Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Episode Date: April 15, 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.

Tonight disturbing new accusations against now former congressman Eric Swalwell. Another woman coming forward speaking through tears, alleging he drugged her, choked her, and then raped her. Will there be a criminal investigation into her charges? And what will Capitol Hill do to protect potential victims? Also tonight, dangerous storms targeting more than 60 million violent funnel clouds tearing across the central U.S., drone video showing home after home destroyed RVs and campers, tossed across lawns, plus blinding snow sparking this massive 75 vehicle pile up. Al Roker standing by tonight.

The husband of the American who went missing in the Bahamas speaking out to NBC News, what he told our reporter about whether he'd ever hurt his wife. Peace talks restarting the potential new timeline from President Trump and our new reporting over the key sticking point that's holding up those negotiations. Growing questions after an American influencer who got engaged in Zanzibar, was found dead just days later. Her family's desperate search for answers. Heroic takedown a principal caught on camera, tackling a school shooting suspect, likely saving student lives, how he's now recovering from being shot during the fight. And the vanishing generation,

a series of coffee talks connecting Holocaust survivors with young people sharing their first-hand accounts of the atrocities they experienced in the hopes that it never happens again. Plus, why more taxpayers are appearing to cut corners when it comes to their returns this tax season. Top story. It starts right now. Good evening. We begin tonight with those disturbing allegations against former Congressman Eric Swalwell, another woman coming forward this time on camera, and she's accusing the California representative of drugging and raping her. Lana Drews pictured here with Swalwell in a photo her lawyer showed at a news conference today, says they met at two public events in

2018. But at a third meeting, Drew says she believes the California Democrat drugged her drink recalling feeling incapacitated after one glass of wine. She then said he choked her and raped her in his hotel room. Today, Drew's sharing why she says it was hard to come forward until now. My delay in taking action against Eric was driven by fear, not doubt, fear of his political power. I have never doubted what happened. I stand with the other women who have come forward.

Swalwell officially resigning from Congress this afternoon after dropping out of the California governor's race this weekend. It comes as another congressman, Republican Tony Gonzalez, resigns effective at midnight tonight after facing his own accusations of sexual misconduct, including an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. Our Ryan Nobles is fallen at all, and he leads us off. By TSA agents. Tonight, new accusations against now former Congressman Eric Swalwell from a woman who says he drug,

raped, and choked her. I lost consciousness. And I thought I died. Lana Drew says she met the congressman in 2018, and during their third meeting, he assaulted her. I believe he drugged my drink. I only had one glass of wine. We were supposed to go to a political event, and he said he needed to get paperwork from his hotel room. When I arrived at his hotel room, I was already incapacitated, and I couldn't.

move my arms or my body. He raped me and he choked me. Drews says she did not go to police at the time, but she recorded the events on her handwritten calendar and told several people close to her. I self-medicated in an unhealthy way. I did not want to live anymore. She's now reported the incident to law enforcement.

In a new statement, Swalwell's attorney categorically denied, every allegation, calling them, quote, false, fabricated, and deeply offensive. After multiple women accused Swalwell of sexual assault or misconduct, the well-known Democrats suspended his campaign to become California's governor. And facing the prospect of a House ethics investigation and potential expulsion, he chose to resign. Those close to Swalwell, like Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, forced to explain what they knew about his behavior. When there was rumors going around a couple weeks ago, I did ask him and he lied to me. Meanwhile, Capitol Hill leaders are exploring new ways to protect potential victims.

It should more be done to allow that for those potential victims. I think we're always, there are better ways of ensuring that people in vulnerable situations ought to have access to a way in which they can get recourse and relief for sure. And if there's a better way to do that, I'm certainly open to it. Ryan Noble's is reporting live tonight from the Hill for us, and Ryan Swalwell is not the only member of Congress to officially resign. Yeah, that's right, Tom. Tony Gonzalez, who's a Republican from Texas, was facing his own sexual misconduct allegations. He admitted to having an affair with a staffer that's a violation of House rules. That staffer later took her own life. He was facing an ethics investigation, impossible expulsion. He chose to resign today effective at midnight.

And even though both Gonzalez and Swalwell are no longer in the House of Representatives, no longer facing these ethics investigations, the criminal investigations are still a possibility, particularly for Swalwell, who's now facing potential charges in both Manhattan and now in Los Angeles. So this story is far from being over. Tom. Ryan Nobles, we thank you for that. For more on the allegations against Eric Swalwell,

I want to bring in Michael Trujillo. He's a Democratic strategist and a long-time aide to Antonio Villargoza, who is running for California governor. Michael, we're bringing you on the show because you posted on X in December, Twitter, more than four months ago, accusing Swalwell of sexual harassment. You made a few other allegations that NBC News has not verified and we won't get into. But what's your reaction to what has come to light in the last several days? Surprised. I think, you know, what I originally thought was frattingization with staffers

and interns has now turned into allegations, several allegations of rape. It's sickening, it's disgusting, and I think everyone needs to, you know, look themselves in the mirror and figure out what role they had or did not have in helping push this along. Well, explain to me, because when you made those accusations on X, did you get any blowback from other Democrats? Because here you are a Democratic operative, you know, going after one of the most high-profile Democrats on Capitol Hill? Well, if you know me, that doesn't bother me one bit.

