Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Episode Date: August 10, 2023

Deadly wildfires engulf Hawaii as people race to escape the flames. Tom speaks with a resident who evacuated his home alongside his grandfather. New York City residents protest the city’s migration crisis as Mayor Eric Adams renews calls for federal aid. A woman accused of plotting to kill her husband posts bond in the Bahamas. Documents reveal a six-year-old who shot his teacher admitted to the crime moments later. California Senator Dianne Feinstein is hospitalized after a fall following a string of health scares this year. And the mayor of Tampa discovers 70 pounds of cocaine while fishing.

Tonight, urgent evacuations underway in Hawaii at this hour, raging wildfires on the island of Maui, killing at least six people, more than 1,000 acres on fire tonight. As the fast-moving flames engulf homes and businesses, hospitals seen a surge of burn victims, people jumping into the ocean to escape the inferno. Tonight we'll talk to one man who made it out just before his home was burnt to the ground, his harrowing journey as thousands of tourists try to make their way home. Also breaking tonight FBI agents shooting and killing a Utah man who was threatening to kill the president after posting pictures of sniper rifles online. The shocking confrontation just hours before Biden landed in Salt Lake City.

Feinstein hospitalized concerns tonight for the California senator after she fell at her San Francisco home. How she's doing now and the new reporting about who she granted power of attorney to. New Yorkers versus migrants, protesters erupting in Queens, with some residents furious over a proposed plan to house migrants in a makeshift-tenth city, the rising tensions as the city runs out of room. Americans' credit card addiction, the troubling milestone tonight, U.S. credit debt surpassing $1 trillion as a growing number of Americans pull money out of their 401ks to make ends meet. What these signs mean about the likelihood of entering a recession and what you can do to get out of a financial hole. Plus, scare at the rodeo the moment a bull broke out of the arena and who had injured in the parking lot. And million-dollar catch with the mayor of Tampa reeled in by mistake on a family fishing trip in the Keys. Can you figure it out?

Top story. Starts right now. And good evening. Tonight, apocalyptic scenes in paradise as dangerous and fast-moving wildfires you see here and gulf parts of Hawaii. The governor issuing a disaster declaration as the island of Maui burns. So far, six people killed with fears the nightmare unfolding will only get worse. Take a look at the images that are coming into the newsroom tonight. They are truly like something out of a disaster movie. This is the scene in Lahaina, a town popular with tourists on the western edge of Maui. Flames swallowing entire buildings in the central business district. And this was mid-afternoon, the thick black smoke just completely blocking out the sun there.

In nearby Kula, this smoldering pile of rubble was once someone's home. The windwip fires, you see them there, moving in so fast, people fleeing with only the clothes on their backs. Others forced to jump into the Pacific Ocean. The saltwater, their only refuge until the Coast Guard came in to bring them to safety. More than 1,000 acres burning across the island. You see it heal officials urging tourists to stay away until they get these fires under control. But a major obstacle tonight is the wind. You can see in this satellite imagery here, strong winds are blowing across the islands as those fires started popping up.

The winds driven in part by Hurricane Dora, Category 4 storm, you hear, that came in through the south. And you can see those strong winds in this cell phone video that we just got in at some of those of those thousands of residents who were forced to flee. try to get out of their cars. In a moment, we'll talk to one man who escaped with his grandfather, how they got out before their entire neighborhood went up in flames. But we begin first with NBC's Miguel Almagare on the ground in Hawaii tonight. The apocalyptic scene in Maui unfolded before sunrise, an island wildfire so explosive, flames poured into the Pacific, forcing the desperate to plunge into the ocean to escape the inferno. Careful right here. The Coast Guard quickly plucking roughly a dozen from the water, as witnesses say the unstoppable blaze ripped across homes and took at least six lives.

The smoke was just so thick. People were running around looking for refuge. It was the heat was unbearable. During the chaotic evacuation, oh my God. Hospitals treating at least 20 burn victims quickly became overwhelmed. 911 service went down, cell coverage is out, and the National Guard. was ordered in to help. It really took us my surprise. As 70 mile an hour winds fan the flames, the air attack was grounded. Quickly, multiple fires erupted. Historic sections of Lahaina were swallowed by flames and engulfed in smoke. This is not a safe place to be. On certain parts of Maui, we have shelters that are overrun. Calling the unfolding catastrophe unprecedented, state officials say some of Maui is without power. Roads are but.

locked, hotels are closing, and thousands of tourists and locals are trying to flee. Our stuff is still at our hotel, so we are here at the airport with flight tonight with no stuff. The firestorm came through and took everything with it. But for those with nowhere to go or no way out, the extent of the damage is still unclear. Local people have lost everything. They've lost their house. They've lost their animals, and it's devastating. Tonight, this is the miserable. in Maui as a wildfire turns this tropical paradise into a hellish nightmare all right and right in the middle of that misery in Maui is Miguel Amagher and his team who have made it there to the island

Miguel I know you're in the car right now walk our viewers through what's happening with your travels there and what you're seeing outside your window well Tom it's incredibly difficult to get into Maui this area has been cordoned off they're actually asking people who are in this area to leave except for the first responders and of course the media our flight departing lost Angeles today was turned back to the gate several times because dozens of passengers wanted to get off that plane. They were warned if they flew to Maui, they may not have a hotel, they may not have access to food, they have access to water. So they depart, they do back. We went back to LAX so they could do plane. Getting here, Tom, I can tell you as we flew in, we could see smoke out of both the left and the right side of our airplane windows.

