Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Episode Date: September 9, 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 news tonight, the jurors in the Lindsay Clancy case speaking for the first time in an NBC exclusive. Three jurors breaking their silence days after the mistrial, what they're revealing about the heated deliberations that devolved into shouting and their frustrations with the one-hold-out juror. Hurricane Lowell slamming Hawaii, plunging nearly an entire island into darkness. The powerful storm roaring onshore with fierce winds, mounds of sands lifting cars and pushing them inland. our reporter in the storm zone. New images of the black box has recovered from that deadly Amazon cargo plane crash, plus the identities of the five people killed just released.

A small plane with a family on board vanishes after leaving the Bahamas for Florida. Relatives searching the ocean themselves by boat. Their grim discovery today. The new art high thieves busting into a museum, swiping priceless works, but dropping two during their escape, We speak with an expert about what's behind the string of high-end thefts.

Bleacher collapsed, a rail-giving way as fans celebrated at a high school football game. What happened here? And rescued by a rival, a pro driver crashing during a championship race, his Ferrari going up in flames, the competitor who abandoned his own car to pull him out alive. Plus, why the job market is booing for Americans without college degrees. We'll explain. Top story starts right now. And good evening.

We come on the air tonight with an NBC exclusive. Three jurors on the Lindsay Clancy triple murder trial breaking their silence about those painstaking deliberations that ended in a mistrial, speaking out for the first time to our NBC Boston station. These are the three members of that undecided jury describing volatile discussions with one holdout juror, calling him arrogant and detailing the tense moments behind closed doors. He admitted he had reasonable doubt. And then he said, but I'm still not going to. say that she's not guilty. That jury was tasked with deciding Clancy's fate. The Massachusetts mother facing murder charges after she admitted to killing her three young children.

Her defense claiming she was in the middle of postpartum psychosis. At one point, even asking the Massachusetts Supreme Court to remove the one juror for being biased against mental health issues, but that appeal was denied, and the case ended in a mistrial. So what do these new revelations mean

for the future of Clancy's case? Are Emily Aketa is tracking it all and leads us off. Tonight, several jurors from Lindsay Clancy's widely watched murder trial breaking their silence. We're trying to figure out, did she know right from wrong at that time? Describing volatile deliberations involving the one holdout juror. He was very arrogant. He really did not take anything that anybody said. In their first interview, since a mistrial was declared last Friday, when they couldn't reach.

a unanimous decision. He admitted he had reasonable doubt and I started filling out the forms. I was so excited. And then he said, but I'm still not going to say that she's not guilty by reason of insanity. Paula Devlin, Ronnie Carlson and Kelly Farina, part of a jury of nine women and three men telling our NBC 10 station in Boston at points name calling and yelling were so loud alternate jurors in the other room could apparently hear them. Every one of us, in the hours of a frustration would get up and walk the room. He would not interact with us and try to understand. The judge denying the defense's request to remove that one juror as they tried to determine whether Clancy was in control of her actions and should be held criminally responsible

for killing her three young children. Everything proved that she loved her children, so she had to have snapped. As for how they viewed the prosecution. I just This found it to be harsh. The fact that they had no character witnesses in regard to Lindsay of being a bad mother. So I found it to be biased right out of the gate. I found them also to be kind of unprofessional and just without a heart. All right. Our Emily Aketa and Misty Maris join us now live in studio. So Emily, I'm going to start with you. You just got off the phone with the foreperson of the jury. and she told you something very interesting if there's a retrial. Yeah, you could hear the emotion in her voice. She described how there were a lot of tears when they couldn't reach that unanimous verdict,

calling the trial really an emotional roller coaster, the foreperson who is the one who writes the note to the judge that said, it is with a heavy heart we couldn't reach a unanimous decision. She said that if this goes to a retrial, she would show up in person in support of Lindsay Clancy's defense. Okay, that may sound a little strange to people. I don't know. I've never been on a jury like this. Missy, I do want to ask you, you've seen all the interviews now from these jurors. What was the most important thing that stood out to you?

Well, the four-person said it again, that there was a juror who would not follow the law on reasonable doubt. That's very meaningful because that could be part of a post-trial appeal that the defense could raise to try and raise a double jeopardy argument. That would be an uphill battle, but it's certainly something that could be at play. Well, the other jurors said there was frustration that this one juror wasn't listening. That's a different story. Somebody who is just not moved by the other side's argument and has their convictions at a certain position is different than an individual who refuses to follow the law. One has significant implications while the other is just what happens in a deliberation room. Emily, some people at home may be saying all these jurors are talking about the holdout juror. Have we heard from the holdout juror? We have not. And our NBC Boston station has made attempts to try to get a hold of that juror based on descriptions. But at this point, the jurors' names have been. have been impounded for at least two weeks, and the judge could continue to protect them beyond that, Tom.

Misty, we know that the jurors said that they thought the prosecutors did a bad job by not putting up anybody who said that Lindsay Clancy was a bad mother. Do you think the prosecutors will take note of this and maybe change your strategy? Yeah, I mean, this is who the case is for, right? It has to appeal to the jury. And prosecutors started off saying Lindsay Clancy will look like a doting mother and a dedicated nurse. But behind the scene, she's manipulative and she's manipulating her family and providers. that did not land with the testimony. So I think you're going to see a completely different case if there is a round two.

