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 sec

>> reporter: that's right, lester. incredibly not a sickle sequoia has been touched by fire yet. it is an incredible feat i want to give you some perspective on how massive these trees are. let me turn to our second camera here that's a few hundred feet away. there are 600 of these majestic beauties across the valley floor. not one has been lost to this fire yet the blaze is roughly 25% contained. it remains an active threat tonight so by no means are we out of the woods. firefighters, though, here on the ground doing an incredible job. lester, back to you. >> hats off to them for that incredible work miguel, thank you. >>> we are tracking that extreme heat that's been fueling those fires, scorching temperatures being felt by 36 million people from the west to the gulf coast. al roker joining us now. al, what are you watching >> lester, we will start out with the heat 36 million people from the pacific northwest all the way to the mississippi river valley for heat advisories, heat warnings tomorrow triple digit heat indexes from little rock, baton rouge, all the way to saint ange

. >>> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening there is significant movement to report tonight in the effort to bring home americans brittney griner and paul whelan, both separately imprisoned in russia. late today, secretary of state antony blinken acknowledging there was a substantial proposal on the table to facilitate their release. griner, the wnba star detained since february, who has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing vape cartridges with cannabis oil whelan, a marine corps veteran, serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted of spying in 2020. both, the u.s. says, are wrongfully imprisoned blinken says the next step, a call with his russian counterpar sergey lavrov. believed to be on the table, a prisoner swap that could prove to be a bitter pill for the biden administration which has been under fire in its efforts to gain freedom for the americans. all this unfolding as griner told her story today inside a russian courtroom. andrea mitchell now with late details. >> reporter: with brittney griner caged in a russian court today, testifying for th

>> reporter: yeah, lester, exactly. another round of showers and storms is scheduled for tomorrow this as scientists note more rain fall fell in st. louis last night than typically falls in july and august combined lester >> maggie vespa, thank you. >>> in california, some progress tonight in the battle against the state's biggest wild fire of the year, but thousands of homes are still threatened i'm joined by miguel almaguer miguel, there is good news on the fire front, but it is a desperate situation for so many. >> reporter: that's right, lester. desperate and devastating. the number of structures destroyed has been up to 41. that's nearly double was the number was yesterday. and many of those are homes just like this one. there is still 1,400 other properties that still lie in the path of the fire. in terms of the fire fight, though, there is some good news. i want to show you some video of what that fire fight looks like more or less tonight. this blaze is making deep runs into the forest it is moving towards burn

lester? >> all right, peter alexander, thank you. joining me now is dr. richard besser, a former acting director of the cdc, and doctor, throughout the pandemic, we've been told older people are at much higher risk. in the president's case, he's 79. does being fully boosted fully negate that risk? >> you know, it doesn't fully negate it, lester, but when you think about the pandemic, it's ongoing. there are things that we can do to ensure that our outcome is as good as it can be, and being fully vaccinated, getting all the boosters you do, is really important. getting tested quickly. and then if you're in a high-risk group, getting treated with an antiviral. thankfully, the president is doing all those things. we wish him well and expect a full recovery. >> recognizing we don't know what the variant the president has is, what are we facing right now with this highly contagious ba.5 variant in will it become impossible to avoid covid? >> well, you know, i think the days where we think if we're

lester >> peter alexander, thank you. tomorrow i'll discuss the january 6th attack, the investigation, and much more in an exclusive interview with attorney general merrick garland. >>> tonight growing concern about monkeypox with the world health organization declaring a global health emergency. blayne alexander has exclusive reporting inside the cdc >> reporter: as calls to strengthen the nation's monkeypox response grow louder and u.s. cases skyrocket from 1,400 less than two weeks ago to 2,000 -- nearly 3,000 today, the global health organization has declared it a global health emergency. >> how big is the cdc response to this virus? >> right now we have over 300 people who are working on this response 24/7. >> reporter: rarely fatal, the virus is marked by painful lesions and sores spread through close, physical contact and while monkeypox is not new, the rapid spread is. what's causing it to spread in a different way than it has before >> we're coming out of covid, right it's been two years of people not traveling a

