Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Episode Date: July 10, 2025

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.

Tonight, the devastating aftermath as two catastrophic floods ravage the southwest and the tornado warning near D.C. as we come on the air. In New Mexico, a wall of water and debris leaving several dead. Surveillance video sped up inside a business as the river rushed in. And in Texas, crews deploying cadaver dogs and divers to search for more than 170 people still missing. Plus, the new document showing how officials raised concerns over the warning system nearly a decade ago. Also, tonight, new trade war threats. The president announcing a 50% tariff on Brazil and demanding the country into the trial of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, what the new ultimatums could mean for your wallet.

Plus, polled from the flames, the heart-stopping video capturing the moment officers rescue people trapped in a burning cart. The growing outrage over Elon Musk's AI chatbot after it went on a tirade of anti-Semitic posts. What the company is saying about the hate speech spewed on X. Would you let your kids get into a driverless car alone? The new move from Waymo allowing teens to hail a ride without mom or dad. The shocking shakeup in Formula One racing. Red Bull axing its legendary racing team boss after two decades.

What prompted the abrupt change that's leaving fan. floored. And the jaws dropping encounter. You'll hear from the paddle border who came within feet of a great white shark at a popular vacation spot. Plus, we speak with the U.S. couple crowned the winners in the wife-carrying world championship. Yes, you heard that right. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. We're following breaking news as we come on the air. A tornado warning near the D.C. area. You can see storms rumbling through our nation's capital. We're going to get to Bill Cairns in just a moment. This, of course,

comes as new images are emerging of the devastating floods in the southwest. At this hour, New Mexico reeling after historic floods swept through burn scars in the mountain village of Ruidoso. A security camera time lapse capturing the inside of a business as the river rushed in. That entire shop inundated. Everything inside, completely overturned. And this is that powerful wall of water and debris rushing downstream. The massive pile eventually slamming into a bridge and overflowing the riverbanks. That river, Rio Riosso, is no stranger to flooding, but this was historic, rising a record-breaking 20 feet in under an hour, smashing all of its previous records. And in Texas, the desperate search there for more than 170 people.

including several camp mystic campers, continues. New aerial showing the widespread devastation, crews mobilizing cadaver dogs and scuba divers to help in the excruciating rescue effort. But tonight, new questions over why a better warning system wasn't in place. Back in 2016, a former commissioner for Kirk County said, quote, our system is quite simply pretty antiquated

and even highlighted the risk, noting, quote, we also have more summer camps than anybody else along the Guadalupe River, so we got a potential there. We have so much to get to this Wednesday evening. Let's bring in NBC's meteorologist Bill Carrens for the latest on what he's tracking in the D.C. area. Sorry, Alison, about 645 local time in the Washington, D.C. area. The National Weather Service noticed rotation almost over the White House and the Capitol.

They said the rotation was located over Howard University, which is only about a half mile up the road from those locations. And they said there was enough rotation that they triggered the emergency alert system for a tornado warning for our nation's capital. The storms are moving at about 20 miles per hour to the north. We have not gotten confirmation of any tornado damage, or there was a tornado on the ground. They just saw it on radar. So we'll find out in the next half hour or hour. So if we do have any damage, if there was a tornado in that area. That tornado warning has now been dropped as that storm system is now racing to the northeast here,

heading up towards over Interstate I-9-495 loop here in the northeast portion of the Beltway. So this still has a potential for 60 to 70-mile-per-hour winds. Washington, D.C., by the way, is still under a flash flood. warning until 845 this evening. This storm dumped a really quick, one to two inches of rain, and we still continue to watch these storms heading for New Jersey and also for the Richmond dairy. If you're in Richmond, duck inside. You've got about a half hour, deal with some gusty winds, some lightning, and possibility of isolated flash flooding. And these drenching storms here have been triggering flash flood warnings all day and now into the night. Every one of these

maroon boxes you see here is a flash flood warning that tells people if you're near creeks or small streams, expect the water to be rising quickly. Now, we haven't escalated. to any what we call flash flood emergencies, which we had in New Mexico, and also what happened over the last weekend in Texas. But that potential still exists with a lot of heavy rain, especially in watching this area around Greensboro and North Carolina. These storms are starting to train, almost like a train going down the tracks over the same area. So we're going to watch you very closely. Allison does the potential for a significant flash flooding. That tornado threat has ended, but now we're going to watch flash flooding throughout the East Coast over the next

couple hours. Bill Cairns on that breaking news. Thank you. We appreciate it. are of course still monitoring the situation in new mexico where at least three people have been killed in that severe flash flooding here's steve patterson with that side of the story tonight residents in scenic southern new mexico reckoning with the fury of raging flood waters taking stock of anything left in ruy dosio the flood so terrible it cleaved through whole neighborhoods so powerful it ripped homes away from their owners oh my god oh my god this Stores, sped-up surveillance video shows just how high the water rose. Overnight, exhausted rescue workers made the discovery they were hoping to avoid.

