NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Sunday, September 7, 2025

Episode Date: September 8, 2025

Trump defends threat to send troops to Chicago; Hawaii braces for dangerous conditions from Hurricane Kiko; Russia's largest air attack on Ukraine sets fire to main government building; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the defense from President Trump after Illinois's governor accuses him of wanting to go to war with Chicago. The president, before attending the U.S. Open today, leaning into a new push in what he calls chypocalypse. We're not going to war. We're going to clean up our cities. His administration launching a new immigration crackdown in another blue city, but on his handling of the economy, our new poll finding frustration from many Americans. Our Steve Kornacki will break it down. under a state of emergency tonight with Hurricane Kiko set to pass just offshore, bringing dangerous rip currents and maybe coastal flooding. We've got the track and the preps. Russia staging its biggest aerial attack on Ukraine so far in this war as the president previews more sanctions on the way.

Thousands turning out at the Vatican as Pope Leo declares the first millennial saint. New questions for pregnant women about a popular pain reliever, the advice from experts tonight. At long last, a Powerball winner, not just one, but two. Our reporter takes us to where one of those jackpot tickets was sold. Our NBC News exclusive with the new owners of the Indianapolis Colts, a trio of sisters as more women take charge across the NFL. This is NBC Nightly News with Hallie Jackson. Good evening. We begin tonight with President Trump defending his threat to send the military into Chicago, but insisting he's not preparing to go to war there. backlash over his post about that Democratic-led city.

It comes as the Trump administration ramps up its immigration crackdown with a new push in Boston and new developments tonight after the largest DHS enforcement operation in a single location ever at a Hyundai facility in Georgia. You see it there. South Korean officials now say more than 300 workers from that country detained during that raid will be flown back home later this week. All as our new NBC News polling out today shows the president's approval rating at just 43 percent, with more than half of Americans saying they disapprove of his job performance.

Our Yomish Al-Sindor starts us off. Tonight, President Trump taking in the U.S. Open men's final as a guest of Rolex, receiving both cheers and booze from the stadium crowd. Fans frustrated by delays getting through security. The president taking a quick trip to New York after defending his plan to send the military into Chicago. And after sharing this AI image Saturday, saying, about to find out why it's called the Department of War.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker calling him a wannabe dictator and accusing him of threatening to go to war with the nation's third largest city. Are you trying to go to war with Chicago? When you say that, darling, that's fake news. Why are we going to the Department of Defense? Listen, we're not going to war. We're going to clean up our city. We're going to clean them up so they don't kill five people every weekend.

That's not war. That's common sense. Others, including protesters, criticizing the deployment. to see service members that I consider brothers and sisters weaponized against my community. Still, the Trump administration ramping up its focus on immigration, federal officials saying today they've begun a new operation in Massachusetts after immigration officials earlier this year made arrest in Boston. We have a search warrant for the whole site.

Meanwhile today, South Korean officials said more than 300 South Korean workers detained during a massive immigration raid on a Hyundai facility in Georgia will be returned to the the country on a chartered flight. The raid was the largest single-site enforcement operation in Homeland Security history, with DHS saying they arrested 475 workers. Yamish is joining us now from the White House, and Yamisha, top administration official now says more new immigration action could come within days, right? That's right. Today, Tom Holman, the president's borders are, said Chicago, and most sanctuary cities should absolutely expect to see federal forces brought in this week.

and that using the National Guard is on the table. Hallie? Yamich Alcindor at the White House, thank you. President Trump is also facing growing pressure on the economy as our new NBC News poll shows it is still the top issue for people across the country. But tonight, the White House is defending its job performance. We are going to push through with the economic policies that are going to set the economy right, I believe, by the fourth quarter,

we're going to see a substantial acceleration. Let's go to Steve Kornacki now, who has posted up for us at the big board. Steve, it's good to see you. Get specific with us now about what people say they care about the most when it comes to economic issues. Yeah, Halley, our NBC Decision Desk poll ran a bunch of economic concerns by people and said, which one is the most important to you? You see here, there's unemployment on the list. There's government debt, student loans, and yet overwhelmingly here, 45% said inflation and the cost of living is the top economic concern to them. And we saw this across age groups, Halley. Given how critical that is, Steve,

given how much the president leaned into this issue on the campaign trail, worth noting that some folks say they are not happy with how he's handling the economy now. Yeah, you remember the campaign trail. And certainly if you go back to Donald Trump's first term, when it came to the economy, he got pretty high marks, higher than he did on other topics. Not the case now. Our new poll has 39% of Americans saying they approve of how Trump's handling inflation. 61% say they disapproved. These are numbers we've now seen throughout Trump's second term. Dangerous numbers, certainly in terms of standing on the economy. And then there's this as well, asking folks, are things getting better? Are they better now compared to a year ago when it comes to your

personal financial situation? Not even a quarter of Americans are saying, yes, 34 percent, about a third are saying worse. More troubling here for Trump, I think, Callie, is when you look at independence, this number saying worse is at 42 percent. The number saying, better just 16. Steve Kornacki, thank you. We are watching Hawaii tonight under a state of emergency as Hurricane Kiko moves toward the islands set to bring dangerous rip currents and possibly coastal flooding. Steve Patterson has the latest. Tonight, the slow menacing march of Hurricane Kiko currently churning through the Pacific, putting Hawaii on high alert. Have a plan. Think this thing through. Don't wait until that storm is approaching us. Kiko, intensified to a