Emily, you're not a lawyer, but you cover this case for NBC News. What surprised you about what the jurors said and talked about? I think it was really interesting that getting insight on what it looked like, the deliberations over the course of seven different days, how their opinions kind of evolved over the day. So initially they weren't all on the same page. She said that two people were pretty convinced it was first-degree murder. A couple of people were unsure.

But by the end, everyone was on board. not guilty by reason of insanity, the insanity defense, except that one juror, they say, who just, in their words, refused to follow the law around reasonable doubt. Misty, what does this smart money say? Do you think there will be a retrial here? I know that hasn't been announced. The way that the district attorney postured, and even though there was no definitive answer on whether or not there would be a retrial, the statement that he made outside that courtroom was pretty strong, that this was seeking justice for the three children. And this is not going to go away, but it could look very different.

Okay, Misty and Emily, great work both of you. We thank you very much for that. Now to our other developing headline tonight, Hurricane Lowell's rare and direct hit on Hawaii. Parts of Kauai battered by torrential downpours and winds up to 85 miles per hour. Huge waves like this cresting over roads. Look at that. Daylight bringing the wreckage into view, homes and hotels severely damaged, and cars strewn across the island, pools filled with sand. And across the Pacific in California, a separate tropical system sending monstrous waves into homes and businesses, even creating the sinkhole in Maloney. right outside a mansion with ties to actor Nicholas Cage. We're covering it all tonight.

We want to start with Liz Croix on the ground in Kauai. Tonight, Hurricane Lowell lashing Hawaii, packing damaging winds, heavy rainfall, and powerful waves. The worst of Lowell's fury came in the middle of the night, winds gusting up to 85 miles per hour. We're in the thick of the storm right now, and you can just feel the force out of these winds. The coast here is just getting hammered. In this Poipu neighborhood on the island of Kauai homes obliterated. One lifted off its foundation and split in half. There is so much destruction here.

We are told that this structure had been attached to this home, but the wind so strong, it broke it off and essentially threw it across the road. Eventually it was going to happen. We met Gentry Cruz. He tells me he manages this property. How are you feeling about this damage here? It sucks, but I mean, can I do nothing about me? on Mother Nature's Mother Nature.

At a nearby Sheraton Hotel, the storm lifting up these cars and carrying them across the parking lot. Have you ever seen anything like this? No. In Iowa, we have tornadoes, but not like anything to this effect. The hotel pool now filled with sand instead of water. The oceanfront restaurant destroyed. More than 90% of the island losing power during the storm. Other Hawaiian islands affected too.

The storm shutting down this highway on Oahu. here on Kauai residents cleaning up as the full scope of Hurricane Lowell's devastation comes into focus and Tom you can still see some of the flooding here this is usually a big picnic area now submerged in water for an island so reliant on tourism there is months of cleanup ahead and it's not over yet the hurricane has passed but tens of thousands of people are without power and there's still a threat of flash flooding and mudslides tom Liz Kroits for us tonight list thank you I want to bring a meteorologist Bill caron's bill I just got off text with some friends in Kauai who are telling me there's no power.

They're really concerned right now. Even on the North Shore as well, there are so many trees in Kauai. It's a beautiful area, but there are so many trees. It's going to be a while for that cleanup to happen. We're still doing the assessment. Most of the pictures that you've seen have been down along the coastal sections where we had the storm surge come in. That was a little worse than expected, all the sand and all the damage. Then we've got the trees throughout the entire island.

So the storm is gone. We've had sunshine during the day. So the damage assessment is beginning. but it's going to be, you know, days, if not weeks, in some cases, to get the power back on. You know, and in Lahui here, and this is Kauai, so this is where we're only passed about 50 miles from the center. Still some wind gusts up, the tropical storm gust, even than the last hour or two. Less than Honolulu and other areas will get some minor wind damage possible, but that's about it. We're pretty much done.

And as far as rainfall goes, isolated totals on the big island with that southerly flow and on Kauai, one to three inches, isolated about 24 inches total. Tom, most of the rivers have come down. conditions are beginning to improve. It looks like Hawaii, you're safe and sound for at least the next week. But there looks to be more tropical trouble brewing in the Pacific. We'll probably be talking more about another threat to Hawaii in about a week and a half from now. It is so surprising out. The Atlantic has been so quiet in the Pacific, a completely different story. All right, Bill, we thank you for that. In Southern California, a different tropical

system, fueling powerful surf and destructive coastal erosion. A massive sinkhole opening up right in front of a mansion, believed to be owned by actor Nicholas Cage. And that's where we find NBC's Dana Griffin. Dana, what are you learning right now? that was a big hole. Oh, gosh, yes. And as you mentioned, the home is, was previously linked to actor Nicholas Cage. Right now, investigators, it appears, are going in and there are a bunch of cement trucks behind us.

We're told that they are putting sand and cement in that hole to try to shore up the area. The hole is pretty large, as you mentioned, and city officials say that the collapse also created a gas leak earlier this morning. Fortunately, no one was hurt. This comes after high surf from a number. Another tropical system, Marie, has been impacting the Southern California coast for days. And these waves, you can see in Long Beach, forcing firefighters to evacuate multiple residents. And south of here in Orange County, at least a dozen homes have been damaged there.

Back here in Malibu, we just got an update from the L.A. County Sheriff's Office. They tell us that 24 homes are being impacted by the recent rain. 24 have been evacuated. Only 10 of them were actually currently occupied. know five homes have been red tagged, which means that they are too dangerous to even enter. And as you can imagine, neighbors are now anxiously watching the ocean. Tom? Yeah, it's a dangerous time there.