There were also some hot spots that we could clearly see. We're now driving towards Lahaina, which is where the devastation certainly as the epicenter of the devastation is, there we are expecting to hear stories of survival, folks who barely made it out alive. Tom, as you mentioned, you know, we've covered so many wildfires. Never have we heard of people jumping into the Pacific Ocean to save their own lives. Yeah, Miguel, I know you've done a lot of reporting from Hawaii on a variety of stories. Have you ever seen a story like this where tourists are also besides the residents in danger? You know, Tom, we often cover people who are evacuating these hot spots, and oftentimes they're in very scenic and beautiful places, but it's so rare to hear tourists who were literally packing up and running, leaving the hotels or wherever they might be. Some tourists were caught in the middle of this fire. They had to head directly to the hotel, or excuse me, to the airport. They didn't even have a chance to pack their bags. That's how quickly this fire was moving overnight. It was really jumping from hillside to hillside. There is a hurricane that passed. just offshore, about 800 miles. There was no damage from that hurricane, but the strong winds

certainly fanned the flames. That was a major thing that firefighters had to battle. They couldn't get in the air. They couldn't get their air attack up. Right now they do. And I can tell you, Tom, right now local time, it's still fairly early. So there'll be plenty of time for firefighters to make some progress, but they have a large fight on their hands, Tom. Okay, Miguel Almagarin is team who are headed there into the middle of that wildfire disaster in Maui. Miguel, we appreciate your time and all your reporting. For more on these wildfires, I do want to bring in Dustin Kaleopu, who evacuated from Lahaina late afternoon yesterday. That's the exact area where Miguel was heading in now. He evacuated with his grandfather, his home and neighborhood

now entirely burnt to the ground. Dustin, thank you so much for joining us during this really difficult time. I know this is probably hard to talk about and to look back on. I am glad to hear, though, that you and your family are safe. Walk us through what happened and how this while fire spread so quickly? It's not uncommon in West Maui for fires to happen during the summer. We're usually find ourselves in a drought. Wind comes one way or another, and our power lines go down. They spark these fires.

And it happened five years ago with Hurricane Lane, and it devastated our community. A few homes were lost, but everybody pulled together, got the community back on its feet. But this is unprecedented. did the footage that I've seen of my home, my hometown, there's nothing left, nothing to go back to. My family is thinking of just leaving the island completely. We have nothing but the clothes on our backs right now. Everything is gone. I know this has got to be an incredibly emotional time. What was it like to evacuate with your grandfather and the rest of your family? What was that process like? We live right downtown in Lahaina, where that footage was on

front tree with those flames coming out of those buildings. My grandpa's 82 years old and he's lived on that property since birth. That property has been in our family for over 80 years. Four generations of people have come through that property and we knew the smoke was getting closer. The wind was howling. The condominium across the street from our house had started to smoke and we wanted to put it off as long as we could because we didn't want to accept that our house was going to be next. And Dustin, and Dustin, if I can tell you this is the video, your family sent into us. I don't know if you were just watching that cell phone video,

but that is the area you're talking about? My house is a little further down from there. So that's where the fire started, made its way down. We live near the ocean, and it made its way down all the way to the harbor where he saw those people jumping into the water. But my neighbor's yard caught on fire, and I had to get my grandpa into the car with his cane.

We left all of his medications behind. None of the paperwork that we would need to get him any help at anywhere, nothing. just our IDs. And we ran back into the house. My brother and I, my brother made it back before we left to look for our pet, our kitten. And at that point, the smoke was so thick

in our house we couldn't see, we couldn't breathe. So we left, didn't turn back, took us two and a half hour to safety. And between that time, there was no cell reception. So my dad got home from work looking for us and presumed that we had all died. Because in the first 45 minutes after we had left our house, it was completely engulfed.

and there was nothing left. And there was no cell phone reception, so he had no idea of what had happened to his family? He had no idea. So my brother waited on the highway that my dad would take home as his route home from work and followed him and flashed his license until he could get my dad's attention.

