Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, March 12, 2026

Episode Date: March 13, 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, two suspected terror attacks inside the U.S., one targeting a Michigan synagogue, the other military officers in training at a Virginia college. The terrifying scene in Michigan, a man driving his car into a massive synagogue, security opening fire, smoke pouring out of the building. Investigators searching for possible explosives inside the car, the search for a possible motive. Also tonight, the deadly school campus shooting being investigated as an act. of terrorism. What we know about the former Army National Guard member opening fire and his past connection to ISIS. An American aircraft down in the Middle East in Iraq. Plus, new attacks in the Strait of Ormuse, an oil tanker struck bursting into flames, a drone nearly hitting

the world's tallest building, the first official statement from the new Ayatollah. Breaking news in the Nancy Guthrie case. What the sheriff just told us exclusively about whether she was targeted. The scandal now rocking the culinary world, the chef of one of the world's best restaurants stepping down after allegations of physical abuse resurfaced. A popular protein bar igniting a firestorm. The lawsuit accusing David protein bars of having more calories and fat than advertised, what the founder is saying about the allegations. And NASA's asteroid deflector. How the space agency successfully knocked an asteroid off course in a test to defend Earth. Plus, was Iran behind a major cyber attack against a U.S. company? The concerns hackers are

opening up a new front of the war. Top story starts right now. And good evening, we come on the air tonight with two horrific attacks in our country, 700 miles apart, both being investigated as acts of terrorism. It comes amid fears of retaliation as the war. with Iran rages on. There's currently no known connection between a deadly shooting at a Virginia College and an attack on a Michigan synagogue or the Iranian regime. But the violence is sparking fears across the country. You can see the chaos that unfolded outside the Detroit area synagogue today after a man rammed his car into its doors exchanging fire with security inside. This is one of the biggest synagogues in the country. Teachers running with children trying to get to

safety. We know a preschool was in session at the time of the attack. You can see smoke pouring out of the doors and a roof after the ramming. We are learning tonight the synagogue had trained for an attack. And earlier today, at Old Dominion University in Virginia, a former Army National Guard member opening fire on military officers in training, killing one and injuring two others. The shooter was identified as Muhammad Baylor Jalo. Police say he had previously been convicted for supporting the terror group ISIS. He was also killed in the shooting. Take a look at where these incidents unfolded, that shooting in Norfolk, Virginia, around 10.50 a.m. Then that ramming attack in West Bloomfield, Michigan at approximately 12.30 p.m. Again, we do not know if they are connected

at all at this point, but we know both are being investigated as acts of terror. While President Trump said last night they were aware of Iranian sleeper cells inside the United States, these incidents, experts say, are more likely to be lone wolves than directed by Iran. We'll get to that in a moment, but we're going to begin on the ground tonight in Michigan. Ty Steele from our affiliate, WDIV, leads off. A terrifying scene at a Michigan synagogue today that's now being investigated as possible terrorism, according to the FBI. Police, bomb squads, and the FBI, all racing to Temple Israel in West Bloomfield after

the reports of an active shooter and fire that was spreading across the sprawling complex. Authorities telling NBC News a man with a rifle drove a vehicle into the building with preschool in session. The suspect then managed to drive down a hall, but security guards working for the synagogue opened fire with the semi-automatic weapons. The suspect died. It's hard to say how fast. I mean, he was traveling with purpose down the hall. Smoke, seen billowing from the building, is believed to be from a fire connected to the sun. suspect's vehicle, which may have had explosives inside. You couldn't even see the hall was completely clear. We had to send people in with gas masks to clear that area.

The sheriff says one of the security guards was taken to the hospital after being hit by the vehicle, but is expected to be okay. No temple staff or children from the daycare or preschool were injured. They were all evacuated and hours later reunited with their families. The president spoke about today's incident. It's a terrible thing. We're going to be right down to the bull. bottom of it. Law enforcement says it is ramping up security at all Jewish facilities in the

area. Many were already on heightened alert after recent attacks against the Jewish community. From arson at a Mississippi synagogue to a car repeatedly ramming into a Habad center in New York and in December the shooting on Bondi Beach in Australia at a Hanukkah celebration that killed 15 people. Temple Israel is one of the largest Jewish congregations in the entire United States with more than 3,000 families. A rabbi there says they have had a plan in place in case. any incidents like this one. And the sheriff says since the war with Iran began, they've been coordinating with law enforcement at all levels. We've been talking for two weeks about the potential, sadly, of this happening, so there was no lack of preparation.

Tonight, the community is shaken. This is senseless. It's senseless. We have to be better than this. This is not okay. So it's all I want. Everyone to be okay. Our thanks to Ty Steele from our Detroit affiliate for that report. I want to get right to NBC, Shaquille Brewster, who has made his way to the scene outside of the synagogue. Shaq, we heard in that press conference late today just how prepared security at the synagogue was. Take us through it. Yeah, that's exactly right, Allison, in that preparation likely saving lives. You see the very active scene behind me, FBI officials saying that they're still processing this.

