i'm lester holt. right now at 6: wild weather. hail, snow, and lightning -- up and down the bay area. the news at six starts right now: thanks for joining us. i )m terry mcsweeney, in for raj mathai. and i )m jessica aguirre. we got a sampling of weather let )s start with some of the best sight of the day .... this isn )t in tahoe it )s oakld . kids in the laurel neighborhood having a blast after hail created unusual sledding conditions this morning. from the air, here )s what it looked like. nbc bay area )s skyranger captured this video after the hail storm. skyline high school )s football field covered in hail. there was so much of it on the roads, cars were slipping and sliding around. we even found drivers getting out of their cars because it was just too dangerous to drive. while that looked like snow on the ground, here )s the real deal. skyranger above mt. hamilton where snow hit the higher elevations in the bay area. chief meteorlogist jeff ranieri sky ranger above mt. hamilton. snow hit the higher elevations in the bay ar

now: lester holt, for good evening and thanks for joining us. i )m jessica aguirre. and i )m r >>> the news at 6:00 right now. i'm jessica aguirre. >> these students can become the largest voting block in the country. bay area schools will be part of tomorrow's walkout marking 19 years of the massacre in columbine. among the questions here, these students register and vote and make a difference in the future elections? >> reporter: that's right. the impact might be felt here at the local ballot box over the next few years as students walk out en masse tomorrow record numbers are preregistering to vote sending a loud message. this is how they're speaking out at the california school for the -- in fremont and registered to vote. we spoke with via a translator. >> translator: we can use our voices to speak out for what we think is right. >> reporter: at their school was a california secretary of state who says more than 100,000 teens have already preregistered to vote so they can automatically cast their ballots once they turn 18. >> i'm inspired even at a young age for

lester holt joins us next for "nightly news." >>> breaking news tonight, a dramatic showdown, facebook founder mark zuckerberg in the hot seat before congress. grilled over the misuse of your private information. >> why should we trust facebook to make the necessary changes to ensure user privacy? >> how zuckerberg responded. >> and the white house said president trump believes he has the power to fire special counsel robert mueller. is the president laying the groundwork for an explosive move after the fbi raid on his lawyer? >>> a heart-stopping escape caught on camera. a group young dancers trapped as fire tears through a building, forced to jump for their lives. >>> a major shift in diagnosing alzheimer's, before your symptoms appear. the early warning signs that could change the way you or a loved one gets treated. >>> and the moment a man sees his family for the first time. >> mom, i can see you. clear, ma. >> tonight the cutting-edge technology giving him the miraculous gift of sight. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening and welcome to our v

lester holt is next with "nightly news." >>> breaking news tonight, and it's a bombshell. the fbi raids the office of president trump's personal lawyer michael cohen. a stunning turn as the feds reportedly seize a wide range of records including payments to porn star stormy daniels. >>> also tonight, we're awaiting the president's critical decision on syria. will he order a military strike after the horrifying chemical attack? >>> was your personal data misused? facebook set to reveal who got hit as mark zuckerberg prepares to get grilled before congress. >>> a tragic mixup in that bus crash that killed ten young hockey players. >> everybody's heart is broken open for them. there is just no way to measure the pain that everybody is feeling. >> authorities say one teen who they thought survived actually perished. while another family preparing to bury their son is told he's alive. >>> an nbc news exclusive, my candid conversation with loretta lynch on clinton, comey and more. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening and thank you for joini

i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching, and good niof the bay area...the rain i here... this is a live look in san franbcisco... as a powerful storm >>> right now at six o'clock for about half of the bay area the rain is here. a live look in san francisco. that powerful storm is ready to pound the area. we are in a micro climate weather alert. >>> the news at 6 starts now. good evening thanks for being with us. >> we're talking about heavy rain and strong wind on the way. and the morning commute is going to be a challenge. at this hour clouds are forming over the golden gate bridge. let's bring in chief meteorologist. tracking the storm with help from storm ranger. >> as we see right now things are starting to get going. we have had showers developing trace amounts to 5 hundredths of an inch. we're waiting on the atmospheric river. the pineapple express to move to the south. that will point a lot of the rainfall and moisture across the bay area. in advance of the rain a flo

