handy. >> sure. thanks for joining us. nightly news is next. we'll be be back at 6:00. see you then. tonight, banned on board. laptops and tablets outlawed and banned on the cabin. new intelligence pushing the u.s. and britain to ban anything bigger than a smartphone. the president's personal appeal to republicans fall short and tonight the gop healthcare plan is on life support. can it be saved less than 48 hours until the vote? trump supreme court nominee faces an intense barrage from democrats. police shooting tragedy. officers charged with murder after opening fire on a car killing a 6-year-old boy with autism. grocery store wars. for the first time in decades supermarket prices are going down. how consumers are saving. birthday surprise for a big crush on a mega movie star.

"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. we learn more today about what's behind those surprise restrictions on passenger electronics on some airline flights as a major u.s. ally imposes its own tighter rules. american security officials are temporarily banning passengers from bringing devices larger than a smartphone in the cabin of planes traveling to the u.s. from parts of the middle east or africa. we learn today it's not in response to a specific threat, but is based on some recent intelligence. how concerned should the traveling public be? nbc's miguel almaguer

has details. >> reporter: the new security measure affects some 50 u.s. bound flights each day and in most carry on electronic devices after elevated intelligence indicating terror groups continue to target planes, smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items. the ban involves ten airlines in mostly muslim countries in the middle east and africa with direct flights to the u.s. nine overseas airlines will no longer allow passengers to carry on devices larger than a smartphone. laptops, tablets and cameras will now need to be checked. >> you almost never see a warning this specific about specific airlines, specific cities and specific devices. it means, to me, the intelligence is very detailed and very concrete. >> reporter: u.s. counterterrorism officials say new intelligence, but not a specific threat, is the reason for the change. airlines given four days to implement the new rules. >> the four days is not enough for the bad

guys to really develop and build devices. it is enough time for the local authorities and for the airlines to get organized. >> reporter: u.s. officials point to past attempts to hide explosives in shoes, underwear and a laptop. used in this bombing attempt in somalia. today, the uk followed suit announcing a similar ban. for some passengers, a major inconvenience. >> if they don't have it, they'll go wild in the flight especially 13-hour flight. >> reporter: but tonight, new security measures are taking flight, changing how some fly into the u.s. to keep the homeland safe. tonight there is no indication how long this temporary ban will remain into effect like countries like canada decide if they will impose these new restrictions. as for safety concerns, experts say all of these electronics, many of them with lithium-ion

batteries being checked into the cargo hold pose no significant threat in the belly of the aircraft. lester? >> thank you. one of president trump's major campaign promises is in major trouble. the gop's repeal and replace of obamacare, something they vowed to do for years, is facing stiff internal resistance in spite a personal appeal from the president. with two days until the vote, republicans are still short of the vote needed for passage. nbc's hallie jackson has details. >> reporter: the art of this deal is more about the math and tonight it doesn't add up for the president as much as he might want it to. >> we had a great meeting. i think we're going to get a winner vote. >> reporter: even after he and his team stormed capitol hill, our analysis shows 27 house republicans oppose it or lean no. at least six of them would have to flip otherwise the bill will fail. a quick death for something republicans spent seven years promising to do.

>> thursday is our chance to end obamacare. >> reporter: that's why, with just 48 hours left, the president's working the room with a warning. not backing the bill could infuriate voters, costing lawmakers their jobs. >> is that an implied threat from the president to the members who don't back this bill? >> no, i think it's a reality. republican congressman mark meadows understands the risk of rejecting it. >> it's a temporary job. i've known that from day one. >> reporter: leaders scramble to make changes overnight. like on funding for medicaid, which could end up covering fewer people. in kentucky, a state donald trump won easily, aaron louis relies on medicaid. >> there are people like me who work full time, we work hard but we still can't afford health insurance and this program covers us. >> reporter: it gives help to seniors but that's not guaranteed. if the bill passes, a critical victory for a president who wants to win. if not, a stinging slap that could cripple his agenda. >> president trump was here to do what he

