Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Episode Date: August 23, 2023

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.

Tonight, the extreme week of weather rages on as a new tropical storm makes landfall. Harold bearing down on Texas packing strong winds and torrential rains. Just one day after a rare west coast tropical storm slammed Southern California. Scary moments in L.A. as a hospital lost power, the urgent efforts to evacuate those patients as teams up in the mountains search for the missing and stranded after a massive landslide. In Maui tonight, crews finishing the search of all single-level homes. Now moving on to the, quote, treacherous sights as they search for the hundreds still missing. Tonight, a Maui resident we met on the ground in Lahaina will join us here live.

Her reaction to President Biden's high-profile visit last night and what she says her community still needs right now. High-risk rescue, a group of students in a trapped cable car in Pakistan, dangling 900 feet above a ravine after one of the cable snapped. The heart-pounding moment one child was pulled to safety by helicopter and how the rest of those students got down to the ground. Road hazard? Robotaxies off to a bumpy start in San Fran. The driverless car stalling in the street, causing traffic jams and even colliding with an emergency vehicle. What the city is now doing to get this new innovation back on track. Plus, a new king of beer has been crowned. Modelo, dethroning Bug Light as the best-selling beer in America. how the Mexican-made brew climbed its way to the top spot.

And tonight, the story of one self-taught Mexican-American designer sewing his story into the fabric of every streetwear look he creates, how he's turning his culture into a wearable couture and racking up an impressive clientele along the way. Top story starts right now. And good evening. We begin top story tonight with that extreme weather threat From Texas to California to Washington State, hurricane season kicking into high gear,

unleashing a relentless string of storms across the southern U.S. Texas in the bull's-eye tonight, tropical storm heralds slamming onto the shores of South Padre Island, bringing heavy rains and dangerous wind gusts. That storm now making its way across Texas, as you see here, it's a tropical depression, still packing a punch, dropping inches of rain and carrying a threat of tornadoes tonight. It's the second tropical storm to make land. just this week. The first, of course, tropical storm Hillary. It has dissipated, but her wrath is still being felt. A total blackout shutting down this hospital in Los Angeles after a backup

generator failed. Firefighters evacuating seriously ill patients, one woman, even giving birth among the chaos. The rain bringing some relief to those areas charred by wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. Some residents able to return to what's left of their homes will have a full report from the fire zone in a moment. And we are tracking yet another storm gaining strength in the tropics. You see it here. Our man Bill Karen standing by to time it all out. But first, NBC's Aaron McLaughlin leads us off tonight here on Top Story. Tonight, Tropical Storm Harold makes landfall in southern Texas, bringing heavy wind and rain. As some in Southern California are digging themselves out of the mess, Tropical Storm Hillary left behind. After record,

The rainfall flooded streets and blanketed entire communities in sludge. Sad that we have to go through all of this. The round-the-clock cleanup continues. Ms. Ann Bernardino National Forest, a harrowing search and rescue operation now underway. After a massive mudslide barreled down the mountain. And completely wiped out this bridge, cutting off a small community just over that way, home to the only person missing from Tropical Storm Hillary. That community now covered in mud.

A source tells NBC News the search for the missing woman now underway. Scariest thing in my whole life. Up the road, resident Stephanie Noyes and her dogs were rescued today after being stranded for more than 48 hours. How did you get the word out that you needed help? You know, I found out earlier. I went out to the river out there and had a white towel. When the helicopter came over, I started going like that. And I guess they came back and told them that there was somebody to rescue.

Meanwhile, near Palm Springs, relief. Thank God. after firefighters rescued the elderly using construction equipment there's sinkholes back there there's still standing mud of up to five feet that is new video released shows this alaska airlines flight making a dramatic landing in orange county during the height of the storm sparks flying from the landing gear the cause is still being investigated meanwhile overnight a life-threatening emergency at a Los Angeles hospital. We had 241 patients that were actually impacted by this power outage.

After the backup generators failed, firefighters desperately evacuated patients, some critically ill. A woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl under the glow of flashlights. And we had a whole lot of them, and the baby's fine. Tonight, as California recovers, no relief for Texas, after Mother Nature's relentless onslaught. So glad that baby's doing. Okay. Aaron, we still see this is an ongoing situation there just behind you. And we understand there's still rescues happening? Well, Tom, I just heard from a source who told me that the rescue

mission has now been completed not far from here. Anyone who wanted to leave that community was evacuated by helicopter. The source also told me that they found the home that belonged to that missing woman. He said it was completely demolished. no sign of that missing woman. The search for her continues. Tom. Okay, Aaron McLaughlin, glad that one operation has concluded. We appreciate your new reporting. As we mentioned, we're tracking another storm down south tonight. Tropical Storm Herald making landfall in Texas. It's now been downgraded to a tropical depression, but still bringing heavy rain, dangerous flooding, and gusty winds to the region. I want to bring an NBC News meteorologist, Bill Karen. So, Bill,

walk us through the latest on that track. Yeah, we had about 63 mile per hour winds. We had maybe about three to four inches of rain as the highest totals I've seen. And now the storm is heading into Mexico. We still have a chance of isolated tornadoes or some strong thunderstorms on the outer bands. But once the sun sets, that should diminish. We've been watching those near San Antonio all afternoon and all evening long. Then the hurricane center dissipates this over the high terrain of Mexico. So we're just about done with Harold. So of course, this time of year, there's almost always something next. And Franklin is still sitting in the Caribbean over the very warm waters. It's an unorganized storm, but it's moving very slowly.

