Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Episode Date: January 8, 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 tonight, the deadly clash in Minneapolis, an ice officer shooting a woman in her car. The government claiming self-defense during the Trump administration's biggest immigration crackdown yet. The fatal shooting captured from multiple angles. Officers approaching the SUV, shots fired as the car moves forward. The government says she was driving at the officer chaos erupting. Protesters in a standoff with ice. Some officers pelted with snow. The woman just identified as president.

President Trump defends the shooting, the Minneapolis mayor pushing back, we'll speak with him live. Also tonight, U.S. forces seize two Venezuelan oil tankers, the Coast Guard repelling onto a vessel, our new reporting on how the U.S. plans to control Venezuela's oil. What is the president's endgame? The major change to food recommendations, the Trump administration now urging Americans to eat more protein and full-fat dairy, including butter. Los Angeles, marking one year since the deadly and catastrophic wildfires, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass joins us tonight as residents voiced their frustrations over the slow rebuild. The violent confrontation caught on camera police releasing video of a man, they say fired shots at an LAPD helicopter, how the hours-long standoff came to an end. Terrifying tire blowout in a plane

landing at the nation's busiest airport. What went wrong? And the life-saving catch, the moment of desperate mom had to drop her children from the second floor as her house burned and the neighbor who was there to catch them. Plus, the arrest just made after a burglary at an NFL star, Shador Sanders' home. Top story starts right now. And good evening. We do begin tonight with a deadly ice-involved shooting in Minneapolis. A woman shot and killed by a federal officer during an immigration operation sparking chaos and division in the streets. Tonight we'll show you what happened from several angles all captured on video. Take a look. You can see, officers approaching a car, one appearing to grab the door, another in front of the vehicle.

When the driver accelerates, you see an officer shoot. Here's that chilling moment with sound. You can hear the chaos unfolding as the car drives off crashing a few feet away. Another angle, you can see it here, showing the officer in front of the car appearing to get hit. Look closely. The Minneapolis police chief says the car was blocking the road at the time. And the Minnesota Star Tribune is reporting tonight the identity of the victim, Renee Nicole Good. year old woman died from the gunfire. The fatal incident fueling outrage in Minneapolis today, videos of protesters

confronting officers getting pelted with tear gas and pepper spray. Crowds of demonstrators launching snowballs at federal vehicles. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying the officer fired, quote, defense shots. While Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frye says the narrative was, quote,

garbage. In a moment, we'll speak with the mayor, and we'll go moment by moment with a law enforcement expert. But we want to begin tonight with Maggie Vespa. ground in Minneapolis where that deadly scene unfolded. The deadly incident captured from multiple angles and sparking deeply divided opinions. The video starts with a driver who police say had been blocking the street. You see the driver gesturing at ICE officers and they start approaching that dark-colored SUV, one going to the driver's side door, another officer steps in front of the

vehicle. Then the driver accelerates. Shots are fired. It continues to move, then collides with a parked car. In slow motion, you can see that officer again approaching grabbing the door handle of the SUV. The driver first reverses, then accelerates, appearing to turn. That officer in front of the SUV then opens fire. The incident also shown from a higher reverse angle. Zooming in, you can see the ice officer standing in front of the car when the driver accelerates and the officer opens fire. Tonight, police say the 37-year-old driver was killed. This woman was in her car and it appears then blocking the street because of the presence of federal law enforcement.

This video showing a woman who appears to be a passenger. Hey, was you riding with her? Now the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting the driver's mother identified her as Renee Nicole Good saying, quote, that's so stupid she was killed and that she was probably terrified. Tonight, sharp divisions over what happened. The Department of Homeland Security defending the officer, posting the driver weaponized her vehicle by accelerating and that an ICE officer, fearing for his life, fired defensive shots. It was an act of domestic terrorism. A woman attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively shot to protect himself and the people around him.

But Minneapolis's Democratic mayor slamming that explanation. They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video of myself, I want to tell everybody directly. That is b-h-h. This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying. Later, chaos, officers using tear gas to disperse crowds who were also seen throwing snow at officers. We're scared in a way that, you know, what do we? do how do we respond to this the mayor now demanding ICE stop enforcing immigration law in the

city do ice get the f*** out of minneapolis we do not want you here as ice says it's facing a thirteen hundred percent surge in assaults on its officers this goes to show the assaults that are ice officers and our law enforcement are under every single day maggie let's go back to that shooting incident the videos of the incident have been seen all over the country what are people there saying just behind you where the shooting happened? Yeah, Tom, you can tell. We have this massive crowd behind us. Several hundred, if not a thousand people by this point.

There's a lot of anger in this crowd at ICE. And people in this crowd, the biggest through line, they tell us they don't agree with the Trump administration's characterization's characterization of what happened here earlier today. And to that end, the president himself weighing in tonight, posting the driver, quote, viciously ran over an ICE officer who seems to have, his words, shot her in self-defense. Tom. Maggie Vespa leading us off tonight. Mayor Jacob Frye joins us tonight from Minneapolis.