Dana, we thank you for being out there for us. We are learning new details about the deadly Amazon plane crash in Miami. Authorities identifying the five people who were killed as investigators combed through data from the plane's black boxes. George releases near the crash site. Tonight, new images from the NTSB of the black boxes recover. from the Amazon Prime Air Cargo plane that overran the runway at Miami International

by 1,300 feet, killing five and erupting into flames. The plane traveling nearly 130 miles per hour at the end of the runway, slammed into a van, crashed through a perimeter fence, and then struck a vehicle traveling on a nearby road. Video captures the moment one of the two pilots

on board jumped from the aircraft. Data from those flight recorders, now being analyzed as NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homandy, woman Jennifer Homandy says the investigation is just getting started. We have not completed interviews with the pilots yet, but that will be in the process. Tonight, we're learning more about the lives lost when this airplane veered off the runway outside the airport. It struck a truck. We do have a patient on the ground. We're looking at serving the area for more patients. The Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office revealing all five victims were in this van belonging to an airline cleaning service.

It's an incredibly tragic incident that has occurred. Unfortunately, we are left with picking up the pieces and trying to identify what happened and how it occurred. Among the victims whose ages range from 47 to 75 is 55-year-old Ronaldo Leone. Tonight, a friend of Leons calling him a beautiful soul. He was a wonderful person, a very nice man, very sociable and supportive, 21 Air, which operated the plane, says it's cooperating with the NTSB's investigation. We know following the crash, both pilots were treated and released from the hospital.

And we all saw that incredible video of one of those pilots jumping out of the plane after the crash. Now, we're told NTSB investigators have not spoken to them yet, which is going to be the top of their to-do list in trying to understand what went wrong here. Tom? Okay, George. We're also following another tragic plane crash. This went off the coast of the Bahamas. family members searching the waters for their loved ones after their plane vanished on the way back to Miami.

Tom Costello reports. Tragedy in the waters off the Bahamas as a family desperately searching by boat on their own for relatives who'd vanished when their small plane disappeared, making their own grim discovery. The family writing in a statement, it is with profound sadness that we confirm all four of our family members have been found deceased. The grandparents, 80-year-old Maria Lamarer, and 79-year-old Lily Lamar and grandchildren, 28-year-old Sophia Sosa and 22-year-old Christian Sosa. My uncle is a lifelong, very experienced pilot, and they were departing, business as usual, like he's done his entire life.

All four missing since 2 p.m. Sunday, when their small private plane returning to Miami from a regular trip to the Bahamas, instead flew south, possibly to avoid extreme weather, then suddenly dropped off. radar. With the initial search delayed by the extreme weather, the family pleaded for help. We're asking for everyone out there to please help. Relatives discovered a first family member on Sunday. This morning, private boats left Miami searching for the other three. A short time later, a tragic end. The family writing, our relatives ultimately located our loved ones and had to bring them aboard their own vessels. A civilian vessel that is a family member of of the deceased. They were able to recover bodies. Tonight, Bahamian authorities tell me they've recovered some plain debris as they coordinate

returning all four victims to the U.S. Tom. Terribly sad story there. Okay, Tom, thank you. At this hour, final balance are being cast in a critical New Hampshire primary. The battle for the Senate seat wide open and a race that could shape the balance of power. I want to get right to Steve Kornacki and his big board. So, Steve, let's start on the Democratic side. Once again, we're seeing an establishment Democrat, a lot of name recognition, maybe, if you will, going up against the Democratic Socialists. What are we seen so far? Yeah, literally just in the last second's time, we've gotten numbers now from three cities here in New Hampshire. What it nets out to, it's less than 2,000 votes.

But you see the progressive candidate here, the DSA-aligned Karisma Manzoar, leading to tally over Congressman Chris Pappas, the establishment candidate. What's happening here is this is a liberal city, Dover, right here. and Manzoor is getting a big number out of there, about a quarter of the vote coming in out of Dover. That is a good number for her. Now, this is getting near the Lake Winipasaki, the Lakes region here. This is more of like a blue collar, small blue collar city here. Laconia, this is a big number. It's about a fifth of the vote in Laconia.

That's a big number for Papas. You can see Manzoor lagging there in that count. So while she's getting a good number in Dover, this is a very bad one for her in Laconia. And then the state capital, Concord. Again, this is one of the largest cities in New Hampshire right here. It's only 6% of the vote. It's a little bit less here. But it's interesting here.

Pappas with 53, Manzur with 46. I think Manzor probably wants to be, needs to be doing a little bit better than this year. She probably wants to be winning Concord, a city like Concord by the end of the night here. But she's not getting blown out in it. So it's enough that, you know, you peel back right here. And we got just a little bit more in here outside. Just looking, this is the town of Madbury. This is not too far from like Durham where the University of New Hampshire is.

We actually have a complete town here. It's not a ton of votes, but I think it's noteworthy that you get the complete town in Madbury. Again, I think Manzur wanted to be close to 50-50 here and she's losing it. So I think early on here, it's 2% or so with a vote. You know, the idea that there was some real energy here for Manzur, I think that's definitely. You know, the number you're seeing there from Dover, the number you're seeing there in Concord, some real energy for her, but she's not going to get too far tonight if in places like Laconia, she's doing this, potentially a place like Madbury. So there may on the whole be a little bit

more encouraging news for Pappas here than Manzur and what you're looking at. But the idea here, we didn't even know, we had no idea what to expect tonight. And there is some energy here. You do see some energy here on the left for Manzor. It'd be interesting to see more these city and towns come in. Before we go, I know there's only 2% in there. Can you just give us a quick look at the Republican side? Yeah, so take a look here. Very different story. This is what the polls were kind of projecting here.

