Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Episode Date: June 5, 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, taking control of the border, President Biden signing an executive order effective immediately to restrict migrant crossings. The move capping the number of asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border, turning people away as number surge. Biden facing months of fierce criticism over his handling of immigration, taking action with just five months until the November election. Tonight, the ACLU joining Top Story live as the organization sues the Biden administration over what they call any legal move. Also, prosecuting Hunter Biden, opening statements in Hunter Biden's gun trial. Prosecutors using his own words against him with clips about his drug use from his audiobook. First Lady Jill Biden by her steps inside for a second straight day

and Hunter's financial lifeline, what we know about the man footing his legal bills. Nationwide phone outages, AT&T customers unable to make calls to other carriers. what we're learning about the widespread disruptions. Turning away patients, an NBC News investigation into a hospital accused of declining treatment to cancer patients when they needed it the most, claiming they didn't qualify for coverage. We hear from a patient who used to be a nurse

at that hospital and still couldn't receive care. Is this part of a bigger issue? Monster truck versus power lines, terrifying moments. A truck goes airborne, taking down wires, sending utility equipment tumbling on, spectators, parents narrowly escaping as they hold their kids. Plus, meet the Baldwin's. Actor Alex Baldwin and his family set to star on their own reality TV show? The announcement as Baldwin prepares for trial facing involuntary manslaughter charges

connected to the fatal shooting on the Rust film set. And from X to X-rated, the social media platform, once known as Twitter, changing its rules allowing porn and adult content on their site. Top story starts right now. And good evening. Tonight for the first time, President Biden signing an executive order restricting access at the southern border. The president announcing his strongest immigration action yet. But will it work, and is it even legal? Here's the president today. Republicans have left me no choice. Today I'm announcing actions to bar migrants who cross our southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum.

This action will help us gain control of our border, restore order into the process. We must face the simple truth. To protect America as a land that welcomes immigrants, we must first secure the border and secure it now. So here's what the order will do. Once illegal crossing surpassed 2,500, as you see right here, it will bar migrants from requesting asylum. The restrictions will last until they dip below 1,500 per day. And right now, the daily average of encounters is around 4,000, which means this order will go into effect immediately.

And a reminder, the border spans nearly 2,000 miles from Southern California all the way to Texas, which means the order will impact more than 300 points of entry. So there are questions tonight on whether the U.S. even has the manpower to make this a reality. Biden's executive order signals a massive shift in his political stance on immigration. The something he sharply criticized on the debate stage before becoming president. I would in fact make sure that there is, we immediately surge to the border. All those people are seeking asylum. Where a nation says if you want to flee and you're fleeing oppression, you should come.

And those who come seeking asylum, we should immediately have the capacity to absorb them, keep them safe until they can be heard. This is the first president in history of the United States America. because anybody seeking asylum, has to do it in another country. That's never happened before in America. So why the massive change? Well, here's one potential reason. Immigration is top of mind for voters.

Faced with a slew of issues, the situation at the border coming in at just number two behind inflation, according to our most recent NBC News poll. And it's a big issue, especially in an election here. This NBC News poll, finding 69% say they disapproved of how Biden has handled the border. Biden seemingly determined to tackle his major political weakness against former President Trump with just five months until the November election, leaving some wondering, is there even enough time? His opponent, former President Trump, saying this about the new executive order.

He could have done it very easily. All he had to do is say, close the border. That's the power of the presidency. Now, the courts haven't always agreed with that point and didn't when President Trump tried it. And also keep in mind, the bipartisan border bill failed twice as Republicans at the record. request of Trump rejected it. Today's move comes after a record nearly 10 million migrants have crossed into the U.S. since President Biden took office, though the number of monthly border encounters has sharply decreased from reaching record highs back in December, we should point out. It's not just the U.S. working to handle the immigration crisis. Panama's president saying he will shut down one of the world's busiest immigration routes, the Darian Gap,

and now Mexico working on the other side of the border through interdiction efforts as well. The morning NBC News spoke with a Venezuelan family who came through a port of entry seeking asylum, saying they slept on the streets in Mexico while waiting. How long were you waiting? Seven months and six days, he tells us, saying he came to the U.S. to work to feed his young family. That was Julia Ainsley, who's at the border. It's because of stories like that that the ACLU is now suing the Biden administration. That's right, the same ACLU that took on the Trump administration for its immigration policies. Everything from child separation to policy similar to what President Biden is now doing.

So what does the ACLU think about this new executive order and the major change coming from Joe Biden? Joining us now is Lee Galerned. He's deputy director of the Immigrants Rights Project with the ACLU. He led some of the biggest lawsuits against the Trump administration. Lee, we thank you so much for joining Top Story tonight. You've been the face of the ACLU when it comes to the immigration crisis, both under the Trump administration and now, under the Biden administration. Talk to me about why the ACLU is now suing the Biden administration.

Yeah, so we sued under Trump and we have to sue under Biden. We, you know, they've left us no choice. The policy from our vantage point is legally the same as what President Trump did. And so we will successfully sued under Trump, and so we think we're going to have to sue under Biden, we will bring that suit the timing to be determined. And let me explain why we think it's illegal. So it's basically that the executive can't do this without Congress. Congress has very clearly said, you may apply for asylum regardless of where you enter.

