blayne alexander reporting. you, blayne. >>> now to the fraud trial of former trump campaign chairman paul manafort. the itprosecution's star wness rick fwagates has n wrapped up his testimony. his three days on the stand ended witom more courtro drama a day after he admitted he used money he stole from manaforo pay for an apartment and carry on affair in london. ayggests gates have had four affairs. and asked if hnfmed the special counsel's office. prosecutors objected. gates never answered the question. >>> new today, a fresh poll on the u.s. senate race in virginia. the survey of likely voters suggests incumbentim kaine has a commanding 23-point lead over republican challenger corey stewart by a o marge 49% to 26%. 20%el of l voters say they're still undecided. the poll from virginia commonwealth university shows kaine leading in most major demographic categories including women, men, minority voters and white voters. >>> now to a case that has ar- 15-yd charged as an adult with murder. >> in court today, a j

blayne alexand thanks, blayne. the talk of pardons made us wonder if y can refuse a presidential pardon. nbc's pete williams tells us the question has actually come up twice. president andrew jackson pardoned a man convicted of robbery and the man turned it down for reasons not clear. in 1833, the supreme court ruled a pardon has to be accepted in ordero be valid. the court does not have the power to force a pardonn someone. the court reached a similar conclusion in 1915. president woodrow wilson a pardon newspaper editor who pled the fifth and refused to testify in a criminal case. wilson was trying to force the newsper man to testify. the court ruled the editor had the right to refuse the pardon and retain his fifth amendment protection. >>> in just a few weeks, a baby oy will celebrate his first birthday without his father. someon shot and killed his dad in prince george's county. tonight, as police hunt f his killer, family and friends gathered at the scene of the crime for an emotional vigil. news 4's meaganit

blayne alexander is following all the testimony, and she has the latestor us tonight. blayne? >> reporter: doreen, this afternoon, the defense is doing erything they can to try and discredit rick gates' testimony, including getting him to admit to an extra marital affair, but despite all of that, he spent two days now on the stand testifying to the fact that he committed crimes for, with and even against paul manafort in testimony that c hld landis former boss in prison for life. they once worked side by side. now face to facen a federal courtroom. paul manafort, president trump's former campaign mannd manafort's one-time deputy rick gas today taking the stand against his former mentor. >> paul manafort was staring bullets at rick gates, his former protege who worked f him for ten years, after all,te stas an intern, and gates was not looking at rmanafort. >>eporter: manafort facing the possibility of life in pfoson r charges of banknd tax aud in the first trial related to special counsel robert mueller's investigation. according to gates, manafort was motivated by greed orderi

wendy. >> blayne alexander, thank you, blayne.t tribute from lindsey graham is one example of how senator mccain was respected by his peers. to the at 5:00, the mother of a fallen sailo now talking about what the late senator meant to her. jim handl is in our newsroom with a look at what's news tonight at 5:00. >> yeah, the warship "uss mccn" was named aft the late senator's father and also the vessel involved in a deadly crash, you mayremember, last summer when ten sailors were killed, including timothy eckels. tonight his mother shares her special cnection to the senator with our meagan fitzgeraon and an investigati after the blue line train winds up on the wrong route sending riders to the wrong place. transportation reporter adam tuss is gathering new he'll join us live with the report at 5:00. we'll soon see you with those stories and a good deal more and more on this heat wave, too, that should have everybodyg keept indoors today. >> yes. >> thanks, jim. >> hugging the air conditioner. >> yeah. >> 55 years ago today, one of

pa and leon. >> blayne alexander. >> thanks, blayne. >>> well, she's been blowing us all away with herre than half a centu now. >> and ahead, more tributes to the queen of w soul. plusll talk about the impact that aretha franklin had an so many people, including a man in d.c. who called her a friend. >>> also, ming sure your pet gets the best healthcare. susan hogan is working for you with what you need tow kno before you pick a vet and how to see where yours ranked in a new local ratings list. >>> tracking some showers and thunderstorms to our west. hot and humidditions as well. we'll talk about the next chance fo >>> your dinner plans for tonight are safe from the but not so much from the heat. three minutes from now doug mmerer is back with more on the heat and humidity and when we can expect more showers. here's a interhad g -- a hint. get all your errands done early tomorrow t >> more abo clear the shelters event on saturday, and if you're adoptin make sure that your new furry familymb gets great healthcare. there's several p ce differences for local veterinarians. susan hogan is

