Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

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

Breaking news tonight, the deadly shootout in Cuban waters, Cuba's government saying at least four people on a Florida-based speedboat were killed. Vice President J.D. Vanssen, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, just weighing in. The alarming clash off the coast, Cuba's government saying people on the boat opened fire first and border guards fired back. The question over who was on board and what set off the confrontation, will this raise tensions between the two countries even more? Also tonight, missing Epstein files, the documents that may involve accusations against President Trump, being with hell, how the White House is responding. A new route of snow on top of those blizzard snow totals, firefighters struggling to dig out hydrants after this house explosion. A nun and a child nearly struck by this tree, communities completely frozen over. The neighbors forced to shovel their own streets when the plows never did.

New details in the search for Nancy Guthrie, what were learning about law enforcement activity. at the home as new tips come in. The extreme beauty trend for men known as looks maxi. Influencers going to dangerous lengths to achieve what they call peak physical attractiveness, why it's rapidly gaining popularity and why experts are sounding the alarm. The intensifying bidding war for Warner Brothers discovery,

the shake-up offer from Paramount putting the Netflix deal in doubt, and the major player at the State of the Union last night. Plus, daring rollover rescue, smashing a window and slashing an airbag to free a driver trapped inside. And a bullet hole discovered on an American Airlines plane, what officials are now investigating. Top story starts right now. And good evening. We come on the air with breaking news tonight. Cuban officials say four people on an American boat were killed after an armed confrontation in Cuba's waters.

Here's what we know. According to Cuban officials, a Florida registered speedboat violated their territorial waters today. Cuba alleges that the people. people on board fired first at Cuban border guard troops, and then officers fired back, killing four people and injuring six others on that other boat. It all happened near Caius Falcons. It's a small island key off northwest Cuba around this area, very close to the Bahamas. The Cubans are saying it happened just one nautical mile off the Cuban coast right here. That's all that we have right now. Those are most of the details of today's attack. We also know Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaking about this just moments ago.

It's suffice it to say, it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that. It's not something that happens every day. It's something, frankly, that hasn't happened with Cuba in a very long time. But we're going to find out. We're not going to base our conclusions on what they've told us. Cuba, as we've been reporting, has been crippled by the pressure of a U.S. economic blockade, fuel shortages, and energy blackouts plaguing the country. Tonight, Florida's Attorney General says he's launching.

an investigation into the attack as questions out. Who exactly was on the boat? NBC's Jose Diaz-Belart has the story and leaves us off tonight. Tonight with tensions soaring between the U.S. and Cuba, new fears of an escalation. Hopefully it's not as bad as we fear it could be, but I can't say more because I just don't know more. The Cuban Interior Ministry saying four people were shot and killed and six others injured after Cuba's border patrol intercepted a speedboat in Cuban waters.

They say the speedboat was registered in Florida and that all of this happened off Cayo Falconez on the island's northwest coast, where Cuban officials say passengers in the speedboat opened fire on Cuba's Border Patrol as they approached, and Cuban officers fired back. The Cuban regime claimed on TV tonight that a Border Patrol commander was injured and that Cuba will protect its territorial waters. Particularly in that region of the world, just like a powder cake, right? Could blow up at any time. Like tonight, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had this to say. It is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that. But we're going to find out.

We're not going to base our conclusions on what they've told us. All of it, as President Trump is amping up pressure on Cuba's communist regime, blocking virtually all oil shipments to the island. President Trump has been telling the Cuban regime to make a deal. right now a failed nation. They don't even have jet fuel to get for airplanes to take them off. All right, Jose, Dez Belard, joins us now

live from Miami tonight. Jose, we still don't know if Americans were among the victims, correct? Because so far, the only source of information about this comes from the Cuban regime. It is an island where freedom of expression, freedom of press does not exist, so we're

just basing it on what they have said so far. And then, Jose, There is this, this is a little bit strange, right? The Secretary of State alluded to this because he was asked if people were trying to smuggle, you know, Cuban refugees out of Cuba right now. This usually doesn't end in gunfire. Those go fast boats usually try to outrun whether they be U.S. Coast Guard or the Cuban Coast Guard. But that's not what happened here. Yeah, it doesn't seem like that's what happened here, Tom.

And we have to remember that the Cuban regime are experts at controlling the narrative of information. It is perhaps just a coincidence that 30 years ago yesterday, the Cuban regime in international waters, just off of Cuba, with MIG-23 jets knocked out of the sky, two brothers to the rescue Cessna planes with four people on board, three American citizens and one American residents, as they were looking over the ocean, looking for Cuban refugees, who were escaping that regime in intertubes and rafts. That narrative was impossible to control from the Cuban government perspective, but this one so far is entirely in their hands. Yeah, well, I have to wait and see until we get more information. Jose, always great to have you in the show. Great to see you.

