Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Episode Date: June 5, 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 code red alert over dangerous wildfire smoke coming down from Canada and the tornado near a major American city. A twister touching down near St. Louis, sirens going off, residents sheltering in grocery stores. Millions under threat tonight just weeks after a major twister ripped through the city as that thick smoke from Canada blankets, parts of the Midwest, the new warning tonight. From friend to foe, Elon Musk, ripping into President Trump. Trump's big, beautiful spending bill calling on Republicans to, quote, kill the bill or face retribution, our inside reporting on how the president is upset over it. Plus, Trump's speaking at length with Russian President Putin after those devastating Ukrainian drone strikes. Trump saying Putin vows to strike back. Deadly crane collapsed. Two construction workers killed

when a crane topples over in Florida. What happened? The surprising moment in the Karen Reid trial today, video footage of the accused killer out with her boyfriend, Just hours before he died, the affectionate moment between them that was caught on camera. Vacation warning the giant blob of seaweed heading straight for some of America's beaches, bigger than any of the nasty stuff ever recorded before, how resort towns are fighting back. Weed raids are correspondent embedded with authorities as they go in with guns drawn to illegal marijuana shops, making multiple arrests why these shops are so dangerous this gun found in a toilet. And the life-saving announcement from pop star Jesse Jay, the Domino singer, revealing she's battling breast cancer, how announcements like hers have saved lives.

Plus, the update from another huge star, Billy Joel, what he told Howard Stern today about his health battle. Top story. Starts right now. And good evening. We are coming in the air tonight with Breaking News, a second straight day of life-threatening storms slamming the central U.S. It comes as dangerous smoke from those Canadian wildfires choke parts of the upper Midwest. Take a look at this new video of a possible tornado ripping across Chesterfield, Missouri. This is just outside of St. Louis. This traffic cam capturing the moment the suspected twister tore across a packed highway. The intensity of that storm system ripping trees right from their roots, blocking roads in several neighborhoods.

Take a listen as the sirens rang out in St. Louis. And we are playing that for you because it is critical that those sirens went off because just a few weeks ago, you may remember there was no warning when a deadly tornado struck that same region. You can see the extensive damage right here. And at this hour, parts of Dallas reeling from devastating flash floods, a man killed after being trapped in his car stuck in rising waters. Plus right now, millions in the upper Midwest facing dangerous air quality. You can see the smoke-blanketing parts of Marquette, Michigan as Canadian wildfires continue to rage. Meteorologist Bill Karen standing by with severe weather that is set to strike next. But we first start with NBC Shaquille Brewster in the storm zone tonight.

Tonight, another round of severe weather and at least one funnel cloud captured on camera threatening the Midwest. A new tornado warning just issued. Flash flood warnings and tornado sirens blaring in and around St. Louis. Grocery shoppers sheltering in place and trees toppled over. Less than three weeks after an EF3 tornado ripped through the city. We're in the tornado. Oh! Killing five people after the sirens weren't activated.

St. Louis police tonight, warning structures damaged in that storm are not safe to seek shelter in. The new threat coming after a deadly night of storms further south. Dallas fire teams say a rescue boat flipped, throwing first responders into fast-moving waters as they tried to save a driver overnight. Thankfully, even though they got swept down stream, they were able to make it to safe refuge. After waiting for the water levels to recede, those responders found one man dead inside a vehicle. The flooding was part of a system that brought torrential downports and two tornadoes to the Kansas City area yesterday. The National Weather Service assessing the Trail of Fallen Trees in towns like Independence, Missouri.

I can say with confidence that we have at least one tornado path, damaged path here through Independence. How serious of a tornado? It's at least a low NDF1. This new video shows the funnel cloud approaching an engineering building that a tree hit as J.C. Mason was working inside. It was crazy. When we heard that crash, it was big. It shook the building a little bit. And tonight, hazy skies from Wisconsin and Michigan to New York City, as smoke from more than 100 out-of-control Canadian wildfires billows into the U.S., resulting in a code red air quality alert for swats of the northern Midwest. Shaq Brewster joins us tonight from Independence, Missouri. That damage is spread out all over different states.

Talk to us what's behind you right now. Yeah. Yeah, there's still a lot of work that needs to be done, Tom. You see the road behind me. It's completely shut off. You see a tree falling and it's brought down some power lines, not just on that side of the street, but if you come with me to this side,

you see the actual power cord completely fell over and that's blocking off the street. The city's saying it's going to take some time to clean this all up. I'll tell you, throughout the day, We saw neighbors working to move this debris off of businesses, off of some homes that have been damaged. And while power has been restored and some homes are an improved condition, you have neighbors saying that they're feeling grateful that there wasn't a serious injuries or serious loss of life,

specifically here in Missouri, Tom. Yeah, and these storms have been back to back. Okay, Shaq, we thank you for that. NBC News meteorologist Bill Cairns joins me now live in studio. And Bill, no relief in sight, right? We're tracking serious storms tonight, too? Yeah, right into the weekend. So Missouri is where we have our eyes on currently. Obviously, St. Louis, we had that tornado warning earlier this afternoon. Now you just have torrential rain. We're going to have some flooding issues. Down in the state, 44, flash flood warnings around the Springfield area. I don't expect a lot of other tornadoes are damaging weather the rest of tonight. So that's good. That changes tomorrow, though, where the new storm system is going to plague us in North Texas all the way through Oklahoma once again. And this region's going to be hit day after day. So we're going to start to have flooding concerns in addition to isolated tornadoes. A lot of wind damage in the days ahead. This kind of dog bone shaped here in yellow. This is as we go through Friday. And this

stretches from Texas to Oklahoma, back into the Tennessee River Valley here, Tupelo to Nashville, Kentucky included into this. And even by the time we get into Saturday, the same regions are going to be dodging storms day after day. And because of this, I do expect some flooding issues. The first will come tomorrow in areas of Kansas and Oklahoma. Some areas, Tom, have already received a lot of rain from these storms over the last couple days. They're going to get a lot more as we head towards the weekend. All right, Bill Cairns for spill. We thank you for that. Tonight, the battle escalating between President Trump and Elon Musk over that massive Trump-backed spending package. The so-called big, beautiful bill must now demanding congressional Republicans kill the bill over the enormous sums it would reportedly add to the national debt.

