Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Episode Date: August 19, 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, polls just closing in parts of Florida as voters cast their balance in critical primary races. Americans casting their balance from coast to coast. The race tonight to replace Governor Ron DeSantis will President Trump's endorsement matter? Plus the unusual face-off between two candidates with the exact same name that could decide control the Senate. Steve Kornacki is here breaking down the results. The deadly explosion tearing through an Ohio recycling facility, two employees killed. first responders racing to the scene and breaking right now a leak at another nearby plant forcing to evacuations.

New details in actress Hayden Panetteer's death, the bag of medication found at the scene. Plus, our exclusive interview with the actress's mother, what she revealed about the on-again off-again boyfriend who was with Hayden when she died. The growing mystery after a New York woman vanished in Las Vegas, the chilling call that came her phone, someone pretending to be her. A group of people caught in a sudden flash flood, knocked off their feet near a waterfall. What happened next? A radio shows surging of popularity in L.A., but there's a catch. One host is human. The other is completely AI, how this new concept is shaking up the airwaves. And the emotional soldier homecoming, a military father

posing as an elementary school mascot to pull off the ultimate surprise. Plus, the new calendar for Democrats running for president who it could set up for victory in 2028. Top story starts right now. Good evening. Let's get right to our top story. It's primary night for millions of Americans and polls have just closed across much of Florida. We are closely watching primaries for governor, senator, and several House seats there tonight, marking the first test of the newly redrawn congressional lines designed to boost Republicans' chances in the Sunshine State.

And President Trump's power will be put to the test once again. and will his picks move on to the general election in November? We know the president has already sent in his own mail-in ballot, the system he has railed against for years. And it's a battle of the Dan's in Alaska, two men both named Dan Sullivan. Fine for a Senate seat in the last frontier, while one Dan is calling the other a quote fake.

Also, in folding tonight, a Senate showdown in Wyoming, the race to replace former Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell in California and the crowded field to succeed Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida. It's a busy night, and Steve Kornacki is locked in at his big board standing by with results as they come in. But let's get right to Chief Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Noble. So, Ryan, let's start with Florida. Poles are closing now in several key house races. Republicans banking on this new map to pick up some seats come November. What are you watching there tonight and talk to us about some of the key races?

Yeah, Republicans are counting on a big night in Florida in November is the firewall to prevent them from losing the majority. And Florida became kind of the rescue plan in this redistricting effort that what happened all across the country that in many ways backfired on Republicans because Democrats returned fire in blue states. But they were successful in Florida in taking eight Democratic seats down to only four Democratic seats. So there are four key primaries here tonight where Democrats have incumbents running that are now in districts that are far less favorable for Democrats. And they're continuing that fight, that ideological battle. over the Democratic Party with progressive and in some cases Democratic socialist candidates taking on incumbents in these seats. Democrats feel that if their incumbents win, they've got a realistic

shot at holding many of these seats that are now Republican-friendly seats. But if the more progressive candidates win those seats, it will be much more difficult for Democrats to hold off those losses. Democrats still like their chances overall, but Florida could become one of the most important battlegrounds in retaining the House come this November, Tom. All right, let's turn to Alaska and the battle of the Dan Sullivan's. Here is some of the incumbent Dan Sullivan accusing his challenger of dishonesty. They can try to cheat. They're trying to cheat. They can't beat me on my record. This fake Dan Sullivan guy is not in it to win it. He's in it to rig it.

Okay, there have been accusations, obviously, that the challenger Dan Sullivan is a democratic plant. He insists he's sincere, but this could cause some actual confusion for voters, and this is a critical Senate seat. Yeah, and it's also a byproduct of the way that Alaska runs its elections. It's much different than basically any other state in the country. First off, this is a primary in which both Republicans and Democrats will be competing in the same race. And instead of a separate Republican or Democratic primary, what Alaska does is they take the top four finishers in tonight's primary, and they advance to the November election. And then on election day, it becomes ranked choice voting.

There's no other state that does it like this. And so that's what allows something like this situation with a whole other person named Dan Sullivan inserting themselves into the race, and that's how it could impact the incumbent Dan Sullivan. Nobody thinks the fifth grade former school teacher, Dan Sullivan, is going to become the next senator from Alaska. But what he could do is if he makes it into that top four,

he could cause confusion in the general election and then just take away some of that support that Dan Sullivan, the incumbent needs, that could be to the benefit of the Democrat, Mary Peltola. And Democrats have a very good feeling about Mary Peltola. She's won there statewide before. Alaska is a state that hasn't elected a Democratic senator in a generation. So this is a real pickup opportunity for Democrats in Alaska. And this name confusion between the Dan Sullivan's could potentially help them in that process. story yet? Have people looked into this investigated the new Dan Sullivan, not the one, not the incumbent? And who is either funding him or his reasons for running? Yeah, the New York Times did

an interview with him. He insists that he's in this race because he wants to be the next United States senator, but he has a voting record. He's never voted for Donald Trump. He has gone to rallies like a no-kings rally before. His profile certainly indicates that he would be somebody that would be further to the left of the political spectrum. There's also an investigation by the Department of Justice. Subpoenas have been issued by an Alaska grand jury wondering if there is some level of election tampering going on here. But several courts have looked at this situation. They reviewed his access to the ballot as being completely legitimate. They allowed him to stay on the ballot for tonight's primary. The one caveat they made is that on the ballot, the incumbent Dan Sullivan,

is denoted as the incumbent and an affirmed Republican, which should allow and clear up most confusion for voters tonight. Okay, Ryan, we thank you for that. I'm sure we're going to check back with you. Let's get over to Steve Kornacki, the big board, Steve. I know you're getting some votes in so far. I know it's still very early in Florida. Tell our viewers what you have.