They're still going through this scene very closely, still calling it a very accurate. active crime scene and situation. But in that press conference, we heard from leaders of the church and of the synagogue, essentially saying that their preparation helped save many lives. You heard in that report that it was not only the security at the synagogue that helped engage the suspect here in neutralizing the threat in the words of the sheriff, but they said that they have a full-time security team at this synagogue. You heard some other church leaders talk about spending more than a million dollars.

on protecting faith, or houses of worship like the ones behind me. This one having a full-time security director, having a full security team. The sheriff even saying that he was texting the head of security at this synagogue just two days ago, two days before, obviously, this attack. So this is a sad reality that this is required, and that's the message that you're hearing from many rabbis and many people connected to this synagogue. But that preparation and the planning that went into the, this, the drills, the preparation from staff that likely saved lives today.

Allison. NBC's Shaq Brewster on the ground in Michigan. Thank you. We are also tracking that breaking news out of Virginia. The deadly shooting on the campus of Old Dominion University now being investigated as an act of terrorism. The suspect previously convicted of providing material support to ISIS. Here's NBC's Ryan Nobles with the latest and a focus on the students who stepped in

to take the gunman down. Tonight, the suspected terror attack playing out on a campus in Virginia. Old Dominion University on high alert after a shooter opened fire in a classroom. Reports have an active shooter in the building. Just before 11 a.m., officials say 36-year-old Mohamed Baylor Jala, specifically targeted an ROTC class on the Norfolk Virginia campus. We have confirmed reports that prior to him conducting this act of terrorism, He shouted, al-a-ar, stated, al-Aqvar.

Oh, Jermaine Bego's son was in the room and called soon after the gunfire broke out. He was very distraught and nervous. You can hear it in his voice. But he wanted to let me and his mother know that he was okay, that he was unharmed. A group of brave students stepped in to subdue the suspect. And if not for them, I'm not sure, you know, what else he may have done. According to police, one person was killed. two others injured. The shooter also died. The secretary of the Army tonight saying both people injured were Army personnel. Jallo is from Sterling, Virginia, and was a former member of the Army

National Guard. He was arrested in 2016 for attempting to provide material support to ISIS, according to court documents, and allegedly attempting to gather weapons to be used in an attack in the U.S. The complaint at the time said Jallo also attempted to provide funds to people hoping to join ISIS. Documents show that he pleaded guilty to a terrorism-related charge. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and was released in 2024, according to the Department of Justice. Tonight classes at Old Dominion University are canceled for the remainder of the week as the investigation is ongoing. Ryan Nobles joins us now from Newport News, Virginia. Ryan, do we have any word on the shooter's possible motive? At this point, Alison,

officials do not know specifically what the suspect's motives were. And they're actually asking the public for help. They want to know if anyone saw the suspect prior to this incident, who he may have been talking to, and if anyone was feeding him information. At this point, they are investigating this as a terrorist attack, but they've yet to declare it so. Ellison. NBC's Ryan Nobles on the ground there in Virginia. Thank you so much. I want to bring in our panel on both of these developing national security. stories. Javid Ali, a counterterrorism professor at the University of Michigan, who worked for national security and intelligence agencies like the FBI for more than 20 years, and NBC's

Chief Justice and National Affairs correspondent, Kelly O'Donnell. Kelly, for a lot of NBC viewers, they know from your work over the years that you unfortunately do have a lot of experience covering terror attacks, domestic terror attacks, and also things that have happened in and around wars the United States have been involved in. There is a lot that we do not know right now. now, but seeing these two attacks against the backdrop of the war with Iran. Is it possible that either of these attacks could have been directed or inspired by Iran, or is it more likely that these are lone wolves? Those are the key questions for investigators, Ellison. And it's impossible to separate these events from the larger context. The United States is at war with Iran

and is partnered with Israel in that effort. That war has also expanded to Lebanon. And so we know that Iran has also a long history of being able to direct terror attacks, some directed by the state, others inspired. And so that will be a key question. What we can say at this point is that investigators are looking at these two incidents and they see flags that give them reason to believe the terrorism link can be pursued. It may be far more likely that they are individually inspired, somehow motivated by either seeing the action, that are happening around the world, perhaps a long-standing issue. That was certainly the case

with the Old Dominion University suspect who had a prior conviction, had been involved in this kind of conduct before. So those are key questions. At the same time, for viewers watching this, it's hard to not see this as a constellation of events. Two attacks in the same day, the war ongoing, unpredictable in its nature. And so what law enforcement is, law enforcement, will be able to do after they get more information about the individual perpetrators, the shooter at the university, and then the person with a car ramming, vehicle ramming at the synagogue, is to look for other things in their lives that might dictate where this inspiration may have come from. And we see that in a lot of cases, looking at their digital footprint, looking at their relationships,

