Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Episode Date: April 16, 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 historic verdict against Live Nation after a jury found the company ran a monopoly. The massive blow to Ticketmaster's parent company after a jury said it violated antitrust laws that hurt consumers and performers. What will happen to the company next? And will concert tickets now be cheaper? We'll explain. Also tonight, monster twisters charging across several states, winds ripping off the siding of this arena, fast-moving waters leaving drivers stranded. The next round of life-threatening storm stretching from Texas to New York. York. Our Bill Cairns is here. He's timing it all out. A first look at the U.S.'s naval

blockade on the straight of her moves, and you'll hear the actual warning the U.S. military is giving to boats trying to come through. Attempted kidnapping at a Walmart, chilling images of a woman wielding a massive knife after snatching a child in the store, how officers save the toddler. Robots on the front lines for the first time Ukraine says it's reclaimed territory from Russia, relying on just an army of robots, is the new era of warfare here. Wild video capturing a car coming within inches of a shopper after barely into a store. What went wrong? And a new kind of comfort taking flight, the airline set to offer bunk beds on their planes. So how does it work? Our Liz Kreutz tested it out. Plus, Wall Street's record

closed the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ soaring to new highs. What's driving the market and will it last? Top story starts right now. All right, good evening. We begin tonight with that major verdict on an issue that has sparked anger for so many Americans, the sky-high ticket prices to see your favorite artists perform. Tonight, a jury finding Live Nation and Ticketmaster, which it owns, illegally monopolized the market, controlling pricing, bookings, venues, and more. After roughly five weeks of trial, jurors decided that the ticketing giant engaged in anti-competitive behavior, leading to higher fees for fans and fewer options for artists. They sided with more than 30 states that argued the company was a monopolistic bully, a major bloated Live Nation in one of the most high-profile antitrust

cases in decades. $1.72. That's the amount the jury says Ticketmaster overcharged concert goers per ticket. It may sound small and a little confusing, but that adds up to millions and millions of dollars over years. A judge will decide what happens next and if other monetary damages will be awarded. Live Nations is stock dropping by more than 6% on the news, while the company, for its part, denies acting as monopoly. So what does this all mean for fans and the future of the music industry? Our Emily Aketa is tracking it all and leads us off tonight. Tonight, a major blow to concert behemoth Live Nation, which owns Ticket Master,

often blasted for its high ticket prices. I went to a concert lately at a Live Nation venue, and the prices were kind of crazy. A jury sided with more than 30 states that argued the company is a monopolistic bully, illegally dominating the industry in one of the most high-profile antitrust cases. in decades. Great day for antitrust law. It's a great day for consumers and fans, and it's a great day for the 34 states and District of Columbia who I've been honored to work for on this matter. The verdict followed four days of deliberations. Lawyers for the states presenting these messages from a Live Nation executive, joking, I almost feel bad taking advantage of them and robbing them

blind, baby. The jury also found fans were overcharged by Ticketmaster, the target of years. The target of years of complaints over prices and technological meltdowns like a head of Taylor Swift's Ares Tour. The judge will determine what happens next. The judge now imposes a remedy. That could be anything from breaking up the company to monetary penalties and anything in between. Live Nation has vehemently denied acting as a monopoly and in court argued success is not against the law, instead saying, quote, we are fierce competitors. The verdict comes after the Department of Justice struck a surprise settlement days into the highly anticipated trial. But critics said it did not go far enough. And many states pressed ahead with the lawsuit tonight walking away with a victory

that could have a far-reaching impact in the music industry. Okay, Emily kind of joins us now. So Emily explains what happens here. We heard remedy there right from Misty. So will ticket goers, people that have gotten tickets where they get a refund or will they be cheaper going forward or both? Okay, so we have the verdict now. Now both sides will make their case to the the judge about what they think he should do about it. Should it be structural changes? Should the company actually be broken up? Should there be how much monetary damages should be involved? Now, Live Nation tonight saying in a statement, the jury's verdict is not the last word on this matter and promising to take further legal action. So this thing could really drag on. But a lot of those

questions will be answered at a hearing that is not yet scheduled, but a lot of eyes on this for sure. Yeah, Live Nation making it clear that they plan to appeal this and this is not, this is far from over. Okay, Emily Aketa, we thank you so much for that. Here to walk us through the potential impact of the ruling. NBC's Allie Canal is over at the big board. So, Ali, could this change prices in the future for people who feel like they've been paying way too much for tickets? Or, I mean, what can we expect? I know I kind of asked Emily this as well, but what do we think is going to happen? Well, unfortunately, Tom, you're not going to see any immediate changes overnight. We have to see what the remedies, where they come in. Emily was just laying that out that we

don't know yet. In theory, that could create more competition, which would lead to lower prices over time. But we want to set it up for a little bit of an example. So we picked Taylor who doesn't love her, right? Face value, 254 bucks. When you include that 30% service fee, that's the average service fee on Ticketmaster, you're looking at $330. So significantly more there. Now remember, separate from the state's case, we had that DOJ settlement that capped Live Nation service fees at 15%. So look at that. Instead of paying 330, you're now paying 292. Yes, still more than face value, but a little bit better. Also part of that DOJ settlement, Live Nation has to sell 13 of the venues that it owns. So you're seeing on your screen, 240.

