Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Episode Date: June 12, 2024

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world.

Tonight, the president fighting to be re-elected, dealing with two wars overseas, inflation at home, and now his only surviving son, criminally convicted. Hunter Biden, guilty on all counts, tied to the purchase of a gun while using drugs. The crucial testimony from his past romantic relationships exposing his drug use. The reaction inside the courtroom as the verdict came down and the president's son possibly now facing prison time. Conviction, politics further mudding the waters of an already unprecedented election cycle. Hunter's guilty verdict coming on the heels of former President Trump's felony conviction in a New York courtroom, what it all means for the political landscape as presidential campaigns kick into high gear.

Also breaking tonight, suspected terrorists with ties to ISIS arrested. They got into the country after crossing the border illegally. Why weren't they stopped earlier? Where they were found and detained? Food court shooting chaos in downtown Atlanta, a building placed on lockdown, at least four people shot in the food court what were learning about the suspect and how an off-duty police officer came to the rescue. So shall like guilty of murder, the wife of a prominent doctor sentenced for killing two children in a hit-and-run crash. The family of the victim saying

she showed a lack of remorse arguing the prison time she faces doesn't go far enough. A horrifying attack four American teachers stabbed in China. the teachers bleeding on the streets of a public park, officials calling the assault unprovoked, what we know about their conditions. And tourists forced to evacuate the Palace of Versailles, what caused smoke to shoot out from the iconic site? Top story, starts right now.

And good evening. It took a jury just three hours to find the president's son, Hunter Biden, guilty in his federal gun trial. The historic decision, another shake-up. in what's already an unprecedented era of election politics. A powerful moment this afternoon, President Biden hugging his son, just hours after a jury handed down his fate. Hunter found guilty on all three counts he faced,

tied to the purchase and possession of a gun while using drugs. The felony charges carry a maximum prison sentence of up to 25 years. The verdict coming down so quickly that Hunter's stepmother, First Lady Jill Biden, missed the moment the verdict was read arriving at the courthouse just moments later. So how did we get here? Well, the gun charges ultimately ending up in that Delaware courtroom after a plea deal last July in his criminal trial case completely unraveled. That agreement would have allowed him to avoid a gun trial, but he was ultimately indicted last

September. The first criminal trial of a sitting president's son exposing intimate details about the Biden family, three of Hunter's past romantic partners, including his ex-wife, his brother Beau's widow, who he had a relationship with, and an ex-girlfriend, all-speaking, all-speaking, standing on, speaking on the stand, going into excruciating detail about his use of crack cocaine. And this key surveillance video, moments after Bo's widow, Hallie Biden, discovered the gun dumping it in a grocery store parking lot, saying she panicked after finding it, fearing for Hunter's safety in her children. Prosecutors showing the jury pictures of the gun, the actual crack cocaine, and using Hunter's own words against him with clips from his

audiobook talking about his drug addiction. His daughter, Naomi Biden, taking the stand as well in his defense, Hunter overcome with a motion as she discussed his behavior during the months in question. And President Biden speaking to ABC on how he would handle a conviction. Will you accept the jury's outcome, their verdict no matter what it is? Yes.

And have you ruled out a pardon for your son? Yes. President Biden releasing this statement shortly after the verdict saying, quote, I am the president, but I am also a dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. Hunter Biden facing sentencing as his father seeks re-election for the second time in just a span of two weeks of criminal conviction rocking the 2024 campaign. Nearly two weeks ago, former President Trump, you'll remember, found guilty in a New York courtroom. So how is all of this

going to play out politically? Do voters care that we have a presidential candidate and the son of another candidate convicted on felony charges? With the first presidential debate just a little over two weeks away, we know the topic will certainly take center stage. We're breaking it all down with our panel of experts, but first NBC's Ryan Noble starts off our coverage tonight. Tonight, President Biden arriving in Delaware, hugging his son on the tarmac after Hunter Biden became the first child of a sitting president found guilty in a criminal trial. No one in this country is above the law. It took just three hours of deliberations for 12 jurors to unanimously determine that Hunter Biden was guilty of three felony counts for lying about

his drug use on a federal background check in order to buy a gun. Special counsel David Weiss, who oversaw the prosecution, saying this was not a case about Hunter's struggles with crack, but his decision to break the law. His choice to lie on a government form when he bought a gun and the choice to then possess that gun. It was these choices and the combination of guns and drugs that made his conduct dangerous. Inside the courtroom, the president's 55, four-year-old son did not react as the verdict was read. He left the courthouse holding the hand of the first lady. Later, releasing a statement saying, I am more grateful today for the love and support I experienced this last week from Melissa, my family, my friends, and my community than I am

disappointed by the outcome. The verdict comes after four days of damning testimony from people who are or were once close to Hunter Biden. Many testifying about his drug use around the time he filled out the background check saying he was not a drug user. Zoe Keston, his ex-girlfriend, testifying she witnessed Hunter smoking crack every 20 minutes or so. The prosecution also using clips from Hunter's own book. I had no plan beyond the moment-to-moment demands of the crack pipe. The defense had argued Hunter Biden did not knowingly lie on the form. Tonight, we spoke to juror number 10, who asked that we conceal his identity. But you felt you and your jurors separating the politics from the case was not absolutely yeah yes and how this was for us it was not

politically motivated politics never played in anything that we said in the jury room president Biden who said he would not pardon his son writing jill and i love our son and we are so proud of the man he is today jill and i will always be there for hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that. Ryan joins us live outside that courthouse in Wilmington. So Ryan, do we know when sentencing will be in this case? And what type of prison time could he face?

