Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Episode Date: July 9, 2025

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.

Breaking tonight, the flash flood emergency right now in New Mexico with reports of people trapped, raging waters ripping this house from its foundation, the river pushed to the brink, officials warning people to urgently seek higher ground, the tornado warnings along the east coast as storms put major cities at risk, Bill Karen standing by. Also breaking tonight the dramatic new numbers of those missing in the Texas flood, more than 160 people still unaccounted for, and the new video of intelligence. tense rescues, an officer climbing a roof, pulling someone to safety. Local officials pressed on why there wasn't a warning system in place.

Plus, inside Camp Mystic, the images of what's left behind, and the chilling photo of the campers and counselors just days before they were swept away. The major new change at airports nationwide after nearly two decades, the TSA says you'll no longer have to remove your shoes, the reason behind the policy reversal. Caught in the Crossfire, new ring cam video capturing people frantically taking cover as bullets fly in Philadelphia. E-bike dangers for kids' emergency rooms seen an unprecedented spike in trauma as electric motors topped 20 miles per hour, the urgent warning for parents tonight.

Impersonating Marco Rubio the investigation into who used AI to manipulate the Secretary of State's voice to contact high-level officials, how you can protect yourself from deep fakes. And the wholesome moment on the field, an 85-year-old veteran and grandfather rounding the bases just like everyone else. Plus, you'll see the incredible reunion, a stranger who rescued a mother and her three kids meeting for the first time since those catastrophic floods. Top story starts right now. Hey, good evening. We're coming on the air tonight with breaking news of flooding emergency in South Central New Mexico, as we're learning 161 people are still missing in Texas, with that death toll now at least 109.

stunning new images tonight. A house ripped off the ground in Rydiosso, carried away by the floodwaters, intense rain, I should say, running right over a burn scar. It comes as we're getting new images of those early rescues in Texas, a policeman walking across a roof. You see it right here to reach someone stranded. This father trapped handing his young son to rescuers. Can't imagine what that was like. Texas officials pressed today on Kerr County's emergency alert system. Amid new reporting that an upgraded the alert system was discussed but never implemented. And tonight, we're getting a new look inside the tragedy at Camp Mystic. You can see the muddy water line nearly reaching the top of this cabin's door frame.

To give you a sense of how this unfolded, this is a map of the camp with these red-shaded areas showing the flood zones along the Guadalupe River. You can see the cluster of camp buildings right on the path of those floodwaters there. And these cabins were some of the campers that were lost were staying. This chilling image taken just a couple days before the disaster, 13 campers and two counselors, their entire cabin was swept away. But despite the grim search for the missing stories of hope, one family warned by a stranger as the flood waters rose. Tonight, you'll see them reunited with their real-life guardian angel right here on Top Story. But first to the breaking flood emergency in New Mexico, Camila Bernal has been covering this.

And Camilla, this is happening right now. People are trapped. That's right, Tom. We know at least four people are trapped in that debris in the floodwaters in Redos in New Mexico, according to our affiliate there on the ground. We know that first responders are already trying to help the people that are trapped in that debris. We've seen photos of them responding to all of this. The images, of course, that you're seeing right now are extremely dramatic. They show the water, the mud, all of that debris, of course, at least the one house flowing away in these floodwaters.

We also know that officials are asking people to search or to reach high ground as soon as possible. They say, do not drive your car in this type of weather. They say it will get carried away by the floodwaters. They're also warning that this is a village that has already experienced this type of flash flooding. The problem is that they experienced wildfires last year, and so those burn scars make this area particularly vulnerable to the flash flooding and to that debris flow. The National Weather Service already saying that the river is over 15 feet, Tom.

They say it's hard to tell where that riverbed is right now. We do know that there is a shelter at the community center that is already open for people who are impacted. And officials, again, telling people to seek high ground and to be extremely careful in these conditions, Tom. Those images are horrific. I can't imagine that. Let's go right to NBC News Meteorologist Bill Cairns. Bill, walk us through what's happening right down there in New Mexico and walk our viewers through how this happened. Yeah, the power of water, just incredible. So this is where the South Fork fire burned. In June of just last year, huge fire in central New Mexico.

It's in a mountainous area near the Lincoln National Forest. So this is a more rural area than say what happened in Texas, but you can still see the devastation of this mud flow, this debris flow. So this is the Ruidoso area here. This is the flash flow and emergency. And all of that mud and debris came off the hillside. and flowed into the Rio Ruidoso, the river that runs through the community. It went from about four feet to 24 feet. It rose 20 feet in about 90 minutes. So another, like, incredible epic, you know, major flood stage near record flood stage in a short period of time. It happened during the daylight hours.

It was raining. So hopefully we're not going to lose too much, you know, in the way of property and lives here. But you saw the pictures there about how bad, you know, just that little area is. As far as the other concerns go, this line of thunderstorms is racing for the East Coast. We've got huge problems with a lot of flash flooding, but I do have my eyes on this tornado warning in central New Jersey. This is heading towards the Point Pleasant area. Of course, this time of year, the beaches are packed.