. >>> lester holt sits down with loretta lynch for an exclusive interview. they talk about president trump's firing of former fbi director james comey and her role in comey's investigation into hillary clinton's e-mails, including the conversation the two had about it. >> we often would have to discuss sensitive matters, sensitive issues, terrorism and the like. law enforcement policy and the like. this was a very sensitive investigation, as everyone knew. the issue when he and i sat down at that time, which i think was early in the fall of 2015, was whether or not we were ready as a department to confirm an investigation going on. >> a rare glimpse behind the scenes. watch more of this interview coming up on "nightly news" with lester holt in 20 minutes. >> the rain is gone. it's starting to feel like spring. temperatures in the 80s. a lot of cities, including san jose. don't get used to it. it's not going to last long. more rain is in the forecast. could be as early as tomorrow. the shower chances and is it really coming back? >> it's hard to believe when

i'm lester holt and this is "dateline." here's dennis murphy with "down the back staircase."

we'll see you back at 6:00 and in the meantime we will join lester holt and "nightly news."d night. >>> breaking news tonight. former first lady barbara bush has died. and the latest on the southwest airlines mid-air explosion. "nightly news" begins now. >>> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening, everyone. as we come on the air in the west, there is late word that former first lady barbara bush has died at the age of 92. her death coming just days after her family announced she would not seek further hospital treatment for heart and pulmonary disease, and instead would live out her final days with family at home in texas. mrs. bush was the wife of 73 years to president george h.w. bush, and the mother of president george w. bush and is remembered tonight as a fierce and loyal

. >> he told an nbc interview in lo lester holt the russia investigation was at fore front of his mind. >> do you have a pretty strong case of obstruction? >> you might. >>> farewell to a first lady. america remembers barbara bush. the former president paid tribute to his mother. >> here's the thing. she had great faith. she truly believes that she is -- there's an afterlife. she'll be wonderfully received in the arms of a loving god and therefore did not fear death. as a result of her soul being comforted on the death bed, my soul is comforted. >>> good day. we begin with a huge loss for this country. the passing of former first lady, barbara bush. the host of this show has been covering the bush's for years. she joined me from houston where i know you've been tracking all the political reaction. what are you hearing from the family and the political world? >> reporter: family and friends are really comforted as you heard george w say that she was a woman of enduring faith especially in recent years. she's been suffering ill health for quite some time. even though people were focused

as a reminder, lester holt is next with "nightly news." >> good night, folks. see you at 6:00. >>> tonight, bill cosby guilty on all counts. the disgraced icon convicted of sexual assault. high emotion at the courthouse and an eruption inside. cosby lashing out in an expletive laced tirade. tonight the women who came forward celebrating justice served. >> it is a victory for all sexual assault survivors. >> cosby now facing potentially the rest of his life behind bars. >>> also tonight, president trump's surprise admission and the hush money payout to stormy daniels. >>> massive explosions rock an oil refinery. nearly a dozen injured. the inferno triggering evacuations of homes schools and a hospital. >>> our first look inside that top secret mission. america's cia chief meeting with kim korea. >>> and a stunning sea of red, over 50,000 flooding arizona's capital as teachers take a stand. a movement sweeping the country. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening and thanks for being here. the slow downfall of a once widely cher

again, he says one thing to lester holt, says another thing on twitter. the absurdity of it, i don't know where to go. >> i think errol is exactly right about how problematic it is that he broadcasts he's own feelings on twitter because the president did direct attorney general jeff sessions and deputy attorney general rod rosenstein to draft a memo laying out the case for firing rod rosenstein and that memo did not mention the russia investigation or the investigation into the president or his pleas to comey to stop the investigation and comey's resistance to that, but the president says, whatever the case made in the memo, that wasn't the reason that i fired him. it was my own feelings about the russia investigation and that really is problematic and his twitter feed really does serve as a window into his personal feelings which is unprecedented, i think, in presidential history. >> he also can't just unsay on twitter what he said outloud to lester holt. the president did tweet out the official white house statement on barbra bush that was yesterday. he

he was retaking that narrative back in that lester holt interview, donald trump is the man in charge, donald trump is the decision maker, is the firer and in so doing, he has now directly contradicted what he's trying to argue now. donald trump is the one who said the russia thing was what was the real reason that he had already decided to get rid of comey before the rod rosenstein memo. it makes my head explode. >> there's two things you have to hold in your head at the same time, which is why it's exploding for a lot of people. rod rosenstein's criticism of james comey had to do with his handling of the email investigation for hillary clinton and comey's actions during that were unprecedented and completely wrong and his sanctity moan yum in his book doesn't help his case. his inappropriate discussion publicly about, you know, private conversations he had with parties involved in that investigation is why so many prosecutors current and former have gone after comey for violating the norms of how you're supposed to behave yourself. the other side of the brain deals with trump and thi

