we have it covered starting with nbc's 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 democrats getting subpoena power, the ability to investigate the president. leader nancy pelosi was asked will that stop any bipartisanship. >> this doesn't mean we go looking for a fight, but it means that if we see a need to go forward, we will. >> reporter: but in the senate, the president bucking history. his party expanding its majority, gaining seats, beating democrats in red states like indiana, north dakota, and missouri, after the president targeted many of those races. >> in a sense i am on the ticket. you've got to go out to vote. >> i want to thank the president. he was extremely helpful to us. >> reporter: but tonight, some key races are up in the air. in arizona, martha mcsally versus kyrsten sinema, still too close to call. and in florida, democrat bill nelson calling for a recount, now trailing republican rick scott. de

our kristen welker takes us into one of the massive gaps. >> reporter: if there is any doubt, this is the year of the woman, look no further than arizona. the razor tight race between two female congresswomen, republican >> we know is in lock step with the president's agenda from health care to the border wall. >> does president trump hurt you or help you? >> he won arizona and energizes republicans. >> reporter: sinema, an educator and try athlete voted to fund the border law but oppose the president's tax cuts. >> a vote for sinema is a wasted vote. >> reporter: why should those voters that agree with his agenda vote for you? >> i vote against the issues when they are wrong for arizona. >> reporter: women around the country are running in record numbers. 23 women on the ballot for u.s. focus on female candidates, even more critical cobeeme voters who are shaping up to possibly be one of the most consequential voting blocks this year. a recent national poll shows women voters are breaking for democrats by a margin of more than 2-1 like democrat judy in phoenix who organized her book

kristen welker, nbc news, washington. >>> sad news from overseas. th e american service members were killed and three others injured in central afghanista the deadliest attack on u.s. forces there in over a year. our pentagon correspondent hans tails.ls has >> reporter: the attack near the embattled city of ghazni, a roadside bomb kil three americans. the soldiers traveling in a heavily armored vehicle. taliban insurgents quicy claiming responsibility. the first lady ng condolences. >> today's tragic news out of afghanistan only drives home the need to support the men and women in our military and their families. >> reporter: the american's death bringing the total killed in combat to afghanistan to 12 this year, the deadliest toll since 2015. this month alone, already two deaths. army sergeant leandro jasso and major brent taylor, a utah mayor. president donald trump has escalated the war he inherited, bringing the number of troops there to 14,000. lot of progress has been made. >> reporter: but his own chairman of the joint chiefs of staff isaid t

kristen welker? >> hi there. according to two sources who i just spoke with, president trump as a part of his written answers to special counsel robert mueller told mueller that he didn't know about that 2016 trump tower meeting between don junior and a russian attorney before it happened. and that he didn't know about those wikileaks from roger stone. that he wasn't informed about that. now this is according to two sources familiar with the matter. this was reported by another news outlet earlier today. but we have, in fact, confirmed that reporting. according to these sources with whom i spoke, nicolle, i am told that the questions that president trump answered all related to russia. not related to the issue of obstruction. those sources telling me the president answered those questions to the best of his recollection. these sources also confirming that news that "the new york times" broke that i know you'll delve into with mike moments from now, but that news that, in fact, they have been updated by paul manaf

you want th >> that was kristen welker reporting. >> heart break continues in northern california as more victims of the deadly camp fie d total number now rising to at least 48. it is already the deadliest fire in california history. with dozens still missing, officials say that number could rise. firefighters are struggling to control the camp fire which has grown to 130,000 acres and 35% containment. officials now say full containment may not happen until the end of the 97,000 acres, but crews there have made some progress. that blaze is now 40% contained, with full containment expected by sunday. but flare-ups like this one here california's tech giants are stepping in. airbnb is helping relief workers and displaced victims get temporary its open homes program. and google and facebook are each donating between 250 and $500,000 for relief efforts. nbc's miguel almaguer is in oak park, california, with the latest from the ground. >> reporter: as a volcano of fire explodes in the hills outside malibu. >> mandatory evacuations are upped way. >> reporter: the orders to evacuate came i

our kristen welker is in florida traveling with the president. >> reporter: tonight, despite mounting pressure to punish saudi arabia, president trump is ramping up his support for the kingdom, tweeting oil prices getting lower. great. like a big tax cut for america and the world. enjoy. thank you to saudi arabia. but economists point out saudi arabia isn't solely responsible for lowering oil prices. still, it comes after the president broke with the cia assessment that the crown prince, mohammed bin salman, directly ordered the killing of jamal khashoggi. >> the cia has looked at it. they've studied it a lot. they have nothing definitive. and the fact is, maybe he did, maybe he didn't. >> reporter: and defense secretary james mattis now says he does not think the cia or saudi government have fully established who is but tonight, a sharp et to work backlash. >> i am astounded at the type of response that was put out by the white house. we have a crown prince that i believe directed the killing of a journalist. >> that say huge blow to our intelligence community which at the end of the

