allegations he stoked rioters, saying all hell is going to break loose tomorrow the punishment he now faces. the growing fallout, the january 6th committee stepping up calls for an investigation into trump after powerful new testimony about his inaction that day. a former white house official saying trump poured gasoline on the fire with a tweet about vice president pence. secret service agents guarding pence fearing for their lives, making good-bye calls to loved ones. president biden's covid battle, speaking today saying he feels better than he sounds. his doctor saying he's improving. my interview with dr. fauci. the deadly heat wave, 75 million under heat alerts from coast to coast new records expected this weekend and the growing concerns about outdoor events it's the summer of lost luggage pileups how to reduce the risk that your bags will wind up in a baggage graveyard. and the record-breaking moment for the american who says he's the fastest man in the world >> announcer: this is

nbc "nightly news" with lester holt good evening. firebrand former donald trump adviser steve bannon was found guilty this afternoon on two charges of criminal contempt of congress for defying subpoenas to appear before the january 6th select committee a federal prosecutor saying the defendant chose allegiance to donald trump over compliance with the law. the verdict coming less than 24 hours after a primetime session of the committee featured testimony from former white house insiders describing indifference by former president trump as deadly violence was rocking the u.s. capitol. tonight with the investigation reaching a turning point, the committee sending a strong message through steve bannon, who himself is still pushing back let's begin with pete williams >> reporter: just shy of three hours after getting the case, the jury came back with its verdict, guilty on two counts for refusing to provide testimony and documents to the committee

investigating the capitol riot which wanted to know about his contacts with president trump and others leading up to it steve bannon's lawyers did not call any witnesses, instead urging the judge to throw the case out arguing that the government failed to prove that he intentionally refused to comply. at first they said bannon couldn't obey the subpoena because former president trump asserted executive privilege. later they said he never declined to cooperate, he was just negotiating. then today they suggested the subpoena was issued without following the rules. but prosecutors said the case was simple, bannon received a valid subpoena from the january 6th committee and refused to provide anything in response the jury agreed. bannon didn't take the stand during the trial, but he did his talking outside, blasting the committee members who the judge said couldn't be compelled to appear. >> the gutless members of that show trial committee, the j-6 committee, didn't have the guts to come down here and testify in open court. >> reporter: his

lawyers say they'll appeal because the judge said bannon's reasons for not complying didn't matter legally >> that can't be the standard in a case, especially in a case that holds the potential for a jail sentence >> reporter: bannon will be sentenced in october and is likely to get some jail time. another former trump adviser, peter navarro, faces trial on similar contempt charges in november. lester >> all right, pete williams starting us off. thanks this evening, new calls by members of the january 6th committee for a criminal investigation of donald trump after last night's explosive testimony. here's kristen welker. >> reporter: tonight, january 6th committee members are intensifying pressure on the justice department to investigate former president trump after its high-stakes hearing thursday night. >> i sure as hell hope that merrick garland has an open criminal investigation into donald trump. >> reporter: it all comes amid new revelations at the hearing overnight including these outtakes of taped remarks from january 7th when mr. trump refused to say the election was over. >> but this election is now over.

congress has certified the results. i don't want to say the election is over i just want to say congress has certified the results without saying the election is over, okay >> reporter: and the chilling testimony of an anonymous white house security official who said members of former vice president pence's security detail were afraid for their lives. >> there were calls to say good-bye to family members, so on and so forth. >> reporter: and on the president's detail a d.c. police sergeant corroborated key parts of former trump aide cassidy hutchinson's testimony, who said earlier mr. trump got into an argument with secret service agents while leaving the rally, demanding they take him to the capitol, which they refused to do. >> the only description i received was that the president was upset and that he was adamant about going to the capitol and there was a heated discussion about that. >> reporter: a person close to the secret service disputes the president ever

