Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Episode Date: August 6, 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, another popular food chain now pulling produce over concerns of salmonella. Tex-Mex restaurant Kudoba removing jalapeno's just hours after Chipotle took similar action. The case is now expanding to more states will tell you where. Plus the popular vacation destination sounding the alarm over a stomach parasite possibly linked to lettuce. New details on the security threat at President Trump's golf club ahead of his visit. guns they found and what we're learning about the close call the president's helicopter coming close to this commercial plane. Deadly house explosion in Illinois community rocked by a fiery blast, debris sent soaring, nearby homes damaged, plus breaking right now a New York City apartment building

erupting in flames after an explosion. The big win for progressives in the battle for the future of the Democratic Party, why President Trump says it's good news for Republicans. Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton hospitalized after appearing to harm himself during a disturbing live stream. The update from his family tonight. Chilling doorbell video of a teen in a clown costume roaming an Illinois neighborhood, a man found stabbed to death in the street moments after it was recorded. The 15-year-old now arrested in connection to the killing and medical mix-up, a woman getting a hysterectomy after she was mistakenly diagnosed with cancer. So who's responsible? Plus, a growing number of young adults turning to AI for health advice before going to medical professionals.

What a new study shows. Top story starts right now. And good evening. We begin tonight with that dangerous salmonella outbreak linked to jalapenos, now expanding. Hundreds sickened as a second fast casual chain is now pulling its peppers. Kudoba rushing to proactively remove jalapenos from its menus just days after Chipotle did the same thing. Officials originally zeroing in on tainted peppers from Minnesota, but now it's clear it's a nationwide issue. With 27 states reporting cases connected to jalapenos, more than 300 people are sick, dozens hospitalized.

It comes as officials struggle to contain that lettuce-linked stomach parasite that sickened more than 22,000 people across the country. Taco Bell and iceberg lettuce supplied to them by Taylor Farms at the center of that probe. Plus, the new reporting tonight that a popular tourist area, in Mexico could also be linked to the outbreak. So how concern should we be about our food supply as these high-profile outbreaks continue to expand? Our Ann Thompson, she's tracking at all. She leads us off. The issue of tainted jalapenos is much bigger than just Minnesota and Chipotle. Tonight, the CDC saying 27 states now reporting Salmonella cases related to the peppers, Minnesota, Colorado, and Illinois topping the list.

More than 300 people sickened, 36 hospitalized. Now another fast food chain, Kudoba, says it proactively removed jalapenos from its restaurants, saying food safety is our highest priority. Yesterday, Chipotle did the same after Minnesota officials traced many of their salmonella cases to a lot of peppers used by the chain. Chipotle said it replaced the suspect jalapenos with one, from different growers. How do peppers get salmonella?

Typically, through a variety of ways, but most likely contaminated water that it's used to irrigate or come into contact with that food. Unlike the lettuce-linked cyclosporiasis triggered by a parasite, salmonella is a bacteria that causes fever, stomach cramps,

and diarrhea. Symptoms most people develop within 8 to 72 hours of eating the bad food. These high-profile outbreaks involving three popular fast food chains, Taco Bell for the lettuce, Chipotle and Kudoba for the jalapenos, have some concerned about our nation's food supply. We have to remind ourselves that our food supply is fairly safe, but things happen, accidents happen, and contamination certainly can happen at any point in the food supply.

All right, Ann Thompson joins us now live on set here on Top Story. So, Anne, I understand there's some new reporting about another lettuce-linked outbreak, this time at a popular resort in Mexico. Yeah, and this is This involves the cyclospora, which is the lettuce, the parasite that was found on the lettuce that was grown in Mexico, or is connected to that. What Mexican authorities are telling us tonight, Tom, is that they are testing the water, fruits, and vegetables at 16 hotels in Kintana Roo. That's the state of Mexico that includes Cancun because tourists there got sick. And so they're trying to trace it back. A lot happening. Okay, people got to be careful out there.

and we thank you for that. We want to turn now to new reporting we have on the security scare for President Trump. The man arrested at the President's golf club in L.A. identified as a Marine veteran who had an arsenal of weapons. Garrett Hake has those new details. Tonight, new details about the man facing firearms charges following an alarming security scare outside President Trump's golf club near Los Angeles. Police arresting 39-year-old Janine John Teal over the weekend,

ahead of the president's visit after federal agents noted him appearing to take photos and videos of the club. Charging documents say a search of his car turned up a pistol and high-capacity magazine, and at his home, an assault rifle, body armor, and notebooks containing, quote, concerning statements. Tonight, a law enforcement official telling NBC news, Teal is a disabled Marine veteran with significant PTSD and mental health issues. President Trump was asked about the arrest. Well, the only thing I get a little solace from is they say only consequential presidents. And I am definitely consequential. It comes after a disturbing series of assassination attempts against President Trump,

including an armed suspect racing through a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondence Dinner, a suspect arrested after hiding with a rifle while the president was golfing, and the campaign event in Butler where the president was shot. And tonight knew concerns after a close encounter between Marine One and a commercial airliner. You can see the American Airlines jet taking off. Moments later, the Marine choppers, one of them carrying the president. The FAA calling this a, quote, momentary loss of separation, saying it will review the incident, but that the president was never in any danger. All right, Garrett joins us now live from the White House. So Garrett, back to that security scare for the