and other indicators. At this point, both are being viewed through that lens for the potential Love it, certainly in Michigan, they're saying that it's a targeted act against the Jewish community. Whatever the ultimate pathway in terms of investigation, these are deeply unsettling events. They cause a lot of distress in communities, and that is part of the larger picture here, carrying out these sort of acts to unsettle communities, to make people fearful, and to cause damage. Ellison? Javid, you have worked in this field for decades. What is your sense when you're looking at these two attacks and some of the stuff Kelly was touching on there in terms of where investigators

are going next, the ways they will look into these individuals' digital footprints, their personal relationships. How would you go about identifying whether or not this was something potentially directed by an state actor like Iran or some sort of lone wolf? Well, also nice to be with you and Kelly and picking up on some of Kelly's points. I personally right now don't feel, or based on what we know, I don't feel like these, are Iranian-directed attacks, and Iran has tried to launch terrorist plots inside the United States for 15 years, and this goes back to my time and government. And time and time again, those plots have always fizzled out or been disrupted, in large part because Iran does not

have a presence of people here on the ground to actually carry them out. So they have to rely on a whole network, or they have tried to rely on a whole network of other people, basically the criminal underground in the United States. But what I think we're dealing with here are people who, as Kelly mentioned, were motivated by recent events because of the war overseas. And this happens often when we have these international crises. So if your viewers go back 20 years in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, same thing was happening here in the United States, in the West. And there were, unfortunately, lots of similar cases where people who were first radicalized but then mobilized the violence because of their anger over these foreign conflicts and decided to act out

here inside the United States or in the West. And so I think we're just seeing a repeat pattern of that, thankfully at a lower level. But if the conflict continues, much like we did 20 years ago, these kind of incidents could increase significantly. Kelly, we know police departments across the U.S. have been on high alert since the start of the war. What kind of precautions are they taking. Part of what they've been looking at are any signs of elevated activity, chatter and threats. And what we've so far been told is there aren't specific threats about a known target or a time frame, but they know there is a heightened state of awareness. And certainly we have seen how when individuals are inspired, one of the things that makes that difficult for law enforcement

is sometimes that inspiration comes from social media, not necessarily their interactions with others in a human-to-human way. And so sometimes there aren't many clues prior to someone taking this kind of action. That can make it particularly dangerous. So law enforcement is urging, certainly Jewish communities, whether it be synagogues or community centers, other institutions like universities, gathering places, to be on alert, to use the sense of vigilance and awareness. And certainly in the case of Michigan, they had a robust security plan. for that campus before this even happened and had regular contact with law enforcement. So we've been seeing those messages going out from federal law enforcement across the country,

giving law enforcement at the local level some ideas about things to look for. But again, we don't have specific credible threats of specific times or places, but they're encouraging everyone to use that sense of awareness, follow your instincts, and be prepared, especially when you're in places with large gatherings, or if you're in locations that are known to have these sort of vulnerabilities. And that certainly speaks to Jewish Americans who have been living with this kind of threat for a very long time. And Javid, you touched on this idea, the possibility of more attacks like this. How realistic of a possibility is that, in your professional opinion, do you think?

And what does that mean for people in the United States? Should people be changing the way they behave? Or do you think the United States and our law enforcement entities are ready to deal with it? So we now are two weeks or almost two weeks into this conflict. And I would argue this is, or with the two incidents today, these are now in total three separate loan offender attacks by people angry over what's been going on overseas and decided to conduct an attack. Because the first one was in Austin, Texas. The first weekend the conflict started. So now we have three of these.

And these are three people who didn't know each other, all living separate lies. but in the moment decided to conduct these attacks. And if the conflict continues, which by all accounts it seems it will, at least for some additional period of days, there may likely be more of these, at least attempts, hopefully people won't be successful. But this is what happens in the process of individual radicalization, people, as Kelly mentioned, who are already radicalized for a variety of different reasons.

But when there are these triggers or these overseas conflicts that somehow, pushes them over this imaginary line between radicalization and mobilization of violence, that's when these kind of incidents happen. So the longer the conflict continues, the higher, the potential, we can see more of these. And that is just the unfortunate reality of what happens in these international conflicts. Javid Ali, Kelly O'Donnell. Thank you both. We appreciate it. And turning now to breaking news overseas, new escalations in the war with Iran. U.S. Central Command announcing that rescue efforts are underway after a military refueling craft crashed in Western Iraq. NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel has the latest.