Yeah, I think right away a surprise here, potentially, in the Democratic primary for the United States Senate in Florida. Now, this is a race here because Marco Rubio, the Republican, joined the Trump administration. I'll show you on the Republican side quickly. Ashley Moody, who was appointed to replace him, certainly in good shape in the Republican primary. The Democratic primary, Alex Vindman, if you know, if you remember this name, he was the whistleblower at the heart of the first Trump impeachment back in 2019, which made him something of a folk hero to Democrats nationally. He raised a ton of money for this campaign.

His opponent here, a state legislator, Angie Nixon, running to his left, joined the DSA, Democratic Socialist of America, during this campaign. campaign. Vindman was thought to have a wide advantage over her, certainly, you know, vastly outspent her. There was some criticism that Vindman might be taking this for granted. And wow, these early returns have him in a real fight. I mean, in early, we've got nearly a third of the vote now in statewide. And you can see Vindman is ahead in the count, but it's close. And a couple of things that jump right out here. You know, Broward County, one of the, the biggest vote-producing county in a Democratic primary here, Nixon leading there with about two-thirds of the vote in Broward County. She's doing very well in Osceola. This is Kissimmee St. Cloud around here.

I think not surprisingly for a candidate on the left, Alacqua County, Gainesville, State, University of Florida is here. She's doing well there. She's doing well in Leon County. And what those numbers are doing is they're keeping her competitive. You do see more of the Vindman numbers, the Vindman shade of blue popping up here, you know, north of Tampa along the Gulf Coast. These are smaller counties right here. But you do see Vindman leading there. And on the Atlantic Coast, you know, Flagler, Volusia, go down to Brevard. I'm looking at some of these an Indian River coming in, Vero Beaches here, Vindman getting a big margin out of there. But he's in a real fight right here. Really want to see

what Miami-Dade, what Palm Beach look like, what Orange County looks like when it comes in, Hillsborough. But this was, look, this is one that National Democrats, they're hoping to make this Senate race competitive in November. It's been a while since they won one in Florida. They thought with Vindman, they thought with the climate, with a new Republican, and appointed to the seat. This might be kind of a stretch opportunity for them this November. Wow, this would, certainly the establishment of the party, this would put a wrench in their plans if a candidate from the left like Nixon were to come and win this tonight, but she is absolutely

making this a game right now. Yeah, and not just a candidate from the left, right? Steve, she's somebody who's campaigned with the Democratic Socialist there in a state that, you know, at one time was viewed as a battleground state. It has turned red over the last few presidential elections. as you know, it's now the home state of President Trump. What you're showing right now, you're right. It is not good news for Vindman. I do want to ask you, I'm sorry if you had made this point. Do we know some of this early vote, or the vote that you have right now?

Is it the early vote? Is it the mailing vote or are these votes today? No, that's right. That's what they do in Florida. I'll give you an example here in Broward County. You see about two-thirds of the vote is now counted. That's early vote. That's vote by mail.

All of these counties get that ready, and they report it out very quickly after polls closed. And then in the next hour or two, they report out the vote that we'll was cast today. And it's an important point, Tom, because what we've seen in other states, I don't know if it'll be true here, but we've seen the candidates on the left doing better with that election day vote, that same-day vote. That's the vote that has not been reported out yet. And you see Nixon in it right now, if that trend continues here, that could be very favorable for her. Just real quick on a clarification point, when you're saying candidates on the left, are you saying

the more progressive candidates do better in the early vote or that's not really the case? Yeah, no, we've seen these candidates, these DSA candidates in a lot of other states, we have seen that election day vote, the people that went out and cast it in person, that's been where they've really, really performed the best. A lot of times that's younger voters that are going out, folks, whereas the vote by mail tends to be an older demographic that's doing it. We've seen that in other states. As you know, Tom, Florida can be its own universe, but if that continues here, that could be significant. It is some interesting data. Again, as we always say, the caveat, It's very early.

But Steve, I'm glad you pointed that out. Real interesting stuff. Thank you for that. We're going to turn out of that breaking news out of Ohio. Two people killed after explosions ripped through an industrial plan in Toledo. And at this hour, concerns of a leak at a nearby plan is triggering new evacuations. Our Shaquille Brewster has the very latest. Tonight, this frightening scene, a deadly fireball illuminating the pre-dawn sky.

That thick plume of dark black smoke billowing high into the air above a Toledo, Ohio neighborhood. You can hear the sirens as first responders race to the scene. This home security camera capturing the blast. Dakota Orozco also lives nearby. He told me the sound shook him awake. It seemed about 100 foot flames. The sky was tinted orange and red. It looked dystopian.

Was it scary? Yeah, it was. Officials say the explosion and partial collapse claimed the lives of two workers. and that it happened during a shift change at Brent Industries, an industrial recycling business, triggering a massive response. Due to the size of the building, due to the chemicals involved, being a hazardous material scene, and then due to reports that there were people trapped in the building. Crews launching an urgent search and rescue mission with two employees missing,

but rescue teams were evacuated because of the dangerous conditions. Firefighters battling not just the flames, but also low water pressure in nearby hydrants. I believe that when the building exploded, it broke water mains inside of the building and they were free flowing and we didn't, we weren't able to shut the water off right away. Hours later, authorities finding the bodies of two missing employees, a man and a woman who did not survive. Terrible accident there. Shaquille Brewster joins us now live from Toledo. Shaq, we can see some of the damage there behind you from that initial explosion. Now we're learning of another hazmat scare near where you are. Can you get our viewers up to speed? Yeah, Tom, this is also happening in Toledo, but about 10 miles from where we are right now. The fire department is saying that no one has been injured at what we believe is an asphalt facility,

but they are recommending evacuations for about a half mile radius from that facility. Meanwhile, back here at this scene, what you see is still very active. You see firefighters still working to put out some of the flames that are not visible to us. We know an investigation is well underway. We know the fire department has their arson team here investigating. We also know that OSHA will be part of that investigation. This plant and the owners have had previous investigations going back to 2015 and a plant explosion that happened at their Alabama facility.

