Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Episode Date: August 13, 2026

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

Breaking news tonight, the flash flood emergency in the Midwest families trapped in rising waters. Catastrophic floods overwhelming Indiana communities. This man clinging onto a utility pole. Rescue boats going house to house, saving people and pets. Violent winds sending this gas station roof toppling over. Plus a house exploding in the height of the storms. Are Maggie Vespa in the disaster zone? This just in, a military helicopter crashing north of Austin, Texas, killing those on board, what we're learning. Also breaking tonight, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, leaving the Trump administration why she's now stepping down. ICE's new shock gloves, the powerful new tool in officers' hands, electrical gloves that can deliver intense zaps, will show you how they work and why they're now being deployed. A teen charged with killing his mother and brother are the questions he asked to chat GPT connected to the murders, what the district attorney is saying.

A driver slamming into a kebab shop, the front of the building that crashing down, what happened next? Plus, the billboard going viral for promoting a different type of chatbot. The AI in this case stands for actual individual. Yeah, a real person. We'll talk to the man personally responding to thousands of people. And the statement from soccer legend Lionel Messi after the passing of his father, is he ready to hang up his cleats for good. Top story.

Starts right now. Good evening. Right now, catastrophic floods are slamming parts of the Midwest. Entire communities submerged with millions still under flash flood warnings at this hour. Drome footage shows the dire situation in Indiana. Tarrantial rain washing out towns, some getting as much as a foot of rain in just 36 hours. Residents in Cambridge City, Indiana, just east of Indianapolis, telling us it's the worst flooding they've seen in their lifetime. triggering urgent water rescues like these.

Video capturing one man gripping a utility pole as rushing water surround him. Another man standing on top of his car almost entirely underwater. Rescue teams able to get both those people to safety. The massive system, the second major storm in just 24 hours, Ohio pounded with heavy rains and winds. This was the moment a powerful gust knocked over this gas station roof. And tonight, millions still under flood watches as the rain bears down in the Midwest. Our Bill Caron is just standing by to track it all out for us, but we want to begin tonight with Maggie Vespa on the ground in Cambridge City right now, where we saw some of those rescues. Maggie, we can see just how high that water is behind you. It's still rising at this hour?

Yeah, Tom, that's right it is. And I mean, you can see right now how high it is, for instance, on that house behind me. And then we'll pan over here. On Nightly, we showed you a stop sign that was barely poking out of the water. That's completely submerged now. You can just see that green street sign that's poking out above it. you point out, these waters still rising and just frankly wreaking havoc across the state. Tonight, catastrophic flooding in Indiana. The National Weather Service declaring multiple flash flood emergencies outside Indianapolis, as much as 12 inches of rain falling in 36 hours. In Cambridge City, first responders carefully navigating floating debris to make high water rescues. Morning race here, grew up here. We're just experiencing the worst flooding I've ever seen.

This man holding onto a utility pole standing on a boat that's almost completely submerged. Rescurers coming to his aid. Watch as he crawls onto their boat. Rich Nye from our affiliate, WTHR, is north of there in Muncie. We have had non-stop heavy rain, and it's coming down in buckets. The Muncie Fire Department bringing people out of their houses with their pets, family by family. Fire officials making this plea to residents on live TV. Please shelter in place. If they need evacuated, call 911.

We'll get to them as soon as we can. Oh, my God, there are good. The widespread flooding comes after two monster systems ravaged the Midwest in 24 hours. Our team taking refuge in our car as today's storms roared through. There's lightning there. We just saw another one. It's crazy how fast this storm came in. In Portage, Indiana, neighbors telling me this home exploded during Tuesday storm.

And they're so bad. Ryan Parker running. to see if he could help. Shucked my whole house. And I thought a jet had crashed. He thought the jet had crashed. That's what it sounded like. Authorities confirm one person was killed,

family identifying her as Leona Rice, a wife and mother in her late 80s. Maggie Vespah joins us tonight. Maggie sort of get the chaotic nature of what's happening there for all these residents right now. Even for areas that are used to a lot of rain and flooding, this was a historic event that just happened, right? Yeah, Tom, exactly. And in fact, we have some new drone video that we're bringing you first here on Top Story that shows just how widespread this is, like how insane this is here in the small town of Cambridge City. You're right. They've had flooding before. But get this, that foot of rain that parts of state saw in the last 36 hours. We talked about that in the piece. That's as much as five times what parts of the state, those same parts, see for the entire month of August. So this is extreme. This is historic. And clearly, Tom,

it's having an impact across the state. It is. All right, Maggie Vesp, and our team will have been in the storm zone all week. For more on where their storm is headed next, I want to bring in NBC's Bill Caron. So, Bill, this flood threat isn't over yet, and it's been a rough week for everyone in the Midwest. Devastating 24 hours in Indiana. First, they had the duration with a high wind event yesterday, and then all the flooding last night and this morning. I mean, these pictures are just insane. When you have longtime residents saying, not only is this the worst I've ever seen,

