Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Episode Date: October 22, 2026

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Breaking tonight, the toxic chemical leak sparking evacuations in Toledo. Hazardous chemicals spewing out of a tank, neighborhoods forced to shelter in place more than two dozen hospitalized. Is the air safe? We speak with a family forced to flee their home. Also tonight, the unexpected battleground Senate race in Iowa, Tom speaks with Democrat Josh Turrick and Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, plus why this farmer who voted three times for a Republican is now undecided. attack ad outrage. The Ohio governor's race taking a turn after the Republican candidate posted an ad featuring the Democratic candidate's estranged mother. Vice President J.D. Vance now weighing in, is the Pope cancer-free? What the Vatican is now saying about Pope Leo's shocking diagnosis

that forced doctors to remove part of his lung. A teen killed in an electric motorcycle crash. Now his parents are facing criminal charges. White prosecutors say they want to hold his mother and father accountable. Mid-air medical emergency, medics in hazmat suits boarding a plane after passengers fell violently sick, and video capturing a driver escaping a truck dangling over a highway,

how he was rescued. Plus, New Mexico filing a lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein's personal attorney and accountant, while they're being accused of facilitating Epstein's sex trafficking operation. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Valerie Castro in for Tom.

Right now, an emergency. The emergency situation is unfolding in Ohio, a toxic chemical leak forcing entire neighborhoods in Toledo to evacuate. Video shows hazardous white smoke erupting from this tank spewing into the sky, more than two dozen people seeking treatment in the hospital, terrifying videos of drivers trying to flee, navigating a dangerous mix of those toxic chemicals, smoke and a thick fog. The FAA is shewing temporary flight restrictions over the area. One woman capturing that chemical raining down on her.

home at this hour, parts of this northwestern Ohio community are still under shelter-in-place orders. In a moment, we'll speak with this family of five forced to evacuate in the middle of the night covering their faces as they escaped the fumes. But first, NBC's Sam Brock leads us off. A flammable chemical erupting out of this tank in northwest Ohio, billowing high into the air, tonight threatening residents for miles, more than two dozen seeking treatment at local hospitals. Looks like they have some large cloud of gas escaping high pressure. Toledo officials evacuating hundreds overnight within a one mile radius of the tank and a shelter in place order expanding to three miles that is still in effect and where John Reddenbo lives. At one point I looked outside

and everything was clear. I looked outside about a half an hour later and I couldn't even see the end of my driveway. It was that disruptive and that bothersome to breathe it. It was that bothersome. I was in my house and I had all the windows and doors shut and I could taste it and smell it. The chemical being released, the mayor describes as an industrial coating product. The Ohio EPA says it's coming from a 5,500 gallon tank and that it happened because of an error that occurred when the material was being transferred. That chemical mixing with a thick fog in the area. Understand the legitimate real concern that folks have today. And people saw the fog and began to worry that that was the bloom.

This is what it looked like as Ohioans drove through streets and neighborhoods. Like you couldn't see not even foot ahead of you. I couldn't see anything when my headlights, nothing. The city of Toledo says the chemical can irritate eyes and lungs and is a long-term carcinogen, but should not be considered a serious risk at this level of exposure. And Sam Brock joins us now. Sam, we just got an update on where, when people might be able to go home or where. Yes, well, back to their home. So the mayor of Toledo originally had said, Valerie, that he thought it would be 36 hours to vent this thing out, effectively, to let all the chemicals get released.

We just found out that the evacuation zone has now gone from a mile to a half a mile. So if there was originally 1,000 people affected by that, could be 3 or 400 at this point. There was also a shelter in place that went up to 3 miles. That has been lifted. Officials say that there are no reported injuries or fatalities. All that is good news. We talked about the fact that some 30 people self-reported to the hospital for treatments to symptoms related to this event. but at the end of the day, you hear long-term effects of carcinogens,

and obviously people would be very concerned. What officials are trying to explain here is unless you touched or ingested these chemicals, that the relative exposure and risk profile is very low. So hopefully everybody, ultimately, at the end of this huge calamity, is going to be okay. All right. Still such a scary situation. Sam, thank you. And I want to bring in one of those residents who was forced to evacuate. Emily Downey lives just two and a half miles from the site of the leak. She, her husband, and their three kids left their home in the middle of the night

after the smell of chemicals woke them up. Emily, thanks so much just for being here tonight. First of all, how are you and your family doing through all of this? We're doing okay now. It was rough. Last night was rough. It was probably one of the only times in my life that I really truly was like, are we going to die?

I mean, that might sound dramatic to some people, but it was very dramatic. I woke up. I didn't hear a boom or anything like that. I think it might have been when we were bowling, when that actually happened. But I woke up and I immediately could smell this just very chemically smell as the only way I could describe it.