president in California. I know you have some more new reporting on the suspect. Yeah, Tom, his first court appearance. says yet to be scheduled. We're still waiting on that. Much of what we know about it comes from those charging documents and from his military service records, which show he spent eight years in the Marines, including as a corporal. He was deployed twice once each to Iraq and Afghanistan. Tom? Okay, Garrett, thank you. We want to stick with politics and the seismic election win for progressives. Democratic socialist Abdul al-Said securing the party's nomination for Michigan's critical Senate seat, setting up a heated contest in the general election. NBC Shaquille, Bruce

in the battleground state tonight. Tonight, the latest big win for progressives in the battle for the future of the Democratic Party. In the words of Muhammad Ali, we shook up the world. Abdul El-Sayed, overcoming record spending, dealing another major blow to the party's establishment. With NBC News projecting his narrow victory against moderate Congresswoman Haley Stevens

in Michigan's bitter Senate primary, El-Said insisting he can now unite divided Democrats. Sometimes, you know, You know, intra-family squabbles are the biggest ones. But we all know that when we walk out the house, we stand united. Tonight, Stevens posting, I spoke with Abdul a few moments ago to offer him my full support. But Stevens and other establishment Democrats had argued El-Sayed's views could be too liberal to win in November, and a state president Trump won twice.

El-Sayed is backed by top Democratic Socialists and supports Medicare for All, abolishing ICE, and intensely criticizes Israel. He's also been criticized for campaigning with controversial left-wing podcaster Hassan Piker, who said America deserved the 9-11 terror attack. El-Sayed says he disagrees but would not disavow Pikers' views. President Trump, posting El-Syad's nomination, is great news for the Republican Party. Abdul El-Sahad, lovely gentleman. He's a man of hate.

GOP nominee Mike Rogers hitting hard. I have never seen someone so radical, so extreme, get nominated. by a political party. The Democrat Party is lost to this hardcore socialist attitude. But tonight, El-Sayed firing back. My name is not raising your gas prices. Accusing Rogers of using his Arabic name

as a line of attack. They think that you want to use my whole name against me. Mike, listen, man, if you can't say the name, it's Abdur Rahman, keep the name out your damn mouth. Shack Bruster joins us now from Warren, Michigan. Shack, and there are more fights coming between progressives and the establishment in other states?

That's right, Tom. You have some big races coming up next week in Wisconsin, in Minnesota. In Minnesota, you almost have a carbon copy of what we're going through here in Michigan where you have a retiring Democratic senator. It's a seat that Democrats need to hold, and Democrats are going to be fighting it out

between a more moderate member of Congress and the state's progressive lieutenant governor. And then in Wisconsin, this is a fascinating race for the gubernatorial primary. You have a two-term Democrat, again, retiring there. You might have heard of Francesca Hong, who describes herself as a Democratic socialist. This week, she's been getting a lot of attention,

walking back comments about how she wanted to cancel Thanksgiving. Well, she's going up against a county executive who's backed by the state's governor. Again, popular governor there. He dropped out of the race, then jumped back in the race. It's going to be some fascinating politics over the next couple of weeks, Tom. Yeah, canceling Thanksgiving,

not sure about that idea. Okay, Shaq, we thank you for that. Let's bring in our political pros. Corbyn Trent is the co-founder of brand-new Congress and Justice Democrats and formerly the national campaign coordinator for Bernie Sanders. Tiffany Smiley is a Republican strategist and founder of the Endeavor Pact. And Jonathan Allen is a good friend to Top Story and NBC's Senior National Politics Reporter. Great to see you all.

Corby, I'm going to start with you. Talk about the significance of this win yesterday in Michigan for the Democrats. El-Siyadh's win in the message Michigan voters are sending right now. I mean, I think there was three wins. It was a trifecta, right? So you had Abdul Al-Said, obviously got the nomination, but then you also had Donovan McKinney. Then you had Will Lawrence. That was Michigan 13 and Michigan 7. In each case, you had the progressive person with a vision of the future that I think can help Americans see a different way forward than MAGA or Trumpism. People that are painting a brighter future and more possibilities. So I think that what you're seeing here, is people with vision, people with a plan, people with determination to build a better America are prevailing in the Democratic Party primaries. And I think that's good because we've been sitting too long with leadership in the Democratic Party like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries that haven't been able to do that, haven't been able to pull America away from the grip that Trump

has had on them and take this country forward with the party. Tiffany, Corbyn's mentioning President Trump there. He said, quote, this is great news for the Republican Party, Al-Sayeds. When, is this match up there in that Senate race what Republicans wanted? It's certainly the best scenario for Mike Rogers. And I think Mike Rogers is probably celebrating today and getting, you know, getting to work on the ground. I think this is the worst case scenario for Democrats because Al-Said did not win by a large margin. So we have to ask, who will Stevens voters go for? Will they go for this far left? I mean, clearly the Democrat Party is lurching to the left, progressive candidate who really made his campaign, sort of about this radical foreign policy, anti-Israel. Mike Rogers will make his campaign

about Michigan. Michigan is automotive, it's industrial. He'll make it about the people. And so I think it will be interesting to see where those voters, who they turn to in this general election. John, on that question there in Michigan, one of those key sort of battleground states we always look to in major elections. Who has the upper hand here, or is it still unclear? I know the polls have been kind of all over the place in Michigan. Yeah, I'd call it a toss-up right now, Tom. The national events certainly favor Democrats at the moment. Mike Rogers lost a Senate race.

