Hallie Jackson NOW - June 30 — NBC News NOW

[0:00] Up top, 5 o'clock in New York, 3 p.m. in Salt Lake, 2 p.m. in the Bay Area. [0:14] And we start with three decisions from the Supreme Court in just the last few hours, [0:19] all of which will have a massive effect on the country. [0:22] Why some of the president's own appointees rejected his bid to reshape immigration laws. [0:28] Our team will break it all down live outside the Supreme Court. [0:31] And then also today, the deadly heat wave hitting half the country. [0:36] The nation's power grid could be pushed to the brink, with demand expected to hit an all-time high. [0:41] We have a live forecast coming up. [0:43] And then we're headed to space. [0:45] A new update from NASA on its plan to build a moon base. [0:49] All of us, we catch a glimpse of new repairs outside the International Space Station today. [0:54] Then we're going to our original. [0:55] How top grocery brands from Germany are trying to pull off a supermarket sweep here in the U.S., [1:02] kind of like the World Cup. [1:03] And LeBron James says he is leaving the Lakers. [1:07] So where does the NBA's all-time leading scorer plan to play his 24th season? [1:12] We're going to ask that question. [1:14] May not get answers, but we're looking coming up later in the newscast. [1:17] Good day. [1:18] I'm Tom Costello. [1:19] I'm in for Halle. [1:19] Right now, we have no reaction coming in on those three landmark decisions from the Supreme Court. [1:25] So we start this hour with a huge blow for the president in his attempt to redefine who counts as a U.S. citizen. [1:33] In a six-to-three ruling, the justices have upheld the principle of birthright citizenship. [1:39] So here's the breakdown now. [1:40] Two of the president's own picks on the high court actually ruled against him. [1:44] The highly controversial executive order he signed on day one of his second term. [1:49] Now, again, birthright citizenship has been the law of the land for 160 years since the freeing of enslaved black people. [1:58] This is now the text from the 14th Amendment. [2:00] It says, quote, [2:01] All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. [2:13] Chief Justice John Robbins taking the decision for himself in a highly dramatic conclusion of the term. [2:19] He writes, quote, [2:20] The framers of the 14th Amendment extended that promise to every free-born person in this land. [2:28] We keep that promise today. [2:31] Advocates reacted outside of court. [2:37] So those were the shares at the moment of the rulings released. [2:43] And for the president's part, he first called the ruling, his words here, [2:47] Too bad for our country. [2:49] Now he wants Congress to act. [2:51] However, the president and his party did get wins in two other major cases. [2:56] The justices are allowing states to keep in place bans on transgender girls and women who wish to play sports. [3:04] And the court totally upended longstanding restrictions about the role that money will play in the elections. [3:11] We will explain all of these cases with NBC's Stephanie Goss, NBC's Laura Jarrett in just a few moments. [3:16] But we start outside the court. [3:18] We have NBC's Julie Ainsley standing by. [3:21] Julia, to be clear here, because of this ruling, no one's citizenship status changes, right? [3:27] And any child born here in the United States remains a citizen and will be a citizen. [3:32] That's right. [3:33] Nothing actually changes today, Tom. [3:35] And even though the president declared this as one of his first executive orders when he took office [3:39] to try to end birthright citizenship, [3:41] it was blocked by so many lower courts that it never actually took effect anywhere in the United States. [3:46] But it was certainly a lingering question for the past year and a half. [3:50] Could the president redefine what it means to be an American [3:52] and actually limit citizenship for not only children born to people who came to this country illegally, [3:57] but also to people who might be here temporarily, really changing the 14th Amendment [4:02] and changing what the Supreme Court had weighed in on in the late 1800s [4:06] when they said that children born to Chinese Americans were also U.S. [4:10] Chinese immigrants were also American citizens. [4:13] I want you to listen to, you talked about the crowd here, [4:15] I want you to listen to the voice of a young woman we met outside the Supreme Court today [4:20] who was taken to the United States by her mother when she was pregnant with her, [4:24] coming from Guatemala. [4:26] Listen to her reaction today. [4:27] I'm an American, and every single person in this country, [4:36] if you're born here, you're an American, period, punto, no exceptions. Am I right? [4:43] And we also heard, of course, from Chief Justice Roberts talking about the Wong Kim arc. [4:48] That was that case regarding Chinese Americans and said that that helps to underscore the decision [4:53] that was made today and that they are simply upholding the court's president and the 14th Amendment. [4:58] Tom. [5:00] Julie Ainsley, thank you very much. [5:02] We'll be watching it closely. [5:03] President Trump has been taking a victory lap after the Supreme Court allowed transgender bans [5:08] on women and girls in sports to stay in place, saying, quote, [5:13] that takes that ridiculous situation off the table. [5:16] Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh ruled, quote, [5:20] given the inherent physical differences between the sexes, [5:23] allowing only biological females to play on women's and girls' teams [5:26] can reduce the risk of physical injury and ensure fair competition. [5:30] He cited both the nine, title nine, rather, and the equal protection clause in his ruling. [5:36] NBC's Stephanie Goss joins us now. [5:38] And, Steph, you've got a new reaction today. [5:40] Let's start with those who are celebrating this decision. [5:43] What do they want to see happen now? [5:46] Hey there, Tom. [5:47] So there are 27 states that have this ban. [5:49] That means there are a whole bunch of states that do not. [5:52] And the people who want these bans to spread across the country are hopeful that this decision [5:57] will do just that. [5:58] We spoke to a former NCAA volleyball player who works for Concerned Women for America [6:04] who have been fighting this cause for a long time. [6:07] They are happy with the ruling. [6:08] And this is what she said she hopes the outcome of it will be. [6:14] I would hope that it would embolden every state to protect those female athletes. [6:17] And I hope that they themselves are emboldened today to take action, to speak up for what [6:21] they know is right. [6:22] So on this issue, Tom, specifically the issue of transgender athletes in sports, 75% of Americans [6:32] in an NBC poll last year said that they support those bans. [6:36] And right now you have far less than that in terms of the states that are banning it. [6:40] So you could see some more states joining that list, Tom. [6:44] And what about those who are concerned about trans rights? [6:48] Where do they stand on this? [6:51] Yeah, well, you know, I spoke with an ACLU attorney who represents one of the transgender [6:56] athletes who was part of this case. [6:58] And he says that they are devastated by this ruling. [7:02] But they also point out that it is limited in scope, that there was some hope on the other [7:07] side that it would be broader in terms of how it might restrict transgender rights. [7:12] Listen to what he had to say to me. [7:14] The court made very, very clear that it was talking about a unique context of athletics [7:22] where everyone agrees that having separate teams based on sex has some important relationship [7:30] to important governmental interests. [7:33] And they didn't write a ticket, you know, for the other side to claim that you can discriminate [7:37] against transgender people in all other contexts. [7:40] And President Trump heralding this as a victory today. [7:44] But he has a much larger transgender, anti-transgender rights agenda. [7:49] And we've seen that play out in many different ways already with his administration. [7:54] This is just one small part of it. [7:56] And he's calling it a win today. [7:58] Yeah, interesting to hear that context. [8:01] Stephanie Gosk, thank you very much. [8:02] NBC's Laura Jarrett joins us now to break down the cases that we've just discussed. [8:06] Laura, can we start with birthright citizenship? [8:08] Because the court watchers seem to think that it's not that much of a surprise [8:13] that the court ruled against the president. [8:15] But that three justices actually agreed with him on this seems surprising. [8:20] Do the dissents tell us anything about where the court might be headed next on immigration [8:25] and presidential power? [8:27] Yeah, Tom, this is a conservative court, no doubt about it, [8:30] that has been quite deferential to the president when it comes to immigration policy. [8:35] If you were to, you know, sort of take a score of all the different immigration cases we've seen [8:39] this term, the president would come out far, far ahead. [8:42] I think it's only because this particular executive's order was so bold in its proposal, [8:50] in going so far in flying in face of the Constitution, now in the court's own estimation, [8:55] that that's where they really sort of served as a check. [8:57] But when it comes to whether it's asylum policy or we saw the temporary protected status of Haitian [9:02] and Syrian refugees, the courts have given the president an extreme amount of deference. [9:08] And Justice Alito really echoing some of the sentiments that we've heard from the Trump [9:12] administration more recently, saying in his dissent today, [9:15] the court's interpretation preserves a powerful incentive to enter or remain in this country illegally. [9:22] In my judgment, the court has made a mistake that will seriously affect the country's future. [9:26] It's interesting, Tom, that's an argument not about the law, but about the effects, right? [9:30] That's not a textualist argument based on what was sort of going on in the 1800s [9:37] when the 14th Amendment was passed. [9:38] That's an argument about what's happening right now. [9:40] So real quick, I want to get to trans rights, but let me quickly ask a follow-up here. [9:45] In your view, would it require a constitutional amendment to change this then? [9:50] Or the president is suggesting there could be legislation? [9:52] It requires a constitutional amendment. And I think that given the sort of defeat that they [9:58] had today, we see members of the president's allies and members of Congress on Capitol Hill [10:03] Republicans saying, we're going to take a look at it. But it's a pretty sort of stark loss. [10:10] And they know it's an uphill battle to pass a constitutional amendment, given the two-third [10:15] supermajority, given the states have to ratify it, it would be an uphill battle. [10:19] OK. Following up on the decision here regarding trans girls and women in sports, what does [10:25] this say about the court's likely direction on trans rights going forward? [10:29] The court really seems to be wanting to make a distinction between what is happening in [10:33] the workplace and what is happening in schools with children. This is now just sort of one [10:39] in a series of rulings that we've seen as it relates to LGBT and transgender rights as it [10:44] relates to children. I think about gender-affirming care or conversion therapy. Other cases where [10:49] we've seen the court come out this way, ruling in favor of states that want these types of [10:53] bans. As Stephanie mentioned, it's 27 states. So it's a fair number of states that have had [10:59] these types of bans now. And nationwide, we may see many more of these, Tom, given today's [11:05] ruling. [11:05] Our chief legal correspondent, Laura Jarrett, thank you very much. [11:08] Thanks, Tom. [11:08] The clearest victory for the president and Republicans comes from a ruling that could impact the flow [11:14] of money in politics. It was a six to three decision. The conservative justices [11:18] backed a challenge by vice president J.D. Vance and the GOP's congressional campaign arms [11:24] that challenged longstanding campaign finance restrictions. Republicans have applauded that [11:29] ruling, saying the court has ensured parties can compete on the level playing field. Democrats [11:34] called the ruling to win for billionaire donors and special interests that, in fact, it's an invitation [11:39] for corruption. Also today, at least 170 million people are right now living under extreme heat [11:46] conditions. Temps feeling like 100 degrees right now in parts of the country. I hate to tell you, [11:51] it's only going to get worse. One big concern, of course, will the largest power grid across the [11:56] country handle this extreme demand? That grid handles about power for about 13 states and D.C. [12:02] And the company says that they use, they, in fact, expect demand will hit an all-time high [12:08] before the end of the week. The heat is also turning deadly. The National Weather Service [12:12] is warning folks to not leave children in their cars. So far, at least nine children have died [12:19] and hot cars just this year. The hot weather is also fueling problems for firefighters in Colorado, [12:25] in Arizona, in Utah, where crews continue to fight the Cottonwood fire that's