for a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines but can congress find any common ground? it comes a day after the shooting at a tulsa hospital four people killed by an angry patient targeting his doctor. his weapon an ar-15 style rifle bought just hours before the chilling letter he left behind. and stunning new details on 911 calls made inside the uvalde school as the shooting there unfolded there's word the school's police chief who delayed the response wasn't told about them also tonight the new timeline on covid vaccines for kids under 5. plus, tropical storm watches up tonight. where it could impact the u.s. and this just in. president biden expected to visit saudi arabia this month looking to repair relations as gas prices in the u.s. hit another record and new concerns for the queen's health why the palace says she'll miss a platinum jubilee event after today's spectacular kickoff.

and the little prince who stole the show >> announcer: this is “nbc nightly news” with lester holt and good evening i'm tom llamas in for lester tonight just moments ago president biden delivered an urgent address to the american people on gun violence the president speaking more than a week after 19 children and 2 adults were killed in uvalde, texas. and a day after four shot dead in a tulsa hospital the president saying every day places have become killing fields, battlefields in america. he called for raising the age to purchase assault weapons, expanding background checks, and creating a federal red flag law. while bipartisan lawmakers say they have a potential plan to try to curb gun violence, their efforts come after many failed attempts in washington. will any of it become a reality? we start tonight with kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: president biden who has grieved with families traumatized by mass shootings tonight implored the congress

and the communities to change >> enough. enough it is time for each of us to do our part. it is time to act. >> reporter: making a rare evening address to the nation, aglow from candles for each state and territory touched by gun violence. >> more kids and on-duty cops killed by guns, more kids than soldiers killed by guns for god's sake how much more carnage are we willing to accept >> reporter: the president's call to action reflected the political reality in congress that passing any kind of gu related reforms may mean incremental steps. >> if we can't ban assault weapons then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21. >> reporter: the divide in congress is stark. >> why don't they feel an urgency to do something? >> you are not going to bully your way into

stripping americans of fundamental rights. >> reporter: a florida republican on camera from home during today's hearing brandished his own handgun. >> this is a gun i carry every single day to protect myself, my family >> reporter: his display alarmed colleagues. >> i hope that is not loaded. >> i'm in my house i can do whatever i want with my guns. >> reporter: gun safety negotiations are moving with new urgency. house democrats expect a vote next week to raise the age to buy semiautomatic weapons and set red flag restrictions barring weapons from those deemed dangerous while much of the focus on the bipartisan senate talks that so far have the backing of republican leader mitch mcconnell but he wants more limited issues. >> mental illness and school safety are what we need to target. >> with that kelly o'donnell joins us now from the white house so, kelly, the president calling for action but did thi speech do anything to make political progress

>> reporter: tom, tonight the president signaled a willingness to compromise on a long held belief on assault weapons but laid down another kind of political marker, that doing nothing, failing th people again as he said, would not be acceptable and likely becomes a midterm election issue tom? >> kelly o'donnell for us tonight, kelly, we thank you for that. now to tulsa police say the gunman bought one of his weapons, an ar-st15 style rifle hour before entering a hospital and killing his surgeon and three others blayne alexander is there. >> reporter: the first calls were chilling. >> we're going to have to get in this door. i don't know if it's him but i can see blood and i hear somebody moaning >> reporter: an orthopedic office on the campus of st. francis hospital in tulsa, oklahoma, now the latest scene of a mass shooting police say the gunman, 45-year-old michael louis, walked into his doctor's office armed with two guns and a vendetta

police say he recently had back surgery his surgeon, dr. preston phillips. police later found a letter on the gunman laying out his clear target and motive. >> he came in with the intent to kill dr. phillips and anyone who got in his way he blamed dr. phillips for the ongoing pain following the surgery. >> reporter: after his surgery in late may, the gunman called the office repeatedly, police said, complaining of pain, even going back for a follow-up appointment. may 29th, three days before the shooting, he legally purchased a handgun. then on wednesday, police say he called the office repeatedly, later that day buying an ar-15 rifle three hours before the attack >> the suspect, when he came into the building, into that office complex, he began firing he began firing at anyone that was in his way. >> reporter: officers were on the scene within five minutes. as they approached, police say the gunman turned the weapon on himself. >> the tulsa police

department responded very quickly, and without that quick response this could have been a much bigger situation >> reporter: still, four victims were left in his wake. amanda glenn, a receptionist, and dr. stephanie husen, both loved by their colleagues william love, a patient in the office >> to the family of mr. love, i'm so sorry we couldn't save you >> reporter: and dr. preston phillips killed in an exam room sam combs is a longtime friend and patient. >> to have a doctor who prays with you and for you, before and after your surgery, that was preston >> you can hear their pain there, and blayne joins us now let's talk about oklahoma's gun laws. the state actually has the nation's first anti-red flag law? >> reporter: yes, tom. that's right it bans communities here in the stat from passing any law that would allow authorities to seize guns from people who might be a danger to themselves or others it's something that's been on the books in the state since 2020 tom? >> blayne alexander

from tulsa, thank you for that. in uvalde, texas, a disturbing new claim tonight about the 911 calls for help from inside that school where 19 children and 2 teachers were killed as we learn new details about the investigation into the gunman here's morgan chesky >> i can only say -- i can only say we're sorry. >> reporter: tonight state senator roland gutierrez sharing stunning new details about a communication break down >> the the 11 calls were not being transferred to the so-called incident commander. >> reporter: gutierrez says those calls first went to uvalde police and not pete arredondo, the school's chief of police in charge of the response, who told officers to wait. >> to know the one person who should have been receiving those 911 calls was not being briefed, how big of a failure do you see here >> this is a tremendous failure isd level, school police, state troopers, federal government, even for the federal agents that were here, they still waited.

