Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Episode Date: January 28, 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 news tonight, the report just out that two officers opened fire in the deadly encounter with that ICU nurse as President Trump makes a dramatic reversal calling for de-escalation. New video capturing the moments before Alex Prattie was killed, what we're learning about who opened fire. And the president speaking out about the commander he just ordered out. Plus, our new reporting about the president's two-hour-long meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noam is her job in jeopardy as two Republican senators call for her to stay. down. Also tonight, the death toll rising from the dangerous cold, gripping much of the country, three young brothers killed falling through an icy pond, drivers stranded on frozen roads, hundreds of thousands without power, the desperation settling in as families, you'll meet them, huddle together for warmth. The real estate brothers on trial for sex trafficking with the high-profile

clientele accused of drugging and raping dozens of women what prosecutors alleged they did to lure their victims. The fiery rocket launcher attacked targeting a mayor, how he narrowly escaped. Terrifying video of an elephant attacking a group of tourists, forcing them to run for their lives, ripping off the door. Scammers appearing to pose as reps from the popular shapewear brand skins, how they're accused of tricking young women into sending intimate photos. And cashing in on gold, the value of the precious minerals soaring to record highs will explain what's behind the surge. Plus, the alarming rise in measles cases in the South, what we're learning about the worst outbreak since the disease was eradicated. Top story, it starts right now.

And good evening. We begin tonight with breaking developments on the situation in Minneapolis. The Department of Homeland Security saying two federal officers fired their weapons during that deadly encounter with ICU nurse Alex Pready in Minneapolis. That according to a note is sent to Congress and obtained by NBC News. The new details coming amid a rare reversal from President Trump, who tonight is called. for an honest investigation to the shooting as he shakes up the change of command on the ground. Here's what we know at this hour. Greg Bovino is out. He's been stripped of his commander title and sent back to the border in El Centro to resume his role as sector chief there in California. The president sending him border czar Tom Homan to manage ice operations on the ground in Minnesota

in his place. He'll be joined by Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Rodney Scott. The future of DHS Secretary Kristy Noem, perhaps less clear, as even some Republican lawmakers call for her to resign, including Senators Tom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski tonight, and Democratic leadership threatening impeachment. But the president defending her once again tonight saying she's doing a, quote, very good job. Still, the anger of Minneapolis has not subsided protests erupting overnight outside this hotel where protesters believe Bovino was staying. A new video raising some questions. For the first time, we're seeing the moments leading up to the killing of Pretti. What he's heard saying to federal officers who try to push him out of the street are,

team of reporters covering it all tonight. Camila Bernal on the ground in Minneapolis with reactions from residents. But we begin tonight at the White House where Gabe Gutierrez has the latest from Trump's immigration overhaul. Tonight, in a notice to Congress obtained by NBC News, the Department of Homeland Security says two officers fired their weapons five seconds after an agent had yelled and Alex Pretti had a gun. It all comes as President Trump tries to turn down the temperature in Minneapolis, promising what he's calling a big investigation into Preddy's shooting death. I'm going to be watching over it.

I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it by show. And detailing why he made that dramatic shakeup following pressure over Preddy's death. I do that all the time. I shake up teams. Borders are Tom Homan, who served five presidents, including Democrats, taking over immigration enforcement in Minnesota, where he's tasked with working with Democratic Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Fry.

who we met with today. We have Tom Holman there now. We put him in there. He's great. And they met with the governor, the mayor, everybody else, and we're going to de-escalate a little bit. While Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, known for his aggressive immigration enforcement tactics, has been sent back to his previous job in California, according to two administration officials.

Bovino is very good, but he's a pretty out there kind of a guy. And in some cases, that's good. Maybe it wasn't good here. A senior administration official tells NBC News, the president had grown increasingly. increasingly disturbed by images of the violence taking place on the ground in Minneapolis, adding he doesn't like chaos unfolding on his watch. Three administration officials also confirmed the president met with Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem and her top aide, Corey Lewandowski, last night at the White House.

Christy Noam's going to step down. No, I think she's doing a very good job. The border is totally secure. But today, the president contradicted initial statements by his deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, who called Prattie an assassin. You think he was in Minneapolis. Who is that? Mr. Prattie, your deputy chief of staff.

The president also pressed on whether he agreed with Nome's initial statements, criticized by several Republican lawmakers that Prattie was a domestic terrorist. I haven't heard that, but certainly he shouldn't have been carrying a gun. Very, very unfortunate incident. I don't like that he had a gun. I don't like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That's a lot of bad stuff. DHS says Pruddy came to protest federal.

agents armed with a 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun and two extra clips of ammunition. Videos show he never brandished it at officers. Gun rights groups, including the NRA, have strongly pushed back on the idea that legal gun owners cannot carry a firearm at a protest. Gabe Gutierrez joins us from the White House. So Gabe, back to those comments from Stephen Miller about Pretti being an assassin. Tonight, Miller is speaking out again and changing his tune a little bit? Yes, Tom.