I want to keep this conversation going tonight with Nora Gamas Torres. She reports on Cuba and U.S. Latin American policy for the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. And Mark Caputo, Axios White House reporter, who comes. covers the region as well. Nora, I'm going to start with you. From what we do know about the past sort of interdictions like this at sea, what could this boat been doing? I mean, it feels like having covered this region for a long time and having covered human smuggling. This is usually the way human smuggling goes. They come off the coast of Cuba. They head towards the Bahamas. K-Sal is not very far from exactly where this happened. What is your understanding of what may have

occurred in the ocean? Yeah, we don't know all the details, but there's been a couple of incidents in the past in which the Cuban Coast Guard has opened fired on speedboats trying to either take people out of Cuba or involve in drug trafficking. What makes, of course, nothing as deadly as this one. What makes this one like highly unusual is, for example, in the Minister of Interior's statement, there's no mention of drugs, there's no mention of migrant smuggling. Usually, Cuban authorities use these statements to blast the United States and blame the United States for illegal migration. None of that happened in this statement.

I think also, like, the problem is that this shooting comes at a very delicate moment in the relationship between the two countries. There's a lot of pressure on the Cuban government to make a deal with the United States. and there are delicate conversations happening at this moment. So, of course, the question that everyone has is, is this a deliberate provocation to try to derail these conversations, or this was something that we don't know what happened yet, but maybe there was indeed like gunfire exchanges. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, we don't know what happened. It doesn't feel like drug smuggling in the sense because, number one, there's about 10 people aboard this ship, which doesn't really lead you to believe it's a drug-running boat. Also in Cuba, not a lot of money, not a lot of supplies, not a lot of things to even make drugs. It still is a trafficking point, but not like it was before. Mark, I want to talk to you. Secretary Rubio says the U.S. is still gathering information.

And Nora sort of alluded to this, too. This comes at a very tricky time for the Cubans. They don't want anything to set off President Trump right now or to give the U.S. any reason to go in and take out the communist government. Right. And right now, I think what you're going to see with Rubio is he's going to try to find out, as he said, what happened. There are six people who have been injured, and they are presumably receiving some sort of health care. They're in some sort of facility.

The United States is probably going to try to gain access to them. And to Nora's point, what happens at that point? Do the Cuban government officials allow United States officials to interview them to conduct a parallel investigation? One of the things that the Cuban government, like most governments, is concerned about, national sovereignty. That's ostensibly the background, the backdrop for this incident. And the question is, as to what degree does the Cuban government think or will it think that the United States is intruding on its sovereignty by conducting an investigation for something that happened in its or around its waters and for people who happen to be in some of its health

care facilities? It's just a big question mark. It's really not just a delicate situation, a potentially volatile situation. President Trump hasn't really focused on Cuba heavily yet. He's waiting for Rubio to sort of come up with a plan of action. This could hesitate, or better said, this could hasten that plan of action that Rubio wants to take, and things could escalate really quickly. Yeah, Nora, you know, it's interesting because everything that we're getting is coming from the Cuban government, so we have to take that with a grain of salt, right?

They have no reason to tell anyone the truth, right, because they want to stay in power there. But they have come out very publicly, and they put this out all over social media. they put it out on Cuban state media as well. As Jose was alluding to, this happens really at the 30th anniversary of the shooting down of the brothers to the rescue plane. Not saying that they're connected at all, but it comes at a time when Cuban Americans in South Florida will remember what happened 30 years ago. It was an awful time what happened to those pilots there. It was a crime what happened to those pilots. So it's going to bring up a lot of bad blood, if you will.

And now you have this incident as well. Why do you think the Cubans came out so fast to put this statement out there in the public? Well, probably some sort of damage control. What you mentioned, that they would not want to take off President Trump. They know that, you know, the threat of military action is on the background. And there's been a lot of things happening with easing on some sanctions to the private sector. So it's a very, you know, tense moment. One of the things that got my attention is that they described the 10 people in the boat,

either the people killed and those injured as attackers. So if there are migrants, if there are, you know, Cubans are trying to leave the island, that doesn't feed that description. So we have a lot of questions right now, and it's really hard to get information because, you know, the Cuban government is very secretive, and they really control information on the island. Island. Yeah, we should say, I mean, we have no idea exactly who these people were. There have been incidents in the past of Cuban Americans, of other, you know, if you want to call them mercenaries,

trying to get into Cuba and either trying to get weapons in or trying to do things themselves. They have not been successful, and they've happened a handful of times over 50 years. But we have reported them before. Mark, I do want to talk to you about that incident because some people maybe looking at this and not understanding sort of the full dynamic, a lot of the military has now moved out of the region, right? Those forces have been moved over to Iran to focus on Iran. This is not the same situation as Venezuela. From your reporting, you're exclusive about Secretary of State Marco Rubio's

conversations with Cuba, it doesn't sound like the military option was on the table right away. They were not itching for a fight with Cuba. They were trying to sort of maybe talk this thing out. And this incident shouldn't look like, and I don't want to invoke the USS Maine and the Spanish-American War, but this. should not seem like this is sort of the first fire, if you will, the first shots fired in a larger military campaign. 100 percent.

