tonight, the new evidence made public in the trump election interference case. in a new filing, special counsel jack smith makes his case for why donald trump should still be tried for his actions on

january 6th, a move aimed at keeping the case alive even after that supreme court immunity ruling. the new details including how the former president replied when informed his then vice president pence was in danger. also tonight, the middle east on edge after iran's attack on israel. how and when will israel respond to iran's barrage of hundreds of ballistic missiles? richard engel with late details. president biden and vice president harris in the storm zone. the president ordering a thousand active duty troops to the region facing growing desperation. we're in communities cut off from vital supplies. the key takeaways and fallout from the vice presidential debate as the candidates tackle mounting crises. election workers under threat. the extraordinary measures being taken to protect them including panic buttons and bulletproof glass. priced out, skyrocketing home prices forcing many to put their dreams on hold. the solutions trump and harris propose. and the good news

from high above. how to see the so-called mini moon. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, and welcome. seeking to keep the federal election interference case against donald trump alive, special counsel jack smith has laid out a 165-page legal argument that mr. trump's actions to overturn the 2020 election results were those of a private candidate for president and unrelated to his job. smith in a court filing unsealed today says trump resorted to crimes to try to stay in office after his loss launching increasingly desperate plans to overturn the legitimate election results in seven states. smith has tried to find a path that complies with the u.s. supreme court ruling that mr. trump has limited immunity for actions taken in his official capacity as president. smith providing newly heard evidence in the case including conversations between

the then president and his vice president mike pence in which pence urged him to abandon his quest to try and stay in office. tonight, donald trump posting online calling the case unconstitutional and a witch-hunt. ken dilanian has late developments. >> reporter: tonight, special counsel jack smith fighting to keep the january 6th case against donald trump alive. in a new filing with new evidence, smith tailoring his criminal case to survive the supreme court's ruling that presidents can't be prosecuted for carrying out official acts writing that although trump was president during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was a fundamentally private one. smith also laying out new details about trump's conduct and conversations in the days and hours before his supporters stormed the capitol on january 6th, 2021. after trump began claiming fraud, even as votes were still being counted, the special counsel quotes a trump aide as saying, "make them

riot." but the bulk of new revelations involve trump's alleged interactions with vice president mike pence, based on five pages of notes by the vice president. the special counsel saying pence gradually and gently tried to convince the defendant to accept the lawful results of the election including a private lunch in december where pence encouraged trump not to look at the election as a loss, just an intermission. smith arguing trump and pence were political running mates discussing private acts, not office holders contemplating official ones. after pence decided not to stop the certification and trump denounced him in a tweet, smith recounts aides allegedly telling trump that pence was in danger. as trump sat in a white house dining room watching the capitol riot on tv, smith wrote, an aide said pence had been rushed to a secure location. smith says trump looked at the aide and said only, so what? in a statement the trump campaign spokesman called it false-hood ridden, unconstitutional and

another obvious attempt by the biden reneej to undermine american democracy and interfere in the election adding, the case should be dismissed. >> ken, we've been down this road in another context in another time, but doesn't the justice department typically avoid taking action related to candidates this close to an election? >> reporter: yes, that is their policy, and, in fact, they have entered the quiet period where prosecutors avoid announcing anything that could influence voters, but it was the judge, not the special counsel, who made this filing public, lester. >> all right, ken dilanian starting us off, thanks. let me bring in garrett haake covering the trump campaign. garrett, with early voting already under way in many states, the question being asked tonight, could this impact the race? >> well, lester, the conduct described in the filing has already led to donald trump being impeached and that month's long blockbuster congressional investigation. it's hard to imagine that new details alone revealed could shift the opinion of voters about an issue that

has been so thoroughly publicly vetted already. but all of the polling shows this is going to be an incredibly close race, right to the end and relitigating such a divisive chapter in the trump presidency is certainly not the way the trump campaign wants to be closing out this race, lester. >> okay, garrett haake, thank you. the middle east is on edge tonight for israel's potential retaliation after that massive missile attack by iran. while most were shot down, we are getting a first look at some of the damage they caused. richard engel has late details. >> reporter: after iran's most intense strike ever against israel, raining down almost 200 ballistic missiles, nearly all of them shot down including by interceptors from a u.s. destroyer, american and israeli officials tell nbc news, israel is tonight preparing its response. a senior israeli official says, the response will come swiftly. while in israel today, no fatalities, but they were assessing the damage, including