By the way, we reached out to the owners of this plant, Tom. They have not responded to our request for comment. Tom? Okay. Shaquille Bruce for Shaq, thank you. Now, have some new reporting on Hayden Paneteer's final moments, including a bag of medication found at the scene. and her mother speaking exclusively to NBC News about the man who was with her when she died.

Steve Patterson has the latest. Tonight, new details in the death of actress Hayden Panettiere. An incident report obtained by NBC News revealing her on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson, and his brother were both at the South Carolina apartment when police arrived. According to the report, which is heavily redacted, Hickerson's brother was very emotional as paramedics worked on Panetierre, while Hickerson did not become emotional. until after she was pronounced dead. The officer, adding Hickerson, showed him a bag of medication, he says she was on.

Meanwhile, the actress's mother speaking exclusively by phone with NBC News, saying Hickerson was someone, quote, we've been trying to get rid of for quite some time. Adding the last time she spoke with her daughter was in October. Penitator opened up about the status of their relationship back in May. Do you still not connect or talk today? At the moment, no, there is not a relationship between. her and I. The spotlight, now on Panettiere and Brian Hickerson's time together. In her memoir, the 36-year-old described their relationship as increasingly abusive, starting in 2018.

The actress writing that in one incident, her face was so badly beaten, she didn't leave the house for weeks. Penetier ultimately sought a restraining order, but the outcome of that request is unclear. Hickerson will later plead no contest to two domestic violence charges in 2021 and was sentenced to four years probation. Hickerson has not responded to NBC News's request for comment. In a recent podcast, Paneteer read from a journal entry. I realized that I was more afraid of being alone than being abused. I had to take accountability for enabling unforgivable behavior. And the tributes remembering the star continue, including her former partner Vladimir Klitsko, father of their daughter, Kaya, writing that for

Kaya, he will speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was. Steve Patterson joins us tonight from L.A. and Steve, there are still questions about why Hickerson was with her in the apartment when you think about what she wrote about in her memoir? Many questions there, Tom. Why was she with him? What was the nature of their current relationship? Why were both Hickerson brothers with her at the time of her death? Certainly, Penny Tears' mother tells us she doesn't know why her daughter was with him and said she had been concerned about him and his family for quite some time. She says she now plans to speak to a detective. Tom. Okay, Steve Patterson for us. Steve, thanks. I want to bring in the NBC News Digital Reporter who spoke

exclusive to Penneteer's mom, Rebecca Cohen. She joins us here on set. Rebecca, thank you so much for joining us. First, just talk to me about sort of, I can't imagine how that mother was doing when you reached her. I mean, what was her tone like? And how did you sense she was sort of coping with all this? Well, of course, she was a devastated mother in distress. This is now the second child that she's lost in just a few years. And I think, like Steve was saying, the most important thing to her right now is getting to the truth of what happened. She said she's working with investigators. She's talking to detectives because she said, and I quote, she owes it to Hayden in order to find out exactly what happened in order to honor her life.

What about the relationship between Hickerson and the mother and Hayden? I mean, there's a lot of sort of question marks, it seems. Yeah, definitely. I mean, there was a lot of concern there. Like she said in the quote, she said that he has enabled her for years. And clearly they had a very back and forth kind of relationship for eight years now. And so I think there are a lot of questions about what their current relationship status was given these domestic violence charges and other things that came out in the last few years and just finding out the circumstances of whatever happened on Sunday. Did she talk about the brother at all? No, she didn't. She didn't mentioned that there was some general concern about Brian's family, but didn't specifically mention

anyone else. Okay. Did she talk about her relationship with her daughter? Because that's obviously, as we saw in Steve's piece, they were at points not talking. Yeah, and this is something that Hayden wrote about extensively in her memoir as well. Leslie Vogel, her mom told me today that the last time they had a real meaningful conversation was when she was in California in October. But, you know, they've been texting a little bit. And although she said they had a no contact. situation going on. It wasn't for a lack of love or concern. It was something that she felt she needed to do. Did she tell you how she wants her daughter to be remembered? Yeah, she really praised Hayden's acting career and talked about what an amazing on-screen performer that she was.

You know, she mentioned that she was sad that, like many young stars in Hollywood, she lost her way a bit, but she hopes that people remember Hayden in her in her prime on screen. Yeah, and so people remember it was Hayden's mother who sort of got her into the business. business, right? Oh, yeah. She, Hayden wrote about it in her memoir as well, that at 11 months, her mom put her up for some ads. I think her first was a play school toy ad, and then she was on screen in soap operas by the time she was four. Okay. Rebecca Cohen from NBC News Digital, we thank you so much for joining Top Story. Thanks for having me. Yeah, now did Tupac Choucaor's murder trial on the intense second day in Las Vegas. The jury shown graphic images and footage of the

rapper's final moments before he was killed. NBC's Dana Griffin has the late. Tonight, the graphic images of Tupac's body revealed to the jury. This is an entrance gunshot wound. Some of his family walking out of the courtroom before a forensic pathologist testified, Tupac died from gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen. Do you have an opinion as to the manner of death? Yes. What is that?

