Good morning. Thanks so much for being here. I'm Savannah Sellers. Joe's off today,
but Christine Romans is going to join us later in the hour. We are going to get started,
though, with the president's effort to energize his base ahead of the midterm election. So the
president was in Las Vegas yesterday to tout his economic policies and highlight tax cuts.
But polls show voters are not happy with his handling of the economy, especially right now
with the high prices from the war in Iran. President Trump did say, though, once again,
that a deal is near to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. NBC News correspondent Chris Pallone joins us now
with more on this. Chris, good morning. Savannah, good morning to you. Less than three months to go
until the midterm elections, and President Trump's message for voters is coming into sharper focus.
The president is battling low poll numbers as Republicans try to hang on to control of the
House and the Senate. President Trump returning from Las Vegas after touting his economic record
there with the fall midterm elections in view. In just 18 months, we've turned this country
completely around. The president and his party facing headwinds in convincing voters things are
as rosy as he claims. Polls consistently showing Americans give the president low marks on the
economy and the war in Iran. Trump now seizing on a tug of war among Democrats for direction of that
party between moderates and progressives. Abdul El-Sayed, lovely gentleman, he's a man of hate.
The president taking aim at the latest progressive Democratic primary winner,
Abdul El-Sayed, a Michigan doctor running for Senate on a platform of Medicare for all
and abolishing ICE, a candidate Trump baselessly calls a communist.
We do better against the communists, according to every poll.
The poll says we do better against the communists.
So he won, and so I think I'm happy.
El-Sayed hitting back at a soft spot in the president's record.
This is a guy who can't even focus on our affordability.
affordability, is more interested in saying my name in an interesting way or calling me a lovely
gentleman, than he is interested in actually solving our problems. AAA reporting the average
gas price in the U.S. now topping $4.08 a gallon, largely because of the Iran war,
which the president insists is nearing an end. I'm not looking to kill people and totally
obliterate everything, and that's where we were headed. And they wanted to negotiate,
and we're doing that, and it seems to be working out quite well. What makes you think this will
be different because they tend to never. It may be. It may not be. Iran denies there are ongoing
negotiations with the U.S. to end the war. And a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry says
negotiations with Oman over control of the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages.
Iran insists the strait will not go back to being an open international waterway like it was before
the war. The Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would give Iran control
over the strait, and the U.S. Navy still has a blockade on Iran's ports. Savannah, back to you.
All right, Chris, thank you so much. Well, over on Capitol Hill, Dr. Fauci is in more hot water
this morning. In just a few hours, a Senate committee is set to vote on whether to hold
Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress today after he pled the fifth several times during a hearing
last week on his handling of the COVID outbreak. This comes as Florida's attorney general joined
others in Louisiana and West Virginia yesterday in issuing subpoenas for records from Dr. Fauci.
They allege Dr. Fauci profited from the recommendations he gave during the COVID
pandemic. NBC News political reporter Megan Brand joins us with more on this and some other
headlines from Washington. Megan, good morning. So just start by breaking down these reasons for
the subpoenas against Dr. Fauci. Good morning, Savannah. Yeah. So as you mentioned, there were
three state attorneys general in Republican-led states in Florida, West Virginia, and Louisiana
who had issued these investigative subpoenas to Dr. Fauci yesterday, arguing that he made money
off of the way that he had advised handling of COVID-19 during the pandemic when he was the face
in many ways of the U.S. response to COVID. So the Florida attorney general had said in a statement
that was released yesterday that this was related to an official investigation into awards,
professional opportunities, financial incentives, grants, and COVID-19 guidance that impacted
Florida businesses and consumers. So the subpoena had asked Dr. Fauci to provide documents ranging
from 2020 until now, by the end of the month, things that include grants or book deals that
Dr. Fauci was considered for or that he received. And of course, this all comes right before a
Senate committee is going to vote in just a couple of hours on whether to hold Dr. Fauci in contempt
of Congress, Savannah. Yeah, let's talk about that, Megan. So on that vote today, what are
Republicans' arguments for that? And what happens if the vote does pass?
