Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Episode Date: July 23, 2026

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

Breaking news tonight, Tropical Storm Bertha makes landfall as life-threatening floods hit the East Coast. Dangerous floods sweeping through a neighborhood. First responders rescuing trapped drivers. Terrential rains putting tens of millions on alert. Plus Tropical Storm Bertha moving inland. Storm surge and rain lashing the coast. We're tracking it all tonight. The independent autopsy results for Nolan Wells released. Wyatt can't rule out foul play. and we hear from one of Nolan's friends about the day he went missing. Also breaking police struggling to detain a man accused of stealing bicycles. Then they opened fire, killing him.

Police say he had a knife. President Trump paying respects to the four fallen U.S. service members killed in recent Iranian attacks. The Ryan Air passenger sucked out of a plane window speaking for the first time after his head and shoulders were pulled outside the jet. A helicopter crash landing directly on top of two people, both of them somehow surviving. The real magical mystery tour, this tour bus, suddenly surprised by the legend Paul McCartney on a FaceTime with Ringo Star. Plus, the disaster tracking app surging in popularity as wildfires and floods ravaged communities. We speak with the co-founder about how it works and why he's doing it.

Top story. It starts right now. Good evening right now. Tropical storm berth are carving a path across the Gulf Coast, packing heavy rains and intense winds. You can hear them whipping on this Mississippi beach, and this was the scene on an Alabama island. Vehicles trapped in water and sand pushed on shore by the storm. Out of the Gulf, just off the coast of Texas waves pounding this oil rig. The storm not as destructive as some had feared. Bill Karen's tracking where it's headed next, and a separate system soaking the southeast rescue teams

in Nashville, braving knee-deep rushing waters, safe, stranded drivers. Home security video captured this man and a child running for their lives. Moments later, floodwaters carry away a shed and other furniture. Murky water, nearly submerging cars and taking over neighborhoods. The National Guard now deployed to help people there. We're following it all tonight, and we begin our coverage with George Solis, reporting from the Gulf Coast. Tonight, tropical storm Bertha, turning ashore east of New Orleans. Bertha packing heavy rain and stormy seas.

This is the view this morning from a rig off the Texas coast as it moved to the Gulf. Storm surge encasing these vehicles in sand in Dolphin Island, Alabama, south of Mobile and submerging nearby streets with water, bringing bands of rain across southeast Louisiana. We're currently on Highway 1 in route to Grand Isle, where some of the visibility has diminished, as some of the rain and wind has started to pick up. WDSU's Alyssa Gomez is in New Orleans. Here in the Venetian Isles neighborhood of New Orleans, we've quickly watched the water rise from our ankles to our calves. Now the main concern is, will more rain and heavy winds push all of this water into these homes?

In Venice, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, we met fishermen Chris Glass, not taking any chances. Got to make sure your boat's tied up for sure because it can easily pop a lawn and float off. And overnight, after torrential rain from a separate system in the east, Nashville fire crews making multiple water rescues. In West Virginia, a home security camera capturing floodwater sweeping away this shed south of Clarksburg. Dozens of rescues in the state after as much as half a foot of rain fell there. More than 300 National Guard members now deployed to help residents. All right, George, release joins us tonight from Grand Isle, Louisiana. George, we can see some of those waves there behind you kicking up.

The most intense impacts have been there along the coast. Yeah, that's right, Tom. But residents grateful the impacts were not more severe. Even so at this hour, Bertha is weakening, but you can see those winds are still packing a punch. Officials urging everyone to not let their guard down. Of course, they keep an eye on those roads as some of this water still continues to pool on residential streets, making sure that everyone, of course, urges the warning from officials to stay safe, again, as we still feel the impacts of this storm here along the coast.

Tom? All right, George. Thank you. Let's get right to NBC meteorologist Bill Carrance for more on Tropical Storm Bertha's path. So what are we talking about here, Bill? Not such a big storm? No, but a big inconvenience. You know, we just had two days, people on vacation down along the Gulf Coast, beautiful beaches, Panama City, Pensacola, Southern Alabama, Mississippi. We've had two days of very rough water, rip currents, beach erosion, things like that. But the rain and the wind is not a damaging storm, and that's good. We won't need those anyways.

So the storm is as close as it's going to get to New Orleans right now. It's going to head through Louisiana and then pass back out south into Texas as we go throughout the next 24 hours. Here's the current wind gusts. And you know, Homa just gusted the 29 offshore out of the oil rigs. We got some serious gusts up to 45 miles per hour, but none of that is going to be on land. So that's been the legacy of this storm. Storm surge as it goes past the storm is on the back side of the storm as the winds are coming in off the water. Maybe a one to three foot water rise. But, you know, this area deals with storms that have like eight to 10 foot storm surges. So that's not a problem. And here's that storm pass. So by this time tomorrow, the storm. The storm. storm will be very close to the Houston area. It will also be weaker, so we won't really talk about Bertha much more after tomorrow. As far as tonight goes, I have my eyes closely glued from Raleigh, Virginia Beach, the Norfolk area. You're under a flood watch. We're expecting training thunderstorms throughout the overnight hours. About 14 million people are under floodwashes from the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, and then especially this area from Raleigh to Norfolk. Tom, someone has a chance of getting up to five inches of rain tonight in the middle of the

night, which is always a little dangerous. All right. Bill, Bill, Thank you. Now to our other major headline tonight. We're getting preliminary results from the autopsy of Nolan Wells. The report commissioned by his family's attorney concluding the cause of death could not be determined, but that foul play could not be ruled out either. Aaron Gilchrist has the details. Tonight, newly released autopsy results are raising more questions about how Nolan Wells died.

