And flash floods. More than 80 million at risk. Major disruptions to air travel. More than 6,000 Flights Canceled or delayed. Ground stops in atlanta, baltimore, philadelphia, washington and new york. In d. C. Federal offices closing early. Danger on the roads. A charter bus crashing in pennsylvania. At least three killed. Were tracking the storms. Also tonight, the deadly midair tragedy. Two firefighting Helicopters Colliding in california. What were learning. Donald trump firing back after federal prosecutors ask for a protective order to limit what he can share about the 2020 election probe. Why his attorneys say the judge should reject it. Our nbc news exclusive on the Campaign Trail with ron desantis. After years of avoiding questions about it, desantis now taking direct aim at Donald Trumps false claims about the 2020 election. What he told us. The alleged plot to assassinate ukraines president zelenskyy foiled. The woman in custody tonight. Our nbc news investigation. The potential deadly danger from infant Nursing Pillows. And remembering the oscarwinning director of the French Connection and the exorcist, the legendary William Friedkin. Announcer this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. Good evening, everyone, and welcome. Severe weather on the march in the east tonight, forcing thousands of Flight Delays and cancellations. In washington, d. C. The government allowed federal workers to go home early today. D. C. Under a Tornado Watch until midevening. The Storm Prediction Center warning of a widespread damaging wind event this evening. The line of storms on a track from mississippi to maine. Heavy rain, flash flooding and large hail in the forecast. Airports including baltimore, newark and philadelphia experiencing ground stops tonight. All of this being ushered in by a cold front as blistering heat brings continuing trouble across much of the rest of the country. Vaughn hillyard is in washington, where folks are bracing for a real storm threat. Vaughn . Reporter thats right, lester. Folks here in the region have not received a Storm Warning like this in more than a decade. A storm with potential derecholike impact of lightning and gusty winds thats now descending right here on the east coast. Tonight the summer of Severe Weather from coast to coast is raging on. Wild weather closing in, forecast to bring the strongest storms in a decade into the Nations Capital including damaging winds, tornadoes, heavy rain and hail. Forcing Government Buildings around washington, d. C. To shut down, sending all federal employees home this afternoon. Ground stops at airports across the eastern seaboard from atlanta to d. C. To new york as the faa reroutes flights to avoid the storms. With more than 6,000 delays and 1,300 cancellations nationwide. Its very frustrating. Very, very frustrating. If i wasnt such a big girl id actually cry. Reporter it comes as 84 million from tennessee to new york are under the threat of up to 75mileperhour winds. Looks like a bus is on its side. Reporter heavy rains are also being looked at as a potential cause of a deadly charter bus collision just outside harrisburg, pennsylvania where three people were killed and dozens more were injured including several children. It had flipped and everyone just kind of was swung off to the side. It was it was intense. Reporter the same storm system moving east hammered the midwest over the weekend. A confirmed ef2 tornado with wind speeds as high as 135 miles per hour, reducing several homes in Central Illinois to rubble. Now a massive swath of the country is bracing for more. Vaughn hillyard, nbc news, washington. In Southern California authorities are investigating why two helicopters fighting a fire collided last night. One of the choppers crashed, killing two fire officials and the pilot. The other chopper was able to land safely with two people on board. The aircraft were involved in efforts to contain a small brush fire in riverside county. Tonight lawyers for former President Trump firing back after a request from the Special Counsel for a protective order concerning evidence in that case involving the 2020 election. Kelly odonnell has late details. Reporter tonight a new push in the legal tug of war between former President Trump and the Special Counsel. Its free speech. This means that we cannot ever criticize. Reporter in a late filing Trump Lawyers countered jack smiths request for a protective order, arguing it violates his First Amendment rights. Worse, it doo against its administrations primary tical opponent during an ection season. The Special Counsel asked the court to in effect put up guardrails to protect the governments evidence, a consequence of mr. Trumps prolific social posts. Among them, if you go after me, im coming after you. The Special Counsel writes, it could have a harmful Chilling Effect on witnesses or adversely affect the Fair Administration of justice in this case. Mr. Trump firing off his own response. No, i shouldnt