This is a radar indicated tornado. It's not confirmed on the ground. But everyone in this area, this is where the six flags is located here in Jackson, needs to be taking shelter. And this will race towards the coast in about a half hour. We had a 75 to 80 mile power confirmed wind gust in areas of Maryland. There's a lot of power outages, a lot of down trees. and that line of storms is now heading through eastern Maryland. Considerable threat, wind goes up to 70 miles power will continue as that line heads towards Delaware.

The flash flooding is also a big issue, especially around southeastern portions of Pennsylvania, including the Philadelphia area. They are under a flash flood warning. This threat will continue at least until about midnight for flash flooding, Tom. And we just got our hands full out there. And that New Mexico video, I mean, how fast that house travels down and just disintegrates in the tree. is just, you know, incredible. And we don't know if the house was occupied or not.

And hopefully it wasn't. And we'll give you more detail. Yeah, something like that, I would say, almost impossible to survive. You can see the trees coming down with it as that cabin goes down the river there. All right, Bill, I'm going to ask you to stand by for us in case any of that breaking news, eberges, including that tornado. You were just talking about possible tornado there in New Jersey. We do want to move on to Texas and the growing frustration in that state.

In the wake of those catastrophic floods, the governor announcing 161 people are are still missing as officials are facing tough questions about emergency alert systems. We're going to start with Priscilla Thompson right now on the ground in Kerrville. This was my house and the front porch was here. Ricky Ray Robertson lost nearly everything. But with at least 109 people now confirmed dead and more than 160 still missing from these catastrophic floods, Robertson counts himself among the fortunate. Last night there was a man and a woman about 11. o'clock here and they were looking for their daughter. I can rebuild the house. They lost a little

girl. He says local officials drove down his street early that morning, blasting sirens. They woke you up. Yes, ma'am. But many hearsay, they weren't properly alerted when floodwaters began to rapidly rise early on the 4th of July. Officials today pressed by reporters about the response. What happened when did it happen? Was the emergency manager awake at the time? Did they push the button to issue an emergency alert? Sir, it's not that easy when you just push a button, okay? There's a lot more to that. And we've told you several times. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state was prepared. We were ready. And if you heard a flash of a warning, no one would know that that would be a 30-foot high tsunami wall of water. One thing Kirk County doesn't have a county-wide siren system. Former

County Commissioner Tom Moser says he proposed adding one in the wake of a 2015 flood. There was an objection to sirens because of false alarms. Do you think sirens could have saved lives here? Most likely so, yes. Yes, I'm confident they could have. About 20 miles away in the town of comfort, this is the sound residents heard as the fast-moving water rose. It was late morning there when many people were already awake. The town, which had recently installed a new alarm, had zero fatalities. Daniel Morales pushed for the sirens. It makes me feel good at that.

I was able to do that, you know, and that I'm part of it. Ricky Ray Robertson says he wishes they'd had the same system in Kerr County. Do you think a universal siren would have made a difference? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Priscilla Thompson joins us tonight live from Kerrville, Texas. Priscilla, these flash floods can happen at any time. So let's pick up right there where you left off.

Are officials reconsidering adding a siren system now to this area? Yeah, Tom, they are. As this massive cleanup effort and recovery effort will continue over the coming weeks, the governor is vowing to implement new systems to ensure that this doesn't happen again. Tom. Priscilla, before you go there, you'd spend all day talking to the residents there. We were just down there. as well. People were still sort of in a state of shock, but you sort of feel the anger bubbling.

Is that something that you're sensing there as well? Yeah, you feel some anger about what went wrong, but I will tell you that the people that we spoke to today say that they do feel like there has been a strong local government response, but they also say that, of course, moving forward, there need to be adjustments, and everyone we spoke to said that they do believe that having that siren system could have saved lives, particularly around those summer camps. Tom? All right, Priscilla Thompson. Priscilla, we thank you. And as questions swirl over what could have been done to prevent this tragic loss of life, search teams are still scouring the region for those who remain missing, including six people from

Camp Mystic. Our Morgan Chesky speaks to one camper and her mother about how she made it out. Tonight, with more than 160 missing in the Texas Hill country, we have another search party down there. Tireless search and rescue teams fighting their latest challenge. And that is the sound that is really non-stop, even on day five, here on the banks of the Guadalupe River, the search crews still going. Today, Governor Abbott surveyed the damage at Camp Mystic from the air. We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for. The sheriff says five campers and one counselor are still unaccounted for, as we learn more about the young girls who lost their lives there. Blakely McCrory, Hadley-Hanna, Lenny McCown, and Mary Stevens were all just eight years old.

This harrowing photo showing one cabin of girls. Several now confirmed dead. When Kennedy returned to Camp Mystic on Sunday and took these pictures, a glimpse of what her 10-year-old daughter Lucy and her fellow campers went through. That's Lucy's bunk bed surrounded by debris. Tiny clothes still hang in a closet where the water line is several feet high. You can see it again here in the girl's shower. Lucy says she woke up that night to rain and thunder.