Gabe Gutierrez is at the White House tonight. Tonight, just days after this soaring send-off from the Oval Office. I expect to remain a friend and an advisor. Elon Musk is threatening to blow up President Trump's signature legislation. His big, beautiful bill. The tech titan and top Trump ally now posting, call your senator, call your congressman, kill the bill. He's frustrated.

I think he believes in my judgment correctly that we're quickly becoming debt slaves. Musk opening a rift among Republicans, urging any lawmaker who supports the bill to be fired. The House Speaker stunned. We were texting one another, you know, happy texts, you know, Monday. 24 hours later, he does a 180, and he comes out and opposed the bill. and it surprised me, frankly.

The bill would extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts, eliminate taxes on tips in overtime, and spend billions on border security. Plus, it imposes new work requirements to get Medicaid. I'm not happy about certain aspects of it, but I'm thrilled by other aspects of it. Tremendous amounts of benefit are going to the middle-income people of our country. But Musk has slammed the bill over its spending.

I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and unremines the work that the Doge team is doing. The Congressional Budget Office projecting it would increase the budget deficit $2.4 trillion over a decade. But the bill supporters argue that agency has gotten projections wrong before, and that must opposition won't sway support in the Senate. I know he's a glamorous sort of celebrity, but he's not a big factor in it. Meanwhile, Democrats are also facing their own deep divisions. Today, former President Biden's press secretary, Corrine Jean-Pierre, announced she was leaving the Democratic Party to register as an independent, promoting her new book, promising a look inside a broken White House, even though she repeatedly defended the administration for years.

He is as sharp as ever, as I have known him to be in his... In this moment, is the president leading. The president is the president of the United States, and he is leading. It comes amid new scrutiny of Biden's mental acuity while in office. Now, the book will examine the, quote, betrayal by the Democratic Party that led to him dropping out of the race. I think we need to stop thinking in boxes and think outside of our boxes and not be so partisan. All right, big news on the Democratic Front. Gabe Gutierrez joins us tonight from the White House.

Let's get back to that growing battle between Trump and Musk. We've not really heard directly from the president publicly about this yet, but you have new reporting tonight about how he's reacting behind the scenes? Yet, the president hasn't taken questions from reporters since late Friday evening. As unusual as that is, the White House downplated to me today, saying the president has been busy with meetings and phone calls. But we're now learning that as Musk ramped up his attacks on the president's signature spending bill, Trump was caught off guard, but not entirely surprised, according to a senior White House official. The president had known that Musk's opposition to the bill had been building, this official said, but he did not expect Musk to be so forceful in his public opposition.

Tom, the White House does believe the timing of Musk's opposition has to do with his business interests. Two people familiar with the discussions tell NBC News that over the last few weeks, Musk has urged some senior members on Capitol Hill, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, to keep tax credits in the bill that would incentivize electric vehicle purchases. It did not work, Tom. Gabe Gutierrez, we thank you for that. President Trump also speaking today with Russian President Putin in the wake of those devastating drone attacks by Ukraine on Russian warplains.

These new satellite photos, take a look. Those dark spots you see there on the tarmac, those are the charred remains of several Russian warplains destroyed by those Ukrainian drones. President Trump confirming Putin plans to retaliate for those attacks, saying his call today will not yield immediate peace. NBC News Chief International correspondent Keir Simmons is with us now to walk us through what else they discussed.

Keir, you're somebody who studies, right, this kind of diplomatic language, if you will, studies, what these world leaders stay. You've interviewed Putin. You've covered President Trump. How do we interpret what President Trump put out today on social media? Well, first, Tom, stunning, isn't it, that the American president would say just openly on a call that the Russian leader has told him that he plans some kind of a retaliation against Ukraine. You have to assume that Ukraine will be bracing itself for another bombardment. message too within what President Trump had to say. He said, it's a good conversation,

but not a conversation that would lead to an immediate peace. That appears to be an admission, Tom, that he cannot persuade President Putin to agree to a ceasefire, despite, of course, promising during his campaign that he would end the war within 24 hours, or very fast. And finally, I would just say this, and we'll have to wait and see exactly what Russia really does have planned, because it could be that President Putin wanting to play for time is using the Ukrainian attack on his aircraft as a way to say to President Trump, I've got to deal with this. I'm going to have to retaliate. There are many who believe that the Russians are not interested in the ceasefire,

more interested in seeing what they can gain on the battlefield. Let's talk about the other president, obviously, who is in this conversation, right? Not physically on that conversation, but in the diplomatic conversation, that's Ukrainian President Zelensky. He posted on Ex-night, let's put this up for our viewers, writing in part, is giving the finger to the entire world, to all those who still hesitate to increase pressure on it. Yet it is Russia that should be seeking peace. It is in Moscow that they must begin to feel that war carries a cost, a high cost, and that the highest one should be paid by the aggressor.

