Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Episode Date: April 11, 2024

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world.

Tonight, if you still feel things are a little too expensive, you're not wrong. A troubling new consumer report showing inflation is not going away. Consumer prices rising higher than expected in March. The findings dashing any hopes the Fed will be able to cut interest rates anytime soon. Inflation further pinching Americans already strained wallets, what it will take for prices to finally come down and the impact on the 2024 election. Also tonight, flood emergency, deadly and dangerous storms battering the south. In Louisiana, dozens had to be rescued as a large twister ripped through the region,

torrential rain turning streets into rivers, trees snapping on power lines, leaving thousands without electricity. The potential storm continuing on a destructive path overnight and into tomorrow, we're timing it all out. Letting Assange off? President Biden considering ending the prosecution of WikiLeaks founders, Julian Assange, Assange facing espionage charges after he allegedly published millions of classified documents that prosecutors say put lives at risk. The surprising request from Australia to drop the charges. School bus Inferno, a bus just outside of St. Louis, bursting into flames. The driver trapped inside, forced to kick out the door to escape. The bus then plowing right into a house,

the fiery eruption, leaving residents in shock. Plus, AI builds your home. The new technology giving you the power to create the space of your dreams, an artificial intelligence program drawing up floor plans, becoming your own virtual architect, but is it more affordable we're putting it to the test?

And the octopus miracle. An Oklahoma family bought their son an octopus for a pet. The family left completely stunned when suddenly they noticed dozens of baby octopuses swimming around. So what's happening under the sea in Oklahoma?

Top story starts right now. And good evening. Tonight is sobering reality check on inflation as consumer prices rise at a faster than expected pace. Let's show you what we're talking about here. The consumer price index is up at 3.5% from a year ago in March. That number showing inflation is sticking around further frustrating Americans already strapped for cash. And the news sending shockwaves to the market. Here it is right now.

Here's what happened. The Dow down more than 400 points, the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ also down. And you might be noticing some of these big changes at the grocery store. Egg prices are up more than 4%, though several other food items are down. The economic outlook plays a major role, especially in an election year. President Biden speaking today after the report was released, vowing to handle inflation. We're in a situation where we're a better situated than we were when we took office where inflation was skyrocketing, and we have a plan to deal with it.

And as you can expect, former President Trump also weighing in on the issue, posting, quote, inflation is back and raging. The Fed will never be able to credibly lower interest rates. So when will inflation subside and what can Americans expect in the coming months? We're breaking it all down. NBC's Alison Barber starts us off tonight. tonight the fallout from a worse than expected inflation report sending fears rippling through the markets 3.5 this is 3 tenths three tenths hotter than we looked at in the rearview mirror 3.2 the news plunging all major indexes at close the Dow Jones still down more than 400 points consumer prices headed in the wrong direction for a third straight month in March rising 3.5

percent over last year, with gas and housing prices leading the surge. Eggs, anything you buy, you know, it's very high. A host of sectors seem to be feeling it. The price of eggs rising almost 5 percent, baby formula up nearly 10 percent, and car insurance spiking more than 22 percent. We should just get used to the fact that higher prices are here to stay. We always say the cure for high prices is high prices, because eventually, consumers stop spending? Well, we haven't stopped spending, so businesses are used to keeping

these prices at these levels, and this is probably where they're going to stay for the foreseeable future. Since the start of the pandemic, Americans have seen price averages rise more than 20% overall, despite other positive economic signs. I'm feeling way more than 3.5%. I have a lot of friends who used to, like, you know, grab a few beers and watch the football game at their house. It's getting way too expensive to do that. The Federal Reserve implemented a string of historic interest rate hikes in hopes of tamping down the explosion of inflation, which according to the St. Louis Fed was at least partially caused by pandemic-era stimulus checks. At the start of the year, experts believed inflation was finally coming down, and interest rate

cuts were on the way. The problem is now that the economy has been very strong, and basically the decline inflation is stolen. Now it appears interest rate relief will have to wait. We were saying that will, it's going to be a bumpy ride. We consistently said that. It's unwelcome news for Americans looking to buy a home in a market where mortgage rates remain stubbornly high. The 30-year fixed mortgage is the most popular lending product out there in the housing market. Well, the 30-year fixed is still around 7 percent, and it's keeping the housing market

in a deep freeze. So we're probably not going to see an aggressive home buying or home selling market this spring. That could come later to the summer or into the fall or potentially pushed out all the way into next year. One bright spot, the report shows that wage growth is outpacing inflation, meaning Americans have more money to spend. But they're still facing the remnants of pandemic-era price surges

without pandemic-era relief checks, leaving many still asking when or if substantial relief will come. Post-pandemic, it just feels like every single company is trying to squeeze as much money out of the consumer as possible. A lot of Americans feeling that way. Ellison, Barbara, joins us now live in studio. So, Ellison, walk us through the calendar. When will we hear from the Fed next?