John E. Sununu, former United States Senator, trying to get his old seat back here 18 years after he lost it. Scott Brown, you may remember this name, a former senator as well, from Massachusetts, moved north to New Hampshire, ran here for the Senate 12 years ago, running again now. Sununu, key here. It's a name that's like political royalty. in New Hampshire Republican politics.

Father was a governor, White House Chief of Staff, brother was the governor till last year, a popular governor too. And Sununu running with the Trump endorsement. So very much result here that's in line, I think, with expectations on the Republican side. And Republicans are hoping, by the way, Republicans have been watching that Democratic primary with interest. Republican establishment has been hoping Sununu gets the nomination,

and they've been hoping that Manzor could somehow win this because they think they could make it a race if she does. Steve, thank you. For more updates and analysis, make sure to subscribe to Steve's weekly newsletter, data dive with Steve Kornacki. It's out every Tuesday. We're back in a moment with the mother convicted of a crime for letting her five-year-old son walk outside alone.

What? The debate is igniting a lot about parenting. Plus, no degree, no problem, why the job market is booming right now for people who never went to college. And the solo sailor rescued out at sea, crews reaching him just as his boat started sinking. We'll tell you how they found him. Ahead on Top Story. We're back now with the case igniting a parenting debate.

How young is too young for kids to take walks alone? A judge in Virginia ruling one mother committed a crime when she let her five-year-old wander out to a pond without supervision. Maggie Vesp has more details. Tonight, a national debate mounting over parenting practices after this Virginia mom was convicted of a crime for letting her five-year-old son, Sam, go on a walk to look for feathers. I mean, I just felt like this is so overblown. Carrie Ann Parkinson says it all started back in June when she let her kindergartner go on a half-mile walk alone in their gated community along a winding path to a pond.

Is this a neighborhood where kids walk by themselves play alone outside? Yes, absolutely. It's a very, very safe neighborhood. A security guard spotted Sam and called police who served Carrie Ann with a warrant for her arrest. the charge contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a class one misdemeanor. Parkinson says she was sentenced to six months of suspended jail time. She'll also be on Virginia's abuse and neglect registry for seven years. I really think that it just got out of control. If we really care about Sam was the best thing to threaten his mom with arrest.

It's absurd overreach. She should not be on the registry. The ordeal sparking outrage online. She allowed him alone. five years old, he had to cross streets and pass a pond. The mom of five, a recent law school graduate, now appealing her conviction. Maggie, so many people debating this one. We have more details about the interaction between the mom and the security guard who eventually called police, so what did you learn? Yeah, Tom, she was really upset about this, saying that the security

guard, who she didn't name, by the way, made her son cry as they were walking back to the family's telling him there are bad people in the neighborhood who could hurt you, and that's saying the five-year-old had broken a rule. So she said her son shows up at the door with that security guard holding those feathers and crying, afraid of bad people, afraid that he'd done something wrong. She's really angry about that moving forward. She's really optimistic about that appeal, Tom, because she's going to have the option, she says, of a jury trial and looking at the public reaction to this story, she believes they'll be on her side. All he wanted was the goose feathers, you know, and now we're here. Okay, Maggie, thank you. That's all you. That's all you.

wanted. All right. Also tonight, new details about the mid-air mayhem where an unruly passenger had to be duct taped to his seat during a flight. Adam Harding from NBC, New York, spoke with the two men who helped get the situation under control. You've likely seen the video first shared with TMZ or seen the photos of a passenger duct taped to his chair on a recent flight from Texas to New Jersey. For the first two hours, the flight was relatively normal. Now meet the two local men who work in Woodland Park that stepped in to help after they say the passenger became unruly. I don't love flying. And so as soon as I started hearing the disruption, I was like, oh boy. Richard Olenik and Juan Mejia, who's a former police officer, say it all began after

the man spewed racial and homophobic slurs. Then they say he started to get physical. Lied attendants tried to de-escalate him. They were just getting spit venom from him, derogatory remarks, racial comments. the whole gamut. So I said to him, if he escalates from there, I'm going to have to get involved. The pair says flight attendants first pulled out zip ties, then the duct tape. Juan says he grabbed it and went to work. It went up all the way up to shoulders, and then I said, you know what, I'm going to put it around his forehead. I didn't cover his eyes, I didn't cover his airways, his nose was not. That was the most important thing. We're not looking to hurt the gentleman, but we're looking that he doesn't hurt himself any further or us or anyone else.

The flight was soon diverted to Baltimore because of the passenger's behavior. Authorities in Maryland have identified him as 67-year-old Arthur Lundee from Arizona. He's facing disorderly conduct and assault charges. The FBI also investigating. I'm glad that we were able to do what we did. We did it because it was the right thing to do. A week before September 11th, I couldn't sit there and do nothing. In a statement, the airline says the safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority.

All we wanted to do was make sure we got home. Everybody was safe on that plane and help out. One passenger describes the suspect as thrashing around on board the flight. Tonight, on top of facing charges, the 67-year-old is also out of a job. Tom? Adam, Harding for us tonight from WNBC there. Adam, thank you. Coming up, how do Americans feel about AI ahead of the midterms?

