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0	3820	Good morning. Thanks so much for being here. I'm Savannah Sellers. Joe's off today,
3940	7780	but Christine Romans is going to join us later in the hour. We are going to get started,
7880	12680	though, with the president's effort to energize his base ahead of the midterm election. So the
12680	17660	president was in Las Vegas yesterday to tout his economic policies and highlight tax cuts.
18000	23220	But polls show voters are not happy with his handling of the economy, especially right now
23220	27420	with the high prices from the war in Iran. President Trump did say, though, once again,
27420	32980	that a deal is near to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. NBC News correspondent Chris Pallone joins us now
32980	37540	with more on this. Chris, good morning. Savannah, good morning to you. Less than three months to go
37540	42280	until the midterm elections, and President Trump's message for voters is coming into sharper focus.
42440	47120	The president is battling low poll numbers as Republicans try to hang on to control of the
47120	54600	House and the Senate. President Trump returning from Las Vegas after touting his economic record
54600	59160	there with the fall midterm elections in view. In just 18 months, we've turned this country
59160	64000	completely around. The president and his party facing headwinds in convincing voters things are
64000	69260	as rosy as he claims. Polls consistently showing Americans give the president low marks on the
69260	74960	economy and the war in Iran. Trump now seizing on a tug of war among Democrats for direction of that
74960	81320	party between moderates and progressives. Abdul El-Sayed, lovely gentleman, he's a man of hate.
81320	85320	The president taking aim at the latest progressive Democratic primary winner,
85480	90580	Abdul El-Sayed, a Michigan doctor running for Senate on a platform of Medicare for all
90580	94540	and abolishing ICE, a candidate Trump baselessly calls a communist.
94840	97420	We do better against the communists, according to every poll.
98180	101880	The poll says we do better against the communists.
102060	104360	So he won, and so I think I'm happy.
104500	107700	El-Sayed hitting back at a soft spot in the president's record.
108080	110320	This is a guy who can't even focus on our affordability.
110320	114580	affordability, is more interested in saying my name in an interesting way or calling me a lovely
114580	119360	gentleman, than he is interested in actually solving our problems. AAA reporting the average
119360	125000	gas price in the U.S. now topping $4.08 a gallon, largely because of the Iran war,
125320	130960	which the president insists is nearing an end. I'm not looking to kill people and totally
130960	135080	obliterate everything, and that's where we were headed. And they wanted to negotiate,
135320	139140	and we're doing that, and it seems to be working out quite well. What makes you think this will
139140	144720	be different because they tend to never. It may be. It may not be. Iran denies there are ongoing
144720	150380	negotiations with the U.S. to end the war. And a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry says
150380	155060	negotiations with Oman over control of the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages.
155480	160560	Iran insists the strait will not go back to being an open international waterway like it was before
160560	165320	the war. The Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would give Iran control
165320	170840	over the strait, and the U.S. Navy still has a blockade on Iran's ports. Savannah, back to you.
171160	176140	All right, Chris, thank you so much. Well, over on Capitol Hill, Dr. Fauci is in more hot water
176140	180420	this morning. In just a few hours, a Senate committee is set to vote on whether to hold
180420	185600	Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress today after he pled the fifth several times during a hearing
185600	191180	last week on his handling of the COVID outbreak. This comes as Florida's attorney general joined
191180	196460	others in Louisiana and West Virginia yesterday in issuing subpoenas for records from Dr. Fauci.
196960	200900	They allege Dr. Fauci profited from the recommendations he gave during the COVID
200900	205560	pandemic. NBC News political reporter Megan Brand joins us with more on this and some other
205560	208820	headlines from Washington. Megan, good morning. So just start by breaking down these reasons for
208820	214300	the subpoenas against Dr. Fauci. Good morning, Savannah. Yeah. So as you mentioned, there were
214300	220080	three state attorneys general in Republican-led states in Florida, West Virginia, and Louisiana
220080	226100	who had issued these investigative subpoenas to Dr. Fauci yesterday, arguing that he made money
226100	233500	off of the way that he had advised handling of COVID-19 during the pandemic when he was the face
233500	238640	in many ways of the U.S. response to COVID. So the Florida attorney general had said in a statement
238640	244040	that was released yesterday that this was related to an official investigation into awards,
244440	249780	professional opportunities, financial incentives, grants, and COVID-19 guidance that impacted
249780	256280	Florida businesses and consumers. So the subpoena had asked Dr. Fauci to provide documents ranging
256280	263660	from 2020 until now, by the end of the month, things that include grants or book deals that
263660	269480	Dr. Fauci was considered for or that he received. And of course, this all comes right before a
269480	275860	Senate committee is going to vote in just a couple of hours on whether to hold Dr. Fauci in contempt
275860	279720	of Congress, Savannah. Yeah, let's talk about that, Megan. So on that vote today, what are
279720	282960	Republicans' arguments for that? And what happens if the vote does pass?