People from like different cabins started coming to our porch. like wake up and go to rec hall because there's a flood. How would you describe that four-hour window where you didn't know how Lucy was? I mean, just the longest four hours of my life. Lucy says when the sun rose, they drove to another camp where they were eventually evacuated by helicopter. When I saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket and had a teddy bear. We just held each other tight and I held her all night, you know, and just so grateful to God.

Morgan Chesky joins us tonight from Kerrville, Texas. Morgan, you've been on the ground there for days. This is your hometown. At what point do you think volunteers there, officials may start to consider this a recovery effort? It's been so many days there. You and I were talking about this just yesterday. If anyone is still trapped, it is almost impossible. And miracles happen all the time, right?

We know that we report on them here, but it has been so many days now on that river. Yeah, Tom, whether or not anyone wants that. to publicly say that, that question. That question has been hanging in the hearts and the heads of everybody here, particularly now as we go from day five into day six. We are approaching that miracle threshold here, especially with the five girls and one counselor still missing from Camp Mystic. We heard from Texas Governor Greg Abbott promising not to leave until everybody is accounted for. But Tom, unfortunately, particularly here in Texas, when these flash floods have happen in the past. There have been cases where some of these victims are never found. That's

certainly a worst case scenario from a closure standpoint. And no doubt that window is closing before officials totally come out and say that they are now in a recovery standpoint. Until that moment, though, Tom, people holding out for hope, Tom. Morgan Chesky reporting from that very river just in front of it. Morgan, we thank you for that. A major change coming to airports across the country. The TSA announcing a new policy, allowing passengers to leave shoes on when they go through general security checks, ending a nearly 20-year practice. NBC's Tom Costello explains what's going on. It's a major security shift at TSA checkpoints nationwide. Effective immediately, all passengers can keep their shoes on, no need to screen them separately. Homeland Security Secretary

Christy Nome says 94% of passengers now have real IDs, improving identity confirmation. and TSA procedures and checkpoints have improved. We've added new scanners, new technologies, more TSO officers in some areas. The TSA began screening shoes for explosives in 2006 after shoe bomber Richard Reed attempted to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami in 2001. While pre-checked passengers have been able

to leave their shoes on, removing shoes has been a top complaint among all passengers. For women, it's like, ew, I don't want to touch the floor. In December, we saw how detecting explosives is still a top priority at the TSA range in Huntsville. This is what's left, the piece of a shoe and the handle from a suitcase. The bottom line is this would have been catastrophic. And the TSA and the FBI continue to focus on mitigating the threat of potentially catastrophic explosives. Security experts believe the terror threat remains real, even as new technology provides better detection.

Shoes stay on. Secretary Nome says TSA pre-check will still be valuable for passengers who don't want to remove their laptops, and Sheehan says passenger safety will not be compromised. Tom? All right, Tom Costello. Next tonight, President Trump, with some of his sharpest criticism yet for Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, offers handling of the Russia's war against Ukraine. Trump announcing he's sending more U.S. weapons to Ukraine just days after the Pentagon paused shipments.

Gabe Gutierrez is at the White House. Tonight, as the fighting in Ukraine intensifies with the largest Russian airstrikes of the war underway, the Trump administration is reversing course, sending more weapons to Ukraine and growing increasingly frustrated with Vladimir Putin. We get a lot of bull-thrown at us by Putin for you want to know the truth. It's a dramatic shift in tone for the president after years of praising the Russian leader. I said he was a strong leader, which he is. And months after erupting in anger against Ukrainian president, Zalem.

You don't have the cards right now. The new reversal comes after President Trump spoke with Putin and Zelensky by phone last week, just days after the Pentagon held up a shipment of U.S. weapons for Ukraine, citing concerns about low stockpiles. That decision blindsided the State Department and European allies, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter. It's not clear who ordered the pause. Putin is not treating human beings, right?

He's killing too many people. So we're sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine and I've approved that. So who ordered to pause last week? I don't know. What didn't you tell me? The Kremlin said today, sending more U.S. weapons is not in line with attempts to promote a peaceful settlement. On the campaign trail, Trump frequently bragged he could end the war in Ukraine in one day. Within 24 hours. A claim he later said was sarcasm.

Now his patience with Putin appears to be wearing thin. He's very nice all the time. but it turns out to be meaningless. Gabe joins us tonight from the White House. Gabe, let's pick up on another headline. We also have a new ruling tonight from the Supreme Court when it comes to federal workers. Yeah, that's right, Tom.

The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to move forward with plans to slash the federal workforce, at least for now. Previously, a California judge had said the president could not significantly reorganize the executive branch without working with Congress. Well, now the High Court is imposing an administrative stay in the case at the request of the Trump administration.

And that clears the way for mass firings at nearly two dozen departments while the case proceeds in the lower courts. Katanji Brown Jackson was the only justice to provide a written dissenting opinion, Tom. Hey, Gabe, a little off topic here. We can hear a ton of sirens in your background. You're at the White House. Any idea of what's going on there? Not exactly, Tom, but I can tell you that there has been an increased security presence

here outside the White House. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been in Washington. He was sent to meet with President Trump this afternoon. We had been hearing some protests yesterday and also today, even though there was a bit of a rainstorm in the past few minutes, but there has been an increased security presence in and around the water. All right, Gabe, if it's anything serious, you let us know, we'll come back to you. We appreciate it.

