the streets, throwing objects, climbing into cars, food trucks, even the roof of a major subway station. the nypd activating its highest mobilization level to restore order. tonight, the social media influencer and playstation giveaway said to have started it all. also tonight, a victim tied to the gilgo beach murders investigation identified 27 years after her remains were discovered. why did it take so long? and is rex heuermann a suspect? the suspect in the fatal stabbing of a professional dancing at a gas station in custody. what police are saying. the severe storms in the south. flood evacuations and rescues and more dangerous heat. we're tracking it all. donald trump entering his second not guilty plea in 24 hours, this time to new charges in the classified documents case. the dramatic video, a ukrainian sea drone striking a warship in the black sea. our richard engel is standing by. simone biles back in action for the first time since withdrawing from the tokyo olympics. and do you have your tickets? more than a billion dollars up for grabs tonight. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, and welcome. we start tonight with breaking news. police in new york city restoring calm tonight after a riot broke out in manhattan's union square neighborhood. a crowd estimated at 2,000 people descended into the area after popular social media influencer kai cenat advertised a video game giveaway. the crowd appearing to be mostly young people turned restless and then unruly, surging into the streets, some throwing objects. others climbing onto vehicles, as well as the roof of a major subway hub. all of it paralyzing travel at the height of the evening rush. police moved in en masse working to regain control block by block. ron allen is in downtown manhattan with the very latest. >> reporter: tonight, mayhem in manhattan with police saying at least 2,000 people mobbing union square, getting on top of cabs and the entrance to the subway, jumping on food carts, pushing, shoving, and throwing objects as police eventually moved in. >> yikes, a crowd, but like i don't even know how to explain. >> were yoared? >> i'm not going to lie. >> reporter: it was after ky sinott planned an event to give away playstations at 4:00. >> we just decided to come not knowing what to expect. >> reporter: by 3:30 hundreds of people had already gathered. >> the crowd warmed when the influencer finally arrived in the park. individuals in the park began to commit acts of violence towards the police and the public. >> everybody was throwing everything. climbing things. >> reporter: the nypd declaring a level 4 mobilization. what appear to be hundreds of police officers quickly on the scene, at one point pulling someone out of the crowd. what did you see? >> we were there. we were chilling. people started throwing stuff like glass, cans, everything, and as we were walking away, we hear a big thud. >> oh! >> we just heard another loud bang. it seems like a firework went off. >> after numerous warnings, they threw rocks and bottles and other debris, and we started to make arrests. >> reporter: the social media influencer is in custody. >> there appear to be no major injuries in all this. >> reporter: no, but a lot of minor injuries, police say, including the officers hit by flying objects. no one transported to a local hospital. at this hour tonight the streets are relatively calm. still a very heavy police presence and still a lot of young people out on the streets, and the social media celebrity who is responsible for all this remains in police custody at this hour. police say there is a possibility that he could be charged with inciting a riot. lester. >> all right, ron allen starting us off here in new york. thank you. there's breaking news involving the gilgo beach killings on long island. an eighth victim has been identified decades after her remains were found, but no link at this point to the suspect in three of the murders. here's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: even though accused killer rex heuermann is sitting in jail awaiting trial, there are still many unanswered questions in the gilgo beach murders case. at least 11 bodies were discovered on long island over a decade ago, and heuermann is accused of killing three of the women. today, a breakthrough. >> we are here to announce as part of the gilgo task force re-examine of all the evidence in the case we were able to identify fire island jane doe as karen vergata. >> reporter: karen vergata was 34 years old, working a escort. her remains discovered in 1996 on firland f coast of lon isla ce couldn't tify her. nearlyyears later vergatskull was found here in a wildlife sanctuary miles from the other remains. the d.a. did not link vergata's death to rex heuermann. he also didn't say how her skull wound up here in these bushes so far away from the rest of her body. what we do know, where i'm standing is about four miles from gilgo beach. in 2010 police discovered four bodies on gililgo beach. rex heuermann is accused of killing three of them. police believed at the time they had a serial killer. in the search for more victims, they found vergata's skull just over five months later, but no i.d. was made until suffolk county police assembled a task force including members of the fbi last year. >> in september of 2022, they were able to do a genealogy review on jane doe. >> reporter: heuermann accused of her murder and pleaded not guilty vowing to fight his case in court. >> stephanie, joining me here, do you we know how long it took to identify her body? >> the d.a. said no one reported her missing. her family may not have been looking for her. the fbi relied on that database to identify her. >> stephanie gosk, thank you. also this evening, the suspect in a deadly stabbing at a new york city gas station is now in custody according to a senior law enforcement official. the nypd previously said it was looking for a 17-year-old in connection with the attack that left a gay man, professional dancer o'shae sibley, dead. investigators have been examining whether it was a hate crime. one day after he pleaded not guilty to federal conspiracy and obstruction charges involving the 2020 election, former president trump is back on the campaign trail. garrett haake is tracking it all. garrett, mr. trump is at an event in alabama tonight. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, lester. the former president delivering two campaign speeches this weekend in two republican-dominated states where his legal battles are sure to be a theme. he's taken to social media to attack the new case against him as bogus and possibly unconstitutional. arguing that he's only being charged now with four felony counts related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election because of his strong position in the 2024 election. mr. trump pleaded not guilty to those charges yesterday, and used a filing from his attorneys to file not guilty to the classified documents cases that the special counsel unveiled last week. lester. >> all right. garrett, thank you. in mississippi, six former law enforcement officers have pleaded guilty to federal charges after investigators say the white house officers tortured two black men for hours then tried to cover up the crime. miguel almaguer now with what the victims are telling us tonight. >> reporter: tonight, eddie parker and michael jenkins say justice can be served now that the six white mississippi law enforcement officers who beat them for nearly two hours have entered guilty pleas. >> finally gave up. i knew how it was to give up. it wasn't a surprise. survive. it was hoping i'll make it to the end. >> reporter: prosecutors in mississippi say the officers tortured, used racial slurs and sexually assaulted the two black men inside a braxton home last january. court documents reveal reveal the officers who called themselves the goon squad broke down the door, beat, tased and threatened to rape parker and jenkins while calling them the "n" word and monkeys as they accused the men of sleeping with white women. >> they came to do what they wanted to do which was tortue us. they came to do what they did. >> reporter: the five rankin county officers were joined by richland police officer joshua hartfield. the federal complaint says one officer put a gun in jenkins' mouth, pulled the trigger and nearly killed him. >> what did i do? are these, you know, really officers? you know, do they do this? why are they doing it to me? >> reporter: authorities say the officers tried to cover up their crime by planting a gun in the home and drugs on the victims after their so-called raid. the officers charged with several crimes including civil rights violations and obstruction of justice. >> in their minds the law and the constitution be damned. they became the criminals they swore to protect us from. >> reporter: after their guilty plea to federal charges, the members of the goon squad face state charges and years behind bars. lester. >> miguel, thank you. torrential rains caused flash flood emergencies and people had to be rescued from their homes in northwest tennessee, which got more than 11 inches of rain. rescues and evacuations were also reported in parts of kentucky and alabama while in other parts of the south, southwest and plains, almost 50 million people remain under heat alerts with more record-breaking heat expected through the weekend. overseas a dramatic attack today on a russian warship at a naval base in the black sea from what appears to be a sea drone launched by ukraine. richard engel has late details. >> reporter: the sea drone slips through the water silently under the cover of darkness. its target is a russian landing ship in the black sea. the pilotless remotely operated kamikaze boat packed with explosives is closing in until the video released by ukrainian security services breaks up. afterwards, a russian ship can be seen listing, being guided into a russian harbor. the russian military claimed it stopped the sea drone attack and made no mention of damage. nbc news geolocated the video and analyzed ship logs. the damaged ship looks very much like the one attacked by the drone. with ukraine's counteroffensive making little progress so far in the east, it seems ukraine is finding alternative ways to fight back and take the war to russia. using small drones to tack downtown ow president zelenskyy as with other drone attacks didn't directly claim responsibility for the sea drone, but he did congratulate security's security services for, quote, returning the war to the aggressor state. lester. >> richard engel tonight, thank you. now to the economy. employers added 187,000 jobs in july, a slower pace, but a sign the fed's efforts to tame inflation may be working. at the same time, many companies still struggle to find skilled workers. with more on that, here's tom costello. >> reporter: that buzz in st. paul, minnesota, is the sound of automation. this small business has doubled in three years building machines that can package 600 food products per minute. what's your read on the economy? is it slowing down, or is it still strong? >> we see an economy that's still strong. >> reporter: ceo dale anderson wants to hire another 40 to 50 employees by year's end. the challenge, finding qualified workers. half the staff have engineering bachelor engineering bachelor's degrees. the others have associates in robotics or automation. what are you looking for in an employee? >> the number one thing we look for is a good attitude, a desire to learn. >> i'm wiring these push buttons to some terminals. >> reporter: like 20-year-old alexis barnett making $27 an hour with no debt. >> when i do go out with friends, i'm the only one not worried about how much we're spending, where we're going, how much gas is going to cost. >> reporter: minnesota's unemployment rate, 2.9%. it's among the lowest unemployment rates in the country, and with 185,000 job openings in minnesota, that's the third most on record. while job gains are slowing nationally, wages are up 4.4% in a year. national unemployment near record lows, 3.5%. >> and as