Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Episode Date: April 9, 2026

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight, ceasefire chaos and confusion. New fighting today putting the fragile ceasefire plan in jeopardy as Vice President J.D. Vance prepares to lead peace talks. Israel launching major strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hundreds killed. Rescuers searching for people in the rubble. Iran says that violates the ceasefire. Are they now closing off the Strait of Urugu? Are Kyr-Simmons in Saudi Arabia where missiles are still raining down? And new details on who else will lead the peace negotiations. Also tonight, the stock market surging and oil prices plunging over the ceasefire plan.

When will gas prices come down? The search intensified for the mother who went overboard while outboating with her husband in the Bahamas, her husband breaking his silence. You'll hear the voicemail he left for his stepdaughter after she vanished. The stunning courtroom confession from the Gilgo Beach killer, Rex Ehrman pleading guilty to eight murders, including one victim he was never charged with. New video of a twister touching down just north of Miami said, sending this play set flying and destroying the backyard. School board controversy, the firestorm after a board member put his arms around a student

and called her hot. Parents left outraged. Who will be held accountable? And while baseball brawl, MLB players slugging it out with the benches and bullpens emptied, what set them off? Plus, sticker shock hitting L.A. residents hoping to snag their 2028 Olympic tickets. How much they're already going for? Top story starts right now. And good evening. Tonight we're just 24 hours into that fragile ceasefire in the Middle East and already Iran accusing the U.S. and Israel of violating the deal as new fighting erupts in the region. Explosions like these rocking cities across Lebanon, the country now at the center of the ceasefire debate, Israel launching some of the deadliest attacks in Lebanon so far and says its war with Hezbollah there is not covered in the deal. As President Trump calls it a, quote, separate skirmish. But Iran says Lebanon is part of the ceasefire agreement. arguing the deal has been violated before full peace talks ever began.

And countries across the Gulf say they've intercepted missiles and drones launched after the ceasefire announcement. In Iraq, buildings on fire after a strike near the Capitol. And look at this line of artillery lighting up the night skies. Iran tonight also saying the street of Hormuz, the critical oil passageway is closed yet again, as another fundamental part of this deal appears to be on shaky ground. Despite the ceasefire confusion, Wall Street seeming to celebrate a potential end to this war, oil prices plummeting by 16 percent, the largest drop since 2020. It all comes just days before the in-person pea stocks in Pakistan this weekend.

Here's the team Trump is sending for the U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, special invite, Steve Whitkoff, and former senior advisor, President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. But so much can change in the next few days and hours as questions mount over the details of this deal and how feasible it really is. Gabe Gutier is distracted at all. It leads us off from the White House. Tonight, the ceasefire is under fire. Amid confusion over what the U.S., Israel and Iran have actually agreed to. Israel today launching its biggest attacks yet against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The country's civil defense saying at least 254 people were killed and more than 1,100 wounded. Israel and the U.S. say the ceasefire does not include Lebanon, but Iran disagrees and now says it shut down the strait of Hormuz yet again in retaliation. What's the right White House response to that? That is completely unacceptable. And again, this is a case of what they're saying publicly is different privately. We have seen an uptick of traffic in the strait today. According to the tracking firm, Marine traffic, at least three ships have passed through the straits since the ceasefire began.

Four oil tankers are there right now, but none seem to be moving. Throughout the war, Ron has been charging ships that pass through the crucial waterway, but it's not clear whether the U.S. will allow those tolls to continue. That's not something we've said that we've definitively accepted. Still, the president today floating the idea of a potential joint venture between the U.S. and Iran to collect the tolls. The joint venture is something that was proposed by the president, but he was very clear in his statement last night. He wants to see the straight reopened immediately without limitation. The Trump administration touting its success in killing Iran's leadership, destroying its navy, and setting back its nuclear program.

Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield. A capital V military victory. But adding to the uncertainty, Persian Gulf countries reporting dozens of Iranian missile and drone attacks since the ceasefire began. NBC's Keir Simmons is in Saudi Arabia. Iran attacked oil infrastructure here in Saudi Arabia again today. And Bahrain, just across the water there, has been bombarded during this war. Tonight, Iranian strikes even after the ceasefire, angering America's Arab allies.

The White House now saying Vice President Vance will lead a U.S. delegation to Pakistan this weekend for in-person talks with Iran. If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that's ultimately their choice. We think that would be dumb, but that's their choice. Okay. Gabe Gutierrez joins us tonight from the White House. Gabe, looking ahead to those critical talks in Pakistan, what are the key sticking points? Well, Tom, the U.S. and Iran still seem to be far apart on several issues. Among them, who will ultimately control the Strait of Hormuz and whether Iran will hand over its enriched uranium. Today, Defense Secretary Pete Hexath said the U.S. military would go into Iran and take it if necessary.

Tom. Okay, Gabe. The ceasefire led to a huge rally on Wall Street today and sent oil prices plunging. But the big question tonight, when will we see some relief at the pump? NBC's Brian Chung has more. Wall Street bouncing back big today after the de-escalation of the war with Iran. The Dow Jones having its best day since last spring, as oil prices plunged by 16%, the largest drop since 2020. At the pump prices are still sky high, averaging $4.16.

