Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Episode Date: April 8, 2026

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

Breaking right now, President Trump agreeing to a two-week ceasefire if Iran agrees to open the straight of Hormuz. That announcement just in. President Trump walking back his ultimatum saying he will hold off on destructive force and adding that we have already met all military objectives. So what are the terms of this double-sided ceasefire? That decision, as we get new video of a wave of attacks in the region, smoke rising near the Tehran airport. our experts with where the volatile situation now stands. Also tonight, ICE officers opening fire on a driver video of the moment the driver accelerates and gunfire erupts. That driver hospitalized by authorities say he was wanted.

And new accusations after an American woman went missing after a boat trip with her husband off the Bahamas. Her daughter tells us they two had a volatile relationship and she wants answers. An oil tanker explosion. A ball of flames consuming this bridge. Over the Panama Canal, that terrifying inferno captured from inside of a bus. What caused it? In the wrapper offset, shot outside the Hard Rock Casino in Florida. What we're learning about the violent altercation there.

An airport roof collapse. The moment heavy rainfall tore this ceiling apart, sending passengers scrambling for cover. And dazzling new images from the Artemis Mission on the far side of the moon, capturing craters wider. than the Grand Canyon. Plus, Bill Gates set to testify in the Epstein investigation where he's expected to go before lawmakers. His top story starts right now.

Good evening. I'm Gotti Schwart. In for Tom. We start tonight with breaking news. President Trump announcing a ceasefire in Iran, walking back his dramatic threats and saying he will suspend attacks for two weeks. Now, the president sharing on Truth Social tonight that he will hold off the destructive force if Iran agrees to the safe opening,

of the Strait of Hormuz and sent a 10-point proposal that both parties can work with. A dramatic turn from his threats this morning that the U.S. was ready to launch massive attacks on civilian infrastructure. So how did we get here? Well, just hours ago, the president's clearest threat since the war began issued on truth social. Trump writing, a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will. These threats prompting scenes like this in Iran.

Millions creating human chains on bridges and other infrastructure, trying to deter an American attack. But even as that deadline neared, American and Israeli strikes not stopping inside of Iran, a huge fireball erupting at this gas and chemical plant, plumes of smoke and flames rising from this airport in Tehran, and dash cam footage, capturing the moment a missile strikes a highway just outside the capital city. Still, so many questions at this hour. What does the ceasefire deal look like?

where does the embattled region go from here? Our Gabe Gutierrez is following all of it and leads us off tonight. Tonight, I've made ongoing airstrikes across the Middle East, including one targeting this bridge in Iran. President Trump is dramatically escalating his threats against the country. Posting, a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will. Adding, we will find out tonight one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world. The clock now ticking towards the president's 8 p.m. Eastern

time deadline for Iran to strike a ceasefire deal and reopen the strait of Hormuz, or else. Every power plant in Iran will be out of business burning, exploding, and never to be used again. Ahead of that deadline, Iran's regime today urged people to line up outside power plants. This is video from state TV. In a phone call late today, the president telling me, the use of human shields would be totally illegal, adding they're not allowed to do that. He declined to discuss the status of critical last-minute negotiations, but the White House says he is aware of a proposal laid today from Pakistan for a two-week ceasefire. A U.S. official tells NBC News the American military struck dozens of Iranian military targets

on Harg Island overnight, a strike that did not include any troops on the ground. They've got to know, we've got tools in our toolkit that we so far haven't decided. to use. The President of the United States can decide to use them, and he will decide to use them if the Iranians don't change their force of conduct. Democrats are calling the president's earlier post unhinged, bloodthirsty, and pure evil. Even some influential conservatives are questioning whether the president's going too far, including Tucker Carlson. Iran is a modern country. What happens when it loses power? Well, people die.

Babies connected to incubators die. People in hospitals die. And today, Republican Senator Ron Johnson, a Trump ally. I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure. We are not at war with the Iranian people. We are trying to liberate them. Yesterday, I asked the president about criticism that targeting energy infrastructure would violate international law. Mr. President, what would you say to the people who might be concerned

that bombing civilian power plants could be a war crime? I'm not worried about it. You know it's a war crime? Having a nuclear weapon. allowing a sick country with demented leadership have a nuclear weapon. That's a war crime. Gabe Gutierrez, thank you for that. And I want to get right over to NBC's Keir Simmons from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia right now.

