Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Episode Date: May 27, 2026

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

Tonight, tens of millions on alert for violent storms after tornado's ravaged parts of Alabama. The state's now at risk. This water spout engulfing a group of beachgoers, a tornado tearing through a local TV station as they were live. Drivers rescued from flooded roads, the dark funnel clouds, and damage left behind were tracking it all. Also breaking tonight the deadly disaster out west cruise racing to find the missing after an implosion at a packaging plant in Washington. Others rushed to the hospital. What went wrong? Plus thousands still displaced in California over that toxic emergency involving a chemical

tank where that threat now stands. New U.S. strikes on Iran in response to Iranian attacks. Will these new clashes derail the peace talks? The heated battle in Texas putting President Trump's power to the test. Our reporter goes one-on-one with Senator Cornyn and fighting for his political life after the president endorsed his opponent. Steve Kornacki in the house, standing by, ready to go as the votes come in. Chaos at an ICE detention center.

Protesters clashing with agents amid allegations of inhumane conditions inside the facility. Dramatic video of a bridge collapse, a car swept away in a rushing river. Look at that, how that driver narrowly escaped. And NASA's big reveal for a major base on the moon will show you the blueprint just released. Plus, the U.S. World Cup roster just announced. So who made the cut? Top story. Starts right now.

And good evening. As we come on the air, tens of millions on alert for torrential rain, floods, and even the threat of tornadoes. Wild video from Miramar Beach, Florida, shows a waterspout. Look at this. Charging inland umbrella-sent flying beachgoers running in Alabama. Several reported twisters striking at dusk, this wedge tornado carving a path of destruction. And nearby TV station, struck by a twister, the station's news director attempting to leave when the glass door begins to shake, it then shatters and is sucked into the storm. This adds some of the damage there, a home taking a direct hit, you can see it, it just ripped apart.

Further west floods ravaging parts of Texas, cars completely inundated, drivers helping to rescue other drivers. And in North Carolina, torrential rains leaving roads completely cut off. At this hour, the threat is far from over. More than 30 million at risk right now as the next round of storms moves across the country. Are Aaron Gilcrest, live in Atlanta, after powerful storms, moved through there. And Aaron, we just see how powerful they are.

Yeah, and the rain is coming down here again, Tom. And you can see that this tree landed on top of this house and some of the storms that rolled through here yesterday, really just punching right through the roof in several places. The homeowner telling me he thinks two-thirds of the house just demolished by this tree that came down. and this is a result of just rainstorms that have been coming through here, really saturating the ground because there's been so much water for so many days now,

but other parts of the country are dealing with even more damage. Really, this is just one example. Oh, my gosh. Unrelenting severe weather, once again unloading on the south. From an apparent water spout ripping through a Florida beach, it's coming right at us. To this ominous funnel cloud over Alabama, where at least three reported tornadoes touch.

down overnight. The twisters bringing down trees and blocking roads, homes completely destroyed. One even tearing the roof off a local TV station while a meteorologist continued live on air. A tornado has just gone through the station here at WDHN. Security footage appears to show one person trying to leave the building when suddenly the glass begins to shake and is sucked out by the passing twister. Tonight 30 million people under flood alerts, just a day after dangerous flooding in Texas, stranding drivers, people jumping in to push this stuck car. Be advised, the car's going towards the creek.

We got an infant in the car. Frightening moments as first responders rushed to this vehicle trapped in a swollen creek, a baby inside. Yeah, give me the baby. And in Georgia, days of rain saturating the ground under this tree until it collapsed into a neighboring house. It sounded more like an explosion. And we came upstairs to see what we were.

going on to the tree in the house. The cleanup continues as the region braces for more storms. Aaron is back with us now. So Aaron, even more severe weather on the way? Yeah, you're absolutely right, Tom. I should point out that the folks who were in this house at the time this tree came down, they are all okay. You may be able to hear the thunder rumbling here right now. We know that there is a flash flood watch in place for this part of Atlanta until late tonight. We expect more rain like this for at least a, a few more days in this area, Tom, that increases that flood threat for a lot of people in the south.

Been a dangerous few weeks here down south. Okay, Aaron, thank you for that. We're also following breaking news out of Washington State. A deadly chemical disaster unfolding at a packaging plant where a tank filled with a dangerous liquid imploded killing multiple people and injuring several more. It comes as thousands remain evacuated in Southern California over a separate chemical tank threat. NBCC Patterson is following them both. 3401 industrial way at Nippon for a hazmat burn. Tonight, a deadly chemical disaster, ravaging this packaging plan in Washington State,

spawning yet another hazmat emergency out west. It was roughly an 80,000 gallon tank that was roughly 60% full. Officials alongside the company say the incident is in a recovery phase. We have confirmed that there are fatalities, but the exact number is undetermined. He says they're still looking for missing people. One of those killed was 52-year-old Gilbert Bernal, who worked at the plant along with his son. While multiple individuals suffered life-threatening injuries, including serious chemical burns, when a tank filled with hazardous liquid imploded in southern Washington this morning.

Onlookers visibly shaken. It's kind of sad. I'm hoping they all make a recovery from it. Officials say there's no threat to the public as they work to investigate what happened. Meanwhile, in Orange County, the risk remains for 16,000 still evacuated residents. Crews working around the clock to cool and stabilize the compromised tank. Right now, we still have a potential for a fire problem or a fireball, and then there's also the potential for a leak if this cracks. This week, authorities said the possibility for a catastrophic explosion was eliminated.

