Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, March 8. 2023

Episode Date: March 9, 2023

Virginia prosecutor will not seek charges against 6-year-old school shooter, former executive sues Atlantic Records for years of alleged sexual harassment and assault, hundreds of sexual deepfake ads using Emma Watson’s face ran on Facebook and Instagram, and the high-flying 94-year-old grandma spending her birthday in sky.

Tonight, breaking news, the NBC News exclusive on that six-year-old shooter in Virginia, the first grader pulling out a gun in the middle of his classroom, shooting his teacher in her hand and her chest back in January. The major update tonight, what the prosecutor in Newport News has just revealed about the possibility of charges for that child. Also tonight, turning on Trump, explosive new text messages emerging from inside Fox News. Tucker Carlson, writing, quote, I hate him passionately about Trump,

despite praising him on air. This says the primetime host faces intense scrutiny for his presentation about January 6th, what he played on air versus what really happened. Hitmaker sued a music mogul who helped launch the careers of superstars like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, now accused of harassing a female colleague for years. Tonight, the woman behind that lawsuit

who was a trailblazer herself in the music industry, She's going to join Top Story Live with her attorney, Ben Crumb, to tell her side of the story. Overseas protest turning violent in Paris, a record number of demonstrators flooding the streets, furious over a proposed change to the country's pension program. We'll explain the anger fueling these chaotic scenes. Celebrity scam, Facebook and Instagram, flooded with deep fake ads showing the faces of stars like Emma Watson and Scarlett Johansson on other people's bodies, suggestive positions. We put this technology to the test to see just how easy it is to pull off

these fake videos. Plus, Air Granny will bring you the incredible story of one woman taking a new leap of faith at the age of 94. And we've been telling you about cocaine bear, but tonight he's got some competition where officials say they found this big cat who then tested positive for, you guessed it, cocaine. Top story starts right now. And good evening. We begin top story tonight with that NBC News exclusive on a story we've been covering here for months. You may remember in January the stunning headline, a six-year-old boy opening fire inside of his Virginia first grade classroom. His teacher, Abigail's Warner, you see her right here, seriously wounded after she was shot both in the hand but also

in her chest. That teacher's lawyer telling NBC the first grader had a history of behavioral issues that the school ignored and that on the day of the shooting, at least three teachers warned school administrators the student had a gun in his backpack. The superintendent of the Newport News Public Schools, Dr. George Parker III, was ousted by the board following the incident, the assistant principal of that elementary school also resigning. But for months, the community left to wonder what legal repercussions, if any, would come to that six-year-old or his family. Tonight, NBC News has an exclusive answer to that question. So let's get right to

Mora Barrett. Morrow, we're talking about a six-year-old here, right? We can't possibly think that a six-year-old is going to be charged with a crime, and today we've got some more clarity. Yeah, Tom, in an exclusive interview with NBC News, Newport News, Commonwealth's attorney Howard Gwynn said essentially

just that. He said, quote, the prospect that a six-year-old can stand trial is problematic, given that a child that young, wouldn't have the competency to understand the legal system. Now, it's not heard of for an adolescent of that age to be arrested in general, and theoretically, a six-year-old child could be criminally charged under Virginia law. Now, we've also learned from police that the child's mother did legally purchase the gun, though we don't know how he was able to gain

access to it or whether it was even safely secured, as the family said it was. Legal experts say that the parents could be charged with reckless endangerment or child neglect. Gwynn also tells NBC news that if there is a decision to charge someone in connection with the case, it would either be through a grand jury or in consultation with police. And I guess that leads to the next question. You sort of touched upon it there in your answer. Clearly, a crime was committed. A teacher, for

no reason, was shot, nearly killed in a classroom. So it's open to, I guess, it stands to reason. Someone's going to be charged for a crime here, possibly. It could possibly be the parents and maybe even the school? Right, Tom. There's the question of who's

exactly to blame, right? Whether the parents recklessly left access to the gun or whether the school administration was to blame. And it is important to note that there is a record of the student having behavioral issues at school. We learned through a new notice of intent to sue on behalf of the teacher, Abigail Zwerner. It lays out that the boy had been given a one-day suspension for breaking his teacher's cell phone and then allegedly came back the next day with a nine-millimeter handgun and shot his teacher in that classroom. Now, Zwerner's lawyer detailed that three separate teachers had gone to the school administration prior to the incident to

to report the boy's behavior, and they even indicated, like you said, that they were worried he could have a gun on campus. Zwerner ultimately was hospitalized for nearly two weeks, recovering from her very serious injuries, and it still remains to be seen whether the school or administration officials will face any charges. All right, Maura Barrett tonight for Top Story, along with our NBCNews.com digital team with that big exclusive, Maura, thank you. Next tonight, President Biden issuing a scathing rebuke to Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Republicans

following the airing of footage from the January 6 attack given to the conservative news network by Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The video only showed peaceful moments of the protest. The president's comments coming as new evidence is revealed in the Dominion Fox News defamation lawsuit. Tax messages from Tucker Carlson's show he had turned on President Trump. NBC's Kristen Welker has more. Tonight, for the first time, President Biden weighing in,

blasting Republicans and Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson. for misrepresenting the January 6th attack after Carlson again aired select new footage. The president tweeting, more than 140 officers were injured on January 6th. I've said before, how dare anyone diminish or deny the hell they went through? I hope House Republicans feel ashamed. While Carlson showed some images of the violence, he presented an alternate reality of the day, falsely describing it as, quote, mostly peaceful chaos. airing footage of the suspect known as the QAnon shaman, who was sentenced to 41 months in prison.