Going after powerful people is what I do for a living, and I will continue to do. Yes, I did get blowback. Yes, people accused me of fear-mongering or rumor-mongering and lying. I knew the truth. I was happy to tell the truth, and I would do it again. Yeah, I do want to ask you, you said you didn't know to this extent when you put posted what you posted on X, you thought it was just maybe a guy that was creepy, maybe somebody who was going a little too far with staffers. You didn't know the extent of it?

I think what I had was there's a house rule about frattingizing with staffers and interns in terms of like hooking up with them, right? That is prohibited by a house rule within the House of Representatives. I thought to the extent that I had anything, that was it. It wasn't until about 10 days before the story broke that this rape accusation was even on my radar screen. You have said to people that you received a cease and desist letter from the Swalwell campaign. What happened there? So the tweet goes out. I received a cease and desist letter from Congressman Swalwell's attorneys.

I had two choices. I could have turned it into confetti and make a video of it, you know, lining a birdcage, which I really wanted to do. The other thing was he ran for president, and we knew that these things were happening then, and then he slithered back and ran for his safe house seat. I waited until he could not run for the house seat again, and he was exposed running for governor. There was no place for him to go.

And so we chopped the head of the snake off so it couldn't slither back home. What do you say to people who are wondering why it took so long for these allegations to blow up and for an investigation to happen, even if these allegations are in fact true, what or who was protecting Swalwell? Well, I think for the folks that are telling their stories, it's a path, it's a different path for all of them. I think, you know, oftentimes we see that there's sort of collective justice or a collective movement as these allegations have come forward time and time again. It's usually a collection of women and there's strength in numbers here. So I'm not shocked that individually in silos, there may be some fear of coming forward.

but when they're working in strength together, you know, they can sort of program and do this in a right way and get their story out. In terms of protecting him, there are chiefs of staff, there are members of Congress, there are lobbyists, there are consultants, there are a slew of folks in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., that protect dirty old men like this every single day. You're saying this is much more rampant on Capitol Hill than just Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzalez? It is absolutely rampant in both our capitals, probably across capitals across the country. You had these young women, these influencers who came forward, created a safe space for these women to come, you know, get potential legal representation. I hope these young influencers, these women basically create a nonprofit and be the HR department of both the House and the Senate. So all of these men, all of these predators know that their day of being accused and coming out and actually having the truth. come out to protect these women, happens sooner rather than later.

Michael, you did come forward and if all these allegations are correct, you deserve some credit for that. Is there a part of you that wishes you came forward even earlier than that? Because some people are also pointing that it came during the political season. You know, I think for some of these, you know, obviously I didn't know about a rape allegation. For some of these, they wanted political justice, right? And now it looks like there's going to be potentially criminal justice on the table now. And so when you're a member of Congress and you expose yourself and you run for president,

you know, there's the potential for that to happen, or in this case, running for governor. You know, when women come together and they want to make their voices known, you take that energy and you help expose these predators when you can. Everyone has a different timeline. Everyone has a different path to how they want to say their story. I was just, you know, 1% there to help them do that, and I would do it again, and I would do it tomorrow and I would do it next month. Michael Trujillo, we thank you for coming on Top Story tonight.

Thank you. Now to our other major headline, the severe storms threatening tens of millions across the country tonight. More than a dozen reported twisters tearing through the Midwest, roofs ripped off homes and cars smashed from fallen trees. Our Shaquille Brewster is on the ground in Kansas with the latest. It's coming right at us. Devastating tornadoes ripping across the heartland, hitting hard in both Iowa.

This is crazy. And Kansas. At least 15 reported tornadoes wreaking a path of destruction across the Midwest. Pretty obvious. In Hillsdale, Kansas, the walls of these homes shredded to pieces. Crews already racing to repair the downed power lines littered across the roads. People left stunned from the damage. Oh my gosh.

I cannot believe this. I used to work here. This is nutty. In Ottawa, Jeffrey Castleberry says he was in his home with six others, including an 18-month-old baby when the tornado rolled through. We opened the door to come through to the family room, and the wall just disappeared in front of us. You saw it? Yeah, the wall was gone. Yeah, it was there, and it was gone.

Violent storms also hit Wisconsin, car after car after car smashed by fallen trees. And in Colorado, during an April snowstorm, more than 75 vehicles estimated to be part of this massive highway pile-up, shutting down one side of I-70. Back in Kansas, the cleanup is underway with the daunting task of rebuilding now ahead. We've been here 11 years, and we lost everything. Can't imagine when it's like that to see your home in that condition. Shaq Brewster joins us now from Ottawa, Kansas. Shaq, we can see how destructive the storm was there just behind you. How did the people, including a baby inside that house, survive?