kristen welker, nbc news, washington. >>> tonight officials in argentina where the saudi crown prince arrived are moving towards investigating him for crimes against humanity over the murder of a "washington post" columnist. while the trump administration faced criticism today it's ignoring a cia assessment about the writer's death. here is andrea mitchell. >> reporter: the powerful saudi crown prince who the cia believes likely ordered the murder of jamal khashoggi arriving in argentina for a summit where he will brush shoulders with president trump tomorrow. critics say administration is covering up his role in khashoggi's death and the cia director not showing up to brie many. >> how can i make a decision as a united states or nto the crow complicit in a murder if i don't have access to the intelligence i read about in the paper? >> reporter: the secretary of state, a former cia director saying the cia has no proof. >> there is no direct reporting connecting the crown prince to the order to murder jamal khashoggi. >> reporter: spy agencies rarely have a smoking gun like an eyewitne

>> kristen welker, thanks. >>> in pittsburgh tonight, as funerals continue for the 11 people killed in that synagogue mass shooting, the suspect has now been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged now with 44 counts including hate crimes. prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty. >>> i want to talk now about a growing mystery. this is a strange one. two sisters found bound together by duct tape in new york city's hudson river, their bodies hundreds of miles from home. authorities are being tight-lipped on this case while asking the public for help. we get more from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: tonight, new york city police want the public's help. anything anyone may now about two young sisters from saudi arabia. the bodies of 22-year-old rotana farea and her 16-year-old sister tala were found last week in the hudson river, just off of manhattan pier. bound together by duct tape around their ankles and waists. they were dressed in similar clothes, black leggings and fur-lined black coats. tala, the younger sister, had been reported missing. their deaths rema

kristen welker has details. >> reporter: tonight, jerome corsi, a close associate of former trump adviser roger stone, tells nbc news he's in talks to cut a plea deal with special counsel robert mueller. corsi, a conspiracy theorist, says he was questioned about prosecutors about wikileaks' release of john podesta's hacked e-mails. podesta was hillary clinton's campaign chair. for weeks corsi has signaled the pressure is mounting. >> i fully anticipate in the next few days, i will be indicted. >> reporter: mueller's team has been zeroing in on whether corsi learned before the public that wikileaks had obtained podesta's e-mails hacked by the russians, and then shared that information with roger stone. in a radio interview late today, stone says he hasn't done anything wrong. >> there's simply no evidence whatsoever that would show that i knew about the source or the content of any allegedly stolen e-mails or any allegedly hacked e-mails that were published by wikileaks. just not so. >> reporter: and stone told laura ingraham earlier this month he's concerned corsi could cause him problems

we get more fr nbc's kristen welker. >> reporter: tonight, president trump in tmississippi maki final pitch for cindy hyde-smith. >> tomorrow, if you don't mindmake it not even close to. >> reporter: this morning a disturbing reminder, this race has become all about es race, two noound at the state capital. hyde-smith came under fire for saying she'd welcome sitting in the hanging, comments her campaign dismissed as a joke. >> any time i say somebody that got offended, i want to apologize. >> reporter: tonight a new controversy, the "jackson free press" reporting hyde-smith attended an all white segregated hh school and sent her daughter to a similar school. her challenger, a former congressman and cabinet member is looking to become the first african american ssenator from thetate in more than a ur ce >> i believe i'm the candidate to take mississippi forward. >> reporter: to win, he needs a americans to turnout in force. >> mississippi is one of the red's states in the country. the president has a 60% job approval rating, so his formula is very simple, getting his people out to the

our kristen welker has details. >> reporter: in the explosive, new report, "the new york times" says the conversation happened last spring. president trump telling then white house counsel don mcgahn that he wanted the justice department to prosecute hillary clinton and former fbi director james comey. the newspaper cites two people familiar with the conversation. the "times" says mcgahn told the president he had no authority to order that and that white house lawyers drafted a memo for the president, that if he asked law enforcement to investigate his rivals, he could face a range of consequences, including possible impeachment. even as a presidential candidate, mr. trump hinted at ordering an investigation into clinton. >> but if i win, i am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation. >> reporter: and the new report raising more questions about the president's tense relationship with his justice department, including firing attorney general jeff sessions to new fears from democrats that his replacement, matt whitaker, might curtail