An independent exam commissioned by his family's legal team classified the cause and manner of death for the 18-year-old as undetermined pending investigation. He's saying based on the examination of the body, he cannot rule out foul play. That is significant. The forensic pathologist wrote there were no fractures, cuts, or bruises on Nolan's body, but noted red discoloration was found on the back of his head and needs more investigation. The autopsy was performed four days after his body was found. The pathologist also writing there were missing parts of the neck.

Have you or he asked anyone for access to those things? Hopefully that the medical examiner will allow him to come and examine the throat, also to talk about observations that they had, and so they could share information. It is not unusual for a state medical examiner to keep parts for further evaluation. Former medical examiner, Dr. Priya Bannergy, reviewed the autopsy report. I think the best thing we can take away is that there's no identifiable trauma. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is still investigating what happened after. Nolan went to Horn Island in a boat with friends on July 4th. His body was found two days later washed ashore there.

Today, the family's attorney noted the doctor was unable to examine the airways and lungs for water to determine drowning. In a recent interview, Warren Hudson says he'd been friends with Nolan since they were kids. Hudson said they frequently went boating and they went to Horn Island with a large group of friends on July 4th. Everybody's drinking, you know, I mean, it's 4th of July. Everyone's just trying to enjoy themselves. All right, Aaron Gilchrist joins us tonight from Chicago where that press conference took place.

Aaron, the autopsy did not include a toxicology report. Why is that? It didn't, Tom. And we're told by the pathologists who did this independent autopsy by way of that report that he wrote, that there are several things that are outstanding, several pieces of information that he did not have, that the state medical examiner in Mississippi would have because they did the first autopsy. And so that information is something that he would like to have his hands on so he can finish his report. But I will say, Tom, he's not likely to get that information. The doctor we spoke to, who was a former medical examiner and the piece who just played here, told me that when she worked for a municipality, when she worked for a state as a medical examiner, there were many times when she did not share information and could not, and sometimes because of state laws, with people who were not in her office or who were not state employees. And so she didn't know if that was the case in this instance, but she said it's not something that is typically done to her understanding, that that sort of information would be shared with another entity.

At the same time, we know that Ben Crump has said he hopes that there will be some exchange of information. We have been told by the sheriff who is still doing his investigation that he likely is not to talk much about this case in terms of what they've been able to learn until after a grand jury has a chance to review the case file when the investigation is complete. And Tom, we also heard from the state medical examiner's office today, and they said that when the investigation is complete, it will share what information it can at that time. Tom? Aaron Gilcrest for us. Aaron, thank you. Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the family of Nolan Wells joins top story tonight. So, Ben, I know this must have been a very difficult day for the Wells family that news commerce had to be difficult for them to hear. What was their reaction to the findings of this independent autopsy? like most people, they were alarmed to hear some of the findings, the preliminary findings of this

independent autopsy, the focal point of the red discoloration that was in the back of his head around the occipita bone region area, and the fact that he was missing his throat, they didn't really understand what all of that meant, but they did understand that Dr. Mitchell said, for these and other reasons, right now the manner and causal death was undetermined pending further investigations. And we went through great links to explain those other things that we would want for him to make a better finding. We'll get back to what that showed behind the head in a moment on the issue of the throats, So our viewers understand this is something that had to happen, right,

that was removed in the initial autopsy done in Mississippi? Yes. So the initial medical examiner with the state of Mississippi was able to get the body first, and they did their autopsy where they removed organs and they, you know, examined them and cut into them. And so we did not get the body to six days after July 4th. Why that is significant, Tom, is the fact that we have to depend on their observations and their photographs to know if his body was waterlogged, if he had water in his lungs, if he had water in his airways. So we talked about the limitations of a second autopsy.

Yeah, this brings me to my initial question here, which, and I want to be clear with our viewers, right? I want you to confirm this. Nolan Wells knew how to swim, correct? He did. His mother, his friends. He was a college football athlete, Tom. He was in superb shape. Right. The biggest question that you posed during this news conference is, how did Nolan Wells enter the water, right? You know how he leaves the water.

He is deceased. He was found there, washed up, face down. But how did he get into the water? Why is that so important in this investigation? That's one of many questions, but that is the crux of the matter. As Dr. Mitchell opined in the preliminary findings, you know, what was the condition of Nolan Wells' body? when he entered the water. Was he conscious?

