Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, September 4, 2026

Episode Date: September 5, 2026

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://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. The defense attorney's emergency appealed 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, flight delays, filing up. Plus the alleged violent outbursts on a plane, passengers had to duct tape a man to his seat. The major ruling for former NFL players, a judge clearing the way for ex-pro athletes to play college football. So could the legal battle go to overtime? Miracle rescues in Nepal, two people pulled out alive

encased in mud after nine days trapped in a tunnel beneath, well beneath the rubble. How did they hold on to hope? Cop between crossing barriers, a passenger train slamming into a truck stock on the tracks. The new video games dropped by the White House promoting the president's agenda and allowing users to arrest immigrants and build a border wall. And Tesla's cyber cab rollout actually hitting the speed bump now, why the self-driving cars without steering wheels or brake pedals are under federal investigation. Plus, U.S. diesel prices soaring to record highs. how it could impact your Labor Day weekend. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Tom Costello.

I'm in for Tom Yamas, and we begin this evening with that dramatic final day in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, the judge declaring a mistrial after seven days of deliberations. Jurors, of course, failing to reach a verdict in a case that has really gripped the nation, the Massachusetts mother on trial for killing her three children with the jury weighing charges ranging from first-degree murder to manslaughter. But after going back to the judge, three separate times those jurors were still unable to come to an agreement. So in a last ditch effort, Clancy's defense attorney stepped in with an emergency appeal to try to avoid a mistrial, arguing to throw a juror off the case.

I'm just trying to find out what it is that you're asking for. What I'm asking for is time to file a single justice appeal for this travesty. Clancy's defense attorney sending his appeal to a higher court, making a shocking claim, really, arguing one of the jurors should be removed because of, quote, bias against those who suffer from debilitating mental illness. So that led to this stunning scene, Clancy and her attorney on Zoom with a Massachusetts Supreme Court justice. But that appeal was denied. Today's decision, a culmination of weeks of emotional testimony, including from the father of the slain children, Patrick Clancy, saying in part today that the prospect of another trial is extraordinarily

painful. And that is really the big question this evening. Will the DA try this case once again? NBC's Emily Aketa is at the courthouse with the latest. 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 1, 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 being. Outside of court, the district attorney would not say if he's going to try the widely watched case again, but called them. 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

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 us now from outside the courthouse okay emily where does this case go from here well tom so much of it hinges on the d a and what he decides to do does he retry the case does he pursue different charges today he wouldn't give a definitive answer on how he's going to be moving forward, but we know that there is a status hearing schedule for the end of the month, so we should get some more insight around that later this month. In the meantime, Lindsay Clancy, she's returning to where she's been held, a psychiatric hospital. Cameras had captured her

being wheeled into that psychiatric hospital. You can see it there on your screen just a short time ago. Her defense attorney, when asked if this were to go to a retrial, would he do anything differently? Tom, he said, quote, why would I? I won the case. Emily, thank you very much. For more on the trial, we want to get to NBC News legal analyst, Misty Maris, and jury consultant Alan Turkheimer. Misty, can we start with you? This is such an unusual day in court. Explain to our viewers what the defense was trying to do with that emergency order forcing the state's high court to weigh in. So, Tom, we had so much insight from the jury because of that note, the four-person sent, which indicated that this was 11 in favor of the jury. the defense in favor of an acquittal versus one in favor of the prosecution. So what the defense was doing was pulling out all the stops and trying to save this from becoming a mistrial and actually

using a procedure in Massachusetts to go up to the Massachusetts Supreme Court to get a justice to intervene and deal with that issue with that lone juror differently than the trial court did. The defense saying the trial court did not do enough. This juror isn't following the rules. They should either be removed or at least we should be asking more questions. Ultimately, Tom, that was denied. But when you have that split, 11 to 1, and it's the knowledge that the defense had, he wasn't willing to let it go easily and tried everything he could to preserve what he thought was going to be an acquittal. Yeah, Alan, to you, and the emergency request, Clancy's defense said, quote, the jurors reasoning here reflects a bias against those who suffer from debilitating mental

illness. What does that tell you about what's going on behind closed doors, or was he taking just kind of a leap here? Was he extrapolating based solely on the 11-1 vote that was ongoing? To me, that's a really big stretch. I wasn't at every sidebar, but to say something like that, he's just trying this post-trial, post-reaction in the court of public opinion. I don't know how he wouldn't know that. Jurors talk about the burden of proof all the time in deliberations, and I know the note indicated that there was some sentiment that this juror was feeling some doubt, but still wanted to convict. But the absolute certainty is not the prosecution's burden.

