From D.C. Streets to Sports Sheets

Summary

Here's the Scoop – "From D.C. Streets to Sports Sheets"

NBC News | August 20, 2025
Host: Yasmin Vesugin
Main Guests: Ted Oberg (NBC4 Washington), Andrew Greif (NBC Sports), Ryan Chandler (NBC News Correspondent)

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into three of the day’s key stories:

• The ongoing federal law enforcement "takeover" in D.C. and the deployment of National Guard troops
• The controversy and consequences of sports prop betting in the U.S.
• Brief, offbeat headlines: Texas redistricting, the latest on Hurricane Erin, sun safety concerns, and the cassette tape resurgence among Gen Z

The podcast maintains its signature: concise, clear, conversational, and insightful reporting from NBC’s field journalists.

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D.C. National Guard Deployment & Law Enforcement Takeover

Guest: Ted Oberg, NBC4 Washington Investigative Reporter
[00:32–07:41]

Situation on the Ground

• Over 1,200 National Guardsmen from six Republican-led states have arrived in D.C., following the federal takeover of city law enforcement.
• Ted Oberg observes confusion among D.C. residents:

  "What are they doing here? Because they're not armed, they don't have arrest power. And primarily we've seen them at places like Union Station... at other transit stations... and at the Washington Monument, which... is not a high crime area." —Ted Oberg [01:31]

Presence in High-Crime Areas

• White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt insists National Guard troops are also in high-crime zones.
• Oberg challenges this, citing lack of reports and on-the-ground evidence:

  “Our colleagues and our viewers have not called us and said, come to such and such a block. There's National Guard here....We've not seen National Guard necessarily do that.” [02:12]

Arrest Numbers & Data Transparency

• The administration touts detaining/arresting 465 "violent criminals" since the surge.
• Oberg raises doubts:

  “The White House won't share the names and criminal charges of those 465 people. And we can't figure out where 465 violent people have been arrested....What we've seen is about 200 arrests of violent individuals since the National Guard came...” —Ted Oberg [03:17]

• National Guard troops have not made any arrests; their presence is largely symbolic or supplementary.

Immigration Arrests & Labeling

• Many detentions may be immigration-related, but:

  “Immigration violations are not a local crime. ...it would shock me if any local police department in America is recording immigration arrests.” —Ted Oberg [04:58]

• Oberg argues that the federal numbers, lacking transparency, may conflate immigration detentions with violent criminal arrests.

Public Sentiment & Real Impact

• Presidential anecdotes tout restored safety (e.g., residents dining out for the first time in years), but data say otherwise:

  “OpenTable... showed that reservations in the first week of the surge absolutely disappeared in D.C. restaurants. People just weren't going out....This has created a lot of chaos in D.C. having not nothing to do with crime....Violent crime is down, but it's down in the single digits....I'm not certain that the jury is in yet on whether this has been a huge success.” —Ted Oberg [06:31]

Key Takeaway

• While the federal government touts quick, dramatic improvements in D.C. safety, on-the-ground data and reporting question both the scale and substance of these claims.

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The Rise — and Risks — of Prop Betting in Sports

Guest: Andrew Greif, NBC News Sports Reporter
[09:12–15:02]

What Are Prop Bets?

• Prop bets: wagers not on game outcomes, but on specific incidents or individual stats (e.g., number of rebounds, color of Gatorade, who a player hugs first after a win).
• Growing popularity since sports betting was legalized (now legal in 38 states and D.C.).

  "It's where you can bet on essentially an individual occurrence within that game...That's a prop bet." —Andrew Greif [10:07]

Integrity Issues & Manipulation Risks

• Single-actor prop bets (where one player's actions determine the outcome) attract scrutiny.
• John Tay Porter (NBA – Toronto Raptors) banned for life for manipulating bets by providing inside info and faking injuries.

