on our broadcast tonight, taking aim. did the latest air strikes on syria move the u.s. closer to getting involved? trapped inside. a rental stretch limo goes up in flames. a group of women in the back have no way out. tonight one of the survivors and the limo driver are talking about what happened. the mystery behind the disappearance. what's killing the honey bees? this year, the shortage is worse and it matters more than americans might have thought. and making a difference. a lesson from first graders on the power of a simple act of kindness. the power of a simple act of kindness. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. since first word of this story arrived, everyone has wondered how it happened.

how did five passengers die in the back of a stretch limousine? how could a fire become that intense that quickly? and how did it move so fast? how is it all five could not get out, yet four others did, along with the driver. right now it's prom season, wedding season, and this is the kind of rental stretch limo you see on the streets of cities and towns all over this country. full of people en route to an event. it's why there are so many questions after this awful, staggering death toll from a single vehicle. we begin tonight with nbc's miguel almaguer in los angeles. >> reporter: the scene was described by the coroner as one of the worst fatalities he's ever witnessed. a limousine carrying nine women, a girls' night out to celebrate a wedding, ended in tragedy when the car suddenly became engulfed in flames. >> there was smoke. >> reporter: 36-year-old nelia arellano cried out to the driver.

>> there was already a fire and stop the car, stop the car. >> reporter: released from the hospital today, still in shock and bruised, she said flames shot out from underneath the rear seat. she got out, and tried to save her friends. >> jasmine said, i cannot get out, help me. i cannot get out. so i tried to pull her out. >> reporter: five women never made it out alive. among the dead, 31-year-old newlywed, neriza fojas. her facebook page now filled with condolences. >> that particular limo i have driven eight times. >> reporter: orville brown thought his passengers wanted to smoke a cigarette. >> at that point she said, no, smoke, smoke, smoke, pull over. i'm looking. i finally kind of -- you know, looked back a couple of times.

i see the grief on her face. >> reporter: seconds later, the 1999 lincoln town car was fully engulfed. >> me personally, i feel that it may have been electrical. because, like i said, the car didn't blow up. we did not smell gas. >> reporter: the limousine had a partition similar to this one through which the women tried to escape. the vehicle was designed to carry eight passengers. nine were inside. the california highway patrol says it could take weeks to determine the cause of the fire and why the victims couldn't get out the back doors. >> i need to go back. i need to go back and save them, but the man said, no, you cannot go back anymore. >> reporter: the limousine with the new bride inside was just five miles away from the last stop. the hotel where her husband was waiting. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. we switch from this tragedy in california now to the news from overseas tonight -- the war in syria has taken a dramatic turn as israel has launched air strikes inside syria over the weekend.

they claim to take out weapons that could have been used by their enemies against them. while the israelis did not intend to become direct combatants in this civil war, these air strikes may now shift the debate in this country over what to do about this two-year-old conflict. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is just across the syrian border in turkey tonight. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. while the u.s. is struggling to decide whether to get more involved, israel acted in secret without public debate and won't even officially acknowledge it. it is a very different way of doing business. huge explosions lit up the sky over damascus. the target, sources say, advanced iranian-made missiles on their way to hezbollah. the anti-israel shiite militia that effectively runs lebanon.

the missiles were taken out by american-made israeli f-16s, untouched by syrian air defenses. rebels tell nbc news syrian army headquarters were also attacked. assad's crack fourth division, the revolutionary guard. [ speaking in a foreign language ] a blatant act of aggression, said syria. self-defense, said the white house. >> the israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like hezbollah. >> reporter: israel was on alert today, deploying anti-missile batteries and tanks near the syrian and lebanese borders. is israel trying to topple assad? it says no. it only wants to stop hezbollah from getting more weapons. but it is becoming difficult to know where the assad regime ends and hezbollah begins. last summer in syria, we traveled with rebels who attacked a government base. they discovered hezbollah flags

