NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Episode Date: October 7, 2026

Inmate conscious after botched execution; France rocked by student-led protests over school conditions; California Democrats slam Trump’s comment on Iran; 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.

Breaking news tonight, the storm gaining strength in the Gulf on track to become the first hurricane of the season. The dangerous storm threatening to make the first landfall of 2026 as a category two hurricane. Tens of millions at risk in the Gulf. Could New Orleans get a direct hit? Al Roker timing it out. Also breaking President Trump saying he will speak with Russia's Vladimir Putin over fears of that deadly plague that may have escaped a last. there. The death row inmate at the center of that botched execution, Krista Pike, now conscious and talking, days after two failed lethal injections. Our first look at the tens of millions in gold bars

allegedly stolen by a CIA officer. New details on the mansions and designer watches he bought on the government's dime. Violet clashes in France, at least a quarter million taking to the streets, thousands arrested, trash set on fire, the tear gas standoff with police are Richard Engel and his team in the middle of it all. Terrifying new video from inside that deadly school bus crash. Kids thrown from their seats, the driver pinned, somehow able to break free to help save so many students on board. Also tonight, this couple arrested on child abuse charges, accused of having at least 14 children by surrogacy, images from inside their California mansion.

Video of a Massachusetts man allegedly attacking and attempting to try and drown a 21-year-old what led up to that violent encounter. Clipped on the tarmac, the Delta Wing, clipping an ear can at LAX. So what went wrong? A hayride barreling through a neighborhood the driver thrown more than a dozen injured. Sweet deception? Starbucks facing a new class action lawsuit. Are there sugar-free drinks?

Actually sugar-free? And there's good news tonight. The Mardi Gras style sendoff for a beloved teacher about to undergo brain surgery. Nightly News starts right now. This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. And good evening. We thank you for joining us on this very busy Tuesday night. We want to begin with the major tropical thread brewing in the Gulf on track to become the first hurricane of the season.

This is the storm. Take a look. Churning off Mexico in the Gulf. You can see how massive it. is several hundred miles from southern Louisiana, the system gaining strength set to become a category two hurricane called Isayas within days. And this what has forecasters so were you see the possible track here. Could New Orleans get a direct hit? The threat extending all the way to Florida's panhandle. The storm will still days away and the track still very uncertain. You see the

spaghetti models here. But tens of millions are now an alert for the first hurricane threat this year. Al Roker is tracking it all for us tonight and he joins us now. Al, time, time. Al, time this one out for us. All right. So here's the latest time. Right now, 35 mile per hour wins. It's east at five miles per hour. Still a tropical depression. Now, here's the issue. The bad news, prime for development. The Gulf water is anywhere from two to five degrees above average because of climate change is super El Nino. And we've had no storms to churn up the water. So it's got all this warm water to provide strength, possible rapid intensification by sometime Friday of each. evening, it's going to make landfall somewhere between New Orleans and Panama City. Still too

early to tell, but we do expect upwards of 10 inches of rain stretching from New Orleans all the way to Tampa. We'll be watching this closely. We'll have the latest tomorrow morning on today. And it's all developing so quickly. All right, Al, we thank you for that. This is also breaking tonight. President Trump now saying he's going to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin about that mysterious death in a Russian lab that studies the plague. There are a lot of questions about how many people are actually sick and what exactly that lab was doing. Ann Thompson is here tonight,

and we're also learning more about the victim who's just died? We are, Tom, but first to President Trump, he told reporters this afternoon that he has a call scheduled with Russian President Putin very soon, saying U.S. intelligence agencies are in deep discussions about it. Russian health authorities are investigating the death of that lab worker

at the Anti-Plaug Institute in Siberia. It was attributed to a pneumonia of an unknown cause. Tonight, the victim has been identified as Darya Shippalova, according to her mother. The World Health Organization today says the risk is low to the rest of Russia and Europe from her death. But Secretary of State Marker Rubio is urging the Russian government to release more information, Tom, because there are lots of questions about what happened.

