Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Episode Date: May 6, 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, the urgent medical evacuation of that cruise ship hit by the deadly haunt of virus outbreak. The risky operation to get those infected off the ship right now. New video from the ship, workers in protective gear delivering supplies after three people died. Sick passengers to be evacuated tonight. Will the rest be allowed to get off as well? We're tracking it all. Also tonight was the Nancy Guthrie case botched. FBI director Cash Patel blasting the sheriff, leading the search, claiming the FBI was sidel,

was sidelined during the crucial first days of the investigation. New ballroom price tag. Republicans now asking for a billion dollars in taxpayer funds for President Trump's White House edition after the president repeatedly said it would fall on private donations. Explosive blasts, a drone hitting a building in Russia, the bomb attack in Ukraine engulfing this building in flames and thick smoke. The violent bear attack, two hikers malled at Yellowstone National Park, the urgent rescue from the trail and videos showing massive animal tracks in the dirt. Fowl on the play, a mother

arrested for kicking a child during a youth football game, what police say happened next. And the Rockies getting pounded with snow, could the rare spring storm be their biggest of the year? Plus, RFK Jr.'s pushed to get more Americans off of antidepressants why he wants to curb the prescription pills. Top story starts right now. Good evening, tonight. An urgent and dangerous evacuation mission in the Atlantic Ocean. On that cruise ship, we've been watching closely. Three people already killed by a rare and deadly virus, now a race to get the infected off the ship. Here's a look at the ship from moments ago, anchored just off the coast of West Africa. You see it there at nighttime. It's been a terrifying race against the clock for nearly 150 people on board, including Americans, and three people now sickened with that virus. Tonight, we expect them to be airlifted to a hospital in the Netherlands. Maryland medical officials and hazmat suits seen delivering supplies to the Dutch cruise ship, which has been forbidden from docking by local authorities until the sick passengers are taken off that ship.

Tonight, the emotional message from one of those passengers about life on board, life on board, this infected ship, you'll hear it. As questions mount over how people got infected and if the threat could still be on board, Camilla Bernal has fallen at all and leads us off. Tonight, an urgent medical evacuation to take place at any moment. Three people suspected to have the high-risk hauntivirus on a cruise ship, now off the coast of Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean, expected to be transported to the Netherlands,

using two air ambulance planes, according to the Cape Verde Ministry of Health and the ship's operator. Already, three people who were aboard the ship, have died. This, as new video, shows health workers in protective gear and supplies being delivered to the roughly 150 people on board, including 17 Americans. I will also show you what my room is like. Jake Rosmarin is a passenger on the ship and in a new statement said that safety measures are in place,

including social distancing and masking. After the medical evacuation, Spain now says the rest of the people aboard the ship will be allowed to disembark at the Canary Islands, where the ship is expected to arrive in the next several days. There, they will be examined and sent to their home countries. It's very possible that you can be infected and not have any symptoms. for weeks. Immunologists Stephen Bradfew underscores the severity of the virus. If you get sick with the cardiopulmonary hauntivirus, on average, there is a 35% death rate.

And that 35% is high when you compare it to other viruses. That's right. Influenza is far lower. COVID's around 1 to 2%. The World Health Organization says at least some of the passengers may have contracted the virus through human-to-human contact. Camila Bernal joins us tonight from L.A. Camila, Spain is setting some serious guidelines for the passengers once they get off that ship. Yeah, Tom, Spain today is saying that they're going to have special transportation and special places for these passengers to go, especially making sure that no one of the local

population is impacted or has any contact with anybody on this ship. They also say that they're going to continue to monitor the situation. And although they say they don't know what exact port in the Canary Islands, the ship will disembark in. They do say it's still going to take three or four days for that ship to arrive. So they will have all of that figured out by the time they get there, Tom. Okay, Camilla, Burna, leading us off. Camila, we thank you. We have breaking news we want to get to right now.

In the war with Iran, President Trump moments ago announcing that he is pausing project freedom, that the U.S. military mission to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Garrett Hake joins us now with this developing news. So walk our viewers through, Garrett. What exactly is happening here? Tom, this is a stunning reversal from the president whose administration put not one but two cabinet secretaries out today for briefings defending this idea of Project Freedom as a key new administration priority, that the U.S. military might would be used to protect ships

bottled up in the Persian Gulf since the start of this war as they transited. out of the Strait of Hormuz. They did so successfully with two ships yesterday, but today, just one ship passed through the Strait. And now the president says that at the request of Pakistan and other countries, and he says because progress is being made in talks with Iran, this effort will be put on pause to see if a deal can be reached. The administration's priorities and solutions for the strait being closed have varied day by day, week by week. And in the case of today, perhaps even hour by hour as they've tried to figure out how to release the chokehold that Iran has had on that waterway without resuming combat operations. Now the solution seems to be they're going to go right back to where the status quo was on Sunday before this operation was announced.

