NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Friday, September 4, 2026

Episode Date: September 5, 2026

Lindsay Clancy murder case ends in mistrial; Powerful storms upend holiday travel; Drone attacks escalate in war with Ukraine; and more on tonight’s broadcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Breaking tonight, the mistrial declared in the closely watched Lindsay Clancy triple murder case. The stunning turns in court, her defense's emergency appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Court, alleging a holdout juror had a bias against people experiencing mental illness. But the judge ultimately declaring a mistrial. So what happens for Lindsay Clancy next? Powerful storms upending Labor Day weekend travel, destructive winds, taking down trees and power lines, thousands of flights delayed.

Plus, the alleged violent outburst on a plane, passengers duct-taping this man to his seat. War of words six months into the war with Iran, President Trump calling the conflict, quote, small potatoes. Miracle rescues in Nepal, two people pulled out alive, encased in mud after nine days trapped in a tunnel

deep beneath the rubble, how they held on to hope. As strikes rained down, Inside a secret drone workshop in Ukraine, our Richard Engel, getting an up-close look at how wartime tech is changing the front lines. Our series, the cost of denial, exposed a rash of rejections of health care claims involving military families. Texas now launching an investigation after our report. Caught between crossing barriers, video capturing a passenger train slamming into a truck. Nightly news begins right now.

This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. Good evening. I'm Kate Snow in for Tom tonight, and we begin with the stunning twists and turns today in a Massachusetts courtroom after seven days of deliberations. The judge in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial saying he had no choice but to declare a mistrial. But that was far from the last word. It sparked a fiery response from Clancy's attorney demanding an emergency appeal to pause the judge's decision. and avoid a mistrial. Judge William Sullivan giving him just one hour to get the highest court in the state to intervene. At the heart of the appeal, a lone juror, the defense attorney singled out, accusing the juror in a

filing of having a bias toward people with mental illness. What followed was an incredible scene. A rushed Zoom hearing with both legal teams, Lindsay Clancy herself and a state Supreme Court justice, but the appeal was denied and a mistrial was declared. So will the district attorney try this case again? Emily Aketa is at the center of it all in Plymouth, Massachusetts for us tonight. After deliberations dragged into a seventh day, tonight Lindsay Clancy's dramatic murder trial culminating in no verdict.

It is with a heavy heart that we report we are unable to come to a unanimous decision. Clancy seen stoic staring straight ahead as her defense made a last-ditch appeal over an issue with a juror. In an extraordinary move, the judge giving the defense one hour to file their appeal, then making their case virtually to the top court in Massachusetts and forcing the jury to wait in the wings. The goal was to avoid a mistrial. It was denied. And I'm going to declare a mistrial. It followed a head-turning reveal from a jury note Thursday that there was a single holdout blocking a unanimous decision.

It clearly and unequivocally indicates that they are basically 11. to one and this person will not apply reasonable doubt to the evidence to return a not guilty verdict. The defense said the holdout was a man and sparred with the judge over why the jurors should be dismissed and how to instruct the group of three men and nine women. You didn't do it forcefully and I'm asking me to do it. What do you want me to do? I want to get a brass band. Outside of court, the district attorney would not say if he's going to try the widely watched case again, but called the murder charges, for the strangulation of Cora, Dawson, and Callan warranted.

The facts are Lindsay Clancy killed her three children, and the evidence suggested to us that she was in control of her actions when she committed those homicides. But the defense argued Clancy is not criminally responsible because of postpartum psychosis in a case that's thrusted maternal mental health into the national spotlight. When asked how Clancy's doing... Not good. She deserved that acquittal that she should have had.

