The village of Rio Doso hit particularly hard. Cars and homes just completely destroyed. Tonight, we speak with the mayor about what it's like on the ground and when people

will be able to return home. The whipping winds fueling that fire also triggering this dust storm near Albuquerque, low visibility leading to a massive pile up, leaving more than a dozen people injured. We are tracking it all tonight. Bill Cairns is standing by to time and out. But first, NBC news correspondent Sam Brock leads us off. On the first day of summer, it's fire and rain across America with Surfside Beach, Texas, still soaked from the far sweep of tropical storm Alberto, which made landfall in Mexico earlier today. It's really weird looking at your living room window and just seeing water. Yeah, everywhere. Everywhere. Everywhere. You see palm trees protruding from pools of water and vacationers perched on decks like Erica Fine unable to retrieve her car.

We're waiting for high tide to go down to drive through. So current status is trapped? Yeah, yeah. We're just a little bit stranded. The storm leaving a wake of damage along Texas's coastline with a tornado ripping this roof in Rockport. It was hollowly. While floodwaters remain in Surfside Beach. We thought everything was going to be clearing up pretty good this morning, but about 5.30. high tide hit and the SARM search came back in and we were right back to where we were yesterday. Record-breaking heat elsewhere in the U.S. living up to the term summer solstice. Cruel. Very, very hot. Some schools have had to postpone classes as 65 million bake in high 90s and triple-digit temps. In Bangor, Maine, the heat index climbing to 106, while a combination of flames and dust storms called a hubbub have wreaked havoc in New Mexico. Tonight, the White House approving a major disaster.

disaster declaration. Now with rain on the way, flooding concerns around the burn scars. The country's patience for trying conditions being tested, even as some take solace in how their neighbors and first responders are coming together. This little community here really stays in touch in times of need like this. And Sam Brock joins us now from Freeport, Texas. Sam, talk to us about that flooding. You were standing in it there. How long is this flooding threat expected to last? And what will recovery look like? like as the days ahead come. Sure, Alison, so there's a flood warning and effect that expires very shortly, but then there's

a flood advisory through tomorrow. Then this community hopefully is in the clear, and you may be wondering, wait a minute, we're days removed now from Alberto's effects. Why would there be a flood advisory for tomorrow? It's because of this not just storm search, but the high tide when it comes in in the morning, all of this had cleared out previously. Neighbors told me, we thought we were good to go, and then woke up and found this again. look across the street from where I'm standing right now.

This is, again, 48 hours removed from the effects and the water spans all the way across the street. It's still a lagoon covering properties on both sides. It's just not a typical thing. It was a fascinating conversation to have with the mayor here of Surf Outside Beach who told me, look, you know, we obviously see hurricanes and plan and know

how they kind of, the cadence of how they come in and out. It's quick. With tropical storms, it's more confusing. You don't necessarily know how that combination of storm surge and rain is really going to play out. And here we are again. standing here with standing water next to me. The community is going to be fine. Many people have not really experienced much by way of damage, certainly not tens of thousands or millions of dollars worth of damage. So from a financial perspective, they're going to be okay. From a headache

perspective, it's still high because we know there could be another tropical system that may have impacts here as well in about a week. Back to you. Sam Brock, thank you. As Sam mentioned in his reporting, deadly wildfires, they have hit New Mexico, and the state is now bracing for storms and possible flash flooding. In hard-hit Rio Doso, thousands of residents have been evacuated and hundreds of structures have been destroyed. Now that town is bracing for heavy rain. Tonight, we are joined by the mayor of Rio Doso, Mayor Lynn Crawford. Mayor, thank you so much for joining Top Story.

We are so sorry to see what your community is dealing with and having to go through right now. Talk to us about what's happening with both the Salt and South Fork fire. zero percent contained as of today? Is that still the case? Well, thank you, Ellison. Yes, that is still the case. We have well over 800 firefighters on the ground that are actually actively working on the fire as we speak. The salt fire has been somewhat subdued. It's still not contained. The fire on the South Fork is a different story. Of course, that's the one that ravaged through our community, destroying well over 1,400 structures, many of those homes. You know, we still are in the area doing recond. We have the gas company

and making sure all the gas facilities are turned off, the electrical facilities. And just in now with the general from the National Guard, we have a heavy presence, police, sheriff's offices around. The outreach from the surrounding states and communities has been remarkable. Do we have an indication right now as to how or why these fires started? Well, it would be just guesswork on my part. I know that there's some investigation into it. We were first alerted that it was possibly lightning strikes, but now that we hear otherwise. So we'll wait for the investigators to tell us about that.

