Top Story with Tom Llamas - Thursday, September 25, 2025

Episode Date: September 26, 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.

Good evening. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. We pick up with that breaking news from the special report. After a day of speculation, former FBI director James Comey has now been formally indicted by a federal grand jury. A senior Justice Department official confirming to NBC News, Comey has been indicted on two counts, false statement and obstruction. It's reportedly in relation to testimony Comey gave to Congress back in 2020, allegedly making false statements under oath in response to a question by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. It comes as President Trump has been pressing his Justice Department to prosecute his political enemies. Trump fired Comey as FBI director in 2017 over his handling of the Russian election interference probe and has been extremely critical of him in the years since. Tonight, Attorney General Pam Bondi tweeting, quote, No one is above the law.

Today's indictment reflects this Department of Justice's commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case. To break down what we know about this indictment thus far, let's bring in NBC News legal analyst Misty Maris. Misty, talk to us about how unprecedented this is. I will note NBC News has reached out to James Comey. We have not heard back from him or anyone representing him thus far, but in the past, he had denied lying under oath, telling Ted Cruz in that 2020 congressional hearing that he stood by his previous testimony. Talk to us about what this means. How big of a deal is this? Right. So this is a huge deal. And we knew that there was an investigation that was going on into these charges against James Comey. And really what's unique about this particular case is the path, how we got here. This is brought in the Eastern District of Virginia, and the U.S. attorney, Eric Seiber, has stepped down.

And the reporting is that the reason to step down was that he was hesitant to bring these charges against Comey under prosecutorial discretion, which says ethically, you have to be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law in order to bring these types of charges. Now, he was replaced with a new U.S. attorney who has now moved forward and brought this to a grand jury. So this is the path that got this here is going to be a significant part of the challenge James Comey will likely bring in response to what is now an indictment. What do you think the federal grand jury was able to see and consider here in making this determination and remind viewers when it comes to an indict, an indictment? How often do those happen when something is presented to a federal grand jury? So an indictment is a very different process than a trial. The standard of proof is much lower. The lowest in the law, probable cause. It is very easy to get an indictment in a federal grand jury. Federal prosecutors do not have to do much to secure that. And they do not have to present any and all

evidence that they have in their possession. It is a one-sided process. The defendant is not a part of it. It's a secret process. And they don't have to present. anything that is in favor of the defense. They're presenting their case from the prosecutor's perspective. We don't know what is in that grand jury indictment. We know the charges involve false statement, obstruction of justice. If we see the indictment, we'll see what the basis is, some of the evidence that the grand jury saw. But again, that's a percentage of a percentage of what might be in the possession of federal prosecutors. Okay, Misty, stay with us because I want to also bring in NBC News. NBC News correspondent Kelly O'Donnell. She joins us now from Washington, D.C.

Kelly, walk us through what we know at this hour and what you have been able to gather from speaking with your sources. Well, it has been a flurry of activity. We now have from the Justice Department a release that combines some of the details about the specific counts in the federal code that this indictment reflects. It deals with what they say are serious matters of releasing sensitive information, obstructing a congressional inquiry. and false statements. The back story on that is former director of the FBI, James Comey, was testifying before a congressional committee

and was asked about disclosures that might have been authorized to the media. And he said that he did not authorize disclosures. We believe that is the subject matter that results in this indictment. This had to do with the Russia investigation, something that President Trump has long been furious about and wanting

to see debunked or dismissed in any way possible. That, of course, dealing with potential ties between Russia and his 2016 campaign. So next, we are waiting to hear any kind of response from Comey's counsel. He, of course, himself is an attorney, but he has legal representation. We would expect to hear from them at some point about next steps. This will also result in a chain of steps that will come in terms of seating a jury. So all... All of the public statements that are being made, whether posted on social media, the political reaction that's happening. We're seeing some of that from members of Congress so far. Democrats calling it politically motivated.

