sporting events. it's known as the escape from alcatraz triathlon. they swam a half mile off the ferry boat to the shore and bike 18 miles and finally end with an eight-mile run through the city. participants came from more than 34 country. we'll see you tonight at 6:00. a deadly day as israeli troops fire across the border with syria. while in yemen jubilation over the departure of the president. and, sign of the times. why this gleaming new school still has no students. when bright ideas run into still has no students. when bright ideas run into budget realities. captions paid for by nbc-universal television from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with

lester holt. >> good evening. the spring of our discontent which has already brought us the worst tornado season in recent memory is now adding fire, heat and still more flooding to the mix. in arizona, a wildfire already that state's third biggest ever, has burned over 200 square miles and continues to grow. in the upper midwest it's water that has tens of thousands of people on the move. a flood emergency affecting more than a half dozen states tonight. and then there is the record heat. 90s, even triple digit temperatures baking spring flowers and breaking records in at least 25 cities today. we've got it all covered tonight. we begin with nbc's janet shamlian. >> reporter: a major wildfire in arizona. fueled by high temperatures and gusty winds is sending smoke as far as new mexico and southern colorado. some 1,300 firefighters from across the country are battling the blaze which has ravaged more than 140,000 acres.

>> the column that's up in the air the last few days has been in excess of 30,000 feet. when you have something that large with that much heat, it kind of generates its own weather. >> reporter: the heat is on across much of the nation's south and midsection. >> you are not looking cute right now. you are looking so hot. >> reporter: temperatures running 15 degrees above normal. >> definitely struggling. >> reporter: feeling more like deep summer than late spring. a number of new records this weekend. 100 degrees in tyler, texas. 100 in new orleans. 100 in jackson, mississippi. 102 in pensacola. >> temperatures right now feel more like the mid to latter part of july with temperatures even in the north rising into the mid and upper 90s. this is catching a lot of folks off guard. >> reporter: in chicago a half marathon was stopped mid-race as heat and humidity sent a dozen runners to the emergency room. one man who collapsed later died. >> how you doing, sir? >> reporter: in houston a blistering 102 degrees today, shattering a record set more

than 30 years ago. >> ridiculous. why does the other part of the country have all this rain, too much water and we don't have any? >> reporter: with texas stuck in one of the worst droughts on record, public fountains have become neighborhood cooling centers. an early plunge into a summerlike heat wave. in what has been a season of extremes. forecasters say the heat and humidity could now spawn violent thunderstorms in a season that's already shown us so much severe weather. and, lester, tonight it's not just the nation's midsection and south. northern california is dealing with unusually heavy and perhaps record setting amounts of rain. back to you, lester. >> janet, thank you. as summerlike weather bakes part of the country, in the upper midwest folks are dealing with the remnants of a tough winter. the army corps of engineers is opening the flood gates along the missouri river because of record rain and snowfall. and it could mean severe flooding for thousands. nbc's miguel almaguer is watching the drama unfold in pierre, south dakota.

he joins us now with the latest from there. miguel? >> reporter: lester, good evening. with the missouri river swollen it's a battle for feet and in some communities, inches. here in south dakota homes sit along the river's edge. but tonight these sandbags may not be enough to keep the water back. as the missouri river rises, so does the concern. for more than a week, many have tried to fortify their homes. but tonight thousands have been ordered to leave. mass evacuations across the upper midwest as the river threatens to topple levees and burst banks. in south dakota, eric nordstrom has lived along the river with his family for more than a decade. tonight, he's ready to walk away. >> it's just a house. it's not a home anymore. it's just a house. we moved out about a week ago and went elsewhere. >> reporter: with the missouri river running nearly 2,400 miles long, seven midwest states are under a flood emergency.

the massive flow of water controlled by six dams. every release adding more pressure to communities down river. but the reservoirs are nearly full. there's too much water to hold back. the army corps of engineers, blamed for waiting too long to release the excess flow. >> mother nature really put a significant event to us. there's no way you can really plan for a rainfall of that magnitude. >> reporter: with the river rising every day, 180 miles of the missouri is shut down. the water too dangerous to navigate. the national guard is being called in. >> what we're doing is securing the city infrastructure, building up levees where needed. >> reporter: but the river may not crest for weeks and evacuations could last months. for eric nordstrom, a slow motion disaster moving closer and closer to his home. >> we've shed our tears and said good-bye to the house. if there's nothing there when we come back, we'll just build somewhere else.