They helped him. They acted as his tour guides. Being walked around the Capitol by police. The Capitol Police Chief not commenting on the specifics of the video, but calling the overall report filled with offensive and misleading conclusions. Carlson was given the footage by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The bottom line is there's finally transparency. But many Republicans are denouncing the Fox News host. I think it's bullshit. It was an outrageous act. A lot of people were injured. Meanwhile, newly revealed evidence in the Dominion voting system's defamation suit against Fox News

shows soon after the election, Summit Fox News wanted to move on from former President Trump, including Carlson, who texted a fellow Fox employee, quote, I hate him passionately. All right, Kristen Walker joins us tonight from Washington. Christian, I want to go back to that release of the January 6th video. What is the speaker saying tonight? It's a good question, Tom. He is defending his decision forcefully to release this footage. He says he did it for the sake of transparency

and that he will give the footage to everyone eventually. But here's the question. When is that going to happen? He hasn't done that so far. And you can expect the bipartisan cause for him to do that to mount, Tom. And do we know if there's going to be more footage that Tucker Carlson is going to be airing? Well, that's the big question. We'll have to wait and see.

But again, you have the president weighing in. You have Republicans and Democrats saying that this was not a complete airing of what happened that day. And so I think that if he does air more footage, there is going to be some pressure from the outside for him to do a more thorough, accurate job. But Carlson is defending his decisions as well tonight, Tom. Okay, Kristen Welker from the White House, Kristen, we appreciate that. For more on that ongoing lawsuit that Kristen reported on towards the end of her story there, I want to bring in Stephen Hayes. He's the editor of the dispatch.

He's also an NBC News analyst, and he's a former Fox News contributor. Steve, thanks so much for joining us, and I think you're the perfect guest for this story. I want to go back to that last section of Christian's report. I want to put up these text messages up on the screen from Tucker Carlson. This has all come out during this case. So this is Tucker Carlson texting with his producers. We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump on most nights. I truly can't wait.

Again, the date there, January 4th, 20th. also saying, I hate him passionately. I can't handle much more of this. Now, for people who work in the media, they may not be surprised by this, right, Stephen? But I think maybe the average Fox News viewer or the average viewer of this program may be a little confused. Maybe reporters are confused as well because night after night, Tucker Carlson has defended former President Trump. So then privately seeing these text messages, it would leave someone to scratch their heads. What's going on?

Yeah, it certainly would. But, I mean, I think what you had is Tucker Carlson lying to his audience. That's what's happening here. And he apparently was doing it for the better part of the Trump presidency. If you look back, this is not a phenomenon that was unique to Fox News and to the primetime folks there. I mean, Tom, I know you had this experience. We all had this experience. If you've reported in Washington over the past six or seven years, there was this common experience that you had where you talked to Republicans who would say one thing in public about Donald Trump.

and often the very opposite in private about Donald Trump. I would say, to a certain extent, you expect that from politicians, right? I mean, we expect politicians to exaggerate, to maybe say things or shade things in particular ways that are less than straightforward. The entire purpose of journalism is to tell people the truth and to tell it to them in a direct and straightforward way. And it's very clear, you know, in those texts that you cited and in many, many others that have emerged over the past couple of weeks. That was not happening in primetime in Fox News. So you resigned from Fox News. You didn't agree with the direction they were going.

You know that audience, to a degree, will this hurt Fox News in any way these texts coming out and this lawsuit? Well, I think that's the big question. And I've been talking to some folks who remain inside of Fox News on the news side, and this is their question. I mean, they're very concerned about what they've seen. There's this big divide between most of the people on the news side who are good and dedicated journalists. They care about the truth. They care about reporting. they want to present their viewers with facts, and the opinion slingers in prime time.

And that divide, I think, we've seen in stark relief here with the emergence of these documents over the past couple of weeks. So I think the real question is, to what extent will Fox viewers be presented with this information? We know that Howie Kurtz, who covers the media on Fox News, has been told that he is not to cover the story. It's not something that's come up very much. And if you look at the reporting from the New York Times over the weekend, most of the other conservative media outlets are not covering Fox, in part because I think many people in conservative media have ongoing relationships with Fox

or would like to have a relationship with Fox News. There are a few places that are covering the story. We at the dispatch have been covering it pretty aggressively. But I think for many people on the center right, this is not something that's penetrating that bubble. So I want to ask you about Rupert Murdoch now, right? This is from our NBC News reporting, and I point our viewers to our website if they want to read more on this story. But here's a section of one of the reports we have up.