lynch went on a charm offensive with lester holt. lester holt was in a league of his own throwing soft balls. >> comey says you wanted to call it the clinton matter and you wanted to call -- and he wanted to call it an investigation. >> it was like a meeting like any other we had had where we talked about the issues. we had a full and open discussion by the. and concerns were not raised. kennedy: why did you call it a matter? good question, lester. the mysterious phoenix tarmac meeting between former president bill clinton and the freshly compromised lynch has always had a hard time explaining that they were in a conversation with grandkids and golf. this is b.s. a long conversation lasts 30 seconds. if you have an ethical bone in your body and care about the rule of law. the husband of someone under criminal investigation comes within 10 feet of you, you get the hell out of there. unless you are on the take and look to secure you're place in a future administration. if comey were the scribbling bug bear he claims, there should be no

as a reminder lester holt joins us next with "nightly news." >> see you at 6:00. bye-bye. >>> breaking news tonight, and it's a stunner, from facebook. billions of people may have had their personal information grabbed. zuckerberg doing damage control. tonight how to find out if you were affected. >>> the missed warnings about the woman who opened fire at youtube. >> the parents warned police, be careful, maybe she's angry with youtube. >> why police questioned her before the shooting. then let her go. >>> late word from the white house, president trump ordering the national guard to the border immediately. what happens when they get there. >>> the price you pay could be going up for everything from a new car to what you're buying for dinner. how an escalating trade war with china could hit your wallet hard. >>> and the powerful day of remembrance here at the lorraine motel in memphis 50 years since the loss of mlk. proof here today that his movement and his message lives on. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening. 50 years ago

nightly news is next with lester holt. >> bye. >>> breaking news tonight, horror on the sidewalk, at least nine people killed, 16 injured as a van jumps the curb plowing down pedestrians and leaving a sea of carnage in its path. >> how many people were shouting stop the car but he didn't. he just kept moving. >> witnesses say it appears to be a deliberate act. >>> a dramatic end to the waffle house gunman found hiding in the woods. how police tracked him down. >>> more planes and more passengers grounded, new emergency inspections after the deadly midair explosion and under the growing fire for safety. a hidden epidemic among children, young and suffering in silence but old enough under the law to refuse treatment. >> i just kept telling my wife that our mental health system failed. >> tonight, one family's powerful mission to warn others. >>> and baby makes three, george and charlotte get a little brother whose already made his royal debut, but what's his name? >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening, we begin with the carnage on the streets of to

lester holt is next. >>> developing news tonight. a massive teacher revolt. a major turn in a growing wave of protests nationwide over money. >> it's not about the pay raise. it's about the kids. we need funding for our schools, books, facilities, everything from our kids. >> from west virginia and arizona, now oklahoma and kentucky. teachers again rising up. walking out. declaring enough is enough. >>> stocks plunge again as china strikes back triggering new fears of a trade war. could you end up paying more for many of the things you buy? >>> a stunning revelation from the kremlin about an offer from president trump. is vladimir putin headed for a summit at the white house? >>> millions of shoppers at saka and lord & taylor hit by hackers. as more people use the new chip cards, why do these kinds of breaches keep happening? >>> and an amazing rescue. a teenager plunges 25 feet underground, found alive after being trapped for 12 hours. they're calling him a miracle survivor. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening from los

i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night.now: good evening and thanks for joining us. i )m raj math >>> the news at six starts now. good evening. >> park rangers armed with guns. it is a idea san jose is considering. rangers say they need the guns to protect thepss against increasingly violent and volatile homeless people living in parks. >> the rarngs are on patrol. and obviously homeless advocates are saying they're over reacting. >> that's right. we are at the farm in san jose. one of nine parks that rangers cover. along with 200 neighborhood parks and numerous creeks. some officials say that's a lot of territory for 19 full-time rangers to patrol. without a gun. >> reporter: she has been a ranger for 32 years. and says she's prepared for most confrontations. >> rangers have personal safety equipment. which includes pepper spray. tactical baton. >> now the city is considering arming them with guns chl especially with trying to prevent envirltal damage around

. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening and thank you for joining us on this friday. we begin with the war of words washington has been bracing for for months. the president leading a counter attack on fired fbi director james comey just hours after comey began his much anticipated book tour in which he provides the president as a congenital liar. the president firing back on twitter calling comey an untruthful slimeball. and folks, our warning if there are small kids in the room, some of the language and descriptions go down from there in comey's telling of the trump presidency. hallie jackson has details. >> reporter: tonight, battle mode and a coordinated comey assault. >> comey will be forever known as a disgraced partisan hack. >> this book should be on the fiction shelf. >> seems to me he seems like a disgruntled ex employee. >> reporter: president trump today torching his fired fbi director as an untruthful slime ball painting the president after james comey's scathing comment in a new book, painting the president as obsessed with disproving

i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. tracking the rain. a live look at the radar showing plenty of green rolling into the bay area. >>> right now at 6:00, tracking the rain. a live look at the radar showing the green rolling into the bay area. the news at 6:00 starts right now, thank you for joining us, i'm terry mcsweeney in for raj mathai. >> as you can see on the left, fremont on the right, rob mayeda tracking the rain for us. >> you can see the wind and the rain. 59 degrees, but within the last few minutes, windshield wipers running as the rain has arrived. wind speeds 20 mile the per hour, on the radar view, mainly light rain right now. but we have heavier showers offshore. we'll see rain spilling down into the south bay, this is a fairly quick-moving system it that by 9:00 should be mainly focussed on the south bay. much cooler air arrives and we will still see a chance of some rein as we get into the thursday morning commute perhaps in a few spots. so rainfall projections, you can see wetter locations around the p

. >>> lester holt is next with neat nightly news. stunning arrest investigators say they have finally caught a notorious serial killer that who has terrorized california for decades. >> we found the needle in the haystack, and it was right here in sacramento. >> the suspected killer, a former police officer. >>> also breaking, explosive new allegations again tonight against president trump's pick to lead the v.a. the white house doctor accused of recklessly dolling out prescription painkillers and wrecking a government car while drunk. >>> my exclusive interview with meek mill hours after his sudden release from prison. this is an important moment. >> this is a very important moment. >> tonight the rap star, the public outcry and calls for change. >>> a dangerous outbreak spreads more states, more people sickened. the warning about what you're feeding your family. >>> a heroic rescue caught on camera. how people banded together to save a young boy trapped under water for eight minutes. tonight, how he survived. >> announcer: this is

. >> announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. >> good evening. and welcome to our viewers in the west. for months he held his silence but tonight james comey a looming shadow over the special counsel's investigation into the trump campaign is finally telling his story. the former fbi boss fired by president trump is about to release his new book and tonight quotes attributed to that book reveal comey's interactions with the president, how he saw the limits of loyalty and what he got wrong about the clinton e-mail investigation. nbc's kristen welker has details. >> reporter: in his explosive soon-to-be released book, former fbi director james comey calls the president un-tethered to the truth, unethical, ego-driven and even compared him to fame mob hit man sammy "the bull." according to excerpts, not confirmed by nbc news, the book "a higher loyalty" gives details about interactions comey had with the president, including that infamous dinner where comey said mr. trump demanded loyalty. comey writing the president said quote, i need loyalty, i exp

lester holt joins us in about 15 minutes. >>> when it comes to our housing, nothing is shocking any more. silicon valley real estate is going for top dollar no matter what the condition. take a look at this new listing we found. this is mountainview. it needs a little work. 1.5 million bucks for this burned down home. the realtor writes the value is in the land and the location, of course. the house is located in the family oriented neighborhood on the border of mountainview and palo alto. just yesterday we told you about another burned down home going for big money. this home sold for $900,000. 100,000 over the asking price. >> no surprise. >>> firefighting is a physically dependeding and often stressful profession. >> but one south bay woman thinks her life experience has left her in the perfect position to help firefighters dealing with those challenges. >> reporter: there are many different ways to find your calling. sometimes it's something you're born in to. other times it's something that comes later in life or like shanna mcquaid it's a combination of both. >> reporter: as a plac

. >> nightly news is next with lester holt. >> we'll be back at 6:00, bye. tonight. stunning allegations about president trump's embattled veterans secretary pick just emerging hours after the president makes a jarring admission about the man he himself nominated. >> now, i know there's an experience problem because lack of experience. >>> also the french connection at the white house. glitz and glamour and a full-on charm offensive as macron scrambles to save the iran deal. >>> a husband's anguish. after that tragic explosion aboard a southwest airlines flight. >> she called to say i'm going to the airport and we said love you safe travels. >>> after a bruising retrial, the fate of bill cosby about to go to the jury. >>> david copperfield takes the stand after a magic trick mishap forced to reveal the secrets behind one of his most famous acts. >>> and beyond the doorstep. amazon now offering deliveries to your car even when you're not in it. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening and welcome stew our vito our views in the west.