. >> reporter: i'm kristen welker with the president that gavehanks to members of the military today but things quickly turned political as mr. trump escalated his extraordinary war of words with the ie judiciary and justice of the supreme court john roberts. >> i like him and respect t i think we have to use some common sense. >> reporter: iall started when the president slammed san francisco's ninth circuit judge as an obama judge this week s for halting attempts to crack down on those seeking asylum prompting roberts to counter telling the associed press, we do not have obama judges or trump judges, bush judges or clinton judges. president trump then fired back in a series of tweets including this morning. justice roberts can say what ws. our justice la enforcement should be ntble to do their job and versy over saudi arabia and contradicting his cia that suggested the saudi crown prince ordered the killing. the president ignoring mounting bipartisan calls to hold the saudis responsible and to punish them. >> i hate the crimi te what's done. i hate the coverup and i'll tell you thi

we've got it all covered starting with kristen welker in atlanta. >> you get a vote. and you get a vote. and you get a vote. >> reporter: tonight the o factor, oprah winfrey electrifying voters in georgia for stacy abrams knocking on doors, hosting a pair of down halls today supporting abrams that could be the first female african-american governor. >> nobody paid for me to come here. i paid for myself and i approve this message. >> reporter: quickly dismissing the question, is her visit a sign she's thinking about running for president? >> i'm not here because i'm making some grandstand because i'm thinking about running myself. i don't want to run. >> reporter: instead, oprah putting the focus on abrams. >> i said stacy, this is oprah. she said girl, let me pull over to the side of the road. >> reporter: and on turning out the vote, reminding the audience of a painful past. >> for anybody here who has an ancestor who didn't have the right to vote and you are choosing not to vote wherever you are in this state, in this country, you are dishonoring your family. >> rep

kristen welker is there for us tonight. what's the latest? >> reporter: lester, striking that t is president trump is lashing out at french id prt emanuel macron. he's here to celebrate peace among allies, the world of world war i. this started when macron said europe should build its own military to protect against outside forces including the u.s. president trtwp ted out that's very insulting. they were ce so close their relationship was a bromance but that's fizzling, setting the stage for high diplomatic drama this weekend. >> kristen welker, thank you. >>> former first lady michelle obama is opening up she reveals the thing she'll never forgive and her private battle with something many families struggle with. llere is andrea mitc >> our motto is when they go low, we go high. >> reporr: after fiercely guarding her privacy in the white house years, the most revealing memoir written by a former first lady ripping president trump's false accusaons out her husband's citizenshias bigoted and dangerous. what if someone with an unstable mind lo

get the breaking details from nbc's kristen welker. >> reporter: tonight, in a dramatic twist, stormy daniels says her attorney michael avenatti sued president trump fo defaming her against her wishes and alleges avenatti withheld information from her and launched a new without her campaign permission. daniels saying in a statement tonight, i haven't decided yet what to do about legal represeation moving forward and avenatti say he's stormy's biggest champion. he said i personally ed an enormous amount of money, time and energy in assisting her because i believe in her. avenatti says daniels y agreed to pam $100 under their original d agreement anall other money would be towards his legal fees. >> my attorney and i are committed to make out the truth. inds >> reporter: in a separate suit daniels is suing t president and his former assistant michael cohen in a hush payment, claiming he hushed her with money about a sexual encounter with mr. trump in 2006 which the president denies. kristen welker, nbc ne, washington. >> tonight officials in argentina wre the saudi crown prince arrived

>> kristen welker, thank you. th all that news breaking, fallout tonight after the revelation that ivanka trump used private e-mail to conduct in government bs while working in the white house. critics pouncing, alleging hypocrisy after her father criticism of clinton's e-mails. peter alexander has late details. >> reporter: tonight, the first dad defending his dedaughter, now unr investigation for violating federal records rules by using her personal e-mail account to conduct governmentusiness last year. >> ivanka did some e-mails. they weren't classifie hillary clinton. they weren't deleted like hillary clinton. they're all in presidential records. there was no hiding. >> reporter: ivanka trump also not hiding, gront and center in the roden, but silent. a spokesperson for mrs. trump saying she sometimes used her private count, almost always for logistics and scheduling concerning her family. still, house democrats are demanding answers, vowing they'll investigate those e-mails, reportedly hundredsthem, that miss

nbc's kristen welker has the latest on oprah's trip to atlanta. >> you get a vote! and you get a vote! and you get a vote! >> reporter: the o factor. oprah winfrey electrifying voters in georgia for democrat stacey abrams, knocking on doors. >> hi, oprah! >> reporter: hosting a pair of town halls supporting abrams who could become the country's first female african-american governor. >> nobody paid for me to come here. nobody even asked me to come here. i paid for myself, and i approve this message. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: quickly dismissing the question on everyone's mind. is her visit a sign she's thinking about running for president? >> i'm not here because i'm making some grandstand because i'm thinking about running myself. i don't want to run. >> reporter: instead, oprah putting the focus on abrams. >> i said, stacy, this is oprah. she said, girl, let me pullover the side of the road. [ laughter ] >> reporter: and on turning out the vote, reminding the audience of a painful past. >> for anybody here who has an ancestor who didn't have the right to

