About this transcript: This is a full AI-generated transcript of Hallie Jackson NOW - May 29 — NBC News NOW from NBC News, published June 2, 2026. The transcript contains 17,856 words with timestamps and was generated using Whisper AI.
"Here we go. Top of the hour on NBC News Now. We start with the breaking news. Just down the street, a federal judge has ordered the administration to remove President Trump's name from the Kennedy Center, ruling it was added illegally. The details of that bombshell decision straight ahead. Also new"
[0:00] Here we go. Top of the hour on NBC News Now. We start with the breaking news. Just down the street, a federal judge has ordered the administration to remove President Trump's name from the Kennedy Center, ruling it was added illegally. The details of that bombshell decision straight ahead. Also new at this hour, we'll take you live to the scene of clashes outside an immigration facility in New Jersey. What top Democrats say they want for detainees who are inside and on a hunger strike.
[0:39] Plus, new video of celebrations outside a cave in Laos with a survivor lifted out alive after nine days stuck below ground. The round-the-clock scramble. The round-the-clock scramble as well to get others out alive.
[0:57] Then in our breakdown, a gut check on the president's push to put his face on a new $250 bill. How his administration wants to kind of bend the will of Congress to back a man who's all about his brand.
[1:12] And in our original, we will introduce you to a documentary on AI deep fakes that you can watch now in a totally new way. That's coming up later in our newscast.
[1:23] Good day. I'm Tom Costello. I'm in for Hallie. And we start right now with breaking news here in Washington. In just the last few hours, a federal judge says President Trump cannot officially rename the Kennedy Center.
[1:36] The new filing just in says Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name and only Congress can change it, ordering the administration to remove the new signage and change the website in the next 14 days.
[1:49] The judge will also stop the president from closing the performing arts facility for two years while it goes to repair work. However, it does not prevent work from actually getting done.
[2:00] Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty is on board and brought the lawsuit. She, on the board, I should say, brought the lawsuit.
[2:07] And she writes in a statement to NBC News, quote, the Kennedy Center is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump.
[2:15] The president has taken a hands-on approach to the Kennedy Center, naming himself the chair and undoing the board.
[2:24] But you can see ticket sales have been dropping dramatically, down by more than 50 percent from last year.
[2:29] That according to a New York Times analysis. NBC's Monica Alba is at the White House with this.
[2:35] Monica, talk us through this ruling. Why does this judge say the president's name has to come down and that the closure has to stop?
[2:42] It's exactly what you pointed to in the introduction, Tom, which is this issue of Congress needing to play a role in this, that this isn't something that can be done arbitrarily by the Kennedy Center board, which, remember, the president did appoint many of his own allies to.
[2:57] And that is when they had this overwhelming vote to try to advance some of what the president wanted to see happen to the very historic building and memorial to former president John F. Kennedy.
[3:07] And so that is where you saw all of these different changes take place. But this judge is saying that that is not the way that it should have happened potentially.
[3:15] Now, what's interesting here is that in this ruling, they are saying essentially that the Kennedy Center shouldn't go forward with its planned closure, but they had already laid off a lot of the staff in anticipation of what they thought would be a closure.
[3:28] So it's unclear exactly what is going to happen to that part of it, which is interesting, of course, to us, Tom.
[3:33] But also to the fact that the president did have his own name, as you see there in that video, affixed to the outside of the Performing Arts Center.
[3:43] And if it is going to come down within the next couple of weeks, when exactly that's going to happen is unclear.
[3:49] We have reached out to the White House for their reaction and their response, and they have not weighed in yet.
[3:55] But this is the kind of thing that you almost certainly can expect President Trump to want to weigh in on himself.
[4:01] This is just part of his major plan and really his, I think you could call it, near obsession with some of the renovation projects, not just at the White House, as we've seen with the East Room and with the ballroom project,
[4:15] but with things like the Kennedy Center and beyond that, where he's really trying to leave his mark and his stamp physically on the Washington area and beyond.
[4:24] Tom.
[4:24] Absolutely. We've not yet heard from the president, but a reminder, of course, that the Kennedy Center was named by Congress a monument to former President John F. Kennedy after his assassination.
[4:34] Monica, thank you very much. We're going to have more from you and from the president putting his stamp on Washington later.
[4:40] All right, now to the clock ticking down to a, quote, final determination from President Trump on that ceasefire deal with Iran, with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the future of Iran's encircled and enriched uranium on the table.
[4:55] Mr. Trump said earlier today on Truth Social that he was meeting in the Situation Room with his top advisers.
[5:01] Trump also writing on Truth Social that Iran must agree that they will never have a nuclear weapon or a bomb.
[5:07] The Strait of Hormuz must be immediately open, no tolls for unrestricted shipping traffic in both directions, he writes.
[5:14] Iran, for its part, has not signed off on a final agreement.
[5:18] For more on this, we go to NBC's Courtney Kuby, who covers the Pentagon.
[5:22] Court, talk us through this. What have we been hearing? The back and forth on this has been confusing, right?
[5:27] He said, she said, try to follow this minute by minute's confusing. What's the latest you're getting?
[5:32] So the president met today for an extensive period of time with some of the senior national security officials talking about Iran, and we have no indication that he has agreed to anything at this point.
[5:42] So it seems to still be that both sides may be close to a deal, potentially closer and closer every single day, but it really doesn't seem like there is a deal that both sides have agreed to at this point.
[5:53] So the big question is, are they still in this position where they have one or two issues that they just cannot come together on, and that's what's holding up any potential?
[6:04] And remember, keep in mind, this is not some long-term deal.
[6:07] We're talking about essentially a preliminary agreement that would lead to potentially 60 more days of discussing what would be a longer-term deal.
[6:14] So we don't even think at this point there's a deal for the preliminary piece of this.
[6:19] A deal to potentially talk about a deal about a deal.
[6:21] Correct. About multiple different layers of issues that they have to agree on.
[6:25] No wonder it's confusing.
[6:26] You've also got some new reporting about mines in the Strait of Hormuz that may or may not have been actually laid or planted, if you will.
[6:33] Yeah, so over the course of this war and even beforehand, there's been intelligence reporting that's come in, both from the U.S. and from allies,
[6:39] about the possibility of Iran putting mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
[6:41] It's one of the big things that shipping companies and militaries are really concerned about, right?
[6:47] If they bring their ships to this narrow waterway, it's possible they could hit a mine.
[6:51] The U.S. military has traced down a number of these different reports that have come in,
[6:56] including some that were very specific towards the beginning of the war about the southern part of the Strait being mined,
[7:02] pushing shipping up towards Iran.
[7:04] To date, they've not been able to substantiate any mines in the area.
[7:09] Now, they have found some things, some objects that look like they could be mines,
[7:14] but none of them have actually been confirmed to be mined.
[7:16] So it just calls into question about whether this is a real threat that Iran still poses in the area.
[7:21] And keep in mind, this comes after the U.S. military has struck about 90 to 95 percent of Iran's mine stockpiles
[7:29] that existed during the war.
[7:31] So it's not even really clear that they have many more that are left that they could even be placing.
[7:34] Interesting.
[7:35] Courtney, thank you very much.
[7:36] Courtney Kuby, let's also talk about with the chatter of all of this,
[7:40] talking about a possible resolution to the war.
[7:42] The stock markets have really soared yet again today to new highs again.
[7:47] The Dow, the S&P and the Nasdaq all higher.
[7:49] We're not talking huge percentage gains here, but all three closed at their best levels ever.
[7:54] In fact, oh, look at that.
[7:55] The S&P actually turned negative after having hit that high.
[7:59] One key driver there, Dell Technology.
[8:02] Shares of that company soared over demand for A.I., but the vibes on Wall Street have not translated to good vibes on Main Street.
[8:10] NBC's Brian Chung is here to explain that.
[8:13] Brian, the markets here, any sort of a reflection at all on what reality is really happening?
[8:20] Because, you know, we've got this concern about recession, we've got this concern about inflation, we've got the concern about Iran, and yet the markets keep going higher.
[8:29] That's really difficult to understand.
[8:32] Yeah, Tom, it's a really bizarre split screen between Wall Street and Main Street.
[8:36] It's another reminder that Wall Street is not Main Street, but as the markets hit all of these record highs, largely because of the earnings season, where we not just saw A.I. companies and tech companies dragging the markets higher, but also retail companies really knocking it out of the park in terms of sales, we've also seen flashing warnings on the Main Street picture.
[8:54] When you consider that we just got a slew of economic data this week, including a GDP read, again, that is a measure of economic growth in this country that showed a quarter one growth of 1.6 percent, that is lower than what the government originally read, which was somewhere closer to 2 percent, all the while you have inflation that is increasing 3.3 percent year over year, according to the PCE reading that we got earlier this week.
[9:16] You have a weak durable goods report, a decline in disposable income, home sales weaker, and I think, Tom, the biggest flashing light here is a decline in personal savings rate.
[9:24] Why is that?
[9:25] Because the current rate of inflation is higher than the rate of wages increasing in this country.
[9:30] It's the first time we've seen that dynamic flip in about a few years.
[9:33] That is a huge, huge issue because that means Main Street savings are eroded.
[9:37] Brian, apparently we had a computer glitch and we threw up the wrong S&P number, so let's quickly yet again look at the numbers.
[9:43] Here we go.
[9:43] Dow up about three quarters, 1 percent.
[9:45] S&P was, in fact, in the green today, and so was the Nasdaq, not huge percentage movers but nonetheless up.
[9:52] We have seen a big drop in oil prices in May, right, down nearly 17 percent in May.
[9:57] That's the biggest one-month decline in six years.
[10:00] But let's be clear, oil is still up more than 50 percent since the start of the year.
[10:05] Brian, is this a sign that we could see relief at the pump or, listen, I heard CNBC today talking about the fact that oil reserves are dropping,
[10:13] therefore prices might actually start chugging higher again in a few weeks or months.
[10:17] Yeah, and I think that the oil reserves are a good point because the release of those oil reserves might explain why we've seen prices come down.
[10:24] As you point out, prices have been coming down at the pump, which is welcome news to all Americans when you consider that it was only a week ago that we were above $4.50.
[10:32] Now, of course, those oil prices, even though it's been a sharp drop, the steepest drop, we should point out, in one month since 2020, almost 20 percent in the month of May alone.
[10:42] You look at that screen, the pre-war prices were still below $3 a gallon.
[10:45] It's not that long ago.
[10:47] Americans still remember that.
[10:48] So I don't think it's going to be enough to tell Americans, yeah, prices are down because they're still up well over a dollar and almost a dollar and a half since this war began, Tom.
[10:56] Yeah, Brian Chung, thanks very much.
[10:58] Now to the major rocket explosion, potentially setting back NASA's timeline to return to the moon.
[11:04] The video just jaw-dropping.
[11:06] You probably have seen it by now.
[11:08] A Blue Origin rocket exploded on the launch pad during a ground test at Cape Canaveral in Florida last night.
[11:14] Now, this was not a launch attempt, but the rocket was going to eventually carry 48 Amazon satellites into space, though none of them were on board when this exploded.
[11:24] Blue Origin says nobody injured.
[11:27] The man in charge, Blue Origin owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, calls it a, quote, very rough day, saying it's too early to know what cause might have been, what the cause might have been.
[11:37] But the wide-ranging impacts go beyond Bezos' business.
[11:40] Earlier this week, NASA awarded Blue Origin a $188 million contract to deliver rovers to the moon's surface as part of the Artemis program to establish that moon base.
[11:51] And what's more, the company says potentially hazardous rocket debris could wash up on Florida's shores over the coming days.
[11:59] NASA retired astronaut Steve Robinson joins us now, also professor at UC Davis.
[12:05] Steve, it's too early to know what went wrong here with this Blue Origin rocket, but where does it leave NASA's plans to really, on an expedited timeline, if you will, to get to the moon?
[12:17] Well, it certainly is a major bump in the road. Let me just go right to the boss here.
[12:24] Jared, as a command, the NASA administrator sent out to the NASA troops earlier this morning, he said,
[12:30] I am sure it's not lost on anyone how this situation could potentially impact our Artemis and moon base ambitions.
[12:36] I also know that most of you chose careers at NASA because you thrive in challenging circumstances.
[12:41] This moment is challenging, but it's far from insurmountable.
[12:44] So that's the official word from NASA.
[12:45] Yes, but I hear a but there. Keep going, Steve.
[12:52] You know, give me okay. So that's the official line.
[12:55] But is the timeline kind of right now thrown into question?
[13:00] The timeline certainly is. I mean, how are we going to get to the moon?
[13:04] There are three rockets that can do it.
[13:06] The NASA SLS, the SpaceX Starship, and the Blue Origin New Glenn.
[13:14] One of them has been to the moon. The other two clearly are not ready.
[13:20] What has to be done to get there is a little bit up in the air.
[13:25] All three are going to be required. And so this is a long road ahead.
[13:30] Let's remind the audience, Artemis 3 was supposed to go next year.
[13:34] It was supposed to involve Blue Origin and SpaceX essentially testing their ability to dock with Orion, with an Artemis spaceship, right, to see whether those technologies work.
[13:46] But now Blue Origin may not be in the mix for next year.
[13:50] That really would suggest that maybe Artemis 3 is going to be delayed.
[13:53] I think that's likely, actually. Blue Origin's lander, that they announced, NASA announced a contract with Blue Origin this week, as you said.
[14:04] It needs to get to the moon. And it was planned to go to the moon on a version of the rocket that exploded last night.
[14:11] So that will certainly be delayed, unless there's some other way to take it there.
[14:14] But right now, that's an unknown.
[14:17] Yeah. How did you get to the moon, Steve? Because I see that you got a pretty good view from up there.
[14:21] I had my buddy Reed Wiseman go for me with a good camera, you know?
[14:26] Oh, OK. All right. Steve Robinson, thanks very much.
[14:31] In New Jersey at this hour, Governor Mikey Shirell is announcing new protest safety zones outside an immigration detention center.
[14:39] We've seen increasing violence, arrests and pepper spray at Delaney Hall, as well as public threats from the Trump administration.
[14:48] And we've seen the risk to public safety rising outside of Delaney Hall.
[14:53] It has grown unsafe, and that's completely unacceptable.
[14:59] We know what ICE has done in other states, and we know American citizens lost their lives.
[15:04] And I refuse to let that happen in New Jersey.
[15:09] Well, that move comes as New Jersey Democrats sent a letter to the Trump administration today,
[15:14] urging it to take immediate action or close Delaney Hall.
[15:18] Six people were arrested last night during clashes like this one between ICE agents and protesters.
[15:23] Agents used pepper spray on the crowd, pushing them back.
[15:27] Meanwhile, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanch blames protesters for that violence,
[15:32] saying that it will not be tolerated by the Trump administration.
[15:35] Let's talk to Checky Beckford, who's right now at the scene.
[15:39] Checky, you've been outside this ICE center for this whole week.
[15:43] Tell us what more of those new protest safety zones are looking like.
[15:47] And pro-ICE protesters are also planning their own protest or their own demonstration.
[15:54] That's right, Tom. That's expected to happen tomorrow.
[15:56] Now, what these people's protest safety zones are supposed to look like,
[16:00] we don't know at this point because they have not been implemented.
[16:03] We're expecting that to happen today based on the governor's press conference,
[16:07] but we have not seen them actually come and clear out this area.
[16:10] Now, that is what we're waiting to see.
[16:12] That is what is going to be crucial here because if you take a look behind me,
[16:15] you can see this is where the protesters have been since the beginning for seven to eight days now,
[16:20] facing off with ICE officers.
[16:22] And these new protest safety zones are expected to be about,
[16:26] expected to be all the way on the other side of the facility away from this area.
[16:30] Now, protesters are here specifically, they tell us,
[16:33] because they want to stop the transport of detainees to other ICE locations
[16:38] because they believe that that's retaliation.
[16:40] We spoke to Congress members Pallone and Menendez yesterday who visited the facility,
[16:46] who said they talked to detainees who told them that several members had been transported out to a facility in Louisiana
[16:53] because they were conducting a hunger strike and complaining about the situation inside.
[16:59] So that is why protesters are doing this.
[17:01] And we talked to one earlier who said that they will not go into a pen,
[17:05] that they do not think that this is the way that this should go.
[17:07] So we don't see this going very smoothly, but we'll, of course, let you know about it.
[17:11] Meanwhile, you mentioned that protest schedule for tomorrow for pro-ICE demonstrators.
[17:15] This timing, of course, coming now because they're going to want to have state police here
[17:19] to be a mediator between the pro-ICE and anti-ICE demonstrators tomorrow.
[17:25] OK, Chucky, thank you very much.
[17:27] To Capitol Hill we go now, where former Attorney General Pam Bondi made an appearance today,
[17:32] speaking with lawmakers about Jeffrey Epstein.
[17:34] In her opening statement obtained by NBC News,
[17:38] Bondi admits the Justice Department made, quote,
[17:41] redaction errors in preparing the files as it pursued accountability and transparency.
[17:47] We should note the Trump administration did not willingly release the files.
[17:51] Congress passed the bill against the president's wishes,
[17:53] which he signed into law after intense political pressure.
[17:57] And those redaction errors have infuriated survivors
[18:00] as they have spoken about repeatedly with Hallie and also with me on the show.
[18:04] Does it feel like justice?
[18:08] Right now, justice is a hard word for me to find.
[18:11] If you search Jeffrey Epstein's name, it doesn't come up, right?
[18:14] You had one job, was to redact our names.
[18:18] They've just completely let us down.
[18:20] It's hard to believe this was anything other than intention...
[18:23] that it was intentional.
[18:27] But Bondi also points the finger at her acting successor for the error.
[18:31] She says she had, quote,
[18:32] delegated oversight of the release of the files to then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
[18:38] Democrats have slammed Republicans for holding this meeting behind closed doors.
[18:42] Republicans insist they wanted pretty much the same answers that the Democrats want.
[18:48] The government has failed the survivors.
[18:50] There's no question about that.
[18:52] And that dates back five presidential administrations.
[18:57] NBC's Ryan Nobles covers Capitol Hill, of course.
[19:00] He joins us now.
[19:01] Ryan, what have you heard from survivors today reacting to this?
[19:05] And I think people are still just shocked that we've heard the names of the victims,
[19:10] but not the names of the alleged suspects.