assaulted an agent as hutchinson also alleged, based on what she says she was told, but does not deny the president became furious. tonight the agency director saying since day one he has directed his personnel to cooperate and, quote, we're currently finalizing details and times for follow-up inquiries. the committee re-created the 187 minutes of the attack blow by blow saying mr. trump watched it unfold on tv and never called a single law enforcement agency >> to me his refusal to act and call off the mob that day and his refusal to condemn the violence was indefensible. >> reporter: and this moment met with laughter trump ally senator josh hawley fleeing the capitol moments after he had raised his fist in apparent support of the rioters outside. former president trump eyeing 2024 accused the committee of spreading lies as vice chair liz cheney punctuated the proceedings with this closing question. >> can a president who

is willing to make the choices donald trump made during the violence of january 6th ever be trusted with any position of authority in our great nation again >> and kristen, the committee is not done. they say there will be more hearings. >> reporter: lester, that is right. vice chair liz cheney said the dam has begun to break and that new witnesses are coming forward. she ended the hearing by saying she'll see everyone in september. lester >> kristen welker, thank you. we want to turn right now to president biden's health his doctors saying the president's symptoms have improved after his positive covid diagnosis. peter alexander now with late details. peter, what do we know >> reporter: good evening, lester. tonight president biden completing his first full day in isolation here, meeting virtually with his economic team to discuss bringing down gas prices the president with a smile and a thumbs up and this short

message. >> let me start by apologizing for my voice. i'm feeling much better than i sound. >> reporter: his doctor writing that the president still has a runny nose, fatigue and what's now a loose cough. his temperature, that reached 99.4 degrees last night, returned to normal after he took tylenol, and to avoid any interactions while taking paxlovid president biden, we're told, has paused his cholesterol and blood-thinning medications. tonight the white house says that 17 people have been identified as close contacts including vice president harris and the first lady, but none of them has tested positive so far. lester >> peter alexander, thanks. i'm joined now by dr. anthony fauci, president biden's chief medical adviser. dr. fauci, you had your own bout with covid back in june you took the same meds as the president you felt better only to get hit again by a rebounding infection is that a cautionary tale for the president, who is only a couple of years younger than you >> no, i don't think so i think it's a good

tale because we know that a person who is vaccinated the way the president is, doubly boosted the way the president is, and has the access as he has to paxlovid, we have every reason to believe that he will do fine. >> these breakthrough infections of fully vaxed and boosted people seem really common why is that? >> well, the vaccines do a really good job, lester, in preventing you from getting severe disease leading to hospitalizations. when you are vaccinated, and particularly if you're doubly boosted, the likelihood you will get into serious trouble is very, very low. >> dr. fauci, what is it looking like for the availability for an omicron-specific vaccine? >> the fda has made the decision they'll go with in the fall an authorization of a bivalent vaccine so you can get coverage from the original vaccine that we had, plus what is projected to be the most likely situation that we'll be facing in the fall.

hopefully those doses will be available sometime in september or early october. >> all right, dr. anthony fauci, good to talk to you. >> good to be with you. tonight, the brutal heat wave has turned deadly with tens of millions of americans still facing dangerous temperatures into the weekend jesse kirsch reports now from philadelphia. >> reporter: tonight millions of americans kicking off the hottest weekend this year. >> i'm like drenched in sweat 24/7. >> reporter: 75 million under heat alerts today phoenix hitting 114. dallas, 101. and philadelphia reaching 96 but feeling like 106 this weekend with humidity. isn't it too hot to be running the rocky steps? >> it's rocky. >> reporter: out west torturous temps could exacerbate lake mead's drought. stunning new nasa images show more than

two decades of shriveling extreme heat threatening an estimated 40 million people's water supply. meanwhile, back east amtrak warning it's so hot some trains need to slow down >> heat is a silent killer. >> reporter: this massive heat wave now also turning deadly. officials reporting heat-related deaths in texas and pennsylvania, both victims older with underlying conditions. what kinds of things can be exacerbated by the heat >> the largest category is going to be patients who have cardiovascular disease. they have underlying lung disease, asthma, copd >> reporter: heat kills an estimated 1,300 people every year in the u.s., more than any other weather event. >> when heatstroke becomes severe, you may become confused, maybe some slurred speech, difficulty walking. obviously increased thirst will be a sign. >> reporter: with the elderly and those experiencing homelessness especially vulnerable, groups wasting no time >> someone literally just said to me, this bottle of water saved my life today. >> reporter: heading into a weekend of more record highs, some are stuck toughing it out at work while others splash around. but no matter what you're doing, in much of the country there's no cooldown in sight >> so jesse, that

