Monday, October 5, 2026

0:00This message comes from Wise Business, the only account your business needs to scale globally. You're building a business with global ambitions, but hidden fees are eating into your margins. With Wise Business, you can pay overseas suppliers without exchange rate markups. Have customers worldwide get payment details in 22 currencies, so you get more of each hard-earned payment without hidden conversion fees. Be smart. Get Wise Business. Download the app. T's and C's apply. This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just$15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song, like All I Want.

0:39Right. Okay, we can afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required,$15 per month equivalent, taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Tonight, tensions boiling over on Cornell's campus. Outraged students protesting across campus. Thousands marching on the Ivy League school over the handling of rape allegations.

1:11Plus, the glass door shattered and graffiti sprayed across the building. And the encounter caught on camera. A woman confronting one of the fraternity members accused of assault as NBC News learns more about the punishments handed down to those allegedly involved. Horrifying school bus crash in Florida. A 10th grader killed. Video of the mangled bus flipped onto its roof. A jeep on fire. Dozens of kids on board injured. What set off that crash? Plague outbreak fears. The mystery death at a Russian medical lab that studied the deadly disease. Officials in the town now in hazmat suits. How U.S. officials are tracking it.

1:45New details about the fly Dubai attacker. His alleged plot to fly the plane into Tel Aviv's airport. How he used an emergency axe to attack the other pilot who fought for his life. body cam video showing an officer throwing a college student to the ground after police say she tried to stop an arrest why both sides say this viral video doesn't show the whole story olivia dean accused of copying bill withers hit just the two of us in a new song will break down the lawsuit and play both tracks so you can decide for yourself plus the dairy and rescue mission for a lost hunter the moment he was found thousands of feet down a steep ravine and hoisted back to safety.

2:23And Steve Kornacki in the House ready to break down the new NBC News poll, the key demographic shifting away from President Trump and the Republican Party just weeks from the midterms. Top Story starts right now.

2:41And good evening. As we come on the air, anger reaching a fever pitch at Cornell University as the rape allegations draw national attention and cast a shadow over the Ivy League campus. Right now, thousands of students were protesting and demanding action in the wake of those sexual assault accusations involving seven fraternity members. Some arguing the school protected its own reputation over student safety when the allegations first surfaced back in 2024. New images from overnight show a building on campus vandalized. You can see the glass there shattered and graffiti writings condemning the university.

3:13That outrage spilling into the hallways. New video of one of the men at the center of the scandal confronted by a fellow student. I'm just disgusted by you. I just want to let you know personally. I'm ashamed to be on the same campus as you. His lawyer telling NBC News his client is being condemned before the evidence has been fully heard. It comes as we learn new details about the punishments that were handed down. Two of the men involved were expelled, another two suspended. One man graduated and was barred from campus, and two others received lighter punishments, which included writing an essay.

3:47Now the criminal investigation is in the hands of a special prosecutor, Letitia James, who will re-examine the case involving Jane Doe and will ultimately decide whether or not to bring charges. Maggie Vespa begins our coverage from Cornell's campus.

4:03Tonight, outrage on Cornell's campus as students protest the university's handling of 2024 sexual assault allegations. We are talking easily a thousand students here on Cornell's campus. The anger here is palpable. There's no way that students on Cornell campus can continue to trust them to protect us when they keep failing to do so. Overnight, this university building vandalized, a glass door broken, and graffiti splashed across the front, reading, at Cornell, rapists are protected and protesters are expelled. Are you not, like, embarrassed to be here? It comes as new video shows a woman confronting Jillio Lopes on campus, one of the seven Chi-Fi fraternity members accused of sexual assault by Jane Doe.

4:46who is now suing the university. I'm not going to talk about all this right now. You never will because you're a disgusting person. In the civil suit, Jane Doe accuses Lopes of having sex with her without her consent. Lopes, through his attorney, maintaining it was consensual. And tonight, Jane Doe's attorney telling us she's receiving death threats on Instagram, including this one saying one more dead leftist white expletive wouldn't hurt the world. NBC News also learning more about the punishments Cornell handed down to the seven men, some of whom were accused of rape, some of lesser offenses.

5:20A source who's seen the written decision telling NBC News two of the accused men were expelled, two more suspended. One who had already graduated was barred from campus for three years, with the last two given lighter punishments, including studying sexual harassment and writing reflection papers. Lopes' attorney now challenging the special prosecutor investigating the case. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had posted on social media before she was appointed, what this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. I will not comment on a Facebook post. You are calling now on the Attorney General to step aside from her role as special prosecutor in this case.

5:57Absolutely. The concern is not political. The concern is about the integrity of the process. All right, Maggie Vespa joins us tonight live. Maggie, what are protesters, and you were there in the middle of the protest, demanding? Right. Tom, they have a slew of demands. I mean, some of them told us they want the university to expel and or revoke the degrees of the seven accused KIFI members. Multiple people in the crowd told us they want Greek houses on campus abolished. Some said they want university administrators to resign. I mean, the biggest through line that we heard from everybody there is they just want to feel safer on campus.

6:37And as we unpack what happened in 2024, how campus police handled the investigation, how the DA handled the investigation, they say they just don't feel secure here at Cornell anymore, Tom. All right, Maggie Vespa, we're going to turn out to another major headline, a horrific school bus crash in Florida. Two people killed, including a high school student after the collision left the bus flipped completely upside down. More than 30 kids were on board. Our Aaron Gilchrist is there. horrifying scenes on a florida road a school bus flipped on its top a jeep it collided with on fire right next to it a vehicle versus a school bus school bus has flipped over at this time this bus overturned on this two-lane road in winter haven before sunrise this morning an oncoming sedan crossed the center line and struck a rear tire of the bus sending it into a tailspin according to authorities what we see on the video is clearly this white car for unknown reasons drifted over this center line.

