Announcer from nbc news World Headquarters in new york, this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. Good evening. The mayor of a small new jersey suburb is making big news tonight with new charges of political strongarming against the embattled office of governor Chris Christie just a day after a flurry of subpoenas went out seeking to determine whether Christies Office orchestrated that now infamous bridge traffic jam in an act of political retribution against one mayor. The mayor of nearby hoboken said she was threatened with payback with sandy stormrelated funds held hostage. She is a democrat, governor christie is a republican whos widely believed to be eyeing a run for president. Tonight charges of political motivation are flying both ways. Nbc National Investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff has new charges tonight. Reporter a new charge of political retribution from a leading mayor in his state. I remember telling my inner circle, i cant believe this. I just received a direct
Im a im erin burnett. The president launching an initiative, one very personal to him, about young men as color. The president actually talked about growing up without a father figure. I didnt have a dad in the house. And i was angry about it, even though i didnt necessarily realize it at the time. I made bad choices. I got high without always thinking about the harm it could do. I didnt always take school as seriously as i should have. I made excuses. After i was finished the guy sitting next to me said, are you talking about you . I said, yeah. And the point was i could see myself in these young men. And the only difference is that i grew up in an environment that was a little bit more forgiving. The new initiative that the president is launching is called my brothers keeper. Founations and businesses that now pledge to donate 200 million over five years to aid young men of color. Much more on that amount of money and whether its significant or not with tavis smily in a few minutes.
There is word of a truce after bloody and violent clashes in kiev. How fragile is this . Take a listen. That was the scene less than 24 hours ago in kiev. As you can see, this violence and bloodshed has been incredibly difficult could control. 26 people have been killed since the governments decision to align with russia instead of the west. President obama made it clear where the United States stands. We hold the government primarily responsible for making sure that it is dealing with peaceful protestors in an appropriate way, that the ukrainian people are able to assemble and speak freely about their interests without fear of repression. Well be monitoring very carefully the situation recognizing that along with our our r European Partners that there rb consequences. The secretary of state john kerry said the United States is considering additional sanctions. Now this fight is important to the United States in one way describing it as this, its a proxy war. The ukraine on a map, smac
Counts. Another one for obstruction of justice. Bob mcdonnell becomes the first governor or former governor in the history of virginia to be convicted of a crime and his wife becomes the first former first lady to suffer the same fate. Late they are morning we talk about whether the verdict could inspire similar prosecutions elsewhere. And the name Chris Christie comes to mind wooe. Well get into it later with a former prosecutor. For now we dig deep near why and how the jury reached the verdict that it reached. Last night one of the mcdonnell jurors, kathleen carmody. Told rach Rachel Maddow what they thought of the defense, that they couldnt conspire because the marriage was in bad shape. I did not doubt there was strain in the marriage and stress. And that mrs. Mcdonnell was having a difficult time adjusting as first lady of virginia. However, they remained under the same roof during all this time up until the time of the trial. Were under the same roof. They vacationed together. We
Delay on taking any action on Immigration Reform. Lets go to the white house and luke russert. What have you learned about this . Reporter a white house official told us the reason the president is delaying this decision is due to midterm politics. The reality is the president has had to weigh in the midst of the political season and because of the republicans extreme politicalization of this issue the president believes it would be harmful to the policy itself and the longterm prospects of comprehensive Immigration Reform to announce administrative action before the elections. Its rare you have the president , much less any politician, admit that their action is a direct it is directly being changed because of elections. But in this case, the white house is up front. I spoke to one aide and i said the words red state democrat, is that what this is about . They sort of acknowledge yes. This is about those races in louisiana. Its about those races in North Carolina. Arkansas. Alaska. Wh