Have the results of the fbi followup investigation into Sexual Assault accusations against Supreme Court nominee and sitting federal judge brett kavanaugh. It was first reported by the New York Times and confirmed by nbc news that the reopened investigation this is the important part may come to a close well ahead of the friday deadline. That as the new reporting also from the times paints a picture of kavanaughs High School Years that stand in stark contrast to his sworn testimony. The times obtained a copy of a 1983 letter written by thenhigh School Student kavanaugh about an upcoming Beach Weekend condo rental. In it he warns that someone should, quote, warn the neighbors that were loud, obnoxious drunks with prolific pukers. Kavanaugh confirmed he wrote the letter which he signed bart, a nickname. The time was confirmed by dozens of kavanaughs friends who shared the Party Culture at the allboys prep school. Four Georgetown Prep students saw kavanaugh and his classmates inebriated and involved in bingedrinking. Whats wrong is the testimony of a Supreme Court judge nominee and here is how kavanaugh described his drinking. I drank beer with my friends. Almost everyone did. Sometimes i had too many beers, but i did not drink beer to the point of blacking out. To the best of our knowledge, the fbi has not spoken to those classmates who talked to the New York Times further. Nbc news has learned that the fbi has no current plans to interview judge kavanaugh or to interview dr. Christine blasey ford. According to fords attorney, shes repeatedly tried to reach out and contact the fbi. In a letter her lawyer says, we have received no response, and it is inconceivable that the fbi could conduct a thorough investigation of dr. Fords allegations without interviewing her, judge kavanaugh, or the witnesses we have identified in our letters to you. And tonight after days of restraint, and despite calling dr. Fords testimony credible just a few days ago, the president chose to go directly at kavanaughs accuser at a rally tonight in mississippi. It shouldnt happen to him. It shouldnt happen to him. What hes going through, 36 years ago this happened. I had one beer, right . I had one beer. Well, you think it was nope, it was one beer. Oh, good. How did you get home . I dont remember. How did you get there . I dont remember. Where is the place . I dont remember. How many years ago was it . I dont know. A mans life is in tatters. His wife is shattered. His daughters, beautiful, incredible young kids. They want to destroy people. These are really evil people. Fords attorney fired back on twitter tonight, quote, a vicious, vile and soulless attack on dr. Christine blasey ford. Is it any wonder that she was terrified to come forward and that other Sexual Assault survivors are as well . She is a remarkable profile in courage, he is a profile in cowardice. In light of the president S Performance at tonights rally, perhaps one brief reminder of dr. Fords testimony. What is the strongest memory you have, strongest memory of the incident . Something that you cannot forget. Take whatever time you need. Indelible in the hippa campus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two, and theyre having fun at my expense. With that lets bring in our leadoff panel on a tuesday night. Maya wylie is back with us, currently a professor at the new school here in new york. Julia ainsley back with us, Nbc National Security and justice reporter. And frank montoya, a former fbi special agent in charge, who in his time at the bureau established the cyber Investigative Joint Task force. Welcome back to the broadcast, all of you. Counselor, id like to begin with you. Looked at another way, this was the president of the United States in a public place going after a woman accusing his Supreme Court nominee, a sitting federal judge, of Sexual Assault. There is a certain moment in which in this country i think we all need to take a breath and say, who are we . And this is one of those moments. Because we are talking about the most powerful positions in the land, president of the United States, justice of the Supreme Court if judge kavanaugh were to get appointed to this position. Whatever we believe, and there are plenty of people who have different views of what happened here, the fundamental question is, are we a people who are compassionate and believe that there has to be a just process of understanding what we know . In this case, that means a thorough and complete neutral, nonpartisan fbi investigation on one level, but secondly, a leadership that says that we are a compassionate land in which we listen to the real experiences of our people, and we understand that we have to have a process for understanding whether someone was harmed. And dr. Ford, no matter what anyone thinks of her, i dont know anyone and i have talked to folks on both sides of the aisle in the community, not in congress, but in the community and no one has said they thought she was a liar. So to be a president of the United States who has substantially more power than dr. Ford does, to make fun, to make