this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening there is significant movement to report tonight in the effort to bring home americans brittney griner and paul whelan, both separately imprisoned in russia. late today, secretary of state antony blinken acknowledging there was a substantial proposal on the table to facilitate their release. griner, the wnba star detained since february, who has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing vape cartridges with cannabis oil whelan, a marine corps veteran, serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted of spying in 2020. both, the u.s. says, are wrongfully imprisoned blinken says the next step, a call with his russian counterpar sergey lavrov. believed to be on the table, a prisoner swap that could prove to be a bitter pill for the biden administration which has been under fire in its efforts to gain freedom for the americans. all this unfolding as griner told her story today inside a russian courtroom. andrea mitchell now
china flexing its military muscle for a third straight day after house speaker nancy pelosi s visit to taiwan. defense officials there saying the communist regime s military appears to be simulating an attack on the island. a look at the big picture with fox news senior strategic analyst general jack keane. plus, actress anne heche injured in a car crash, video surfacing that shows her speeding and driving erratically before plowing into a home and sparking a fire. maryann rafferty live in los angeles. reporter: critical condition after crashing her car into a home pretty if morning, causing it to go up in flames. the 53-year-old actress was driving a blue mini if cooper when she first crashed into the garage of an apartment complex. she fled and moments later crashed into a nearby home causing a blaze that also a engulfed her car. a shocked maybe describing that scene. there was three fire engines here and a lot of commotion. but the result was the fire that was going on
call inflation reduction act will not only lower cost for consumers but will not raise taxes on the middle class. republicans argue it will not help you alleviate inflation and it will take money out of people s pockets and hurt americans across a number of key sectors. chief congressional correspondent chad pergram is live on capitol hill and he has the latest for us. good evening, the senate waited all day but the past hour the senate got a text, the bill is 755 pages in length, democrat plans to pass the bill overnight. this is one of the most comprehensive impactful bills congress has seen in decades. it will reduce inflation, lower prescription drug costs, fight climate change, close tax loopholes and reduce the deficit. all gop members of postville, that s right democrats need all 50 of their members to vote yes. vice president harris could be needed to break a tie. republicans call the bill a farce. let s start with the bills title. inflation reduction act, it
he followed escrowing the white house warning china s military drills near taiwan are quote an extreme reaction to speaker pelosi s visit to taiwan. president biden out trying to manage a crisis that s getting more dangerous by the day. he tested negative for covid today. but he will stay isolated in the white house until he has a second negative test. all this comes during a busy weekend here in washington for democrats on the verge of scoring a major political victory as a senate prepares for a marathon voting session on their new spending bill. arthel: straight hit reaction and analysis on china s rising threat when james joins us. live and we have fox team coverage chat is tracking the vote on capitol hill. lucas tomlinson is falling white house developments, jeff paul is at cpac for president trump will speak tonight. alexandria hoff gets us started on the latest taiwan crisis, alexandria. this morning officials in taiwan reported 14 chinese warships and 20 planes cond
that makes drugs cheaper. but the parliamentarian nixed a rebate to cope with inflation. democrats need all of their members to vote yes to pass the bill. mike? if. mike: chad pergram, our walking ensly crow media on capitol hill, thanks very much. arthel: he really is that, for sure. meantime, at the white house president biden testing negative for covid today, but he will continue to isolate until a second negative test. the president hopes to start traveling again on monday. he will be hoping to travel to kentucky. the blood-ravaged flood-ravaged area there. also to celebrate the good july jobs numbers. let s go now to lucas tomlinson live at the white house with more on this. hey, lucas. reporter: that s right, the white house hopes the president receives that second negative covid test by monday so he can travel to eastern kentucky to meet those families devastated by those floods. the president s been here for over two weeks and insists this