And my daughter, who was nine, told me that her throat was hurting. And I, you know, originally I had heard like, we're fine. We're a little bit out of the one mile zone. And then I looked outside and I was just immediately like shocked because I could barely see anything. I couldn't see that, as you can see in the video. You can't see the car across the street. You can barely see the outline of my husband's truck right in front of our house. And then it just continued to get worse.

And that's when we got in the car. And quickly realized, I mean, we pulled out of the driveway. My husband was going to meet us there with the dogs. So originally it was just me and my three children. And we ended up having to pull back in the driveway because we pulled out and there was visibility of zero. I mean, I couldn't see one foot in front of the car. and that's when panic, like, really, really set in. My daughter looked at me and, I'm sorry.

She looked at me with tears in her eyes. Sorry about that. And she just said, like, how are we going to get out of here? And at that point, my son, who's 16 and asthmatic, offered to get out of the car with his phone to guide us. And I was like, no, we're not doing that. And then at that point, I think my husband realized the severity of it, came out with the dogs.

we all piled in the car. And by the grace of God, he was, we were able to guide him right along the, the only thing we could see was the curb. So we just told him to stay right along the curbs. Our heads were literally out the window trying to guide him. We could not see a thing for about 25 minutes until we could finally see a little bit of visibility and got to the expressway to head to my oldest daughter's house. Clearly, this is an incredibly terrifying situation for you.

Take us back to when you realized that you guys needed to live. leave the house. Was it the smell that prompted you to leave? It was. It woke me up. I had just dozed off on the couch and I abruptly woke up to a very strong smell. And I thought it was maybe me that I was like, it seemed a little foggy in my living room even. And so I had talked to my 20 year old and my 16 year old and I said, you know, we might have to evacuate. But it does say we're out of a little bit out of the zone to evacuate. it just says stay in place, but I immediately started getting a headache. My eyes started burning.

And then my daughter came up. Her eyes were bloodshot. And she said, my eyes are burning really bad. And that's when I woke up my husband and told him, I really think we should go. And he was kind of, I think we'll be all right at first. And then I think when he finally looked outside, he really realized, like, it was, when I say, when people are saying it was just dense fog, it's unless you saw it in person, you don't understand.

I mean, I could hold my hand out in front of me and wouldn't be able to see my ring. It was that bad. And this video that you're showing that almost looks like snow, that's my driveway about three hours after we evacuated, when it was starting to a little bit where you could at least see the road a little bit. But it just shocked me because it literally looked like snow. I mean, it was, you could just see the, I guess, chemical. I don't know what it made it look like that, but it was, it was wild. It looked like a blizzard. Must have been so scary, especially when you don't really know what's going on.

Tell us where you are right now, and do you have any sense of when you will be allowed to go back? And what will it take for you to feel like it's actually safe to go home? So I'm at my daughters, my oldest daughters. She lives about 25 minutes from our house. So it has been clear. We don't smell anything here. She lives in Manclova. That's about, like I said, about 25 minutes from where we are.

So we are staying again tonight, but I did go home for a short period today to grab some of the stuff we did in toothbrushes and stuff last night. And it was very strong. The smell inside was actually stronger than the smell outside. So I think we're at least going to be here through tomorrow just to be safe. I did read on the news site that they just lifted the shelter in place. So that makes me feel better. And the air looked clear when I got home earlier. It just, you could still smell it a lot.

And actually, we drove the whole way with our car windows down because you could still smell it from the night before in the car, too. It was just on us. I mean, we could smell it on our hair, everything. So like I said, people saying that it was just dense fog. I've seen dense fog in my life, and I've never seen anything like this, ever. I can't imagine going through that. We hope you can go home soon.

Emily Downey. Thank you for your time. Thank you. We want to move on to that other breaking news. Tonight, retired American teacher Stephen Hubbard has been freed after spending years in a Russian prison. His release coming as the U.S. tries to broker a deal between Russia and Ukraine and as U.S. envoy Steve Whitkoff comes under fire for calling Russian leader Vladimir Putin a humanitarian. Garrett Haik reports.

Tonight, retired American schoolteacher Stephen Hubbard held in Russia since 2022 is on his way back to the United States. Pardon and released by Vladimir Putin in what the Russians describe as a gesture of goodwill. I spoke to him this morning. He is the happiest man around. The U.S. considered Hubbard wrongfully detained after a Russian court convicted him of fighting for Ukraine. I spoke to his son, an Orthodox priest. The Russians say he was a mercenary fighting for Ukraine.

Um, and I say that Moon is made out of cheese. You don't believe that at all. There's no evidence to that effect. I think my father was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Tonight, Trump envoiced Steve Whitkoff, facing blowback after praising Putin for the release. You talk so much about my president, President Trump being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir. I would describe Putin as a warmonger, a thug.

