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- [00:02]
A
What started the Civil War? What ended the conflict in Vietnam? Who was Paul Revere? And did the Vikings ever reach America? I'm Don Wildman. And on American History Hit My expert guests and I are journeying across the nation and through the years to uncover the stories that have made America. We'll visit the battlefields and debate floors where the nation was formed, meet the characters who have altered it with their touch and count the votes that have changed, changed the direction of our laws and leadership. Find American History Hit twice a week, every week, wherever you get your podcasts. American History Hit A podcast from History Hit.
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B
Welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugin. It is the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend and we are all back to work, including Congress, which is facing a looming government shutdown. Also, a new leader steps into Anna Wintour's shoes at Vogue and a big food breakup. Up first, though, our top story. Beijing just turned into the hottest ticket in global politics. In a rare display of diplomatic muscle, the leaders of Russia, India and North Korea all made the trip to China this week. First up, Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat down with President Xi Jinping at a high stakes summit alongside a dozen other regional heavyweights, including leaders from Iran and Turkey. The timing of this whole thing is pretty striking, just weeks after President Trump's sit down in Alaska with Putin, where the two talked about ending Russia's war in Ukraine, and right in the middle of Trump's escalating trade battles with both China and India. And today, there's a new name on the guest list, North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un. He's in Beijing for China's military parade tomorrow. China is rolling out the tanks, putting the world's largest military on full display in one of its biggest parades ever to mark the 80th anniversary of victory Day, Japan's surrender at the end of World War II. Because nothing says Victory Day like a little show and tell on a global scale. So with that, I want to bring in NBC News foreign correspondent Janice McAfrer, who's actually not in the bureau there, but in fact in a hotel room because, Janice, you were kicked out of the bureau ahead of preparations for this military parade. We were.
- [02:25]
C
We were evicted. We had been informed that because the NBC bureau overlooks Chang' An Avenue, which is the main parade route, we would have to get out of the bureau. We couldn't go on the balcony even for the last couple of days without running the risk of having somebody snap a picture of us and report us. So we've had several visits from the police over the past couple of days and to the point where today at 6 o', clock, they were there and watched us pack up and we had to leave. And we're not allowed to go back until after the parade is finished.
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B
This is your third military parade. So is this, per usual for what actually happens?
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C
It's my badge of honor. Xi Jinping's only had four, and I've had three. It is reminiscent of past parades like this. People who live along the parade route are not allowed to leave their homes. They're not even allowed to look out their window, because it's the route that Xi Jinping takes when he's in the car and he does the inspection of the troops. He stands out of the sunroof of the car, he has a bank of microphones in front of him, and he's waving and yelling, tongchi man hao. You know, greetings, comrades. So they take absolutely every single precaution. So there's a whole list of things that we're not allowed to do. We're not allowed to take, obviously, food or water. We're not allowed to take paper or anything that could be used to create propaganda. We've just had a message saying that TV reporters are only allowed to take lipstick and eyebrow pencils. How those two items made the cut, I have have no idea. But I think it's also testament to how seriously they're taking this event. Because if you consider who is going to be in the stands with Xi Jinping, it's going to be an historic gathering.
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B
I want to take a step back for a moment because you're teasing who's going to be in the stands of Chinese President Xi Jinping, including North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. This is following some pretty incredible images that we've been seeing coming out of the summit over the last couple of days. And one image that I think was incredible, incredible is the handholding of Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.
- [04:44]
C
Consider the optics, but also consider the timing. Yasmin. Vladimir Putin is coming off of a meeting with President Trump about Ukraine, and Narendra Modi is nursing the wounds of 50% tariffs by the US for buying Russian oil. So you have these two men who are coming together because of the dynamics of fundamental changes in the way the US Is practicing foreign policy, and then Xi Jinping is there to embrace them as well. These leaders wanted to telegraph the message that they have strengthened numbers that they present an alternative to a world order that has long been dominated by the US and while they still have very big differences among them and simmering tensions among them, they were able to show in particular to the US that they are not without friends.