  "He would pull himself early from a game and say he was hurt or sick and then relay that information to bettors who then benefit with that inside information." —Andrew Greif [11:14]

Leagues’ Response

• MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred calls such bets “unnecessary.”
• NBA asks betting operators to remove prop bets involving lowest-paid, most vulnerable players (e.g., those on 10-day or two-way contracts) — but betting on stars like LeBron James continues.

  “...the NBA...asking their gambling operators like DraftKings and FanDuel to remove Prop bets on the lowest paid players...because they felt those players earning the least...might be susceptible to the most manipulation.” [12:16]

Future of Prop Betting

• NFL, MLB, NBA all deliberating next regulatory steps.
• Andrew Greif notes:

  “The NBA has sort of shown them a roadmap of how you through diplomacy, go with your betting operator to take away what they would consider maybe the riskiest bets.” [13:16]

• Impact on sports culture:

  “There’s a much shorter distance because of social media between the athlete and the fan than ever before. ...From a player perspective, it’s like they can do nothing. ...And also for the leagues, ...there’s really just a world where there’s legal betting and illegal betting.” [14:14]

  • (Citing NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: no going back to pre-betting days.)

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Rapid Headlines & Lighter Notes

[15:02–18:51]

Texas Partisan Redistricting Standoff

Correspondent: Ryan Chandler

• Texas lawmakers to vote on a congressional map reshaping the state’s political landscape; retaliation brewing from states like California, potentially leading to more Democratic seats.

  "We are watching the culmination of this massive political fight...has now embroiled the entire country in this redistricting race..." —Ryan Chandler [15:26]

Israel Military Operations

• Israeli military commences key offensive; major troop movements and new West Bank settlements stir warnings of jeopardized peace prospects.

FDA Warning on Whipped Sunscreen

• FDA cautions over mousse and whipped sunscreens; potential confusion for kids due to food-like packaging; popular brand Supergoop is under review but insists products are safe.

Weather Alerts: Heat and Hurricane Erin

• 60 million+ people under U.S. heat advisories; Miami at 105°F.
• Hurricane Erin: Cat 2, threatens North Carolina with flooding and rip currents.

Gen Z & Cassette Tape Revival

• Cassette sales climb as new generations experience analogue music nostalgia.

  “Those clunky plastic rectangles once buried in your mom's minivan glove box are officially rewinding back into style...nothing screams vintage vibes like overshooting your favorite track by three minutes.” —Yasmin Vesugin [18:24]

  • Host quips about first purchase: “Like a Virgin.”

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Notable Quotes & Moments

The struggle for transparency:

“As an investigative reporter...it is very frustrating to not get the details on who you are arresting in our community, because that's what we want to know. Are you making us safer?” —Ted Oberg [05:15]

On the impossibility of sports leagues eliminating betting:

“There's really no going back to a place where there is a no betting. As Adam Silver said...there’s really just a world where there’s legal betting and illegal betting.” —Andrew Greif [14:14]

On DC's supposed quick safety turnaround:

“Glad the president's friend is coming to dinner in D.C. and hope they do it again and again. But I'm not certain that the jury is in yet on whether this has been a huge success.” —Ted Oberg [07:20]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:32–07:41]: DC National Guard deployment & data transparency issues (Ted Oberg)
• [09:12–15:02]: The rise and risks of sports prop betting (Andrew Greif)
• [15:02–18:51]: Headlines – Texas redistricting, Israel, sunscreen warning, heat wave, Hurricane Erin, cassettes comeback (Ryan Chandler & Yasmin Vesugin)

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Summary:
This episode exemplifies “Here’s the Scoop’s” approach—grounded reporting, skepticism of official narratives, and cultural curiosity—delivering a brisk, nuanced look at high-profile stories shaping politics, sports, and society.

