Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Episode Date: July 1, 2026

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight, historic Supreme Court decisions with the justices handing down a major blow to President Trump's immigration agenda. The high stakes of ruling upholding birthright citizenship, striking down the president's controversial executive order banning automatic citizenship to babies born to undocumented immigrants. Plus, the other big decision, allowing states to ban transgender women and girls from playing on female sports teams. A life-threatening heat wave scorching nearly 200 million this holiday week. Plus, explosive wildfires in the west. This doorbell cam right here in the eye of the firestorm. Bill Carrens is tracking it all. Also breaking tonight, the hazmat scare outside Philadelphia,

a train with hazardous materials on board, derailing cars. You see him there flying off the tracks. People nearby told to shelter in place. The congressman returning after a mysterious months-long absence, now revealing he was being treated for depression. Bombing suspect manhunt, the explosion, reportedly injuring a Ukrainian tycoon with ties to Russia, the international search for the suspect to allegedly fled on foot.

Surprise passenger, a driver discovering a black bear riding shotgun in his truck. We'll show you what he did next. And basketball bombshell, LeBron James, he's leaving the Lakers, but he is not retiring. So where will he take his talents next? Plus, President Trump's financial disclosures just revealed he's earned apparently a billion dollars from crypto. We've got more on that. Top story starts right now. Hi there. I'm Hallie Jackson in for Tom tonight. And here in Washington, a landmark day at the Supreme Court with the justices handing out two major and controversial decisions on the very last day of the term, decisions with the potential to impact thousands of people across the country. Take a look at what it look like outside court today. Emotional moments from some high fives, hugs after the rulings came in.

In the first case, the justices delivering a major blow to President Trump's. immigration policies, deciding to uphold birthright citizenship. This is something the president's been trying to end since day one of his second term, signing that executive order, you see there, which would ban automatic citizenship for babies born to undocumented immigrants. But in a six to three decision, the majority said the president's order takes it too far, and that birthright citizenship is clearly established in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Now, all that said, the president did get a different win from the high court today when

justices ruled states can ban transgender athletes from competing in girls and women's sports and public schools. This is something the president pushed for from the campaign trail. Today's rulings, closing the book on one of the most consequential sessions for the Supreme Court. And now the question, what happens next from here? Our senior legal correspondent Laura Jared is tracking it all. She starts us off tonight. Tonight, the U.S. Supreme Court dealing a major blow to President Trump's immigration crackdown, striking down his controversial executive order that sought to ban automatic U.S. citizenship for babies born to undocumented immigrants.

The president today slamming the court's decision as too bad for our country, while immigration advocates celebrated it. The fact is that if you're born here, you're an American citizen, period. The president has long railed against birthright citizenship enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution passed after the Civil War. This was not meant for Chinese billionaires to have their children become citizens of our country. This was meant, or other rich people, poor people. This was meant for the babies of slaves.

But today, Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority reaffirming the long-settled understanding of the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing citizenship to all children born in the U.S. and subject to its power, with limited exceptions. writing, quote, the framers of the 14th Amendment extended that promise to every freeborn person in this land. We keep that promise today. In dissent, Justice Samuel Alito calling the ruling a serious mistake that preserves a powerful incentive to enter or remain in this country illegally. The executive order, if allowed, could have potentially impacted more than 250,000 babies born in the U.S. every year to non-citizens. 13-year-old Mia expressing relief today that families like hers can now stay together.

This is our home. We belong here. Laura is with us now. And Laura, some Republicans are pushing to respond to this ruling, but any kind of response like that seems pretty unlikely to succeed, right? It does, Halle. We've seen the Republicans on the Hill talking about potentially a congressional path forward, but they know it really requires a constitutional amendment, which you know is no easy feat.

We're talking about two-thirds of Congress. We're talking about the states having to ratify it. The Constitution made it hard on purpose. It's not something that's done every day, and they know this issue would be a real, real challenge. Laura, we're going to talk more about that. I'm going to ask you to hang tight for just a second because I want to talk more about that second ruling, which does allow states to keep bans in place on transgender girls and women on public school sports teams. Stephanie Gosk has more on this one.

Tonight, President Trump calling it a big win. civil rights advocates slam it as a blow to transgender rights. The Supreme Court's conservative majority upholding state laws banning transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams in public schools. Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing, allowing only biological females to play on women's and girls teams can reduce the risk of physical injury and ensure fair competition. But the ACLU representing the two transgender athletes in the case calling the decision devastating. It's not just about winning trophies, it's about learning life lessons. 27 states currently ban transgender women and girls from participating in female sports,

with an NBC News poll last year showing over 75 percent of Americans support those bands. Macy Petty Charles celebrating today's decision. She competed against a transgender athlete and hopes more states will pass bands. I would hope that it would emboldened every state to those female athletes. And I hope that they themselves are emboldened today to take action, to speak up for what they know is right. But critics of the ruling see a silver lining. So you see this as a loss, but not as big of a loss as it maybe could have been? Absolutely. They didn't write a ticket, you know, for the other side to claim that you

can discriminate against transgender people in all other contexts. The Supreme Court ruling upholds the bans, but it doesn't compel states that don't have bans to enact them. And it very explicitly did that in its ruling, which means that that's an outstanding issue. There are some places where, like Connecticut and California, where there are lawsuits filed, and that is another side of this battle that has not been resolved with this decision today, Halley. Stephanie Gosk, thank you. Let me bring Laura back in. And joining us here on set, we're happy to have Josh Gerstein, senior legal affairs reporter for Politico with us here in Washington as well.

