Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Episode Date: September 19, 2024

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world.

Tonight, a new round of deadly explosions rocks Lebanon, plunging the region further into turmoil. A second wave of electronic blast, leaving hundreds injured, a day after that widespread pager attack. Hospitals overwhelmed after walkie-talkie seemingly blow up all at the same time. Hezbollah blaming Israel in the unprecedented covert operation. How were those explosives planted and the concerns this new assault on Lebanon could spiral into an all-out war? Also tonight, the Fed cuts rates, financial relief on the way for millions of Americans as the Federal Reserve slashes its rate by half a percentage point. The move marking the biggest cut since the pandemic began and signaling a new era for the economy. What it means for your wallet and the impact it could have on the presidential election?

Diddy's bail appeal fails. A judge ruling tonight, music mogul Sean Diddy Combs will remain behind bars until his trial. Combs fighting for his freedom after pleading not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges, why the judge said his $50 million bail proposal wasn't enough to cut him loose. O'Pair murder plot, a Virginia husband accused of murdering his wife and a stranger with help from the family's live-in nanny, how the two allegedly conspired to carry out the killings. Contracting neurovirus while on a miles-long hike in paradise? What we know about an outbreak being linked to a popular trail in Holoccurrence?

Hawaii. And Python challenged hundreds from across the country competing to wrangle as many snakes as they can in the Everglades, a Florida man capturing 20 Burmese pythons taking home this year's top prize and slithering his way into the record books. Plus, the breaking news just in, the school shooting plot foiled what we're learning about the teen suspect now in custody. Top story. Starts right now. And good evening. Tonight, Lebanon on edge as the country deals with a second wave of unprecedented attacks. Just a day after a coordinated pager explosion, targeting Hezbollah members, Wauke-Tockies began blowing up simultaneously. Take a look.

And that was just one blast happening during a funeral for those who were actually killed in the pager attack. The deadly device is going. going off all across the country, forcing hospitals to scramble to help those injured. Video shows smoke billowing from a phone shop after radios used by Hezbollah detonated there. The country's civil defense force saying teams work to put out fires across the country. And new security cam video showing the moment of Pedro erupts inside of a market. Look at that. A man dropping to the ground as cashiers run in panic. We're getting a new up-close look at those beepers after they exploded.

Here's one of them or what was left of one of them. And tonight, new questions of how this new method of modern warfare is being carried out. Two U.S. officials telling NBC news that Israel is behind the attack, though, the country has not claimed responsibility. The attacks further fueling tensions in the already volatile region. NBC foreign correspondent, Ralph Sanchez, starts off our coverage. Tonight, a second wave of explosions tearing through Lebanon. Yesterday, it was pagers belonging to Hezbollah members. Today, it's walkie-talkies detonating simultaneously, according to Lebanese state media.

This blast at a funeral today for a Hezbollah member killed in yesterday's bombings. The Lebanese army blowing up one walkie-talkie in a controlled explosion outside a hospital in Beirut. The Iranian-backed militants unable to stop what U.S. officials tell NBC news is a vast Israeli covert operation, targeting Hezbollah's personnel and its communications network. Lebanon's health ministry says at least 14 people were killed in today's blasts on top of the 12 killed yesterday, two of them children, and hospitals struggling with an influx of more than 3,000 injured people. Doctors involved in treating the wounded in the pager attack say they saw many injuries to the face where people were looking directly at the device as well as the side where

it was clipped to a belt or in a pocket. Israel refusing to say if it was involved. But tonight, the defense minister says the war is moving to a new phase, with troops shifting from Gaza to the fight against Hezbollah on the Lebanon border. As Israel vows to make it safe for thousands of its civilians displaced by the fighting to finally return home. The New York Times citing two officials says Israeli agents planted tiny explosives inside the pagers, which detonated after resumed.

receiving messages that appeared to be from Hezbollah leadership. Many of the destroyed pageers bear the logo of Taiwanese company Gold Apollo. But that firm says the specific model was made by a different company in Hungary. Hungary's government saying the company is an intermediary with no manufacturing or operational site. Meaning it's still not clear where in this shadowy supply chain these consumer devices were turned into deadly bombs. Former FBI official Clint Watt says this was a highly sophisticated attack.

The key point of all of this is this was a very coordinated attack against a very specific target. It's not something to be easily undertaken just by an individual or just by random groups of criminals. With Hezbollah now vowing revenge, Israeli forces on high alert. After a chain of blasts that could be the sparks for all-out war. Raff joins us tonight from Tel Aviv once again. So, Raf, Israel still hasn't said if they had a role in this, but it's widely believed they did. Are you hearing if we expect any more rounds of explosions in Lebanon? Tom, at this point, it feels like anything is possible.