And the judge read the instruction. You can still have some doubt and want to convict. It's beyond a reasonable doubt. If you ask 12 jurors what is beyond a reasonable doubt, you're going to get a lot of different opinion. So I don't know where he got that from. And if he was really thinking about this bias, they had four days during voir dire to talk about it. And I presume they talked about mental health. And maybe he's just upset that he didn't unearth what he thinks is bias.

I don't know, but he just wants the perception to be that he was this close to getting a non-guilty verdict by reason of insanity. Yeah, Misty, to Allen's point here, I mean, the defense was nobody was privy to what was being said inside the deliberation room, right? Nobody knows what the defense, what these various, what these various jurors were actually saying. No, all of that is done in secret. It's all behind closed doors. And that legal standard with regard to a bias against somebody with debilitating mental health, there were no facts that supported that argument in that motion that was filed with the high court. Now, as Alan said, the parties know a lot more about all of the jurors from the voir dire process and research on those individual jurors.

But there's been no indication in this trial that there's been an issue with regard to bias. So it seems like that might have just been an argument that was raised but didn't really carry too much weight and clearly the high court agreed. You know, Alan, as I was watching the judge say, thanking the jury, I thought to myself, okay, you've now got these 12 jurors who may feel like they can go out and discuss the case, and would that potentially pollute the next juror pool? I'm wondering your take on that. I think the jurors are going to speak. They usually want to. They've deliberated. It's been so frustrating. And it's also interesting that this issue about the burden didn't come up until

hour 36. So was this juror not showing this this bias up until six and a half days or into day seven? But I have a feeling that jurors are going to speak. They usually want to. Just might be a little time before they unwind a little bit and reflect because what an emotionally charged cases was. Everything that they had to sit through with the experts and the autopsy reports and the photos. It's a lot. But at some point I think it's cathartic for the jurors to want to speak and I think they will. All right. So that sets up. Misty, the next step here, right? The ball is in the hands of the DA, whether these jurors decide that they want to vent or not, what options does the DA have here?

Plymouth County, DA, Tim Cruz, he will make the call. And a new trial, Tom, will be de novo, meaning right from the ground up. It could look very different than the case that played out in court. The DA is not supposed to be thinking about winning. He's a minister of justice. So the question is, given this split, 11 to 1, What are the victims want to do? What is Patrick Clancy?

His parents, the victims in this case, do they want to go through another trial? That's something to take into consideration. And so you could see a world where the district attorney brings the case in a different way. Maybe instead of first-degree murder, it's second-degree murder. Is there leverage from the defense with this 11-to-one split to try and secure a plea deal to save everybody from going through this trial again? So a lot can happen. But the DA does have the power to bring this case as three first-year-old. murder charges. We just have to wait and see the decision has yet to be made.

Alan, I've got about 30 seconds. What's your guess? Is the DA going to go again? I think so. I think they're going to want to talk to the jurors. Look, even though it ended up 11 to 1, it's very likely that there was movement during the deliberation of to that point. It could have been 6-6 at one point. It could have been 7-5. We just don't know. So if the jury speaks, the DA is going to have a decision to make and maybe they can find some things that they can retinker and make some adjustments. but I do have a feeling that they're going to retry it. I'm not sure they're going to be clamoring for murder one.

