the college cheating scandal. what her life will be like inside prison. the ex-officer out on bail, charged with murder for shooting a woman in her own home the chief's emotional apology. >> no action we take can replace the loss suffered here i'm deeply sorry for what occurred >> what the victim's young nephew says he witnessed moments before the deadly shot the mystery in paradise an american prosecutor gunned down days before her wedding anniversary. and the fall nor'easter forecast to rapidly intensify and impact travel for millions al roker with the track. >> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt >> good evening, everyone the balance of power in volatile northern syria is dramatically shifting tonight russian troops quickly filling the vacuum left by retreating u.s. forces. the russians now taking over the security role held by american soldiers until they were abruptly ordered to abandon their kurdish allies

this evening, the white house is dispatching vice president pence to turkey, hoping to stop the bloody advance on the kurds that the u.s. administration helped open the door for. richard engel remains in syria and has the latest >> reporter: the u.s. out, russia in tonight these photos show russian forces moving in to northern syria as u.s. troops evacuate some of their bases. some russians are making fun of what they consider u.s. weakness this video on twitter showing a russian-speaking man on what appears to be an empty u.s. base saying "let's see how the americans live." and turkey is thumbing its nose at the u.s. too, intensifying its bombardment of u.s. allies the kurds just hours after the white house said it would no longer tolerate turkey's assault tonight i spoke to general kobani, commander of all kurdish forces here. he says president

trump promised him last night he'd stop the turkish onslaught. do you think that president trump will keep his word to you? "he wants to keep his promise," he says, "but if you look at what's happening, it's not as he said." the general accused turkey of pursuing a deliberate campaign to ethnically cleanse two million kurds here and the turkish army is using extremist militias which officials say include former isis members to drive people away or kill them. so the kurds who fought with american forces against isis have turned to russia and its ally, the syrian army of bashar al assad to save them. why did you decide to realign with the syrian government he says "i can say it was the best of bad options. tonight president trump is sending vice president pence to negotiate with turkey and is threatening tougher economic sanctions. but turkey's president just said the sanctions don't worry him. lester

>> richard engel in syria tonight, thanks. now to developing news in the house impeachment inquiry. vice president pence tonight refusing to comply with a request for documents, and the president's personal lawyer rudy giuliani saying he won't comply with a subpoena. hallie jackson is at the white house. >> reporter: the president's personal attorney late tonight defying a subpoena from house democrats as rudy giuliani blasts what his lawyer calls an unconstitutional, baseless, and illegitimate impeachment inquiry. >> what's the message you hope to share with house investigators this morning? >> reporter: but a career diplomat, george kent, who oversees ukraine policy is complying today with his own congressional subpoena after trying to sound the alarm about giuliani's push to dig up dirt on the bidens in ukraine, according to documents obtained by nbc news, alerting colleagues about what he called a fake news-driven smear. it's another dramatic deposition following the explosive revelations by a former white house official yesterday. nbc news has now learned fiona hill testified

former national security adviser john bolton called giuliani a hand grenade who is going to blow everyone up, describing his work in ukraine as a drug deal to "the new york times. "the new york times" saying bolton was so worried, he told her to alert white house lawyers. >> we will find that rudy giuliani, once the greatest mayor of this country is nothing more than a small-town crook. >> reporter: the president today accusing house democrats of allowing no transparency at the witch hunt hearings. >> adam schiff, who is running this secret proceeding behind closed doors where the president gets no rights and the minority doesn't get subpoena power like adam schiff has, this is the most ridiculous, wrong, unfair process. >> reporter: but democrats argue they're simply protecting the investigation, pledging the transcripts will be made public. and late tonight we learned the vice president's office is saying he will not comply with requests for documents from him lester >> hallie jackson at the white house, thanks. as the democratic

presidential candidates take the stage tonight for their latest debate, joe biden goes into it potentially facing questions about his son's work in ukraine an issue hunter biden spoke about today. we get more from nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: tonight hunter biden speaking out for the first time, defending his business dealings in ukraine, saying he did, qte, nothing wrong at all. but acknowledging to abc news what he calls poor judgment. >> did i make a mistake? well, maybe in the grand scheme of things, yeah. but did i make a mistake based upon some unethical lapse? absolutely not. >> reporter: biden was given a position on the board of a ukrainian energy company which reportedly paid him $50,000 a month while his father was vice president. if your last name wasn't biden, do you think you would have been asked to be on the board of burisma? >> i don't know. i don't know probably not i don't think there is a lot of things td have a happened in my life if my last name wasn't biden. >> reporter: hunter biden faced withering attacking from president trump. >> hunter, you're a