and other paraphernalia, proof they said that hezbollah and syria were working together. [ speaking in a foreign language ] now they are even closer and hezbollah says it won't let assad fall. a reminder that the war is now a regional conflict. the syrian government allied with hezbollah and iran. all shiites opposed by the rebels, turkey, qatar, saudi arabia and the uae, all sunni powers. then there is israel acting in its own interest while wanting no part in this regional religious war. secretary kerry is scheduled to meet russian president vladimir putin tomorrow. analysts say key to resolving the crisis is convincing putin personally to drop his support for assad. brian? >> richard engel across the syrian border in turkey tonight. richard, thanks. well, the topic of benghazi is back, the tragedy there took four lives.

the controversy over what happened that night during the attack never went away -- specifically the question of what the u.s. knew, when they knew it, and what they did about it. congress is set to hear dramatic new information on this topic later this week. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell has new details from our washington newsroom tonight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. republicans are gearing up for hearings this week with new state department witnesses they say will undercut hillary clinton's explanation of what went wrong in benghazi. the attack on the benghazi mission started around 9:40 p.m. by 3:00 in the morning ambassador chris stevens and information officer sean smith were dead. but two other americans, former navy seals working as security contractors, did not die until a second full assault at 5:15 a.m. on a cia annex several miles away. six special forces commandos flew in from tripoli but couldn't stop the onslaught. now house republicans have

released an interview with gregory hicks, at the time the deputy chief of missions, who said he called for military help from four more special forces operatives in tripoli but was overruled. hicks, a diplomat, not a military officer, said i believe if we had been able to scramble a fighter or aircraft or two over benghazi as quickly as possible after the attack commenced there would not have been a mortar attack on the annex in the morning because i believe the libyans would have split. the pentagon said the commandos had to stay and defend the embassy in tripoli and were not prepared for a combat assault mission. as for buzzing the benghazi consulate with fighter jets to scatter the attackers, the closest f-16s were in italy or at least five hours away. for months republicans have charged cover-up. last january hillary clinton took the blame but also pushed back. >> what difference, at this point, does it make? it is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator.

>> reporter: now house republicans say they have state department witnesses who can prove clinton covered up. >> it's damaging because it happened on her watch. the important thing is that hillary clinton is no longer secretary of state but there are many people still at state department who were involved in this at the highest levels who continue to keep their jobs. >> reporter: tonight admiral mike mullen and ambassador tom pickering said we had unfettered access to everyone and everything including all the documentation we needed. our marching orders, they said, were to get to the bottom of what happened and that's what we did. there is an obvious political undercurrent. republicans are taking direct aim at hillary clinton, the country's most popular democrat and a possible presidential contender. brian? >> andrea mitchell in the d.c. newsroom tonight. andrea, thanks. the u.s. air force official in charge of sexual assault prevention and response has been removed from his job tonight after being arrested over the weekend for an alleged sexual assault. lieutenant colonel jeff krusinski, described in the police report as a drunken male subject, allegedly approached and grabbed a woman in an

arlington, virginia, parking lot in the early hours of sunday morning. he's been charged with sexual battery. this comes on the heels of a major sex abuse scandal at the training facility at lacklund air force base in texas. more than 30 instructors were charged with sexually abusing trainees there. now we move to the investigation into the marathon bombings in boston. one of the three friends of the surviving suspect arrested last week was released from jail today though remains under surveillance. and the body of the other suspect is still being held at a massachusetts funeral home because his family is having trouble finding a place to bury it. we get the latest tonight from our justice correspondent pete williams. >> hi. my name is robelo phillipos. >> reporter: he's been in federal custody since he was arrested five days ago and charged with lying to the fbi about what happened at dzhokhar

