Thursday, October 29, 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. Here's something you may not know. Only 14 % of cancers in the U.S. are caught through routine screenings. PreNuvo's whole-body MRI may help close that gap, screening for over 500 conditions, including most solid tumors, all in under an hour.

0:46PreNuvo's body panels also test over 80 biomarkers for a deeper understanding of your health. No radiation, no contrast. Book your scan at prenuvo.com. That's P-R-E-N-U-V-O dot com. Tonight, the criminal investigation to a growing election controversy in Alaska with control of the Senate hanging in the balance. The DOJ issuing a wave of subpoenas. The governor there ordering an investigation as Democrats are accused of plotting to take votes away from Republican Dan Sullivan by recruiting a challenger with the same name. The new details tonight. Plus, President Trump's rescue mission in South Carolina rallying in the reliably red state that surprisingly neck and neck will the last ditch effort to save Darlene Graham pay off.

1:29Acting legend Patrick Stewart has died. The iconic Star Trek captain and X-Men superhero who rose from Shakespeare to blockbusters. How he's being remembered. The historic stock drop for Google's parent company, Alphabet. The second worst wipeout in market history. Dragging down the rest of Wall Street. Is AI to blame? And what it means for your 401k? A portable charger bursting into flames, exploding just inches from this woman. Could this happen in your home? The new warning tonight. And chaotic lawmaker brawl why punches were flying during this heated session of Parliament. Plus, new data shows the economy is growing and Americans are spending more.

2:10But we'll add some context to these numbers. Are there two different economies at play here? Top story starts right now.

2:23Good evening. Tonight, the alleged sabotage plot in Alaska now spiraling into a criminal investigation. New subpoenas just handed down related to that critical Senate race that could decide who controls Congress. And the clock is ticking tonight with just five days to go until election night. At the center of the scandal, two men both named Dan Sullivan, both running for Senate. One, the Republican incumbent, the other, an independent. So was it a same name coincidence or part of a wider scheme to cause confusion? Is there a decoy Dan? That's what officials are now investigating. The DOJ and Alaska's governor launching probes into the campaign of Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate in the race, after a bombshell report from The New York Times that said her campaign secretly worked to find another candidate, also named Dan Sullivan, to trip up Republican voters.

3:11The unprecedented legal battle coming as President Trump's midterm blitz forges on. He's now in South Carolina, a deep red state that's becoming an unlikely Senate battleground. It's where Darlene Graham is fighting to secure her seat, a job she was handpicked for by President Trump after the death of her brother Lindsey Graham. But tonight, polling shows that race is in a dead heat. Our team is tracking it all, the high-stake races, but we begin with Ryan Nobles on that brutal political and legal battle unfolding in Alaska. Tonight, the tale of two Dan Sullivans rocking the critical Senate race in Alaska, now leading to a criminal investigation.

3:49It's a mess and we're going to unravel it. Alaska's governor announcing the state probe into whether Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign should face charges for what he calls deliberately tricking voters. This is really problematic for not just their campaign, but again for election integrity. A U.S. official telling NBC News the Justice Department issued as many as three dozen new subpoenas as part of a federal probe. All after the bombshell report in the New York Times about 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 GOP voters.

4:30The Times citing, quote, interviews and text messages along with documents reporting Peltola's campaign worked with national Democrats to recruit would-be spoilers, eventually finding a man named Dan J. Sullivan to run. Tonight, Senator Sullivan blasting the alleged plot. Mary Peltola and the DSCC were the ones who put together this scheme and think so little of Alaskans that they thought they can trick them. According to the Times, another man currently on the ballot, drywall contractor Gerald Hykus, says he was also recruited to run against Senator Sullivan. Peltola's former campaign manager who was fired told the Times Peltola was definitely aware of the plot, but she then sought to retract her statements.

5:17Peltola and the Democrat Senate Campaign Committee denied the report. This is just another distraction. It's another diversion. Every day it's some new, you know, look over here moment. Tonight, people familiar with the federal investigation tell NBC News it's looking into possible wire fraud or conspiracy to deprive Alaska voters of a free and fair ELECTIONS PROCESS, WHICH COULD BE A CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATION. ALL RIGHT, RYAN NOBLES JOINS US TONIGHT FROM WASHINGTON. A LOT GOING ON WITH THE STORY, RYAN. AND IT'S ALL UNFOLDING AFTER TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ALASKANS HAVE ALREADY VOTED. YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, TOM.

5:53SOME 60 ,000 ALASKANS HAVE ALREADY CAST THEIR BALLOT, AND THERE COULD BE EVEN MORE THAT HAVE CAST THEIR BALLOT BY MAIL, AND WE JUST DON'T KNOW THOSE NUMBERS YET. KEEP IN MIND THAT THE ALASKA THE SUPREME COURT RULED THAT DAN J. SULLIVAN DID EARN HIS SPOT ON THE BALLOT LEGALLY. THE QUESTION IS JUST HOW WILL THIS IMPACT THIS ELECTION SO CLOSE TO ELECTION DAY? WE EXPECT SOMEWHERE IN THE RANGE OF 300 ,000 ALASKANS TO VOTE. AND EVERY POLL SHOWS THIS RACE IS NECK AND NECK. SO JUST A FEW THOUSAND VOTES IMPACTED BY WHAT PEOPLE HAVE READ AND HEARD ABOUT THIS STORY COULD DECIDE WHO WINS OR LOSES. AND THAT COULD ALSO DECIDE WHO HAS CONTROL OF THE SENATE IN WHAT IS EXPECTED TO BE A VERY CLOSE election on Tuesday.

