From the Vatican to Georgia, Alaska and one very good-news finish.
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas opened its October 13 broadcast with breaking news from the Vatican, where Pope Leo XIV was diagnosed with lung cancer after undergoing surgery. Doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung after finding a cancerous nodule.
The broadcast then turned to the deadly Six Flags roller coaster accident near Atlanta, where authorities were investigating how a rider was thrown from the attraction. NBC reported that the victim was a teacher remembered for the impact he made on generations of students.
NBC Nightly News
The October 13 broadcast, story by story.
Pope Leo XIV’s diagnosis, the Six Flags investigation, political headlines, Affording America and a very New Orleans Good News Tonight finale.
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Next came Kimberly Guilfoyle, who resigned as U.S. ambassador to Greece after the White House asked her to step down. President Donald Trump addressed the resignation as questions continued around reports concerning her conduct.
Selma Blair was also in court, pleading not guilty to assault charges connected to an alleged in-flight incident. Her attorneys said she had missed medication for severe neurological symptoms and became confused and disoriented after falling and hitting her head during the flight.
From there, the broadcast headed to Alaska, where President Trump rallied Republicans in a Senate battleground ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with NBC’s team speaking to voters on the ground.
The latest installment of “Affording America” visited a family in Lincoln, Nebraska, examining the growing squeeze on Americans who say they are doing everything right and still struggling to get ahead.
And finally, there’s good news tonight. Eleven-year-old Peyton Stewart, who battled a rare autoimmune condition, marked the success of a life-saving bone marrow transplant donated by his older brother with a full New Orleans second-line celebration — brass band, dancing and all.
NBC Nightly News With Tom Llamas — Full Episode, October 13
Watch the complete October 13, 2026 broadcast, including the stories pictured throughout INYIM’s recap.
Source and images: NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas / NBC News.