Well, the family says it was really through an act of God. They say they heard the sirens. They heard the tornado warnings around them, and they were trying to get to an outdoor cellar by running through that door and through what used to be, Tom, their family room. And they say they realize it was way too late. You heard him describe the wall just completely flying off. So they decided instead to all huddle around each other,

put that baby in the middle of them as debris was completely flying around and just look at what's left now. You see the complete destruction and devastation, the power of those winds are seen in the trees. And then just look on top of this home here, Tom. It's completely ripped off the roof. And then on the other side, you actually have some of the structure is completely falling down. Now, what they're worried about now is that we have another round of storms today. There's still debris right there. some trees that have fallen onto cars.

They're worried about what those storms tonight could potentially do. We learned from the National Weather Service that the tornado that went through this area was on the ground for more than seven miles had maximum wind speeds of 125 miles an hour. You see the power of that wind. You see the power of Mother Nature, Tom. Okay, Shaquille Rooster Shack, we thank you for more on the severe spring weather. I want to bring in Al Roker. So Al, the threat, we know it's not over yet.

What's the timing for the rest of tonight and tomorrow? Well, Tom, Shaq and those folks have a lot to be worried about. Second night in a row, strong storms. We've got tornado watches, but we also have tornado warnings now from Wisconsin all the way into Iowa as we watch this line start to make its way. We've got tornado watches in effect till late tonight, early tomorrow morning. Severe thunderstorm watches here in the northeast with some thunderstorm warnings. 64 million people at risk. Albany, just to the north of New York City, Detroit, to do.

Des Moines, Oklahoma City. Tomorrow we've got showers and storms, a flood risk. We're going to see more storms tomorrow from central Pennsylvania into Ohio than from Chicago, Kansas City, Oklahoma, tornadoes possible, damaging winds and hail. And we're going to be looking at some heavy rain as well from Oklahoma into Michigan and parts of upstate New York, Tom. We're going to be talking about anywhere from one to four inches of rain. All right, Al Roker, I know before you go, you're tracking some extreme heat as well. That's right. So we've got this big area of high pressure. The jet stream is way up to the north. And so for tomorrow, we're looking at possible records for New York City, Washington, D.C., Asheville, Nashville, Nashville, Evansville, Indianapolis as well. And by Friday, everywhere from Monroe, Louisiana, Quincy, Illinois, to New York, we're talking about potential records, Tom. All right, Al Roker for us. Great to have you here on Top Story. Now to the Bahamas, where we are hearing for the first time from Brian Hooker. The man arrested and then released in connection to the disappearance of his wife Lynette, who says he says fell overboard.

He sat down with her Jesse curse and said he never harmed his wife. So where is she? Did police ever explicitly ask you if you hurt your wife? Of course. What did you say to them? I said, I've never harmed Lynette, and I never would harm Lynette, and I want to find Lynette. Tonight, Brian Hooker is a three man. Speaking out, just out, just asking him.

after Bahamian authorities released him from custody. He faces no charges, but investigators tell us he remains a suspect in the disappearance of his wife Lynette, who vanished more than a week ago. Police to look at you as a suspect. Why do you think that is? I think some of it is probably the media attention, which is understandable. The faster they get it out of the way, the more police can come and help search. Hooker says Lynette fell from their dinghy in unpredictable seas. But his attorney advised him not to discuss the details.

If there's anything you can share about Easter weekend that you remember. I cannot share anything. I don't want to take a chance that anything could interfere with the search. I welcome any attention, anything that helps me further my goal of finding Lynette. I also asked him about reports he and Lynette have had a volatile relationship. What do you want people to know about your marriage with, I want people to know that Lynette is my life and we have been together half, almost half my life, and we belong to each other.

Hooker telling me he plans to keep searching for Lynette. I don't think I've ever been apart from her in 25 years for this long. She wouldn't stop in our nuggins. Jesse Kerrish joins us tonight from the Bahamas. It's been 10 days since Brian's wife, Lynette, who's also a mother, has been missing. He says he's going to keep looking for his wife. Where does the official search stand? Tom, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force tells me it is looking to suspend its search for Lynette Hooker by Thursday.

The reality is they are simply running out of viable places to look. Tom. All right, Jesse Kirsch first. Jesse, thank you. Now to Washington. And President Trump's hints that a new round of peace talks could start soon with Iran. The tenuous ceasefire in the Middle East facing new. test tonight with just a week left before it ends. NBC's senior White House correspondent,

Gabe Gutierrez, has the latest. Tonight, President Trump says more in-person peace talks between the U.S. and Iran could be happening over the next two days in Pakistan. A person familiar with the ongoing negotiations tells NBC News the U.S. asked Iran for a 20-year suspension of uranium enrichment. The source says Iran agreed to three to five years, which President Trump has said is not acceptable. and that there are ongoing discussions over how to move or even dilute the enriched uranium Iran already has. The president wants to make, he doesn't want to make like a small deal. He wants to make the grand bargain.

