this en i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. this e i'm lester holt.is n i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. othis edition i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. wthis edition i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. his edition i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. is edin i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. s edit i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. editi i'm lester holt.ion i'mi'm les. i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. reset >> john kelly, the head of homeland security, in. >> general kel ly has been a star, done an incredible job. >> in the cabinet, president trump goes after attorney general jeff sessions. >> i am disappointed in the attorney general. >> republicans push back. >> if jeff sessions is fired, there will be holy hell to pay. >> this morning an inside look at how president trump operates from his former campaign manager,ps, the republican heal care effort goes belly up with a thumbs down from john mccain. t sabotage obamacare. >> i said from the

lester? >> kristen welker, thank you. >>> let's bring in our political director, the moderator of "meet the press." chuck, we're watching some serious issues. our next story about north korea while all this drama is playing out in the white house with its attached distractions. what happens now? what faction won, and where does that take the administration? >> well, look, today could actually be the day -- the start of a series of potentially good days. i mean, look, it was an untenable situation when you had this new communications director in open warfare with two of the president's closest advisers, the chief of staff, reince priebus, who is now out, and the chief strategist steve bannon. look, it's -- we'll find out if he can bring order. if everybody in the president's orbit, lester, i would say john kelly was probably the best candidate he could have picked to be chief of staff. but he can only be successful if, number one, the president gives him some authority, at least on staffing, a

i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. othis edition i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. wthis edition i'm edition i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. this en i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. this e i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. nthis n i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. othis edition i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. wthis edition i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. his edition i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. is edin i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. s edit i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. editi i'm lester holt.ion i'mi'm les. i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. reset >> john kelly, the head of homeland security, in. >> general kel ly has been a star, done an incredible job. >> in the cabinet, president trump goes after attorney general jeff sessions. >> i am disappointed in the attorney general. >> republicans push back. >> if jeff sessions is fired, there will be holy hell to pay. >> this morning an inside look at how president trump operates from his fo

lester? >> peter alexander at the white house. now to our nbc news exclusive interview with that russian attorney at the center of the firestorm involving donald trump jr. tonight she's disputing some of the claims made in the e-mails he released, and gives her side of the story about what happened when they came face to face at trump tower. she sat down with nbc's kier simmons today in moscow. >> reporter: tonight natalia veselnitskaya, where she's described as a russian government attorney and part of russia, and its government support for mr. trump. here, donald trump jr. is told that they want to schedule a meeting with him, and the russian government attorney who is flying over from moscow. the russian government attorney. that means you. >> no, i'm certainly flattered by being called as a government attorney. but i've never worked for the government in the first place. >> reporter: she said that meeting with donald trump jr., jared kushner and campaign chairman paul manafort was arrange

lester? >> kasie hunt at the capital, thanks. >>> president trump worked up his own drama in washington today off the fate of his attorney general. the president stepping to the podium and publicly belittling jeff sessions and saying time will tell as to whether he will fire him. nbc's kristen welker has details on what's looking like jeff sessions' death by a thousand cuts. >> reporter: president trump in the rose garden today, once again attacking his own attorney general for recusing himself from the russia investigation. >> i am disappointed in the attorney general. he should not have recused himself. >> reporter: sessions made the decision because he served on the trump campaign and has gotten bipartisan praise for the move. still today, the president called on sessions to focus his attention elsewhere. >> i want the attorney general to be much tougher on the leaks from intelligence agencies, which are leaking like rarely have they ever leaked before, at a very important level. >> report

lester? >> joe fryer in nevada tonight, joe, thanks very much. >>> let's drill down now on what freedom looks like in this case. the question a lot of people asking, what will simpson do when he's set free for the second time? will he return to the public eye and try to make money even as he owes millions? nbc's cynthia mcfadden has more on that for us. >> reporter: there's a difference between fame and infamy. o.j. simpson's once famous name became an infamous one in 1995 when he was acquitted of two brutal murders. much has changed since those acquittals seen at the time as a referendum on race. back then only 20% of african-americans believed he had gotten away with murder. today more than 50% do. whites still overwhelmingly believe he was guilty, well over 90%. the world has changed in other ways, too. social media has exploded. so nearly every public move he makes will be recorded. 32% of americans weren't even alive when he was acquitted 23 years ago, but even among young americans the

