see the heaviest rain and winds at 4-mile-per-hour. this weekend, just a few showers. >> we'll be prepared. >> bye. stroller britax pentagontrump unloads in a fiery, combative press conference listing successes, airing grievances, placing blame, denying allegations. a scene unlike any in history. a day without immigrants in cities across the country, stores sk stores and streets shut down, kids out of school in a boycott. food sold by, used by. when is the real expiration date? we're in confusion about when it's still safe to eat. you might be surprised. what in the world? the highly anticipated sequel to the reality show that stunned audiences. you might say it's the

greatest show on earth. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening to our viewers in the west. it's been written about from the left as a meltdown and heralding on the right as the trashing of the media in an epic news conference. whether viewed from the right, left or center, what we witnessed at today's news conference by president trump is unlike anything we've heard from behind a presidential podium. a marathon session of combative exchanges that pushed decorum aside and provided a telling glimpse into the mind of a president pressured as well as that at a frustrated and at times defensive press corps. all of that overshadowing the news mr. trump came to announce, his nomination of florida law school dean alexander acosta as labor secretary.

white house correspondent kristen welker had a front row seat. >> reporter: it was a news conference like no other. >> i turn on the tv, open the newspapers and i see stories of chaos. chaos. yet it's the exact opposite. this administration is running like a fine tuned machine. >> reporter: in a fiery hour and 17 minutes, the president touting his accomplishments and larking out, trying to reset after a chaotic start to his presidency. >> i inherited a mess. it's a mess. the tone is such hatred. i'm really not a bad person, by the way. the tone is such -- i do get good ratings. you have to admit that. the tone is such hatred. >> reporter: for the first time addressing why he fired his national security adviser mike flynn who misled the vice president about discussing sanctions

with russia. >> mike flynn is a fine person. i asked for his resignation. he respectfully gave it. he is a man who -- there was a certain amount of information given to vice president pence who is with us today. i was not happy with the way that information was given. >> did you direct mike flynn to discuss sanctions with the russian ambassador prior to your inauguration? >> no, i didn't. >> would you have fired him if it hadn't leaked out? >> i fired him because of mike pence. that's his job. >> reporter: the president repeatedly pressed on whether anyone from his campaign had contact with the russians. zd we h-- zd. >> we had a very, very good talk. i have nothing to do with russia. no person i deal with does. >> reporter: blaming flynn's outster on leakers. >> i've called the justice department to look into the leaks. those are criminal leaks. they're put out by

people either in agencies -- i think you'll see it stopping because now we have our people. >> reporter: after touting leaks against hillary clinton as a candidate -- >> i love reading those wikileaks. >> reporter: -- today he addressed the irony. >> wikileaks comes out to give -- they're not giving classified information. nobody mentions that hillary received the questions to the debates. can you imagine, seriously -- can you imagine if i received the questions? it would be the electric chair. >> reporter: the president may have caused more confusion when asked if he believes this latest round of leaks. >> the leaks are real. the news is fake because so much of the news is fake. >> reporter: >> reporter: he insisted the negative headlines could hurt chances for a russian reset in a jarring response. >> if we could get along with russia that's a positive thing. the greatest thing i can do is shoot that

ship that's 30 miles offshore right out of water. everyone will say that's so great. that's not great. that's not great. >> reporter: the news conference started with the president listing what he called successes, creating jobs, starting the process of building a wall, trying to enact an order on extreme vetting. and he listed others. >> in each of these actions i'm keeping my promises to the american people. these are campaign promises. >> reporter: the president still won't let the election go. again boasting about his 304-electoral vote win, calling it the biggest since ronald reagan despite the fact that president obama and george h.w. bush exceeded him. >> why should americans trust you? >> it was a substantial victory. do you agree with that? >> reporter: there was a discussion about race and religion. he asked if he will work with the congressional black caucus to help fix inner cities. >> do you want to set up the meeting? >> >> no. i'm the reporter. >> reporter: addressed the second day in a

row about the uptick of hate crimes in the jewish community. >> i'm the least anti-semitic person you've seen in your entire life. number two, racism, the least racist person. >> reporter: the president defiant until the very end. >> we lived in a divided nation, and i'm going to try, i will do everything within my power to fix that. >> reporter: a white house official tells nbc news vice admiral robert harwood has declined the position to serve as national security adviser, at this point the white house not giving a reason. at the news conference, the president seemed to relish every moment. in fact, his aide sitting right in front of me started rapping him at the end. lester? >> an extraordinary day at the white house. thank you. we're joined by chuck todd. i was scanning the digital spectrum trying to see what's said.