So 21 days, the Fed's next meeting is set for April 30th to May 1st. And in terms of what they will do, the question always is, are they going to cut, hike, or leave interest rates where they are. And what most economists are expecting to happen is for them to keep interest rates steady, where they are right now, which is a little over 5%. And they've been at that number since July of 2023. But you look back at the last meeting the Fed had, that was in March, and you look through the meetings and minutes. And they said this in part. They wrote, the committee does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%. So 2% inflation, that still seems to be the magic number for the

Fed. And some experts and economists, they're saying best case scenario for any sort of interest rate cut is not going to be until this summer, end of the summer. Others say probably not even to be considered until the fall. Yeah, if it happens after Memorial Day or Labor Day. We'll have to wait and find out. Alison, we thank you for leading us off tonight for more on what today's higher than expected inflation numbers mean for the U.S. economy and the state of President Biden's campaign in the 2024 election. I want to bring in Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, for the Clinton administration, and he's currently Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. And Julia Manchester, she's a national politics reporter for The Hill

and a friend to top story. Robert, I'm going to start with you. Can I get your reaction to the troubling March consumer price index? Well, it is troubling in the sense that a lot of economists, a lot of people expected that inflation would be coming down faster.

Now, it's ironic because the real underlying problem is not really a problem. And that is that the recovery is so hot, there are so many new jobs, wages are rising, the economy is doing so well, that you don't get a fall in a drop-in prices as much as you would want and expect. But it's still a problem relative to things like mortgages and car loans

and a lot of other expenditures that people have. Robert, talk to me a little bit about consumer behavior, if you will, along the lines of what you were just saying there. People think things are still too expensive, yet they're still buying them. They don't seem to be pulling back. Why do you think that is? Mainly because wages are now rising faster than prices. And so just logically, people have a little bit more money than they had before. They feel a little bit better than they felt before. I mean, they see gas prices and they see other prices in the grocery store and they say things are pretty bad. But in terms of their own personal economy, they are not as bad, nearly as bad as they were. Julia, we know how the American people feel.

We see it in all the polls when they talk about the economy. Is there a magic number when it comes to inflation, where it needs to be? I want to put up a graphic on our screen here so our viewers can see. It's where inflation the rate has been during election years. And you can kind of see where they are. And to be honest and fair, we're actually not that far off as we've been in other elections before. Where Democrats have won and where Republicans have won. But we talk about the 2% from the Fed.

Is there a number where the Biden administration wants to get around where they would feel more comfortable? You know, I don't have a number off the top of my head. However, Tom, I think it's definitely as low as possible, potentially pre-pandemic numbers. That would be a perfect world for the Biden administration. However, right now, today's news really, I think, was a temporary political blow to President Biden. Look, his campaign has been saying repeatedly, look, you know, inflation is going down. not be feeling it yet, but it is going down. Trust us. You will start to feel the effects. But when Americans see the numbers like today, they don't feel any more, you know, they don't

feel better about that. And they're also not feeling that in their wallet as well. So today's number was a political blow. I think Biden wants it to be, you know, as low as possible. But what you're going to see is, you know, former President Trump is going to take this, go out on the campaign trail and essentially say, look, you know, during my administration, on obviously before COVID, when, you know, things were relatively normal when we look at it from an economic perspective, he's going to say inflation was so much lower. Don't you want that instead of this? And Robert, explain to our viewers. I mean, this might be the reality the Biden administration has to deal with because the clock may have run out. And I just say that because

even if the Fed decides to make another cut down the road, it takes time to actually affect the inflation rate. Undoubtedly, Tom, there is a lag between the Fed's movements of interest rates up or down and what happens in the economy. So if the Fed waits till, let's say, July or August or September to reduce interest rates that are now relatively high, 5.3% are, you know, that's the Fed rate, which means 7% or more for mortgages and similar high percentages for auto loans. If the Fed waits to July, August, or September, it's probably not going to be felt until after the election. So I want to get both your takes on what president's, President Biden said today because he did say something interesting about the stubborn inflation rate.

Let's play it. Before the year is out to be a rate cut, this may delay it a month or so. I'm not sure of that. We don't know what the Fed is going to do for certain. But look, we have dramatically reduced inflation. It was a little hard to hear that, but he essentially was saying that he's confident there's going to be a rate cut. And then, Robert, I want to ask you, how can the president feel so confident about that. Isn't he interfering with the Fed's business with that comment? At least that's what Democrats said when President Trump would put pressure on the Fed when he was in office. Well, certainly if President Biden said there has to be a rate cut and said the Fed, I am telling

you to cut rates, that would be an interference. But if he's predicting a rate cut, it's slightly different. And I think that it's fair to predict that if inflation continues on the path that's on. Now, again, compared to where it was last year or the year before, it is very, very low. If it continues to moderate, if it's a soft landing, as the Fed likes to say, then we are going to see the Fed eventually start reducing interest rates. Julia, Politico has an exclusive report that you may have seen on what former White House Chief of Staff. Ron Klane said at an event about President Biden's campaign focus on infrastructure versus other economic issues. I want to put it on the screen for our viewers here.

