all right. and we've got more sunshine coming all week? >> yeah, nicest seven-day forecast. second half in the week could get close to 80. >> thank you, rob. nbc nightly news is nndtnd a a more local news at 6:00. on this sunday night, state of emergency. deadly twisters strike four states, more than 120 tornadoes in the heartland. hospital takes a direct hit, nearly an entire town gone and tonight, the danger is far from over. secret service scandal. agents supposed to be protecting the preside now under investigation. tonight the president weighs in. world stage. north korea's young leader shocks his nation and the world, speaking publicly for the first time. and 100 years later, a once thought unsinkable ship sank to the bottom of the sea, and tonight, they're looking back and looking ahead in the place where "titanic" was built.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> good evening. on the heels of last night's massive and deadly midwest tornado outbreak, all the ingredients are in place for more dangerous weather this evening. watches have been up since this afternoon for possible severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in areas stretching from arkansas northward to parts of minnesota. yesterday through dawn this morning, experts counted at least 122 reported tornadoes across four states. including one that killed five people in northwestern oklahoma, and injured more than two dozen. so potent was this system, government forecasters took the unusual step of warning of life-threatening conditions more than 24 hours in advance. a warning that may have saved countless lives. we have two reports. we begin tonight with nbc's jay

gray in the hard-hit town of woodward, oklahoma. jay, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. and this is the type of debris and devastation that stretches across the plains tonight. a hospital in iowa torn apart. a manufacturing plant in kansas. but this community, woodward, oklahoma, was the one that was dealt the most severe blow. >> coming right across the highway here. >> reporter: more than 100 tornadoes sliced through the central and southern plains. at one time, two funnels dropping from the clouds in bouse junction, oklahoma. the violent system blasted through nebraska, iowa and kansas, tearing everything in its path. >> everything's gone. everything we've worked for all our lives. >> reporter: the intensity of the storm was evident as it moved into oklahoma, shattering this barn and tossing it like an suc. >> call it like it is, it is becoming a killer tornado. >> reporter: as the afternoon continued, the assault continued.

the twisters tough to see in the dark, at times only revealed by a flash of lightning. the damage left behind, though, is clear and overwhelming in the light of day. >> just a devastating, frustrating thing. my, my. i'm almost at no words over it. i've never dealt with anything like this before. >> reporter: few in woodward, oklahoma, have. >> you could hear some people screaming down the road there. you could hear stuff crashing and breaking. it sounded horrible. >> reporter: five people in woodward were killed in the storm, including a father and his two young children who tried to ride it out in their mobile home. this is all that's left of their neighborhood. the loss overwhelmed this tight-knit community. adding to their grief the knowledge that warning sirens in the city were apparently damaged in a storm early saturday and did not sound as the deadly twister moved in. >> i've thought about that ever since i found out that we lost five people.

so i would think it would have helped, yes. >> reporter: help is something so many across the midwest need tonight. their lives splintered and scattered for miles. survivors left to search for hope and answers in all of this mess. the view from their front doors forever changed. back to that young family. the single father and two children who died, there was a third child, a toddler with life-threatening injuries rushed to a hospital in texas. no update on that child's condition tonight. the national weather service this evening ranking the storm here an ef-3. that means top winds 165 miles an hour. lester? >> jay gray tonight, starting us off, thanks. tonight we're getting our first look at the incredible scope of destruction in one western iowa town, where up to 90% of the homes and buildings are damaged. weather channel meteorologist jim cantore joins us now from thurman, iowa. jim, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. our tornado an ef-2, winds of