There was no contamination. There were no fumes. There were no vapors that came from this incident. Denise Guerrero is one of the last few people left at this nearby shelter. We were so close to the tanks. She fears that even with a smaller explosion, her neighborhood would be destroyed. The house is in full view of the tanks. So we pretty much felt that as scenario one and two were outlined to us, that our homes would be in a crater. Okay, Steve Patterson joins us tonight from Cyprus, California.

Steve, you can hear it there from the residents. There's a lot of confusion. For those 16,000 who live closest to that plan in California, what will it take to get them home? Tom, first things first, they need the cool, the temperature inside the tank. Right now it's hovering at about 92 degrees. The company stores it at about 50 degrees. Until then, significant police presence on the ground.

You can see the Sheriff's Department. They do not want anybody to get through here to that evacuation zone because that tank is only about a mile or show down the road. Right now, authorities say it's simply too unstable, but that they are working on a plan, constantly cooling it to make things here safe. Tom. Okay, Steve Patterson, we thank you. The fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran nearly broke down today with the U.S. attacking Iranian missile launch sites and boats. Richard Engel is in the region tonight.

Richard, the U.S. says this was in retaliation for Iranian strikes. That's right, Tom. The U.S. is describing this senior U.S. officials as an act of self-defense. They say two U.S. officials specifically tell NBC news that Iranian drones are. Iranian missiles, Iranian small boats were all attacking American forces for about 24 hours, some of these small boats capable of putting sea mines in the Persian Gulf. And that only after 24 hours roughly had passed did the U.S. retaliate. And the U.S. retaliated with what one of those U.S. officials described as very limited and precise strikes.

So this was an incident that could have derailed the peace talks. It could have blown up and reignited this entire war. And Iran responded very aggressively and very quickly, saying that this was a violation of the ceasefire, promising to carry out revenge and retaliation. So far, we haven't seen any of that. There have been no Iranian missiles launched at Israel or at the Gulf states. And critically, peace talks, ceasefire negotiations, nonetheless continued in Doha, Qatar today. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that progress is being made. He was sounding optimistic and thought that there could be an agreement wrapped up potentially this week.

And President Trump is convening a cabinet meeting at the White House tomorrow, reportedly, to discuss Iran. Okay, Richard, Engelfirst, live in Jerusalem. Richard, we thank you. I want to bring in NBC News contributor, Human Majid. Human, Iran's new Ayatollah released his first major public statement. Do we know anything about his condition or how he's doing? We don't. I mean, Iran has claimed the Iranian media has claimed that he's fine.

Obviously, he's in hiding because he has a big target on his back, mostly from Israel. But he's issued a few statements over the last, you know, 60 days or so. This one was pretty harsh in terms of how Iran views Israel, probably as hard line as Iran's ever been in terms of Israel will disappear, it's going to be gone in less than 25 years. Although it's also understandable that his statement was going to be quite harsh and unrelenting, given that, you know, Israel killed his dad, his wife, his kid, all in one big missile attack. So it's unsurprising.

I don't know what it means. He certainly has allowed negotiations to go on with the United States in terms of coming to a peace deal. And that peace deal will include Israel, will include Israel not attacking Lebanon. That's supposed to be part of this deal. Kuhumann, in terms of the negotiation, Secretary Rubio says they're working through disagreements over even just single words in some cases. Do we know what's still being hammered out? Yeah, I think it appears to be mostly.

on the issue of money, really, at the end of the day. Iran wants the deal to be, the peace deal, to be front-loaded. They have about $12 billion of their own money frozen in foreign banks that they want repatriated, and they want it all at once. They're saying they're not going to open the Strait of Hormuz in the hope that sometime 30 days or 60 days later they will get that money. They want it all front-loaded in exchange for not charging a toll, in exchange for completely completely opening the Strait of Hormoz.

The United States is saying, or at least Donald Trump is saying, no, no money until the deal is done, until the nuclear dust, as he calls it, is retrieved. So those are the two issues. One is the actual nuclear material that's in Iran. What's going to happen with that? Although that is left pretty much for the longer-term negotiation over the 60 days, if this ceasefire takes hold, if this permanent ceasefire takes hold. But it's really, I think most of the problem is money, and that's why Iran was in Doha,

because that's where some of the money is. Six billion is in Doha. Kuhman, the Strait of Hormuz at its peak would usually see on average 100 ships a day, more than 100 a day, I should say, around 120. What kind of timeline could we see for opening and backup? How long will it take to get back to that type of traffic? Oh, I think it will take months. I mean, there are over 1,000 ships that are stranded there.

I mean, just getting them up and through the straight away from what potentially could still be some sea mines is going to take a long time. They're not going to be zooming past the straight at 60 miles an hour. It's going to be a very slow process. I think it'll take months. Although that said, a lot of oil will be passing through. It just won't be 100 ships a day. Yeah, finally, the president's whole reason for getting into this war with Iran was so the country wouldn't develop a nuclear weapon. Iran had an estimated 900 pounds of enriched uranium, not quite ready to build a nuclear weapon,

somewhere around 60 percent before the U.S. struck their nuclear facilities. It's unclear exactly how much enriched uranium Iran has right now. So what's going to happen there? It's impossible to say, Tom. I mean, you know, Iran claims that that material is theirs. They own it. They want to send some of it out, downgrade it to less than... 60%, down to 20% and 3.67%.