Miller says the initial statements from DHS were based on reports from Customs and Border Protection agents on the ground. He says extra personnel sent to Minneapolis should have been used to create a physical barrier between agents and protesters, and that it's not clear why that protocol was not followed. He says the White House is investigating. Now, we have reached out to DHS for its response and had not yet heard back. Okay, Gabe, thank you. Now of that new video showing the moments before the death. deadly shooting in Minneapolis where we hear Preeti's interactions with federal officers.

Here's Camila Bernal with that footage. Tonight, new video showing more of the minutes before the shooting death of Alex Pretti, where you can see and hear him in a confrontation with federal officers who are trying to push him out of the street. DHS says officers were trying to arrest a suspect with a domestic assault conviction. When protesters start gathering. Hey, hey, hey. Those new images following more clashes overnight. Anti-ice protesters surrounding a hotel where they believe federal officers were staying.

I hear I declare this an unlawful assembly. Police making 26 arrests. While tonight, two women have been charged with assaulting officers at a weekend protest. DHS saying one agent had his finger bitten. off. All as there are new reactions here to the news border czar Tom Holman will replace Border Patrol commander Gregory Vivino in Minneapolis. Continuing to do what was done previously with immigration enforcement is necessary, but I don't think that this level of it is reasonable. And at the growing memorial at the shooting site, emotions remain high. Incredibly angry. Incredibly angry. I won't be able to

breathe until they are all gone. That's how I feel. Camilla joins us tonight from Minneapolis, and Camila, we're learning about a shooting involving Border Patrol in Arizona. That's right, Tom, and I do want to point out that the noise that you're hearing is an Aztec ceremony happening here at the site of the memorial. But in terms of what's happening in Arizona, according to the FBI, this is a very different case. They were trying to detain a man who they believe was involved in human trafficking. They kind of conducted a traffic stop, and that man fled from.

He shot at that helicopter. The agent is a critical but stable condition. Tom. Okay, Camilla, thank you. For more on the major shakeup in Minnesota, I want to bring in the former director of ICE under President Obama, John Sanwig, and Hogan Gidley, GOP strategist

and former White House Deputy Press Secretary during the First Trump administration. Thank you for both being here. Hogan, I'm going to start with you. A growing number of Republican lawmakers, including senators Tom Tillis and Lisa McCowski, are calling for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to step down. The president so far is standing by her.

Do you expect that to last? I do for the foreseeable future. Listen, it's pretty clear Donald Trump was looking to make a few changes on the ground there, not doing anything to Christy Noem per se. I think he trusts her. I think he likes the job she's done on the border. That's what he said himself. But he also knows, likes and trusts Tom Holman as well.

And you'll recall after that first shooting, Tom Homan was out saying we're going to let this investigation play out. We need to make sure these communities are safe and secure. And so he's in that community now in the state of Minnesota, having conversations with local leaders on the ground, trying to bring the temperature down. And sadly, even though he just tweeted about meeting with Governor Walts and the mayor, Mayor Fry of Minnesota, Minneapolis, rather, the mayor comes out after that says, we're not going to work with them. It's so frustrating because, as you know, these are laws that have been passed by both Republican and Democrat Congresses.

signed into law by both Republican and Democrat presidents. These people are simply enforcing those laws. The temperature needs to be brought down. You don't need to impede these situations, but local law enforcement needs to work with the federal government, just like they are doing in all of these other states where you do not see the same level of violence or problems. John, do you think Secretary Nome is the leader that ICE and Border Patrol need right now? You know, Tom, I certainly have concerns about how Minneapolis was done operationally. You don't need to work at DHS long to know, to know that pulling up Border Patrol agents and putting them in an urban environment, especially when you're facing this level of protest activity, a lot of which is protected

by the First Amendment, is a recipe in many ways for disaster, or at least what we've seen on television, right? The Border Patrol agents operate. They're trained for a different environment. They operate in a high-risk, high-threat environment down there on the southern border where, like, that case we just heard about, they're dealing with drug cartels and human traffickers. And you put them up and you can have them now policing things where you have to kind of draw that line. between what constitutes impeding law enforcement versus what constitutes protected activity is really hard. And I think that aggressive result we saw in the lead up to the predi-shooting,

that aggressive way of handling those protesters is kind of what you expect. Look, I think it's a good move that Tom Homan is coming in, but certainly I think the way in which Minneapolis was managed, of course, it raises questions about Secretary of Nome's leadership. Yeah, do you think ICE ultimately pulls out altogether? Do you think they keep a small footprint there? moment do? Tom, I think one thing that struck me all along about Minneapolis is we have sanctuary cities across the country, states where there are certain restrictions on the locals' ability to

work with ICE. Immigration enforcement continues, and we don't see these images every day on the news. We don't see large protests out there. Immigration enforcement is done in a professional way that's targeted, and it's no less of an enforcement. I've always rejected this idea that you have to have what you see in Indianapolis or you have no immigration enforcement at all. The good news is Tom understands that. I had an opportunity to work with Tom for five years at DHS. I, you know, Tom believes in enforcement. He believes in enforcing all the immigration laws, but he also understands how to do it professionally. I think that you can certainly return to a steady state of Minneapolis where we don't have the chaos we've seen on the streets, but you also have continued to have immigration