thank you for watching, everyone i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night seen this ad? it's not paid for by california tribes. it's paid for by the out of state gambling corporations that wrote prop 27. it doesn't tell you 90% of the profits go to the out of state corporations. a tiny share goes to the homeless, and even less to tribes. and a big loophole says, costs to promote betting reduce money for the tribes, so they get less. hidden agendas. fine print. loopholes. prop 27. they didn't write it for the tribes or the homeless. they wrote it for themselves. >>> i'm raj mathai. next on nbc bay area news tonight, calls for action. after that rideshare driver was shot and killed inside his car. the tearful plea from his girlfriend. >>> a new vow from oakland police chief. >>> also the prices keep going up. how much more we're paying at bay area grocery stores and why. >>> plus intense heatwaves and longer more intense fire season. >> that future has arrived. >> should we change the way we think about climate change? >>> good evening, this is nbc

lester >> all right kelly, thank you >>> when we come back, breaking barriers. we'll meet the inspiring woman making nfl history. >>> finally tonight, a woman who has a history of firsts and is now breaking another barrier, this time in the nfl. steve patterson has her inspiring story. >> reporter: the first thing you should know about sandra douglass morgan, she's already carved out a long legacy of being first. >> sometimes your experience is questioned when you are the first when usually it's because you worked twice as hard to get there. >> reporter: morgan was the first black city attorney in las vegas and the first black chairperson of nevada's powerful gaming control board now she's the first black woman to become team president in nfl history with the las vegas raiders. >> this is a dream come true for me >> reporter: the 44-year-old black and korean wife and mother doesn't take breaking barriers lightly, especially in a league mired in controversy for a lot of fans faith in the league's fairness has been shaken >> it's not lost on me that i'm the first

>> reporter: lester, it is 109 degrees right now in dallas. things are running smoothly the available energy shows up as green. the problem, according to energy experts, the state is relying upon power plants that are a half century old and banking upon them as if they're brand-new and lester, in the days to come, with the hottest weeks, july and august, a small disruption could become a major problem. >> let's hope you can find some shade. in europe, a critical heat emergency the uk suffering through its hottest day on record and dealing with a major fire outbreak. with more on that, here's meagan fitzgerald >> reporter: tonight, the uk getting blasted with unrelenting heat, known for its rain, instead hitting record-setting temperatures, today logging highest temperatures ever, 104 degrees. the usual high in july, 75 and adding to the misery, fires now spreading across the city hundreds of firefighters battling flames and stretched thin as the mayor calls the situation critical the blistering heat gripping a country not equipped for this typ

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a devastating day, lester. >> we've all been to parades like that. all right, miguel, thank you. i want to go to nbc's shaq brewster who's on the scene in highland park shaq, what are witnesses there saying this evening? >> reporter: well, lester, we're just about a block away from where that shooter opened fire causing panicked onlookers to run for cover. you see behind me, it is still a very active scene. you see police vehicles, the police caution tape, but more striking you see the chairs, the bicycles, the fourth of july decorations that were here as people were gathering. what they thought were fireworks they say were actually gunshots one person thought what was a military salute was actually the sound of gunfire tonight the community is shaken and hoping for answers and hoping that that suspect that has recently been identified will soon be captured. >> shaq brewster on the scene for us tonight. as you have heard, there has been a late development in the manhunt. authorities say they have located a person of interest. justice correspondent pete williams has the latest on

[cheers and applause] my goal is to look like lester's guns. and i'm like, that's my goal in the gym. it never works out. that was "breathe again" by toni braxton, one of her biggest international hits of all time, so many great hits. so what is your connection to that one? >> hi, thank you so much for covering that song. i actually have a pretty special and quite unique connection to the song it reminds me of my mom. so when i was a kid i would wake up to the smell of pine-sol and bleach and whatever else my mom was using to clean the house and i knew it was going to be a good day, because my mom had just met my stepdad and was happy and in love and whenever she was happy i knew we were going on a shopping trip, so whenever i heard the song in the morning she would play it on repeat and we would actually get up, get dressed and go shopping, spend the entire day together and spend some very meaningful and quality time with each other that we don't get to do as much today. so i really appreciate you for covering that for me. >> kelly: i love tha