The Republican nominee lost a Senate race by about 20,000 votes in the last election. So he ran close, but he lost at the time that Donald Trump is winning the state, running behind Donald Trump. I think if you look at Michigan in and of itself, like we don't know how Abdul El-Saiad's going to do in this. general election. We don't know what the Stevens voters are going to do. I would say the vast majority of them are going to vote for El-Sayed. I think the question is, is he going to be able to get the kind of turnout he needs with voters who did not back him, specifically African-American

voters, Jewish voters, and less educated white voters. Those are all important parts of a Democratic winning coalition in a swing state. That's where he's going to have to do some work. Yeah, Corby, you know, there's always this question asked, and I hate it because I We've just, history has taught us that parties eventually do unite, right? But there's always the question it's been asked on cable news all day. How do the parties unite? You know, can the Democrats unite? I don't know if that's the exact question.

I think the bigger question is, do they unite under this faction of the party? Or do they unite under a more traditionalist establishment side of the party? I mean, I think that the American people have made clear that they're not happy with the status quo. They're not happy with the status quo. They're not happy with the status quo. It'll be the party. You look at the polling. That's pretty much the consensus.

A fight worth having them. My Super PAC did some polling in three Democratic strongholds and found that overwhelmingly, the Democratic base does not support the current leadership. We want something different as Americans. That's clear. And when we were in this shape before, back in the late 20s, early 30s, we chose a different path. The path we chose was to rebuild this nation directly. But I am harking back to 2020, because this feels a lot like 2020 with the Democratic Party.

They were having the same arguments with Bernie and was the problem. party moving to the left, and then here comes South Carolina, and here comes Joe Biden. I mean, I don't, the idea of moving to the left, they keep talking about these people being radical. I mean, first of all, Abdul's views on, say, APAC and Israel in the support we have for that, you know, I think the number I saw was 60% of Republicans under the age of 50 agree with that, that we need to stop supporting Israel. You know, the tides have shifted on that, but I don't think that's what this campaign is going to be about. I agree. It's going to be about the lack of a health care system that supports people. It's going to be about, you know, we said what? You said that Michigan is

about manufacturing and automotive industry. Well, it used to be. We used to have a strong manufacturing base in this country. That's why now we call it the Rust Belt. It's not just a clever name. We call it the Rust Belt because the factories have closed largely. The jobs have gone overseas, and it's time to bring them back. This fool in the White House ain't trying to do it. He's trying to make himself and his family rich. Tiffany, Corbyn brings up a good point, which is that You know, this race was a little bit about Israel, right? But it's going to be about affordability in the long run. Can Republicans have that fight with Democrats right now?

You can talk about communist and socialist and talk about this race in Israel. But, I mean, bottom line, people are going to vote their pocketbooks. That's right. And let's not forget that Joe Biden created the largest inflation, and certainly in my lifetime, and set up this talking point for these progressive far-left candidates to deliver platitudes that I don't think they will be able to deliver on. President Trump and this current administration is fighting every day

to get our economy back on Trump. pulled us back off the brink, lowering gas prices, doing everything they can to build back the American dream that was getting so far out of reach. So in some regards, yes, he is appealing, but these policies will not last, they will not stand. What is most frightening to me about Al-Said is that he is anti-American. And I think the Democrats have a reckoning. Are they going to rally behind a candidate like this? And what will it do to the party? Are they becoming this small circus tent? You know, Chuck Schumer likes to say, we're, oh, we're the big tent party. how long this lasts through the general election.

Corbyn, I can't let that accusation just hang there. Do you want to respond to that, that this candidate is anti-American? To say that we're anti-American as a movement, that this progressive movement is anti-American is insane. You know, like, the funny thing is Trump, your guy ran calling America nearly a third world country, talking about all the problems that we had. He saw them. He called them out.

He called them out to voters. We're doing the same thing. This that we have isn't working. Can you say this was caused in 2020? This has been going on a lot longer than that. I was born in 1980, and all I've seen is a downhill slalom for working families across my region, across Appalachian, across the South. This ain't been something new. This is something old.