it seems to play well with his base. folks saying this is what we sent you there for. how is it playing in the halls of power, specially republicans in congress? >> i want to reinforce one point. i think the president had more fun today than he's had on the job since he took the oath of office. i think he enjoyed all of that sparring. before the press conference, there's been an uneasy feeling particularly in capitol hill, frustration about when are we going to start the legislation process on obamacare or tax reform. there's been this unease about mike flynn, the russian investigation. never mind the failure of the first labor nominee. a lot of unease. that press conference did nothing to somehow cause those members to be less uneasy. that's the issue he's dealing with. i think he had a goal today which is to fire up his base and to try to stop the russia bleeding a little bit and make the enemy the press corps, but did it help him accomplish his agenda on capitol hill? i don't think so. >> thank you. another topic the

president discussed today, the threat from isis. tonight we're learning the pentagon is readying options for the president that could escalate action on the ground in syria by possibly sending more american troops to take otter ror group. hans nichols has details. >> reporter: tonight two senior defense officials telling nbc news this month president trump is expected to be presented with the option of more u.s. troops in syria. a possible answer to his request to accelerate the fight against isis. they will join special forces already there. possibly hundreds of troops on a support mission helping to train and advise along with helicopters and artillery. the president still needs to sign off on any plan. aplan. while the president has suggested russia might be a partner in the isis fight. today meeting with nato allies defense secretary james mattis making clear that cooperation is not imminent. >> we're not in a position right now to collaborate on a

military level. russia will have to prove itself first and live up to the commitments they have made. >> reporter: a tough tone on russia from another member of the national security team. secretary of state rex tillerson traveling on his diplomatic passport for the first time, meeting with russia's foreign minister. >> we expect russia honor its commitment to the minsk agreements and work to deescalate the violence in the ukraine. >> reporter: the relationship with russia likely to be a topic when mike pence joins mattis. lester. >> thank you. president trump vowed to roll out a new executive order next week replacing his travel ban blocked by the courts. today in protest of the president's stance on immigration, thousands took part in a nationwide day without immigrants, as it's being called. organizers urged immigrants to not work, not shop or go to school to show their importance to the u.s. economy

leading a number of businesses to close for the day. nbc's gadi schwartz has more. >> reporter: in many of the same neighborhoods where i.c.e. agents rounded up undocumented immigrants last week, stores closed in protest. >> it looks like a ghost town. >> reporter: they are shutting down streets as well. in places like chicago, minneapolis and atlanta, demonstrations lashing out against president trump's executive orders on immigration, his comments on mexico and recent deportations of undocumented immigrants. hoping the president sees her marching with her mother. >> there's families that are happy here with their family and america's already great with all immigrants here. >> you built all this? >> reporter: in this denver bakery, she shows us what would be a bustling kitchen. >> we would be really busy at this time. she em great -- i

immigrated to the united states with a backpack and less than $300. today she's closing down two of her stores at the cost of thousands of dollars but says it's about principal. >> we came with dreams. the dream i'm living, the american dream, i want to pass that to every employee that i have here. >> reporter: schools seeing a drop in attendance. some seeing more than half of students missing class. walkouts across the country, including dallas where students at molina high school formed an impromptu marching band. a teacher said only 7 out of 26 students showed up. her teachable moment to give a lesson as tens of thousands send a message that america is a nation of immigrants. gadi schwartz, nbc news, denver. now to the record-shattering surge on wall street and what it means for your investments, your retirement funds. a lot of people are wondering how long it will last. some analysts urging caution. here's business correspondent jo ling

kent. >> reporter: despite political volatility the markets are soaring. the dow rising 13%. these record highs the longest winning streak since 2013. president trump taking credit for the rally fweet -- tweeting great level of confidence and optimism even before the tax plan rollout. >> he says he wants to deregulate the financial system. financial stocks and banks have done well. >> gold man saxe -- goldman sachs claiming 37% since election day. wells fargo up 28%. analysts say history shows market downturn may be coming. >> i would not be surprised and nor should anybody at home be surprised to see a 3, 5, 7% pull back in the market. no reason for anybody to panic and go it's over. >> reporter: retired social worker sharon is always cautious. >> some people who are retired like to go with the gyrations of the market. i'm not one of those people. i'm very conservative. always have been. >> reporter: they advise to play the

long game. don't be distracted by ups and downs. if you're nearing retirement, consider bonds as an alternative. >> investors should always be cautious, even in an upward market. >> reporter: making the most of the market bull or bear. nbc news, los angeles. still ahead as we continue here this evening, spoiler alert. those expiration dates on your food may not mean what you think. a big change to end the confusion and slash the hundreds of billions of dollars in food americans throw away every year. also the urgent safety recall on a popular product for infants and toddlers.

we're back now with news that will affect anyone that's ever looked at a food label and tried to figure out is it still safe to eat. when is the real expiration date? the food industry announces plans to cut through the confusion with more easy to understand language. it will soon be coming to a grocery store near you. >> reporter: safe to assume nearly all of us have at some point done a food label double take. sell by, best by, enjoy by, use by, best if used by. 15 to 20 variations of that message appear on food labels today. >> sometimes the label is wrong. i know i have that problem sometimes. they say use it by a certain time and the milk is still fine. >> i think i would do the smell test to see if it smells like it's on the verge of rotting or spoiling. >> reporter: now two food industry giants

are moving to simplify the language to just two new standard phrases. "best if used by" will describe product quality before it begins to diminish though not necessarily become unsafe. think cookies, krakz crackers and pasta. while "used by" will apply to the products highly perishable or eaten by a certain date before they pose a certain issue. think protein like chicken, beef and seafood. as for milk and yogurt, companies will decide which label is best. >> because there's so many different phrases and because consumers are confused by what they mean, consumers might be throwing food away when it's still perfectly good or perfectly safe to eat. >> reporter: americans throw away a lot of food. 30 to 40% of all food is wasted, equaling 20 pounds of food per person per month. >> when it doubt, throw it out. >> reporter: it should save families money. the simplified food labels should be in place by summer of 2018.