Right now, we're really concerning with fighting the fire, and we have catastrophic floodwatch that we're under. that says all that you need to know in the name. And so we're prepared for that right now. We're still fully evacuated, and we're still hoping that citizens and people that come in, look-iluing, that they stay out. And we're enforcing that because I think that we've already had really bad and we don't want it to get really worse with loss of life. You mentioned the rain that could be coming. I mean, a lot of people would hear flash flooding, rain, heavy rain, and think, okay, wait, isn't that good if there are fires? But that's actually not the case, right? Could you explain to people why this combination is really

not good? Yes, absolutely. I mean, anybody that's ever been around a campfire when you get up the next morning and you see the ashes, if you've ever thrown cold coffee or water on it, you see how it just splashes. The soil is hydrophobic, so it doesn't take on water, so it just runs right over the top. Gathering steam, it just pulls the ash, the debris with it, and it clogs, culverts, takes out bridges. And we had this happen in 2008 with Hurricane Dolly. And so we're told to be expecting the same kind of damage to this storm. And so we've got all the kind of assets, the resources at our disposal. And we're just waiting for the event to happen. You mentioned the National Guard is there helping and trying to help fight these fires,

among other things. Do you believe that you are getting the help that you need from state authorities, other local authorities, and even the federal government, or do you and your community need more help? Absolutely. When this fire kicked off Monday morning, we called an emergency council meeting where we had an emergency declaration. Sent it to the governor's office. She swiftly signed it. Send it to the president. The president signed off on it today. And so with that comes resources, allocation of money. We have, of course, the local entities, the county, the surrounding counties, the tri-state area. have all been helping, you know, we're getting all kinds of food, water donations, you know, and we're looking for monetary donations as well. And so a lot of those things are helping, but to state to this point has been great, sending in all the things that we need. Also from the

federal, you know, female will be coming in. We have a lot of our delegates coming in to actually view the damage so they can understand just the devastation that we're working with and the severity of the needs that we're going to have in the coming future. We've already started with the recovery efforts, planning, things of that nature. So I know that our community, our citizens are really anxious to get back and look, but I still ask them to please stay away because the danger is still here. And it could intensify later this evening and tomorrow for sure. Just trust us, the staff, the people that we've called in to help us are all experts.

And we're doing the best we can and we're making progress. Yeah, protecting life is, of course, the most important thing. I hope your community there will continue to heed your warnings. Mayor Lynn Crawford from Rio Doso, thank you so very much for being with us tonight. We wish you and your community the best, and we hope you will stay in touch as this process moves ahead. Thank you, Mayor. We appreciate it. Absolutely. Thank you, Alison. All right, we have a lot of weather headlines tonight.

So let's turn now to NBC News Meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill, this wildfire, the wildfires in New Mexico. going to be helped by these high temperatures that we've been seeing. There's the possibility of rain. Just give us a breakdown. Where do things stand in term of the heat? Yeah, I don't know even think. We talk specifically about what happened in Roodoo. So with the fires. And then, you know, we've seen that before in this country. But I've never seen an evacuated town under a flash flood emergency before. Only 48 hours after they evacuated. That's what was so unique and just so incredibly disheartening about this event for that city and that town.

So where we go from here? They've actually cooled down. They're worried about rain that's helping with all the fire situation in areas of New Mexico. But the heat is back on in areas of Arizona and California. You just saw the 112 right now at this hour in Phoenix. We've got 27 million people in California and Arizona under heat advisories. And then, of course, we're still dealing with the heat wave all the way on the other side of the country that continues from Ohio all the way through southern New England.

Now, we have finally gotten some relief in Boston, New Hampshire, and Maine, the cold front. storms, much cooler conditions, but tomorrow's the heat is on, D.C. to New York, so now the heat shifts to the south. And as we head through the upcoming weekend, record highs are likely. Washington, D.C. should hit 100 degrees break a record on Sunday in upper 90s all through the Ohio, Tennessee River Valley into the southern Ohio Valley Ellis. And this heatway is not going anywhere. And Bill, the northeast is also under an alert for severe thunderstorms. What should we be expecting in this region? Yeah, so that's good. We got our relief from the heat because of these storms, but with it has come some significant wind damage.

