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- [00:01]
Morgan Chesky
It's Cybersecurity awareness month and LifeLock is here with tips to help protect your identity. Use strong passwords, set up multi factor authentication and report phishing scams. And for comprehensive identity protection, Lifelock is your best choice. LifeLock alerts you to suspicious uses of your personal information and also fixes identity theft, guaranteed or your money back. Stay smart, stay safe and stay protected with a 30 day free trial at LifeLock.com Special Special offer terms apply. The guy thought he had a good thing going, a good job and two lovers. That is, until this triangle got complicated and somebody had to go. I'm Josh Mankiewicz and this is Deadly Engagement, an all new podcast from dateline. It's a story that's sure to keep you guessing as lovers turn on each other in a desperate bid to avoid prison. All episodes are available now. To listen ad free, subscribe to DATELINE Premium on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Dateline.
- [01:06]
Richard Engel
Premium.Com.
- [01:14]
Morgan Chesky
Hey, everybody, and welcome to here's the Scoop from NBC News. I'm Morgan Chesky. Today on the show, we've got the very latest legal showdown over deploying the National Guard. The Supremes are back, Supreme Court, that is. And they've already rejected one appeal. And there is a homecoming for a hawk that flew the coop. Alright, we gotta check in on Capitol Hill because while it may be the start of a new week, it sure is feeling like Groundhog day in Washington, D.C. and here at THE Scoop, definitely feeling a bit like Bill Murray because it's now day six of the government shutdown. And a quick reminder for everyone, it takes 60 votes in the Senate to pass a bill. Republicans still need five Democrats to back their plan to temporarily reopen the government. But after yet another round of finger pointing, there is no clear end in sight. For the very latest, let's check in with our Capitol Hill reporter, Sahil Kapoor.
- [02:15]
Richard Engel
It is eerily quiet in the Capitol today.
- [02:17]
Morgan Chesky
I just took a walk from the.
- [02:18]
Richard Engel
Senate side to the House floor and.
- [02:20]
Morgan Chesky
I saw a group of reporters, a couple security guards, one person floating around.
- [02:24]
Richard Engel
In Statuary hall and that's it. I just actually walked by the speaker's.
- [02:29]
Morgan Chesky
Office and he's displaying a TV with a video package of comments made in the past by Democratic lawmakers opposing government shutdowns.
- [02:36]
Richard Engel
The activity is likely to pick up this evening when the Senate comes in late. But there's no clear path to reopening the government and each party is digging into their positions.
- [02:45]
Morgan Chesky
And adding to this drama, the House is out. Speaker Mike Johnson canceled votes, saying the Chamber's done its job passing a short term spending bill last month, so he's ratcheting up pressure on the Democrats to end the shutdown. We have one plea and one plea alone. We need a handful of Democrats to stop the madness, reopen the government so that we can get to these critical debates about the year end policy decisions with regard to the further reforms to health care. Plain and simple, that's where we are.
- [03:17]
Julia Ainsley
That's the facts.
- [03:18]
Morgan Chesky
And everybody can draw their own conclusions. Meanwhile, yesterday on Meet the Press, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said this. Republicans are lying because they're losing in the court of public opinion as it relates to what's going on right now. So, yeah, all things considered, if you feel like we're all in a bit of a stalemate, you're not wrong. I want to turn now to another battle playing out all across America, and that's the deployment of National Guard troops. Illinois has just joined in the fight, announcing today, in fact, they're suing to block the Trump administration from sending federalized National Guard troops into the streets of Chicago. The Illinois attorney general wrote in this lawsuit, the American people, regardless of where they reside, should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military. Now, this is coming after a federal judge blocked the administration from using Oregon's own National Guard to address protest in Portland. In turn, this prompted President Trump to call up 300 guardsmen from California and send them into Portland. This, too, was temporarily blocked by that same federal judge, who, by the way, important to note, is a Trump appointee. We have got a lot to get covered here. And yes, there are plenty of moving parts. So let's bring in senior Homeland Security correspondent Julia Ainslie. Julia, thanks for being here.
