Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Episode Date: March 28, 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.

We are live tonight from Baltimore at the scene of that tragic bridge collapse. And breaking news as we come on the air, two victims pulled from the water after that massive cargo ship just behind us lost control, sending the bridge, tumbling into the water. Officials just announcing their shifting from a recovery mission to a salvage operation. Divers no longer able to safely navigate the waters to pull the rest of the construction workers presumed dead out of the water. Tonight, my conversation with an executive of the construction company on the disastrous scenario their workers were caught in. This, as we learned the identities of some of the victims and their families' unimaginable loss. Also tonight, the investigation into what went wrong, the data recorders recovered from the cargo ship, what the NTSB says that key technology could reveal.

New images show the daunting undertaking to clear the mangled debris, the toll the collapse is taking on the vital port. Also breaking tonight a deadly stabbing spree in Illinois. Four people are dead and one person is in critical condition. What we're learning about the brutal attack and the suspect now in custody. Trump blast the gag order, the former president ramping up his attacks on the judge. In his New York hush money case, his pointed words for the judge and his daughter, plus Garrett Hake's exclusive interview with new RNC co-chair Lara Trump, her reaction to voters weary of Trump's take of the Republican National Committee.

This, as President Trump is expected to attend the wake of a New York City police officer shot and killed during a traffic stop. New Yorkers on alert admit a disturbing spate of violence, women sharing their stories of getting punched in the face on the street in broad daylight, the brazen attacks calling to question safety in the city. And inside Haiti, we are on the ground

in the gang-occupied nation looking more and more like a war zone. The violent gang takeover making it nearly impossible to get basic goods to those who need it most. New mothers trying to care for their children as the country is on the brink of famine. An inside look at an orphanage still shining light amid the darkness. Top story starts right now. There we go. And good evening. Top story coming to you live tonight from the side of the deadly and devastating Baltimore Bridge collapse.

We have breaking news tonight. Officials recovering two victims trapped in a truck beneath the waters. Authorities moving from a recovery mission to what's now being called a salvage operation, saying it's no longer safe for divers to search the waters for the rest of the victims. You can see some of the fog that has rolled in just behind us. That is just one of the dangers these divers are facing. We also want to show you this moment when everything changed. Just before 1.30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, a massive cargo ship losing power and all. control, slamming into the bridge, the entire structure, tumbling into the water. Now, the crash sending eight construction workers on the bridge plunging into the waters. We know that two were rescued and are just learning two victims were pulled from the waters, trapped in a pickup truck near what was once the middle of the bridge.

Officials saying they're calling off the rest of the rescue mission, leaving families of those four men without any closure. I was able to speak with the vice president of Bronner Builders, the company who employed the men, his heartbreaking reaction over everything that's happened. Plus, this as we start to learn the identities of those who did lose their lives. Fathers and husbands working overnight to support their families, now mourning such an unfathomable loss. The NTSB recovering the ship's data recorder hoping it unlocks key information into what went wrong, and the new images showing the major undertaking of removing the boat along with what's left of the mangled bridge.

The massive debris field cutting off a vital port, one of the largest in the U.S., and one of the most important. Nearly 15,000 people rely on the daily operation of the port which processes 80 billion in goods each year. Now a heavy lift to get it up and running once again. Tonight we are learning new details on how this could have happened and the breaking new details just coming in. Tonight, what took seconds to come crashing down,

now likely to take weeks to investigate. The key bridge collapse, still too dangerous in many parts for divers to even enter the water. water, debris, sunken cars, containers, and chunks of bridge littering the river floor. Late today, we traveled to what's left of the Francis Scottke Bridge. We're just outside the perimeter of the disaster zone, about a quarter mile of where the collapse happened. And at sea level, the first thing you realize is the monstrous size of that cargo vessel.

It is so much more massive than the structure of the actual bridge. Officials say the Dolly, the ship that struck the bridge, is stable, that it has more than one and a half million gallons of fuel and 56 containers of hazardous material, but the Coast Guard saying it is not a danger. The cruise is cooperating with what we need. They remain on board. But outside the ship, investigators hitting a snag. The search and recovery efforts have been hampered by the weather here in Baltimore. There's been a steady rain all day, patchy fog, and temperatures in the 40s, but in the water, it's even worse. Drivers you won't be able to say anything. They're going to work by Phil with their hands once we get on a target.

Brian Hudson leads the FBI's underwater search and evidence response team. They're using sonar and remote operated vehicles, ROVs, to scan these waters. What have your teams been able to see down there? How bad is it? Some of the debris is still shifting. We're finding mostly a lot of chunks of debris, rocks. We're searching for vehicles, so you're looking for the shape of a vehicle. Some of the missing construction workers were inside their cars at the time of the collapse. You can actually see their vehicles lights blinking on the bridge just before impact. It's going to be very, very difficult, I think, to find them. Jeffrey Pritzker is an executive with that construction company. He says the entire company is in mourning and still in shock.

