nightly news is next. on the broadcast tonight, without warning. what caused a major bridge to suddenly collapse sending cars and people plunging into the river below? tonight, new details on the investigation and the spotlight it's shining on our nation's aging infrastructure. a call to action from president obama to the military's next generation. tonight his warning about an alarming rise in sexual assaults. backlash after controversial comments by one of the world's wealthiest men. what he said about working moms on wall street that tonight has ignited a firestorm. and the heroes who risked their lives in oklahoma. the teachersipal at the school hardest hit and the emotional reunion for the parents and the day care workers who saved their children. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. i'm ann curry in for brian tonight. as a dramatic bridge collapse sent cars plunging into a river is complicating travel for some of us headed into the long memorial day weekend. the ntsb is investigating but it already appears a factor that may have to be considered also affects one in nine bridges across our nation. for details on what happened we go to the pacific northwest where ayman mohyeldin joins us from mount vernon, washington. ayman, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, ann. the skagit river bridge sits on washington's busiest corridor, the i-5. more than 70,000 cars cross this bridge every day. officials are scrambling to keep traffic flowing smoothly as they try to determine what happened here. it happened without warning. >> there was a loud boom, a big puff of dust. >> reporter: the north end of

the skagit river bridge collapsed just after rush hour last night, sending two vehicles on a 25-foot plunge. >> the bridge over i-5 just collapsed. we have vehicles in the water. >> reporter: all three people in the cars survived including dan sly. >> there was no hope. that's what i was thinking. >> reporter: federal and state inspectors say a truck with an oversized load is to blame. >> a very heavy vehicle crashed into not just one but probably multiple girders on the bridge and it failed. >> reporter: the bridge was built in 1955. inspected just last november it was listed as functionally obsolete by the federal highway administration which means the design is outdated but structurally sound. >> the problem with the bridge is it was a fracture critical design which means if something goes wrong with the key structural element you may have a catastrophic result. >> reporter: experts say bridges across the country are vulnerable. in 2007 dozens of cars plunged

60 feet into the mississippi when a bridge in minnesota collapsed, killing 13 people. and 14 died in 2002 when a 500-foot span of the i-40 bridge collapsed in eastern oklahoma. according to the american society of civil engineers, one in nine of the nation's bridges are rated as structurally deficient requiring repair or replacement. more than 200 million trips are taken daily across deficient bridges. >> there are more structurally deficient bridges in our cities than there are mcdonald's franchises nationwide. >> reporter: the state of washington will receive $1 million from the federal government to help rebuild the skagit river bridge. the governor says it will cost

$15 million. >> as far as time to restore the i-5 corridor, maybe it's weeks. if not, there are certainly months involved. >> reporter: the driver of the oversized truck tested negative for drugs and alcohol. his wife said he was horrified as he watched the bridge collapse in his rear-view mirror but was relieved there was no loss of life. ann? >> ayman mohyeldin tonight, thank you so much. president obama took on the growing problem of sexual assault and abuse in the armed services today. he used a very high profile appearance to do it. his speech at the graduating class of the u.s. naval academy. he was trying to send a message to a new generation of leaders as the pentagon struggles with how to fix this disturbing problem. nbc white house correspondent kristen welker now joins us with details on this story. good evening to you. >> reporter: ann, good evening to you. president obama told the graduates the culture of sexual assault in the military has to end. he said it's more than a matter of conduct. it's a matter of national security. against a rainy sky president obama used today's graduation

speech at the u.s. naval academy to call for higher standards of conduct in the military. >> we need your honor. we need your courage. >> reporter: he urged the future military leaders more than a thousand graduates to end sexual assault in the armed forces. >> those who commit sexual assault not only are committing a crime. they threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong. that's why we have to be determined to stop these crimes. >> reporter: the stern words came almost three weeks after a report by the defense department revealed unreported sexual assaults in the military rose 37% in 2012 to an estimated 26,000 cases. the military has also faced a recent spate of sex assault scandals including the revelation this week that an army sergeant at west point had been accused of videotaping female cadets when they were in the bathroom or shower, prompting a vow from defense secretary chuck hagel to crack down. >> we'll do everything we need to do to fix it. >> reporter: today, mr. obama