blayne alexander, thank you, blairn. the judge in that kasem mitt sullivan may seem familiar to you. he was born, raised and educated right here in d.c. he graduated from mckinley high school and earned a degree in political science fromoward university and graduated from howard school of law. first became a judge back in 1948 when president reagan appointed him to the d.c. superior court. >>> up next, an uber driver convicted of a disturbing crime against a female customer. see the surveillance video that helped bring him to justice. >> and there's new couroom drama as president trump's former campaigner manoes on trial, and should the white house be concerned? >>> and web of lies. the new online scam targeting people in certain zip codes threatening to reveal their s.rty secret get to the ross shoe event and get the shoes you want...for way less. oh yeah. ross has the top brands at big savings. for the latest styles and trends... at prices that make them even cuter... ...get to the ross shoe event. yes for less. ...whi

blayne alexander will bring us e latest on both of these stories coming up here at 4:45. pat? >> in four years, the lig rail purple line is expected be open for business. its 16-mile track with connectm montgo and prince george's county. connecting commutes who liveal g east-west highway. bureau chief tracy -- >> rorter: getting used to the sounds of const tction. work o purple line is well under way. >> the construction has bee kind of difficult. >> reporter: it's about to get worse. >> we're getting ready to establish our work zone to start building the foundations that will carry the purple line light rail overea and dow-west highway. >> reporter: the purple line is a 16-mile light rail system that extends from bethesda to new carrollton. the right lane of east-west highway will close to traffic. it will narrow a portion of the already congested road to one lane going east for years to come. >> there will definitely be traffic impacts. >> rorter: work is also beginning to build new temporary bridges for bw parkway as construction on the underground tunnel begins. traffic wi

it's beyond heated today, blayne. >> reporter: jyeah,.oday we saw the white house and the trump campaign and president trump himself allin respo in very different ways to those allegations as the battle of tweets and tapes continues to heat up. the first white house breflg ie dominated by weeks talk from former aide omarosa manigault newman claiming that presidentrump used the "n" word and it's on tape. i can't guarantee anything. i can tell you i've never heard it. >> reporter: president trump not only denying the campaign but launching a personal attackal o twitterng manigault newman a dog. >> this has absolutely nothing to do with race and everything ac do with the president calling out someone's of integrity. >> reporter:ow the trump campaign is firing back at emn m -- manigault newmanin cla legal action violating a non-disclosure agreement by releasing another tape here with two other a ican-american advisers on how to spin the president's alleged "n" word use if it ever became public. >> how do you think i should handle it, and i to

to >> blayne alexander, blayne, thank you. >>> theen press military parade has been postponed and white houseudget director nick mull veiny is blaming the d.c. council. e council that voted 70% or 80% against the president wouldn't want to help.he today council clapped back with tongue in cheek pointing out that 95% of district voters didot pick mr. trump but they say it's irrelevant calling opposition to a $92 million non-partisan.he and say they would oppose one of similar cost, even if it included the observe mass, chuck brown and statehood flos made of hemp. >> let's check our forecast. sst of are dry right now, but we're going to be in a weather alert mode by thi time tomorrow. >> it's going to get business on you, huh, amelia? >> exactly. tomorrow there's areas of rain an thunderstorms especially duringnihe afternoon and e hours and some of those could be strong to devere. take a look right now though. only a few sprinkles falling in parts of the area. mainly east of i-95 where i'm tracking some rain around thepe up marlboro areaar and p of anne arundel county. this activity is pu

blayne alexander joins us now with the very latest. blayne? >> it certainly seems clear there isore t come from both sides. after that extraordinary plea yesterday, today the president's team is pushing back, the white house saying repeatedly that p president trums not facing any charges as the president works to discredit his one-time confidant. michael cohen, the president's one-time attorney and clean man, already spilling a lot about his former boss and it appears he is not done yet. >> michael cohen has told me that he's going to tell the truth to whoever asks him, whether it be a congressional committee, a prosecutor or somebody in washington. >> reporter: cohen facing prison time for campaign finance violatio, admitting he was directed by donald trump to pay hush money to w twoen whose stories of affairs could have derailed his campaign. >> in american story, i don't know how many times a president of the united states sitting has been accused of a felony by prosecutors. >> reporter: the president today telling fox business he did not k