already torn through 93,000 [12:33] acres. That's almost the size of all of San Francisco. We have our meteorologist Bill Karen [12:38] standing by. First, Dana Griffin, rather, is in Beaver Creek, Utah. Beaver, Utah. Sorry, [12:44] I'm in Colorado. The creek came out, Dana. We're getting new details here from authorities trying to [12:49] get a handle on these fires in Utah and Colorado. What have you heard? [12:53] Yeah, absolutely. And behind me, Tom, you can see just how things have changed from this time [12:59] yesterday when you and I were speaking. You're seeing more of these flare-ups behind me. They're [13:04] kind of coming down the mountain. And wind dry conditions are definitely a big concern for [13:09] firefighters. There was progress with getting this fire at 4 percent contained overnight, but they are [13:14] not out of the woods yet. And today, for the first time, residents were allowed into the burn zone to [13:20] assess the damage of their properties. And I want to share the story of this remarkable couple [13:24] their names are Jim Stetler and Cindy Abbott. They manage six campgrounds up on this mountain. They [13:30] shared their terrifying evacuation story with me, and they lost everything. Listen. [13:36] One of the most beautiful places we had ever seen. And it's just remarkable. It was remarkable. And it's [13:45] going to take a couple of lifetimes for any of that to come back. What I find so remarkable is that [13:49] you lost everything, yet here you are volunteering. Well, they won't let us help fight the fire, so we'll help [13:55] support it from the ground. And then when it's all said and done, we'll help replant trees and clear [14:01] everything out. [14:01] And according to Eagle Point Resort, 130 condos and cabins have been lost on their property alone. [14:12] It is likely more homes have also been lost. And talking about the Aspen Creek or the Aspen, [14:17] the Aspen Acres fire in Colorado, that went exploding to 23,000, fueled by 100 mile-per-hour [14:24] winds. Hundreds of people have been evacuated, and there is still a major threat in Colorado. And on top of [14:30] that, Tom, there was a man from New Mexico arrested in Colorado for intentionally setting a brush fire, [14:37] according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. Luckily, a deputy with a fire extinguisher was [14:42] able to stop the spread of those flames. But both governors of Utah and Colorado were reminding [14:47] people to be careful and that they will be on high alert to try to stop anyone from lighting all [14:52] fireworks or intentionally setting fires. Yeah, Jefferson County is on the west side [14:56] of Denver. That could have been bad. Dana Griffin, thank you for being there. Our meteorologist Bill [15:01] Kerins is in studio. Bill, is there any relief in sight? It just looks like it's just hot and dry [15:07] and windy across a whole stretch of the west, and it's coming here to the east. Yeah, it's about a week [15:13] of this persistent weather pattern. A lucky few will cool off. Today, Minneapolis got a little bit cooler, [15:19] but not many spots. It currently feels like 105 in Chicago. And when you notice that Chicago is the same [15:25] as Houston, that's not really how it's supposed to be. So you can just see how widespread everyone's [15:29] pretty much in this. And now it's beginning to edge towards the east. So we will get the hottest [15:34] temperatures in the east, especially as you go through Thursday, Friday, and then it will drop [15:38] a couple degrees, but not much. So 173 million. So we are at half of the U.S. population is under some [15:44] sort of heat advisories or warnings, all because this heat dome is just still sitting here. And as we go [15:49] throughout the next couple of days, we will be watching the worst of it. Areas like Memphis heading up [15:54] through Kentucky, we're going to see a few spots get up feeling like in the shade, 110 to about 115 [15:59] degrees. You know, not many people are escaping this. And as far as late in the week, D.C., it looks [16:05] like these are your actual temperatures, 102, 102, 101. So three days in a row above 100, even for D.C., [16:11] that's pretty rare. And then when we add in that heat index, it'll feel like 110 on Saturday. So that's [16:17] for the fourth. And you know, it's the fourth. People don't want to spend it indoors. They want to get [16:20] outside and enjoy it. But if you're out in this stuff, and this includes all of the region, [16:25] you've got to have a lot of water and make sure everything is, you know, you've got to be careful. [16:30] I feel bad, you know, the hospitals and the ERs are going to get filled up. And the fire weather [16:34] today, four-corner region, still the worst of it, Tom. And today we're dealing with some [16:38] thunderstorms. But these thunderstorms are special ones. They have lightning, but no rain. And they cause [16:44] additional fires. We call them dry-based thunderstorms. [16:46] Yeah, just brutal. Bill Kerens, thanks very much. Breaking in just the past hour or so, [16:51] a big day ending on Wall Street, where the S&P and the Nasdaq just posted their best quarter since [16:57] 2020. Take a look here at the closing numbers. The Dow, the S&P and the tech-heavy Nasdaq, [17:03] all on the green today. It's been that way all year, right? And a lot of it is the AI trade, [17:08] the Dow closing at a record high there. We've also seen how they've all closed out for the quarter, [17:13] right? The S&P up 14.9 percent this quarter alone. And the Nasdaq up 21 percent, the biggest [17:21] quarterly jumps in six years. Signs of progress in bringing the war to an end are helping to give [17:28] investors some optimism, even as recent strikes continue to test that memorandum of understanding. [17:34] In Venezuela, the death toll is rising. After those deadly twin earthquakes we've been reporting, [17:40] more than 1,900 people now confirmed dead. Time is running out for any survivors who still [17:46] might be trapped in the rubble. The Venezuelan government says another 4.2 magnitude tremor [17:52] shook an area just north of Caracas. That's on top of the 430 aftershocks, [17:57] after shocks rather, recorded since the main quake struck last Wednesday. So take a look at these [18:04] before and after images of a collapsed hotel where NBC News is learning that more than 100 Venezuelans, [18:10] including children, were held after being deported from the U.S., landing back in Venezuela just hours [18:16] before the earthquakes. Their families say some are dead, others are still missing. We want to go now [18:21] to Ana Vanessa Herrero, who's in Caracas. And Ana, you're at a shelter. The situation there seems to be [18:28] just dire and likely to grow more dire by the hour. Yes, Tom, you're right. Well, this shelter, lack of a better [18:37] word, has been improvised by the people affected by the earthquakes themselves. So they came here to this [18:45] park, and they came here to the park, and they started just leaping on the floor, and volunteers [18:54] quickly stepping up and giving them the tents that you can see behind me and over here. This has given [19:01] them a sort of relief. As you can see just now, children are still are playing again. Parents are [19:08] happier. They tell me that they feel like a little sense of what they had before Wednesday. This is a [19:16] very complicated situation because they still need a lot of things here, and the government is yet to [19:22] appear. They have not expressed or shared with them a specific protocol or plan, at least not anytime soon. [19:34] And Ana, can you talk about how these aftershocks are affecting the ongoing rescue operations and trying [19:39] to dig people out of the rubble? Yes, they're definitely slowing them down. But remember, [19:47] these are professional teams, international, and the few national that were here since the beginning, [19:53] they're used to this. And so many volunteers, so many civilians told me and have been saying that [20:00] they're willing to risk their own lives to save others. So even though this is happening, people are, [20:06] yes, they're afraid, but they tell me that they're going to keep going. And I [20:11] I spoke to the Mexican team, and they said that they are not going to stop the efforts until they [20:20] definitely believe that there is nothing else to look for. And they recovered the last person that [20:26] was deceased under the debris. But then again, the problem is not the tremors. The problem has been, [20:36] this is the criticism that is right now raising. The problem has to be the lack of information and the [20:42] lack of action from the central government, Tom. Oh, boy. Ana Vanessa Herrero, thank you very much. [20:50] A New Jersey congressman is back on Capitol Hill today for the first time in months, make it four months. [20:56] That's Representative Tom Kane Jr. entering the House floor earlier. He seemed to suddenly vanish from a job a [21:01] little while ago, missing more than 140 votes during the leave, uh, his leave. There was a lot of rumor [21:07] and speculation about where he went. He addressed all of it today. Several months ago, due to health [21:14] concerns, I entered the hospital for some testing. I did not believe that this would result in a long-term [21:21] stay. I was given the diagnosis of depression. Now, when people hear the word depression, [21:28] depression, many people think simply feel it means feeling sad, but depression is so much more than [21:34] that. The congressman added that his doctors advised him to stay in the hospital for treatment. Despite [21:40] that, he says, uh, he managed to win the primary race running unopposed earlier this month. NBC [21:45] Sahil Kapoor is covering this for us on Capitol Hill. You know, Sahil, a very personal disclosure [21:50] and society is much more understanding of mental health issues today. What's been the reaction there [21:55] on Capitol Hill? Yeah, Tom, it's mostly been well wishes for Congressman Cain, especially after he [22:00] announced or rather revealed, uh, the reason he had been away for nearly four months. Part of the [22:06] reason this got so much attention is that he had said nothing about it up until now. You know, he's not [22:10] the first member of Congress to, uh, deal with depression. Of course, a few years ago, Senator John [22:14] Fetterman, uh, had a similar thing where he checked himself into a hospital and got treatment, but he [22:19] was, uh, Fetterman was more transparent about it. He said right from the start that that's what he's doing. [22:23] So that's part of the reason this got so much attention. Of course, Speaker Johnson, very happy [22:27] to have, uh, Mr. Cain back because that means one more reliable vote for him, uh, on the Republican, [22:32] uh, agenda. Take a listen to what Speaker Johnson had to say. I thought he explained it. He noted that [22:38] 48 million Americans, uh, have struck with depression and it's, it's a serious ailment. And, you know, I [22:45] encouraged him along to be as transparent as possible. I'm glad he finally has, and he can move on to, uh, [22:49] continuing to serve his constituents. Now, Cain also said in his speech on the House floor that he's [22:55] grateful to have listened to the advice of doctors to get treatment. Uh, he said he feels [22:59] healthier, stronger, and excited to return. Uh, one member of Congress who was not quite so [23:04] charitable or understanding to Mr. Cain was Lauren Boebert. The Colorado Republican spoke to TMZ, [23:10] said what he did was embarrassing. She said, uh, it's, it's akin to taking four months off of work [23:15] for being sad, which of course being sad is not medically the same as being depressed. Uh, but she [23:20] said maybe he should reconsider being a member of Congress if that's what he wants to do. [23:24] Um, he's currently running for reelection in a very competitive swing district. So what does the road [23:31] ahead look like for him? Difficult. He is one of 18 districts rated by the Cook Political Report as [23:37] toss-ups that are likely to decide the balance of power in the House. It's a very narrowly divided [23:41] district in 2022, uh, which is the first time he won. It was just three points. 2024, he won by five [23:47] points. He's now facing Rebecca Bennett, uh, the Democratic nominee, a former Navy helicopter pilot. She [23:51] said this, quote, I'm relieved that Congressman Tom Cain Jr. is well and continue to wish him [23:56] good health, but let's be clear. I got into this race because Tom Cain Jr. was failing our community [24:02] long before his absence, end quote. Of course, Tom, uh, Speaker Johnson predicted that Cain will [24:08] win reelection easily. His word. Sahil Kapoor, thank you very much. Okay. Now to some chaotic moments on a [24:14] flight headed to Houston today. The plane was only in the air for about 15 minutes before coming right [24:19] back to Indianapolis because of an unruly passenger who the airport authority confirms is now detained. [24:25] Take a listen to how the crew described to air traffic control what was happening on board the [24:30] plane. 