- [04:39]
Julia Ainsley
Hey, Morgan, happy to dive into this with you.
- [04:41]
Morgan Chesky
It's complicated, Julie, I have to start by asking what exactly is happening in Portland. I see the headlines. I feel like a lot of people could assume it's the worst of times there. And yet your reporting and our colleagues reporting suggest something in the middle.
- [04:56]
Julia Ainsley
We know that Portland police arrested two protesters outside of an ice facility in South Portland. That's something the city says they can handle on their own. But the Trump administration says that basically Portland has descended into lawlessness with violent protests and riots. And they are saying that they need to call in the National Guard in order to quell those protests.
- [05:18]
Morgan Chesky
And so, Julia, the Trump administration wanted to initially send in Oregon's National Guard. However, that was shut down. So then it sounds like the president turned to California's National Guard. And that's where we have some of the conflict between the Trump administration now and this federal judge.
- [05:36]
Julia Ainsley
The recent history here is crucial because, of course, California is the same state that sued the Trump administration this summer over Trump unilaterally deploying the National Guard to be used on the streets of Los Angeles. Governor Gavin Newsom ultimately said it was up to him to deploy his own state's National Guard. He just sued again over the deployment of 300 members of California's National Guard to Portland, saying that that was not up to the president to decide. And late last night, a federal judge had an emergency hearing. These used to be unheard of. Now they're getting more common. And late last night, just before midnight Eastern time, a federal judge said that, in fact, it is not Trump' authority to be able to call in the California National Guard to go to Portland. But the thing to watch for here, Morgan, is how the White House reacts. Oftentimes, we've seen them square off with federal judges. They will likely appeal this to see if they can actually expand their authority and really have this legal debate that could end up being on their side. When you get to it in front of another judge, perhaps, if this goes all the way to the Supreme Court, to really define what the president's authority is when it comes to calling in the National Guard to quell protest.
- [06:48]
Morgan Chesky
And yet, at the same time, it sounds like there's a battle brewing in Illinois as well, at state level and in Chicago.
- [06:56]
Julia Ainsley
This is really testing the president's authority over sending a National Guard despite court orders. And so this is one that we're watching very closely. Basically, what you have happening in Chicago, if we could walk through chronologically, is that this is the city this summer, really, after things were cooling off a little bit in D.C. trump set his sights next on Chicago and said that he wanted to go there to do an immigration crackdown and a crime crackdown. So ICE starts looking at Chicago, the Border Patrol starts looking at Chicago about how they can expand operations there. They build a basically a staging ground on a naval base just north of the city. Because Chicago has historically been a sanctuary city that does not let its police cooperate with ice, and they don't even have a place to detain immigrants there. Very quickly, the attorney general in Illinois said that Trump could not send in the National Guard as part of a crime crackdown, that it didn't rise to that level. He couldn't do it preemptively. And a judge agreed with that. And very quickly, it was assumed that they would be sending the National Guard elsewhere. Trump started talking about Memphis as a place he might target.
- [08:05]
Morgan Chesky
I remember that.
- [08:06]
Julia Ainsley
But then what we've seen more recently is that as those immigration protests did increase starting last week and those arrests increased starting last week in Chicago, now Trump is saying that he wants to send in 300 men and women from the National Guard into Illinois. Now, what he's responding to is protests that started in that ICE facility in the suburbs, Broadview, and then continued into a place called Brighton park that is in Chicago proper, where there were arrests being made by ICE agents. The question is, how violent are these protesters and does it allow violence? Trump, to call in the National Guard. And what Chicago is doing is they are digging in their heels on both the legal front and on the right to basically protect these protesters on the ground. And so we're seeing the Illinois attorney general sue over this idea of deploying more people, people from the National Guard, 300 into Illinois. The Trump administration has been pointing the finger at Chicago since day one, saying that their sanctuary city policies have led to lawlessness in the city. And so I think we're only likely to see this escalate, both in terms of federal agents and protesters and in terms of the Trump administration and the Illinois attorney general on the legal level.