blayne axander is athe white house with more on all of this. blayne?oreen, we're hearing from not just john brennan but from former white house aide omarosa manigault wonewman. there the president's loudest critics, and they are both renewing their promise they will not be silenced. presidentrump connecting his decision to revoke the security clearance of former cia director and outspokenritic john brennan to the russia investigation. the president ignoring questions today but telling "the wall i think it'sl something that had to be done and that he holds brennan among those responsible for the, quote, russia witch hunt. gat in contrast to this explanationen yesterday. >> mr. brennan has a history that calls into question his objectivity and credibility. reporter: brennan punching back writing in the "new york times" the president has become moreesperate to protect himself. >> there are 13 reasons why you can revoke aclearance, and the president has cited none of them in his action on johnn. bren >> reporter: none of this drowning out another critical

blayne? >> reporter: well, doreen and jim, the president is turning up the heat on iran but he's also facing se heatimself over a 2003 that he sent that isn issuing interesting statement on a now infamous meeting on trump towe >> no news cameras allowed, but the white house tweeting this phtro. presidenp reinstating tough sanctions against iran. >> i think our goal should be as a nation to drive this regime into the ground without firing a shot. >> reporter: iran declaring the u.s. is showing that it cannot be trusted and critics say president trump has scrapped a nuclear deal that waswo ing. >> and what i fear is that what he's done today is going to make it more likely that either iran acquires a nuclear weapon because theytecide tha we violated the program or we'll have a conflict with iran. >> meanwhile a tweet with the teesident is conflicting with a key stant about a 2016 trump tongr mee between a russian lawyer and donald trump jr., initially being explained as a meeting about foreign

blayne alexander.hanks, blayne. >> omarosa will be chuck todd's exclusive guest on "meet the press" this weekend.'s thn sunday morning at 10:30 here on nbc 4. >>> well this weekend prepare to see shooting stars. the annual perseid meteor shower is back, and we're told this year it could be especially dazzling. plan to look up to the sky nday night around 10:30 local time wherever you are. exrts say t shower is the strongest or second strongest of the year. the other takes place in december. >> how much of that are we going to seehere? >> that's the question. unfortunately, it looks like we've got a lot of cloud cover the next couple of days so that's not looking very good. if it was clear i'd have myhe ks out t looking at it because we could see upwards of one an hour or one a minute, 60 an hour which is pretty good. every once in a whileou get big ones in there, too, so, unfortunately, not going to be the best weather. >> okay. we'll have to see it online. >>eah. you know, a lot of places in the count

here's blayne alexander with more. hi, blayne. >> reporter: and, you know, none of this will come to pass unless congress signs off on it, so that's certainly important to note. the administration says they are notutalking aboutding something completely new from scratch. they are talking about reshuffling people, scuffling programs, but critics of the whole idea say that it's all j expensive.fusing and for fans of the classic tv series "star trek" it's known as the final frontier. >> these are the voyages of the star ship enterprise. >> reporter: now space may be the new frontier in u.s. defense. the trump administration working to create a sixth military branch, the space force. >> it is not enough to merely have an american presence in space. we must have american dominance in space, and so we will. >> reporter: president trump pubically andeunced his seven weeks ago. >> i'm hereby directing the department of defense and pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary toes ablish a face force. >> reporter: at the

>> blayne alexander, thanks, blayne. >>> sorryial thieves have struck again inarlington. they are after air bags, and they have already stolen dozens in the last couple of months. news 4's aimee cho explains what's going on there. >> reporter: imagine coming out toour car to find this, the windows shattered and the air bag gone. this the is one of dozens of cars targeted in crystal city, anice say another 20 cars were hit in the past few days. >> part of rlife. orter: this man lives on a street that's been targeted before. though his car has stayed safe, some of his neighbors haven't been so lucky. >> i mean, it's going to happen again eventually, because once they see you ireplace, it mean, they will come and strike again. >> reporter: police say theal thefts uly happened hat night when no one is around. it's been an ongoing problem in the area. this video showing cars in alexandria whose air bags were stolen a month ago and they haven't yet figured out if the onses arected but they say the thieves tend to go offer newer modelda h you can see used honda air bags re liste