I think it's getting pretty ridiculous, honestly. It's affecting, you know, every part of my life, the people in my life, and I think it needs to come down. But the dip in oil prices means relief could be on the way. Experts say prices could fall below $4 a gallon in a week or two. But oil analyst Samantha Gross says they likely won't drop back below $3 a gallon for a while. We'll also be missing supply that was damaged during the conflict. So I don't see those pre-war prices coming back anytime soon. It's not just gas. Prices on other things could stay elevated a while, too, even if the ceasefire holds.

Fertilizer costs are up, which could impact food prices, and airlines have raised bag fees as fuel costs have soared. Southwest today joining other airlines in charging $9 to $10 more for bags, as Delta says the ceasefire won't undo higher jet fuel costs. The reality is that it's a very volatile situation. We know we're going to be higher for longer. It all hinges on the straight of Hormuz, where 20% of the world's oil travels through. If we get to a negotiated solution that more permanently opens the straight of Hormuz, then I would expect to see prices really come down. Gross also says it could take months, if not years, for badly damaged energy facilities in the region to rebuild. Meaning even with some potential relief at the pump soon, the impacts of this war could last for a while longer.

All right. Brian Chung joins us now here on set. Brian, so good to see you. Any indication when we think more ships will be passing through the straight-of-hormuz? Yeah, well, I mean, that's really the big question. Until ships start to pass through, there's really not going to be any of the real economic impacts here. We're hearing from one particular company, this is Maerskin. They said that the ceasefire quote does not yet provide full maritime certainty. And Lloyds, which is a company that actually ensures ships, ships that would be making that passage said that pretty plainly, it's highly unlikely trade will simply resume. That's in their words. So, Tom, we're far from really having this solve. All right, Brian,

We thank you for that. And as we mentioned, the top of the broadcast here, those Israeli attacks targeting Hezbollah and Lebanon have only intensified since the ceasefire with Iran was announced. I want to get right to Stephanie Goss, who is in Tel Aviv tonight for us. Stephanie, it's good to see you there. Can you tell us more about what we've seen in Lebanon today? And what is Israel saying? Yeah, sure. You know, Tom, I'm going to take you back a little bit to the announcement of the ceasefire. You know that Pakistan was critical in the brokering of this deal. Pakistan's prime minister came out and said that Lebanon was a problem. part of the ceasefire. And the concern in Lebanon was that there may have been people who had been displaced because of the violence there who heard that and then maybe started to make

their way back to their homes. But then this morning you had Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say Lebanon is not part of the deal. And then you had the Israeli defense forces warning people in southern Lebanon that they were going to attack today. And that's exactly what they did. It was a huge bombardment, their largest of this campaign, killing over 200,000. people, according to officials, within Lebanon, leveling apartment buildings, both in southern Lebanon, but also in Beirut as well. The Israeli defense forces admitting in our statement today that they were targeting Hezbollah, but that Hezbollah puts itself in residential areas. And you saw this life and death struggle throughout Lebanon today as they were searching through

these flattened buildings for people who were buried underneath. And obviously, they, Minister of Lebanon calling for this day of mourning. It did seem today that the intensity of this bombardment caught people by surprise, both in its scope and just how deadly it was, Tom. Yeah, and then explain to our viewers more of this relationship between Iran and, you know, we say Lebanon, but it's really Iran and Hezbollah. Yeah. Yeah. So Hezbollah started as a militia organization way back in the 80s, but then it began to get funded by Iran. And that included not just money, but also arms. And they have been one of these proxy militias that have attacked Israel throughout the years. When it comes to this conflict, Hezbollah started getting involved just a few

days after the war with Iran began, launching rockets at Israel, mostly into the northern part of the country. That's when Israel responded. And there were times throughout the last five weeks or so that Hezbollah was launching hundreds of rockets into northern Israel. And that's how we got to where we today and clearly Benjamin Netanyahu taking advantage of this moment to go and even further in Lebanon and do even further damage to this militia group that has caused a lot of problems for Israel and led to a lot of death here in this country. But now you see on the other side of that what's happening in Lebanon today, Tom. Stephanie Gosfer, Stephanie, we thank you. I want to bring in our political pros to break down the impact of the president's war with Iran. Tiffany Smiley is the founder of Endeavor Pack, a conservative

political action committee that aims to support the Trump-Vance agenda, and Andrew Day is the senior editor of the American Conservative. A news site founded on, quote, foreign policy restraint. We thank you both for being here. Andrew, as we've reported, and you've reported, major MAGA influencers are breaking with the president over his Iran threats. Here's just some of them. Podcast host Tucker Carlson said it's time to say no. One of J.D. Vance's closest allies, Oren Cass, called Trump's comments, quote, a terrible mistake. The president's former campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis said it should concern everyone, and another one of his former appointees called it disgraceful. Why is this issue causing such a break?