We're back in a moment with the Jeffrey Epstein files after years of demands for answers and Internet conspiracy theories. Top justice officials now saying Epstein did not. not keep a client list. But the video of Epstein's prison cell, the night he died, we will show you. And should ICE agents be unmasked? The growing demands to have federal agents show their faces when making arrest and how the Trump administration is defending the practice. Plus, Marco Rubio's imposter, the investigation into who used AI to make high-level calls posing as the Secretary of State, why it's not just a problem for public officials.

Stay with us. We're back now with new details in the death of Jeffrey Epstein, the Justice Department, releasing video from the night that the disgraced billionaire died, denying the existence of a client list and confirming Epstein's death as a suicide. The statement now triggering backlash from conspiracy theorists within the MAGA community. NBC Stephanie Gosk has this one. President Trump not happy getting a Jeffrey Epstein question at the White House today. And are people still talking about this guy, this creep? On Monday, the DOJ released this video of Epstein's federal jail cell the night the disgraced financier died. But the time code jumps just before midnight, Attorney General Pam Bondi explaining. And what we learned from Bureau of Prisons was every night the video is reset and every night should have the same minute missing.

Together with the video, the DOJ issued an undated and unsigned memo confirming Epstein died by suicide and that he did not have a client list to traffic. underage girls. The statement and the video triggering backlash from normally loyal Trump allies. Right-wing influencer Lara Lumer wants Bondi fired. Alex Jones saying, no one is buying this. The DOJ is attempting to debunk conspiracy theories that have swirled since Epstein's death in 2019, spread in part by some administration officials, including now deputy FBI director Dan Bongino. That apparently 170 plus people on his client list, may be outed in the coming days. In February, Bondi was asked on Fox News about a possible client list.

It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump. Bondi responding to that appearance today. And my response was, it's sitting on my desk to be reviewed, meaning the file along with the JFK, MLK files as well. Helping fuel the backlash, Elon Musk. In June, he alleged President Trump was named in the Epstein files, later deleting the post. The president has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Tonight, Musk hammering the administration, questioning how it can be trusted. For now, it seems an attempt to put the conspiracies to rest is having the opposite effect. All right, Stephanie, Goss joins us now. Stephanie, people are going to be watching this and wondering, is this the end? Is this the last we've heard of Epstein? What do we think is going to happen with the DOJ and this Epstein file? Well, Tom, you heard it in the president's voice, right? He wants this to be the end, but it may not be because some of the very loudest voices in this group within MAGA inherently distrust the government.

They don't believe what the government is telling them, even though that government is now run by Donald Trump, Tom. All right, so we may hear some more. Okay, Stephanie Gosk, we thank you for all that. Thanks for bringing that to us. Okay, we're going to move on now here on Top Story as well. Next tonight to the new attention on ICE agents and the push to ban wearing masks. Democrats in Washington at the state level proposing new laws to stop officers from concealing part of their faces while making arrest. The Department of Homeland Security says that it's for the officer's protection.

NBC News Senior Homeland Security correspondent Julie Ainsley has been reporting on this for us. She joins us now. So, Julia, tell us what's happening here and what is the Trump administration claiming? Well, Tom, now you have legislation brought by Democrats from California at the state level, as well as in the House and Senate on the federal level, trying to prevent ICE from wearing masks when they make arrest. It's not clear if that legislation will hold or could be passed at the federal level. And in some ways, it's symbolic in order to try to get this known that they want fewer masks. We've heard from ICE saying that they think that they need more masks because of the assault on ICE officers.

But what these lawmakers are saying, Tom, is that the masks sometimes lead to an altercation because people don't know who it is who's arresting them, especially if they're in plain clothes or they don't properly identify what agency they're with on their uniforms. So, Julia, there's always been undercover officers, right? I mean, as far back as we can remember in law enforcement, at least in the modern era, people are still allowed to wear masks as well. What is the pushback from ICE now? What are they saying? Why do they say that they have to keep the masks on? And do they say they have a right to keep the masks on if they want? Yeah, Tom, it's interesting when you talk about people because the Trump administration and Trump himself has said that protesters should not be allowed.

to wear masks. But of course, the Trump administration is defending the right of ICE officers, not only to protect them from assaults, which they say are up 700 percent, although they haven't given the raw numbers on those assaults, but also because of doxing. In fact, we've seen Republican Marsha Blackburn here saying that these agents deserve to be protected and that doxing should carry an additional penalty. So in this case, they say they're going to continue to wear these. But Tom, I have to say, I've been on many ride-alongs, often with ICE arresting very violent people, some wanted for murder. And in those cases, under previous administrations, they did not wear masks, even though the stakes were high, Tom. All right, Julie,