[19:12] Yeah, there's a great deal of frustration that this investigation really seems to be stuck in neutral
[19:16] from a prosecutorial standpoint.
[19:19] No one else has been held accountable,
[19:21] despite all this voluminous information that's been released.
[19:23] But today, specifically, not only were the survivors disappointed in what Pam Bondi had to say,
[19:28] they were disappointed in the forum in which she was provided to answer these questions.
[19:34] A closed-door deposition that was not videotaped.
[19:36] She was not forced to take the oath of office.
[19:39] It is illegal to lie to Congress anyway,
[19:41] but they felt that it was important that she actually swear under oath that she would tell the truth.
[19:47] Listen to what one of the survivors said about her testimony today.
[19:50] This should not be a transcribed interview.
[19:56] Former attorney Pam Bondi should testify under oath on video with a full transcript
[20:02] and recording released publicly.
[20:05] Because the American people deserve transparency,
[20:09] and accountability cannot only exist when it's politically convenient.
[20:15] And there's a lot of frustration from the survivors
[20:16] because there seems to be an uneven standard being held.
[20:20] Some folks, like the Clintons, Bill and Hillary Clinton,
[20:22] they sat for hours. The entire deposition was videotaped.
[20:25] Today's deposition, not videotaped.
[20:26] And Maria Farmer, another survivor, said in a statement,
[20:29] at every turn, Bondi has ignored and disregarded the will of Epstein survivors
[20:34] who have waited for justice for decades.
[20:36] And even now, as a private citizen,
[20:38] she refuses responsibility for her missteps and failures.
[20:41] And Bondi has suggested that Todd Blanch had oversight over the files.
[20:46] She kind of threw him under the bus.
[20:48] He's now the acting AG, right?
[20:50] Do we have any sense at all whether he might make an appearance on Capitol Hill,
[20:55] or is that pretty unlikely?
[20:56] Well, I think he's going to make an appearance on Capitol Hill.
[20:58] He's almost forced to in his role as acting attorney general.
[21:02] I think the question is, Tom,
[21:03] does he appear in a similar setting to the one that Bondi was in today,
[21:07] a closed-door deposition where he's asked technical,
[21:09] very specific questions by professional staff
[21:12] that kind of understand how to ask questions
[21:14] and focus on what's important in an investigation like this?
[21:18] Democrats want to see that happen.
[21:19] This is what they said.
[21:21] The request is going in today to Chairman Comer
[21:24] to have Todd Blanch come in.
[21:26] It's clear that after this testimony,
[21:27] that is where a lot of the information is.
[21:29] And so we're going to, if he doesn't do it,
[21:31] we're going to force a subpoena and try to get votes,
[21:33] but he's got to come in.
[21:34] So the question is, what comes of all of this, Tom?
[21:38] And I think there's an important thing to keep in mind here
[21:40] that Democrats often talk about
[21:41] when it comes to accountability
[21:42] around the Epstein Transparency Act.
[21:46] This is the law of the land.
[21:49] And what I think was an important step in this process
[21:52] was to bring Pam Bondi in
[21:54] and ask her very specific questions
[21:56] about the responsibility that she had as attorney general
[21:59] to follow the law.
[22:01] Now, there's no world or universe right now
[22:03] where the current attorney general
[22:05] holds her in some sort of contempt
[22:07] or prosecutes her for not following the law,
[22:09] but they're not going to be in charge forever.
[22:11] And there's the possibility
[22:12] that Democrats could take control of the White House
[22:14] or different chambers of Congress.
[22:16] This law is going to exist.
[22:18] If folks that were in charge with following the law
[22:21] did not follow through and do what they were supposed to,
[22:24] there could be repercussions as a result.
[22:26] Can I just ask this?
[22:27] I hate to blindside you,
[22:28] but I'm assuming that the statute of limitations
[22:30] on the actual, if there were crimes,
[22:33] that that statute of limitations
[22:34] has probably passed or will soon,
[22:37] but no statute of limitations, of course,
[22:38] on Congress demanding answers.
[22:40] No, not on this at all.
[22:41] But, and I, you're 100% right
[22:43] about the statute of limitations
[22:44] on some of these perpetrators,
[22:45] but it varies across the map.
[22:48] And I think what frustrates the survivors so much
[22:50] is that you're not even doing that due diligence
[22:53] to figure out who might fall outside
[22:56] or inside that statute of limitations.
[22:57] It just, it's not happening.
[22:59] Just frustration boiling over.
[23:01] Ryan, thank you very much.
[23:02] A federal judge has temporarily blocked
[23:04] the Trump administration's so-called
[23:06] anti-weaponization fund,
[23:08] meaning the president and his allies
[23:10] cannot take any more action
[23:11] on that staggering $1.8 billion fund
[23:15] until the pending motions are settled.
[23:18] That after a former federal prosecutor
[23:20] who led January 6th accountability
[23:22] was fired last year
[23:24] and sued last week
[23:25] to block the payouts to Trump's allies.
[23:28] NBC's Ryan Reilly has that story for us.
[23:31] Busy day, Ryan.
[23:33] Gut check here.
[23:34] This feels like a blow to what Trump's opponents
[23:36] are calling his slush fund,
[23:38] but this is only a temporary block?
[23:42] Yeah, that's right.
[23:43] But I mean, it definitely does throw
[23:44] sort of a cog in the wheels here
[23:45] and delays this for a period of time.
[23:47] And, you know, Congress is asking a lot of questions,
[23:49] including Republicans,
[23:50] about how this fund is exactly going to work here.
[23:54] But what the judge said in her order
[23:56] is that essentially she needed to block this
[23:59] because there could be repercussions
[24:02] that were irreversible,
[24:03] meaning that they could make some decision.
[24:05] This could be something
[24:06] that could not be overturned down the line.
[24:07] So until these pending motions
[24:09] seeking to immediately halt this fund are settled,
[24:12] this is going to be on standby here.
[24:14] They're not allowed to take any further actions.
[24:16] They're not allowed to distribute those funds.
[24:18] And so in a couple of weeks here,
[24:19] we'll have a hearing
[24:20] and then we'll be determined
[24:21] how this case will play out.
[24:23] So just a reminder for the audience,
[24:25] this is money that the president says
[24:27] taxpayers should pay his allies,
[24:29] who he believes were wrongly treated
[24:31] by the Trump, by the Biden administration.
[24:33] President Trump was able to set this whole thing up
[24:35] with the DOJ through a loophole
[24:37] in his settlement with the IRS,
[24:39] which, by the way, he himself controls.
[24:41] So what's his goal here?
[24:44] And why do January 6th prosecutors
[24:46] say now that they are being targeted?
[24:48] So Tom, standing is really going to be
[24:51] the essential question here.
[24:52] Essentially, it's the legal question of
[24:54] who can argue that this,
[24:56] that they are going to be damaged
[24:57] by this government action, right?
[24:59] And so the January 6th prosecutor here
[25:02] actually has a little bit of a better case
[25:04] than a lot of others
[25:05] because he was fired.
[25:06] And the case here is essentially
[25:08] that he could apply for this fund,
[25:10] but this is going to be so politically biased
[25:12] that there's no chance
[25:13] that the five people
[25:14] who could be fired at whim
[25:16] by Donald Trump are going to say
[25:17] that, oh, actually,
[25:19] you deserve this handout.
[25:20] But he was this career prosecutor
[25:21] who took up these cases
[25:22] and made this argument.
[25:24] He had a statement,
[25:25] I believe we have on the screen here,
[25:27] saying that this could be,
[25:28] the president's targeting of me
[25:30] and others involved
[25:31] in January 6th prosecutions
[25:32] leaves our country
[25:33] in a very dark place,
[25:34] sending a message
[25:35] that insurrection and sedition
[25:37] will be projected
[25:38] and even encouraged
[25:39] as long as it is on behalf
[25:40] of this administration.
[25:41] So a really strong statement
[25:42] from Andrew Floyd,
[25:43] who was this career prosecutor
[25:44] who handled a lot of cases before this
[25:46] and was assigned
[25:47] to these January 6th cases
[25:48] and knows the details
[25:50] of these better than most.
[25:51] Yeah, Ryan Reilly,
[25:52] thank you very much.
[25:54] In just the past 20 minutes or so,
[25:55] we have heard
[25:56] from emergency responders
[25:57] searching for answers
[25:58] after that major gas explosion
[26:01] at an apartment building in Dallas.
[26:03] They say that search
[26:04] and rescue operations
[26:05] are now suspended
[26:06] because everyone
[26:06] has accounted for,
[26:08] adding that the heroic efforts
[26:09] did in fact save lives.
[26:10] Now, we first told you
[26:11] about this 24 hours ago
[26:13] on this newscast.
[26:14] And as of now,
[26:15] we know the blast killed
[26:16] three people,
[26:17] two women and a child.
[26:19] Dallas Fire Rescue
[26:19] finished combing
[26:20] through the scene
[26:21] this afternoon.
[26:22] A virtual mountain
[26:23] of wreckage and debris
[26:24] with the building
[26:25] reduced to virtually nothing.
[26:26] The fire chief there
[26:28] says they're now focused
[26:29] on finding out
[26:30] why this happened
[26:31] in the first place.
[26:32] The MTSB is in charge
[26:33] of natural gas pipeline disasters.
[26:36] They're on the scene as well.
[26:39] Sometimes with something like this,
[26:40] it all points to the obvious
[26:42] and it's not.
[26:44] So that's why
[26:45] I would not put anything out there.
[26:49] NBC's Ryan Chandler
[26:50] is on the ground
[26:51] in Dallas for us.
[26:52] Ryan, so what answers
[26:53] do we have so far
[26:54] as to how this might have happened?
[26:58] Well, Tom,
[26:58] I think it's more questions
[26:59] than answers right now.
[27:00] The top questions
[27:01] for investigators
[27:02] at this point
[27:02] really center around
[27:03] a contractor
[27:04] that the MTSB says
[27:06] was reportedly working
[27:07] on a gas line
[27:08] and it seems more probable
[27:09] than not at this point
[27:10] that there was some semblance
[27:12] of human error.
[27:13] But whatever culpability
[27:15] may be assigned
[27:16] is a question
[27:17] for the weeks
[27:18] and the months ahead
[27:19] as they continue
[27:20] their investigation.
[27:21] They're keeping those facts
[27:22] very close to their chest
[27:23] right now,
[27:24] understandably.
[27:25] But we do know
[27:27] at this hour
[27:27] there are still 10 families
[27:29] who have been displaced
[27:30] and put up
[27:31] by the city
[27:32] in hospitals.
[27:33] There are still
[27:33] two people
[27:34] in the hospital.
[27:36] The 10 were put in hotels.
[27:38] There are two
[27:38] in the hospital.
[27:40] 19 families
[27:41] in total
[27:41] were displaced.
[27:42] So as so many questions
[27:43] and anger remains
[27:44] for how this went
[27:45] so catastrophically wrong,
[27:47] Tom,
[27:47] the focus right now
[27:48] is helping those people
[27:49] recover
[27:50] and grieving
[27:51] for the three
[27:51] that have been lost.
[27:53] Yeah, I can only imagine.
[27:54] What are the health
[27:55] and safety concerns
[27:56] like for the folks
[27:57] who are in that area
[27:58] right now?
[27:58] Do they believe
[27:59] that they have
[28:00] this gas leak,
[28:01] if you will,
[28:02] at least that immediate
[28:03] threat already addressed?
[28:08] Well, the area
[28:08] is safe right now
[28:09] and they've closed off
[28:10] about a half mile radius
[28:11] around the wreckage itself.
[28:14] You can see the work
[28:14] being done behind me,
[28:16] but we are safe here.
[28:17] There is no active gas leak
[28:19] in the neighborhood anymore,
[28:20] but there are still
[28:21] so many needs
[28:22] for the people
[28:22] that are displaced.
[28:23] And on that note,
[28:24] Tom,
[28:24] there's been a real
[28:25] cause for optimism.
[28:27] We were at a church today
[28:28] that the entire block
[28:30] was covered in supplies
[28:31] and in diapers
[28:32] and food and water
[28:33] for people who need them.
[28:35] Hundreds of people
[28:36] with their arms full
[28:37] coming and giving
[28:38] everything that they can
[28:39] as this neighborhood
[28:40] really rallies
[28:41] around itself.
[28:42] Of course,
[28:43] with so many questions
[28:44] still left to be answered,
[28:45] Tom.
[28:46] Absolutely.
[28:46] Ryan Chandler
[28:47] on the ground in Dallas.
[28:48] Ryan, thank you.
[28:49] Still ahead from us,
[28:50] a dramatic rollercoaster
[28:51] rescue in Texas.
[28:53] How long it took crews
[28:54] to safely get
[28:54] all of those people
[28:56] up in the air
[28:57] back down on the ground again?
[28:59] Plus, the moments of panic
[29:00] after someone drives
[29:02] into a Detroit airport
[29:03] terminal today.
[29:20] Okay, to a big rescue mission
[29:22] in Laos right now
[29:23] where one of the five men
[29:25] stuck in a cave
[29:26] was brought out safely
[29:27] just hours ago
[29:28] after being trapped
[29:29] for nine days.
[29:31] Take a look here.
[29:31] You see in this video
[29:32] the men leaving the cave
[29:33] cheering.
[29:34] And as for the others
[29:36] still inside,
[29:37] the rescue team says
[29:38] that they will pick up
[29:38] evacuation efforts tomorrow
[29:40] for the four survivors
[29:42] since water levels
[29:43] are high
[29:43] after an overnight storm
[29:45] and the men
[29:46] are simply exhausted.
[29:47] As we have reported,
[29:48] rescuers have been
[29:49] racing against the clock
[29:51] drilling through
[29:51] very narrow
[29:52] flooded passages
[29:53] in that cave.
[29:55] Two other people
[29:56] are still unaccounted for,
[29:57] though.
[29:57] We want to get to NBC's
[29:59] Janice Mackey-Frayer
[29:59] following it all
[30:00] from Beijing.
[30:01] Janice, we're hearing
[30:02] some of the trapped men
[30:04] are racing concerns
[30:05] about their health
[30:06] and the dangers
[30:07] that they're facing
[30:08] and the timeline here.
[30:10] Give us an update
[30:11] on what's happening.
[30:14] Tom, rescue teams
[30:15] are fighting rising water
[30:17] and currents
[30:18] in these narrow passages
[30:19] and now signs
[30:21] of declining health
[30:21] in the men
[30:22] they're trying to free.
[30:23] So they're giving them
[30:24] water, food,
[30:25] and electrolytes
[30:26] to try to build up
[30:27] their strength
[30:28] after being trapped
[30:29] with virtually nothing
[30:31] for the last nine days.
[30:33] Listen to what one of them
[30:33] said to divers today.
[30:35] I am very weak.
[30:39] If I don't get out,
[30:40] I could die.
[30:41] I'll try my best
[30:42] to evacuate you soon.
[30:44] Okay, okay.
[30:46] If I don't get out,
[30:47] I would die
[30:48] and not get to see
[30:49] my wife and my kid.
[30:53] The time it takes
[30:55] to rescue each man
[30:56] is going to vary
[30:57] depending on their strength
[30:59] and their ability
[30:59] to maneuver
[31:00] through this cave system.
[31:01] With the first survivor
[31:03] to get out,
[31:04] divers say they basically
[31:05] just sandwiched him
[31:06] between them
[31:07] in order to squeeze
[31:09] him through.
[31:09] He was not entirely
[31:11] steady on his feet
[31:12] as he was let out.
[31:13] He was covered in mud,
[31:14] but he was met there
[31:15] with his father.
[31:17] Rescuers are going
[31:18] to be showing this video
[31:19] of the jubilation
[31:20] to the other four
[31:21] as proof that they
[31:23] can do it too, Tom.
[31:25] Janice, I've got to say
[31:26] I'm just kind of stunned
[31:27] that we've got
[31:28] some sort of video
[31:29] or internet connection
[31:30] down deep into that cave.
[31:32] We can see the guy
[31:34] who's stuck inside there.
[31:36] They can play video
[31:37] back to him.
[31:38] How is that all transpiring?
[31:40] Have they run some sort
[31:41] of a fiber optic line
[31:42] down there?
[31:43] How are they doing this?
[31:47] This has been incredible.
[31:48] They've been pumping water
[31:50] out of the cave system.
[31:51] That's step one
[31:52] because the roots
[31:53] can get cut off in minutes.
[31:54] And there was a storm
[31:55] overnight,
[31:55] so this has made it
[31:56] all the more complicated.
[31:58] These tunnels
[31:58] are extremely narrow.
[32:00] There are sharp rocks,
[32:01] visibility underwater,
[32:03] nearly zero.
[32:03] It's all mud and clay,
[32:05] apparently.
[32:05] It takes a very special
[32:07] skill set for the divers
[32:08] to do this.
[32:09] And some of the passages
[32:10] are so tight
[32:11] that they're actually
[32:12] struggling to squeeze
[32:13] through with oxygen tanks.
[32:15] And it's why
[32:15] one of the biggest
[32:16] challenges here
[32:17] may be confidence, Tom,
[32:19] to have these four men
[32:20] who are left psychologically
[32:21] ready to overcome
[32:22] the risk of panic.
[32:23] That is the one thing
[32:25] rescuers can do
[32:25] and attempt to control
[32:26] to ensure all the men
[32:28] get out safely.
[32:29] As we saw
[32:30] with that cave rescue
[32:31] in 2018
[32:32] with the 12 boys
[32:34] and their soccer coach
[32:35] that had been stuck there
[32:36] for 18 days,
[32:38] the more these pictures
[32:39] and videos
[32:40] of the predicament,
[32:42] the perilous mission,
[32:44] got out to the rest
[32:45] of the world,
[32:46] the more attention
[32:47] there was
[32:47] on what was happening.
[32:49] Help was arriving
[32:50] from different countries,
[32:52] specialized divers,
[32:53] offering to volunteer,
[32:55] oxygen tanks.
[32:56] So it really does become
[32:58] an international effort.
[33:00] That's the power
[33:00] of these images.
[33:02] And remember
[33:02] the other day,
[33:03] the absolute elation
[33:06] in finding
[33:07] these five men
[33:08] sitting on a ledge
[33:10] after so many days.
[33:11] So again,
[33:12] it's the power
[33:13] of the pictures here.
