just unveiled. this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening. there is late word tonight of a criminal sex charge filed against disgraced forker new york a misdemeanor complaint accusing him of forcible touching of an unnamed woman last year. the charge comes after multiple women charge cuomo of sexual harassment authorities building a criminal case based in part on cell phone and text messages. cuomo's national profile soared in the early days of the pandemic, but he resigned in august after a state investigation concluded he sexually harassed 11 women, including current and former staff members cuomo maintaining he never crossed the line with anyone. our kate snow has late details. >> reporter: former governor andrew cuomo, once a star of the democratic establishment tonight facing a criminal charge for sexual misconduct the misdemeanor criminal complaint says last december on the second floor of the governor's mansion, cuomo did intentionally and for no legitimate purpose forcibly place his hand under the blouse shirt of the victim and on to her intimate body part for the purposes of degrading and gratifying his sexual desires cuomo resigned in august after a blistering 165-page report from the state's attorney general detailing allegations by 11 women from unwanted physical contact to inappropriate and harassing comments >> the hugs at first were hugs. and then they were hugs when he would pull me close to the point where he could feel my breasts on his chest. >> reporter: it is unclear which accuser is behind today's criminal charge, but many details appear to match the story told by an executive assistant in the governor's office. she told investigators cuomo's inappropriate contact escalated over time, one night hugging her too tightly. >> that's when he put his hand up by blouse. and cupped my breast over my bra. >> reporter: after cuomo resigned -- >> in my mind, i have never crossed the line with anyone. >> reporter: she said it was a weight off her shoulders but not enough. >> he didn't take responsibility he almost still had the attitude as though he is the victim when he is not the victim he is the victimizer >> reporter: how serious could this charge be? >> misdemeanor charges are in a category below felony charges but any criminal conviction is a career ender for somebody of the ex-governor's stature. >> reporter: governor cuomo's attorney just released a statement saying he has never assaulted anyone and questioning the motives of the sheriffs department that filed the charge. we also reached out to a lawyer for ms. kamiso and did not hear back. >> so, kate, what is next for the former governor. >> reporter: so what we're told late tonight is a criminal summons has been issued for the governor he is expected to be in court on november 17th. >> all right kate snow, thank you still developing this evening, president biden urging democrats to support his new framework for his massive social and climate spending plan, saying the fate of his presidency depends on it kristin welker from the white house. >> reporter: after struggling with democratic divisions over his multi-trillion dollar spending plan, this morning president biden unveiling a new frame work and urging democrats to get his agenda back on track. >> after months of tough and thoughtful negotiations, i think we have a historic -- i know we have a historic economic frame work. >> reporter: delaying his departure for key summits in europe, the president first traveled to capitol hill a source familiar with the meeting said he warned democrats behind closed doors, i don't think it's hyperbole to say that the house and senate majorities and my presidency will be determined by what happens in the next week back at the white house, the president made his case. >> no one got everything they wanted, including me but that's what compromise is. that's consensus and that's what i ran on. >> reporter: the price tag of the social policy and climate plan, $1.75 trillion it includes funding for universal pre-k, elder care and a one-year extension of the enhanced child tax credit but to cut the price tag down, many items were dropped, including free community college, prescription drug reform and paid family and medical leave, a key proposal the president had been touting just last week >> we're one of the few industrial countries in the world that does not have paid leave. >> reporter: progressives had demanded a framework on the social spending and climate plan before they would support the bipartisan infrastructure bill and tonight some blasting the president's proposal saying there were too many cuts. >> clearly to my mind it has some major gaps in it. >> i felt a little bamboozled because this is not what i thought was coming today. >> reporter: many progressives saying they still don't trust moderate holdouts kyrsten sinema and joe manchin who today suggested the price was not too thigh. >> we negotiated a good number that would work. >> reporter: house speaker nancy pelosi still not saying