Homicide. The night of the shooting, video from the MGM Grand shows Tupac leaving the venue. After that beatdown of defendant D. Wain Keefe, D. Davis, his nephew, Orlando Anderson. Hours later, Tupac is gunned down in what prosecutors call a retaliatory drive-by shooting. Treat me as a hostile witness. An associate of Shub Knight, James McDonald, who says he did not want to be here, testified about gang retaliation culture.

I don't want to send him to person, sure, even though we don't like each other. Audio from a 1997 police interview played in court, revealing Davis, was in a car outside the Los Angeles party where Christopher Biggie Smalls Wallace was gunned down. Why the recording was introduced remains unclear. Defense attorney Michael Samt telling reporters his strategy is to paint Davis's statements, including his own memoir, where he admits to being involved in Tupac's death as unreliable. You're essentially telling the jury that you're inclined as a liar. Yep, I am. Yes, that's true.

Another witness testifying that there were tensions. between rival record labels, death row and bad boy that he says also turned violent. Tom? Dana Griffin, tracking that trial for us. Dana, thank you. Now to opening statements in the Blockbuster trial that could reshape some of the most popular social media apps on the planet. Meta, the parent company of Facebook standing trial in federal court in California,

a coalition of states alleged that the social media giant designed Facebook and Instagram in ways that kept young users hooked on it while misleading the public about the risk to their safety and mental health. NBC's Allie Canal is watching this one for us. Ali Meta is facing a slew of lawsuits. What's different about this one? Yeah, I think the scale really stands out here. Like you said, a coalition of states in this particular trial.

It's being led by California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey. They are taking on Mehta with billions and billions of penalties potentially on the line here. And the states, in their opening testimony today, they really painted the picture of a company that they say willingly made and built features that they knew would keep you. young users hooked on the apps and that they did nothing about it and they did not warn these users of those potential harms. And they're zeroing in on three features in particular. One, it's appearance altering filters. Another is time limit tools, which the states say can easily be circumvented. And third is the ability to have multiple accounts. And then on the defense side,

META is basically saying, well, where is the proof here? And in their opening statements, they really push back against the fact that the states are not calling in parents. or kids to testify. So their argument is, okay, well, how can you prove harm if we're not hearing directly from the people we presumably harmed? And META also accuses states of cherry-picking certain features while ignoring some of the other safety tools that they have built for young folks.

Do we think we're going to hear from Zuckerberg or other company leaders? Yeah, we will be hearing from META CEO Mark Zuckerberg. We will be hearing from Instagram head Adam Osseri. We will also be hearing from META whistleblowers, current and former employees, psychiatrists, economists, people who can actually quantify what the potential harms and dangers are here. The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks. We just had opening testimonies today, so a lot

more to come. Okay, Ali Kanao, great to see you here. Thank you. Appreciate it. Now to the dangerous temperatures and humidity scorching the south. At this hour, 76 million people are under heat alerts across the country. And the heat is really on in Miami. The 305 reaching 100 degrees this afternoon, tying its all-time record high. The last time that happened was 84 years ago. NBC News meteorologist Bill Kerrins is tracking it all for us. Bill, quick fact check here, man. That seems so crazy to me that it hasn't been 100 degrees in Miami since for the last 84 years. Yeah, it's a weird staff review. They're like, oh, that doesn't make sense. I mean, it's Florida. It gets really hot, but the ocean is cooler around it. So typically whenever it gets

that hot, the sea breeze comes in. Today was just a different story. It's interesting. You mentioned the 305 because today was the warmest day in 30,500 days in South Florida. Now, we're wasn't that humid. This is as close to a dry heat as you'll ever get in South Florida. The dew points were actually, you know, compared to Florida standards, not that bad. So that's how we hit that 100 degrees. So we still have warnings that are up for many areas. Oklahoma City hit 109 today. So it's not just Florida. It's across much of the south. And in many areas, the humidity is almost unbearable. Even at this hour, it feels like 107 in Houston right now, Mississippi 107. Savannah 107 too. and still in Miami, it feels like 104.

And the problem is everyone's back in school. We got kids at practices, and there's really no end in sight right through the weekend. These are the heat indices. New Orleans up there about 110 each and every single day. Tampa, about 105. And as I said, all through next week, it looks to remain equally as hot. We do have isolated severe weather. We've really been watching areas of southern Wisconsin carefully.

They have had a couple tornado warnings, no reports of tornadoes. But Tom, for our friends in Milwaukee, this line of storms is heading your way. you're under a severe thunderstorm morning. You're going to see wind gusts up to 50, 60 miles per hour in about 20 minutes from now. So just keep that in mind for your evening plans. Looks like it's going to be an intense night there in Milwaukee. Okay, Bill, we thank you. We're going to be back in a moment with the desperate search for a woman who disappeared on a trip to Vegas.

Her family now saying they're receiving mysterious text messages from her phone. Plus a new update in that cocaine trafficking bust at Penn State, the alleged ringleader turning himself in what we're learning tonight. And the collision on the track, a commuter train slamming into a car, how people nearby rushed into help to save the driver. That's ahead of top story. We're back now with the ongoing search in Las Vegas for a woman who disappeared more than a week ago

during a trip there. Now someone is calling her family from her phone claiming to be her. NBC's Aaron McLaughlin has this one. She can be anywhere. The family of Elisa Goods is desperate. The 63-year-old's niece and sisters say the Brooklyn resident was visiting a friend in Las Vegas

when she disappeared on August 8th. She left her friend's house to go to the CBS and she never came back. Days later, the family says they began receiving these mysterious text messages from her phone, posing as the grandmother of five demanding money and Bitcoin. They said, I'm at the gas station. I need gas for the car. And she doesn't drive. And I just started crying because I knew it wasn't her.