After President Trump ordered a new blockade on Iran's ports to pressure the Iranian regime to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command now says more than 10,000 service members are enforcing it. A U.S. official tells NBC news during the first 24 hours, the U.S. military warned six ships to stop and turn around, and they did. Iran is doing absolutely no business, and we're going to keep it that way. All right. With that, Gabe joins us tonight from the White House. Gabe, there were talks between Israel and Lebanon today. What do we learn? Well, Tom, yeah, today here in Washington.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio actually hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades. And Israeli representatives said that both countries were on the same side of the equation in the U.S. is basically saying that they've agreed to further talks that could be significant because that's one of one of the major hangups for a broader peace deal, this ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran-Bak, Hezbollah. Now, Wall Street today, brushing off the uncertainty over this broader peace deal and is optimistic, apparently, that that peace deal is still possible. Stocks soared today, and crude oil fell to $92 a barrel, Tom. All right, Gabe Gutier, there's a lot of updates here. We're back in a moment.

with the search for answers after an American influencer died on vacation in Zanzibar with her fiance, why her family is now raising questions. Plus, the heroic takedown caught on camera, principal tackling a gunman inside of a school likely saving lives will show you that heart-stopping video. And the new warning tonight about an elaborate investment scam, a retiree conned out of his life savings, what you need to know to protect your money. Stay with us. We're back now with the investigation to the death of an American social media influencer while she was on vacation in Tanzania with her fiance celebrating their engagement. Her family now demanding answers about what happened and our George Salis has some of the details.

All right. Hear me out. Tonight, an investigation underway and unfolding in the death of Ashley Robinson, a 31-year-old popular lifestyle content creator who was found dead on vacation in Tanzania just days after announcing her engagement. Her family now raised. questions about her death in a statement saying Robinson had been found unconscious in her villa and taken to the hospital where her death was confirmed hours later. Step or done anything that would ever, ever lead me to believe that she would do something to harm herself. According to the BBC, police initially said they believe that Robinson attempted to take her own life. Officials also say that after a misunderstanding between the couple,

the hotel decided to separate them into different rooms. He told me that Ashley did something to herself and that she was being taken to the hospital. I said, what happened when? And he told me it had been 11 hours prior. In a statement to local media, police stressed that forensic investigations are ongoing, including additional examinations involving the head of the deceased to establish the exact cause of her death. Robinson's fiancé, Joe McCann's passport, has been withheld, police told the BBC, McCann is being questioned as a witness. In a statement to one local media outlet, a regional police chief says,

we must question hotel staff and her fiancé on everything so that later on we can reach a conclusion on whether there was a crime or not. In a statement to NBC News, the hotel the pair was staying at saying in part, they are deeply saddened by a tragic incident and that they are providing full cooperation. Ashley Robinson's family says she was deeply loved, vibrant and full of life, as they continue their desperate search for answers. All right, George Relese joins us tonight. So, George, I understand you spoke with Ashley's sister.

What did you tell you? Yeah, Tom, I spoke with her little sister, Alyssa Enders, who says they've really gotten nowhere with police. All the information that they have received, either came from the hospital or from the hotel itself. But there was one thing that she told me that was quite striking, Tom, in our conversation. I'll read it for you.

She says she was so ready to take the next steps with who she thought was the love of her life. She expressed so much love for him, and she wanted more. She wanted children, she told me. She wanted a life with the future with him. And this is something that is just so unexpected. The family, Tom is demanding answers tonight.

All right, George, Solis, we thank you. Coming up one-on-one with acting attorney general Todd Blanche, are Laura Jarrett presses him about his relationship with the president and who was really in charge of the DOJ? Plus, are two of the biggest airlines in the country on the verge of a mega merger? What it could mean for you and millions of flyers? But first, top story's top moment. and the celebration of century in the making.

A married couple, George and Corrine, are both turning 100 years old this month. During the festivities, the two reminisced on their earliest moments together. Take a listen. Oh, she was the most beautiful girl in the class. Corrine, what do you think about that? Well, he was such a nice-looking fellow and so kind.

I just knew I wanted him. And I'm glad I'd. I did. And I'm glad we made it to this. And so are we. And get this, the two lovebirds will celebrate their 80th wedding anniversary this September. Happy birthday to them both. All right, stay with us. More top story on the way. We're back now with the NBC News interview with Acute Attorney General Todd Blanche, the man who took over for Pam Bondi earlier this month after she was fired by President Trump. Due to her handling of the Epstein files and her failure to prosecute the president's political foes, Blanche wants the president's personal attorney has been realistic about how long his tenure could last. Here he is at a press conference last week. Listen to what he said. If he chooses to nominate me, that's an honor.