President Trump has been pressing Zelensky to negotiate peace after those Ukrainian drone attacks. Where is the Ukrainian-U.S. relationship right now? And something I do want to highlight tonight because this just came out. There is a study that says one million Russian troops, have either died or been wounded in this war. It's stunning, isn't it? It's just heartbreaking, honestly. The level of casualties, Tom, on both sides. The Ukrainians are in Washington right now, not President Zelensky, but many of his senior officials, meeting with senators, meeting with Trump officials.

And the message that they are sending is that you need to continue to back us, because just look at what President Putin offered just this week in negotiations. but effectively President Putin's team refused to compromise in negotiations and they let everyone know the kinds of terms that they would agree to and they were the maximalist goals that President Putin has always talked about. The message from President Zelenskyy, and this is an interesting question, Tom, the message from President Zelenskyy is, if we put enough pressure on Russia, Russia will compromise.

I think that's the question, isn't it? We're now three years in. What is it that is going to get President Putin and the Russians to come to the table and agree to not try and achieve all of those goals? It may just be time. It may be that we're going to see more months, maybe even, I fear, years of this war. Keir Simmons for us again tonight, Keir, we thank you for that. Back here at home, there's been a new arrest in the alarming attack on an IVF clinic in Palm Springs. Authorities now say the suspect who carried out that bombing last month did not operate alone.

C. San Brock has more on that tonight. Several weeks after a man detonated a bomb at this Southern California fertility clinic, killing himself and injuring four others. In what the FBI called an act of terrorism, a second person is now behind bars tonight. 32-year-old Daniel Park detained at JFK Airport in York and accused of providing material support to the bomber Guy Edward Barkas. Law enforcement learned that Park spent approximately two weeks visiting Barkas' residents, running experiments in Barkas's garage.

In the criminal complaint, the government says Park shipped approximately 275 pounds of ammonium nitrate, an explosive precursor used to make homemade bombs to Barkas. And they say they recovered handwritten notes of chemical explosive equations, including one related to the deadly bombing of a federal building 30 years ago. Park was in possession of an explosive recipe that was similar to the Oklahoma City bombing. Both men, police say, held twisted anti-life ideology, dating back about a decade which may have connected them online. They don't believe that people should exist. Police also say Park bought a plane ticket to Poland in cash four days after the bombing and burned some of his clothing before being picked up by authorities in Warsaw and sent back to the U.S. to face prosecution.

All right with that, Sam, Sam, a chilling part of this investigation, according to investigators, AI was used for these bombs? If it feels like you should be unsettled by this, that's because you should. So Barkus, according to that criminal complaint, Tom, was using an AI chatbot effectively to try to figure out how to maximize the lethality of that weapon. He was looking up things like gasoline mixture and explosiveness and maximum detonation velocity. Now, the reality here is that you can't just put in on a chat, GTP type of situation. What is the most people that I could possibly kill with a violent bomb. What you can do is exercise in this case chemistry, sophisticated language that would get around

that sort of like radar and figure out the nuances of it, which is what they did, and then use it. It's the second time this year, according to police, a high profile bombing has been linked to searches of publicly available artificial intelligence. All right, Sam Brock, it is chilling. We thank you for being here. We're going to turn out to a raid on a home in Washington State, now being connected to an assault and attempted theft at a nearby military base. Authorities uncovering a massive stash of weapons. You see them here, as well as Nazi and white supremacist material in the home, just north of the capital. city of Olympia. They say the two men who live there are military veterans. They're now facing

charges, including attempted theft of government property. For more details on that, I want to get right over to NBC senior national security correspondent Courtney Kuby. Courtney, I look just behind you on that screen. There's a lot of weapons there. Yeah, and these are just some of the weapons that they found on that raid that you mentioned, Tom. Authorities finding dozens of firearms, including a machine gun, as well as ballistic helmets and body armor. Now, at this point, it seems as if this these military veterans, you mentioned, it seems as if they were looking to sell or trade these items. But at this point, it doesn't seem that they had done so yet. The authorities also found in this rate at least $24,000 worth of cash and Nazi paraphernalia, Tom.

And then, Courtney, before you go, those suspects, are veterans? What more do we know about them and what charges are they facing? Yeah, so they entered joint-based Lewis McCord. They broke into an Army Ranger compound where they were trying to steal more paraphernalia, more weapons. A soldier, an unsuspecting soldier, came upon them. They attacked him with a hammer and threatened him with a knife before fleeing. Now, authorities were able to track these two down because one of them dropped a baseball cap that had his last name in it. Ultimately, they were able to raid their apartment where they were living not far away.

Finding all of these additional weapons, they are now facing federal charges, including robbery and assault of that soldier, as well as breaking into that compound, Tom. Strange case there. Thank you. We have some exclusive NBC News reporting tonight that we want to highlight on immigration. ICE arresting a record number of migrants in a single day. More than 2,200 migrants taken into ICE custody yesterday, according to an ICE spokesperson and a source familiar with the arrest. Hundreds of them arrested while checking into immigration appointments with ICE about their ankle monitors. I want to get right to NBC News senior Homeland Security correspondent Julia Ainsley, who broke this story. Julia, these arrests are happening all across the country. And I understand your team was there as they unfold. here in Manhattan. Walk us through how this played out.

