Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Episode Date: February 20, 2025

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world.

Tonight, the major fallout continues over mass firings at federal agencies. Elon Musk's Doge team inside the Pentagon as the eye cuts of the Department of Defense, the tech billionaire and President Trump defending their actions to save money, but at what cost we're going to hear from those who abruptly were let go. Also tonight, the Trump administration versus New York City, Trump's DOJ in court with Mayor Adams today, urging a judge to drop the corruption case against him. And this image released by the White House's official social media platforms,

a mock cover of Time magazine, likening the president to a king for striking down congestion pricing in the Big Apple. We'll explain the deadly mid-air collision in Arizona. Two small planes striking each other just 48 hours after that runway disaster in Toronto. And grief-stricken parents demanding answers right now after their five-year-old son was killed in a hyperbaric chamber. The deadly incident sparking new questions over the risks of that eye. oxygen treatment and whether it could happen again. Hundreds of migrants, most of them from Asia and the Middle East, trapped inside of a hotel in Panama after being deported by the U.S.

Some of them, as you see, holding up messages from their hotel windows, pleading for help, why this is happening and where some are now being sent. New video showing the frightening moment that Mississippi's lieutenant governor collapses on the state senate floor. An update on his recovery tonight after that health scare. And coach mom. Meet the woman in a league of her own coaching a boys varsity team, including her star shooting guard son. The duo's on court ritual, a reminder that the mother's son bond is greater than just a game.

Plus, the potential medical breakthrough tonight for those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Top story starts right now. And good evening. I'm Sam Brock in for Tom Yamas. Tonight, thousands of federal government workers are left wondering, am I next? The uncertainty boiling right now is tech billionaire Elon Musk, and his Doge team continue their crusade to slash federal funding by cutting thousands of jobs. Take a look at this, just some of the agencies dealing with mass layoffs that includes the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Education, and the National Institutes of Health. Medical researchers recently let go from the NIH protesting the move earlier today. How can we expect people to discover cures and treatments when they're occupied discovering if they still have a job?

HHS has said they're following the president's plan to streamline the government. Is firing cancer researchers part of that plan? And growing questions tonight over whether the Doge team is moving too fast. As we've reported, the USDA is now working to rehire fired officials who are addressing the bird flu, an outbreak which just forced Iowa's governor to issue a disaster. declaration. The administration also scrambling to reinstate workers managing our nation's nuclear stockpile, who were, quote, accidentally fired. Meantime, both President Trump and Elon Musk say it's a necessary means to an end, all with the goal of shrinking the size of

government and cutting spending. They add, it's exactly what the American people elected President Trump to do. NBC News chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander kicks off our coverage tonight. tonight NBC News has learned defense secretary Pete Hegseth is considering firing military generals in some of the department's most senior officers as early as this week, according to two defense officials and three congressional sources. Most of those targeted have been closely associated with former defense secretary Lloyd Austin, who served under former President Biden, and have worked on DEI initiatives or have voiced opinions that Trump allies view is politically out of line with his agenda, the officials said. Late tonight, the Pentagon said Heggseth is looking to cut 8% of next year's defense budget, totaling around $50 billion. It comes as Elon Musk's Doge employees are now working inside the Pentagon, according to senior officials, eyeing staffing cuts there.

Overnight, President Trump alongside Musk, dismissed concerns about conflicts of interest with Musk's businesses, even though the tech billionaires companies, like SpaceX, have massive contracts with the federal government. If there's a conflict, you won't be involved. I wouldn't want that, and he won't want it. First, the mass firings, now the fallout. Across the country, growing protests opposed to the president's efforts to rapidly shrink the federal workforce. Jonathan Kamens was fired just days ago from his job overseeing cybersecurity for the VA's website.

Your firing has the potential to have a direct impact on the benefits American veterans receive, right? So many veterans rely exclusively on VA.com for access. their benefits because it's difficult for them to get out of the house and get to a VA medical center. If VA.gov goes down, then those people can't get to their benefits. Still, the president and his top lieutenant both appearing today at a Saudi investment conference in Miami are defending their reshaping of the federal government. I think what we're seeing here is the sort of the thrashing of the bureaucracy as we try to restore democracy on the will of the people.

Musk also insisted the majority of federal workers are anti-Trump, noting D.C. is largely democratic. But more than 80% of federal workers are not in D.C., spread throughout the rest of the country. The acting FAA administrator revealing a letter to staffers today obtained by NBC News, special government employees who work for SpaceX have now visited the FAA's command center and will be going to other FAA sites to engineer solutions. While the administrator says the agency is keeping employees who perform safety critical functions, its union says some FAA jobs already eliminated, supported safety, and airport operations. And Peter Alexander, joining us now tonight from the White House.