Did the message get to your employees that the ship was going to crash into the bridge? Do you know if they realized that? I don't know. I wasn't there. I can only tell you they were right in the middle span of that bridge, right in the center of the middle span. So I doubt if they heard anything frankly or knew that it was going to happen. And then what you're saying they may have been caught completely by surprise? They may have been. He says one member of their crew miraculously survived and is still unable to speak about what happened. What's it like to know that your co-workers were here one day, They went on the job and didn't come home.

It's just a horrendous feeling. It's a horrendous feeling for everybody here. As I said, nothing like this has ever happened. We're doing everything we can to assist the employees, families, with all the benefits that they're entitled to. What's your message to them to make sure they recover some remains or give some type of closure to the families? Well, my message to them is please be careful.

And we don't want any more lives lost. You know, when you think about it, as horrendous as it is to think about it. Among those missing, Miguel Luna, a father of six from El Salvador. There he is at a gender reveal party for his grandchild just this month. And Maynard Yasser Swazzo Sandoval. His brother, emotional, saying it's not easy seeing the bridge now, knowing that monster of iron is trapping my brother. So for more on the latest out of Baltimore and how this has now shifted from a search and recovery operation to a salvage operation.

We're joined live now by the president of the Baltimore City Council, Nick Mosby. Mr. President, thank you for joining us. It's hard to say that phrase, salvage operation when you know there are still four members of your community that are trapped under that water. Yeah, you know, the priority of the entire time has been the sanctity of life, ensuring that we have, held the process that was of dignity, that really spoke to who these men were to their communities and their families. And divers have been literally working around the clock. Unfortunately, it was determined by the federal, state, local subject matter experts that the conditions are just too severe to try to continue to look in. What did they tell you? Because we spoke with the FBI

dive team today. They relayed the same information. We were out there today. You can just see it from here. It's dangerous. There's fog. There's rain. And there's zero-vis. in the water. Are you hearing the same from the local diver dive teams as well? Yes, I mean, you've got to think about the level of concrete and steel and the conditions. And when you weigh all those factors together, I think that they've gone as far as they can go. And fortunately, they were able to recover two bodies, but they were not able to recover the others. What type of information are you getting from officials that if they can't even dive in these waters? How do they take out all that concrete, all that steel, the cars, the container ships in time to get this port up and running?

again? Well, the reality is we're going to have to bring huge birds and barbs in that are going to have tonnage lifters on it that will be able to go in, extract the metal, and, you know, it's going to be a tough, complicated job. But the core engineers, the federal government, has said that this is a priority. We've heard from our president yesterday in very strong fashion, in very direct fashion, that opening up the court of Baltimore is critically important. And then how is this affecting your residence day to day already? What have you heard? Well, outside of the trauma of, you know, folks that see this bridge,

this symbolism to outward mobility, to their livelihood. It literally connects the city and the county, connects them to all the jobs at the port. That's traumatic as it relates to timing, as it relates to transportation driving and need. So, you know, people who show up here, get paid by the hour, get paid by the day, they have to show up. They can't get paid.

Exactly. You know, the state is currently looking at taking action to try to support the workers at the port. But this has huge residual effects, not just to these communities, not just to the city, but to global economy. You have faith in the current leadership, in the White House, in the country. Sometimes with the news cycle, we can move very fast off tragedies like this too fast. How do you make sure people don't forget about Baltimore? I think the reality is, you know, this is the ninth largest port in the country. When we talk about the importance of the port being the most westward, eastbound port, that's why it's the number one importer of farming equipment that goes to the Midwest. So when we talk about our rail system, there's so many integral parts of Baltimore in this particular place and the port that is so important to our national economy that it will stay on the forefront. But more importantly, it's really about focusing on the sanctity of lives,

the individuals who lost their lives, for just giving us the mundane task of being able to drive. It's been less than two days. You can never forget the people who lost their lives. Besides that, what is keeping you up at night? It's the community, right? So we move on from search and rescue to now salvage. You know, how do we turn some normalcy back to something that's really important to our local economy, meaning the port? How do we turn some normalcy back to the individuals that will have to take these commutes every single day?