283560	287660	So Republicans are basically breaking this down in two ways. They're arguing that
287660	293380	Dr. Fauci was not able to assert his Fifth Amendment privileges. One of those reasons
293380	298620	that they argue is because Dr. Fauci had received a preemptive pardon from President Biden in the
298620	302940	final hours of President Biden's term. And they argue that because of that, he was not able to
302940	306940	assert his Fifth Amendment privileges. Now, another reason as well that they're arguing
306940	313460	is that because Dr. Fauci had delivered opening statements that they say are relevant to the
313460	317740	subject matter that senators then went to go question him on, they say that that effectively
317740	322740	waived his Fifth Amendment rights. Now, that is up for some legal debate in the legal community,
322740	327580	but I want to point you to what Senator Rand Paul, he's the chairman of the committee,
327980	332080	had said in a statement. He said, I ordered him to answer and warned him about contempt,
332460	336000	yet he still refused. That is obstruction of a congressional investigation.
336000	341660	the committee will act accordingly. So today, this needs a simple majority to pass. And
341660	347440	Chairman Paul has said that if it does pass, as it seems that it might, because Republicans have
347440	351980	a majority on that committee, then he would refer it to the Department of Justice. Now,
352040	358360	if the Department of Justice then decides to pursue this case, then U.S. Attorney for D.C.,
358360	361640	Jeanine Pirro, would have to secure an indictment from a grand jury, Savannah.
362300	365120	Megan, I do want to ask you about a couple of things before I let you go. One,
365120	369560	the FAA says that they're reviewing an incident. This was on Tuesday involving Marine One. That
369560	374340	is the president's helicopter. What do we know? Yeah. So first things first, Savannah, the FAA
374340	378580	and the White House have both said that the president was never in any danger during this
378580	386420	incident. This had stemmed from when commercial flights were not paused by Reagan National
386420	393160	Airport, the D.C. area airport, when Marine One, which holds the president, was taking off. You
393160	399240	can see that on your screen. Now, the FAA had created more flight restrictions in the area
399240	407860	after that deadly crash last January when a military helicopter and a flight had collided,
408080	413600	killing 67 people. Now, the White House had released a statement on the situation yesterday
413600	418520	saying that Marine One flights are piloted by some of the best aviators in the world
418520	421700	and at no point was the president in harm's way, Savannah.
422240	423340	Megan, one other thing.
423520	425420	Have we learned anything more about the man arrested
425420	427900	outside the president's golf course in California over the weekend?
428780	433140	So the man who was arrested, he was 38-year-old Janine John Thiel.
433320	436600	And now investigators are turning to get warrants
436600	440040	for things like the suspect's digital devices and emails
440040	442700	to try to learn more about him.
442960	446020	But a federal law enforcement official told NBC
446020	453700	that Teal is a disabled veteran and that he is described as someone who has PTSD and mental
453700	459800	health issues as well. Records indicate that the man who was arrested had been deployed to
459800	465200	Iraq and Afghanistan, and the suspect also does not have recent employment history,
465440	470480	and a court appearance has not yet been scheduled. We're not sure yet when we will see him in court,
470600	473820	Savannah. All right, Megan Brand covering quite a bit for us this morning. We appreciate it.
473820	478100	Thanks, Megan. Well, the attorney general for the state of New Mexico is now suing the Department
478100	483760	of Justice, accusing it of blocking the state from investigating sex crimes at Jeffrey Epstein's
483760	490620	Zorro Ranch near Santa Fe. At least 10 women say Epstein groomed or abused them at the 10,000 acre
490620	496360	ranch going back decades. Some were teenagers when they say it happened. Right now, state prosecutors
496360	501900	in New Mexico have the only active criminal investigation open into Epstein. But the state
501900	504360	Attorney General says the feds are stonewalling them.
505392	513312	It's been 173 days since we first asked for unredacted access to the complete Epstein files.