Riyadh, Kyr, how is the region reacting tonight to the news of this two-week ceasefire? Well, I think the first thing to say, Gaddy, is that this is a pause, not the end of this tension and potentially the conflict itself. We have seen more attacks in the region here from the Iranians, even after that post by President Trump. Now, that might be understandable because, of course, it is a fairly broken system in Iran of command and control. So it's very likely that units will be operating without knowing that there might be a ceasefire in place. There will be, at the same time, a sigh of relief here that what was, looking like it could be a real escalation in the numbers of attacks, not just by the US and Israel on Iran, but also by Iran on this region,

that that may not happen. But I think, Gadi, it is important to just look in detail at what President Trump had to say in this post that he just issued, because what it tells us is, again, that we are in a moment here in all of this, rather than in the last chapter at the end of it, because he talks about agreeing to a two-week ceasefire if the Iranians agree to the complete immediate and safe opening of the strait of Khormuz. Now, we haven't heard the Iranians say that they agree to that at this point, and that was not something that they were saying that they were prepared to do.

So the Iranian position up until now, certainly from organizations, like the IRGC, the hardline Iranian military wing of the Iranian regime, what they have been saying up until now is that they would only accept an end to the conflict if the US and Israel agreed never to attack them again. And now what President Trump is saying is that he is agreeing to a two-week pause, a two-week cessation while there are negotiations. Another piece of this that it's, I think, important, is that it's very clear that it is the Pakistani government that has negotiated this. And President Trump just yesterday said that the messages with the Iranians are written messages. You can imagine Iranian leaders will be so anxious about not being targeted

that they won't be easily using electronic communication. So you can just imagine how slow this has all been. So one of the questions I think tonight, and it's the early hours of the morning here now in the Gulf is, to what extent is this, the Pakistanis pushing this along, making it happen, even maybe the Trump administration making it happen, and to what extent that the Iranians signed up to this? Yeah, all happening in the hours before the deadline. Kyrr Simmons and Riyadh, Kier, thank you. I want to bring in Gabe Gutierrez now at the White House.

Gabe, this is quite the dramatic change. What else are we learning from the White House this hour? Well, Goddy, look, we're hoping to get any sort of reaction now. from the White House to what Iranian State TV is saying, claiming that the U.S. has agreed to Iran's conditions here. The post that the president put forth on true social just a short time ago, we knew that there had been some negotiations going on behind the scenes, really over the past several hours.

When I spoke with the president by phone briefly earlier today, he said he couldn't discuss anything that was going on because there were so many fast-moving developments. But, you know, the president saying that Iran has agreed to this, that the ceasefire is pending Iran agreeing to that immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz. That is something that Iran has not commented on just yet. But this is not the first time, Gadi, that the president has extended this deadline. Just yesterday, he was asked by my colleague Monica Alba, whether he would do it again. He said it was unlikely. But then came to the president.

that really ominous post earlier today that really stunned the world where he said an entire civilization would die if Iran did not agree to this ceasefire deal. So now, at least a bit of a reprieve for these two weeks, the president saying that the U.S. has received this 10-point proposal from Iran and the president calling it a workable basis on which to negotiate. Now, he says, as he has before, that, you know, these various points of contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran. But as, you know, Kira is referring to, there's a lot of questions about exactly how much agreement there is here. Pakistan came out ahead of this several hours ago. It was Pakistani officials that floated the idea that there could be a potential two-week ceasefire

and that that had been presented to the United States. White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt said that the president was aware of that several hours ago and that it would be his decision to make. But certainly, Godi, this coming just an hour and a half or so right before this deadline, the entire world watching, certainly quite the off-ramp here and at least this two-week reprieve, where the president, at least according to that post, sounds optimistic that they might come to some sort of an agreement about the Strait of Hormuz. Yeah, quite the about face. Gabe Gutierrez, thank you. Our experts are here to make sense of the president's announcement

here. This Human Majd is an Iranian journalist. He's an author and NBC News contributor. Great to see you. General Mark Kemet is a former assistant, Secretary of State, and NBC's Courtney Kuby is reporting from D.C. She's been reporting all day. I want to start with you, Courtney. What do we know about this two-week ceasefire specifically? Yeah, so I was just reading through. We got a statement from Iran's Supreme National Security Council about this. And it does appear that they have agreed to this. I mean, it seems as if Iran is giving a very different view of how this went down than what we've heard so far out of the Trump administration and that it is they are painting this as the enemy has been, I'm quoting here, the enemy has been pleading for a halt to Iran's

heavy fire and the resistance. So, again, this is all just developing, but it does appear that Iran has agreed to something here. So the big question is, has in fact any kind of a cease fire begun? We're still working through whether they have actually ceased any kind of. of offensive operations here or not on the U.S. side. But then again, Godi, the big question is, will Iran actually open the straight of war moves, as the U.S. has said they have to do here? I mean, another thing I was very struck by in this Truth Social Post was President Trump saying

that the U.S. has met and exceeded all the military objectives here. You can see it there on the screen. Iran has shown that, yes, they have definitely had their military, especially their conventional forces severely degraded by more than 13,000 U.S. strikes on U.S. targets, or excuse me, on Iranian targets. But Iran has showed that they still have the ability to continue to lash out in the region. They are still firing ballistic missiles every single day at allies in the region. They are firing off drones, dozens every single day, targeting military, targeting civilian infrastructure. Iran's military, yes, has been degraded by this war, but they have not been destroyed at this point.