Ainsley, putting out some really good reporting there. Julie, we appreciate it. When Top Story returns, Hill Country Hero will reunite one Texas mother and her kids with the rescuers who saved their lives as the river came rushing in and swept away their home, how he sprung into action and got them to safety. Plus, the sweet moment of Grandpa shows it is never too late to play ball. But first, top story's top moment and one unbelievable competition that really puts couples' relationships to the test. The American couple from Wisconsin were victorious in the 2025 wife-carrying World Championship. Take a look at this. That was Caleb.

and Justine Rosler, the first Americans to ever win that competition, beating more than 200 people from 18 countries at the Obstacle Course Challenge that has been held annually in Finland since 1992. All right, I'm going to leave it right there. Stay with us. We're back in a moment. We're back now. We want to return to our coverage of the devastating floods in Texas. Remarkable stories of heroism still emerging, including one stranger who saved a mother and her three children from the rising waters. This was the view as Matthew Crowder headed to work early Friday morning in Jonestown, Texas. Those string of lights you see there are the Ellie Osher's home. Inside Mom Chrissy and her three children ages 12, 10, and 7, along with another child who was spending

the night. Matthew waking that family up and helping guide them to safety all before their house was washed off its foundation. And just moments ago, the family reuniting with Matthew for the first time since that night. Take a look. Hello, hello. Hi. Sorry, I'm a little dirty. Oh, it's so good to see you. It's good to see you.

And the little champions, how's it going? How's it going? You're great out there. And right now live on Top Story, Matthew Crowder, Chrissy Aleshire, and her children, Dove, Mayan, and Benji, and Family Dog Jojo join Top Story right now. Guys, thank you so much for joining us. Christy, take us back to that moment we just saw see Matthew again in person. Oh, thank you so much for reuniting us.

It was really emotional. He's been a really great angel on this earth, and it was great to see him again. Matthew, what about you? What's it like to come back? And what prompted you to go and check in on that family? It was a gut feeling. You know, I had intended on leaving going home and enjoying the rest of my day, and I had gotten to the top of the, to where the main road starts,

and I just, something just kept me there. Yeah. Chrissy, what went through your head when you heard a stranger screaming at your home in the middle of the night? I couldn't make sense of it. My son heard, and he came and ran to me in the bedroom with a very forceful mom. There's a man screaming. We've got to go now. And did you have any idea of what was happening outside your home? I couldn't comprehend it. I opened the front door, and there was a raging river that it appeared underneath my house. It was terrifying.

Yeah, I can't imagine that. Matthew, how'd you get everybody out? It was just kind of a multi-process or a multi-step process. It was just the number one thing is to get out of the house because I just from what I'd seen I didn't trust it so it was getting getting out of the house before it had gotten worse from coming over the chain leak fence and then into the back of their pickup truck and then from the pickup truck to the neighbor's yard yeah and then chrissey I understand as you guys were trying to escape I have a note here I think it was your daughter slipped and she nearly washed away I think her name's dove is that is that what happened my aunt my daughter

daughter, slipped out and fell, lost her shoe, nearly went down the river with my car. Her brother dove, grabbed her by her hair, and saved her life. Oh, my God. I mean, as a mom, what was it like to witness that? I have three kids in my own, I can't imagine. I was a mess, just screaming, hysterical, and hyperventing. I didn't do well. But my kids were so brave. And Benny looked. at me and said, Mom, we're alive. Snap out of it. Matthew, how did you keep everyone calm? I mean, because this is really a chaotic time. It was just, you know, repeating the instructions. You know, I was pretty scared myself,

and I had not, I've never done anything like this. So it was just doing what made sense to me and just kind of stepping up as a natural leader and just being that calm and giving that clear instruction. Yeah, Jojo made it to the dog. What was that like? We had four dogs with us and this was the smallest one we had a German Shepherd and a standard poodle and another little dog and these boys had them in their arms immediately and so glad that we all got out alive. For viewers watching all over the country, let's put this Texas flooding emergency in context, right? Jonestown where this rescue happened is hours away from Kerrville and it's just northwest of Austin. You can see how far apart Kerrville and Jonestown are there, but it gives you an idea. of how widespread these floods were.

You know, Chrissy, I do want to ask you, you're living in the area now, you've now been faced with extensive damage. What do you do next? We are just beginning to think of the next steps. Our dear friend, Kim Poulner, has started to go-fund me for us. Thank God.

We have a long road ahead, so we're just grateful to share our story and ask the world to really help us. Yeah. Yeah, Chrissy, any chance you could share with us what you told Matthew or anything you want to tell him now? He's my angel. Thank you so much for saving our lives. That's all I can't.

I can't say enough. That's, I'm beyond words. Yeah. Matthew, you look like you've been working out there. I look like you haven't stopped probably rescuing people and doing things since these floods started. What have your days been like? So yesterday I'd kind of just taken the day for myself. We weren't really sure if we could get across the low water crossing that had flooded.

