on the broadcast tonight, whiplash on wall street. another scary ride for americans with money in the market. what's causing this and where is it all going? the tough job of getting americans back to work. new evidence tonight of just where we stand. the road back. tom brokaw reports tonight on americans on the unemployment lines, after sacrificing so much on the front lines. and having a ball. a big day for everyone who loves lucy. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening.

i'm lester holt in tonight for brian. watching the steep rises and falls of stock prices today was not for the feint of heart, especially after yesterday's 513 point free fall of the dow. but for all of the drama, and there was lots of it, the market finished today largely flat. the dow gained 61 points. the nasdaq lost 24. and the s&p was down about a point. but take a look at how we got there. after that big drop yesterday, on a strong start today, the dow bounced up and down across a 416 point range. not easy to watch, especially for all those americans who saw a huge chunk of their nest eggs vanish this week amid global debt concerns. those concerns were still very much at work today, along with some news about the american job picture. we're covering it all here tonight starting again at the new york stock exchange with cnbc's maria bartiromo. maria, good evening. >> reporter: the dow jones industrial average this week was down 7%, the worst week since the financial crisis of 2008.

it has wiped $2.5 trillion of value out of global stocks and it has struck fear in the hearts of investors, large and small. a wild end to a rough week on wall street as buyers flooded the market early on word that the u.s. created 117,000 new jobs, sending the dow up 172 points. but fears about europe soon sent stocks hurdling back down, 245 points lower, until shares rose again. on news that italy might be getting a bailout from the european central bank. >> i would encourage everybody to stay calm and breathe deeply and really look into the economic fundamentals. >> reporter: but it may take more than that to soothe investors. >> we want to see corrections in our markets immediately. we want to see corrections in our economy immediately. and i think we have to understand it does take time to really get back to where we

should be. >> reporter: after thursday's sell-off, jack and herman halichi who own dan's sub shop outside l.a. are scared. >> here we go. very stressful. we were worried about our future, our investment, if we're ever going to be able to retire or not. >> reporter: and it is not just their own investments they worry about. >> the market tanks like now, we see our commercial customers, catering dropping. >> reporter: in atlanta, some investors are working hard to tune it all out. >> right now going to keep my eyes away from the stock market, the internet, looking at it, and hopefully it will go up later on. >> i'll worry about it in five years. >> $15 to buy. >> reporter: investment adviser kathy boyle says that's a bad idea, that while now is not the time to panic, it is also not the time to bury your head in the sand. >> none of us know really what is going to happen tomorrow. we think we do. we all have, unfortunately, have to predict the market. but really what we have to tell

people is you have to have a plan. >> reporter: lester, the mixed catalyst happens on tuesday, next week, when the federal reserve holds this regularly scheduled meeting. and the question is, will the fed bring up qe-3 or any kind of stimulus to support this fragile economy. back to you. >> maria, thanks. as you noted, debt problems in europe are at the heart of what's going on in the markets here at home. cnbc's michelle caruso-cabrera joins me now from frankfurt. michelle, what is going on over there that is causing so much trouble? >> reporter: well, lester, many americans will remember the terrible financial crisis in the united states in the fall of 2008. what could potentially happen in europe is of the same size and scale. our crisis was caused by too many banks writing too many bad mortgages. here in europe, it is caused by the government's having made way too many promises to their people that they just don't have the money to pay for anymore.

the reason it matters to the united states. when you add up all the countries in europe, collectively, this economy is even bigger than the united states. and if it goes into full scale crisis, it is going to have ripple effects all over the world because the global economy is so connected. back to you, lester. >> michelle caruso-cabrera in frankfurt this evening, thank you. before the stock market opened this morning, we got the job numbers for july. there was a lot riding on them and they came in better than expected. employers added 117,000 jobs to their payrolls. the unemployment rate ticked down to a tenth of a point to 9.1%. nbc's john yang has more on what the numbers are telling us tonight. >> reporter: in washington, president obama celebrated the strongest jobs report in four months. but he also acknowledged the more than 20 million americans who can't find full time jobs. >> we are going to get through this. things will get better. and we're going to get there together. >> reporter: analysts say getting there could take time. today's report paints a picture