that was a more spontaneous statement, think, that he made to lester holt.arry more weight. one other thing, if i could say. it is not just that statement -- which is very telling. he said explicitly there that he fired him because of the russia thing. but it is everything else. this is what prosecutors do. they look not just at one piece of evidence but many pieces together and piece them together. and it is other things that trump has said and done, like the statement to comey to see his way to let flynn go, to his reported desires to fire mueller. these are just two examples and there's many more of things that all lead to the idea that what he said back there to lester holt, that's the real reason. >> even this morning, in his tweet about this, he said -- he called it the phony russia investigation. could you use that to say, hey, listen. he clearly doesn't like this investigation, he very clearly doesn't respect this investigation, he's calling it phony. does that add in to intent at all? >> i think it does, in part. i think really what you've got to ge

. >>> this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. >>> good evening and welcome to our viewers in the west. that's where we begin tonight. there are multiple casualties at the san francisco area headquarters of youtube after a woman opened fire there this afternoon. the call went out as a possible active shooter at the social media campus and officers were met with employees running from the building. at least four were hurt and the suspect is dead. jolene kent has details. >> reporter: today terror inside youtube headquarters. shots fired just before 1:00 p.m. >> we have reports of a subject with a gun. seven or eight shots being fired. >> reporter: police storming youtube alongside fire and s.w.a.t. teams. employees escaped with their hands up. law enforcement says the shooter was female, and multiple sources tell nbc news she died at the scene. >> we have four victims who have all been transported for gunshot-related injuries. and we have one subject who is deceased inside the building with a self-inflicted wound. >> they identified a female in a white shirt. that's one we have down in

. >>> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening, everyone. as we come on the air in the west, there is late word that former first lady barbara bush has died at the age of 92. her death coming just days after her family announced she would not seek further hospital treatment for heart and pulmonary disease, and instead would live out her final days with family at home in texas. mrs. bush was the wife of 73 years to president george h.w. bush, and the mother of president george w. bush and is remembered tonight as a fierce and loyal defender of her family. here's nbc's peter alexander with more on her remarkable life. >> reporter: barbara bush, the former first lady was always known to be candid and caring. with her white air and signature pearls, she was often thought of as the nation's favorite grandmother. aides called her the national treasure. the treasure, for surer shosur short. >> reporter: it was her husband who saw her as matter of fact and lovingly calling her miss frank. >> she earned and won the respect of a lot of people because

nbc's lester holt has that story. >> why do you think there's a need for women in space?e thing as is there a need for men in space. >> reporter: almost 60 years ago a doctor hired by nasa to screen the all-male astronaut candidates decided to give the same intense exams to women pilots with big dreams. >> i really wanted to be in space to see -- to get an idea of what the universe looked like. >> reporter: sarah ratley and so did 12 others known as the mercury 13. when president lyndon johnson found out, he wrote in a memo, "let's stop this now." but the mercury 13 were determined to prove women had the right stuff. >> do you think it will be difficult for a woman astronaut to also have a family? >> i've accomplished the production of eight children and in the process of raising them, and i've still been able to acquire 2,000 hours of flying time and considerable aeronautic experience. >> reporter: their dreams were grounded but their fight lay the groundwork for future women. >> this was a frontier for women to go on to do things, that we were going to get through that

we just want to rejoin that part of lester holt's exclusive interview with clara ester. lege student who had gone to the lorraine hotel for dinner, heard the disaster and ran to his rescue. let's watch. >> lester, i can't tell you how my little feet got up to that balcony, but i remember stepping over his body to where wound was. i checked for a pulse, which was just literally no beat at all. >> and 50 years later, after dr. martin luther king jr. was killed on that balcony at the lorraine motel in memphis, his death led, of course, to an eruption of violent protests around the country and to soul searching for many americans both in and outside the movement. nbc special news correspondent has more from memphis on dr. king's legacy. >> there was just something about him that made us know that he was headed to great places. >> reporter: after college, king joined his father at ebenezer baptist church as a minister. when i was a young reporter in atlanta i came here to ebenezer baptist to hear dr. king preach one sunday morning. as he began to soar, his father leaned forwar

when they say one thing and the president says another, but you can see what the president told lester holt and what he tweeted this morning, sometimes it comes from the top. >> the problem for president trump is president trump. kaitlan collins in florida, thank you very much. let's discuss this and we are joined by chief legal analyst jeffrey toobin and dana bash. up is down, black is white and night is day as we deal with this statement from the president. it is odd. does he think we're going to not remember? is he trying to blur the lines here? any sense? >> all of the above. i just think if you kind of look at this with the big picture lens, you wonder why his attorneys don't want him to talk to robert mueller. i mean, exhibit a right here on the silver platter, mr. president. you know, if you're tweeting out something that directly contradicts a statement that you made on camera to a network television anchor, you're going to be in trouble. so, you know, this is classic donald trump in that he really doesn't have regard for things that he said before because in his world it doesn't ma