And the reason is very clear. Sometimes people can't get to a port because it's hundreds of miles away where the little child. Sometimes cartels are pushing you through at different places. Sometimes they just don't know where the port is. So what Congress said is, if you're genuinely in danger, just get to U.S. soil and we'll screen you. I want to be very clear about a few things. We are not saying everyone's entitled to asylum, but we are saying you're entitled to a screening, and that's a solemn promise we made after World War II.

This would not even give people a screening on asylum. And in your intro, you talked about the American public, and I think that's right. But I think there's a misconception about what the American public wants. I think they want something balanced in the middle. They don't want something like shutting off asylum completely. If you said to people, look, there's a family and they're being persecuted because of their religion, because they're Christian, because whatever, and they're going to be in serious danger, maybe deadly danger, would you want them to have a screening for asylum? I think most people would say yes, but they also want it to be streamlined so people are not spending years waiting for asylum and there's chaos at the board. We are all in favor of streamlining the process, but we don't want to see President Biden go to the other end that Trump did and say we're going to ban asylum completely.

I want to play a little bit more of what President Biden said today and get your take on the other end. Let's play that. Today, I'm moving past Republican obstruction and using the executive authorities available to me as president to do what I can on my own to address the border. Frankly, I would have preferred to address this issue through bipartisan legislation because that's the only way to actually get the kind of system we have now that's broken, fixed. So, Lee, you just mentioned this, right? He needs Congress. He tried. He says he tried. He couldn't get anywhere with the Republicans. He's left with no other options. Well, so it's right that Congress didn't want to take it up, and that's been a problem for years.

But what I think President Biden had is other options than completely shutting off asylum. What we would have liked to have seen is surging resources to the border and try that. Because I think as you know and been to the border many, many times, families are not actually trying to evade border agents. They walk across the border, they sit down, waiting for an officer to come up and say, when is my time to apply for asylum and be screened. So we don't need more enforcement officers. What we need are more asylum officers to screen people to move it quickly. We get that the American public wants the asylum system to work more efficiently, to move it,

so there's not chaos. That takes more asylum officers. We think the president could have sent more asylum officers there. But more importantly, we think Congress needs to allocate. even more resources to send a sawmolster. I think that's the way to do it. And I think as your reporting has shown over the years, when people are that desperate,

they're gonna leave their countries no matter what. And so the only way is, I also think that ultimately we need more legal pathways for people who wanna work. Because there are no legal pathways. I don't know a single economist now who's saying we don't need more workers in the US and more immigrant workers.

If we opened up all these legal pathways, people wouldn't be so desperate to line up at the border, and then we would have shorter lines for asylum for people who genuinely need it, and we would have people coming in through legal pathways to work, and that would be a benefit to our country. I think what the other side has done is so polarized at making people think all these families are here to do harm. They are not here to do harm.

Think about the immigrants you know. They are not fitting that narrative. And I want to ask you about that. New York City Mayor, Eric Adams, has been trying to push for those worker programs here in this city as well. But I do want to go back to what President Biden said as a candidate, and what he's doing today now in 2024, right before this election. Do you feel duped?

You know, look, the reality is a lot of things play into these situations. You think it's politics? I would say we are disappointed that the administration has taken this road because we think the policies are misguided. I think probably politics plays into every decision, every White House makes, you know, and I don't want to focus on that completely. I'm hoping that we can convince the administration of not the courts that this is misguided and illegal, and maybe the administration can pull it back or mitigate it.

I think that the Biden administration needs to hear from people and saying, yeah, we've named immigration as a big issue for us, but that's not how we wanted to go. We didn't want to go to an extreme Trump policy. We want something in the middle. There's still time for the Biden administration to mitigate it if it wants to. Lee, let me ask you something because I have covered the border for years. It's where I first met you, was down on the border during childhood. separation. And I have noticed a difference, though, when you talk to migrants, and I'm able to

talk to migrants, right? Because I speak Spanish. Right. And I'm very sensitive to this issue because I am the son of Cuban refugees. The difference I notice is that when you talk to migrants years ago, they would give you a variety of reasons of why they're coming over. Now, when I survey migrants, and it's a lot of it, are Venezuelan. And trust me, I've been in Venezuela. They have serious issues there, and they can, they should ask for asylum because of what I've seen in Venezuela. That being said, they all seek asylum. This family's coming to Venezuela. They said they can't work, they can't eat, they're seeking asylum.

If everyone's seeking asylum, doesn't that hurt your argument and what the ACLU is trying to do and saying that we need to give asylum? But if everyone's asking for asylum, is President Biden's hands not tied? So that's a fair point. And this is what I would say about two things. One is if you have people who want to work and they see no other path than to apply for asylum, that's a problem with how we've designed our immigration. system. Let's have legal pathways for people to work. But the other thing I would say is,

you're right. Not everyone has an asylum claim, but we still need screenings, because for the people we send back to real danger who really have asylum claims, it's no solace to them to say, well, lots of other people didn't have asylum, so we're going to send you back to torture or death. So we need a proper screening system, and you're absolutely right. It has to be more efficient, but we can't say because lots of people won't win, we're going to send everyone back. filing these lawsuits, explain to our viewers what happens next, right? So this executive order takes effect immediately, but it's going to be stopped pretty quickly by the courts, possibly.