Mayor Frye, we thank you for joining the show, and I am sorry it is under once again these horrific circumstances. You've been very vocal against the ice operations in your city. I want to play a little bit of what you said about the incident today. Let's play it. They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video of myself, I want to tell everybody directly. That is b-b-a. So, Mayor, after seeing multiple angles now of that video, do you stand by what you said earlier? Of course, I stand by what I said.

I won't preempt the investigation that is presently underway, as the state has said, that the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will be helping to investigate this case. But, look, I got two eyes. All of you do, too. And you can see for yourself, what happens? was reckless. And by the way, entirely predictable because we have been saying the chief and I vocally for, I don't know, over a month that somebody was going to get hurt or killed, whether that was a civilian, a police officer, a federal agent, when you deploy, in this case, thousands of agents

to Minneapolis to our state with no clear plan that don't understand constitutional law, that clearly can't even drive in the snow that well. Yeah, you're going to get problems. And then when they treat people the way they've been treating them, and by the way, this is not like the first instance of horrific treatment. They were dragging a pregnant woman through the snow. We've seen them indiscriminately pulling Latino and Somali people off the street. That is not the way we behave in America.

In Minneapolis, we're going to stand up for our community. And tragically, this instance, of reckless federal behavior again has resulted in somebody getting killed. Mayor, DHS Secretary, Christy Knoem, just spoke. I want to play some of that sound and get your reaction on the other side. Here's what she had to say. The ICE officer fearing for his life and the other officers around him and the safety of the public fired defensive shots.

He used his training to save his own life and that of his colleagues. He was treated at a local hospital, has been released, and is now with family. Mayor, what do you say to that? That does not sound to me like a person that believes what they are saying. I think she also mentioned that there was some form of, this was domestic terrorism that the victim was involved in. That would be the first instance of domestic terrorism that involved like a four-point turn

that the victim was clearly trying to leave the situation and get out of there. And by the way, leaving a situation and getting out of there is neither domestic terrorism, nor is it trying to ram a federal agent, is trying to leave. None of that, by the way, can justify use of deadly force under the law. You don't need a law degree to know that.

The governor mentioned earlier that he thought federal agents should have done more to help this woman. In the first video, the original video that has been put out there, you don't see agents, and obviously they had just been shot at. It was a traumatic scene,

but you don't see any first aid immediately being administered. Did that trouble you? noticed that from the videos? So I don't know that I've seen that exact video. I certainly have heard about it. And yeah, you know, one of the responsibilities, a duty of a law enforcement entity, is to make sure that people aren't killed. And so even if that individual was the one who shot, first aid should be administered in the immediacy.

You know, our police officers got there, and two of them were in the ambulance driving down to help as soon as they can. and go into the hospital. And, you know, that's what they need to be doing. But, no, from what I have seen in these videos, this is not an example of what any officer of the law should be doing. People are going to be watching this video, and they're going to say to themselves, you know, there's two sides, right?

The side we're hearing from you and the side we're hearing from Christy Knoem. And they're going to say, listen, that officer was in front of the car. It looked like the woman was accelerating. She shouldn't have done that. Law enforcement training says that's a lethal weapon. You can use force. My question to you, though, what people don't understand the context, and I'm not saying this is an excuse or a reason for any of this violence, but the temperature right now in Minneapolis, it's winter, but it is incredibly hot. How would you describe that to other Americans? Because your own governor was asked, is the state of Minnesota at war with the federal government? And that sort of stunned me that that question could even be asked in 2026. But is that what the feeling is like over there? Well, I'll tell you what the feeling is.

And the feeling is that in Minneapolis, in Minnesota, we are going to rise above. We are going to be our best versions of self. We're going to be wrapping our arms around this family because obviously they are suffering. We're going to be standing up rock solid for our immigrant neighbors because they are getting targeted and attacked. And we're not going to take the bait. We know that the Trump administration is, looking for any excuse to come in and deploy a whole bunch of military and occupying force

on Minnesota and Minneapolis that we know would be even more devastating for these very communities. And so we're going to be doing this right. We're going to meet a lot of hatred and divisiveness with love and unity. We're going to see all that that the Trump administration is doing here, but then we're going to show our own brand of who we are as Americans, of who we are here in Minneapolis. We want to be an example for others to follow because, again, we need the entire country standing up to say that this isn't okay. You know, it's this horrific killing that is not okay. It's also the fact that they are indiscriminately pulling Latino and Somali people off the street a whole lot of the time, and that is not how we work under our