This is from January 5, 2021, the day before the attack on the Capitol. Fox Corps Chairman Rupert Murdoch sent an email to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott saying, quote, it's been suggested our primetime three talking about the primetime host should independently or together say something like the election is over and Joe Biden won. We are all disappointed by what happened. We love America and have to turn the page. We will now be the loyal opposition criticizing every liberal mistake the new administration makes. So, Stephen, my question to you is Rupert Murdoch, obviously, an incredibly successful media mogul,

maybe one of the greatest at that job ever in the sense of what he was able to create with Fox News and his newspaper empire. So now he's directly speaking to somebody who works under him saying, hey, I think we're dabbling here. We're maybe getting into dangerous territory. and yet that nothing changed until after January 6th. Yeah, and I would argue that nothing changed after January 6th either. I mean, remember, Tucker Carlston produced this Patriot-Purged, quote-unquote, documentary some 10 months later, or 11 months later, and it was filled with the kind of misleading reporting and conspiracy theorizing that we're seeing Tucker engage in now with respect to these tapes from January 6th. Look, I mean, I think Rupert Murdoch was not the main reason for Fox News.

success. The main reason for Fox News's success is because many mainstream media outlets presented themselves as objective and straight down the middle and weren't. They presented the news from a center-left worldview. And as Roger Ailes, the founder of Fox, who certainly has a lot of problems in his history, used to say, Fox sort of stumbled upon this niche audience, and it was half of the country. I think it's healthy to have media organizations that are asking questions from a wide variety of viewpoints. That's what we do at the dispatch. We call our center-right. That doesn't mean we thumb the scales for one side or the other. It certainly doesn't mean that we are aligned with a political party in the way that Fox apparently was.

What it does mean is we try to ask questions for 360 degrees. And the questions that would occur to me to ask at a press conference on Capitol Hill, for instance, are probably very different than the questions that would occur to a lot of other people. So I think that's the key to Fox News. Exactly. The irony is what we're seeing now is I think it's going down the tubes in part because of these decisions that Fox executives and Fox hosts made to cater to its audience. Still going down to the tubes, in your opinion, but still record ratings and still highest rating when it comes to cable news. Before we go, how do you think former President Trump is taking in all this news? Well, he seems to be very frustrated with Fox. He's been frustrated with Fox for a long time.

I think for a while it was sort of like a WWE match where both sides pretended to be wrestling with one another or angry with one and they really weren't. They were in cahoots in some respects, as we've seen from so these documents. But I think he's angry right now. And I think if you're Donald Trump and you've seen Tucker Carlson sort of get your back and promote your presidency for several years while you were president and now say privately, have these texts emerge where he was saying privately that he hates Donald Trump with a passion. I think he'd right to be pretty frustrated if you're Donald Trump. Steve Hayes, we always appreciate your analysis. And on this case, your honesty. Thank you, my friend. Now are new developments in that deadly kidnapping in Mexico.

authorities saying the group of Americans originally included a fifth person who actually never made it across the border. Definitely a good thing. Tonight, family members speaking out about the horrors of that kidnapping. Gabe Gutierrez reports. This is video inside the minivan heading to Mexico before four Americans were kidnapped. It was originally live streamed on Facebook. A law enforcement source familiar with the matter tells NBC News, a previously unreported fifth person made the road trip. but left the group before the others crossed the border because that person did not have the proper documentation.

We're blurring her face since she has not been publicly identified. Latavia Washington McGee, a mother of six, was among the Americans captured Friday when authorities say cartel gunmen opened fire on the minivan after they crossed into Mexico for a medical procedure. McGee's cousin, Shaid Woodard, and close friend Zindel Brown, were killed. McGee's mother speaking to CNN today. She watched them die. Another member of the group, Eric Williams, was shot in the leg and is now recovering. Did you have any idea that he would make such a trip like this?

I was totally shocked. I had no idea he would go to Mexico. Robert Williams is his older brother. He watched the images of the two American survivors being brought back across the border on television. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I was very happy to find out he was okay. I was totally relieved. We're also learning new details about the chilling of the chilling abduction. Pictures released by Mexican authorities show the gunmen trailing the white minivan.

More images show travel documents, luggage, debit cards, and cash investigators found inside the vehicle. Over a tense few days, investigators scrambled to several different hospitals in the area to find the victims, discovering them in this wooden shack, some 15 miles from Matamoros. Police arrested this man, accused of guarding the Americans, but are still searching for the gunmen. Today, hundreds of extra troops from the Mexican army. Army and National Guard arrived in Matamoros to ramp up security. Authorities continue to say that the group of Americans was mistakenly targeted by cartel gunmen, but news of a fifth person on the road trip point to a complex investigation

that is only widening. Tom. All right, Gabe Gutierrez with those new developments. Gabe, thank you. Now to the disturbing allegations brought by a former music executive. She's suing Music Powerhouse Atlantic Records and legendary music producer Ahmed Erdogan in his estate, he discovered some of the biggest names in music. For what she described as years of sexual assault and harassment in a toxic work environment, some of her allegations are sickening. This all happened decades ago, but she can bring the suit now thanks to an updated law in New York in New York State that gives her a limited window to see justice. Our Valerie Castro has the details. She made history breaking the glass ceiling as a female executive.