24 hours ago, if you said that there was going to be a second round of blasts in Lebanon today, people would have laughed at you. Everyone except a small circle of very, very senior Israeli officials who, we think, knew what was coming. So it is possible that there is more to come in terms of this covert Israeli operation. I can tell you, Israeli forces are on extremely high alert at this point because they anticipate that Hezbollah's response is likely to come soon and that it could be major. Rob, how is this news playing out in Israel? We know there is a continued effort to get a deal done to get the hostages released

while those explosions are still happening. Yeah, so Secretary of State Anthony Blinken back in the Middle East today, trying to breathe new life into those ceasefire talks, I can tell you, at this point, a deal feels very, very far off. It is an unusual night here in Israel. People are, on the one hand, admiring what appears to be the prowess, the professionalism of their intelligence services, believed to be behind these attacks. And at the same time, people are very, very nervous because Hezbollah is a far stronger enemy than Hamas. And if this does end in a major all-out war between the two sides. You could expect a lot of damage and a lot of casualties in Israel

as well as in Lebanon. Tom. All right, Ralph Sanchez for us tonight. Raf, we thank you for that. And as those tensions escalate, families of the hostages taken by Hamas have just met with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. It's been almost one year since their loved ones were taken by Hamas in a terrorist attack. One of those Israeli-American hostages is Sagi Dekelhan, a husband and father of three who was taken hostage by Hamas following. the October 7th attacks in Israel. His father, Jonathan Declan, joins Top Story tonight live from the White House, where he attended that meeting with Jake Sullivan.

So, Jonathan, first of thank you for talking to us. I know this is a difficult time for you. How did the meeting go at the White House? Well, as all of these meetings have gone, and there have been many, which is really quite extraordinary, this time with National Security Advisor, it was an eye-level conversation about where things stand, where the talk stand, what the obstacles are, what sort of the prognosis is, and a conversation, and putting out ideas

about how perhaps we can all work towards expediting the process for both of the sides, unfortunately, to be forced, meaning Israel and Hamas, being forced to get to yes and to finish this negotiated process. I want to delve a little deeper, those negotiations, but I'm sure you heard our report, and I'm sure you've been following the news. As I look at your live shot right now, I see that you're wearing an Israeli and U.S. pin there on your lapel. And I point that out because I know you know that Israel has to

defend itself, but as the father of someone who is still being kept hostage by Hamas, how have the explosions in Lebanon against Hezbollah? How have you taken that news? Well, look, at face value, I don't think anyone is going to miss these Gizbalah militants and the supporters of an internationally recognized terrorist organization. That needs to be said. Whoever executed this coordinated coordinated attack at the level of being a father of a hostage and someone from a kibbutz, Kibbutz near Oz, from which 29 of the 101 hostages still being held by Hamas are from my kibbutz.

This is all deeply, deeply personal. Before and after these attacks in Lebanon, we were witness to just any number of actions, of unnecessary words from both sides, both Hamas and the Israeli side, which are making completion of this negotiated process. that much harder. And at the same time, of course, the risk now of escalation into a regional war where no one wins and the United States will find it very difficult to stay out of as well as other major powers is certainly a worry. It's a worry from the level of my son all the way to sort of the future of our region. The only way it can be diffused and anyone who knows the region and knows the issues at hand, the only way that this escalation can be diffused is by

Hamas and Israel, reaching an agreement to stop the madness in Gaza. But that is contingent on all of the hostages coming home, something that Hamas could have done starting on October 8th in order to relieve the suffering of the people of Gaza, but is yet to do so. Jonathan, you know, a couple weeks ago we reported that the Biden administration was considering going at this alone and trying to get the American Israeli hostages like your son out of Hamas's captivity. Is this something you still understand is happening where they would just negotiate directly with Hamas and maybe a third party and take Israel out? Where does that stand? Well, I know that the report initially came out on NBC News, and I spent the subsequent day in Israel saying out loud in Hebrew that there was really nothing to this report. The Biden administration, we've been in contact with them really almost constantly, at the highest level since mid-October. there was never any intent to negotiate just for the U.S. hostages.

The seven remaining or when there were as many as 10, the U.S. administration, as far as I understand, is completely committed to getting out all 101 hostages, the seven Americans among them. And, you know, that's where things stand. They stood that way before your report and after your report. Are you frustrated? Is that something you would be open to,

or is that something you do not want to entertain? It's something that I'm not going to discuss. It's, you know, we know that this crisis must end. As an Israeli-American, you notice the lapel pin, I'm committed, like all the other hostage families, to getting them all home. You know, when Hamas attacked on October 7th, mass-occurring 1,400 Israelis, committing mass rape, mass hostage-taking, they didn't check people's passports. They murdered people from two dozen countries that had multiple citizenships. They still hold citizens from, I believe, 22 countries. So there should be no differentiation between U.S. citizens or anyone else.

