Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Episode Date: April 23, 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.

Breaking news tonight, dangerous wildfires explode across the south. Dozens of homes destroyed. Now the National Guard being called in. The state of emergency in Georgia as fast-moving flames in Gulf homes and businesses, mandatory evacuations ordered, school buses rushing kids out of an elementary school, drivers trying to escape the flames, the urgent race to put out fires from the ground and in the air. Also tonight, deadly chemical leak. Two killed, dozens rushed to the hospital after a dangerous camp.

chemical reaction, first responders in hazmat suits. What went wrong? Growing uncertainty over U.S.-Iran peace talks as Iran seizes commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Can the president get Iran back to the negotiating table? Plus, what's behind the sudden departure of a top Navy official with the country at war? Inside war-torn southern Lebanon, our team on the ground getting a first-hand look at the devastation and speaking with those caught in the crossfire. The prediction market platform Kalshi, suspending three politicians for betting on their own races. You'll hear from one of them why he says he did it. Controversy erupting over the new Michael Jackson movie critics say it sanitizes the pop legend's history, how the movie stars are addressing the pushback, and breaking

the glass celebrations at this NHL game getting out of control, leaving the hockey coach covered in glass. Plus, fans crying foul over World Cup prices, why FIFA's latest ticket drop is leaving some feeling duped. Top story starts right now. And good evening at this hour. A dangerous wildfire emergency is unfolding across the south. Urgent efforts are underway to fight the flames, exploding in size. Georgia declaring a state of emergency and residents urged to get out now. This is the situation in Brantley County in southeast Georgia, growing more dire by the hour. Cars forced to turn around as flames jump the highway. Crews battling the fire from the ground and in the air. And now the National Guard is being called into help.

Officials there ordering evacuations, and you can see school buses taking children to safety as the smoke billows behind them. And we're hearing for the first time tonight from people on the ground who lost everything. Yeah, all their stuff's gone. Lucky's. That's her mama's home right there.

And that's lucky in his house right there. Devastating to see and to hear that burnt wreckage, we know at this hour, nearly 50 homes have been. destroyed and a thousand more remain at risk tonight. Take a look at just how fast this thing exploded. The Brantley County fire going from about 700 acres to more than 5,000 in just a few hours. And it's just 10% contrained. But it's not just Georgia. Take a look at these multiple fires raging in neighborhoods neighboring Florida, clouds of ash billowing into the sky and turning it eerie orange. And I want to walk you through tonight just what we're seeing across the country

because it's wild. Huge plumes of snow oak seen here in Myrtle, Beach, South Carolina. The horizon blazes when we're also watching. This is out of Utah County, Utah. Smoke and flames happening in Montana as well. This is Red Lodge. And finally, emergency crews responding in Cochise County, Arizona, just outside of Tucson. Firefighters are busy all over the country. And these fires are spreading from coast to coast. 12 million people right now under Red Flag Warnings tonight. We've got it all covered. As you know, our teams are on the ground in Georgia and here in the studio, Bill Karen standing by as we track this growing threat. I want to go first to NBC's Aaron Gilchrest, who joins us live tonight from the fire

in Georgia and Aaron. We know officials are keeping your team a safe distance from the fire, but can you feel it in the air, can you smell it? I know you can see it in the skies above you. Yeah, you can absolutely see it in the sky. We've been looking all day long as really the main area where the fire is several miles away. You can see the sky is just really gray back there, crystal blue sky as you look going west from where we are right now. And the reality is that firefighters have been facing this challenge of dealing with shifting wind. We know we started our day in Atlanta, about 260 miles, four and a half hours away from here. And you could smell the smoke, a very, very pungent smell of it early in the day there. You could see the

haze in the air that far away. Right now we're starting to again smell some of the smoke in the area where we're standing here in Nahana, not far from where the forest. fire is burning at this hour. And that shifting wind is really something that's been concerning officials. We were told at one point today that this 5,000 acre fire was contained, about 10% contained, and that they were working to contain it further. But the reality was they don't believe that it's possible that that number could go down. Because the wind is shifting, the fire is moving. They've been able to get heavy equipment out there and try to create that containment, right? They're cutting literal breaks between what's not on fire.

and what is on fire trying to create that containment zone. But the fire, in some cases, is jumping those containment lines. We know that there are homes that are burning. There are trees, obviously, they are burning. There is swamp land that is burning. And all those things, Tom, are creating challenges for this particular fire. Not to mention the other fires that are burning around the state here, 91 counties under a state of emergency, more than half the counties in the state of Georgia,

because of those drought conditions and the fire risk, and there is no rain in sight. Yeah, which is terrible for them. You know, this thing exploded in a few hours, as you've reported, were people prepared, and had there been evacuation warnings? You know, it's interesting. People knew that there was a severe drought in this area. I think we're in an extreme drought in this part of Georgia in particular. And so we talked to one woman who said she kind of had an idea that fires were possible. Nobody expected anything this big. The officials here who are running the incident command are telling folks that they need to be