Yeah, the whole world would want more information. All right, Ann, we thank you for that. We also have a major update on that failed execution attempt just days ago in Tennessee. Krista Pike somehow survived two lethal injections. But now we've just learned she's apparently awake and speaking. Laura Jarrett joins us now. Laura, what else do we know about what's happened? Tom, it's a pretty remarkable situation. Tonight, her attorneys say she is conscience speaking and calling her recovery medically unprecedented,

but adding her prognosis remains unclear. Now, Pike survived two doses of lethal injection nearly a week ago. Her attorneys had warned the state of specific challenges with her veins and asked the governor to commute her sentence to life in prison for the 1995 murder of her classmate. As for what happens next year, she's still technically in custody handcuffed and shackled to her hospital bed or attorneys say, but the fallout from the failed execution led to the resignation of the head of corrections, and the governor has put all executions on pause, at least for now. There's a court hearing scheduled tomorrow morning, Tom.

All right, Laura, thank you for that. we have wild new details tonight about that CIA agent who was originally accused of stealing tens of millions in gold bars. Now we know he may have stolen nearly 200 million. Julie Ainsley now with a look at the gold and the homes and the cars that he got the U.S. government to pay for. For the first time, we're seeing the 298 gold bars seized from a top-level CIA employee's home back in May, along with stacks of more than $2 million in cash and luxury. watches, including Rolexes, all of it worth more than $40 million in total. Today, that employee, David Rush, pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud, as prosecutors

detailed his elaborate scheme in federal court. Alleging Rush stole $194 million from the government and created a fake CIA program to launder the money into luxury real estate in South Florida. This five-bedroom home worth $30 million. This oceanfront property worth $40 million. Prosecutors say Rush also spent $1.8 million on charter flights and bought two brand-new BMWs. And perhaps most troubling, prosecutors allege that Rush told a foreign government official about a top-secret source, providing information to the U.S. government, information that could put U.S. security and confidential

informants abroad at risk. Rush appearing cooperative in court today. His lawyers declining to comment to NBC News outside the courthouse. Tom, NBC News was first to report that Rush worked for the CIA, and internal investigators are still trying to figure out how he pulled it all off. Tom? Julia, thank you. We want to head overseas now to France where massive protests are taking over portions of

cities like Paris. Hundreds of thousands taking to the streets, angry over the countries, education system. Our Richard Engels on the streets there. In France, students are in revolt, and today, they got reinforcements. Teachers, parents, and France's main labor union joined the demonstrators. Some protesters set fires and clashed with riot police. Okay, okay, okay. It was just a charge by the police. Now they're pulling back.

They are definitely trying to break up these demonstrations. Hundreds of demonstrators were injured, along with dozens of police. Police came out. They've been using fireworks a lot, so it's not a real explosion, but it does startle you quite a bit. At times, it looked like a cloud of tear gas descended over parts of Paris. 18-year-old students, Julia and Mary Lou, say students were horrified to go back to school after the summer to find rats, leaks, and overcrowded classrooms. Yeah, it's a very bad condition. Do you think this is going to lead to a change? We have. We have so. Around 900 schools across France are now temporarily closed or

blockaded by students who say they won't give up until conditions improve. Police arrested more than 500 demonstrators today, more than 6,000 since last week. So far, the government is refusing to bend to demands for higher education budgets and say the protesters are being manipulated by political parties jockeying for position ahead of French elections next spring. And it's not over. More student demonstrations are scheduled with new supporters promising to join. Richard Engle, NBC News, Paris. All right, now to those new comments from President Trump's sparking backlash from California Democrats. Simena suggests he's okay if Iran takes out Los Angeles or San Diego with a nuclear weapon. Here's Ryan Nobles.

Tonight, the Blue City backlash. Democrats arguing President Trump called for the Iranian regime to strike Democratic-led cities. And these comments where he said a temporary rise in gas prices was worth it to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon to threaten America. It's a little bit high. It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. They can take out a city. Let him take out Los Angeles. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. That's, this is a first law price to pay.