does best and that is to close the deal. he is all in and we are all in to end this obamacare nightmare. >> reporter: the president will need every tool he has to pass his biggest political test in this administration so far. the strategy for now, a mix of sweet talk and tough talk to try to prove he can be the negotiator in chief, one with a long memory and a lot on the line. lester? >> hallie jackson at the white house, thank you. and on this very busy day there in washington, the president's nominee for the supreme court, neil gorsuch came under intense questioning at his confirmation hearing and he's proving tough for democrats to rattle. our justice correspondent pete williams has details on that. >> reporter: judge neil gorsuch says he never promised trump or anyone else involved in selecting him that he would vote a certain way on the hot button issue of abortion even though donald trump made overturning the ruling

a point in his campaign. >> i'm pro-life. i will be appointing pro-life judges. >> reporter: gorsuch says he met mr. trump when he was interviewed for the job. >> in that interview, did he ever ask you to overrule roe v. wade? >> no. >> what would you have done? >> senator, i would have walked out the door. >> reporter: he declined to say what he would do if confirmed and it reached the court. >> republican congressman recently said the best thing the president can do for his muslim ban is to make sure he has gorsuch on the supreme court. >> senator, a lot of people say a lot of silly things. he has no idea how i'd rule. >> reporter: though the questions were pointed, even the democrats find it hard to dislike neil gorsuch personally who remained unruffled and confident. >> neil gorsuch represents a conservative. represents the type of

judge that has the vision of donald trump. >> what do you think mr. priebus was talking about? >> respectfully senator, mr. priebus doesn't speak for me and i don't speak for him. i'm a judge. i'm my own man. >> reporter: as tonight to comment on president trump's criticism of federal judges, gorsuch said he finds it disheartening and demoralizing when anyone attacks the honesty and integrity of judges, including the president he was asked and he said, anyone is anyone. lester? thank you, pete. turning to new shock waves from fbi director james comey's bombshells before congress after he revealed the fbi is investigating links between trump associates and russia. and said the fbi has no information supporting the president's wiretap claims. there are fresh fears inside the gop it could overshadow their agenda. peter alexander with that story. >> reporter: after the fbi's dramatic disclosure, tonight the fall out.

president trump ignoring pointed questions on capitol hill. >> you're under an fbi investigation. >> reporter: even republicans acknowledge the damage that the investigation into the trump campaign possible ties to russia, and unfounded tweets about wiretaps could side track the president's agenda. >> he has a strong case to make but self-inflicted wounds get in the way of republicans trying to do their job. >> reporter: skeptical republicans could back away from the president as he's trying to secure his first legislative win on health care and overshadow the potential confirmation of his supreme court pick. >> there's such suspicion on the part of republicans this opens to widespread criticism of the president on other issues. >> reporter: the irony, while the republicans blasted hillary clinton while the fbi reviewed her e-mails, we now know mr. trump's campaign was the subject of a

counterint counterintelligence investigation. >> there's a distinction between investigation and this continued narrative that falsely tries to link the trump, the president or the white house into any of it. >> reporter: as the president revels in enthusiastic crowds -- >> this place is packed. >> reporter: -- across the country a political divide. >> i don't trust what he says about russia. >> i have guarded optimism. i'm a republican. >> reporter: a new test for the president's credibility now in question. peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. we turn to a chilling new threat of north korea following rex tillerson's warning of possible u.s. military action over north korea's nuclear program. tillerson tonight also under fire for his surprising decision to skip a key meeting with european leaders. we get more from nbc's andrea mitchell. ♪ >> reporter: tonight, north korea warning of