Slow-moving storms and mountains are a horrible combination. And that's what's going to happen tomorrow with the Dominican Republic. You've got 8 to 10,000-foot peaks, almost the same as in Southern California. But this is moving like a quarter of the speed, as Hillary did. So that's why we have a chance up to 15 inches of rain tomorrow with the Dominican Republic. Everyone wants to know what happens after this. Well, the hurricane center says it's going to stall out and be kind of slow-moving. They do bring it in five days back up to a hurricane.

It should even get stronger than that in the days following. So where does it go? Well, our European computer model, one of our more accurate, long range, does bring it as a powerful hurricane, but off the East Coast, closer to Bermuda. We have five to seven days to figure that all out. But again, this could be our first really big storm of the season. Yeah, Franklin, looks like it's mean. We hope it doesn't hit anybody, Bermuda or the East Coast. Bill, we appreciate all that. Next to the devastating wildfires in eastern Washington State. Those infernos raging since Friday destroying at least 260 homes

and buildings scorching more than 20,000 acres of land. Crews now working around the clock to suppress the flames and getting some relief from the rain. And that's where we're going to meet our Jesse Kirsten. He joins us from Spokane, Washington. Jesse, talk to us about the rain today and how that's helped the wildfire process. Yeah, so Tom, for hours, we've had rain in the area. It just let up, but it was even raining again a little bit, a light drizzle short time ago here in Spokane. We're just outside of that fire zone. We've had the air quality issues here. This whole region has had air quality issues and stretches of the northwest have. But today, that rain for several hours helped slow down some of that spread, stop some of that fast fuel from being able to

ignite and get out of control as quickly. What that allows firefighters to do, we're told, is to get closer to those front lines and have that much more of an attack position against the wildfire. So that is certainly welcome news for them. As you mentioned, they've been going around the clock time since Friday afternoon when this all started. The gray fire in particular is the one that has impacted larger populations in the Spokane area. So firefighters have been going around around the clock in shifts, we've seen them camping in tents. So that brings to mind that even though the rain helps battle the fires, there's also some added precaution with that, right? They're working in these wet, cooler conditions. It's significantly cooler out today.

They're then sleeping in those wet and cool conditions as well. So obviously, that can be taxing on the body as well. And on top of that, now you have to worry about possibly slipping over wet logs. And one other thing I want to stress about the rain, Tom, is that just because there's water falling from the sky and helping hopefully suppress those flames. They're not putting out the fire entirely. We were on the scene of the wildfire earlier, and you could see smoke and even some flames popping up out of the ground

in an area that still had large trees up, still had grass around, even as the rain was coming down. And that just underscores that this is still very much an active wildfire situation, but the gray fire in particular, some promising news. They're at around 25% containment,

so they are making progress on one of those larger fires here, Tom. And, Jesse, there's still evacuation orders in place? That's right. The numbers have dropped. So around 4,000 more people were told they could go back to their homes today, specifically in the Medical Lake area. That's one of the cities that was hit in this area. Still around 1,000 people, though, in that community being told to not return to their homes. And I can tell you, having been in Medical Lake, that some of the homes in that community have been completely burned down. And the contrast really can be door to door on a block. We're in one neighborhood where you could see some homes. standing looking largely, if not entirely untouched, and even right next door, or right down the block, just a charred pile of rubble. Just a lot of tough times ahead for some people in this community, for sure, Tom. Okay, Jesse, thank you. Next to Hawaii in the desperate search and recovery efforts in Maui. So far, officials saying at least 115 people dead, but

850 still missing. Residents getting their first chance to confront officials at a county council meeting today, raising concerns about a lack of resources and attempts at a land grab by developers. This is Lahaina's recovery enters a new phase of recovery. Steve Patterson is on the ground for us tonight in Wailuku. So Steve, walk us through what FEMA has said. They're saying their search 100% of single-family homes. Talk to us about this next phase. We know the governor is called the treacherous. It's the enormity of it, Tom. As you know, being on the ground, the first few phases were already so tragic and so difficult when it was just the exterior searches. And then the interiors are.