Transcript

[Lester Holt]

DATELINE is hitting the road for a first of its kind event and you're invited. Join the entire DATELINE team in Nashville, Tennessee for DATELINE Live. Hear from Lester, Blaine, Andrea, Josh, Keith and Dennis. Plus, live demonstrations, a VIP reception and more. The true crime original like you've never seen before. Buy tickets to DATELINE live [e-mail] event. It would be a crime to miss it.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Hey, everybody, and welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Bisugin. We have a lot to talk about on the show today. We have the future of prop betting, the latest on Hurricane Aaron and why Gen Z is breaking out their Walkmans. But we want to start today in the nation's capital where more than a thousand new National Guardsmen are arriving in the city. They have been sent by governors in six separate Republican led states to assist in the president's takeover of D.C. law enforcement. It has been a little over a week since that takeover began and today we want to explore just how effective it's actually been. With that, I want to bring in Ted Oberg, Washington investigative reporter with NBC4, to talk more about this. Hey, Ted.

[Lester Holt]

Hey.

[Ted Oberg]

How are you? Yes. Good to see you.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

I'm good. It's good to see you. So a lot going on in D.C. you've got 1200 now, National Guardsmen from six Republican led states. What's the feeling on the ground right now around the National Guard?

[Ted Oberg]

You know, I think it's hard, right, in a city of 700,000 people to figure out exactly what the feeling is for everyone. But certainly I think there's a lot of confusion. Right. What are they doing here? Because they're not armed, they don't have arrest power. And primarily we've seen them at places like Union Station, which is where Amtrak lets off. If you've ever come to visit D.C. it's a giant metro station here. It's also a couple blocks from the Capitol. We've seen them at other transit stations across the District and we've seen them at the Washington Monument, which make no mistake about it, is not a high crime area in D.C. is there any.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Evidence that the National Guard is also in kind of the areas that have higher crime rates in the city?

[Ted Oberg]

Yesterday from the White House in the briefing room, Carolyn Levitt pushed back on the idea that they are only in these places where tourists and news cameras would see them, that they are in high crime areas. You know, here at News 4, we're out a lot and we talk to a lot of People, our colleagues and our viewers have not called us and said, come to such and such a block. There's National Guard here. You know, there have been roadblocks that federal agents are doing. FBI, dea, hsi, you know, you name the Alphabet soup of federal agencies. We've not seen National Guard necessarily do that.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

You have this number now out there that I believe came from the White House. And White House Press secretary Caroline Levitt. 465 violent criminals so far, the administration is saying, have been detained and. Or arrested. Yeah, walk us through that number. And you know what is behind it.

[Ted Oberg]

I think you have the wrong guest if you want the specifics on that.

[Andrew Greif]

Number, because I think you're actually the.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Right one, my friend.

[Ted Oberg]

Yeah. My point is the White House won't share the names and criminal charges of those 465 people. And we can't figure out where 465 violent people have been arrested. The D.C. police Department releases arrests every morning, and we go through those every day. And we've gone through them with an even finer tooth comb since the takeover started. What we've seen is about 200 arrests of violent individuals since the National Guard came and since the increased presence of federal agents on our streets. Okay, that's not all federal agents making those arrests. And keep in mind, National Guard is not making arrests as of right now. They don't have that power. What we've seen is a combination of D.C. police and federal agents making about that number of arrests. About 35, 36% of all arrests in D.C. are for alleged violent crimes. That's true now, during this surge or takeover, and that was true before the surge or takeover. That percentage, Jasmine, hasn't changed. People in DC want violent criminals off the streets. The question is, is this takeover really resulting in a lot more violent criminals being taken off the streets? Not so far, at least, according to the data that we get now. We've asked the White House to share everything they have. Give us the names of people you're arresting and the things they're charged with. And we're still waiting.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

The administration is also saying this is about the deportation crackdown. Right. And I know that any kind of deportation, instances of detainment of undocumented immigrants is not reflected usually in the arrest records that you would be getting from Metro pd.