[33:14] And they are going
[33:15] to be showing
[33:15] these pictures
[33:16] to the four men
[33:16] who are still trapped there
[33:18] to say,
[33:18] look, it's going
[33:19] to be hard.
[33:20] You need to muster
[33:22] the strength,
[33:23] but you can do it.
[33:25] My goodness gracious.
[33:26] That's amazing.
[33:26] Janice Mackey-Frayer,
[33:28] thank you very much.
[33:29] New details
[33:30] into us right now
[33:31] on how Hawaii police
[33:33] caught the 36-year-old man
[33:34] suspected of killing
[33:35] three people
[33:36] in 48 hours.
[33:38] So that is
[33:38] Jacob Baker's mug shop
[33:40] right there.
[33:40] Police say witnesses
[33:41] called in with tips
[33:42] after seeing him
[33:43] hiding from traffic
[33:45] and surveillance video
[33:46] caught him fleeing
[33:47] from one property
[33:48] to another
[33:49] before officers
[33:49] finally arrested
[33:50] their suspect
[33:51] hiding in a small cave.
[33:53] NBC's Camilla Bernal
[33:54] has been tracking
[33:55] this story for us.
[33:56] She joins us now.
[33:57] Camilla,
[33:57] what kind of charges
[33:58] might Mr. Baker
[33:59] be facing
[34:00] and what else
[34:00] are we learning
[34:01] about those three people
[34:02] who were killed?
[34:04] Hey, Tom.
[34:05] So authorities say
[34:06] he's facing
[34:06] second-degree murder charges
[34:08] and reporters asked,
[34:10] is it going to be upgraded
[34:11] to a first-degree murder charge?
[34:13] And police today
[34:13] saying they're not sure yet,
[34:15] but he is facing
[34:16] a number of other charges
[34:17] for killing
[34:18] three different people,
[34:19] two 69-year-olds,
[34:20] and a 79-year-old authority
[34:22] saying that the first
[34:23] two victims
[34:24] were found within
[34:25] four or five hundred
[34:25] feet of each other.
[34:27] So because of the proximity,
[34:28] because of the similarity
[34:30] in the injuries,
[34:31] they were able to link
[34:32] everything together.
[34:33] But they do say
[34:34] this was a multi-agency effort
[34:36] to get him arrested.
[34:38] But they also say
[34:39] they were able to arrest him
[34:40] without incident.
[34:41] Here is the promise
[34:42] that the mayor made
[34:43] to this community.
[34:45] To our island Ohana,
[34:47] please be reassured
[34:48] that we will do everything
[34:51] in our power
[34:51] to protect our residents
[34:53] and to ensure
[34:54] that every person
[34:55] in our community
[34:55] feels safe.
[34:58] And that's because
[34:59] members of this community
[35:00] were terrified
[35:01] over the last few days
[35:02] about this situation.
[35:04] And like you said,
[35:05] it was thanks to
[35:06] one member of the public,
[35:08] one tip that essentially
[35:09] got authorities
[35:11] to this location.
[35:12] They saw him hiding
[35:13] in the grassy area
[35:15] there next to the road.
[35:16] And that's how police
[35:17] were able to pull
[35:18] the surveillance video
[35:19] and then find him
[35:20] in the neighboring property
[35:22] when they went
[35:23] and found that small cave.
[35:24] And so now authorities
[35:26] just trying to piece together
[35:27] exactly what happened.
[35:28] They say, yes,
[35:29] they are connected,
[35:30] but they haven't specified
[35:31] many of the connections
[35:32] and the motive
[35:33] in this case, Tom.
[35:35] All right, Camilla Bernal,
[35:36] thank you very much.
[35:37] Over now to the five things
[35:38] our team thinks
[35:39] you may want to know about
[35:40] on this Friday.
[35:41] Number one,
[35:41] we are learning
[35:42] the two children
[35:43] are among the five people
[35:44] killed after a bus crash
[35:46] in Virginia early this morning.
[35:47] Police say the bus
[35:48] did not slow down
[35:50] as traffic approached
[35:51] a work zone on I-95 overnight.
[35:54] All five victims
[35:55] were inside cars
[35:56] that the bus hit
[35:57] in the chain reaction crash.
[35:59] 44 people treated
[36:00] at local hospitals.
[36:02] Virginia State Police
[36:03] say charges are pending
[36:04] against that bus driver.
[36:06] Number two,
[36:06] Louisiana lawmakers
[36:08] just passed
[36:08] a new congressional map today
[36:10] eliminating one of the state's
[36:12] two majority black districts.
[36:14] The new map is expected
[36:15] to help elect five Republicans
[36:17] and one Democrat
[36:18] to Congress
[36:19] during this year's midterms.
[36:21] The redraw comes
[36:22] after the Supreme Court
[36:23] declared the state's
[36:24] previous map
[36:25] to be racial gerrymandering.
[36:27] Number three,
[36:28] a Kenyan court
[36:29] has temporarily blocked
[36:31] the United States
[36:31] from setting up
[36:32] an Ebola quarantine facility
[36:34] in that country
[36:35] after a lawsuit argued
[36:37] the site could endanger
[36:38] public health.
[36:39] U.S. officials say
[36:40] the 50-bed unit
[36:41] at a military base
[36:43] would serve Americans
[36:44] who've been exposed
[36:45] to the virus
[36:45] but did not show
[36:46] any symptoms.
[36:47] The next hearing
[36:48] for the case
[36:49] scheduled for next Tuesday.
[36:51] Number four,
[36:51] scary moments
[36:52] after a car
[36:53] ended up,
[36:53] look at that,
[36:54] inside the terminal
[36:55] at Detroit Metro Airport.
[36:58] A man was seen
[36:58] driving against traffic
[37:00] and going around barriers
[37:01] before slamming
[37:02] into the building.
[37:04] No weapons
[37:04] were found
[37:05] inside the car.
[37:05] Police say
[37:06] the 67-year-old driver
[37:07] was very disoriented
[37:09] and told them
[37:10] he was there
[37:11] to meet Tom Cruise.
[37:12] No charges yet
[37:13] against that driver.
[37:15] Number five,
[37:15] look at this,
[37:16] eight people stuck
[37:17] on a roller coaster
[37:19] nearly 100 feet
[37:20] above the ground
[37:21] in Galveston, Texas.
[37:23] The amusement park
[37:24] says the ride
[37:24] malfunctioned,
[37:26] causing it to stop.
[37:27] The eight kids
[37:28] who were there
[37:29] on top
[37:29] on a field trip
[37:30] were stuck vertically
[37:32] for hours.
[37:34] Everybody was brought
[37:34] down safely
[37:35] and thankfully,
[37:37] nobody injured.
[37:38] I'd have vertigo.
[37:40] Coming up from us,
[37:41] record-setting heat
[37:42] sending Europe
[37:43] to a boiling point.
[37:45] How soon there might
[37:46] be relief there?
[37:47] Plus the fireball
[37:48] that derailed commuters
[37:49] in New York City.
[37:50] The efforts to get
[37:51] the ride home
[37:52] back on track.
[38:01] We're back.
[38:01] Still no sign
[38:02] of relief for people
[38:03] in Western Europe
[38:04] as a deadly heat wave
[38:06] continues to bake
[38:07] the region.
[38:07] The hot weather
[38:08] is stretching
[38:09] across France
[38:10] where seven people
[38:11] have died.
[38:12] While in the UK,
[38:13] drowning cases
[38:14] have increased
[38:15] as people try
[38:15] to cool down
[38:16] on the water there.
[38:17] It's not letting up.
[38:18] Portugal today
[38:19] saw its hottest day
[38:20] ever in May,
[38:22] over 100 degrees
[38:22] Fahrenheit there.
[38:24] Bill Karens joins us now.
[38:26] Bill, this is an example
[38:27] of what the heat dome is,
[38:29] I guess,
[38:29] that you describe
[38:30] an awful lot.
[38:31] So how is this heat dome
[38:32] affecting Western Europe?
[38:34] This is not normal for May.
[38:36] No.
[38:37] If this was a middle of July,
[38:38] we'd say, okay,
[38:39] you know,
[38:39] Europe's in the heat wave.
[38:40] It's why people tell you
[38:41] don't visit Europe,
[38:43] especially in the middle of July,
[38:44] many areas.
[38:45] A lot of places
[38:46] don't have air conditioning.
[38:47] I saw one stat today
[38:48] that said only 20%
[38:49] of Europe has air conditioning.
[38:51] So when you get
[38:51] a heat wave like this,
[38:52] this unusually early
[38:53] in the season
[38:54] where our bodies
[38:54] aren't really acclimated to it,
[38:56] that's when we get in trouble.
[38:57] That's when, you know,
[38:58] we're talking about
[38:59] all these fatalities.
[39:00] So the jet stream
[39:01] controls the weather
[39:01] in the northern hemisphere
[39:02] that has not moved much
[39:03] in the last seven days.
[39:05] And that's why
[39:05] over the last week
[39:06] we've seen record highs
[39:07] kind of widespread
[39:08] throughout many portions
[39:09] of Europe.
[39:10] The worst of it
[39:10] has been in areas of Spain,
[39:12] Portugal, and in France
[39:13] and a little bit there,
[39:14] especially the southern
[39:15] half of England
[39:16] and because of what
[39:17] we call a heat dome.
[39:18] That's air that's hot air
[39:19] that's just trapped.
[39:20] The sun just continues
[39:21] to bake on it
[39:22] and it just gets warmer
[39:23] and warmer every day.
[39:24] And the thing that really
[39:24] causes problems is that night,
[39:26] the air doesn't cool off
[39:27] and that's when people
[39:28] are trying to sleep
[39:29] and trying to get their rest
[39:30] and then if it happens
[39:31] day after day,
[39:31] it's pretty bad.
[39:32] So today, Madrid was 97 degrees.
[39:35] We were a little bit cooler
[39:36] in London,
[39:37] so that's the beginning
[39:37] of your cool down.
[39:39] Paris was still pretty warm
[39:40] but not as bad.
[39:41] And as we look towards tomorrow,
[39:43] it's kind of the last day
[39:44] of the real heat,
[39:45] even at this time of night
[39:46] where we're close to getting
[39:47] close to late in the evening
[39:48] and near midnight.
[39:50] It's still 79 in Paris.
[39:51] Areas like Madrid
[39:52] are also at 79.
[39:53] And then this weekend,
[39:55] tomorrow's another hot day.
[39:56] Look at Madrid, 96.
[39:57] Other areas, 81.
[39:59] And Marseille, about 88.
[40:00] But it will cool off
[40:01] towards Sunday.
[40:02] The only problems we have
[40:03] watching here in the lower 48, Tom,
[40:05] is this storm coming down
[40:07] in northern New England.
[40:08] And I promise you on Monday,
[40:09] you are going to see pictures
[40:10] of snow from over the weekend
[40:12] in northern New England,
[40:14] mostly in the mountains.
[40:15] But yes, it's almost June.
[40:17] Okay, so I got a choice.
[40:18] 95 degrees in Paris
[40:19] or snow in the upper East Coast.
[40:24] I may take the snow
[40:25] just for a couple of days.
[40:26] Yeah, it's a tough call
[40:27] without air conditioning.
[40:29] I've been there.
[40:30] It's hot in the summer
[40:31] without A.C.
[40:32] Bill, thank you.
[40:33] NBC covers hundreds
[40:34] of stories each day.
[40:35] You know, it's almost impossible
[40:37] to read, to watch,
[40:38] to listen to them all.
[40:39] So our bureau teams
[40:40] have selected some highlights.
[40:41] This is what they tell us
[40:42] is going down in their regions.
[40:44] We call it the local.
[40:46] From our northeast bureau,
[40:47] check out the scary scene
[40:49] from inside the country's
[40:51] busiest tunnel.
[40:52] The damage from that fireball
[40:54] right there,
[40:54] halted trains in and out
[40:56] of Penn Station this morning.
[40:57] It was sparked
[40:58] after two Amtrak work trains
[41:00] collided.
[41:01] Five transit workers
[41:02] were injured.
[41:03] Trains are running tonight,
[41:05] but commuters are being told
[41:06] to expect delays.
[41:08] From our Western Bureau,
[41:09] that's fire and smoke
[41:10] coming from an Oregon river.
[41:12] At least two floating homes
[41:14] ignited overnight.
[41:15] Firefighters had a hard time
[41:17] getting to the river
[41:18] to get the situation
[41:19] under control.
[41:20] Thankfully, nobody injured.
[41:21] Not clear at all
[41:22] what started that fire.
[41:24] From our Southern Bureau,
[41:26] a loud boom.
[41:27] There it is,
[41:31] that loud boom,
[41:32] rather,
[41:32] turning an awful lot of heads
[41:34] in South Carolina.
[41:35] The U.S. Geological Survey
[41:36] says it was a sonic boom
[41:39] that happens
[41:40] when an object in the sky
[41:41] travels faster
[41:42] than the speed of sound.
[41:44] No word yet
[41:45] on what might have cost it.
[41:47] Still ahead from us,
[41:48] a deep dive
[41:49] into deep fakes.
[41:51] How a journalist
[41:51] and a reality TV star
[41:53] are working together
[41:54] to expose
[41:55] illicit fake content
[41:57] that's in our original.
[41:58] We're back
[42:06] with our original
[42:07] in-depth reporting
[42:08] on a hot topic
[42:09] and the disturbing rise
[42:10] of A.I.-generated
[42:11] deep fake pornography
[42:13] with a focus
[42:14] on a first-of-its-kind
[42:15] documentary
[42:16] designed specifically
[42:17] for TikTok
[42:18] posted to
[42:19] Paris Hilton's account.
[42:21] It chronicles
[42:21] the investigation
[42:22] into the man
[42:23] believed to be behind
[42:24] one of the Internet's
[42:25] most notorious
[42:26] deep fake pornography
[42:28] websites.
[42:29] NBC's Chloe Malos
[42:30] has the story.
[42:32] Artificial intelligence
[42:34] is moving
[42:35] at lightning speed.
[42:37] It was in this
[42:37] dystopian
[42:38] A.I.-fantasy world.
[42:40] But tonight
[42:41] growing concern
[42:42] over one of its
[42:43] darkest uses
[42:44] sexually explicit
[42:45] deep fake pornography.
[42:47] Experts estimate
[42:48] the vast majority
[42:49] of deep fake videos
[42:50] online are pornographic
[42:52] and that almost
[42:53] all of them
[42:54] target women.
[42:55] Now journalist
[42:56] Lori Siegel
[42:57] sounding the alarm
[42:58] on one website
[42:59] that became ground zero
[43:01] for this abuse.
[43:02] All of a sudden
[43:02] I'm seeing
[43:03] these horrific
[43:04] A.I.-generated
[43:06] sexually explicit
[43:07] deep fakes
[43:07] of women
[43:08] many of them
[43:09] public facing
[43:10] who didn't consent.
[43:11] I typed this
[43:11] into my browser
[43:12] and I was
[43:14] blown away
[43:15] by what I saw.
[43:17] Siegel,
[43:17] a long-time
[43:18] tech reporter
[43:18] and founder
[43:19] of Mostly Human Media
[43:20] says she first
[43:21] discovered the website
[43:22] Mr. Deepfakes
[43:23] in 2022.
[43:25] At its height
[43:26] the platform
[43:26] drew millions
[43:27] of visitors
[43:28] a month
[43:28] hosting A.I.-generated
[43:30] fake pornography
[43:31] and forums
[43:32] where users
[43:33] could allegedly
[43:33] request explicit
[43:35] videos of women
[43:36] and learn
[43:36] how to make them.
[43:37] So I looked
[43:38] at Mr. Deepfakes
[43:39] as essentially
[43:40] a training ground
[43:41] for a new type
[43:42] of digital
[43:43] A.I.-generated abuse.
[43:44] Like I wanted
[43:44] to find
[43:45] like the man
[43:46] behind it
[43:46] had been anonymous
[43:47] for six years.
[43:48] Lori's years-long
[43:49] investigation
[43:50] caught the attention
[43:51] of Paris Hilton
[43:52] and instead of
[43:53] producing a standard
[43:54] documentary
[43:54] it was released
[43:56] this week
[43:56] in a novel format
[43:57] where a new generation
[43:59] can watch it
[44:00] a 14-part
[44:01] vertical series
[44:01] on Hilton's TikTok.
[44:03] Stop scrolling.
[44:04] I need to tell you
[44:05] something very important.
[44:06] The series
[44:07] racking up millions
[44:08] of views.
[44:09] She isn't someone
[44:09] who just put her
[44:10] face on this.
[44:11] She became actively
[44:11] involved in this.
[44:13] With some commenters
[44:14] writing,
[44:14] this is unreal.
[44:15] Been binge-watching
[44:16] with my teenage girls
[44:17] and their friends.
[44:19] Another writing,
[44:19] let's make this world
[44:20] better for us
[44:21] and our daughters.
[44:22] The comments
[44:23] are just incredible.
[44:25] It's people sharing
[44:25] their own deep
[44:26] fake abuse stories.
[44:27] Hilton became
[44:28] one of the most famous
[44:29] victims of non-consensual
[44:30] pornography after
[44:31] a real private video
[44:33] was leaked in 2004
[44:34] when she was just 19.
[44:36] She's now one
[44:37] of the loudest voices
[44:38] pushing for stronger
[44:39] protections against
[44:40] AI-generated abuse.
[44:42] Deep fake pornography
[44:43] has become an epidemic.
[44:45] Earlier this year,
[44:46] Hilton joined lawmakers
[44:47] on Capitol Hill
[44:48] advocating for
[44:49] the Bipartisan Defiance Act,
[44:51] legislation designed
[44:52] to give victims
[44:53] of non-consensual
[44:54] AI-generated sexual imagery
[44:56] more legal recourse.
[44:58] I know today
[44:59] that there are over
[45:00] 100,000 explicit
[45:02] deep fake images
[45:03] of me made by AI,
[45:05] 100,000 circulating
[45:08] the internet.
[45:09] Lawmakers are responding
[45:10] with things like
[45:11] the Take It Down Act,
[45:12] which requires platforms
[45:13] at the request of victims
[45:15] to remove intimate content
[45:17] posted online
[45:18] without consent.
[45:19] But researchers
[45:20] from the Oxford
[45:21] Internet Institute
[45:22] say more than
[45:23] 35,000 tools
[45:24] are available
[45:25] on the internet
[45:26] to create deep fakes.
