to him fatally shooting two people during unrest in kenosha, wisconsin. the teen saying he did nothing wrong and acted in self-defense. . the motion by the defense. could the judge declare a mistrial also tonight inflation soaring at the fastest rate in more than 30 years president biden at a baltimore port today how he says his recently passed infrastructure bill can reverse the price surge. the covid vaccine roll-out for kids. more than 900,000 getting their shots in just over a week the cdc director is here answering parents' questions. the investigation into that deadly astroworld concert chaos. what the police chief has revealed after reports a security guard was injected with drugs. the massive storm sweeping from coast to coast. we're tracking it. the first lawsuit filed against alec baldwin and others over that deadly movie set shooting and the teacher inspiring america who just became a millionaire.

this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. good evening emotions flared in a wisconsin courtroom today. an angry judge, a clearly frustrated prosecutor and a defendant himself, kyle rittenhouse breaking down in sobs as he took the witness stand in his own defense. he's charged with intentionally killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police use of force. the 18-year-old telling the court today, "i didn't do anything wrong i defended myself. the prosecution pressing rittenhouse on his intentions as armed with a military-style rifle he took to the street on a restless night of protests but the testimony was interrupted several times as the judge turned his wrath on the prosecutor over his line of questioning. gabe gutierrez is in kenosha tonight. >> the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god. >> yes.

>> reporter: as he described for the jury the tense moments before he opened fire, kyle rittenhouse broke down. >> there were people right there. that's when i -- >> reporter: the judge calling a short break. some jurors appearing sympathetic as they walked out rittenhouse's mother within ear shot sobbing. it was a dramatic seventh day of testimony in the trial where the now 18-year-old faces six charges including intentional homicide after shooting and killing two men in wounding another during last summer's protests in kenosha, wisconsin following the police shooting of jacob blake. >> i didn't do anything wrong i defended myself. >> reporter: rittenhouse speaking publically at length for the first time described how he came to kenosha to provide medical aid and protect property from

rioters. and how the first man he shot chased him. >> i didn't notice mr. rosenbaum until he came out from behind the car and ambushed me. >> reporter: he says rosenbaum had threatened him earlier twice. yelling -- >> if i catch any of you [ bleep ] alone, i'm going to [ bleep ] kill you. >> reporter: the prosecution then began an aggressive cross-examination. >> everybody you shot at that night you intended to kill, correct? >> i didn't intend to kill them. i intended to stop the people who were attacking me. >> reporter: you made the intentional decision in the middle of that incident to turn and point the gun at mr. rosenbaum, correct? >> yes >> reporter: but with the jury out of the room, the judge suddenly raised his voice. >> don't get brazen with me! >> reporter: admonishing the prosecutor, accusing him of improperly trying to enter his testimony that the judge had earlier prohibited >> you're an experienced trial lawyer and you are telling me when the judge says i'm excluding this, you take it upon yourself to put it in because you think that you found a way around it? come on! >> and, gabe, earlier the defense pushed for

a mistrial where did that land? >> reporter: yes, lester after those tense exchanges, the defense is now asking for a mistrial with prejudice, meaning that if the request were granted, rittenhouse could not be retried the judge has not ruled yet, lester. >> gabe gutierrez in wisconsin, thank you some serious new headwinds for the american economy tonight. the rate of inflation soaring to its highest level in over 30 years. new figures out today show how higher prices are hitting home from your house to the white house. kristin welker is there tonight. >> reporter: tonight with the port of baltimore as his backdrop, president biden aiming to taut the benefits of the trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill he's set to sign on monday. >> infrastructure week has finally arrived. >> reporter: but overshadowing it all, a setback for the economy. >> consumer prices remain too high. >> reporter: newly released numbers showing inflation soaring to its highest level in 30 years, up