The thing that I think bears a lot more reporting here is what, if any, breakthroughs have there been in these negotiations to give the president the confidence to do this if that's really the reason? Rubio today, the nation's top diplomat, was in the briefing room telling reporters that he wasn't sure if there could be a diplomatic agreement and calling Iran's leaders insane. So from that just a few hours ago to this is an enormous policy change. Yeah, but I was going to say, because we all heard at least us in the news that were watching Secretary Rubio there in the briefing room. It sounded like they were still very far apart. This sounds like maybe there's some hope. Well, look, I read, I agree with you on at least the first part of that, Tom. I read everything we heard from Secretary Rubio today as pouring cold water on the diplomatic process.

Nothing he said suggested to me that a diplomatic breakthrough could be close. We're now almost a month since Vice President Vance led that delegation to Pakistan to meet with the Iranians. We've had no substantive breakthroughs on those talks in that time. President Trump is the eternal optimist. He has at several junctures in this conflict. suggested that a breakthrough, a deal could be close, only to have that vanish. Is this something new? Is there actually a breakthrough imminent? Or is this a backing down on that project freedom that may or may not have been as effective as the U.S. would have liked, especially when you consider

that there were essentially no takers today? All right. Garrett Hake with that breaking news tonight. Garrett, thank you. We appreciate it. Also breaking tonight, FBI director Cash Patel, criticizing the Pima County Sheriff over his handling of the Nancy Guthrie case, even though the county has jurisdiction over the investigation. He said his team would have handled it differently. Kelly O'Donnell explains. In a newly released podcast, FBI director Cash Patel raising new criticism about law enforcement cooperation in the unsolved disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, mother of our colleague Savannah. The first 48 hours of anyone's disappearance are the most critical.

Patel tells Sean Hannity that the Pima County Arizona Sheriff's Department waited too long to engage the FBI. We're here to help. What do you need? What can we do? And for four days, we were kept out of the investigation. Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on Sunday, February 1st. However, the Pima County Sheriff said they called the FBI one day later on Monday. That morning, it was a days later that we contact that, that morning, we contacted the FBI. And that Tuesday, the sheriff and a Tucson-based FBI official held a joint press conference. The director praises the Bureau for the biggest lead in the case.

When we were finally let in, Sean, look what we did. We went in and got the ring doorbell and we said, hey, is anyone talking to Google? The FBI contacted Google and they recovered those chilling images from the door camera system. That's why you have that image because the FBI worked with Google to put that image out. That suspect remains unidentified three months later. The director also cited differences over handling DNA evidence. Pima County chose a Florida lab it regularly used. We would have analyzed it within days and maybe gotten better information or more information.

Our labs just better than any other private lab out there. And we didn't get a chance to do that. So I understand everybody's frustration. Kelly O'Donnell joins us now live and Kelly, perhaps most concerning, the FBI director had no new updates on Nancy's whereabouts or potential leads. That is the sad reality, Tom. Guthrey remains missing, no arrests have been made. We don't have any significant progress publicly known to us. Now, the director had no update on the case today, but the FBI told me,

in checking in with our sources there, that investigators are still actively working this case. So FBI personnel are still involved. Now, we also checked in with the Pima County Sheriff's Department, and it's important to point out they have jurisdiction and the decisions that they made about the case were theirs to make. And that's something Director Patel, throughout that interview with Sean Hannity. We asked about Patel's critique, and the Sheriff's Office responded that they don't have any additional information

to share at this time. And of course, anyone who has information about Nancy Guthrie, anything that could help in trying to locate her, there is a reward, and FBI and local officials would certainly want to hear from them. Tom? All right, Kelly O'Donnell Kelly, we thank you. I want to bring in our panel tonight

who have been monitoring the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie since the beginning. Chip Massey, former FBI special agent and hostage negotiator, a good friend of Top Story. George Colina, former Miami Police Chief, we thank you both for joining us tonight. Chip, I want to start with you. What's your reaction to what you heard from the FBI director? Yeah, you know, so many things come to mind, Tom, and last time we spoke, you know, unfortunately, we're still talking about where are the leads going? Where's the investigation headed. And what we're seeing now is that the director feels compelled to go on to this broadcast,

this podcast, and talk about and explain what he thinks are the distractions. Now, what we know about human behavior, Tom, is that crisis exposes fractures and weaknesses in a team. And that's how I see this, is that right now you're seeing the fractures coming to light. I find it, you know, a little troubling that the FBI director has to say we were sidelined. I don't understand that fully, you know, clearly there was an appetite of capacity for us being there. And the public, as you are, Tom, frustrated with the results or lack thereof in what's happening. But the underpinning of all this is when these things happen at this speed, that it's not only the public that becomes dismayed, but the offender, the bad guys, take a look at this. And they also have to say,

it's like they're disorganized, they're dysfunctional, and maybe I'm getting away with this. George, talk to us about the relationship between the FBI and a local police department. You ran Miami's police department. They're in that great city. What is it like? I know sometimes you have cases, you want to take care of your cases. Do you immediately get the FBI's help and ask for it, or do you want to take your own time because it's your investigation? No, it's, it's shocking to hear the comments, quite frankly. It typically what happens is you will take any and all help, right? This isn't about a status or ego who gets credit. It's about saving lives, you know, recovering someone, solving a crime. This is a high profile case, obviously. And I think

to Chipp's point, maybe there's a little bit of deflection going on, a little bit of blame casting, because there hasn't been really any movement in this case, and we're, what, two months in now? And I think that's kind of part of the problem. And quite frankly, I even question this idea that the FBI has no jurisdiction. We know that there was a ransom that was requested. We know that there was talk about cryptocurrency being delivered potentially. Anytime you use an instrument of interstate commerce, that becomes a federal offense.