thanks, blayne.rao sebusiness owners in theçó area. not all of them are planning to closeq up shop when those protesters.Ñi arri wendy rieger is in the newsroom with moreko on that part of thl story new at 5:00. hi,ok wendy. >> all theset( restaurants and shops,i] a lot of them where the demonstrations are expected to occurc$x so we talked with a he wan!çÑ to stay open. we're in the height of the tourist season here. also, we have aÑ] story ofs< generosity, a story you'll see only here'enorws 4. >> a okd.c. landlord isving3wp more than a dozen homeless families a free place to ve. ut in t store, and boy does it bug a lot of people. we're going to talk about that and hear about the chattero ine about this, because it riledçó upxd every year. >> yeah. when we're in the 90s. >> or christmas in august. >> thanks so much, wendy. >>> there's an opportunity this thexd perseidxd meteor shower reaches its peak overnightq sunday and mond ty.çó wi weather cooperate? amelia is here @r(t&háhp &hc% >> that's th

live at the white house, blairnn alr, news 4. >> thank you, blayne. we're following a n sexual abuse scandal at a catholic church that could have implations here in washington. wendy rieger has that for us tonight. f >> the dioceseittsburgh is going to release the names of clergy members who are accused of child sexual abuse. the bishop there sent a letter to parishiers over the weekend that said that names will be unveiled once a grand jury report investigating the sexual abuse is released. the letter says nearly 90% of these reported casappened before 1980. that could coincide with the time when cardinal donald orrell was a bishop in pittsburgh. he was there from '88 to 2006. at this point there's no link between worrell and the investigation. the bishop in pittsburgh said there are no current active clergy who have a confirmed aim against them in the diocese. fallout from this investigation could be widespread so stay tuned to news 4. we'll keep working it and bring you updates ase get them. >> thank you, wendy. >>> a star on a path to recovery. >>

blayne alexander, nbc news, washington. >>> i want to get back to our breaking news now, that fire that we've been talking about the tesla factory in fremont. >> it's out now but the investigation just beginning. nbc bay area's sergio quintana arrived on scene just moments ago. he joins us live. sergio? >> reporter: you can see at this point it's mostly a whole lot of smoke. there is still quite a lot of smoldering at this fire. as you mentioned just a little bit earlier, the fire has been extinguished. it was quickly contained and then extinguished. they sent a whole lot of resources out here. at we know is that this fire started in some box areas, piles of boxes that are actually really close to the factory itself, the factory building itself and then also the test track. from there it went on to some other structure and then continued on to a grassy area. at this point, there is a whole lot of fire crews that are still here. as you mentioned a little bit earlier as well, investigators are here as well now trying to determine exactly how this started. but for the most part at this poi

>> thank you,blayne. >>> the former head of the centers of disease control a prevention has been arrested and accusedf groping a woman in new york. tom freiden was taken into custody in brooklyn. director of the cdc from 2009 until last year. he is accused of grabbing a woman inapprop ately at his apartment last year. he is denying the allegations. >>> new information today on t prosecution's strategy in the le high-profi d.c. mansion murders trial. rebefhe aedccus ofsavopoulos family and housekeeping in 2015r ecutors and the defense argued over what evidence will be allowed. prosecutors are zeroing in on the suspect's facebook activity sayingg that durin the 19-hourh saga as family was tied up, rdh tord tortured and then killed there was a lull in wint's posting and messaging, which they think isi signt. jury selection will begin september 5th and this trial could last for eight week >>> a maryland man is about to go on trial accused of the cold and calculated murder of his pregnant girlfriend. police found laura wallen's body in a shallow grave last yeey. quickly arrested her boyfriend

blayne alexander is covering it all for us. blayne? >> reporter: yeah, doreen, we really saw kind of a three-fold pushback today, president trump himself and therump campaign and the white house all pushing back on these allegations eachy in vifferent ways as this battle of tweets and tapeso continues heat up. >> the first white house briefing in nearly two weeks dominated by talk oforr aide omarosa manigault newman. her new book claiming that president trump repeatedly used the "n" word, and it's o tape. >> i can tell you that the president addressed this yestion directly. i can tell that i've never heard it. >> reporter: president trump not only denying the claim but launching a personal attack o twitter. >> this has absolutely nothing to do with race and everything to do with the president calling out some lack of integrity. >> reporter: now the trump campaign is firin back a manigault newman taking legal action claiming she is violating a non-disclosure agreement by releasing another secretly recorded conversation. here heard with