it's worse that they could ever even imagine. and so many of these small downtowns just to the east side of Indianapolis heading towards Ohio. So here's all the areas that are still under a flash flood warning, including Indianapolis. We have one flash flood emergency still under, for about 15 minutes or so. That's where the catastrophic flooding is taking place, not far from where Maggie is located. The rain has ended, and the highest totals were somewhere between 10 to 12 inches. Now, all that water has to collect in the rivers. Numerous rivers are going into major flood stage, so the water is going to go to,

down from the flash flooding, but if you live along those rivers, we could see new homes going underwater. And then later on tonight, we're going to watch these storms moving through areas of Kentucky, West Virginia, a portion of Virginia, and even our friends down around Knoxville and Tennessee have to watch out, too, for more heavy rain, Tom. Yeah, and then while we have you here, Bill, I know we're going to track in something else, still part of the United States, but on the other end of the earth, a hurricane system in Hawaii, at least a tropical threat for right now? Yeah, that wouldn't be surprising tomorrow if portions of the Hawaiian Islands, including the big island, tropical storm watches. So here's our path from the hurricane center. And they are thinking that

Saturday morning, it'll be somewhere near or going over the big island. It's 70 mile per hour winds. Now, to get to a hurricane, we only have to go one tick higher than that. So this could be a category one. And if by chance it was a category one hitting the White Islands, that hasn't happened in over 30 years for a direct impact. So this is a story to watch. We'll get the waves. We're going to matter what, we're going to get some wind. But the rainfall will likely be the legacy of the storm. We're going to see possibility about the 20 inches of rain. If you're familiar with Hawaiian islands, Tom, you get the tall peaks from the volcanoes. They just ring the moisture out, especially in areas like Maui and on the big island.

This will be a story to watch as we head towards it. Yeah, there's been a lot of flash floods already this year there in Hawaii, so they've got to be careful. The surfers, though, on the other hand, will be happy. All right, Bill, thank you. Now, to break your news out of Texas, a military helicopter crashing just north of Boston, killing two soldiers on board. Morgan Chesky is following this one for us. Morgan officials gave an update near the scene.

What more can you tell? us. Yeah, Tom, authorities say that it appears that this helicopter went down in a violent crash, and it sparked a fast-moving fire that forced some people living nearby to evacuate. This video from the sheriff's office captures some of that charred scene. Investigators say the downed Apache helicopter came from neighboring Fort Hood. Officials say there were two crew members, two soldiers on board. Both of those individuals were pronounced dead at the scene. The aircraft did crash into a field, as you can see here. And authorities say no one else on the ground was injured when that chopper went down. Military officials are still investigating the cause of this crash. But tonight, it remains very unclear.

Tom. And again, that crash scene is absolutely horrific. Morgan Teske on this one for us, we went ahead to Washington now in the major announcement at the White House. Press Secretary, Caroline Levitt, says she will step down at the end of the month to spend more time with her family. The decision comes just about a month after Leavitt returned from maternity leave. Let's get right to Garrett Hake. And Garrett, we're hearing from President Trump tonight about this decision. That's right, Tom. The president praised Leavitt today as one of his most trusted aides and said that she'd be leaving at the end of the month to spend more time with that young family.

Leavitt gave birth to her second child in early May. She's 28. She's the youngest White House Press Secretary in history and the first to give birth while on the job. Now, Leavitt called this decision bittersweet with the president. president tonight saying she'll stay a top outside advisor. And Garrett, I'm going to put you a little bit on the spot here. You know, Caroline Levitt was so close to President Trump. And it's a position, especially in the Trump administration, where the entire world knows your name and they watch you. Do we know who's on deck yet? Is it still too early? Are there a lot of spokespeople sort of in waiting

that could take her position? Because again, it's a position that there's a lot of pressure and the president really has to like you. Yeah, it's kind of the opposite, Tom. There is no one really waiting in the wings here. When Leavitt was out on maternity leave, they didn't name one successor for her. They didn't really use her deputy press secretaries to do a lot of that job. Instead, they had kind of a rotating cast of cabinet officials come in and brief the press. The public-facing part of the job was done by the vice president or the secretary of state. The Treasury Secretary held those briefings. But the behind-the-scenes work, which is so important to the products that we all report every day, essentially was being done by deputies and by AIDS, not really by one.

focused person. Who would have that role, which the president will demand to be, you know, outspoken defender of him, someone who he trusts and someone who's very good on camera. I think it's going to become one of the biggest reporting targets and questions here in Washington. Yeah, it'll be a big story once it comes out. Who's next? Gary Haak, always great to have me. Thank you. In Colombia, rescue teams there are working into the night, painstakingly searching through the rubble for survivors of that powerful earthquake. First responders there say the window to find anyone still alive is rapidly closing. Our George release is on the ground there again tonight.

Tonight, the search for survivors becoming more desperate. The death toll climbing above 240 after that 7.4 magnitude earthquake that rocked Western Colombia. We haven't slept, this volunteer searcher tells us. None of us have. The clock is now ticking. This is the last 24 hours in that critical window to find survivors, workers, doubling down efforts.