6.2% over last year. the rise in consumer prices now surging faster than anticipated, including gas prices up 50%. used cars and trucks up 26%, and beef prices up 20%. how does this moment compare to the past 30 years? >> this is the worst it's ever been. >> reporter: tom is the executive chef at a restaurant just a mile from the white house. he says the prices of meat and produce have doubled or even tripled. >> reporter: fryer oil. >> so we went from $40 to fill it to $75. >> reporter: what about the potatoes. >> $29 to $40. >> reporter: he is passing some of those costs on to customers. >> it is hard to look people in the eye. i know you paid $16 for this burger. it is $20 today. i understand why you are upset. >> reporter: americans feeling it coast to coast. >> everything is too high >> i think what ends up happening is you have a budget and then you laugh. >> reporter: factoring in inflation americans

hourly wages now declining 1.2% as the news comes that the economy has been showing signs of strength, including a half a million jobs added just last month. the unemployment rate dropping part of the inflation surge is blamed on the ongoing supply chain crisis, including worker shortages and massive backlogs of ships waiting to unload goods. >> this is a once in a generation investment. >> reporter: today the president saying they're releasing $17 billion early to tackle it, modernizing ports, deepening harbors and redirecting other grant money to address the supply chain crisis though, many projects could take years. >> when they go to a store or online, they can't find what they always want. and when they want it. and we're tracking these issues and trying to figure out how to tackle them head-on. >> kristin, the rise of inflation could impact the president's push for that nearly $2 trillion social and

climate spending plan. >> reporter: that's right, lester. today key moderate hold-out senator joe manchin sounding the alarm on inflation saying washington can no longer ignore the economic pain americans feel every day. manchin had already said the plan's price tag was too big. lester >> kristin welker, thank you. let's turn to the covid challenge now. one week after becoming eligible, about 900,000 children ages 5 to 11 will have received their first vaccine dose by the end of today another 700,000 already have appointments to get the shot, but there is a long way to go with 28 million kids in that age group now eligible i spoke about all this with the cdc director, dr. rochelle walensky and asked her if as more kids get vaccinated, she foresees a time when masks can come off in school. >> we have over 95% of our schools open for full in person learning we still have 85% of our counties that are in high or substantial community admission. while i'm encouraged the numbers are coming

down, i would say as our children are starting to get vaccinated just a week into this program, they continue to scale up our vaccinations for these children and to not yet get complacent with our mitigation and prevention strategies that are keeping our children in school. >> that means kids should continue to wear masks even if they're vaccinated >> i would say masks are for now, but they're not forever. >> we know that pfizer is making the case that its vaccine, its booster is safe for virtually everyone, but we keep hearing experts who are saying it really hasn't been proven that there is a need for most healthy people for boosters. how do you respond to that >> we actively reviewed the data for those who got j&j. as well as those that got pfizer and moderna. we have recommendation for a lot of eligible populations now to receive boosters so we would really encourage those people to actively go out and get their boosters now. and in the meantime, we are actually now reviewing the data that pfizer has just submitted. >> there are two pills that have emerged from

trials with positive results. do you see anti-viral pills as filling this gap between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated >> i am really excited about both of these as being another tool against covid-19 disease. but i would not at all see it as a replacement instead of a vaccine. i would say that this is a rescue. if people have not responded to the vaccine or if they got a break-through infection. >> part of my conversation with dr. walensky earlier today. tonight former president trump is appealing a federal judge's ruling that he cannot block the release of white house records to the committee investigating the capitol riot hallie jackson is there. hallie, the committee could get those documents in days. >> maybe just a couple days, lester it looks like those key documents from the trump white house related to january 6th will not stay secret much longer. that's after a big legal setback for former president

trump. a federal judge is now ruling against him, rejecting mr. trump's claim of executive privilege as he tries to keep hundreds of pages of these documents out of the hands of lawmakers investigating that capitol riot the judge writing presidents are not kings and the place is not president. the judge pointed to the position of the biden white house which supports sharing the information with congress mr. trump's team is now appealing, but they're running out of options and out of time with the national archives set to release those papers friday. lester >> hallie jackson in washington, thank you. we are watching a powerful storm sweeping across the country in the plains 10 million are at risk for severe thunderstorms from iowa to texas. tomorrow cold will change rain to snow across the upper midwest causing travel to be dangerous. and by friday the mid atlantic and northeast will be in for heavy rain and thunder storms we'll keep a sharp eye on all that. in just 60 seconds, harrowing images from a survivor who describes the crush of a packed concert. and for the first

time, we hear from a crew member who witnessed that deadly shooting on a movie set.

