Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Episode Date: June 20, 2024

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, Tropical Storm Alberto lashing, Texas, leaving beach towns underwater. The first-named storm of the season drenching parts of the Lone Star State before making landfall in Mexico. The system blasting the region with heavy rains, gusty winds, and coastal flooding. Ambulances struggling to reach communities completely washed out. Parts of the West reeling from deadly wildfires, thousands of acres up in flames in New Mexico, and out east, sweltering temperatures continue to scorch millions when we could finally see some relief. Also, tonight Netanyahu slams the U.S. The Israeli Prime Minister alleging President Biden is withholding weapons. The White House stunned and confused over the accusation,

the growing divide between the two countries and the new concerns of a two-front war, Israel signaling it's preparing for an offensive in Lebanon. Euphoria actor deep fake, Jacob and Lorty, the latest celebrity to fall victim to AI deepfake, the fabricated video seen by millions, and the unlikely duo teaming up for the first time to tackle the growing problem. A plastic surgeon charged in his wife's death after she went into cardiac arrest on his operating table. The doctor allegedly waiting before eventually calling 911, the extensive investigation into malpractice and negligence, and the accusations he allowed his wife without a medical degree to assist in her own operation. Petty politics, a Republican rep admitting to dumping water

in her Democratic colleague's bag for months, how she was caught in the act. Plus, defacing Stonehenge, the shocking moment climate protesters rush in and spray an orange substance on the UNESCO site, what we're learning about the attack on one of the world's most famous monuments. And celebrating Juneteenth, the special trip honoring more than two dozen black veterans, their fight for this country being recognized on this commemorative day. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. Tonight, the first-named storm of the 2024 hurricane season taking aim at Texas and Mexico. Right now, Tropical Storm Alberto is churning in the Gulf-threatening millions along the coast. The storm is expected to strengthen

slightly before making landfall in Mexico early tomorrow morning, but the outer bands of this system are already battering the Texas coast. Shocking drone video shows several beach towns completely submerged in water, and a reminder the brunt of this system has yet to come. In Rockport, intense waves crashing along the beach, coastal storm surge seeping into several communities, and roads are completely washed out. One woman left stranded after her car got stuck in the floodwaters, coming to her rescue, we're hearing of a number of water rescues at this hour. And this is just the beginning of what is expected to be in above-average hurricane season. Noah, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is predicting 17 to 25 named storms,

and of those, four to seven are expected to become major hurricanes, meaning category three strength or higher. Out east, a record-breaking heat wave continues to bake 74 million Americans. The high temperature is hitting particularly hard across states like Vermont and Maine, where they rarely get 90-degree days. In New Mexico, raging wildfires leaving at least two people dead, and now we're getting a new look at the devastation. Cars left completely charred. Homes reduced to rubble. Making matters worse, severe storms are bringing a new danger to the region. Flash flooding. The National Weather Service issuing this urgent warning, saying an extremely dangerous situation is unfolding with torrential rainfall parked over. burn scars. NBC New York meteorologist Violetta Yoss standing by to break down this string of extreme weather. But first, NBC's Sam Brock joins us live tonight from the storm zone in

Galveston, Texas. Sam, talk to us about what you're seeing right now. We see that rain all around you, the floodwater. How are things looking? Yeah, the floodwater, yes. You know, Alison, it's pretty remarkable. It's not raining right now. We haven't gotten that much rain here in Galveston or the Galveston area. And yet, the storm search is a major concern. Look behind me right now. This is a development with about 300 homes, Ellison. The vast majority of people who are either renting or live back there are seeing water covering their streets. This tropical system is hundreds of miles away. And yet tonight, it is crushing Texas. Tropical Storm Elverto has unleashed fury tonight on Texas. The storm surge slamming seawalls in Galveston, tormenting Rockport with torrents of water and rendering Gulfside communities in Freeport, virtual lakes. How high was the water? Thigh high.

Yeah, at least mid thigh. Yeah. It was hard. It was hard to walk in, especially down this stretch, the current. You could feel it. Vacationers Dustin Leeds and Christine Martin went to sleep on dry land, now surrounded by water. There was no evacuation order, you know, so nobody really knew how bad it was going to get. And it's not just this development with dozens and dozens of homes underwater.

All you got to do is cross the street and you have basically the exact same situation on the on the other side of the road with probably hundreds of people flooded out tonight. Challenging access for first responders who had to team up with fire crews. Trying to get your ambulance into a lot of these neighborhoods, how difficult is it? It's impossible. We wouldn't be able to drive into Treasure Island, which is right behind you. There's very few houses we can get to on our own. In Surf Sign Beach, rescuers coming to the aid of stranded residents by boat as Texas prepped

about 20 agencies for emergency action. The flooding in our south, coming as heat and fire impact millions across the country. Raging New Mexico Infernos have now claimed two lives, including a talented guitarist from Ruidoso, while a heat wave smothers about 65 million people from the Great Lakes to the northeast. Few tonight feeling good about this weather nightmare. We've just never been through anything like this before, and we're just going to have to take up one day at a time. And Sam is back with us now. Sam, could you talk to us a little more about just how in usual. It is to see an event like this with the tropical system seemingly so far away.