13 of those they have to sell off. Now, the states argue that when you look at this map, that means Live Nation has about an 86% share of those major U.S. concert venues. Live Nation argues that when you include all the arenas, all the sports venues out there, that their market share is actually closer to 44%. And that was really the crux of this entire case. How do you define the market The jury, though, with that verdict, saying that Live Nation operates as a monopoly. Yeah. And then so are there real competitors out there? I mean, will other ticketing companies be able to compete with Ticketmaster? You saw that, you know, the states argued they had about 86% Ticketmaster, 86% of the market. That feels like there's not a lot of competition out there.

No, and if you take a look at some of the competitors, you would say, Live Nation is just such a behemoth in this space. I mean, this is by market cap. Now, it's not really apples to apples comparison. because Live Nation controls the ticketing, the promotions, the venues, Stubb Hub vivid seats, just about the tickets there. But you can see in their market cap, Live Nation, over $36 billion. Something like a Vivid Seats, $78 million. And you saw that reflected in the stock market reaction as well. Live Nation shares closed down over 6%. Stubhub rose more than 3%. Vivid seats, that stock jumped over 9% due to this ruling. So it seems like investors, they might think that there will be some more competition,

and maybe that these smaller players can get a bit more share of this market. Allie, that graphic right there says it all. That is so wild. 36 billion compared to 2.5, the second competitor is crazy. Okay, Allie, we thank you so much for that. Now to the other major headline that we're following nearly 50 million people from Texas to New York

are under a severe weather threat tonight after multiple tornadoes ripped through the Midwest. And right now, parts of Kansas are just beginning to clean up the wreckage. Are Shaquille Brewster is on the ground there speaking with devastated homeowners tonight. Across the Midwest, Oh my God. A new round of dangerous tornadoes.

This twister tearing through a field in Iowa, the powerful winds whipping dirt into the sky, onlookers stopping to watch Mother Nature's wrath. Rising waters leading to urgent evacuations in Wisconsin. One official warning, if you do not evacuate, we will likely not be able to assist you. Throughout the state, heavy rain washing out roads and stranding these vehicles overnight. This woman rescued from her trapped car.

Power flash? Hey, power flash. Power flash. In Michigan, powerful storms lighting up the night sky. This road completely destroyed as water rushes through. Strong winds ripping the roof off this ice arena. While in hard-hit Kansas, the cleanup continues after tornadoes ravaged several towns. The National Weather Service says the tornadoes,

that did this damage was on the ground for more than seven miles wind speeds, 125 miles an hour. Now crews working to restore power all along the path. My camper is upside down right over here. That's it right there. Right there totally destroyed. Josh Hudson and his wife in Hisdale are now sifting through the devastation. Are the tears in your eyes of reflection of what didn't happen to you? Yeah, I mean, there's always what is. And I'm just so grateful that I'm even able to stand here. All right, Shaquille Brewster joins us once again. This time, though, he's from hard hit Hillsdale, Kansas.

And, Jack, again, we see all that destruction behind you. And it was a neighborhood, and we see, I think, a homeowner just behind you right there. Yeah, and this is actually a storage unit. You see the structure behind me, folks going through trying to get those remaining items, especially before some possible storms tonight. But look at this structure, literally turning into piles of metal over here. And Tom, we showed this a little bit earlier. But look this way.

This is an RV that tornado coming through completely toppling over that RV. I mentioned the storms tonight, Tom. This is the area of concern because this used to be a structure just like that other one. I checked on Google Maps before reporting this to you. The tornado completely wiping it out, but you see those items now there. Those are loose items that can now go flying around if there's a storm tonight. We know this area is now under a tornado watch going into tonight. But Tom, you saw in that piece.

We talked a little bit about the action that you saw in Wisconsin. This is new tonight. The governor of Wisconsin now declaring a state of emergency there, saying that the record flooding that they've been seeing, the record rainfall will continue into the later half of this week. He's deploying resources to make sure that his residents there are safe. It's just another sign that this entire Midwestern region really is not getting any breaks here. Yeah, no, it's not.

Okay, Shaq Brewster's been on the ground for us. Shaq, you and your team be safe tonight. I want to get to NBC meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill, we're getting some wild new video of hail pounding a backyard in Indiana. Time out the rest of the night for us. Yeah, it's not often. We actually get to see what golf ball size hail looks like, but this was impressive. Last night in Indiana, obviously it had flooded beforehand, so the hailstones hitting the water made it even more dramatic. But that's the case that's going on now. We've had a lot of large hail reports. Thankfully, no tornadoes yet today. But we still have our tornado watch that'll go until 9 p.m.

central daylight time for areas of Oklahoma, all the way up through Missouri and into areas of Iowa. We had one tornado warning just dropped that's right along Interstate 90, northern Illinois. It's going to move just east of Rockford. We had a rough afternoon in areas of Cleveland. Very large hail south of town. Those thunderstorms are now heading towards Youngstown. A lot of damaging wind, quick burst of rain and some isolated flash flooding. We also have stationary storms. I don't like this out here. This is Columbus, Kansas. This is Joplin, Missouri. And we are watching these storms. Now we're getting high water reports and water rescue. So that's one spot. We're going to have to keep an eye up. I'm going to skip past tomorrow

because tomorrow we get just isolated storms, but watch out Friday. The same area here from Wisconsin all the way down to Oklahoma Tom. Maybe a tornado outbreak is possible. Again, Friday evening, not tomorrow. All right, Bill Carrens, we got one more for you, though. Record breaking heat. Everyone's worried about this. It's going to be a big story tomorrow, I know. It's been strange, right? I mean, we hit 90 degrees from New York all the way down to D.C., to Raleigh to Charlotte. But tomorrow we're going to do it again, and then this will be about it. So 91 tomorrow in Raleigh, Philadelphia, 91 tomorrow. But then as we go through the weekend, reality comes back in Sunday, 53 in Chicago.