513492	518572	And we still don't have that access, despite repeated assurances from Mr. Blanche,
518572	523312	Jay Clayton and others, that they would cooperate with this investigation and help us
523312	527072	move things forward so we could try and hold people accountable here in New Mexico.
528232	532232	NBC News Justice reporter Ryan Riley joins us now from Washington, D.C. on this. Ryan,
532272	536352	good morning. So what exactly does New Mexico want and how are they the only jurisdiction
536352	540452	with an active criminal investigation? Yeah, well, the statute of limitations
540452	546312	factors play a major role here. And obviously, the fact that Jeffrey Epstein is dead also
546312	549732	complicates it, right? Because you're maybe looking for associates, someone you could actually
549732	555592	charge. But what New Mexico would want here would be those unredacted files that will allow them to
555592	561432	piece together more of this investigation, to fill in some of the blanks here. And this has
561432	567272	been this ongoing effort and really coming out of New Mexico that we've seen, as you said,
567272	572752	the only ongoing criminal investigation related to this. And basically, they're trying to push
572752	577152	forward some new answers from the Justice Department. How is the Justice Department
577152	584592	responding, Ryan? Yeah, so DOJ said in a statement that there's no lawful basis to justify sweeping
584592	591832	disclosures of this victim identifying information. And they're basically saying that they can't
591832	597192	provide this, that there's these binding court orders that prevent them from being able to give
597192	601292	over more information. They haven't formally responded to the lawsuit yet, but we should see
601292	607432	that in the coming days. All of this is going to play out in federal court in D.C. where they
607432	612012	filed this lawsuit to begin with, Savannah. Ryan, what are Epstein survivors saying about this?
613212	617912	Yeah, so they are encouraged by this investigation in New Mexico, and obviously some of them have
617912	622892	been critical of the Justice Department, of Todd Blanch in particular, about the handling of these
622892	629572	files. And they're contrasting the action that they saw. They're saying that unlike acting A.G.
629572	634332	Todd Blanch, AG Torres is requesting evidence for the purpose of actually pursuing justice.
634332	639672	So they're supportive of this investigation moving forward. And there's been some disappointment
639672	643272	from them about how the Justice Department handled all of this.
643932	649472	Ryan Riley, thank you very much. Well, a dangerous, rapidly spreading salmonella outbreak has now been
649472	655232	detected in 27 states. Federal health officials are investigating it. It's being linked to jalapeno
655232	661272	peppers. And now two of the nation's most popular Mexican restaurant chains are responding by
661272	666012	removing jalapenos from hundreds of their locations. NBC News correspondent Anne Thompson
666012	673232	has more. The issue of tainted jalapenos is much bigger than just Minnesota and Chipotle.
673232	679332	The CDC saying 27 states now reporting salmonella cases related to the peppers.
679892	683032	Minnesota, Colorado, and Illinois topping the list.
683572	687252	More than 300 people sickened, 36 hospitalized.
687872	693432	Now another fast food chain, Qdoba, says it's removed jalapenos from its restaurants,
693432	696532	saying food safety is our highest priority.
697012	703912	Chipotle did the same after Minnesota officials traced many of their salmonella cases to a lot of peppers used by the chain.
704392	709072	Chipotle said it replaced the suspect jalapenos with ones from different growers.
709332	711332	How do peppers get salmonella?
711952	720352	Typically through a variety of ways, but most likely contaminated water that it's used to irrigate or come into contact with that food.
720352	729652	Unlike the lettuce-linked cyclosporiasis triggered by a parasite, salmonella is a bacteria that causes fever, stomach cramps, and diarrhea.
730272	735372	Symptoms most people develop within 8 to 72 hours of eating the bad food.
736012	740212	These high-profile outbreaks involving three popular fast food chains,
740372	744412	Taco Bell for the lettuce, Chipotle and Qdoba for the jalapenos,
744792	747632	have some concern about our nation's food supply.
748212	752112	We have to remind ourselves that our food supply is fairly safe.
752112	757432	But things happen, accidents happen, and contamination certainly can happen at any point in the food supply.
757892	759892	Anne Thompson, NBC News.
760572	765112	Well, in the midst of that outbreak, there's a new leader taking the helm at the CDC this morning.
765112	772692	Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz to be the newest director, making her the agency's first permanent director in almost a year.
773212	778532	The 51 to 44 vote in the Republican-controlled Senate was largely split along party lines.
