Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Episode Date: May 31, 2023

A woman is rescued from the wreckage of the Davenport, Iowa building collapse, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes reports to prison to begin her 11-year sentence, wildfires rip through tens of thousands of acres in Nova Scotia, a missing Tennessee mother is spotted on surveillance footage in California, and a beloved British TV host resigns from a top-rated morning show after admitting to an affair with a much younger staffer.

Tonight, a stunning development in that partial building collapse in Iowa. A woman spotted in her fourth floor apartment after spending 24 hours hiding in her bathroom. Fire crews bringing her to the ground, but that rescue coming after Davenport officials suspended search efforts. Throwing questions tonight, why were officials ready to knock a building down with a woman still alive inside? And could there be more people trapped, including five people who are unaccounted for? We'll have a live report from the scene. Beach shooting horror, video showing the moment panicked crowds ran to take cover after gunfire erupted between two groups near the beach. Nine people injured, including children, the youngest victim, just one year old.

Police still hunting for the gunmen. Also breaking tonight a close call with a Chinese fighter jet, the moment a J-16 flew directly in front of a U.S. military aircraft, the turbulent shaking the cockpit. What the military is saying about that intercept tonight. A dramatic escalation in the Ukraine war, Moscow, rocked by a series of drone strikes early this morning. The first attack on residential parts of the capital since the start of the conflict. Ukraine denying responsibility, but fears tonight, Keith could be the target of a new counterattack. In Canada, dramatic dash cam video showing one family's race to escape an out-of-control wildfire, thousands of others forced to flee their homes, a state of emergency declared in Nova Scotia as firefighters struggle to contain

the blaze. Plus a desperate search for a Tennessee mom who vanished on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, where the couple was spotted blast by surveillance cameras and the incident last month captured on body camp that has her family concerned for her safety. And the urgent warning tonight about artificial intelligence, why industry leaders are cautioning that the technology could pose a risk of extinction and should be treated as seriously as a pandemic or the threat of nuclear war. Top story starts right. now. Good evening. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. Tonight, anguish has turned to awe, has turned to anger in Davenport, Iowa. Last night, we told you about the partial collapse of this

apartment building. It was nearly a hundred years old. A woman, Lisa Brooks, reported missing by her family with fears. She may have died in the initial collapse. Officials calling off search and rescue efforts, believing no one was inside, even planning to begin demolition, as early as today. But then this miraculous moment just hours later, Brooks appearing in the window of her fourth-story apartment where her family says she had been hiding in the bathtub for 24 hours. Brooks lowered to the ground by the fire department, her family relieved, but the crowd that had gathered quickly growing angry, questioning why if she was inside, was the building about to be torn down? And if rescue teams missed Brooks, could they have also missed others?

Tonight, as two people remain unaccounted for growing calls for accountability for everyone involved in suspending that search, NBC's Maggie Vespa is on the ground in Davenport, pressing those officials for answers tonight. Tonight, a miraculous rescue deemed a turning point in Davenport. 52-year-old Lisa Brooks suddenly appearing in her fourth floor window Monday night, hours after the search for survivors, was called off. We do not have any credible information at this time. of anyone missing. Despite family and friends, insisting Brooks was still unaccounted for. She's not anywhere, nowhere to be found. But Brooks, who family says is disabled, was inside. Spending much of the last 24 hours, her family says, in shock, cowering in her bathtub after a portion of her more than 100-year-old apartment building collapsed Sunday. Today, officials

blown away. Why wasn't she found earlier? I am totally transparent with you. I do not know. Crews had combed this site with canines, drones, even thermal imaging, indicating there were no survivors left. So much so, the city announced demolition would commence this morning. Now confirming plans changed when Brooks emerged. What did you think when you saw her in the window? I was crying. I was crying. Tonight, the city planning another search, now saying two people may still be trapped in the rubble. One of them, computer technician Ryan Hitchcock, his family pleading for patience. Ryan wouldn't want anyone else to put their lives at risk to, unfortunately,

somebody who probably has not survived. Families say Brandon Colvin, a father of five, is the other person likely trapped, adding that's his apartment, his rack of clothes visible from the street. They have not exhausted all means to make sure everybody is a out of there. The problem, the building, which the city says has a history of complaints and was under repair, is now being held up by rubble. Be careful because this building is going to collapse. Maggie Vespa joins us now from Davenport, Iowa. Maggie, it's been a little more than 48 hours since the initial collapse. Any idea when the next search could happen? So, Ellison, there's no set timeline. Officials say right now for that next search or frankly

for the demolition for that matter. And at the same time, specific to this building's owner, we have reached out to him, we haven't heard back. And the city new tonight saying they're not ruling out the possibility of criminal charges against the owner of this building, adding there will be, of course, a thorough investigation. Allison, Maggie Fespa in Davenport, thank you. Next tonight, police in Hollywood Beach, Florida, are searching for more suspects after two groups got into an argument and opened fire on Memorial Day. Nine people were injured, including a one-year-old child. NBC Sam Brock has more. Tonight, Hollywood, Florida, just the latest city featured in a portrait of national violence.