Constitution, the endurance of our Republic depends on this. Look, Mayor, I don't have your job. I don't know what you're going through day and day out. I hear you talk about love as well, but I also heard something very real in your voice when you told ICE, get the F out. Do you still stand by that? Yeah, I mean, yes, of course I stand by that. I mean, I'm sorry to any of those that have these Disney princess ears that are totally

offended, but, I mean, for those that are saying, that's inflammatory, the F-bomb is inflammatory. You know, if I'm going, whether the F-bomb is the inflammatory piece here or the killing of a civilian, I think it's the killing of the civilian. That's the real inflammatory piece here. And, you know, yeah, I'm frustrated. We set it. I stand by it. When ICE comes to your city and there's more than 1,000 agents now in your state, do they tell your local police officers, do they call your office, do they say, hey, we're going to be here just so you know our agents are here. They're not going to be in marked vehicles. I mean, is there any communication? No, man. No, no. We've said very clearly that we will not coordinate

with any federal agency around immigration enforcement work. And so no, they don't tell us when, where, how, if they're going to come into our city, but clearly they're here. When you say we won't coordinate, if they were to call you, you wouldn't even take the call? Well, if they're going to call me and say we're coming in, obviously I'll take the. If they're going to call me and say we're coming in, obviously I'll take the information up, but we won't coordinate with them. Where does your city go from here? We go where we always go, up and forward. Look, Minneapolis, our whole country, has been through a lot over these last five years.

We've had a series of turning points, and I think this is a particularly potent one, where, again, we can meet a lot of the hatred that we are seeing from this federal administration and the way they're conducting themselves with some truth, with some honesty, with some justice, and then a lot of compassion and love. That's where our city is standing. Finally, what's your message tonight to President Trump and his supporters who said he campaigned on this? He said he was going to do this, and he won an election. Well, look, winning an election does not mean that you get to violate the Constitution. Any Democrat, any Republicans, certainly, any professor of constitutional law should understand that a lot of the things that are going down right now are not okay.

I mean, there's such a muzzle velocity of actions that are taking place that there's litigation that's trying to keep up with it. My message to President Trump is the same message that we delivered early or today, which is get ice out of this city. Look, we have done a lot of the work over the last several years to drive down crime. We've worked with our police officers. We've worked with the U.S. Attorney's Office. And right now, crime is dropping in virtually every category, in virtually every neighborhood. That is important work. But what is clear is that the actions that ICE is taking is not about keeping people safe.

It's about terrorizing communities. It's about ripping families apart. It's about eating away at the very fabric that makes Minneapolis, Minneapolis, and America, America. We've got to stand up for the endurance of this republic right now, and for anybody that's watching, you're part of this too. You can be part of this movement to have this kind of thing stop from happening. Mayor, just before we go, we're getting some new information. Now, we know that the woman who was shot and killed, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good,

have you been able to talk to her family by any chance? and can you make a promise here that this shooting will be fully investigated? Yes, this shooting needs to be fully investigated. I know that I've heard from the state that the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will be involved, and I think that's the right thing. I'm so sorry to this family.

No, I have not talked with them yet. I need to. I know that my staff is working on getting the contact and everything. I mean, nothing that I can say here over the airways is going to be even remotely helpful. But we're with them. We're with them.

We stand with them. We stand with this city. Let us all stand together. Mayor Jacob Frye, we thank you for your time. We know this is a very difficult day, so we appreciate you coming on. Thank you for having me. We also want to note that we reached out to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security to also join us, but they denied the request. So for more on the shooting and the video, that's the source of much scrutiny tonight. I want to bring in retired NYPD captain, John Monaghan. As you know, he is a good friend to Top Story. We're going to walk through the video and through the clips.

Captain, it is great to see you as always. This is a very difficult case. We want to be mindful of everything that's happened. There's a lot we don't know. Let's roll the video for our viewers. We have shown this video time and time again, but we want to take it moment by moment. So we're going to start here.

And if we can stop right here, Captain, so first we see the officer's approach. The Minneapolis police chief said she was, who's blocking the federal officers, blocking the road. That's why they come out. They're in an unmarked vehicle, but they do have emergency lights on. They come out, and some can say they come kind of aggressively, right? And they grab and they open the door.

Is that protocol? Why do you think they did that? It looks like they're making an arrest. At this point, I would say she was under arrest. It's a very dangerous situation. And also, if you notice, the cop who did fire the shots, who was endangered, he's so far on the other side of that vehicle, they can't even see him in this video.

I'm not an expert here, but I'm just asking here. Should they not say license and registration? Why is it coming here? Some people could say aggressive in trying to open that door. Ask you for license and registration, that's ideal. This video, did it begin a few moments before this? There was an interaction. There was some words exchange.

Sure, there was. So that initial interaction on a professional may have occurred already. We're past that now. And it'll be part of the investigation. Let's roll the video. She backs up here. You hear people screaming. officers in front of the car, he fires, shooting a few times.

We know at least one hit the windshield there. We have a reverse angle, too. If we can show that reverse angle as well. So we see over here in the screen, the car in front. Captain, what do you see here? If you're watching this as an investigator, what are these video clips showing you? Strip away everything except the basic facts. Uniform dice officer, let's call him a pedestrian

and a 2,000-pound vehicle lurching forward at that. This is a very dangerous situation. It's deadly force justified at that moment. Every penal law in this country has the same standard. Now, police procedure and policies narrows that down a bit. Most departments do. The industry standard is you don't shoot a moving vehicle. Stop right there.