Three dead, including two young children, a seven-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl. The little boy was found under the utility trailer by the bridge on a meander, and the little girl was about 50 feet away from him. Tonight, officials from Fort Bliss, Texas, confirming the children belong to his soldier and their spouse, both in the hospital, serious injuries. You have multiple vehicles and mobile homes starting to float away here at Gavlin. Rescuers working around the clock, scouring for the stranded. In all, officials say 65 swift water rescues made just yesterday. We had people in trees.

We had people in the water. People trapped in houses with water coming into them. The village's river, the Rio Ruidoso, rising 18 feet in just 30 minutes. The mud is just everywhere. Lifelong Ruidoso resident, Eric Orozco, says he and his family's decades-old home is just too far gone. You can just see someone's work that you put into, and not just for us, but it's for everyone in this community right here that's going through this flood damage, and it just really hurts.

Officials say part of the problem burn scars from a series of wildfires that cut into the hillsides almost exactly a year ago. Now, the town's mayor says there are runways for disaster. How direct is the devastation we're seeing today to the fact that there was. was a saturation on that scar running off into town. It's 100% related to that. There's nothing to absorb it, to slow it down, so the water picks up whatever debris and pushes it. A cycle of climate disaster punishing residents just for calling these hillsides home.

And Steve Patterson joins us now from the storm zone there in Roodoso, New Mexico. Steve, in your report, we heard the mayor mention those burn scars. long will those pose a threat to people who live there? Yeah, Alison, the mayor is not shy about it. He says that anytime this community gets a deluge like that within the next three to five years, there is always the potential for that disastrous flash flooding. Meanwhile, estimates are being done here on the ground. The current estimate is 35 homes, and I mean, just residential homes here have been destroyed. Alison.

Steve Patterson, thank you. And back in Texas, the desperate surge to find those minutes. missing still ongoing. Authorities and rescue crews making tragic discoveries as they scour through rubble and debris from the catastrophic floods. This as questions still stand over the county's preparation for an event of this magnitude. NBC's Morgan Chesky is in Curvo with the latest. Tonight from high above a heartbroken hill country to the depths of its muddy debris-filled waters, crews battling to find the more than 173 people still declared missing. As crews dig through seemingly endless piles of debris, heartbreaking details are emerging.

One of the first people upon this side sharing when they walked up, cell phones were still ringing beneath the rubble. The death toll, now at least 119 lives. Today, Braxton Jarman's high school confirmed the rising sophomore died in the catastrophic flooding. His stepmother and sister are still missing. And the family of 8-year-old Mary Kate Jacoby said she's entered the gates of heaven, calling her tiny but mighty and full. of love. She was attending Camp Mystic, where these new images capture a telling scene. Campers close in trunks spread outside a cabin as cadaver dogs carried out their grim work nearby. Today amid questions about whether more should have been done to warn people about the dangerous

rising waters, local officials said they are laser focused on search efforts. You know, we don't have, we're not running, we're not going to hide for everything. That's going to be checked into at a later time. I wish I could tell you that time. I don't know that time. But records from a county meeting in 2016 show a former commissioner said the flood warning system was quite simply pretty antiquated, calling it marginal at the best. Records show that the concept of flood warnings have been discussed at least two dozen times by the county. What's the biggest reason that these systems have not gone into place at this point? You know, Morgan, you and I grew up here. And I wasn't in office during those discussions.

and frankly, I'm more focused on the future than the past. Back in the flood zone. When you first laid eyes on this one, what stood out? It was the massive amounts of water. Disaster specialist Larry Miner says his teams have seen the unthinkable. Cadaver dogs leading those on horseback to remote river areas where heartbreaking discoveries have yet to slow down. We'll stay until we get it done.

And we want them to have closure. And for the families of those, who don't know what to think right now. Yeah, I've seen a lot of loss, I feel for them. We're praying for them. Yeah, and tonight, as the search efforts only continue, crews have a monumental task. The Guadalupe River runs 22 miles through Kerr County

before continuing onto the Gulf of Mexico. And within that county area, we are talking about some incredibly remote, rural areas, and that is why we've seen such a convergence of crews. now having to navigate a river that has been filled with debris and because of the sheer power of the water, in some cases, moving portions of the riverbed entirely. Ellison?

Morgan Chesky, thank you. Next to Washington, and President Trump escalating his trade war, saying it will bring back American jobs. But concerns tonight about what it could mean for increased prices, including a steep new tariff that was just announced. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez has more. Tonight, the new trade ultimatums that could impact the price you pay for imports. President Trump sending new letters slapping certain countries with higher tariffs

if they don't reach trade deals with the U.S. by August 1st. Among them, a 20% tariff on goods from the Philippines and a 30% tax on imports from Iraq. The formula was a formula based on common sense, based on deficits, based on how we've been treated over the years. And late today, the president also announcing a 50% tariff on goods from Brazil, in part over its prosecution of its former president. In the three months since President Trump declared Liberation Day, the White House has announced partial trade frameworks with the U.K., Vietnam, and China, but no other so far. The president says the tariffs have already been worth it, and inflation has remained steady. We're taking in hundreds of billions of dollars, money that we've never seen before. Some American companies tell us the president's tariffs have already leveled the playing field.

We find it offensive that there are Chinese manufacturers, in my opinion, dumping products in this country at prices below our cost to make them here in this country. Brian Gantz's company manufactures non-lethal self-defense products in Indiana. We're hiring a lot more people in the U.S. as a result of this. But other businesses say the impact has been devastating. Well, the uncertainty is really the biggest problem. Heather Fritchie runs a packaging company in Pennsylvania and says it's not so simple to stop importing products from China. The problem is that the last, you know, 30 or 40 years have seen the decrease in the plants that we have and the machinery we have and the skilled labor that we have. And Allison, we're also learning new details about the dramatic falling out between Elon Musk and President Trump.

In the new podcasting of the White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, called it a very troublesome ending, adding. that Musk is a fascinating person who sees the world differently. This all comes after the president said who thinks it's ridiculous for Musk to start a new political party. Alcy? Gabe Gutierrez, thank you. And staying in Washington, former President Joe Biden's doctor pleading the fifth on Capitol Hill today, declining to answer questions during a congressional investigation into Biden's mental fitness while in office. Here's NBC's Chief Justice and National Affairs correspondent, Kelly O'Donnell.

Today, the kind of house call that a former White House physician did not want to make. Dr. Kevin O'Connor, who treated former President Biden for at least 16 years, asserted his Fifth Amendment right today and declined to give testimony after he was subpoenaed by House Republicans, investigating Mr. Biden's medical and mental fitness while in office. Dr. O'Connor, were you ever told to lie about the president's health? On the advice of counsel, Mr. Expectfully declined to answer based upon the physician, patient privilege, and in reliance on my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. This is unprecedented, and I think that this adds more fuel to the fire that there was a cover up. But a lawyer for O'Connor insists the doctor could not testify without risking his medical license, writing, Dr. O'Connor will not violate his oath of confidentiality for any of his patients, including President Biden. The 82-year-old former president is now being treated for an aggressive prostate cancer.

Recent books allege episodes of mental decline while he was president, like not recalling the names of longtime AIDS. The former president has disputed that. Democrat Jasmine Crockett defended Biden's mental fitness. I did have an opportunity to interact with the president. I never had a concern. That was Kelly O'Don. reporting. Let's head now to Maine, where authorities are investigating the mysterious death

of a paddleboarder. Police now saying they believe a 48-year-old woman was murdered after she was found dead during a search of the pond. She was last seen paddleboarding on. NBC's Aaron McLaughlin has this report. Tonight, the hunt for a potential killer after the body of Sunshine Stewart was found near a campsite in Maine. State police say an autopsy was performed on the 48-year-old and that they consider her death a homicide. Telling NBC News, her body was found under unusual circumstances, but not releasing the cause of death. For a search purpose, she is a very experienced on the water with a paddleboard. Last scene, July 2nd, paddleboarding across this pond in the small town of Union.

Police say Sunshine's body was discovered by investigators the next day. Close family friends stunned. Honestly, she's like one of the best people I ever knew. um sorry um she was somebody who believed in everyone she ever met Kimberly hamill has known sunshine since grade school she was a biologist and and she was also a carpenter she owned her own construction business um she just she had this incredible life police now appealing to anyone who may have seen sunshine paddling last Wednesday between six and nine people to come forward. The campground adjacent to the pond tells NBC News, state investigators have

been there daily to access the crime scene. Police saying they've ruled out accidental death or drowning. In a statement, the police now urging the public to remain aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement. I grew up in union and it's, as far as I know, nothing like that has ever happened there. And for it to have happened to sunshine is like, how could that even be? It just, it just makes it feel like. It just makes it feel like, Like, nothing will be right again, ever. Erin McLaughlin, NBC News. And coming up on top story, X, under fire,

the social media giant responding after the company's AI chatbot spewed anti-Semitic chatter. Teens hitting the open road alone in driverless cars. Waymo making the major announcement that teens can now hail the autonomous taxis. And caught in the claw. First responders rescue a small child who crawled inside a game, machine trying to increase his odds of grabbing a prize. You don't want to miss this.

We're back now with the concerning post from Elon Musk's AI chat bot, the one that's called GROC, a recent update seemingly letting the bot off its leash, leading to a series of anti-Semitic posts that have since been deleted. NBC's Yasmin Vasugian has this look at those posts and how the company is responding. Tonight, Elon Musk's AI chatbot, GROC, drawing criticism for a slew of since-delated anti-Semitic posts on X. In one case, the chatbot bringing up hate speech from other users related to the recent Texas flooding. When asked, quote, which 20th century historical figure would be best suited to deal with this problem, GROC responding to deal with such vile anti-white hate, Adolf Hitler, no question.