At this point, we don't, Tom. The judge did not announce when she plans to hold the sentencing hearing related to this case in court today. But we do know that Hunter Biden is facing a maximum of 10 years in prison on two of the counts, five years in prison on another, it's unlikely that he'd end up with 25 years in prison. The sentence would probably play out concurrently, and it's also very unlikely that they seek the max in this situation. He is a first-time offender. There will obviously be some leniency as a result of it, but make no mistake, the president of the United States son right now facing the real possibility of at least some time in prison, how much is something that we're

still waiting to learn. Yeah, we're going to dig a little deeper into that in the minutes ahead on the show. I do want to ask you, you had a chance to sit down with that juror. I believe it's juror number 10. Did they tell you the impact having the First Lady in court or the Biden family nearly every day of the trial, how that impacted their job? Yeah, we talked about that pretty extensively, Tom. And what this juror told me is that everyone in the jury panel knew who was in the room. They knew the First Lady was there almost every day. They knew that there were other high profile members of the Biden family there as well. He told me that it would have been silly to not recognize the fact that she was there, but they were quickly able to compartmentalize

it. You know, many of these people, all of them, in fact, are just average everyday Delawareans who got a jury summons like any of us could get, wound up in a courtroom and found themselves in the middle of a historic trial. It was a lot to take in all at once, but they quickly seemed to understand their responsibility here, and they were able to very much focus in on the facts and the evidence of the case separate themselves from the fact that Hunter Biden's last name was Biden, that he was the son of the president, and that the first lady was in the room through much of their deliberations. He told me that politics never played a role in any of their conversations. The jurors didn't talk about what political parties they were affiliated with. They just based everything

on what they learned in that courtroom. And that's why they came back with the conviction on all three counts, Tom. Ryan, remind our viewers before you go, this is not the end of the line for Huntry. still has another case when many say is much more severe. Yeah, remember it was an initial plea deal on this case that's forthcoming, charges of tax evasion that led to us being in this courtroom today. Initially, he was going to plead guilty to these tax charges. These gun charges were going to go away if he went through a pretrial diversion program. But the judge did not like the terms of this plea arrangement.

There was some questions about whether or not it would mean that he'd be immune from any future. charges. That's why the case fell apart. The plea arrangement fell apart. Now he is facing this trial for these tax charges. And there's a lot of evidence that shows that Hunter Biden willingly chose not to pay his taxes and spent a lot of money on a lot of other things during that period of time, much like this case where there were a lot of embarrassing bits of information about his troubled past that came into the public sphere. The same is going to happen in this trial that is forthcoming in the fall in California. It's going to be over a much longer period of time.

That case could take up to seven weeks. So another potentially embarrassing period of time for Hunter Biden and for his family right at the time that President Biden's re-election campaign is really going to be heating up. All right, Ryan Noble's terrific reporting all week and all throughout this trial. For more on this verdict and what it means for Hunter Biden,

I'm joined tonight by NBC News, legal analyst Danny Sabal. So, Danny, we just heard there from Ryan. The U.S. District Judge hasn't said, set a sentencing date just yet. Do you think he's going to get prison time? In all likelihood, he will. Now, I've run the sentencing guidelines, and you're going to hear a lot of people disagree because the sentencing guidelines are pretty complex, and even right up until the sentencing date, sometimes the prosecution of the government don't agree what the actual guidelines are. But I believe he's in the range of 15 to 21 months. Now, that doesn't mean

that the judge has to sentence within the guidelines. For well over a decade, almost 20 years, the Supreme Court has held that the sentencing guidelines are advisory only. So the judge, judge will calculate them, but the judge can deviate from the guidelines. And while it's theoretically possible, he could get a probation only or even a home confinement sentence, I don't think that's likely based on statistics from the sentencing commission. Most defendants in this range get some form of prison time. And look, I hear a lot of people talking about he's a first-time offender. Yes, that's true. But keep in mind also, this is an area of the country that has a huge drug problem. It's entirely possible the judge will look at somebody like Hunter Biden as the unusual

