Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Episode Date: July 27, 2023

A federal judge refuses to sign off on Hunter Biden's plea deal. The United Nations steps in to help communities impacted by wildfires in the Mediterranean. Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the Idaho college murders, claim he wasn't at the murder site when the killings happened. Kevin Spacey is found not guilty in his London sexual assault case. And Keir Simmons has a look at Paris's preparations for the 2024 Olympic Games, now exactly one years away.

Tonight, Hunter Biden's plea deal disaster. In a stunning turn of events, a Trump appointed federal judge rejecting the deal struck by prosecutors and Biden's lawyers over concerns the deal would allow the president's son to skirt a gun charge. The prosecution revealing tonight that their investigations into Hunter Biden are still ongoing, signaling a tough legal and political road ahead for the first family. Plus, the agreement just reached with the mother of one of Hunter's children. A scary moment for Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, freezing in the middle of his remarks, staring blankly ahead before being escorted away by fellow senators, the growing concern tonight about the 81-year-old's health. Here in New York City, a fiery crane collapse, video showing the moment part of a crane broke

off, slamming into a high-rise, the 16-ton boom plunging 45 stories to the ground, people injured, including two firefighters, what New Yorkers on the ground and in that apartment building saw and heard. Coburger's alibi, a new filing revealing that lawyers for the Idaho murder suspect planned to argue their client was not at the scene of the crime at the time of the brutal killings, what we're hearing about this new strategy. Overseas raging wildfires turning deadly in Europe, dramatic video showing drivers racing to flee the flames, fast-moving blazes closing in on homes, at least

10 soldiers killed in the middle of an evacuation, how record-breaking temps across Europe are fueling these destructive fires. Plus, a group of sea lions charging at tourists near San Diego what the city is doing to try to stop these wild encounters. And UFO whistleblower, a former Air Force intelligence officer, testifying under oath that the U.S. government has been covering up evidence of UFOs and non-human pilots. Is there any merit to those claims? To-night, Tonight, we'll talk to an astrophysicist about the possibility of life beyond our planet and all those claims. Top story starts right now. And good evening.

We begin top story tonight with that stunning twist in Hunter Biden's legal drama. The president's son thought he had secured a plea deal to avoid serving time for tax evasion and a gun charge. But tonight, that arrangement falling apart right before his eyes. Hunter Biden arriving at a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. today, expecting to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax violation charges, but that deal had been worked out between prosecutors and Biden's legal team going off the rails as soon as it was presented to the judge. The Trump appointee whose nomination was also approved by both Democratic senators from Delaware refusing to sign off because the deal would also cover Biden's pending felony gun charge. Biden forced to plead not guilty to the two tax charges. that gun charge still pending as his legal team works to secure a new deal.

The plea entered today could be reversed if the two sides reach a new agreement in a sign of more trouble possibly on the way prosecutors confirming their investigations into Hunter Biden are ongoing, spelling legal headaches for the first son down the line and political headaches for his father. NBC's Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Noble's following it all for us and leads us off. Hunter Biden entered a federal courthouse today hoping to bring to an end his legal problems. not turn out that way. Tonight, in a stunning move, a federal judge refusing to sign off on his controversial plea deal. Judge Mary Ellen Norieka, a Trump appointee, saying the agreement contained atypical provisions and she needed more information, telling the lawyers, quote,

I am not in a position to accept or reject this plea agreement, so I'm going to defer it. At one point, as the deal was unraveling, Biden's attorney declaring, quote, we'll rip it up, While prosecutors revealing their investigation into Hunter Biden is ongoing, and the deal would only absolve Hunter of legal issues between 2014 and 2019 and only on drugs, taxes, and firearms charges. Hunter Biden today pleading not guilty to the tax charges. The delay in the case, a further political headache for the White House. This case was handled independently, as all of you know, by the Justice Department under the leadership of a prosecutor appointed by the former president, President Trump. The original plea agreement sparking outrage from Republicans, blasting it as a sweetheart

deal for the President's son, which allowed him to avoid prison time. The Attorney General has said that U.S. Attorney David Weiss has full authority to bring whatever charges he wanted. But two IRS investigators turned whistleblowers recently told Congress that was not true. It appeared to me, based on what I experienced, that the U.S. attorney in Delaware in our investigation was constantly hamstrung, limited, and marginalized by due. DOJ officials, as well as other U.S. attorneys. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings

at the center of House Republicans' growing investigations into the president that could lead to an impeachment inquiry. Impeachment inquiry is allowing Congress to get the information. The president has repeatedly denied he spoke to his son about his businesses. So far, the GOP providing no evidence of wrongdoing. All right, Ryan, joins us now live from outside the courthouse in Delaware. Ryan, you point this out in your report, but I think it's important to sort of take a minute here and talk this through because there was a lot of legalese today. The trouble really started

