i want to get to msnbc's ron allen who is outside the courtroom in brooklyn. ron, we just got this case, i believe, the end of last week, right? when do we expect the verdict actually be read sometimes i know the judge will give time for family members, et cetera, to get to the courthouse >> reporter: exactly we saw the defense team come in about 10 minutes ago, so unsure of exactly what the timing is in the courthouse the jury has been deliberating for about nine hours four hours friday and they continued this morning seven men, five women. we don't know what they've been deliberating because it's been happening behind closed doors. we only heard a video feed of the jury, and it's not a trial where you can actually sit in the courtroom. he faces nine counts, including ra racketeering and sex trafficking charges that could land him in jail for about nine years if he is guilty of all of this it says r. kelly was running a criminal enterprise, sort of like a mob boss. it was not about his music and his brand, it was always about his own sexual gratification, abou

ron allen, nbc news, detroit. >>> up next, the covid vaccine conflicts dividing families, and the newride who had to uninvite guests to her wedding. >>> we're coming with a big change coming for millions of americans. those federa covid unemployment benefits including the extra 3 $00 a week for those out of work will come to an end tomorrow the federal programs were launched during the peak of the pandemic after more than 7 million people lost their jobs. recipients will still be eligible though for their state unemployment benefits. >>> covid and the vaccine have made clear just how deep our political divisions are in the country, but the same conflicts are playing out every day on a smaller scale as well. the decision to get vaccinated or not is now tearing families and friends apart. kristen dahlgren reports. >> reporter: jenny was already planning a small wedding when -- >> we get a text message one day that says, hey, full disclosure, we're not vaccinated we're not going to get vaccinated, and we don't like wearing masks. >> reporter: her wedding got smaller. we uninvited them. w

. >>> our ron allen reports on children caught in the middle in our series kids under pressure. >>> general motors plants go dark today as the computer chip shortage causes a work stoppage and automobile shortage. >>> we look back at the incredible life and career of the legendary willard scott. it's labor day "early today" starts right now. >> i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. this morning we start near new orleans where residents are still reeling a week after hurricane ida devastated the area oppressive heat is causing dangerous conditions many new orleans residents are heading to shelters outside the city our vonn hilliard has more >> reporter: frances, it's tough for people in the louisiana communities to reckon with because thousands of them are still living with it they expect for weeks ahead to remain without power as you can see, so much of this still remains under water. hurricane ida one week later has left louisiana in a debilitating state. >> me? oh, yeah, i ain't staying here nope. >> did you lose your roof? yes. everything is gone my wooden fence around the house, all

ron allen thank you.ene and michael here, and i should note for our viewers we're at the pentagon, not too far from the airport so if you hear planes overhead in the audio, that's why. helene, this is your beat. you cover this beat. kelly and ron both mentioned the timeliness of the withdrawal of afghanistan, time for the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the chaos over the last few weeks, whats that meant, the confluence of these two events to the servicemembers who devoted so much to this country since. talk about the resources about this day and the last three weeks lead up to it. >> and the 20 years leading up to that. >> sure. >> this is a building i think that's probably, people are in a world of hurt right now because of the not because of the exit from afghanistan, not the withdrawal but because of a, we lost 13 servicemembers, i think it was two weeks ago, maybe three weeks ago. the states are running together in my mind now, but also because of what the scenes you saw at hamid karzai international ai

nbc's ron allen is in redding, massachusetts, where guard members have been training all week. roblem for so many districts and what are you seeing there in massachusetts? >> reporter: well, it's a labor problem like so many other industries, retail, restaurants and others are having to find people to work through the pandemic and it's also a covid problem and there are bus drivers who tend to be elderly and retirees who retired who found better paying jobs who don't want to deal with masking mandates and vaccine mandates and some who don't want to be around young children who can't be vaccinated. so it's a complex problem. here in massachusetts there are some 200 national guard soldiers who are driving school busses around the state to get kids back to school. a number of towns asking for help, we understand, is growing and there are other cities and towns across the country that are looking at that. we talked to the superintendent of the chelsea city school system. here's what she had to say about why she thinks this is a good idea and why she asked the governor to send guard

ron allen is with us in lawrence, massachusetts. s drivers. ron, look. some of this is covid and some of this is the pay. is there any one explanation, though, as to why we have this shortage? i guess it's a lot of drivers lost their job over the last year. >> a lot retired and some took better paying jobs and some are relying on more generous -- some don't want to deal with the masking or risk their health because most of the bus drivers are elderly retirees doing this part-time. yes, it's a complicated problem. in massachusetts 200 national guard soldiers are behind the wheel as soon as today out there driving kids back and forth to school. all this has sent parents scrambling and educators are saying this is the national emergency like a flood or any other disaster. that is why they are glad to see the guard coming in. here is what the superintendent of the chelsea school system had to say here in massachusetts. take a listen. >> we worked so hard in chelsea to bring our students back. we have covid, mitigation strategies, we are