[45:28] And nearly one in eight
[45:29] teens personally
[45:30] know someone targeted
[45:31] by deep fake nudes,
[45:33] according to a non-profit
[45:34] that builds technology
[45:35] to defend children
[45:36] from sexual abuse.
[45:38] Siegel believes
[45:39] she found Mr. Deepfakes.
[45:40] She confronts him
[45:41] in her series.
[45:42] He wouldn't respond,
[45:43] nor has he spoken out
[45:44] publicly elsewhere.
[45:46] I'm just trying
[45:47] to understand why.
[45:48] It's real harm.
[45:53] It's real harm.
[45:55] Mr. Deepfakes' website
[45:56] was shut down last year
[45:57] amid mounting public
[45:59] and legal pressure,
[46:00] in part because of Siegel's work
[46:02] and other ongoing investigations.
[46:04] NBC was unable
[46:05] to reach him for comment.
[46:07] To date,
[46:07] he hasn't faced
[46:08] any legal consequences.
[46:10] But it's not just
[46:11] about one website.
[46:13] Paris is a mom.
[46:14] I am now a mom.
[46:15] This might have been
[46:15] a search for
[46:16] an underground
[46:17] anonymous operator
[46:19] who was doing
[46:19] bad things online.
[46:21] This was actually
[46:21] just fighting
[46:22] for a better reality
[46:23] for our children.
[46:24] Two mothers pushing
[46:25] for accountability
[46:26] in the AI era,
[46:27] now and in the future.
[46:29] Chloe Malas, NBC News.
[46:31] Coming up from us,
[46:33] the new effort
[46:34] to put President Trump's face
[46:35] in your wallet.
[46:37] Okay, so we told you
[46:42] about the legal battle
[46:43] over the Kennedy Center's
[46:44] name earlier
[46:45] with a judge saying
[46:46] that President Trump
[46:47] cannot rename it
[46:48] after himself.
[46:49] It's not the only one,
[46:50] of course.
[46:50] The president has
[46:51] a long history
[46:52] of putting his name
[46:53] or his face
[46:54] on just about everything.
[46:56] NBC's Monica Alba
[46:57] has the breakdown
[46:58] on the push
[46:58] to put the president
[46:59] on a new $250 bill
[47:02] and why that effort
[47:03] may run into
[47:04] some very big
[47:05] legal hurdles as well.
[47:08] A new push
[47:09] from Trump appointees
[47:10] to give paper bills
[47:11] a facelift
[47:12] with the Treasury Department
[47:13] saying it's getting ready
[47:14] to print $250 bills
[47:16] with President Trump's
[47:17] face on them.
[47:18] There's just one hiccup.
[47:20] It's against the law
[47:20] to put a living person
[47:22] on U.S. currency.
[47:23] It hasn't been done
[47:24] in more than 150 years.
[47:26] Treasury Secretary
[47:27] Scott Besant
[47:28] addressing the effort
[47:28] as the United States
[47:29] gears up
[47:30] for its 250th birthday.
[47:32] I don't think
[47:33] that there's anything
[47:34] untoward
[47:35] about having the president
[47:36] of the United States
[47:37] that the person
[47:38] who was president
[47:39] of the United States
[47:39] on the 250th anniversary bill.
[47:42] Adding there's proposed
[47:43] legislation on Capitol Hill
[47:44] to change the requirement
[47:46] so the sitting president
[47:47] could be on the bill.
[47:48] But that act
[47:49] was introduced
[47:49] more than a year ago
[47:50] and Independence Day
[47:52] is rapidly approaching.
[47:53] The president,
[47:54] long known to plaster
[47:55] his name on real estate,
[47:56] has been literally
[47:57] leaving his mark
[47:58] on American institutions.
[47:59] His administration
[48:00] tacking his name
[48:01] onto the Kennedy Center
[48:02] for the Performing Arts,
[48:03] a move a judge ordered
[48:05] reversed just today.
[48:06] But also rolling out
[48:07] other Trump-branded
[48:08] government programs
[48:09] like discount drug site
[48:10] TrumpRx
[48:11] and Trump's savings accounts,
[48:12] putting his face
[48:13] in some passports
[48:14] to be issued this summer
[48:15] and even hoisting up
[48:16] banners at the Justice Department,
[48:18] leading to criticism.
[48:20] But it doesn't stop there
[48:21] as the president seems
[48:22] to like putting his stamp
[48:23] on money.
[48:24] In March,
[48:25] the Treasury said
[48:25] it would include
[48:26] President Trump's signature
[48:27] on paper currency,
[48:28] a first for president
[48:30] while in office.
[48:31] And a federal commission
[48:32] of Trump-appointed members
[48:33] approved the president's face
[48:34] on 24-carat commemorative
[48:36] gold coins.
[48:38] But significantly changing
[48:39] legal tender
[48:40] can be a bigger lift.
[48:41] A decade ago now
[48:42] that the Obama administration
[48:43] released plans
[48:44] to replace former President
[48:45] Andrew Jackson,
[48:46] a slave owner,
[48:47] on the $20 bill
[48:48] with Harriet Tubman,
[48:49] a civil rights leader
[48:50] who escaped slavery.
[48:52] Trump always lukewarm
[48:53] on that proposal.
[48:55] I think Harriet Tubman
[48:56] is fantastic.
[48:57] I would love to,
[48:57] I would love to leave
[48:58] Andrew Jackson
[48:59] and see if we can maybe
[49:01] come up with another
[49:02] denomination.
[49:03] Maybe we do the $2 bill
[49:05] or we do another bill.
[49:06] The whole initiative
[49:07] essentially stalled.
[49:08] Flash forward to now.
[49:10] The Treasury Department
[49:10] says it's ready
[49:11] to print the new bills
[49:12] if it gets the green light
[49:13] from Congress,
[49:15] potentially leaving
[49:15] the president's legacy
[49:16] on Americans' money
[49:17] in more ways than one.
[49:20] Monica Alba,
[49:21] NBC News,
[49:22] the White House.
[49:23] Monica, thank you.
[49:25] Also at this hour,
[49:26] NBC News has learned
[49:27] the White House
[49:27] will require service members
[49:29] to meet size requirements
[49:31] to go to that UFC match
[49:32] at the White House.
[49:34] They'll also have to pay
[49:35] their own travel expenses.
[49:36] The Pentagon
[49:36] is declining to comment.
[49:38] That is a wrap for us
[49:39] at this hour.
[49:40] You're watching
[49:40] Hallie Jackson now.
[49:42] Top of the hour
[49:53] on NBC News Now
[49:54] and we start with breaking news
[49:56] right down the street.
[49:58] A federal judge
[49:58] has ordered the administration
[49:59] to remove President Trump's name
[50:02] from the Kennedy Center,
[50:03] ruling it was added illegally.
[50:05] The president's response
[50:06] just in the last half hour.
[50:08] Also new at this hour,
[50:09] the president's
[50:10] so-called anti-weaponization fund
[50:12] stopped for now
[50:14] by a federal judge
[50:15] why January 6th prosecutors
[50:17] have sued to block
[50:18] what they call
[50:19] a billion-dollar slush fund.
[50:22] Plus, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein
[50:23] are slamming
[50:24] the former Attorney General,
[50:26] Pam Bondi,
[50:26] after her closed-door interview
[50:28] with lawmakers today,
[50:30] who Bondi suggests
[50:31] is really to blame
[50:32] for the so-called redaction errors
[50:34] in the Epstein files.
[50:35] And then a new video
[50:37] of celebrations
[50:37] outside a cave in Laos
[50:39] of the survivor
[50:40] lifted out alive
[50:41] after nine days
[50:42] stuck below ground.
[50:48] Yeah, that's the moment
[50:54] the round-the-clock scramble
[50:56] to save the others
[50:56] who are still inside that cave.
[50:58] And the deadly heat wave
[51:00] hovering over Europe
[51:01] at this hour,
[51:01] why so many European countries
[51:03] are ill-equipped
[51:04] to deal with rising temperatures
[51:06] later in the newscast.
[51:08] Good day.
[51:08] I'm Tom Costello.
[51:09] I'm in for Hallie.
[51:10] And we start with breaking news
[51:12] right here in D.C.
[51:13] in just the last few hours.
[51:15] A federal judge says
[51:16] President Trump
[51:17] cannot officially rename
[51:19] the Kennedy Center
[51:20] with his own name.
[51:21] The new filing just in
[51:23] says Congress gave
[51:24] the Kennedy Center its name
[51:25] and only Congress
[51:26] can change it,
[51:27] ordering the administration
[51:28] to remove the new signage.
[51:30] The president's name
[51:31] changed the website as well
[51:32] over the next 14 days.
[51:34] The judge will also stop
[51:36] the president from closing
[51:37] the performing arts facility
[51:38] for two years
[51:39] while it undergoes repair work.
[51:41] However, it does not prevent
[51:43] the work from getting done.
[51:45] Democratic Congresswoman
[51:46] Joyce Beatty is on the board
[51:48] of the Kennedy Center
[51:49] and brought the lawsuit.
[51:50] She writes in a statement
[51:51] to NBC News, quote,
[51:53] the Kennedy Center
[51:53] is an institution
[51:54] that belongs to the American people,
[51:56] not to Donald Trump.
[51:58] The president has taken
[51:59] a hands-on approach
[52:00] to the Kennedy Center.
[52:01] He named it after himself.
[52:03] He named himself the chair,
[52:05] I should say,
[52:05] and then undid much
[52:07] of the board.
[52:08] The board then renamed
[52:09] it with his name.
[52:10] But in the last hour,
[52:12] the half hour,
[52:12] the president said,
[52:13] quote,
[52:13] we are going to be working
[52:14] with Congress
[52:15] to transfer this failing institution
[52:17] back to them
[52:19] so they can make a determination
[52:20] as to what to do with it.
[52:22] NBC's Garrett Hay
[52:23] is at the White House for us.
[52:25] Garrett,
[52:25] the president rarely backs down
[52:27] from a fight,
[52:28] but based on this lengthy post,
[52:30] is he not interested
[52:32] in continuing
[52:33] with his name on the center?
[52:35] What are we to make of this?
[52:36] I think that's the only way
[52:37] to read it, Tom,
[52:38] is a significant fold
[52:39] from the president here
[52:40] in light of this ruling
[52:42] from a judge
[52:42] whom he disparages
[52:43] in the first part
[52:44] of his statement
[52:45] and then spends several paragraphs
[52:47] essentially saying
[52:47] if I can't do this my way,
[52:49] I don't want to do it at all.
[52:50] I have one poll quote
[52:51] to show you
[52:51] where the president writes,
[52:52] unless I'm free
[52:53] to do what I want
[52:54] or better than anyone else
[52:56] bringing this institution back
[52:57] physically, financially,
[52:59] and artistically,
[53:00] I have no interest
[53:01] in continuing
[53:02] what could only be
[53:02] a hopeless journey
[53:03] into Neverland.
[53:05] I mean, Tom,
[53:05] this is an administration
[53:06] that appeals almost everything,
[53:08] and that was the indication
[53:09] we'd gotten earlier in the day
[53:10] was that they would appeal
[53:11] this ruling too,
[53:12] but the president says
[53:13] he's handing this back
[53:14] to Congress
[53:14] and essentially
[53:15] washing his hands of it.
[53:17] Yeah.
[53:18] Listen,
[53:18] we've had quite a few performers
[53:19] canceling their shows
[53:20] at the Kennedy Center,
[53:21] and you can see here
[53:23] ticket sales dropping
[53:24] by more than 50%
[53:25] over the last year,
[53:26] that according
[53:26] to a New York Times analysis.
[53:28] Why does or why did
[53:30] the president want
[53:30] so much hands-on control
[53:32] of the Arts Center
[53:34] given all of his
[53:35] other responsibilities?
[53:36] And I got to tell you,
[53:38] you live here,
[53:38] I live here,
[53:39] and the common talk
[53:41] out there
[53:41] is that ticket sales
[53:43] plunged as soon as
[53:44] he put his name on it
[53:45] and renamed the board,
[53:46] redid the board,
[53:47] and then changed completely
[53:48] the entertainers
[53:49] who are coming in.
[53:51] Yeah, look,
[53:51] I mean,
[53:51] I think it's always
[53:52] a little bit dangerous
[53:52] to try to understand
[53:54] what Trump thinks
[53:55] about anything
[53:56] in his private thoughts,
[53:57] but I think he saw this
[53:58] as a major national
[54:00] cultural institution
[54:01] and something he wanted
[54:03] to put his stamp on
[54:04] in a significant way
[54:05] as he's done
[54:06] with so many other elements
[54:08] of this city.
[54:09] But to your point, Tom,
[54:10] it is also a major
[54:11] local institution,
[54:13] and locally,
[54:13] the president is not popular.
[54:15] He's deeply underwater
[54:16] in Washington, Maryland,
[54:18] Northern Virginia,
[54:18] the places where people live
[54:20] who buy tickets
[54:21] to the Kennedy Center,
[54:22] and that caused,
[54:23] I think,
[54:23] a significant amount
[54:24] of this backlash
[54:25] of people not wanting
[54:26] to be associated
[54:27] with something
[54:28] that had his name on it
[54:29] in big gold letters,
[54:31] which it sounds like
[54:32] will be coming down
[54:33] some point
[54:33] in the next two weeks.
[54:35] We'll watch it closely.
[54:36] Garrett,
[54:36] thank you very much.
[54:37] All right,
[54:37] now to the clock
[54:39] ticking down
[54:39] to a, quote,
[54:40] final determination
[54:41] from President Trump
[54:42] on another matter.
[54:43] It's that ceasefire deal
[54:44] with Iran
[54:44] with the reopening
[54:46] of the Strait of Hormuz
[54:47] and the future
[54:48] of Iran's enriched
[54:49] uranium all on the table.
[54:51] Mr. Trump said earlier today
[54:53] on Truth Social
[54:53] that he was meeting
[54:54] in the Situation Room
[54:56] with his top advisors.
[54:57] Trump also writing
[54:58] on Truth Social
[54:59] that Iran must agree
[55:00] that they will never
[55:01] have a nuclear weapon
[55:03] or a bomb.
[55:04] The Strait of Hormuz
[55:04] must be immediately open,
[55:05] no tolls for unrestricted
[55:07] shipping traffic
[55:08] in both directions.
[55:10] That's his quote.
[55:10] Iran, for its part,
[55:11] says it has not signed off
[55:13] on any final agreement.
[55:14] For more on this,
[55:15] let's go to NBC's
[55:16] Courtney Kuby,
[55:17] who covers the Pentagon,
[55:18] all things military.
[55:19] So we've been hearing
[55:20] this back and forth
[55:21] for days, weeks, really.
[55:22] It's confusing.
[55:24] One side says something,
[55:25] then the other side
[55:26] changes their mind,
[55:27] it's back and forth.
[55:28] What's the latest
[55:29] and how real is any real talk?
[55:32] I think the most confusing part
[55:33] is that both sides
[55:34] are putting out information
[55:35] for public consumption
[55:36] and we really don't know
[55:37] what's happening
[55:38] behind the scenes.
[55:38] At this point,
[55:39] we still aren't clear
[55:40] who the Iranians are
[55:43] who are negotiating.
[55:43] Which faction
[55:44] of the leadership it is.
[55:45] We don't even know.
[55:46] I mean, which is,
[55:47] so the entire process
[55:49] has been extremely opaque.
[55:50] At this point,
[55:51] what we know
[55:52] is what we can see publicly,
[55:53] which is that
[55:53] President Trump
[55:54] had this meeting today,
[55:55] again, it was a closed meeting,
[55:56] but there's no indication
[55:57] that there was any kind
[55:58] of agreement
[55:59] that came out of that
[56:00] or that President Trump,
[56:01] even though this was believed
[56:02] to have potentially
[56:03] have been a decisional meeting,
[56:05] that he made any decision
[56:06] about whether to sign
[56:08] some sort of agreement,
[56:09] whatever's on the table
[56:10] right now.
[56:10] Is Pakistan still serving
[56:12] as an intermediary here?
[56:14] They are,
[56:15] but again,
[56:16] it's still not even clear
[56:17] what role they're playing
[56:18] at this point.
[56:19] I mean, at this point,
[56:20] it almost seems
[56:20] as if these negotiations
[56:21] are almost like passing notes
[56:23] back and forth.
[56:24] And that's what this is,
[56:25] as opposed to any kind
[56:26] of face-to-face
[56:27] or even phone call negotiations.
[56:29] You would think
[56:29] with an issue
[56:30] this important,
[56:31] it would be.
[56:32] Yeah, you have new reporting
[56:33] also on whether there are
[56:34] actually mines
[56:34] in the Strait of Hormuz.
[56:36] Another confusing issue,
[56:37] because this is something
[56:37] that we've been hearing
[56:38] about for some time,
[56:39] including before the war started,
[56:41] that Iran has this capability
[56:42] to eventually shut down
[56:43] the Strait of Hormuz
[56:44] with mines.
[56:45] At this point, though,
[56:47] the U.S. military
[56:48] has gotten multiple
[56:49] and U.S. intelligence reports
[56:51] about the possibility
[56:52] of mines.
[56:53] Some is specific
[56:54] as saying that
[56:54] they could have mined
[56:55] the southern part
[56:56] of the Strait
[56:56] early on in the war.
[56:58] The military has brought
[56:58] in robots,
[56:59] underwater drones,
[57:00] surveillance aircraft,
[57:01] all these different capabilities.
[57:03] So far,
[57:04] they have not found
[57:05] and confirmed
[57:06] any,
[57:06] the existence
[57:07] of any mines
[57:08] at this point.
[57:08] Can I ask you,
[57:09] I saw a photo yesterday
[57:10] or today,
[57:11] and it looks like
[57:12] there are ships
[57:12] in that area
[57:13] just as far as the eye
[57:15] can see.
[57:16] If there were mines,
[57:16] one would think
[57:17] we might have heard
[57:18] one go boom.
[57:19] Exactly.
[57:20] We know that there
[57:20] are a lot of ships
[57:21] and there are actually
[57:22] still a very small number
[57:23] that are making their way
[57:24] through the Strait of Hormuz
[57:25] and that are on
[57:25] either side of it
[57:27] at this point.