The U.S. is saying that it all has to come out. There can't be any enriched material inside Iran. So there's going to be a compromise on that. Probably most of it will get sent to China. China has said that they're willing to take it. What Iran wants is a guarantee that if the whole deal falls apart or if they aren't able to come to an agreement with the United States, a long-term nuclear agreement,

that they would get that material back, even if it's downgraded to 3.67 percent or 20 percent, which is the amount they need for their Tehran reactor, for a medical reactor. So it's hard to say at this point where that compromise is going to happen, but it's likely to happen because, as you pointed out, you know, this, or as Richard pointed out, this attack today by the U.S. could have opened up, you know, the war again. But it appears that both sides really want this deal to happen, which is why both are still negotiating. Neither have said it could be rhetoric. Oh, yeah, you're breaking the ceasefire. You're doing this, that and the other. But as long as there isn't more action, military action, as long as they're still talking,

I think it indicates that they both really, the United States and Iran really want to put an end to this war and end to this issue, the nuclear issue, which has been going on since 2003. I'm unmatched. Always a pleasure to talk to you. We thank you for joining Top Story tonight. Thank you, Tom. Okay, back here at home, we are covering that hotly contested Senate primary runoff in Texas. Four-term Republican Senator John Cornyn, facing off against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who got a last minute endorsement you'll remember from President Trump. It could make or break this race. NBC's Ryan Chandler is in Texas and had a one-on-one with the senator late today. Tonight, the Texas-sized test of President Trump's poll in the largest Republican state. I believe the Texas candidate, who's Ken Paxton, I think he'll win.

Can Texas's four-term Senator John Cornyn convinced voters to stick with him against President Trump's endorsement of State Attorney General Ken Paxton? We spoke to Cornyn tonight. Did it strike you as a slap in the face to see him endorse your opponent? I think it's a sign of President Trump's frustration. You know, most presidents get frustrated with the Senate because things happen more slowly than they would like. And certainly President Trump can be an impatient guy. But again, I've supported his agenda.

President Trump calling Paxton a true MAGA warrior while blasting Cornyn as very disloyal to me. But Cornyn has the backing of top Senate leaders. The president was pressed about it last week. Some of them don't know how to win. I know how to win. I think I've proven that heaven. Trump endorsed candidates have won big in primaries this year, with Republican voters also rejecting incumbents the president campaigned against. Paxton says Cornyn is next.

I've been asking every voter, whether it's one voter or thousands, what has John accomplished that's good for the state of Texas or the country? And you know what? No one's ever had an answer. Though Paxton has faced scandal, including impeachment and a high-profile divorce, Cornyn arguing Paxton's past gives Democrats. and opening. You believe that if Paxton is at the top of the Republican ticket, that the party risks losing this seat that they've held for decades? Absolutely. A scandal-ridden candidate, like Ken Paxton with all the baggage that he brings, puts all that at risk. All right, for more on that big night ahead in Texas. NBC Steve Kornacki is at the big war tonight for us here

on Top Story and veteran politics reporter for the Houston Chronicle Jeremy Wallace joins us tonight live from Texas. Steve, I'm going to start with you. One of the biggest storylines this primary cycle is that President Trump's endorsement is a golden ticket. What signs will you be looking out for early tonight to see if that's the case for Ken Paxton? Yeah, Tom, I think the big question for us is going to be, does it look different when these results start coming in than it did back in March? That's when they had the preliminary election here. Remember, this is the runoff tonight. And let me remind you what it looked like in that preliminary. John Cornyn actually got more votes than Ken Paxton. They are the top two in that preliminary.

They advanced to the runoff because nobody got a majority. But Cornyn, and this was a surprise back then, he outperformed the polls. He got more votes than Paxton. And you can see here where the votes were sort of arrayed here. So the question simply becomes early on as these counties start to come in. Is the pattern looking similar to the preliminary when it was very good for Cornyn or is it looking different? And if it's looking different, I think that would speak to that Trump endorsement, potentially having a big effect here. So, Jeremy, if you look at this map here and you look at, at that.

at those polls. There's a gentleman there name, I think, Jeremy Hunt, where do his voters? Do you think where do they go? Well, look, Wesley Hunt's voters are the key to this. If you look at what happened in Harris County where Houston is, that's a jump ball for both Paxon and in Korn. And neither one of them have much of a relationship, at least deep ties to the area. And so one of them has, you know, it was dead even in the first round back in March, as Steve was pointing out. And so somehow one of them has to surge ahead, right? So the question is, does Wesley Hunt's voters go to one camp or the other?

He has endorsed Ken Pax in this race, but I'm not sure if that matters ultimately in. It's going to be what did Trump say and when he said it. Remember, while Trump's endorsement is big, the problem is it came two days into early voting. About 250,000 people had already voted when he made that endorsement. So it may not have had the same impact than if he had done it on the Monday before. So let me ask you a serious question here.