Then came a mysterious call to Goetz's son. They say he recorded part of that conversation. The caller claiming to be Elisa. The family says that's clearly not Goods' voice. Yeah, my phone is bad. I'm going to call you. It's another good. My phone. They say they've turned everything over to the Las Vegas police but are frustrated with the investigation. She said we have a lot of things going on. And right now she is just not a priority. And at this point, you have told the detective that someone has your,

Your aunt's phone is demanding Bitcoin and does not seem to be your aunt. Absolutely. NBC News reached out to the Las Vegas police about that response. No word so far. In a separate statement, the Vegas police said goods is considered a missing person. Okay, Aaron McLaughlin joins us now. Aaron, this is a strange. When you spoke with the family to kind of get a sense of what's happening here?

When was the last time they heard from Good's phone that we know it was her? Or is that unclear? Well, the last text they received was yesterday. It was two Goods' niece, and the text said, Hey, sis, yet another indication, according to the family, that Goods is not in control of at least one of her phones. The family says she has two phones. One of the phones is going straight to voicemail. The other one is the one that they've been communicating with. Now, they handed all this information, the two phone numbers to investigators on August 12th. It wasn't until August 15th. It wasn't until August 15. that the detective in charge reached out to them to confirm the numbers.

The family says that's part of their frustration that this investigation does not seem to be moving fast enough. Okay, Aaron McLaughlin, we'll see on top of this one. Thank you. Still to come tonight, the babysitter were arrested accused of kidnapping two little girls. How police tracked her down. Plus, the stunning rescue oversees a golden retriever pulled from the rubble after being buried for days by a landslide. But first, top story's top moment and the emotional surprise at one El Paso Elementary school. Second grade student Rosie thought she was chatting with the school's mascot, a panther named Polky, but take a look at the moment she finds out who

she's actually talking to. That there was a special surprise, but we have a special surprise for you too, okay? You ready for the surprise, Colky? All right. Ready? You ready? Yeah. That's U.S. Army Captain Jeremy Bell. Rosie's soon to be stepped down. who had been deployed for more than a year, coming home to surprise this girl and give her a long and much-needed hug. We thank that family for their sacrifice and their service. Stay with us. More top story after the break.

We're back with breaking news out of Florida. We have an election alert in a key primary house race there. I want to get right to Steve Kornacki at the Big Board. And Steve, this is a big win for a lot of reasons. I'm sorry, say that again, Tom. I missed it. I think we have a race call in Florida. I think it's Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Debrough Wasserman Schultz in the 20th, yes, absolutely. On the House side here, Wasserman Schultz, her district was transformed by this redistricting effort. Her house is actually in a different district. She opted to run here in the 20th District. This is based in Broward County, Fort Lauderdale. There was some controversy because this is a plurality African-American district. There's a history in this district of representation by black members of Congress.

But she decided to run here. Again, there's sort of split opposition. You can see two Wasserman Schultz. She easily out-fundraised her opponents, so she wins this thing handily. And again, this is an overwhelmingly Democratic district. Kamala Harris won it by nearly 40 points. So it looks like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose career was certainly threatened by the redraw here in Florida this year, has survived.

This primary and is very likely to go back to Congress next January. And somewhat of a counterpoint to what we were talking about earlier in the broadcast, right? She's the establishment candidate. You had a Democratic Socialist there at the bottom, who was getting some traction running with that trio of candidates in Florida, but not so much tonight, right? Well, and I think, yeah, more to that point, time. In the 25th district, we also have a call here in the Democratic primary. Jared Moskowitz, who is being challenged by Oliver Larkin, who is a Democratic socialist of America endorsed candidate. Again, this is Broward, Palm Beach,

Miami-Dade along the coast. Moskowitz, we're projecting, has survived, has won there. You can see the margin now just over 20 points. So, yeah, it continues to be the story. In that Senate race here. Angie Nixon, the candidate of the left, with nearly three quarters of the vote now. And what we had talked about, Tom, the last time I checked in with you about, was Nixon going to be doing better as that election day vote came in?

It looks like she is. We've seen this in a number of counties now. As the election day vote comes in, her totals are getting better and better. And you can see that's an eight point margin, essentially, she has over Vindman. So in the Senate race, you're seeing something there that the left I think will crow about if this holds,

but not necessarily in some of those House districts. Democrats are going to be studying that race. Okay, Steve, thank you. Always great to have you. As the midterm battles are shaping up for this November, Democrats already have their sights set on 2028. The Democratic National Committee announcing the biggest overhaul to its presidential primary schedule in decades, and it's pretty fascinating. It could have a big influence on who scores the party's nomination. We want to show it to you now. Here's that new schedule. Instead of starting with Iowa or New Hampshire, Democrats will start down south

with South Carolina on January 22nd. Then get it. this on February 1st, they go out west to Nevada. Then on February 8th, they go to New Hampshire. They go to the polls there, and they've now slid to third, followed by New Mexico. So that'll be the fourth one on February 15th, Michigan on February 22nd, and Virginia on February 29th. And then Super Tuesday, when, you know, several states hold primaries. That schedule means candidates will have to make very difficult calculations about how they campaign. Here to discuss our political pros, Julie Roginski is a Democratic strategist and author of the salty politics. Newsletter on Substack, even though she's very nice. And Corvin Trent is founder of a fight

worth having PAC and former Bernie Sanders presidential campaign strategists. I will be honest, I was reading New York Times today. I was reading David Pluff's analysis of this. So, Julie, I'm going to start with you. What does this mean for who's going to be the Democratic nominee in 2028? Does anything concern you about this new calendar? Nothing concerns me. I'm actually thrilled about it in the sense that it diversifies the calendar tremendously. Look, both Iowa and New Hampshire, I love both states, but they're not necessarily reflective of the Democratic base. They're certainly not reflective of the country as a whole. They're suburban states.