fun of what is nothing less than a clear, raw expression of trauma is something that we should, as a nation, say no. It is not okay, it is not acceptable, and its not about what you believe is truth or not truth. Its just about whether or not we have any compassion whatsoever for our fellow citizen. Did dr. Fords attorney get it about right tonight, that this is why more women dont come forward . Absolutely. If you think now, remember that the social science even if we just take this from the standpoint ill put on my faculty hat of social science, the social science tells us that people do not come forward because they feel ashamed, they feel fear, they feel that they will be blamed, they feel that they will not be believed. And we have the single most powerful man in the country telling people, you will be belittled, you will be ostracized, you will be in the square of public opinion, you will be ridiculed. Brian, you and i have had this conversation before. This isnt just an issue of women. This is men and women, girls and boys. Because in this society, we have people who are sexually abused, sexual violence, sexual molestation of all genders. I realize this is emotional stuff. Thank you for getting through that. This is emotional stuff. I appreciate you i think at some point in the country and im a lawyer so i can put a legal hat on. I think at some point in the country, what we saw today was fundamentally about whether or not we are a compassionate society. All right, julia ainsley. You get to go next and tell us what the state of play is on this story. It is clear what the emotional quotient is, and this conversation is going on wherever two or more americans are gathered this week. Whaelts the state of play of this story . I would be happy to go through that, brian. I spoke to dr. Fords legal team over the course of the day, and when i started talking to them, they said, we remain hopeful even though i had fbi sources saying, look, her name is not on the list of people that they plan to interview. As the day continued, that hope turned to anger, and we saw that letter come out at the end of the day from her legal team saying that it was inconceivable that they would not speak to dr. Ford about these allegations if they wanted to really get to the truth of this. And as we know, its not a lack of willingness on the part of the fbi, its the client the fbi is serving. In that case, thats the president. Thats the white house. And theres still, even with the probe that kind of got expanded yesterday, theyre still not giving them all the room they would need to run all of these pieces down. And another thing that her lawyers pointed out is its not just her story she wants to tell, there are other witnesses, there are other details that she couldnt give in a public setting like we saw in front of the Senate JudiciaryCommittee Last week. What that really comes down to is exactly what prosecutor Rachel Mitchell said. She said, do you realize, dr. Ford, i shouldnt be getting your story in fiveminute increments in a political setting. You should be sitting down with a trained investigator who can hear your story. So at the end of the day, there is a lot less they will get. And the thinking from the white house at this point is they say the fbi doesnt need to talk to her because she already gave her testimony publicly. But as weve seen over and over, there is more that she can give in a private setting and more details that theyre willing to come forward if they were just asked about it, brian. Frank, a couple details for our viewers to share about you, starting with the fact that you served our country for decades starting in the u. S. Military, but most recently in the fbi, and of course your job here tonight isnt to speak for the fbi, its to talk about them. Having said that, i talked to a former toplevel manager at the fbi tonight and got a really dark assessment of the leeway they have in this extended investigation. This person said, the investigation has received only the smallest expansion of scope. Thats a quote im reading from my notes. Incrementally more interviews than ever before. Not everything they want to do. This person said ls huge frustration within the bureau, that theyre turning away people, theyre turning in walkin candidates who come in the door with information, notes that come in under the door or over the transom arent being followed up on. Again, this was a really dark view of this investigation. Frank, i guess im asking you to react to that. First off, many, many thanks to your previous two comments, especially maya. The anger that im feeling right now, its almost incomprehensible. I havent felt like this in a long, long time. In fact, perhaps the last time was most recently, i guess, was one of my last cases in seattle where a young sixyearold girl was kidnapped and brutally murdered. Just the anger i felt when we recovered the body and then continued with the investigation, its that same kind of emotion. And you cant separate it from situations like this. But to answer your question directly, thats what im hearing as