778992	781872	For more on this, let's welcome NBC News health reporter Aria Bendix.
781952	783292	Aria, good morning. Always great to have you.
783352	785212	So first, just tell us about Dr. Schwartz's background.
785752	788772	Yeah, so she has the credentials to fit this role.
789072	792552	She was the deputy surgeon general, actually, under the first Trump administration.
792552	800172	And then she has a record of public service going back throughout her career, a Navy physician, a chief medical officer in the Coast Guard.
800332	804612	So there's really no question about her resume at her confirmation hearing.
804712	814572	The questions were more along the lines of would she be able to stand up to Secretary Kennedy if he encouraged her to go against scientific truth and, you know, question vaccine safety.
814572	820572	And how were her responses on that? Because there was some concern about is she distancing herself enough from that?
820572	823072	What do you think her leadership means in that regard?
823232	831652	So I think many experts were hoping she would more emphatically denounce some of the scientific misinformation we've seen from this administration and particularly from the health secretary.
831932	836212	We have a statement from an advocacy group that's made up of former CDC officials.
836632	842252	They said they were hoping for more clear commitments about how she would protect CDC from political pressure.
842492	844572	They found her statements often vague.
844572	850752	She did dodge questions frequently at the hearing, but she was clear on one thing, that vaccines are safe and effective.
851132	854292	So I think some experts are approaching her tenure with some cautious optimism.
854732	856032	She's well-liked by her colleagues.
856212	861952	Again, she has this record of public service, and they're hoping that privately she might be able to resist some of that political pressure.
862312	864092	OK, and there's a lot going on.
864152	873472	I mean, we were just talking about a new salmonella outbreak, a cyclospora outbreak that we've been talking about for quite a while now that has sickened over 10,000 people in this country at least.
874112	877592	Also, by the way, don't forget about a measles ongoing crisis in this country.
877712	879332	I mean, there's a lot to step into this job.
879512	883732	Just how important will these first few months coinciding with things like that be
883732	888932	for her sort of future in the role, for the perception from the public of her in the role?
888932	891912	Yeah, she has, as you mentioned, some big tests ahead.
892072	895272	I think Congress and quite frankly, the public is going to be watching closely
895272	898412	to see how she performs for measles in particular.
898732	903052	We'll see how emphatically she sort of recommends the MMWR vaccine.
903052	905052	I'm watching that very closely.
905192	908812	And then how she addresses really these growing rates of vaccine hesitancy in this country.
909152	915312	At her confirmation hearing, she said she essentially wants to be this bridge between vaccine skeptics and mainstream medicine.
915532	919112	That's a tough feat under any administration, but particularly this one.
919352	922512	I think experts are willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and see how she does there.
922632	923052	No kidding.
923272	924372	All right, Arya, thank you so much.
925032	929192	We want to bring you an update on those historic wildfires burning in Washington state.
929192	939432	Now, while progress is being made in fighting them, investigators now believe all three fires that have destroyed hundreds of homes near Spokane were caused by humans.
939872	943052	And whether they were started intentionally is still under investigation.
943712	946412	NBC News national correspondent Morgan Chesky has the latest.
948785	952945	Air and ground crews fighting for every inch in a fiery battle.
953945	958085	As one of Washington's most destructive wildfires ever rages on.
958545	960765	I've done everything I can to save my house.
960765	964825	The race for containment creeping forward.
965425	972585	Our fire teams right now are working on establishing fire lines around all of these fire zones.
972945	978385	Progress here largely dependent upon the wind, but an emerging heat wave now brings new risk.
978385	982825	We still have a lot of interior heat, and even a little gust can grab an ember and throw it.
983305	988565	Hollywood star and Spokane native Sidney Swinney was back home, helping with community relief efforts.
988565	996425	More than 1,500 firefighters are on the ground, taking on the three fires that officials now believe were all human-caused.
996885	998305	Do we believe that to be intentional?
998945	1000305	That's why it's under investigation.
1000725	1005705	There was clearly no lightning in the area, so it's a human-caused fire, but to be determined whether it was accidental.
1006445	1011345	Aaron Farnacci, the man charged with starting the most destructive fire, is due in court to enter a plea.
1011885	1014125	Authorities crediting witnesses in catching him.
1014125	1018905	My daughter was sitting on the porch out there and she says there's a fire.
1020005	1026925	So I ran out and looked and saw a column of smoke rising exactly where that individual was standing at.
