Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Episode Date: July 16, 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, wildfires sending air quality plummeting in the U.S. and the tornado touching down right in the middle of rush hour. This twister tearing across the highway in San Antonio as drivers packed the road. The roof ripped off this apartment complex. Plus the flash flood emergency cars and animals swept away. Breaking right now a fast-moving brush fire outside of L.A. Plus wildfires raging in Canada. The terrifying moments workers are trapped on a train. massive flames closing in, how the danger from that smoke and from those fires is blanketing

major U.S. cities right now. The urgent search for the missing after this massive boat sank near Alcatraz, the dramatic moments passengers clung to its side. Grilled on Capitol Hill, President Trump's pick for Attorney General facing some tough questions, the comment he made that's fueling his critics. Concerns mounting over that foodborne illness spreading from coast to coast, so what you should avoid in the produce aisle. We speak. with an expert. The new credit card skimming warning, how large crowds like the World Cup are the perfect targets for scammers, the crucial tips from experts to stay safe. And the bear bandit caught on camera, the pod player, grabbing a set of golf clubs right off the car.

Plus the daylight saving debate heating up, doctors, teachers, farmers all now chiming in, why they're divided. Top story starts right now. And good evening. As we come on the air, there is a A dangerous triple weather threat, fires, floods, and severe storms impacting millions as dangerous wildfire smoke leads to air quality concerns across the country. You can see this tornado ripping through San Antonio during the busy morning commute. The twister brushing up against this highway. Video capturing huge power flashes lighting up the sky as debris spirals through the air. The force of that storm tearing the roof off this apartment building. Other parts of Texas hit with historic flash floods, trucks, cars, even a family.

of deer all swept away in the raging waters. One man perched on top of his truck as the floods rise around him. The heroin rescue mission still underway. And breaking right now in California, crews battling this right here. A fast-moving brush fire right next to these homes. Evacuation warnings are now in place. And similar scenes in Canada, this frightening video shows a railway crew completely surrounded by flames. In a moment, you'll hear how they all got out. Those fires creating hazy skyline like these all across. across the U.S. and sending air quality conditions plummeting from the Midwest to the northeast. Our team of reporters following it all, and of course are Bill Cairns standing by to time it all out.

We want to begin with Ryan Chandler on the ground in Yuvaldi. And Ryan, first responders are still searching for stranded residents at this hour? The danger still persists, Tom. We have new numbers in from DPS just now that shows the scale of this rescue mission. DPS tells us they've rescued 44 people across the scale of this event, some by water and some by air hoisting them up on helicopters. You see the rain has started to come down again, meaning we are far from out of the danger. This is a tornado. Tonight, a terrifying scene as a tornado slammed San Antonio.

Oh, no. Power flashes lighting up the sky, drivers frantic as it touches down near a packed highway. Oh, my God. At the height of the morning commute. It was a debris fall, yellow. It's got rain. Part of the roof of this apartment complex pealed right off. Families living rooms and bedrooms now exposed to the sky.

So something flew over. I'm like, whoa, and the building started shaking everything. The storm's torrential rain paralyzing a massive expanse of south and central Texas, triggering multiple flash flood emergencies. This truck spotted floating down a flooded road in Bernie. There he goes. NBC's San Antonio affiliate capturing this upsetting moment. A group of deer appear to be carried away by the rushing waters.

We have deer struggling in the water. Highways like this outside Uvaldi have been overwhelmed by the rushing waters, leaving some communities trapped behind the flood waters. The only way to access them is by the air where DPS has been rescuing people in helicopters. Neighborhoods evacuating in Uvaldi as the Leona River swells onto city streets. What do you think when you look out at this flooding? What you see here is it's basically a disaster. You know, it's an area where you cannot come through.

As you can see behind us, how this water is very dangerous right now. We caught up with residents like Blanca San Miguel as the waters closed in on their home. Because of the storm, they told us that they was getting dangerous, and they were getting probably 20 feet or 30 feet from here. An anxious night ahead as yet more rain is expected in the region. All right, Ryan Chandler joins us once again from Yuvaldi. So Ryan, families there are talking to you, and they're telling you they have a real concern about a dam potentially fail.

It's a common concern that we've heard people from across this community voice both to us and going up to state troopers asking whether that dam up river could break. They know if that happens, it could send so much more water down river. But DPS tells us tonight that they've heard a lot of rumors about the dam breaking and water is coming over the top of it tonight. Some of it leaking out onto this road from that creek that's normally dry. But residents here will be grateful to learn that they say. There is no indication that dam will break tonight, Tom. Okay, that is a bit of good news there for that community. Ryan, thank you.

Now to that dangerous wildfire smoke pushing into the Midwest and the Northeast, tens of millions under air quality alerts, and tonight new video of one of the wildfires that started it all and the workers nearly trapped by it. Our Stephanie Gosk has more. Holy crap. Tonight, the terrifying moment of fast-moving wildfire suddenly engulfed a train. This could potentially overtake us here.

This has gotten a little scary. This video recorded by the anxious crew in rural Ontario, Canada Monday. Okay, y'all need to hurry up here. Like, seriously, we're in Caste and flames now. The company says everyone on board was safely rescued from the area. And train operations are temporarily suspended. Smoke so thick. That fire, one of hundreds currently burning across the country.

