inside the white house and pentagon >> people should be concerned about how much data they provide to unknowing sources around the world >> the sensitive info for sale, and it's totally legal. a war ship in the waters off syria the american show of force as cruise missiles are fired off by russian submarines. caught on camera, the truck smashing into an airport, plowing into the baggage claim area employees jumping out of the way just in time and the price you pay while you're holiday shopping how to tell the real online reviews from the fakes. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt >> good evening. the harsh reality of being impeached may not quite have settled in for president trump who said today it didn't feel real but tonight democrat house speaker nancy pelosi is reminding the president and republican leaders she still has one more card to play before sending the articles of impeachment over for a senate trial kristen welker has details.

>> reporter: tonight, with the stain of impeachment still setting in, president trump firing back. what does it feel like to be the third president in u.s. history to be impeached? >> well, i don't feel like i'm being impeached because it's a hoax it's a set-up. it's a horrible thing they did >> reporter: and bringing in one of the two democrats who voted no on both articles of impeachment. new jersey congressman jeff van drew, now switching parties to become a republican. >> we're really happy to have jeff on board. >> reporter: but now a new showdown over what happens next on wednesday night after democrats impeach the president, house speaker nancy pelosi throwing the process into limbo and uncertainty, breaking historic precedent, vowing she will not send the articles to the senate until she determines the top senate republican, mitch mcconnell, will hold a fair trial. >> our founders, when they wrote the constitution, they suspected that there could be a rogue president. i don't think they

suspected that we could have a rogue president and a rogue leader in the senate at the same time >> reporter: but mcconnell blasting pelosi's move saying it proves democrats' case is the thinnest and weakest in american history >> speaker pelosi suggested house democrats may be too afraid, too afraid to even transmit their shoddy work product to the senate mr. president, looks like the prosecutors are getting cold feet. >> reporter: the top senate democrat says mcconnell must call four current and former trump administration officials to testify, including acting chief of staff mick mulvaney and former national security advisor john bolton >> we ask, is the president's case so weak that none of the president's men can defend him under oath? >> reporter: the president responding >> they don't want to put in their articles, their ridiculous phony fraudulent articles. they don't want to put them in because they're ashamed of them because it's -- what they've done is wrong and it's bad for the country.

very, very bad for the country. >> reporter: the republican-led senate is expected to acquit the president if there is a trial tonight mcconnell said he met with schumer earlier today and they remain at an impasse over witnesses lester >> all right, kristen. and while washington is deeply divided over impeachment, president trump is drawing bipartisan backlash for insulting a long-time democratic congressman who died this year. nbc's peter alexander with the reaction from his widow, who also serves in congress >> reporter: tonight michigan democrat debbie dingell says she's deeply pained by the president's swipe during that rally last night. directed at her late husband john dingell, a world war ii veteran and the longest-serving congressman in history. >> this was a hard holiday for me because it's my first without him. it just made me sad to play politics with the man that i loved >> reporter: dingell reacting to the president's suggestion her husband who passed away last february is in hell. a crack made while mocking his call with debbie dingell earlier this year where she thanked the president

for ordering flags lowered to half-staff. >> he's looking down, he'd be so -- thank you so much, sir i said, that's okay. don't worry about it maybe he's looking up, i don't know [ laughter ] but let's assume he's looking down >> reporter: the jab sparking immediate bipartisan backlash, including from speaker nancy pelosi walking together with dingell hours before they voted for impeachment. >> what the president misunderstands is that cruelty is not wit >> he said that, he should apologize john dingell is a fine, fine man >> reporter: cindy mccain, widow to late senator john mccain, another trump target, consoled dingell on twitter, writing, i'm terribly sorry please know i'm thinking about you mccain's daughter meghan today on the view >> there is a special kind of horrific monstrosity in this man that does this type of thing to widows >> i'm not looking for an apology i think there are some things that should be

off limits >> reporter: the president tonight ignored our questions about his shot at the late lawmaker, but his press secretary said president trump is a counter puncher and he was just riffing for the crowd. lester >> all right, peter alexander in the white house. thank you. also this evening, bone chilling cold across the midwest and northeast, arctic air bringing the coldest temperatures of the season but a warm up on the way as millions get ready for holiday travel al roker is here al, what are you watching tonight >> good news, lester we're going to finally see a change in our pattern. so much of the eastern two-thirds of the country will see warmer weather out west, though, it's going to be stormy and cool in fact, for tomorrow morning we still have one more morning of brutally cold wind chills from 15 above in cleveland to 22 below in lake placid tomorrow afternoon the warmth starts to make its way up from the south. now, as far as travel, on sunday we have a mess, especially in the southeast. we're looking for airport delays that are going to stretch from jacksonville, atlanta, and miami and out west we've got another storm system coming in that's going to cause airport delays from seattle to