3989. When you can, uh, can you let me know what's going on, please? Yeah, we have a, uh, [24:39] uh, passenger trying to open the cabin door. We have passengers trying to get him, uh, secured in [24:43] a seat right now. The, uh, to meet us at the gate. Air shuttle 3989. Is the flight deck secure, [24:52] sir? Affirmative air shuttle 3989. We do have them in their seats. We have a psychiatric nurse, uh, [24:58] talking with him right now, but we won't need a law enforcement. That's a regional plane flying [25:03] as United Airlines, uh, disturbing a flight like this is a very serious offense. As of yesterday, [25:09] the FAA logged 831 unruly passenger reports so far this year, the most ever recorded was back in 2021, [25:17] nearly 6,000 reports that year coming out of COVID. And if you are an unruly passenger, [25:22] you'll be, uh, referred to the FBI. You could face felony charges, fines of up to $43,658 per violation, [25:31] multiple violations per incident are common, and you would likely be banned from an airline, [25:36] possibly for life. Uh, in just the last few hours, NASA announced it is making progress on its plans [25:44] to build out a base on the moon surface, unveiling three companies that it has contracted to send [25:50] more uncrewed landers to the moon, all part of phase one of NASA's moon base plan, gathering more [25:56] research before actually sending people to the South Pole there, a permanent base not expected [26:01] until 2032. We know a lot about the moon, some of the South Pole, but nothing like what we need to [26:10] learn before we send humans there and we actually build a moon base. So putting different assets on [26:16] the surface, prospecting, uh, understanding the environment where the places where we want to go, [26:22] super critical. Yeah, they said today that the the South side can get as cold as 400 minus 450 degrees [26:29] Fahrenheit. Okay, take a look here. We have two NASA astronauts today who spent hours making repairs [26:34] outside the space station. Chris Williams and Jessica Muir had a fantastic view as they work to replace a [26:41] joint that malfunction on the stains on the stations, Canada arm. Today's repair is coming as NASA prepares [26:47] for another critical repair mission as soon as tomorrow when it will try to save a space telescope [26:53] at risk of falling back to Earth. My NBC fellow space nerd Gotti Schwartz is joining me now. Um, [27:00] Gotti, this, this is the Swift telescope, right? And NASA is contracting with a company that has never [27:06] launched anything before and now it's launching a rescue mission, a robot. Yeah, good old catalyst. I mean, [27:14] this trial by fire and they went extremely swiftly, if you will. That should be the mission name, [27:21] not the satellite's name. And yet catalyst built this robot. It's called link. They put it together [27:28] from PowerPoint presentation all the way to getting ready to launch and go capture this satellite and [27:33] raise it up in about nine months. So as long as it takes to make a human, they created this six foot robot [27:40] weighs about 180 pounds and not only that, but that's a Pegasus. That is how it's getting up there. [27:46] Hmm. That looks a little bit like a missile. Yeah, that's, that's the idea. You see the plane back [27:51] there behind, uh, there, that's the scar stargazer back in the 1970s. They built that plane and they [27:57] thought, hmm, one way to get things up into orbit is to launch them from basically missiles underneath [28:03] planes. So that's what they're doing. They're taking that link. They're putting it in the top of that [28:08] missile part that's going to go up into space. Then it will come out of its shell. It will rise [28:14] up to meet with this falling satellite, which is known as kind of like the Hubble telescope's little [28:22] brother. It'll grab it with its robot arms, hopefully, and it will use its thrusters to gradually [28:28] raise its elevation once again. So it's safely in orbit. Yeah. And they've got to get it done by, [28:34] uh, by the end of October. Otherwise it's too late. And that's a half a million dollar investment [28:39] on that telescope. They want to try to save it if they can. Let's talk about, uh, NASA's moon-based [28:44] plans. The first robotic missions could come late this year. They kind of hinted maybe next year. [28:50] And NASA, NASA is also, I thought this was fascinating. NASA is talking about using a nuclear-powered [28:55] robotic rover on the moon that was supposed to go to Mars. I have so many questions about this. [29:02] So first of all, yeah, it's the promised rover, right? So we've got curiosity. We've got perseverance. [29:08] Those are up on the Mars surface, and they are using basically, uh, you know, nuclear power to go [29:15] around and explore Mars. Well, we have a clone. We have kind of this test buddy that we have here on [29:21] Earth that is basically the exact same as these rovers. And if something goes wrong way out there [29:27] on Mars, the humans down here could be like, all right, well, let's see. It's probably this, [29:31] you know, this wheel or something like that. Well, Tom, somebody went to JPL and they're like, [29:36] wait, hold on. You guys have a perfectly good rover here, and we're going to be building a moon base. [29:41] Uh, why don't we just take this rover that works and put it on the moon and start moving around some, [29:47] uh, some lunar rocks and see what happens. The million billion dollar question is what kind [29:53] of power source is this going to have, Tom? Uh, you were talking about nuclear power that works, [29:58] and we see it happening on the Mars surface with curiosity and perseverance. But the moon, [30:05] when they use this thing here on Earth, they're not linking it to like a nuclear generator. They [30:10] usually have like some tethers that they safely plug in somewhere. So the big question is whether or not [30:16] they're going to expedite some sort of nuclear, um, power program that we're not really sure about, [30:23] or they're going to use some solar, they're going to use some batteries, all that is going to come, [30:28] uh, down to the wire. Because again, we have a lot of questions and this is all going to happen [30:34] before, before the moon base starts being built in the next few years, Tom. But it is super cool that [30:39] they are talking about nuclear power for the rover, potentially for a moon base, just to power the station [30:44] or the power of the base and the, and the people who live there. And if we ever go to Mars, they [30:48] want to use nuclear power to get there as well. I mean, they, nuclear is all about NASA's plans going [30:53] forward. It makes a lot of sense because, uh, the lunar surface, I mean, we're going to Shackleton [30:59] crater, but there are places on the lunar surfaces, as you were just mentioning, it's like negative 400. [31:06] Solar panel doesn't work when there's no sun. Uh, batteries die in that kind of cold. Yeah, [31:12] yeah, exactly. So the lunar night is a, is a very dreadful night, Tom. Hey, you know what, [31:17] Gotti, I think you deserve your own show to talk about this. So eight o'clock tonight, Eastern, [31:21] right? Eight o'clock tonight, Eastern, and we're going to be talking to Carlos, the moon base guy, [31:26] and I'm going to be asking him all these questions. So stay tuned. Yeah, he is a great, [31:31] great interview. Uh, all right, Gotti, thanks very much. Gotti Schwartz. Moving on now to the, [31:36] let's talk about, uh, the World Cup, shall we? Uh, moving to the World Cup where France and Sweden [31:42] are playing right now in the New York area. Before that game, it was a battle of the boroughs. Just [31:48] take a look at the French fans taking over the Brooklyn Bridge. And here are the Swedes, [31:53] at least the supporters rallying in Manhattan's Times Square. So far, five countries have qualified for [31:59] the round of 16. One of them, Paraguay, actually declared a national holiday today [32:04] after their team beat one of the tournament favorites, Germany, on penalty kicks. Great game. [32:10] And fans in Mexico are getting fired up for the Mexico Ecuador game tonight. Just take a listen. Yep, [32:23] Ecuador's football federation filed an official complaint after this scene last night when some [32:28] Mexican fans were making a lot of noise outside the hotel where Ecuador's team was staying. [32:35] By the way, here in the U.S., all eyes are on Wednesday's match against Bosnia. That's tomorrow [32:40] night in the Bay Area. NBC's Jesse Kirsch joins us now. Okay, Jesse, how is Team USA getting ready [32:46] for this big game tomorrow against Bosnia? Are we going all the way? The team certainly wants to prove [32:55] that they can. I think if you look at how the tournament's open for the U.S., Tom, they're in as good [33:00] a position as you can be. And the team that you were just talking about a short time ago, Paraguay, which [33:06] beat Germany, stunned the four-time World Cup champions. That's the same team that the U.S. [33:11] beat 4-1 in their opening match of this whole tournament. So that bodes well for the red, [33:16] white, and blue. We've got possibly some members of the 2034 World Cup squad kicking around here [33:22] at the Fan Fest in Miami just to give you a little sense of what we're dealing with here. I'm going to [33:25] have our photographer, George, come with me now. See the kids playing over there. And then they got a [33:30] giant bullseye with Velcro over here. All kinds of ways for people to be engaging with the sport [33:36] right now. It is hot. Thankfully, we're starting to get some shade here. People have been watching [33:41] soccer all afternoon and hopefully settling in now for this France-Sweden game. And then you [33:46] mentioned it, Mexico-Ecuador, the marquee matchup tonight. We'll see who can come away with the win [33:52] in the next couple games. Okay, Jesse, enjoy. Hope you get cool. Jesse Kirsch, thanks. Coming up, [33:58] why the FDA says some nicotine pouches can be sold as safer than cigarettes. A doctor is going to [34:04] break it down for us. Plus, the details just coming in about a freight train derailment, [34:09] more than a dozen cars thrown from the tracks in Pennsylvania. What we're learning about how it [34:14] happened. Okay, let's sit out last where the NBA's all-time leading scorer plans to take his talents to [34:25] TBD. LeBron James does plan to play a remarkable 24th season at the age of 42, but it will not be for [34:33] the Lakers. His team, for the last eight years, averaging 26 points a game, by the way, breaking [34:38] the career scoring record and winning the 2019-20 finals. In a statement, the Lakers wished him well [34:45] and said he would always be a cherished part of the family. NBC's Morgan Chesky in L.A. Morgan, [34:51] all right, if not L.A., where's he going? Back to South Beach? Yeah, it's so interesting to [34:56] have this discussion, Tom, because you look at LeBron's career, Cleveland to Miami, [35:00] back to Cleveland, then to Los Angeles. So where does this already story career go to next? Well, [35:06] if we are reading the tea leaves, all signs would point. Just a short road trip north from Los [35:12] Angeles to the Golden State Warriors. We know that LeBron has a great relationship with Steph Curry there, [35:17] another future Hall of Famer. And keep in mind, Tom, that he also played under a Warriors coach, [35:22] Steve Kerr, on the Olympic team. So there is some sort of chemistry that's already in place [35:27] there to some degree. But he's also been rumored to be looking at, of course, Cleveland Cavaliers, [35:35] the place where it all began, as well as the Miami Heat, where he won two championships before going [35:41] back to Cleveland to win one there. Needless to say, of course, Spurs, the Knicks, you know, [35:46] they're also theoretically in the mix. But that only adds kind of to the intrigue now that LeBron has [35:52] made it clear. Yes, he does plan on playing next season, but it will not be in a Laker uniform. [35:57] Okay, the Washington Wizards would love to have them. I'm just saying, Morgan, [36:00] we should just pass the word. All right, buddy. Thank you very much. Okay, over now to the five things [36:06] our team thinks you may want to know about on this Tuesday. Number one, law enforcement in Monaco [36:10] and France searching for the suspect behind an apartment bombing of Monaco. Three people were [36:16] seriously injured, including a Ukrainian tycoon who had ties to Russia. The minister of state for [36:21] Monaco says he believes the attack was targeted. Number two, a shelter in place order has just been [36:27] lifted in a Pennsylvania town after a freight train derailed near Ben Salem Township. Here's the [36:33] pileup right there. Nearly 20 train cars overturned. The public safety director there says two of those [36:39] cars carried hazmat materials. Crews say they are not leaking and they are not a threat to the public. [36:44] No injuries. Number three, three people are in police custody after a CBS news crew was attacked in [36:50] Chicago. The station says a reporter and photographer were prepping for a newscast when two men started [36:56] shouting racial slurs at them and then broke their van's windshield. Nobody injured. A CBS spokesperson [37:03] says that in fact they are horrified by the crime and grateful that the crew was safe. Number four, [37:08] the FBI just arrested four men who allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars from ATMs across [37:15] Connecticut. The suspects allegedly used some kind of software to steal more than $500,000 in just two [37:22] weeks. We've reached out to their attorneys. We've not heard back. Number five, Netflix just used AI to [37:28] bring back the original Willy Wonka for its new reality show, Wonka's golden ticket. Take a listen. [37:35] For the first time, Netflix used AI to recreate the late actor Gene Wilder's voice. [37:48] It comes as we're seeing a lot of controversy over the use of AI in entertainment. [37:53] Wilder's estate though says they're delighted to see the show celebrate the warmth and the imagination [37:58] that Wilder brought to that role. Still ahead from us, what we know about a series of alligator attacks [38:04] in Florida, why experts say they are so dangerous right now. Plus why crews in Alabama are purposely [38:10] sinking an old riverboat casino. We're back and learning more now about a deadly alligator attack [38:21] in central Florida. A 31-year-old woman went for a swim with friends Sunday at a state park near Orlando [38:27] when the alligator attacked. The woman later died on the way to the hospital. Here's the 911 call from [38:32] Seminole County fire and EMS. Stop it by me. Bad, real bad, please, hurry. [38:40] Both her arms, both her arms. Both her arms are off, like, basically. [38:47] This is Florida's third alligator attack in a week. Just yesterday, we told you about a deadly [38:52] crocodile attack in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. NBC's Liz Kreutz is joining us now. And Lois, Liz, [38:59] rather, what more do we know about this recent attack in Florida and the state's response? [39:02] Yeah. Hey, Tom, I mean, this is a horrifying attack. And the 911 call is really hard to listen [39:09] to. We have just gotten from officials, they've identified the victim. She's 31-year-old Brittany [39:16] Clark. And according to officials, she was hiking with her boyfriend and her best friend on Sunday [39:21] in a state park outside of Orlando. During the hike, they decided to stop for a quick sort of swim [39:27] in a shallow river about three feet deep. And that is when the alligator struck. [39:32] As you heard in that 911 call, the alligator bit both of her arms. Take a listen to more of that call. [39:40] So she was bitten on both of her arms. The boyfriend was the one that made the phone call. He was [39:48] trying to get her from the alligator's mouth. And on the way to the hospital, [39:53] she did pass away from her injuries. And of course, that was actually the police [39:58] there talking about the incident. She ended up dying on her way to the hospital because of those [40:05] injuries. And officials did actually capture two massive alligators, 12 and 13 feet, that they're [40:14] now trying to determine which one was the one that attacked Tom. Terrific. Liz, thank you very much. [40:20] You know, what are we hearing from the boyfriend? I understand that you've actually [40:23] heard something from his perspective. Yeah, we did just get a statement from the [40:29] boyfriend, the one who called 911. He put out a statement to us saying she was an amazing and [40:34] caring person. She didn't deserve to go out in such a way. She was the strongest and most outgoing [40:39] person I've ever met in my 30 years of life and said that they never in a million years would have [40:43] expected this nightmare. And we should point out, Tom, that this is mating season for alligators, [40:48] which means they can be more prevalent and more aggressive, Tom. [40:51] Oh, OK. Something to watch for. Liz, thank you very much. [40:54] NBC News covers hundreds of stories each day. Pretty tough to read, to watch, to listen to [40:58] everything. So our bureau teams have done it for you. And for me, this is what they tell us is going [41:03] down in the regions. We call this segment The Local. From our Northeast Bureau, new details on a [41:09] deadly bus crash in New York when a charter bus flipped over and hit multiple cars on the Long Island [41:14] Expressway. The bus was taking an airline crew from Royal Jordanian Airlines to JFK Airport. [41:21] The bus driver and one of the airline crew members were killed. Twenty others injured. [41:27] From our Midwest Bureau, take a look at this. Firefighters in Wisconsin just fought a massive [41:32] five-a-line fire at an elementary school. The fire chief says the fire spread very quickly [41:38] because the building was not equipped with sprinklers. Thankfully, nobody injured. [41:42] From our Southern Bureau, crews in Alabama are about to sink an old riverboat casino and turn it [41:48] into an artificial reef. So take a look at this. The massive boat has been stripped of all of its [41:53] slot machines and card tables. The artificial reef will create a new ecosystem for fish. It'll also [41:59] double as a destination for divers and will join the largest stretch of artificial reefs in the country. [42:06] Coming up from us, what the FDA just said about those popular Zinn pouches. Could they be safer than [42:12] cigarettes? And some Zinn nicotine pouches are now allowed to be marketed as safer than cigarettes. [42:33] The FDA today authorized the maker of Zinn's to say that 20 of its products puts you at a [42:38] quote, lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, stroke, and more when compared to cigarettes. [42:44] Important to note here, nicotine pouches like Zinn's have not been approved as nicotine replacement [42:49] products used to help quit smoking. The change applies to flavors like cool mint, citrus, coffee, [42:55] and others, but it does not include some flavors that are really known to be preferred by kids [43:00] like black cherry and peach. According to a survey by the FDA, nearly 2% of middle and high [43:06] school students said that they used nicotine pouches last year. One in six of those kids said that [43:11] that they, in fact, use them every day. I want to bring in NBC News medical contributor, Dr. John Torres. [43:17] John, the American Lung Association called this move by the FDA appalling. What are the concerns [43:23] with allowing a product that still carries some risk to be marketed as safer than cigarettes? [43:27] And, Tom, I think they're exactly right because the concern here is, number one, [43:32] they're putting that label on there. They're saying it is safer. It doesn't mean it's safe. [43:35] It means it's safer, but I think people are going to confuse that. On top of that, we do know that [43:40] nicotine is one of the most addictive substances out there, and these pouches, three to six milligrams [43:46] of nicotine, which can be more than a cigarette than what you actually absorb from a cigarette. [43:50] And so the concern is, you know, will people be using this thinking they're safe, but end up using it [43:56] because they get addicted to it, and then they move on to cigarettes, or, you know, again, they're saying [44:01] it's not necessarily a way to come off smoking, but theoretically it could be. [44:06] But how much safer, quote-unquote, safer is it really? [44:10] Well, from the perspective of some of these cancers they're talking about, I think everybody would [44:14] agree they are safer because you're not inhaling all those toxins you get from a cigarette. [44:19] However, there are things you can get from nicotine that could affect your health. Number one, [44:24] it could certainly affect your cardiovascular status. It can lead to more vascular problems, [44:28] more heart problems, especially later in life, and the addiction potential, especially for [44:33] adolescents, teenagers, and even young adults. It can form your brain in a way that makes it an [44:38] addictive brain to nicotine, which then, again, you could move on to tobacco, which is the big concern [44:44] here. And so my caution is, you know, don't think that safer means safe, but the way they read it on the [44:50] label, it can be confusing, and I think people might be confused by it, Tom. [44:54] Okay, Dr. John Torres, thanks very much. Still ahead from us, Serena Williams turns back the [44:59] clock on her Wimbledon singles return, but was it enough to keep her comeback alive? [45:13] Well, a tough loss at Wimbledon today for the tennis goat, Serena Williams, who just returned to [45:18] the Grand Slam event for the first time in four years. So here she is after losing her first singles [45:24] match since she retired back in 2022. Serena is a 23-time major champion. But today, [45:31] the 44-year-old lost to 20-year-old Australian Mayan Joint. Mayan Joint is her name. And she's [45:37] ranked 87 in the world. Serena isn't done in the tournament, though. She's playing doubles with [45:43] her sister Venus, their first match set for Thursday. NBC's Danielle Hamangian joins us now from [45:49] London. Danielle, how did Serena Williams play today after her four-year hiatus? And are the Wimbledon [45:55] fans excited that now they're going to see her play with Venus? [45:59] Do you know what, Tom? It was so easy to imagine this fairytale comeback at the oldest tennis [46:05] tournament in the world, but it just wasn't meant to be. Was she a little rusty? There were some [46:10] moments, yeah, and at times it felt like she was beating herself up for missing some relatively [46:15] straightforward shots. But it was an incredible match. When we thought she was on her way out, [46:19] she managed to hang on. Truly some tense moments. We heard her roar. We heard her scream. There were [46:26] vintage Serena Williams moments there. She was playing, as you said, Maya Joint of Australia. She's [46:33] 24 years younger than Serena Williams. And a bit of context here, Joint is now 20 years old, [46:39] currently number 87, as you mentioned. And by the time she was born, Williams had already won seven [46:45] of her 23 Grand Slam titles. After her win, she told the crowd, and you could tell she was in utter [46:51] disbelief. She said, I didn't sleep last night. I stayed up till 2 a.m. thinking about this, [46:57] describing Serena as having such an aura that she is such a legend. Tonight, Serena also became the [47:04] oldest woman to compete at Wimbledon behind Martina Nevratilova. Take a listen to some of the fans I got to [47:10] speak to today. I think it's just that she's got the right mindset, but I think she's got all the strength, [47:16] all the stamina. I think it's very strong of her to be back. I hope that she has a wonderful time [47:24] and is very successful. I think it's great for the sport. And it's not over for Serena Williams. [47:34] Of course, she'll be playing doubles with her sister Venus later this week, Tom. [47:38] I mean, you know, she is the goat, but it's also nice to see her passing the torch on to this young [47:46] upstart whippersnapper. Listen, she's a mom of two, right? And she had her family [47:50] there as well, rooting her on. She is. And as a fellow 44-year-old mother of two girls, [47:57] I mean, it requires a level of confidence. It requires to come back at this level, [48:02] but also to be able to perform in front of your children. She received a standing ovation when [48:07] she walked in. Her family in the stands, of course, her sister Venus, her husband, [48:11] and her husband later posting those pictures with her daughters, the youngest having to leave early [48:17] due to an age restriction. I mentioned she's going to be playing later this week on Thursday [48:22] with Venus for the doubles. But this is, you know, is she only coming back for Wimbledon, [48:28] or is there a chance we see her at the U.S. Open in two months' time? We'll find out soon enough, Tom. [48:33] Well, it's just such an incredible event. Listen, quickly, Danielle, beyond Serena's match, [48:38] any other highlights from day two there at Wimbledon? Ben Shelton, fourth seed, top-ranking [48:44] U.S. male player, is out having lost against a qualifier from Finland, Otto Vertanen. A big shock. [48:52] He had been tipped to advance quite easily in the tournament. One of the biggest surprises so far, [48:57] one of the biggest names to crash out of the tournament, Tom. Okay, I'm going to do a mea culpa. [49:03] When I was a teenager, I snuck into Wimbledon, didn't pay just to watch Martina Navratilova play. [49:08] Oh, wow. It was worth it. It was worth the risk of getting busted. [49:11] I bet it was. It was worth it. [49:13] Danielle, I imagine. That's fantastic. [49:15] Thanks very much. Okay, that's a wrap for us at this hour, and thanks for watching. [49:19] This is Hallie Jackson now on NBC News Now. The news hour keeps ticking along, [49:59] 6 o'clock in New York, 4 p.m. right now in Salt Lake, 3 p.m. out there on the West Coast, [50:04] and we start with three decisions from the Supreme Court in just the last few hours today. [50:09] All of which will have a very big impact on the country. Why some of the president's own [50:14] appointees actually rejected his bid to reshape immigration laws, our team is going to break it [50:19] all down, and we are live outside the Supreme Court. Also new in just the last few minutes, [50:25] President Trump's financial disclosures, what we've learned about the money he's making from crypto [50:30] and the gifts he's been given. And then the deadly heat wave hitting the country, half the country, [50:36] in fact. The nation's power grid could be pushed to the brink with demand expected to hit an all-time [50:41] high. We will have the live forecast. And plus, we will take you live to Venezuela, where the race [50:46] continues to save as many potential survivors as possible. After that earthquake, multiple earthquakes, [50:53] killed nearly 2,000 people. How the aftershocks have been impacting the rescue