the first major heatwave of 2024. triple-digit temperatures in the west. we're tracking it. attorney general merrick garland defiant on capitol hill, telling republicans, "i will not be intimidated," as they demand tapes of president biden's interview with special counsel robert hur. our nbc news exclusive. the new electric vehicles rolling off gm's assembly line. the ceo on why gm is still betting big on evs, despite a sales slowdown. and after he stole the show from his congressman dad, the 6-year-old telling us about his viral moment of fame. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, and welcome. president biden tonight sidestepping congress and taking his own action to sharply tighten controls at the southern border. with his signature alone, the president using his executive authority to shut down asylum requests when the average daily number of illegal crossings between ports of entry exceeds 2,500. tonight, that average number tops 4,000, putting the new directive into immediate effect. the president looking to turn the tables on republicans on an issue that has left him politically vulnerable. in his remarks announcing the new order, president biden saying doing nothing is not an option, and that he would have preferred to address this issue through bipartisan legislation. but many republicans in congress tonight dismissing the president's actions as too little, too late. our julia ainsley is at the border in texas with more. >> reporter: facing fierce criticism of his handling of the border crisis, president biden tonight unveiling new executive action. >> this action will help us gain control of our border. >> reporter: the executive order will bar many migrants who cross the border illegally from requesting asylum when illegal crossings are over 2,500 per day, like they have been for the past three years. the restrictions last until they dip below 1,500 per day. >> they choose to come without permission and against the law, they'll be restricted from receiving asylum and staying in the united states. >> reporter: it's 3:30 p.m. in hidalgo, texas, and this bus is transporting migrants who just came through the border wall. they'll be able to claim asylum, but those who cross after midnight will not. but there are exceptions on the restrictions, including unaccompanied children. plus, migrants can still request asylum at ports of entry. today's move comes after a record nearly 10 million migrants have crossed into the u.s. since president biden took office. our recent poll shows just 28% of americans approve of president biden's handling of the border. today, the president blaming republicans for blocking a bipartisan border security bill. >> i've come here today to do what the republicans in congress refuse to do, take the necessary steps to secure our border. >> reporter: but republicans say biden sparked the crisis by reversing trump border policies, blasting today's move as an election year stunt. >> he can close the border down entirely. he is not going to do that. he has no interest in doing that. they want it wide open. so this weak measure here, don't be fooled. >> reporter: while some democrats also slamming the president's action. >> it's not a time for us to turn to trump-era policies. it's not time to go and use the tools that trump used. >> reporter: today, we met a venezuelan family who entered at a port of entry this morning. using the cbp one app created by the biden administration to book appointments for asylum screenings. they said they slept on the streets in mexico while waiting. how long were you waiting? "seven months and six days," he tells us, saying he came to the u.s. to work to feed his young family. >> and julia, we're already expecting legal challenges to this executive order. >> reporter: yes, lester. the aclu is threatening to sue, saying this order prevents migrants from exercising their right to claim asylum. meanwhile, border patrol agents i've talked to said they're worried about a logjam, when migrants cannot claim asylum cannot be deported fast enough. lester? >> julia ainsley starting us off, thank you. opening statements today in the trial of president biden's son hunter on federal gun charges. the prosecution telling jurors he lied about his drug use on a government background check to buy a gun, and they introduced evidence from his laptop. ryan nobles has late details. >> reporter: tonight, the prosecution kicking off their case against the son of the president with one simple message to the jury -- no one is above the law. in opening arguments, prosecutor derek hines saying hunter biden was a user of crack and a drug addict. he chose to lie on a government form about his drug use when he purchased a .38 caliber handgun. "no one is allowed to lie on a federal form like that, even hunter biden," he said. hines pointing to the defendant's own words in his own voice. >> mainly, however, we just planted ourselves on the couch and smoked a ton of crack. >> reporter: hines playing these audio clips from hunter om hunter biden's memoir for the jury. >> by now, i possessed a new superpower, the ability to find crack in any town, at any time, no matter how unfamiliar the terrain. >> reporter: first lady jill biden, his wife melissa, and sister