single-family searches where you might find one or two or three sets of remains and how tragic and how delicate that is to now move from that to these multi-story complexes. You're talking about condominiums, you're talking about apartment complexes, you're talking about the possibility of schools and nursing homes, and how tragic that must be to find upwards of 20 or 30 sets of remains that, unfortunately, I have to say, are so badly burned that all of this is still being done by hand. These are extremely delicate scenes not only for these cadaver dogs to do what they're doing to find the sets of remains in the first place, but then to preserve them for DNA matching. It's all extremely, extremely difficult and a whole lot more complicated when you

add on multiple levels to a structure that you're searching through, Tom. And Steve, I know you had a chance to speak with the fire chief today. He had come under some criticism early on. I know firefighters didn't have the resources. There wasn't enough water. They were stretched things. fighting that other fire, the cool of fire as well. What did he tell you today? Yeah, this is the fire battalion chiefs, a little bit different there, Tom, but this is a guy who wants to talk about communication and serving these communities by way of getting in touch with the people who were actually on the ground. That is the biggest criticism we've heard, especially here at this meeting. That was just an hour or show ago. Obviously, they're talking

about housing and fears from it and the possibility of land grabs, also looking at the temporary housing that a lot of these people are facing and trying to take advantage of the community resources and the government resources. But he says the biggest thing that people are worried about is the lack of communication with leadership. Here's what he told me earlier. Listen to this. A paramount importance in my estimation right now is for these elected officials, these council members, to be visible and accessible to the people that were affected. They really, you know, if you don't have information that you try and piece together, you try and make it for yourself and oftentimes that's going to leave you with an incomplete picture.

This guy says there is such a need for more of that communication and connectivity that he's offering to take elected officials on ride-alongs to the scenes that are affected just to show that the work that they're doing here, Tom. That's what we're dealing with. And Steve, we've also seen some temporary housing going up to help some of those displaced residents. We know that 2,500 structures burned more than 80% of them were homes. Yeah. Just an enormous task. So, yeah, Airbnb is being put aside, hotels being put aside about 750. That's a FEMA regulated program. But we're also seeing the proliferation of tiny homes going up in places. Funding for more sort of multifamily units that could be put up as well. All of this is sort of in the works. Right now, what officials are focusing on are getting people into hotel rooms. That's why they say it is essential for people to know that, yeah, you know, Maui is still open. They still want the business, but keep it on the east side because they need the west side save for hotel rooms. So that's where they're putting people right now.

That's the greatest focus, Tom. Okay, Steve, Paterson, reporting from Maui tonight first. Steve, we appreciate that. Some Lahaina residents are taking the rebuilding process into their own hands and asking for a seat at the table. One of the residents is Tiare Lawrence. She's been active in a community coalition calling for more government resources and demanding that Lahaina stay in Lahaina hands. Tiara and Lawrence joins us again tonight. Tiarra, we first met over a week ago.

First of all, I want to ask you, how are you and your family doing tonight? We're struggling. It's a tragedy. We're still mourning the loss, and we're still, you know, trying to find family and friends that were lost in the fire. So we're still mourning. We're so grieving. We're devastated. Tiana, you had a chance, I understand, to shake President Biden's hand when he came to Lahaina yesterday.

Did you have a chance to tell him anything? And if not, what was your overall reaction to his visit? I didn't really need to say anything because all my friends and family around me said everything that we've been wanting to say that don't forget us, please give us money, please help us. So I think that message was relayed pretty well yesterday. Do you think it's going to stick? I hope so, you know, we just have to hold the government accountable, but I do appreciate him coming to Maui. I do appreciate him saying that he plans to help rebuild the line of better and for the people. So we as a community need to hold our government accountable to his promise.

Tiani, one of the reasons why I want to have you on is because obviously you're a part of that community. You're connected. You're speaking to everyone who is affected. When we talk about 850 people still missing, and they say they've completed 100% of the search zone, at least those first floor dwellings, when you hear that number 850, do people in Lahaina, do you believe those are people who may be dead? Could the number really be that high? Yes. Yes, it is very high. You know, the fire was so intense that basically incinerated people. It's basically ashes at this point. And it's devastating for our hometown. What are people doing as far as I know people are trying to submit DNA? I know other people are holding out hope. Talk to me about the search process. Are people just going to hospitals? Are they putting up flyers? What's still happening now almost two weeks later?

People are giving their DNA to the government to help identify bodies. They're working with FBI to pin their phones to see where their last location was. You know, the families have gone to the three mortuaries on island. So, you know, everyone's doing their due diligence to try to locate where those people were. But unfortunately, we may never find them. And that's the sad, that's the most saddest thing in the situation. Yeah, you just can't comprehend numbers like that and you feel for everybody on that island. I do want to ask you, the governor finally acknowledged this week.

that he wished the sirens had been turned on. This is a very big change from what every single official was saying last week. I want to get your reaction to that. And does the community have any faith whatsoever still in local leaders? The community is furious at what happened with the sirens. There was absolutely no excuse why that siren shouldn't have gone off in the first place. There's just furious, just pissed. And that's why we need to hire people with experience in these type of situations.

I know you met with FEMA leaders, too, from what I understand. What's your hope for your community, and what do you need FEMA to keep doing for you? I do appreciate FEMA recently did hire people that are from Hawaii to help be the liaisons to other community leaders, and so that's a step in the right direction. But what I'm worried about is the disaster relief funding. How is that money going to be spent? Is that money going to be spent here locally, or are they going to be giving that money to outside contractors from the continent? We already have limited resources on island.

We're in a housing crisis. We're in a job crisis. 6,000 people are currently unemployed. That number before the fire was at around 6 to 800. So we have a severe crisis on our hands. I want to ensure that the local people get that funding and that Maui is the people of Maui are the ones rebuilding Maui at this time. Tia de Lawrence, we're going to stay in touch with you.