If they rule like they ruled under the Trump administration, and I know the orders are a little different. Right. I mean, we're hopeful. We have to figure out the timing of the lawsuit. We haven't filed yet. We just got the rule today. We're going to go through it carefully and decide the timing of the lawsuit and where we're

going to file it. And then we hope to get quick action by the courts. and joining it. I think President Biden and his team have acknowledged that there are real doubts about the legality of it. I think they were expecting a lawsuit. We'll see. I think they tried to... Nothing's going to prevent you from filing that lawsuit. You know, unless the Biden administration pulls back, we see that we're going to have... You're going forward with the lawsuit matter what? I mean, we have no choice. We think unless the Biden administration pulls back. Where are you filing in California or New York? So we haven't decided yet. I mean, the options are

anywhere from California to D.C. We haven't decided timing, but I will certainly keep you posted on that. And then, do you think this is even possible knowing the manpower issues at the border? If this were to go into effect and say you lose in court and the executive order is the law of the land, will border officials, will this actually work? Is this feasible? So I don't think it will work in the sense that people won't still come to the border because they're so desperate. It's not as if they're going to hear about this policy and say, well, let's just take our chances with danger in our country. So they're still going to come. What I think is so troubling about this policy that hasn't got enough attention is I'm not sure how much resources

it's going to take because under normal policies you have to affirmatively ask people will you be tortured will something happen to you and so then they'll get a screening and that takes resources to implement what the Biden administration is doing which is really draconian is saying unless you affirmatively the migrant ask to be screened you're going to get no screening so they won't need asylum officers there. They're just going to push you back across the border. And so we're very worried that everyone's going to get pushed back across the border without any asylum officers ever seeing them. And here's the reality, right? If you're a Mexican immigrant, you'll go back to Mexico. But if you're Venezuelan, if you're from Africa, if you're from

Asia, there's no saying these countries are going to take you back. Right. And so the Biden administration is saying they're going to put you in Mexico. And I guess they've gotten some agreement from Mexico. And people don't know where to go in Mexico. It's very dangerous for The U.S. couldn't even house all those migrants. We've been there, right? And now they're going to try to do this in Mexico. They're going to be sleeping in the streets. They're going to be subject to cartels.

It's going to be really a nightmare. I want to put up something else that's sort of curious. This is from earlier today on the same day Biden announced his order. This is an interview with Time magazine. I want to put it up for our viewers here. It was published in it, Time writes. Biden says his only regret about lifting Trump's anti-immigration measures is that he didn't do it sooner. His goal in a second term, he says, is to finish what he started.

Isn't that a complete reversal of what we're seeing today? Yeah, I mean, I am not one of those people that would say Biden is Trump, you know, on family separation. And we're not saying that. Right, right. But this is extremely disappointing. He did promise that he would have a humane asylum system. This is not a humane asylum system. Where do you think the next step is here?

Do you think that you're successful in your lawsuit or do you think the executive order is pushed through? I think they're not looking to pull back the executive order. I think this has been in the works for a while, and they've made a decision they're going to do it. I think at this point, we probably have to rely on the courts and we'll see what happens. I would never say we're definitely going to win or lose, just being the cautious lawyer, but I will give it our best. I think there's too much at stake here. I think we are really in a sea change in America now, no asylum system, and we're diverging from the rest of the world.

I mean, we said after World War II, we would at least screen people before we send them back to danger. But what is, I know I'm running out of time here, but what's the solution? Ten million since he took office. Clearly there's a crisis. I mean, we have to have laws. We have to have borders. I know you're on the front lines of fighting for immigrants, for the right reasons, but what is the solution? So I think two things.

One is we need more legal pathways for workers. That's one thing so that everyone doesn't have to line up at the border. They come in and they contribute to the economy and the employers want it. And the second thing is we need to put more asylum officers at the border to do the the screenings. We have the resources to screen them. There is already a law in place that allows the screenings to happen very quickly. We need to do that rather than stopping the screenings. We don't need more enforcement agents because these families are not trying to escape. They are trying to apply for asylum. So I think those are the solutions we need to try.

Legal Alert from the ACLU. We thank you for coming on tonight to explain what you guys plan on doing, and we hope to keep talking to you throughout this process. Thanks. I appreciate it, Tom. All right. For more on the political fallout from President Biden's Immigration Executive Order, Let's go right to the White House and Gabe Gutierrez tonight, who joins Top Story Live. So Gabe, the Biden administration was very much expecting a legal fight over this order. You just heard what Lee said. What are your sources telling you about the lawsuit from the ACLU and what the White House plans on doing? Well, Tom, they definitely are expecting more legal challenges.

And according to a senior administration official, the Department of Justice is prepared to defend us. Tom, the official added that the administration is accustomed to being litigated from both sides of the political spectrum on immigration. yet another sign that there's no lasting solution unless Congress acts. Now, Tom, there are questions about how this changes really all that different from what the Trump administration tried to do in 2018, and the White House says that this is more targeted and it carves out more humanitarian exceptions, Tom. You know, the White House had to have known this order would face blowback from both sides of the aisle.

Republicans, unsurprisingly, right, had been critical. But how are Democrats responding to this move from Biden? Well, we've heard throughout the day, Tom, from Democrats who are, who are a furious. Look, many progressives are calling this a betrayal by the Biden administration. You just heard the ACLU say it was a disappointment. They're also calling this Democrats are some of them a throwback to the Trump years. But Tom, there are also other Democrats who think the president has little choice here, as you were just discussing. What they're really trying to do is blame Republicans who, at the urging of former President Trump, killed that bipartisan border funding bill

earlier this year, Tom. All right, Gabe Gutier's, with a lot of new reporting for us on this breaking news story tonight here on Top Story. Gabe, we thank you next tonight to the opening statements today in the trial of President Biden's son Hunter on federal gun charges. The prosecution telling jurors he lied about his drug use on a government background check to buy a gun, and they introduced evidence from his laptop. NBC's Ryan Nobles has the late details. Tonight, the prosecution kicking off their case against the son of the president with one simple message to the jury. No one is above the law. In opening our arguments, prosecutor Derek Hines, saying Hunter Biden was a user of crack and a drug addict.