of a jobs market with no clear direction or momentum. >> we just move forward in fits and starts. one minute we get a good, strong patch going and then something brings us down. >> reporter: among july's bright spots, retailers who added 26,000 jobs as foreign tourists are drawn by the cheap dollar. and manufacturing showed strength, creating 24,000 new jobs for a total of 289,000 new hires since december 2009 when the recession was hitting hardest. in chicago, midland metal products, a 90-year-old maker of store displays, is hiring again. the company is currently in the market for experienced machine operators, but fourth generation owner suzanne mcdonald says she's having a hard time finding them. >> we right now are running ads in three newspapers and on craigslist. we have had very few applications or resumes. >> reporter: brian was hired in april after an eight-month job search, even though he's still

in college. >> they're looking for someone right away, and i happened to be there when they needed me, so they hired me right away. >> reporter: but for every new worker like brian, there are many more still looking for work. analysts say their numbers could increase as troubles in the financial industry point to looming layoffs. >> it is the toughest jobs recovery in the post war period without a doubt. >> reporter: and there are no signs that it is likely to get any better anytime soon. john yang, nbc news, new york. we turn now to the weather and the heat wave that seems like it will never end. temperatures reached well above 100 degrees today from oklahoma city to dallas to shreveport and valdosta. and the huge part of the central and southern u.s. has been coping with 100 degree temperatures for the past 24 days straight. life has to go on, but it is not easy, especially for the young and elderly. here's nbc's janet shamlian. >> reporter: high school football, up against a punishing

opponent, unrelenting triple digit heat. at st. john's school in houston, they're on defense. >> when they're tired, you're not going to get anything out of them anyway. so it is time to get them out, let them get a sip of water, get somebody else in there and work the drill. >> reporter: in georgia, a solemn memorial for a football player who died after collapsing at practice. doctors say 16-year-old forest jones was a victim of heat stroke. >> just walking around, checking on seniors to make sure they're all right. >> reporter: in baltimore, volunteers are checking in on the elderly, with the heat wave now in its second month. >> this is just unprecedented. according to noaa, we set nearly 9,000 heat related records in the month of july, including several all time records for any month. >> reporter: in dallas, an elderly woman died after her air conditioning unit was stolen. her son says he found her unconscious in her stifling home. dallas police say reports of similar thefts are coming in now every day and that thiefs are

just ripping these units right out of people's windows. there was rain, but it came in the form of unwanted flash flooding in charlotte, where children had to be rescued from an apartment and drivers from their trapped cars, one person was killed. cell phone video shows rain water flooding into a hotel lobby near the airport. back in the frying pan, cooling centers have opened, but the problem is most close at sundown, when the temperature is often still in triple digits. janet shamlian, nbc news, houston. overseas now, this has been one of the bloodiest, most violent weeks yet in syria, where despite international condemnation, the ruling regime has continued an intensified crackdown against anti-government protesters in the city of hama. nbc's martin fletcher has our report on syrians under siege. >> reporter: with foreign journalists banned, local media muzzled, this is what the syrian government does not want the world to know.

it is the sixth day of a syrian army assault against a town of hama. water, electricity, internet and phones cut. tanks in the city center. 13 people shot dead today, activists say. with reporters unable to work, these pictures are from protesters' cell phones, showing bodies dumped in the river. around 2,000 citizens killed since march. troops arresting people, more than 15,000 dissidents jailed according to human rights watch. but the syrian government is fighting back with pictures too, saying it is fighting against protesters with guns. it calls them armed terrorists. whose pictures to believe? america has decided. >> president assad has lost his legitimacy to govern the syrian people. >> reporter: across syria today, tens of thousands of syrians rallied in support of the towns people of hama, calling on their president, assad, leave.