125 miles per hour. but some of the homes as you can see behind me, extensive damage. you can just go down any street here and see homes with damage to shingles or siding. this street this morning when we got here, we couldn't even get down because there was so much tree debris. some 900 volunteers out here today. that's three times the population of this down, doing a tremendous job in cleaning things up. all right, where do we go tonight? let's talk about this. we've still got a massive squall line stretching from minnesota all the way down into western tennessee. minneapolis, st. louis, little rock all under the gun. minneapolis with tornado to yo but we've only had four tornado reports so far. it's all about the heat tomorrow, lester. look at this in the northeast. boston, forecasting a high of 91 degrees. their average? 55. that's a bad thing. we've got the boston marathon tomorrow. 27,000 runners. that's the last thing they want is heat. so they're offering deferment to the 27,000 runners, because that is an awful health situation should they get there and try

and run in the heat, something that say once in a lifetime experience for many of them and something they train four to six months for. but nothing trains you for that kind of heat. >> jim cantore tonight, thanks. another big story tonight, a prostitution scandal involving agents and officers of the u.s. secret service, and members of the u.s. military who were part of the advance team for president obama's trip to the summit of the americas in colombia. tonight there's new fallout and president obama is weighing in for the first time on all of this. our white house correspondent kristen welker is in cartegena tonight with details. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, lester. the secret service has launched an internal investigation interviewing all 11 personnel involved, and placing them on administrative leave. it appears the fallout from this is just beginning. president obama for the first time addressing the secret service scandal that has embarrassed the agency and his administration.

>> if it turns out that some of the allegations that have been made in the press are confirmed, then of course i'll be angry. >> reporter: it happened on wednesday night here at the hotel caribe, a few minutes from where the president is staying. 11 special agents and uniformed officers, including two supervisors, allegedly brought prostitutes back to the hotel, where guests have to leave their i.d.s at the front desk. thursday morning, hotel managers realized one woman hadn't picked up her i.d. by checkout time. and found her in a room with an agent, fighting, after he failed to pay her. the hotel called local police, who alerted the u.s. embassy. ultimately it went all the way to the white house. the secret service members were sent home before the president arrived friday. five u.s. military members also assigned to protect the president during the trip, who may have also been involved, have been confined to their quarters in cartegena. prostitution is legal in parts of colombia, but it is a violation of the secret service

rules of conduct. in a statement the agency said, "the secret service demands more from its employees and these expectations are met and exceeded every day by the vast majority of our work force." members of congress say they will launch their own investigation. >> my committee, we're going to look into all the details of what happened here, to see whether there should be changes in procedures, to see whether or not something should have been noticed before. >> this is really the biggest scandal in the history of the secret service. >> reporter: ron kessler, who wrote "in the president's secret service" echoed the call for change in the agency. >> there say culture in the secret service that's fostered by the management of just nodding, winking, favoritism, corner-cutting. >> reporter: now, there is some policy news to report tonight. president obama announced that the u.s. and colombia will move forward with their free trade agreement. president obama was hoping to focus on his domestic agenda in

his campaign this week, but it appears as though this secret service investigation will continue to dominate headlines. lester? >> kristen welker, thank you. the obama administration also keeping a close eye today on afghanistan, where insurgents launched a deadly wave of attacks in the capital and beyond. the u.s. embassy was among the targets. tonight the fighting continued in kabul as security forces tried to overpower the insurgents a short time ago, we spoke with nbc's sohall uden. >> reporter: lester, these attacks raise questions once again about the competence of afghan security forces as they assume greater responsibility for keeping this country safe. there was the most spectacular attacks in kabul since last december. the taliban claimed responsibility, saying that this was the beginning of the spring offensive. the american, british and german embassies were attacked along with nato headquarters, a hotel, a supermarket and the parliament building just a short distance away.

large explosions were heard outside parliament, with reports of rockets being fired at the building. there were also attacks in three provinces surrounding kabul. the taliban said today's violence was in retaliation for the burning of the koran and other recent incidents involving u.s. military. afghan forces did fight back. the interior ministry said 17 insurgents were killed. one policeman was also killed and 17 wounded. and lester, the state department called today's attacks cowardly. it's alarming just how coordinated and sustained these attacks were on one of the most heavily guarded parts of the city. lester? >> sohall uden in kabul for us tonight. just 24 hours since a unanimous vote of the security council authorizing observers in syria, there are reports that the first u.n. monitors have arrived in damascus. the security council resolution also calls for an immediate end to violence and start of peace talks.