louis. >>> let's go to kristen welker who's joining me with the reaction, what can you tell me on that front? >> alex, we heard president trump consistently say despite talk of a blue wave, he thinks there is going to be a red wave. he has not been aggressive on that talking point lately. they are trying to tamp down the expectations there is going to be big wins by democrats. take a listen to what kellyanne conway had to say earlier today. >> for all the talk of enthusiasm of democrats on the side, that's typical for the party out of power. only eight times in history, picking up a few seats for the republican party on tuesday would be historic and the fact that no body is talking about losing seats is remarkable. >> the reality check based on my conversation with officials here, they are bracing for possibly losing the house. you heard president trump effectively acknowledged as much on friday, they are hoping to expecting to holding onto the senate and that's why he's so focused on gubernatorial races and today he's going to be in georgia and tennessee and in areas that are very pop

we begin with kristen welker. what's is president's strategy in these final hours? >> reporter: good evening. for president trump, it is all about energizing the base. tonight he is making the rare admission that republicans could lose the house all raising the stakes for every single rally from now until election day. heading into the homestretch in west virginia, where the president didn't spend much time highlighting the positive jobs numbers or low unemployment rate. >> they all say speak about well, we have the greatest economy in the history of our country. itinto metimes, it is talk about the economy. right? >> reporter: instead, moving on to the message he thinks will electrify his base, stoking fears over immigration. >> homeland security has just confirmed that members of the lawless caravan, the one you have been watching, come from 20 different countries, and include among them criminals and gang members. >> reporter: and the president backtracking from this remark. >> i told them, consider it a rifle. when they throw rocks like they did at the mexican m

kristen welker is there. >> reporter: it is striking that president trump is lashing out against the french president this. suggested when macron suggested europe should build its own military. president trump upon landing fired back, tweeting that's very insulting. the two were once so close their relationship was described as bromance. now that's fizzling amid a range of policy differences. >> kristen welker in paris. >>> former first lady michelle obama is opening up like never before. in her candid new memoir mrs. obama reveals the things she will never forgive president trump for and her private battle that many families struggle with. here's andrea mitchell. >> our motto is when they go low, we go high. >> reporter: after fiercely guarding her privacy in the white house years now the most revealing memoir ever written by a former first lady ripping president trump's falls accusations about her husband's citizenship as dangerous. what if a person loaded a gun and went looking for the president, or our girls. putting my family at risk. for this i would never forgive him. writing

nbc's kristen welker has more. >> reporter: in a dramatic twist stormy danieays her attorney, michael avenatti, sued president trump for defaming her against her wishes and alleges avenatti withheld information from her and launched a new crowd funding campaign without her permission. daniels saying in a statement, "i haven't decided yet what t do about legal representation moving forward. avenatti responding that he's stormy's biggest champion. "i have personally sacrifice an enormous amount of money, time, and energy toward assisting her because i believe in her." avenatti says daniels agreed to pay him $100 under their original aeement and all other money raise would go toward his legal fees. >> my attorney and i are committed to making sure everyone finds out the truth. >> reporter: in a separate suit daniels is suing the president and hisna former perl attorney michael cohen over a hush money payment, claiming cohen paid her $130,000 just before the 2016 lelection about a sex encounter with mr. trump in 2006, which the president denies. kristen welker, nbc news washington. >>> ne

nbc's kristen welker has more on the first lady's feuds. >> reporter: thead first flexing her muscles. melania trump taking the unprecedted step of publicly calling for the firing of one of her husband's top advisors, mira ricardel amid other clashes with the chief of staff, john kelly, so significant it could lead to kelly's departure. seven people familiar with the situation tell nbc news kelly has tangled with the first ve lady's team o everything from staffing issues to travel requests. one white house official telling nbc there have been instances where the east wing staff were not treated as equals to the male dominated decision makers in chief kelly's office. but in a statement, the first lady's spokesperson called the retionship with kelly's staff very positive. melania trump acknowledging last month the white house can be a challenging environment. >> we alwayseed to watch your back. >> reporter: the first lady blasted th deputy to national security advisor john bolton. that deputy mira ricardel spotted at a white house event with the president when the first lady's spokesper