That's right. ICE is under increasing pressure after Stephen Miller at the White House said he would start firing senior leaders if they didn't start arresting 3,000 migrants a day. In response, we're seeing a nationwide operation, and we are seeing people like this who have ankle monitors and are being told to show up for ICE appointments. This is a 12-year-old daughter watching her father be arrested. And you can see these are people who are expected to go to their check-ins. appointment requests, telling people to come in just like they did to that office in Manhattan today. They're arrested by ununiformed federal agents put into cars for detention. And this is all part of an effort to try to find people who are easy to find. But Tom, people who are put on those

ankle monitors are done so and not put in detention because they're considered non-criminal and a low threat to the public. You've also reported the White House's boosting manpower, right, to try to ramp up arrests as part of the operation at large. Some 5,000 employees. from various federal agencies are being pulled in. But an arrest in these cases does not necessarily mean these migrants will or can be deported. That's right. You see that huge number of manpower surging to this operation. It's nationwide. It's part of the reason we're seeing arrests like we did in Manhattan today. But yes, just because someone is arrested doesn't mean they're deported.

In fact, in many of these cases, when people have ankle monitors, they have a pending asylum claim and they're waiting for that claim to be adjudicated by a judge. ICE can't hold them forever, especially if they haven't had a final order of deportation. And ICE spokeswoman said that most of those arrested do have final orders, but if they run low on detention space or the airplanes or their countries simply won't take them back, there are many cases where the immigrants are released again after they're arrested, Tom. All right, Julia, we thank you for all that exclusive reporting. We want to turn now to the Sean Diddy Combs trial, another witness taking the stand today in that trial, accusing Combs of assault and saying, get this. He dangled her over a 17th-story apartment balcony in 2016. He has denied all the allegations.

Combs' defense team then grilling the witness with questions about her memory and drug use. Stephanie Gosk has the latest. At Sean Deddy Combs' sex trafficking trial today, no rest for his defense team. Another witness taking the stand with graphic testimony. This time, Brianna Bongolin, friends with Cassie Ventura, the star witness for the prosecution. Bongolin says she was staying at Ventura's apartment in L.A. in 2016 when Combs showed up angry. Ventura hid in her bedroom. Bongolin telling the jury, Combs came behind me and lifted me up and had me on top of the rail

on the 17th floor. I was scared I was going to fall, she testified. Bongalin says Combs was yelling, you know what the F you did. The fashion designer who has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Combs telling the jury she had no idea what he was talking about. and then he threw her on the balcony furniture. The cross-examination was tough, led by female defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland, who focused on Bongoland's drug use.

Her first question, who gets to decide if you lied? Combs pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges. Today was the 16th day of testimony. It began with a forensic video expert analyzing the prosecution's key evidence, a video of Combs punching and kicking Ventura in an L.A. hotel. The defense is questioning the authenticity of some of the clips, suggesting the video has been manipulated to make combs look more aggressive. But that meant the jury watched the video again, this time frame by frame. The fourth day it has been shown.

Stephanie Goss joins us tonight from outside that courthouse in downtown Manhattan. Stephanie, that last piece that you just reported on in the trial where they would say the video is manipulated and it got played one more time. You just wonder what type of impact that had on the jurors there. expecting in this case in the days ahead because every day there seems to be a new eyewitness with an incredible story. Yeah, an incredible story, Tom, and a graphic one. And tomorrow is going to be no different. We're set to hear from victim number two, who's going by the pseudonym Jane. And according to prosecutors in their opening statement, she is going to testify to these days-long drug-fueled sex parties that she actually was coerced into taking

pardon, according to prosecutors. She's going to give us some insight into what those were. We're expecting to see video and text messages that are shared between them. She's also going to describe, according to prosecutors, an incident where Sean Diddy Combs actually put her in a chokehold, threw her to the ground, and then dragged her along the floor, Tom. All of it setting up, according to legal experts, this pattern of violence that they are trying to prove here in this courthouse. with the latest developments, yeah, tomorrow sounds like it is going to be another wild day there. We are back in just 60 seconds with the ultimate beach bomber, the nasty, smelly seaweed,

washing up on shores of popular beaches. And why researchers warn, it's about to get a whole lot worse. Plus, the video shown in the Karen Reed trial today, what it reveals about the relationship between Reed and the man she's accused of killing. And rocket remains the giant chunks of space rocket from the SpaceX rocket that exploded last week, now washing ashore in Mexico. That country now suing the space company. We're going to explain.

We are back now with the Americas and a major vacation alert, a record-breaking mass of seaweed washing up on the shores of the Caribbean, creating an unpleasant experience for beachgoers and impacting the fishing industry. NBC's Marissa Perez in Florida, where the seaweed is headed next

and has this report. The largest. seaweed mass ever slamming the coasts of the Caribbean. Scientists from the University of South Florida say nearly 38 million metric tons is washing up on the shores from Puerto Rico to Guyana. I can assure you that it's not a comfortable feeling. It's called sargasm, algae that floats on the water with tiny air sacks, surviving on nothing but sunlight, water and nutrients from the ocean. And this time, it's breaking records. The sheer scale wreaking havoc on wildlife and tourism across the Caribbean.