have a protective order placed on me because it would impinge upon my right to free speech. Trump attorney john lauro outlined defense strategy. Mr. Trump had every right to petition government and enforce his First Amendment rights. Reporter and made headlines when he described mr. Trumps pressure on pence to halt the electoral count. A technical violation of the constitution is not a violation of criminal law. Thats just plain wrong. Reporter the Trump Legal Team argues a court order should focus on only the most sensitive government documents and not restrict mr. Trump from talking about all of the evidence. The judge could rule at any time. Lester . Kelly odonnell, thank you. That brings us to our exclusive with mr. Trumps top rival, Florida Governor ron desantis, who is still trying to make a dent in mr. Trumps lead. During the interview dasha burns pressing desantis about his views on the 2020 election. Reporter tonight Florida Governor ron desantis predicting success. Despite struggling to gain traction against the republican frontrunner. Trumps lead has only grown since you began campaigning in earnest. Is it possible that youre potentially just out of step with what gop voters are looking for right now . So if i had a nickel for every naysayer ive had in my life, id be a very, very wealthy man. Reporter and arguing former President Trump brings distractions that help democrats. If the election is a referendum on joe bidens policies and the failures that weve seen and we are presenting a positive vision for the future, we will win the presidency. If on the other hand the election is not about january 20th, 2025 but january 6th, 2021 or what document was left by the toilet at maralago, if its a referendum on that we are going to lose. Can we just put this to bed so you dont have to be asked about this a million more times . Yes or no, did donald trump lose the 2020 election . Whoever put their hand on the bible on january 20th every four years is the winner. But respectfully, you did not clearly answer that question. And if you cant give a yes or no on whether or not trump lost then how of course he lost. Trump lost the 2020 election. Of joe bidens the president. Reporter and we pressed desantis on his new Border Proposal to allow deadly force against Drug Traffickers demonstrating, quote, Hostile Intent. Youve said if cartels are trying to run product into this country theyre going to end up stone cold dead. How far might you take that method for preventing illegal crossings in general . Its similar to like if youre in the military you have rules of engagement. Anyone thats Hostile Intent or hostile act, which the cartels are, you would then engage with lethal force. You yourself were an adviser to navy s. E. A. L. S. You know how hard it is sometimes when it comes to rules of engagement. How do you determine if its a child, a mother or obviously if its a child youre not going to do that. But they have but a pregnant mom in a baseball cap with a backpack they have indications. I mean, if you have people blowtorching through a border wall, that is not going to be but how do you know youre using deadly force against the right people . Its the same way you would do in any situation. Same way a Police Officer would know. Same way people operating in iraq would know. These people in iraq at the time they all looked the same. You didnt know who had a bomb strapped to them. So those guys have to make judgments. Reporter desantis often out on the trail with his wife casey, a former tv news anchor touting his record including on covid. I saw him standing up to people in washington, d. C. Who were telling him youre doing it wrong, you have to shut down the beaches, you have to lock kids out of school. So when you see that firsthand and you understand the fight that he was taking, like why would i not be in this fight . Why would i not want to be out there singing from the rooftop that this is a good dude . Reporter and their three young kids also along for the ride. Casey describing how her husband supported them when she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer two years ago. He was there for me. And he was there to go pick up my kids when i couldnt. And he did it with humility and he did it with love. And i tell you what, you cant ask for a better husband. Dasha joining me. Dasha, desantis is making a big Campaign Stop later this week. Reporter lester, the Iowa State Fair kicks off. Both desantis and trump expected to be there. And the Desantis Team tells me trumps lead is softer here than it is in some other states and they can chip away at it. Lester . Dasha burns, thank you. Tonight in ukraine Officials Say a woman has been arrested in a plot to assassinate president zelenskyy. And there are alarming new developments involving joint russian and chinese patrols off the u. S. Coast. Heres Richard Engel with that. Reporter ukrainian intelligence says this unidentified woman is a russian spy captured while carrying out a