He said, I think the president is out there too much talking about bridges. He does two or three events a week where he's cutting a ribbon on a bridge. Like I tell you, you go to the grocery store and, you know, eggs and milk are expensive. What do you make of that kind of criticism from Ron Clayne about Biden's focus? Is the White House not focused enough on the economy? Well, there has been criticism that they're not focused enough on the economy and that they're not able to really message on the economy because the economy, arguably, isn't really in a perfect place for the Biden administration, especially when you see Republicans really really trying to go on the offense on the issue of the economy.

But here's the thing that could be some, I don't know, maybe you could see it could be described as some political good news or maybe some political cover for former President Biden. We're talking about this issue of inflation right now and the economy, but we do know that yesterday, and we saw it last week in Florida, but, you know, with Arizona, we saw, you know, the abortion ruling from the Supreme Court, essentially them ruling to uphold this you know, abortion ban. And now it seems like it's completely unrelated to the economy, and maybe it is in some

ways, but this provides Democrats with some political cover. They're able to say, you know, use this as their top issue. And this is an issue that has, in many ways, galvanized not only their own bases, but also brought in more independent and moderate voters. It's

an issue that is a very energizing one. Now, the question is, how does it compete with the economy? We've heard Democrats, and I've heard, you know, in the 2020, two midterms. I heard this argument a lot. Look, abortion is an economic issue. But, you know, ultimately, I think we could be starting to see the battle of these two messages, you know, the Republicans really zeroing in on the economy and the Biden administration, the Biden campaign, down-balled Democrats, talking more about abortion because obviously it's a successful issue for

them, but also they haven't gotten their footing on the economy. Robert, last question for you, people everywhere are seeing prices increase. That's never good for an incumbent. If you were out there on the hustings and you have been part of and advised multiple Democratic administrations, what would your simple advice fee for the Biden administration? I would say certainly compare prices and inflation now to what it was a year or two ago, show people how many new jobs have been created, but also to the extent that any blame should be alleged about where inflation is coming from, focus on monopolies, monopolies. I mean, what the Biden administration has done, and people don't know about it,

but, for example, stop, it has stopped the merger between two of the giant food companies, grocery chains, Albertsons and Kroger. That actually is helping food prices stay lower. Okay. Robert Reich, Julia, Manchester, always a pleasure to have you both on the show. We thank you for that. We do want to turn to that other big political story that Julie was mentioning, the fallout over Arizona's abortion ruling. The state bringing back a civil war-era abortion law set to ban nearly all access to the procedure, that decision having ripple effects in politics.

Former President Donald Trump criticizing the ruling while Democrats blame Trump's Supreme Court appointees for overturning Roe v. Wade. Dana Griffin reports. Tonight, former President Trump distancing himself from that bombshell Arizona ruling on abortion. Arizona go too far away. Yeah, they did, and that would be straightened down.

that the governor and everybody else are going to bring it back into reason. The former president criticizing Arizona's revival of the Civil War era ban, adding he won't sign a national ban. And controversial Republican Arizona Senate candidate Carrie Lake endorsed the 1864 law two years ago. We have a great law in the books. We will be a state where we will not be taking the lives of our unborn anymore. Now saying she opposes it, adding, Arizona voters will make the decision on the ballot come November when an initiative to protect abortion rights will likely be on the ballot.

Many Arizona voters differing on abortion stances, but against the total ban. I'm a Christian, but I still believe in the women's right to choose. I'm not for abortion, but I think it's not the place of the state to punish women. President Biden also addressing the ruling. What do you say to the people of Arizona right now who are witnessing a law, go in place that dates back to the Civil War era. Elect me. I'm in the 20th century, 21st century. Not back then. There weren't even a state. Kathy Herod leads the Center for Arizona Policy, which opposes abortion rights.

Arizona can be the first in the nation to defeat a radical pro-abortion amendment. It simply goes too far for Arizona voters. Meanwhile, groups like Arizona abortion access are working to protect women's right to choose. After the decision came down yesterday, We decided that we just need to get out and be in as many places as we can be. You just sign that, and I see tears in your eyes. Why? Because I've been in a situation, and I'm lucky to be alive. And you want to have children.

And when you find out you can't, and you're in danger, your health is in danger. And I can't imagine the women that are going to be in situations. They can't get the care they need. Dana Griffin, there are some powerful interviews. What are you hearing about November? and how people, at least in Arizona, say this is going to affect their vote? Yeah, Tom, on both sides, they are galvanized. This is something like we saw when Roe v. Wade was overturned.

They are turning up and say they are going to fight on both sides, either to codify this, the reproductive rights for women, or to make sure that this law stands as it's written. You know, as you saw there, we saw tears, we saw anger today. People just extremely passionate. woman who says that she wants this state constitution to be amended not to 1864, but to 2024. Many saying they want things to be more modern and not to set them back to this civil war era law. And people are really frustrated and they are going to make this a key issue

and a reason why this gets them out to the polls come November. Tom? Dana Griffin reporting for us from Arizona. Dana, we appreciate that. Next to the severe storm striking the south. Violent weather slamming the region, heavy destruction and power outages, flooding, and at least one death has been reported so far. Today, tornadoes ripping through parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, with fierce winds, reaching more than 70 miles per hour, leaving behind a landscape of debris. Kathy Park is in the storm zone tonight. Big tornado, big, big tornado. Tonight, severe weather sweeping across the south, with tornadoes in Texas in Louisiana tearing through buildings, trees, and apart. In this one complex, officials say roughly 50 people were rescued.