By the time we get to New York on Sunday, 65, and there'll be people in New York wearing their coats by the time we get to Monday. Wow. This is a short-lived summer little break. Still got the coats there in the closet. All right, Bill, we thank you. We're going to head overseas now to the Middle East where American warships tonight are ramping up their warnings to ships near the Strait of Hormuz, and you're going to hear it. as Iran renews its threats against that U.S. oil blockade. And tonight, President Trump says the war could be over soon,

but it's unclear when another formal round of negotiations will begin. Richard Engels is in the region for us as the latest. Our first images tonight of what the U.S. naval blockade of Iran looks like up close. We do not comply with this blockade. We will use force. As American warships today broadcast warnings to vessels near the Strait of Hormuz not to dock in or depart from Iran. The whole of the United States Navy is ready to force supplies. The U.S. is attempting to strangle Iran's economy, preventing it from exporting its main commodity, oil.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard responded that if the blockade continues, Iran will disrupt traffic in another vital shipping lane, the Red Sea. President Trump insists all of this will be over soon, and that negotiations with Iran could restart by the end of the week, likely again in Pakistan. I think it's close to OVIA. But Israel today insisted any peace deal won't apply to Lebanon, where thousands of Israeli troops are fighting Hezbollah and carving out a buffer zone. Today I went to the Israeli-Lebanese border and met with a senior Israeli military official.

How long do Israeli forces plan to stay in Lebanon? I think we've been fighting since October 7, 2023, and we're committed to continuing doing so as much as needed. I think that was outgoing. That will be outgoing, but that's because something is incoming usually. Is Israel doing to Lebanon what it did to Gaza? Israel is going village by village, house by house, to dismantle Khizbalah. The official never said how long Israeli troops planned to. stay in South Lebanon, describing that as a political decision, but saying that they would be there

as long as is necessary and said that Israeli forces are finding Hezbollah weapons in hospitals, mosques, homes all across the region, which is almost exactly the same justification that Israel used to extend its war on Hamas in Gaza. Tom? Richard Engel, we thank you, despite tensions with Iran, Wall Street setting records today. the S&P 500 and NASDAQ, both surging to new highs. Here to make sense of it all. Our chief business correspondent, Christine Romans, is here.

So, Christine, this is good news for Americans who have seen a recent dip in their 401ks. And it's a reminder to stay invested during all this turbulence. I mean, think about last year as well. You had tariffs, Liberation Day, and a big tanking in the stock market. And then it came back. So this is even coming back stronger than it did last year. Just a reminder that when you're invested for the long term,

this is not something you should be trading day in and day out. Also a reminder that Wall Street reflects the conditions of companies, not necessarily the conditions of family budgets. Companies are learning how to deal with big policy changes, with big geopolitical shocks, and learning how to manage through that. So you have the big shock because of the war, and then now you've got some hopes that I think that the war will end at some point. There were some comments from the president also that those on Wall Street

who wanted to be optimistic that things could start turning around, use that. I think it is an excuse to buy some stocks. Reporters in the region don't seem to be as optimistic as the president is. But Wall Street, we always make this point. The market tries to predict the future. It seems like they believe that this war is winding down. Yeah, they think there has to be an end to this sooner rather than later. That's at least the Wall Street view for now.

But remember, you could have something happened tomorrow that could dent that sentiment. On that issue, you know, Treasury Secretary Scott Besson was opt. domestic about gas prices, maybe coming down to $3 by summertime. Is that possible? You know, the administration officials have been acknowledging that higher gas prices are a problem for Americans, but Scott Besson is saying that you'll have a $3 range of gas prices down from $4 range by sometime this summer. He said June 20th to September 20th, he doesn't know exactly when that will happen, but he is confident it will happen. Of course, it all depends on when the war ends. And even though stock markets, parts of the stock market are at record highs, you still have

those gas prices 38% higher than they were just a few weeks ago. Christine Roman, so good to see you. We thank you. Thanks. Next tonight, President Trump escalating his public feud with Pope Leo, doubling down on his criticism for the first American to serve as leader of the Catholic Church. It comes as President Trump re-shared this post on Truth Social, an AI image showing the president embracing Jesus, or Jesus embracing him, really, wrapped in an American flag. It was reposted after he took down a different post that appeared to depict the president as a Christ-like figure. The president has said he thought it showed him as a doctor.