a pre-emptive strike from its accelerated nuclear program. on top of a fiery north korean propaganda video portraying their troops supposedly blowing up the "uss carl vincent." the aircraft carrier on military exercises with south korea. a new response to rex tillerson's tough talk. >> can you say whether you think that's a dangerous escalation? >> no comment. >> reporter: tillerson just back from asia now walking into a diplomatic firestorm at home after his surprise decision to go to russia but skip his first nato summit. the military alliance created to defend the west against russia. a snub nato secretary general is sidestepping diplomatically, but experts say will be most welcomed by vladimir putin. >> do you want your first trip to europe to be moscow and not to the nato alliance? i just think that's a bad message. >> reporter: tillerson

was already playing damage control for president trump who just in the last few days has insulted nato's most important allies. germany's angela merkel on friday and the british intelligence for wiretapping trump tower and now this. >> there's no substitute to going to brussels to having all the ministers around the table because it's the most powerful and considered by the others to be the leader of the group. >> reporter: tillerson meets here tomorrow with nato ministers on a u.s. strategy against isis. that is not likely to take away the sting that european leaders feel from the number that they see against a historic western alliance. lester? andrea mitchell from the state department, thank you. some 11 million people are under threat of severe weather this evening throughout parts of

the southeast. storms are expected to sweep through packing powerful damaging winds with the risk of hail and isolated tornadoes and the severe threat continues throughout the evening from missouri to south carolina. in a louisiana courtroom today emotional testimony in the trial of an officer charged in the shooting death of a 6-year-old boy with autism. taking the stand, the boy's father who was accused of leading police on a chase before they opened fire in his car with his son inside. nbc's jacob rascon has late details. >> reporter: poised body camera footage captured the shooting and the moment officers realized there was a boy in the car. 6-year-old jeremy mardis, who is autistic, died in the front seat shot four times. his father, chris few, was critically wounded. speaking publicly he told the juror officers gave no warning before they opened fire. i had my hands in the air, few testified. i put my hands out the window. they kept shooting. several witnesses also told the jury he had his hands up, which body camera footage appears to confirm.

officer derrick stafford said he and his partner acted in self-defense after a two-mile pursuit. >> he negligently and intentionally reversed his vehicle in an attempt to hit the officers. >> reporter: he admitted to drinking that night but told the jury he would never hit an officer and only wanted to get his son to a caretaker so the boy wouldn't be involved in a possible arrest. the prosecution argues nothing he did that night justified the deadly response. >> derrick stafford is on trial. it's a shame they want to put the victim on trial. >> reporter: officer greenhouse, who also fired shots at the scene and will be tried separately, pleaded not guilty. the trial continues on wednesday. jacob rascon, nbc news. still ahead, grocery store wars. why prices are dropping at the supermarket for the first time in five decades. how much can you and your family save? also, the dramatic moment caught on dash

cam when good samaritans came to the rescue of a state trooper under attack.

we're back now with the new age of grocery store wars. a 21st century battle that's bringing down prices at the supermarket for the first time in 50 years. all that competition is proving to be a good thing for consumers. nbc's jo ling kent shows how people are saving money. >> reporter: going grocery shopping has never been much fun. >> trying to get all

the kids into the car, going to the store and then going around with the big shopping cart. >> reporter: the good news is you're paying less when you get there. supermarket prices dropped 1.3% last year. the first decline since 1967. the federal government says prices on many items are falling. ground beef was $3.96 a pound last year. now $3.56. cheddar cheese 5.37, a pound a year ago. now $4.97. tomatoes sinking as well. egg prices at costco have plunged. eggs was $3.61. now just 1.79. why? new aggressive online competition from amazon fresh, walmart and boxed offering the convenience of shopping from home, sometimes free delivery and often at a lower price. boxed is offering the bulk prices of costco but online. >> we felt like there was another need whether you're that

busy millennial mom that doesn't have the time or patience to go or if you're a city dweller and you don't have a car. >> portionwise it's much cheaper and then i can save time. >> reporter: to compete, costco announced a new service to deliver your groceries for $99 a year. what's good for the customer is tough on traditional grocers. >> we're going to see more price wars than ever before. that means smaller margins for the supermarket. >> reporter: if lower prices aren't enough to get you to come in and shop, some grocery stores are rolling out curbside pickup. others are hoping the look, smell and feel will get you coming back for more. jo ling kent, nbc news, los angeles. we're back in a moment with which one of man's best friend is top dog in the hearts of americans.