That's not it. Peter, there is also news tonight on the Trump administration's plans to kill congestion pricing here in New York City. Yes, Sam, that's right. That's the controversial program. Of course, the charges drivers to enter parts of Manhattan, that money being raised to help pay for mass transit projects there. President Trump today posted congestion. Pricing is dead. Long live the king. One of the president's top aides then shared this AI image of President Trump as a monarch. You see it there. The White House posted its own picture of the president as a king. New York's governor, quickly responding, we are a nation of laws not ruled by a king. We'll see you in court. Sam. Yeah, that court battle to come. Peter Alexander, thank you so much. We will have

more on the Trump administration's fight with the city of New York in just a moment. But as Peter just reported, the Defense Department is the next agency now targeted for potential staffing cuts by Doge. NBC's senior national security correspondent, Courtney Kuby, has been digging into this all day at the Pentagon, trying to unearth just what Doge has been up to. She joins us now. Courtney, the Defense Department, obviously, has the largest budget in the federal government, so there's a lot of different directions these cuts could go. What more have you been able to find out? Yeah, so we got a teeny bit more direction on it tonight, Sam. And that is that there is this new effort now to cut 8% of the FY26 budget.

So that was President Joe Biden's last budget for the Department of Defense under Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. But there are a number of different agencies and departments that are excluded from that. So when you take the whole budget, it's about $50 billion that they expect to cut from the DOD budget. but here's the key. It's not going to be all across all budgets. We are hearing things like Indo-Pacific Command, will have some exemptions, if not complete exemption. And once those cuts are made, they will reinvest most, if not all of that money and candidly, potentially even more than that $50 billion into initiatives that are more in line with President Donald Trump's agenda and the agenda of Secretary of Defense, Pete Hague sets. So we're getting a little bit of

of insight into this, but not a whole lot more. And when it comes to that, we still know very little about the Doge initiative at the Pentagon. We know that a number of Doge officials or personnel arrived at the Pentagon this week. They are there. Sam, I can tell you, we are seeing them in the hallways. But no one at the Pentagon we have been asking will give us their names or tell us exactly what they have been tasked with doing there. Well, a lot of mysteries surrounding that situation. And Courtney, while we have you, we wanted to ask about this other breaking news tonight, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are apparently firing on two U.S. aircraft near Yemen today. What more can you tell us about that?

Yeah, so this is just breaking. It was the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have fired on a U.S. MQ9, that's a drone, and a manned F-16. Now, neither of these aircraft were hit with the projectiles that were fired. In fact, U.S. officials told us that they fired quite a ways away, that they were not really in imminent danger. But why this is important is because the who Houthis, after October 7th, they began this campaign of attacks against commercial shipping, against military ships, against aircraft, and even eventually being able to launch missiles towards Israel, towards land. But those attacks had really halted. They basically paused when the ceasefire went into effect. Today is the first time that we are aware of, and I will tell you,

Sam, we are asking every day, it's the first time that we are aware of that the Houthis have fired anything in about a month. We are asking questions about why they may have restarted this attack campaign, but as of tonight, this is just breaking. Officials telling us that they did fire on two U.S. aircraft that were flying off of Yemen, Sam. All right, some alarming developments there. Courtney Kuby, thank you so much. Shifting now to another major headline this evening, New York City Mayor Eric Adams appearing in court today as the Trump Justice Department explaining to a judge why it wants to drop the federal bribery case against Adams. The judge questioning both parties about allegations of a quid pro quo

where the charges would be dropped in exchange for helping with the president's immigration policies in accusation, by the way, that both Adams and the DOJ have denied. For more on this, we want to get right to it with NBC News, law enforcement, and intelligence correspondent Tom Winter, who was in court today. Tom, this might typically be a perfunctory proceeding. Not today. Walk us through what happened exactly in court. Well, that's right, Sam.

And, you know, one of the things that's a challenge for those of us that watch these proceedings where you can be a court reporter, you can be just anybody watching us tonight talk about it, is all the noise of this. You know, we've talked about it so much over the past week. All the noise of this actually doesn't get into the courtroom. At the end of the day, the judge just has to consider the motions and the things that are filed with court and before him. And, of course, in this case, Judge Dale Hoke, acutely aware.

of everything that's been reported in this case, the resignations, the back and forth between the Justice Department leadership in D.C. and federal prosecutors here in New York about just what to do with this prosecution involving New York City's mayor, the mayor of the largest city in this country. And ultimately, the judge determined today, look, on its face, it's a very simple dismissal. And the courts really don't have a lot of say as far as challenging a request to dismiss a case without prejudice. And that's the key phrase here. That's the thing that could have potentially tripped this up, whether or not there's a quid pro quo. In other words, hey, we're not going to continue this case against you, but you've got to help us out with an official act.

And, of course, here, that official act would be helping out the Trump administration with its immigration priorities. But in this particular case, because they're not going to dismiss the case outright, really the avenues for the judge to challenge this are pretty limited. He didn't make the decision in court today, said he didn't want to shoot from the hip. That's a quote, wants to take some time to review what was said in front of him. But ultimately, Sam, I think we're probably getting to a place here where this case will ultimately be dismissed. Okay, so it sounds like you think that's sort of where this is heading, because is it atypical in a scenario like this time for the judge to sort of hold off for a bit and wait to make his ruling? It is a little bit.