If that continues to hold true that we have zero major injuries of fatalities, truly a miracle. Meanwhile, employees at this construction company in Slidell say they were riding out the storm in their office building as the roof blew off. And I literally watched a plywood wall touch the floor and come back up and touch the floor again and come back up. A dangerous combination of heavy rain and strong winds snapped power lines. snap power lines and trees across the state. It once was our house was surrounded by shade and now it's very sunny and I'm assuming no power at this point. No power.

Emergency responders rushed to trap residents in West Feliciana Parish, stuck after large tree limbs dropped onto roads. I came down there earlier, but you couldn't go any further than right here for that tree was so big. Baton Rouge and the bullseye for tornadoes during the morning commute. At times, the storms almost look like hurricanes. with wind gust reaching more than 70 miles per hour. You can see outside, it's not looking good for any of us across southeast Louisiana.

13 million people across the Gulf Coast are on high alert for flash floods. Parts of Kirbyville, Texas still underwater. So it's not a good day to be out on the road. Back in Louisiana, the cleanup is just beginning, with a disaster opening old wounds. I feel like back in New Orleans when Katrina hit, I remember that like it was just Some serious destruction there in Louisiana. Kathy, we see it there behind you as well. Talk to us about what the scenes like there in Slidell. Yeah, Tom, as you can see, the weather is clear. The swarms have moved on out of here. And there's another round of severe weather expected to strike portions at the east come tomorrow. But here in Slide Out there is widespread damage. One example that is right behind me. This used to be a hair salon. It was completely covered in glass, enclosing glass. All that has shattered. The metal frame. is all that's left. And listen to this, Tom. We heard from a customer who was hunkered down

in the building at the height of the storm. She told us she was covered in glass and had to be rushed to the hospital to get all that glass removed. Fortunately, she is doing okay, but several injuries being reported at this time. And of course, a huge cleanup ahead. All right, Kathy Park there in Slidell, Louisiana, where we hear the hammers busy at work now. And this dangerous storm system continuing to produce violent weather across the southeast tonight. Let's get right to NBC News meteorologist Bill Karens, who joins us now in studio, this is a serious storm. Yeah, this one started early this morning.

Baton Rouge, around the morning rush hour, and then a good middle of the day in the New Orleans area under the flash flood emergency, including the tornado that hit Slidell. Mobile had some rough weather, and now we're watching the storm moving all the way through the Florida panhandle. We still do have a tornado watchup for about another hour or two.

And the worst of the storms is right over the top of Panama City, and they've slowed down. And when the storms slow down, that means that you get torrential amounts of rainfall, and that's what's happening over the Panama City area. Stay home for about the next half hour, hour until these storms were over with. The roads are quickly going to inundated with water. And this includes areas all the way up to I-10, too.

We're under severe thunderstorm warning in addition to that flash flood warning for the Panama City area. And this will continue at least for next hour or two. The water will probably begin receding after the storms are done maybe by about 9 or 10 p.m. this evening. We still have flash flood watch it up. This area is just soaked. Many rivers are still cresting. We still have water than rivers that will crest in the day or two ahead. But we're not done. I mean, we're still going to pick up another three to five inches of rain

tonight during the overnight hours in southern Georgia and maybe about one to three inches in South Carolina. So isolated flash flooding there. And then tomorrow, Tom, this storm heads for the Ohio Valley. We may even have some isolated tornadoes in Ohio tomorrow. And the wind damage is possible from Tampa to Daytona all the way up to Savannah. So we're not done with this storm yet, but today was by far the most violent day. Yeah, we got to stay on top of it. All right, Bill. We appreciate that. Still ahead tonight. President Biden weighing a request to drop charges against Julian Assange. Australia's plea to end prosecution of the WikiLeaks founder

at the center of one of the largest classified document leaks in U.S. history. What's behind it all? We'll explain. Plus, a school bus engulfed in flames. Look at that, plowing into a home outside of St. Louis, the startling moments as the fire broke out. And a chief superfan forced to cough up millions of dollars and his signed Patrick Mahomes memorabilia,

the series of bank robberies he's on the hook for. We'll be right back. Back now with some breaking news about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. President Biden was asked about a request from Australia to drop his prosecution for espionage and publishing confidential military materials. The president saying the White House is considering it. For more on all this, I want to get right over to NBC's Matt Bradley, who's tracking this for us from London. So, Matt, kind of walk our viewers through why this request first comes from online. Australia, and why President Biden would say that he's actually considering this?

Well, I mean, this comes from Australia because Assange is an Australian citizen, and even though he's lived abroad for almost his entire life, they are kind of enjoined, you know, the Australian government, the Australian people, to advocate for one of their own. And when it comes to a crime like this, this is not a violent crime, and a lot of people throughout the world, especially outside the United States, consider that what Assange did, those 18 different charges that he's facing as a little more than just journalism itself. This was something where he was speaking truth to power.