- [09:26]
Morgan Chesky
So, Julia, as this plays out in Oregon, as this plays out in Illinois, in the courts and then on the streets, what are you tracking in the days ahead here?
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Julia Ainsley
I think the question is, how far is this White House going to go to keep pushing the National Guard into cities that don't want them there? And will they do that either by deploying them first and dealing with the lawsuits later, or are they going to fight these in court? And then also, will they be turning to red states to bring in National Guard from states that do agree to allow their National Guard to be deployed, even if they're going to areas where mayors and governors have said they are not wanted?
- [10:10]
Morgan Chesky
Julia Ainsley, keeping track of it all somehow. We appreciate your reporting.
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Julia Ainsley
Thanks, Morgan.
- [10:16]
Morgan Chesky
All right, time now for a quick break, but when we're back, could Hamas's acceptance of President Trump's peace plan lead to the end of the war in the Middle East? We'll be checking in with our own Richard Engel. Stick around. This week on Meet the Press, as President Trump threatens to send troops into US Cities and tensions rise over the government shutdown, Kristen Welker sits down with Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senator Adam Schiff. This week on Meet the Press. Listen to the full episode now, wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, Willie Geist here reminding you to check out the Sunday Sit down podcast. On this week's episode, I get together with Oscar winner Cillian Murphy to discuss the impact of the billion dollar Oppenheimer movie on his life and his extraordinary new Netflix film. Steve, you can get our conversation for free wherever you download your podcasts. In Texas, the countdown has begun. Robert Roberson is scheduled to die. When the clock hits zero, it's over. But a growing chorus insists Robert is innocent. We didn't hear Robert.
- [11:31]
Richard Engel
We chose to disbelieve him.
- [11:33]
Morgan Chesky
I'm on the ground in Texas searching for the truth. The Last Appeal, a new podcast from Dateline and Lester Holt. To listen now, find and follow the Last Appeal on Pandora. And welcome back to here's the scoop from NBC News. Today, there is renewed hope for an end to the war in Gaza. Yeah, you heard that right. Officials from the Trump administration, Hamas and Israel are all meeting in Egypt, working to finalize what could be a historic peace deal. And the timing here is absolutely striking. It comes on the eve of October 7, two years since Hamas launched its brutal terror attack, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping another 250. NBC News Chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel is in Israel as we speak and he visited Kibbutz Be', Eri, one of the hardest hit communities there. It was there that 102 people were murdered and several residents taken hostage. Richard spoke with Ohad Bin Ami who along with his wife were abducted from their home and held by hamas for nearly 500 days.
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Richard Engel
And now after two years, there's this deal in the works. It's a little complicated.
- [12:49]
Julia Ainsley
Yes.
- [12:51]
Richard Engel
How do you feel?
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Julia Ainsley
I'm very optimistic because the Arabic states are agreed to this and Israel agreed.
- [13:00]
Richard Engel
To this and Hamas agreed to this.
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Julia Ainsley
And Donald Trump is knocking on the table.
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Morgan Chesky
And in a telling moment, Ben Ami goes on to say this and it will happen.
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Julia Ainsley
I'm telling you this time it will be finished.
- [13:15]
Morgan Chesky
I want to bring in our own Richard Engel now for more on what this moment means potentially for so many. Richard, I know you had a chance to visit the kibbutz earlier this week. Can you kind of take us there as we now approach two years, hard to say since this conflict began?
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Richard Engel
I'll tell you exactly what I saw at Kibbutz Be'.
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Morgan Chesky
Eri.