well. Ive characterized it recently as catching another political football that in a nowin situation, but its deeper than that. It is visceral. These are guys that they are professionals at investigating crimes of all sorts, and while this is a Background Investigation, they see lines of investigation that they should be following. And theyre not being able or allowed to follow them. And it builds a frustration that just adds to Everything Else that theyve endured over the last two years in terms of the assaults on their credibility, on their integrity, on everything that they pride themselves on doing well, not just for a living or as a job, but because it is their calling. A calling they swear under oath to fulfill to the ends of their lives if necessary. Thats how deep this is. And frank, ive got to ask, if director wray isnt going to get pressure to be to the fbi what jeff flake was in the senate, to be that guy who says, hang on a second, this aint rig rig right . You would hope that already happened or is happening. I dont know. Part of the challenge the institution is facing right now is its precarious position, its situation under this administration. On the one hand, it strives to be independent. On the other hand, a lot of it is efforts, and this is just the latest example of being nullified. Theyre being nullified by tweets, by direct accusations, by whats happening to coworkers. For what purpose . For what purpose other than to sustain a power base, perhaps. They are in a precarious situation, and its also unprecedented. Its been a string of unprecedented acts and trying to figure out how to deal with that when youre not a politician, when you are a professional investigator who has sworn an oath to uphold, protect and defend the constitution, its an anathema. Its something that doesnt compute in our minds. Even as a former fbi official, its hard to comprehend. Its hard to accept. And you wonder, what can we do next to try to change the circumstances . Because there hasnt been, at least, an answer thats made itself known. Maya, as a matter of law, did i get it about right earlier in the broadcast that were not relitigating how much bud light someone consumed in high school. Were talking about truth under oath here. Absolutely. So under you can have a perjury charge for false statements to congress. A perjury charge means that you willfully said something you knew to be untrue. There is evidence that a sitting federal judge willfully said something he knew to be untrue in terms of drinking, and the additional thing you have to say is that its material. Its important. Its not just a small side issue. Because at the core of the allegations around his violent behavior, his potentially criminal behavior, is drinking, i would argue that drinking becomes a material fact. None of this has to do with whether or not he is ultimately prosecuted for the crime of perjury, but it has everything to do with whether or not a federal judge, which he is, violated the judicial code of ethics. Which is also extremely important if were talking about whether he becomes a sitting Supreme Court justice. It is central to our rule of law that the folks who are administering it, making decisions about it are above rappr rapproch, that we have what we call nothing but integrity, Core Principles in that assessment of ethics. Those questions alone are disqualifying for whether or not he becomes a sitting justice. And that has nothing to do with idealogy. Two things for viewers to remember, a lot of talk about this being about a Supreme Court seat for life. Hes already a federal judge. He has been appointed for life. Another interesting thing to remember is the president s sister is a senior federal judge. And ive wondered throughout this if that dynamic will affect it at all. Julia ainsley, you get the last word. What are you looking for next . Its going to be this timeline, brian. Were reporting this could wrap up as early as tonight, perhaps tomorrow. Thats all within the senates timeline because they want to get that vote by the end of the week. Mitch mcconnell said that. Its unclear if he could get an initial vote and get a final vote over the weekend or next week. There are former people who have come on air and said, a week seemed like a realistic timeline, going from friday to friday. They think if they put the amount of resources on this, they will talk to everyone they need to. Now were talking three days, if that. If that comes really quickly, the first question ill be asking tomorrow is, did you talk to everyone you could . At this point if theyre unable to talk to judge kavanaugh or Christine Blasey ford, it doesnt seem like theyll be anywhere close to uncovering and turning over all of those stones. Were blessed and grateful to have these three on our panel tonight. We appreciate it greatly. Coming up for us tonight, what were learning this evening about trump and his father after this New York Times story about the trump Family Financial records. One of the reporters who broke the story standing by to talk with us. And later, why one of the democrats rising stars is putting his life ahead of mere politics. The 11th hour just getting underway on a tuesday night. A tn on a sunny day. And without even trying, you end up with one last strip thats exactly the width of your mower. When youre done, it looks so good you post a picture on social media. And it gets 127 likes. Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. 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That man right there, that was the donald trump that was sold to the American People for 14 seasons on tv from this n. From this network, from this building, viewers saw the helicopter and the window, the selfmade billionaire living his life because of his business savvy. It has not been easy for me. I started off in brooklyn. My father gave me a small loan of a Million Dollars. I came into manhattan and i had to pay him back with interest. I came into manhattan and i started buying up properties and i did great. But a New York Times investigation into the trump family fitnenances reveals that small loan of a Million Dollars was actually close to 60 million and never repaid. The article coming in at 16,000 works ive read shorter books finds, quote, President Trump participated in dubious tax schemes in the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud that greatly increased the fortune that he received from his parents. The times investigation based on a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records, reveals that mr. Trump received the equivalent today of at least 413 million from his fathers real estate empire, starting when he was a toddler and continuing to this day. Trurp trumps attorney said it was 100 false and highly defamiliar to her. There was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone. President trump had virtually no involvement whatsoever with these matters. Washington post reporter david farenthal who covers the president s businesses and conflicts of interest. Russ, first, you just mingsenti on the break that the synopsis of your story is 2,000 words long. Im going to ask you to do the impossible. For people rushing to their printers, for people who didnt take the latter half of the day off to read it, what is the takeaway versus the story we were told on the apprentice, the story weve been told for years . The story youve been told for years is donald trump received a milliondollar loan from his father sometime around when he was starting, and he had to pay it back with interest, and that was the sum total of parental support he received. That thats wholly untrue. He started receiving money from his father when he was three years old. His father gave he and his siblings some land, and his father started collecting money on that land. Things progressed from that, growing from 5 to 10 million a year in his 40s and 50s. Hes tried to portray his fathers portion as being too small to be of interest to him. But there were clear signs that all through the 80s and 90s, they were taking illegal maneuvers to grab each more of his fathers fortune before he even passed away. Was the setup to make this man wealthy of which you write so much about Shell Companies and the like . Absolutely. Its very clear fred trump was very forwardthinking and trying to pass his wealth to his children. He was a relatively young man when he began that process. He had five children, he had already begun losing trust fund trying to pass that along. As donald was more and more the chosen soon, more of that money went to him rather than distressed siblings. I need not report to you that some nights its the post journalism were talking about. This happens to be the neon tanks turn. I join you in tipping hats toward them. The question to you, david, what could come from all of this . In a story in the washington post, the trump Family Wealth was built through taxavoidance schemes and fraud. Donald trumps father and donald trump himself selfemployed, it makes us ask, did they undergo those schemes and contacts . Is there something under Donald Trumps own leadership and not his fathers. You live this story, too. Do you think well see the president s tax returns in our lifetime . Youre really asking me will the democrats ever win any seats of congress . The democrats will take either seat of congress, and if they want to make public the president s tax returns, i imagine they will if that have that power. Its possible that could lead to the evolution of President Trumps tax returns, but unless democrats do anything, i dont think well see it. The president lands in mississippi. Remember, the first lady is on her first trip to the washington post, ghana. Russ, just for the folks who are going to read it, have already read it, is there any way to explain to lay people the effort that went into this, how many months, how many people, how many lawyers, how many words . Of our effort. So it was an 18month stowed. We brought in a group of sort of pocket advisers, very studeious findings as they came up, and we developed a network of sources who were around, the empire. Through that access, i gave way to a couple