Wednesday, October 28, 2026

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0:37That smile they can't hide. Knowing you chose exactly right. Because the right gift can bring a lifetime of meaning. A promise. A milestone. A memory in the making. Make every moment unforgettable. Find great gifts starting at$250. Jared. Make the holiday last forever. Shop Jared Jewelers. Breaking news tonight. The train crash horror. More than 60 people killed in a high speed collision in Spain. The massive debris field. Trains completely mangled. Crews searching for anyone alive. Americans among those on board. The horrifying view from inside the train. As we hear from survivors about the desperate escape.

1:23Our new reporting on what went wrong. Also tonight, battle for Ohio, President Trump's last ditch efforts in the surprisingly close Senate race there. Plus the bombshell new report accusing Democrats of trying to confuse voters by putting a man named Dan J. Sullivan on the ballot in Alaska to pull votes from the Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan. Just in the final report on actress Hayden Panettiere's death with the police investigation revealed. Infrared videos of an escaped inmate on the run as authorities close in on him. Plus the urgent multi-state search for this murderer now on the loose.

2:02The terrifying attempted kidnapping caught on camera. A towering man grabbing a woman, kicking and screaming how neighbors race to save her. Our series Data Center Divide. The elementary school in the middle of multiple data centers. pumping smoke into the air, and parents are worried it's harming their kids, what our investigation found. 9-11 Memorial vandalized graffiti sprayed across the names of those killed. The suspect now in custody. A passenger plane colliding with a catering truck on the runway. What went wrong here? Beloved sports broadcaster Ernie Johnson announcing his final season with Inside the NBA.

2:44Why the legendary commentator is retiring. and remembering trailblazer Dolores Huerta, how the workers' rights leader became an icon of the labor movement, coining the term Si Se Puede. Yes, we can. Nightly News starts right now. This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yawmas. And good evening. We thank you for joining us on this Wednesday night. And we want to begin with that deadly train collision in Spain. At least 68 people killed and dozens more injured, including Americans. You can just see just how horrific the accident was. Cars mangled and toppled over. It happened today just outside of Madrid when a high-speed train slammed into another train that was actually stopped, sending cars careening off the tracks.

3:34And look at this. This is the view from inside. Frantic passengers trapped and begging for help. Right now, the urgent rescue operation is still ongoing tonight, and emergency responders are digging through all that wreckage to try and find survivors. And we're learning what may have caused the crash, a tragic combination of computer but also human error. And more troubling, the crash marking the second deadly incident on this same rail line this year. Raf Sanchez is on the scene tonight. He starts us off. Tonight, the mangled wreckage of two trains, cars derailed and scattered across open fields.

4:12You can see these overturned cars hurled off the tracks. At least 68 people killed, witnesses recounting the horror. Suddenly, everything started falling apart. Bang. Here, passengers inside one car moments after the crash, looking at the wreckage just outside their window. Some breaking windows and carrying fellow passengers out of the chaos. It was very hard to see. There was dead bodies. Several Americans were on the train, according to the State Department. This American tourist saying people were screaming and crying. The transport minister calling the disaster inexplicable, saying a computer failure brought trains to an automatic stop on the track.

4:56But somehow a control center gave the green light to another train to speed down the line. rear-ending a train that had stopped. Trains on that line can travel up to 120 miles per hour. And alarmingly, it comes after a fatal crash in January involving the same two train companies on the same rail line, which killed 46 people. Authorities say the crashes do not appear to be linked. But tonight, the government facing demands for answers, with people reeling in grief, shock, and anger over how this could happen again. 120 miles per hour and you think about that accident. Raf, we know you're there live at our scene and you have some new reporting about an American on board.

5:39That's right, Tom. The Jacksonville, Florida Fire Department confirming one of its firefighters and his family were caught up in the disaster here. They're thankfully OK. He actually took part in the rescue effort. And we've been seeing Spanish rescue crews in the field here still searching for people in the darkness. Tom. Raf Sanchez on the scene of the accident tonight. Back here at home, we have major developments ahead of next week's midterms. President Trump making a last minute effort to boost the GOP in Ohio, plus a bombshell new report accusing Democrats of trying to confuse voters in the critical Alaska Senate race.