I mean, you know, from going from one point to the other point, you know, maybe took five minutes. Now that's going to be 45 minutes, 50 minutes an hour. So when we talk about transportation, particularly for our essential workers, it's going to be a challenge, but we have to all work together. Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby, we thank you so much for your time. Thank you for being here on Top Story. Tonight investigators are still working around the clock to determine how this disaster happened. NBC's Tom Costello has the very latest on the trail of evidence and where it's headed. While the Dolly remains trapped under tons of wreckage from the collapsed

bridge. NTSB teams were on board today, gathering evidence and identifying key crew members to interview. Already, investigators have downloaded data from the ship's so-called black box, including the ship's speed, position, power, and throttle settings at 1.30 a.m. Tuesday. That will help us enable us to begin to put together a timeline of events that occurred prior to the striking of the bridge. NTSB Chief Homody says, Investigators will also look at whether the ship received contaminated fuel, which could have shut down the engines, causing it to lose power before crashing into the bridge. Engineering experts calculate it hit with roughly 30 million pounds of applied force. The bridge like this one, completed in the 1970s, was simply not made to withstand a direct impact on a critical support pier from a vessel that weighs about 200 million pounds.

While the key bridge was built to 1970 standards, those standards changed after a freighter hit Tampa's Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1980, killing 35 people. Today, bridge support structures must be protected with barriers, like reinforced islands on Tampa's new Skyway Bridge. If the bridge had been designed to the revised specifications that took into account the ship collision conditions for that bridge, it would not have collapsed. Nearly a dozen ships are tonight trapped inside the port, even more outside, amid warnings that the supply chain and livelihoods are in jeopardy. We are concerned about the local economic impact with some 8,000 jobs directly associated with port activities. Michael Clark's business receives and empties containers from the port, then ships the freight. Now he's losing business that's going to other ports. Right now, we don't have any containers, and we can't get any containers.

immediately our business has shut down. And Tom Costello joins Top Story once again tonight. Tom, throughout their investigation, is the NTSB going to hold anyone liable? I know right now this appears to be a freak accident, but what are you hearing? Bottom line here, the NTSB will take up to two years to have a complete and full report,

and they will likely pinpoint who or what went wrong and the process by which it went wrong. But today it was Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg, who said, if an individual company is found to be responsible and liable, they will be held accountable. What that means, we don't know. And Tom, as you know, the story is changing pretty fast. We had some news earlier in the broadcast about the two bodies that had been recovered here. But now that this mission is changing once again in just two days going from a search and recovery to salvage mission, because it's just too dangerous for divers. You've covered a lot of these accidents.

What does that tell you about the sort of the accident that we witnessed in real time and what we're seeing just over our shoulders? You know, I talked to the NTSB chief today. I've covered the NTSB for 20 years, and we both agreed this is perhaps the most complex and difficult investigation the agency has undertaken for a long, long time. But the Department of Transportation from Maryland said today its priority is to get that port reopened as fast as possible. It's got to clear the wreckage and then hopefully reopen enough of the port pathway that ships can get in. That's vital to the economy here. So that's

going to be number one. I think we're talking weeks, best case scenario, maybe more than a month, worst case scenario. The investigation, though, that will take 12 to 18 months and then probably two years before the final report is all done. That timeline gives you a scope of this investigation. All right. Tom Costello for us tonight. Tom, we appreciate it. We'll have much more on the bridge collapse from here in Baltimore throughout the broadcast. But we're also following some breaking news out of Illinois where authorities say a man went on a stabbing spree in Rockford. That's about 90 miles west of Chicago. At least four people are dead and several others are hurt. I want to get right over to Maggie Vespa who joins us live from Chicago. Maggie, I know we're just getting the details in, but walk us through what you know so far. So Tom, we actually just got some breaking news that we're bringing to you here on top story first. A United States Postal Service rep confirming to us just moments ago that a letter carrier, a mail carrier, is among what they said, the victims in this case. We followed up asking if that means a male carrier was killed or is one of the five survivors. We haven't yet got an answer.

We'll update our reporting if and when we do. In the meantime, again, you said this grim scene, multiple grim scenes in the city of Rockford, west of Chicago. You can see the video. Clearly, at least one of those scenes is in the middle of a residential area, just a normal neighborhood. And you can see the size of the law enforcement response. We're told they have city, county, even federal authorities on the scene. And we're also told there were multiple scenes. They didn't say exactly how many. With four people killed, five others wounded, all of them stabbed wounds. Authorities were clear at a news conference that there were no shooting injuries in this case. They also say they have a suspect in custody, a man. And they say they believe that person worked alone, meaning they believe there are no other suspects out there at the moment. They're not releasing a name of the suspect at this point. They're not telling us what kind of relationship that person may have had to the victims or if they even knew each other. Only that 911 calls Tom started pouring in about these incidents, one of them being a home invasion around 115 today, and all of this horror just kind of unfolded from there.