Was he unconscious? Was he forced into the water? Was he unforced into the water? All those things matter. What was the gastric content in his stomach? Because was he in the water for two days? Or had he just been in the water for an hour or two? All of that is relevant.

Talk to me about the toxicology. Why is this so hard to figure out right now? Why is it taking so long? Well, you know, we don't control any of it. that unfortunately, we're always at the mercy of the government officials when it comes to toxicology. But what we do know is irrespective of the toxicology, irrespective of how he got in the water, his mother and father, as many in the public continue to say, Tom, that how is it? You had 300 or 400 people on Horn Island and their son, if you go with this suggestion of a

accidental drowning. Nobody's saying they don't know anything. Nobody saw nothing. And that's why people are so outraged when they think of this. Nobody is coming forward. I mean, his cell phone is gone with them. No 18-year-old is going to just willingly part with their cell phone. Right. There are no signs, and I want to make sure I get this right, from what your independent autopsy showed, no signs of blunt force trauma, but you said you cannot rule out foul play. What does that mean? Well, certainly, we went through great lengths to explain that his body was severely decomposed when Dr. Mitchell got the body, so we can't see if there was physical bruises or abrasions to his skin.

But we did find, and Dr. Mitchell said this was significant, that there was a focal area of red discoloration on the body. back of his head. So what do they think that is? The region. And what do they think that is? What do they think it is, though? So let me explain, Tom. That is why Dr. Mitchell needs to be bought before the grand jury in Mississippi, and

they get to hear from him to give expert testimony. We have been very transparent. We're waiting for the state of Mississippi to be transparent. But what could it be? I mean, could it be somebody struck him? I'm not, I'm not qualified. to speculate. Okay.

Dr. Mitchell said that that's why you need medical experts to come before the grand jury and talk about the causes where you can have this pooling of red discoloration in the back of his brain. And I've seen the photograph. Right. Yeah. It needs to many questions. You said, and I want to correct this because there's been some discrepancies, you said Wells

was fully clothed when he was found that the United Cajun Navy had told you this, but now they're disputing that saying that. from the air they could see he was not wearing a shirt. So where is that disconnect coming from? I just want to make sure we're clear here. We don't want any misinformation out there. Certainly. And we're only getting what that has been reported.

They reported that a person said he was fully clothed and face down, and you may have seen it all over the media, all over People magazine, and then we are trying to verify that. We haven't gotten anything officially from the Mississippi law enforcement, agencies. We are waiting just like you all to get information from them. And that is where it's so heartbreaking to the family. They come out and say where there's no suggestion of foul play, almost as if just go on. But the family refused just to let them sweep it under the rug. Yeah, I think there's just so much confusion out there. We want to make sure we're clear with the

little facts that we do know or the little reporting of evidence that we do know. Ben, I got to ask you, Have you spoken to any friends or witnesses who have shared any information about Wells that day? I find it really unbelievable that almost 20 days later, we have almost no new evidence than what we first learned when those poor parents came out and they asked for the public's help. Have you learned anything new to put together a timeline? Does your team of lawyers have a timeline yet about Nolan Wells? Well, our team of lawyers and investigators are talking to people. daily. People are coming forward thanks to the Nolan Wells tip line at Bencrock.com. People are calling the number. They're sharing videos with us. They're sharing photographs with us. And they're sharing

what they heard firsthand with us. And so it's all important. We're trying to put this puzzle together. And so we are working on the timeline, just like we wanted to make sure we dotted every eye, crossed every tea with the preliminary findings of the autopsy. We're going to to do the same with the timeline. And we want to encourage people to continue to call and talk. And you're right. It is very troubling, Tom. We think that

if matters would have been reversed, we wouldn't have to be fighting so hard for answers. What's your relationship like with the local police department that is investigating this with the county right now with Jackson County? Are they sharing information? Are they being forthcoming?

We have mutually agreed that we will, So our experts and their experts will work to examine Nolan's cell phone. But no, we asked, are they examining their cell phones? All the people who were on the boat in Katie, and we haven't been told anything about that. So, you know, the family is a little frustrated with the response they're getting from law enforcement. but we are convicted that we're going to stay the course,

and we are going to get answers, Tom. We will find out, we will find out why Nolan Wells is dead. I hope you do. A lot of people across this country, most of which the family of Nolan Wells would like to know. I want to put a photo up on the screen. This is one of the first photos we saw of Nolan Wells. It was on that day, July 4th, when he was with his friends

that were on that boat that he did not return with. Have all of those young men spoken with Nolan Wells' family? explain to him, explain to them to the mother and father what has happened. Have they talked to you in any capacity? I'm not aware that they've spoken to his family or not. I know they have lawyers, and so I'm not permitted to speak to them without their lawyers. Do you have a theory, Ben, last question here. Do you have a theory as to what happened?

