boldldly mixed f faith and politicscs. plus, ththe broadwayay revivaval with a powerfrful messagege of hope. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening and welcome. that dangerous plume of smoke that has held the northeast in its grip has drifted south tonight, leaving the new york area breathing a bit easier, while putting cities along the midatlantic into the high danger zone. earlier today philadelphia with a distinction of having the worst air quality of any major city in the world. washington, d.c. at one point issuing a code purple warning for very unhealthy air. the source of all this, of course, those wildfires burning across large swaths of canada. unusual weather patterns funneling the smoke into the eastern u.s. and great lakes, forcing events to be canceled and disrupting flights. with hundreds of americans already on