7:34The sheriff says the bus then hit a Jeep head-on before it flipped and landed upside down in this ditch. Video shows the Jeep on fire as people stand on the side of the road. On that bus, the driver, her nine-year-old daughter, and 37 high school students headed to school. It was really hard for them to, you know, be there and watch their friends like that. The crash killing a high school sophomore and an occupant from the Jeep. It was a terrible, tragic morning. We had a beautiful 10th grade girl lose her life. The victims were rushed to several hospitals. The school district today decided to continue with classes and is asking for prayers as the school community deals with this sudden tragic loss.

8:18Aaron, those images are just so sad to see. Aaron Gilchrist, who joins us now from outside the hospital in Lakeland, Florida. Aaron, one person is still in critical condition where you are.

8:30JOHN YANG, Director, The Lakeland Regional Hospital of Lakeland Regional Hospital The authorities who are investigating this crash have made the point that it is astonishing that there weren't more people who were critically injured or killed in this crash. When you think about the fact that there were more than 40 people across those four vehicles involved in this accident early this morning, we understand that most of the other people who were injured have been treated and released from several hospitals around this region. We also understand from investigators that the person who initially hit that school bus early this morning is cooperating with the investigation.

9:03We believe that person was injured as well. And at this point, our understanding, Tom, is that that person has not been charged with any crime so far. The investigation, of course, continues. Yes, still very early. OK, Aaron, thank you. We're also following an alarming story out of Russia tonight. A woman who worked at a lab there that studied the plague dying under mysterious circumstances. 200 people are now under medical observation. And tonight, the U.S. says it's closely monitoring the situation. And Thompson reports. Tonight, workers in hazmat suits in the town where the lab employee died.

9:36Russian officials say the cause of death for the 28-year-old woman last week was pneumonia of unknown origin. She worked at the Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia, which deals with the deadly bacteria. The U.S. State Department now saying they're aware of reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in the area. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaking earlier. I don't think it's cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it, and we're doing that. At least one hospital is under quarantine and nearly 200 people under medical observation, according to Russian officials.

10:13The lack of reliable information tonight concerns some medical experts, including Dr. Ashish Jha. What kind of information are you looking for? Well, we know Russia's had a longstanding biological weapons program. We know that they've been expanding that program. I am first and foremost interested in was this lab part of that bioweapons program. Pneumonic plague is caused by the same bacteria as bubonic plague. It's spread by respiratory droplets in the air from coughing or sneezing. You can develop symptoms as soon as 24 hours. So how contagious is it? Well, because it's a bacteria, infectious disease experts say it's not nearly as contagious as COVID or the flu or measles.

10:57Those are all viruses. This bacteria does not spread easily. And because of that, tonight, there is no fear of a global pandemic. Tom. And thank you. I want to bring in Dr. Amish Adalja, who specializes in infectious disease, bioterrorism, and emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins. He's been a guest on Top Story before. Doctor, thanks for joining us. Can you explain for our viewers what exactly the pneumonic plague is? So the pneumonic plague is a form of plague where the plague bacillus, which is called Yersinia pestis, infects your lungs, and it causes a pneumonia. And it can be quite a severe pneumonia, and you can cough up those droplets and you can spread it to other individuals.

11:40Thankfully, we don't live in the 14th century. We live in the 21st century where we have antibiotics that can promptly treat plague once it's recognized. And this isn't something that's unheard of. We have maybe a dozen or so plague cases that occur every year in the United States. Okay. What do you think happened here, right? Because, I mean, we're getting the information out of Russia. You've seen people walk around in hazmat suits. You have a lab worker who's dead. JOHN YANG, MD, MD, There's a lot of lack, there's a huge lack of transparency here. What we know is that this is a lab worker who died.

12:12They say she didn't die from anything that she worked with. They're calling it a pneumonia of unknown origin. And they're not behaving as if it's plague, because plague isn't that contagious. Plague is something where there is sort of a standard operating procedure if someone is exposed. You give them prophylactic antibiotics, and they don't get sick. She died. So, something went wrong. And the way that they're kind of putting in these anti-epidemic measures, is what they're calling them, where they're looking at all of these contacts and monitoring them and all these hazmat suits, that doesn't fit with plague.

12:45That makes me think that there's something else going on. And this is why the Russian government needs to be more transparent, because we do know that they have clandestine biological weapons production facilities and labs. and they did this for decades and decades and decades, and they had accidents like this. So this is really important to really bring, you know, the force of the world to get them to be transparent about what's happened there. And they are a country at war. This is sort of more terrifying than what we initially thought. And I know you're just sort of going off what you think and your expertise, and there's still a lot we don't know.

13:19Explain this to me. How would the person who works at the lab get infected with this? Is it like a vial breaking? I mean, how does this work? That's the story that we heard, that this was a test tube that broke. But it might be that someone is working with a pathogen. They're trying to culture it. They're working with it on plates. Maybe they have a breach in their personal protective equipment, their masks. Maybe there's some kind of breach in the air filtration that occurs. There's lots of different ways that there can be a biosafety lapse. But the thing is, labs like this usually have massive amounts of procedures and layered ability to kind of protect their workers and anybody else from getting infected from the pathogens.