today's jobs numbers make clear, bidenonomics is working. >> reporter: on the factory floor. >> it's a pay for skill knowledge. the more you learn, the more you get paid. >> three to four years, in that field of robotics, you should be making close to if not $100,000 a year. >> a great salary. >> reporter: upward mobility even without a four-year degree, tom costello, nbc news, st. paul, minnesota. in 60 seconds, a promising new pill for the first time helping g women sufferering from popostpartum d depression.n. it could b be a game changeger. how w it works n next. [pararty chatterer] dadancin in ththe par—!! hey, dad. i got an a on my book report. that's cool. and i went for a walk in the woods and i didn't get a single flea or tick on me. you are just the best. -right? i'm great. -you are great. oh, brother. this flea and tick season, trust america's #1 pet pharmacy. chewy. ♪ i gototta good fefeeling about ththis, yeah ♪ trust america's #1 pet pharmacy. ♪ i'm wiwith it ♪ ♪ i i gotta goodod feeleling about t this ♪ ♪ yeah, ♪ ♪ so let's's get it ♪ ♪ i'm feelining good vibibes♪ effort it's being hailed a potential breakthrough for what millions of new moms experience, postpartum depression. the fda this weekend could approve the could approve the first ever pill to treat postpartum depression. >> reporter: melissa is a happy mother of two today. she says she suffered postpartum depression. >> i told my husband i didn't want to live anymore, and i really believed he and my daughter would be better off without me. >> reporter: it happened to rosa phillips after the birth of her second child. >> i just felt very standoffish, sad, crying, what most people would say was depression. >> reporter: both women were diagnosed with postpartum depression, a condition that affects 500,000 women a year. symptoms include crying more than usual, feeling numb or disconnected from your baby, and worrying you will hurt your baby. now, the fda is expected to make a decision by tomorrow on a new drug called zuranolone. it is a fast-acting anti-depressant drug taken once a day for 14 days. rosa phillips was part of the clinical trial. >> i was able to go back to my normal self and be able to endure my family. >> reporter: the manufacturer says zuranolone works by targeting brain networks. it is the speed that works within three days says one of the doctors in the trial. >> it's so important we have treatments that can act quickly and current antidepressants can take weeks to months to work. >> reporter: news of zuranolone thrills marisa newbury. >> i wish it was an option for me. >> reporter: therapy, a support group, and medication eventually helped her cope, but for suffering moms and their families, time matters. anne thompson, nbc news. and up next, phony bank accounts resurface at wells fargo. customers say they never opened them. our exclusive reporting g coming up.p. e. e. breztrtri gave mee bebetter breatathing, e. sysymptom imprprovement, e. and reduceced flare-upups. breztrtri won't rereplace a a rescue inhnhaler for r sudden brereathing proro. breztrtri won't rereplace a a rescue inhnhaler it is s not for asasthma. breztrtri won't rereplace a a rescue inhnhaler tell your r doctor if f you e a heart cocondition breztrtri won't rereplace a a rescue inhnhaler or high h blood presessure befofore taking g it. dodon't take b breztri more t than prescrcribed. or high h blood presessure befofore taking g it. breztri mamay increasese your risisk of thrusush, pneumoninia, and oststeoporo. call your r doctor if f worsd breaeathing, chehest pain, pneumoninia, and oststeoporo. mouth h or tongue e swelli, problemsms urinatingng, visision changeses, or eyeye pain occucur. ask your d doctor abouout bre. hon? wowoo-hoo. you'veve gotta seeee this. hon? the weathehertech's hehere. 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>> invaded. >> reporter: experts say this appears to be a case of synthetic identity fraud when imposers use real and fake personal information. nbc news senior investigative reporter gretchen morganson broke the story. >> because of some information wells fargo had about this particular card holder was incorrect, experts tell me they should have flagged the account, looked deeper and not opened it. >> reporter: patterson is now seeking a class action lawsuit pointing to 50 other victims who formally complained about accounts opened in their name. wells fargo says the allegations are without merit pointing to identity theft as a broad industry problem. >> we're going to see more of this in the coming months, and regulators will really have to step it up and the banks, as well. >> reporter: fraudulent accounts can damage your credit rating. the website earlywarning.com can help you see what accounts exist in your name to make sure this type of fraud doesn't happen to you. erin mclaughlin, nbc news. and next, the mega millions jackpot surpasses 1.3 billion. and simone biles back on the bars and and simone biles back on the bars and relapspsing ms isnsn't the only thingng i have gogoing o. that's's why i takake kesimpt. itit's the onlnly b-cell t treat for rms s i can takeke at hoe once a mononth. kekesimpta wasas proven susupr atat reducingg the ratete of relapspses active lesesions and slslowing disasability prprogression n vs aubagioi. don't take kesimptpta ifif you have e hepatitis sb anand tell youour doctor if youou have had d it, as it cocould come b back. kekesimpta canan cause serers siside effectsts, inincluding ininfections.. whilile no caseses of pml were r reported inin rms clininical trialals, itit could hapappen. tetell your dodoctor if yoyoud or plan n to have vavaccines, or if f you are oror plan to becomome pregnantnt. kesimptata may causese a decree inin some typepes of antibibo. ththe most common s side effectcts are upper respspiratory trtract infection,n, headache,e, and injectction reactitions. asask your dococtor aboutt treatingng rms with h kesimpt. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ what do we a always say,y, so? 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