prepared to evacuate. They should already have their bags packed, their important documents gathered. There were voluntary evacuations yesterday. Today, there were at least two areas that were placed under mandatory evacuations, firefighters and others going door to door, telling people that they need to get out now. County officials here told me, Tom, that they can't force people to leave. Nobody's going to drag anyone out of their home, but they felt like when people knew that the fire was getting a little too close, they seemed to be leaving on their following those orders. All right, Aaron Gilcrest covering this one for us. Aaron, we thank you. I want to bring an NBC meteorologist, Bill Karens. Bill, we spoke to you last night when the

situation was sort of taking a dramatic turn. Now it's exploded out of control. What are you watching right now? We're watching these fires still growing and going in a different direction because the wind shifted. And we also have new fires. There's a fire near Pueblo, Colorado. There's a new big fire in Nebraska. So we have had a very hot, dry winter into spring. And this is the result. We knew this was potentially going to be a really bad spring fire season, and it's just beginning to really ramp up. So the fire that Aaron was standing at, this now 5,000 acres, up from only 700 two days ago. There's also a huge fire just across the border here from Florida near Valdosta, Georgia, 16,000 acres. In all, we got about nine. And because the wind shifted today from the south,

blowing the smoke north, we've got a lot of issues with smoke problems. The air quality was horrific early today in Atlanta. And as we go through the next two days, There's no rain in sight. So these fires, this is all just smoke. This isn't clouds. It's going to be billowing from South Carolina to Georgia to Florida on and off depending on the wind direction. Now, the rest of this afternoon to this evening, we've got really high winds in a very dangerous situation because humidity is super low. Winds are gusting to 50 to 60 miles per hour. Are they even calling this? It'll call it PDS, a particularly dangerous situation. This is interior Colorado heading southwards down to Alamosa. And this is where the winds are going to gust 40 to 60 miles per hour. In some cases, the power. The power crews, the power companies have already turned power off because they don't want their lines going down and sparking new fires in the high winds. And you can see some of the wind gusts that we're dealing with currently. So it's going to be a very difficult evening, especially in the plains. And then, Bill, while I have you here, I want to ask you about those crazy images at a Michigan, intense flooding, sending huge ice chunks, hurtling into home, smashing through windows and getting stuck on roofs and spilling into living rooms. This is wild. What's going on here and how did this happen?

This isn't something you see often. This is Mollett Lake. This is northern Michigan. And what happened is the lake was still frozen when we had those heavy rains last week. So the flood comes, of course, the ice floats. It lifts the ice up. It breaks apart. And then as the flood waters expand, because the ice goes wherever the wind's blowing. And it just happened to go towards these houses, towards the shores.

You know, you can see how thick the ice was on the lake. And just the force of that, it just took seconds. In some cases, smash windows, smash walls, smash through the garages, not something you see very often. Yeah, all right, Bill Cairns, busy, busy week when it comes to weather this week. Thank you. We're following some breaking news at a West Virginia tonight, a chemical leak at a manufacturing facility, killing at least two people and injuring dozens more.

Several people sent to the hospital. Investigative reporter Kimberly Kagee from our NBC affiliate, WSAZ, is on the scene. Tonight, a frightening scene at a West Virginia refinery after a chemical leak turned deadly. Rescue teams in hazmat suits, emergency vehicles racing to the sea. According to authorities, it happened this morning around 930 at the Ames Goldsmith Catalysts refiners in Kinnah County. They say the plant was in the process of shutting down its operations and that workers were in the middle of cleaning and decontaminating. And that's when they say a chemical reaction occurred, creating hydrogen sulfide. What's called M-2000 A and nitric acid were mixed in a pump.

area. They're decommissioning the tank. That's when the explosion occurred and the leak. Two people died as a result. Another person is currently in critical condition. And meanwhile, 30 others were either taken to the hospital or received medical treatment. When the materials got together, they reacted violently and exposed the workers. It was an open vessel and it reacted and released almost instantaneously. The leak forced to shelter in place. The leak forced to shelter in place. order for several hours in the community, which is also home to West Virginia State University. First responders arrived just within minutes of the leak. Other employees drug out the affected workers using respirators. Many of them have respirators.

Now in a statement, the plants president confirms the two deaths were employees, adding the company's thoughts and prayers are with them and their families and that they are working closely with local, state, and federal agencies. All right, Kimberly joins us now live from about a half mile from the entrance of that facility in West Virginia. So Kimberly, we know that some people were taken to the hospital, almost two dozen of them, right? Or more than two dozen, to be exact, and that they had trouble breathing. What more do we know about that? Right. So, Tom, we're told from medical experts that some of the symptoms of this chemical reaction

and the exposure that those people suffered were coughing, shortness of breath, even tightness in their chest. And so those were some of the symptoms that they were starting to treat at the hospitals in the region. We know from early today that number at one point was just 19 that were taken. And now it's been upgraded to 30. They do believe first responders say likely some of those people drove themselves to a hospital to make sure that they were able to get care. And then Kimberly, I don't know if you have the answer to this question or not. But since we have here, I would love to get your perspective. Do we know if these people are getting better?

