there tonight. the idaho college murder suspect in court. why it could now take months for him to enter a plea. our nbc exclusive on the possible cause of a nationwide air travel meltdown. we ask secretary pete buttigieg how it could have happened in our one-on-one interview. what he told us. lisa marie presley, the daughter of elvis presley, rushed to the hospital. what we re l learning. and the big move in the burger wars. the beloved chain from out west finally heading back east. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening from washington, where in response to what he calls the extraordinary circumstances, attorney general merrick garland today named a special counsel to look into secret documents found in president biden s delaware home in addition to a washington office he used. extraordinary circumstances may be an understatement with one current and one former president entangled in questions over the alleged mishandling of sensitiv
collected from medicare, full-time staff was reduced by 37% since hca took over. instead of three or four patients we were then taking six, seven, eight patients. and every time you add a patient, you each patient suffers. reporter: did you feel like you were putting your license at risk? every single day. still do. reporter: kelly says she became so alarmed that after 37 years, last april she quit. sue, a 17-year veteran at mission says she s seen an increase in code blues, critical emergencies. today the nation s largest union of health care workers issued a scathing report. the union claims that hca is pumping up profits by intentionally short staffing hospitals, resulting in poorer quality of care and even deaths. the report shows hca s overall staffing levels, not just nurses, were below averages at other hospitals in 19 of the 20 states where they operated back in 2020.
reporter: tonight, hca health care is facing accusations that it s making billions while slashing staffing to dangerously low levels. hca is constantly putting profits over patients. reporter: north carolina state treasurer dale falwell is the largest purchaser of health care in his state, ensuring 750,000 current and retired employees. you have called hca a virus. you ve said they re a cartel. whwhat s your r evidence?? well,l, the evidedence is very simple. you re hearing horror stories about quality. reporter: in asheville, north carolina, hca bought mission hospital four years ago. we spoke with a dozen current and former mission employees who all say under hca, patient care has suffered, so much so that seasoned nurses like kelly tyler and sue fischer joined a union. have you ever witnessed patient care being jeopardized by short staffing? yes. yes. reporter: according to federal data