Somebody's on a floor shot. Someone's on the floor shot. We're on a popular family-friendly promenade. Most people got up from the restaurant, went around hidden different places. Hundreds scrambled for their lives amidst a volley of gunfire on Memorial Day. I think there was a child that was shot, and we actually saw people bringing the child and getting into an ambulance. Several individuals have been detained by law enforcement as police search for these three men, they say are involved in yesterday shooting with nine victims, including a one-year-old child.

None of the injuries are considered life-threatening. You know, when you hear gunshots, you don't know what it is. Steps away from the violence. Cori Afriott offers a window into the holiday horror. New surveillance video from his cafe club shows a mom running by holding her child's hand and a man plowing through a rope barricade. stunned completely stunned to have to have it happen in Hollywood Beach where there's always police surveillance you know surveilling the area businesses are safe everything is always

safe here the violence spiking nationwide over the holiday weekends from Hollywood Florida to Hollywood South Carolina which saw five wounded in a shooting late Monday and Chicago which just suffered its deadliest Memorial Day weekend in eight years with more than 40 shootings then in San Clemente California authorities investigating this beating of three Marines by a group of young people in yet another episode of senseless violence. And Sam joins us now from Hollywood, Florida. Sam, what more are we learning about the weapons used in this shooting?

Allison, five guns were recovered. Two of them, according to police, were illegally obtained. One of them in Texas. One of them in Miami-Dade. You can actually see a firearm in one of those wanted pictures. And, Allison, it really does speak to what I'm hearing on the ground from witnesses and business owners, which was this was a cross-fire situation. multiple guns, multiple shooters coming at it at angles, and poor bystanders stuck in the middle.

And Sam, where does the search for suspects stand tonight? So police remain very optimistic. They're going to find them, Ellison, from what we have learned from authorities. They actually, the people they're looking for are not from Hollywood. They're from other parts of South Florida, but they said whoever perpetrated this did it in broad daylight on CCTV. So the confidence levels remain high. They're going to find them and find them soon. All right, Sam Brock in Hollywood, Florida. Thank you. We're also following some breaking news overseas and a potentially close call between Chinese and U.S. fighter jets over the South China Sea. The Pentagon releasing this new video showing a Chinese fighter jet flying right past the nose of a U.S. reconnaissance plane, forcing the U.S. pilot to fly through turbulence.

No one was hurt. The Pentagon says the U.S. was conducting routine operations in accordance with international law at the time. defense official telling in BC news, they've seen a, quote, alarming increase in risky encounters by Chinese aircrafts. Turning now to Russia, where President Putin is blaming Ukraine for a recent series of drone attacks right in Moscow. But an advisor to Zelensky says Ukraine was not directly involved. These attacks coming as a barrage of Russian airstrikes continue to hit an embattled Kiev. Molly Hunter has the latest. Tonight in Moscow, President Putin vowing to retaliate for What he said was a Ukrainian drone attack. The attack, Putin said on TV, was aimed at scaring Russian citizens and hitting residential buildings.

In video, verified by NBC News, a drone scene flying low over the Capitol. The Russian Ministry of Defense says they shot down eight drones, because NBC News cannot independently verify that information. The ministry says two people were injured and several buildings damaged. And Moscow is pointing the finger directly at Kiev. But tonight, an advisor to President Zelensky tells NBC news, Ukraine is not directly involved in the attacks in Moscow. Here in Kiev, the Russian aerial bombardment has been unrelenting. At least one person has been killed, several injured, just in the last 24 hours.

Early this morning, the Ukrainian Air Force says it shot down nearly 30 Russian drones. Now, take a look at all of this debris, and they're actually still throwing debris out of the window so we can't go any closer. Residents tell us they heard a massive, pressurized explosion overnight. Unclear, though, whether that was debris hitting this building or whether it took a direct hit. Max Chabinov lived on the 12th floor. I closed my eyes because I thought, well, that's it. That's the end. And across the Capitol, a new phase of this war, Sasha lives just behind this building. Every time when we hear explosion, my body is shaking, my voice is shanky, shaking.

Alison, Keeb feels really, really different than even last week. The last four days have just been terrifying, and you can see it in the behavior of the residents of the city. One of the way is tens of thousands of people are sheltering in the subway, and those are really scenes, Ellison, that we haven't seen in months. Alison, thank you, Molly, stay safe. For more on these recent attacks, I want to bring in Colonel Jack Jacobs. He's a retired U.S. Army colonel and an NBC News military analyst.

