. >> i saw the story, too, hallie. i think if that is the first step in a broader denuclearization agreement, then it's okay. you cannot start to miss mantle if you can't freeze the facilities. it would be totally unacceptable. it would mean the trump administration has not been able to take one nuclear weapon out of north korea. >> is it the first step? >> it is the only first step. it is a freeze on production of new material, new warheads. then i think it's a good first step. but it's only a first step. and we have to remember that. i'm not sure if the context is different from what the report says. but as things stand now, he has had three sum mitts with the north korean leader and not a single weapon has been taken out of the country. >> is it fair -- you would hear push back saying, listen, at least we're talking, at least we're moving the ball or trying to put the ball in somebody's hands. >> talking is good. after hanoi, the north koreans didn't talk for four months. and this meeting was recently a reset of the

>> reporter: that is a key question, hallie.f protests by china calling the protests intolerable and saying that they are a direct challenge to the authority of beijing and to the rule of law in hong kong and hong kong's chief executive. china's pan-picked woman here threatened prosecutions against those who are guilty saying there is nothing more important than the rule of law. police are taking fingerprints from the shattered glass of that executive office building and they are gathering video. they will try and match the prints with the pictures using facial recognition technology to try to punish those. as you say, the key question is, what is next? the chief executive said i have learned lessons. well with, what are the lessons? are they she was tone deaf to the reasonable demands of reformers? is her lesson that she wasn't tuff 'n uff? is her lesson she didn't listen to beijing's orders enough? does it crack down very hard and there could be more protests as a result or does it somewhat lose faith by withdrawing the extrad

. >> reporter: that's right, hallie. anyone who would have thought after three weeks of intense attacks on the congresswoman. he basically held court talking to us reporters for about 15 minutes. he basically gave voice to his tweets. he, again, attacked elijah cummings, reverend al sharpton. the president often lashes out. he did that today. he said cummings is the racist, sharpton is the racist. i asked the president what he meant by that. he didn't engage. he also, hallie, described baltimore as a living hell for the people there. he then clarified and meant by the people living there, he meant most of the african-americans who live there. and he also i think was actually -- this is actually rather instructive. he said that his attacks, he was asked what he thinks about these attacks, does it help him politically. the president said yes. the public answer he gave is he believes he's really exposing the corruption in baltimore. but the private answer you get from advisers, and i know, hallie, you have had these convers

hallie? >> kelly o'donnell there at the white house. i don't think we are getting out of our skis to suggest perhaps the president will at that cabinet meeting, as he has done so often in the past, will want to open it up to cameras. that is next hour. this hour, we are still keeping an eye on what is going down on the hill. house republican leadership set to speak any minute. so what's going to happen, the leaders will come up, make their opening remarks, and take questions. we will bring you those questions live. we expect our colleagues and the press corps there will be asking about this. i want to bring in lana summers, mat, anita and other folks joining us for a conversation. and analysts. one thing kelly o'donnell talked about, the republicans who are feeling pressure to respond essentially, or getting asked to respond. one is senator ted cruz. i want to play for you what he had to say. >> i wouldn't send these particular tweets. but i'll tell you, the substance of their record is indefensible. the substance of their record is ext

>> approximately zero, hallie.anything we know about robert mueller, he is a reluctant witness. he does not want to testify. we already know based on his previous testimony, he's been in the public eye like this before. he does not go outside the four corners of those documents. he does not want this to be political. that's why it will be very, very important for democrats. and republican republicans alike if they want to get any umph and not leave it open for open-ended answers. he's going to say i'll refer to my report hundreds of times. i will refer you to the report. yes or no questions will be key here. >> frank, that's going to be my score card, how many times mueller says, i will refer to the report. caroline talks about the questioning. chairman nadler talked about how he wants to question robert mueller when he was out with chris hayes last night. here it is. >> we will ask questions designed to elicit the information, designed to get the information we want. designed to show what his report found that is