Category 4 over the last few days before weakening to a cat, too. The path has it lumbering northwest at about 13 miles per hour, packing more than 100 mile an hour winds. But it's expected to slide just north of the Hawaiian Islands by Monday avoiding landfall and weakening to a tropical storm. Meanwhile, parts of the northeast cleaning up after a sucker punch of rain and wind from a series of late summer storms. Hardish hit Massachusetts. He just survived a tornado. Officials say a rare preliminary tornado touched down pounding the area with heavy winds spreading damage across this community. This tree right here in our backyard ripped right out of the ground. Multiple large trees sent sprawling across one street.

Wow. It took out the whole sidewalk. And in New Jersey, this doorbell cam announcing an unwanted visitor. As crews worked to remove the scattered mess, leftovers from a powerful storm. Steve Patterson is joining us here now. And Steve, based on the latest track for Hurricane Kiko, folks in Hawaii may be breathing kind of a sigh of relief tonight. Yeah, all the modeling has it missing landfall. That being said, those warnings are real, especially the ones about riptides and high surf,

which could come as early as tonight. Steve Patterson, watching all of it for us, Steve, thank you very much. To President Trump now, issuing what he calls his last warning to Hamas in an online post, urging Hamas to accept a deal to release hostages still being held captive in Gaza. He says the Israelis have already accepted his terms and that he has warned Hamas about potential consequences if they don't accept. Terms of this specific proposal are not clear yet. Overseas to the war in Ukraine with Russia facing the threat of new sanctions now from President Trump after the Kremlin staged the biggest aerial attack on Ukraine since the war began.

Kier Simmons is watching all of it for us tonight. Kier? Hallie, good evening. This was the largest overnight drone offensive of the war, according to Ukrainian officials. And significantly, it hit a main government building in the capital, Kyiv. It's the first time that building has been struck, and it's being seen as a message from Moscow. Though the mayor said it may have been an accident after the drone was intercepted.

Four people, including a baby, were killed across the country. Well, Russia said it intercepted 69 drones. and that three people were killed. Tonight, President Trump's Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, says the attacks are not a sign that Russia wants to diplomatically end this war. Hallie? Keir Simmons, thank you.

And at the Vatican today, Pope Leo, declaring the first millennial saint, known to many as God's influencer. Claudio Lavanga is there for us tonight, and Claudio, you saw that huge turnout there, right? Hey, Halle, yes, I did. Well, St. Peter Square behind me was completely packed with people who came to see the canonization of Pierre Giorgio Frassati and

Carlo Acutis. And I saw a lot of young people among them who say that at least Carlo Acutis was just like them. He was just a regular teenager, but he had also a special passion that set him aside from the rest, a deep devotion for Jesus. Now he died when he was 15 from leukemia, and then his body was laid to rest in a special glass coffin, which became a pilgrimage site for young Catholics from around the world. And they called him the patron state of the internet, God's influencer. But from today, he will be officially known as St. Carlo Halley. Claudio Lavanga, thank you.

Here at home, at long last, not one, but two winners of that massive powerball jackpot. Ryan Chandler has made his way to where one of those tickets was sold. in an estimated amount of $1.787 billion. Tonight, the historic jackpot capturing Americans' wildest dreams for weeks, finally paying out. It's crazy. I mean, it's mind-blowing. Two lucky people hit all six numbers in Saturday's drawing, capping off a jackpot that grew to the second highest in Powerball history. The tickets sold in Texas and Missouri.

They'll split a staggering total of nearly 1.8 billion. million dollars. We met Melanie Carter after her lucky store sold one of the prize tickets in Fredericksburg Texas. Do you feel like you've been the talk of the town today if people come in saying hey do you have any more winning tickets? Oh absolutely absolutely it's awesome though we're famous. Her customers still dreaming. What were you hoping to buy? What would I buy? I'd buy my mama house for sure and myself. The jackpot comes in either one lump sum of 410 million, or annual payments totaling $893 million.

Tonight, the winners staying quiet, as everyone else hopes for better luck next time. Ryan Chandler, NBC News, Fredericksburg, Texas. To sports and a big win late tonight at the U.S. Open with Carlos Alcaraz, defeating Janik Sinner at the U.S. Open in the men's final. Sinner didn't go down without a fight after an intense four sets between them lasting hours. Today's win is the second U.S. Open title for Al-Karaz. Still ahead tonight, new questions about a popular pain relief medicine and whether it's safe for pregnant women.