Colonel Jacobs, thank you so much for joining Top Story tonight. The Kremlin is blaming you. Ukraine for these drone attacks in Moscow, Ukrainian officials are saying the country was not directly involved. Directly seems to be a pretty important word there. Could this have been carried out by Ukrainian special forces or pro-Ukrainian operatives without direct involvement or knowledge from Ukraine's top commanders? Well, if there were Ukrainian forces, it's unlikely. But Ukrainians have a lot of friends. And there are special forces of various organizations that are operating here. It's interesting to note that Ukraine's got a fairly vibrant cottage industry

having developed its own drones using parts from a wide variety of sources, including, ironically, Turkey, who's a friend of Russia, but they're developing these drones so they can operate on their own. They're not nearly as sophisticated as the drones that are supplied by Western powers, more easily jammed, slower, more easily shot down, and so on. But we have to remember that this is probably not necessarily an attack to do anything other than harass the Kremlin at a time when Ukraine is probably working very hard to assemble forces for a counteroffensive later on in the year. And also to demonstrate to Russia and to Russians that Ukraine can reach as far as Moscow, not necessarily doing a lot of damage, but to demonstrate the Ukraine's still

in the game. And they're going to, there'll be a little tit for tad as long as Russia continues to bombard Ukraine. There will be these attacks from Ukraine. If Ukraine was responsible for these attacks, and it was, as you're suggesting, more of a message than a strategic move, is it a smart strategic move for Ukraine or President Zelensky when it appears they hit civilian areas, which would be in violation of international humanitarian law? Well, these are not particularly accurate drones, and so it's not surprising if they were to fly into an area that's heavily populated, they're going to hit civilian areas.

No, it's not particularly helpful if all they wanted to do is demonstrate that they could do it. There are lots of other targets that Ukrainians could have fired at and could have hit, actually, in more remote areas. Nevertheless, I think that the Russians were fully expecting this, and not nearly as late as now. I think they were expecting it far earlier in the conflict, but it's just now the Ukrainians are putting together a substantial drone force, and their technology will continue to improve. And Ukrainian civilians have repeatedly been the victims of attacks again and again and again from Russian drones, Russian missiles all across the country. But when you look at all of these attacks, this one in Moscow, the escalation we've seen on the capital of Ukraine, Kiev in the last four days, what do you think it means for the current state of the war?

It's on hold, to be honest. The real battles are on the ground, and they will be fought as pitched battles in a very, very conventional way between forces that are loaded with tanks, loaded with artillery, and with masses of infantry, what will turn the tide on the ground will be an attack of some kind that will pierce through the defenses of either the Russians or the Ukrainians permitting a large-scale assault by one side or the other through the breach. That's probably not going to happen any time soon because neither side has sufficient forces, either people on the ground or artillery. and missiles in order to affect this kind of battle. But when the battle does come, it will be a substantial battle that will turn the tide one way or the other, probably later this year. All right. Colonel Jacobs, thank you so much for your insight. We appreciate it.

Sure. Now to the clock ticking down to pass a debt ceiling bill. The deal struck up between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy now in the hands of the House Rules Committee, who needs to vote before it moves to the full chamber. But members from both parties raising concerns with some conservative lawmakers, even mulling a move to oust McCarthy as speaker. NBC's Capitol Hill correspondent, Ryan Nobles, has the very latest. Tonight, the first real test for President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's debt deal, a critical House committee vote. Yes, I'm confident we'll pass the day. The legislation to avoid

a catastrophic default must pass by June 5th, and already lawmakers from both the conservative right and the progressive left are raising concerns. Not one Republican should vote for this deal. It is a bad deal. It is bad in a lot of respects. The bill will raise the debt ceiling for two years. And after Republicans demanded spending cuts, the deal caps non-defense spending

to just a 1% increase over the next two years. It claws back unspent COVID aid and places new work requirements for some adults on food stamps. Still, some House conservatives are worried, McCarthy gave up too much. And some are entertaining what's called a motion to vacate, a vote to remove McCarthy as speaker. How do you view the motion to vacate in this situation?

As a tool to fix Republican leadership to align with the Republican conference. But McCarthy believes the bill's future is solid and his speakership is not in danger. I'm not sure what in the bill people are concerned about. It is the largest savings of $2.1 trillion we've ever had. Are they opposed to work requirements for welfare? Ryan Nobles joins us now from Capitol Hill. Ryan, if this bill does pass the Rules Committee, it only needs a simple majority to pass in the House.

But could it be a tougher process in the Senate? Well, it's certainly more complicated, Ellis. And first of all, it would require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. And then there's also the timing of everything. Just one senator can slow down the process. And with that June 5th deadline fast approaching, The Senate will have to make quick work of this legislation in order to have it done in time, which really means the House needs to vote it out of their chamber by tomorrow.