Have we seen anything like this before? Very unusual. You know, it's worth pointing out, Allison, that Alberto is expected to make landfall in Mexico 700 miles away as a tropical storm. We're not even talking about a hurricane here, and yet the state of Texas we've learned has seen sea level rise in the last 70 years of a foot and a half. So what we're looking at on the ground right now tonight is the seventh highest water level that they have ever seen here since 1957,

courtesy, perhaps in part, of sea level rise and also just the sheer amount of rain and moisture that's in the atmosphere. That's how we find ourselves where we are today. It is the new normal, and what so many folks here are trying to adjust to. And yet, one final point, of all these homes that we talked about,

the vast majority of them have not been implementing any sort of changes in terms of stopping storm surge or blunting erosion because it's not their permanent homes. They're just renting out here. And that is another dynamic in Texas, in Florida, and a lot of these vacation destinations that has to be grappled with. Ellison, back to you. A lot to watch, Sam Brock, in Galveston, Texas.

Thank you. We appreciate you and you're reporting. For more on the severe weather threat down south, let's get right to NBC, New York meteorologist, Violetta Yoss. Fioletta, what is the latest on Tropical Storm Alberto? It has been a long day in South Texas with that heavy rain moving through all afternoon. The storm is still sitting 170 miles.

East of Tampico, Mexico wins right now 40 miles per hour. That has not changed all afternoon. So we'll have to see if this intensifies a little bit between now and landfall. But the storm, thankfully, is running out of time because landfall is expected very early Thursday morning. You can see the heavier rain now shifting a little further inland compared to how it was parked over the Corpus Christi area much of the afternoon. That being said, though, we still have tropical storm warnings here from Lake Jackson all the way down through South Padre Island. So we'll continue to see that locally heavy rain shift inland here. That track takes the storm right through Tampico, Mexico with winds of about 45 miles per hour. There's that very slight intensification that I mentioned. But then this is going to weaken across that higher terrain in northeastern Mexico. In terms of those rainfall totals, very heavy amounts, of course, as we've seen right around the Corpus Christi area, some very severe flooding happening around the Galveston area as well. Most of this intense rain staying just south of San Antonio. But even once the heavier rain subsides, it's going to take some time to get rid of any

river flooding or a storm surge and things like that. So it's going to be a long couple of days there in South Texas. And what are you tracking right now in terms of that sweltering heat and also the fires that we're seeing in New Mexico? Yeah, it has been a busy day. A lot of different threats across the country. Let's take a look at the heat right now, at least through Saturday. 78 million people impacted here from Michigan all the way up into Bangor, Maine. Now where you see the pink shading. That's where we're expecting the more excessive heat. So heat indices, perhaps over 100 degrees and feeling just sweltering. Of course, we're past the peak heating of the day right now, but temperature's still running pretty high. It's still 92 degrees all the way up in Syracuse.

Bangor dropped to 82, Philadelphia, 87, New York, we're at 80 degrees. But by tomorrow, expecting these highs to return at least into the mid-90s, even all the way up in Bangor, Maine, with heat into seas, again, in the triple digits and comfortably into the triple digits. Philadelphia, 92, for the high, but feeling like 94 degrees. So, of course, the humidity making a difference as well. We may see some slight cooling across the Northeast, but unfortunately, the heat for many people is expected to continue right through the weekend here from the Mid-Atlantic on into parts of the Midwest. Now, I wanted to take you out to New Mexico really quick. We have two big burn scars here around the Ridoso area where, unfortunately, thunderstorms.

are developing strong thunderstorms, and those, of course, creating very heavy rain. Unfortunately, that runoff has nowhere to go, so we're seeing very severe and dangerous flooding happening here across parts of New Mexico as well. Alison. All right, Violetta, yes, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Now to the White House, and there is growing tension tonight between the United States and Israel over new accusations against the U.S. by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

NBC senior White House correspondent Kelly O'Donnell has that story. Tonight, a new and very public breach in a pivotal partnership over the flow of U.S. weapons to Israel. After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leveled a stinging accusation, posting a video, notably spoken in English, for an American audience. It's inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunition to Israel, Israel, America's closest ally. Israel says it must defeat Hamas and secure the release of hostages. During World War II, Churchill told the United States, give us the tools, we'll do the job.

And I say, give us the tools and we'll finish the job a lot faster. But his charge has been met with surprise at the White House. We generally do not know what he's talking about. The fallout was swift. A meeting expected tomorrow with Israeli officials in Washington is off for now. That session, to discuss threats from Iran, is described as postponed. U.S. officials say they will not reward Israel with such a meeting in response to the Netanyahu video. In May, the Biden administration publicly acknowledged it paused delivery to Israel of a shipment with 2,000-pound bombs.

