Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Episode Date: May 17, 2023

American cities struggle to house migrants as thousands more cross the border following the expiration of Title 42, outrage in San Francisco after the DA there declines to prosecute a Walgreens security guard who shot and killed a shoplifter after a struggle in the store, a missing girl found after six years with the help of Netflix and Peacock docu-series, Ellison Barber speaks to a military unit collecting the bodies of the dead in eastern Ukraine, and the Tony Awards will go on despite a crippling writers’ strike in Hollywood.

Tonight, beyond the border, the new front line in the immigration crisis, cities struggling to keep up with the surge. Tens of thousands of migrants processed at the border this week, then released into the U.S. as they wait for their day in court. Authorities scrambling to find space in cities like Denver, Chicago, and New York, where school gyms are now being turned into shelters. Many parents furious over that decision, plus homeless veterans pushed out of housing to make room. Developing at this hour, police identifying the gunmen who went on a deadly rampage in New Mexico. Video showing the moment he was taken down by police. Authorities now revealing that shooter was a high school senior scheduled to graduate today. What were learning about his past and the three victims, two of them, a mother and daughter pair,

death over shoplifting in a city where it's out of control. Newly released surveillance video showing a Walgreens security guard struggling with a shoplifter before pulling out a gun and firing a fatal shot. That guard telling San Francisco police, the man had threatened to stab him, why the DA says she decided not to file charges and why protesters are now furious. Elon Musk exclusive, the billionaire entrepreneur,

sitting down with CNBC moments ago, what he's saying in his first major interview since stepping down as CEO of Twitter. The Little League Twister, a dust devil nearly sweeping up a catcher in the middle of a game, the ump who stepped in with the play of the day. Plus, Netflix mystery solved,

a girl who disappeared more than six years ago and became the focus of two true crime series spotted by a viewer who recognized her what that girl's mother has now been charged with. And the show must go on. The major announcement from the Tony Awards, how they're planning to put on a ceremony despite that rider's strike

that has grinded Hollywood to a halt. Top story starts right now. And good evening. We thank you for joining us on this Tuesday night. We are back from our reporting on the southern border. But tonight, the immigration crisis in this country is far from over. Masses of migrants making their way through Mexico and into the U.S. Now that Title 42, a COVID-era border restriction has been lifted. 3,700 illegal border crossings reported in the last 24 hours. A huge number, but far, smaller than the record-breaking crowds we saw firsthand last week with back-to-back days of more than 11,000 crossings. But now a new frontier of this crisis is emerging as cities across

the country try to find the money, the space, and the way to house tens of thousands of migrants making their way north. Parents and some children in New York City protesting a new plan to turn the gyms at their schools into shelters. We've got team coverage of this coast-to-coast issue. But we begin first with NBC National Correspondent Miguel Almagher. Tonight outside this fortified hotel turned migrant shelter in San Diego, we met the asylum seekers who just gained entry into the U.S., like 20-year-old Michael Luna, escaping street violence in Colombia, headed to Denver with everything he owns on his back. My life was in danger.

I had to come, he says. Tonight, the number of illegal border crossings declining. again. Just over 3,700 on Monday, according to two DHS officials. While newly released court documents show over 6,400 migrants were released into the U.S. last Thursday and Friday with no court dates and no way to keep tabs on them. That program now blocked by a federal court. The Biden administration is appealing and says all migrants released into the U.S. are vetted. Miguel joins us tonight from San Diego. Miguel, do officials explain? another large influx of migrants at the border in the immediate future now that there's a new

policy in place? Well, Tom, the bottom line is nobody really knows. We've seen those numbers, as you mentioned, kind of dropped down. You know, last week this time, there was 10, 11,000 migrants who were caught trying to cross the border. That number dipped down to the low 4,000s in recent days, and the number continues on this downward cycle. But it's unclear if that number will stay that low or if there'll be another influx of migrants who arrive here. Officials tell us it's simply a waiting game that every day they're sitting out here at the border waiting to see what kind of influx they'll face next, Tom. Yeah, it's the big unknown. Okay, Miguel leading us off tonight with the recent influx of migrants in many cities across the country. Controversity

here in New York with how the city is handling the rush. A plan to house migrants in public school gyms causing outrage among parents, with some even saying they're pulling their kids out of school. Here's NBC's Gabe Gutierrez. in New York City is escalating. After new protests this morning by parents and children to the city's potential plan to house asylum seekers in school gyms. I sad. I was crying.

He hurts to see that, you know? No, I do not feel safe having my kids in his school. I am terrified because as a nation, like we're so worried with everything that's going on in schools with mass shootings and everything. Now we have something else to worry about. And it's not only this school. And safety is first. Parents up before sunrise protesting at another public school in Brooklyn.

Here we are because we don't want this to happen. Mayor Eric Adams says he's looking at migrants using 20 freestanding gyms as short-term shelters until they find better housing. And they would not have access to the schools. It is not a permanent site. It is an overflow site more so than it is anything else. But some parents are furious. When you heard of this potential plan, what you think? I think it was absurd. I think it was, I have no words. It's not, I think that there shouldn't be on school grounds, anywhere but not school grounds.

