Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, September 18, 2025

Episode Date: September 19, 2025

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

Tonight, 24 hours after ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel's show, the new development's just in. The dramatic move taking the comedian and host off the air after his comments about Charlie Kirk and the president. Late-night legend David Letterman calling the suspension, quote, ridiculous. President Trump trashing Kimmel and suggesting broadcasters who criticize him should have their licenses pulled and why the FCC chair is hinting at more changes to the media landscape. Also tonight, the new details into the shootout that left several police officers dead. The man who ambushed the officers accused of stalking a woman at the home where he opened fire. The growing mystery after a man was found unresponsive on an epic universe roller coaster,

a medical examiner saying the 32-year-old died from multiple blunt impact injuries. The Hollywood Hills home sources say is connected to singer David, searched by police after the body of a missing team was found inside his car. what detectives are now looking for. Chaos in France has hundreds of thousands of protesters take to the streets over budget cuts. Police and riot gear deploying tear gas, the Eiffel Tower forced to shut down. Wild video capturing a woman trying to catch a train by crawling under a stopped train car, the warning to others tonight.

And Ringo Starr, the artist, one of the biggest names in music drumming up a new career with his paintings, we catch up with the former Beatle to discuss the new chapter of his life. Plus, the new lawsuit accusing Live Nation and Ticketmaster of unlawful resale tactics. So could you see big changes to your concert buying experience? Top story starts right now. And good evening. Tonight, the battle over late night turning into anything but a joke. ABC's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel over comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk

sparking a nationwide debate about whether free speech is under attack. Protesters demonstrating outside Disney's headquarters in Burbank, California, over their decision to pull the host from the airwaves. A string of celebrities, comedians, and politicians joining them in outrage. It seems like one of the only people we haven't heard from is Kimmel himself. The host for more than two decades of ABC's signature late-night broadcast has been an outspoken critic of President Trump for years. But some Republicans argue his jokes Monday night went too far. Public reaction has been mixed. We're just in a particularly scary time where free speech is in, it's in jeopardy, and I think he was punished because of that.

I don't think that people should criticize, you know, especially if someone got murdered, right? That's a really sad story. Hopefully there will be a solution for all of this, and maybe he'll get a chance to kind of absolve himself at these things. Now, ABC's move is part of this year's dramatic shift in the landscape of late 9. It was just two months ago that Stephen Colbert announced his show had been canceled and will come off the air next year. Only two major networks late-night hosts remain unscathed Jimmy Fallon and Seth Myers of NBC. But in the wake of Kimmel's suspension, President Trump suggesting they should be next. And the president today escalating his fight against broadcasters saying their licenses could be pulled, but leaving it up to the FCC commissioner.

I read someplace that the networks were 97% against me. They give me wholly bad publicity or press. I mean, they're getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr. I think Brendan Carr is outstanding. He's a patriot. He loves our country, and he's a tough guy.

So we'll have to see. Now, in just a moment, we'll speak to a deadline reporter. that publication breaking a lot of news on this story tonight. They have new details on the phone call when Kimmel learned of his suspension. But we begin tonight with Liz Kreutz, who leads us off from Hollywood. Tonight protests outside Disney headquarters as Fallout grows from the company's abrupt decision to indefinitely pull Jimmy Kimmel's late night show off the air. Condemnation, Swift, from Democrats in Washington to Hollywood heavyweights.

You can't go around firing somebody because you, you're fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval office. That's just not how this works. But President Trump and many of his supporters praising the decision by ABC and its parent company Disney. Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person. He had very bad ratings and they should have fired him a long time ago. So, you know, you can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent. The president later suggesting broadcast licenses could be taken away by the FCC. This all began Monday after Kimmel said this during his opening monologue.

The Maga Gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it. After criticism from conservatives, Brendan Carr, the chairman of the FCC, threatened action against the network. Disney needs to see some change here. Hours later, Neckstar, which owns more than 200 local TV stations nationwide and is currently seeking FCC approval for a merger announced it would stop airing Kimmel on all of its ABC affiliates.

Soon after, ABC said it was suspending the show. Now, Sinclair, another major television group saying they won't air Kimmel's show again unless he offers a direct apology to Kirk's family and donates to Turning Point USA. The issue that arose here where lots and

lots of people were upset was not a joke. It was not making fun or pilloring me or the administration or the president. It was a appearing to directly mislead the American public about a significant fact. But Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat on the FCC panel, says the government is suppressing free speech. This administration has weaponized the licensing power of the FCC in order to pressure broadcasters. They want only to have coverage in the way that they want to have it.