ashley were in court, sitting together while the excerpts played. visibly shaken and embracing each other. hunter biden is charged with three counts related to allegedly purchasing and possessing a gun while using narcotics, and faces prison time if convicted. but defense attorney abbe lowell telling the jury today, "you will see that he is not guilty." he said that hunter biden did not knowingly lie on the form, arguing that during that narrow window of time, biden was not acting like, quote, someone who was smoking crack every 20 minutes. late today, the first prosecution witness, an fbi agent, testifying about hunter biden's laptop, telling jurors investigators found text messages detailing his interactions with drug dealers around the time he made the gun purchase. tomorrow, hunter biden's ex-wife will be on the stand, and eventually hallie biden, the widow of his late brother beau with whom hunter had a romantic relationship. lester? >> all right, thank you. a problem with at&t's cellular network left thousands of customers unable to make calls today. brian cheung is following this. brian, what happened? >> reporter: good evening, lester. the issue appears to have impacted at&t and verizon customers trying to call each other throughout the day. there were more than 5,000 service issues reported nationwide. verizon said its network was operating normally, with some experiencing issues when calling and texting with customers served by another carrier. at&t said the issue had been resolved after seven hours, and that 911 calls were not impacted. this comes four months after another major at&t disruption that impacted tens of thousands of customers, which took about a half a day to resolve. lester? >> brian, thank you. we'll turn now to an early season heatwave, the first major one of 2024 bringing dangerous triple-digit temperatures to parts of the west. 32 million people under heat alerts stretching from california to texas. high temperatures are expected to tie or break records through at least friday. at a combative house hearing, attorney general merrick garland fought back against republican attacks, including the false accusation the justice department was behind the manhattan prosecution of former president trump. here's hallie jackson. >> reporter: a message both blunt and sharp tonight from the attorney general. >> i will not be intimidated, and the justice department will not be intimidated. >> reporter: a full-throated defense from the typically soft-spoken a.g., targeting republican attacks on the justice department, and slamming suggestions the doj had a hand in former president trump's state felony conviction last week, as mr. trump falsely claimed. >> that conspiracy theory is an attack on the judicial process itself. >> reporter: but many republicans insist the biden doj's playing politics. >> many americans believe there is now a double standard in our justice system. they believe that because there is. >> reporter: the house gop looking to hold merrick garland in contempt of congress for defying a subpoena for the audio of the interview between president biden and special counsel robert hur, who ultimately declined to prosecute the president over his handling of classified documents, suggesting a jury would be unlikely to convict a well meaning elderly man with a poor memoryng elderly man with a poor . the interview transcript has already been released, but republicans want more. >> we haven't heard the tapes. we don't know if they match up. >> if you have audio or video, that is better than a transcript. >> substantively, the transcript may be accurate. but you know what? the audio would tell us so much more. >> reporter: but the white house asserted executive privilege over the recordings at the request of garland, who today says he'd be concerned about a possible chilling effect if they were released. >> it could influence witnesses' answers if they thought the audio of their law enforcement interviews would be broadcast to congress and the public. >> reporter: and with the house speaker rolling out a new three-part plan today to go after the justice department, the gop fight is clearly not over yet. lester? >> hallie jackson, thank you. we'll turn now to the war in gaza and the newly published comments from president biden suggesting israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu may be prolonging the war for his political survival. let's get more on this from gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: tonight, president biden is walking a fine line with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, offering some of his harshest criticism yet. in a new interview with "time" magazine, the president was asked whether he thought netanyahu was prolonging the war for his own political self-preservation. he said, "i'm not going comment on that. there is every reason for people to draw that conclusion." that response is drawing backlash from israel. >> it is outside the diplomatic norms of every right thinking country to comment on the leaders, whether they should be a prime minister or not be a prime minister. >> reporter: today i asked the president to clarify, and he walked the comments back. is prime minister netanyahu playing politics with the war? >> i