on our broadcast tonight, firestorm. exploding in size, turning deadly. tonight, what will it take to gain control over those boiling wildfires in the west? on the stand. a wrenching day for prime witnesses and the jury in the jerry sandusky sex abuse trial. game changer. an nbc news exclusive. a big announcement tonight that could change the way america's young athletes take the field. worth less. the harsh reality hitting home for so many american families. how long could it take for the middle class to recover from the loss of so much money? and all in the family. a big birthday for the first president bush. tonight, a special conversation with his granddaughter. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. and as we focus our attention on an urgent situation tonight, the wildfires burning in the west, there's also the realization, it may be like this for the entire fire season this year. and it's early yet. in all tonight, 18 fires are burning in 9 separate states. the big fire in colorado consumed an additional 7,000 acres overnight. it's burned over 40,000 acres in all. it's moving at a top speed of 40 feet per second of forest. the smoke today shrouding downtown denver, 60 miles away. it is where we begin tonight with nbc's miguel almaguer. miguel, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. as some evacuees have been let back home for the first time, other neighborhoods have been told, be prepared to leave your house at a moment's notice. this as firefighters ramp up efforts on the ground and in the air. today's aerial assault is

critical with assistance from other states, even canada. helicopters try to beat back flames that firefighters on the ground can't reach. it's extremely dangerous work, over rugged mountain tops, shrouded in smoke, alive with fire. >> we work close to the ground and the terrain is an issue, wind is a condition. >> reporter: sparked by lightning, the high park fire has been feeding on acre after acre of bone dry forest. now it's turned deadly. a 62-year-old grandmother died alone in the cabin she loved. rescue teams tried to reach her, but were forced back by flames. many of the 800 firefighters moving toward the front lines are volunteers, some even losing their own homes, finding the blaze burning in their backyard. >> they could see their houses burning, yet they were, as volunteers, fighting to protect the school that meant so much to their community. >> reporter: with 118 structures

damaged or destroyed, thousands of evacuees can only watch, wait and worry. >> it's our dream home, and we really -- every day we're like, this is so beautiful. >> reporter: it took a year for ryan hodak and his wife to build their home. it took only moments for the fire to close in. >> according to the map, the fire came through. and whether our house exists or not is 50/50. >> reporter: and if the winds kick up, more houses will be in danger. 2,600 homes are in the colorado evacuation zone. in the meantime, in new mexico, a state of emergency. the little bear fire destroyed 125 structures and more are threatens. this neighborhood completely wiped out. deadly fires that tonight are out of control and on the move. here in colorado, this fire has charred some 43,000 acres. by tonight, crews hope to have it 10% contained. it will likely bun for weeks. brian? >> miguel almaguer, ft. collins, colorado, starting us off tonight.

miguel, thanks. and now to the wrenching second day of the child abuse trial of former assistant coach jerry sandusky. a key prosecution witness took the stand, and a warning here about today's rough testimony. our report from nbc's john yang. >> reporter: mike mcqueary was a graduate assistant at penn state in february 2001 when he headed to a small staff locker room one friday night. as he entered, he testified he heard smacking sounds. rounding the corner, he said he saw jerry sandusky and a boy he guessed was about 10 or 12 in the shower, engaged in behavior mcqueary called sexual, wrong, perverse. sandusky faces 52 related charges and has pleaded not guilty to all of them. mcqueary, the prosecution's only direct third-party witness, said he reported the incident to head coach joe paterno. but he was blocked from saying what paterno told him, because it would be hearsay.

paterno died in january. mcqueary said he never told police, because he had discussed the matter with university vice president gary schultz, who was responsible for the campus police. earlier, the jury heard a halting and hesitant 18-year-old, known in court documents as victim one. he told of meeting sandusky through his second mile charity, and described, sobbing, how sandusky went from kissing him on the forehead to oral sex when he was 12 years old. i didn't know what to do, he said, i just kind of blacked out and didn't want it to happen. when he finally sought help, he said a school guidance counselor was skeptical, telling him, sandusky wouldn't do something like that. they didn't believe me. once it became known that he was one of sandusky's accusers, victim one was bullied out of his high school midway through his senior year, and moved to a new school where he graduated last week. today as the defense pressed him on inconsistencies in his grand jury testimony. the witness seemed to grow angry and frustrated.