They might change the charges a little bit, but it sounds like they're going to want to retry this case. Okay, Misty and Allen, thank you both for your great insight. And now to the wild weather that has really been the story of much of the travel day here, disrupting travel for millions. The nation's airlines calling this the busiest Labor Day weekend in history, but one flight was a little more chaotic than others. From crowded airports to crowded roads,

FILEA, Orlando, Los Angeles. One last summer travel surge, a record number of 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 4.14 a gallon. A year ago, it was 320. Today, diesel hit an all-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. Yep, get ready. All right, for the Labor Day weekend forecast. Let's bring in meteorologist Bill Karens. All right, Bill, how's it looking? Tom, another night of storms in the Mid-Atlantic region. Hopefully nothing like what you guys saw in the D.C. area last night. That was quite the wind event. But we are going to watch isolated, strong winds with some of these storms coming through West Virginia and later on this evening and through all of Virginia, including the Richmond area, Virginia Beach to Norfolk. Then we're going to shift the boundary a little more to the south. We'll get some humidity relief in, like, D.C. down to Richmond.

But Raleigh, Asheville, the Charlotte, this area has a chance. isolated strong storms on your Saturday, more in the Saturday afternoon. So keep that in mind if you're heading to any of the beautiful beaches here in North Carolina all the way down to Myrtle Beach. And as far as summer goes, it's been relentless and it just goes on and on. I mean, it's Fourth of July type heat from Wichita to St. Louis, the Memphis. All week it was hot. And it remains really hot. Even in the Sunday, Little Rock, a heat index, a feels like temperature in the shade of 109. It's not even cool to be in the water with temperatures like this. And by the time we get the next week. It's not like we have any big relief coming either. I mean, we're going to continue to

roast St. Louis back up near 100 by Wednesday of next week. So as far as travel, weather goes, tomorrow, isolated storms in the southeast, typical stuff along the Gulf Coast in areas of Florida. And Sunday, really, you know, more of the same here in the southeast. Airports look really great Sunday, even into Monday. I think Monday looks to be Labor Day, the actual best day of the entire forecast with no problems really expected. The only thing we have to watch closely over the weekend is what happens with Hurricane Lull. This is a powerful hurricane. Look at the eye of this. The good news is that all of our computer models, Tom, are taking it, making that curve, and they barely miss the Hawaiian Islands. Close enough to watch it, but as of now, it looks like a glancing blow.

Okay, good news there. Bill, thank you very much. To the White House now, and that headline from President Trump, six months into the war with Iran, calling the conflict, quote, small potatoes for the U.S. Gabe Gutierrez is tracking Oliver from the White House tonight. 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. There were incredible families. 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. And Gabe joins us from the White House now. Gabe, meanwhile, a new report today that the president wants to use the plane gifted by Qatar despite security concerns. Yeah, that's right. Tom, look, the president was asked about this in the Oval Office a short time. ago this afternoon. And he did suggest that he does plan to use it at least for the next several weeks. He is heading to Ireland next week. He's also over the next month, also heading to that

mini convention in Dallas as well. But the president says that starting in October, that's when this plane will start to be maxed out, as he's called it, and these security upgrades, of course, that have really been in the headlines since Qatar gifted that jet, estimated to be some $400 million. We don't have an exact number about how much it will cost to retrofit the plane with those security upgrades. But again, the president says that process will start in October and last for about 60 days, Tom. Okay, Gabe Gutierrez at the White House. Thank you. Overseas now to the Miracle Rescue in Nepal, as crews pulled two workers out alive from a tunnel nine days after they are trapped by those catastrophic floods.

Danielle Homanjin, has that. Nine days later and against all odds, they were pulled out, caked in mud but alive. Two workers trapped in a tunnel after those 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 matter of seconds,

with authorities in Nepal overwhelmed by the scale of devastation. Danielle Hamamjan, NBC News. Europe and the war in Ukraine. Commanders there say 95% of combat has now being fought with drones. Our own Richard Engel got access to one of the secret labs in Ukraine where those drones are weaponized. 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 ninth brigade. The soldiers here soup up their drones to make them more lethal and harder to stop. The commander, codename 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 source.

