Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Episode Date: April 6, 2023

More than 40 million people in the path of a deadly and powerful storm, former Pres. Trump lashes out at the DA and judge after being criminally charged, Cash App founder murdered, violence erupts in Jerusalem during coinciding religious holidays, and First Lady Jill Biden faces criticism for inviting Iowa's women's basketball team to the White House alongside national champs LSU.

Tonight, a deadly and powerful storm on the move. More than 40 million Americans in its path. Tonight, at least 11 reported tornadoes across the Midwest. Winds topping speeds of 120 miles per hour, tearing apart homes and tossing around cars. At least five people kill. The storm barreling east as parts of the country are still recovering after being ravaged by tornadoes. We'll have a full forecast in just moments. Trump fires back the former president lashing out.

after being criminally charged, the new attacks he's leveling at the district attorney, the judge, and even the judge's family, an illegal setback in a separate investigation, what we've just learned about the possibility of former Vice President Mike Pence testifying about the January 6th Capitol riot. Tech Titan murdered the man who helped launch massively successful ventures, including Android and Cash App, stabbed to death on a San Francisco Street. The stunned reactions from Silicon Valley tonight as police hunt for a killer. Overseas violence erupting in Jerusalem as worshippers gathered to observe Passover, Ramadan, and Holy Week at the same time, Israeli police storming the Al-Aska Mosque, Palestinians launching

fireworks in return. Ralph Sanchez is there tonight for us. Back here at home, a Virginia YouTuber rushed to the ICU after a man he tried to pull a joke on, pulled out a gun, and shot The charges that shooter is now facing, and what we're hearing from the family of that YouTuber tonight about the controversial style of videos he puts on his channel. Plus, Flotus Fowl, why First Lady Jill Biden is being called out after inviting both the winning and losing NCAA women's basketball teams to the White House. And when whales attacked the incredible drone footage showing a pot of orcas circling two gray whales, how this deep sea showdown came to an end. And top story starts right now. Good evening. It's been an incredibly active and destructive tornado season already this year.

And tonight, yet another deadly outbreak tearing across the Midwest. Take a look at this. 11 reported tornadoes striking across three states. This one carving a destructive path in central Illinois. A resident in Colonna capturing the moment that twister sent debris flying into the air, causing power lines to go up into flames. A long rope-style tornado called that because of the way it looks, sweeping through Knoxville, Iowa. That area, luckily, less populated. The deadliest strike, though, coming in Glen Allen, Missouri, at least five people killed when an early morning

tornado touchdown drone video showing the extent of the damage home after home. Look at that, torn apart. We've seen what this storm can do, and now it's making its way east. Forty million people tonight on alert heading into those dangerous overnight hours. We'll time it all out in a moment. But first, NBC's Maggie Vespa leads us off tonight here on Top Story. Tonight, yet another ruthless round of severe storms leaves another trail of devastation across the Midwest and South. I was praying, hoping that we would get through it. The latest bull's eye, Glenn Allen, Missouri, where a reported tornado killed at least five people early this morning.

We ran inside, ran in the bathtub, and it was in a matter of seconds. And it just hit, and it was just awful. From above, this rural community, a couple hours south of St. Louis, decimated. Missouri's Highway Patrol finding several hurt. Glen Allen will never be the same. There's no doubt about it. In all 11 tornadoes reported across Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri with larger than baseball-sized hail and winds up to 120 miles per hour. In Illinois, homes destroyed. This week, tornadoes slamming Iowa, Arkansas.

even as far east as Delaware, all pointing to a potentially record-setting year. 2023 already racking up 478 reported tornadoes across 25 states. Right there with my sheds. In hard hit Arkansas, a glimmer of hope. I can't think of them enough. A family photo lost amid the destruction that found its way home thanks to a good Samaritan's post on social media.

Glad we could help your family. It's the least we could do. Maggie Vespah joins us tonight from Chicago's O'Hare Airport. And Maggie, for some, this is a religious week, but also a time to get together with family, so there is a lot of travel. And I know tonight you have some new reporting about the flight situation across the country. Yeah, Tom, exactly, just adding to the chaos, right? Briefly this morning here at O'Hare and at Midway, we saw brief ground stops

forced by these severe storms as they made their way through the Chicago metro area. And then total today, at this point, we're tracking close to 400 flights into. and out of Chicago canceled. Again, the last thing that people need at this point in time. Tom. All right, Maggie Vespa leading us off here on Top Story. And there's even more dangerous weather stretching from the Midwest to the south. So let's get right to NBC News meteorologist Angie Last Minute. Angie, it is incredible. We have not gotten a break from all these tornadoes. Yeah, it's been an incredible start to the season. And we're close to breaking some records when it comes to that. But we've got more to deal with here as we go through the rest of the evening.

The improvements that we've seen, the tornado watches have expired up and down this line of thunderstorms, but the thunderstorm watches, the severe thunderstorm watches are going to last from 8 p.m. for parts of the Midwest. You can see they go as late as 10 and 11 p.m. as you get a little farther south. Places like Nashville to Alexandria are going to be dealing with the potential to see some of these strong storms still developing here in well after nighttime, well after the sun goes down into the nighttime. This is the areas that we're watching still 30 million people at risk of this. The strong winds are possible. We've already seen this system producing upwards of 70, even close to 80-mile-per-hour winds in places like Louisville earlier today.

