Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Episode Date: March 7, 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.

Breaking tonight, a jury finding rust armor Hannah Gutier's read guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of cinematographer Helena Hutchins, the 26-year-old convicted. After just over two hours of deliberations, the case centering on how a live round of ammunition ended up in actor Alec Baldwin's prop gun, ultimately killing Hutchins. What she now faces as Alec Baldwin's case still looms. Also tonight, Nikki Haley clears the way for a White House rematch between former President Trump and President Biden.

Haley calling it quits after losing all but one Super Tuesday contest, the move igniting a battle to win over her supporters, how Trump plans to do just that as he picks up a key endorsement, the state of the race, and what to expect in the long road ahead.

Willis' relationship leave. We're hearing from the attorney who first brought allegations against D.A. Fonnie Willis in the Georgia election interference case. The moment she was tipped off, about the romantic relationship between Willis and the special prosecutor she hired, and Willis's response to the state investigation,

marking her first time speaking out since her fireworks testimony in that Georgia courtroom. Zelensky targeted, a Russian missile landing close to the Ukrainian president's convoy, also carrying the Greek prime minister, the strike less than half a mile away rattling the two leaders, what we're learning about the close call. Calling in the National Guard to protect. New York City subways? New York Governor Kathy Hokel taking drastic measures following an uptick of violent crimes on the bustling transit system. We hear tonight from a musician struck in the

head for playing his cello what he has to say about the terrifying moments. Plus a top story exclusive. Nearly seven months since the deadly wildfires ripped through Lahaina, we speak to the governor of Hawaii, which sparked one of the nation's deadliest disasters. A new fund offering help the survivors, but there's a catch. Those who take the money won't be allowed to sue those who contributed to the fund. And Elon versus OpenAI. Tech giants battling it out after Elon Musk followed a lawsuit, arguing the company diverted from its non-profit mission.

Open AI firing back, pulling out emails, allegedly showing Musk with a money play idea. We asked ChatGPT, what's the real story? Top story. It starts right now. And good evening. We want to come on the air with that breaking news tonight. Rust armor, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the deadly onset shooting of cinematographer Helena Hutchins. 26-year-old Gutierrez-Reed taken into custody after the verdict was announced late today. The jury only deliberating for about two and a half hours following a nearly two-week trial. Prosecutors argued that she loaded a live round into a prop gun that Alec Baldwin fired on the New Mexico set of the Western film back in October of 2021. That shot killing Hutchins, who was a decorated filmmaker, wife, and mother.

The film's director was also hit, but he is okay. Police later finding evidence of several live rounds on set. Baldwin was indicted a second time on manslaughter charges back in January. He pleaded not guilty, and his trial begins this July. But for more on tonight's verdict, let's come. get right over to Dana Griffin, who joins us outside that courthouse in Santa Fe. Dana, walk us through this verdict and what was the key piece of evidence you think for jurors tonight? Yeah, Tom, so count one, involuntary manslaughter, guilty, count two, tampering with evidence, not guilty.

I actually spoke with one of the jurors outside of court and asked him what sealed the deal. He says it was a fact that she did not do her job by shaking those rounds before loading it into that weapon. He said it was a no-brainer. He said some of the jurors, you know, went back and forth, but at the end, they ultimately decided that she needed to be guilty. But as far as the tampering with evidence charged, that was in relation to her allegedly handing a coworker a baggie of cocaine to toss because she didn't want that to be part of the investigation. They said that it just didn't seem like they proved their case and that it was just kind of unnecessary. So that's why they went with not guilty. You know, this has been such a high profile case, and the judge alluded to that right before the verdict was read.

even after when she was talking to jurors. What was the mood like in the courtroom? I mean, it was very silent as we waited for that verdict to be read on the front row. For the first time, Hannah's mom was in court. She gave out an audible, like, gasp. She was crying. She was sobbing. There were moments when they were telling Hannah that she would be remanded, that she told her.

Hannah looked back at her mom. She said, bye, you guys, because she had other friends and family on that. The woman says, love you, honey. Hannah blew a kiss to that woman. And obviously, when she left and the judge had left, that woman stood up and started, you know, saying expletives. And she's obviously upset. And even the defense attorney says that he felt that the state did not prove their case,

and they planned to appeal, Tom. And then do we know how much prison time she possibly faces, if any? So if convicted on both, she faced up to three years. But because they only convicted her on the involuntary manslaughter, That is 18 months in jail. Now, the judge is going to decide for sentencing, so they're planning to come back sometime in April, possibly May. We don't have a court date yet, so she could face up to 18 months in prison. Tom.

Dana Griffin, leading us off tonight here on Top Story, Dana, we appreciate that. For more on this verdict, let's bring in NBC News analyst, Angela Senadella. Angela, was this a textbook involuntary sort of manslaughter verdict? This wasn't surprising? I really think it was pretty textbook. So there were only two things they had to prove here. First, willful disregard for the safety of others and that this was foreseeable. Now, if you followed the prosecution's case, they built a strong case that there was a pattern of almost total neglect.