13:58That's part of a biosafety culture that these labs usually have. So the fact that that broke down is raising questions. But then they're saying whatever she was infected with wasn't something she worked with. So that, again, gives you another question mark. So this is all just a lot of opacity from the Russian government. And I think it doesn't serve anybody well because it leaves an information vacuum that's being filled with lots of different things. And this could be ended very quickly if they actually would say what they know, what they don't know, what they're trying to find out. Very strange indeed.

14:31I do want to ask you, is there a fear here, right, that if the person traveled or if they gave it to somebody else and that person traveled, could this go global? Could it, you know, cross borders? DR. I don't know that we have enough information to even say what it is or if it's communicable from person to person. It's interesting that they're monitoring all of these contacts. But any time there's a pathogen, one of the things we look for is, is it able to move from person to person efficiently? Then if something like that is what's at stake, if it is an efficient pathogen that moves from person to person and it's doing it in a rapid manner, then, yes, that raises the stakes.

15:12But at this point, we have no information at all. So it's all really just speculation. Okay, doctor, again, thanks for coming on Top Story to explain this. I have a feeling we may be talking more about this in the days ahead. Back here at home, the former American Idol contestant convicted of murdering his wife, weeping today in court, maintaining his innocence even as his sentence was handed down. His wife's family reading letters from her two young daughters asking, how could you do this? Here's Shaquille Brewster. Tonight, former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn sobbing in court. Your actions, Mr.

15:42Flynn, were abhorrent. An Ohio judge handing down the maximum sentence, life in prison without parole, for murdering his wife Ashley in February while he was having an affair, then staging a home invasion to mislead investigators. Dear Caleb, this is your daughter Alyssa. Flynn breaking down as Ashley's family read the victim impact statements written by his 10 and 12-year-old daughters. How could you do such a thing? I looked up to you. I loved you with all my heart. The least you could do is tell everyone you did it. But in his most extensive public remarks since his February arrest, I take complete accountability and responsibility for my words and my decisions.

16:27And again, I'm so sorry. The former music pastor still maintaining his innocence. I am not white. When I say I did not kill my wife. Last week, a jury spent just over two hours deliberating, convicting Flynn of aggravated murder and eight other counts. Tonight, Caleb Flynn leaving the courtroom in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. The family of the wife he murdered turning their backs with one final message from his daughter. And by the way, I don't plan on coming to see you. And Tom, the judge did have the option to sentence Flynn to the possibility of getting parole after 20 or 25, even 30 years.

17:11You heard in some of her statements in court, they're calling his actions abhorrent, that she decided not to give him that possibility. We do know that Flynn's attorneys even reiterated in some of the court documents that they do plan on appealing last week's verdict. But that will be a really long process. Tom. All right, Jack, thank you. We have new reporting tonight on why the U.S. decided to pull all of its bombers out of a critical air base in the U.K. President Trump now saying he was in response to, quote, threats. NBC's Courtney QB covers the Pentagon first. And Courtney, you have new reporting on what that threat could have been.

17:45President Trump confirming the U.S. pulled all of its bombers out of a military base in England in response to what he called were some threats. Now, when asked by reporters who made those threats, he replied they would be linked to Iran. But he would not go any further than that. But we are learning late today from two U.S. officials that, in fact, all of the U.S. Air Force bombers were moved, in part because of reports of a threat of a possible Iranian drone attack against the base and against those aircraft specifically. Specifically, about a dozen U.S. B-1 bombers were moved out over the weekend, and the process was rushed, according to two Pentagon officials who we spoke with.

18:26Now, all this comes after British authorities arrested six people in connection with a potential terror plot to target that same British airbase, RAF Fairford. Now they've all been released on bail. Iran has continued to deny any involvement in that terror plot. Now, meanwhile, questions continue to mount over whether President Trump will launch any strikes against Iran. Tom, President Trump continues to say that Iran could suffer from annihilation in the coming weeks, but it's not really clear whether he will actually carry out any of those threats. Tom? Courtney Kuby for us. Courtney, thank you.

19:07We are turning out a chilling new detail on that attack on board an Israel-bound Dubai flight. Tonight, we're learning for the first time what the co-pilot's real target may have been, and the hero pilot revealing how he fought for his life while being attacked with an axe. Here's Keir Simmons. Tonight, disturbing new details of the terror attack foiled by heroic passengers and a brave flight captain. A Middle East official telling NBC News the co-pilot who tried to down a fly Dubai flight full of Israeli passengers was planning a 9-11-style attack. The official says the co-pilot, identified by multiple sources as Hamam al-Hamami, has told investigators he wanted to evade Israel's defences, then crash into the airport or another building in Tel Aviv.

19:55Captain Smith Machar says the terror began when the co-pilot started stabbing him, speaking to Israel's prime minister from his hospital bed. Captain Machar says his colleague told him he was going to pray and step behind him. All of a sudden, he started to get hit with an axe. My vision was almost like nothing. He tried to open the door once, but the attacker closed it, and he somehow managed to twist the knob open again. I gave everything that I had and just went for the door and opened the door. People familiar with the matter telling the Wall Street Journal Al-Hamami had been banned from flying in his home country, Oman, over his radical views.

20:39And an Israeli official tells NBC News he had posted on social media about killing Jews. That person should not have been flying an airline. Here in Israel, questions are swirling over how he was allowed to fly here, while multiple officials tell NBC News they do believe he planned the attack alone. Tom? Kier, thank you. Now to the growing pressures on Republicans back here at home heading into the midterms. Tonight, Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate, locked in a tight Senate race in Texas, appearing to aim criticism at the White House over campaign strategy. Brian Noble says this one. Tonight, with Republicans under pressure before the midterms, new campaign criticism apparently aimed at the White House from a Trump-endorsed Republican candidate in the key state of Texas.