In Toronto, the World Cup fan fest canceled today because of air quality. At one point, considered the World War. worst in the world. Earth cam video capturing an orangey haze surrounding Niagara Falls. And tonight, a dangerous mix of heat and smoke now descending on tens of millions of Americans. In Michigan, the Mackinac Bridge, almost impossible to make out, drivers being told to slow down to 20 miles per hour, with murky skylines from Duluth, Minnesota to Detroit and New York City, where a health advisory was issued today into Thursday. The air now putting people's health at risk here in the U.S. coughing and dizziness among the symptoms caused by particle pollution.

Are you actually inhaling these particles? You are inhaling the particles, right? They're invisible particles, right? And so that's what makes air pollution so concerning. And tonight, those air quality indexes surging to unhealthy levels from the upper Midwest to the northeast. Right now being indoors in an air-conditioned space is going to be our safest place to be. Stephanie Goss joins us tonight live from across the river in Hoboken, New Jersey. We can see it obviously looks hazy there behind you, that New York City skyline. How bad is it going to get for folks in the northeast?

Yeah, you know, Tom, there was a rainstorm that came through here, provided a little bit of relief. But honestly, in the last hour that we've been standing here, you can start to smell the smoke. It's like it's building, and it's going to last, we're told, all the way through tomorrow. It will clear out on Friday. But for people in the northern Midwest, they could be dealing with smoky conditions that smoke barreling down from Canada through the weekend, Tom. Okay, Stephanie Goss there in Hoboken for us. I want to get right to NBC News meteorologist Bill Carrinson. Bill, you got so much going on across the country.

Let's start with where Ryan was in Texas and those floods. Yeah, tonight it's going to be day three of torrential thunderstorms. Life-threatening flash flooding will continue and in some cases get worse. So we're already getting a little bit of action out here. We did north of Yuvalde. We do actually have a tornado warning, not too far to the east side of San Antonio. As the night goes on, just like the last couple of nights, this is all going to fill in. And when you wake up tomorrow morning, we're going to have torrential rain.

Still 5 million people under flood watches. But you notice all the flash flood warnings in these two pink areas. Those are what we call flash flood emergencies. That's where we've had ongoing water rescues taking place in some small towns. The forecast, we're going to see additionally up to eight inches. Some areas have already gotten a foot of rain. So if we get another six to eight inches tonight, and it's the same areas to the west in San Antonio between Del Rio, Yuval, up to Curville.

Tom, that's where we'll be watching tonight to see just how bad it gets once again. Yeah, we'll be thinking about all those people in that area. Let's talk about the air quality. You got people running in the morning, people out, maybe playing sports tonight. All bad ideas, right? Yeah, everyone's wondering, you know, should I be out there? Should I have my kids out there in this air quality? So air alerts go from Minnesota, Wisconsin, all the way through the northeast, even parts of Virginia, D.C., up I-95.

And as far as the air quality goes, usually it's like above 100. If you get like the air quality index, you can get that from our government. You just Google it. And if it's above 100, they say you probably should not be outside exercising it. It's okay to go out and walk and briefly be out in it. But that was the day, today during the day, we saw air numbers that were in the 600s. Look at Duluth. It's still at 597.

That's like off the charts, horrible air quality. And that is what is coming still down over the Great Lakes through Canada, through Toronto, and then back down in towards us. And it's all because of these fires here in southern portions of Ontario. They are still burning bright. And as long as they continue to burn in that wind direction, comes right down towards the northeast. We're going to have smoky skies like this.

Definitely tomorrow, Tom, and I think some of this is going to linger well into Friday also. Yeah, just asking for a friend tomorrow, worse in our area than today? In the morning, yes. In the morning? Okay, Bill Carrens, we thank you for being here. Appreciate it. Now to that terrifying new video of the deadly boat disaster near San Francisco's Alcatraz. Passengers fighting to survive in rough swells as their boat quickly sank.

Steve Patterson is there for us tonight. Tonight, heartbreak in the frigid waters of the San Francisco Bay. As crews searched for three people still missing after a 50-foot cabin cruiser capsized and sank near Alcatraz Island. Video from above capturing the chaotic scene. The boat rolled on its side, its hull exposed as survivors cling to it in the water. You can see small boats circling in before the vessel disappeared beneath the surface. rescuers seen scrambling to administer CPR.

CPR over there on this person. This citizen video showing first responders tending to the survivors. Witnesses described seeing people trapped banging on the window as the boat went down. When the vessel took on a wave over the side, it quickly rolled to starboard, and then many people inside fell over. At least one person has died, officials identifying him as 79-year-old Clifford Joseph Boisa. Charter Captain Aaron Anfinson was on a boat nearby. I didn't see a life raft anywhere, so we threw them life jackets.

You know, we did what we could, but yeah, it's very unfortunate. Crew member Jeffrey DeYoung helped pull one woman from the water. We threw the life ring to her, and she was able to grab onto it. We got her inside and tried to get her warmed up out of her wet clothes and stuff like that. These new photos showing the choppy conditions rescuers had to battle. The group on board, officials believe, out on the bay for a memorial service. How you feeling after going through something like that? I gave my mom a big hug when I got home.

It was very scary. Terrible accident there. Steve Patterson joins us from San Francisco. Steve, where is that boat now? I mean, obviously it's at the bottom right at the bay and have investigators determine what went wrong. Tom, investigators say they've covered about 950 nautical square miles of the San Francisco Bay.