That's how he portrays it. That's how his wife, who's his strongest advocate, portrays it. That's how people throughout the world portray it. You know, we see marches here in London all the time. He's still very, very popular. And so, you know, this is something that to free him would be perhaps a boon for the Biden administration.

Yeah, as popular as he might be. parts of the world. As you know, as you've been reporting on this as well, there are folks here in the United States who think what he did was treacherous, publishing military materials, putting them out there on WikiLeaks. He did it to other countries, too. It wasn't just the U.S., but he served time, right? Explain to our viewers, he's been in prison for a while in London now. Yeah, I mean, he served time, Tom, but time is one thing. I mean, he served time hiding out from the law in the Ecuadorian embassy. That was a very unusual way to spend a prison sentence. And as far as the jails are concerned, as far as the legal system are concerned, that's not time served.

He still has to do a number of years. But again, he faces a maximum of 175 years in jail. Now, for a man who a lot of people consider somebody who didn't kill anybody, who didn't hurt anybody, a guy who exposed what some people consider to be very grave secrets, though there weren't a huge number of massive revelations out of what he spilled out of WikiLeaks, not like what we saw from Edward Stodan later on. You know, he still is going to get a lot of sympathy, and not just from courts in the U.S.,

but from courts here in Britain. Again, last month, they actually kind of delayed his extradition to the states. So there's a lot of sympathy here, even among the legal system, a lot of questions about whether or not these charges are worth, you know, getting him back to the states for. This is a question that really goes to the heart of what is journalism, what kind of privileges do governments and joy? and does Assange represent a threat to any of these governments that he exposed?

Remember, he didn't really come up with a lot of big revelations to justify what he did. Instead, he just simply dumped a ton of information with a lot of names of people that the U.S. government was trying to protect, people who, you know, he's been accused of not going through and trying to etch out some of these names and revealing people who were supposed to be kept secret. People who were working for the U.S. State Department and the CIA. those names were exposed because of Assange. So those are the sorts of crimes that he might end up sort of answering for in a court of court. Do we know, and I know it's still early in the process, and obviously the White House has not made a decision,

but he's been in a prison in UK for, I think, since 2019, maybe for several years now. Do we know what would happen? Would he essentially be released on his own recognizance? Would he be able to live again in London? Do we know anything about the process? That's a good question. And, you know, that's something that I think the court would have to come up with. He is being held in prison as he's waiting extradition to the United States. So presumably once those charges in the United States go away, he'd be facing a lot less legal jeopardy here in the UK. But the fact that he hid out at the Ecuadorian embassy for all that time and caused such an endless headache for authorities here, really, for the better part of a decade, there's a lot of people who are still angry with him about that. And he is not without facing charges here, but it sounds as though he has served his time here in the UK.

But this is a man who surprises a lot of people. It's possible he could be facing more charges here once those charges go away in the United States or in other countries. You know, he has made quite a few enemies. Tom. Matt, Bradley, for us tonight. Matt, we thank you next tonight. President Biden with a warning about the war in the Middle East saying Iran may be planning an attack on Israel. Biden vowing to protect Israel's security while demanding Hamas except the latest ceasefire offer.

NBC's Peter Alexander has the latest. Tonight, new fears of a possible major escalation of the war in the Middle East, with President Biden warning Iran may be planning to hit targets inside Israel soon. They're threatening to launch a significant attack on Israel. As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel's security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad. Iran eyeing retaliation for strikes last week on a diplomatic building in Syria that killed several Iranian commanders, which it blames on Israel. Iran, a primary backer of both Hamas and Hezbollah. Two U.S. officials tell NBC News any retaliation inside Israel is expected to focus on military and intelligence targets, not civilians, and that the Biden administration is considering options for how to respond. Also tonight, growing tensions over a new Israeli air strike in Gaza. Israel saying the attack killed three adult sons of a top Hamas leader, who they say were Hamas operatives, including a commander.

Hamas says the strike also killed four of his grandchildren. During today's state visit for Japan's prime minister, President Biden demanding Hamas accept the latest ceasefire offer that includes returning the hostages, including Americans held by Hamas. There's now up to Hamas. They need to move on the proposal that's been made. We'll get these hostages home where they belong. Tonight, former hostage of Viva Siegel,

whose husband Hirsch Siegel is still being held, tells NBC's Andrea Mitchell, it's time for results. Somebody needs to help. And I'm begging Biden to be strong enough, stronger, stronger than Hamas. And tonight, more evidence of former President Trump's grip on House Republicans. Conservative Republicans today just blocked an effort to extend a controversial spying law that intelligence officials say is critical to protecting Americans from terrorists and other foreign threats. It is a blow to Republican Speaker Mike Johnson.

after Mr. Trump urged lawmakers to kill it. Tom. Okay, Peter Alexander at the White House tonight for us. Peter, thank you for that. When we come back, an arrest warrant just issued for Rashi Rice, the chief's receiver facing eight charges in connection to a crash in Dallas last month. How long he has to turn himself in? Plus, a major change coming to the Summer Olympics.