Tonight, U.S. Central Command is saying the KC. 135 refueling aircraft went down in friendly airspace in Western Iraq, that it was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire, and rescue efforts are ongoing. All as Iran is unleashing new Iraq. attacks on oil tankers. This fuel-laden ship bursting into a fireball. Part of Iran's strategy to drive up oil prices by stopping tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz. They've got no Navy. They've got no air force. They've got no anti-air traffic, anything. They have no systems of control. We're just riding free range over that country. And now we're going to look very strongly at the straits. The straits are in great shape.

out all of their boats. On Iranian state media today, a presenter reading what she said was the first message from Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Moshaba Hamenei, who said the lever of closing the Strait of Hormuz must still be used. But neither his image nor his voice were broadcast. And Iran isn't only lashing out at sea. New video showing a high rise in Dubai hit by an Iranian drone and fires raging after an Iranian on a fuel depot in Bahrain.

It's all leaving Iran increasingly isolated. 135 nations voted at the UN to condemn Iran for its attacks on Gulf countries and Jordan. Iran today also pulled out of the upcoming World Cup in the U.S. President Trump responded, the team is welcome, but, quote, I really don't believe it's appropriate that they be there for their own life and safety. Six members of Iran's women's soccer team were recently granted asylum in Australia. after players flashed help signs on the team's bus. But Iran does have one ally that has joined it in open war,

the Lebanese militia, Hezbollah, firing more than 100 rockets at Israel. And one of those Hezbollah rockets landed right here, and Israel's defense minister is now threatening the Lebanese government, saying if it can't stop Hezbollah from doing more attacks like this, Israeli troops will take more Lebanese territory. Israel is bombing Beirut. The Israeli troops have crossed into Lebanon to battle Hezbollah. Nearly 700 people have been killed so far, according to the Lebanese government, with more than 800,000 displaced.

And Richard joins us now from northern Israel. Can we go back to that loss of the U.S. refueling aircraft? Richard, was there another aircraft also involved? Yes, Semkhan says that there were two aircraft involved. One of them landed safely. I've been on an American fighter jet while it refueled in midair. It is a very quick, highly skilled and inherently dangerous operation. And at this stage, we don't have any information about the fate of the crew on the plane that went down or the rescue effort.

NBC's Richard Engel on the ground. Thank you and stay safe. And tonight, Iran appears to be taking aim at the United States in another way, launching the first significant cyber attack on an American company. since the start of the war. An Iran-linked hacker group claiming responsibility for the cyber attack on Stryker, one of the largest medical supply companies in the world. Employees say the attack wiped and disabled company phones, laptops, and other devices. Here to discuss is cybersecurity expert David Kennedy.

He's the founder of TrustedSec and Bionary Defense and a former hacker for the NSA. David, take us through what we know about this hack at this point in time. How does it seem Iran was able to pull off this sort of operation? Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for having me on. So what Iran is looking at right now is any way they can lash out to the United States in a cyber warfare perspective. And they're really unhinged at this point because they're trying to inflict as much damage as possible to our critical infrastructure.

So medical equipment being part of that. But they're targeting, you know, we're seeing across all of the sectors, energy sector, you know, water treatment facilities, even hospitals. They're targeting them specifically trying to cause any type of outage. And what we know about this specific group called Hendala is that they're linked to the intelligence group, the ministry within Iran, and they're really focused on Iranian initiatives. And with this one specifically, if you look at normal ransomware, for example, normally you can pay a fine or pay a fee and you can get your files back. Iran's purely looking at destruction efforts. They gave no way of recovery in this specific instance. And this is probably one of many to come over the next several days and weeks as it continues to escalate from a war.

warfare perspective, using this as a method to try to down a lot of things. So how does this match up with past Iranian cyber attacks, be it from Hindella or other agencies that have connections to the Ayatollah and the supreme leader? That's a great question. Normally, when Iran attacks, it's for political purposes. It's to push a specific narrative or geopolitical policy for them. It was very heavy during the nuclear discussions, during Operation Midnight Fury. But they've never really crossed the lines where they're actually doing destructive types of capabilities, actually shutting companies down. So this is definitely a clear escalation from Iran.

And this is honestly one of the first ones I think I've ever seen from a foreign nation actually causing destructive natures. Now, we'll see it from North Korea. Well, they'll do ransomware and things like that. But always with the ability to recover, never really touting that line of the military cyber warfare game where you're collecting for military purposes or intelligence purposes or to get a foothold. One of the major concerns is if China goes into Taiwan, you know, China has a large foothold into our critical infrastructure. will cause chaos here, but they never ever crossed that line, whereas we're seeing this with Iran and continues to escalate more and more.