Adams, who has blasted the Biden administration before for not helping enough with the migrant influx, is now stressing that it's expected to cost city taxpayers more than $4 billion by next year. None of us are comfortable would have to, having to take these drastic steps. But I could not have been more clear. for the last few years, for the last few months of what we are facing. It's all happening as the city faces pressure to expand its overwhelmed shelter system, with people arriving on buses and planes from border states like Texas. The crisis is not when the buses come in. The crisis is when you have people sitting in shelters and in hotel rooms with no place to go, no work, no way to get around the city.

The mayor is also announcing that the historic Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan will soon house migrants, too. It's been vacant for more than two years and has as many as a thousand rooms. That's in addition to several other hotels across the city, including this one, just steps from Times Square. I came for the purpose of giving my son a better life, this man from Venezuela told us.

How long do you expect to be here? How long do you expect to be here? How time is to stay up a little more money to be able to find another place to go to. She's already lived here, for four months. All right, Gabe Gutierrez joins us tonight from outside PS-17 in Brooklyn. Gabe, I've got to imagine the parents there are hoping to get some more information from school

administrators. What are you hearing? Oh, hey there, Tom. Well, these parents showed up this afternoon, and they were hoping to meet with school administrators. They ended up talking with them over Zoom, and they just learned that there are 71 cots set up in this gym. Right now, there are no migrants here, unclear when they will arrive. But the parents are told. they will get one hour's notice, just one hour's notice, Tom. So as you can imagine, these parents are not happy. They say they plan to be back out here again tomorrow morning to protest, Tom.

Yeah, and on top of that, you know, what we're seeing in New York City is sort of a spillover effect, if you will, right? What's happening in the city is having ripple effects in the suburbs as well. And Orange County executive telling NBC News homeless veterans were pushed out of a hotel there to make way for migrants. Now the county is suing the city. Where does that litigation stand? Well, there are several lawsuits now, Tom, not just in Orange County, but also in nearby Rockland County. It's this bitter fight now between the suburbs and Mayor Eric Adams here in New York City. Yes, Orange County did receive some migrants that arrived by buses last week.

They've since filed a lawsuit, so this will all play out in court in Rockland County where we visited last week. The lawsuit kicked in there, and they have yet to receive any migrants. But this, of course, Tom, is going to be an ongoing issue. It's going to play out over the next several weeks in court. Orange County executives and officials, again, trying to prevent those migrants from getting inside those hotels. They've sued not just New York officials, but also the hotels themselves, Tom. Yeah, a lot of concerned parents out there, but city officials apparently have run out of space. All right, Gabe, thanks for that.

For more now on what is happening at the border, I want to bring in Art del Cueto. He's a Border Patrol agent that serves as vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, representing 17,000 Border Patrol agents and support staff. Agent, thanks so much for joining us. I really do appreciate that. I understand you've been with Border Patrol for two decades, and you have a deep understanding of what's happening at the border. So how has the end of Title 42 impacted the work of you and your colleagues?

So listen, even though the numbers they're showing that, you know, they weren't what they expected to come, it's still well over the number that Secretary Johnson, who was the DHS Secretary and the Obama had said, Anytime they go over 1,000, what the problem is they start moving resources from the border, agents that should be guarding the line, they start putting them in the processing centers, they have to help with the transport. What that causes is it causes gaps on the different areas of the border, gaps that are exposed

and the drug cartels are the ones that take advantage of that so they can continue bringing drugs into the United States. It's a domino effect. So people just talk about the immigration side, but there's a lot of issues. Right, you bring up a good point, right? That's saying any number over 1,000 is still very difficult. for the resources we have. Are you hearing from your agents that they're either overworked

or they're stretched-to-thing or are they able to maintain what's happening right now? Well, I mean, obviously they're overworked and, you know, when you're seeing a bunch of these agents that are having to be put in the processing centers, they're doing the job that, you know, they really didn't sign up for.

And it's frustrating for them because when they're apprehending these individuals, these individuals themselves are letting them know, hey, look, we're coming across now. We know we're going to get released. And at the same time, they're hearing, you know, radio traffic or censor traffic knowing that other groups are coming across, not knowing what those other groups are that are coming in other areas. What's your sense of why the numbers, though, have dropped? Do you get a sense that the word got out to either coyotes, the word got out to either migrants, or everyone just sort of rushed towards the border and they were processed and sort of they're heading to the shelters all throughout America?

Well, the people that are being arrested and turning themselves in, they themselves are saying that, you know, a lot of these groups are being metered by, you know, the Mexican government right on the border. And it's apparent when you start seeing the groups that are still gathered near the line and they're not crossing, there has to be a reason why they're not crossing, right? Obviously, in police work, we call that a clue. And so they're not coming across, but those that are coming across are very much vocal. And they're saying, look, they're being metered by, you know, the officials on the Mexican side. Wait, Agent Del Queto explain that to us, because maybe some of our viewers, and include myself, you're saying they're being metered? Is that the word you're using? Correct, yeah. So they're the ones that will control the flow of who's coming in and at what numbers they're coming in.