6:32All right, Ryan Noble, it's always good to see you, my man. I want to bring in Will Courtney. He's a political reporter and multimedia journalist for our Alaska affiliate, KTUU. Will, thank you for being here on Top Story. This story's been dominating network news, national news. How's it playing where you guys live there in Alaska? Yeah, we're keeping a close eye on it, Tom, and we're glad to be here today. But this is certainly dominating not only national headlines, but headlines here in Alaska as we see ultimately what this scandal brings out, if it brings out anything at all. This was a report that was from 12 anonymous former staffers by and large, including the former campaign manager who was named and then asked for her statements to be retracted.

7:13So we're trying to keep a good idea ultimately what voters are going to be deciding at the ballots. What are you hearing though? I mean, you guys are out there getting man on the street. I mean, what are voters telling your reporters? Yeah, that's the question that we're going to be investigating in the days and weeks ahead, not less than a week, actually, because Election Day is just on the horizon. We haven't gotten a good idea just speaking to folks yet, ultimately, if that's going to change their votes. But your question is quite literally the subject of our news that we're going to have tonight.

7:39But this is not news to you guys, right? Because this has been out there for a while because a guy named Dan J. Sullivan popped up on the ballot. It was like, what's going on here? Who's this guy? Oh, wait a minute. He wasn't a Republican before this. He was an independent. Where does he come from? I mean, you guys have been on this before. So how has it been playing out over the weeks? and months in Alaska. Yeah, and I literally went to his house, too. I literally went and knocked on his door, and he ultimately said he didn't want to talk to me. It's been really hard to speak to Dan J. Sullivan, because there just has been so many questions about this guy.

8:09Why is he running? Ultimately, is he trying to trick voters? And that's been a question that's been litigated upwards to the Alaska Supreme Court, where they ultimately said he needs to be back on the ballot, because he was removed from the ballot by the Division of Elections, which ultimately had a lot of controversy surrounding it, then brought back onto the ballot. So there's been a lot of speculation. And he's been really vague. He hasn't given me any sort of interview. I called him today. He didn't answer my call. And it's been hard to know ultimately what his intents are. So when you see these reports, it maybe fills in the dots that we haven't been able to fill.

8:36Do you think his intentions, do you have any reason to believe or any proof that his intentions are to be a senator from Alaska? You know, I think that's one of the first questions I wanted to ask him, and he hasn't gotten back to me. He has maintained that he does want to run for office, that he does want to, you know, ultimately be a senator. But at the same time, we haven't seen the actions of someone who wants to be running for Senate, including talking to the press. What about this other guy, Hykis? Now it's being reported that he's also a plant on this. He's a drywall contractor, I think.

9:09Yeah, I mean, that's the first time I heard that Hykis was ultimately a plant as well. We did see in that report that there was another potential candidate who said he was going to run ultimately. I don't believe he did run, but I actually, you're telling me first that Heikas was... That was part of the, there's an allegation that was also in the, well, it was an allegation in that New York Times report as well. Okay, great talking to you. Hopefully we'll get some answers soon, and I'm sure we'll check back with you in the days ahead, because we're getting so close to Election Day. Will, again, thanks for being on Top Story.

9:40Now to another critical Senate race that is surprisingly tight right now. President Trump making yet another stop in South Carolina, rallying to keep Senator Darlene Graham in her seat, which was vacated by her late brother Lindsey Graham. Garrett Haake is following that race for us. Tonight, President Trump rallying Republicans in reliably red South Carolina, now an unlikely Senate battleground. Every Tuesday night, let's make Lindsey really happy and proud. The president fighting to save his hand-picked candidate Darlene Graham, sister of the late Lindsey Graham, blasting Democrat Annie Andrews as too liberal.

10:18Like they say out in the country, she's just plain old bat-s*** crazy. The president touting a new report showing the economy's growth surpassing expectations, GDP rising to 3.4 percent last quarter. This is the most successful a country has ever been by far, and you haven't seen anything yet. But as a new poll shows the race there tied, Andrews hammering the GOP over the top worry for voters, the rising cost of living. I'm tired of watching as these grocery prices continue to go up and up and up, and I don't see anybody in Washington, D.C. doing anything about it. While in Georgia, former President Obama mocking the Trump White House for its response to this joke.

11:01He's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a cheesecake factory. They mobilized a whole of government response to that joke. Not to inflation, but to that joke. Garrett Haig joins us tonight from the White House. And Garrett, you're learning more about a major reversal in the president's midterm strategy. Yeah, Tom, in the span of a few hours today, the White House canceled planned rallies on Saturday in Kansas, home to a very tight Senate race, and on Sunday in Iowa with competitive races for governor, Senate, and three House districts in favor of adding tele-rallies over the weekend, essentially conference calls with voters and President Trump.

