breaking news gh t, jeff sessions fired as attorney general. forced out by president trump, rod rosenstein no longer in charge of mueller, and democrats already sounding alarms about the new acting attorney general whose been openly critical of the russia lanvestigation. we havte details and what it all means and wh's next. also, the president lashing out and defiant as democrats seize the house. >> i thought it was a very close to complete victory. >> tonight, the new faces headed to congress, a record number of women in power. an emergency alert about hundreds of boeing airplanes, what pilots boare being warned about a fatal crash that remains a history. af>> a husband's call to actter losing his wife's life. she pleaded to help from 911 before

falling unconscious right outside the emergency room. >> why can't the operator call the hospital ed say there is someone outside your door? >> i know, that would have maybe saved her. >> tonight his call for change to save the lives of oers. the fbi urgently searching for a 13-year-old girl kidnapped outside her home. authorities asking the public fp. >> i cannot express this enough, every second counts. girl scouts versus boy scouts, a major feud takes an ugly turn. >> announcer: this is bc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, everyone. breaking late toy, attorney general jeff sessions fired by president trump faci a question mark over the future of the n.mueller investigat just a short time ago, session receiving a warm sendoff from colleaguess he left the justice department for likely the last time but no warm good-byes fr the nsresident who made

sessne of his favorite verbal punching bags after he recused himself from overseeing the russia investigation. his exit strips oversight of that case from the hands of sessions' deputy rod rosenstein a for now into the hands of somebody that criticized the special counsel's work. we get late details pete williams. pete, we can't say we didn't see this coming but there are late surprises here. ir >> reporter:, the timing. sessions thought this h would probabpen but not this quickly, but it does mean the guy in charge of the russia investigation is somody in the past who has been at least skeptical or if not critical of it. [ applause ] end of a slow-motion fall for jeff sessions leaving office tonight. the man who was the first u.s. senator to for donald trump. n

>> this is a campaign. this is a movement. >> reporter: as attorney general, session was a loyas was a loy trump soldier. >> we whole heartily join in the priorities of president trump. t> reporter: but in a letteroday addressed to the president, president sessions says at your request i am submitting my regnation. he was the target of blistering criticism from president trump. >> therefore i have recused myself. hi>> reporter: oves decision to recuse himself from overseeing russia election meddling investigation because he campaigned for trump. the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein took on the job of supervising the russia investigation and has been consistently supportive of robert le mu president trump appointed an acting attorney general, mat whittaker, former u.s. attorney from iowa and bush administration and until today, ssions chief of e taff, whittaker will oversethe russia investigation taking o r from rosenstein. when he was a conservative commentator for cnn he was wary of givinghe ecial counsel too much power and said the russia investigation could be ldhrottled back. >> i cee a scenario where jeff sessions is replaced with a recess

appoinent and that attorney general doesn't fire bob mu ler but reduces the budget so low that his investigation grinds to a halt. >> reporter: and he saw nothing wrong with trump's son meeting a russian lawyer that offered dirt on hillary clinton during the mpaign. >> i've run for public office twice and you certainly want to have any advantage and any legal advantage you can. >> reporter: the robert mueller retains special authority and atas to clear decisions withwhittaker. >> it means matt whittaker will overseemu boler's investigation if mueller needs to do something or seek tional authority or get permission to charge, mueller has to go through whittaker. >> reporter: whiaker has authority to fire mueller but only for cause like misconduct. no word tonight on rosenstein's future, he was on the job lyoday attending a previocheduled white house meeting. pete williams, nbc news, washington. >> reporter: i'm hallie jackson and tonight, after the high profile firing, democrats are firing

back. >> any aorney general, whether this one or another one should not be able to heinterfere with t mueller investigation in any way. >> reporter: the top democrat ohouse judiciary committee tweeting, americans must have answers immediately about sessions' departure, adding we will be holding people accounta democrats can do that now that they are getting control of the house but in the senate, president trump still holds the cards since his republican majority gives him the votes to nfirm a new pick. >> i'm disappointed in the attorney general for many reasons. ep >>ter: it's no secret the president has not been happy with sessions venting about him over and pver stemming from what tsident perceives as his original sin, recusal from the russia investigation. initially, republicans put up a fig. >> if jeff sessions is fired, there will be holy hell to pay >> reporter: that's changed in the last year with the reluctant acceptance the relationship is beyond repair. speculations swirling

over who the new attorney general could be. >> would you like to be attorney general? if asked, you serve? >> no, no, no. >> reporter: sessions' departure not a su rise but still sending shock waves through washington. llie jackson, nbc news. president trump gave no hint sessions when he spoke with reporters earlier in the day in an explosive post midterm news conference that saw him lashing out at a favorite target. our peter alexander was in the roo>> eporter: hours after republicans lost control of the house and expanded their majority in the senatea defiant president trump framed the voters' verdict as a tremendous success ugor himself. >> i t it was a very close to complete victory. president mocking eight defeated members of his party who refused to embrace hi