Our Brian Chung is here with new NBC News polling. Why it might surprise you. Plus, rescued by a rival, the race car driver pulled from the flames of a crash by his competitor. The car exploding moments later. We'll show you that video. We're back now with newly unsealed documents related to the 9-11 attacks that suggest New York City officials were aware of air quality concerns, but may have misled the public about their safety. NBC, New York's Melissa Russo has the details.

People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air. Marking the moment at City Hall this morning, Mayor Zoran Mamdani posted the first batch of previously undisclosed documents related to post-9-11 air quality in the city. And then when they began to contend with the symptoms of the illnesses that followed, the government that had not hesitated to send them into harm's way was nowhere to be found. Those documents now live on the city's new 9-11 document portal. It shed some light on local government awareness at the time, not only of the health. health risks, but of the city's potential liability. For example, this undated internal Giuliani administration memo focused on limiting the city's liability, listing potential lawsuits over toxic exposures, faulty equipment, and inadequate cleanup. The city began covering their

three weeks in. Some of the long sought-after city records published today were discovered last year inside 68 boxes in a local DEP office. What? What else do you think we might learn from these previously undisclosed documents that we didn't already know? I think that there's going to be a lot to learn from these documents. Mayor Mumdani did not volunteer any examples when I asked whether the portal might shed new light on the science behind 9-11 illnesses or the size of the exposure zone. Today we learned the newly uploaded documents included new communications with the EPA,

whose administrator Christine Todd Whitman ultimately apologized for a show. assuring the public the air had been safe to breathe. So did Mayor Rudy Giuliani back on September 12th. We're doing constant tests. The air quality is not dangerous. The asbestos in the air, as long as you're not in the epicenter of the recovery, is not at dangerous levels. Mamdani was asked whether Giuliani should skip the 9-11 ceremony on Friday. Just the other day, Giuliani said Momdani should skip it.

It offends me that he's coming. The focus of memorial services should be on the New Yorkers who were killed that day, their families, the survivors, the first responders. I don't think it should be on politicians. I just regret the fact that we never got an accurate description of what the toxicity was. Five years ago, on the 20th anniversary, Giuliani expressed some regrets in an interview at the site. It was kind of like the COVID thing. this was like a shock, and they were dealing with something they ever dealt with before. So in the first couple of months, you're going to make a lot of terrible mistakes.

That was former Mayor Rudy Giuliani five years ago when we were marking the 20th anniversary of 9-11. He compared the situation then to COVID, one he described as being unprecedented, where government officials make a lot of mistakes. We asked his spokesperson today, reached out for a comment on the documents that have been put up on the new city portal. have not yet received a response. For NBC, New York, I'm Melissa Rousseau. All right, Melissa, thank you. Now to Top Stories News Feed, and it's scary scene at a high school football game in Minnesota.

Check this out. Players running up to the crowd celebrating after a win, but then the railing of the bleacher. Look closely. Suddenly collapses. You see all the people crashing to the ground there. It happened at the Minnesota Vikings training facility. Team officials say several people were hurt, and one student was treated at the hospital. We're told they're now taking measures to prevent anything like that from how.

happening again. All right, in a tense rescue mission way out in the Indian Ocean. Crews reaching a solo Canadian sailor stranded in this tiny inflatable boat after they say his catamaran started to sink. Video shows the man waving to the emergency team who dropped life-saving supplies and airlifted him to safety. They say the man was traveling from Australia to a remote island when he failed to make two scheduled calls to his family. They called authorities. And a frightening close call on a street in Mexico. Watch this. You see a young child. running into the road right into upcoming traffic.

Seconds later, a grocery store worker bolts out snatching them just in the nick of time. Look at this crazy. Saving that kid with the daring dive. All right. All right, we want to show you some new polling now about how Americans feel about artificial intelligence. A study

from the Pew Research Center revealing that get this, nearly 50% of Americans use AI chatbots like chat GPT, Gemini, or co-pilot. But new numbers our NBC News Decision Desk, finding that even though more Americans are using AI, even more are worried about it. Our Brian Chung is here to break that down for us. So Brian, walk us through the numbers here and what's driving this concern over AI. Yeah, this is coming from an NBC News poll that was done

with the help of SurveyMonkey. We asked about 7,000 people how they feel about artificial intelligence. 70% of them said they feel more worried than they do excitement over this type of technology. So we asked the question, well, what is it that's giving you that worry? Is it misinformation? Is it being coming too dependent on AI? Is it spotting the difference between AI and non-AI content? Those ranked among the highest concerns, but also among them, privacy and surveillance, job losses, energy use. If we zoom into the job loss question, you have 70% of people in this poll saying they fear AI is going to take away from job opportunities. Only 7% of them see the glass as half full in which it would add job opportunities.

And on the privacy bit, this is a big one as well. people are really concerned about the way these companies are using our data. 55% of them, Tom, say they are very concerned about having personal data mine to train these models by these large companies. The question is, who's supposed to do something about it? Who's going to set those guardrails? Okay, and then talking about AI regulations and guardrails, how do people feel about that? Yeah, well, right now, it seems like people are not happy with the way that government is taking control over these AI companies. So 81% of people in this poll said, no, they don't.

think the government is doing enough to regulate the use of AI. And when we ask specifically about misinformation and AI generated content, 38% of people said they think the government should be held accountable for that. But guess what? About an even share falls on the companies themselves. 28% of people saying that could be for individuals as well. Now, when we ask about another aspect of AI, should there be a legally responsible provision that holds these companies responsible for people harm by unsafe chatbot advice. 51% a majority said yes, those companies definitely

should. All right, and then finally, Brian, who are those who are using AI chatbots? I mean, I use them. I know that. What are they using them for usually? Are they using it like an extended form of Google or are people kind of getting more savvy with it? Yeah, and look, right now we should acknowledge that not everybody is using artificial intelligence.