Laura, let me start with you, and then Josh, when it gets you in a couple of things. But, Laura, you laid out clearly on this birthright citizenship case why the justices decided to uphold it. But let's not forget that three justices didn't agree. Like it was a sit, explain that. What was the dissenting opinion? What was that about?

Yeah, it wasn't a complete windfall here for the advocates, Halley. You know, some might have said it should have been 9-0, but those three really did have serious bone to pick with the majority there. Justice Alito in particular, I thought it was no. really echoing some of the types of sentiments we've heard from the Trump administration when he talks about sort of this influx that will result, influx of migrants, I should say, that would result from having birthright citizenship, even though it's been on the books for more than 150 years at this point,

essentially saying that people are taking advantage of that rule, again, really largely echoing policy arguments that we've heard from the Trump administration, But that's far different than a constitutional argument, far different than the type of textural arguments than you typically see from Alito and others on the court. But there are policy arguments, Josh, as Laura points, that the president has made the case for. He's still making the case for them. It's not as though this decision came down and he said, oh, okay, we're giving that up. He wants Republicans to try to keep pushing to end birthright citizenship. Isn't that kind of impossible at the moment? It seems like it is impossible. I mean, he seems to be alluding to Justice Kavanaugh. opinion, which was only for Justice Kavanaugh. And he said he didn't think the Constitution guarantees birthright citizenship to people, but that federal law, as it's written right now,

does guarantee it, and therefore Trump couldn't go forward with this executive order. The only problem with that is sort of the basis for Trump's new effort is that Justice Kavanaugh seemed to be the only taker on that narrow point. Maybe he could get the other three dissenters today to go along with him. That still only gets you to four. So I don't really see a way for the president to sort of fix this short of a change in the makeup of the court. It was fundamentally like a five-four decision on the constitutional question. There's also this other ruling that we talked about that Steph reported on on trans athletes here. How do you see this as we look ahead now, end of the term today, as we look ahead to the next term, future terms, et cetera, does that

open the door potentially, do you think, for the court to issue more rulings that LGBTQ plus advocates may see is concerning for them moving forward? Well, it does. I mean, even on this because you have states that have guaranteed rights to trans athletes. So basically taken the opposite position from the states that won today. And in the majority opinion here, Justice Kavanaugh said we're not ruling on that or addressing that issue today. But he noted that there are legal challenges going on over that. And I think eventually you will see arguments being made that the very presence of trans athletes

is so unfair to the cisgender female athletes on these women's and girls teams that they should be banned and that they're required to be banned. And I suspect that's something the court's going to wrestle with within the next term or two. Can I ask you, as somebody who knows this court, somebody who's been reporting on this, the legal and political? Was there anything that surprised you today? Or what did you find most interesting coming out of the last day of the term today? Well, I thought on this issue of the birthright citizenship. I mean, I thought, as Laura said, it was interesting that they got three votes for this position that, and arguably

four votes for the position that the Constitution doesn't cover this. I think. I did actually think we might see something of a political compromise, more like Kavanaugh's opinion, that tried to punt the issue to Congress because it would be less of a direct snub to Trump. Now we've seen two really, really major decisions this term, this decision and the tariffs decision just huge chunks of Trump's agenda on the economic side and on the immigration side take a hit from this court. Of course, he hasn't lost all of those cases, including on immigration.

I mean, we've talking about hundreds of thousands, maybe more. more than a million people who could be deported as a result of the TPS rulings that the court issued on temporary protected status for people from war-torn countries or countries with natural disasters. He certainly got some wins, too, as you point out, Josh. Like, Laura, we just talked about whenever it was. Was it yesterday? The expansion of federal powers that he got to some degree, although not for the Fed. Can I ask you, as we look ahead, what's your eye on for next term? I know we have a summer to chill for a minute, but they're going to hear a case on assault weapons, right? They sure are, Hallie. And it's an interesting.

case because AR-15 is obviously something that so many people have had so much criticism over for so long, so many states have tried to pass bans, even though the federal ban lapsed some time ago. States like Connecticut, which pass stricter laws after that horrendous Sandy Hook massacre. And now the Supreme Court's going to have that say, as Josh knows well, this is a court that has vastly expanded Second Amendment powers almost at every juncture that we have seen. And so that will be a big case to watch next term. Josh, how about for you?

What are you watching for? I mean, no retirements today. Obviously, we're looking ahead to this conservative majority as the president is entering the last half of a second term here. Well, I'm looking mainly at sort of the allegiances of the justices that Trump has appointed to the court. Quite interesting that you saw Justice Barrett. Again, basically turn her back on Trump on this birthright citizenship ruling.