no sign of that so far. martin fletcher, nbc news, london. and there was more heart breaking news tonight from the horn of africa, where children and families are suffering through the worst drought and famine in decades. today, trucks loaded with desperately needed food were looted in the capital of mogadishu in a fight that turned deadly. the situation at the only children's hospital in the capital is dire. as we hear tonight from chief foreign correspondent richard engel, we caution you the images in his report are disturbing. >> reporter: it may be safer now not to come to mogadishu's hospital. amid the famine and war, disease is spreading. they already suffer malnutrition, now there is a cholera outbreak at the hospital. these two children are wasting away. i came because my kids have diarrhea, she said. i think it is from the hunger. the patients are given iv drips, but they can't hold the fluids.

this is where new arrivals come at the only hospital for children in mogadishu. there is no running water, no electricity, no operating room or toilets even, yet people still come here, looking for medical help. 11 days ago, halima arrived at this hospital, after traveling 120 miles to get here. she survived the journey, looking strong, taking care of her children. but the green and yellow dress she wore then, today wrapped her body. she contracted cholera in the hospital. she died last night. but what may be most tragic of all, the famine here is largely man made. somalia is a failed state and a war zone. peacekeepers from uganda and burundi are fighting to drive out al qaeda-backed militants called al shabab. the militants control half the country. we visited the peacekeepers' front line positions where gunfire is so regular, the commanders hardly notice it anymore. where are the shabab right now? >> the shabab is 15 meters.

>> reporter: 15 meters behind this building. >> yes. no problem. >> reporter: there are only 9,000 african peacekeepers here. they're poorly equipped. they can't stop al shabab, let alone the famine. mogadishu on the indian ocean was already on the edge of disaster. the drought just pushed it over. richard engel, nbc news, mogadishu. there is more to tell you about tonight when we come back. tom brokaw with a story of an emotional struggle for many of america's returning heroes. they did their jobs on the front lines, but now they can't find jobs here at home. and later, an american legend, no wonder we loved her, and 100 years later, we still do.

our incredible servicemen and women need to know that america values them, not simply for what they can do in uniform, but for what they can do when they come home. >> even as a nation got the latest news about jobs, president obama announced a big new push to find jobs for america's men and women in uniform who often find themselves coming home from the front lines, only to wind up on the unemployment line. one such veteran is part of an extraordinary documentary by tom brokaw that airs this weekend called "the road back." tom has been reporting on this man for nine years now and tonight shares a soldier's story. >> reporter: four months before the war began, i first met staff sergeant charles weaver at his army base at ft. stewart, georgia. he was training his mortar squad with a growing sense of mission, because the promise of conflict with iraq was in the air. do you ever allow yourself to

think that i might get hurt or i may not come back? >> of course. >> reporter: his wife dawn, a special ed teacher, shared those fears. >> what happens if i do lose him? what am i going to do? how am i going to mentally prepare myself and how do i explain that to my kids? >> reporter: march 19, 2003, the u.s. attacked baghdad with a massive force, to shock and awe saddam hussein into submission. the fighting became intense as weaver and his unit waged the battle for baghdad. when it came time to pull the trigger, no hesitation. >> no hesitation. pulled the trigger. >> reporter: in august, 2003, he returned home to his base and family. but in the years after he got home, weaver was a changed man, physically and mentally, wrestling with injury, sickness, and the stress of combat. did you lose some friends? >> yeah, i did.

so -- >> reporter: and since leaving the military, weaver has been fighting the great recession. >> i've been retired for a year. i'm still looking for work. >> reporter: weaver's military pension barely covers the mortgage payments on his modest small town home. you think the country owes you something now? >> the only thing i think is owed to me is the opportunity to go to work for somebody and prove to them that somebody coming from the military has a lot to offer. >> reporter: in small towns across america, like here in big timber, montana, where they post the name of every young man and every young woman in this county serving in the military on signs on main street, they know what these returning veterans are going through. but nationally the unemployment rate for returning veterans is 13% and for younger returning veterans, it is as high as 27%. lester? >> thanks, tom. this special edition of "dateline: the road back" premieres sunday at 7:00, 6:00 central here on nbc.