And so I think this is just a fracture, as Chip mentioned, a lack of proper communication, a lack of proper teamwork, and perhaps a little embarrassment. Yeah, Chip, I do want to ask you, what do you think they missed by not getting in there earlier or using the FBI's help earlier? Yeah, exactly, Tom. And to George's point, time is critical. In abduction cases, it is everything. So getting the freshness of this evidence, you know, getting the recollection of the neighbors, getting, you know, even as the director said, that getting the Google, getting to them to get that transcript, that video from the recording, so critical. These things have to move fast because the bad guys are moving fast. And if we're able to close in on them in a more rapid fashion, then we're getting closer to assault.

But right now, just like George was saying, is that, you know, us looking fractured, us being in a state of what sounding like disarray. Again, I don't understand how the FBI can say this, how the director can say this, when the president was involved. Of course, all it would take would be a phone call to make these things happen. So I'm not exactly sure what's happening. George, there's also the dispute over where to analyze the DNA evidence collected at the scene. Pima County elected to send it to their regular partner, a private lab in Florida. Patel says the FBI offered to fly the DNA to Quantico. Do you think the sheriff did the right thing?

And explain to our viewers the differences, and you may not know the exact labs, but what would the difference be? Well, the FBI is recognized as having the foremost experts when it comes to forensic science, right? Typically, when you work jointly, the local and state governments are the ones that have manpower, right? That the FBI doesn't necessarily have that kind of resource. What the FBI does have is an incredible level of expertise.

So if you have the ability to send your evidence to Quantico and have them examine it, that's what you want to do, not just because of the level of sophistication that they have and the speed in which they're able to work. But if this were ever to wind up inside a courtroom, you don't want opposing counsel to attack the way evidence was processed. You want to be able to say this was handled by experts in a very efficient manner in a way that they do it all the time with lots of credibility.

And you may not get that if it's managed by a state lab. So there, I absolutely agree with the director. If that offer was made, it should have been accepted. Chip, what do you think about that, about the lab? Do you agree? It should have gone straight to Quantico? The way I understand it, yes, exactly, is that if we were ready, if we were set up in, if as the director was saying, there was a plane ready to go and it would expedite things, we absolutely should. Because as every investigator on that ground knows, that they were shoulder to shoulder. There's no two ways about that. They were working hard in concert, many, many hours poured over. this. But it's always mission first. It's never a way. Who's got jurisdiction over this and who should be invited to this press conference? Mission first and a woman's life is at stake.

Okay, Chip and George, good to have you on Top Story again. We hope for some positive news about Nancy Guthrie at some point soon. We're going to turn now to the urgent manhunt in Tennessee after police say a special forces veteran shot his wife and then disappeared into the woods. authorities now releasing a new image of him. Here's Aaron Gilchrest. Tonight, officers going door to door with guns drawn, an expanding manhunt for 54-year-old Craig Barry. The Stewart County Sheriff says Barry shot his wife after a dispute early Friday morning before sprinting into the Tennessee woods under the cover of darkness. We believe he's armed now with not only a handgun but an automatic rifle. This grainy image from a trail camera is the only sighting of Barry since the shooting, which,

his wife survived. Sheriff Gray says the former Army Special Forces operator has extensive training to handle the toughest conditions. He's going to use the terrain. He's going to stay away from populated areas. He's asking neighbors to check their security cameras. All the doors are locked 24-7 and I got my little dog with me and I got the little... Carol Givens feels safe but is keeping her pistol in her pocket just in case. You don't normally. carry but you feel safer with it right now I do not carry I just for a safety out in the middle of nowhere my husband made sure that I knew how to use it all right those residents are armed that's good to know Aaron Gilchrest joins us from Stewart County Tennessee Aaron there are some other factors complicating the search correct yeah you're right

Tom a few things at play here one is the weather it's been raining pretty hard here just stopped a little while ago and that slowed down an expanded search effort the sheriff tells us that he sent out fewer deputies today to search around the area than he was planning to because of the weather concerns. But that search effort will grow as the week goes on and it becomes necessary for that. We know that the U.S. Marshal Service is being called in to help with that search effort as well. It's also worth pointing out, as we said, that Craig Berry does have special forces training. He did four tours in Iraq as well. And that's a factor that the sheriff talks about. He says that that could mean that when you look at things like

this body of water behind us, this is Kentucky Lake. It is thousands of acres in size. And this is someplace that Craig Berry could have jumped into. We're told that he is an experienced diver and swimmer. The sheriff says he could have swum to the other side of the lake here. But at this point, they're trying to concentrate their efforts on land here in this area that is near the house where Craig Barry and his wife lived before they start to venture out into the lake and the other side of the lake or farther down the lake or up into Kentucky town.

