Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Episode Date: August 29, 2024

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.

Tonight, Israel launching a major military operation in the West Bank. Israeli troops storming the occupied territory with tanks and bulldozers. At least 10 people killed. Neighborhoods now in ruins. Israeli officials say they're targeting Palestinian militants calling the operation a full-fledged war. What the significant escalation means for the already volatile region. Also tonight, the new revelations in the Trump assassination attempt. revealing the gunman research the RNC and the DNC before ultimately targeting the former president at his Pennsylvania rally.

The new images of explosive devices found in the shooter's car and the AC unit he used to access that roof. Plus what we're learning about the search for a motive. Harris campaign blitz, Vice President Kamala Harris, barnstorming through Georgia in an all-out effort to turn the state blue. the race to secure voters in the critical battleground state and the unlikely group rallying in support of Harris, how swifties are working to get the Democratic ticket all the way to the White House. Doctors shooting manhunt, a Los Angeles doctor to the stars fatally shot outside of a clinic where he worked.

Investigators saying it was a targeted attack for patients left heartbroken and stunned. The urgent search now underway for the suspect. In sinkhole nightmare, the terrifying video as the ground opens up, swallowing a woman 26 feet below. People nearby narrowly avoiding getting caught in the same collapse. Ancient artifact destroyed a 3,500-year-old jar shattering in a museum. The culprit, a curious 4-year-old boy. The surprising move from the museum after the relic was smashed into pieces. Plus, let the Paralympic Games begin.

Thousands from around the world descending on Paris to kick off the games in a sprawling opening ceremony. The athletes hoping to conquer their dreams on the world stage. We speak with five-time Paralympian and two-time gold medalist Matt Scott about this year's competition. And the startling update to the Listeria outbreak linked to Boar's head deli meat. The deaths just reported as more people become infected. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. Tonight, the situation in the Middle East growing increasingly unstable as Israel begins a massive military operation in the West Bank.

Israeli tanks pushing into the occupied region under the cover of darkness, catching the territory off guard. The occupied West Bank, which sits between Israel and Jordan, has been fought over for decades. The IDF saying it launched counterterrorism operations in two Palestinian cities, Janine and Tulkarin, as well as a refugee camp known as Al-Falah. Roughly 3 million Palestinians and 500,000 Jewish settlers currently live in the West Bank. Clashes between those two groups have been escalating since the start of the war in Gaza. And today, the U.S. announced new sanctions against groups said to be supporting, quote, extremist settler violence in the West Bank.

The IDF also launching airstrike, smoke can be seen rising in Janine. According just in, the coordinator of the National Islamic Forces in Janine camp says the refugee camp there has been surrounded by Israeli forces, and electricity, water, and communications are completely cut off. And the Palestinian Health Ministry says troops blocked access to Janine's main hospital. The military responding, saying the move was to stop fighters from seeking refuge there. We have a lot to get to this evening, so we're going to start with NBC's Matt Bradley. Tonight, Israeli troops opening a fresh new front, launching a sprawling raid into the occupied West Bank, one of the largest assaults on the Palestinian territory in over 20 years. It started overnight with Israeli airstrikes.

We felt like something came down on us from the sky, and there was an explosion, said this father of three, who was injured in the strike. He lost two of his sons. Israeli armored vehicles and bulldozers clawed under roads searching for exclusions. Around 2 a.m., the army waited the refugee camp with a large number of soldiers on foot, said this paramedic. Israel's foreign minister declared the West Bank a full-fledged war, and even called for evacuating Palestinians,

a move that, if it happens, could mirror Israel's operations in Gaza. Hundreds of troops push into several areas of the northern West Bank, a Palestinian enclave separate from the Gaza Strip. They focused on Janine, Tulkorum, and the Fara refugee camp near Tubas. Palestinian health authorities say at least 10 people have been killed. Fighting in the West Bank isn't new. For years, Palestinians in the West Bank have suffered regular, sometimes deadly harassment

from Israeli settlers. Violence, human rights groups say, has been ignored, and in some cases, even encouraged by Israel's government. Palestinian health authorities say more than 660 Palestinians have been killed there since Hamas' October 7 attacks from Gaza, where today, Israel's operations continue. IDF troops recovered the body of a soldier who had been killed during last year's attacks. Now his violence in the West Bank intensifies concerns it could come to resemble a new theater of war.

Matt Bradley, NBC News, Tel Aviv. For more on the crisis in the Middle East, I want to bring in NBC's Danielle Hamamjan, who joins us now from Jerusalem. Danielle, let's stick with those raids in the West Bank, not far from you. Have we heard anything from Hamas, the Palestinian authorities? or any other Palestinian groups? Well, Palestinian Authority, yes, Mahmoud Abbas, cutting a trip short to Saudi Arabia and saying that there are dangerous consequences to these raids and that it will not bring any security to the area. Now, I have to be honest if you ask anybody in the West Bank about Mahmoud Abbas, they won't react very kindly.