[Ted Oberg]

Right, that's absolutely true. Immigration violations are not a local crime. And so it would shock me if any local police department in America is recording immigration arrests.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

So is there an assumption, though, that the 465 number is reflecting Immigration violations as well, or do we not even know that?

[Ted Oberg]

They may be. But let's keep in mind they characterize that 465 number as violent criminals. Right, Right. And what we know about immigration crackdowns across the country is that these are not all violent criminals. Certainly there are some. But a large percentage of immigration arrests during this Trump immigration crackdown have been for civil immigration violations. They claim they have made a couple hundred immigration arrests. Right. That number is hard to pin down, but they don't tell us what they've arrested those people for. And I've gotta be honest, as an investigative reporter who focuses on Washington, D.C. not the White House or Congress, but the local areas of Washington, D.C. it is very frustrating to not get the details on who you are arresting in our community, because that's what we want to know. Are you making us safer? We really want to know that.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

It's interesting that you say that because. So the President was speaking about the crackdown the other day and he mentioned an individual that he had heard from who had said, they're saying, sir, I.

[Lester Holt]

Want to thank you. My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years and Washington D.C. is safe. And you did that in four days.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

When you hear this sentiment, what is your reaction as someone who has been on this story from the jump? And is this at all a sentiment that you've heard from others?

[Ted Oberg]

In D.C. there's nothing more fun than a busy restaurant. Right. We'd love every restaurant to be full. It's great. The Data suggests otherwise. OpenTable, the app you use to try and get a reservation wherever you want to go out to eat, showed that reservations in the first week of the surge absolutely disappeared in D.C. restaurants. People just weren't going out. And a colleague Talked to a D.C. restaurateur who said, you know, it was their sense that people don't want to come into D.C. not because it's dangerous, but because they don't know what they're going to get caught up in. Do they not want to get stopped at a roadblock? Do they not want to get stopped at a protest? This has created a lot of chaos in D.C. having not nothing to do with crime in D.C. has it reversed itself in four days? The numbers don't say that. The numbers say violent crime is down, but it's down in the single digits. And that's a week to week thing. Right. Not willing to stake a claim that's going to last forever. We hope it does. Right. We all want violent crime to go down. But look glad the president's friend is coming to dinner in D.C. and hope they do it again and again. But I'm not certain that the jury is in yet on whether this has been a huge success.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Ted Oberg, thank you.

[Ted Oberg]

Thanks for having me.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

All right, we're going to take a quick break, and when we're back, well, what do you think is coming up? Are you willing to bet on it? We'll see if you're right in just a minute.

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[Dahlia Lithwick]

At this very moment, we are living through a series of cascading constitutional crises, rocketing up to the Supreme Court and shaking the foundations of American democracy.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

This is not a game of chicken where we back down from the Constitution. Like, that's not how this works.

[Dahlia Lithwick]

I'm Dahlia Lithwick, host of Amicus, Slate's podcast about the courts, the law, and the Supreme Court. I've been writing about SCOTUS and the law for more than 20 years. And each week on Amicus, we draw on that deep experience to navigate these incredibly uncertain times. Search Amicus. That's Am I C U S to Listen.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

And we are back with Here's a scoop from NBC News. You think I up all the Eagles juju, don't you? Ever.

[Ted Oberg]

Ever since. Ever since he was with.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Gone are the days where we just yelled at the players on television for literally no reason. Now there is actually money on the line. Serious money. Just as De Niro, right? Playing a sports bookie in Silver Linings Playbook. You don't want to do anything to mess with your team, especially now that sports betting is as embedded in American culture as apple pie. It is now legal in 38 states and our nation's capital. And while you can bet on nearly everything from the length of the national anthem at the super bowl to the winner of the NBA Finals, a certain type of sports betting known as prop betting has led to the suspension and bans of professional athletes. I want to bring in now NBC News sports reporter Andrew Greif to talk more about this. Hi, Andrew.

[Andrew Greif]

Hi. How Are you?