gun and drug defendant, somebody who had a lot of opportunities in life and is unlike most of the people, including most of my clients, who simply come from terrible backgrounds and are charged with gun and drug crimes, and they do get incarcerated sentenced. Seeing all the evidence, right, hearing all the testimony, if you were Hunter Biden's attorney, would you have told them, just plead guilty? Just plead guilty to this. The jury came back and three hours, right? That's number one. He lost the case, right? Outright. And then two, you had all this painful evidence come forward, all this painful testimony. He had to make all those women relive this terrible time in their life, make his parents relive this terrible time

in their lives. Was it worth it? Why didn't he just plead guilty? In my view, he should have at least kept an open dialogue with the government the day that original plea deal broke down, and here's why, Tom. That original plea deal was a good deal. I don't want to call. I don't want to We're called a sweetheart deal, because that implies there's some kind of coziness. It was a good deal. It was a diversion program. Tom, I'm ashamed to admit, I wasn't even aware diversion existed in federal court. That's how good it is. Diversion is an opportunity to make the entire case go away. The vast majority of people in federal court are looking at real-time, years in prison, and 90, I don't know, six, seven percent of federal criminal defendants are

convicted. So do the math. If you're in federal court, you're going to prison for the most part. normally get sentencing ranges of 15 to 21 months. That's kind of a rarity as well in federal courts, usually more. So, yes, I would have at least kept that dialogue open. Maybe his defense team did. Maybe Hunter, just in his own mind, thought, gosh darn it, I'm innocent and I want to go to trial. Nothing wrong with that. But I would imagine defense counsel at least kept an open ear. They might have even considered doing what I call pleading open. In other words, there is no deal. But I as the defendant, I'm just going to plead to everything in that indictment and take my chance. with the court.

We got into this a little bit with Ryan. Is the evidence in his tax case overwhelming like it was in this case? It's a different kind of overwhelming tax cases. The downside of tax cases is that they are document-heavy, so it's a case where you put the documents up and the documents could speak for themselves. But on the other hand, tax cases are pretty complex. Juries may struggle with definitions in the code. This is a firearms and drug case.

The definitions are somewhat difficult. I think they were a lot easier as evidenced by the fact that the jury was out for a matter of hours. But from what we learned just in this case, the gun case, he was staying in incredibly expensive hotels all over the country while he was on his drug binge. And the question is, how is he not paying his taxes and still living so large? That's why I ask if the evidence is going to be overwhelming in that tax case. And you better believe, Tom, you're thinking like a prosecutor, because federal prosecutors are brilliant at bringing in evidence,

getting evidence in under the evidentiary rules that look at. horrible. So I promise you, they will introduce that high-flying lifestyle in his tax case. I mean, look at this case. They introduced a picture. I kid you not. You can't make this up. They found a way to introduce a picture of Hunter with a T-shirt that said addict on it. That's not an accident. The government's very good at that kind of evidence. They scour your entire life, and they can and will introduce evidence of something like that high-flying lifestyle because it tends to show that Biden had the money and he was doing something else. And there's a domino effect here, right?

Because if he's convicted now in the tax case, this other case is going to be part of the sentencing, right? They're going to say he does have a criminal record. The reverse. Now that he's been convicted, once he's sentenced in this gun case, he now has a criminal history. At present, he is a category one. He has no prior criminal history. And the federal sentencing guidelines, like guidelines in a lot of states, are a function of two things on the axis. On the X-axis, you have the gravity of the offense that you're being sentenced for.

And then on the other side of the axis, the Y axis, is what is your criminal history? It is the second most important question in sentencing. And once he's sentenced in this case, he will have a criminal history, and that will put him in a different category, a higher category for sentencing if he is convicted in the tax case. Again, going back to the original question, a strong argument for saying at the outset, look, all right, so this plea deal blew up. If we can consolidate everything, I'll plead to a lot more than diversion. I'll plead to even a little bit of prison. Can there be another deal, or is the time up on that? No more deals?

It's possible, but if you're the government, I mean, why would you undo? You just went to trial. You got, you won on every count. It's as if there was no defense. And believe me, I've been there too. Conviction on all counts. It's rough. But now the government got exactly what they wanted.

I wouldn't, if I'm them, why would I care about a deal now? Go forward on the tax case. If he wants to plead on the tax case, they're probably... He can still plead on the tax case. DeVennon can always plead open. You can walk in and say, hey, everything that's in the indictment, no deal, I'll take my chance with the court. I've done it. There are times when it is a smart move. It may be what he ends up doing here, but I doubt it. I think he probably sees this. The tax cases may be defensible. You mentioned you had a lot of clients similar to Hunter in cases similar to this. Is he now going to have to be drug tested when he does all of his probationary hearings that he meets with the probation officer? That's almost certainly going to be a condition. I mean, of course, if he's incarcerated, then that's not an issue. But, I mean, yeah, if he's going to be in probation, it's usually a term. Generally speaking, if the case involves drugs, you're going to have a condition that involves drug treatment, drug testing. Okay.

