tonight our nbc exclusive. with president biden after addressing the nation on those mystery objects shot down by the u.s. the president facing mounting pressure defending his response and saying those objects do not appear to be linked to china's spying program. so what do officials think they are? and our interview with the president. we ask what consequences should china face for that spy balloon. also tonight, growing outrage in ohio. the epa chief visiting the community impacted by that toxic train derailment after anger boiled over during a town meeting. his message about the safety of their air and water.

the grand jury on donald trump's possible interference in the 2020 election. key parts of its report released today. what it says about possible perjury charges. the tornado threat in the south and the winter storms slamming the midwest. al roker is here. pennsylvania senator john fetterman checking himself into the hospital. why he is seeking treatment. tesla recalling more than 300,000 cars. the potential danger with the self-driving system. a devastating diagnosis for bruce willis. what his family revealed today. and remembering an all-star catcher and hall of fame broadcaster. the legendary tim mccarver. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening, and thank you for joining us. today for the first time, president biden addressed in detail what is known about those three high-flying objects shot from the skies of north america last weekend, offering more about what they weren't than what they

were. the president saying the objects are not believed to be foreign spy balloons or to have had nefarious intent. instead, offering official speculation that they were more likely private research, or even recreational balloons. pointedly, the president said they were not related to china's balloon program, which gained attention after an alleged chinese spy balloon transited u.s. airspace earlier this month before being shot down by u.s. fighters. the president saying he makes no apologies for taking down that balloon. later, the president in an exclusive interview with peter alexander, suggesting the episode should not fundamentally change u.s. relations with china. here is peter's report. >> reporter: facing growing bipartisan criticism for not telling americans more about those aerial objects the u.s. fighter jets shot down, president biden tonight is defending his response. >> make no mistake, if any object presents a threat to the safety

and security of the american people, he will take it down. >> reporter: the president says there is nothing to suggest the three objects shot down over lake huron, alaska and canada were connected to china's spy balloon program or were surveillance vehicles from any other country. instead indicating fighter jets may have been scrambled to take out what could have been weather balloons. >> the intelligence community's current assessment is they were likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research. >> reporter: and regarding the chinese spy balloon, the president tonight says he makes no apologies for taking it down, despite critics slamming him for not acting sooner, allowing it to fly across the country first. >> for a week, joe biden did nothing. he led lett that spy balloon conduct espionage all over the united states. >> we shot it down, sending a clear message, a clear message the violation of our sovereignty is unacceptable. >> reporter: late tonight in an exclusive phone call,

i asked president biden what consequences the chinese government should face. he told me there is going to be hundreds of these things. i don't mean balloons, but things of consequence that are going to happen individually that don't necessarily reflect any fundamental change in policy. and so the consequence for it is to shoot it down, learn as much as we can about it, and saying he expects to speak with china's president xi soon. i think the last thing that xi wants is to fundamentally rip the relationship with the united states and with me, adding there should be better means of direct communication. the president says he has directed his team to develop sharper rules to deal with unknown objects, distinguishing between those that pose security risks and those that do not. >> peter, busy day for the president. we just learned the results of his physical. >> lester, that's right. the president's physician says he is fit for duty. both his cholesterol and blood pressure were good. his doctor did find a small lesion on his chest that was sent for a biopsy. the president's

health, of course, has become a political issue, with polls showing many americans worried about the 80-year-old's ability to serve. but tonight the doctor says he is healthy and vigorous. lester? >> peter alexander starting us off from the white house, thank you. growing outrage in ohio tonight among people who live near the site of that train derailment and toxic chemical release. despite assurances, many are still concerned about the air and the water. ron allen is there tonight. >> reporter: at the county humane center, teresa maguire says she hears about sick pets and livestock every day. >> we're hearing a lot of this. we're hearing a lot of decreased appetite, not wanting to drink. if they do drink, they're throwing up. >> reporter: luke lavin says he is too afraid to return to his home half a mile from the crash site. >> i don't want to go home because i don't have the answers to go home. >> reporter: anger mounting in east palestine nearly two weeks after a fiery train derailment and controlled burn of hazardous chemicals sent a huge, dark, toxic cloud over this rural community.