- [05:41]
B
When we saw President Putin visiting with President Trump in Alaska, Putin got in the car with Trump, which we've never really seen before. Narendra Modi got in President Putin's car at this summit and they spent 50 minutes in the car uninterrupted.
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C
Amazing.
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B
While they continued to converse. Do we have any idea what went on in that vehicle?
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C
Oh, to be a fly on the wall that they wouldn't have allowed a fly anywhere near the vehicle. The optics of that moment were incredibly rich because it seemed solely designed as a message to President Trump that maybe the 10 minute car ride in the Beast wasn't as big of a deal. And for Putin in particular, he was able to continue to ease his way out of political isolation.
- [06:36]
B
Janice, walk us through this guest list of folks that are going to be in attendance for this military parade and what you are going to see.
- [06:46]
C
We are going to see a lot of military hardware and it'll have all of the pageantry and display that you would expect of a grand military parade. Security experts will be looking for hypersonic missiles and next generation tanks, also fighter jets. In terms of what people will be looking for in the stands, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, all of these other leaders, again from mostly authoritarian regimes. What China is looking for out of this is to show that it has influence, to show it has friends, to show that it has made diplomatic strides despite having strained relations with the United States. And they're also looking to stir national pride. There is a lot of economic uncertainty here. That's certainly no secret. But this is China really seizing the moment and seizing the spotlight to show that the world from their perspective, is changing.
- [07:54]
B
Do the Chinese watching cheer during the military parade?
- [07:56]
C
Are there any what Chinese watching? There are no Chinese watching.
- [08:01]
B
So there's no barricades, as you would see kind of on Fifth Avenue here in New York City.
- [08:05]
C
The closest the average person is going to be able to get is at least one street away. And there are entire areas, there's like six square miles that are in total lockdown. People can't leave their homes, can't look out the windows. Schools have been closed. My son had his first day of school on Tuesday and school was canceled on Wednesday. It's not a parade for the people, it's a parade that people will watch on television because the television production of it will be spectacular. What people see on tv, it's like Top Gun and every Hollywood movie that you can think of that that idolizes military hardware, GoPros in fighter jets and motorcycles with cameras going beside Xi Jinping's cars. It'll be quite a for people on TV because they're not going to get anywhere near it in real life.
- [09:02]
B
Well, your eyebrows and your lipstick look beautiful for those people that cannot see you and are just listening. So you're going to be just fine. In covering this military parade, I need.
- [09:13]
C
The most resilient cosmetics known to womankind to get me through the parade.
- [09:17]
B
Janice mcafarr, thank you so much, my friend. It was great to talk to you.
- [09:20]
C
Great to talk to you as well. Thank you so much for having me.
- [09:25]
B
Up next, Congress is back to business. We'll be right back after a break.
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Hey guys, Willie Geist here reminding you to check out the Sunday Sit down podcast. On this week's episode, I get together with global music superstar Bad Bunny to talk about his path from Puerto Rico to the top of the music world, his current residency at home in San Juan, and his latest venture into acting. You can get our conversation now for free wherever you download your podcasts.
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C
Good morning. Welcome to today.
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D
From back to school to tackling your to do list, the Today show is your best start to the day.
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E
It's a new season and every morning.
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D
We'Re here to help you take it all on. As the forecast calls for football all across the country, blockbuster stars, live concerts and so much more. Wake up to where it's all happening.
- [10:19]
C
We're getting back to all of it and the best way to start is together.
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D
Watch the Today show weekday mornings at 7am on NBC.
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B
Here's the scoop is back in session. And so by the way is Congress members are heading back to the Capitol building after a month long recess. Their schedules are packed. So for more on what to expect, I want to bring in Ryan Nobles, our chief Capitol Hill correspondent. Hey, Ryan.
- [10:49]
E
Hey, Yasmin, how are you? Thanks for having me.