21:26Politico citing two people at the event, reporting Ken Paxton privately told donors last month His campaign is being run from D.C. instead of the Lone Star State. I don't control message or what we're doing, he said. His campaign telling political Paxton was referring to outside super PACs. And Paxton recently blasted the president's midterm convention. When we did that convention, we're trying to remember. Where the president went after his looks. And I don't like the way Ken dresses. I don't really like the way he looks. But you know what I do like? He was the greatest attorney general in the history of Texas.

22:03It comes as some Republicans criticize President Trump's message on the economy, the top issue in the midterms just weeks away. Telling them not to believe their own lying checkbooks is not going to work. Louisiana Senator John Kennedy says he thinks the midterms will be close, while tonight mixed messages from President Trump on mail-in ballots. Mail-in ballots are inherently corrupt. Now urging Republicans to send them in, but still slamming them as corrupt, though they've not been linked to widespread fraud. Vote by mail or vote in person. I'd rather have a vote in person, but they can vote by mail if they want.

22:39And tonight, a growing challenge for Republicans. Latino voters who were key to President Trump's 2024 victory. 74 % in our poll saying they disapprove of his economic policies, including here in South Texas. Two words, buyer's remorse. But in Nebraska, some Latino voters backing Republicans. This voter's message to President Trump? Keep doing what you're doing and don't let them stop you. Ryan Nobles joins us now. Ryan, late today, the president reiterating that controversial promise to pay Americans$5 ,000 if Republicans win the House and Senate. Yeah, that's right, Tom. The president posting a more than two minute video on his social media page tonight, once again, telling voters that if Republicans win both the House and the Senate, that he plans to send a check to every single adult in America for$5 ,000.

23:29Now, what the president leaves out in this video is exactly how he's going to pay for it. He provides some vague notion about the amount of money being brought in by tariffs, talks about the country doing well economically overall, but doesn't specifically say where the money is coming from. He also leaves out the fact that any sort of expenditure like that would need some level of congressional approval. And even if Republicans win both the House and Senate, it's unlikely that they'll have a 60-vote ability to pass that in the Senate, which would require something along these lines to be passed.

24:00Keep in mind, Tom, that this would cost more than$1.3 trillion to send every adult in America a$5 ,000 check. So even though the president is promising this and tying it to the election results, which has its own ethical questions tied to it, the reality of it actually happening seems very unlikely. Tom. Ryan, thank you. To break down the state of play a month out from the midterms, I want to bring in our good friend Steve Kornacki at the Big Board. Steve, let's dive a little deeper into that NBC News Telemundo poll. As we know, Latino voters are not a monolith. And spoiler alert, the president is down with pretty much every group out there.

24:37But talk to us about the gender gap when it comes to approval of the president. Yeah, that's right. He's down more with some groups than with other groups. So take a look here. This is sort of the feelings question. Do you have a positive or negative view of Donald Trump here? Again, this is among Hispanic voters. The gender gap, as you say, look, he's 30 points underwater, really 31 points underwater with Hispanic men. With women, though, 51 points underwater. And I got to say, when it comes to this question, positive, negative view, even in 2024, when Donald Trump did very well with Hispanic voters, personally, he wasn't that popular with them.

25:12It's just that really the floor has kind of fallen out for him, especially with women voters. And you see this, too, when you talk about the congressional, the generic ballot here. Again, you see a gender gap here, which party you want to vote for to control Congress. The Democrats leading both with men and women. It's only a 16-point margin for the Democrats with men, though. With women, it's double that. It's more than 30 points. So young men, sometimes a group that votes heavily for President Trump. What's the shift you're seeing with young Hispanic men? Yeah, and that was a big part of that surge that Trump had in 2024.

25:43So again, talk about that positive, negative here. And look at this. This is the younger side here. This is men under 50, and this is men over 50. And look, over 50, Trump is basically even. You're almost as positive as negative. Go under 50, falls off a cliff. Look at that 70 % negative men under 50. And again, just looking back here two years ago to 2024, as I say, he wasn't that popular two years ago with either group. But again, look at that young men number two years ago. It was 35-47, now 24-70. Yeah, and then, Steve, this week in a top Republican super PAC pulled money out of the Senate battle in North Carolina.

26:20And new polling showed hope for Democrats in five other Senate races. What are you seeing with all the polls right now? Take a look. New York Times, Sienna polls, they put a bunch of them out. We can put them up on one screen for you here. You have five key battleground states. Now, what's interesting, you see Alaska, Texas, Ohio. To varying degrees, you're seeing the Democrats lead, at least in this New York Times-Siena poll. The significance there, each one of those would be a flip. They're all currently held by Republicans. So if this were to happen, it's a huge if, but if this were to happen, just to tell you the significance of it, that would be three Democratic flips.

26:54And then you just mentioned Democrats pulling out of North Carolina. That's also a Republican-held seat. Excuse me, Republicans pulling out. Republican-held seat. That would be a flip, too. So if you had Carolina in those three, that would be four flips. The Democrats need four flips if they're going to get control of the Senate. It's going to be tight. It's going to be a very long and maybe exciting night on midterms. All right, Steve Kornacki, we're a month away. We thank you for that. Got it. Okay, we're back in a moment. New details about the California woman arrested at LAX. Did you hear about this?