loser! >> reporter: tonight he says he will no longer work for any foreign companies if his father does become president. still, he says he does not regret his actions in ukraine. >> what i regret is not taking into account that there would be a rudy giuliani and a president of the united states that would be listening to this ridiculous conspiracy idea, which has, again, been completely debunked by everyone. >> reporter: all of it a new challenge for joe biden, now sharing front-runner status with elizabeth warren. >> and i've got a plan for that >> reporter: biden now targeting warren >> it takes proven ability to get things done. we're not electing a planner. >> reporter: tonight's debate will also be a critical moment for senator bernie sanders returning to the campaign trail for the first time since that heart attack earlier this month lester >> peter alexander in ohio tonight, thank you

in northern california today, actress felicity huffman began her two-week prison sentence for her role in the country's biggest college entrance cheating scandal, the first parent to be locked up. miguel almaguer is outside the prison tonight miguel, what does huffman face there? >> reporter: lester, after pleading guilty to fraud, felicity huffman will spend the next two weeks inside the low security prison just behind me. the actress facing a real life role she never thought she would, that of an inmate reporting to federal prison today, felicity huffman is now inmate 77806-112, serving her two-week sentence at this sprawling penitentiary in dublin, california she'll wake up at 5:00 a.m., wear a brown prison uniform, and answer to five inmate role calls every day. jennifer meyers spent 14 months in federal prison on drug charges. >> unless you've been incarcerated and had the experience of being strip searched, you have no idea what it feels like. it's very humiliating. >> reporter: leaving her

hollywood estate behind, huffman will have visitation on weekends, allowing husband, william h. macy and her children see her. the actress will now mix with other prisoners, have work duties, be allowed to shower once a day, and purchase items like mascara, lipstick, and moisturizer. >> she is going to be in a state of shock that probably isn't going to leave until she gets out of prison. and it's going to continue, even when she's been out. >> reporter: huffman is now the first parent to be locked up. others like fellow actress lori loughlin are fighting the charges, hoping to avoid all but certain prison time if convicted. but tonight huffman has lost her freedom, a hollywood a-lister now a felon, trading the red carpet for a prison cell when felicity huffman is out, she'll be free to be able to return back to hollywood. she'll have to serve 250 hours of community service and serve one year supervised release. lester

>> all right, miguel, thank you. new developments tonight in the investigation of that deadly police shooting in fort worth, texas. hours after he resigned, the officer involved was charged with murdering a woman in her home gabe gutierrez has the latest >> reporter: tonight former fort worth police officer aaron dean is out on $200,000 bail after being charged with the murder of atatiana jefferson today interim police chief ed kraus choked back tears. >> it's very emotional because the officers, they try hard every day to try to make this city better. >> reporter: he said he was deeply sorry for what happened >> i think that's going to be all. thank you. >> reporter: before abruptly ending a news conference police say the 34-year-old dean never identified himself as an officer when he went to check on a home early saturday morning. as seen on this body cam video, he opened fire within seconds of drawing his weapon. >> put your hands up show me your hands [ gunshot >> jeffersonamy said she had been playing video games with her 8-year-old

nephew the boy told investigators that jefferson took her handgun from her purse and pointed it toward the window after hearing but police say she had every right to protect herself with this gun, that officer dean did not follow proper procedures >> rookie cop is not going to be the scapegoat for what happened >> reporter: at this department, there have been six deadly officer-involved shootings so far this year. what needs to change at the fort worth police department >> we're looking at bringing in an independent third party group to come in and evaluate our policies >> reporter: late today, dean's defense attorney told nbc news that his client is sorry and his family is in shock lester >> gabe, thank you the family of that british teen killed in a car crash involving an american diplomat's wife had a meeting at the white house late today harry dunn was killed in august when his motorcycle was hit by a car allegedly driven by anne sacoolas claiming diplomatic immunity, she flew home to the u.s. dunn's parents want her to return to britain for questioning.