right when prosecutor Leo Wise insisted that there are ongoing investigations into Hunter Biden. Do we have any idea what they're still investigating? No, we don't, Tom. In fact, the judge attempted to press the prosecutors on that exact question, and they refused to reveal what else could possibly be part of what they're looking into as it relates. to Hunter Biden. And this really is a bigger political problem than it is a legal problem because Republicans, of course, have seized on any opportunity that they could possibly have to try and find links between Hunter Biden and the president, in particular as it relates to his foreign business dealings. The fact that they left this wide open without a lot of context

will just allow Republicans to fill the void even if they don't have evidence to do so. And Ryan, that leads to my next question as the campaign season ramps up and Republicans keep that spotlight on all things Hunter. What is the next step in this case as far as the timeline goes? Well, the judge is given the two sides 30 days to try and work out some sort of an arrangement where they can come to the table with a new plea agreement that will satisfy her concerns. Now, that is something that theoretically could happen. It's not going to, however, get rid of the political problems that still are part of this back and forth between the Biden family and Republicans in Congress.

And to that end, the U.S. attorney in this case, David Weiss, who disputes the claims that those IRS whistleblowers have made about the purview that he has in this case, the authority that he has to bring charges. He has offered to testify publicly before Congress later this fall. You can bet there will be a lot of eyes on that testimony. Okay. Ryan, we thank you for leading us off here on Top Story. For more on the legal fallout from Hunter Biden's failed plea agreement,

I want to bring in NBC News, legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Danny Savalos, and Barbara McQuaid, former U.S. attorney and also an NBC legal analyst. Barbara, I'm going to start with you tonight. You're a former U.S. attorney. What do you make of this? Can you explain this to our viewers? The judge was very unhappy with this deal made between the government and Hunter Biden's lawyers. Who does the blame fall on in this case? Is it on the prosecution? Yeah, I would put the blame on the prosecution. One thing that's really important to note, I think, here is that the judge was not dissatisfied with the substance of the plea agreement. She didn't

think it was a sweetheart deal or that it was too lenient or anything like that. She was concerned about the lack of clear. It was not clear to her whether there was a possibility of new additional charges being filed against Hunter Biden. So she asked that question. And it turns out that the government and the defense had different understandings of that. Hunter Biden thought this plea was going to wrap up the whole thing. And the government said, oh, no, no, we're going to continue to investigate and might bring additional charges. It's really important to have clarity on that question. They can agree on whatever they want to agree on, but it's got to be clear so that there's a meeting of the minds between the parties. The other thing the judge objected to is something

I also put squarely in the lap of the prosecutors, and that is they wanted to shirk to her the responsibility to determine whether Hunter Biden had breached in the future his plea agreement or his pretrial diversion agreement. It's not the role of the court. Typically, the language says something like it will be the sole discretion of the government to determine whether the defendant has breached this plea agreement. The court has a role if the defense believes that the government is acting in bad faith, but it's a violation of separation of powers to say that the judge should serve in this role. So I think she appropriately pushed back there. And so those are two flaws that the government is going to have to correct if they want her to accept this play

agreement in the next 30 days. Before I get to Danny with this expertise on the defense side, Barbara, I do want to ask you again, though, this was investigated for five years. How does something like this happen on the day they're in front of the judge? Yeah, I really think it's poor communication or poor lawyering, or maybe it is the prosecution kind of wanting to have its cake and eat it, too, to say, you know, we've resolved this case, but we're going to continue to investigate. And I wonder if that phrase, we're going to continue to investigate, isn't just sort of a fiction designed to appease critics

and that there have been assurances that there would be no. no more charges. But whatever it is, the agreement has to be clear. There can't be any side deals. There can't be any cute. Trust us, believe us. It has to be in the four corners of the document, and it has to be clear. And so we're going to go back and see if the government can clarify that language so that the parties can have a real agreement. Because if they're going to bring additional charges, pleading just to these crimes, is kind of pointless for Hunter Biden because he's accepting responsibility for these crimes, but it's possible that more could come down the road.

And that's just not a position, I think, that most defendants want to find themselves in. Danny, I'm paid to be skeptical, not cynical. And I look at this, and I'm thoroughly confused. And I think the American people are going to be confused as well. You've been in the courtrooms. You do legal analysis work for us. What happened here?

I am so glad to hear Barb McQuaid say what she just said, because I agree with her totally. And generally, when that happens, I know I'm on the right path. The only thing I would say also that might vaguely differ with her is just that I actually placed a little more responsibility on the defense team because it is their responsibility to have clarity as to what they're about to walk in and plead guilty to. And I also share Barb's view. I wonder, I don't think this was a nefarious thing by the prosecution where they were playing tricks,

trying to get the defense to agree to a plea agreement and then continue to investigate and maybe prosecute Hunter Biden. It may have just been one of those things in the moment where the government doesn't want to commit on the record that, oh, we're completely done investigating all things related to Hunter Biden. I have been there in court when the judge asked you a question and you think, geez, I'm on the record. If I respond, I'm locking myself into something. It could have been as innocent as the government just didn't want to commit to never, ever, ever investigating further Hunter Biden. And because the parties hadn't gotten to clarity, because they hadn't hammered out with certainty, what each. side expected out of the plea agreement, that led to what we saw today. And again, Barb is spot on. I totally agree. Pre-trial diversion happens a lot in state courts. It happens virtually