[57:28] Now,
[57:28] there are multiple
[57:29] kinds of mines,
[57:31] too.
[57:31] Keep that in mind.
[57:32] It's possible that...
[57:32] Look at that image.
[57:33] That's amazing, right?
[57:34] That's just one picture.
[57:35] Yeah.
[57:35] So you would think
[57:36] that if there were mines,
[57:37] especially if it was
[57:37] heavily mined,
[57:39] the U.S.
[57:39] would have found one
[57:39] at this point.
[57:40] At this point,
[57:40] they have not.
[57:41] All they have been able
[57:41] to find so far
[57:42] are some things
[57:43] that have the appearance
[57:44] of mines
[57:45] but haven't been
[57:45] confirmed to be that.
[57:46] Interesting.
[57:47] Courtney Kuby,
[57:47] thank you very much.
[57:49] All right.
[57:49] We have all...
[57:51] We've all heard
[57:51] the chatter,
[57:52] I should say,
[57:52] about the potential
[57:53] resolution to the war.
[57:55] And with that,
[57:55] the stock markets
[57:56] have kind of soared,
[57:58] right?
[57:58] We've seen record highs
[57:59] yet again.
[57:59] The Dow,
[58:00] the S&P,
[58:00] and the Nasdaq
[58:01] are higher today.
[58:02] Not huge gains
[58:03] but all in the green,
[58:04] all three at their
[58:05] best levels ever.
[58:06] One key driver,
[58:07] shares of the tech company
[58:08] Dell soared
[58:10] over demand for AI.
[58:12] But the vibes
[58:13] on Wall Street
[58:13] have not necessarily
[58:14] translated to good vibes
[58:16] on Main Street.
[58:17] NBC's Brian Chung.
[58:19] You know,
[58:19] Brian,
[58:19] it's the classic
[58:20] Main Street versus
[58:20] Wall Street dilemma,
[58:22] right?
[58:22] Are the markets
[58:22] kind of in this
[58:24] detachment mode
[58:25] from all the other
[58:26] issues out there
[58:27] right now
[58:27] with the economy,
[58:28] with gas prices,
[58:29] et cetera,
[58:30] et cetera.
[58:31] Potential,
[58:31] while the ongoing
[58:32] war with Iran,
[58:33] I think a lot of us
[58:33] are shaking our heads
[58:34] trying to understand
[58:35] where Wall Street is.
[58:36] Yeah,
[58:37] and Tom,
[58:37] as you and I
[58:38] have covered extensively
[58:39] in terms of these markets,
[58:40] again,
[58:40] what is happening
[58:41] in corporate America
[58:42] isn't always
[58:43] an accurate reflection
[58:44] of what's happening
[58:45] on Main Street.
[58:45] And that bifurcation
[58:46] is more extreme now
[58:48] than it's really
[58:48] ever been,
[58:49] at least since COVID.
[58:50] When you consider
[58:51] that corporations
[58:52] are just absolutely crushing it,
[58:53] you mentioned Dell.
[58:54] This is among
[58:55] the tech stocks
[58:56] that have just been
[58:56] absolutely benefiting
[58:58] from investor enthusiasm
[58:59] over the artificial
[59:01] intelligence revolution.
[59:02] You also have retailers
[59:03] that are doing pretty well
[59:04] in terms of margins
[59:05] and performance
[59:05] and sales as well.
[59:07] But when you take a look
[59:07] at what's happening
[59:08] on Wall Street,
[59:09] we've got a flurry
[59:09] of data points this week
[59:11] that point to something
[59:12] that's not so rosy
[59:13] when you consider first GDP.
[59:14] Again,
[59:14] this is a measure
[59:15] of economic growth
[59:16] showing in the first quarter
[59:17] of this year
[59:18] the U.S. economy
[59:18] growing at a 1.6% rate.
[59:21] That is lower
[59:21] than what the government
[59:22] originally read
[59:23] at 2%
[59:24] when they first
[59:25] took a look
[59:26] at what GDP looked like.
[59:27] You also had
[59:27] core inflation
[59:28] rising to 3.3%
[59:30] on the yearly rate.
[59:31] You have a weak
[59:31] durable goods report,
[59:32] decline in disposable income,
[59:34] and home sales weaker.
[59:35] But I think the issue here
[59:36] is a decline
[59:37] in personal savings rate.
[59:38] Inflation is above wage growth.
[59:40] That is a huge problem, Tom.
[59:42] Yeah, all right.
[59:43] So that feeds into
[59:43] the discussion
[59:44] about interest rates, right?
[59:46] And are we in an environment
[59:48] in which the new Fed chair
[59:49] could, in theory,
[59:50] cut rates?
[59:51] Or is he going to be forced
[59:52] to hike rates
[59:54] because of what's happening?
[59:56] Yeah, newly minted Fed chair
[59:57] Kevin Warsh
[59:58] headed for his first meeting
[59:59] in about two and a half weeks.
[1:00:01] And the expectation
[1:00:01] is that he will not do anything
[1:00:03] on interest rates
[1:00:04] in part because of those
[1:00:05] inflation readings
[1:00:06] that we just got.
[1:00:07] Again, 3.3%,
[1:00:08] which I just explained,
[1:00:09] is the last reading
[1:00:10] that we got on inflation
[1:00:11] in the form of what
[1:00:11] they call the PCE,
[1:00:13] is above what the Fed
[1:00:14] would be targeting.
[1:00:15] They would like that number
[1:00:16] to be somewhere closer to 2%.
[1:00:18] That is not simply
[1:00:19] the type of environment
[1:00:19] you would cut interest rates into.
[1:00:21] And Tom, I think
[1:00:21] another way to put this
[1:00:23] is you take a look
[1:00:23] at where markets
[1:00:24] are betting right now.
[1:00:25] Financial markets
[1:00:26] are pricing in a 0% chance
[1:00:29] that the Federal Reserve
[1:00:29] cuts interest rates
[1:00:31] by the end of this year.
[1:00:32] They really are betting
[1:00:33] the next week
[1:00:33] is going to be a hike.
[1:00:35] Jarring.
[1:00:35] All right, Brian Chung,
[1:00:36] thank you very much.
[1:00:39] Now to the major rocket explosion,
[1:00:41] potentially setting back
[1:00:42] NASA's timeline
[1:00:43] to return to the moon.
[1:00:44] The video just jaw-dropping.
[1:00:46] You probably have seen it by now.
[1:00:48] A Blue Origin rocket
[1:00:49] exploded on the launch pad
[1:00:50] during a ground test
[1:00:52] at Cape Canaveral
[1:00:53] in Florida last night.
[1:00:55] Now this was not
[1:00:55] a launch attempt,
[1:00:56] but the rocket was going
[1:00:58] to eventually carry
[1:00:59] 48 Amazon satellites
[1:01:01] into space,
[1:01:01] though none of them
[1:01:03] were on board
[1:01:04] when this exploded.
[1:01:05] Blue Origin says
[1:01:06] nobody injured.
[1:01:07] The man in charge,
[1:01:08] Blue Origin owner
[1:01:09] and Amazon founder
[1:01:09] Jeff Bezos,
[1:01:10] calls it a, quote,
[1:01:11] very rough day,
[1:01:13] saying it's too early
[1:01:14] to know what cause
[1:01:15] might have been,
[1:01:16] what the cause
[1:01:16] might have been.
[1:01:17] But the wide-ranging impacts
[1:01:19] go beyond Bezos' business.
[1:01:21] Earlier this week,
[1:01:21] NASA awarded
[1:01:22] Blue Origin,
[1:01:23] a $188 million contract
[1:01:26] to deliver rovers
[1:01:27] to the moon's surface
[1:01:28] as part of the Artemis program
[1:01:30] to establish that moon base.
[1:01:32] And what's more,
[1:01:32] the company says
[1:01:33] potentially hazardous
[1:01:34] rocket debris
[1:01:35] could wash up
[1:01:37] on Florida's shores
[1:01:38] over the coming days.
[1:01:39] NASA retired astronaut
[1:01:41] Steve Robinson
[1:01:42] joins us now,
[1:01:43] also professor at UC Davis.
[1:01:45] Steve, it's too early
[1:01:46] to know what went wrong
[1:01:48] here with this
[1:01:48] Blue Origin rocket,
[1:01:50] but where does it leave
[1:01:51] NASA's plans to,
[1:01:52] really,
[1:01:53] on an expedited timeline,
[1:01:56] if you will,
[1:01:57] to get to the moon?
[1:01:59] Well, it certainly
[1:02:00] is a major bump
[1:02:01] in the road.
[1:02:01] Let me just go
[1:02:03] right to the boss here.
[1:02:04] Jared,
[1:02:04] as a command,
[1:02:05] the NASA administrator
[1:02:06] sent out to the NASA troops
[1:02:08] earlier this morning,
[1:02:10] he said,
[1:02:10] I'm sure it's not lost
[1:02:11] on anyone
[1:02:12] how this situation
[1:02:13] could potentially impact
[1:02:14] our Artemis
[1:02:14] and moon-based ambitions.
[1:02:16] I also know
[1:02:17] that most of you
[1:02:17] chose careers at NASA
[1:02:18] because you thrive
[1:02:19] in challenging circumstances.
[1:02:21] This moment is challenging
[1:02:22] but is far from insurmountable.
[1:02:24] So that's the official word
[1:02:25] from NASA.
[1:02:28] Yes, but,
[1:02:29] I hear a but there.
[1:02:30] Keep going, Steve.
[1:02:32] You know,
[1:02:33] give me, okay,
[1:02:34] so that's the official line,
[1:02:35] but is the timeline
[1:02:37] kind of right now
[1:02:38] thrown into question?
[1:02:40] The timeline certainly is.
[1:02:41] I mean,
[1:02:42] how are we going
[1:02:43] to get to the moon?
[1:02:44] There are three rockets
[1:02:45] that can do it.
[1:02:46] The NASA SLS,
[1:02:48] the SpaceX Starship,
[1:02:51] and the Blue Urgent New Glenn.
[1:02:55] One of them
[1:02:56] has been to the moon.
[1:02:57] The other two
[1:02:57] clearly are not ready.
[1:03:00] What has to be done
[1:03:01] to get there
[1:03:02] is a little bit
[1:03:03] up in the air.
[1:03:05] All three
[1:03:06] are going to be required.
[1:03:08] And so this is
[1:03:09] a long road ahead.
[1:03:10] Let's remind the audience,
[1:03:11] Artemis 3
[1:03:12] was supposed to go next year.
[1:03:14] It was supposed
[1:03:15] to involve Blue Origin
[1:03:16] and SpaceX
[1:03:16] essentially testing
[1:03:18] their ability
[1:03:19] to dock
[1:03:20] with Orion,
[1:03:22] with an Artemis spaceship,
[1:03:24] right,
[1:03:24] to see whether
[1:03:25] those technologies work.
[1:03:26] But now,
[1:03:27] Blue Origin
[1:03:28] may not be
[1:03:29] in the mix
[1:03:29] for next year.
[1:03:30] That really would suggest
[1:03:31] that maybe Artemis 3
[1:03:32] is going to be delayed.
[1:03:34] I think that's likely,
[1:03:37] actually.
[1:03:37] Blue Origin's lander
[1:03:39] that they announced,
[1:03:41] NASA announced
[1:03:42] the contract
[1:03:42] with Blue Origin
[1:03:43] this week,
[1:03:43] as you said.
[1:03:44] It needs to get
[1:03:46] to the moon.
[1:03:47] And it was planned
[1:03:48] to go to the moon
[1:03:48] on a version
[1:03:49] of the rocket
[1:03:50] that exploded.
[1:03:51] So that will certainly
[1:03:52] be delayed
[1:03:52] unless there's
[1:03:53] some other way
[1:03:53] to take it there.
[1:03:54] But right now,
[1:03:55] that's an unknown.
[1:03:57] Yeah.
[1:03:58] How did you get
[1:03:58] to the moon, Steve?
[1:03:59] Because I see that
[1:04:00] you got a pretty good
[1:04:01] view from up there.
[1:04:03] I had my buddy
[1:04:04] Reid Wiseman
[1:04:04] go for me
[1:04:05] with a good camera,
[1:04:06] you know?
[1:04:06] Oh, okay.
[1:04:08] All right.
[1:04:08] Steve Robinson,
[1:04:09] thanks very much.
[1:04:11] In New Jersey
[1:04:12] at this hour,
[1:04:13] Governor Mikey Shirell
[1:04:14] is announcing
[1:04:15] new protest safety zones
[1:04:17] outside an immigration
[1:04:18] detention center.
[1:04:20] We've seen
[1:04:21] increasing violence,
[1:04:22] arrest,
[1:04:23] and pepper spray
[1:04:24] at Delaney Hall,
[1:04:25] as well as public threats
[1:04:27] from the Trump administration.
[1:04:29] And we've seen
[1:04:30] the risk to public safety
[1:04:31] rising outside
[1:04:33] of Delaney Hall.
[1:04:34] It has grown unsafe,
[1:04:35] and that's
[1:04:36] completely unacceptable.
[1:04:37] We know what ICE
[1:04:40] has done in other states,
[1:04:41] and we know
[1:04:42] American citizens
[1:04:43] lost their lives.
[1:04:44] And I refuse
[1:04:45] to let that happen
[1:04:46] in New Jersey.
[1:04:49] Well, that move comes
[1:04:50] as New Jersey Democrats
[1:04:51] sent a letter
[1:04:52] to the Trump administration
[1:04:53] today urging it
[1:04:54] to take immediate action
[1:04:56] or close Delaney Hall.
[1:04:58] Six people
[1:04:58] were arrested last night
[1:05:00] during clashes like this one
[1:05:01] between ICE agents
[1:05:02] and protesters.
[1:05:03] Agents used pepper spray
[1:05:05] on the crowd,
[1:05:06] pushing them back.
[1:05:07] Meanwhile, acting
[1:05:08] U.S. Attorney General
[1:05:09] Todd Blanch
[1:05:10] blames protesters
[1:05:11] for that violence,
[1:05:12] saying that it will not
[1:05:13] be tolerated
[1:05:14] by the Trump administration.
[1:05:15] Let's talk to
[1:05:16] Checky Beckford,
[1:05:17] who's right now
[1:05:18] at the scene.
[1:05:19] Checky,
[1:05:20] you've been outside
[1:05:21] this ICE center
[1:05:22] for this whole week.
[1:05:23] Tell us what more
[1:05:24] of those new
[1:05:24] protest safety zones
[1:05:26] are looking like.
[1:05:27] And pro-ICE protesters
[1:05:28] are also planning
[1:05:30] their own protest
[1:05:30] or their own demonstration.
[1:05:34] That's right, Tom.
[1:05:35] That's expected
[1:05:36] to happen tomorrow.
[1:05:36] Now, what these people's
[1:05:38] protest safety zones
[1:05:39] are supposed to look like,
[1:05:40] we don't know at this point
[1:05:41] because they have not
[1:05:42] been implemented.
[1:05:43] We're expecting that
[1:05:44] to happen today
[1:05:45] based on the governor's
[1:05:47] press conference,
[1:05:47] but we have not seen
[1:05:48] them actually come
[1:05:49] and clear out this area.
[1:05:50] Now, that is what
[1:05:51] we're waiting to see.
[1:05:52] That is what is going
[1:05:53] to be crucial here
[1:05:53] because if you take
[1:05:54] a look behind me,
[1:05:55] you can see this is
[1:05:56] where the protesters
[1:05:57] have been since the beginning
[1:05:58] for 78 days now,
[1:06:00] facing off with ICE officers.
[1:06:02] And these new protest
[1:06:03] safety zones are expected
[1:06:05] to be all the way
[1:06:07] on the other side
[1:06:08] of the facility
[1:06:09] away from this area.
[1:06:10] Now, protesters are here
[1:06:12] specifically, they tell us,
[1:06:13] because they want to stop
[1:06:14] the transport of detainees
[1:06:16] to other ICE locations
[1:06:18] because they believe
[1:06:19] that that's retaliation.
[1:06:21] We spoke to Congress
[1:06:22] members Pallone
[1:06:23] and Menendez yesterday
[1:06:25] who visited the facility
[1:06:26] who said they talked
[1:06:27] to detainees who told them
[1:06:28] that several members
[1:06:30] had been transported
[1:06:31] out to a facility
[1:06:32] in Louisiana
[1:06:33] because they were conducting
[1:06:35] a hunger strike
[1:06:36] and complaining
[1:06:37] about the situation inside.
[1:06:39] So that is why
[1:06:40] protesters are doing this.
[1:06:41] And we talked to one earlier
[1:06:42] who said that they will
[1:06:44] not go into a pen,
[1:06:45] that they do not think
[1:06:46] that this is the way
[1:06:46] that this should go.
[1:06:47] So we don't see this
[1:06:48] going very smoothly,
[1:06:49] but we'll, of course,
[1:06:50] let you know about it.
[1:06:51] Meanwhile, you mentioned
[1:06:52] that protest schedule
[1:06:53] for tomorrow
[1:06:54] for pro-ICE demonstrators.
[1:06:55] This timing, of course,
[1:06:56] coming now because
[1:06:57] they're going to want
[1:06:58] to have state police here
[1:07:00] to be a mediator
[1:07:02] between the pro-ICE
[1:07:02] and anti-ICE demonstrators
[1:07:04] tomorrow.
[1:07:05] Okay, Chucky,
[1:07:06] thank you very much.
[1:07:08] To Capitol Hill we go now
[1:07:09] where former Attorney General
[1:07:10] Pam Bondi made an appearance
[1:07:12] today speaking with lawmakers
[1:07:13] about Jeffrey Epstein.
[1:07:15] In her opening statement
[1:07:16] obtained by NBC News,
[1:07:18] Bondi admits
[1:07:19] the Justice Department
[1:07:20] made, quote,
[1:07:21] redaction errors
[1:07:22] in preparing the files
[1:07:24] as it pursued accountability
[1:07:25] and transparency.
[1:07:27] We should note
[1:07:27] the Trump administration
[1:07:28] did not willingly
[1:07:29] release the files.
[1:07:31] Congress passed the bill
[1:07:32] against the president's wishes,
[1:07:34] which he signed into law
[1:07:35] after intense political pressure.