If he chooses to nominate somebody else and I go back to being the DAG, that's an honor. If he chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I will say thank you very much. I love you, sir. I love you, sir. Laura Jarrett was able to ask plans directly today about his relationship with President Trump. She joins Top Story Live fresh off that exclusive interview. So, Laura, incredible interview here is a wide-ranging interview. You spend a lot of time with him.

Who did he tell you is really in charge of the Justice Department? He made it very clear. He serves at the pleasure of the president. And as you heard in that clip, he loves the president. If the president wants to keep him, that's fine. If he doesn't, he feels like this has been an honor. He is loyal to the president. And for someone who may be at the highest position at the Justice Department, it's clear where his loyalties lie.

Take a listen to this. I mean, I think everybody in this country knows and has known for 250 years that the president of the United States, when it comes to the executive, calls the shots. And any idea that there's a cabinet secretary out there, whether it's the Attorney General or the Secretary of State or the Secretary of War, or commerce that gets to, quote, call the shots, they have not read Article 2. So basically, if you're not on board, get out of the way. I think is sort of his view on all of this, which is to say, Tom, there are plenty of conservatives who have this feeling. They feel like Cabinet Secretary serve at the pleasure of the president. The issue is that since Watergate, the Justice Department was supposed to at least enjoy some measure of independence. It's not

a fully independent agency, of course. But the idea was that if the president started calling shots on who should be investigated and who should be prosecuted. How is the public supposed to have confidence that this all just isn't political? In the president's second term, there is a third rail, and it is the Epstein files for the president. Pam Bondi learned that very well. Now, acting attorney general, Blanche is going to have to deal with this. He even interviewed Epstein's accomplice, Galane Maxwell, in prison. What did you learn, and would you ask him about that? He has been embroiled in this entire saga over the Epstein files since the very beginning. He's been tasked with the documentary production. He's bared a lot of scrutiny about it.

But he also has talked about the accountability factor. And I said the public is very confused about why Moore hasn't been done. But you sat down with the one person who has been held accountable. Does she have any chance at a pardon? Because the Supreme Court has said they're not going to take up her case. That's all she has left. Here's what he said about the pardon. I have no reason to believe the president is considering a pardon for Ms. Maxwell.

Never have. And I did sit down and meet with her. You found her believable? You can't find somebody credible by meeting with them once. I mean, the way that you do this is we would need to spend a lot of time pressure testing every one of her answers and understanding why she answered things a certain way. Now, of course, he doesn't want to say that she's believable. He has any number of survivors who are just absolutely outraged about the fact that he sat down with her at all,

let alone whether or not he finds her credible. He also said he's really horrified at the idea that survivors had their information. left unredacted. He said he understands that that was a mistake. Obviously, the Justice Department has taken on a lot of scrutiny over that. They're, you know, they're suing now over it. And so it's a real issue. But he recognizes there is a gap here between what the public thinks needs to be done as it relates to the Epstein files and what's been done so far. But he says the Justice Department has done what they're supposed to do. Quick observation here. This is a more public, Todd Blanche, right? Because when he was defending the president, you'll remember a lot of

those news conferences, I know you were there or, you know, gaggles when the president would come out. He just sat stone-faced and President Trump did all the talking. Now Todd Blanche is coming out and talking. He's Deputy Attorney General. Is he auditioning for this job? I think it's also he knows that the president is paying attention to things like this. No doubt the president watched that interview. He was watching him carefully.

You can see he's very careful with his answers. We talked for 30 minutes. I can't remember the last time somebody who was going to have to go through a Senate confirmation, potentially very soon. We'd sit down and do that type of interview. And I think you did it for a reason. Give him some credit. Yeah.

Answer all your questions. All right, Laura Jarrett, we thank you for that. Appreciate it. Next tonight to Oklahoma, where one principal's heroic actions likely saved lives after he tackled the school shooting suspect. The entire confrontation caught on camera, NBC's Emily Aketa has more on the dramatic takedown. Tonight, new video of the heart-stopping moments a gunman walks into Paul's Valley High School in Oklahoma. You can see a pistol in hand. But watch what unfolds next. Principal Kirk Moore in the blue shirt emerging from another door and tackling the suspect. identified by police as 20-year-old Victor Hawkins, a former student of the school.

Just feet away, you can see a young person slip out during Moore's fast-acting efforts. Authorities say the principal was shot in the chaos, but managed to get the suspect to drop the gun. Another staff member then scrambling to pick it up. It doesn't surprise me the actions that he took, but it is amazing at the actions that he took. There's not a doubt in my mind that he saved kids' lives yesterday. In a statement, Moore said in part, like so many educators around the country, we prepare for these events. I'm grateful that my instincts and training, as well as God's hand, were available to me. The suspect told investigators he was inspired by the Columbine School shooting, according to an affidavit.