>> reporter: new search warrants obtained by nbc news painting a grim picture of the gunman's arsenal in his pickup truck alone investigators recovered a smith weston m&p rifle the initials standing for military and police also inside 15 rifle magazines. each loaded and capable of holding up to 30 rounds how heavy is the heart of uvalde? >> extremely heavy >> reporter: local pastor julio moreno lived just blocks from robb elementary where he stood outside last tuesday and prayed >> i asked god for a miracle, and i said, if it doesn't happen, give me the strength to overcome. >> reporter: hoping for a miracle for everyone inside, including his great granddaughter lexi rubio, who didn't make it out. >> lexi was a beautiful child. she loved to go to school she loved her grandma's chicken tacos.

>> reporter: and tonight pastor moreno telling me he is now preparing to preside over the funeral service of his own great granddaughter. tom? >> that community dealing with so much all right, morgan. we thank you for that. we want to turn to something parents have been waiting for covid vaccines for their young children tonight the white house covid coordinator, dr. ashish jha, says the shots for children 6 months to 4 years old could begin as early as june 21st an fda advisory panel will meet in less than and cdc could give the green light soon after that we're also keeping a close eye tonight on the gulf of mexico for what could become tropical storm alex. tropical storm watches just issued tonight. take a look, for central and southern florida, including the florida keys heavy rain and possible flooding are expected tomorrow and saturday but meteorologists say it's unlikely it will become a hurricane now to new concerns about queen elizabeth's health following late word she won't attend a church service tomorrow that's part of her platinum jubilee.

keir simmons is in london for her historic milestone. >> reporter: tonight after a magical day 70 years in the making, news that will worry many the palace says the queen will skip her jubilee event tomorrow because of discomfort she felt at today's ceremony she was too frail to go down to inspect the troops, so they came to her saluting her on the buckingham palace balcony. an historic day for the queen but also the dawning of a new era, charles, william, and anne riding horses just as the queen did in decades past. the prince of wales standing in for his mother for trooping the colour with 1,500 soldiers, 250 horses and 400 musicians. harry and meghan looking on though they were not included in the big moment to come and there they are kate and camilla and william and kate's children cheered by the crowds heading

back to buckingham palace to pay their respects to the queen. back on the balcony the queen smiling and a perfect 70 in the air from the royal air force, surrounded by four generations of royals, william and kate's son prince louis' reaction to the flyover stealing the show his mother and great grandmother amazingly relaxed. did you see her? >> we saw the queen in the distance it was all amazing. >> oh, it was absolutely brilliant yeah, really was great. >> reporter: late todath lighting a beacon. a day when the past was acknowledged with pride, the future faced with purpose and still overseeing it all monarch and matriarch now in her eighth decade, queen elizabeth ii the event the queen will miss tomorrow, a service at st. paul's cathedral which would have meant so much to her. her absence will be truly felt tom? >> keir simmons with that major update tonight. keir, we thank you for that and be sure to check out keir's podcast

"born to rule, when charles is king" out now. tomorrow marks 100 days since russian forces invaded ukraine and tonight they're gaining ground in the east ukraine's presiden says they now control 20% of the country richard engel tonight in one town fearing it might be next. >> reporter: ukrainian towns and cities are falling to russia's advance. russia has the momentum in the east and russian troops are just a mile from the village of seversk a few days ago we met 11-year-old artur by his school that russian troops had just bombed. he suffers from anemia and without his medicine, everything is in short supply, he often feels weak and nauseous is that your stomach [ speaking foreign language ] >> how are you? >> reporter: we returned to seversk today. we brought something we brought some medicine >> thank you >> thank you very much >> you're welcome. has it been bothering you? [ speaking foreign language ]

>> reporter: artur and his mother lily were in a rush on their way to pick up supplies. these are the new bread lines in europe thanks to russia's invasion ukrainian volunteers drove 17 hours to bring bread and other staples. this is the only pharmacy now because of all the shelling no new supplies are coming into this village except what the volunteers bring, and that disappears quite quickly. this is one of the only shops that's still open i'm curious to see if they have anything left on the shelves. no power like everywhere else. labov has been working in the shop for 20 years [ speaking foreign language ] can i ask you to do one thing? will you just look right into this camera and tell our audience, americans and not just americans, what it's like to be here? [ speaking foreign language ]