Democrats in California quickly condemning the remarks. Governor Gavin Newsom posting, The President is advocating for an attack on 10 plus million U.S. residents in two of America's largest cities. This is not normal. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass saying the President of the United States suggested that a foreign government attack Los Angeles. The White House responding.

No, he didn't, you buffoons. He was saying the U.S. is fighting to stop Iran from having the ability to take out L.A. and San Diego with a nuclear weapon. The president's controversial remarks came during a midterm blitz, going after Democrats. They can take all the stuff that we gave you the biggest tax cuts in history and a great border, best border we've ever had. All while playing defense in red states. His last three stops, Nebraska, Ohio, and Alabama, where he won by 10 points or more in 2024. But in 2026, the Senate races in both Nebraska and Ohio are surprisingly competitive. And at that event in Nebraska, Trump signing an executive order deferring tax on cheaper red-died diesel until the end of the year.

But experts predict that diesel prices will remain above $6 a gallon until the end of the month. Tom. Ryan Nobles, as we get closer to those midterm elections, thank you. We have disturbing new video from Florida tonight showing the terrifying school bus crash that killed two people and sent dozens of the hospital. Here's Aaron Gilcrest. Tonight, video capturing the moment of that deadly Florida school bus crash, the Polk County Sheriff releasing this graphic video and audio today. The bus video shows passing traffic on that two-lane road before a car drifts across the center line and hits the bus's rear tire, sending

the bus careening into an oncoming Jeep. The second view shows the 34-year-old bus driver and several students whose faces were blurred by the sheriff's office being tossed in. by the impact. The sheriff says the bus driver was hurt, but got out of her seat. She pulls herself out of being wedged in this crash, pinned in, and then immediately starts helping the students on the bus. 16-year-old sophomore, Adina Luce Prieto Oyola, was killed in the crash. Teachers loved her. Friends loved her. Yesterday was to be her first day of cheerleading practice.

School leaders describing video of other students trying to get Adinelous off the bus. One young man is actually heard, excuse me, on a recording saying, don't worry, I won't leave you. The driver of the Jeep hit by the bus, 26-year-old Deshaun Smith, was also killed. The sheriff says, on impact. And as the investigation continues, the 23-year-old driver who hit the bus is cooperating. She didn't mean to create that crash that morning. The sheriff adding he doesn't see anything that's criminal in nature at this point in the investigation. Aaron Gilchrist, NBC News.

In California, a couple has been accused of having at least 14 children through surrogacy. They've been arrested tonight on child abuse charges. Dana Griffin has more. Tonight, this couple arrested from this massive mansion outside L.A., following allegations of a shocking surrogacy scheme and child abuse investigation. This house could only be described as a house of horrors. 66-year-old John Schwann and 39-year-old Sylvia Jung used surrogates to have at least 14 kids, according to authorities. These photos from inside the home show rows of children seated in what investigators called learning centers.

This photo shows a nanny allegedly about to strike one of the children. Investigators say nanny Shun Meili is on the run. The couple now facing charges of conspiracy to commit child abuse, their bail set at $100 million. One surrogate says she thought she was carrying a baby for a couple struggling to have a child, only to find out later she was one of many women carrying a child for them. You just don't expect that you're going to hand the baby over to their parents and then all of a sudden find out that there was abuse and neglect going on. The investigation began in May of last year after police were tipped off by medical staff

when the couple's two-month-old son, Walter, showed up to the hospital. with this injury to his head. The parent said he fell off a bed, according to authorities. Did your client abuse these kids? No, my client did not abuse these kids. Schwann's attorney telling me his client, a real estate businessman from China, simply chose to have as many kids as he wants. Dana Griffin, NBC News.

When we return in 60 seconds, the man now charged with trying to drown a man on crutches. What started it all? Plus, the jet accidentally crashing its wing into another plane's tail. in Los Angeles. And is that sugar-free drink you buy at Starbucks actually sugar-free? What a new lawsuit claims. We're back down with a story out of Massachusetts

an alleged attempted drowning caught on camera. Aaron McLaughlin has the video. Chilling video shows the moment prosecutors alleged Stephen Dana trying to drown 21-year-old Matthew Duffy. A grand jury indicted the 71-year-old on charges of attempted murder. strangulation and assault and battery on a disabled person.