save lester >> all right, al up next, terrifying moments at an assisted living home in rhode island a female employee was killed and two other people were injured when a 66-year-old es are resident opened fire then taking his own life they have not revealed a motive in this in philadelphia a fire sparking a massive inferno damaging three row homes and damaging others they believe one person was killed and at least one trapped the force of the blast shattering windows along the block. officials say the flames were fueled by gas, but the cause of the explosion is not yet known. an alarming warning tonight for all smartphone users a shocking new report shows companies are using data from your phone to track your every move and it's all perfectly legal. stephanie gosk now with the story and how you can protect your family's and your own privacy. >> reporter: it sure is nice to get that weather report wherever or directions anywhere

but few smartphone users consider what they often give up for all that convenience their privacy. "the new york times" obtained a file that they say reveals where more than 12 million people went with their cell phones over several months it's the kind of information location data companies gather on nearly all smartphone users and then sell. the times writing, if you could see the full trove, you might never use your phone the same way again from the data, the paper says it was able to track a dozen people visiting the playboy mansion. some overnight they were also able to log visits to celebrities' homes and the white house. and follow the movements of one senior official at the department of defense. >> all of this data, when amassed, provides a pattern of life which really tracks everything that a person does 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. >> reporter: the data the times received was anonymous, but the paper points out it didn't take much to figure out identities.

>> you have all of these data points and you can put them all together seamlessly, you can actually figure out who it is it's very difficult to keep it anonymous. >> reporter: so what can be done short of turning your phone off altogether go into your privacy settings and manage location services. the other thing you can do is disable something called the mobile ad i.d. this is a unique code that every phone has the collection and selling of the location data for now is completely legal and totally unregulated. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york >> a lot of us will be checking those settings tonight tonight marks a week since a texas mother and her newborn baby vanished. and for the first time, two close friends are speaking out. saying there's no way she would have left on her own. nbc's sam brock with the exclusive interview. >> reporter: tonight two close friends of heig heidi broussard say there's no chance the mother of two would have left town of her

own accord >> heidi would have never left without her son. >> never >> it needs to be known to the world she didn't leave on her own. >> reporter: rachel west worked with heidi at cracker barrel. >> she's loved >> reporter: destiny fine has known her more than a decade tuesday was the last time she saw her friend did it seem like anything was wrong >> nothing, she seemed great. happy, smiling >> reporter: both say she is totally devoted to her newborn margot and her 6-year-old son. >> yeah, that is her world and she is his world. plain and simple yeah >> reporter: shane kerry is the boyfriend and says he's the father of both children >> amazing, everything hurts. i don't know what to do >> reporter: police are still searching for clues saying there is no person of interest >> if you could say anything to heidi right now, what would you say? >> i miss you. i love you um, we real find you i really miss you. >> reporter: two women

holding out hope and standing up for their friend sam brock, nbc news, austin >> there was a horrifying incident in russia today a gunman opening fire outside the moscow headquarters of the fsb intelligence agency officials say one fsb employee was killed and at least five other people were injured. the attacker was killed in a shootout his identity and motive are so far unclear. and on the subject of russia tonight, we have rare access inside the u.s. mission in the waters off syria. a major show of force to the russians. bill kneely now with our nbc news exclusive. >> reporter: american military muscle in the mediterranean. we're on the aircraft carrier harry s. truman now watching a growing russian threat russian submarines testing cruise missiles, russian war ships this week staging exercises near syria. russia is back in the mediterranean with a vengeance, but the message from this carrier and its aircraft couldn't be clearer.

we're watching you 24/7. the u.s. mission to deter russian aggression >> there's a cost and a risk to bad behavior, and we won't allow it >> reporter: above the carrier u.s. patrol planes they are looking, above all, for russian nuclear-powered submarines well armed and increasingly well hidden >> i'm not sure what kind of message we're send being, but it's not one of peace and prosperity >> reporter: the message today from vladimir putin, our military progress is very fast and powerful russia still deeply involved here in syria's war. putin also weighing in on impeachment saying he expects president trump to stay in office and accusing democrats of making up reasons to get rid of him lester >> all right, bill kneely as the democratic presidential hopefuls face off in tonight's debate in los angeles, there are new questions about voting machines heading into the critical 2020

election an nbc news investigation got an exclusive look inside the country's largest voting machine company. senior investigative correspondent cynthia mcfadden has tonight's vote watch >> we protect democracy. this is all of our go forward equipment here >> reporter: that's tom burr, c.e.o. of the largest voting machine maker in america es & s one of three companies that dominate the market more than half of voters will cast ballots on their machines >> i think the reason there are only a few players in the market is this industry is significantly under funded margins are very thin. >> reporter: we'll have to take his word for that as burr says his financial information is confidential so it turns out is who owns them. >> we are 100% owned by two sets of people. one is the mccarthy group, which is based here in omaha, nebraska, they're a private equity company, and the rest is executive management at es & s >> reporter: and who is the mccarthy group? >> no foreign

investors. a group here in omaha. >> reporter: why the lack of transparency let's see that >> we didn't >> reporter: the bylaws prevent it from disclosing individual donor names. another concern, their supply chain nbc news tracked es & s shipping records over five years and found many parts including electronics and tablets made in asia am i correct that some of them come from the philippines and china? >> some do, yes. i wish we didn't have to participate in a global supply chain. that's not the world we live in >> reporter: now lawmakers have introduced tough new legislation to make that supply chain transparent when it comes to china and voting machines. >> your story is going to give us a fresh information -- fresh data to get that passed >> reporter: tom burr is well aware his company is under scrutiny >> we reed the papers and understand how citizens feel about the security of their vote so we're going to do everything we can to make sure that they're as secure as humanly