And this is a clear violation of the First Amendment. The move by ABC comes two months after CBS. announced it's canceling the late show with Stephen Colbert, another Trump critic, and amid multiple lawsuits President Trump has filed against news organizations. In a statement, former President Obama slamming the White House, writing, after years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like. Okay, Liz Kreutz joins us tonight live from Hollywood outside the

studios. Liz, I know you have some new reporting tonight on a U.S. Senator who has spoken with Kimmel? Yeah, Tom, I mean, it's been really notable that we have not heard anything from Jimmy Kimmel since this suspension. He has remained silent and hasn't commented publicly, but Nevada Senator Jackie Rosen went on MSNBC and said that she has spoken with him. They are friends. She says that what he said is that he is most worried about his staff right now and also his ability in the future to do political commentary, Tom. Okay, that is a huge development right there. Do we have any idea yet, and I know it's very early,

if Jimmy Kimmel will be returning and if so, when? Yeah, Tom, that's the big question. ABC has also remained silent. They have not put out anything other than the one-sentence statement they released yesterday where they said that they were suspending Jimmy Kimmel's show indefinitely. So we do not know when or if the show will be back on the air. You can see we're on very busy Hollywood Boulevard right now in L.A. A lot of stuff happening. But behind me, this is the theater where Jimmy Kimmel films. And there are supporters of Jimmy Kimmel gathering now calling on Disney to put him back on the air. Tom. Okay, Liz Kroits for us leading us off. Liz, we thank you. For more in the future of late night, I want to bring in Dominic Patton. He's executive editor at Deadline.com covering the biggest legal news in Hollywood. Dominic, deadline has broken a lot of news tonight on this story. So we wanted to have you on. I want to start with.

some of your new reporting in your piece for deadline on the behind-the-scene details of this decision by Disney and how Jimmy Kimmel found out. Walk our viewers through what you've learned. Well, what we've learned, Tom, is that this was a long process that happened very quickly yesterday. As it became clear that there were some issues from Brendan Carr, meetings broke out all over the higher levels of Disney, including CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment boss Dana Walden, a person who is tipped being one of the contenders to be the next. CEO of Disney. There was a lot of back and forth with Jimmy Kimmel and with what Kimmel wanted to do next. Kimmel that we understand wanted to speak on this matter yet again on his show last

night, which literally was getting guests driving down to the studio on Hollywood Boulevard. Audiences hadn't been let in, but they were going to be let in. They were intending on making a show last night. But eventually, Jimmy, what he wanted to say and what Disney wanted him to say, or rather what they didn't want him to say, just simply clashed. And the decision was made by Iger and Walden to some dissent, we understand, among the Disney ranks, to bench him for the time being. Dana Walden made the call. It was a reasonable conversation. We talked to one person who said it was business-like and polite, and that was it. Shut down, done. Now what's interesting here is, and you guys mentioned it before, this is an indefinite preemption. It's

not as it being termed as a suspension. But what is the future? We understand that there are efforts to see if they can find a way to get Jimmy back on. Clearly, he's been the Oscar host a number of times. He even hosts who wants to be a millionaire, which he still does host, we understand. So the question now becomes is, does Jimmy Kimmel want to return under what circumstances? You talked about in the intro about how Sinclair want a full apology and a donation to Turning Point USA. Now, of course, some people will say, but Jimmy Kimmel didn't say anything to insult Charlie Kirk. He was mocking Donald Trump's response to the death of the MAGA activist, a tragic shooting we all know, and we all have to acknowledge. So the question

is here is what is the line, what line will be crossed, and when will it be crossed? That I think is still very fluid, my friend. So, Dominic, if you look at this, there's probably three factors, right? And I'm curious at sort of what was the tipping point? You have the stations that some say could be holding Disney hostage, right? You mentioned the different station groups there. You have the context in the history of this, right, where ABC has already paid out the president for his library north of $15 million. And then you have the comments from the FCC chair. Was it all three that combination together, or was it sort of one that pushed Disney to pull Jimmy Kim off the air? Tom, you're going to hate me for saying this, but it's both. I think it definitely

is culminative, you know, with the ABC $15 million payout late last year over Donald Trump's lawsuit over some ill-considered, let's acknowledge it, ill-considered remarks by George Stephanopoulos. That was the beginning of the media, as they say, bending the knee, kissing the ring. We've seen many of them since, many more may be to come. Right now, there's a lot of fear, I think, among the media industries of the real-term, bottom-line punishment the government can hand out, investigations, regulatory holdups, et cetera, et cetera. I do think Brendan Carr, who, as recently as 2022, made a point of saying that President Biden was right, the political satire should never be brought under government regulation, that it's a part of who we are as Americans, has clearly

changed his tune and gone full-on red-hat mega over the past several months since be appointed chair of the FCC. You know, his remarks carry a lot of weight, a lot of fear. And listen to the tone. We can do this the hard way or the easy way. Look, we all know who these guys are playing to. It's an audience of one, which is the president. And the president likes tough talk. Look at what he said about Brendan Carr. Patriot, tough guy. Tough guy is the biggest, biggest compliment you can get in Trump land. And he got it. So I think into that sense, it's a success for Brendan Carr. As for what had the House of Cards of Jimmy Kimmel live collapse, at least for the time being,

many different factors. But certainly, the fact that Disney had some of its major affiliate owners. You talked about how Next Star owns 200 stations across the country. 32 of those are ABC affiliates. Now, in some medium markets like Nashville and in some smaller markets, but they're still there. And of course, with Sinclair getting involved, this actually does prove a problem. Will Jimmy Kimmel come back despite Next Star and Sinclair? I don't know, but I do think that there's a move to hope that it'll happen in some form of another.