Duffy was on crutches at the time. Time to go. In the video captured on a GoPro belonging to Duffy's friend back in June, you hear Dana tell the group to leave the lake with their jet ski. You live there and listen to you doing it all day long and see how you like it. Whoopty, dude, you bought a house on the lake. The situation in Hopkins in Massachusetts quickly escalates. Come on, big boy.

Come on, big boy. Come on, big boy. What am I going to do? Come on, big boy. You're the one coming up to me. Come on, big boy, let's do it. Come on, use that big mouth of y'aws and scoose something about it. Your mouth, yeah.

According to police, Dana is then seen straddling Duffy from above, holding him underwater. Before Duffy's friends notice and someone shouts to pull Dana off. According to police, Duffy was submerged for 10 seconds. I just remember I yelled help to my friends or I tried to, and then I just got like swallowed a mouth full of water. but I just kind of felt helpless. I'm very glad it was caught on video. Dana pleaded not guilty in district court. He's currently out on a $7,500 bond.

His next superior court date is later this month. Aaron McLaughlin, NBC News. And when we return, remembering one of Hollywood's iconic leading ladies, Oscar winner, Eva Marie Saint. Next. We're back now with the Delta plane, clipping another plane at one of the country's busiest airports. The FAA says it happened this morning when a Delta flight was taxing for departure at LAX.

Its left wingtip clipping an Air Canada flight's tail, you can see some of that damage here from TMZ. The pilot told ground control he felt a shutter right after it was hit. And take a look at this out of control hayride in Wellsburg, New York. You see it here. The tractor rounding a corner, then flipping over. Sheriff's office says 21 people were on the hayride. 16 were injured. Five on board were able to jump off before it crashed. And tonight, Hollywood is remembering legendary Oscar winner, Eva Marie Saint. Her debut in On the Waterfront, opposite Marlon Brando, of course, earned her the Academy Award. She went on to star in other massive Hollywood films like North by Northwest.

In a statement, her family said she died of natural causes surrounded by loved ones. She was 102 years old. And there's a new class action lawsuit against Starbucks accusing the coffee giant of mislabeling some of its protein drinks as sugar-free. The lawsuit says that because there's milk in them, which contains lactose and naturally occurring sugar, and because of that lactose, venty sizes of the drinks in question

had between 13 to 21 grams of sugar. Starbucks says the drinks have no added sugar. The company telling NBC News, we believe these claims have no merit. All right, when we come back tonight, the Fat Tuesday celebration for a beloved teacher, how her school rallied around her as she takes on her biggest fight yet. That's next.

Finally, there's good news tonight. A middle school in Tallahassee, Florida, transforming their hallways into the French Quarter. The New Orleans vibes all to rally around a beloved teacher about to have surgery, sending her off with a little land yak. This is not the scene middle school teacher Jessica Costalak was expecting on her last day at work before brain surgery. Cheers, joy, and support filling the halls all the way outside. A surprise from her colleagues and her students, so she wouldn't feel alone as she heads out on leave. Doctors found a tumor in Jessica's brain this summer, and she's having surgery to remove it on Friday. I was absolutely overcome with emotion. I felt this absolute rush of love and joy and cheer.

And while Beard Lake Middle School might be in Tallahassee, on this day, the school was embracing the Big Easy. Jessica is from New Orleans and known for her hometown pride, so a Mardi Gras-themed-off-themed-off felt right. Jessica thanking the teachers and the kids with high-fives and hugs. If you have your support system, if you have your community, then you don't have to worry about anything because they've got you. I'm going to show my students and my own children that this is a really good example of how. we are going to do hard things and we're going to do them together because we're never alone. Great attitude and a great teacher. Jessica, we hope you get back soon. That's nightly news for this Tuesday. I'm Tom Yamas. We thank you so much for watching tonight and always. We're here

for you. Good night.