at Atlantic Records, rubbing elbows with rock stars and music legends. But now she is speaking out about the culture of sexual abuse she says she was subjected to there by the men in power. Decades later, thanks to a new law in New York State, she's hoping for justice in a courtroom. I'm not one to ever shy away from doing the right thing, and I believe in what I'm doing. Her accusations are against Ahmed Erdogan, one of the label's founders, and a legend in the industry. He's credited with partnering with some of the biggest artists in music history. including the Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin. But behind the music, Carvello says she endured years of toxic behavior, detailed in her book,

anything for a hit, documenting her rise from Erdoganian secretary to becoming an executive. Her climb to success was an experience she says was mired in toxic behavior. He looks at me with his one good eye. What did you expect? he says. You're a woman. The expose published in 2018 would lead to a lawsuit filed in December of 2022. Carvello claiming she was, quote, horrifically sexually assaulted between 1987 and 1990 by Erdogan and Doug Morris, then president of the company, according to the lawsuit filing. The allegations include a sexual attack by Erdogan at a nightclub where Carvello says he violently attempted to remove her underwear.

On another occasion, she says he slammed her arm down on a table fracturing it. She also says she and other female employees were subjected to Erdogan masturbating in front of them at work. And she says there was unwanted kissing from Doug Morris in an office culture where watching pornography at work and decorating offices with sex toys was the norm. Then she says came the final straw. Carvello says executive Jason Flom, also named in the suit, demanded she sit on his lap in a meeting. She says that prompted her to complain to Morris and she was fired as a result. Erdogan died in 2006 after falling and hitting his head at a Rolling Stones concert. The lawsuit now filed more than 30 years later is against Erdogan's estate,

the executives named Atlantic Records, and its parent company Warner Music Group. Given that it's so long ago, the chances are that evidence like emails and text messages didn't exist back then. What makes cases like this more difficult? After a certain point, evidence becomes stale, and it's really hard to prove a case and to defend a case. NBC News reached out to the defendants named in Carvello's lawsuit. We only heard back from Doug Morris's attorney who told NBC News, quote, Doug Morris was shocked to be included in this frivolous lawsuit, and we have filed a motion to dismiss, which will be granted in short order. This is something that she alleges happened years and years ago, decades ago. What is allowing

for this case to be brought forward now? Ordinarily, Carvella would be disallowed from bringing this claim because the allegations happened so long ago. But New York, has created a one-year window for people to sue based on sexual assault claims. No matter how far back, the alleged assault happened. It's not too late for Dorothy to get justice, and hopefully, hopefully, she will be a trailblazer. Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump joining the case alongside Carvello's attorney and Andrews, calling for accountability, they say, is long overdue. They have been tone deaf.

for decades. And they have silenced the women who have been assaulted and abused in these companies. We want to ensure a safe workplace, free and equal to all. And they now, in this tower, have to

face the music. Valerie Castro joins Top Story Live tonight. So Valerie, talk to me about some women out there who may be afraid to speak out because some of these allegations may have had happened decades ago, like Dorothy. But there's, of course, these end And a lot of people, especially the women who have been abused, are asking that some of these laws be changed, correct?

Yeah, Tom, today Carvello supporters have called for Warner Music Group to release all employees from non-disclosure agreements or NDAs. Attorney Ben Crum saying today that NDA culture protects the C-suite predators. Last year, President Biden signed the Speakout Act into law that makes it harder to enforce NDAs in cases of sexual assault allegations. Tom. All right, Valerie Castro for us tonight. and we are joined live now by former executive for Atlantic Records, Dorothy Carvello, and civil rights and personal injury attorney, Ben Crump, who is representing Carvello in this case.

We thank you both for joining Top Story tonight. So, Dorothy, I want to start with you. You have this dream job in the industry. You yourself are a trailblazer. You literally are living that rock star life, being on the forefront of the music industry at a time when there were no other women. And yet you are suffering, according to your accusations,

day and day out, psychologically, physically. What was that like? It was horrible. Like you said, I was trying to live the American dream. I went to college. This was my first job in a company with great benefits, health insurance, everything you could ask for. And it just turned into a nightmare for me. And did you feel you couldn't complain or you couldn't, you had nowhere to go, one, because of the time and two, because you love the job so much?

I did complain, and I followed the structure of HR at Time Warner at the time, and it didn't matter. You had no power as a woman at all from these are industry tightens. They have all the power, the money, and what did I have? When I did complain, I was tossed out like garbage. Some people are going to say this was the era of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It was a rowdy industry to begin with. And some people may be saying, and I hate to ask this question, But I sort of have to.