And my dad pulled over, realizing who he was, and they had a moment on the side of the highway. My dad figuring out that we hadn't died. And that's been pretty much the, what's been going on here, people assuming either one, their family is safe and we just kind of reach them or they've died. And that body count of six confirmed deaths is all that was confirmed by the county. People on the ground are saying that there are at least 100 deaths minimum due to the fire. There are bodies everywhere. And I hope that these families can find peace and justice with their loved ones that they can be claimed.

trying to understand the people that ran into the ocean because they were afraid they were going to dive the wildfire. They had nowhere to go. They had to do that because the fire had cut off all of their escape paths. The fire caught off all of their escape paths. Lahaina is a small town. We have at most of four-lane highway, but everything else is maybe a two-way street, a little side road. They're on French Street on the water's edge where people were jumping into the water. That was the final bit of land that the fire had consumed as it made its way down the mountain. So they had no choice but to either stay in those flames or to jump into the water and swim out to safety as long and stay out there as long as it could. I know that number that you

said that the death count is likely to be higher. You're getting this information from people who have witnessed more people, unfortunately, who have died from the fire who weren't able to escape and that number is much larger than six? that number is larger than the six confirmed by the county of Maui, but I know people who have been on the ground who have been doing their own search and rescue throughout neighborhoods that were wrecked, and they've been finding bodies on the streets in homes. There are people that are unaccounted for. I still have family members that we have not had contact with in over 24 hours, and I hope

that they're watching any one of these news broadcast that I've done today. This is probably number six, and I hope that they can see this and know that we're looking for them because there are people that are unaccounted for. The county was not prepared for this emergency to happen. The amount of tourists on island is causing overpopulation

that our infrastructure can't handle, and it just led to a disaster. I'm 30, 40 miles away from Lahaina, and there's still another thousand acres of fire burning. Dustin, I understand when you left, you were able to take a photo from your home, possibly of a church, too? Is this correct?

So that church, that picture that you showed earlier, that church, that one there. This is the church here? That is our family's church that we had attended. Like I said, four generations grew up in this town. I was baptized there. My ancestors are buried in the cemetery there. That building serves as a preschool. and it's wrecked, completely wrecked.

Hundreds of years of historic sites, historic memorabilia, ancient artifacts and documents have all gone up in flames. Dustin, you're speaking to the entire country tonight. What does Hawaii need? What's your message to the White House and to the Biden administration? When people think of Hawaii, they think of the Aloha Spirit. and so often the Aloha spirit is someone like myself working in a hospitality position, but I want everyone to know that Aloha also means compassion and it means love, even in the worst circumstances.

And for once, Hawaii is not giving to anyone else, and we need your help because we are done giving to others. We are the ones that are in need. It is much worse than anyone is broadcasting right now. Dustin, Kaleopu, I am sorry for your loss tonight. I thank you for sharing. I hope you and your family are okay. I hope your relatives and your friends and everyone you know out there somehow survives this disaster. I can promise you we're going to stay on top of it.

So thank you for joining us tonight. Thank you for letting me share. Aloha. Okay, back here at home, we're going to switch gears now to another major headline tonight. FBI agents fatally shooting a man while serving a warrant at his home in Utah. The man allegedly making online threats to kill President Biden ahead of his visit to the state. Charging documents also claimed the man had, quote, intent to kill. New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

NBC's Peter Alexander has the latest. Tonight, President Biden out west heading to Salt Lake City, just hours after the FBI says its agents had a deadly confrontation with a man who had threatened to kill him. The FBI says it happened at 615 this morning in nearby Provo, Utah, where they were serving in a arrest warrant on suspect Craig Robertson, who they say was approximately 70 to 75 years old. There was a big boom and then there was another one and another one. In court documents, the FBI says Robertson posted on social media, I hear Biden is coming to Utah and that he was cleaning the dust off his sniper rifle. This Robertson post, according to the FBI, shows a picture of his weapons along with threats ahead of the 2024 election cycle. The documents also say Robertson posted threats

kill Vice President Kamala Harris, and the Democratic DA in Manhattan, Alvin Bragg, who's now prosecuting former President Trump. During surveillance in March, the FBI says it observed Robertson wearing a hat bearing the word Trump. And when agents attempted to speak with him, Robertson replied, I said it was a dream, adding, don't return without a warrant. He was nice to me. It just goes to show you never know who your neighbors are. It comes amid growing concerns over threats to public officials and their families.

families. Capital police saying the number of investigations is historically high. Major incidents include the violent attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, and an attempted assassination of conservative Supreme Court justice, Brett Kavanaugh. All right, Peter Alexander, joins us now from the White House. Peter, from your reporting, we know that the FBI says that the threats were pretty black and white. They were put out there in the public. We also know from the reporting that he's between 70 to 75 years old, the man who was shot and killed by the FBI. Do we have any idea why the agents felt they had a use lethal force? Yeah, Tom, it's a good question. The FBI has not released any details about what sparked today's

deadly confrontation. We know that no FBI agents were injured there. The FBI is saying that Robertson tried to impede multiple special agents. And I was just looking at the documents. They also say that he intended to retaliate against the FBI during the course of their investigation into him. Tom. All right, Peter Alexander at the White House first. Thank you. Now to the ongoing migrant crisis here in New York City. Residents taking to the streets protesting a new tent city that would house some of those migrants arriving every week. It's one of several being set up. Mayor Adams saying today that the city is past their breaking point, continuing to call for federal aid. Ron Allen has this one.

Hundreds of angry New Yorkers taking to the streets to voice one message. They're protesting. construction of a new relief center for the hundreds of migrants arriving in New York City every week. This one for up to 1,000 people, men only. Women, children, okay. All men, thousand of them is too much. Residents especially worry the center will be near an elementary school, a playground, and senior center. What are you afraid of happening here? The problem is that this is an inappropriate location.