never in federal courts, at least by comparison. But it is a creature that exists by the good graces and at the will and at the discretion of the prosecution and the prosecution alone. The court has no role in pretrial diversion. Really, all the court does during pretrial diversion is hit the pause button on the case until the parties want to come back. And then the court says, well, why are we here? And the government says, well, the defendant has done everything we asked him to. He went to probation. He went to anger management. He went to drug and alcohol classes. Now we're going to withdraw this prosecution or dismiss it. But Danny, as a good defense attorney, and tell me if I'm wrong here, fair to middling. Fair to middling. When you're

negotiating with prosecutors, aren't you asking that question, hey, are you guys still investigating my guy? Is my guy still being looked at? Ordinarily, this is explicitly spelled out in the language of a plea agreement. But even plea agreement's language can be subject to ambiguity. And I'll give you an example. Let's say a plea agreement's language has something to the effect of no further charges arising out of the allegations in the information or indictment. In this case, it would be an information. Well, you could read that two ways. Anything that flows from the investigation itself, anything that's in the four corners of the information. And there's actually a lot of litigation about this, where defendants find themselves prosecuted

after entering into an earlier plea agreement, and they go to court and they say, look, this is a contract where court, you've got to enforce this contract against the government and prevent them from continuing this prosecution because this is how we read our plea agreement and the government is reading it another way. So this kind of thing does happen. And really, the best part about this is that the judge caught it early and headed it off before it became a problem months or maybe even years from now. So, Barbara, what's your sense having looked at a lot of these? And I know this is a different type of case. Republicans have obviously described this as a sweetheart deal, but prosecutors came out. They're in court. They're now on the record saying this investigation

is still ongoing. Do you think there's still a there? Do you think they are still looking and investigating Hunter Biden? I don't know. The judge even asked a question about whether there would be charges under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Certainly there's been public reporting about activities with Hunter Biden in foreign businesses. And so I guess it's hard to say, You know, until we had today's hearing where things sort of fell apart, I had assumed that we were at the end of the line that prosecutors looked at these other leads and concluded that there was either insufficient evidence or no substantial federal interest that was worth pursuing or it didn't fit any other crimes and that they thought this was a fair resolution of the case. I guess now I'm not so sure. If they persist in wanting to continue to investigate, it kind of changes everything. And so it's unclear to me why they plan to go forward. Danny's point, the language that we typically included in our plea agreements was something along the lines of the government agrees not to prosecute the defendant for any other crimes of which it is currently aware. And so that would cover everything. And it would also leave

an out, though, if they discovered that the person had committed some new crimes that they didn't know about. You know, they were responsible for the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa or they committed some new crimes in the future. It would not preclude that. But it would allow the defense, the peace of mind to know that, okay, everything they've been looking at to date is resolved with this plea agreement. And so my guess is... You're right. I'm sorry, go ahead. Barbara, I didn't mean to cut you off. Yeah, and I just my guess is that's what the government intends here, because otherwise, as Danny said, it would be really sort of unethical trickery to say, ah ha, you know, you only agreed to this,

and now we're going to charge you with something new. My guess is it's really about getting the language right and that they'll be able to do that. I guess my question is this, than five years investigating this. You're dealing with the president's son. Every major news organization is going to be covering this. You think they wouldn't make a mistake like this, yet we're here. That's why I think it's really just an, it's more that the government was put on the spot in the court. This is just my guess, but I've done this a lot where you get asked a pointed question. You don't want to commit and say, I will never, ever, ever, ever investigate Hunter Biden again. And, you know, no, no government attorney wants to be the one that locks the

government in on the record. Because you wouldn't have agreed to a deal if you still thought there was open, active investigations against your client? Yeah, maybe they just wanted to leave it open that they want to continue investigating. So, look, it could have been something as simple as that, but the bottom line, both sides are at fault. They should have had a crystal clear idea as to what the plea hearing was going to be about.

That's why plea hearings normally go forward without a hitch, but they are harrowing experiences because a lot can go wrong during them. It's not over till it's over. Okay, Danny Savalas, Barbara McQuade, we thank you so much for joining us tonight. We're also following developing news from Capitol Hill. You may have seen the Senate Minority,

Mitch McConnell, freezing in the middle of a news conference before being escorted away by colleagues. It's the latest in a series of apparent health incidents for the Republican leader. Garrett Hake has more. A regular Senate ritual interrupted today by 19 seconds of silence, quickly turning to concern for the health of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who appeared to freeze up as he began his weekly news conference. Well, good afternoon, everyone. We're on a path to finishing the NDA this week.

It's been good bipartisan cooperation and a string of... His fellow senators, including John Barrasso, a medical doctor from Wyoming... You want to say anything else to the press? Eventually helping the 81-year-old McConnell away from the post. podium. Returning moments later, the Senate's top Republican shrugged off a reporter's question about the moment. I'm fine. You're fine. You're fully able to do your job.