And then you're going to have a whole new form of backlash. Dominic, I know you may be not be able to answer this right now, but you've had these high-level conversations with your sources. You've been doing this a long time. What does your gut tell you? Does Jimmy Kimmel come back to late night? You know, Tom, I trust my gut sometimes, but I also trust what is the bottom line. There's a reason they call it show business and not show friends.

And I think ultimately this is going to be, like Paramount says, though no one believes them, about the axing of Stephen Colbert's show, that it was all about the finances. I think what a lot of people are waiting to see is what happens next with Jimmy Fallon and Seth? Where are the weaponry and the armory of the federal government going to be unleashed on them for their remarks? Today, Jimmy Fallon was supposed to appear at a conference in New York, 30 minutes before he was supposed to go on stage, announced that he was. was not appearing. So I think that there's a lot of moving pieces here. I don't want to make a prediction, but I say that you can bet either way, and you might be right or you might be wrong.

Dominic Patton for us, we will continue to cover the story. And when we have answers, we will bring them to our viewers. Dominic, we thank you. We're going to turn out of Florida where an investigation is underway after a man was found unresponsive at the Epic Universe theme park in Orlando. Authorities say a man in his 30s died after riding the roller coaster called Stardust Racers. The park is owned by NBC Universal, also the parent company of NBC News. I want to bring in George Elise, who's been following this closely for us. George, what are we learning tonight? Yeah, Tom, it's a tragic story and one with many questions. The medical examiner tonight there in Florida identifying the guest as Kevin Rodriguez Zavala saying he was

riding that roller coaster there at Universal Epic Universe. And this is the key thing here. The medical examiner saying the cause of death was multiple blunt impact injuries but ruled it in accident. Now, the Orange County Sheriff's Officer saying that off-duty deputy He responded to the park last night when they got word that there was an unresponsive guest on board that roller coaster, later taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. We have not seen many talk from guests. We have not seen any video beyond what our affiliate there got of the roller coaster. There you see some of the attention there from law enforcement.

But again, the key thing here right now, Tom, is, again, the identification of that guests. And again, that cause of death. And more importantly, they are ruling it an accident at this time, Tom. And then, George, how is the park response? Yeah, so Universal putting out a statement to NBC News saying, in part, we are devastated by this tragic event and extend our sincerest sympathies to the guest's loved one. We are fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation. And it's important to note here, they say that roller coaster does remain close tonight. Tom.

Okay. George Solis, George, we thank you. Now to the new details in that Pennsylvania shooting that left several police officers dead. Officials say the suspect was at the home of the woman. he was accused of stalking when he ambushed those officers. NBC's Aaron McLaughlin reports that attack is shaking the tight-knit rural community. Tonight, authorities identified the suspect, 24-year-old Matthew James Ruth, as the man who opened fire, killing three police officers and critically injuring two, before being shot dead.

Tonight, the officers killed have been named Sergeant Cody Becker, Detective Mark Baker, and Detective Isaiah Emanheiser. Each of these men represented the very best of policing. The district attorney says the ambush lasted two minutes. The officers had been searching for the suspect inside the Pennsylvania home of his ex-girlfriend and her family, who had already left the scene for their safety. Detective Emanheiser discovered that the door was unlocked, immediately opening the door. The actor repeatedly fired at the officers with multiple rounds from an Air 15 style. rifle, all four detectives went down.

The firefight continued outside, where police say Ruth shot a deputy sheriff. An eyewitness says he saw police searching that barn. All of a sudden, he heard shots fired. You can see there the bloodstoke pavement. Fire officials have just arrived to clean it up. Authorities say police had been searching for Ruth. According to court documents, Ruth's ex-girlfriend

and her mom called police the night before, saying she saw Ruth in the driveway. in the driveway, armed with an AR-15-style rifle slung across his chest and dressed in camouflage, looking into her window with binoculars, adding she suspected him of setting her pickup truck on fire the month before. The horrific attack in a quiet farming community. It's terrible. You know, and what are you going to do? Never go out. You can't do that. As a community struggles to make sense of yet another senseless act of gun violence. Okay, Aaron joins us now live from York County, Pennsylvania. Aaron, what do we know about the conditions of the two officers who were critically

