A doctor who is inspiring. Nightly news begins right now. From nbc news headquarters in new york, this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. Good evening. After months of disembodied tweets, donald trump had a longawaited formal News Conference today that was nominated by questions of russian influence, not just in the election but ug kblee and discredited allegation brought to the attention of u. S. Intelligence and brought to the surface last night. At the same time, his secretary of state nominee was getting a grilling from senators on capitol hill and the president elect was facing a slew of questions from pentup reporter in new york in a spirited exchange. There were lots of headlines made and weve got it all covered beginning with nbcs hallie jackson. Reporter at trump tower, a moment months in the making. But it wasnt washington front and center. Instead, moscow, russia, dominating the First Press Conference as president elect. For the first time, acknowledging what intelligence officials believe about foreign interference in our election. As far as hacking, i think it was russia but i think we also get hacked by other countries and people. Reporter reports of a memo originally generated as part of Opposition Research outlining personal, lewd, unverified allegations against him. Im also very much of a germaphobe, by the way, believe me. Reporter but a senior official tells nbc news, trump was never briefed about it, backing up his argument. Its all fake news. Its phony stuff. It didnt happen. Reporter trump says during the campaign no one on his team had contact with the kremlin. But his political stance towards russia has long been problematic, even in his own party, not that trumps changing his mind. If putin looks donald trump, i consider that an asset, not a liability. Reporter does russia have any leverage over you, financial or otherwise, and will you release your tax returns to prove it . Will you release your tax returns to prove what youre saying about no deals in russia . Well, im not releasing tax returns because they are under audit. Reporter trump scolded putin for trying to interfere in the election. He shouldnt be doing it, wont be doing it. I think it was disgraceful, disgraceful, that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake. Reporter its still not clear whether trump trusts the intelligence analysts hes about to lead. Nbcs Kristen Welker tried to find out. Do you trust your u. S. Intelligence officials and what do you say to Foreign Policy experts who say youre actually weakening National Security by waging this war of words against that community . Reporter intelligence agencies are vital and very, very important. Reporter also at the podium today . Plenty of paperwork the trumps team proves hes doing Due Diligence to avoid conflicts of interests. How . By giving up his position at the trump organization, turning it over to his adult sons, donald jr. And eric. Ivanka stepping away preparing for her move to washington. Hiring an ethics adviser to sign off on any deals that could trigger conflict of interests concerns, any profits from foreign governments who book rooms at his hotels will be donated back to the u. S. Treasury department and his business wont do any new foreign deals despite just this weekend, he says, the opportunity to do just that. I was offered 2 billion to do a deal in dubai, a number of deals. And i turned it down. Reporter trump says these steps are sufficient. I could actually run my business and run government at the same time. Reporter hes right. As president , hes exempt from federal conflict of interest laws but the Government Ethics Office says what hes doing is not enough. Outside experts agree. I think thats more like lipstick on a pig. You know, that might be a nice ornament to put on this trust that he is creating, but it doesnt actually solve the problem. Reporter for all the questions trump took, plenty unanswered. Like whether hed keep sanctions in place against russia, how hed repeal and replace the Health Care Law almost simultaneously. Most likely be on the same day or the same week but probably the same day, could be the same hour. Reporter and who hell appoint as Supreme Court justice. That will be probably within two weeks. Reporter one final question, not asked but maybe no need. Will President Trump look any different from candidate trump . Dont count on it. If they do a bad job, ill say, youre fired. Reporter and it was vintage trump today, at times combative and chaotic in the room. Newly buried, news of one of his final remaining cabinet picks, david shulkin, currently serving in the obama administration, if chosen, would be the first to do so without having served in uniform. Hallie jackson, thank you. Lets take a closer look at the firestorm over the explosive but unverified memo that hallie just mentioned that angered the pleblth. U. S. Spy chiefs did not tell mr. Trump about it regarding the briefing. Cynthia mcfadden explains what we know. Reporter tonight, this question, does u. S. Intelligence have proof the russians hold compromising information about mr. Trump and did they brief mr. Trump about it last friday . The answer, according to multiple intelligence officials, is no. A senior official tells nbc news that there was indeed a twopage summary accompanying that classified report on russian interference in the u. S. Election which dealt with explosive and unsubstantiated claims that russia had compromising personal information about mr. Trump. Last night, it was widely reported that mr. Trump was himself briefed on the material. But multiple sources, including those involved in the briefing process, tell nbc news that is simply not true. I was in the room and the first i heard of any of these wild accusations was when someone printed