Story this valentines day. Nightly news begins right now. Good evening. The story behind the late night resignation of Michael Flynn continues to unfold tonight. Nbc learning exclusive new details about who knew what and when about the true nature of flynns conversation with the russians before the inauguration. The white house said today President Trump asked for flynns resignation calling it a matter of trust over flynns misleading accounts of his dealings. It didnt fully explain why now weeks after the president was warned that flynn, who was privy to the nations top secrets, might be vulnerable to blackmail by the russians. Our team is working several angles to this story. Kristen welker leads us off. Reporter tonight mounting questions at the white house after National Security advisor mike flynn was forced to resign late last night after misleading the president , Vice President and others about discussing sanctions with russias ambassador before the inauguration. This was an act of trust. Whether or not he misled the Vice President was the issue. That was ultimately what led to the president asking for and accepting be resignation of general flynn. Reporter the key questions tonight, what did the president know, when did he know it and why did the president keep flynn on board for nearly three weeks after the president found out he had been mislead. Nbc news learned Vice President pence was not told for 15 days after the president and white house knew. No one told pence he had been sent out to Say Something false about flynn. The only reason pence was informed, an impending media report that would cast doubt on pences own honesty. Why not immediately act . Why wait two and a half weeks . I dont understand how thats due process. Reporter this came to a head late last night amid revelations on january 26th, the acting attorney general informed the White House Council about the call with russia suggesting flynn could be vulnerable to blackma blackmail. The president s counsel informed him and other top officials. We had to review whether that was a legal issue which was concluded was not. Reporter the counsel informed him and other top officials. We had to review whether it was a legal issue which was concludesed was not. Reporter that answer setting off alarm bells for Foreign Policy experts who say there are broader concerns. This is a policy and ethical question not simply a legal question. Its not good policy having the National Security advisor out and about conducting big national policy. Reporter the white house insisting the president didnt give the order to talk about sanctions but acknowledging mr. Trump doesnt see a problem with it. The president had no problem he acted in accord with what his job was supposed to be doing. Reporter the white house has been under fire over flynn since President Trump took office. December 29th, flynn spoke to the am ba ambassador the same day obama imposed sanctions. January 12th, a bomb shell in the washington post. Flynn and the Russian Ambassador talked about sanctions and the call was recorded. January 15th, mike pence playing defense protecting flynn by insisting sanctions never came up on the call. It was strictly coincidental. Reporter six days after the president was sworn in he was told about what really happened on the call and while negative headlines piled up, even as late as yesterday afternoon, top advisors were adamant. Does he have the full confidence of the president . Yes he does. Reporter just before 11 00 p. M. , flynn was out. Tonight, the Vice President is disappointed about being misinformed by flynn but respects his service. Sources add there will be a replacement by the end of the week. The search started as early as last week. An indication the outster has been in the works. Thank you. As flynns forced resignation rocks the Trump Administration, the scope of the fall out is still being assessed. It puts into question whether flynn could have put National Security at risk. Andrea mitchell has that part for us. Reporter tonight mike flynns sudden out raising questions about the damage to National Security and the russian connection. For weeks flynn was giving the president talking points for phone calls with head of states including vladimir pu tmir putin, threatening iran. We are putting iran on notice. Reporter even last week at the dinner table conference as seen on social media on how to publicly respond to north koreas Missile Launch despite being warned he might be vulnerable to blackmail by russia. Michael flynn, was a Counter Intelligence risk. Reporter the risk, Vladmir Putin knew what was said while the Vice President did not. Nbc learned flynn signalled to the Russian Ambassador, President Trump might ease off on obamas russian sanctions. Critics say that knowledge could give putin a special hold over President Trump through his National Security advisor raising Big Questions about flynns advice to the president on russia and mr. Trumps startling defense of putin. Putins a killer. A lot of killers. We got a lot of killers. You think our country is so innocent. Reporter all while the u. S. Is investigating russias hacking. Flynn was secretly communicating with russian initiaofficials at the same time that russia was attacking our democracy. Reporter was there a quid pro quo . Theres so more questions we dont know about the russian involvement in our election and the possible coordination of that involvement with people in the Trump Administration or close to the trump campaign. Reporter european diplomats say all this is frightening u. S. Allies no longer certain that america has their back. Putin is already flexing his muscles tonight violating a 1987 Nuclear Treaty negotiated by Ronald Reagan by deployed a Cruise Missile banned 30 years ago. Lester. Thank you. Tonight members of congress from both parties are calling for an