coming up more news with hallie jackson. >> i am hallie jackson in washington. right now looking ahead to a day of potentially fast-moving developments given the pressure building on a member of the president's cabinet. alex acosta, the labor secretary, facing more and more calls to resign this morning o over how he handled the jeffrey epstein's deal in 2008. when acosta, u.s. attorney at the time, struck up the non-prosecution agreement with epste epstein. we expect to hear from chuck schumer any minute on the senate floor. you can see that in the top left-hand side of your screen. he may talk about all of this any second. i'm told acosta is not considering stepping down. a top white house official is defending him for now. so far no word from the president himself on acosta's future. back in february, president trump praised his labor secretary for doing a great job when asked about the handling of epstein's case. and in 2002, then private citizen donald trump told "new york" magazine, jeffrey epstein was a, quote, terrific guy. saying he likes beautiful women

, hallie, thank you. >>> now to the escalating war of words with iran. iran's president today threatening to further enrich uranium, a violation of the nuclear deal president trump walked away from it's a move that could bring iran closer to a nuclear weapon in response, president trump warned iran the threats could, quote, come back to bite you like nobody has been bitten before. >>> a sea of blue on the streets in new york city today as thousands paid a powerful tribute to a 9/11 first responder who spent his dying days fighting for others like him. here is nbc's stephanie gosk ♪ >> reporter: in queens this morning, they celebrated a life ofrve. >> a man who served, defended, protected, 'til his last dying day. >> reporter: nypd veteran luis alvarez used his final days, his last remaining energy, to make sure those suffering from 9/11-related illnesses would get the support they needed. from hospice, he sent a handwritten note to the senate majority leader days after his moving testimony on capitol hill >> never forget to take care of the 9/11 responde

hallie. >> hans nichols. i'm joined by former florida republican david jolly, president and ceo of center for american progress. also speak with a member of congress in just a minute. i want to get your reaction what you saw and heard overnight developing this morning. >> i realize we want to put these things in political context, i really think last night is going to have the imagery of the seminal moment of the last 50, 60 years. you have a president of the united states ramping up a crowd to basically tell a woman, a refugee, a woman from africa to go home. the ugliness of that crowd really represents, i think, in the future our grandchildren will look at that and see the ugliness of people who stood in the way of civil rights. honestly, i think the political discourse does not manage how tearing at the fabric this is that the president of the united states does this. i don't think it's a political issue, civil rights issue. >> you talk about politics a lot. seems like you are personally troubled by this.

>> i think it is interesting, hallie. everyone needs to take a deep breath and try to think about why these cables, why now? whoever got these cables you can imagine probably had access to other cables from this ambassador or other british sources. so why these cables? why embarrass him? why create a rift between us, the united states and the uk. iranians would have a motive right now. uk seized an oil tanker taking oil to syria. so there is a dispute there. and of course we know the kremlin is on iran's side and would also like to see us divided from our ally. >> the secretary pompeo's only response has been on twitter where he said further isolation and sanctions would be the threat now against iran. he is sticking to the same strategy so far. given the new developments this morning, do you think that's a good idea? >> it is a terrible idea. the iranians are threading a careful needle. they are enriching a little bit more. but they are not enriching up to 20%, which is where they were before the deal. so they are signal

coming up, more news with hallie jackson. >> steph, thank you so much. we start with hour with breaking news out of new york. that federal courthouse right there, right now is host to the man prosecutors call a sorry kwrag sexual predator. jeffrey epstein. his lawyers want him home out on pail, not in jail while he waits for his trial. we will learn what the judge will decide. we have our team here following this story and many more in new york and d.c. this hour. i want to start with stephanie tkpof gosk who is outside the courthouse now. do we know if epstein is inside yet? >> reporter: we don't know if he is inside yet. we expect him to go into the building through a tunnel. the jail cell is connected to the courthouse. we didn't see him last week. we don't expect to see him until he's actually in the courtroom. what they have to do with this judge is prove that jeffrey epstein is a flight risk and also a risk to the community. and they think they have established that a couple of ways. one by saying he is a flight risk pause he has so much money, inc