The sport that will now pay gold medalist $50,000 if they win. That's next. We're back now with Top Stories News Feed. We begin in Philadelphia, where gunshots erupted at a Ramadan celebration attended by more than a thousand people. At least three people were wounded, including a child who was struck in the hand late this afternoon. Police say a teenager shot at officers as they responded to the scene. That teen and four others were arrested, no word yet on a motive. Okay, in Missouri, a burning driverless school bus, crashy,

into a home. New video showing flames shooting from the bus after a crash in a St. Louis neighborhood. Authorities say the school bus started sparking after the last student was dropped off on Monday, causing the driver to lose control. That driver kicking open the door and jumping to safety before the bus went up in flames. Luckily, no one was hurt. All right, breaking tonight, Dallas police issuing an arrest warrant for Kansas City Chief's wide receiver, Rishi Rice. Rice facing eight charges, including aggravated assault for that multi-car cruise. involving Rice who was driving a Lamborghini. You may remember this video from last week and his friends allegedly racing on a Dallas highway.

The chain reaction crash sent two people to the hospital. Rice and his friends, you see him here, walking away from the scene. The driver in the other speeding car was also charged. And a chief superfan turned serial bank robber also on the wrong side of the law tonight. A judge ordering Xavier Batobar, who was known for wearing a wolf costume to the chief games. See him here. to pay $10.8 million in damages to a bank teller he allegedly assaulted during a robbery in 2022. Babadar pleaded guilty to a string of bank robberies. That's right. He was a chief superfan, but also a bank robber.

In February, he'll be sentenced in July. As part of his plea agreement, he was ordered to turn over memorabilia, including a painting signed by Chief's quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. We turn next to a historic move by the federal government to make our drinking water safer. For the first time ever, the Environmental Protection Agency announcing nationwide regulations to limit the presence of what's called forever chemicals. These substances found in nearly half of all tap water across the country, known to be linked to severe health conditions like heart disease and various forms of cancer. This map, take a look, it shows the most contaminated regions with more than 100 million

people at risk. For more on what this all means, I'm joined tonight by Dr. John Torres, who joins us in studio. Dr. John, so great to have you here in New York. So we look at the map. We're going to put it up again for our viewers. You notice those large areas of concentration. The clusters are in urban areas, big cities. You see them in New York, all along the East Coast, and then in California as well. Do we know why? We do think we know why. And it's because of the population densities in that area. And the fact where these chemicals are located, these are PFASs. They're called forever chemicals because they can last a thousand plus

years in the environment. And now we know that when they get into our body, which since they're ubiquitous in the environment, especially in the tap water, they're getting into our body. they can cause health concerns. They're being manufactured, and now the manufacturers are slowing down, but up until now, where people are located, where they've used a lot of these things that have been manufactured, the PFSASs have been in them, that's where you can see the concentrations. Do we know how, is it happening straight from the tap?

Is it people drinking from tap water, or is there in other places as well? So right now, it's come from a variety of different sources. This has come from non-stick cookware. It's come from fabric that's been used in carpets and couches to make them stain-resistant, those that are water resistant. It's in those as well. Those leak into our food supplies. They also leak into the ground and they leak into the groundwater. And that's why you're seeing them in the tap water. The EPA is concerned right now about the tap water because like you mentioned, this is the first federal regulation. Up until now, it's been state by state and

not every state has regulated these. And that's a concern. So, but you said something here that kind of confused me a little bit. If it's forever chemicals, how do you clean them up or how do you get rid of them? So they're doing it in a couple step processes here. The first step is to make sure they get it out of the drinking water. Think of it equivalent to the lead. Lead is always going to be around, but you want to get it out of the areas that we ingest in our bodies. We have to have water, and so you want to make sure that's clean water. And they're able to do that. They are able, there are ways you can get out of the water. And what they're saying is, for their next three years, they want every state to detect the amount of PFASs, and then they have

two years to treat those PFASs and bring them down to the level. Now, there are ways you can check your own water supply, you know, going through your water systems, and seeing what kind of PFS levels they have in there. And there are ways you can eliminate it, too. They're not cheap, but there are ways you can do that as well. You know, drinking water, you think is one of those things that we just are owed, you know, you pay taxes. You should at least be able to drink water to be safe? Should you be using filters like the Brita filters? Would those protect you from these forever chemicals?

So a couple of things you can do. There's a thing called a CCR, Consumer Confidence Report, that your water system puts out. And some of those will have PFS levels in them for the water systems that you use in your house, you know, where you get that out of the tap water. You can also get some filters, but not all filters will filter out PFAS. So you want to make sure they are PFAS certified and can filter those out. You can also get your own water tested if you have well water or your city's not testing it. It's expensive to do, but you want to get a PFAS certified testing laboratory to do that. Do those filters help, though, the Brita filters and the other filters you buy at the stores?

The average filters don't help because they won't get rid of those chemicals because they're very, very small. They're not microscopic, but they're very small. So you want to make sure it's a PFAS certified filter that can get rid of them. And even some of those filters only get rid of half of them. You want to make sure it's one that gets rid of all of them. Dr. John, we thank you for that. Now at Top Story's Global Watch and a check of what else is happening around the world. We start with a deadly explosion at a power plant in Italy.