investigation of Michael Flynn and nbc news has learned the fbi questioned flynn shortly after President Trump took office. We have late details from our justice correspondent, pete williams. Reporter jst a few days after Michael Flynn became the National Security advisor, he was interviewed by fbi agents according to senior u. S. Officials about his phone call with the Russian Ambassador. The Officials Say the interview was part of the fbis long running investigation into russ russias attempt to influence the election. The Officials Say the russians were. The white house said flynn was fired for misleading the Vice President , two officials said the fbi agents do not believe flynn lied to them and do not expect to see any charges come out of that interview. His days of answering questions are not over. Members of congress who have launched their own investigation into russian med liling say they want to hear from him. It will be likely he will be asked to talk to the committee about postelection activities and any other actibasic activities tha he would be aware of. Reporter some say the transcripts of his phone calls should be released. Given the public was mislead about these conversations, i think the public has a right to flow what flynn represented and who he was speaking for. Reporter separately the army has been investigating whether general flynn was paid by the russian government for peeking at a moscow event with Vladmir Putin. Federal law prohibits them from receiving foreign payments without permit. Looking at what the russians were doing and whether anyone here was helping them. Lester. Pete williams, thank you. Let me bring in our political director, the moderator of meet the press chuck todd. Where to begin here . This is less than a month into the administration. What are the biggest questions the white house needs to answer . Theres a couple. Why was Vice President pence kept in the dark about this. Not only was he mislead but for him to be kept in the dark for over a week, nearly two weeks about what came over from the justice department. Why is that significant . Mike pence is the security blanket for a lot of Congressional Republicans. If its Common Knowledge on capitol hill that mike pence is not in the inner circle, thats going to make some Congressional Republicans a bit more nervous and maybe a lot less friendly to this administration. I think thats a big one they need to clear up because of the conduct itself and politically in order to make sure their relationship with Congressional Republicans doesnt go south fast. Thanks. One last note on politics. The u. S. Government Ethics Office is recommending that the white house investigate trump aide kellya kellya Kellyanne Conway and take discipline action against her after she make a public endor endorsement of ivanka trumps fashion line. A breach of ethics rules. In california an Evacuation Order has been lifted for communities below the tallest dam in the nation. Crews are still scrambling to repair a hole in an emergency spillway that forced nearly 200,000 people to flee their homes. It could cause c catastrophic flooding but the sheriff says the risk has been reduced. A line of severe storms brought three tornadoes touching down outside of houston with damage and a number of minor injuries reported. Theres news in one of the most infamous kidnapping cases in american history. Aton patz vanished in 1979. The little boy, one of the faces of a missing boy after a decades long mystery agonizing for his parents, his killer is brought to justice. I am truly relieved and ill tell you its about time. It really is. Reporter it was nearly four decades ago that stan and julie patz sent their 6yearold son to the bus stop in new york by himself. He disappeared. Reporter they would never see him again. They found him guilty of kidnapping and seconddegree murder. This man is guilty of doing something really terrible so many years ago. Reporter the disappearance case gripped the country. Authorities relied on missing posters to generate leads from the public as well as brand new idea, etan patz was one of the first missing children to be profiled on the side of milk cartons. This street has changed a lot since 1979. The crime rate was a lot higher but as the streets cleaned up the mystery continued to haunt new yorkers. A break in the case didnt come until 2012 when police got a tip from one of hernandezs relatives. He was questioned and confessed saying he lured him into the basement of corner store where he worked. In 2012 the jury deadlocked but this time the verdict was unanimo unanimous. His defense attorney said he will file an appeal. His store no less shocking all these years later is still not resolved. Nbc news, new york. Still ahead, the Hollywood Super star sparking an investigation with scare in the sky. What happened when actor Harrison Ford brought his private plane in for a landing . Did an infamous so how old do you want to be when you retire . Uhh, i was thinking around 70. Alright, and before that . You mean after that . No, im talking before that. Do you have things you want to do before you retire . Oh yeah sure. Ok, like what . 