So that is still going to be a possibility here as we get through the rest of the afternoon and into the evening hours. As we transition through the later parts of tonight, we'll see some heavy rain developing as well along basically Memphis down through Corpus Christi. That's where we're going to watch for the potential for some flooding concerns over the coming days. And as we get into tomorrow, we'll see a potential for some strong thunderstorms developing in parts of the mid-Atlantic, not quite as active as what we've seen over the past two days,

But we're going to continue to see the potential for some strong winds, some hail all on the table. And there's those flood watches that I mentioned for parts of the south. This is where we're going to see ample amounts of rain. We're talking upwards of three, maybe even five inches when this is all set and done. And over a really saturated part of the country already, upwards of maybe six inches. So we'll watch for the flooding concern in parts of Texas stretching through Mississippi, Tom. Okay, Angie, we appreciate all of that. Next tonight, former President Trump doubling down on his attacks against the Manhattan DA and his indict.

just hours after pleading not guilty to 34 felony counts, stemming from the investigation into 2016 hush money payments. But if you think Trump is worried about all of this, he doesn't seem to be showing it. Trump also going after the judge in the case and even the judge's family. This has more legal trouble could be ahead involving the former vice president and the January 6th grand jury. NBC's Garrett Hake explains it all. Tonight, 24 hours after a former American president was arraigned in court for the first time,

Former President Trump's attorneys blasting the 34 felony charges against him of falsifying business records. There's no new evidence. This case is going to fall on its merits on legal challenges well before we get through jury. While just hours after receiving a warning from the judge against inflammatory rhetoric that could incite violence, Mr. Trump taking rhetorical aim at both DA Alvin Bragg. The criminal is the district attorney because he illegally leaked massive amounts of grand jury information. And the judge himself. I have a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris. The judge's daughter has worked in Democratic politics, including for a firm that worked for then-candidates Harris and Biden in 2020. Though there's no evidence, she still works for a Biden political operation.

Tonight, two sources tell NBC news that Judge Juan Mershahn and D.A. Bragg have been receiving extra security. No one is suggesting that anything should happen to the judge. or his family. And President Trump's comments did not in any way, shape, or form incite violence. Meanwhile, former President Trump is also facing a legal setback in another case, with former Vice President Pence deciding not to appeal a federal judge's decision, requiring him to testify to a grand jury about any potentially illegal acts Mr. Trump may have committed surrounding January 6th. As that legal fight looms, Republicans are rushing to Mr. Trump's defense over the Manhattan charges by a Democratic DA. Now, after we've seen all that yesterday,

I think people think it's even more political than we thought beforehand. Even the former president's most consistent Republican critic in Washington, Utah Senator Mitt Romney, saying in a statement that while he believes Mr. Trump is unfit for office, quote, the New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda. Bragg defending his case Tuesday. These are felony crimes in New York State, no matter who you are. We cannot and will not. normalize serious criminal conduct.

Garrett joins us tonight from Washington. Garrett, I want to get back to that news about Vice President Pence in a moment. But first, about the former president, Donald Trump. What are his legal team's next steps? Well, first of all, they have to wait for discovery. They made a point in the hearing to say they don't know what any of the evidence is that's being presented against Mr. Trump. But sometime later this summer, they will have motions due,

and I think you can expect to see a motion to dismiss from them. They have argued publicly that they don't think the case is, as DA Bragg represents. They certainly don't think it's a felony. That'll probably be one of, if not the first motions they put before a judge, but probably not till late summer. All right. And then, Garrett, on the former vice president, do we know exactly when he would testify in front of that grand jury? Well, Tom, I'm told by a source it won't be this week. Part of the reason is it's possible that Donald Trump's attorneys may appeal a ruling made by this same judge on another part of Pence's privilege concerns here. That would be about the question

of executive privilege for Mike Pence. They'll probably lose that appeal as they've lost several other similar cases, but it drags out the timeline. We're probably talking weeks, not days. All right, Garrett, hey, for us tonight, Garrett, we appreciate it for more on what the political consequences could look like for former President Trump. I want to bring in two friends to top story. Former Republican congressman and NBC News political analyst, Carlos Grubello, joining us from California tonight.

And journalists and contributing writer for online women's magazine, Bustle, Lindsay Granger. Thank you to you both for being here. Carlos, I'm going to start with you out West. The Trump campaign is claiming they've raised $12 million since the announcement of the indictment, and that one-third of them are first-time donors to the Trump campaign. Do you believe this? I do, Tom, because Donald Trump has such an enthusiastic base of supporters that unlike most politicians where these kinds of scandals will bury them

and actually make it harder for them to get any political traction for Trump leading the headlines and making himself out to be the victim, that actually gets his base fired up, and that 20, 25% of Americans who still passionately support Donald Trump are all in with him as they perceive the left coming after him unfairly. Carlos, you're no friend to Donald Trump.