We had a back entrance to the property that I was headed to that night. And so some of the guys got boots on the ground just to do kind of damage assessment. And then today the water had gone down enough to where we could work on the bridge and then we had gotten across and it's just cleanup, you know, kind of going through what we have left and what we can do to kind of rebuild just to be better for the future years. Yeah, and what do you think happens to your area and some of those river towns that have been decimated? Oh, man, it's just, it's just so unsure because, you know, in 2019 it flooded, but it was nowhere near this bad. And so just going forward, it's like, you know, what is it going to happen in the next 10 years?

You know, will this happen again? And if this happens again, it's just kind of one of those things that, like, yeah, we rebuild. but, you know, how can we prevent this next time? And it's just not knowing how to do that. Matthew, Chrissy, Dove, May, and Benny, Jojo, all of you. Thank you so much for joining Top Story and sharing this moment. I know this is an incredibly hard time, so we appreciate you guys sharing your experience out there. Thank you.

Thank you. We want to turn back now to that breaking news out of New Mexico we've been following. We showed you some of that at the top of the broadcast. A flash flood emergency issued in Rudy Dioso with reports of people, right now and video capturing the moment. Look at this. A home is washed away. You can see the entire structure pushed down the river, taking down trees with it as well. These violent flash floods happening near a burn scar, which is particularly vulnerable to flooding. I want to get right to NBC News meteorologist Bill Kerrins for the forecast. Bill, what's the update you have for

our viewers? Yeah, we're trying to get an idea of just how widespread this damage is. We all can see the pictures on that hillside, and this looks like it's up a higher elevation. But all of that mud, the debris, everything else, eventually it was going to flow down into the river. And that's Rio Rudioso. And so that river itself has a gauge on it. So that is how we know how high the water is and we can compare it to historical values. So this is the flash flood emergency in here, which is right near about Highway 70. And as far as the gauge goes, and I want to thank my weather producer Brian for just plotting all this information. It went up one foot to 20 feet in 35 minutes. So a 19 foot water rise. Remember when we were talking about Curville, those areas had, you know,

We were talking like 28 to 30 feet in about a short period of time. This is still, you know, significant. I mean, you can see where it was. And then the river just jumped here. I went and looked back the mid, the all-time record was 12 feet. Right now the river's at 20 feet. So that means that anyone along this river has never even come close to seeing the water this high. So I would expect, unfortunately, you know, we showed you those pictures that firsthand account of that home.

But downriver, there's going to be a lot more destruction. And it wouldn't be surprising me right now if rescue crews are out there trying to have. help people search for people. The water levels have come down, but that's how flash floods work. They hit, and it's boom, and it's done. So now let me move to the other concerns. We were talking about a tornado warning in the heart of central New Jersey earlier. That storm is now severe thunderstorm warning. It is no longer a tornado warning. It's still a considerable threat. A lot of people, you know, late in the day, hopefully people have cleared the beaches, but Point Pleasant, all the boardwalks up here to the north. 70 mile per hour wind gusts with these storms are coming through. Further to the

south. We still have a considerable threat for some significant flash flooding. And look at the airports right now. We've got 120 at JFK, 90s at LaGuardia, Philly's at 105. D.C. at Dulles is at 120 minutes. So this is what you'd expect when summertime thunderstorms are rolling through. And the other thing is we do have significant flash flooding in southeast Pennsylvania, some areas of northern portions of Delaware and also in Maryland. Philadelphia, you're still under a flash flood warning. A lot of standing water in the cities. The highest rainfall total I saw was in northern portions of Maryland here. One area picked up about three inches of rain in a little under an hour, and that's just north here of I-95. So Tom, we'll see, unfortunately, more pictures coming in.

I'm sure that Rudioso, I mean, a river rise in mountainous areas that fast, there's going to be a lot more destruction, unfortunately, tomorrow. Oh, terrible. All right, Bill, we thank you for coming back. Time not for Top Stories News Feed with an update on Sean Diddy Combs, a federal judge setting the music mogul sentencing for October 3rd. Attorneys for Combs originally requested to expedite the sentencing, moving it up to September. That request was later pulled, and that October date was set in a hearing today. It comes after the judge denied Combs' request to be released on bail ahead of sentencing. Last week, Combs was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

He faces up to 10 years in prison on each count. His time served in jail will be credited to his sentence. And shocking new ring camp footage released by Philadelphia PD capturing a shootout that killed three people and injured 10. A warning this footage is disturbing. The ring camera footage shows gunmen exchanging fire. Look at this. As people ducked and ran for cover, police also releasing images of the three suspects caught in the video who still remain at large. Victims in the attack range in age from 15 to 24.

Police in northern Michigan are searching for those responsible for a fireworks tent explosion. Check this out. The video released by police shows sparks shooting in all directions engulfing the tent in smoke. The incident occurred Saturday with multiple fire departments responding at the fire. the scene. No one was injured, but anyone with information is asked to call local state police. Okay, lifeguards were seen performing an unusual rescue at a North Florida Beach, pulling a deer from the ocean. This is a weird one. The animal was spotted 300 yards from the shore, stranded for nearly an hour and a half of the water. Lifeguards managed to straddle the frightened

deer on a rescue board, guiding it back to land. Both the responding lifeguards said they had never encountered a rescue like this. Wildlife experts theorized the deer may have entered the water trying to escape a threat. Okay, next to the investigation into an impersonator who used AI to pretend to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio. That imposter contacting five top-level government officials, some of them leaving some of them voicemails. NBC News, Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent, Andrew Mitchell, has this. Tonight, the State Department investigating a Marco Rubio impersonator who used artificial intelligence to try to infiltrate the highest levels of government. according to a State Department cable obtained by NBC News.