however, there are also reports of fresh violence by government troops in and around the city of homs, raising serious questions about a tentative cease-fire. we turn now to north korea, where today that country's young leader surprised his nation and the rest of the world speaking publicly for the first time, something his father did just once. we get the details from our chief foreign correspondent richle engel continuing his reporting from inside north korea. >> reporter: pyongyang's kim il-sung's square today looked like a rocket showroom. little ones, missiles on armored carriers, rockets with boosters, and these medium-range rockets. north korea embarrassingly lost a rocket when it crashed into the sea last friday. now it wants the world to know it has plenty in reserve. commanding this arsenal is this man, kim jong-un. around 30, his exact age disputed, today un made his first public speech.

it could be a sign of new openness. his father, kim jong-il, spoke in public only once for a single sentence. un promised to continue the military first policy and said superior military technology is no longer a monopoly of imperialists. north korea is a nuclear armed nation. u.s. officials believe north korea has about ten nuclear weapons. but they weren't displayed. instead, columns of armored vehicles were. parts of north korea may have little food, but the country has more than 1 million disciplined troops. marching, heels snapping, shouting to commemorate the birth of north korea's founder 100 years ago today. this is what totalitarianism looks like when it decides to throw a party. tanks, a little showbiz, and plenty of goose stepping to show people in lock step with their leader. female soldiers in skirts also

did the goose step two-step, as jets did fly-byes, legions of loyalists cheered on with bouquets of plastic flowers. this is a country where the state controls everything, where collective actions and collective thinking are prized. then at night a moment to relax. north koreans gathered by the daedong river to sing, and wait for a fireworks show. it even seemed spontaneous, so rare here. but when we spoke to a medical technician, her answers were all the same. praise for kim jong-un. it's not easy to speak openly with minders present. then the fireworks. as impressive as any in the world. north korea today wanted to show strength an modernity, but it has an odd way of doing it. richard engel, nbc news, pyongyang. still ahead as "nightly news" continues, cash mobs. friendly invasion of local

businesses lending neighbors a helping hand right when they need it the most. and later, a century of memories at the shipyard where the "titanic" was built.

we're back now with the sign of the times, a way of giving new life to this country's small businesses by encouraging people to shop locally. lots of people, all at once. they're called cash mobs. they're all about spending and socializing. nbc's michelle franzen has her story. >> reporter: a gaya d gaya de loretto's, a tiny brooklyn shop this weekend, a steady stream of customers

swelled into a crush of shoppers on a mission. >> thanks a lot. >> oh, my goodness. >> reporter: in about an hour, this organized group, or cash mob, spent more than $1,000. twice the business for d'la reto, on a normal day. >> today was like a christmas day for me here with the cash mob, so it's pretty, it's a pretty special opportunity to have. >> reporter: her store opened just a year ago, and was chosen by the group to highlight her products, all locally made. >> i like having that personal touch with the individual owners of the stores. >> reporter: the cash mob movement is a spin-off of the so-called flash mobs. ♪ doe, a deer, a female deer >> reporter: groups break out into spontaneous performances in public spaces. cash mobs started popping up last fall. one of the first in cleveland. and have spread nationwide. from this shop in south dakota -- >> i spent about $30 so far. >> reporter: -- to emery's five and dime store in knoxville, tennessee, a family-owned fixture since the '20s.

>> i used to come in here with my grandparents. i'd always find something i wanted. >> reporter: the idea, organizers say, is if you spend local, the money will stay local. >> i think cash mobs, especially now in this economy, when we're just trying to have a recovery, play an important role in helping people think about where their dollars go and how they can help support local merchants. >> reporter: dollars, and a sense of community that continues, for this cash mob, beyond the shopping spree. >> to the cash mob! >> reporter: michelle franzen, nbc news, brooklyn, new york. up next here tonight, education nation, teachers sounding the alarm tonight about an area of critical concern. plus cleveland rocks. adding some big names to the greatest of all-time.