You guys were not allies when you were in Congress at all. If anything, you guys were at odds for most of your time in Congress. I do want to ask you, if the former president is raising all this money, national polls show him with a very big lead, Do you think he has the momentum to take this primary, and do you think it's going to scare other Republicans from coming forward to take him on?

Well, what this does, Tom, is it drowns everyone else out. No one else can get attention. You have candidates out there making stops in key states. You have candidates maybe rolling out proposals, trying to talk about tax reform or inflation. But who's going to pay any attention to that when the former president of the United States has been indicted? and is creating this whole media circus around him. That is the big challenge.

Donald Trump is going to be dominating the news in the country, not to mention everything inside the Republican Party. And as long as that's the case, how does anyone who wants to challenge him get any kind of attention or traction? What Trump is doing is what he's best at, being at the center, getting the spotlight, and drowning everyone else out. Lindsay, you're here in studio with us in New York,

but you live in Colorado. How do you think this indictment is playing out with voters, both Democrats and Republicans? Well, I think it's important to bring up the number that you said. If we go by what President Trump said, the former president, that he raised millions of dollars in the last couple of days, actually. And so when we think about what happened since the indictment, Republicans have been polled, especially by Kenepeak, most recently,

and they said that they are specifically staying with President Trump no matter what. And Newsweek actually happened to do a poll right before the indictment announcement and then follow up right after, and the consistency actually stayed the same. and even went up for some voters. For Republicans. How do you think this affects maybe the voter who voted for Donald Trump then switched over to Joe Biden?

Where do you think that voter is right now? Well, I think that many would describe that as an independent. And I think that they are saying they were done with President Trump a couple of years ago when we had the 2020 election. And when you think about this case coming down the pike, there are several other cases that could potentially come down the pike, like racketeering coming out of Georgia potentially, like federal charges coming for the president for, you know,

from January 6th. Yeah, January 6th and even having the documents in his home. So there's so many different cases that are coming down on the pike. I think independence and just the general consensus for the general election don't want somebody that's possibly a criminal representing them as president. And so I think that's where you're going to have the disconnect from Republican voters to the general election. A lot of investigations involving the former president, Carl, so I want you to take a look at how the calendar is looking right now for Republicans, right? Because there will be Republicans who will take on Donald Trump at some point. We believe Trump will be in court for the first hearing in the Manhattan DA's case in December. The Iowa caucuses

are in early February followed by New Hampshire, and the calendar rolls on from there. If you have the former president sort of battling it out in trial, if the case is not tossed out, it could be. But he has these other cases as well. How does that affect sort of the Republican primary calendar, do you think? Well, it's going to make it hard for these candidates that are going to challenge Donald Trump to get attention. The debates are going to be critical. because that's where these candidates are going to be able to share, literally share the stage with Donald Trump for the first time, because right now they're not getting any coverage.

And that's where they're going to have to make a compelling case to Republican primary voters. And you can look for them to make pragmatic arguments, like the fact that someone who's under indictment who's surrounded by so much scandal and controversy may not win a general election. And while Trump, of course, is doing very well with the Republican primary voters, We know that swing voters all over the country have rejected Trumpism as recently as the last election, the midterm election.

So those are the pragmatic arguments that Trump's rivals are going to make to Republican primary voters. The question is, are those primary voters who have proven to be so loyal to Donald Trump, are they swayable? Are they going to listen to those kinds of pragmatic arguments? Lindsay, there are op-eds and papers, even like the New York Times today, that say this, prosecution was an overreach. Do you think this at all could hurt Democrats? I mean, it's going to be a long time until we get to November, but do you think it could hurt him down the line if they don't indict him? I bet they don't win this if this case is tossed out. And you, well, I do think so because you know that, notice the very loud silence from major

Democrats like Chuck Schumer and not stepping into this conversation because they don't want this to look like a political attack. They want to see how the law plays out. President Biden the same thing. Right. President Biden the same thing. And Mitt Romney said today that this wasn't overreach because these could have been charged as 34 high-level misdemeanor. rather than 34 low-level felonies. And so we're going to see how this plays out. But Trump gave his campaign speech yesterday, and that's what it was, where he continued

to undermine the media, he continued to undermine the impeachment hearings, and he continued to undermine now the Manhattan DA. And so if his supporters are rallying with that cry and going with that, I think that he has a case against saying that he's going to be the frontrunner in the primaries because he has all the support. But I think it's a really interesting time because President Biden has yet to announce his reelection bid. And you saw the latest polls.

I mean, they don't say that the Democrats overwhelmingly support President Biden either. So I think we're heading closer and closer to 2024 with no clear overwhelming support for one candidate on either side. And obviously, Biden has way nothing egregious as what Trump is being accused of. But I'm just saying in their base of both of the parties, we don't have anybody on either side that really loves the candidate at hand. Okay. Lindsay Granger for us. Carl Scrobella, we appreciate both your analysis. Thanks again for being on the show tonight. We turn out to a strange story.