we're back now with an incredible rescue caught on police dash cam. it began with a high speed chase of a

michigan trooper pursing a suspect on a stolen motorcycle. when the motorcycle crashes, a struggle begins. the suspect's brother even pulling up to join in and just when it appeared the suspect was going for the trooper's gun, a pair of good samaritans rushed in to save the day. the suspects face multiple charges. have americans fallen out of love with the tablet? apple announced a new ipad with a cheaper price tag, $329. no big press event, just a press release and some industry experts saying the cheaper model is apple's way of trying to jumpstart ipad sales which have fallen off in the last couple of years. and labrador retrievers are king and queen of the dog house. the dog house. they are the most popular in the nation now 26 years in a row. also in the top five,

german shepherds, golden retrievers, bulldogs and beagles. when we come back, the superstar surprise. the hollywood-leading man who made a birthday wish come true for one of his biggest fans. ==aneea man me aranc9-1 cl tn f

finally tonight, a

very special birthday present for one of hollywood's biggest stars to one of his biggest fans. it was her finest wish but she still got quite a surprise when it actually came true. nbc's kelly cobiella explains. >> reporter: george clooney, megastar, leading man. >> you fascinate me. >> reporter: and for 87-year-old pat adams, big-time crush. >> he's a charming man, isn't he? and he's a good-looking man, too. >> reporter: his picture sits by his bed. >> i wake up and there's george smiling at me. >> reporter: her dream to see him in the flesh. so when the staff at her retirement home asked for wishes, pat wished upon a star for a star. and on sunday, her wish came true. flowers hand-delivered by george clooney. the real george clooney? >> the real george clooney. and i thought, this must be a dream. >> reporter: george clooney and wife amal live just down the

road and staff sent a letter to clooney about pat but no one expected him to show up unannounced. >> somebody said george clooney's here and i thought, oh, you must be pulling my leg. he put his arm around me and i thought, well, this is a better part of a minute. i've got george clooney and i've got his arm around me. >> reporter: on pat's birthday card -- >> it says, "pat, i thought you'd like some flowers. with love, george." and i thought, ooh. well, the flowers aren't going to last forever but the card will. >> reporter: the visit, 15 minutes that she'll never forget. >> he was absolutely charming. and he can call again any time. >> reporter: and george, if you're listening -- what would you like for your birthday next year? >> george clooney again. >> reporter: kelly cobiella, nbc news, london. >> she's adorable and he's a nice guy. that's going to do it for us on this tuesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for

watching and good night. institioplaa zar kiappg right now at 6:00, a bizarre kidnapping investigation playing out in the east bay. we're digging through this details just coming into the newsroom. the news at 6:00 starts right now. good evening. i'm janelle wang. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. taken in his home at gunpoint and forced to draw money out of the bank this afternoon. but when the man got to the bank, the victim turned the table on his alleged kidnapper. elyce kirchner joins us live. and you talked to someone who saw the officers come in and

make the arrest? >> reporter: that's right. minutes ago a witness tells us they saw the police walk up to a white sub rue. she heard police say where's your gun. and just minutes ago the sheriff's department confirmed the suspect allegedly kidnapped a lafayette man at his house, which is about a mile away on street drive around 1:00 this afternoon. we've learned from a neighbor of the victim that the suspect was wearing a construction worker's uniform when he knocked on the victim's door. the suspect took a shotgun from the victim's home and brought him here to the bank. that's when the victim came into the bank and told staff that someone had threatened and beat him and forced him to withdraw money from his bank accounted. here's what else. a woman working at a hair salon next door to the bank saw when police arrived. >> the cop