They're sometimes rural states. There are not many major cities with people of color in them. South Carolina has determined the Democratic nominee for the last several Democratic presidents. Both Joe Biden and Barack Obama really solidified their gains because of South Carolina because black voters are continued to be the base and the backbone of this party. I understand there's a lot of talk about the DSA and about the resurgent left, but the reality is the base of this party has continued to be black voters and particularly black women. No Democrat has won the presidency since Lyndon Johnson with the majority of the white vote. And I think the primary needs to reflect that and the primary calendar needs to reflect that.

Corbyn, so you have South Carolina. Then I think from what I read you have about 10 days before you go to Nevada. You have two very different sort of constituencies there's, right? You have the black voters, as Julie was just mentioning in South Carolina. You move out to Nevada. You have the unions there and obviously Latinos as well. What does that mean for these campaigns? What do they have to do?

I mean, you know, I think exactly what we were hearing is that it's a very diverse calendar. So that means that you've got to be broader in your scope, I think. But, you know, out of the six states, Bernie won three of them in 16 and 20. He's, you know, he doubled up on a lot of them. And I think that the idea that black voters are not going to be looking at things like Medicare for all, they're not looking at things like rebuilding infrastructure. I think that's going to be, you know, I think that's a bad view. I think that you're going to see a resurgent, not left, but you're going to see a resurgent

can-do party. And I think that's what we're seeing right now is that a lot of these candidates are out there running on the idea of what we can accomplish, what we can build, what we can take, you know, what we can take hold of for ourselves. And, you know, when I see the 2028 cycle starting up, I think that's what we're going to start needing to see more of is big visions, big ideas, because the moment calls for it. We're struggling. whether it's health care, housing, clean water, clean air, we're having a hard time.

I don't think you can look at the calendar so far in the races we've won so far and say, okay, the progressives have an edge, or the DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America have an edge, or the establishment does. The races are kind of all over the place, and I think they're particular to each state, right? All politics is local. Corbyn, looking at this new calendar, though, does it benefit a more establishment candidate or a more progressive candidate? I mean, I think it is, you know, a more level playing field, but I do think putting South Carolina at the very beginning. What do you mean by that, Corby?

A level playing field for who? For all the candidates. I think it is more diverse. It's more, you know, you're getting various regions of the country, you're getting various regions of the population, you're getting different makeups that demographically, age-wise. I think it's a good, robust set of states to put at the beginning. But I do, you know, my guess, who knows, right? This is just sort of from my backseat position. But I think putting South Carolina there at the very, very beginning, in a way,

actually reduces its impact on having the choice, if you will. I mean, one of the things that you saw in 2020 or even, you know, go back to seven. Is that why? Because they tend to pick more establishment-style candidate? No, no. I'm just saying because the ideas that helps them, you know, you have to start having a field getting separated before a real decision-maker can come in there. And I think South Carolina has shown that people that were thought that were down and out, whether it's Barack Obama or Joe Biden,

had a resurgence because of winning South Carolina because of its place in the queue. Now it's at the beginning, so I think it has less of a capacity to save a flailing campaign. Good point. Julie, what about you? Does it favor a more progressive candidate, more establishment candidate? I think it remains to be seen depending on how people do this coming November. Look, when you have Abdul al-Said running in Michigan, if he wins Michigan in a swing state like Michigan, I mean, that definitely will give. a lot of oxygen to progressive candidates who can say, look, we're competitive in places like that. If he loses, if Maine continues to be a Republican state, that's going to take the air out of the sales of the DSA, I think to some extent by saying, we're not the DSA because he's not DSA,

but more progressive candidates by saying, look, you guys tried in the midterms, you didn't succeed. The one thing I'll say about South Carolina is it's an incredibly pragmatic state. It's not that it's supportive of progressive candidates or non-progressive candidates like Barack. Obama also beat Hillary Clinton in South Carolina back in 2008. What it is is a pragmatic state. It looks at viability and it says this is the person that we think is best positioned to win a general election. Those voters, they don't really care about ideologies much as they care about electability in South Carolina. And so I think that's what they're going to take a look at based on what happens this November. And I think a lot of it does depend on what happens in the Senate races that I just

talked about. Real quick, before we go here, I'll ask you guys both this questions. Julie, will an outsider, Does this calendar help or hurt an outsider? If an outsider were to emerge on the Democratic side, like we saw on the right with the Donald Trump, an outsider comes in to the Democratic Party. Does this map help them at all or not really? I think it depends who that outsider is. I think of that outsider looks like he or she's an electable outsider. But look, what do you consider an outsider? Is AOC an outsider?

Some people might say yes. Other people might see she's been in Congress, will have been in Congress for about a decade by that point. Who knows, right? If this is a Barack Obama situation where somebody who's not necessarily a long-term incumbent comes, and that's a different story, but I think it remains to be seen who that outsider is. What about you? Who do you think it favors? Could an outsider come in in this calendar, or is it kind of, is it gamed out already? I think politics in general, right now, favors outsiders. I think that the idea of remaining

with the status quo is something that's getting very much worn out. And a lot of people are looking for something new and something different. Now, pragmatism, it's weird that we call sticking with the same thing that's not working pragmatic. You know, I think that that is a thing that people are starting to break away from, whether it's, you know, we're spending about $80 trillion over the next 10 years on this health care system. That's not pragmatic, you know?