11:43The White House insists this, what they call, shotgun approach allows them to reach more voters in more places in the campaign's closing hours. But they've also spent most of the last several months telling TELLING REPORTERS THAT TRUMP RALLYS IN PERSON ARE THE SINGLE BEST TOOL TO TURN OUT THE REPUBLICAN BASE. SOMETHING IS AMISS HERE IN THE WHITE HOUSE STRATEGY AS THE CAMPAIGN HURDLES TOWARDS ITS CLOSE ON TUESDAY, TOM. AND, GARRETT, I KNOW THIS IS ALL KIND OF COMING TONIGHT. I'M SEEING THE REPORTING FROM OUR OTHER REPORTERS OUT THERE ABOUT OTHER STOPS BEING CANCELED. DO WE THINK THERE'S MORE TO THIS?

12:15DO WE KNOW IF THE, I MEAN, I'M JUST ASKING IF THE PRESIDENT IS NOT FEELING WELL OR WHAT'S GOING WHAT IS THE PRESIDENT GOING ON? THE PRESIDENT LASHED OUT AT A REPORTER TODAY WHO ASKED IF THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH HIM NOT WANTING TO TRAVEL OR NOT FEELING WELL. THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT ANY OF THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH SECURITY. OBVIOUSLY THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF REPORTING ABOUT THE PRESIDENT'S DESIRE TO OR CONSIDERATION OF RESUMING STRIKES AGAINST IRAN. BUT MOST OF THAT HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT AS SOMETHING HE MIGHT DO AFTER THE MIDTERMS. EVERYTHING I CAN TELL IS THESE

12:49of these Republican candidates who the president would be standing next to, I think it's a question we're not probably going to know the answer to until Tuesday night. All right, Garrett Haake, thank you for that. And you can dive deeper into the midterms with early vote data, expert analysis, and more subscriber-only content by scanning the QR code on your screen now. We want to turn to a major passing in Hollywood tonight, acting legend Sir Patrick Stewart, known for roles in Star Trek and X-Men, has died at the age of 86. He did everything from sci-fi to Shakespeare with that booming voice and larger-than-life presence.

13:18And now we're learning he was suffering from Alzheimer's. Here's Liz Kreutz. Engage. Tonight, the world remembering Sir Patrick Stewart, the beloved classically trained actor who brought to life some of TV and cinema's most legendary characters. Who can never forget his defining role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek. Make it so. Course, his turn is Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men. I may be able to help you find some answers. The sci-fi star was born in 1940 to a working-class family in Northern England. Films were my escape from a somewhat uncomfortable family life. In his New York Times best-selling memoir, Stewart describing how it was an English teacher who first introduced him to Shakespeare when he was 12, a moment, he says, that changed his life.

14:07He went on to become a master of the stage, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company and starring on Broadway a dozen times. Stewart, who was knighted by the Queen in 2010, known for his sophisticated style and rich voice, in 2017 telling NBC News of its origins. I spoke with a very strong regional accent when I was young, and I had to unlearn all of that. And I think in that process of flattening out one accent and developing another one, this sound came out. Tonight, a spokesperson for the 86-year-old actor announcing he passed away Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, his death coming two months before the release of what may be his final performance as Professor X in the upcoming Avengers Doomsday.

14:54Former co-stars Hugh Jackman calling him a tremendous friend and man. William Shatner saying Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him. A titan on and off the screen. Liz Kreutz, NBC News. Okay, we're going to turn now to another story we're following, reporting on the investigation into Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. We're learning that federal investigators looked into if she had a sham marriage with a man suspected of being her brother. Kelly O'Donnell has more reporting on this one. New details tonight about an ongoing criminal probe of Somali-born Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

15:30Feverish political controversy has surrounded a past Omar marriage and whether she had wed her brother in a scheme to get him a green card, a claim Omar has denied. However, tonight, a shift to something much larger in scope and no longer focused on the legality of that marriage, according to a source familiar with the investigation. The FBI searched her Washington, D.C. home earlier this month and seized Omar's personal phone. Investigators have also obtained a phone belonging to at least one family member, according to a former official and a person with knowledge of the investigation. In a recent MS Now interview, Omar was asked about that marriage.

16:14You were not related to him at all? Not that. There's not some weird kernel of truth that's through some game of telephone. Not to my knowledge. The investigation has expanded into Omar's own immigration records, official documents and statements, according to a source familiar. Omar's spokesman said tonight it is clear to everyone that this is politically motivated and an escalation of Trump's personal vendetta against her. Sources close to Omar say her legal team is filing a motion seeking the return of the Congresswoman's phone and belongings. And I've been in touch with Congresswoman Omar's office again, and they say all of these investigations have resulted in the same outcome.

16:57Nothing going on to say conspiracy theorists will keep repeating these same tired claims with no new evidence. This is an ongoing investigation and on Tuesday Ilhan Omar will be on the ballot in Minnesota for the fourth term she's seeking in the U.S. House. Tom? That's Kelly O'Donnell. We want to turn out of the historic stock drop on Wall Street. Google's parent company Alphabet having its worst day ever, erasing roughly$500 billion in value and bringing much of the market down with it. Ali Canel is here on Top Story tonight in studio. She joins us live to break it all down. I mean, when you look at the stock graphic for Google and the Alphabet company, it's alarming.

17:36And you wonder, like, is this more trouble for the stock market because it's one of America's great and big companies? Exactly. And I just want to reiterate, this isn't normal. We don't normally see drops like this, especially for a company as big as Alphabet, but a lot of this has to do with AI. And what's so interesting here is that Alphabet's own AI technology, remember, it owns the Gemini chatbot. That's part of the problem here. So it's core search advertising business. That's the big moneymaker for a company like Alphabet. It's showing signs of a slowdown. So more people are using Google's AI search features, but those searches aren't generating as much ad revenue as those traditional Google searches.

18:14So that's one problem. Another is the fact that Google is pouring so much money into AI. So investors are starting to say, OK, well, where's the money? They're having their Jerry Maguire moment, right? Show me the money. And that's really what's happening across the entire tech landscape. If you're going to be pouring billions of dollars into this, you better have a plan on how to monetize it. Because for years, Wall Street really rewarded any company that was betting big on AI. You just said, hey, I'm spending on AI and your stock would go up. now, it's a lot higher of a bar. Good earnings just isn't good enough anymore.

18:46AI and tech have been lifting Wall Street, have been lifting the economy in a lot of ways, especially when you talk about GDP. And then there were some other companies. There was Intel and Amazon. Not as bad as Google, but tell us what happened there. Yeah. So Amazon shares falling today after reporting slowing growth in its online shopping business. And this is another company that's also spending very aggressively on AI. It said it spent more than$77 billion on property and equipment in just three months. Much of that, again, tied to AI. And then you mentioned Intel. Remember, the U.S. government took a stake in Intel last year, really in an effort to revive American chip manufacturing.

19:22But Intel has really been struggling with weak demand for personal computers, also supply shortages. The AI boom actually contributing to these supply shortages and driving up the cost of memory chips. So many of these companies, they're different. They're dealing with different problems, but also the same anxieties around AI, the spending that these companies are committing to AI, and if and when all this will pay off. Some people may have a lot of Google exposure in their 401ks, in their portfolios. What's the advice on a day like today? Yeah, financial experts are going to say, don't touch it.

19:53Maybe don't look at your 401k today. Try and keep it where it is. You really want to ride these waves because like you said, Tom, AI has actually been a big driver in stock market gains this entire year. We're still hovering at these record highs. And especially if you're a person that's years away from retirement, you don't want to look at these things too often because just because Google has one terrible day doesn't mean you're going to have a terrible year for your retirement portfolio. We don't know yet. We don't know yet, but at least not right now. We're doing OK in the stock market year to date, but certainly days like this make you question the sustainability of the AI trade.

20:27So it's all things we're watching closely. That's a good point. Ali, always great to see you. Thank you. Now, an update on that deadly train crash we've been tracking out of Spain. New video of emergency crews rushing to rescue trapped passengers and the audio recordings of the final moments before the collision. Could it help explain what went wrong? Here's Raf Sanchez. Tonight, new video obtained by NBC News shows the chaotic aftermath of Spain's deadly train crash. You can see this emergency crew struggling to carry a wounded passenger out of a rail car turned completely on its side. And this man, his leg trapped by twisted metal, waiting to be rescued.

21:04Authorities tonight raising the death toll to 69. Rescue crews have been working here non-stop since the crash, using cranes like this to pick up the wreckage of train cars. Authorities now believe they've recovered all bodies from the site. Recordings published by Spanish media, whose authenticity has not been independently verified by NBC News, appear to show the driver of this white train being told by a controller to resume journey, even though the red train had stopped on the same track.

21:36The driver confirming the instruction. Moments later, the controller adding, at normal speed, also confirmed by the driver. When we got out of the train, we just looked backwards and just saw the complete mess and and destruction that was behind us. Tongue Bignet was on the red train, seen here helping an injured man out of a window. I remember he was really scared, and we were just trying to convince him little by little to come out. Then rushing to help others that were hurt. I really hope I don't ever see something like that again. I'm just so, so much more appreciative of my life now. And here at the crash site, the emphasis is shifting from recovery operation into the investigation into what went wrong.

22:19These high-speed trains have onboard data recorders, kind of the equivalent of airplane black boxes. Investigators will be looking at those for answers, including how fast was that first train going when it collided with the second. Tom? Raf Sanchez reporting throughout the week on that one. We're back in a moment with the fire inside a family's home. A portable phone charger. Look at this bursting into flames on the couch. How firefighters say you can protect yourself. Plus the massive merger DoorDash and Instacart joining together to form one delivery giant. What it could mean for the prices you pay.

22:51And we'll take you behind the scenes of the NBC News decision desk where all the races will be called on election night. Stay with us.

23:15With 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. Here's something you may not know. Only 14 % of cancers in the U.S. are caught through routine screenings. PreNuvo's whole-body MRI may help close that gap. Screening for over 500 conditions, including most solid tumors, all in under an hour. PreNuvo's body panels also test over 80 biomarkers for a deeper understanding of your health.

23:56No radiation, no contrast. Book your scan at PreNuvo.com. That's P-R-E-N-U-V-O dot com. Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie. From roof repair to emergency plumbing and more, when you use Angie for your home projects, you know all your jobs will be done well. Angie, the one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find a pro for your project at Angie.com. We're back down with a frightening close call caught on camera. A portable phone charger suddenly bursting into flames inside of a California home. It comes as a deadly battery fire in New York is raising new concerns about the devices so many use every day.

24:32NBC's Andres Gutierrez takes a closer look. In a split second, a portable phone charger explodes just inches away from this woman in Northern California Sunday night. The Vacaville Fire Department says a blanket was used to smother the flames and ultimately no one was hurt, but it's reigniting warnings. Imagine had they been upstairs sleeping and they left that product on the couch. That would have been a pretty well-developed fire by the time they woke up. And in New York City, officials say a battery fire killed a boy and critically injured four of his family members Wednesday after an electric bike battery ignited inside their Bronx apartment.

25:09Firefighters say the burning bike blocked their only way out. The FDNY says there have been more than 400 lithium-ion battery fires in New York City so far this year, killing six people. And earlier this month, video shows flames bursting out of a plane's overhead bin in India, forcing the flight to divert, which local media says was caused by an overheated battery. How volatile are these when they go up in flames? Extremely volatile. So the process that we're worried about is called thermal runaway, and that is when a product is either damaged, overused, overheat, and it produces an extreme amount of heat in a very short amount of time, and it overcomes the object, and it starts a pretty intense fire.

25:54On Thursday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a new recall of about 11 ,000 Hiara portable chargers sold on Amazon between May of 2025 through September of this year after getting 600 reports of fires, including three injuries. The company offering refunds for the recall devices. It's unclear if any recent fires involved a now recalled product. Do your research. Look for the right product. So the right charger that's compatible with the charger that you have. Avoid any knockoff use. Firefighters also warn against charging on couches or beds. Andres Gutierrez joins us tonight from L.A.

26:31And Andres, are there other warning signs people should be watching out for with these batteries? Indeed, there are, Tom. The fire captain told us folks should keep a close eye to see if their charger is swelling up or if it's extra hot or even making a hissing sound. And what's concerning about this is that the damaged battery may not catch fire right away, but it can develop issues over time. So if something seems wrong, stop using it. And that Northern California fire investigators still don't know what exactly caused that charger to ignite, Tom. All right, Andres Gutierrez for us. Andres, thank you.

27:02Just ahead, great white encounter, a monster shark coming within feet of two surfers. What happened next? Plus, our series Affording America, why retirement is out of reach for so many well into their golden years. But first, Top Story's top moment and a delivery room surprise for one special grandpa. Mackenzie just gave birth to her little boy and her parents came to meet him for the first time. That's when she told them his name. Take a look. Oh, my God, he is beautiful. He's perfect. Just abandoning the world. Oh, my goodness. That's baby Frankie, named after Mackenzie's dad, Frank. She says she's always wanted to honor him this way and kept the name a secret her entire pregnancy.

27:50Welcome to the world, Frankie. I love family names. What a great tradition. All right, stay with us. More Top Story after this.

28:04We're back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we're starting overseas with the violence and chaos erupting on the floors of parliament. In Armenia, the session today turned into a fight club with lawmakers throwing fists and shoving each other. At one point, someone even picks up a chair and chucks it. State media says the brawl broke out over the election of a member. And in Albania, opposition lawmakers lit off flares inside the chamber after weeks of anti-government protests, calling on the prime minister to step down. Back here at home, DoorDash is now buying Instacart for a whopping$17 billion.

28:36The two companies are set to form one delivery giant that they say will give customers more choices and stores to shop at. But critics warn the merger could lead to higher prices. Until the deal officially closes, DoorDash and Instacart will keep operating as two separate companies. And a close encounter off the coast of Southern California. You can see what looks like a massive great white swimming by some surfers in Oceano. No, this is in Central Coast. Splashing one of them right in the face. The person who posted the video says they were all able to get out of the water safely, but still a little too close for comfort.

29:07That's a big shark. Last time on Top Story, you heard from the director of our decision desk, the group that operates independently on election night, using real-time vote data to project the winners of each race for NBC News. We love him so much, we invited him back. But this time, he's talking with Savannah Guthrie, who gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what the Brain Trust does here. Behind every election at NBC is a vital team most viewers will never see. Our decision desk is crunching the numbers. They know where those votes have come from. After millions of voters make their voices heard on election day, the data scientists and election experts that make up the NBC News decision desk dictate the calls you hear from us on election night.

29:50Michigan too close to call. Minnesota still too close to call at this hour. Too close to call is when we expect the winning margin to end up being less than five points. Leaning is when the desk is at a minimum 75 % level of confidence it knows where the race is going. Likely is when the desk has at least 95 % confidence. And that coveted projected winner title? NBC News projects. That means our director of elections, John Lipinski, the man responsible for calling races here at NBC News, is confident the trailing candidate cannot catch up. We are here. This is election headquarters for NBC News.

30:33John Lipinski, I think you are the most important person on election night. I think that, you know, what we do on the decision desk is pretty critical to the night. Lipinski joined me on the election set in 30 Rock to walk me through how it all works. How can we be sure that the calls you're making for the NBC News decision desk are right? First of all, on any race that is competitive at all, we're not using polls to project anything. We're projecting races off of actual vote. Take us inside the process, because a lot of times people will see a graphic. It says 43 % of the vote in projected winner.