We always appreciate you coming on Top Story. We know it's a very difficult time. And we appreciate the time you take out to explain to us what's going on. Please be safe. And again, our thoughts and prayers are with your family always. Mahalo no. Aloha. We would do want to turn out of the legal battles facing former President Trump, the first of his 18 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case, attorney John Eastman, turning himself into authorities today. It comes just one day before the first debate of the

GOP presidential primary as Trump prepares to surrender himself to authorities for a fourth time. Garrett Hake is there, has the latest. Tonight, the first of Donald Trump's 18 co-defendants in the sweeping election interference case in Georgia beginning to surrender for processing at Fulton County's infamous Rice Street Jail. Attorney John Eastman charged with orchestrating the Trump campaign's fake elector's scheme, booked and released on $100,000 bond. Do you still think the election was stolen? Absolutely.

Absolutely. Still. No question. No question in a moment. And Scott Hall, a bail bondsman, charged with attempting to breach election equipment. Is there something wrong here? Their absent damn lootly is. The former president posting overnight his intention to turn himself in on Thursday,

attacking the case against him as a witch hunt. Mr. Trump's Fulton County appearance also intended to pull the political spotlight away from Wednesday's first Republican debate in Wisconsin, which he has chosen to skip, citing his commanding lead in the polls. The former president's absence dividing his rivals. The frontrunner who has decided not to be there will be out on bail in four different jurisdictions. We can no longer pretend that this is normal.

We can't pretend that this is acceptable. I have no issue with him skipping the first couple of debates. This is a good opportunity for me to introduce myself to the country. People are starving for a message of hope and optimism as long as this is angered in conservatism. With eight candidates participating, Mr. Trump's closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, will take center stage and expects to take the majority of the jabs from other candidates. I don't think it's any secret that I'm going to be probably the guy that people are going to come after. Garrett Hake joins us now from Milwaukee, where that first GOP debate will be held tomorrow night.

And Garrett, as you mentioned in your report there, the former president expected to surrender himself on Thursday. But there are still more than a dozen other co-defendants here, people like Rudy Giuliani. we know, Mark Meadows. When do we expect them to turn themselves in? Well, Tom, it's only been a trickle so far, but I expect the pace to pick up significantly ahead of Friday's deadline. A lot of these folks may want to get themselves processed and get this all over with before Donald Trump and the media circus that follows him comes to town on Thursday afternoon, Thursday evening. We know Meadows, though, interestingly enough, has filed for an emergency injunction here to say he does not want to turn himself in at all

if his case might be moved to federal court. There's expected to be a ruling on that here in the next day or so. As for Giuliani, there's some reporting tonight from other outlets that he's having trouble locking down a lawyer. So this process might go all the way up to the deadline to get all 19 co-defendants across the finish line. And as Garrett mentioned, the night before former President Trump is anticipated to surrender in Atlanta, eight of his Republican primary opponents will be debating each other.

Those eight candidates have met the Republican Party's polling and fundraising thresholds, and signed a pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee, while four other contenders for the nomination did not meet the R&T's requirements to see them there on the right hand of your screen. For a preview of what we can expect tomorrow and how Trump's absence will impact the debate, I want to bring in meet the press moderator and NBC News political director, Chuck Todd. Chuck, great to have you on Top Story tonight. I want to show you another image.

This is what the lineup's going to look like as the stage is going to be set there in Milwaukee. Looking at the way the stage is set, does DeSantis become the target here? Well, he could, but so could Vivek Ramoswami. I think that I fully expect Chris Christie and Ramoswami to have some of the most electric moments. They're the quickest talkers. They're the fastest debaters. We've seen it in the way they go back and forth with members of the media. So I am not, look, I know the numbers say Descentives.

might be the target. And I'm not saying, but I think when you look at who is going to be the most likely to defend Trump the most, I think it's going to be Ramoswami, and I think that's going to lure a Chris Christie who's looking for a foil. He needs, he desperately needs a foil, Trump's his foil, and he's not there. Ramoswami's the next best thing. Chuck, you know, I mean, I was going to get to Chris Christie later in this segment. But, I mean, I got to tell you, I think we have the numbers up here. People in Iowa, GOP voters do not like Chris Christie, right? I mean, he is maybe the most skilled debater on that stage. He's a great debater. We saw what he did in 2016. He's got a huge uphill to

climb in Iowa. I just wonder if other candidates will even engage with him because it's almost like why. Oh, I agree that they won't want to engage with him, but do you think he's going to be a shrinking violet there? Right. Like, you know, he is only running to be in the debates. He's not running a serious campaign. There is not policy proposals. He doesn't have a real campaign staff. He's just running a guerrilla campaign in New Hampshire to target Donald Trump and to get on this debate stage. This is the sort of the premise of his campaign. So, no, I expect him to force his way into this. But to go back, you said DeSantis be a target. Look, I think DeSantis is trying to stop Ramoswami from becoming, you know, I would argue that Ramoswami's done a better job of

executing the original DeSantis strategy of hugging Trump and trying to move past Trump. Ramoswamy has done it with more of a smile and has not offended Trump supporters the way Desantis, by doing it apparently has. You know, I don't know if I agree with you there. Ramashwamba, she sort of reminds me of Dr. Ben Carson from 2016. I think he's caught a little bit of fire. I don't know if he goes the full way. I think in this debate, and again, there's eight people on that stage, Chuck.