The numbers far surpassed expectations. This fisherman in Puerto Rico saying it's a very bad thing because you can't fish properly. Everything comes out full of sarcasm and the fish leave the area. Well, near Cancun, this barrier was put in place to protect the resort-lined coast. In 2023, another massive slop of seaweed invaded Florida. R. Sam Brock got an up-close look off the coast. No matter which direction we look, it's all over here. Satellite images show just how big it's great.

grown in the past 10 years. An individual patch can be as small as a handful, or it can be as big as several football fields across. Scientists now working to understand how to tame it as this ocean giant grows stronger by the day. Marissa Paro joins us tonight from Miami. So Marissa, we know that huge seaweed blob is heading our way. How can we or when should we expect that? And what do you think it's going to look like? Yeah, so Tom, I actually took one for the team and I picked up a handful Now, this is Sargazim. This is seagrass. But the rest of this, the brown, the yellow, this is sargasm.

This is a naturally occurring phenomenon that we do see. This is not the problem, what we're already seeing lining up on the shores. That happens. However, the problem is that massive blob that we just showed you in our story just now. And the thing is, we don't know for sure that it will hit here. It's going to depend on factors outside of all of our control, like the winds, the currents. However, if it does hit here, which everyone's hoping it doesn't, that would be. sometime between mid-June and mid-July, Tom.

And as you and I both know, being from Miami, it gets real smelly. So that could be a very smelly problem, Tom, that no one wants. It'll ruin your vacation. It totally can. Okay, Marissa Parra, takes you one for the team there. We thank you. When Top Story returns, the deadly crane collapse in Florida, two people killed are strong wins to blame.

And pot shop takedowns are correspondent with law enforcement as they bust in and shut down illegal marijuana stores, why they say these stores are so dangerous. We'll explain. We are back now with Top Stories News Feed and a deadly crane collapse in Florida that killed two construction workers. The crane was hovering over the construction site of a new hospital on Merritt Island, east of Orlando, when it fell. The workers were rushed to the hospital where they died from their injuries. In a statement, the hospital wrote that this was a weather-related incident. The National Weather Service confirming winds of nearly 50 miles per hour were reported in the area.

And an update tonight to a story we brought you last night. Fan duel is now banning the man who heckled Olympian Gabby Thomas before a track event. The man had posted a video of himself yelling comments at Thomas. Then in a separate post, he bragged about making her lose and winning money. Thomas responding to the incident on X calling the better's post, quote gross. In his statement, Fandual said the man will no longer be able to wager on its platform. Howard Stern giving fans an update on the health of Billy Joel. You can tell people.

I'm, you know, I'm not dying. You know, he wants people to know that. Stern sharing the update on his radio show after having dinner with the singer. This coming two weeks after Joel announced he was canceling his tour after being diagnosed with a brain disorder. Debris from last week's SpaceX rocket launch in Texas now washing up on a beach in Mexico. Video showing canisters from the rocket that washed up on the beach near the border. Local fishermen also reporting they spotted truck-sized debris floating offshore. Officials are calling for an investigation to the debris.

origin and potential danger. It's being collected as evidence in a lawsuit filed by Mexico against the U.S. and SpaceX for environmental damages. And we're learning new details tonight about the suspect in the flamethrowing attack in Colorado who targeted a group that was calling for the release of Israeli hostages. A federal judge now blocking the deportation of the man's family as we learn more about the victims. Now on the road to recovery. Morgan Chesky is in Boulder tonight with the latest. Tonight as the investigation into Sunday's fiery attack in Boulder Colorado moves forward. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the deportation of terror suspect Mohammed Solomon's family. His wife and five children were taken into ICE custody yesterday,

according to the Homeland Security Secretary. Today, DHS said the family came to the U.S. in 2022, and Solomon filed for asylum listing his wife and children as dependents. Their visas ran out in early 2023. This video shared on a pro-Hamas telegram channel, shot before Sunday's attack, shows Solomon driving his car, speaking in his native Arabic. Solomon stating, God is greater than the Zionists than America and its weapons. Prosecutors now say 15 people were injured at Sunday's rally, calling for the release of Israeli hostages. I feel this huge heat wave on my side. I look at my side and I see this big ball of flames that was engulfing people. Nayor Bitten, who has seen Sunday rushing to help those who burned was there simply by chance,

vacationing from Israel to hike Boulder's famous flat irons. I feel extremely grateful for being in the right place at the right time. Morgan Chesky joins us tonight from Boulder, Colorado. So Morgan, what comes next for the suspect in this case? Yeah, Tom, we know Muhammad Solomon is due in state court tomorrow at 3 in the afternoon here, local time. That is where for the first time, he will be formally charged. I did have a chance to speak to the DA just a few minutes ago. He says we are looking at more than 60 charges here.

And he says, Tom, there could be additional charges as well as new evidence comes to light. Boulder police working hand in hand with the FBI saying this investigation is definitely not done. Tom. Okay, Morgan Chesky, another riveting day in the Karen Reid murder retrial. The jury today shown video of some of the last moment shared by Reid and her Boston police officer boyfriend. John O'Keefe. The two out at a bar, hugging, kissing, just hours before he was found dead. NBC's Aaron McLaughlin breaks down the case Reed's defense is trying to build. Karen Reid's defense today painting the picture of a couple in love, showing video of her last

night out at a bar with her Boston police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe, just hours before he was found dead. The video speaks for itself. Happy, loving, affectionate, no tension. The defense called the couple's acquaintance, Karina Kolakithis, to the stand. They hugged at one point. Okay. And did John come over to Karen at one point and do something? He did. What did he do? So John went over to Karen and he gave her a kiss on the forehead. Her testimony bolstered Reed's view of the video. It just stood up to me. I was like, wow, that's the sweetest thing I've ever seen. Early the next morning, O'Keefe's body was found outside the home of a fellow police officer. The prosecution has argued Reed backed into O'Keefe with her Lexus

SUV, leading him to die in the snow, citing relationship tensions as a possible motive. Reed's defense alleges O'Keefe is the victim of a vast police conspiracy. Arguing after Reid dropped him off, O'Keefe went into a party at the house. An altercation with other Boston police officers ensued, and he was attacked by the homeowner's dog. Then the defense argues the officers moved his body outside. Today, Reed's lawyers calling snowplow driver Brian Lockren to the stand. He says he drove past the party location multiple times.

while clearing snow that same night. I can see everything. I can see right up to the front door. What did you see on the front lawn of 34 Fairview on January 29th of 2022 when you're making the second pass by 34 Fairview in the area of the flagpole? I saw nothing. Testifying, he never saw O'Keefe's body.

