convention. that's coming up right now. see you at 6:00.

typically a party infomercial, donald trump selling himself. a lot of the action came from the colorado delegation, sitting about as far from the stage as you can possibly get, maybe no coincidence that this is their view of melania trump who will be headlining tonight. donald trump introducing her. nontraditional to see the candidate on night one, but then a lot of his campaign has been unconventional. lester? >> and halle, back to governor kasich, he's laughing off the suggestion that he's embarrassing his state by skipping the convention. in an exclusive interview with nbc news, he defended his decision, and he questioned whether trump's message will go over well with ohio voters. this afternoon just blocks from the que arena, governor john kasich, thanking out of state police for being part of the security operation. but this the governor

told me this is about as close as he plans to get to the convention itself. his mind made up. if donald trump called you right now and said bygones be bygones, would that make any difference? >> no, he'd have to change everything he says. we can't be attacking muslims and hispanics and trying to shut down trade and not caring about the debt. those are all problems for me. and so -- i don't hold any personal animus towards trump. we are just two companies that have different values, different directions and different philosophies. >> he's the governor of the state. >> you know what? he's making a big mistake. >> paul manafort campaign chairman for donald trump said today that you are embarrassing your state by your failure to participate in the convention, does that offend you? >> i heard that and i laughed. look, ohio's doing great, and people in the state, at least today still like me and that's just politics. >> some might be scratching their heads wondering, is this a tacit endorsement of hillary clinton's

candidacy? >> no, no, look, i just wrote an op ed priest. my concern with hillary is she panlders. who is driving the bus, hillary clinton or bernie sanders? every time we turn around she's pandering another group. that's not what we need in this country, we need to come together with real solutions, stop dividing people, stop scapegoating people and let's come together as real leadership. >> ohio is a key state in the electoral map and many believe crucial to win the white house. can donald trump win in ohio? >> i think its hard if you don't have unifying message. if you go too hard one way or the other, it's too difficult to win. so if you're not a unifier, it's a real challenge. >> in our conversation, he said it's hard to see if he'll make another white house run in 2020. with us here now and throughout the convention chuck

todd and savannah guthrie here. chuck let me start with you, we saw that never trump movement flare up. >> it could linger because of how they started their day, and i go back to this kasich situation, here they are trying to get the party united, but the campaign chairman for the presumptive nominee sill, takes a shot at the home state governor. he's not here. ohio being punished for not being here but that doesn't send a untieing message and then the incident here that there's a lot of delegates here who feel like their votes were squashed. it's one thing to lose a vote and another to feel like you didn't have an opportunity. so they got to be careful here that it doesn't build. this unity is sitting on a nice edge. on a nice edge. they've got to hope that's not adding fuel to the fire. >> this is a big opportunity in a big vp campaign, the conventions are another. i think donald trump

has an opportunity and a need to state an affirmative message for himself. we have seen in opinion poll after opinion poll that hillary clinton has very high negative ratings, so in that sense that work is done for the trump campaign but he needs to convince people that he's up to the job. i saw a poll recently, 60% of those asked, didn't even think he was qualified to hold the office of president. presidency. that's a threshold question and these days gave the opportunity to answer it for viewers that might not always be paying attention to politics. >> we'll be hearing from him shortly. as the drama plays out inside the arena, outside there is drama as well. concern about safety and security and a heavy police presence, as protesters take to the streets. nbc's stephanie gosk is at one of those rallies. what is happening out there? >> reporter: this is one of the largest demonstrations that we have seen today, instead of the

thousands of people that were predicted, there really are only hundreds here, but you get a sense of how police have been handling the protesters throughout the day as well. really standing on the side and allowing these rallies to take place and then end very naturally. there have only been two arrests and we have been looking for people carrying guns as well. there were fears with ohio's open carry that there would be more people. we have really only seen a handful. the people have been across the political spectrum, a group of bikers from across the country, pro trump as well as black lives matter activists, but any fears that this is going to erupt into violence the first day of the convention, so far seem unwarranted. lester? >> all right. stephanie gosk, thank you. meantime trump's rival hillary clinton is throwing some counter punches, speaking at the naacp annual convention, she said that donald trump will worsen the divide in this country. she also criticized him for declining to speak at that same event. she also talked about the shootings by police saying, quote, this madness has to