it off of the buzzfeed website. Reporter the friday briefing at trump tower was verbal and led by the director of National Intelligence, james clapper. Intelligence and Law Enforcement sources say the insind area material, original a 35page document privately prepared as a smear of mr. Trump, was reviewed and, quote, dismissed out of hand as, quote, deceitful by Law Enforcement and intelligence analysts. One Senior Intelligence official saying, intel and Law Enforcement officials agree that none of the investigations have found any conclusive or direct link between trump and the russian government, period. Last night, buzzfeed published the original 35page document outraging mr. Trump. The president elect tweeting last night, intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to like into the public. One last shot at me. Are we living in nazi, germany . Today, exploding at cnns reporter. Youre attacking our news organization. Can you give us a chance . Your organization is terrible. Reporter what is the reaction from the kremlin with all of these allegations flying around . Im sure they are thrilled. It doesnt make us look like a healthy democracy and were ready for a new president. Thats good for them. Reporter one intelligence official tells nbc news the twopage summary prepared by the Intel Community was in a supplement to the classified report. In an annex called disinformation. But why would a summary of disinformation be any part of a top secret report . According to the senior intel source, it was included so mr. Clapper could show mr. Trump examples of political disinformation if he asked for it. He needs to get his team in place, so i think the relationships between the president elect and the current leadership of the cia, the nsa and, indeed, the director of National Intelligence are broken at this point. The admiral says without trust between mr. Trump and his intelligence team, were going to have a, quote, completely dysfunctionality in our National Security. As for that 35page document of lurid disinformation, multiple sources tell us tonight neither the Intelligence Committee or the fbi are continuing to investigate it. Lester . Cynthia mcfadden, thank you. We want to bring in moderator of meet the press chuck todd. I think as far as donald trump and his connection with supporters, i think in many ways he should commanded control at the press conference even though it can feel chaotic. It was on his terms and this is vintage trump and its the donald weve gotten to know throughout the campaign. I think if youre looking at substance and on the issue of russia, did he do enough today to convince some hawks in the senate republicans, think lindsey graham, marco rubio, john mccain, those folks, that hes going to be tough on Vladimir Putin. Simultaneously, rex tillerson, the man donald trump wants to be secretary of state is being questioned whether he will be tough enough on Vladimir Putin. So was trump too soft to get his secretary of state confirmed. Chuck todd, thank you very much. Russian influence was a major theme in washington today as the Senate Confirmation hearing got under way for secretary of state jom knee rex tillerson, former ceo of exxonmobil. Some of the key questions came from a key republican. Andrea mitchell has detailed. Reporter at times today, it felt like Vladimir Putin was in the hot seat, not rex tillerson. If putin were to instigate what are you going to say to Vladimir Putin . Reporter donalds nominee to be americas top diplomat, a Texas Oil Man with no political experience has come under fire for his relations with russia. Today, trying to show that he can be tough on russia. We must be cleareyed about our relationship with russia. Russia today poses a danger. Reporter but not tough enough for a key republican, marco rubio, who came out swinging, asking about putins history with syria. His military targeted schools. I would want more information before reaching a conclusion. I find it discouraging your inability to cite that. Do you believe that Vladimir Putin and his cronies are responsible for ordering the murder of countless dissonance, reporters and political opponents . I dont have sufficient information to make that claim. None of this is classified. These people are dead. The former ceo did get a boost from a democratic National Security icon, former senator sam nunn. I think knowing the leaders of russia and china and the middle east is a disadvantage. Its an asset. Reporter at times, tillerson appeared tougher on Vladimir Putin than the man who would be his boss, even acknowledging that putin probably ordered the hacking on the election. All eyes will be on marco rubio who told me tonight hes not yet decided how he will vote. Lester . Andrea mitchell on the hill tonight, thank you. A very busy day in washington that included day two for confirmation hearing for senator Jeff Sessions of alabama and no less drama in this fight as africanamerican members of congress spoke out today against the nomination. Our justice correspondent Pete Williams has details. Reporter senator cory booker, democrat of new jersey, became the first ever to testify against a colleagues nomination. I want an attorney general who is committed to supporting Law Enforcement and securing law ordand order but that is not. Reporter john lewis of georgia who survived Police Beatings and civil rights marches. It doesnt matter how senator sessions may smile, how friendly he may be, how he may speak to you. We need someone who can stand up, speak up and speak out for the people that need help. Reporter a former Republican Attorney general, michael mukasey, praised sessions, so did the fraternal order of police and two men who worked with him while u. S. Attorney in alabama. But the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus said putting the allblack panel at the end was a snub. To have a senator, a house member and a living civil rights legend testify at the end of all of this is the equivalent of being made to go to the back of the bus. Reporter still, sessions appeared headed for confirmation with a senate vote likely early next month. Pete williams, nbc news, washington. Just nine days now until president obama leaves the white house and last night he said his goodbyes to the country in an emotional farewell address from his adopted hometown, chicago. My fellow americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. I wont stop. In fact, i will be right there with you as a citizen for all my remaining days. As the president concluded, he thanked a tearful first lady and praised daughters sasha and malia and how they handled the white house spotlight. You can see my oneonone interview with the president as he prepares to leave office in our primetime special, barack obama the reality of hope. Floods after a onetwo punch of heavy rain and record snow. Also, the emergency that brought First Responders emergency that brought First Responders [ crowd noise ] whoa. [ gears stopping ] when your pain reliever stops working, your whole day stops. Try this. But just one aleve has the strength to stop pain for 12 hours. Tylenol and advil can quit after 6. So live your whole day, not part. With 12 hour aleve. Im 51 years old. M. When i was diagnosed with pneumococcal pneumonia, it was huge for everybody. She just started to decline rapidly. I was rushed to the hospital. My symptoms were devastating. The doctor said, pam if youd have waited two more days, you wouldve died. If id have known that a vaccine could have helped prevent this, i would have asked my doctor or pharmacist about it. Were back now with yet another crippling punch delivered by the recordbreaking storm system in the west triggering major flooding, shutting down highways and as nbcs Miguel Almaguer reports from the impact zone, a new threat is on the way. Reporter today, rescues in hollister, california, people ferried to Higher Ground just ahead of a swelling creek. 2 00 this morning my nephew called me and said i think my room is under water. Reporter in the northwest, record snowfall, a foot of it in portland, flights grounded, commuters trapped on the roads. Weve only got a quarter of gas so were almost out. Reporter in colorado, avalanches along i70. We should have been in washington like three, four days ago already. Reporter on this brutal weather day, people found new ways to get around. This epic storm system is still stressing the region tonight. Emergency teams are out as levees breach and roads wash out. Tonight, rivers are receding but with a new storm moving in, the threat isnt over yet. The water flooding so many of these communities actually has receded as quickly as it came. People were actually inside these vehicles here in hollister when they were pushed right off of the road. While the water will recede when they return, the damage, lester, will be here for several days. Miguel almaguer, thank you. Were back in a moment with a heavy hi hey you look good. Thank you, i feel good. It all starts with eating right. Thats why i eat amaz n prunes now. Theyre delicious and help keep my body in balance. I love these. Sunsweet amaz n prunes, the feel good fruit. You totanobodys hurt, new car. But there will still be pain. It comes when your Insurance Company says theyll only pay threequarters of what it takes to replace it. What are you supposed to do . Drive threequarters of a car . 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Reporter and this batman is extra special because he belongs to 6yearold payson who is also about to get a new heart. Hes going to think its really cool that everything he went through, batman went through as well. Reporter at the Childrens Hospital of wisconsin, kids dont face the fear of surgery alone. And when that child hears that his toy is also going under a procedure, it kind of really relieves some of the anxiety and stress. Reporter most children know the cartoon doc mcstuffin and how she saves toys, but these real live docs monsters to teddy bears to rabbits. Reporter now, thats something you dont live in med school. This 12yearold had his heart operation at age 2 with his best friend elmo by his side. Why do you think you brought elmo to the hospital . So i wouldnt be so scared. Reporter back then, elmo also had his xrays done. Look at that. Reporter when payson came out of surgery with his new heart beating away, his crimefighting pal was recovering right there beside him. They are both doing just fine together. Kevin tibbles, nbc news, milwaukee. And thats going to do it for us on a wednesday night. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. Our memorable night in moscow. The very trip at the center of his salacious new scandal. Now on extra. Extra, extra as the president elect blasts the russian sex scandal as witchhunt im also very much of of a germaphobe, by the way. We uncover extra footage from the trump trip inside the hoe pell. Youre looking very russian. Now i belong. Then my best friend. Before mr. Obamas tearjerking final speech what the president and first lady told us about their love story. Do you remember the moment you knew the president was the guy for you . Plus, alec baldwins plans for the firstl after the inauguration. New couple alert. Selena gomez dating the weekend. New photos of their cozy first public outing. Oprah conquers her biggest enemy her weight. Oh, lord. Is that my body . Her new People Magazine reveal, 42 pounds lighter. Days after their loveydovey extra interview at the globes that dress. Charissa is with jessica and justin on their second date night of the week. Plus, from blackish to