worst case scenario. >> thank you, jeff. thanks for watching us at 5:00. more local news at 6:00. >> see you then. good evening. for what may seem like an unusual version of "nightly news" for all of you joining us in your time zone that's because we are covering a live event. the national weather service tonight used some unusual words a few hours ago. they warned us of a particularly dangerous situation and, sadly, it's come true. we have a big, bad situation in a big american city where they couldn't afford any more trouble. we have a tornado on the ground tonight in the oklahoma city metropolitan area and a second one backed up behind it that could very well come quite close to moore, oklahoma, where

tornado sirens have been sounding. we'd like to begin by dipping into local coverage on our nbc station kfor. now fair warning, they are in the middle of covering a local emergency. people have been told to take cover there going back over the past hour. they are covering a tornado on the ground in their city, so with that warning let's listen in. >> south side of the air base, take cover now. the bottom line on this deal. it's not on the ground it could be rain-wrapped and unable to be seen. i will send it back to you. i'm trying to get my bearings on where this thing is exactly located at. i think it's off to the crossroads area. really picking up some wind now. i think it's going to be to the south and east of the crossroads area, mike. >> okay. showing the -- i think it may be weakening some down at north 27th and i-35. north 27th and i-35 in north

moore, just to the north of moore high school by about a mile and a half. reed tiller joins us live. where are you? >> hey, right now we are east of 44th, about a mile on 29th. we can't see anything. we must be in the hook or the back side of the tornado. power's out everywhere. there's two feet of water in the road, tree limbs down, power lines down. yeah. we can't see anything. we have a flat tire. we went over a power line and we're going to keep trying to go forward. it's bad here. the wind, the back side has to be 70, 80 miles per hour. >> okay, reed. appreciate that. emily sutton is in canadian county. go, emily. >> all right. yeah, mike. we are right on the phone here in minko. we had a brief spin-up. we had a tornado on the ground. i saw lots of dust flowing. i'm still seeing the dust

flowing. and then we saw the funnel reach down and there was a tornado. it was a weak one. but this is located literally just east of the town of minko. lots of dust flowing. yep, i see still the tornado on the ground. do you see that, josephine? yep. this is a tornado on the ground near minko. it's a lower end tornado. there's been high traffic, people trying to avoid the tornado warning that was north of this area earlier. everyone was trying to drive south to get out of it. now a lot of people are really close to it. police officers are working to block the road. yeah. it's lifting back up. it's a weak tornado, but there is one, mike. >> okay, emily, what direction from minko is that weak tornado? >> we are north of minko, and the tornado -- we are facing to the southeast. >> so you are looking southeastward from north minko. >> yes. >> okay. we copy that. >> again, this is local

coverage. kfor, oklahoma city, right now. that's just a small -- as you heard, one of the small tornados in this cluster in this area. the big one, the serious situation, what they have been worried about and the reason for the take cover warning in oklahoma city is still on the ground churning right near the intersection of two major interstates. and where it is right now, communications are impossible. people ideally are under ground. remember, oklahoma city is home to both tinker air force base to more or less the east of the city, and on the other side, will rogers airport, a sprawling, obviously big city airport. nbc's janet shamlian, after wrapping up a live report for nbc "nightly news" on the east coast tonight headed out to the airport. she arrived, was promptly hustled down stairs along with everyone else at will rogers airport. she's been able to make contact

with us by cell phone. janet, what's it like down there? >> reporter: brian, good evening. there's about 500 to 600 people here. everybody from tsa agents to pilots to passengers with their luggage. we were herded down here, i would say now about 30 minutes ago. we heard the sirens. there were plenty of announcements. people did not hesitate to come down. i would say ten minutes ago we were told to put our hands over our heads and cover our heads, to move away from all windows. this is a tunnel that runs between the parking garages and the terminal of the airport. it's about -- i think a third of a mile long. so there's plenty of room but it is warm down here. i think the system has passed over us. it got very dark. we could see kind of rain lashing through some windows above our head, a few windows that are down here. the power has come back on. they said there is still a tornado warning for the airport. they don't want anyone to leave.