>> carlos cubea, ke kaufman, mia love gave me no love and she lost. too bad, sorry about that, mia. >> reporte taking a swipe at out going arizona senator jeff flake, too. >> i retired him. i'm very proud. d the country a great service. >> reporter: in a combative 87-minute news conference, the president appeared to be willing to reset his relationship with democrats praising nancy pelosi. >> it could be a beautiful bipartisan situation. we have a lot in common on infrastructure. we want to do something on health care. there are a lot of great things we could do together. >> reporte threatening to retaliate if democrats use subpoena power to launch investigations into his ni tdration. >> iy do that, all of this is a war-like posture. it could see it being extremely goodli tically because i think i'm better at that game. >> reporter: president trump brushing off the 11th hour campaign promises including a vow to end birthright citizenship and hire onsibility fuel ing a divisive environment stoking fears of illegal

immigration but when pressed by nbc's kristen welker about his role as a moral leader. >> i think i'm a great moral leader, and i love our country. >> reporter: the president at times angry sp with journalists. >> you please sit down. >> reporter: including a black reporter h asking wheths emboldened white nationalists. >> i don't know why you'say that. that's a racist question. >> reporter: and clashing with a tv correspondent that kept pressing him as hemo tried t on. >> you're a rude, terrible person. you shouldn't be working with cnn. >> in jim's defense, he's a great reporter. >> i'm not a fan of yours, either. >> why are you pittier ans against one another? >> peter, are you irying to be him? >> n asking a question. >> they are very weak on crime. >> the question is why are you pitting americans against one another, sir? >> i'm not. >> reporter: the president's biest biggest take

away, people like him in his words despite exit polls showed 54% of voterpproved of his performance as president, lester? the president has to work in the frame wo of a divided democrat with democrats riding high after riding the house and republicans expanding their majoty in the midterm elections that saw political newcomers charting history. we have coverage with kristen welker. >> reporter: it wasn't the blue wave democrats were hoping for, but still a big victory as of tonight, picking up 28 seats in the house of representatives taking back control for the first time in eight years. democrats getting subpoena, the ability to investigate the president. leader nancy pelosi was asked will that start bipartisanship? >> this doesn't mean we go looking for a se fight but if wa need to go forward, we will. >> reporter: in the senate, the president bucking history. his party expanding majority gaining ats, beating democrats in red states like indiana, north carolina and

missouri after the president targeted many of those races. >> in a sense, i am on the ticket. you got to go out to vote. >> i want to thank the president. he was extremely helpful to us. >> reporter: tonight, some key races are up in the air. in arizona, martha mcsally and kyrsten sinema too close to cal in florida bill nelson calling for at reco trailing republican rick scott. democrats winning in seven governor's races but losing key 2020 states like ohio and florida anin that contentious governor's race in georgia, is behind but not conceding. >> there are voices that are waiting to be heard. >> reporter: election night drama still playing out across the country. kristen welker, nbc news, wash. this is kasie hunt on capitol hill where history is about to be made.ne thst congress featuring more than 100 women, a new reco. among them, the first

muslim women, michigan's and minnesota's. >> here in minnesota we don't only welcome o mmigrants, we send themwashington. >> reporter: also winning, new york democrat alexandria cortez. at 29, the youngest woman ever elected to congress, thenhere is deb haaland and sharice davie first native american women. >> doing what is right, doing what is just is never a partisan issue. >> reporter: other veterans include greg pence, the brother of the vice president, and dan crenshaw, one m of the first lean -- republicans elected and a fresh face to congress, one of the most familiar, the state's newest senator mitt romney. >> i will be only one

of 100 uniates senators, but i believe one person doing the right thing he right time can have a lasting impact. >> reporter: kasie hunt, nbc news, the capitol. tonight, the faa issued an emergency order requiring airlines that fly a popular new boeing w plane to fol urgent safety alert after last week's fatal plane crash that killed 189 people in indonesia. nbc's tom costello has late details. >> reporter: it's a best seller for boeing, the 737 max is the latest most sophisticated model yet. now an urgent fety directive affecting all 246 planes worldwide, 45 of them in the u.s. investigators say the pilots othe doomed flight struggled to keep the plane in the air, pulling the nose up as the plane's computers pushed it in a fatal dive. >> the computer introduced a nose down command and the pilots fought it. they are trying to maintain altitude. nuthe computer con and the computer at this point has a more powerful flight control and eventually battle. s lose the

>> reporter: investigators believe one of the plane's sensors was sending bad data. the computers pushed the nose forward to pick up speed and avoid a stall. investigators say that acame sensor was repled just a day before after air speed indicators malfunctioned on previous flights. >> we're providing our technical support to the indonesia investigating authorities. >> reporter: an faa emergency order reminding pilots what to do in similar emergencies, simply switch off the electric stabilizer trim system. nv >>tigators including boeing are going to have to determine whether or not this crew is trained and of course, boeing will have to focus on whether or not they have a software or technical issue. on >> reporter:ht, american, southwest and united airlines say they are compiling with the faa order. none reporting any