And this is the people with taking more than they deserve and the people without not getting a hand up. And we built this country back from this kind of a problem before. We did it with social programs. We did it with things like the Tennessee Valley Authority, the interstate highway system, NASA, all kinds of things. You want to talk about un-American. I think thinking that America is just going to be able to sit around and wait for something to be given to them, I think that's un-American. We're going to build it and we're going to have it, and people like Abdul-Cid are going to lead that charge. John, you know, we had Steve Kornacki out here yesterday talking about the polling of both parties,

and both parties look like they could be in trouble in the midterms. It's actually sort of interesting when you look at it. How does one party do you think and what argument do they make to sort of get ahead of the other as we headed to the midterms? I mean, it's a little bit of a Roar Shock test. You know, you pick the numbers that you want to look at and see what's going on. I think, you know, how the parties are going to get ahead of each other is, and particularly individual candidates, which, of course, this is all built on. It's not, you know, all the Democrats running against all the Republicans and vice versa,

like a parliamentary system. But the way to get ahead is to have a good argument of what you're going to do to make people feel better about what's in their wallet or more important to put more in their wallet. This is an economy election, 100% an economy election. We're looking at a president whose approval ratings are about as low as they could be because people do not have faith in where the economy is. They don't feel like their dollars going as far as it used to.

They don't feel like they have as many dollars, and they're watching prices go up. So the candidates that can come up with a good plan to do that, I think that's going to be the key difference between the Democrats or the Republicans controlling the House and Senate. Tiffany, I'm going to give you the last word here. Is there enough time for President Trump to end this war in Iran, really end the war in Iran, and for prices of gas to come back down to what people were comfortable paying? Right. Look, we're 90 days from the general election in political terms. That's a lifetime. So a lot can happen between now and then. And I think it's all trending in the right direction. President Trump had to fight on multifaceted fronts to get everything under control from the Biden administration and get our country back on track on foreign policy, domestic.

policy, he's closed to the border. There are good things happening in the economy. Jobs are back. They're coming back. So there's good things trending. And 90 days is a long time. I think it's going to be fascinating. Tiffany, Corbin, we thank you so much. John, we thank you for being here as well. We're going to turn to some breaking news out of New York City, right where we are, a deadly explosion. Rocking an apartment building in the Bronx, at least one person is killed and 15 others injured. These are the images that are coming in. It was a fiery blast. Police say it blew off doors and it collapsed part of a floor. Video shows flames and smoke pouring

out of the building. At least six firefighters that we know of are injured. The cause of that blast, though, is still being investigated. We want to turn out of the front lines of that historic wildfire in Spokane. Crews are making some progress in containing the flames that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced tens of

thousands to evacuate. Are Morgan Chesky's in the fire zone? Tonight, air and ground crews fighting for every inch in a fiery battle. As one of Washington's most destructive wildfires ever rages on. Doing everything I can to save my house, I get our houses are gone. The race for containment creeping forward.

Our fire teams right now are working on establishing fire lines around all of these fire zones. Progress here largely dependent upon the wind, but an emerging heat wave now brings new risk. We still have a lot of interior heat, and even a little gusts can grab an ember and throw it. and throw it. Today, Hollywood star and Spokane native Sidney Swinney was back home, helping with community relief efforts. More than 1,500 firefighters are on the ground, taking on the three fires that officials now believe were all human caused. Do we believe that to be intentional? That's why it's under investigation. There was clearly no lightning in the area, so it's a human-caused fire, but to be determined whether it was accidental.

Tomorrow, Aaron Fairnacci, the man charged with starting the most destructive fire, is due in court to enter a plea. Authorities crediting witnesses in catching him. My daughter was sitting on the porch out there and she says there's a fire. So I ran out and looked and saw a calm smoke rising exactly where that individual was standing at. And tonight the Spokane fires have now burned more than 10,000 acres with fire officials telling us full containment could take weeks. Tom. Morgan Chesky's still there in the fire zone. We're back in a moment with celebrity blogger. Perez Hilton rushed to the hospital after appearing to hurt himself during a live stream. The new details tonight.

Plus, the deadly explosion caught on camera, an entire house ripped apart what caused this blast. And the race to rescue a man swarmed by bees, how officers pulled this disabled man to safety. Ahead on Top Story. We're back down with a very troubling story. Police responding to the Miami area home of celebrity blogger and podcaster Perez Hilton after reports he engaged in self-harm in a live-stream video. Tonight, his team and family say he's receiving medical care. Jesse Kirsch is the latest.

Tonight's celebrity blogger Perez Hilton is alive, but his physical and mental health are in question after a disturbing 24 hours in South Florida. Late Tuesday, the Miami-day Sheriff's Office responded to Hilton's home after a live stream surfaced on TikTok, appearing to show Hilton without clothes covered in blood with visible cuts and wielding. a knife. The image is so disturbing, NBC News will not broadcast them. The Miami Day Sheriff's

Office telling NBC News that deputies responded to reports of someone who was live streaming acts of self-harm on social media. The Sheriff's Office did not name Hilton, but you can hear a deputy call out his real first name, Mario, in this doorbell video from a neighbor. Later, our Miami station's camera was rolling as first responders loaded someone into an ambulance. The disturbing live stream playing out on TikTok for about 15 minutes before it was interrupted, according to a TikTok U.S. spokesperson in the video, viewers pleaded with him. A TikTok U.S. spokesperson telling NBC news the live stream was first flagged by the company's automated systems and then escalated to human moderators within minutes.