Danny Sabalas, we thank you for all your expertise on this one. For more on what Hunter's conviction could mean for the Biden administration and his campaign, I want to bring in NBC News White House correspondent Mike Memley, who's not only been following this trial closely, but has been covering President Biden for years. Mike, I want to put an image up that we showed earlier in the broadcast to our viewers. it just came in. It was the president hugging Hunter Biden. This was in Delaware. And the image sort of stood out to me, right, because the president, to his credit, has defended his son year after year and in pretty much every interview he's ever done, right? You really don't hear

him say a crossword about his son, Hunter. And Hunter has put the administration and the reelection campaign in sort of a tricky situation with everything that's happened so far. What do you think President Biden and Hunter Biden are talking about tonight? Well, seeing that photo, Tom, I think, about what Hunter Biden wrote in that book, that book that was introduced as evidence in this case. He said that during difficult moments in the 2020 campaign, when Donald Trump was going after Hunter Biden, he and his father would apologize to one another. They would be sort of competitive apologizers, believing that one was bringing more political heat on the other, and the other was to blame for the predicament

the other was in. And I think that's part of the brief conversation that these two men had. It really speaks volumes, Tom, for the fact that the president who is going to be flying to Italy tomorrow morning to attend the G7 summit, wanted to find that time to spend a moment with his son before his son flew back to the West Coast. It was important, I'm told by a source close to the family that they have that opportunity to speak tonight. They have been speaking regularly by phone over text message over the course of this entire trial, but as we saw in the statement from the president that was issued before the trial began, and once this verdict came in, he was doing his best to be the president, to be above the

freight, to not weigh in on this political case, but that he also, of course, was a father who was concerned about the well-being of his son. Do you think there's frustration in the White House and or the re-elect campaign that they didn't figure out a plea deal before all of this? Because as we were just talking about with Danny, it just seems like things get worse from this point on. Yeah, Tom, there's no daylight between. father and son, but there have been differences in the view of some of the president's

closest advisors, including some of his legal advisors, about what his son's legal advisors should be advising his son. When this plea agreement fell apart last year, I was standing here just last summer when that happened. There was a view among some close to the president that the best thing that could have happened would be for that plea to go forward. Yes, there were some questions about what may still happen going forward. Would prosecutors still reserve the right to file new charges if they found new evidence of wrongdoing, but that both politically and legally, this was the safest route. What did we see over the last week and a half? The president's son was forced to relive some of the most difficult moments of his life in the years that followed the death

of his brother, the death of the president's beloved son. And that was all happening before the public eye. And now, as you laid out, this trial is over, but we're just weeks away from another trial beginning, a trial that will begin within days of the second debate between President Trump and President Biden, a trial that will occur just as early voting, absentee voting is beginning in battleground states across the country. Biden advisors are telling me, listen, Donald Trump tried to go after Hunter Biden four years ago. It backfired. They believe that will happen again. But I think in such a close election, we can't really take anything for granted here. And this is going to be something that's going to be weighing on the president's campaign.

Yeah, I want to play that soundbite from the president's most recent interview. It happening with ABC News. one more time. I want to get your reaction on the back end. And have you ruled out a pardon for your son? Yes. Mike, that was a very quick exchange there, but I just wanted to play that portion. Do you think President Biden is not going to pardon his son, as he just said there? We've done our own reporting on this, Tom, at NBC News, and that has been the same answer we've gotten from just about every advisor we've spoken to. But what didn't the president

get asked. He didn't get asked about potentially commuting that sentence. If there is a sentence that includes jail time, he does have that authority as president to do that. But I think we also have to be realistic here if the president is defeated and his bid for reelection. But even if he wins, there is no longer another election that this president will run on. And so if he's facing jail time from this charge and if the next trial yields the same, he may want to revisit that answer and he has every right to you know Mike what is the view within the Biden world and and I ask you this because you've covered them for so long is there a feeling that Hunter even though he struggled so much with addiction he really has put his family through so much and we saw that how painful it was

for Beau's widow for his ex-girlfriend for his for his ex-wife all these women they had a deal with Hunter and his family as well that Hunter himself has been remorseful enough for everything that he's brought to the Biden family Well, and I'll add to that list, Tom, the fact that Hunter's own daughter had to testify. She thought she was helping her father's case and ultimately under that tough cross-examination from the prosecutors may have hurt her father's case. This is something that is so difficult for the family, but I will tell you, the thing I hear more often from people close to the family is that it may have been President Biden and his decision to run for reelection. That is what led to this situation. The president himself feels very guilty about this, I'm told, that had he decided.

not to run for election in 2020. That decision was made as a family. It should be noted in 2018 and into 2019, as all this was going on with his son, that maybe this illegal investigation would never have mounted. The political attacks on him from Republicans would never have occurred. So it's more that that I think I hear most often from people close to the president, that he feels a sense of guilt and responsibility here more than his son. All right. Mike, memory first. Mike, fantastic reporting. As always, we appreciate that. This means for the 2024 presidential race, I want to bring in our all-star political panel. Mark Lauder, he was the director of strategic communications for the Trump 2020 campaign and the former spokesperson for Vice President Mike Pence.