>> listen, hallie, i'm also a dnc officer.me out in favor of one candidate or the other. that is why i am so happy they are all coming to south carolina and supporting our race >> thank you very much for coming on the show. appreciate that. >>> nike's decision to pull this fourth of july themed sneaker with a company feeling the roll back. is this flag a symbol of hate or patriotism? we're talking about that. first, happening right now in new york, a funeral for a man who became one of the public faces of 9/11 first responders. luis alvarez died of cancer, a cancer linked to the time he spent at ground zero. the 53-year-old was an nypd detective back in 2001. he had just been on capitol hill last month trying to appeal to lawmakers to permanently fund the september 11th victim compensation fund. his friends, his family, those who loved him now laying him to rest. rest hold my pouch. trust us. us kids are ready to take things into our own hands. don't think so? hold my pouch. >>> nike and collin kaepernick are back in the cente

hallie? >> it is a remarkable end to an almost unbelievable story. real quickly, any notables in court? anybody who came in that we should know about? >> reporter: his wife was president, his 29-year-old wife. his defense team. no. the courtroom was packed. there were lines out here early this morning. >> wow. >> reporter: the security in the area is completely -- enormous amount of security. there has been a routine where he came over from his prison holding cell in manhattan. they closed down this entire part of brooklyn and lower manhattan at 4:00, 5:00 in the morning during the weeks and months this trial has been taking place. just an incredible scene to see in the courtroom. the bottom line is we may never see him again. >> ron allen reporting from new york. we will look for more reporting here and on "nbc nightly news". thank you. we have so much more to get to. including political deja vu for bernie sanders. we are also bringing you an nbc news exclusive. new video find by nbc of pres

. >> that is, hallie, all i focus on.sident and i ever discuss is his deep passion around how do we get drug costs down for those, health care more affordable, help people with kidney disease, how we help people with hiv aids. that's all i ever talk with the president about. he has a deep abiding passion to solving these health care problems for people. . >> secretary azar, i appreciate that. i would be remiss that he hasn't tweeted about those things. we'll have to leave it there. i appreciate you coming on to talk about this important topic. much more on "nbc nightly news". secretary alex azar, thank you. >>> up next here on this show, california's governor takes aim at the president requiring any presidential president to file their tax returns. one of the people who authored the bill joins me to talk about it next. bill joins me ttoalk a it next. maria ramirez? hi. maria ramirez! mom! maria! maria ramirez... mcdonald's is committing 150 million dollars in tuition assistance, education, and career advising programs...

hallie? >> kelly, thank you. annie, i know you're with us talking about the relationship again president trump and jeffrey epstein. he said he hasn't spoken with him for 15 years, put distance between himself and epstein. you write about an exclusive party in mar-a-lago in '92. talk you also through the years-long relationship and the idea that the president seems to know the past relationship could be a liability for him. >> reporter: they had a severe falling out about 15 years ago and haven't spoken sense. back in the day in the '90s and early aughts, they shared homes nearby in palm beach, they were part of the same circuit in manhattan. i had an interview with george her rainy. gamblers would vote on who won with these girls. george flew down girls to mar-a-lago. they were going to stay at the club. and he gets there and the only two guests are donald trump and jeffrey epstein. they spent time together. he said he warned trump about his pro cliffities for younger women. he knew his history with women. it did

nbc's hallie jackson is at the white house. hallie, what do we know about this >> reporter: the u.n. nuclear watchdog is confirming today that iran is now in violation of the uranium enrichment limits set by the nuclear deal it's a move that's intended to put pressure on europe to achieve relief against sanctions against iran the european leaders are treading cautiously looking to deescalate tensions. the president asked today about his message to iran says they are playing with fire, and the white house is threatening to keep up its maximum pressure campaign until iran changes course lester >> all right hallie, thanks >>> for this year's annual fourth of july festivities in no fighter jet flyover, tanks will be included though they will be parked to prevent da to city roads. >>> to hong kong where half a million protesters took to the streets in a demonstration to weaken the justice system. there were clashes, big ones with police. nbc's bill neely is there for us tonight. >> reporter: tonight mayhem in hong kong. riot police