Severe thunderstorm watch continues. These are pretty strong storms now in northern Massachusetts, heading through southern New Hampshire. We're going to have to wait and see if these hold together and head back down through Boston. And then the other concern, Allison, very heavy rain tonight. Don't be surprised at this time tomorrow we're talking about flash flooding in Minnesota. They have their own issues. All right. Bill Cairns, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Turning now to that multi-state manhut, a suspect in a string of murders in Arkansas, Oklahoma, in Alabama, now in custody. NBC's Priya Shrether has this look at the fugitives' path and the efforts he took to evade capture. Tonight, a convicted felon and suspected killer is in custody

after evading law enforcement in multiple states for weeks. If you look at his criminal history, he was continuously escalating his violent behavior. Before being arrested today, police say 50-year-old Stacey Lee Drake was last seen on surveillance video Tuesday, outside of an Arkansas Motel 6. Arkansas State Police, who are leading the investigation, say Drake is connected to crimes across several states. In Oklahoma, police say he's a person of interest in last week's murder and carjacking of Philip Emerson. They've advised in a place two people have been shot. He's also wanted in connection to two murders at a gas station about 200 miles away. In Alabama, the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff is now revealing Drake is a suspect,

in a murder they too are investigating. They say he was there for a few weeks using a fake name when he shot and killed Russell Andrews last month. His son Russell Jr. says he was beloved. Very kind and passionate person. He was very selfless. Dreek has an extensive criminal history spanning decades and multiple states that include convictions for robberies, carjackings, and assault. Tonight, he's off the streets and behind bars. I can sleep better at night knowing that you know, he's not going to hurt anybody else. And Priya Shrether joins us now from Atlanta. Priya authorities in Alabama, they say they have been trying to find Stacey Lee Drake

for the last month. What have we learned about this multi-state manhunt? Yeah, that's right, Ellison. One of the reasons it was so difficult for them to track Stacey Lee Drake down is that he was using a fake name when he was in Tuscaloosa. They say he was a member of the homeless or the transient community and he was only there for one to two weeks when they say he killed a man, took his car, and then took off towards Oklahoma.

He then went undetected for about a month until last Friday, when now police there say that he's a person of interest in another murder where they say he killed a man, took his car, then drove 200 miles east to Gans, Oklahoma, where this past Tuesday, they say he's now a suspect in the killing of two more people. He took one of those victims' cars and made his way to Arkansas. which is the last place he was detected before his arrest today. He was seen on surveillance video.

And Arkansas State Police were looking for him. Last night, they say they believed that he had bought camping gear and was out in the woods. And they were finally able to apprehend him today. What's going to be interesting now, Ellison, is if he heads back to Alabama for prosecution or if he goes to Oklahoma first. And so we're going to continue to monitor that as well. Alison? Really interesting.

Priya Shrether in Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you. We appreciate your reporting. Turning now to the Trump classified documents case and the new questions being raised about the federal judge overseeing the proceedings. The New York Times out with reporting that she rejected private suggestions from other judges to step aside when she was assigned this case. The article saying in part, quote, two more experienced colleagues on the federal bench in Florida urged her to pass it up and hand it off to another jurist, according to two people briefed on the conversations. This reporting amid increased scrutiny of how Judge Eileen Cannon has gone on to handle this case. So we're here to break it all down as NBC News, legal analyst Danny Savalos.

He joins us now in studio. Danny, there's a lot we can bring up and kind of parse here, but let's just go big picture. Two more experienced judges telling this judge, Judge Eileen Cannon, who is herself experienced, hey, don't take this. How rare is that? Well, I've never been a federal judge, but I expect that that is pretty real. But at the same time, a federal judge is appointed for life. They're the closest thing our framers put in the Constitution to royalty. So as unusual as it may be for other judges to come to the judge and say,

hey, maybe you shouldn't take this case. Judges are free to make decisions that are controversial. And Cannon has done that. Look, as a criminal defense attorney, most of the time, I'm biased, admittedly, most of the time we feel like the judges are always deciding things in favor of the prosecution. So, look, it's not unusual to think that a judge gets decisions wrong. There are plenty of points to point at for Judge Cannon to say she's gotten a lot of wrong things done in this case. But that's the way federal judges are. They have the power to do that.

And the remedy is usually an appeal. All right. And so she's appointed to this seat, this bench by Trump. So recent-ish, but you typically just have so much legal experience before you're even considered for a judge that I think a lot of of the things that other legal experts have raised as odd or said maybe their missteps, for example, the decision she made in May to delay the case indefinitely, that has raised some red flags where they say, does she have the experience, I guess, in some ways to lead this case? When you look at some of those moments, also that move she made back in 2022, where she stepped in before charges were actually brought against Donald Trump and had a special

master review the documents the FBI had seized. Do those moments in your mind point to someone who is not experienced or someone who is just doing things differently? Yes, and I agree with everything you're saying. This may be a judge who lacks experience. I think you can pretty plainly say looking at her experience, her age, that she was not, she's not the typical age for federal judges. Although at the same time, there is a move to appoint the youngest possible federal judge you can because they're appointed for life. And that's a position of power. So the modern trend is actually to appoint very young judges and justices.