Is the only thing that matters what the president says? Does the war in Iran, the economy, the sort of changing face of America first? I mean, does any of that matter to the Republican primary voters in this race? Look, voters, you know, they don't think about this guy has all seniority in the United States Senate and he can bring stuff back home. They think about what they're feeling, right? You know, it's like we know in this case, you know, in this era, you know, a lot of Republican voters want somebody who's going to own the libs, who's going to go after the left. And Ken Paxton, if there's one thing he's been able to do as Attorney General, is that he's consistently sued the Joe Biden administration or fought, you know, Democrats in the Texas legislature. And so what they're seeing is, oh, this guy will fight in a different way than maybe John Cornyn has over his, you know, 24 years in the United States Senate.

Steve, tonight, what are some of the key parts of the state you'll be looking at? We heard Jeremy there mention Harris County, the Houston area. What else are you going to be looking at? Yeah, Harris County is absolutely huge. I think one thing I draw your attention to is, look, in that preliminary, you know, Cornyn did well in a lot of the population centers around Austin, around Dallas, but he also did surprisingly well here across the state into more rural areas. Look, you see that dark red, that's Cornyn.

You see that into Central Texas, you see that into West Texas, up into the Panhandle. I think that was one of the surprises in the preliminary. A lot of those counties, though, they are small, they're rural, and they're rural, are deeply pro-Trump counties. Are those counties staying competitive for coronin tonight, or is that a place where that endorsement had an effect, and they changed shades there to Paxton's a shade of red? Jeremy, it's a Tuesday night in May in Texas. I'm not sure if it's already warm in Texas. I'm sure it probably is. Will people show up to the polls? Are they going to be shown up to

the polls in the cities or in some of those sort of rural counties that we saw Steve point out to there? Yeah, look, this is a terrible time for an election, right? Nobody's used to voting. at the end of May after Memorial Day. But there's a good sign. The early voting has shown that we are way ahead of past runoff elections in the state of Texas, particularly for Republican primaries. If you go back to 2012, that was kind of a high watermark when Ted Cruz won his first seat in the United States Senate.

We're seeing that kind of turnout in this race. It's higher than normal, but it's still pretty dismal compared to most election cycles. Yeah, either candidate will face off against the Democrat here. James Tala Rico, who has the edge there, do you think? Well, it's clear if Ken Paxton's the opponent, the Democrats are going to feel like they have a better shot at beating him because of all the opposition research that we talked about earlier in the show. But, you know, look, John Cornyn, he's going to have to fire away. If he's the candidate, he's going to have to fire up a base of supporters that clearly wants Paxton.

So it's all going to be about can either one of these guys bring the Republican? and party back together under a growing democratic threat in the state of Texas. Before we go, Steve, how can viewers watch you in action tonight as you're sort of seen what's happening tonight in Texas and maybe calling a winner? Yeah, hey, the polls close at 8 o'clock Eastern NBCNews.com up on YouTube. We're going to be right here at the board. As this map lights up, 254 counties in Texas, we'll show you the results, one county at a time until we get a winner.

No cowboy hat, though, right? Maybe late in the night. see what happens. All right, Steve, we appreciate that, James. Our thanks to you as well. We're back in a moment with the cage match construction on the White House lawn, a makeshift UFC ring now taking shape. We'll get a look. Plus, protesters and ICE agents clashing outside a detention senator as questions grow about conditions inside that facility. We're live at the scene tonight. And the burglary ring bust, multiple arrests connected to the alleged break-ins targeting high-profile athletes like Patrick Mahomes,

Travis Kelsey. That's all coming up ahead on Top Story. We're back now with President Trump's promise to bring the greatest show on earth to the White House next month. UFC fight night right there on the South Lawn, and they're already building the fighting cage outside the West Wing. Gabe Gutierrez with the new images tonight. Tonight, new construction is underway for an unprecedented spectacle, a cage fight at the White House, a massive arch taller than the building itself, part of a makeshift arena, for an up. upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship event. I have never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets.

Gates you over the top with that right hand. The mixed martial arts matches are scheduled for June 14th to celebrate America's 250th anniversary. The date for the fight also happens to be President Trump's birthday. It's a remarkable sight, the construction looming over the West Wing and the cranes for the ballroom project on the other side. The president has said that this temporary arena will hold more than 4,000 people. We are going to pull off the boldest idea in sports history. Tickets are free, and the UFC is footing the bill for the event. But NBC News has learned sponsorship packages

that include ringside seats have been selling for a million dollars or more, according to a Republican lobbyist familiar with the process. Decades ago, the president hosted boxing matches at his casinos. And he's often seen at UFC fights. I know President Trump is a fighter. UFC's president Dana White endorsing him in 2024. I'm in the tough guy business. And this man is the toughest, most resilient human being that I've ever met in my life. Trump supporter and UFC announcer Joe Rogan will be there. The Rogan also called the event a gimmick.

Life is a gimmick, the president responded. But it's a good gimmick. It's going to be amazing. All right. With that, Gabe, joins us tonight. And Gabe, let's just be sort of clear here. We can see the construction there behind you. This is a real, there's going to be real.

fights here. I mean, people may get choked out there right in front of the White House. Yeah, that's right, Tom. It is remarkable. Look, MMA events can get bloody, but President Trump has been a fan of these fights for a long time. And Dana White says that it was actually the president's idea to hold this fight here at the White House. The president, seen by many, as the promoter in chief. Now, we understand that MMA fighters will actually step out into the match from the Oval Office, Tom. Wow, that's pretty incredible. There's also reports tonight, Gabe,

and I don't know if these are true or not, that you've challenged Garrett Haik in the undercard fight there. Are you guys entering the octagon? Is that true? Look, Tom, I think I could take them. But I'd be surprised. Garrett could be pretty scrappy, so, you know, all bets are off. I would pay to see that one.

All right, Gabe Gutierrez, we thank you for that. Still to come tonight, the chaos in the streets, violence breaking out during another so-called team takeover, dozens arrested, should parents. be held accountable. Plus the new moon missions, what we're learning about NASA's plans to build a permanent lunar base. Stay with us. All right, we're back tonight with the chaos that turned violent outside an ice facility in New Jersey. Demonstrators clashing with agents who deployed pepper spray. It comes amid reports of inhumane living conditions inside the facility,

something the federal government denies. I want to get right to Chekkey Beckford from our NBC, New York station, who is outside the Delaney Hall detention facility. So Chekie, Protesters have been facing off with ICE agents for days. Why has that facility become a flashpoint? Well, Tom, I want to tell you about why it's all started with a hunger strike on Friday, but I've got to show you something here behind me. This is actually in the middle right now of ICE agents chasing down a number of protesters who had gotten in the way when a vehicle was trying to enter the Delaney Hall facility.

And somehow, again, this was one of the many clashes we've seen between ice agents and protesters who have been blocking the entrance and exit to the facility. And so just a short while ago, a car was coming in and protesters blocked the entrance. Something happened between protesters and officers, and they began chasing them down the street. And we saw pepper spray being deployed as well. So we don't know what actually happened, just literally right before we came on air. But protesters being chased by ice, that's just one of the things we've seen here. Many of the tussles have been smaller in scale.

Anytime there's a vehicle trying to exit the facility, protesters have been blocking the entrance. So yesterday, as you mentioned, officers sprayed pepper spray because they were trying to get out of the facility. Senator Andy Kim was also struck by that pepper spray as well because he was here trying to conduct congressional oversight. Also yesterday, Governor Mikey Sherrill tried to get entrance to the facility and was denied as well. So that is why this has become such a flashpoint here. This is people have told us who have been in Michigan that this reminds them of that situation there. Yeah, we actually just saw it. It looks like someone get arrested and being pulled inside just behind you.

Do we know how long the protesters plan on being out there? I mean, will this continue into days and weeks? Well, that's unknown. Yesterday we saw quite a number of protesters, and that could be because it was a holiday. People had the time off, so they came. We saw fewer protesters today, but the numbers have grown since Friday. Again, that hunger strike began on Friday. We should note that DHS says there is no hunger strike,

but Congressman Rob Menendez says he went in there today, and there is a hunger strike. so conflicting information. But in terms of how long they'll be here, it's unclear. Behind us right now, we have about two, excuse two dozen, I should say, ICE officers that are standing guard in front of the facility and about a several dozen protesters that, again, keep getting into these skirmishes

with ICE officers as they try to stop the vehicles from exiting and entering the facility. Okay, check you back for it. Always great to see you. We thank you for that. Okay, time now for Top Stories News Feed. We're going to start with federal judges blocking Alabama's plan to use a Republican drawn congressional map. It would eliminate one of the state's two mostly minority districts,

putting the GOP in position to pick up a seat in the midterms. But the judges ruled the map intentionally discriminated based on race. Alabama has already filed an appeal, setting up a possible showdown before the Supreme Court. And new arrest tonight connected to a series of burglaries against pro athletes, including NFL stars, Patrick Mahomes, and Travis Kelsey. The thieves allegedly stole jewelry, watches and cash. Authorities say to Chile, and have been arrested in Argentina and are waiting to be extradited to the U.S. A total of seven Chileans have been charged in connection with those burglaries. And back here in the U.S. a scary boat crash caught on camera.

This is video from below deck showing a ferry headed from Alcatraz to San Francisco, smashing into a pier. You can hear passengers scream as the boat crashes, shattering windows, sending glass flying. It's unclear though still exactly what happened. The cruise company told our NBC affiliate, or a station there, I should say no one was hurt. And the legendary saxophonist Sony Rollsons has died. He was known for his bold, distinctive sound, always experimenting with different types of jazz and a very, very big personality. He won multiple Grammy Awards and was widely regarded as one of the most influential sax players of his time.

His spokesperson told the AP he died in his home in upstate New York. He was 95 years old. Okay, we're going to go to Chicago now. The latest in the so-called teen takeovers, a viral trend where young people flocked to a specified area like a mall or a beach. This particular incident turning violent with dozens arrested and several officers hospitalized. Now some are calling for the parents to be held accountable, even arrested. Here's Maggie Vespah.

Tonight, dramatic new video of Chicago police pinning people down and struggling to quell massive Memorial Day crowds. Police say 53 people were arrested and nearby three teens were shot. This 24 hours after investigators say an 18-year-old plowed his car, into a crowd of five officers all now in fair condition. The teen charged with attempted murder. Two so-called teen takeovers in 24 hours. A viral trend sweeping the nation with massive gatherings organized online and unleashed on unsuspecting communities coast to coast,

often turning chaotic or violent. In Tampa, police body camera video shows massive fights amid a teen takeover earlier this month. Here you see the mayhem from above. Authorities say 22 people were arrested as young as 12. Another brawl breaking out at this Chipotle in Washington, D.C. And outside Milwaukee, cars spinning out in this intersection. Authorities last month responding to 12 teen takeovers in one weekend. Now Chicago officials weighing, targeting parents,

with one representative proposing charging parents of minors arrested at teen takeovers after the city's 10 p.m. curfew with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. A Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a $2,500 fine and 364 days in jail. This strategy of potentially charging parents, do you think it would be effective? I think that it's a start. We need to have a proactive approach from police, whereas they should be monitoring social media to establish where these meetups would be occurring and placing officers accordingly. One idea as desperation to rein in teen takeovers grows.

Maggie Vespa joins us tonight from Chicago. And Maggie, President Trump posting about this tonight. Yeah, Tom, that's right. The president today posting on Truth Social. We can pull that up. He wrote teen takeover in Chicago. Five officers badly hurt. He said mayor and governor are terrible.

Should call for help. Now, we should point out that we sent this statement over to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who just released a statement from his office, condemning these teen takeovers, saying any act of violence in his words, is unacceptable. And he's also called for accountability on the part of parents, but stopped just short of endorsing that potential ordinance that would allow for parents to be charged if their kids are arrested at these teen takeovers. So walking a bit of a line there. We should also point out again, the president in his statement saying five officers badly hurt. We just checked again with

Chicago PD. All five, thankfully, are in fair condition. Tom. Okay, that is a bit of good news. Okay, we thank you for that, Maggie. Now to NASA's newly released plans to build a base on the moon. The new images show their vision to develop semi-permanent living spaces for future scientific discoveries on the lunar surface. Our Tom Costello has the blueprints. Take a look at NASA's vision of a future moon base, massive, potentially hundreds of square miles on the lunar surface, complete with astronaut living quarters, lunar rovers, and power stations, with the ultimate goal of heading to Mars. And we want to be in an environment where we can learn the skills so that astronauts can go and plant the stars and stripes on Mars someday.

Splashdown confirmed. NASA's moon base plans come just six weeks after the Artemis 2 mission that sent astronauts around the moon for the first time in 50 years. NASA hopes to land Artemis four astronauts on the moon in 28. Building a moon base will come in three phases starting this year, eventually using drones and rovers to scout the best landing sites near the South Pole. In 2029, they'll begin assembling the moon base, including solar and nuclear power systems. Then in 2032, the first astronauts will begin living and working on the moon.

Artemis astronauts will stay longer, explore farther, and conduct the kinds of science that advances exploration itself. With China also aiming to build a lunar base, NASA plans to establish a perimeter around the American base. It's an ambitious timeline, and NASA will need to learn and react fast and mitigate the risks, including from long-term radiation exposure and micrometeorites that shower the moon. Tom? Coming up, the dramatic scene overseas, a car swept away in raging floodwaters. We'll show you that video. Plus, countdown to the World Cup, the U.S. men's national team releasing its roster.

We'll break down who made the cut right after this. We're back now with Top Stories Global Watch. We want to start in Belgium, where a speeding train slammed into a minibus, killing four people, including two kids. Five other children were seriously hurt. Officials say it appears the bus drove through the crossing barriers when they were closed. They're describing it as one of the worst rail accidents in the country's history. In China, dramatic video of a car getting sucked into raging floodwaters. You see it here. The SUV on the edge of a broken bridge, then the road just suddenly gives out, sending the car crashing into the water. Officials there told local media, everybody in the vehicle somehow got out safely before it got swept away. And drones falling from the sky during a popular light show in Australia.

Video capturing the moment, dozens of them just started dropping. Some of the drones splashing down into Sydney's Darling Harbor, not far from the crowds of people gathered around to watch. The event organizers say it was caused by technical issues. And the excitement building ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which kicks off in just 16 days. The U.S. is, of course, hosting the games along with Mexico and Canada. Games will take place in 11 American cities. You see them here with Team USA playing its first game against Paraguay on June 12th in L.A.

And just moments ago, Team USA unveiling the roster. 26 soccer players securing those coveted spots, and Stephanie Gossk was there for that big announcement right here in New York. So Stephanie, you know, it's obviously a big team. Let us know three players we should focus on. All right. Well, one of them you know really well because you interviewed him. in Milan, Christian Pulisic. The reason you interviewed him in Milan during the Olympics is because that's where he lives,

because he plays for A.C. Milan. And he's easily one of, if not the best player of his generation to come out of the U.S. You also have Tyler Adams. He's a midfielder, and people say he's really kind of the glue that binds this team together. And then you have Fallon and bear with me with his name, Balagan.

Fowlerin Balagan. He is the striker on the team. And a lot depends on whether he, He's sort of untested, so a lot depends on how well he plays. If he starts scoring a lot of goals, Tom, then the team could go far. Yeah, it'll be fun to see how they stack up. So that's the big question, right? How good is Team USA compared to the international competition?

And who are some of the stars that everyone's going to be watching from other teams around the world? Team USA has a really good chance to make it out of the group round. And then they have a pretty good chance to make it into the round of 16, which is single elimination. And then after that, it's really going to depend on how deep they're playing, how well they're playing, if they're scoring goals, if they're on this run. You know, the saying for this World Cup is never chase reality. It's another way of saying, chase the dream. Team USA is really going to have to chase the dream. And they're going to be going up against some huge talent. Players like Killian Mbapé from France who will remember him from the last World Cup, just absolutely phenomenal. hat trick. And then you have this young phenom, Lamin Yamal. He is a Spanish player. He's only

18 years old, Tom, from Barcelona. He is just incredible, and he's known for these kind of spectacular goals from really far away. So he'll be a lot of fun to watch. Yeah, and then there's the big question around Messi, right? I had a chance to sit down and talk to him. He seemed to sort of tell me that he was going to play on the team. He didn't want to commit completely, but he committed to another year of Inner Miami, so that makes us all think he's going to play in the World Cup. That being said, Stephanie, I know he got injured. What's the latest on that?

Yeah, sure. So he still has not committed. This would be his sixth World Cup. And yeah, he was not feeling so great after his last game on Sunday. And the team said he's got a hamstring injury on his left leg. He was kind of gingerly walking off the field, which has some people nervous. But, you know, if he is feeling healthy, he's 39 years old. If he's feeling healthy, then for sure he's going to want to be out there for Argentina.

Yeah, and they have a couple of weeks. I mean, and what an incredible story that would be if they went back-to-back World Cups. I mean, it would just, it would be incredible. He's already a legend. People already think he's the greatest ever, but that would sort of solidify him. I do want to ask you something that's sort of a programming note. There's been a lot of sort of, you know, just reporting on the World Cup here in the tri-state area, especially in New Jersey and New York. And now there's this thing that may or may not happen.

If the Knicks, now they've made it to the NBA finals, there may be an unprecedented clash of basketball fans. and World Cup attendees in New York City. And it may all sort of come together at Penn Station. Explain this to our non-New York crowd, if you will. Well, yeah, I mean, Penn Station will get really busy. So it depends on a couple of factors, right? So the finals will have to go into the fifth, sixth, and seventh games to have that kind of due effect of

of these fans piling into Penn Station. The games for the World Cup are happening in the city. The Madison Square Garden is where the basketball finals will be held here in New York. The soccer game is going to be at MetLife Stadium, which is out in New Jersey. But the trains are all going to leave from Penn Station. It could be very hectic, very hectic. It could be fan chaos. Yeah, it'll be fun, though, and it'll be another New York story, I'm sure.

All right, Stephanie, we thank you. If you've been scrolling on social media recently, you've probably heard this song. When we come back, the man behind that viral train. track joins Top Story. We'll talk about how he created it and what it could mean for the future of music. Stay with us. This is the song that is taking over the internet, and if it has you dreaming of a tropical vacation, you are not alone. More than 2 million people have streamed the Puerto Rico song. The catchy tune made using AI was originally created as the soundtrack to just one man's vacation,

like his personal home video, but now it's gone totally viral. Take another listen. So now it's gone viral. People are posting videos using the song, including celebrities like Luke Combs, boy band O'Town, and Charlie Puth. It's bound to be stuck in your head all week. Some are even calling it the song of the summer. I want to bring in the man behind the music because this is a great story. The creator of the Puerto Rico song, Are You Ready, Bill Stitler, remember the name, also known as Sax Boy Billy.

I don't know what that's about, but you'll tell us. Thanks for joining Top Story. Thank you. You are a broadcaster, friend. So first of all, how did you make the song? Is that you singing? No, no, no, no. So I go to a place like Puerto Rico.

I'll pop around. I'll make notes on my trip. And I'll write down little notes. I'll take a bunch of videos. I'll go home. I'll construct a tightly written little ditty there. And then I pop it into a program called Suno. Wait, lyrics or just the notes from the trip?

No, I'll turn the notes from the trip into lyrics, right? This process, you've never seen a process like it. Okay, yeah. But I'll pop it into this program. called Suno, which is a program that just takes my words. I can sing into it if I want to, and then uses AI, a little robo-tron action. And yeah, it's just gotten better and better. I've been using it a little over two years now because I'm not a musician. When did you realize that it, well, how did it take off? The song, the Puerto Rico song? There was a, I would give a

comedian, there was a comedian, there's a comedian Brian Jordan Alvarez who kept on, did like 12 of them lip-syncing it. There was a bunch of comedians. You just, You just put it on your social media. I'm sitting in my house. It's tip-tip-taping away, baby. Come on, now. And then when did you realize, like, wait, this is something? Well, it's something.

The big one was, which is especially important in Pittsburgh, was Luke Combs. Yeah. I got followed on TikTok by his wife. I'm like, what? Not every day. I'm like, you know, and then he's backstage at Alabama football game, doing the dance, having fun with it, you know, just having fun. as it's supposed to be, you know what I mean?

So I got to, I want to ask you, are you making any money off this? It's come, I tell you what? Tom, on Monday, guess what I'm going? Where are you going? Puerto Rico, are you really? Yeah, Discover Puerto Rico reached out to me. They're like, you know, because it's also new, using the Suno, it's all new. It's just my travelogs, right?