According to the cable, first reported by the Washington Post, the actor used AI to contact at least five high-level government officials in mid-June, including three foreign ministers, a governor and a member of Congress. The individual using the display name Marco.orgio at state.gov also left voicemails on the messaging app signal for at least two targeted persons. At a State Department briefing today, A couple of announcement here as we begin. In my own voice, not AI.

Spokesperson Tammy Bruce declining to say if the imposter did any harm. Can you tell the American people that there was no damage, no violation of security? I will not, whether that's the case or not, go into any of the details. This, of course, is the State Department. It's the United States government. We live in a technological age. we are well enmeshed in, and I'll leave it at that. The AI Rubio Imposture is one of two distinct campaigns being tracked by the State

Department, according to the internal agency memo. The Department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously take steps to improve the Department's cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents. We will continue. AI experts warn, just three seconds of audio is enough to generate a convincing, impersonation. Marco Rubio, he has a huge public profile, and there's video footage, interviews of him going back years now.

So an AI trained on all of that data could easily generate a voice that is absolutely indistinguishable from Marco Rubio himself. In May, the FBI issued a public service announcement of a malicious text and voice messaging campaign in which unidentified malicious actors have been impersonating senior U.S. government officials. That same month, the White House confirmed it was investigating messages sent to elected officials and business executives from someone impersonating President Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles. We are past the point where the average eye or ear could distinguish between what's human generated and what's not. And the safest assumption is if you can't fully verify

whether something is AI-generated or not, you assume that it is until you can get that verification. And Andrew Mitchell joins us now. Andrew, these kinds of phone scams don't just happen at the highest level of government, right? If we're talking about you or me or a viewer at home, how can you make sure you're not getting dup because they do sound so real?

They do, and that's such a good question. Experts tell us, Tom, that AI-generated voices are very easy to create. So to guard against an imposter and AI imposter, come up with a code or a safe word to share with family, with friends or business associates, whether you're the Secretary of State or just protecting your savings account from being scammed. That's a really good advice, though. Great tip there. Andrew, we thank you. Up next on Top Story, the measles on the rise. Cases in the U.S. get this, reaching the highest point

since the disease was considered officially eliminated a quarter of a century ago. The surge linked to mistrust in vaccines, what you need to know. Okay, we are back now with Top Story's Global Watch. We want to start in Italy where a man has died after being sucked into a plane's jet engine. Officials say the 31-year-old ran onto the tarmac at Milan's airport, just as the plane was preparing for takeoff, adding that he was neither an employee or a passenger, so it's not yet clear how exactly he was able to make it past security and onto that runway. The airport, which was shut down for two hours, has since resumed flights, and as you can imagine, an investigation is on. ongoing. More than 200 school children have been hospitalized in Southeast China after eating food

laced with lead. Officials say chefs at one school decorated students food with an inedible paint containing lead 2,000 times over the national safety limit. Eight people, including the principal, have been arrested. No word yet on just how long the pain has been used in that food, but several parents told Chinese state media their children have been complaining of stomach and leg pain and a lack of appetite since March. Okay, authorities. in Athens closed the Acropolis for several hours due to that extreme heat. Mandatory work breaks are in place today in parts of Greece where temps reached 104 degrees. Authorities warn the risk of wildfires already at an elevated rate is expected to climb.

Time now for Top Stories Health Check and the alarming rise of measles in the U.S. The CDC reporting cases are now the highest they have been since the disease was declared eliminated back in 2000. We're only halfway through this year, but already we've seen six times. the amount of cases from all of 2024, and that's a 33-year high. So I want to bring an NBC News senior medical correspondent, Dr. John Torres. Dr. John, we know there's been plenty of controversy about vaccinations. Is this because of that? You know, this is directly because of lack of vaccinations, and there's a variety of reasons for it, main one being vaccine skepticism that's been abounded, especially since the pandemic. And the examples I can give you is prior to the pandemic,

the vaccination rate was much higher. Right now after the pandemic, we're talking 93% after the pandemic to about 95% before the pandemic. That 2% makes a huge difference because that means that measles can then take a step into the community. Once it's in the community, it spreads like wildfire because if you remember in the pandemic, we always talked about the most contagious virus comparing COVID to, measles was that virus. So when people are maybe a little skeptical of getting this vaccine, what's your advice to them? How do you put this in perspective for them? So what I do is I try to talk to them about a couple things. Number one, why don't you want to get it? What kind of information do you have that makes you not want to get it and then try to dispel those myths that