But here's the thing. You make some really good points there. And you point to some of the word on the street that I'm getting is that she's one of those judges that will take a decision that might take another judge one minute, and she'll instead have hearings and briefings and stretch it out. Guess what? There are a lot of judges who do that. And I've sat in a lot of courtrooms breaking pencils to myself saying, this judge is taking

way too long. This is she's not doing it right. this is not going well, and that's the way judges are. The idea that she may be making wrong decisions, that is normal. Judges make decisions that someone on one side at least thinks is wrong all the time. So the remedy, again, is appeals, and judges get up. This particular judge, you just pointed out one example where she was overturned by the court of appeals. It's happened in this case already.

But that's not an indicator that somebody's incompetent to sit on the bench or incompetent to handle a case. Yes, was it a stern rebuke by the Court of Appeals? Yeah, but that happens all the time. I've seen it innumerable times in cases. It's never once been considered grounds to say, boy, the district judge got this wrong. We need to get rid of her. And so that's why I'm really, in this case, I think you can agree that Judge Cannon may have made some bad decision so far, but the idea that she should recuse or step down or pass the case on, I think we're not there yet.

By the way, reasonable lines can disagree, but take a look at how often federal district judges actually do that. It's not for lack of criticism. They get criticized all the time, especially by the litigants, and most of the time by defense attorneys like me. Let me just play like a gossipy devil's advocate, I guess. In the court world system, have you ever seen competition, I guess, between judges of being like, I want that case, not them? I mean, could this be a situation where they just wanted the more high-profile case, or do you think they were raising some very legitimate concerns here? Again, I've never been a federal judge.

But here's what you need to know about federal judges. They're all academic superstars. They're people who achieved way out of the normal zone in their lives before they became federal judges. They're top of the class. They're Ivy League graduates. Guess what? I wouldn't be surprised if these are competitive people, federal judges.

Because after all, they're part politician and part lawyer, part litigator, maybe. But you have to be something of a politician. get yourself appointed. And so these are people who really are, they're very brilliant, they are very accomplished. You have to have somebody who's accomplished, smart, and driven to get past Senate confirmation. And so that's why federal judges, no surprise, are incredibly talented, accomplished people with, and by the way, Judge Cannon, she went to Duke, Michigan Law School. I mean, she's no slouch. If she had been appointed from East Ham Sandwich University Law School, I'd say you might have a point, but you don't have that point here.

But yes, you can criticize her and say she's gotten things wrong. And you might find another, maybe a former federal prosecutor, sit where I'm sitting and say, she's categorically wrong and she should step down. Maybe, but take a look. How often does that really happen with federal district judges? Again, the framers designed the job of judge to be immune from criticism. They serve for life for a very specific reason. So they don't care what people say about them, including people like me and people in the media.

They're designed to not care. They're not elected. They're not subject to the whims. They don't care about your protests, your sign, you're pushing a candle through a paper plate and doing a vigil. They don't care. It's designed that way. It's a constitutional feature, not a bug. All right, Danny Savalos, thank you so much.

We appreciate it, as always. We're going to turn next to the growing legal battle between the Biden administration and TikTok. The social media company now filing its first brief in an effort to challenge the government's attempt to ban or force the sale of the popular app. For more on this, joining us now is Lance. Ulanoff. He is a tech and social media expert and editor-in-chief at Tech Radar. Lance, I want to start with this quote from TikTok's brief, accusing the new law of setting a, quote, dangerous precedent. Goes on to say, dangerous precedent allowing the political branches to target a disfavored speech platform and force it to sell or be shut down. How strong do you think their argument is?

Well, it is unusual. I mean, I've never seen a case where the U.S. government, by the way, in unison, right? Both parties, Democrats, Republicans, they're all agreement. TikTok's bad for American citizens because it's owned by a Chinese company. I've never really seen anything quite like this. However, it is becoming sort of fashionable because we know that DJI, which is also owned by a Chinese companies, a drone company, is also being targeted. But that case is behind this one.

It hasn't become, there's no actual law in place. You know, at this point, we have a signed bill that's forcing TikTok to do something, but we fully expected, we fully expected that TikTok was going to file something. It's a very strongly worded brief that they filed. We knew they were going to go after and say it was unconstitutional because, and by the way, they like to call themselves sort of a free speech platform because what people do is they produce content and they put their voices out there, they phaser their voice of their video out there on the platform.

I mean, the content is not TikTok's content. it's the content of 150 million American citizens. Interesting. Okay, yeah, that is really fascinating because TikTok has repeatedly said this comes down to free speech, and they have called it speculative concerns from the federal government right. At one point, here's a quote from them. They said, quote, Congress reached for a sledgehammer without even considering if a scapple would suffice. Do you think there is at all a argument to be had that maybe this could set a dangerous precedent

if Congress were to take these steps? Yeah, well, it's really just going to become a list of companies that are based in countries that we are no longer friendly with. And there'll be a lot. You know, technological development, innovation happens around the world. This has been going on for, you know, half a century. And it really accelerated, you know, the 90s and the last 25 years, you know, security software companies, many of them were based in Russia.