You don't shoot a moving vehicle. That's a standard in the industry. So what happened here? Well, let me finish now. In 2016 after Nice and then Berlin, we tweaked that standard. Here in New York City, even, we did tweak that standard. This is not a mass casualty event. But it is understood since Neese Emberlin.

And then, you know, shortly after we tweeted in May of 2019, it happened on the West Side Highway. Guy mowed down eight people. So what's the new, what's the new standard? You don't shoot a moving vehicle unless there is a specific threat of death in the immediate sense. It's reserved typically from a miscastle event, which is not. As you're talking, let's roll this clip, please, because you can kind of see the rate. We're not going to stop it, just roll it, the rate at which the car was. Stop it, right there.

Okay. Because the mayor's saying she was making a turn. Would that hold up? She's in reverse. And then she's trying to turn out. She's trying to escape, Tom. This is an arrest. The part of license and registration, please, all that has come and gone.

She's under arrest at this point. And now she's evading law enforcement. She's not leaving nicely. This is evasion of law enforcement. I don't know if we have the clip here, but there was a shot of the windshield. And there is a gunshot in the windshield that you see. It's the front of the windshield. right here. You see it right here. What, if anything, will that tell investigators?

Well, initially, he's straight on. The car's coming straight at him. You know, listen. Because there's a question of, did they shoot from the side, was his life not really in danger? This might show it's a direct shot through the windshield. That car's coming towards the office. Correct. He's so far in front to that car. He's not even in the initial clip. I hate to say this, but we have gotten to the point, everything evolves. Police science is evolving. We don't just analyze the shooting. We analyze each shot. Shot number one, absolutely justified cards coming straight out of. Shots two and three.

We're going to require some more discussion on that. Okay, Captain John Monaghan, we thank you walking through this. Again, we want to say there's a lot about this that we don't know. But thank you for walking us frame by frame by for what we do have. We're going to turn out of the other big story of the day that we're following. The U.S. seizing two more sanctioned oil tankers, one of them sailing under a Russian flag. It comes amid new questions of just how much control the U.S. will exert over Venezuela's new regime. Kelly O'Donnell reports tonight from the White House.

The Trump administration taking new, bold enforcement actions in the dark of night and at sea. Seizing vessels as part of President Trump's claim he is in charge of Venezuela and its oil, sparking a potential clash between President Trump and Russian President Putin. Two oil tankers, two overnight, were seized by the United States of America, stateless or sanctioned. These edited government videos show the Coast Guard repelling to the deck of one of those ships. The seizure approved by a federal judge. One of the tankers had eluded them for weeks and had flown a false Russian flag.

The White House said today the move should not provoke Russia. This was a Venezuelan shadow fleet vessel that has transported sanctioned oil. And the United States of America under this president is not going to tolerate that. All of it after President Trump approved the high-risk U.S. military mission to arrest Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicholas Maduro that brought him to stand trial in the U.S., leaving behind a Maduro loyalist as interim leader. Today, Secretary of State Rubio telling lawmakers the U.S. blockade is intended to pressure that regime, to change its conduct, including handing sanctioned oil to the U.S. We are going to take between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil.

We're going to sell it in the marketplace. We will control how it is dispersed in a way that benefits to Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime. But Democrats unsuade. I mean, this is an insane plan. They are talking about stealing the Venezuelan oil at gunpoint for a period of time undefined as leverage to micromanage the country. Kelly O'Donnell joins us tonight. Kelly, I know you're tracking a few new headlines from the White House. So the president's saying there's a new deal with the Venezuelan regime.

Explain what he's talking about. We don't know a lot of details, but the president posts. tonight that he had been informed that Venezuela will buy what the president claims would only be American goods with the proceeds from the sale of its oil that the U.S. will then take to market. But we don't know how that will exactly work or how it would be enforced. Tom? Yeah, and then also I know the president just announced that he spoke with the president of Colombia. There was a lot of back and forth, a lot of drama between our two countries. What's the latest? This really stands out because Colombia has been put on notice from this administration, and

after the events unfolding in Venezuela, tensions are higher. And the Colombian president initiated that call. President Trump said he was pleased to talk to the president, President Petro, about their disagreements and drug issues. And he says that he will arrange for a meeting between Marco Rubio, our Secretary of State, and their foreign minister in the coming weeks here at the White House. So perhaps a little de-escalation there. Tom? All right, Kelly O'Donoff for us, Kelly, thank you.

For more of the White House's plans for Venezuela. It's oil. I want to bring in Jorge Pinyong. He's a former Latin American oil executive who worked for companies like Shell and Amoco. He's now a UT Austin Energy Institute professor. I want to thank you so much for coming back to the show, Jorge. I want to start with the announcement from President Trump that the U.S. wants to buy 30 million to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil. That deal, which Venezuela state oil company says, is still under negotiation. It's worth somewhere between $1.8 and $3 billion at current market prices. But it's only about as much as the U.S. produces in two days. Could that Venezuelan oil have any impact on prices at the gas pump here?