He's certainly not a humanitarian. While the president is pushing back on a new Wall Street Journal report, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter, that it was Elon Musk who ordered a recent slowdown of Ukraine's military-grade Starlink system. Did Elon Musk order it? I don't know who did it, but I was not about it. And Garrett Hake joins us now from Pendleton, South Carolina, where President Trump has just taken the stage. And Garrett, Garrett, President Trump has been making new promises to voters at almost every stop on this midterm blitz. Yeah, that's right, Valerie. They've become very much a theme of these campaign appearances. For a president who doesn't have much of the legislative agenda looking ahead to the second half of his term,

these promises are an attempt to give voters something to vote for in the future, although many of them are conditioned on Republicans keeping the majority. Many of them probably can't actually be passed unless Republicans were somehow to get the 60 seats in the Senate. I'm also not sure if the White House has really put much of a structure around these promises to make sure that they are still even discussed after the president holds these rallies and leaves town, Valerie. All right, Garrett, thank you. We're also following another developing election headline tonight, the bipartisan backlash after Ohio candidate for governor Vivek Ramoswamy releasing an ad, attacking his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, featuring her estranged mother.

Take a listen. I'm Amy Acton's mother. I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent, it's not easy. for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. Acton was sexually abused by her mother's second husband as a child, and her mother ultimately lost custody of her kids as a result. Acton's campaign condemning the ad as despicable low. But Ramoswamy has doubled down despite criticism from both sides of the aisle. And today, Vice President J.D. Vance, coming to his defense.

My message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days. NBC's John Allen is following this and joins us now. John, backlash over this ad has been swift and from both sides of the aisle. What are we hearing? Yeah, swift and severe. Obviously Democrats all condemning it. You repeated some of Acton's words there herself.

Republicans divided. Many of them, many Republican strategists telling reporters that they think this is the end of the Ramoswamy campaign and even having some concern they could have an effect on Republicans across the ballot in Ohio. John Husted, the senator in his first term, trying to win re-election, appearing, of course, with Vivek Ramoswami a lot this year. It's an interesting moment with this backlash, but the vice president there trying to make the argument that, Republicans should look past that, even those who find it distasteful, and focus on continuing to hammer Democrats. And, John, specifically about this ad, is there any way that Ramoswami's team didn't know the backstory of Amy Acton's relationship with her mother? I don't think there's any chance that they didn't know the backstory of that relationship,

and they are doubling down on it on this ad. So it's not like Ramoswami did this and then decided to back away from it, decided the fire was too hot. I think they believed that this was a sound strategy for winning, and we will see on election day whether it helps him get across the finish line or prevents him from doing that. And if he does lose this governor's race, is this the end of the road for his political career? Well, the guy's got a pretty big ego, like most people who run for such high offices, and there tends to be a little bit of an addiction to running for office. So I'm not sure that he'll never run again, but, you know, having another loss after he ran for president.

president lost running for governor here in Ohio. If he loses again, I think it's going to be difficult for him to convince Republicans in the future that he's a candidate that they should put their energy into. Okay. NBC's John Allen. Thank you for your reporting. Now to Battleground, Iowa, Tom is there pressing both candidates locked in a neck and neck Senate fight that could determine which party takes control of Congress. And with just 13 days to go, it's still anyone's race. Tonight, the battle to control the Senate is running right through the working farms and rolling hills of Iowa. She's made cuts to health care, food assistance, Social Security just to give tax breaks to billionaires. It's wrong.

He does support kids changing gender at school and tax benefits going to illegal immigrants. He's too liberal for Iowa. This morning, we started in the southwest part of the state. Absolutely welcome to Council of Law. Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson describes herself as a minivan-divand-driving mom. Iowa voted for President Trump three times, but rising prices are now a challenge for the GOP. Gas has gone up, I think, more than $1.50 since President Trump took office in his second term, more than $2.50 for diesel. How do you get Iowans to trust Republicans when the gas prices have been so high?

Well, and I know Iowans are getting squeezed, and I hear that as I travel through the state, and I think the real solution here is focusing on our biofuels right here in Iowa. So when we talk about unleashing American energy, it's all of the above, all of the below, refining capacity, and embracing Iowa's clean energy option and biofuels. I just saw a report that said you were asking your supporters for gas money for your bus. Help give us a little gas money for our bus. Make sure we're showing up at the polls because there is more to do. I mean, is that how bad things are?

No, I'm out there campaigning through the state on my bus, meeting with everyone where they are. And what I'm hearing from Iowans is that they want a leader, a common-sense mom who's going to focus on their priorities because there are a lot of Iowans who are being priced out of the American dream. I understand that. I am focused on that. Democrats here are also going after her early support for the Iran war. And Ashley Henson voted seven times for the war, making gas prices skyrocket.

Today, telling us she's breaking with the president over his diesel deal with Russia. I think you're going to see the president soon, right? Yep, he's coming to Iowa. What are you going to tell him about Russia and Iran? I think that's a bad idea. I don't think we should be making deals with Russia. I do want to see the war come to an end as soon as possible. I want it to be successful. Polls suggest that voters are disappointed with President Trump over the last two years. Are you?