tonight nba superstar lebron james is facing backlash in hong kong after remarking on a tweet that strained relations between the league and china nbc's ron mott has the fallout. >> reporter: in hong kong tonight, basketball superstar lebron james under fire his famed jersey up in smoke, furor growing over his response to this tweet sent by houston rockets general manager daryl morey earlier this month in apparent support of anti-government protesters >> i don't want to get into a feud with daryl morey, but i believe he wasn't educated on the situation at hand. >> reporter: those comments setting off a political brushfire here at home republican senators quick to pounce rick scott of florida writing clearly king james is the one who isn't educated on the situation. nebraska's ben sasse, you're parroting communist propaganda china is running torture camps, and you know it. >> drink it. >> reporter: the

league's most bankable brand and the nba have a lot riding on the chinese market billions of dollars in shoe sales and entertainment. >> as somebody who advocates for social justice, that he has got to find a better way to express what he's feeling, because it makes him look very craven it makes him look like he just cares about the money. >> reporter: james and his teammates recently returned from a trip to china with controversy hanging in the air he tweeted, "my team and this league just went through a difficult week i think people need to understand what a tweet or statement can do to others." words now cutting in both directions ron mott, nbc news a powerful fall nor'easter is on the horizon tonight forecast to rapidly intensify into a bomb cyclone. with the risk of floods and strong winds and threatening to snarl travel al roker has the new track. al, what are you looking at here >> well, lester, we start off with down in the south with the radar. heavy showers and thunderstorms along this stalled front. low pressure develops along the southeastern atlantic coast. tomorrow the storm intensifies rapidly off the

midatlantic coast. heavy rain from new york all the way down to the delmarva peninsula. pushes up to the east as we move through the day on thursday, with rain and mountain snows for new england, howling winds for the northeast. rainfall amounts anywhere from 3 to 5 inches but locally could be more wind gusts of anywhere from 30 to 50 miles per hour, and airport delays stretching from washington, d.c. all the way to boston, lester, with airports and roads a real mess. lester >> sounds awfully ugly, al thank you. in a new york court today, actor cuba gooding jr. faces additional charges of sexual misconduct, and prosecutors say there are as many as a dozen other incidents. here is ron allen. >> reporter: cuba gooding jr. in handcuffs arriving in court today to face more charges of sexual misconduct and abuse. in new court documents, a second unidentified woman told investigators the hollywood star pinched her buttocks last fall at a new york nightclub after he earlier made what prosecutors

call a sexually suggestive remark gooding had already been indicted in connection with an incident from june involving a different woman at a new york bar. the surveillance video obtained by tmz gooding, with his girlfriend next to him, allegedly placed his hand on the other woman's left breast and squeezed it. and prosecutors gave the judge a list of a dozen other uncharged incidents of alleged sexual misconduct dating from 2001 to 2018 gooding has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his attorney denied all allegations. >> we are shocked, outraged, and absolutely dumbfounded that the district attorney's office has wasted the taxpayers' money, resources and time >> reporter: the judge will rule whether a jury ever hears any of those 12 uncharged allegations while gooding remains free on his own recognizance lester >> ron allen here in new york,

thanks just ahead, the murder mystery in paradise. an american lawyer working as a prosecutor shot to death. also, lunch shaming. school districts weighing controversial tactics to pay their kids' lunch bills. we hope you'll stay with us.

now to the growing mystery in paradise. an american woman killed on a pacific island, shot to death just as she arrived home here is nbc's blayne alexander. >> reporter: tonight a stunning murder mystery half a world away in the pacific nation of micronesia, american attorney rachelle bergeron had just come home from her evening run. she was with her dog steps from her front door when someone shot her, her husband inside the house, friends say, baking brownies the wisconsin native had worked as a prosecutor on the island of yap since 2015, serving as the state's acting attorney general the shocking crime rocking the tiny island of 11,000 people >> today i come to you as a very sad man.