His comments don't really carry much weight. weight, you know, but it has, they will look to the international scene to see what the reaction has been like. You've got Turkey condemning the strikes and the raids. Egypt, of course, a mediator in the ceasefire talks as well. And the United States, of course, supporting Israel's right to defend itself, but also cautioning that the civilian casualties have to be minimum. And On that point, I would point out that it was just in June, in fact, in Janine, that the IDF had strapped to its Jeep, an innocent Palestinian civilian, and that caused, I mean, it was video that circulated around the world, and it drew condemnation from the State Department as well. So they'll be watching, a lot of people will be watching very closely the behavior by the IDF as these raids go on 24 hours now, and they're still. still not over.

Wow. And Danielle, the World Food Program, they announced today that they are going to pause staff movements inside of Gaza. Talk to us about that. What does it mean for civilians in Gaza and what led to the group's decision here? This is an incident that happened on Tuesday evening, Ellison. Staff returning from a mission, they were traveling in a — in two armored vehicles. They'd been escorting trucks carrying humanitarian.

and cargo to central Gaza. Vehicles that were marked, they had received multiple clearances by the IDF at a checkpoint. And as they approached that checkpoint, they came in under fire. Ten bullets, five of them directed at the driver, two at the passenger. Nobody was physically harmed, but this wasn't the first security incident involving the WFP, but it was the first with the WFP coming under fire near a checkpoint. Despite them following protocol, this just goes to show just how dangerous, how impossibly dangerous things are on the ground there. So suspension of activities by the WFP until further notice.

But, you know, as you know, in Gaza at the moment, it's been evacuation order after evacuation order, and the month isn't even over yet. And for people on the ground, it's not as simple as just packing your stuff in a car and moving on to the next location with whatever basic necessities they have left, whatever surviving relatives they can, they move on to the next location. I asked one field doctor, an aid worker on the ground, what the situation was like during the last evacuation order. And this is what this person wrote to me. The warehouses are either unreachable or empty. The trucks they get across are being looted. There is no expletive soap.

The kids are dying of preventable diseases. Alaksa Hospital has been mostly entirely evacuated. There is nowhere for anybody to go. Ellison. And Danielle, a lot of people still holding out hope that maybe there will be a ceasefire and those negotiations will progress. Any indication that they are progressing or is it still look like that is more of a U.S. pipe dream than a reality on the ground?

At this very moment, it's lower-level delegates who are discussing the more technical details. And what I mean by that is which hostage, how many hostages will be released and at which pace in exchange for the Palestinian prisoners, who are they going to be? How many are they going to be? Some of them, Israel will not want either in the West Bank or Gaza. They will be required to live in exile. So that's still not clear. But those details are being worked on. Of course, you know what the two big obstacles are.

The two corridors, the Nedsahim corridor, that would cut the Gaza Strip in half. The Israelis want a presence on that road to be able to screen Palestinians. Of course, they would prevent the free movement of Palestinians on Palestinian land. The other issue, of course, is the Philadelphia corridor, this buffer zone, the strip of land between Gaza and Egypt. Israel wants a presence on the ground so they can prevent Hamas from smuggling in weapons and fighters. The Egyptians do not want them on their doorstep. And Hamas has been very clear on this. They will not agree to any deal that doesn't see the full withdrawal of Israeli forces. Danielle Hamamjan in Jerusalem. Thank you. Now to the latest in the investigation to the attempted

assassination of former President Donald Trump. The FBI releasing new photos of the shooter's weapons, including the semi-automatic rifle and undettonated homemade bombs, authorities saying that he looked at multiple possible targets, including both Trump and Biden campaign events. Our Julia Ainsley has more. Tonight, these photos just released by the FBI showing the weapons and gear used by the man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump and the way he got up on that roof. This is the semi-automatic rifle he used.

The FBI says he likely broke it down. and stored it in this backpack as he walked around the rally in Butler last month. And this picture shows the two undettonated homemade bombs found in the trunk of his car. The FBI now says he used this air conditioning unit to climb up on the roof where he opened fire. But after nearly a thousand interviews, the FBI says the motive of the 20-year-old Thomas Crooks still remains unclear. The FBI has not identified a motive nor any co-conspirators or associates of crooks with advanced knowledge of the attack. And I want to be clear, we have not seen any indication to suggest crooks was directed by a foreign entity to conduct the attack. Before the event, the FBI says the gunman conducted online searches for campaign events for both Trump and Biden and the Republican and Democratic conventions.

When this event was announced, the Trump rally was announced early in July, he became hyper-focused on that specific event and looked at it as a target of opportunity. It seems this attack wasn't very sophisticated. Does that surprise you? It does not surprise me. Throughout the history of the Secret Service and assassinations and assassination attempts, they're all relatively unsophisticated activities, though they have deadly consequences. The shooter researched Kennedy's assassination, searching how far was Oswald from Kennedy, the FBI said. While the investigation continues, the FBI said Crooks had no definitive ideology, but they are determining if he wrote anti-Semitic post on social media.