Republicans calling it a long-time justice waiting to be fulfilled. So a stark divide in how people are seeing these set of facts. And then ultimately, the process would proceed to trial. So a jury would have to be impaneled, a case presented, and ultimately, ultimately, the finders of fact would be those jurors in a federal court to determine if, in fact, they find there's enough evidence. Ethically, prosecutors are required to believe that they have sufficient evidence to bring a case. As Misty was explaining, there are certain dynamics to the grand jury process that is sealed and secret that does not necessarily mean every indictment

leads to a conviction. And in fact, the Justice Department points out anyone accused is presumed innocent. Politically, this has so many repercussions. And it is certainly a point in history to have someone who served at the highest levels of the Department of Justice himself, Ben, as FBI director, and now on the other side of this, accused of two federal crimes. Alison. And Kelly, in terms of what could potentially happen here next, based on what we know right now and what we think we know, So at the heart of whether or not he lied in his testimony to Congress, it would be Andrew McCabe, right, the former FBI director who had contradicted allegedly some of the statements that Comey had made. Do we expect to hear from him at some point? Could we see allegations related to what he possibly said or didn't say about what happened during that testimony in 2020 and even earlier? Well, I don't want to speculate about others who are not involved in this indictment in terms of that.

But you are referencing sort of the, let's put it in the commonplace story of what we believe the events were. That was part of the congressional testimony that Andrew McCabe, who was the number two at the FBI, he is no longer at the FBI. And could be a witness, perhaps. We'll just have to see how it plays out. I don't want to get ahead of the facts that we know. But certainly it is remarkable to have a former FBI director accused of these crimes. There's been years of tension and political back and forth. And Comey has written books.

He's spoken out publicly. There was a lot of attention around a social media post referencing 47, the number of the current president, in terms of how many presidents in office. That got a lot of attention. So all of these things are happening in two separate spheres. The political sphere, which includes an active social media environment, and then the legal sphere, which will have the rule of law, the procedures in court, and all of those steps that will have to be followed to an outcome yet to be determined. Alison. All right.

Yeah, so many unknowns, but certainly an unprecedented moment in this country's history. Misty, before we go, let me ask you, what will you be looking for in terms of what happens next here? So Kelly laid it out all of the social media activity that we're seeing. I expect Comey's first steps to be tried and get this indictment thrown out. Now, that is an uphill battle because the standard of proof is so low. It's a probable cause standard in a grand jury proceeding, but I would expect an argument on selective prosecution, that this is a political prosecution. I would also expect, once we see the indictment, that his legal team will be going through it with a fine-tooth comb to say, is there enough evidence to substantiate the grand jury finding and looking to see if this case can be thrown out at the earliest stages?

Otherwise, it is absolutely the case. This will be on its way to trial. The standard of proof so much different in a courtroom beyond a reasonable doubt. And false statement cases very, very difficult to prove. This is not vague questions and sloppy answers. This is a statement that was false and was intentionally false. It's an intent crime. So this is a difficult case to prove beyond a reasonable doubt before a jury.

So a long road ahead for this case. All right. NBC's Chief Justice and National Affairs correspondent Kelly O'Donnell. NBC legal analyst Misty Maris, thank you both so much. We appreciate it. And when we come back, the double threat in the Atlantic. One system already turning deadly in Puerto Rico, now possibly setting its sights on the East Coast. We're tracking it all out. Plus, new details on that deadly shooting at Texas Ice Facility, what we're learning about the sniper's plans of attack. And the major update on TikTok. The executive order, President Trump, just signed, clearing the way to...