plot to assassinate president zelenskyy during this trip to mykolaiv last month. She was allegedly tracking his movements so he could be targeted with a russian airstrike. The kremlin so far not commenting on the accusations. With its counteroffensive stalled, ukraine is pushing the war beyond its borders. There was a Sea Drone Attack last week near a russian port. But russian president Vladimir Putin and his ally chinas president xi are projecting their power abroad too, sending an alarming new message to the united states, ukraines main backer. A patrol of 11 chinese and russian war ships cruised together near alaska. The pentagon saying there was no direct threat, but sending four destroyers and a Reconnaissance Plane as a warning. The threat to alaska is growing. Lester talking to the topranking u. S. Military officer there just last month. How do you see the chinese threat, the north korean threat . I see the chinese threat ever increasing in the pacific. I also i watch their cooperation with the russians. I look at the russian access in the arctic with their bases. And i do have concerns. Reporter china says the patrols were not hostile. China also took part in Ukraine Peace Talks in saudi arabia over the weekend. Negotiators only agreeing to meet again. Lester . Richard engel, thank you. With tensions soaring in the persian gulf the u. S. Has deployed thousands of Military Personnel and two ships to protect oil tankers. Courtney kube is following this from the pentagon. And courtney, this is all a response to a growing threat from iran. Reporter yeah, thats right, lester. Those two u. S. Warships with more than 3,000 u. S. Sailors and marines are now in the red sea, ordered there after Iranian Naval vessels tried to stop, board and seize two oil tankers near the Strait Of Hormuz last month, even firing on one and striking one of those ships. In both cases the iranian boats turned away after a u. S. Military ship and aircraft arrived. That followed an april incident when masked iranian commandos seized an oil tanker in the gulf of oman. Irans Foreign Ministry saying the u. S. Military presence only fuels instability in the region. Iran has either seized or attempted to seize nearly 20 ships in the past two years. Lester . Courtney kube, thank you. In 60 seconds disturbing questions after the brawl at a Riverfront Dock in montgomery, alabama. Was race a factor in the fight . What the videos show, and the growing fafallout, nexext. Rsv isis in for a susurprise. Meetet arexvy. Rsv isis in for a susurprise. the first t fdaapprovoved rsv vaccinine. Arexvy i is used to o pret the first t fdaapprovoved rsv vaccinine. Lolower respiriratory disesee from r rsv in Peoeople 60 Yeaears and older. R. Rsv cacan severelyly affect the e lungs and d lower airwr. Arexvy i is proven rsv cacan severelyly affect the e lungs and d lower airwr. To be ovover 82 effffective rsv cacan severelyly affect the e lungs and d lower airwr. Inin preventining lower respspiratory Didisease Fromov and ovover 94 effffective in those w with thesee hehealth condiditions. arexexvy does Nonot Prototect Everyoyone and is notot for thosese with Severere Allergicic Rereactions toto its ingreredi. 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Reporter outrage is growing across the country over these now viral videos appearing to show more than a dozen people in an allout brawl on the downtown montgomery riverfront. No arrests have been made, the mayor says, but investigators have issuedour Arrest Warrants and say theyre reviewing videos of the incident and that more could be coming. Its something that shouldnt have happened and its something that were investigating right now. Reporter the chaos unfolded Saturday Night after witnesses say a worker asked a Group Multiple times to move their pontoon so a commercial riverboat could dock. Krista owens says she films this video from on boat the riverboat. Theyre mad this guy who came off our boat is untying his boat and touching it. But it needed to move. Reporter a brawl starts, and within seconds several people appear to join in. Witnessing our poor crewman being attacked by these guys. And we couldnt do anything about it. Yeah, these white folks reporter r after the riveverboat docks s fifighting eruptpts again. Polilice on the ground struggling to contain the chaos. But eventually getting some in handcuffs. The mayor now placing the blame on several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job and vowing that justice will be served. The mayor declined to say whether investigators believe the fight was racially motivated, adding only that the investigation is ongoing. Lester . All right. Priscilla, thank you. Up next, new warnings about the dangers of Nursing Pillows when used the wrong way. Our nbc news investigation into deadly incidents involving the pillows and what experts say parents need to know. Paret if yououve had sesensitivit, Those Zizingers Can N really cae some o of that jololting pai. Ththere is