Could they be treated? Because sometimes with these chemical spills, as we saw here, they can be fatal. Tom, we do know that, unfortunately, two people have died from this. As far as what their care or plan of treatment for the exposure to the chemical leak, I don't have that information because we weren't able to get an update on their condition from West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrissey, who had a press conference just about an hour ago. He didn't have that information readily available. All right.

We thank you so much for joining our coverage. And we thank you for being out there for us. I'm going to head overseas now to the Middle East, where tonight the ceasefire with Iran is under fire and on shaky ground. Iran attacking and boarding commercial ships in the street of Hormuz just hours after the ceasefire was extended. Iran releasing video, they say, shows those moments, and tonight we're also learning the U.S. Navy Secretary is abruptly departing in the middle of a war. Kier Simmons has followed it all for us. Tonight's the Iranian regime putting out video claiming to show its troops attacking and seizing commercial ships. in the strait of Hormuz.

The images set to music show them masked and armed. Two ships were forced from the International Waterway into Iranian waters, according to Iranian state media. All just hours after President Trump extended his ceasefire with Iran. Iran has gone from having the most lethal Navy in the Middle East to now acting like a bunch of pirates. The president escalating pressure on the Iranian regime by also keeping a U.S. blockade on Iran's ports.

costing the regime an estimated $435 million a day. The president saying in a new interview he feels no time pressure as he waits for Iran to return to talks. They can't move oil in and out. They can't even pay their own people. From Tehran tonight, NBC News reaching a former Iranian military commander with close links to the government who says there will be no talks unless the U.S. blockade is lifted. Do you think there will be negotiations again here in Islamabad? And he denies Iran's leadership is divided, telling me there are multiple ways to contact the new supreme leader who has not been seen publicly, including passing notes. It's been reported that it's hard to contact him, that it's, that communication is difficult. Is that true?

President Trump's focus includes gaining an agreement that he argues is tougher than the nuclear deal President Obama got after 18 months negotiating with Iran, which placed limits on Iranian. uranium enrichment for 15 years. The White House says Iran must agree to stop all enrichment. All right. With that, Kyr Simmons is on the ground in Islamabad, Pakistan for us tonight. In Kier, you have new reporting about that shake-up at the Pentagon? That's right, Tom. The Pentagon announced, seeing the Secretary of the Navy, John Feele, is departing the administration, effective immediately.

This is a civilian post appointed by the White House. Undersecretary Hongkow will replace him. It's just the latest Pentagon shakeup the Army Chief of Staff was fired early this month. Tom? Okay, Keir Simmons for us. Kier, we thank you for that. Back here at home on Capitol Hill Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., grilled by senators over his response to the measles outbreak and his record on vaccines.

NBC's Ann Thompson has more. Do you want a grandstand? I can answer that question. I didn't cause the... It started before I came in. In two Senate hearings today, HHS Senate. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. deflected any blame for the nation's largest measles outbreak since the childhood disease was declared eliminated in 2000. I had nothing to do with the measles

outbreak here. With vaccination rates declining, there have been more than 4,000 confirmed cases nationwide since 2025, more than 1,700 this year alone. Two children in Texas died. A year ago, Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, raising doubts about the shot's safety. There are adverse events from the vaccine. It does cause the deaths every year. Today, the secretary endorsing the same vaccine. Are you taking the position as your CDC director has taken that the measles vaccine is vital to keeping American children healthy in this country? Are you taking that position today? That has not been your position.

That's my position. We promote the measles vaccine. The concern about vaccines bipartisan. Are you taking steps now to ensure vaccine guidance is clear, evidence-based, and trustworthy in what those steps would be? Absolutely. Republican Bill Cassidy, also with doctor and sometime Kennedy critic, focused on diseases that could come with World Cup fans. You're pointing out that other countries have outbreaks, which increases the likelihood they will bring that here. and our immunization rates have fallen below 95%.

We are laser focused on that. We have booths and testing booths and institutions all over the games. All right, Ann Thompson is joining us now live on set. So, Ann, you're also tracking news from a CDC study on the COVID vaccine. I know, and this we get from an HHS spokesperson who confirms tonight

that the acting head of the CDC actually stopped the publication of this study, which showed that the COVID vaccine dramatically reduced emergency room visits and hospitalizations. The director reportedly had issues with this study, and that study found, Tom, that the odds decreased 50% for emergency room visits, 55% for hospitalizations. Important information. I'm glad it's out there now. All right, Ann, we thank you for that. Mexico's president tonight calling for a thorough investigation after two American CIA officers were killed in a car crash inside their country.

Their deaths following a major drug bus sparking questions even by the president of Mexico about the U.S. involvement in that cartel crackdown. Embassy's Gabe Gutierrez explains. This is what Mexican authorities say was a massive drug lab hidden in the woods. You can see rows of canisters, bags, and ovens, a rare look inside a secret meth lab in northern Mexico.