possible >> reporter: having said that, there are virtually no requirements when it comes to cyber security and election system es & s voluntarily asked idaho national labs to test their products, but es & s declined to share their results. is that something you can ask for? >> absolutely. and i am going to ask for this information on the basis of your report and i'm going to say i want it within ten days >> well, cynthia, congress has taken action on this just this week, right >> that's right, lester the house and senate agreed to provide $425 million to states to help them protect their voting systems, though critics say it's a year late and a billion dollars short. >> all right cynthia, thank you and still ahead tonight, an incredible close call the dramatic crash right through an airport terminal all of it caught on camera how it could have been much worse also, an urgent new health warning linked to eggs what you need to know about that tonight and spotting those too good to be true

fake reviews with just days to go before christmas.

boy, there was high anxiety at a florida airport today when a truck crashed straight through an airport terminal, nearly running over a worker gabe gutierrez has details. >> reporter: it was just before 3:00 a.m. at sarasota bradenton international airport when an employee took a sip from her coffee mug and got the jolt of a lifetime. this was no rental car drop-off a pickup truck had smashed through awal and just missed those employees. they had been working late because the last flight had been delayed. but luckily, passengers had cleared out just minutes before no bystanders were injured. >> there's usually a couple hundred people around the baggage belt when there's a flight in. could have been much, much worse >> reporter: police say the driver juan was driving recklessly then ran off the road crashing through a chain link fence and barrelling toward the terminal this shows the moment the truck ran through

the baggage claim. >> crashed through the section of the airport. >> reporter: police say he was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries he had previously been arrested on dui and drug possession charges. no charges have been filed yet in this crash, authorities say. and they are investigating whether alcohol was involved gabe gutierrez, nbc news >> thank goodness no one was in that baggage claim. up next tonight, an alert for holiday shoppers how to spot fake reviews before you buy.

tonight there is a new warning of a deadly flu-like illness linked to eggs the cdc says peeled hard-boiled eggs packaged by hallmark foods in georgia are associated with the listeria outbreak in several states and at least one death with one illness reported in a newborn the eggs were sold nationwide in bulk to food service operators, but not directly to shoppers if you're shopping online this year for your friends and family, you might count on product reviews to help you decide what to buy how do you know if those reviews are real vicky nguyen with

tonight's price you pay. >> reporter: retailers are combatting another big business, fake reviews. >> yeah, i definitely look at the reviews. >> i would never buy a product online without looking at a review. >> reporter: amazon says it spent $400 million to protect customers, thwarting 13 million bogus posts last year. an internet search turns up dozens of sites that promise to populate a product's page with phony reviews for a price. to test the power of ratings for cash, we set up a fake business page on facebook earlier this year. then we paid $168 for positive reviews within 24 hours, the page had 607 reviews and a five-star rating what can you do to make sure that what you're reading is true >> a lot of retailers like amazon, walmart, target offer what they call verified customer reviews. you can see next to the review the customer purchased that product >> reporter: look for grammar mistakes, spelling errors and repetitive language in different posts. we found one alleged amazon customer who

posted 676 book reviews, with the tip, i really liked it. check different websites that way you have more reviews to read and compare. simple steps to tell who or what is behind those stars. vicky nguyen, nbc news, new york >> boy, and how many of us rely on those stars. we'll take a break. when we come back, we catch up with an unusual animal bringing comfort and joy to holiday travelers.

amidst the headaches and hassles of holiday travel, we found one airport with a pretty unique way of putting passengers at ease gadi schwartz has our story. >> reporter: in the halls of terminal 3 at san francisco's international airport, she looks like a holiday lyrical.

this is lelu, a therapy pig aimed at easing all the anxiety that comes with holiday travel >> had to figure out what it was. a pig. >> it's a pig. >> reporter: while there will be no slapping lipstick on this pretty little face, red toe nails are a must she looks like a city girl >> she is a city girl. >> reporter: fashi fashionista. they have to watch her steel the thunder. people's reactions are priceless. >> you will see this big man drop on the ground and act like kids it's very fun. >> reporter: there's nothing like the squee squeals of delight not from lelu, but from her littlest fans >> it's been a day >> reporter: did this >> this helped we needed this we totally needed to see lelu >> reporter: this little piggy spreading holiday cheer all the way through s.f.o. gadi schwartz, nbc news, san francisco.

>> great way to lighten the mood before a flight. you never know who you run into that's "nightly news" for this thursday i'm lester holt for all of us at nbc news. thank you for watching, and good night. ♪

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♪ [cheers & applaus [cheers & applause] >> kelly: all right! welcome to "the kelly clarkson show." [cheers & applause] ya'll got snow all in your hair. [applause] ya'll give it up for the choir. come on. wasn't that amazing? so good. r