You know, typically I've been to dismissals in the past, and most dismissals that we go to, frankly, don't get a lot of high-profile coverage. we've put out there. This has certainly gotten a lot of attention. But you know, Sam, typically it's done in the room. The judge has a couple of questions. If it's a dismissal without prejudice, they want to make sure that the defendant, in this case, the mayor, and he did this with the mayor today, understands under oath, that they're of sound mind and sound body, and that they're ready to understand the legal parameters of the rights they're giving up and the rights going forward that they'll continue and the potential legal challenges and that they've gotten a good legal representation. The judge did that here today.

and got those assertions on the record. Want to make sure that the mayor hadn't been threatened, that there wasn't any sort of written or otherwise promise that was made to him into both of those things. The mayor said no. So, yeah, it's a little bit unusual that it would take some time, but obviously the circumstances of this case are a little bit unusual as well.

Without doubt, right? So can we talk about what was actually discussed from the legal merits and the outside circumstances as well? It seems like the shifting legal reasoning here happened from the DOJ, where originally, Aimal Bovi, the acting deputy attorney general, had argued both that the case was an abuse of power, but then also that the legal proceedings prevented Adams from doing his job. So I guess how did he reconcile this apparent discrepancy?

In some ways, it didn't need to be reconciled, and that was really one of the things that Bovie came to today in court. You know, he comes from the Southern District. They have a phrase in their offices of saying, cut thin to win, which is basically just put forward your most straightforward, simple. legal argument. And he just said today, look, it doesn't matter whether we had a quid pro quo. He said that. It doesn't matter whether or not he's campaigning or not. It doesn't matter whether or not he's going to help us out with immigration enforcement. Though we did say the national security concerns

and the concerns of the Trump administration do weigh favorably and heavily as far as getting this case dismissed. But ultimately, they said, look, this is just a simple motion that we are making and it resides with us in the executive branch of the Justice Department to make that request. And really, the courts don't have a lot of say. And he kept kind of coming back to that basic legal theory. Look, we have our reasons. Ultimately, what the reasons may be are kind of moot. We're moving forward the way that we want to.

Tom Winter, thank you so much for that breakdown. The Adams case pressing on amid that battle also over congestion pricing. The Peter Alexander just mentioned earlier in the broadcast, it all comes one week after FEMA, clawed back tens of millions of dollars from New York City allocated to housing migrants. For more on the Trump administration's opening salvos here in New York City, we want to bring in Jeff Colton, New York City political reporter with Politico, where he's also co-author of their New York playbook. Jeff, welcome back to Top Story. Great to have you this evening.

Let's key in right now with congestion pricing, which was obviously approved during the Biden administration. It's been in effect for weeks, right? So who has the law on their side here? And can New York City just keep charging ahead without federal approval? Well, the state of New York and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, they would certainly say they are in the legal right here. The Biden administration went through a massive environmental review. I think it was something like a 4,000-page document assessing every possible impact of congestion pricing,

and eventually they approved it. And now the Trump administration is saying, no, we don't like it. that. So immediately, New York sued and is challenging that pulling of environmental review. And look, frankly, I would think that New York has a chance to hold this. I mean, it would seem arbitrary and capricious. This is also a surprise to the Governor Kathy Hockel's administration. The expectation would be that the White House would play some kind of funding game. You know, they would say something like, we will cut all funding to, all federal funding to highways to any city that has this kind of a tolling program, more legal sort of language. Just pulling the

environmental review seems, I don't know, seems brash to me. Well, okay, so I guess that's a part of the puzzle here. We're going to find out in court. But big picture as well, let's go through the sequence, right? You have FEMA, clawing back all this money. And now what appears to be the blowing up of the case against Adams, those federal charges. What does the Trump team seem to have this like pre-occupation with New York City? Trump is a born and raised New Yorker. I mean, the guy is still obsessed with New York even as he moved to Florida. And people are trying to use this on both sides of the argument.

We saw the leader of the conservative party here in New York saying, oh, you know, Trump did this because he has experienced congestion pricing. He and the motorcade have, you know, driven through lower Manhattan and, and so. saw the cameras flash. And that's why he needed to change it. And then I know that those who are supporting congestion pricing, some of the leaders of the business groups here in New York and the governor herself, they were also trying to make that New York appeal to Trump. They were saying, look, you lived at Trump Tower. You were in this Manhattan congestion zone, and the results were undeniable. There was less traffic. So shouldn't you want that? Shouldn't you want the benefit to, you know, you and your friends and supporters driving through Lower Manhattan.