collate all of that into sort of a cohesiveness. They added eight pages. Apparently there is a version to the print run. Union type setters and printer workers tonight for the very first time. Maybe youve made the complimen compliments. Obviously our message to the viewers is that we hope everyone takes their time to read their piece of jr. Ism. Thank you so much at the end of a longer than usual day for you and your colleagues to come in and talk to us. Russ butner of the new york time time times. Thank you both. Well ask a former gop strategist about the modern senators who will determine Brett Kavanaughs faitte, when come back. E come back. Us better understand what drives each persons cancer. Like christine bray. After battling Ovarian Cancer for several years, her test results revealed a drug therapy that targeted her tumor. Today, christines metastatic cancer is in remission. Were not just fighting cancer. Were outsmarting it. Visit cancercenter. Com. Appointments available now. Wednesdays. At outback, theyre for steak and beer. 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Well, i say that its a very scary time for young men in america when you can be guilty of something that you may not be guilty of. This is a very, very this is a very difficult time. President trump said again tonight at the rally that any man could find himself falsely accused, that its happened to him several times. At tonights rally in mississippi from which he has just returned, he called it a sad situation. Lets bring in our friend steve schmidt, political director of the white house campaign, among others. So steve, the president went there tonight, a fullon attack of dr. Ford from the podium. We just heard him say its a scary time for young men. Tell me what an audience of three people is likely to make of all of this, and that is flake, collins and murkowski who, with every passing day, get more critical to this Supreme Court choice . Well, the battle lines are being drawn here, as Buffalo Springfield once said, brian, and on one side of it are decent people, and on the other side of it are indecent people. When you look at the president s indecency tonight, presuming that jeff flake, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski are all decent people, then theyre going to be as horrified and offended as the rest of us. What donald trump showed tonight is he is as comptemptible as he is vulgar, he is as cruel as he is dishonest. No one deserves that treatment from the head of state, the commander in chief, the president of the United States of america. Steward of an office once inhabited by men such as George Washington and abraham lincoln. So these senators will going to have to make a decision. And that decision is simple. Does lying matter . Does integrity count . Can a sitting federal judge make dishonest statements about small and trivial things and get onto the Supreme Court . So that question is an important one, because our institutions in this country are under assault. Our judicial system, the Supreme Court, the senate, the Senate Judiciary committee. When you look at the performance of someone like Lindsey Graham, for example, his angry tirade, the smallness of a small man, a principlest man in this moment. What americans are seeing is the degradation of 242 years of institutions to enhance the pursuit of happiness and to defend american democracy and liberty. Its beyond awful, its tragic. What happens within you when you listen to the Senate Majority leader, Mitch Mcconnell, these days, when you listen to him promising a vote on the senate floor by the end of this week . When we heard him last week saying, were going to get this passed . He is an utterly, irredeemablely pernicious source in american life. The Senate Majority leaders First Priority should be to shrink the institution of the United States senate. It was once known as the greatest deliber ativ e body in the world. Hes turned it into a laughingstock. This process has been corrupted. Its not just a sham, its a farce. Its not an investigation if the fbi is not permitted to be able to talk to either judge kavanaugh or to dr. Ford if it doesnt have a free hand to pursue every lead. So this investigation is directed by the white house. The fbi in essence is a contractor serving an employer in this. Its directed by the white house. And so jeff flake is going to have to decide since he is the one that instigated the investigation if, in fact, it meets his standards of an investigation. Or is it an investigation designed in essence to be a coverup . Certainly for Mitch Mcconnell there is no interest in finding out anything about anything. He wants to put him onto the Supreme Court. And the question here is, when you give consideration to the veracity of judge kavanaughs various claims, and im not a psychiatrist. I cant explain why you would lie about something so small or trivial about your drinking in high school or college, but he apparently has on any one of a number of different fronts. And if lying can get a 19yearold kicked out of westpoint, certainly we should give consideration to the fact that it might be disqualifying for somebody seeking a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, which is arguably even more so than the executive branch, even more so than the legislative branch. The singularly most Important Institution in the country. Because democracies exist not on the basis of elections, but in societies where there is fidelity to the rule of law. And the rule of law, when you look at the edifice of the Supreme Court, lady justice is blindfolded. Because all must be equal under the law, and when you have a justice temperamentally essentially avowing revenge, alleging conspiracies, i think those three republican senators have the right to be concerned. This isnt about idealogy, its about temperament and honesty. Steve schmidt, dont move an inch. Well fit in a break. Our conversation will continue to fit in some of the news of this day about donald trump when we come back. Come back see, they know its confusing. I literally have no idea what im getting, dennis quaid. Thats why theyre making it simple, man in cafe. And more affordable. Thank you, dennis quaid. Youre welcome. Thats a prop apple. Id tell you more, but i only have 30 seconds. So heres a dramatic shot of their tagline so youll remember it. Esurance. Its surprisingly painless. Four zero Expense Ratio index funds directly to investors. And now we have zero account fees for brokerage accounts. At fidelity, those zeros really add up. So maybe ill win, saved by zero at fidelity, those zeros really add up. Ive done all sorts of research, read earnings reports, looked at chart patterns. Ive even built my own historic trading model. 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But on the other hand, we cant have this on the court. We simply cant. Steve schmidt continues along with us. Steve, that last sentence, we cant have this on the court, we simply cant. A lot of people seized on that and said it was more than just the end of a sentence, it was more than an afterthought. Listen to what jeff flake is telling us here. He is such an interesting figure, id like to hear you out on him. Is this a case of an imperfect man on his way out of town, and he fully admits if he was running for reelection, there is no way he would be in this role, an imperfect man coming along at a perfect time . Were all imperfect men and women, brian. Jeff flake is a good guy. I know him. Hes principled. I think that you see what hes feeling there. Hes agonizing over this. But i think he has reached the proper conclusion as i literally believe him to be meditating out loud. You cannot put a person onto the Supreme Court who says things like, what goes around comes around, that this is all a conspiracy. It goes back to the clintons, it goes back who knows how far, but that partisan anger, his enraged behavior directed at the left, at the Interest Groups, might there be a possibility that a Supreme Court justice will have to decide issues that involve liberal Interest Groups . Of course there is. And so putting someone in that position of power who has a motive for revenge and all but stated that its coming, i think he understands the importance of the institution, the integrity of the court. We have a lot of ideaologists in the congress. We have people like Lindsey Graham who are followers, not leaders. We have precious few people that are institutionalists, who put the institutions first. The institutions of the country, wherever you look, are under assault. Theyre under assault by trump. Theyre under assault by Mitch Mcconnell. Theyre under assault through the complicity, the acquiescence, the silence, the cowardice of a corrupted political class. And i think jeff flake is saying, stop. The institutions matter. It is a profoundly conservative sentiment. Conservatism at its best defends these institutions. Jeff flake is a conservative. The two women senators are moderates. But i think all three of them are institutionalists, and were going to see who stands up to defend the institutions. Steve schmidt, thank you for sharing your opinions and spending part of your tuesday night with us. We always appreciate it. Great to be with you, brian. Thank you. Coming up for us, a rare public admission from a politician who, it turns out, has something in common with so Many Americans that we learned today. That story when we come right back. How can we say when you book direct at choicehotels. Com you always get the lowest price on our rooms, guaranteed . Lets say it in a really low voice. Carl . 