But those are all things that are sort of complicating factors that the sheriff is taking into account. He also says it's possible that Craig Berry would know that he's being sought in the way that he is at this point and could have chosen to harm himself somewhere in the woods around here. Okay, Aaron Goe Crest, we thank you for that. We're also tracking a dual storm threat across the country right now. Intense snowfall slamming parts of the Rockies in a rare May snowstorm and millions across the south bracing for potential severe storms. in Loveland, Colorado. Look at this. This is just north of Denver. You can see the flakes are flying there.

And a similar scene in Boulder. It all comes after a very dry winter for the region. So could this one be the biggest of the year? Let's get right to NBC meteorologist, Angie Glassman. So great to have you. So what Angie? A lot of wild weather for May. How much snow could the Rocky see tonight?

Yeah, wild indeed. The calendar says May, Tom, but not so much for the forecast for our friends across the Rockies. We could be talking about upwards of a foot to even two feet of snow by the time this is all set and done. You can see some of that snow ongoing across parts of the Rockies, and then the broader system, of course, bringing some of that heavy rain and the severe threat to folks across the Midwest and the Northeast. But let's focus on those winter alerts first. You can see they're up and down the Rockies parts of Wyoming, Colorado, seeing some of those flakes still falling.

And we are going to see the snowfall kind of ramp up here as the rest of the evening goes on and we get into tomorrow morning. So the travel on the roads across Colorado and Wyoming going to be a little difficult. We'll see the potential for upwards of maybe a foot to two feet in the mountains and the foothills. And by the way, Denver running at a big deficit for this season as a whole. We're talking nearly 30 inches below what we typically see since July 1st. So this is going to be some welcome snow for folks there when it comes to, of course, the reservoirs and such that they depend on the snowfall for. And then, Angie, walk us through the timing of the severe storm that we're tracking tonight. Yeah, this is going to be something that we watch kind of ramp up here over the next couple of hours, Tom.

We've got this threat across parts of the south. So really Dallas to Memphis is kind of the bull's eye that we're going to watch for the slight, risk. We've got all the threats on the table, and this is going to be through at least midnight central time. 11 million people in total. We've got the hail, the wind gusts, and a couple of tornadoes possible. And there's the system kind of on the move as we get into tomorrow where that severe risk is going to slide to East Texas into Georgia. So kind of another day where we've got all the ingredients across the south. We'll also see some of that rain kind of centered across parts of the northeast in New England. And then finally, as we get into Thursday, much of this is going

to depart. But notice we've still got some of those kind of lingering showers across parts of the Mid-Atlantic, and we could potentially be talking about a couple of gusty storms still across parts of the southeast through Thursday, Tom. All right, Angie Lassman, so great to have you. We thank you. We're back at a moment with the terrifying attack at Yellowstone. Two hikers mauled by a bear, how crews got them out just in time. Plus, chaos on a youth football field.

The mother arrested for allegedly kicking a child. What happened here? And the dramatic boat crash caught on camera, a driver losing control before slamming into rocks. That video ahead. on Top Story. We were back down with a terrifying bear attack in Yellowstone National Park. Two hikers mauled in a popular tourist area close to Old Faithful. The incident coming just as national parks enter their peak season for visits.

NBC Steve Patterson with the urgent rescue and a warning, some of these images are graphic. A pair of gravely wounded hikers hoisted high above Yellowstone National Park after being mauled in a bear attack. Definitely bear. It's claws. Park officials say the attack happened yesterday on Mystic Falls Trail, a popular tourist area, by one or more bears. The park's emergency services swooping in. Video from seasonal park employee Marie Jascula shows them strapping the wounded onto stretchers. When you saw that commotion, what did you think?

Yeah, it's very much a reality check. And we had read a quote once that said once you enter the forest, you become a part of the food chain and it's very realistic. One family member writing on Facebook that one of the hikers was able to call 911 after the bear went after his brother. She said they got multiple people heading up this way. Officials say it's the first bear injury in the park this year. The attack comes just as travel and hiking season heats up.

Late last month, a video from Southern California shows a black bear charging a hiker head on. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Tonight, family says the men attacked in Yellowstone are still in the hospital, but recovering. You know, there are safety precautions for hiking, hiking in three or more, carrying your bear spray, just being very aware of your surroundings. Necessary tips for braving the Wild West. Steve Patterson joins us now live. Steve, this situation comes just as we get into peak season for national park visitors.

What else should people keep in mind? Yeah, Tom, the quote that sticks out from that. enter the forest, you become part of the food chain. So situational awareness is key, staying at least 100 feet away from those bears, 100 yards, I should say. Crucial here, having bear spray, knowing how to use it, hiking in groups of three, don't hike at dawn or dusk when the bears are most active.