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 mounted, 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. Still ahead from us, the major change for a college football, a judge allowing former NFL players to now return to the NCAA, why some coaches are furious. Plus, the White House launching MAGA-themed video games, including one that allows users to arrest immigrants, why one

gaming company is pushing back this evening, and trapped on the tracks, a truck stuck in the middle as a passenger train plows right through. Stay with us. We're back with a major legal face-off over college football. A judge says former pro players can go back to college and play. And now the NCAA is firing back. NBC's Jesse Kirsch explains. Tonight college football is back. And some former pro players could also be returning to the college gridiron. A Louisiana judge ruling a group of athletes can play college football, even though they were in NFL team training camps this summer. Putting on a college uniform again and going out there and have fun and embracing my opportunity.

But pro players returning to college sparking backlash. I just think it's embarrassing where we're all with college football. Still LSU embracing the idea with some former pro athletes hoping to play there. Ourselves like many places around the country are recruiting them. Is there a single Division I school that has come forward to you and said, we like this idea of former professional athletes returning to college sports. No. I mean, in fact, you have the four biggest conferences, almost unanimously voting not to support this.

I spoke with NCAA President Charlie Baker. You shouldn't be allowed to come back and take places and spaces away from kids who want to be playing at the collegiate level. And Jesse joins us now. Jesse, I understand the court battle hardly over. Yeah, you've got multiple legal fronts here, Tom. So you have this case in Louisiana that the NCAA president tells me the organization is planning to appeal. But separately from that, you have the SEC, the Southeastern Conference. That is the conference in which LSU plays. The conference has filed a lawsuit in federal court against LSU. So you've got a federal case. You've got a case within the state of Louisiana. And of course, this could be just the beginning of a very lengthy legal battle. And of course, this is just one conference in one school. That's under the microscope right now. There are a lot of universities all over this country, Tom.

Jesse, thanks. Getting an early start to the Labor Day weekend right there on the beach. Jesse Kirsch from South Florida. Thank you. Coming up, a major health alert this evening. Measles cases hitting their highest levels in decades, which you need to know. Plus, Tesla's new cyber cab just hit the road with no steering wheel, no pedals, but could a new federal investigation stop it in its tracks?

Well, first, top story's top moment of the high school, marching band in Florida, bringing some serious school spirit, especially one teen on the symbols, breaking it down in the back. Now, the conductor took notice telling him to bring those moves to center stage. Take a look. The Westport High School Wolfpack, ladies and gentlemen, love the energy, especially on a Friday. Look at them groove. Stay with us. More top story right after the break. We're back now with Top Stories, Money Talks, and some encouraging new data out today about the U.S. economy. Businesses added more than 160,000 jobs last month, far more than analysts predicted, but it may not tell the full story because wages are still lagging behind inflation as Americans struggle to keep up with rising prices. Ali Kanael joins us now. She's got the big board numbers. So, Ali, break down the numbers for us and explain what they all mean across the board for the country.

unemployment health study, right? Yeah, unemployment at 4.1 percent, which historically speaking is a very strong number. Of course, we have a pretty tight labor market. We have immigration restrictions. We have people aging out of the workforce, baby boomers retiring, but still 4.1 percent very encouraging. 162,000. The expectation was for 53,000, so three times that number. And seasonally speaking, August is typically a weaker month. So overall, very strong. And really, what stood out to me as well, were the revisions that we saw for June and July. So remember in July, we saw that surprise job loss. That was actually revised to a gain here. So both of these months combined actually

added 55,000 jobs more than we previously thought. So when we look across the landscape, the labor market looks pretty solid. However, when we talk about affordability pressures that people feel every single day, you're seeing gas prices firmly above $4 a gallon nationally. rising oil prices is also impacting diesel. Diesel powers, our boats, our trains, anything that you got to ship, it probably touches diesel. You can think about farmers too. If they want to fill up their tractors, they got to fill them up with diesel. So there's a real ripple effect there for the U.S. consumer. And then when we look at the housing market here, we have mortgage rates approaching 7%. It's $410,000. That's the average price of a home. It's just getting more expensive to afford the American Dream Tom. I'll tell you, the first mortgage I had, Allie, was 10% interest. So 6.7% doesn't look too terrible. That's what people say, but comparatively. Talk us through the industries, though, where we saw the biggest boost in jobs.