They had witnesses up there saying that she just was pulling ammo out of her fanny pack. The words they used were sloppy. Yes, and chaotic. And this is not what happens on a movie set. That's what manslaughter cases are based in. What is the standard? How far did they deviate? It sounds like she deviated very far.

Alec Baldwin's case is up next. We know he was not only an actor who held that weapon. He was also an executive producer on the film. How will this verdict, or at least this case, affect Alec Baldwin, and did we learn anything new? So it could go either way, but my best guess is that it'll actually help Alec Baldwin. And that's because at this point, we have two out of the three people who've handled the gun who've been proven guilty. Obviously here, Hannah Gutier's read. She was the first person who was supposed to check the gun.

She failed. The second person who she handed that gun to, Dave Halls, has already pled guilty and also testified here that he didn't really check the gun when he was supposed to. So then it gets passed on after it's been called out as a cold gun to Alec Baldwin. I almost think two out of three. That might be enough, Tom. But prosecutors still brought this case. What do you think they see that you don't tonight? Why the prosecutors brought the case.

Alec Baldwin, yeah, against Alec Baldwin. Well, it could also go the other way. First of all, they brought this case before knowing what this verdict was going to be. Also, the prosecutors love having a first dry run. Hannah Gutier's Reid going first. They know what evidence works, what doesn't, so there's still a great chance that he could be convicted. Angela, Senadella, we always appreciate your legal analysis. Thank you.

The other major headline tonight, of course, the rematch for the White House. Nikki Haley, bowing out of the presidential race, clearing the way for a face-off between former President Trump and President Biden. The end of her campaign marking a new and unprecedented chapter of the 2024 election. It's the first time in more than a century that a former president will run against a current president. Trump's steamrolling Haley and nearly all of the early races getting close to the number of delegates needed to win the nomination. Haley's seizing just one of the 15 Republican contest on Super Tuesday, the major loss prompting the decision to suspend her campaign, but stopping short of endorsing Trump. Biden and Trump now battling it out to pick up Haley supporters. But when asked how former President Trump would bring her voters over to his tent back during the new

In the New Hampshire primary, he said this. They're going to all vote for me again. They're going to all vote for me again, everybody. And I'm not sure we need too many. I'm not sure. I think that Biden is the worst president in the history of this country. But we're going to all come back. They're all coming back.

Both candidates facing serious roadblocks and persuading voters, voters they are capable of handling the job. Biden, the oldest sitting president in U.S. history, facing doubts over his mental fitness. Trump, on the other hand, fighting 91 felony. counts, setting up for a grueling few months balancing the courtroom and the campaign trail. NBC's Garrett Hake has the latest on the race. Tonight, the rematch, though polls show most Americans don't want it. After their massive wins in nearly every Super Tuesday contest, President Biden and former President Trump appear set for another face-off, with Nikki Haley now dropping out of the

Republican race. In all likelihood, Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee when our party convention meets in July. I congratulate him and wish him well. Haley then challenging her former boss whom she pointedly did not endorse. It is now up to Donald Trump

to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And I hope he does that. The battle now on for her backers. President Biden urging Haley supporters to join him in opposing Mr. Trump, writing, I know there is a lot we won't agree on.

I hope and believe we can find common ground. Mr. Trump inviting Haley supporters to join, quote, the greatest movement in the history of our nation while boasting Haley got trounced last night. They call it Super Tuesday for a reason. The former president carrying 14 of 15 states in play overnight, NBC News projects, securing landslide victories from Maine to Minnesota to California, with Haley winning only Vermont, allowing Mr. Trump to focus fully on President Biden. He's the worst president in the history of our There's never been anything like what's happening to our country. Mr. Trump also securing the endorsement of Mitch McConnell, who had sharply criticized

the former president's conduct around January 6th and was the last remaining member of Republican congressional leadership not to support his return to the White House. But today McConnell praising Trump, writing, during his presidency, we worked together to accomplish great things for the American people. Despite her big defeats, Haley did attract more than a quarter of the vote in many primaries. Trump's challenge, haley voters unwilling to shift their support. There's no way I want Trump in office. Meanwhile, NBC News projecting President Biden won nearly every Democratic contest, except for a surprising loss in the American Samoa caucus. Recent polls show Mr. Trump leading

Mr. Biden in a head-to-head matchup within the margin of error. Now the Trump campaign will look to scale up and shift focus towards November. People shouldn't expect a big change in tone or strategy from the campaign or the candidate. Why, it's working. What we're currently doing is working. Garrett joins us tonight from West Palm Beach, Florida. Garrett, I know you have some new reporting on an issue a lot of voters are concerned about. Will there be a debate in this general election?