The company says it warned law enforcement and banned the account. Hilton rose to fame in the early 2000s, with his often snarky blog focusing on the high, and lows of the celebrity world. Today, the 48-year-old has millions of social media followers. And I do not love this. In June, the father of three announced he and his family were moving back to Miami from Las Vegas. And last month, addressing recent health scares. I nearly died this year twice. I had severe sepsis and landed in the hospital for 21 days. And then I was back in the hospital a few weeks after that. On his famed website today, his family and team writing in part, we are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming outpouring of love, support, and prayers. We can

confirm that Perez is receiving medical care, and our family's focus right now is on his well-being. Jesse Kerrish joins us tonight from Miami. Jesse, this is a very sad situation. What else is the family saying tonight? Absolutely, Tom. The family also asking for privacy, both for Perez Hilton and for themselves. Our station, in Miami. WTVJ was outside of Hilton's home earlier today and once again saw Sheriff's Department vehicles as well as personnel from the Department of Children and Families. Remember, as we mentioned in that piece, he has three children. There were also two people seen leaving the property with suitcases, Tom. Okay. Jesse Kirsch, Jesse, thank you. If you or someone you know

is in crisis, you can call 988 or visit 988 lifeline.org to reach the national suicide and crisis lifeline. Still to come tonight here on Top Story, a teen dressed up in a clown costume arrested after someone was found stabbed to death in the street. The terrifying messages he left on a doorbell cam. Plus, the attack in paradise, a little boy nearly mulled to death while on vacation, what his parents are saying about how he survived. We're back now with chilling video out of Illinois,

a 15-year-old dressed as a clown seen peering into homes. Take a listen to what he said on this front porch. Shortly after that video was taken, police say a 78-year-old man was found stabbed the death in the street in that same East St. Louis neighborhood. The teen whose face we have blurred arrested in connection to the murder, though he has not been charged. One neighbor telling our local affiliate she saw him twirling a large knife outside her home. He circled back around in these woods because you could hear like the sticks, like breaking. I want to bring an Aaron Gilchrest who's covering this one for us.

So Aaron, what do we know about the teen behind? that mask. Well, Tom, we know that state police are absolutely using the word suspect to describe this teen, a suspect in their homicide investigation. 15 years old, they've not identified him by name at this point, nor are we aware of whether there have actually been charges filed yet in this case. But police have indicated that they are still investigating this. They say that once they got that phone call around 10 o'clock local time on Monday night, the officers arrived on the scene and they were able very quickly to identify a juvenile suspect in this case. And they said they were able, in a very short order, to go to a home and arrest that young

man. There's also this video, this frankly, creepy video that's out there. Police are acknowledging the fact that it does exist. And they say that they are aware that their suspect is seen in this video in a clown costume. They're asking people who may have more video or other information to come forward, Tom, and share whatever information or video they may have. have. Yeah, and do you have any more additional sort of details on this case or about the victim? Because this is just horrific, the old man being stabbed like that, especially if it was potentially

this kid in the clown costume. Yeah, 78 years old, John Wesley Allen, Sr., his body was found in the middle of a road in this area. And as we understand it, he had been stabbed several times. It's according to our affiliate. And at this point, it just seems as though. his body was found in the middle of the street near a bus stop, one of those bus shelters with a bench. We don't know whether there had been some sort of engagement or altercation, a fight of some sort, or if this was someone who was snuck up on and stabbed while he was sitting at a bus stop. So state police in Indiana are still investigating this at this point, Tom, and hopefully more information is going to be coming out to sort of paint a picture of how this all came together

and what exactly may have happened to Mr. Allen. Gary and creepy story there. Okay, Aaron, we thank you for your reporting. Also in Illinois, a deadly home explosion killing at least one person. Police are still working to determine what caused the blast. NBC's Maggie Vespa has this one. A deadly explosion in southern Illinois tearing apart a home, catapulting pieces of it high into the air. The power of that blast. Captured from multiple cameras nearby, absolutely decimating one house and damaging several others. It happened Tuesday evening in the small village of energy. I've never heard a sound like that in my entire life. It was enormous, but it's like you could feel it in your body. Cassandra Dan

lives across the street. When you walked out and saw your neighbor's home in pieces, what went through your mind? Utter sadness, you knew that no one could survive that. She immediately thought of her neighbor, 78-year-old Dave Turner. Authorities confirming today, he did not survive. He took a lot of pride in caring for his property and his neighbors, and it's very tragic. The local sheriff telling me a second person was injured, adding the explosion appears to have been an accident. We're investigating from all aspects, but we do believe it's an accident, likely caused by a natural gas or propane type explosion. Okay, let's pick it up right there, Maggie.

This investigation, as we just heard, they're pointing to a gas leak as a likely cause. Did the sheriff say why and how soon they will know? Yeah, so basically, Tom, he said that loved ones of Dave Turner, the man who was killed and lived in that home, had told them recently that he thought he was having a problem with his furnace, and he had called repair companies to try to get somebody to come out and look at it. And so the sheriff thinks that that could quite possibly be linked to the cause, although we've notes that it's early in the investigation, but they say that seems like a likelihood. lead. They think they will have a final cause identified within the next couple of weeks.