. >> ron allen is at the u.n. for us.sident covering a lot of territory. >> reporter: indeed. and it was about as traditional a speech as you will hear here at the u.n. the american president pointing out american policies and priorities around the world on all kinds of issues, emphasizing the theme of cooperation and not confrontation, truly a break from president trump. and on the issue of cooperation, he pointed out that the united states is back into the paris climate accords. he mentioned the world health organization. and he also said in terms of not being confrontational that the united states does not want to a cold war with china. i thought one of the most interesting things he said is when he pointed out that he is the first american president to address this body in 20 years when the nation is not at war. of course a reference to afghanistan. and the united states has now turned the page on that. and that of course was a reference to afghanistan and response to some of the criticism that he's heard from people

geoff. >> nbc's ron allen, thank you for that. with us is former congressman and former 9/11 commissioner ambassador tim roamer, and i wanted to start with this, because in your hometown newspaper, you write that we are a different country than we were on september 11th, 2001 and that is certainly the case. how have the last two decades changed us do you think? >> well, personally, geoff, i would speak that being up on capitol hill, being in the line of fire, i might not be alive today if it had not been for the bravery of todd beamer on flight 93 who said two things, "let's vote, and let's roll." and that plane was headed for us and the people and went down in shanksville. and that bravery and patriotism that those americans showed on that flight, and we need to have it back today. and we need to have it instilled in us that spirit of coming together to tackle the problems that we face today as a nation, as a people just as we flew flags, donated blood, and came together across partylines and put the country before party to go ge

. >>> our ron allen reports on children caught in the middle in our series kids under pressure. >>> generaltage

nbc's ron allen has more. >> reporter: a military escort of sorts for school children heading home in need to get kids to schools on time. >> reporter: leaving parents scrambling and confused. >> one day they have a regular driver. one day they have a soldier. >> reporter: with schools shut by the pandemic, drivers retired or found other jobs. others extended unemployment benefits. some take issue with new rules. >> some don't want to deal with the masking and vaccinations. >> right. they actually had that big challenge. >> reporter: it is not bus drivers. schools nationwide need support staff. especially when covid outbreaks strike. >> a point we were averaging over 40 employees a day out quarantining with a positive diagnosis or exposure. >> reporter: some struggling to find substitute teachers. >> we like a pool of 75 to 100. >> reporter: in missouri and illinois, problems to get school meals to students with food service teams under staff. >> it is like every industry. we don't know where the workers went. >> reporter: pittsburgh delayed the school year with the bus driver shortag

nbc's ron allen who's outside the courthouse in brooklyn where that trial is taking place joins us nowcution presented their closing arguments over the last day and a half. now it's the defense's turn. what kind of case are they making right now with that jury? >> reporter: put simply, taying basically all of these women are groupies, stalkers and liars trying to make money off r. kelly nap documentary, "surviving r. kelly," saying these women are surviving off of r. kelly. that's what they're basically doing trying to find and point out to the jury what they see as inconsistencies in the women's stories about what happened. they insist the defense does that these women were in relationships, long-term relationships in some cases that perhaps didn't turn out the way they wanted and now they're trying to cash in and that's basically what their argument is and going through case-by-case, allegation-by-allegation. as many as 11 women accusers came forward during the testimony. the case it built around a half dozen but 11 accusers took the stand. you're right. he faces potentially decades

i want to get to msnbc's ron allen who is outside the courtroom in

. >> let's go to nbc's ron allen joining us from a fire house in new york city where today there are the story here is of just unbelievable heroism and sacrifice. back on september 11th, 20 years ago there were 15 firefighters on duty here. they all raced to the scene of ground zero, and none of them returned. this morning, as the case on every anniversary, family and friends and relatives are gathering here for their own special remembrance and ceremony to support each other. we spoke to one firefighter, his name is john fila, he was here 20 years ago but he was off duty because he swapped shifts with another colleague, he came, raced to the scene, like so many others, spent weeks and weeks on the pile. he now bears a unique burden because he feels that guilt of surviving. he also worries that, as so many others do, that with each checkup he goes to see a doctor that he, too, may be diagnosed with some potentially fatal illness like so many other first responders have. but mostly he says that he worries about the fact that the nation 20 years later seems to be moving on, that people

allen. as a lifelong resident of houston texas. she shifted her sites to longform comics. ron is her first graphics novel. nate powell is a national book award-winning cartoonist whose work includes, again, steve jobs and the silence of our friends. she received the robert f kennedy book award, the comic con international inkblot award, 2 ignatz awards. anthony dixon has been a firefighter for 30 years with congressman john lewis's nephew. and jerry cox is a new york times best-selling author whose work includes the newberry award-winninggraphic novel . he's an award-winning syndicated comic strip and he's 15 african-american literary awards and is cofounder of the schaumburg centers comic book festival. tonight he will be discussing the first volumeof his anticipated sequel to their march series . this installment of their graphic retelling of john lewis's great story follows him through the aftermath of the voting rights campaign and counterculture of the people in the 60s. as stacy abrams says, ron becomes a history of what to often follows dramatic change . the pushback of