Alison. Ryan Nobles, thank you. Now to politics and Governor Ronda Sanchez's early state campaign kickoff. The Florida governor hitting the trail in Iowa as he steps up his attacks on former President Donald Trump. Gabe Gutierrez is there. Hello, Iowa. After repeated stops in Iowa over the last few months, tonight, Florida Governor Ronald, Don DeSantis is making his first as an official presidential candidate and taking on Republican frontrunner, former President Trump.

What do you make of this ongoing feud that the governor has had with Disney? Does it resonate with you, that idea? I'm happy. We needed somebody to stand up, and I'm very proud of DeSantis for doing it. DeSantis bashing Trump for previously calling the governor's ongoing feud with Disney a political stunt. I'm standing for parents. I'm standing for children. And I think a multi-billion dollar company that sexualizes children is not consistent with the values of Florida or the values of a place like Iowa. Trump firing back, blasting the entertainment giant as a woke and disgusting shadow of its former self.

Disney is suing Florida over what it says is retaliation for the company's opposition to the state's parental rights and education act, which critics label the don't say gay law. And look at Disney and what a mess it is. could have worked out an easy settlement, but no, he wanted to show the fake news how tough a guy he is. This week, DeSantis is barnstorming early caucus in primary states with 13 stops. Here in Iowa, DeSantis, a Roman Catholic, is planning to court evangelicals. Without the evangelical vote, it doesn't happen, period. For Pastor Michael Damascus, culture war issues like DeSantis' so-called War on Woke, resonate. It's why he says brands like Bud Light.

Target and Coles have recently faced backlash for marketing campaigns aimed at LGBTQ customers. We don't see this as, you know, a battle between DeSantis and Disney. It's a battle for children. It's a battle for protecting children from an ideology that the majority of parents in the United States do not want to be thrust upon their children, period. Gabe Gutierrez joins us now from inside DeSantis' event in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa. Gabe, this is the Florida governor's first event as a presidential candidate. How has he been changing his message? Well, Alison, this is his first in-person event.

You know, in the past several days, he has been calibrating his message slightly differently. He's been escalating his attacks on former President Trump. You'll recall for several months, he had declined to engage the former president despite relentless attacks by Donald Trump and his team. We do expect that to continue, his attacks to continue now, now that he's a formally declared candidate, and now that he's really trying to win over conservative evangelical voters here in Iowa, which is, of course, critical to the caucus here. Alison?

And Gabe, previously former President Trump attacked DeSantis for his battle against Disney. But in your story tonight, he took some shots at Disney as well. Is this a signal Trump thinks DeSantis' attacks on the corporate giant? It's actually a smart strategy? Potentially, and look, it's very interesting. We've been seeing over the last several days, Desantis and his team are making the argument to fundraisers and donors that among the GOP caucus electorate here in Iowa, that they support his war on Disney, not because he's taking on a major business in the state, but they see

it as you heard from the pastor in my story. They view it as ideology, quote, woke ideology, being thrust on children. So the DeSantis team thinks that his feud with Disney will play very well here, and it was interesting to see in the last day or so, former President Trump making very fear that he does not side with Disney and trying to reclaim some of the argument and go to Desantis' right on the issue. Look for that debate to play out of the coming days as DeSantis said to be here in Iowa. tomorrow and then moving to New Hampshire in South Carolina later this week as he

barnstorms the country else. Gabe Gutierrez, thanks for that. Now to the latest in the Elizabeth Holmes saga, the disgraced Theranos founder and CEO reported to a federal prison in Texas today to begin her 11-year sentence that her being found guilty of defrauding investors out of millions of dollars. CNBC's Yasmin Kouram has been following this story for us. Elizabeth Holmes taking her last steps of freedom looking back as her partner and parents wave goodbye and blow kisses her way

there's home there goes Elizabeth Holmes Holmes reporting for her 11 year sentence after being found guilty last January of four counts of wire fraud in connection to the now infamous blood testing scam in her company Theranos she was gone to herald a revolution in medical good luck Elizabeth Holmes has made multiple attempts to stay out of prison while she tries to overturn the conviction, but her latest bids were rejected. Today, she entered the minimum security federal women's prison camp located in Bryan, Texas, leaving behind two children, the youngest, just three months. Inside the prison, she'll be living in dormitory

style housing with roommates and have to swap her signature black turtlenecks for a khaki uniform. The prison nicknamed Club Fed is where many celebrities have served time, including Martha Stewart, and currently it also houses real house. housewife Jen Shaw, but it's a far cry from the lavish life she lived in California. The disgraced founder and CEO of Theranos was once considered by some to be the face of a new age of technology. First they think you're crazy, then they fight you, and then all of a sudden you change the world. She famously dropped out of Stanford to build Theranos into a darling of Silicon Valley that at one point was valued at more than $9 billion. What do you dream for?