Here in Cali, 23-year-old Christian Menensis is clinging on to hope that his friends will be found, even as the odds of rescuing become more slim. None of us have lost faith, he says. We're all here for them. At this clinic, Dr. Claudia Gomez says her team has cared for more than 100 injured. It's not one person. We're all a family, she tells us. Our clinic responded with everything we have.

John Solarte breaking his knee when he hit the still shaking floor. Tonight, grateful to be alive. Across the country, we're seeing more of that incredible humanity on display. This woman pulled the safety from beneath thick concrete. New images of that incredible moment a six-month-old baby was found alive. You still can't get over those images of that baby. George Solis joins us now from Kali, Kalama. as you can tell here, there's some communications issues because of the earthquake.

George, the next few hours are going to be critical with time running out to try to get to these people. There are always miracles. But talk to us about sort of the tempo right now. Yeah, Tom, it has been all hands on deck. Despite the aftershocks, despite the grueling heat, despite the lack of sleep, nothing deters this group. Every so often, there is such a powerful moment that occurs here where people just raise their fists into the air, indicating that moment of silence. You could hear a pin drop because they believe they might hear signs of life in the rubble here. Now, at last word, they do believe there is someone alive in this rubble right now, so they are moving very, very quickly in the hopes that they'll be able to pull somebody out alive tonight.

Everyone here from the first responders to the volunteers to the family and friends that are on standby here, essentially waiting for word, not losing hope tonight, Tom. Yeah, we hope they still keep finding survivors. George, thank you for that. out of the controversial new tool for ICE officers back here at home, the Department of Homeland Security purchasing electric shock gloves, which deliver intense zaps to those who don't comply with officers' orders. ICE says it will help avoid deadly confrontations, but immigration advocates are raising concerns. Our Julia Ainsley has more.

Tonight, facing criticism over use of force and some arrest, ICE says it has a new tool for officers dealing with non-compliance suspects, spending $20 million to price. purchased thousands of devices known as the glove, which shock people who do not comply with officers. These demonstration videos released by the manufacturer. A senior DHS official tells NBC News officers will be able to turn on the gloves, also known as zap gloves, at the touch of a button. Emitting a shock, they say, won't leave a mark or hurt the person after they are released.

Saying it allows officers to avoid using first. using firearms and is better than pepper spray, which can impact bystanders. In a statement to NBC News, DHS says every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to ensure any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards. Zapp gloves are currently used by corrections officers and several county jails. And it comes as President Trump praises ICE for a surge of deportations. We have the strongest border in the history of our country. We will always stand with ICE and border patrol and law enforcement. But tonight, immigrant rights advocates are worried. This is an agency that

uses force first and then lies about it and avoids accountability later. Julia Angelie joins us now. So, Julia, you showed us there in the story how these gloves work. Can the officers use the gloves and still handle their weapons? So yes, what I've been told by senior DHS officials, that they will be able to wear these gloves in the field doing everything they would normally do, driving vehicles, reaching for their weapons, making arrests, but they'll be able to hit a blue button on their gloves to make them electric and deliver those shocks. But Tom, this is really an experiment because previously these gloves have been used in county jails often to break up fights, prevent riots. They're being put on in a specific instance. So how this will work out in the field with federal agents is really

up in the air. And then what do we know about the body cams? I know the deadline. was coming up for that. Yeah, that's right. Both of these policies come in the aftermath of two fatal shootings in July. Those cameras as of today are at all 25 ice field offices around the country. And by the end of the month, the senior DHS official tells me every officer should be trained and wearing them. But Tom, that doesn't necessarily mean that you or I or anyone in the public is going to get

the footage after a fatal shooting. Because if it's still under investigation, as it would be after a fatal shooting, they won't release the information until after that investigation is complete. Okay, Julia Anzley with a lot of new reporting. Julia, we thank you for that. We're back in a moment with the teenager charged with killing his mom and his brother. When investigators say he searched on chat GPT before their deaths, plus an alleged arsonist caught on camera lighting up a home while people were inside sleeping. The search for that suspect tonight.

And the blockbuster sale, the Lakers changing hands again, will tell you who's buying and why it's sending shockwaves through the sports world. Stay with us. We're back down with an alleged double murder in Massachusetts, a teen charged with killing his mother and brother. And officials say he used chat sheet BT to create fantasy stories related to the killings of his family. NBC's Aaron McLaughlin, Asmore. Tonight in Massachusetts, a teen charged with the murder of his mother and younger brother. It is an incredibly dark day.

Investigators allege prior to the double homicide, the suspect, 17-year-old Arjunud Arvind, had engaged in concerning online behavior. Including using the Internet and ChatGBTGB to make searches for theoretical ideas or fantasy stories regarding the killing of his family. He was researching how to kill his family on the Internet. He was engaged in the use of ChatGBT, GBT, in creating fantasy stories, and they seem to appear to relate to threats. to his family, not his family not surviving. Officials say police discovered the bodies of 45-year-old Suda Venkatasin and 14-year-old Sidarth Aravind late yesterday and signed their act in home.