lester? >> peter alexander on capitol hill tonight. thank you, peter. as we mentioned, senator mccain's vote was crucial in advancing the latest republican plan to do away with obamacare, but in many ways this battle has just begun. our correspondent there, kasie hunt. kasie, where does this go from here? >> reporter: lester, the white house is taking a victory lap on this tonight. republican leaders acknowledge that they can't spike the football. that this is just the beginning. it's still a mystery exactly what is going to happen to americans' health insurance. there's a few options and there's going to be a lot of posturing this week on the senate floor. they plan to take a vote on that repeal-only bill that would repeal without replacing obamacare. but they know that that can't pass. they also plan to vote on that massive repeal and replace package, but they also know that they likely don't have the support for that either. so what happens? they're going to have to cobble together [000:04

lester? >> kristen welker at the white house starting us off. >>> just a day after president trump announced a ban on transgender troops in the military, his administration is once again rocking the nation's lgbt community. the justice department now arguing civil rights laws do not ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. nbc news justice correspondent pete williams has the story. >> reporter: it's another big setback for a community that candidate donald trump pledged to support. the justice department says flatly that federal civil rights law does not ban discrimination against gays and lesbians. it comes in a lawsuit against a new york skydiving company. one of its instructors, daniel zarda, claimed he was fired for being gay. he said that violated the civil rights act, which among other things bans discrimination, quote, "because of sex." but the justice department has now stepped into that case even though the government isn't involved, to say the law applies only to discriminati

lester? >> all right. joe fryer tonight. joe, thank you. >>> there is a critical situation unfolding in the west tonight. a fire emergency destroying homes and forcing thousands to evacuate near yosemite national park. crews from around the state have arrived to beat back the flames up to 50 feet high. the so-called detwiler fire has cut power to communities on the way to yosemite which remains open as smoke shrouds the iconic view of half dome. >>> since 9/11 it's become an adage among terror prevention professionals. we have to be lucky every day, they say, the terrorists only have to be lucky once. we've seen it this summer amid a rash of terror events from flint, michigan, to london and manchester. low-tech but high-profile attacks. but one american city has taken the boldest step yet to try to tilt the odds away from the terrorists, and we were offered an inside look. in america's largest city, the faces of policing in a new age of terror. whereas 16 years ago it was planes into buildings, today's tactics more simple. s

i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. >>> right now at 6:00, breaking news, a car fire sparks a brush fire in southeast san jose. i am raj mathai. >> and i am jessica aguirre. we have been tracking this story on air and online. this is a live look from nbc bay area sky ranger. nbc bay area marianne favro is in that area. >> reporter: if you see behind me, this is the neighborhood that is closest to the fire right now. lots of large up scale homes in this area and right now, if you look over here, you can see that cal fire is doing arial drops of water. this fire started shortly after 4:00 and it has now burned 40 acres. more than doubled in the past hour. all residents within a mile of metcalf road and san felipe are

lester? >> kristen welker, thank you. >>> now to new changes coming to the airport security line. after stepping up screening for some international flights, today the tsa announced tighter security measures for domestic travel. more electronics, basically anything larger than a cell phone, will be individually scrutinized at tsa checkpoints, and that could mean some longer wait times. nbc's gabe gutierrez explains. >> reporter: with more and more travelers cramming more and more into their bags, tonight the tsa says it will be taking a closer look at your electronics. >> if it's all for security, that's all good. you know, you can't be too careful. >> reporter: while passengers have been required to remove laptop computers from their carry-ons for years, the new procedures mean any device larger than a cell phone, including e-readers and tablets, must also go into a separate bin. the rules are already in place at ten u.s. airports including boston, detroit and los angeles. >> i think passeng