That is a tremendous area. They believe it's about maybe 600 yards a show from Alcatraz Island. They've used sonar to determine. It's about 130 feet deep divers have only been able to go about 60 feet deep so far. As for how this happened, that's per the course of the investigation and part of the reason why they need to get down there so bad. Tom, again, so sad. Steve Patterson for us. Steve, thank you. Next, we went ahead to Capitol Hill where President Trump's nominee for Attorney General faced a grilling from lawmakers. Todd Blanche previously served, you know, as the President's defense attorney and is now the acting attorney general.

But there's a very narrow path to confirmation. Hallie Jackson explains. The moment tonight with maybe the most staying power at today's confirmation hearing for Todd Blanche coming during friendly questioning about his relationship with the president. I'm his lawyer, was his lawyer, and now I'm the deputy attorney general. And apparent slip of the tongue since Blanche is no longer the president's personal lawyer, likely adding to Democrats' concerns that Blanche, if confirmed as Attorney General, would do President Trump's bidding to go after political. rivals. Who you are is someone willing to sacrifice everything you once believed in for that title. Blanche spent some 15 years at the DOJ before moving to private practice, representing then candidate Trump in his 2024 hush money trial in New York. Now as acting AG touting progress. We have the

lowest murder rate since 1900. But facing pointed questions about why he signed off on a controversial settlement after President Trump sued the IRS, the DOJ, initially agreeing to an extraordinary $1.8 billion, so-called anti-weaponization fund. The settlement fund's just not moving forward. Since scuttled in the face of intense opposition, including from Republicans, like Senator John Cornyn, who remains undecided. I'm not going to make a decision until I have to. Also in the room today, nearly a dozen survivors or their family members of Jeffrey Epstein's

abuse, urging the Judiciary Committee to vote against Blanche, furious about the DOJ's handling of the Epstein documents. I will absolutely say that any mistake that we made should not have been made. Vice President Vance on Joe Rogan's podcast today, acknowledging the administration mishandled messaging around the case. Say this with all candor, like we absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files. Now, the brother and sister-in-law of Epstein survivor Virginia Roberts-Jufray with this message for Todd Blanche.

And you failed to really answer any substantive questions. Nothing got answered today. It was just the show. And Tom, the margins are really close here. It would only take one Republican defection to essentially create a real uphill battle for Todd Blanche's nomination. That's why the spotlight's on the still undecided Senator John Cornyn with some suspense here until the committee votes, which is expected later on this month. Tom. Hallie Jackson, great to have you on the show. Thank you. Now, to a sudden about phase from the White House, President Trump reversed. an order issued by DHS that temporarily banned ICE officers from pursuing people in vehicles. That order had been put in place after two deadly incidents involving immigration agents.

But today, President Trump posting that agents cannot give up one of their most important and effective crime-fighting tools. That's his quote. Garrett Hake is here to discuss. And Garrett, the move from the president took top officials within his administration by surprise? That's right, Tom, because the president used just a single post early this morning to overturn an order that had been issued by DHS just the night before, they would have temporarily banned immigration officers from pursuing people fleeing in vehicles. The president posting later that ICE cannot give up what he called traffic stops and then called one of their most important and effective crime fighting tools.

This policy reversal caught ICE leadership by surprise when they read it on their phones this morning, according to a DHS official. So this temporary pause on traffic stops, which really was temporary, last thing just the night, was initially rolled out after officers in Texas first, then in Maine, shot and killed men who had fled arrest in vehicles. Neither of these men were the officers' initial targets, and officials say, and ICE officers involved in both cases, were not wearing body-worn cameras, something that's caused a bit of controversy in the intervening days. Meanwhile, this put Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine in a tough spot, right? She controls the budget, yeah, and she's up for reelection. So how is she navigating this? Well, initially,

she praised this pause, said it had been something she had advocated for, which she was asked about it today. She said she still thinks the pause was the right way to go. She has a lot of power here, Tom, but I think it's still an open question of whether she's going to use it. She is the chair of the Appropriations Committee. She could almost single-handedly cut off or threaten to cut off funding for ICE if she's not satisfied with what they do here. She's in a tough spot in a state that Democrats win at the presidential level, pretty much every cycle. She continues to hold on to that Senate seat. Right now, she doesn't have an opponent, so the pressure is a little less. But if this continues to be kind of a driving political issue in Maine, does she lean in more to use her power

on an issue where she could make yourself quite a popular figure? We'll see you in the next couple weeks, I imagine. All right, Garrett Hake Forest. Garrett, thank you for that. We're back in a moment with the new details in the Nolan Wells case. The team found dead after a boating trip with friends what new audio reveals about the moments before he went missing. Plus, growing concerns. about that dangerous stomach parasite, potentially linked to lettuce, thousands sick across dozens of states, so what's safe to eat?

We'll hear from an expert. And the stage is now set for the World Cup final. Argentina moving on after a massive win over England. We're live outside the stadium. That's ahead of top story. We're back with developments in the case of Nolan Wells, the Mississippi teen who died after a boating trip with friends. Tonight we're hearing a phone call from those friends

in the hours before his disappearance. Aaron Gilchrist reports from Mississippi. Tonight, new audio shedding light on the moments before some of Nolan Well's friends left Horn Island off the coast of Mississippi. A mom of one of the friends last week said the group left without Nolan when their boat began malfunctioning. We're sinking. Can you all please come? NBC News has obtained audio as part of a records request that details the group calling for towing assistance. And is everybody on board in good health otherwise? Yeah, yeah, everybody talks about.