>> reporter: yap's governor is pledging a full and thorough investigation. >> i promise to do everything in my power to have justice prevail. >> reporter: tonight the fbi is sending a team to help with that investigation. bergeron worked in new york and d.c. before moving to micronesia four years ago her friends say she was preparing to move back to the states and was just days away from celebrating her first wedding anniversary. now a cold-blooded crime involving two countries and a very brazen killer blayne alexander, nbc news up next, lunch shaming. one school district's controversial compromise that could keep kids from activities like prom.

next, the growing controversy over so-called lunch shaming and the debate in one school district over holding parents accountable for their children's lunch tabs. here is nbc's rehema ellis. >> reporter: parents in a new jersey school district outraged >> this is ridiculous. >> reporter: over a

controversial policy to collect $14,000 in unpaid lunch money. >> child needs to be fed. their little minds have to grow. >> reporter: students owing more than $10 get a tuna sandwich, more than $20, no lunch at all while the district says this year no student has ever been denied lunch or given an alternative meal, tonight they're debating a compromise students who owe money get a hot lunch, but may be barred from extra activities like prom until their lunch debts are settled. >> i think this strikes a balance of compassion at the same time making sure that we're holding people accountable. >> reporter: nationwide, 3/4 of school districts report having student meal debt, and the amount of debt skyrocketing 70% since 2013 in california, the governor just signed a bill mandating all kids get lunch, inspired by third-grader ryan coyote, who used his own allowance savings to help pay his classmate's

debt communities trying to solve the lunch debt problem without putting kids in the middle rehema ellis, nbc news up next, an inspiring journey from school janitor to assistant principal.

she is the assistant principal of her school, and how she got there is not only a lesson for her students, but a story that's inspiring america tonight. here is kristen dahlgren. >> how are you doing this morning, young man that's good. >> reporter: we all know you can learn a lot from a school principal. >> i will. >> i will. >> be successful. >> be successful. >> reporter: but assistant principal pamela talbert in baton rouge, louisiana may be teaching the ultimate lesson by being here at all. >> she is a walking miracle. and it's inspiration

to everybody. >> reporter: her career path started as a janitor when a teacher noticed how much she loved kids and suggested she go into education, she decided she would try. but there was a big obstacle in her way. >> i was reading on the third grade level. >> reporter: so she had her own children help her. >> they would go to school, and they would come back, and they would teach me everything that they learned that day. >> reporter: first she became a bus driver, then got her master, and eventually worked her way up to assistant principal. >> i say i can do this i know i can do this >> reporter: it's a lesson she now instills every day. >> somewhere, somebody dropped the ball on me, and i don't want that to happen to the children that i serve every day. >> reporter: an assistant principal who never gives up on her students. >> anything is possible and the sky is the limit. >> reporter: because

she never gave up on herself. >> they're going to have awesome day today. >> reporter: kristen dahlgren, nbc news. >> thank you so much >> what a terrific story and a great lesson for everyone that's "nightly news." i'm lester holt. thank you for watching and good ♪ >> kelly: ♪ we clawed, we chained our hearts in vain ♪ ♪ we jumped, never asking why

♪ we kissed ♪ i fell ♪ under your spell ♪ a love no one could deny ♪ don't you ever say i just walked away ♪ ♪ i will always want you ♪ i can't live a lie ♪ running for my life, i will always want you ♪ ♪ i came in like a wrecking ball ♪ ♪ i never hit so hard in love ♪ all i wanted was to break your walls ♪ ♪ all you ever did was wreck me, i came in like a wrecking ball ♪ ♪ yeah, i just closed my eyes and swung ♪ ♪ left me crouching in a blaze and fall ♪ ♪ all you ever did was wreck me ♪ ♪ yeah, you, you wreck me

♪ yeah, you, you wreck me [cheers and applause] >> kelly: welcome to "the kelly clarkson show"! this is my guitarist, jaco. y'all, give it up for jaco! [cheers and applause] thank you. is insane -- my band is crazy talented, y'all. they can play any genre, if it up for my band! [cheers and applause] my band is crazy talented. let's meet the person who requested that song. where is keeshan? hi, keeshan! you look so nice! you look so handsome! you look so nice! >> thank you. >> kelly: why did you request that song other than it's a rad song? >> it's a great time. i am currently a third year in dental school over at ucla. >> kelly: