tonight the fiery confirmation hearing,

president-elect donald trump's pick for defense secretary is grilled on capitol hill. pete hegseth, the first trump cabinet pick on the hot seat before the senate. the army, national guard veteran and former fox news host clashing with democrats, claiming he is the victim of a smear campaign. amid allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking and what he says about women in the military after stating in the past they should not serve in combat. the new fire breaking out in the los angeles area under a red flag warning for strong winds. crews are still battling the biggest infernos and what is being learned about what sparked them. the final special counsel report about donald trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. inside iran, my one-on-one conversation with the iranian president. we ask him directly did iran plan to assassinate president-elect trump and will it try in the future. are you willing to promise there

will be no attempt on the life of dodonald trump? how he answered and his reaction to the possible cease-fire between israel and iran-backed hamas. and princess kate, the good news she is announcing about her battle with cancer. this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening and welcome. the political will behind president-elect trump's second cabinet is gettings it first test. to listen in on the senate confirmation hearing of decorated combat veteran and former fox news host pete hegseth, you would be left he is unfit to lead the pentagon or an excellent choice. democrats focusing on hegseth's past comments about women in combat as well as allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking. hegseth slamming the allegations as false claims and part of a smear campaign.

lawmakers are sharply divided along party lines. in the first and the most contentious confirmation hearing just six days before trump's inauguration. that is where we begin tonight. >> reporter: tonight president-elect trump's embattled pick to lead the pentagon pete hegseth is making an impassioned pitch for the job. >> it is time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. my only special interest is the war fighter. >> reporter: arguing he is the target of false attacks. >> there was a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media against us. >> reporter: hegseth facing a grilling from senate democrats over a 2017 sexual assault allegation. police investigated and no charges were filed. local prosecutor said no charges were supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. >> you admitted it was consensual, you were married and had a child by another woman. who you do you explain your

judgment. >> you have admitted you had sex while you were married to wife two after just fathering a child by wife three. you admitted if. if it had been a sexual assault that would be disqualifying to be secretary of defense. >> if it is a false claim then and a false claim now. >> reporter: republicans rallying to his defense. >> we need someone to go in there and fight for innovation and change. i think you are that person. i appreciate your willingness to sit here and listen to some of the undignified attacks. >> reporter: democrats going after hegseth's past opposition to women in combat roles. >> you have to change how you see women to do the job well. i don't know if you are capable of that. >> reporter: in a positive side for hegseth, a combat veteran previously a skeptic today. >> will you support women having

the opportunity to continue to serve in combat roles. >> yes, exactly the way that you caveated it. given the standards remain high. >> this was seen as a make or break moment for hegseth. you have new reporting on the impact of all of this. >> reporter: trump transition officials are extremely eased with hegseth's performance today. if all democrats oppose him he can only afford to lose three republican votes and still be confirmed. he thinks hegseth is on track for that confirmation, possibly as early as next week. >> let's get to the deadly wildfire emergency in southern california. a week after it all began 13 million people began under red flag warnings tonight as high winds threatened the region again. liz kreutz has late details for us. >> reporter: fire ravaged los angeles on edge as southern california braces for another

extreme wind event. city officials telling residents to be prepared to evacuate as the national weather service issues the same high threat level advisory that fueled the palisades and eaton fires. >> we are taking an aggressive lean-forward posture and staffed all available resources strategically places fire patrols and engines in the unimpacted high risk areas in the city. >> reporter: in the past week 60 miles across l.a. county has been scorched. embedded with cal fire here to see the conditions from the air. >> you can see it here. teams are attacking these fires and hot spots like this one from the air every chance they get. >> reporter: tonight officials say 37 people remain unaccounted for and 24 confirmed dead. now growing scrutiny about how the fires started. this video taken n by altadena resident pedro rojas shows a