Yeah, so when we talk about some of the industries here, healthcare, you know, is a big leader in this labor market. 13,000 jobs added. Leisure and hospitality, though, was certainly the standout. 62,000 jobs that was concentrated in bars and restaurants. So people were out in about in August. Also, manufacturing, I want to give that a shout out. 16,000 jobs.

This is actually the fastest pace that we've seen since 2023, because manufacturing has really struggled over the past few years. What we've seen over the past few months, there's been expansion. Of course, it has a lot to do with AI data centers and all that. But, and I'm going to bring up the butt again, your wages and inflation. Eight wages rising 3.1% annually. Inflation still at 3.4%, which means prices are rising faster than your. paycheck. This is something at the Fed pays very close attention to.

You're losing some pennies there. All right, Alic Cannell, thank you very much. And at the White House today, the Trump administration unveiled five retro video games promoting key pillars of the president's agenda. Everything from immigration and Trump accounts to the Make America Healthy Again movement. NBC's Jermish Alcindor reports. Tonight, the White House expanding President Trump's agenda to the arcane. launching a new government website featuring five mega-themed video games. One, encouraging users to build the wall with Tetris-like blocks that will quote, protect the border from the coming horde.

Another immigration-themed option called Rio Run, appearing to resemble the classic game snake, features border-zar Tom Holman as he chases down migraines. Users can also catch coins to fill their kids' Trump accounts, and monitor school lunches for seed oils, coloring, and action. to quote, make America healthy again. In a statement to NBC News, the White House says the administration is focused on ways to innovate and that this is an effort to further contrast between a culture of fun and winning and a dark socialist vision Democrats have for America.

The Trump administration has invoked video game imagery in posts for years. Earlier this year, the White House posted this image replicating the cover art of a Nintendo Pokemon game, a move rebuked by the company. online today celebrating the nostalgic games, but not everyone is convinced. I am just out of loss for words. I don't know what to think about this. Texas State Representative Jessica Gonzalez, a Democrat writing, Trump's White House literally built video games on a government website before doing anything to solve America's affordability

crisis. Tetris, in a statement posted today, writing that it was not involved in the creation of Build the Wall, adding that they take copyright infringement very seriously. Yamish Alcendor, NBC News, the White House. Okay, now to Top Stories News feed, starting overseas in Poland with dramatic video of a train smashing through a tractor trailer. Take a look. You can see the truck carrying or rather trying to make it across the tracks before getting hit by that passenger train. That's sent a brief line.

Here's another angle of it. The Polish Railway Company says the driver of the train was taken to the hospital. Somehow the truck driver was not hurt. Back here at home, a troubling new milestone in the measles outbreaks across the country. The CDC is now reporting confirmed cases have now top 3100. That's the highest annual total in more than 35 years. Health officials say cases have been detected in virtually every state, and nearly 250 people have now been sent to hospitals. And an update in our series, the cost of denial.

Now, we reported on the challenges one veteran was facing to get coverage. from his health care administrator, TriWest, and now the Texas Attorney General has announced an investigation into that company, pointing directly to our reporting. In response, TriWest says it's reviewing the probe and that is committed to serving its more than 4 million members. Tonight, Tesla's new Robotaxi is under federal investigation

just one day after it officially opened its doors to passengers. It's called the cyber cab. You can see it right there. It's a gold self-driving two-seater, and now rolling out on the streets of Austin, Texas. And inside, you'll notice some key missing features. No steering wheel, no pedals, and there are no rear view or side view mirrors either.

And now the Department of Transportation is launching an audit to see if the driverless cars are actually meeting safety regulations. We've reached out to Tesla for comment. We've not yet heard back. For more on this, we want to bring in, Jack Ewing, who covers the auto industry for the New York Times. Jack, thanks for being here. And walk us through the purpose of this audit.

Why are DOT regulators not so sure if the cyber cab is actually road safe? Well, there's not really any provision in the regulations that allows cars without steering wheels and pedals. Tesla just kind of decided to put them out on the street without getting permission. I think they're probably just trying to provoke regulators into taking some action. But Needsa didn't really have much choice but to launch an investigation because there's really no place where these cars are street legal. So you kind of got Elon Musk pushing the DOT's button, so to speak, here. Bottom line, though, is it legal for these cyber cabs to be on the road right now? Well, they have permission in Austin to operate autonomous vehicles, permission in Texas. They've registered about 45 vehicles in Texas. But in the rest of the country, you need special permission to do this. Zooks, which is.