Not really, and we have seen already in the last 72 hours that this whole exercise in Venezuela has really not impacted gasoline prices. In fact, we have prices now in some states in the southeast below $2.50 a gallon. So that is good news. I do want to ask you, the president said he wants American oil companies and executives to reinvest in Venezuela. But their ability to supply has declined in the decades since Maduro and Chavez have been in power. How big of a challenge would it be to get Venezuelan oil production back up to where it needs to be? And how long will that take? You have 61 oil fields. You have over 3,000 oil wells. You have 600 plus miles of pipeline to deliver that oil to the coast. It will take years. It will take years. It will take.

years to rebuild the whole infrastructure from the oil well to the docks. And billions of dollars. The oil companies are going to need some sort of guarantee of political stability. They're willing to take the market risk of oil prices going up or down, but they cannot afford to have a change in the rules of the game two or three years from now after we have new administrations in Washington, D.C., or new administrations in Caracas. Political continuity is going to be extremely important for the international oil company. That's an important point. On that point, a lot of U.S. oil companies lost big when their

operations of Venezuela were nationalized. Do you think they'll be able to get back what they're owed under the Trump administration or want to risk reinvesting once again? I think so. I mean, this is a long-term period of negotiations that are going to take at least 12, if not 18 months, to have all the paperwork done. Remember, you not only have the chevrons and the exons. What about BP and Shell, who are English companies? How about international companies like Repsul from Spain and Total from France? Tom, what about the service companies, the Halliburton's, the Slumberjays? Those are companies that are actually going to do the hard work. So there's a lot of players that are going to be involved in these negotiations. That will

take some time. And then comes the rebuilding portion, which will take another couple of years, if not three years. Finally, let's get a little bit technical here, right? Because, and I'm not an expert on this. Our producers have helped us out here. As you know, our viewers may not, not all oil is the same, right? Venezuela and crude is dense. It's sticky and heavy, requiring complex refining to turn it into gas you can put into your car. Compare that to lighter oil produced in the U.S. like West Texas, intermediate. That is easier to refine into gas and diesel fuel. Are American refineries on the Gulf Coast ready to handle an influx of heavy Venezuelan crude? I mean, can this just happen with the flip of a switch?

No question. The capacity conversion of our Gulf Coast refineries are the largest in the world. The heavier, the crude, the more sulfur it has, the more we like it. In fact, the U.S. today is exporting some of its light crude from West Texas. The issue is going to be what is the role of Canadian crude? Canadian crude is very similar to Venezuelan crude. So if we bring in more Venezuelan, that's going to back out Canadian crude. By the way, the Canadians already have built a pipeline to Vancouver, to the Pacific,

so in case they have to somehow back up their crew and sell it to the Indians or the Chinese, they will be ready to do that. Jorge Pino, always a pleasure to have you on for you to walk us through this. We thank you. Thank you. We're back in a moment with the manhunt for a killer in the deadly shooting of an Ohio dentist and his wife. You'll hear the mysterious 911 call. Could it offer new clues in the case?

That's next. We're back with a new twist in the case of an Ohio dentist. dentist and his wife found murdered in their home last week. NBC News obtaining an emotional 911 call made by an unknown woman traced to that same address months before the couple was killed. Aaron McLaughlin has this one. Tonight, new questions around a mysterious 911 call traced to the Ohio home of Spencer and Monique Tempe. Dispatch records show the call involving an unknown woman happened eight months before the couple was found murdered at the same address. Hi, there's 911. He's got a hang-up call. Is everything okay?

Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm okay. NBC News obtained this audio recording from the call. The family says it's clearly not Monique's voice. Okay, well, it sounds like you're crying. Do you need police, fire, medics or anything? No, no, no, I'm okay. I'm just emotional. I'm okay. I don't mean nothing. Okay. Well, Ken? Columbus, police declined to comment, but police records show the call took place at 2.45 in the morning in 8. April of last year. Can I ask what had you called 911 in the first place? Like were you having an argument with somebody? Did me in my being got into it, but I'm okay. I promise. Did anything ever get physical? No. The couple was found shot dead in their home on December 30th. Friends found their two young children and dog inside and unharmed.

Police have been looking for this person of interest in the double homicide who they say was seen walking near the Tempe's home around the time of the shooting. While tonight, the couple's stunned community remembers them as happy and in love. They were very nice and welcoming, you know. They love their children tremendously. Aaron McLaughlin, NBC News. All right, still ahead here on Top Story, the surprise shakeup to Nick Reiner's defense, why the star defense lawyer suddenly removed himself from the case. Next night, the new food guidelines from the Trump administration recommending Americans

eat more protein and full-fat dairy while cutting back on ultra-processed foods and added sugars. NBC's Ann Thompson spoke with Health and Human Services Secretary, RFK Jr., about those big changes. The Trump administration making over America's food pyramid with meat, cheese and dairy now on top. Eat real food. The new dietary guidelines double the recommended portion of daily protein. Encourage full-fat dairy items instead of low-fat. avoid ultra-processed foods including some cookies, crackers, and chips. On alcohol, Americans should limit consumption instead of previous guidance of no more than two drinks a day for men, one for women.