San Francisco are trying to solve the stabbing murder of a high-profile tech executive, Bob Lee. The chief product officer at Mobile Coim was killed near the Bay Bridge around 2.30 in the morning. Investigators have not released a motive to a crime that has sent shockwaves through the community. Miguel Almaguer has this one. When San Francisco police arrived at the crime scene, Bob Lee, the high-profile tech executive had been stabbed multiple times. The 43-year-old rushed to a hospital where he died. brutal attack near the shadow of the Bay Bridge at 2.35 a.m. Tuesday unfolded near surveillance cameras. Tonight, friends in shock with no suspects in custody and no apparent motive for the

murder. It's going to be hard to imagine a world where you can't call Bob and say, hey, I have this problem I'm thinking through. Can you help me through it? Lee, a father of two who had recently moved to Miami, was a tech giant. We're aiming to lift the entire world into a new era of financial free The chief product officer of Mobile Coin, the 43-year-old, helped create Android, but was perhaps best known for starting Cash App, now run by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, who called the death heartbreaking. I have heard from a lot of people who I represent in this neighborhood. They have expressed their concerns about some of the public safety challenges they're facing. Lee had lived in San Francisco for years and had been visiting on the day he was murdered. Amid the flood of condolences on social media, Elon Musk, a vocal critic of San Francisco policies, writing,

many people I know have been severely assaulted. Violent crime in SF is horrific. With the city's murder rate climbing in recent years, robberies, thefts, and assaults are also up, amid reports of an exodus as homelessness and the cost of living skyrocket. Now another high-profile crime, the unsolved murder of a tech titan. Tom, tonight, San Francisco police are being tight-lipped about their investigation. They won't even say if this attack was targeted or random. Tom?

Okay, Miguel, we thank you for that. We want to head overseas now. Tensions between Israeli police and Palestinians reached a boiling point last night. Violent clashes erupting at one of Jerusalem's most sacred religious sites, just as Passover, Ramadan, and Holy Week all coincide. Ralph Sanchez has the latest. Tonight, a frenzy of violence at one of Jerusalem's holiest sites, threatening to ignite the region. Video showing Israeli riot police storming the Alaksa Mosque, beating people inside with guns and nightsticks.

Palestinians responding by shooting fireworks inside the religious compound. Police say they went in after extremists barricaded themselves inside overnight and stockpiled improvised weapons. But Palestinians say they were. sleeping in the mosque as part of a Ramadan tradition. They attacked us inside there. All the young people inside are suffering, she says. Around 400 arrested and dozens injured, according to Palestinians, and Israeli troops on high alert. This is the Lions Gate. It's one of the main entrances to the Al-Axa complex, and you can see heavily armed Israeli security forces control the way in and out. The violence, a grim start to pass over, the major Jewish holiday,

which will last for the next eight days. With fears of more to come in the final weeks of Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims. Some of those concerns realized, just hours after the raid in Jerusalem, rockets fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza, Israel responding with airstrikes against the militant group Hamas. Alaksa is the third holiest site in Islam, but sacred also to Jews who call it the Temple Mount. It's the most sensitive spot in Jerusalem and a historic flashpoint.

Two years ago, clashes at the mosque helped ignite an 11-day war. in Gaza. And in 2000, a controversial visit by Israeli leader Ariel Sharon sparked five years of violence. Now worries the delicate balance at the holy site may be falling permanently apart. How does it feel for you to see violence like that in this holy place? It's heartbreaking. Dr. Mustafa Abu Sui is part of the council that administers the mosque on behalf of the world's Muslims. Alaksa mosque is part of the faith of almost two billion people. It's very, very important. and it has been a mosque for 1,500 years, and this is very important. Let's not be drawn in the details.

The big issue here is that it's part of an occupied city. Easter, Passover, and Ramadan all arriving at the same time this year, celebrated in a holy city tonight on edge. Raf Sanchez joins us tonight from Jerusalem, and Raf, last time we checked in with you, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was under real pressure from all types of Israelis over some of the stuff.

his government was doing there, especially when it came to issues with the court. And now we have issues with the far-right movement in Israel, and they're upset with Netanyahu, and they're telling him how to handle the situation there at the mosque. Yeah, Tom, that's right. Netanyahu himself says he wants to calm the situation here at the Al-Axa complex, but he's under real pressure from the far-right of his government. One of his far-right cabinet ministers saying earlier today, he wants to see more intensive Israeli air strikes in Gaza, and he wants to see Israel use a much firmer hand here in Jerusalem. Now, Hamas, the Islamist militant group, who controls Gaza for their part, they want to present

themselves as the defenders of the Alaksa Mosque, and they're prepared to use force, they say, to keep the Israelis out. Tom. Raf, Sanchez, for us from Jerusalem tonight, Raf, we appreciate it. Back here at home, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, meeting with Taiwan's president as tensions continue to soar between the U.S. and China. The move seen as a defiant show of support for Taiwan. NBC's Andrea Mitchell has this one. Tonight, despite threats from China, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy

and a bipartisan congressional delegation at the Reagan Library in California, side by side with Taiwan's president, Sai Ying Wen, in a strong show of support. Our bond is stronger now than at any time or point in my lifetime. Today, the peace that we have maintained and the democracy which have worked, heart to build are facing unprecedented challenges. At her suggestion, they're meeting in the U.S., less provocative than the Speaker's original plan to go to Taiwan, as then-speaker Pelosi did in August. That sparked a furious barrage from China of missiles over the self-governing island that China