Interesting. And General Kim, I do want to ask you today, so many people were watching the images that were coming out of Iran of these human chains that were forming around some of this infrastructure, power plants, bridges, and those images were very, very stark. All of that coming in the hours after the president's first threat here. Do you think that what we're seeing here, the human chain played a role in what we are now hearing from President Trump, or was this something that was already in the works? No, we've seen human shields in the past, going all the way back to the first Gulf War.

I believe that their view is that this will limit American combat action against those particular pieces of infrastructure, because that would be an outright violation of the Geneva Convention and our own War Crimes Act. So I'm not surprised, now, whether these people did this voluntarily or duress may be a distinction without a difference. But boy, I'll tell you what, if all of their key infrastructure was surrounded by people, that would really limit the targets that the Americans could prosecute. Yeah. And as you mentioned, we have no way of verifying whether those people were there organically or whether they were there under duress. Humann, I do want to ask, does it look like, I don't know, the end is in sight? Does this mean a full peace deal could be coming?

I doubt that at this point. I mean, I think, you know, that this is a pattern we've seen before where President Trump will issue a threat recklessly in many people's minds and then find a way to walk it back. And I think there was an expectation in Iran that this was serious enough for many people to, as has been pointed out, to come out and create these human shields. My information for people I spoke to in Tehran, actually just today, was that most of it was voluntary. People did want to go out and say, even people who were against the regime, even people who protested in the January protests feel like this is a step way too far.

Talking about bombing a civilization out of existence really hit her nerve for Iranians, and if there was a way to get Iranians to rally around the flag, that was it, basically. You know, a very proud people. So I think, you know, obviously they can't protect every power plant or every bridge in the country. But I don't think this is the end at all by any stretch of the imagination. I mean, let's see what the Iranians do. Closing the Hormos Strait, for example, it's not closed. What Iran is doing is charging a tariff for friendly countries, between $1 and $2 million a ship to traverse safely.

Now, when Iran says, yes, we'll open the strait. What does that mean? Does that mean they're still going to charge one or two million dollars per ship? And does that now include American flagships or Kuwaiti flagships or Emirati flagships? So there's all these nuances that we don't know yet, really, what's going to happen. And as I think it was Gabe Gutierrez who pointed out that the command and control, or no, it was Kira Simmons, who pointed out the command and control inside Iran is difficult right now. So there are people inside Iran right now in various parts of Iran who don't necessarily hear the news directly from the Supreme National Security Council that Courtney was talking about.

So, yeah, I don't think it's the end. Let's see what happens here. It gives Trump an off-ramp, as it were, and it gives the Iranians a pause as well, because I'm sure they don't want to see this continual bombing day and day out. And we just have to really see where it was going to go in the next couple of weeks. if a peace deal can be made, but it seems unlikely that it will be made on the terms that the U.S. or Israel, for that matter, would like to see. Yeah, there's the negotiation, and then there's making sure the ceasefire holds on the ground, which, as you mentioned, it sounds like there is still some action happening from Iran

outwards. General, what kind of movements are you going to be watching for in the days ahead? What kind of signals would tell us whether there is a lot of the way? lasting deal coming? Well, I don't think we're going to see a lasting deal for a long, long time. What I'm going to be watching in the very near term is if the Iranians have, as Human said, agreed to open the strait unconditionally. It's typical Iranian negotiating style to say, okay, we'll take your peace-fire, but on this

issue of the straits, I think it's something we ought to sit down and talk about, and And they will stretch that negotiation for quite some time. But I think what I'm going to be watching more than anything else is to see if and when that happens, how President Trump will react, because he thinks he is pocketing a win. The Iranians think they're pocketing a win, and both sides are still pretty far apart on even the basis of the ceasefire. Yeah. The one thing they agree on right now is that this is a win for their side.

Courtney, I know that you have some new reporting on where the ceasefire stands right now on the United States side. Has it gone into effect? Is the United States no longer ordering airstrikes? Yeah, so literally just in the last few moments, Gadi, we have confirmation from two U.S. officials that, in fact, the U.S. has, the order has gone out to the U.S. military to cease all offensive operations in Iran that is effective immediately. So that is a huge development here. Also, in the last few moments, I've had a moment to read through this statement from the Iranian Supreme National Security Council. And I just want to point out the language here and the distinctions or the differences between

the president's truth social and what the Iranians are saying in their statement. So Iran's saying that the plan here emphasizes key points, such as the controlled passage to the Strait of Hormuz, coordinated with Iran's armed forces. That versus what the president is saying as part of this ceasefire that's necessary is the complete, immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz. So definitely a difference in the language there. The Iranians are clearly saying that there would be some coordination with Iran's armed forces as part of the Strait of Hormuz.