Where do you think things go from here? And for companies or even individuals in the United States, are there things that we should be doing right now to try and protect ourselves and our phones, our laptops, things of that nature? That's a great question. We've known for a long time that our critical infrastructure is a massive hole in cybersecurity. And so the cybersecurity infrastructure and security agent, which is a federal government agency has been focusing on critical infrastructure for quite a long time, preparing for just this scenario. The issue is over 87% of critical infrastructure is private sector-owned. So working with companies that are dealing with 40, 50, 60-year-old technologies becomes very difficult

to protect. And it really only takes, you know, one specific exposure or vulnerability or user clicking on an email from a phishing link, which I ran commonly does, for this type of thing to look out. And so, you know, my advice to enterprise right now is to be hyper-vigilant, regardless of what industry vertical you're in. They seem to be going after pretty much anybody they can to inflict damage. So hyper awareness, locking things down as fast as you possibly can as of right now and kind of waiting this out. For personal use, I always heavily recommend multi-factor authentication. It's a quick setting you can do in your financial institution, on your social media accounts, on your phones. You've probably experienced it before if you get a text message on your phone

to enter in that one-time pin to log in. That really secures you about 96, 97% of the way for most of the attacks that we see out there. And Enterprise needs to implement this as well. Over 70% of enterprises don't have this feature enabled. So one you could quickly do saves a lot of headaches in the future. David Kennedy, thank you so much for your insights, your analysis, and your advice. Really important stuff. We appreciate you. Thank you. And we are back in a moment with new details tonight on the search for Nancy Guthrie. The sheriff opening up for the first time about whether investigators think she could have been targeted. Plus, dangerous storms on the move, blinding dust and hurricane force winds toppling tractor trailers, massive trees crushing homes, plus the snowstorm catching the D.C. area by surprise. Stay with us.

We are back tonight with new revelations in the search for Nancy Guthrie. NBC's Liz Croyd spoke with the sheriff who for the first time says, while they are not disclosing it, they have an idea of motive. Tonight, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos giving an update on the search. for Nancy Guthrie nearly six weeks since her disappearance. Do you think that this suspect could strike again, whoever did this? Well, absolutely. We believe we know why he did this and we believe that it was targeted, but we can't, we're not 100% sure of that. And so it'd be silly to tell people, yeah, don't worry about it. You're not his target. Don't think for a minute that because it happened

to the Guthrie family, you're safe. No, keep your wits about you. We pressed Nanos about that potential motive. There is something that's come out in the investigation that gives you a sense of motive here and why this person did this? You know, I think it's come out from day one. I think from day one, we had some strong beliefs

about what happened, and those beliefs haven't diminished. Do you believe it was a burglary gone wrong? I'm not going to get into those theories. We have our beliefs. Everybody else has theirs. Nano says he's intentionally withholding their theory and other details in the case, citing the integrity of the investigation. He confirmed investigators have been asking about potential internet issues the night of Nancy's abduction and said they're looking into the possibility a Wi-Fi jammer could have been used or if there was some other electrical disruption that night. The sheriff also says he's still hopeful the DNA found in the home will lead to the suspect.

Liszt's NBC News. And now to the powerful storms striking from coast to coast. Just a day after those devastating tornadoes decimated parts of Illinois and Indiana. I'm Maggie Vespa in the storm zone. Tonight, just when you thought winter had thawed heavy snow slamming the mid-Atlantic. In Richmond, Virginia, temperatures plummeting nearly 60 degrees in 24 hours after hitting a record high of 89 just yesterday. The wild weather stretching coast to coast. Multiple trucks overturned on a Wyoming highway experiencing high winds.

Ooh, this is not good. This is not good. In Colorado, dust storms so severe, drivers had to pull over. This semi flipped on its side. In Washington state, severe winds bringing a large tree down onto this car, authorities confirming one person was killed. Violent storms also wreaking havoc down south. Heavy winds and rain in Louisiana, knocking down trees and power lines, turning them into roadblocks. In Mississippi, firefighters using chainsaws to free this driver. Dron video showing trees toppled onto homes. This after Tuesday's fatal tornado outbreak slammed the Midwest.

The governors of Illinois and Indiana touring damage as high. Cleanup crews swarm. We're devastated. There's too many people that are really need of help. And so many people in this community tonight trying to kickstart the recovery process. I mean, look down here, you see like this microwave, you see this bike. They've been trying to organize their belongings into piles all day. And this family doing so amid immense grief because this house back here, that's family tells us where Ed and Arlene Kuzlowski died.

The couple killed in Thursday's storm. So they like so much. many other families tonight are just cleaning up. Allison. Maggie Vespa, thank you. And still to come tonight, the FBI joining the search for a retired Air Force General went missing nearly two weeks ago. More learning about the investigation as speculation swirls about the secrets he may have

known. We're back with a mysterious disappearance in New Mexico. Investigators asking the public for help as the FBI searches for retired Air Force General who used to oversee billions of. dollars in classified U.S. military research. NBC News national correspondent Morgan Chesky has the details. Tonight, a growing search in New Mexico's high desert, crews scouring a rugged landscape to find a missing Air Force general. Authorities believe William McCasteland may have been wearing this shirt when he disappeared from his Albuquerque home nearly two weeks ago. I've seen

dozens of law enforcement crawling through the hills, seen drones, seen horses, even the helicopter was out. sharing its unknown where the 68-year-old was headed or what he was wearing, appearing to take hiking boots, his wallet, and a 38-caliber revolver, but leaving other personal belongings. McCaslin retired following a high-ranking, high-clearance military career, from directing space-based laser projects to overseeing thousands working inside labs at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, long rumored to house extraterrestrial debris despite repeated Air Force denials. Amid speculation, McCaslin's wife, posting, while he had access to some highly classified programs and information, he retired from the Air Force almost 13 years ago and has only had very commonly held clearances since.