>> thank you the reason they're so worried is that russian troops are advancing all around them and may try to take over their village next tom? >> richard engel with the human toll of this war. richard, thank you for that in 60 seconds the president now expected to make a controversial trip to saudi arabia this as gas prices soar to yet another record as opec and allies will increase production, but will it help? that story next.

this just in, as gas prices hit another new record today, president biden is expected to travel to saudi arabia this month in an effort to repair relations with that oil rich nation it comes as opec and allies agree to step up production but will it be enough to ease

the pain at the pump here's tom costello. >> reporter: with gas prices setting new record highs every day sources tell nbc news president biden is expected to travel to saudi arabia later this month and expected to meet with crown prince mohammed bin salman the news comes after intense diplomatic efforts, and on the same day, opec and ten allies unexpectedly said they will modestly increase oil production by 648,000 barrels a day in july and august for months the saudis have refused u.s. requests to pump more to bring gas prices down since taking office, the biden administration has tried to isolate the kingdom following the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi. today most oil analysts appeared skeptical that the extra oil announced so far is enough to lower pump prices. the national average today hit yet another record, $4.71 a gallon eight states now pay more than $5 a gallon. $6.21 in california. >> let's see 76 bucks look at that

that's terrible. >> reporter: driving fuel prices higher, china now emerging from its latest covid lockdowns and europe agreeing to cut russian oil imports arriving by sea. >> to finalize a ban on almost 90% of all russian oil imports by the end of the year. >> reporter: but with inflation soaring, will americans decide the pain at the pump is too much? >> we think at about $5.20 a gallon, that's when u.s. consumers might decide to keep their suv in the garage. >> reporter: president biden now planning a diplomatic mission to try to slow and reverse skyrocketing gas prices just months before the midterm elections. tom? >> all right tom, thank you for that. coming up the next act in the johnny depp/amber heard trial and did social media affect the jury and the verdict? stay with us

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we are back now with new fallout tonight after that shocking verdict in the johnny depp defamation case. but lawyers for amber heard who you're about to hear from say they'll appeal miguel almaguer has the latest. >> reporter: before the legions of cheering johnny depp fans that were cleared the courthouse the attorneys by amber heard's side decided to appeal saying today on "today" the actress doesn't have the cash to cover the defamation verdict

>> is she able to pay a $10.4 million judgment? >> oh, no, absolutely not. >> reporter: her attorneys argue heard never had a fair chance in the courtroom because outside of it she faced an avalanche of social media backlash, one the jury, they argue, could never avoid. >> they went home every night. they have families the families are on social media it really, really was lopsided. >> reporter: while millions signed an online petition to remove heard from a starring role in "aquaman ii," depp received a red carpet-like welcome at court every day online many turned the actor into the hero and heard the villain. pro-depp hashtags received billions of views. the worldwide reach, influencing heard's claims of abuse if not in the courtroom in popular culture. >> you would be hard-pressed to find anybody out there who could give you an opinion that wasn't in some way colored through social media >> reporter: the appeals process here in virginia should begin in the coming weeks. it, too, could be carried live and streamed around the globe. while cases like this aren't new, the

coverage is. tonight the lurid defamation trial of johnny depp may be over, but hollywood is bracing for a sordid sequel miguel almaguer, nbc news, fairfax, virginia coming up next, after the biggest match of her career, the powerful message by american tennis sensation coco gauff

test test test test test test test test test test finally tonight teen tennis superstar coco gauff reaching her first grand slam

final at the french open, and she used the biggest win of her career to make a powerful statement on ending gun violence. we watched her come of age on the court, and tonight, tennis phenom coco gauff getting ready to head to her first grand slam final at the french open the 18-year-old just finished high school a few weeks ago. >> there's no words to describe it. i'm just super happy right now. >> reporter: she's the youngest singles finalist in a grand slam in nearly two decades. moments after her win in the semifinals, the young american star using her time in the spotlight to send a message writing, peace, end gun violence >> now that i'm 18 and of the age to vote i've been really paying attention to what's going on. >> reporter: she said recent shootings compelled her to speak out. >> for me it's kind of close to home. i had some friends that were a part of the parkland shooting. luckily they were able to make it out of that and i just think it's crazy, i think i was like maybe 14 or 13 when that happened and

still nothing has really changed >> reporter: even as she faces the biggest match of her career she's thinking beyond the court. >> my dad told me i could change the world with my racquet, and he didn't mean that by like just playing tennis he meant on speaking out on issues like this. >> reporter: gauff already showing the world the spirit of a champion and good luck to coco. we'll be rooting her on that's "nightly news" for this thursday. thank you for watching i'm tom llamas for lester and all of us here at nbc news, good night

next on nbc bay area news tonight. a heartbreaking turn in the case of alexis gabe. the ex-boyfriend of the missing woman killed her. that ex-boyfriend now also dead. >> here we go again. mandatory masks in one bay area county. will it help and will the rest of the bay area follow suit? our covid-19 doctor is with us. plus, he is priced out. a berkeley city council candidate tells us why he can no longer afford to run or live here. a compromise has been reached in the battle over the pride parade dress