So Republicans are basically breaking this down in two ways. They're arguing that
Dr. Fauci was not able to assert his Fifth Amendment privileges. One of those reasons
that they argue is because Dr. Fauci had received a preemptive pardon from President Biden in the
final hours of President Biden's term. And they argue that because of that, he was not able to
assert his Fifth Amendment privileges. Now, another reason as well that they're arguing
is that because Dr. Fauci had delivered opening statements that they say are relevant to the
subject matter that senators then went to go question him on, they say that that effectively
waived his Fifth Amendment rights. Now, that is up for some legal debate in the legal community,
but I want to point you to what Senator Rand Paul, he's the chairman of the committee,
had said in a statement. He said, I ordered him to answer and warned him about contempt,
yet he still refused. That is obstruction of a congressional investigation.
the committee will act accordingly. So today, this needs a simple majority to pass. And
Chairman Paul has said that if it does pass, as it seems that it might, because Republicans have
a majority on that committee, then he would refer it to the Department of Justice. Now,
if the Department of Justice then decides to pursue this case, then U.S. Attorney for D.C.,
Jeanine Pirro, would have to secure an indictment from a grand jury, Savannah.
Megan, I do want to ask you about a couple of things before I let you go. One,
the FAA says that they're reviewing an incident. This was on Tuesday involving Marine One. That
is the president's helicopter. What do we know? Yeah. So first things first, Savannah, the FAA
and the White House have both said that the president was never in any danger during this
incident. This had stemmed from when commercial flights were not paused by Reagan National
Airport, the D.C. area airport, when Marine One, which holds the president, was taking off. You
can see that on your screen. Now, the FAA had created more flight restrictions in the area
after that deadly crash last January when a military helicopter and a flight had collided,
killing 67 people. Now, the White House had released a statement on the situation yesterday
saying that Marine One flights are piloted by some of the best aviators in the world
and at no point was the president in harm's way, Savannah.
Megan, one other thing.
Have we learned anything more about the man arrested
outside the president's golf course in California over the weekend?
So the man who was arrested, he was 38-year-old Janine John Thiel.
And now investigators are turning to get warrants
for things like the suspect's digital devices and emails
to try to learn more about him.
But a federal law enforcement official told NBC
that Teal is a disabled veteran and that he is described as someone who has PTSD and mental
health issues as well. Records indicate that the man who was arrested had been deployed to
Iraq and Afghanistan, and the suspect also does not have recent employment history,
and a court appearance has not yet been scheduled. We're not sure yet when we will see him in court,
Savannah. All right, Megan Brand covering quite a bit for us this morning. We appreciate it.
Thanks, Megan. Well, the attorney general for the state of New Mexico is now suing the Department
of Justice, accusing it of blocking the state from investigating sex crimes at Jeffrey Epstein's
Zorro Ranch near Santa Fe. At least 10 women say Epstein groomed or abused them at the 10,000 acre
ranch going back decades. Some were teenagers when they say it happened. Right now, state prosecutors
in New Mexico have the only active criminal investigation open into Epstein. But the state
Attorney General says the feds are stonewalling them.
It's been 173 days since we first asked for unredacted access to the complete Epstein files.
And we still don't have that access, despite repeated assurances from Mr. Blanche,
Jay Clayton and others, that they would cooperate with this investigation and help us
move things forward so we could try and hold people accountable here in New Mexico.
NBC News Justice reporter Ryan Riley joins us now from Washington, D.C. on this. Ryan,
good morning. So what exactly does New Mexico want and how are they the only jurisdiction
with an active criminal investigation? Yeah, well, the statute of limitations
factors play a major role here. And obviously, the fact that Jeffrey Epstein is dead also
complicates it, right? Because you're maybe looking for associates, someone you could actually
charge. But what New Mexico would want here would be those unredacted files that will allow them to
piece together more of this investigation, to fill in some of the blanks here. And this has
been this ongoing effort and really coming out of New Mexico that we've seen, as you said,
the only ongoing criminal investigation related to this. And basically, they're trying to push
forward some new answers from the Justice Department. How is the Justice Department
responding, Ryan? Yeah, so DOJ said in a statement that there's no lawful basis to justify sweeping
disclosures of this victim identifying information. And they're basically saying that they can't
provide this, that there's these binding court orders that prevent them from being able to give
over more information. They haven't formally responded to the lawsuit yet, but we should see
that in the coming days. All of this is going to play out in federal court in D.C. where they
filed this lawsuit to begin with, Savannah. Ryan, what are Epstein survivors saying about this?