but, hallie, forgive me if i interrupt you. what did we hear earlier from the president and what are we expecting here this afternoon? >> i can tell you what he said. in a tape you're about to play out in the next two minutes or so. i was on the south lawn as the president returned from the speech in jamestown, virginia. he spoke for about ten minutes. much of it related to what you're talking about. his relentless attacks on elijah cummings. i asked the president why he seems so angry at cummings. cummings isn't the mayor of baltimore. wasn't about the subpoenas he is issuing and he said he's not angry. he also called that poll you just showed fake news and linked his attacks on cummings to his hearing with the acting homeland security secretary just a couple of weeks ago. we're close now, kasie, to what the president had to say just moments ago on the south lawn. >> yeah, hallie, that's right. we'll watch the tape right now. here we go. >> so jamestown was amazing. i very much appreciate that the democrats were so respectful

our hallie jackson has the latest >> reporter: ath strait of hormuz after iran seized a british tanker with 23 crew members onboard >> this only goes to show what i'm saying about iran. trouble. nothing but trouble. >> reporter: the u.s. calling iran's move esculatory violence tehran had pledged retaliation after the brits seized one of its ships earlier this month >> we will respond in a way that is considerate but robust. >> reporter: it's the latest flashpoint in this already volatile region. a fifth of the world's oil flows through the strait of hormuz the u.s. downed an iranian drone yesterday. iran now predictably denying it happened and mocking the u.s. by suggesting maybe the navy took out one of its own unmanned planes a month ago iran shot down a u.s. drone bringing the white house to the brink of a military strike before president trump pulled back. he appears reluctant to sink into deeper conflict but today is warning against further escalation >> we have the greatest ships, most deadly ships. we don't want to have to use them. >> reporter: former national security adviser

hallie? >> rehema ellis, thank you. the reverend al sharpton, we will that for you in a minute. >>> new details about the horrific shooting at a food festival south of san francisco overnight. at least three people have been killed in gilroy, california and 15 hurt after somebody opened fire at the famous garlic festival. federal law enforcement officials confirmed his name. san tina will hell. . this is steven romarw phaeumero old. he had gone with his mother and grandmother, who survived the shooting. >> he had his whole life to live. he was only 6. people come out to have fun with their family, no the to get shot. >> a father in shock there. molly hunter is there in gilroy. what are we expecting. >> reporter: we heard from them last night. we learned a couple of things. one, they're looking for possibly an accomplice. someone else who may have been supporting the shooter, may have been helping him. two, we want the shooter entered through a perimeter fence. we heard in the press conference he used some sort of tool t

frances, back to you >> all right, our hallie jackson for us hallie, thanks >> new unsealed court documents released on thursday tied then candidate donald trump to the 2016 hush money scheme to keep adult film star stormy daniels quiet about their alleged affair the documents reveal an fbi agent investigating the matter wrote that in the days following the release of the "access hollywood" video, michael cohen exchanged a series of calls, text messages and emails with stormy daniels's attorney, davi hope hicks and candidate donald trump. an agent testifying under oath said that he believed at least some of these messages concerned the need to prevent clifford from going public. clifford, referring to the real name of stormy daniels, stephanie clifford we should note the fbi says phone records were completely derived from cohen's phone records and not because they had any recording or copies of trump's calls. >> tensions with iran re-ignited after a confrontation on the high seas. president trump says the u.s. navy destroyed an iranian drone that flew too close to an american war ship. thre

i had a total eclipse of the brain a minute ago, hallie.lked about my remarkable interest in astrology while discussing the solar eclipse. while you can have a really good interest in astrology and enjoy the eclipse, they're not actually related. >> reporter: yeah, no, i know. >> excellent. hallie jackson, how is this parade -- by the way, my least compatible signs -- i'm scorpio, the least compatible signs for me are leo and aquarius. you are neither, are you? >> reporter: i happen to be neither of those. >> good, then we can continue. >> reporter: true magic. yeah. >> how is this parade different from any other parade? >> reporter: we are talking about donald trump's 4th of july event. let me tell you, the parade itself is not different. it is because the parade is still happening here in washington at 11:45 like it does every year. the parade is its own thing. the capital concert which happens at night, which is hosted by john stamos, uncle, that is set to happen in the early evening on july 4th. that's the thing that is different and co