27:26She's accused of being a spy for China, what the FBI is revealing tonight. And an update on that failed execution in Tennessee. Jesse Kirsch has been watching this one. The latest on the woman's condition and why the state's prison chief is now stepping down. And the miraculous catch overseas. A shop owner, look at this, grabbing a little boy at the last second after he fell from a balcony. We'll show you more of that video and tell you what happened. Stay with us.

27:56This message comes from Wise Business, the only account your business needs to scale globally. You're building a business with global ambitions, but hidden fees are eating into your margins. With Wise Business, you can pay overseas suppliers without exchange rate markups. Have customers worldwide get payment details in 22 currencies, so you get more of each hard-earned payment without hidden conversion fees. Be smart. Get Wise Business. Download the app. T's and C's apply. Ever notice how every new AI tool asks you to explain your business to it all over again? Google Workspace with Gemini skips that.

28:34You get Google's AI built right into the premium versions of Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and more. No new tools. No extra logins. Just one subscription that gives you personalized AI right inside your actual workflow. Make work less work. Try Google Workspace with Gemini at goo.gle slash workspace with Gemini. This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just$15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song, like All I Want. Right. Okay, we can afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch.

29:13Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for a 12-month plan required,$15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. We're back down with a striking arrest at LAX, a California woman taken into custody by the FBI, accused of spying for the Chinese government. Dana Griffin joins us live from LA tonight. Dana, what do we know about this arrest and why was this woman detained? Yes, so Tom, according to a video posted by the federal prosecutor here in California, it shows 34-year-old realtor, Wan Ying Zheng, aka Heather, she's being escorted in handcuffs, and police say she was just moments away from boarding a flight from LAX to China.

29:57According to the affidavit, police say, or federal prosecutors say that Zhang and another individual traveled to Seattle last year at the direction of officials from the People's Republic of China, sending photos, videos, and license plate information of the Taiwanese president's son and his family, who were all U.S. residents. Security cameras capturing the pair waiting outside the family's home in a rented SUV. And when they returned, the pair quickly sat up and they held their phones out as if they were taking photos and videos of the family. That's according to prosecutors. And another image shows Zhang actually ducking down in that SUV to avoid being seen, the complaint says.

30:37Even FBI Director Cash Patel tweeting out that foreign adversaries take note, America is not your playground. Tom. And then, Dana, what is Taiwan saying? So Taiwan is condemning the conduct. They go on to say that this is a typical case of transnational repression. And we're also hearing from Beijing. They are dismissing these allegations, saying that it's hype meant to vilify and smear China. Now, the affidavit also goes on to say the information collected by this alleged spy could give leverage over Taiwan's president during a potential conflict. As we all know, China considers the self-governing country its own territory.

31:17Now, Zhang is expected to appear before a federal judge. We are waiting to hear back from our producer in court. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison. Wow. Okay. Dana, we thank you for that. Still to come tonight here on Top Story, we have a lot going on. The violent police encounter, an officer seen hitting a college student and shoving her to the ground while she's now facing charges. Plus, the nighttime rescue. Crews saving a man who got lost and hurt during a hunting trip. How they got him out alive. But first, Top Story's top moment in the tight competition taking place in the heart of Philadelphia.

31:52We're talking about the city's first parallel parking championship. Hundreds of backseat drivers lining the streets, revving up the 15 competitors, all hoping to maneuver into the top spot. One contest allowing drivers just 18 inches of clearance without a backup camera. and whoever had the fewest moves reigned champion. Take a look. Keep going. Keep going. One shot. One shot.

32:24One shot Marr holding up a piece of the curb, taking home the grand prize of$76, the cost of parking, of a parking fine in Philly. I think I could do that. I'm a good parallel parker. I didn't seem that tough, but I was in the competition. All right, stay with us. We're back later, right after this.

32:48All right, we're back now with new details on that botched execution in Tennessee. Death row inmate Krista Pike still alive days after two failed lethal injections. And now the embattled prison chief overseeing that execution is stepping down amid concerns over how this was all handled. Jesse Kirsch is following this one for us. Jesse, what do we know about Pike's condition at this hour? Tom, the latest information we had from her team, and I checked in with them again earlier today, was that she remained unconscious in the hospital, was being helped by a ventilator, and was being guarded around the clock.

33:23And this speaks to the predicament not just for her medical future, but for her legal team trying to figure out what comes next. Her lawyer, who I spoke with over the weekend, told me that some of those decisions are going to be based on how she is if and when she wakes up from her current unconscious state. Here's part of my conversation with her attorney. And she was sincerely ready to go. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when she comes out of this and realizes what happened and what results may be permanent. you know, if there's any permanent damage.

34:06So there is at least one appeal that her team had before an appeals court, a federal appeals court, before the attempted execution. And after this failed attempt, Tom, her team reiterated to the court that they expected that appeal to be considered valid and ongoing. And then, Jesse, while we have you here, the Tennessee prison commissioner is resigning. I think this happened over the weekend. What did he say about stepping down? Yes, so this came as an announcement from the governor's office. They said that he offered his resignation and that he would be stepping down sometime this month. They didn't specify effective immediately what day it might come.

34:47But the reason that this man, Frank Strada, and you see him there on screen, is under scrutiny. Of course, there's a lot of attention on the Tennessee Department of Correction and how they handled this incident. But Strada used to work in Arizona. He was a deputy there. He was not the top official, but he worked in the department in Arizona that handled executions there. And there were some issues during his tenure tenure there. But despite those issues and him being involved in that organization, the governor in Tennessee still brought him to that state. And that came in the midst of Tennessee having its own issues back in 2022 into 2023.