[1:07:37] And those redaction errors
[1:07:38] have infuriated survivors
[1:07:40] as they have spoken about
[1:07:41] repeatedly with Hallie
[1:07:43] and also with me
[1:07:44] on the show.
[1:07:46] Does it feel like justice?
[1:07:48] Right now,
[1:07:48] justice is a hard word
[1:07:49] for me to find.
[1:07:51] If you search Jeffrey Epstein's name,
[1:07:52] it doesn't come up, right?
[1:07:54] You had one job
[1:07:56] was to redact our names.
[1:07:58] They've just completely
[1:07:59] let us down.
[1:08:00] It's hard to believe
[1:08:02] this was anything
[1:08:03] other than intentional,
[1:08:04] that it was intentional.
[1:08:07] But Bondi also points
[1:08:08] the finger
[1:08:09] at her acting successor
[1:08:10] for the air.
[1:08:11] She says she had, quote,
[1:08:12] delegated oversight
[1:08:14] of the release of the files
[1:08:15] to then Deputy Attorney General
[1:08:17] Todd Blanch.
[1:08:18] Democrats have slammed
[1:08:19] Republicans for holding
[1:08:21] this meeting
[1:08:21] behind closed doors.
[1:08:22] Republicans insist
[1:08:23] they wanted pretty much
[1:08:25] the same answers
[1:08:25] that the Democrats want.
[1:08:28] The government
[1:08:29] has failed the survivors.
[1:08:31] There's no question
[1:08:31] about that.
[1:08:32] And that dates back
[1:08:33] five presidential administrations.
[1:08:38] NBC's Ryan Nobles
[1:08:39] covers Capitol Hill,
[1:08:40] of course.
[1:08:40] He joins us now.
[1:08:41] Ryan, what have you heard
[1:08:43] from survivors today
[1:08:44] reacting to this?
[1:08:45] And I think people
[1:08:46] are still just shocked
[1:08:48] that we've heard
[1:08:49] the names of the victims,
[1:08:50] but not the names
[1:08:51] of the alleged suspects.
[1:08:52] Yeah, there's a great deal
[1:08:53] of frustration
[1:08:54] that this investigation
[1:08:55] really seems to be
[1:08:56] stuck in neutral
[1:08:57] from a prosecutorial standpoint.
[1:08:59] No one else has been
[1:09:00] held accountable
[1:09:01] despite all this
[1:09:02] voluminous information
[1:09:03] that's been released.
[1:09:04] But today specifically,
[1:09:05] not only were the survivors
[1:09:06] disappointed in what
[1:09:07] Pam Bondi had to say,
[1:09:09] they were disappointed
[1:09:09] in the forum
[1:09:10] in which she was provided
[1:09:12] to answer these questions.
[1:09:14] A closed door deposition
[1:09:15] that was not videotaped.
[1:09:17] She was not forced
[1:09:18] to take the oath of office.
[1:09:19] It is illegal
[1:09:19] to lie to Congress anyway,
[1:09:22] but they felt
[1:09:22] that it was important
[1:09:23] that she actually swear
[1:09:25] under oath
[1:09:26] that she would tell the truth.
[1:09:27] Listen to what
[1:09:28] one of the survivors said
[1:09:29] about her testimony today.
[1:09:32] This should not be
[1:09:33] a transcribed interview.
[1:09:37] Former attorney Pam Bondi
[1:09:38] should testify under oath
[1:09:40] on video
[1:09:41] with a full transcript
[1:09:42] and recording released publicly
[1:09:45] because the American people
[1:09:47] deserve transparency
[1:09:48] and accountability
[1:09:50] cannot only exist
[1:09:52] when it's politically convenient.
[1:09:54] And there's a lot
[1:09:55] of frustration
[1:09:56] from the survivors
[1:09:57] because there seems
[1:09:57] to be an uneven standard
[1:09:59] being held.
[1:10:00] Some folks like the Clintons,
[1:10:01] Bill and Hillary Clinton,
[1:10:02] they sat for hours.
[1:10:03] The entire deposition
[1:10:04] was videotaped.
[1:10:05] Today's deposition
[1:10:06] not videotaped.
[1:10:07] And Maria Farmer,
[1:10:08] another survivor,
[1:10:09] said in a statement,
[1:10:10] at every turn,
[1:10:10] Bondi has ignored
[1:10:11] and disregarded
[1:10:12] the will of Epstein survivors
[1:10:14] who have waited
[1:10:15] for justice for decades.
[1:10:16] And even now,
[1:10:17] as a private citizen,
[1:10:18] she refuses responsibility
[1:10:20] for her missteps
[1:10:21] and failures.
[1:10:22] And Bondi has suggested
[1:10:23] that Todd Blanch
[1:10:24] had oversight
[1:10:25] over the files.
[1:10:26] She kind of threw him
[1:10:28] under the bus.
[1:10:28] He's now the acting AG,
[1:10:30] right?
[1:10:31] Do we have any sense
[1:10:32] at all whether he might
[1:10:33] make an appearance
[1:10:34] on Capitol Hill
[1:10:35] or is that pretty unlikely?
[1:10:36] Well, I think he's going
[1:10:37] to make an appearance
[1:10:38] on Capitol Hill.
[1:10:39] He's almost forced to
[1:10:40] in his role
[1:10:41] as acting attorney general.
[1:10:42] I think the question is,
[1:10:43] Tom,
[1:10:43] does he appear
[1:10:44] in a similar setting
[1:10:45] to the one
[1:10:46] that Bondi was in today?
[1:10:47] A closed-door deposition
[1:10:48] where he's asked technical,
[1:10:49] very specific questions
[1:10:51] by professional staff
[1:10:52] that kind of understand
[1:10:53] how to ask questions
[1:10:54] and focus on
[1:10:55] what's important
[1:10:56] in an investigation like this.
[1:10:58] Democrats want to see
[1:10:59] that happen.
[1:10:59] This is what they said.
[1:11:02] The request is going in today
[1:11:04] to Chairman Comer
[1:11:05] to have Todd Blanch
[1:11:05] come in.
[1:11:06] It's clear that
[1:11:07] after this testimony,
[1:11:08] that is where
[1:11:08] a lot of the information is.
[1:11:10] And so if he doesn't do it,
[1:11:12] we're going to force a subpoena
[1:11:13] and try to get votes,
[1:11:13] but he's got to come in.
[1:11:15] So the question is,
[1:11:17] what comes of all of this, Tom?
[1:11:19] And I think there's
[1:11:19] an important thing
[1:11:19] to keep in mind here
[1:11:20] that Democrats often talk about
[1:11:21] when it comes to accountability
[1:11:23] around the Epstein Transparency Act.
[1:11:26] This is the law of the land.
[1:11:29] And what I think
[1:11:30] was an important step
[1:11:32] in this process
[1:11:32] was to bring Pam Bondi in
[1:11:34] and ask her very specific questions
[1:11:36] about the responsibility
[1:11:37] that she had as attorney general
[1:11:39] to follow the law.
[1:11:41] Now, there's no world
[1:11:42] or universe right now
[1:11:43] where the current attorney general
[1:11:45] holds her in some sort of contempt
[1:11:47] or prosecutes her
[1:11:48] for not following the law,
[1:11:49] but they're not going
[1:11:50] to be in charge forever.
[1:11:51] And there's the possibility
[1:11:52] that Democrats could take control
[1:11:53] of the White House
[1:11:55] or different chambers of Congress.
[1:11:56] This law is going to exist.
[1:11:58] If folks that were in charge
[1:12:00] with following the law
[1:12:02] did not follow through
[1:12:03] and do what they were supposed to,
[1:12:05] there could be repercussions
[1:12:06] as a result.
[1:12:07] Can I just ask this?
[1:12:07] I hate to blindside you,
[1:12:08] but I'm assuming
[1:12:09] that the statute of limitations
[1:12:10] on the actual,
[1:12:12] if there were crimes,
[1:12:13] that that statute of limitations
[1:12:14] has probably passed
[1:12:16] or will soon,
[1:12:17] but no statute of limitations,
[1:12:18] of course,
[1:12:19] on Congress demanding answers.
[1:12:20] No, not on this at all.
[1:12:22] But and you're 100% right
[1:12:23] about the statute of limitations
[1:12:24] on some of these perpetrators.
[1:12:26] But it varies across the map.
[1:12:28] And I think what frustrates
[1:12:29] the survivors so much
[1:12:31] is that you're not even doing
[1:12:33] that due diligence
[1:12:34] to figure out
[1:12:35] who might fall outside
[1:12:36] or inside that statute
[1:12:37] of limitations.
[1:12:38] It just is not happening.
[1:12:39] Just frustration boiling over.
[1:12:41] Ryan, thank you very much.
[1:12:43] A federal judge
[1:12:43] has temporarily blocked
[1:12:45] the Trump administration's
[1:12:46] so-called anti-weaponization fund,
[1:12:48] meaning the president
[1:12:49] and his allies
[1:12:50] cannot take any more action
[1:12:52] on that staggering
[1:12:53] $1.8 billion fund
[1:12:55] until the pending motions
[1:12:57] are settled.
[1:12:58] That after a former
[1:12:59] federal prosecutor
[1:13:00] who led January 6th
[1:13:02] accountability
[1:13:02] was fired last year
[1:13:04] and sued last week
[1:13:06] to block the payouts
[1:13:07] to Trump's allies.
[1:13:09] NBC's Ryan Riley
[1:13:09] has that story for us.
[1:13:11] Busy day, Ryan.
[1:13:13] Gut check here.
[1:13:14] This feels like a blow
[1:13:15] to what Trump's opponents
[1:13:17] are calling his slush fund,
[1:13:18] but this is only
[1:13:20] a temporary block?
[1:13:22] Yeah, that's right.
[1:13:23] But I mean,
[1:13:23] it definitely does throw
[1:13:24] sort of a cog in the wheels here
[1:13:25] and delays this
[1:13:26] for a period of time.
[1:13:28] And, you know,
[1:13:28] Congress is asking
[1:13:29] a lot of questions,
[1:13:30] including Republicans,
[1:13:30] about how this fund
[1:13:32] is exactly going to work here.
[1:13:34] But what the judge said
[1:13:35] in her order
[1:13:36] is that essentially
[1:13:37] she needed to block this
[1:13:39] because there could be
[1:13:41] repercussions
[1:13:42] that were irreversible,
[1:13:43] meaning that they could
[1:13:44] make some decision.
[1:13:46] This could be something
[1:13:46] that could not be overturned
[1:13:47] down the line.
[1:13:48] So until these pending motions
[1:13:49] seeking to immediately
[1:13:51] halt this fund
[1:13:51] are settled,
[1:13:53] this is going to be
[1:13:53] on standby here.
[1:13:55] They're not allowed
[1:13:55] to take any further actions.
[1:13:56] They're not allowed
[1:13:57] to distribute those funds.
[1:13:58] And so in a couple of weeks
[1:13:59] here, we'll have a hearing
[1:14:00] and then we'll be determined
[1:14:02] how this case will play out.
[1:14:03] So just a reminder
[1:14:04] for the audience,
[1:14:05] this is money
[1:14:06] that the president says
[1:14:07] taxpayers should pay
[1:14:08] his allies,
[1:14:10] who he believes
[1:14:11] were wrongly treated
[1:14:12] by the Trump,
[1:14:12] by the Biden administration.
[1:14:14] President Trump
[1:14:14] was able to set
[1:14:15] this whole thing up
[1:14:16] with the DOJ
[1:14:16] through a loophole
[1:14:17] in his settlement
[1:14:18] with the IRS,
[1:14:19] which, by the way,
[1:14:20] he himself controls.
[1:14:22] So what's his goal here
[1:14:24] and why do January 6th
[1:14:25] prosecutors say
[1:14:27] now that they are
[1:14:28] being targeted?
[1:14:30] So Tom, standing
[1:14:30] is really going to be
[1:14:31] the essential question here.
[1:14:33] Essentially,
[1:14:33] it's the legal question
[1:14:34] of who can argue
[1:14:35] that they are going
[1:14:37] to be damaged
[1:14:37] by this government action,
[1:14:39] right?
[1:14:40] And so the January 6th
[1:14:42] prosecutor here
[1:14:42] actually has a little bit
[1:14:44] of a better case
[1:14:44] than a lot of others
[1:14:45] because he was fired.
[1:14:47] And the case here
[1:14:48] is essentially
[1:14:48] that he could apply
[1:14:50] for this fund,
[1:14:50] but this is going
[1:14:51] to be so politically biased
[1:14:52] that there's no chance
[1:14:53] that the five people
[1:14:55] who could be fired up
[1:14:56] at whim by Donald Trump
[1:14:57] are going to say
[1:14:58] that, oh, actually,
[1:14:59] you're going to,
[1:14:59] you deserve this handout.
[1:15:00] But he was this career
[1:15:01] prosecutor who took up
[1:15:02] these cases
[1:15:03] and made this argument.
[1:15:04] He had a statement,
[1:15:05] I believe we have
[1:15:06] on the screen here,
[1:15:07] saying that this could be,
[1:15:09] the president's targeting
[1:15:10] of me and others
[1:15:11] involved in January 6th
[1:15:12] prosecutions
[1:15:13] leaves our country
[1:15:14] in a very dark place,
[1:15:15] sending a message
[1:15:15] that insurrection
[1:15:16] and sedition
[1:15:17] will be projected
[1:15:18] and even encouraged
[1:15:19] as long as it is
[1:15:20] on behalf
[1:15:21] of this administration.
[1:15:22] So a really strong
[1:15:22] statement from Andrew Floyd,
[1:15:23] who was this career
[1:15:24] prosecutor who handled
[1:15:25] a lot of cases
[1:15:26] before this
[1:15:26] and was assigned
[1:15:27] to these January 6th cases
[1:15:29] and knows the details
[1:15:30] of these better than most.
[1:15:31] Yeah, Ryan Reilly,
[1:15:32] thank you very much.
[1:15:34] In just the past
[1:15:35] 20 minutes or so,
[1:15:36] we have heard
[1:15:36] from emergency responders
[1:15:38] searching for answers
[1:15:39] after that major gas explosion
[1:15:41] at an apartment building
[1:15:42] in Dallas.
[1:15:43] They said that search
[1:15:44] and rescue operations
[1:15:45] are now suspended
[1:15:46] because everyone
[1:15:47] has accounted for,
[1:15:48] adding that the heroic efforts
[1:15:49] did in fact save lives.
[1:15:51] Now, we first told you
[1:15:51] about this 24 hours ago
[1:15:53] on this newscast.
[1:15:54] And as of now,
[1:15:55] we know the blast
[1:15:56] killed three people,
[1:15:57] two women and a child.
[1:15:59] Dallas Fire Rescue
[1:16:00] finished combing
[1:16:01] through the scene
[1:16:01] this afternoon,
[1:16:02] a virtual mountain
[1:16:03] of wreckage and debris
[1:16:04] with the building
[1:16:05] reduced to virtually nothing.
[1:16:07] The fire chief there
[1:16:08] says they're now focused
[1:16:09] on finding out
[1:16:10] why this happened
[1:16:11] in the first place.
[1:16:12] The MTSB
[1:16:13] is in charge
[1:16:14] of natural gas pipeline
[1:16:15] disasters.
[1:16:16] They're on the scene
[1:16:17] as well.
[1:16:19] Sometimes with something
[1:16:20] like this,
[1:16:20] it all points
[1:16:21] to the obvious
[1:16:22] and it's not.
[1:16:24] So that's why
[1:16:26] I would not
[1:16:26] put anything out there.
[1:16:29] NBC's Ryan Chandler
[1:16:30] is on the ground
[1:16:31] in Dallas for us.
[1:16:32] Ryan, so what answers
[1:16:33] do we have so far
[1:16:34] as to how this
[1:16:35] might have happened?
[1:16:38] Well, Tom,
[1:16:39] I think it's more questions
[1:16:40] than answers right now.
[1:16:41] The top questions
[1:16:41] for investigators
[1:16:42] at this point
[1:16:43] really center around
[1:16:44] a contractor
[1:16:45] that the MTSB
[1:16:46] says was reportedly
[1:16:47] working on a gas line
[1:16:48] and it seems
[1:16:49] more probable
[1:16:50] than not at this point
[1:16:51] that there was
[1:16:51] some semblance
[1:16:52] of human error.
[1:16:54] But whatever culpability
[1:16:55] may be assigned
[1:16:56] is a question
[1:16:57] for the weeks
[1:16:58] and the months ahead
[1:16:59] as they continue
[1:17:00] their investigation.
[1:17:02] They're keeping
[1:17:02] those facts
[1:17:02] very close to their chest
[1:17:04] right now,
[1:17:05] understandably.
[1:17:06] But we do know
[1:17:07] at this hour
[1:17:08] there are still
[1:17:08] 10 families
[1:17:09] who have been displaced
[1:17:10] and put up
[1:17:11] by the city
[1:17:12] in hospitals.
[1:17:13] There are still
[1:17:13] two people
[1:17:14] in the hospital.
[1:17:16] The 10 were put
[1:17:17] in hotels.
[1:17:18] There are two
[1:17:18] in the hospital.
[1:17:20] 19 families
[1:17:21] in total
[1:17:21] were displaced.
[1:17:22] So with so many
[1:17:23] questions and anger
[1:17:24] remains for how
[1:17:25] this went so
[1:17:26] catastrophically wrong,
[1:17:27] Tom,
[1:17:27] the focus right now
[1:17:28] is helping those
[1:17:29] people recover
[1:17:30] and grieving
[1:17:31] for the three
[1:17:32] that have been lost.
[1:17:33] Yeah, I can only imagine.
[1:17:34] What are the health
[1:17:35] and safety concerns
[1:17:36] like for the folks
[1:17:37] who are in that area
[1:17:38] right now?
[1:17:39] Do they believe
[1:17:39] that they have
[1:17:40] this gas leak,
[1:17:42] if you will,
[1:17:42] at least that
[1:17:43] immediate threat
[1:17:44] already addressed?
[1:17:48] Well, the area
[1:17:48] is safe right now
[1:17:49] and they've closed off
[1:17:50] about a half mile radius
[1:17:52] around the wreckage itself.
[1:17:54] You can see the work
[1:17:55] being done behind me,
[1:17:56] but we are safe here.