And she has sort of now established herself as of those three that Trump has appointed to the court, the one that is most likely to stray from sort of the orthodoxy of the Trump administration. Josh, thank you so much for coming in. It's good to see here in Washington. Laura, always great to chat with you. Appreciate it. Thank you. More to watch when we reconvene in the fall. Take you to Pennsylvania now. We've got some breaking news tonight just outside Philly. A freight train has derailed. Concerns about a hazmat issue, prompting a shelter-in-place order briefly, as officials warned of this potential leak of some of the hazardous materials that were on the train. Let me bring in Johnny Archer from our NBC-10, Philadelphia.

station who's joining us now. Not too far from the scene, Johnny, I know you're right there. Talk us through the latest, as what you're seen on the ground. Yeah, Halley, we're about a quarter of a mile away from that train to railment. And you can hear this truck going by me right now. This truck just brought in some heavy machinery. If you push down the street a little bit, you can see that heavy machinery that they brought in to help with this cleanup process with this train derailment that happened around 2 o'clock this afternoon. But if you take a look at some aerial footage from earlier, you can see this train derailment that happened in Ben Salam, which is about 20 miles north of Philadelphia.

Officials say that derailment happened around 2 o'clock this afternoon, where 16, about 16, out of a 72 car train derailed, they say two of those cars were carrying hazardous materials on them, and out of an abundance of caution, they say none of the hazardous materials appear to be leaking, but out of an abundance of caution, they evacuated the immediate area, and that impacted about 20 homes and some businesses where that train derailment had. happen, Hallie. Johnny, we may not know the answer to this, but do we have any more specifics on what those, quote-unquote, hazardous materials are? Any sense of it? Or not yet? Yeah, so the public safety director here in Ben Salem Township says that one car was carrying

some type of alcohol in the car, the other was carrying some type of acid, but he did not know the specifics of what that material or those materials were inside the car. But again, it appears that none of those cars were leaking anything. And they did lift that evacuation order and shelter in place. They also mentioned that nobody was injured in this train derailment. Now things have been turned over to CSX who will be responsible for the cleanup process, but their determination and why this train to rail, that is still under investigation. Holly. Johnny Archer, thank you very much for that. Appreciate that. Now to the dangerous heat waves sweeping across the country with 170 million people under alerts as record high temperatures

are taken hold this holiday week. And the heat in the west is fueling fast-moving wildfires. Our Dana Griffin has the details. Tonight, a massive heat wave is baking half the country, with temperatures expected to soar into the high 90s across most of the Northeast and Midwest. And it'll feel even hotter. The heat index already topping 100 in Chicago, St. Louis and Milwaukee, where crews battling a massive fire are on reduced work cycles.

We're encouraging them to take their coats off, cool off, rehydrate, get some water. We are also increasing their recovery time. And in Philadelphia, World Cup organizers will be scaling back viewing schedules at several fanfests. Out west, these are the extremely dry, windy conditions, fueling massive wildfires. This ring camera video capturing the ferocious Aspen Acres fire in Colorado, forcing hundreds to evacuate and destroying more than 150 structures. In Utah, evacuees allowed back into the cottonwood burn zone for the first time. We had five minutes to get what we could.

It was moving pretty quick. It was very quick. It sounded like a freight train. It was unreal. Jim Stettler and Cindy Abbott, who managed campgrounds on the mountain, lost everything. This community has been just by far the strongest, most wonderful, supportive community that I've ever been in in my life. A dangerous double threat, hammering more than half the country.

As we head into the holiday weekend and temperatures increase, officials are concerned about drier conditions, which means heightened fire risk. Governors of both Utah and Colorado now reminding people to be cautious as they celebrate to avoid starting new fires here in Utah. Most fireworks are now banned. Hally? Dana Griffin with that smoke protection as well. Dana, thank you. For more on this extreme heat, I want to turn to meteorologist Bill Karens, who's back with us tonight. I hate to say it's going to get worse before it gets better, but that's just the reality. ahead of the holiday weekend. Yeah, Halley, everyone in the Midwest is more than happy to share all their hot air and send it to the East Coast instead of them dealing with it.

Today at one point, it felt like 106 degrees in the shade in Chicago, and that was even warmer than Houston. So that's why we have all these extreme heat warnings at night. It's just not going to cool off that much, and that's where it gets really dangerous. And now the heat is starting to push into areas of the east, and that begins tomorrow. So Chicago, still almost equally as hot tomorrow. Columbus, Ohio 107, the really bad stuff, they're really dangerous, extremely dangerous. stuff. Nashville is going to feel like 111. I saw that Memphis is going to feel like 114 degrees tomorrow. Even by Memphis standards, that's a really impressive heat wave. And then we start talking like

Richmond 102, New York City's starting to feel like 100. And by the time we get through Thursday and Friday, that's when the heat really builds in the eastern half of the country. It's not like it really goes away either. It's going to take a while for all of this to work itself out. Areas in the Carolinas will stay hot right through the fourth. And here's D.C., 102 Friday, 101 Saturday, Sunday 95, but a little cooler, but the humidity is much worse. So the heat index will actually be worse on Sunday, even though the temperature is lower because that extreme humidity that's now in Illinois and Iowa, that's all going to move to the east. So as far as the fireworks forecast is going to go, we don't have a lot of problems with people

getting to their holiday destinations. We're just going to have typical hit and miss showers and storms. And even on the fourths, you're just scattered out here, nothing that's going to cancel any shows. So that's the great news. We still have these horrific fires ongoing. That one fire that exploded yesterday was the Aspen Acres fire. 28,000 acres consumed 155 structures in one day alone. And we still have an impressive smoke plume coming off that one.