And Amisha Cross, a good friend of Top Story. She's a Democratic strategist and a former advisor for the Obama campaign. We thank you both for joining Top Story tonight. Mark, I'm going to start with you. How do you think President Trump will use this? Former President Trump will use this conviction in the debate. I don't think he's really looking at this conviction today. looking ahead to the trial in September.

That's the money that came in, allegedly, from China, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and so many others to not just Hunter Biden, but obviously James Biden and many others. So this is the one in September that you can actually broaden out amongst many Biden family members and influence peddling. This trial today, it's a sad, tragic tale of addiction, and he's going to pay the price, obviously, for his actions. but I think this is just the precursor for September. Amisha, there is a debate in a couple of weeks,

so it stands to reason the former president could use this as ammunition, but he himself was just convicted in a Manhattan court. How do you think this plays out if it comes up in the debate? Well, I think what Mark just said is correct. There's also a friction within the Republican Party, as this case relates to Second Amendment and 2A advocates. I think that what we're going to see is Donald Trump wait until sentencing happens, if he ever tries to utilize this strongly.

But I also believe he's going to go towards the next case because the big difference here come November is that Hunter Biden is not running for president. He was never going to be in a Biden cabinet. He wasn't in the current one. However, Donald Trump is on the ballot. So it makes a much bigger difference to voters who are presumably trying to figure out

what their path may be come November. But I think that people generally understand the uncertain pathway of addiction. We have way too many people across this country that have battled it and families that have battled it right along with him. And this case, though it is tragic, I agree with what the president has said. He let the court process play throughout, and he's someone who has not been involved. But he loves his son. He wraps his arms around him. And I think that that's something that America should watch, listen to, and be certain

that the heart of the president is in the right place. Mark, do you think voters care about Hunter Biden? I think they care about Hunter Biden as it relates to the broader Biden family and the money that was coming in. And when you look at the great links that the Biden campaign, the Biden family went to, to lie about the laptop and all the information, mostly financial that was on there, the ties to the big guy, the lying of making it say it was from Russian disinformation. We now know that's not true. It's government exhibit number one right now, and it will be also in this next trial. This next trial is much more harrowing for the Biden campaign than it is for than this trial here that just wrapped up.

Amisha, I do want to ask you, as somebody who works in Democratic politics, are you frustrated that Hunter Biden and his legal team didn't figure out a plea deal? And now they've brought this back to the forefront of at least this new cycle, and again, possibly in September, and created yet another headache when the current president has two wars overseas, a battle with inflation, and he's trying to beat Donald Trump in a presidential election. I think it was a bad idea not to take a plea here, because they don't believe that there's anyone who thought that this would come out with a verdict that was not guilty,

maybe not on all counts, but at some point there would be some level of guilt, quite frankly, because we know what those weapon charges look like. But I do believe that it would have been, that the conversation would have been if he had to taken a plea. Also, the Republican camp would have ran with a different narrative about there being some level of influence. I think that it was a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't, in terms of the campaign that Biden happens to be running right now, because Hunter has been a target from day one. They have extrapolated a lot of information, some of it quite embarrassing, about his addiction. They have run it time and time again.

They have shown photos. This has been something that the Republican Party has utilized multiple times. And I honestly don't think that there was a plea deal that would have stopped that narrative because they still tried to connect this behavior to President Biden, even though, again, we all know the woes of addiction

are difficult, and trying to get to the road to recovery is even more difficult. You know, Mark, there was a lot said after former President Trump was convicted that there was a two-tiered legal system in America and that essentially the former president was targeted. Does this hurt their argument that now the son of a sitting president was convicted in federal court by the Department of Justice? Does that sort of end that debate? No, not even close to it. I mean, let's not forget that the Department of Justice ignored. It slowwalked the IRS in letting, investigating Hunter Biden. They allowed most of the years where most of the money come in.

The statute of limitations was allowed to expire. You had the IRS whistleblowers who were basically saying Biden's DOJ was stopping them from investigating Hunter or moving on to possibly Joe Biden himself. No, this is still a very real issue, even though they got this conviction and are putting him on trial in the next case, we still have seen a lot of favoritism by the DOJ as it relates to the Biden family. All right, we're going to wait and see how that ends up. We thank you both for joining Top Story tonight. Still ahead, the ISIS-related arrest on U.S. soil. Eight men with potential ties to the terror group arrested in New York, Philly, and L.A. After coming in through the southern border, what their background checks showed at the time they crossed.

