Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Episode Date: July 29, 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, tornado warning is going off in the northeast as dangerous storms put tens of millions at risk. Streets completely submerged. People pushing their cars through knee-deep waters, rescues right now across the region. In Wisconsin, entire neighborhoods devastated by that monster tornado winds, snapping power lines, trees crashing down onto roads. Survivors now returning to homes reduced to rubble. A powerful earthquake rocking Japan, this huge explosion, collapsing. a shopping mall. Dozens now feared trapped inside rescuers racing to reach them. President Trump's tribute for Senator Lindsey Graham and what happened behind closed doors today with the leaders of Israel and Ukraine. In cases that severe stomach illness now climbing the new numbers from the CDC, what you need to know. And this shocking moment in Georgia, how a home being

transported ended up on top of this car. Pop star legal battle singer Ariana Grande now suing multiple people for allegedly hacking her and stealing her music. And the seventh inning, squirrel, the bushy-tailed trespasser causing chaos in the outfield, why it took several grounds crew members and a player to finally strike him out. Plus, the new payment plan for iPhones, how Apple and Klarna are linking up to create a new leasing deal. Top story starts right now. Hey, everybody. Good evening. I'm Yasim Vesugan. And for Tom, right now, dangerous summer storms racing across the Northeast, putting tens of millions at risk at this hour, multiple states under a tornado watch. Strong winds, heavy rains, slamming New Jersey. Huge trees seem swaying in Warren County. Some streets in that state submerged in waste-deep waters. People seen pushing their stalled cars through the floods. Pennsylvania also getting hit hard. Cars trudging through flooded streets, some stopping completely. The rising, waters forcing evacuations in Coldport, Pennsylvania, first responders, bringing multiple people

and dogs to safety. The storm is creating a travel nightmare, more than 8,000 flights delayed or canceled in the U.S. today. And this just in, by the way, American Airlines announcing a nationwide ground stop over an IT issue. We're going to bring the very latest on that. And the threat is not over yet. Storms lasting through the night and into tomorrow we are tracking it all. Here's a look at in D.C. just moments ago, torrential rain obstructing the iconic Manhattan skyline as the nation's capital is under severe thunderstorm warning. It's coming as the Midwest woke up to these scenes of destruction after an EF3 tornado ripped through the state. Dashcam video capturing the intensity of the storm, ripping trees and power lines down in just seconds. And sending this semi-truck

careening into a highway barrier. Our Maggie Vespa is following it all. and leads us off tonight. Tonight, punishing summer storms now pummeling tens of millions in the northeast. Rainfall rates above one and a half inches per hour in New Jersey. People pushing stalled out cars through floodwaters in Patterson. High water rescues underway in central Pennsylvania. First responders bringing people and their pets to safety. And tonight we're learning about the power of that twister that tore through the Appleton, Wisconsin area southwest of Green Bay.

You see it there, toppling those utility lines. It was an EF3 with winds up to 140 miles per hour. Nearly a mile wide, it was on the ground for more than 12 miles. Bob Wolfel's wife, Jean, among the survivors. She was inside this silver truck when the tornado tore through, the twister throwing and flipping it roughly 100 yards. It brought her and rolled her all the way to this far. Wow.

It's a miracle through God. Bob says a stranger smashed this window and pulled her out with only minor cuts and bruises. Happy she survived. Very blessed. Meanwhile, in suburban Chicago, a contractor swept away in an underground storm drain tonight unaccounted for. Crews now shifting from a rescue to a recovery mission. The second contractor initially trapped, rescued and taken to the hospital. And Maggie Vespos joining us now from Manasha, Wisconsin.

I mean, we're seeing it there in some of those images, Maggie, right? The devastation's so widespread. Authorities don't even have a full count of homes damaged or people injured. Yeah, Yasmin, that's exactly right. They held a press conference earlier today, and the big question was, what are the injuries? You know, how vast is the damage? I mean, you look at this image, and obviously it's really tough to even wrap your arms around just this pocket of this neighborhood. And authorities said they were really blunt.

They said, listen, this is a lot for us to quantify. They have to go door to door. They haven't been able to do that fully yet because this is really widespread. And they said they also know that there were people treated at local hospitals. They don't know how many. They don't know to what extent they were injured. But they say they do know right now they have no reports of any serious injuries or deaths, which obviously looking at this is something of a miracle.

Yasmin. Absolutely. A real devastating sight there behind you. Maggie, thank you. Want to turn out to southern Japan where a powerful earthquake injured dozens and caused widespread damage, hundreds of thousands forced to evacuate. And now the race to save dozens trapped inside of a mall. Matt Bradley has the latest on this.

Dangerous tremors shaking buildings. And panicking shoppers in a frightening moment of chaos. One man shouting, my foot, my foot, it's trapped. When a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the southern Japanese. The Chinese island of Kyushu injuring dozens and causing extensive damage across the island, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate, wrecking homes, and buckling highways, even breaking this bridge. Part of the 400-year-old Kumamoto castle crumbling.