back now with new revelations about critical problems with emergency communications during that concert horror in houston as we hear from a survivor who managed to barely escape that deadly crowd crush. morgan chesky is there. >> i accepted the fact that i might have died. >> reporter: for gabby, the friday night flashbacks are haunting her screams caught on camera after the 17-year-old's knee popped when crowds knocked her down her phone recording the moments she thought were her last. >> six or seven people were on top of me at one point. >> reporter: her friend pulling her to safety seconds later. >> i thought we were going to lose her, and that scared me the most, honestly >> reporter: tonight the houston police chief responding to calls for an independent investigation, defending his meeting with travis scott before the show. >> somebody is referring to a special relationship if you call meeting him twice a special

relationship, that's not a close relationship to me. >> reporter: as investigators pour over those critical concert minutes, a stunning admission from houston's fire chief. when asked if his department had any communication with organizers during the show said -- >> no, we did not have onscene. we did not have direct communications with those organizers, no. >> reporter: firefighters not the only ones feeling cutoff from this crisis. >> being in this crowd is literally a life threat that was apparent. >> reporter: emt shared on social media how he fought through crowds to reach fans who passed out his mission made even harder with blaring music drowning radio calls for backup richardson forced to bypass the less injured as he tried to save critical patients. >> i had to tell all of them, i will try to come back for you, but people are literally dead right now that i need to go help. >> reporter: tonight police addressing the account of a security guard being injected with drugs knocking him unconscious. the chief saying that's not true and that he was struck in the head lester >> morgan chesky in

houston, thank you. there are also new developments we're watching in another case we had been closely following. the first lawsuit filed against alec baldwin and others on the fatal shooting of the set of "rust." miguel almaguer with the crew member breaking his silence. >> she was my friend >> reporter: breaking his silence and now filing a lawsuit claiming severe emotional distress, serge svetnoy vividly recalls the moment alec baldwin accidentally and fatally shot his friend, cinematographer, halyna hutchins. >> i still cannot believe that she is not longer with us. >> reporter: svetnoy claims recreational shooting was happening before the deadly accident names nearly two dozen parties in his lawsuit, including armorer hannah gutierrez-reed who he says loaded the gun, assistant director dave halls who handed the weapon to baldwin, and the actor who is also a producer. >> any responsible

actor knows you don't take a real gun, point it at a human being, pull the trigger, shoot a bullet and they die and the answer is, huh, i didn't know it was loaded. >> reporter: of baldwin, svetnoy claims he should have double checked the colt revolver with halls upon being handed it. adding, the scene did not call for baldwin to shoot and should have refrained from pointing the gun at anyone baldwin has said it was an accident. today gutierrez-reed says she fears sabotage and she's being framed halls has not released a statement. >> their conduct was despicable that must be punished. that must be stopped. >> reporter: with no criminal charges filed in the case yet, tonight the first lawsuit has been miguel almaguer, nbc news up next for us, why are more latinos not advancing in the military

we put that question to a top pentagon official

a moving sign on the eve of veterans day. for the first time in nearly a century, the public was allowed to lay flowers at the tomb of the unknown soldier. in arlington national cemetery access is usually restricted at the final resting place for three unidentified service members who died in world war i, world war ii and the korean war. and as we honor our veterans this week, we're taking a