enforcement, especially prioritized against criminal aliens. Yeah, Hogan, I want to ask you, the president said something during his stop in Iowa today about Alex Peretti and him bringing a firearm to that demonstration. I want to play that comment, and then I want to ask you a question on the other end. play that right now. I don't like that he had a gun. I don't like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That's a lot of bad stuff. And despite that, I say that's a very unfortunate. So, Hogan, we've learned from Minneapolis officials that Prattie had the right permits to carry that gun. The NRA has come out against, you know, law supporting these types of permits,

the conceal and carry permits. If you go back to the history of the Second Amendment, we had this conversation yesterday. One of the key reasons the founding fathers wanted that there was actually so citizens could protect themselves from their own government, right? This is obviously going way back to the founding of this country. Do you think the president is going to alienate some of his base by saying that? I don't think he alienates them, but I do think this is a serious conversation to have because obviously Republicans are staunch supporters and defenders of the Second Amendment. And this person carrying a handgun on its face seems like it's fine if he's properly licensed and registered.

Now, there have been reports out there that they didn't have his license on him, nor did he have his concealed carry permit, which of course means he would be carrying it unlawfully. But it's one thing to bring a gun to a situation like that, which I think many Second Amendment supporters are fine with. It's quite another to be armed and then resist arrest at the very least, and at most begin to agitate and try to prevent law enforcement from doing its job on the street. Hogan, you think, Hogan, you think he was trying to resist arrest? Hogan, you think he was trying to resist arrest or do you think he had a face full of gas and he He maybe didn't know what he was doing and he was standing physically and slipping on ice there on the street. Again, this is something I think that the investigation will uncover, but it's pretty clear.

I've seen a lot of people get arrested in my day and putting your hands behind your back and just standing still and letting it happen is a way to go. Not to mention the fact it turns out it's not that difficult to avoid being killed in a horrific, tragic way. And it's pretty easy not to get arrested as well, just simply by staying out of the way. of the law enforcement officials on the ground there, just doing their job to enforce the laws that are on the books. John, is ICE's mission sort of tainted for the rest of the Trump administration? I mean, can they win back any sort of goodwill,

or is that out the door? Not that ICE sort of has this reputation, right, of being sweet Boy Scouts. They have a job to do, and it's a tough job, and they're part of law enforcement. But are the waters too tainted now? No, I don't know, Tom. I agree with what you said.

ICE has done a lot of good for this country. ICE has an important public safety mission, both in terms of immigration enforcement, but also in terms of its criminal investigative mission, a piece of ICE that I don't think a lot of people understand. But their job has gone a lot harder now. There is a growing trust deficit. Unfortunately, when the Secretary and others rush out

with those conclusions that when the videos start releasing are contradicted, it undermines the credibility not just of the department, but of ICE itself, and that trust is critical to effective law enforcement. I think that I certainly, I think there's a path forward here, whereas can return to what it does best, getting bad guys off the streets, and rather than being seen as political football, let its operational successes speak for itself,

but no doubt it's going to be a long haul here. And real quickly, I would just say he's right in that I think a lot of people in these instances, it's a political roar shock test. You take a look at it, and one group says, wait a minute, these people are terrorists, and they're trying to go out there and terrorize law enforcement. The other group looks at it and says, wait a minute, these people are murderers out there on the streets.

And these ICE agents are just stone cold killers. These types of conversations should not be happening because you need to take a look at all of the available evidence and say, while tragic and while 100% preventable in my estimation, we should be talking about how to successfully, safely and securely help these American communities return to a system of order as opposed to the chaos they've devolved in in the last little bit. ICE plays a massive role in that. They did in the Obama administration. They are doing it in the Trump administration as well. And I think their reputation can, in fact, be healed if temperatures come down and you start to see some of the successes that have been racking up for this administration and ice.

Hogan Gidley, John Sandwig, a great conversation. I thank you both for joining Top Story tonight. We're tracking our other major story. The death toll rising as a bitter blast takes hold of much of the country. Right now, nearly half a million people still without power, and dangerously low temperatures. learning about three young brothers who died in icy waters. George releases on the ground in hard hit Nashville. In Louisiana, hundreds of drivers stranded for hours. The state's National

Guard called in to break free this stalled semi-truck that had been trapped in the ice. 18 wheelers lining Interstate 20 this morning. Several stuck out there late today, according to state police. Roads a mess from Michigan with a 17-car pile-up in white-out conditions to Virginia, where this tractor trailer slid off the road Monday night. Firefighter. racing in to save the driver trapped inside. In Massachusetts, firefighters battling this three alarm blaze in sub-freezing temperatures. And tonight, there's no let-up in sight from the Arctic air gripping the eastern half of the country, as 72 million are at risk from dangerously low temperatures.