We know that the former president skipped out in the GOP primary debates, and the Biden White House signaled that the current president may not go to debates. What do we know tonight? Yeah, Donald Trump has flipped the position he held in the primary. and the position that the RNC held up until the moment he posted earlier today that he would like to debate Joe Biden any time, any place, anywhere, believing that he would be stronger on stage against the incumbent president. Historically, incumbents do pretty poorly in a first debate,

but they tend to recover. Donald Trump wants to get that started now. Now it is the Biden campaign saying they're not committing to any debates. Watch this to be a significant storyline going into the summer and fall, Tom. We know that we'll follow that. I want you to talk to our viewers about the Trump campaign war chest. We know a lot of donations the president took in over the last two years have gone to fund his lawyers and his various court cases. Where does that money stand tonight?

Yeah, I think one of the reasons that Donald Trump's campaign is glad this primary is over early is that they can focus on finance now and trying to refill that war chest. Traditionally, this period between the end of the primary and the conventions is a period focused on fundraising. That need is particularly acute for Donald Trump, who's not only having to fund his campaign and rebuild an RNC that is effectively broke, but he's also using that, say, money to help pay his legal bills, which will only mount as more of his cases start to move towards trial. Of course, that big Supreme Court hearing coming up next month on immunity, another major thing to watcher. It gets expensive to run for president and defend yourself on the legal front at the same time, Tom.

These donors are going to have to reach deep into their pockets to get Donald Trump through to November. All right, Garrett Hake, from the campaign trail tonight. Like Garrett mentioned, Nikki Haley did manage to make waves during the Republican primary and win a percentage of voters that were looking for an alternative candidate in this election. Now the big question is, where do those voters go? Ali Vitale is our NBC news correspondent who has been covering the Haley campaign. She's in South Carolina tonight. Allie, so talk to us about what have the Haley voters been telling you throughout this process

and our team, and what's the feeling where do they end up going? This is exactly the position, Tom, that most Haley supporters I've been talking to over the last few months didn't want to end up in. They load the idea of having to choose between Trump and Biden, and many of them say that now that this is the circumstance, they might stay home come November. You think about states like Wisconsin or Michigan or Virginia or Georgia, states that really hinge on a very slim majority of voters. If people stay home or make these subtle shifts in the electorate, that could actually have big implications. It's probably why Nikki Haley, as she wasn't endorsing Donald Trump today when she left the race, urged him he had to reach out to those voters. It underscores what she's been saying the whole time, Tom,

about the fact that she doesn't think he's electable in a general election, in large part because there are already voters who are saying they're never going to vote for Trump. And then, Allie, I do want to ask you, what are the chances that we find, Nikki Haley, ultimately endorsing Donald Trump? I ask this because if she doesn't endorse, at least in the near future, she becomes sort of part of that group of Republicans that are almost on their own island, people like Chris Christie, Mitt Rom. You just wonder what their political futures hold, at least in the near term.

That's exactly right. I don't think that Nikki Haley models herself after Liz Cheney or Chris Christie or any of the folks that you just mentioned. But I was struck in today when she said that usually, as a conservative Republican, she always backs the Republican nominee. That could mean that she comes back into the fold. But in my conversations with allies and people close to Haley, that is probably not going to happen, at least not right now. As one Haley backer said to me, they don't think that Donald Trump has the, in their words, humility, grace or self-awareness, to reach out to even Haley's supporters, let alone Haley herself, to bring them back into the fold. Big picture now, Allie.

You literally wrote the book on women in politics. It's called Electable. You can find it at your nearest bookstore on Amazon. I'm still waiting on my copy. No, just joking. Nikki Haley is the first woman to ever win a Republican primary. What do you think her campaign will mean now for the future of women in politics, if anything?

First of all, I can very easily get you a copy, Tom. But second of all, it means a lot. This is all about the bricklaying of a legacy for women vying for not just national office, but the highest office in the land in this country. We have still never had a female president, but what Nikki Haley was able to do is leave behind a legacy that at least a Republican woman has won not just one, not just the first Republican primary contest ever, but two of those, a notching wins in D.C. and Vermont's last night. That is substantial. It's important, and it really does allow for the next

Republican woman to have a little bit less of what experts call an imagination barrier in imagining a conservative woman in the Oval Office as the Republican Party nominee. Again, that's not history Haley was able to make, but it does potentially make the path little bit easier for whatever woman comes behind her. All right, Allie, Batali, on the end of the Nikki Haley campaign tonight, Allie, we appreciate your reporting. Next to the ongoing effort to remove Fulton County DA Fonie Willis from the Trump election interference case.

A lawyer for one of Trump's co-defendants who first brought Willis' relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade to Light, testifying before a state Senate committee today for several hours, NBC's Blaine Alexander was there, and it has more on what that lawyer revealed about the relationship and what this means for the DA's future. Tonight in Georgia, the allegations against Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis that have threatened to derail the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump are spilling over from the courthouse to the state house. You will please raise your right hand.

Taking center stage, Ashley Merchant, the defense attorney leading the charge to have Willis removed from the case after Merchant alleged the DA financially benefited from a personal relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. I've been a criminal defense attorney for 20 years. Today, Merchant spoke before a Republican-led state Senate committee, and not bound by the rules of the courtroom, revealed new details about her early conversations with Terrence Bradley, Wade's former law partner and divorce attorney, turned reluctant witness. We met for about an hour, said that they had been together, they met at this conference.