Did you see a six foot one, 216-pound man lying on that lawn? No. All right, Aaron McLaughlin joins us now live in studio. So, Aaron, this is interesting. It was a short day in court today, and then tomorrow there's no court, and it's sort of strange, why. Yeah, that's right. The judge pointing to the extreme heat in the forecast. We're talking hot.

The weather. The weather. Yeah. The judge saying it's going to be 90 degrees tomorrow. That's extremely hot. And kept this, there is no AC in the courtroom. She'd have to bring in fans. The fans are noisy.

The judge expressing concern. that the jury, the other attorneys wouldn't be able to hear over the sound of the fans. So court is due back in session on Friday. And the judge also noted that they are running ahead of schedule, which was a factor in this. Okay. All right. Aaron McLaugh, that interesting little note there, we appreciate it. That or an issue, major cities are battling across America, the rise of illegal marijuana

shops. Even in states where recreational pot is legal, a massive black market industry has exploded in size, selling weed from storefronts and other places, many of those shops allegedly run by organized crime rings. Our Steve Patterson was with law enforcement agents in California as they raided multiple stores. This is the tip of the spear. Please, that's why!

We know you're inside. Come out with your hands up. An early morning raid, with overwhelming force, aimed at a problem hidden in plain sight, illicit cannabis. We've already seen multiple people pull out of this store. Another detention just made just now. These are employees. we believe that are being detained. There could be patrons inside. In a matter of moments,

this storefront that authorities say has been operating illegally swarmed. They've made entry. You can see agents inside. They're sorting through all the material. You can smell it. It's one of the first things you notice on scene. And inside, agents hit it big. Nearly a million and a half dollars worth of illegal product, according to law enforcement. So what do you have here? This could be several thousands of vials of vapines. A lot of these vapines are manufactured illegally and the quality control is very harmful to the health of people that consume these items.

This isn't the first time officers say they've raided this exact location. We're just steps away from where they just raided and we saw this, another cross. They told us this was another location that was raided. It speaks how pervasive this is. This is a normal thing.

The weed guys, they all get raided. Scott McCulley, leases, is four units in this complex. He says the rates here are like clockwork every four to six weeks for the last two years. How frustrating is that? It's always frustrating. It's a whack-a-mole. Every time they get a place to get in, they get pushed out, and then they go find another place. NBC News spoke to the property manager of the complex who said they took over in February of 2024 and says they've already kicked out several illegally operating cannabis stores. They say this tenant claimed to be selling gold, and when they found out it was an illegal

operation, they initiated eviction orders. You choose the numbers? Recreational cannabis is booming, worth billions of dollars in California alone. But the legal sales are dwarfed by the underground. Two out of every three cannabis purchases are made on the illicit market, according to experts. It's a problem several other states across the country are grappling with, including New York, where officials launched an operation that shuttered 1,400 illegal cannabis businesses over the past year.

I think a lot of people might see this and think who cares where my weed comes from. I tell you why you care. Because this isn't ran by, you know, a mom and pop. This is ran by a criminal organization. The items officers find inside, including this handgun stashed behind a toilet, will now be processed and used to further even more investigations. We're now on our way to a second location. We hear it's not a descript. First time they're hitting this one, same protocols, but obviously a different situation. This is a full-upon police department. Come out with your hands out. Another detention happening right here. Check this out.

Police doing this very carefully. Safety is a primary concern. The agents here will be the first to admit their actions often serve little more than a thorn in the side. Any cannabis-related arrests they make typically amount to low-level misdemeanors. But they say it's still having an impact on sales and driving the illegal market further underground. This is what we see now, the nondescript. Unless you have word or mouth. you got a message, you would not know that this place is a dispensary.

At this unmarked location, not even the building's owner says he knew what was happening. So the guy behind me that just showed up covering his face, that's the landlord. He's speaking to the city. He was told it was a vitamin shop when he found out it was illegal. He started the eviction process. The raids, a constant churn, chipping away at the monolith of organized crime, one detention, one confiscation, one gallon bag at a time. Do you think this will get better?

It will get better and it has gotten better. It's still a long uphill fight that we have in front of us. Steve Patterson, really, really fascinating story there. Credit to you and your producer and your photographers on that. It was excellent. I do want to kind of get back to that question you were asking, though. I mean, I'm watching that, and the whole studio was watching. It's fascinating.