leads me to the question, when can we see some of those temps drop >> reporter: well, lester, we're looking at nearly two dozen record highs on sunday including new york, washington and right here in philly the midwest and northeast should see a cooldown by tuesday, but the south keeps getting hit through next week. lester >> jesse kirsch, thank you. in arizona, a test of where the republican party is headed with both donald trump and mike pence in the state supporting their widely divergent preferences for governor vaughn hillyard is there for us. >> reporter: the choice for the republican party's future is the clearest yet today in arizona donald trump and his former vice president both on the campaign trail on the same day in the same state backing opposing candidates in a contentious battle for arizona governor pence for karrin taylor robson, a real estate consultant. >> karrin taylor robson as the next governor of arizona! >> reporter: and

donald trump holding a late night rally for kari lake. >> kari lake, i'll tell you, she is incredible >> reporter: lake is a former news anchor who left her job last year for politics, is an election denier and unrelenting defender of the former president. >> when we had president trump at the helm, we had a secure border, strong economy and safe streets >> reporter: thursday night's public hearing making the threat posed to pence on january 6th clear. now a notable coalition standing with him today including current arizona house speaker rusty bowers, who testified last month on the pressure he faced by trump allies to overturn biden's 2020 win in the state. >> is this a battle for the soul of the republican party >> well, whether it's the soul right now, but everybody's got to reassess do we want to be a party that's looking into the past with some kind of grudge match all the time? >> reporter: current governor doug ducey also endorsing taylor robson >> more and more conservative voices lending their names and their time and

their energy to me >> reporter: lake now calls the media aht she once worked for the right hand of the devil. >> the question is, though -- >> i've already done an interview i know - >> reporter: trump has suggested that he will run for president again, but a few in the gop are flirting with pence as a possible alternative >> the vice president is a real moral force in our party he's a real true leader >> reporter: mail-in voting is already under way for this august 2nd primary in what could be a key indicator for which coalition voters are looking for in this trump/pence proxy battle lester >> okay, vaughn, thank you. in 60 seconds the nightmare of lost luggage. why are mountains of bags piling up this summer how you can lessen your risk when you fly.

as we've been reporting, it's been a tough summer for airline passengers, and the travel chaos is still playing out overseas, where lost luggage is piling up at airports across europe here's tom costello on frustration at baggage claim.

>> reporter: cory prinat's dream golfing trip to scotland was doomed the minute his flight left newark airport but his golf clubs stayed behind. two days later the clubs flew to london, then edinburgh, then on a delivery van through scotland down to england, back to scotland before ending up in a warehouse in birmingham where they still sit two months later. an apple airtag inside his bag tells him where it is. >> i spent all this money, saved all this money for this trip, and it was just basically ruined >> reporter: kathy riva flew to barcelona for a family event, but her bags bounced around europe before ending up with thousands of lost bags in london. delta even flew her to london to find them. no luck. >> the mountain of bags just kind of kept growing as you looked down the belts and conveyor belts where the bags come off. >> reporter: her luggage finally arrived in new york three weeks later. across europe airports have turned into luggage graveyards as understaffed airlines

and airports struggle with surging passenger levels on thursday we packed airtags inside family members' luggage as they traveled to belgium, then followed their bags through washington onto the plane, eventually landing in brussels today. u.s. airlines and airports struggled earlier this summer but now report improving operations >> we had a rough six weeks. no question about that we're sorry for our customers. >> reporter: if you have to check a bag, experts advise using the airline app to track your bag, put airtags in your bag, i.d.s inside and out and if you can, fly direct connections can lead to luggage hiccups lester >> okay, tom, thank you. when we come back, it's the technology that powers everything from our air conditioners to missiles why washington is scrambling to get more of it made in america.