One witness describing how. It didn't fall down piece by piece, he said. It came crashing down all at once. This footage appears to show the moment of a blast. shopping center. Part of the building collapsing. Local fire officials say an explosion had been heard and an unknown number of people were trapped inside. At least four people were taken to the hospital as authorities now race to rescue more. Police told Japanese media that multiple people had died and some 20 to 30 mall employees cannot be reached. Several people are also unaccounted for

at a paper factory. Video from a local news service shows the devastation. Saving lives as the government's top priority, said Japan's cabinet secretary. Earthquakes here are often followed by violent aftershocks, as tonight authorities alert the public to remain vigilant. The risk period for those aftershocks should last for about a week, according to Japan's meteorological agency, which also said that about a hundred small tremors have already been felt in the region since today's earthquake. Yasmin.

Thank you, Matt. And in Washington, President Trump, giving an emotional tribute at the funeral for Senator Lindsey Graham. As we learn new details about those closed-door meetings with the leaders of Israel and Ukraine, Garrett Haake is at the White House. Before pews packed with lawmakers and foreign leaders, it was a force of nature, and I will miss him greatly. President Trump honoring the late Senator Lindsey Graham. He was a man who gave America the full measure of his good and mighty heart until that heart itself just gave out. And joking about Graham's pension for pushing to use American power around the globe.

He never saw a war that he didn't like. Only his true friends would understand that, but he wanted it for the good of our country. He felt in his bones that our destiny is to win. Among those true friends, Ukraine's President Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Graham strongly supported them, and both were here today. After separate meetings with the president, Netanyahu is saying they discussed their shared goal to ensure Iran will not have nuclear weapons.

Today, as the war the president had predicted would last four to six weeks, enters its six months, the president optimistic, with oil prices plummeting to around $80 a barrel. This is going to be better. As soon as this little situation gets worked out, I believe it's going to be better. It already is better. We have an amazing economy, and frankly, when this gets done, there'll be nothing to compete. And Garrett Haak is at Jordan. Now I'm wondering if that optimism is sticking now, Garrett,

as we're getting this breaking news in about an attempted surprise attack on U.S. bases in the Middle East. What more are we learning about that? Yeah, Yasmin, no comment yet from the White House on these strikes, which sent Com said happened at about 545 this evening, with the Iranians firing off ballistic missiles and what they hope would be a surprise attack on U.S. forces. Some reports say that attack was aimed at Jordan, although we've not confirmed that detail ourselves. Zincom says all these missiles were shot down. But, yes, this is the first Iranian strike or attempted strike in several days. And the president has been saying, as he did in that same interview, you heard at the end of my piece there,

that talks with Iran have been productive in recent days and that he thought they were making some progress here. Clearly, at least some faction, in Iran feels differently. Now, the president has long maintained that he can simply go back to airstrikes and that he would target things like power plants and bridges, kind of try to up the anti on Iran. But the fact that this missile launch happened here at all today suggests that we are, you know, no closer to a negotiated settlement of this war than we were a few days ago when the last round of strikes stopped. Gareth Hake, thank you. Also, the president's high-stakes-oval office meetings Today are coming at a pivotal moment for both Ukraine and Israel's leaders.

Our Richard Engel has more on the complexities at hand. One of the most interesting dynamics today was the back-to-back meetings in Washington with President Trump and Ukraine's President Zelenskyy and Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu. The two men, the Ukrainian president, the Israeli prime minister, have been rivals in a way seeking U.S. attention, seeking President Trump's support, seeking U.S. military. military support. And Ukraine's President Zelensky has sometimes complained, he's complained to me, that the Middle East has often overshadowed his country's conflict with Russia and taken resources away from Ukraine, a lot of those resources coming toward the Middle East. But now, for the first time,

and this is a recent development, the two conflicts are directly linked with a couple of days ago, Iran accusing Ukraine of firing on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea. It's an attack that didn't get much attention, but now we have three different waterways, all of which are war zones involved in this conflict. You have the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Caspian Sea. Now, the Iranians said that they would respond to this attack, that they say killed an Iranian sailor, And they also say that Zelensky ordered this attack. They blame Zelensky personally for carrying out this strike on the Iranian commercial ship.

And they say that Zelensky did it at Israel's behest. So what's the linkage here? Why are these all coming together? Well, the Ukraine and Israel have a common enemy in Iran, because Iran provides drones that Russia has been using to attack Ukraine, these Shahid one-way drones, and those drones are also being used to attack U.S. military bases and oil facilities across the Middle East. Thank you, Richard. To Georgia tonight, the teenager who says he is responsible for killing four people at his high school in 2024, sentenced to life in prison. Colcray, pleading guilty to all.

counts against him. Prosecutor is painting a picture of a young person obsessed with shooting culture and seeking notoriety. Aaron Gilchrist has more. Tonight, 16-year-old Colt Gray sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 24 shooting at Appalachie High School in Wynder, Georgia that left four people dead. Barrow County Superior Court Chief Judge Nicholas Prim telling Gray, The slain will not return to life. The injured will not forget their wounds, and a 16-year-old boy will live and die in prison. Gray chose not to make a statement in court after three days of witnesses, which today included his maternal grandmother. The cult that I knew and the cult that I know now is not the cold that did all of this.

