all in one privacy app with a built in search engine, web browser, one click data clearing and more stop companies like google from watching you, by downloading the app today. duckduckgo: privacy, simplified. good morning. thanks for starting your holiday weekend. serena gave it everything she had last night. >> now she is going out gracefully. it's september 3rd. this is "today." good-bye g.o.a.t. serena williams. one of the greatest playing the last match of her celebrated career in front of a packed crowd. >> it's been a fun ride and -- um, it's been the most

incredible ride and journey i've been on in my life. >> williams losing in the three set thriller in the third round of the open, but not totally closing the door on the return to the court. extreme holiday heat. more than 45 million people in the hot zone this weekend from california to montana with temperatures expected well into the triple digits. the scorching weather raising wildfires and we'll have the full forecast. missing documents? new concerns this morning about the country's most guarded secrets with the complete list just released of exactly what the fbi found at former president trump's mar-a-lago he state. dozens of folders marked classified with nothing inside as he gets set to address his supporters today.

jogger abducted. police in memphis was jogging and kidnapped during an early morning run. those stories, plus, ready to launch. after the first mission was scrubbed, nasa hopes to clear skies to sent artemis to the moon. today, saturday, september 3rd, 2022. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander and kristen welker. >> welcome to today. thanks for joining us on saturday morning. this was a heart breaker for fans of serena williams. even in defeat last night, her legend grows. >> it is true, peter. she went down, but she went down fighting. it was extraordinary to watch. 23 grand slam titles. nearly three decades of play. she inspired so many people

along the way. including the signature twirls. >> we will celebrate her in a bit. there are several stories we are following including the extreme heat on the last unofficial weekend of summer. millions out west expected to see record-breaking temperatures through labor day. somara will have thefull forecast in minutes. and the latest on the queen after missing an event today that she hasn't missed for years. and 23 time grand slam champion expected to retire, but she cracked the door open a little bit to a possible return to the court. we have maggie vespa in queens, new york.

maggie, good morning. this was an epic night. >> reporter: peter, we watched the three sets. the g.o.a.t., the queen of the court, serena williams, as kristen said fighting until the last minute going out only she can. after that final point, we saw serena williams came back out on the court and thanking her friends and fans and family for helping her sustain this career as we know has defined a sport and inspired generations. after 25 years dominating the court, the greatest of all time says good-bye. >> you guys were amazing today. thank you, daddy. thanks, mom. >> reporter: serena williams choking back tears thanking her fans, parents and big sister. >> i wouldn't be serena if it wasn't venus. >> reporter: the last night

heart stopping match. for more than three hours, the 40-year-old williams battled 29-year-old ajla tomljanovic in the third round of the u.s. open. williams backed by a deafening crowd. dotted with famous faces, including director spike lee and nfl quarterback russell wilson and wife ciara and fans who credit the williams sisters for opening the doors for women of color. >> they really did. >> reporter: the 23-time grand slam champ recently setting the stage for retirement telling "vogue" she was evolving away from tennis. last night, ajla tomljanovic was relentless. after her win. paying tribute. >> she's the greatest of all time. >> reporter: thanking fans for what she called the most

incredible journey. >> i'm grateful to every single person that's ever said go serena. >> reporter: a swansong fit for an i con that left the world wanting more. >> any chance you will reconsider? >> i don't think so. you never know. i don't know. >> reporter: real tom brady vibe there is. in all seriousness, serena williams has been consistent all week. she has never fully committed, but indicated major. her coach said the way she played and enthusiasm from the fans was the perfect way to go out. that enthusiasm as always, permeated on social media. some of the best tweets. michelle obama tweeting how lucky were we to be able to watch a young girl from compton grow up to become one of the

greatest athletes of all time. then tiger woods. you are literally the greatest on and off the court. adding i love you, little sis. and simone biles saying thank you for every athlete. calling her a pleasure to watch. those are individual tweets. if that is not enough, twitter also, the platform, confirming that serena williams is indeed the most tweeted about female athlete ever of all time which is obviously really fitting. the end of the era here last night and went out in a fitting fashion. back to you. >> maggie vespa. thank you. all those she inspired. men and women. i stayed up late for this conference. i always loved australia. australia hosts the next grand slam in january. so you are saying there's a chance? >> this whole week has been a

celebration of serena. it has been so fun to watch. a tribute video earlier this week said she really changed the face of the game. >> she did. >> great look back by maggie there. to the other big story we are watching. the weather this labor day and extreme potentially deadly heat affecting tens of millions out west. raf sanchez is out in los angeles where it is expected to reach triple digit. raf, good morning. >> reporter: kristen, good morning. the message from the authorities in the west. this is not just hot weather, but dangerously hot weather. tens of millions of americans facing it through labor day and beyond. this morning, the holiday weekend in the west beginning with fire, smoke and unrelenting heat. in northern california, homes destroyed and thousands ordered to evacuate with the blaze.