McConnell, who in January became the longest serving party leader in Senate history, has suffered a series of health challenges in recent years. He had shoulder surgery after a fall in 2019, and he spent six weeks recovering from a concussion and fractured ribs suffered in a March fall. after which he has sometimes struggled to make out questions from reporters. Garrett Higg joins us tonight from Capitol Hill. Garrett, a scary moment there for Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. What's his office telling us about what caused him to sort of freeze like that?

And I know they're pointing to how he answered questions a few minutes afterwards. Yeah, Tom, frankly, very little. They're saying only that he was lightheaded and needed to step away for a bit. They point out that he was able to lucidly answer questions afterwards. That's basically been the way they've addressed any other questions about his health. since he came back from that concussion, pointing out the way that he's still been able to spar with reporters and still been able to basically get the job done. But I think given that moment, as you see in the piece, they're going to continue to face more questions about this. And I think reporters are going to be looking very closely

at the senator's health and how he handles himself in the hallways and on the floor going forward. Yeah, you sort of laid out those health issues in your report there. Are you hearing anything from your sources within the Republican conference about any type of concern over Mitch McConnell's health? McConnell still commands a ton of loyalty within the Republican conference, and generally speaking, senators give each other pretty wide latitude to be the ones to tell them if their health concerns are such that they can't do the job. I've not heard anything publicly from Republican senators suggesting McConnell cannot do the job. But remember, he's already the longest serving Senate Republican leader or Senate leader of either party up until this point. His term runs until 2026, and there has been a lot of conversation about who might replace him, should he ever. step down. I suspect that behind closed doors, this incident today will only fuel that

conversation going forward. Okay, Garrett, thank you. I want to turn out to a horrifying scene high above New York City, a crane catching fire and collapsing, scraping a nearby high rise on its way down to the street. NBC's Emily Aketa is on the ground of Manhattan. It started as a fire, roughly 45 stories up in Midtown Manhattan, but just as first responders were arriving on scene, an even more terrifying turn. Oh, the boom of the crane collapsed, sending pedestrians below, scrambling to safety. I said he was another terrorist attack or something, because there was a loud bang. It sounded like a bomb. The falling crane also struck and rattled a nearby high-rise apartment building, where residents were evacuated.

Our whole floor of our front of our building, all the glass and debris is everything. It's just mangled like Godzilla to me and just crushing his hand. Authorities say at least 11 people sustain non-life-threatening injuries. including two firefighters. First responders climbed to nearby rooftops to douse the flames, leaving the crane's cabin charred. Its operator tried extinguishing the fire, according to officials, but fled when he couldn't. As the fire heats the cable, the cable weakens to a point where it loses its strength, and that's where the collapse occurred. Part of the crane and the 16 tons of concrete it was lifting, plummeting. It was being used in the construction of a 54-story mixed-use building. Workers say they were still inside and feared for their lives after a sudden

bang. And you thought the building was collapsing? Yeah, yeah, I didn't think it's collapse because the noise is big. In 2016, a crane crashed in Manhattan during a snowstorm, killing one man. Tonight, the mayor says New Yorkers should feel lucky. This wasn't much worse. All of that concrete could have struck civilians and this has spread out throughout the area here. So we were, we were extremely, extremely lucky. of this morning. Emily, it kind of joins us now from the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan, and Emily,

I'm struck by what we see behind you there. That's a part of the crane there? Yeah, absolutely. You can see just a piece of the debris, a massive amount of debris that the crews are now cleaning up. There's 16 tons, in addition to that twisted arm that came, or really

crashing to the ground, 16 tons of cement as well. Cruise, again, beginning to clean that up. They're also taking a look at some of the remaining debris that is hanging from the sky that still could fall. That is a top priority. And then they will begin dismantling what's left of the crane, Tom. Yeah, those crane collapses are always so scary when they happen in New York City because of the height of these cranes. You started your report by saying there was a fire and that sort of caused all of this. Do we know

what started that fire? Well, Tom, investigators are still looking into what went wrong. That will include the investigation will include reviewing the history of several companies, Among them, the New York Crane and Equipment Company, which we know was the owner of a crane involved in a 2008 deadly accident. We reached out to that company, but did not hear back for comment. Okay, Emily, thank you for that. Now to the breaking news from the southern border, the Department of Justice filing a preliminary injunction, asking that a federal judge moved to remove that 1,000-foot buoy barrier in the Rio Grande we've been showing you. As we've been reporting, both the U.S. and Mexico have raised concerns about the safety risks that buoys posed to migrants.

I want to get right to Gabe Gutierrez, who's live from the border tonight in Brownsville, Texas. Gabe, what more are we learning about this move from the DOJ? Yeah, that's right, Tom. We just heard about this late this afternoon with the DOJ asking for that preliminary injunction and asking that, Judge, as you said, to order the state of Texas to remove that floating border barrier that has been so controversial. And the DOJ, in its filing, arguing that Mexico has raised concerns at the highest diplomatic levels and that this whole situation could lead to an international incident with Mexico.