The defense painting a portrait of a teen who was neglected and abused, who suffered with undiagnosed and untreated mental health issues. But prosecutors described Gray as a methodical planner who studied and idolized past school shooters. He is still calculating up to the second of this shooting. And who mimics them in executing his plot and then reveled in the attention. We've seen no evidence. He has any ability to develop a conscience or any ability to ever. fully value human life. Gray pled guilty to 55 charges, including multiple murder counts.

Surveillance cameras at Appalachie High School captured Gray on September 4th, 2024, carrying a rifle concealed in his backpack. During the hearing, audio was played from an interview with law enforcement. Gray did just minutes after the shooting, in which he talked about going into a school bathroom to prepare. You think he went in there to get ready? Yes, sir. I assume so that's what they've been wanting me to do for so long.

Gray killed two students and two teachers in the shooting, nine others injured, forcing this small community into what the prosecutor called a dark place. Hopefully this is the end of it, or the end of this week will be the end of it, and we can all try and start working our way out of that dark place. Erin Gilchrist is joining us now from the courthouse in Winder, Georgia. I mean, this decision just came down a couple hours ago. What is now the legal recourse after the judge's sentence? Well, the judge did go through the options that,

Colt Gray would have to file for appeals. He also told him that he could try to withdraw or file to withdraw his guilty plea. He said that would have to be to correct a manifest injustice. The reality here, though, is that in this hearing that we saw over the last three days here, the prosecution really laid out things that would point to Colt Gray being really guilty beyond a reasonable doubt if this had been a case that was presented to a jury. Obviously, there was the confession that he made in the school building while he was still are being interrogated by investigators with the Barrow County Sheriff's Office. On top of that, there are the writings that go back a couple of years, noting that Colt Gray had

studied other school shooters, noting that he had been talking about in different forums, wanting to carry out this sort of a school shooting, and then mimicking some of the past school shooters in his execution of this plan. And obviously, there was the phone call that was played in court today of Colt Gray talking to his mother over the course of several months after the the school shooting asking about whether he had been, become famous online, in those forums online, wanting to know how many likes he had gotten in different platforms where he had been talked about, wanting to know if fan art had been generated of him, possibly with other past school shooters.

And so, Yasmin, the mountain of evidence against him would really seem to suggest that any sort of appeal might fall on deaf ears. Erin Gilchrist, thank you. Turning now to Dr. Anthony Fauci's private journal entries, recently released by Republican Senator Rand Paul ahead of a high-stakes hearing on Capitol Hill more than 1,500 pages offering new insight into Fauci's time leading the COVID-19 pandemic response. Back in 2020, Dr. Fauci served as a key member on the Trump administration's coronavirus task force and eventually faced off with the president over his handling of communications on the virus. Now Fauci's going to face

questioning on Capitol Hill, led by Republican Senator Rand Paul, over his understanding of COVID's origins and revelations found in those journal entries, including his relationship with the president and his own fame. I want to bring in the White House correspondent Monica Alba, who sat in by for us on this. I got to tell you, I read some of these entries. These are incredibly personal notes chronicling Dr. Fauci's experience during the pandemic. Do we know how it is that Senator Paul actually got him? Well, we are learning more details about that Yasmin, because that was one of the first questions that we all had when these were published online over the weekend. And it turns out that the Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. handed them over to Senator Paul

as part of his investigation. And he said that it took months to basically look over and eventually find these documents, find all of these near daily accounts of what Dr. Fauci was thinking and experiencing at the time. He said that it appears they were, I guess, on several different devices that then they were able to get and ultimately hand over before we saw them actually being posted again just a few days ago. I mentioned that Rand Paul's ultimate objective here was to zero in on the origins of COVID. What are these journal entries revealed to us about the potential origin? Yeah, and so this has been the subject of debate and certainly has been an area in which we have have seen Dr. Fauci and Senator Paul clash before.

And Fauci has said several times that he is open-minded, according to him, about the potential lab leak theory, this idea that it is possible, that that is where the virus originated versus what was known as a wet market in Wuhan with exotic animals. But he writes in January 26, 2020, weeks before the world would shut down, now we know the market was not the source. It was the amplifier, having said that, somewhere the virus jumped from animals to humans. And again, Yasmin, in past testimony from Dr. Fauci, we have seen this issue come up over and over again, and it is likely to be the main subject of several when he appears on the Hill tomorrow.