Nolan went to the island in a boat with friends on July 4th. His body was found two days later. It's unclear whether Nolan was with anyone when he disappeared. This, as the search for answers and the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells continues. His family's attorneys saying they'll now work side by side with investigators to analyze Nolan's cell phone. So everybody will be able to see at the same time what the cell phone has. Nolan's parents previously said they believe content may have been deleted from the phone. The case will be presented to a Mississippi grand jury once the investigation is complete.

The local district attorney telling NBC News, that's a standard practice for cases with an unknown cause of death and not an indication that a crime was committed. Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter says his team has interviewed several witnesses and is working to get answers for the family. Do you feel like you're getting useful information that's been helpful to figuring out what happened? Yes, sir. We're getting very useful information. And we appreciate the public coming forward with what they've had. And we don't want them to be hesitant. Today, the family met with the district attorney for more than an hour. It was just a meeting where she talked about the process.

She didn't tell us any information about the investigation. We're trying to get to those answers. As tonight, Nolan's family prepares to hold his funeral next week. He would not want us to be sitting around, crying and eating. So what we're going to do is kind of have a party to celebrate. him. Aaron Gilchrest joins us tonight from Mississippi. Aaron, what more do we know about the status of Wells autopsy results? And a reminder to our viewers, there's both the one that's being conducted in Mississippi, obviously, but also the one that's being done independently.

Right. Those two autopsy reports that we're still waiting for, Tom, at this point. We understand that the state of Mississippi medical examiner has completed its autopsy work, but they're still waiting on the toxicology results before they can present a document to. the coroner here in Jackson County, Mississippi. And then there is the independent autopsy that was ordered by the attorneys for Nolan Wells family. We understand that autopsy was conducted this past Friday, and we understand that the lawyers are still waiting for the results from that autopsy as well, Tom. Aaron, do you know by chance, have you gotten a sense if we will get those results this week,

or is it still very unclear? It's still pretty unclear at this point, Tom. And I have to say that when it comes to the state autopsy results, there's no guarantee that that information will be made public. It is something that we understand the family would have access to the coroner and the investigators here would share some of that information with the family, but there's no statutory obligation to make that information available to the general public. Okay, Aaron Gilchrist, a lot of new reporting on this story. Aaron, we thank you for that. For more on the investigation, I want to bring in our panel of experts tonight, Danny Savalos and Kristen Gibbons-Fedden, both NBC News Legal Analyst. Great to have you both.

I'm going to start with you. As Aaron mentioned, the DA has already said the findings of the investigation will be presented to a grand jury. They're saying it's standard procedure, right? But wouldn't a grand jury presentation suggest they have probable cause to charge someone? You know, yeah. Ordinarily, when you hear grand jury, you do automatically think that the person is either going to be charged or not charged. But that's not necessarily what it means, and it's certainly not in this jurisdiction. Grand juries can be used for a slew of things, investigation. But in this particular jurisdiction, but in this particular jurisdiction, It is a legal mechanism where the DA is looking to determine whether or not all of the evidence, once they're done their investigation, is enough probable cause for criminal charges. And so that's kind of what they're looking for. So the decision to present this case to the grand jury is not itself evidence that prosecutors have or even believe that they have enough to charge, but rather they're asking the grand jury to make that determination for them.

Right. And then, Danny, the family met with the DAG. but that doesn't suggest a crime has been committed. I do want to ask you, you've covered a lot of these cases. Does this one seem strange that it's taken so long? We're talking about a disappearance that happened on July 4th. Again, it's a holiday. You know, they want to make sure they get this right, but it seems like it's taking a long time.

No, I don't think it's taking a particularly long time. Every case is dependent on its own unique facts. And this is one that at least apparently at the beginning was believed to be a. misadventure or an accident. And now there is additional investigation going on. And the more high profile it gets, this happens often in cases that might otherwise be concluded early on. But with all of this scrutiny, you see law enforcement, family members, you see people taking a closer look at these facts. So, no, I don't think it's unusual under this unusual set of facts, because

it's not often that you have a situation where somebody is left on an eye. Island and you have, pardon? No, no, no, no, I get it. I'm thinking maybe I should have phrased the question a little differently for you. It's been 10 days, though. If there's a crime committed, right, more than 10 days, if there was a crime committed, do you think there'd be developments a little bit faster? And if this was an accident, maybe this is why it's taking this long.

No, no, I think 10 days, it's not unusual for an investigation to take longer than 10 days. That's why the statute of limitations on homicide and particularly murder is so long. It's infinity. investigations can take a long time. Ten days, this investigation is moving relatively quickly. There's a lot of evidence. There's cell phone data from all the different witnesses. There are so many different witnesses that may be involved. And of course, the modern criminal investigation involves video, cell phone, social media, all kinds of information. You already heard the radio transmission. That's evidence that needs to be gathered. The modern criminal investigation is

chock full with terabytes of digital evidence that humans usually have to go through. Yeah, you know, Christian, we know that the public, or I should say the police and the family are both asking the public to come forward with any information that they think could be relevant to this case. As I mentioned, you know, and Danny and I can maybe look at this a little differently. We're now plus 10 days. Something could happen. Somebody could remember something and say, oh yeah, I do have a video of that, or I do remember something. Do you think that we could still get new information from the public in the coming days? Absolutely. And keep in mind, evidence, as Danny kind of pointed out, can be really anything.