Now, just within the last few minutes, we've heard of a response from the office of Governor Greg Abbott. A spokesperson says that he plans to fight this all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Tom. And while we have you there on the border, the administration is touting some new stats showing border crossings at a two-year low. Customs and Border Protection reporting more than 144,000 border encounters in June the first full month since the expiration of the COVID-era border policy known as Title 42. And then if you see, this is a 30% decrease from the month before, Gabe, and the fewest total crossings of any months since February of 2021. So you're on the border there.

Have you been able to sort of get a sense from the people that live on those border towns if they're seen that on the ground? Well, Tom, the situation is much more nuanced than the numbers really show. Because, yes, the administration is touting that the number of illegal border crossings is down about 42% since the lifting of Title 42 in mid-May. However, there are critics of the administration to say, look, they're just reclassifying many of those border crossings from being illegal to being legal.

Why? Because of some new policies that the Biden administration has put in place, they're putting a lot more emphasis on that CBP-1 app that schedules migrants to come present themselves before U.S. authorities. The Biden administration saying this policy is much more orderly now, But some law enforcement sources here in the border say that there's really just as many migrants coming to the southern border. So, yes, while the overall numbers of illegal crossings are down, we spoke with some migrants across the border from this port of entry. And Mattomoros, who say they are still waiting months for some of these appointments to turn themselves in in the port of entry. And they're still desperate here, even though the number of illegal crossings is downtown.

Okay, Gabe Gutierrez for us, a lot of new reporting there, Gabe. We do appreciate you. Overseas now to the deadly wildfires in the Mediterranean. Thousands forced to evacuate its fires burn in several countries. The death toll also rising at this hour. The UN now stepping in to support impacted communities and reinforce efforts. Ellison Barber has this one. Tonight, wildfires engulfing parts of North Africa and southern Europe.

Greek authorities evacuated more than 20,000 people near the Holiday Island of Rhodes. Firefighters trying to conquer the flames, but they keep flaring up. And some say they're starting to lose hope. Every day, every night we are here and we don't make nothing. We burn almost everything. I believe we fight for nothing. In Portugal's Lisbon district, hundreds of firefighters battled in Inferno that erupted near a popular tourist destination.

Some locals were desperately yelling for government help as the firestorm threatens their community. In Algeria, that desperation turned into tragedy. Officials say at least 34 people died, including military members. Others have been lucky enough to survive, but all of their belongings, the hard work and physical memories of their lives, have turned to piles of ashes. This man is a farmer. He says he and his family have no water, no food, and they're struggling to find a place to sleep.

On the other side of the Mediterranean, dramatic video shows the moments a car is engulfed in thick smoke, flanked by wildfires while driving on a road in Sicily. The regional president says those fires have killed at least three people so far. People who live here are anxiously watching the fires as they slowly approach their homes, hoping they will be. among the lucky ones who are spared. As of Tuesday, officials say there are 55 active wildfires in this area alone. More help is on the way. The European Union plans to buy 12 new firefighting planes, so they'll be better prepared to fight flames fueled by climate change. The situation that we see in southern Europe shows that we are in the climate crisis. It's already here.

It is not unexpected. But for some, it is not soon enough. All the islands burn. We lost our island, our beautiful island. We don't have anything now. Really, we don't have anything. Ellison Barber, NBC News. We thank Ellison for that.

Still ahead. Kohlberger's alibi, lawyers for the Idaho college murder suspect claiming Koburger was not on the scene at the time of the killings. Why one lawyer says this strategy. could backfire in the courtroom. Plus, a verdict reached in the Kevin Spacey sexual assault trial, how the UK jury ruled in the case involving allegations from multiple men.

And sea lions versus tourists, the animals seemed charging at beachgoers near San Diego, how the city is planning to step in. There we go. Stay with us. Top story, just getting started on this Wednesday night. I know an update on those Idaho murders. Lawyers for Brian Coburger, the man accused of killing four students at the University of Idaho last November, claiming they can prove he was not in the area on the night of the crime.

So where was he? Steve Patterson has the latest. A potential twist in the murders of four University of Idaho students. This is the state of Idaho versus Brian Coburger. Seven months after the killings, attorneys for suspect Brian Coburger claiming he has an alibi, writing in court documents, evidence corroborating Mr. Coburger being at a location other than the King Road address will be disclosed. They didn't give any further detail about where he may have been, but say that information may come to light at trial through cross-examination and expert witness testimony. So if Brian Colberger really has an alibi, then give it up. Gene Fisher, a former prosecutor in the county where the murders took place,

questioning why the defense would wait seven months to bring these claims to light. That's the whole point of the alibi is so that law enforcement and prosecutors can look into it and see if it actually stands water or not. And that's important because we have no interest in putting the families through a conviction or a trial if the person really didn't do it. But prosecutors say DNA found on a knife sheath next to the bodies of two. with the victims was a statistical match to that of Coburgers. Last month, the defense suggested that evidence may have been planted, writing the state's

argument assumes the DNA on the sheath was placed there by Mr. Coburger and not someone else during an investigation that spans hundreds of members of law enforcement and apparently at least one lab the state refuses to name. His lawyers also argue investigators didn't find any victim DNA in his apartment, office, home, or vehicle. No, molo too close, okay? That vehicle, a white Hyundai Alantra, that according to an arrest affidavit, Kohlberger was seen driving during traffic stops in at least three states from August to December of last year,

and is allegedly the same make and model of a car that prosecutors say was seen at the crime scene the morning of the murders in November. Police also say cell phone data shows he was in the vicinity of the victim's home the night before. They know his cell phone is pinging all around the house. And so it isn't just enough to say it wasn't me, I was somewhere else. The 28-year-old has so far invoked his right to silence. The trial is tentatively set to begin on October 2nd. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty, calling the crimes especially heinous. All right, Steve Patterson joins us now live from L.A.