It is so hard to separate yourself. But then again, you got to separate yourself, right? So the question is, how do people, and like someone like Senator Tim Scott, how does he not offend the Trump MAGA base but separate himself from everyone else on stage? Well, that's a good question. I don't know how Tim Scott does this or Nikki Haley does this without going after Trump if they want to get there. I don't. I take your point.

I totally agree with you on sort of Ramoswamy comes from the sort of Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, sort of people that ran for president in order to become famous rather than maybe running for president actually be president. So I take your point there, but I just think he is just going to be a more nimbler debater. And I think he is, and they put him center stage. So, you know, Fox is as I think, you know, we see that, that happens. You sort of gravitate towards the middle there. The question I have is what, what is DeSantis going to do here? He's got, he, you know, So that debate memo, I think, really put some verbal handcuffs on him because now if he does anything that the Super PAC debate memo outlined him to do, then it looks like he's been, you know,

programmed. So I think he, I think he's got a lot of uncertainty about him. I'm very curious to see because the two times I've seen him debate in Florida, Tom, they weren't very good performances, and those were one-on-one debates. He's going to have seven other. He's never done something like this before. I just don't know how nimble he's going to be. I don't know how much stock I put into that memo.

You know, there's always a lot of dirty tricks. I think a lot of people in that super PAC are actually very savvy and maybe a lot smarter than maybe some people in the media. Maybe. Give him credit for him. You got to remember, Jeff Rowe, he beat Donald Trump in Iowa. I mean, he sort of knows what he's doing. He doesn't win every race, but he knows what he's doing.

I do want to ask you, though, where do these guys, real quick, where do these guys separate themselves, right? And Nikki Haley. Because when it comes on part, he's going to do. They actually agree in a lot of parts on certain issues, whether it comes to abortion or not liking the Biden administration or inflation. I just wonder if Trump is the only thing they actually debate. Well, if you're looking for one piece of substance where I think you may see real disagreement, it's going to be on foreign policy, right? Because you have Trump, Ramoswami, represents more of an isolationist philosophy. I think you have Mike Pence and some others who want to show that they,

One of the few places they're comfortable expressing their differences with Trump is on the war in Ukraine, for instance. So I do, if you're looking for an issue. But let me just throw one piece of caution out there about our expectations for this debate. I will tell you this, a lot of times first debates are less combative than we all think they're going to be. Yeah, everyone's nervous. Now I know it's, right. Everybody's a little nervous. The only thing that could make this one different is that this week feels awfully consequential, right? You've got the fourth indictment, or excuse me, the fourth arraignment coming on Thursday.

We're going to, I think this is a real test for Ronda Santis. I mean, if he bombs at this debate, this campaign may be over. So he's got real pressure on himself to perform. And in fact, I might argue he's the only person on that stage that really has pressure. on him tomorrow night. Everybody else is up there with a little bit of house money, not him. Okay, before we go, because I completely agree with that point, and including the polling that we have from NBC News out of Iowa, there is still a lane there, right? There's still a majority of those GOP caucus goers in Iowa who say they would be open to somebody else. Ron DeSantis, Senator Tim Scott,

lead the pack when it comes to second and third choices. I do want to ask you, DeSantis said it himself there in Garrett's piece. He's going to be the target. He believes that. What does he have to do to survive this and sort of progress forward? Well, I think he better hope he's the target. I think that actually could help him. How does he respond to it, right? Because he show he can take it. The biggest fear I would have of him is if I get ignored, right?

If the rest of the field isn't worried about me anymore. So he should embrace being the target. He should hope he's the target and he better be ready, right? The good news for him is people like myself have a low bar here for him on this because he's struggled in debates in the past. So I do think with a lot of the working press, he's got an opportunity if he could show that he's improved his skills here. But I'd tell you, he just reminds me of somebody that's got so many people giving him advice. He doesn't know what advice to listen to. You know, like a golfer with everything in their heads.

And it's like, you know, they may have all the correct things to do or say, but they're not quite sure how to what order to do it. He still looks like a candidate that's got too many people whispering in his ear. We'll know for sure on Wednesday night, and right after that debate, Chuck Todd will also be breaking down the first GOP presidential debate on a meet-the-press special that will air tomorrow night right here on NBC News Now at 11 p.m. Eastern, right after the candidates take the stage. You do not want to miss that. Chuck, always a pleasure to have you on Top Story. We thank you for your time tonight. Thank you, my friend. Okay, still ahead. A deadly explosion in North Carolina. A home owned by a member of the Tennessee Titans completely flattened. The family member who tragically lost their life and what? investigators think may have caused that blast. Plus, the heart-stopping rescues in Pakistan, have you seen these videos? A group of students trapped in a cable car dangling 900 feet in the air. We will show it all to you the incredible effort to get them to safety.