So, you know, some will come across it sometimes, and the rest will be waiting, and, you know, they're not releasing all the individuals at the same time and allowing them to come into the U.S. And who are you saying is doing that? The coyotes or the Mexican government? I'm not saying it. The people that we're arresting are saying that it's, you know, officials on the Mexican side are doing. in that. I hear you. Agent, though, Quanto, I would like to bring up a piece of reporting. I'd like to bring up a piece of reporting from our Julia Ainsley, who covers immigration for us. This is the lead graph of her story up on NBCNews.com right now. It says the Border Patrol has processed and released more than 6,413 migrants into the U.S. without court dates or the ability to track them

since early Thursday. And 2,576 of those were released after a judge ordered it to stop the practice the next day. You know, Agent, I got to ask you, I mean, you have more than 6,000 migrants who were released without a court date. From the stats we have, 90% of immigrants actually show up for their court dates, right? A lot of people don't know that. But what about these people without court dates? And why would that, why did that ever happen in the United States? No, so they're overwhelmed. You'd have to ask the agency exactly how many they're releasing. You know, I wouldn't have that data. But I can tell you that, you know, a lot of these individuals, they're showing up to their first court date, and they show up because they realize that when they show up,

they continue to get that documentation so they can be able to still get, you know, some kind of resources here in the United States. But a lot of these court dates that they're being given to a lot of these individuals are several years away. So, you know, it's still up in the air whether they're going to show up to their court date or not on that, on those instances. You know, Agent, I was at the border last week. There were thousands outside of shelters, right, in El Paso. They were outside the border wall in Juarez. NBC News has reported that migrants were rapidly released. Now, that phrase comes from sources within DHS. Did this have to be done because the detention centers and the shelters were getting overwhelmed? I mean, was there no other strategy

besides let them in so there's not a humanitarian crisis and release them because we have nowhere else to put them? So that would be operational again, you know, that that's something that the agency would know. What I can tell you is this crisis could end if they had immigration judges there at the border and they detained these people instead of releasing them. And actually look and see which asylum claims or real asylum claims. I am 100% pro-immigration. I can tell you that. You know, and I know people will say, hey, they come down to the border. They've seen the issues. I grew up on the border. I was raised on the border and I've lived through my entire life. So I can tell you right now, the crisis that we're seeing on the border

is not something that we've ever seen before. And when you see individuals that are coming into the United States and you ask them directly why they're choosing to come now. And, you know, their answer to us is, look, the reason we're coming now is because the administration right now said it's okay to come across. We're going to get released. Message has gone to a lot of countries knowing that if they come across and they say asylum, they will get released. They'll continue to do so. Like I said, I'm pro-immigration. It needs to be done the right way. And the way they do it is detain individuals, go down there and see which cases are real cases and approve those that are and do not approve those that aren't. Agent, you know, I know your union sometimes has been

at odds with the Biden administration. Do you give the president any credit, though? Because as we mentioned earlier, the numbers may not be perfect, but they're definitely trend. downward? They're still not where they should be, and they're way above what is sustainable. It's over 1,000 a day is what they're apprehending. And it's not a fact of giving credit to somebody or being against somebody. The right thing is the right thing to do. And I can tell you right now that the agents are overworked.

They're seeing the system, and they know that it could end today if the administration had the political will to put the right immigration judges down on the line. the asylum officers and detain these people. They've created this magnet, and it's not about putting blame on someone, but I can tell you directly, the first day that this administration took over, the chaos already began. Okay, Agent El Quetta, I'll let you have the final word there. We appreciate your time here on Top Story. Now to the firestorm brewing in San Francisco over a fatal shooting caught on surveillance

video, the district attorney there, declining to prosecute a Walgreen security guard who shot and killed the shoplifter, who police say it was openly stealing throughout the store. growing in the city tonight over the DA's decision. Valerie Castro has the latest. Tonight, the shooting death of a suspected shoplifter captured on store surveillance cameras leading to mounting protests and outrage in San Francisco. Say here to me! Banko Brown! The district attorney announcing the Walgreen Security Guard who pulled the trigger

will not face criminal charges, finding the guard acted in lawful self-defense. It is a tough situation to feel like you can't provide the form of justice that a family or a community wants. But I have to maintain that we have to follow our ethical standard and we have to look at the law and the facts and see where that takes us. Video of the late April incident released by the DA's office shows the suspected shoplifter Benko Brown tussling with the guard as he tries to leave the store with unpaid items, according to police. After wrestling with the guard who even puts him in a chokehold, Brown heads for the exit. But for a moment, he appears to move back towards the guard. That's when the guard.

fired his gun. Prosecutors also releasing blurred video of the guards interview with detectives after the shooting, describing the moments before he fired and mistakenly referring to Brown as female, even though Brown identified as a transgender man, according to NBC Bay Area. It turns out her intention was to try to spit on me. And by that reaction, by her turning around and advancing towards me, that's when I lifted it. and then shot once. The guard claiming Brown threatened to stab him several times. It was your life in that situation.

I was going to be stabbed or anything. I did what I have to do. The case, fueling the raging debate over the state of the city, which is becoming a national flashpoint. We have to fight for trans lives. We have to fight for black lives. The once bustling metropolis of San Francisco, still struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels,

of business and pedestrian traffic. One tell-tale sign, cell phone use still notably down at just 31 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to a recent study from Apollo and the University of Toronto. It's like a zombie town, you know, there's so many homeless and drug dealers. The city also bearing the weight of a large homeless population, multiple violent incidents caught on camera and several notable store closures, including two Nordstrom locations, slated to shutter by August. the outcome of this case not sitting well with some city leaders.