But tonight, what happened after the law enforcement operation is raising questions about, U.S. involvement in the crackdown. A source with knowledge of the matter tells NBC News, two CIA officers, along with two Mexican officials, died following the operation this weekend in a car accident. Mexico's president, Claudio Shanebaum, is promising a thorough investigation, adding that while Mexico and the U.S. share intelligence,

joint operations are not permitted under Mexican law. So far, she says, the information we have is that they were indeed working jointly. Let's put it that way. Late today, the White House responding. I think the president always wants to see more cooperation when what we are doing is not only a benefit to the American people, but to her people as well, to crack down on these cartels. The incident comes as President Trump has ramped up pressure on Mexico to target cartels, even previously suggesting the possibility of air strikes within the country to stop them. We have to eradicate them. We have to knock the hell out of them.

In response, Shamebom's government has extradited dozens. of cartel suspects to the U.S. and earlier this year, held by U.S. intelligence, Mexican authorities killed the notorious drug lord El Meno. Tom. All right, Gabe Gutierrez for escape. We thank you.

We're back in a moment with the new concerns about insider trading on prediction markets. Kalshi suspending three political candidates for allegedly betting on their own races. Our Brian Chung spoke with one of them. And the terrifying rescue caught on camera, tourists left stranded on a seaside cliff, how Cruz finally pulled them to safety.

That's ahead on top. story. We're back now with some breaking news from Kalshi. The online prediction market site says it has suspended and fined three candidates for U.S. Congress for gambling on their own elections. Kalshi says it reached settlements with the candidates in the House primaries for Minnesota and Texas, fining them each more than $500. The biggest penalty went to a Senate candidate for the Democratic primary in Virginia, who Kalshi says owes a $6,000 fine for placing bets that he would run for office. here to break this down versus NBC's Brian Chung. And Brian, you know, take this step by step for people that may not understand what Kalshi exactly is.

Because this is so wild. Yeah. Well, again, when you register for Kalshi, you have to attach a driver's license. You have to have personal identifying information. And so for that reason, it actually wasn't that difficult for this platform to find out that people were betting on their own election races in this case. As you point out, there were three candidates, two House candidates, one in Minnesota, one in Texas, and then a Senate candidate in Virginia that bet on their own races. is Kalshi was able to identify them, and in the case of two of them,

has settled with them. And as you mentioned, there was a few hundred dollar fine for the one that did not settle with them. They're now fining that person a few thousand dollars. That's Mark Moran. But again, this is what Kalshi says is them trying to stamp down on potential insider trading on their platform. Do you know if the candidates bet using their own names? Yeah. It wasn't like they're trying to hide the fact.

You have to, because you have to attach personal, you have to like either a passport or an ID card. And you actually spoke with somebody who was affected by this, one of the candidates. Yeah, so Mark Moran is that individual that was running for Senate in Virginia. And I asked them the direct question, because this is kind of a wild story. I said if the point, because what he told me was I did bet the $100. That's what he says. It was about $105. He did get caught.

But he was saying this was to make a broader point about how these prediction markets can be swayed by money moving in, potentially from the candidates themselves. Here's how he defended that. I knew that for $100, Brian, I would get more attention than money can buy than any media consultant by doing this. and that they fell into a trap. So now I get to say that any candidate with enough money, their donors, as long as it's not the candidate doing it, can go and sway the market. And so again, that's Mark Moran there.

He was arguing that he was trying to make a point here, but he also admitted on the record that he did break Kalshi's rules and that he got caught for it. And so, again, this is just part of the overall conversation. There's a lot of anxiety, a lot of concerns about insider trading on platforms like Kalshi and also Polly Market. And I think that these politicians kind of getting essentially self-policed by Kalshi advances the story.

So it's not just politicians, right? Would it be anybody with insider information? Like if you work for a politician, you worked, say, in a White House administration, could you still be better on the platform or that would be illegal to? Yeah, well, I mean, look, insider trading would be anyone that has information that is not publicly available to anyone else, like a politician that is running in the race and has control over what the outcome of that would be. again, when it comes to other types of markets, the question here is where the CFTC, which is the agency that regulates these types of platforms, how rigid are those rules? And is that codified in the law or something that Congress would need to more clearly define? I think that's an open question with this very fast and new emerging technology.

And it'll be interesting to see if they actually pay these fines, like who's going to enforce them? Exactly. To follow up with them. Anyways, Brian, great to see you. Thank you for explaining that one. Now to a major shakeup in the airline industry that we've been tracking. There's late work tonight that the Trump administration is working to finalize. a bail out of Spirit Airlines, which could end with the government owning as much as 90% of the troubled discount carrier. Garrett Hake is at the White House. He's watching this one first. And Garrett, this package could be finalized soon? That's the idea, Tom. But if you've asked me like six hours ago, I would have thought there was a better chance of it happening than I now think there is. Earlier today, we heard from a

source familiar with the deal that these talks were quite advanced, that the administration was looking to pump as much as $500 million into this carrier, which has already declared bankruptcy twice in the last couple of years to basically help it get its legs back under it and keep the troubled airline afloat. The administration had said that those talks were going on. They involved the Commerce Secretary and the Secretary of Transportation. But we're starting within the last hour and a half or so to hear from some influential Republican lawmakers, Ted Cruz, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, saying that this is an absolutely terrible idea and that basically the government doesn't know how to run a failed budget airline. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the