The most crucial tip that we keep hearing is you don't run from a bear. It activates their prey drive. They can run 30 miles flat, down, uphill, even up a tree. These are tips to live by. Tom. Okay. Steve Patterson, that video, Those images were so wild. We hope those guys recover.

I want to turn out of Florida where a youth football game took a wild turn, a mom taken into custody after allegedly kicking a boy during an off-field scuffle, an on-field scuffle, I should say. NBC's Jesse Kirsch has the video. This is the moment a Florida youth football game devolves into chaos. Watch closely. In the middle of an altercation, this child rolls on the turf, still on the ground as a parent appears to approach kicking the player.

Police say that woman is Renee Lambert, now charged with cruelty toward a child and resisting an officer. So it was getting chippy for a bit. It was a chippy game. Yes, sir. Curtis Jones says he was filming the physical game between 13 and 14-year-olds when that scuffle broke out Saturday in Fort Myers. What made things finally boil over? I think two players just got one at it, and players going to defend their own teammates. According to a police report, it wasn't just players rushing in. A witness saying Lambert entered the scrum and became physical with some players.

You're detained right now. No, I'm not. You are. Then as police tried detaining Lambert. Investigators say she became confrontational. You are being pointed out as being a suspect right now. You are detained. You are detained.

So where's number nine? Go get number nine. A kid? Yes. You're an adult. The moments captured on this body camera video released by police. She's detained because they said you hit a kid. And the kid hit me.

Investigators spoke with the victim, who said while he was on the ground, he was kicked by Lambert in the leg, according to the police report, which adds a sheriff's deputy took photos of the victim's legs, but did not observe any injuries. Our NBC Fort Myers affiliate obtaining this video showing Lambert acting aggressively at another game days earlier. NBC News has attempted to reach Lambert, but has not heard back. The Fort Myers-Falcons youth football organization tells our affiliate that Lambert has been permanently banned from all team events. The organization writing in part, quote, adults are expected to lead by example and help de-escalate situations, not escalate them. Tom.

All right, Jesse Kirsch, thanks for that one. Still to come tonight. If it's election light, you know it's Steve Kornacki, standing by. He's live at the Big Board with a look at the early results coming in. All right. Looks like he's trying to see what's going on over there. But first, Top Story's top moment, and this is a very special one. Our Top Story family just got a little bigger.

Welcome to the world, Baby Claire, our producer, editor extraordinaire, Mara, giving birth to this adorable girl. Claire is happy and healthy, and you can see already repping Top Story. What a cutie. A big congratulations to Mara, Will, and their family, and we'll be right back. We're back now with an election update. Polls have just closed in critical primary races in Indiana and Ohio, two states, could serve as a litmus test for President Trump's power heading into November. And of course, of its election night, Steve Kornacki is locked into the big board.

Steve, let's start with Indiana where President Trump has been leading an effort to oust a group of state senators. Walk us through that race and the votes coming in so far. Yeah, Tom, already the Trump side has landed a very significant blow in this Indiana primary. I'll show it to you right here. This is Travis Holdman. This is a member of the state Senate Republican leadership in Indiana. He voted against that Trump-backed big. to change the congressional map to give the Republicans more seats. As a result, Trump targeted him in this primary, and NBC News has already projected that Travis Holdman has been defeated in the Republican primary

by his Trump-backed challenger. So already a blow there that the Trump side has landed, and they may be on the verge of another. Here, just from the city of Kokomo down to the Indianapolis suburbs in this district, a long-serving Republican incumbent is currently really getting blown out in his primary. NBC News has not projected this race, but it's a steep hill to climb for Jim Buck, another Republican incumbent who voted against the Trump-backed redistricting plan. And then down here in the 41st district, we go about half to vote in. It's a very close race here. But again, Greg Walker, the Republican incumbent here, voting against that Trump-back plan.

He is definitely in some trouble in this district at this hour. There is one incumbent who voted against the plan who does seem to be in good shape so far. I'll show you that. His name is good. good over here around Terre Haute. About a third of the vote is in. This is the only one right now, the only Republican state senator to oppose Trump, who right now at least is getting encouraging numbers in these primaries. And then talk to our viewers about what you're watching in Ohio tonight. Yeah, so next door in Ohio where the polls are just closing. We've got the Senate race this November that's going to be closely watched nationally here. And on the Democratic side here tonight,

Sherrod Brown, we expect certainly to be renom, to be nominated again. He's run Before he was defeated, he's trying to get back to the Senate against John Houston. But I think what's most interesting to come out of Ohio tonight is we're looking at primaries, Republican primaries here in the ninth district. The Republicans are going to pick a candidate to go up against Marcy Kaptor. Marcy Kaptor is the longest serving female member of Congress in history. A Democrat first elected in 1982, her district was changed by redistricting. It would have voted for Trump by 11 points. She's facing an uphill climb.