They're putting 1,000 unvetted adult males in a cot, rusted fences, no shopping, no transportation, nothing to do. In another part of New York, another center for migrants on Randall's Island, designed to house more than 2,000 single men. The shelter taking over four soccer fields used by local schools, angering some educators and parents. New York now facing grassroots opposition, as it scrambles to find shelter for thousands of migrants,

nearly 200 set up so far, what city officials call a humanitarian crisis that shocked on lockers when it spilled into public view, with dozens of people sleeping on the streets outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel. We are past our breaking point. Today, Mayor Eric Adams saying the migrant crisis will cost the city some $12 billion over the next three years, a figure about 10% of the entire municipal budget, while pleading for more help from Washington, like creating a system that will send migrants from the border to other places in addition to New York.

We need the federal government to lead a decompression strategy at, the border so cities and states across the nation can do their part to shelter asylum seekers. In response today, the Biden administration telling NBC news, it's provided more than $140 million to New York City, more than any other city, not along the border, that Homeland Security has sent experts to assess the situation in New York and identify ways to maximize resources. Now, other states also demanding the Biden administration do more as the number of migrants arriving surges. Today I am declaring a state of emergency in Massachusetts. Massachusetts governor says the number of people in homeless shelters is up by some 80%. It's more families than our state

has ever served exponentially. Back in New York, the new migrant relief centers still perhaps weeks away from opening. The city is still looking for more places, with some local residents vowing to keep asylum seekers out of their backyards. There is no 24-hour transportation. There is no 24-hour there are no subways here this is inhumane to the migrants by elected officials who purport to be concerned about them meanwhile city officials have said that no places off the table when it comes to more possible shelter sites several thousand locations have been considered including places like central park where there are medical facilities during the height of the covid pandemic tom all right ron allen for us from new york city ron we appreciate that we want to turn out of money talks and a major

financial headline that grabbed our attention in a big way today. U.S. credit card debt has now passed $1 trillion for the first time ever. And the New York Fed funding delinquency rates, essentially late or no payments on credit cards, are back up to pre-pandemic levels. You see it there at the end of the screen with interest rates hitting consumers hard. One factor behind that, get this, 70 million new credit card accounts have been opened since 2019. And while most Americans are racking up debt, more are pulling money out of their retirement accounts because of financial distress. New data from Bank of America showing that out of the 4 million retirement accounts, it manages nearly 16,000 people withdrew from their 401ks in the second quarter of this year.

That may not sound like a big number, but that's a 36% jump since that time last year. This, as Moody's, has cut the credit ratings of 10 U.S. banks and put six more on notice. Against that economic backdrop, President Biden touting Bidenomics saying inflation is down, wages are up, and the stock market is strong. But are Americans feeling that windfall? Kristen O'Keefe, Merrick, joins us now. She was previously a VP at Morgan Stanley and is currently a financial advisor. So I have the big question for you.

We put all those pieces together, and it sounds concerning. Are we about to head into a recession? Are they all connected? Does it mean anything? Yeah. So I don't, like, the way you just intro that, makes it all seem very dark. I actually don't believe we're heading into a recession and have not thought that from the beginning. You have to look at the other factors. We have still

crazy high employment rates, this insane real estate market, which will not go down. And the consumer is still spending a lot, which, by the way, is part of the reason that we're in all the problems that you just mentioned with credit card debt. The backdrop of inflation going up is cycling through now, and it's that moment of realization where you're like, I can't actually afford my life anymore. And that's really... And so at some point, then, do people stop spending? Because I understand in the beginning, to have a recession, you have to have three quarters of no growth. But at some point, people will stop spending and won't the growth stop. Well, that's supposed to happen, right? We just haven't seen it yet. I do believe that at some

point, you have to, I mean, it's economics, right? Where does the money come from? Where is it going to come from when people run out? Well, it's clearly affecting people's, I mean, credit cards, right? They're going to credit cards. They're overspending. They're spending money they do not have. Their salaries have not caught up with the rate of inflation. And inflation took a while to transfer into the cycle, right? You know, at first it was like, oh, eggs are expensive. Oh, gas is expensive. And now it's everything's expensive. A drink at a bar is $25 in New York City these days. Talk to me about what you think is going to happen with the economy. So my view on this is that we continue to improve slowly,

but we have to allow these cycles to manifest and go through. We have to wait to the point until the consumer realizes that they are in pain and they have to stop spending. Okay. That's the breaking point. Inflation's already coming down, to Joe Biden's point. Inflation's already on the way down, but it still has to cycle through in terms of actual reality. Okay.

So these are your three scenarios. You know, avoid a recession, which you just mentioned. we end up in a recession. Yeah, I don't think that's very likely, to be honest with you. I really don't. I mean, unless something materially changes or unless there's some kind of huge event that I can't foresee, I don't think. Finally, what is this? This is like classic.

It's like, we're just kind of like for the next year or two. We just get. What does that mean for like the, what should people do then? Like your financial advisor, what should people do? Because you see these headlines and I mean, it can bring a lot of like economic uncertainty to you. Yeah. So nobody likes my answer to this. Okay.