But tonight, new questions over a popular pain reliever and whether it's okay for pregnant women to take. Here's George Solis. Jamie Slocum is a new mom navigating life with a three-month-old. Tonight, recalling her struggles with migraines during her pregnancy. You were taking acetaminopin because you had discussed it with your doctor. Yes, and I had discussed with her extensively. what I could take. But a new health and human services report expected to be released this month

potentially links autism to pregnant women's use of acetametaphon, the active ingredient in Tylenol, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter. In a statement, Kenview, the maker of Tylenol saying they have continuously evaluated the science and continue to believe there is no causal link between acetamine use during pregnancy and autism. It's really hard to hear so much conflicting guidance, especially when, you know, a lot of it feels like hairmongering. The science on the potential association between acetaminifin and autism is mixed. There is no data that shows Tylenol causes autism. An HHS spokesperson would neither confirm or deny the story telling NBC News the upcoming report will use gold standard science.

Doctors say pregnant women looking for alternatives to acetamepin should first consult with their providers. We do prescribe aspirin at times, not necessarily for pain relief, but because we know it prevents preeclampsia in pregnancy. And so really first-line medication for pain relief is Tylenol. Jamie Slocum says until her doctor says otherwise, she'll continue taking acetymedophon for future pregnancies. I think that it's a very stressful time. And the best thing that I can do for myself is talk to my doctor, who I trust.

George Solis, NBC News. We are back in a moment with the women taking charge in the NFL. and our exclusive interview with the next generation of leaders at the Indianapolis Colts. We're back with an NBC News exclusive with the new owners of the Colts. As more women step into leadership roles across the NFL, a trio of sisters is now taking over in Indianapolis. And for them, one key to success on the field, keeping it in the family. The Colts kicking off a new season on the field. And off of it, a new generation taking over.

Do you feel ready? I think I do. Carly Ursay Gordon and her two sisters, the only sister trio to own a team in the NFL, taking over after their dad, Jim Ursay, died in May. I think it's difficult to not have him here as, you know, a sounding board. Some days aren't easy, but I think it's also having each other. All three.

involved with the team for years, like on kicking the stigma. The initiative developed with their father who publicly shared his struggles with substance abuse. But this year, each sister carving out her own role. Carly, Ursay Gordon, the CEO, often spotted on the sidelines in the headset. Casey Foyt focuses on marketing and community relations and adopted Drake, her dad's beloved dog. And Kalin Jackson is the chief brand officer and head of the Colts Foundation. I grew up in the league when there weren't any women in the locker room. He was the one reminding us, you deserve to be here. Don't forget that.

He always gave us the strength and the courage to know and believe in ourselves and believe in that we can do this one day and this is the day. The women holding it down in this league. It's coming as more women are taking on bigger roles in the league. At least 11 teams have women who are one of the primary owners this season. last year, a record number of women held full-time coaching positions, 15 in all, up from 10 the year before. Kaelin Busky for the Ravens.

Fowles, push your hips forward. In Philly, Autumn Lockwood, making history in February, becoming the first black female coach to win a Super Bowl. More women on the field as officials. The record! And the NFL, working to woo women in the stands and beyond. Nearly half the TV audience now, according to the league. you guys, it's the Cavner Twins. It's officially game day. As they leverage social media influencers

online, promote flag football for young girls, and lean into the fandomom over Taylor Swift's relationship with the chiefs Travis Kelsey. Do you think the NFL still has a ways to go to get there, though, when it comes to women and parody in the league? There's always more work to be done, but I think one of the best things is by having women, it's like, I think when you think about diversity, we all have these unique perspectives to offer. We're still in the minority, if you will, in terms of NFL owners, and we take that responsibility very seriously. We want to show and prove that we belong here and also fight for the women that did scratch and claw their way and break down those walls. The sisters insist this is not a rebuilding year for

Indianapolis, aiming for far better than the disappointing eight and nine record last fall. Our fans deserve a winning product every year, so that's what we're going to stick to. High hopes and a tight bond. There's going to be highs and lows and especially in industry as NFL, but, you know, one thing is that we have each other. And that's something we, I know our dad's watching us and so proud. What do you think your dad would say now, seeing you, seeing your sisters at the start of this first season with Adam? I think he'd be crying. He always, sorry, he always mattered to not just do well with his own name and, and, and,

leaves a legacy behind, but he wanted to do it for us. And I think we don't take that lightly in any way. That's nightly news for this Sunday. Stick around for Sunday night football with the bills taken on the Ravens right after this. Tom will be back tomorrow. I'm Hallie Jackson. For all of us here at NBC, thanks for watching and have a great week.