He chose to lie on a government form about his drug use when he purchased a 38 caliber handgun. No one is allowed to lie on a federal form like that. Even Hunter Biden, he said. Heinz pointing to the defendant's own words in his own voice. Mainly, however, we just planted ourselves on the couch and smoked a ton of crack. Heinz playing these audio clips from Hunter Biden's memoir for the jury. By now, I possessed a new superpower, the ability to find crack in any town at any time, no matter how unfamiliar the terrain. First Lady Jill Biden, his wife, Melissa, and sister Ashley were in court, sitting together while the excerpts played, visibly shaken and embracing each other. Hunter Biden is charged with three counts related to allegedly purchasing and possessing a gun while using narcotics and faces prison time if convicted.

But defense attorney Abby Lolle telling the jury today, you will see that he is not guilty. He said that Hunter Biden did not knowingly lie on the form, arguing that during that narrow window of time, Biden was not acting like, quote, someone who was smoking crack every 20 minutes. Late today, the first prosecution witness and FBI agent testifying about Hunter Biden's laptop, telling jurors, investigators found text messages detailing his interactions with drug dealers around the time he made the gun purchase. Ryan joins us tonight from Wilmington, Delaware, outside of that courthouse. And Ryan, in full transparency for our viewers, and we just saw your report there, from what we're seeing and learning from inside the courtroom, it seems like the prosecution is not

holding back in this case. Can you tell us more about that? No, I think that's a correct assessment, Tom. You know, one of the many reasons that Hunter Biden and his legal team were hoping to get rid of this issue through a plea agreement is that they did not want to bring all these salacious details of his checkered past out into the limelight. And that's exactly what prosecutors are doing in a very open and painful way. They are detailing his very difficult battle with drugs and addiction in a way to truly demonstrate to the jury that this was a four-year-long battle that he never really recovered from until after this period of time when he would have purchased that gun. They're trying to establish that

when he checked that box, there was no way that he could have considered himself to not be an addict. And they're using his own words to demonstrate that, his own voice with the use of his audio book. So there's no doubt that it was painful and difficult for not only Hunter Biden, but members of his family. I was sitting right behind Jill Biden and Ashley Biden, his wife, Melissa. It was a very difficult thing for them to have to deal with in the courtroom today, Tom. Yeah. And speaking of Hunter's wife, Melissa, can you tell us about an interaction that happened between her and a former aide to president, I should say, an aid to former President Trump? Yeah, that aid is a gentleman by the name of Garrett Ziegler, who actually has written

extensively in the right-wing internet about the laptop that Hunter Biden left at a repair shop. He was in the courtroom today, and I was there as he was walking back into the court, and Melissa Cohen Biden approached him and yelled at him, asked him what he was doing there, and even accused him of being a Nazi. It was a pretty dramatic moment. Then inside the courtroom, as Ziegler was sitting there, she walked by Ziegler and stared him down before sitting next to the First Lady.

Just one of the many different facets of this trial that have to be difficult for the Biden family to have to deal with. Obviously, Hunter Biden has become a political pawn in many respects, even though this case really has nothing to do with his father and his re-election bed, Republicans would like to make it so. All right, Ryan Nobles, with what is starting out

to be a very, very, very, interesting trial. Okay, Ryan, we appreciate that. And there is one member of Hunter Biden's support system that has been heavily scrutinized. Entertainment lawyer Kevin Morris has been in court supporting Hunter in this trial and a longtime benefactor to the President's son. NBC News reporting back in January that Morris had loaned Hunter Biden $6.5 million and his involvement with the President's son continues to draw growing questions. NBC News senior investigative producer Sarah Fitzpatrick joins Top Story Tonight Live. So Sarah, first, explain to our viewers. who Kevin Morris is, how we met Hunter Biden,

and what we know about why he started helping him with so much money. Absolutely. So Kevin Morris is a really fascinating and colorful character. He's well known in Hollywood for producing documentary films, for being a novelist, for helping kind of put together large deals for the TV and other entertainment agency. He's best known for negotiating this massive, massive deal with the, South Park creators that is reportedly worth about $1.4 billion in kind of the totality of

all of its arrangements. So he's known as a kind of Hollywood mover and shaker and actor and someone who can kind of develop concepts and ideas and make them very profitable. He first met Hunter Biden in December of 2019 at a fundraiser. They were introduced by a mutual friend. And they later met, I think, within a day or two, just the two of them sitting down with yellow legal pads. And it's been described to me as kind of a friendship at first sight, that they were kind of kindred spirits who recognized in each other a common struggle with sobriety from alcohol. And Kevin kind of from that day forward set out to help Hunter Biden as best he can, both financially, legally, and emotionally. They lean on each other

quite a bit. And then, yeah, Sarah, we have reporting, as I mentioned, that he lent him over $6 million. What has that gone towards so far? So we've reported that that money has gone towards loans to Hunter Biden that has then been used to pay much of the back taxes that Hunter did not submit when he was in the depths of his addiction and that he has been charged in in a separate case, not the case that he is on trial for today, but a case that is expected to go to trial later in the summer. So it's been used to pay back the IRS, as well as the extensive, extensive legal bills that Hunter has for defending these criminal cases, a host of civil cases that he's been facing, including

child support, as well as his appearances in front of Congress, which have been extensive. Yeah, and then so finally, I want to ask you, you know, you hear about this sort of donations and their loans from what we understand that that may have to be paid back with interest. I understand that there's been reports out there. There are members of the Biden family, maybe even the White House. that don't necessarily like this man or his relationship with Hunter Biden. Do we know why? So I think you have to be clear about who that is and kind of what they're referring to.