finally burying his head in his hands. oh, my god, he said, it's hard enough for me to tell these folks of the jury, and let alone this size of room or more of people. i'm sorry, but you're asking me the same exact questions over and over. and i will tell you the same answer every time. >> when you start adding these victims together, we start to get a whole complete package, and each victim reinforces the other. >> reporter: there will be more testimony from sandusky's accusers. and once the defense takes over, his attorney saying sandusky himself will take the stand in his own defense. brian? >> john yang in bellefonte, pennsylvania. john, thanks. and an update on the trayvon martin case tonight, shelly zimmerman, the wife of martin's killer, george zimmerman, was charged with one count of perjury today. prosecutors say she lied to a judge about the couple's finances during a bond hearing in april. in washington today, attorney general eric holder took heavy fire from republican

critics in a senate hearing. and calls for his resignation are growing louder. the democrats contend it's all about politics in an election season. our report tonight from nbc's kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: today a dramatic turn in the long, simmering conflict between republicans and attorney general eric holder. >> you leave me no alternative but to join those that call upon you to resign your office. >> i don't have any intention of resigning. >> reporter: republicans leveled a series of accusations, the latest over national security leaks that republicans allege could involve senior obama administration officials. >> there are clearly people around the president leaking stories that involve highly classified information. >> reporter: a string of news stories revealed top secret details about u.s. operations against al qaeda and iran's nuclear program. >> our investigation will follow the leads wherever they take us.

>> reporter: the attorney general has named two government lawyers to find the leakers. but holder refused republicans' demands for an outside special counsel. >> i'm asking you for your legacy and for the good of the country to reconsider your decision -- >> they are good lawyers, they are tough prosecutors -- >> reporter: several times holder took heat and fired back. >> but senator, i think you're missing something here, the -- >> i think you're missing something here. i think you're missing the fact that this is a very big deal. >> reporter: democrats came to the attorney general's defense. >> i think to have a fight over how we do this now will set back any leak investigation. >> reporter: another controversy, republicans claim holder has misled and refused to cooperate with congress's investigation of a failed operation that sent u.s. guns into mexico. code name fast and furious. today holder made a new offer to try to work out differences over fast and furious. and that could include providing

more documents to congressional investigators. very important, brian, because house republicans have made a serious threat to hold the attorney general in contempt of congress next week. brian? >> kelly o'donnell on the hill tonight for us. kelly, thanks. the violence in syria is escalating now. a top u.n. official flatly calls it a civil war. and today secretary of state clinton accused russia of sending a new shipment of attack helicopters to syria. the assad regime has been using choppers with deadly effects to crush the uprising. clinton said the sale could ratchet up the conflict quite dramatically, in her words. in moscow today, tens thousands of russians took to the streets to protest against president putin, for the first time since he retook that office last month. despite government efforts to stifle dissent, a lot of opposition leaders had been rounded up by russian police just yesterday. back in this country there have been a lot of headlines today about the disappearing

american middle class. as we've reported here last night, the new report from the fed shows that american families lost 40% of their worth during what some economists now refer to as the great recession. tonight, anne thompson continues her reporting on how the recession is hitting home as many people are forced to adjust expectations. >> reporter: jill peters and her mom angie are caught in the economic squeeze on the middle class. jill's out of work for the second time in three years. 58-year-old angie juggles two jobs. >> we're in the middle and we're with fighting to stay there. >> reporter: linked by the financial challenges they face, similar to the bleak picture painted in this survey. >> at 37, i was certain that i was going to be completely in the middle of my glorious career. i never thought for one second i would have to call my mom and say, mom, you know what, could i borrow like 20 bucks? >> reporter: like so many, they are now careful about every expense. the opposite of the irrational