And, yeah, I'll be going down. They're going to be shooting a video. They asked me today for my swimming trun size. That's amazing. They're going to get you a bathing suit. I need something that's not polyester, because I'm sure. I'm shining on TV. But I gotta think that you're making more than just a painting suit.

Like, how about on Spotify? You have so many views on Spotify. Are you getting like any kind of cash on that? Yeah, so I've never put one of these on Spotify because I just view them as comedy videos. Who knows how to even do this, right? It's brand new territory. It's brand new.

I'm like Lewis and Clark out there. And so do they send you a check? How does it work? You know what? We're gonna find out. We should do it. We should do a follow-up. So you haven't got, you haven't been collecting the bills.

You're not like the Bentley's not outside waiting to take you back to your place. No, I sit. City Bikes up here. Not yet. You city Bunk. No, I, the music distributor said, hey, we want to release the song. I said, go ahead. You know what I mean?

Like, they paid me- You signed a contract, I got it. Right? Okay, okay. It's not a handshake deal. All right, all right. Yeah, but we, yeah, signed it. So they have the distro, they have the right, so it's out there.

They're from England. They were like, oh, mate, this track, you knew it was going to happen with AI, mate. It would cook something, it would spit something out. And it did. It did. with you, I'm talking about you myself. I know. So you're transparent about the AI part of it.

But nobody's like coming out, you're like, hey, that's my jingle or, hey, that's my drumbeat or anything like that. I think, I'm trying to think of specifically, it's more like coming after me for the AI, but I got nothing to hide. Yeah, I'm not a comedian. I'm not a musician. So you're a comedian. A comedian.

That's where the nickname comes from. Sex, boy, you don't even want to hear. This story would put you asleep. We don't want to be boring. We don't want to be boring. And right now you're on fire. Right now you're on fire. So you want everything to be a hit.

You want everything to be a hit. All right, so you have this song. Did you say like the influences like, hey, I want it to sound a little bit like this? I want it to sound like a little bit like that. What are your musical influences? We'll keep it kind of open. What are your musical influences?

Keep it in open. Yeah, it's the secret sauce now. That is the prompt you put in to be like, hey, sound like this. But honestly, with the Suno, think of what it sounds like to you. Yeah. And you can just write that in there. The technology is getting crazy.

It used to be where the AI music, like, where real music looks like you, and AI music looks like me right now. Oh, come on. But now it's getting better and better. Yeah. And it's pretty crazy. Do you know if people in Puerto Rico love this song? Have you heard from Puerto Ricans?

I mean, yeah, I know for a fact, like Discover Puerto Rico. Like, every day I open my phone, there's like 100-plus remakes from people in Puerto Rico. And people love the love... What's love to love... What's not to like about Puerto Rico? It's the best place. It's so much fun. And now this song makes it even better.

I would say, do you... Do you think that you'll create more music, or is this kind of a one-off? You're a comedian, you're kind of doing your thing. I've been doing this two years, right? So I travel to a place. Like I've done them on, I go to all kinds of places, and yeah, I'm just gonna keep it going.

It's too much fun. That's a great thing road up there. This was like a hobby. This was just for fun for social media, and then now it's like, now it's my full-time gig. Isn't that crazy? Yeah.

It is, um, I'm ready. I'm ready for the moment. I'm here. I can't believe. I'm watching a, The nightly news, like, I had to have cable growing up, man. I was watching nightly news all the time. So wait, let me ask you, do you think you're like a musician at all?

Like, are you musically inclined? Heck no. You're just somebody who's messing around on an app, had fun. I'm really good at, I'm good at, I think, like a songwriter, I would say you could kind of argue. I can say I'm a songwriter. Let's go. Let's go one more. How about a poet? Huh? How about a poet?

Let's go. How about a, yeah, I'll take it. You'll take it. You'll make me blush out of air. I think, look, man, I think it takes real talent. It's not easy to go viral. It's not easy to, especially with something as creative as this. You know, you could do something crazy and go viral.

But this is, like, kind of smart, kind of fun, and people are loving it, which is good, too, you know? It reminds me of, like, 2012 Internet, where people are doing ice bucket challenge and dancing around. People are just having, it's a tough one. I was watching these segments about sinkholes and whatnot. They're crazy out there. People want a little piece of sweet candy. Maybe you do your next one about a sinkhole. And it's a positive sinkhole.

I talk, important live from the sinkhole. You can do that. Bill, any other projects coming up we should tell your fans about? It's just going to be, there's a great big road out there. I want to see it all. I want to see it all. But, yeah, the little moms, I'm going to Manchester, New Hampshire. Okay, did you do a song there? Yeah.

Did they ask you? No. Okay. All right, you're just going to do it. All right, that sounds fun. All right. Portland, Maine. Yeah, I'm going to go on or not.

I want to travel the world, though. I want to go to Australia, South Africa. But start making songs and get them to pay you. I'm from Miami. I want to go to Miami. So I'm saying, like, This Puerto Rico song is like right up our alley. We use you down there.

Let's go. Okay, that sounds great. It should team up. Bad Bunny, maybe other great people from Puerto Rico, Ricky Martin. Ricky Martin. You can do like co-labs. Bill, it's been a pleasure. Thanks for talking to us.

Thanks for taking that time. Thanks for sharing that song. It's a lot of fun. It'll be in our heads we know all week. And we thank you for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamas in New York. Stay right there. Born News on the way.