I will just wait one moment. There's a car going by. So Hunter Biden has a very, very close circle of family and friends that are around him. And Kevin Morris is absolutely a close part of that circle. You saw him in court today. I sat right behind him. He was sitting right next to Ashley Biden, who was sitting next to the First Lady, and he was comforting them throughout some of the really dramatic testimony. So he is absolutely embraced by the Biden family and the close friends that Hunter has had throughout his life. They're, you know, really tight, quite tight and with Kevin. However, we have reported that Kevin's style and his proposed kind of plan of attack for Hunter on a legal and a kind of policy.

relations front has drawn a lot of kind of hesitation, discouragement from senior advisors within the White House who felt that it was not an effective strategy and could potentially put the president at risk. All right, Sarah Fitzpatrick for us tonight here. Sarah, we appreciate all your reporting. Still ahead tonight, did you have trouble making calls today? Well, you're not alone. What two of the biggest U.S. cell carriers are saying about ongoing network issues that's impacting

customers nationwide? Plus, major flooding in Oklahoma, as more than 20 million are under alert for heavy rain, large hail, and possible tornadoes we have the track. And the shocking video is showing a monster truck. Look at this colliding with a power line, sending a utility pole crashing onto spectators, the condition of those on the ground. Stay with us. Okay, we're back down with the developing story. Some AT&T and Verizon customers, unable to make calls. calls. The company is saying a, quote, network issue is affecting calls between the carriers. The FCC says it's now looking into the issue. So I want to bring in NBC News Business and Data Correspondent, Brian, I know there's a lot we don't know, but tell our viewers what we do know

so far. And it's still ongoing right now, Tom. And what we know is that there have been apparently some issues with AT&T and Verizon customers trying to reach users on other networks. Now, AT&T says that they have been working with Verizon, which suggests it's just an AT&T and Verizon issue. T-Mobile has told NBC News that they're not experiencing issues. We're really looking at downdetector.com. This is basically a third-party source of people can report issues for any sort of numbers on this. And what we saw was about an hour ago. It was about 5,000 total issues with AT&T and Verizon customers. But this is across the country. Some of the big cities you can see on the map ahead of you are largely affected. But again, we don't have a resolution. And we also don't

have a reason for this at this time, Tom, for why this might be happening. It appears to just be impacting calls, and we'll have to see whether or not that gets resolved. It happened to me today. It's a firm reminder of how dependent we are on our cell phones, and it's kind of crazy when you think about it, if cell phone coverage ever goes out. What's happening with 911 calls? Yeah, and again, we have to remember there have been recent issues just a few weeks ago and months ago where there were problems with cell phones, in some cases, even contacting

emergency services. Now, AT&T has told NBC News that they are not seeing any interruptions with ability to access 911 services. However, we have seen some reporting from some localities around the country as of earlier this afternoon that suggested there may have been some 911 problem. AT&T tells NBC News that there was an alert that went out there, going out to correct and say that any sort of 911 services that were alerted to any possible issues were sent out in error, Tom. So again, there's some communication related confusion as a result of what happened this afternoon. But again, broadly speaking, it appears to just be impacting cell services, and AT&T says that 911 services are not interrupted.

gets better and not worse. All right, Brian, we appreciate that update. We want to go to the forecast now, the 24 million people under severe weather risk tonight. In more Oklahoma, major flooding forcing crews to rescue people from their homes. Look at that. That flooding threat now stretching from Texas to Louisiana, bringing with it possibly large hail, strong winds, and tornadoes. Let's get right over to NBC News meteorologist Bill Caron's. Bill, this is not let up there in that part of the country. Yeah, night after night, Oklahoma, North Texas, and that's the area of greatest concern from Oklahoma City deck to Dallas and the northeast Texas. The ground is super saturated. Another round of thunderstorms are expected late tonight into tomorrow, and that's when we're

going to expect to see flash flooding, large hail, and damaging wind. The trees are falling down because the roots aren't holding as well as they normally would with solid soils. That's another issue. So we have numerous severe thunderstorm watches that are up right now, one in Kansas. We're waiting for these storms to fire up in Oklahoma. This should happen as we get closer to 10 p.m. or midnight. And the other area of concern, we've got really strong storms knocking on the door near New Orleans. And I just noticed a new tornado warning now, just in areas north of I-10 and extreme southwestern portions of Mississippi here. So this is the New Orleans area under a severe thunderstorm warning. And this to the north, that's Picatoon

right here. Tornado warning fuse. Your sirens are going off. Everyone's getting to their safe room. And Tom, as you mentioned, the flash flood risk is in this maroon color right through the middle of the night. Dangerous night tonight, Oklahoma, into Texas. Okay, we're going to have to check back with you tomorrow and later tonight. If anything else happens. Bill, we appreciate it. When we come back in NBC News investigation, a New Mexico hospital accused of turning away cancer patients over their