And train versus truck, the dramatic collision caught on camera. You saw a part of it there, and the massive mess it created. What happened here? We'll explain. Stay with us. Top story just getting started on this Tuesday night. We're back down with an incredible rescue in the mountains of Pakistan. Eight people, including seven students, trapped in a cable car, 900 feet in the air.

Rescue crews using helicopters, even pulling themselves along the wires to get those people to safety. Ralph Sanchez has a story. Tonight, a perilous rescue nearly a thousand feet off the ground. Seven children and one teacher trapped on this cable car on their way to school, left dangling over a ravine after an over-aven. headlines snapped. Pakistani military helicopters circling above, lowering commandos by rope, but trying not to shake the car with the force of their rotors. Cable cars are a common way to travel in remote areas with poor roads.

And with crowds gathering below, one man making a frantic call to local TV from on board the car. It's a matter of human lives, he says. The authorities should rescue all of us as soon as possible. And then on the helicopter's third pass, success. This student stepping off the car and lifted to safety. The choppers forced to land when the sun set. But locals and rescue teams working in the darkness, using improvised pulleys to get everyone else to safety.

When the helicopter operation could not go on in the dark, I think the rescuers made this brave deceit because they didn't want the kids to be waiting all night and the parents to be suffering from anxiety. So I think this was a very brave decision on the part of the army. Pakistan's Prime Minister tweeting, all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued. A happy ending to what was so nearly a tragedy. Raf Sanchez, NBC News.

For more on these high-risk rescues, I want to bring in Captain Bryce Mitchell with the Sacramento Metro Fire District. He's a helicopter pilot who has flown several. rescue missions, including during those historic floods in California we reported on earlier this year. Captain Mitchell, thanks for joining Top Story tonight. I want you to sort of walk our viewers through the videos that we've been seen, and we just saw there in Ralph Sanchez's story out of Pakistan. The first video, really, is the one that is so compelling. It shows a child essentially dangling from that helicopter after he was rescued. It is, I mean, it's

terrifying to watch. When you saw this video, what did you think of the technique and kind of walk our viewers through exactly how this happens. Well, let me start by saying these are exceptionally technical, exceptionally challenging. So a lot of the unique situations people find themselves in on these rescues is unique to that incident alone. I will say with that technique, as the child appears to somewhat drop a little bit as they're coming out, the reason for that is presumably is they're trying to offset an angle so that as the victim comes out of the cable car, that victim's not going to get entangled in anything.

They want that person to swing free of the obstacles that are inherent to that type of rescue. The device they're in is what's known as a rescue strapper. That's what it appears to be. Now, that device is, although not ideal in all situations, this might have been for what the situation they encountered, the only option they had for that child. Captain Mitchell, is it... We would prefer to be able to have... Yeah, is it normal that the child was by...

themselves? Like there was no rescue personnel on that harness with him? Is that normal? I would say that's not the plan A for most units out there. Given the fact that there was more individuals in that car, that rescuer may have opted to put that child out on their own so that they could more rapidly affect the other rescues. But that is not plan A for most folks out there. I got to think that there's got to be some type of convincing, right, when you're rescuing these victims to get into that harness and say, listen, we know you're above ground. We know you think that if you fall, you likely will die, but trust us on this one. We're going to lift you out on a helicopter. Talk to me about that process because, I mean, when you're dealing with children,

it has to be sort of wild. The bedside manner, if you will, for the rescuers as kind of an art form that takes place and is exceptionally challenging. I can't imagine. Now, these kids were obviously used to be in this cable car day in and day out, but they did not. They did not. expected to find themselves in that situation in any, what looks to be probably somewhere between a six and an eight-year-old child, that is a very, very scary situation for it. You know, Captain, we had this other video that we're showing now, which was basically they sort of set up a harness, and then they shimmied their way, if you will, and I don't even know if that's the right phrase, but they essentially shimmied their way all the way over

to the cable car. They were hanging from the wire here. Why do you think there was a change in strategy? And they were able to rescue everyone. So this. was a successful mission. Yeah, overall, it was very much a success. Now, they were battling a couple things. One, using a helicopter for those is acceptable, and it is a preferred method in certain scenarios, but they were also, the helicopter was no longer a feasible primary plan. One thing they did very well on this was they called experts from all around to be able

to assist in this. They should be commended for the work that they put in and the absolute struggle that it took to recover those childs with that manner. It's a very workable system. It's very dangerous for all involved, but they did it very professionally. I'm very impressed with that aspect of the rescue. Finally, Captain Mitchell, how difficult of a rescue was this? I would say you had dozens, if not probably up to 100 people total involved in this rescue. have technical experts, engineers, you have people that are operators on the ground, specializing in the rescue techniques, all with their opinion. So formulating a plan,

they clearly had some leadership in there to be able to organize the plan in general. But overall, with an outcome that was overall successful and the amount of difficulty they have, that is not, that's a varsity level call, if you will. They did an outstanding job in the end. Captain Mitchell, we thank you so much for your time. Thank you for walking us through all these videos, and we appreciate all the work. Obviously, you do day and day out there in Sacramento. Absolutely. Anytime. When we come back, hazards on the street, driverless taxis hitting a few bumps in the road in San Francisco, triggering traffic jams and even accidents. What the company