problems with their 737s, lester? >> tom costello, thank you. to an c news exclusive two. years ago we told you about a husband writing a letter thanking the medical staff that cared for his wife in the final days. turns out, there was much more to the story and tonight he speaks out to kate snow with an urgent care to hection to prevent anottragedy and a warning, some of what you're about to hear and see is disturbing. >> reporter: 34-year-old laura lived to hike, travel, workout. laura is my best friend. she was this person whwanted to -- had so much life in her. >> reporter: laura and her husband were apart the night she had a deadly asthma attack. after laura's death, he was told she call 911 that night but they couldn't find her. >> the story i was told was not the whole >> reporter: surveillance video obtained shows laura was right outside the summerville hospital emergency room. what happed to her? >> our entire emergency response system failed her.er were ten coin flips and she lost every one. r >>eporter: for the past ten months, he scoured reports and

cords. 4:21 a.m. laura arrived with no sign healthcare reforming the emergency room entrance, she walked to a lighted entrance and found it locked. >> finding that door locked, i'm sure she to panic. >> reporter: that makes asthma worse? >> yes. >> reporter: she called 911. >> i'm having an asthma attack, i'm ing. >> reporter: her call went to a regional state poli dispatch center about 18 miles away. i just at the door, i feel like i'm dying. >> reporter: the regional operator passed the calto cal police, but not crucial details like exactly where she was. why can't the operator just call the hospital e.r. and say there is someone right outside your door? >> i know. that would have been -- that would have maybe saved her. >> reporter: eventually, an e.rrs stepped outside to look for laurfor seconds but never saw her on a bench 70 feet away. five minutes later, a firefighter finally found laura and gave her cpr. she died about a week later. cambridge health

alliance said they did not meet the high standards for chance -- cctransparency and accountability. we have already begun to make the necessary changes. we're deeply sorry. >> if we sav someone's life, i can't think of anything she would want more. >> reporter: a grieving husband hoping for change. ew kate snow, nbc boston. >> what a heartbreaking tragedy. tonight, millions are bracing for the of coldest blashe season so far, unseasonably cold temperatures set in later this week. eeome highs could be 25 degrs below average for this time of year. bundle u winter, as they say, is coming. also ahead, the urgent search for a outside ducte her home. also, girl scouts versus boy scouts, why the two are now at war. everything, so we know how to cover almost anything. even a huge drag.

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kidnapped right outside her home. here is nbc news' gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: the last thing her family heard hrom her were the scream little sister was outside her home in north carolina when she says she went out to start the faly suv early monday morning before school. >> they took her away, we couldn't hear we couldn't hear her. she told us we were over there and we didn't know what ppened. >> reporte a witness tells police that a man dressed in black and wearing a yellow bandanna forced the 13-year-old girl into the vehicle and drove juway. >> mal came and stole the truck, left in the truck with a child in the car, also. >> he had a hoodie with a thing on top. >> reporter: tonight, an amber alert is in effect and authorities are franticallse arching for that suv spotted on newly released surveillance video. c> every second counts whenld is missing. >> reporter: the fbi now offering a $15,000

reward. >> please do not be afraid t to us. we only want to find her. >> reporter: as the eighth grader's family pleads for her safe return. gabe gutierrez, nbc news. after the break, why the girl scouts told the boy scouts . see you in cou you might take something for your heart... or joints. but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally discovered in jellyfish, prevagen has been shown in clinical trials to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

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we're back to tell you about a turn tting a fight of two organizations against each other. the girl scouts versus the boy scouts. the boy scouts of america is changing the name for kids ages 11-17 and that led to a lawsuit. here is kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: the feud between the boy and girl scouts is getting ugly. in a tra lawsuit, the girl scouts say planning to drop boy from its name and allowing girls to join, the y scouts are causing confusion, marginalizing the girl scouts and misleading some into thinking the groups merged. in 2019 boy scouts will allow girls. cub scouts are already

including girls. like 8-year-old lily in ohio. >> i don't think we should have groups labeled for boys and girls. they should be open to everybody so everybody can have that uniqex rience that fits them best. >> reporter: in response to the lawsuit, boy s america say we applaud every organization that builds character and leadership including the girl scouts of the usa and believe there is an portunity for both to serve youth in the communities. as the case goes to court, don't expect the groups to sing by a campfire any time soon. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, new york. coming up next, how americans made last night a record breaker. >> announcer: "nbc nightly news" is brought to you by pacific life. protecting genations of families for 150 years. that's the power of pacific. even better?

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the numbers are inspiring, at least 20 million more americans voted last night compared to 2014. no matter whether your r candidates won loss, the massive turnout is something we can all celebrate. here is y smith. >> reporter: the words we're pretty sure you didn't hear yesterday were low voter turnout. no, americans went to the polls and proudly displayed voting stickers and the experiment in representative government was trending.

where stickers ran out, people created their own. they were not going to be seen in public without a sign of their participation. people used to say i you don't vote, you don't have a right to eaomplain. this it felt more like i voted and i'm having my say. harry smith, nbc news, new york. >> some things are worth standing in line for. that's "nightly news" fothis wednesday. r you don't just want easy. you want "streaming all your favorite netflix shows on fast internet" easy. you want "internet that helps you save on mobile" easy.

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