- [10:51]
B
I'm good. You are officially back to work and I know you've been working in August, but it seems like the first thing on the agenda is making sure the government does not close.
- [11:03]
E
Yeah, I mean that should be the first thing on the agenda, Yasmin, you.
- [11:06]
B
Know, whether or not maybe not.
- [11:08]
E
Well, I, you know, I think that the way Congress works is that they delay and delay and delay decisions until they absolutely have to. But they're in A very tight spot here. You know, government funding runs out on September 30th. The new fiscal year starts on October 1st. If we were in a normal budget process, which we really haven't been in a normal budget process for probably a decade or so, they would have passed 12 appropriations bills through the House and Senate and they'd be at this stage just in the final stages of marking those up and getting consensus. They have not done anything close to that in either side of the Capitol. So they're likely gonna have to come up with some sort of continuing resolution, which is basically just a short extension of the existing funding structure. The biggest issue that I'm tracking with all of this is that Democrats took a lot of heat from the base of their party in March of last year, where they accepted a short term continuing resolution without much of a fight. And the Democratic base was angry about that and thought that they should have fought for more. So you cannot do this without Democratic support. There needs to be 60 votes in the Senate in order for this to pass. And will the Democrats be willing to negotiate or are they angry about a whole long list of things that the Trump administration is doing and they're going to use this as their way to fight back?
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B
So what's the arithmetic when it comes to deciding whether or not the Democrats are actually going to negotiate and help the Republicans out in getting something across the finish line and doesn't have anything to do with maybe what the White House is promising to do or not to do.
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E
It has everything to do with those things. So there's two sides of this. There's two ways to look at this, right? So you have, on the House side, everything passes with a simple majority. But right now, Republicans only have a three seat majority. There is a group of hardcore conservative Republicans that don't believe in these short term continuing resolutions. They do not believe that that's the way we should be budgeting. Every time we do this, a group of them crop up and say, we're done voting for these. So there's always a possibility on the House side that you could have a revolt from conservative Republicans who don't like this. Generally, those conservative Republicans put up a fight, but then they fold. On the Senate side, you need 60 votes to get anything done. Republicans right now only have a three seat majority. So they would need at least three Democrats to join with them to at least break the filibuster. You know many different ways of looking at this. There's many different opinions that come from the Democratic establishment. The first and I think the biggest hurdle that they've gotta get over is that Donald Trump now twice over the summer, has instituted what he calls a rescissions package, which is, you know, congressional gobbledygook. But essentially what it means is that you can take an existing funding package and say, I don't want to spend all of this money that Congress has already approved. Now what they normally have to do is they have to come back to Congress and say, is it okay that I don't spend this money? But what President Trump did last week was he informed Congress that he was also going to cut $5 billion in funding, mainly for foreign aid programs. And he told Congress, I don't need your approval for this because we're within 45 day window of the end of the fiscal year. They call it a pocket rescission. So basically what Democrats are saying is, why would I agree to appropriate money if I don't even know the President is actually going to spend it? I need guarantees that he's going to spend it. And the idea that the White House is going to abide by that, I think is a fantasy. So there's a lot of things that are just kind of getting in the way of this, getting over the finish line, easy.
- [14:33]
B
So aside from this being on their agenda, possibly number one, maybe number two or three, the other looming thing is the Epstein files. And the last time Ryan, you and I spoke on Here's a scoop, we talked about the Epstein files because essentially Congress was shutting down for the month a tad bit early, in part because Speaker Johnson said, I don't want to deal with this Epstein files thing. Let's get out of Washington before they push me any further.