But all of those things that Danny identified, the photos, the videos, the social media, all of that digital evidence can not only corroborate whether a crime has or hasn't occurred, but also could contradict a current witness's statement, which could also make them look suspicious. So, yes, I think the devil is in the details, particularly in crimes like this, and particularly in homicide. So whenever you're looking for a narrative, you're looking for investigators to really put everything. together to reconstruct the final hours of Nolan's life. And they want to be sure, they want to make sure they build up the truth and make sure they have all of the evidence. So they, if there is a crime, that they charge the right person. Danny, is it strange that the DA has invited Ben Crump to, you know, and this is Ben Crum's telling, look at the cell phone side by side, or at least that's the way he's describing it to me. It seemed a little odd that they're inviting somebody

who's not part of the investigative process to be there. I get that he's the attorney for the family, but is that normal? It does seem unusual as described, but consider this. If you use some of the modern techniques, Cellbrite is one of the programs that you can use to really download a cell phone onto a separate file or something to store it. And then you can just give the files around or share the files themselves. So technology allows this information to be shared more easily. But I would say it is a little unusual to me that a civilian would be invited in to reveal. evidence in the course of the investigation.

Law enforcement normally keeps this stuff pretty close to the best. Okay. Kristen, Danny, we thank you guys for being here on Top Story. Always appreciate it. Still ahead tonight, the new warning tourist hotspots targeted by scammers during one of the busiest summers on record. We speak with the agent working to stop these crimes. Plus, bear with me for this one, the unexpected visitor to a golf course caught on camera and ready to play.

But first, Top Story's Top Moment and a master class on keeping your cool on the air. KTLA's Rachel Menadoff was reporting live when a cockroach began to crawl on her, and she decided not to bug out. Take a look. And it's a lot more comfortable at this hour, but we're still in the 80s here in the valley. So overnight temperatures not necessarily dropping, and this leads to less recovery time from the daytime heat. This part's incredible. Rachel said after she knew it was on her, she just told herself she had to get through that moment and shake it off. with us. We salute her. More top story on the way. All right, we're back down with the growing concerns over a foodborne illness that's prompting new questions over what you should purchase

in the produce aisle. Right now, more than 7,000 people across 34 states potentially infected with a stomach parasite known as cyclospora. In Michigan, one of the states at the epicenter, officials are reporting a 12% increase in cases overnight. Health officials are investigating the origin of this outbreak. Zerringing on lettuce as the possible source, but there are fears over other popular produce items. I want to bring in Barbara Kowalchek. She's director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University. Barbara, thanks for being here. Investigators looking into lettuce right now, so is it safe to eat a salad, say? So that's a hard question to answer. First, thanks for having me on. You know, cyclospora is a parasite

that really can't be passed from person to person. You have to consume either contaminated food or water. Now, we don't know what is causing this outbreak right now. Actually, we don't even know if it's a single outbreak or multiple outbreaks. But there are steps you can take to potentially protect yourself if you're really concerned. Cyclospora outbreaks in the past have been associated with things like bagged leafy greens, salad kits, berries, herbs, things like that. If you're in a vulnerable population, so that means children under the age of five, pregnant and postpartum women, senior citizens and anyone with a compromised immune system,

you might want to consider avoiding a product or avoiding these products or at least cooking them beforehand. Now we do want you to keep eating healthy. So some other options to reduce your risk, not eliminated, would be to wash your produce or buy a whole head of lettuce and remove the outer leaves. If you can peel the fruit, peel the fruit, those are some steps that you could take to protect yourself. But just realize that all of our food comes from the ground or an animal. It's not sterile. It's not produced in a sterile environment. So it all carries risk. Yeah, you know, let's check off the grocery list, if you will, right? Past outbreaks have been tied to basil, cilantro. I know there's a huge concern when it comes to raspberry.

snow peas? Is there a concern with these items and should people be avoiding them altogether? Yeah, so again, if you're in a vulnerable population, you might want to consider avoiding them. If you're not in a vulnerable population, then you might want to increase your sanitation practices. That means wash your fruits and vegetables. It's not going to eliminate all the parasite, but it will reduce it. No need to use alcohol or vinegar or anything like that. Just wash your fruits and vegetables. wash it, and if you can, go ahead and peel it or cook it. I mean, we are in the middle of summer. Grilled veggies are really a great option.

I personally like my snow peas grilled or sauteed a bit, and cooking will kill the pathogen. Yeah, I just want to, is the takeaway, at least this week, until we know more, maybe stay away from ordering. You know, salads are so popular nowadays in salad bowls, and salad is, you know, lettuce is pretty much in all types of bowls. Should people just stay away from them just to be safe for at least this week? I think it's a really personal decision, right? Personally, I don't have time in my life for a few days of explosive diarrhea. So, you know, I take that into consideration when I'm making decisions about what to feed myself and my family. I think everyone has to make their own decision around that, but just understand that there's risk.

There's still a lot we don't know. It could be a vehicle that we haven't even identified yet. I would say at least in Michigan and Ohio area, it looks like that's definitely one outbreak, whether or not it's across the whole country, we don't know. But when you look at the numbers, we have a small, like only 13 cases under the age of nine. That tells me that it's probably not contaminated recreational water, because that can happen. You can have sewage leak into a pond or a lake, and then, you know, you go swimming in it and get, get exposed and kids tend to swallow water when they're swimming.

Adults don't. The other thing is is a lot of kids eat berries. And if berries were- Right, if berries were causing the outbreak in Michigan, you would see a lot more kids. So looking at that, it's, you know, makes me think of a salad or maybe an herb or an ingredient in a salad that maybe adults tend to prefer.