lot of developments. >> all right, hallie, thank you. >>> more breaking news tonight. an american citizen accused of going overseas to join isis is back in the u.s. facing terrorism charges in a new york courtroom. our justice correspondent pete williams has late details on how he was caught. >> reporter: investigators say he went to syria to join isis in 2013 and help train isis fighters. court documents todentify him as ruslan maravich asainov, age 42, born in kazakhstan. a naturalized u.s. citizen who lived in this brooklyn neighborhood for five years before joining isis. he appeared in federal court today. prosecutors say an undercover operative working for new york lycity police actual met with him overseas and kept in touch with him afterwards. asainov is accused of helping isis set up training c, rising through the ranks to become a top sniper instructor. terrorism experts say it's re an isis fighter from the u.s. is brought back to fa charges. >> challenge to identify them and grab them and gain custody of them on theround in iraq and syria. this is obviously a

joining me now is nbc news chief white house correspondent hallie jackson.allie, you have some new details about the thinking inside the white house right now on acosta? >> reporter: i do. let me share with you some of the reporting here from sources that we have talked to in and around the white house here. alex acosta is facing pressure really on two fronts, not just the democrats calling on him to resign but also a more conservative faction inside the white house of some people who have been dissatisfied for a while including we're told chief of staff mick mulvaney about acosta's performance overall as labor secretary, unrelated to this latest epstein development. it is not clear yet -- this dissatisfaction stems from the pace of deregulation. there are those hong the labor department can and should be doing more under acosta's leadership. it is not clear yet whether or not these sort of factions here will move to try to have acosta ousted in light of these epstein developments, that is something we're waiting to see how that plays out, but acosta does ha

hallie jackson is our chief white house correspondent. morning.re in new york chuck, halle, good morning. on turday, guys, former vice president joe biden on the campaign trail in south carolina. biden said f the first time he grets comments heade about working with segregationist senators back when he was a >> now, was i wrong a few weeks ago? to somehow give the impression to people that i was praising those men who i successfully opposed time an again? well, yes, ways. i regret it. and i'm sorry for any of the pain or misconception i may have caused anybody. >> so, chuck, that w notable yesterday. joe biden not on a quickly. in fact, was def sive when asked a couple weeks ago about the charges. that's as close as he'll get to anpology. why did he do it? >> he did it in south e most important constituency group, african- voters, he doesn't want it losei them. hink this is a campaign that was worried that the week sort of long debate with kamala harris over busing was having an impact a they wanted to try to hut it down. i feel like he made it cl

let's go over to hallie jackson at the white house. so, hallie, kasie sets the scene at the house. republicans trying to get mare members to be no votes, despite a fair number of republicans coming out and criticizing or condemning these words. the question of how many of them will vote yes on this resolution. what's the white house bracing for, what's the white house been doing today? >> well, you've seen it on twitter, steve. you would have seen it potentially here at the white house, because many of these republican leaders, at least half a dozen, we understand, were supposed to come here for a meeting, but because of this, very remarkable, as you and kasie are talking about, floor fight, that didn't happen. they stayed over at the capitol. the president and the white house has told us that meeting is being postponed to a date tbd, and the president has been very public in trying to make it clear that he wants to make sure republicans stay unified against this resolution, that nobody votes for it, likely not an issue on that front. i will say, steve, no matter what happens from

hallie jackson, nbc news chief white house coordinator. ken delaney, national security and intelligence correspondent and bob acosta at "washington post" and msnbc political analyst. heidi, let me start with you where the action is on capitol hill. we mentioned democrats on the judiciary committee. they are huddling. house democratic leadership, a meeting due there, the intelligence committee, democrats and republicans alike, they are going to be meeting tonight. a lot going on. you hear adam schiff kind of setting the expectations low for this. is this how democrats are looking at this or are democrats looking at this and say there's going to be a breakthrough tomorrow. >> there's always hope but you don't want to set the expectations there's going to be a breakthrough. that's what we hear over and over again from the members of the judiciary. >> sorry, apparently we're having some audio difficulties there. they are going to try to fix that. we will get back to you. i apologize for that. let me turn to ken delaney. he's on set with me. yo