Well, it's pragmatic. He won, Gordon. Joe Biden did win the presidency, so it is pragmatic. They did pick the guy who could beat Donald Trump in 2020. And then it ran to 2024 and we got Trump again. So, I mean, that's the problem, right? I mean, if we keep electing the same type of Democrats

that don't fix the problems that are, you know, that are actually, I think, polling back Americans, then you're going to continue moving further and further to the right. you're going to move further and further towards a authoritarianism. And I think that is ultimately the problem that we're encountering here is that a Democratic Party that's not delivering results.

They do the work, like, oh, we pass these bills, we pass that bills, and then nothing gets into the hands of the people. I said it was the last one, but I like this conversation so much. Corbett, real quick, does a calendar favor someone like Kamala Harris, do you think? Because David Plough, who ran Obama's campaign, was a key aid to him, argues that if you win South Carolina, you win Nevada, you're going to be very tough to beat. Does a calendar like this help someone like Kamala Harris, do very well in South Carolina. She goes out west where she's known in Nevada, and then she runs the

table. I mean, I don't think those states are very much represented. I mean, I think they've picked very different people along the way, right? Again, I think putting South Carolina into a very, very beginning of this inhibits its ability to be a kingmaker or, you know, a nominee maker. That's my read on it. Truly, what about you? I mean, I don't know that she is going to win South Carolina. I think they, as I said, they're very pragmatic. They took a look at her and said, look, you had your chance four years ago, who's to say that you're going to win again this year? And so I don't know that she is going to do well

in South Carolina. Certainly Nevada, I think, is not particularly positioned to do well for somebody like her. Julian Corbyn, we thank you for joining Top Story. Fascinating conversation. I'm sure we'll do it a lot more going to 2028. Time now for Top Stories news feed. We start in Thailand where a group of tourists were swept away by a raging floodwater. It happened as they were

trying to cross the river near a waterfall at a popular national park. Staff there said they issued a warning, but some didn't have enough time to make it out. Luckily, report everyone was rescued safely. That's great. And a major update in that cocaine trafficking bus at two Penn State fraternities. The man accused of being the ringleader turned himself in this morning. Augustino Abatielo was charged yesterday along with 13 other defendants, but he didn't show up for his arraignment. He's accused of having other fraternity members, including pledges, cut and bag the drugs.

And new video out of Massachusetts showing a crowd of people racing to save a driver when a commuter train slammed into a car. Here you can see them trying to clear out debris and get that person out of the vehicle. No word yet on what caused the crash. Fire officials say the driver was hurt, but is expected to be okay. And a fire breaking out of school in Virginia, when first responders rushed into a classroom, they found this. An eight-foot python slithering under the desk. Turns out it might have been that pet snake that sparked the flames.

Fire officials told our local affiliate they believe it knocked over a heat lamp when it broke out of its cage. A teacher is now pushing back saying the fire was an accident and nobody's fault that the snake is innocent, I should say. Okay, Cruz rescuing a golden retriever that got buried in mud and debris during a powerful landslide in the Philippines. Look at this. The family reportedly lost the dog as they were evacuating when the disaster hit earlier this month. Once back at home, they started to lose hope until someone heard a faint barking under the rubble. And after three days of searching and digging, they finally pulled her out alive where she was reunited with her family. Okay, in Atlanta, a remarkable video of the moment police rescued two young girls from inside a tow trailer. Authorities say they were abducted by their babysitter who has now been charged with kidnapping,

and they say this isn't the first time she's done this. George's release reports. Show him your hands. Tonight, a heart-pounding arrest and rescue captured on police body camera. Do not move! Watch as Atlanta police close in on Lakeisha Brown hiding inside a trailer that authorities described as unclean and unsuitable for human habitation. With two little girls, she's accused of kidnapping.

You can hear the children crying in the background as officers issue their commands. Watch as the officers move in and take custody of the children. Don't move or I will shoot you. The dramatic scene unfolding Monday after police were alerted by the mother that Brown, her babysitter, had abducted her children when she failed to return them, triggering an Amber alert. Officers tracking Brown to this trailer after hearing a baby crying. I got the baby. The mother, you know, thought that she was leaving their children and the care of somebody she could trust.

Police say Brown is accused of kidnapping a four-day-old baby under similar circumstances in 2021. That baby also later reunited with his mom. Authorities now moving to revoke her bond in that case. George Solis joins us tonight. George, how are those two children doing? Yeah, Tom, it's interesting. So in court documents obtained by NBC News, Brown says, that she could have returned the children at any point,

but couldn't think of a logical reason for not doing so. Children are said to have been taken to a local hospital to be checked out after being in that trailer, in that hot trailer, and are said to be doing okay tonight. Tom? Okay, George, thank you. Coming up, the scary scene in Philly, a person wearing a creepy mask seen chasing a woman down the street,

that terrifying video in the search for the suspect. Plus, the popular new radio show taking off, waning on everything from politics to pop, culture, but one of the hosts is fully AI. We'll show you how it works right after this. Back now with some chilling scenes out of Philadelphia. Police were searching for a man accused of harassing people in a Chucky-style mask, even caught on camera chasing a female jogger. The encounter is straight out of a horror movie. Emily Aketa has the video. It's like a scene out of a horror film. A man donning a chilling Chuckie doll-style mask

spotted on the streets of Philadelphia antagonizing men and women. Surveillance cameras capturing him following this jogger. When the 40-year-old turns back, so does he. Asking the woman, according to police, are you ready to die? Clearly she's not ready to die. So she takes off southbound on 15th Street. In the process, she injures her leg. It was part of a scaring spree early last Wednesday that's left locals near City Hall on edge.