- [14:56]
E
And what did I predict then? Yes, I said they're going to go back home and Speaker Johnson's going to hope that this all goes away. But they're going to come back the first week in September and it's not going away. And it definitely has not gone away. And what I actually think is kind of an interesting development here that I don't think we necessarily predicted when you and I talked more than a month ago was that there actually is at least now a pretty serious investigation that is happening within the House Oversight Committee that at least at this stage appears to be bipartisan. The Epstein survivors are gonna be here today and tomorrow they're gonna have a closed door meeting with members of the Oversight Committee, a bipartisan closed door meeting. So they're gonna get, get the message out to these investigators as to what they want to see come out of it. We've seen the House Oversight Committee ask for closed door depositions or transcribed interviews with a number of the key players connected to this investigation. And then they've also subpoenaed the Department of Justice for all the materials related to the Epstein case. They're starting to get that material. And I'm told my sources, both Republican and Democrat, are telling me they are getting something of substance. They certainly haven't gotten all of it, but they feel encouraged by the way the Department of Justice is cooperating. What we still don't know yet is what they do with that information, how they process it and then how they release it to the public.
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B
Ryan Nobles, thank you, my friend.
- [16:20]
E
Thanks, guys.
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B
All right. Let's get to some headlines. Devastating natural disasters hit southern Asia and northeast Africa on Sunday. In Afghanistan, the earthquake struck at midnight along the Pakistan Afghan border and killed over 1400 people. According to the Taliban, this region was home to Afghan refugees and asylum seekers from Iran and Pakistan who've been living in tents near the border following the mass deportation of more than 1.9 million people. The Afghan Red Crescent says they're still fighting to reach survivors trapped under the rubble. And then in Darfur, a landslide leveled an entire village after days of heavy rain. The Sudan Liberation Movement says just one person survived out of more than 1,000 when an entire village was wiped out. The area had also been a refuge for families displaced by war. A federal judge in California says the administration broke the law by sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles. Judge Charles Breyer ruled the troops were used for immigration enforcement and protest crackdowns, a clear violation of the Posse Comitatus act, which bans the military from domestic policing. His order doesn't kick in until September 12th to allow for an appeal, but it's a big legal blow to the White House. The American dream? More like the American plot twist. A new Wall Street Journal NORC poll shows nearly 70% of Americans do not buy the idea that hard work guarantees a better life. Some say it never actually did. That is the gloomiest outlook in almost 15 years of surveys. And then when it comes to personal finances, the mood is even darker. Only 25% of people think they have a decent shot at improving their standard of living, a Record low since 1987. Blame rising grocery bills, a housing market that feels rigged compared to your parents generation, and a general sense that the ladder of success is missing a couple of rungs. But here's the kicker. On paper, the economy looks fine. Relatively low unemployment, cooling inflation. Still, for a lot of Americans. Those good numbers feel about as real as a timeshare pitch in Vegas. The dream's not dead, but it just might be. On layaway, Chloe Mao is stepping into some very chic shoes. She's been officially named the new head of Editorial Continent American Vogue, succeeding the legendary Anna Wintour. Mal will now oversee the magazine's day to day operations while reporting directly to Wintour, who continues to hold her powerful global roles at Conde Nasty. Fashion runs in her DNA. Mal is the daughter of actress Candice Bergen and the late French filmmaker and photographer Louis Maloney. Jimmy Buffett may have crooned about the perfect burger, but if you're trying to build one now, you'll need two companies to pull it all off. The Kraft Heinz Company just announced it's splitting in two, ending the decade long mega merger that created the food giant second half of 2026, you'll have Global Taste Elevation Co. Home to Heinz Ketchup, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Kraft Mac and Cheese. And then there is North American Grocery Co, where you'll have Oscar Mayer Lunchables and yes, Kraft Singles. The official names for both spinoffs will be revealed later on. Ketchup and cheese might still go together on a burger, but on Wall street, they'll be trading on separate plates. Well, that's gonna do it for us at here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugin. I'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may.
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F
I'm Julio Vaqueiro, anchor of Noticias Telemundo. You can watch Dateline the hit true crime series on Telemundo. And now you can listen to Dateline as a podcast. Stories of love and betrayal, of secrets revealed of the men and women who stand between evil and justice. Every twist and turn can now be heard in Spanish, with new mysteries arriving every week. Just search Dateline en Espanol wherever you get your podcasts and start listening.