people are trying to make calls. it's just about impossible. i can't believe i got a line out. obviously no one is going anywhere out of oklahoma city tonight. >> yeah, janet. i think this is what they are talking about. the system, the main system did pass over you. it's now closer to i-35. the northwest -- the north-south route to your east. i think what they are now worried about is a second rotational system to your west. >> reporter: they talked about that, yes. >> that is also a concern threatening moore, oklahoma, which if our folks were watching we just heard north moore, oklahoma, mentioned in the local kfor coverage. janet shamlian along with several hundred people down stairs in one of those connecting tunnels between parking and the departures terminal at will rogers airport in oklahoma city. this system, we should also add, goes from this metropolitan area

up to the north and east to metropolitan st. louis tonight. and along that line we have had multiple tornado touchdowns reported already. think of the population centers. look right there in the middle. joplin, missouri, also on the map tonight. and getting its share of bad weather. meteorologist kelly cass among those watching all of this with us from the comfort and safety of weather channel headquarters in atlanta. kelly, the system continues to fire up. >> it's affecting at least 50 million people, brian. this is a terrible situation for oklahoma city where the tornado emergency is still in effect. people need to seek cover right now. moore is included in this tornado warning. notice how the northern parts of oklahoma city taken out of the warning. now we are tracking a possible tornado moving directly into moore, oklahoma, and down toward the norman, oklahoma, area as well. again, this is a dangerous situation. there is moore right there

included in that tornado warning. they had to close down a stretch of i-35, by the way. there were reports of cars being stranded there unfortunately. hopefully they were able to get to safety because this storm is moving in that direction up i-35. the national weather service, the storm prediction center doesn't do this often. this is a particularly dangerous situation, tornado watch. we call it a p.d.s. watch. that goes until midnight including oklahoma city and tulsa. that means long-lived, violent, dangerous tornadoes are likely here. we are talking about a tornado watch in the joplin area until 10:00 central. yes, even st. louis under a tornado watch tonight until 10:00 central and further to the east against the indiana border watching out for tornadoes until 4:00 in the morning. here is a threat for overnight tonight. chicago, st. louis, oklahoma city, millions of people could be impacted by either damaging winds, large hail, even the possibility of tornadoes. we do it again tomorrow unfortunately. at least for oklahoma city.

we take you out of the red. that's the good news. we're talking about dallas, little rock, nashville, cleveland. even up state new york and northern new england. we can't rule out the possibility of tornadoes. the main threat will be damaging winds and large hail even as we head for the second half of the weekend from new england to the deep south including the busiest airport in atlanta, georgia. unfortunately, brian, we are far from having the situation be over. >> kelly cass, weather channel headquarters. thanks, kelly. while we talk let's put up the incoming picture from kfor tv. again our nbc station in oklahoma city. when we were just there in moore, oklahoma, this station was running 24/7, of course with weather and then aftermath coverage of the terrible tragedy there. you see moore, oklahoma, in the center of your screen. the southern tip of the kind of leading edge of the red. they are showing there the rotational systems aloft.

one of them over mustang, oklahoma. that one is the reason janet shamlian can't yet move at the oklahoma city airport because some of this weather is still sliding from the west to the east. so, please, please, keep the folks in this area, especially the poor suffering folks in moore, oklahoma, where remember, shelter is really at a premium. they had 13,000 structures damaged. keep them in your thoughts and prayers tonight as we are in the middle of an aggressively dangerous weather system, so much so the national weather service did know to warn everybody well in advance. we are going to take our first break tonight. when we come back, we have an extraordinary conversation with six of the most extraordinary women you will ever meet. it's an nbc exclusive. all six are amputees, victims of the boston marathon bombing. hard to believe it's been so

many weeks since we were covering that story. so nbc "nightly news" will continue on this night of violent weather and other news right after this.