I think that Tucker Carlson really spoke for a lot of anti-war conservatives in expressing moral horror that President Donald Trump, during a war that we regard as a war of aggression, an unnecessary war. On Easter Sunday, the holiest day of the year, according to Christians, was threatening to take out the power plants, the bridges, the critical civilian infrastructure of Iran. That is totally unacceptable. It suggests that Trump was approaching this issue with the kind of lack of seriousness and gravity that it clearly deserves, and that was a big part of it. Also, all of these anti-war conservatives are just getting fed up with the role that Israel is playing clearly in American foreign policy, both in the determination to go to war and, as you just were explaining earlier, and this inability to get

a ceasefire. Clearly yesterday, everyone thought that Lebanon was kind of in the ceasefire. When the Prime Minister of Pakistan announced the ceasefire, he said Lebanon was covered, and the Trump administration gave every indication that they were okay with that statement, but Benjamin Netanyahu was not okay with that, and that's why we can't get a ceasefire today. So, Andrew, what's going on here? This is not the president's first rodeo. He campaigned against this exact kind of behavior in his first term in his first campaign. And so you think he's being talked into this? I mean, what's the reasoning here? I mean, I think the reasoning is a somewhat complicated

I mean, it is important to note that in 2016, the way that President Trump proved to the American people was tough, that he was tough, was by taking on the foreign policy establishment, taking on the neo-conservatives, condemning the forever wars, condemning the Iraq War. That's what people really resonated to. In the second term, we're seeing a kind of different Trump, you know, one that anti-war conservatives are more critical of. I think a big part of the story was the Venezuela raid. Clearly, President Donald Trump was emboldened by the success, the military success of that raid. He felt like he could keep going and do these decisive military. military strikes elsewhere in the world without getting embroiled in a quagmire. And that really hasn't happened in Iran. Another part of the story, as I was saying, is Israel, and it can't be denied. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, tons of mainstream outlets have reported that Benjamin Netanyahu was relentless in pushing President Trump to go to war. He convinced him that it would go much more easily that it has ended up going. Our own intelligence

agencies here in the United States were saying it wasn't likely that we were going to be able to do regime change and get a new more moderate regime. was likely that Iran was going to close the Strait of Hormuz and ignite a regional war. They were telling him the right things, but unfortunately, President Trump did listen to Israel instead. Tiffany, you hope to get maybe J.D. Vance elected president in 2028. What are you going to tell the base, what are you going to tell those MAGA followers about what's happened here with Iran? Yeah, I want to back up a little bit. And for 50 years, every single president has said that Iran needs to be dealt with. But no one has had the guts to do it.

When Iran chants death to America and that they want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, that is not just talking points. They actually mean it. We can go back to the Beirut bombing where 200 Marines were killed. We can go back to Obama who thought he could deal with Iran in diplomacy and dropped billions of dollars to cover for a failed arms deal. Well, what did that turn into? Iran turned around and they've killed American soldiers.

in Iraq and Afghanistan any opportunity that they could get. Tiffany, I understand the history of Iran and its relationship with the world in the United States. No, no, but what did the United... But so what did the U.S. just accomplish? So to that point is we have never had a president that actually has the guts to deal with Iran. You know, when I think of my three boys and their future,

I want Iran to be dealt with. How long can we kick the can down the road? and they become more powerful. They are the largest state sponsor of terrorism. President Trump laid out clear objectives that we need to destroy their missile capabilities and their infrastructure. We need to stop the terrorist funding

of their proxy wars. And we also need to make sure that they never have access to uranium and nuclear weapons. Iran was also forming a very strong alliance with Russia and China. That is problematic. What did that have changed?

Has any of that changed? Tiffany, I get it. what you're saying, I totally understand, but has any of that changed in your opinion? President Trump has taken out. He has set back Iran from having access to uranium and creating a nuclear weapon. Obviously, the terrorist proxy wars are going to decrease, and their missile systems are destructive. So things are changing very rapidly, and what President Trump is doing is fighting fire with fire.

You cannot negotiate with terrorists. You cannot negotiate with people who have zero regard for human life. Right, right. And President Trump is the only president that is willing to deal with them. You know, I get it, but missiles are still being launched. They still have a relationship with Russia and China. They will still fund terror. None of that has changed.

I do want to play something for you. Democrats, let me just play this for you. Democrats are already trying to capitalize off the backlash. The president's getting from some of these MAGA influencers. Senator Cory Booker posted to Instagram, Donald Trump's entire presidency is a continuous betrayal with this clip from the Joe Rogan podcast. Let's listen. I mean, this is why a lot of people feel betrayed, right?

He ran on No More Wars and these stupid senseless wars, and then we have one that we can't even really clearly define why we did it. So I guess my question to you, Rogan, of course, one of America's most popular podcasters. Are you worried, though, going into the midterms and then eventually going into the general election? I know it's very far down the road, and this could be forgotten by them, but at least going into the midterms. Are you worried Republicans are going to be a little confused about where we're going with the country and the direction that the president wants to take the country?

Well, here's one thing is most presidents do not make decisions like this for, you know, a hard decision that President Trump obviously felt like America would be threatened and our global allies. So he was willing to make this decision. Most presidents make decision based on politics. And it's clear that President Trump knew that the threat was so severe and that something needed to be done regardless of politics because he knew gas prices were going to go up. He knew that this could bleed into midterms and have an effect. Now, again, I have full confidence in the president and his administration that their talks will be successful and that this will not be a forever war like everyone continues to keep saying. That is not the case. That is not what is going on.