After Arjun's father called 911 for a wellness check, unable to reach his family. Suda's body was found in the finished basement, Siddharth on the first floor. Both victims were suffering from obvious trauma, but the exact cause is still pending. We are waiting on a ruling. from the office of the chief medical examiner. Authorities allege Arjun fled the scene driving his mother's Honda accord and was arrested this morning in a parking lot, marking the end of a 12-hour overnight manhunt.

Residents of the quiet suburb 20 miles northwest of Boston stunned. It's concerning this that's happened. Well, I've been here for like 15 years. I don't remember this ever happening. We are at the beginning of a very dark and long process. Yeah, dark is right. It's a very dark and sick story here. This is not the first time we've seen ChatGPT used in a case like this,

and there's a real concern about teens using this and then committing violence. Yeah, that's right, Tom. As the tech becomes more popular, generative AI involved in some of these cases, is becoming, sadly, more common. For example, there's a case last year. Open AI is being sued by the family of a victim of a mass shooting that took place at Florida State University. The family alleging that Chad GPT enabled. that attack. Chat GPT pushing back on that saying, look at the answers to these questions

are widely available on the internet. Now, in terms of this case, it is unclear what role, if any, chat GPT played in the actual motive of the attack. We reached out to Open AI, the parent company of ChatGPT for comments. Maybe yet to get back to us. Okay. Aaron McLaughlin for us, Erin, thank you. We're also following another story of search for an alleged arsonist in Georgia, the mass suspect caught on camera, tossing a flaming object into a home while people. were sleeping inside. Jesse Kirsch has the video. Tonight, the search for an alleged arsonist as new video appears to capture a person dragging a flaming object, briefly dropping it, then tossing it into the garage of a Georgia home.

Moments later, the ring camera video obtained by our Atlanta affiliate WXIA, shows the individual their face seemingly covered, swings something else toward the garage before leaving. Soon after, the Lawrenceville home looked like this. Tonight, authorities say that fire was arson, and they want the public's help finding whoever is responsible. All I heard was orange flames and pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. Christopher Hammond and his five roommates were inside their home early last Wednesday, about 30 miles outside Atlanta. Some were sleeping, but Hammond says he happened to be up later than usual. I started yelling a guy for the people upstairs.

I started yelling their names. Authorities say firefighters arrived just before 5.30 a.m. The home partially collapsing with no injuries reported. Now I start running and I see the fire coming out from the garage. Another roommate, Dakota Perry, shocked by the ring video. We were just like, that's crazy. It wasn't just a random fire. Okay, Jesse Kerr joins us now. Jesse, they're still looking for the suspect in this case? That's right, Tom. We don't know if it's one suspect, multiple suspects. All we've heard from authorities is that,

that they believe this was arson and that they are pointing to a reward from an organization, up to $10,000 being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible here. And we have been checking with authorities at last word. There had been no arrests announced, Tom. Okay, Jesse Kirsch for us. Coming up tonight here on Top Story, the man who shot President Reagan to impress Jody Foster out with a new message for the actress, what he's saying decades after the shooting. And soccer legend, Leonel Messi's new post, is he hinting at retirement. But first, top story's top moment and the celebrity wedding surprise in California.

The bride and groom were just about to walk down the aisle at their scenic Mammoth Lake ceremony when they heard country star Shibuzi was floating down the river behind them. So they paused their big day for this moment. Take a look. The wedding planner tells us when they asked Shibuzi if they could take a photo. He said yes, but I'm not getting off the float. I don't blame him. It looks incredibly fun, and it was a great photo. Stay with us. More top story right after this.

We're back now with the major shakeup for one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world, the Los Angeles Lakers. They're being sold again, and this time for a record $12.5 billion. The buyers, former Disney CEO Bob Eiger and venture capitalist Joshua Kushner, who is the brother of Jared Kushner. NBC Steve Patterson has been following this one for us all day. He joins us from where else, Los Angeles. So, Steve, this is coming a year after. billionaire businessman Mark Walter bought the Lakers for about 10 billion. Why another still

happening so soon? Yeah, look, Tom, this really was a shock. A lot of fans and experts are pointing to the obvious, of course, because of this deal. Walter will, of course, quickly net about $2.5 billion in profit for himself. So a lot of folks are simply calling this a flip. I spoke to the lead NBA writer for NBC Sports. He says that it came out of nowhere, really. Nobody knew about this. Apparently, Iger and Kushner were pushing ahead on this new expansion team for the NBA in Las Vegas. But the call of one of the most celebrated legacy franchises in all the sports was just a little too strong for the buyers. And so too was the return a little too strong for the seller. Yeah, and then, you know, there was a lot of speculation about what Bob Iger would do after stepping down from Disney.

He's one of the ultimate dealmakers, really in Hollywood. Do we know why he decided to make this deal? I mean, who wouldn't want to own the Lakers? but it's sort of an interesting marriage between him and Kushner. Yeah, look, no other way to say it. Bob Eiger is a sports guy. I mean, he's long-made statements that have made it pretty clear for him that a bucket-less thing would be to own a major sports franchise.