blayne alexander is tracking the developments on this for us. ayne,hat's the latest? >> reporter: doreen, you remember it was just a few weeks ago, the endas of month, that the white house first announced to was looking into taking this action. y it is official, at least in one case. and there could be more to follow. today an unprecedented announcement delivered in a statement from president trump. >> i've decided to revoke the security clearance of john brennan, former director of the central intelligence agency.a >> reporter: i statement read by white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders, p president trumnting to a constitutional responsibility to protect the country's classified information. >> mr. brennan has recently leveraged his status as a former gh ranging official with access to highly sensitive information to make a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations, wild outbursts on the intisnet and teln about this administration. >> reporter: the announcement coming hours after brennan, an nbc news national security analyst whos often critical of pr

blayne alexander reports on that >> reporter: from president trump the promise of a new deal with mexico a new name >> we'll get rid of the name nafta. it has a bad con connotation. >> they will call it the united states/mexico trade agreement replacing the 24-year-old nafta, a trade deal with all three north american countries notably missing from the talks, canada today's announcement made in the oval office with mexico's president on speakerphone. president trump says talks with canada will begin shortly. >> we'll give them a chance to probably have a separate deal. >> reporter: this deal not final without congressional approval, and would impact everything from agriculture to steel, aluminum and car parts. as the announcement wrapped up -- >> any thoughts on john mccain >> reporter: president trump ignoring questions about john mccain over the weekend president trump tweeting condolences to the mccain family but no praise of the man himself. late today a sharp about-face. the white house facing fierce criticism for returning its flag to full staff, keeping it lowered only over the we

it's an >> blayne alexander joins us now to break it all down. , blayne. >> reporter: yeah, doreen, in addition to that long list, he's also firing back at nras co on an upcoming white house departure. it's that of white house counsel don mcgahn. it's not unexpected and i comes after reportedly speaking with special counsel robert mueller. president trump on a twitter tear, targeting everything from the media, calling out cnn nbc by name to the justice department and james comey, the ps director he's seemingly responding to specific news and white ut himself house departures one day after announcing white house counsel don mahn is leaving this fall. >> a lot of affection for don, and hll beoving on, probably the private sector. >> reporter: that presidential twitter storm coming on the same day as this "washington post" headsne. winter i coming. highlighting reported concerns that the white house is notpr ared for possible legal troubles at a potentially crucial time with mid terms just around the corner. >> they have no idea of the onslaught tha might be coming if the democrats take t

nbc's blayne alexander has the latest on today's jury selection and what comes next. >> reporter: oncee of donald trump's presidential campaign -- >> paul manafort has done an amazing job. >> reporter: -- today paul manafort on trial. it is the first related to special counsel robert mueller's russia investigation, but not focusing on that but on millions of dollars urearned as a consultant for the ukrainian government. >> this will be the first time an official body, namely a jury, is going to decide, sort of give a thumbs up or thumbs down to the fact finding and evidence that mueller is presenting. >> reporter: prosecutors likely will not even mention the words russia and collusion during the trial, but today president trump is, tweeting this new twist on a familiar claim. collusion is not a crime, but that doesn't matter because there was no collusion. today the white house distancing itself from the trial. >> but, remember, it has nothing to do with the campaign. >> reporter: and the president himself recently downplaying the role of the campaign manager who helped him secure the

let's g right to blayne alexander for the latest details. blayne? in reporter: we're conti to learn more about this fast-moving development. these breakg news this afternoon. we understand that reportedly michael cohen is agreeing to plead guilty to a number of charges that could bring possible jail time, but that he hasot struck deal toer coopate and testify against asesent trump, his one-time boss. president trump's former attorney and fixer michael cohet surrendered t fbi this afternoon, nbc news reporting he was ready to plead glty to federal charges, including bank fraud and a campaign finance violation. there were also widespread reports cohen was negotiating a deal with prosecutors raising questions about what he might tellm t about president trump. >> you cannot pick and choose who you cooperate areinst. if youoing to cooperate, you need toe b all in, and you need to tl us everything you know about everyone. >> reporter: the lawyer who once declared he would take a bullet for donald trump secretly recorded his former boss. >> financing. >> l