In fact, 51% according to a Pew research poll said they don't use chatbots. 49% do use chat. but what they're using it for. I think we talk a lot about emotional support advice or companionship. Only 10 or 4% are using it for that, even getting news. So it seems like at least for right now, the majority of people still getting news not from their chatbots.

But instead, they're using it to search for information. They're using it for tasks at work. And they're also using it for fun or entertainment. Again, these are rapidly changing numbers. We even saw in our NBC news poll that the amount of people that said they very often use tools like Claude, Chachy Petit, or Gemini. it increased already by nine percentage points in just the last three months. So this is very much a change.

You know what's a little stranger? I have you there, Brian. If we look at these polls here, we say only 20% to get news. But you know companies like Google, when you search news articles now, they have a drop-down feature that essentially is their AI chat bot that has scanned hundreds of news articles and gives them sort of the breakdown in a paragraph or less. So I don't know if people, you know, when we use that other graph that you had up there that I said, you know, 50% of people are using AI, you know, that they know of, right?

Think about how many people out there are using AI. Even us sometimes, and we think we know what we're doing, are using AI and we may not even know that it's being used. With Google right now, if you search in the Google search box, which everybody does, you're getting AI results. And so, yes, to that point, people answering this question might not even be aware that they're using those chatbots. But again, to your point, a lot of other companies are doing the same meta, just announced their own AI chatbot today. that could be something that could increase those numbers as well. Brian Chung, we thank you for everything, buddy. Yep.

Speaking of AI's impact on jobs, we want to take a closer look at surprising new numbers on unemployment. Recent college grads are struggling to launch careers in the toughest job market in years, but new analysis reveals the opposite is true for another subset of Americans. The Wall Street Journal pointing out that Americans without college degrees are having one of the best job markets in years.

That, according to analysis of data from the labor market, THINK Burning Glass Institute. I want to bring in one of the Wall Street Journal reporters behind that story, Ray Smith. Ray, thanks so much for being here. I want to put up a graph for our viewers so they can read along with us what we read earlier today. Here it is. This is the relative unemployment rate right now. College grads are represented by the blue line and high school grads by the red.

You can see the two lines follow the same trends until about 2023 when things start to diverge. Unemployment climbing at a faster rate for people with college degree. Ray, what's going on? Well, basically, it's a matter of supply and demand. There's an oversupply of college graduates, and with AI taking away sort of entry-level responsibilities, that's causing a lot of people to be unemployed, a lot of college graduates to be unemployed.

Are there certain industries where college grads are more likely to be unemployed? Science and technology. STEM-Bron. Science and technology with AI and all the computers? Wow. You would think, but again, there's this over supply of college graduates, Everyone's studying the same thing. They're studying the same thing, and also companies are cutting back. They're doing more with less.

More with the AI, right? Maybe taking some jobs. So what about, you know, and again, we're talking about relative unemployment for sort of those younger workers. If you look at absolute unemployment, I want to put this up for our viewers here, it's a 2.7 for people with college degrees and 4.7 for people with high school diplomas. So there is a point in the future, right, where the numbers catch up and it's more beneficial to have a college degree. Yes, but it also remains to be seen because, again, with AI, that throws a rent into the picture. And so it really remains to be seen. One of the best jobs industries when we talk about people who don't have a college degree?

Sure. You would think maybe like security guards or construction, manufacturing, retail clerks, restaurant servers even, so nurses even. So there's a variety of jobs that, blue-collar jobs, that are likely to sort of resist AI, if you will, and still be in demand. There's a lot of demand, especially as immigration has dropped, but also what you see is the labor participation of older generations. They're retiring from those jobs. Is it worth it to go to trade schools to gain those sort of skills and then go into maybe a job that pays a little more than what you were just talking about? It's a debate that a lot of parents are having, actually, because they're wondering if they should invest in the college education, which can be very expensive or put their children in trade schools because maybe that will pay off in the long run. When you look at wages, college grads I see here in our research, still earned around $32,000 more than high school grads, right? Do you think that we're going to see that gap shrink as well?

That gap could potentially shift, especially, again, when you talk about AI being a factor in what the future holds for white-collar workers. So we could see it. Listen, I have a college degree. I'm happy I do. I think I would hope that my children go to college and graduate. But I do want to ask you something. universities setting expectations too high and maybe selling a false narrative to some of these kids who are coming in, especially those that come in and get into debt coming out of college? A lot of schools now are realizing that they've got to train their students, not just for the old economy. They really need to upskill them in AI.