stop. that brings us to another major story we're following, the ambush that killed three police officers in baton rouge, louisiana. police now say these officers were targeted and assassinated. we're learning more about the shooter from what he left behind on social media. nbc's gabe gutierrez has that for us. >> reporter: today in chilling detail, authorities describe how gavin long, on his 29th birthday targeted cops. >> this was a diabolical attack on the very fabric of society. >> reporter: just before 9:00 a.m. sunday, about a mile from baton rouge police headquarters, long was carrying two rifles and a .9 millimeter handgun. he parked at this convenience store where he spotted a police car and he walked up to a police car and shot three police officers, shooting them at close range and killing them. >> shots fired, officer down. shots fired, officer down. >> reporter: the gunman then ran, before stopping to shoot other officers.

a s.w.a.t. team finally shot him dead from 100 yards away. >> i could not be prouder of my s.w.a.t. team, we have been questioned about our militarized tactics because we are up against a force that is not playing by the rules. >> reporter: a former marine sergeant, long once deployed to iraq for six months. >> because i'm an alpha male. >> reporter: one of his recent youtube videos advocated violence after the police-involved shooting of alton sterling in baton rouge two weeks ago. >> victims fighting their bullies, 100% have been successful through fighting back. >> reporter: long recently posted video of himself walking the streets of dallas, just three days after five cops were shot and killed in that city. >> why did he come to baton rouge? why did he pick baton rouge? why did he pick that location right there? >> reporter: tonight tributes are flooding in for those killed. deputy brad garofalo, matthew gerald, a rookie, and

montrell jackson, a ten-year veteran of the police force and a new father. >> he died serving baton rouge. i just hope we can come together as one. >> reporter: today president obama called local authorities and the victims' families. one of the sheriff's deputy was injured in this lot was shot in the head and the stomach, tonight he remains in critical condition. and authorities across the country are on alert. police in new york, baltimore and fort worth are among those patrolling in pairs. overseas, some terrifying moments aboard a train in germany, where police say a suspect with an ax and a knife attacked passengers, severely injuring at least three of them. ten to 20 others have nonlife threatening injuries. a s.w.a.t. team shot and killed the attacker, described as a 17-year-old afghan refugee. a third police officer has been found not guilty in a case that sparked riots in baltimore. lieutenant brian rice is now the highest ranking officer to be acquitted in freddie gray's death.

gray suffered a fatal spinal injury in police custody last year. six officers were charged, two have yet to be tried, one of the cases resulted in mistrial. at the white house today, president obama awarded the medal of honor to a hero chopper pilot from the vietnam war. retired army lieutenant colonel charles kettles is credited with saving the lives of 44 u.s. troops during a 1967 ambush, including eight soldiers that couldn't reach the evacuation helicopters. kettles and his crew swooped in and took two moore mortar hits and enemy gun fire and saved all eight in their damaged chopper. still tonight, the olympic bombshell. where one team, one of usa's top rivals will be banned from rio after stunning allegations of cheating. and melania's moments, surprising things you may not she gets ready for her spotlight in prime time.

we're back from cleveland, the big event here and three weeks until another big event in rio. today independent investigators dropped a bombshell confirming allegations of state sponsored doping by russia. what may be the biggest doping scandal in the history of sports. the announcement was quickly followed by a call for t russians to be banned from the games. a monumental decision that could come any day. nbc's miguel almaguer has details. >> could it be the

dream of a russian sweep? yes, it is. gold. >> reporter: russia's dominance in sochi was fueled by performance-enhancing drugs, according to an independent investigation released today. >> it's going to be a russian celebration, yes, it is. >> reporter: now the world anti-doping agency says russia should be barred from the summer olympics. the report saying the cheating was sanctioned by the highest levels of government. >> the moscow laboratory was fueled by doped russians within a state directed failed safe system. >> reporter: moscow's former anti-doping detailed where russia cheated. the russians are said to have built a mouse hole, where dirty samples were passed through, emptied and replaced with clean samples. >> it's a level of corruption at the olympic games that we can't tolerate. >> reporter: it's now up to the international olympics committee to decide punishment. a ban would be unprecedented. today russia's

president said the report is based on the testimony of one man. >> reporter: for katie uhlaender who lost bronze to a russian by .004 of a second, it's been a long time coming. >> when i lost, i was heartbroken, but it was more for my country. >> reporter: now with just 18 days until rio, the decision to keep russian athletes away from competition, could come as early as tomorrow. miguel almaguer, nbc news. when we come back, she's rarely heard on the campaign trail, but tonight she will be the star of the rnc, melania trump takes center stage.

we're back from cleveland where tonight the woman who could be the next first lady of the united states will take center stage. melania trump, the former model turned businesswoman, the headliner on night one of this convention, making the case for her husband. here's nbc's cynthia mcfadden.