Intelligence Committee, but also more importantly, a key Trump ally on really all things related to the war, military, Iran. Also putting out a statement publicly on Twitter saying he thinks this is a bad idea with so many of these decisions. Sometimes it can be the last person in the president's ear that affects his thinking. So every minute we don't have an announcement of a deal, I think might make this less likely to come to fruition. And we can't forget, he did own an airline once, Trump Airlines. Very briefly. Garrett, any advice for people who are flying spirit, they may have tickets and may be getting worried about this airline going back. bankrupt again? Yeah, look, we reach out to Spirit today. They're not commenting on the prospect of a bailout,

but they are saying that if you have a ticket, if you're looking to book a ticket, all of that remains as it was. You can still buy a ticket, you can still use your points, your loyalty program, what have you, and you can still fly today, just as you could yesterday, just as you will be able to do tomorrow. All right, Garrett, we thank you for that. Still to come tonight on top story, FIFA releasing more tickets for the World Cup. But are fans willing to pay? We look into what's driving the sky high prices and whether they could come back down. Plus midgame malfunction, a pain of glass shattering on top of a hockey coach.

We'll show you that wild scene. Stay with us. Back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we start with an update on the redistricting battle in Virginia that could have had a major impact on the balance of power in Congress. Voters there approved a Democratic plan

to redraw congressional maps. The move could allow the party to pick up as many as four new seats in the House. It's part of a broader redistricting push in several states across the country as both Democrats and Republicans looked to gain ground ahead of the midterms. And a scary moment in the middle of a hockey game when a pain of glass broke and fell onto a coach. Look at this. Some rowdy fans appeared to be shaking the glass behind the bench before it shattered and crashed down on the L.A. King's coach.

He didn't have time to duck out of the way. He went back to the locker room, but returned a few minutes later and seemed to be okay. And a rare artifact from the Titanic hitting the auction block. This is a gold pocket watch made by Potech Philippe that once belonged to one of the ship's wealthy, passengers. John Jacob Astor the 4th. The watch sold today in Chicago to an Irish businessman for more than a million dollars. It was recovered from Astor's body days after the Titanic sunk in 1912 and still keeps good time after it was fixed. A close encounter out at sea. Look at this video capturing a massive whale brushing by this rowboat as the crew was journeying across the Atlantic. The whale swims underneath rocking the boat and making a big splash. One of the rowers says

the incident happened in January and that they saw about six sperm whales out there on the ocean. Pretty cool. Okay, turning overseas with a heart-stopping rescue in Australia, seven tourists, including children, trapped on a cliff for hours. First responders later hauling them to safety one by one are Liz Kreutz as the details. This jaw-dropping footage shows the terrifying rescue. Seven tourists seen here huddling on the side of a steep cliff in Australia, turbulent white-cap waves crashing below them. First responders say the group of four adults and three children were hiking around the edge of the water on the country's southeast coast about four hours south of Sydney when they became trapped by the high tide. They managed to climb up the rocky cliff to that thin ledge where they spent three nerve-wracking hours pressed together as rescue crews rushed to help.

A helicopter arrived first, but the conditions were deemed too dangerous, forcing the hikers to instead be extracted one by one up the cliff. All seven, thankfully, making it out safely. but officials describing the ordeal as a dangerously close call. Saying had the waves gone just a foot higher, the group likely could have been pulled into the sea. Liz Kreutz, NBC News. All right, Liz, we thank you for that. Next tonight, with less than two months to the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup fans

are facing some serious sticker shock. FIFA today dropping a new round of tickets today, including expensive premium tickets, leaving some fans who already made their purchases feeling duped. And take a look at this. Tickets in the most expensive category originally priced at a little over $6,000, a ticket, now showing up to nearly 11 grand. That's a 72% increase.

And the high prices don't stop at the stadium. Right here in New York, if you want to use public transit to get to the game at MetLife Stadium, it will cost $150 a round-trip ticket versus the typical New Jersey transit price of $12. So will people pay up, or is this just pushing them past the breaking point? I want to bring in Henry Bushnell. He's a senior writer for the athletic covering all things soccer. Henry, it's so great to have you on. A lot of our top story staff that follows FIFA and soccer,

are big fans of your work. So thanks for coming on here. What do you think is going on? I mean, sports and live events have been very expensive. Is FIFA trying to tap into this, or are they getting greedy? Well, you could argue that the answer is both, but they're definitely trying to tap into it. To some extent, they are doing what a lot of American sports entities

and live event entities, have done, which is try to milk as much money out of their product as possible. What's different here is that I think soccer fans, especially soccer fans around the world, aren't used to their teams being run like this or their events being run like this. So it has angered a lot of people. The process in addition to the prices has angered and frustrated a lot of people. And it's raised a lot of questions about what type of people are going to be able to afford to go to these games.