that less people have to say goodbye too soon to people they love falsely claiming that with just one drop of blood her technology could run hundreds of blood tests Forbes even naming her the youngest female self-made billionaire with a net worth of 4.5 billion but that's the former face of the future now the face of fraud Holmes was convicted of deceiving investors for more than 900 million dollars. Both she and her ex-boyfriend and former top executive Sunny Balwani have been ordered to pay more than $450 million back to investors such as Rupert Murdoch and Betsy DeVos, who were impacted by her failed blood testing company. She thought that she couldn't be held accountable, that she thought that she could tell investors anything, that she could tell institutions and financial agencies whatever she wanted to

and not be held accountable. And that's just false. The once billionaire will spend the first 90 days of her sentence working in the prison kitchen for 12 to 40 cents per hour. Yasman Quorum joins us now from San Francisco. As you said in your piece there, she'll be working in the prison kitchen for anywhere from 12 to 40 cents an hour. That's quite a change from the lifestyle she had before. What else can you tell us about life and so-called club fed for Elizabeth Holmes? Well, she is one of 655 inmates at this so-called club fed, about 100 miles outside of Houston, where she grew up. She'll have absolutely no privacy.

She'll be wearing a khaki uniform. She will spend her first 90 days working in the kitchen, as we mentioned, making 12 to 40 cents an hour. After that, she will work as a groundskeeper or a janitor at the facility. She's going to be told when she can eat, when she can shower, and when she can sleep, and she will have limited communication with her two young kids. Ellison, life as Holmes knows it is over. Yes, it's been Coram. Thanks for that. Over to eastern Canada, where a state of emergency is in place as wildfires ravaged tens of thousands of acres across Nova Scotia.

Officials saying the area has already seen more blazes in 2023 than all of last year. NBC's Valerie Castro has the latest. Tonight, firefighters in Nova Scotia, Canada, battling a raging wild. wildfire that has forced more than 16,000 people to evacuate along routes like this. This dashboard cam video showing extreme lack of visibility, sparks flying, and forests burning all around the road, almost causing a crash. Government officials saying nearly 2,000 acres have been affected so far in the Halifax region alone and declaring a state of emergency. Hot spots and areas of open flame have been extinguished,

but fire officials say reburn is still a dangerous. possibility. Those fuels that are left from the original time when the fire passed through are now 100% cured and they are ready to burn. The wildfire causing a massive smoke cloud to form over the port city, smoke impacting air quality south of the border too as far away as Connecticut. Folks who are vulnerable or may have respiratory disease have to be very, very careful. As of Monday, 200 firefighters have been working to put the fire out in the Halifax region, but officials say resources have been spread thinner due to other outbursts across Canada, like the massive Barrington Lake fire just a few hours south and the Bocabeck fire in

New Brunswick. There is a shortage of firefighters. This is a bad fire season, not only for Nova Scotia, but for Canada in general. The massive blazes out east coming as Western and Central Canada have also reeled with hellish fires since early May. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling the wildfire situation in Nova Scotia incredibly serious and that he is ready to provide any federal support needed. No deaths have been reported, but as images like this continue to fuel worry, officials are urging evacuees to stay away from the impacted area. Valerie Castro, NBC News.

Still ahead tonight, road trip disappearance, the new surveillance images of a Tennessee woman who went missing while crossing the country with her boyfriend. The police report from a month before that's raising concerns for her safety. Plus passenger overboard, a Virginia man falling over a cruise ship railing the search mission now underway. And morning show scandal, a popular British TV host now off the air after it was revealed he was having an affair with a colleague that started when that production assistant was a teenager. Stay with us. Now to California, where there's a search for a missing mother from Tennessee.

She and her boyfriend have been spotted on surveillance cameras. We have those latest images and the message from her family for the public. NBC Stephen Romo has the story, and we want to warn you. Some of the images in this are graphic. What's going on? Tonight, new developments in the case of missing 33-year-old Nikki Alcarez and her boyfriend, who has not been named as an official suspect or person of interest and is still nowhere to be found.

The couple spotted on surveillance camera selling Alcarez's phone at a kiosk in California over the weekend after being missing for three weeks, according to the Redding Police Department. And new body camera footage from an incident earlier this month before she went missing. On May 8th, the Moriarty Police Department in New Mexico says a license plate reader got a read on Nikki's Jeep in Flagstaff, Arizona. Her brother, adding, that day was the last time her family heard from her. Nobody's been able to reach her. Her phone's been off. Alcarez's family fearing the worst after her road trip with her boyfriend allegedly went south. She and Tyler Stratton were traveling from Tennessee to California. Days before she went missing on May 4th, a police incident report reveals a truck driver saw the couple fighting and called police, reporting, quote, he noticed the female sitting on the ground with the male over her and he punched her in the face. driver that's my truck right there. As I was driving by, I seen her on the ground. Okay. And I seen that dude over there slapper or punch her in the face. The report states when police arrived Alcarez, alleging Stratton, quote, hit her for no reason. The officer also noticing