operations. [50:59] And we're headed to space. A new update from NASA on its plans to build a moon base. All as we catch a [51:06] glimpse of new repairs outside of the space station today. All of that later in the newscast. [51:11] Good day. I'm Tom Costello. I'm in for Halley, and we have a lot of news. We have a lot of reaction as [51:16] well, coming in on three landmark decisions from the Supreme Court. So we start this hour with that [51:22] big blow for the president in his attempt to redefine who counts as a U.S. citizen. In a 6-3 ruling, [51:30] the justices have upheld the principle of birthright citizenship. Here's the breakdown. Two of the [51:35] president's own picks on the high court, they ruled against him. The highly controversial executive [51:41] order that he signed on day one of his second term. Again, birthright citizenship has been the law of the [51:48] land for 160 years since the freeing of enslaved black people. So this is the text from the 14th [51:54] amendment. It says all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction [52:01] thereof are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. Chief Justice John [52:09] Roberts taking the decision for himself in a very dramatic conclusion of the term. He is writing, [52:15] quote, the framers of the 14th amendment, in fact, extended that promise to every freeborn person [52:22] in this land. And we kept that promise today. Advocates reacted outside the court. [52:35] Applause and cheers there at the moment of the ruling's release. For the president's part, [52:40] he first called the ruling, his words here, too bad for our country. And now he wants Congress to act. [52:47] However, the president and his party did get some wins, two other major victories, actually. [52:52] The justices are allowing states to keep in place bans on transgender girls and women who [52:58] wish to play sports. And the court totally upended longstanding restrictions about the role that [53:05] money will play in the elections. So we will explain these cases with NBC's Stephanie Goss, [53:10] as well as NBC's Laura Jarrett in a few minutes. We want to start, though, outside the Supreme Court. [53:15] NBC's Julie Ainslie on a very big day there. Julia, we saw the president push pressure now, [53:20] or rather pressure Congress, I should say, to act. But the truth is that would be almost impossible [53:26] to pull off, right? This requires a constitutional amendment. [53:30] Yeah, that's right. It would. Because in order to change the 14th amendment, [53:35] the Supreme Court said today that they would have to change the constitution. And to do so, [53:40] it's not just like getting a simple bill passed through Congress, which we already know [53:44] is hard enough in today's climate. But the president would have to push through an amendment that would [53:48] win by two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress, and then, Tom, be ratified by four-fifths of the [53:55] state legislatures across the United States. Again, very hard to imagine that happening, [54:00] given not only how split states are politically these days, but also the overwhelming sound that [54:07] came from lower courts that unanimously denied again and again the ways that this administration [54:14] tried to push through that executive order just last year in 2025. And that's the reason this came [54:18] to the Supreme Court. There was not a single district court in the country that agreed with that. [54:23] So very difficult to see how the president would manage to go that route through legislation when [54:29] it comes to birthright citizenship, Tom. So where does he go from here? Or were his [54:34] threats just that, threats, and he's going to be forced to move on? Well, interestingly enough, [54:38] just in the past few minutes, we did hear from the Justice Department that they want to increase or [54:43] prioritize investigations into birthright tourism. That is when people advertise rights to be able to [54:50] advertise for people to be able to come from overseas the United States to have their children here [54:55] in order for them to get U.S. citizenship. This is coming from the attorney general saying that he [55:01] was directing all U.S. attorneys to start looking into birthright tourism to try to prosecute people [55:08] who are exploiting the 14th amendment that was upheld today that does allow children born here to become [55:15] U.S. citizens. So that could be one route into this. Frequently we see in different administrations, [55:20] even think about gun decisions during the Biden administration. They will take a Justice Department [55:26] approach following decisions like this to try to make piecemeal efforts to still get their priorities [55:31] through, Tom. But even if they come down hard on these birthright trips, as you say, [55:36] from foreigners coming into the United States, if the child is born in the United States, [55:40] he or she is going to be an American. Correct. It could just mean that they [55:43] prosecute the people who are advertising this tourism where you bring someone in, [55:48] put them in a luxury hotel, promise them a certain medical, you know, certain medical care, [55:53] all for the cost of a fee to make that happen. That could be the way that they try to come down on this. [55:59] Julia Ainslie at the court. Thank you very much. President Trump is taking a victory lap, [56:03] though, after the Supreme Court allowed transgender bans in women's and girls' sports to stay in place, [56:09] saying, quote, that takes that ridiculous situation off the table. Writing for the majority here, [56:15] Justice Brett Kavanaugh ruled, quote, given the inherent physical differences between the sexes, [56:21] allowing only biological females to play on women's and girls' teams can reduce the risk of physical [56:27] injury and ensure fair competition. He cited both Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause [56:32] in his ruling. And we see Stephanie Goss joins us now. [56:37] Steph, you've got a new reaction today. Let's start with those who are celebrating this decision. [56:42] What do they want to see happen now? Hey there, Tom. So there are 27 states [56:47] that have this ban. That means there are a whole bunch of states that do not. And the people who want [56:53] these bans to spread across the country are hopeful that this decision will do just that. [56:57] We spoke to a former NCAA volleyball player who works for Concerned Women for America, [57:03] who have been fighting this cause for a long time. They are happy with the ruling. And this is what [57:07] she said she hopes the outcome of it will be. I would hope that it would embolden every state [57:14] to protect those female athletes. And I hope that they themselves are emboldened today to take action, [57:19] to speak up for what they know is right. So on this issue, Tom, specifically the issue of [57:26] transgender athletes in sports, 75% of Americans in an NBC poll last year said that they support those [57:34] bans. And right now you have far less than that in terms of the states that are banning it. So [57:39] you could see some more states joining that list, Tom. And what about those who [57:45] are concerned about trans rights? Where do they stand on this? [57:48] Yeah. Well, I, you know, I spoke with an ACLU attorney who represents one of the transgender [57:55] athletes who was part of this case. And he says that, that they are devastated by this ruling, [58:01] but they also point out that it is limited in scope, that there was some hope on the other side, [58:06] that it would be broader in terms of how it might restrict transgender rights. Listen to what he had [58:12] to say to me. The court made very, very clear that it was talking about a unique context of athletics [58:21] where everyone agrees that having separate teams based on, um, uh, sex, uh, has some important [58:29] relationship to important governmental interests. Um, and they didn't write a ticket, you know, [58:34] for the other side to claim that you can discriminate against transgender people in all other contexts. [58:38] And president Trump heralding this as a victory today, but he has a much larger transgender, [58:45] anti-transgender rights agenda. And we've seen that play out in many different ways [58:51] already with his administration. This is just one small part of it. And, uh, he's calling it a win [58:56] today. Yeah. Interesting, uh, to hear that context. Stephanie Gosk, thank you very much. [59:01] NBC's Laura Jarrett is joining us now as well for analysis. Laura, can we start with birthright citizenship? [59:09] Because the court watchers seem to think that it's not that much of a surprise that the [59:13] court ruled against the president, but that three justices actually agreed with him on this [59:19] seems surprising. Do the dissents tell us anything about where the court might be headed next on, [59:24] on immigration and presidential power? Yeah, Tom, this is a conservative court, [59:29] no doubt about it, that has been quite deferential to the president when it comes to immigration policy. [59:34] If you were to, you know, sort of take a score of all the different immigration cases we've seen [59:39] this term, the president would come out far, far ahead. I think it's only because this, uh, [59:45] particular executive order was so bold, um, in its proposal and going so far in flying in face of [59:52] the, of the constitution now in the court's own estimation that that's where they really sort of [59:56] served as a check. But when it comes to whether it's asylum policy or we saw the temporary [1:00:01] protected status of Haitian and Syrian refugees, the courts have given the president an extreme [1:00:06] amount of deference and justice Alito really echoing some of the sentiments that we've heard from the [1:00:12] Trump administration more recently saying in his dissent today, the court's interpretation [1:00:16] preserves a powerful incentive to enter or remain in this country illegally. In my judgment, [1:00:22] the court has made a mistake that will seriously affect the country's future. It's interesting, [1:00:26] Tom, that's an argument, not about the law, but about the effects, right? That's not, [1:00:31] that's not a textualist argument based on what was, uh, sort of going on in, in the 1800s when [1:00:36] the 14th amendment was passed. That's an argument about what's happening right now. [1:00:40] So real quick, I want to get to trans rights, but let me quickly ask a follow-up here. Um, in your [1:00:45] view, does it, would it require a constitutional amendment to change this then, or the president is [1:00:51] suggesting there could be legislation? It requires a constitutional amendment. And, and I think that [1:00:56] given the sort of defeat that they had today, we see members of, of, um, the president's allies and [1:01:02] members of Congress on Capitol Hill Republicans saying, we're going to take a look at it, but it's [1:01:07] a pretty, uh, sort of stark loss. Uh, and they, they know it's an uphill battle to pass a constitutional [1:01:14] amendment given the two third supermajority, given the states have to ratify it, it would be an uphill battle. [1:01:19] Okay. Following up on the decision here regarding, uh, trans girls and women in sports, what does it say [1:01:25] about the court's likely direction on trans rights going forward? The court really seems to be wanting [1:01:31] to make a distinction between what is happening in the workplace and what is happening in schools [1:01:35] with children. This is now, um, uh, just sort of one in a series of rulings that we've seen as it relates [1:01:41] to LGBT and transgender, uh, rights as it relates to children. I think about gender affirming care or [1:01:47] conversion therapy, other cases where we've seen the court come out this way ruling in favor of states that want [1:01:52] these types of bands. As Stephanie mentioned, it's 27 states. So it's, it's a fair number of states [1:01:58] that have had these types of bands now. Um, and nationwide, we may see many more of these, Tom, [1:02:03] given that today's ruling. Our chief legal correspondent, Laura Jarrett, thank you very much. [1:02:08] Well, the clearest victory for the president and Republicans comes from a ruling that could impact the [1:02:13] flow of money in politics. In a six to three decision, the conservative justices backed a challenge [1:02:19] by vice president J.D. Vance and the GOP's congressional campaign arms that challenge [1:02:24] longstanding campaign finance restrictions. Republicans have applauded that ruling, [1:02:29] saying the court has ensured parties can compete on the level playing field. Democrats called the [1:02:34] ruling a win for billionaire donors and special interests and that it is an invitation for corruption. [1:02:40] Speaking of money and politics, now to some breaking news. President Trump has released his [1:02:45] financial disclosures for 2025. Our team is still going through the thousand page document [1:02:50] disclosure here. So far, though, we've learned that the president reported more than a billion [1:02:56] dollars in income related to his family's crypto ventures and meme coins last year. Here's how it all [1:03:03] breaks down. Our team reached out to the White House, though, about these crypto earnings. It says that [1:03:07] the president and his family have never engaged in conflicts of interest. Well, let's bring in