In the best case scenario, I don't think you should drink alcohol. Many in the health community praise the avoidance of ultra-processed foods, but worry about the increase in protein. Are you at all concerned that Americans will see that recommendation and think I can eat more red meat? I think there's two big concerns with this focus on higher protein. You know, one is that people will immediately translate protein to meat and eat more red meat, thinking that's, you know, the most helpful choice when there are other healthier choices. And two, that all of these highly processed foods that are right now adding protein isolates, energy bars and water and cereals are going to get a big boost.

As for those ultra-processed foods, I asked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., if government should do more. Should ultra-processed foods be regulated? Well, you know, our approach is not to tell people what they can and cannot eat. It's to give them good information and let them make their own choices. We live in a democracy. If you want to drink a Coca-Cola and eat a donut, you ought to be able to do that. But it is costing our country money, and it's destroying public health.

Ann Thompson, NBC News. All right. Now to Top Stories news feed and stunning moments in court today as Nick Reiner's defense lawyers suddenly resigned. Alan Jackson says he had no choice but to step down ahead of the arraignment for Reiner, who's accused of stabbing his parents to death. Jackson speaking to reporters outside the courthouse in L.A. Pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder. Jackson has represented high-profile clients like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey.

Reiner is now being represented by a public defender. He's due back in court next month. President Trump says he wants to ban large investors from buying more single-family homes. In a post on social media, Trump argued that corporate ownership has helped put housing out of reach for everyday Americans. It's unclear how the restrictions would work, but the president says he plans to talk more about housing and affordability in two weeks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Authorities in Ohio say they've arrested three suspects in connection with that burglary at the home of Cleveland Brown's quarterback Chodor Sanders. We told you about this when it happened. The thieves broke in back in November during a game. We're told they made off with around $200,000 in stolen property. Medina County Sheriff's officials say a fourth suspect

is still at large. We're expecting them to release much more details about the case tomorrow. In a scary scene at Atlanta's Hartfield Jackson Airport, the landing gear collapsed and you can even see the shredded tires of an arriving Ladam Airlines flight from Peru. The landing was so hard, it broke a bathroom door. The airline says all passengers and crew disembarked without incident. Okay, now to Los Angeles, where today marks one year since the devastating palisades and eaten fires that killed 31 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. Many say the recovery has been frustratingly slow, including some of the families we first met in the fire's aftermath. Here's Lus Croix.

In the burn scars of the L.A. fires, the rubble is now cleared. Some construction underway. But tonight, as these communities mark one year since the deadly palisades and eaten fires, and you deserve the truth. Many survivors, like the Andonian family, tell us what they're still waiting for, are answers. Getting harder and harder, facing the realities. Marina and Harach, who we first met just days after losing their home in Pacific Palisades, say they were hoping by now they'd have broken ground on their new home. But like so many, have been held up by insurance, rising costs, and red tape. Across all of L.A., construction is underway on around 900 homes,

just a fraction of the 16,000 structures destroyed. Why did they let it happen? What is on the Andonian's empty lot, a clear view of the reservoir, the one that was empty and unable to be used to fight the fire that burned down this seaside neighborhood. You believe this was 100% preventable? Yes, 100% I believe that. And that's what makes me upset. No one has taken responsibility, accountability.

The couple are now among thousands suing the state, other agencies and utilities alleging their collective failures led to the widespread destruction of the Palisades fire. The governor's office saying the suit against the state is baseless. Intense scrutiny now focusing on how the New Year's Day lockment fire smoldered underground for nearly a week and then reignited on January 7th. The images are impossible to forget. I've seen anything like what's happening in LA right now.

This area of Altadena has become an absolute wasteland. This was the apocalyptic scene driving along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. See what it looks like today. It is still empty plot. After empty plot, there's a lot of for sale signs. Only about two dozen building permits have been issued and approved for construction out of the hundreds of homes that burned in this area. This is amazing. Yes, it is. It is. It's coming along. In Altadena, we reconnected with the Edwards family, one of the few who have made real progress.

Are you concerned about this neighborhood changing? Oh, yeah. Definitely. A lot of people, if they could, they would probably stay, and they just don't have the resources. And it's heartbreaking. But they say it's their faith that's carrying them through. We cover the home with scriptures. It means the Lord has helped us. of resilience forever embedded in the bones of their new home.

Okay, Liz Kreutz joins us tonight from the Pacific Palisades there. We see a home going up behind you, though. Liz, we know only about 900 homes have started to be rebuilt. Has construction actually been completed on any of those? Yeah, Tom, for a handful, some of the homes are complete, but we're talking just fewer than 10 homes across both of these fires. Like you said, you can see the construction here. Over here behind me is a home that looks. looks like it's nearly complete, but most of the lots here look just like this. They are empty with Tom, 70% of people who were displaced from these fires still not back in their homes. Tom.