But I just want to make it really clear. Right now, we don't know, and CDC hasn't made an announcement if this is a single outbreak or multiple outbreaks. Yeah, Barbara, the way you phrased it earlier, you just don't have time for it. So I appreciate that. It really brings it home. We thank you. Now to a very different health crisis plaguing dozens of beaches with temperatures soaring. Millions are heading to the ocean to cool off.

But from coast to coast, more swimmers are being told to stay out of the water. Are Morgan Chesky with that warning tonight? Tonight from California to Cape Cod, beachgoers escaping scorching summer temps are running into a wave of issues. Dozens of beaches in Massachusetts temporarily shut down. Officials posting water quality warnings at beaches in New York, New Jersey, Washington State, and here in Southern California, where the famed Santa Monica Pier comes flanked with signs sharing swim at your own risk. Is it harmful? Is it not? I mean, when you hear bacteria, you automatically think it's harmful. The heightened levels of bacteria discovered, a sign water may be contaminated with germs or fecal matter, known to make people sick.

For the Blakely family visiting from Houston, their vacation game plan is shifting. Kids have already been in the water before you saw the signs, so what's the plan now? Yeah, I'm just going to shower as soon as we can, get off the beach here shortly and just find something else to do, you know. Scientist Anna Lisa Moe keeps a close eye on water quality. Stressing symptoms can arise even without prolonged exposure. to bacteria. To see this many people in the water here, are you concerned? At this particular site, yes, because of the high bacteria levels underneath the pier, particularly for younger folks, that exposure can be kind of dangerous. Beaches are most at risk after heavy rainfall,

pushing waste and polluted waters through storm drains and into the ocean. So before you jump in, health officials say don't ignore those posted warnings. I love California, but a better warning would be awesome. Morgan joins us now. Morgan, some people, they just don't watch the news. They don't know about this. And this could be all summer long, right? Tom, potentially, and that's why scientists on both coast are continuing testing that coastal water quality each and every day. You mentioned folks may not watch the news, but even if they come to the beach, these are the signs that they're supposed to kind of keep a close eye out for. We've spoken to multiple beachgoers here, Tom, who among the crowds here simply walked right past these signs.

Unaware that the water here within 100 yards of the famed Santa Monica Pier is really being warned against getting into. And the proximity is such an interesting thing here, Tom, because scientists say, if you walk just 100 yards farther down the beach, that bacteria level noticeably lower, safer to get into that water. Yeah, we see a little kid just behind you there playing in the water. All right, Morgan, we thank you for bringing us that story. Now to Top Story's news feed, we want to start at Texas with a shooting at a Kroger grocery store. Authorities say they responded after getting calls of gunshots fired inside the building. You can see that massive police presence in the parking lot outside of Houston. We're told two people were hurt, both rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Investigators say they were the only ones involved, but right now it's still and clear exactly what happened there. A new body came out of Nevada showing police pulling over the state's governor. They say Joe Lombardo blew through a red light before. making a right turn. But after name dropping himself, he never got the ticket. Watch what happened. Good to go, sir. Appreciate you. Good to go. Appreciate you, sir. Law enforcement never explained why he didn't get the ticket. They say it's common to not give citations over minor violations, but it's worth noting Lombardo led the Las Vegas Police Department for eight years. And the U.S. Mint is making a new $1 coin with President Trump's face on it. You can see it right here. The Treasury

Secretary says it's meant to celebrate America's 250th birthday. Critics are raising questions about whether it's legal to put a living president on currency, but the Treasury Department is defending the move saying it's authorized to do so. The commemorative coin is set to be released in the fall. And a wild scene at a golf course in British Columbia, Canada. Look at this, a black bear grabbing some golf clubs in the western part of the country, stealing them right off the back of a cart. Then it drags the bag over to some trees where another bear was hanging around.

on unclear whether those golfers ever got their clubs back. It seems like those bears might have a new hot. Okay, now to a new health policy for members of the armed forces, Defense Secretary Pete Higsett announcing troops above the age of 30 will be tested annually for testosterone deficiency. Here's some of that announcement. The modern battlefield is brutal and unrelenting. It requires and demands maximum psychological and mental readiness.

And by addressing these health markers early, We're keeping you on the leading edge of lethality. All right. For more, I want to bring in NBC national security reporter, Dan DeLose. Dan, we thank you for being here. This is in line with Hexas policy approach when it comes to the military. What more do we know about this? How does it start?

When does it start? And how exactly will it work? Well, Tom, basically anyone, any male over 30 in the military is going to be screened as part of their health assessment about their testosterone levels. if they're low, they'll be offered testosterone replacement therapy. It'll be optional, but they'll be offered that. There's no word about any kind of estrogen screening for female service members. And, of course, I think it's important to say here that this is part of a wider administration approach.

They are very open to giving more people access to testosterone treatment, and they have changed some of the labeling on the therapy. This has been a big priority for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And there is also now some new research that they're citing that says that the risks were overstated in the past and that there are positive benefits here for many men. Yeah, I mean, look, TRT, people who get on it, they can get pretty jacked. What happens if you're one of these guys that gets screened and they ask you to take it and you don't want to take the TRT? Well, they're saying this is optional, but that's a really good question, Tom, because You know, the military has a certain culture.

And sometimes there are kind of unspoken, unwritten understandings or expectations. So I think a lot of people in and outside the military will be watching really closely how they carry this out. Are they going to be testing women? Have they announced anything like that testing for? I don't know what they're going to test for, but would they be testing for estrogen? I mean, I'm not even sure. That has not been mentioned. That's something that has been talked about in the past.