The official GROC account posting on X, they are, quote, actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. Elon Musk blaming the users for prompting his chatbot, posting, quote, GROC was too compliant to user prompts, too eager to please and be manipulated, essentially. In many ways, these are fancy word calculators. They're predicting the next word, and so they're going to give you something that sounds really good because it's read all this other text or it's made sense of all this other text. Grock is a chat bot like chat GPT that can be used on its website in an app or by tagging it directly on X. To me here, nothing was really that surprising. I mean, And is it outlandish?

Yes, but we know that GROC is trained on X posts, also known as tweets. And we know that it is citing those as you respond or interact with it on X. So this was just picking up from other tweets and content it had seen. The GROC 3 model first released in February. Grok 3 has very powerful reasoning capabilities. So in the tests that we've done thus far, GROC 3 is outfifling. anything that's been released that we're aware of. The anti-Semitic posts following an update to GROC 3, announced by Musk, last week.

GROC now telling users on X, quote, Elon's recent tweaks just dialed down the woke filters. That's fundamentally how a lot of these large language models and chatbots are built, that they can just change or tweak some of these system instructions to improve or change the output of what you would ask. But this is not simple technology. This is not just pre-programmed responses. They don't know all of the possible responses. And amidst all this, Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X stepping away after two years at the company. This has been in the works now for a week or so sources telling us here at NBC News.

Ellison. Yasmin Vesugian, thank you. We're also tracking a major new announcement from Waymo. The company now says teens, ages 14 to 17, will be allowed to hail its driverless cars for the first time. Those teen rides are being rolled out only in Phoenix, Arizona, and must be linked to a parent's account. But the company says the program could expand to more cities in the future. NBC, Stephen Romo has been digging into this today and joins us now with the latest. Stephen, I think for a lot of parents, the first reaction is, wait, what is it safe?

So in terms of potential safety hazards, what do we know there? Is this safe? Yeah, that is a great question. And it's funny, whenever I first talked to my sister about letting her teens use ride share at all, her biggest issue was the drivers, the stranger danger issue of it all. So this eliminates that all together. But, of course, the worry about some new technology like a driverless car, it makes a lot of sense. We've seen videos of cars sort of going in circles and having these minor malfunction.

So it makes sense that that would be one of the questions. But we did reach out to Waymo and got a response that directly addresses that. They say, quote, the safety of all our riders is of our utmost priority. We have protocols in place like our 24-7 rider support. to provide our riders help if needed. In the event something goes wrong during a teen strip, our rider support team may contact the teen, parent, and first responders if needed to maintain continuous support until the issue is resolved.

Parents can be dialed directly via a three-way call. And also, Waymo analysis actually found through public data that their technology makes driving safer. They say it actually reduces injury-causing collisions by 81%. of course, that is taken over 50 million driver miles. So it is a large average there. But you can see that there could be a safer way to do this. We just need more data for how these cars will actually end up going.

Okay. So let me ask you why and do we know why now? Because there is some data out there. As we mentioned, this is a major policy change from Waymo, right? But there is some data showing that a portion of U.S. drivers who are teenagers, it's actually been declining in recent years from nearly 5% of all U.S. drivers being teens back in 2007 to just 3.7% in 2023. Are they doing this because teens don't want to drive anymore?

Yeah, it certainly seems like this has to do with the customer base. Like there's a demand for it. Uber has been doing this for a couple years. These teens accounts in a very similar way, they're linked to a parent's account so they can send their teens on one of these rides. It's fascinating because I just remember wanting to get my license so bad. Teens are waiting later. Few of them actually have cars of their own.

And in fact, teen unemployment is actually up. So, you know, cars are expensive. Gas is expensive. So all these factors together seem to be contributing to fewer teens driving early. The companies, they see this business opportunity, and they are trying to fill that gap. And it seems like there are customers out there. Yeah, I got to ask you mentioned your sister and her kids. Did she say she would be open to driverless?

That was a big question. And I think the answer ultimately was yes, because she's seen how some of the driving happens when she's not around. So she's like, the computer probably is not in a rush to go. That's a really good point. No cell phones for them at least. So some little nuggets there. All right, Stephen Romo, thank you. We appreciate it.

Up next on Top Story, time flies, why today is one of these shortest days ever. But don't worry, you can still probably keep any plans you've made. And the bombshell dropping today in Formula One, where it leaves the driver who some consider that sports, Michael Jordan. But first, Top Story's top moment. and a scary situation for one young boy at an Ohio mall when he crawled in to a claw machine. Look at this video. You can see it here.

The boy spotting the machine and then quickly attempting to get inside and then getting stuck in that machine that was full of stuffed animals. Shortly afterwards, people ran to get help. The Mason, Ohio Police and Fire Department worked to get him out, bringing the machine inside a nearby store. You can see the moment where first responders

managed to get him out of the machine and out of it safely. unclear whether or not they let them take some of those stuff to animals home. I hope. It was a lot of effort. So hopefully at least got that. Be careful. We'll be right back.