No. I work alongside the president. When he's right for Iowa, I'm going to tell him. When he's wrong for Iowa, I'm going to tell him. But that's not a change for me and how I've operated. I've always worked with both sides to get things done for Iowa. Your opponent says that a vote for you is a vote for President Trump. Is he wrong?

A vote for me is a vote for Iowa. I'm always going to stand up for Iowa's priorities first. I support taxpayers. I've delivered tax relief. which is something Iowans care deeply about. Worked with President Trump to make sure we could secure the border while my opponents voting for illegal immigrants to get benefits. So I think this election is a choice between common sense

and someone who's too liberal for Iowa. We're back on the road heading to the center of Iowa, Story City, to meet Democratic state legislator Josh Turrick. Welcome to heaven. A former Paralympian, born with spina bifida, he needed 21 surgeries before he was 12. We asked him about Hinson's charge that he's a liberal posing as a moderate.

She says you're too liberal for Iowa. What's your response to that? It's ridiculous. I think that the term moderate has become a pejorative almost in modern politics. I'm proudly a moderate. I'm a common sense, prey populist. She told me what she disagrees with

when it comes to President Trump's policies. What do you disagree with when it comes to national Democrats? Oh, good question. I think that the Biden administration did not do a particularly good job on the border. I'm a border security Democrat. So let's dig down a little bit on immigration because that's where she tries to hit you a lot on immigration.

If you come to this country illegally, should you be deported? If you come here illegally, should you be deported? I agree with Representative Nunn and Miller Meeks and Feinstra in the Dignity Act, that there should be a pathway available for you. If you're willing to pass a background check, not an immediate deportation, but look, I think that there should, what I will say is, I think, there should be a pathway to earn citizenship for people that have come here legally. But the system is completely broken.

But just to nail down on this, if someone comes here illegally, they've broken the laws, ICE finds them, should they be deported back to their countries? I want to make sure that we are securing the border to ensure that their people are not coming here illegally, but there is a pathway for people to be able to come here legally. Turek also telling us he's taking impeachment off the table. Has President Trump done anything that warrants impeachment? and should Democrats impeach him? I have no interest in impeachment.

None. I think we need to look forward, not back. Republicans using his own words against him over his missed votes in the state legislature. I ended up missing about 50% of the votes in the Iowa legislature this year. I don't know if that necessarily matters to Iowans. Doesn't matter? How do you explain to the voters

why you miss those votes? Because I've been out here doing town hall after town hall after town hall. She's not done one impromptu. town hall meeting with Iowans. Turek telling us what voters really care about. Gas has been up here, diesel is up here. What is your plan? I mean, what would you do if you got elected?

Well, I can tell you this, the issue I hear the most about is on this. It's on cost immediately out of the gate. Let's end this war in Iran. It's going to drive down gas prices. I think we need to repeal these tariffs, these chaotic tariffs. We certainly need strategic tariffs to protect American jobs and manufacturing, but not off the backs of rural communities in the agriculture industry. On the road again, we head just north to Nevada.

We meet farmer Jeff Stensland, whose family has been working this land for 100 years, growing corn and soybeans showing us his crops. There's your soybeans. Now he's hit hard by those rising prices. When you look at the combine and the grain cart, are you thinking about diesel prices? Yes. Absolutely. This three-time Trump voter says two weeks out, he has a tough decision to make. Are you actually shopping around for a candidate this time around?

Yes, I am. And it's been kind of a difficult decision as to which way to go. Our last stop, Iowa's capital, Des Moines, which has the largest pool of voters and signs of just how tight this race is. Ashley Asbury is backing Turrick. She's worried about the economy. Look at everything is higher. Gas is higher. We are in a war.

Nobody wanted to be in. Lori Bryant volunteers for Republicans here who have 200,000. thousand more registered voters. She's confident Hinson will win. She actually is supporting tax cuts, lowering taxes for working families. She is a mom. She's not just out there talking. She's actually doing the work. Our thanks to Tom for that report. And a reminder, you can access exclusive NBC news articles and subscriber-only content by scanning the QR code on your screen and subscribing now. Now to a major update from the Vatican, Pope Leo's doctors say he now needs no further treatment following his lung cancer surgery.