31:06How do you do that? What we're really trying to do always is figure out how much vote is left to count. And do we know how the vote that we've actually seen, how it's breaking? Relying on the sophisticated models he's perfected over the years using raw vote count, exit poll data and other metrics to make his calls, Lipinski says there's no room for error. I have to be willing to bet my life on that call. If you put a checkmark and say a candidate won a race, you bet your life on it and your whole team. Unfortunately for them, yes. If you had to put a percentage on it, how certain are you? I don't even consider thinking about putting in a check mark until we're at 99.5.

31:43In reality, it's 99.9. Once that check mark is official, the team shares the data with our election reporters in the field and here in the studio. I do have one piece of news from the decision. Yes. But if a race is really close, everybody has to wait. We live under a decimal point in so many of these races. We do. We do. The guiding principle of the decision desk is we always want to be accurate. We always want to be right. Not first. We do not want to be first, but sometimes we are, and we're usually fairly quick. The one thing I also want to say is that we call all of our races ourselves. The privacy of the process so important, only those who work on the desk are allowed inside on election night.

32:26No anchors, reporters, or producers can enter. There was even a time when the iconic Saturday Night Live velvet ropes guarded the entrance. Wow. I've never actually been allowed in here before. Well, welcome. Management decided a long time ago with NBC Standards that, like, they wanted the decision desk to be insulated from any of our editorial processes. No pressure. One week before the midterms, I got a rare look at the team in action, already prepping for the big night. When I came in here, I thought this was kind of like a sports bar for political nerds. I mean, you even have the big board here.

32:59This is a dashboard. And so it's the 30 ,000-foot view of elections. The hundreds of staff involved in Election Day practice for weeks, so when the real votes come in, every call is backed by data. Do you think we're going to have an early night or a late night or several days until you're able to call these big races? It's not a sprint. It's a marathon. So buckle in for a long night and early morning. Our thanks to Savannah there. Still ahead tonight, new numbers out today show the economy is growing and spending is on the rise. So why are so many Americans still feeling the squeeze? We're going to dive deep into the numbers with Brian Chung.

33:36Plus, Arkeer Simmons, he's on the ground in Moscow again tonight, speaking with Russians and getting their opinions on the deadly war in Ukraine. You'll hear from them right after this. This 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.

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35:20We'll be back now with Top Story's Global Watch and the wave of newly deadly attacks on Ukraine. Russia striking a crowded train platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, killing at least 14 people. And a fiery blast hitting a car, killing two teens in northern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemning those attacks and calling for tougher sanctions on Russia by the international community. Inside Moscow, some Russians are growing frustrated with the war. Our Keir Simmons spoke to one young woman who says she wants peace. To speak out against the deaths in Ukraine is a high-risk undertaking in Russia.

35:5721-year-old Yevgenia Titova is one of the young people here still prepared to do just that. Are you legally allowed to talk about what you think about the special military operation? I can say that I want people not to die. like, from both sides. I want people to stop dying. I want peace, like most normal people. JOHN YANG, President of the United States, Street protests like these after Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine are rare now. The political party Yevgenia supports held a silent show of support this year, when a court banned them from the ballot. YVGENIA, President of the United States, We should do whatever is possible, whatever is legal to prevent people from dying, to prevent people from being injured, to prevent people from living in the most inhumane circumstances.

36:48JOHN YANG, U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State, in an attempt to impact Russian opinion, Ukraine has been targeting Moscow with drones. When it began, Evgenia says her frightened family called and told her to leave the city. Now, she says, strikes on data centers disrupt services, like Russia's version of Uber. Yeah, for a couple of days, it was like a disaster. MALCOLM BRABANT, President Putin rises above such everyday concerns. This week, we watched as he hosted world leaders, then held a Russia-Africa summit. And in Russia, war is good business. With Russia largely isolated from the U.S.

37:25and Europe, it is deepening its ties to Africa, including through its massive defense industry. Here, Russian drones for sale to African nations. NICK SCHIFRIN HALF - Russia's major independent pollster, Lavada, branded a foreign agent by the Russian authorities, says President Putin maintained support in the mid-70 percent, but at the height of his ratings, boasted almost 90 percent. a big portion of his supporters, they say exactly that, yes, what he's doing in Ukraine is all right, but economy, well, not so good. NICK SCHIFRIN HALF - Yevgenia says it's almost impossible for young people to buy a house because mortgage rates are so high and she says western sanctions impact people's lives people are frustrated about money people are frustrated about their mental health people are frustrated about their their opportunities because it's getting worse and worse for uh like ordinary people and especially for teenagers who want to be free people want to be free yeah what does that mean it means that people want to travel the world it means that people want to be free to tell their opinions.

38:30She wants to stay in her country, but if she gets scared, she says, she will flee. Do you think you're a brave person? I don't consider myself as a brave person and as heroic because I know, I mean, I could be honest. If I would feel that particularly I'm threatened, I will leave. Do you keep a bag packed? I keep my documents prepared, yeah. In case you need to leave quickly. Yeah. TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR OWN KERRY SIMMONS JOINS US FROM MOSCOW. KERRY, YOU WERE INSIDE THE KREMLIN THIS MORNING FOR A NEWS CONFERENCE WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN.

39:06THAT'S RIGHT, TOM. WE AT NBC NEWS WE'RE THE ONLY U.S. NEWS ORGANIZATION INVITED TO THIS NEWS CONFERENCE AMONG JOURNALISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. and President Putin did address the question of Ukraine in contrast to that brave young woman you heard from just a moment ago, President Putin saying, if Europe wants war, then we are ready. And I asked the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, about that afterwards. Take a listen to what he had to say. But Russia continues to bombard Ukraine, even while agreeing to talks next month, potentially. Well, talks do not mean ceasefire. And we do not want ceasefire.