NBC's Gabe Gutierrez, [1:03:13] who's at the White House. Gabe, he did actively push crypto and pushed for easier crypto legislation [1:03:22] and rules. And he also pushed those meme coins while he was in office. Yeah, that's right, Tom. Look, [1:03:28] the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to loosen restrictions on cryptocurrency. But as you [1:03:34] just pointed out, the White House releasing that statement saying that this is not a conflict of [1:03:38] interest in their view and that any executive action or any moves taken by the president are in the [1:03:43] best interest of the American people. That's according to a White House spokesperson. Now, [1:03:48] with regards to these financial disclosure forms, you said it, Tom, we're still going through them. But [1:03:53] here are some of the things that stick out. At least $1.2 billion, as you mentioned, in 2025 from crypto or [1:04:00] mean coins. And that includes, Tom, more than $588 million from sales of World Liberty Financial. Now, [1:04:08] that is a crypto company, a crypto firm whose co-founders include the president and his sons. Now, [1:04:15] we also reached out and heard from the Trump organization regarding all this. A spokesperson for [1:04:22] that organization telling NBC News that the breadth and depth of this filing further underscores our [1:04:27] commitment to transparency, adding that it represents the one of the most comprehensive financial [1:04:34] disclosure forms ever. And just to give you some idea here, Tom, this one is nearly 1,000 pages. That is [1:04:41] about four times as long as last year's financial disclosure forms and significantly longer than Vice [1:04:49] President J.D. Vance's, which was just 17 pages also released today, Tom. Gabe, I don't want to blindside you, [1:04:55] but are you aware of any president in history who's ever reported hundreds of millions or billion [1:05:00] dollars in income while they're in office? No. This is a short answer, Tom. Yeah. Separately, [1:05:07] the president also just announced this midterm convention, a midterm convention. Talk us through [1:05:12] that. Well, certainly. The president has alluded to this before, but what is new is something they [1:05:18] just posted on social media a short time ago, that he's announcing this midterm convention in [1:05:23] Dallas for September 9th and 10th. The president's calling it big news. For the first time ever, [1:05:30] the Republican Party will hold that midterm convention in Dallas, one of my favorite places [1:05:33] in the world. It will be fantastic. He's saying that it will be a rally like none other. Certainly, [1:05:40] this comes as this midterm campaign season ramps up, Tom. And his popularity has been sinking, [1:05:45] right, Gabe? Well, if you believe the recent polls, he has been struggling with that, [1:05:50] but the president says that he's doing just fine and he expects to have quite the rally, [1:05:56] not just here at this midterm convention, but also in just a few days at the America 250 celebrations [1:06:01] here in the nation's capital time. Gabe Gutierrez, thank you very much. [1:06:04] All right. Also today, at least 170 million people are living under extreme heat conditions. [1:06:09] Temperatures feeling like 100 degrees right now in parts of the country. It's only going to get worse. [1:06:14] One big concern, will the largest power grid in the country handle the demand? [1:06:18] The grid handles most of the power for 13 states and D.C. The company says it expects demand to hit [1:06:23] an all-time high before the end of the week. The heat is also turning deadly. The National [1:06:28] Weather Service warning folks not to leave their children in cars. So far, at least nine children [1:06:34] have died in hot cars just this year. The hot weather is also fueling problems for firefighters [1:06:39] in Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, where crews continue to fight the Cottonwood fire. It's already torn [1:06:45] through, burned through, 93,000 acres. That's almost the size of San Francisco. We have meteorologist [1:06:51] Bill Caron standing by. First though, Dana Griffin is in Beaver, Utah. Dana, what are you hearing from [1:06:57] folks on the ground there about the risk and those folks who are impacted? And we want to stress, [1:07:01] you're wearing the goggles because you've got flying embers and ash in the air. [1:07:06] Yeah, well, there's a lot of particulate because the wind gusts are really picking up, [1:07:11] and this is what's fueling these hot spots that you see behind me. We can hear the helicopters above [1:07:17] as fire crews are trying to drop water to prevent this from spreading. A lot of residents were allowed [1:07:23] back into the burn zone for the first time, able to assess the damage. Many of them have lost [1:07:28] everything they own, including the couple that I got to talk to, Jim and Cindy. They both manage [1:07:36] a bunch of campgrounds up on that mountain. They say they had to evacuate all of their campground, [1:07:42] people who were there on the campground. It was a horrifying ordeal, but here they are [1:07:47] actually at a community donation center helping to give back even though they have nothing left. [1:07:52] Listen. It was one of the most beautiful places we had ever seen, and it was remarkable, [1:08:01] and it's going to take a couple of lifetimes for any of that to come back. The mountains closed down, [1:08:06] so we've got time, and the only thing we can do is just help. At least 100 condos and cabins have [1:08:17] been lost on this mountain according to the Eagle Point Resort. Also, I want to transition to the Aspen [1:08:22] Acres Fire burning in Colorado. We just got an update that 150 structures have burned from that fire, [1:08:30] and that fire is still not contained. More than 23,000 acres have burned. Hundreds of people have been [1:08:37] evacuated. Tom. Dana Griffith on the front lines. Dana, thank you very much for being there. Our [1:08:42] meteorologist Bill Kerens is here. Bill, what areas are in the greatest risk zone right now? [1:08:49] Yes, this is the time of afternoon that we can easily see where the most active fires are, [1:08:53] because we can, from space, taking the satellite images, we can see the smoke plumes. Now, [1:08:58] we're mixing in here with clouds, because there are some dry-based thunderstorms and a few showers out [1:09:03] there. But you notice here, here's one just out of the Montrose. This big stream right here, [1:09:07] that's an active fire plume. And with all these fires, the more active the smoke plume is, [1:09:12] you know, the faster the fire rate of spread is. Where, you know, where Dana's located over here [1:09:18] towards the Cottonwood Fire, there's no signs of any active smoke. You can see some behind her, [1:09:22] but you can't see it from space. There's one big fire just south of Moab, just to the northwest of [1:09:27] Blanding, Utah. And there's a huge plume coming off of that one. And then, of course, the Aspen Acres [1:09:32] Fire. Dana just gave you the update there. About 55 of those structures in Custer County have burned. [1:09:37] A hundred structures in Pueblo County have burned. And that fire, you can still see a little bit of [1:09:42] smoke stream off of that one, too. It's kind of burned itself out of the hills a little bit, [1:09:46] down to lower elevations where the firefighting efforts are a little more aggressive and it's more [1:09:51] easy. So they're hoping to get some, you know, good progress on that. So for the rest of [1:09:56] today, this four-corner region, just where I was showing you, that's where the critical [1:09:59] risk area is. This weather pattern is not going to change. The heat wave isn't going to change in [1:10:03] the days ahead. And the fire weather concerns aren't going to change in the four-corner region [1:10:07] still tomorrow. And just a little quick peek, Tom, just to see who the hottest is. So now we're kind [1:10:11] of at the peak heating in the middle of the country. Chicago 103, Kansas City, St. Louis, [1:10:16] everyone's kind of together there in between 100 and 105. Tomorrow, we'll easily top that. Memphis, [1:10:22] expecting 114. Oy vey, that is too, I'm not going there. Bill Kerens, thanks very much. In [1:10:31] Venezuela at this hour, the death toll continues to rise after those deadly earthquakes with more [1:10:37] than 1900 people now confirmed dead. And time is clearly running out for survivors who might still [1:10:42] be trapped. The Venezuelan government says another 4.2 magnitude tremor shook an area just north of Caracas. [1:10:49] That's on top of the 430 aftershocks already recorded since the main quakes struck last Wednesday. [1:10:57] Here is a look at these before and after images of a collapsed hotel where NBC News is learning that [1:11:02] more than 100 Venezuelans, including children, were held after being deported back from the United States, [1:11:08] landing in Venezuela just hours before the quakes. Their families say some are dead, others are still [1:11:13] missing. We're going to get now to NBC's Ana Vanessa Herrero, who's in Caracas. And Ana, you mentioned in [1:11:20] your last hour that a big issue is the absence of any Venezuelan government help. Are people frustrated, [1:11:26] fed up with that? Absolutely, Tom. Frustrated, anxious. And they tell me that they haven't had any kind [1:11:34] of guidance from the central government. Now, right now, I am in this sort of improvised shelter where [1:11:42] you can see behind me it's hundreds of tents with thousands of people who are just waiting for the right answer, [1:11:50] for an answer to what to do next. Now, they have told me that some authorities have approached saying that they [1:11:57] are going to be moved to a government-controlled shelter. We don't know when this is going to be. [1:12:03] Again, the government is not giving a lot of information. They don't even have information [1:12:07] on how many people they have here right now. That is how little the government is controlling this [1:12:13] situation, Tom. Oh, boy. You could just imagine that's the only place they feel safe is out there [1:12:19] in that park. Ana Vanessa Herrero, thank you very much for that. A New Jersey congressman is back on [1:12:24] Capitol Hill today for the first time in four months. That's Representative Tom Kane Jr. entering [1:12:31] the House floor earlier. He seemed to suddenly vanish from a job a while ago, missing more than 140 [1:12:36] votes during his leave. And there was a lot of rumor, a lot of speculation about where he went. [1:12:41] He addressed all of that today. Several months ago, due to health concerns, [1:12:47] I entered the hospital for some testing. I did not believe that this would result in a long-term stay. [1:12:54] I was given the diagnosis of depression. Now, when people hear the word depression, [1:13:00] many people think simply means feeling sad. But depression is so much more than that. [1:13:09] The congressman added that his doctors advised him to stay in the hospital for treatment. Despite that, [1:13:14] he still won his primary race, running unopposed earlier this month. [1:13:18] NBC Sahil Kapoor is covering this one for us. You know, Sahil, a very personal disclosure, [1:13:25] and society is much more understanding of mental health issues today. What's been the reaction there [1:13:29] on Capitol Hill? Yeah, Tom, it's mostly been well wishes for Congressman Kane, especially after he [1:13:35] announced or rather revealed the reason he had been away for nearly four months. [1:13:40] Part of the reason this got so much attention is that he had said nothing about it up until now. [1:13:43] You know, he's not the first member of Congress to deal with depression. Of course, a few years ago, [1:13:48] Senator John Fetterman had a similar thing where he checked himself into a hospital and got treatment. [1:13:53] But Fetterman was more transparent about it. He said right from the start that that's what he's [1:13:57] doing. So that's part of the reason this got so much attention. Of course, Speaker Johnson, [1:14:01] very happy to have Mr. Kane back because that means one more reliable vote for him [1:14:06] on the Republican agenda. Take a listen to what Speaker Johnson had to say. [1:14:09] I thought he explained it. He noted that 48 million Americans have struggled with depression, [1:14:16] and it's a serious ailment. And I encouraged him all along to be as transparent as possible. [1:14:21] I'm glad he finally has and he can move on to continue to service constituents. [1:14:27] Now, Kane also said in his speech on the House floor that he's grateful to have listened to the [1:14:31] advice of doctors to get treatment. He said he feels healthier, stronger and excited to return. [1:14:36] One member of Congress who was not quite so charitable or understanding to Mr. Kane was [1:14:41] Lauren Boebert. The Colorado Republican spoke to TMZ, said what he did was embarrassing. She said [1:14:46] it's akin to taking four months off of work for being sad, which, of course, being sad is not [1:14:52] medically the same as being depressed. But she said maybe he should reconsider being a member of [1:14:56] Congress if that's what he wants to do. He's currently running for reelection in a very [1:15:03] competitive swing district. So what does the road ahead look like for him? Difficult. He is one of 18 [1:15:09] districts rated by the Cook Political Report as toss ups that are likely to decide the balance of power in [1:15:14] the House. It's a very narrowly divided district in 2022, which is the first time he won. It was just [1:15:19] three points. 