And Thompson joins us now on set. And this is obviously great news for the Pope. What more did his doctor share about his condition? Valerie, they said that when they did the operation a week ago, Tuesday, that the cancer was localized. And so they got it all when they removed his lower lobe of his right lung. And that's great news. This does not mean it will be the end of surveillance for him. They do something called active surveillance after you have this kind of lung surgery, where to specify an interval, whether it's three months or six months or a year, they do scans of your lungs to see if there's any growth. But this is really remarkable, absolutely remarkable news, especially when you think how far we've come in just eight days. And to be told, basically,

you have no more treatment other than this active surveillance. That's really great news. With no more treatments coming up, we know he had an upcoming trip to South America plan. Will that continue as planned? It is going ahead as scheduled, at least at this moment. And it's a very ambitious trip, and it was very ambitious even before the lung cancer surgery. So he's going to Uruguay. He's going to Argentina, the home of Pope Francis, his predecessor. And he's going to Peru, where he served as both a priest and then the Bishop of Chalaya,

which is a city in Peru, that he plans to be. visit. It is three countries, 11 days, 19,000 miles, including a planned stop in Kusco in Peru, which is about two miles above sea level. And that's one of the big questions, is that really someplace, someone who's just had lung surgery, go. Unanswered questions. But what we can tell you is that a church official in Peru says that they have been asked to have extra equipment on hand because of the Pope's health issues, but they haven't told us what that equipment is going to be, but they say they're happy to do it. They just want him to come home because he's also a citizen of Peru. An ambitious trip nonetheless. Very. All right, Ann Thompson, thank you.

Newly released body camera video showing the moments leading up to the deadly shooting of a one-year-old in the parking lot of a Mississippi Walmart. The Attorney General there says the use of force was justified. Aaron Gilchrist has the story. moments in Mississippi captured on camera. New video shows the police shooting that killed one-year-old Cohen-Wiley this summer. In it, you see officers run out of a Walmart and surround a gray sedan in the parking lot with guns drawn. Stop the car. The video shows the car reversing, hitting a parked SUV, then the car appears to drive forward. State investigators have previously said the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. Porteastern

of the confrontation seen on body cam and Walmart surveillance video obtained by news outlet Dark Horse Press. NBC News finding the footage is consistent with cell phone video also shot there on June 14th in Senatobia, Mississippi. This surveillance footage shows two women, one of them holding a baby believed to be wily, being stopped at the store exit, then eventually running to a car, police seen chasing them. The family's lawyer, Ben Crump, says the child was killed when police responded to a shoplifting car. about diapers. Crump posting this video of Wiley's mother days later. I raised my baby up trying to show them that he was in the car. By the time I set my baby down, it was like three to four shots. This week, the Mississippi Attorney General called

the use of force justified, writing in a letter posted by the city, there is insufficient evidence of any criminal conduct. Crump responded, saying in part, we will not stop fighting until this family gets the truth. Aaron Gilchrist joins us now. And Aaron, we heard it right there. the family says they will keep fighting. What would the next steps for them be? Well, Valerie, I can tell you that we reached out to Ben Crump after this video became public today, and we haven't heard back from them just yet. But we know that this was a major thing that they were calling for, really from the beginning since this all happened back in June, the attorneys, the families, asking for this video to be made public. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety told us earlier today

that they didn't have anything to do with the video that has surfaced today, but they would meet our request to video after the family had a chance to see this video for themselves. There's also a question about whether there might be a civil lawsuit that the family could file now that the criminal investigation is completed here. We know that the attorneys are planning to hold a news conference at some point tomorrow, Valerie, where we'll be able to ask these questions about what happens next. All right. We know you'll stay on top of it. Aaron Gilchrist, thank you. Turning now to the rare tornado watch issued for Arizona, as powerful storms charged across parts of the southwest, video capturing an ominous gray cloud hanging low just outside

of Sedona, Arizona. Several tornado warned storms moving through the region at the time. Let's get right to meteorologist Bill Karens. Bill, walk us through the severe threat and the flood watches across the region. Yeah, strange to be tracking Arizona severe storms all day long. My family's lived there for a long time and they haven't seen many days like this before. So we have tornado watches that cover the entire northern half of the state and a severe thunderstorm watch in the southern half of the state. And we're going to continue this probably for at least the next couple hours with these fast-moving thunderstorms rolling through. We only have one active tornado warning. So here's Tucson. Again, this is middle of the desert here. And then as we

head up into the mountains outside of Tucson, we've had this tornado worn cell for a while now. Heading towards the Safford area, it looks like it's going to head just south of you. Radar indicated, but there is showing rotation with that storm itself. And as far as the flooding threat goes, still 7 million people. You notice the Grand Canyon here. We do a flash flood warning, also southern portions of Utah. So as we go throughout the night, we're going to see very heavy rainfall developing, especially in the San Juan Mountains here of southwest Colorado. That's one of the spots, Valerie, that we could have some serious flooding concerns right through the evening. All right, Bill Carins, thank you. Still ahead on top story,

parents facing child endangerment charges after their teen son died riding an electric motorcycle, why the DA says he's prosecuting the grieving parents. The growing calls for an investigation into the Eagles as their star player recovers from blood clots. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell now weighing in. Plus, what would you do if medics showed up on your flight in a hazmat suit? We'll tell you what prompted this alarming situation. Stay with us. Back now with a deadly crash in Southern California,

police say a teen boy died after he lost control of his electric motorcycle. Now his parents are facing charges. NBC's Andreas Gutierrez reports. On May 6, a video was posted to 13-year-old Benson Wynn's TikTok account, showing him popping wheelies and doing stunts on an electric motorcycle. The next day, another video. You could see him showing off his ride, which the Orange County District Attorney says his dad bought for him. Within hours of that post, Benson was dead. Police say he crashed that bike in Garden Grove, California.