>> kristen welker, thank you so much. >> today hundreds of strangers in chico, california, are coming together to serve 15,000 thanksgiving meals to wildfire survivors. the event is hosted by world central kitchen. the city of paradise, chico state university and sierra nevada brewery. they'll be serving meals at two locations at the university and one at azizirad era nevada brewery. seating times will be at 11:00, 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. celebs are also showing up with donations like kim kardashian. >> to know that you've lost your home, kanye and adidas wanted to donate $200,000 so that you guys -- [ cheers and applause ] so that you guys can, you know, pick up the pieces. >> appearing on ellen, she surprised a firefighter who lost his home with a $100,000 check. she and hubby kanye west also donated $400,000 to two separate california firefighters organizations. green bay packers quarterback and chico native aaron rodgers announced he's donating $1 million. and he's also partnered up with state farm to make an additional donation of up to $1 million. the camp fire is now at 85% co

nbc's kristen welker takes us insideti one cl senate race to show us the massive power women hold this election day.or >> rr: if there's any doubt, this is the year of the woman, look no further than arizona. therazor-tigh race between two female congress women, republican martha mcsally, and democratyrsten sinema. >> we know what's at stake. >> i know why i ran. >> replyter: mcs a former fighter pilot, isst in lo with the president's general da, from health care to the border wall. >>> does the president help you or hurt you? >> he won arizona. he energizes republicans. >> reporter: sinema has voted to fund theor br wall but opposed the tax cuts. >> a vote for kyrsten sinema i a wasted vote. >> reporter: why should voters who agree with his agenda vote er you onction day? >> well, i vote for issues theg presidents with when arizona and for against issues when they're wrong for arizona. >> reporter: women around the eccountry are running ind numbers. 23 women on the ballot for u.s. senate and 235 in house races. and while there's a lot of focus on female candidates, even more critical

kristen welker in florida for harry litman and the former u.s. attorney and deputy assistant general, and msnbc analyst and spokesman eric miller who was the chief spokesman for previous attorney general eric holder. and so this is breaking all norms, kristen welker, a a tnd president not unaware or concerned or determined to go after thehe rivals even though there is a fire wall between the president of the united states and the justice department and prosecutions. >> that is right, andrea, and it is going to raise real questions of how he sees his powers, and his relationship with his own justice department. i spoke with a former administration official who said, look, this should not be coming as a surprise to anyone, because this is something that president trump has signaled since he was a candidate. as you just pointed out, it is something that he has effectively signaled after he took office, and still the fact that he had these conversations is striking. now, based on that new york times report, we know that mcgahn's response to him is th

so glad that you are out there, and kristen welker. and now, let's take a look at the big picture with the nbc political editor charlie cook, and editor of the cook report and mark murray. and what are you looking at? five days out, andle is of the races are so tight, and scott walker and others, and it is really dangerous the predict what is going to happen. >> yes, andrea, we have seen a slew of polls in the last 24 hour, and so many of the races are tight. looking at indiana, and this is the nbc/maris poll that we had and we had incumbent joe donnelly up by three point, and well within the margin of error, and in an important race for democrats in the ability to stave the off any kind of losses in the senate. and also in indiana, we have a fox news poll that showed donnelly with a slightly bigger lead, but it is a earliest poll closing times that we will see in the country. we will know how the political winds are blowing when we see the returns in indiana, and also, andrea, talking about the tight races in cnn poll that the had kry

kristen welker has the story. >> reporter: i'm kristen welker is in west palm beach with the president, who gave thanks to members of the military. >> it's an honor to be with all of you. >> reporter: but things quickly turned political as mr. trump escalated his war of words with the judiciary and chief justice of the supreme court john roberts. >> i like him, i respect him, but i think we have to use some common sense. >> reporter: it all started when the president slammed san francisco's ninth circuit judge as an obama judge earlier this week for halting his attempts to crack down on those seeking asylum along the border, prompting roberts to counter, telling the associated press, "we do not have obama judges or trump judges, bush judges or clinton judges." president trump then fired back in a series of tweets, including this morning, "justice roberts can say what he wants. our great law enforcement professionals must be allowed to do their job." stoking more controversy over saudi arabia, today, contradicting his own cia which assessed with a high degree of certainty that the saudi

nbc's kristen welker is livets e of the white house with reaction. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hi, aaron and eun. president trump is casting this as aindication of himself and his policies even as americans are waking up to a new in washington as you just pointed out, that of a divided t govern democrats took back control of the house in elections tuesday for the first time i eight years. that momentum fueled by a rebuke of president trump in cities and suburbs, but those democratic gains did not extend to the linate where repns padded their advantage. that's what we were expecting with the house nown democratic hands though, they are poised to flex their muscles. what does that mean? it means the likely takeover committees h ofse and oversight. and now the power to investigate the president and subpoena top administration officials and documents signaling they want to ask for tax returns butp president trundeterred. he tweeted tremendous success focusing clearly only on the senate. the white houses it's a sign the president's strategy, inclu