I mean, so this is not unusual, but for us to turn around, to go, wait a minute, too many people are using this, and it is, you know, comes from a country we don't agree with. Now, I say that, but every country, right, has different rules about how businesses can operate. And China's rules are pretty unusual, because what they say is, if you operate in our country, if you're a business or our country, you have to be, if we say, we want to see all your data, we want to see everything, we want to see code, the whole thing, they have to show it to them. I'm sure you're aware that TikTok has been talking to the government appearing in front of them for a number of years now. They introduced something

called Project Texas, which was supposed to answer these questions. It was supposed to take, and it did take their data, any U.S. data, put it with Oracle in the U.S., created an entire team. The company is tons, thousands of people in the U.S., and they've really separated as much as they think as possible from the Chinese arm. Really fascinating stuff, Lance. Thank you so much. We appreciate it. Pleasure. We're going to head overseas now to the escalating hostilities over the South China Sea. New video showing the chaotic moments the Chinese Coast Guard attacked a group of Filipino military boats, brandishing weapons, slashing at their inflatable vessels, even blasting tear gas.

Both countries placing the blame on each other, but it is just the latest clash in the highly disputed region. Danielle Hamam Dajan has this report. tension between China and the Philippines reaching a boiling point in the disputed South China Sea new video released by the armed forces of the Philippines shows Chinese vessels surrounding a Filipino naval fleet tying up their boats and ramming into them with sirens blaring the Chinese crew allegedly deploying tear gas and seen brandishing weapons And in a shocking moment, one Chinese officer began slashing one of the Philippines' inflatable boats with what appears to be a pickax.

The video showing at least one Filipino officer being treated for injuries. Philippine officials say two of their rubber boats were seized and slammed the incident as a brazen act of aggression, saying, only pirates do this. However, China claiming a Philippine vessel. a vessel dangerously approached one of their boats and defended their officers' actions, calling them, quote, legitimate, reasonable, professional and restrained. It's just the latest clash between the two countries in the critical waterway.

In March, drone video capturing the moment multiple Chinese Coast Guard ships blasts water cannons at a small Filipino vessel, creating serious damage, according to their armed forces. China has long tried to claim sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, angering many of its neighbors in the region. China is basically trying to control these waterways, and if they succeed in that, and they have made significant incremental progress through this type of aggressive activity, then they're going to be able to hold the whole world at hostage, and in particular, countries in the region. After this week's incident, the United States reiterating their military support to the Philippines and other allies.

The PRC vessels dangerous and deliberate use of water cannons, ramming, blocking maneuvers, and towing damaged Philippine vessels endangered the lives of Philippine service members. It's reckless and it threatens regional peace and stability. And the Philippines claims their naval fleet was attacked while delivering food and other supplies to a military outpost. They say some of their officers were injured but didn't specify how many. One thing is clear, the rift between the two countries appears to be widening. Ellison.

Thank you. Still ahead tonight, the terrifying moment, a suspected drunk driver mowed down to cyclists will show you that video and the interview with one of the cyclists who got run over after he was released from the hospital. Plus, rapper Travis Scott arrested in Miami the charges he's facing after allegedly yelling at people on a nearby yacht. And the warning tonight about fake Ozimic, where authorities have found counterfeit batches of the drug and what you need to know to stay safe.

Top story is just getting started on this Thursday. We're back now with that shocking video showing two cyclists being mowed down by an alleged drunk driver in Dallas. Those bikers thankfully survived the ordeal. One of them speaking out tonight about those terrifying moments. NBC News correspondent Adrian brought us has this report, and we do want to warn you the images are disturbing. This is the terrifying moment that cyclist Tom Geppard says could have killed him. An SUV slamming into Geppard and a fellow biker, then running Geppard over near the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

I could have easily been in the ICU or I could have been dead. Here is definitely the, that one's quite deep. The driver, who police identified as American Airlines cargo team member, Benjamin Highlander, arrested for driving under the influence. Witnesses told police they followed Highlander to a gas station, demanding he returned to the scene. I have a bunch of abrasions that are some of pretty deep. This one's pretty deep. And then I had a pretty bad concussion. Geppard, who has been released from the hospital, furious at what he saw in the video of the incident. I'm so angry. It looked like he could have stopped before he rolled over me. But then he sped up and went right over me. You know, and he just seems so callous and so disregarding of the fact that there was a human there.