and despite almost daily assurances that days later it was safe for thousands of evacuees to return home. what do you say to people who are just scared? >> you know, i say first and foremost, i'm a father. a husband. all families want to be safe, and they need to know that their air is clean and their water is safe to drink. >> reporter: today the country's top environmental official, here personally trying to reassure parents. was it the correct call to tell people they could go back and end the evacuation? >> you know, the state made that declaration in concert with both governors in pennsylvania and ohio. the state made the right call based on the data that we have. >> reporter: officials promising to expand environmental testing to areas further from the crash site, and urging residents to seek medical attention if they are feeling ill. norfolk southern, the train operator, telling the community we will not walk away, posting an open letter after saying it feared for its employees

safety if they attended a recent town hall meeting. the company is facing demands for more accountability. >> they need to be here in the community, and they need to be answering questions. >> reporter: another of norfolk southern's trains derailed this morning in michigan. no hazardous materials aboard, no injuries, the company said. meanwhile, in ohio, residents keep a stockpile of bottled water and worry. >> when you're saying it's okay, but don't drink the water, use bottled water, that doesn't make sense. >> you know, ron, lots of assurances. but residents there don't seem to trust what they're being told. >> exactly. and officials here say they're being transparent and posting as much information as they can online, like test results. but at the same time, we talked to residents who say they want more independent experts here, not just government officials and politicians involved. lester? >> ron allen in ohio, thank you. tonight senator john fetterman's office says the pennsylvania democrat has checked himself into walter reed national military medical center for treatment of clinical depression.

fetterman is still recovering from a stroke and was hospitalized last week after feeling light-headed. let's turn to that georgia grand jury investigating former president trump's attempts to overturn his election loss there. parts of its report saying some witnesses may have lied. blayne alexander has more. >> reporter: tonight in georgia, a special grand jury investigating former president trump and his allies regarding the 2020 election says one or more witnesses may have lied under oath and the jury recommends indictment. the report only partially public out of fairness to future defendants, the judge says. all of it stemming from this phone call to georgia's republican secretary of state. >> i just want to find 11,780 votes. >> reporter: that launched a sweeping criminal investigation into whether he and his allies broke the law while trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in georgia. jurors heard from 75

witnesses, though mr. trump's lawyers say he was never called to testify. leading the investigation, fulton county's democratic d.a. fani willis, who last year told us this. >> i don't care what status you've reached in life. if you come into my community and you commit a crime, you deserve to be held responsible. if he committed a crime in my jurisdiction, then it includes him. >> reporter: today the trump campaign calling the president's phone call perfect, saying the sections of the report do not even mention president trump's name, adding that the former president did absolutely nothing wrong. and the d.a. has said that her decision on potential charges is imminent. lester? >> blayne, thank you. tonight the threat of severe weather is a concern for tens of millions from the ohio valley to the south. al roker is tracking it all. what are we looking at here? >> well, lester, as you look to the north, you can see snow around the great lakes to the south. we've got heavy showers and thunderstorms. and in fact right now tornado watches into

this evening. as this line pushes to the east, it's going to bring heavy rain. we've also got 13 million people at risk for severe weather. and this enhanced area here from huntsville all the way down to hattiesburg, the risk of ef-2 tornadoes, nocturnal tornadoes twice as deadly. so we have to watch that carefully. also heavy rain right now from montgomery all the way up to knoxville. and as you move to the north, we're looking at heavy snow in northern maine, and lighter snow amounts from 2 to 4 inches into michigan. lester? >> al roker, thank you. police providing new insight about the man who shot and killed three students at michigan state university and wounded five others. officials say he was found with two handguns and a note. jesse kirsch has details. >> reporter: as police reveal new details about the alleged gunman's arsenal, tonight one michigan state university assistant professor sharing his harrowing account from inside berkey hall. >> even while you're hearing the shots, you think this is not, this is not real. >> reporter: marco diaz munoz says anthony mcrae started shooting at his