We have the privilege, the now six families who were in the meeting today, we have the privilege of being U.S. citizens, that we have access to the U.S. administration and Congress, and thus far we've had absolute commitment and absolute solidarity wall-to-wall around the need to get all of the hostages home. It's clear that the problem is not the U.S. administration. The problem is, first and foremost, Hamas, which at this point is even refusing to negotiate in good faith and the Israeli government. But I do believe that given the mass support in Israel, witnessed by hundreds of thousands

of people getting out into the streets in Israel, that the Israelis, that the Israelis, The Israeli government, the people of Israel, with some help from the United States, will force our government to, yes, but Hamas has to move, and it has to be forced by the international community. Anyone who considers themselves a friend of Palestinians, because the only way the killing stops in Gaza and perhaps beyond is by getting this deal done and returning our hostages. Jonathan, before we go, the first time we met was on this show, and it was 11 months ago. It was 10 days after the October 7th terror attack. And I have to ask you, as a parent, how are you keeping hope? Well, Rachel Goldberg, who is the mother of Hirsch, Goldberg, Poland, who was murdered, who was executed by Hamas a couple of weeks ago.

His body was returned with another five beautiful young Israelis, has said that, you know, hope is mandatory. And, you know, I get up every morning and try to figure out. what is the best thing that I can do to get my son back to his now four beautiful girls. His wife, who at the time of the attack, was seven months pregnant, gave birth, thank God, to their third daughter whose Sagiya's not yet met. And that's my mission in life, and I'm sure every other family of hostages, those who unfortunately have already been murdered and certainly those who are still alive. That's what keeps them going day in and day out is the drive to get them home and to end the madness. Jonathan Declan, again, we appreciate your time, we appreciate your honesty, and thank you for coming on and talking about that meeting and about your son.

Thank you. Okay, we do want to take a turn now to a story that's been developing today, a mass shooting plot that is foiled. This one at a St. Louis County High School. Police arresting a 16-year-old boy and a former student armed with a handgun on school property. He posted a social media video signaling his intent to carry out the threat, and we do want to warn you, some viewers may find that video, for more on this developing situation. Mora Barrett joins Top Story Live tonight with her new reporting. So, Mara, what more do we know about how police were able to stop this shooting plot?

Well, Tom, it was all thanks to a really fast-acting high schooler, actually, who saw that post on social media and then anonymous tips came in after the fact identifying that former student's name and what they thought was the address where he was. Now, again, I want to issue that warning because some of this video might be disturbing, But the former student of the Writtener School District posted a video on Instagram, it appears, and he was holding a gun and he points the gun at the camera. The high school in the district was tagged in that video. And so once that video was posted, a fellow high schooler, the school superintendent told me,

called in to high school administrators and their school resource officers, a warning of this potential threat. And then the administrators and the school resource officers were able to alert the police. The police were able to get there really quickly. They pursued him on foot after he fled. He ditched his weapon in a trash can. And police said that he had a fully loaded Glock handgun. And he told police that he had gotten it from a friend.

Police are still investigating whether or not that's accurate. But obviously something very concerning, especially as police pointed out to us, that this is the seventh school shooting threat that the district has faced just this year. And so when I spoke to the school superintendent over the phone, just a short time, just a short time ago, he was really impressed by how the community is responding to these threats, seeing a social media post like that that maybe isn't verbally saying, hey, I'm going to go do this, but concerned enough that they're flagging it to authorities. The superintendent told me actually from the moment that the high school student reported the image to an administrator

to the time that the former student was apprehended by a police officer was just 24 minutes. And so when you think about the speed of that response, and then he was arrested, that it's just very, very reassuring in the sense that no one was injured. The school superintendent also told me that the gun never entered the school grounds and no students were ever in the same building as the person with the handgun. Yeah, good they stopped them. All right, Maura Barrett for us. Maura, we thank you for your reporting on that.

We also have another major headline tonight, of course, on the economy. The Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. The half-point cut designed to give the economy a boost as inflation continues to come down. Christine Romans is going to explain this all for us. The Federal Reserve today delivering a jolt to the U.S. economy, a half-percentage point cut to its benchmark rate, as inflation is making progress toward the Fed's target of 2%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell today saying the economy is in good shape.

It's growing at a solid pace. Inflation is coming down. The labor market is in a strong pace. We want to keep it there. And Powell indicated rates are likely to come down further this year. and next. The Fed's campaign to rain in inflation, which hit 9.1% in June 2022, drove borrowing costs for homes, cars, and credit cards to their highest levels in decades. For families like Ben and Haley Williams, the hope is lower rates will help the household budget. They have almost

$11,000 in credit card debt, some with interest rates over 30%. We never had credit card debt prior to this. This was buying a house in Indiana last December. with a mortgage rate of 8.1%. I know we maxed out our housing budget, but we kind of had to because anything under the $250,000 mark here was selling quickly or they were getting cash offers, and we just couldn't compete with that. Are you hoping that within the next couple of years,

you'll be able to refinance then? Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty good. They feel house poor. About half of their income goes toward their home. Only $176 went to principal. last month. And so over $2,000 was interest in taxes and insurance. Mortgage rates were already falling in advance of the Fed's rate cut. The average 30-year fixed rate down nearly two points from last October. Also falling gas prices below $3 a gallon now in 16 states. Nationwide,

a gallon irregular, almost 70 cents cheaper than last year. All right, Christine Romans joins us now in studio. So, Christine, you got to explain this to us. Let's put up the market boards here. Why? Why all the red? Why all the down arrows? Explain this. Well, at first, they rallied really strongly when it was the 50 basis point rate cut. And then they closed a little bit lower. I think you're going to see it settle out. They're trying to decide whether, hmm, is the Fed chief and the Fed concerned that maybe the economy is weaker than we thought? Or is this a really good move that's going to lower, you know, borrowing costs for businesses and consumers? And that ultimately will will preserve the economy and allow for a soft landing.