So there are a lot of courses that are being developed and in the works to make sure they are prepared for this AI future. Ray Smith, you can read him in the Wall Street Journal. Ray, thanks so much for being here. Thank you. Yeah. All right. So coming up on Top Story, another Dary Museum heist in Europe. This time, thieves making off with two Renoir paintings worth millions. We'll talk to an expert. Why does this keep happening? Plus, our Richard Engel is on the ground in Ukraine as the capital is bombarded by Russian strikes. What we're learning tonight about a phone call between President Trump and Vladimir Putin. Stay with us. We're back now with Top Story's Global Watch. President Trump today pushing for an end to the war in Ukraine in a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

But despite the recent diplomatic push for peace, Russia unleashing a fresh run of strikes, Richard Engels in Kiev. This video from a playground in Ukraine shows a woman sheltering a toddler as a jet-powered Russian drone rips through the sky over Kiev. It's the terrifying sound of a new weapon, which Russia unleashed across Ukraine's capital. A television studio with journalists inside was directly targeted. Experts say Ukraine can't stop the new jet drones. They fly too high and too fast. The TV studio was reduced to ruins. In some sense, it hits harder as a journalist when a media center television network is

directly attacked. And clearly someone was injured here because I'm following a blood trail running into this bathroom to try and clean themselves off. And here there's quite a bit of blood. and the sink is full of it. It's just a tragic scene. The deadly new attacks come after a 72-hour pause by Russia, while President Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Whitkoff visited Moscow and Kiev in a bid to relaunch peace negotiations.

And so I know that if we don't try, we will not succeed and nothing will change. But something is changing. Ukrainians are back to taking shelter in metro stations. Firefighters are racing to strike to battle flames, and Russian attacks, it seems, are growing more brazen, targeting Keev now with impunity. Richard Engel joins us tonight from Keev. Richard, we know President Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin, and Ukraine's President Zelensky says he hopes to meet with President Trump this month?

He said that he expects to meet with Trump later this month and that he wants to talk about missile defense. But the problem is it is not just an issue of protecting Ukraine from Russian ballistic missiles. The U.S. doesn't have very many patriot systems to give Ukraine. A lot of them are being used in the war in Iran. There is this issue of the jet-powered drones, which right now, Ukraine doesn't have the technology to stop it, and no country has the technology to stop it. So new technology needs to be developed urgently to stop these jet-powered drones, which are flying into this city on a regular basis now. Yeah, and then Richard, you know, we saw some of your exchange

there with Jared Kushner, made headlines all over the world. A very tough but fair question by you. And a thoughtful and, you know, somewhat lengthy response from Jared Kushner, which a lot of people have not heard him speak a lot in public. My question to you is, what was your takeaway from that exchange, number one? And number two, why do you think Kushner and Whitkoff are spending time in Russia and Ukraine when Iran is still sort of a mess? Some people say a big mess. And Ukraine and Russia don't seem anywhere close to a peace deal, or do you think they know something we don't? So I think I'll start with the second one. I think they came here to try and relaunch the peace negotiations. Once the war with Iran began at the start of the year, peace talks between Russia and Ukraine

completely stopped. So this was an effort to try and at least show some sort of effort from the American side to try and stop this war after having done nothing and focusing on the military. Middle East. So I think that's why they came, why they came to Ukraine, because this was their first trip ever to Ukraine. And both Witkoff and Kushner had been highly criticized in this country, including from President Zelensky, for favoring Russia, for doing many trips to Russia. Whitkoff himself said that he went to Russia eight times, but this was the first time he came to Ukraine. So this was perhaps a symbolic gesture to show Ukrainians, they care, to show, the world that President Trump hasn't forgotten about this war while he's focused on the Middle East.

When it comes to takeaways, I think I was struck by the way that they described this as really a two-sided conflict, that they're trying to find a middle ground, that they want this to be win-win for both Ukraine and Russia. That is very difficult to accomplish because it was Russia that invaded this country. Russian troops are occupying part of Ukraine. Every day, Russia attacks this country, attacks civilian targets. But they described it as they're looking at for an outcome in which both Russia and Ukraine can walk away as winners heard from Ukraine. It didn't sound so much as an ally talking about denouncing the Russian invasion, how demanding that the Russians leave. They were talking about how they want to create the opportunity for

business deals and how both sides can emerge as winners here. From Ukraine's perspective, there is no way for both sides to emerge as winners. They want Russia troops to leave and stop their invasion, and Russia seems quite intent, Vladimir Putin seems quite intent, to continue this war. And that was obvious. He relaunched attacks almost as soon as Kushner and Whitkoff left the country. Richard Engel, who will continue his reporting from Ukraine for us. Richard, We thank you for that. We want to turn now to an incredible act of bravery, a British race car driver crediting one of his rivals

with saving his life after an explosive crash. Matt Bradley has the video in the story on this one. A fiery crash and a fateful decision. Two cars sliding off the track during a race in Shanghai on Saturday. One spinning off when driver Ali Milroy's car comes crashing in. Instantly bursting into flames and ricocheting off the race. walls. Milroy trapped in his own race car gets an unlikely assist from a competitor. Risking the race and his life, Dutch driver Luke Hartog abandons his own car, tries to

douse the flames with a fire extinguisher, then pulls Milroy out of the car. The British driver now free from the wreck, writing on Instagram, I'm still alive tonight entirely thanks to one man. I will remember his incredible act of bravery for the rest of my life. is speaking out about the decisive moment. What I saw was a huge fireball ahead. Telling Good Morning Britain, he acted instinctively. I knew that I had to stop pure intuition to get there as soon as possible. According to Reuters, China G.T., the race organizers said they would investigate the incident

and address shortcomings and competition management, emergency response, rescue operations, and medical support. They did not respond to NBC News' request for a comment. Milroy's team criticized the handling of the accident and said it would no longer compete in China GT events. We accept the danger of racing cars, the team said, we can never accept the disregard for life. There is Ollie Milroy. He's okay. Thank goodness. Matt Bradley, NBC News. Staying overseas now with a new high-profile art heist in Europe.