I was going to mention the main as well, so you beat me to it. The thing you have to remember the difference between Venezuela and Iran and Cuba is, in the United States view, and rightfully so, the Cuban military is a shadow of what it used to be, and the United States has such vast technological and technical superiority that it is is viewed or would be viewed militarily as more of a walk in the park if the United States decided to take action with its military. However, to your point, that is not on the table as far as discussions, but the Trump people, the Trump operation, the Trump White House will always tell you all options are on the table. And there is a very active exile community here in Miami

that probably wants to see a much more aggressive response to Cuba in general. And the this sort of incident is the type of thing that can prompt more of that aggressive response. Not saying that's going to happen, but just understand that we still have a lot of assets in the region, despite how many are over in Iran. The United States would be capable of both mounting military operations in Cuba and in Iran at the same time, I'm told. And if you think of Bocca-Chika Naval Air Station, which is just north of Key West, Key West is 90 miles from Cuba. It takes an F-18 fighter about 10 minutes to fly from Boca Chica to Havana if they decide to choose it.

So the United States can do a lot of stuff very quickly. We're not there yet, but again, things could escalate very quickly, and the United States has such vast technological and military superiority that this would be a relatively easy operation at first for the United States to pull off. should they decide to do it. Mark Caputo, Nora Gamas Torres, we thank you so much for your reporting. We will have you on again here on Top Story. We want to turn out a President Trump's high-stakes prime time address. His State of the Union, the longest in history, focused on the economy and was punctuated by some dramatic made-for-TV moments.

Senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez is the highlights. Tonight, with the first midterm primaries less than a week away, the Trump administration is looking to build on the longest state of the union address ever. We inherited a mess. Our ask to the American people is let us continue to fix this mess, make your life better. The first half of President Trump's nearly two-hour speech focusing on the economy. Their policies created, the high prices. Our policies are rapidly ending them.

The president touting lower inflation and falling mortgage rates, calling on Congress to pass a ban on corporations buying single-family homes and saying he wants to give workers without 401K's access to retirement plans, like those of federal employees. The state of our union is strong. But many of the policies he referenced were not new or lacked specifics. This was not America's state of the union. This was Donald Trump's state of delusion.

He's in a bubble. The president repeatedly slamming Democrats for not standing up. Nobody stands up. These people are crazy. Including this moment about immigration. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not a legal alien. Isn't that a shame?

You should be ashamed of yourself, not standing up. Those comments prompting Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tili to hackle the president. ...pernities for public officials. Today, the president calling them low IQ, posting we should send them back from where they came as fast as possible. Talib was born in Detroit. But there was some bipartisanship, including when the president welcomed

these special guests to the gallery. The men's gold medal Olympic hockey team. Come on in. Gabe Gutierrez joins us now tonight from the White House. Gabe, I know you're working on some breaking news that's just come in on FBI director Cash Patel. He's firing the agents over the search at Mar-a-Lago back in 2022. What do we know?

Yeah, that's right, Tom. according to three sources familiar with the matter, the FBI director has just fired at least half a dozen FBI agents tied to that 2022 search of President Trump's Moralago state. Two of the sources say that at least half a dozen agents were fired and at least one support staffer as well. So as for the timing of all this, Tom, that remains unclear, but this all comes as the FBI director has been facing criticism and has sparked controversy for that overseas trip to the Olympics, partly for official business, but he was seen in the locker room drinking beer and celebrating with the men's hockey team. An FBI spokesperson says that the FBI director will offer reimbursement for any personal expenses. But again, the breaking news just within the past few hours is that according to those three sources familiar with the matter, several FBI agents tied to that Mar-A-Lago search back in 2022 have been fired. All right, Gabe Gutierrez first. Gabe, we thank you for that. For more on the State of the Union, I want to bring in our political pros tonight. Julia Roginski, she's a good friend, a top story, a Democratic strategist, and author of the salty politics newsletter on Substack.

And Tiffany Smiley is a founder of the Endeavor Pack and a former Republican candidate for Senate. to start with you. Past presidents have used their addresses to champion policy plans and ask for Congress's support. But as Gabe pointed out, Trump really leaned into those made-for-TV moments. Is this going to help Republicans in the midterms? Because that's really what it's about. Yeah. And look, I don't think the American people were looking for a 20-point policy speech. What he did was deliver common sense. He spoke directly to the American people. And he reminded the American people that there wasn't a single Democrat that voted in favor of his historic tax. cuts, which Americans will start to feel the benefit of, not just tax cuts, but no tax on tips,

no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, increased child credits. So there's good things happening in the economy and he was reminding the American people of that. He's reminding the American people that the Democrats would rather use Americans' pain for political points and pushing for government shutdowns that only harms the American people. He really painted a picture that the Democrats care about themselves. They don't care about the American people. people. And I think that will play well into the midterms. Look, Trump has laid down the policy. And once it starts to take root, the American people are going to start to feel the effects of it. We do know that gas prices are down. Grocery prices are down. The stock market has hit record

highs. Interest rates are down. So things are trending in the right direction. And I think the poll numbers that we see, we are going to start to see a significant shift. Well, Tiffany, yeah. Tiffany, you mentioned everything that's down, including his poll numbers, on the economy, also down. So, you know, when you say he was delivering common sense, I get it, but you also have tens of millions of people that are watching that address, right? He spoke for two hours. At some point, you have to become the explainer in chief, and he's got to explain to the American people, listen, the prices might still feel expensive, but they're coming down in some regards. But Tiffany, you also know in other regards,