His cell phone, his wallet, still on the boat, but Nolan was not. What do you think happened to Nolan Wells? You know, Tom, the regrettable answer for you is that we believe somebody know or saw what happened to Nolan Wells. We don't want to speculate, but it's undeniable to us because of our lived experiences as black people in America had the roads been reversed and you had three young black men with a young white man. and that young white man ended up dead. We think this investigation would have been much more zealous, much more aggressive. It wouldn't have been a question, are they going to cooperate and let us see their cell phones? They probably would have been held until they answered every question and every cell phone have been downloaded.

And that's what we're fighting for. We want a fair and impartial investigation. We want the same investigation where it would have. have been had it been one of the law enforcement's children who have been left dead washed up on the island after a 4th of July weekend. Ben Crump, we hope you get some answers soon. We hope the family get some answers soon because it is just so horrible what has happened to their son.

We thank you for joining Top Story tonight. You're very welcome, Tom. We also have some breaking news at Wisconsin tonight. Police in Madison shooting and killing a man who they say pulled a switch blade on an officer, The deadly confrontation caught on camera. NBC's Maggie Vespas following this one for us. Maggie, this happened late today, and the details are still coming in. What do we know?

Well, Tom, we actually know quite a bit because this is actually caught on multiple cell phone cameras from multiple angles. I'll show you kind of the first one here. It's a wide shot. It kind of shows it from the beginning. You see what appears to be a black police SUV pulling into that intersection in Madison, Wisconsin earlier today. Officers jump out. Four of them appear to tackle a man on a bike. A struggle ensues.

We have part of it blurred. And then you see that struggle there. And then you hear three gunshots followed by people screaming. Now, Madison Police say the man was armed with a knife. They released a photo of that knife. Again, this is also graphic. You just heard the gunshots there. That's the switchblade, they say.

They say the man pulled it when the struggle ensued, wounded an officer who then fired. They say that was the only officer who fired, adding the others tried to use a taser before this encounter turned this violent. They say the encounter actually started because they got a call about a man stealing bikes and trying to break into cars. Now, it's important to note at this time, police are not naming the man who was killed. They're also not naming the officers who were involved in this, saying all of them right now have been put on administrative leave while the investigation into this shooting gets underway.

Tom. Okay, Maggie Vest for following that one for us. Maggie, thank you. President Trump today paying tributes to the four U.S. service members killed in the Iran war, attending their dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Courtney Cuby was there for it. One by one, four fallen U.S. soldiers arrived back on U.S. soil today after making the ultimate sacrifice. President Trump saluting at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where no audio recording was allowed,

for the dignified transfer of Army Captain Tyler James Feehan, staff Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad, and Private First Class Isabella Gonzalez. All four killed in recent days, three in Jordan, one in Iraq, as attacks from both the U.S. and Iran continue. The attack in Jordan is so brutal that Sergeant Rampersad was initially listed as missing in action and now must be positively identified by a DNA test. U.S. ally Jordan increasingly a target of Iran. This video appearing to show warning sirens in the country where Iranian missiles struck an airbase with U.S. troops.

Today on Capitol Hill, Democrats blasting U.N. ambassador Mike Walts over the war. You don't even know how many U.S. troops were wounded and this Iran war. Shame on you for not even no basic facts. You are the U.S. ambassador, and you don't even know how many U.S. troops are wooed in Iran. Well, you got that wrong. Overnight, the U.S. launched the 11th straight night of attacks on Iran, targeting aircraft hangers and drone storage facilities in an attempt to degrade Iran's ability to launch attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

And with gas prices up another five cents today, President Trump posted a threat that if Iran launches any new attack on a ship in the strait, The United States will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant, including those located next to or in the capital city of Tehran. I just left Dover Air Force Base. The president also speaking today in Georgia after flying Captain Tyler Feehan's family home on Air Force One and acknowledging their loss to the crowd. We will carry Tyler's memory in our hearts forever. Courtney Kuby joins us tonight from Dover Air Force Base. And Courtney, just moments ago we learned of new strikes against Iran.

Yeah, U.S. Central Command announcing more strikes against Iranian military targets tonight. Now, much like last night and previous nights, they are intended to degrade Iran's capability to threaten commercial shipping and any kind of shipping throughout the Strait of Hormuz. But notably tonight, Tom, they talk about protecting commercial shipping in regional waters as well. Now, that is notable because some of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are now threatening a blockade against Saudi Arabia in the nearby reds. So it may be possible that the threat to the Strait of Hormuz in those regional waters could even be expanding. One of the UK monitoring agencies is reporting at least one ship that had some sort of a projectile fired at it off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

Thuti rebels are saying that they have targeted at least two ships already tonight. And we do have reports that others are turning around rather than going through that area, Tom. Okay. Courtney Cuby for us. Courtney, thank you. When we come back tonight, the airline passenger now speaking out, after getting sucked out of a plain window. What are you saying about that horrifying moment? Plus, the hunt for a suspected killer,

investigators searching for a woman. Warning, she might be using different disguises and identities to stay on the run. And dramatic new video tonight of that arson attack outside of federal building here in New York, what it reveals ahead of Top Story. We're back now with Ryan Air Passenger

speaking out for the first time after he was partially sucked out of a plane window. He and his wife crediting fellow passengers for saving his life. Our Tom Costello has the details. These are the images, the blown-out window and the dangling oxygen masks that still haunt Lubisa Karavich, the man who was violently sucked out of a plane up to his chest when a window blew out on a flight from Greece to Germany. Karevich tells the Guardian newspaper, it's the noise before the chaos, the noise that is always there when I close my eyes to sleep.