NBC's Gabe Gutierrez has more from the White House. And Gabe, President Trump, re-sharing the image. What is the White House saying tonight? Well, Tom, White House officials really aren't eager to talk about any of these posts. They refer back to what the president said in these posts, and that one you just shared, the one of Jesus embracing the president. The president said, well, those in the radical left probably won't like this, but I think it's nice.

And that's really what the president is trying to frame this as. He's trying to go after his critics that would be offended by this. You recall, Tom, you mentioned that post several days ago earlier this week, the one that depicted President Trump as a Christ-like figure. The president saying that he thought he was a doctor. Well, in that post, the president actually ended up deleting it. That's as much as an apology as you're likely to ever get from President Trump. But it did come after House Speaker Mike Johnson urged the president to take it down.

The president later saying that anyone, who misinterpreted it was confused. And Vice President Vance coming back and saying it was a joke, and apparently people didn't get the humor, Tom. Yeah, no, I hear you on that one. Gabe, the president is not backing down, though, from his feud with Pope Leo, posting this on Truth Social. Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent,

completely unarmed protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a nuclear bomb is absolutely unacceptable. We want to note it's unclear where the president got that 42,000, based on data we have from the human rights activist news agency that says more than 7,000 people were killed during the protest. There are people that are saying 40,000 were killed. We also want to know. But the president not backing down about the Pope and J.D. Vance waning as well? Yeah, that's right. J.D. Vance. An event in Georgia yesterday was asked about this. And look, the president is looking at this in more political terms, not religious terms. You'll know, Tom,

from covering him, that he views any attack on his policy or perceived attack on his policy. He takes that very personally. And so this feud really has been escalating for quite some time. Now, with Pope Leo, we should note, he also clashed with the Pope in his first administration. But J.D. Vance, during this event in Georgia, he did raise some eyebrows by hers with his response. Let's listen to that. And then on the other side of that, listen to what House Speaker Mike Johnson had to say about the whole feud today. Let's listen. In the same way that it's important for the Vice President United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it's very, very important for the Pope to be careful

when he talks about matters of theology. I'm not one to criticize clerics and religious leaders. We defend free speech, and we certainly defend the right, the freer size of religion, and, you know, a pontiff or any religious leader can say anything they want. But obviously, if you wait into political waters, I think you should expect some political response, and I think the popes receive some of that. Still, though, as we head to the midterm elections, this conversation is making some Republicans uncomfortable. Senate Majority Leader John Thune today saying that both President Trump and Pope Leo should stay in their own lengths.

All right, Gabe Gutierrez at the White House, Gabe, thank you. We're back in a moment with disturbing new photos showing a woman holding a knife to a toddler after she allegedly tried to kidnap him when investigators are saying, plus Santa Con the fraud scheme. The organizer of the infamous bar crawl accused of pocketing money that was meant for charities. the federal charges he's now facing. And while video of a car crashing into a store narrowly missing someone inside, look at that, we'll show you that close call ahead on Top Story. We're back now with the new shocking images from a Walmart in Nebraska,

a woman wielding a knife at a young child and slashing his face after snatching him from his caretaker. Aaron McLaughlin has more than the chilling attack. Tonight, heart-stopping stills of a random attack at an Omaha Walmart. In the images pulled from the police body camera footage, you see the suspect identified by police as 31-year-old Noemey Guzman, pointing a large knife at a small child, moments before slashing the boy's face. According to investigators, she shoplifted the weapon from the Walmart Tuesday morning and used it to snatch the child away from his caretaker. Got one party shot and another party cut. Police confronted Guzman, guns drawn.

There is video that shows the suspect swiping the knife at the child, cutting him a close. across the face. Officers at that time, at least one officer fired their weapon. Killing Guzman on site. Today, the boys' family is speaking out. Life's precious, and hold them tight because you never know how it can turn out. Court documents show Guzman suffered from schizophrenia. Police tell NBC News that day she'd been admitted to the hospital for alleged domestic violence-related injuries and let go, hours before these chilling final moments. All right, Aaron McLaughlin joins Top Story now live. Aaron, so what more do we know about the suspect's history?

Well, we know that she had this history of mental health suffered from schizophrenia, but she also had this extensive criminal record. In fact, I believe we have video for an incident that took place in 2024. According to court documents, you see her there jumping out of the window of her father's home. She'd stabbed her father, pepper sprayed him, lit the home on fire, and then jumped out of the window. From there, she made her way to a local church where she ransacked the church, was facing multiple felony charges for that offense. But the judge decided to let her go. She pled not guilty by reason of insanity. She was let out under specific conditions.

It was unclear if she was meeting those conditions at the time, but she was supposed to be. under treatment. Her next court hearing for that incident was scheduled for June. Aaron, we thank you for that. Appreciate it. Now, on an exclusive NBC News report, the husband suspected in his wife's disappearance in the Bahamas is hitting back to the U.S. A lawyer for Brian Hooker confirming today that he left the country saying his mom is very ill and will return back to the islands. Just yesterday, Hooker told our Jesse Curse that his only plan was to stay and keep searching for his wife. Hooker was taken into custody last week and was released by police on Monday.

Okay, coming up our series, the cost of denial and the healthcare CEO speaking out, his blunt explanation as to why insurers have to limit their coverage of weight loss drugs. Plus, a mysterious chunk of ice crashing through a roof in California, why the homeowner is calling on the FAA to investigate. But first, top story's top moment, and WMBA fans eagerly awaited this year's draft. But eight-year-old Violet might have been the most excited when her hero, former Yukon Women's Basketball star, AZ Fudd was the number one pick. Take a look.