[Yasmin Vesugin]

So let's take a step back for a moment. What are prop bets?

[Andrew Greif]

It's where you can bet on essentially an individual occurrence within that game. So how many rebounds a certain player might have or home runs they might have in any given game. That's a prop bet. And really, since the beginning of sports betting legalization in this country in 2018, that's been a real source of problem for a lot of professional sports leagues.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

But it's not just about like the home runs or what's actually happening inside the game. It could also be about the color of the Gatorade that is served or the color of the shirt that someone is wearing or who they hug first after they win something.

[Andrew Greif]

Absolutely. And the super bowl is known for dozens of those types of random, wacky off the field bets. More common are sort of the the bets that relate to the game in terms of an individual player's stat line. That's another type of prop bet that also happens pretty much every game throughout the year.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

I feel like the way in which Andrew, you described prop betting could feasibly leave itself open to sway. And what I mean by that is you could literally have people called up and asked, hey, listen, will you wear those red sneakers? Because that's what I'm betting on. And if you do, you can get a chunk of the pie if I win.

[Andrew Greif]

Exactly. And that's the real concern why leagues have targeted this type of bet, which they call single actor prop bets. And by that they mean it only takes one person to really influence the outcome of that bet. That's what's gotten players in hot water. The most, I would say famous instance of this is John Tay Porter, who was a relatively little known player in the NBA for the Toronto Raptors. Banned for life in the NBA, he was able to control how many statistics he put up in a given night. And he said he would pull himself early from a game and say he was hurt or sick and then relay that information to bettors who then benefit with that inside information.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Wow.

[Andrew Greif]

That is the reason why Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, has called these types of bets unnecessary, in his words. And really it's why the NBA tried to go after these types of prop bets about a year and a half ago.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Are there folks in the mlb, in the NBA that are oftentimes more susceptible to being swayed by people that are prop betting than others?

[Andrew Greif]

I think there is a concern that people who might be owing money for gambling debts could be susceptible to this. I think the reason why the NBA when they went after asking their gambling operators like DraftKings and FanDuel to remove Prop bets on the lowest paid players in the league. Players on 10 day contracts and two way contracts that allow players to go up and down between the minor league and the NBA because they felt those players earning the least amount of money got it might be susceptible to the most manipulation. Right. Because they're not really earning the most money.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

So essentially you can still place prop bets when it comes to LeBron.

[Andrew Greif]

Exactly. They did not want to restrict all prop bets and the sportsbooks had to agree to this. You know, this is still business for them.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

So the NBA is saying, all right, listen, you can't use prop bets when it comes to these players that could be more susceptible to being swayed and or influenced. Is this kind of a blueprint for for instance the mlb, NFL going forward when it comes to prop betting from.

[Andrew Greif]

People I talked with inside Major League Baseball, they are mulling options about what they want to do about betting moving forward. I think that really this is a reaction to two players from the Cleveland Guardians being placed under investigation earlier this season for what is reportedly connected to prop bets. And these single actor bets, most notably the outcome of a first pitch of an inning is, was connected to one player reportedly. Would it be a ball or a strike? That is the type of thing that only one player needs to control. It's the pitcher. I think that the NBA has sort of shown them a roadmap of how you through diplomacy, go with your betting operator to take away what they would consider maybe the riskiest bets.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

I can't help but think there is something to chipping away at the sanctity of sports in general and what it's really about, like competition, Right. Everybody kind of trying their best to win when there is so much money involved.

[Andrew Greif]

There's a much shorter distance because of social media between the athlete and the fan than ever before. And if you talk to any athlete, they will tell you that they've had an interaction with someone who because they bet money on their game that night or their performance that night, someone is upset with them. From a player perspective, it's like they can do nothing. Right. If you score 35 points, but you're supposed to score 30, then all of a sudden someone's mad at you. And also for the leagues, they view this as there's really no going back to a place where there is a no betting. As Adam Silver said this summer, the NBA commissioner, there's really just a world where there's legal betting and illegal betting.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Got it.