Police say while treating Geppard, Highlander ran on scene, quote, hysterically, shouting, quote, I'm sorry. According to the police report, officers found six empty beer cans and a backpack in Highlander's SUV. And his blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit. Impair driving is still a major crisis on our roads. It is a major public health crisis that we're facing. Advocacy groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving or Mad are pushing to end drunk driving with technology. The Halt Drunk Driving Act, which passed in 2021, will require all new cars to come equipped with smart technology that detects and stops impaired driving by 2027. I think it's better than a breathalyzer. In fact, what it would actually do is passively detect impairment once the driver gets behind the wheel.

According to the Department of Transportation, in 2020, at least 34% of all crashes resulting in a bicycle as far. death involved alcohol consumption by either the driver or the biker. Geppert says he spent decades helping people as a physician. Now retired, he says he won't let this crash stop him from riding again. I definitely want to be at least two, three weeks out before I try it again. It's huge because my friends are part of cycling a lot of the time. And Adrian joins us now from Chicago. Adrian, in your PC report that there were six empty beer cans with this driver in his car. What is the status of this driver tonight? Well, according to a spokesperson with the jail, he is no longer in their custody.

The police found those six empty cans in the vehicle. They also found two additional cans in a grassy area where those witnesses chase that driver. Meanwhile, a spokesperson with the American Airlines saying tonight, he's been, quote, withheld from service declining to comment further. Ellison? Adrian brought us. Thank you. When we come back an update on the protests that rocked Columbia's campus this spring, you will remember pro-Palestinian demonstrators taking over a building on campus,

barricading themselves inside, why the Manhattan DA tonight says they are dropping nearly all of those charges. That's next. We're back now with Top Stories News Feed, starting with rapper Travis Scott arrested in Miami Beach. Police say Scott was asked to leave a marino where he'd been partying when he allegedly became erratic, yelling, and making threats. He was eventually arrested on misdemeanor charges, including trespassing and disorderly intoxication. Police say he admitted to drinking alcohol telling officers, quote, it's Miami. He was released on bond. In update tonight, the Manhattan District Attorney dropping charges against most of the protesters arrested at Columbia University in April.

The protesters were arrested after occupying Hamilton Hall on the Manhattan campus. amid a wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Tonight, prosecutors announcing 31 out of 46 trespassing cases were dropped due to lack of evidence. The rest are due in court in July. And hundreds of small earthquakes brewing under Washington State's Mount St. Helen since February. The United States Geological Survey recording 350 earthquakes, but says it just signals the arrival of more magma under the surface. The agency adding the volcano remains at the normal level of activity. and that the quakes were also too small to be felt on the surface.

Turning now to the new health alert about those popular new weight loss drugs, the world health officials, rather, are sounding the alarm that high demand means some of the medications on the market today. They may be dangerous counterfeits. NBC's Ann Thompson has more. Weight loss drugs are now a global phenomenon. I went down four pants sizes. This country accounting for 71% of somaglite sales,

the active ingredient in Wagovi and OZMPIC, a diabetes drug. But high demand breeds counterfeits that could jeopardize your health. The World Health Organization warning tonight that it found fake batches of OZMPIC in the U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S.U.K. and Brazil last year. It could have contaminants that could actually harm you. You see San Diego Professor Tim Mackey and his team of researchers bought counterfeits of somaglite online to find out what's being sold. And when we purchased six of these products from online pharmacies, three were scammers and another three centis products that had questionable quality safety issues associated with them. And so if somebody had taken any of these drugs, could they have ended up in the hospital or ill from the drugs? Yeah, so patients, one, could have been scammed out of thousands of dollars, and two, they could have taken a product that had too much semi-glutide in them and could have been injured from that as well.

Lily also warning tonight about fake versions of terseptide, the active ingredient in Wunjaro and Zepbound, its diabetes and weight loss drugs. Lily says it does not sell these drugs on social media and warns illegal online pharmacies selling fakes, put people at risk. Both Lily and Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempik and Wagovi, stress that they are the only manufacturers of these drugs and that there are no generics. So how do you know you're getting the real thing? First of all, make sure you get a prescription from your licensed doctor

and then get that prescription filled at a licensed pharmacy. And when you get the products, always check the serial numbers and the expiration dates. Allison? Ann Thompson, thank you. And for more on that warning from Lily about fake versions of some of their popular weight loss drugs, board-certified endocrinologist Dr. Caroline Messer joins us now in studio. Let's just start with this letter for you, as a doctor, what stood out to you in this warning? I thought there are a lot of great points that they made, but I'm just going to sort

of summarize some of them, and then we can discuss them in more detail. So the first point that they made was we really shouldn't be using this for cosmetic weight loss. They really said, you know, it's FDA approved for obesity or patients who are overweight and have medical conditions. We really should be focusing on that and not using it for cosmetic weight loss. They also spoke about the use of this in pediatric patients. It hasn't been tested. It hasn't been properly vetted.