lester >> hallie jackson at the white house. thanks >>> while all that was going on, the trump administration opened a new front in its drive to limit the er of ople crossing the southern border into the united states by making it much harder to request asylum our gabe gutierrez has that story. >> reporter: tonight the trump administration is making it harder for migrants to seek asylum in the u.s. the new rule means migrants coming from central america can't seek asylum here if they didn't do so first in mexico today in atlanta a new protest over rates targeting undocumented immigrants. the government has not released numbers. >> the i.c.e. raids were very successful >> reporter: it comes as the battle over the border intensifies. >> well, it was definitely overwhelmed. >> reporter: today we spoke exclusively with aaron hall, the chief border patrol agent in el paso he oversees the station in clint, texas, where recent allegations of uncrowded and unsanitary conditions drew international outrage. what happened? >> it's a volume

not only his tweets, but i think he has some issues as it relates to diversity >> and hallie joins us there had to be a lot of emotion today as the president signed the 9/11 first responders bill this was the end of a very hard fought and emotional battle. >> reporter: you're right lester it means those first responders will never have to ask for money again from the victim's compensation fund. it will now be paid for permanently. the senate passed a bill last week nearly unanimously last week >> thank you >>> next tonight the major power shift in the u.s. intelligence community. president trump has nominated a top supporter to replace dan coats and oversee the nation's 17 intelligence agencies, traditionally a nonpolitical job. let's get more from nbc's andrea mitchell >> reporter: texas congressman john radcliff, a staunch trump loyalist, only last week he seemed to be auditioning for the intelligence job by attacking robert mueller >> donald trump is not above the law, he's not. but he shouldn't be below the law. >> reporter: he claims he put ter errorists in prison. there's no rec

and hallie have talked about this before. to use a basketball term, the president sees immigration as a high percentage shot. it's a slam dunk for his base. the problem is that we know, for a fact, that there were a lot of suburban traditional eupsc republicans who voted for trump in 2016, who voted for a democrat in 2018. a lot of them did view immigration as that fissure point that begins to split the republican from the working class conservative republican. the president is playing with fire here because while he may rile up his folks, while he may lize that true believer base, he runs a real risk of alienating that broaderal coion that he's going to need to win re-election. >> carlos, you represented part of a county that is part of that broader coalition the president needs. cuban-americans, venezuelan-americans, lo coian-americans, at what point do they not like this raid business? >> yeah, there is a breaking point. south florida is different. a lot of the hispanie vote ther looks outside the united states to foreign

hallie jackson has details. >> reporter: the chant easy to hear but for some hard to listen to "send her back." >> reporter: democrats and a few republicans appalled at the words incentive erupting from the crowd at the president's north carolina rally, referencing congresswoman ilhan omar who escaped somalia as a child. >> i'm worried for our country. >> it's violent rhetoric. >> the chant was offensive. it's just wrong. >> reporter: omar herself quoting maya angelou, like air i'll rise, defending her right to make at times controversial comments on foreign policy that have angered republicans. >> we tell people here in the united states we are patriotic here in the united states this agreement is welcomed. debate is welcome. >> reporter: the president today trying to distance himself from the chant, but he initially suggested owe more and three other democrats, all u.s. citizens, go back to their home countries. >> i didn't like that they did it and i started speaking quickly. >> reporter: he did not start speaking quickly, instead waiting 13 seconds before continuing on. >> omar h

back to you. >> all right, hallie, thk you. passengers flight in a flight from vancouver taustralia. steve patterson has more >> reporter: passengers say it struck without warning >> it muste havopped a hundred feet or something because everyone went up to the ceiling. >> reporter: sudden severe turbulence, tossing passengers from their seats, injuring 35 people on board air canada the boeing 7 flying from vancouver to australia, the airline saying it encountered unforecasted and sudden turbulence about two hours west ofth hawaii. e turbulence so violent, the plane was forced to make an emergency landing. >> everyone just went flyingla >> reporter: the carryin26g passengers and 15 crew members landed safely in honolulu some on board posting selfies wearing neck braces along with pictures of deployed oxyge masks and food scattered across the ground it's the latest in a string of turbulent flights. the nearly three dozen injured expected to fully recover. others happy to be bacidk on sol ground >> i had my seat belt on luckily. >