President Trump is actually showing Congress and the American people that there is another way to deal with our adversaries and have it be a win for the American people. So obviously, yes, I think, you know, are people going to be voting necessarily based on the Iran war? I don't know, but they will be voting based on gas prices and cost of living and the economy. And that's something that needs to start to come down and could absolutely have an effect on the midterms. But President Trump was willing to make a hard decision.

You know, I think of my boys, generations down the road, decades down the road, they will be living in a safer America if we can deal with Iran in the proper way. Andrew, we've already seen the president set a new deadline for Iran at least five times since March 21st. He delayed it five days, then 10 days, then to yesterday, and then by two weeks. Are we starting to get a little too close to comfort for the midterms? What's to say he doesn't delay this again? I think the Republicans should clearly be very worried about the midterms because of the war with Iran. Twenty-eight percent of Americans support the war with Iran. That is a very low number. This war is unpopular. It's been unpopular since day one when all that we knew is that the

Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini, had been killed. Okay? It was about as popular at the beginning as the Vietnam War was near the end. Okay, only 62 percent of Republicans, I believe, support the war. That might sound high. It's not. And the run-up to the Iraq War, at the beginning of the Iraq War, Republicans and Republican-leaning voters were much more supportive of that war. And the problem here is that, one, the Trump administration didn't really make a public case for the war that made sense to the American people. And two, this is a strategic disaster. It's clearly bad for American interests. It has made the Islamic Republic of Iran more hardline. It certainly hasn't done a regime change in Iran. And I think that the global economic

catastrophe, the rippling consequences of that at the gas pump here in America is going to be a big deal because we are a very oil-intensive economy. You might have noticed that even though we do export a lot of oil and we make a lot ourselves, we haven't been insulated from the gas prices going up. We have an oil-intensive transportation system, so all the 18-wheelers that are running on diesel that are delivering your groceries and your consumer goods, it's going to make it so that there's inflation across the board.

President Trump not only won because he promised to not start World War III, not to get involved in Forever Wars, but he won mostly on the affordability issue, so it really hits him where it hurts. Tiffany, does it worry you at all that you're debating someone tonight who is a senior editor at a place called the American Conservative? I mean, is the party split on this issue? Well, everyone's entitled to their opinion, and that's why we live in the greatest country on earth.

Coming from a military family and watching forever wars and a generation that lived through the longest war in American history in Iraq and Afghanistan, 20 years, the longest war in U.S. history. I know the implications of war, and I understand it. And I also know that often Congress has really no idea what they are funding and what their end goal is. They never have an exit strategy. So I believe strongly in this administration that they knew that the threat was so severe and damaging to the future of our country that action needed to be taken.

And again, President Trump is the only president that had the guts to do it. So I am grateful for a president that could do that and that could withstand the criticism that he is facing now, choosing the harder choice in dealing with Iran, heading into the midterms.

Again, not a political decision, but perhaps a decision that will make my three-year, boys' future in this country safer. And I'm going to take that better. It doesn't make them safer. Sorry, it doesn't make them safer. The tough decision that Trump can make, what it would, what, what really requires the toughness is for President Trump to tell Israel to kick rocks. He should tell Israel to get lost, and President Trump should come home. We do not need to be involved in this war. Our country could ever make to not stand with Israel and defend. Most Americans think that

this war benefits Israel more than it benefits us. Okay, that is not good. The special relationship is ending. Okay? This is hastening the end of that. Americans are turning against Israel. 60% of Americans have an unfavorable view of Israel. Fifty-seven percent of Republicans under the age of 50 have an unfavorable view of Israel. It's accelerating that process, and that's for the good. But in the meantime, we're in a quagmire in the Middle East and a war on Israel's behalf. And that's not acceptable. President Trump needs to tell Benjamin Netanyahu to get lost, and we should get out of this war ASAP. Andrew Day, Tiffany's... That would be great for our country. I don't think so.

Tiffany, Smiley, Andrew Day, thank you for that very interesting conversation. Tonight, I'm sure we'll have it again in the coming days. Also, tonight, we're going to switch gears here. There's some news in the intensifying search for a missing American woman in the Bahamas. We're now hearing from her husband for the first time. After he told investigators, she fell off their boat and was swept away. And this just in, the Coast Guard says they are conducting a criminal investigation into the disappearance. George Solis is there for us and has the late details.

Tonight, new clues in the search for an American woman who vanished at sea the Bahamas. 55-year-old Lynette Hooker was on a boat ride with her husband Brian when she went missing. Lynette's daughter, Carly, sharing this voicemail with NBC News, which she says is from her stepfather. And they have found a flotation device that I threw to mom when she fell overboard. And so they're, that's like they haven't found her yet, but they can now focus all of their efforts in a smaller area. Brian telling investigators the two left Hope Town for Elbow Key. at 7.30 p.m. on Saturday when Lynette later fell from their eight-foot dingy. According to police, he says she was swept away, taking the boat's only key with her

and forcing him to paddle for hours towards Marsh Harbor, reporting her missing around 4 a.m. Brian writing on Facebook, he is heartbroken, adding, despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her, and that is my sole focus. A marine forecast from that day indicating strong winds and rough seas at the the time Lynette went overboard. But Lynette's daughter now raising serious questions about the couple's history, revealing they had a volatile relationship. They have history of not getting along, especially when they drink. The couple were avid sailors who documented their travels on social media. The search now in its fourth day, but so far, there is still no sign of Lynette.