in the report red marks on her face and finger, print marks on both arms. Ms. Alcarez also stated that she had a bruise on her chest and on her back. Stratton responding that Nikki hit him in the mouth for no reason, and the officer noting, quote, the male had blood coming from his mouth and nose area. The officer determining, quote, both parties were mutual combatants while traveling down the interstate. Alcarez's brother says she called a friend to drive her to the hospital, where he says she was treated for her injuries. The friend tried to convince her to leave him, and she's, you know, she's just that kind of person. to help everybody. She's like, no, he's going to, some battle happen if I leave him. A missing person's poster from the Cheatham Sheriff's Office in Tennessee saying,

quote, due to history of domestic assault, we believe she is in danger. We reached out to Stratton's family who did not address the domestic violence allegations, but said they hope he is found. Alcarez's family getting support from the family of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old who was killed while on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, Brian. laundry in 2021. I don't know. We've been inviting all morning. Alcarez's brother, saying the Gabby Petito Foundation, setting up a Facebook page and is looking

to organize an official search party, adding that Petito's mother has reached out to the family. I think they just want to help as much as they can after what happened to them. And Stephen Romo joins us now in studio. Stephen, you said the couple was spotted at that Walmart. What happened from there? Yeah, it's such a bizarre situation. And police say that it appears that Ms. Alcoriz sold her phone at that kios, so her family has no way of contacting her right now. And then both of them took off together, of course, very alarming to the family that they're still together.

Police will tell you time after time that these domestic situations can be among the most volatile that they deal with. So the Reading California Police Department, where that sighting actually happened, is now asking any more information on where they may be to come forward and try to help them locate them. Stephen Romo, thank you. Now to the scandal, engulfing one of Great Britain's most popular morning shows, fame TV hosts, Philip Schofield, off the air after admitting to having an affair with a much younger colleague who was a teenager when they first met. Josh Letterman has more on the growing fallout. It's the kind of tea that this British morning show never wanted to spill. What has happened to this show?

Philip Schofield, longtime host of ITVs this morning, stepping down after he says he had an affair with a much younger man who worked on the show. Schofield's lawyers telling the newspaper the standard that they met when the young man was 15, but that the affair started after he turned 18 and joined ITV. In a statement, Schofield, who is 61, apologizing for the affair, which happened while he was married, saying that relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over. Mitch Kessler, my co-host and partner of 15 years, was fired today. The scandal, leading some on social media to draw comparisons to Apple TV's,

morning show about a powerful morning TV anchor brought down by allegations of sexual misconduct she's throwing me under the bus and like the on-screen duo in the morning show this scandal shattering one of the UK's most iconic and recognizable TV couples Schofield and Holly Willoughby known as friends on and off the air hosting the show together for 14 years you are on fire today winning over legions of fans with their on-air antics What the hell was... And reaping the rewards.

Please don't think we ever take this for granted. This brings so much to us. Holly, standing by Phil back in 2020, when he announced to the world that he's gay. I have never been more proud of my friends than I am today. But after Schofield admitted the affair, Willoughby no longer appearing to stand by him. Instead, taking to Instagram,

writing, when reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not. It's been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie. ITV also saying in a statement that they conducted an investigation in 2020, but couldn't substantiate the affair. The network saying both Schofield and the young man denied it at the time. ITV this morning and Holly Willoughby did not respond to our request for comment. Efforts to reach Phillips Schofield were unsuccessful. In the wake of his departure, this morning making a nod to the scandal. We love making the show for all of you. Yeah, we really do. And that's exactly.

what we're going to do. Just write that down. Holly Willoughby has been off air throughout the scandal. Sky News reports that ITV says she's expected to be back on air June 5th. As the show, she helped make a breakfast TV institution does its best to move on. As for Schofield, his fall from grace doesn't appear to have hit bottom quite yet. This week, his talent agency, YMU, announced they were dropping him as a client. And Schofield also had to step away from his longtime gig hosting the British Soap Awards,

which are coming up this Saturday. And tonight, Schofield was also dropped as ambassador for the Prince's Trust, a charity founded by King Charles. Ellison? Josh Sleatherman, thank you. When we come back and update to a story we covered here in the last month, a 17-year-old shot after mistakenly entering the wrong house in Kentucky, where that teen made a surprise public appearance today and how he's doing.

Back now with Top Stories News Feed, we begin with the trial against the accused Tree of Life Synagogue shooter in Pittsburgh. Robert Bowers is accused of killing 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life Synagogue back in 2018 and has pleaded guilty to 63 hate crimes and gun-related charges. Family members of victims are expected to testify throughout the trial. If convicted, Bowers could receive the death penalty. The Carter Center has announced that former First Lady Rosalind Carter has dementia. In a statement, the organization says she continues to live at her Georgia home with her husband, former president, Jimmy Carter. The statement did not go into further detail on her condition, but it comes as the former president receives hospice care, also at their home.

