president trump has defended his hugely controversial decision to fire the head of the fbi, saying james comey had not been doing a good job and his replacement would do a far better one. white house officials have been suggesting the president had lost confidence in mr comey over the past several months. he d been leading an fbi investigation into links between the trump campaign team and russia. here s our north america editor, jon sopel. this is a fox news alert. fbi directorjames comey has been fired by the president of the united states. the term breaking news is bandied around with abandon. last night, it was justified. because, at fbi offices, the first they knew that their director had been fired was when it flashed up on their tv screens. and james comey, who was in los angeles addressing staff, knew nothing about it either until an aide handed him a note and the letter sent by president trump was brutal. at least they left him the governmentjet to fly back to the
the fallout from the sacking ofjames comey is continuing to cause reverberations around washington. for his part, the now former fbi boss has said he has long believed the president can dismiss an fbi directorfor any reason, or no reason at all. meanwhile us senators investigating links between donald trump s presidential campaign and russia have issued a subpoena to the former national security adviser michael flynn. our washington correspondent laura bicker has the latest. he has become more famous than me. donald trump may have once embraced the fbi director, but the low was short lived. it is thought the president s frustration had been building for months. he had hoped allegations that russia had meddled in the us election to help him win could be dismissed as fake news. but the towering figure of the fbi kept the towering figure of the fbi kept the story alive by confirming the investigation, and that is why democrats think mr trump fired him. he feels the dragnet tight
this is bbc world news america. funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation. newman s own foundation, giving all profits from newman s own to charity and pursuing the common good. kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america s neglected needs. and aruba tourism authority. planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here, in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm, sunny days, cooling trade winds, and the crystal blue caribbean sea. nonstop flights are available from most major airports. more information for your vacation planning is available at aruba.com. and now, bbc world news america. tim: this is bbc world news america. i m tim wilcox. the firing of fbi director james comey sent shockwaves through the u.s. political system. the search begins for his replacement. the president says he wasn t up to the job. do
the per institute. reporter: that s right, sam and k irs s. and kris. the man drive the wrong way through nine cities. during the pursuit he called 911 saying, call off the helicopter following me, or i ll keep going. the chopper continued, and so he did, ending in this berkeley neighborhood. you see fresh tire attacks. he took off and is still on the run. with rifles and flashlights in hand, both berkeley police and chp officers searched back yards for the driver who lead them on a high speed chase from concord to berkeley starting at 11:20 last night. he took a sworner tires didn t squeal. he was doing perfect. i went to finish my drink and was walking this way. i saw the lights and the car flipped on its back end. on its roof. i was like oh. reporter: the aftermath showed the high pursuit. the car was completely crumpled air bags deployed after it slammed into there gmc suv flipping it. the driver escaped with minor injuries. very rare do these occasions happen.
this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. substituting tonight, savannah guthrie. good evening. as we come on the air tonight, one section of the country is bracing for a wave of severe weather. another is cleaning up after a night of powerful tornadoes. it is the upper midwest under the gun tonight with the threat of heavy thunderstorms and hail. and just look at the size of this twister. one of nearly 30 reported this week through the middle of the country over the weekend. nbc s john yang joins us from broken arrow, oklahoma. john good evening. reporter: good evening. take a look at the damage here in broken arrow. this isn t a limb off of the tree. this is the trunk of the tree the top snapped right off. take a look at the house across the street. one of two. the tops just peeled off and opened up like an onion. once again tornado alley has lived up to its billing. oh my goodness. you can see it clear as day. reporter: overnight, tornadoes sliced across south wes