from an iranian strike on a school visited by nbc's erin mclaughlin. >> reporter: this is what remains of one of the classrooms. they say the missile struck just over this way and then blasted into the side of the school. israeli officials say no one was injured, but this could have been so much worse. >> israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu today said, israel's fight is not just with iran, but its network of militias across the middle east. "we are in the middle of a tough war against iran's axis of evil, which seeks to destroy us," he said. president biden today said, he supports israel's right to retaliate but said it must be proportionate and that he would not support an attack on iranian nuclear sites. >> there are things that have to be done, and it's obviously iran has gone way out of -- i mean, is way off port. >> reporter: the administration is seeking to avoid a regional war, but that

ship may have left port too. israel's war here in lebanon is escalating after initially holding back apparently to assess israel's strength, hezbollah is now engaging israeli troops directly in close combat as towns and cities are emptying out. as the israeli military released images today of what it says are israeli troops operating inside lebanon, it also announced its first casualties, at least eight soldiers killed. >> richard, how could the jewish holidays play an impact in israel's timing for potential retaliation? >> reporter: israel could attack during the jewish holidays, but there are two jewish holidays making the period in between them an especially important time to watch from this weekend through next week. >> okay, richard, thank you. here at home, growing desperation in the southeast in communities cut off by flooding damage caused by hurricane helene. for some the struggle to get drinking water could go on for weeks. sam brock is in north

carolina. >> reporter: for the saturated and stunned residents of swannanoa, north carolina -- >> there's six inches of just the wettest, sludgeiest mud that you could think of across the whole house. >> reporter: -- finding even small keepsakes -- >> the first picture took with my grandfather and my youngest daughter celeste. >> reporter: -- can be massive moral victories. >> these are things you can't get back. there's no amount of fema that will put these pictures back. >> reporter: this working class neighborhood accessible now for the first time as some roads have opened up and community needs crystallizing like the eye of a storm. >> i think the hardest thing right now is there is no power, no water. cell service is spotty at best. >> reporter: with roads destroyed, mules are carrying food to some cut off communities. >> if you have different family members across the community, and you can't reach them, you don't know if they're okay. >> reporter: all of this against the backdrop of a death toll quickly rising with more than 90 killed in north

carolina as president biden took an aerial tour wednesday. >> every single x that you see on a car or structure is a sign of something searched. there are one, two, three vehicles here, one shed, that makes four, and countless other structures that can't even be accessed. the roofs on some homes punctured by people escaping as those injured are facing untenable conditions at some hospitals. >> everything people see on the news, it's worse in person. it's worse. >> reporter: hannah drummond works at mission hospital in asheville where she says 200 have been placed in an e.r. meant for 100. >> they ran out of food for us on saturday, so the patients and the staff in the e.r. weren't eating. when you can't use the toilets, that means you have to find a commode and biohazard bag or some kind of receptacle. >> reporter: hca health has not responded to multiple nbc news requests for comment. in eastern tennessee, a host of neighborhoods remain inaccessible and in dire need of help. today a vital lifeline for some as hurricane army blackhawk

helicopters dropped supplies to communities still cut off and back in north carolina -- >> god help us. >> reporter: tanya peterson telling our antonia hylton her grandkids had not eating in days. >> we are running what little gas we have out of a junk car for the generator to be able to heat the bottles up for the baby. it's terrible. we have people looting for gas, coming through your yards. it's awful, it's awful. no one's come to help. no one. >> sam, this is so horrible, but especially troubling is this lack of water. is there an update on that crisis tonight? >> reporter: there is, lester, and, unfortunately, this is quite a blow, the county saying both the water treatment and delivery systems are catastrophically damaged. they cannot even provide an update to residents as to any sort of time line as people are just trying to remove debris from properties and sheared roofs offer the front of their yards. lester. >> sam, thanks for bringing us this story. vice president harris also toured some of those