said the military culture also needs to change and cited a lack of trust in government institutions. a not so subtle reference to the controversy at the irs, justice and state department that have roiled washington and his administration. >> it only takes the misconduct of a few to further erode the people's trust in their government. >> reporter: veterans advocates say the message comes from the top but fundamental change has to come from the next generation of officers. >> starting with the president going down through the officer core is needed. this should be unacceptable in society. it should be unthinkable in a structure like the military. >> reporter: now defense secretary chuck hagel will deliver a similar message when he addresses graduates at west point, the nation's oldest military academy tomorrow. about a thousand cadets are expected to graduate. ann? >> kristen, thank you tonight. an update on the controversy over the irs targeting conservative groups for extra scrutiny. lois lerner, the woman in charge

of the office at the center of the scandal was asked to resign but has refused. she was placed on administrative leave with pay yesterday after pleading the 5th during a congressional hearing on the issue. the memorial day travel rush is under way tonight. 31 million americans are expected to travel by car. a million more on trains and buses. about 2 million will fly to their holiday destinations. in a lot of places the weather is not cooperating with the unofficial start of summer. weather channel meteorologist chris warren joins us with more on this story. chris, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, ann. this weekend there is going to be some severe weather and some snow. let's start off with a look at where there will be severe weather. the threat tonight for the severe weather will be in the texas panhandle all the way up to parts of western nebraska.

with this, there will be a chance for damaging winds, large hail and a low chance of a tornado. now, looking ahead to saturday, to tomorrow, there is a chance for mountain snow in parts of northern new york and northern new england. this is unusual late spring snow possible above about 1,000 feet. there could be some power outages with the snow falling on the leaves, possibly bringing down power lines. chance for severe weather there in the northern plains. also looking at the threat for severe weather pushing off a little bit farther to the plains but not moving very fast on sunday. still a chance for mountain snow in the green and adirondack mountains in the higher elevations. on monday, memorial day, it will be warmer in the northeast. ann, that looks like the best day to be outside in the northeast. >> all right. good information, chris. thank you so much. turning now to moore, oklahoma, at the end of a trying week. five days after a massive tornado hit that community,

police have removed the last checkpoints closing off the affected areas. residents are picking up the pieces and nbc's kate snow has a moving interview with some of the teachers at plaza towers elementary school where seven children were killed. good evening. >> reporter: good evening. two more children were laid to rest today, 3rd graders at plaza towers elementary. their principal was on hand for those memorials. tonight she and others are speaking out for the first time about the loss and what they did to try to protect hundreds of others when the tornado hit. you haven't been back here? >> no. this is my first time. >> reporter: principal amy simpson and her teachers had only 16 minutes from the time the tornado touched down in oklahoma to the moment they were hit. >> they come right out of their doors and line up against here. >> reporter: the kids were crouched down along hallway walls singing the abcs. seconds before impact simpson got on the intercom and said

simply, it's here. >> first it's just a rattling like someone walking on the roof. then you feel things fall into your hair. just little things, you know. then all of the sudden -- bigger things. that's when i started to yell. >> reporter: what did you yell? >> just in god's name, go away. go away. >> reporter: so you came out of your office and you went this way. >> climbed over. >> reporter: when it was over she walked around the corner to where linda patterson's pre-k class was moments before. what are you hearing? >> i hear the child under me saying i'm not breathing, i can't breathe. i had weight on her. >> reporter: what blew on top of you? >> a wall. some two by fours, a car. >> reporter: a car? >> a car was there on top of all of this debris. >> reporter: the lower half of linda's body was pinned under the car. she used her arms to pull out children around her.