Well, since you open the door, we're going to walk right through it here on Top Story. Let's play this soundbite from Chairman Powell about the future of the economy. I don't see anything in the economy right now that suggests that the likelihood of a recession, sorry, of a downturn is elevated. Okay, I don't see that. You see growth at a solid rate. You see inflation coming down and you see a labor market that's still. at very solid levels.

So I don't really see that, no. I think what some amateur Fed watchers, like myself, may be thinking here is that, you know, they've been so conservative in these cuts. They really wanted to make sure they got inflation down, and then we jumped 0.5, and I think that took some people by surprise, and they're asking, does he see something, you know, in the horizon?

So I was really thinking about this this afternoon, because I think this might actually be a very cautious, Jay Powell. How can he be cautious if he's actually cutting so much? Because they were really behind the curve in the beginning, remember? They didn't start raising interest rates when they should have. And so I think maybe he's got more wiggle room. He wants to make sure that there isn't this wall of tightening that's really going to hurt the job market.

And so he is actually being cautious by cutting half a point. It usually takes some time, right, for these rate cuts or rate increases to actually when the consumers start to feel it. We saw it in your story there. Gas prices coming down, mortgage rates starting to come down. When will consumers feel it even more? So you're already seeing it in terms of mortgage rates, but I think longer term, the economy at large, it's like six to nine months is the lag for a Fed policy move.

And this has been kind of a dramatic bunch of tightening, right? And then we sat there higher for longer for so long. And now this is just the beginning, I think, of a rate cut cycle. You know what's really frustrating, Tom, and this is just the way it is. It goes up like a rocket down like a feather. It's probably going to be longer for car loans and credit card rates to start coming down for people. Before you go, because we're going to talk politics with Chuck Todd right after you. Will we feel anything different in the next 50 days?

I think, yeah, I think you've already been starting to feel things a little bit differently. You look at retail sales this week. They were strong. Consumers are still spending. Consumer confidence has already been ticking up. And mortgage rates, again, as I said, they are sort of tied to this. They're actually tied to the tenure note. but that follows along with the Fed's doing. So mortgage rates have already been improving.

So I think some of the big pain points on household budgets, especially with gas prices, we noted in that piece, are coming down. All right, Christine Romans, we thank you for all that. For more of the political fallout or any connection to the Federal Reserve's decision today, I want to bring in NBC News chief political analyst, Chuck Todd. Chuck, thanks for being here on Top Story tonight. You just heard Christine. Will this have any effect in the election?

We have about, I think, 48 days left. I think the impact that it has is it prevents potentially bad headlines. Imagine no rate cut. I think you would have had a downturn or a negative mood in the stock market has an impact on the psyche on the economy, and that's where this would have been felt. So I look at it as more of a, it could have impacted had it inserted itself in the campaign. Let's put up a poll here. I want to preface this because there's a lot of people that are saying be careful with this poll, but we're going to put it up there because it's going to lead to an important conversation. This is from the Financial Times and the University of Michigan's Raw School of Business. You see it right here. In a survey of likely voters, 44 percent now trust Harris on the economy with Trump at 42 percent. Keep in mind, this is well within the margin of error, but the bigger headline or the bigger context is that many other polls still have Trump way out in front on the economy issue. But she's trying for this operational. economy as a central part of her campaign. Is she moving the needle on this issue? Well, look, you know she is by the tone of some new ads that are out in the last 24 hours from the Trump campaign. And it's another shift, right? They keep looking for a way to hit her to knock her ratings. Look, I've seen other polls where, yes, Trump has an advantage, but in all of these polls, for what it's worth, Tom, you're seeing she has shrunk his advantage

on the economy if she's trailing. That's the first one I've seen her leading. But the The point is, this has been a similar trajectory, and the Trump campaign sees this. And these ads, they're very new that came out in the last 24 hours, all of a sudden are her saying Bidenomics. They're trying to retie her back to Biden. They know that in polling, Biden's economy is unpopular. Kamala Harris separating herself from Biden. They have been judging her based on what she is promising to do rather than being tied to Biden.

So I think you're going to see a heavy effort now from the Trump campaign. trying to retie her to Biden's economic policies, because when you brand them Biden, that is a negative in the economy, which is why she may have to figure out a way to distance herself more if these ads are effective. But right now, obviously, she's figured out some separation here from Biden. I want to ask you about this moment from former President Trump's town hall in Michigan last night when Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, one of Trump's biggest supporters, seem to knock Vice President Harris for not having children. Let's take a listen. on the other end.