Nathan was still married and he, Mr. Bradley was upset because of what happened in the divorce. He was upset because they were still married, you know, the wades were still married, and he essentially just left her after meeting Ms. Willis and dropping the kids off at college. During his courtroom testimony last week, Bradley denied any direct knowledge of when the relationship began. Today, Merchant told lawmakers it was Bradley who first reached out to her with details. He did not like the way he had treated his wife. He didn't like what was happening in the divorce proceeding, yes. And I mean, I remember specifically him saying, you know, I handle my business, things like that.

Like, you know, that I don't leave my wife without alimony. Both Willis and Wade have denied any wrongdoing, saying their relationship began after Wade was hired by the DA's office. Today's panel has no power to punish Willis and no bearing on the court case itself or the motion to remove her from prosecution. Republicans say the committee has a duty to investigate. I would anticipate a subpoena of Bonnie Willis and Nathan Wade? I would expect that Bonnie Willis ought to want to testify voluntarily. We would welcome her to come. As we progress, we'll probably do that.

But if we find it necessary to subpoena her, if she's unwilling to come voluntarily, then we very well might. But Democrats call the entire process politically motivated. We just spent four hours on something. We have nothing even to do with, quite frankly. We ought to be talking about issues that actually matter. And we're not doing that right now. We're wasting time here, quite frankly.

And this is a Fulton County issue. Let them handle that. Today, Willis, also at the state capital to qualify to run for re-election, said this about the committee. I think that people are angry because I'm going to do the right thing and I'm going to stand up for justice, no matter who is the person that may have done wrong in Fulton County. And so they can continue on with their games, and I'm going to continue to do the work of the people. Blaine joins us tonight from Atlanta. So, Blaine, to reiterate this committee hearing, we just saw there in your piece, it's completely separate from the hearing we all watched play out over the last couple of weeks

where Willis testified. So what power does this state Senate actually have on the election interference case? Very little, Tom. On the case itself, none. But on the issue of what to do, if they find any issues or impropriety with Fannie Willis, they have two options. They can either refer this case to another body, or they can recommend new law. laws to sort of curb something like this in the future. Now, what we are, of course, watching very

closely is what's happening a couple of blocks away at the Fulton County Courthouse. That's where we're waiting on Judge Scott McAfee to decide whether or not Fonnie Willis can remain the prosecutor on this case. He has said that he plans to make a decision on that by next Friday, Tom. Blaine Alexander from Georgia tonight, Blaine, thank you. We want to turn now to a story we first brought you earlier this week on the growing crisis in Haiti. Tonight, the country's prime minister unable to return home and now stranded in Puerto Rico as gang violence overwhelms the capital. The U.S. calling for an urgent political transition. Gabe Gutierrez is the very latest.

Tonight, Haiti is on the brink of civil war as it spirals into chaos. The U.S., along with a group of Caribbean nations, is pressing Haiti's prime minister to speed up a political transition. Aria-Anri had been missing for days but landed yesterday in Puerto Rico. Clashes between heavily armed gangs and Haitian police have escalated after a mass prison break over the weekend. The White House says it will not send in American troops. We have underscored that now is the time to finalize a political accord to help set Haiti on a path to a better future. Right now, the near future looks bleak.

Henri took office following the 2021 assassination of Haiti's president. We were there as the violence ramped up. This has become daily life here in Haiti. Tires burning on city streets, protesters furious. Now gangs control about 80 percent of Port-au-Prince. The State Department is urging all Americans to leave immediately, but the main airport is shut down. In Miami, Haitian Americans are scrambling to evacuate loved ones.

Human beings should be to live in a peace, not in a crime like that. Tony Gianteno says his uncle went to visit his mother in Haiti, but now gang members are holding him for ransom. Your family is calling you, crying when you're about to sleep. This is crazy. This is terrible. Right now, it is not clear whether Haiti's embattled prime minister plans to return to the country. The White House said today it is not helping him in Puerto Rico.

Tom? Gabe Gutierrez for us tonight, Gabe, thank you. We want to head overseas now to the war in Ukraine. A large explosion rocking Odessa during a visit by Ukrainian president, Flodomir Zelensky, and Greece's prime minister. The blast causing an unknown number of dead and wounded. rocking the port city as officials ended a tour of the war-ravaged region. For more on the incident and the current state of the conflict, Matt Bradley joins us tonight

from London. Matt, I want to ask you first about this blast, of course. Was this viewed as a possible assassination attempt? I don't think so. That's not what we're hearing. And this is something that when we heard from the Greek prime minister, he didn't seem to take it as a possible assassination attempt, the way he took it. And actually, this is something that could really benefit Ukraine if he spreads this message

among like-minded leaders in the West was that when, you know, foreign heads of state are visiting, Russia doesn't stop. Russia continues to assault Ukraine. And that's actually what President Zelensky told the Greek Prime Minister right after this pretty frightening, close call. And so, you know, in a way,

if you'll allow me to be cynical here, Tom, this does kind of play into Vladimir Zelensky's hands, the president of Ukraine, just as he's trying to demonstrate that Ukraine is still very much at war, very much under attack. That much we know, Ukraine said Tuesday had sunk a Russian patrol ship off the coast of occupied Crimea, but we know Russia has also made recent military advances in the country.