We have numerous other new fires. You can just see the gray here. That's smoke. That's not clouds in the air. So there's still numerous other fires, Bernie Halley. No rain in sight. With the fireworks this weekend, we're fearful that there could be even additional new blazes starts. It's just staggering to look at this bum.

at the maps and everything that's going on. It's truly, you know, a triple threat, a one, two, three punch, if you will. Bill Carrens, we'll talk again, I'm sure. Appreciate it. Here in Washington, too, you got President Trump late today releasing his financial disclosure forms. What's interesting about them? Apparently, he made a ton of money from crypto. Let me bring in Gabe Gutierrez, who's joining us from the White House, a billion with a B dollars. Yeah, well, it is quite a significant amount of money. The president reporting earnings up at least 1.2 billion. in 2025 from crypto and meme coin related businesses. Now, that includes more than $58 million from sales by World Liberty Financial. That's the crypto firm whose co-founders include the president

and his sons. Now, Hallie, as you know, the Trump administration has loosened restrictions on the crypto industry, but the White House now insists that this is not a conflict of interest and that the president's actions have been, quote, in the best interest of the American people. This financial disclosure is 927 pages that is significantly larger than last years. And the Trump Organization is now telling NBC News that the breadth and death of this filing further underscores our commitment to transparency, Halley. Among the other things of note in this disclosure, some of the stock trades that the president's made, right? Yeah, it's quite an interesting window into his finances. show hundreds of stock sales and purchases and companies as wide-ranging as Eli Lilly, Live

Nation, Paramount Skydance, and also NBC's parent company, Comcasts. Now the sale proceeds are only listed in ranges, Halley, so we don't know specific amounts. But some notable large purchases are meta, by the way, which was worth $250,000 to $500,000, and also Navidia, which was worth $1 to $5 million. Now, Hallie, there were also some perks listed as well under gifts and travel reimbursements, including 10 Super Bowl tickets worth $50,000, 10 U.S. Open tickets worth $25,000, 10 FIFA World Cup final tickets worth $15,000. Oh, and Halle, the Liability Section also includes an active American Express card

that he pays towards monthly, apparently. Gabe Gutierrez, sifting through all of it with the team there in Washington or there at the White House. Gabe, thank you, pal, appreciate it. We got a lot more to get to here in Washington in just a second, including the alligator attack in Florida, just horrific, a woman killed while swimming. We've got the horrifying 911 call and what happened in the minutes before. Plus, just in tonight, the apparent standoff shutting down a big highway, police with guns drawn, will tell you what we're learning as we speak.

And the unexpected passenger riding shotgun, look at this, driver trying to get inside his truck, only to find a bear. We'll tell you how he got it out. It took a minute. Next. We are back with new developments. deadly alligator attack in Florida with officials now identifying the victim as we're hearing the frantic 911 calls in the moments after it happened with a warning that audio is difficult to listen to.

Here's Liz Croix. Tonight we're hearing the urgent 911 call after a woman was attacked and killed by a massive alligator in central Florida. Officials identifying the victim as 31-year-old Brittany Clark, who authorities say was hiking at a state park outside Orlando with her boyfriend best friend Sunday when they stopped to swim and cool off in a shallow river about three feet deep. It was then that the massive alligator struck, her friends frantically calling 911. Somebody got bit by a beer. Bad, real bad, please. Hurry, hurry.

She's losing the operas. Over the next 10 minutes, the operator stays on the phone as Clark screams out in pain while her friends try to move her to safety. I can't move. No, it's okay. We're good. No, we're not. And how bad is the bite?

Horrible. Okay, almost is it's okay. Both her arms, both her arms are off, like, basically. As they wait for help, you can hear the increasing desperation. Eventually, first responders arrive, but sadly, the injuries too great. Officials say Clark died on her way to the hospital. Incredibly, incredibly difficult. A nightmare for her friends, for her family, as we're hearing more from Brittany's boyfriend tonight, Liz. Yeah, Holly, that's right. Her boyfriend tells NBC.

news. Of course, he's incredibly distraught. He says that she was an amazing, strong and caring person, one of the most outgoing people that he knew, someone who loved going in the water. And he said, never in a million years could they have imagined this nightmare. And Hallie, I know we talked about this last night, but it's just important to point out again as people go into the water to cool off in the summer that right now is the end of the alligator mating season there in Florida, which means that they can be more prevalent and more aggressive, Hallie. Liz, Croyd, so many people thinking about her and her family tonight. Thank you, Liz. Appreciate it.

Coming up, we'll take over to Capitol Hill with a congressman returning after months out of the public eye, why he says he needed time away to focus on his health. Plus, inside NASA's daring rescue mission to save a space telescope before it comes crashing down to Earth. But first, top story's top moment and the incredible wedding surprise for one Chicago couple, The bride's brother sends this Hail Mary, right? He sends it to Ed Sheeran and DJ Martin Garricks, who were in town for their shows, and he said, hey, will you crash the wedding?