in los angeles, a surge of 911 calls. >> if you workday after day after day with the increased heat, that makes it difficult. >> reporter: nearly 50 million americans under heat alerts with daily records shattered by triple digit temperatures from california to utah to montana. scorching weather forecast until at least tuesday. >> horrible. worst in years. >> reporter: across california, temperatures 10 to 20 degrees higher than normal. and fears of overworked power grid could lead to blackouts. with demanded for air conditioning surging, california declared a state of emergency to allow power plants to generate more electricity and try to keep the grid from being overwhelmed. californians asked to cut back during the peak hours of 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. not using dishwashers and keeping the thermostat at 78or higher. do you feel you can keep up in the heat? >> we are prepared in case we have outages related to the

heat. good. now, >> reporter: despite the heat, nearly 13 million people are expected to fly this holiday weekend. up 20% from last year. others hitting the road. filling tanks with prices still high, but getting cheaper. national average well below $4. >> i'm glad it is down a little bit. >> reporter: the unofficial last weekend of summer looking to be the most punishing yet. and right now, there's no indication that the heat is directly disrupting holiday travel plans. that could change quickly if the power grid here in california gets overwhelmed and we end up with rolling blackouts. kristen. >> everyone hoping that doesn't happen. raf in los angeles, thank you. let's bring in somara theodore for a closer look. >> we could see triple digits three days in a row. we are looking at extreme heat. 46 million friends out west are

waking up with heat warnings aligning the statement of california from san diego up to reading. here is the culprit. an area of high pressure. this massive ridge is going to stretch into northern canada and we see that influx of warm air in the western states. record highs expected for 50 cities across 11 states here. all of these orange dots could be breaking records as we head through the week. today, here is a look at a few numbers. vegas coming in at 107. that is close to breaking a record. reno at 109. up to salt lake city, it is looking like you blow that out of the water at 102 degrees today. this continues. we will see the peak of the heat tomorrow into monday. as we head through tomorrow, temperatures in the triple digits. death valley on wednesday 121 degrees. kristen, peter. >> thank you. we will get the national forecast in a moment. meanwhile, the motion at

nasa are keeping a close high on the weather today hoping it is good enough for artemis to liftoff on the mission to orbit the moon. nasa had to cancel due to mechanical tom costello is at ky space center. how is it looking? >> reporter: so far, so good. the countdown resumed. they resumed the fuel tank with liquid oxygen and hydrogen. the launch window opens at 2:17 p.m. it is a two-hour window. as the window progresses, the weather improves. they believe they will get off the pad today after 2:17 p.m. the issue on monday was the number 3 engine with the fuel tank. all four engines recycled from the shuttle days.

one was giving them problems. they since come to the conclusion the engine was fine. they had bad sensors. if the sensors data suggests it is not cold enough, they are likely to ignore that and go ahead and proceed with the launch. also, interestingly, because they had to push this launch back, the amount of time they will orbit the moon changes. instead of 42 days, it is now 37 days. this is an uncrewed mission to orbit the moon and eventually f this all goes well, they splash down off the coast of san diego in about a month or so. then in 18 months, humans will be on the same flight orbiting the moon and a mooned mission landing on the moon in 2025 or 2026. today is critical to getting all of this up and running. kristen. >> it sure is. we will all be watching and hoping. tom, thank you so much. if and when the launch happens today, you can watch it on our streaming channel nbc news now.

former president trump will hold his first rally since the fbi searched his florida home. this is a day after the list the agents seized documents. they found dozens of empty folders marked classified. we have monica alba at the white house. >> reporter: peter, good morning. we found out what with a taken last month. thousands of government documents recovered. mr. trump mixed in the nation's sensitive information with items like clothing and gifts and press clippings. details raising more questions about what might be missing. this morning, a clear picture beginning to emerge of the documents seized from mar-a-lago. a judge unsealing the inventory list which the fbi recovered 48 empty folders marked classified and dozens more labelled return

to staff secretary military aide. it is unclear where the contents are now. their existence revealed as part of the legal back and forth with the government and the former president. his one time attorney general bill barr slammed the material. >> people say it is unprecedented. it is unprecedented for the president to take the classified information and put it in a country club. >> reporter: suggests mr. trump deceived the doj. >> they were jerked around. how long do they wait? >> reporter: the fbi says it retrieved more than 11,000 government documents or photographs from mr. trump's residence. among the evidence, 18 documents marked top secret. 54 secret and 31 labelled confidence. this is all as a judge is expected to rule soon on the special master and rule on privileged information.