You know, Maggie, we're piecing a few things together. I know it sounds like there's still a lot we don't know. There's, I guess, no word yet on a motive then, right? Correct? Yeah, exactly. I mean, a lot of these scenarios, you know, sometimes it seems like authorities have an idea of what the motive might be, but they're not ready to release it just yet. That doesn't seem to be the case here. Authorities being very clear in the news conference, they say we don't have any clear motive on, in this case, just yet. So it seems like they're still in the dark on that front. One detail that they did release is in the case of that home invasion, they say there appears to have been some kind of fight between the attacker and a woman in that home and that she was able to escape. After she came running out, they say she had defensive wounds on her hands and her face. She survived and was helped by a good Samaritan. But again, they're not saying what kind of relationships exist here, if any, and the motive, still a huge mystery in this case in Rockford, Tom. All right, Maggie Vespa covering those breaking developments for us. Maggie, we appreciate that. We now want to turn to the race for the White House, former President Trump condemning a judge's decision to impose a gag order in his New York criminal hush money trial as he prepares to return to the campaign trail. And tonight in an NBC News exclusive interview with our Garrett Haake, new R&C co-chair, Lara Trump said the GOP,

needs to unite behind her father-in-law. Here's Garrett with that report. Former President Trump tonight slamming a judge's gag order in the New York Hush Money case now set to go to trial next month. The judge writing, Mr. Trump's previous comments have been threatening, inflammatory, and denigrating. But Mr. Trump calls the order, which bars him from publicly discussing witnesses, jurors, or court staff, vicious for, quote, wrongfully attempting to deprive me of my First Amendment right. The order does not prevent criticism of the Democratic.

Democratic DA or the judge. He's a Democrat judge. He wants to do that because they're all trying to damage Trump as much as possible. It's having the reverse effect, but maybe someday it won't. And tonight, the new RNC co-chair, his daughter-in-law, Laura Trump, telling NBC news it's time for Republican voters who backed other candidates to fall in line. How do you convince them? Do you agree with the premise that they need to be convinced? The option is Joe Biden or Donald Trump. And so whether you like his personality or not should not have any bearing on anything. We would love to have them come back. She's arguing the

GOP must embrace voting early and by mail and turn the page on 2020, even as the presumptive nominee still falsely claims he won. And it was rigged and it was stolen. Is it going to be the position of the RNC in 2024 that the 2020 election was not fairly decided or that it was stolen somehow? Well, I think we're past that. I think that's in the past. We learned a lot. Certainly we took a lot of notes. Right now, we have 23 states that have have 78 law suits in these states to ensure that it is harder to cheat and easier to vote. And tomorrow, New York City, will have four presidents in town. Donald Trump to attend the wake of a slain NYPD officer, President Biden hosting a mega fundraiser with former president's

Obama and Clinton by his side. Tom? Garrett, Hank, with that big interview from the campaign trail, Garrett, we thank you for that. We're also following another major story, new details on the conflict in Haiti and the impacts here at home. Three U.S. officials telling NBC News that for now the Biden administration will not change the way it detains or processes Haitian migrants in the U.S., and there are no plans to allow more Haitian migrants in. Nearly 500 human rights organizations sent a letter to the White House calling to temporarily stop deportation of Haitian migrants because of what's happening there in the country. Now, this decision comes as the situation in Haiti worsens. Are Ellison Barber going

inside the island nation and spoke to residents there as their country teeters on the brink of famine and complete gang control. From the outside, Haiti is a nation on the brink of total anarchy. Getting out is a major feat, and getting in takes time too. It took days for our team to get clearance from the Dominican Republic's government to cross their border into Haiti. We're crossing into the border this side. Once we walk through here, we're in Haiti.

We'll get in this car and make our way to the next location. These people, they're waiting, but they've been told that they can't cross today. Because the market inside is not open today. We made our way through Guantamante, Haiti. Violence in Port-of-Prince is relentless. Police and gangs battling it out in the streets almost every day. But in the country's north, within the gates of Mission Life International's orphanage and birthing center, you don't hear gunfire.

You hear laughing. You hear laughing, playing, dreaming. What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a doctor. I hope to be heading going to be better. That's what I hope, and I always pray for that too. I want to have a family, like, so I can travel with them all around the world. That's my dream.

At the birthing center, we meet women trying to care for newborns in a country on the brink of famine. Sara El is just three months old. She is Jean Nelande Kadez's fourth child and first baby girl. Jean tells us she is a nurse. But she doesn't have a job right now. She has a pharmacy, but these days doesn't sell much. And finding clean drinking water where affordable food is a Herculane feat. Have you had any moments where you've worried that you might not be able to keep your kids safe or to feed them?

