NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Monday, September 28, 2026

Episode Date: September 29, 2026

Deadly storm slams East Coast; Cornell University alleged fraternity rape investigation reopened; Police accuse in-laws in murder of New York Times executive; and more on tonight’s broadcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight the deadly nor'easter delivering a powerful final punch after pounding the East Coast for days. The monster storm battering coastal communities, this car swept into the ocean, a school bus in Massachusetts dangling over a river. People kayaking through floodwaters in New York City, trees taking down power lines, the race to get power up and running. Rape allegations rocking an Ivy League campus, a woman accusing seven fraternity brothers, while the DA is re-opened. opening the investigation now after deciding not to prosecute years ago. The New York Times Tech Executive gunned down in broad daylight. His in-laws arrested for murder. What led up to the shooting?

New twist in the alleged terror plot targeting a UK-based used by the U.S. Police releasing the suspects, President Trump blasting that decision today, was Iran behind the plot. Horrifying scenes out of Ukraine, men clinging to the side of a burning-down. building after a Russian drone strike, how they nearly escaped. Growing questions after this video of an older man delivering luggage to help pay for his wife's cancer treatment went viral. Why the GoFundMe was taken down and $700,000 in donations refunded.

Deadly Nepal landslide, a mountain partially collapsing, sweeping away everything in its path. Historic SpaceX launched the fiery splash down after the world's most powerful rocket reached orbit what it means for the future of space travel. Rod Stewart's final encore, the singing legend confirming his last tour after six decades on stage. And there's good news tonight. The incredible roadside assist from a group of high schoolers after a woman's car broke down with traffic rushing by. Nightly News starts right now. This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. And good evening. We thank you for joining us on this Monday night. We want to begin with the deadly fall nor'easter that's still lashing the East Coast tonight, leaving millions under flood alerts and thousands without power. The storm swamping parts of Massachusetts right now and whipping up these monster waves. This car somehow ended up stranded in the ocean. Parts of New Jersey hardest hit entire towns you see them here flooded out. Several cars suburged in water. One local using his boat to navigate these streets. streets. And this video shows what looks like a shark swimming down a New Jersey road. And look at these

sailboats. One beached on its side, another dragged along the coast, destroying parts of a pier there. The threat's still very active tonight as the storm churns north. Meanwhile, look at this in the southwest. We're tracking a potentially dangerous multi-day flooding event that starts today. We begin with Aaron McLaughlin in hard hit Long Island, New York. A monster storm slamming into the eastern seaboard. Bringing intense wind, rain, flooded streets, massive waves, and killing at least one. All from a nor'easter that's been pounding much of the East Coast for days. Tonight, six million remain under coastal flood alerts in areas from the Carolinas to Massachusetts.

Where today in the rain, a school bus went off the road. Police say there were no kids on board and the driver was not hurt. The exact cause of the crash still under investigation. Meanwhile in Queens, New York over the weekend, these kayakers paddling through floodwaters. And in New Jersey, this video shows a sailboat crushing a pier, leaving very little behind. My dog just got this shot. Another shows flooding so severe. Is that a little shark?

A possible dogfish shark was spotted swimming around over the weekend. And now, with the worst behind us, there's an all-out effort to clean up in Huntington, Long Island. Close to 300 trees were down since Friday. The ground is saturated and they're just falling over. It's a struggle to clear the growing number of down trees. Officials say this is the scenario that concerns them most. A massive tree falls across power lines and a streetlight. There's the crosswalk.

And it's right across the way from a local school. Officials say the tree's been there since Friday. Today in New Jersey, beach is closed, transformed into debris fields. all of it taking a toll on millions. And a season of nor'easter storms has just begun. So what happens to all of those hundreds of trees down all over the northeast? Aaron McLaughlin joins us from Hunting Long Island, where crews have been piling them up in that area.

Aaron. That's right, Tom. This just shows the sheer impact of this storm. These are all trees taken out by this noreaster. Trees that have been blocking roads and taking the, down power lines. Crews have been piling them up here. It's a process that's expected to last through tomorrow. Tom. Aaron McLaughlin leading us off. I want to bring in Bill Kerrins now. Bill, extreme weather on both coast. You're tracking something in the southwest shore viewers.

Yeah, another unusual weather situation. We have monsoonal moisture that's going to combine with a powerful hurricane and it's all heading for New Mexico and eventually into the plane. So here's Polo. We're going to make landfall as we go throughout this evening as a major hurricane. It combines with all of this tropical moisture in Arizona, New Mexico. Tomorrow we are going to get drenched in New Mexico. Very late in the season for this much rainfall. We get up rainfall rates up 2 inches per hour. This is a level 3 out of 4 in this maroon color, all areas of New Mexico and sliding up into Colorado.

Rainfall totals could be as much as 4 to 5 inches. And then the rest of the week, this continues with heavy rainfall moving into Texas, a multi-day rainfall threat. Tom, this area is under a drought. We want the rain. We just don't want it all at once. We'll stay on top of that system all week, Bill. We thank you.

We turn out of those rape allegations rocking an Ivy League campus and the growing outrage tonight that the investigation was originally dropped. Now it's being reopened. Our Maggie Vespa reports from the campus of Cornell University in upstate New York and a warning the details of the allegations are disturbing. Tonight, New York prosecutors reopening their criminal investigation into an alleged rape on Cornell University's campus. This less than two weeks,

after a female student IDed only as Jane Doe sued, among others, the university, the Kai five fraternity, and seven then members alleging they drugged and sexually assaulted her at a party back in 2024. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houghton, who declined to charge the seven members at the time, says Jane Doe initially described the encounter as consensual. Now that this lawsuit has been filed, that raises the question that Jane Doe believes there's additional evidence. We want to talk to her. We want to flesh out with her what that additional evidence is. Jane Doe's attorney tonight responding. The reason it took two years to file the lawsuit is

my client took time to heal. She wanted to give Cornell the opportunity to make this right, because this was her expectation. In the lawsuit, the female student says she went to the fraternity house after drinking, where members asked her to participate in a threesome, pressured her into snorting ketamine, and assaulted her over the course of hours. The suit describes her at one point as incapacitated, saying the encounter was not consensual, and includes Snapchat messages allegedly sent within the fraternity, which the lawsuit describes as encouraging members

to join in on the gang rape. Cornell, at the time, conducting its own investigation, which the university says in a statement resulted in administrators banning the chapter in addition to suspensions and expulsions. Jeremy Salon represents Scott Kretschmar, one of the accused fraternity members. He had nothing to do with any touching of her, any drugs involved with her, any type of inappropriate

contact or communication with her, period. Maggie is live on Cornell's campus tonight and joins us now. Maggie, what can we expect from the DA in the coming days? Yeah, Tom, he says he'll present the case to a grand jury within 45 days, adding Jane Doe will testify. We should also note we reached out to the other six accused fraternity members. So far, no response. Tom. Maggie Vespeth for us.

Maggie, thank you. In California, police are investigating the murder in broad daylight of a New York Times executive who police say was gunned down by his in-laws. Here's Dana Griffin. Video appears to show the moment an elderly married couple was taken into custody after allegedly murdering 40-year-old Jonathan McKinsey, a New York Times engineering executive, he's also their son-in-law. Dublin, California police say McKinsey was found dead Saturday afternoon

in a parking lot of a popular park shot multiple times. And that thanks to several witnesses, within minutes, police had his in-laws in handcuffs. Shoyang and Shili Chin, both 77 years old, have been booked on suspicion of murder. Police have not released a motive. According to the booking sheet, the couple may also face charges of child abuse with great bodily harm. Police have not confirmed whether a child was hurt during Saturday's shooting. All of it happening amid what court records show, was a months-long contentious divorce and custody battle between the victim and his wife.

Following his wife's allegations, prosecutors charged McKinsey with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse for allegedly slapping his six-year-old in the face and leaving a two-year-old unattended while McKinsey went shopping. He pleaded not guilty. The New York Times confirming McKenzie had been the head of engineering games player experience in the Bay Area since 23. According to a neighbor who spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle, McKenzie had recently moved out of the home he shared with his wife and three children. The victims in-laws are being held without bail. They're scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday morning. Tom? Dana, thank you. We head overseas now where President Trump is slamming the decision by British authorities to release terror

suspects out on bail. The men suspected of a plot to attack a British base used by American troops. Here's Ralph Sanchez. Tonight, President Trump criticizing British authorities for releasing the suspects in an alleged terror plot at a U.S. operated airbase on bail. I'm surprised that they released him. I wouldn't have done that. With officials investigating if Iran was behind the potential terror plot, NBC's Gabe Gutierrez pressing the president. Is this connected to Iran? Might be. Can you elaborate on that?

I'd rather not. I mean, I know the answer I can be very specific, but I'd rather not say it. but I would not have released him. The five men, UK citizens in their 20s, were arrested on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offenses on Sunday, near the perimeter of RAF Fairford, where U.S. B-1 bombers have been taking off for strikes against Iran. The suspects drove these three vans,

which were searched by a bomb squad robot. Now they've been released on bail. To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over, They aren't directly accusing Iran, which denies any involvement. But Iran has threatened this base in the past, calling it a legitimate target. We're seeing an intense security presence here with heavily armed British police guarding the outside of the base and American forces on the inside. A farmer, speaking on condition of anonymity, says she alerted police after seeing eight to ten masked men around 1 a.m. Sunday. It's just pure luck, really, that we happen to be there.

did what we did. Smart sense on that neighbor there. Raff joins us now from outside the base. Raf, some of the residents from that area near the crime scene are now being allowed to go back home. What was the initial danger there? Yeah, Tom, so 85 families were initially evacuated from the area around those vans where police thought there may have been explosives. They are being allowed to go back home, but there are police checkpoints all over the area. And authorities are still not saying whether they found actual bombs at the end of that search. Tom. Raff Sanchez for us, Raf, thank you. Tonight, President Trump's saying Iran's recent offer to open the street of Hormuz if the U.S. meets its demands is unacceptable.

But the U.S. is still talking with the regime. Are Gabe Gutier is at the White House today pressing the president? Tonight, President Trump telling us that U.S. talks with the Iranian regime are still on through mediators. Has your team spoken to Iran today? Yeah, then. Despite President Trump rejecting Iran's latest. offer, where it said it would stop attacking commercial oil tankers and reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. meets its demands. We're going to win that war very soon. That'll be over, and the

gas prices will come tumbling down. The administration now argues it has the upper hand in negotiations, so it's in no hurry. But the war and stubbornly high gas prices averaging around 448 a gallon, pressuring Republicans with less than 40 days to go until the midterms. The president today, a new $15 billion steel mill to be built in Iowa. The largest steel plant in American history in the great state of Iowa. A state he won by 13 points in 2024. We pressed the president why recent polls show much tighter races for the Senate and House this year. Why are Republicans do you think having to work so hard to hold on to these seats?

I don't know. I love Iowa. I've always been very strong with Iowa. But I'm surprised. First of all, the polls. is a fake. Iran says it's prepared for a, quote, doomsday war, but that it stands ready for diplomacy. The president lay today flatly denying a report that he'd offered Iran's sanctions relief in exchange for

nuclear concessions. Tom? Gabe, thank you. We're going to head overseas again to the terrifying video out of Ukraine. People trapped inside of a burning building, forced to climb out windows and cling to the sides. Desperate for rescue after a Russian drone strike. Here's Richard Engel.

Terrifying scenes in Kiev, flames shooting out of this burning building, people trapped inside. These two men leaning out of windows as the fire grows. Soon, each forced out onto the ledge. You see them both clinging to the side of the building. On the ground, firefighters racing with ladders to save them. This elderly man now off the ledge fully hanging, waiting for rest of. Finally, a ladder is moved up to him, and he manages to climb down safely. Moments later, the entire National Academy of Sciences building totally immersed in flames. One person was killed and more than six injured, including three children. It's just the latest in a string of Russian attacks on apartment buildings, offices, and a nearby medical center.

The escalation coming a week after diplomatic efforts in New York. While the Kremlin signals no let-up, saying Ukraine will pay a price for recent strikes inside Russia. Richard Engel, NBC News. When we return in just 60 seconds, blasting off the first of its kind SpaceX launch and the massive fireball when the Starship rocket came back down to Earth. Plus the new massive landslides in Nepal sending an entire building collapsing into a rushing river. And the new information we've learned about a fundraiser gone viral, why go-fellers. Fund Me suddenly shut it down. Stay with us. We're back now with a major update to a story we brought you last week. That viral video of an 81-year-old man delivering lost luggage and a GoFundMe that raised

more than $700,000 for his family. But now that fundraiser has been shut down. Steve Patterson explains why. This is the moment caught on camera that captured hearts around the country. The video we first showed you last week appearing to show 81-year-old Don Johnson lugging suitcases up the stairs for his courier job, all he said, to help pay for his wife's cancer treatments. Cancer treatment is very expensive. The video posted by a GoFundMe user named Aaron H, who said she caught the moment on her doorbell cam. Their story went viral, raising more than $700,000, but there was a problem. GoFundMe says Aaron H doesn't exist, and she wasn't a stranger. Hi everyone. My name is Amy Johnson, and I'm the daughter of Don and Josephine.

GoFundMe telling NBC News. Erin H was actually their daughter, Amy, who told them she believed their story would be more compelling coming from someone they didn't know. And that's so-called doorbell video. Amy telling GoFundMe, she shot that too. Look close so you can see the camera appearing to sway at various points. Amy taken to social media over the weekend, saying the GoFundMe account was hers all along, but insisting the rest of the story is not. real. My mother is suffering from pancreatic cancer and my dad is delivering luggage to help. GoFund me since shut the page down, refunding all

the donations. A company spokesperson telling us, our trust and safety team identified factual misrepresentations which directly violates her terms of service. The family hasn't responded to NBC News's specific questions about the story. Amy has set up a new crowdfunding page and

has already raised tens of thousands. Steve Patterson, NBC News. And we're back in a moment with the historic SpaceX launch coming to a fiery end, why the first of its kind mission was cut short. Plus rock legend Rod Stewart says his touring days are coming to an end. His emotional message to fans. That's next. We're back down with the deadly landslides ravaging Nepal,

video capturing a giant cloud of debris charging down a mountain, a temple you see here crumbling as a mountain. it collapses and an entire house toppling into the river. It comes as the region was recovering from those catastrophic floods that left more than 1,000 people dead. Now, a historic launch, the world's most powerful rocket blasting off from Texas this morning. The SpaceX starship orbiting Earth for the first time, but its flight cut short because of an engine problem and then starship erupting in flames as it splashed down.

The mission, part of a crucial test as NASA aims to land humans on the moon in 2028. for the first time in decades. Also tonight, rock legend, Rod Stewart, bidding farewell to life on the road, the 81-year-old sharing in an Instagram video that next year will be the final tour of his decades-long career, but telling fans he is not retiring, it comes a month after he canceled shows following a heart procedure. When we come back here on nightly news, the roadside rescue, a group of high schoolers rushing into traffic to save a stranded driver.

There's good news tonight. That's next. Finally, there's good news tonight. When a woman's car broke down north of Boston, it wasn't a tow truck that got her to safety, but a group of high schoolers, their small act of kindness making a huge impact. Still pushing. This isn't how Robin Gay pictured her night going. As she drove home from a volunteer job, her car broke down, leaving her stranded on the side of a busy road, alone.

Look at that! Look at these guys. But it turns out she wasn't alone. This is the basketball team of ever. A group of high school students saw her struggling and jumped into action, directing traffic, pushing, and maneuvering the car to a safer spot. Most of these students know each other well because they play together on the high school basketball team. A teamwork is the best, best way to help everybody. It's just like the simple ad kind of.

That kindness turning Robin's night around. These young kids just don't realize how much they did for me in that moment. She offered them money for their efforts. They literally just like push my hand away and they were like, absolutely not. They gave me a hug. They just wanted to know that I was saved. And recently, Robin reunited with her heroes as they were recognized by their school. Maybe this will inspire other people to be kind in the world.

I know we would do the same every time. A reason to celebrate. All right. That's nightly news for this. this Monday. I'm Tom Yamas. We thank you so much for watching tonight and always. We're here for you. Good night.