There is also insights into the relationship that Dr. Fauci had with President Trump in his first term towards the end, especially of his first term. In a note from May 22nd of 2020, Fauci writes this, and I quote, Trump getting out of control and pushing to open up the country and get the economy back before election day. He is desperate. This is all about re-election. Are these notes going to play a significant role in tomorrow's hearing?

And what are they trying to glean from establishing the relationship that Dr. Fauci had with President Trump in his first term? Well, Dr. Fauci has been pretty open publicly about the disagreements that he had with President. Trump. And remember that when President Trump was hospitalized for COVID in October of 2020, Dr. Fauci was very involved and aware of his care and how his diagnosis was progressing. And then just a few short weeks after that, President Trump returned to the campaign trail and was even asking the crowd if he should fire Fauci. And at the time, there were large booze.

And the crowd was sort of playing into this moment. And the president said, well, maybe after the election, if I win, he lost in 2020, maybe then I'll fire him. So then what ended up happening is Dr. Fauci basically transitioned to the Biden administration once he took over and was sorn in in 2021. And former President Biden made Dr. Fauci his chief medical advisor. But that is something that Dr. Fauci has written about in his memoir and has spoken out about publicly. Today, President Trump was asked about these journal entries. And he said that he eventually grew tired of Dr. What about the entries in which Dr. Fauci talks about kind of this newfound fame? I mean, we had known Dr. Fauci for quite some time even before the COVID-19 pandemic, especially

during the explosion of HIV-AIDS in the 80s. But this was a different level of fame. Yeah, and I mean, he served exactly seven presidents, Democrats, Republicans, over the course of nearly 40-year career before the COVID pandemic happened. But it was, some of those journal entries are getting the most attention because it seems like in real time Dr. Fauci is grappling with an almost surprise by his newfound fame. And he is detailing many different conversations that he's having with celebrities. He's writing the situation with my national and international fame is explosive and really unimaginable. It is not hyperbole to say that today I am the most

famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable persons in the world. And he goes on Yasmin to sort of talk about when he had a conversation with the actress Julia Roberts, when he got a call from Barbara Streisand, things like that. And there are certainly many, many different examples of that that he's weaving in with all of this other information and charts about the COVID case numbers and deaths on any given day during that period. I do have to just say, again, it was so fascinating to get in. insight into Dr. Fauci's mind, the way he was thinking during such a stressful time in which we were all tuned in waiting on every last word that Dr. Fauci had to say when it came to the COVID

pandemic. Monica Alba, thank you. All right, still ahead tonight. We are followed breaking news, American Airlines issuing a ground stop because of IT issues, what we're learning, and the urgent search for an American tourist missing in the Caribbean. What a new video may reveal? about the moments before she vanished. We'll be right back. Back now with that breaking news that we mentioned at the top of the show. So American Airlines issuing a nationwide ground stop

citing IT issues. NBC News, senior producer Jay Blackman, covers aviation, joins me now on the phone with the latest. Jay, we just got an update on this. What's happening? So, Yasmin, the ground stop, which affected American airlines

and all of its regional partners, so a full-on ground stop for all American Airlines. airline flights has just been lifted. The airline telling me that they had a technology issue which affected multiple systems. When this happens, they asked the FAA to stop all of their flights. It lasted for a little bit more than an hour, but will have a cascading effect through their system, obviously making connecting flights and difficulties for passengers. Also that, and the weather in the Northeast, not going to be a great night if you're an American airline.

passenger. I'm sure there's going to be more information coming out about this hour long or so ground stop to American Airlines. But for now, Jay Blackman, thank you. I want to turn out a new video in the search for an American woman missing in the Caribbean. Her family pleading for help in finding her. Jesse Kirsch now with what the footage shows. Tonight, our first look at Liz Waddell in Grenada right before she vanished. The 43-year-old Americans family releasing this surveillance footage, saying it shows Waddell at her Caribbean Airbnb last Wednesday. Watch the North Carolina mother walk near the shoreline around 1144 a.m. She heads toward the jetty splashing into the water at 1147 a.m.

At 1150, a small boat floats by. Soon after, Waddell's family says you can see her friend adjust a beach chair before roughly 10 minutes pass. And on the other side of the screen, Wadell starts swimming away through the bay is roughly five foot deep water. Island police say there's no video showing Waddell returning to land. We remain hopeful, very hopeful, that she is somewhere, somewhere on the island, alive and safe. I'm Liz Waddell.

Waddell, who posts on social media about her physical therapy work, is described as five feet tall with a medium build. Police say she'd been on the island almost two weeks when she disappeared. My wife is a loving, very spirited person. Her husband, Kailen, flew to her. to Grenada after she vanished, today, writing, he did this swim yesterday. It is easy. There are lots of rocks you can stop at if you need. Weddell's husband adding, I am heartbroken. Please continue to send love.