Not only do my kids serve as a permanent reminder of what's important, they also keep me humble. You can walk into a room like this where people cheer when you step onto the stage and you might think for a second that you're kind of special. Then you go home and your kids remind you very quickly, you're actually not that big of a deal. And ours are pretty good at it. So my kids keep me humble.

Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn't have anything keeping her humble. So, Chuck, what's the strategy here, right? I'm just trying to understand this one. Why are Republicans attacking Harris over the fact that she does not have biological children? Look, I think it's fair. I don't think all Republicans are doing this. This really seems to be a tactic by the Trump campaign. Honestly, I don't get it.

It's bad politics. We all have blended family. families somewhere on our family tree. I promise you, I bet you it's nearly 100%. I don't get it. I think right now the most likely voter is a woman in America. The most committed voter right now are women. Well, that's what I was getting to.

I just don't understand how that would help that demographic. Yeah. Correct. I don't see how it works at all. So it, you know, maybe it's a cultural belief of hers, but as a political tactic and messaging, I think it's a negative, and I've already noticed there are some Republicans who've tried to distance themselves from this.

There are quite a few step-parents that are Republicans, too. Another big political headline today, and I want you to explain this to our viewers, the Teamsters Union, declining to endorse in this presidential election. This is interesting for two reasons, right? Because the head of the Teamsters did speak at the RNC, which was somewhat of a surprise. And I would say a positive, obviously, for former President Trump.

But there's no endorsement. Does this matter? Does this hurt Democrats? Look, this matters more based on who's president, right? This will help the Teamsters if Trump wins. This could hurt the Teamsters if Harris wins. There is a certain amount of money that the Teamsters put in, that they won't be putting in now. So, you know, it's a potential net negative. But if you're the Teamsters, I don't think you had any other choice.

I actually understand the decision they made politically for their long-term survival. They've kept their union united, and they at least will get a meeting no matter who wins. Chuck Todd, always great having you on Top Story. We appreciate it. All right, now to the latest in the Sean Diddy Combs' federal racketeering and sex trafficking case. The rapper denied bail again after appealing the judge's initial decision in court today. His legal team arguing for a new $50 million bail package that included new security restrictions. I want to bring in Chloe Malas for more.

So, Chloe, a lot has happened over the last couple of hours. get our viewers up to speed. What happened today? What were they offering, essentially, Diddy's defense team? Well, so this was the second time now that Combs is denied bond. And so this is a separate judge than the judge when I was in the arraignment in the courtroom yesterday. There was two hours where they laid out this $50 million potential bail package. Today, they had some extra caveats to it. They said that Diddy's team said that they would hire a private security firm to ensure that he would not tamper with witnesses, that he would wouldn't have, he'd have select women at the home, he would have GPS monitoring. They even

offered to have cameras on him 24-7. They talked about restricting his access to the internet, him not having a phone, but the judge was not persuaded. And the judge kept going back to the very damning and disturbing 2016 video of Diddy violently attacking Cassandra Cassie Ventura, his then-girlfriend, in a hotel hallway in 2016, that surveillance footage that was initially published by CNN. And that also seems to be central to this indictment, even though Cassie, you know, it all started with Cassie filing that civil suit that then she settled with Diddy. And, you know, they also just said that they cannot ensure that Combs will not tamper with witnesses. And they talked about how he had contacted people recently, threatened

them recently, and so that seems to be a central part of this as well. And then we've just learned tonight that they're going to appeal this appeal. How long can they go with this process? And what's the end game here because you were telling me it may not be just to get out of prison. So I was actually just talking to NBC News as Laura Jarrett. And you know, Elaine Maxwell, she appealed her bail that was denied multiple times. So they can appeal this to a higher court. But the likelihood, because two federal judges now have denied him the ability to be released until trial, it seems very unlikely. And I just want to point out, though, his team is also talking about the issues with this Brooklyn Detention Center where he is being housed right now, where Michael Cohen

once was jailed there. Also, R. Kelly and other high-profile controversial figures, they're saying there's food contamination, overcrowding, that one individual was murdered over the summer, that there have been suicides. So they're trying to also get him transferred to a jail in New Jersey, Tom. So again, this is ongoing. There is a hearing

set in a few weeks, but it could be a year or so behind bars because it takes a long time to gear up for a big trial like this. All right, Chloe Malas, with all the latest related to Diddy, we thank you for that, Chloe. ahead tonight, the O'Pair murder plot. Did you hear about this one? A Virginia husband and the families live in nanny allegedly carrying out a scheme to kill the mother. The double murder charges that the father now faces after the mother and another man were discovered dead. We're going to

explain this one. Plus, terrifying moments at an apple orchard in Wisconsin, a wagon overturning with children on board, what we know about the injuries, including one person who was airlifted to a hospital. And Florida, look at this, turning into a serious python. having a serious python problem. We'll hear from one woman who helped wrangled 19 stakes in a competition they're having and was just won away from the grand prize, which was 10,000 bucks.