and one other note about america's servicemen and women, the pentagon today announced that after a decade of grueling combat deployments often back to back, the army has decided to reduce the length of war zone deployments from the usual one year to nine months. in addition, the army will increase the amount of time spent back home between deployments. up next here tonight, one of the greatest shows on earth, it is from deep inside the earth itself.

in new orleans today, a federal jury found five current and former police officers guilty in one of the ugliest incidents just days after hurricane katrina, when two unarmed civilians were killed and four seriously wounded in the chaos of the danziger bridge. the officers were convicted of the unjustified shooting of civilians, and of orchestrating a massive cover-up afterwards. some chilling videotape is out tonight, a brazen shooting on a philadelphia bus full of passengers. there apparently had been an argument on the bus between two passengers, one called her friends and as a surveillance tape made public in court shows, her friends appear to open fire and the bus driver then did his best to get away as quickly as

possible. miraculously nobody was injured. the space shuttle program may be over, but nasa is still sending rockets into the final frontier. the unmanned juno spacecraft blasted off from cape canaveral air force station today on its way to jupiter. it will be a long trip, 400 million miles, and juno is expected to settle into jupiter's orbit in july 2016 to study the huge planet's structure, magnetic field and atmosphere. and this may look like something from another planet but it is hawaii's kilauea volcano which has been very active in recent weeks. today, part of its crater collapsed more than 250 feet. that led to some big lava flows and part of the volcano national park had to be closed as a result. when we come back, a reason to celebrate all the reasons we love lucy.

finally tonight, a big day for a woman so many people loved, lucille ball, one of the funniest women ever and a shrewd businesswoman besides would have been 100 years old tomorrow. to celebrate her centennial, the hollywood museum in los angeles is taking a look back at the extraordinary life of a woman many considered a genius, even if it took hollywood years to realize it. nbc's lee cowan reports. >> it's just like candy. >> reporter: she was so good at cracking jokes, most people forget that it was lucille ball's good looks that got her foot in the door. the mousey brunette first made her mark in hollywood as a blonde bombshell. it wasn't until max factor got a hold of her in this very room that she became america's

favorite red head. >> she's just lucille ball. she's a legend. you say her name, you just feel good. >> lucille ball. >> reporter: loveable lucy would be 100 years old tomorrow. hollywood is rolling out the red carpet, not only for lucy, but for her emmy-winning sitcom too. >> we're trying real hard, we're going to keep it up. >> reporter: she did. "i love lucy" is still in reruns and it turns 60 this year. >> you know, when someone said, you have a lot of explaining to do, we all know immediately what you're referring to. >> reporter: the collection of posters, costumes and behind the scenes moments is a fitting tribute, her daughter says, to both a clown and a pioneer. >> 60 years later, the little show she was hoping would be nice home movies in case it was a flop brought so much joy and so much healing to a planet. >> oh, shut up. >> reporter: tv immortalized her as the happy housewife, married on the show and in real life to a once unknown cuban band leader named desi arnaz.

>> truly, without desi arnaz, there wouldn't be a desilu and there wouldn't be an "i love lucy". >> reporter: it is also true a woman with a talent for timing made 40 films on her own before she ever met ricky ricardo. >> the house of millbanks is always open to you. >> reporter: but it is the humor that we'll all remember. as funny today as she ever was. >> what were you doing with that under your shirt? >> trying to hatch him? >> reporter: the medium that goes by in a flash, everybody still loves lucy. lee cowan, nbc news, hollywood. that's our broadcast for this friday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt in tonight for brian. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and right back here tomorrow evening. good night, everyone. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

happening right now, a first in history for the u.s. credit rating. a major downgrade. good evening, everyone, i'm j jenelle wang. >> we learned standard & poor downgraded the u.s. credit rating from aaa held by the u.s. over 70 years to a aa-plus. scott budman is here with the breakdown. first time in history we're talking about. there have been warnings this could happen. what does this aa-plus mean to you and