police say he had. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening just breaking as we come on the air tonight, a stunning milestone reached in this country's battle with covid. according to an nbc news count, the number of dead who had the virus in the u.s. has just crossed the one million mark we'll get to that in a few moments. but we begin here tonight with a scramble over the future of abortion rights after that leaked draft supreme court decision that appeared to show the handwriting on the wall, a court inclined to rule there is no constitutional right to abortion, sending the decision to the states democrats left with no way to stop the train, now looking to make republican opponents of abortion pay a political price as the midterm election campaigns heat up. president biden setting the democrats' tone, warning abortion could be the first of many rights stripped away by the court. emotions running high on both sides with the outcome deeply personal and consequential for so many. peter alexander has late details. [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: tonight with protests growing, president biden insisting that leaked draft opinion that would overturn roe v. wade could lead to unraveling other privacy rights from contraception to gay marriage >> this is about a lot more than abortion. >> reporter: the president using the draft opinion to slam former president trump's allies. >> what are the next things that are going to be attacked because this maga crowd is really the most extreme political organization that's existed in american history, in recent american history. >> reporter: although the draft is not the court's final decision, vice president harris blasted republican leaders during an event last night. >> how dare they tell a woman what she can do and can't do with her own body. how dare they! >> reporter: still democrats do not have many options without the senate votes to pass a law that would guarantee abortion rights nationwide. instead, democrats are looking to amplify the abortion issue heading into the midterms to target republicans. >> this november is going to be a referendum on privacy and your rights to freedom as an american they don't want to make that the case they want it to be, oh, it's inflation. it's something at the border no, it is something more basic than that. >> reporter: overturning roe would not outlaw abortion, but leave it up to state legislatures to decide whether there should be restrictions currently 13 states have so-called trigger laws that would ban abortion if roe is overturned with exceptions for the health of the mother republicans tonight insist there is a reason democrats are focussing on the leaked opinion. >> they want to change the topic from immigration, from the soaring inflation. they want to get off the things that are so unpopular about this president. >> and, peter, even without the votes, senate democrats are moving forward next week what's the thinking there? >> reporter: that's right, lester democrats have taken steps to guarantee abortion rights that's all but certain to fail, but they say they still want to get every senator on the record lester >> peter alexander at the white house, thank you. some of the states that have those abortion trigger laws we just talked about are preparing for what might be inevitable blaine alexander tonight on how the leaked supreme court draft decision is playing out in those states and beyond. >> reporter: in north dakota, women have one place to go for abortion services, red river women's clinic in fargo. >> it is a very rural state, so we serve a lot of black, indigenous and people of color in our center, and those are the people that would be disproportionately harmed by this ban. >> reporter: that ban not final. but after the bombshell leak of the supreme court draft opinion, providers are preparing. she's posted on the clinic's website letting clients know their appointments are still good but, she says, if roe is overturned -- >> it means lights out in north dakota >> reporter: that's because the procedure would immediately be outlawed north dakota is one of 13 states with a trigger law [ crowd chanting ] across the country it is what abortion rights advocates fear the most and what anti-abortion groups are hoping for >> for almost 50 years, we have been working for this point. >> reporter: margery, president of the susan b. anthony list, says in recent months she's talked to governors in about 20 states her message, make sure your state is ready to go >> those conversations now are far less conditional seeming because it looks like we may have an opportunity to build consensus and pass laws that save lives all over the country. >> reporter: in louisiana, abortion is currently legal up to 20 weeks, but if roe were to end, louisiana's three clinics would immediately shut down >> what would you say to women who are still desperate for that procedure and would still seek it out >> i would say there are resources available to you that we want to help you here in louisiana. the pro-life movement is very supportive of women. >> reporter: this week louisiana's state legislature advanced a bill to make it more difficult to challenge the state's trigger law. state senator fields was one of three lawmakers to vote against it >> is this an insurmountable hill you're trying to climb here >> maybe so. but, i mean, but at the end of the day, you know, you got to fight for what you feel is right. i just don't feel that a majority male legislature should be telling women what to do with their bodies. >> reporter: and some states are working on the other side as well to strengthen laws that would protect abortion rights should roe be overturned lester >> blaine, thank you. let's turn to our other top story, covid's horrific toll. our team here at nbc news has been compiling data daily from states across the country. late today we learned that more than 1 million americans have now died from the disease. a milestone we didn't want to think about but knew was coming in a pandemic that's far from over here's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: it was once unthinkable. tonight it's reality 1 million people in the u.s. have now died from covid-19 according to the ongoing nbc news count >> i just miss everything about him. everything everything >> reporter: lisa wilson of palm beach county, florida, lost her grandmother millie may to the