kristen welker, nbc news, washington. >>> we are following breaking news right now. let's get the latest details. >> this is pete williams in washington where robert mueller says former trump campaign manager paul manafort has been lying to the fbi since he pleaded month and should be immediately sentenced since he's no longer cooperating. manafort denies it. also today george papadopoulos admitted to a prison to serve a 14-day sentence. he admitted lying to the fbi about contacts with russians who offered dirt on hillary clinton. lester? >>> the u.s. warned russia today that it has committed a, quote, outrageous violation after firing upon and seizing three ukrainian ships in the black sea. bill knenealy is in moscow with more. >> reporter: russia's navy chasing three ukrainian ships. this video appearing to show the moment of impact. one ship rammed. shots were fired. the ships seized. two dozen ukrainian sailors captured. russian war planes threatening above. the ukrainian ships were traveling between two of their own ports and were hit at the narrow kerch strait

we're joined by nbc's white house correspondent kristen welker who is live in paris. good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, dara. good morning to you. this has already been a day of pomp and ceremony here in paris. and it has not been without its headlines. so far president trump, while arriving at this ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary to the end of world war i was greeted by a protester who ran out, got close to his motorcade a topless protester. police were quick to detain her. he then arrived, greeted president macron and also had a very brief hand shake with president putin. of course, all eyes on his interactions with president putin. the white house said he's not expected to have an official meeting with putin during this weekend, rather he's going to have a bilateral meeting at a later summit, the g to summit. we're watching very closely to see whether these two leaders do have a morrow bust interaction. right now the focus is on these nearly 80 world leaders gathered to mark this occasion. it will be a solemn day. they are paying tribute to those who gave

>> kristen welker is at the white house for us. kristen, we just saw and heard from president trump there a few moments ago as he gets set to depart for the g20 there in south america. tell us a little more about what the president said and perhaps just as importantly what the president did not say. >> reporter: well, craig, the president tried to down play these developments, but he is increasingly feeling the pressure from the special counsel investigation, which is frankly ramping up and has been in the wake of the midterms. he called michael cohen weak and tried to frankly say nothing to see here as it relates to this. take a listen to what he had to say about michael cohen. >> everybody knew about it. it was written about in newspapers. it was a well-known project. i didn't do the project. i decided not to do the project, so i didn't do it. michael cohen, what he's doing is he was convicted, i guess, you'll have to put it into legal terms, but he was convicted with a fairly long-term sentence on things unrelated. he's a weak p

back to you. >> kristen welker at the white house. thank you. >>> happening today, another major closure as youn ret from the long holiday and begin your work week. starting today the yellow line will shut down for a couple weeks. >> justin finch is live at l'enfant plaza with the reason for this closure. >> reporter: there are going to be repairs. we're on day one of 14 and service will be knocked out on the yellow line until next month. so here for the next 14 days is what riders will have to deal with. primarily the blue line if you travel between d.c. and virginia. it will pick up the slack, if you will, for the yellow l being out but you can expect longer lines, wait times, evenar fewer on the tracks at times as well. metro swiing service drop down to half around rush hour in the meantime this will give t crews time work on their task atha nd which is the yellow line bridge which overgoes the potomac. they're make regular pairs to rack as well as the structure, too, so if all goes well, the yellow line will beliack o by december

kristen welker is live in paris. how is the president being received with that controversy even as he was landing? >> reporter: well, that controversy you mentioned, frances, president trump as he was landing tweeted out that french president emmanuel macron was very insulting for suggesting that europe should essentially have its own military to protect itself from outside forces including the united states, so today the two leaders had a bilateral summit and they really aim to tamp down any sense that there was tensions between the two of them. macron making the case that of course europe should have its own strong military. president trump really tried to put the focus on burden sharing, but it is a striking moment, frances, because of course those two leaders had what a lot of people called a bromance and that bromance has been fizzling over time due to a range of different foreign policy disputes over everything from iran to climate policy so all of those disputes really at the forefront, but again, the two lead

kristen welker. thanks. >>> school safety or safety at school bstops, rather, it's in the headlines following a series of fatal accidents acrous thery this week. at least five children killed, seven others hurt, alll of the struck while waiting for their buses. nbc's kerry sanders is in tampa where the latest crash happened. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. th dangerous deadly week that we have this is just really troubling. there are five children here in tampa right now who are recovering. thankfully, they survived. but it has been a deadly week. we had three children who were hit and killed in indiana. two of those were twins. in pennsylvania, a 7-year-old was hit by a car and killed. andn mississippi a 9-year-old. it draws all the attention to e fact that we still have daylight saving time and children are out, but it is darker later. so drivers need to down. the national highway safety administration says the most important thing to teach your kids is the most dangerous time for t