So, again, this is all developing very quickly, but we do now know that the U.S. has ordered the immediate and effective immediately end or pause, I guess, of offensive operations inside Iran. Again, effective right now. Yeah, and now we look for the details on this agreement. Courtney Kubi, all of you, thank you so very much for joining us on this very confusing night. We're getting reaction from inside of Iran. NBC international correspondent Matt Bradley joins us now from Tel Aviv. Matt, what are you hearing from those inside of the country?

Well, we're not hearing anything yet from actual Iranian people. They're suffering a long blackout for Internet and communications. We have been hearing, though, from Iranian state television, which is a very good. and reliable indicator, at least, of what the regime is trying to project to the people, and in many cases, to the world, they've been putting up banners on state television that have essentially been saying what a lot of Americans might be saying, which is that President Trump has basically backed down in the face of Iranian demands. This is something you'd expect Iranian state television to be saying. But, you know, we also got, as Courtney had been

mentioning, this reaction from Iran itself, from one of its supreme leaders. one of its Supreme Leadership Councils, saying basically that it was agreeing, but in a very conditional way, and as Courtney was mentioning, there are a lot of elements to this, and the Iranian 10-point plan that President Trump himself mentions in that truth social post as kind of a guiding way for these negotiations to go forward over the next two weeks. This statement from the Iranians are saying that they will be entering into negotiations. But this, the point of the point of that the Iranians seem to be hewing to, seem to be asking for, are so far away from what the Trump administration has been saying, and very far from what we heard in Trump's truth,

social posts. They mentioned that they're going to be ending all fighting against the axis of resistance. That could be Hezbollah in Lebanon. That would mean halting Israel's fight against Hezbollah. It means withdrawing all U.S. combat forces from the region. That's one of the things the Iranians seem to think is under discussion. Now, what would that mean? That could mean, withdrawing all U.S. combat forces from the many bases. We're talking about tens of thousands of soldiers now, many more who have been flowing into the region. That would be a huge change in American force posture. It also talks about providing compensation to Iran for all of the damages they endured during these joint American and Israeli attacks. There's been no discussion about the U.S. or Israel paying Iran damages or some sort of compensation for everything that's been going on

over the past five weeks. So these are things that we're hearing from the Iranians that have not, bear no relation to what we're hearing from the United States. So even though we are getting some sort of what looks like conditional agreement, it really does look like these two sides

are just as far apart as they've ever been. Yeah, worlds apart. Matt Bradley and Tel Aviv, thank you. And we're back in a moment with the urgent search for a missing an American mom who vanished in the Bahamas after falling off a boat with her husband, while her daughter is now raising questions.

Plus, heavy rain bursting through an airport ceiling, sending travelers scrambling for safety. We're going to show you that dramatic scene. Ahead on Top Story. Welcome back to Top Story. I'm Tom Yamas. Our thanks to Gotti Schwartz for holding on the fort while we're handling some of that breaking news over on nightly news. We are back now with the ICE involved shooting in Northern California, video capturing officers opening fire in a car as the driver speeds forward. Ice says it all happened during a targeted traffic stop to arrest a gang member wanted for murder. Maggie Vespa has those details.

Tonight, dramatic new video of an ice shooting today in California, east of the Bay Area. You see multiple SUVs and trucks pulled over, flashers on, at least three officers outside that black car, which suddenly backs up. Then the car turns and speeds forward. Officers guns drawn appearing to move out of the way. Zooming in, at least one officer appears to fire. The car speeds to the left over the median. The video, which has no sound, ends there and doesn't show what led up to the driver taking off. ICE saying in a statement, officers were conducting a targeted vehicle stop to arrest Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez,

an 18th Street gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder, and that he weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over, adding our officers fired defensive shots. They say Hernandez was taken to a hospital, his condition tonight unknown. The FBI is now investigating. It comes as the city of Minneapolis releases this new video of another ice shooting back in January, which contradicts the Trump administration's original account. DHS previously said an officer shot and wounded a Venezuelan man during an immigration enforcement operation after he and another man attacked the officer with a shovel and broom.

But the new video shows one. One man appearing to drop a shovel as another runs toward a house empty-handed. A third person, believed to be the officer, tackles him. Two unnamed ICE officers were suspended in February with the agency saying in a scathing statement they appeared to have made untruthful statements, adding they could face potential criminal prosecution. Okay, Maggie Vespah joins Top Story Live tonight. Maggie, authorities in California just held a news conference about today's shooting there.