With the first pitch in the 26 WMBA draft, the Dallas Wigs select AZ. She was pretty happy. Violet is such a big fan of Fudge. She attended her camp last summer and hopes to one day play basketball at Yukon. That'd be really cool. Stay with us. More Top Story on the way. We were back down with Top Story's news feed here, starting in New York City with the

arraignment of two suspects accused of throwing homemade bombs outside the mayor's home. Amir Balot and E. Abraham Kahuyumi. Both pleaded not guilty to multiple charges according to the indictment. The suspects were recorded describing their plan to kill dozens of people during a protest last month near Gracie Mansion. The bombs never exploded. If convicted, the men could face life in prison, they're due back in court in June. And dramatic video out of Oklahoma City capturing the moment a car crashes into a store. Here you can see the vehicle smashing into the building, just missing a person inside. the car clearing out racks of clothes leaving shoppers stunned.

So far, no reports of any injuries, which is incredible. Police say it's still unclear what caused that crash. Real Housewives of Miami star Lisa Hoxstein is now at a jail after she turned herself into authorities. Hoxstein is facing a felony charge over allegations she secretly recorded her ex-husband. Her co-stars showing up at the jail to support her. We're here to support Lisa.

She's in good spirits, and she's just concerned. about the well-being and her children and we're here to support her. Oxine's attorney telling NBC News the matter is part of divorce proceedings and, quote, does not belong in criminal court. And tributes are pouring in today for legendary Cuban singer Celia Cruz after she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cruz is known as the Queen of Salsa. She died in 2003, but is still making history.

Cruz was just honored with the early influencer award, becoming the first primarily Spanish-language artist to earn a spot in the rock and roll Hall. Now to New York and the scandal rocking the city's infamous annual Santa Con bar crawl. It's a holiday fundraiser that fills the city with thousands of revelers dressed up as Santa Claus, usually making headlines for drunken debauchery, but now it's drawing attention mid-year for a different reason. Today, the event organizer, Steve Pallides, arrested on federal fraud charges for allegedly pocketing more than a million bucks of funds raised for charity through the event, according to federal prosecutors. The indictment says

Piled spent money on the renovations to his vacation home, concert tickets, luxury vacations, extravagant meals. Look at this. A luxury car, all while claiming he wasn't compensated for running the event. I want to bring an NBC News legal analyst, Danny Sabalos, to break this down for us. So Danny, walk us through the charge the organizer is facing

and how they caught up to him. This whole organization was billed as a charity. And in doing so, it had a couple different revenue streams. First, he would sell tickets to the revelers, and then he would also get commission from the bars. And in doing so, he sort of had to sell to them. And you'll see in the indictment there are plenty of communications where the message was clear, at least according to the indictment, that this is a charity. In fact, at one point he says something to the effect of the organizers

don't get paid at all. This is how pure a charity it is. And as you can imagine, the indictment then alleges he took that money and it didn't go to a charity. So they've charged him with wire fraud, which is basically any time you make fraudulent statements to get money from people, and the reason it's in federal court is when that happens by use of interstate commerce. In the modern era, an email, a text message, virtually anything. Yeah, so I'm confused here. I know what Santa Con is, right? It's obviously you see it every single year. And it's not only New York, it's really all over the country. How does the charity arm of it work? People donate, or they sponsor a Santa? Do you know how it works or now?

No, it's much, the scheme, according to the indictment, is much simpler than that. He would collect all the money from either the bars or the people going or buying tickets to go out to Santa Con, take it. And at least according to the indictment, he would put it in an account and then put it in another account that was unrelated. And according to the government, about half of this money did not go to charity, or at least half of it. It went to luxury items, as you said. And when it comes to charities, there are a lot of very strict rules. It is not easy to open a charity. it's not easy to run a charity because 501c3 corporations are very highly regulated.

And at least according to the indictment, there was none of that oversight going on. And a lot of the money was going to anywhere but a charity. Yeah. And then, I mean, for the people that may be attend Santa Con, viewers out there, staffers here at NBC News, what is the future of Santa Con? You're asking me what I hope the future is, I'm a Manhattan night. I can't stand Santa Con, Tom. And you don't like it either.

You're just being nice. No, no. I don't know. Some people maybe like it. But is it gone? Is it now? They're 22 years old, and they're from deep Jersey is who they are. Are they not going to be able to do it anymore?

Well, they may be, you know, the organization itself may end up being shut down, but I imagine it is a moneymaker, so you might see a new, like a Phoenix arising, a new Santa Con organization in the next couple years. But at least for now, according to the indictment, it seems like he was kind of a one-man show. He might have had staff, but at least the government's alleging that he was the guy involved in all of this. So at least his organization may be done for now. Okay, Danny Sval, it's great to have you here. We thank you for that.

Now to the growing mystery for one California man after a massive chunk of ice fell through the ceiling of his house onto the couch where he had just been sitting minutes before. The homeowner now searching for answers about where it came from. Macy Jenkins from our NBC Los Angeles station has a strange one. It feels pretty heavy. Yeah, I mean, if you put it, this was all one piece. Tanya Magana in disbelief over what looks like a giant piece of dirt. dirty ice that came crashing through the roof of her ADU.