Some people may be saying to themselves, this happened decades ago, right? Why are you still fighting for this? And I have to think you're still fighting because you want justice. Correct. I want justice for myself and every other woman that was tossed out like garbage, including female artists that were abused horribly. And this was a publicly traded company with the board of directors where hundreds of millions of dollars was made.

and is still being made. And this business has been untouched in terms of Me Too or any other type of civil rights injustices. What did other people do? Because, I mean, some of the allegations that you state both in your book and in this lawsuit, I mean, they are shocking. And we heard a lot of stuff during the Me Too movement, but some of your stuff is just shocking. In the middle of meetings, male executives essentially touching themselves

while they were trying to conduct business and touching you at the same time. Well, I can't comment directly on allegations in the lawsuit, but that's for the court. But the truth will be told. Witnesses are still around. So it's not that long ago, and it affected my life personally so much that I wrote a book about it and was able to publish a book about this and clear legal. So what does that tell you? I don't want to ask you about the book because it was pre-Me2 movement when the book was published,

I'm going to ask you that laws have changed, but people are going to say this, these alleged crimes happened decades ago. How hard is it going to be to win this case? Well, we think the truth will prevail, Tom, the fact that Dorothy knows where all the skeletons are buried. And that's important. She's a trailblazer because hopefully it's going to set a precedent for other women who have been suffering in silence for decades. Attorney Andrews and I say, Warner, release them from the NDAs. If you're not afraid of the truth, let these women be heard finally.

Yeah, Dorothy, in your book, you wrote that you were still friends with some of the men that abused you? Is that a fair characterization? And if so, explain to me sort of the process. Was it just something that happens when you're a victim, or was it just something that you had to do?

Well, in order to work in the music business, it's controlled by only a few people. And I wanted to work in the music business. You essentially couldn't burn bridges. Well, it isn't a question of burning bridges. They just throw you out. And I was able to, you know, eke out a small career, not where I should be, should have been in terms of everything that I've done. Exactly. They were blacklisted.

Talk to me about that, Ben. You know, it's like any industry. If you are down here and you're a whistleblower, they can blackball you and nobody else in the industry will have anything to do with you. And when you read her book, you see instances of that, Tom. And that's why we have to be unapologetic in our opposition to oppression in any fashion or form or any manner. I am so troubled by the fact that, you know, with Harvey Weinstein, they were able to get. those women's voices heard. But in the music industry, they haven't had to face the music at all. Well, you have to go back and jog people's memories from decades ago. I mean, how

difficult is that going to be? Well, you know, you're going to see in her lawsuit, she actually filed a complaint in writing. And so it's not hard, you know, talking to my co-counsel, Ann Andrews, and David Moten, to be able to say, she filed a complaint, and what was the response? And if they had a response, we will see it. But the response was, whether they say you're a woman, it doesn't matter what you say. There was a time when one of the men you're accusing, and we should say that the people you've accused are denying the allegations. But there was a time when Amette Erdogan was one of the biggest, if not the biggest names, in the music industry. He's currently in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Do you think the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should revisit his induction and should they take it away? 100% but of course nobody talks about any of this because it's not gotten the attention that other industries have in terms of me too but all the people that made the rock and roll hall of fame and are on the board were all close friends of um at urtigan so it's a you know it's a club dorothy i talking to you i got to say and ben maybe you can you help her out with this but it doesn't sound like like you have a lot of faith in the system i mean you've suffered so much it sounds like you you don't have faith in this system. Well, I do have faith in the fact that I've been trying for years standing up by myself. And now with Ben Crump, I'm hoping to bring, you know, have women feel that they have someone

advocating for them. The business has not addressed any Me Too issues as a whole. And it's still being run by the same people. And Tom, we have to keep building coalitions for our daughters to come in the future. It's one thing to have Dorothy standing there by herself, but then to have Gretchen Carson, who was heroic in her challenging sexual harassment at Fox News, and then have other women like Julie Ruskinzky coming to stand with her, because that is the only way we can give these women their voices.

If we all stand up and say women rights or human rights. Yes. Ben Crump, Dorothy, we thank you for your time, and Dorothy. I appreciate you coming out here. I know it's not easy to talk about these things. No, it's fine, and I look forward to the trial for justice to be done and the truth to be told. It'll all be laid out at trial. Again, we appreciate your time, and we will stay on top of it.

Thank you. Thank you. All right, we want to head now to Capitol Hill where a House committee is holding hearings on the origins of the COVID pandemic. Republican lawmakers today probing a panel of scientists who believe the theory that the virus most likely came from a lab leak in Wuhan, China. Here's former CDC director, Dr. Robert Redfield. Remember, this pandemic did not start in January at the seafood market. We now know there was infections all the way back into September. This was a narrative that was decided that they were going to say this came from the wet market

and they were going to do everything they could to support it to negate any discussion about the possibility that this came from a laboratory. All right, joining us now is Stanford University medical professor, Dr. Jay Badachira. Dr. Jay, thank you so much for joining Top Story Live today. You had a chance to testify in front of this select committee as well. I'm going to get to that in just a second. But in full transparency, I want to talk to our viewers about you. And I want to make sure our viewers know that you have legitimate credentials, right?

Because throughout this pandemic and throughout the coverage of the pandemic, at times, doctors like you who have spoken out, who have sort of gone against the grain, have been slammed, and in some cases I've been told not to speak at all. Tell me if I get anything wrong here. You have an economics Ph.D. from Stanford University and MD from Stanford University. You've been a research associate. You've been the director on the Center of Demography and Economics of Health and Aging at Stanford. You're a professor. You've been a senior fellow. Essentially, the point I'm trying to make here is that your credentials are pretty impeccable. Is that fair to say?