Guess what? They did. Martin did a show. I did a show. We finished. He's got a DM from someone saying, can you crash my sister's wedding? So we're going there.

So we're going to go and crash the wedding. Can you imagine? That's insane. That's bananas. At one point, Ed even got on the dance floor with the newlyweds. You got to love it. talk about another memory on an already memorable day. Stay with us. We got more Top Story coming up. Welcome back to Top Story. If it's Tuesday, it is election night, which means our very own Steve Kornacki, is just you are there.

I never see you anywhere else, my man. I'm so excited for you at the big board because we got some interesting primaries tonight. I know we'll talk more about some other interesting one in the weeks to come, but talk to us about Colorado, what we're watching there, right? Yeah, it's the season for interesting primaries in. here on the Democratic side. Are there incumbents in trouble in Colorado? It's a question here about Senator John Hickenlooper as he seeks his second term. He's being challenged from the left by a state lawmaker, Julie Gonzalez. She has backing from Our Revolution, the Bernie Sanders Align Group. She's running certainly on a lot of themes we've seen sort of far left candidates run on in some of these Democratic primaries like in New York City last week where they had success.

Could they have success statewide in Colorado? Not a ton of polling in this. race. So we're going to find out tonight, though. Of course, Colorado was a state in the Democratic presidential primary back in 2020. It was a Sanders state. So there is a liberal strain here in the electorate. The incumbent who is definitely in trouble is right here in the first congressional district. This is based in the city of Denver. Diana DeGette. She has been a member of Congress since 1996, a progressive member of Congress, but she's being challenged from farther to the left, Malat Keros, backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. She's run to the left of DeGette.

She has emphasized criticism, attacks of Israel in her campaign. And again, demographically, when you look at this district, overwhelmingly democratic, a lot of younger voters, progressive, college-educated renters. That's the formula that DSA-aligned candidates had success with in New York City. We're going to find out if they have success with it in this first district primary tonight, again, against a long time incumbent. And real quick, Steve, just touch on the governor's race, if you will. Yeah, so on the Democratic side here, again,

this theme of incumbents, are they in trouble? A twist on incumbent here. Michael Bennett is an incumbent United States Senator. He's seeking to become the governor here. And again, his opponent here, conventional political biography, this is the state attorney general Phil Weiser, but he is running to Bennett's left. He's trying to get to his left and also trying to use Bennett's long-time status on Capitol Hill against him, sort of running against the Washington wing of the Democratic Party.

Winner of that primary tonight going to face one of these three Republicans here. The two state lawmakers, Barb Kirkmeyer, Scott Bottoms, and Victor Marks. There's a lot to say about Marx. I could say simply a controversial candidate. Can I ask you super quickly about one of the things that I find most interesting today, not related to Colorado, which is Texas, which is, as you know, Steve, long been kind of like a shimmering mirage for Democrats that maybe they can take this red state and turn it blue. They've got that high-stakes Senate race between James Tala Rico and Ken Paxton. And this brand-new pull out today is giving some fuel to that fire, it sounds like, because it's basically a dead here. at least at the moment. Yeah, I mean, take a look. This is a New York Times, Siena poll out of Texas,

and you could see Tala RICO, Paxton, tied at 47 right here, and go inside those numbers. One layer, I do think this is interesting, the image of each candidate, favorable or unfavorable. Look at Tala Rico, 4539. He's actually got a positive image rating here. Paxton, of course, it's been years of controversy for him as the state attorney general, 38 favorable, 50 unfavorable. A Democrat's obviously excited the races tied over. Overall, Republicans say, hey, look, they've got room here, they say, to move that Tala RICO number up. Super interesting.

Steve Kornacki will look for the Kornacki cam this evening, pal. Can't wait. Thank you. Got to get to an update here in Washington from Capitol Hill. And you remember that representative from New Jersey, the congressman who went mysteriously missing for months? Left, basically, wasn't seen publicly. Today, he is finally back in Congress after this four-month disappearance from the public eye.

Tom Cain, revealing he was diagnosed with depression. Here's Ryan Nobles. Representative Tom Kane returning to Congress after an initially unexplained months-long absence from the public eye, revealing he was treated for depression. It is physical. It is emotional. And until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be. The doctors recommended that I remain in the hospital to address my illness.

The Republican congressman from New Jersey, back in the House of Representatives for the first time since March 5th. Today I stand before you, healthier, stronger, and excited to return to the work that I love. During his time away, Kane missed more than 140 votes in the chamber. His disappearance sparked months of speculation. He's just been gone. I answered my phone calls or emails from his constituents. I think there's a good amount of privacy that people are allowed to have, whether they're in office or Kaine is not the first congressperson to publicly reveal a struggle with depression. U.S.