A year later. Okay, Liz, Croyd's for us. Liz, we thank you for that. We are going to keep on this issue of Los Angeles. We want to introduce Mayor Karen Bass, who's going to talk to us tonight on the recovery effort one year later. Mayor Bass, we thank you so much for being here for us. As we mentioned, 16,000 homes. and businesses were destroyed in the fires. But at this point, we just heard Liz there. Fewer than 10 homes have been rebuilt in LA County. How do you explain that to the people of your city?

Well, first of all, there are different areas of jurisdiction. So in the city of Los Angeles, it is the Pacific Palisades. The other areas are outside of the city. And I do have to tell you that the first few months, after a disaster like this, the attention is paid to clearing out the debris. That took several months. So if you're going to look at the rebuilding, you could say that it started in around April. The fact that we have over 400 homes in the Pacific Palisades that are actively under construction now, there's about two that are

pretty much ready to move in and several more that will be ready in the next few months. I know that it is very difficult for anyone who is not in their homes, but this is actually pretty quick. You look at the fires that took place in Maui, and that was two years ago, and the number of homes that have been built and under construction is a similar number. Mayor Bass, yeah, Mayor Bass, I hear you. But I also know that Hawaii is an island nation, you know, a group of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean

versus California, which I think has the fifth largest economy in the world, Los Angeles, one of the great cities on this planet. Are you trying to tell me in our viewers, and it's okay if you are, but I want to make sure I understand you, you're proud of your efforts and what's happened in Los Angeles up to this point? You know, listen, I will not be proud until 100% of Palisadians are back home. If you want a California comparison, I can give you a California comparison. We've had a number of wildfires in different cities.

And if you judge our progress compared to other cities, we are months and months ahead. A lot of the problems that individuals are facing, like the ones that you interviewed, are insurance, it's financing, it's banking. What we have done is expedited the building process, waived a lot of the rules and regulations. We've done everything to fast track and anything else that needs to be done. that needs to be done. When we find a problem, we address it. So I think that it's not accurate to look at it and just say that because things are not done,

it's done for a variety of reasons. And people have every right in the world to be angry and frustrated, especially coming off of the holidays, because no matter how fast we're rebuilding until you have the keys to your home and you were back there, I would expect the frustration. I think people doing the math. you know, 16,900 being rebuilt in a year. If you keep doing that, maybe the pace picks up.

We're talking about a long time. I want to play a little bit about what you said in February of 2025. This was a month after the fires. Let's listen to that. The recovery of the palisades is months ahead of expectations. Los Angeles is moving forward on all fronts, and we will keep moving forward together. So in February, you said you guys were months ahead. Today, a year later, you're saying you're still months ahead of everybody else. I'm trying to understand. I mean, let me ask you a question.

Are you satisfied? Are you proud of the effort? You just asked me that. And like I said, I will be satisfied whenever every Palisadian is at home. So when you asked my comments last year, that was in reference to the cleaning of the debris. And we did do that months ahead. I'm not trying to say everything is wonderful here. We have thousands of people out of their homes.

And by the way, in terms of the numbers in the Palisades, there were 5,000 homes that were destroyed. We have approved the rebuilding of 800 homes. 400 are in construction now, and people's challenges are complex. Our responsibility is the permitting process and also the advocacy so that they are able to get the insurance

and the relief from banking, in terms of their mortgages. Looking back on the past year, what would you have done differently? Oh, my goodness. Let me just tell you that Los Angeles facing this disaster is something that Los Angeles has never seen before.

And what we are bracing ourselves for, and I think a lot of other places around the country, are weather events that we've never had and would have never expected. Those were hurricane strength winds in an area that has never seen a hurricane. And so in terms of our preparation, way more aggressive, looking and expecting events that we would have not experienced in our city before. What would you say is the biggest hurdle? Is it the insurance industry? Is it the red tape of trying to get payments? What do you think it is?

The biggest hurdle right now, I believe, is insurance. But also, I'm really concerned about the mortgage payments. You know, a lot of banks said they would waive mortgage payments. for a year, but that year is about up. So I've been advocating with the banks to extend it, and Bank of America stepped up and have extended their forbearance, which means you don't have to pay your mortgage while you're out paying rent. And they've extended it for three more years. I'm also advocating that they take those three years

and put it at the end of your mortgage. So if you had a 30-year mortgage, you now have a 33-year mortgage. You feel for all those families, all those homeowners that are renting renting or just trying to get by, living with other family and friends. The Olympics are going to be in Los Angeles in two years. Where do you think your city is in two years? Well, let me just tell you, the World Cup is going to be here in six months. So in three years, by the time the World Cup comes, or two years now, it's 2026,

Los Angeles will be ready. Los Angeles will be ready. Understand that Los Angeles is 500 square miles, and the games are played all over the region, not even just the city, and we will absolutely be ready to welcome the world. Mayor Karen Bass, we thank you so much for coming on Top Story today. Sure. Coming up, we're going to stay in L.A. and dramatic new body camp video of a shooting there showing a gunman. You see him here, allegedly opening fire on a police helicopter.