lester? >> kier simmons in moscow tonight. let's turn to savannah guthrie, the resident attorney and washington veteran. savannah, folks following around the edges of this russia story, what just happened here today? did it cross into a new legal territory? >> i think we've seen a piece of evidence that would be quite compelling to the mueller investigator, the special counsel looking into this. now has an incredibly compelling piece of evidence. it comes from donald trump jr. himself and signals a willingness not just to get information that's damaging to hillary clinton, but that he knows it's from the russian government, or it's purported to be from the russian government and greets it enthusiastically. even thinking about when would it be best to deploy that information, saying late summer would be great. so yes, potentially there's legal exposure, but people should take a deep breath. i can assure you this is just one piece of the puzzle that bob mueller is looking into. he will place it

lester? >> peter alexander at the white house, thank you. >>> and a moment that has a lot of people talking today. president trump's long good-bye with french president emmanuel macron as he concluded his trip to paris. their farewell handshake today went on and on and on, lasting nearly 30 seconds. at one point mr. trump even pulled in france's first lady without ever letting go of her husband's hand until finally it was time to leave for the flight back home. >>> now, to the new developments in the murders of four young men in pennsylvania. a second man has now been charged in those murders after his cousin confessed to police. and tonight we're learning chilling new details in the case. nbc's stephanie gosk has the latest. >> reporter: today a pennsylvania d.a. revealed a gruesome tale, describing in detail the murder of four young men. >> we have the two men lock upped that need to be brought to justice. >> reporter: cosmo dinardo pled guilty to two dozen charges. his cousin, 20-year-old

lester? >> kasie hunt at the capitol, thank you. >>> there's late word this evening of a shocking, new development in the case of four missing young men in pennsylvania. a lawyer for the person of interest in custody in the case says his client has now confessed to killing all four of them. nbc's stephanie gosk has the latest. >> reporter: in pennsylvania tonight a stunning confession. >> cosmo dinardo gave a full confession to the district attorney. in favor of that, the commonwealth will not be seeking the death penalty. >> reporter: 20-year-old cosmo dinardo tells police he participated in the murder of these four men, according to his attorney. all of them missing since last week. jimi patrick disappeared july 5th, two days before close friends mark sturgis and tom meo. dean finocchiaro was last seen getting into his car the same night. pennsylvania police are excavating what they are calling a common grave. more than 12 feet deep on a sprawling multimillion dollar estate belonging to din

lester? >> blake mccoy tonight, thank you. >>> in arizona this evening rescue teams are scouring a winding riverbed for a missing man under threat of the same conditions that killed nine others over the weekend when a fast-moving downpour sent a torrent into a usually calm river trapping an entire family. the area is facing more potentially deadly conditions tonight. nbc's miguel almaguer is with the rescue teams. >> it's coming right at us! >> reporter: the rolling wall of water, mud, trees and debris, triggered by a powerful monsoon. >> holy moly. >> reporter: barreling down arizona's verde river, an extended family of 14 wading in a swimming hole had no idea it was coming. >> they lost ten people. >> reporter: this video shows one person clinging to a tree. when search teams arrived four were rescued, but nine bodies were recovered. the victims 2 to 57 years old. >> he has to be found. >> reporter: 27-year-old father miguel garnica is still missing. >> he always said, i'm never leaving my

lester joins us now to share his thoughts about our colleague.ester, we've met with you a couple of times ovee couple of years. >> we've had occasions rite there in the studio when i would drop by and we were shooting some promos together not that long ago. let me just say, first of all, that we are all one big family at n bbc, our hearts go out to r colleagues. we feel this incredible loss. a couple observations about jim, others would probably remark just his cool. and i say that in all the way ways. his calmness, his warmth. what i always saw with jim is a guy that have kind of cracked the code at what we do. he understood this connection that we truly are coming in people's living rooms and in their kitchens that we are -- you know, the last time we were together, i saw the streets of washington. i saw people come up to jim like an old friend i had that look, is that somebody he knows, you know, somebody that knows him, just seemles h i think i said something the mayor of washington or something like that. it was so seemless. it wasn't like p