exuberance of the 1990s. today americans are extraordinarily cautious. >> we were burned very severely during the financial crisis, and many people saw the illusion of what they thought they had disappear quite quickly. >> reporter: the most devastating blow, the collapse of the housing market. the federal reserve says housing accounted for almost 30% of family assets in 2010. but the average value of a family's primary home slid more than 17%. a loss of $55,700. >> the thinking was, it could take a decade to recapture the values. now, you can imagine it being two decades to get back the kind of declines we've seen in housing in this country. >> reporter: a little more than 15% of families reported their houses were under water in 2010, worth less than what they paid for them. and for the first time, more families borrowed money for education than cars. 19% of families took on debt to pay for school. the average owed more than $25,000. jill, an electrician by trade,

is one of them. >> i'm a little over halfway done with my master's program and i'm $30,000 in debt. >> reporter: now, there has been some improvement in the economy since the snapshot was taken 18 months ago. housing values have stopped falling, and cnbc says other surveys show a combination of higher stock prices and paying down debt has helped net worth rise from it's worst level. they both agree there's no quick way out of this hole. brian? >> quickly becoming the story of our teams. anne thompson as always, thanks. still ahead along the way on a tuesday night, big news tonight about an american tradition on the playing field. and a big change on the way for the game. and later, turning 88 and getting a little tearful in the process. tonight an emotional conversation between bush 41 and his granddaughter.

we're breaking a story here tonight that's going to be a game changer on a lot of local playing fields. it's about young athletes and concussions.

pop warner football, the largest youth football organization in the world is rewriting its rule book to try to protect the kids who play all across this country. and our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman has exclusive details. >> reporter: for this family, pop warner is a big part of life. 8-year-old anthony plays football. sister maddie is a pop warner cheerleader. dad matt, a coach. and his wife roberta a spirit squad leader. they joined in part because of the organization's safety philosophy. when in doubt, sit it out. and say the new regulations bring even more reassurance. >> it's a sense of comfort knowing that he's not going to get hit all the time. >> reporter: the group's executive director says safety comes first now, but admits things weren't always that way. >> i think particularly with concussions, so much of it was just a lack of awareness. it was just, oh, you got your bell rung. you know, you got dinged, get back in the game.

>> reporter: new research shows more head injuries actually occur during practice than games. that's why the organization has created a concussion awareness initiative. most pop warner kids practice nine hours a week. the new guidelines would mean that only one third of that time could be spent in contact with another player. no head to head hits, and tackling must be initiated within the three foot zone. >> dominick never got a scan? >> no. >> reporter: doctors say children's brains are especially vulnerable. >> players who get a second, third, fourth concussion really can have a detrimental effects and have a degradation in their function. you weren't knocked out, were you? >> reporter: that's why doctors are keeping close eyes on kids like 10-year-old dominick hollister. an avid footbal and lacrosse player, he's had three concussions. and now wears a special helmet on the field and gets regular checkups. there are more than four million sports related concussions in

the united states each year, and football accounts for more than half of those. so a call today, and i think a lot of people are going to be surprised tomorrow, brian, about these new recommendations. i think it's going to change how little kids learn how to play football. >> this is going to be a big deal across the country. another big deal today for all the post menopausal women taking vitamin d supplements and calcium. there was news on that front. >> yeah, and i think this is going to confuse a lot of people. the united states preventative task force has said that vitamin d and calcium supplements in the normal doses that are prescribed do not really prevent osteoporotic breaks and fractures. they're saying, frankly, there's not enough evidence to recommend that people take them in routine dosages. they are saying, the higher dosages for women over the age of 65, the jury is still out. but the down side is, kidney stones, heart problems, there's just not enough proof to show that it works and that it's worth it. >> and the bottom line, as

always, consult your doctor, which we just did. nancy, thank you as always. up next here tonight after a break, a missing baby. a 32-year-old mystery tonight has been solved.