they're still coming. They're very high. Natural gas, heating your home is expensive. Beef is still expensive. Coffee's still expensive. It's not all coming down. No, right. I'm a mom of three boys. I know how expensive beef is, believe me. Stakes are very, very expensive. But on the flip side of it is it is trending in the right direction. I think two things can be true at the same time. And that's the pitch that the Republicans have or the case that they need to make to the American people. Stay with us. It is happening. We have to remember that President Trump was handed the highest inflation in my lifetime. He was handed a dumpster fire. He was handed an economy that was literally going off the cliff. And so he had to take aggressive measures to start to get it on track. And it is trending in the right direction. And that's the positive story of all of this. And not only that, President Trump brought in real-life Americans who are benefiting, who have benefited from his policies just over this last year. Julie, you know, I'm going to let you weigh in on this.

What did you think, right? Because the president also took on Democrats head on at times, trying to make sort of a spectacle when they wouldn't stand. He had that line that Gabe showed about, you know, we should be worried about Americans who are here legally, not illegally, and standing up for them. Will that resonate with voters? Well, I want to fact-check a few things.

We still have taxes on tips. We still have taxes in overtime. We still have taxes in Social Security. Grocery prices are not going down. The inflation that this president received is the exact same inflation rate that is here today. 3% when Biden left office. 3% when today, as of today. 2.4.

No, no, I'm sorry. 2.4 last month. And now it's been shot back up to 3. So just to be clear, it's exactly the same percentage as he got when he became president. So to be clear, people don't see. see that things have gotten better. In fact, by every poll, every poll, I mean, literally, including the president's own poll, they've gotten worse. And people don't feel that. And if you want to go and say, this is the economy that we were left with, he's had, you know, a year and a half,

by the time his election rolls around, he's going to have almost two years to have cleaned it up. He said he was going to clean up all of this mess on day one, according to him. None of it's been cleaned up. In fact, on every metric, whether it's the economy, whether it's immigration, on every issue where Heath believes he got a mandate. He's underwater. Tiffany, is there enough time for Republicans to turn this around? Yes, there is. That's why I said I think these poll numbers will shift significantly in the coming months.

It's still very, very early. But look, the Republicans do have a tall order. You know, history would say it's going to be a bloodbath in the midterms. But we're in a historic moment right now in history. And if Republicans can get out and speak directly to the American people and understand their pain and understand that certain things are not great right now, but that president have confidence in President Trump, have confidence in the Republicans' policy, and highlight the areas that are working and really understand the American people.

I think that they have a real opportunity to communicate effectively. Look, in 2022, I ran for U.S. Senate and made it a very competitive race talking about crime, talking about how expensive a cup of coffee is at your local coffee shop, and how that has to change for American families. So it can be done. we just have to be able to effectively communicate it and stay unified and continue to work towards the policies, the common sense policies that actually work that President Trump has laid out. Yeah.

Julie, you know, Abigail Spanberger, she gave the response from the Democrats, the governor of Virginia. And basically, this was her line. We all know Trump is not making your life more affordable. Is that the argument Democrats are going to take in the midterms? And is that something the president and Republicans, he's not on the ballot, but he's going to have to answer. It's baked in. And look, we have a primary coming up in Texas next week. For the first time in recent memory, probably in my lifetime,

you have Republicans out, Democrats, excuse me, outperforming Republicans in terms of turnout. Is that real, though, is that like the Democratic fever dream about Texas? Whether it is or it isn't, I don't know. But what's interesting about it is you have a very contentious Senate race on both sides, and Democrats are turning out at much, much higher numbers than Republicans are. So whether it matters in Texas or not, I don't know. but what it matters and shows is that Democrats have momentum on their side. Republicans do not.

They're staying home. Democrats are going to walk over broken glass to vote. That's a problem for Republicans. We've got to get to this break. Do you have to campaign more on being anti-Trump or do you actually have to put forward some proposals? I think you have to campaign in the fact that everything the president promised you is not coming to fruition.

Everything's more expensive. Your life is more difficult. It's just not working out. And, you know, he's got a lot to answer for because on every metric, he's not doing what he said he was going to do. Tiffany Smiley, Julie Roginski, always great to see you guys. We're back in a moment with new questions tonight about the Epstein files. And those missing documents that may involve accusations against President Trump, what we're learning.

Plus, the terrifying scene caught on camera, sinkhole, swallowing cars in the middle of a busy street. We'll show you that video and how the drivers escaped ahead on Top Story. We're back now with new reporting on the Epstein files and the documents that are missing from that big drop earlier this month. Our team finding the Justice Department failed to release interviews with a woman, who alleges she was assaulted by both Jeffrey Epstein and President Trump. Here's Holly Jackson. The spotlight tonight on what's not in the millions of Epstein files released by the DOJ. Summaries and notes from three separate interviews the FBI conducted with a Jeffrey Epstein accuser

who also made sex abuse allegations against President Trump in 2019. Materials withheld, according to an NBC news analysis and information provided by a source familiar with the Epstein investigation. The evidence is pointing to these documents are missing. It's a survivor who has made serious allegations of the president, and that needs to be investigated. The Justice Department has said it produced all responsive documents, adding tonight it's reviewing files, and if any, were improperly withheld, the department will publish it consistent with the law. Asked for comment, the White House pointed to the DOJ's previous statement that some documents contain

untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. President has not been charged with wrongdoing related to Epstein, but the controversy has shadowed his administration, including at the State of the Union, which some Epstein abuse survivors attended, invited by Democrats. We're here because we want accountability. The files illustrating Epstein's web of connections to some of society's most powerful. Physicist Stephen Hawking, flanked by women in bikinis, and new fallout today. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers announcing plans to resign from Harvard.