declares its territory. Beijing, saying today's meeting undermines China's sovereignty. This is a bipartisan meeting of members of Congress who are honored. to spend some time with you. Tensions between the U.S. and China already high, including over China's spy balloon, which NBC News reported exclusively was picking up electronic signals intelligence while making repeated passes over sensitive U.S. military sites

before the U.S. finally shot it down off the Atlantic coast. Do you worry that meeting with President Sai in the United States is going to further escalate the tensions? No, it shouldn't by any means. I would sit down with President Xi. What I think would foster a worse situation is a lack of communication. But still looming, U.S. intelligence officials say China is likely to invade Taiwan within the next five years. U.S. officials tell NBC News that diplomatic and military communications between the U.S. and China are now almost non-existent, Tom.

All right, Andrea Mitchell for us, Andrew, we appreciate that. We want to turn now to Russia, where President Putin had harsh words for a delegation of foreign ambassadors earlier today. He admonished the U.S. and EU representatives saying their countries were the ones responsible for worsening relations with Russia. For more on Putin's comments, I want to bring in NBC's chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel. Richard, thanks for being here in studio. We appreciate it. You've been covering this war from the get-go. I know you watched Putin's speech. What was your takeaway?

Well, before you get to that, you look at the last couple of stories you've just been doing, the things are looking rough. Andrea Mitchell just said the U.S. and China aren't talking at all. We're seeing increased tension right in the Middle East, right in the most sensitive part of the most sensitive city of Jerusalem. And now, I think you can say relations between the U.S. and Russia are at rock bottom or even below. So a group of foreign ambassadors, typical Putin style, he gathers foreign leaders there, and then has them up on a stage and all the cameras are called in, and then he browbeats them. He dresses them down. And he tells the U.S. and European officials,

why their countries are to blame for worsening relations between the West and Russia, not because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But it's strange that you have the foreign minister Lavrov saying we can still find ways to mend the relationship with the United States, so sort of make signals tonight from Russia. Well, Lavrov is always that contrarian figure, and he is the interlocutor. He is the one who talks with the Secretary of State, Lincoln. He has his own power base. but it's really a Putin play.

And Putin is made it clear he wants to keep this war going. He wants to keep what he has so far claimed for provinces in eastern Ukraine. And he wants to tell the West that they're responsible for this. But I was just saying it's not an easy message for him to deliver because while he's sounding tough, Finland just joined NATO. And that's a major setback. The whole point of, according to Putin's own words, for launching this war against Ukraine was to pacify Ukraine, contain Ukraine, make it part of Russia's sphere of influence,

but also to keep NATO away. Instead, NATO is growing. It is grown by Finland, doubling the size of the NATO's border with Russia, and Sweden wants to follow soon. And Ukraine just trying every day possible try to get into NATO. I do want to ask you about Ukraine since you've been leading our coverage from there. we were talking so much about the courage of the Ukrainian people, right, from the get-go of this war. I was there. I saw it firsthand. Rightfully so.

Talk to us about, and they still show a lot of courage every single day, but talk to us about a year into this war and what the atmosphere is like. And how is that will? Is it the same as nothing changed? Same. People get tired. People get tired of fighting, but they're not getting tired of defending their country. They don't have the luxury of giving up, taking a vacation, and saying, oh, you know, we've only lost 20% of our country. We can accept that because they believe if they give up the 20%, Vladimir Putin will take that, digest it, wait a year or two, and come for the rest.

So the fighting spirit is as dynamic, is as vibrant as you saw it at the start of this war. And that is remarkable. As we see the troops, and you have been in some of those foxholes, you've been in the trenches with these troops, what is it like for them? Because we know, you know, they have been there in the front audience. You hear one refrain. Give us more weapons. Give us more weapons. And they're not saying this because they're trying to sell them on the black market or something.

They're staying it because they're seeing their guns running low on ammunition. They believe that Russia has a almost limitless supply of tank rounds and artillery rounds. that they could just bring it in any time and rain down on top of the Ukrainian troops. So they're doing well. Do they recognize what they've done, though? I mean, the David and Goliath battle? I know they don't have time to because they're trying to survive. No, no, no, they've recognized they've held off Russia of taking over the entire country.

You have plenty. If you sit in a foxhole, you have plenty of time. Most of the time, you're just sitting there in the dark, in the cold, or in the wet, with not much to do, but think about things like that. think about the mission, and then you're under fire, so a lot of war is waiting around and then short bursts of terror and panic and fighting. So they absolutely aware, when you turn on the television in Ukraine, it's all patriotic, it's all nationalistic. If you dial someone in Ukraine right now and they're not available, you know, in most countries, it says, there's a recording

in whatever local language, says, sorry, that person's not available. In Ukraine now, it says, sorry that person's not available because they could be out fighting to win the war. Every music video, the singers are wearing some sort of uniform or they're dancing in a destroyed building, constantly, 24-7. It is at the forefront of their minds every single day. How can it not be? Because if they stop fighting, they fully leave, they lose their country and become an enslaved people to Russia. And Vladimir Putin says they shouldn't exist as a nation. How are they going to let them their guard down? We thank you so much for this great chat here on Top Story tonight. Great to see you in person.