Yeah, so they are encouraged by this investigation in New Mexico, and obviously some of them have
been critical of the Justice Department, of Todd Blanch in particular, about the handling of these
files. And they're contrasting the action that they saw. They're saying that unlike acting A.G.
Todd Blanch, AG Torres is requesting evidence for the purpose of actually pursuing justice.
So they're supportive of this investigation moving forward. And there's been some disappointment
from them about how the Justice Department handled all of this.
Ryan Riley, thank you very much. Well, a dangerous, rapidly spreading salmonella outbreak has now been
detected in 27 states. Federal health officials are investigating it. It's being linked to jalapeno
peppers. And now two of the nation's most popular Mexican restaurant chains are responding by
removing jalapenos from hundreds of their locations. NBC News correspondent Anne Thompson
has more. The issue of tainted jalapenos is much bigger than just Minnesota and Chipotle.
The CDC saying 27 states now reporting salmonella cases related to the peppers.
Minnesota, Colorado, and Illinois topping the list.
More than 300 people sickened, 36 hospitalized.
Now another fast food chain, Qdoba, says it's removed jalapenos from its restaurants,
saying food safety is our highest priority.
Chipotle did the same after Minnesota officials traced many of their salmonella cases to a lot of peppers used by the chain.
Chipotle said it replaced the suspect jalapenos with ones from different growers.
How do peppers get salmonella?
Typically through a variety of ways, but most likely contaminated water that it's used to irrigate or come into contact with that food.
Unlike the lettuce-linked cyclosporiasis triggered by a parasite, salmonella is a bacteria that causes fever, stomach cramps, and diarrhea.
Symptoms most people develop within 8 to 72 hours of eating the bad food.
These high-profile outbreaks involving three popular fast food chains,
Taco Bell for the lettuce, Chipotle and Qdoba for the jalapenos,
have some concern about our nation's food supply.
We have to remind ourselves that our food supply is fairly safe.
But things happen, accidents happen, and contamination certainly can happen at any point in the food supply.
Anne Thompson, NBC News.
Well, in the midst of that outbreak, there's a new leader taking the helm at the CDC this morning.
Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz to be the newest director, making her the agency's first permanent director in almost a year.
The 51 to 44 vote in the Republican-controlled Senate was largely split along party lines.
For more on this, let's welcome NBC News health reporter Aria Bendix.
Aria, good morning. Always great to have you.
So first, just tell us about Dr. Schwartz's background.
Yeah, so she has the credentials to fit this role.
She was the deputy surgeon general, actually, under the first Trump administration.
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.
So there's really no question about her resume at her confirmation hearing.
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.
And how were her responses on that? Because there was some concern about is she distancing herself enough from that?
What do you think her leadership means in that regard?
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.
We have a statement from an advocacy group that's made up of former CDC officials.
They said they were hoping for more clear commitments about how she would protect CDC from political pressure.
They found her statements often vague.
She did dodge questions frequently at the hearing, but she was clear on one thing, that vaccines are safe and effective.
So I think some experts are approaching her tenure with some cautious optimism.
She's well-liked by her colleagues.
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.
OK, and there's a lot going on.
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.
Also, by the way, don't forget about a measles ongoing crisis in this country.
I mean, there's a lot to step into this job.
Just how important will these first few months coinciding with things like that be
for her sort of future in the role, for the perception from the public of her in the role?
Yeah, she has, as you mentioned, some big tests ahead.
I think Congress and quite frankly, the public is going to be watching closely
to see how she performs for measles in particular.
We'll see how emphatically she sort of recommends the MMWR vaccine.
I'm watching that very closely.
And then how she addresses really these growing rates of vaccine hesitancy in this country.
At her confirmation hearing, she said she essentially wants to be this bridge between vaccine skeptics and mainstream medicine.
That's a tough feat under any administration, but particularly this one.
I think experts are willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and see how she does there.
No kidding.
All right, Arya, thank you so much.
We want to bring you an update on those historic wildfires burning in Washington state.
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.
And whether they were started intentionally is still under investigation.
NBC News national correspondent Morgan Chesky has the latest.
Air and ground crews fighting for every inch in a fiery battle.
As one of Washington's most destructive wildfires ever rages on.
I've done everything I can to save my house.
The race for containment creeping forward.