injured? Well, Tom, the condition of one of the officers appears to be improving, now listed by the hospital as being in satisfactory condition. The other officer remains in critical but stable condition. Authorities are not releasing their names at this time. Tom. Aaron McLaughlin for us, Aaron, we thank you for that. We turn out a President Trump's historic visit to the U.K. The president touting new deals for massive investments in the U.S., but also revealing he may be worlds apart with America's key ally on Russia and Gaza. Here's NBC's Gabe Gutierrez. Tonight, President Trump heading back to Washington following a historic second-state visit to the U.K. After a royal farewell, First Lady Melania Trump touring a library with the Queen and joining

the Princess of Wales visiting young scouts. While the president, met with British Prime Minister Kier Starrmer, signing a multi-billion-dollar tech deal. The deals and investment that you're announcing today break all records. But then, thornier issues emerged. The U.K. plans to recognize a Palestinian state next week. I have a disagreement with the prime minister on that score. One of our few disagreements, actually. President Trump has said that would reward Hamas. Well, simply, I want the hot.

is released now, right now, not one, two. We'll give you three more tomorrow. We have to remember October 7th, one of the worst, most violent days in the history of the world. As for the war in Ukraine, Starmer urging Trump to crack down more on Vladimir Putin. We have to put extra pressure on Putin. He has let me down. I mean, he's killing many people. While the president is urging European countries to stop buying Russian oil. If the price of oil comes down, Putin's going to drop out. He's going to have no choice. He's going to drop out of that war. And tonight, the White House says Marine One made an unscheduled landing due to a hydraulic issue. But the president and first lady safely boarded another helicopter. Tom.

Okay, Gabe Gutierrez for us. And we're back in a moment with authorities. Searching a home connected to the popular TikTok singer David after the body of a teen girl was found inside his Tesla. Plus, the new lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation, why the government is accusing them of duping consumers and performers with illegal ticket resale tactics. And Ringo Starr's new act, the Beatles icon, has always marched in the beat of his own drum. But now he's taking his spin at a very different form of art. His candid interview with our Chloe Malas ahead. We're back now with the story we've been following out of L.A., the body of a teenage girl

found in the trunk of a Tesla belonging to the singer David, authority seen searching a Hollywood Hills home connected to the singer, though they have not yet confirmed any connection between David and the victim. NBC's Emily Aketa has the latest. Singer and social media sensation David was in the midst of a global tour when Los Angeles police made a shocking discovery

in an impounded Tesla registered to him. The severely decomposed remains of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas, who was reported missing last year. As of now, investigators have not classified her death as a crime, but were seen overnight searching a home connected to David in Hollywood Hills, not far from where the Tesla was originally abandoned, according to four law enforcement sources. Those sources say they were seeking any digital devices, security cameras, phones, computers that could connect the teen to the location or reveal a

relationship, if any, to David. Authorities have not yet confirmed the specific connection between the house and the singer. A spokesperson for the singer whose legal name is David Anthony Burke has said he is fully cooperating with the authorities while out on tour. The was concert last night in Seattle was suddenly canceled. Born in New York City and raised in Houston, David only started making music in the last several years. Initially as a way, he said, to avoid copyright issues on video game montages he would share. Songs like Romantic Homicide and Here With Me going viral on TikTok, where he is 3.8 million followers. 20-year-old reacting to his rise to fame earlier this year. It's definitely very, very euphoric.

Now, in a new spotlight, as police try to piece together how a 15-year-old's remains ended up in his car. Okay, with that, Emily, Aketa joins us. Emily, so we know the show was canceled last night. There's a show tomorrow. Do we know if he's going to perform? So there are a couple shows this week. It's still not clear if those will be going on as of now. They are still on as scheduled. But as we saw last night, it's pretty last minute nature. that they actually canceled them. We are not sure what his whereabouts, where he is currently at this moment, but we know a spokesperson forum has previously said that he is cooperating with authorities. I think one of the big outstanding questions at this point is the manner

of death, the cause of death, and we are waiting to hear from the medical examiner on that. But as you can imagine, that is a tall, difficult task at hand. We're talking about severely decomposed remains found in a body, found in a car. They had been there for an extended period of time. the LAPD, by the way, just telling us that they're following up on several leads regarding this death investigation. Okay, a terrible, terrible story, Emily, we thank you. When Top Story returns our ongoing series, cost of denial, what happens when you see a nurse but get charged for a doctor's visit are deep dive into the billing issues that are driving up premiums for everyone? And the former love is blind contested suing the show's producers and Netflix for unpaid wages,

claiming participants were subjected to inhumane working conditions, the latest in a string of legal troubles for reality TV shows. But first, top story's top moment, Idaho Grandma Sandy, surprised with tickets to see one of her favorite artist singer Conan Gray. This is the moment

granddaughter Barbara gave her the news. You're going to go see Cooney. Yes. I love that moment, but that was not the only surprise in store. Sandy getting the opportunity to meet the superstar

during his concert. Here tonight. help me pick the next song. I've got somebody's grandma. Somebody's grandma. Hi, Sandy. Hi, Sandy. What an incredible moment.