Yeah, and you've reported that FIFA is actually struggling in some cases to sell some of these tickets? Some, I would say. It's pretty clear that there is a lot of demand. There were thousands and thousands of people waiting in a digital queue just today to get in to buy some of the last available tickets. So I think for the majority of games, demand is pretty strong, even at these high prices. But there are some exceptions. I think what we're seeing now is the limits on this demand. And in some cases, the limits is, okay, maybe if it's a game between two low-profile teams, it's not selling as well. And then a few cases, it's just that they priced a game too high. They misjudged the demand. And one of those games is the U.S. national teams opening game against Paraguay.

Henry, I want to stop you there, though. How do you misjudge the first game in America with Team USA? Because they priced it too high. They thought it was going to be a bigger, this. this, you know, this glitzy occasion. Yeah, the American opener of this American World Cup. It's going to be a big deal, a lot of pomp and circumstance. And I think a lot of people just saw it as a soccer match between the U.S. and Paraguay

and thought, I'm not going to pay $2,700 for that. Like, it would cost for a family of four, think about it. It's over $10,000 to go to a soccer game. And I think that just was too much. It is completely out of reach. you wrote a piece back in December titled how U.S. sports tickets got so expensive and why it shocks the rest of the world. In it, you describe how in the U.K. back in 2016, fans revolted over the rising cost, actually forcing prices back down. I just wonder if there's a reckoning like that, if that can happen in the United States, because whether it be a Yankees game or a Taylor Swift concert or the FIFA World Cup, it just seems like it's gotten out of control.

It has. The difference, though, is that fans are much less organized here. In the UK and Europe, these are families who have been actual members of these soccer clubs for generations and generations, and they're very organized, and they can get together and push back on something like this if they feel strongly about it. This happened back in 2016, as you mentioned. It's happened much more recently this year. There is pushback against tickets that are less than $100. And it's especially, difficult around the World Cup, right? Because this isn't a recurring event. This is a one-time thing where FIFA is coming here and trying to make as much money as possible, and you're either getting on board and you're going to it or you're refusing to, and FIFA's kind of going to leave

you behind. So it's very difficult to organize against something like this. Yeah, I want to ask you about the demand for the tickets, going back to FIFA, the average ticket price for the 2025 World Series, right, at Dodger Stadium was between $340 to $5.5.00. $150, probably much higher than that as the series went on. As for NFL regular season tickets, before resale averages, $158 to $475. And the face value price for Taylor Swift's Ares Tour tickets when they first went on sale started at $49. I would love to know anyone who got those tickets, ranging to almost 900 for VIP. So the MLB, and I think some of our estimates there are just sort of what they were when they first sold them and then, you know, resale even higher. But Taylor Swift, all these events, Americans going crazy for, they're willing to shout the cash. In soccer, and you kind of mention this a little bit, when people fly over, do you think that

they're going to interest, they're going to generate the same type of interest, especially in the resale market? I think what FIFA would argue is we are bigger than all of those events. The World Cup, and I think to some extent, they're right. The World Cup is an, it has an Olympics-level reach and popularity around the world. And even if soccer is not the most popular sport in the United States, There are a lot of soccer fans here. They might not necessarily be fans of the U.S. team, which is what we're seeing with the opener,

but there are a lot of people who want to go to this event. And there also are just a lot of Americans with a lot of money who enjoy big events. And even if they're not necessarily a soccer fan or a sports fan, they see this thing coming for the first time in 32 years. They want to be a part of it. They want this potentially once-in-a-lifetime experience. I think that's what FIFA has successfully sold to that. When the reckoning does come over these ticket prices, whatever they may be, concerts or sports, you let me know we will have you back on. I want to make sure we report on that moment. Henry, thanks so much for being here.

Sounds good. Thanks, Tom. Okay. There's a lot of buzz also in some big controversy heading to the box office this week, and much of it centered on the new Michael Jackson biopic, Michael. The movie has some wondering if that film is too focused on sanitizing his troubled image. Steve Patterson took a look at this one for us. For die-hard fans, it's a thriller. A cinematic journey of Michael Jackson's assent to being crowned the king of pop told through some of the biggest songs of all time. Joy and peace. Betrayed by his own actual nephew, dazzling supporters, still enamored with the legend. If you're a Michael Jackson fan, it's a must say. There were so many moments in that film when everyone in the audience just gasped. But as we all know, the man is.

is much more complicated. I call it a feel-good movie for fans. That's really what it is. Toward the later half of his career in life, Jackson infamously faced a slew of child abuse allegations. Allegations his estate, the co-executors of which are producers on the film, has repeatedly denied. Critics say that chapter of his legacy is notably entirely left out. It doesn't get into the darker aspects. It completely skips over that. I feel like they're saying like he was never really...

charged, he never went to prison, you know, this is all, here it is, this is Michael, this is who we loved. According to a report from Variety, citing sources with knowledge of the production, the original script in several cuts included those darker moments, but was then all scrapped, including any mention of molestation allegations. NBC News reached out to Michael Jackson's estate, his family, and the production team, but didn't hear back. This morning on today, stars Neil Long and Coleman Domingo addressed some of the criticism, saying the movie is simply meant to serve as an origin story. I think the film takes place, you know, from the 60s to 1988.