lester? >> peter alexander, thank you. >>> after the last head of the fbi was unceremoniously dumped by president trump, the man the president has chosen to replace him was prodded to publicly declare his independence from the white house at his senate confirmation hearing today. chris wray is widely regarded as well qualified to lead the fbi. nonetheless, after the messy firing of james comey amid the russian influence investigation, wray faced some unusually pointed questions. our justice correspondent pete williams has details. >> reporter: christopher wray entered the senate hearing room with one overriding mission -- demonstrate his independence from the president who nominated him after firing fbi director james comey. >> i will never allow the fbi's work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law and the impartial pursuit of justice, period, full stop. >> reporter: he said no one, including donald trump, asked him to pledge loyalty, something comey said the president asked

lester? >> all right, miguel almaguer in the thick of it there in california. thank you. >>> it's being called black friday in july. tonight amazon is launching its annual prime day early, offering thousands of deep discounts. it's expected to generate a billion dollars in sales. here's nbc news business correspondent jo ling kent on how to score the best deals. >> reporter: die-hard amazon shopper amy kline. >> alexa, buy elmo toothbrush on amazon. >> reporter: has been scanning the online retailer fors. prime day to see if the things that i want will go on sale. >> reporter: on prime day last year amazon said it sold 2 million toys, a million pairs of shoes and 215,000 pressure cookers all in just 24 hours. this year prime day is expanding to 30 hours in 13 countries, tens of thousands of deals, a new one every five minutes. among the deep discounts, the amazon echo smart assistant is 50% off at $90. 70% off samsennite two-piece luggage sets and 25% off smart tvs. the catch, shoppers must join prime, the $99 a year subscription service. tonight for the first

lester? >> kasie hunt thank you. the collapse of the health care plan is failing to deliver on a key campaign promise, with other items on the agenda stalled and the fights don't get any easier from here, as our chief white house hallley jackson reports. >> reporter: the buck stops somewhere else. >> i'm not going to own it. >> reporter: that's despite gop control of the white house and both chambers of congress, and despite the president's 2013 tweet on leadership. quote, whatever happens, you're responsible. if it doesn't happen, you're responsible. >> i can tell you the republicans are not going to own it. >> reporter: it's been months since president trump hit the road to talk about the republican push to repeal and replace obamacare. never really selling the latest plan, with most americans never really backing it. not even in places that propelled the president to his election night win, so-called trump counties. there, only 12% of people supported the gop health care plan. including just one in four trump vote

lester? >> kristen welker tonight, thank you. >>> let's turn now to the other big story playing out in washington, the healthcare cliff-hanger. the senate is headed for a key vote tomorrow, but what will they be voting to advance? at this hour, it's a mystery even to most senators as president trump issues a new warning, and there's added drama late today as a top republican is raising the possibility that john mccain could return for the vote. our chief white house correspondent hallie jackson has details. >> president donald trump. >> reporter: president trump using the power of his presidential the backdrop of the blue room and the faces of what the white house calls the victim of obamacare. >> it was a big, fat, ugly lie. >> reporter: with doom and gloom declarations, the president railed against the law of the land, not surprisingly swiping at democrats. >> they run out, they say death, death, death, well, obamacare is death. >> reporter: but he saved a punch for his own party, too. >> s

lester? >> stephanie gosk in new york tonight. thank you, stephanie. >>> here in southern california a jaw-dropping sight when a small plane crashed onto one of the country's busiest freeways. the two people on board were rushed to the hospital after the fiery impact which shut down the highway and impacted airline schedules on this busy july fourth travel weekend. nbc's miguel almaguer has more. >> 297, i lost my right engine. >> reporter: the pilot declared an emergency when one witness captured the cessna 310 on video returning to john wayne international airport as the plane suddenly crashed onto the 12-lane freeway. >> 297, mayday, mayday! >> reporter: commuters driving past a fireball. the mangled wreckage scattered across the 405, one of the busiest freeways in the nation. >> it hit the median, then hit the ground and just a loud bang. >> reporter: the faa says the private plane had just departed john wayne when the pilot reported trouble. it happened at 9:35 a.m., with two aboard the