virus last year. >> it was so terrifying my aunt called me and she said something is wrong with her she would lay across the bed and she was like gasping for air. >> reporter: lisa would say good-bye, not just to her grandmother, but to her uncle. >> so funny. >> reporter: and four cousins within weeks in all, six relatives claimed by covid. >> it was very, very hard. >> reporter: back in march of 2020 as streets were deserted and morgue trucks first appeared outside hospitals, for many americans the idea of a million covid deaths seemed farfetched. >> we could get in the range of 100,000 to 200,000 fatalities. >> reporter: dr. angela chen of mount sinai hospital diagnosed the first confirmed covid case in new york even before the world health organization declared the outbreak a global pandemic >> when you first made that diagnosis, did you have any idea what this pandemic would become >> i don't think any of us did. >> reporter: we spoke with her today in central park at the former site of a makeshift field hospital. >> it's really been something that i think has fundamentally changed who i am and how i think about medicine, how i think about my patients. >> reporter: so many families tonight, including lisa wilson and her husband, are reflecting on the lives lost and lessons learned. >> all of my family members that are deceased from covid, they were not vaccinated. so vaccines save lives. >> reporter: even seven figures can't measure the grief. >> we love you >> reporter: gabe gutierrez, nbc news, new york. >> and i'll share some thoughts and perspective on this solemn milestone in just a few minutes. but right now let's turn to the fight against inflation. the fed raising interest rates by half a percentage point, the most in more than two decades, meaning just about everything we buy on credit will get more expensive. jo ling kent has that story. >> reporter: with inflation skyrocketing, willy price tells us she's praying prices will come down soon. >> everything is high. everything is almost unaffordable food is high the gas is high. electric bills went up. >> reporter: like the majority of americans, she now lives paycheck to paycheck these realities pushing the federal reserve to take action yet again today, raising interest rates by half a percentage point, the biggest hike in 22 years >> inflation is much too high, and we understand the hardship it is causing. >> reporter: the fed's goal, slow down spending to bring inflation down, which is soaring at 8.5%, a 40-year high prices spiking across the board from rent to groceries to gas today the national average for a gallon of regular now $4.23. 10 cents higher than just a week ago. >> i have not been able to do the complete fill-up because, you know, i'm on a basically like a fixed income. >> reporter: now higher interest rates will make loans more expensive including new auto loans and credit card debt interest rates on mortgages hitting 5.41%, up from just 3% a year ago. >> our business could potentially start to dip based on the fact that people will have to change their buying habits. >> reporter: this chicago restaurant owner worries she will pass along the highest cost of her business loans to her customers as she tries to expand. >> it is not an easy discussion because we still want to do right by our customers as well. >> reporter: as for fears of a possible recession, fed chair powell says there is nothing to suggest one is close expect more half point increases in the coming months the dow rose nearly 3% on that news lester >> all right, jo thank you. new pressure on russia tonight. the european union proposing a ban on russian oil imports by year's end it comes as fighting rages around that steel plant in mariupol and elsewhere in ukraine. and news of the deadliest attack on civilians may have been far worse than reported. kelly cobiella is there tonight. >> reporter: tonight ukrainian officials say russia is losing ground, despite all those constant shellings on the northeastern city of kharkiv. ukrainian troops say they have now gained control of at least 11 villages in the region soldiers finding homes in ruins, bodies of villagers and russian soldiers left behind [speaking foreign language we lived in a basement for two months, this woman says the russians pointed guns at us and stole everything in mariupol, a new investigation from the ap using eye witness accounts and floor plans suggest the mid-march bombing of the theater there killed close to 600 people, not the 300 initially believed though an exact number cannot be determined and newly released satellite images show smoke rising from the city's old steel plant where hundreds of civilians and fighters are hiding. [speaking foreign language you guys don't understand how scary it is, this woman said marina's husband is fighting in that plant when we first met her at a shelter, she told us -- [speaking foreign language i just pray he's alive and he'll make it out. she hasn't heard from him in five days. mariupol's mayor today -- >> how many people how many civilians are still there? [speaking foreign language >> reporter: the russians are still storming the plant even though they said they wouldn't, the mayor said telling me more than 200 civilians are still inside, including at least 20 children but tonight fire power from the u.s. is reaching the battlefield. a senior u.s. defense official says 90% of the howitzers promised to ukraine are now in the country. tonight that senior u.s. defense official says most of the russian forces in and around mariupol have now moved north, likely to join the fight in donbas only about 2,000 are still in the city lester >> kelly cobiella, thank you. here at home, we're tracking yet more severe weather tonight in the middle of the country and parts of the south bill karins is watching it all and has the latest. >> good evening, lester it is a dangerous evening and in many cases it will be a sleepless night as these storms will explode in the next couple of hours and travel through oklahoma and texas we have tornado watches through oklahoma and texas this area of red north of dallas right along the red river to wichita falls to oklahoma city, that's the area of greatest concern for not just tornados, but strong tornados this evening and baseball-size hail falling from the sky that's three inches in diameter and then tomorrow, we track all the severe weather into arkansas, little rock, memphis, all the