It does not go into the first allegations. We center it on the makings of Michael, so it's an intimate portrait of who Michael is. But the omission has some critics and fans saying it misses the bigger picture. It feels like an extraordinarily over-sanitized version of Michael. It was always going to be a giant music video slapped onto the most commercial, soulless story that you've ever seen. The stage now set for this weekend, as this take on one of the largest legacies in all of music hits the big screen.

Steve Patterson joins us tonight from LA. Steve, for all the reasons you laid out there in your report, this movie is getting written about, it's getting talked about a lot. There's obviously clear controversies with Michael Jackson's legacy for a lot of people. Any indication if this is going to affect the movie in one way or the other? You know, Tom, of course, even in death, after all of these controversies about a very complicated legacy, Jackson's music and interests in his performances, it's still extremely high. More than 68 million monthly streaming listeners, an incredibly popular Broadway musical that's been running since 2021, all while the movie, yes, is projected to start with about a $150 million global opening. So when it comes to the art here, the King of Pop still reigns.

Tom. Yeah, but again, still so many controversies. out there about this. Steve, we thank you for that. Still ahead tonight, a first-hand look at war-torn southern Lebanon. Our team on the ground speaking with residents about the moment bomb struck their homes in the Hezbollah stronghold. Plus orchestra mishap, the moment a conductor knocks a million-dollar violin out of this musician's hands. Mid-performance. What happened next? That's coming up. We are back now with more of that ongoing violence in the Middle East. Nearly two months after the start of the war, our team is on the ground in a hard-hit area of

southern Lebanon. We'll take you inside a town that's considered a Hezbollah stronghold where residents are grappling with their new reality after a series of deadly Israeli strikes. Yasmin Bursuvian has more. Just minutes before the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon went into effect last week, Fidel Hijaz was sitting on his bed alongside his eight-year-old grandson in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, preparing for sleep. Everyone was up laughing. The children, my wife, my daughter.

Moments later, his entire life changed, an Israeli airstrike blasting apart his home. It felt like an earthquake hit me. Stones started falling over me. The strike, killing nearly every member of his family that was inside. My wife is dead. My daughter is dead along with her daughter and her son. Beneath the rubble with his eight-year-old grandson, he didn't know which way was up or down. He says he was given no warning.

I don't understand why we were targeted. Everyone who was killed was a civilian unarmed. Nearly 30 people died in this strike, according to local officials. The IDF has said they are only targeting Hezbollah and that the strikes are in response to Hezbollah attacks into Israel. Tire is a Hezbollah stronghold with streets lined with their yellow flags and posters of Iran's fallen supreme leader. We've lived through 50 years of wars and injustice, but nothing like this war has ever happened. Just a few blocks away lives Fatima, a 28-year-old mother of two girls. She says last week she saw an IDF warning on Instagram that an attack could be coming.

She evacuated shortly before a strike on her apartment. It was April 8th, considered by many in Lebanon, to be the deadliest day of Israeli strikes since fighting broke out. They are still living there without exterior walls. The floors are covered with debris and dolls. Her family survived, but now Fatima is navigating how to raise her children with the scars of violence. Now, whenever they hear a plane, they said, Mom.

The plane is coming to destroy our toys. I try to comfort them. I would tell them if we leave, we're handing our home over to the Israelis. Thank you. Thank you. Shukran. Fatima and Fidel, neighbors in life and now neighbors in war. Yasmin joins us now. And Yasmin, that's quite the sobering look of what's happening there in Lebanon. Peace talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to pick up tomorrow.

How close are they to a potential deal? We don't know how close they are, Tom. I say that because one of the biggest issues when it comes to these peace talks is the buffer zone. And Israel has repeatedly said they will not retreat from the buffer zone unless the Lebanese government commits to disarming Hezbollah and actually see some traction in disarming Hezbollah. Hasbola holds a lot of seats in parliament here in Lebanon. I think the major question here going into these peace talks is whether or not the Lebanese government has the ability to disarm Hezbollah. have voiced that they want to disarm his bill. But the real question is whether they not they have the ability.