What's the current state of fighting there? Yeah, another naval victory for Ukraine against Russia, and there have been many. But on the actual battlefield, in the east, Russia appears to have fully taken the upper hand in eastern Ukraine. It's now continuing to advance past that city of Avdivka that the Russians took last month. That was a big battle. And now the Russians are continuing to gain. ground. They have a sustained offensive. They're pushing the Ukrainians west. And that's a troubling sign, just like I'm saying, as the U.S. and other Western countries begin to really question

the benefits of offering military aid to Ukraine. Tom, it was a lot easier when the Ukrainians could show that they were winning. And now that they're not, the argument is just that much harder. Matt, Bradley, for us. Matt, we thank you for that. Still ahead tonight's subway deployment. The governor of New York announcing the state will send the National Guard and state police into New York City's transit system following a string of violent attacks. Our interview tonight with a subway performer who was violently assaulted, not once but twice, just for playing his cello in a public area of the subway. Plus, an update on the migrant from Guatemala charged in the death of a Florida police officer

who died of a heart attack after arresting him outside a hotel, major development tonight in a case that sparked outrage. And Elon Musk filing a lawsuit arguing the open AI, that Open AI diverted from its non-profit mission. Now the company is fighting back, releasing emails from Musk. Wait till you see them. They're alleging hypocrisy. Stay with us.

All right, we're back down with the billionaire taking on what he sees as the threat of big tech and AI. Elon Musk filing a lawsuit against industry giant Open AI, complaining the organization is no longer open and is too close. Close to Tech Giant Microsoft. NBC's Elwyn Lopez reports. Tonight, Tech Giants at war, billionaire Elon Musk taking on Open AI, complaining the nonprofit he helped fund

is now a for-profit entity with ties to Microsoft. Suddenly it's like a $90 billion full-profit corporation with closed source. I don't know how you go from here to there, but that seems like a, I don't know, how you get, I don't know, is this legal? Musk is now suing the company and its founders alleging in part that its entire development is veiled in secrecy. It should be renamed Superclosed Source for Maximum Profit AI.

So, because this is what it actually is. I think Musk does things because he's got a pretty strong passion for what he feels has to be done on AI. Walter Isaacs and Penn DeLon Musk's official biography. He says the billionaire has long been concerned about big tech dominance in the AI space. He was worried that two big companies, Google and Microsoft, might someday control AI. So he and Sam Altman started Open AI. What Musk wanted was it for to be open, open source, and nonprofit. And that was what they decided.

Just let me know what you need help with. We took to chat GPT an open AI product to see what it had to say. In one word, is OpenA.I. Open. In one word, I would say partially. Partially how? Open AI operates with a mix of openness and proprietary practices. While it releases some research and models to the public, it also retains certain technologies and capabilities for commercial purposes. Now Open AI is moving to dismiss Elon's claims, releasing emails that allegedly showed the tech founder agreed that parts of the company's science could be closed. At one point in 2018, Elon reportedly suggested a merger with Tesla to stay competitive. We may wish it otherwise, but Tesla is the only path that could even hope to hold a candle to Google. The law is pretty unclear in the sense of can you sue a non-profit for becoming a for-profit,

but as must said, hey, wait a minute, if this can happen, anybody can do it. All right, with that, Elwyn Lopez joins us tonight from Los Angeles. So, Elwyn, first up, what is Open AI and Sam Altman saying tonight? Tom, OpenAI is adamant that its mission is to ensure that AGI, artificial general intelligence, benefits all of humanity. And they've said that they've continued to stay dedicated to that every step of the way, Tom. And then Altman and Musk actually have a long personal relationship, correct? What can you tell our viewers about that? Yeah, listen, the one-time allies weren't always at odds.

But Tom, we've seen this time and time again, two people kicking off a star. up, seeing common goals and having shared interests, and then all of a sudden splitting ways. We know that the two men were supportive of one another for several years. And up until recently, Elon Musk left Open AI back in 2018. He said at the time that it was due to avoid really any potential conflicts of interest with Tesla. But Tom, now we see that there's potentially more to that story. From Los Angeles, Elwyn Lopez. Elvin, we appreciate you. Thank you. When we come back, a decision in the Hotel California lawsuit, the hit song by the Eagles at the center of a legal battle.

The surprise move from the prosecution tonight will explain right after this break. Okay, we're back now with Top Stories News Feed. We begin with an update in a story we first brought you last year. Prosecutors in Florida announced they are dropping charges against the Guatemalan farm worker who was charged in the death of a Florida sheriff's officer who had a heart attack. The 19-year-old had been in custody since May 2023 after that sheriff suffered the heart attack following an arrest that was caught on camera. Lawyers for the team say he did not understand the commands of the officers during his arrest. U.S. Senator Bob Menendez was hit with more charges, alleging that he and his wife conspired to obstruct justice in that bribery case against them.