1027465	1035005	The Spokane fires have now burned more than 10,000 acres with fire officials telling us full containment could take weeks.
1035745	1036585	We'll send it back to you.
1036725	1037805	Morgan, thank you very much.
1037885	1043345	Well, for more on the fire and the heat threat across much of the Pacific Northwest, let's bring in our Angie Lastman.
1043345	1046645	Hey, Angie, good morning. Hi there, Savannah. Good morning to you. Not much of a change when
1046645	1050485	it comes to those same kind of ingredients that we've been watching over the past couple of days
1050485	1055165	for the fire issues across the West. Here's those air quality alerts so you can see all the fires
1055165	1060285	burning specifically focused across the Pacific Northwest and across the Great Basin. Those are
1060285	1065085	going to be ongoing today. We still have plenty of smoke that is going to drift across those regions,
1065225	1069645	leaving us with air quality issues for a lot of folks. Again, focused mainly across the Pacific
1069645	1074705	northwest where we've been seeing those air quality issues for days and days now. That doesn't change
1074705	1078685	today. We're also going to see our temperatures kind of surging over the next couple of days.
1078805	1083725	73 million people under these heat alerts. Most of it is stretched across the west, Salt Lake City,
1083845	1088525	Torino, down through Los Angeles, Phoenix, Albuquerque included, Oklahoma City as well
1088525	1094065	included in these heat alerts as we gear up for warmer than normal temperatures yet again in some
1094065	1100565	of those areas. Las Vegas at 111, 99 for Salt Lake City, El Paso, Utah out at 101 today.
1100925	1104805	These temperatures, of course, above where they should be for this time of year. And it's not
1104805	1110565	getting any better as we look to tomorrow. Boise, Salt Lake City, 100 plus. Medford,
1110685	1115285	104. That temperature more than 10 degrees above where they should be for this time of year. So
1115285	1119765	not, of course, helping with that intense heat and all of the fire concerns that we have across
1119765	1124965	that region. We'll still remain hot well into the weekend and into our upcoming work week,
1125065	1130105	100 degrees across the board for Saturday and Sunday in Salt Lake City. And we only improve
1130105	1134605	a little bit with a high of 98 degrees on Monday. So you get the picture. It's going to be warm out
1134605	1139385	across the west. We're also going to see some changes across parts of the northeast, specifically
1139385	1144405	in the mid-Atlantic, where we've kind of been enjoying milder, more comfortable conditions.
1144405	1151105	We had lower humidity kind of work into this region thanks to this front that has been kind of hanging around.
1151305	1153845	That front migrates a little bit farther to the north.
1154145	1160025	That allows us to see some of this humidity being pumped in by this high that's sitting across parts of the Atlantic.
1160205	1163825	That is really going to make a difference when it comes to the later parts of our work week.
1163885	1165625	But even today, you'll notice the difference.
1166045	1168725	Philadelphia heads to 91 degrees, will feel like 102.
1168725	1173085	We've got New York City at 89, but look at that heat index value, 99 degrees.
1173085	1178405	farther down the coast, Norfolk, Washington, D.C., you will feel like 100 plus through the day today.
1178905	1183645	And that continues as we get even into tomorrow. But we'll get a little bit of relief on the back
1183645	1188765	end of the weekend. So high 90s Friday in New York City, 94 is going to feel a whole lot better by
1188765	1193925	Sunday. And we'll see that humidity level kind of gradually drop across this region as we get
1193925	1199925	through our weekend. One note, we've got a couple of areas of potential strong to even severe storms
1199925	1203365	today. Wind gusts are going to be our main threat. That's centered across parts of Springfield,
1203405	1207925	and we'll see some general thunderstorms across parts of the Northeast. Washington, D.C.,
1207925	1211965	up through Union will be included in that. And that's part of this kind of broader system that's
1211965	1216365	sliding to the east and leaving us with some showers and some thunderstorms across parts of
1216365	1221545	the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley. But we'll also see some of that kind of scattered activity
1221545	1226005	across the Northeast stretching down through the mid-Atlantic, potentially looking at some locally
1226005	1230665	heavy rain that could cause some travel delays, Savannah, through the day today. We'll still be
1230665	1236065	looking at some pockets of rain even as we get through tomorrow as well. All right, Andrew Lassman,
1236125	1241025	thank you so much. We thank you for watching and remember, stay updated on breaking news and top
1241025	1244665	stories on the NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.