to keep the popular social media app in the United States. Stay with us. Back now with that double threat in the Atlantic tonight. Tropical storm Muberto gaining strength expected to become a major hurricane this weekend. Another system lashing Puerto Rico today, authorities saying one person died after their car was swept away by floodwaters. And that same system now setting its sights on the east coast. Let's get right to NBC News meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill, let's start with this system already impacting Puerto Rico. Is there any risk for the U.S. mainland? Yeah, a growing risk. That's what's happened in the last 24 hours. Compared to yesterday at this time, it looks like a possibility. And now we're getting to like a majority of saying somewhere

in the, you know, South Carolina and North Carolina could get a brunt of what should be a strong tropical storm or maybe a low end hurricane the beginning of next week. That's only about 84 to 96 hours. from now. So not a lot of prep time, but it hasn't even formed yet. So we have two areas of interest. This is Umberto. This is going to be a powerful hurricane, but even closer to that is the one that just went through Puerto Rico, and that's the one of greatest concern. So this is our American model, and then we break it down, we kind of tweak it a little bit. We call these all the ensembles. Each of these lines shows a possible track, and you notice that a lot of them now heading up here just off the southeast coast, some kind of stall it there, some move inland

into South Carolina and North Carolina, but there's also a couple that turn out the sea, too. This is still a low confidence forecast. It's going to be very complicated in the days ahead. All right, NBC's Bill Cairns, thank you so much. We appreciate it. We are also following chilling new details tonight in that deadly shooting at an ice facility in Dallas, Texas. Authorities revealing they've recovered handwritten notes from the shooter saying he wanted to, quote, give ice agents real terror.

Authorities saying he acted alone to execute the attack that was planned, they say, months in advance. NBC's Priscilla Thompson on the ground in Dallas again tonight with the very latest. Tonight, investigators revealing disturbing new details about a gunman, they say, was fixated on killing ICE agents and had been planning his attack on a Dallas ice facility for months. What he did is the very definition of terrorism. The FBI saying they found his handwritten notes, including one that read, hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror to think, is there a sense? sniper with AP rounds on that roof? He wrote that he intended to maximize lethality against ICE personnel and to maximize property damage at the facility. In addition to writing anti-ice on his bullets, the FBI says the gunman downloaded a list of DHS facilities, searched apps

that tracked ICE agents, and conducted multiple searches for the quote, Charlie Kirk's shot video. Before investigators say he got onto a roof across from the ICE office and stopped. started firing indiscriminately, hitting a van with detainees inside, killing one of them, and then taking his own life. A man who says he was in the same Boy Scout troop with the suspect as a teen described a conversation about migrant caravans in recent years. He was just upset about how people were not understanding people's desperation to get out of bad situations. The scout member, who asked not to be named, told NBC News. President Trump's borders are blaming Democrats' fierce criticism of ice.

When they have a congressman of someone that ran for vice president of United States comparing to Nazis, that gives some of these nuts and boldens them to take action. We need leadership coming from 1,600 Pennsylvania Avenue to take the temperature down for everybody. Officials say the gunmen acted alone. Was there anything that you all have found in terms of an inciting incident that led him to commit this attack? People can be motivated to violence by any number of grievances.

In this case, the clear syndication of motivation are here. his own words. He wanted to cause terror. He wanted to harm ICE personnel. And Priscilla Thompson joins us now from Dallas. Priscilla, are we learning more now about the people coming back to that facility today? Yeah, Alison, we spoke to one woman who was inside this facility when those gunshots rang out yesterday. She said that she escaped violence in El Salvador and was nervous about coming back here today. We also spoke to another woman who said that she's always nervous when she comes here for her appointments, but she hopes that with the increased security in the coming days that

it will feel better now. And DHS Secretary Nome has said that there will be increased security around these ICE facilities. And this office is set to reopen on Monday. Ellison? Priscilla Thompson. Thank you. We are also following news out of the Pentagon tonight. Defense Secretary Pete Hedgeseth reportedly summoning hundreds of generals and admirals for a meeting in Virginia. The extremely rare gathering set to convene next week. for a reason still undisclosed. For more on what they could be there to discuss, let's bring in NBC News Pentagon correspondent Courtney QB.