Tom. Okay, Maggie, thank you. Now to Top Stories News Feed, and we start with New Mexico. Now, suing the Justice Department, accusing it of blocking a state investigation to allege sex crimes at Jeffrey Epstein's ranch near Santa Fe. The lawsuit seeks to force the federal government to turn over materials to New Mexico investigators, but the DOJ is pushing back saying some info was not related to avoid identifying, was not released to avoid identifying victims. New data shows more young Americans are now turning to AI before going to medical professionals. That according to a survey from the insurance company, Affleck. It found nearly two-thirds of millennials use AI as their first line of health care support.

And more Gen Z, it's even more 76%. Look at that. Researchers also say younger adults are spending more on self-care but are less likely to have a primary doctor. Hmm. Tick-Tock videos are coming to Disney Plus. The tech and entertainment giants just announced a new kind, a new first of its kind deal. So it allows TikTok creators to make content using characters and scenes from Disney movies and shows. Those videos will then be shared on both TikTok and Disney Plus. The partnership is set to launch in the U.S. in the next few months. And in Texas, new body cam shows police rescuing a man. This is crazy from a swarm of bees.

You can actually see the bees attacking. You see the officers rushing over, helping lift him off the ground. and into the truck while they all got stung. The mayor of Leifford says they were all treated at the hospital, adding that the man is now recovering. Scary. Okay. And tonight we're hearing from the family of a nine-year-old boy after their son was viciously attacked by a pack of dogs

while they were vacationing in the Bahamas. Our George Solis spoke with his parents about how he survived. Our son is alive because of every single person that has helped us up until this point. Tonight, the parents of nine-year-old Bo Bratton, emotional, yet resilient. as her son recovers from a vicious dog attack in the Bahamas. He was looking into my eyes, asking me if he was going to die. Alietreyes and Michael Bratton have been at Bowes bedside after the July 28th attack during a family getaway at a popular tourist beach.

The energetic and curious nine-year-old on the beach looking to collect sand for hermit crabs he had caught the night before when the family says a pack of dogs began their assault. What do you remember hearing that morning when this happened? It wasn't so much the hearing as it was the scene. I ran to him immediately, screaming his name, at a pitch that I probably never had to use in my life. This video capturing Bo on a stretcher as he was flown by the U.S. Coast Guard to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. That's his father right there with him, telling him, Bo, Bo, you know, keep your eyes open, buddy. Look at me, okay, I'm here with you.

The brutal attack left Bo with injuries to his limbs, face, neck, and the loss of a portion of his scalp. The severity has led to three surgeries so far. According to Bahamian authorities, a man has been arrested in charge in connection with the attack. Tonight the family remains optimistic and grateful. If there had been one thing that didn't go as planned from the moment of the incident to the moment of his arrival to the hospital, I don't know if we would be sitting here right now. George Solis joins us now. George, you feel so sorry for that child.

The injuries to Bo are so extensive. What does his recovery look like right now? Yeah, Tom, it's going to be extensive. The families already told us that they have had to do the three surgeries for Bo. And he's looking at a surgery a week now for the duration, especially for those injuries to his scalp. The medical bills already racking up. They tell me it could be upwards of $3 million. But fortunately, the community has already been showering them with support in their hour of need.

And then there's the question of negligence here, right? And what government officials there in Bimini knew about the? these dogs and what that owner knew about his dogs? Yeah, it's Tom. It's certainly an interesting question. The Royal Bohemian Police Force tells us they are still investigating, but they've been tight-lipped about where this investigation goes for now. We do know an individual has been arrested in charge, and he faces some negligence charges related to the dogs behind this attack. And if this individual is convicted, he could be facing some serious jail time. Tom. George, so at least for us, George, thank you. Coming up tonight,

the latest in the legal battle involving a former Olympian and the reform. reflecting pool in the nation's capital. His lawyer joins top story tonight, the new action he's taking as the case causes a rift between the president and a key ally. Plus our series, the cost of denial. The question at hand tonight should weight loss drugs still be covered by insurance after someone loses the weight while one man was denied until NBC News stepped in? That's next. We're back now with the fresh legal challenges tonight against the Trump administration. Hours after U.S. Attorney for D.C., Janine Piro dismissed the reflecting pool cases against former Olympian David Hearn. His lawyers are now working to ensure the case never resurfaces.

You may remember this case goes back to an incident on June 19th. Hearn says he was biking when he touched a piece of the peeled coating in the reflecting pool. A park worker told him to let it go, and he says he did. But Piro's team argued he damaged the pool, presenting the case to a grand jury who later indicted him. Now President Trump is threatening to replace Piro expressing his disappointment over her decision to drop this case. Joining us now to discuss this is David Hearn's attorney, Joshua Kolb. Joshua, so great to have you here. First, let's get some things straight. Why exactly did your client reach into that reflecting pool? He just like hundreds of thousands of Americans went to the Reflecting Pool just to see the nation's monument,

to see this monument that is so important to our national understanding. He's someone, he's a canoeist, he has a history of interest in water and in all that kind of stuff. He was on a bike ride, which he does regularly. He went by the pool to see what was going on, went to touch the water just like many other Americans do, and what happened afterwards is a tragedy. So just to be clear here, he had no intention of trying to damage the reflecting pool. Absolutely not. So Piro drops this case, right? And that's where we are right now. But your fear is that the door has been left open for someone else to prosecute your client?