>> reporter: you saved their lives. >> no. >> yes, she did. >> i did what -- that's what i needed to do. that's where i needed to be. >> reporter: plaza towers was built in 1966 and had no basement or reinforced shelter. >> we are probably the fastest growing district, the third largest district. as we build and build, the money has gone for classroom space. >> reporter: not for shelters. >> not for shelters. >> reporter: pierce says there are fresh discussions happening now about all of this, whether they should build shelters in every school in oklahoma. it's a subject that may well come up on sunday when president obama visits here. also sunday a memorial service for the public to recognize those who were lost this week. ann? >> an important moment for moore. thank you so much, kate. there will be more from kate snow and her conversation with the principal and teachers at plaza towers elementary on "rock center" tonight at 10:00/9:00 central. overseas today we heard for the first time from the family of that british soldier killed in an act of terrorism on a london street.

in an emotional news conference lee rigby's anguished family members including his widow described him as a devoted son and father. the two murder suspects shot after rushing at police remain hospitalized. two women who were arrested on suspicion to commit murder have been released without charge. and another scare in britain today aboard a flight from lahore, pakistan, to the uk. pilots put out an emergency signal and the plane was escorted by british fighter jets before making an emergency landing. officials say two passengers allegedly threatened to blow up the plane after an argument with the crew. but that incident does not appear to be terror-related. still ahead tonight on "nbc nightly news" as it continues on this friday, the firestorm ignited by one of the wealthiest men in the world. what he said that upset a lot of working moms. and what he's saying now tonight. later, a new world record and a fresh start at one of the most popular summer destinations in america.

we are back with the controversial comments made by one of the wealthiest men in the world who is also a high profile philanthropist. there is no doubt paul tudor jones is among the most savvy of investors but what he said about certain working moms on wall street has elicited a backlash. we get our report now from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: it's the sound bite reverberating from college campuses to wall street. paul tudor jones, a self-made hedge fund billionaire and philanthropist said women aren't equipped for the elite crowd of macro traders if they are mothers because, in his words, a child is a focus killer, citing two women he worked with in the '70s. >> they both had children. as soon as that baby's lips

touched that girl's bosom, forget it. [ laughter ] every single investment idea. every desire to understand, every desire to understand what's going to make this go up or down is going to be overwhelmed by the most beautiful experience which a man will never share. >> reporter: it was the talk of cable news from "morning joe" to cnbc. >> except this happens to be about having babies for women. >> give me a break. fathers love their children, worry about their children, think about their children just as much as mothers. >> reporter: tudor helped the robin hood foundation raise a record-breaking $80 million to fight poverty last week apologized today saying he's talking about macro traders. fewer than 1,000 global traders

in highly specialized financial instruments who are on call 24/7 and require a high degree of skill, focus, and repetition. that didn't cut it with critics. >> he talked about the mother bond experience men cannot feel. made me wonder if he doesn't know what it feels like how does he know it knocks women off their game? >> reporter: more women are graduating from business schools but few are high stakes traders. part of the conversation about the glass ceiling on wall street. women are only 4% of the ceos in the top 500 companies. is it because of motherhood? marissa mayer took over at yahoo! and became a new mother telling savannah guthrie -- >> reporter: overall i have been having a terrific time being both a ceo and a mother. >> reporter: it's not like women aren't debating work life balance. >> don't lean back. lean in. >> reporter: hedge funds run by women outperform those run by men. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. we're back in a moment with the best list of the best sand under the sun as we head into the unofficial start of summer.

today president obama signed a bill awarding the congressional gold medal to the four little girls killed in the bombing of a birmingham, alabama, church in 1963. family members of addie mae collins, denise mcnair, carol robertson and cynthia wesley looked on as the four were given the highest civilian honor this country can bestow. their deaths at the hands of white supremacists helped propel the civil rights movement. this morning in seaside heights, new jersey, seven months after hurricane sandy caused billions of dollars in damage, new jersey governor chris christie cut a world record setting five and a half mile-long ribbon to officially re-open the jersey shore.