I've been working on infectious disease policy for 20-some years at Stanford as a full professor. So, I mean, you know, people can decide. So let's go to your testimony. in front of the house. And this is part of your take on how you think the pandemic played out for some scientists, along with some reporters as well. Let's put it up on the screen here. I think we have a graphic with some of your comments. You said public health bureaucrats operated more like dictators than scientists during the pandemic, sealing themselves off from credible outside criticism. Consider, for instance, the treatment of scientific dissidents outside the government who contradicted public health dogma. In the earliest days of the pandemic, public health bureaucrats organized a cover-up of the hypothesis that COVID emerged as a result of a laboratory leak, calling scientists who proposed the idea conspiracy theorists. Very tough talk there, but in a lot of ways, a lot of that is true. What happened with science during the pandemic? Why did scientists, at least some scientists, decide to stop investigating, stop researching, stop even thinking outside

the bubbles? Aren't scientists trained to do that? I mean, I think if you look at what happened, the central sin is hubris. You had a relatively small number of very, very highly placed top scientific bureaucrats, people like Tony Fauci, people like Francis Collins, in charge of tens of billions of dollars of money. And it's not just money. They control the success and social status of scientists within the scientific profession. It's very difficult to speak up when they say, you know, lab-leaky conspiracy, most people are going to stay silent, even if they disagree. You saw today the CDC director, someone with tremendous experience with, you know, in a position of power, he himself felt like he couldn't speak up when he was in the CDC against

Tony Fauci and Francis Collins, even though he disagreed with them fundamentally about whether that this was a lab leak or not. I mean, this is one of the most important questions that we could possibly imagine. Why did this pandemic start? Where did it start? Was it as a result of policies that we, the United States, adopted? Did we cooperate with China? Did this happen in a Chinese lap? How can we prevent the next one? These are fundamental questions,

not questions to be decided by essentially like a high cleracy, which is how Tony Fauci and Francis Collins thought of themselves to suppress this. How did you, how were you sort of treated? What did you experience when you sort of put out other ideas out there or said, hey, listen, we should investigate possibly the Lab League theory, which now, years later,

We have the FBI, we have the Department of Energy, who are saying there is some credence to these theories. Well, I mean, for me, it was primarily I wrote something called the Great Barrington Declaration in October 2020, arguing for a very different way to manage the pandemic. You know, you can agree or disagree, but the idea was that there's a very high risk for older people and that the lockdowns were harming children. So the idea was to lift the lockdowns and focus, protection of vulnerable older people. That four days after we wrote it, the head of the NIH, Francis Collins, wrote an email to Tony Fauci calling me a fringe epidemiologist and calling for a devastating published takedown of the premises. You were called a fringe doctor with the pedigree that we just mentioned here on the air at Top Story, with all the work you've put in throughout your career.

What did that feel like? I mean, it was my friends have sent me cards to say, let's say fringe epidemiologist on it. Someone even sent me a T-shirt that says it. I mean, it's actually an abusive power when I think about it. You have to have, for scientific bureaucrats at the top of the NIH hierarchy, they have to want to engage with scientists that disagree with them, not destroy the careers of people that disagree with them. But at the same time, Dr. Jay, I will say this.

It was a pandemic like we had never seen in modern times, correct? A lot of this was new. It is easy to come back and look back on everything and say, oh, yeah, we made a mistake here. We made a mistake there. at the time, thousands of Americans were dying. It was unclear. It was spreading.

It was novel. It was new to everyone. And there were a lot of crackpot theories out there to be completely fair. And there was a lot of misinformation and bad information out there. I guess the reason what I'm saying is that not that it makes everything that happened okay, but do you understand that it was sort of a trying time? No, I completely understand, Tom. I mean, you're right.

I mean, it was a very difficult time. I think the key thing is you want to do science. in those times. You want to engage with scientists, legitimate scientists, even if the scientists disagree with it. Yes, there were a lot of bad information out there. There was people who were dying. A lot of people died. I think actually the censorship actually led to more death than would have happened because what we were calling for was better protection of vulnerable older people. We weren't doing a very good job with that. What if they engaged with us instead of demonizing me and other folks who wrote the declaration? I think the thing is when you have an uncertain time,

that's when we have to double down on science. That's when we have to double down on discussion and open and honest debate. That's how we actually learn, especially when we don't know all the answers. The problem we had was we had a scientific bureaucracy that thought it knew all the answers when it didn't. It needed to engage. I completely am sympathetic. They had a very, very difficult job, Tom. I agree with that.

But you don't do that job by silencing opposition, legitimate opposition. You do that job by engaging with it. And I think it's fair that there's blame to go around, not just with the scientific community, but also with government and also with the media. I think I definitely have to be on the record with that. Before we go, explain to our viewers, you know, more than a million people in America have died because of COVID complications. We are never going to get those Americans back. Why is it still so important we figure out the origins of where this entire pandemic started? Well, if we know that the origins were a lab leak, well, then we can then undertake better protections against the,

was lab league ever happening? And maybe we don't ever want to fund this kind of dangerous research or we have an international treaty banning it if that really was at the result of a lab leak. We certainly at the very, very, very least, want to have better protections against a lab leak happening, although I think it's almost impossible for research with this virus to be protected against that. I think it's the reason to have this is to heal the scientific community and then protect the public against this kind of thing ever happening again. Dr. J. Batacharya from Stanford, we appreciate your time and for being on. top story tonight. Still ahead tonight, the celebrity scam. Have you heard about this one?

The disturbing new ads on social media that aren't quite what they seem, how stars like Emma Watson are being used as clickbait without their consent. We'll explain. Plus, a consumer health alert tonight, two more kinds of eyedrops recalled which bottles you should look out for. And a cat, a big cat, on cocaine, you're not going to believe this one. We're authority safe. They found this big cat and what his drug test revealed. Top stories just setting started on this Wednesday night. Their NBC News exclusive, hundreds of deep fake ads showing Emma Watson and Scarlett Johansson and sexually suggestive videos were found on Facebook and Instagram this week, bypassing the platform's safeguards.

NBC Stephen Romo explains how easy a deep fake is to make and how the technology can be exploited by bad actors. tonight a reminder that these days seeing should not always mean believing these sexually suggestive ads are popping up online appearing to show celebrities like emma watson and scarlet johansen even though the images of the stars are completely fake and this week more than 230 of these ads for face mega an app promoting deep fake face swap videos appeared on meta's facebook and instagram according to a review of Meta's ad library. Immediately, I knew this was something different from what we've seen in the past. These so-called deep fakes are artificially generated videos or photos that can substitute one person's face with another, often making it seem like they're saying or doing things they've never actually done. And the process that used to take technological know-how and a lot of time can now be done on a smartphone in under a minute. In the terms of service, they ask that you not use any sexually explicit material. And this is the type of thing where if you were found to

have violated it, they could ban you from their services, but there are still workarounds. While meta and other social media platforms also ban pornographic material, people have found gray areas. After NBC News asked Meta for comment, all of the app's ads were removed from meta services. A meta spokesperson said in a statement, quote, our policies prohibit adult content regardless of whether it is generated by AI or not. And we have restricted this page from advertising on our platform. Apple and Android have also since removed Face Mega from their app stores after they were contacted by NBC News.

However, dozens of similar DeepFake apps are still available to download. We reached out to the creators of FaceMega for comment, but we have not yet heard back. The recent advances in DeepFake technology are often used for celebrity parodies and entertainment. It's also more accessible for consumers, allowing them to upload their own photos and videos to alter. Something I tried out with ease. We put my face on somebody else's body. But this all opens the door for the technology to be used in malicious ways, harmful not just to celebrities who have the means to fight it, but for average people.

The damage and the potential of this technology now is that you could go beyond celebrities, beyond people who, may have legal representation or the money to fight back against these kinds of things. All I needed was one high quality photo of my face. And then within 30 seconds, I had all of these videos. Lauren Barton is a journalism student who saw one of these deep fake ads and decided to raise the alarm by posting about how easy they are to create. I am the most worried about how this is going to be used to quite literally change people's lives for the work. We see things like revenge porn. Well, you could create that yourself and use that to destroy a person's career, even a person's life.

All right, Stephen Romo joins us now from those videos you think you'd live in the gym, those deep fake videos. In all seriousness, though, are the laws catching up to this? The technology is moving so fast. Yeah, that's a big problem. Of course, most states do have revenge porn laws now. It took a while to get there. A handful of states actually have laws that address this sexual misuse of these deep fakes at all. So there's a long way to go. There's really nothing on the federal level on the horizon.

Regarding this right now, these bad actors, though, are working very quickly to find ways to monetize this, prioritize this to get more money. And I think the biggest changes that deep fakes are getting better and better, and they're getting harder and harder to figure out. Stephen Rommel, we appreciate that. When we come back, a deadly mid-air collision in Florida, two planes slamming into each other, then crashing into a lake. but authorities were covered in that mangled wreckage. And a tropical cyclone off the coast of Africa about to break an all-time wrecker. We'll explain. All right, we're back now with Top Stories News Feed,

and we begin with two planes colliding in the skies over Florida. We're learning the identities of the four people killed. Aerial footage shows some of the wreckage in Lake Hartridge, About 45 miles southwest Orlando, two victims on one of those planes identified as a 24-year-old flight instructor and a 19-year-old college student. The other two victims, a 67-year-old from Pennsylvania and a 78-year-old from Texas. The NTSB and the FAA are investigating this crash. A consumer update tonight, two more companies are recalling eyed over contamination risks. Two lots of purely soothing eye drops are recalled because the company says they were not properly sterilized,

which could lead to serious bacterial infections and even blindness. Apotex is also pulling six lots of its eyedrops after cracks were found in bottle caps. Last month, the brand of eyedrops was linked to a deadly bacterial outbreak, you may remember. And we told you about cocaine bear, but haven't you heard about the cocaine cat? That's right, a wildcat captured in Ohio and is in recovery after testing positive for cocaine. The African serval cat known as Amiri first spotted in a tree near Cincinnati, later taken to the Cincinnati Zoo for further care and supervision,