Ellison, the FBI said they analyzed the shooter's online activity going back to 2019, when even then he was researching how to make homemade bombs. And the 30 days prior to the shooting, He made more than 60 searches related to Biden and Trump. Ellison? All right, Julia, in our D.C. Bureau. Thank you. The Trump campaign also facing a firestorm over that alleged altercation earlier this week during the former president's visit to Arlington National Cemetery,

where he was attending a memorial service for service members killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal. The dispute raising questions about the campaign filming the event for political purposes. NBC's Garrett Haake has new details. Tonight, the Trump campaign is defending the candidate's Monday visit to Arlington National Cemetery, now being criticized for politicizing America's war dead on hallowed ground. What a horrible day it was. The campaign on Tuesday posting this TikTok highlight video of Trump's trip, showing him laying a wreath in honor of the service members killed at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan and posing with family members among the gravestones. Several campaign staff posting their own content too. It's not Disney World. It's Arlington National Cemetery, and it should be respected as such.

The visit first drawing scrutiny after reported altercation between campaign and cemetery staff over photography. The Trump campaign, saying a staffer, quote, decided to physically block members of President Trump's team during a very solemn ceremony. A cemetery spokesperson writing, Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National military cemeteries. Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants. The Harris campaign calling it all a sad episode, saying Trump has a, quote, history of demeaning and degrading military service members. The vice president herself has not commented on the incident. Trump running made J.D. Vance, responding late

today. She wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up. She can, she can go to hell. Kelly Barnett invited the former president to Arlington. Her son, Marine Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover, died at Abby Gate. What would you say to people who may be pro-Trump, anti-Trump, whatever their politics might be, who just feel like that's not a place for politicians or for politics? I would have to say, are you in my shoes? I invited him. My son was murdered under the Biden-Harris administration. Utah Governor Spencer Cox, attending with Trump, posting these photos. He later apologized for using them in a fundraising email. Garrett Hake, NBC News, Washington.

All right, and we turn now to power and politics. As Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walts, take their campaign to Georgia in an effort to shore up support in the new battleground state. All of this as an unlikely group of supporters called Swifties for Kamala rally behind the Democratic nominee. NBC's Mike Memley is on the campaign trail with more. Tonight, Kamala Harris setting her sights on Georgia. As the Democratic presidential nominee and her running mate Tim Walls begin a full court press in the crucial swing state, kicking off their bus tour on Wednesday and ending in Savannah with a solo Harris rally on Thursday. The same day, the duo is set to sit down for a joint interview with CNN, the first major

TV interview since she launched her campaign. Georgia, the battleground state with the highest proportion of black voters, will be a deciding factor in this election. Polling from the New York Times and Sienna from earlier this month shows Harris trailing former President Trump by four points in the state. Folks, I think we're surprised a living devil out of everybody this year. President Joe Biden won Georgia by less than 12,000 votes in 2020, becoming the first Democrat to flip the longtime GOP stronghold in nearly three decades, but the fight to keep up Georgia's

blue wave will be no easy task. Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock talking to Tom about the race last week. Georgia is in play, and I know a little bit about how to win Georgia. I've won Georgia twice. It will not be an easy race. It will be a tight race in Georgia. It's going to be a tight race in the country. An unlikely group pushing for Harris in this battleground state and beyond, Taylor Swift fans. Welcome to the Swifties for Kamala kickoff call. It's been waiting for you. The Swifties for Kamala Coalition announcing their support for Harris on a Zoom call Tuesday night and already raising nearly $140,000 for the Democratic nominee.

What I love best about Swifties, you are resilient and you know how to take on bullies. The virtual rally featuring big names like Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand. Play is going to play, play, play, play. play, play, play. And even a cameo from legendary singer-songwriter, Carol King. I really think it went better than we possibly could have imagined. April Glick-Polito and Annie Wu-Henry are some of the organizers behind the group that has already amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.

You don't underestimate the power of Swifties. You just should never do that. While Swift herself was not on the Zoom call and has not publicly supported Harris, Annie and April say their organizing effort is bigger than just one. celebrity. She's welcome to join our party any time, but we're not putting any pressure or speaking for her at all. I think we are showing that as a community, as Swifties, we are not going to wait to take action around this election cycle. And Mike Mambly joins us now from Savannah, Georgia with more. So, Mike, has the Harris campaign responded to the Swifties for Kamala organization efforts?

Well, Alison, the Harris campaign spokesperson said they're not affiliated with this effort and declined to comment any further, but I think they are certainly welcoming this enthusiasm. This tells us a couple things. One, about the power and the commitment of the Swifties themselves, but two, these kinds of organic and grassroots efforts on behalf of Kamala Harris weren't happening for Joe Biden. So this is definitely an indication of the momentum shift since the change in the ticket. Really interesting stuff. Mike Mimile and Savannah, thank you.