Our fire teams right now are working on establishing fire lines around all of these fire zones.
Progress here largely dependent upon the wind, but an emerging heat wave now brings new risk.
We still have a lot of interior heat, and even a little gust can grab an ember and throw it.
Hollywood star and Spokane native Sidney Swinney was back home, helping with community relief efforts.
More than 1,500 firefighters are on the ground, taking on the three fires that officials now believe were all human-caused.
Do we believe that to be intentional?
That's why it's under investigation.
There was clearly no lightning in the area, so it's a human-caused fire, but to be determined whether it was accidental.
Aaron Farnacci, the man charged with starting the most destructive fire, is due in court to enter a plea.
Authorities crediting witnesses in catching him.
My daughter was sitting on the porch out there and she says there's a fire.
So I ran out and looked and saw a column of smoke rising exactly where that individual was standing at.
The Spokane fires have now burned more than 10,000 acres with fire officials telling us full containment could take weeks.
We'll send it back to you.
Morgan, thank you very much.
Well, for more on the fire and the heat threat across much of the Pacific Northwest, let's bring in our Angie Lastman.
Hey, Angie, good morning. Hi there, Savannah. Good morning to you. Not much of a change when
it comes to those same kind of ingredients that we've been watching over the past couple of days
for the fire issues across the West. Here's those air quality alerts so you can see all the fires
burning specifically focused across the Pacific Northwest and across the Great Basin. Those are
going to be ongoing today. We still have plenty of smoke that is going to drift across those regions,
leaving us with air quality issues for a lot of folks. Again, focused mainly across the Pacific
northwest where we've been seeing those air quality issues for days and days now. That doesn't change
today. We're also going to see our temperatures kind of surging over the next couple of days.
73 million people under these heat alerts. Most of it is stretched across the west, Salt Lake City,
Torino, down through Los Angeles, Phoenix, Albuquerque included, Oklahoma City as well
included in these heat alerts as we gear up for warmer than normal temperatures yet again in some
of those areas. Las Vegas at 111, 99 for Salt Lake City, El Paso, Utah out at 101 today.
These temperatures, of course, above where they should be for this time of year. And it's not
getting any better as we look to tomorrow. Boise, Salt Lake City, 100 plus. Medford,
104. That temperature more than 10 degrees above where they should be for this time of year. So
not, of course, helping with that intense heat and all of the fire concerns that we have across
that region. We'll still remain hot well into the weekend and into our upcoming work week,
100 degrees across the board for Saturday and Sunday in Salt Lake City. And we only improve
a little bit with a high of 98 degrees on Monday. So you get the picture. It's going to be warm out
across the west. We're also going to see some changes across parts of the northeast, specifically
in the mid-Atlantic, where we've kind of been enjoying milder, more comfortable conditions.
We had lower humidity kind of work into this region thanks to this front that has been kind of hanging around.
That front migrates a little bit farther to the north.
That allows us to see some of this humidity being pumped in by this high that's sitting across parts of the Atlantic.
That is really going to make a difference when it comes to the later parts of our work week.
But even today, you'll notice the difference.
Philadelphia heads to 91 degrees, will feel like 102.
We've got New York City at 89, but look at that heat index value, 99 degrees.
farther down the coast, Norfolk, Washington, D.C., you will feel like 100 plus through the day today.
And that continues as we get even into tomorrow. But we'll get a little bit of relief on the back
end of the weekend. So high 90s Friday in New York City, 94 is going to feel a whole lot better by
Sunday. And we'll see that humidity level kind of gradually drop across this region as we get
through our weekend. One note, we've got a couple of areas of potential strong to even severe storms
today. Wind gusts are going to be our main threat. That's centered across parts of Springfield,
and we'll see some general thunderstorms across parts of the Northeast. Washington, D.C.,
up through Union will be included in that. And that's part of this kind of broader system that's
sliding to the east and leaving us with some showers and some thunderstorms across parts of
the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley. But we'll also see some of that kind of scattered activity
across the Northeast stretching down through the mid-Atlantic, potentially looking at some locally
heavy rain that could cause some travel delays, Savannah, through the day today. We'll still be
looking at some pockets of rain even as we get through tomorrow as well. All right, Andrew Lassman,
thank you so much. We thank you for watching and remember, stay updated on breaking news and top
stories on the NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.