. >> blayne alexander is here to break it all dn for us. >> reporter: let's start with the attacks frompresident trump. they came via twitter which set up a rathe interesting and unlikely split screen. muile he was using that platform to insultler and former cia chief john brennan his wife,ir lady melania trump, was speaking at aonference against cyber bullying. president trump intensifying his tack on the russia investigation and special counsel robert mueller calling him disgraced and discredited leading a teamf angry dems looking to impact the election. it comes as the "new york times" reports white house attorney done mcgahn spent 30 hours speaking to them voluntarily but not talking about it today. meanwhile, suort continues to grow for former cia chief john brennan, a vocal critic of the president whose security clearance he revoked more than 175 former officials their names to a list denouncing president trump's action as a tool to silence his critics. today on twitter president trump calling brennan the worst cia director in history. the president's online onslaught coming at fi

blayne alexander reports on that from the white house. >>eporter: leon and wendy, we're looking at a lot of people from the president's inner circle, now possibly giving information about president trump.n it's b very clear earlier this week, michael cohen is ready to talk and h is talking. now it appears another long-time trump confidant may be ready to joan him. today anotherss trumpiate apparently ready to talk. nbc news has confirmed "national enquirer" publisher david peck are has been granted immunity by prosecutors in the michael cohen case.ns th he is free to tell what he knows about a hush money yment to karen mcdougal. cohen admitted he paid money through pecker's company to squash a story about an alleged affair all at the direction of then candidate trump. the president complaining to foo news his former attorney taking a deal. >> it's called flipping and it ought to be illegal. >> reporter: this morning when asked about talk of his own impeachment. >> i don't know howan impeach somebody who has done a greai job. ell you what,

as blayne alexander reports, the white house continues to push back and is working to discredit the president's former attorney. >> reporter: michael cohen, the president's one-time attorney and cleanup man already spilling a lot about his former boss. e is not done yet. >> michael cohen has told me that he's going to tell the truth to whoever asks him, whether it be a congressional somebody in washington. >> reporter: cohen facing prison time for campaign finance violations, admitting he was directed by donald trump to p t stories of affairs could have derailed his campaign. >> in american history, i don't know how many times the president of the united states sitting has been accused of a felony by prosecutors. >> reporter: the president today telling fox business he did not know about the payments until later. >> my first question when i heard about it was, did they come out of the campaign? because that could be a little dicey. they didn't come out of the campaign. >> reporter: today on twitter comparing cohen to former campaign manager paul manafort, who was convicted on eight federal coun

blayne alexander, nbc news, washington. >>> let's bring in the deputy head of the u.s. and america's program at chatham house good morning to you. i want to start off by asking the question on everyone's mind today. whether or not the president is implicated from this directly. the lawyer for mr. cohen said if those payments were a crime for michael cohen, why wouldn't they be a crime for donald trump? what is your take? >> well, the charging document for cohen doesn't specify trump as a co-conspirator, he's not named but clearly indicated, individual one to be president of the united states that doesn't leave a lot to the imagination. the issue is more what cohen said in court under oath that he was directed to make the payments by the president and for the purpose of preventing the release of information which could damage his electoral prospects in the election that was a few days away at that point. that's easy to interpret as a commission of a crime or conspiracy to commit a violation of federal electoral law the tricky part is that the department of justice long h

blayne alexander has the details on that story. >> reporter: google says today that their search results are not politically biased, but the president is the calng this a serious situation and pthmised it will be address. president trump. today he's attacking the giant head-on. the issue is when you -- no -- they have it rigged so almost all stories and new are bad accusing google of suppressing conservativevoices. >> google and twitter and facebook, they are really treading on very, very troubled territory ando have careful. >> reporter: google responded saying we never rank search results to motivate politicalnt ents. now, democrats are pumping the brakes. >> i don't think we should be racing. he focusing today on and it w includds from one of his closest friends, lindsey graham. >> i d not cry for a perfect man. i cry for a man who had honor and waslways willing to admit to his imperfections. >> reporter: earlier today on the "today" show graham raising more questions aut the fate of another former senate colleae, attorney general jeff sessions, doubling down on his predictiont that p

blayne alexander reports on that from the white house. >>eporter: leon and wendy, we're looking at a lot of people from the president's inner circle, now possibly giving information about president trump.n it's b very clear earlier this week, michael cohen is ready to talk and h is talking. now it appears another long-time trump confidant may be ready to joan him. today anotherss trumpiate apparently ready to talk. nbc news has confirmed "national enquirer" publisher david peck are has been granted immunity by prosecutors in the michael cohen case.ns th he is free to tell what he knows about a hush money yment to karen mcdougal. cohen admitted he paidon