it was pretty clear in that interview with lester holt and we know from our own reporting at time heivid about the russia investigation. >> and take a listen to what comey told the ladies of "the view" about this tweets. >> why do you believe you were fired? >> i don't know. i took him at his word when he told that to lester holt and i read -- in the media that he also said that privately to the russians the next day in the oval office. i think that illustrates part of the problem i'm trying to bring up. that it matters that the president is not committed to the truth. >> josh, at the end of the day, does the president need reason to fire the fbi director? >> well there is a legal answer and a political answer. the legal answer is no. the president could remove a director for any reason or as comey said no reason whatsoever. there is the political reason. as we talk about the destruction of norms that we've seen with this administration, these vital guard rails that we have that are now going out the window. one of those long been it has to be a big deal to remove an fbi director. yo

that is not what the president said to our own lester holt just last year. watch. >> regardless of recommendation, i was going to fire comey. knowing there was no good time do it. and, in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a made-up story, it's an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election. >> joining us now is jill winebanks who's an assistant watergate prosecutor and nbc contribute pert reaction to what you just heard there, the tweet and then with the president said to lester last year. >> i would say that his statement to lester holt is the one that i believe. he fired james comey because he wanted to interfere with the russia investigation, plain and simple. and he can keep saying the opposite, it's not going to make it true. he can keep capitalizing no collusion and that's not going to make it true either. >> you had james comey out this morning, the president clearly seems to be agitated by this. jill, james comey spoke this morning on the today show with savannah

. >> but he told lester holt and then to make a decision to fire you. so the worst fbi director in history was not fired because of the phony russian investigation. >> he did say that we have that on tape. >> why do you believe you were fired? speemac i don't know i took his word when he said that to lester holt he also said that to the russians the next day in the oval office. i took him at his word. today's tweet then that illustrates part of the problem that it matters so i don't know what to make about it. >> you are those of us in washington that he should not be fbi director and then to be in the swamp and then had to work with james comey and said watch your back. and the way he described the whole thing. >> working for the fbi you are not working for democrats or republicans but the american people. that is the attitude that is reacting against. but if you are the fbi director instead of to the rule of law. >> a you were faulting donald trump? >> to stand in front of a jury but i'm not raisins very well but but does james comey come across as a

less than a year earlier, the president told nbc's lester holt the opposite. >> regardless of recommendation, i was going to fire comey knowing there was no good time to do it. in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a made up story. it's an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election that they should have won. >> after the tweet, comey said on abc's "the view" he takes the president at his original word that the russia probe was his motivation. >> i have seen the tweet. both of those things can't be true. that illustrates part of the problem i'm trying to bring up. it matters the president is not committed to the truth as a central american value. >> you have heard from james comey, but you have not heard him answer jake's questions. the comey interview with jake tapper today at 4:00 eastern. >> very much looking forward to that interview. >>> the president trying to downplay reports he is poised to fire the special counsel and deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. >> they have been saying i'm going to g

kaitlin, i think we should go back to the original sound where the president sat with lester holt and said one thing and now he's saying another. >> reporter: the president has essentially debunked his own tweet with his own words. the white house maintained for roughly 48 hours or so that he was only fired by president trump because of this memo written by the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein and the attorney general jeff sessions. that was it. it had nothing to do with the russia investigation. and then the president threw cold water on that just two days later when during this interview with lester holt he said this -- >> but regardless of recommendation i was going to fire comey knowing there was no good time to do it in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a made-up story, it's an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election that they should have won. >> reporter: so you see there in the president's own words, regardless of that recommendation, i was going to fire him. brooke, it's not just that in

i took him at his word when he told that to lester holt then i read he also said it privately to the russians, i took him at his words. today's tweet which i have seen, both of those things can't be true. that illustrates part of the problem that i am trying to bring up, it matters that the president is not committed to the truth. so i don't know what to make of it. >> the danger at taking him at his word. or prone to rewriting. joining me now is new york times correspond matthew rosenberg. the idea that he would just revise that reasoning now, is the rest of us don't remember it seems incredible. >> there is a lot about the trump presidency that seems incredible. and not even two years into the thing here. what we are seeing here, is this unusual friendliness toward russia. and we are still seeing it. we saw it in the refusal to implement the latest round of sanctions. there is relationship here that we don't fully understand or isn't fully explainable. and comey seems to be caught up in the wrong side of that. >> it was from your reporting and others from the no"new york times." an