Authorities say Brian Hooker came to this marino right behind me, now no sign of him here today. locals that I've been talking to saying the waters here actually aren't that deep, barely five feet in some places, and a strong enough swimmer could actually make it to safety. Tom? Okay, George, thank you. Now to the stunning moment in a New York courtroom, accused Gilgo Beach serial killer, changing his plea to guilty and confessing to killing eight women over a span of decades. Emily Aketa has the report. Wearing a black suit and white button up, the accused Gilgo Beach serial killer making a stunning admission before a packed courtroom. Are you pleading guilty? voluntarily and have your own free will?

Yes. Sixty-year-old Rex Heuerman pled guilty to the murders of seven women and admitted to an uncharged eighth killing of Karen Vergata, all strangled and dumped in remote parts of Long Island from 1993 to 2010. Long-awaited answers for victims' families. Through every year, every setback, every unanswered question, I carried you with me, and I kept that. promise and today it has been done. Investigators cracked the case through cell phone data and

DNA from a trashed pizza crust, arrested Heurman in 2023. At his Massapeco Park home, investigators found nearly 280 guns, magazines covering the Gilgo Beach murders, and a disturbing document to plan out his kills. His attorney called today's guilty plea a relief for Heuerman. He certainly wanted to save the families of the victims, the ordeal of going to trial, and, coupled with saving his family that ordeal. His now ex-wife and daughter who were at court today are the targets of a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging they must have known what was happening. Their attorney says they had no knowledge or connection to the crimes.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. Their loss is immeasurable. Rex Eurman is set to spend the rest of his life behind bars and has agreed to cooperate with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit. Tom. All right, Emily, thank you. We are back in a moment with the school board member under fire because of this, putting his arm around a student and making inappropriate comments. You'll hear what he said.

Could it cost him his job? Plus, mid-air scare a plane's door bursting open during a flight. We'll hear from passengers on board what they told are Sam Brock. And a high-end boat exploding on camera, sending people scrambling to get off. The scene out of Thailand coming up. We're back now with a terrifying moment on a flight to Boston. The cabin door suddenly flying open, leaving passengers stunned as they stared out at the open sky. Sam Brock spoke to two women who were on board and has this story.

Eight passengers on board a Cape Air Flight to Boston suddenly staring at open sky after the main cabin door partially gave way mid-flight. Probably 10 minutes in. We were like a pop. It was half the window. The way the plane is running. There's two halves. Like there's the bottom half at top. and the top flipped open.

The bottom half was still there. Sheila Fee and Lisbitt Fuller say they noticed an issue with the door before takeoff. It was like not like snapping into place. And then again and then we were like, I think the chain might be in the way. Then when the door flipped open, they say they heard the roar of the wind. Fuller capturing the view outside the window. It was a little shocking for a minute. But then you realize, wait a minute, I'm not sucked out of the plane.

So we're good. The women credit the pilot with keeping passengers calm. Cape Air said in a statement the Cessna plane has been taken out of service, and the FAA says it's investigating. As for the sisters, they went right back up in the air, and this time the door stayed shut. You guys went back and got on another Cape Air flight, like how much longer after this?

Like an hour and a half. I'd wait for the plane to get there. And she was the same pilot. Yes, which was good. It was like we felt good about it. Sam Brock joins us tonight on set. here. Sam, you know, it's kind of interesting. It's kind of nice to see people not freak out, because, I mean, you were saying maybe you would freak out. I'd probably be concerned

if I was on there with my kids. I noticed there were no oxygen masks. Is it the size of the plane, or is it weren't flying high enough? So if a cabin is not pressurized, Tom, there's no oxygen masks, there's no need for it. If it is pressurized, it's got to get up there somewhere around 13, 14,000 feet. In this case, it only looked like there were a few thousand feet above the ground. So no need for supplemental oxygen, to your original point, if you and I were in that plane. And there was no door on the side. I think I'd be a little bit more worried and perturbed than those two sisters. No, I hear. I would be there to hold you, though.

If that happened. With that kind of guy. Sam, good to see you, my friend. Still to come on top story, a train clipping a school bus. This video is wild because it was packed with kids, the terrifying moments for students on board. And you'll see the video inside the bus, which is even scarier. The charges the driver is now facing. We are back now with the emergency meeting tonight in Tennessee after a school board member put his arm around a student

and made comments that sparked fierce backlash. And it's not the first time he's faced controversy. Kathy Park has more on the fallout. Tonight, backlash in Northeast Tennessee following the actions of a Washington County school board member. Keith Irvin is caught on live stream leaning into a student, wrapping his arms around her, making this comment. God, you're hot. Do you know that? Where do you go to school at?