And he's like, Tanya, there was an explosion. She got a frantic call from her tenant, Udiere Gros, around 1118 Friday morning and rushed over. So it went through here and it shattered, but there was a big piece right on the couch, another one here, and then one on the table. Groh started sweeping up the debris. That's when he noticed a foul smell.

Coffee, trash. That we just said, let's put it in a bag and stuff it in the freezer and see what it is. She posted a picture on her local Facebook group. Some people were like, oh, Artemis II is going to land today. I'm like, I don't know if that has anything to do with it. But a more likely scenario, it came from an airplane. If you look outside every five minutes or so, we get a plane or two,

either going to Long Beach or landing on LAX. So it checked in with NBC4 meteorologist and private pilot, David Bigger, to ask for any possible explanation. Depending on what it is, it could potentially be gray water. again, that's stuff that's coming out of like the galley sink. So you're dumping something down a galley sink or maybe the hand wash in the lavatory, the accumulating condensation, you can vent that overboard. But these things are heated to prevent ice from forming. But he says those heaters could fail. Another possibility? There can also be something like maybe

a leaky valve or leaky seal somewhere. Sometimes it can end up accumulating and freezing to the aircraft while it's at cruise because it's very cold at cruising altitudes. Leaving chunks of ice to fall from the plane. Based on the time, Tanya narrowed it down to two flights overhead by Southwest and Delta. Both airlines told NBC4 there were no reports of irregularities or maintenance issues on those flights. Maganya says she's grateful. Groh had decided to take his mid-morning nap in bed. Instead of on the couch, he was sitting on just five minutes before the strange debris came crashing down.

I keep replaying it and just thinking of the what if. And yeah, the first thing that comes to mind is he probably wouldn't be here with us. Reporting in Whittier, Macy Jenkins, NBC 4 News. Macy Jenkins, we thank you. Now to our series, the cost of denial. And tonight we take a look at why many company insurance plans have had a reduced coverage of wildly popular weight loss drugs. With more than 40 million Americans having used them, they've become too popular to keep up with costs. Anne Thompson now with the CEO who said he had no choice.

Joe Cashone is CEO of the largest health system in the Philadelphia region. Jefferson has 33 hospitals, 700 care sites, a university and prestigious medical school, its own insurance plan, and 65,000 employees. But after a big financial loss last fiscal year, Cashone had to cut jobs. About $180 million of our loss was in the insurance plan last year. And how much of that $180 million is attributable to GLP-1s? The pharmacy costs were a huge part of that. And I would say probably about a third of that $180 million were relative to the GLP-1s.

Wow. Yeah. That roughly $60 million loss, part of the hard reality. As more and more Americans use GLP-1 drugs to lose weight, some companies like Joe Kachones that cover the cost of them are losing money. As a doctor, I mean, we understand that these are an important breakthrough in medicine, but they are expensive. As the CEO of 65,000 employees, we've seen a dramatic increase in the number of employees that have gone on this. So it's added to our expenses.

Isn't it ironic that you have a health care system that knows these drugs work, but doesn't want to pay for them because they're so expensive? Yeah, I think the system wants to pay for them. It's just that we can't afford to pay for them right now. Last year, Jefferson covered the cost of GLP-1s for employees and members of its insurance plan. You had to lay off over 600 people. Can you draw a direct line from the explosion in the use of GLP-1s to those layoffs? You know, I think all these things impact.

I will say that the GLP-1s in our health plan last year had a huge impact. I don't know if it's one-for-one, but it has definitely has had a significant impact. So like many other CEOs, Cashone, a cardiologist by training, decided to dramatically reduce coverage of these popular drugs. This year, employees have to take new steps to qualify for care. They have to actually go through a stepwise progression of diet, exercise, and then only if they fail those, will they be able to get us to pay for their GLP ones. Restrictions that he says have saved Jefferson, $20 million so far.

There are many that argue that the cost of GLP-1s is actually lower than the long-term costs of treating cardiovascular issues, cancer issues. What do you say to that? There's no question that they will have a return on investment, but who pays for them in the year that you deliver them? So let's just say it costs $15,000 for the year. Who pays that $15,000 so I can save money 10 years from now? Ann Thompson joins us tonight. And one of the reasons we wanted to do this story, because this is not unique to that health care system, right? So many small businesses, big businesses and insurance companies have had to change their coverage because of weight loss drugs. So what's the solution here?

The solution, if you talk to Joe Cashone, is that the prices have to come down. And one company has announced a price decrease of up to 50% in 2027, Tom. I asked Joe about it and he said that's not enough to get them back in the game. They really need to see dramatic price decreases and those don't seem to be coming anytime soon, at least not enough for them to want to cover these drugs again. And Thompson for us tonight. And very interesting story. We thank you for that. Still to come on top story, a new era of modern warfare. For the first time, Ukraine says it took back territory from Russia with an army of robots. We'll explain. Plus extra comfort in the sky, the airline now rolling out bunk beds to help you rest up before touching down. Stay with us. We're back now with the deadly school shooting overseas.

