Lester Holt To Anchor ‘NBC Nightly News’ From Alaska To Spotlight U.S. Missile Defense Amid Tensions With China And Russia

Lester Holt is taking NBC Nightly News to Alaska next week for a special broadcast that will focus on the U.S. defense against foreign aircraft and missile threats amid tensions with Russia and China.

Holt will anchor the broadcast from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage on Monday, and he will travel to a U.S. Air Force early warning radar site on the Aleutian Islands.

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U.S. defense tracking was in the spotlight earlier this year with the Chinese spy balloon, and Holt will interview commander General Glen VanHerck, commander of United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, about the incident and other issues on Thursday’s broadcast. According to NBC News, VanHerck told Holt “the environment that we are seeing is the most dynamic and challenging that I’ve seen in my 36 years of service.”

Holt also will talk about his experience living in Anchorage, where his father was stationed while serving in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War.

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