It seems quite unlikely that he was taken to extract very dated secrets from him. Tonight authorities asking hundreds who live nearby to check home security videos from February 27th, stressing this remains a missing person's case. Anytime someone goes missing and somewhere that they know, you wonder what else is going on beyond that. And Morgan Chesky joins us now. Morgan, I understand we are learning new information tonight. Yeah, that's right, Allison. In fact, authorities just put out an updated bit of information here within a short time ago saying that they do believe that while he did leave several items inside his home, such as his watch, such as his cell phone, they say that there were several key items missing, that being a hiking boots, as well as a 38 caliber revolver. Again, they do not know where he may have headed or the reason why. But they did initially issue this as a silver alert, which has to have a medical condition tied to it. His wife very clear here, Alison, that he does not have dementia or suffer from Alzheimer's.

Alison. NBC's Morgan Chesky with that late breaking update. Thank you. Not in Top Stories News Feed. The Army is getting more information. about thieves who allegedly stole four military drones from Port Campbell in Kentucky. Army officials say they're offering a $5,000 reward for details about these two masked suspects. They also posted photos of these vehicles that may have been involved in the crime, which initially happened in November. And new data out today shows the lengths many Americans are going to cover health care costs.

A poll from West Health and Gallup reveals about a third of U.S. adults say they've made tradeoffs in the past year because of health care costs, doing things like rationing, medications, skipping meals or borrowing money. Another survey found some people reported putting off major life events, including buying a home, retirement, and having a child. And a follow-up on the World Baseball Classic and some good news for Team USA. Italy decimated Mexico last night with a 9-to-1 victory. This ended a day of uncertainty for the Americans who lost to Italy on Tuesday, causing their fate to be placed in the hands of the Italian team. With Italy's victory, Team USA is moving on to the quarter finals facing Canada tomorrow night.

To Los Angeles now, where a landmark trial focused on social media is coming to a close. Tech Giants' meta and YouTube in the hot seat accused of getting kids addicted to scrolling. NBC's Brian Chung has the latest. Should social media companies pay up for getting young users hooked? That's one of the questions at the center of a first-of-its-kind social media trial wrapping up today in Los Angeles, where a jury will have to decide if meta and YouTube are liable for getting young children and teens addicted to social media and developing mental health issues as a result. Inside court, jurors heard from experts, engineers, and even

met a CEO Mark Zuckerberg, while outside court parents who lost children to mental health issues made their appeal. We want to see accountability. We want to hear the truth. We want to see the truth. The 20-year-old plaintiff identified by her initials KGM is accusing social media companies of hurting children and young teens by deliberately designing their platforms to be more addictive. Both sides making their case in closing arguments. I close an argument. I'm ready. The plaintiff's lawyer telling the jury, these are Trojan horses. They look wonderful and great, but you invite them in and they take over. I want the jury to get ready to deliberate. When they deliberate, I want them to slap those companies crazy. Both companies pushing back against accusations on the stand last month.

YouTube's Vice President of Engineering testifying that the video platform is not designed to maximize time. In its closing remarks, Meta arguing that the plaintiff had a host of other childhood challenges separate from her social media use. KGM's trial is the first in over 1600 cases against the social media giants and could set a major legal precedent if the jury sides with her. We could see settlements with the other plaintiffs with other people who want to sue. We could also see a forced change of the design features of these apps. And we could also see a major payout here, damages that are significant. As families closely watching this case say, the algorithm need to change, but again, I'll say this forever until they change their heart.

They won't change anything with their companies. And Brian Chung joins us now on set. So Brian, realistically, when do we think we could see a verdict here? Well, listen, it could be as early as tomorrow. But again, there's a lot of evidence for the jury to digest here. So it could go into next week. But regardless of how this ends, legal experts telling me that, it's likely that an appeal will get filed, meaning that the story is far from over. All right, NBC's Brian Chung. Thank you. We appreciate it. And coming up on top story, The Chef at one of the world's greatest restaurants stepping down the alleged years of abuse that led to his downfall.

Plus, the popular protein bar company accused of hiding the real calorie and fat counts from its customers will break down the legal battle. Next. Back now with a scandal rocking the high-end restaurant world, The chef behind one of the most celebrated culinary spots in the world is stepping down after allegations of abuse resurfaced ahead of his highly anticipated L.A. pop-up. NBC's Dana Griffin has more. Tonight, a scandal involving world-renowned chef, Renee Red Zeppi, reaching a boiling point. I'm sorry everyone is in this situation. The celebrity chef announcing he's stepping down as leader of Noma, the acclaimed Danish restaurant he led for 23 years.