Earlier in his career, I think he tried similar moves with the Sons, with the Raiders, with the Chargers, and just was not successful. And again, we knew he was exploring this expansion team, but when the opportunity to own the L.A. Lakers come on, came up, I mean, come on, he jumped. Tom? Yeah, who wouldn't? Okay. Steve Patterson, we're thank you for that one. Now, at Top Stories News Feed, we're going to stay in Los Angeles

where a grand jury has indicted Nick Reiner for the murders of his parents. He's accused of stabbing them, you'll remember, inside their California home late last year. Reiner is the son of legendary director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle. The indictment adds the allegation that he was lying and way before the attack. It also speeds up the process of moving the case towards a jury trial. Nick Reiner has pleaded not guilty. In the UK police releasing new video of a car slamming into a restaurant. Here you can see it crashing into the building, cars being part of it to collapse.

Wow, that's crazy. Investigators say the 21-year-old driver was using his phone before he lost control. He's facing more than two years in jail. Thankfully, nobody inside the store was hurt. Police say a passenger in the car was seriously injured, but is now doing okay. And soccer star, Leonel Messi, raising new questions about his future on the field in an Instagram post story honoring his late father, Messi says he doesn't know how much longer he will be able to keep playing.

The 39-year-old also opened up about how hard it was to lead Argentina to this year's World Cup final. Messi's dad, Jorge, died last weekend at the age of 68. He managed his son's business affairs and served as his agent. Now to an update on a story we brought you last night, the Chicago White Sox celebrating their hometown Pope with a special giveaway, Pope hats for the whole sold-out crowd. Take a look. The White Sox's Faithful, Turning Out in Mass. Celebrating the Holy Father from Chicago with Pope Hats for all 40,000 fans.

And how about that, the Pope Hat? Making an appearance in the White Sox dugout. The sellout crowd packing the pews of Rayfield. It is the Pope Hat Night. Everyone is having fun. Fair to say, fans, we're feeling the moment. Offering each other the sign of peace in the fifth inning. And jamming out to living on.

on a prayer. Pope Leo is a noted White Sox fan. I caught up with his holiness two weeks ago. Will Americans see you soon in America? They will see me there. By coincidence today, we were looking at the calendar for the next couple of years. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I certainly hope to be there soon. No word yet if he'll catch a ball game. But he's giving Sox fans a whole new reason to believe.

We're going to take a turn now to some new comments from the man who shot President Reagan in the 80s. John Hinkley Jr. said at the time that he did it to impress Jody Foster. Now more than four decades later, he's speaking out with a new message for the actress. Our Ann Thompson has the details. 45 years after he shot President Ronald Reagan in a twisted attempt to get actress Jody Foster's attention, John Hinkley Jr. is apparently still trying. She definitely could have been a target. The 71-year-old talking about Foster on the Mark Joseph podcast, the producer of the movie Reagan, saying he could have just as easily shot Foster, who was then 18 and a student at Yale University.

She had just starred in the movie Taxi Driver, which Hinkley obsessively watched. You talking to me? You didn't have a gun, I think, when you went to visit her campus, right? I may have, but as fate turns out, it was Reagan instead of her. Then 25, Hinkley wounded the president, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty, and paralyzed press secretary James Brady outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. Also, the site of this April's attempted assassination of President Trump. Prior to the shooting, Hinkley stocked Foster.

I wanted to have a, like this union with Jody Foster and lived the rest of my life with her and all these things, you know, that of course were delusional. Hinkley was found not guilty by reason of insanity, spending decades in a psychiatric hospital until released to live with his mother in 2016. All federal supervision was lifted in 2022.

I just wish Jody Foster well. Ann Thompson joins us now, Anne, such a fascinating story here. I think people are going to be watching this, and they may be surprised that he's out on podcast talking. Kind of get our viewers caught up because he's been released, obviously. Right. So unlike other people who've been convicted of assassination, he was found not reason or not guilty by reason of insanity. He spent 30 years in a psychiatric hospital. And then when they decided to lift all federal supervision, Judge Paul Friedman said, look, there are no signs of mental illness.

There's no history of violent behavior since the shooting, and he's shown no interest in guns since the mid-80s. So he said it was time to let John Hinkley get on with his life, and that's the reason behind it. But it is very strange. Do we know why he's speaking out? Yes, because he has a book. Oh, okay, that makes sense.