For more on all of these developments in the presidential campaign. I want to bring in our political pros tonight. They are Democratic strategists, Amisha Cross, and Mark Lodder, former director of strategic communications on the Trump 2020 campaign. Thank you both for being here. Mark, I want to start with you. I'm tempted to start with you and ask a Taylor Swift question, but we'll just go to Georgia for now. Okay, Georgia was an incredibly critical state for Biden in 2020. And right now, the Washington Post polling average, it has Trump leading in Georgia, but just by three points. What would you say the Trump campaign needs to do to try and counter the Harris push that's going on in the Peach State.

Well, keep talking about the policy. Keep talking about the disastrous results produced by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. I mean, there are people in Georgia. There are people all over the country who are struggling to pay for gas and groceries. The border is wide open, and it's falling on so many people who Kamala Harris claims to want to protect, but she's not the answer. She's the problem. She caused all these problems. So the more they keep talking about it, the more they will do better and better in Georgia and around the rest of the country.

And Amisha, what are you hoping to see from the Harris campaign in Georgia? And then on the other hand, let me just have you respond to some of what Mike was reporting about the Swifties for Harris movement. Does it suggest to you a grassroots push or how do you read that? Is it just the name that people pay attention to because Swift is a big deal right now? Or is there something more to this? Well, I was on the Swifties call last night. I think that there is more than just a name and a brand associated with it, despite the artist just being mindful that Taylor Swift has not come out and endorsed or said anything of that sort. What I do think that we're seeing with this movement is younger people, particularly younger women, really take shape, take hold, and organize across their communities.

The call is more than just, you know, the shake-it-off song, I'm not going to sing it here. It was people who are organizing in the states that matter, in the battleground states. They're making sure that they are getting everybody involved. They're doing it on college campuses. They're doing it across socioeconomic lines, they're doing it across racial lines, and they are not only registering voters, but they're also getting people who were initially going to sit this election out interested and captivated and ready to actually sign up and get to work. But in addition to that, I would argue that in Georgia, what the Harris Wall's campaign is doing is extremely smart. They are playing outside of the central focus, which most of the time is Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs. They're going into the rural areas.

Rural America needs to hear a democratic message. They need to understand that the Democratic Party and the policies associated with the Harris campaign are also policies that can help them. When it comes to ensuring that, you know, they have health insurance, when it comes to ensuring that rural health care is something that is more than just a talking point, housing security. When it comes to what Mark spoke about it a minute ago around the cost of groceries, we know as a report was released earlier today, showcasing that grocers themselves were inflating prices. This had absolutely nothing to do with national inflation, as much as it did, grocers deciding that they were going to price gout. So she's making it plain. She's talking about the policies that matter to everyday people,

and it's important to extend that to rural areas as well, because Democrats are not only playing in urban areas. It also sets aside the notion that she is a big city liberal when she's having these conversations in rural areas and bringing those individuals in, too. Mark, as the vice president is making this push for Georgia, the Cook political report has moved another important southern battleground state in North Carolina from leaning Republican to his toss up, writing this in part, quote, the Tar Heel state looks more competitive than ever. The most recent 538 in Real Clear politics polling averages show Harris and Trump in a dead heat. So, Mark, this is a state. Donald Trump won back in 2020. He was ahead of Biden by almost seven points just a few weeks ago.

What does this shift in the polling say to you? Well, there's no question that Kamala Harris is solidifying the Democrat base from the weekend at Bernie's candidacy of Joe Biden, but it's still not going to be enough to put her over the top. I saw a new poll come out just a few minutes ago from Fox News that shows Donald Trump getting 19% of the black vote. There is no possible way a Democrat can win nationally or in these battlegrounds if the Republican is getting one out of five black voters. And it's because of the issues I was talking about earlier, people are getting hurt by the inflation, by the open border. They don't like seeing the wars that are raging. And all of that is the direct result of the leadership of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. Michelle, I'll let you respond to some of what Mark is saying there.

But let's also put it in the context of the fact that Harris does have this incredibly big interview coming up this week with CNN. What do you expect her to address? This is her first one-on-one interview since Biden dropped out of the race. And she is not actually doing this one alone, right? Her running mate, Waltz is going to be there, too. Talk to us about what you expect to hear from that, and then I'll ask you a couple more questions. Well, first and foremost, if you think that one in five black people is going to show up to vote for Donald Trump in November, I have some oceanfront property in Kentucky to sell you.