35:25So there are questions about if this individual should have been brought here to begin with and if what role he might have played in the series of events that have unfolded here. This is the second failed execution attempt in Tennessee this year. But now, Tom, we know he will not be a part of this organization or leading this organization in the months ahead. But again, exactly when he will no longer be in that role is unclear at this point. All right, Jesse Kirsch for us. Jesse, thank you. And now to the viral video showing officers in Tempe throwing a college student to the ground. Her attorney's speaking out tonight about the new charges that she's facing and a warning.

35:58Some of the videos may be disturbing. Here's Andres Gutierrez. Video shows the moment an officer shoves 21-year-old Erin Bonner after police say she interfered during a tent scene outside a bar in Tempe, Arizona this July. The now viral videos, some of which were blurred by police, showing Bonner and an officer appearing to struggle after she's taken to the ground. Moments later, the officer strikes her. Instead of de-escalating the situation, he escalated by pushing her to the ground, jumping on top of her and punching her in the face. Officers initially booked Bonner on felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest charges.

36:41But the Maricopa County Attorney's Office declined to prosecute, saying there was, quote, no reasonable likelihood of conviction. Now, more than two months later, the city of Tempe Prosecutor's Office has charged Bonner with two misdemeanors. What's going to be critical here is what the officer reasonably perceived as a threat to him or his fellow officers to justify that level of force. The Tempe Police Department says it's investigating the incident. The police union says Bonner ignored commands to get back, then hit and scratched the officer as he tried to restrain her. In Bonner's mugshot right after the altercation, she appears to have one black eye.

37:21Her attorney says these photos show two black eyes that were taken two days later, pointing to delayed bruising. Bonner's attorney also accuses the officer of inappropriately touching her during the struggle. The police union says the officer never groped her. The police department declined our request for an interview, but said in a statement that the actions of everyone involved are under review. Honor is expected to appear in court on November 4th. Tom? All right, our thanks to Andres Gutierrez for that one. Now to Top Stories News Feed. We start with new video out of Ukraine showing a fiery attack on a bridge in the capital of Kiev.

37:56Watch as this Russian drone slams into the side of the bridge, setting off that huge explosion right in front of a group of cars. No official word on any injuries, but the local mayor says it's the second attack on that bridge in the past few days. In Egypt, the shop owner was in the right place at the right moment. Here's why. Saving this young boy that somehow fell from a second-story balcony. You see it here in the surveillance video. The child appearing to get caught on some clotheslines for a second before the man makes that life-saving catch. Local media there now hailing him as a hero. And back here at home, a hunter rescued in Georgia after getting lost and seriously hurt deep in the woods.

38:30Here you can see a helicopter crew lifting the man to safety. Search teams on the ground reached him first. But because he was trapped in a steep ravine during severe weather, they had to call in the chopper. Officials say he was in critical condition and is now at the hospital. Coming up here on Top Story, the new legal battle rocking the music world. Did pop star Olivia Dean rip off one of Bill Withers' biggest hits? We'll play the song side by side so you can be the judge and break it all down with an expert who you've probably seen on social media. Stay with us. ever notice how every new ai tool asks you to explain your business to it all over again google workspace with gemini skips that you get google's ai built right into the premium versions of gmail docs sheets and more no new tools no extra logins just one subscription that gives you personalized ai right inside your actual workflow make work less work try google workspace with Gemini at go.gle slash workspace with Gemini.

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40:39What a song and what a voice. That, of course, was the unforgettable Bill Withers with his Grammy-winning hit, Just the Two of Us. Now rising star Olivia Dean has been accused of copying that song in the closing track of her latest album. Take a listen for yourself. Here's Withers once again. I SEE THE CRYSTAL RAIN DROPS FALL AND THE BEAUTY OF IT ALL IS WHEN THE SUN COMES SHINING THROUGH. AND HERE'S OLIVIA DEANS, I 'VE SEEN IT. HEARD IT LAST IN EVERY SONG AND STILL THE WORDS ALL COME OUT WRONG. IT DOESN'T ALWAYS ON SO WHEN YOU CALL. BRINGS OUT THE WORST, BRINGS OUT

41:29The publisher of Withers Music Catalog now suing Dean's music label and publishers alleging the song contains substantial similarities which did not result from coincidence, independent creation or reliance on common musical elements. We should note Olivia Dean and her co-writers. They're not named as defendants. We've reached out for comment but have not heard back. Joining us now to break this all down is Blake Robin. He's better known as Luxury. He's a music producer and co-host of the popular One Song podcast. He also has a great Instagram handle. You guys should all follow him. Blake, I'm a big fan of yours.

42:03I've lost so much time. Maybe I haven't lost time. Maybe I've been educated from your feed on Instagram. You guys do amazing work. I really enjoy what you do as somebody who's an audiophile. Thanks for coming on Top Story. You are a music expert. What is your take? Do these songs sound the same? So I think there's some similarities that we all heard, especially in those first two bars in the Olivia Dean song. And if you want to break it down, what's important, first of all, what I want to frame is that music copyright cases in recent years have been, I think, egregiously in favor, sort of in the case from Plurid Lines until Ed Jiren.