A search is underway for a man off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, Carnival Cruise Line, saying it reported a man overboard to the U.S. Coast Guard after his companion told the crew he was missing. A review of security footage confirmed he went over his room's balcony railing and inmate. to the water. The Coast Guard instructed the captain to take the ship back to Norfolk, Virginia, while search efforts continue. The man's companion says the fall was an accident. At an update tonight on Ralph Yarl, the teen who was shot when he accidentally went to the wrong house last month. In his first public appearance since the shooting, Yarl participated in an annual brain injury walk in Kansas City. His friends and family joining him on the 1.5-mile trip, Yarlal's mother says he is still experiencing intense migraines.

and some memory loss. Turning now to money talks, what consumers and investors need to know from the business world and beyond. The tight housing market is once again driving up prices. Home prices in March were 0.7% year over year. That's according to the S&P K Schiller, which shows prices rising nationally

for the second month in a row. That's after a steady decline since last June. CNBC senior real estate correspondent, Diana Ollick, joins us now. with more on these numbers. Diana, what's driving this price increase? Well, it's really just one thing, and that's a lack of supply on the market. We have two few homes for sale and home builders aren't building enough to meet demand. So you have still strong demand, basically from a large millennial generation and very low supply. Usually in the spring, you get a lot of new listings

coming on the market, but new listings are actually down over 20% from this time a year ago. So the spring market is incredibly lean that's making competition and it's reheating home prices. Where do you think mortgage rates are going to go from here? And big picture, what effect would that have? Well, in the past two weeks, we've seen mortgage rates surge dramatically, up over 7% now on the 30-year fixed. We're slipped back a little bit today once we got some signs that the debt ceiling crisis was going to be averted. But still, rates over 7% mean that for the average home buyer, buying a $400,000, putting in a $400,000 mortgage, their monthly payment went up by close to $200 in just two weeks.

So we need to see that come back a bit. Now, where are rates going from here? Well, they may ease up if the debt crisis is solved. But again, it's not just that issue that's pushing rates higher. It's the overheated economy. And if the Federal Reserve thinks that the economy is still too hot, it's not going to ease up on rates, and that means mortgage rates aren't going to come down very much. So what areas are seeing the biggest price structure?

Well, so you're seeing the hottest markets in the south and southeast areas. Miami, Tampa, and Charlotte are the hottest markets right now for home prices. The third one, Charlotte knocked out Atlanta, which was also pretty hot. That's different from out in the west where we're seeing prices drop the most. And that's because so many more people have moved to the southeast. They want more climates. They also want cheaper homes. In the past, homes in the southeast were cheaper in general. But of course, now they're rising much faster. Still in the west, they are comparably much higher, even though prices are coming down. So you're seeing this surge into the southeast, and that's keeping prices elevated. I feel like the question a lot of people will have watching this as they hold their breath is, do you think this trend of rising prices is going to continue, or could things change? I think, given everything we've seen and the supply, the lack of supply on the market, home prices are going to stay pretty high. They're not going to jump dramatically. I mean, look, they jumped over 30, 40% since the beginning of the pandemic. We're not going to see that. But I don't think we're going to see any kind of home price crash like

some people were predicting last summer when mortgage rates were high. And that's simply because supply and demand are at a complete imbalance, too much demand, too little supply. It just doesn't allow prices to come down. Diana, Oleg, thank you. Turning now to Top Story's Global Watch and the missile launch by North Korea that set off alerts in South Korea and Japan. Japan says North Korea fired a possible ballistic missile, but that it has already fallen, causing no damage. However, that missile launch came after North Korea set it planned to launch a satellite in the next few days. And an update on mass arrest in El Salvador, according to a human rights group, more than 150 people have died in state custody since the country began a mega crackdown on street gangs. the group says the deaths were a result of torture from direct violence to malnutrition

and that none of those who died had been convicted of a crime they were accused of at the time of their arrest. Turning now to Kosovo, where protests continue following clashes between NATO soldiers and demonstrators. Troops with NATO's Kosovo force set up outside of a municipal building today where local Serbians have been protesting every day. 30 NATO soldiers and 52 protesters were hurt in the clashes. And in New Zealand, some passengers will need to step on the scale before boarding their flights. That's right. A New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority is requiring that its national airline weigh passengers before departing on international flights from Auckland International Airport.

That's going to happen through July 2nd. According to the airline, the wait survey is part of a program designed to gather data on the weight load and distribution for planes. Coming up next, the new warning about artificial intelligence, executives, and engineers who are blazing the AI trail, now sounding the alarm, why they're saying the risks of this new tech should be treated with the same urgency as a pandemic or nuclear war. We'll explain. We are back with a new warning on the dangers of artificial intelligence from a group of top tech industry leaders. More than 350 executives, researchers, and engineers working in AI. signed an open letter released by the Center for AI Safety. The one-sentence statement says,

quote, mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear wars. You heard that right, pandemics and nuclear wars. This comes as top artificial intelligence executives went to Washington earlier this month to warn government officials about the risks of AI.