thank you for watching, everyone i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night ♪♪ oh i bet you think you're john wayne ♪ ♪ showing up and shooting down everybody ♪ ♪ you're classic in the wrong way ♪ ♪ and we all know the end of the story ♪ ♪ 'cause everyone knows someone who kills the buzz ♪ ♪ every time they open up their mouth ♪ ♪ yeah everyone knows someone who knows someone ♪ ♪ who thinks they're cooler than everybody else ♪ ♪ and i think we've seen enough seen enough ♪ ♪ to know that you ain't ever gonna come down ♪ ♪ so why don't you giddy up giddy up ♪ ♪ and ride straight out of this town? ♪ ♪ you and your high horse mmm-mmm ♪ ♪ you and your high horse mmm-mmm ♪ ♪ darling you take the high horse and i'll take the high road ♪ ♪ mmm-mmm ♪ ♪ if you're too good for us you'll be good riding solo ♪ ♪ you and your high horse mmm-mmm ♪ ♪ you ain't ever gonna come down ♪ ♪ mmm-mmm ♪ ♪ you ain't ever gonna come down ♪♪ [cheers and applause] >> kelly: welcome to "the

thank you for watching, everyone i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other good night >>> next on nbc bay area news tonight, a man pistol-whipped and robbed outside of his own home. he was targeted for his high- end wristwatch. >>> new data shows the toll monkeypox is taking on the lgbtq community. there are calls to act faster and avoid the mistakes made at the beginning of the aids epidemic. we're having a conversation about it. >>> the housing market is cooling down right here in the bay area, but the rental market is heating up. why it is getting harder to find and afford an apartment. >>> are you feeling lucky? the third largest lotto jackpot in u.s. history is up for grabs in about an

. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt >>> good evening, everyone we learned late today of the passing of ivana trump, first wife to former president donald trump and mother to his three oldest children donald junior, ivanka, and eric trump tonight, the children in a statement describing their mother as a radiant beauty and caring mother and friend. ivana and donald trump became tabloid fodder when their 15-year long marriage ended quite publicly in 1992 the 73-year-old found dead in her manhattan home tonight, mr. trump, via his social network site, remembering her as a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman who led a great and inspirational life kristen welker has more >> reporter: in the 1980s they were one of new york's power couples. the brash real estate mogul donald trump and his glamorous first wife ivana tonight, the former president announcing her death, calling her a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman who led a great and inspirational life her pride and joy were her three children, donald junior, ivanka, proud of her in the former czechoslovakia as

thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good tonight >>> next on nbc bay area news tonight, she is on the move. vice president kamala harris making two stops. we have the details. game on in -- just cleared a major hurdle. >>> what is next, and is las vegas still in the cards? >>> a wild scene in the bay, all boats, no captain. we will tell you how this happened. >>> fisher falling from the sky. >> it is

thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night and each other. good night. >>> we may be in the worse covid surge to date. why the numbers are not showing how many people are really sick. >>> plus, should we be changing our habits? we're joined by one of our covid experts. >>> it is sinking and tilting even faster than before. more problems uncovered at the millennium tower. >>> plus, in another san jose police officer in trouble accused of taking an unmarked police car and using it for personal use for months. >>> later, what will it take to crack down on crime and drugs in the tenderloin. we spent months in the neighborhood to find out if the pledge to clean up the area from city

. >> reporter: and few answers, lester. what isn't clear is how an armed man was able to make it past abe's security detail and get close enough to kill him. that's a key part of the police investigation with japan in mourning tonight. lester >> janis mackey frayer, thank you. >>> back home this evening, late-breaking news billionaire elon musk has dropped his bid to buy twitter. tom costello joins me. tom, why is this happening now? >> reporter: well, he's notified twitter he is terminating this $44 billion deal he alleges twitter has not complied with its contractual obligations. musk has been saying he doesn't believe twitter's claims that only 5% of its accounts are spam. by backing out, he could have to pay a billion-dollar breakup fee. twitter says it will pursue legal action to force musk to complete the deal meanwhile, a very big economic development today with a very strong jobs report employers added 372,000 jobs in june the unemployment rate hovering, still 3.6% as the fed focuses on taming inflation today's empl

lester >> all right thanks for joining us. al roker is keeping a close eye on the heat wave and the severe storms >> unfortunately we have 36 million people from the dakotas, 38 million, from the dakotas to texas, heat warnings, advisories, and watches. for tomorrow, 108. that's what it will feel like in wichita 111 in dallas. 110 little rock. 107 baton rouge. not much relief in sight as we go into the end of the week with temperatures in the 90s in new york, washington, nashville, and st. louis and it is going to last like that right on into next week. and for our friends in the uk and parts of europe, we're talking 102 in leone, 105 in paris. london 101 their all time record 102, july 25th, 2019 here in the northeast, strong storms pushing in airport delays from boston down to washington as this system pushes through. 19 million people at risk for severe weather from portland all the way down to roanoke. >> al, thank you this severe weather is certainly underscoring the increasing role of climate change and the challenges am

thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good tonight [cheers and applau ♪ i'm ♪ ♪ oh, tell me what i ♪ you're playing so cool ♪ ♪ obeying every rule ♪ ♪ deeping for some ♪ ♪ somebody to tell you ♪ ♪ that life ain't passing you by ♪ ♪ i'm trying to tell you ♪ ♪ it will if you don't even try ♪ ♪ you'll get by if you'd only ♪ ♪ cut loose ♪ ♪ footloose ♪ ♪ kick off the sunday shoes ♪ ♪ please, louise ♪ ♪ pull me off of my knees ♪ ♪ jack, get back ♪ ♪ come on before we crack ♪ ♪ lose your blues ♪ ♪ everybody cut footloose ♪ ♪ footloose ♪ ♪ kick off the sunday shoes ♪ please, louise ♪ ♪ pull me off of my knees ♪ ♪ jack, get back ♪ ♪ come on before we crack ♪ ♪ lose your blues ♪ ♪ everybody cut, everybody cut ♪ ♪ everybody cut, everybody cut ♪ ♪ everybody cut, everybody cut ♪ ♪ everybody cut footloose! ♪♪ [cheers and applause] >> kelly: welcome to "the kelly clarkson show," y'all! one more time give it up for my ba

thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night >>> next on nbc bay area news tonight, it's not lethal, but harmful. >>> and now people are fighting back against monkeypox. a new warning tonight after an attendee at a pride event tests positive. why the bay area might not have enough vaccines. >>> plus what does florida think of the recent tv ads? >> and i urge all of you living in florida to join the fight or join us in california. >> our political analyst was in florida and has firsthand feedback. >>> and also oil prices are plummeting, so why aren't gas prices doing the same? we'll tell you what needs to happen.

thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night ♪ ♪ ♪♪ billy ray was the preacher's son ♪ ♪ and when his daddy would visit he'd come along ♪ ♪ when they gathered 'round and started talkin' ♪ ♪ that's when billy would take me walkin' ♪ ♪ out through the back yard we'd go walkin' ♪ ♪ then he'd look into my eyes ♪ ♪ lord knows to my surprise ♪ ♪ the only one who could ever reach me ♪ ♪ was the son of a preacher man ♪ ♪ the only boy who could ever teach me ♪ ♪ was the son of a preacher man ♪ ♪ yes he was yes he was ♪ ♪ ooh he was ♪ ♪ how well i remember the look that was in his eyes ♪ ♪ stealin' kisses from me on the sly ♪ ♪ takin' time to make time ♪ ♪ tellin' me that he's all mine ♪ ♪ learnin' from each other's knowin' ♪ ♪ lookin' to see how much we've grown and ♪ ♪ the only one who could ever reach me ♪ ♪ was the son of a preacher man ♪ ♪ the only boy who could ever teach me ♪ ♪ was the son of a preacher man ♪ ♪ yes he was

. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt, recording from highland park, illinois >> reporter: good evening from the chicago suburbs, the latest site of the deadly mass shooting another community grieving of gun violence this time at a parade celebrating our nation's independence tonight we learned that a seventh person in highland park has now died from injuries sustained during the rampage in addition to nearly 40 others injured. a short time ago, police announcing the suspect has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. and there are disturbing new details about how he allegedly preplanned the attack for weeks. how he disguised himself as a woman to make his escape our former nbc news, kevin tibbles describes his hometown as the suburban town where everyone takes their kids in red wagons are on tricycles to watch the 4th of july parade it was the town where people were shot randomly by someone a rifle. it was a violent weekend not just here but across so many american cities. we begin our special coverage with tom llamas, we want to warn you, some of

it's a big day in the doj press office i think. >> we all saw with the attorney general said to lester holt today, that he will absolutely investigate everybody, that was his term. leicester went back and forth at once, and the attorney general said more than once in more than one way, in an hours later there's the washington post that donald trump is under investigation by the justice department. andrew weizmann former prosecutor says based on what the washington post is reporting, says donald trump is a subject of the investigation at this point, not no doubt about that. >> forwards about for you lawrence, better late than never. >> yes it's happening right now. thank you mehdi. >> i. thanks >> thank. you >> well it is happening, donald trump is being investigated by the justice department. the washington post reports tonight that the justice department is investigating president donald trump's actions it's part of its criminal probe in two efforts to overturn the 2020 election efforts, according to four people courting with that. the washington post broke that story tonight, just ho

thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night [cheers and applause] ♪♪ i can't wait to show you where i grew up ♪ ♪ walk you 'round the foothills of my town ♪ ♪ probably feel like you've been there before ♪ ♪ after hearin' all the stories ♪ ♪ i've been telling you for six months now ♪ ♪ we'll probably have to sleep in separate bedrooms ♪ ♪ pack a shirt for church because we'll go ♪ ♪ i'm not trying to scare you off but ♪ ♪ i just thought that we should talk ♪ ♪ a few things out before we hit the road ♪ ♪ so if i bring you home to mama ♪ ♪ i guess i'd better warn ya ♪ ♪ she falls in love a little faster than i do ♪ ♪ and my dad will check your tires ♪ ♪ pour you whiskey over ice and ♪ ♪ buy you dinner but pretend that he don't like you ♪ ♪ oh if we break up i'll be fine ♪ ♪ but you'll be breaking more hearts than mine ♪ ♪ you'll be breaking more hearts than mine ♪♪ [cheers and applause] spiel welcome to "the kelly clarkson show" coming out,

lester >> andrea, thank you. >>> another major story tonight. the downfall of british prime minister boris johnson. today johnson announcing he is stepping down amid mounting scandals but not leaving office yet. keir simmons reports tonight from london. >> reporter: tonight, britain, america's closest ally, descending into uncertainty after prime minister boris johnson's dramatic, defiant downing street statement today, blaming his own party for forcing him out. >> the herd instinct is powerful. when the herd moves, it moves how sad i am to be giving up the best job in the world but them's the breaks. >> reporter: and there we are classic boris johnson, no apology, simply an explanation for why he fought so hard as he spoke outside downing street, opponents booed. [ boos ] the world-famous boris brand, unkempt hair, and love of political stunts even when they went wrong. >> boris, you're going the wrong way! >> this way! >> reporter: becoming a fatal liability as prime minister his integrity questioned by a cascade of scandals where he was caugh

thank you for watching, everyone i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other good night [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ >> kelly: hey, what's up! all right! all right! welcome to "the kelly clarkson show," y'all! we have a great one for you today, but first we are going to kick things off in a different way with a kelly-aok special because i showed up today and you'll know because i was here and i was like i can't sing today. i went to sleep at like 3:00 a.m. and i'm very tired. so we kind of knew this happen before like once or twice, because mama has some jobs and children, so we recorded a few kelly-aokes just in case this day arrived. and it did. here is a kelly-aoke special, this is "faith" by george michael. i hope you enjoy it. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ ♪♪ well i guess it would be nice if i could touch your body ♪ ♪ i know not everybody has got a body like you ♪ ♪ but i gotta think twice before i give my heart away ♪ ♪ and i know all the games you play because i played them too ♪ ♪ oh but

what he's telling our own lester holt about holding those responsible accountable and whether it matters if they happen to be a former president or running for president. also this hour we're set to hear from one of president biden's top economic advisers as the fed kicks off a two-day meeting as we speak with interest rates probably heading up again. plus my exclusive interview. one on one with trevor reed. the marine now back in the u.s. after being imprisoned in russia for nearly three years. his advice to brittney griner, who's in court today, and what he says the white house should be doing. i'm hallie jackson in washington with a jam-packed show for you today. i want to bring in nbc news correspondent vaughn hillyard, who is posted up in the location where mr. trump is set to give that speech. nbc news capitol hill correspondent ali vitali is with us. justice reporter ryan riley joins us along with "washington post" political investigative reporter josh dausee and former republican congresswoman from virginia barbara comstock. vaughn, i'll give you the floor first with the expectat

. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt >>> good evening i'm tom llamas in for lester tonight we begin with breaking news massive ground stops and delays across some of the country's biggest airports, making the holiday travel chaos even more complicated. a difficult summer travel season is now going from challenging to worse before the severe weather even moved in, americans facing a rare combination of high gas prices, high airfare, and mass cancellations across the country. the july fourth getaway is under way it is unclear how far people will get. nearly 50 million navigating clogged airports and roads gas prices down slightly, still painfully high for so many americans tracking it all for us tonight, tom costello who starts us off. >> reporter: friday night and america's july 4th getaway looks dicey. critical airports up and down the east coast in ground stops with severe thunderstorms from orlando in the south through atlanta, up to d.c., baltimore, philly, new york adding to the day's growing tally of flight cancellations and delays on one of the busiest travel

the attorney general dodged lester's question. if the attorney general charges donald trump how does that play out in our politics? >> we have no idea. i have no idea. i mean, given what happened yesterday, we saw the former president speaking to a group of people in washington, d.c. rabid, rabid fans. their intensity for donald trump isn't going to fade if he's indicted. the instinct is that it would grow. it would be more intense. and the protection of defense, their favor of donald trump. but what he has -- what he would have been charged with, if he is charged, is such a violation of norms in terms of our government, he basically tried to destroy our government. to take an election, a legal election, a legal winner, joseph r. biden, and basically trample on 230 years of history. that's what he tried to do, and he failed. >> and we've got more evidence of that, mike, yesterday from the house select committee releasing never before seen quotes of testimony from chris miller. in the video clip, miller tells the committee there wa

behind one of the most iconic movie themes of all time >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening ancient history is facing an immediate and uncertain future tonight in one of the most cherished slices of america a wildfire roaring through parts of california's yosemite park, threatening hundreds of giant sequoias some more than 2,000 years old. tonight crews literally using a

. >>> later tonight, lester holt has an exclusive interview with attorney general merrick garland. among the key questions could president trump face criminal charges. >> if donald trump were to become candidate for president again, would that change your schedule or how you move forward or don't move forward? >> i will say it again. we will hold accountable anyone criminally responsible for attempting to interfere with the legitimate transfer of power from one administration to the next. >> before speaking with lester holt, the attorney general also toured the atf center helping to solve gun crimes. lester got special access inside. nightly news begins at 6:30. >>> are you ready for a new booster? the cdc says that new shot could offer better production from covid variants. the cdc says about 82% of covid cases reported last week were from the ba.5 variant. the ba.5 subvariants are getting around immunity is even with vaccine protection, a lot of people are getting sick. pfizer tells nbc news it is going to release a new vaccine this october that targets the ba.4 and ba.5 strains.

he was very, very direct with lester holt about, you know, nobody is above the law. i thought that was really good. i also thought what was good is the way he framed the investigation as not being solely about what happened on january 6th , but rather, anybody who was interfering with the lawful transfer of power -- >> i'm going to let you continue, but do you think that is because that was his governing legal theory? or do you think that is because he read your article, which made waves, at least in the legal surface? >> i certainly am not going to say because he read my article that is what changed it. i do think, if you remember the attorney general said he was going to be listening very closely and watching the hearings, either live or later. and that was the governing theory and the way in which the evidence rolled out. my op-ed was really, it was not original in saying that you should look at the holistic -- i listen to the hearing and said, this is the way we should be proceeding. my concern was whether the department of justice was picking up what they were p

this is part of what that exchange between lester holt and merrick garland. his first big interview. >> there's been a lot of criticism, pressure, that the doj is behind the power curve, behind the committee, not moving quickly enough on what appears to be solid evidence in some cases. >> as i said, we havemove moveing urgently. we have prosecutors working on the cases. it's what we do, do it outside of the public eye. >> making that point entirely. i noticed lawrence tribe, who was garland's law professor at harvard, among law professor for so many others. he said that he has been among one of the critics. he said, it was very reassuring to see that interview. it was very pointed in the way merrick garland answered lester about what they are doing behind the scenes, as you point out, pete. >> it doesn't mean we know where they are going to end up. it does mean we know more about what the questions and what they are looking at. >> jonathan lemire, congratulations. the focus of your new book is about president trump's false claims about the election, he contin

s responses to lester holt, i'm not entirely sure this was responsive. he said before and he said this when he took office that he was going to reform the department of justice. this was a department that had been really mired under the trump administration in claims of partisanship, it was no longer independent. morale was low, and he had vowed to change all that, to return the department to the independent status and pursue those who were doing wrong, and he reiterated that. he didn't say anything about the timing. and he has said before if someone was a candidate in a presidential election that would be meaningful in terms of whether or not the department of justice would bring a prosecution. so he didn't really refute that in this statement. he said he would hold accountable those who needed to be held accountable. >> so you're making a nuanced distinction that i think is important, which is in your legal view he's trying to both exist within this public reality and this important probe, but also not by inference or admission or answer, not actually