Superintendent Jerry Boyd appears to smile. The meeting continues with no one addressing the remarks. I really expected accountability from you. At an emergency board meeting tonight, outrage. This is your community that you're supposed to be serving. Look at the distraction. You put us on the map nationally. Embarrassed us.

Nobody said nothing. Y'all just sat here. Cowards. What kind of leadership are you providing? Irvin saying his words were taken out of context. When I mentioned she was hot, I meant she was on a roll. It was nothing to do with her appearance.

When you take a couple of seconds out of the two-hour meetings, it can change how everything sounds. And I apologize to her and her family. They're a liar. But his statement interrupted by angry shouts from the crowd. The video speaks for itself. You're good. This isn't Irvin's first controversy as a board member.

According to meeting notes obtained by NBC affiliate WCYB, in 2009, Irvin was accused of making a lewd juvenile gesture of a sexual nature in a classroom, reacting to his student's remarks. Those same records show he apologized and was censured by the board. I'd like to make a motion and we censor peace. Tonight, the board voting to censure him again. Meanwhile, thousands have signed an online petition demanding Irvin and the superintendent's down. Neither responded to NBC News's requests for comment. Because they are elected officials,

they cannot be fired by the board. Election officials say voters can have their say this August. All right, Kathy Park joins us. Kathy, this is a wild one. Any word from the student who was seen in that video or her parents? Yeah, so Tom, obviously a lot of attention has been placed on this student. And because of the sensitive nature of this story and due to her age, we blurred her image and didn't share her name. We did reach out to the family. We heard back and they're not prepared to release any sort of statement right now. Okay. All right, Kathy. Thank you for that. Time now for Top Stories News for you to check up what else is happening around this great country. We start with an update on a story we've been following here on Top Story. The company behind John Deere agreeing to pay

$99 million to settle a class action lawsuit. It accused the farm equipment giant of creating a monopoly with its repair services forcing farmers to use its own repair business. And instead of cheaper alternatives, the company is still denying any wrong to him. A man in Chicago suburb says more than 150 packages have been delivered to his house, and he hasn't ordered a single one of them. It's apparently all because of a glitch on TikTok shop. It's unclear how it got his address in the first place. He says he doesn't use the app.

A TikTok spokesperson says they've removed his home address, but wouldn't comment more about the mix-up. And a bench-clearing brawl breaking out in the middle of a baseball game, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jorge Soler, charging the mound after Atlanta Braves pitcher Reinaldo Lopez threw a wild pitch. The players square up and throw punches as the team runs out on the field.

Both players were rejected and have been suspended by the MLB. Okay, now to the multi-day flood threat for parts of Southern Florida as intense rounds of pop-up thunderstorms move in. This new video north of Miami, a violent EF-Zero tornado ripping through this backyard,

sending a place at flying. And heavy downpours in Riviera Beach completely flooding out streets. there. Let's get right to NBC meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill, that tornado video is wild. Time out the storms for us. Yeah, Florida has not been the place to be for the last two weeks. Brutal weather, strong winds. It feels like there's a tropical storm off the coast. We're still tracking some very heavy rain. West Palm Beach has been a nightmare. A lot of heavy rainfall there, some urban flooding. Now that we've watched those thunderstorms moving through

the Miami area, still pouring, though, from Fort Lauderdale southwards, now Hollywood Beach. And this is going to try to move down towards Miami Beach here shortly. And look at these wind gusts. You haven't been able to drive on Daytona Beach for days because the strong east winds are just piling the water up on the shore. We have a 48 mile per hour wind gust in West Palm Beach. I mean, that's enough to send some lawn furniture flying out there, Tom. So, yeah, Miami all the way northwards, one more rough evening than it gets better. Bill, we're also keeping a close watch on Hawaii where they're bracing for yet another powerful storm system just weeks after parts of the state faced devastating destructive rains. Yeah, one of the worst floods only two weeks ago.

And it was all because of something called a Kona Lo. It's nothing new. This is very common to areas of Hawaii. This is when a stalled out storm sits just to the west of the islands, and it brings intense areas of rain. Some locations picked up feet of rain about two weeks ago. The soil is still wet, hasn't really dried out. You know, the rivers have come down, but here we go again.

Now we're watching almost a similar setup with an atmospheric river, another Kona Lo, and you can see it. This is the storm. Here's the Hawaiian Islands, and it's just going to suck this moisture up and over the high train, the volcanoes, the mountains, and it's just going to ring that moisture out over the next two days. We're under flood watches throughout the region. You can already see the heavy rain about to move on to Honolulu there. It looks like the big island's okay for now, but all of this will be with us for the next two days. Do expect, unfortunately, more significant flooding and possible

damage in the Hawaiian Islands. All right, Bill, we thank you for that. We'll keep an eye on it. We want to head back to Florida in the heart pounding video captured by a student on a school bus. Kids heard screaming as a train clips the back of the bus, the driver, now facing felony charges for driving onto the tracks. Here's NBC's Jesse Kirsch. These are the frantic moments a school bus filled with children narrowly avoids a direct hit from a passing train in central Florida. Watch again. You can hear what appears to be a child sobbing as the train flies by. And from this vantage point moments earlier, you can see the bus crawling forward, trying to. to get out of the way. The bus driver made poor decisions that could have resulted in the death

of 29 children and one adult. With 29 children and one man on board her school bus last week, investigators say driver Yvonne Hampton went over the train tracks after crossing arms started going down with warning bells ringing. The bus is on board audio and video system, according to investigators catching Hampton spontaneously uttering not going to stop for no train. Then a child yells, there is a train coming. The train crashes into the bus, remarkably only appearing to graze the back end. So I thought we were completely going to just get demolished. It had to be six inches away from us.