An eighth-grade student opening fire at his middle school in Turkey, killing at least nine people and injuring more than a dozen others. The attack comes just a day after a different school shooting in the country. Here's Ralph Sanchez with more. This horrific video taken as the massacre unfolds. You can hear gunshots. school children fleeing in terror, jumping from second-story windows, as they race to escape from Turkey's second school shooting in just two days. A bunch of kids were shot, this woman says outside. In all, authorities say eight children and one teacher were killed at this middle school

after a 14-year-old student opened fire on his classmates. The worst school massacre ever committed in a country where, until this week, such violence was rare. The local governor saying today's killer was the son of a former police officer, armed with five weapons taken from his father, adding he killed himself at the scene. And all of it, just 24 hours after a rampage at another Turkish school. This chilling footage shows an 18-year-old rounding the corner of his former high school and opening fire, wounding 16 people with a pump-action shotgun,

before taking his own life, according to authorities. He burst in, pulled the trigger, and fired four or five shots. We threw ourselves out the window, this injured boy says. And it's not clear if there's any connection between the two shootings. Authorities are saying today's massacre was a personal act, not an act of terrorism. Tom? Still so horrific. Okay, Ralph Sanchez for us. Now to an update on the war in Ukraine.

President Zelenskyy saying for the first time the Ukrainian army was able to use robots to retake territory from Russian soldiers. NBC's Danielle Hamamjian has more. It's an extraordinary claim by the Ukrainian leader. For the first time since the war began, Vladimir Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces were able to retake territory seized by the Russians using only an army of robots. Zelensky, appearing in a heavily produced video address on Monday, said the enemy position was captured by ground systems and drones, without infantry involvement and without losses on the Ukrainian side.

The president also revealing that drones have carried out roughly 22,000 missions on the front lines just in the past three months. In other words, said Zelensky, lives were saved more than 22,000 times when a robot went into the most dangerous areas instead of a warrior. Among experts, both the announcement and the video were met with cautious skepticism. Is this a slick PR move or is this an actual significant breakthrough in the battlefield? It's both a slick PR move and a breakthrough in the battlefield. There have been some real advances in Ukraine that I think are very notable.

but there is an awful lot of public relations and, frankly, marketing involved in this latest video. In January, defense manufacturer Dvdroid posted this video, saying it showed a ground robot equipped with artificial intelligence taking three Russian soldiers captive. The Ukrainian battalion posting this similar video, which appears to be from the same incident. How much territory Ukraine was able to recapture and how many Russian soldiers, surrendered as a result of the operation lauded by Zelensky is unclear. I think the Ukrainians are trying to bring a lot of attention to their drone capabilities. Recently, they began assisting American forces in the Middle East. I think this video is capitalizing on that.

I think the actual tactical event was probably a little bit smaller than were led to believe through this video. Zelensky is in Europe this week, meeting with allies and looking to make more arms deals. In response, Russia's defense ministry saying today that European plans to increase drone supplies to Ukraine are dragging those countries into a war with Russia at an ever faster pace.

All right, Danielle joins top story tonight. Danielle, Ukraine is preparing for even more high-tech warfare beyond these robots? Yeah, the UK announcing today it is going to be sending 120,000 drones to Kyiv by the end of the year. The Ukrainians will be receiving their biggest ever shipments of drones by the UK, and that it will include long-range strike drones, logistics, intelligence, and reconnaissance drones. Tom. Danielle, Hamamjin for us tonight. Danielle, we thank you for that.

Time now for Top Story's Global Watch, and we start with that super typhoon slamming a U.S. territory in the Pacific. The powerful storm leaving a trail of destruction across the northern Mariana Islands. It flipped over cars, knocked down power lines, and you can see here ripped apart buildings. So far, no reports of any deaths. FEMA says it's now planning to send teams and more supplies to that region to help with recovery efforts. And another concert just got scrapped for the rapper, formerly known as Kanye West. This time it happened in France.

Yey postponed the show after officials there threatened to ban him from the entire country over his anti-Semitic comments. It comes just after a week after the festival and the year. UK was canceled, that he was set to headline. Ye has apologized for repeated anti-Semitic remarks and says he doesn't want to put his fans in the middle of it. And in Paris, an incredible headline, a Picasso painting worth $1 million just sold at a raffle, and the price tag, $117.

That's how much it costs for a single ticket. The lucky winner was apparently an art enthusiast who initially thought it was a hoax when organizers called him after the drawing. They say 120,000 tickets were raffled off World War. to raise money for Alzheimer's research. Okay, now to a new design taking flight that could soon be the future of air travel. Air New Zealand introducing bunk beds dubbed the Sky Nest for coach passengers to catch some zees. NBC's Liz Croix had the chance to try it out.

It's a common complaint for any frequent flyer. This is actually insane. Tight quarters on airplanes. This much legroom, barely an inch a legroom. But now one airline is reimagining the coach experience. The latest invention has been the Sky Nest, which is a bunk bed in the sky in economy class. The Sky Nest is the creation of Air New Zealand, the first airline in the world to outfit their 787 dreamliners with these in-flight sleep pods for long-haul flights, beginning with their longest flight, 16 hours from JFK to Auckland. Come and check out our Sky Nest.