Apparently, the anti-argument won out here. Yeah, it is actually pretty amazing, though, to drive around Midtown and Lower Manhattan right now and see the tangible differences. It is clear. Jeff, Mayor Adams has been in lockstep with the Trump administration on immigration, at least since these charges came down, right? But not necessarily on some of the other issues at play here. He pushed back last week on that clawback of money. Where does he stand on congestion pricing, do we know?

He has done his best to be completely hands off of congestion pricing. This is a state government program run by the MTA, which is kind of a state authority. And the mayor has effectively hidden behind that. He has said, not my problem. Even though these are cameras on city streets and it's affecting Manhattan, he has done his best to stay away from it. And even today, you know, every single—my inbox must have gotten 47 statements from every possible interest group and elected official, nothing from Eric Adams.

He didn't even want to comment on this massive pulling of congestion pricing. Part of that is because, yes, he's trying to play knife with Donald Trump, and part of that is because he's never wanted to talk about congestion pricing. It's a very controversial program. Controversial, and he has a lot on his plate currently. Jeff Colton with Politico, thank you so much for spending the time with us tonight. We really do appreciate it. back now overseas and the latest fallout from those U.S.-Russia talks. Today, President Trump

calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator, the president of Ukraine, on social media just hours after Zelensky accused Trump of giving into Russian disinformation. Chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel is in Ukraine tonight with more on this growing feud between the two leaders. President Trump went on the attack today against Ukraine's President Zelensky. In a social media post, Trump called Zelenskyy. a dictator without elections, continuing with what seemed like a naked threat. Zelensky better move fast or he's not going to have a country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia. It's a pattern. On Tuesday, President Trump blamed Zelensky

for starting the war, even though it was Russia that invaded Ukraine three years ago. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal. President Zelensky Hezinski isn't taking it quietly. He said President Trump is in a disinformation bubble, suggesting he's following Russian propaganda. Former Vice President Mike Pence weighed in, posting, Mr. President, Ukraine did not start this war. Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. The road to peace must be built on the truth.

This is far more than just a war of words or a clash of personalities. Ukrainian troops depend on American support to defend against daily Russian attacks. Without U.S. help, Ukraine would struggle to keep the Russians back. Out here in eastern Ukraine, the fighting is relentless, with Russian drone and missile attacks coming almost constantly, especially when the weather is clear like today. But now Ukrainian troops say they have perhaps an even bigger problem, wondering whether they still have support from Washington. Ivan, who under army rules, only gave his first name, commands a tank brigade on the outskirts

of Kharkiv. Does it feel like decisions are being made about Ukraine without Ukraine's input? Yes, yes, this is exactly the feeling we have, he said, adding, it does influence the mood. It's very demotivating. And President Putin seems to be very pleased by the way this is all playing out. He spoke today in St. Petersburg and said, so far, the negotiations. on Ukraine with the Trump administration are going well, that the mood is positive and friendly, and he said it would be a pleasure to meet with Donald. His words. So far, no date for that meeting

has been announced. Sam? To be continued, Richard Engel, thank you so much. Back in the U.S. now, and federal authorities are investigating yet another deadly plane crash. Two small planes colliding in midair just outside of Tucson, Arizona. Officials saying that at least two people were killed. Jesse Kirsch is following that story for us tonight. This was the scene in rural Arizona today, charred debris, littering this airport outside Tucson after a deadly mid-air crash this morning. Small aircraft, fully involved in fire. According to the NTSB, just before 8.30 a.m. local time, two small private planes, a Lance Air and a Cessna were flying near the Morana Regional Airport when they collided mid-air. The FAA says two people were on board each aircraft.

And while federal investigators say the Cessna landed uneventfully, the Lance Air crashed, catching fire. Local officials confirmed two people are dead. Both planes were flying over what's known as an uncontrolled field that has no air traffic control tower. Small airplanes go in and out of uncontrolled fields frequently. They depend on radio positions to tell each other where the airplanes are and also visually to watch out for other airplanes. similar to driving the car. You look outside to make sure you don't hit anything. This has been a troubling year for American aviation.

Last month, 67 people were killed when an American Airlines jet and a military chopper collided over Washington, D.C. Then earlier this week, a Delta airliner flipped over as it landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday. At least 18 people were injured. And tonight, officials say efforts have begun to remove the plane from the runway, which should improve traffic delays at one of North America's busiest airports. Jesse Kirsch, NBC News.

Now to that winter blast that is sweeping continuously across the country. Tonight, 84 million people under a cold weather alert, some states like Virginia and North Carolina, expecting to see up to nearly a foot of snow, and the frigid weather coming as the country sees historically cold temperatures almost 50 degrees below normal. NBC's Kathy Park has the very latest. Tonight, a fierce snowstorm clashing with a brutal blast of Arctic air,

gripping more than 75 million people from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic. Southeastern Virginia bracing for their biggest snowstorm in years. We are going to close if the weather becomes too much. Icey roads creating hazardous conditions. A snowplow accident in Topeka, Kansas, mangling this SUV, hurting both drivers. Toad trucks at the ready. I went out and bought heated gloves and a heated jacket because with regular work gloves, it's like frostbite almost. Temperatures dipping dangerously low in downtown St. Louis, where officials say a homeless woman was found dead on the streets Tuesday morning.