But beyond that, I think that it is very important for us to recognize the importance of what this first sit-down interview actually will be. I think that, you know, it was very smart to choose CNN as a network. Honestly, I think that it was strategic, considering that that was the same network that the debacle interview, the debacle debate happened at just a few, just over a month ago. But in addition to that, I think that it's also really smart because she is having this conversation with her running made by her side. And that, even though it's been castigated by the right and some people in media, it is not as unheard of as they would like for you to believe. There has been a long history, actually, the past four or five presidential campaign. where after the RNC and the DNC respectively were hosted, there was a sit-down interview

with both the president and the vice presidential nominees. So that's not something that is unheard of. But I do think that because they have such a truncated campaign, it matters that they're having this conversation. They're really setting the stage for the policy plans that she has laid out, that economic agenda. I think she's going to talk more about housing. She's going to talk more about the child tax credits and how families need to get a leg up in this country, how we can sustain the middle class, grow the middle class out, protect them, versus the Donald Trump vision that seemingly is only tax breaks for the rich and the wealthy. I think that it's going

to be very important for her to hone in on how her economic policies help people across this country. But in addition to that, really, we're going to see them hammer down on Project 2025, because in as much as Trump and his running mate are trying to run away from it, everything that they say is out of that playbook. Mark, the Trump campaign saying this joint interview and their view shows that Harris is not competent enough to do the interview on her own. What do you make of this? I mean, Trump's latest sit down, I believe, is with Dr. Phil. Do you think we need to see both candidates taking a more individual approach with tougher interviewees and more established news organizations?

Well, there's no doubt that President Trump takes questions all the time. He sits down with hostile news interviewers. He's done CNN. He's done other very hostile networks and done primetime town halls, he'll continue to do that. The difference is that Kamala Harris hasn't talked to anybody. She hasn't talked to anyone since she's been coronated, is the nominee. And so that's the difference where normally you would have seen a candidate do a lot of these tough interviews in a primary. She didn't do a primary. She didn't get a vote in a primary. She staged a coup and she took over the nomination, but we've never seen her stand on her own two feet. And when we do see her talk, it's usually to deny all of the policies that she championed

and fought for over the course of many years recently to say she no longer believes any of that right now. And so people don't know what to make a Kamala Harris because literally she changes her tune almost every single day. All right. And Amisha, we do have to go. But a coup is a very strong inflammatory term. And I would say an inaccurate mark. I got to let Amisha respond to that. The only coup that was led in this country was January 6th, and we know the president that was at the forefront of it. That is a very strong term, but it's also something that we've seen happen in this country when the former president did not want to accept the results of an election. All right, Amisha, Mark. You guys have returned the results of an election.

All right, we've got to leave it there tonight. Thank you both. We will talk again soon, I am sure. Amisha, Mark, thank you. We're going to move on now to the forecast. Temperatures soaring across the country again today with more than 40 million people under heat advisories, plus severe storms threatening the plane. Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Let's get right to NBC meteorologist Bill Karens, who joins us now in studio.

Bill, we've been seeing this extreme heat for the past few days. Any relief insight? We're almost there. We're about to turn the page, maybe even close the book in some cases on summer. And I know a lot of people are okay with that. It has been very hot coast-to-coast this summer. We still got 43 million people under Heat Advisory, St. Louis included, Philly. And it was especially hot time.

Richmond at one point today at 106 fields-like temperature. These are the fields like temperatures now. As the sun begins to set and gets lower in the sky, still feels like 100 in Little Rock. DC feels like 98. One of the hotter spots in the country right now still feels like Baltimore at 101. We were hoping we were going to get some additional thunderstorms. They're kind of cool things off. There hasn't been bent very many, not widespread.

But tomorrow, the cold front moves to the south. If you're from Chicago northward, New York City northward, you get the relief. Today was much cooler. Today was only in the 80s in the Great Lakes. That's the air that's going to settle into the mid-Atlantic tomorrow. And as we head towards the weekend, you know, you pick it. This is beautiful, beautiful Labor Day weekend. You'll notice that lack of humidity, and no one's going to complain about that.

All right, Bill Cairns. Thank you. Still ahead tonight, the L.A. doctor gunned down. The physician to celebrities and athletes fatally shot outside of the clinic he worked at. Police now searching for a suspect and a motive. And the heated moments inside a Texas school bus students pleading with the driver to open the windows on a blistering hot. today. What the school is saying happened as parents threatened to sue. Plus, the ostrich on the loose on a busy roadway in South Dakota. How the massive bird was able to escape. Stay with us.

We're back now with the shocking killing of a prominent doctor in Los Angeles. The LAPD searching for the gunman who shot and killed a doctor whose patients included movie stars and athletes. Officials say his murder comes months after he was injured in a different violent attack. NBC correspondent Steve Patterson reports. Tonight, police in Los Angeles hunting for the suspect who shot and killed a beloved doctor outside the urgent care where he worked. I feel heartbroken. I feel I'm out of words, you know.

It's just really depressing. Patients of Dr. Hamid Mirsojahi say they are still in shock over the violent death. After police say a shooter opened fire on him last Friday as he walked to his car. He was very honest, very nice guy, and he takes care of patient very well. The LAPD says it's searching for at least one person and that the motive is unclear. The L.A. Times reporting, the shooting happened several months after the doctor said he was jumped by three men who beat him with baseball bats. The LAPD telling USA today that they are aware of the earlier assault, which is still unsolved.