Let's bring in Will Knight, senior writer for Wired, covering artificial intelligence. Well, concerned over AI are not new, but what struck me about this letter is who signed it? I mean, it is not just big-time tech people. It is big-time tech people in the AI space. They know this industry, this space very well. What stood out to you?

And why is this letter coming out now? Yeah, I mean, I think you're right that the people who've signed this are sort of the cream of research in AI, or a lot of the top researchers, I should say, and top executives. So that does stand out. As you say, these concerns about AI posing problems have been around for a while and even this kind of philosophical debate about whether AI could pose an existential risk. I think what we've seen recently in the last couple of years, the reason this is happening now, is that these AI models, these language models have proven more capable than people were expecting. And that's genuinely shaken some researchers in the field and made them concern that these systems that, you know, are becoming more intelligent may someday. you know, become out of control. But I should, you know, should say that that is still a very, very distant prospect, and there are a lot of more kind of immediate concerns that we should probably

be worried about. Yeah, talk to us a little bit about that. What you see as the more immediate concerns and for someone hearing this for the first time and thinking, oh my gosh, we're comparing this to pandemics, we're talking about nuclear wars. Is this concern overblown, or is this them trying to get ahead of something that could be very big down the way? I think I think it you know, it's probably a mix of both. There's the kind of the answer there because in, you know, in reality, the risk of nuclear war or a pandemic is much more immediate. This is a kind of distant concern. At the same time, you know, I think that some of these researchers are genuinely concerned that the technology, as it gets more intelligent, gets more capable and has its own motivations and is inherently more difficult to kind of inspect and engineer in some senses. may become slightly more difficult to control. But there have been people who have been worrying and warning about issues such as bias in algorithms or the prospect of more disinformation generated by AI programs, these language models, for quite some time.

And so there are, you know, the one thing we should sort of factor in here is that maybe just as well as getting out ahead of the problems, some of these people are kind of getting out ahead of regulation. and regulators are taking a really hard look at the technology. And some of these firms don't want, you know, to be over-regulated, as they would put it. When you look at the names on this list, it seems like these are all people who might be in a position to do something about the risks they're highlighting. Are any of them offering a solution to combat these risks? That's a great question. And the truth is that the technology is so new that there aren't a huge number of real solutions out there.

Microsoft came up with a blueprint. for regulating AI, which is very helpful of it to offer to give us guidance how to regulate itself. But they offer, they say, you know, we should have safeguards, but what those safeguards should be technically is less clear. One company, Anthropic, who is CEO signed that list, is working on ways to actually try and design algorithms so that they have guard rails built into them. But as I say, the technology is very new and we're not, we're not totally clear how to sort of implement that immediately. All right. Something certainly to watch. Will Knight. Thank you so much. Thank you. When we come back, an emotional return to the diamond. The incredible moment, a major league pitcher stepped back onto the field after winning his battle with cancer. That's next.

Finally, tonight, an incredible story of survival. White Sox pitcher Liam Hendricks returning to the mound last night for the first time since his cancer diagnosis last December. The Chicago crowd just erupting in cheers as he walked on to the field. Top story anchor Tom Yamis has his story. And let us see if indeed that phone call that he's been waiting for for months upon months has come. Picture Liam Hendricks heading out of the bullpen and right into White Sox's lore. Two drinks of water and one ball of emotion. A healthy one at that coming out.

The cheer from that Chicago crowd growing. as he inched closer to the mound at the top of the 8th during last night's game against the Angels. Walking, I did like a little circle just on the mound, like rotating around so I could see every single part of the ballpark. And I pointed up to my wife who was in one of the suites behind home plate. And, I mean, she deserves this as much as I do. Back in December, the 34-year-old diagnosed with stage four non-Hodschkins lymphoma. How tough was that? Yeah, it wasn't an easy thing to hear.

But I think the hardest thing was telling my wife. By April, following rounds of chemo, the closer announced what his team and fans waited to hear, he was cancer-free. And in the stands last night, this sign said it all. That's got to hit you in a special place. Without a doubt, that's the one thing that has hit me throughout this entire process has been how many people have either been affected or are currently dealing with cancer. In some form, some way, it's unbelievable how many people have reached out. Swing and a miss. Last night's game saw the angels come out on top,

but for fans everywhere, Liam showed what a champion really looks like. I don't take for granted any single day for the rest of my life. The rest of it, I'll be a survivor. And not only a survivor, I'll be a thriver. And I want to make sure that I pass that along to anyone and everyone that I can going along this journey. An awe-inspiring story. Thank you to Tom for that.

And thank you so much for watching Top Story. In for Tom Yannis. I'm Ellison Barber in New York. Stay right there. More news now is on the way.