Go for it. But my answer is that you actually have to stop spending money you don't have. Stop traveling, stop getting out. And nobody likes that answer. But it's the truth, right? You are spending more money than you have. That is why you have credit card debt, period, the end. That's number one.

Number two, you also need to know where it's going. What are you spending the most on? And then can you improve in certain areas? You have to change your lifestyle if you are feeling the pinch on this. Kristen, we appreciate your advice. We appreciate everything. We'll see how you are on the predictions. We'll find out in six months. Still ahead tonight, the disturbing new details in a Virginia school shooting. What court documents reveal about the chilling moments after a six-year-old shot his teacher and what that child said after pulling the trigger. You won't believe it. Plus, murder for hire plot, our first look at the former beauty queen accused of planning to kill her husband in the Bahamas as she was let out on Bond. And a scare at the rodeo, a bull breaking out of the arena, who, Who would injured in the parking lot? Stay with us. Top stories just getting started on this busy Wednesday night.

All right, we're back now with an update on the former pageant queen accused of plotting to kill her husband. Lindsay Schiaver posting Bonn in the Bahamas, but she will not be able to leave the nation just yet. Valerie Castro has the latest. Lindsay Schiver seen for the first time since she was arrested in connection to a plot to kill her husband. The Georgia mother emerging from a prison transport van with her hands shackled and led into a Bahamian courthouse. Shiver was released after posting a $100,000 bond, but she can't leave the country. Her travel documents surrendered to the court and ankle monitor tracking her movements until her next court hearing. Last but not least, I want to thank me.

The 36-year-old former beauty queen stands accused in a murder plot to kill her estranged husband, Robert, a former Auburn football player and NFL free agent. Her two co-defendants, her reported boyfriend Terrence Bethel and Farron Newbold. All three charged with murder conspiracy, according to Bahamian authorities. Local media, Bahamas Court News, reporting prosecutors say the alleged plan was discovered in WhatsApp messages on a cell phone recovered by police who were investigating a break in. That's what I always do, and they never catch me. Ain't nobody going to catch me.

The shiver couple in the midst of a contentious divorce, in the US. There are three young children at the center of a custody battle. The two married in 2010, but Robert filed for divorce in April of this year. Court documents citing the marriage as irretrievably broken, Schiever asking for separation based on her adulterous conduct. Fighting back, Lindsay's attorney alleging in court documents physical, mental, and emotional abuse. Robert declining to make any public statements. Lindsay Schiver's life at home, far removed from the Island Paradise, she now can't escape. All right, Valerie Castro joins us now live in studio. So, Valerie, what are the conditions of her release? So there are a few stipulations. The judge

says she has to report to a local police department three times a week every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday before 6 p.m. He also stipulated that she can't have any contact or interact with her co-defendants in this case. Okay, Valerie Castro with that big update. Thank you, Valerie. We want to turn out to some disturbing new details from that Virginia school shooting by a six-year-old earlier this year. Newly unsealed documents revealed the child who shot his teacher, told another staffer, quote, I did it, just minutes after the shooting. This development comes as the criminal case against his mom moves forward.

Maggie Vespa with the chilling details. I remember him pointing the gun at me. I remember the look on his face. Tonight, a chilling and newly unsealed account of the moments after investigators say a six-year-old Virginia boy shot first grade teacher at. Abby Zwerner in her classroom back in January. I remember the gun going off. I remember feeling something.

It was a pretty scary day. According to a probable cause statement obtained by NBC's Portsmouth affiliate Wavy, a school reading specialist restrained the boy after he shot Zwerner in the chest and hand. She told police he said, quote, I shot that expletive dead. I did it. And I got my mom's gun last night. Prosecutors declining to charge the boy. Tonight, an attorney for the family writing,

the child has had severe emotional issues. He is in therapy and improving daily. We wish to thank the dedicated professionals working with him. The boy's mother, Deja Taylor, speaking to ABC News in May. Do you feel in any way responsible for the shooting? Yes, of course. That is my son. So I am, as a parent, obviously willing to take responsibility for him

because he can't take responsibility for himself. She is expected to plead guilty next week. to felony child neglect and recklessly leaving a loaded firearm where a child could access it. The documents say she told investigators that on the morning of the shooting, she believed her firearm was stored in her purse with the trigger lock in place, adding she keeps the key for the gun lock under her bedroom mattress. Zwerner, who's recovering from her wounds, spoke with today back in March. Do you feel like you could have been better protected by the school? Yes.

You feel like they should have done more? Yes. Okay, Maggie Vespa joins us live tonight. Maggie, to that last point, at these warners now suing the district, as we know, and multiple former administrators for $40 million, arguing they failed to protect her. Did these documents do anything to help her case? It's interesting. We talked to legal analysts, and they say they might actually help her civil case.