Courtney, this reporting originally in the Washington Post, a meeting like this is extremely rare, as we mentioned. What more do we know? And in terms of the generals and admirals expected to attend, do they know why they've been summoned? That is the most remarkable part about this. It's not just the fact that this is potentially hundreds of generals and admirals who could be brought to one place at the same time.

We can't say unprecedented, but extremely, extremely rare for a gathering like that. But they are being brought here to D.C. from all over the world with no indication of why, Ellison. That's what's really remarkable here. Now, officials telling us that they expect that Secretary Heggseth will address them in his speech. He will speak about his accomplishments, what he calls his accomplishments to date as Secretary of Defense. He'll talk about the National Defense strategy that's soon to be released and that it's going to prioritize homeland defense over foreign adversaries that have been prioritized in the past, like China and Russia and Iran. He's also going to talk about major

changes, major policy changes coming, including potential cuts to the general officer and flag corps. The people who will be sitting in that very audience, we expect, according to these officials, for him to talk about consolidation and cuts that will impact some of them directly in that room. But again, none of this has been conveyed to these men in women directly. While we're talking about hundreds of people who will be in that room, we are talking about potentially thousands of people who will have to travel. These generals don't travel in a vacuum. They come with their staff, Ellison. This will be a huge logistical undertaking. Pentagon correspondent Courtney Kuby. Thank you. And we will be back in a moment with that

major TikTok update. The latest details on a potential deal and the big players who could be involved. That's next. Back now with more breaking news tonight, retail giant Amazon reaching a historic $2.5 billion deal with the Federal Trade Commission, agreeing to settle claims that tricked people into Amazon Prime memberships and then made it difficult for those customers to cancel their subscriptions. NBC's senior business correspondent Christine Romans is with us. Christine, break down the case against Amazon and this settlement. What does it mean? You know, this went to, this actually went to trial. They actually had opening arguments on Tuesday and then surprised the company decided to settle without admitting any wrongdoing. But here's what the FTC claimed or alleged

in this case brought during the Biden administration and then just settled today. The government said that, look, Amazon was tricking people into joining the prime membership for $139 a year and then making it very difficult to cancel it. Now, the company has said that it will make it easier to cancel. It's a statement to NBC News. It said, indeed, that it always works for the best in the best interests of its customers. Amazon and our executives have always followed the law, and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers.

We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their prime membership. So who are we talking about? 35, up to 35 million people who were opted in and then couldn't get out of their prime membership. They will, on average, get up to $51 apiece within 90 days of the settlement.

The federal government, the FTC, will get a billion and a half billion dollars and one and a half billion will go to those estimated 35 million customers. Again, that will be a total of about $51 for those prime memberships that the government says people were tricked into taking and then made very difficult to cancel. And that's where that stands going to trial this week. And now it's a settlement. It's a historic settlement, one of the biggest, one of the biggest you've seen from a company like this. Do we know when customers will get information in terms of how they could be paid out if they think they're entitled to claim something here? Yep. Settlement just happened today. So if you were an

active, if you were an active user of that prime membership that you didn't want and you couldn't get out of, it will be 90 days from when the settlement is enacted. And again, a judge has to sign off on this, Allison. So that would be the next sort of mile marker, the timestamp, if you will, for what the next moves are for this settlement. Christine Romans with that breaking news. Thank you. We appreciate it. Now to a major update on TikTok. President Trump tonight signing an executive order clearing the way to keep the popular social media app in the United States under the management of a new joint venture that's valued at $14 billion, it would be controlled by a majority American board. As part of the deal, American tech firm Oracle would receive

a copy of TikTok's coveted algorithm to ensure data privacy in the U.S. TikTok is currently owned by the Chinese company Bite Dance. At the signing in the Oval Office, President Trump was asked if China is on board with the deal. Listen. Can you describe where China is now? Are they fully on board with this? They're on board. I spoke with President Xi. I went a good talk.