Stay with us. We're back now with a murder investigation at a Virginia that is incredibly bizarre. A husband charged with killing his wife and another man in their home in a plot authorities alleged he orchestrated with the family's opair so the two could be together. NBC's Valerie Castro picks it up from there.

Tonight, a Virginia husband charged in a gruesome double murder accused of plotting with the family's opair to kill his wife, Fairfax County Police taking Brendan Banfield into custody. A year and a half after his wife, Christine Banfield, was found stabbed to death in the family's home, and another man, Joseph Ryan, was found shot nearby. Caller saying he shot someone. There's a 34-year-old female that got stabbed by someone, and then he shot him. The O'Pair, Juliana Perez-Magalais of Brazil, told police she and Brendan found Ryan attacking Christine in a bedroom, and that Brendan, a law enforcement officer for the Internal Revenue Service, shot and mortally wounded the man mid-attack.

But investigators say for months they believed there was more to the story. I suspected I had a feeling that there was a lot more to what met. the eye that that morning. And certainly it has taken a road 570 days later where we are finally in a position to announce that two persons are being charged and held responsible. Eight months after the killings, police arrested Magalais, accusing her of firing the shot that killed Ryan after a forensic analysis of the scene. NBC reached out to the attorneys for both Banfield and Magalays but have not heard back. Magalais has pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder and is awaiting trial. Despite the arrest, police say their

investigation still had unanswered questions, including victim Joseph Ryan's connection to Christine Banfield. A search of the family's computer revealed an online profile in Christine's name on a fetish sex website, according to prosecutors, as well as communication on the site with Ryan. But the way in which the messages were written didn't seem as though they'd come from Christine. And police say they believe it was someone else communicating with Ryan. A further search of the home just before the au pair's arrest also turned up evidence of an affair between the husband and the opair. Prosecutors say, including this framed photo of Brendan Banfield and Maggaly's. Prosecutors now say they believe it was all an elaborate plot to eliminate Christine so Brendan

and Magalese could be free to be together. Anything to say about your wife's death? Brendan Banfield's arrest on charges of aggravated murder and use of a firearm, just the next step in potentially proving that theory. We're not finished yet. We still know we have more work to do, but I can tell you that this has been something, this case has been something that's been on my mind. I know it's been on the chief's mind, my prosecutor's minds, since the day it happened. All right, Valerie Castro joins us now in studio. So Valerie, what other new evidence do we know about that tied them to the husband and the opair? So police wouldn't give too many specifics other than to say they have. have new digital, forensic, physical evidence, they presented that to a grand jury, that led to an

indictment, and that led to this arrest. But earlier this year in April, prosecutors were at a hearing that involved the opair, and they presented a lot more evidence, including evidence, they say, that shows Brendan Banfield at a shooting range, a firing range, along with the opair in the months leading up to the murders. Oh, there you go. Okay. And do we know what's next in this case? So Brendan is expected to be arraigned before the end of this week. week. The au pair, as we mentioned, she is awaiting trial. That is set for November. In the meantime, they are both being held at the Fairfax County Jail. And I know in the story, we focused a lot on what happened, but what do we know about this wife that was brutally murdered?

Christine Banfield. She was a mother to a four-year-old daughter that she had with Brendan Banfield. She would be about five or six years old. Now, police wouldn't go into a lot of details about the whereabouts of that child now. But if you take a look at Christine's social media profile. She has dozens and dozens and photos of her daughter, clearly a doting mother. We've also learned that she was a nurse who dedicated her life caring for other people. It's all so terribly sad. Okay. Valerie, we thank you for that. When we come back, sickened in paradise, dozens of people contracting norovirus after hiking a popular trail in Hawaii while they were on the trail. The investigation now underway as the trail remains

closed. The details next. Okay, we're back now with Top Story's News Feed. The Department of Justice suing the owners of the Dolly, the cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scottkey Bridge. Back in March, the Dolly lost power, you'll remember, before slamming into the iconic Baltimore Bridge, destroying it, claiming the lives of six construction workers. The lawsuit seeks more than $100 million in damages on top of another lawsuit being filed by the victim's families. Okay, more than two dozen people hurt during a tractor ride at a Wisconsin Orchard. Video shows a wagon on its side after officials say it overturned while carrying children and adults who were on a field trip.

At least three of the injuries are life-threatening and one person needed to be airlifted from the scene. It's unclear how many children were hurt, but officials say all of them have since been reunited with parents. And dozens of people growing sick with norovirus after hiking a popular trail in Hawaii. State officials temporary closing the Kalalua Trail and Kauai, at least 50 people, 50 have fallen ill since early August. The state is still searching for the source of this outbreak, but is asking anybody who hiked the trail since July to come forward. Symptoms of norovirus include vomiting diarrhea and stomach cramps. All right now to a major health headline, a new report by the American Association for Cancer Research. Finding adults under the age of 50 have been developing breast and colorectal cancer at increasingly high.

higher rates over the last few decades. And alcohol use may be partly to blame. The report comes as scientists rethink the idea of drinking, offering health benefits, because we have heard that for years. For more on this troubling trend, I'm joined now by NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar. Natalie, great to see you. Thanks for being here as always. So the study found, I'm going to read our notes here, that alcohol consumption increases and individuals' risks of developing six types of cancer, including those we mentioned, breast colorectal, and they're showing up more in people Under the age of 50 with alarming frequency, do we know why? Well, like you kind of said in the intro, alcohol is definitely one culprit.