She alleges the boy had a known history of violence, as we know. And these documents also, in addition to what you heard about, in that piece. They also detail a past incident when a kindergarten teacher alleges that boy strangled her from behind until she couldn't breathe. And the suit's defendants, by the way, we should add, again, this is talking about the known history of violence here. They're not commenting on this kind of latest document dump, except for the district who just says they're cooperating with this investigation and they value safety in their schools. And we should also know Tom Warner's attorney in a statement tonight, adding that Abby was an optimistic and

dedicated and caring teacher who endured the unthinkable. adding, quote, we are thankful every day she survived the shooting. Tom. Yeah, great that she did survive. Maggie, we thank you for that. When we come back, a former NFL star heading to prison, Raiders wide receiver, Henry Ruggs, pleading guilty for killing a woman while driving drunk, the time he's now facing.

Stay with us. Okay, now at Top Stories News Feeding, we begin with the former NFL player sentenced for a deadly DUI crash. Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver, Henry Ruggs, receiving a sentence of three to ten years in prison for that 2021 fiery crash that killed a woman and her dog. He pleaded guilty to charges connected to the crash in May. Now, to the dangerous scene at a rodeo in Utah, new video shows a bull bucking its rider before busting through the arena gate.

That bull escaping into the parking lot where it chased, knocked down, and stepped on the mother and the brother of Lieutenant Governor, of the Lieutenant Governor, they are expected to be okay. The animal was on the loose for three minutes before being recaptured by rodeo riders. And a cast member on Big Brother has been expelled for using a racial slur while on the reality show. Luke Valentine was heard saying the N-word on the show's live feed while speaking to other contestants. Viewers instantly taking to social media demanding his instant removal in a statement CBS confirming Valentine was immediately taken off the show. Now to the new White House order restricting U.S. investments in some Chinese technology.

The Biden administration borrowing American investment in high-tech sectors like artificial intelligence and the quantum computing that helps power it, as well as some kinds of semiconductors used to power cars and computers, the order and effort to tamp down on investment in technology that could help the Chinese military, and it's the latest move against China. The decision comes less than two months after Secretary of State Blinken met with China's president, in an effort to reopen communications between the two countries. And last month, we saw Mexico surpass China as the top U.S. trading partner for 2023 that sent the stock market down yesterday. And then just earlier this week,

11 Russian-Chinese naval ships cruised together near Alaska. All of this amid soaring tensions between China and Taiwan that we've continued to follow here on Top Story. So what does this all mean for the latest? I want to bring in Josh Rogan, a columnist for The Washington Post who writes about foreign policy and national security and the author of Chaos Under Heaven, Trump Xi in the Battle for the 21st Century.

Josh, thanks so much for joining us. You know, in your column in the Washington Post, you usually sort of read between the lines, and you let your readers know what's really happening. So what's really happening with China right now? Well, there are two things happening, actually, Tom. One is that China's going through an economic crisis. They've had a very bad recovery to COVID, and the Communist Party is clamping down on all private industries. So in that environment, they really want to reach out to.

the United States. That's why they're inviting Janet Yellen to come. Gina Raimondo, our Commerce Secretary, is expected to go this month, although they might cancel that now. And the second thing that's going on is that the Biden administration is trying to restrict the flow of sensitive technologies to China. And this is what they've come up with, and it's a controversial idea. It's a new tool. And that's to tell American businesses that you can't invest in these certain things in China. And, of course, American businesses don't like to hear that. But this was a negotiation. And what's going on behind the scenes is that the economic imperatives and the national security imperatives are clashing with each other.

And this is kind of the middle of the road. And I think it's going to be really interesting to see how it all plays out. How is the news played out in Beijing? Well, the Chinese Communist Party is very angry. You know, they don't like this kind of thing. They see it as interference in the economy, which, of course, it is in a sense. Now, the question is what are they going to do about it? Now, some of the lower retaliation measures we've already mentioned, they could cancel Gina Raimondo's trip.

They could cut off economic engagement, or they could retaliate and try to do the same thing to us that we do to them, although the economies aren't the same, so that might not actually work. But suffice to say, this U.S. economic relationship is going to get worse before it gets better with China because of all the things that we've just discussed. What's most important to China? Is it the economy or is it Taiwan? Well, that's a really good question, because the only thing that's more important to Xi Jinping than the economy is Taiwan. And he'll do almost anything to bolster Chinese economy because that's what bolsters his control and the party's control.

But Taiwan's the exception to the rule. And he sees his legacy as reuniting China and Taiwan. And he set a date for the Chinese military to be ready by 2027. And, you know, I argue that we should take him seriously in that. How would you judge the Biden administration's handling of China? Because after you laid out this way, you could say Joe Biden is playing hardball with China right now. Yeah, no, I think, you know, for the super hawks, like people, some Republicans in Congress, it's too weak.

They would have liked to see more sectors cut off. They want to see more arms to Taiwan. And, of course, for a lot of people in the business community and some people on the progressive left, it's too strong. So I think that's kind of a Goldilocks scenario. He's trying to get it just right. And I think that's a very difficult thing to do because this is a very new kind of competition, an economic technological competition wrapped in with national security.