when she'll call a vote >> we have the text out there. we're on a path to get this all done. >> reporter: and we learned democrats won't hold a vote until next week. >> reporter: that's right. we still don't know if those key moderate senators joe manchin and kyrsten sinema will approve the frame work democrats can't lose a single vote in the senate with republicans opposing what they say is a massive spending plan that will raise prices and hurt the economy lester >> thank you. as you heard, one of the last benefits cut from the president's spending bill is paid family leave, a huge blow to millions of americans, especially women taking care of elderly parents and children here's andrea mitchell >> reporter: christina has been juggling a lot. the kindergarten teacher gave birth to a baby boy in august, exhausting her savings to take unpaid time off and left her with no real way to take care of her mother. >> unfortunately when i was nine months pregnant we found out my mom had stage four lung cancer. she had never smoked. >> reporter: with a newborn and no paid leave, christina was only able to make three brief trips. two nights ago, her mom lost her fight with cancer. why was it so important for you to get paid family and medical leave. >> no one in my family had access to paid leave in order to care for a sick family member i was not able to be with my mom. >> reporter: she is like nearly 4 out of 5 americans working in the private sector who don't get paid family leave like cynthia and her husband in mesa, arizona, a mother of five, including a set of twins neither parent had paid family and medical leave. >> every family in america is like one emergency away from a crisis. >> reporter: as president biden flies to a summit tonight of the world's 20th wealthiest nations, he leads the only country in the group not providing paid leave. >> for lower-income workers, mid-income workers, they just don't have it. and they have had to make these very tough decisions. >> reporter: for christina, it is time she'll never get back. >> we need paid leave in order to survive financially, to care for our families through these times that often we don't ever expect to happen to us. >> reporter: andrea mitchell, nbc news, virginia. let's turn to the newest front in the battle over covid vaccine mandates here in new york, the nation's largest fire department is bracing for a possible first responder shortage as a mandate takes effect gabe gutierrez with late details. >> reporter: outside the new york city mayor's residence today -- >> hold that line! hold that line >> reporter: outrage from firefighters and their supporters over a covid vaccine mandate impacting 160,000 city employees. the deadline for proof of one shot friday evening. >> i don't feel that i should be coerced into taking it before i'm ready to. >> yeah. i'm already vaccinated people's right to choose that's all. >> reporter: employees who don't comply face unpaid leave starting monday union officials say up to one-fifth of fire companies could close. right now new york city police have a 74% vaccination rate firefighters only 65%. >> your rights are more important than their mandates. >> reporter: mayor bill de blasio facing pressure from sanitation workers, too. some appearing to let trash pile up on sidewalks in protest. >> anyone who is not doing their job, you're harming your fellow sanitation workers and you're harming your neighbors and you're harming the people of new york city and it's time to stop. >> reporter: the battle over vaccine mandates is extending far beyond new york. across the country, it is intensifying not just in street rallies but courtrooms in chicago first responders are asking a judge to block a vaccine mandate order. missouri's governor just barred state officers from punishing those who declined the vaccine 21 attorneys general have signed this letter challenging the biden administration vaccine requirement for federal contractors. and today florida filed a lawsuit. >> we do have a responsibility to stand up for our authority here to govern ourselves. >> reporter: here in new york, the city is planning mandatory overtime and canceling vacations to compensate for any staffing issues. lester >> all right, gabe thank you. in new mexico new insights tonight from the santa fe county sheriff about that deadly accidental shooting on a movie set. investigators are focussing on two people who handled the gun given to alec baldwin. miguel almaguer is there. >> reporter: tonight the set of "rust" is no longer a crime scene, but investigators have not cleared anyone on the set of wrongdoing. alec baldwin's fatal shooting of cinematographer halyna hutchins was accidental, but it should have been prevented by assistant director dave halls and armorer hannah gutierrez-reed says the sheriff >> these two people who handled the gun, it is their jobs to ensure safety. how is there a scenario they would not face criminal charges? >> that's still to be determined you know, i think there is a certain direction