It's not everything, right? I mean, genetics don't really shift all that much generationally, but what we're exposed to does. And, you know, alcohol is a known carcinogen, that it's metabolized to pretty toxic, you know, compounds that can damage DNA and cause mutations. There's also a feeling, especially for colorectal cancer, that alcohol can change your microcontact. and change the sort of ratio of good to bad bacteria, and that can increase the risk. And especially for breast cancer, Tom, alcohol increases estrogen. And so for many cancers and breast cancer in particular that are estrogen or hormone sensitive, that can be a significant risk.

Do we know why it's popping up more in people under the age of 50? I mean, has there been a generational shift in the way people drink? Is it binge drinking? Is it, you know, a type of alcohol that people are drinking now that's popular? This is what is driving experts crazy to say, why? is this happening? Why? And so we have to look again at modifiable risk factors. According to this report, about 40% of cancers are associated with risk factors that are in fact modifiable. And they include alcohol. One of the big ones is obesity. So if that is, you know,

if that is sort of in that way to answer your question, we know that the rates of obesity have just skyrocketed in this past generation. I mean, that is certainly accounting for some of it. You know, there's a long-held belief that a glass of wine is good for you, right? One a day. exactly what it is. Maybe, I think it was like one a day or something for women and two for men, something like that. I know you know better than I do. Is that being rethought of as maybe not great advice? Yeah. I mean, for many, many years, there was this an idea that light to moderate drinking, which again is like less than three drinks a week, up to one drink a day for women or two drinks a day for men, could maybe be associated with a lower risk for heart disease. And then

we would say, well, red wine is better than white wine because it has, you know, these certain compounds, peniles that could be healthy. There was just a study a month ago that showed that light to moderate drinkers did not have a decreased risk for heart disease compared to occasional drinkers, and they had a higher risk for dying from cancer. So I think we're pretty confident that there is no health benefit to drinking alcohol. I think in some cases maybe the risk might be exaggerated a little bit, meaning that you might die maybe a few weeks earlier than you would. And some people say, listen, I'll take that. If I die in March versus July, I'm going to enjoy my life. But suffice it to say, no amount of alcohol is really considered safe.

And then a lot of people, one of these recent survey found that 51% of Americans didn't know that it was this dangerous. Yeah, especially young people. Yeah, what more should the health community do? Do these companies that make drinks? Do they have a responsibility? Well, they do. I mean, just like we did with when the American, when the surgeon general put the, you know, that smoking causes birth defects, it dramatically decreased the amount of smoking. So yeah, you know, people are calling for the companies to put that label on, that it is a carcinogen, and it increases the risk, and especially concerning for young women who don't realize that there's an association with breast cancer. That is something that I think

as health care providers, we also need to communicate and educate our patients about. Dr. Nataliaz, are we thank you for being here. Yeah. All right, time now for Top Story's Global Watch and an update on the deadly flooding caused by days of heavy rainfall in Central Europe. Aerial footage showing a fire truck in southern Italy that was swept away in floodwaters. Officials saying the fire chief who drove it died while attempting to deliver aid, severe rainfall causing evacuations of tens of thousands of people across parts of Europe, search and rescue efforts still ongoing as the death toll rises to 20. Officials in Venezuela saying they arrested a fourth U.S. citizen this month.

The country's interior ministers saying an unnamed American was arrested after taking photos of military units, power stations, and state entities. The news coming just days after six foreigners, including three Americans, were arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro, again, these allegations coming from the Venezuelan government. And drought in the Amazon has left rivers at an all-time low. Aerial footage showing parts of the upper Amazon River completely dried up, leaving a barge stranded on a sandbank. You see it right here. The record low water levels across the Amazon basin come as Brazil faces its worst drought since record keeping began. The unusually dry and hot temperatures also fueling devastating wildfires.

Stay with us. We'll be right back. We're back now with a creative solution to a serious problem in Florida. Burmese pythons are an invasive species that have taken over the Everglades, preying on all kinds of animals, including gators. Wildlife authorities there are holding an annual competition, inviting people to catch as many of the snakes as they can. NBC's Marissa Pira spoke to one of the top competitors in this year's challenge. The invasive, elusive, and sometimes massive Burmese pythons are no match for hunter Donna Kalil. One of the very last pythons I caught was 12 foot one inch.