Responding to Netanyahu's message, Secretary Blinken disputed the prime minister's complaint and said that one arm shipment is being evaluated. Because of our concerns about their use in a densely populated area, like Rafah, that remains under review, but everything else is moving as it normally would move. And Kelly O'Donnell joins us now from the White House. Kelly Biden and Netanyahu have disagreed in the past, but how concerned is the White House about this very public dispute? Well, no question there have been tensions for months, and the president has certainly tried to emphasize his influence on Benjamin Netanyahu saying that he has been able to try

to encourage him to be cautious about civilian casualties. Of course, there's been enormous public outcry about that. The White House has also been very careful on this issue of the videotape statement from Netanyahu to not address it publicly, not wanting to expand the tensions that are very, very visible just below the surface. Ellison? Kelly O'Donnell, thank you. For more analysis on the relationship between the United States and Israel, plus the state of the conflict in the Middle East. Hagar Shemali joins us now. She is the host of Oh My World on YouTube, as well as the former spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the UN and former NSC director for both Syria and Lebanon. Hagar, thank you so much for joining us tonight. You know, we heard there about the White House's level of concern

regarding this apparent fracturing between Netanyahu and the Biden administration. How seriously do you take Netanyahu's message? This is a big move. This is a major and wrong move, by the way, by Prime Minister Netanyahu. It's completely understandable for the Biden administration to feel outraged when he's out there lying about these pauses. If those pauses had been true in the weapons shipments, we would have heard it by now. It would have leaked. And the White House had already admitted to one of the pauses anyway. But also it comes off extremely ungrateful when the U.S. is really maybe the only country left, strongly supporting Israel that deeply cares about Israel's security.

But that said, I will say I was in the White House and I worked very closely with the Israeli government. We had many disagreements. I was there when I was working on the nuclear deal, the Iran nuclear deal, when Netanyahu addressed the U.S. Congress behind Obama's back. And that also outraged the Obama administration. So while this is very serious and it's offensive and counterproductive, it's not going to ultimately change policy or undermine how the U.S. Israel or its policies to support Israel security. So the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, released this drone video, claiming to show highly populated residential cities in northern Israel, in addition to a military complex

belonging to an Israeli weapons manufacturer. We're showing some of this video now. I do want to tell viewers NBC News has not independently verified when this video was shot or its authenticity, and it also appears that it's edited and stylized and what many people would say is like propaganda. Israel's foreign minister, in response to this drone video, warning of a quote, all-out war in which Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon severely beaten. But, Hagar, could Israel really sustain a true two-front war? What is the likelihood that this could even come to that? Well, the fact is that neither side actually wants a war. And on the Israeli side, it's because, no,

they can't really sustain a two-sided war at the moment because they need their military in Gaza. And Hezbollah, by the way, is much stronger than Hamas. And so that's not something that Israel is interested in. And by the way, Hezbollah is not interested in either because that's not something the Lebanese public at the moment wants, especially when they're suffering economically so deeply. And when the destruction of the 2006 war is still very fresh in the minds of the Lebanese people. So what you see here is a war of words. and each side is trying to flex their muscles with their statements and their grandiose calls for an all-out war and who's going to lose.

And the thing is that while that is very risky, and that could genuinely escalate things further, at the end of the day, neither side wants to answer. The only party I really see being able to hold both sides back is the United States. And so hopefully the U.S. will be able to calm tensions further. You already see U.S. officials in the region doing that so that it doesn't escape further. If it were to start into something much wider, it would happen this summer. But if it doesn't happen this summer, I don't see it happening beyond that. Okay. Could we talk a little bit, though, about the fighting capabilities and some of the differences

or lack thereof between Hezbollah and, say, Hamas? Because Hezbollah is a well-armed militia, right? How do they compare to Hamas in terms of being an adversary to Israel? And how does Lebanon, which is a lot more well-armed factor in? Hezbollah operates. in Lebanon, but technically different than the Lebanese government, right? Sure. I'm glad you asked about Hezbollah. I worked on Hezbollah when I was at the Treasury Department very closely. Hasbullah is much more, much stronger. They have much more money

than Hamas. They have a bigger army than Hamas. And they have collected many more missiles than Hamas did, including precision missiles and scud missiles, things of this kind, that make Hezbollah very strong. And that's something that Israel remembered. very deeply when it was in a war with Hezbollah in 2006, that it wasn't some kind of job that was easy to finish off because of how big they are, how much they have their weapons facilities stored everywhere. But Hezbollah has a lot to lose. And that's because, unlike in 2006, Hezbollah now does have popular support, a lot of popular support in Lebanon, and it doesn't, and it has a lot of control over the country, and it doesn't want to risk losing that or jeopardizing

it, which is why they're going out with these statements like, saying that they'll go against Cyprus, if Cyprus helps Israel, or releasing drone footage to kind of show that show off their technical capabilities. But that said, Hezbollah's been preparing for this showdown for a much longer time period. And that's why they are just much larger and a much larger force to reckon with. All right. Hagar Shumali, thank you so much for your time and insights. As always, we appreciate it. Staying overseas, we head now to North Korea and the high-stakes meeting between Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two men announcing a mutual assistance plan in case either country is attacked, alarming the U.S. and Western allies.