A lot of cops, a lot of firepower there those cops had, a lot of time on this. And as you mentioned, weed is legal, right, in nearly half of all states. So why are the officers putting so much resources into this? So, Tom, you got to think about it like this. The law enforcement officials we spoke to in that piece, estimate the illegal market here in California is somewhere around 12 times bigger than the legal one. The point those officers are trying to make, and for everybody to know that of course watching that, that if you are buying this stuff, you've got to know where it's coming from. Because not only are these illicit grows known to pose health problems, many are linked to human trafficking and money laundering. And on top of all of this, 80% of the illegal.

legal cannabis market makes its way to stores outside of this state. So the repercussions here are felt far and wide. Steve Patterson for us tonight. Steve, Steve, Steve, really interesting look. Thank you for that report. We want to turn out of the latest free speech blow up on an Ivy League campus, a conservative student newspaper at Brown University. At the center of a free speech debate after an email blast sparked a campus backlash. A student reporter for the Brown Spectators sent an email to more than 3,800 faculty and staff asking a series of pointed questions inspired by Elon Musk's now infamous Doge-themed interviews at X. The list included, one, explain your role,

two, describe what tasks you performed in the past week. Three, explain how Brown students would be impacted of your position was eliminated, and, sound familiar, that email prompted a conduct code investigation. But in the end, no disciplinary action was taken. Still, the incident raised sharp questions, was this harassment or an exercise in free expression? Joining us tonight is Alex Shea,

the student journalist who sent that email, and a writer for the Brown Spectator. Alex, thanks so much for joining Top Story. I do believe if you're a journalist, you should be able to ask questions and answer questions, and you're going to do that tonight for us, so I appreciate that. First, take me back. What was your inspiration, and why did you want to do this for your campus? Exactly. That's a great question, Tom.

So at Brown, we have 3,805 non-faculty staff members. We're not talking about professors. We're talking about administrators. people like DEI deans, associate vice provosts, and a whole host of other positions. And some of these people earn obscene salaries, like Grace Calhoun, the athletic director, who earns north of a million dollars. The university president, Christina Paxon, has a household assistant tending to her. And we really felt that not all these positions were necessary,

that they were driving up the cost of tuition. Brown costs $93,000 a year for one year of college. And that's not really that fair to students who are low income who can't afford it. Today, I testified. So, Alex, you know, you raised some good points there, and it sounds like, you sound like a reporter, right? You're reporting this story out. Do you see yourself as a reporter or as an activist? Because if you were using the Elon Musk mode there, if that was sort of your inspiration, your North Star, if you will, I wonder how do you see yourself?

Well, that's a great question. So I identify as a journalist, of course. I'm a reporter for the Brown Spectator. But that doesn't mean I can't have a point of view. We are an opinion, a journalism organization. And so, obviously, there is a point of view in it as well. And I testified before Congress today about this, about how the Ivy League's administrative bloat is pricing out kids from low-income families who can't afford their shot at the American dream. And I think, morally, that's wrong.

And then, Alex, you mentioned families. Some of the people you email probably do have families, and they have mortgages, and they have bills to pay. And right now, they're employees. And the tone. Do you think the tone at all, some of these questions describe what tasks you performed in the past week, explain how Brown students would be? impacted of your position was eliminated. Do you think as a journalist, the tone was fair, or do you think maybe it was a little harsh, you wanted to get a response out of it? I think it was fair. I think we gave people an opportunity to explain what their jobs were.

I mean, I'm not exactly sure how else you would phrase it, but we didn't get that many responses, and the responses that we got were profane and hostile, and there was disciplinary investigation launched against us, and we were just trying to unveil the truth, expose what's going on here, and disciplinary action certainly was not warranted in that circumstance. Talk to me about that. What did Brown tell you? And they ultimately, from the reports I read, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, they ultimately cleared you. So what exactly happened? Exactly. They threw the entire rulebook at me.

They first said maybe it was emotional harm, but they stuck with, they said I violated the technology policy. And then they charged the entire board of the Brown Spectator, not just me, but all of our board members for violating the trademark policy. They said the fact that we were named the Brown Spectator was a violation of Brown's trademark. Never mind the fact that the Brown Daily Herald, which is another student newspaper here at Brown, also has Brown in the name. But we were ultimately cleared because these charges were bogus, and I think it's pretty clear that they were retaliation against us for unveiling the truth. That was uncomfortable, and Brown didn't want to be out there. Were the charges ultimately dropped? Were you cleared? They were not dropped, but we had a hearing and I won.

And so I was found not responsible for any violations. But when you say you won, explain to me why, because since we weren't there, why do you say you won? Exactly. So it's like a court procedure you go to trial. I presented my side. The administration presented their side. And an independent arbiter who's a professor who wasn't involved in any of this determined that the charges had no merit. So you got a lot of attention on this. You've been sort of a cause-seleb for a lot of conservative outlets. You're on top story tonight, the greatest news program, in streaming. And you testified before Congress. Was that your goal? Was that your ultimate goal? And was the truth not really your goal? Because if the truth wasn't your goal, then, again, then you might be an advocate, you might not be a journalist. The truth was always the goal, Tom. We were trying to expose what these administrators were doing all day, and that's why we asked them, because that's what you do if you're a credible journalist, is you ask sources for comment if you're mentioning them in your story.

And I think it's a shame that they didn't engage with the process, because that really would have been helpful for the process. But I think what we were trying to do is we're trying to raise awareness of this very important issue and make the American dream more accessible to students across the country. And if that means testifying before Congress about my findings, I'm happy to do that. But ultimately, we're trying to get the truth out there. Alex, fine, I'm going to give you the last word here. College is all about learning and life experience. What did you learn from this experience?