Menendez and his wife Nadine are now facing a total of 18 charges. The new indictment comes just days after one of Menendez's co-defendants, as you saw here on top of story pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the probe. In a statement, Tuesday, Menendez called the new charges, quote, a flagrant abuse of power. And another update tonight, New York prosecutors have abruptly dropped a case involving the hit Eagle song, Hotel California. As we reported last month, three well-known collectors were accused of scheming to prevent Eagle's co-founder, Don Henley, of reclaiming handwritten lyrics to the song. In the middle of the criminal trial, the assistant Manhattan DA dropping the charges, he agreed 6,000 emails

recently presented to defense lawyers, raised question about the trial's fairness. Okay, now to the latest on the violence in the New York City subway system. Tonight, Governor Kathy Holkel announcing the state will deploy 1,000 National Guard members and state police to patrol stations after a slew of attacks. There will also be new security measures, including bag searches, the city hoping to protect its residents and tourists. NBC Stephanie Gosk has the details, including an interview with a subway performer who was recently attacked twice. In New York City, subway riders are on edge.

I don't feel safe. Crime is rising on the trains, according to NYPD data. In recent weeks, multiple violent assaults, including this terrifying moment, when a woman bashed cellist Ian Forrest in the head. All of a sudden, I just remember feeling this disabling, crashing pain along the back of my head. my neck and head. And it disoriented me. I stopped playing and I looked up and I saw everybody in the crowd's face was just pure horror at what they had just seen. The second time he's been attacked. At the end of my performance, this man had come up and not only had punched me repeatedly in the head and choked me, but wanted to steal my instrument and all the donations

that people had left for me as well. They say lightning doesn't strike twice, but this was a terrible of deja vu. Today, New York's Governor Kathy Hokel said she is assembling a team of 1,000, including the National Guard and State Police, to help secure the massive transit system. These brazen, heinous attacks on our subway system will not be tolerated. Teams will be stationed at the busiest and most problematic stations, searching bags. Civil Liberties activists calling it overreaction and overreach. Do you think you will have an impact on weapons? getting on the subway with these bag searches?

Absolutely. First of all, it's a deterrent. And if anyone's thinking of coming into the subway system with a weapon, there's probably a good chance they get to get caught. Mike Kemper is the NYPD Transit Chief. The big problem, he says, is repeat offenders. We arrest people all the time that have 50-plus arrest, 100-plus arrests. The dramatic moves in New York happening as 77% of Americans are concerned about a rise in crime. Even though FBI data shows violent crime has been dropping nationwide since a spike in 2020.

But multiple cities are taking steps to crack down. In Philadelphia, the chief of transit police vowing to aggressively combat crime after three deadly shootings in a week involving the city's buses. Eight teenagers shot today alone. We're going to target every criminal code on the bus. In San Francisco, voters passed two measures on Tuesday aimed at law. order, including expanding police surveillance tools with more cameras and drones. In New York City, they will also be adding cameras. In this control center, they can see every station. Soon, they will have cameras on every subway car. At this point, I'm just not feeling safe

to go back. It's something that, you know, to not happen just once but twice to you within less than a year, where I'm lucky to have escaped of my life. I have all my friends, family, my wife that depend on me and, you know, it would just break my heart if I wasn't around to be there for them. There are millions of people who take the New York City subway system every single day. They can't check everyone's bag. The transit chief tells me that they will focus on the busiest stations and those places that have had the most security issues. The teams will rotate around. They could pop up anywhere. And Tom, that is part of the strategy. All right, Stephanie. Thank you. United Top Stories Global watching a massive fire in the south of

England. Drone footage showing plumes of thick smoke in front of the South Hampton Football Club Stadium in Hampshire. The fire ripping through a nearby building. Look at that and prompting the club to postpone tonight's matches. Local authorities say crews will likely work overnight to control the flames. No word yet on what caused that fire. That is well in officials announced the country's presidential election will take place on July 28th. The decision is part of an agreement between President Nicolas Maduro's government and the opposition to hold free and fair elections with international observers. It comes a month after Venezuela's top court

banned the leading opposition candidate Maria Carina Machado from running over alleged financial misconduct accusations she's categorically denied. And French officials announced they are capping the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony crowd. This is interesting. Organizers announcing 300,000 spectators will be allowed to attend the show on Paris's River Sen.

That's about half as many people as what was originally planned. officials have not released a reason for the change, but this will be the first time the opening ceremony is outside a stadium setting, which is expected to involve a heavy police and military presence, as you can imagine. You, of course, can watch the opening ceremony in full Olympics coverage on NBC and Peacock. Coming up, a top story spotlight. My interview tonight with the governor of Hawaii, nearly seven months after devastating wildfires destroyed the coastal town of Lahaina. What he said when pressed about why alarm sirens weren't deployed, and how he plans to help residents displaced by those fires. Residents are now being allowed back into Lahaina,

but the governor has warned them that they're going to see destruction like they have never seen in their lives. And from what we can see up here, he's telling the truth. Down there, there's the grip search for bodies happening right now. Those that could not escape. And the residents of Lahaina believe that the death toll is going to be much higher. That was part of our reporting, and the skies over Maui just days after those deadly wildfires in Hawaii last August. This Friday marked seven months since those deadly blazes ripped through the town of Lahaina, leaving a massive trail of destruction in their wake.