And according to Waddell's husband, she was swimming in blue and white striped shorts and in orange top. He also says she did not have her wallet or her shoes. Yasmin. Thank you, Jesse. All right, still ahead tonight on Top Story. Newly released recordings of President Biden, the audio he pushed to keep private Now expose. We're going to tell you what it reveals. Plus, how pop star Ariana Grande is going after the hacker.

She says leaked her music. We'll be right back. Former President Biden back in the spotlight tonight after personal recordings that he fought to keep private or made public. The audio comes from hours of conversations recorded with his ghostwriter taped before Biden was elected president. In several clips, he appears to reference confidential material that later became the focus of a DOJ inquiry. Take a listen. I just found all the classified stuff downstairs. NBC's Ryan Riley is following the story for us and joining us now. I think the big question here, Ryan, is how it is these clips were released publicly.

Yeah, so all of this sort of stems from that special counsel investigation that was run by Robert Her that looked into, that looked into, rather, Joe Biden's handling of these classified documents. And this audio tape was something that was recorded between his ghostwriter and himself when meeting in the home when discussing these sort of documents. So it's all about those classified documents. And then it came out because this was a lawsuit that was filed by this conservative organization that was seeking to have this released. And so initially, so they filed suit. And DOJ sort of was not going to oppose that. But it's very rare to have those sort of raw files that are gotten in the course of a criminal investigation just sort of released to the public. just because traditionally these investigations are you only really move forward when you're charging someone and then information is released.

And when there's not a criminal case brought forward, that's not something that the Justice Department really makes a habit of releasing. But because this conservative organization sued, we now have it public. I also thought it was interesting that another piece of this that has gotten attention is Biden openly criticizing his former boss, President Obama. Yes. Yeah, that was very effective. fascinating here. You never expected any of this to be public. And so he's pretty open about his relationship with him. Take a listen to this clip that we have of his discussions about his relationship with President Biden. Barack always got to the right spot but a day late and a dollar short. And so what's sort of fascinating here overall is that there's

also this parallel with the Trump case, the classified document case that Trump was involved with because in that instance, there was also this audio that had him discussing a document that was in front of him, and that was really core to the case. So there's really just such a parallel between the Trump and Biden instances here. But ultimately, the Biden case was not brought forward because Robert Herr found that this was an instance of something that a jury would have said that he would have been considered an elderly man with poor memory and wouldn't have necessarily found him ultimately guilty, Yasmin. Any response from the Biden camp so far? We, you know, haven't seen much. They initially did push back and try to get this.

stop this from being released, but ultimately when that appeals court said that the public interest prevailed there, they sort of dropped that fight there. But this is something that's very old, I think, is what they've indicated. This is something that happened a very long time ago. It was a different world. Donald Trump was just president when, for the first time around, when that initial audio was recorded back in February of 2017. Ryan Riley, thank you. I want to get the top stories news feed, starting with an update on that stomach parasite outbreak that we've been following. The CDC now says It's confirmed more than 6,700 cases across 45 states. That's up from around 4,100 reported late last week.

More than 400 people also in the hospital. It all comes as health officials say they're still investigating that multi-state outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce. Then in Georgia, a home landing on top of a car after a chain reaction highway crash. You can see that car crushed underneath the building. Firefighter is cutting part of the roof, sending debris. flying. State Patrol says the initial collision set off a series of crashes with 17 vehicles. They report nine people were taken to hospitals, but are expected to be okay, all of them. And fans can now own a piece of history from Kentucky Fried Chicken founder, Colonel Sanders.

His iconic black bow tie, pressure cooker, and former home are now all up for auction. But one of the most interesting pieces, a handwritten herbs and spices recipe from the 60s, It's unclear if it's actually the famous KFC's secret blend. Harlan Sanders started the chain in the 1950s and is still the face of it today. And in Texas, a fisherman rescued from a lake after spending more than three hours stranded in rough water. Game warden says he was thrown from his boat when it hit a tree stump during a fishing tournament. First responders showed up after getting a call from his Apple Watch. They say that emergency call, along with his life jacket, likely saved

his life. All right, let's turn overseas now to those fast-moving wildfires in Europe, now forcing more than 350,000 people to evacuate their homes. Our Raf Sanchez is in France tonight, where crews are racing to contain the flames. Tonight, relentless walls of flame raging across Europe as fire crews and military personnel battle historic blazes in France, Spain, and Italy. More than 360,000, 60,000 residents and tourists have now been evacuated. One of the fiercest battles being fought in France's iconic Bordeaux wine region. The view from the front line captured on this French firefighter's body camera as their team confronts a blaze on a country road. It's very difficult for the firemen to fight the fire.

France for the first time facing so-called fire clouds, pillars of smoke and flame so big they can generate their own lightness. France's President Macron on Monday calling the fires the worst situation they've had to deal with since World War II. While Spain confronts the largest wildfire in its history, after separate fires merged into a monster blaze west of Madrid. Italy also now battling fires of their own at this popular beach resort aircraft flying perilously low before dipping into the sea to gather salt water to douse the flames, as Europe braces for more to come. And Raft Sanchez is joining us now from Bordeaux. Raft, there are a lot of people displaced now from that region. It seems like there have been more evacuations as well. Where else and where have they gone?