She finds out who her opponent is tonight. That's a primary. We're going to be keeping a close eye on as those numbers start to come in, Tom. All right. Steve Kornacki, great to have you. Thank you, ma'am. Now to the major reversal on President Trump's ballroom tonight, Democrats blasting a Republican request for a billion dollars in taxpayer money to fund part of the project, despite the president previously saying private donations would pay for it. Here's Gabe Gutierrez. These are new images of the rapid construction of President Trump's White House ballroom. But tonight, Democrats are accusing the administration of a bait and switch after congressional Republicans released a new funding bill, marking a billion dollars for security improvements tied to the project. They destroyed the east wing of the White House without any notice or consent in the dead

of night. And then they told the American people that it was going to be paid for with private dollars. This has been a story of corruption. The president had been saying for months, private donations would pay for it. And we're giving them, myself and donors are giving them free of charge for nothing. We did this no charge to the, taxpayer whatsoever. This is being financed privately. The White House now insists that taxpayer money would only go to secure portions of the facility and that private donors would still pay for the actual ballroom. The president previously estimated that 90,000 square foot structure would cost $400 million. In a court filing last month, the Trump administration wrote, it'd be built with

materials to withstand drone attacks and also include underground medical facilities and a bomb shelter. With a suspect now charged with trying to assassinate the president at the White House Correspondence Dinner, President Trump has argued a large secure event space is critical. We need the ballroom. That's why Secret Service. That's why the military are demanding it. All right, Gabe Gutierrez joins us tonight from the West Wing. Gabe, we can see the construction cranes there behind you. They've been at work all day. So where does it go from here? And what do we know about that court case? You look, Tom, it's pretty remarkable. Yes, the East Wing project is across the other side of the property. And you can see these construction grains pretty much every day when he walk into the White House.

And it's been incredible to watch how rapidly this project has come along. And as you said, next month, a federal appeals court is set to consider whether to allow this project to continue. This legal back and forth is expected to play out at least over the next couple of weeks. But in the meantime, yes, the Trump administration is moving very quickly, Tom. All right, Gabe, we thank you for that. Now, to exclusive new reporting tonight about the inner work. of the Department of Homeland Security in the heated battle that unfolded behind the scenes

in the early days of the President's second term. The feud detailed in a new book out today, Undue Process, The Inside Story of Trump's Mass Deportation Program. The author, our own senior Homeland Security correspondent, Julia Ainslie, who joins us now. Julia, congratulations on the new book. Thank you. What more can you tell us about that meeting?

Well, it was interesting. This is February 2025, and this is the first ICE director who was in place. That was Caleb Vitello, and he was facing off against Rodney Scott, the commissioner of CBP. Over this plan, it was a master plan for deportations. They would have combined DOD, CBP, and ICE in one office in Washington, and they'd call the shots on where people should go around the country to go into homes of people with prior orders of deportation without a warrant. Now, Vitello said no. Rodney Scott got so upset and so did many of the others. They actually declared the room because people were so upset.

But the reason this meeting matters is because probably a lot of those policies I just named sound. It sounds a lot like what we saw on the streets of Chicago and Minneapolis and Los Angeles. And that's because a lot of those things did come to fruition. But I thought it was really relevant and important for the American people to know that there were actually warring factions with NDHS, even from the beginning. We saw it going all the way through between Tom Homan and Christy Nome, where people had really fundamental ideological differences about how President Trump should achieve that goal of one million deportations in his first year.

Yeah, you cover the department extensively. What else did you learn writing this book? But it was so interesting, I tell people, no matter how you feel about immigration, even if it's not something that's your number one issue, it was such a rapid expansion of executive power. Because when President Trump took office, this was his big winning issue, it's his political asset. And so I was able to see many of the ways that he used that issue to expand executive power, including increasing social media searches of foreign students in the United States, even to the point where they were asking ICE officers to find students who were posting anything anti-Trump. and then to find underlying crimes after that so that they could revoke their visas and deport them. I also found many more people who were pushing back and paid the consequence as a result, including a career spokesperson whose belief she was fired because she refused to call immigrant scumbags in a press release

and a law professor who lost his job after he told reporters that officers needed to have reasonable suspicion before breaking a window of a car. Okay, Julia Ainslieg, and the book is out today. Julie, we thank you for that. Now to Top Stories News Feed, we started Texas for police for investigating a deadly shooting at a shopping center just outside of Dallas. At least two people killed and three others hurt. Police say a 69-year-old man was arrested after a short foot chase. According to investigators, gunfire broke out in the neighborhood's Korea town following a business meeting between the suspect and the victims. They say this was not a random act of violence.