Body heat does wonders, and we just get some blankets and get together. For the Martin family in Nashville, it's been three days with no power and no heat, huddling together under blankets for safety. I didn't really heed the warnings and stuff, but I can tell you this in the future. I will heed the warnings. The brutal winter storm and deep freeze that followed, now likely responsible for more than 40 deaths nationwide, including three children who fell through an icy pond in North Texas. In New York, the mayor urging people to watch out for their neighbors. At least 10 New Yorkers have tragically lost their lives after being found outdoors.

The brutal cold being felt on the city's streets and in its rivers, today covered with such large, Large blocks of ice, ferry service had to be suspended. We got you, Bubba. In Missouri, firefighters braving single-digit temperatures to save this dog that fell through ice. And in Texas, dramatic new video showing the manager of a convenience store rushing a woman who spent the night outdoors to safety inside, paramedics later taking her to the hospital. How are you doing?

Back in Nashville, Tennessee, state troopers going door to door today, performing welfare checks, as some here are trying to fend off the weather without any shelter at all. And I pray a lot. And I tell God, I'm your child. You got to take care of me out of you. George, Solis, joins us from Nashville, Tennessee. And George, we're also hearing reports of kids showing up at the hospitals there because of carbon dioxide poisoning. Yeah, that's right, Tom.

More than 40s since Sunday. Some of them needing oxygen, which is why officials warn people about those space heaters. And, of course, never using your gas as a source of trying to stay warm. But getting to a hospital is certainly no easy feet when you have roadways and sidewalks that look like this. Some of them also littered with tree debris that is still very much frozen, which of course makes it a real big challenge for anyone trying to get anywhere. And with all this deep freeze still continuing, it's going to be a problem that persist through the week. Tom?

Yeah, Nashville is iced around. Okay, we thank you, George. I want to bring a meteorologist Bill Cairns. Bill, walk us through the freezing cold and how long it's going to last in places like Nashville or George's. Yeah, and it's going to last right through this upcoming weekend. And it's going to get a little bit of a break, and then it's going to actually be worse than what we just dealt with. This next significant blast is frigid, even by anyone's standards for the middle of winter. So what we're looking at is just a few spots left here that have what we call freezing advisories and also freeze warnings.

The spots from Cincinnati to Indianapolis, that's where it's going to be the coldest tomorrow morning. 72 million people. Notice Florida. Florida really didn't get into the mix of the cold air this last time. That cold air is now coming down. This next batch is up here in Canada. That's sinking to the south. That'll make it to the areas of the southeast Friday, then Saturday, and then Sunday. All of the blue dots on this map show you potential record lows. And look at these morning low temperatures in Miami. 36 degrees on Sunday. Jacksonville, Florida, 21 degrees.

This is cold we haven't seen in many years, even in the sunshine day. Yeah, I got to make sure that the family down south is okay. That's pretty cold for them. I know you're tracking that possible Northeaster, but the models are all over the place on this one. What's the latest? Has it changed at all? The trend is a little more offshore, which if you don't want snow, that's good.

but it looks like no matter what. The Carolinas, especially the eastern half, the states, are going to get some snow out of this. This is our European computer model, typically our most reliable. Notice it really misses D.C. to New York, Boston may be only a little bit, but Cape Cod. But there are some differences, as you mentioned, between our models. So our snow potential in the European, mostly in the Carolinas. But our American model is much more aggressive with the snow, especially in the mid-Atlantic to the Virginia. This purple would be heavy.

So this is not etched in stone yet. This is still four to five days away. We'll figure it out. We know for a fact we're going to have a monster storm. If it was close enough to the coast, it would be a blizzard. If it's offshore, it's something we don't have to worry about. We'll figure it out in the day of the day. Bill, I know you're going to figure it out, right?

I got no choice. We appreciate it. Okay, now to the troubling rise in measles cases in South Carolina, the worsening situation there, now the largest measles outbreak, since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000. Ann, Thompson's joining us live here in Top Story. She's been watching this closely. So, Ann, just how many are sick across that state and across the country?

We've got 89 new cases in South Carolina for a total of 789 since the outbreak began last October. And it's surpassing this outbreak in Texas, which was the worst since measles had been eliminated. But now South Carolina has gone way past that. And the scary thing is, Tom, the cases in South Carolina can be traced to cases in Washington State, in California, in North Carolina, so it's traveling. What more do we know about the specific communities that are being affected in South Carolina? So we know that, for example, there is one school where there is a new outbreak. Its vaccination rate is 61%. Right. You need 95% for herd immunity really low.

Overall, in Spartanburg County, 90% vaccination rate still too low for herd immunity. So there is a real vaccine hesitancy in that part of the state. What are, just reminder of viewers here, what are the symptoms people should look out for for measles? So first of all, a runny nose, cough, high fever, and of course, that very distinctive rash. But the thing about measles is that it's not just when you get sick with it, it's what it can do to you in the waning months. You can become deaf, you can get pneumonia, your immune system can be compromised. So it's not just a childhood disease that's just part of growing up. It really has very serious complications.