He now faces numerous charges, including shooting with intent to kill, as the shaken school community is grateful no one was killed, thanks to the heroic actions of their principal. Emily joins us now and said, Emily, tell our viewers, this isn't the only remarkable thing that happened in this terrifying situation? Yeah, there was a bit of a series of miracles, if you will. According to the affidavit, Hawkins actually pointed his gun at a student, but the gun malfunctioned. He had tried to fire it. It did not fire. And it was only a short time later that then the principal had run in and tackled the suspected gunman here. So really just remarkable efforts from that. This could have been so bad. Yeah, he's so brave. Okay, Emily, we thank you for that. Now, at Top Stories News Feed in an update on former University of Michigan football coach Sharon Moore, a judge placing him on probation for 18 months over a heated confrontation with his former executive assistant. It happened in December after Moore was fired for having an affair with her.

He pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors, Moore was initially facing up to six months in jail. And could two of the biggest airlines in the world soon become one? Bloomberg News and Reuters citing sources reporting that United Airlines CEO floated the idea of merchant, with American Airlines to President Trump in February. The two airlines combined carry 400 million passengers a year, but in antitrust experts, our skeptical of merger, would be approved. NBC News did reach out to both carriers, which declined to comment tonight. Okay, and a close call for a lucky cat on Long Island.

It got stuck on the tracks, almost getting hit by the speeding train. Body cam shows the MTA police and local animal rescue are working together to pull him to safety, and now he's got a new name Garfield. He looks like a Garfield. The rescuers say his injuries are extensive, but that he has a good chance of living. Okay, we wish him well.

And the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announcing this year's class of inductees, and here it is. The list includes some legendary performers, Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Shah Day and Oasis, as well as Luther Vandross, Wu Tang Clan, and Joy Division,

which later became the band New Order. The official induction series ceremony is set to take place in November in Los Angeles, quite the class there. Okay, a warning tonight about a sophisticated investment scam that's increasingly targeting Americans costing them a staggering $16 billion in just a year, according to the latest FBI report. Vicki Wynn brings us a story of a man who was swindled out of his life savings and wants to warn others about the red flags.

There we go. Ron Williams never imagined he'd have to tell his son. He lost everything. he'd saved up to someone he never met. At first, I was devastated and I felt stupid. The 76-year-old retired insurance agent from Brooklyn says it started with a random text message from someone calling herself Jenny that turned into friendly banter with Jenny sending this video and saying she was 33 Christian and living in Boston.

It was easy communication. It felt very comfortable. Jenny soon told William she was making. a fortune investing and asked him to join her. Within about six months, he'd invested $1.6 million. He could see his money growing on the platform. But William's son had suspicions. Part of what's hard is from the very first moment he tells me about Jenny. And he's like, you ever get one of these messages? Yeah, all the time. And they're all fake. We had the suspicion, but not the evidence. Until he did a reverse image search on Jenny and found several social

media accounts using what appear to be the same videos. Did you ever ask to meet her in person? Several times. There was always an excuse to not meet in person. Months into the relationship, Jenny told him she lent him $110,000 for a big investment opportunity. When he tried to pay her back, the wire transfer to China was blocked. So Williams agreed to meet a runner in his home and handed him a bag with $110,000 in cash. I didn't know. My God, what a terrifying idea. At this point, do you think Jenny is even a real person? At this point, I'm wondering, but I'm so deeply in, in terms of money, that I'm praying that it is true.

And when Williams wanted to take out his money, some $4 million, Jenny said he'd have to send more money to cover the taxes. That's when alarm bell started going off. Williams' son then made his own AI-generated video of Jenny to show him just how easy it is. I felt this incredible connection. Williams accepted he'd been scammed and reported it to police and the FBI. This is not the work of some super-coder. This took me three minutes on a site that didn't even charge me money to do it, and that's super scary. NBC News reached out to Jenny, but she never responded.

We have not verified whether the person seen in the videos is real or AI-generated. THE THYPD Financial Crimes Detective Daniel Alessendrino says AI is supercharging these scams. Now with AI, they're giving you realistic videos and it looks like you're really talking to the person. He says never invest or send money to someone you haven't met and report these scams right away to give investigators a chance to recover stolen money. And he says in some cases, the scammers themselves are victims. The victims are human trafficking where they have these. compounds and they lure people on job opportunities. They torture them unless they provide by doing these cons. There is no way out.

22-year-old Arnold from Uganda connected with us through Amnesty International. He asked us not to reveal his full name because he fears for his safety. But Arnold says he paid $2,000 to a job agency that sent him to a scam compound like this one in Cambodia, where he says he was forced to find victims for investment schemes using social media. feel their pain, also being tortured, you are being beaten. The Cambodian government says it's cracking down on the scam industry and has denied that it's complicit. Thousands of trafficked workers have recently been released from scam centers. After about six months, Arnold says he was released and often thinks about his victims.