Wow. Gray even changing the lyrics to his song to include Sandy's name. A moment the whole family will never forget. That was so awesome. Stay with us. More news on the way. All right, we are back now with big news for concert fans. Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, are being sued by the FTC, accused of using, quote, bait-and-switch tactics and working hand-in-hand with scalpers to help them scoop up millions of dollars in tickets.

Scrutiny of the companies grew after sales for Taylor Swift's Ares Tour, crashed Ticketmaster's site. You may remember that. Here to break it down for us as NBC Biz and Tech reporter Emily Lour. So, Emily, let's dig into some. some of those bait-and-switch tactics we were just talking about here. When you go to Ticketmaster, you often see the tickets cost one thing and then suddenly they change. What's going on? Yeah, so that's deceptive pricing here, the FTC, suing Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, alleging that there's deceptive pricing and hidden fees, and we're going to show you an example here.

So let's say last year in March in Chicago, you wanted to buy two bad bunny tickets, a hot ticket. You go here, your Ticketmaster.com, $245 per ticket. you see your grand total right here, $490, and you're excited to go through, you check out. And once you get here, suddenly, that $490 turns into $662. So what they're talking about here is that those hidden fees, the deceptive pricing, and basically saying here that this is not really showing consumers what they're able to afford, what they're able to purchase as they go through, and those hidden fees here that, as we know, ever since, you know, 2022 with the big Eras Torre Taylor Swift, everyone saying that,

there were astronomical prices once they get through to checkout. And then talk to us about the role the bots are playing in this. Yeah, so here's another example we can show you here is that for several events, there usually is an agreement-made Ticketmaster and the artist as well on a ticket limit. So if you go to Ticketmaster.com, this is one example. This was a Weezer concert in 2024 in California. I went to that concert. Did you? We knew that.

That's why the FDC included that in their lawsuit here. And so that limit is per person. Now, this was also included in the lawsuit. here. So this is a list of brokers. These are the people who basically buy the tickets and then they resell them. And you can see, let's see an example right here, number 22. And so the number of accounts that this has is more than 4,000 accounts. This is one company, 4,000 accounts. And they bought that many tickets? More than 150,000 tickets. And that's for more than 2,000 events here. And so in comparison here, you know, the average consumer can only buy eight tickets. And this is,

you know, alleging here that Ticketmaster is allowing these brokers to go ahead. And And not only buy all these tickets, but then raise the price. When we say bots, though, are we actually talking about technology and apps, something they have that they're able to do this? Yeah, and there's been an increasing number of bots in recent years. I mean, it started with Bruce Springsteen several years ago. It blew up when the Ticketmaster website crashed with the Taylor Swift Eras tour. But yeah, it's increasingly happening that bots are able to do this, jack up the price, and make some of these events not affordable for the average consumer.

Emily Lorch, so great to have you here. We really understand this a lot better now. We thank you for that. Okay, we're going to turn now to Top Story's news feed following the assassination of Charlie Kirk. His widow, Erica Kirk, has been selected as the new CEO for Turning Point USA. The board said Charlie Kirk expressed that he wanted his wife to take over in the event of his death. Erica promising to make her husband's conservative youth organization, quote, the biggest thing that this nation has ever seen.

President Trump and Vice President Vance are planning to attend Kirk's memorial service Sunday. Federal officials now categorizing the event at the second highest level for federal security. And Illinois, shocking, in Illinois, I should say shocking video showing a person making a dangerous move to catch a train. Take a look at this. Here's the person running across the platform before crawling underneath the stop train, presumably to get to the other side of the tracks. The person in the video has not been identified. Police say it's a reminder that catching a train is not worth risking your life. Yeah, that is true.

And in Washington, a trail camera capturing a rare battle between a bald eagle and a coyote. Take a look at this. This is a weird one. So here's the standoff, the two animals facing off and fighting over a deer carcass, yummy. Here they appear to almost yell at one another before the bald eagle puffs its chest to block the coyote's path. It's unclear who stood victorious, but judging by this image, the coyote looks a little scared. All right. And big news tonight in the baseball world, Dodger star pitcher Clayton Kirshaw is retiring at the

end of the season. Kershaw calling in a career after spending 18 seasons with Los Angeles. He's set to make his final regular season start tomorrow night. Kershaw has three Cy Young Awards and Dodgers owner Mark Walter called Kershaw's career legendary. Okay, we turn out of some new legal drama facing Netflix and its hit show Love is Blind. Former contestant Stephen Richardson is suing the show and the producers and Netflix, alleging inhumane working conditions and claiming the show owes him unpaid wages. We should note we reached out to Netflix and the production company kinetic content but did not hear back. To help us understand it all, I'm joined tonight by NBC News Legal Analyst, Angela Senadella. Angela, walk us through what this contestant is