that needs to be met. she, as the armorer, in my mind, has the ultimate responsibility for the safety of the rounds that are being placed in that firearm. >> reporter: hannah gutierrez-reed told your investigators that there were no live rounds and should not have been any live rounds on that set is that a false statement at this point. >> that's not an accurate statement. we could like to get some follow-up and some clarification >> reporter: given exclusive access to the sheriff and his lead investigators behind closed doors today -- >> we are seeing about trying to wrangle up all the 70 people. >> reporter: authorities confirm baldwin, seen with his family in vermont in photographs obtained by tmz, will need to be questioned again. so will the two people responsible for ensuring the gun was safe who have not responded for comment to nbc news. >> it is definitely a tragedy and in my mind totally preventable. >> reporter: a tragedy that could have criminal consequences. miguel almaguer, nbc news santa fe. in just 60 seconds, the major admission by top oil executives about climate change and what they have to say about disinformation we're back now with big oil under fire on capitol hill the nation's top oil executives testifying before congress denying they lied to the american public about their company's roles in climate change we get more now from tom costello >> reporter: on the virtual hot seat today, oil company executives challenged for the first time ever on their company's histories of spreading disinformation about big oil's role in climate change. >> it is time for the fossil fuel industry to finally change its ways >> reporter: presented as evidence, this video of an exxon lobbyist secretly recorded by greenpeace activists which they say shows how exxon tries to undermine climate control policies. >> did we aggressively fight against some of the science? yes. >> reporter: for decades, democrats say oil execs have denied or downplayed a climate change link, despite their own internal research showing the fossil fuel connection. but today every oil company executive acknowledged the industry does indeed contribute to climate change >> climate change is real and the use of fossil fuels contributes to it. >> this is a defining challenge for our generation, absolutely. >> reporter: but the executives deny engaging in disinformation to fight climate change policy meanwhile, demand for oil and gas is surging. unleaded now averaging $3.39 a gallon up from $2.14 a year ago $2.81 in 2019. natural gas jumping 30% this winter. >> this hearing is simply a distraction from the crisis that the biden's administration policies have caused for the american people >> reporter: democrats want oil companies to cut production and emissions even further, even as president biden urged opex to increase production to bring gas prices down. lester thanks. now to our series vote watch less than a year after victories in georgia gave democrats complete control of congress, republicans are on the verge of taking over election operations in the state's biggest democratic stronghold. geoff bennett explains why. >> reporter: tonight a new election showdown in georgia with the state's republican-led election board inching closer to potentially taking over elections in atlanta's fulton county, a democratic stronghold thanks to a provision in georgia's controversial new voting laws. democrats say it is only happening because georgia delivered close victories for president biden and two democratic senators last year. >> we will deliver georgia and fulton county for senator warnock again. so that's why there is focus, there is emphasis on continuing to criticize fulton county and our elections. >> reporter: but republicans, including top election officials, secretary of state brad raffensperger say state oversights will boost voter confidence. >> we never had that accountability issue before where we could replace a county election board if the situation was so severe. >> reporter: he gained national attention for resisting pressure from former president trump to find enough ballots to overturn biden's narrow win in georgia. and he now faces a difficult primary race against a rival endorsed by mr. trump. >> what we're saying is we need to have fulton county fix its problems that's why there is a review panel right now looking at what's going on. >> reporter: fulton county has had issues. in one of the first pandemic elections in june 2020, voters waited for hours to cast a ballot. democrat rick baron heads the board of elections. >> we had long lines we had poll workers dropping out we lost polling places the remainder of the year we had five elections after that, and we had no -- we didn't have any long lines. >> reporter: there is no evidence of fraud in that race but raffensperger points to earlier this month when fulton county fired two poll workers for allegedly shredding 300 voter registration forms >> what you are looking at is disfranchisement of up to 300 voters. we want to make sure it is