. >> he told lester holt he had the russia thing on his mind in making the decision to fire you. he recently tweet to the that the the russia thing wasn't a factor, he was not fired because of the phony russia investigation. he did say it. we have it on tape. he changed his mind. >> why do you believe you were fired? >> i don't know. i took him at his word when he told that to lester holt and he also said privately to the russians the next day in the oval office so i took him at his word. today's tweet, both of those things can't be true, that illustrates part of the problem i'm trying to bring up that it matters the pres. is not committed to the truth as a central american value. i don't know what to make of it. >> i can tell you this, there were those of us in washington beating on the white house door figuratively saying get rid of comey because he should not be fbi director. my criticism of the pres.'s he did not fire monday one. someone who lived more in the swamp as he have. a dear friend of mine had to work with comey and said watch your back. this is continuing. basically

and the deputy attorney general like the white house maintained before the president admitted to lester holt. but we know at the time that planning the firing for james comey is something that white house aides had been doing for days, as well as what the president told the russian officials the next day, that firing comey had relieved pressure from the russia investigation on him, as well. but you might ask the question, why is the president tweet thing a year after he fired james comey? i think it's important to remind viewers that the special counsel robert mueller is interested in talking to the president about the firing of james comey and what it had to do with the russia investigation. >> thank you so much for that. joining me now, we have gloria borger and david gregory with us, as well. you wrote a piece called "the run away president." what are your sources right now telling you about where his mind is in all of this? >> they're saying that he's completely unmanageable. he's told our colleague -- one source told pamela brown that he's apapletic over the michael cohen raid. i've bee

this question on what donald trump said in that lester holt interview and why he fired james comey ands is key to the question of obstruction of justice. is this a perfect example of why donald trump's attorneys might not want him to face an interview with bob mueller? >> it's exactly the reason they don't want him talking about this and he's setting himself up for some dandy cross-examination in some phase and it is another version, when he told the russians when he visited the oval office unannounced to the rest of the world, and you know, he must be slipping a little bit. he's called comey a slime ball and now he's calling him slippery, and he's generally, very good and genius coming up with nicknames and these names don't stick at all to me. ye i don't see where they come from. regardless of the nickname, jim, his attorneys have been concerned about donald trump talking to mueller's team. we know that, but also his attorneys and basically it means that everyone else around him has also been concerned about him talking about another topic and telling him to stay away from another to

. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening, i'm savannah guthrie in tonight for lester. with a smile, handshake and a stroll, the leaders of north and south korea stunned the world with their agreement to seek peace on the korean peninsula after more than six decades of hostilities. it's a long way from just last summer when north korea the and u.s. are exchanging threats of nuclear war and while words and images are remarkable tonight, the question will north korea really give up nukes and can president trump help get it done. nbc's chief global correspondent bill neely leading us off. >> reporter: a small step for kim jong-un, a leap into history as the first north korean leader to set foot in the south. hand and hand with its president moon and briefly stepping back in the north. unthinkable just months ago, this was a day of high hopes. the peace era starts now kim said, but no promise here to get rid of his nuclear weapons. no more war said president moon, a peace treaty their eventual goal. they talked for eight and a half hours. kim's nuclear a

donald trump thinks we've all lost that lester holt video that was two days after the firing. >> regardlesss going to fire comey, knowing there was no good time to do it. and, in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story, it's an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election that they should have won. >> the republican party has done something that no party has ever done before. it has set up a special attack website specifically to attack a former director of the fbi. this is the same republican party that james comey has been registered in most of his life. but not anymore. >> do you still consider yourself a republican? >> no. no. the republican party has left me and many others. i need no better evidence than their new website, which i think is lying comey, maybe, attacking me. i just think they lost their way. i can't be associated with it. >> that puts james comey in line with columnists and leading thingers such as jennifer reuben who have also left the party. they join the discussion next.

lynch's comments come in an exclusive interview with nbc's lester holt. >> comey says you want to call it the clinton matter and he wants to call it the clinton investigation. to the extent he noted it and bothered him, did he go to you and question your credibility with regard to the clinton case? >> well, i can tell you that, it was a meeting like any other that we had where we talked about the issues and had a full and open discussion about it. >> this full interview airs tonight on "nightly news." watch at 5:30 tonight here on nbc bay area. >>> palo alto leaders will consider a step in lowering noise levels from airplanes flying above the city. they'll consider filing suit against the faa. city leaders believe it's been worse since 2015 when the agent changed flight plans. >>> in a if you weeks people in concord will have an alternative to pg&e. teaming up with mce out of the north bay to provide energy from renewable sources. people will automatically be enrolled in the new service unless they opt out. tg and e will be an option forever for residents. tonight's town hall meet bein