don't think so. he is trying to work on a serious problem he has. >> reporter: asked by "time" whether israeli forces have committed war crimes in gaza, president biden answered that it's uncertain and has been investigated by the israelis themselves. the president also saying he did not think israel was starving civilians intentionally, but "i think they've engaged in activity that is inappropriate." still, even after this warning to israel last month -- >> they go into rafah, i'm not supplying the weapons. >> reporter: the u.s. is still backing its ally. now with cease-fire negotiations stalled, today, the white house national security adviser met with families of the hostages, including orna neutra's mother. >> once again we're in this cycle where everyone is waiting on an answer. we're really, really hoping that the deal goes through. >> reporter: the president also says his biggest disagreement with the prime minister is about what should happen after the war, and whether there is a two-state solution. lester? >> gabe gutierrez, thank you. in 60 seconds, the future of the road. our exclusive on the future at general motors. what ceo mary barra says about when more people will switch to evs, and the price that will get them evs, and the price that will get them there. death. even when meeting your a1c goal. discomfort can help you act. i'm not trying to scare you. i'm empowering you... to get real with your health care provider. talk to them about lowering your risk of stroke, heart attack or death. introducing new advil targeted relief. the only topical pain reliever with 4 powerful pain-fighting ingredients that start working on contact to target tough pain at the source. for up to 8 hours of powerful relief. new advil targeted relief. late today, an fda advisory panel weighed in on the potential use of mdma, better known as ecstasy, as a treatment for ptsd. some studies have found that it helped when combined with talk therapy, but the panel overwhelmingly concluded the data shows it is not effective in patients with ptsd. now to our nbc news exclusive. the ceo of america's biggest car company, gm, still betting big on electric vehicles, despite a slowdown in ev sales and criticism from former president trump. she spoke with tom costello. >> reporter: rolling off the assembly line, two new electric vehicles on which general motors is betting big. an ev version of its best-selling silverado and the equinox suv. >> we're executing. we're launching. >> reporter: despite a slowdown in ev sales across all brands, ceo mary barra says gm is tting i offering the consumer something that is all-in on all-electric. >> we're committed to this technology, getting it right, and offering the consumer something that is going to make their life better. >> reporter: all right. i'm driving? >> yeah, you're driving. >> reporter: barra had me drive the new equinox ev, which she insists will be a game changer. an suv with 17-inch displays, able the go 300 miles on a single >> re silverado ev pickup has even more ra charge. and with a $7,500 tax rebate, priced to attract middle america. this is the sweet spot for the market. people want a vehicle that's in this $30,000, $35,000 range. >> absolutely. that is where the bulk of new car purchases happen. >> reporter: the new silverado ev pickup has even more range, 440 miles. in all, gm offers 11 ev models. but while evs make up 7.3% of all new vehicle sales in the u.s., sales growth has slowed. prices are also dropping. the average now $55,000, and more popular in blue states than red. is that a political divide, a cultural divide that will hurt sales, especially of the silverado ev? >> well, when we look at it, right next to the silverado ev in that showroom at that dealer is going to be a silverado that's gas-powered. so the consumer is going to get to choose what they want. >> reporter: but consumers are both price and range sensitive. do you still envision to stop selling gas-powered vehicles by the mid 2030s, as you suggested at one point? >> again, we'll be guided by the customer. in the end, and we're seeing this around the globe, it will be led by what customers want. because, again, a car is a very expensive purchase for people. so they need to get what they want, and what they're willing to pay for and what it represents. >> reporter: the equinox ev has tough competition from tesla, hyundai, kia, and nissan. and former president trump's criticism of evs is raising concerns among proponents he could dismantle the tax incentives if elected. will you be just as committed to evs if there's a trump administration? >> we'll be just as committed, because we think in the long-term they're better. >> reporter: barra says gm customers will soon have access to tesla and other charging stations, which should address concerns about charger availability. lester? >> all right, tom, thank you. up next, with the election season upon us, how the rise of a.i. deepfakes is affecting one of the biggest elections on the anet. is it a sign of what's to come?f wh on this kitchen. oh, yeah, really high-end stuff. -sorry, that's our ghost. -yeah, okay. he's more annoying than anything. too bad there's mold behind the backsplash. 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