It comes after abuse allegations against Red Zeppi resurfaced this week. No, my shame on you. As the famed restaurant kicks off a 16-week pop-up in Los Angeles. Turns out arriving in L.A., I really like the sun. Charging diners $1,500 a plate. Former Noma chef Jason White, among those speaking out. Workers being pushed beyond their limits. Workers being punched and choked.

The New York Times publishing similar accusations in an explosive report this week, outlining allegations of physical abuse between 2009 and 2017. The restaurant industry has long been given a pass on this violence. Reporter Julia Moskin says she and her team interviewed 35 former NOMA employees. Unfortunately, when the chef got really angry,

he really felt like he needed to punish the chefs physically. The New York Times reporter says they have not uncovered any new allegations since 2017. So far, the informal allegations have not resulted in any lawsuits or criminal charges. The famed chef has issued public apologies before. In a 2015 essay, he acknowledged he's been a bully for a large part of my career and vowed to do better moving forward. Hey, Chef. Noma, the three Michelin-starred restaurant, was repeatedly ranked number one in the world. The Copenhagen location closed in 2024, but Red Zepi's

rise was just beginning. Featured in a 2024 Apple TV docus series. Food is never just food. Even appearing on the hit culinary drama The Bear, the 48-year-old who has not returned NBC's request for comment now appears to be turning down the heat. I'm not running away from any responsibility on how I have been. I am not. I know how I have been. Many of you have been here long enough to have experienced how we've gone through this change. You'll see me around, but not in the way you've seen me around for the way you've seen me around for the the past 23 years.

And Dana Griffin joins us now from L.A. Dana, many restaurant kitchens, they are high pressure. Could this renewed spotlight be the breaking point for this kind of behavior? Absolutely. I asked food critic Julia Moskin, who wrote the New York Times article about the same sentiment. She pointed to the fact that several chefs have publicly praised Renade Red Zeppie for taking responsibility, not condemning the behavior specifically, but just like fraternity or football hazing behavior that was once accepted,

it has changed over the past decades. And so she notes that this younger generation of chefs will likely be the ones to help shift this culinary culture. And she also said that customers can play a huge role by not complaining so much about their food and being willing to pay more. That can sort of quell this quest for culinary perfection, which surprisingly helps to perpetuate some of this abuse.

Ellison? Interesting stuff. NBC's Dana Griffin, Thank you so much. We appreciate it. Now to a new lawsuit causing uproar online. David Protein Under Fire after a recent suit claims the brands, mega-popular bars have significantly more fat and calories than advertised. NBC Stephanie Gosk spoke with the founder who maintains the claims are not true. Wildly popular David Protein bars under fire.

What the hell, David Barr? A new class action lawsuit alleging the calories and fat in each bar are way more. than what is claimed on the nutrition label. I'm devastated. The suit says the bars have roughly 80% more calories and nearly four times the fat, like the red velvet flavor. The label says it has 150 calories and 2.5 grams of fat. According to the lawsuit, independent test show it actually has 271 calories and 12.31 grams of fat. Peter Rahal is the founder of David Barr.

Are people getting more calories than they think they're getting from David bars? So the simple answer is no. It's a frivolous case where they're using the wrong measurement and method to measure calories. David bars are made with an ingredient that is not actually absorbed by the body. It's really a special ingredient that allows the food to taste like fat but doesn't have the caloric impact. It's called EPG, a modified plant-based oil. When you eat it and it goes into your body, you don't digest it. Because you don't digest it, you don't absorb the calories from that ingredient.

Rahal says the company complied with FDA regulations when it developed David Protein bars, which exploded in popularity through social media. Now Rahal says he's ready to fight for its reputation. And Stephanie Gosk joins us now on set. So Stephanie, David Protein, they are planning to. fight this, right? Do we know exactly what they're going to do? Yeah, they're fighting it. Definitely. They think it's going to be thrown out of court. And the next time they're in court is April 30th.

They're super proud of this product. They say 75% of the calories in this bar come from protein. There's no other product out like it on the market. So we'll see where it goes. All right, NBC, Stephanie Gossk. Thank you so much. We appreciate it. When we come back, how NASA knocked an asteroid off its course and how it could one day protect planet Earth.

Plus, Beatlemania from Ringo's drumhead to Paul McCartney's lyric sheet. We'll take a look at the iconic memorabilia going up for auction. Stay with us. A scene from the movie Armageddon as Bruce Willis attempts to stop an asteroid headed for Earth. But tonight, we are learning NASA's real-life tests to deflect an asteroid was a success. New research shows NASA's dart spacecraft smashed in asteroid in September of 2022, changing its orbit. So to help us break this down, we are joined by former astronaut Mike Massimino. Mike, no one better than you to be here to help us break this down.