I told him what we were doing, and he said, go ahead with it. For more details, I want to get right over to our Savannah Sellers, who has been covering this for us for quite a while now. I mean, Savannah, even though Trump has signed the executive order, this does not mean we have a done deal, right? Where do things stand at this moment? Yeah, Alison, the coverage continues, and to be determined when it will ever be over. does not mean we have a done deal, and it's really smart that you point that out. I know this was sort of like being called. Trump signing the TikTok deal. He wasn't signing a deal. He was signing an executive order that in practice kind of just like blesses the deal. He says that this

sort of framework has been presented to him and he approves it. Importantly, in this executive order, he said that the national security concerns, this takes care of those, he says. The main reason for that is what's going on with the algorithm here, that that algorithm is actually going to be controlled by the United States and not China. We could talk more about that in a minute. But right now, we are still waiting to hear from bite dance or China. I think that's a really important point. We're kind of unilaterally getting this executive order from the president. Now, we do know President Trump and President she had a phone call out of that, the notes from that call. They were both very similar. They sounded almost identical in nature, actually,

that this deal had sort of, in theory, been reached. But we have not seen anything official now that President Trump has signed this executive order, and we do also need, you know, like real paperwork with lawyers in a boardroom for this one company to sell this piece to another. So talk to us about that algorithm. I mean, what would it mean to have a quote-unquote American-controlled algorithm with investors like the founder of, or people on the board, like the Oracle founder, Larry Ellison? Yeah, it's a great question, Ellison, and it's, I think, going to be a really important one as we see this shakeout. So one thing about the algorithm that's very interesting is they are saying that There's going to get this copy of the algorithm.

It's going to come over here to the United States. And then they're going to retrain the algorithm. The reason that is important to me is for two reasons. One is, does that mean that the algorithm experience changes as a user? But two, that doesn't make a lot of technical sense. So we're trying to understand exactly what does end up happening with it. Larry Ellison, we now know investor as well as Oracle taking on an even bigger role than they had previously had, which is managing the data.

They're now also going to manage and operate that algorithm, Alison. All right. NBC's Savannah Sellers. Thank you. Not a top story's news feed. And we start with Oklahoma's top public school official, Ryan Walters, who pushed for bibles in school. He is stepping down.

Walters says he is resigning to lead a conservative educators group. The Republican state attorney general said Walter's appointment to superintendent led to, quote, a stream of never-ending scandal and political drama, calling him, quote, an embarrassment to our state. Walters says in his new role, he plans to, quote, destroy the teacher's unions. And police releasing video of a terrifying smash and grab robbery at a Northern California jewelry store. About 20 mass suspects burst through the door, some of them armed with handguns, smashing display cases and stuffing jewelry into bags. At least one suspect firing rounds through the front entrance.

Another security camera capturing their getaway running into vehicles that were waiting outside, doors open. Police detained several suspects but say the investigation is still ongoing. And a Polish athlete making history as the first person ever to climb Mount Everest and ski back down without an oxygen tank. Here he is 37-year-old Andre Barjili making his ascent up the mountain hiking 16 hours in what's known as the death zone because of thin air and low oxygen levels. He spent a few minutes at the summit before clipping into his skis and then beginning his historic descent to the base camp. The incredible feat comes several years after he became the first person to ski down Pakistan's K2, the second highest mountain in the world. When Top Story returns,

word nerd alert. Merriam Webster adding new words like Riz and Dadbod to its collegiate dictionary. A linguist joins us to explain it all, and Tom Yamis picks up our coverage after the break. We are back now with Top Stories Global Watch, and tonight Europe is on edge, after more drones were found hovering over an airbase and airport in Denmark for the second time this week. It comes one day after U.S. fighter jets scrambled to intercept Russian warplains in Alaska. Here's Keir Simmons. Overnight, the U.S. scrambling fighter jets to intercept four Russian warplanes near Alaska. The Russian jets never entered U.S. airspace, but are another sign President Putin is testing NATO.