students, essentially boxed in by rows of theater-like seating. he remembers one student's anguish. >> he is saying "i don't want to die, i don't want to die, i cannot breathe". >> reporter: diaz munoz says 19-year-old arielle anderson and alexandria verner were also in that class, shooting as he killed as mcrae fired recently, killing seven students in that room alone. >> i'm haunted because i didn't know what to do. i didn't know whether to lift their bodies. there was so much blood. >> reporter: why are you willing to be reliving this right now? >> because i think the public needs to know the horror i saw. >> reporter: that call for change as tonight police say msu may not have been the only target. police confirming the suspect had a note threatening other locations, including a church and a warehouse where he once worked. police also revealing mcrae was armed with two 9 millimeter handguns he purchased legally, plus eight fully loaded magazines and 50 additional rounds of ammunition. tonight there is also positive news here.

official says one of the five critically injured michigan state students has been upgraded to stable condition. lester? >> jesse kirsch, thank you for the update. tonight a side to the war in ukraine we rarely see. the impact on schools on the front lines. richard engel made his way to one school, where children and teachers are persevering against the odds. >> reporter: russia launched more deadly rocket attacks today. they're tearing eastern ukraine apart. and i wondered, what it's like to be a child after a year of this. so we're on our way to a surprisingly rare place, a school. education in ukraine is now online. but out here by the front line, there is no internet. so the children still left huddle together to learn. so we were planning to take this road and this bridge this morning until we got here and realized there is no bridge anymore. this is one thing they do not show you on

google maps. >> reporter: but they're not easy to find. many villages look abandoned. so this is the school. they've asked us not to film it from the outside so we don't expose their location. they're that worried that if the russians knew where children are, that they would be targeted and destroyed. and the russians have bombed many hospitals, many places where vulnerable people are. oh, all the children are coming to attention like i'm the teacher! hello! >> hello. >> reporter: hello, how you? miss darina is the only teacher. here there is heat and friends. but the fighting is always on their minds. darya is 9. "last night there was shelling very close to our house. i was in bed and very scared," she says. >> reporter: when you hear the shooting and you hear the explosions, what do

you do? do you cover your ears? do you think about something else? "i close my ears and lay in the bed like this," she says. "i close my eyes and go under the blanket to protect myself if there is any shrapnel. sometimes i go under the bed." >> reporter: do you have enough food now? >> yes. >> reporter: "yes, when the humanitarian aid comes, there is canned meat or rice. and it's enough for us" she says. das is 10. what do you miss most about peace? >> i miss my cousin. he is in poland now. is he your best friend? "he's my best brother." >> reporter: 4.5 million ukrainian children have been displaced, half of them taken out of the country. those who stayed are being raised underground. what's it like to be a child in ukraine right now? "i feel so sorry for our kids," she says. "kids run and play. our kids have to hide in the basement all the time."

>> reporter: who here wants this war to end very quickly? yeah. both hands up. both hands up, yeah. yeah. all right. thank you very much. for so many children in the most war-torn parts of ukraine, these hidden schools are the only oasis. lester? >> richard engel, thank you for that. in 60 seconds, hundreds of thousands of cars recalled by tesla. the potential problem behind it. and the growing shortage of a drug that children and adults rely on to treat adhd. please stay with us. clez it's an entire trading experience. with innovation that lets you customize interfaces, charts and orders to your style of trading. personalized education to expand your perspective. and a dedicated trade desk of expert-level support. that will push you to be even better.