it's not yet clear how this animal came into contact with the narcotic. All right, coming up, International Women's Day Across the Globe from Sri Lanka to Ukraine. We'll show you how women are being celebrated today in every corner of the world. Stay with us. We are back now with Top Stories Global Watch, and we start with the massive protest in Greece over that deadly train crash. last week, tens of thousands of people take a look protesting across the country, including violent clashes breaking out near the Parliament building in Athens. Thousands of union workers

also going on strike, disrupting public transportation and halting ferries to the popular Greek islands. Protesters say the government has ignored the country's crumbling rail system. A storm that has already killed 21 people now likely the longest lasting tropical cyclone in history. Tropical cyclone Freddie swirling off the coast of Mozambles. Beak, forecast to make landfall there for a second time on Friday, at which point it will break a record set in 1994, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The storm first slammed ashore in Madagascar on February 21st, packing winds of up to 115 miles per hour. Since then, more than 2 million people have been affected by the flooding from that storm. And across the globe, crowds gathering to mark International Women's Day, the holiday and opportunity to spotlight gender equality and issues affecting women worldwide.

In Sri Lanka, women arm-in-arm protesting a proposed tax reform. In Belgium, demonstrators calling for increased funding for social services. And in Ukraine, female soldiers walking away with the flowers and awards given to them by President Zelensky. And in Colombia, I major step forward for women hoping to serve in the military. The country, for the first time in 25 years, allowing female recruits to enlist in the army. Colombia currently mandates that all men between the ages of 18 to 24 serve, but the country, the enlistment will remain optional for women. Okay, we want to turn out of France.

The country has seen more than a million people on a nationwide strike against the government's proposed changes to pension plans, disrupting air and rail travel and blocking gas, electricity, and even fuel deliveries. This says unions vow to keep putting pressure on the government with no plans to stop striking. Matt Bradley has more.

Tonight, tensions flaring as violent protests in France enter their second day. Some clashing with police in Paris, throwing projectiles, damaging cars, and smashing windows before being met with tear gas. More than a million striking against the president's proposed pension reform, turning out in record numbers on Tuesday the largest demonstrations after two months of street battles and marches. French union workers aiming to shut down critical industries across the nation, walking off the job. and into the streets, blockading oil refineries, some, even starting bonfires,

and cutting off deliveries to electricity and gas facilities. We haven't been heard or listened to, said this oil refinery worker. We're using the only means we have left. It's the hard strike. Walkouts also hindering rail and air travel. On Tuesday, a fifth of flights were canceled at Paris's Charles de Gaul Airport, and about a third of flights were scrapped at Orly Airport, according to the Associated Press,

and workers have declared they'll carry on striking the rest of the week. French President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular proposal would raise the minimum pension age from 62 to 64 and increase the requirement to earn a full pension to 43 years of work. Today, the focus on women marching on International Women's Day with an extra purpose. There are two reasons why we're demonstrating today, said this far-left lawmaker, first, because like every year on March 8th, we march to demand

equality, and also to ask for this pension reform bill that is going to make women poorer to be withdrawn. The demonstrations even spilling out to iconic places of culture, including the world-famous Louvre Art Museum. The government argues that change is needed as France's population ages and life expectancy's lengthening. President Macron hopes the parliament will adopt the new law before the end of March. unions say they'll keep the pressure up as debate rages on.

Matt Bradley, NBC News. When we come back, taking International Women's Day to New Heights. After the break, we're introducing you to a 94-year-old skydiver. Yes, I said 94, why she started her thrill-seeking days later in life and how she's teaching her grandchildren when to stay grounded and when not to. Stay with us. We are back now with one grandma's leap of face. celebrating her 95th birthday by jumping out of a plane in Hawaii,

proving you're never too old to seek a new thrill. NBC's Emily Akeda reports. I love you too. Here we go. New Jersey grandma Marge Wardensky's motto is simple, Yolo. You only live once. Take your chances.

That's her preparing for her latest thrill at age 94, almost 95, ready to jump out of a plane last month in Hawaii. This breathtaking moment skydiving with her granddaughter Chelsea, an early celebration of March's 95th birthday in August. It really is great. You get out there and go, ah, you know. Her thrill-seeking years didn't start until she was in her 80s after the death of her husband, a World War II veteran.

I always wanted to do it, you know, be adventurous, and he didn't want me to do it. So he died, I did it. Her recent daredevil activities include ziplining, hand gliding, and hot air ballooning, too. I said, go for it. You want to do something? Go for it. She loves to poke fun and her more grounded friends. Chicken. I think it's wonderful that she has the courage to do what she does.

Would you do it? No. No. I'm not that adventurous. And she's not done. She wants to make another skydive, this time with nieces and nephews. To see the joy on her face, there's a huge smile the whole time. People, a quarter of her age, are terrified of what, you know, the adventurous things that she does. She may only be 94, but this grandma, taking a leap of faith and showing us all how to keep it 100.

Emily Ikeda, NBC News. She is definitely keeping it 100. We thank Emily for that report, and we thank you for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamerson, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way. Thank you.