With his head and shoulders hanging out of the plane, his wife and fellow passengers pulled him back to the car. inside. His upper body was severely disfigured, his arm was badly injured and there was blood everywhere, she says. The plane's right side engine appears to have ripped apart in flight, possibly sending shrapnel into the window. Once back inside, one passenger blocked the window with a suitcase, and Karevich, his wife says, passed out three times. I thought I was losing him. His heart was beating so violently. she says flight attendants only came to help after the pilots had made an emergency landing in Greece. Ryanair told the guardian as soon as the aircraft ascended to a safe altitude, our cabin

crew attended to and assisted Mr. Karavich. Now at home, the 61-year-old father of two says he doesn't remember much and his head and neck still hurt, but he's alive. The USNTSB is leading this investigation and says it has not ruled out aircraft age or service issues as a potential cause. The The family is demanding accountability. Tom? Tom, thank you. Still ahead tonight. More Americans cutting ties with family members are therapists to blame the new findings that may surprise you.

Plus, the new lettuce-free deal from Taco Bell as the chain tries to win back some customers will tell you what you can get a buck for a buck. But first, top story's top moment in the major surprise in the UK for a group of tourists on a Beatles' magical mystery tour bus. While waiting at a traffic light, fans got the shock of a lifetime when Sir Paul popped. out of the window to say hi while FaceTiming with none other than Ringo Star. Can you believe it? Now that's worth a ticket to ride. Definitely a tour to remember. Stay with us. More top story on the way.

We're back down with the man hunt for a suspected killer. Investigators in Florida say a woman wanted for murder has been on the run for almost a month, possibly using multiple disguises to evade capture. Are Jesse Kirscher's more? Look closely at these photos. Investigators say they all show the same woman, a cunning master manipulator named Isabel Johnson, who tonight is on the run and wanted for murder. The Walton County Sheriff's Office releasing this video of the 38-year-old in Florida's handle saying this is what her voice may sound like. I put the address.

Johnson is wanted in connection with the killing of Jason Colthart, a 43-year-old father who was found dead in a shallow grave last month. Authorities have spent weeks searching for Johnson, arresting five people for accessory after the fact to a capital felony. Our focus right now and our mission right now is finding her so that way we can hold her accountable for the homicide. Investigators warning Johnson has multiple aliases, may have changed. changed her appearance and should be considered dangerous.

Authorities say Johnson may even claim to be dealing with hardships like domestic violence so that strangers will give her a ride or money. All right, good things to know there. Jesse joins us now live from Miami. Jesse, there's an increase in the reward money as authorities ask the public for help. Yeah, that's right, Tom. Over the weeks, this is unfolded. We've seen reward money come out, and now it is up to as much as $16,000 available for information

leading to Johnson's arrest. And again, you see in those images there, authorities really trying to get the word out about this individual who has been alluding them, they say, for weeks now, Tom. Okay, Jesse Kerrish, Jesse, thank you for that. Also tonight, we have some new video revealing more about the arson attack outside of a federal building here in New York City this week. The footage appearing to show the suspect's preparations and how he was finally taken down. Jonathan Deans has this one.

New video obtained by NBC News showing the arson attack outside a federal building in New York City Monday. The suspect identified as 43-year-old Andrew Arabaqa allegedly seen igniting fireworks, setting off numerous flares. Some people in the distance take cover, while two others seem to walk right by. Moments later, you see the suspect pull out a pellet gun rifle and shoot it down the block at pedestrians. Next, he is seen with what investigators say is a can of gasoline. This new video shows the large fire that's set off. As the flames continue to burn, the fed say AraBaka is seen returning to grab additional fireworks and hurls them to set off more explosions.

The video shows the security guard grabbed the suspect who begins to struggle with him. Other police are seen running up the block to help as the fire continues to burn. I want to thank the work of our law enforcement partners to whose rapid response led to the neutralization of the threat. The FBI says Arabeka admitted he wanted to target ICE. His defense lawyers say he's an Army veteran and has a history of mental illness. For now, he remains behind bars on the federal arson-related charges. Jonathan Deansk, NBC News, New York.