6:14Here's Garrett Haig. Tonight, President Trump on a Republican rescue mission to Ohio, a state he won three times, but where Republicans are locked in tight races. And in the governor's race, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy still on defense over an attack ad his campaign ran using Democrat Amy Acton's estranged mother, who stayed with a man charged with abusing Acton, to attack her credibility. The irony is they're lying about an ad that was about her lying. There is no low that my opponent won't go to. More than 1.2 million votes have already been cast here. Barry Brown voted straight Democrat. People in central Ohio are just tired, tired of the corruption.

6:58Mike Miller is supporting the GOP. I think their moral values are right and aligned with mine. I think they've got their head on straight. And tonight, a new headline rocking the Senate race in deep red Alaska. The two Dan Sullivan's, the people aren't going to be able to tell, and it's a fraud. The New York Times reporting on a secret Democratic plot to sabotage the campaign of Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by placing another candidate with the same name on the ballot to confuse his supporters. The Times, citing interviews and text messages along with documents reporting Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign, worked with national Democrats to recruit would-be spoilers, eventually finding a man named Dan J.

7:39Sullivan to run. Peltola's former campaign manager telling the Times Peltola was, quote, definitely aware of the plot, but she then sought to retract her statements. The Peltola campaign and the Democrats' Senate campaign committee denied the Times report. Last week, President Trump told the DOJ to file suit to block certification of Alaska's results if Dan J. Sullivan cost Senator Sullivan a win. The fake Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola should be, number one, they should be taken off the ballot, and number two, they should be prosecuted. Garrett is in Ohio at the president's rally tonight. And Garrett, I know you have some new reporting on how that controversial ad may have backfired on the Ramaswamy campaign.

8:25Yeah, that's right, Tom. A Republican strategist working on races in this state tells me that in private internal GOP polling, Ramaswamy slipped from down two points a week ago to active to eight points behind the Democrat. Now, all as that ad became the dominant story in this race. Tom, as we get closer and closer to election night. All right. We thank you for that. Police in South Carolina have ruled the death of Hollywood star Hayden Panettiere as accidental and say their investigation is now closed. Steve Patterson has more on this one. Tonight, case closed. After two months of a blistering coast to coast investigation, police in South Carolina announcing the tragic death of actress Hayden Panettiere was an accident.

9:09The 911 call from the day of her overdose, frantic. Is she breathing? Is she breathing? Hold on. No. OK, we need to start CPR. Paramedics called to this Greenville, South Carolina apartment on August 16th, finding the 36 year old actress unresponsive. Last month, the Greenville County Coroner's office said her death was an overdose, a toxic cocktail of fentanyl, among other substances. The coroner noting no signs of trauma or foul play contributing to her death. During the emergency, first responders found her on again, off again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother, Zach, inside the apartment.

9:47Bryant telling reporters he administered the overdose-reversing Narcan to Panettiere. According to a police report, Hickerson showed an officer a bag of medications Hayden is currently on. The Federal Drug Enforcement Agency joining the case, but no criminal charges have been filed. This is Claire Bennett. The Heroes in Nashville star had recently been candid about her struggles with mental health and addiction. It turned to substances because the anxiety that I started having, the panic attacks that I started having. Tonight, another chapter closed for a story that ended in tragedy. Steve Patterson, NBC News.

10:27OK, we want to turn now to a pair of dramatic manhunts, two inmates escaping in separate incidents. Maggie Vespa with how a police helicopter's infrared camera helped capture one of them. he's ran on us several times and his uh mo is to hunker down this is the moment authorities closed in on an escaped inmate hiding out in a northern michigan swamp he'll be off your left side there's a big pile of like brush and junk just be aware he's kind of buried in there about 10 feet off your nose an infrared camera tracking the scene from above you guys are almost standing on top of it what we're seeing heat wise uh underneath the wood pile the dog basically right off the nose.