billionaire Bill Gates now apologizing to the Gates Foundation in a town hall this week, calling it a huge mistake to spend time with the convicted sex offender, according to a recording obtained by the Wall Street Journal, which says the Microsoft co-founder, acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later discovered, but that they didn't involve Epstein's victims. Gates saying, I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit. The Gates Foundation telling NBC, Gates spoke candidly, adding he took responsibility for, for his actions. None of these men has been charged with wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. And tomorrow begins a high-profile pair of depositions when members of the House Oversight Committee traveled to New York to question the Clintons who have not been charged with wrongdoing related to Epstein. Tom? All right, Hallie Jackson for us, Hallie, thank you. At Nancy Guthrie's home today, another wave of law enforcement activity 25 days into the desperate search. It comes as hundreds of additional tips have poured in after Savannah and her family announced the $1 million reward. Liz Crois has this update from

Tucson. Tonight, several investigators back at Nancy Guthrie's property, some standing in that doorway where the masked man showed up, others in the backyard, taking photos and appearing to analyze something on the sliding glass door. The FBI did not say what prompted this activity, but two law enforcement sources say officials are working on handing the home back over to the family. It comes a day after Savannah posted that heartbreaking video offering a $1 million reward for any information that leads to the recovery of her mother. In the 12 hours, after a senior law enforcement official says the FBI received more than 750 new tips. But experts say it's now about quality over quantity.

It's that one tip from the public, maybe as a result of the reward or maybe as a result of somebody stepping up and doing the right thing or a combination of both that usually breaks the case. Outside Nancy's home, signs of hope. This memorial here continues to grow. In addition to the yellow flowers, there's a number of hand-painted signs and even back here these mahjong tiles. That's one of Nancy's favorite hobbies.

the outpouring of love, the intense public interest in this case has at times led to false accusations. Early on, without evidence, many internet slews deemed Dominic Evans, a local teacher and bandmaid of Nancy's son-in-law, a suspect. Evans and his wife tonight speaking out to the New York Times, saying they've been scared numb, forced to hide out in their home. I feel like someone's taken my name. There are innocent people that get hurt. Liz Kreutz joins us again once again from Tucson. So, Liz, what has the sheriff said about those false accusations. Yeah, well, this is something that seems to really upset the sheriff. We saw that last week when he came out and cleared the Guthrie family in this case. And he did talk to

the New York Times for this story about Dominic Evans. He says he wishes that he could defend everybody who's been falsely accused. He said the thing he could tell the Evans family is that they could consider hiring a lawyer and suing for libel. I will also just say, Tom, outside the home right now, that law enforcement activity that happened today, those officials say that it is related to the efforts to return the home back over to the Guthrie family. Those officials say that law enforcement just doesn't feel a need anymore to keep this as a crime scene or to restrict the family from coming and going. And starting tomorrow, the Pima County Sheriff's Department has also announced that they

are going to be restricting public parking on the street outside Nancy's home as well. Tom. All right, Liz, Croyd's a big update there. Liz, we thank you. Still to come here on Top Story, the new Blockbuster bid for Warner Brothers Discovery, could Paramount slide in and top Netflix's offer? Feels like it. The latest on the Hollywood Showdown.

Plus, what we're learning about the bullet hole found on the outside of an American Airlines plane. That's next. Stay with us. We're back now with new blast of snow for parts of the Northeast after that historic blizzard. Right now, more than 150,000 are still without power. And in Massachusetts, the snow complicating rescue efforts after a fiery house explosion. Here's Emily Aketa with more. Tonight, fire and ice in Massachusetts after a house explosion sparked this massive blaze, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky.

It looks like we have a total house, explosion, heavy fire. Authorities in Taunton, who are investigating the cause, say a mother and young child were seriously injured. Our understanding is the mother went back in to retrieve the child. That's how she got burned. Authorities had to dig through the deep snow to reach fire hydrants and turn off gas lines. The place it didn't help. The snow on the road and roads are narrow, these trucks are big. So it was tough getting here.