And former NFL star Stefan Diggs found not guilty on assaulting his personal chef. The case centered on an incident in December where a former live-in chef accused Diggs of slapping and choking her doing an argument at his home. Diggs' attorneys claim the alleged assault never happened. A Massachusetts jury acquitted the former New England Patriots receiver on all charges. And a scary scene off the coast of Washington State video shows a boat speeding right in front of a ferry. Look at this. Pierce County Sheriff officials say the driver appeared to be passed out. Moments later, the boat slams into a rock embankment, sending the man flying into the water.

you'll see it right here, pretty crazy video. He was taken into custody for suspicion of driving under the influence. The FDA announcing an urgent recall in multiple potato chip products because of a dangerous bacteria risk. The UTS brand pulling nine flavors of its zaps and dirty potato chips off shelves nationwide, it's over concerns that the seasoning could be contaminated with salmonella. So far, the FDA says it has not received any reports of illnesses. Okay, time now for Top Stories Health Check,

and RFK Jr.'s pushed to curb antidepressant prescriptions. The Health and Human Services Secretary launching a new initiative over concerns doctors are overprescribing some popular medications. As of 2026, roughly 44 million Americans take those pills, that's about 16.6% of adults. The number of people taking those medications surging over time, you can see the steady climb over 15 years right here, where it lands right now.

The Secretary's push aimed at the most commonly prescribed antidepressants, including Prozac, Zoloft, Lexa Pro, and Paxil. Here to discuss is the New York Times, Ellen Barry, who focuses on mental health and is reporting on RFK Jr.'s new initiative. Ellen, thanks for joining Top Story tonight. So we want to ask you, can you walk our viewers through exactly what RFK Jr. is proposing and why? Sure.

He announced a number of initiatives yesterday. All of them focused on helping people to get off psychiatric meds. The first one is a mechanism that would allow providers to be reimbursed for helping patients stop taking medications or reduce them. The second is what's called a dear colleague letter, which just directly communicates to hospitals and providers that they should not look at pharmaceutical treatment as a default, but try to find non-pharmaceutical treatments like therapy, exercise, nutrition, et cetera. And then the third thing that he did is started in motion, an expert panel that will begin to formulate guidelines for depresing and tapering off SSRIs.

Yeah, you know, that second point you mentioned there, RFK Jr. saying doctors should encourage alternative methods before prescribing. these medications. What, I mean, what more do we know about those alternatives and are any of them effective? I think there's lots of good evidence that other mechanisms, you know, things like sleep and exercise and nutrition, but especially psychotherapy, are really effective treatments for depression and anxiety and other disorders. However, they're not as easy to get. Often it's hard to find therapist. It's hard to find therapists who take insurance. And so a lot of Americans may not be able to access those modes of treatment. Yeah. The American Psychiatric Association appeared somewhat receptive, right, to the initiative, but then released a statement writing in part,

we strongly object to framing the national mental health crisis as primarily a problem of over-medicalization or over-prescribing. What are they, like, explain the framing that they're against here? So I think the concern, as you said, they were pretty welcoming of these steps and said that they hoped to be part of the process of putting together guidelines for helping patients to taper or reduce medications. But yeah, as you said, a concern that this message is going to undermine confidence in treatments that are really our first-line treatments for some pretty serious disorders. Yeah, you posted on social media that you're getting tons of responses in the comment section for your reporting on this.

What stood out to you? Yeah, I mean, I always watched the reader comments, and last night they really kind of exploded. And I would say really on two separate sides. There were many people who responded, keep your hands off my medication. This is a private medical decision, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services has no role in influencing it. But then there was also a group of people who talked about their own difficulty and sort of unexpected difficulty when they decided to get off the medications, that the withdrawal effects were just much more debilitating than they had been told.

So you're really hearing two different stories. Ellen, great to have you on the show. We appreciate it. We want to turn to some breaking news. just come in on the elections tonight. Steve Kornacki's tracking this for us. Steve, a big night for Vivek Ramoswamy, who viewers may not have heard from in a while, but he just clinched the GOP nomination there for Governor in Ohio. That's right. You know, again, running with Donald Trump's endorsement, right? Ran against him, one of those candidates in the 2024 primaries and it sort of did some repair work with relationships. I think recast himself from a messaging standpoint here and ends up winning tonight, obviously, easily in the Democratic. In the Democratic

in the Republican primary in this governor's race. It was interesting. The outgoing governor here had actually appointed some time ago with lieutenant governor Jim Tressel, who used to be the highly successful football coach at Ohio State University. Many people had read that as an attempt to try to head off the nomination of Ramoswami. But once Trump got involved, got behind Ramoswami, this outcome, I think, became inevitable. All right. Steve Kornacki, great to have you. We thank you for that.

We're going to be right back here on Top Story. Stay with us. We're back now with an update on that massive. fire and state of emergency in New Jersey. Video capturing the moment the fast-moving blaze broke out inside of a mattress warehouse. Schools closed for a second straight day amid power outages and concerns about the air quality there.

NBC's Emily Aketa is on the scene. Tonight, officials are investigating whether this video shows the start of a sweeping inferno outside of New York City. You can see a man working on metal, notice the growing flames before calling to a colleague. And frantically trying to clear the area inside the mattress warehouse in Belleville, New Jersey, Sunday. An apparent hose seen in the video obtained by NBC New York, no match for the fire exploding in size within a minute. It just kept getting worse and worse and worse.