insurance coverage. Our team speaks to several of those patients who say they were left with nowhere else to go. Stay with us. We're back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with the monster truck stunt in Maine injuring several people. The video posted to social media showing the

truck going over a jump and getting stuck in a power line. Both utility poles brought down, including one that crashed into the crowd of spectators. Two people were hospitalized but are expected to be okay. Several others were treated for minor injuries on the scene. Toyota in hot water for cheating on collision tests. The Japanese auto giant suspending production on three models after an investigation found they falsified test results for airbag inflation, rear seat damage, and engine power, the company apologizing but saying that it does not affect safety of vehicles already on the roads. And actor Alec Baldwin and his wife announcing a new reality show about their life with seven

kids, Baldwin posting a video on Instagram, sharing that the series currently titled The Baldwin's is slated to begin on TLC in 2025. The announcement coming as Baldwin faces manslaughter charges for the shooting death of Russ cinematographer Helena Hutchins, Involuntary Manslaughter. The trial is set to begin next month. Now to an NBC News investigation to the concerning allegations against the hospital in New Mexico. Our team speaking with a dozen cancer patients who say they've been denied care from the only treatment center in their community. NBC's Valerie Castro traveled to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and spoke with patients who say the hospital turn its back on them.

For 30 years, Barbara Corral dedicated her life to nursing. It's my calling. It's why God put me here. During six of those years, she found a second home at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We were a family. You know, all the nurses I worked with on the floor, we were a close team, and we took care of each other. She eventually left the hospital for another job, but as life would have it, two years ago, she would return, diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer. My own body betrayed me, basically. Her doctor ordering radiation as the best course of treatment, so she turned. turned to MMC, which prides itself on being the only nationally accredited cancer program in the region,

and it's the only radiation provider for miles. The doctor called back and he said, well, they won't treat you. And I said, why? Well, they don't take your insurance. Corral says she was insured through True Health, New Mexico, paying $800 a month for coverage. But she says the hospital she'd worked at for years turned her away when she needed them most. How did you feel? I felt betrayed. I was heartbroken. I was scared because what was I going to do now? Where was I going to go get treatment if I couldn't do it here in my own hometown?

Corral isn't alone. An NBC News investigation found a dozen other cancer patients who reported experiencing similar treatment, denied care if they didn't have insurance or were covered by a provider that MMC told them it didn't accept. Some say they were told they could get treatment if they made costly upfront payments. know what we don't know what we have to be able to receive the money. Veronica Hernandez, a two-time breast cancer survivor, wife and mother to two special needs children, says the hospital turned her down for not having insurance, and even refused her offer to pay cash for a consultation. I felt so desperated and I said to the muchash, if I don't have a security, me going to let me go to

I said, I said, yes, we're going to let me and you're going to mourn. Yoli Diaz runs Care Las Cruces, a non-profit that provides financial assistance to cancer patients, including Barbara and Veronica. People are worth more than money. What is the most common complaint that you hear? The most common is that they won't give them an appointment

because they don't have health insurance. Les Cruces is part of Donia Ana County, the region Memorial Medical Serves, where the most recent census shows 23% of residents live in poverty. That's double the nationwide rate. Almost 70% of the population is Hispanic. 15% have no health insurance. MMC opened in the 1950s and for decades operated as a non-profit facility until 2004, when a for-profit company later acquired by LifePoint Health took over, signing a 40-year lease with the city and county. Under its lease agreement, MMC is required to continue providing care to those unable to pay the full cost of health care services rendered to them. Hospital documents obtained by NBC News show its written indigent care policy covered cancer treatments for years, but that changed after it was bought by a New York private equity firm, Apollo Global Management. That is our priority.

John Harris, the hospital CEO, declined requests for an interview. A LifePoint spokesperson telling NBC News, it's, quote, very rare that it can't help, uninsured or underinsured people qualify for financial assistance, also disputing that they've turned people away. Adding any changes to policies or procedures have always been done in close partnership with local government and community leaders to ensure compliance with the terms of the lease. But Diaz is not convinced. I am concerned for sick residents who live here, and I'm disappointed that access to needed health care does not seem to be a priority. She's been vocal about the issue since 2021, blaming not just the hospital.

It's not leaving up to the lease because also the county's not, in my opinion, and the city, because they're both lesseys. They're not living up to the lease either. Becky Corrin, a Las Cruces City Council member elected after the lease agreement was already in place, says local leaders have called for transparency from MMC. There are a few things that are outlined in the lease, including monthly reports about where the money is going and who's being cared for. that we haven't seen from Memorial Medical. And I think that would be one of the first steps

to understanding what all is going on here. What efforts have been made to hold them accountable and what has the reaction been from them? So we've asked them to come to several meetings. Those meetings almost universally, a memorial chooses not to come. MMC's own marketing materials say, delivering care to all of our neighbors,

regardless of their ability to pay, is foundational to our mission and our commitment to our community. Corral would end up traveling more than 200 miles from home for treatment. Today, she's in remission, but still fighting. I'm tired, like exhausted. How do you feel about Memorial now? I could be dying and I wouldn't go there.