All right. It's scary stuff. All right, Ann, we thank you for that. Appreciate it. We are back in a moment with the shocking details from that Opaire affair murder trial, the dramatic new body cam video of the alleged killer and the moment a doctor told him his wife was dead what he did. Plus, the scary scene on the slopes, a massive avalanche sweeping away a skier, leaving them buried, how they made it out alive. And the terrifying attack on a group of tourists. Look at this. An elephant rips the door off the car. We'll show you how it happened. Ahead on top story. We are back now with new body camp footage in the trial of the man accused of killing his wife amid an alleged affair with the family's opair. The video shows the moment he breaks down as he's told his wife is dead. Stephanie Gosk has the new details for us. Newly released body cam video of accused killer Brendan Banfield outside his home moments after the alleged murders of his wife, Christine, and another man. The video shows Banfield being taken to the hospital emergency room, where he learned. Christine was dead.

Christine, I'm one of the doctors here. Your wife has died. Banfield weeps hearing the news back in February 2023. He is now standing trial in Virginia. Prosecutors accuse him and the family's nanny, who he was having an alleged affair with, of plotting Christine's murder.

In the video being used as evidence, Banfield asks police about his daughter, who was in the house when her mother was stabbed to death. She's sick. Yes, ma'am. She's looking for her. Prosecutors say it was Banfield who stabbed his wife and shot another man, Joseph Ryan, who had been lured to the house by a fake profile on a sex fetish website.

You were there and I sound like there was a lot of blood loss. Moments later, Banfield washes his hands. The nanny pleaded guilty to manslaughter and testified that the scheme was Banfield's idea, but he denies the charges. In the hospital that day, a chaplain was brought into the room. A year and a half after this prayer, Banfield was charged with murder. Stephanie Goss joins us now. Stephanie, the big question.

Banfield is expected to take the stand in this case? Yeah, and that sounds unusual, right? For a defendant in a murder trial to take the stand in his or her own defense. But that's exactly what he's doing. And one of the reasons people say is that because that Nanny took the stand and effectively said, it was his idea to, in her words, quote, get rid of his wife. the only person who can refute that testimony is going to be Banfield himself, and that is likely why he's going to take the stand, even when there's risk involved.

I have a question for you that's been perplexing me, and I hate to put you on the spot here, but in all the stories that we've been doing, and you've done a lot of them on the O'Pere, on this O'Perm, murder case, there's pictures of the O'Pair and the husband together, almost seeming like they're a couple, like in these photos. Those photos are sort of, they were in someone's bedroom, they were out in the public, like, on display, and they're kind of strange. Yeah. Well, listen, for the prosecution, the center of their case is this relationship

between the O'Pair and Bannfield and the nature of it and how it had progressed, obviously getting to the point of personal pictures and the rest of it, even though he is still married, living in that house with his four-year-old daughter. This is wild. Okay. Stephanie Goss, we thank you for that. Still, the company, urgent warning tonight

about a new online scam, how young content creators say they're getting tricked into sharing revealing photos. Plus, the price of gold soaring to an all-time high, what's driving the surge and what you need to know before you start buying all that gold at Costco. But first, top story's top moment and the wild interruption in a cycling race in Australia. Take a look. There's been a crash in the peloton. There it is. Oh, it's a kangaroo. It's also took a knock as well, the kangaroo. I actually wish I could ask our resident cycle of Stephanie Gosk about this one. This is a kangaroo knocking down competitors.

No one was injured, but it did force at least three riders to quit, and it wasn't a total setback for everyone. One of the riders who got knocked down by the kangaroo actually ended up winning the race. That person is a hero tonight. Stay with us. More top story on the way. We're back now with that final report on what caused the deadly mid-air crash in Washington, D.C. last year. The NTSB releasing new video and chilling animation showing exactly what.

what went wrong. NBC's Tom Costello was at today's hearing. Tonight, newly released NTSB video capturing the mid-air crash at Reagan National Airport one year ago this Thursday, an Army helicopter crashing into an American Airlines regional jet. All 67 people died. With family members in the room, NTSB investigators today identified a long list of contributing factors for the crash. There is no singular person to blame for this. These were just, issues across multiple organizations. New NTSB animation shows what air traffic controllers saw that night. The view from the plane's cockpit as the chopper suddenly appears at the last second.

And the chopper view as it crashed into the passenger plane. Investigators determined the chopper was flying 100 feet too high, relying on altimeters that the army knew were inaccurate. The chopper also flying with its ADSP precise location transmitter, turned off. And despite 15,000 helicopter and plane incidents since 2021 at DCA, the FAA had ignored controller warnings that planes and choppers were sometimes just 75 feet apart. We should be angry because for years no one listened. This was preventable. The FAA has since restricted chopper flights around Reagan and says it's evaluating other potential hotspots nationwide.

Lichten Miller-Zahn lost her brother, Dustin, in the crash. I hope to see that nobody else has to go through what our families have gone through, because it's, I mean, it's an unbearable tragedy every single day. One other aviation note at the Sauer, UPS says it is now fully retired the MD-11 cargo plane. Now, that was the plane involved in that crash in Louisville, Kentucky that killed 22 people. That specific plane was more than 34 years old. FedEx also flies the MD-11. It says it's working with Boeing and the FAA to safely return the MD-11 to service for FedEx.