What are we learning? Yeah, Tom, we're bringing this here on Top Story first. Just moments ago, the Stanislaus County Sheriff, so the local authorities in that area saying Hernandez, the man shot today is now in critical condition at a local hospital. That condition being the update. They also talked about how they were part of the investigation, they were a responding agency, but this has now been taken over by the FBI. And that's been a point of criticism following other ICE shootings under the Trump administration in the past, because, of course, that's a federal agency investigating a shooting by. a federal officer, nevertheless, the FBI now leading this one. Tom. Okay, Maggie Vesman for us, Maggie, thank you. Next tonight to Hawaii, where the Maui doctor

accused of trying to kill his wife will soon learn his fate. NBC's Liz Kreutz has the latest. Tonight, closing arguments in that dramatic Hawaii attempted murder trial. The state has proven that on March 24, 2025, Gerhard Koenig tried to kill his wife, Ariel. Prosecutors doubling down on their damning allegation that Dr. Gerhard Koenig, a Maui anesthesiologist, tried to push his wife off a cliff before trying to inject her with a syringe and hitting her with a rock on this Oahu hiking trail. He takes this rock and he beats her with it again and again and again. At one point, Koenig seemed shaking his head. The defense then reminding the jury of a different version of events. They're going to spin it in their favor.

They came up with a theory and they went to search for facts to support it. Konig's fate now nearly in the hands of the jury after more than two weeks of grueling testimony, including from Konig himself who argued on the stand. It was his wife Ariel, who he says was having an emotional affair with a co-worker who tried to kill him. Garrow, did you have a plan to kill your wife on the mountain that day? No. Did you try to throw her off a cliff? No.

You tried to stab her with syringes? No. When you hit her with the rock twice, why did you do it? In self-defense. Ariel also testified prosecutors showing images of her bloody face after the altercation. In my mind, he's trying to knock me unconscious to be able to drag me over the end. One of the biggest moments of the trial from Koning's own 20-year-old son from a previous marriage. Is there any doubt in your mind about the defendant telling you who tried to kill Ariel?

No. Okay. Liz joins, joins us now from Los Angeles. A lot happening here. Let us. Walk us through the charges those jurors will be considering. Yeah, Tom, so as we mentioned, just moments ago, the case has now been given over to the jury. They are deliberating. They have about two hours, a little more than two hours until the end of the day in Hawaii to continue deliberating. Otherwise, this will continue tomorrow.

They have to decide if Dr. Koen is guilty of second-degree attempted murder. That is the charge that comes with potentially a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. But today when the judge gave the jury instructions, he did say that if they cannot agree on that charge, they could convict him on a lesser charge, either attempted murder or attempted assault. They could also acquit him. But on any of these charges, they have to reach a unanimous decision, Tom. Okay. Liz, we thank you for that. Coming up, much more of that breaking news, the ceasefire just announced in Iran. Plus, Bill Gates said to testify about his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein, when the billionaire will appear before a congressional committee and more on the Epstein files. Plus, polls have just closed in Georgia in a race that could shake up the balance of power in Congress.

Steve Kornacki, standing by. Stay with us. All right, we're back now with our breaking news. The two-week ceasefire deal just announced for the war with Iran. The details of this agreement still coming in at this hour. We want to bring in back our teams of reporters and experts who are tracking these updates closely. NBC's Courtney Kuby and NBC military analyst Colonel Steve Warren and retired U.S. General Mark Kimet, we thank you all for being here.

Part of the issue that we're having would be very transparent here. Both sides are saying they're coming to a deal, but Iran also saying that their 10-point plan includes a lot of things that you can't possibly imagine the U.S. is going to agree to. But this is where we are tonight, Courtney. What more do we know about sort of the decision to sort of hit this ceasefire, put the bombing on hold for two weeks? There's also reports Israel has agreed to this too. Yeah, I mean, so this is remarkable. And as you said, Tom, it is developing really quickly. So we've just received confirmation in the U.S. military has ordered all offensive operations to cease,

and that is effective immediately. And why that's so fascinating, given, as you mentioned, we have the truth social posting from President Trump, and then we have a statement now from Iran is they don't appear to be on the same page when it comes to all of the details of this ceasefire agreement. And one specific stands out to me, and that is the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump saying very clearly in his posting on social media that the straight must overreact, immediately, completely, and safely in order for the ceasefire to take effect. But as I just said, the military has already ordered offensive operations to halt for right now. Now, on the other hand, Iran is saying that, yes, there is a strait-of-hormos component to this agreement,

but they are talking about the Iranian military being involved in some sort of a reopening of the strait or potentially even maybe escorting ships through the strait. It's not really clear exactly what they're saying, but it doesn't appear that the two sides are on exactly the same page. So what's fascinating here is, again, the U.S. has already agreed to this. And then another thing that I just found fascinating throughout the course of, as we've learned from this social media post, is the president's saying here that the U.S. has met or exceeded all of their military objectives here.