[Andrew Greif]

So the leagues want to get their arms around this in a way to police it as best as possible because the cat is out of the bag. They want to engage fans, but will it really harm the integrity of the game? I think we're still trying to figure that out.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Andrew Greif, thank you. All right, let's get to some headlines. It is showdown time in Texas, and lawmakers will vote today on the GOP's plan to redraw the state's congressional map. And the tension could not be higher. Democrats who bolted from the state for weeks to block this vote are now back in Austin and they are digging in. NBC News correspondent Ryan Chandler is there.

[Ryan Chandler]

So I'm here at the Texas Capitol where we are watching the culmination of this massive political fight that started in the White House really ignited in Texas and has now embroiled the entire country in this redistricting race that sets the table for the 2026 Midterms and Triggers retaliation from other states, most notably California, which says it will soon pass new maps that that could create as many as five more Democratic seats to wipe out any partisan gains.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Here in Texas, Israeli military spokesman Effie Defran confirmed that the country has launched the opening phase of its long anticipated assault on city after overnight clashes with Hamas. Israeli forces now say they have secured positions on the city's outskirts. Deferin telling reporters the offensive will rely on 60,000 reservists while another 20,000 troops have had their service extended under orders from the defense minister. At the same time, Israel's government approving a highly contentious settlement project in the west bank that would effectively split the territory in two. Palestinians and rights groups have warned the move could destroy plans for a future Palestinian state. You have probably seen those viral posts about whipped sunscreen. It is the stuff that you're spraying on your body that looks a lot like dessert. Well, the FDA just issued a warning about those mousse and whipped sunscreens, including one from a very popular brand, Supergoop. The agency is saying these products haven't been proven effective at protecting you from the sun and they're worried the packaging makes them easy to mistake for food. Supergoop telling Today.com that they're working with the FDA to sort out what it calls a labeling issue and insists its sunscreens are both safe and effective. Mother Nature is really showing off this week. Heat alerts are stretching across the country. About 60 million people are under warnings right now from the west to the plains, all the way down to The Gulf coast in South Florida, folks are roasting. Miami's heated Next, a brutal 105 degrees. At least you can dive into the ocean there. But speaking of the ocean, Hurricane Erin is stirring things up. A tropical storm warning is now in effect for North Carolina as Erin is churning up the east coast as a cat, too. Tomorrow it's going to make its closest pass to land, bringing strong onshore winds, dangerous rip currents, and the threat of coastal flooding. Bottom line here, folks, do not mess with the ocean. We have been stuck on Hurricane Erin like a broken record. But speaking of records, scratch that. Let's talk cassette tapes. You see what I did there? Yeah. Those clunky plastic rectangles once buried in your mom's minivan glove box are officially rewinding back into style. Sales are up as Gen Z is discovering the joy of flipping a tape mid song and hoping the ribbon doesn't unravel like spaghetti on a fork. You got big names like Taylor Swift to Metallica. They are dropping albums on cassette because nothing screams vintage vibes like overshooting your favorite track by three minutes. Spotify might give you 100 million songs on demand, but it'll never give you the thrill of jamming a pencil into a tape to wind it back. By the way, in an answer to a question literally nobody asked, my first cassette tape was like a virgin.

[Ted Oberg]

I made it through the wilderness. Somehow I made it through.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

And you made it through this episode. That's gonna do it for us at here's a scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugin. We'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may bring.

[Andrew Greif]

Taking over the helm of NBC Nightly News, a 75 year old broadcast, it's a great responsibility. Good evening. I'm Tom Yamas. You have to go out there to bring people at home closer to the store. Wildfires continue to be a threat. With that massive hurricane comes the massive response. The best reporters in our business know how to listen. And when you listen, you get the truth. For NBC News, NBC News, I'm Tom Galmas. That's what we do every night. NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. Evenings on NBC.