The Sumter County Sheriff's offices, no serious injuries were reported. Hampton now faces more than 30 charges, including 29 counts of child neglect. Late yesterday, the 67-year-old bonded out of jail hiding her face, leaving many questions. unanswered. Jesse Kirste joins us tonight from Miami. So, Jesse, there's video from the bus itself. Do we know when that could be released? It could be a matter of days still before we see that video, Tom.

But what we know from investigators is that video and audio from the bus itself is what helped authorities realize that the information being shared with them by the bus driver. According to investigators, was not accurate based on what they saw on that video from that audio from onboard the bus itself. We're told we could be seeing those images within a few days even, Tom. All right, Jesse Kirsch, we thank you. When we come back, the ketamine queen sentenced in connection to Matthew Perry's overdose death. How much time she's facing and the emotional words from Perry's family outside the courthouse?

Plus, the L.A. Olympics are still two years away, but tickets are already on sale and some fans are not happy. We'll tell you why, and you won't believe how much some of these tickets are costing. That's next. We're back now with the new major sentencing in a Los Angeles courtroom tied to the overdose death of friend star Matthew Perry. Jasveen Sanga, also known as the ketamine queen. You see her here. She was sentenced to 15 years behind bars in an emotional hearing. She pleaded guilty last fall to illegally selling the drugs that killed the beloved actor. This is the third defendant to be sentenced in that case with two more people, including Perry's former personal assistant, scheduled to be sentenced later this month. I want to bring in NBC's Camilla Bernal right now

Camilla, you were inside the courtroom. Take our viewers in there and what happened behind those closed doors. Yeah, Tom, I think the most emotional and the most impactful has been the victim statements because the family spoke today talking about the pain and the sadness of losing one of their own. And our colleague and his stepfather, Keith Morrison, who is a very skilled storyteller, told the story about a man who was brilliant and funny and also who dealt with a lot of lot of ghosts. And the entire time that Keith Morrison was talking, Jasmine Senga was crying and wiping her face. And she did address the court as well, saying that she took responsibility,

that she felt shame, that she felt remorse. But she never addressed the family directly, did not mention Perry directly. And it's unclear if that had any impact on what the judge decided. But obviously here, her defense team was asking for the time served, saying that she had, in fact, been remorseful, that she had a family support and would not do this over again. But the government here was asking for those 15 years saying she actually had not shown remorse and instead had deleted these text messages after she found out about Perry's death and still kept dealing drugs after knowing that these drugs had killed someone. And so the judge essentially citing with the government and saying that she believed that

Senga was one of the most responsible in. this case when you're talking about all the other defendants that were charged in this case. So a difficult decision for the judge, but also something that brought, I think, a lot of closure and essentially a sense of relief for the family by the judge, citing with the prosecution here, Tom. Still so hard for that family, and I know you spoke with our Keith Morrison. After the hearing, what did he say? Yeah, he was brief, but I can tell you that I think they were pleased with what the judge said today. a listen to part of what he told us.

This is a very fair judge, and she considered the case very carefully and, you know, delivered a highly reasoned sentence. So, you know, I feel we miss Matthew dreadfully, of course, and I feel bad for the family of the perpetrator here as well. You know, nobody won today. It's a very heartbreaking that Keith also said that he believed Matthew Perry had one more act in him. even to Tom.

Yeah. The defendant's attorney, Mark Garagos, had some strong words after the hearing. Let's take a listen. This is what the criminal justice system or the theory of crime and punishment is that the dealer should get five times as much as the person who injects the drug, who is there to take care of somebody, then maybe. I've been practicing too long. So do you know if the defense team plans to file an appeal?

So Tom, because she entered a plea deal, she waived her right to an appeal. There are some technicalities. I'm not an attorney, but there is a possibility, but it is very unlikely because of the plea deal. And in terms of what Garago said, the defense here saying, yeah, she is not getting, or she's getting too much time in comparison to the other defendants. But the assistant has not been charged yet, so we still don't know how. long he's going to get. And one of the things that the government said was that she had been doing this for five years. She'd been dealing these drugs and doing this over and over again in comparison

to the other defendants in this case. And they believe she had a direct impact as to Matthew Perry's death. Okay, Camilla Bernal, Camilla, we thank you so much for that. Next tonight, we are more than two years out from the 28 Summer Olympic Games in L.A. But the first ticket drops for the highly anticipated games are already underway, and it's off to a bit of a rocky star. The Olympic Committee launching a pre-sale for residents in this area in the area this week, advertising seats starting at just $28. The 2028 games get it. But when the tickets went on sale, the fun and excitement quickly turned into frustration.