You know, what's become pretty clear is that you can see the posting there on the screen. What's become very clear is that this war has driven gas prices up. It has caused market confusion and chaos at some times. And President Trump was definitely looking for some sort of a way to move past this war. He was saying that it was going to be two to three more weeks. Well, now there is the ceasefire. And again, at this point, the U.S. military has not really met or exceeded all of their expectations or all of their goals, as he said here,

because Iran still has the ability to target and, in many cases, successfully hit allies in the region and even the U.S. military operating in Iran. We saw with that with the shootout of the F-15 and multiple other U.S. military aircraft just in the last several days, Tom. Yeah. Colonel, I want to ask you this. One of the points in the 10-point plan

is that the U.S. has to agree to remove all primary and secondary sanctions along with, and I lost my place here, but there's a provision here where they say that all combat forces have to remove, here it is, withdrawal of all U.S. combat forces from all bases and positions in the region. I can't imagine the U.S. military is going to agree to that.

I can't imagine it either, and of course, ultimately it's the president's decision, not the U.S. military's decision, but regardless, I cannot imagine the United States of America abandoning all of its positions throughout the Middle East. There's too much happening in the Middle East. That area, despite our longstanding desire to begin focusing on China and on Eastern Europe and other hot spots around the globe, the fact remains. And we learned it simply just through the episodes of the last four weeks that the Middle East remains an important area of national influence.

So we have got to, I believe, keep forces there in the region. And I don't see us agreeing to that. How long do you think it'll take for both sides to sort of agree, at least to this framework, so the straight can open? It's always tough to predict. Clearly, the negotiations are happening through a third party. That slows everything down. It's unclear exactly who's in charge of Iran in the first place. So there are a lot of complicating factors that we have to continue to work through.

I think ultimately, the president has shown that he is prepared to stop fighting. on his end. And I think that may be enough to have the Iranians, like, it's not in the Iranians' interest to continue keeping the straits clogged up. It's not in the Iranians' interest to keep targeting Gulf nations. General, if this is the end, right? And I know that's a big if, but if this is the end, Iran is declaring victory. Obviously, they're going to put out that propaganda to all of their millions of residents. That being said, they still have their same regime. They still have a military that's fighting. The percentage of the percentage of military that is still alive and working. It's unclear at this moment. We know those, the bombings by

the U.S. military have hurt Iran a lot. The Ayatollah obviously is dead. His son is now in power. Who can claim victory here? Can any side claim victory? Well, the important thing to understand is that Iran is fighting a resistance. It's not fighting a war. And the example I would draw is 2006 during the second infata of Israel into Lebanon. They basically raised the ground to the point where you couldn't grow a dog on Apple if you wanted to. And then they pulled out, and Hassan Nasrallah came out of his hole, looked around at the devastation, and what did he do the next day? He had a victory parade with 100,000 South Beirutis in it. Their goal is to resist. It's not to win. They win by not losing. So you can be certain that there will be massive amounts

of parades up and down inside of Tehran if this is where we end it. Is America, is the region safer after this war, do you think? As Steve would say, not if they agree to pull out, not if we agree to pull out all the American soldiers. In fact, that is a gambit that has got our Gulf allies right now completely trembling. America has to provide a security blanket for the Gulf region since the Suez crisis. And if we were to walk away from this without sort of providing that long-standing security blanket that we put on there for 50 years, you can imagine Iran is not going to sit down and be civil with its neighbors. And that's why they're worried.

Courtney, briefly here, because we have to go. We've got some other news as well, even though this is incredibly important here. Is your sense from talking to your sources that the president hopes this is the end? I mean, it felt like that in those sort of closing sentences in that true social play. It sure did. I mean, look, as we've been talking about, the markets have been in turmoil over this. Gas prices are high. It's clear that the U.S. was looking for some sort of a way out of this. But honestly, Tom, it's not clear if this is going to be the actual end of it or if this is just something that the president is looking for. I'm basically an off ramp. Okay. Courtney, General, Colonel, we thank you all for being here on such an important night. Back here at home, it is election night in Georgia. Polls have just closed in the runoff race to fill former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Gree. open seat. It's an election that could impact the balance of power in the House. Republican Clay Fuller, who has President Trump's endorsement facing off against Democrat Sean

Harris. Here's a look at those votes still being counted. Twenty-eight percent of the vote in right now. It's dead even from what we can see right here. NBC Steve Kornacki's at the big board keeping a close eye on it all. Steve, we know this is sometimes difficult because you're looking at one race in one congressional district. What do you know at this hour? Yeah, it's interesting, Tom. You're talking about a district here that voted for Donald Trump by 37 points in 2024. It's about as Republican as they come, and yet you're looking right now, at least,

with a little bit more than a quarter of the vote in, at what is essentially a tie in the vote that has been counted here. So you're certainly seeing some strong democratic numbers, unusually strong for this area in some of these counties right here, but you have to balance that with what we know about how elections tend to work in Georgia. And what we know is that the way they report out the vote, The vote that was cast by people who went out to the polls today, the election day voters, that's what's counted up last. What you're seeing right here is vote that was cast before election