So, Stephen, we heard from that former prosecutor there. Did she have any insight on how useful an alibi could be for Koberger at this point in the case? You know, Tom, she told us that she was a prosecutor for 30. 33 years, and she hardly ever saw an alibi defense actually worked. Typically, if you have a good alibi, you would have been cleared early on. Police would have moved on to try the person actually responsible for the crime. At this point, we are now just months away from the start of this trial, so for it to come up in this stage of the game, she says, it's highly unusual. Okay. Steve Patterson, we thank you for that. To London now, where a court found Kevin Spacey

not guilty of sexually assaulting four men in the early 2000s, an emotional Spacey, thinking the The jury afterwards calling the verdict humbling. NBC's Ali Arruzzi is there. It was a verdict Kevin Spacey was waiting for, hoping for, a UK jury finding the Oscar winner not guilty of multiple counts of sexual assault. I am humbled by the outcome today. An emotional Spacey seen wiping a tear off his face as the not guilty verdict was read out in court. Acquitted on nine counts related to sexually assaulting four men.

between 2001 and 2013. I'm enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts. The actor attending every court day where prosecutors painted a picture of Spacey as a sexual bully who delights in making others feel powerless and uncomfortable. All four of his accusers, who under British law allows them to remain anonymous, testifying in court. One of them accusing Spacey of sexually groping him on the way to Sir Elton John's Gala, but the singer would later testify on Spacey's behalf,

claiming that that year he did not attend the party. The acquittal, a sigh of relief for the actor best known for Oscar-winning performance in American Beauty, and the Netflix hit House of Cards. One heartbeat away from the presidency, not a single vote cast in my name. Who also faced dozens of accusations of sexual misconduct. including one in 2017 at the start of the Me Too movement from the Star Trek Discovery actor Anthony Rapp. Rap lost the civil case against Spacey last year in New York,

accusations that Spacey has denied over the years. Since the flurry of accusations, Spacey has largely stayed out of the public eye, except to occasionally release videos of himself as his House of Cards character. You didn't really think I was going to miss the opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas, did you? Today, fans shouting the show's name and cheering in support of the actor as he got into his London cab.

And Tom, amongst the cheers, one woman even shouting, happy birthday. Today, Spacey is marking his 64th birthday. Now, with the not guilty verdict behind him, he's hoping to make a comeback to acting. Last month, even telling a German newspaper that I know that there are people ready to hire me right now, the moment I'm cleared of these charges in London. Tom. Okay, we shall see. Ali Arousy for us.

When we come back and update on the story we've been covering here on Top Story, disturbing video showing the moment an officer unleashed a canine on an unarmed suspect. What the department has just decided to do to that officer who was handling the dog. That's next.

All right, we're back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with an update on a story we brought you earlier this week. The Ohio officer seen on body camp footage unleashing a canine on an unarmed man has been fired. The Circleville Police Department writing in a statement that the officer, quote, did not meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers. The Federal Reserve, once again, raising interest rates as it fights to lower inflation. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announcing another quarter point interest rate hike today, bringing interest rates to the highest levels they've seen in more than 22.

years. The increase comes after the Federal Reserve paused rate hikes last month. Powell says it's possible for another race to come in September, if warranted. And sea lions are startling tourists at a California beach. Video posted to social media showing a group of sea lions hounding beachgoers just outside of San Diego, one charging at people on the shore. No one was hurt. The encounter comes as the city plans to close two nearby beaches in order to protect sea lion pups. Okay, now to a potential change coming to San Fran.

The city had hard hit by changing industries and a move to remote work, but the tech industry's push for artificial intelligence could bring new life to the areas downtown. CNBC's Diedra Boza takes a closer look at business owners hoping for an AI boom. While the Golden Gate Bridge may be the most recognizable image of the city by the Bay, San Francisco today struggles with scenes of empty storefronts, homelessness, and theft, perceptions of a city spiraling into what headlines are calling a doom loop. Our customers are really concerned about the state of the city. Marka Palbo runs retail at Gump's, a 150-year-old San Francisco brick-and-mortar business

dating back to the gold rush. He says foot traffic here is down upwards of 40% due to the lack of downtown activity. When you walk into our financial district and it's still pretty much a ghost town, that has a huge effect on our business. Gump's is now trying to avoid the fate of numerous retail. businesses that have given up on San Francisco's downtown. Commercial vacancy rates are at a record high, nearly one-third of offices, empty. This used to be the city's most vibrant shopping center, but now it is row after row of

clothes shops. Since 2019, nearly half of all stores downtown have moved out and no one's rushing to fill the space. But just across town, a fresh energy and a hope that a new tech boom driven by artificial intelligence is helping bring San Francisco back. We have hundreds of people who actually work in this office. Scale AI with 600 employees is a decidedly San Francisco-based company. CEO Alexander Wang says he needs to be here and wants to see a staff in person. Why build a company in San Francisco? This is where the innovation is.

By being in San Francisco, by being in the Bay Area, we really get to support the innovation ecosystem as it's all happening. It's also where the money is. In the first quarter of the year, nearly half of all five. for artificial intelligence startups worldwide went to San Francisco-based firms. The city's mayor recently declaring San Francisco the AI capital of the world. What makes it the AI capital of the world? The 20 largest companies in the world, in the world, 13 are in the Bay Area, and eight are in San Francisco. Why do you think they're here? Because this is where the talent is.

Much like the tech giants of Silicon Valley created a boom in the Bay Area. What some now call Cerebral Valley is starting to bring. new companies and people into San Francisco neighborhoods and offices. Not that the mayor is relying on industry alone. Downtown can be something that we can reimagine. We have to dream big. We have to think of what's possible. And San Francisco has always been the place to push the envelope and push for what's possible. Businesses old and new are banking on it. CNBC's Deidre Boza joins top story tonight. So Deidre, isn't AI supposed to eliminate jobs? How can the industry bring jobs back to San Francisco?

So founders and investors say that human collaboration is a key part of building the technology. And a lot of companies are doing it right here in San Francisco. Many businesses, they left, of course, during the pandemic. But over the last year or so, you've seen something else happen. And that is a new hope coming out of this tech boom in generative AI. So you're seeing startups across the country come back to San Francisco and start building the technology here. There's a hope that that can revitalize San Francisco.

Yeah, and you hope they are right. We've covered extensively what's happened to that wonderful city of San Francisco since the pandemic. So I know you spoke to Mayor London Breed. How is she thinking about revitalizing the city and countering sort of this doom loop that we saw there in your report? So Mayor Breed, she is embracing this platform shift, this generative AI boom that we're seeing. And she notes that many of the companies are being built here. and she says, and she hopes that that is going to revitalize the city. At the same time, Tom, she knows that San Francisco is not without its problems in terms of homelessness and open-air drug

markets and crime. And she has hopes to reform the tax system so that companies will not only build here, but stay here as well. She wants to put more police officers on the street as well. And she hopes that that will allow even more businesses to follow the lead that we've seen from AI and come back to San Francisco. All right. We hope so, Diedra Boza for us. Next, UFOs taking center stage on Capitol Hill, a whistleblower who once worked as an intelligence officer in the military, claiming the U.S. has been covering up evidence of non-human aircrafts for decades. We break down what he said next. We turned out of that UFO hearing on Capitol Hill and the surprise testimony on extraterrestrial life.

Lawmakers calling for more transparency on UFOs or UAPs during a congressional hearing today. A former intelligence officer for the military alleging the U.S. has concealed for decades of program that captured those objects and that there's evidence of non-human activity. Let's take a listen. If you believe we have crashed craft stated earlier, do we have the bodies of the pilots who piloted this craft? As I've stated publicly already in my News Nation interview, biologics came with some of these recoveries.

Were they, I guess, human or non-human biologics? Non-human, and that was the assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program. I talked to that are currently still on the program. All right, that's retired Major David Grush, also saying he became a government whistleblower after his discovery and has faced retaliation for coming forward. I was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program, to which I was denied access to those additional redons when I requested it.

All right, in a statement today, the Pentagon denied those claims. So for more on this, we're joined now by Dr. Savick Ford, Professor of Astronomy at the City University of New York and Research Associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Ford, thanks so much for joining us. So what do you make of all of his comments? And he's been out there in the media now for a little bit, saying basically there's something out there and we need to talk about this. So I think the thing that you need to know about astronomers is that we would love nothing more than to find aliens. of us started our careers inspired by science fiction. I'm named after a Star Trek character, and so we would be thrilled to pieces to find evidence

of alien life, evidence of alien intelligence. We have whole sub-disciplines, astrobiology, SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. And we also are out there all night, every night, looking at the skies. There has never been any evidence of any kind of alien craft or alien people, creatures that are coming to visit us. So what do you think, what do you make of this man? He's a former intelligence official with the military. It's being described as a UFO whistleblower, if you will. He's saying there's biologics that were non-human.

What do you, what do you take this to mean? I mean, I honestly don't know where he could possibly be coming up with this, but the military has denied it, and you don't necessarily have to take their word for it, but I can tell you that the type of program that he's describing, the quantity of material that he's saying, we have, we astronomers, again, have been scanning the skies for centuries, and there's really no evidence of this sort of routine visiting. from other worlds. What is reverse engineering? Do you know what he meant by that? Sure. I mean, that's a pretty standard technical term. If you have a thing, then you maybe don't know how it got built,

but if you take it apart, you can kind of figure out, well, if I make this part like this and that part like that, and I put it back together like this, then I can make the key. Literally the plot of Independence Day, where they recreate, okay, and they figure out how to use a spaceship. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, you know, it would be great. if we had some kind of alien technology, and this is the other thing, you know, we astronomers also

work with the Defense Department all the time. One of our new telescopes was donated as a leftover, the new Roman space telescope, was donated as a leftover by DOD, and we see no evidence of enormous leaps and capabilities of the sort that you would expect. Our fastest craft that we have sent out of our solar system, well, not our fastest, but one of the sets of craft we've sent out are the Voyager probes. And at the speed that they are going, it will take them 80,000 years, it would take them 80,000 years to reach the nearest star. And that's the kind of velocities and engineering that we are currently capable of. If there are aliens visiting us, they have to be in a completely other league. And it's actually hard to imagine how that's even possible. Let me play devil's

advocate here, so if that were to be true, and I think you're doing an amazing job of explaining your point, wouldn't that there would be reason not to share this with the U.S. public? I mean, I actually think that that would be a reason to share it with the U.S. public, that we have discovered this amazing technology. You would start to see it in other aspects of life. It doesn't just sort of sit there in this, you know, confined area. made of all the attention, all the videos that have come out about the UAPs or the UFOs, basically the stuff that the Navy is saying, Air Force, we're not sure what this stuff is. So unidentified is not the same as extraterrestrial, right?

It's in the name. It's unidentified. You don't know what it is. So to leap directly to, it must be aliens, is sort of a bizarre psychological phenomenon. And one that's pretty unique to the United States, actually. Do you think this is just a sideshow? You think these are all sort of crazy UFO people, if you will? I mean, if you look at the sightings of UFOs around the world,

they are extremely highly concentrated in the United States. Why would aliens visit the Earth from hundreds of light years away, most likely, having traveled for 100,000 years or more, millions of years, at any kind of rational speeds, and only visit the United States. Could it be to watch Top Story? No? You know, it's a possibility?

It's a possibility. It's a pretty great show. Finally, finally, do you think aliens are real? So that's a different question, right? I, like a lot of astronomers, fervently hope that there are aliens in our universe. There's 100 billion stars in our galaxy, and most of them probably have a habitable planet around them. And we're already sending missions to Mars and to the icy moons of our outer solar system. And we really even hope that there might be not intelligence, but maybe, you know, single-celled little interesting guys in our very local neighborhood.

And here's the other thing. If astronomers had any evidence that we had extraterrestrial life and we had evidence of it, why would we sit for the budget cuts that NASA and the NSF have been put through? really. I mean, we would just say, hey, folks, we've got our evidence right here. And it's, you know, believe me, we would love to have that kind of leverage. Doctor, we thank you so much for that analysis. When we come back, the Olympics countdown is on. The Paris Games just one year away, how the City of Lights is getting ready to host athletes from around the world. That's next. Finally tonight, the Olympic-sized countdown, we're just one year away from the 2020.

four summer games. NBC's Keir Simmons traveled to Paris to see how that city is preparing. Tonight, Paris 2024 promising a quintessential French affair. Even the newly unveiled Olympic torch is the color of champagne. Wow. Its design inspired by water. I love the fact that in this object that you go from the water, you arrive in a kind of earth, and finally, to the fire. The Olympic flame will be carried underneath the Eiffel Tower for an opening ceremony like no other. Athletes on boats like this one as thousands lined the banks of the sand.

It's going to be amazing. Pamela Combasthette, a New Yorker who lives here now, hoping to be a torchbearer. I just think it would just be incredible to be part of that wonderful human chain. superstar Yussein Bolt leading this week's celebrations. I'm excited, you know what I mean? The fastest man in the world, planning to be a spectator next year with his three young children, though as competitive as ever. Which country is going to win more medals, France or Jamaica?

Ah, aye, aye, aye, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely Jamaica, okay, I bet. I bet with you. Events will take place at stunning Paris locations. and existing venues to cut costs and carbon emissions, while organisers have been upgrading public transport. With more than a billion dollars' worth of investment in transportation and 120 miles of new rail lines, games organizers say, while celebrating the old Paris, they're building a new Paris.

We'll encourage people to walk. We'll encourage people to take public transportation. Recent protests across France, soaring temperatures in Europe and high ticket prices, haven't soured the excitement, according to Paris 2024. One lingering question whether athletes from Russia and Belarus will be completely banned from the Games because of the invasion of Ukraine.

But the fans will definitely be back. Up to 15 million are expected here in 12 months' time. Under the Eiffel Tower tonight, the Paris 2024 clock is counting down. Two, they said today, a new Olympic era. Tom, as you can hear, there is a party here tonight. Imagine the party in a year's time. At this hour, on this evening, in just 12 months, the opening ceremony will be underway. They truly believe that we're using iconic locations in the City of Light, like the Eiffel Tower,

they will reduce the cost and make the Olympics more sustainable, changing the games for years to come. We look forward to it. And here we know how much you love a party, so we'll let you get to it. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.