Tonight, the attorney for her ex-husband writing in a statement that he is grateful to the court, adding the prospect of reliving this tragedy through another trial is extraordinarily painful. And Emily joins me now from the court. What happens to Lindsay Clancy now until the DA decides what to do next, Emily? So, Kate, Lindsay Clancy will continue to be held at the same psychiatric hospital. You can see her there arriving a short time ago. The judge is expected to. revisit this case at the end of the month, Kate. All right, Emily Aketa, thank you. And Laura

Jarrett joins me now on set after just an extraordinary day today. Laura, talk about had the jury, you know, we were waiting on what this court in the state was going to do. Walk me through how we even got there. It was just a remarkable scene, Kate. You almost never see this, this hastily a convened Zoom meeting with the state Supreme Court judge. It was all about this loan holdout juror, which the defense said for the very first time had some alleged bias against Lindsay Clancy. We didn't really learn many details or where he was getting them from, but I think it just underscores the extremely unusual, rare, dramatic nature of this entire case. So now the ball's in the court of the district attorney. What options do they have?

Quite a bit, quite a bit of discretion here to change up the charges, change up the strategy. I think it was noteworthy. He did not come out swinging today, saying, I'm going to retry her for first degree murder, which is what she was facing here, we could see reduced charges, Kate. All right, Laura Jarrett, thank you so much. Now, to the volatile weather that's disrupted travel for millions of people with the nation's airlines calling this the busiest Labor Day weekend in history. But one flight was more chaotic than others. NBC's Tom Costello is at Reagan National Airport tonight.

From crowded airports to crowded roads, Philly, Orlando, Los Angeles. One last summer travel surge, a record number of labor. Labor Day air travelers. After last night's violent storms, winds gusting above 60 miles per hour in the Washington, D.C. area. This was the view on the tarmac at Reagan Airport. Nationwide, more than 10,000 flights delayed Thursday. And this flight forced to divert. These pixelated photos from TMZ show a passenger duct taped to a seat accused of a violent outburst on a flight from Dallas to Newark landing in Baltimore. The FBI says that passenger was arrested, is facing state charges, and they're now investigating. The travel trouble as Americans are paying more to get there. A gallon of regular now

averaging 414 a gallon. A year ago, it was 320. Today, diesel hit an old-time high. A typical driver now pays $270 more per month to drive. So expensive to think about taking a road trip these days. Higher fuel prices mean higher jet fuel prices, and that means higher ticket prices. Domestic airline tickets now averaging $750 across all airlines. And yet, nearly every airline says they're flying full. I try to plan it far in advance so that I am making payments. And this record-breaking Labor Day travel period means the airports and roads will be just as busy on Monday. Tom Costello, NBC News, Washington. Tom, thank you to the White House now. And that new headline from President Trump, six months into

the war with Iran, calling the conflict small potatoes for the U.S. Here's Gabe Gutierrez. Tonight, despite the U.S. and Iran trading airstrikes, average gas prices topping $4 a gallon and the deaths of 18 American service members, President Trump saying he agrees with the vice president that this is not a war. A lot of people don't call it a war. I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us. It's not a big thing. Comparing the number of lives lost to other conflicts. We lost 18 souls, 18 great souls. I was there to greet the families of those people at Dover and they're great. I got very friendly with some of the families. They were incredible families. But, and one is too much. But in Vietnam, we lost tens of thousands of

people. In Afghanistan, we lost a lot. And touting U.S. efforts to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, protecting them from Iranian attacks. We're not fighting right. now. There's no fighting. We're taking out a lot of oil. Initially, the Trump administration projected the war would be over in weeks. We projected four to five weeks. It's now past the six-month mark. But we've been in there for five months, and in five months, what did we do? We stopped them from having a nuclear weapon. The president also saying the U.S. might attack a key Iranian nuclear site pickax mountain very soon if Iran tries to restart it. Kate? Gabe Gutierrez, thank you, Gabe.

Overseas now to stunning images following that massive flood disaster on the Nepal-China border. More than a week after the deadly waves hit, two men were somehow found alive and pulled out by rescuers. Daniel Hamamgen has the video. Nine days later and against all odds, they were pulled out, caked in mud, but alive. Two workers trapped in a tunnel after those catastrophes. catastrophic floods had been buried deep beneath debris and layers of mud at a hydropower plant. One of the men asking his rescuers what day it was. He told them he felt it was his responsibility to save his colleagues and chose to stay behind

when the water came pouring down. More than 500 workers are missing from the power plants along the river. Last week's devastating flash floods swept away entire towns and villages in a a matter of seconds, with authorities in Nepal overwhelmed by the scale of devastation. Danielle Hamamjan, NBC News. In Ukraine, missiles and drones are raining down as Trump administration officials head to Kiev and Moscow to discuss a path to peace. Our Richard Engel has exclusive access to Ukraine's high-tech drone workshop.