Plus, a socialite sentence for killing two children with her car. Why the family of those boys tonight says her sentence is not long enough. And the major milestone reached in the port of Baltimore, nearly three months after the catastrophic bridge collapsed. Stay with us. Top story. Just getting started on this Tuesday night. We are back now with some breaking news surrounding a terror investigation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement telling NBC News they arrested eight men over the weekend who had been on the FBI's watch list for their potential ties to ISIS. Officials say all of the men cross into the U.S. through the southern border. For more on this, I want to bring in NBC News Homeland Security correspondent, Julia,

Ainsley. Julia, tell us what you know. Well, we understand that there are eight suspects who are all men originally from Tajikistan, although at least one is a Russian citizen. They came into the U.S. illegally over the southern border. I know that at least two of those men came over in the spring of last year, and one of those used the Biden administration CBP-1 app to book an asylum appointment. At the time they crossed, there was no derogatory information that would have indicated these men were tied in any way to terrorism, but because the FBI has been on a heightened alert about a potential terror threat coming from that part of the world, particularly through immigrants coming across the southern border, they were paying attention to people like this

across the country, and that is how they then told ICE to go arrest these people. Now, at this point, they haven't been charged with anything related to terrorism ties. They're simply being held on immigration violations. But that's a common concept, a common tactic we've seen in the past where an immigrant might pose a threat and they go ahead and use basically the lowest hanging fruit, the immigration violation, to take them into custody while the investigation continues. So tonight, all eight of these men are detained while the probe continues, Tom. And, Julia, just to be clear here, because sometimes, as we know, we've covered this, people claim asylum, they wait for their court date, they are then released. That's not what happened here. At least they were able to catch back up with these men, correct?

That's right. But we understand they were living at large. This happens. It's just happened last month with a very similar case that we brought you from Baltimore where an Uzbek man coming from a similar part of the world was also thought to have suspected ties to ISIS and was arrested after he crossed the southern border. So it's common that customs and border protection checks somebody against the terror watch list when they cross and they don't have the information to keep detaining them. So they release them into the United States as they await a court hearing to detect. whether or not they can have asylum or be deported. And in the meantime, at least for these people, they were able, ICE was able to keep track of where they were, and so they could go and arrest them when this information came to them from the FBI, Tom. Julia Ainsley for us tonight, Julia, thank you. Next to a story out of Los Angeles,

a socialite who killed two children in a hit and run more than three years ago, sentenced to more than a decade in prison. But the children's family and friends say she showed little remorse and got off easy. NBC's Morgan Chesky has more. Tonight, a shred of closure for a Los Angeles area family still in mourning. Remember Mark and Jacob? Remember the hit and run killing of their children? 11-year-old Mark, an 8-year-old Jacob Iskander, more than three years ago.

The car driven by wealthy socialite Rebecca Grossman, who prosecutors have said was speeding behind her then romantic partner. Former L.A. Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson. The gift really does belong to the giver. founded the Grossman Burn Foundation, a philanthropic arm of her husband, Peter Grossman's Burn Center, a jury convicted Grossman in February, and now a judge sentencing her to 15 years to life. But the children's family and friends say she showed little remorse. Mrs. Grossman never said, I am sorry for what I did. She only said, I'm sorry for what happened to you. That is not an apology. They're never going to be a closure, you know, that our family

is not going to be the same. Every time I go to the house without Mark and Jacob, it's not. of it the same. Rebecca Grossman's lawyers did not immediately return NBC News request for comment, but in a letter to the judge, Grossman wrote, I am not a murderer, saying she did not see anything in the road, and would have driven my car into a tree to avoid hitting two little boys. Prosecutors say Grossman got a light sentence. We're disappointed today. We don't think the judge gave the sentence that was appropriate. They had sought 34 years to life, not 15 years. There were two children who were murdered in this case, and effectively, the sentence that Ms. Grossman received effectively reflected one murder, and not that of both boys.

The young boys, family and friends, now trying to come to terms with the sentence. She got off easy, and there's nothing I can do about it. But I want everyone to know, Merck and Jacob were true angels, and they were perfect kids. Now, there were not any cameras allowed inside the courtroom, but from reporters, who were inside, we've learned that there was a long list of people who gave victim statements at the sentencing. And during this process, Grossman apparently broke down in tears, shaking her head as person after person shared the emotional impact that this horrific tragedy has taken. Important to note here that one key fact that came up throughout this entire trial and

sentencing was that both of those young boys were standing in a marked crosswalk when they were struck by Grossman's Mercedes-Benz. Needless to say, it has been a beyond tough day for so many in that community. Tom? Absolutely terrible for that family. All right, Morgan, when we come back, a health alert as we head into the summer season, the FDA urging seafood lovers to avoid certain oysters and clams that could be contaminated with a toxin that can cause severe illness.