It is not clear if the cases are connected. It feels like a dream and a nightmare, to be honest, because it's, I was working one day, now he's gone. It's just, it's not right. His co-workers, family and patients paying tribute at a memorial set up where he died. According to a colleague, Mirsojahi was the only doctor at the medical center. The clinic's website says he had over two decades of experience, specializing in emergency medicine and treating addiction.

His patients included celebrities, movie stars, and athletes, according to an online biography. He was always joyful. He always laughed and always was a loving person. He had a lot of patients and now they have to find a new doctor and a lot of people with prescriptions at previous illnesses, diabetes, cancer. A community reeling with the loss as police continue searching for answers. And Steve Patterson joins us now from Los Angeles. Steve, what more do we know about the police investigation so far? Allison, the investigation is still underway, a spokesperson for the LAPD telling USA today that as of yesterday, the suspect has not been identified, and the killer remains at large. Ellison?

Steve Patterson, thank you. Now to Texas and the video that has some parents outraged, students say they were forced to ride on a bus in triple-digit heat. Some of them heard begging the bus driver to let them open their windows. phone video. NBC's Valerie Castro spoke with one student's mother who says her children were put in danger. Ms. It's hot back here. These children need a brief. You need to get us home. A Texas school district and bus driver getting heat after students say they were forced to ride on an un-air-conditioned bus with the windows up on a scorching hot day.

Oh, my God, bro. Now. We need the window up. We need 18. It's hot. The incident happening Thursday afternoon in Ceeley, Texas, near Houston, NBC's climate team confirming triple-digit temperatures that day. Of the school district's 30 buses, only six are equipped with air conditioning, according to the superintendent. Please just take us home.

Outraged parents calling a news conference. One thing that we don't play about in Texas, we don't play about our kids, and that's what we're not going to do. They were just exhausted, like they were hot, red faces. They barely could get off the bus. Koshina Smith's two children, ages 11 and 12, were on the bus. Smith sharing this doorbell camera video in which she says her children arrived home 10 minutes later than normal and in distress. My son, he ended up taking his shirt off. My daughter is just crying, you know, she just wants to get air.

And that's what broke my heart the most. The superintendent issuing a statement saying the driver did require a student who was sticking his head out the window to put his window up. and the driver did stop the bus to address the student for approximately two minutes and 20 seconds, adding during the route, the roof hatches and windows were open. Parents said their children felt the driver was punishing them by driving slowly until they put up the windows and that she had a policy that no windows should be open to begin with. But the driver says she has no such policy, according to the superintendent, who also says the driver slowed down on the dirt road to not rattle the bus. According to the superintendent, the school's police chief is looking into whether a window policy exists.

I know their children, but they were put in a dangerous situation. NBC News has not heard back from the union that represents drivers, but the district confirming she's been placed on a different bus route. But several parents and their legal representation are calling for more. The school need to take this very seriously because we are and we are planning to pursue every legal recourse or angle that's. that's available for us. This bus driver do not need to be driving nobody, children, nowhere. And Valerie Castro joins us now in studio. I mean, Valerie, we talk about this a lot when we're talking about heat waves.

Heat is the biggest cause of America in America of deaths in terms of weather-related events. Like heat is no joke, so these parents have a right to be worried. I grew up in Georgia, went to public school, always had buses without AC. In terms of Texas, are there any laws as to whether or not school buses have to have? have AC. So the Department of Public Safety says all new school buses must be equipped with air conditioning, but of course these districts have older buses, and it will be some time before they phase those out and replace them with new ones that do have air conditioning. All right. Interesting story. We'll stay on. Valerie Castro. Thank you.

Up next, the alarming Listeria outbreak connected to Boar's Head Deli meat. The death toll now rising as bacterial infections surge. What we're learning about those new cases. Back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we began with a verdict reached late today in the murder trial against a former Nevada politician. A Nevada jury finding Robert tells guilty of murdering a prominent Las Vegas investigative journalist. The victim was found stabbed to death outside his home in September of 2022. The reporter had written a series of critical articles about the former county officials' leadership in office. tells now faces a life sentence. New details tonight on that deadly listeria outbreak linked to deli meats.

The CDC says six more people have died bringing the total number of deaths linked to the outbreak to at least nine nationwide, at least 57 people across 18 states have been hospitalized. Boar's Head expanded its recall last month to include seven million pounds of meat after a liverware sample tested positive for the foodborne illness. And an ostrich halting traffic in South Dakota. New video shows people trying to guide the seven-foot bird off of a busy road in Sioux Falls. Authorities say the ostrich escaped from a trailer.