But I think they're trying to be responsible about it, and I think they're trying to be more international about it, and they're trying not to be so belligerent about it. They're trying to take the Trump administration and China policy, which was a lot of talk and not a lot of action, and switch it to a lot of action, but not a lot of talk. And I'd say they're doing fairly well, considering how difficult admission that is. You have that joint exercise between the Chinese and the Russians off the coast of Alaska. How worried should we be about that? And briefly, if you could just give us sort of an overview of the military relationship. relationship between those two superpowers. Right. Well, on one level, it's kind of bizarre for China to claim that it's an Arctic power,

considering how far it is from the Arctic. But I think this is another step in the ongoing closening ties between our two main rivals, Russia and China. And, you know, they're becoming closer every single day in every single way. And they're united by their opposition to us, the United States and Europe and the West, and the things that we stand for. And I think that's a dynamic that's going to get more prominent in the years to come. and that has to be handled very carefully so that it doesn't appear into the conflict that none of us want to see.

Josh Rogan, make sure to check out his book, as well as his column on The Washington Post. We always appreciate you having you on the show, Josh. Thank you. Back now, though, with Top Stories, Global Watch and the homicide investigation into a suspected mushroom poisoning in Southern Australia, police in Victoria, say, a 48-year-old woman cooked a meal for her former in-laws and another couple, three people of the guests died, and a fourth is in critical condition after showing symptoms consistent with poisoning from death cap mushrooms. The host and her two children were not sickened. She has denied any

wrongdoing. And an update tonight, an American nurse and her child have finally been released from kidnappers in Haiti. In a post on their Facebook page, the nonprofit Elroy Haiti, confirming that the two are safe. Alex Dorsanaville and the child were abducted from the organization's Porter Prince location just last month. No word yet on how they were released or if anyone has been arrested. Okay, when we come back and update on Senator Dian Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress hospitalized again after falling at her home, the growing concerns over her health.

Next. We are back now with another health care for California, Senator Dian Feinstein, the 90-year-old lawmaker hospitalized after a fall at her home. It comes after health battles have sidelined her for months this year and drawn calls from within her own party to step aside. Julie Serkin reports tonight from Washington. Senator, do you feel fit enough to be here?

A new health scare tonight for the oldest member of Congress. 90-year-old Diane Feinstein hospitalized Tuesday after suffering what her office called a minor fall in her San Francisco home. After roughly two hours of scans and tests, Feinstein was cleared from the hospital, where her office says she was admitted as a precaution. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's the latest health challenge. what's been a difficult year for California senior senator, as NBC News confirms Feinstein has given her daughter limited power of attorney, the authority to oversee some of her legal

and financial transactions. This spring, Feinstein was absent from the chamber for three months as she recovered from shingles. Returning in a wheelchair, seeming to struggle in her interactions with reporters and even in routine tasks, like during this committee vote last month. Just say aye. Okay, just. Aye. Thank you. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke with Feinstein this morning, writing in a statement, quote, she said she suffered no injuries and briefly went to the hospital as a precaution. I'm glad she is back home now and is doing well.

But the incident isn't diminishing calls for her to resign. California Congressman Rokana calling out his Democrat colleague when Feinstein missed more than 90 votes, forcing Democrats to hit pause on key judicial nominees in the closely divided Senate. There's the sense, well, you need to have a deference to these senators who've served so long. How about a deference to the American people? How about an expectation that if you sign up to do one of these jobs, you show up? And a June poll finding more than 60% of California voters say it's time for Feinstein to step aside for a new generation. Now, Feinstein, a trailblazer for women in American politics had said she will not see,

re-election in 2024, but vowed to finish the rest of this term, planning to conclude a Senate career that has spanned three decades. But we won't actually see her in this building until September. That's when lawmakers return to Washington from their summer break. Tom? Julie, Sirkin, for us tonight, Julie, we appreciate that. For more of what Senator Feinstein's recent medical problems mean for her position in Congress, I want to bring an NBC News medical contributor, Dr. Natalie Azar, and Professor Gloria Brown Marshall, Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. I thank you both for being here tonight on Top Story.

Dr. Azar, I'm going to start with you, and I know you have not diagnosed the senator, and I know this is sort of a difficult conversation, but I think it's an important one to have. When we see sort of the history, as Julie just laid out there, of what's happened recently with Senator Feinstein, and the different things that stand out to me is that, you know, obviously her age, she's had these unfortunate falls, the issue with shingles, and now the power of attorney being given to her daughter, so that can be done just so she handles her legal affairs. And you sort of see her in Congress.

She has to be helped around, and she's lost her place at times. What can we, is there anything voters in California can draw from this or not really? You know, I think the difficulty that we have, we as a public with our elected officials, is sort of coming to terms with this concept of chronological age versus biological age, right? So at a certain point, you think at 80, at 85, at 90, that's your chronological age, that, yes, there are certain conditions that start to happen with greater frequency, right? There could be cognitive decline. There could be physical disability.