hallie jackson reports, he's putting his own twist on a traditional proceeding. >> reporter: it is a holiday salute to american military might. >> it is like no other. it will be special and i hope a lot of people come. >> reporter: and the president's promising a spectacle even in the face of criticism. >> we'll have planes going overhead, the best fighter jets in the world and other planes too and we'll have some tanks stationed outside that will be pretty careful with the tanks because the roads have a tendency not to carry heavy tanks so we have to put them in certain areas. >> reporter: besides the tanks, the festivities will feature flyovers by the blue angels and the pilots showing off the f-35, the osprey, a new version of marine one or air force one. the stands now set near the lincoln memorial where the president will deliver his holiday speech and the fireworks show is set to last 35 minutes this year. chris -- is helping with that. >> for july fourth, all of the nuances of politics, it is okay to let that go and everybody celebrate the fourth of july as americans. >> repo

nbc's hallie jackson has more. >> reporter: the scene now set, ready for rehearsal. with military vehicles in place through the city's last-minute prep that comes with a cost. >> usa >> if there arioe demonstrat and protests, those are additional police costs as well. so we don't know what our total costs aryet. >> reporter: according to the "washington post," the national park service is diverting 2 1/2 million dollars from entry fees to helthp pay for e president's plan to beef up the july 4thie festivit with fly-overs, the army band, anw d those tanks in a shoof military muscle and that's only part of the total bill, one the nplayingt is d he's tweeting cost of our salute to america would be very little compared to what it's worth. on the mall, a mixed reaction. >> we have military capabilities in america and i think he shouldn't be ashamed of showin> that i think it's unfair for the military to have to be here, to be politicized like this >> reporter: the big keystone part of that salute to america, of course, the president's speech aides insist it will not be pa

our hallie jackson has details >> reporter: the chants easy to hear, but for some hard to listen to.>> send her back send her back. >> reporter: democrats and a few republicans appalledwo at the s "send her back" erupting at the crowd from the president's north carolina rally referencing congresswoman ilhan omar who escaped war-torn soma as a child >> i'm worried for our country it's creing a volatile environment in the country >> the chant was just wrong. >> reporter: omar quoting. >> we tell people here in the united states, you defend patriotic. here in the united states,nt disagreemes welcomed debate is welcomed >> reporter: the president trying to distance himself from the chants, but he's the one who initially suggested that omar and three other democrats, all u.s. citizen go back to their home countries >> i was not happy when i heard that chant i didn't like that they did it and i started speaking ver quickly. >> reporter: he did not start speaking quickly instead, waiting 13 seconds before continuing on omar has a history of launching vicious anti-semitic screams. >> send her

lester >> hallie, thanks. >>> and also being talked about tonight some video shot by nbc news 27 years ago that offers a glimpse into the past relationship between president trump and jeffrey epstein who is now facing new sex trafficking charges. nbc's stephanie gosk has details. >> reporter: a 1992 party at mar-a-lago, donald trump and jeffe jeffery epstein shared a joke and a laugh nfl cheerleaders danced among the crowd. the video from nbc's archive was shot more than a decade before epstein served 13 months in a florida jail for procuring a minor for prostitution last week, after epstein pleaded not guilty to new federal sex trafficking charges, the president characterized their relationship >> people in palm beach knew him he was a fixture in palm beach i had a falling out with him a long time ago. i don't think i've spoken to him for 15 years. i wasn't a fan. >> reporter: but in a 2002 magazine article, trump called epstein a terrific guy, adding, "it is even said he likes beautiful women as much as i do. and many of them are on the younger side. on thursday a federal judge will