Roads so slick in Tennessee, cars spinning out. Dozens of reported wrecks and injuries. If they don't have to be on the roadways, stay off the roadways. The safest place that they can be is at home. And as a storm pushes east, a state of emergency. in North Carolina roads prepped with more than three million gallons of brine twelve hundred crews ready to respond as parts of the state race for up to nearly a foot of snow tonight as eastern Kentucky recovers from this week's historic floods another blow from Mother Nature cars losing control on the

interstate in Lexington Norfolk Virginia could see some of the highest snow totals as a storm continues to push toward the Atlantic coast meanwhile dozens of records could be shattered due to this Arctic blast. Sam? All right, Kathy, thank you. Setting the stage for us there. For more on this nationwide freeze, I want to get to the forecast with NBC meteorologist Bill Carrens. So, Bill, where do we know, or what do we know really about where this winter storm is headed next? We're almost done with it. We've got about eight more hours, and then we can say goodbye to our latest blast of winter, but we're still snowing really hard. I-95 is a mess right now between Richmond and heading down outside of Raleigh. And that's the area

where we've seen the heaviest snowfall and a little bit of ice mixing in, too, in eastern North Carolina. So the blue shows you the radar. The blue is where the snow is. The white is where it's really heavy snow. And this area from just outside of Raleigh here towards Elizabeth City, North Carolina Beach, this is where we're going to see possibility of 8 to 12 inches. There's that icy mess down around Kinston, the Newburn area, Havlock, all the way down towards Wilmington. Eighty-four million people is the number that you mentioned at the top of the show. We've still got a lot more to go in the middle of the country. Yeah, it sounds like maybe D.C. has dodged some of the worst of this.

Bill. Also, freezing temperatures as you're talking about that, is there any sign of relief in the coming days? Tonight's going to be the peak. Tonight is going to be, you know, not going to be exactly warm by the time we get to Friday, but tonight and tomorrow is the peak. And these are the morning low temperatures. Three in Oklahoma City, Dallas at 14,

New Orleans, you know, below freezing, same with Houston. And some of these locations are 30 to 40 degrees colder than they should be. But there is relief. The weekend, we see a steady warm up. And this is the weather forecast, temperatures for next week. Warm than average, the entire middle to western half of the country in near normal in the east,

were finally done of this pattern of storm cold, storm cold. So many people welcoming that warmer, and it's all relative. Thank you, Bill. Appreciate that. Well, still ahead tonight, one family's agonizing search for some answers after their five-year-old child was killed while in a hyperbaric chamber. So it was the treatment he was receiving really safe. We're going to ask an expert. Plus, the terrifying moment as Mississippi's lieutenant governor, Look at this, collapsing during a Senate session right onto the ground in update on his condition tonight. And the dramatic video is firefighters rescue a woman stuck inside of a storm drain,

how they guided her out of that very narrow space. Stay with us. Back now with a grieving family searching for answers. It comes after their five-year-old son was killed in a hyperbaric chamber that just exploded last month in Michigan. Now the family's attorney says that they plan on taking legal action. Adrian brought us as a closer look at what happened here and the risks attached to this type of treatment.

No parents should outlive their child, but that's the reality for the family of Thomas Cooper. This has been a parent's worst nightmare. The five-year-old was killed in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at the Oxford Center in Troy, Michigan, outside of Detroit last month. Thomas, according to an attorney for his family, was receiving treatment for ADHD and sleep apnea, his mother in the waiting room. She rushed back and her son was engulfed in flames and she tried and tried to get him out

and she suffered very bad burns. James Harrington represents the family and told NBC News he plans to sue the facility. We have sent out multiple letters to preserve evidence so that once we're permitted to go in, we can get our experts to look at the evidence. and not only the machine, but also the surveillance video, the electronically stored data, which would be emails, hard drives. This is the room with hyperbaric chambers where the explosion happened. It's a compressed cylinder, and with the 100% oxygen, it runs the risk of having an explosion.

The fire department saying that's because, quote, the chamber contains up to three times the amount of oxygen than a normal room. Is this type of treatment safe? It is a very safe modality when it's managed correctly. John Peters is the executive director of the undersea and hyperbaric medical society. If we think about hyperbaric medicine, it is essentially, it's a dosage, it's a drug. And the chamber is essentially like you're injectable, that's your shot. And the oxygen is the drug.

The FDA advises receiving care from providers that have been accredited by his organization. The Oxford Center is not on that list. Patients should pay attention. It's buyer beware. If it doesn't sound right or it sounds too good to be true, then maybe they should seek, you know, a second opinion. The location where the explosion happened is closed, but the Oxford Center's second location remains open. Its website lists more than 50 conditions they claim to treat. The FDA has cleared hyperbaric oxygen therapy for certain conditions, including decompression sickness and carbon monoxide poisoning, but not for ADHD or sleep apnea.