Helicopter footage shows smoke rising from the underwater blast, which happened at a hydroelectric power plant outside of Bologna. At least three workers were killed, four others still missing. employees say they're going to strike on Thursday demanding safer working conditions. Two major updates on the Paras Summer Olympics tonight. World Athletics announcing it will pay track and field gold medalist $50,000, making it the first sport to introduce prize money at the games. Nearly 4,000 athletes already received payments from their home countries and sponsors, but the cash prize from a governing body marking a new era of the games, which began as an amateur competition.

And one event in jeopardy tonight, the Olympics president warning the swimming section of the triathlon could be canceled or postponed if pollution and bacteria levels in the Sand River remain at their current levels. The city has just over 100 days, which is not a lot to clean up that historic river. And a race horse in Australia finding itself near the wrong kind of track. Surveillance video shows the horse. Look at this on a train platform in western Sydney after an escape from a nearby stable. You can see the horse even pausing behind the yellow lung. ahead of the train's arrival. Authority say the racehorse was returned home safely.

There it is, after its handlers came to pick it up. Okay, coming up next, would you let AI design your home? A new program set to replace architects with artificial intelligence by building entire floor plans with the click of a button. But is it affordable and does it work? Our reporter puts that tech to the test. That's next. Welcome back.

Tonight, we're looking at a train. when it comes to home insurance. Tens of thousands of California residents are losing their policies after a major insurer told them they would not be renewed. The problem is twofold. Not a lot of options out there.

Less and less competition. And this is happening in communities hit hard by natural disasters in states like Florida and California. Is your state next or David Noriega has more? The devastation of wildfires in the western U.S. extending well beyond these charred remains, with people now losing the ability to insure their homes.

California residents are scrambling after 72,000 property insurance policies were dropped by the state's largest home insurer, State Farm. They pulled out of the state of California, and there's nothing we can do other than beg. Jill Osborne lives in Sonoma County. While her home was not destroyed in a fire, it's one of thousands deemed high risk. She feels blindsided after losing insurance. like a good neighbor, State Farm is here. Well, they're certainly not here for us. State Farm saying in part this decision was not made lightly, citing inflation, catastrophe

exposure, reinsurance costs, and the limitations of working within decades old insurance regulations as reasons for dropping the policies. But for homeowners, insurance is more vital now than ever, as the threat of natural disaster grows. There were more than 7,000 wildfires in California in 2023 alone. We are all struggling now with these very, very severe weather events for which you really can't defend yourself. And this isn't just a problem for Californians. In Florida, insurance premiums have soared as a number of major companies have pulled out of the state. You didn't write it out here, did you?

Or did you? In the aftermath of August's Hurricane Adalia, our Gabe Gutierrez spoke to one Florida resident who saw her home insurance rate double. Yep, I'm still paying it because you get nervous not to. Rates remain high, but relief for Florida homeowners could be on the way, as state regulators announced last week that eight new insurance companies will enter the market. But back in California, the newly uninsured are reeling as wildfire season looms. We should not be living in fear during fire season every year. We need to have confidence in our infrastructure, and that is simply what we don't have right now. David Noriega joins us tonight from Los Angeles.

So, David, what are the state governments doing? of Florida or California to help their residents with this insurance problem. Yeah, Tom, so both states have what's called an insurer of last resort, which is an insurance plan that to varying degrees is backed by the state. The problem is that in both California and Florida, those plans are pretty old and they're struggling to catch up with fast-growing demand. Here in California, that's called the Fair Plan. It's actually a private plan, but it is created by law by the state.

And agents are saying that it takes hours to even just get someone there on the phone. And if you do get to sign up, it's super expensive. It usually only covers one thing, which in California often means fires, and, you know, it doesn't actually get you that far. This situation is backing a lot of homeowners into a corner to the point where they have no choice but to consider actually just selling their homes. Tom? And then, you know, I have to ask you, the issues with extreme weather and climate change have gotten so dire if you think about this. Some companies, they don't want to even enter the insurance market, which is very bizarre in a country that thrives on capitalism. You know, you have competition in every industry, but it seems to be

limited now when it comes to home insurance in some states. Yeah, that is a huge part of what's driving this. And remember, Tom, what's happening in California with the largest home insurer pretty much backing out of the state saying it's not going to sign any new policies, non-renewing tens of thousands of policies, as you saw. That's just the most extreme version of this. And a lot of states, this just manifests his premiums going way, way up, for example, in Louisiana and other parts of the southeast that are at risk of, you know, increased hurricanes and of increased severity because of climate change. This is causing really structural changes to this market that we're just beginning to understand. Tom? David Noriega from our Los Angeles Bureau,

we thank you for that. Now to the new wave of home design that is using AI. One company using the technology to create your dream home in just seconds. They say it lowers the when it comes to traditional home construction. CNBC's senior real estate correspondent Diana Oleg shows us how it's done and what it could mean for the entire industry. Houses today are the product of design work done by architects. Oh, I like the second one. But this artificial intelligence program is looking to disrupt the industry. Meet Vitruvius.