Yeah, that's right, Yasmin. Another 4,000 people ordered to evacuate today from tourist sites along France's Atlantic coast. Some of them are spending the night at an emergency shelter here. They're getting really basic supplies like diapers, bottled water from this tent. In terms of the effort to contain this enormous fire, good news and bad news. Good news. Over the last two nights, fire crews have managed to keep it from growing much larger. Bad news. Tomorrow, it is going to be over 100 degrees here. That means a lot more dry kindling and real, real concerns that that is going to help spread the flames. Yasman.

All right, Raf Sanchez for us. Thank you, Raf. Next tonight to the Vatican, the first American Pope now in his second year leading the Catholic Church in paving his own path for. the papacy. Our Tom Yamis reports from Rome before he speaks with the Pope. White smoke from the Sistine Chapel and a choice no conclave has ever made. For the first time, an American would lead the Catholic Church. Hovering over St. Peter's Square, the world, met Cardinal Robert Prevost and would come to call him Pope Leo the 14th. I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me. Leo, after the 13th, the Pope, who took on the Industrial Revolution, this Leo believes

we're living through another one. Let's not fear artificial intelligence, but constantly keep the question of the human in play. His first encyclical, a teaching letter to the church, devoted entirely to AI, but technology is only part of his message. Leo, like Francis before him, has emerged as one of the world's most vocal advocates for migrants. As America turned 250, he spoke of the United States as a nation built by immigrants. As the country opened its doors to successive ways of immigrants, enabling them and their

children to play their part. And the American Pope, unafraid to take on the American president. I have no fear about the end of the Trump administration, nor are speaking out loudly about the message of the gospel. How would you describe the first American Pope's relationship with the American president. It's of course been tense. The Pope has been very clear that he is not trying to be intentionally adversarial, but he is going to stand up for what the church believes. All while maintaining his all-American roots and that Chicago pride.

White and shot! White and shot! Pope Leo embracing the role of peacemaker in a world facing multiple wars. Almost every single day, this is his insistent message, peace, peace, peace. And now that message taking center stage. And tomorrow, Pope Leo opens his summer retreat for a very special occasion. The backdrop, these gardens, which have hosted pontiffs for centuries. And at the top of a hill, this stage is being built for a choir of more than 160 children

from war-torn areas all over the globe. They'll sing with tenor Andrea Bocelli. The Pope is calling it a concert for peace. Bocchelli will sing with children from places marred by tragedy, the Holy Land, Uganda, and parts of Italy. As year two, tests whether Pope Leo's bridge building can reach a divided church and a polarized world. Still to come on top story, you've heard about leasing cars, but what about phones and computers? The new push from Apple to make some products more affordable, plus running wild, this elusive squirrel stealing the show at a baseball game after getting caught

in a pickle with the grounds crew. More on that video coming up next. We can't be friends. That might be the message pop star Ariana Grande has for a group of hackers that she says has been targeting her music. The Grammy Award winning singer filing a lawsuit over an alleged years-long hacking scheme, allegedly resulting in leaked songs, videos, and a lot more. Back in 2024, Grande hinted that she would be taken action. Before I left for Wicked, the few studio sessions that I did, which are all over TikTok, thank you so much. I'll see you in jail, literally. So NBC News obtained a copy of the Leo complaint Grande's team filed this week. Camilla Bernal has been digging into it and is joining us now.

So Camilla, Grande says the alleged hackers, they profited from taking unreleased songs, photographs, video, and audio recordings. And this wasn't just one alleged incident. There were more. Yeah, Yasmin. And actually, the lawsuit alleges that this has been going on for years. In fact, the lawsuit says that in 2023 alone, just 45 of her singles were released without her permission. And so, of course, this is something that she's clearly angry about.

You know, you heard her there saying, I'll see you in jail. These are hackers that we don't know who they are. We don't have their identity. She's actually trying to figure out who they are through this lawsuit. And she says that these hackers were able to gain access to her inner circle, producers and photographers and that's how they were able to essentially get her photos, her songs, videos, and the lawsuit alleges that they were able to sell it on the dark web for a significant amount of money. She also says in this lawsuit that it's caused economic

and reputational harm because she's actually had to re-record, change release dates, invest into figuring out who these people are. We have reached out to Ariana Grande's team and they have declined to comment. But we'll see how all of this develops, Yasmin. She said, obviously, in that video we just played in that interview, she said she wants to see them in jail, right? What else does she want out of this lawsuit? Yeah, so the lawsuit alleges that there are a few things that she wants. First, she wants the court to order these hackers to stop.