11:07We got him. We got him. The inmate, Casey Joe Helsall, recaptured Monday after authorities say he escaped the local jail through a door left propped open. This as another manhunt is underway for convicted murderer Jacob Morley. Authorities say he walked out of a Tennessee prison. His victim sister, Carrie Norman, living in fear. What was the first thing you thought of? Is he here? Like, is he coming for you? Yes.

11:37Yes, I feel that he would have no problem murdering again. Morley had been serving life in prison for murdering Cody Birchfield in 2022. Investigators now examining surveillance videos, they say, show Morley stealing this truck early Monday morning and driving through a nearby town. That same truck, they now say, was found abandoned in rural Marion, Illinois. Local authorities say he has no connection to the town and has vanished. Maggie Vespa, NBC News. Tonight, we also have some terrifying video of an attempted kidnapping. A stranger chases and grabs a young woman as she fights to escape, and all of it is caught on camera.

12:15Here's Andres Gutierrez. Tonight, surveillance video showing the moment Honolulu police say this towering man tried to kidnap a young woman. Watch as this man chases the 24-year-old out of a condo parking garage. He grabs her, lifts her off the ground, and tries to carry her toward this truck. In the video obtained by Hawaii News Now, you can see her kicking and screaming as she fights to break free. Her 77-year-old friend, who asked not to be identified, tries to stop him. He looked like a monster. He just had so much hatred and craziness in his eyes. You can see the suspect pushing the senior away.

12:55I was really, really afraid for her. Witnesses hear the women screaming and rush to help, including Scott Morrison. I was yelling at her, do you know him? And she said, no. Were you afraid at any moment that this guy could turn on you? Oh, yeah, I was looking for a weapon. I was definitely aware that, you know, this could this could not turn out well very quickly. With neighbors closing in, the woman finally breaks free. The man then jumps into his truck and speeds off in reverse. It's surreal. But she's the hero. Like she did all the right things. Three hours later, police arrest a suspect booking the 23-year-old on suspicion of kidnapping and assault.

13:31Both women walked away without serious injuries, but tonight the 77-year-old says the terror from that day is still keeping her up at night. Tom? Andres Gutierrez with that wild video. When we return in 60 seconds, our investigation, the elementary school, with data centers all around it, is the smoke they're pumping out, making the air unsafe for kids. Plus, the jet colliding with a food truck at a major airport, how this happened, and NBA broadcasting legend Ernie Johnson with a powerful announcement about his future. This message comes from Wise Business, the only account your business needs to scale globally.

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15:34We're back now with our series Data Center Divide and the elementary school in the middle of 11 separate data centers. Parents and environmental experts now fearing the air may not be safe for the kids there. Our Stephanie Goss went to Northern Virginia to investigate. Loudoun County, Virginia, proudly touts it has the highest concentration of data centers in the world. And right in the middle of all of it is Discovery Elementary, 11 centers within half a mile of the school and two more being built. Why do we have so many, right? How many more are coming. Seatbelts on. Coco Lyon's daughter is in first grade.

16:14I've had my daughter, you know, leaving school asking, wait, you know, is the building on fire? It's not a fire. It's exhaust from backup diesel generators. There are as many as 264 of them near the school, according to an NBC News analysis of state issued permits. Do you worry about the air? I do. I do. Because I just don't know. Just one generator running at full capacity emits more pollution than 118 wheelers, according to calculations done by environmental researcher Stephen Fong. The number and size of the diesel generators that are being installed, they're producing enough air pollution that there are concerns about what kind of health impacts this would have on students.

16:55Should the state be monitoring the air quality near this school all the time? Personally, I think they should. The data centers we reached out to said they turn the generators on only rarely during power emergencies and during scheduled testing and not always at full capacity. Jason Mello lives down the road from the school. He recorded this video of another data center a bit further away after three straight days of smelling the exhaust this summer. Well, I'm out with my kids and it just was so strong that I'm like, OK, we're going to go inside. Less than 10 years ago, this was all trees. But look down this road.