They just saw me as the devil. I do not blame them, but the people in those companies are also just victims who are under immense pressure of life and death. And when they return, because they don't earn anything, life even becomes harder to them, just as the people that have lost their properties and money. Why do you want to speak out about what happened to you? Majorly, because there are a lot of people who are still there who need help, but also this work is still going on. So there are more people who are being affected through these schemes who may need to learn about all this. We always want you to do something else. The irony is not lost on Williams, that he works in tech and was unable to help his dad sooner.

That's also the deep guilt that I carry is like, I mean, I got some answers, man. It's like, we could have talked about this. So he's now using what his family learned. How do we fight this? To build an app to help people identify scams. The thing that was the most gut-wrenching was when I asked him what you did it for and he shared, it was because I wanted to leave you something. Like, he's the gift.

This is all we want. Vicki Wynn, NBC News, New York. All right, Vicki Wynn for us. Vicki, thank you. With the clock ticking on the tax season deadline, I want to turn to a headline in the Wall Street Journal that caught our eye. It's titled America's new tax mantra. The IRS isn't going to catch me. Taking a deep dive on Americans, Americans appearing more inclined to take a risk amid IRS staffing cuts, budget restrictions, and leadership changes. And take a look at this. Right now, the IRS workforce is at its lowest in decades, with the Trump administration proposing even more,

staffing reductions for 2027. And according to some tax lawyers, more and more people are now looking to cut corners on their taxes as a result. I want to bring in the author of that article, Richard Rubin. He covers tax policy for the Wall Street Journal. Richard, thanks so much for joining Top Story tonight. We really enjoyed reading your story. Talk to me about who's more likely to cheat the system. Is it the wage earners, small business owners, or is it the bigger fish? Yeah, so it's not that anyone group is more inclined to cheat, but it's about who knows when the IRS has more information. So wage earners know that your employer is giving a W2 to the IRS that says you made $85,000 and they're sending it to you too. So you have no way to say,

I actually made 72. Business owners, people with more complex returns, just have more options and abilities and more dials they can turn and more levers. And so that's where IRS studies have found that noncompliance is higher. And then in your article, you mentioned the government shift to AI automation, according to Yale's budget lab. We're going to put this up on the screen for our viewers. The IRS layoffs would save the government nearly $46 billion, but ultimately slash revenue by more than $640 billion, which is sort of a crazy stat. Do you think ramping up the use of AI and tax enforcement will make up for the billions in revenue lost by reducing staff? So it's a big unknown or one of the big unknowns. What the IRS says is they can do a better

job using AI to decide who to audit, which cases to take, to look at the returns, to look at publicly available data and have less wasted time and be more efficient so that you don't have auditors going in and then taxpayers spending a lot of time, the IRS spending a lot of time and getting to the result of what they call a no-change audit where you don't know anything more and they don't know anything more to you. So they're really trying to use AI to target those resources and we'll see what that does on the revenue side over the long haul. With less staff, will Americans tax refunds, those that qualify for a refund, will those be late this year? So the IRS is really primarily getting those refunds out on time and they've been moving for the most part relatively quickly

people who've wanted paper checks that's a lot slower but if you're e-filing if you're doing direct deposit that's actually moved relatively smoothly this year okay and then I have one last question we are just over I think 24 hours until the federal tax deadline any tips for those last minute filers so the key thing to remember is that April 15th for most people is the payment deadline not the filing deadline if you don't have everything together you can pay what you think you owe, seek an extension file. There's a form for an extension, and then you get an extra six months. Again, it doesn't stop the payment, but you don't have to finish all of the paperwork. So that's the one key thing to know. Get that payment in by April 15 for most people, and then you

can get an extra six-month extension. Actually, Richard, while I have you here, just because I have you here, and I'm curious about this, the tax software that has become so popular over, I'd say, like, the last 15, 20 years, what is the, I would say, efficiency of those, of those, of that software? software versus accountants. I'm not saying that we don't need accountants anymore, but I just wonder with all these people taking into their own hands, are we seeing more errors in the system or less? That's a great question. I'm not sure. I think my general sense is that the more complex your situation is the more you're in a business with multiple entities, multiple locations, lots of different employees and income sources. That's when you tend to see people use accountants more. The software,

the do-it-yourself kind of software is really useful for people who are, filing, you know, standard deduction returns, regular, you know, regular people. I think for those people, that works. And then the IRS, of course, has some free file options as well that go along with that. All right, Richard, so great to have you on Top Story. We appreciate it. You can read Richard, of course, in the Wall Street Journal. Still coming up on Top Story, a gunman opening fire inside a high school overseas, more than a dozen wounded, the latest from investigators tonight. Plus, marking Holocaust Remembrance Day here in the U.S., the powerful story of one survivor and how it's residing with a younger generation.