The Oxford Center telling us in a statement, quote, the safety and well-being of the children we serve is our highest priority. We are participating in the investigations that are still taking place to determine how this happened. To completely respect those investigations, we are not able to say more about this tragic accident. Thomas's family, now remembering the five-year-old as a kid who loved books and his little brother. He often saying, I love mama. I love mama so very much. Adrian brought us, joining us now from Chicago. Adrian, you're immediately, obviously, struck by the loss, but also

those comments where the gentleman just said it's safe when managed correctly. A majority of hyperbaric treatment centers around the country, I guess, do not have that accreditation that was recommended by the FDA? You know what, Sam, that is alarming. Only 14% have that accreditation, according to our expert. And we're talking about these facilities across the country. And Mr. Peters, who you heard from in this story, says that is one of his major concerns, how rapidly these facilities are growing.

He says he has been in talks with the FDA, and he wants to see more regulation by the FDA. If you are seeking this type of treatment and wondering whether or not the facility you are using is accredited, You can check the website of his organization. And just a reminder, that's Undersea Hyperbaric Medical Society. Meanwhile, this investigation is still ongoing. That is what the fire department told us today. Sam, unclear whether or not there will be criminal charges. All what is clear is it can't happen to another family.

Adrian brought us there with very sensitive reporting. Thank you so much, Adrian. We have an update tonight on the case against Brian Coburger, the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students back in November of 2022. Late today, a judge denying multiple defense motions to suppress DNA evidence and search warrants. For more on this, let's bring an NBC legal analyst, Danny Savalos. Danny, walk us through this ruling in what it means for the case, a very closely watched case, against Koeberger. A lot of rulings here.

Probably the most notable is the denial of the defense's motion to suppress DNA evidence. and specifically that IGG investigative genetic genealogy. The defense threw a bunch of motions to suppress against the wall. Not a lot of them had much likelihood of success. For example, a motion to suppress the evidence of Apple records and other records. I mean, those are the kinds of things that law enforcement can get to with a search warrant. And then, of course, probably the most important decision, because it's a relatively new area of the law is whether or not the DNA evidence or obtaining

the DNA evidence violated the defendant's constitutional rights. And defendants simply don't have any reasonable expectation of privacy in a crime scene if they leave their DNA there. And they also don't really have a reasonable expectation of privacy when their distant cousins decide to give up their DNA to a testing facility or a testing website. Is there much precedent for people arguing that their constitutional rights have been violated just from the collection of DNA? Yes, and the precedent, at least for the old version of DNA, your O.J. Simpson-era DNA, that kind of motion to suppress usually loses. If you're moving to suppress based on the fact that the police got your DNA from a crime scene or, let's say, a trash pull, the Supreme Court said, you don't have a reasonable expectation of

in a trash pool, because trash is something you've thrown away. You've given it to a third party. You no longer have a reasonable expectation of privacy in trash that's out by the curb. So while these raised a ton of issues, some, a few of them novel, most of them have been well-trod before. Most of these motions just simply were not likely to win. All right, Danny Savalas for us there. Thank you very much, Danny. We appreciate it. When we return trapped in Panama, hundreds of migrants, deported from the U.S., locked in a hotel, thousands of miles from their home country, and now unable to leave.

Their desperate messages posted on windows using signs and the concerns over what will happen to them next. And we're back with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with a scary moment on Mississippi State. Senate floor, a live stream capturing the moment that the state's lieutenant governor, Delbert Hosman, leans forward. You see him appearing unconscious, just falling down there, collapsing onto the floor in front of the chamber. Several people immediately then rushing in to help him. A spokesperson for the 77-year-old said he is, quote, doing well, and that Hosman was eager to

get back to work. It did not provide more details than to what happened. A Missouri man has passed away just days after pleading guilty to shooting a black teenager who mistakenly rang his doorbell. Eighty-six-year-old Andrew Lester was awaiting sentencing after accepting a plea deal last week. Prosecutors did not say how or even when he died. Lester did face up to seven years in jail for felony assault after he shot Ralph Yarl in the head that was back in 2023. Yarl's family telling NBC that Lester never apologized and delayed his trial to avoid, in their words, taking accountability. And firefighters in California rescuing a woman that got stuck in an underground storm drink. Body cam footage from the San Bernardino County Fire Department showing crews directing that woman to shuffle backwards 20 feet, then pulling her out after she did.