storm-ravaged areas today after former president trump went there earlier this week, all following what was perhaps the last debate before the election. here's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: tonight, a triple threat is looming over the presidential campaign, the rising tensions in the middle east, a deadlocked port strike threatening to raise prices. >> we're hearing from the folks regionally that they're having trouble getting product they need because of the port strike. >> reporter: and the devastating aftermath of hurricane helene. >> there's a lot of work that's going to need to happen over the coming day, weeks, and months. >> reporter: late today vice president harris visiting the storm zone in battleground georgia two days after former president trump went there. her trip coming after last night's debate where j.d. vance and tim walz remained civil while attacking each other's running mates. >> donald trump put this all into motion. he brags about how great it was that he put the judges in and overturned roe versus wade. >> you've simultaneously got to defend kamala harris' atrocious economic

record, which has made gas, groceries, and housing unaffordable for american citizens. >> reporter: walz struggling when asked about his past claim that he was visiting china during the tiananmen square crackdown when, in fact, he didn't arrive for months later. >> i'm not perfect and i'm a knucklehead at times. i got there that summer and misspoke on this, so i will just -- that's what i've said. so i was in hong kong and china during the democrat protest went in, and from that i learned a lot of what needed to be in governance. >> reporter: while tonight, the harris campaign is highlighting vance's refusal to acknowledge that trump lost the 2020 election. >> i would just ask that, can he lose the 2020 election? >> tim, i'm focused on the future. did kamala harris censure americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 covid situation. >> that is a damning non-answer. >> reporter: president biden's name was mentioned just seven times last name.

it comes after nbc news reported biden has privately complained his name and accomplishments have virtually disappeared from the national conversation. lester. sdm gabe gutierrez, thank you. in 60 seconds how we have pretty drastic measures, panic buttons, reinforced doors and much more. vote watch is right after this. with rapid relief at 4 weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation. at one year, many people experienced remission... and some saw 100% visible healing of their intestinal lining. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. healing is possible with tremfya. ask your doctor about tremfya today.

♪ this political season election workers are facing unprecedented threats. in our "vote watch," hailey jackson details some of the measures being put in place to protect them including panic buts -- buttons and bulletproof glass. >> reporter: the construction nearly finished at durham's elections office set to re-open with some startling new features. >> this is already the bulletproof glass. >> yes. >> and more is going in right here. >> absolutely. the whole front will have this same glass.

>> bulletproof glass >> reporter: bulletproof glass at the front desk. ballistic doors, reinforced with steel and in the new mail room -- >> right here is actually where the panic button will be. >> reporter: -- a panic button, one of several in the building and a separate exhaust system in case of white powder scares. >> did you ever think you'd have to put in something like that in a place like this? >> not at all. >> reporter: derek bowens, the county of elections supervisor has worked in the industry for more than a decade and now -- >> a lot of rhetoric we hear about election officials and elections in general require us to have a different security posture. >> reporter: with everything you just laid out, any concerns it's overkill? >> no. we don't feel that at all. i think the safety of election officials, the preservation of democracy, and making sure there is no interference should come with a limitless perspective in terms of preparation and response. >> reporter: it's not

just north carolina. more than 90% of local election officials have reported stepping up safety measures from armed security in washington state, to active shooter training in arizona to reinforced barriers outside facilities in pennsylvania. >> it's unfortunate that we're spending so many resources, time, emotion, thought on this, but we have to do it. there's no way around it in this election. >> reporter: it comes after years of attack on the democratic process stemming from former president trump's election fraud lies, and now nearly 40% of election workers say they're facing abuse and harassment. the fbi recently said it's investigating threatening mail sent to officials in multiple states after last year's interception of letters containing suspicious powders including one that tested positive for fentanyl sent to some election workers. still, despite the current climate, some say they're not deterred but determined. >> this work is like fighting for your own family. it is the front line in preserving our democracy, and to me you can't find more impactful work than this. >> reporter: hailey jackson, nbc news, durham, north carolina. there is more to

tell you about. up next, an election issue hitting home. the sky high cost of housing. what trump and harris would do about it. coming up. my antidepressant. vraylar helped give it a lift. adding vraylar to an antidepressant is clinically proven to help relieve overall depression symptoms better than an antidepressant alone. and in vraylar clinical studies, most saw no substantial impact on weight. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles, or confusion, as these may be life-threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements, which may be permanent. high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death, weight gain, and high cholesterol may occur. movement dysfunction and restlessness are common side effects. stomach and sleep issues, dizziness, increased appetite, and fatigue are also common. side effects may not appear for several weeks. i didn't have to change my treatment.