Senator John Federman gained national attention when he checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to be treated for depression in February of 2023, which his office publicly announced within days of his starting treatment. It's a real thing and something is wrong with you, but it's something that needs to be addressed. Kane did not discuss his diagnosis or remarks after the speech. He's up for re-election this November. I think Tom gets re-elected easily this fall, and he'll be back, and he'll be back in full health. His opponent, Democrat Rebecca Bennett, saying in a statement, I am relieved that Congressman Tom Kane Jr. is well and continue to wish him good health. But let's be clear, I got into this race because Tom Kane Jr. was

failing our community long before this absence. Kane represents a swing district that's expected to be highly competitive this fall. In fact, it could shape the balance of power. He already has President Trump's endorsement. He will face off against Rebecca Bennett, a Democrat who is a former Navy helicopter pilot. Hallie? Ryan Nobles, thank you. To Top Stories News Feed now, starting with what's a developing situation in Massachusetts we're hearing about late tonight, an apparent police standoff shutting down a big highway. Look at this. Video shows a pickup truck stopped in the median, but a bunch of officers and cruisers surrounding it. It all started right in the middle of rush hour. You saw there bringing traffic to a standstill.

State police said they were investigating something, although they didn't say what. No word yet on when the highway will reopen. We're going to keep an eye on this one. In New York City, two people were killed and 20 others hurt when a coach bus crashed. Officials say it flipped into oncoming traffic overnight. You can see it here hitting two other vehicles. Royal Jordanian Airlines reports that had 15 crew members on the bus, which was heading to JFK Airport. One of them was killed along with the bus driver.

We're told the others are expected to be okay. And in Colorado, take a look at this, somebody opening the passenger door, finding somebody or something unexpected riding shotgun. Yes, it's a bear, a wild bear popping its head out. It doesn't leave, so the guy thinks, okay, I'll grab this piece of wood and poke at it. So he did, took a couple tries, but the bear eventually gets out the other side and he manages to chase it away. No word yet on how the bear got in the truck in the first place. Here in Washington tonight, the Great American State Fair, as it's called,

is in full swing down at the National Mall with this event commemorating America's 250th anniversary, build as a massive can't miss celebration. But the heat wave starting to hit D.C. may be affecting attendance, at least for now. Gary Grumbach is in the middle of all the action. All right, Gary, vibe check. What you got? I will give you a lay of the land here. Welcome to the Great American State Fair, Hallie and viewers. I want to show you what we've got here. There's a rodeo happening behind here. Secretary Brooke Rollins, the Agriculture Secretary is there watching men on horses ride around in circles. And then we've got here, the Great American State Fair.

There's the Ferris wheel. That is a 200-foot-tall Ferris wheel. We've also got the Arch, the Arch de Trump, as folks here are calling it. That is a replica of what the Arch is actually going to look like there on Memorial Circle when it is built in the next few years here in Washington, D.C. And then you've got everything around here.

There are 56 booths, and that is where each state and territory here in the U.S. is providing a little bit of insight. into what they have to offer. So we're going to walk into West Virginia real quick. Wild and wonderful West Virginia, as it's called. Thank you so much. We're going to walk right in here

and show you what you have to offer here. This is what West Virginia has to offer the American people. There's a game where folks can ride around, pretend they're on the country roads of West Virginia. There is a lot to learn about West Virginia here. And then over here, right behind us, Cameron, Beth here, is going to show us how to do the lyrics of Take Me Home,

Country Roads, and what the actual lyrics, are almost heaven, West Virginia. So that's a little bit about what you see here in West Virginia. We're going to come outside Bath and show you what's coming out outside. But there's also a lot of folks here that are talking about the potential and what the potential that this fair had to be. There's a lot that's not here. You're not seeing a lot of empty space.

There's several hundred people here tonight. It's certainly cooler. There's nothing organizers can do about the hot weather here in D.C. expected over the next couple days. But there's no taste of the states, right? Each state doesn't have its own booth where food could be. There's a lot of politics involved in this as well, right? There's a secretary, a cabinet secretary,

where the president speaking every single night of this fair. The FBI director's girlfriend sang the national anthem. A lot of politics has been infused into the 250th birthday of this country. Callie. Give us the, Gary, first of all, I love that your shoelaces are tied. You are rocking and rolling out there, my man, and you've held the door as if on cue.

Maybe she was on cue. Very impressive. Quick, what do we got coming up? What's the big event? Because obviously, the big stuff happens, I think, Friday and Saturday night, right? Yeah, the big day is the 4th of July on Saturday where 850,000 fireworks are expected to go off around 10.30, 11 o'clock at night. And that's part of the problem, right? That's a pretty late fireworks show. It's expected to be 40 minutes, the largest fireworks show to ever happen in the history of the world. But the only thing that's stopping the firework show from starting is the president from finishing talking, because his speech is expected to

right before the fireworks start. Hallie. Gary Grumbach and his crew are thanks to you out there on the National Mall. Gary, thank you. To two critical space missions we're following tonight. 260 miles above Earth, two astronauts today, braving a more than six hour-long spacewalk to fix a robotic arm on the International Space Station.

And here at home, people watched on NASA's website on YouTube, on Amazon Prime, on Netflix. This is a big deal, right? The two astronauts on this journey doing, journey, doing a lot of prep to get ready for this. They customize their suits even with pictures of family members, relatives, people they love. Separately, we are just hours away now from the next launch window for a different mission that would send a robotic spacecraft into orbit to save a falling telescope. Joining us now to share his expertise. Friend of the show, Jose Hernandez,

former NASA astronaut. Jose, it's great to see you. Great being here, Halle. Exciting times here at NASA. No kidding. And we got a lot. We got arms. We got telescopes, got all sorts of stuff. Let's talk about the spacewalk. Because you know, like, you worked with a robotic arm like this one. What's so important about it that it needed to be fixed so urgently and in this manner? Well, what happened is that the wrist joint, what they noticed is when they moved the wrist joint, the currents went up, which means there's some friction and resistance.