behind those robo taxis is now doing, what customers are saying. We'll bring it all to you right after this break. time no for top stories news feed and we begin with that deadly home explosion at the home of tennessee titans cornerback caleb farley the blast at the home just outside of charlotte killing farley's 61 year old father the NFL player was not home at the time no official word on the cause but first responders said they did smell gas when they arrived a truck driver lucky to be alive after a train slammed into a semi-truck in Louisiana. New video shows the moment that train crashed

through the truck near Lafayette, causing 20 train cars to derail. No one on the train was hurt somehow, and the truck driver somehow also was able to get out moments before that crash. A new study found more screen time is linked to delayed development in young children. According to the study published

in the Journal of the American Medical Association, one-year-olds, exposed to more than four hours of screen time a day, had delays in communication and problem-solving skills at ages two and four. Fine motor personal and social skills were also impacted in two-year-olds.

Okay, we want to turn now to the latest uphill battle for self-driving cars. There's been a string of dangerous incidents involving robotaxies in San Francisco and it's causing major safety concerns on the road. The California DMV now asking the company

to reduce their vehicle fleet by half. Jake Ward has the details. It's the latest traffic jam that's putting the future of self-driving cars into question. Multiple driverless cars stalled in the middle of a busy San Francisco intersection, an officer seen trying anything to get it moving. We saw the traffic warden trying to communicate with the cruise driverless car. I think it was knocking on the window, trying to talk to some speakers to little avail. This latest mishap adding to the pile of

complaints days after California regulators allowed two companies, GM's cruise and Google's driverless car company Waymo to expand their fleets to 24-7 operation. But California's Department of motor vehicles urged that one of these companies scale back, requesting crews to cut their robotaxy fleet in half as the agency launches an investigation into recent concerning incidents, including this close call just days earlier, recorded and shared on the Citizen app. Look at these guys. Showing the moments after a driverless car with a passenger inside collided with a fire truck. We're going to ruin our life.

Police say the fire truck was driving with lights and sirens on as it entered the intersection. Cruz says their car, with no driver and one passenger inside, had a green light. The passenger was treated on scene with minor injuries. I'm seeing at least one incident a day now with autonomous vehicles. The technology is not ready for prime time. There's like one, two, three, four cruise cars blocking. No one can get through. Today, crews reducing their fleet in half to about 200 robotaxies, telling us they have

complied with the DMV order. There's like 10 of them. A speed bump for the company that marketed themselves as a safe and convenient alternative. literally witnessing the future. This is pretty impressive. Crews highlighting their safety technology on their website, saying that in their first one million driverless miles, their autonomous vehicles, quote, were involved in fewer collisions than human drivers were in a comparable driving environment. We jumped around from different bars. The car picked us up if we needed it and took us back

safely. As companies started developing their self-driving fleets, a recent NBC news investigation found that in California, driverless cars have been involved in 280 crashes over the past five years. Although it was not clear in how many cases the driverless vehicle was at fault. Jake Ward, NBC News. We thank Jake for that time to get a look at what's happening around the world, so it's time for Top Story's Global Watch. And we start with the latest on those devastating wildfires in Greece. Video showing the growing wildfire in the Evros region near the Port City of Alexandria. Authorities say 18 bodies were found just in that area, and officials figure

they may be migrants. Eight villages in the area are now under evacuation orders. A Spanish pop star says he was the victim of a violent home invasion in Mexico, award-winning singer and actor Miguel Bose, posting on Instagram that tempt armed assailants burst into his Mexico City home. He says the suspects tied him up and his two children and his staff while ransacking the home for two hours before fleeing. Local prosecutors are investigating and say the singer's SUV was recovered miles away from the home. Luckily, no one was hurt. And the U.S. is urging Americans in Belarus to leave the country immediately. The U.S. Embassy in Minsk posting an advisory that Americans should also avoid travel to Belarus due in part to a build-up of Russian forces there.

The embassy also saying Lithuania closed two more border crossings last week, making it much more difficult to leave Belarus. Coming up, the new beer era in the U.S., with some bud-like customers looking elsewhere, there is a new king of beers. We'll tell you why beer drinkers in America are loving beer made south of the border. Stay with us. We're back now with a turning point in the beer wars. Mexico's Modelo claiming the number one spot for beer sales in America, topping the charts and pushing past Bud Light for the first time. As we've reported here, Bud Light saw their sales this year plummet

after a partnership with a transgender influencer did not work out for them. Modelo seen great success from Hispanics, but also finding their demographic has expanded beyond borders. Valerie Castro has a story. Bud Light, long known as the king of beer, now dethroned. America's favorite beer is from Mexico. This is the mark of a fighter. Modelo Especial overtaking Bud Light sales in the U.S. for the first time year to date. It's stunning. It's not something that was expected to happen this soon. Bud Light's been declining

for years, and Modelo Special has been growing very rapidly, especially in dollar sales. In May, Modello was selling above the $300 million mark while Bud Light brought in $2,000. $184 million. June saw the same trend, Modello hitting $339 million in total beer sales. Bud Light has suffered really far more precipitous drops this year following the whole Dylan Mulvaney controversy. So it's just been a really unprecedented time in brewing industry history. The brands saw backlash when transgender TikToker Dylan Mulvaney posted a video about Bud Light as part of a branded content partnership. Impressive carrying skills, right? I got some bud lights for us. A viral hate campaign followed with conservatives and celebrities like Kid Rock,

posting videos shooting at cans of bud light and tossing out the beer. Fudd light and f*** anheiser bush. But further backlash ensued when Mulvaney said the brand didn't do enough to stand by her. I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did. And for months now, I've been scared to leave my house. The controversy trickling down to store shell. So much bud light and all these beers are just done with the weekend. They're all gone. What are you got there?