So what the government did is they moved to dismiss the case without prejudice. And what that means is that the government could then come back and re-indict the case at a later date. There's nothing stopping them from doing that. So we've moved in court for the court to dismiss the case but to dismiss it with prejudice, which means this case can never come back. Why is that important? because we've seen how this Department of Justice has been malignly influenced by the President of the United States and by political influences repeatedly, how that has weaponized the criminal justice system and led to charges over time, including our client, Mr. Hearn, but others as well, that had no basis to be brought and were ultimately dismissed. Sticking with this case right here, this case got very political and reminder of viewers why it's. got so political because this was a huge story maybe in the beltway and for people who cover politics, but it was happening sort of during holidays and travel and summer breaks and things like that. Why did this become such a hot button topic? I mean, the whole thing was political from day one. What we had here was the president rushed through this renovation job of the reflecting pool, went with a, the government went with a contractor, a no-bid contract, meaning there

was no one else competing. And the president's intention was to make the reflecting pool look a little better to clean it up. And for all Americans, I just want to be fair here. Yeah, that was a stated attention. But they hired a buddy of the presidents from Mar-a-Lago and a no-bid contract for millions of dollars. They had a rush job to try to get it done before the 4th of July holiday. It became a mess, as we people may remember, the algae that was appearing, and all of the cracks and all of the imperfections that were emerging in the pool. And instead of taking responsibility for that, the United States government, led by the president were looking for scapegoats. They were looking for people to blame.

You think the president blamed your client for the reflecting pool not looking as perfect as the president wanted it? Absolutely. We know it from his own words. He said it's all because of vandalism. It was all vandals that did this. Then they charged our client for destruction of property. The Department of Justice now admits that didn't happen. Yeah, taking a step back, you say the DOJ knew that there were flaws in this case from the start. Is there evidence of that? From the day after Mr. Hearn was arraigned in D.C. Superior Court, We filed the first of a series of motions revealing exculpatory evidence that proved that Mr. Hearn could not have caused the damage that the government claimed he did. There are a series, and we lay it out in our motion, there are a series of instances where there was public reporting, there was public knowledge and other knowledge that shows that the Department of Justice, Janine Piro, her office, knew, ought to have known that Mr. Hearn did not cause this damage.

The case should never have gone to the grand jury in the first case. Joshua Colby, thank you for being on Top Story tonight. We'll continue to follow this case. My pleasure. Thanks, Tom. All right, now to an alarming medical mix-up. An Atlanta woman says she underwent extensive treatment, including a hysterectomy, after getting a diagnosis for an aggressive form of cancer. But it turns out it was all a mistake after her labs were swapped with another woman's results.

Chase Howell with our Atlanta affiliate, WXIA, explains. Cassandra Barksdale says this misdiagnosis wasn't just physically taxing after having to endure a full hysterectomy. But it also put her in a deep depression, where she admits she even had suicidal thoughts. I had to contact my kids to let them know that I have five years to live and I'm going to die because I have aggressive cancer. Or that's what Cassandra Barksdale thought after she was diagnosed with endometrial uterine cancer in March 2025. My sons, they went into a deep depression. It took a big hole over my family. In May, Barksdale says she had her uterus, cervix, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and four lymph nodes removed.

She was even told she'd need chemo. Every day, it was like my days was short because of the aggressive cancer. But in September, four months after her surgery, Barksdale says Kaiser Permanente would tell her it was all a big mistake. We've got computers, we've got science, we've got AI, you know, how the hell did this happen? Roderick Edmund is Barkdale's attorney. He says his client's lab results were mixed up. with somebody else's and that's how this mess happened. We will find out where the mishap occurred, how the mishandling occurred, how it wound up that somebody else's tissue wound up being

labeled with Ms. Barksdale's name. Now they're hoping this lawsuit will prevent something like this from happening to someone else. And in a statement from Kaiser Permanente, a spokesperson wrote in part, Ms. Barksdale should not have experienced this. We have highly trained staff and very thorough processes in place to prevent errors like this from taking place. After this occurred last year, we took immediate steps to ensure it could not happen again. Now, what about the person who actually had cancer? Well, according to Mr. Edmund, we may never know because of HIPAA, which protects the privacy of a patient's health information. Back to you, Tom. Chase, our thanks to you. Now to our series, the cost of denial, where we investigate the challenges people face with their insurance. Tonight we're digging in on a question being hotly debated across insurance companies and throughout the medical community. Should popular GLP1 weight loss drugs be covered after the weight comes off in order to make sure it stays off? Here's Liz Kreutz. It's improved my sleep. It's improved my energy.

For Sacramento Sheriff's Deputy William Mehan, the GEO, The LP1 drug Zepbound changed just about everything. His sleep apnea is gone and he's down from 250 pounds to 170. My appetite just got to a level where I stopped thinking about food all the time and I could just live normally. But now William is caught up in the insurance industry's debate over whether and when to cover weight lost drugs. When he recently went to renew his prescription, he was told this. You are denied because your current BMI is under 30. To be on this medication, your BMI has to be greater than 30.