It was published in December of last year, and so that apparently is part of the motivation. Part of the promotional tour. The other thing is the podcaster, the producer of the movie Reagan as well. So there's interest in them. Yeah, and it's definitely driving some headlines. Okay, Anne, we thank you for being here. Appreciate that. In the WMBA, the high-profile coach of the Indiana fever is pushing back tonight. We told you about the calls to fire Stephanie White after she seemed to defend a hard foul on the court against one of her own

players. Now in a fiery remark, she's blasting the critics with her star player, Caitlin Clark, now waning as well. Here's Sam Brock. Any suggestions that I don't 100% always have my players back. I ride with them 10 toes down all the time, all the time. Indiana fever coach Stephanie White at a fever pitch responding to those calling for her to be fired over her reaction to this play. Here's Cunningham up ahead of the field, weighs it in, plus the foul. Fever guard Sophie Cunningham taking a hard foul from the Chicago Sky's Dijunay-Carrington Saturday that blow to the head and neck leading to Carrington's automatic.

ejection after which she posted the words white privilege on social media the later said the post wasn't about the assessment of the foul coach white's initial reaction to that play ripped by some as too sympathetic to her former player carrington she's gonna play her butt off man she's gonna compete nobody's gonna go walking in for a layup some indiana fever fans booing their own coach last night and white now clarifying her position on saturday's flagrant foul was it egregious absolutely when you have a chance to watch that over and over and over on replay. You can see that. The coach also clapping back at those fomenting controversy throughout the WNBA by exploiting tension over issues like transgender athletes and race. The hate, the fearmongering, the divisiveness, the stuff that's trying to hijack our league will not win. It won't win. Through it all, both Cunningham and teammate Caitlin Clark standing by their coach, White making it clear she's not going to let the naysairs divide her from her players.

I will always stand by them. Everybody else can go to Hill. Sam Brock joins us now. And Sam, there's somebody else that we should be talking about who's involved in all of this. The player who got fouled, who some people say was closed-lined, other people calling it a hard foul. Sophie Cunningham, what is she saying? She was interviewed after the game. And she talked about this is the second game where the booze came down. And she talked about the fact that like it's a united clubhouse. Clearly, she's very close with the coach. She has our back. But she said that Coach White also didn't have the opportunity to go frame by frame to see exactly how severe that foul was.

Tom, I think it is impossible to have this conversation, though, in a vacuum without also understanding what's going on in terms of the landscaping conversations around the Indiana fever, and specifically Sophie Cunningham. She made remarks recently to ESPN magazine about her positions on trans athletes, competing in women's and girls sports, and said that she's opposed to that. That generated a lot of conversation and some controversy. You have Caitlin Clark on the team, who has been, some say, the target is some very physical play, serious foul. is that being refereed properly. There's conversations around race, social issues, and it all seems to be coming together in this one melting pot that has become the Indiana fever,

with the latest extension of that being Coach White, being booed and called for her firing because of how she did or did not support a player following a foul. And you have all these eyeballs, all this pressure on the WNBA, which I think in a lot of ways is still learning how to deal with all of this attention. But yeah, there's a lot going on there. You put a very good perspective. Sam, we thank you for being here, so thank you for that.

Still ahead on top story, Travis Kelsey speaking out for the first time about his wedding to Taylor Swift, what he revealed about that star-studded night. Plus, the viral new chat bot that's actually just a guy on a computer. What? We'll hear from the man behind this billboard stunt that has thousands of people reaching out. That's next. We're back now with new insight into the wedding of the year from the groom himself. Travis Kelsey speaking out for the first time about tying the knot with Taylor Swift at Madison Square Garden in New York City this summer.

Here he is talking to reporters at the Kansas City Chiefs training camp today in Missouri. Let's take a listen. Wedding was the best night of my life. And I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and, you know, had fun with us. It's kind of cool to be able to, you know, live out my childhood dream of being in that venue. And, you know, the mecca of all sports venues, being able to get married in there. It almost looks like it's fake, right? Entertainment correspondent Chloe Malas joins us now.

Chloe, it's not fake. And this is the first comments we've heard from either Travis or Taylor. Taylor, I'm being told about this wedding. Yes, and fans are just salivating over this because also in the clip, he calls her his wife. So it's the first time that we've heard him use the W word, right? And everybody is waiting for Taylor Swift to talk about this night. You know, look, a lot of guests who attended the wedding have talked about what happened inside MSG. So we know that there were about a thousand guests there.

Robert Roberts has said it was nice to not have your phone. You had to drop your phones when you walked into MSG. And there wasn't a formal sit-down dinner. It was like light bites and games. And actually, you could win prizes. There are people who won purses. Somebody won a car. I mean, this was the fun wedding of the year.

There was dancing, and, you know, Stevie Nix performed. So that was really special. There are reports that Tim McGraw performed. But again, we don't know too much about that night. We don't even know if they took a honeymoon. The other big news is that there were pictures of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey this summer getting off breaking news, Tom, getting off of a private plane, one of their many. and a dog was with them.

So we know there's been the acquisition of some sort of a dog in the wake of their nuptials. Yeah, there could be a joint pet there. What is the deal with the photos? Like, have photos come out, or they've just been from some of the people that were invited? So all of the photos that have come out, I think that they are all AI,

which I know is like a big bummer to people so far. Nobody had their phones. So any pictures that do come out, they're going to come from Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey authentically. Do we know when or now? We know that Taylor is going to be releasing them most likely on her social media, on her own terms.