Some people have suggested that that would be something to pursue. At the moment, no word about whether female service members would be screened for their estrogen levels. At NBC News, we've reported about some of the financial issues facing the Pentagon right now. Do we have any idea how much this would cost? Is it going to be very costly to bring this to the military, or not so much because they have sort of a health care system built into the Pentagon? It's a really good question. They're not saying at all what it costs. And, of course, as you say, the Pentagon's budget's really under pressure right now because of the war in Iran.

I think on the other side of it, the Pentagon would argue that this kind of terror treatment could actually save costs over time, that it could make troops able to handle combat stress better to make them less prone to injury. So in some ways, maybe it saves costs over a longer period. Definitely a bigger military if they get everybody on it. All right, Dan, we thank you for that. Appreciate it. Next night to the World Cup, the final showdown is set and what a match it was today. Argentina came from behind to beat England in the closing minutes.

Messi and his team set to face Spain in the final. NBC's Jesse Kirsch was there in the heart of the action. Tonight, Lino Messi and Argentina holding off another remarkable come from behind win, stunning England. Now the reigning World Cup champs are returning to the tournament final with a chance to win back-to-back titles. Argentina and England are one of soccer's greatest rivalries.

The match tense and extremely physical for almost an hour when England's Anthony Gordon, race toward the net. Argentina spent half an hour trying to catch up with one near miss after another. Then finally, with just minutes left to play, Enzo Fernandez fired from long range. Rolling Stone Star and England fan Mick Jagger shaking his head. Then Argentina's Laotaro Martinez delivered the finishing blow. And while Lionel Messi never scored himself, he set up both clutch plays, later celebrating.

with his teammates. Some of their fans in tears. Many jumping for joy so much, the stadium floor was shaking as they cheered. Jesse, what an assignment to have. What a great match. I know you were live out there outside the stadium in Atlanta. You were at the incredible game. What was the energy like inside? It had to be amazing. It was unbelievable, Tom, in so many ways. At the start, you had tension. We talked about the rivalry, the history between these two teams, during the national anthems, both sides were chanting. There were some booing during each side's anthem. That kind of noise was going on.

And then the game starts, and it's physical, it's chippy, and you can feel that tension. And then when England goes up, the Argentinian fans were always so loud, so excited, jump so much that you can feel the floor shaking. It started to get a little quiet. But then they got close. They got closer. The fans started to build their energy again. And then when they won that thing, I turned around.

I saw grown-ups with tears in their eyes. You could just see how much this means to the Argentinian fans. I smelled some cigarette smoke people flouting the rules a little bit in the stadium, at least one plastic cup flying through the air. So just to say it was pandemonium in a beautiful way, I think is an understatement. Just an incredible moment for these fans. And I met people who came to Atlanta without having a ticket to the game. Some finding them.

Some I don't know if they found their tickets yet. But it just speaks to people wanting to be a part of this experience. And for so many, it comes back to war. one man, Lienel Messi. He did not score today, but he was the maestro of this effort. Two assists, setting up his teammates for both of those goals and sending them to their second consecutive World Cup final. If they win on Sunday, Tom, they will be only the third country to achieve back-to-back World Cup wins, Tom. Yeah, it is World Cup glory for them if they can win. Okay, Jesse, great report. And we thank you. A reminder, you can watch the World Cup

Final this Sunday in Spanish exclusively on Telemundo and Peacock. And as the World Cup draws millions of visitors from around the world to major U.S. cities. Experts say credit card scammers are going on the offense, targeting these highly populated areas with skimming machines and even other less visible tactics to steal your info. NBC's alley canals of details. From World Cup crowds to America 250 celebrations, millions of people are expected to pack streets, airports, and tourist hotspots across the country. And investigators say, so are the scammers.

It's a huge fraud. It's worldwide. It's an epidemic. Secret Service Special Agent Matt McCool is leading the operation to fight these crimes and protect your personal data. Do these moments when there's just a lot of tourism, a lot of activity, is that when these scammers go on the offense? Absolutely. From there's going to be over 1.2 million estimated tourists coming in for the FIFA World Cup group, right? And then billions of dollars of money. So they're taking advantage of that. There's definitely an uptick. We're seeing it. In a recent three-day operation with the NYPD, the Secret Service says they recovered 35 credit card skimming devices, preventing an estimated 36.5 million in fraud losses. Investigators say ATMs just like this one or even checkout terminals inside stores can be fitted with these skimming devices in just seconds attached with nothing more than some strong double-sided tape.

If you see something that looks just a little off, if something's crooked, if something's scratched, don't use that one. Cyber security experts say large crowds can also create opportunities for newer digital payment scams, including something known as ghost tapping. Ghost tapping is a form of contactless fraud where someone attempts to initiate a tap and pay transaction without your approval. So think of it as modern day pickpocketing. Scammers can carry a portable payment reader hidden in a bag or a pocket. And if your phone isn't protected properly without things like face ID or a password, they can attempt to initiate a contactless payment. without your approval. Experts say, stay aware.

Store cards and an RFID blocking wallet, set up face ID, and sign up for transaction alerts. As scammers continue to evolve their tactics, so too does the mission to stop it. What is your message to the criminals out there that are conducting these scams? We're on to you. We're going to find you.