Now his parents are facing criminal charges for child endangerment. parents accountable because parents are the front line to stop their young people from engaging in this activity. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer says on the night Benson died, the teen was speeding, running red lights and doing wheelies. In activity he had previously documented in videos like this one. An app on his phone, they say recorded his speed at 43 miles per hour at one point. Authorities say he lost control, struck a median, was thrown from his motorcycle, and slammed into a concrete light pole. Eyewitness Eduardo Avalos told our L.A. station he found the boy shortly after the crash and tried to help.

The breathing was going slower and slower, and I had his face of his, but there's nothing I can do. Benson later died at the hospital. Prosecutors when announcing charges wrote Benson had broken his leg just six months before, and his father, view Wynn, had been warned about the teen's reckless riding. Yet they allege he bought him an even faster, more powerful electric motorcycle. These parents have already lost their 13-year-old son. Why are you charging them criminally now? The fact of the matter is parents aren't being parents, and somebody has to hold these

parents accountable for furnishing these illegal e-bikes or e-motorcycles to their children. And kids are dying. Kids are getting seriously injured, and it's an epidemic in my county. The Orange County DA telling us he's already charged 10 parents this year alone for allowing their children to illegally ride these vehicles. If parents know that a child does not use a device properly and they give it to him and predictable results happen, then they may be negligent. So it stands to reason that they can also be criminally responsible as well. Andres Guterres joins me now from Los Angeles. Andres, what should parents know before buying one of these bikes?

Well, Valerie, not everything sold as an e-bike is legally an e-bikes. Some of them are actually electric motorcycles that require a license, like in this case, which a 13-year-old can't get. The district attorney did tell me that there is a lot of confusion among parents. He has even warned retailers that they could face prosecution if they mislead customers about what they're buying. As for Benson's parents, the mom faces a misdemeanor charge, and the dad is charged with the felony and could face up to six years in prison if convicted. Both parents are due in court next month. We did attempt to reach out to those parents for comment, but haven't heard back yet. Valerie?

Okay, Andres, thank you. There are growing calls tonight for a full investigation into why Eagles quarterback Jalen Hertz both played and got on a plane after doctors found a blood clot in his leg. The NFL commissioner tonight says he welcomes that inquiry. Stephanie Gossack has the update. How was Eagles quarterback Jalen Hertz allowed to play and travel after? a blood clot was discovered in his leg. Protection for Hertz and it's a first down catch. Tonight, the Players Association

calling for a full investigation. The NFL commissioner responding. Well, we welcome that. That's part of our processes. Roger Goodell saying the league's health and safety protocols were followed. How much latitude is a player given in the decision to play

or to travel if he's injured? They have a lot of latitude there and they also have a lot of latitude with respect to getting additional medical opinions. League officials later adding that teams and players will follow medical advice. According to the Eagles, Hertz was diagnosed with a superficial clot in his leg the night before the team's London game, but doctors cleared him to play and fly home. Days later, blood clots were discovered in both of his lungs. In this case, everyone was incredibly conservative and incredibly vigilant.

Hertz is out, likely for the season. The most important thing here is Jalen's health, ultimately. While in Tennessee, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott was abruptly let go from the Titans after an incident with a teammate. Head coach Robert Sala confirming Elliott brought a gun to the training facility. He's a good man, made a terrible, had a terrible lapse in judgment that I recognize as a call for help. The coach adding, these players go through a lot and another NFL team should give him a chance. The NFL does not allow guns at training facilities and in a statement said this incident is under review. Valerie. All right, Stephanie, thank you. Still ahead tonight, a retired NYPD detective now facing a murder charge after a violent incident on a busy New York City Bridge, what we know. Plus a man leaping onto a moving school bus and calling for help after the driver had a medical emergency. Stay with us.

Back now with a developing situation here in New York. Police say a former NYPD detective is facing a murder charge in connection to a deadly road rage incident on the George Washington Bridge. Melissa Colorado from our NBC New York station has the latest. Tonight, police charging 62-year-old Victor Romero, a former NYPD detective with murder for allegedly shooting and killing a father of two from Rockland County as the two were driving on the GW bridge last night. New photo obtained by News 4 of the Black Range Rover police say may have been involved in a road raid shooting on the New Jersey bound upper level of the George Washington Bridge during the two. Tuesday night rush hour that killed a 46-year-old father of two, Karan Irvine from Valley Cottage, New York. Police say Romero fired a single bullet that went through the rear passenger window of Irvine's car, hit him in the shoulder, and exited at his neck. Irvine lived in Valley Cottage with his wife and kids, hoped Dorselli lives next door to the family. He was a very nice man. We're moved to the neighborhood as well.