Thieves breaking into that Renoir Museum on the French Riviera during the early morning hours, stealing four paintings, but dropping two of them during their escape. In just five minutes, they took off with these Renoir pieces worth an estimated 10 million U.S. dollars, both taken from the Impressionist Painters Estate. It's the latest in a string of museum heist across Europe. You see it here, several high-profile thefts across Italy, France, Austria, and Spain, and, of course, that Louvre heist as well in broad daylight last year. Joining me now as former FBI agent Jeffrey Kelly.

He led the investigation into the infamous heist. at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum back in Boston, wrote about it in his book, 13 perfect fugitives. Jeff, thanks for being here, as always. So police say four paintings were stolen, but the thieves ended up dropping two of them as they left. What does that tell you, at least, about these crooks? Yeah, they're sticking to the script on art theft.

And this is what there's, you know, there's the Hollywood conception about the Thomas Crown affair and repelling through skylights and whatnot. but really what it gets down to it, these are probably professional thieves, not art thieves, and they're using very crude tactics to force their way into museums after hours and grabbing what they can in a very short period of time. Why do you say, yeah, why do you say like just regular crooks maybe or cat burglars versus art thieves?

Yeah, I mean, we throw the term around art thieves, and again, it gives them a level of credibility that I think is unwarranted. We've seen it in so many museum heists and robberies. You mentioned the Louvre. That's certainly one of them. They're coming in. They're going up against guards who are typically unarmed if they're doing it during the day or they're going in late at night where they know they've got a few minutes head start before the police arrive.

We know that they used an electric knife or saw to cut through the museum fence. Does that tell you anything about them? Yeah, they're not sophisticated. And again, they're sticking to the game plan. get in and out in just a few minutes, grab what they can. And I guarantee they're right now realizing that they're in the same situation as all these other art thieves, that they've got this very valuable artwork, and they really don't have a market to move. Yeah. So, Jeff, what's going on here, right? We've been covering all these art heist all summer in Europe. Is this just sort of

a strange cluster, or do you think these are copycats? I think to an extent it's a copycat, but you have to realize that our theft goes on all the time all around the world and over the past five, six years there's been some really big heist that have occurred. I think it's because of the Louvre heist that it's really gained national and international prominence. And because of that, I think you are seeing some people who are maybe they're going to try their hand at it. But it's probably a bad idea. Yeah, I do want to ask you, you know, sometimes with bank heist, we know that the bank guards, right, are told don't shoot, don't hurt anyone, because the money is insured, things like that are insured.

Once bank thieves sort of learned this, they kind of figure out how they wanted to rob the banks. Is there a similar thing with these art heist? Do you think these art pieces insured, number one? And two, do you think these thieves know that? Yeah, I mean, I think they might have done some research on this. These pieces, I believe, were actually on loan from the Orsay Museum in Paris. And typically, when a museum is going to lend part of its collection

to another museum. There's some type of, there's a stipulation in the loan agreement as to what type of security needs to be involved. But I really think when you're looking at a heist like this, they've done some of their homework, but if they really researched it thoroughly, they'd realize that it's a losing proposition. Jeff, before we go, you did art heist for the FBI. You've studied this. You've probably seen a ton of cases. I'm wondering about that masterpiece over your fireplace, just over your shoulder. You paid for that artwork, right? Just checking here. I've got receipts. I've got receipts for that. So, yeah, I can verify that.

We thank you for being here on top story tonight. When we come back, as America prepares to mark 25 years since 9-11, a young hero now being honored after paying the ultimate price to protect others. That story is next. Finally, tonight, the nation will pause this week to mark 25 years since the September 11th terrorist attacks. Today, President Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a young man credited with saving more than a dozen lives that day. Here's Aaron Gilchrist.

He was one of the heroes who emerged on one of the nation's darkest days. Wells Crowther was 24 years old, working in the South Tower of the World Trade Center when the planes hit. The equities trader and volunteer firefighter rescued 18 people at the cost of his own life. President Trump today paying tribute to that bravery. Highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Wells' mother, Allison, receiving the posthumousousousness. posthumous honor. What does your son receiving that medal mean to you? Oh, it's a huge honor. Today, a simple red bandana connects Allison to her son. He had one growing up, and in 2001 kept one

tied around his wallet. I said, Wells, are you still carrying that thing? You're working on Wall Street now. Like thousands, Wells didn't come home on 9-11. When his remains were recovered in 2002, Allison could bury her son, but she still was desperate to know what happened to him. Then she found a newspaper article with a familiar detail. This mysterious man wearing a red bandana, a red handkerchief, going around, putting out small fires, saying, you know, stand up, if you can stand, stand up now. If you can help others do so, follow me. I know the way, and I said, well, there you are. Kelly Ryer was in a South Tower elevator when the second plane struck.

Badly burned, he remembers crawling into a smoke-filled. lobby and hearing a clear commanding voice through the darkness. I remember him being in the stairwell and calling everyone to the stairwell and opening the door to the stairwell and saying, the stairwell is here. Heeding that advice is what saved me. Wells used his red bandana to shield his face from the smoke as he went back and forth helping more people. How proud are you of your son for what he did on 9-11? I'm so proud. I'm so proud of him. I'm so proud of him. You know, it's the price of greatness. losing him, but I'll always be so proud of him.

And we will have more on the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks all week right here on top story. We thank you for watching tonight. I'm Tom Gamas in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.