17:31That's a data center. That's a data center. That's the data center where Jason Mello recorded that video. And just here on this side of the road, look what they're doing. Building another data center. The expansion of data centers across Loudoun County should have been done vastly differently. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed legislation requiring data center companies to use cleaner generators going forward. What would happen if 118 wheelers pulled into Discovery Elementary and just sat there idling their engines? People would lose their minds, and understandably so. Also, an executive order now directs the state to overhaul how it approves generators and tracks their impact.

18:14We are putting clear standards in place and ensuring that what has been permitted in years past is not permitted into the future. Loudoun County says the policy at the time the school was built did not give the community a say in data center development. The policy has since been changed for future projects, but that won't stop the construction already underway. Coco Lyons says she is worried for her daughter's health. I'm dropping her off to her local school. Right. But to think that I could be putting her in harm's way by doing so. Yeah. that's hard. And with that, Steph joins us now live in studio.

18:54And Steph, there's an irony here. Your team learned that the land that the school sits on was actually donated by a data center. Yeah, Tom, that was 15 years ago before the AI boom. Since then, the county put very few restrictions on data center construction and the state accepted every permit request for those diesel generators. It is only until just recently that they've reevaluated and changed those policies. But those two centers that are being constructed right now are still going forward, Tom. 11 data centers around one school. Okay, Steph, thanks for that. We're back in a moment with the alarming vandalism at the 9-11 memorial in Lower Manhattan.

19:28The man arrested tonight.

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21:28From this other angle, you can see the truck just crunched under the 737 Max's wing. The airline says there were no passengers that were aboard the plane at the time. Everyone involved was OK. In New York City, a man has been arrested and charged for vandalizing the 9-11 memorial at the World Trade Center. He posted videos online of himself spray painting the monument. A security officer spotted him painting a message about gun violence and read over names along the hallowed memorial pools. Police say the man took responsibility. And beloved broadcaster Ernie Johnson announcing he's retiring from inside the NBA.

22:04Johnson posting a message online saying it's time and revealing ongoing heart issues and that he recently had bypass surgery. Johnson saying he feels great and that going through that has made him treasure every second with his family. And he says he will still do things like March Madness and other projects. We wish him all the best. All right, when we come back here on Nightly News, her tireless work on the front lines brought rights to farm workers across America, remembering Dolores Huerta. That's next.

22:36Finally tonight, we are remembering labor rights icon Dolores Huerta, whose three word slogan, Si Se Puede, Yes We Can, became a widespread rallying cry for generations. Liz Kreutz on her life and activism. Si se puede! For more than seven decades, Dolores Huerta, one of the nation's leading labor activists, dedicated her life to fighting for change. The Latina civil rights icon co-founded the United Farm Workers Union in the 1960s with activist Cesar Chavez, where together they organized a nationwide boycott of grapes that led to the first union contract giving migrant farm workers better wages and working conditions.

23:16There's been so much violence against our people in California. It seems like the consumers are really supporting the farm workers and they are supporting the boycott. Despite being arrested more than 25 times, Huerta, as seen in multiple documentaries about her life, never backed down. Si se puede. Coining that famous phrase, si se puede, yes we can, that has inspired generations. Yes we can. In 2012, President Obama awarding Huerta the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For him to give me that, it really indicated that how important organizing is. And so I hope that my legacy will be, let's have more organizers.

23:57I consider them to be like the missionaries out there, telling, speaking truth to power. Earlier this year, at age 95, Huerta sharing her truth for the first time, saying that Cesar Chavez sexually assaulted her twice, encounters that resulted in two children with Chavez. Tonight, as her family mourns her death, Obama calling Huerta a hero who spent her life fighting for marginalized communities, even as she herself faced sexism and abuse. An icon who ensured that people who put food on our tables have a seat at one. Liz Kreutz, NBC News. And that's nightly news tonight for this Wednesday. I'm Tom Yamas.

24:36We thank you so much for watching tonight and always. We're here for you. Good night.

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