We're going to arrest you, and we're going to hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law. And with that, Allie Canal joins Top Story here on set. So, Ali, credit card scams have been around for a while, right? How does AI play into this? Does it make it more sophisticated? Yeah, that seems to be the case. That's what the experts told us. AI is creating more sophisticated crimes and therefore more sophisticated criminals. And that includes the actual design of these skimming devices helping with that, helping to make them smaller

so they can more easily fit on these newer payment terminals. And then when you think about things like phishing emails, scam phone calls, a lot of that is becoming harder to detect with AI. But The good news here is that investigators are using the same types of tools. So AI is allowing them to find these patterns much more quickly, and then they're able to crack down on a lot of these things, too. So in many ways, this is sort of becoming this AI arms race between the investigators and the actual criminals. Yeah, all right. All right, Allie, we thank you for telling us about it. Appreciate it. Still ahead tonight, lock the clock.

The debate intensifying over daylight saving time. As the bill speeds up on Capitol Hill, we speak with business owners and industry experts divided over the possibility. change and the massive Trojan horse taking over major cities as the Odyssey hits theaters. We are back now with the brewing debate over daylight saving time. Yesterday we reported as the House overwhelmingly passed a bill to ditch the switch and make the time we're in right now permanent. But business owners and industry experts are divided. Before the bill heads of the Senate, our Maggie Vespa dove into the debate over whether to lock the clock year round.

tonight is the sun finally setting on America's twice a year time changes daylight savings time can stay the possibility hitting a viral fever pitch please let's actually do it this time it comes after the house this week passed the sunshine protection act to make daylight saving time the time we're currently in that's observed from March until November permanent members celebrating with song knowing the bill faces a tough road in the Senate and that similar efforts have failed before But this time it has the backing of President Trump, who posted earlier this year, it's time that people can stop worrying about the clock. Across the country, business owners weighing in on the debate from a clock shop in New Jersey. I don't personally like it. However, for my business, it's profitable. To a Christmas tree lot in Tennessee, hopeful more buyers might shop later in the day. I think it's going to be more of an impact to those of us that harvest the crop.

But the big question on everyone's mind, what would winter look like in your town? If daylight saving time becomes permanent, on the first day of winter, the sun wouldn't rise until around 8.20 a.m. in New York City, sticking around until sunset at 5.28 p.m. In Detroit, rising at 905 a.m. and setting at 607 p.m. out west, sunrise wouldn't happen until 9.42 a.m. in North Dakota or 8.54 a.m. in Seattle. because I don't know about you, but I would love arriving to work and dropping my kids off at school when it is completely dark. The prospect of dark mornings hitting a nerve with many. And doctors saying the lost morning light could have big impacts on health. You can see from studies that people can have more problems with depression and anxiety, more problems with their weight when we're on daylight savings time. And what about air travel?

The idea of going to permanent daylight savings time would have an impact on airlines? It would have an impact, but I don't think it would be significant. It certainly wouldn't be significant in terms of safety. What it could have implications for is the international scheduling that each airline does. Debate growing around another push to lock the clocks for good. Maggie Vespah, checking my clock. Yep, she's right on time. She joins us from Chicago.

So Maggie, the Senate still has to vote on this. If it passes, it might sound like a clean shift, but this could, actually get really messy? Yeah, Tom, it definitely could because here's the thing. States can opt out if and when this bill is passed before it takes effect. So it definitely wouldn't mean necessarily that all states across the country would go permanently into daylight saving time. In fact, case and point, Hawaii and Arizona already don't observe daylight saving time.

They stay on standard time year round. They never change their clocks. So if this gets passed, at least much of the country would be an hour ahead of those states, plus factoring in the differences for various time zones. And again, we stress that's if this passes. There's no guarantee the Senate will pass it. And in fact, no vote has even been scheduled at this point. Tom.

All right, Maggie Vespa, cleaning it up for us. We'll see what shall happen. Now to Top Stories, Global Watch, check of what else is happening around the world. We want to start in Congo where authorities say the Ebola outbreak there is now the fastest growing one on record. Data shows confirmed cases just topped 2,000 and more than 700 people. have died. It comes as more health care workers are walking off the job, claiming they're not getting paid. The government has said it's trying to verify a list of everyone working to control this outbreak. And celebrations in Europe after a border fence was broken down between Spain and the

British territory of Gibraltar. Now people can pass from either side without having to cross a physical border. It's all because of a historic new treaty between the EU and UK, which took years to negotiate after Brexit. The move is meant to free up trade and travel for the thousand, of the thousands of workers who crossed that border each day. And a massive Trojan horse replica galloping in London, sort of. You can see it here. It was meant to mark the rollout of Universal's new film, The Odyssey. The horse is about three stories tall and weighs almost 9,000 pounds.

A similar one appeared in New York City as well. The movie is set to officially hit theaters on Friday. Okay, when we come back, the football team lacing up and coming together to show support for their coach who always shows up for them. That special moment next. Finally tonight, a Florida football team, surprising their assistant coach who's battling cancer off the field, here's that heartwarming moment. It's good boys. They ran through the streets of their city, fueled by purpose.

This high school football team from the University Christian School in Jacksonville showing up for one of their own. Assistant coach Matt Thomas is battling cancer. His whole team, dozens of players running to his house before summer conditioning, coming together to pray and show support. Coach Thomas went to the school himself and coached his sons there as well. The morning run, a reminder of the strength of a team and the power of community. I felt real emotional. The prayer, it was just so proud. powerful. Julius La Rosa is a rising senior. He's played defense under Coach Thomas for years.

It makes me and makes our teammates want to play as hard as we can to our fullest. Also sharing this powerful message. Think in there, coach, we love you. We're praying for you. You know, I'm always going to be here for you no matter what the situation is. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way. Thank you.