All right, still ahead tonight, a string of murders under investigation in Florida. This is a truly bizarre story. Three teens shot on three separate days, why authorities believe their killings could all be connected. Plus, a prank got horribly wrong, a YouTuber, shot by a man he was trying to play a joke on why the shooter's lawyers are saying he was the real victim. And that incredible video out of California, a pot of orcas,

take a look at this, swarming two great. how they how that prey was able to get away it is incredible video top story just getting started on this Wednesday night all right now to Florida where authorities are asking for help related to the deaths of three teenagers all found shot in the vicinity of the Ocala National Forest investigators discovered the victims bodies on different days but believe the crimes are all connected Guadvanegas has the details. Tonight, a community in shock in Marion County, Florida.

Detectives working around the clock searching for multiple suspects in the fatal shootings of three teenagers. Two of them dumped on the side of roads, and the third in a car grimly submerged in water, according to local authorities. As a parent, every parent should feel the same way I do, just completely in shock. According to police, one victim dying in a hospital earlier today, she's identified as, 16-year-old Layla Silvernail. Layla was found Thursday night lying beside the road and suffering from a gunshot wound. She was rushed to a hospital unable to communicate with police before passing away, according to the county sheriff. Then on Friday, police say a second victim was found nearby. This time, a 17-year-old male also shot and lying beside the road. And the

following day, investigators say they located a car partially submerged in a nearby body of water, making a gruesome discovery. After going through the vehicle, we found a third victim within the vehicle, 16-year-old female, who also had a gunshot wound. In a press conference, the sheriff saying he believes the victims all knew each other and were together leading up to the incident, indicating the homicides are possibly tied to what he called, quote, wannabe or neighborhood gangs in the area. This is an isolated incident.

It is not, and there is nothing to indicate that it is a serial killer whatsoever. While authorities are not releasing a motive, they do not suspect there are other victims at this point, parents in the area hoping for answers. I just hope we can figure out what went wrong and help to make this a better community so that our kids do feel safe. The sheriff telling NBC News, the department has gotten just under 100 tips, and they're sorting through 136 pieces of evidence. He has a simple message for parents. The suspects will be found.

Their asses are going to be right over there in that jail. And the sheriff telling us today, many of the details of this investigation are being kept secret, including those surrounding the wannabe gains and the relationship that they could have had to the victims. The sheriff did say the information they're getting from the community is extremely important. Tom. All right, Guadanagas for a squad. We appreciate it. YouTube prank turning into gun violence. The shooting closing down a mall in Virginia after a

YouTuber allegedly tried pranking a man for a video, but that he was shot in response. That suspect now in custody, NBC's Emily Aketa has the details on this one. This is 21-year-old Tanner Cook. I know you guys want that merge, so. A budding comedian who posts videos regularly to his channel, Classified Goons. Welcome back to another video. And in this video, I want to be going up to people and accusing people of a flirt and see what type of reaction. we get. He's known for ruffling feathers. Get the hell out of here. Why? Because you're an asshole. Sometimes to the point security or police are called.

You're going to get arrested for trespass. I need your legal first and last name. But his latest stunt was met with gunfire. Get on your face! When a shopper, Cook was trying to prank, got offended and shot him, according to Cook's family. They were trying to, you know, get a rise out of him or whatever. rise out of him or whatever it was when they got one cook's father Jeremy telling our affiliate

WRC the shooting nearly took his life went through his stomach and into his liver and they took his gallbladder and so it was a major surgery and lots of you know drugs to recover the Loudoun County Sheriff's Department arresting the shooter identified as Alan Coley charges include aggravated malicious wounding NBC News has not been able to reach him or his attorney for comment but at a bond hearing today local reports show the defense argued it was Cook who harassed the suspect. It's just the latest example of an attempt to go viral, taking a tragic turn. In 2021, Timothy Wilkes was shot and killed after pranking a group of people by approaching

them with butcher knives. The man who shot him said he fired in self-defense and was not charged. And just in the past week, three UK nationals detained by the Taliban, one of them, YouTuber Miles Routledge, known as Lord Miles. They include so-called danger tourist Miles Rutledge, who returned to the country after being evacuated by British armed forces less than two years ago. He's on the right there. Routledge travels to what he calls the most dangerous places on earth for fun. I'm in Afghanistan on forged documents going to meet a black market gunrunner.

Now, the UK Foreign Office telling Sky News they're trying to secure contact. Back in Virginia, Jeremy Cook admits he's not always proud of his son's pranks, but he says they're all in good fun. They never warrant violent reactions. It's okay. You get offended. Don't watch the show, move on, go away, whatever. But you don't have to, because you're offended, you want to go beat somebody up or go run him over with your car or shooting with your gun. Miraculously, he says his son is on the mend since that video with a nearly fatal ending.

Emily Ikeda, NBC News. When we come back, a deadly high-rise fire in Chicago, flames shooting out of an apartment on the 27th floor. a veteran firefighter killed as he rushed up to that blaze in an update tonight in the 2017 mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, while the federal government is agreeing to pay the victims and their families more than $100 million.