NBC News international correspondent Janice Mackie Freyer has the details on the visit. Tonight, North Korea's Kim Jong-un pulling out all the stops in an elaborately choreographed state visit for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The outcast and sanctioned leaders side-by-side reviewing troops, cheered by crowds of children with balloons. Then in the front seat with Putin behind the wheel. Earlier, a friendly debate over who would be first into Kim's car, which was a gift from Putin last year. The two unveiled a strategic defense treaty promising mutual assistance in case either country faces aggression. The details of it not spelled out, but both calling it a breakthrough. The deepening alliance raising alarms for the U.S. and the West who have worked to isolate Russia

over its invasion of Ukraine. Putin has turned to North Korea, which, according to U.S. officials, has already sent millions of rounds of ammunition, artillery shells, and missiles to help Russia's war effort. North Korea is providing significant munitions to Russia and other weapons for use in Ukraine. A looming worry, what North Korea might gain from Russia in return, including access to the sort of military technologies that could enhance Kim's nuclear, missile, and satellite programs. The visit and all its fanfare doing little to ease concerns. And Janice Mackey Freyer joins us now from Beijing.

Janice, you mentioned the help that North Korea has already sent to Russia for its war effort in Ukraine. Do U.S. officials expect that to increase in the wake of this new agreement? That is the concern, that this visit is going to pave the way for more of the arms transfers that the U.S. believes have already been happening. For Putin, it's practical. He needs weapons and ammunition. For Kim, it's more strategic. He needs everything, especially the sort of military technologies that could help push his nuclear and missile programs ahead and get his satellites launched.

In that sense, this visit is a sign of more worrisome things to come. There's also no explanation of what this mutual defense treaty means. What constitutes aggression? Is it Ukraine fighting Russia or the U.S. doing military drills with South Korea or Japan? So there is a lot that is still unclear. What we know, though, is that there's the opportunity for replenished Russia and an emboldened North Korea to be more problematic for the U.S. and its allies. Alison.

Janice McEugh-Frayer in Beijing, thank you. Still ahead, the urgent manhunt for a suspected murderer. Police combing through several states trying to track him down where he was last seen before vanishing. And a plastic surgeon under arrest, the doctor being held responsible for his wife's death on his own operating table. What went wrong as she went under the knife? Plus, the euphoria actor targeted by an AI deep fake, the lawmakers working to tackle the growing problem with the technology.

We're back now with the growing crisis surrounding deep fake pornography. The rise of these AI-generated images targeting everyone from celebrities to young teens. Now, a new bill introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers is hoping to stop it. ABC, Savannah Sellers, has the details. Texas Republican Ted Cruz and Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar joining together to address the disturbing trend of non-consensual intimate images being shared online, including ones created by artificial intelligence. This is increasingly affecting and targeted at minors. Deep fake porn production up 464% last year. A simple AI technology can make realistic-looking, explicit images. anyone. Actor Jacob Allorty targeted this week in a fake video viewed millions of times.

Other stars similarly targeted with face swapping or nudification technology include Emma Watson, Scarlet Johansson, and Taylor Swift. But it's far from just celebrities. I was just thinking like this is my photo from my Instagram. Why would there be a body that's not mine on it? Eliston Berry says she was 14 when fake explicit images of her created by a classmate in her Texas high school spread via Snapchat. Did it feel like there was anything you could do about it? I felt totally helpless as these images were going around. Snapchat says it has zero tolerance for pornography and encourages the use of its reporting tools. But Barry's mother says it was eight months before the social media platform took action in their case. The new bipartisan bill,

known as the Take It Down Act, puts the onus on tech companies, requiring them to remove non-consensual intimate imagery within 48 hours of receiving a credible complaint. And the bill targets individuals making it a federal crime to publish the images. A crucial step, says legal scholar Marianne Franks. Distribution is important. Yes, the platforms are important, but making sure that any person who is thinking about doing this to another person thinks twice because they might have to face really serious consequences, that's key. Innocent victims like Elliston Berry, hopeful help is on the way. And Savannah Sellers joins us now on set. So let's talk about the legislative

possibilities here because there are three different bills, if I'm not mistaken, related to this deep fake AI pornography space, if you will. What is going on there and how likely is it that Congress could act? That's right. And actually what's interesting about it is that it actually comes at a time generally where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pushing his chamber to do something about this. The Senate even released what they called an AI roadmap where they kind of talked about touch points and things that they were going to do about this on that roadmap. One of those things that they say they want to tackle is this non-consensual distribution of intimate images. So it's something that's super important to them. Interestingly, though, earlier this