I would never tell anybody to go to Memorial if they were sick. Never in a million years. All right, Valerie Castro joins us now in studio. So Valerie, your report focuses specifically on that one hospital in New Mexico. hospital in New Mexico. But LifePoint, the company you profile there, they have other hospitals. Are there other concerns beyond Memorial Medical? There are more concerns, and they've actually caught the attention of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. LifePoint operates the largest chain of rural hospitals in the country in at least 16 different states. But the company and the private

equity firm that owns it, Apollo Global, are named in two Senate inquiries, looking into how these firms manage emergency room departments and patient care. But private equity firms can continue to take over these community hospitals. And Tom, according to an NBC news estimate, the companies that they own, like LifePoint, they manage staff or operate more than 40% of emergency rooms across the U.S. All right, an important story.

I know you and the investigative team are going to stay on top of it. Valerie, thank you. Coming up, the largest election in history. Get this, more than 600 million people in India, casting their ballots despite stifling heat. But the current prime minister, not getting the clear victory he wanted.

We're going to explain that. Our team on the ground in New Delhi as the results are still being counted. That's next. With the results still coming in tonight from the largest election in history, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi looking poised to win a third term in office, but this is not the dominant victory he and his supporters were expecting. NBC's Janice Mackie Freyer is in New Delhi tonight for us with the latest. The celebration went on as planned with drums,

dancing and a band. Setting aside the fact, this was not the landslide victory predicted for Narendra Modi's BJP party. At the time the Indian Prime Minister appeared for supporters, election results were sobering, pointing to a third term for Modi, but not a majority. In his speech, Modi thanked the people of India and promised a new chapter for the country. Norendra Modi and the BJP were always expected to win. The surprise here, that's stronger showing by the opposition to make this election competitive.

Opposition parties, led by Raul Gandhi's Congress Party, rejoiced at pulling off such an upset. Gandhi called it a fight for India's constitution, saying the poorest of this country have done this. The largest election in world history, a record 642 million voters, enduring a heap wave so punishing, officials say at least 30 election workers, died of heat stroke. In Varanasi, the Hindu holy city, that is Modi's constituency, voters said they worry about jobs and inflation. Employment, especially, and the influence on bad influence on youth because of the social media and all. At one polling station, a debate escalated.

Between Tasneem Fata and a man who didn't agree with her views on unity or jobs. Modi is incredibly popular. His approval rating over 70 percent, but critics say his nationalist politics have divided the country. His speeches ramping up rhetoric against minorities, especially India's Muslims. He's used his cult of personality very effectively to make himself present and visible in the eyes of the voter always. It is his picture that you see when you receive benefits from the government. Modi must now rely on the goodwill of coalition partners in order to form a government for his historic third term. The opposition here calling it democracy's victory that he will go into it weaker.

Janice Mackey Freyer joins Top Story tonight from New Delhi. So, Janice, two questions. First, what can America expect from a third term with Modi? And the second question is I know AI played a big role in this election. Explain to our viewers how. Well, on your first question, U.S. India relations are not quite an alliance, but the relations are good, they're stable, they're expected to grow, as the Biden administration looks to India to help balance China's influence in the region, and as more American companies grow manufacturing here, India has become more of a global player under Modi, and that is due to its growing economy. But he has domestic issues that he's going to face in this third term. The biggest complication is this lack of a majority. The BJP is no longer the single dominant

political power here, and that's not something Modi has experienced yet as leader. On your question of AI, that was the other defining factor of this election process, just how much money was being spent not only on digital ads, but deep fakes. Not always for malicious purposes, in a lot of cases, low-level politicians were using it to speak different languages to be able to communicate with their constituents. We kept an eye on this trend because AI has been showing up in elections all around the world, and this is a very consequential year for elections. And of course, it all serves as a big warning sign for what could be ahead for voters in the U.S. ahead of November. Tom?

Janice Mackie Freyer for us again from New Delhi. Janice, we thank you for that. And we continue our international news tonight here in Top Story. Time now for Global Watch. South Korea says it's suspending a 2018 military agreement with North Korea. South Korea says the move is in response to hundreds of trash balloons sent into the country by North Korea, suspending the agreement paving the way for the South to conduct military training along their border. A major cyber attack impacting hospitals across London. Officials say the ransomware attack targeted a pathology partner of the UK's National Health Service. Several hospitals in the capitals say blood transfusions have been heavily affected, which has resulted in procedures

being canceled or redirected. Pathology results are also now delayed. The attack is still under investigation. And climate change now displacing hundreds of families in Panama. Video shows residents evacuating the tiny Panamanian island of Gardi Sujdob, due to rising sea levels, threatening homes. More than 1,300 indigenous people will be relocated to the mainland. Panamanian authorities say this is Latin America's first displacement due to climate change, but warning it will not be the last. Okay, when we come back from X to X-rated, the social media This site formerly known as Twitter announcing a new policy change that will allow users to share pornography. What Elon Musk is saying about the update, and could this hurt or help the app's brand?

That's next. All right, we're back now with the social media policy getting the attention of some users. Elon Musk's X has updated a policy that now formally allows pornography on the site. X saying this, we believe that users should be able to create, distribute, and consume material related to sexual themes, as long as it is consensually produced and distributed. X is the only leading social networking site that allows users to share nudity or sexual behavior, and this comes at a time when these companies are facing major pressure to protect children and young people from the risks of social media. I want to bring in tonight Alexander Connell, who's a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance,

who covers the business of media and entertainment, and Max Chafkin, he's a features editor and tech reporter for Bloomberg Business Week. We thank you guys both for being here. So, Max, explain to our viewers what exactly is happening here on Twitter. I mean, is porno now going to be allowed on X? So, you know, a lot of people don't know this, but porn has always basically been on X. It's been one of the most permissive platforms, as you're saying, besides Tumblr, which for a time also had pornography. What's different is the explicit nature of the policy. What X is trying to do is separate, you know, what they're thinking of is, like, legitimate pornography from stuff that's illegal.