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tonight marks the start of our nbc network wide initiative education nation, a national conversation about improving the state of education in america. it culminates with our annual

summit on rockefeller plaza here in new york in september. our chief education correspondent rehema ellis joins us now from this year's first big event, a teacher town hall in denver, in partnership with our nbc affiliate kusa. good evening. >> reporter: the goal of education nation this year is to showcase innovations in education and solutions. that's why we're here in denver. one area of critical concern is third grade literacy, and here's why. students who can't read by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school. for low-income families, the outlook can be even worse. that's because studies show before first grade, those children are often read to less than children from middle-class families. there is a controversial proposal now before the colorado state legislature that would create a personal reading plan for every student who is having trouble and make it more likely that kids are held back at the end of third grade if they have

poor reading skills. educators point out that up to third grade, children learn to read. after that, they read to learn. lester? >> rehema ellis in denver tonight, thanks. there's word from london that former bee gee singer robin gibb is gravely ill and in a coma with his family at his side. gibb's website confirms the news revealing he has contracted pneumonia. the 62-year-old gib has battled cancer for several years. in recent days he's forced to cancel all engagements including the premiere of his first classical work. despite axel rose's refusal to show up, cleveland rocked last night, some of music's greatest were inducted into the rock 'n' roll hall of fame. among the greatest, guns 'n' roses performed of a few of their greatest hits with a substitute on the mike when you say their lead singer lost his appetite for induction. also getting the nod, the red hot chili peppers and beastie boys. and we wanted to show you a couple of pictures that caught our eye today. it's hillary clinton cutting

loose on the dance floor in colombia, taking a break from the summit of the americas in cartegena, a side of the secretary of state we rarely get to see. and here she is enjoying a beer, taking a moment to relax from her famously hectic schedule. when we come back, remembering the ship once thought to be unsinkable, in the place where "titanic" was built.

it was 100 years ago on this day that the "titanic" met its fate, striking an iceberg in the north atlantic on its first and last voyage. a century later, the fascination only grows. today at the spot where the "titanic" went down and where more than 1,500 people lost thei wlis,vereaths were cast into the water from a ship that retraced the "titanic's" journey. a monument was unveiled in belfast, northern ireland, where the "titanic" was built. that city has jim maceda reports, sees "titanic" playing an increasingly important role in its own fortunes. >> reporter: belfast is under siege, from tour boats to teddy bears, even queen victoria has been hit by "titanic" fever. and yuna reilly from the "titanic" society couldn't be more pleased.

>> the focus of the world is an eye on belfast. final lie she has got her correct place in the "titanic" story. >> reporter: it was in belfast that the "titanic" was conceived and built, a cape canaveral for the space shuttle of its day, but that pride turned to shock just five days into "titanic's" maiden voyage. >> the men in the shipyard who built it, really hard characters, they broke down and cried and sobbed like small kids. >> reporter: more than 1,500 perished, including dozens from belfast. for generations after the disaster, what had been the living symbol of this city's can-do spirit became the "t" word. it's as if "titanic" had been airbrushed from history. other disasters followed, two world wars and four decades of catholic-protestant troubles tearing belfast apart. but today, the city is giving the "titanic" new meaning as a vehicle to turn its own fate around. >> and we're looking forward and not back, and i think it's a

great iconic symbol for them. >> reporter: pumping $150 million into the world's biggest "titanic attraction requesting an interactive "titanic" experience, from engine room to bridge, a tribute to boomtown belfast's most famous ship. >> 100 years on from the tragic loss of life, we think this is the right time to tell the story. >> reporter: and to invest $11 billion to rebuild the old derelict docklands where "titanic" was born. it has special meaning for yuna reilly. her great, great grandfather built "titanic's" cabinets and made this chess board from its wood. but it wasn't until the 1985 discovery of the shipwreck that reilly found her calling. >> i said, here, hang on a minute. this is our ship. let's claim the ship back. >> reporter: a century after the unspeakable loss of its loved ones and purpose, a whole city is now celebrating its rebirth. jim maceda, nbc news, belfast.