year, Dick Durbin had introduced a bill. It was blocked. Didn't even make it to that vote. The criticism of it being that it was too broad and could stifle technological innovation. There's really a towing the line here of free speech concerns as well as tech concerns when it comes to, hey, how do we define what is allowed and what is not allowed? One thing, though, that is promising to see is there is quite a bit of bipartisan support generally for these bills. And the young girl you spoke to in your piece, Elliston, 14 years old, right? It takes a lot to go up and tell somebody what happened to you when it's something like this where you feel embarrassed on your own. But surely, it seems like she might not be the only one. Is that a fair

read? Oh, it's absolutely a fair read. Yeah, she was 14 when this happened just turned 15. She just describes how awful it was. You know, you wake up, and she was like, I had to try to explain to people, promise people it wasn't real. Some of them didn't believe me. because it is possible to make them look so realistic. For her, she said, as you heard there, I noticed my face, but it wasn't my body. How is that happening? It's like as we're even realizing that this is a possibility,

her parents saying, we didn't even know this was possible. We're like, what are you talking about? Police having to describe it to them what happened to her was very difficult because it's new to all of us to understand exactly how this is happening, but then that really important piece of it, how to punish, how to stop this from happening. That's one of the interesting things, too, about this bill, is that what it's really tackling is the distribution of these, not the creation of these.

That other bill I mentioned earlier this year did try to tackle that, but again, sort of dead in the water for now. So that'll be a big piece of this. Unfortunately, this is starting to happen across the country, this sort of classmate-on-classmate activity. Young boys, typically, these apps, very concerningly, are only very good at creating these fake images of women. So a lot of times young boys making these images of their female classmates

and spreading them through apps like Snapchat, you heard that. there. Savannah Seller's important reporting, thank you. Now to a disturbing case out of Florida, a plastic surgeon charged in his own wife's death after she went into cardiac arrest on his operating table. State health officials alleging he allowed her to assist in her own procedure and waited up to 20 minutes to call 911 after she started seizing. Do you need abdominal lipisuction or a tummy tuck?

Tonight, this Florida plastic surgeon facing a homicide charge after his wife went into cardiac arrest on his own operating table. Call reported a 32-year-old female was undergoing a procedure for a lipof-fat transfer. Dr. Bin Brown arrested by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office for manslaughter by culpable negligence for the November 23 death of his wife Hillary. From the arrest, Dr. Arrest, Dr. Smith. An investigation by Florida's Department of Health found that on the day of her operations, her scar revision, liposuction, and lip injection procedures, Hillary Brown prepared her own

IV bags and took a handful of pills, including Valium, all without training or supervision. During the operation, her husband injected her with a concentration of the anesthetic lydicane. Shortly after, Hillary reportedly told her husband her vision started to blur and that she saw orange. After another injection, she became unresponsive and began to have a seizure. Dr. Brown's assistants reportedly asked if they should call 911 and Dr. Brown said no, repeatedly and waited 10 to 20 minutes to begin CPR, according to the report. Eventually, Dr. Brown instructed an assistant to call 911, and Hillary was taken to a nearby hospital where she died on life support days later.

An attorney and legal analyst we spoke to says the state will need to make the case. Dr. Brown's behavior amounted to more than malpractice. I do think that this case is important in showing the difference between regular malpractice cases and homicide cases or manslaughter cases where a doctor so significantly deviates from the standard protocols that it's more than ordinary negligence. It is a true reckless disregard for human life. The Department of Health highlighting patterns in Dr. Brown's behavior, finding that he let Hillary perform medical tasks, including laser treatment and injections on patients. An attorney representing Dr. Brown, who is out on bond, telling in BC News, quote,

quote, Dr. Brown intends to plead not guilty and vigorously fight the allegations against him in court. In May, the Florida Department of Health put an emergency restriction on Dr. Brown's medical license and have asked the state board to make that restriction permanent. Dr. Brown's next court date is scheduled for July 11th. When we come back, petty politics, a state lawmaker in Vermont caught on camera pouring water into the bag of her colleague. How long this was allegedly going on and how she is responding. We are back now with Top Story's News Feed, and we begin with the multi-state manhunt for an accused murderer. Authorities say 50-year-old Stacey Lee is connected to at least three murders in Oklahoma.

He was last spotted outside of a motel in Arkansas, about 50 miles from Little Rock. He also reportedly has ties to Alabama. Authorities say he should be considered armed and dangerous in any way. one who sees him should not approach, but contact police immediately. The surviving son of convicted killer, Ellick Murdoch, filing a defamation lawsuit against several major media companies. Buster Murdoch is suing Netflix, Warner Brothers, and others over three different docu-series that he alleges link him to the death of his high school classmate, Stephen Smith.