And I'll make it a little bit easier to filter it out and, you know, keep it away from Twitter. But when you say it's always been on Twitter. I mean, I can remember when Twitter came out, you know, when we used it a lot as journalists for several years. I don't remember seeing it. Sometimes images would slip in here and there, but it didn't feel like it was very blatant. So the change that's happened actually has to do with more with spam. So like porn spam. You're talking about an experience I think is familiar to anyone who's using Twitter on the regular now, X, I guess it's called now,

which is that you're going through it and all of a sudden there will be porn just in your feed. That's the result of a bunch of different things. The main thing is that Elon Musk, when he took over Twitter, let go of a huge percentage of the people who were doing the work to filter that stuff out. Alexander, explain how this is going to work for people that are still using X. We have an image that we want to put up for our viewers that they may see if they use X on their timeline. It kind of reminds me sort of what it looks like when you see a violent video, right?

It's going to give you some kind of warning sign. It may look like this. Is this how they plan on protecting people? And then we're children? Well, not that children are on X. I also want to be clear about that. I don't know a lot of kids on X, but... Right.

Well, as we've been saying, this pretty much makes the unofficial official, but there are a few caveats here when it comes to this content. Number one, all adult content must be consensual. Number two, as you were saying, there must have that one-time warning before a user can go and view that content. And number three, no minors of any kind. And if you're under the age of 18 or you do not have your age listed on your account, you cannot view that post.

It's the same rules and restrictions for violent content. X also added that any sexual violence, anything that's too gory, too excessive, that's a no-no as well. And it comes at a time when X is really trying to brand itself as this platform for the people, where people can come together and have conversations and that they should have the freedom to decide whether or not they want to view that type of content. Okay, let's get real here, Max. So X, right, and Elon Musk, he's underwater with X. He paid a very big number for it.

It is not worth that anymore, according to Wall Street. So my question to you is, is this a financial play by making the unofficial official and going out there announcing it? It's not clear. You know, there are a couple of different things going on here. As I said, one thing is they're trying to fight spam. Another thing is there is activity, you know, in Congress. There are people who want tech companies to do more to protect kids. And the last thing is that Elon Musk has made pretty clear that he does not care about advertisers.

He wants to have a business that involves taking money from users. That's why he changed the whole blue check system. And you could imagine a situation where being friendly or to porn providers would kind of work with that business model, whereas it doesn't with advertising. I mean, the reason Facebook doesn't allow pornography, the reason all these social media companies restrict it is because advertisers don't like it. They do not want their content next to this. Now, if you give up advertising as a business model, that allows you arguably to do these other things. I will say, I don't think there are going to be a lot of debt holders. excited about this.

But it has to get, at some point, they have to start making more money again. No ads and people are still using it for free. Where do they start making money? Well, so I think the plan is, to the extent that there is a plan, yes, AI training. So Elon Musk has this other company, XAI, the bot that it runs is called GROC, very similar to chat GPT. And you could sort of squint and see a world where that business, XAI, which is trained against Twitter, becomes worth a lot of money.

In fact, on paper, you could argue that this company, XAI, is actually worth more right now than Twitter. But 20% of the Twitter users, or even less than that, put out 80% or 90% of the tweet. So it's like you wonder about this AI chatbot, how much information is going to have and how diversified. It's going to be, Alexander, back to you. Is Elon Musk essentially making Twitter? Because he ever X, he wanted X to be a lot of things, right? At one point, a paying platform, some type of digital bank. Is he essentially making X the Internet?

because porn exists on the internet, so why shouldn't it exist on X? Right, and it seems like he's going after marginalized groups, perhaps content creators that were kicked off other social media sites are banned from posting that type of content on those sites. It's interesting because already some X users are weighing in on this and saying it's turning X into an OnlyFans, and that could maybe be employed by Elon Musk. Perhaps he wants to create a business subsidiary of X and compete with OnlyFans.

And like you were saying, the fact that we are seeing advertising, advertisers flee the platform due to the controversial practices of X, and really the controversial comments of Elon Musk, this could be another opportunity to maybe potentially make money. Is this a weird play, right? Because as we mentioned earlier, and you mentioned, Meta, Instagram, they're thinking about younger users, they're thinking about kids, so they're trying to make things as safe as possible. At least they say that this is going in the complete different direction. But listen, disruption works in tech, so is this a smart play? I mean, look, Elon Musk, if you had Elon Musk here and you said, what he would say is these

policies actually protect users because they make it easier to filter pornography from from normal content. That said, I mean, it's pretty clear that Elon Musk has not moved Twitter in a direction that's more sort of like what you might think of his family friendly. I mean, even his own tweets are full of, you know, very edgy material stuff that people might find uncomfortable. And I think, honestly, there's just attention here. Elon Musk is going to be Elon Musk. He's got much bigger fish to fry. Tesla worth many, many more billions of dollars than Twitter. So on some level, I just don't think he totally cares whether this is good business. Max and Alexander, we thank you so much. And if you use Twitter at work, X at work, make sure you know about these new

policies. All right, we thank you so much for watching Top Story. Tonight, I'm Tom Yamis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.