In Denmark's night sky, mysterious lights. that witnesses say hovered over an airport and military base. Two days after 20,000 passengers had their flights disrupted. Denmark calling them hybrid attacks by a professional actor. The Russian embassy denying involvement, calling it staged and a provocation. While last week, Russian MIG fighter jets entered Estonian airspace, prompting this response from President Trump. Mr. President, do you think that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace?

Yes, I do. All of it after President Trump dramatically shifted his approach to Russia, saying Ukraine can win back its original borders, and today calling out the President of Turkey, a member of NATO, for still buying Russian oil. I'd like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues his rampage against Ukraine. While Ukraine's President Zelenskyy threatening Russia. They have to know where they are. bomb shelters up. If they will not stop the war, they will need it in any case.

Kier Simmons joins me now, and Kier, we've had so many of these drone incidents in the past month. What are countries doing about it? Well, Tom, Denmark is considering triggering Article 4 of the NATO Charter. That means bringing these incidents to the attention of other countries. At the same time, tomorrow, European leaders will meet to consider building a drone wall. That's a collaboration between different countries to try to prevent these kind of incursions by drones. Tom, Germany's chancellor, saying this cannot be allowed to continue. Tom. Keir Simmons for us, Keir, we appreciate it. All right, now to some big news in the world of words. A new book is coming out that quite literally

has it all. There's a blockbuster new book dropping this fall. It has everything. It has mystery, murder, romance, accordions, marmosets, dongles, tetrahedrons, aperitifes, misconceptions, Ballyhoo. That is Merriam Webster's 12th edition of the Collegiate Dictionary. It's their first new hardcover. Get this in 22 years. It includes more than 5,000 new words, everything from Riz and Dadbod to Hard Pass and Doom Scroll. If none of those words made any sense to you, don't worry. We've got you covered tonight because we have Adam Alexic here.

He's a linguist and author of the book AlgoSpeak. Adam, we thank you for being on Top Story tonight. This is going to be a fun little segment here. I have young kids at home, and they're always introducing new words to me, along with our young staffers here on Top Story. So I want to run through a handful of new words, okay? I'm going to hit you with the word, and then this part, you're essentially going to be our dictionary. Explain to our viewers what these words mean. You go with that?

Okay, so the first one is pretty easy. I think someone's having a lot of fun with this one. Well, we'll start with Riz. Talk to me about Riz. Flirtacious charisma. Okay, like, give me an example. You have good Riz if you get a girl's number. Oh, okay, Riz.

So that used to be like he's got good game or... Exactly. We always have new words for this, depending on what's cool. Gotcha. Okay, next up now, Dad Bod. It's exactly what it sounds like, that sort of pop-bellied aesthetic. But wasn't Dad-Bod sort of seen as attractive? I think there was like a last year or something like?

Did I come out? Do you remember that? Attractiveness is subjective. Some people are into dadbods and that's fine. Maybe I'm projecting, no, I'm joking. So next up, doom scroll. It's that feeling of being on your side and your bed going through your phone for hours on end. And just like, and most people, adults, even, the elderly, they can dooms scroll not even know it.

Exactly. It's that sort of apathetic, lethargic, negative label attached to that. Is doom scrolling, though, you're only looking for negative stuff or can just be just scrolling in general? I think doom scrolling is losing track of time while you're scrolling. while you're scrolling. You don't have to be looking for negative things particularly. Got it. Next up, beast mode. Okay, beast mode. Talk to me about that. I think this comes from video games. It's channeling your inner animal, going crazy with something. And, like, kind of getting locked in and being successful, or does it have a negative connotation?