. >> kristen welker is there. kristen, already some drama in the president's trip. >> there is some drama. good morning to you. president trump as you said is here to mark the 100th anniversary to the end of world war i to celebrate peace among allies. and yet at the moment he was touching down here in paris, he sparked essentially a verbal batter with the host leader, president emmanuel macron who is also one of his close friends personally when it comes to dealing with other world leaders. here's where it all began, when macron suggested that europe should build its own military. he said to protect outside forces including the united states. president trump fired off this tweeted among landing, dara. i'll read it to you. it says president macron of france has just suggested that europe build its own military in order fro tegtd itself from u.s., china, and russia. very insulting. but perhaps europe should first pay its fair share of nato when the u.s. subsidizes greatly. now, this was at the backdrop today when t

kristen welker at the white house. >>> a quick look at those markets. the dow going to close 2.5 points higher going up as we speak. this is on news that the federal reserve chair, jerome powell, the president's pick, has said that interest rates are nearing neutral. once you get to neutral it means they're not too high, not too hot, not too cold and the fed will stop raise interesting rates. he's sending a signal to the markets that they're getting near that point. doesn't mean there aren't more interest rates coming but that's the closing bell. the dow closing about 2.5 points higher. that wraps it up for me. thank you for joining. "deadline white house" with nicolle wallace starts right now. >>> hi, everyone. it's 4:00 in new york. stop me if you've heard this one before. the president of the united states might be obstructing justice in plain sight. again. donald trump revealing in an interview today with "the new york post" that a pardon for convicted felon and one-time trump campaign chairman paul manafort is, quote, not off the table. a pardon fo

>> thank you so much, kristen welker in florida for us. >>> let's bring in the panel. shannon pennypiece, elliott williams, jeff jacobovitz, mike pesta. let's start with the basics, elliott, why could this be a problem for the president? or is it? he said publicly he would put clinton in jail if elected. he wanted to use the apparatus of the state, the justice department to stop his enemies. but does the fact that he was stopped matter? does it essentially absolve him from any possible liability here? >> the question is do we live in venezuela or the united states of america? this is the behavior of people who don't believe in the rule of law. the most interesting fact from the "new york times" piece was that don mcgahn said that the president had the authority to engage in an investigation. remember, let's separate investigation versus prosecution. the president had the authority to open up or ask for an investigation, but it would have been a staggering exercise in poor judgment to do so. just because you have the authority to do something doesn't mean that you ought

traveling with the president in paris, kristen welker, nbc news. >>> in berkeley this afternoon, bay area leaders kicked off a week dedicated to fighting hate. bay area united against hate began with a concert and rally. the goal of the week is to bring attention to hate crimes and to find ways to prevent them. the program involves several local cities. emeryville's mayor joined the demonstration today. >> we've seen a spike in crimes against people of color, people who are muslim and jewish, gay members of the community, transgender members of the community. this can't be normalized. this needs to be something we take an active approach to dealing with. >> the rest of the week's events include film screenings, poetry readings and bystander training. the training plans to give people ideas about standing up to hate and violence they see in person and online. >>> we want to get back to our fire coverage right now. raiders fans had to deal with smokey skies during today's games at the oakland coliseum against the l.a. chargers. one fan, there he is, he added to his mask. raiders logo r

traveling with the president in paris, kristen welker, nbc news. >>> new at 11:00, the midterm election was just days ago, but the race for the white house in 2020 is only just beginning. former starbucks ceo howard schultz could soon add his hand to a growing list of presidential candidates. schultz has reportedly assembled a public relations team to consider the idea. among those hired is the man who ran john mccain's presidential campaign in 2008. schultz, who was an outspoken critic of president trump announced his resignation from starbucks in june. >>> let's bring in rob mayeda now who joins us with a look at the weather. and we had a teeny bit of a break in air quality today, but not much. >> the winds picked up. that's not good for the fire danger and the red flag warnings, but the air pollution levels came down slightly. but early in the evening the smoke piled back in, and we've seen plenty of sunrises and sunsets with the red sun. how about a red crescent moonset. that was the view from emeryville looking off to the west around 8:00 tonight. as you can see there, the smoke fi