Every day, she says. Every day. We pray that God will keep us safe our kids. God is the only security. So there are midwives and nurses like this woman who are working hard to care for patients. But one of the challenges in Haiti, whether it's a small nonprofit like this or a big humanitarian organization like the World Food Program, is getting in supplies that they need. You see this, in these spaces where there should be more medical supplies, they have it, it's here. But because gangs currently control the majority of the ports in this country and most of them are closed, humanitarian aid, medical supplies, it isn't getting in.

in as fast as it's really needed in places like this. When we ask people what they think of Haiti's gangs and notorious gangsters like Jimmy barbecue Cherisei, almost immediately they stop talking. I don't think about that. They'll tell you they do not want to live in a Haiti like this. They want to elect new politicians who hold legitimate elections and are not corrupt. They want some help from the the international community to reestablish security, but ultimately they tell us true change will come from Haitians.

Military intervention will not be the real solution, she says. And second of all, we don't like for people to give us fish, teach us how to fish. Because Haitians are able to do it themselves. We only need to be standing on our own feet. We've spoken to a lot of the moms here, and no matter how young or how old their children are, we asked them what is their hope for their child's future, and every time the answer is pretty much the same. They say they hope that they will have a peaceful future in Haiti, and that right now their

kids don't go to bed on an empty stomach. Tom? It is so incredible, Alison, that those people there, including the children, can still find hope. Thank you. Please stay safe. We'll have much more ahead tonight from Baltimore, where authorities have called off recovery efforts for the remaining victims of a bridge collapse. And tonight, more questions about what was happening on that cargo ship. Before it crashed into the bridge, one expert walks us through what ship pilots are trained to do when one of these massive vessels loses power. Plus, we're following other major headlines tonight, including a disturbing pattern of violence in New York City. Why women are taking a TikTok saying they were punched in the face. at random. We speak to one of those women about that terrifying incident, plus what the NYPD is saying. Stay with us. Back now with a troubling string of incidents in New York City, several women taking to TikTok to describe the terrifying moments they were punched in the face on the street, completely

unprovoked by men they did not know. The NYPD tonight says they've made at least one arrest, as questions amount about whether these cases could all be linked. NBC Stephen Romo has this story. I was literally just walking, and a man came up and punched me in the face. Stories from New York City women going viral on TikTok. I literally just got punched by some man on the sidewalk. Their videos detailing how they're allegedly getting punched in the face completely unprovoked. Several women have posted these videos describing similar allegations in just the last week.

Hallie Kate posted about an assault on Monday. She says she had to be treated at a local medical facility for injuries to the left side of her face. Oh, my God. It hurts so back. I can't even talk. Olivia Brand, posting updates on her own experience earlier this month after commenters on TikTok started connecting the two cases. I did just get a call from the New York Police Department detective. The NYPD says it's investigating the incidents, but says it's unclear right now whether they're they're connected. Police announced one assault arrest related to Halley's case, 40-year-old Skyboki Stora, taken into custody. Other users posting videos expressing shock, fear, and even sharing

tips for staying safe, like not being distracted on your phone while you're out and about. It's not the first time this type of incident has been reported in the city. When videos like that first started popping up, everyone was sending them to me and like commenting and like adding me and saying like look this girl went through something similar. Elio Wagner says she was punched in the face by someone she didn't know last September. So we were kind of like walking toward each other and he didn't seem crazy or scary or anything. And then before I knew it, he kind of went at me diagonally and punched me in the face and ran that way. NYPD data from last month shows many crimes are down in the city compared with last year.

including shootings, burglaries, and murders, but felony assaults are up. Broken down by weak, misdemeanor assaults are up 10% compared to the same period last year. However, this data is not broken down by gender, and some women like Elio, who carries a self-defense kit, saying in light of recent attacks, they don't feel safer. I love New York, but as a woman, it is very scary, so I kind of feel safer, like carrying something with me to defend myself. That way, in case this happens again, I'm not completely defenseless. Stephen Romo joins us tonight live from New York City. Stephen, I'm learning something now about that self-defense kid as well. What else are we hearing about this one suspect that is

in custody tonight? Yeah, we've learned quite a bit about him, Tom. Skyboki store. He actually is a bit of a fringe political figure, ran for mayor of New York City back in 2021. And he has now been charged with this assault for one of these cases. It's important to point out, police have not identified him as a suspect in any of the other cases. We did try to reach him and a lawyer for him today to get more information from them directly, and we were not able to hear from them tonight. But certainly these other cases as well, more to follow on that, Tom. Yeah, Steve, a big thanks to you and your team for putting that news on our radar. We want to move on now to the growing outrage over a racist crime involving the Utah Women's Basket

football team, the incident all unfolding ahead of the team's opening game at the NCAA tournament. And now tonight, the FBI joining the ongoing police investigation. NBC's Dana Griffin has this one. Racism is real, and it happens. And it's awful. What was supposed to be a thrilling start to the NCAA tournament. Young, dynamic off the bench turned a shocking racist experience for the Utah women's basketball team Thursday as they walked from their hotel to a nearby restaurant. The vehicle drove by and several racial slurs were yelled by the occupants of the vehicles. The team made up of black, white, and Latina athletes was staying in Cordillane, Idaho, 35 minutes from the Spokane, Washington Arena. Surveillance video shows the team inside the restaurant