What happened here? That's next. We're getting our first look at a violent confrontation in Los Angeles. Police releasing video, they say, shows a man firing shots at an LAPD helicopter. it happening in the middle of a busy neighborhood. Our Steve Patterson has the video and the story. A shocking sight in broad daylight, neighbors ducking for cover. He's shooting at the helicopter? Yes, sir. He shot about, I guess, six or seven. The call came in in late November. Videos clipped and released this week by the LAPD show officers responding to reports of an assault in progress, 57-year-old Anthony Wittsey, accused of pointing a gun at his own

family. His name is Anthony. And did he hit or hit you guys? Are you guys intern? No, he just pointed a gun at us and said he was going to blow our heads off today. Police say he comes out of the home after an LAPD helicopter is deployed and takes aim. Officers slow the video and zoom in, appearing to show Witsy squeezing off three to five rounds into the air. Moments later, officers arrive on the ground, guns drawn. Drop the gun! The harrowing standoff caught on police body cam, showing one officer yelling commands from his squad car before taking action, firing in his direction.

Hey, man, drop the gun. Drop the gun! Drop the gun! Witsy finally dropping his gun, but not giving up. Instead, running inside, barricading himself, they say, for more than three hours. A short time after their arrival, a crisis negotiation team attempted to establish communication with Witsy. However, he continued to not comply. Finally, an opportunity. Witsy opens the door, giving just enough time for a canine to pounce, leaping and biting, ending the confrontation. A dramatic standoff all caught on camera in the heart of a busy neighborhood. Steve Patterson joins us tonight from Los Angeles.

Steve, this is really incredible that no one was killed. What more do we know about the charges at this point? Yeah, Tom, Witsy is facing multiple assault charges, including four counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer. We reached out to Witsy and attempted to contact his attorney didn't get a response. We also reached out to the LAPD, no comment from them pending with the police officer. they call an ongoing criminal investigation, choosing to let the video speak for itself 20 minutes in total released this week. Tom? Okay, Steve Patterson with that video. Steve, thank you. Okay, we're going to turn overseas now to Top Story's Global Watch. Two people were killed in Russia

when a helicopter carrying them crashed into cable car wires. The video shows the chopper colliding with the cables while flying over the ski resort in the middle of the country. You can see it spin in circles before slamming into the ground. The regional transport prosecutor's office saying the pilot and the passenger were killed. And crowds gathering in France today to pay their respects to actress Bridget Bardot. Her funeral held in the French Riviera town of San Trope.

The actress, singer, and model was one of France's biggest cinema icons. You'll remember in the 50s and 60s, Bardot's husband telling a Paris magazine, she died at the age of 91 after getting treatment for cancer. Meta says it's delaying the global rollout of its Rayban AI smart glasses. The reason, it can't keep up with demand, particularly here in the U.S.

These are the augmented reality display glasses. The social media giant planned to expand sales early this year to the UK, France, Italy, and Canada. But now, Meta says, is extending the wait list because there has been so much interest. It's unclear exactly when the glasses will go on sales overseas. Okay, when we come back here on Top Story, the dramatic fire rescue. Neighbors rushing in to save a family as their home went up in flames. We speak with the hero who caught two kids dropped from a window. Finally tonight, the incredible rescue in Baltimore.

Neighbors rushing in when a nearby home caught fire, a mother dropping her children from a second story right into the arms of a Good Samaritan. NBC's George's release spoke with the hero and that mother about the incredible save. The heart-pounding moments caught on doorbell camera in a suburb just outside Baltimore. Watch as two children are dropped by their mom from a second floor window to neighbors below as fire erupted from their home early Tuesday. The cause of the fire under investigation. The callers of the housing house on fire. She's upstairs with two children.

Ashley Gubernet was able to call 911 but says she was trapped with her two boys, nine-year-old Wyatt and five-year-old Weston. And my son was just screaming, help me, help me. Her neighbors responded immediately. And I remember looking up and I saw him running out the house. I was like, thank God. I got somebody's attention. They can help. Anybody there.

That's Stephen Angelini running over. I wasn't going to let them perish in that house. And I said to her, I said, I promise you, I got them. I got them dropping. Ashley dropped both children from the window. I had two choices. We were dying in that house or we were jumping out the window. And that was it.

A heroic catch made by her neighbors. Ashley later escaping by ladder. The family tonight grateful and recovering. I cannot thank this community more. if I tried ever. And with that, George Relese joins us tonight. George, I know you have much more details about that heroic rescue. What really was pretty incredible?

Yeah, that's right, Tom. And there's so many details here that really underscored just how miraculous this all was. For one, this family had been living in this community a little under a year. So she was so surprised to see so many people coming out, especially that early in the morning to help. The other thing, the rescuer here, the hero, he actually had an injury to his arm, his left arm specifically, but he was still able to reach out to make sure he caught both of those kids when it mattered. Absolutely most. And of course, mom crediting those smoke alarms saying that beeping, that first alert really made all the difference in getting her kids to that window for this miraculous rescue.

Tom. Okay. George Salis, we thank you for that. And we'll end it there. We thank you so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamaz in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.