here's nbc's kristen welker, reporting. >> nobody paid for me to come here. [ cheers and applause ] nobody even asked me to come here. [ cheers and applause ] i paid for myself, and i approve this message. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: this morning, one of television's biggest stars inserting herself into one of the country's tightest races. >> it's that i have her cell number. and i go, give it to me. i'm going to call her up right now. so i called stacy abrams, and i said, stacy, this is oprah. [ laughter ] you know what she said? she said, girl, let me pull over to the side of the road. [ laughter ] >> reporter: entertainment icon, oprah winfrey, delivering an impassioned get out the vote push at a pair of town hall events thursday for democrat stacy abrams, who is attempting to make history as the nation's first female african-american governor. >> you get a vote and you get a vote and you get a vote! >> reporter: abrams is locked in a razor-thin race against republican, brian kemp, with recent polls showing them virtually tied. oprah's mission, energize the audience. >> i know

and kristen welker joins us live from the white house. kristen, i'm told you've got the new reporting. what's going on? >> reporter: moments ago rudy giuliani confirmeding some that in his answers to special counsel robert mueller, according to giuliani told investigators a story that is consistent with what michael cohen said today in court about the timeline of discussions about the trump tower potentially being built in moscow. so that is significant. why? because giuliani's essentially saying here, look, president trump was asked about this, he answered it, his answers were consistent with the truthful version of events that cohen said in court today. now, this comes as president trump lashed out at michael cohen earlier today before departing for argentina saying that he is weak and that he lied to essentially lower his prison sentence. and the president said there is nothing wrong with the discussions that he had about a potential deal in moscow during the campaign because he wasn't elected yet. listen to what he had to say. >> i ru

pete, let me go to kristen welker right now at the white house. kristen, we heard from the president barely an hour ago, and i know questions came up about the future of his cabinet and sessions. what did the president say at that moment? >> reporter: well, that's part of what makes this remarkable, as pete was pointing out. the fact that it's coming so soon after the mid terms and the fact that it's coming after the president was just asked directly if he planned to fire his attorney general, jeff sessions. if we should expect jeff sessions' resignation. now, the president dodged those questions. he didn't answer directly. he said, look, i don't essentially want to delve into any new cabinet positions or any new positions here within my administration. but he did make the point, it's not unusual after the midterms for there to be some change. so we are seeing this happen. i think more quickly than a number of people anticipated. but stepping back, lester, it isn't a surprise. as pete was just reporting, since the very early days of jeff sessions

here to wrap it up kristen welker. let's start with the president. what did he say? >> a quick backdrop before we get to the president's tweet. remember, the president submitted answers to robert mueller last week. and so his legal time tells me they're expecting to hear back from mueller perhaps by the end of this week or perhaps before the end of the year. let me read you the president's tweet given that backdrop. he says when mueller does his final report, will he will covering all of his conflicts of interest in a preamble? whatever happened to podesta, and will he put in statements from hundreds of people closely involved with my campaign to never met, saw, or spoke to a russian during this period in so many campaign workers, people inside from the beginning asked me why they have not been called. they want to be. there was no collusion and mueller knows it. so the president reiterating that familiar phrase there was no collusion, and to your point clearly with the prebuttle there, he's set to argue that robert mueller has various conflicts of interest. mueller'

nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker. national security and intelligence reporter ken delanian. michael, to you because i know you have to trorun to another meeting. tell us about the significance of today's court o fifiling. >> it's someone that knows an enormous amount about his life. admitting to making false statements about russia and continuing to kplcommit to cooperating with the government. it's a story we see time and time again about these people whether it was mike flynn who was the national security adviser, whether it was paul manafort who was the campaign chairman and just another example and another person who since the president took office made false statements about russia to investigators. just another pattern that continues to emerge here. the president had aggressively gone after mueller in past few days. the president's lawyers have done the same and the president sees this as a real attempt to come after him because mueller did, as he was leaving for a trip. the president knows mueller did this befo

and former dep the ti assistant general, and also reporter kristen welker and msnbc reporter danny cevallos. and now, first of all attorney mue mueller and paul manafort agree nag the deal is off, and they will proceed with the sentencing. >> they disagree of why the deal is off, because the mueller's lawyers are saying that he was lying i lyinging, and manafort's lawyers are saying that he was answering truthfully, and we don't know what this breakdown is until the government files the sentencing memoranda and he replies it to . there a has to be a presentence report, but it is very surprising, because these things so seldom happen. if you think about it logically, if you are agreeing to cooperate in essence to save your skin why you would abrogate that agreement? we don't know the answer. i think that we do know the answer to one tof the questions that you asked in the beginning, andrea, and that is could manafort escape the jail time if he gets a presidential pardon and the answer may well be no. the president can pardon him from the federal convictions in virginia and washington which m