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to the use of the word "recall," but the company agreed to issue one out of an abundance of caution. also, there is a nationwide shortage of a critical drug used to treat adhd, and it's getting worse. prescriptions for adderall and similar drugs have soared in recent years, but supplies aren't keeping up. let's get more from tom costello. >> reporter: for adults and children who need it, adderall, other adhd meds and all the generics can make all the difference in concentrating, multitasking, and lowering overall stress. but today millions of americans can't fill their prescriptions amid a nationwide shortage. >> it's very hard to concentrate and remember things. >> reporter: near san francisco, single mom lisa javaheri and her doctor have been struggling to find pharmacies with the adderall that both lisa and her 14-year-old son rely on. >> i'm kind of thinking of rationing now. but i don't know how that's going to affect myself as well as my son. he is more important. so i'd rather not

ration him. >> reporter: adderall and similar meds have officially been in short supply for nearly six months. >> i've been practicing medicine for 25 years. there's never been a shortage like this. >> reporter: 97% of community pharmacists report a shortage. teva pharmaceuticals, the prime supplier of adderall says manufacturing problems are mostly resolved, but the demand has jumped dramatically. u.s. prescriptions more than doubled in the past 12 years, with a big surge during the pandemic when doctors were seeing patients remotely. because adderall can be abused, the dea sets strict production quotas. >> it's almost similar to trying to stop drunk driving by not allowing the sell of cars. people who need these medications no longer have access to these because of these quotas. >> reporter: the dea says most manufacturers have plenty of supply and have not fully hit their supply quota for three years. but clearly, demand seems to be outstripping supply right now. lester? >> all right, tom,

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update from his family about his health. in a statement late today, they said "bruce's condition has progressed, and we now have a more specific diagnosis, frontotemporal dementia, known as ftd." >> welcome to the party, pal! >> reporter: known for his "die-hard" action movies and thrillers like "sixth sense". >> how often do you see them? >> reporter: last year, willis' family revealed he was diagnosed with aphasia, that affected his ability to remember his lines, and the 67-year-old was stepping away from acting to focus on his health. >> it's not a motorcycle, baby. it's a chopper. come on. >> reporter: but they call what he is facing now a cruel disease. doctors say frontotemporal dementia is the most common form of dementia for people under 60. >> somebody might have trouble either generating language or understanding spoken or written language. what we see are problems with executive functioning. and those are things like reasoning, judgment. >> reporter: medical

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and a hall of famer in the broadcasting booth. harry smith now on the legendary tim mccarver. >> reporter: tim mccarver was a very good baseball player. not hall of fame great, but essential, durable, and smart. he was the favorite catcher of two hall of fame pitchers. the cardinals' intimidating bob gibson, and the phillies phenom steve carlton. mccarver loved the game. >> the culmination of everything that you've ever dreamed of as far as baseball is concerned. that's what it's all about. people say they're nervous. there is really no need to be nervous. it's more fun. you like to capture those moments forever. >> good evening, everyone. i'm tim mccarver. >> reporter: it was as a broadcaster, though, that earned mccarver his place in the baseball hall of fame. he teamed with joe buck on fox for 18 memorable seasons. the emmy-winning analyst was too inside baseball for some. but his diligent dissection of data and player habits made him seem downright prescient.

>> here we are after 18 wonderful years together. >> reporter: tim mccarver was 81. harry smith, nbc news, new york. and that's "nightly news" for this thursday. thank you for watching, everyone. i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night. >> the throw. you didn't choose cat allergies. your hairline. or that thing where your knee just gives out for no reason. but... you can choose your doctor who will care for all the things you didn't choose. kaiser permanente for all that is you.

we have some work here to do in oakland. and public safety is our number one issue. >> coming to the fired police chief defense. prominent community leaders are calling for accountability. and talking about what's next for oakland. good afternoon. i'm audrey asisio. we'll hear from more of those community members in oakland in just a minute. we're also tracking several developing stories right now. including new details. let me show you here.

i