All right, we're going to turn out of the sudden death of a French modeling scheme. who was linked to Jeffrey Epstein. Questions are struggling around exactly how he died in the depth of his relationship to the disgraced financier. NBC's Hallie Jackson has this one. Modeling Scout Daniel Sead found dead in his home outside Paris Monday night. Sead, who was under investigation in France, appears nearly 2,000 times in the DOJ's Jeffrey Epstein documents, connecting the late convicted sex offender with women overseas. One example, I had two girls from Sweden, a Slovakian, two French.

referencing good work for scouting and in multiple messages noting their ages when Epstein asks, responding in one email, 26, but she looks 18. Epstein maintained a home in Paris, visiting often. His correspondence about women with CED coming after Epstein's controversial 2008 sweetheart plea deal on solicitation charges. Ciat, before his death, denying wrongdoing, saying he never knew about Epstein's abuses. He was such a powerful person and how can I not trust him? A lawyer for several Epstein survivors who say they were connected to him via CED tells NBC News her clients are shocked and feel disillusioned, calling it regrettable CED died before he could be interviewed by investigators. Ciat was never charged or arrested in the French trafficking inquiry, which was opened after the U.S. Justice Department's document release, years after the arrest of modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, the Epstein associate who died

by suicide behind bars in 2022, awaiting trial on rape and sex trafficking charges. Sead's lawyer tells NBC News, CED always proclaimed his innocence, wanting to see the truth come to light. Sead's lawyer suggests it's possible he died from a heart attack, but there's been no official determination on cause of death. French prosecutors say there will be an autopsy. Tom. Okay, Halle, thank you. Great to have you on the show. Not at Top Stories News Feed, we start with a police takedown in Southern California that put a hospital on lockdown. You see a man wielding a machete. Authority say it all started from a road rage

incident. According to police, they first deployed less lethal rounds as the man moved towards them before opening fire. The suspect is in critical condition tonight. And a date is now set for the criminal trial of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, a judge today ordering it to start on June 1st of next year. Maduro and his wife are facing drug trafficking charges. They've been held at a New York City jail ever since U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home in that stunning nighttime rate in January. Both have pleaded not guilty if convicted they could face life in prison. And speculation still swirling about LeBron James and where he will be taking his talents next. The Miami Heat fueling the rumors posting a live stream link to YouTube title,

LeBron James introductory news press conference, fans jumped all over it, but it turns out the whole thing was just a mistake, at least that's what they say. A team spokesperson telling ESPN they were preparing for the possibility of a reunion in South Beach when someone accidentally posted the link. And Taco Bell making a push to bring back customers. After its business took a big hit when lettuce sold at the chain was linked to that stomach parasite outbreak. So now Taco Bell is rolling out a new deal and charitos for just a dollar each. No lettuce at all. You better hurry, though.

They say the promotion ends at midnight and while supplies last. All right, coming up on top story, the terrifying crash cut on camera, a helicopter slamming into multiple people, everyone somehow surviving. We'll show you that video. Plus the Louvre where thieves stole priceless jewels, finally reopening months after that stunning heist. At least the room is, stay with us. Coming on the air with breaking news. We are live tonight from Juarez, Mexico,

reporting over the skies of Bajna. Here in Florida. The time to evacuate has come and gone. You were seeing people just running for their lives? People running for their lives. We've seen this almost unbelievable power struggle. What does this mean for Ukraine? It's the battle off the field that's in.

inspired the world. Every night, it's your news playlist. Top Story with Tom Yamas, streaming week nights at seven on NBC News Now. We're going to Top Stories Global Watch, and check on what else is happening around the world. We're going to start with another major military shakeup in Ukraine. President Vladimir Zelenskyy firing his commander-in-chief, replacing him with a new younger general. It comes as Zelensky has faced a wave of protest over the ousting of his 35-year-old defense minister who helped develop Ukraine's drone technology. That's given an edge on the battlefield with Russia. And disturbing new video out of China,

capturing the moment a helicopter crashes and hits multiple people. This is wild. You see this. The three helicopters are flying there at once when one appears to lose control before spinning and slamming into the ground. Health officials telling local media two people were injured, both are reportedly conscious, which is incredible,

but one was badly hurt. And the Louvre's iconic Apollo Gallery reopening to the public for the first time since more than $100 million worth of jewels were stolen, in that dramatic daytime heist. It happened nine months ago. Since then, the Paris Museum has ramped up security, including installing new surveillance cameras,

but the precious crown jewels still remain missing. Neto Pesak cut our attention in the Wall Street Journal. It asked the question, are therapists to blame for the rise of adults cutting off their parents? It explores some of the reasons more and more Americans are cutting ties with family members. Research shows that 25% of people in the U.S. are either estranged or have cut off communication

with the close relative, and 10% are estranged from a parent or child. I want to bring in a licensed family marriage and family therapist, Peter Anderson. He was featured in that report in the journal and completed some of the surveys of estranged parents and family. So, Peter, thanks for joining Top Story tonight. Explain to our viewers this idea that therapists are to blame for this, and what is the theory there, and what did you hear from the families you spoke to? Yeah, hopefully could hear me, okay?