closer look at latinos in the military and the struggles many face to rise through the ranks. more on our series, those who serve. >> reporter: ricardo remembers the highs of being an airman, but can't forget the lows, setbacks that grounded his career. >> it is a dream of a lifetime i fell in love with flying back when i was seven years old. >> reporter: but after serving the country for 15 years, that dream came to a screeching halt. >> i saw no more future in the active duty for me. >> reporter: he was no longer rising in the ranks. he says he wasn't sure why until he looked in the mirror do you think the opportunities to hit the right steppingstones in the military didn't come to you because you were hispanic? >> yes the short answer is yes. >> reporter: why did you think it had to do with your ethnicity? >> i had no reason to think it had to do with anything else. >> reporter: he went on to serve in the air force reserve where he says he received the right training and mentoring to move up, becoming a brigadier

general before retiring in 2007 latinos make up 17% of active duty members, 8% of the officer core and 1% of general and flag officers. right now there is only one three-star general, no four-star general and there has never been a hispanic secretary of defense. >> we're being ignored. latinos of the military are not being mentored by senior leadership the reason is senior leadership that looks and is hispanic does not exist. >> reporter: one of the newest undersecretaries at the dod is gilbert cisneros he revealed to us he experienced firsthand the dead end many hispanics face in the military during his time in the navy. >> i was passed up for a do-3 level. >> reporter: so you experienced this >> i have. and so - but here, and this is one of the reasons -- >> reporter: what did you blame it on? >> you know, going

back and reflecting on why i was passed over, you could think, okay, was there bias or racism towards that? i can assume that might have been part of that. >> reporter: now he's in a position to change that. so how do you do that? what is the biden administration doing to fix this problem? >> there is a lot of things we will do. mentorship is a lot of things but it's a number of things, coming down from recruiting talent to retaining talent in order to grow those individuals so that we can have latinos become flag and general officers. >> reporter: nonprofit organizations, military family advisory network or the association of naval services officers and others are tackling challenges when it comes to latinos in the military. >> anso has a lot of retired officers that offer their time to mentor young officers. we need allies

we need people that can look down and say, we need to help these young men and women. >> reporter: these groups serving a new type of mission long overdue. tom llamas, nbc news. up next, the life-changing moment for one maryland teacher. we'll tell you why she just won $1 million and how she is inspiring america.

this was a huge day for a maryland teacher winning a million dollar prize for her work with immigrant students and

pledging to do more with that money to help them go to college. here's kate snow >> the winner -- >> reporter: this is the moment she found out her life was changing today in paris she won the $1 million global teacher prize from the barkey foundation in partnership with unesco the students at the international high school in maryland were watching, too ms. thorpe teaches 12th grade english she grew up in jamaica and all of her students are first generation americans do you feel a connection to your students >> when i think about the students and how much their parents are sacrificing for them just to have an equitable education, it reminds me of my own journey. that's why i go so hard for my students because my story is their story. >> reporter: she redesigned the 12th grade english curriculum to be more culturally relevant.

and spends hours helping kids with college applications and financial aid. >> i let them know that i have been where you have been and, so, i refuse to accept less from you. >> reporter: she plans to use the $1 million prize to help more students worldwide access higher education. >> you know, my students are the reason i'm here. and if i don't think about how i can use that to elevate them and to also create a better future for them, who am i without my students? >> reporter: who are they without her kate snow, nbc news. >> i say congratulations and thank you in order for what she's doing that's "nightly news" for this wednesday thank you for watching, everyone i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night

this is elodia. she's a recording artist. 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students, past... and present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities. ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom for me and you ♪ (music) ♪ so i think to myself ♪ ♪ oh what a wonderful world ♪

a peninsula neighborhood making changes and what they discovered is buried in the paperwork for homes across the bay area. we investigate a conspiracy and coverup involving stolen drugs, cash and guns. >> i knew immediately i got robbed. now it was who did it and how are we doing to uncover this? >> prosecutors say the bad guys in this case, cops. good evening. this is nbc bay area news tonight. i'm raj mathai. we'll get to