Stay right there. And we're back. And we're back with top stories news feed. Nissan has issued a recall of over 480,000 vehicles in the United States and Canada due to engine defects. The Japanese automaker saying some engine bearings might break apart, leading to engine failure or even crashes. That recall includes select 2019 through 2024 Nissan and Infinity models equipped with VC turbo engines. Nearly 444,000 of those impacted cars are in the United States. A full list of the recalled models can be found on NBCNews.com.

And YouTube announcing they will demonetize all content featuring AI starting next week. YouTube saying that policy update is designed to address growing concerns about the authenticity, quality, and ethical implications of media on their platform. The decision is a first of its kind and could have a domino effect across social media and video sharing apps. The new rules are set to go into effect on July 15th. A new body camera video captures the moment Atlanta police officers pulled passengers from a burning car. Look at this. You see the officers racing to the scene of a fiery crash quickly. cutting a passenger out of her seatbelt, pulling her away from the blaze before rushing back to rescue the driver.

Officers say the crash happened on July 4th after they tried to pull that driver over allegedly for drag racing. Both victims were transported to a nearby hospital in stable condition. That male driver has since been arrested for reckless driving and other charges. And they say time flies, and that's never been more true than today. That is right, July 9th coming in as one of the shortest days in. recorded history. Experts discovering the Earth is rotating 1.3 milliseconds faster than average, causing a shorter day. Each year since 2020 has seen a new shortest day on record. July 5th, 2024 currently holds the champion title. Short days are also predicted for July 22nd and August 5th.

It's unclear what's causing the slight increase in the Earth's spend, but the really big question that remains, what are we going to do with all that extra time on our hands? Tonight, the Trump administration escalating its fight with California over transgender athletes. The Justice Department suing the state for allegedly violating Title IX by allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. White House correspondent Vaughn Hilliard has been following this fight and joins us now from Washington with the latest. Von, what is the DOJ arguing here? The DOJ in this lawsuit is arguing that the state of California is violating Title IX. and the 1972 civil rights law that was passed to ban sex-based discrimination in education.

And that in this scenario, the president has quite directly himself threatened to cut off federal funding to the state of California if they allow, continue to allow transgender athletes to play on the sports team of the gender they identify with. And that runs counter to a California state law passed in 2013 that allows transgender students to participate in sports. This has been a priority of this White House and the Department of Education to try to take on and force the hands of state officials to bar transgender athletes. There was one particular student last month, A.B. Hernandez, 16 years old. She competed, and she ultimately shared the podium under a decision by the state of California that would allow her to, in the two competitions in which she won, she actually shared the top spot, the gold medal podium spot within one competition, two other females, and another one with one other.

And that was essentially a decision by the state of California to allow transgender athletes to compete. but the DOJ is now contending, in part from that one particular instance, but across the board, that the state is now violating Title IX of federal civil rights law. And, Vaugh, the Department of Education obviously has been involved in a lot of this back and forth. I understand you were able to speak and ask directly the Education Secretary Linda McMahon for her thoughts on this. What did you guys talk about? Right, and I want to let you listen to part of our conversation, because I think it's important to know, that there is no reference to gender identity or biological sex at birth in Title IX,

that this is something that ultimately is being presented to the courts. And this Trump administration is hoping that conservative courts and justices ultimately side with them. I want to let you listen, though, especially around the idea of cutting off federal funding to the justification of the Education Secretary. Was that a reasonable response by state of state? California? I don't think so because you didn't really address the issue. She should not be allowed to partake at all. The rules are very clear in Title IX. It's women. It makes no reference to transgender individuals. The laws of the United States and what the president has said in

his executive order are men are men and women are women. And so women should participate in women's sports and men should participate in men's sports. Otherwise, it's not a level playing field. I think that's what we've shown. Women have missed out on this. And cutting off hundreds of millions of dollars in Department of Education funding is a leveled response by the Trump administration to a transgender female taking part in high school athletics. To uphold the laws of the United States, we have to take action.

And that's a yes, then. To uphold the laws of the United States, we have to take proper action. The Department of Justice and the Department of Education clearly sending a strong message to other states that, like California, try to allow transgender athletes. to take part in sporting competitions, Ellison. We should note this is the same White House that has sought to bar transgender individuals to serve in the military and just here this afternoon,

another effort by this Department of Justice, seeking subpoenas of medical professionals and clinics who perform gender-affirning care for minors. We should note, it is not a federal crime to perform those medical procedures for minors. It is only a state law in about 21 states here, states here. Alison. Von Hilliard, thank you.