Tom. Okay, Tom, we thank you for that update on that UPS crash. Now to Top Story's News Feed in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against the Trump administration over its strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats. The lawsuit filed today by family members of two men from Trinidad who were killed in a U.S. strike in October. They're suing the U.S. government accusing it of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings A White House spokesperson says President Trump had the legal authority to carry out that strike. A scary moment caught on camera as a skier in Canada triggers an avalanche. Look at this.

You can see the skier on a backcountry run in Banff National Park last week. Look closely when they suddenly get caught in that avalanche, likely started it. Safety crews who obtained the video say the person was carried to the bottom of the slope and buried to the waist. Otherwise, they were fine. That's good news. and some crazy video of a NASA plane touching down at an airport in Houston today without its landing here. The video shows the jet hitting the ground with its wheels up. You see that sparks flying and smoke shooting out from its belly. NASA officials say everyone on board is safe and that the plane had a mechanical issue which is now under investigation.

UPS announcing a plan to cut as many as 30,000 jobs as it moves to shift away from low profit deliveries for Amazon. UPS says it will reduce its workforce by slashing positions. through retirement, voluntary separation deals. This comes just a year after the company eliminated nearly 50,000 jobs and closed operations at almost 100 buildings. Okay, next tonight to the landmark trial unfolding in California. Social media giants facing a major lawsuit alleging their platforms get young people addicted and pose a serious threat to their mental health.

TikTok and Snap both agreeing to settle to avoid a trial out together. But Meta and YouTube will go to court where high-profile defendants, including meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg could testify. NBC business correspondent Brian Chung joins us now. Brian, this is the first of a few major suits. Walk our viewers through what this one's about. Yeah, and this is so significant because if a jury rules in this case that these social media companies are liable for young people's mental health,

you'd imagine this would open up a huge Pandora's box of other people suing these companies as well. So again, what we're talking about here in this California case is a 19-year-old that alleges that because of the addictive nature of these social media platforms, which there were four named as defendants in this suit, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, as well as Facebook and Instagram. She alleges that they were detrimental to her mental health. And if a jury decides that there is a connection between these apps, addiction, and then mental health, they could put these companies on the line.

Now, as you point out, two companies did settle before this jury selection even began today. That was Snap as well as TikTok. But again, you do have both YouTube and also Mehta willing to go to court here. So we'll see what happens. It could be many months long process. just mentioned we could hear from some very high-profile defendants. Yeah, including Mark Zuckerberg, who is scheduled to testify on February 9th. I've got that circled on my calendar.

I should mention that meta did provide a statement. They said, quote, we strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people. They point to these tools that they've offered to parents to limit their kids' screen time on these types of apps. Google's saying something very similar, saying that parents have what they call robust controls, and they say that the allegations in these complaints are simply not true. But again, Tom, what does the jury say in this case?

This is a case that's first of its kind and could set a major precedent. And two companies have already settled. Yeah, exactly. TikTok and Snap have both settled. They probably just didn't want to take this to trial. But what we're hearing on background from these social media companies is they feel like they can win on the merits. We'll have to see how the jury decides. Okay.

Brian Chung, always great to see you. Thank you, my friend. Now to the trial of the Alexander brothers known for their influence in the luxury real estate world. Federal prosecutors alleging they use their wealth and influence to sexually abuse dozens of women. NBC Stephen Romo has more. For years, Oran and Tall Alexander were high-flying luxury real estate brokers selling some of the most expensive properties in the country. Now they and a third brother, Alon, are on trial in Manhattan for sex trafficking, accused of drugging and raping dozens of women. But during opening statements today, federal prosecutors said for over a decade, they masqueraded as party boys when they were really predators.

prosecutors allege the brothers lured women and girls with promises of parties and trips and then worked together to rape them. As the lies of the defendants used their wealth and positions to create and facilitate opportunities to sexually assault women. Their lawyers argue all sex was consensual. The government is trying to turn their life of partying into one of the more serious crimes we have, sex trafficking, or in Alexander's lawyer said today, that is dating. That is hooky. up. Today, the jury heard from a woman testifying using a pseudonym who said she met Alon Alexander at Zach Efron's apartment. She says after they left the apartment, Alexander drugged and raped her. I was saying no multiple times and he wasn't listening. She said there was no regard for me. At least eight accusers are expected to testify. Prosecutors need to prove not only that these sexual encounters were non-consensual, but that this

was a sex trafficking operation that the Alexander brothers conspired to engage in this conduct through force, fraud, and coercion. Stephen Romo joins us tonight. Stephen, what more do we know about the evidence expected to be presented in this case and how long this trial could last? Yeah, Tom, we know that the trial is expected to last at least a month. And in regards to the evidence, we got a bit of foreshadowing in opening statements today. Electronic evidence, photos, videos, and texts, which the prosecutors will say shows sex trafficking, but of course the defense team will no doubt say it shows that these encounters were consensual.