>> reporter: tomorrow and tuesday will be critical days here along the missouri. the army corps of engineers say they'll increase the flow coming from local dams. it's a move they say they have to make. many people here along the river, lester, just hope the levees hold. >> miguel almaguer tonight, thank you. overseas arabs mark this day as the setback. their defeat by israel in the 1967 middle east war. and to mark the occasion, palestinian activists tried to break through the border today between syria and the israeli controlled golan heights. israel ended up firing across the border, killing at least 14 people. we get more tonight from john ray of our british partner, itn. >> reporter: israel had promised to defend its disputed border with determination and restraint. it soon became clear that meant firing on apparently unarmed protesters. they were pinned down, trying to breach israeli razor wire and a deep trench. the injured hauled back up steep slopes into syria.

an angry and bloody standoff that continued as casualties on the arab side mounted. all afternoon this narrow valley has echoed to the sound of sporadic gunfire. coming from israeli forces in the direction of protesters on the hillside. it's not clear whether these shots are in warning or whether they're targeted at people. this is the golan heights. territory annexed by israel in the six-day war. this attempted mass incursion was meant to mark the conflict's 44th anniversary. despite the death toll, israel's military insists its response was measured. >> we verbally warned them. we shot warning shots into the air. when this failed, we had to direct some fire to their feet in order to try and protect our fence. this is the border fence between israel and syria. >> reporter: there were more clashes across the occupied west bank.

palestinian organizers bill this as a day of rage against land lost to israel. they'd said the demonstrations would be peaceful. what we're seeing from the palestinians today is a real effort to employ the tactics of the arab spring, a mass marching in peace to try to win over world opinion as they try to make their case for a palestinian state. lester? >> john ray in the golan heights for us, thanks. we're also following the developing situation in yemen, whose embattled president underwent surgery today in saudi arabia for injuries suffered in a rocket attack on his compound. nbc's stephanie gosk has our report from there. >> reporter: thousands of yemenis celebrated president ali abdullah saleh's sudden and unexpected departure. but despite the obvious joy, many of these protesters are aware that victory is still not entirely theirs.

this is not the end of the revolution. we will continue our struggle until we achieve all our goals, says a spokesman for the demonstrators. officials say saleh was flown to saudi arabia to receive specialized medical care after being injured by a rocket attack on friday. the president and some of his top advisers were praying in this mosque when it was hit. this is the aftermath of what the government calls a brazen attempt at a coup d'etat. there were reports the leader underwent surgery in riyadh today to remove shrapnel from his chest, but there's still no official word on his condition. many hope the president who's ruled yemen as a dictator for 33 years will not come back, stepping aside for a peaceful transition. but they also fear what might happen if he does return. >> i think if saleh returns, there's a strong chance that civil war will take place in yemen. and yemen will see a war that will last for many, many, many years.

>> reporter: for the moment, a rival tribe blamed for the attack on the president has accepted a cease-fire in the capital. but in yemen's second largest city, taiz, the violence continues. unconfirmed reports say anti-government forces attacked the presidential compound. despite the threat of a bloody civil war, a spokesman for the government said that saleh, when he's healthy, is going to return to yemen as president. it was a message that people celebrating in the streets today chose to ignore. lester? >> stephanie gosk from tripoli tonight. john harwood is cnbc's chief washington correspondent. he's at the white house tonight. john, the u.s. has a big interest in yemen and what's going on there. how is all this being read in washington? >> reporter: lester, the focus of american policy in yemen has been counterterrorism. white house officials are glad that president saleh is gone. don't expect him to come back. because he had become a liability in that fight. but one official i spoke with this evening was candid in saying, we don't know what comes next and when. institutions in the country are