She wants her material to be returned to her, and she specifically wants to figure out the identity of these hackers. So she's asking the court for subpoenas, essentially, that will help her figure out who these people are. She's not asking for any sort of money, at least not yet. And she is asking the court for a jury trial. The next hearing on this case is scheduled for next year in January, and we'll see if they're able to get that jury trial. But clearly, she wants to see action here. Kimmel over now. Thank you. All right, let's get to Money Talks and a new push from Apple to make their products more.

affordable as the global memory chip shortage drives up the price of electronics. You've heard of lease in a car. Now you'll be able to do the same for your iPhone, your Mac, or your Apple Watch. The program dubbed Apple Upgrade is a partnership with the Buy Now Pay Later Service Klarna, which made headlines last year for allowing customers to pay for their fast food orders in installments. NBC News business reporter Ali Canal is at the big board for us to break it all down. This is amazing. So we know, listen, affordability is top of mind for a lot of consumers. Apple now is advertising this as a way to bring them some relief. But I think the big question here, Allie, is is this actually a good deal?

Hey, Gasmund, it can be, depending on the type of buyer you are. If you're someone that constantly wants the latest and greatest Apple devices, you're constantly upgrading. This can make sense because instead of paying for the full value up front, you now have a lower monthly payment here. And you can see some of the options. This is for an iPhone 17E. So it starts at 1799 a month, lease term, 24 months. Depending on the product, your monthly cost is going to change, right? So a MacBook, which is a little bit more expensive, 2499 a month for a 36-month lease term.

If you are someone, though, who prefers to keep their phone for a few years, it might make sense to either purchase it outright or finance it through the Apple card or your carrier provider. but this all seems to be about providing more optionality to consumers, Yasmin. This is actually a replacing Apple's iPhone upgrade program. So what is the difference here? And is there a catch to losing the other service? I got to say, every time an iPhone upgrade came for me,

I was pumped about it. Of course, yeah. And if you just do an apples to Apple's comparison here, the old program you were financing to own. Now you do not own this device. You are leasing it, similar to like you would lease a car, for example. It's also iPhone only in the old program. This is probably the biggest change.

Now this includes multiple devices, right? So your Macs, your Apple watches, your iPads, all of that now falls under this new program. And then once your lease ends, you can choose to return the product and exit the program. You could choose to buy it outright, pay the remainder, or you can upgrade and essentially get a new lease term. But there's a few things to keep in mind here. One, you'll need to pass a soft credit. check, AppleCare is also not included in this new program like it was with the old program. So this is something that you have to purchase separately. And remember, you don't own the phone.

So if something happens to that phone or you lose it, you owe Klarna that amount of money. So that's important to keep in mind too. And then again, beyond that, there are other options there. You can purchase the phone outright. Go to your carrier, provider, and finance through them. But if you go to the Apple website, you can price compare to see what option best fits your needs. Hold up. You just said we're not going to be owning the phone because of this partnership now with Klarna then who owns the data on the phone. Yeah, so Klarna technically owns the phone, right? During the duration of the lease, you do not own the phone. Klarna's providing the financing. Apple's providing the actual device. When it comes to your data, though, you shouldn't have to worry about it because Apple says it's still going to handle customer privacy, customer data in the same way as that it has in the past with its other purchase options. So just like you would trade in a normal phone and make sure you're wiping down that entire phone.

With this new program, you would do the same. I think folks are wondering, like, what is really behind all of this? Because I know that Apple raised their prices last month citing the soaring cost of memory and storage chips, right? So is this kind of a way for folks to hang on to their products to get people to buy in for longer? Well, as far as familiar with the situation, told me that this partnership has been in the works for years. and it was actually first reported several years ago. So this isn't in response to the price site that we've seen for Macs, for iPads, for other products. You're looking at some of the price increases on your screen.

And this is specifically due to the memory chip shortage. We've been talking about the data center, AI rollout. This is indirect response to that. Analyst on Wall Street think your iPhone could be next to see some of those price increases. But obviously, Yasmin, affordability, as we've talked about multiple times, is key. And now you do have an option where you have that monthly payment. Whenever there's major Apple news, we see a lot of things happening in the markets. How are they reacting to this? Positive reaction to markets. I mean, Apple is trading at a market cap of around $5 trillion.

You can see the surge over the past year. And when it comes specifically to this news, we heard from some prominent Wall Street analyst. Bank of America, for example, is out with a new note. And they said that this could encourage people to upgrade their devices more often. Remember, Apple has dealt with a really lengthy upgrade cycle. Usually it takes a long time for people to want to upgrade their devices. Yeah, so that could solve that problem. Also, it gives Apple the opportunity to recover, refurbish, and resell some of these phones back to customers

through their retail stores, and it keeps more customers buying directly through Apple rather than their wireless providers. And, you know, I mean, I think that the stock speaks for itself. Apple was behind some of its competitors, when we talk about the AI race. Now we have a new CEO incoming. We have an earnings report later this week. It will actually be the last earnings report for Tim Cook coming up on Thursday. So it just seems like with this new CEO taking over, we're in a pretty good spot here. You know what? Gosh darn it. Apple deserved it. Listen, I don't have my Apple iPhone on me, but usually it's attached to the hip. So I get it. I mean, they're necessary. By the way, that was sarcasm. That's what my child tells me often.