2024, he won by five points. He's now facing Rebecca Bennett, the Democratic nominee, [1:15:24] a former Navy helicopter pilot. She said this, quote, I'm relieved that Congressman Tom Kane Jr. [1:15:29] is well and continue to wish him good health. But let's be clear, I got into this race because Tom Kane Jr. [1:15:35] was failing our community long before his absence, end quote. Of course, Tom, Speaker Johnson [1:15:40] predicted that Kane will win reelection easily, his word. Sahil Kapoor, thank you very much. [1:15:46] OK, now to some chaotic moments on a flight headed to Houston. The plane was only in the air for 15 [1:15:53] minutes before coming right back to Indianapolis because of an unruly passenger today who the airport [1:15:58] authority now confirms has been detained. Take a listen to how the crew described to air traffic [1:16:03] controllers what was happening on board. 3989, when you can, can you let me know what's going on, [1:16:12] please? Yeah, we have a passenger trying to open the cabin door. We have passengers trying to get [1:16:17] him secured in a seat right now. We're going to need to meet us at the gate. Air shuttle 3989, [1:16:26] is the flight deck secure, sir? Affirmative, air shuttle 3989. We do have them in their seats. We [1:16:31] have a psychiatric nurse talking with them right now, but we won't need a law enforcement. That regional [1:16:37] jet was flying on behalf of United Airlines. Just disturbing a flight like this, it's a serious offense. [1:16:43] As of yesterday, the FAA logged 831 unruly passenger reports so far this year. [1:16:50] The most ever was recorded actually in 2021 after COVID with nearly 6,000 reports that year. [1:16:56] If you are an unruly passenger, you will be referred to the FBI and you could face felony charges. [1:17:02] Fines of up to almost $44,000 per violation. Multiple violations are possible, by the way, [1:17:08] per incident and likely to be banned from an airline. In just the last few hours, [1:17:14] NASA announced it's making progress on its plan to build out a base on the moon's surface, unveiling [1:17:20] three companies that it has now contracted with to send more uncrewed landers to the moon, [1:17:25] all part of phase one of NASA's moon base plan, gathering more research before sending people [1:17:31] there to the south pole, a permanent base, not expected until 2032. We know a lot about the moon, [1:17:39] some of the south pole, but nothing like what we need to learn before we send humans there and we [1:17:45] actually build a moon base. So putting different assets on the surface, prospecting, [1:17:51] understanding the environment where the places where we want to go, super critical. [1:17:55] Critical. You know, it can get to like negative 450 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade on the moon. [1:18:01] It comes as these two astronauts today spent hours making repairs outside the international space [1:18:06] station. That's Chris Williams and Jessica Meir. They had a fantastic view as they worked to replace [1:18:12] a joint that malfunctioned on the station's Canada arm. Today's repairs come as NASA prepares for another [1:18:18] critical repair mission, maybe tomorrow, when it will try to save a space telescope at risk of falling [1:18:25] back to Earth. My fellow NBC space nerd Gotti Schwartz joining us now. Gotti, let's talk about NASA's [1:18:33] moon base plans here, right? The first robotic missions could come late this year, maybe next year. [1:18:39] And I thought it was also interested about how they said the Blue Origin blow up that we had a couple of [1:18:45] months ago, they're actually making pretty quick recovery efforts and they're still relying on Blue Origin [1:18:51] and the new Glenn super rocket to start taking cargo and maybe eventually people to the moon. [1:18:58] Yeah, it's pretty wild. And it looks like Blue Origin might be pivoting a little bit instead [1:19:02] of building the erector that they wanted to put and had before. They're going to maybe use some cranes. [1:19:08] So kind of going old school to expedite things. But we'll see how that goes. But Tom, my favorite word of the day [1:19:14] from that NASA update is prospecting. You heard Carlos there saying we've got to be, we've got to prospect [1:19:21] up on the moon. This is like, forget 49ers, like this is going to be the 29ers if maybe the timeline [1:19:28] sticks up here. But right now, the questions that he was raising, they're so important. We don't really [1:19:34] know exactly what it's like to push a lot of regolith or that lunar dust and dirt around. We've seen the [1:19:43] the joy rides of the moon buggies of the Apollo missions. But how thick is that lunar dust? What's [1:19:49] it like there at the Shackleton crater? What are these robots and these drones and these rovers going to [1:19:57] experience when they go from 130 degrees to negative 400 degrees? Those are all huge questions. [1:20:05] And Tom, the thing that I'm obsessed with is all of a sudden JPL here in California, [1:20:10] just down the road, Pasadena, they've got that rover that they use to kind of troubleshoot what's [1:20:16] going on on Mars right now. So cool to casually say that because we do have those Mars rovers, [1:20:22] of curiosity and perseverance. And before uploading commands to those rovers that they're not sure [1:20:28] about, they test it out on their little buddy here on Earth called Promise. Now they're thinking, [1:20:34] hey, there's a lunar, there's a rover that works very well here on Earth. Why don't we just ship [1:20:39] this up to the moon and see what happens? The moon has very different gravity at one-sixth of the [1:20:44] Earth's gravity, very different gravity than Mars. Temperatures are going to be crazy. But right now, [1:20:49] I promise, NASA engineers over at JPL, they are doing some crazy math to get the shielding right, [1:20:55] to get the power right for yet another pivot that we're seeing from NASA. [1:21:00] I thought it was a great news comment. And also Jared Eisenman, the NASA chief said, [1:21:04] listen, if we've got old stuff sitting in shelves and we haven't used it, we're going to try to use it [1:21:09] on our return missions to the moon. He's telling everybody, NASA, check out and see what you got [1:21:13] hiding in your closets. Gotti Schwartz, he's going to have a great show tonight, [1:21:18] and you know Gotti's enthusiasm for all things space. News now, stay tuned now with Gotti, [1:21:23] 8 o'clock Eastern time, 5 o'clock out there on the West Coast. Okay, moving now to the World Cup, [1:21:29] where France is up 2-0 against Sweden right now in the New York area. Before that game, [1:21:34] it was a battle of the boroughs. Take a look at the French fans. They took over the Brooklyn Bridge, [1:21:39] and here are the Swedes, supporters rallying in Manhattan's Times Square. So far, five countries [1:21:47] have qualified for the round of 16. One of them, Paraguay, actually declared a national holiday [1:21:53] today after their team beat one of the tournament favorites, Germany, on penalty kicks. Fans in Mexico [1:22:00] getting fired up for the Mexico-Ecuador game tonight. Take a listen to this moment last night. [1:22:04] Yeah, so that's the Mexican fans outside of the Ecuador and Football Federation's hotel, [1:22:17] and Ecuador filed a complaint because the Mexican fans were outside screaming, making so much noise [1:22:23] that the Ecuador team was having trouble sleeping. Okay, here in the United States, all eyes on [1:22:28] Wednesday's match up against Bosnia. That's tomorrow night in the Bay Area. NBC's Jesse Kirsch [1:22:34] has got the best assignment of the week, actually of the month. Jesse, you're down in Miami, [1:22:39] but what's the vibe right now at the FIFA Fan Festival as we get into these knockout rounds? [1:22:47] We've got World Cup fever out here, Tom. I don't know if you just saw that. I just headed the ball. [1:22:51] That might be why my forehead looks a little red right now if it does. It's also quite hot out in [1:22:55] Miami in the middle of summer right now. Just take a look at this. We're in the middle of the Fan [1:22:58] Fest. Talk about that Mexico-Ecuador game. That is coming up later tonight. That is the second of the [1:23:03] three co-host nations with their chance to advance into the next phase of the knockout round. Of course, [1:23:09] tomorrow it's the US with their shot to move on to the round of 16. Off behind me, you can see there's [1:23:14] a fountain. Beyond that is the open water right off of mainland Miami. Miami Beach off in the distance. [1:23:20] We saw something wild going on here earlier. They had people with soccer nets and balls out there, [1:23:26] and they were floating on what I can only describe as water jet packs. And then they were using what [1:23:31] looked like jet skis or some variation of a jet ski doing flips in the water. So it is fully [1:23:36] a party here in Miami. You can have thousands of people watching games here, and we'll see if that [1:23:41] happens for the Mexico-Ecuador game today. I can tell you that the folks here at the Fan Fest tell us [1:23:46] the ball just whizzed by that they've already had people starting to fill in to the seats in the [1:23:50] amphitheater for the game. So definitely excitement building here, as you can imagine, probably is [1:23:54] all over the continent right now. Jesse Kerr, she was kept a shirt on, even though half the guys [1:24:00] behind them are just roving on camera. Jesse, thank you very much. Let me see if I can show [1:24:07] this off for you. Hold on, here. Let's see if we can get the ball. Over here. I gotta have some street [1:24:12] crap, but yeah, don't worry. We'll keep the shirt on. Oh, hang on. Nope, that was terrible. All right. [1:24:20] I'm going to cheat you a little bit, Tom, just to show you what we did before. We did that. We did [1:24:24] that. Nope. Did that? I don't know. I'm calling it a night. I will not be playing in the 26th, [1:24:30] 2030, 2034, 2038. You keep counting. I'll never be playing in the World Cup, but we'll keep the shirt [1:24:37] on. All right. You know that Jesse is an incredible athlete, by the way, so he had a miss, [1:24:44] but he's a great athlete. Jesse, thanks very much. Still to come from us, how a semi-truck ended up [1:24:49] split in half in the middle of a highway in Atlanta. Plus, the stunning news out of the [1:24:55] basketball world with LeBron saying he's leaving the Lakers. Where is he going? That's coming up. [1:25:06] Okay, over now to the five things our team thinks you may want to know about on this Tuesday. [1:25:11] Number one, law enforcement in Monaco and France searching for the suspect behind an apartment [1:25:16] bombing in Monaco. Three people were seriously injured, including a Ukrainian tycoon who had ties to [1:25:24] Russia. The minister of state from Monaco says he believes the attack was in fact targeted. [1:25:29] Number two, the FBI just arrested four men who allegedly stole money from ATMs across Connecticut. [1:25:35] The suspects allegedly used some kind of software to steal more than $500,000 in just two weeks. [1:25:42] We reached out to their attorneys. We've not heard back yet. Number three, [1:25:46] the Sam Altman biopic dropped by Amazon may have a distributor after all. Multiple reports say [1:25:52] independent studio Neon is expected to release the film about the OpenAI CEO. That's the studio behind [1:25:59] the 2024 Best Picture winner, Anora. Now, remember, Amazon took some heat for dropping the movie. [1:26:06] As we told you, that's because the decision came after the company signed a $50 billion, [1:26:12] up to $50 billion partnership with OpenAI. Number four, check this out. A semi-truck split in half [1:26:20] after it collided with a train in Atlanta. Take a look at the trailer, ripped apart right there. [1:26:25] Nobody injured. The driver says he did not realize trucks were not allowed over the tracks. [1:26:31] Police say there's a no trucks allowed sign on the other side of the tracks, but police there are [1:26:36] still investigating the crash. Number five, Netflix just used AI to bring back the original [1:26:43] Willy Wonka for a new reality show, Wonka's Golden Ticket. Take a listen to this voice. [1:26:48] For the first time. So Netflix used AI to recreate the late actor Gene Wilder's voice. And it comes, [1:27:03] as we're seeing an awful lot of controversy over the use of AI in entertainment. Wilder's estate says they [1:27:09] are really delighted to see the show celebrate the warmth and the imagination that Wilder brought to [1:27:13] his role. Okay, we're going out west where the NBA's all-time leading scorer plans to take his talents [1:27:21] to, you fell on the blank here. LeBron James does plan to play a remarkable 24th season at age 42, [1:27:28] but it won't be for the Lakers. His team for the last eight years averaging 26 points a game, [1:27:34] breaking the career scoring record and winning the 2019-20 finals in a statement the Lakers wished [1:27:40] him well, said he would always be a cherished part of the Lakers family. NBC's Morgan Chesky joins us [1:27:46] now. Morgan, all right, if not LA, where's he going? Back to South Beach? You know, it's so interesting to [1:27:54] have this