they have about getting it. It does not cause autism. We know that. It doesn't cause any other issues that we know of that. You know, the measles can cause some not just acute things that things happen right now, but even long-term things. And there's even something called subschlorosing panencephalitis that can happen seven to ten years later, especially for those under the age of two, they can actually cause debilitating neurological issues. And so this is almost a lifelong disease for them. If they get it, the vaccine is safe. We are seeing clusters in certain parts of the country, including West Texas and the states that border Texas. Is that all sort of the same communities that are spreading? And what happens when some of these people maybe jump

on planes or travel to other states? And so two things are going on there. One, we know these communities. In some cases, their vaccination rate is down into the 80 percent. And that means that measles can get into that community. Once it gets in, it can spread to other unvaccinated people. The problem is, we know measles. If you're fully vaccinated, 90% effective at preventing measles. That means 3% chance you could still get it. So if you're on an airplane, you're fully vaccinated, but there's somebody with measles on the airplane, technically you could still get it. You're still at risk for it, although not as much. Well, I was going to ask you if people are vaccinated, their children are vaccinated, do they have anything to worry about? You know, if you're vaccinated,

you still have to protect yourself because you don't want to get measles. There's still that slight chance you might get it. But the vaccine, much like we talked about with the COVID vaccine, it reduces the severity of the measles you get. It reduces the long-term symptoms and the long-term sequela you get from the measles. And so overall, it can protect you. Before we go, give us the top three symptoms. What do people with measles usually? What do they show? So the biggest symptoms is that rash, either on the skin or in the mouth or both. Then they can get fevers, flu-like symptoms. And that's the main thing that they get initially, but then debilitating stuff after that. Dr. John, we thank you for that. Also great to have you here in

in studio. You bet. All right, we want to stay now on the topic of health with the growing concern about that are really spreading all across the country. And the rise in liver injuries, one woman telling us that our recent reporting changed her life. Emily Aketa follows up. I was noticing like just a hint of yellowness. 57-year-old Katie Mohan thought she was doing everything right. She ate healthy foods, exercise regularly,

and when she wanted to reduce inflammation and wrist pain, she added a turmeric supplement to her routine. But she felt worse, and within two and a half months, was in the ER. Have you ever had a health scare like this? Never. She said it was our reporting on supplement-induced liver injuries that made her prioritize getting to a doctor.

I felt nauseous. I started itching. Mohan had similar symptoms. Just a light bulb went off in my head, and I said, oh my gosh, I wonder if this is what's wrong with me. What do you think would have happened if you didn't come across our report? I don't even want to think about. What could have happened? Who knows if I'd be sitting here today?

This is very alarming. Her liver enzymes had reached 60 times normal levels, according to her hepatologist. It was very serious. It was just one step before significant liver damage necessitating transplant evaluation. While still rare, numerous studies show cases like Mohans are on the rise, and turmeric's suspected role has increased markedly. I think when people hear liver damage, they might think of, okay, alcohol. could be playing a role maybe acetaminophen, but supplements I don't think that comes to top

of mind for people. You're absolutely right because the misconception is that herbal products are absolutely innocent. Katie got this turmeric along with black pepper that increases the levels of this ingredient in the blood. There's limited regulation and research around herbal supplements in particular. So while Mohan was taking what the bottle told her, her doctor says at more than 2200 milligrams of turmeric extract, it was way too much. I had no idea like that I could cause that much harm that quickly to my body. Now sharing her experience and the chance it could impact one other life. The way this story, she says, touched hers. It potentially saved my life. Emily Ikeda, NBC News, New York. All right. When top story returns,

from hip replacement to home run of the heart, how one 85-year-old grandfather stole the show and had a ballpark on its feet. Finally tonight, it turns out that the time-honored tradition of running the bases after a baseball game isn't just for kids. An 85-year-old grandfather joined the fun at a Peoria Chiefs game in Illinois, proving it's never too late to step up to the play. The play now comes home. When the Peoria Chiefs wrapped up their final inning, one recent July night, fans had no idea what they were about to see. As the team invited the crowd to run the bases, one grandpa had an idea. I was with my whole family and I said,

I'd kind of like to do that. Eighty-five-year-old Tom Persich bouncing back from a hip replacement took to the field. When you started running the bases, what do you remember thinking? I'm thinking, I don't want to pass up this moment. I feel like a kid again. I really did. Right by his side, his grandson, pushing him along. I was just trying to make sure that he wasn't going to end up on the ground. All I could think was my grandma, Minnie, was going to be very upset if that man ended up on the dirt somehow. Tom took his time, but didn't give up. You see, for this former paratrooper, taking risks and challenging yourself, has always been a part of his life.

From raising kids, grandkids, and now nine great grandkids, Tom, who has been known to still dance on chairs at weddings, lives his life like he wants to. If I rest, I rust. I try to keep in shape and enjoy every moment. Back on the diamond, Tom was the last to finish, but everyone stayed to watch and cheer as this grandpa made it all the way home. When you got to touch home plate, what did you think? I did it. I got one more time around. I got to live my life again like in a flash. It was It was just awesome. It was a heck of a feeling.

Words of wisdom there. I hope I can run the basis at 85. All right. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. That does it for us. I'm Tom Yammis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.