42:41We've been living in an era where a lot of things have been sued that I don't think have been sued. And I think we might be talking about Stella Lefty. That's another situation where I think things have gone too far. In this case, I do hear some similarities, but I want to break down with you what they are, and maybe we can decide together just how much of a similarity it is and compare that to just how much is different, because that's my number one thing that I think gets lost in these conversations. Blake, do your thing and show our viewers what you do, because this is the most fascinating thing about what you do.

43:10Well, I would say that it starts with the melody. And from a standpoint of copyright law, what matters most, what has mattered most historically is melody. So you've got to put aside lyrics. You've got to put aside anything that isn't melody. And in this case, what we just heard, the first two bars of the Bill Withers, da-da-da-da-da-da-da, is pretty darn similar. close enough to being similar that I would say that they are pretty exactly similar with the I've seen it melody. Now, what's important to point out is that that is two bars that happens twice in the Olivia Dean song. And we do have about 15 or 16 notes that are pretty similar, but not identical.

43:51A few of the rhythms are different. But what I want to point out is that that's about 10 % of her song. The other 90 % is not the same. And also within that melody, the lyrics are different. It's a different storytelling. And the reason why I want to bring this up is because it really has culturally become this moment where people claim ripoff, people claim plagiarism, people claim interpolation for that matter. Interpolation. I had to do that. Yeah. When in fact, what I think legally speaking is actually open to interpretation is the degree to which we think something is so similar to the other thing that we can't tell them apart.

44:27I don't have a problem telling these songs apart. I hear the similarity SONG THAT YOU'RE CREATING THE MELODY. THOSE ARE TWO SING SONGS. AS AN OLIVIA DEAN LISTENER TODAY, SOME TEENAGER MIGHT BUY THAT, HEAR THAT THERE'S A SONG THAT IT'S BASED ON, AND GO CHECK THAT OUT. GO CHECK OUT THE BILL WITHERS SONG THAT THEY MAY NOT HAVE EVER HEARD BEFORE. THAT LEADS ME TO MY NEXT QUESTION. LEGAL EXPERTS SAY WITHERS' LABEL WILL HAVE TO PROVE DEAN'S TEAM LISTENED TO JUST THE TWO OF US BEFORE WRITING THEIR SONG, BUT WHO HASN'T, RIGHT? IT HAS MORE THAN 900, 950 MILLION STATE OF THEIR OWN STATE OF SPOTIFY ALONE.

44:55FROM A PRODUCER'S STANDPOINT, WHERE DOES AN ARTIST CROSS THE LINE BETWEEN INSPIRATION AND INFRIGEMENT? WE ARE ALWAYS INFLUENCED BY THOSE THAT WE LOOK UP TO AND LISTEN TO AT A YOUNG AGE. TOTALLY. I THINK THE IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO EVERYONE OUT THERE IN TIK TOK LAND ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I MENTIONED STELLA LEFTY BECAUSE

45:23SONGS, AND ON MASS SAY WAIT A SECOND, THE SONGS SOUND ALIKE. AND OF COURSE THEY DO, BUT DO THEY SOUND ALIKE ILLEGALLY? THAT'S WHERE I THINK THE QUESTION NEEDS TO BE. YOU'RE SETTING UP THAT SONG. WE'RE GOING TO RUN THAT SONG AT THE END OF THE SEGMENT AS WELL. SO MANY PEOPLE NOW ARE TALKING ABOUT THAT AS WELL. LET'S RUN THROUGH A FEW OF THE CLASSICS, RIGHT? ARTISTS HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF

45:54motherei. January 1st, knob Shoal Mommy to kamu hope your Catholics

46:11vagyis Illinois is making the case for this category of THE BASELINE. IT'S THE BASELINE. LIKE IT GOES DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING. THAT'S THE WAY THEIRS GOES. OURS GOES.

46:29SO IT'S THE DING DING DING. CLASSIC MOMENT IN POP CULTURE HISTORY. THEY SETTLED OUT OF COURT. DID YOU HEAR A DIFFERENCE AT ALL? They're the same. I mean, of course, and what he's pointing out, first of all, it should be noted in Vanilla Ice's defense. Like, I'm serious about this. It's 1990. The rules about sampling are not established. In fact, you'll often hear people like West level say this is the wild, wild west in the late 80s into 1990 when that song came out. Of course, there's a belief. There's an understanding that what they're doing perhaps is maybe going to require some payment or some copyright sharing.

47:07But back in 1990, there wasn't what we know now to be the case. All the cases that have come before hadn't happened yet. There hadn't been Grant upright. There hadn't been all of these, you know, the turtles suing De La Soul. So in fairness to Robbie Van Winkle, a.k.a. Vanilla Ice, but they are the same. That does feel infringy to me, and I think that was probably handled fairly. Blake, another famous one here that maybe people didn't know about. Lady Gaga's Born This Way, which some people say sounds a whole like Madonna's. Express yourself. Take a listen. NOTyearsue

48:05Pалогgemeinenyr in the I THINK IT'S A LITTLE BIT. I CAN BREAK IT DOWN FOR YOU. TO ME, TO MY EARS, PERSONAL OPINION MATTERS A LITTLE BIT. I CALL THIS AN EVOCATION COMBINATION. ONE SONG IS CERTAINLY EVOKING THE OTHER SONG. IT'S VERY LIKELY OR POSSIBLE TO LIKELY THAT LADY GAGA WAS INSPIRED BY EXPRESS YOURSELF. But the similarities, I mentioned that melodically it needs to be the same. You know, substantial similarity is what the accusation for the Olivia Dean Bill Withers case is. That's what it says right there in the court document. Substantial similarity. And that is defined by melody. The melodies are actually different.