I mean, one of the things that I saw was about 7,500 different parents. And the main thing that I saw was the cutoff was all of a sudden. It was sudden. It happened immediately. And contrary to a lot of social media stuff that you see maybe online, that, you know, parents are somehow trying to make this, or excuse me, just completely aware of why the cutoff happened. That's just not true. The other thing is that a lot of these parents were trying to reconcile with the kids, but even though they tried, they either got no responses or hostile responses.

And so that was really, that was very interesting. When we talk about, yeah, kids, we're talking about adult children, right? And is there an age group that this is affecting more than others? Well, the survey said basically it seemed about 22 to about, I would say about 38. So, yeah, I would say like early 20s to about late 30s that seems to be affecting the most. And then some experts also say social media could be partly to blame. How does that play a role in this? Well, I think social media, you know, the algorithms cause us to be a lot more divisive toward other people.

I mean, it's ever since I would say even COVID, it teaches us with the emotion of disgust to look at the other side as absolutely evil. And I think social media kind of feeds into that. I think we've got a lot of work, like with Jonathan Haight, for example, who's done a lot of work on that to see that, you know, social media can often feed that confirmation bias, that if I could see somebody is wrong, I could then, you know, cancel them. I want to read a quote from the Wall Street Journal report. A different therapist they spoke to had a different point of view on this.

Here's what she told the journal. Why are we giving all this deference only to parents could have been said? Why aren't we believing the kids? They are adults. Is there some merit to that? Well, I guess my response would be compared to what? Like, are we comparing this generation to World War II? Are we comparing this generation to Mao's China?

Are we comparing this generation to maybe when parents came or dads came home from Vietnam with PTSD that was undiagnosed? Listen, I mean, parents have had stress in their relationships with their children since the book of Genesis, right? And so, I mean, I don't think abuse is the answer on why this is happening. I think there's something else going on. You could call it coddling. You could call it the excessive amount of giving too much.

Parents trying to get too much into the lives of their kids? Well, yeah. I mean, I went to Whole Foods the other day, and you saw three kids basically in the cart. You see a lot of kids. I mean, playgrounds are made of pillows. You know, you could, I see parents basically wanting to give literally everything to their children. I'm not convinced that somehow, like, abuse is the reason why this is happening. I just don't see the evidence for that.

Yeah. This report also gets into the long-term impacts of estrangement. Talk to us about that, and what does that do to families? Well, it's interesting, because, I mean, I primarily got into this because I'm fascinated with the work of John Gobman, who talks a lot about contempt. And you could read the work on what contempt does to the human heart. You're less likely to live if you have contempt in your heart than even somebody that smokes apache cigarettes a day.

So, you know, we haven't done tons of longitudinal studies because it's pretty sudden, and that's what's concerning for me. That's what's concerning for me. Contempt, we do know, does some real damage. So what we can see is that if you're holding on to an excessive amount of contempt, that's not good actually for your health. Yeah. What advice would you have for people who may be estranged from their family members right now?

Well, I would encourage them to be more clear. I mean, I'm a clinician, and it's amazing to me that a lot of people spend a lot of time mind reading. Don't mind read, ask. I also don't assume that other people know what you want or need, tell them. One of the things that I often don't see is a lot of clarity of communication. In other words, it's like, describe what we're talking about, why are you bringing something up from 12 years ago?

What do you feel? And then what do you need? I rarely see communication done that way. One of the things about the survey, again, it's a preliminary survey. We're working on, I'm working with a group, Richard Blake and I, Dr. Richard Blake, we're working on making more peer reviewed. But one of the things that we're seeing about these surveys is like communication just seems to be very vague. So work on clarity of communication. What exactly do you really want to talk to

your parent about? I think that would really help. All right, we thank you for joining Top Story tonight when we come back right here in the broadcast tracking extreme weather, but with an app. We'll show you the new app giving people real-time alerts when disasters hit. We'll hear from the founder about how it works and why he made it and what sets it apart. Plus the hunt for the holy grail of baseball cards, the one-of-one show-hoy-Otani piece placed into a random pack. The fans, now in a frenzy to find it and the insane prices some are willing to pay in the millions for a baseball card.

That's next. News is more than a headline. It informs, it inspires, and it still matters. To cover it, you have to be in it. And that's what we're going to do. Every night, we take you to the front lines of the story where it's actually happening. With NBC News Journalists on the ground

from all over the world, we cover what you need to know and bring your news feed to life. in primetime and streaming live, it's your news playlist every night. Top story with Tom Yamas, weeknights at 7 on NBC News Now. We are back now with a disaster tracking app, exploding in popularity as this summer sees a surge in extreme weather events. From recent deadly flash flooding in Texas to dangerous brush fires popping up in South Florida,

more people are turning to a centralized place to get those life-saving alerts. Watch duty tracks everything from wildfires to flood threats in real time, getting its data from a number of sources, including government websites, forecast, radio scanners, social media, and even first responders. It's sort of like the ways of weather, if you will. Joining me now is John Clark Mills, he's CEO and co-founder of Watch Duty. John, thanks so much for joining us. I'm actually going to bring up the app here on the screen