The dangerous aftermath of this week's historic blizzard captured on camera, watches tree branches suddenly snap in New York City, a nun shielding a small child. And the roof of this ice rink in North Jersey collapsing today. In Massachusetts, images of down power line showing why today more than 145,000 remained in the dark. In Rhode Island, where snow-covered cars lined streets, the blizzard proving down. deadly. Police say this college student died from carbon monoxide poisoning after charging his phone in a car buried in snow. Another round of snow today complicating cleanup efforts across the region. These neighbors in Newport joined together trying to clear their street. How would you describe your

street? Terrible. Edward Becker says his neighbors on Staten Island had to clear their own road. The plow tried coming up here yesterday. He got stuck. He usually had to. Half hour 45 minutes. He took across the street. He tried to shovel them out. He had to end up back and all the way down. This is the heart of snow clearing operations for parts of North Jersey, truck after truck picking up snow from the streets and then bringing it here to this parking lot,

forming this massive mound. Officials say that the warmer temperatures help, but snow will likely remain and linger on the roadways and sidewalks for weeks. Tom? All right, Emily Aketa, we thank you. Now at Top Stories News Feed. We start with a bullet hole found on the outside of an American Airlines plane. That according to a source who spoke to NBC News, the airline says crews found the puncture as they were inspecting the plane in Colombia over the weekend.

It's unclear how or when it happened, but we're told nobody was hurt and that there were no flights, flight-related issues. That plane has now been pulled from service. And in Colorado, deputies rescuing a driver in a rollover crash, you can see the car flipped on its roof. deputies breaking the window and opening the door, freeing the man trapped upside down, and helping bringing him to safety. They say he was taking to a hospital for treatment. And the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

unveiling this year's class of nominees, Phil Collins, Shakira, Lauren Hill, just a few of the big names on the list. You also have Iron Maiden, Oasis, and Mariah Carey. In all, the class includes 17 performers from a variety of genres like pop, metal, and hip-hop. The official inductees set to be

revealed in April. All right, an unbelievable video out of Nebraska of a sinkhole opening up and swallowing cars. Stop at a busy intersection. Steve Patterson has to block. A surreal sighted an Omaha stoplight quickly crumbles into panic as the road beneath two vehicles gives way to a sinkhole swallowing the car's hole. And we just heard a loud noise and I ended up just looking back and seeing two cars in a sinkhole. Bystanders stunned it first, then rush into action. The drive of that silver pickup pulls himself out of the passenger window before sprawling out onto the roof, while the group of Good Samaritans worked to haul the person in that red SUV out of the hole. Just hoping that everybody was safe and just praying for them in any way I can.

Officials say the cause, likely an underground pressurized water leak. Based on the size and condition of the void, it's evident that a pressurized water source has been scouring soil from beneath the pavement and into the storm sewer for some. time. The incident, similar to a slew of recent sinkhole disasters, from a car swallowed in Pennsylvania to this massive road collapse in China. This time, no one was hurt, thanks in part to the power of lending a hand, even as the ground itself gave way. Steve Patterson, NBC News. All right, now to that major blockbuster bidding war that is shaking up Hollywood and seeping into the political world. Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, seen here at the State of the Union

as a guest of Senator Lindsey Graham. This just one day after his studio up their bid for Warner Brothers Discovery. The updated offer raises the purchase price to $31 a share from $30, a deal that would value Warner Brothers at roughly $77 billion. That's competing with Netflix's offer

from December $72 billion to acquire the film studio along with HBO and HBO Max streaming. But political pressure is mounting amid this bidding war. Attorney Generals from 11 red states are urging the DOJ to do a thorough investigation of the Netflix Warner Brothers deal, saying it stifles competition creates higher prices and less innovation.

One of the biggest directors in Hollywood also speaking out against the deal, James Cameron, writing, in a letter to Congress, it would be disastrous for the theatrical motion picture business. Warner Brothers, Board of Directors said yesterday that they have not made a final decision, but that the Paramount offer could top Netflix. If they do decide to go with Paramount, Netflix would have four, business days to submit a competing offer. To help us understand it all, I want to bring in Lucas Shaw, managing editor for media and entertainment at Bloomberg. Lucas has broken a lot of news about this case.

Lucas, we thank you for being here for our viewers who have sort of been following this, not like you or I probably have. One of the things that is incredible is that months ago, before they even mentioned selling, Warner Brothers Discovery stock prices was barely breaking $10. And now they're talking about selling it for such a price point that you couldn't even imagine I think the biggest winner in all of this has got to be David Zazloff, who is in charge of Warner Brothers right now. Well, David Zazloff, the board and all the shareholders, right? To your point, there were investors who bought into Warner Brothers discovery at $7, $8, $9, and now it would get to kind of double-triple their return.

So that's a pretty good deal for them. I mean, that's what happens when you set up a real bidding war where you had two, well, now you have two bidders with Netflix and Paramount. you used to have Comcast involved. And it's an asset that is inherently valuable and rare, right? There are only a handful of companies that own the libraries that Warner Brothers and HBO have. So Paramount has come back with this counteroffer. Some people were counting Paramount out.