But some people, we call them super agers, they get to over 80, and biologically, they're still cognitively really, really young. And so in her instance, and you're right, I obviously am not her treating physician, but we know that she had a pretty serious bout of shingles, and she probably had some central nervous system involvement that probably has left her with some residual cognitive difficulties, if you will. But the problem is there's nobody marshalling that, right? There's no standardized cognitive assessment that any public official is required to perform or do, and there's no benchmark for eligibility. They don't have to take a physical and release it.

like the president does. No, no, but even, you know, the president's not even required. He's not required to do it, yeah. But most people do because they want to demonstrate to everyone that they have fitness for their job. So, you know, it's tough. That phrase that you used is called super-agers. Yeah. Super-agers, right? When you, when you see Senator Feinstein and you hear about what's happened to her, would you think, and again, I know you have not treated her, would you consider her a super-ager? Well, Tom, look, I mean, I don't need to be a doctor to see that there is frailty. Right, right, right. You know, the wheelchair and the interdependence of the staffer and the relying on the staffers to perform a lot, to sort of execute a lot of what she would

normally be doing. You know, I'm not going to sit here and say that she should no longer be serving, but I think anyone with sort of a rational, you know, perspective could say that perhaps it's time to consider retire. And I want to get back to you because I think it's an issue we're seeing with Americans of all ages. But I want to get back to you with that, thinking that you can do more, essentially. Professor, if I can ask you, what rights do the citizens of California have, if any?

We saw the poll there that more than 60% of voters in California, they want an alternative. We also know that Senator Feinstein has said herself, she's going to run out this term. That's still about two years away. So I like to ask you, do the voters have any saying any of this? Not when it's a federal position. If it was state, for example, the state attorney general, they've had recalls for the governor

in California. So the state provides the referendum for the people to have their voices heard regarding elected officials. But the problem is the framers of the Constitution did not want senators and members of the representative body to be at the whim of a bad vote. They didn't want the power to be given to people to say, we want. to get you out of office because you didn't vote the way we wanted you to vote. So there are many protections there. And the protection also is that it requires the expulsion of some

member of Congress based on bad behavior, not just age. And so there have been many people from Thurman in the Senate for one, Thurgood Marshall on the U.S. Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, of course we know, where, you know, at this point, our country has said there is no age discrimination. against the law. And so we have extended the time period in which people can stay in their jobs. Now it's a matter of each individual deciding if they're cognitively or physically able to stay in that job to do the best of their ability while they're in that job. And the people do not have a say when it comes to the federal government, they could attempt to put pressure on that elected official, but that pressure is going to meet a lot of obstacles. I do want to ask you,

Dr. Azar. Are we living in an age now, though? Because I don't think it's just in politics. I think it's across the board. I mean, I see it with family members. Medicine has gotten so good. People are living longer. The advancements in health care. Do we have a false sense of, I don't want to say security, but a false sense of confidence that we're going to live forever, that we're going to live to be 100? I mean, we certainly, well, actually, the life expectancy, I think we report on this a lot, has been going down in certain ways. But I think that there is a certain longevity that's now expected or anticipated if you have access to good health care and everything like that. At the end of the day, we all know, Tom, at a certain point, you know,

we do start to decline. And that is kind of inevitable. You know, what's interesting is that if, you know, another poll, greater than half of Americans said they think that there should be an age limit for our elected officials in the Senate. But what age is it? Is it 60? Because guess what? 70% of the people who are serving wouldn't be eligible. If it's age 70, 30% of the people who are now serving wouldn't be eligible. You know, you can practice medicine, kind of forever. But pilots can't apply a plane forever. There have been these concerns with senators on Democratic senators and Republican senators as well. And we've reported them here on the show. The problem is they have such long terms.

With the presidency, the American public can decide, I think you're too old. I'm going to vote for a younger person, but with these long Senate terms, you know. And then in the House, they say the terms are too short. Anyways, we've run out of time, Dr. Azar. Gloria, my new friend, professor, thank you so much. We appreciate this conversation. It was a hard conversation, so I thank you both for coming on. All right, and when we come back, the 70-pound catch, the Tampa Mayor, on a fishing trip with her family,

when she reeled in a bail of cocaine, just how much that catch was worth. Stay with us. Finally tonight, the $1 million catch made by Tampa's mayor. However, she didn't reel in a giant fish or a shark, but instead, packs of narcotics. Down in South Florida, we call them square groupers. NBC Stephen Romo explains, catches like this are actually a bit more common than you might think. On a recent fishing trip, Tampa's mayor, Jane Castor, reeling in a big catch. It was approximately 70 pounds.

But this was no fish. And the street value was about $1.1 million. The mayor was fishing off the coast of the Florida Keys with her family in late July when she came across packages of drugs floating in the water. Close that we got, I realized that it was a bail of cocaine. Caster, a former Tampa police chief, says she quickly identified the contents. And so I could see from my days and our years, years in narcotics, I could see that they were tightly wrapped kilos of cocaine. And so we pulled

it up onto the boat. The package eventually passed on to Border Patrol, which posted this photo. You know, I just surmise that it either fell off a boat or dropped out of a plane or somebody ditched it if they saw customs coming towards them. Who knows where it came from. Authorities say just in the month of July, bales of cocaine and marijuana were found in the water. around the Florida Keys at least three other times, all discovered by recreational boaters who helped prevent millions of dollars worth of drugs from reaching the U.S.

All right, we thank Stephen Romo for that. We thank you for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamous, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.