It's the brainchild of Jason Ballard, CEO of Icon, a robotic construction company that brought the first 3D printed community to offer. The big vision of Vitruvius is to go all the way from human desire, all the way through delivery, so like construction documents, budget, schedules, even robotic instructions. The program already lets you design a home with detailed floor plans. The future, Ballard says, will include electrical, structural, plumbing, and mechanical in delivered plans, all to make the usually pricey process cheaper and faster. I'd like a log cabin style vacation ski home. Vitruvius asks you questions and learns.

from your answers, incorporating knowledge from every design it's ever seen. I'd like an open floor plan for family events. I tried it out with Ballard's help. It's got the fireplace in your bedroom, as you have asked, and it's a traditional log cabin style, as you have asked. Text prompts. This looks expensive. Can you make the home more affordable?

Lead to nearly instant renderings. The kitchen smaller, I see. Everything is smaller. Everything's a little more basic. Architects aren't going to love you very much. I have no doubt that tools like this are going to change the way that we do things. Michael Brookwick has been an architect in the D.C. area for roughly 30 years. It certainly is a disruptor, and it certainly will arrange and rearrange staffing and productivity and how and who does what. He said he sees AI taking over some basic areas like restrooms and stairways in offices or hotels.

but not everything. Regulation-wise, one would still need an architect. Brockwick says he's also concerned AI will stifle creativity, because while it may have ingested millions of designs from the past, AI won't have a real architect's eye for the future. Tom. All right, when we come back, one Oklahoma family's unexpected pet, or pets, we should say, a nine-year-old becoming the owner of an octopus documenting the incredible journey on TikTok,

but just when he thought his pet Terry was nearing the end of her life, he got not just one surprise, but 50 of them. We're going to explain the story next. Finally tonight, one Oklahoma family's unlikely choice for a first pet has captured the undivided attention of hundreds of thousands online. The Cliffords had planned to get their nine-year-old son just one octopus, but in an unexpected twist, the family is now. managing an entire octopus nursery. Stephen Romo explains.

How did buy an octopus 101? Nine-year-old Cal Clifford's dream was to have his very own pet octopus. They just are so cool because they have eight arms, nine brains. Lucky for him, his parents were into it. He was extremely persistent, so he had asked for one for, you know, like every birthday for like seven years. And as it turns out, so was much of TikTok. They're very hard to take care. The family from suburban Oklahoma documenting the full process of Cephalopod ownership on social media,

their videos getting tens of thousands of likes. But it was no easy task. Preparing the tank water alone took over eight weeks. Octopus tanks require special equipment to keep them healthy. Yeah, it was a lot of trial in error and just eventually figuring it out. And finally, the big day. A California two spot, also known as a bimac and lovingly named Terrence, or Terry for short, arrived at her forever home.

No, no. She would just swim up, like attack the glass, and I put my hand in there, too, just like clasped on. But after just two months, Terrence had been acting strange. She laid eggs, which experts say is a bittersweet turn of events. they hatch, that is essentially the end of her life. The family preparing to say their goodbyes. Until one night, dad noticed something weird. Then having a hatch in your hand and then seeing it swim across kind of your light of sight is one of the craziest things. The Cliffords who have no prior octopus experience and who live nowhere near an ocean, finding themselves responsible

for Terry and 50 hatchlings. Taking care of just one is a challenge. Personally, I would not keep an octopus at home for a pet. Like, I keep octopuses at work. It takes a lot of work. Each little octopus getting a punny name like J.C. or Cianca and requiring its own handcrafted container. We've just gained a greater appreciation for what an amazing animal. It is. It's been fun to kind of do it here at home, but definitely don't recommend it to anyone. So far, half have survived. The Clifford. taking it all in stride. Right here.

You want to see here? See here back there? So our plan is to find suitable professional homes that can take care of them. And we are prepared to take care of as many as we can. And with that, Stephen Romo joins us in studio. So Steven, we heard there from the dad at the end of your report so that they're having a little bit of problem

because they have now all these baby octopuses and they have nowhere to put them. They're looking for parents who want to adopt them, but it's hard because they live in Oklahoma. Yeah, exactly. There's not an ocean nearby that they can go to a coastal city. So they're asking sanctuaries, other zoos, anybody to come and help them out there. They're looking for that right now. A lot of people are saying just to try to find a way to transport them to the ocean, but experts say that's not really recommended because they could have pathogens that would be exposed to their natural habitat, so they're really counting on someone stepping up and helping them out. I'm sure after this report and all the attention.

They hopefully will find some people who want to adopt those precious creatures because they are incredible. I do want to ask you, is this getting a lot of attention sort of in the marine biology community because it is a miracle, if you will. Yeah, a lot of people are asking marine biologists on TikTok specifically about this. So they are commenting on it and giving feedback. A lot of people not recommending adopting an octopus because you can see just how difficult it actually is. It takes a lot. All right, Stephen Romo. We appreciate that. Thank you for that. And we thank you for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamous in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.

Thank you.