If you allow a black person to be executed in the street, that tells me that black lives don't matter to you the same. Legal experts say Brown's family could file a civil lawsuit but potentially will have a difficult case, given the DA's previous statements. There could always be a wrongful death. Civil lawsuit filed. However, the fact that the prosecutor came out publicly and said she actually believes the doctrine of self-defense does apply here, would hurt any civil lawsuit. Okay, Valerie Castro joins us now live on set. We just heard Angela there, the lawyer in your piece, say basically that it sounds like this case has moved on from the DA, but could there be other sort of legal ramifications for that security guard?

So the president of the city's board of supervisors was not happy with the outcome of this case. He is asking the state attorney general's office and the U.S. Department of Justice to review the case and the DA's decision. But the DA says she took into account the video of what happened, the guard statement, and statements from eyewitnesses there at the scene, and she says, based on all of that, she does not believe there was enough evidence to bring criminal charges in this case. Okay, Valerie, Castro for us, Valerie, we appreciate it.

Now in New Mexico tonight, when we're learning much more about that deadly mass shooting, police say the gunmen, who was still in high school, shot at random, killing three elderly women before he was shot to death. Aaron McLaughlin has the latest. Tonight in New Mexico, new details about America's latest teenage mass shooter. Have eyes on the suspect. He's walking south. He's wearing all black. Late Tuesday, police identified the suspect as 18-year-old Bo Wilson, who was set to graduate high school today. Seen here, moments before being shot dead by police.

The climax of his random and murderous shooting rampage that killed three elderly women and wounded at least six, including two police officers. The motive still being investigated. The amount of violence and brutality that these innocent people faced is, something that is unconscionable to me. Wilson opened fire on a Farmington, New Mexico neighborhood, blowing out car windows and shooting up random homes, including a one-year-old's bedroom. It went from pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,

and I just grabbed my daughter. We just barricaded in between the washer and the dryer. Police say he was armed with at least three different weapons, including an assault-style rifle, and had purchased at least one of the weapons legally last year. All of the victims shot in their cars. Among those lost 97-year-old Gwendolyn Schofield and her 73-year-old daughter, Melody.

79-year-old Shirley Voita was a mother of five and retired school nurse who'd been married for 57 years. Former state rep James Strickler was a good friend. Just a saint. She went to Mass that morning with my wife, and she was caught up in this. Tonight, we're also learning more about the suspects past. Court documents show his parents filed for divorce last year.

And police say people who knew him had concerns for his mental health. Tom. All right, Aaron McLaughlin, first, Aaron, we appreciate that. Now at Washington, in some developing news, we've just learned the Secret Service examining an incident where an intruder entered the home of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in the middle of the night. That news coming just one day after a man attacked two staffers at a congressional office. with a baseball bat, you'll remember.

Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles joins us much more. Ryan, you're on somewhat of a violent beat these days. Let's start with that breaking news today about the intruder at National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's home. What more do we know about the incident? Well, Tom, it doesn't appear that at any point the National Security Advisor was in any sort of risk. Secret Service did admit, though, that this individual got past two of their agents who

are guarding Sullivan round the clock, and it appeared that he was intoxicated and, didn't know where he was. Sullivan, of course, one of President Biden's top advisors. He is someone that has access to some of the most important national security secrets. Sullivan approached the man. When he saw him in his house, the man left, and Sullivan was not heard. And while he was never at any risk, Tom, it is a serious problem that he was able to gain access to the home of someone so important, so easily. Yeah, including the suspect here being intoxicated, how would he be able to get by those secret service agents? Right. I also know you spoke with Congressman Jerry Connolly, whose office and staff were attack yesterday.

What did he tell you about that attack? And what more have we learned about the suspect? Well, the suspect was arraigned today, even though he did refuse to appear for that arraignment. He has been charged with three felonies and one misdemeanor. And Congressman Connolley told me today that his staff is still recovering from that incident. And they did spend part of the day cleaning up the office. Okay, Ryan Nobles, with a lot of new reporting for us on two different fronts there. Ryan, we appreciate you as always. Now to the dangerous weather, though, slamming the southeast, 12 million in the risk zone for severe storms across several states, including Kentucky, Tennessee,

North Carolina. Heavy rains and thunderstorms threatening flooding and possible tornadoes. I want to get right over to Bill Cairns with the latest. Bill, walk us through it. Well, we've been tracking these storms all afternoon, now into the evening hours, and we haven't had any tornadoes. We've had a couple tornado warnings, but no officially confirmed tornadoes yet. We've had numerous large hail reports and a lot of wind damage, so we are starting to get a lot of power is building up from Kentucky, Southern Virginia. All these blue dots are the wind damage reports. Some of the strongest storms we've been watching

have been in areas of Alabama and all through Georgia. And also, we still have a severe thunderstorm watch. This is where some of our strongest storms are. This goes till 10 o'clock this evening. It's right along the Virginia, North Carolina border from Hickory to Winston-Salem, the Greensboro, up to Martinsville. And these are some of the strongest storms. These are all what we call severe thunderstorm warnings.

That's the orange colors. We do not have any active tornado warnings, but some small hail with these. some damaging winds. And then to the south, we've been tracking a pretty strong thunderstorm. It would just outside of the Charlotte area. It does appear it's going to try to head for it. It hasn't been weakening yet. So in Charlotte, about an hour from now, that storm will head your way. So as far as tomorrow goes, we're going to see ice-lid severe storms in the southeast and a little bit there in the Central Plains. It will not be as bad as what we're seeing right now, Tom. But again, no reports of any tornadoes so far.