This is it? This is it. The Sky Nest includes six beds that passengers can rent for four-hour windows at an additional cost of 400,000. $95. You'll get a little pop-up on your screen saying that you can come to the Sky Nest and then we'll put you to sleep. Okay, so we're inside the sky nest here. You can see the three bunks on either side. Each of these bunks comes with fresh sheets, a blanket, this little amenities kit, earplugs, much needed, a charger for your phone, a seatbelt, and of course a curtain for privacy. The bunk beds all part of a growing effort by airlines to make flying coach not necessarily

cheaper but more comfortable. Last month, United Airlines announced what they plan to call relaxed row, which will allow economy passengers to turn an entire row of seats into a live flat bed, including a mattress pad, extra pillows, and bedding. While Southwest is adding extra legroom seats, an option that, like other airlines, comes with an extra charge. Over the years, they've gotten really creative in being able to add little extras back, but at a cost. Either you pay up for a little bit more of a premium experience or you put up with the bare minimum. Inside the sky nest. All right high from inside. This is what it looks like. It's actually quite cozy. Potential flyers tell us it's something they could get behind. Definitely because sometimes I'm sorry to say those planes are very small. The headroom

is a little challenging. Better than sitting in the economy for 16 hours? Definitely. Definitely. It beats that. Air New Zealand believes these sleep bunks could revolutionize flying. The question is, will other airlines follow. Do you think this is the future of economy air travel? Honestly, I've spent a lot of time in coach. For everyone's sake, I hope it is. All right. And with that, Liz joins us now here in studio with our own Skyness pop-up right behind us here. Okay, so Liz, you saw this, you tested it out. How does it feel? You know, I think if you're 10 hours into a 16-hour flight, it's going to probably feel pretty good. But, like, not going to lie, it's probably not for someone who's pretty claustrophobic.

So is it tight? I mean, are there height requirements? Can anybody use it? Yeah, so, okay, so each bed is six feet, four inches long. Okay. It's about two feet, a little over two feet wide. It's kind of like a mummy bag. Like it's wider at the top, it gets thinner. We don't know the height, but I can just tell you, you've got to crawl in and you're not going to be able to sit up. Okay. You just can lay down. What are the rules here? What are some of the do's and don'ts? Okay, so you are not allowed to eat. You are not allowed to take your socks off.

You have to, you can't wear shoes. Like, you gotta wear socks, but you can't take those socks off. You have to pack lightly. So, like, you can't, you know, bring your whole bag with you, with your laptop and your whole thing. You have to just, like, basically bring your headphones and your cell phone. And if you have children, the children each have to get their own bunk, this can't be like you can double up. No sharing. Yeah.

No sharing. One, a pot. And you've got to keep, I don't know, do you have to keep your clothes on? You put pajamas on? Like, what is the story there? I guess you could go and change into, like, comfy clothes and make your way in. but I assume they would prefer no-changing in the pod, given you're, like, right next to strangers.

And you just pull the curtain, and that's how you sleep. Yeah, yeah, you just pull the curtain. But really, it's like an interesting question about cost. You know, we looked it up, Tom, and it was saying that we looked up a flight, like an upcoming flight from JFK to Auckland. It's $1,300 on Coach right now one way. $7,700 for their highest business class. So adding $500 on to Coach, you're still saving thousands of dollars.

But you only get a time limit here. hours that's it. Do they wake you up or how do you know it's your four hours? And it said she'll like come and like gently wake you up and you can't double up right now. So you get four hours that's that you can't like book an eight hour shift. All right. And again, comfortable? Like could you sleep on it? I feel like we get in this business we get used to kind of sleep wherever we can. I feel like I could make it work. But yeah, I think it's not for everyone, but maybe I'd give it a go. Okay. It looks like a lot of fun. Liz, we thank you for that. When we come back tonight right here on top story,

the sweet surprise for one hockey super fan that brought him to tears. and why it was a full circle moment for the player as well. That's next. Finally tonight, one young hockey fan getting the surprise of his lifetime from his hockey idol. Calgary Flames goaltender, Dustin Wolf, bringing a 10-year-old to tears with a special gift. Let's take a look. Watch, as this hockey stick is passed. Dustin Wolf saw the sign that the little boy was holding.

It said, Wolf, you are my idol. And right into the hands of 10-year-old Kate Heisland. And that says it all. The young hockey super fan instantly overcome with emotion. Dustin Wolf is the goaltender for the Calgary Flames. And Cade, who plays goalie too, couldn't look up to him more. Take a peek over at him, give him a thumbs up. As soon as I saw the thumbs up, I started, like, having little tears.

Then the surprise of a lifetime, Wolf passing his stick into the crowd and up to Cade. And then when it came to me, I just started bawling. I don't think it gets any better than that. The moment especially emotional for Cade, who sometimes gets picked on for his small size. Wolf doesn't let his size hold him back. He turns it into motivation. It was also full circle for Wolf. Not long ago, the hockey pro was gifted a stick from his childhood idol.

NHL great Jonathan Quicks, inspiring him to pay it forward. That's what the game's all about. It's neat to be able to make a kid's day like that. Receiving that acknowledgement from Wolf and then getting a stick with just above and beyond anything that we could ever imagine. That does it for us. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yammis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.