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Richard Engel
So this kibbutz is right on the border with Gaza and it is still more or less frozen in time. There are more than 130 homes and buildings that were burned down in this small community. When I say small, there were only about 1,000 people living there, and 130 of them were burned because Hamas, and probably about 500 Hamas fighters broke through the fence and stormed into this community. And when they found people, they either shot them or took them hostage. So Bohad, who you just heard from there, was in his house. He was in his safe room with his wife. And they didn't know what was going on at first. And then they start hearing gunfire at close range and they're hearing Arabic voices, and they suddenly realize these guys are, they're here, they're on the ground, they're coming in, and they take him, take him hostage. So he was taken into Gaza and eventually put in a tunnel and put in one of these, I guess you could call it a small chamber within the tunnel. And he was held there and in Gaza for 500 days, almost 500 days. He said they would usually get one sort of small loaf of pita bread a day and sometimes a spoonful of cheese. And then when extra hostages came, that's still the amount of food that they got. So they had to divide that among themselves. He got out because he was the oldest one. After nearly 500 days, he was released. He was released in a previous deal. And I said, what was it like for you to say goodbye to the others? And he said there were a lot of tears and a lot of hugs and a lot of messages. Please tell my mother, please tell my girlfriend, tell my wife. And that was just one story. There were about 250 hostages taken, 48 of them still missing, still in Gaza, 20 of them still believed to be alive.
- [15:52]
Morgan Chesky
From 250, both Ohad and yourself, you have seen so many proposals be put forth only to fall apart, negotiations begin, only to fail. And now here we are with this stunning news from Hamas On Friday, it's Monday, new negotiations are beginning. What are you closely watching on that front?
- [16:16]
Richard Engel
There's several components to this deal. So Hamas accepted the main components, Right. The key parts of this deal, which were that it release the hostages, all the hostages, living and dead, and that it leave power in Gaza. That was always really the point of this war, to destroy Hamas and bring the hostages home. What the negotiations are at this stage are mostly about how that's supposed to happen. And I think they can get there on that one because that's kind of a logistical argument. What's next is so vague. Who's going to govern Gaza? If you read that 20 point peace plan, it's supposed to be this committee of experts, of Palestinian technocrats. Well, which ones? I haven't seen any names. They're not ready. There's not a group in waiting here to go in, so you gotta figure that part out. And who's gonna police and patrol Gaza? It's supposed to be some international forces, but which international forces and with which weapons and with which rules of engagement, and where are they gonna live, on what basis, and who's gonna feed them? That could take months and I think, if not years to work out.
- [17:30]
Morgan Chesky
These negotiations are happening in Egypt as we speak. Who's in that room?
- [17:34]
Richard Engel
You have a U.S. delegation. You have, obviously, the Egyptians as mediators, Hamas and Israel. Interesting, by the way, that it's in Egypt, because most of these conversations have been Qatar, but Qatar is still furious at Israel. While they were hosting these negotiations, at Israel's request, at the United States request, they were bombed. The Hamas office was bombed. A Hamas office that Israel and the United States asked Qatar to have. And I actually think when the history is written, that's gonna. We're gonna look back and see that as a kit, as a key moment.
- [18:07]
Morgan Chesky
As we do approach the end of this phase, at least. Richard, what would you tell the family of someone who still has a loved one being held hostage?
- [18:17]
Richard Engel
I have been having these conversations with them, and I don't tell them anything. I listen. They have found more strength than I could ever hope to muster, and each one is dealing with it in a different way. I was with a young man today. He didn't want to go too far with his hope. He was sitting there, and he has a therapy dog now, and we were both petting his dog. What am I going to tell him? Feel good, it's all going to work out. I don't know. He doesn't know. We just keep going. And he's doing something by. By talking to me. A lot of these families want to talk because it means their loved one isn't forgotten, buried in some tunnel. The world cares and is still interested and concerned about it. And. And that makes them feel like they're accomplishing something, like they're doing something good for someone who they can't help.
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Morgan Chesky
At the moment, amid the grief and amid the loss, there is still hope. Richard Engel, always a pleasure, sir.
- [19:26]
Richard Engel
My pleasure.