Stay with us. All right, we are back now with Top Stories News Feed. We begin with the tragic death of a veteran firefighter in Chicago. 55-year-old lieutenant John Torrick was responding to a fire on the 27th floor of a high-rise apartment building when he collapsed in the staircase. A second firefighter injured. His death comes just one day after another firefighter was killed in a blaze on the city's south side. The commissioner calling this a tragic and unprecedented week for the department. And a new development in the desperate search for a California teen who has been missing since New Year's Day, the Carson City Council now offering a $100,000 reward for any information. about the disappearance of 16-year-old Alinka Angelina Gattaniera. A spokesperson for the family says they believe the teen is being held against her will after receiving three calls in which she sounded like she was under duress. The Department of Justice has reached a tentative settlement

with the victims of the Sutherland Springs mass shooting. The proposed $144.5 million payment would end the years-long battle over the 2017 attack in which 26 people were killed inside of a Baptist church. The agreement comes two years after a federal court found the Air Force partially liable in the attack for failing to submit the shooter's military criminal history to a database that would have prevented him from purchasing firearms. And dramatic video off the coast of California shows a pod of killer whales on the attack. Dron footage capturing the moment more than 30 orcas. That's right.

30 killer whales swarmed a pair of gray whales. The would-be prey eventually able to swim to shallow waters away from the pod. They survived the encounter lasting more than five hours. Orcas typically prey on much younger whales during the spring migration season, making this type of attack highly unusual. All right, next in our climate challenge series, the wave of tornadoes we're seeing makes warning systems all the more origin. Blaine Alexander reporting tonight on new research to save lives

as the traditional path of these storms is changing. In the fields of southern Tennessee, it's sunny skies now. Ready? Okay. But this team, led by atmospheric scientist Karen Kusiba, is preparing for the storm. Essentially, the goal is to put yourself right in the path of these storms. Yeah. Perils really is trying to get right in the path of these storms. We're trying to get slightly ahead of them. Meet the Perils Project.

I can see that from here. A unit deploying radars, sensors, and scientists in storm after storm, all specifically to study tornadoes in the southeast, which researchers say are growing more frequent and more deadly. We're trying to understand better these storms, where they're going to produce tornadoes, what the environment looks like before these storms produced tornadoes, so we could better predict tornadoes in the southeast. Why are these storms so dangerous? These storms are dangerous for many reasons.

First of all, they can occur at off hours, so when people aren't prepared for tornadoes. Tornadoes like the ones that ravaged parts of Mississippi last month and just days ago tore through Arkansas and Tennessee. There's a high population density in the southeast, so these storms and these tornadoes have the potential to impact lots of towns or lots of people. Historically, the Great Plains is considered tornado alley, the area with the highest frequency of these storms, but that trend has started to shift. Research shows over the past four decades there's been an increase in the number of tornadoes

in the southeast. This was the fifth straight year that's produced a powerful EF4 tornado in the month of March, four of those in the southeast. Will this research help create more? accurate forecasts? Yes. We really want to get better warnings out there, better predictability, and really make sure people could take the actions that they need to be in a safe place. Providing critical seconds that could save countless lives. Blaine Alexander, NBC News, St. Joseph, Tennessee.

Now to our NBC News exclusive, synthetic opioids like fentanyl were blamed for more than 70,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2021. Now a new campaign is being launched to warn young people of the dangers using social media stars. The nation's drugs are spoke about it with Arcade Snow. It's a life-saving effort. What's up, guys? Clever here. The Biden administration partnering with social media influencers to reach young people where they are on Instagram. And while I like to joke around on my platforms, I highly encourage you guys to take this seriously.

Clifford Taylor is a former college football player at the University of Florida. Sammy Breel is a student at UCLA. I've unfortunately had college-aged friends who have been impacted by deaths. Fentanyl-related deaths in young people spiked nearly 200 percent from 2019 to 2021. Some of that increase because counterfeit pills contain fentanyl and six out of ten can be deadly. We have an American dieg every five minutes around the clock. That's why the administration's drugs are, Dr. Rahul Gupta, launched this new campaign. What's the message that you're trying to get out to young people?

Know what is in the drug supply. All the young people that have died, if you look at the data, Two out of three of those deaths have happened when they're bystanders right next to them. Someone could have saved them. To me, as a physician, it's really important to provide the tools and that empower the youth of our country to be able to become lifesavers. Naloxone is a medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose and carrying it can help save someone's life. Naloxone or NARCAN reverses opioid overdoses. It's already available in pharmacies in most states. nasal sprays approved over the counter. Dr. Gupta says it should be on store shelves by summer.