We don't know about safety or efficacy. But then I thought the more interesting part was when they really started talking about people who are selling it on social media and saying that it's real lily product. So that's clearly fraudulent. And then they spoke a lot about compounding pharmacies that are downright dangerous,

either selling product that's not real, like that's made it just out of sugar. And so it's just fraudulent or actually dangerous product. We do live in such a social media-focused world where we're constantly getting ads for things to buy on Instagram. TikTok, other places like that, I have bought things from ads, not medicine, but it's pretty easy

to go down that rabbit hole. For patients who come in and say, hey, I'm getting these ads, the demand is so high for these products, I want it, can I just order it here? How do you tell them to look for fake and how do you know the difference between a good compound pharmacy and a bad one? That's definitely a million dollar question. I think you have to be working with a doctor who knows a compounding pharmacy. I mean, there are some that are making very impure products like it's supposed to be

colorless and it's pink. or it has impurities in it that are, you know, bacteria, dangerous. So as long as you're working with a doctor who knows their compounding pharmacy, knows that it's accredited, knows where they source their medications from, knows that it's sterile, I think that's legitimate. The problem with a lot of these social media sites is not only are they not telling you where they're sourcing the medication from, they're pretending it's Lilly, they're also not talking about any of the risks.

So you go on it, I mean, you go on these sites and they'll talk about how much weight you can lose, and they won't mention the risk of gallstones, the risk of pancreatitis, constipation, You know, when you have to be careful. What if you have a family history of a rare type of thyroid cancer? None of that's mentioned because the FDA isn't mandating it because these are non-FDA-approved products. It is interesting because I think back to, you know, 10, 15 years ago and just even, I mean, even still now, but I especially think of like the height of slim fast rings being popular. And in some ways, I watch the ads for Ozempik Wigovie, and I see some similarities, but I'm like, it's not the same.

We're not just talking about a milkshake that has protein that's going to keep full longer. For people who are considering this, either because they think they need it for the longevity of life to alleviate issues they're having with obesity and be healthier down the road or because they want to look and feel better, how do you guide patients on what's right for them? Should they only be taking it if they truly need it for medical reasons to lose weight or is it okay for cosmetics? So clearly controversial. I think that I am very lenient in terms of prescribing it. And the reason why is I see that there's so many other health benefits, right? We know that these are anti-inflammatories. They're coming out with studies showing that it helps with rheumatoid arthritis, which I think for endocrinologist is not a very well-kept secret.

We've known this for years. They're looking at it for different eye diseases, macular degeneration among others. We know that it helps with sleep apnea. There's so many medical conditions, not to mention, of course, you know, the cardiovascular risk goes down substantially, risk of stroke, heart attack, and death. I really feel, okay, if somebody wants to lose 10 pounds, they're clearly not super overweller. weight, is there really much harm being done? As long as I'm giving a balanced view of it, that they may experience some nausea, some constipation, that they lose weight too rapidly,

they may have gallstones. But as long as I'm presenting both sides of the story, feel like there's so many benefits to it that I don't mind just helping someone feel a little bit better, a little bit more comfortable in their own skin. Like, where's the harm there? Do you think moving forward we will see more warnings like this, particularly as it relates to false advertising for prescription products on social media? I really hope so. I mean, I am very farm-friendly, farmer-friendly, and I believe that they spent billions of dollars on R&D to come up with this product. And to have somebody claiming to be selling their product is clearly not lawful. It's fraudulent.

It's a different story when we're talking about compounding pharmacies because they're not claiming to be Zepbound or Mungaro or Zempec or any of those, you know. Dr. Caroline Messer, thank you so much. Of course. My pleasure. Just ahead, the incredible transport out of a war zone. A pair of beluga whales trapped in a Ukraine aquarium, airlifted to safety. The experts from around the world coming together to execute that challenging rescue. Back now with Top Story's Global Watch. In Saudi Arabia, more than 1,000 people died while making

the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage amid a crippling heat wave. Nearly 2 million people have traveled to the Holy City of Mecca, where temperatures hit about 125 degrees. Officials say 2,700 people have been treated for heat strokes. Saudi Arabia has deployed medical personnel to assist with heat-related illnesses and is urging visitors to stay hydrated and carry umbrellas. And an update on the case of another American citizen jailed in Russia. Kessnia, Carolina, appeared in a Russian court as she faces treason charges. The dual American Russian citizen was arrested while visiting her family back in February

and accused of donating to Ukraine's war effort. Her trial has now been postponed to August 7th. She faces a sentence of 12 years to life in prison if convicted. Turning now to another headline involving the war in Ukraine, the relentless fighting not just impacting humans, wildlife officials in Ukraine now undertaking the difficult mission to save a pair of massive beluga whales in the midst of war. NBC's Andrea Mitchell has this story. The Russian offensive is in full force in Harkiv, the local aquarium at risk. home to two beluga whales, 15-year-old plumbia and 14-year-old Miranda. The battle was closing in.