discussion, Tom, because you look at LeBron's career, Cleveland to Miami, back to Cleveland, [1:27:59] then to Los Angeles. So where does this already story career go to next? Well, [1:28:04] if we are reading the tea leaves, all signs would point. Just a short road trip north from Los Angeles [1:28:10] to the Golden State Warriors. We know that LeBron has a great relationship with Steph Curry there, [1:28:15] another future Hall of Famer. And keep in mind, Tom, that he also played under a Warriors coach, [1:28:20] Steve Kerr, on the Olympic team. So there is some sort of chemistry that's already in place [1:28:25] there to some degree. But he's also been rumored to be looking at, of course, [1:28:31] Cleveland Cavaliers, the place where it all began, as well as the Miami Heat, where he won two [1:28:37] championships before going back to Cleveland to win one there. Needless to say, of course, Spurs, [1:28:43] the Knicks, you know, they're also theoretically in the mix. But that only adds kind of to the intrigue [1:28:49] now that LeBron has made it clear, yes, he does plan on playing next season, but it will not be in a Laker [1:28:55] uniform. Okay, the Washington Wizards would love to have them. I'm just saying, Morgan, [1:28:58] we should just pass the word. All right, buddy. Thank you very much. [1:29:02] Still ahead from us, what we know about a series of alligator attacks in Florida, [1:29:07] why experts say they are so dangerous right now. Plus, why crews in Alabama are purposely [1:29:12] sinking an old riverboat casino. We're back and learning more now about a deadly alligator attack [1:29:25] in central Florida. A 31-year-old woman went for a swim with friends Sunday at a state park near Orlando [1:29:31] when the alligator attacked. The woman later died on the way to the hospital. Here's the 9-1-1 call [1:29:36] from Seminole County Fire and EMS. They got bit by a beard. Bad, real bad, please, hurry. Both of our arms, [1:29:45] both of our arms are off, like, basically. This is Florida's third alligator attack in a week. Just [1:29:54] yesterday, we told you about a deadly crocodile attack in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. NBC's Liz Kreutz is [1:30:01] joining us now. And Lois, Liz, rather, what more do we know about this recent attack in Florida and [1:30:05] the state's response? Yeah. Hey, Tom, I mean, this is a horrifying attack and the 9-1-1 call is really [1:30:12] hard to listen to. We have just gotten from officials, they've identified the victim. She's [1:30:18] 31-year-old Brittany Clark. And according to officials, she was hiking with her boyfriend and [1:30:23] her best friend on Sunday in a state park outside of Orlando. During the hike, they decided to stop for [1:30:29] a quick sort of swim in a shallow river about three feet deep. And that is when the alligator struck. [1:30:36] As you heard in that 9-1-1 call, the alligator bit both of her arms. Take a listen to more of that [1:30:43] call. So she was bitten on both of her arms. The boyfriend was the one that made the phone call. He [1:30:51] was trying to get her from the alligator's mouth. And on the way to the hospital, she did pass away from [1:30:58] her injuries. And of course, that was actually the police there talking about the incident. [1:31:05] She ended up dying on her way to the hospital because of those injuries. And officials did [1:31:11] actually capture two massive alligators, 12 and 13 feet, that they're now trying to determine which [1:31:19] one was the one that attacked Tom. Terrific. Liz, thank you very much. [1:31:25] You know, what are we hearing from the boyfriend? I understand that you've actually [1:31:27] heard something from his perspective. Yeah, we did just get a statement from the boyfriend, [1:31:34] the one who called 9-1-1. He put out a statement to us saying she was an amazing and caring person. [1:31:38] She didn't deserve to go out in such a way. She was the strongest and most outgoing person I've [1:31:43] ever met in my 30 years of life and said that they never in a million years would have expected [1:31:48] this nightmare. And we should point out, Tom, that this is mating season for alligators, [1:31:52] which means they can be more prevalent and more aggressive, Tom. [1:31:55] Oh, OK. Something to watch for. Liz, thank you very much. [1:31:58] NBC News covers hundreds of stories each day. Pretty tough to read, [1:32:01] to watch, to listen to everything. So our bureau teams have done it for you. And for me, [1:32:05] this is what they tell us is going down in the regions. We call this segment The Local. [1:32:10] From our Northeast Bureau, new details on a deadly bus crash in New York, [1:32:14] when a charter bus flipped over and hit multiple cars on the Long Island Expressway. [1:32:19] The bus was taking an airline crew from Royal Jordanian Airlines to JFK Airport. The bus driver [1:32:26] and one of the airline crew members were killed. 20 others injured. From our Midwest Bureau, take a [1:32:32] look at this. Firefighters in Wisconsin just fought a massive five-line fire at an elementary school. [1:32:39] The fire chief says the fire spread very quickly because the building was not equipped with sprinklers. [1:32:45] Thankfully, nobody injured. From our Southern Bureau, crews in Alabama are about to sink an [1:32:50] old riverboat casino and turn it into an artificial reef. So take a look at this. The massive boat has [1:32:56] been stripped of all of its slot machines and car tables. The artificial reef will create a new [1:33:01] ecosystem for fish. It will also double as a destination for divers and will join the largest [1:33:07] stretch of artificial reefs in the country. Coming up from us, what the FDA just said about those [1:33:13] popular Zinn pouches? Could they be safer than cigarettes? And some Zinn nicotine pouches are now [1:33:34] allowed to be marketed as safer than cigarettes. The FDA today authorized the maker of Zinn's to say [1:33:40] the 20 of its products puts you at a, quote, lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, stroke, and more [1:33:46] when compared to cigarettes. Important to note here, nicotine pouches like Zinn's have not been approved as [1:33:53] nicotine replacement products used to help quit smoking. The change applies to flavors like cool mint, [1:33:59] citrus, coffee, and others, but it does not include some flavors that are really known to be [1:34:03] preferred by kids like black cherry and peach. According to a survey by the FDA, nearly 2% of [1:34:09] middle and high school students said that they used nicotine pouches last year. One of six of those kids [1:34:15] said that they, in fact, used them every day. I want to bring in NBC News medical contributor, [1:34:20] Dr. John Torres. John, the American Lung Association called this move by the FDA appalling. [1:34:26] What are the concerns with allowing a product that still carries some risk [1:34:30] to be marketed as safer than cigarettes? And, Tom, I think they're exactly right, [1:34:34] because the concern here is, number one, they're putting that label on there. They're saying it is safer. [1:34:38] It doesn't mean it's safe. It means it's safer. But I think people are going to confuse that. On top of that, [1:34:44] we do know that nicotine is one of the most addictive substances out there. And these pouches, [1:34:49] three to six milligrams of nicotine, which can be more than a cigarette than what you actually [1:34:53] absorb from a cigarette. And so the concern is, you know, will people be using this thinking [1:34:58] they're safe, but end up using it because they get addicted to it, and then they move on to cigarettes, [1:35:03] or, you know, again, they're saying it's not necessarily a way to come off smoking, [1:35:09] but theoretically it could be. But how much safer, quote-unquote, safer is it really? [1:35:15] Well, from the perspective of some of these cancers they're talking about, [1:35:18] I think everybody would agree they are safer because you're not inhaling all those toxins you [1:35:23] get from a cigarette. However, there are things you can get from nicotine that could affect your health. [1:35:28] Number one, it could certainly affect your cardiovascular status. It can lead to [1:35:31] more vascular problems, more heart problems, especially later in life, [1:35:35] and the addiction potential, especially for adolescents, teenagers, and even young adults. [1:35:40] It can form your brain in a way that makes it an addictive brain to nicotine, [1:35:44] which then again, you could move on to tobacco, which is the big concern here. And so my caution is, [1:35:50] you know, don't think that safer means safe, but the way they read it on the label, [1:35:55] it can be confusing. And I think people might be confused by it, Tom. [1:35:58] Okay. Dr. John Torres, thanks very much. Still ahead from us, Serena Williams turns back the clock, [1:36:03] and her Wimbledon singles return, but was it enough to keep her comeback alive? [1:36:08] Well, a tough loss in Wimbledon today for the tennis goat, Serena Williams, [1:36:20] who just returned to the Grand Slam event for the first time in four years. So here she is after [1:36:26] losing her first singles match since she retired back in 2022. Serena is a 23-time major champion. [1:36:34] But today, the 44-year-old lost to 20-year-old Australian Mayan Joint. [1:36:39] Mayan Joint is her name. And she's ranked 87 in the world. Serena isn't done in the tournament, [1:36:45] though. She's playing doubles with her sister Venus, their first match set for Thursday. [1:36:50] NBC's Danielle Hamangian joins us now from London. Danielle, how did Serena Williams play today [1:36:56] after her four-year hiatus? And are the Wimbledon fans excited that now they're going to see her play [1:37:01] with Venus? Do you know what, Tom? It was so easy to imagine this fairy tale comeback at the oldest [1:37:08] tennis tournament in the world, but it just wasn't meant to be. Was she a little rusty? There were some [1:37:13] moments, yeah, and at times it felt like she was beating herself up for missing some relatively [1:37:18] straightforward shots. But it was an incredible match. When we thought she was on her way out, [1:37:23] she managed to hang on. Truly some tense moments. We heard her roar. We heard her scream. There were [1:37:29] vintage Serena Williams moments there. She was playing, as you said, Maya Joint of Australia. She's [1:37:36] 24 years younger than Serena Williams. And a bit of context here, Joint is now 20 years old, [1:37:42] currently number 87, as you mentioned. And by the time she was born, Williams had already won seven [1:37:49] of her 23 Grand Slam titles. After her win, she told the crowd, and you could tell she was in utter [1:37:55] disbelief. She said, I didn't sleep last night. I stayed up till 2 a.m. thinking about this, [1:38:00] describing Serena as having such an aura that she is such a legend. Tonight, Serena also became the [1:38:08] oldest woman to compete at Wimbledon behind Martina Nevratilova. Take a listen to some of the fans I got to [1:38:13] speak to today. I think it's just that she's got the right mindset, but I think she's got all the strength, [1:38:19] all the stamina. I think it's very strong of her to be back. I hope that she has a wonderful time [1:38:27] and is very successful. I think it's great for the sport. And it's not over for Serena Williams. [1:38:37] Of course, she'll be playing doubles with her sister Venus later this week, Tom. [1:38:41] I mean, you know, she is the goat, but it's also nice to see her passing the torch on to this young, [1:38:49] upstart whippersnapper. Listen, she's a mom of two, right? And she had her family there as well, [1:38:55] rooting her on. She is. And as a fellow 44-year-old mother of two girls, [1:39:01] I mean, it requires a level of confidence. It requires to come back at this level, [1:39:06] but also to be able to perform in front of your children. She received a standing ovation when [1:39:11] she walked in, her family in the stands, of course, her sister Venus, her husband, [1:39:14] and her husband later posting those pictures with their daughters, the youngest having to leave [1:39:20] early due to an age restriction. I mentioned she's going to be playing later this week on Thursday [1:39:26] with Venus for the doubles. But this is, you know, is she only coming back for Wimbledon, [1:39:31] or is there a chance we see her at the U.S. Open in two months' time? We'll find out soon enough, Tom. [1:39:36] Well, it's just such an incredible event. Listen, quickly, Danielle, beyond Serena's match, [1:39:41] any other highlights from day two there at Wimbledon? [1:39:45] Ben Shelton, fourth seed, top-ranking U.S. male player, is out, having lost against a qualifier [1:39:52] from Finland, Otto Vertanen. A big shock. He had been tipped to advance quite easily in the tournament. [1:39:59] One of the biggest surprises so far, one of the biggest names to crash out of the tournament, Tom. [1:40:04] Okay, I'm going to do a mea culpa. When I was a teenager, I snuck into Wimbledon, didn't pay [1:40:10] just to watch Martina Navratilova play. It was worth it. It was worth the risk of getting busted. [1:40:15] It was worth it. Danielle, I'm engine. Thanks very much. Okay, that's a wrap for us at this hour, [1:40:21] and thanks for watching. This is Hallie Jackson now on NBC News Now. [1:40:57] This is Hallie Jackson now on NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.