saying and why are they suing? So basically, he is saying that they are not being paid enough money and that they also were being treated inhumanely. And that's a problem because he is saying they are not volunteers, they're not independent contractors, but that they are according to the California definition of labor laws that they are technically employees. So look, when people go into work as an employee, they automatically have a lot of labor protections, things like minimum wage requirements, like mandatory meal breaks, and also overtime pay. But he allegedly and his contestants only received $1,000 per week for 20-hour work days, seven days a week, according to his allegations. And as a result, he's saying they were mistreated and should be paid all of that

overtime time. Does he have a strong case here? Look, I actually do think that he does, and that's because California labor laws are really strict. And maybe the biggest difference between whether or not you are an employee or an independent contractor in California comes down to how much control that workplace or that employer has over the work that you do. So look, I'm a lawyer. If I have multiple clients and I can do the work according to my own time frame, then I am not going to be an employee of one of my clients. But he is saying, They controlled everything throughout the day, that they controlled how much they ate, their meal breaks, and their entire schedule, which, according to him, means that they are employees. So, you know, this is not the first time reality shows have faced lawsuits.

We want to put something on our screen here. Richardson is now the fourth Love is Blind Contestant to sue the show. There's also been lawsuits filed against Love Island, USA, Real Housewives of New York, and Mr. Beast competition show Beast Games. All the suits with a variety of claims, including unsafe working conditions, sexual harassment and discrimination. So is this the new normal and contestants and staffers pushing back against reality TV? But like you're saying, don't they sign up sort of for some of this? So look, I really think that this is a reckoning. And in the legal industry, these contracts are infamous.

They're just so notoriously one-sided. But in the past, they also had these extreme non-disclosure penalties associated. And there also just weren't that many contestants, period. So maybe they weren't going out there and talking about their conditions. But at this point, there are so many contestants who have moved through the system. And also, courts are moving against these nondisclosures. They're considering them to be unconscionable. So as more people talk about this, I think this is going to become more of a problem.

And as a result, I do think reality TV contestants are going to be paid better. And be interesting to see what happens. Angela, always great to have you on the show. Thank you for being here. We want to turn now to our franchise series, the cost of denial. And look at how the health care system can impact. insurance premiums for everyone. A Florida doctor is sounding the alarm saying the very company he wants workforce committing fraud through a billing practice that's driving up costs for

patients. Jesse Kirsch has our investigation. I think health care is unaffordable. At some point, somebody has to look at this and say, these prices are out of control. When Dr. Kenneth Konstra started digging into his former company's billing practices, I was shocked. The South Florida OBGYN says while he was working at Florida Woman Care or FWC, the company overcharged patients, including new mothers. That is absolutely fraudulent. Konsker is accusing the company of a type of fraudulent billing practice called upcoding. Upcoding is when you're going to try to get a higher reimbursement for a service that

was not rendered for that level. Konsker co-founded and later sold FWC. It's now part of Unified Women's Health Care, a network touting it's proudly responsible for nearly one in 21 births in the United States. Over the years, Konsker says he grew frustrated with how the business was being run under private equity ownership, particularly over payroll and compliance issues. And last year, he was terminated without cause. I think at some point when you are so loud, you become an annoyance of management. Before he left, Konsker says he discovered, doesn't. of up-coding cases.

That's a hospital document. And saved the records. The internal medical team's note says that this patient had delivery provided by a certified nurse midwife. But the patient was billed as if she had been seen by a doctor. That's more expensive. NBC News reviewed 27 cases provided by Konsker. All 27 show similar discrepancies suggesting there's been upcoding.

The cases involve both Medicaid and private insurance. and private insurance. Konsker says billing patients this way drives up insurance premiums, and that makes health care more expensive for everyone. One thing I would hope is we start looking at the health care system and realize how broken it is. Konsker says he found over 150 patients had visits upcoated at Florida Woman Care, and he estimates the company received tens of millions of dollars it did not earn.

This is money that's owed back to patients. This is not money that should be in the hands of a private equity-backed health care company. Konsker shared his findings with the company, with insurance providers, and with regulators, including the Florida Attorney General. And after NBC News reached out, the Florida AG's office said there is an active investigation into Florida Woman Care by one of its fraud teams. In a statement, FWC tells NBC News it has not found any evidence backing up Konsker's allegations. The health care company saying in part, it maintains rigorous compliance programs, including

regular independent audits and mandatory provider and staff compliance training. FWC has faced similar allegations before. In 2018, the company paid the U.S. government $1.7 million following a DOJ investigation into improper billing practices, though there was no determination of liability. After his termination, Konsker accused FWC in a lawsuit of trying to convince his patients that he abandoned them. I've been seeing him for 16 and a half years. One of those patients was Misty Paez, who was seen Dr. Konsker for her pre-cancerous cervical cells

and ability to have children. I'm very high risk with it, and it's very aggressive in my system. But when she showed up for an appointment, she was told he was not there. What was that moment like? Very overwhelming. It was literally like a slap in the face. Like, what do you mean I'm not seeing him? Pea has eventually followed Konsker to his new practice.