And so they decided that it's reached its lifetime, and they designed this EVA spacewalk to actually replace it. They already had a part there because they expected it to wear out sooner or later. It turns out to be sooner than later. And here they are, you know, a seven hour, 20 minutes spacewalk later. It has a new wrist arm and it's working perfectly. Thanks to astronaut Chris William and Jessica Lemire. Which is good news.

I mean, you spend six hours fixing something. You hope it turns out well. What about the rescue mission for the telescope, right? What is what's going on with that? What happens if NASA can't actually get the? is fixed? Well, I think they'll get it fixed, but I think it has multi-capabilities because my understanding is that this SWIF satellite also contains several telescopes and measures signals,

multi-wave signals called gamma ray bursts or GRBs. And that's very important because we're able to listen and see what's happening to stars, you know, very far away, which helps us understand the all the origin of our universe. So this very important science being conducted there. Yeah, no kidding. And lots of people watching it, lots of intrigue around all of it. Jose Hernandez, great to see you. Thank you very much for being with us. Thank you, Alan. Still to come here on the show tonight, the mysterious explosion in Monaco, multiple people hurt what we're learning tonight about whether a family may have been targeted. Plus, Serena Williams back at Wimbledon for her first singles match in

nearly four years. We'll tell you how she did next. Back now with a dramatic story. unfolding overseas. Police in Monaco and France are looking for a suspected bomber after three members of a family were hurt in an explosion and questions growing tonight about whether they may have been targeted. Here's Ryan Chandler. Tonight, an urgent international manhunt after an explosion rocked the exclusive enclave of Monaco. Police in Monaco and France say they believe a suspect left a parcel bomb at this apartment injuring a man, woman, and child before fleeing into France on foot. The three, all of Ukrainian descent, according to police and members of one family. Photos of the scenes show the front door blown away, a white tarp covering the blast zone and

blood staining the entrance. The homes upstairs windows appearing blown out. I heard a detonation like I've never heard before, this man says. Monaco's prosecutor says they're investigating the attack, not as terrorism, but as a targeted assassination attempt. The Associated Press, citing Monaco's chief prosecutor, reporting a Ukrainian tycoon with ties to Russia, was among the injured. The motive of the attack is not known. Monaco's prosecutor says the woman is in critical condition. The man and childs are expected to survive. The brazen attack, leaving residents shaken. I moved here for the security, this man says.

Tonight, authorities in France and Monaco hardening their shared border, vowing a swift capture, of the suspected bomber. Ryan Chandler, NBC News. The top story's global watch now, starting in Venezuela, where teams are still looking for survivors after those two powerful and deadly earthquakes. Venezuelan officials now confirming more than 1900 people have been killed. Some 10,000 others hurt.

You've got aid groups warning about what they see as a growing humanitarian crisis. Hospitals being pushed to the brink, thousands of people sleeping in crowded shelters. We're watching this one, of course, close. And in South Africa, thousands of demonstrators gathering in parts of that country to rally against illegal immigration. Some groups are calling on all migrants living there illegally to leave now, setting a deadline for today. But the government, they're pushing back, saying only officials have the power to make those decisions.

The activists blame migrants for issues like high crime rates and unemployment among South Africans. And take a look, this video of a volcano erupting today in the Philippines. You can see it, the explosion there coming out of that crater of water. say the whole thing lasted about five minutes, sending that cloud of ash and smoke some 4,000 feet into the sky. Now to Serena Williams Wimbledon return, the 23-time Grand Slam champ, making her singles comeback after nearly four years, taking on Maya Joint from Australia, who, by the way, is less than half her age. Our Danielle Hamamgen on how Serena almost clawed her way back to victory. Yeah, Hallie, it was so easy to imagine a fairy tale comeback at the oldest tennis tournament. in the world, but it just wasn't meant to be. Was she a little rusty? There were some moments,

yeah. At times it felt like she was beating herself up for missing some relatively straightforward shots, but it was an incredible match when we thought she was on her way out. She managed to hang on. Take a listen. We heard her roar, we heard her scream. There were vintage Serena moments there. She was playing Maya Joint of Australia, 24 years younger than her, and a bit of context here. Joint is 20 years old, currently number 87 in the world, and by the time she was born, Williams had already won seven of her 23 Grand Slam titles. Listen to what she told the crowd after her win. I didn't get much sleep last night. I was up to like 2 a.m. just thinking about it.