It is not clear, as many people are probably wondering, how the woman got stuck in the drainage system in the first place or even how long she remained there. Fire crews were called when a passerby heard her calling out for help. She was taken to a local hospital and reportedly is okay. Well, months of thefts and questions now leading to charges filed in those string of burglaries targeting pro athletes. Federal prosecutors arresting seven Chilean nationals, all of them tied to what they say is a South American crime ring. The suspects accused of stealing nearly $2 million worth of valuables in total items from the homes of famous NFL players, including Kansas City Chief Stars, Travis Kelsey, and Patrick Mahomes. Here's Liz Kreutz with more. tonight federal prosecutors announcing charges against seven people allegedly behind the rash of several high-profile home burglaries targeting pro athletes including kansas city chief stars travis kelsey and patrick mahomes authorities say the alleged burglars are all from chile and part of what officials describe as a south american theft gang they say they broke into at least six different homes between october and december of last year across five different cities stealing a total of roughly two million dollars worth of valuable items

Investigators say they use cell phone data to track the group's movements, even finding this photo, posing with items stolen from Milwaukee Bucks Forward, Bobby Portis. Four of the suspects were arrested earlier this year during a traffic stop when police say they found a lieu of a ton bag and this LSU shirt belonging to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, Joe Burrow. Some of the things that they're taking are very identifiable. I think that's where the miscalculation was. If you didn't rob, you know, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, would anyone really have put it on the news? Probably not. The latest high-profile burglary happening Valentine's Day night at the L.A. home of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban. But officials have not named a suspect or said if they believe it may be connected to previous break-ins. Now the men arrested have each been charged with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. If arrested, they each face up to 10 years in prison. Sam.

Liz, thank you so much. Now to the Americas, and tonight, nearly 300 migrants from all over the world are in custody in Panama after they were deported from the U.S. as part of an agreement between the two nations. But many of those migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, and China held overnight in a hotel in Panama City, some making desperate pleas for help using signs from their windows. NBC's Marissa Parra has the story for us. Striking scenes from the windows of this Panama Hotel confined inside by Panama. Panamanian authorities on Tuesday. Migrant men, women, and children deported from the U.S. by the Trump administration, send messages to the outside world the only way they can.

Some using lipstick to write, help us on the glass. Two women, scrawling, we are not safe in our own country on papers pressed up against the window. Others resorting to simple gestures with their arms. An immigration attorney for one family says she was not able to speak to her clients inside the hotel. Of the nearly 300 sent there, most or not from Latin America. Instead, they hail primarily from the Middle East and Asia, from countries, including China, Iran, and Afghanistan. These people can't circulate for our country,

precisely to guarantee the security and the peace of the citizens of Panameo. We're giving them to all the attention necessary, medical, alimentisia, and of comodity. Because many of their home countries will not accept deportation flights from the U.S., the Trump administration using Panama as a bridge country to send them back and paying for the costs of the operation. An arrangement announced after Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to Panama earlier this month. Panama says 128 of the people in its custody are unable or unwilling to return to their home countries. The deportation from the U.S. leaving many migrants, including children terrified and scared, according to the New York Times.

One Iranian woman telling the Times, quote, only a miracle can save us. Going on to say that her conversion to Christianity in Iran could mean death for her under the country's Sharia law if she returns. Another man quoted in the article, Mr. Wong, saying, quote, I would rather jump off a plane than go back to China. Panamanian authorities say they're searching for a Chinese woman who escaped from the hotel with help from people outside. That distress, a far cry from the Decapolis Hotel's usual role is a haven for relaxation, leisure and leisure. entertainment. Rooms there run about $100 to $150 per night. Panamanian authorities saying they are only housing people at the hotel until they can prepare space for them at Camp San Vicente, a remote outpost for migrants usually traveling overland towards the United States

through the notoriously rugged and dangerous Darian gap near Panama's border with Columbia. Tonight, many of the migrants have now been transferred to the Darian region. And Marissa Parra joining us now from Miami. Marissa, those visuals tell you. quite the story, obviously. We heard there in your piece that Panamanian officials say this is on a short-term basis, but the big question here, why Panama? It's a great question, Sam. I'll point out a couple of things. It was just a couple of weeks ago when President Trump made those very public threats, including online to, quote, take back the canal and warning, quote, something else or something very powerful is going to happen. That is a direct quote. And as we reported,

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also had a lengthy visit to the region. And so, if you will, those are two giant key factors that in the aftermath, Panama then agreed we saw to serve as a bridge country, Sam. All right, Marissa, thank you so much. Just ahead, the potential cancer breakthrough. The vaccine showing promising signs in the battle against pancreatic cancer. We speak with the doctor about those significant findings from an early trial. Back now with top stories, health check and a potential game changer tonight for cancer research. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center reporting success in phase one clinical trials of a vaccine against pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the disease. Half of the 16 people in the study responded positively to this vaccine with their bodies producing cells to help battle the cancer.