That's definitely scary and it's creepy. You know, so I don't know what his attentions are. I just think it's so crazy. Like I've never seen anything like that and I'm down here all the time and it just like it scares me. Now, investigators are asking for the public's help identifying the suspects seen here holding the mask and at some points a cell phone. Police believe he recorded the incidents and are looking into whether this was part of some sort of social media prank. They're scouring social media to see if they come across this individual posting of this online material. It'll be good for us to make it easier to find them. Investigators say this possible attempt to go viral will end in charges related to

terroristic threats, harassment, simple assault, and more. Emily, it kind of joins us now. Emily, so this is either a very sick prank or maybe somebody who's demented. What do we know about the suspect? Okay, so police are describing this masked man as about five, eight in height, saying that he has a thin build, and he's pretty young, around 16 to 20 years old. They say that he harassed at least six different people in the span of just three. 15 minutes or so. And so right now, they're not just asking for people to come forward with any information about the suspect, but they're also asking any victims or anyone who encountered

this man to come forward because they say, again, at least six people have been approached. Way too early for Halloween. I know. Seriously. This is nightmare stuff. Okay, Emily, great to see you. Thank you for that. Turning now to a new kind of radio show that is hitting the airwaves and getting a lot of buzz. It has two hosts, but only one of them is a real person. The other is AI. The network says the show is so popular, it's now expanding to new markets. Amber Frias from our NBC Los Angeles station caught up with the human host today. It's Gigi and Coyotech. Coyotech, my friend intelligent, the morning radio has always been about chemistry, the back and forth between the people behind the mics. But inside this Los Angeles studio, one of those voices isn't a person.

Now that's what I'm talking about. Meet Coyotech. Hey, NBC, I'm Coyotech. A bilingual AI-powered radio personality sharing the mic with veteran host Gigi Guzman. The energy is definitely there, but obviously, you know, I can't touch him, but yeah, it's wild for sure. He jokes, reacts and switches between English and Spanish. We asked him where he's from. I grew between an antennae in Mexicali and a turntable in boiled highs. Coyotech first went on air last September on Entrovision Spanish language Jose 97.5 in L.A. What started as a more scripted robotic character has evolved. now using AI to respond on his own.

It's crazy because Gigi and I, we just click, you know? Entravision president, Eduardo Maitorrena, says the goal is connection. I wanted somebody to just to go out there, to connect, to be authentic. I got opinions. I got passion for the community. And I'm not afraid to speak truth. And listeners are responding. The listeners ask for him and they want to see him or they want to hear him or just, you know, converse with him.

Now the experiment is expanding. It's about the signal reaching further. it's about the community knowing we're there for them. IntraVision is now bringing Gigi and Koyotech beyond Los Angeles to several markets across its Wego network with a bilingual format. When we ask Koyotech, what makes him better than a human? That's not how I see it, Amber. I'm not better than a human host. I'm different.

The future really is not about using AI to replace human beings. It's not. It's about giving storytellers a better tool to tell better stories. And that's what we're doing. I think when we think about, you know, an AI, as a co-host, it's kind of scary to think about that he could one day replace us. I don't think that algorithm can never replace human connection. With me, Gigi and Coyotech, Buenos Aires. A new kind of chemistry as radio looks to the future.

Amber Frias joins us now from Los Angeles. Amber, do most people listening know it's AI and are more people listening with this new format? Hey, Tom. Yeah, you know, most people do know it's AI because the host do a good job about reminding the audience that they are listening to an AI host, at least one of them being an AI. And yes, the station believes that they are getting more listeners since they incorporated Gojopek. They tell us that they've seen a boost in men ages 18 to 49 listening in when before, you know, the most common group that they'd get in their listeners was older men.

So they are definitely seeing, you know, a boost since they incorporated Goyotech a year ago. Okay, Amber, great to have you. we thank you. When we come back tonight, saying goodbye to the Mail Order Music Service, once known for huge deals like a dozen CDs for just a penny. We'll have a look back at Columbia House's impact on the industry right after this. Finally tonight, the end of an era. You may remember Columbia House, the Mail Order Music Club, giving millions access to records, cassettes, and CDs for decades. Well, tonight they're facing the music and bringing an end to their retro subscription service. Here's Gotti Schwartz. It was a jingle for a simpler time. You remember the deal, 12 brand new CDs for a single cent.

Get 12 CDs free. But after more than a half a century, the Mail Order Music Club, Columbia House, announced it's no longer taking new orders starting next month. This is how majority of us started our music collection. It's the best part of the day. Columbia House is especially popular in the 90s, a time of R&B, rock, and power balance. It just felt like such a disruptive, glorious, like, Christmas morning. But what was that deal? 12 CDs for one penny.

Too good to be true. I didn't pay there late free. I had debt collectors come in for me. The fine print was quite the doozy. The fine print was pretty lethal. Like, the next month in the mail, you get, like, a Carlos Santana CD. And you're like, I don't know what this is. And it costs, like, $28, right?

and it's like, clearly, and you understand immediately, like, oh, like, I did this. Listen, that. Did you join the Columbia Record Club? And while CDs seem to be having a nostalgia-driven moment, Columbia House has now gone the way of the penny out of circulation and facing the music in a digital world. Gatti Schwartz, NBC News. So goodbye to Columbia House. A good reminder if it deals too good to be true, it probably is.

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