Happening Today: Robert Mueller, Lactation ‘Pods,' Robert Hardy, Tom Wopat

Get the top headlines of the day in your morning briefing from NBC 4 New York, Monday through Friday. Sign up for our newsletter here.

Mueller Impanels Grand Jury in DC in Russia Probe, According to Reports

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is using a grand jury in Washington as part of an investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, a person familiar with the probe said. The use of a grand jury, a standard prosecution tool in criminal investigations, suggests that Mueller and his team of investigators are likely to hear from witnesses and demand documents in the coming weeks and months. The person who confirmed to The Associated Press that Mueller had turned to a grand jury was not authorized to discuss the investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. The Wall Street Journal first reported the use of a grand jury. Grand juries are common vehicles to subpoena witnesses and records and to present evidence, though they do not suggest any criminal charges are near or will necessarily be sought. It was not immediately clear how or whether the Washington grand jury was connected to the work of a separate one in Alexandria, Virginia. That panel has been used to gather information on Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser.

Toyota, Mazda to Build $1.6B U.S. Plant, Create up to 4K Jobs

Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. said they plan to spend $1.6 billion to set up a joint-venture auto manufacturing plant in the U.S. — a move that will create up to 4,000 jobs. The plant will have an annual production capacity of about 300,000 vehicles, and will produce Toyota Corollas for the North American market. Mazda will make cross-over models there that it plans to introduce to that market, both sides said. The companies will split the cost for the plant equally. President Trump responded to the announcement, writing on Twitter that is "a great investment in American manufacturing." Toyota said that it changed its plan to make Corollas at a plant in Guanajuato, Mexico, now under construction, and instead will produce Tacoma pickups there. The companies will also work together on various advanced auto technology, such as electric vehicles, safety features and connected cars, as well as products that they could supply each other, they said.

ISIS Was Behind "Sophisticated" Plot to Bring Down Plane in Australia, Police Say

ISIS was behind a "sophisticated" plot to bring down an Etihad Airways flight in Australia, police said. As NBC News reported, police arrested and charged two men with terror-related offenses. According to police, one of the men said his brother was a senior member of ISIS in Syria, who "inspired and directed" the plan. The men built an explosive device and had planned to get it onto an Etihad Airways flight on July 15, but the bomb, disguised as a meat mincer, never made it past security. "This is one of the most sophisticated plots that has ever been attempted on Australian soil," Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner National Security Michael Phelan said.

Public Lactation "Pods" Now Open for Nursing Moms in the 5 Boroughs

The city's Health Department has officially opened five public "lactation pods" -- one in each borough -- for nursing moms. Each pod is 4 by 8 feet and a self-contained mobile unit equipped with comfortable benches, a table, an electrical outlet for plugging in breast pumps and a door that can be locked for privacy. The lactation pods are now available to the public at Health + Hospitals’ Queens Hospital Center and Harlem Hospital Center; the Bronx Zoo; the Staten Island Children’s Museum; and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. The new pods are part of the city's ongoing efforts to promote and support breastfeeding in communities with the lowest rates of nursing, and to ensure that mothers feel comfortable pumping and breastfeeding in whichever setting they choose. There are now more than two dozen locations open, and authorities say they plan to open additional ones as well.

“Dukes of Hazzard” Star Faces Indecent Assault, Drug Charges

The actor who played Luke Duke on the 1980s television show "The Dukes of Hazzard" pleaded not guilty to grabbing the buttocks of a female member of the cast of a musical he was supposed to appear in. Tom Wopat was released on $1,000 bail and was told to stay away from the woman after denying indecent assault and battery and drug possession charges. He refused to comment outside court before driving away. Wopat, who's from New York, inappropriately touched the woman on July 23, prosecutors alleged. "During a rehearsal the defendant allegedly walked behind a female cast member, grabbing her buttocks," they said in an emailed statement. Wopat, 65, was arrested on Wednesday night on a warrant on the indecent assault charge as he was leaving Waltham High School, where he was rehearsing for a performance of "42nd Street." Police said that during a search of him and his vehicle they found "two bags of white powder believed to be cocaine." The actor denied touching anyone inappropriately, according to court documents. He said he flirts but did "nothing that could be considered inappropriate."

Robert Hardy, Cornelius Fudge in “Harry Potter,” Dies at 91

Robert Hardy, a veteran British stage and screen actor who played Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge in the "Harry Potter" movies, has died at 91, his family says. Born in 1925, Hardy began his career in Shakespearean roles onstage in Stratford-upon-Avon in the years after World War II. He played avuncular veterinarian Siegfried Farnon in TV drama "All Creatures Great and Small" between 1978 and 1990, and portrayed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill onscreen half a dozen times. In a statement Thursday, Hardy's family said he was also "a meticulous linguist, a fine artist, a lover of music and a champion of literature, as well a highly respected historian, and a leading specialist on the longbow."