And I remember when we first came to help us out. They have some chickens in the back. He brought a chicken eggs actually to welcome us and he was just a really nice guy so we're in shock and we're really devastated just a family police are questioning a retired NYPD officer in connection with the shooting investigators are looking into whether he was driving a black range rover that is possibly involved in the apparent road rage shooting a glimpse into irvine's social media presence shows a devoted family man invested in his children's youth sports teams and with a deep passion for his favorite sports teams. This was him on the night when the Knicks won the NBA championship. And this was him outside of MetLife Stadium, morning another Jets loss.

I'm still asking. I'll be back. Irvine worked for Con Edison. Here he is celebrating two decades on the job. A spokesperson for Con Ed tells us we are heartbroken by the tragic loss of a member of the con Edison family in the senseless act of violence. Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, colleagues, and everyone who knew and loved him. The way that he died was just completely unnecessary, that it just shouldn't have happened. And here is what we know about 62-year-old Victor Romero. He's been retired from the NYPD for about 25 years. Police say even though he was a former NYPD detective, he did not

turn himself in. Detectives had to track him down. This investigation still very much ongoing. Valerie, back to you. Okay, Melissa, thank you. Now to the new lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein's personal lawyer and his accountant, New Mexico's Attorney General accusing the two of facilitating and concealing the convicted sex offender's crimes. The civil suit stemming from an investigation into Epstein's Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County, both have denied having any knowledge or involvement in Epstein's sex trafficking operation. NBC News Legal Affairs reporter Gary Grumbach is following this one for us. Gary, This is a civil, not a criminal suit.

Walk us through what the AG is alleging and what he wants to see out of this. The New Mexico Attorney General is trying to ensure that not one dollar from Jeffrey Epstein's estate goes towards anybody but the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's actions. And he's specifically targeting two people here. One, Darren Indyke, who's Epstein's former attorney, and two, Richard Kahn, who is Epstein's former accountant. They are both co-executors and beneficiaries of Epstein. Eustin's $107 million estate. And he's concerned that the money, tens of millions of dollars potentially, could go towards these two individuals if he does not step in.

So he's asked a federal judge to try to make this happen. He's also accusing these two individuals of racketeering and of engaging in violation of state and federal law as it relates to trafficking. There were two Epstein survivors that spoke at the press conference today. They talked about the need for accountability here, something they believe they still don't have. And Gary, do we have a response from either of the accused? We have not heard from either of the two individuals who are accused today, but they have previously said under oath during congressional testimony that they deny all wrongdoing as it relates to

anything related to Jeffrey Epstein. Okay. Gary Grumbach, thank you. Now to Top Story's news feed, starting in New Mexico where a judge just ordered META to pay $25 billion for deceiving its users about privacy on Facebook. A jury found the company misled consumers about how the platform worked in a case involving Cambridge Analytica, a firm link to President Trump's first campaign in 2016. This marks the biggest fight ever against the tech giant.

A meta spokesperson says they plan to appeal. And a scary scene over I-5 in Southern California with this box truck dangling over the freeway. You see the driver jumping out. It happened because of a crash involving a truck and sedan nearby. The crash backing up traffic for hours. Officials say four people in the sedan were taken to the hospital. And a tense moment for a plane full of passengers in Germany.

Video shows medical workers in hazmat suits boarding this Euro Wing's flight right after it landed. An airline spokesperson says they were called in after multiple people on board got sick. Three of them were so ill they had to be rushed to the hospital. They say they're now looking into what caused it. In Minnesota, a new video of a man jumping onto a runaway school bus filled with kids and getting it to see. stop after a driver had a medical emergency. You can see it here in this surveillance video. The 27-year-old told our local affiliate he accidentally put the bus in reverse before pulling the parking break and calling for help. More than 18 students were on board. No injuries were reported. School officials say that bus driver is now recovering after being

released from the hospital. Coming up, detained in the West Bank, New York congressional candidate Brad Lander speaking out after he and dozens of others were rounded up by his Israeli forces. Plus a convicted bank robber returning to his old tricks, pulling off a string of new heists wearing a similar devious disguise. Stay with us. Back now with Top Story's Global Watch, New York congressional candidate Bradlander is speaking out after being detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank. It happened during an olive harvest with dozens of rabbis and volunteers. Lander has been released, but posted this video as it all went down. Jerry Hapnery called by software security have detained us, put us on this bus, and taken us away for processing.