weak. and there is some urgency about helping a new governing coalition take shape before al qaeda is strengthened because, as one former ambassador to yemen put it recently, time is our adversary, not our ally, lester. >> john, thanks. there's one more item from the region. an update tonight on the libyan woman who gained worldwide attention after claiming she was raped by moammar gadhafi's troops. when the woman burst into a hotel in tripoli to tell reporters her story, government handlers dragged her away. she went to tunisia, then qatar and wound up back in libya last week. tonight nbc's andrea mitchell reports that the u.s. state department helped her leave libya today on a united nation's flight for malta. she will stay in europe for now. the state department says the u.s. will provide whatever help she needs. an update tonight on that e. coli outbreak in europe. officials say initial tests have confirmed that bean sprouts and other sprout varieties grown in northern germany are the likely cause for the outbreak that's now killed 22 people and made

more than 2,000 sick. last night we led our broadcast with an important development in treating breast cancer. tonight more promising news to report. researchers said two new drugs can extend survival in patients with advanced melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. the lead investigator for one of the drugs said it made an unprecedented level of difference for those who received it. the findings were presented at a meeting of the american society of clinical oncology in chicago. in paris today, one of the classic rivalries in tennis played out once again at the french open. it was rafael nadal against roger federer. in the men's final. while federer came back from a two-set deficit, it was nadal who ultimately prevailed as he has so many times on clay. nadal is tied for the record of six french open titles, boosting his own records to ten grand slams overall, and proving once again just why he is ranked number one in the world. when "nbc nightly news"

continues on this sunday, it seemed like a solution to overcrowded classrooms. a brand-new $100 million school. so now that it's built, why can't it open? later, making a difference in the fight against childhood obesity.

a chaotic scene on new york's long island this weekend as high winds tossed around three of those bounce houses that kids like to play at. children were in the inflatable houses when the wind gusts hit, and more than a dozen people were sent to the hospital. one girl said she was almost strangled when a rope caught her neck. for some kids, this is going to be a tough summer as cities and states struggle with painful

budget cuts that may close parks and pools. and come fall will keep a brand-new school in california from opening. the story tonight from nbc's tom llamas. >> reporter: at the foot of the lake hills in southern california sits a new school and a new problem. there's enough money to build hillcrest high, but not enough to staff it or run it. >> just on the other side of this building is a six-classroom building that is designed for flex technology labs. >> reporter: four years ago, voters approved construction. then came the recession which crippled education funding. now this $100 million state of the art school in a district with overcrowded classrooms could stay empty for two years. >> it's not a case of a mistake. it's not a case of somebody to blame. if you want to blame something, then you look to the economy. >> reporter: the school district says they're going to save $3 million by not opening the school. but it's still going to cost them $1 million to maintain the facilities like this football field. >> when you drive by this

school, it's a reminder, it's a visual picture of what's going wrong in california today and our inability to fund our public schools and our services and serve our students. >> reporter: all over the country, local and state governments are showing the lag between recovery and reality. increased tax collection takes time. and 80% of cities say it will be tougher to meet needs in 2011 than in 2010. >> state and local governments across this country kept spending in a recession as if there were economic growth taking place. they're finally beginning to look down now and realize there's nothing beneath them. >> reporter: several cities like prattville, alabama, are closing pools before summer even starts. >> i would like to urge them to look at other areas to cut. >> reporter: finding the right job on the web or getting lost in a good book will be harder in cities taking money from nonessential services like libraries. >> it's a travesty to cut the hours and have those people not have anywhere to go. >> reporter: in california, state parks are struggling to stay open. others will close in definitely.

economists say encouraging economic signs in the manufacturing and service sectors will take one to two years to reach local government. at hillcrest high, they crunch the numbers every month, hoping soon to ring that morning bell for the first time. >> what we tell students is, you see the things that are happening to you and your family in the local economy right now. that's the same thing that's occurring to the school district and that's why we are in this situation. >> reporter: teaching a lesson in patience and economics. tom llamas, nbc news, riverside, california. we have an update now on prom night in shelton, connecticut. when all was said and done, james tate got to attend the prom last night with his date, sonali rodriguez. you'll recall the school barred him from the prom after he placed his invitation in big letters on the school wall. after widespread attention, the headmaster reversed that decision. in fact, tate and his date were prom king and queen. up next, 30 years ago today the start of an epidemic.