One, it's kind of crazy that this happened in 2022, and we are just figuring out about it, but as we are figuring out about it, we also have video showing this moment, in essence, of that asteroid being smashed. Can you take us through it and talk to us about what you see in this? Yeah, so what we're seeing here is the, this is a camera. It looks like it was, I think this is the actual camera view that was on the spacecraft, the dart spacecraft, as it approached a pair of asteroids. Now one was larger than the other, so the smaller one was in orbit around the larger one, and they rammed the spaceship into that smaller asteroid to see if they could deflect its orbit, to change its orbit. Simulating, I mean, it was a real thing that happened, but kind of a simulation

test of what would happen if there was an asteroid headed toward Earth, could we knock into it and change its trajectory so that it wouldn't do us any harm? That was a lot. the idea behind this test they did. So when we're talking about this idea of smashing, they're not trying to obliterate it, they're trying to move it. NASA released this animation showing the way they say it changed, right? Yeah, they were able, they successfully changed it. So here we're looking at the animation, it looks like here.

So they knocked, you can see the, so the lighter line is the old orbit, and they knocked into the asteroid and it changed its orbit, it shortened it a little bit. Wow. So that's all you want to do. You don't want to blow it up at somebody, you could, you can, you can, you can, you can, create more hazard, more debris, and you don't want to change it so much that it'll maybe do something you don't want to do, but you want to change it so that it will knock it off its trajectory and change it enough that it won't do any harm. This is another simulation there. So this is make-believe, but this is

a simulation of what happened. So a lot of debris scattered from that object and changed its orbit. So it was actually two things that they've now discovered with the new information they have after studying this impact for the last couple of years, is that it wasn't just the initial bang that they had with knocking into it, but also you saw that a jet coming out of it. It was kind of almost like a jet coming out of it, and it also added to the change in motion of the asteroid. And that bump, I mean, even when we were watching that animation replay,

it looks like such an insignificant move-off course, but it would be impactful if we were in some scenario, which I'm curious if you think that is something we should be worrying about where an asteroid was headed towards us. How effective would something like this? It looks like it would be very effective. Things are moving so quickly, you know, thousands of miles an hour, that even just a little push to it, if you can impact it enough

and a little bit of a change will change its momentum, change its orbit, that's significant. What they released today with the recent, the new information, is that not only did it change the relative orbit of this small object, toward the larger object, the two asteroids, but looking at them together, it changed their orbit around our. our sun and that's what's significant. So they just recently, they were looking at that data for a long time, because that meant not just to each other, but also to the sun itself. So that was significant. As far as like how it might help us someday, we have bigger issues to worry about. But, you know,

the chances of an asteroid hitting us, a smaller size or a little, you know, maybe every few hundred years, again, the planet is mainly water and even a larger asteroid might not do that much, damage, even it did come down in a populated area. A large one that would kind of take out an urban area. That's, you know, maybe every 11,000 years or so, they think. But the one you really got to worry about is the, you know, the extinction one. There comes a big, giant one that comes in. That, they calculate only happens about once every 300 million years. The chance is anyone particularly years, like one out of 300,000. But why take the chance? You know, this is something. We learned a lot from how we could protect ourselves with this test that they had. And so if

We are concerned in the future of an impact like that. We do now have a method that we think would work. And we're learning a lot about asteroids, which are very interesting objects as well. Fascinating stuff. Former astronaut himself, Mike Massimino. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me, Elsie. Okay, and finally tonight, fans are getting a closer look than usual at the group that changed music forever.

We're talking about the Beatles. Rare and priceless items are up for auction in New York, including the drum Ringo Star used on the Ed Sullivan. Sullivan show that opened the floodgates for Beatlemania in the U.S. Here's Sam Brock on the fan frenzy and the bids. There's some of the most iconic songs in music history. And tonight at Christie's collectors will have a rare chance to bid on Beatles memorabilia. And when they came on the screaming from everybody's apartment was so loud. It just, oh my God.

Do you feel like you have a spiritual connection to the Beatles? I do. I do. I think we are standing in the best Beatles collection outside of one of the members of the Beatles themselves. Music to the years of Beatles mega fan, Mikey Urugula. Great to do this. I love the Beatles, man. I appreciate being here. Whose first glimpse of the Fab Four was on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964. The Beatles! And now finds himself face to face with the same drumhead used by Ringo Starr. And it impacted the life of so many people. There are tickets from the Beatles' first performance at Shea Stadium.

This I can afford. All of the auction items come from a massive collection compiled by late Indianapolis cult's owner Jim Ursay. Expected to generate more than $30 million, but the bevy of Beatles' treasures. This is the song that's to sing-along. Like Paul McCartney's original, Hey Jude Lyric sheet is what has fans singing a special tune. To let her into your heart, then we can start to make it better. Sam Brock, NBC News, New York. Sam Brock, thank you.

And thank you for watching Top Story. For Tom Yamis, I'm Ellison Barber in New York. Stay right there. More news is on the way.