The horrifying images now ingrained in our memories, you see them here, flames engulfing homes and tearing through businesses, residents forced to jump into the ocean or even a pool to escape. The aftermath, the chilling portrait of absolute devastation. Drone images capturing the charred remains of entire neighborhoods lost in the blaze, cadaver dogs searching the ashes for remains. More than 100 people lost their lives, and nearly seven months later, two people are still missing. We were on the ground in the days that followed, talking to members of the Lahaina community, struggling to come to terms with the destruction in front of them. I'll never forget their stories of survival and loss,

but also being in the middle of a place that is paradise and at that time, hell. Grief for those lost quickly turning to rage as Hawaiians asked why they weren't warned about the dangerous fire as it closed in. The state's emergency management administrator, Herman Undaya, stepping down days after the disaster, after defending his decision not to sound alarms, which some believe could have saved dozens of lives. Now, months later, residents fighting to return to some sense of normal, but slowing tourism and an exploding housing crisis are still exasperating the fire's impact. Join us tonight on Top Story's spotlight is one of the leaders in the ongoing recovery efforts, maybe the most important, you could argue. Hawaii Governor Josh Green, he joins Top Story tonight from Hawaii.

Governor, thanks for joining Top Story. I'm sorry to have to sort of put you through that because I know you're living with it every single day, and it is all so sad. I mean, just reading that copy and sort of reliving in my mind what we saw there. It's been seven months. There's still been no clear timeline of what happened, and still no one has to be. has sort of taken ownership of this terrible thing that happened in Lahaina. Seven months later, do you know who to blame?

I don't place blame on any one group. We know that the fire started early in the morning, was put out, and then reignited, and spread with extremely high winds. That's really what happened. The winds were 74 miles per hour, and so it spread the fire very quickly faster than fire could even respond. We do have a pretty clear picture minute by minute. of who was able to get out and who couldn't, the heroic work of the police and fire to

the extent that they could save people. And we now know, of course, that there were 101 loved ones that we lost. So the final reports will take years, but the preliminary reports do show that the fire started when polls went down, and everyone did what they could in the moment to put the fires out. There were several fires that day, of course, and so the firefighters had to move from region to region on Maui to actually put other fires out. They were stretched there. Tragedy, no doubt.

Governor, you mentioned the polls, and a lot of people have put blame on the power company. There are Hawaiian Electric. There have been several lawsuits. Do you blame Hawaiian Electric? Do they hold some of the responsibility here? Everyone's going to take a part of the responsibility, and that includes the energy company, that includes the state, and those who owned land around there.

So I actually proposed a way to begin to help people heal. That is what we call really a settlement fund or the Maui Recovery Fund. So we put together $175 million to offer if people would like to take at least the beginnings of monies to help move on. But I'm sure there will be a lot of litigation, and that's appropriate. I do want to ask you about that fund. And the way that we understand it works is that families can tap into these funds, but if they receive the funds, they agree not to sue some of the underwriters. And one of the underwriters is Hawaiian Electric.

Do you think that's fair that families that need this aid, they need the support, get that money, but then they cannot further lawsuits if they lost loved ones or lost their homes? Well, that's the nature of these kind of settlements. And I wouldn't put any pressure on anyone if they want to wait and litigate. That's totally appropriate and okay. This is just so people can move on now rather than waiting three or four years. some people asking me do I think that the state is liable I just say that we're all responsible you know we're responsible to help people get better and heal several people in the first few

hours of us opening the fund they jumped on it we call it the one ohana fund people should know the word ohana means family here in Hawaii there's nothing fair about losing a loved one or losing one's home but we want people to recover and then there's going to be of course settlements over land because we had 3,991 buildings destroyed, and we had over 3,000 families that lost everything. So we want to take care of everyone. That is what I want to do as a governor, but there's a long road ahead of us. Natural disasters and events like this teach people like you and your positions vulnerabilities, right?

And I'm sure you've learned so much in this process. I don't ask this next question lightly, but could this same thing happen again? Could it happen tomorrow in Hawaii? It could definitely happen again. It could happen in Hawaii. It could happen in most regions of our country and across our globe. Tomorrow or Friday, I'm going to be on Maui as we begin launching the new sensors that would help us see fires earlier. So there's technology being applied.

And whatever technology is not available in time for the big fire season, in which starts usually in May, I will have additional resources for fire spotters. That's something I'll ask for. There's a lot to do, but let me just say this to the planet. Everyone watching, in your municipality, set up funds that can help you deal with the impacts of climate change, please. I'm not trying to make a political statement. I'm trying to say that we have a very dry climate here in Hawaii.