Buster denies any involvement in that death, calling the rumors, quote, baseless and false. No comment yet from the companies named in the lawsuit. Louisiana will now require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom. The state's Republican governor signing the controversial bill today. It was initially approved last month mandating that all public school classrooms from kindergarten through state-funded colleges display the Ten Commandments on a poster by early next year. Supporters argue the religious text is a historical document. The ACLU has already announced its plans to sue. And a shocking moment caught on camera at a Vermont state house.

This new video shows Vermont Republican Representative Mary Morsey pouring water from a cup in the tote bag of her Democratic colleague, State Representative Jim Carroll. Carol, who discovered his bag soaked weekly for months, set up a camera to investigate. Morsey apologized for the incident on Monday, but so far her motives remain unclear. We are turning now to the Americas and a huge money laundering bust by the Department of Justice. U.S. officials announcing charges against 24 individuals that link the violence. and deadly Mexican Senaloa drug cartel to an underground Chinese bank. This is just the latest connection between Chinese criminal organizations and Mexican cartels.

Our Morgan Chesky has more. Tonight, troubling global ties following a massive money laundering bust. Authorities connecting Mexico's infamous Sinolawa drug cartel to an underground Chinese banking group in Southern California. We have over $50 million in drug proceeds laundered through this. Following a multi-year effort by U.S. officials, the Department of Justice announcing charges against 24 people accused of being connected to the cartel. The indictment that we announced today charges Mexican drug cartels and Chinese money laundering groups with partnering together to perpetuate a cycle of destruction in this country. The investigation dubbed Operation Fortune Runner uncovered how 45-year-old Edgar Joel Martinez-Raeas allegedly ran the sophisticated network. Suspects, some of them Chinese, collected backs of cash from cartel associates in the Los Angeles area.

That cash was then deposited into a Chinese bank controlled by a money laundering broker. Investigators say the broker then used that money to purchase goods in China, including precursor chemicals used to make both meth and fentanyl. Chinese associates would then send those purchase goods to Mexico, where they were sold or chemicals further processed into drugs. The cash from both eventually ended up in the hands of the cartel to pay for smuggling drugs to the United States. Martinez-Raya's attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Federal authorities credit China with cooperating with the investigation to make arrests,

but Chinese officials still question the extent of their country's involvement. The fentanyl problem is rooted in the U.S. itself, officials say. The U.S. fentanyl crisis started from over-persexual. and developed due to many complicated factors. Search warrant, open the door! This is not the first time we are seeing ties between China and cartels. The Chinese criminal organizations have such a desire for U.S. dollars in cash, that they're getting into a variety of criminal enterprises to create that cash.

A U.S. Treasury official told her own Jacob Soberoff that Chinese criminal organizations then launder money from cartel meth, fentanyl, and other drugs. through cash loans, sometimes given to unsuspecting Chinese nationals. By working together, they've been able to get millions, if not billions of dollars out of China into the United States, and they've been able to use a synthetic drug trade to do it. A transcontinental web of crime, now coming into focus, but far from being solved. And Morgan joins us now from Los Angeles. Morgan, you mentioned authorities have charged 24 individuals in all. Do we have any idea if they are in custody tonight?

Yeah, Alison, it appears authorities are not wasting any time here whatsoever. Of those 24 that were indicted, we know that 22 are already in custody. One of them was brought into custody in China back in May, another trackdown in Mexico just last week. Ellison? Morgan Chesky in Los Angeles. Thank you. We are also following other international headlines on top stories, Global Watch, starting with the fire at a military ammunition depot in chat. New video shows explosions lighting up the sky over the capital city of Nogamena. Officials say the fire caused a series of blast that sent artillery shells into nearby homes. Nine people were killed, 46 were hurt, no word yet on the cause of the fire.

Colombia now giving legal status to half a million Venezuelan migrants. The special legal status is being granted specifically to more than 540,000. adults who are already caring for minors and who have permission to live in the country. Millions of Venezuelans have fled to Colombia to escape the political and economic turmoil back home. And Russia has sentenced a U.S. soldier to nearly four years in a prison colony. 34-year-old Gordon Black had been stationed in South Korea when he traveled to Russia to visit his girlfriend without telling his superiors.

The girlfriend accused him of stealing about $100 from her and threatening to kill her. Black pled guilty to the theft but says he did not harm her. He is now one of several Americans jailed in Russia. We turn now to the shocking scene at one of the world's most iconic landmarks. Climate protesters arrested after spraying orange paint on Stonehenge. Other visitors attempting to step in and stop them. The stunning act of vandalism coming just one day before thousands of people are expected to gather there for this year's summer solstice.

For more on all of this, NBC News correspondent Danielle Hamanjan joins us now from London. Danielle, I think a lot of people saw this video and were shocked and surprised, just given how iconic this monument is. We have seen climate change protesters do something like this in the past, but the timing of this also, I guess raising some eyebrows or making this more noteworthy to a lot of people. What do we know about the incident and the group behind this? Yeah, it's really hard not to gasp when you see those pictures, isn't it? people, climate protesters, spraying powder paint on one of the most recognizable prehistoric

monuments in the world. You can see members of the public rushing towards them, one trying to tackle the other. They belong to just stop oil, the group. And as you know, there's a UK election campaign here in full swing. And their demand is that the next UK government end the extraction and the burning of oil, gas, and coal by 2030. A brief history lesson here for viewers. Why is this place so iconic, wise, and so important? It's a UNESCO heritage site. It's one of the most famous landmarks in the UK, but it was built 5,000 years ago.