i'm lester holt. thanks for watching. >>> good morning. i'm gigi stone woods in new york at msnbc world headquarters. it is 7:00 out east, 4:00 out west. here's what is happening. breaking news out of syria where the state department is monitoring reports of a chemical attack that may have killed dozens. we'll have the latest. >>> and a deadly fire in trump tower in new york. details on where the first family was when the flames broke out. >>> and is john kelly coming undone? new reports of the chief of staff blowing up, threatening to quit. meanwhile -- >> the president feels that the administrator has done a good job at epa. >> justified. why the president doubled down on the epa chief and what he's doing about the excessive spending. >>> we begin with breaking news from syria. u.s. state department officials are keeping a possible eye on a chemical attack against civilians. dozens were killed and 22 young children are among the dead. the place took place in the city of douma near the capital damascus. syrian government forces have been

it was in that lester holt interview when he said he fired jim comey he was thinking of russia. gave one of the most damaging pieces of evidence to the obstruction of justice case. >> said i was going to fire him all along because i didn't like the way the russia investigation was going. >> that's exactly right. and since then they've stopped doing tv interviews with reporters that will ask aggressive questions. even with the friendly est possible reporters you can come up with, you saw the president trying to be -- being cut off by the fox and friends anchors. they knew he was doing himself damage and wanted to cut him off. in fact, ended the interview at the end. it is an extraordinary thing. we've heard a lot of reasons why people don't want to work for the president, lawyers don't want to work for the president. one you, john dowd said he didn't listen to advice. two, he might not pay them. three, a lot of lawyers don't want to work for someone whose central strategy is an assault on the rule of law. i think one of the other things you see he constantly does damage to his ow

nightly news is next with lester holt. >> bye. >>> breaking news tonight, horror on the sidewalk, at least nine people killed, 16 injured as a van jumps the curb plowing down pedestrians and leaving a sea of carnage in its path. >> how many people were shouting stop the car but he didn't. he just kept moving. >> witnesses say it appears to be a deliberate act. >>> a dramatic end to the waffle house gunman found hiding in the woods. how police tracked him down. >>> more planes and more passengers grounded, new emergency inspections after the deadly midair explosion and under the growing fire for safety. a hidden epidemic among children, young and suffering in silence but old enough under the

the president later told visiting russian officials in the oval office and he told lester holt on nbcews that the firing of james comey did have to do with the russia investigation. the president just yesterday made public claims that firing james comey was the right thing to do. the president has spent the last year denouncing james comey as a liar, saying he's somebody who lied publicly about his interactions with the president before he was fired by the president. well, these notes which we believe are dana boente's firsthand handwritten notes from his conversation with comey after that march 30th call, this is the first contemporaneous evidence that we, the public, have seen of what james comey told other public officials at the time about the president's behavior. as best as we can tell, it absolutely matches his public statements about the president's behavior. now, we have a few other documents that we have obtained that we are still reporting out. this is what we've got so far. i should tell you, we have reached out to the justice department, no comment. we've reached out to t

lester holt will be back tomorrow. i'm craig melvin for all of us here at nbc news. have a great night. we continu developing story out of san francisco. a man resting at a >>> right now, we follow a developing story out of san francisco. a man resting at a park hit by a falling tree on this easter sunday. the news at 6:00 starts right now. thank you for joining us. the accident happened at mcclaren park. we have been at the park for two hours. what's the latest? >> reporter: i spoke with the fire department. they say they are thankful that the man who was hit by this tree was not seriously injured. he was sitting somewhere in this area. from the looks of it, this tree is not as big or thick as some of the other trees in the path. park rangers wrapped up the

>> concern also not raised. >> you can catch more of lester holt's exclusive interview with the formertonight on "nbc nightly news." she talks about whether comey should have been fired, her tarmac meeting with bill clinton during the 2016 campaign. her stands on civil rights issues and more tonight on nbc. we are back with more "mtp daily" after this break. that's why at safelite, we'll show you exactly when we'll be there. with a replacement you can trust. all done sir. >> grandpa: looks great! >> tech: thanks for choosing safelite. >> grandpa: thank you! >> child: bye! >> tech: bye! saving you time... so you can keep saving the world. >> kids: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace ♪ with exciting new dishes like lobdueling lobster tails.r. and lobster truffle mac & cheese. classics like lobster lover's dream are here too. so enjoy these 10 lobsterlicious dishes now. because lobsterfest ends april 22nd. touch is how we communicate with those we love, but does psoriasis ever get in the way? embrace the chance of 100% clear skin with taltz. for people with moderate to severe psoriasis, u