>> reporter: we have seen her, poised, sometimes fierce, always stunning. at debate after debate. but tonight, melania trump will dive into the political deep end, with a prime time speech expected to focus on her husband's softer side, as a family man. they met in the late 1990s. >> my supermodel, where's my supermodel, melania. >> reporter: married in 2005. she has rarely spoken on the road this year, by passing the role of character witness for her husband on the campaign trail, for mother to their 10-year-old son baron back in new york. >> i like to keep a life as normal as possible for my son baron. >> reporter: normal hardly seems the right word. young baron, his mother said in "parenting magazine", has his own floor in the three-floor trump penthouse. she's not your typical stay at home mother. a successful model since she was 16, she

posed in the buff on a fur rug on the cover of british "gq." but there is more than meets the eye, she speaks five languages, having grown up in then communist yugoslavia. >> she has to be the straight arrow to his zigs and zags. >> reporter: an interview for "harper's bazaar" last fall. what's your overall impression? >> she's not an ad libber, she's not a comedian, and she strikes me as somebody who's very patient with her husband's antics. >> reporter: her only public advice to her husband has been to suggest he tweet less, advice he seems to not have taken. >> i tell him what i think, sometimes he listens, sometimes she doesn't. >> reporter: she would be the first foreign born first lady since john quincy adams wife lousia. the "new york times" called her the silent

partner. tonight that changes. cynthia mac fad mcfadden, new york. mcfadden, new york. mcfadden, new york. mcfadden, new york. mcfadden, new york. mcfadden, new york. mcfadden, new york. mcfadden, new york. mcfadden, new york.

finally tonight, there is nothing more partisan than one of these conventions. it's each party's chance to kind of show the world how they want to be seen, what they're all about. sometimes it's fun to step away from the politics and take in the pageantry, the choreography, the awkwardness sometimes. it's kind of the way democracy is sometimes. we're joined now by tom brokaw, who's been to a lot of these conventions, so much history, our democracy, so much is built upon these pillars but do you think this convention turn history on its ear in some form or fashion? >> the gop used to be the party of captains of industry and old money, and richard nixon took it to the south, reagan to the west. now a lot of the establishment republicans are staying home, not going to be here because they can't support him. but he's created another constituency, that will be the test. >> and when you look around, it stills looks like republicans and democratic conventions of old. >> well, it does

because there's a certain ritualistic quality about it. the test is whether you can make what you do here endure, not just because of the setting, but because of the politics and the philosophy that you bring to this great race for the presidency. >> well, it is great to have you along for our coverage. we're going to let our viewers know that our prime time coverage of the republican national convention, starts at 10:00 eastern time, we hope you can join us, for now that's going to do it for us on this monday night. i'm lester holt, for all of us here at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night from cleveland.

i'm devastated. i'm emotionally messed up. because i don't want to move. >> she complained about a rat invasion. well, now this bay area woman is being forced to look for a new home. nbc bay area news starts right now. thanks for joining us. i'm terry mcsweeney in for raj mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. a vallejo woman is now facing eviction about coming forward about a rat infestation in her yard and neighborhood. we first told you about the pest problem on friday, but less than 24 hours after our story aired, the woman's landlord served her with papers that could lead to her eviction.

coincidence? jodi hernandez is live where the tenant claims her landlord is retaliating against her, jodi. >> reporter: becky pearson says after her report aired, she was delighted to get a phone call from her landlord saying that she was sending out an exterminator, but her relief was short-lived. she says now she feels like the landlord is trying to get rid of her. >> i've been here 18 years. and this is unbelievable. >> reporter: 63-year-old becky pearson is devastated. just 24 hours after speaking out about a severe rat infestation at her home and in her neighborhood, her landlord served her with a notice to catch up on her rent in three days or move out. >> it's retaliation, obviously. >> reporter: pearson acknowledges she stopped paying some of the rent because the landlord wasn't doing her part to help get rid of the rats or make other needed repairs. >> when you own