Russia tonight targeted Ukraine's main intelligence headquarters in central Kiev with a drone. Russia is striking Kiev with an intensity not seen since the start of the war. Ukrainian commanders tell us 95% of the war is now being fought with drones. We were given exclusive access to a secret drone workshop near the Russian border run by Ukraine's 9th brigade. The soldiers here soup up their drones to make them more lethal and harder to stop. The commander, codenamed bullet, worked in construction before the war. This is our blacksmith shop where we bring death to the Russian enemy, he tells me. Who taught you how to do this?

War has taught us technology. When something doesn't work out, we find a solution, he says. They can churn out about 120 attack drones in this workshop every day. And this is what one of the modern Ukrainian drones looks like after these soldiers have finished customizing it. It's not operated by remote control, which can easily be jammed. Instead, believe it or not, inside this canister is about 15 miles of fiber optic cable, and the fiber optic cable comes out of the back, stays attached to the pilot, and the only way to jam the drone, to stop it, is to actually cut the cable.

On top here, that explosive is mountain, and in the front is the detonator. The Ukrainians call it the mustache. It's very crude, and when the drone hits its target, these two metal cables connect, complete the circuit and the entire thing blows up. This is not a state secret. Russian drones are very similar. And whichever side innovates the fastest could end up winning the war. Richard Engel, NBC News, Harky.

We're back in just 60 seconds. The major update in our series, The Cost of Denial, and how the company now is under investigation following our report. We have a major update in our series, The Cost of Denial. We recently told you about TriWest, the health care administrator for military personnel. It serves millions of Americans, but so many were facing denials for care. Now, the Texas Attorney General is investigating TriWest. Aaron McLaughlin joins me now, and Aaron, the AG, specifically referenced your report.

That's right, Kay. In his statement announcing the investigation, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton specifically pointed to our reporting and the story of Guy Shoemaker, an Army veteran in Texas, who at the time was facing a wave of erroneous denials, pointing to other health insurance he did not have. As a result, Guy and his wife, Kathy, said they've been denied potentially life-saving care. You faxed. Yes. You faxed again. Yes. You called. Yes. You contacted your lawmaker. Yes. You posted on social media. Yes. And the one thing that made a difference, you. NBC. NBC. see. The Texas Attorney General says that recently complaints have surged against TriWest claiming the company

has incorrectly denied numerous healthcare claims. After our initial story aired, the CEO of TriWest issued a public apology and promised system-wide changes. Tonight, TriWest says it is reviewing the AG's investigative demand and that it is committed to its 4.3 million members. The shoemakers tell us they're happy that the Texas Attorney General is taking action, but they say they want to see more done at the federal level. Erin McLaughlin, thank you. When we return, the new record just set as measles cases rise across the country. Back now with the concerning new milestone as measles outbreak spread across the country,

the CDC reporting the U.S. has hit a new 35-year high in cases with more than 3,100 confirmed infections this year. This week's update includes dozens of new cases in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Experts say the number of people sick with measles is likely much higher because many people have not been tested. And take a look at this, the terrifying moment, a passenger train plowed into a truck in Poland. You see it here. The truck slowly driving across the tracks as the barriers come down, the train slamming into that truck. Polish railway lines said the driver of the train was taken to the hospital. Luckily, no other injuries reported there. And in Thailand, these U.S. service members got a larger than life experience.

After a record long deployment in the Middle East aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, these sailors and Marines enjoyed some time off at an elephant sanctuary, interacting with the animals close up. And take a look at this. You can see them splashing around with one of the elephants in the water. Good stuff. That is nightly news for this Friday. I'm Kate Snow.

Thank you so much for watching. Have a great weekend.