Whale food, fresh squid, herring and mackerel increasingly scarce. Caregivers knew they had to get them out of the war zone. Were you afraid that you and the whales would come under attack? Certainly the risk of rockets and things were, it was on our mind, you know, for sure. The challenge, how do you move two 1,500-pound whales in 20,000-pound tanks, almost 3,000 miles to their new home in Spain? Very carefully. The Ukrainians, with experts from the Georgia Aquarium, SeaWorld, and Oceanographic

De Valencia came up with a plan, from Ukraine to Spain, with caregivers calming them down along the way. Are Plumber and Miranda friends? Are they even a couple? Can I be so bold as to ask? I mean, it's an adult male and adult female. They seem very bonded, very close. How do you feel now that you've accomplished this, Denia?

Taking these animals out of the war is probably one of the flight experiences, you know, that I put in my grandkids. Now safe in their new habitat and looking happy. Andrea Mitchell, NBC News, Washington. When we come back, one veteran's incredible debut at the Grand Alopery, Marine Sal Gonzalez, learning to cope with his PTSD through music, performing on Nashville's most iconic stage where he was met with a standing ovation, those powerful moments and his message for anyone out there struggling.

Stay with us. Finally tonight, for PTSD Awareness Month, we bring you the story of one Marine veteran who's battled back from wounds of war, both visible and invisible, to reach his fellow veterans from one of the biggest stages in country music. It's the moment Sal Gonzalez has been waiting decades for. His debut at one of the most iconic music venues in the country, the Grandal Lopry, in Nashville, Tennessee.

This one goes out to all your veterans. I hope you like it. And I hope it strikes a chord. Those veterans, his brothers and sisters in arms, Gonzalez joined the Marines in the wake of the attacks on 9-11. I was in English class in high school. And we watched the Twin Towers fall. And I knew all of a sudden that we were going to go to war, and I wanted to go do my part.

Gonzales was serving as a machine gunner in Iraq in 2004 when his vehicle was hit with an improvised explosive device. I'd been in a coma for a week. Both my lungs collapsed, I almost died a couple of times, and my leg was in shambles. Once later, Gonzalez and his doctors made the difficult decision to amputate his left leg below the knee. It's now a very physical reminder of the toll of war, but there are mental scars, too. I thought it was normal to just go and drink myself to sleep because I didn't want to think about stuff. I think more than anything, the survivor's guilt was the thing that

was hardest to deal with. Thinking of all these friends that I'd lost, not just my lieutenant who was killed the explosion that took my leg. Soon Gonzalez learned to rely on the passion that he'd had since childhood, music, ultimately partnering with the Wounded Warrior Project to play for other veterans across the country. Some of those vets were like, hey, that I couldn't have said. You nailed it on the head. I couldn't have said those words myself. I'm just happy to get to be a part of that.

and get to give back to an organization that I'm pretty sure had they not been around. I don't think I'd be around. That passion, quickly becoming more than just a pastime. Gonzalez's moving to Nashville to pursue a career in music and even appearing on America's Got Talent in 2014. You know, sun shines, she's gold. This house just ain't no home anytime she goes away. And just last month, that often. of a lifetime.

Making his Opry debut, let's give him a warm welcome. Ladies and gentlemen, Sal Gonzalez. Gonzalez taking the stage with an original song, written after one of his fellow veterans called him a hero. I'm not trying to say you're wrong, but heroes ain't the ones who make it home. The Opry crowd giving Gonzalez a standing ovation. Thank you so much, folks. God bless.

My name Sa Gonzalez. It's hard to explain that moment, to be totally honest. I'm not special by any means. I'm just a normal dude. And some of the people that I served with that didn't come home were those exceptional people. Gonzalez now working toward a full-time music career, even playing us a little bit of his latest.

a little bit of his latest original about being away from his family playing music on the road. These nights can get so lonely, but I never thought they don't need. So I'm starting to hate the thing I love the most. But no matter where his music career takes him, Gonzales says he'll always make time to serve his fellow veterans. And for those who may be struggling, he hopes you'll remember this. This world is better with you in it. Don't give up. And our thanks to Sal for both his service and his time sharing his story with us and you at home. Thank you for watching Top Story. In New York, I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis.

Stay right there. More News Now is on the way.