and later leaving, but not the actual incident. After dinner, it happened again. According to the police report, the drivers of two trucks revved their engines and yelled the inward. Coach Lynn Roberts addressed the incident Monday night following their loss to Gonzaga. For our players and staff to not feel safe in an NCAA tournament environment, it's messed up. The NCAA and Gonzaga helped the team move to a new hotel as a safety precaution. The FBI says they are prepared to investigate. To the young women who endured racial slurs while visiting, I offer my most sincere apology.

A press conference Monday to denounce the hate, cut short. You're out of order. After a man, the mayor described as a known white supremacist interrupted. This press conference is ended. The area has a long history of racial conflict, the latest, a new stain many locals want no part of. It is not who we are. It's not what we want to represent. Police are interviewing witnesses and looking at surveillance video.

The FBI also went on to say that if in the court. of this investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal violation. They are prepared to get involved. Tom? All right, Dana, thank you. When we come back, we continue our coverage of this deadly bridge collapse live from Baltimore. We know the boat lost power before plowing into the bridge. So was there anything the ship pilot could have done? Up next, we're joined live by a man who trains those pilots. He'll walk us through a simulation, showing us exactly what they have to do, how they train and what it's like to be at the helm of ships just like the ones behind us. Stay with us.

We are back now here in Baltimore where the recovery mission for the bodies of the four remaining victims of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse has turned into a salvage operation. You can see the wreckage rising out of the water just behind us at cargo ship there decimating the bridge And as we mentioned earlier, it suffered a complete blackout and engine failure before it crashed. For more on the training procedures for cargo ship pilots, which is so critical, I'm joined tonight by John Flanagan. He's the vice principal of academic affairs at maritime professional training. John, thanks so much for joining Top Story. You train pilots for a living.

How are pilots able to navigate these ships? How do you train them with the technology in front of you? Walk us through what a typical day would be like inside that simulator. Hey, Tom. Thanks for having me. So a typical day inside the simulator, we queue up an exercise similar to what you would see here. We would give the pilots or whoever our students are a briefing of what the exercise is going to entail and, of course, the objective of the exercise. We would run the exercise, we would monitor them, see what actions they take. We have kind of a general sequence of events that are followed, and then after the exercise is concluded,

we'll restate the objective and then we'll conduct a thorough debrief. John, so what our viewers are looking at right there, it's essentially what the bridge looks like on the cargo ship that we have just behind us here, right? But the screens are all, I guess, video screens, and then the controls, though, they actually work like the boat would work? Exactly. It's a full mission simulator, so this simulated model of a container ship reacts exactly like the actual model, the actual container ship. So the ship is going to react to the sea and the swell, the bottom of the sea floor, exactly like it would in real life, Tom. John, I can't tell because of my location, but is the simulator actually moving? Is the simulator working right now? Is this kind of what the pilots would see in the bridge if they were on, say, the port of Baltimore?

Yes, exactly. We're outbound right now. We're actually just about approaching the simulated model of the Francis Gaki Bridge. So the simulator is moving. We are underway, making way. And, yeah, this is exactly what they would see with their outbound Baltimore. John, I'm curious. We know that the boat here, the dolly was going about eight knots, 9.2 miles per hour.

How fast are you going right now tonight? Yep, right now we're going 8.6 nautical miles an hour, so a similar speed to that of the dolly, apparently. So, you know, I know you can't get into specifics. You actually, I'm not completely sure, but I don't think you train the actual pilot in this case. But I do want to ask, is there a simulation for the ship becoming a total blackout as the pilot association has told me today that that's what happened? There was a total blackout, and the engines just did not come back on. Right. So we train all sorts of people at MPT. So pilots are some of our students. usually what will happen is they will say, okay, we want to have this scenario in this port

and we want to simulate on these type of ships the following emergencies. And one of those could be a total blackout of the vessel or total engine failure, rudder failure, something of that nature. And again, these pilots, they would have to follow an emergency operating procedure and they would essentially see how they do in that particular operation. John, how difficult is it to successfully navigate in this simulator a blackout where the engines just don't work anymore? I mean, is that the worst-case scenario, I would think, you know, maybe just above the ship actually taking on water and sinking? I mean, it is one of the worst.