tom costello, nbc news, washington. we're back in a moment with new details in the airport assassination of kim jong-un's half brother.

there are new developments tonight after that stunning airport assassination in malaysia. a estranged half brother of kim jong-un poisoned as he waited for a flight. there is word of another arrest. we're seeing the north korean leader for the first time since his one time rival's death. keir simmons has details. >> reporter: north korea's dictator grim faced today at a ceremony to mark his late father's birthday as confirmation came as his father's son, the ruler's half brother was the victim of monday's brazen, daylight assassination. speculation raising that kim jong-un ordered the attack of kim jong-nam. he was distracted by a

woman while another female poisoned him at the check in counter. police confirming this woman is a suspect wearing a shirt printed with lol for laugh out loud. two women now under arrest and a boyfriend, police say. some reports claim they thought it was a prank, an act of terrorism one senior south korean lawmaker calls it accusing kim jong-un of killing over a family feud. >> several years ago he killed his own uncle. >> now you believe he's killed his half brother? >> yes, i'm sure. >> reporter: kim jong-nam feared that orders to kill him would be sent from across the river in north korea. he's even said to have pleaded for his brother to spare his life. north korea north korean officials tried to persuade malaysian police not to carry out an autopsy.

his body may be sent back to the very country accused of ordering his execution. keir simmons, nbc news, seoul, south korea. a major safety recall has been announced on a popular brand of strollers. britax is recalling 700,000 of its strollers sold in the u.s. since 2011. this after dozens of reports of the stroller's detachable car seat becoming unfastened without warning causing children to fall, injuring at least 26 so far. to see if your model is included visit our facebook page. when we come back, you need an escape? we have your passport. the most spectacular places on planet earth. a new storm is building.2shot js

the uniq wahis one isrolling in take raj vo plus, zi fears forca nbc bay area responds nex evaca= finally tonight, you feel like getting away from it all? we've got just the thing. beginning this weekend you can escape to the most exotic, stunning locations around the world with a premiere of the long-awaited to the follow-up epic docuseries planet earth. we help kick off your journey. >> reporter: so extraordinary is the story of our planet you could say it's worthy of a sequel. >> we will journey to every corner of the globe. >> reporter: this saturday planet earth

ii premieres on b brks krrc america, a decade after the original stunned audiences with its sweeping view of the world. >> the first one was observed looking down on the planet. plan either -- planet earth ii is done with the animals. >> reporter: film makers capture an intimate view of the animals like the slow motion journey of a lovelorned sloth or the battle between kimodo dragons competing for a mate. >> we're trying to put you into the animal's world. people can draw their own conclusions about what life might be like for them. >> reporter: we sat down with the executive producer and elizabeth white. she produced and directed the first episode about islands which features a heart pounding scene that shows iguana hatchlings trying to

outrun a snake. >> it's more fascinating than a car chase. >> it's impossible not to be impressed. >> reporter: narrated by david atinburo. each focuses on a setting, mountains, jungles, grasslands and cities. the series shines a light on various challenges facing this fragile planet, the product of two years of filming across 40 different countries, an herculean effort. an effort uncovering true life stories that make planet earth the ultimate reality star. joe frier, nbc news, los angeles. >> pretty amazing planet. that's going to do it for us on this thursday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. below the face of this dam.uns:

==je/take vo=right now at 6: a w i wouldn't want to have a million dollar home in the face of the dam. >> right now at 6:00, a new warning as new rain approaches. the swollen reservoir triggers flooding worries this time in the south bay. the news at 6:00 starts right now. good evening. i'm jessica aguirre. >> and i'm raj mathai. another storm is at our doorstep. each storm triggers various problems. let's take you outside right now. a live look in san francisco on your left and of course san jose. we're seeing a nice break from the rain but more rain is on the way, just in time for this holiday weekend. you can see the green on the

radar there. that storm is coming in. >> we have several reports for you. we begin with michelle roberts concerning the anderson reservoir which is in the south bay. >> reporter: i'm 20 miles away from the anderson reservoir. but the water overflows, it will flow down coyote creek. we're in san jose right now. and the mobile home park behind me has been vulnerable to flooding in the past when the reservoir over flows. the base of the dam has become a bit of a tourist destination. many are fascinated as millions of gallons of water being released into the creek below. >> i worry about the people below. i wouldn't want to have a million dollar home at the base of this dam.