A division of Amazon already has permission to do that in Las Vegas and San Francisco. But Tesla has not yet bothered to go through that process for whatever reason. I think they just decided to do it and then see what happens. Well, that wouldn't be the first time for Elon Musk, right? Do we know how many of these cybercabs are out there? And where else is Tesla looking to actually launch the service? Well, they're talking about rolling it out quickly to other cities. I know they've been spotted in Miami.

A reader sent me a picture of one in Washington, D.C. this morning. Really? But Jezzo really hasn't released a lot of specific information about how many are actually on the road and how quickly they're going to try to roll it out. You know, they're going to have problems in a lot of places because you do need permission to do this kind of thing. And they don't have it as far as I know. You mentioned Amazon's robo taxi called Zooks.

Federal regulators have said there is a temporary exemption from certain safety standards. And it's already operating, as you said, in San Francisco and Vegas, could Tesla get some sort of a similar carve out as Amazon providing the template here? Yeah, that's very possible. And in fact, the regulators have said that they're open to these new technologies. They want to encourage them. But they want to be part of the process. They want to make sure that they're safe.

Jack Ewing from the New York Times. Jack, thank you very much. Still to come on Top Story this evening, our NBC News investigation into a secret North Korean cyber program. that could be infiltrating American companies and raking in millions for the regime in the process. Plus, our great American this week, a woman who turned her love of the outdoors into a history-making career in baseball. Stay with us. And we're back now with a warning from the FBI about a North Korean cyber scheme. It allegedly involves placing remote workers at U.S. companies who then funneled their salaries back to the regime, in part to fund the country's weapons.

program. Here's NBC's Richard Engel once again. I read through your resume and obviously I thought looked good because that's what we're here. Okay. How many companies in the U.S. may it be having ghost North Korean? In terms of targeting at the very least, I'd say all the Fortune 500 companies have all of them. I've seen them everywhere. Once you peel back the onion, I've seen them everywhere. How can I say? I've been working in AI architecture for to a rogue. Can you snagher? It seems like every rogue regime has its own specialty.

North Korea, is this the one they've? Highly trained computer scientists. It seems to be their latest specialty and they're excellent at it. Cash and crypto are keen for them right now. They're now pioneering a whole new system. This is now the shining example of what you could achieve. Their goal is to fund nuclear and ballistic weapons programs. North Korea is one of the world.

one of the world's most sanctioned countries, cut off and isolated. But the regime has found a way to help break free from its economic prison by working at American companies, using AI to find and do American jobs remotely. They steal the identities of U.S. citizens. They apply for the broadest range of jobs you can imagine. Some of them have three or four or five jobs simultaneously. And now with AI tools. the language barrier is no longer an issue.

They use AI to get through the interviews, and then they're using AI to do their work. Many American companies are unaware they're hiring North Koreans, and that the salaries they're paying go to prop up the regime and fund its nuclear weapons. This is a quiet theft of billions of dollars

out of the economy that's going to fuel the next great geopolitical threat. That's exactly the kind of challenge I'm beautiful. And you can see the rest of Richard's in-depth report and all-purpose soared North Korea's cyber warfare on NBCNews.com and on the NBC News YouTube page. Back here at home, now to our series, Great Americans, where we speak with those who have achieved so much about their lives. And this country, it takes a special touch to keep America's iconic baseball diamonds looking game-ready. And tonight, we meet the first woman in the MLB, in all of MLB history, to be named.

named head groundskeeper for a team. Our great American tonight, the MLB's Heather Nabosny. Here's Tom. What I love about America, baseball and our freedoms that we love here, freedom to do what you want, freedom to be who you want. Heather Nabosny didn't set out to be a trailblazer. If you can let them rake up to here just to get the grass out. But the MLB groundskeeper is also a groundb

breaker. At 28 years old, Nabosny became the first woman in Major League Baseball history to be named head groundskeeper, a job she's held for nearly three decades. I didn't have the gender thing in my mind truthfully getting the job. I just want to be a groundskeeper. I want to be a major league groundskeeper. The Michigan native grew up loving the outdoors, mowing her parents lawn on their 1939 Ford tractor, eventually working her way up to area baseball diamonds. Then in 1999, she got the call up from her hometown team, the Detroit Tigers. I just couldn't believe it. Kid from Milford, Michigan, you know, becoming the head groundskeeper, which was, I mean, it was a dream.