I think usually beast mode is a good thing. It can be a little unrestrained in the way a wild animal is. Like when you see words you don't know, you go into beast mode. You're just looking into their history, right? Sure. All right. Hard pass. A firm no. Exactly what it sounds like. And give me an example. When does someone use hard pass? If you don't, if somebody tries to get your... Hey, you want anchovies on this piece? Oh, hard pass. No, thank you. Got it, got it. All right. We're learning here how to be cool. Gaslighting. Ooh, this one's

everywhere. Severe emotional manipulation, you know, messing with someone's head. I feel like gas sliding is the one that is most... that is used incorrectly a lot. Give me, like, a firm gas sliding. So I think there are new definitions of gaslighting emerging, right? Previously, it was this pathologized definition, and I think people are drawing from that, and now gaslighting can just mean lying or manipulating a little bit. Previously, it was, like, really messing with someone's head. It comes from this play gaslight in the 1940s where this husband was convincing his wife she was going insane by dimming the gaslight in their house. Oh, that is so crazy.

I thought it came from the warning in your car. The gaslight, like, no? Wow, I'm learning so much here. Maybe cars are gaslighting us. Side eye. Kind of looking suspiciously to the side. Which my kids do all the time. It doesn't necessarily, I think, have to be to this side.

Actually, kids and producers, I've noticed that. But what does it mean? A suspicious way of looking at someone. Because they've said something or they've done. something? Yeah. This person, you can't really trust them. You're keeping a watchful eye.

Is there a reaction to the side eye? How do you respond if you get the side eye? You can confront them, I guess. Okay, okay. And every day there's new internet slang. Why is it important that we keep track of it all? And give me some words that maybe we didn't bring up here. Yeah, so I think language is a reflection of our cultural reality.

These aren't arbitrary words. They're, to me, a colorful mosaic of our current state of technology and society. And social media is really shaping language. We see words like beast mode from video games. from video games. We see Riz from Twitch streaming and side eyes from TikTok in 2021. These new forms of technology are really influencing our culture. And you see this broadly. Words like, you know, Skibbitty was very popular and I now I think it's dying out. Yeah, my kids are using that. What is Skibbitty? What does it mean?

It's just a nonsensical word. It's a meme. But there are new memes now. I think Skibbitty's mostly gone. People say six, seven nonsensically. Yeah, I get that to her house. I'm sure you do with your kids. We also have combinations of Skibbitty Rizzler, maybe, where they combine them? Yeah. Chopped meaning ugly. No cap?

means not lying. All these are kind of being popularized, largely from African-American English through TikTok and then reaching the mainstream. Adam, I'm going to get your number so I can get you on speed dial when my kids are saying something. I have no idea what they're saying. What's your book? Let's plug it one more time. Algo speak. How social media is transforming the future of language. And it seems like it is. Yeah, Adam Alexic. Thanks so much, man. Thanks for being. We appreciate it. Still ahead on top story tonight, Broadway Blues, trouble brewing on the Great White Way as several Broadway musicals struggle to make a profit, despite featuring some of the biggest names in entertainment.

Can the Broadway musical survive? Stay with us. We're back now with trouble brewing on Broadway, with high production cost and theater goers feeling the pinch of inflation. New Broadway musicals are struggling to make a profit. So could this spell the end of the Broadway musical, or will the Great White Pull Out a Second Act surprise? Our Ellison Barber spoke to one of the producers behind smash hits like Hamilton in the Heights and Rent

to get his take on how the future will play out. In theaters across Broadway this year, audiences treated to unforgettable performances from some of the biggest names of stage and screen. From Audra McDonald and Gypsy. To Darren Chris in maybe happy ending. But behind the theater's brightest lights, there are fears.

that the future of the Broadway musical is in danger. Money, money, money. While top grossing musicals still draw thousands to the Big Apple every day, the 18 commercial musicals that opened on Broadway last season, feeling the pinch. According to the New York Times, none of them have made a profit yet. I do get the sense that Broadway insiders are worried. There is not any obvious path out of this situation right now.

The model might just need to fully collapse before anybody really rethinkings, about the way things are done in this business. Renowned Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller, with claims to fame like Hamilton. The first time I'm thinking past tomorrow. In the Heights. Yeah, I'm a street light choking on the heat. An Avenue Q.