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Tonight, nbc news has learned the faa is investigating a dangerous innocent involving actor and pilot Harrison Ford, who was involved in what some have called a close call in Southern California yesterday when ford mistook a taxi way for a runway flying right over the top of an American Airlines jet. Our aviation correspondent has the story. Reporter Harrison Ford may be best known for his acting but hes also a pilot. The faa is investigating a dangerous incident yesterday involving his plane and an American Airlines plane. Aviation sources tell nbc ford has been cleared to land on the short runway, runway 200 left but he lined up and lined on the parallel taxi way where planes taxi before take offer. He fly right over the top of an American Airline 737 that was holding at the end of the taxi way before preparing for departu departure. It was loaded with 110 passengers and six crew members for a flight to dallas. Unclear if anybody on board knew what happened. Once on the ground he radioed air Traffic Control was that airliner meant to be underneath me. The controller told he didnt land on the run way but he landed on taxi way c. Landing on tarxi way is a clear faa violation. The question is was ford distracted . Unfortunately, we have seen this before where somebody mistakenly identifying a taxi way for a runway. It was very narrow. Reporter it was just two years ago that ford was injured when his world war ii plane crashed on a golf course. Investigators blamed the crash on an engine failure. Tonight Harrison Ford is declining to comment. He could receive a warning letter or have his license suspended. That seems less likely. Were back in a moment with a i never miss an Early Morning market. But with my back pain i couldnt sleep or get up in time. Then i found aleve pm. The only one to combine a sleep aid plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. And now. Im back aleve pm for a better am. Except when it comes to retirement. 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He was seen struggling for help and sought assistance from airport staff but died in an ambulance. North koreas ruthless ruler showing no mercy. Kim jongun has his own uncle put on trial and executed. His latest apparent target, his fathers son. Kim jongnam had been their fathers favorite but in 2001 he was caught sneaking into japan with a false passport wanting to visit tokyos disneyland. Estrange frd from the family he questioned his brothers rule. Theres still his criticism. Thats why were seeing high level purging and murders like there. Reporter the alleged killing days after kim jongun saw a new missile test clearly aimed at provoking President Trump. The dictator demanding attention and eliminating opponents, even family. Nbc news, seoul, south korea. Switching gears now. Congratulations are in order after a major milestone by one of the greatest sports dynasties of all time. The uconn Womens Basketball team won their 100th game in a row. A streak stretching over several years. Its the longest winning streak in division 1 basketball history. Congratulations to the squad. When we come back, a love story for the ages on this valentines day. Fifty years ago, humpback whales were nearly extinct. They rebounded because a decision was made to protect them. Making the right decisions today for your longterm financial future can protect you and your family, and preserve your legacy. Ask a Financial Advisor how retirement and Life Insurance solutions from pacific life can help you plan for your future. New pantene doesnt just wash i wiyour hair, it fuels it. Gain. Making every strand stronger. So tangles dont stand a chance. Because strong is beautiful. Or is it your allergy pills . Holding you back break through your allergies. Introducing Flonase Sensimist. More complete allergy relief in a gentle mist you may not even notice. 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Call us or your advisor. T. Rowe price. Invest with confidence. Finally, tonight, a moving story about the power of love. They found each other when they least expected. When this couple was confronted with an uncertain future, they decided to beat the odds together. We have their touching tale. Reporter this love story begins on a blind date. Debra and gary each divorced and not looking for anything more than friendship. I surprised myself when i found myself in love. Reporter that love would be tested when she was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest. Youre terrified at first. Reporter the worst day of her life also became the best day. She looked at me and said, i dont think i can do this alone, and i said, you dont have to. You will never ever be alo alone. Thats when i got down on my knee and i said will you marry me. I said what, today . I said, what will i wear . Reporter they quickly found a justice of the peace and pledged those vows in sickness and in health. After nine months of an experimental treatment at the cancer center, debra rang a bell to celebrate shes now cancer free. Doctors cant quantify love, i guess it didnt show up on the scans, but what role did it play . Huge. Its just huge. Its everything. Love gives you hope when things are at their darkest. It gives you something to look forward to. Reporter now looking forward to a trip to paris. Gary surprised debra on this holiday celebrating commitment to true love. Oh, thank you. Reporter nbc news, atlanta. Thats going to do it for us on a tuesday night. Im lester holt for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching. Happy valentines day and good night. The first black bash lor et. Rachel lindsays first interview. Why she has a super fan in jennifer aniston. Now on extra. Extra, extra the woman americas talking about today. Congratulations,tions, rache. Newly named bachelorette Rachel Lindsay as she makes history. Im honored to have this opportunity. Today everything you never knew about the 31yearold attorney and what bachelor nick thinks of the pick. Then, from extra new york newly pregnant and a jeter, a. J. Land her first and only tv interview about her baby on way with derek. You have the pregnancy glow. Did she know she was pregnant during this skimpy si photo suit . And do they have a name picked out . Really . Plus, another supermodel baby on board. Bradley cooper and irina shayk hitting the beach with her growing belly. Adele chatting up jay z, blue ivy clutching a 2,500 purse . A special Grammy Party Photo feed. Plus, valentines day at the voice with adam, alicia, gwen and blake. My valentine