We're going to explain what you need to know next. All right, we're back now with Top Story's news feed. We start in Maryland, where the Port of Baltimore shipping channel has reopened following the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Video showing crews lifting the last piece of steel bridge out of the water. This allows two-way traffic into the Fort McHenry Channel and back to the Key Port. The channel was closed after the Dolly ship crashed into the bridge in late March. Officials say they hope to rebuild the bridge by 2028. A new study finding high levels of toxic gas stretching across a Louisiana.

industrial corridor known as Cancer Alley. Researchers from Johns Hopkins recording excess levels of a carcinogenic sterilizer. The Biden administration has issued a rule to cut that sterilizer's emissions by 90% within the next two to three years in an effort to combat the high cancer risks for communities across that state. And a consumer warning on some oysters and bay clams harvested from the Pacific Northwest, the FDA revealing they may be contaminated with paralytic shellfish toxins, which can be toxic if consumed. The oysters and clams were harvested in Oregon from May 26th to May 30th and sold to restaurants and retailers in eight states.

A full list of affected states can be found on NBCNews.com. All right now to some other breaking news. We are following tonight, a suspect opening fire inside of a popular food court in downtown Atlanta, injuring at least three people. He was then shot by an off-duty police officer and taken into custody. I want to get right to Priya Shrether, who joins us from outside that scene in Atlanta. So Priya, tell us what you know about the shooting and the suspect so far. That's right, Tom. Well, this all unfolded around 2.17 in the afternoon. And as you mentioned, this is a very busy food court.

Many people who work in the surrounding buildings in downtown Atlanta actually go there to have lunch. So it was pretty crowded when this all occurred. We did attend a press conference with the mayor of Atlanta and the police chief who told us that a 34-year-old suspect actually got into some sort of fight with a 47-year-old man inside of that food port. escalated into a physical altercation, and then the suspect pulled out a handgun, opened fire, shot that 47-year-old man, and also shot a 69 and a 70-year-old women who are believed to have been bystanders. Now, as you mentioned, there was an off-duty Atlanta police officer who was inside of that food court working a second job as a security officer, and he was able to apprehend the suspect. He also opened fire and shot the suspect.

And so tonight, the mayor of Atlanta is saying that that off-duty police officer is a hero and that this would have been a lot worse had he not been able to intervene so quickly. Now, one other element we're learning about the suspect tonight is that he actually is a convicted felon. He has been convicted and served time in prison for armed robbery. So he's not allowed to legally actually own a firearm. And the mayor also said that he has a pretty lengthy rap sheet and has actually been arrested at least 11 times top.

And then do we know about the victims in this case? Are they going to be okay? Yeah, so all three of the victims and the suspect who was shot by that off-duty police officer were taken to two nearby hospitals. They are said to be in critical condition, but they are expected to survive this shooting, Tom. All right, that's a bit of good news there. Okay, Priya Shrether for us on that scene in Atlanta. Priya, we thank you. All right, time now for Top Stories Global Watch and a check of what else is happening around the world.

with four U.S. teachers stabbed in China. A warning, the following footage may be hard to watch. The graphic video circulating on social media shows the teachers lying on the ground, soaked in blood. Chinese police say the four instructors from a college in Iowa were on a teaching trip when they were stabbed in a public park. A tourist was injured while trying to stop that attack. Everyone is expected to be okay. The suspect was arrested, but no word on a motive. An update on the airplane that went missing yesterday carrying the vice president of Malawi. Officials saying the vice president and nine others on board died when their military plane crashed in bad weather. Malawi's president receiving the bodies at the country's main international airport where crowds of mourners gathered,

the wreckage located after a day-long search. And smoke at the Palace of Versailles forcing visitors to evacuate from the popular French tourist site. A witness capturing footage of smoke rising from the left side of the palace, you see it right there. There was no fire, and the smoke instead came from a hot zone in the wooden roofing. Fire crews quickly put out the smoke with no injuries or damage to the building. All right, coming up, the urgent effort to get the so-called kill switches off the streets. Have you heard about this? They're tiny 3D-printed parts, and they can turn an ordinary handgun into a machine gun

and cost less than a dime to make, how authorities in Texas are trying to crack down. We're back now with a federal crackdown on what police are calling kill switches. There are small 3D printed plastic devices that give pistols the fully automatic firepower of machine guns. This new warning after a dramatic surge in the number of switches recovered by law enforcement. NBC's Kathy Park has this look at the concerning new trend. 30 rounds in less than three seconds. These things are the most dangerous things we see on the street today as far as it comes to weaponry. Federal authorities across Texas are cracking down on these.

small pieces of plastic that they are calling kill switches. It looks innocuous enough, like a Lego or a connects block. But this one inch piece of plastic is killing people. Raising awareness on the small 3D printed parts that fit into the back plate of a gun. They're very, very small, very easy to miss. And this is in the semi-automatic configuration, and all we do is turn it. and it's now into the fully automatic position. Giving pistols the fire power of illegal machine guns.