Says the cost of putting on a show or simply outpacing ticket prices. When we opened Hamilton 10 years ago, it cost $12.5 million to get it open on Broadway. And today, if we did Hamilton, it would probably cost about $18.5 million to get it open, which means that our costs have gone up 50%. But the average ticket price is still about the same. With the cost of labor, equipment and theater rentals and materials for set, the initial investment is mighty.

And seller says in addition to cost-cutting solutions, what they need is cold hard cash. Musicals were getting as much as $3 million of a tax credit to help to defray their costs. The tax credit has run out. And I think it's vital that our state legislators consider how they can find the funds to initiate this tax credit. With the cost of tickets already out of reach for some theater goers, it's unclear if the model could sustain raising prices further. If you have a family of four, that's like three, four, five hundred dollars, right? But if you're having my kids, forget. It feels like something that you have to save up to go.

Some of the newer Broadway musicals are struggling to gain traction, but new plays on Broadway, those are doing pretty well. Industry experts just say that isn't enough money, and therefore it's not sustainable in the long run. The plays that did well last season were terrific, but they do not feed Broadway in its heart of hearts because they only last, first of all, for 13 to 16. 16 weeks. Broadway is not built on the 16-week run of a play starring a Hollywood movie star. That does not sustain us, and that's not what Broadway's made of.

All right, and with that, Alison, Barbara joins us on set. Ellison, great to see you. So talk to me here because one of the other things I think you found out as we were talking, it's the quality of these musicals as well. Yeah, I mean, look, you're always trying to guess, is this a show that people are actually going to like and connect with, and any new show is going to be a gamble. But when I think of some of the shows that have been huge hits on Broadway, in recent years, musicals, and also plays with some music. I think O'Mary, Stereophonics, Hamilton, all three of those started off-Broadway at independent or non-profit theaters, did really well there, then moved to Broadway.

So that's one thing that people we spoke to said. They said the partnerships between the big Broadway producers and those independent non-profit spaces, those are vitals because sometimes it's good to see on a small scale if people are going to connect with the show before elevating it. We used to go to Broadway a lot. We don't as much anymore. but recently when I have gone, I've sort of been surprised at the ticket prices. Are they still very expensive?

They're still so high. I mean, we talked to so many people today and not all of it even made it into the piece of where people were like, it feels like a luxury because if you have kids, if you're a family, you're looking at two, three hundred bucks a person, you can only do that every now and again. All right, Alison Barber, we thank you for that. Finally, tonight, we're going to bring you a little bit more on a story we showed you yesterday because so many people out there loved it.

It was about that bride to be, and she had that chance meeting with community. who was staying in the same hotel she was for her wedding. Well, we caught up with the bride, and Jesse Kirsch has our story tonight. When Kelly Ellison planned this special wedding dance with her father, Mike, she never imagined a moment like this. Pop star Camila Cabo herself serenating the father-daughter duo with her song First Man. I'm such a daddy's girl. And I feel like your dad, if you're lucky, is your first love, is your first hero.

Kelly got married earlier this month outside Iowa City, Iowa. She says the night before her family was at a hotel, and so was Cabello. I told my mom, I'm like, should I go say something? And she's like, yeah, Kelly, everything happens for a reason. You always say that. Kelly says she knew for about two years that she'd want to dance with her dad to Cabo's song. I just walked up to Camilla and I was like, hi, my name is Kelly. I picked your song for my father and audience, and without hesitation, just offered to sing it for me.

It wasn't like after talking for a little bit, getting to know each other. No, just the media was like, can I sing it? I mean, I said yes. Who says no? The gesture going viral on TikTok, Cabello even commenting, I'm honored I was a part of your family's special day. And I could tell from speaking to you guys yesterday that your dad loves the hell out of you. That special bond celebrated in unforgettable fashion. thanks to a wedding crasher and a song.

Jesse Kirsch, NBC News. We thank you for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamerson, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.