Okay, we hope it stays like that. All right, Bill, thank you. I know we'll see you a little later. Still ahead tonight, Netflix Mystery Solved, the girl who went. missing and became the subject of multiple true crime series. Spotted six years after her disappearance how that publicity may have helped solve her case. Plus, when bees attacked, this is wild. The moment a volunteer police officer was stung by a swarm of bees. He eventually passed out. We'll tell you how he's doing tonight. And Little League Twister, the unbelievable video of a dust devil that almost lifted a young catcher off the diamond. Stay with us. Top stories just taking started on this Tuesday night.

Did you see the video that I saw, the one I sent you? He didn't. Oh, it looked like he passed out. Wow, and I thought the cop, the cop even said he passed up. Okay, here we go. Do we have that video, too, or no? That aerial video or now? We don't have the aerial?

Because, yeah, okay, so let me look at that again. All right, here we go. Still ahead tonight, the Netflix mystery solved. The girl who went missing and became the subject of multiple true crime series spotted six years after her disappearance, how that publicity may have helped solve her case. Plus, when bees attacked, the moment of volunteer police officer was stung by a swarm of bees

and how he's doing tonight. And literally twister, the unbelievable video of a dust devil that almost lifted a young catcher, off the diamond. Stay with us. Top Story just getting started on this Tuesday night. Back now with an amazing breakthrough in the case of a missing girl finally found after nearly six years. Her story was featured in multiple TrueKime

drop docu-series and Netflix and Peacock, and that may have been what led to her safe return. Maggie Vespa has the details. Hi, this is Taylor here. Tonight, the mysterious case of a missing girl finally solved six. years later and America's true crime obsession may have played a pivotal role. It began in 2017 when police in South Elgin, Illinois, say 9-year-old Kayla Unbehan was abducted by her mother, Heather. A judge had just granted Kayla's father custody, but when he went to pick up Kayla from Heather's house, they were gone. Our Chicago affiliates sitting down with the

girl's father, Ryan Iskerka, in 2017. My concern is that she just thinks she's She's never going to come back with my daughter. The desperate search for Kayla leading to dead ends. We've done all extensive research, and we can't find anything at this point that she's been in contact with anyone. But Ryan refused to give up. The devastated dad and his family launching the Bring Kayla Home Facebook page, posting updates and pleas, including when the girl's story hit the national stage. In early 2020, profiled in the series vanished, the missing persons project. now streaming on Peacock.

And again, in November of last year on Netflix's smash hit Unsolved Mysteries. We work to get these images everywhere possible that we can think of because we know, as we saw today, that it just takes one set of eyes to be a hero. Finally, cut to this weekend, the long-awaited break in what for years seemed like a cold case. More than 600 miles away in Asheville, North Carolina, police say someone at a clothing store recognized a mom from a case profiled in, in their words, published media. That person quickly calling the police who, minutes later, arrested Heather Unbehan and found Kayla, now 15, safe and sound.

The outcome that we're seeing here with Kayla is absolutely amazing. It's moments like these that really just give us the drive to keep going. Tonight, Heather is charged with kidnapping and is expected to be extradited back to Illinois. How many did you get? South Elgin police say Kayla is. is already back with her family. Her dad, Ryan, writing in a statement, I am overjoyed that Kayla is home safe.

We ask for privacy as we get to know each other again and navigate this new beginning. A new beginning stemming from a chance encounter and one dad's determination to keep his kid's case into spotlight. Maggie Vespa joins us now from Chicago. Maggie, such an incredible outcome to a case like this. Are we hearing anything from the teams behind these true crime shows that help bring attention to Kayla's story?

Yeah, so Tom, we are. Netflix actually released a statement late today saying, quote, an unsolved mysteries viewer has closed the case. They tweeted that out, and we should note, police aren't confirming, despite the attraction that tweet is getting, that it was that show specifically that led to Heather's recognition and her arrest in North Carolina. But advocates for missing kids point out that platforms like Netflix in this kind of modern era of true crime shows are a huge asset, especially on streaming platforms where, as we know, these shows live forever and new people can just stumble across them, Tom, every single day. And we know they do. Okay, Maggie Vespa, incredible story there. What a fine. Thank you for that. Now to Florida and a bit of frightening and a frightening scene on a baseball field in Jacksonville. Take a look. New video out of Jacksonville shows a dust devil forming at home play. Look at that. Wow.

Quickly trapping and spinning around a seven-year-old catcher when a 17-year-old umpire springs in action. You saw him there pulls him out. I was looking at the pitch and I looked to my right and see this dust storm. At first I was freaked out myself until I saw him like trapped in it. So I decided to run in there and grab him out of it. It freaked us out as well. That umpire told our Jacksonville affiliate WTLV that rocks scratched his chest in his stomach. It was so strong. So what causes these small dust storms?

Let's ask an expert who also happens to be a former Little League shortstop. Well, I mean, the experts, the umpire. I mean, A-plus are getting this kid out of the way in a hurry. But the dust devil is formed when you have really hot conditions and dry air. That's why we always associate them with, like, Arizona. And the hot air is rising quickly. And what you're actually seeing is the other air rushing in the bottom of it. And then it begins to spin almost like a figure skater does. And that's when you get this incredible dust devil. The fact that it went over home plate just blows your mind. I mean, I've seen them in fields before. I've seen a couple destroy, like, carts and umbrellas on a beach. But that's a pretty strong one, too.