large blaze beneath an electrical tower underneath the eaton fire. socal edison has been -- what is the proof you are pointing to that it started at the transmission line? >> in our complaint we allege videos, photographs, eyewitness testimony and we know they have tools like psps. public safety power shutoff they could have used and chose not to. >> reporter: angelina is a part of the suit, a long time fedex worker who lost her home. >> i wish they shut everybody's power off earlier in the day. >> reporter: in a statement the utility says it understands lawsuits have been filed and will review them. they point to the fact that the cause of the fire continues to be under investigation. in the palisades fire officials

are not ruling out arson as the cause. southern california hoping the ferocious flames will stay away. >> liz, officials are warning residents about a health emergency there as well. tell us about it. the>> reporter: air quality is a huge concern. millions are under a wind blown dust and ash advisory with officials concerned the high winds will allow the dust and debris to travel, stay inside, keep your windows rolled up and wear a mask if you are outside for an extended period of time. >> let's get right to al roker. the santa ana winds are still a threat. >> at least for another 24 hours, and then we will get good news. 13 million people under the red flag warnings, pyramid lake, westlake village to the north of pasadena. winds right now are higher up in the mountains.

overnight the gusts are going to increase with low humidity. tomorrow they start to diminish. that is the good news. the bad news is that we have 24 more hours with improving conditions, but no matter with the winds dying down it is bone dry with only 10% of the rain they needed to get since octor. >> al roker, thank you very much. hundreds of police entering the resint of south korea's president yun, pushing through a crowd of supporters in a second attempt to arrest him. he has been holed up in the residence for weeks after being impeached for his attempt to impose martial law. the presidential security service has been protecting him. and special counsel jack smith's report on the election interference case against donald trump made public six days before inauguration. >> reporter: special counsel jack smith pulling back the curtain on the historic investigation that loomed over

the president-elect. never got to a jury. in smith's final report he writes prosecutors amassed enough evidence to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial, accusing donald trump of a series of criminal efforts to stay in office after he lost the 2020 election. >> it was fueled by lies. it was lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the u.s. government. >> reporter: the case never got very far, and mr. trump denied any wrongdoing and pled in the as his attorneys delayed at every stage. the justice department finally agreeing to toss out the indictment after he was reelected. smith largely stayed out of public view while mr. trump routinely directed his ire at the prosecute. posting today -- >> what they have done to me in

terms of weaponization, indictments, impeachments and everything else. in the end it probably helped me. >> porter: smith using the final report to lay the attack at the capitol at mr. trump's feet, just as the president-elect is days away from being sworn in there. he plans to pardon some rioters on his first day in office. >> in 60 seconds my exclusive interview with the president of iran and what he says about the pro spektd prospect of a gaza cease-fire and hostage release. with miebo, eyes can feel ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ miebo is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number one cause of dry eye: too much tear evaporation. for relief that's ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ remove contact lenses before using miebo. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. eye redness and blurred vision may occur. ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪

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country's president yesterday, and we talked about tensions with the u.s. days before president-elect trump takes office. we spoke via government interpreter and nbc news reviewed the translation inspect -- independently. we travelled to iran for an interview withes it president, masoud pezeshkian. what made you decide to run for president? >> because of the difficulty in the country and other countries around us. i decided to solve this problem. >> but to the incoming american president many problems in the middle east centered around iran. in his first term president-elect trump imposed significant economic sanctions to stop iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and pulled out of the iranian nuclear deal. while the new iranian leader is presenting himself as a

reformer. donald trump talked about increased sanctions, maximum pressures on iran. do you have a message for him? >> what is clear thus far that we are living in iran since the beginning the united states has tried to topple iran. i do hope that trump will conduce to peace in the region and the world and not conversely contribute to bloodshed and war. >> are you willing to have direct and open talks with washington and with president trump? >> the problem that we have is not in dialogue but it is in the commitments that arise from talk and dialogue that we have to commit to. we held talks with five plus one, lengthy talks. we upheld all of the commitments that we had to commit to. but unfortunately it was the