That's a great question. I think what I learned is that when you investigate the administration, they try to investigate you back. But I think ultimately, it's important to ask these important questions and not to back down in the face of backlash. Alex, Shea, I'm sure this is not the last we've heard from you. We thank you for joining Top Story tonight. When this fine show returns, the global pop star facing a personal battle, what the hit singer just revealed to her fans, and how it could help save the lives of others. Plus, the elephant in the room, the oversized shopper, look at this inside the supermarket, how he got there and how they got him out, plus what he ate. Stay with us.

With Top Stories Global Watch, and we begin in southern India, where at least 11 people are dead after a stampede outside of a cricket stadium. Look at this, the crowd gathering to celebrate the local team's Premier League win. Police saying some people without passes attempted to push through the gates and get inside, 33 people were injured in a state, and the team says it is, quote, anguished by what happened. The Australian woman accused of killing her in-laws with toxic mushrooms testifying her own defense today. 50-year-old Aaron Patterson saying she added the mushrooms to spice up the meal's bland flavor, but accidentally used wild mushrooms instead of dried ones from the store. The prosecution arguing she intentionally fed them the deadly mushrooms

and had lured them there with the story about undergoing cancer treatment. If found guilty, Patterson faces a life sentence. And elephant in aisle 5, a very large shopper making his way into a grocery store in Thailand. This is what that looked like. Oh, my. The elephant venturing in from a nearby national. Park filling the store from floor to ceiling, eating nine bags of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich and bananas. While this elephant is known to frequent homes, a local ranger says

this is his first visit to a store. The elephant eventually made his way back out, grabbing some snacks to go. When you're that big, you can get whatever you want to eat. Okay, we're going to take a turn here to Global Pop Star that is making headlines tonight. Jesse Jay opening up about her diagnosis with breast cancer, announcing she will undergo surgery later. this summer, fans and famous friends alike flooding the singer with words of support, as tonight research suggests announcements like hers could save lives. NBC's Kathy Park explains. Tonight singer-songwriter Jesse Jay, known for her powerful vocals and distinctive style, is putting her health in the spotlight. I was diagnosed with early breast cancer. I'm highlighting

the word early cancer sucks in any form but i'm holding on to the word early the 37 year old who built a following with catchy songs and hits with stars like ariana grande and nicky manage using her platform to bring awareness to breast cancer which roughly one and eight women are diagnosed with in their lifetime i'm an open book it breaks my heart that so many people are bones through so much similar and worse. That's the bit that kills me. Jessie J. joining other public figures like Tina Knowles and Olivia Munt, who have shared similar diagnoses and advocated for early detection. A 2020 study showing there is a direct link between media coverage of celebrities with breast cancer and a spike in searches for mammograms

or other breast examinations. Maybe it makes someone else think, well, I did feel this mask. Maybe I should go get it checked out sooner rather than later. What is the recommended age for women to begin these screenings? Yeah, so that's certainly an area of controversy, but in general, we recommend that the majority of average risk women start at the age of 40 with screening mammography. Sometimes we even start at the age of 25 for women who have certain genetic mutations. Stars like Leona Lewis, Katie Perry, and Glees Amber Riley rallying behind the singer with heartfelt comments.

Rita ora writing in part, I'm praying for you. You've got this. If we can find the cancer at a smaller size at an earlier stage when it's not in the lymph nodes, the survival is definitely better. The Grammy nominated singer announcing plans to undergo surgery after her performance next weekend in London, showing her strength in the face of a new challenge with a touch of that cheeky Jessie J. Humor that her fans know and love. It's a very dramatic way to get a boob job. I am going to disappoint. here for a bit after summertime ball to have my surgery. And I will come back with massive and more music. Jesse Jay doing what she does, not holding anything back there. Kathy Park joins us now. Kathy, you know, the key here is that Jesse Jay caught that cancer early. What can you tell our viewers about regular self-exams? Yeah, Tom, so here is a real eye-opening stat to pass along. Forty percent of diagnosed breast cancers are detected by women who feel a lump. So the

self-exams are so important. Adult women of all ages are encouraged to do this once a month. Doing it consistently, regularly will allow you to identify if something is off. And if so, you want to alert health care professionals right away. And we should note that these self-exams should not take the place of regular mammograms. And for more information on how to do a self-exam, website details are on your screen now. All right, Kathy Park, we thank you for that. And we'll be right back.

We are following breaking news tonight. Of the White House, this is happening right now. President Trump announcing a full travel ban on people from 12 countries that include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. These are just some of those countries. And partial restrictions on people from seven other countries, which include Cuba, Sierra Leone, and Venezuela. This is set to go into effect on Monday. We do have some key top lines here. The big question might be why this is happening right now from what? What we understand, the Secretary of State determined that a number of countries remain deficient with regards to screening and with vetting. Many of these countries have also taken advantage of the United States in their exploitation of our visa system. Again, this is coming from the proclamation, from the presidency, which we have just gotten moments ago into our newsroom. We also want to highlight some important points here. The White House says athletes, including coaches and immediate relatives that are traveling to the U.S. for the World Cup, the Olympics or other major sporting events. are exempt from this proclamation.

Afghan special immigrant visas are also exempted. The proclamation is effective at 12.01 a.m. Eastern daylight time on June 9th, 2025. You may be asking yourself, why are they delaying this by five days? You may remember in the first Trump administration, when they first did that travel ban, it led to backups at the airports. They may be trying to prevent that from happening. We're going to update this on our website. We'll have the latest there. We thank you so much for watching Top Story tonight on this breaking news night. I'm Tom Yamous in New York. Stay right there as always because there is more news on the way right now.