It was being hauled in and took off. Luckily, it was not hurt, and we're told it has since been reunited with its owners. We're going to turn now to the horror on a North Texas highway, where authorities say at least three people were killed and 11 injured after a van crossed into the median and rolled over. The grim scene now categorized as a mass casualty incident. NBC's Kathy Park has this report. Tonight, tragedy on a Texas highway as a van loses control, rolling multiple times and ejecting several passengers during the crash.

Emergency responders described arriving to the grim scene. All these people on the road, on the grass, that is very difficult because we have to be able to keep our composure and be able to treat every single one to the best of our ability. Four people, including the van's driver, confirmed dead. Nearly all passengers injured, three in critical condition. Tonight, the victims have yet to be identified. Officials say the van departed from Florida, crashing around 8 this morning just outside Fort Worth,

sending traffic on the Texas Highway to a standstill. I saw a bunch of cop cars and the fire truck, the ambulance, There was a helicopter that was landed and then I saw the car accident. It was pretty awful. Officials describing the mass casualty event as avoidable. Every vehicle has a sea build and if you use that sea built, it's going to save lives. And in this case, there was one person that wore the sea built and was able to walk away. A critical reminder to buckle up on the road.

And Kathy Park joins us now from Irving, Texas. Kathy, I understand you're getting some new details. One person walked away from this? Yeah, you heard the official there confirming that out of the 14 people who were inside this van, only one person was wearing a seatbelt and that individual was able to walk away from this horrific crash. But Allison, we should point out this is very much an active investigation. It's still unclear who these people were in this van. We do know that they started their trip in Florida. It's unclear where they were headed and it's still unknown who owned that vehicle. Alison.

Kathy Park in Texas. Thank you. Coming up, the urgent search for a woman trapped in a sinkhole. The startling moment the ground suddenly gives way, sending that woman plummeting what we're learning about the terrifying ordeal. Back now and heading overseas to the growing humanitarian crisis in northeast Africa. People in Sudan dealing with catastrophic flooding on top of. the country's civil war. Now millions of refugees are escaping to neighboring Chad, but once there,

it is still an uphill battle just to survive. Africa correspondent Yusra Barreg, from our partners at Sky News, is there. The rainy season won't stop people from crossing into Chad for a day's work or for a new life, away from the violence ravaging Sudan. That's Northad Fort there, and this border with Chad is known for its movement of goods, of arms, of people, and as battles rage internally for control of the state and the region, those who've managed to escape the fighting, have had to make it across on boats like these. Among the merchants trading goods are women and children here to find safety.

My son is back in Sudan, she says. My mom is in a refugee camp here. Her husband has stayed behind to guard their home. It's a crossing made by the most vulnerable, even pregnant women on the verge of giving birth. Hanan made it out in time to have her baby here, risking militia checkpoints and flooded roads. They're safe from shelling and airstrikes, but starvation has followed them. He's crying of hunger, she says, but I can't produce milk to feed him. He's gone without any sustenance his first 20 hours of life because of the war that's consumed

hers. Hanan and her son will be discharged to this transit camp, where older children are eating the little they have, feverish from the infections battering their weak young bodies. No food, no money. The water is full. Water is food. Yeah. The bright bands mean they're registered and will be moved to camps further inland.

Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world but has taken in the most Sudanese refugees. Tulum camp is home to those displaced by the 2003 genocide in Darfur. And now a new wave of people fleeing the same region because of violence by the same militias. Resources are spread thin, and humanitarian appeals are underfunded. We left war and came to another war. Provide for us to send us back to Sudan. Young and old, everyone here has fought to survive, leaving their homes behind. to an unrelenting war, but still here, fighting for their lives.

Yussela al-Bahir, Sky News, Eastern Chad. Next to Top Story's Global Watch, starting with a tragedy in the soccer world. The 27-year-old Juan Iskirdo has died after collapsing on the field during a game in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Doctors say he suffered cardiorespiratory arrest. It leaves behind a wife and two children. And a tourist is missing after she was swallowed. by a sinkhole in Malaysia. Chilling surveillance footage shows the 48-year-old woman from India walking down a street in Kuala Lumpur when that sinkhole opens up. She plummeted roughly

26 feet below the ground on Friday and has been missing since then. Rescue crews are still searching for her, but so far they have only found her shoes. Local authorities are investigating what caused the sinkhole. And a child accidentally knocking over and breaking an ancient artifact at a museum in Israel. Images show the smashed jar that's believed to be more than 3,000 years old. Museum officials say a four-year-old boy pulled the jar slightly to look inside, and that's when it fell. The boy's father now apologizing for the incident. A museum is restoring the jar, and they have invited the child and his family back for a guided tour. All right, when we come back, the historic Paralympic Games officially underway. The thrilling

opening ceremony, putting Paris on full display. We speak, with a five-time Paralympian as the competitions begin. This is a look at the historic opening ceremony for the 2024 Paralympics now officially underway. For the first time, the opening ceremony, leaving a stadium and instead competitors from more than 160 countries strolling down the Champs-en-Lise. More than 4,000 athletes will now

now begin the competitions and hope to take home some gold. Our Emily Aketa is in Paris and joins us now with more. Emily, I mean, not only was the Paralympics opening ceremony a spectacle, but it was also tailored to accommodate and really highlight these athletes, right? Talk to us about what made this opening ceremony so special. Hey there, Ellison. It was just that, so incredibly special. And I'm really relishing in my Emily and Paris moment, by the way.

on the ground was absolutely electric. I mean, think about it. There are athletes for more than 150 countries around the world, and tens of thousands of fans all converging on the iconic fame. Sean's Elize, not far from where I'm standing now to kick off 11 days of fierce competition. When Team USA stepped up, we have been standing at the starting point for the parade of athletes.

When they stepped up, it just brought tears to my eyes, leading the way Nikki Nieves of sitting volleyball, and also Steve Serio of men's wheelchair basketball. Let me note that both of those American teams, they're going for their third gold in a row. Nieves, she had to actually sit out in Tokyo after contracting COVID just days before the event. She is calling this her redemption year.

I sat down with both of them ahead of the games. Take a listen here. It just felt really awesome to feel that, you know, they found me fit to carry and represent the USA. It's just such a big honor. Sport has a really cool way of bringing the world together, and while we get to be a really small and cool part of this Team USA opening ceremonies for our Team USA athletes, just a really cool honor to be a part of it. So these opening ceremonies kick off 11 days of competition across 22 different sports, and Paris really knows how to put on a show. We've got para equestrian racing the gardens of Versailles, while para taekwondo will be at the Grand Palais.

There's so much to come and be excited about. Alison. So, Emily, I mean, while we have our Emily in Paris, what are you most excited to see any specific athletes or moments? You're just like, gosh, that I'm going to be there. I mean, that's kind of an impossible question, but looking to tomorrow, one thing that will catch my eye. wheelchair rugby. You can learn a lot from its original name, which is murder ball. It says a lot about the smashing and crashing. It is a full contact sport with a lot of physicality. And they have meddled every single Paralympic game since the origin of the games. But in recent years,

the gold has been elusive. They are hoping that their secret weapon, the first woman on Team USA, Sarah Adam, will bring them good luck. Sarah Adam told me ahead of the games that she's just hoping young girls are watching and feel inspired to break barriers like her. Emily Aketa in Paris. Thank you. For more on these Paralympic games, I'm joined now by NBC Olympics reporter Matt Scott. He is a five-time Paralympian and two-time gold medalist. Matt, thank you so much for joining us on Top Story. I want to start out with the sport you competed in. Your true, true expertise, I imagine. Wheelchair basketball. You earned three total medals, including back-to-bat golds in both Rio and Tokyo. So early prediction right out of the gate, do you think the U.S. men's national wheelchair basketball team is going to be able to pull off the three-peat? And if so, why? Well, having played with so many of these guys before and being here boots on the ground here in Paris, I actually had the privilege to see those guys practice today. And I saw some athletic prowess and some concentration and focus that this team needs to win. When I saw that team in practice today, I was very confident knowing that they were going to be able to take that gold medal home.

All right. So it has to be kind of weird for you to be attending these games in this new role when you're clearly used to being like in the heart of the competition on the court. But in terms of being a spectator, who are you going to be watching for as the competition gets underway? And who do you think viewers at home, be it teams, athletes, or just specific sporting events? what should they really pay attention to? Well, with wheelchair basketball, you definitely want to keep an eye out for our flag bearer and Captain America, Steve Serio. His athletic prowess and just overall athleticism is incredible and something that viewers at home should be watching. Jake Williams is our version of Stefan Curry on the national team. Can shoot the ball as soon as he lands in Paris.

There's nowhere that he cannot hit the ball hit the rim from. He can always score. And then in other sports, I'm looking out for guys like Ezra Freck, who's going to be competing in the long jump. The women's sitting volleyball team, which is also chasing a third straight gold medal. There's some of the wheelchair rugby team is going after their first gold medal in a long time. There's so much excitement out here. So a lot of talent, but for a lot of viewers, this might be something new for them,

Paralympics. What would you say to them about why they should be watching these games? What is it that makes it so exciting? I mean, I imagine it is simply the spirit of the Olympics just continuing, but what makes it so special to you? That's a perfect segue. It's the continuation of the athletic excellence that we started off with this year. Everybody was excited to bring the Olympics in and everyone celebrated those tremendous athletes, and this party is not over. This athletic excellence is not over. This is a continuation of that. And, And everyone has the opportunity to see some tremendous sports going on this week.

Well, we are looking forward to it. And Matt Scott, we will be following you for all of the updates. Thank you for your time and for being there. We really appreciate it. And for you at home, you can stream the 2024 Paralympics on Peacock. Thank you very much for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Ellison Barber in New York for Tom Yamis. Stay right there.

More news is on the way.