39:54We want peace, continuous peace for future generations.

40:02So Tom, reading between the lines there, what Dmitry Peskov is effectively saying is, yes, we want peace. But again, as we've said many times while I've been here in Moscow, we want peace, the Kremlin says, but on our terms. And what they're doing is saying, we'll talk to Europe. But that's because we want all these demands from Europe to be met. That's effectively what he's indicating there. And I did ask him in that conversation about TALK ABOUT WHETHER THE POLITICAL CLIMATE WILL CHANGE IN THE U.S. WITH NEXT WEEK'S ELECTION AND WHETHER THAT HAS AN IMPACT. AND HE SUGGESTED IT DID NOT, THAT THEY ARE WATCHING, BUT SUGGESTED THAT, FRANKLY, THEY WILL STILL CONTINUE WITH THEIR DEMANDS, WHICH DOESN'T BODE WELL FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME KIND OF COMPROMISE.

40:48ALL RIGHT, KEER SIMMONS FOR US AGAIN IN RUSSIA. here. Thank you.

40:56Back here at Home to Money Talks, the new GDP numbers out today suggest the economy is growing and consumers are spending more and more. But that news on its face seems to be at odds with what we're reporting on here on Top Story. A majority of Americans polled by NBC News earlier this month said economic conditions have caused them to change what groceries they buy, to live within their means and to cut back on spending to afford necessities. So why is consumer confidence in the economy so low while consumer spending is so high? Brian Chung is at the big board to help make a sense of this. And Brian, this really is the big question in America right now.

41:29Yeah, it's a bizarre split screen. But let's talk about the numbers that we got this morning and why it might not tell the whole story. So 3.4 percent, that's GDP growth for those that don't know the alphabet soup of different economic indicators out there. This is a proxy for how much did economic activity in the U.S. grow in the last quarter, let's call it the July to September period on an annualized basis. It came in at 3.4 percent. Economists were expecting it to be 3.1 percent. So that's good. And a big driver of economic activity is consumer spending. Consumer spending, according to this report in that same government release, was 3.8 percent.

42:03When you consider that consumers are 70 percent of the economy, that's driving everything. But, Tom, these are aggregate numbers. It doesn't parse out between high-income and low-income spenders. So, yes, this is showing consumers are spending, but it doesn't tell you which ones are spending what. So what is the theory then, that higher earners are just spending more because of inflation? Yeah, and this gets at the K-shaped economy that we've been talking so much about, that the haves are spending and the have-nots are not. And when you take a look at some categories, like for example, cruises, you have AAA saying they expect a 4.4 % increase in the amount of Americans that will spend money on cruises.

42:39By the way, they say it'll be at a record high in 2026, while luxury car prices are up by 3.1%. These are transaction car prices, prices that people are actually paying. So that means people are spending more on luxury goods, whereas overall car sales increases in terms of prices up only about less than 1%. And here's another way of looking at it from the housing market. Right now, mortgage rates 7.3%. That means it's more expensive for anyone to buy a home. But when you take a look at existing single family home sales, according to the NAR. For homes that are less than a million dollars, none of them grew in the last year.

43:14The only category that did grow were houses over a million dollars, 4.1 % growth. Those are the only cohorts, it appears like in this economy, that can afford to buy a home. Who can buy a$1 million house? Not the median shopper, not the median household. And then do we know anything about sort of savings or credit debt right now? Yeah. Well, look, when it comes to the debt picture, if people are spending more, And by the way, this could be for high-end and also for low-income consumers. That doesn't necessarily tell you the whole picture over the household health in terms of finances. This is an overall look at household debt balances since the early 2000s, according to the New York Fed.

43:50When you talk about debt, housing is a big part of that, right, your mortgage rates. But this red bit is non-housing debt. That could include student loans, but it's also going to include credit card debt. And you can see that this number continues to grow. We are at near all-time highs on the amount of non-housing debt. I should also point out delinquencies on credit cards over 90 days late. That has increased to almost 13 percent. That is near recession highs. That is a concern to your question about savings rates. It did tick down between the earlier parts of this year and now. The reason why?

44:19Wage growth is not keeping up with inflation. If that's the case, that means people have to spend more just to make ends meet, and they can't stash more away to save. That's something that is certainly a yellow flag. A very sobering look at the economy right now. Okay, Brian, we thank you for that. And for some Americans, the rising cost of living has turned the prospect of retiring into a pipe dream. Tonight, as part of our Affording America series, we bring you the story of a 77-year-old woman in Houston who has made peace with the fact that for her, the American dream will always be out of reach.

44:50Ginger, garlic, and turmeric. Keep them joints moving and keep me moving. I gave this world, I gave this system the best I had to offer. Oh, there you go. And I walked away with nothing. Are we taking lunch today?

45:15OK, it's off to the back to get dressed. Today is the 15th.

45:24Bill paying time. I gotta keep them online bills so I get out of here. The American dream is for some people, it ain't for all people. Water. I knew that American dream didn't apply to me. Day before. God, you've grown up. I have not used that much more water. Have I made peace with the idea that I may have to work for the rest of my life? I have always been at peace with that because nothing is guaranteed.