It is definitely wild, Bill. So what happened in that little leaguer? Well, he was in a bit of a shock afterward, in a bit of a shock afterward. But after splashing some water in his face and getting the dirt out of his eyes, he went back out and finished the game. Good for him.

All right, when we come back, Jojo Siwa's home ransack, the singer and social media star sharing surveillance images, and they're pretty scary, of armed burglars inside her California mansion. What she says happened while the mass suspects were inside. Stay with us.

All right, we're back now on Top Story and our news feed. An update on an officer caught on camera stomping on a handcuffed man back in 2021. I want to warn you this footage may be disturbing. Former Indianapolis police office sergeant Alex Huxley has pleaded guilty to a civil rights charge after he was seen on body cam kicking a restrained man in the face. Huxley admitted in the plea agreement there was no legitimate reason or protocol to use that type of action. officer faces up to 10 years in prison. A bee swarm in L.A. attacking a volunteer officer.

Take a look at this new video shows the officer trying to swat away the bees. When he collapsed on the ground, he eventually manages to get back up. He was treated by EMTs and taken to the hospital. Poor guy. Officials say he suffered dozens of stings. Another person was also stung. No word on their condition of beekeeper removing a hive from a nearby home, which contained hundreds of bees.

And social media star Jojo Siwa has shared her California home, says her California home was burglarized. The dance mom's alum telling her Snapchat followers in a series of photos that mass men broke into her Tarzana home early this morning. She says they made away with several material items, but didn't give away any more details. Luckily, no one was at home at the time of the burglary. The LAPD, though, is investigating. Okay, we want to turn now to a CNBC exclusive on the heels of Tesla's annual shareholder meeting. CEO Elon Musk sitting down live with CNBC's David Faber just minutes ago. Musk, who's also CEO of SpaceX and owner of Twitter,

spoke on a range of topics from Tesla's future to government policy to the new Twitter CEO coming in after his rocky acquisition of the social media giant. Why share it when people who buy Teslas may not agree with you? Advertisers on Twitter may not agree with you. Why not just say, hey, I think this. You can tell me, we can talk about it over there, you can tell your friends, but why share it widely? I mean, this is freedom of speech. I'm allowed to say what I want to.

You absolutely are, but I'm trying to understand why you do, because you have to know it's got a, it puts you in the middle of a, the partisan divide in the country, it makes you a lightning rod for criticism. I mean, do you like that? You know, people today are saying he's an anti-Semite. I don't think you are. No, I'm definitely, I'm like a pro-Semite, if anything. I believe that probably is the case. But why would you even introduce the idea then that that would be the case? I mean, look, we don't want to make this a George Starris interview.

No, God, no. I don't want it at all. But I'm trying to even came up, though, in the annual meeting. I mean, you know, do your tweets hurt the company? Are there Tesla owners to say, I don't agree with his political position? And I know it because he shares so much of it. Or are there advertisers on Twitter that Linda Yarkarina will come and say, you got to stop, man.

or, you know, I can't get these ads because of some of the things you tweet. You know, I'm reminded of... Uh... There's a scene in the Princess Bride. Great movie. Great movie. where he confronts the person who killed his father.

And he says, offer me money. Offer me power. I don't care. So you just don't care. You want to share what you have to say? I'll say what I want to say. and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it.

Okay, time now for Top Story's Global Watch and the emergency landing in Luxembourg. The video shows the Chicago-bound flight landing at the Luxembourg Airport. When part of the landing gear breaks off and goes flying, luckily no one was hurt. The flight was forced to make that emergency landing after the landing year was unable to retract. The plane flew for 52 minutes dumping fuel over Luxembourg and Belgium to get a safe wait before returning to the tarmac. Okay, Ecuador's legislature beginning an impeachment hearing against President Guillermo Laso. Opposition politicians have accused Lhasa of signing off on a contract between a state-owned oil transport company and a private tanker company, despite allegedly being aware that the deal was an embezzlement scheme. Lawmakers are expected to vote to remove Lassau, but he may choose to dissolve the legislature before that can happen.

Okay, we want to head to Ukraine now, where Ukraine's military says it repelled an intense Russian missile assault on Kiev. one of the worst in months. This, as we learned, that the CIA is now asking Russians to give up secrets about the war. Molly Hunter's in Ukraine with late details. Tonight, the Ukrainian Air Force claiming victory thwarting the biggest Russian missile attack in weeks. Downing all 18 Russian missiles fired at the capital of Kiev on Tuesday, including the Ukrainian Air Force, says, six of Moscow's most advanced conventional weapons, hypersonic Kinsul missiles. Thanks to the newly deployed Western air defenses, including the U.S.-made Patriot Air Defense systems. The attacks were carried out as Ukraine's President Zelensky returned from a successful

European tour, and tonight he's rallying more support. All together, we are showing what our 100 percent mean. The fiercest fighting is in what remains of the eastern city of Bakhmud, seen here in a drone feet above what was once city streets. Today, in an unverified video posted on telegram, Yvgeny Progogh, head of the Russian mercenary Wagner group fighting there, claimed an American was killed in Bakhmut. The State Department says they're aware of the report but offered no confirmation.