Much more to come, Tom. Stephen Romo, we thank you. Now to Money Talks, and tonight all that glitters may in fact be gold. The precious metal hitting a record high, up 83% in the last year, far outpacing stock indices like the S&P 500. Here with more is NBC Business and Economy reporter, Ali Kanao. great to see you. So investors are hot into gold. Explain why we've never seen prices like this in gold. Yeah, it's crazy, Tom. Prices are well above $5,000 an ounce. This is a record high the first time

that we've seen this in history. Now, investors, they typically flock to gold when there's a lot of uncertainty in markets and the economy. Clearly, that's something that we're dealing with right now. But gold, you can really think of it as a financial comfort food of sorts. Typically, investors flock to this when they're feeling stressed, not wanting to take a lot of risk out there. But it is something that we're tracking really closely because we've seen this record run up. And if you compare it to the S&P 500, even in 2026, gold is up nearly 20 percent compared to S&P's 2%. Yeah, let's dig in a little deeper, right? Because the S&P is up 13, 16 percent, you know, since last year.

Why is gold so high? I mean, what's driving this? Well, there's a few things here. And first, just to give some perspective here for the audience, you see, 2023, gold was trading at just under $2,000 an ounce. Take a look now. It's more than double, which is crazy. But if you zoom out at what's really caused the spikes in gold that we've seen throughout history, it's usually some sort of major geopolitical events. So you had the oil crisis in the 1970s, the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic. All of that led to a spike in gold. Right now, there's a lot of

uncertainties in this market. We have the TBD factors of Venezuela. Are we going to acquire Greenland? Obviously, a lot of trade tensions between the U.S. and a lot of other countries around the globe. And of course, the independence of the Federal Reserve is the Fed, truly independent. That all makes investors in gold flock to the state. So you should have had a little head of President Trump right here. So he's the other reason why gold is sky high. If you want to get into gold now, it's so expensive, right? You want to go out and buy a bar. That's a lot of money. Can you go to a pawn shop? Can you start melting down those old rings?

I mean, what should you do? Well, there's probably three easy ways for everyday investors to get involved. You mentioned those gold bars. You can go to Costco. Costco has talked about this a lot. The rise in gold prices have actually fueled their online sales. But the thing with physical gold and the trade-off maybe is that you need to store the gold. You need to take out insurance on gold.

You need to find a way to liquidate it. And that's why some investors prefer going to ETS for. gold GLD is a ticker there. That is liquid. It's easy to trade. You just don't control or own the physical asset. And you pay probably a small fee. And usually you pay a small fee. Another way, though, to get maybe indirect exposure is gold mining stocks. Now, these are actual- I thought you were going to have us go out there from mining for gold. Yeah, no, we don't have to mine for gold. There are companies that will do that for us. Now, if we invest in those companies, you always want to know what you're investing in. Gold is a factor there when it comes to the

profits and the stock price, but also the management decisions. and geopolitical tensions, all those external risks you want to keep in mind as well. But still another way to maybe have some access and hedge a little bit. Great. No, that's a great tip right there. We know gold's not the only precious metal. Silver has also sort of skyrocketed and come back down a little bit back to Earth. We're silver right now. I mean, silver has just been on quite the run.

A lot of experts have actually been calling it a mean stock in certain ways. You see the little dip right here. This is what I was talking about. But then it's shot back up. It shot back up. You know, also trading near those record highs. Now, silver and gold, they tend to go in step with one another, so I'm not totally surprised to see silver rise while gold is as well. However, silver is a little bit more volatile, a little bit more risky than gold, so you want to be aware of that.

But I will say that it is becoming more mainstream. You can go to Walmart, Costco, you can buy physical silver online. However, you want to make sure that you're looking at the premiums there. You may be paying a little bit more than what the market is pricing in. But still, something to keep an eye on as commodities just get me with this. Costco, do you just get your cart and you put the bars, the gold bars, silver bars? Is that what you do? Online. You can do it. I mean, e-commerce sales. Probably safer. Costco said, double-dair e-commerce sales, thanks to these gold bars. Okay, Ali Canal, thanks so much for being here. Also, welcome. I think this is the first

time we've done this since you've officially came to NBC, so we're so excited to have you. I am so excited to be here. All right, it's the gold standard in news. You know that, right? That was right there for the taking. All right. Coming up next, an apparent assassination attempt overseas. This is crazy. The wild video is showing the moment two assailants fire a rocket power grenade at a mayor in the Philippines what we know about the attack. Plus a dire situation in Italy, homes teetering on the edge of a cliff after devastating landslides. The urgent evacuation orders now in place. We're back tonight with a warning about a new scam targeting young women on social media. Several content creators thought they were getting an opportunity to work with the brand skims,

but instead we're asked to share revealing images with someone impersonating the brand. It's just one example of a troubling new trend. NBC's Emily Aketa has that story. The shapeware brand skims burst onto the scene in 2019. I've always found bras to be so uncomfortable and constricting under the helm of media mogul Kim Kardashian. Whoever said loungeware was only for the house hasn't tried skims. Quickly growing into a multi-billion dollar business. Let's talk about skims because their stuff is so good. But it's success on social media, now the target of scammers. I am disgusted. Some content creators say the brand famous for its body suits, bikinis and underwear is being impersonated in a disturbing attempt to obtain revealing images of