Clearly they were not. Will Netflix counter? Do you think Netflix? And they are really the massive sort of player in all of this because of their market cap. Do you think they're going to be pushed around by Paramount? You know, it's a tough question. to answer at this moment. Netflix has the ability on its balance sheet to go up, right? It obviously has the money. It's worth more than $300 billion. It's considerably larger than

paramount, and it could borrow the money if it needed to, and it has cash to spend. But Netflix shareholders do not like this deal. The share price has gone down more than 30 percent over the last few months. It's a raise more than $100 billion in market cap. And that's just not a comfortable place if you're the CEO or in Netflix's case, the two CEOs. Now, they say that they want the deal a lot, but they're also going to be disciplined. And so they are now going to have to decide, do they want to keep acting and pursuing a deal that their shareholders don't seem to like, especially when one of the ways that Paramount has been adopting the ante is increasing the fee that you would have to pay if the government blocked the deal, because again, one of Paramount's

contentions is that Netflix will have a really hard time getting this deal approved by the Department of Justice. And sometimes this is right. You're just a in the entertainment world. It's getting paramount to pay way more than maybe Warner Brothers' is worth. I spoke with President Trump earlier this month about the bidding war. Here's what he told me. You are close with the Ellison's who are trying to stop a merger between Warner Brothers, Discovery, and Netflix. This deal could change the makeup of the media as we know it. Are you personally going to get involved in that deal? I haven't been involved. I must say, I guess I'm considered to be a very strong president. I've been called by both sides.

It's the two sides, but I've decided I shouldn't be involved. The Justice Department will handle it. Okay. In what way? Just looking at it to see if it's regular... Well, they make a decision. I mean, there's a theory that one of the companies is too big, and it shouldn't be allowed to do it, and the other company is saying something else about, you know, they're not going to have...

But you're not going to interfere, even though you're close with the Ellisis. They're beating the hell out of each other, and there'll be a winner. So, Lucas, my question to you, what the president didn't say there in what I was trying to get to is that he is very close with the Ellison family. And the president says he's... not going to put his thumb on the scale. Do we have any sense if he's putting his thumb on this scale? Or does he not have to get involved? Did the Ellison's maybe have the superior offer? Well, it's funny. You know, you had that interview with the president where he said that he would not

get involved. This came, you know, after he had met with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandoz, Paramount CEO, David Ellison, had intimated, or I think he'd said publicly that he was going to help decide. Then he changed his mind. And then just a few days ago, he commented about kind of some of these comments from Susan Rice, who is in the Obama administration, is on the board of Netflix, and now urging Netflix to remove Susan Rice from his board. So it seems like the president can't quite make up his mind as to whether he wants to be involved in this or not. You know, whether you think he is involved probably depends on whether you believe that the DOJ is acting independently as it is supposed to, or whether he is telling them to do certain

things. We know that Ted Serendos is going to be in D.C. tomorrow meeting with people at the White House. And I have to think that people are factoring the president's wishes into this consideration. You know, what should happen in this deal is that the Warner Brothers Discovery Board of directors and shareholders should vote just based on what they think the best deal is. But I've spoken to a number of Warner Brothers Discovery shareholders who say that they're worried that a Netflix deal wouldn't get approved. And so they are inclined to take the Paramount offer just because they would get their money faster. And they sell the whole company. Paramount wants to buy everything, including the cable properties, whereas Netflix just wants the studio on HBO.

Lucas, I know you can't answer this question. I should have asked this at the get-go of this segment because this is really about the viewers, but we're sort of into the sort of the inner workings of this. Who will benefit from this, the consumers? Who is it better for? I know you can't pick a side, but what are the arguments for consumers who just love movies, love TV shows? Who is this better for? Well, the argument for Netflix would be that Netflix has a history of making things more affordable and better for consumers, right? They offered a product that was considerably better and cheaper than cable and pushed the price. You know, you can just get a lot more from a couple streaming services at a lower cost than you could have gotten from cable back in the day.

You know, the argument against Netflix from a consumer perspective would be that they may not put movies in theaters despite what Ted Sarandos has said. And, you know, there's a lot of uncertainty about what exactly they would do with HBO. My sense is they would offer it at a discount for what it is today, which would seem like a benefit. You know, on the Paramount side, a lot of their pitch to customers and to regulators has been, you know, we're the smaller player, we're going to make a streaming service that will make Hollywood more competitive, that will be better for everyone, because if there's more competition, it leads to better products and we'll put even more movies in theaters. The argument against it is usually when you combine two studios. You don't increase the

output, which is essentially what they're saying they're going to do. And we should say Netflix can survive without Warner Brothers. Paramount has a much tougher argument if they don't win this fight. Lucas, always great to have you on. Love your insight. You can read them in Bloomberg. Coming up, the rise of looks maxing. What's behind the viral trend and the length some young men are going to make themselves more attractive, plus why doctors are urging against it. Plus, the fiery explosion as a Turkish military jet crashes near a highway. Look at this. What happened next? Stay with us. We're back now with Top Stories Global Watch and dramatic video of a fiery explosion in Turkey.

After a fighter jet crashed near a major highway, you can see the fireball lighting up the sky. The Turkish defense minister says the pilot died when the F-16 aircraft went down after taking off from a military base. Investigators are now looking into what caused this crash. In Bali, crews are working to rescue people trapped in severe floodwaters. Heavy rain turning roads into rivers across parts of the Indonesian tourist island. Footage shows search teams on rubber boats with people waiting through water up to their heads. Officials say the flooding rose to nearly five feet in some areas, leaving many stranded inside of their homes. And in Australia, two citizen scientists just discovered the world's largest known coral reef colony.