tsarnaev's college dorm room three days after the bombing. federal agents say he was with two other friends who found a backpack there containing empty fireworks tubes and later threw it in the trash. in court today, lawyers for phillipos said he wants to clear his name and will show up for future hearings. the judge ordered him to wear an electronic monitor. family members posted real estate as bond. his lawyers say he wants to cooperate. >> at no time did robelo have any prior knowledge of this bombing. nor did he participate in any of the planning done by the defendant in this case. >> reporter: authorities say phillipos and dzhokhar tsarnaev were friends since high school. he took the current college semester off. in a court filing they say he was on campus by sheer coincidence and bad luck when he was arrested they say he was a frightened and confused 19-year-old who had a hard time answering rationally under intense questioning. another issue, where to bury the

body of tamerlan tsarnaev is proving hard to answer. it was released to the family at a massachusetts funeral home last week, but so far no cemetery has agreed to accept it. >> i understand everybody's feelings on it. somewhere along the line we have to set the feelings aside, take a step forward and say we have to do something. >> reporter: the city manager of cambridge says burial there would be stressful for the community. the state governor said it is not a decision for the government. >> first of all, this isn't a state or federal issue. this is a family issue. the family has some options. i assume they will make a decision soon. >> reporter: the funeral director says one solution might be sending the body to tsarnaev's parents in russia. so far, no arrangements have been made for that either. brian? >> pete williams in d.c. for us. pete, thanks. something special happened late today in newtown, connecticut. the scene of the school shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead just before christmas last year. every year the congressional medal of honor society gives out

an award they call the citizen honors medal. the highest civilian honor for valor given out by the men who have received their nation's highest military honor. today the posthumous recipients were the six educators from sandy hook elementary, all women, all killed on the job that day. our military analyst jack jacobs was there and was among the recipients of the medal of honor who said today all six of today's citizens exemplified courage, sacrifice, selflessness in trying to protect their students from the gunman at newtown. still ahead as we continue on a monday evening, what's killing so many honey bees in this country, and why it matters for the american dinner table? news tonight in a growing mystery. later, what happened when school kids took note of simple kindness and consideration. imagine that.

this is just the time of year when gardens across so much of our country should be buzzing with activity. beehives of activity, in fact. but those same bees that scared

us to death as kids, we came to appreciate as adults for the work they do. the problem is those bees are scarce these days. something is killing the honey bees. it's having a huge ripple effect. our report tonight from our chief environmental affairs correspondent anne thompson. >> hey, gary. denise qualls, how are you? >> reporter: denise is a match maker, hooking up farmers and bee keepers so honey bees can pollinate crops that make up one-third of the american diet. >> this year was almost a natural disaster. >> reporter: because the bee die-off, what some call colony collapse disorder, appeared to accelerate. >> this year it seemed like it got the whole nation. >> reporter: brett ady is the

largest beekeeper in the country. a decade ago he figured on a 5% loss on hives. this winter he lost 42%. >> i don't think there is anybody else we can call to get bees if we have a shortage again. >> reporter: a shortage that drove bee prices sky high for almond farmer eric clarkson. >> turns into a bidding war. who has them, who doesn't and how much you are willing to pay. >> reporter: he paid twice as much for bees this year as he did five years ago. there are theories but no single cause as to what's killing the bee that is make our food possible. the suspects include mites, diseases, weather and pesticides. university of california at davis researcher eric mucin has identified residues of 150 different chemicals in the bee colonies he's studied. >> when you mix certain chemicals in together they become much more toxic to bees than either one alone would be. >> reporter: the european union voted to suspend the use of neonicotinoids, systemic pesticides widely used on corn, wheat, and soybeans because of

possible links to bee collapse. the pesticide industry disputes any connection, saying the scientific basis for such a decision is poor. for farmers who need bees, some are now so scared they are reserving bees five years in advance. >> they have one chance to make their money. if you can't get it done with the bees, they're done. >> reporter: nature's irreplaceable helper that none of us can do without. anne thompson, nbc news, chicago. >> coming up after a break it's a reflex for a lot of parents. now doctors say it's actually the best thing for your baby.