Meanwhile, a dramatic public move by the CIA, releasing an emotional recruitment video, seeing an opportunity offering Russians a secure way to pass information to the agency. People around you may not want to hear the truth, the video says, but we do. Tonight, the Kremlin calling it a convenient resource for tracking applicants. Now, Tom, we have been tracking and following that fierce fighting in the bitterly contested Eastern City of Backmoot for months now. And finally today, Ukrainian officials say they have made their biggest battlefield advancement

in months just in the last couple of days, recapturing more than seven square miles near that city. now really hoping to build on that momentum and keep pushing forward. Tom. Molly Hunter for us, Molly, we thank you. We want to stay with the war in Ukraine now and the tragic toll. The devastation, of course, is palpable and the number of deaths in Ukraine, though it's very difficult to know for certain. Neither side publicizes their casualties or their deaths. Ellison Barber traveled to eastern Ukraine with her team to try to get a sense of that true human cost of the conflict through the eyes of a special unit responsible

for the sacred duty of recovering bodies left on the battlefield. This is a part of war we rarely see. We're now, it's important to look at these all locations where, you know, where, you know, where, you know, may be pochran in our lives. Mika is leading a search team with a unit known as on the shield. This team is part of the armed forces of Ukraine, but they don't fight, they find. Their sole task is recovering bodies left on the battlefield. In this case, as well, ashenian, skilotovina,

so any other things, they're on the border, between Harkiv and Dynetsk regions, an area fiercely contested in the early months of the full-scale invasion. A lot of the stuff that we're seeing on the ground, it was left behind by Ukrainian soldiers, but there are some things like this right here. This was a Russian soldier's vest. How many Russian soldiers have you found?

Well, the matter of the fact of the case we don't know how much, but, well, we've got, definitely, we've got, actually, totally, we've got to come up. It's, it's not sure, that the Russian soldiers also were they didn't have much to them to be. Mika's team spent hours searching here. On the ground and from the sky. This search turned up empty, so the unit moved to another battlefield,

frozen in time. So they're looking over here and they just called out to tell the others that they found the body of a Russian soldier in that tank. There's not much to recover, just a few small fragments of bones. So now we're trying to try to each of find, because they're going to obin, they, and every russian, which is practically, to return to our. From afar, the search feels cold, forensic.

It is meticulous, but there's also respect, pain. And sincere compassion. Our service is to give us to return to their own. Even for their enemy. In this case, our military priorities, it's, of course. But it's not very much, it's not very much, their own people, they're not sure, they're still trying to keep.

Because there's a lot of people in the country. We're not we're we're not we're we're nothechew and we're they're not sure. They're not sure

they're not sure. On the shield is not a forced assignment. These soldiers volunteered, hoping to fulfill one of the oldest military codes, leave no man behind. And they have. Uri fought in the east.

His unit disappeared on the combat mission last year. Somewhere at the end of March, beginning of April, the unit Yuri was with stopped responding. This was his commander. We hoped that they were captured, but there was no news. Nothing. Months later and on the shield search team found two bodies in a shallow grave. One was Yuri.

Some 400 miles from that battlefield, Uri's family gathered together. Grief has no limit, no clear end. But answers, even painful ones, pave the way for those left behind to survive. For the waves of agony to become ripples. What does it mean to be able to finally properly lay him to rest? It is like tearing off a part of myself. And then you start to live again. again somehow, knowing that you won't see him anymore, that you won't talk, that you won't

hear his songs, you won't hear the sound of that guitar. It took a year. But the search for one more soldier is over. And for one more Ukrainian family, the chance for one final farewell. Alison Barber and her team join us now from Ukraine in Leviv. Ellison, that scene we just saw there at the cemetery, it was so powerful with Yuri's family. Tell us what else you saw on that sacred ground. Yeah, that entire area where we were, it was all soldiers killed in action in this war.

The graves there were so new that everything in that section was covered with sand. The priest, it seemed like they were running from service to service, because there were multiple funerals, multiple burials happening almost all at once. Yuri's family actually had to wait for their service to start because their priest was finishing another service. Essentially, there was a queue, a line of grieving families waiting to bury a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a child. One of the things that struck me so much was looking at all of the graves, the birthdays on them. They were all so young. I don't think I saw very many birthdays that were before the mid-90s.

Yuri was just 26 years old. I think of last summer I was reporting in the South, and I met an older woman in Odessa, and she said to me, the worst part of this war is that it is killing so many young people. She said it is robbing Ukraine of our best and brightest hopes for the future, and you go to a place like that, and you realize very quickly that she's right. And Yuri was one of those hopes for the future that is no longer here, family grieving, waiting over a year to bury him because he was killed in a war that he did not start. No, you see that so up close there with your report and everything you've highlighted there with Yuri

and all these other sort of young Ukrainians that have been found after they fought so valiantly for their country. I do want to ask you, though, you showed a lot of respect. I mean, the people there, the Ukrainian soldiers showed a lot of respect for the Russian shoulders, right? What happened to the one they found in that tank that there was just bones left, essentially? So ultimately what's going to happen is they're going to test that soldier's DNA, try to identify who he is, and down the road there will most likely be in exchange, a fallen Ukrainian soldier for a fallen Russian soldier. We actually were able to follow them to the morgue with the remains of that soldier.