times. He likes to explain to me that that, in fact, was sarcasm. Sarcasm. Love it. Yeah. And look, I mean, Apple is one of those companies that we talk about quite often. It's tangible. It's consumery. We know it. And we'll see how the rest of the story develops, especially when we talk about AI. Allie Canal, thank you. All right, turning down to some wild video. Baseball fans got quite a show last night when a squirrel ran onto the field, causing chaos during an MLB game. All of it immortalized on social media. Here's George Solis with the Play-by-Play. Well, uh-oh, squirrel. Forget the seventh inning stretch.

This was more like the seventh inning fetch. A black squirrel darting onto the field during Monday night's game between the Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles. The chase for the squirrel is on. Going a little nuts, prompting this army of staff to run after it. The squirrel is still eluding an entire horde of grounds crew members. And the squirrels free once again. The spectacle unfolding during the bottom of the sixth inning. And down the stretch.

She comes the squirrel getting to the finish line, but he didn't know where it is. The squirrel is just hopping around Taylor Ward. Orioles third base coach at one point tossing seeds. Buck's like here. Here, have a snack. Then there's this inexplicable moment with a dove. This game's been a zoo. All building up to this squirrel standoff with the grounds crew,

a stampede of khaki shorts and blue shirts attempting to corral the furry forager. Take a look, the little guy even ending up in the glove of a player for a split second. I have freedom on my mind. And just when you think it's done. He gets away again and hops through the towel. And hops through another towel. Tigers play by play announcer Jason Benetti in the booth for the action,

calling it like he sees it. Watching this play out in real time, what was that like? Well, I mean, it's the American dream, right? People want to put you in a box. And you get to say, no, I don't want to be put in a box. I want to be free. I want to roam. The curious critter charming announcers and spectators alike.

Full-grown men running after the squirrel, it was pretty entertaining to say the least. Yeah, the poor guy just wanted to watch the game. Fans, Eileen Schuring and Christina Kestone capturing the chaos from the stands. In the end, a grounds crew member eventually catching the little guy, though it was clear which side fans were on. The squirrel reportedly okay. While the O's emerged victorious over the Tigers, fans declaring the squirrel the real winner. He had the best seat in the house.

He got a great view of the game. He made some friends, and he rallied the entire stadium behind him. America's pastime, now just a little nuttier. George Salis, NBC News. When we come back, have you ever wondered were the Pope vacations? Tonight, Tom takes us on a tour of the Pontiff's private gardens at his estate outside of Rome and this site of that historic concert for peace. Stay with us.

Finally tonight, a rare inside look at the Pope's summer residence and vacation retreat. Tucked inside one of Italy's most picturesque towns. It's known as the second Vatican City. Tom traveled there today and got a tour. For 400 years, popes have come here to get away and to reconnect with the outside world,

majestic gardens covering more than 130 acres, and views capturing Rome and masterpiece sunsets. Father Mani, this is such a beautiful place. It's majestic. Why does Pope Leo love being here? I think one of the things is that it allows him a little bit of privacy and respite. The very things that he doesn't have at St. Peter Square, he's able to come into the beauty of this place and recharge.

He loves it. NBC News given rare access to tour the grounds called Borjo Ladocee. The Gardens, part of the papal retreat, in Castel, Andolfo. Father Mani Durantus is the director. So now I want to show you this very special place, which is the spiritual heart of Borgo de lais oh wow. Look at this. We're taken to a remote section hidden among a canopy of trees. This ancient Roman path built more than a thousand years ago in the distance, a statue of the Virgin Mary. Father man, you don't happen to know the last time Pope Leo was here, huh?

Just yesterday. It's a place where popes have come to pray and make some of their biggest decisions. And it is here where they come and in the context of nature to try to hear God's voice to be led in order to lead the global church in being that witness to the world. The papal retreat is a place that popes have also hosted some of the world's biggest leaders. Pope John Paul the second meeting with President Bush, Pope Francis meeting with Pope Benedict just after being elected, and Pope Leo bringing Ukraine's president to discuss the war. The gardens opened to the public by Pope Francis, who wanted the world. to see and experience what he and those that came before him had witnessed.

This type of beauty is only the result of collaboration between God, nature, and the human mind and the human hand. God, the God that we Christians believe in, chose not to do this by himself. Nature cannot do this by herself, and we can't do this by ourselves. We thank Tom for that. And join us tomorrow for Pope Leo's Concert for Peace, which you can only see on NBC News Now, NBC in Telemundo. Plus, Tom's going to speak. speak with Pope Leo on his second year leading the church. You'll hear that right here on Top Story. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Yasmin Busigan in New York for Tom. Stay right there. More news on the way.