That made it a lot more difficult because there were very thick grasses that were dried out and they acted as fuel when the fire began. And winds that historically in our storms were much lighter were very heavy. And you need to be prepared. So you need to have resources so you can pay for extra firefighters. You can pay for people to rebuild their homes or even for lost loved ones. We're contemplating that in the legislature right now. And I think you need a climate impact fee if you're in a vulnerable community.

Governor, you mentioned tourism. Hawaii runs on tourism. Early on after the Lahaina fires, there were some high-profile residents who, who basically told tourists not to come. There is still some confusion with people all over the world, whether they can come to Maui or not. Has Maui bounced back, and what's your message to those travelers? The answer is yes, it's begun to bounce back.

A month after the fires, I did announce that West Maui would be open, with the exception of Lahaina. People should absolutely travel to Maui and to all the other islands because their visit here will help us heal. It helps us recover. Our economy is doing okay, but we used to generate about $13 million of revenue a day from the West Maui region alone. And those dollars pay for schools. We had to rebuild a new school very quickly.

It's going to go towards rebuilding homes. And I think everyone wants to see our citizens recover. So please come to Hawaii. We love you very much. People have expressed so much aloha for us from across the country. It's really been extraordinary. But there should be no ambiguity here. People can absolutely travel to Hawaii and stay absolutely anywhere except for in the exact area where the fire occurred.

Governor, you know, early on I was there in Lahaina. There were some very testy news conferences. There were times where leaders like yourself and others got upset with reporters who were trying to get the story and trying to get information out to Lahaina residents. I understand in the immediate aftermath, things are very confusing and you don't get the full picture yet. Is there anything you learn from that process and anything you regret in those days right after? No, I have no regrets because bringing attention to our people's needs was important. I wish I could have shared more information in the moment, but you just didn't have all the answers. There was really quite a lot of chaos.

You know, the fire itself, the embers burned for days and there were toxins in the air. It was difficult to get into the burn zone for quite some time. and I know people, they need to see certain things, and they need to search for their loved ones. You know, there was a regret amongst many, which was we didn't know how many people we had lost for some time because we had a lot of reports of missing people. They didn't have the ability to communicate. So that fear is something that we always regret, but I'm grateful to people for covering this and for following this. And, you know, in Hawaii, we are pretty far from the mainland.

So we're not used to sake-in-the-nose-nose-type questions, and I think that that was a little bit of what was going on right as people were feeling a sense of trauma. But we appreciate you for keeping the spotlight here on Hawaii because Hawaii is very important to America. It's important geopolitically. It's important to people's idea of what paradise is. And so we owe it to everyone to be completely open and transparent.

Governor, we appreciate that. and we appreciate you appearing on top story tonight. We promise you. We will have you back on the show to tell us how Lahaina the rest of Hawaii is doing. Thank you very much. I appreciate you. All right. When we come back, K-9 to the rescue, some incredible video, body cam footage capturing a race against time in Michigan to find a toddler who wandered away from his home. What the K-9's handler told us about the incredible moment, Kuno was able to track him down and what's next for the veteran of that force.

Finally, tonight, a Michigan toddler is home safe and sound after he vanished from his Michigan home. It's all thanks to a trusty canine who tracked him down near the water's edge in just the nick of time. NBC's Morgan Chesky spoke to his handler and has a story. Police in Van Buren County, Michigan, racing to find a young boy. There was a three-year-old young child that crawled out of a window wearing nothing but a diaper. Making that incredible rescue. Deputy Eric Calhoun arrived to assist with his longtime partner, K-9 deputy Kuno.

The first challenge, finding the child sent after a frantic search by his family. You start to just get nervous because we know that there's water around the property where the child lives. Precious minutes ticked by. Finally, nearly 200 yards from his home, Kuno caught what he was looking for. Hey, buddy! Calhoun letting his partner of seven years lead the way. You kind of just stand back there and hold what we call the dumb end of the leash and just hang on. Kuno able to retrace that child's path till finding a precious footprint,

letting everyone know they were closing in on their mission. Oh. I know. A mission accomplished. Kuno doing what he does best. What a feeling to bring that child back home. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Probably best feeling within the job. It's just the latest chapter in a storied career for the, the eight-year-old Belgian Malinois. Kuno's located six missing kids, several suspects, and even endured multiple stab wounds two years ago when he was sent in to catch a suspect. There's a good chance that the canine's going to be shipped immediately to the Michigan State University for the injuries.

After a full recovery, Kuno was back at it, serving his community and saving lives. A career this veteran officer may soon be celebrating with retirement. It's just time for him to get ready to retire and just relax and, you know, finally be a dog that just can relax at home. Till then, Kuno enjoyed perks of a job well done. A chicken dinner for a hardworking canine that stays on the trail no matter what. Morgan Chesky, NBC News.

We thank Morgan for that report. We thank you for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamison, New York. Stay there. More news on the way. Thank you. Thank you.