Now Konsker and FWC are each pursuing legal action against the other. Why should people trust what you say instead of just looking at you as a former employee with an axe to grind? I really, I don't have an axe to grind. I believe that this is a much broader problem than just from the group that I came from. And he says it's part of a broken system that needs to change. Okay. us now, Jesse, just how big of a problem is upcoating across the industry? Yes, so Tom, according to a government report, just looking at Medicaid and Medicare, in

23, there were more than $100 billion estimated of improper payments. That's a category that includes upcoding. We've asked experts, how many places is this happening, how frequently is this happening? What we get are just estimates, because this is something that experts tell us is so hard to actually pin down and prove, Tom. Got it. Jesse Kerch for us tonight. Jesse, always great to see you. story, anger on the streets of France, massive protests breaking out, people clashing with police and the Eiffel Tower forced to shut down as thousands rise up against looming budget cuts.

And a new beat for rocker Ringo Starr, the legendary Beatle taking a spin at art with an exhibition making waves in Las Vegas for a good cause. What he told our Chloe Malas about his paintings and his music career still going strong. We're back now with the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Tens of thousands forced to flee Gaza City in recent days due to Israel's ground offensive. An estimated quarter of a million people displaced in the last month. Roads filled with families desperate to find safety. NBC News foreign correspondent Matt Bradley has this look into the grueling journey.

In Gaza, an agonizing displacement. Tens of thousands of Palestinians packing their lives into their cars, others fleeing on foot. Ahmed lost his eyesight in an Israeli bombing. Now his wife, Rafik, is guiding him the whole way. The journey is incredibly tough, more than anyone could imagine. She said there's no pity and no humanity. They're all fleeing Gaza City, the enclave's most populated area, and the focal point of Israel's

new ground offensive now in its third day. Israel says it wants to route what it says are 3,000 Hamas. commandos here, the group's stronghold, according to Israel's military, where Israeli officials suspect Hamas is holding some of the remaining 20 Israeli living hostages. It's an operation that could take months, and hundreds of thousands have already fled the city following Israeli warnings. Yesterday, Israel's military opened a new roadway. It's said, to help civilians flee its assault.

For most, the constant displacement has become a tragic routine. Jundia says she's moved six times. They tell us to evacuate, evacuate, but for nothing, she says, they don't care for us, it's all lies. Hundreds of thousands more are still heading south, searching for an uncertain safety. But first, a crowded gauntlet of heat and heartbreak. Jundia's truck is carrying four families and all of their belongings. Their stop in Han Yunus isn't far from Israeli airstrikes, but even here, they struggle to find a tent. We don't have water, food or anything, said Judea.

We are exhausted and mentally drained. Another destination in Han Yunus, this sprawling tent city, here too, there's little space for a family. Mursanada and Rhanima, this is bath time. Their mother, Nusra, joins them. Clean water is rare. Our children are dying a thousand deaths every day, Nusra says. At night, the cold consumes them, and in the day the heat devours them, the sun scorches them. For now, they're making their home on the street.

Father Raphat Rahan can't afford the $180 for a tent. There's no mat, no cover, no blanket. Rafat says, at night, I take off my shirt and I cover my children with it. And Israel's military said today that four IDF soldiers were killed earlier today when their Humvee rolled over an improvised explosive device in the southern Ghazan city of Rafa. Tom? Matt Bradley, we thank you. All right, staying overseas with Top Story's Global Watch,

starting with nationwide protests in France over budget cut plans, turning violent. Video shows clashes in Paris between demonstrators and police and riot gear. You can see tear gas being deployed. Hundreds of thousands are participating in the strikes against what they're calling significant cunts to public service. Parts of the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower were forced to shut down. It comes barely a week after President Emmanuel Macron appointed a new prime minister. And a rare phenomenon spotted in Brazil as a fire NATO tears through a sugarcane field. You see emergency crews on the scene in Sao Paulo with a pillar of fire, swirling through the sky in the background.

A little further north, a wildfire nearly engulfing this home. Firefighters forced to rescue a woman who went back to get her belongings. Crews across the country are working to get a number of wildfires under control. And an intense rescue mission caught on camera in Turkey after a cargo ship ran aground. Take a look. The video shows a Coast Guard helicopter, airlifting crew members, one at a time. You can see those powerful waves continuing to slam the stranded ship. Everyone on board was brought back to safety, no word yet,

what caused the vessel to run aground. Okay, and now to the new chapter for one of the biggest names in music. We are talking about Ringo Starr here. He's always marched to the beat of his own drum, right? Now the legendary Beatles is putting a new spin on his career with his paintings. NBC's Chloe Malas caught up with Ringo and has his inside look at his new exhibition. That's all for a good cause. He's one of the most famous musicians in the world.

Ringo Star, Beetle, nine-time. Grammy winner, Oscar winner, and two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. And now the Liverpool-born rock and roll legend is taking his artistic talents to the canvas. I just do what comes out, you know, what's the feeling? And this came out by chance. He sat down with NBC to showcase star art, a collection including spin art on display at an amazing gallery at the Venetian resort, Las Vegas. It's stars first exhibition of a original paintings. I had to convince myself, just enjoy it, you're not Rembrandt.