we have for you tonight part of an extraordinary conversation with six of the most extraordinary women you will ever see gathered in one room. we went up to boston this week where six women, all of them amputees, victims of the boston marathon bombings, agreed to sit down with us and talk. we have come to know some of them on television since the attack. the preschool teacher, the haitian immigrant, the hair stylist, the dancer. well, together they are a lesson in character, courage, grit, and sheer strength. what if there was one compliant among all of you -- is it phantom pain? pain in general? >> definitely phantom pain. it's like your leg is still there. it feels right now like my knee

is bent and the leg is just hanging. >> that's a function of the nerves -- >> your brain is used to sending blood down there and the nerves feeling it, it thinks it's there. i have tried looking in the mirror and i feel like that does help. you look at yourself and your brain registers you don't have that. i try to start my day that way, just to tell it, it's not there. >> what's the best distraction? is it a movie on an ipad when you're feeling good? is it music? is it just having a room full of people? >> i think for me personally it's the kids that i teach. they send me videos. they send me all kinds of things. it really just kind of lifts me up. the support i get from them and even though they're 2 their parents send me e-mails and they say, they miss you so much. they can't wait for you to come home.

>> they're going to smother you. >> i was told by my boss they are going to be fighting over rides in the wheelchair. >> what have you learned from family and friends from this? >> very important to have everyone around you if you can. they have been my unbelievable support and my saviors. >> they are our rocks. >> definitely. >> has it been good for you to see the veterans who have visited here hop out of their cars in the parking lot and come on up to say hello to you? >> that was huge for me. they all said that this is the worst time -- waiting to heal, waiting to be fitted. but that, you know, we will gain our independence, and be able to pretty much resume our lives which, to me, that was like a ray of sunshine. >> to you, that means dancing. of all the people here. >> yes, it does. >> like if you had to pick an occupation to go back to, you're the dancer. >> yes. >> at least that gives you a huge target to shoot for. >> it really does. it gives a huge target.

i just got my leg today which is a huge step. i shared a dance with my father. >> aw! >> it was amazing and incredibly emotional to talk about. it was a little high school sway. obviously i want more than that. that was great, but the occupation to go back to, it's going to be a long road. >> do you all have target dates or target events in your life? is that part of the therapy to aim for something? >> a company donated a paddleboard to me. i like to paddleboard in the summer. it arrived last week. i'd just like to think about it and look at it every once in a while and know next summer i will be back out there. >> what has the city of boston done? it meant a lot to many of you, especially from baltimore. >> they have been so welcoming and so helpful. the staff at my hospital is amazing. friday will be 47 days that i have been in the hospital.

it's like leaving really close friends. >> it's a great city. i love this city. it's like a big family. especially all the hospitals and not one person that was brought to the hospital died. everyone survived. if we put our heads together we can do great things. >> we want to thank our first responders, too. i had a stranger help me. heather, you did as well. amazing the people that came out that day and just jumped into it. a woman from california named joan crawled over to me. i know that i definitely wouldn't be here without her. she was screaming for people to come help me. you know, i had this moment where i thought i was going to die. i was just laying there. in my head i said, i'm not going to die. this is not how i'm going to go. i'm not done yet.

it was almost immediate that she was right there. it was like she heard my thoughts and knew that i needed help. if i could find her, hug her, thank her that would mean the world to me. >> couple more notes here. they are all still on pain medication. they all asked me to speak up because all of them had lost some of their hearing in the bombing. that's just a part of the conversation with the six extraordinary women. for those who would still like to help we have posted information on that on our website tonight. it's important you know the entire conversation airs tonight on our all new "rock center" at 10:00/9:00 central on this very station. we'll take a break. we are back in a moment with why folks on earth should feel good about a close encounter earlier tonight.