Take a look at this. It's part of the Great Barrier Reef, but they say this particular colony spans more than 360 feet, roughly the same size as a soccer field. It was found by a mother-daughter duo from a conservation organization who documented it, so a three-duty. model could be made and help track changes to that coral. All right, very interesting. Back here at home to a potentially dangerous trend that's gaining popularity amongst teen boys and young men, it's called looks maxing. Extreme efforts to change how you look to become more attractive. Our Stephen Romo looked into this. Looks maxing. A once obscure online trend is moving into the mainstream. Appealing mainly to boys and young men, it's an effort to maximize your looks,

often taken to the extreme. The goal to achieve what looks maxers call ascension, or what they consider the optimal measure of beauty. We're operating in a society that's extremely shallow. Karim Shami is a looks maxing influencer with more than two million followers across social media. We're not saying go past your genetic limits and go into extreme measures, but try to optimize your lifestyle around your appearance. So what is the ideal male face? Controversial looksmaxer, clavicular, says he has an eye. The most attractive man in the world, I would say that in terms of, you know, harmony percentage, it's like a very objective thing. This is not really based on like an opinion of mine,

would be Matt Bomber. The actor's looks celebrated in online forums where looks maxers discuss their ideal appearance, a chiseled jaw line, specific facial ratios, and eyes, one eye width apart. Bomber himself does not appear to be affiliated with the movement. And while some methods are focused on skin care or facial exercises, start with your preferred facial cleanser. Clivocular says he went to extreme measures to achieve his desired looks. I've done like a lot of things like fat dissolvers. Like I've injected liposis agents into my face was a big one. I've been bone smashing. And he's not alone. Bone smashing. has become increasingly popular.

Do you guys know about bone smashing? People taking massage guns or even hammers to the face. Smash them balls, baby! All to cause minor damage to the bone underneath in hopes that it will heal in a more pronounced way. You're basically throwing the dice and hoping that it grows back the way you want it to, but you have no idea how your bones are going to rejoin themselves.

We have no idea what the long-term implications are. Experts say it's about more than just vanity. In your research, have you found a negative mental health impact from being involved in this community? Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, there's a lot more negative mental health ramifications. They're developing body issues that they didn't have when they first entered the community. And they're seeing their body is fundamentally a very flawed and imperfect thing that is going to ruin their lives. And looks maxing is popular in online forums that often perpetuate dangerous concepts like misogyny, nationalism, even racism. Race absolutely influences how these men are judging attractiveness. So

every man of color is recommended to improve his attractiveness by making himself appear more white. But despite the controversy, the industry surrounding looks maxing is growing, with websites dedicated to selling supplements and products. If you were talking to a parent of a 16-year-old who's worried about this trend, what would you tell them? Putting in the emphasis that they deserve to be loved no matter how they look, I think is probably the most important thing. Stephen Rombo joins us in studio. Steve, I have two questions for you. Is this sort of a fringe online trend, or is this becoming more and more popular? Yeah, certainly started off very French and has been around for a few years now. But some influencers like clavicular have gone

viral with some of these clips and has really brought this into the mainstream, specifically bone smashing, which we mentioned in this piece, people hitting their face with a hammer. It It sounds pretty silly, but when you hear some of the more extreme things that they're going to, taking testosterone, which can mess up their fertility later in life, all of these things seem very short-sided. Something we've worried about a lot for young women is their body image issues, but now it really seems like we need to worry about young men as well. People, especially young men, trying to look their best. I mean, this has been around for decades, right? What's different now? Is it the social media aspect of it? And it's just going to extremes because of social media? Yeah, it really seems like an expert we talked to for this piece was saying that it's really the online community of looks maxing. They have their own terminology, their own language in a way, and they have their own rating scale for rating each other's faces.

It really is their own subculture that they've created. It's not just trying to look your best. It goes beyond that in a way with a bit of their own cultural spend. You know what I'm going to start? Newsmaxing. What do you think about that? I love it. It's the best news out there.

I want on the ground floor. Stephen Romo, we thank you for that. Come back, uplifting notes, the group of elementary school students who brought tears of joy to a fellow student who was feeling down. We'll explain and we'll show you that video right after this. Finally, tonight, a story about a classroom that cares, the heartwarming moment a group of students rallied behind their classmate who was feeling down and lifted her back up. It was a moment central Florida fourth grader Sophia Campbell will never forget. She had been struggling with reading and she was feeling down. I feel like I'm not that smart.

I'm not good enough. But fellow student Ashton Miller had an idea to lift her spirits. Using sticky notes, putting them all over Sophia's desk with compliments on them. The class filling up the brightly colored squares with motivating and inspiring words like keep going, hard worker. You are a ray of sunshine. Her desk and chair totally covered with kindness. You're smart, you're kind. I was so surprised.

Words are very powerful and something as simple as some positive words on a sticky note have caused such a positive reaction. Kindness spreads kindness. And I think that's what's happened here, right? It totally happened here. A noteworthy reminder. from a class that cares, showing us all how far simple gestures can go. I'm happy. All right, that does it for us. Thanks so much for watching Top Story

tonight. I'm Tom Yamis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.