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at fisher investments, we're clearly different. does mark farrell have the right experience to shake up city hall? in nearly ten years as supervisor, mark grew the bureaucracy by authorizing or creating a commission almost every year. he rubber stamped hundreds of millions to homeless nonprofits with zero accountability and orchestrated a pay-to-play scheme that sold out taxpayers to the highest bidder. mark farrell has all the wrong experience for the change we need. home buying remains a top issue for so many americans, and kamala harris and donald trump are talking about plans to help, but will their proposals make a difference? shannon pettypiece has tonight's "cost of living." >> reporter: kashmir martin dreams of owning a home in reno,

nevada, where she's lived her entire life. >> what types of families lived here when you were growing up? >> pretty middle class neighborhood, you know, working folks. >> reporter: but now martin, an accountant and her husband, an audio engineer, can't afford to buy a house here even with a combined income of more than $200,000 a year. >> it's a little depressing. i thought that i worked hard and made all the right decisions so that i could at least do as well as my family did. >> reporter: after looking at 100 homes, she's nearly given up her search and put plans to start a family on hold. in the reno area, single-family housing prices have soared. the median price up nearly 50% in five years to more than $600,000, and with mortgage rates still above 6%, the monthly cost puts buying a home out of reach for many. rising housing costs have become a top issue for residents here and one that could have wider implications in the upcoming presidential election with this

region seen as a deseuss -- decisive area in a key swing state. >> we will open new tracts of federal land for large-scale housing construction. >> reporter: on the campaign trail, both former president donald trump and vice president kamala harris are increasingly talking about housing. >> as the price of housing has gone up, the size of down payments have gone up, as well. >> reporter: harris has proposed $25,000 in down payment assistance to first-time home buyers along with tax breaks and other incentives to spur the construction of more affordable homes while trump has said he would lower housing costs by opening federal land to development, rolling back regulations, and reducing overall inflation. university of nevada professor jeremy gelman says neither candidate's plan is likely to solve the wider issue of housing affordability. >> these issues are things that happen in your council meetings, in your state legislatures, but people are looking for leadership, and candidates feel like they need to provide that, but at the end of the day, you know, housing prices in reno aren't going to depend on whether trump or harris become president.

>> reporter: kashmir martin also doesn't believe that her search for a house will be helped by whoever ends up in the white house. >> i feel like candidates are talking about it, but maybe not in a meaningful way. >> reporter: as she and other frustrated home buyers continuing waiting for change. shannon pettypiece, nbc news, reno, nevada. and when we come back, greetings from outer space. we'll tell you about the new mini moon that's got everyone looking up. ss on my antidepr. but i was still masking my symptoms. so i talked to my doctor. she told me i could build on my wins, without changing my antidepressant. rexulti, when added to an antidepressant, significantly reduced depression symptoms more than an antidepressant alone. and less depression? that's a win. elderly people with dementia-related psychosis have increased risk of death or stroke. antidepressants may increase suicidal thoughts and actions and worsen depression in children and young adults. call your healthcare provider right away to report new or sudden changes in mood,

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finally tonight, good news about a new visitor in outer space. scientists are calling it a mini moon, but is it really? steve patterson explains. >> that's one small step for man. >> reporter: for 4 billion years, this lone loyal rock has been our trusty little sidekick tagging along our corner of the cosmos like an interstellar golden retriever, so it's only right that once in a while it has company. meet the mini moon. >> it's a mini moon in the sense it's small and it will hang around for a few months and then it will go off on its way. >> reporter: the gravitational pull is playing host to something we find a little scary, an asteroid. scientists say it got caught up in our gravity and will spend 60 days orbiting the planet. >> you can imagine both sharing the same racetrack as we go around the sun. >> reporter: no, there's no need to fear. they're not kidding about the mini part. the asteroid affectionately known as 2024 pt5 is 33 feet

long, about the average size of your school bus, which is great for humanity staying off the extinction list but a little disappointing if you're looking to dust off that telescope in the garage. it's too small and too dark for most of us to glimpse, but experts say that shouldn't make it any less exciting. >> the way of studying these rocks actually ties us to something much bigger and much, much older than we can imagine. >> reporter: a part-time phenomenon shedding more cosmic light on the wonder of the universe and confirming our loyal rock has no celestial equal. steve patterson, nbc news, the milky way. >> just as long as it stays in its lane. that's "nightly news" for this wednesday. thank you for watching. i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night. good night .

good afternoon. i'm