. >> blayne alexander, thanks so much. well, right now traffic is back to normal on the beltway in prince george's county, but check this out. if you took it toork this morning, maybe you got caught in this traffic mess caused by truck crash. >> nooer allentown road, prince george r county fire andcue officials tell us two people were taken to the hospital. >> onenerson listed i serious condition right now. the other in critical. >> aca s seen on i-395 around noon, d.c. firefighters returned to the scene after an suv caught fire near the c streetst e in southwest. fights say no one was injured, but it's not clear exactly what caused this suv to catch fire. >> chopper 4 also over the scene of a ddly construction accident at the height school in potomac. mo rgomery countycue officials say crewser w lowering this portable structure when he became trapped. he died as crews worked to scue him. we're still working to learn more about h exactlyow it happened or what typ of safety asures were in place. >>> budding football player,

blayne alexander joins us with l new de >> reporter: the fall departure of don mcgahn, the white houset unexpected and that came reportedly after he spent hours w talkingith special counsel robert mueller. president trump on a wide-ranging twitter tear, targeting everyone from the media, calling out cnn and nbc by name to the justice j department aes comey, the fbi director he fired. at points seeminglyesponding to specific news reports about himself and white house departures one day after announcing white house counsel don mcgahn is leaving this fall. don, ot of affection for and he'll be moving on probably the private orse >> reporter: that presidential twitter storm coming on the same day as this "washington pos headline. winter is coming. highlighting reported concerns that the white house is not prepared for possible legal troubles at a potentially crucial time with mid terms just around the corner. >> they have n ideaf the onslaught that might be coming if the democrats take the house. >> reporter: and questions about what will be included in special counsel robert mueller's rep

. >> blayne, thank you so much. >>> d.c. school s have finishe their first wee of classes under dr. amanda she takes under a school system that is under fire from a grading and graduation scandals that at least 90eaers lack their certifications. on news 4 on saturday alexander tells erica gonzalez d.c. school systems will learn from their mistakes. >> one thing we learned through the past yr is grading and graduation scandal is there was a need to better connect with milies. our students and their parents, their caregivers. >> a lotif ofrent dynamics going on. everybody has a different situation at >>home. it's our charge to understand those dynamics so we can help some of the students overcome some of the challenges they face. >> you can watch that interview on sunday right here nbc 4. by the way, dr. alexander said she would like to see the word interim taken away fm her title. she would like to keep thatso j. >> students already celebrating the start of the school year. last year the kids in langum elementary had perfect attendance and now sharing their next challenge with molett

. >> nbc's blayne alexander has this report from washington, d.c. >> reporter: today a final farewell for senator john mccain in the place he served for more than 30 years. the capitol rotunda packed with the senator's family including his 106-year-old mother along with the senator's staff and his congressional colleagues. >> i will miss a deer friend whose smile reminded us that service is a privilege. >> reporter: vice president mike pence, himself a former member of congress, honoring senator mccain for a life of service. >> the had the asked me to be here on behalf of a grateful nation to pay a debt of honor and respect to a man who served our country through isout his life in uniform and in public office. >> reporter: a show of unity, the bipartisan leaders of the house and senate each presented a wreath in mccain's honor. >> what stands out about john mccain is what he stood for. the rich blessings that only freedom can bestow. >> reporter: senator mccain will lie in state at the capitol rotunda, an honor given to only 30 others in the country's history including president abrah

here's blayne alexander with the late e. >> reporter: michael cohenoday unexpresident clinto gdly pleadiuilty to charges including campaign finance violations for actions aimed at helping his form boss. >> what he did isay worked to money to silence two women who had information who he believed to be detrimental to the 2016 campaign. >> he also pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion. from the courtroom today, nord n whether cohen struck a deal to cooperate and testify against the president. >> mr. cohen disregarded that training, disregard that had tradition. and have decided that he's above the law and for that he is going to pay a very, very serious price. declareawyer who once he who take a bullet for donald trump secretly recorded his rmer boss. >> financing. >> what financing? >> last month news organizations obtained a conversation about hush money from "playboy" model karen t mcdougal silence her story of an alleged affair. >> don't pay cash? >> no, no, no, no. >> aegations of another affairth adult film actress stormy daniels and back in february federa investigators raided cohen's