>> up next, "nightly news" with lester holt. we'll see you back here tonight at 11:00. enjoy your evening. >>> tonight, the alarming escalation with north korea. the u.n. security council calls an emergency meeting over the new threat, a never before seen missile capable of hitting the u.s. tonight how the u.s. could respond as president trump prepares to meet with vladimir putin overseas. >>> deadly police ambush. officer and mother of three killed in what police call an assassination. what was the motive? >>> selfie outrage. a congressman under fire for taking this video inside a former nazi gas chamber. >>> amelia earhart mystery solved? does a newly found photo solve one of the biggest aviation puzzles of all time? >>> and tennis tug of war. the yun fan who had his wimbledon keepsake ripped out of his hands and the star player who turned to social media to make it up to him. "nightly news" begins right now. >>> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening. i'm savannah guthrie in for lester. tonight emerg

>> yes, lester, bottom line they're being overprescribed. part of the reason is because patients come in and are demanding these medications because that's what they think they need. on top of that they're easily available, cheap and oftentimes insurance companies cover them, but the bottom l and somebody can get hooked after just a few doses. current guidelines tell us after three days of an acute pain syndrome, where they have it after surgery or injury, that we want to switch to non-opioid type medications, things like anti-inflammatories or physical treatments, massage therapy or yoga. in all cases talk to your doctor before taking any medication to make sure you get the right medicine, the right amount and the right doses and come off of them as soon as you can. >> thanks. good to have you here. >>> there are bizarre new details tonight in a jailbreak and a manhunt under way in alabama. authorities are on the hunt for the last of a dozen inmates who broke free near birmingham. we learn late today the key to their escape wasn't a weapon.

i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good . >>> two dancing with the stars weddings. peta married maks. >> from the gowns to the first dances, all the details now on "extra." >> dancing down the aisle. peta and maks married in a castle. the first kiss and a surprise serenade. schenn julian huff idaho's i-dos as her brother jarrett plays groomsman. who's her new husband? plus we break down the strapless designer gown. blac chyna against rob kardashian. she gets a restraining order and he's accused of a shocking incident with a gun. >> sofia vergara extreme new look. >> she just cut her bangs. wait till you see them. >> harry styles' new direction. >> not bad, huh? >> good times. >> dunkirk alongside hollywood's next "it" guy. then all new, j-lo's super sexy video. plus, this is us star justin hartley dropping clues to the next season. now on "extra" from oourl studios

lester graham, hosts a radio program "stateside" on michigan radio. and laura herberg, the community reporter for detroit's wdet fm. her beat includes housing issues in detroit. they all contrib detroit journalism collaborative . one of the challenges i think in a city like detroit is your both the cheerleader for the city right? you want a great city to succ to all the data points and some of those data points in the city are terrible. keith owens: just like members of your own family i mean you love them but you know 'em. i think it's the same thing wh detroit, we know the city, we know exactly what the statistics say, we could rattle statistics on forever about what the crime rate is, what the poverty rate is, what the literacy rates, is , etc. i think where detroiters get sensitive is the fact of the onf detroit is this and detroit is that. it's much more than that, it cannot be encapsulated into those titles or into any small narrative. soledad o'brien: as a journali who's been here for five years, is detroit back? lester graham: it's better but

i'm lester holt.us. >>> breaking overnight, dozens killed in over 40 wounded in an attack in kabul early this morning. >> caught on camera, a dramatic rescue, 17 hikers from an arizona flash flood. >> a busy day ahead for the white house with jared kushner facing russia questions. and president trump will spe directly to the american people about health care. >> controversy over olympian michael phelps racing a great white shark. and much more on busy money, "early today" starts right now. >> good morning. >> good being with you. starting this monday morning, w. new face and a bick welcome to philip here for the early today team. great to you have here with us. >> i am so happy to be here.