Sam Brock's going to bring us that story, and it's next. Welcome back as our country and the world grapple with war and violence. There are new efforts here in the U.S. to confront the evils of world history, specifically the Holocaust, a series of coffee shop talks across New York City, bringing together survivors and people just coming in for a cup, in the hopes younger Americans will learn from one of the darkest chapters in world history. So it never happens again. Sam Brock reports.

At Café Arone, there's coffee and conversation. And it's very important for me to keep telling the story forward, which is why I'm here today. But at this Upper East Side spot, this is no ordinary chat. Adrian Petruch is one of fewer than 200,000 living Holocaust survivors. She hid outside of Budapest, Hungary, from the age of two to three, alive only because a kind non-Jewish woman gave her refuge from the Nazis. Where were you hiding? In the house of this lady and sometimes in the root cellar if people came over. I wasn't to be seen because then she would be found out for Harper and the Jew.

We left with just the clothes in our back. Now a trio of talks in New York City called Sip and Listen. We are living in one of the last moments in time when it is possible to hear these stories. Sponsored by the Blue Card dedicated to providing financial support. to survivors and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center, marking this year's date of remembrance by linking younger generations to Adrian's story. I think that resonates, especially as somebody who was in college when October 7th happened and kind of having to navigate how to be safe in that environment while also trying to still

be proud of being a Jew. It's really important to listen to these stories and especially to connect with family members if younger people have Holocaust survivors and their family to listen to their stories. There were a lot of people that came out to hear what you had to say. Well, it thrills me. I care very deeply about what is happening in the world with anti-Semitism. And I care very deeply also that my part is to keep telling the story that that's a contribution that I can make. At times, the candid talk prompting obvious pain.

In this day and age, who would be the ones to step forward for us? Sarah Armet says she sees Gen Z engaging in the hard truths of increasing division and exploding anti-Semitism, but talks like these, she says, are key. It will be important 70 years after, it will be important 120 years after, it will be important 250 years after. We always have to remember. I walk into a room and I let everybody know I am Jewish. Survivors and their loved ones trying to convince. a clear message to younger Jewish Americans on a day siren sound in Israel, to Mark Holocaust

Remembrance. And stories like Adriens speak to a distant, but not too distant past. Things are happening in this country now that are reminiscent of what was happening in Eastern Europe in the 30s, and it scares me. When you talk to people who have gone through this, you can have a back and forth. It's not flat. You can get dimensional answers. What was it like? And dig deeper and deeper. And if not, answers, at least an understanding so that we don't ever forget and we don't repeat the past. Sam Brock, NBC News, New York.

A big thank you to Sam for bringing us that story. Now to Top Stories, Global, watch and a check of what else is happening around the world. We start in Turkey, a gunman opened fire at a high school today, wounding at least 16 people. In the video, you can see students running out of the building after shots rang out. The attacker identified as an 18-year-old former student. Officials say he fired randomly inside the school with a shotgun before later killing himself. No word yet there on a motive. In Colombia, officials just signed off on a plan to euthanize up to 80 hippos linked to notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar. They're known widely as the cocaine hippos.

You may be wondering why there would be hippos in Colombia. while they're descendants of the ones that Escobar brought to the country back in the 80s first private zoo. Since then, authorities say the population has gotten out of control, threatening both people and other animals. Hippos are not native to South America. Columbia is actually the only nation outside of the continent of Africa with wild hippos. And another bizarre robot story, this one out of Poland, video shows a humanoid running after a herd of wild boar, shouting, go away in Polish. The animals appeared to be rummaging around a hotel before getting chased into a forest.

The robot's name is Edward. It's apparently become quite the sensation visiting Poland's lower house of parliament and even appearing on TV morning shows. My middle name is Edward, in case you didn't know. All right, when we come back, the heartwarming surprise for a young boy, how a community came together to celebrate his new forever family.

That life-changing moment. Finally, tonight, it was already a special day for 11-year-old Alexander Kane Johnson when his foster parents officially adopted him after a year's long process. but a surprise from his fifth grade classmates made that milestone even sweeter. Take a look. In this Pack, Texas courtroom, all eyes were on 11-year-old Alexander,

as he was about to be adopted by his foster parents. I'll happily approve this adoption. Congratulations. Hugs and tears of joy filled the room. But this was more than just a moving moment for this family. Tell me real quick, why we're here. Tell me what's going on. We're here.

Are you a classmate in a doctor. Are you excited? Yes. Packed into the courtroom, 45 of his fifth grade classmates from Bell Elementary School, who all came out to surprise him, greeting him with hug after hug after hug. For Alexander, it meant everything.

It was very fun and very emotional, and I had a great time, and I appreciate all my friends coming with me. Alexander Cain Johnson, who officially changed his name at the ceremony, has been with his mom, Vandria, dad Tyrone, and nine-year-old sister Alicia for two years now. They all dressed in matching Western clothes for the special occasion, and this is the message he shared with his new parents. I love him so much. I just appreciate it. Okay, that does it for us.

What a great story. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yomis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.