it was on this day 30 years ago that the centers for disease control reported on five otherwise healthy gay men who had developed a rare form of pneumonia. two of them had already died. it was the beginning of the aids crisis. today in this country alone, 56,000 people contract hiv each year. nbc's chief science correspondent robert bazell has covered the epidemic from the start and reports tonight on aids 30 years later. >> welcome to gay politics. >> reporter: nominated for five tonys, "the normal heart" is a broadway hit. it describes the early years of the aids epidemic. >> you can be gay. >> reporter: when there were a handful of cases and few people worried much about it. >> i'm trying to understand why nobody wants to hear that we're dying. >> reporter: the reading, of course, was on broadway. the play is an autobiographical account by larry cramer, widely regarded as the most influential aids activist. >> letter from the author. >> reporter: he still hands out leaflets outside the theater

urging action by those moved by the play. >> thank you so much. >> it still makes me cry a lot. because it represents a lot of people who died needlessly and who continue to die needlessly. >> reporter: after the first five cases in 1981 the numbers grew steadily. within a year there were more than 200. the centers for disease control tracked the spread, allowing nbc to report. >> the scientists say this probably means they are dealing with some new deadly sexually transmitted disease. >> reporter: today according to the u.n., 60 million have been infected and 30 million have died. originally thought to be limited to the gay population, the disease clearly was spread heterosexually, widely in africa, but throughout the world. >> i will have to retire. >> reporter: celebrities including magic johnson announced they were hiv positive, hoping to remove the stigma and raise money for research. the first good news came 15 years ago when the amazing results appeared with the drugs called protease inhibitors. not a cure.

but allowing many people to live long lives. what about a genuine cure or a vaccine? >> i can't tell you whether it's going to happen. but i can tell you that we're going to try. >> these are the medicines we are going to be taking. >> reporter: today millions around the world get the drugs. >> thank you. >> reporter: but still fewer than a third of those who could benefit receive them. a plague that once claimed dozens is still killing millions as researchers look for a cure. >> it was a real weeper, mama holding her son, and he's dead now. >> reporter: and activists keep the issue alive. robert bazell, nbc news, new york. we'll be back with our "making a difference" report right after this.

it's a well-documented, still growing problem. obesity among america's youngsters. tonight from washington, nbc's craig melvin reports on how one woman is tackling the problem and making a difference. >> reporter: for this group of seventh graders at the washington school for girls, getting down the precision and rhythm for their first step show is about more than just nailing a routine. >> all right, you guys ready? >> reporter: with every stomp, clap and chant there's the hope they'll start to reverse what's become a startling trend nationwide. >> good job, ladies. i like those smiles.

>> reporter: the waistlines of america's children have been growing for decades. the centers for disease control says nearly 20% of kids between 6 and 11 are obese. >> i was like, okay. >> reporter: when she's not coaching dr. yalandra hancock of children's national medical center is a pediatrician at a clinic specializing in obese children. >> diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, problems with joints. i have several patients that have presented with several of those issues as early as 7 years old. >> reporter: hancock was once an elementary schoolteacher. but when she started her step up to health program last year, she knew she could not use the classroom alone to change behaviors. drawing on her sorority days at ucla where she stepped and mentored, she decided to create a fitness sisterhood of sorts. in d.c., the need is great. 40% of young people in washington, d.c. are overweight or obese. experts say one of the major reasons is a lack of access to healthy food options.

like many low income areas there are not many places to get healthy food in this southeast washington neighborhood. there are just two grocery stores but lots of spots where the food is cheaper, faster and not very good for you. >> if it's much easier to choose the high dense, high calorie foods because of economic reasons, then it makes sense that that's what they're going to do. >> reporter: stepping helps the girls burn about 300 calories per workout. >> i exercise a lot. i don't feel like p.e. is like a punishment. >> reporter: but she also uses the time after school to teach the girls what to eat. there's even some taste testing. >> she taught me that carrots are good with peanut butter. because at first i did not eat carrots at all. >> reporter: making exercise and learning fun could be the crucial step in tackling america's childhood obesity epidemic. craig melvin, nbc news, washington. that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york