And that buffer zone, Tom, by the way, is just a couple of kilometers south of where we were today in entire Lebanon. Yeah, you and your team stay safe while you're there really compelling reporting. We thank you again, Yasin, for being there for us. Now at Top Stories Global Watch, and we start in the Pacific where teams are searching for crew members who went missing when a cargo ship overturned. It happened near the northern Mariana Islands when a powerful typhoon hit the area. last week. So far, searchers have found the body of one of the members, but they're still looking for five others. Officials hope they may have made it to a life raft. And dramatic video from a concert in Finland showing a conductor accidentally knocking a rare violin out of a

musician's hands. You can see the conductor open his arms, then clip the violin, sending it flying through the air before hitting the ground. Now, we say a rare violin. The instrument is reportedly very expensive worth more than a million bucks. Luckily, the musician says her violin is perfectly fine. Wow. Okay. In Romania, authorities just welcome back a 2,500-year-old golden helmet after the national heirloom had been stolen. They say the ancient helmet was taken along with three gold bracelets when thieves broke into a Dutch museum last year. There's some of Romania's most important archaeological objects. Three people were arrested over the heist, but authorities say one bracelet is still missing. And in the UK, a major change underway, Parliament passing a

landmark bill that will ban future generations from buying cigarettes. For more on the historic move, I do want to bring in our good friend NBC's Ralph Sanchez from London tonight. So, Ralph, the bill will ban anyone born after 2008 from purchasing cigarettes. Explain how exactly that's going to work, and will it be enforced? So it's kind of an interesting model, Tom. Basically, anyone born on or after January 1st, 2009 will never legally be able to buy cigarettes. in the UK. So if you think about it, the oldest person in that age group right now is 17. It makes total sense that they can't buy cigarettes. But 20 years from now, when they are 37, they still won't be old enough to buy cigarettes. So you can imagine the scene. You're going to have

a grown adult walking into a store trying to buy cigarettes, being carded, and being told, if they're in their 30s, in their 40s, that they are still not old enough to buy them. Now, the British government is taking this really seriously. They say the goal here, is to create a smoke-free generation. They say there's going to be enormous health benefits for the individuals, and there will be a lot less, you know, pressure on the health care system. Critics of this law are saying it is not for the government to decide that grown people cannot smoke cigarettes any time in their lifetime. It is interesting, Tom. New Zealand passed a similar law to this. Back in 2022, it was brought in by one government. There was an election. New government came in.

And that new government scrapped the law. And the reason was they were losing so much tax revenue from the sale of cigarettes cratering that they just couldn't afford it. They needed that tax money coming in. And so they repealed the law and they made smoking legal again for that cohort. Sort of a terrible calculation there, but I mean that's the way life goes. When you think, you know, and this is obviously coming from an American, but Europe has a very long history with smoking and a very long history with cigarettes.

How is this taking in the UK? I mean, do people think this is a good idea or do they think it's too intrusive? So it's interesting, Tom. Definitely, if you walk around London, it feels like you're seeing more people smoking than you do in New York. I actually look to the numbers. It's about 10% of the population in both of these countries, much, much higher in France, about a quarter of the population here. When you ask people, a lot of older people are saying this sounds like a good idea.

there aren't that many young kids who say, oh, I really want to get hooked on cigarettes. But I think the real crunch point is going to be a couple of years from now when these 17-year-olds are older, and they are finding that people who are even just a little bit older than them are allowed to legally buy cigarettes and they are not. It's kind of an interesting question of intergenerational fairness. Yeah, and I was going to ask you about that as well. Does this apply to vaping? Yeah, it's a really good question. So this rolling ban does not apply to vaping.

This law does give the British government new powers to regulate vaping, though. So the government is going to have a lot of say here about what flavors can be sold, about how it can be advertised, about what the packaging will look like. And the whole idea behind that is to try to make sure that younger people don't get hooked on vapes, even if they can't legally buy cigarettes. All right, Ralph Sanchez, I want you to stay on this first because I'm curious to see if this works, because if it does, it may be a model for more countries to come. We'll see what happens after the tax money doesn't come in.

We'll see if they keep it. All right, Ralph, thank you for that. When we come back, the big debut at the National Zoo. We'll introduce you to the adorable baby elephant, who's already becoming a star. Stay with us. Finally, tonight, a very special addition to the National Zoo. A two-month-old elephant making a big splash

as she meets the world for the first time. Our Ryan Noble's is there. She's a tiny elephant. drawing big crowds. Lynn Mai is the first elephant born at the National Zoo in nearly 25 years. Making her public debut in Washington, D.C. today. Her name means spirit blossom and Vietnamese. The young elephant already a hit with this young crowd of fans.

What made you excited about it? Because it was cute. What do you like about elephants? Because they have trunks and they can sport water around people. Yeah. She's just a few months old, but already weighs more than 500 pounds. Did you think she seemed really big or really small? Really small. So what if I told you she weighed 500 pounds? Would that surprise you?

Yes. For now, she's still drinking out of a bottle. They don't come out of the womb just knowing how to use their trunk. They've got to be taught. Correct. They're very similar to us and the fact that they need to learn how to be an elephant and how to master the skills to be successful at it. Would you want to feed that baby? Yes. Yeah, you would? Yeah.

The National Zoo choosing Earth Day to highlight the importance of protecting elephants. With fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants left in the wild, they say every birth matters. I'd like to spark within you. And you say, I want to see more of these in the world. What can I do to change things for the better? Ryan Noble's NBC News, Washington. All right, that does it for us tonight. Thanks so much for watching Top Story.

I'm Tom Yamis, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.