I think it's really important to normalize bringing around naloxone or narkan in your bags, especially to parties. Digital ads will appear on college campuses and bars and restaurants, even at the gas pump. I can hear critics thinking or saying is encouraging people to carry Narkan admitting defeat, admitting that we can't control the flow of fentanyl coming into this country. Well, that's absolutely not true, first of all. And one of the things we have to be careful about is making sure that we do everything, everything in our power to save lives first and foremost. But at the same time, don't let up and we're not letting up in our ability to reduce and go after the bad guys that are producing it. In some parts of the country, Narcan is free in vending machines. The administration working to increase access and reduce the price, which at some stores can still cost around $100,

dollars, hoping to convince more and more young people to carry it. I love you guys so much, and please, stay safe. Kate Snow, NBC News, Washington. All right, coming up, Top Story's Global Watch, the FBI swarming in to take down a dark web crime ring, the criminals stealing personal data and tens of millions of dollars. The details on the arrest up next. Back now with Top Stories Global Watch, the FBI. and international police agencies taking down a massive dark web marketplace

responsible for stealing tens of millions of dollars. Authorities raiding the homes of several suspects connected to Genesis Market, a site that would sell stolen passwords and personal data to other criminals for as little as a dollar per password. The raids carried out by law enforcement from at least 15 countries in a joint effort called Operation Cookie Monster. And King Charles' wife officially identified as Queen Camilla for the first time. Buckingham Palace using the Queen's title on invitations for the monarchs May 6th coronation.

Camilla, who has been described as Queen Consort until now, will be crowned alongside her husband at Westminster Abbey. First Lady Jill Biden is set to attend the coronation next month. Coming up, courting controversy, First Lady Jill Biden runs a foul with the champion LSU Tigers as the team star player deals with some trash talking drama from the big game. Stay with us. To cover the news, you have to be in it. We'll take you to the front lines of the story, bringing your news feed to life. Streaming live every night. It's your news playlist.

Top Story with Tom Yamas, weeknights at 7 on NBC News Now. Finally tonight, women's college basketball colliding with the political world after LSU was crowned champion. The First Lady stirring controversy by inviting both the Tigers and then in a weird move, the runner-up, Iowa, to the White House. Many seeing that as a slight to the champs. The White House forced to play defense and backpedal. Valerie Castle reports it wasn't the only drama playing out on the court. Three, two, one. The LSU Lady Tigers crown the national champs now taking their victory lap, but it's coming with controversy.

And your LSU Tigers are national champions. It started when First Lady Jill Biden, who went to the finals, broke from tradition, suggesting both teams come to the White House. We'll have LSU come, but you know what? I'm going to tell Joe, I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game. Social media erupted, with many pointing out the racial makeup of each team. LSU mostly black, Iowa players, mostly white. Does Dr. Jill Biden understand how this looks? She, white America? Yep. The losing side is white America.

All-American, an MVP of the tournament, Angel Reese, calling it, quote, a joke on Twitter, and speaking out on the island. athlete podcast. I just know if the roles were reversed, it wouldn't be the same. If we were to lose, we were not be getting invited to the White House. Iowa's head coach preferred to leave LSU in the spotlight, tweeting, a day at the White House should belong solely to the champion, LSU and Coach Mulkey. It feels like it's about participation trophies, and that's not where this game should be. We don't need to pat everyone on the back for playing a good game. The First Lady's press secretary forced to backpedal on the invite, saying her comments in Colorado were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on

their championship win at the White House. She's on the run. We'll get it right winged Carson. Three more. Yes. What? What? What? That championship drawing record ratings. The game becoming the most watched NCAA women's basketball final in TV history with 9.9 million viewers. And the most viewed college basketball game ever on ESPN. With those viewers came more scrutiny. Once again, zeroing in on Angel Reese. This time for her numerous, you can't see me hand gestures towards Iowa player Caitlin Clark. Some calling the trash talking gesture classless. Rees defended herself when asked about it right after the game. I'm too hood. I'm too ghetto. Y'all told me that all year. But when other people do it, y'all don't say nothing. So this was for the girls that look like me.

that's going to speak up on what they believe in. In fact, Clark used the same gesture just two games earlier and defended Reese. She should never be criticized for what she did. You know, I'm just one that competes and she competed. So I think everybody knew there was going to be a little trash shock in the entire tournament. It's not just me and angel. So, you know, I don't think she should be criticized. Critics saying the reaction showed a double standard.

We all know that there's a white-black issue here because the fact of the matter is when Caitlin did it, people were celebrating it. And they were talking about nothing but her greatness. But then the second the sister stepped up and threw it back in her face, now you got half the basketball world saying, well, you know what, that's not the classiest thing to do.

Regardless, the kind of attention, all of it a clear sign that the women are stepping into center court. People are arguing about officiating, arguing about taunting. These are things casual sports fans care about and can talk about. So it just had all of the right ingredients for a breakout moment for women's basketball, and that's what happened. Valerie Castro now joins us in studio. Valerie, I think that reporter there makes a good point. There's a lot of headlines being generated now about women's basketball.

I do want to ask you, do we know what's going to happen with LSU? Are they going to actually end up going to the White House? So that's still all up in the air. The White House press secretary was actually asked about that today. She didn't really give an answer but said that the White House is looking forward to welcoming and celebrating both the men's and women. women's winning teams. The LSU coach says that if they're invited, they do plan to go, but Angel Reese, she's the wild card. She said that we're going to see another player, Alexis Morris, actually tweeted asking Michelle Obama if they could celebrate at the Obama's

house instead. So a lot of things still up in the middle. Yeah, a lot of drama there too. Okay, Valerie, we thank you so much. And we thank you for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yomason, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.