The leader of the Everglade Avengers and professional python removal specialist was one of 800 you flock to Florida for this year's Python challenge. Difficult to catch it because they're very quick. So you have to be really careful. Don't scare it away before you can come up to it and catch it right behind the head and wrestle it out of the salt. Amateur and pro competitors removed 195 Burmese pythons from the wild over the course of 10 days. Khalil caught 19 of them, just one shy of this year's crowned champion, Ronald Kiger, who took home the $10,000 grand prize. But the yearly competition isn't all about the glory or the money. It's a race to humanly catch as many pythons as possible.

Just like the old days. A mission that biologist and wildlife conservationist Jeff Corwin says is critical. They have no native predators. They have totally overtaken this ecosystem. They completely outcompete the native wildlife. They either push it out or they eat it to extinction. 90% of the mammals that live in the Everglades have been eaten by pythons. The non-venomous snakes were first brought to the U.S.

as exotic pets in the 70s, according to biologists. But those pets, when they got too big, eventually escaped or were released by their owners into the Everglades. they reproduced quickly. A female, she can have upwards to 40 to 70 offspring in one sitting. So from one snake, you can get hundreds of thousands of individual snakes that have this impact on this incredibly important ecosystem. Sometimes holding the tail will help keep them from flicking. Last year, to get a sense of how hard wrangling a python really is, we had the Fish

and Wildlife team show us one of their smaller captures. You can see what she's doing with the tail. an annual tradition that Khalil says she hopes to conquer next year. I set a goal to catch over 1,000 pythons, and I am very close to that. My next python challenge, hopefully I'll be able to win the grand prize. Tried real hard this year, and we'll try even harder next. All right, with that, Marissa Parra joins us tonight from South Florida. So, Marissa, we saw there in your piece you got up close and personal with one of those pythons.

How hard are those things to catch? Well, Tom, first you have to see them. They're nocturnal. They are incredibly good at camouflaging among the brushes. They can swim. And you can sometimes be feet away, by the way, and not even know it. Because as we mentioned, they're most active at night, which is when all the hunting takes place. But then remember how large they can get.

We're talking about 250 pounds up to 30 feet sometimes. They are very strong. They like to coil. But then on top of that, it's also a messy process, Tom. Sometimes to defend themselves, they will secrete musk and excrement. So, as you saw in the piece, we got up close and personal with one of the smaller ones, and let's just say I found out the hard way, all the ways they can defend themselves. But luckily, it was a small one, and I've taken many showers since.

I'm not going to ask any follow-ups on that one. In all seriousness, though, this is an invasive species, right? And as we've said, we could be seeing these pythons in more places. Right. They thrive in the Everglades, especially with this climate, the heat. And with climate change, we are seeing more warmer temperatures in places for, longer that we typically haven't seen. And so the big concern is we are starting to spot these pythons further north than we have before in the past. So Tom, exactly as you said,

a big concern here. Not only are we having issues controlling the population down here in the Everglades, there are big concerns that will start seeing that move northwards as climate change continues. Tom. All right. Marissa Parra for us. Marissa, we thank you. Okay, when we come back, the Lincoln Park comeback. The iconic rock. The iconic rock. rock band touring and preparing to release a new album for the first time since the 2017 death of frontman Chester Bennington. How fans are feeling about the new female lead singer and the band's return after seven years. That's next.

Finally tonight, Lincoln Park reuniting the band announcing their first album and live shows since the death of lead singer Chester Bennington in 2017. But after a long hiatus, the group taking the stage again with a new face, but not Everyone is embracing the change. NBC News Digital Reporter, Maya Eagland, has this one. So I've been called so long. I iconic alt-rock band Lincoln Park is back, seven years after the death of lead singer Chester Bennington. It's good to see you again.

The band debuting a new lead, Emily Armstrong, during a live stream earlier this month. Let's you cut me out. And also announcing the release of its first album since 2017. They're already rocking out shows in New York City and selling out the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. People were so excited, cheering, singing along the songs. For fans like Christian Alvarez, a moment to hear the band's iconic songs live, something most people didn't think would happen again. I couldn't believe it. It was a dream come true. I wish I could relive that night over and over again because of how much fun it was.

Lincoln Park also back on late night, giving Jimmy Fallon's audience a sneak peek of their first single with the new vocalist. The band's co-founder, Mike Shinoda, telling Fallon the reunion was just about making music again. I think the important thing for us is that we never set out to like, let's bring the band back. But the reboot, sparking controversy as well, including from Bennington's son, Jamie, who slammed Shanoda's decision to bring Emily Armstrong into the band, saying on Instagram that Shoneman. had, quote, quietly erased my father's life and legacy. But some fans like Christian, embracing the change. How do you feel about the addition of Emily Armstrong? I'm excited. I'm excited for this brand new chapter.

You know, I opened it with Welcome Arms. You know, Emily reminded me of him in a way. And it was like, man, she, she belongs here. This is who Lincoln Park is. And as Lincoln Park's new single climbs the charts, fans new and old witnessing a new era for the, all rocker superstars who helped define a generation of music. All right, that does it for us.

We thank you for watching Top Story Tonight. I'm Tom Yammis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.