Now to a major shake-up in the world of Formula One racing, as the sports popularity continues to grow here in the U.S., one of its most famous team bosses, Christian Horner from Red Bull Racing, is out. NBC Sahel Kapoor has more on the surprise firing and what it could mean for the future of the sport. As Formula One's popularity takes the world by storm. And Formula One goes racing on the streets of

of Monaco. Capturing ever larger audiences for its high-octane races. Find the pace to get himself up and safe his teammate Lance Stroll. Fueled in part by this summer's blockbuster smash, F1, the movie. It's all right. You just wait on quicker than you. Tonight, a seismic shift, leaving fans stunned. One of its most iconic figures, Christian Horner, fired. I will no longer be involved. In video of a farewell speech to Team Red Bull employees

obtained by Sky Sports, Horner said the decision came as a shock. It was still remaining boys by the company with operationally, the baton will be handed over. Champion of the world! Horner served as the Red Bull Racing team boss for two decades, racking up an astonishing 124 wins and eight driver's championships. We have the best driver.

Who's the best driver? Daddy. He was also a fixture of the hit Netflix docu-series Drive to Survive, featured prominently with his wife, former Spice Girl, Jerry Hollowell. The Phil Jackson, of sorts,

the Formula One's Michael Jordan, driver Max Verstappen, the defending champion. And it's for Stappan who is moving in. The pair, ushering in a golden age of glory for Team Red Bull. Which has not provided a reason

for Horner's removal, writing in part in a statement that Horner has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula One. But the firing, coming a year after Red Bull announced a complaint against Horner had been dismissed, following an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct against a team employee, accusations he addressed at the time. There's been an awful lot of coverage surrounding this, but one has to go back to, to the basis of a grievance was raised. It was fully investigated and it was dismissed.

And from there, we move onwards. Verstappen, now posting on social media. Thank you for everything, Christian. Wasn't even a contest. Max Verstappen wins the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Horner's exit comes at a major global moment for F1, and its estimated fan base of over 800 million people, including a growing number of Americans.

The Dutch driver will retain his crown. Apple, even reportedly considering buying the rights to F1, as ESPN claims year-over-year ratings growth for almost every U.S. Grand Prix. But now, with Horner out, some F-1 fans wondering what's next for the sport as it enters an exciting and unpredictable new era. And Sahel Kapoor joins us now.

Sahel, you are a huge fan of the sport. I know everything about it based on whatever you have said and reported usually. So talk to us a little more about what you mentioned in your piece, that Horner is leaving behind this superstar driver, Max Verstappen. How will that impact his future? Yeah, that is the $65 million question, Ellison, because the one thing bigger than Phil Jackson leaving the Bulls was Michael Jordan leaving the Bulls. Will Verstappen now follow Horner and leave Red Bull. That is still unclear because the big difference here is that he's been mum about whether Horner should stay. Now, I can think of only two reasons Red Bull would do this. Either they worry Max is leaving and they're ready for a rebuild,

or they think that replacing Horner might actually get Max to stay. There's no bigger storyline in F1 these days than Max Verstappen's future. He's being aggressively courted by rival teams as Red Bull's dominance fades. And this story is about to get even bigger. With next year's F1 shake up through a regulations reset, a new 11th team in GM-backed catalog. and big, if not cataclysmic moves in the driver market. Alison.

All right, Sahil Kapoor. Thank you. Time now for money talk. Summer is in full swing. A lot of Americans, for a lot of Americans, rather. That means it is time to deal with that home improvement to-do list. And depending on the upgrade, your new project could actually save you some money as well. Tax credits are available for some products that make your home more energy efficient.

NBC News, business and data correspondent Brian Chung is here to break down how to make the most of of those rebates. Okay, so what kind of rebates are we actually talking about and how does the average person get access to them? Yeah, listen, it is a super, super hot summer. But if you're trying to upgrade that air conditioning unit, it's good to know that you might be able to get thousands of dollars back depending on what type of air conditioner you get and depending on where you got it from. So what we're talking about here is up to $3,200 in potential tax credits that you can take advantage of for home improvements that are energy efficient. So air conditioners would be another one, but it's not just that it would be upgraded windows, it could be new skylights,

it could be new insulation materials. And on top of that, depending on what state you live in, because of the Inflation Reduction Act passed by the previous administration, that is still in effect, you might be able to claim up to $14,000 in credits for specifically Energy Star certified types of products. I want to point out two caveats that first, it's going to depend on what contractor you're using and even the retailer that you bought, let's say, an air conditioner from. And it's also going to depend on your income level. Just double-check your state's Energy website to make sure that it qualifies if you're doing some sort of home improvement. Okay. And I want to ask you, too, about cars, because throughout the course of this back

and forth over tariffs with President Trump in office, a lot of people had paused, shopping for cars, worried that it would cost more. But there are actually some deals on cars right now. Yeah, there are some deals on cars for the summer as manufacturers try to incentivize people to come into the showrooms. For certain types of cars, you can get between two to up to $7,000 off in terms of rebates. Again, you want to check in with your local showroom and your local car dealer to see what is available. But I also want to point out, there might even be through some of your memberships, other types of rebates as well. So one example is at Costco, you can get up to $1,250 off of a Chevy model, specific Chevy models, but that's through

your Costco membership. So in addition to getting a $1.50 dog, you can also maybe get a few thousand dollars off of a vehicle. That's the dream. Costco. I mean, we do it all, don't they? Do it all. As do you. Brian Chung, thank you so much. We appreciate you. We're going to turn now to top story's global watch and begin in Switzerland, where the agency overseeing drugs and medical products approved the first malaria medicine for newborns and infants. The medicine is designed to combat the mosquito-borne disease. And in addition to Switzerland, eight African countries are expected to approve the malaria treatment. That is according to medicine's company, Novertis. The World Health Organization saying Africa made up 95% of the estimated 597,000

malaria deaths globally in 2023. And Pope Leo, meeting with Ukraine, President Vladimir Zelensky just south of Rome today. The Vatican says the president and the Pope discussed the, quote, urgent need for just and lasting peace in the Russia-Ukraine war. Both Leo and Zelensky suggested the Vatican as a possible host for peace talks between the two nations, but Russia, of course, would need to be on board. So far, Moscow has not agreed to a meeting at the Vatican. And human-caused climate change likely caused a higher death toll during Europe's heat wave

last week, according to a new study published today by Imperial College, London. Approximately 2,300 people died across 12 European cities, including London and Barcelona, during that heat wave. Researchers say about two-thirds of those deaths, 1,500 people can be directly linked to humanity's burning of fossil fuels. That study is said to be the first real-time analysis of its kind. Into Ukraine now, where Russian forces reportedly launched over 700 drones into Ukraine. Local officials say a city in Western Ukraine far from the eastern front was hit the hardest.

correspondent Danielle Hamamgen has the latest. Danielle, what more do we know? Yeah, Alison, Kiev saying this was the largest missile and drone attack since the beginning of the war three years ago. 741 drones and missiles, though most were intercepted, one fatality to report a one-year-old boy who died instantly. If it seems like we often come to you with the same headline, it's because Russian attacks have been intensifying. Its previous record was just last week with 550 drones and missiles. The latest barrage came as President Trump said he would be increasing weapons deliveries to Ukraine, reversing a previous U.S. policy announcement. In fact, today he said he's considering sending Patriot missiles.

He also said he was strongly considering supporting sanctions on Moscow, and of course, that comment that caught many off guard, accusing Vladimir Putin of throwing a lot of, and I'll abbreviate here, BS. It's a major shift in tone by Trump who spent years praising the Russian leader. Today, NBC asked the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, about possible sanctions and, of course, the B-word. His answer, that they're, quote, quite calm about this and that Trump, in general, has a rather tough style. But Peskov focused on what Trump has said about a ceasefire, that the comment. conflict turned out to be much more complex than he initially thought.

Of course, Ukraine has always maintained that Russia is just playing for time. Now, an appeal for peace has also come from the Vatican. Pope Leo meeting with Vladimir Zelensky today. This happened in a small Italian hill town on the eve of a conference on Ukraine's recovery. The pontiff saying he's willing to host peace talks at the Vatican. Zelensky says Ukraine is on board with that idea and that it's Moscow. that has rejected the proposal. Alison.

Danielle Hammamgen, thank you. When Top Story returns, Shark Siding, a woman coming face to face with a great white in a popular vacation spot where they're almost never found. Plus, an uplifting story, we're going to talk live to the Wisconsin couple who just won the wife-carrying World Championship. Stay right there.

Back now with an update on a story we brought. brought you last night. History being made at the annual wife carrying world championship when a Wisconsin couple became the first from the U.S. to claim the victory. The competition is a challenge of speed and strength and consist of the runner carrying a wife, presumably their own. We're joined now by that winning couple, Caleb and Justine Rosler. Thank you both so much for being here. I mean, what a win, what an honor to be speaking with the world champions. I got to start with what happens next. Are you interested in going pro? Are you considering 2028 LA Olympics? Like, what's the vibe here? Don't know. We're just trying to, we just try to come home and explain to our four kids

what just happened. So we're not sure yet. Yeah, I mean, where do you even begin explaining this to people? Justine, let me ask you first. I mean, how did you, how did you guys hear about this competition to begin with? Yeah, Caleb, like 10 years ago, heard about it like on ESPN. And then we recently heard that Madison, outside of Madison, had a competition. And so we ended up doing it and then ended up going to the Maine and then to Finland. So it kind of started there. Caleb, when you, I mean, you first saw it on ESPN. What about a decade ago, Justine was saying, at what point did you guys look at each other and say, why don't we actually do this? And what was the gut reaction to let's really do it? Were you like,

that's insane or just everybody was in? Well, we, you know, it's funny. The first time we saw it, we were like, oh, I bet we'd be pretty good at that. I've always kind of been a runner and Justine's a foot short than me. So we're like, you know, we seem like we'd be good at this. But we went out to a park three years ago the first time we did one in Wisconsin and we practiced. And we were like, that is so much harder than we thought. So we kind of, we kind of got discouraged. But we went to Wisconsin and just really loved it and the rest is history. So when we're looking at this and we're looking at the positions, I kind of would call this,

I've decided I'm going to make it up to just call that like you could piggyback ride the normal way or reverse. And I guess it looks like most people opt for reverse. But in terms of the rules and training, how do you train for this? How do you decide if you're going to just like carry a wife like a baby or do like right hip, left hip, back?

Was there like discussion on a carrying strategy? Yeah, we try it out. This is called, they call it the Estonian carry, but I'm just like you, I explain it. everybody's called the reverse piggyback ride. But the main benefit is if the wife holds your hands around that way, then you can use your arms to run.

So it's kind of the fastest way to go. But in terms of training, I'll just run some hill sprints in our neighborhood with the weight vest. And then a couple weeks before the race, Justine and I will go to, we have a trail at a park nearby, and every year we'll do that for a couple weekends. And every year... Nope, these are...

Yeah, at least one time. Some people will walk past us, like walking their dog or something, and we'll have to explain that, like, what's going on. So are there going to be more races like this in your future? Is this just sort of a fun way to stay fit? Or do you really want to focus on the wife-carrying competitions? I mean, you're international world champions now. So I guess you might need to continue.

Yeah, not sure. It was our goal. So, like Justine was saying, we won the Wisconsin one. Then we did the national championship, which is in Maine at Sunday River. And then it was our goal just to see if we could go win the world. So I really don't know what's next. happy to have this on our list of a bucket list accomplishments. It is a really good one to have on the list.

And I hope all of your kids are proud. Having parents as international athletes is not an easy burden to carry, but we wish them the best of luck. And thank you both so much for being here on Top Story tonight. We appreciate you. Thank you so much. Now to a close call off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. It could almost be mistaken for a scene out of Jaws.

two paddle boarders enjoying an evening on the water, taking photos and videos when they spot the fin of a great white shark just feet away. NBC Sam Brock reporting on that terrifying encounter. It was a split second that felt like a shark-filled eternity for Margaret Bowles. We were obviously shocked to see that fin pop up. Marine scientists soon confirming that this dorsal fin protruding from the water by Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where the Harvard student was paddleboarding belonged to a great white shark. Never expect to run into the Apex Fender out there. Shark sightings have been grabbing headlines all summer.

From this stunning aerial of a great white shark swimming off the coast of Montauk, New York, to a 20-foot basking shark that popped up in a Rhode Island Bay. So you were perched on that deck? Yes, sir. Right out in the water over your shoulder, that's where you saw the shark. Yep. Then only weeks ago. Nine-year-old Leah Lendell nearly had her hand severed.

from a shark attack in Florida. Something hard bit me and then and tried to took me away. Surgeons working for six hours to put Leah's hand back together. Bulls for her part just feeling fortunate that this chance encounter was harmless.

The dorsal fin was around four feet away from her board, which would have put the head about a foot away. I mean, does that terrify you? I think, again, a near miss is still a miss. Sam Brock. NBC News.

Coming up, the new accessories on the latest Barbie, why she's wearing an insulin pump and a glucose monitor, and what parents have to say about it when we return. Finally, tonight, a brand new Barbie will hit toy store shelves. The first Mattel doll with type 1 diabetes comes with some extra special accessories, including an insulin pump and a glucose monitor. NBC's Emily Aketa has this story.

After more than six decades of Barbie, there's no question the beloved doll can do it all. She rocks different hairstyles, explores countless careers, and celebrates different backgrounds. And this week, doll maker Mattel is expanding her repertoire, introducing the first Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes. After past criticism over Barbie's early lack of diversity, Mattel says it marks an important step in our commitment to inclusivity

and enables more children to see themselves reflected in Barbie. Children like Eloise. I've always wanted a Barbie just like me that has a pump like me and it's come like me. Reactions already pouring in. She's just like me. Mattel worked with nonprofit breakthrough T1D to develop the doll. You got the chance to give some kids the Barbie and what was their reaction? It was amazing.

The moment that we unveiled Barbie. The screams, the shrieks, the joy was extraordinary. Frankly, the tears. I was crying. The kids were crying. Then they started chanting, Barbie, Barbie, Barbie. Four-year-old Cora Patel showed us her continuous glucose monitor. What does it do?

It may be helpful. Just like Barbies. When she saw this Barbie, it's the only time I've seen her ask for adults. So she saw something in it that she sees in herself, which is really cool. Emily Ikeda, NBC News. Our thanks to Emily Aketa for that beautiful report. And thank you so very much for watching Top Story. I'm Alison Barber in New York for Tom Yamis.

Stay right there. More news is on the way. You're going to be.