We know the dress she wore, we know the shoes she wore. She released that right after the wedding and a statement. But the bigger question is, yes, when are those photos going to come out? And, you know, Taylor Swift orchestrates everything in her life in the way that she wants to. It's all perfectly planned. So it'll probably drop on a Friday the 13th because 13th is her lucky number. And, you know, it's going to break the Internet, Tom, when we'll see those pictures. I'm sure it is.

Chloe Malas, always great to have you here. I wish I had gone. Now, right. Now to the Billboard in San Francisco going viral for promoting a different kind of AI chat bot. Take a look. It reads chat tjb.org, the leading chat interface powered by AI. But there's a catch. A.I doesn't mean artificial intelligence in this case. Instead, it stands for average individual. That's because behind the responses on this side, it's not a typical bot like chat GPT. It's a human answering your questions. And it's getting so many messages the website is now

asking for volunteers to help respond to them all. Joining us now is the man behind the idea, Tucker J. Bryant. Tucker, what made you decide to start a human chatbot? Yeah, the idea for the chatbot came during a conversation I was having with my girlfriend about this idea about cognitive surrender, which she introduced me to, which is basically this idea that a lot of us are so used to trusting the outputs we get from LLMs that we don't necessarily use our own critical thinking skills when we're seeing. those outputs. And I noticed that happening when I started asking LLMs, like, what kind of

sleeves should I wear today? And so it was kind of a way of poking fun at myself initially for, you know, kind of being that willing to accept the outputs that I was receiving. And then the billboard was a sort of a way to evolve upon that. Yeah, and you could argue, I mean, this has even started with things like GPS where, you know, machines just do all the thinking and we don't really use our critical thinking skills. What are the top questions you're getting? asked. You know, it's interesting. A lot of people, they just want to chat. Like, some people are starting with high, and then it kind of proceeds to mundane conversation. Like, what should I do with these ingredients if I want to make dinner tonight? And then some people are asking more sincere

questions about their relationships or asking for, you know, things they should do with their day. I have a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, and I'm not sure I want to throw a party. what would you do? So it's been nice getting a whole range of like people trying to troll and ask questions that they know a human won't very easily be able to do. And then some folks who are into more sincere conversation. What happens if questions are inappropriate or dangerous in nature? Yeah. So that was a question that was top of mind for me as soon as this started to get sort of community interest. And so I've built in a bunch of safety infrastructure that filters out abusive messages in either direction, sexual content,

attempts to extract information in either direction about who a person is, because this is both like not a professional support service, it's an art project, and also I want to make sure that people are staying safe. So that infrastructure exists, and I'm continuing to build more about it. How many questions are you getting a day? Right now, I've got to confirm that the daily figure right now. I know it's over 10,000 per day.

We have over 100,000 so far, and we're answering far fewer than that, which means a lot of people are waiting for the answer to their questions. But again, because, like, community safety is a top priority here. I'd much rather have people waiting for a really long time for their answers than to potentially put anyone in harm's way. But what are you answering, right? If someone's asked you, what's the temperature in Phoenix, Arizona versus, you know, explain to me if God exists. What are you choosing to answer? Yeah, so it's funny. Initially, when it was just me answering the questions, that would depend on how many questions

were coming in at the time. When it was several dozens or hundreds coming in per hour, I was answering, you know, whatever would come to mind in that moment and then saying, sorry, I hope this helps. I'm going to keep going on just an average person. But now that there are volunteers that are involved, I think there's more of an interest in and being very sincerely helpful towards people. And so the sort of the nature of the responses people are getting, have moved from that sort of surrealist humor that the project started as,

to a more sincere desire to help people. There are always haters out there, right, in critics, and some people may say this sounds like a complete waste of time, but I'm sure you've learned a lot. So what have you learned? Yeah, one thing I learned is that if I don't worry about making spelling mistakes, I can type really fast. And then I think the other thing that's been interesting is to notice that even though the answers that people are getting are a lot less polished in a lot of instances, perhaps a lot less comprehensive than what they might get from the AI tools that are doing incredible things for a lot of people in a lot of ways.

Oftentimes people are just interested in chatting and knowing that on the other end is a real breathing human being. And that in some instances seems to be more valuable than getting the perfect thing. Because the first part of your answer sounded almost like a data analyst. So as you as a person, as a human, right, are people lonely? Are they hungry for companionship? Are they sad? Are they optimistic? What are you finding?

I think I've noticed all of those things. Some people do seem to just want to have someone the chat to. Other folks are looking for that kind of company that you just alluded to. And some folks do seem to just have like a quick question they want to answer to. And then once they get it, they're gone. So it's been interesting to see that whole range. All right. Tucker Bryant, we thank you for being here. If you get a question about a playlist for Saturday night, it wasn't me, all right?