And because I lived in Amsterdam for a while, and he was incredible. Proceeds from art sales going to his charity, the Lotus Foundation. Do you find painting gets you into some sort of a meditative state? Yeah. You can't believe how fast the time goes when you're just in it, doing it, and having fun with it. It gives me joy, you know? And I'm, you know, I'm sort of, I make it up as I go along.

How long did this take to do? Oh, close to three minutes. Three minutes? So you can just do a lot of these at a time now. Yeah, but no, the thing is you put your paint on, it just loves. Those creative instincts still strong, nearly 60 years after the Beatles' last public performance. Don't let me down. Closing the chapter on the unforgettable era of Beatlemania.

We thank God there was four of us for the busy days. And, you know, I remember when we first came, we were in New York. And the hotel suite was just full of people and everybody wanted something. And so we, as, when four of us went and sat in the toilet and chatted to each other, how you do and what's happening in your life. You've been called the glue of the Beatles. Yeah, I am the glue. Do you agree to, you agree with that?

Yeah. Do you miss it? Do you miss the Beatles? No, I think it came to the natural end, you know, but the other side thinks if John and George were here, we'd probably have gone out sometime in the last 20 years. How often do you talk to Paul? Oh, well, Paul's the traveler,

so he is in town right now, and I'll see him Thursday. We have dinner three or four times a year, sometimes in England, and here, if I'm over there, and we call on the phone, say what we're doing. So we're pals. Outside of the Beatles, Star has carried on with music with his group Ringo Starr and the All-Star band, touring for the past 35 years, 11 performances this month alone.

What's your favorite part about getting up on stage and performing? Hitting the drums. I love to hit those burgers. I just hit them. I love it. You know, they do relate to songs, but, you know, I still run on. I can't help it. At 85 years young, staying active as ever, preaching, peace and love and a bit of hard work.

None of us are in charge of our longevity. We're all going to go, and the pleasure is and the grace of God. We don't know what day that is because we'd all be sitting at home sulking. Added to star's to do list, tuning in to British director Sam Mendez's series of four separate Beatles biopics, one for each band member to be released in 2028, with actor Barry Keogan set to play him. It's the maddest thing you've ever heard, isn't it? A man has taken four lads. He's making four movies at the same time. They'll come out at the same time. Star taking Keogan under his wing on a recent visit. He came to town a few months ago. I called him and a friend knew at his number. And I brought him over to the house to talk to him,

see, how are you doing? So he could see me just hanging. And we went to my little studio and I went, bomb by on the door, bam, blah, bam, whatever I did. I said, come on, very. Have I go, no, no, I'm not playing. So we'll see how he does. I think you really were the glue of the Beatles.

Do you? Because when I go back and I listen to songs like, here comes the sun, it really doesn't get going until you come in there. Chloe Malas, NBC News, Los Angeles. Still ahead on Top Story, do you need a mini golf set, a wood chipper? How about a yogurt-making machine? We'll show you the one place where you can check out those items and take them home for free.

Arohama Ellis takes us on a tour of the Library of Things. This is a weird one, but it's really. Cool. Don't go away. Finally tonight, one unusual library in Maine is offering the community so much more than just books, loaning out everything from games to kitchen appliances to even a wood chipper. NBC's Rahima Ellis checks it out. From the minute the doors open, people are streaming into the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Maine.

They come to check out games, puzzles, and of course, books. But check out what else is here. We have a mini golf set, mini dehydrator. How about a wood chipper? Yes. Librarian Hazel Onsruhe is the mastermind behind what's called the Library of Things. More than 1,500 items mostly donated, some worth hundreds of dollars. For locals, all you need is a library card to check them out for free.

Being in Maine, that includes this giant lobster pot, plus a ukulele, a boom box, a sewing machine, An apple picker, Tajid, and a KitchenAid mixer could save you several hundred dollars. We started it to meet community needs. Needs for things that people use once in a while, she says it's also about cutting down on waste. What's the quirky thing that you have in the library of things? I like our Nut Wizards. That's this thing that lets you pick up acorns scattered in your yard. Claire Schreiber is a regular, often checking out the yogurt-making machine or backyard games for parties.

Why? Growing up, I had a huge family. I moved away, and now I can't go to Uncle Jim's house to go grab a pressure washer. So the library has it, and I don't need to go buy my own. Over the past year, folks have checked out more than 3,700 items. We realized, wow, folks need access to these items. And ends up you can't really rent an acorn cracker, and you can't really rent a mushroom inoculation kit.

So guess what? We lend them. And a whole lot more. Rahima Ellis, NBC News, Brunswick, Maine. All right, we thank Rahima for that one, and we thank you for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamous, New York. Stay right there.

More news on the way.