way down to shreveport if this wasn't enough, we will see these storms dumping a ton of rain and we have a flash flood threat tonight through oklahoma. >> bill, thanks for keeping an eye on it. in 60 seconds, the attack on comedian dave chappelle as he was on stage the charges the suspect faces. and donald trump jr. testifies before the committee investigating the january 6th attack back now with that shocking moment at the famed hollywood bowl comedian dave chappelle attacked by an armed man who rushed the stage during his performance. miguel almaguer on the charges the suspect faces and the security questions being raised >> reporter: it unfolded in seconds when a man jumped on to the stage and tackled dave chappelle. in video obtained by tmz, chappelle pops back up as the attacker is chased across the stage. the chaotic scene playing out before a stunned crowd. >> that [ bleep ] was clumsy >> reporter: this man identified as 23-year-old isaiah lee was booked on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon police say he had this replica gun that has a blade that extends from the barrel. >> he's back there getting stomped. >> reporter: in recent months chappelle has come under fire by the transcommunity which he joked about last night after the attack >> it was a transman >> reporter: police have not yet released a motive with chappelle's spokesperson saying he refuses to allow last night's incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment there are now questions over how someone could smuggle a weapon into l.a.'s iconic hollywood bowl where there are metal detectors and security. >> the first thought was how was there not security that was there before he even made it, you know, to have that physical contact. >> reporter: after the attack, chappelle was joined by comedians jaime fox and chris rock who was infamously slapped on stage by will smith and broke the tension after the incident >> was that will smith? >> reporter: a moment of levity after an attack that was no laughing matter miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. all right. up next for us, donald trump leaves his mark on a key mid-term race. is it a sign of things to come? (music throughout) back now with the january 6th investigation. we're now learning that donald trump jr., the former president's eldest son, was interviewed by the committee investigating the capitol riot for two hours on tuesday via video conference, according to a person close to him. his sister ivanka trump testified before the committee last month. and for former president trump, a big first test of his power to steer the midterm elections. the senate candidate he endorsed in ohio, author j.d. vance, coming from behind in the polls to win that state's primary last night. vaughn hillyard is there. >> reporter: the american political right moving even closer to donald trump's image on tuesday night. >> they wanted to write a story that this campaign would be the death of donald trump's america first agenda ladies and gentlemen, it ain't the death of the america first agenda >> reporter: j.d. vance, winning a crowded gop primary for ohio's u.s. senate seat, leaping roughly 20 percentage points since trump endorsed him. >> i want to pick somebody that's going to win. and this man is going to win come on up, j.d. >> reporter: vance is an ally in spreading trump's false 2020 election conspiracies and is close to other trump loyalists like marjorie taylor greene and matt gaetz. >> what ultimately made you decide j.d. vance? >> donald trump. >> reporter: vance said if trump enters the white house again, he should push the envelope of executive power. >> fire every civil servant in the administrative state, replace them with our people >> reporter: and part of his america first foreign policy - >> i got to be honest with you, i don't really care what happens to ukraine one way or another. >> reporter: democrat tim ryan will face vance in the red trending state. >> people in ohio look at the candidates and they say who's most ohio? who's fighting for us? >> reporter: on the republican side, voters said that person for them is vance. his victory a win for trump, rattling democrats this was just the first of several critical tests for trump's influence in primaries over the next three weeks. next up, nebraska and west virginia. lester >> thanks. up next, as covid deaths rise again, america crosses an unthinkable milestone. i'll have some reflections next before we go, a few words about the news that broke shortly before we came on the air tonight. an nbc news count showing this country has now reached more than 1 million covid deaths today's soul crushing milestone comes just as we begin to peek out from behind our masks, lower our guard, willing the pandemic to be over but the slowly rising tally of the dead won't let it be and forces us to confront some tough questions, like how many of those 1 million deaths might have been prevented? we counted on the tools, the vaccines, the masks, the distancing, but we forgot about the unpredictability of free will, mistrust in science and simple human behavior. it was hard enough to process 750,000 deaths, 500,000, 250,000 before that. each mile post leaving us as unsure as the next as to what such a moment called for. maybe because the pandemic changed our rituals of death and grief. tearful good-byes between families and dying loved ones not at bed sides but via ipad funerals delayed or bypassed altogether at the moment we most needed the comfort of others, we were forced to be apart how could it not have changed us 1 million dead sounds like an ending to a horrible story, not a chapter, but that's what it is a number that shakes our consciousness, demands our attention, forces us to pause and consider who and what we have lost. you've got to believe there are better days ahead. that's "nightly news" for this wednesday thank you for watching i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other good night i'm raj ma, get ready for more bitcoin, a push for crypto currency. do you use turbo tax to file your taxes? you may get money back. $800 a month to rent a home in palo alto. here is the catch. you got to sleep in a pod. we'll take you inside. the bay area gold medalist who took the winter olympics by storm. >> people always have their own opinions. >> eileen gu why she represented china instead of the usa. the san francisco skier on her way to stanford.