I would say it's probably definitely top ten, if not top five, just due to the interconnectedness of everything that we have. I mean, you can see all the electronics that I have here, Tom. It's significant. So when the power goes out, some of this equipment has a battery backup. But again, you know, sometimes those batteries don't have enough juice to supply the power to it. So if there's a complete and total blackout, then yeah, that's certainly some of the worst things that could possibly happen. John, finally, you do so much training there, but nothing really comes close to the real thing. and a situation like this, what I'm seeing with my eyes, the reality behind me,

I mean, is there any training that can sort of put you in that position to know exactly what to do? Oh, my goodness. I would say, no, it's all based on the situation. So we can simulate here all day long, but at the end of the day, it is up to the professional judgment experience of that pilot. What do they see that's actually happening? And then the decisions they make after that, It's totally based on the situation. But we can prepare and prepare and prepare, but again, it's all about, you know, the experience and really the situation at hand. John Flanagan, we appreciate your time. We thank you for walking our viewers through how you train these river pilots.

Coming up next, the latest on the raids of Sean Diddy Combs' homes, the weapons found inside his L.A. and Miami houses as this artist faces multiple sex trafficking lawsuits. next. We're back tonight from Baltimore. We're going to have the latest on the bridge tragedy in a few minutes, but we want to turn to some other headlines, major headlines tonight that we're following. Former Connecticut senator and vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman has died at the age of 82. Kelly O'Donnell has a look back at his career that cemented him in American politics. Voted to public service and his deep personal faith. Leiberman was a four-term U.S. Senator from Connecticut and a man of history as the first Jewish American on a presidential ticket. Al Gore's running mate in 2000. Tonight, I am so proud

to stand as your candidate for Vice President of the United States. Senator Lieberman died this afternoon in New York. A statement from his family said his passing followed complications from a fall. A hawk on defense. His support of the Iraq War cost him among Democrats. Lieberman became an independent, later a founder of the no-labels organization, and his friendship with John McCain was part of his break with the Democratic Party. I'm here to support John McCain because country matters more than party. An Orthodox Jew, Lieberman often walked to critical votes in the Senate,

moved by faith and a desire for common ground. All right, we thank Kelly O'Donnell for that. We turn out of Top Story's news feed and new details tonight on the raids of the homes belonging to Sean Diddy Combs. Multiple sources confirmed to NBC News that federal agents found firearms during the searches in L.A. and Miami. It is not immediately clear what kind of firearms were found or who they belong to. Combs is reportedly the subject of a federal criminal investigation and is facing multiple sex trafficking lawsuits. His attorney says Combs is innocent and will be clear. popular video game streamer Tyler Blevins, also known as Ninja, revealed that he has been diagnosed with cancer.

In a post, he shared on X, Blevins said that doctors removed a mole on the bottom of his foot and it turned out to be melanoma. Blevins says the doctors are optimistic that they caught it in the early stages. He urged his followers to get their skin checked. Ninja is the most followed person on Twitch and is currently one of the most popular personalities in e-sports. And a consumer alert tonight, Subaru recalling 10018,000 vehicles due to safety concerns with airbags, the company recalling Outback and Legacy vehicles from 2020 to 2022. According to federal regulators, a piece in the car's sensors can crack and short circuit, which could prevent the front passenger airbag to deploy in a crash. Subaru dealers will replace sensors in the front passenger seat free of charge.

All right, we want to move overseas now to Paris. preparations are underway for the 2024 Olympic Games. Hundreds of thousands will be flooding the city this summer to watch the world's top athletes compete, but with that major influx of spectators comes concerns. This year, city officials are gearing up for what will be a historic security operation. NBC's Keir Simmons has that story. When the spectacular Olympic opening ceremony gets underway on the Sen this summer, this may be the best seat in Paris.

NBC News was given exclusive access into the operation to keep athletes and spectators safe, including from the air. It's a bird's eye view of an unprecedented open Olympics in the heart of this beloved city. So we're over the river sand right now. Under the Eiffel Tower, there'll be beach volleyball as world-famous landmarks become sports venues, like fencing and taekwondo at their... Grand Palais and archery at the Esplan des Envalides. The heart of Paris hosting so many Olympic events, officials say the security operation will itself make history.

There will be 45,000 security personnel across Paris, doing these guys. The helicopter unit of the military police, the National Gendarmerie, say they are able to reach anywhere in Paris, any time. We can take off in five minutes, 24 hours. hours and will able to offer two to three helicopters whenever it's needed. Ahead of the opening ceremony with 10,000 athletes and 300,000 spectators, officials say they'll search and secure every neighboring rooftop. And on one of those rooftops, the Jean d'Armarie's anti-drone squad.

Tell us they liaise with forces like the NYPD using a radar gun to neutralize illegal drones. Voyage? Flying with a drone above a forbidden area is six months jail. Six months in jail. But the operation will actually get underway on May 8th when the Olympic torch relay begins. Last week, a gendarmerie security team called Guardians of the Flame were put through their paces. NBC News was there.