The number one selling beer in America. But experts say Modelo was already on track to outpace the light beer, seeing double-digit growth over the last decade. Partly thanks to the ever-growing Hispanic population, now 19% of the country, according to the 2020 census. A large part of it has to do with the allegiance of Hispanic consumers, which are, a growing demographic. The beer also marketed in English for the first time in 2016 with the fighting spirit campaign. You are a fight lab. This is your hold. The English language adds now a fixture during televised sporting events, including the Super Bowl. Constellation brands, which owns the U.S. rights to Modelo, telling CNBC the taste for this beer now transcends beyond

the border. Our drinker base for Modelo especial today is actually about 50-50. It's about half Hispanic and about half non-Hispanic consumers. So we've been really successful. Something consumers and the company can toast to. Valerie Castro joins us now in studio. Valerie, looks like you've enjoyed a couple, kick back a couple there. So in your report, you mentioned why Modelo has sort of overtaken Bud Light. We know about the controversies, but what else is Modelo doing right?

So to clarify, I did not drink either one of these. These are props for video. But experts say this is a huge win for Modelo, especially since it tends to cost more than Bud Light. could be a variety of factors. Some believe that young people are gravitating more towards imported beer. Tastes are changing, just like craft beers have become more popular over the last several years. But experts point out that Bud Light still sells more when it comes to volume. This headline is comparing total beer sales, and that's where Modelo is went. Ah, okay, that's a big point. Okay, Valerie Castro, we appreciate that.

When we come back, Coteur for the Culture, we'll introduce you to the man behind Hentefina, a streetwear brand from Chicago that's growing in popularity and has even caught the attention of the Chicago Bulls, how he uses the brand to honor his Mexican roots and blue-collar workers from all backgrounds. Stay with us. Welcome back. If you've heard of Off White, Supreme, Stusi, then you know your streetwear, but have you heard of Hentefina? It's a Chicago-based streetwear brand that's blending high fashion with Mexican culture, and its fan base is now exploding. We've got to meet the creative mind behind the coveted designs that even worked on a sold-out project with the Chicago Bulls.

Look. Manuel Cabrera is the visionary behind streetwear brand Hentefina. We do everything here, shipping, custom pieces, and it's all family that's working here. A brand bringing Latino representation to the fashion industry. Usually, Hentefina means someone from upper class, but we wanted to take that name and make it something where, no, it's not just the upper class. We're all Hentefina. Cabrera, the son of Mexican immigrants, using his intricate designs to pay homage to Mexican culture, including imagery and textiles that are reminiscent of his parents' homeland.

Scorpions and Durango are everywhere. It's almost like the state bird for the estate in Mexico. The brand also finding inspiration from blue collar workers, creating collections using durable materials that can be used to survive harsh winters or breathable fabrics for those sweltering summers. I grew up wearing the boots, wearing the sombreros, the tejanas. That was really exciting for me to kind of just bring those, that background of mine, that history into this summer collection. Cabrera's brand resonating with local Latinos looking to support their community and also finding a following online. I had no idea how much Latinos, Mexicans especially would show love and be very proud of the brand. So I have to really make sure that the brand represents Latinos. in a positive light.

But he's not just making clothes for the Hispanic community. He recently collaborated with the Chicago Bulls on a custom varsity jacket inspired by the Michael Jordan era. I called this collection, practice like you play. And when they received the first one that I made for them, they were like, this is it. Don't change anything to it. The collection, a slam dunk,

people lining up around the block waiting to get their hands on one. They sold that in under 15 minutes, which was like the fastest, we've ever sold out on anything. And at the same time, the brand making a custom jacket for Bull's point card, Ayo Dosumno. Cabrera, who also runs a business selling equipment for truck drivers, began sewing for himself and family members. I just started making my own custom pieces for myself, fixing things here and there for family, for friends. And when the clothing line came along a couple years later, it just kind of clicked. Cabrera not only

collaborating with an NBA team, but also local artists for events celebrating Mexico. culture. Your passion is fashion and all that. A father himself, he also works with a Chicago-based organization that helps teens explore their passions, donating sewing machines to schools and speaking to students. His message? We're all, gente fina. It became not just a brand anymore. It became something that you felt like responsibility to really put your foot forward to uplift the Latinos, Mexicans, especially. We have a lot more coming in. We're just getting started. So This is just the beginning. Hentefina, remember that name.

We thank you for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.