other party that did not live up to promises and obligations. >> israel and the united states are beginning to talk about whether a military strike against iran might be necessary to stops it nuclear program. if that were to happen what would iran's reaction be? >> you see naturally enough we will react to any reaction. we do not fear war, but we do not seek it. >> do you think an attack against iran is likely given the current circumstances? >> i hope this will not transpire, because it will be to the detriment of all of the actors, not only merely us. >> president-elect trump has said, when asked about the likelihood of war he said anything can happen. it is a likely situation. president macron of rance said we are nearing a point of no return. where do you think it leaves the

tension right now? >> there are tensions. they serve no party's interest. whatever we have done so far has been peaceful. we do not seek to create nuclear weaponry or armorment. however they accuse of seeking the manufacturing of a bomb. this is a scheme they are trying to follow in order to fabricate some sort of a pretext. this is not true. >> all of it happening as u.s. and western officials believe that iran has been significantly weakened. this is not the same iran as when donald trump was last president. s it influence in the region has been diminished by losses among allies and proxies, hamas, hezbollah, the fall of the syrian government. has that left iran in a weaker position? >> i do not see any link here.

some of the friends might see a link, but compared to last year inside of the country we are more coherent and we are more robust and we have better participation and a more solid security in the country. >> then there is the impact of what u.s. prosecutors say was a plot by iran to kill president-elect trump before his election win. one potential threat to diplomacy could be seen as what the u.s. believes is iran's plan to assassinate donald trump. was there such a plan? he blamed israel and other countries. >> this is yet another scheme that the foreigners are following in order to feed into iranaphobia. >> you are saying there was never an iranian plot to kill

donald trump? >> never. >> the next question, are you willing to promise there will be no attempt on the life of donald trump? >> ever since the beginning we never intended to do that. >> and we asked about a potential cease-fire between israel and iranian-backed hamas. do you think there is a role for iran to bring about the peace and the release of hostages? >> we do whatever that we can in order for peace to prevl in the region. we will spare no effort in order for the prisoners to be released. >> part of my interview in tehran with the president of iran. next as we continue with a potential ban on tiktok, the new chinese apps they are turning to instead. i was afraid we had to do more. like what? i already exercise, take my statin, eat kale. i can tell you're trying, but there's a high chance you'll have another heart attack. i don't want to go through that again.

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protest. >> i go into an app like red note. they are saying no. no. no. i am in control of where i give my data. >> reporter: some users protesting american-owned meta. >> you will not catch me on instagram reels. >> reporter: the law focuses on concerns that china could manipulate content americans see. >> tiktok's parent company bytedance is named in the law. the law is not expected to block her apps like red note but it could. they could sell to an american owner. question questions circulating whether elon musk is in talks to buy it. tiktok tells nbc news that is pure fiction.

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kate. months after finishing chemotherapy announcing she is in remission from cancer saying that she feels focused on recovery. and amid all of the destruction in california, one community is in ashes is fighting to preserve the past. gadi schwartz now with the good news tonight. >> reporter: as the history of altadena is forever changed by fire,s it character is being sketched by an artist left without a home. for more than a half century altadena has been a beacon of light on the hill. one of the first places in the 60s to welcome black and brown families. the type of place you find people like walt butler. >> the people in altadena are like one giant family. >> reporter: the community coming together, raising over $800,000. his first thought, a food truck

so that he can give right back. >> a food truck. >> it's going to be funky. >> reporter: at a bookstore called octavia's book shelf there is no room for books, only donations. >> we have just become this hub where people get what they need. >> reporter: named for a famed science fiction writer. he wrote about a girl in 2025 facing a fire fueled by apocalyptic climate change. god is creative and destructive, demanding and yielding. god is infinite potential. god is change. you guys are the seeds of change. >> we hope so, yeah. >> reporter: gadi schwartz, nbc news, altadena. >> that is "nightly news" for this tuesday. thank yofor watching. i'm lester holt.

please take care of yourself and each other. good night. over life