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Jason candor, an army veteran turned politician, has taken himself out of the race for mayor in kansas city. He said its time for him to get some help, after struggling for 1 years with posttraumatic stress from his military service. Our report on this tonight comes from nbc news correspondent cynthia mcfadden. Reporter jason candor is 37 years old, and today, he made a very hard decision and a brave one. He will not run for mayor of kansas city. Its the reason that has drawn national attention. In an open letter released today, candor, an Afghanistan War veteran, says he has posttraumatic stress disorder. After 11 years of trying to outrun depression and ptsd symptoms, he writes, i have finally concluded that its faster than me. That i have to stop running, turn around and confront it. Candor joined the military after 9 11. At that moment, i just decided, like, instead of putting that in the some day category, i was just going to do that. I was going to serve my country. Reporter but tonight admits that service has left him needing help. Candor is not alone. About 8 million americans in any given year will have ptsd. And between 11 and 20 of veterans. Some experts believe the number may actually be much higher. Candor writing, i was afraid of the stigma. I was thinking about what it could mean for my political future if someone found out. So much worse, he says, last week, he called the v. A. For help. I found myself on the phone with the vas Veterans Crisis line, tearfully conceding that, yes, i have had suicidal thoughts. And it wasnt the first time. I think its incredibly important that hes come forward with this, because it gives veterans permission to give voice to what theyre suffering from and that Mental Illness is as real as any form of illness. Reporter tonight, he has a message. If youre struggling with something similar, its okay. It doesnt make you less of a person. In fact, what jason kander is showing all of us is that courage comes in many forms. Cynthia mcfadden, nbc news. And our coverage continues. Coming up tonight, the words we will all see on our phones tomorrow, when the 11th hour continues tonight. The challenge is to stabilize the machine before you pass out. Lets go again. We need to fail down here, so we dont fail up there. Do you question whether the programs worth the cost, in money and in lives . [ dramatic music playing ] we have serious problems. Going to manual. First man. Rated pg13. And you know what goes greateak with that shrimp . Shrimp. You guessed it. More shrimp. Steak and unlimited shrimp, starting at 15. 99. Only at outback. At booking. Com, we cant guarantee youll good at that water jet thingy. But we can guarantee the best price on this hotel. Or any accommodation, from homes to yurts. Booking. Com booking. Yeah you can do it. We can do this. At fidelity, our online planning tools are clear and straightforward so you can plan for retirement while saving for the things you want to do today. Whoo get to him in just a moment. Last thing before we go tonight. A reason to get up in the morning. The government tells us that our phones are all going to receive an alert tomorrow. Its related to something people of a certain age grew up with, and insomniacs will recognize from overnight television, called the emergency broadcast system. Since the kennedy administration, these words, this is a test of the emergency broadcast system have been part of american life. Along with that piercing tone that was chosen because it was so piercing and unpleasant and because it was designed to get your attention. We cant play that tone for you on the air because its use is reserved for emergencies. The system was designed during the cold war for a president to send a message to the entire population of the u. S. In an emergency. In all its history, it has never been used to alert the nation, but its been used often for local alerts including severe weather. Fast forward to 2018, and here we are, most of us now carry a portable electronic device. And we now have the wireless Emergency Alert system, along with the Emergency Alert system. And tomorrow, provided youre in reach and your Service Provider is on the network. Any time after 2 18 p. M. Eastern, 11 18 in the morning on the west coast, your phone will show this. Its going to say, youve received a president ial alert. It will go on to explain, its a text, and no, the president cant use this for anything less than a national emergency. Thats why he has twitter. But tell your friends, tell your family, especially those who might worry about receiving such a direlooking message, just a heads up that its coming soon to a phone near you. That is our broadcast for tonight. Thank you so very much for being here with us. And good night from our headquarters here in new york. And thanks to you at home for joining us this hour. Happy to have you here. Were watching a few different stories develop tonight. The wall street journal and the New York Times and now nbc news all reporting that the expanded fbi Background Investigation of trump Supreme Court nominee brett kavanaugh, that could be wrapped up and finished as soon as tomorrow, or possibly even tonight. The senate, of course, had given the fbi a deadline of friday this week to complete that investigation, but amid lots of contradictory and sort of opaque news reports that dont quite tell us exactly what the fbi is allowed to look into as part of this investigation, there are now these multiple reports tonight that the fbi is going to wrap up early. Attorneys for dr. Christine blasey ford say that the fbi has not spoken with t