He swings us a long drive to right. Suddenly, some of the 1984 world champion Detroit Tigers, she grew up idolizing from the stands. He's got it. We're back at games standing right beside her. Alan Trammell and Whitaker, all these famous guys that I saw as a kid are part of the coaching staff at one point or another during my tenure here. I just have to pinch myself. Nabazni and her crew work hard. Batters box looks great.

They're responsible for fertilizing, watering, and manicuring the field. And? The tarp being rolled out onto the diamond here. They keep that diamond protected in bad weather. weather. Storms, lightning, wind, got to get that thing secured and protect the games. Our calendar is pretty tight, as you could see. Now in her 28th season with the Tigers, she's among the first and the last on the field.

Every time before our homestand starts, I always look out and go, wow, look at you guys did. Her love for America's pastime has never been stronger. Every little kid that comes to a game wants a ball and they remember that for the rest of their lives. I just feel like of all sports. Baseball is America. Great story. Thanks, Tom.

Still ahead this evening, everything you can binge watch and listen to this weekend, including a new documentary about Reagan, the break dancer who was ridiculed for her performance at the Paris Olympics, plus a new action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Miley Cyrus out with a new single. Stay with us. And we're back on this Friday with binge-worthy. Our look at the best things to watch and listen to this weekend. Joining us now is Access Hollywood's Entertainment correspondent Emily Orozco. Emily, let's start out with a new documentary about the Australian breakdancer behind one of the most viral moments of the Summer Olympics.

This is untold Reagan, Reagan, breaking badly on Netflix. There was this frenzy. It was this growing monster. Euro points. How did this person go to the Olympics? I know I'm a dorky, white woman who's an actor. And I'm a big girl. Did you ever associate Olympian and Rachel growing up?

Never. Sorry, no the wrong reaction, isn't it? That looks like fun. This one really, though, is set off a social media firestorm, right? Do we get more of the backstory here, Emily? Yes, as you can see, we see Rachel's parents talking about her as a child and her experience, you know, in sports. and how shocked they were that she got into the Olympics as a break dancer. I remember covering this two years ago in Paris,

and this just going so viral. Rachel says she actually said to her therapist before going to the Olympics, like the worst that could happen is that the world laughs at me, and the therapist is like, that's not going to happen. And then here we are, it did happen. You learn more about Rachel and how she got into breakdancing, and she actually says she's going to compete again. Well, that's good.

Okay, next one here, a new action comedy on Apple TV. It stars Ryan Reynolds. This is May Day. We want to watch a clip. As you can imagine, I really need to get going. I am behind enemy lines. I'm making. Will you help me?

Where do you learn to fight like that? Okay, I'm hooked. I like this. Right. Something I'm going to have to see. I mean, what do we, what's the takeaway here? It looks good. This is an action comedy.

It's called a buddy action. comedy. So it's Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Brana, and they just have fabulous chemistry. It's a great one for the family to watch. If you're hanging out at home this weekend, maybe you're not traveling. This is a really fun one. Ryan plays a pilot that crashes in Soviet Union territory in the 80s, and they form this friendship where Kenneth's character is trying to help him get back home. It's quick, it's funny, it's witty, it's really a good one. That sounds like fun. All right, Prime Video's hit car show is back with an all-new host here. This is the Grand Tour. Take a look.

That's a chance in button. Hey, hey, I like, yes. Jane, stop. Keep in time, Thomas. 2,000 and 31 breakers. Oh, my God. Three, two. I said host, it's host, plural. And this is a reboot of the classic.