and have you walk us through what we're looking at. So our director is going to take it. We're going to start in Florida. You can see there's multiple fire icons right now. It looks like the state of Florida is on fire. It's not really. As you zoom in, you can get a better sense of where these fires are happening. Walk our viewers through exactly how you get this data in here and how it

works. Thanks for having me. Appreciate your time here. We actually source this data. Most of it comes from first responder radio traffic, as you've probably seen, and they talk to each other on the radio, and that is where you actually find the best source of information in real time. Yeah. And then how many sources are you pulling from this at any given time? I mean, is it hundreds of tips, hundreds of pieces of data? Is it thousands or is it a dozen? I mean, it can be hundreds or thousands. I mean, the information really comes from the first responders themselves, whether it's a public information officer putting out a brief on Facebook or its radio traffic itself. It's very important for us to actually get the information from officials, not from strangers who are seeing

things that they can't describe out the window. So it's really important that is expert sourced and not It reminds me a little bit of ways. It reminds me of those crime alert apps as well when you want to know if there's crime in your neighborhood. You created this platform after getting caught in a wildfire from what I understand in California. Talk to us about that experience and why you decided to do this. Well, unfortunately, it was a couple of fires. The first one I went through, I was not alerted. I heard helicopters over my house.

And then I watched a tanker fly over and drop retardant on my neighbor's ranch. And that was how I was alerted. And then about six or seven months later, there was another one and another one, and they keep coming. And I kept having the same problem. I couldn't find all the information I needed. So I was staying up day and night trying to co-related this information myself, listening to radio scanners, and then it was actually people on Facebook and Twitter who had done the same thing. But then they were broadcasting it themselves. So really, the innovation was actually just banding together all these human beings who were doing this as volunteers.

and it became a very large organization because of their hard work. Yeah, where do you get the funding for this? My producers told me, because I was wondering, you know, who owned this, if you owned the app, and they told me it was a nonprofit. So how exactly does the financial model work? It's an interesting model we have here. So we are a 501c3 public nonprofit organization, and a lot of the donations actually come from individual contributors.

So in the app, if you want to pay $25 a year, you can get extra features. inside the app. It's similar to how NPR will give you a tote bag for becoming a donor, instead we give you features. And that actually is supporting about $5 million a year in revenue, which is great as a nonprofit. We can stand at a drone two feet, but our budget is higher than that. And so we have a lot of donors like Google.org, Amazon, other private philanthropists who are giving us money to fuel our growth. John, I got to ask you, I mean, when I was looking at this, I thought it was a great idea. And I'm sure a lot of tech companies out there think it's a great idea.

Why didn't you want to capitalize on this and make a gazillion dollars off this? Great idea that could still help people. It's the right thing to do. I've been through disaster. And I know you have as well. I've seen your reporting. And after you go through what I've been through and much of my community has, it changes you. And sometimes we decide to do the right thing to the right reasons.

And this is my time to do that. We've seen government cuts recently to weather monitoring programs. Is that impacting your service at all? is it playing to any of your decision making here? I mean, I should say yes or no. It is definitely a struggle, especially because a lot of our information comes from public information officers themselves. And so those folks are really important to the information infrastructure,

as well as things like Doppler radar and weather sensors and all this stuff. And so, look, it's still here today, which is good news. And I'm hoping that the work that we do shines the light on these government services, which are important for us to predict and prevent these catastrophes. from happening. John Clark Mills, we thank you for the work you're doing, and we thank you for coming on top story tonight. Thank you.

All right. Finally tonight, the new Holy Grail baseball card that has fans in a frenzy. I know we're taking a little bit of a turn here, but stay with us. It features Dodgers superstar Shohei Otani and the ultra-rare collectibles estimated to be worth millions. NBC's Emily Aketa caught up with some of the people trying to find it. Shohei Otani continues to rewrite the record book. Baseball's very own golden ticket just dropped.

And like the player featured, Shohei Otani, this baseball card is one of one. How much do you think that card would go for on the secondary market? Easily $5 million. $5 million. Some already offering $2.5 million dollars to the lucky buyer who finds the collectible that's been tucked into one pack of 2026 Tops Chrome baseball cards somewhere in the world. launching fans on a hunt for a new holy grail.

Do you think you could sell out? Oh yeah, 100%. We will sell out. There's nobody like him. The double autographed edition includes gold MLB Logomint patches worn during Otani's 2024 and 2025 MVP seasons. This father's son pair can't wait to test their luck.

What would your reaction be if you got the Otani card? No words, speechless. So what are the odds of scoring the so-called golden ticket? One in several million. Okay, no Otani for me, but hey, I did get Jose Ramirez. No luck for 14-year-old Bo Beasley either, but he's not giving up. Can you imagine opening up a pack and pulling out that card? I mean, I would lose it.

I wouldn't even believe it. I feel like I was dreaming. Mali Kedha, NBC News, New York. Can't wait to see who finds it. All right. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamous in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.