lester >> all right, hallie jackson at the white house. thank you. >>> there is breaking news tonight of a shake up at planned parenthood the organization forcing out its president after less than a year on the job, and it comes amid a battle over new and more restrictive abortion laws across the country. nbc's kristen welker has late details for us >> reporter: tonight with abortion rights under fire, the president of planned parenthood, lena wen says she was forced out of her job today wen tweeting, i just learned that the board ended my employment at a secret meeting and in a letter to employees adding, the move comes amidst philosophical differences over the direction of the organization the board has decided to, quote, double down on abortion rights advocacy planned parenthood thanked wen for her service. a source familiar with her departure tells nbc news, it was due to management style and lack of pic wen was the first physician to lead the organization in decades. >> we will win because we are standing on the right side of history.

chuck and hallie, good morning to you both. on saturday, former vice president joe biden out in the campaigns with his poll numbers slipping regrets comment he said he regrets comments he made working with segregation back when he was the senator back when he was a young senator himself. >> was i wrong a few weeks ago to somehow give the impression of people who i praised those men who i successfully opposed time and again yes, i was i regret it. i am sorry for any pain or misconception i may have caused anybody. >> chuck, that was notable yesterday. biden not one to apologize quickly and offensive after a couple of weeks ago of these why did he do it >> look where he did it. he did it in south carolina. he did it because he's concerned the most important constituent group, he wants to make sure he's not going to lose them. i think this is a campaign that was worried the week's long debate with kamala harris over bussing was having an impact and they want to shut it down. i feel like joe biden made it clear that he wants to cha

hallie jackson has details. >> reporter: the chant easy to hear, but for some hard to listen to. [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: democrats and a few republicans appalled at the words "send her back" erupting from the crowd at the president's north carolina rally referencing congresswoman ilhan omar who escaped war-torn somalia as a child. >> i am worriedor our country. i really am. >> it is about creating a volatile environmentn this country through violent rhetoric. >> the chant was offensive. it's just wrong. >> reporter: omar quoting maya angeu, like erroll rise, defending her right to make at times controver controversial comments that have angered republicans. >> we tell people in the united states this agreement is welcomed, bate is welcomed. >> reporter: the president today trying to distance himself from the chant. he is the one who initially suggested omarhrnd other democrats, all u.s. ci tizens, go back to their home countries. >> i was not happy when i heard that chan i didn't like that they did it and i started speaking very quickly. >> reporter: he did not start speaking qui

>> no, i'm not going to acknowledge that, hallie. >> kristen welker and our colleague, hallie jackson. kristen, is he saying because there is an asian-american woman in the cabinet that that means he's not using racist language and descriptions of these four congresswomen? >> it seemed as though that was his defense, andrea, to try to point out there are people of color who work within this administration. i pressed him on that and said wait a minute what does that have to do with the president's words and tweets, which many democrats have come forward and said they believe is fundamentally racists. bottom line, mark short wants to be talking about passing the usmca, replacement for nafta, something that the vice president is spearheading here. instead he is forced to defend the president and his controversial comments. he sees this as something that is energizing. you take a step back, andrea, this has been his tactic in the past. we saw this in 2016. remember, he, of course, launched his political career based on the birtherism idea, something he has since stepped away from. basical

aides insist it will not be partisan richard, back to you >> hallie, thank you >>> senator mala harris is surging in the polls after a breakout performance in the democrats' first president l debate last week in a new quinnipiac poll she all but erased joe biden's lead. the former vice presidenstill ead with 22%, but harris is within striking distancepo at 20 ts that's within the margin of error. senator elizabeth warren rounded out the top three, almost deadlocked with senator bernies. sander and a full seven months before the first votes are cast in iowa many of the contenders including harris and biden are making their rounds in the hawkeye >>> a massive explosion has rocked a neighborhood in charlotte. neighbors say it could be felt five miles away. 000-square-foot home that moved and turned into a pile of rubble ron allen has the details. >> reporter: neighbors say the explosion was felt fak miles, g them to the bone >> my walls were just cracked open and the garage was just implod imploded at wch point i just told the kids we have to run out of here. >> reporter: leaving what was