- [19:28]
Morgan Chesky
All right, team, time now for some headlines, and we start with the Supreme Court. The justices are back in session after their summer recess, and they're kicking off this new term packed with no shortage of blockbuster cases in the months ahead. Keep a close eye as justices will be weighing in on tariffs, the power to fire officials at the FTC and Federal Reserve, birthright citizenship and the limits of executive authority. And the court's wasted no time making news this morning. In fact, it declined to hear Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal that leaves her 20 year sentence intact for recruiting and grooming girls who were abused by Jeffrey Epstein. In a statement, Maxwell's lawyers said that they were deeply disappointed and vowed to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done. In television news, Paramount Skydance, that's the new corporate parent of CBS News, has just named Bari Weiss as the network's editor in chief and acquired her media company, the Free Press, in a deal reportedly worth a cool $150 million. Weiss, who's just 41 years old, has no background in broadcast television and will be reporting directly to Paramount skynance CEO David Ellison, a former New York Times opinion writer. Weiss left the paper back in 2020 after publishing her resignation letter decrying what she called an illiberal environment at the New York Times newsroom. She went on to launch the Free Press, which has since grown to 1 and a half million readers. The outlet focuses a lot of its commentary on criticizing what it calls woke ideology and liberal media. This move marks yet another shakeup for CBS, which recently paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit with Donald Trump. Over a 60 Minutes interview, Ellison has praised Weiss's entrepreneurial drive and editorial vision. Weiss says her goal is to make CBS News the most trusted news organization in America and the world. A quick turn overseas now, where high in the Himalayas, roughly 200 hikers are stranded on Mount Everest. Not only that, but they're trapped at around 16,000ft after an absolute brutal blizzard swept in over the weekend. Rescue teams say about 350 Trekkers have fortunately made it down to safety in the nearby township of Quedang, where relief efforts are very much underway. Here's NBC News foreign correspondent Janice Mackie Freyer with the latest.
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Julia Ainsley
This was a shock. Blizzard, snow, wind, rain, all pounding the Tibet side of Mount Everest. One hiker we spoke to described this nerve wracking night of lightning strikes and deep snow. It's also bad on the Nepal side of the mountain where trekkers heading to Everest base camp are now being forced to forced to turn back. Such extreme weather is unusual. Trails on the Tibetan slopes are popular and they're busy because of a national holiday Here, the race now for Chinese rescue teams to reach roughly 200 people who are facing both hypothermia and treacherous conditions.
- [22:25]
Morgan Chesky
Thanks, Janice. And hey, a quick sports wrap for you. Folks in Seattle are riding pretty high today. They're celebrating at long last because the Mariners clinched their first home playoff win in 24 years, edging the Detroit Tigers 32 series now tied one game apiece. Meanwhile, in the NFL, perfection is officially over. Both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills lost at home, Bills falling to New England 23 20. Eagles collapsing late against Denver, meaning no team is entering Week six undefeated. And hey, speaking of birds, one of the two missing hawks stolen from SOFI Stadium has been found during last week's LA Rams game. These birds were hawk napped. Yes, that is a thing. When the motorized cart they were perched on was swiped by somebody outside the stadium, the cart did later turn up abandoned, but the birds nowhere to be found. Charles Cogger, the falconer who uses the hawks to keep other birds away during events, says Bubba has been found safe near LA's 7th street in Hacienda Heights after a good Samaritan spotted him in her own backyard. As for Alice, the other hawk, unfortunately she is still mia. We do hope Alice comes home soon, so we want to give her directions in a language she'll understand. Fingers and talons crossed for Alice's safe return. All right, that's gonna do it for us at here's the Scoop from NBC News. We will be right back here tomorrow. Signing off, I'm Morgan Chesky and hey, if you like what you heard, like us back, we love it. Subscribe to here's the Scoop wherever you get your podcasts. Signing off. Till next time. We'll see ya.
- [24:19]
Julia Ainsley
Hey everyone, it's Jenna Bush Hager from Today with Jenna and Friends reminding you to check out my podcast Open Book with Jenna and this week's episode I sit down with best selling author Timby Locke. We talk about her one of a kind audiobook Someday Now Finding Love after Loss and the Power of Storytelling to Heal. You can listen to the full conversation by searching Open Book With Jenna Wherever you get your podcast.