the story was made famous in the movie "a cry in the dark" with meryl streep. it became an international mystery. tonight we are the closest we're ever going to get to proof that a dingo snatched a baby in the wilds of australia. surrounded by her family, lindy chamberlain-creighton held up a coroner's death certificate confirming what she has said for decades that her baby was killed by a wild animal intruder during a camping trip to the outback. max page who was so cute as darth vader in that terrific volkswagen commercial. max page has to go in for heart surgery, he was born with a con

genital heart defect. we wanted our young friend darth to know everything's going to be okay, and we'll see you again when your ticker is all fixed up. hard to believe it's been 25 years. but it was one of the signature moments of the reagan presidency in the waning months of the cold war, with the old eastern block. june 12th, 1987 when ronald reagan stood in berlin and said, mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. it eventually did come down, just over two years later. talk about your sign of the times, the nobel foundation has cut back the money they give out with the nobel prize by 20%. turns out, like so many people around the world, they got caught in some bad investments. still, the prize will come out with a check of just over a million dollars. doc emrick had the call last night. >> the kings are the kings. >> the kings are the kings. there were broken hearts across jersey. but jubilation in l.a., as the kings beat the devils handily to take the stanley cup and hold it aloft on home ice last night in

l.a. up next, 41 turning 88. and talking about the big event and life these days with his granddaughter jenna.

our former presidents tend to be beloved figures in this country. we're with lucky to have four of them alive today. and the senior man among them is turning 88. george h.w. bush, 41, has slowed down a bit, his legs give him trouble. but he still has plans to sky dive again, make no mistake. and to mark his birthday, he sat down at the family compound in maine with granddaughter and "today show contributor jenna bush hager. who began with a fashion note. >> so your socks have been making headlines. >> well, i like a colorful sock. i'm a sock man. this is a modest pair here today. subdued you might say. >> these days my grandfather says he's happiest on the sea, spending time with family. >> we had picnics on that island over there. >> six kids, 17 grandkids and the newest edition, a great granddaughter born last year. >> georgia helena walker bush. g.h.w.b.

and she's a beautiful girl. and it just takes me back. i wish i were going to be around to see her grow old. i won't be. >> what's aging like? >> aging's all right. better than the alternative, which is not being here. >> sometimes i know you can hear me, but you pretend you can't. >> right. >> why do you do that? >> keeps you on the ball. >> is that one of the advantages of aging, if you don't want to hear what somebody's saying, you just say what? >> yeah. >> three generations of my family recently returned to the white house for the unveiling of my father's presidential portrait. dad said -- and i'm going to start crying, which i promised myself i wouldn't -- that he loves that his portrait is going to be hanging near yours. >> that's sweet. that's very nice, we're pleased. and two presidents in one family, that's pretty good. we're both lucky. lucky to have served. he had two terms as president, and did a great job. i'm proud to be next to your dad there.

very proud. >> in a recent letter to his children, always the poetic letter writer, my grandfather shares his thoughts on aging. >> as the summer finishes out and the seas get a little higher, the winds a little colder, i'll be making some notes. writing it down lest i forget. so i can add to the report on getting older. who knows, maybe they'll come out with a new drug that makes legs bend easier, joints hurt less, memory come roaring back, and all fears about falling off fishing rocks go away. remember the old song, "i'll be there ready when you are"? but i'll be there ready when you are. there's so much excitement ahead, so many grandkids to watch grow. if you need me i'm here, devotedly, dad. >> he may be dad to them, but he's mr. president to us.

41 reflecting on his 88th with his granddaughter, after a life well lived. congratulations, mr. president. that's our broadcast for this tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. as always, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com our breaking news is in san francisco. you can see the dramatic images here, our nbc chopper above the scene. this was a fire on 2800 block of san bruno avenue in san francisco. san bruno avenue is a street right along 101 just north of candlestick park near the bay view district. we understand two people have been hurt in all this. what's complicating matters, is this has not only been a fire, but also a gas leak. >> what made this very complex was this gas leak, but i understand it's now been