nascar ran at talladega, alabama, yesterday. because it is a super speedway that means cars running all bunched up in packs. every year there is a massive wreck they call -- for good reason -- the big one. yesterday early on it collected 16 cars. david reagan won after another mess on the final lap. the whole thing took seven hours, but that includes a three

and a half hour rain delay. if you have read only ten e-mails in your whole life there is a chance five were offers for knock-off viagra. now pfizer, the folks who make the real stuff, say they will start offering it for sale on the web direct to consumers. but still only with the legitimate doctor's prescription. this is aimed at the counterfeit drug makers and consumers who want to avoid embarrassment at the pharmacy. pacifiers were in the news today, specifically because of a study out of sweden that says if parents clean a fallen pacifier with their own mouth before giving it back to the baby, they are potentially passing on health benefits. helping the infant's immune system and making them less susceptible to some allergies in the process. perhaps you saw the 12-12-12 concert to benefit sandy victims. it was, perhaps, the largest collection of rock and roll talent on one benefit stage. we learned it was almost bigger. the robin hood foundation in new york have revealed they enlisted

bill clinton to broker a led zeppelin reunion for the night. clinton was a fan of zep in the day but it was as elusive as middle east peace. it was not to be. on a wind swept damp afternoon we got pictures of president obama doing a little golf outreach today. a foursome including three senators, chambliss, corker and udall. two of the three republicans. it was senator chambliss of georgia who sunk the only hole in one of the day. it happened, we are told, on the back nine. up next here tonight, hundreds of tiny post-in notes telling a story of random acts of kindness.

finally tonight it's been said no act of kindness, however small was ever wasted. with that in mind we offer the following story from a school in terre haute, indiana, where they have set out as a project to document all the ways people can make someone else's life better with just a little bit of effort. and so nbc's kevin tibbles has tonight's making a difference report. >> thank you. today, a spprak attack.

>> reporter: a spprak attack in terre haute, indiana. special people performing random acts of kindness. it's catching on. >> doing something that doesn't cost anything but makes them feel good, makes you feel good. >> reporter: it's simple. each time someone sends kindness your way, jot it down and post it. the walls of local schools now blossom with hundreds of tiny, multi-colored thank yous, all penned by kids like those in ms. smudie's first grade class. >> so miss smudie kept sharpening my pencil for about six times! we laughed every single time. >> reporter: what did you write on the post-it note? >> my friend chris helped me feel better when i was sad. >> hunter was tying my shoe when we were going to p.e. >> reporter: hunter is renowned for his shoe tying skills. >> do you feel good helping other kids out? >> really happy and excited. >> reporter: in times filled

with stress, trauma and worry, a simple gesture goes a long way. there is no yardstick for an act of kindness, is there? >> exactly. sometimes the smallest means the most at the right time for that person. >> reporter: even high school kids are devoted spprakers. >> it gives me the power to change someone's life through something as small as writing on a post-it note. >> we live in a world where all we see is darkness and hate. i feel like the spprak wall shows that's not true. >> reporter: back in elementary school our friend martin who says he's six 1/2 plus a quarter years old, sums it up wisely. >> it is good, mostly for bad people to learn good instead of doing bad because bad stuff could just hurt other people's feelings. >> reporter: i couldn't have said it any better myself. kevin tibbles, nbc news, terre haute, indiana. >> how cute is that and how cute are they? that is our broadcast on a monday night as we start off a new week. thank you for being here with

us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com now. good evening and thanks for joining us on this monday i'm raj mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. how did it happen and why couldn't the women get out of the burning limo? just some of the questions being asked today. the stretched limo engulfed in flames killing five women including a bride. one of the survivors is recounting the horror of the ride. we have team coverage for you. cheryl hurd spoke with the limo driver.

we begin with kris sanchez who joins us with the emotional reaction from one of the women who survived. >> reporter: only four women were able to survive that fiery limousine ride here on saturday night. and she tells me that she was released from the hospital today as the limousine driver did not do enough fast enough to save her friends. less than two days ago they were in this town car headed to a bridal shower when says she saw fire. she said she tried to get the driver, orville brown to stop.