With thick smoke visible for miles, the fire prompted a state of emergency and closed schools in the area for a second day in a row. Flames shooting out of windows as winds carried out. members destroying several warehouses and homes. It's an entire city block. Mayor Michael Melham said it's a miracle no one was killed. Because it was so windy and whatever the material was inside, whether it was fabric or foam or cardboard, started flying all around and it just started landing on roofs and starting fires.

Dozens of firefighters still on the ground attacking from all angles, this fire that has been burning for now more than two days. Yosena Montalvo's legacy boxing club among the businesses in sim. I have five more coaches also that are now without a job, you know, so that's that's my concern, not really me, but what we had in the community and the gym. The ATF now trying to pinpoint the cause of this devastation. And you heard the mayor there talking about the continued impact of wind. Gus today approaching 35 miles an hour, continuing to complicate the firefight.

Another concern that remains today is the air quality, the smell of the, smoke. You can see kind of the haziness behind me. Remains really quite pungent. School officials say they are taking the direction. They are following the direction of emergency services in a situation that, quote, has been evolving. Meantime, dozens of people remain evacuated as that blaze continues to burn, Tom. Emily Aketa for us, Emily, thank you.

Now to our series, the cost of denial. Tonight, California's largest home insurer could be at risk of temporarily losing its license. The state accusing state farm of mishandling claims after those devastating Los Angeles wildfires last year. Our Liz Croyd speaks to homeowners and takes an in-depth look now at the investigation. Tonight, 16 months since Los Angeles was ravaged by two devastating wildfires, State Farm, California's largest insurer, facing potential suspension in the state

after a months-long investigation found that the company repeatedly violated the law in its handling of wildfire claims. The state's insurance department says the company delayed, underpaid, and buried policyholders in red tape. In several cases, they say the company failed to provide explanations for why they were denying claims. And in one case, waited 88 days to investigate a claim and only after being prompted by the homeowner. The state also alleges State Farm engaged in what they describe as adjuster roulette, like with fire victim Stephanie Newport, who we first met last June when she had gone through seven adjusters in five months. So you're saying that the day after the story aired, things changed? Everything changed the day after it aired. I got a phone call, got a new adjuster, and have had so much progress since then.

But she says nearly everyone else she knows in a similar position, like Elisa Nixon, whose home is still covered and Stutt and Nash are still waiting. I would expect that going through such a terrible disaster that that money would pretty easily be my money. And instead, it's just felt like we have boxing gloves on all the time, trying to get what I feel is rightfully ours. State Farm says we reject any suggestion. State Farm engaged in a general practice of mishandling or intentionally underpaying wildfire claims, adding that the insurer already paid out $5.7 billion. The insurance giant also called California's homeowners insurance market the most dysfunctional in the country. And Tom, this will now go before a judge if the violations

are proven, state farm could be fined roughly $2 million and have its license suspended in the state for up to a year. Tom. All right, Liz, we thank you for that. All right, time now for Top Stories, Global Watch, and we start with a deadly explosion at a fireworks plant in China. This video shows a massive cloud of smoke rising from the factory.

State media reports that at least 26 people died and more than 60 others were hurt. They say hundreds of rescuers responded to the scene and that people nearby were evacuated. So far, no word yet on what caused that blast. And dramatic video of a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia. you can see the aircraft slamming into the side of a building. Health officials say three people were hurt.

It comes as Russian forces launched their own attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizia. The local governor there says the strikes killed at least a dozen people and injured 20 others. And in Mexico, a fiery crash involving a train and a fuel tanker. Flames and thick black smoke erupting from the scene. It happened earlier near a state highway shutting down traffic for a while. First responders say at least two people were killed and multiple others hurt. Now it's unclear what caused the accident. All right, when we come back tonight, a heartwarming sign of service and respect,

the firefighters who stepped up when they saw an American flag on the ground. That moment, next. Finally, tonight, we bring you the story of two Indiana firefighters who came across an American flag on the ground after a storm blew through town. What they did next shows the power of doing the right thing, even when you think no one is watching. It is a powerful symbol, a beacon of free. freedom, hope, and so much of what this country stands for. So when South Bend Indiana firefighters, Cody McLeod and Brian Haskell saw an American flag

on the ground after powerful winds broke a neighborhood flagpole, they jumped into action. That's them there. This ring camera showing them walk up to the front porch of a home, flag in hand folded with care, then placing it gently next to the stairs. just have a lot of patriotism and that flag means a lot. Once we could figure out where it belongs, I mean, why not? You know, just put it back. Homeowner Tyler Gillian saw the moment on his doorbell cam.

As you see in the video, how they cared for it, said it here so delicately. Just amazing. It's just the type of people that we have serving the Southland Fire Department. From McLeod and Haskell, who both come from military families, the flag represents the best of America. It's our country. It's the United States. It's all of of us coming together and being united. With all the stuff going on in the world right now, it doesn't hurt to help a neighbor.

A powerful show of respect for an emblem of unity. Doing that small act of kindness or doing something good for somebody, whether anybody's watching or not, if everybody did that, the world would be a much better place. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yammis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.