Tucker Bryant, good luck with that site. Coming up tonight here, still here on Top Story, the dazzling scenes across Europe, millions turning out to watch the first total solar eclipse there in decades. We'll show you that spectacle in the sky right after this. That was amazing. Those were some eager onlookers in Spain, catching a glimpse of the first total eclipse above mainland Europe in more than two decades. Millions across the globe staring up in awe today,

and Argi Schwartz was one of them. Here's a look at that incredible moment. Streaking across parts of the Earth tonight, a sunset before the sun sets. When we first saw it, it was above Iceland, the moon sliding slowly into dazzling position. Look at that. That is quite the diamond.

Yeah, oh, and beautiful solar prominences too. Oh, my gosh. Right at the edge there, the sun's crown of plastic. arching off into space with solar flares as big as the Earth itself. The cheers are going up here. This is it. In Spain, NBC's Ralph Sanchez was watching his first eclipse from a hillside. And that's it. It's disappeared, Gadi. It is just the most extraordinary. This perfect circle of blackness and all around it, this just totally majestic corona of the sun.

It looks like somebody has just punched a hole in the sky. And then the light came rushing in. The Fulmer family came all the way from Las Vegas. People marveling at the magic of a mathematical coincidence that the moon is 400 times smaller than the sun, which is 400 times farther from us than the moon. That's what is happening right now. I'm going to try to do this right here, okay?

So we've got the sun over there. Let's see if we can line it up a little bit. Boom, right there. That is a perfect position. It's almost like somebody placed this perfectly with this 400-400 equation and allowed this to spin around the earth in this perfect way. A twilight reminder of our cosmic dance and the brilliance of our son. Gotti Schwartz, NBC News.

Our thanks to Gotti Schwartz for that one. And for more on that incredible moment, I want to bring in Emily Rice. an astronomer and professor and witness the solar eclipse live from a boat off the coast of Iceland. Emily, thanks so much for joining us. That solar flare is where I want to start with you. It was pretty incredible. What was everyone saying when they saw it there in Iceland? And explain to our viewers exactly what that was. So this solar flare that we saw during totality is activity on the surface of the sun. So there you're seeing like the diamond ring effect, the last part of the sun that we can see before totality, before the moon blocks the disc of the sun.

And then as the moon, the surface features coming into view, this is usually like it's there all the time. But we can't see it with our own eyes until that sun is blocked out. Oh, that's gorgeous. Yeah. That's really, really beautiful to see that. And this is something that we can't predict. The sun is an active place. And Emily, we're talking about, you know, because we're seeing a couple of different things in the

video here. But towards the end of this video clip, you kind of see on the bottom of the screen, you see that sort of, it almost looks like a little, I don't know, a little lesion, if you will, but it's different colors, it's bright orange, and that's part of the solar flare as well? Yeah, that little pink arc, I'm going to guess it's larger than the size of the Earth, maybe a few times larger than the size of the Earth. And this is material that's being thrown off of the sun, falling back down, kind of energized by the magnetic field of the sun. It's happening all the but during a total solar eclipse is when you can really see it clearly with your own eyes. It's just outstanding.

Yeah, I want to play some video that you took as the eclipse was happening. What were you feeling in that moment and what was the atmosphere out there? It looked like it was a cruise ship, a rather large boat. Yes, I'm on the Norwegian star and we were up near the Arctic Circle. As you can see, we did not see that solar flare. It's been a beautiful few days in Western Iceland, and just today, the clouds rolled in. The ships north of us got lucky. If they were closer to Greenland, we were not lucky

and we could not go anywhere. But we still, you can see everybody out there around the pool. We had people in the hot tub. We had a proposal. It was still very, very fun to experience totality, even without seeing all those details. You're an astronomer,

so it makes sense that you get excited about things like this, but this really captured the fascination of people all over the world. Why do you think that is? We live on a planet. We live on a planet that's circling a star. And I think for thousands of years, we had to know this because,

you know, our sustenance, our livelihood revolved around the seasons and things like that. And, you know, for the last couple hundred years, we've been taken away from that. But at the same time, our technology is bringing us closer again. So these space telescopes that send us these amazing images, our internet communications that we can share these pictures immediately from all over the world, like this is bringing us closer to being Earthlings on a planet in space again, which I think is really, really cool. And every time an eclipse happens and there's more people in the path of totality, I think we have more scientists being born. And it's super, super exciting. Yeah, it's a really good point. We have a graphic made sort of the timeline of the next

eclipses around the world. Walk our viewers through what we can expect. Yeah, the next big one is August 2nd, 2027, that path of totality kind of starts in the eastern Atlantic and then crosses over the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean, and then the path goes down through Egypt. That's a very exciting eclipse. Not only is the weather going to be better, I think, than it is in Iceland, but also the duration of totality for that one is very, very long, approaching the longest that we can ever possibly have.

So up to over six minutes in some locations, which for it to be dark that long is going to be really, really outstanding. And then there's another one coming up over Australia and New Zealand in 2028. It's not too early to put these on your calendar and start booking travel now. These things are very, very fun to experience. Yeah, and so interesting. Emily, we thank you so much for your enthusiasm and for your perspective, and we thank you for joining Top Story. We know it's late over there.

Again, we thank you for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamas in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.