lester? >> what an awful scene there. kerry sanders, thank you. >>> there's still a great deal of uncertainty tonight over chances of passing the latest republican both president trump and vice president pence turned up the heat today on republican senators who are undecided. nbc's kasie hunt reports on the big incentives being offered to some. >> reporter: the new republican healthcare bill hanging on by a thread. now sewn together with backroom deals. the bayou bailout, sunshine sellout and the polar payoff, each aimed at a single republican senator still on the fence about whether to vote yes to repeal and replace obamacare. >> i'm not going to make any decisions on procedure or process until i've done my homework here. >> reporter: senator lisa murkowski was a no on the last draft, but this version tweaks a formula to give alaska special access to a $132 billion pot of money. florida has a special carveout for marco rubio and so does louisiana for bill cassidy. it's all orchestrated by senate majority leader mitch mcc

i'm lester holt.>>> caught on camera, a dramatic rescue from an arizona flash flood. >> and psident trump will speak directly to the american people about health care. >> and michael phelps racing a great white shark and much more on a busy monday r. >> welcome to the work week and welcome to have you on the "early today" team. >> i just

lester? >>> a heartbreaking turn of events in the case of a terminally ill baby. in the uk, the parents of charlie gard have dropp dropped their legal battle to bring him to the u.s. for treatment after coming to the painful conclusion that it would not have been successful. let's get more from bill nealy in london. >> reporter: they gave him rife, but today charlie gard's parents decided he would have no chance of a normal one. >> we are let our son go and be with the angels. >> reporter: new scans convinced them charlie has irreparable brain damage. he was born healthy, but soon a rare genetic disease meant he couldn't see, hear or breathe on his own. no cure said doctors, but his parents pinned their hopes on nearby y -- michio hirano. >> he has saved my son's life. >> reporter: they fought british courts who wouldn't allow the treatment. their plight sparking a global debate. the pope offering support. president trump tweeting he'd be delighted to help. >> save charlie gard! >> reporter: but the emotional battle that saw charlie's caregivers receive death thre

. >> good evening, i'm savannah guthrie in for lester. it was the first encounter watched around the world. president donald trump and russian president vladimir putin meeting face to face one on one for the first time. every handshake, glance and utterance closely watched, and poured over for meaning. tonight the big question is answered. we've learned the president did, in fact, confront putin for meddling in the u.s. election, but that was just the beginning of a high-stakes meeting scheduled to last 30 minutes that stretched into hours. our team has it all covered tonight, and we begin with nbc's chief white house correspondent halle jackson. halle, good evening. >> reporter: savannah, good evening to you. this may have been the most important diplomatic meeting yet for president trump. formally face to face for the first time with the leader of the country accused of meddling in our election. and that was topic number one for the u.s., with two different stories tonight on how that discussion went. the world watching to see where thi

i'm savannah guthrie in for lester. on the eve of a major summit of world leaders in germany, tensions spilled into the streets. protests of the g-20 meeting turned violent just as the top leaders from around the globe were arriving including, of course, president trump, who tomorrow will come face-to-face with the shrewdest of adversaries, russian president vladimir putin. our team is in place tonight. and in a moment, we'll look deeper into the diplomatic high wire act facing the president. but first, the fiery protests providing a dramatic backdrop. nbc's keir simmons starting us off from hamburg, germany. keir, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, savannah. right now there are still police on the streets of hamburg. at least 15 police officers were injured today, 3 taken to the hospital. a violent backdrop to the g-20 meeting. and there could be further disturbances with 100,000 protesters expected over the next two days. tonight chaos and violence in hamburg. as you can see, there are now clashes between protes