Holy crap. Ticket prices were off the charts. By the time I was done, I looked at the screen, and it was like almost two grand, and I was like, this is ridiculous. Today's attempt to buy L.A. Olympic tickets was a complete and total bust. Looks like we won't be going to the Olympics. Absolutely not. All right, let's bring in NBC's Alley Canal with more.

So, Allie, the prices for these tickets are ranging, right? And we'll put this up on the screen for our viewers from $28 is advertised to more than $5,500. That's so crazy. And this is just for the local pre-sale so far. Explain how all this works. Yeah, this really comes down to expectations versus reality, right? A lot of these locals thought, okay, Olympics in my backyard, this is my way to get in $28. But those $28 tickets, they appear to have been very limited and they went very quickly,

and that's why you saw the spike in prices. Now, we've reached out to LA 28 for more detail on how many of those tickets were released, whether or not we could see more affordable tickets as these drops continue. They did not get back to us for comment on that. But, you know, when you log in and you're expecting to see $28 and you're seeing upwards of $5,500 for the opening ceremony, it's very frustrating. And that's what we're hearing from a lot of those locals. And, Allie, these tickets are being sold by the L.A. Olympic Committee's site, and they're slapping on a 24% surcharge. Is that normal? So this is a little bit different from what fans are used to. So the Olympics,

they're using a tiered lottery-style system. So you register, you get selected, and then you're given a specific time slot to log in and then buy whatever tickets are still available at that moment. And all of this is happening on the official L-28 platform. So it's a very important. So it's a lot of It's not on those resale ticketing sites like Ticketmaster, so that's an important distinction. Now, on top of that base price, there have been some cases buyers have been reporting fees of around 20 to 24 percent. Now, organizers say those fees cover things like the ticketing platform, payment processing, delivery. But just to put those fees into a bit of context, we just had that DOJ settlement with Live Nation. That capped fees for Ticketmaster at 15 percent for some Live Nation-owned amphitheaters, and that came down from 30 percent.

totally unprecedented that fans will see fees in that range. But obviously when you stack that on top of the higher ticket prices, financial jacuzzi. You can't win. So which events, I mean, I'm sure it's gymnastics and events like that, swimming that are going for a lot of money? What about some of the new events like flag football, squash? How are they doing? Well, that could be the place where you could get a bargain, right? Some buyers have set for squash. You can get in for less than $200 a ticket. That's pretty good. I'm sure if people don't know what they're missing. Squash is a lot of fun to watch. I'm sure that would be riveting to watch. live and then obviously, as you said, swimming, gymnastics, tennis, those are the biggies and the

tennis too. Tennis two. And the opening ceremony, I mean, like you said, they're going up to over $5,000 a ticket. People want to be in there from the very beginning. L.A. very spread out to you have to figure out exactly where you're going to stay and watch. And if you want to deal with that traffic as well, because that'll be another little surcharge you didn't think about. But thanks so much, Ali, great to see you. We look forward to the games. Either way. Okay, now at Top Stories, Global Watch, a check of what else is happening around the world. We start in Brazil. A massive fire ripped through a stadium at Rio's Olympic Park. Look at this. The flames engulfing the roof of the building. It was built for the 2016 Rio Olympics, but it's now a museum featuring artifacts from the games. Like the Olympic torch and medals, fire officials say nobody was hurt and that they're still assessing the damage. A dramatic video out of Thailand of an explosion on a boat. Watch this. The blast sending smoke and debris flying into the air, people scrambling to get off the boat, as you can imagine, before it goes up in flames. Local media reports. one person was killed and at least five others hurt.

Investigators are now working to figure out what happened. And in Thailand, an ostrich running down a busy highway. This is right. It made the news. Here you can see it sprinting as cars and trucks drive by. Cruise were finally able to catch up and capture the big bird that can run so fast. Its owners told media outlets the ostrich escaped from its enclosure at their animal-themed cafe. Oh, no, those are so much fun. But has now been returned safe and sound. Good to know. All right. When we come back, Cruise's.

cancer fee, the plane full of people helping this adorable two-year-old celebrate a major milestone. We're going to explain. Finally tonight, the in-flight surprise for one very special two-year-old, the sweet moment captured on board celebrating Cruz and his cancer-free diagnosis. It wasn't your typical pre-flight announcement, a Southwest flight crew celebrating a very special two-year-old named Cruz. The journey to this moment starting well before this flight. Last year, Cruz was diagnosed with stage four cancer.

His family traveling from San Diego to New York City for months of treatment. Finally headed home, the flight crew urging everyone on board to mark the moment. Passenger after passenger passing notes on napkins filled with words of congratulations. and hope. You did it, Cruz. Congrats. You are so strong. Way to fight. The emotions kind of all hit at that moment. It was a long journey. Mom, Alisa and Dad Miguel say it was a gesture of kindness. They'll never forget. He felt recognized. He was excited. He even said, he's like, I'm strong. They're talking about me. I'm strong. That strength carrying Cruz through one of life's toughest battles now, ready for takeoff into a brighter future.

It is now officially cancer-free. Cruise keep fighting hard. All right. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yammis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.