And incredibly, it is in perfect alignment with the sun. We don't know who built it, who created it, but we now know who was arrested for trying to dance. the temple. A 21-year-old student from Oxford University, a 73-year-old man who was quoted as saying that the orange cornflower used to create the eye-catching spectacle will wash away with the rain, but not the climate crisis unless the leaders act. And speaking of leaders, Danielle, have we heard anything from officials who maybe could do something to change or do some of the things that these protesters are demanding?

The reaction with Swift. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying that this was a disgraceful act of vandalism. Kier Starrmer, the man running to replace him, the leader of the opposition currently, said it was outrageous and that just stop oil was, quote, pathetic. As you mentioned, it's still open tomorrow. Thousands are expected to celebrate what we see every year, the summer solstice. Interesting stuff, Danielle, in London. Thank you. Coming up tonight's spotlight interview, a new book detailing former president.

President Trump's time on the hit show, The Apprentice, and the months that followed his 2020 election loss. The author joins Top Story next, telling us about the several interviews he had with Trump while writing this book. Amorosia with a project manager. And you not only lost, you got creamed. You know, I've always been a big Amorosa fan, but Amorosa, you're fired. And that was an iconic clip from season seven of the Apprentice. Donald Trump firing Omerosa Managault Newman after her team lost a fundraising competition to English broadcaster and eventual winner, Pierce Morgan. Trump hosted and co-produced

The Apprentice for 14 seasons on NBC, making it one of the most watched television shows really in quite a while. The show portrayed Trump as a savvy, cutthroat businessman with the now iconic catchphrase, you're fired. The fame he gained on that series helped launch his political career, making him a household name across the nation that would later elevate him to the office of the presidency. In a new book, Apprentice in Wonderland, how Donald Trump and Mark Burnett took America through the looking glass. We learned details, many coming from Trump himself, about his time on that show. Readers also get a closer look at Trump's mental headspace in the months following his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden. We are joined now by the journalist. Trump shared those stories with the author of this book,

Rameen Situ-day, in addition to author, he is also the co-editor-in-chief of Variety. Rameen, let's just start with this book because we were talking about it before. I can't get enough of this cover. It's so eye-catching because you're looking at it and you immediately recognize that's Donald Trump. These are important TV people. This is his family. And then you're brought into this world of Alice in Wonderland, a children's book. For you, what are the parallels between the apprentice, Donald Trump, and this children's story that many Americans know so well?

Alice in Wonderland is a parallel that is mentioned in the book throughout the book because we like the American public, like Alice, were sent down the rabbit hole, right, through the looking glass, where we have an alternate reality, where a president who is a reality star is now commander in chief in 2016, and he's used to playing a character that he played on The Apprentice, which was a very successful show for 14 seasons, but he's not really a leader, he's not really a commander in chief, and he's trying to make the American public believe that he is. This book is based on unprecedented access to Donald Trump. I sat and talked to him six times from 2021 through 2023. And it really, we look back on the show, but it also looks

forward into Donald Trump's headspace, what drives him, how he thinks of his legacy, and all the feuds that are still really consuming him in his post-presidency period. Talk to us about the progression of those interviews. As you said, it was six different interviews. And you're talking about a time shortly after the 2020 election, when we're seeing him in Georgia, saying this was stolen, raising all these different questions, all the way up until him about to face criminal charges, the trial in New York, while he's also running again. What did you notice in his headspace that seemed to change throughout the course of your interviews? So the first time I talked to him was in May 2021. It was shortly after he left the White House. He was deflated. He was resentful. He was

angry. He would talk about the apprentice, and then he would shift to talking about how I needed to pay attention to the news because there's big news coming out of Arizona about ballots that were missing, ballots that were coming out. Obviously, none of this was true. But he lived in a delusional fake reality where he thought that there were things that were going to come out, there was news that was going to come out to vindicate the fact that he won the election. And he was very upset and a very sad man. And then I talked to him again throughout the years, but the last interview in person was in November of 2003 during the New York trial. And actually, on that day, Don Jr. was taking the stand, and I was expecting for him to be also very upset and disturbed by what was happening, but he actually wasn't. He was happy. He was excited. He was looking at his poll numbers. And he liked the fact that all these headlines were about him, even under such dark circumstances. So it was an interesting progression for me to see Donald Trump post-presidency versus him getting ready to run for the White House again. He wants the spotlight. He wants to be on TV. He wants to be famous. And that's one of the arguments of the book is that Donald Trump is a reality star and doesn't care if the people.

press is good or bad. He just wants press. It's really interesting because we have seen his campaign constantly seize on these moments that on paper would be bad, but then in Georgia we saw after that mugshot was released. They had one of their best campaign fundraising days since they had launched this latest campaign. When you look at where things are right now, and based on especially that last interview you had, what do you think are the nuggets that voters in particular should pay attention to, regardless of what they think of the Trump they know, to learn more about him? and what may come next.