on friday, blasting the fbi raid as an smash-and-grab. mr. trump's former counsel pat cipollone appeared before the grand jury investigating the january 6th attack. another potential legal challenge for the 45th president who will hold a rally in wilkes-bare, pennsylvania. he continues to ponder a 2024 run. >> monica, president biden is facing fallout for the speech on thursday night where he laid into mr. trump and supporters. what is the president saying now? >> reporter: the president told reporters on friday he wanted to be clear he doesn't consider any supporter of the former president's threat to the country while defending his overall message from the speech. >> i do think anyone who calls

for the use of violence -- refused to acknowledge the election as they won and the system changing the rules. that is a threat to democracy. democracy. >> reporter: the white house is responding to republican critics of the address who called it divisive by saying standing up for democracy and denouncing violence and defending rights and freedom is not political. peter and kristen. >> monica alba, thank you. overseas now. russians are gathering to say good-bye to mikhail gorbachev. the last leader of the soviet union. mikhail gorbachev helped lead an end to the cold war. vladimir putin is not attending saying his work schedule is too busy. we want to turn to get a

quick of the forecast from somara. >> it is our holiday weekend. a lot going on. here is a look at your saturday. our friends in the east coast, saturday is the prime day for the outdoor activities. out west, stay hydrated and limit your time out doors. for sunday, we start to see the rain chance of transitioning to the ohio valley. heat sti >> we've got heat watches and heat warnings across california right now. live look at san francisco. beautiful clear start to our day. daytime highs today expected to climb into the triple digits through the interior. tracing 101, san jose climbs to the 90s, which is the beginning of the heat wave. labor day weekend, a spare the air alert is in place for smoke

and that's your local forecast. peter and kristen. >> thank you, somara. still to come, molly hunter is in london with the latest on the queen's health. >> kristen and peter, the queen is missing one of the favorite events in scotland. sparking fears about her health. we'll have details after this. some ways to save money if some ways to save money if you are doing back the d what's tifference between prop 26 and prop 27? 26? not one dime to get people off the streets and into housing 27 generates hundreds of million to help solve homelessness. the choice is clear yes on prop 27.

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what's the difference between prop 26 and prop 27? 26 is a money grab that doesn't guarantee a cent for non-gaming tribes. 27 requires 15% of all state revenues go to non-gaming tribes. the choice is clear. yes, on 27. we're back on saturday morning with the weekly down load. the look at the other stories. >> we welcome joe fryer to the desk. >> good to see you. a lot of headlines this week. that includes a devastating water chriss in the major city in the south. the state of emergency in

jackson, mississippi. >> no water. no water pressure. no nothing. >> after flooding shutdown the water system leaving 180,000 people without drinkable water. >> the plan part of the older jackson water system that could cost more than $1 billion to fix. a pricey problem experts say is already playing out nationwide. as aging pipelines give out. the fda granted emergency use authorization for new covid boosters from pfizer and moderna. it takes direct aim at b.a.5 variants. >> in january, 46% were concerned, but this month, 28%. >> this is our chances to have a quiet winter and protect against the potential waves to come. mourners paid tribute to

princess diana on wednesday marking the 25th anniversary of her tragic death. >> her legacy continues as she says the young people have the power. >> people with flowers and photos outside kensington and above the tunnel where she died in the car crash. meghan markle opened up to the magazine saying why would i give the people a photo of my child? buckingham palace says it is not commenting. high definition images of the titanic never seen before. >> on the port side which has been photographed many times, we were able to pick up the manufacturer's name. some of the week's wildest

moments caught on camera. some calling it pasta monium. a rig with pasta crashed and then another one spilling alfredo sauce everywhere. and a record when someone paddled down the missouri river in a pumpkin. the green turtle names waves back in the open ocean after tangled in a fishing line and missing a flipper. and actor kevin bacon sayre serenated his goats with the song from beyonce. ♪ give me space and time ♪♪ >> the goats seem to enjoy it. >> that was pretty good.

>> kevin and his brother michael have the band bacon brothers. in this case, the baaa-con brothers. that was more of a sheep. >> he has a captive audience. >> six degrees of the goats. joe, thank you. still to come, joe on assignment or joe in shorts. see if he has what it takes to cover the courts with the best of them as the u.s. open ball person.