It was in the Denetsk region, close to the front lines, about 45 minutes from the city of Bakhmut, where the fiercest fighting is happening. I'm not even sure if it was a morgue before the war. I mean, they were just laying the body bags on the ground there. They didn't have a lot of equipment, so they weren't going to be able to test the DNA there, but they were going to be able to start the process, and they were going to move it west, test the DNA. It will take quite a while, but ultimately will likely be used in some sort of exchange for remains. But one of the things that really stayed with me, speaking with the commander of that unit that we were with,

the head of that search team, was how he said he did think it was important for Russian families to have the opportunity to bury their source. soldiers, their loved ones as well, because in his words, he said some of them might not have really known why they were being sent here. Tom. Ellis and Barbara first, just an incredible story and a story we have not seen so far from the battlefield there in Ukraine. A big thanks to you and your entire team. All right, coming up, the NBC News exclusive with the AI Revolution already here.

We speak to the CEO of Microsoft about the incredible possibilities and the disturbing dangers of the new technology. Stay with us. We're back now with the Artificial Intelligence Revolution and Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenA.I, the company responsible for ChatGPT, appeared on Capitol Hill today, calling on Congress to do more to regulate the very kind of AI technology he helped create. Here's what he had to say. My worst fears are that we cause significant, we, the field, the technology, the industry, caused significant harm to the world. I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong. and we want to be vocal about that. We want to work with the government. Altman testifying as CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin sat down for an exclusive interview with the CEO of Microsoft,

a big backer of Chat-C-PT, to discuss the technology's exciting potential and potential dangers. There's been a lot of people talking about AI and the potential for AI for a very long time. When do you think you realized the moment at which you said, okay, this is not just a pipe dream anymore? this is real. Yeah, a couple of moments. So the first time it started showing, I'll call it, emergent qualities, right? When it learned to code, when it was not trained specifically, that when I felt like, wow, this is different.

Different in that generative AI essentially learns and increases its own capability, which has some worried it could surpass human intelligence. That leaves CEOs like Microsoft Satya Nadella grappling with the balance of business and responsibility. There is a big question about whether all of this is moving too fast. What do you think? I, you know, it's, the way I think about this is the following. A lot of technology, a lot of AI is already there at scale, right? Every news feed, every sort of social media feed, search, as we know of it before chat plus search. They're all on AI. I described them as the autopilot error. So in an interesting way, we're moving from the autopilot error of AI

to co-pilot error of AI. So if anything, I feel, yes, it's moving fast, but moving fast in the right direction. Microsoft has invested billions in Open AI, whose chat GPT rocketed through the tech world since its release last fall. AI's ability to write content, help people code, and generate disinformation has raised alarms in Washington. And now, for some introductory remarks. Too often, we have seen what happens when technology outpaces regulation. In a hearing on Capitol Hill today, Senator Richard Blumenthal used a voice cloning AI program to deliver remarks that he says were written by ChatGPT to share his concerns.

My worst fears are that we cause significant, we, the field, the technology, the industry, caused significant harm to the world. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was there, calling on Congress to create new safety standards, even a new government agency to oversee AI companies. We think that regulatory intervention by governments will be critical. Nadella also says regulation is needed, but that companies do not need to wait for the government to step in. What scares you about this? A couple of different things.

In fact, what scares me the most is what? What, I'll call it, societal choices do we make? We definitely want the benefits of this technology, and we want to mitigate the unintended consequences. But Nadella also sees the potential. Steve Jobs had this beautiful, beautiful line, right, which is computers are like the bicycles for the mind. We now have an upgrade. We have a steam engine for the mind. We hope that steam engine is used for good.

When we come back, saving the show, that massive writer strike, nearly leading to the cancellation of the televised Tony Awards, the deal that kept the lights on and what it means for Broadway's biggest night and why it may be a very bizarre broadcast. We'll explain. Stay with us. All right, finally tonight, the show must go on. Next month's Tony Awards broadcast is continuing, but only after a last minute agreement with the writer's guilt to specifically alter the show amid their ongoing strike. My Eaglin explains. The curtain nearly closing on the Tony Awards before the show even began because of a weeks-long Writers Guild of America strike, primarily over a dispute with studios about streaming royalties. The strike almost canceled next month's Tony Awards broadcasts because the guild represents the TV writers who work on it,

and show organizers were denied a waiver to continue the ceremony as planned. A move that could have been catastrophic for. for the theater industry, which largely relies on the award shows for a bump in box office sales. So the Tony Awards are Broadway's biggest commercial. People tune in from all over the country to see what's playing on the boards in New York City and book trips based on what they see at the Tonys. However, the show will go on after the Guild announced they won't pick at the ceremony, saying the Tony Award organizers are, quote, altering this year's show to conform with specific request from the WGA. Tony Award organizers did not respond to NBC News about what those specific

changes will be. And no end in sight. But it's not the first time a Writers Guild Strike has impacted the Tonys. Welcome to the 1988 Tony Awards. In 1988, during a WGA walkout, Tony Awards host Angela Lansbury did the show unscripted, and it relied heavily on performances from Broadway ensembles. This year's Tonys are this second major award show to be impacted by the strike. The MTV Movie and TV Awards. Last week's MTV Movie and TV Awards went on without a host and relied on pre-recorded speeches. Thank you, MTV Movie and TV Awards. It is going to be an interesting broadcast, I'm sure.

We thank you so much for watching Top Story Tonight. I'm Tom Yamis back in New York. Thanks so much for watching. We'll see you back here tomorrow. The news continues right now. Thank you.