45:59I was given the name Rita Joyce Houston. Later in life, I became known as Fabu Ifeula Modupe. That means beautiful woman for the love of God I am grateful. This is my grandfather who was the sharecropper and cattle rancher. I'm a native Houstonian. I went to Mass and Business College. It was a business school, so they didn't really count that as being degrees back then. Houston was booming. Oil and gas was the place to be, you know? And so I had all these choices. I had gone to work for Schlumberger, Texaco, Jefferson Chemical, and I thought, wow, we're way on the way. And my last move was Enron.

46:43Enron stock today in a free fall. The dramatic collapse of the Enron Corporation. The biggest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history. LISA DESJARDINS, Enron Stock wants$90 a share, today closed at 63 cents. When things hit the fan in 2001, all my finances, savings, checkings, CDs, whatever, were tied up in Enron finances. I would say I lost about$70 ,000. At that moment, the impact was horrible, because I grew up thinking, I'm going to retire from here. It's like when you find out there's no Santa Claus or there's no tooth fairy. and you're devastated. So early retirement, I was able to eke out about$1 ,200.

47:27That was secure.

47:32Ever since I began having income, I've always kept a ledger kind of like this. Amazon, car insurance, a couple of credit cards. The only streaming source I have is Netflix. Everybody needs Netflix. Gas lights and water. Sometimes I'll go back and look at, compare month to month, because I was just looking here. Total in July of 2022 was$18.50. But this June, it was$3 ,359.

48:11Before the gas prices went up,$30,$35 were doing it. Now,$30 gets me half a tank. That's why I have to fill up at half, well, halfway so it doesn't blow my budget. I'm telling my car, girl, you got a drinking problem. You know so? I could pay$60 to fill this car up when I know 30 was doing it. Nope, nope. Ain't no can do. Ain't no can do. I was applying for jobs, and I found that the generation who was interviewing me, I got the feeling that they weren't gonna hire me because they hire you for longevity. You're not gonna be around long. And I'm going, wait a minute, this is not going to work. So degrees is what you gotta have.

48:58Let's go back to school. You know, and I had to start all over. Good morning! Hey, boy, good morning! How are y 'all this morning? Good. Anybody all right? Good morning. Good. Good. Good. Good morning. Good morning. Why was Liberia not colonized? It was the settlement for freed African slaves. That's where the freed enslaved, they were enslaved. I am an elder, and I'm now in a position to do what elders do. That's pass on generational wisdom and knowledge. Ah, Emery, you know you better than that. You can do it, you can do it, you can do it. Be part of the solution, not the pollution. Better. I'll take that.

49:46I'll take that. Normally I work in the after school program, and I work four hours. That money from Shape helps me to make ends meet. I gave you all the handouts, the role, the legacy. My Social Security is increasing, so I've gone from the 1 ,200 to the current day now, almost 2 ,000. Shaped as an extra 1500, without that extra, I'd be back on the hamster wheel trying to figure out what's the next thing to do. Bye everybody! I'll see y 'all in the morning.

50:33My whole thing is if I can just reach one person, my living will not be in vain.

50:47I WANT TO PASS ON TO MY GRANDCHILDREN KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM. AND THAT'S WORTH FAR MORE THAN MONETARY WEALTH. GOOD JOB. YOU READ THE WHOLE BOOK. AND YOU CAN DIVE DEEPER WITH ACCESS TO EXCLUSIONS.

51:13THE WEEK IS FINALLY OVER. AFTER NEARLY 60 YEARS, THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS ARE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS. MORE ON THE HISTORIC WIN AND THE LONG JOURNEY TO GET THERE FOR ONE OF THEIR POST-SEASON STARS. STAY WITH US.

51:38WE'RE BACK NOW WITH THE CELEBRATION OF THEM. for the Milwaukee Brewers, the smallest market in the big leagues, capturing its first World Series title. Our Jesse Kirsch has more on the historic win and the long road to get there for one of the brew crew's most clutch players. Milwaukee celebrating in the streets as their beloved Brewers won the team's first-ever World Series, toppling the Tampa Bay Rays. I'm so happy I can experience this. A moment almost 60 years in the making, Enough to prove there is crying in baseball. No, I'm, damn it, I'm getting emotional. Grounds won softly. The series' final out all the more fitting because it ended with the ball snapping into the mitt of Jake Bowers.

52:22And champions at last! The Brewers' first baseman had been clutched throughout the postseason. Power right there, diving, stopped by Jake Bowers. Today, he's a hero, but he almost never had the chance. Bowers had played for five different major league clubs before he turned 30. Then the Brewers let him go in 2024. He almost quit the game for good, but Bowers agreed to a minor league contract for one particular reason. To be completely honest with you, the only thing that brought me back was my wife got pregnant. And I'm like, all right, well, we need health insurance for these kids. Bowers, now 31, worked his way back to the bigs, then helped power the Brewers to their first ever title.

53:05Hand-delivering the game-winning ball to manager Pat Murphy. And tonight, so many toasting the Brew Crew. We champions, baby! World champions turning Major League Baseball's smallest market into the game's biggest party. Jesse Kirsch, NBC News. What a win. We thank you so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamas in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.

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