Essentially, Williams insurer, Sutter Health, which initially covered the Zepam for sleep apnea, told him he no longer qualified because he'd lost so much weight, his body mass index was now too low. 30% BMI is around 200 pounds from me. You feel like you're being encouraged to gain weight right now? I do. By the way I interpret it is that Sutter Health wants me to be 200 pounds to stay on this medication. And I don't think that's anyone's recommendation. It's something many people on GLP-1s are now facing when it comes to renewal.

It's a real challenge right now to keep the drug for maintenance. Yes. Professor Lisa Kroon runs the Medication Outcome Center at UC San Francisco. She believes insurers should treat GLP-1s like maintenance drugs, the way they do blood pressure or cholesterol medications, but says the cost of these drugs, along with their exponential popularity, has led to a gray area in many health plans. Can the insurance companies afford this to pay for all of these people to have this drug for the rest of their lives? That's the challenge. Some health plans had to increase the BMI to cover them just because they were costing millions, tens of millions of dollars to a large health plan. Her advice, be persistent. That's exactly what William did.

Another denial. He appealed and appealed again and finally turned to NBC News. speaks of us reaching out to Sutter Health to ask about his case, William received a notice that he was now approved. I think the only reason that I was approved for this is because the COFTA denial and NBC reached out and asked what's going on. Why isn't he being approved? But Sutter Health told us the prior denials were due to an administrative submission error on the part of Williams' doctor, who also works for Sutter Health, saying that the initial request was denied as submitted under the obstructive slug. sleep apnea indication, while the subsequent request was approved under the separate weight management indication. We also reached out to William's doctor for clarification but received no response. Sutter added that no exception was made for William, but also noted that his approval should not be interpreted as a universal policy applying to all Sutter members. There might be people who are like,

well, you've lost the weight, you've changed your lifestyle. Why do you need the drug anymore? Is it just for vanity reasons? I don't view it as for vanity reasons. I think that this genuinely has improved my health. I don't want to go back to being heavier and unhealthier. All right, with that, Liz, Coyt's Joint's top story tonight from Los Angeles. So, Liz, there are studies out there that show people do gain the weight back after going off weight-loss drugs. But we're also seen a new study that says that might not be the case.

Yeah, Tom, that's right. Actually, three recent studies that just came out showed that 45 to 6. 70% of people don't gain the weight back after stopping treatment for the first two years. So that mixed data here is certainly adding to the debate in this within the health care industry. And as you heard from our expert there, as you mentioned, that cost is a major factor. Because of that, insurers are changing the guidelines for who can get approved. I mean, even in the case of William, we heard Sutter Health say that he was denied because it was submitted under sleep apnea, denied for his renewal.

It should have been submitted under weight loss, they said. But William told us that he initially was denied for weight loss, which is why his doctor submitted it under sleep apnea. So you can see the guidelines keep changing, Tom, or really frankly, they're not that transparent. And then, Liz, before you go, part of the problem with these GOP-1s and insurance companies is that the prices have been too high, and yet there's more and more of them. Have the prices come down at all? Prices have dropped since these drugs first hit the market, for sure. And the hope is that they'll continue to drop as more generics get out there, more options get out there. Also the fact that the pill version of these drugs, it's maybe not as effective, but it's out there that's helping lower the cost too.

But at the end of the day, Tom, these drugs are still very expensive. They can be hundreds of dollars a month. So a big, big difference when you consider it, the other maintenance drugs that are much lower for like a cholesterol or blood pressure medication. But we'll see if that changes, Tom. Yeah, okay, Liz Croyd's good work, though, tonight with you and the team on this one. When we come back, a night to remember for the Lombard brothers, both hitting home runs in their baseball debuts. We'll hear from their mom who watched it all. Stay with us.

Finally tonight, the story of two brothers, both stepping up to the plate, hitting matching home runs in their debut games, turning it into a night their parents will never forget. George Lombard Jr. making his major league debut. In his first game in the big leagues, George Lombard Jr. stepped up to the plate. The pressure on. More than 40,000 fans packing Yankee stands.

including two of the most important people in his life, mom and dad. In his second at bat, Yankee fans holding their breath after two strikes. Lombard Jr.'s first big league hit, a monster home run. From every angle, fans erupting the camera cutting to mom and dad. The parents are going nuts and so's everybody in the ballpark. What were you feeling before that third pitch? I was worried. I was like, oh-oh.

looked at the outfielder and he kept going back and I'm like, it's a home run. And that's what we all went crazy. And for these two parents, it was a busy night of baseball, fans noticing them watching another game. Their younger son, Jacob, just drafted by the Marlins minor league team playing in his first game. And little bro also going yard. Hit high in the air, deep left field going back as Haskins, he turns, and this ball is gone. Both boys grew up playing with their dad.

George Lombard, a former pro himself who now coaches for the Detroit Tigers. Two stunning debuts, two very proud parents, and one family with a night they'll never forget. What they put in and the time they have put in to see it blossom to this is, you know, a mom's dream. And a big congratulations to the Lombard family. We will be rooting for George in the stands at Yankee Stadium. All right. Thanks so much for watching Top Story tonight. in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.