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and i new i needed to do something so i started taking prevagen. i realized that i was much more clear and i was remembering the details that i was supposed to. prevagen keeps my brain working right. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. we call them chips, tiny semiconductors smaller than a fingernail. a modern car may have more than a thousand a javelin missile launcher has 250 the air conditioner hopefully keeping you cool has about 44 of them it's all part of the estimated $573 billion industry, one where the united states has fallen behind. jake ward now on the frantic effort in washington to keep this country competitive. >> reporter: tonight, congress is racing against the clock. >> we must act as soon as we can to make sure we bring chip manufacturing back to america because our nation's security

depends on it. >> reporter: the chips act would pour $52 billion into the technology that we use for practically everything, keeping our refrigerators cold, our cars on the road and our military connected. right now only 12% of those crucial chips are made in america, down from 37% in 1990. the government of taiwan has spent billions to dominate the global market and now controls 66% of it the ceo of intel, america's largest chipmaker, is demanding the u.s. government help domestic suppliers catch up >> do not go home for august recess until you have passed the chips act. >> reporter: there is bipartisan support in congress including from fiscal conservatives. >> it's about national security right now we have total reliance upon chips coming from asia. >> reporter: with the august recess approaching, congress is expected to take up the bill next week without it, gelsinger says the jobs his company promised to add are at risk.

>> my ohio plant, i want to do groundbreaking i want to get those shovels in the ground, but i have a great alternative in germany. >> these are some of the machines. >> reporter: he took us on a tour of intel's $7 billion factory in arizona last year. >> you look at one of these wafers here, what you're seeing is each one of these is an individual chip. >> reporter: he was expecting subsidies at that time. >> it's to level the playing field with what's been established for the last 30 years in asia. >> reporter: gelsinger now says that his industry needs to make investment decisions immediately and that he won't wait for congress any longer. lester >> jacob ward, thank you. when we come back, how one doctor fixed the broken heart of a young ukrainian girl

last night we told you sprinter noah lyles was on the brink of a comeback from a frustrating finish at the olympics in tokyo. the outcome, a historic victory, not only coming in first in the 200-meter at the world championships, but smashing the american record set by michael johnson 26 years ago. a remarkable achievement. and finally, the inspiring story of a young ukrainian girl and the doctor here working to save her life here's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: the way 9-year-old polina shchepaniak smiles, you'd never guess what her year has been like what do you miss the most about ukraine >> my family. >> reporter: polina is among the millions of

displaced ukrainian children. so many are heartbroken, but what sets her apart is a literal hole in her heart. >> as a mother, how scary is that? >> it's very scary because all 8 years when she was sick and i always think that it is heart >> reporter: her mother, katarina, had watched her daughter trying to be a typical 9-year-old but she'd tire quickly because of the heart defect if left untreated, it could be deadly. >> i want to ride a bike like all my friends. i want to -- >> swimming. >> swimming. i want to do all sports. >> reporter: but after the war broke out, she and her mother fled to poland were you scared? >> maybe a little bit. >> reporter: an organization called gift of life international used donations to pay for their travel to the u.s. how would you describe polina >> vivacious

>> reporter: and then dr. sean levchuck donated his time and expertise to perform the minimally invasive surgery at st. francis hospital and heart center. >> at 9 years of age they should be worrying about, you know, having fun >> reporter: tonight, two days after that surgery, polina is having fun and smiling. >> i'm happy because my surgery, it's good. >> reporter: she and her mother expect to return home soon the war may not be over, but in at least one way her heart is no longer broken gabe gutierrez, nbc news, roslyn, new york. >> what a great moment that's "nightly news" for this friday. thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night

it is out of here! welcome to nbc sports bay area, home of the authentic fan. a beautiful night for baseball