The IDF saying the group posed a security risk. This is the latest in a string of escalating incidents in the West Bank. Matt Bradley is in Tel Aviv tonight with the latest. Matt? Yeah, Valerie, this is the third high-profile entanglement in the West Bank. The second one involving Americans, Brad Lander, who is a congressional candidate for the 10th District New York. He's well known within progressive democratic circles in New York City. He is a close friend, apparently, of Zohran Mamdani, New York's progressive mayor. He was out there with what sounds

like dozens, over 80 American rabbis, all of whom went to the Holy Land in order to observe the annual Palestinian tradition of harvesting olives. Now, this happens every year. It makes Palestinian farmers very vulnerable to attacks by very radical violent. Jewish Israeli settlers. Most of them, youth in their teens and 20s, who were armed with sticks and stones and slingshots. And that's what we saw over this past weekend. And there was another incident involving an attack by settlers against European diplomats. Before that, there was a vicious attack by settlers against activists and journalists, including one American photojournalists who was put into a hospital for several days with stab wounds and had to have surgery. Now, this incident didn't

actually involve any of these radical settlers. but it did involve the IDF and the police. Both groups said that this group of activists and mostly religious leaders, including Brad Lander, come out without prior coordination with authorities in the West Bank, who, according to the police and the military, should be notified and, it sounds like, given permission to the activists in order to go out into the fields with these Palestinian farmers.

Now, nevertheless, these dozens of people were arrested. Brad Lander, the congressional candidate, said that he was released immediately when he made it clear that he was a congressional candidate. The police backed up that story. The rest of the group, dozens of them, were held for several hours. They have all since been released, except for about three or four, according to Israeli police officers, who are still undergoing interrogation. This is a problem that has been getting worse and worse, and as it ensnars more high-profile people like this congressional candidate or American journalists.

our own team was assaulted in the West Bank about two months ago. It is becoming a bigger and bigger headache for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It's a particularly bad headache. Less than a week before critical parliamentary elections here in Israel could decide Netanyahu's fate. Valerie? Okay, Matt, thank you. And for more exclusive video, expert insights and insight access to our reporters on the ground, download the NBC News app and subscribe.

Turning now to the convicted bank robber in disguise, caught after striking again in Florida. The suspect accused of robbing two banks, all while wearing an old man mask. But get this, he was busted using a similar disguise for a string of heist 10 years ago. Stephen Romo is following this one for us. Stephen, what are we learning about these most recent robberies? Yeah, I just want to put it out there, Valerie. This is a really odd one, and it gets more interesting as you continue to follow it. Federal prosecutors say 40-year-old David Sarton Jr.,

Robbed two different banks, one in August and one in September, both in Florida, using what we saw there, that old man mask, the prosthetics with glasses going up to the teller. It looks kind of realistic when you first see it, but the tellers there said that they could see something was off, especially in how he was moving. Now, he went up to them, got some money, and then had a getaway plan where he rode a bicycle to back to his getaway car, according to federal prosecutors, and then went to his home and then did it again with that second bank. September. At that point, they said they watched him the following day paint his car, a part of his car, black, apparently to try to make it look different there. They then searched his home later, finding they say what looks like the same mask and glasses and a fake gun along with a journal that was titled, God's best friend is a bank robber. So some interesting tip there, some interesting things to note about this case. I mean, it seems like this was well planned out. He is a repeat offender.

were these robberies to his past crimes? Yeah, that's another thing that struck me about this. He was convicted of robbing five different banks in Texas using a different old man mask back in 2016. He was convicted, served 10 years behind bars for that conviction, only got out very recently. And that was not even the first time that he's been accused of doing this. In 2008, he was also convicted of robbing a bank and using Halloween masks and different disguises then. So the accusations now lining up with what he had done in the past. A lot of questions, though, about what his end game was for this.

He lived very close to where these banks were about. All right, a lot of good details in there. Stephen, thank you. Still to come tonight on Top Story, we go back to Tom in Iowa with a look at the iconic Field of Dreams and how it's ushering in a new era for baseball fans. Stay with us. Finally, tonight, if you're a baseball fan,

you likely know the film Field of Dreams. And the iconic sports movie in Iowa Cornfield is transformed, into a baseball diamond. Now that field will become the real-life home turf for a brand new team. Here's Tom. Is this heaven? It's Iowa. For so many baseball fans, this field is sacred ground. The diamond used in the 1989 classic Field of Dreams. In the film, Kevin Costner stars as a farmer who hears a voice that tells him to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield, attracting the ghosts of legendary players.

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. Soon, this place will become home turf for a roster of real-life players on a new team, the Dyersville Dreamers. Starting next year, they're expected to join the Northwood Summer League for college players. Home games will be played right here. You just feel a sense of history. Former Major League Pro West Obermuller will be the team's head coach. And into the corn. Already the Field of Dreams has hosted some of the sports biggest stars,

with the MLB hosting three games in the past five years. Now, the next generation is ready to compete on one of baseball's heavenly diamonds. Field of Dreams is based around a guy's dream. Sometimes it's rough or frustrating at first, but with the right belief and, again, holding true to your convictions, it worked out in the end. What an iconic place. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. For Tom Yamas, I'm Valerie Castro in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.