I want voters to read this book to really peel back the curtain on who Donald Trump is and get inside his head. I spend a lot of time with him, and I think I very successfully get inside Donald Trump's head and show what it's like to be around him, what motivates him, what drives him, and his philosophy and his thoughts about the presidency. He sees it really as a job where he's acting to play the leader and commander-in-chief and an extension of his run as the apprentice. He isn't looking at it as a political job.

He isn't looking at it as a place where he's going to pass legislation. He just wants to be in charge, and he wants to be entertaining, and he wants people to like him. You know, one section early in this book that struck me is when he starts to talk to you at some point about the actress, Deborah Messing, who was on the NBC show Will & Grace, and they kind of ran side by side for quite a while, and he talks about her being brutal. And you have this long graph where at the end you say you had the realization that maybe this conversation will keep going into dinner, and that you might actually be the one trying to escape the conversation. Usually when we're doing interviews, I know this, most journalists know this, we won't. more time? And to be in this position where he's just really all wanting to talk to you, but you also said he didn't appear to listen very much, what was going on there? And particularly that Deborah Messing back and forth, because I think that has surprised a lot of people is

just, to be frank, I think weird in a lot of ways of so long ago. Why? Why her? Why still? It was shocking to me. He kept bringing up Deborah Messing in our conversations. Initially, it was about what she would say on Twitter about him when he was president and how nasty she was and how awful she was. And then we really got to the root of what was happening when he told me a story about how he once saw her and he found her to be very attractive. He thought she had beautiful hair speaking in kind of creepy language about her in the same way that he was talking on the Axis Hollywood tape.

And it was a very strange non sequitur that he kind of threw into our conversation. But that's what it's like being around Donald Trump. He jumps from one topic to the next to the next. And on TV, with the help of editing, he's coherent and makes sense. But in real life, when you sit through it, it is very confusing. And before we let you go, there is more that people will be able to learn about what it was like to work with Donald Trump, not just while he was in the White House, but prior. What are some stories there that stood out to you?

What was interesting was how much he loved being on the show, how involved he got with the contestants. He personally tried to mentor them. He would spend time with them when the camera stopped rolling. One of the contestants told me it was like he started playing this character, and then the character consumed him, and he started to believe that he was the person he played on The Apprentice, and I found that to be very fascinating. Really interesting stuff.

All right, this book, Apprentice in Wonderland, Rameen, Sedudey, it is out right now. Pick it up, and I am excited to finish reading this copy. Rameen, thank you so much for being here. Thank you very much for having me. When we come back, the first ever Juneteenth Honor Flight, the historic event paying tribute to Black veterans while also celebrating the end of slavery, the powerful moment the group of heroes' touchdown in the nation's capital on a day that means so much to so many. Finally, tonight, the country honoring Juneteenth, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved

people here in the United States, the National Monument of Freedom in Montgomery, Alabama, hosting a dedication honoring the millions of enslaved Black Americans and their descendants, more than 120,000 names engraved on the monument. And in Dallas, Opel Lee, known as the grandmother of Juneteenth, participating in her annual Walk for Freedom March. And the United States colored troops and Buffalo Soldier reenactors leading a parade in the nation's capital. That is where we find R. Yamish Alcindor, reporting on the first of its kind flight honoring more than two dozen of America's black veterans. For Rodney and Ruth Walker, celebrating Juneteenth in the nation's capital is historic. I feel honored and I feel appreciated today as a veteran.

Both served during the Vietnam War, Rodney as a combat Marine, and Ruth with a job stateside. The two married in 1971. Early this morning, the couple started their day, joining some of America's finest heroes on a trip from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. Their trip, the first of its kind, the Honor Flight Network bringing together these 26 black veterans, paying tribute to those who served and marking the end of slavery. in the U.S. Today's veterans greeted with a water cannon salute and a warm welcome.

What's it feel like to be here on June T as part of this historic flight? First of all, I would have never imagined being here at all, let alone June T. I'll cherish this moment for the rest of my life. Since 2005, the Honor Flight Network has flown nearly 300,000 veterans into D.C. Today, the group visited a number of warm memorials, making a stop at Arlington National Cemetery, laying a wreath with 101-year-old Calvin Kemp, who served in World War II. I broke down in tears. For the walkers, a day of reflection.

I see other men like me who served their country bravely and courageously and with honor, and now they're here and they're celebrating. Yamish Alcendor, NBC News, Washington. Thank you so much for watching Top Story. I'm Ellison Barber in New York for Tom Yamis. Stay right there. More news now is on the way.