The kill switch is already responsible for deaths across the country. Somebody get built! Including that of Houston police officer Bill Jeffrey in 2021, killed in a burst of automatic fire triggered by this device. Houston proper is ground zero. By far, we're seeing the most of these devices in the city of Houston. Since then, the number of kill switches recovered by law enforcement has skyrocketed. Texas-based ATF agents have seized nearly 1,000 switches since 2017, with half of those captured in just the last year. That's partly because you can manufacture switches using commercially available 3D printers.

The parts, costing as little as 8 cents to produce. But ATF agents have purchased copies under cover for up to $400. So there's a significant profit to this. At times, federal agents say sellers are even turning to social media to sell these products. Just this device right here is considered a machine gun. It does not have to be onto a firearm. The possession of one carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. Switch-equipped guns fire faster than military grade M-4s.

We cannot have our streets turn. into war zones a battle to keep communities safe from these illegal devices that can turn lethal Kathy Park joins top story tonight Kathy we saw there in your story how quickly shots can be fired when a switch is installed what are officials doing though to make sure these switches aren't being used in the first place hey Tom that's a great question a big part of this federal initiative is actually to work with state and local partners educating them because oftentimes we're told these departments don't even realize the switches are in their gun vaults. As you saw in the story, these switches are extremely small, about an inch in size, and they can blend in easily when they are installed correctly in a firearm.

In fact, if they are the same color as the gun, they can be overlooked pretty easily. So federal officials will be working with local crime stopper programs and offering cash rewards for any information leading to the arrest of an individual who may be in possession of these switches or are manufacturing them. Tom. All right, Kathy Park for us. Kathy, we thank you for that. And we'll be right back. Hamas today, formally responding to the newest Gaza ceasefire proposal back by the U.S. And after that deadly raid that freed four Israeli hostages,

we're hearing exclusively from families of Americans still in captivity. Andrea Mitchell is in Amman Jordan tonight for us. Today, eight months into the war, hostage veterans. demanding the return of their loved ones out front of the Secretary of State's hotel in Tel Aviv. America's top diplomat telling them, They work me every minute to bring everyone home. He met privately with the families of the American hostages.

I spoke exclusively with several, including the mother of Ité Chen, who's been told her son was killed, but says she won't believe it until Hamas returns his body. We didn't have a burial. We did not bury him. We don't have a grave. We did not see the Shiva.

For me, Itai is still alive. It comes after that dramatic rescue mission, Israeli forces freeing four hostages, three of them held by Hamas in this home. Aviva Siegel, who herself was kidnapped on October 7th with her husband Keith. She was later released, but she scared that that military operation may make it harder for Keith than the other hostages still being held by Hamas. They're going to hide them, that they're going to be nervous, and take it all out on the Postages.

Late today, Hamas responded to the Israeli ceasefire offer. The White House says it's still evaluating what they said. Secretary Blinken has demanded the leader of Hamas accept the deal. Are they looking after one guy who may be, for now, safe, buried, I don't know, 10 stories underground somewhere in Gaza, while the people that he purports to represent continue to suffer in a crossfire of his own making? It comes after the Wall Street Journal obtained messages from that Hamas leader, Yaya Sinwar. saying he believes more Palestinian deaths work to his advantage,

calling civilian deaths necessary sacrifices. Tonight, the White House is John Kirby. It should surprise and shock no one that a beast like Mr. Sinwar would actually take glee in it. Andrea Mitchell, NBC News. Finally tonight to an NBC News exclusive, superstar Celine Dion opening up about her battle with stiff person syndrome, a rare autoimmune neurological disorder. Tonight, how she's working through this serious health battle

in an effort to get back to her fans. Here's Ann Thompson. Celine Dion is writing her comeback story. Shall we go for it? Telling NBC's Hoda Kotby about the devastating impact stiff person syndrome has had on the singer's career. There is no cure. You will live with it your whole life, am I right?

Correct. So what does it look like on a day-to-day basis living with this condition? One step at a time. This rare neurological disorder can cause slurred speech, painful muscle contractions, and debilitating stiffness. I'm going to go back on stage, even if I have to crawl, even if I have to talk with my hands. I will. As demonstrated in a new documentary out on Amazon later this month, her journey is difficult. It's like I know you.

That's what happens. It's like I know what I want to do. I know you can show me. And that's what happens and it's very difficult for me. The first sign, she says, appeared in 2008, but it would take more than a decade to diagnose. as Dionne also dealt with her husband dying of cancer, raising three boys and making up excuses for canceling shows. I had to try to be a hero, feeling my body leaving me,

holding on to my own dreams, and lying for me was the burden was like too much. She announced her diagnosis in 2022, now facing her changed reality. Courage, don't to dare fail me. trying to reclaim what is uniquely hers. Ann Thompson, NBC News. All right, that does it for us tonight. We thank you for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamison, New York.

Stay right there. More news on the way. Thank you.