[1:17:58] There is no active gas leak
[1:17:59] in the neighborhood anymore,
[1:18:01] but there are still
[1:18:02] so many needs
[1:18:02] for the people
[1:18:03] that are displaced.
[1:18:04] And on that note,
[1:18:04] Tom,
[1:18:05] has been a real
[1:18:06] cause for optimism.
[1:18:07] We were at a church today
[1:18:08] that the entire block
[1:18:10] was covered in supplies
[1:18:12] and in diapers
[1:18:13] and food
[1:18:13] and water
[1:18:14] for people who need them.
[1:18:15] Hundreds of people
[1:18:16] with their arms full
[1:18:17] coming and giving
[1:18:18] everything that they can
[1:18:19] as this neighborhood
[1:18:20] really rallies around itself.
[1:18:22] Of course,
[1:18:23] with so many questions
[1:18:24] still left to be answered,
[1:18:25] Tom.
[1:18:26] Absolutely.
[1:18:27] Ryan Chandler
[1:18:27] on the ground in Dallas.
[1:18:28] Ryan, thank you.
[1:18:29] Still ahead from us,
[1:18:30] a dramatic rollercoaster
[1:18:31] rescue in Texas.
[1:18:33] How long it took crews
[1:18:34] to safely get
[1:18:35] all of those people
[1:18:36] up in the air
[1:18:37] back down
[1:18:38] on the ground again?
[1:18:39] Plus, the moments of panic
[1:18:41] after someone
[1:18:42] drives into a Detroit
[1:18:43] airport terminal today.
[1:18:45] OK, to a big rescue mission
[1:19:03] in Laos right now
[1:19:04] where one of the five men
[1:19:05] stuck in a cave
[1:19:07] was brought out safely
[1:19:08] just hours ago
[1:19:09] after being trapped
[1:19:10] for nine days.
[1:19:12] Take a look here.
[1:19:12] You see in this video
[1:19:13] the men leaving the cave
[1:19:14] cheering
[1:19:15] and as for the others
[1:19:17] still inside,
[1:19:17] the rescue team says
[1:19:18] that they will pick up
[1:19:19] evacuation efforts tomorrow
[1:19:21] for the four survivors
[1:19:22] since water levels
[1:19:24] are high
[1:19:24] after an overnight storm
[1:19:26] and the men
[1:19:26] are simply exhausted.
[1:19:27] As we have reported,
[1:19:29] rescuers have been
[1:19:30] racing against the clock
[1:19:31] drilling through
[1:19:32] very narrow
[1:19:33] flooded passages
[1:19:34] in that cave.
[1:19:36] Two other people
[1:19:37] are still unaccounted for,
[1:19:38] though.
[1:19:38] We want to get to NBC's
[1:19:39] Janice Mackey-Frayer
[1:19:40] following it all
[1:19:41] from Beijing.
[1:19:42] Janice, we're hearing
[1:19:43] some of the trapped men
[1:19:45] are raising concerns
[1:19:46] about their health
[1:19:47] and the dangers
[1:19:48] that they're facing
[1:19:49] and the timeline here.
[1:19:51] Give us an update
[1:19:52] on what's happening.
[1:19:55] Tom, rescue teams
[1:19:56] are fighting rising water
[1:19:58] and currents
[1:19:59] and these narrow passages
[1:20:00] and now signs
[1:20:02] of declining health
[1:20:02] in the men
[1:20:03] they're trying to free.
[1:20:04] So they're giving them
[1:20:05] water, food
[1:20:06] and electrolytes
[1:20:07] to try to build up
[1:20:08] their strength
[1:20:09] after being trapped
[1:20:10] with virtually nothing
[1:20:12] for the last nine days.
[1:20:13] Listen to what one of them
[1:20:14] said to divers today.
[1:20:16] I'm very weak.
[1:20:19] If I don't get out,
[1:20:21] I could die.
[1:20:22] I'll try my best
[1:20:23] to evacuate you soon.
[1:20:25] Okay, okay.
[1:20:27] If I don't get out,
[1:20:28] I would die
[1:20:29] and not get to see
[1:20:30] my wife and my kid.
[1:20:34] The time it takes
[1:20:35] to rescue each man
[1:20:37] is going to vary
[1:20:38] depending on their strength
[1:20:40] and their ability
[1:20:40] to maneuver
[1:20:41] through this cave system.
[1:20:43] With the first survivor
[1:20:44] to get out,
[1:20:45] divers say they basically
[1:20:46] just sandwiched him
[1:20:47] between them
[1:20:48] in order to squeeze him through.
[1:20:50] He was not entirely steady
[1:20:52] on his feet
[1:20:53] as he was let out.
[1:20:54] He was covered in mud
[1:20:55] but he was met there
[1:20:56] with his father.
[1:20:58] Rescuers are going to be
[1:20:59] showing this video
[1:21:00] of the jubilation
[1:21:01] to the other four
[1:21:02] as proof that they can
[1:21:04] do it too, Tom.
[1:21:06] Janice, I've got to say
[1:21:07] I'm just kind of stunned
[1:21:08] that we've got
[1:21:09] some sort of video
[1:21:10] or internet connection
[1:21:11] down deep into that cave.
[1:21:13] We can see
[1:21:14] the guy who's stuck
[1:21:15] inside there.
[1:21:16] They can play video
[1:21:18] back to him.
[1:21:19] How is that all transpiring?
[1:21:21] Have they run some sort
[1:21:22] of a fiber optic line
[1:21:23] down there?
[1:21:24] How are they doing this?
[1:21:28] This has been incredible
[1:21:29] and they've been pumping
[1:21:30] water out of the cave system.
[1:21:32] That's step one
[1:21:33] because the roots
[1:21:34] can get cut off in minutes
[1:21:35] and there was a storm overnight
[1:21:36] so this has made it
[1:21:37] all the more complicated.
[1:21:39] These tunnels
[1:21:39] are extremely narrow.
[1:21:41] There are sharp rocks.
[1:21:42] Visibility underwater
[1:21:43] nearly zero.
[1:21:44] It's all mud and clay
[1:21:45] apparently.
[1:21:46] It takes a very special
[1:21:48] skill set for the divers
[1:21:49] to do this
[1:21:50] and some of the passages
[1:21:51] are so tight
[1:21:52] that they're actually
[1:21:53] struggling to squeeze
[1:21:54] through with oxygen tanks
[1:21:55] and it's why
[1:21:56] one of the biggest
[1:21:57] challenges here
[1:21:58] may be confidence, Tom,
[1:22:00] to have these four men
[1:22:01] who are left psychologically
[1:22:02] ready to overcome
[1:22:03] the risk of panic.
[1:22:04] That is the one thing
[1:22:06] rescuers can attempt
[1:22:07] to control
[1:22:07] to ensure all the men
[1:22:09] get out safely.
[1:22:10] As we saw
[1:22:11] with that cave rescue
[1:22:12] in 2018
[1:22:13] with the 12 boys
[1:22:15] and their soccer coach
[1:22:16] that had been stuck there
[1:22:17] for 18 days,
[1:22:19] the more these pictures
[1:22:20] and videos
[1:22:21] of the predicament,
[1:22:23] the perilous mission
[1:22:24] got out to the rest
[1:22:26] of the world,
[1:22:27] the more attention
[1:22:28] there was
[1:22:28] on what was happening.
[1:22:30] Help was arriving
[1:22:31] from different countries,
[1:22:33] specialized divers
[1:22:34] offering to volunteer,
[1:22:36] oxygen tanks,
[1:22:37] so it really does become
[1:22:39] an international effort.
[1:22:41] That's the power
[1:22:41] of these images
[1:22:42] and remember
[1:22:43] the other day
[1:22:44] the absolute elation
[1:22:46] in finding
[1:22:48] these five men
[1:22:49] sitting on a ledge
[1:22:51] after so many days.
[1:22:52] So again,
[1:22:53] it's the power
[1:22:53] of the pictures here
[1:22:55] and they are going
[1:22:56] to be showing
[1:22:56] these pictures
[1:22:57] to the four men
[1:22:57] who are still trapped there
[1:22:59] to say,
[1:22:59] look,
[1:23:00] it's going to be hard.
[1:23:01] You need to muster
[1:23:03] the strength,
[1:23:03] but you can do it.
[1:23:06] My goodness gracious,
[1:23:07] that's amazing.
[1:23:07] Janice Mackey-Frayer,
[1:23:09] thank you very much.
[1:23:10] New details
[1:23:11] into us right now
[1:23:12] on how Hawaii police
[1:23:13] caught the 36-year-old man
[1:23:15] suspected of killing
[1:23:16] three people
[1:23:17] in 48 hours.
[1:23:18] So that is
[1:23:19] Jacob Baker's mugshot
[1:23:21] right there.
[1:23:21] Police say witnesses
[1:23:22] called in with tips
[1:23:23] after seeing him
[1:23:24] hiding from traffic
[1:23:26] and surveillance video
[1:23:27] caught him fleeing
[1:23:28] from one property
[1:23:29] to another
[1:23:29] before officers
[1:23:30] finally arrested
[1:23:31] their suspect
[1:23:32] hiding in a small cave.
[1:23:34] NBC's Camilla Bernal
[1:23:35] has been tracking
[1:23:36] this story for us.
[1:23:37] She joins us now.
[1:23:38] Camilla,
[1:23:38] what kind of charges
[1:23:39] might Mr. Baker
[1:23:40] be facing
[1:23:41] and what else
[1:23:41] are we learning
[1:23:42] about those three people
[1:23:43] who were killed?
[1:23:45] Hey, Tom,
[1:23:46] so authorities say
[1:23:47] he's facing
[1:23:47] second-degree murder charges
[1:23:48] and reporters asked,
[1:23:51] is it going to be upgraded
[1:23:52] to a first-degree murder charge?
[1:23:54] And police today
[1:23:54] saying they're not sure yet,
[1:23:56] but he is facing
[1:23:56] a number of other charges
[1:23:58] for killing
[1:23:59] three different people,
[1:24:00] two 69-year-olds
[1:24:01] and a 79-year-old.
[1:24:03] Authorities saying
[1:24:03] that the first two victims
[1:24:05] were found within
[1:24:05] four or 500 feet
[1:24:07] of each other.
[1:24:08] So because of the proximity,
[1:24:09] because of the similarity
[1:24:11] in the injuries,
[1:24:12] they were able
[1:24:13] to link everything together.
[1:24:14] But they do say
[1:24:15] this was a multi-agency effort
[1:24:17] to get him arrested.
[1:24:19] But they also say
[1:24:20] they were able
[1:24:20] to arrest him
[1:24:21] without incident.
[1:24:22] Here is the promise
[1:24:23] that the mayor made
[1:24:24] to this community.
[1:24:25] To our island Ohana,
[1:24:28] please be reassured
[1:24:29] that we will do
[1:24:31] everything in our power
[1:24:32] to protect our residents
[1:24:34] and to ensure
[1:24:34] that every person
[1:24:36] in our community
[1:24:36] feels safe.
[1:24:38] And that's because
[1:24:40] members of this community
[1:24:41] were terrified
[1:24:42] over the last few days
[1:24:43] about this situation.
[1:24:45] And like you said,
[1:24:46] it was thanks to
[1:24:47] one member of the public,
[1:24:49] one tip that essentially
[1:24:50] got authorities
[1:24:51] to this location.
[1:24:53] They saw him hiding
[1:24:54] in the grassy area
[1:24:56] there next to the road.
[1:24:57] And that's how police
[1:24:58] were able to pull
[1:24:59] the surveillance video
[1:25:00] and then find him
[1:25:01] in the neighboring property
[1:25:03] when they went
[1:25:04] and found that small cave.
[1:25:05] And so now authorities
[1:25:07] just trying to piece together
[1:25:08] exactly what happened.
[1:25:09] They say, yes,
[1:25:10] they are connected,
[1:25:10] but they haven't specified
[1:25:12] many of the connections
[1:25:13] and the motive
[1:25:14] in this case, Tom.
[1:25:15] All right, Camilla Bernal,
[1:25:17] thank you very much.
[1:25:18] Over now to the five things
[1:25:19] our team thinks
[1:25:20] you may want to know about
[1:25:20] on this Friday.
[1:25:21] Number one,
[1:25:22] we are learning
[1:25:23] the two children
[1:25:23] are among the five people
[1:25:25] killed after a bus crash
[1:25:27] in Virginia early this morning.
[1:25:29] Police say the bus
[1:25:29] did not slow down
[1:25:31] as traffic approached
[1:25:32] a work zone on I-95 overnight.
[1:25:35] All five victims
[1:25:35] were inside cars
[1:25:37] that the bus hit
[1:25:38] in the chain reaction crash.
[1:25:40] 44 people treated
[1:25:41] at local hospitals.
[1:25:43] Virginia State Police
[1:25:44] say charges are pending
[1:25:45] against that bus driver.
[1:25:47] Number two,
[1:25:47] Louisiana lawmakers
[1:25:48] just passed a new
[1:25:49] congressional map today
[1:25:51] eliminating one of the state's
[1:25:53] two majority black districts.
[1:25:55] The new map
[1:25:56] is expected to help
[1:25:57] elect five Republicans
[1:25:58] and one Democrat
[1:25:59] to Congress
[1:26:00] during this year's midterms.
[1:26:02] The redraw comes
[1:26:03] after the Supreme Court
[1:26:04] declared the state's
[1:26:05] previous map
[1:26:05] to be racial gerrymandering.
[1:26:08] Number three,
[1:26:09] a Kenyan court
[1:26:10] has temporarily blocked
[1:26:11] the United States
[1:26:12] from setting up
[1:26:13] an Ebola quarantine facility
[1:26:15] in that country
[1:26:16] after a lawsuit argued
[1:26:18] the site could endanger
[1:26:19] public health.
[1:26:20] U.S. officials
[1:26:21] say the 50-bed unit
[1:26:22] at the military base
[1:26:23] would serve Americans
[1:26:25] who've been exposed
[1:26:25] to the virus
[1:26:26] but did not show
[1:26:27] any symptoms.
[1:26:28] The next hearing
[1:26:29] for the case
[1:26:29] scheduled for next Tuesday.
[1:26:31] Number four,
[1:26:32] scary moments
[1:26:33] after a car ended up,
[1:26:34] look at that,
[1:26:35] inside the terminal
[1:26:36] at Detroit Metro Airport.
[1:26:39] A man was seen
[1:26:39] driving against traffic
[1:26:41] and going around barriers
[1:26:42] before slamming
[1:26:43] into the building.
[1:26:45] No weapons
[1:26:45] were found inside the car.
[1:26:46] Police say
[1:26:47] the 67-year-old driver
[1:26:48] was very disoriented
[1:26:50] and told them
[1:26:51] he was there
[1:26:52] to meet Tom Cruise.
[1:26:53] No charges yet
[1:26:54] against that driver.
[1:26:56] Number five,
[1:26:56] look at this.
[1:26:57] Eight people stuck
[1:26:58] on a roller coaster
[1:27:00] nearly 100 feet
[1:27:01] above the ground
[1:27:02] in Galveston, Texas.
[1:27:04] The amusement park
[1:27:04] says the ride
[1:27:05] malfunctioned,
[1:27:07] causing it to stop.
[1:27:08] The eight kids
[1:27:09] who were there
[1:27:10] on top
[1:27:10] on a field trip
[1:27:11] were stuck vertically
[1:27:13] for hours.
[1:27:15] Everybody was brought
[1:27:15] down safely
[1:27:16] and thankfully,
[1:27:18] nobody injured.
[1:27:20] I'd have vertigo.
[1:27:21] Coming up from us,
[1:27:22] record-setting heat
[1:27:23] sending Europe
[1:27:24] to a boiling point.
[1:27:26] How soon there might
[1:27:26] be relief there?
[1:27:28] Plus the fireball
[1:27:29] that derailed commuters
[1:27:30] in New York City.
[1:27:31] The efforts to get
[1:27:32] the ride home
[1:27:33] back on track.
[1:27:41] We're back.
[1:27:42] Still no sign
[1:27:43] of relief for people
[1:27:44] in Western Europe
[1:27:44] as a deadly heat wave
[1:27:46] continues to bake
[1:27:47] the region.
[1:27:48] The hot weather
[1:27:49] is stretching
[1:27:49] across France
[1:27:50] where seven people
[1:27:52] have died.
[1:27:53] While in the U.K.,
[1:27:54] drowning cases
[1:27:55] have increased
[1:27:55] as people try
[1:27:56] to cool down
[1:27:57] on the water there.
[1:27:58] It's not letting up.
[1:27:59] Portugal today
[1:27:59] saw its hottest day
[1:28:01] ever in May,
[1:28:02] over 100 degrees
[1:28:03] Fahrenheit there.
[1:28:04] Bill Karens joins us now.
[1:28:06] Bill, this is an example
[1:28:07] of what the heat dome is,
[1:28:09] I guess,
[1:28:10] that you describe
[1:28:10] an awful lot.
[1:28:11] So how is this heat dome
[1:28:13] affecting Western Europe?
[1:28:15] This is not normal for May.
[1:28:17] No.
[1:28:17] If this was a middle of July,
[1:28:19] we'd say,
[1:28:19] okay, you know,
[1:28:20] Europe's in the heat wave.
[1:28:21] That's why people tell you
[1:28:22] don't visit Europe,
[1:28:23] especially in the middle
[1:28:24] of July, in many areas.
[1:28:26] A lot of places
[1:28:26] don't have air conditioning.
[1:28:27] I saw one stat today
[1:28:28] that said only 20%
[1:28:29] of Europe has air conditioning.
[1:28:31] So when you get
[1:28:32] a heat wave like this,
[1:28:33] this unusually early
[1:28:34] in the season
[1:28:34] where our bodies
[1:28:35] aren't really acclimated
[1:28:36] to it,
[1:28:37] that's when we get in trouble.
[1:28:38] That's when, you know,
[1:28:39] we're talking
[1:28:39] about all these fatalities.
[1:28:40] So the jet stream
[1:28:41] controls the weather
[1:28:42] in the northern hemisphere
[1:28:43] that has not moved much
[1:28:44] in the last seven days.
[1:28:45] And that's why
[1:28:46] over the last week,
[1:28:47] we've seen record highs
[1:28:48] kind of widespread
[1:28:48] throughout many portions
[1:28:50] of Europe.
[1:28:50] The worst of it
[1:28:51] has been in areas
[1:28:52] of Spain, Portugal,
[1:28:53] and in France,
[1:28:54] and a little bit there,
[1:28:55] especially the southern
[1:28:56] half of England.
[1:28:57] And because of what
[1:28:57] we call a heat dome,
[1:28:58] that's air,
[1:28:59] that's hot air
[1:28:59] that's just trapped.
[1:29:00] The sun just continues
[1:29:01] to bake on it,
[1:29:02] and it just gets warmer
[1:29:03] and warmer every day.
[1:29:04] And the thing that really
[1:29:05] causes problems
[1:29:06] is that night,
[1:29:07] the air doesn't cool off.
[1:29:08] And that's when people
[1:29:09] are trying to sleep
[1:29:09] and trying to get their rest.
[1:29:11] And then if it happens
[1:29:11] day after day,
[1:29:12] it's pretty bad.
[1:29:12] So today,
[1:29:13] Madrid was 97 degrees.
[1:29:16] We were a little bit
[1:29:16] cooler in London,
[1:29:17] so that's the beginning
[1:29:18] of your cool down.
[1:29:19] Paris was still pretty warm,
[1:29:20] but not as bad.
[1:29:22] And as we look towards tomorrow,
[1:29:23] it's kind of the last day
[1:29:25] of the real heat,
[1:29:26] even at this time of night,
[1:29:27] where we're close to,
[1:29:27] again, close to late in the evening
[1:29:29] and near midnight.
[1:29:30] It's still 79 in Paris.
[1:29:32] Areas like Madrid
[1:29:33] are also at 79.
[1:29:34] And then this weekend,
[1:29:35] tomorrow's another hot day.
[1:29:36] Look at Madrid, 96.
[1:29:38] Other areas, 81.
[1:29:39] And Marseille about 88.
[1:29:41] But it will cool off
[1:29:42] towards Sunday.
[1:29:43] The only problems
[1:29:43] we have watching here
[1:29:44] in the lower 48, Tom,
[1:29:46] is this storm coming down
[1:29:47] in northern New England.
[1:29:48] And I promise you on Monday,
[1:29:50] you are going to see pictures
[1:29:51] of snow from over the weekend
[1:29:53] in northern New England,
[1:29:54] mostly in the mountains.
[1:29:55] But yes, it's almost June.
[1:29:57] Okay, so I got a choice.
[1:29:58] 95 degrees in Paris
[1:29:59] or snow in the upper east coast.
[1:30:04] I may take the snow
[1:30:05] just for a couple of days.
[1:30:07] Yeah, it's a tough call
[1:30:08] without air conditioning.
[1:30:10] I've been there.
[1:30:10] It's hot in the summer
[1:30:11] without A.C.
[1:30:12] Bill, thank you.
[1:30:13] NBC covers hundreds
[1:30:14] of stories each day.
[1:30:15] You know, it's almost impossible
[1:30:17] to read, to watch,
[1:30:18] to listen to them all.
[1:30:20] So our bureau teams
[1:30:21] have selected some highlights.
[1:30:22] This is what they tell us
[1:30:23] is going down in their regions.
[1:30:25] We call it the local.
[1:30:26] From our northeast bureau,
[1:30:28] check out the scary scene
[1:30:30] from inside the country's
[1:30:31] busiest tunnel.
[1:30:33] The damage from that fireball
[1:30:34] right there, halted trains
[1:30:36] in and out of Penn Station
[1:30:37] this morning.
[1:30:37] It was sparked after two
[1:30:39] Amtrak work trains collided.
[1:30:42] Five transit workers
[1:30:43] were injured.
[1:30:44] Trains are running tonight,
[1:30:45] but commuters are being told
[1:30:46] to expect delays.
[1:30:48] From our western bureau,
[1:30:50] that's fire and smoke
[1:30:51] coming from an Oregon river.
[1:30:53] At least two floating homes
[1:30:55] ignited overnight.
[1:30:56] Firefighters had a hard time
[1:30:57] getting to the river
[1:30:58] to get the situation under control.
[1:31:01] Thankfully, nobody injured.
[1:31:02] Not clear at all
[1:31:03] what started a fire.
[1:31:04] From our southern bureau,
[1:31:06] a loud boom.
[1:31:11] There it is,
[1:31:11] that loud boom,
[1:31:12] rather turning an awful lot
[1:31:14] of heads in South Carolina.
[1:31:16] The U.S. Geological Survey
[1:31:17] says it was a sonic boom
[1:31:19] that happens when an object
[1:31:21] in the sky travels faster
[1:31:22] than the speed of sound.
[1:31:24] No word yet
[1:31:25] on what might have cost it.
[1:31:28] Still ahead from us,
[1:31:29] a deep dive into deep fakes.
[1:31:31] How a journalist
[1:31:32] and a reality TV star
[1:31:34] are working together
[1:31:35] to expose illicit fake content
[1:31:37] that's in our original.
[1:31:39] We're back with our original
[1:31:47] in-depth reporting
[1:31:48] on a hot topic
[1:31:49] and the disturbing rise
[1:31:50] of AI-generated
[1:31:52] deep fake pornography
[1:31:53] with a focus on
[1:31:55] a first-of-its-kind documentary
[1:31:57] designed specifically
[1:31:58] for TikTok
[1:31:58] posted to Paris Hilton's account.
[1:32:01] It chronicles the investigation
[1:32:03] into the man believed
[1:32:04] to be behind
[1:32:05] one of the Internet's
[1:32:06] most notorious
[1:32:07] deep fake pornography websites.
[1:32:09] and Mrs. Chloe Malas
[1:32:10] has the story.
[1:32:13] Artificial intelligence
[1:32:15] is moving at lightning speed.
[1:32:17] It was in this dystopian
[1:32:19] AI fantasy world.
[1:32:21] But tonight,
[1:32:22] growing concern
[1:32:22] over one of its darkest uses,
[1:32:25] sexually explicit
[1:32:26] deep fake pornography.
[1:32:28] Experts estimate
[1:32:29] the vast majority
[1:32:30] of deep fake videos online
[1:32:32] are pornographic
[1:32:32] and that almost all of them
[1:32:34] target women.
[1:32:36] Now journalist Lori Siegel
[1:32:37] sounding the alarm
[1:32:38] on one website
[1:32:40] that became ground zero
[1:32:41] for this abuse.
[1:32:42] All of a sudden,
[1:32:43] I'm seeing these horrific
[1:32:45] AI-generated
[1:32:47] sexually explicit
[1:32:47] deep fakes of women,
[1:32:49] many of them public-facing,
[1:32:50] who didn't consent.
[1:32:51] I typed this into my browser
[1:32:53] and I was blown away
[1:32:56] by what I saw.
[1:32:57] Siegel,
[1:32:58] a longtime tech reporter
[1:32:59] and founder of
[1:33:00] Mostly Human Media,
[1:33:01] says she first discovered
[1:33:02] the website
[1:33:03] Mr. Deepfakes
[1:33:04] in 2022.
[1:33:05] At its height,
[1:33:06] the platform drew
[1:33:07] millions of visitors a month,
[1:33:09] hosting AI-generated
[1:33:11] fake pornography
[1:33:12] and forums where users
[1:33:13] could allegedly request
[1:33:15] explicit videos of women
[1:33:16] and learn how to make them.
[1:33:18] So I looked at Mr. Deepfakes
[1:33:20] as essentially
[1:33:20] a training ground
[1:33:22] for a new type of
[1:33:23] digital AI-generated abuse.
[1:33:25] Like, I wanted to find,
[1:33:26] like, the man behind it
[1:33:27] had been anonymous
[1:33:27] for six years.
[1:33:29] Lori's years-long investigation
[1:33:30] caught the attention
[1:33:31] of Paris Hilton,
[1:33:33] and instead of producing
[1:33:34] a standard documentary,
[1:33:36] it was released this week
[1:33:37] in a novel format
[1:33:38] where a new generation
[1:33:40] can watch it,
[1:33:41] a 14-part vertical series
[1:33:42] on Hilton's TikTok.
[1:33:44] Stop scrolling.
[1:33:45] I need to tell you
[1:33:46] something very important.
[1:33:47] The series racking up
[1:33:48] millions of views.
[1:33:49] She isn't someone
[1:33:50] who just put her face on this.
[1:33:51] She became actively
[1:33:52] involved in this.
[1:33:53] With some commenters writing,
[1:33:55] this is unreal.
[1:33:56] Been binge-watching
[1:33:57] with my teenage girls
[1:33:58] and their friends.
[1:33:59] Another writing,
[1:34:00] let's make this world
[1:34:01] better for us
[1:34:02] and our daughters.
[1:34:03] The comments
[1:34:04] are just incredible.
[1:34:05] It's people sharing
[1:34:06] their own deep-fake
[1:34:07] abuse stories.
[1:34:08] Hilton became
[1:34:08] one of the most famous
[1:34:09] victims of non-consensual
[1:34:11] pornography after a real
[1:34:12] private video was leaked
[1:34:14] in 2004 when she was
[1:34:15] just 19.
[1:34:17] She's now one of
[1:34:17] the loudest voices
[1:34:19] pushing for stronger
[1:34:20] protections against
[1:34:21] AI-generated abuse.
[1:34:23] Deep-fake pornography
[1:34:24] has become an epidemic.
[1:34:26] Earlier this year,
[1:34:27] Hilton joined lawmakers
[1:34:28] on Capitol Hill
[1:34:29] advocating for the
[1:34:30] Bipartisan Defiance Act,
[1:34:32] legislation designed
[1:34:33] to give victims
[1:34:34] of non-consensual
[1:34:35] AI-generated
[1:34:36] sexual imagery
[1:34:37] more legal recourse.
[1:34:39] I know today
[1:34:39] that there are
[1:34:40] over 100,000
[1:34:42] explicit deep-fake
[1:34:43] images of me
[1:34:44] made by AI.
[1:34:46] 100,000
[1:34:47] circulating the internet.
[1:34:49] Lawmakers are responding
[1:34:50] with things like
[1:34:51] the Take It Down Act,
[1:34:52] which requires platforms
[1:34:54] at the request
[1:34:55] of victims
[1:34:55] to remove
[1:34:56] intimate content
[1:34:57] posted online
[1:34:58] without consent.
[1:35:00] But researchers
[1:35:00] from the Oxford
[1:35:01] Internet Institute
[1:35:02] say more than
[1:35:03] 35,000 tools
[1:35:05] are available
[1:35:06] on the internet
[1:35:07] to create deep-fakes.
[1:35:08] And nearly
[1:35:09] one in eight teens
[1:35:10] personally know
[1:35:11] someone targeted
[1:35:12] by deep-fake nudes,
[1:35:13] according to a
[1:35:14] non-profit that
[1:35:15] builds technology
[1:35:16] to defend children
[1:35:17] from sexual abuse.
[1:35:19] Siegel believes
[1:35:19] she found Mr. Deep-Fakes.
[1:35:21] She confronts him
[1:35:22] in her series.
[1:35:23] He wouldn't respond,
[1:35:24] nor has he spoken
[1:35:25] out publicly elsewhere.
[1:35:26] I'm just trying
[1:35:28] to understand why.
[1:35:29] It's real harm.
[1:35:34] It's real harm.
[1:35:35] Mr. Deep-Fake's
[1:35:36] website was shut
[1:35:37] down last year
[1:35:38] amid mounting
[1:35:39] public and legal
[1:35:40] pressure, in part
[1:35:41] because of Siegel's
[1:35:42] work and other
[1:35:43] ongoing investigations.
[1:35:45] NBC was unable
[1:35:46] to reach him for
[1:35:47] comment.
[1:35:47] To date, he hasn't
[1:35:48] faced any legal
[1:35:49] consequences.
[1:35:51] But it's not just
[1:35:52] about one website.
[1:35:53] Paris is a mom.
[1:35:54] I am now a mom.
[1:35:55] This might have been
[1:35:56] a search for an
[1:35:57] underground anonymous
[1:35:59] operator who was
[1:36:00] doing bad things
[1:36:00] online.
[1:36:01] This was actually
[1:36:02] just fighting for
[1:36:03] a better reality
[1:36:04] for our children.
[1:36:04] Two mothers pushing
[1:36:06] for accountability
[1:36:06] in the AI era,
[1:36:08] now and in the future.
[1:36:10] Chloe Malas, NBC News.
[1:36:13] Coming up from
[1:36:13] Malas, the new effort
[1:36:14] to put President
[1:36:15] Trump's face
[1:36:16] in your wallet.
[1:36:22] Okay, so we told
[1:36:23] you about the legal
[1:36:23] battle over the
[1:36:24] Kennedy Center's name
[1:36:25] earlier with a judge
[1:36:26] saying that President
[1:36:27] Trump cannot rename
[1:36:28] it after himself.
[1:36:29] It's not the only one,
[1:36:31] of course.
[1:36:31] The president has a
[1:36:32] long history of putting
[1:36:33] his name or his face
[1:36:34] on just about everything.
[1:36:37] NBC's Monica Alba
[1:36:38] has the breakdown
[1:36:38] on the push to put
[1:36:39] the president on
[1:36:40] a new $250 bill
[1:36:43] and why that effort
[1:36:44] may run into some
[1:36:45] very big legal
[1:36:46] hurdles as well.
[1:36:48] A new push
[1:36:50] from Trump appointees
[1:36:51] to give paper bills
[1:36:52] a facelift,
[1:36:53] with the Treasury
[1:36:54] Department saying
[1:36:54] it's getting ready
[1:36:55] to print $250 bills
[1:36:57] with President Trump's
[1:36:58] face on them.
[1:36:59] There's just one hiccup.
[1:37:00] It's against the law
[1:37:01] to put a living person
[1:37:02] on U.S. currency.
[1:37:04] It hasn't been done
[1:37:05] in more than 150 years.
[1:37:07] Treasury Secretary
[1:37:08] Scott Besson
[1:37:08] addressing the effort
[1:37:09] as the United States
[1:37:10] gears up for its
[1:37:11] 250th birthday.
[1:37:13] I don't think
[1:37:14] that there's anything
[1:37:15] untoward about having
[1:37:16] the president of the
[1:37:17] United States,
[1:37:18] that the person
[1:37:19] who was president
[1:37:19] of the United States
[1:37:20] on the 250th anniversary
[1:37:22] bill.
[1:37:23] Adding there's proposed
[1:37:24] legislation on Capitol Hill
[1:37:25] to change the requirement
[1:37:26] so the sitting president
[1:37:27] could be on the bill.
[1:37:29] But that act
[1:37:29] was introduced
[1:37:30] more than a year ago
[1:37:31] and Independence Day
[1:37:32] is rapidly approaching.
[1:37:34] The president,
[1:37:34] long known to plaster
[1:37:35] his name on real estate,
[1:37:37] has been literally
[1:37:38] leaving his mark
[1:37:38] on American institutions.
[1:37:40] His administration
[1:37:41] tacking his name
[1:37:42] onto the Kennedy Center
[1:37:43] for the Performing Arts,
[1:37:44] a move a judge
[1:37:45] ordered reversed
[1:37:46] just today.
[1:37:47] But also rolling out
[1:37:48] other Trump-branded
[1:37:49] government programs
[1:37:50] like discount drug site
[1:37:51] TrumpRx
[1:37:51] and Trump's savings accounts,
[1:37:53] putting his face
[1:37:54] in some passports
[1:37:55] to be issued this summer
[1:37:56] and even hoisting up
[1:37:57] banners at the Justice
[1:37:58] Department,
[1:37:59] leading to criticism.
[1:38:00] But it doesn't stop there
[1:38:02] as the president
[1:38:02] seems to like
[1:38:03] putting his stamp
[1:38:04] on money.
[1:38:05] In March,
[1:38:05] the Treasury said
[1:38:06] it would include
[1:38:06] President Trump's signature
[1:38:07] on paper currency,
[1:38:09] a first for president
[1:38:10] while in office.
[1:38:12] And a federal commission
[1:38:12] of Trump-appointed members
[1:38:14] approved the president's face
[1:38:15] on 24-carat
[1:38:16] commemorative gold coins.
[1:38:18] But significantly changing
[1:38:20] legal tender
[1:38:20] can be a bigger lift.
[1:38:22] A decade ago now
[1:38:22] that the Obama administration
[1:38:24] released plans
[1:38:25] to replace former president
[1:38:26] Andrew Jackson,
[1:38:27] a slave owner,
[1:38:28] on the $20 bill
[1:38:29] with Harriet Tubman,
[1:38:30] a civil rights leader
[1:38:31] who escaped slavery.
[1:38:33] Trump always lukewarm
[1:38:34] on that proposal.
[1:38:35] I think Harriet Tubman
[1:38:36] is fantastic.
[1:38:37] I would love to,
[1:38:38] I would love to leave
[1:38:39] Andrew Jackson
[1:38:40] and see if we can
[1:38:41] maybe come up
[1:38:42] with another denomination.
[1:38:44] Maybe we do the $2 bill
[1:38:45] or we do another bill.
[1:38:47] The whole initiative
[1:38:47] essentially stalled.
[1:38:49] Flash forward to now.
[1:38:50] The Treasury Department
[1:38:51] says it's ready
[1:38:52] to print the new bills
[1:38:53] if it gets the green light
[1:38:54] from Congress,
[1:38:55] potentially leaving
[1:38:56] the president's legacy
[1:38:57] on Americans' money
[1:38:58] in more ways than one.
[1:39:00] Monica Alba,
[1:39:01] NBC News,
[1:39:02] the White House.
[1:39:03] Monica, thank you.
[1:39:05] Also at this hour,
[1:39:06] NBC News has learned
[1:39:07] the White House
[1:39:08] will require service members
[1:39:09] to meet size requirements
[1:39:11] to go to that UFC match
[1:39:13] at the White House.
[1:39:14] They'll also have to pay
[1:39:15] their own travel expenses.
[1:39:16] The Pentagon
[1:39:17] is declining to comment.
[1:39:19] That is a wrap for us
[1:39:20] at this hour.
[1:39:21] You're watching
[1:39:21] Hallie Jackson now.
[1:39:23] We thank you for watching
[1:39:24] and remember,
[1:39:25] stay updated on breaking news
[1:39:27] and top stories
[1:39:27] on the NBC News app
[1:39:29] or watch live
[1:39:30] on our YouTube channel.