day, people who did it by mail, people who went and voted early in person. And we know in Georgia that that vote, that pre-election vote, tends to be as good as it gets for Democrats. So if passed his prologue, this is about as good as it gets for the Democrats. We are waiting on a few more counties here. And as that same day comes in, it should work to the advantage of Fuller. That's what has typically happened in Georgia elections. But Tom, I have to tell you, we haven't seen any of the same day vote yet. Funny things can happen in elections, so let's wait and see right here. But I think realistically, Democrats have been looking at this race thinking, you know, this is core Trump country. They want to kind of emerge with this with a closer than expected

defeat. That's been the Democrats' goal. The Republicans' goal has been to deny Democrats that talking point to run up the score as fast as heavy as they can. If Republicans are going to do that, they're going to need big numbers when we start seeing those same day results come in. What are some of the trend lines that you're at least looking for? It's hard to sort of extrapolate evidence that can help us understand what's going to happen in November. But at least for tonight, what are you looking for? Yeah, I mean, again, I sort of said if the Vegas odds makers were setting a line for this race tonight, they would probably have said that Fuller was going to win by about 20 points. And I say that again, because the district went,

for Trump by 37. And in all these special elections that we've been having since Trump came back to the White House, the Democrats have been doing a lot better than they did in 2024. And so I think just based on what we've seen in other elections, that would set it at about 20 points, the expectation of about a 20-point Republican win here tonight. But what that speaks to is energy among Democrats. That Democratic base in opposition to Trump has so far, since Trump came back to the White House, been more interested in turning out in voting in elections like this than the Republican base has. So again, if you're getting a race that's 20 points or closer tonight when all these votes are counted, it's going to speak to that energy that the Democratic base has.

All right. Steve Kornack, you always great to have you on these nights. We thank you. Time now for Top Stories News Feed. Bill Gates is set to now testify in Capitol Hill about his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Microsoft co-founder expected to appear before the House Oversight Committee on June 10th, that according to a person familiar with the schedule. They say Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik is also scheduled to be interviewed next month as part of the Epstein investigation. To be clear, Lutnik and Gates have denied any wrongdoing and have not been accused of any by authorities.

And an update on that summer music festival in the UK that Kanye West was set to headline we told you about this last night. Organizers just canceled the three-day event after government authorities in Britain blocked the rapper, now known as, yay, from entering the country. It's all related to the backlash over his past anti-Semitic comments. The cancellation came hours after Ye offered to meet with the Jewish community and members in the UK. And body cam footage showing the moment officers on Long Island saved a 15-year-old who got stuck waist-deep in the mud. Watch as infrared cameras show people pulling on a rope.

You see it there to save the boy. He reportedly got trapped in the mud and couldn't get out, but still managed to call 911. Emergency responders were able to find the teen after following his phone signal. eventually hearing him through the marsh. Strange one there. Okay, now to the urgent search in the Bahamas after a Michigan mother vanished at sea. Police say Lynette Hooker fell overboard

while on a boat ride with her husband, but her daughter is now raising questions about the couple's history. Here's George Relese. Tonight, what police are calling a search and rescue mission for a 56-year-old woman who vanished at sea in the Bahamas is intensifying. Videos obtained by NBC News show rescue boats

scouring the area in the critical hours after Lynette Hooker disappeared during an evening boat ride with her husband Brian. We're pretty distraught that this is even happening. I'm still in shock. Like, it's just surreal. Lynette's daughter, Carly Aylesworth, tonight, revealing her mom and stepdad had a volatile history, describing him as monotone when he called to tell her the news. They have history of not getting along, especially when they drink.

According to police, the couple set out Saturday. around 7.30 p.m. on an 8-foot dingy, traveling from Hope Town to Elbow key. Brian telling investigators, Lynette fell overboard and was swept away by strong currents, taking the boat key with her, according to authorities. Police say with the boat's engine shut off, Brian told him he was forced to paddle back to shore for help, reaching land around 4 a.m. Lynette's daughter says the pair had been in the Bahamas for about a month, documenting their excursions on social media.

Lynette's seen here just days before she went missing. I haven't heard anything. I've tried to contact the police down there, and I didn't get an answer. The longer it's been, the more doubt I have that she's still there. NBC News has reached out to Brian Hooker multiple times, but has not heard back. Bahamian police telling us there are no further updates at this time. Tonight a family's search for answers deepening. George Solis joins us from Miami and George, I know you have more on what the daughter is telling you about her mother.

Yeah, Tom. She was telling me that her mother was very adept at boating, a decade of experience under her belt. Also, that she was very, very fit, saying she finds it really hard to believe that her mom would have just fallen over this boat. The State Department also says they are helping Bahamian authorities. But Carly also is aware, Tom, that the longer this search goes on, the more likely that it's going to be hard to find. her mom. She's just hoping that they at least find a body for some closure in this horrific tragedy. Tom. Okay, George Solis for us. Still to come tonight here on Top Story, the rapper Offset. Shot outside the hard rock casino in Florida will have the latest on his condition. Plus, the deadly explosion near the Panama Canal, what caused it? That's next.