I mean, she has such an aura. She's such a legend. Tonight, Serena Williams became the second oldest woman to compete at Wimbledon behind only Martina Navratilova. Now, she received a standing ovation when she walked in, her family in the stands, of course. Her husband later posting pictures with her daughters, the youngest having to leave early due to an age restriction at Wimbledon. So what's next for Serena Williams? She'll be playing with her sister Venus at the doubles on Thursday. And is she only coming back for Wimbledon, or is there a chance perhaps we see here?

here at the U.S. Open in two months time. We'll find out soon enough. Ali? When we come back, LeBron James officially leaving the Lakers. So where is it going to take his talents next? Plus, our series, Great Americans will hear from an Air Force pilot, a descendant of a Tuskegee Airman, now on a mission to help the next generation take flight. Stay with us. Back now with that pretty stunning announcement from LeBron James, four-time MVP, who says he's not going to go back to the Lakers for another season. The question now, where will the 41-year-old take his talents this time?

Here's Morgan Chesky. James! It's the goodbye rocking all of basketball. LeBron James and the Lakers parting ways. James agent telling ESPN the NBA's all-time leading score will play for a new team next season. The 41-year-old thanking the team saying it was an honor to wear purple and gold. The Lakers adding, we will always be thankful for his eight years, the team. The first father-son duo. It comes after James fulfilled a major milestone,

playing alongside his son, Broni. And just one day after the Lakers guaranteed Brani's contract. 23 seasons and four rings later, James is still one of the biggest stars in the sport. Earlier this year, he made clear the decision would be his. When the time comes, obviously, you guys know what I decided to do. The question now, Where does he go next? The Golden State Warriors are a team that definitely could use the services of LeBron James. He gets to team up with Steph Curry, somebody he has long admired. Other options include are return to the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Miami Heat.

But for now, King James isn't done just yet. Morgan is joining us now from where else, L.A. Okay, Morgan, do a little tea leaf reading for us right now. Where could he end up? What seems likely? Yeah, sources are pointing to the Golden State Warriors Halley, and it's for good reason. Steph Curry has had a longstanding relationship, a friendship with LeBron James. And keep in mind that Steve Kerr, the Warriors coach, also coached LeBron during his time with the Olympic team.

Not to mention he's a friend with Draymond Green as well. So kind of the chemistry already in place for a west coast, you know, northern move there. But other teams also being considered kind of a retracing of his path of sorts. You have the Cleveland Cavaliers where he began his career, left, then returned to win a championship. And then you have the Miami Heat, where he joined Jwayd for two championships there as well. He's won a championship at every stop along the way. But that remains to be seen where he will be going. No official word from LeBron's camp on a destination, nor any of those teams, at least publicly right now.

Yeah, you got to wish you were like a fly on the wall for some of those conversations. What about the brawny of it all, Morgan, LeBron's son, who is still a Laker and will be, it seems like, for a little bit. This is so interesting because while we don't have anything officially said, the timing will make you think, and here's the reason why. As of essentially the end of day yesterday, or today, he has officially secured that $2.2 million base salary for the upcoming season. This is Brony James here.

So LeBron's announcement comes out today. he made sure potentially that his son was not traded as of the trade deadline last night. And so now that Brani will at least definitely be a paid Laker for the upcoming season, we now wait to see where LeBron will end up. But 2.2 million-based salary, certainly not bad for the younger James. Certainly not. Morgan Chesky, thank you very much. Appreciate that. And every night this week, as we've talked about on this broadcast, ahead of America 250, we are ending the show with our series, Great Americans,

highlighting extraordinary Americans who have achieved so much in this country. Tonight, Tom speaks with a descendant of a Tuskegee Airman, who's now inspiring the next generation of American pilots. Our great American tonight, Lieutenant Colonel Alex Cole. In the air, pilot Alex Cole knows he's flying on the shoulders of giants. My great uncle was an original Tuskegee Airman. Pilots trained the Tuskegee way go on to earn high praise and wide acclaim. The Tuskegee Airmen were America's first group of black aviators, serving in World War II during a time of racial segregation.

Squadron after squadron out of Tuskegee, flying P40s first, tough little planes, then striking with thunderbolts. And I recognize that for not the strides that they went through, that I wouldn't be here where I am today. Lieutenant Colonel Cole's journey began with the Air Force, serving two decades with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then he became a presidential pilot flying vice presidents and senior cabinet officials during the Bush and Obama administrations. This is the age that we started wanting to learn how to fly. Lieutenant Colonel Cole now retired from active duty has a new mission, working with kids at Legacy Flight Academy. Are you guys ready to fly? His goal to inspire the next generation.

of aviators. In my heart is it's about teaching them that there is an opportunity out here to learn, do something that you may not have thought about and expose them to that so that they can dream. For some, those dreams already taking flight. It was fun. I got to take off and I was like a thousand feet in the air. I'm excited to just like feel how it is to be a pilot. I find it interesting to try and things and I am pretty interested in aviation. Wow. The limitless possibilities of the sky. It looks so different from up here.

Cole says echoed the ever-expanding potential of the American dream. We're in this continuous growth process of learning about who we are as a country, learning about our history, sharing our history and growing from that point. They didn't know what the future would be, but many hope they'd get the chance to fly and fight in the air. History rooted in the legacy of the Tuskegee airmen continuing to soar. The main thing I love about America is our diversity. And I love how beautiful our country is. We're a beautiful country and a powerful one that tries to set the standard.

We don't always meet it. But our effort is to try to set the standard for the rest of the world. Thank you, as always, for watching Top Story. I'm Hallie Jackson in Washington. Stay right there. We've got more news on the way.