young women. I am posting this mortifying story as a cautionary tale. Julia Santucci who says she's partnered with skims before received an email she thought was real, asking for standard digitals in swimwear and a 30 second video for consideration for a skim's collaboration. What they were asking for, the email, it was coming from the grammar. Everything seemed like a typical brand partnership email. So she complied. It was the follow-up email that set off alarm bells, asking her to reshoot the front angles with slightly less coverage. How did that make you feel? It was in that moment I knew I messed up and maybe let my ambitions and my eagerness, you know, take over a reason. So I felt very violated, to say the least. And

what are they doing with those images? God forbid a minor fell for this. NBC News talked to multiple women who sent photos to an email at skimswimswimware.com thinking it was the real company, including a 17-year-old. Reality TV star Sophie Bellardi posted saying it happened to her too. It was dumb. It also happened to my castmate on survivor, Sophie Sogretti, who has an MBA from Columbia. I have one from Duke. Like, we're very smart girls. So I'm saying this so that people don't also get scammed. Skim says it recently became aware of disturbing reports involving individuals impersonating skims. Telling NBC News, it did not send the messages and is not involved whatsoever in these abhorrent activities, adding that it takes these incidents extremely seriously. NBC News reached out to the email address behind the messages and did not hear back.

Impersonation scams pretending to be a business, government agency, or celebrity are nothing new. But as the social media influencer market balloons, the Better Business Bureau has warned of aspiring social media influencers falling for phony sponsorships. These scammers will pretend to be like skincare brand. The most impersonated companies on social media range from Dicks and Wayfair to Macy's and Amazon. I always call it being politely paranoid. Rather than assuming it's real and trying to prove it's fake, assume it's a scam and try to prove it's legit. That's unfortunately the age that we live in right now

because AI has made it easy for us to automate all of the scams that we see. As for Julia, she says she's glad to share her story as a warning. If I just helped one girl, then that was my goal. Emily joins us now in studio. Emily, has these scams become more sophisticated? What should people look out for? Don't be afraid to ask questions, push for answers. That alone might spook some scammers from following up.

Also, be very cautious of any job or opportunity that asks for money. And do a search. Victims, like as we saw with Julia, will often talk about scams online so it could bring some information to light. You want to report if you come across a scam to the FBI. Also, as for Skims part, they have an email address brand reporting at skimps.com that you can contact. They say any official outreach from them will come from at skims.com. And part of the problem here is that young people are dying to become influencers.

So any type of opportunity like that, they think, oh, this could be my big break. They're going to jump on. They've got to be careful. Emily, we thank you for being here. We thank you for bringing us that story. We're going to head overseas now to Top Stories Global, watch, and a check of what is happening around the world. Homes and Cisley left teetering on a cliff after storms triggered a major landslide. Dron footage showing buildings and a car dangling on the edge.

Italian officials say more than 1,500 people have been evacuated from the town. which sits on a plateau that is gradually collapsing. People around the world gathering to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Today marks 81 years since the liberation of Auschwitz. Survivors of the concentration camp in Poland laying flowers and wreaths at a wall where German forces killed thousands of prisoners. World leaders also held memorial events in Germany, Ukraine, and the UK. And disturbing video from the Philippines appearing to capture the moment a mayor

was ambushed an attack with a rocket launcher. You can see a suspect jumping out of a van with the weapon before firing at the vehicle carrying the mayor. Government officials say he was not hurt, but two members of a security team were injured. Investigators now working to track down those suspects. And in Sri Lanka, a terrifying encounter between a van full of tourists and an elephant,

the entire confrontation captured on video. Here's NBC, Steve Patterson. Heroing moments for a troop of terrified tourists in Sri Lanka. Dramatic video showing a massive elephant approaching a vehicle carrying Russian travelers using its trunk to rock the car. The driver trying to accelerate its trunk keeping the van in place. You can see a woman racing to pull a child out of the passenger door. According to an NBC news translation, the woman wrote, I was filming a video, not expecting at all, that this cute feeding moment would turn into such chaos. embassy in Sri Lanka issuing a sharp warning a day after the video of the incident was posted, reminding people that wild elephants can be dangerous. Wildlife experts agree. If you are in the car

in a situation like this, what do you do? Well, Steve, you know, rule number one is always don't feed the wildlife. Life-saving advice in the face of four tons of fury in the event that one of these giants isn't so gentle. Steve Patterson joins us now. Steve, what more do we know about these encounters like the one we just saw in Sri Lanka? Yeah, Tom, we should say first of all that these elephants are considered endangered. Yet a place like Sri Lanka reports the death of about 200 of these elephants every single year from encounters with humans. Of course, encounters with tourists exceedingly rare, but they are becoming more common as the

wildlife habitats continue to shrink there. It's something that experts have been tracking now for quite a while. Steve Patterson for us, Steve, thank you. When we come back, it is a special day here. at NBC News. We're marking 30 years since Al Roker officially joined the Today team. I'll look back at some of his most iconic moments next.