an even-handed approach we are doing our own investigation. >> reporter: as republicans tout election integrity, democrats point to a political power play. >> reporter: so what do you think the motivation here is >> the secretary of state is in a tight primary race next year, and fulton county is his spoil. >> they're picking on the wrong county this time with the biggest and the baddest county in the state of georgia, and we're going to fight until the end. >> reporter: geoff bennett, nbc news atlanta. up next we'll tell you about the emergency in the air after a brutal attack on a flight attendant. facebook has a new name ceo mark zuckerberg announcing the social media giant's parent company will now be known as meta. it is short for metaverse, a virtual reality considered by many to be the future of the internet. the rebranding comes at a time of crisis after leaked documents portrayed it putting profits over people. we have reported often on the big increase on violent attacks on plane often related to mask wearing. but what happened on an american airlines flight last night led to an emergency and condemnation from american's ceo stephanie gosk has details. >> reporter: an american airlines flight from new york to california forced to make an emergency landing in denver. the airlines ceo speaking out today. >> we had one of the worst displays of unruly behavior we t investigation says a flight attendant accidentally bumped into a passenger and apologized soon after the man walked to the back of the plane and punched the flight attendant twice in the face. >> i did see her walk back down the aisle afterwards she had blood on the outside of her mask. >> reporter: passengers say this was the man involved, handcuffed by police on the ground. >> this type of behavior has to stop and the best deterrent is aggressive criminal prosecution. >> reporter: according to the faa, there have been nearly 5,000 reports of bad behavior on flights this year. many were related to mask mandates, but not all. only 216 have led to law enforcement cases. crimes in the air are the fbi's jurisdiction do you think there has been enough prosecution of these incidents? >> there have not been nearly enough. the doj needs to step this up and step it up right now. people need to land in jail. feeling it on a personal level. >> every single flight attendant's heart is with her right now we all are just working very hard to make sure that no one else has to face this harm. >> reporter: american airlines banned the man from its flights forever. the fbi is investigating. they are calling on the agency to press criminal charges stephanie gosk, nbc news. up next here tonight, giving families a halloween lift just when they could use it finally, let's visit a hospital where everyone is getting to the halloween spirit and inspiring america. here's kevin tibbles. >> reporter: the littlest ghouls and goblins are the cutest little pumpkins this time of year or like five-month-old josiah, the cutest little football. >> he's gorgeous he is beautiful. he's just sweet. >> reporter: he was born at just 23 weeks and has lung difficulties, but that won't stop his family sharing the spirit of halloween in the neonatal intensive care unit at the children's hospital of philadelphia. >> we have made his blanket a field and we put him in a football costume with a little hat. >> reporter: how can you not love joshua the chicken. or ollie as mickey mouse. or even baby yoda? >> we love being able to take a moment away from what happens at bedside every day. >> reporter: how does it make you feel >> it really makes me love my job. >> reporter: every year, hospital staff help families be families >> most days are hard. but when you get to dress them up and see the smiles on everybody's faces, it just brings joy. >> reporter: even for a child in the hospital, the spookiest day can be a real treat kevin tibbles, nbc news, philadelphia >> well, i can't beat that, but if you want to see my costume, you can tune into an all new "nightly news" kids edition now online that's "nightly news." thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night, everyone ever wonder how san francisco became the greenest big city in america? just ask the employee owners of recology. we built the recycling system from the ground up, helping san francisco become the first city in the country to have a universal recycling and composting program for residents and businesses. but it all starts with you. let's keep making a differene together. i'm roger mathai. next on bay area news tonight, facebook, the company, is now meta. >> we're still a company that designs technology around people. >> what does this all mean and what's behind the name change? is it meant to distract us from facebook's controversies? and more supporters showing up to support and announce the chain that shut down several of its own dining rooms after getting in trouble for not checking vaccine cards. we are live tonight in pleasant hill. good evening, this is nbc bay area news