he said 80% of the shore has been restored which is important for the $38 billion a year tourism industry there. another beach that took a pounding when hurricane sandy came ashore was the main beach in east hampton on new york's long island which today topped 01:08:40:a list of the best. some other summer favorites were cape florida state park, cape hatteras on the outer banks of north carolina and coast guard beach on cape cod. we put the full list on the website at nbcnightlynews.com. it won't happen in time for the memorial day weekend, but the u.s. parks service announced today that furloughs of park police officers will be coming to an end. the park police were the only federal law enforcement agency forced to take days off without pay under the budget cuts known as the sequester. the agency found cost savings elsewhere and the furloughs will end on june 1. a lot of star gazers will be staying up late this weekend. three of the brightest lights in the sky are set to put on a rare show. venus, jupiter and mercury will appear as a bright triangle of light in the western sky. the best night to catch it is on sunday about 30 minutes after sunset. it won't happen again until

2015. when we come back an emotional reunion for grateful parents in oklahoma. and the day care workers who served as human shields to protect the children in their care.

even amid the rubble of the devastating tornado in moore, oklahoma, gratitude can be found. a young mother we told you about on tuesday has reached out to thank the day care workers whose actions saved the lives of her children. at 3 years old grayson is already a survivor. what's it like to be in a tornado, grayson? >> it's loud. >> reporter: loud? >> yeah. >> reporter: we first met grayson and his 6-week-old brother braden in the hospital the day after the tornado hit. seeing what's left of their day care center it's hard to believe anyone made it out alive. >> it's a miracle. it is a miracle. all those kids, my boys got out. >> reporter: their mother janice

said it is thanks to their heroic teachers. >> what did the teachers do? >> put cots over the heads. >> reporter: they put cots over the children and laid on top to shield them with their own bodies as the tornado hit. what did the kids do? >> scared. >> reporter: they were scared. am amazingly, grayson suffered only only minor head injuries. where does it hurt? >> on my ear. >> reporter: which ear hurts a lot? >> this one. >> reporter: what do you say to the teachers? >> thank you. >> reporter: for covering your child. >> risking your life to protect my boys. >> reporter: yesterday she got the chance. >> grayson. oh, baby. >> reporter: janna, the boys and their dad ken visited abby larson who ran the day care center.

>> did you miss us? >> mm-hmm. >> yeah. he wants to get back. >> he was excited. >> go! >> reporter: grayson and his friends have been missing day care. >> it's broken. we'll get it fixed. >> reporter: abby says she'll ree build the day care center and takes comfort in seeing a grayson. just days after we last saw him, his cuts are healing. janna spoke to the teachers who saved her boys. >> i'm thankful and blessed to have all of y'all to take care of the kids. >> reporter: thankful they still have what is most precious. >> i want to hug everybody since y'all saved my boys' lives. thank you so much. thank you. >> after a week of so much sadness, something to be happy about. that is our broadcast for this friday evening. i'm ann curry in for brian williams. for all of us here at nbc news, williams. for all of us here at nbc news, thank you and good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

good friday evening, everyone. i'm janelle wang. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. a basketball player is getting attention for an accusation of murder. the once budding athlete is now in jail charged with killing an emerging rap star. mary an favo joins us live with details and reaction from white's father, mary ann. >> well, the murder he's accused of happened nearly a year ago,

in june of last year. he is accused of murdering a rapper. and he is well known in the bay area sports world. he played at two different universities here, including santa clara university. it was this amazing shot from beyond half court that brought san francisco state basketball player desense white nationwide attention. now the basketball star is getting attention for something that happened off the court. white is accused of murdering a man in george. u.s. marshals arrested him april 24 in pacifica. >> mr. white was arrested in our county, and we filed in the district attorney's office a fugitive proceeding against him in court. that's extradition proceedings. >> white was transferred back to san francisco in may facing extradition. he is accused of murdering a rapper in a parking garage near atlanta. at least four o