Surgical oncologist, Dr. Elliott Newman, joining us now. And Dr. Elliott, thank you so much for joining us. This is a messenger RNA platform, right? And this is very similar to what folks have heard regarding the use of vaccines during COVID. Talk to us about the similarities in terms of delivery, but also how this is specific to the patient, in this case, with pancreatic cancer. Sure. Thank you very much for having me. This is a very novel way of delivering a vaccine, the MRNA technology. But what's being done here is they're taking patients who had surgery, taking the tumor, and then analyzing the tumor for,

specific proteins that then can be delivered back into the patient in the hope of awakening the immune system to fight the cancer. So you're actually taking a portion of the tumor and copying that and then inserting it in this MRNA format and delivering it back to the patient as a therapeutic vaccine? That's correct. Specifically looking for very specific proteins, the term used is called neo-antigens, which can wake up our immune system. And what's nice about this study is that notoriously, pancreas cancers have not been that responsive to the immune system. So this is excellent work, which shows that in some cases you can make some progress with the immune system.

Why do you think that is that pancreatic cancers have not, to this point in time, been very receptive? Well, it doesn't have a lot of mutations. Like, certain tumors have changes that make them more responsive to the immune system. Pancorous cancer notoriously hasn't. What these scientists and investigators have done is they've looked for very specific types of the neo-antogen that they think could be the most amenable to awakening the immune system.

And then by doing that, hopefully, helping fight the cancer. Can you give folks at home a better understanding, I know that this is a disease that touches so many families? Why is it the pancreatic cancer is so dangerous and has such a low success, right, in terms of survival. I think it's like 13% of the patients live beyond five years, really, really low.

Yeah, and, you know, a lot of it depends on when you present. So in the earlier stage patients that we can still operate on, the numbers are a little bit better, and you can cure maybe a quarter, a third of the patients. But you're correct. Most people present with later stage disease. The symptoms are very nonspecific. For example, weight loss or some nonspecific abdominal pain.

Sometimes people present with jaundice, and if they do, that's an earlier pick-up sometimes, but that's not always very common. So the presentation of symptoms is so critical in this process, obviously. Yes, and, you know, I think the thing sometimes is people know their bodies very well. And if they think something's off, it doesn't mean you have pancreas cancer, but it does mean that you should get checked out by your physician. All right. Here's a really tough question now.

I know this is phase one of this clinical trial. Right. It's hard to say precisely, but do you have any sense of a timeline for when the vaccine might actually become available? Well, so the work that they published today was an extension of the earlier work from a couple of years ago, showing that at another time period, which is now over three years, it's still working. There is a current phase two trial already going on at Northwell, where I work.

We also have the trial open, and that is a trial that's going to look at some people who get the vaccine, some people who just get surgery plus chemotherapy, and that'll give us a little bit more information. It's probably a few years yet before we know how effective this technology is going to be in the long run. But just the hope of the progress that you've made so far, I'm sure, is encouraging to many families across the country. No question about it. Any progress in pancreas cancer is hopeful. And especially, you know, the immune system, if we can get our own immune system to work against these tumors, very promising. Dr. Elliot Newman, thank you so much for the work you're doing and thank you for spending the time with us tonight. We really do appreciate it.

My pleasure. Thank you very much for having you. All right, sir. Well, this next, the high school basketball player, heading to the Massachusetts State Tournament. And for him, his coach has another name, Mom, how the mother-son duo has worked their way all the way to the top together. That story coming up next. Finally tonight, it's an unbeatable combo, a mother-son duo taking over the basketball court, their love for the game and each other, leading them both to a 14-3 season and potentially. Eventually, history. At home, Linda Martindale is mom. Is this your pop culture class?

Yeah. But on the court... It's ridiculous. Put a body on him. She's coach guiding the high-flying Lincoln Sudbury Warriors outside Boston. How rare is it for you to see another woman coach in men's high school basketball? I won't see it. Settle up, settle up. And for their 17-year-old senior shooting guard, Nolan, she basically wears two hats.

When you're out here, do you call her mom? Mom or coach? Actually depends. Like if I'm on the court, coach 100%. After the game, probably call her mom, mama. The state's Athletic Association says it believes they're the first mother-son duo in their tournament's history. We have rules. We don't sit down and discuss the game right after.

We give it some time. But I love to talk about the game. And so when I get home, like, he's the perfect audience. And the perfect partner for a pre-game ritual. A hug between mother and son before every single game. It's a beautiful way to just connect for one second. I know who I am. I'm your mother.

Linda played college ball at Arizona and coached all four of her children over nearly a quarter century. But Nolan is the baby. Just don't think she's taking it easy on him. She's definitely the hardest on him, you know, as you could expect. She's picking out one of our best players so that happens to be her son as well. How proud are you of your son and of this team? Oh, my gosh. Beyond. We make them work really hard, and they rise up and they do it. The Warriors just held senior night, and Linda sported her son's 33 jersey.

While the team doesn't know how their upcoming postseason will end, one thing is for certain. Everybody knows how their last game together will start. It'll be just me and her for a second. Love you, Mom. Let's do this. What's better than that? Their next game, the first round of the tournament, is going to be the start of next week. We're keeping tabs on that. I am your mother, you are my son, that is what matters the most. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Sam Brock tonight in New York for Tom Yamis.

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