How does it stack up? Yes, so we have three new hosts. And if you are into motorsports, this is for you. These guys explore all kinds of different automobiles. And, you know, you also could just be a fan of, like, fun friendships. Because it's like three guys with just like a dysfunctional friendship, having fun with these motorsports. And being, it's high budget.

So it's obviously very visual, as you can see. Again, something the family could really enjoy, especially the older teens this weekend, if you're hanging around. Aren't all guy friendships somewhat dysfunctional? All right. Next one is a movie from the Star Wars universe, and now on streaming for the first time. This is The Mandalorian and Grogu. Do I have this right? Grogu. Let's take a look here. The kid will live centuries beyond me. I won't always be around to protect him.

Are you scared? You should be. Where do we fight? I like this kid. Yeah, you fight. Of course. She's fine. All right. Do you think this one will perform better on streaming than it did in the theaters? You know what? I think it will because it's a family, it's a family film and this adorable animatronic little guy, Groku, is the cutest thing in the world. And, you know, it's when you're, this is the power of streaming, right? We're home. We're in the comfort of our home. You don't have to lug the

kids to the theater. So I do think this will do better. Who doesn't love Pedro, Pascal? And there's also a companion podcast if the adults are really into it and want to also listen to the podcast after watching the movie. Okay. Next we have a reality show about influencer Alex Earle that goes behind the scenes of her life and family. This is Earl meets World on Netflix. Take a look. Halfway through, dancing with the stars. I found out my mom had cancer. There's a 50% chance. Alex and I are at a higher risk. And then Brasston and I broke up. Did it make the Wrong decision. Alex is crying again.

Everywhere I step out, there's a story. Come? Come over, cutie. Wait, I'm not sticking up when he's doing bad actions. Oh, boy. I mean, this looks like it's also kind of serious and sad. There's a lot of buzz about this one, right? What's the reaction so far? Yes, there's a lot of drama in Alex's life.

She's the Gen Zit girl that we all know from social media. Of course, her family. This takes us behind the scenes of social media into her real family life, which kind of has existing drama. Her father had an affair with her now stepmother. She hangs out with them, with her mother. They're kind of like this blended family. We're gonna watch Alex go through the aftermath

of her very public breakup with NFL star Braxton Barrios. We're also gonna watch the biggest thing, which is what happened between Alex Cooper from Call Her Daddy and Alex Earle, who were once in business together. Alex Earl is finally speaking out about this. People really want to know what happened between these two ladies. And Alex gives us her side of the drama.

Okay. A little drama. A little drama for the Labor Day weekend. Right, exactly. Who wouldn't love that? All right, let's turn the music. Today is Beyonce's, I can't believe it. Beyonce's 45th birthday, and she's out with an anniversary version of her album B day with several new tracks.

This one is Quirpo. Let's take a listen. Yeah, and this is a reimagining of one of Beyonce's old songs. Do we think we will get another album soon? Beyonce is always creating. I would not be surprised if she is working on additional music, but she did do a lot of new music in this album. Of course, it is celebrating her album B-Day,

and there's reworked songs. But I do think we could potentially get more music from Beyonce. But right now I'm enjoying this song. Cuerpo, please play this at your Labor Day barbecue. It is so good. I'm Colombian. I love Maluma. I love this collaboration.

Yeah, it'll get you moving. All right, last one is a new single for Miley Cyrus's upcoming album. This is bass, persuades. Let's take a listen to that. Okay, you got our floor director dancing over here. Miley, clearly back in her pop era, right? What's the response to this one?

Fans are so excited because this is like bringing back club era and dancing and like letting loose it to celebration of music and letting the music take you. And we aren't getting enough of that right now. a little bit of Gaga and Madonna, which is very fitting because Miley just dropped her last name. She goes by just Miley now, and she has a new album coming this month. It'll be her 10th album. Fans cannot wait. I'm obsessed with this. I love Miley in this era. All right. Well, that's a long list of stuff to keep you busy this weekend.

Thank you very much, Emily. We appreciate it. Thanks for watching. Top Story. I'm Tom Costello in Washington. And stay right there. More news. is on the way.