We're back now with new details about a shooting that left rapper offset hospitalized. NBC's Kathy Park has those details. The rapper offset shot during a violent. an altercation in Florida. A spokesperson for the hip-hop artist confirming he was taken to the hospital where he is stable and being closely monitored. Police say the shooting happened in the valet area outside the Seminole, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. They believe it started with a fight. The rapper whose real name is Chiari Kendrell Seifis shares three children with superstar Cardi B. Police charged Tiani Hayden Merritt, better known as rapper Lil T.J., with disorderly conduct in

connection to the incident. Lil T.J. was seen earlier today leaving jail, denying his involvement. Did I shoot? Ops? It's crazy. A lawyer for Lil T.J. noting the rapper has not been charged with any shooting. Walk it like I talk it. Walk it. Walk it like I talk it. Offset rose to fame as part of the Atlanta-based hip-hop trio Migos, which disbanded following the death of a member of the group known as Take-Off. Kierznikari Ball, or Take-Off, was shot and killed outside a private party in Houston. back in 2022. He was not involved in the argument that happened outside. He was not armed. He was an innocent bystander. In the years since, Offset has been pursuing a solo career with hits like Say My Grace and jealousy. And police say a second person was detained but has not been charged.

Investigators are looking into whether any others may have been involved in this incident. Tom. All right, Kathy. Thank you. Turning out of the America. in a terrifying scene in Panama. A massive fireball consuming part of a Panama Canal bridge, killing at least one person. The images are wild. Embassy's Air McLaughlin is cracking this one for us. This is the moment a massive fireball consumed the area

directly beneath one of Panama's most iconic landmarks, the famed Bridge of the Americas. The blast killed one worker, according to local fire officials, injuring four others and terrifying drivers. And the bus passengers, you see here. crossing the span at the time. Panama Fire says several firefighters were injured, suffering from respiratory problems and minor first and second degree burns.

According to officials, the fire broke out on Monday during a fuel transfer involving three tanker trucks carrying diesel and gasoline. Two firefighters were among the injured and two fire trucks were damaged during the all-out effort to extinguish the blaze. Fire investigation is still in its early stages. This official says, adding it would be premature to speculate about the exact cause. It happened in an area sub-lease to a private operator by Panama Oil Terminals SA, which in a statement says it is now cooperating with investigators. Officials say the fire was extinguished within four hours and was out at the bridge itself within a matter of minutes,

with a special focus on cooling the bridge's concrete and metal components. Tonight, after a series of safety inspections on the more than 60-year-old structure, the bridge, which was the first to connect North and South America, reopened, though excluding buses and truck traffic. That's good news for the region, considering it is a major economic artery. Tom. It is. Erin McLaughlin. We thank you for that. And a top story's global watch. Australia's most decorated living veteran now facing charges over alleged war crimes. Ben Robert Smith is accused he killed five unarmed Afghans while serving Afghanistan from 2009 to 2012. If convicted, could face life in prison, Robert Smith is expected to make his first court appearance tomorrow.

And wild video out of Indonesia of rain bursting through the ceiling at an airport, you can see the water leaking into the terminal before parts of the ceiling just burst. Look at that. Sitting people running out of the way, the water continued to fall, and it poured down for a while as workers raised to try to get it under control. This happened at Jakarta International Airport after the area got hit with days of heavy rain. When we come back, the stunning new sights from the far side of the moon will show you what the Artemis two astronauts captured on their historic mission. Finally tonight, the new images from NASA's historic lunar mission are Tom Costello has those dazzling shots of the far side of the moon. From the Orion crew, a mega download of new lunar

photos, spectacular and humbling, granular details of never-before-seen craters, a slice of the earth 250,000 miles away, then rising above the lunar pole, updating the iconic Apollo 8 picture from 1968. The massive Oriental basin, the moon's Grand Canyon, 600 miles across, the Terminator line between sunlight and darkness. And a stunning 53-minute solar eclipse, the crew photographing and dawning their protective shades with the sun's corona burning around the edges. I have to start with a giant wow.

What you did yesterday really made a difference scientifically. Today, awestruck lunar scientists who are comparing the images to their own model. This afternoon with Orion back in the Earth's gravitational pole. Integrity, this is the International Space Station. A rare space-to-space radio conversation with astronauts on the space station. We can tell that you guys are definitely experiencing moon joy, and I feel like even we are experiencing moon joy right now. As the Orion crew speeds home at 1,300 miles per hour.

I'll breathe easier when we get through reentry and everybody's under shoots and in the water. Tom Costello, NBC News. That does it for us. Thank you so much for watching this special edition of Top Story. I'm Tom Yamis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.