some violent scenes overseas today in turkey. what started four days ago as peaceful protests against a plan

to turn a popular park in istanbul into a shopping mall. riot police used teargas and water cannons on the crowd. protests sprung up in a dozen turkish cities, all in solidarity, many chanting anti-government slogans. tonight an american mother of seven caught up in an international drama in mexico is free from jail, back home with her family in arizona. yanira maldonado was cleared by a judge after being jailed for a week on a drug smuggling charge after 12 pounds of marijuana was discovered under her seat on a bus. her family insisted all along she had been set up. the embassies got involved. in the end surveillance video showed she boarded the bus without any parcels of that size. let's give each other a pat on the back. we made it. while you may not have felt it a short time ago an asteroid passed by the earth trailed by its own moon at a distance from us of about 3.6 million miles. had it gone differently it would

have left a mark. it's about 2,000 feet wide, roughly nine times the size of an ocean liner. it's traveling at a high rate of speed. "wheel of fortune" has been on television a long time and history was made alongside that wheel last night. autumn earhart became only the second contestant in the show's history to win a million dollars on "wheel of fortune." she solved the final bonus puzzle in less than a second by guessing the phrase "tough workout" with just four letters revealed in advance. she says all the money will go to her wedding which will now be better than average. when we come back an extraordinary creature doing extraordinary things with some kids.

finally tonight let's try to end on an up note with all that's going on. you have heard of therapy dogs. we have seen them deployed to so many tragedies of late. this story is about a therapy dolphin that had been around for decades working with disabled children, until the dolphin got sick. nbc's kerry sanders has our report from florida tonight on her remarkable journey back to health with a little help from her friends. [ clicking ] >> reporter: sarah the dolphin

has spent years working with children. earlier this month that was in jeopardy when trainers noticed sarah couldn't breathe. at 29 years old the dolphin's breathing was as labored as a human with a severe case of emphysema. tests revealed one of her two airways had closed off 80%. your fear was -- >> what if this was something really bad? >> reporter: dino hogland runs island dolphin care in the florida keys. every day her team pairs sarah with children for therapy. when sarah started getting weaker, dina and her trainers knew something had to be done, and fast. sarah was rushed to the hospital. at 370 pounds and nine feet long, she was sedated and given a c.a.t. scan in a machine normally used for humans. veterinarians and doctors who treat people with lung disease came together from across the country. they decided to try a technique

used on humans, similar to angioplasty. >> we can go in there and do what we do in people which is to put a balloon down there and place the balloon, open up the airway. >> reporter: when the operation is going on, anxious moments? >> definitely. definitely anxious. i will even go so far as saying scary. it's never been done before. >> reporter: hours later, sarah was back in the water, breathing normally. great news for randy kirsh. almost eight years ago, randy, who was born with down's syndrome, was gaining confidence through therapy with sarah. >> what do you say to sarah? >> i love you. >> reporter: now the two are back together celebrating sarah's new lease on life. what do you say to sarah? >> she's the greatest dolphin. >> reporter: the best dolphin in the world? >> yeah. >> reporter: the prognosis -- absent complications, sarah is now expected to live another 20 to 30 years. kerry sanders, nbc news, key largo. there you go. that's our broadcast for this

friday night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. a reminder, we are back on the air tonight with an all new "rock center" at 10:00/9:00 central. i'm brian williams. lester holt will be here with you this weekend. we will, of course, look for you on monday night. in the meantime, have a good weekend. good night. with breaking news. good evening i'm raj mathai. jessica is off tonight. we begin with breaking news in east san jose where police are investigating a shooting in front of a liquor store in front of the s&s market. we have confirmed a man was shot once in the chest and twice in the back. the gunman is described as a 14-year-old boy who shotted a gang affiliation before the shooting. we have a reporter on the scene right now gathering information. we will have an update later on in this newscast. the timing of all ofm/v this ironic. before this shooting san jose put itself officially in crisis

response mode. san jose police department will be out in full force beginning this weekend. days off have been postponed and overtime have been approved stemming from a deadly week in which four people were killed in three separate incidents and that does not include this hour. nbc bay area's damianso3 has th details with this weekend's plan to fight back. >> reporter: virtually all hands on deck. even the s.w.a.t. team is out on patrols trying to cut down on the violence and it has started. this is one of the reasons for the swarm, another bank hit by robbers in san jose. >> it was a prototypical quiet bank robbery where he made a threat. >> reporter: the heist followed a week of murders. four people are dead in separate homicides all since sunday. >> i don't feel safe anymore. >> reporter: neighbors gathered at the scene