48:44What you're hearing that's similar, I think, to most of our ears. These are both dance pop songs within a certain BPM tempo, you know, frame that's very similar. THE FACT OF THE FACT OF THE FACT OF THE FACT OF THE THEY'RE BOTH USING THE MIXOLIDIAN MODE MEANING MELODICALLY SPEAKING A LOT OF THE SAME NOTES ARE HIT AND HERE'S THE IMPORTANT THING THAT I THINK A LOT OF US ARE HEARING. THERE'S A FLAT SEVENTH WHEN MADONNA GOES I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY. THAT'S LIKE A SEVENTH MEANING IT'S RIGHT BELOW THE I WAS BORN THIS WAY THAT'S THE ROOT AND LADY GAGA IS DOING A SIMILAR THING. SHE GOES, I'M SORRY, LADY GAGA'S THE RIGHT TRACK, BABY.

49:21AND MADONNA'S SONG, SHE SAYS, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU 'VE GOT TO. THEY'RE BOTH HITTING THAT NOTE RHYTHMICALLY, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, RIGHT TRACK, BABY. I THINK THAT KIND OF TRIGGERS A LITTLE BIT OF LIKE, WAIT A SECOND, IT'S A DANCE SONG. I'M HEARING THIS FLAT SEVENTH. SOME OF THOSE THINGS START TO

49:46Stella Lefty has drawn backlash for allegedly copying Noah Khan's stick season. Let's play them both. Back to Boston and we're jumping the gun. And I'm telling you, baby, this is the part where I'd run. But I like it when you're nice. Like it when you're nice to me. I've heard my pitch to season of the sticks. And I saw your mom. She forgot that I existed. And it's half my fault. But I just like to play the victim. I'll drink alcohol till my friends come home for Christmas. And I'll dream each night of something. Lefty ended up giving Khan writing credit retroactively. But if interpolations are so common in music, why aren't artists getting them cleared ahead of time?

50:33This to me is a travesty because the similarities are more in the realm of, again, sort of using both of the songs we've talked about as comparison. This is less Olivia Dean Bill Withers. This is far more Madonna, Lady Gaga to me. There's what I am hearing, what we're all hearing are a lot of similar notes and the genre is similar kind of country Americana. The tempos are relatively the same. So we're in the same vibe space. And within that major key, we're hearing melodies. It's the same four notes. The same four notes are used, I should say. But the melodies are not the same. Like, if you were to lay them on top of each other, you would hear kind of a mishmash of two songs.

51:16And that's really important. We're hearing a lot of rhythmic similarities. It's kind of like da-da-da-da-da-da-da. But they're different. And to me, the reason I say travesty is because, look, if I were the publisher on either side of this and in the negotiation, I might find something like, OK, let's 20 percent. Let's be reasonable here. You know, first of all, the top line is 50 percent and the music is 50. Within the top line, the lyrics are different too. There's so many differences. This is so much a fragment of a longer song. I feel like this is maybe a 10 % interpolation situation. But do you know how much Noah Kahn gave, or owns of the Stella Lefty song?

51:54Tell us. Noah Kahn is 50 % of the publishing on that song. Okay. And that to me is too much. And that matters because I don't want myself as a songwriter and other songwriters to get concerned that if we get too close to something, THE STANDARD NEEDS TO BE HIGHER THESE ARE MUSICAL BUILDING BLOCKS NOBODY CAN OWN. THINGS LIKE SCALES AND SIMILAR RHYTHMS. IT'S NOT THE SAME. IT'S SIMPLY NOT THE SAME. THE STANDARD NEEDS TO BE HIGHER FOR THESE CASES. BLAKE ROBIN, I'M A HUGE FAN. THANK YOU FOR COMING ON. HOW CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU? I KNOW HOW TO FIND YOU. TELL OUR VIEWERS HOW THEY CAN TALK ABOUT HOW THEY CAN FIND YOU.

52:28IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE BEING ON THE SHOW, TOM. YOU CAN FIND ME, I'M LUXURY WITH TWO X'S, LUXXURY ON TIKTOK AND INSTAGRAM AND YOU CAN LISTEN TO OUR SHOW, ONE SONG WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS EVERY SINGLE WEEK. IT IS A REALLY COOL SHOW. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. WE APPRECIATE IT. WHEN WE COME BACK TONIGHT ON THE BROADCAST, THE PREGAME SURPRISE FOR ONE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL player running onto the field and reuniting with his brother a Navy sailor returning home after months away that special moment right after this.

53:01Finally tonight a big surprise for one high school football player his brother home after months away serving his country just in time for the big game. High school football player Esteban Ortiz has no idea what was waiting for him on the other side of this banner. That's him right there. number 50. The junior offensive lineman running out for his team's big rivalry game. And there, waiting to surprise him, one of his biggest fans, his older brother, Isaias.

53:35Isaias is in the Navy and has been stationed on the other side of the country for months. So this hug felt especially meaningful. I was just feeling like unexpected joy, like tears of happiness. You know, when I saw him, I kind of just broke down. Isaiah's leave was brief. He's already traveling back to where he's stationed, but he knew he wanted to spend that time home with his younger brother. It was very special, very meaningful. Once I saw him and he saw me, we both had that physical reaction. Just being able to hug him and hold him after being away for so long, it meant everything. He has my back 24-7, and I have his back no matter what.

54:16That's my brother right there. What a great moment. All right, we thank you for watching Top Story Tonight. I'm Tom Yamas in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.

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