They will run alongside the torch carriers forming a security bubble. through 65 French cities, past 100 symbolic sites, over three months. Many involved in the operation only wanted us to use their first names, like Gregoire. We are watching for if a person wants to break the torch, to put water on the torch. Enzo, a 22-year-old member of the riot squad, will be there too, ready to step into any major disturbance. If you don't have to do anything, this is the best Olympics. Anything is going good, that we don't have to do something. Yes, it's the better.

This week, France raising its security alert level following the Moscow terror attack. But protecting the Paris Olympic Games has been years in the planning. We will continue to defend the values of our country and to welcome the world. On the front line, too, four and a half-year-old. old Praxis. The Belgian Shepherd trained to both search and attack if there's a threat. He's a beautiful dog. So will they maybe get a chance to watch some Olympic sport? We'll be working, he says. So we're performing at 360 around the village.

Over the Olympic stadium, the helicopter team promises we won't see them, but they'll have eyes everywhere in the city of light. so that people who are coming in Paris can feel safe. And with that, Kier Simmons joins us live tonight from our top story studios in New York. So Kier, what can fans expect with these new security measures as they enter the games and want to watch the events? Well, Tom, they will see the security and they won't see the security. So inevitably, there will be the checks. Of course, everything will be ticketed. There are we told a million background checks.

underway, but many of the gendarmerie that we spoke to in that really extraordinary access that we got there over a period of two days, it told us that their job will be to be out of sight. The helicopter, for example, you're very unlikely to see it. They'll still be watching. And those riot police that you saw in my report there, they say, if they aren't seen, then that's the perfect scenario for them. I've got to tell you, and I've covered many Olympics, there are always concerns about many things or something in the build-up to a games, and then there's the opening ceremony, and then the celebration begins. And hopefully the folks who are lucky enough to have tickets for the games,

they're going to enjoy themselves and not notice too much security. Kear Simmons, with another great report on the Olympics as we look forward to perish this summer. Kier, we appreciate all your reporting. When we come back, the latest on the deadly bridge collapse here in Baltimore, the new details coming in about the lives lost. the brother of one of those construction workers speaking to our George Solis, the final conversation he says they had before his brother got on that bridge. Stay with us.

And finally tonight, as we look out over the bridge and all of that wreckage, we can't stop but help and think of all the victims tonight, who were fathers, grandfathers, husbands, and friends. For their families, a long journey of grieving is ahead of them. Some of them gathering in this area trying to get answers early. today. That's where George Solis met the brother of Maynor, Yassir, Suazo Sandoval from Honduras. George, thanks for joining Top Story tonight. What did that brother tell you? Tom, it's really hard to put into words. The family is just heartbroken. All of those families

in a room awaiting word when they would get word that their loved one was found. And sadly, as we know, today two of those families got that message. And Carlos Swazzo says his brother was a loving man, someone who was a family man. He leaves behind. a wife, an 18-year-old son, and a six-year-old daughter, very young family. He spoke with me. It was hard for him to put into words what this means. They were hoping for some good news. They learned this was now a recovery for his body.

They are hoping they could get that body for those funeral plans in Honduras. Take a listen. I want to say my elma. A little bit of a three. Domingue at last 13. A break. Yeah, Tom. So that last moment with him, giving his brother a hug, not knowing that would be the last interaction those two would have.

You know, it is so tough for this community, be tough for anyone. But as we just learned there, a lot of these family members, they only speak Spanish. They're getting this information, sometimes secondhand. There's a lot that we still don't know. I mean, there are four families that still have no idea where their loved ones are. There's the language barrier. I had a chance to speak with the construction company earlier, and they said they're doing everything they can, including the owner meeting with all the families and providing them all the benefits they can.

But I can't imagine and once understanding what those family members went through. I mean, we learned today they likely were taken completely by surprise. Yeah, that's right, Tom. And in any language, this fear, this heartbreak, it translates. We see it in the community. We hear it in the voices of the people that have come out to pay their respects to all of those workers. Think about what that bridge represents to the people of Maryland, of this country. That bridge is resiliency.

And they were just hoping for some good news in all of this, that they would find those bodies. And unfortunately, obviously, that was not the outcome. We only have about 40 seconds here, but is Baltimore rallying around these families? Are they supporting them? from what you're seeing? Absolutely. And as we've heard Governor Westmore say, Maryland strong, Baltimore strong. Everyone here united. We know there's going to be vigils. We know there's going to be a lot of support for these families and these communities that are impacted by the loss of the bridge and these families that have been affected by this tragedy, Tom. We really hope

they get the support they need right now. George Salis, who has been leading a lot of our coverage here in Baltimore. We thank you for that report and everything you've been doing over the last couple days. We thank you for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamis in Baltimore. Stay right there. More news on the way.