days on 40 acres of pasture on sonoma county. >> congratulations on the retirement. thanks for joining us. on our broadcast tonight, landmark case. police can now take your dna when they place you under arrest. today's ruling drove a spike through the supreme court. the losing side says we have just given up another right. fatal chase amid a search for the missing and a rising death toll tonight in oklahoma. new questions about a dangerous business after the deaths of three veteran storm chasers. the air war after a fire blows up in southern california. 30,000 acres, several homes amid the scorched earth. we're live on the fire line tonight. and going home. one of the extraordinary women we met in boston. the last of the amputees, the last of the hospital patients departing today to resume her life. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. one of the justices of the supreme court said the case they decided today was the most important of its kind in decades. what the court did today will drastically change the power we give our police officers. but those who are against what happened today warn us all we just gave away another right. this case is about dna. the court said today police can now take a sample of your dna when they arrest you for what's deemed to be a serious crime. dna has shown it has the power to convict the guilty and free the innocent. that will now be put to the test in police station lockups all over this country. our justice correspondent pete williams was there for today's ruling. pete, good evening. >> brian, good evening. today's ruling says taking an arrested person's dna is just like getting fingerprints or taking a picture to compare to

crime scene video. the only difference, the court says, is that dna is more accurate. today's ruling said the nation's police can take a dna sample by swabbing the cheek of anyone arrested for a serious or violent crime which can then be checked against a national database of dna taken from scenes of unsolved crimes. in a 5-4 decision anthony kennedy joined by most of the conservatives and liberal steven breyer said dna is a legitimate search helping police to confirm identity and discover whether a suspect has a violent past and should not be released on bail. >> they can match the dna to a cold case and see if the rapist that committed that case years and even decades in the past is the same person sitting before them that day. >> reporter: in a blistering dissent, conservative antonin scalia, joined by three liberals, said the supreme court is breaking ground allowing a search without a warrant to see if a suspect has committed some other crime, too. summarizing aloud he said,

solving crime is a noble objective but less important than protecting people from suspicionless law enforcement searches. your dna can be taken if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, for whatever reason. he said he doubted that the founding fathers, "would have been so eager to open their mouths for royal inspection." >> we are headed to a world of much more dna testing for arrestees. it will probably be as common as fingerprinting has been for years now. >> reporter: defense lawyer barry schick who has used dna to free people wrongly convicted said the court is wrong to allow taking dna without a search warrant. >> this case is not about dna databases good or bad. this is about the warrant requirement and the protections that a neutral detached magistrate gives to the privacy of citizens. >> reporter: the court said today dna can be taken only from

people arrested for serious crimes. the dissenters said it could become broader and could eventually cover nearly one-third of americans arrested for any crime by age 23. brian? >> a big ruling today in washington. pete williams at the court to start us off tonight. pete, thanks. it's been three days since the awful deadly outbreak of tornadoes in oklahoma. the size and sadness of the loss in terms of lives and property got worse today. nbc's katy tur is in union city, oklahoma, tonight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. i'm standing on the second floor of this home, or at least what was the second floor. it was completely blown off when the tornado on friday came barrelling through. right now oklahoma officials have just updated us and told us 18 people, at least 18 people people are now dead from the storm. they are searching for more. >> this is going to get really

bad. >> reporter: the weekend flash flooding on the deep fork river tonight. >> congratulations on the brian?

>> diana alvear on the

smoldering fire line in california tonight. diana, thanks. this was the fourth day of anti-government protests in turkey. once again violence broke out as riot police fought with demonstrators near the offices of the prime minister. they are seen largely as a display of frustration with the prime minister erdogan who has been trying to impose more conservative values on that mostly secular country. it looked like tahrir square in egypt during the arab uprising, a comparison erdogan rejected today. >> reporter: the court-martial of the man who may have put u.s. military secrets in the hands of osama bin laden started today. the so-called wikileaks trial. army private bradley manning went under trial in ft. meade, maryland, for the biggest leak of classified material in u.s. history. prosecutors said he harvested hundreds of thousands of documents from secret databases and put them on the web and into the hands of the enemy including the names of every american serving in iraq. 74,000 individuals in uniform. he said some of the information was later found during the raid

that killed bin laden. manning's lawyer called his client a humanist trying to expose what he saw as injustice in both iraq and afghanistan. the new man at the irs told congress today what a lot of americans might have been thinking already -- that taxpayers no longer trust the agency after a series of disclosures about irs spending and the targeting of conservative political groups. kelly o'donnell covering on capitol hill for us tonight. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening brian. he's barely two weeks on the job. a job lawmakers sympathize won't be easy or popular. danny werfel promised big changes and answers. congress has been unable to find out who ordered the targeting of conservatives for special scrutiny before the last presidential election. some of the groups will be here tomorrow telling their stories

for the first time. more heat for the irs. lawmakers heard about big bonuses paid to some irs officials linked to the controversy. tomorrow another report will shine a light on the irs for spending on travel and conferences some call excessive. $50 million over the last couple of years for about 200 conferences for irs employees. brian? >> kelly o'donnell on capitol hill this evening. thanks. five-term new jersey democratic senator frank lautenberg has died. at 89 years of age, he was the oldest member of the senate. his death marks a generational passing as well. he was the last remaining world war ii veteran in the senate. he left his mark on a lot of legislation. he was a big reason why the national drinking age is 21, why there are certain blood alcohol standards for drunk driving and why smoking on planes was outlawed. he grew up poor, the son of jewish immigrants. he went to columbia on the g.i. bill and helped form and grow the giant payroll company adp. with the money he earned he helped finance his own campaigns. his death means the loss of a

scrappy and dependable democratic vote in the senate. republican governor chris christie gets to appoint a temporary replacement. still ahead for us on a monday night, as we mentioned they bring us mesmerizing images from inside tornadoes. but now the deadly game of chase is raising very serious questions about a very dangerous business.

when we were last here on the air friday night storms were fire along a severe line from oklahoma city to st. louis. storm chasers descended on the storms. as always, we aired their video. we interviewed several of them about what they could see. a freeze frame of the radar over the region from friday night using pink dots to show where many of those chasers were based on their gps locators, many found themselves in the worst spot -- the hook of the approaching storm. while mike bettes of the weather channel and his crew had a very

close call, others weren't so lucky. three veteran chasers died. and now the questions have started over this dangerous and crowded business. our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> hold on, brother. >> reporter: from inside their truck this is what a weather channel crew faced as a tornado caught up with them. >> everybody just go, go. keep going. keep going if you can. everybody duck down. >> guys, that's it. >> reporter: just minutes earlier meteorologist mike bettes cut short his live report. >> we have to go now in order to stay ahead of this and not get run over by it. >> reporter: the tornado did run over them, tossing them 200 yards. the ejected camera caught their truck rolling over and over again. all survived. nearby, storm chaser meteorologist tim samaras had also been on the air with msnbc. >> boy, the ingredients are coming together for a volatile day. >> reporter: just hours later,

samaras, his son paul and meteorologist carl young were killed when a tornado made a sudden turn, demolishing their car. >> this tornado was no exception. >> reporter: samaras dedicated his life to researching and understanding tornadoes, even designing probes to measure them. >> tim has given us some of the only measurements of pressure and winds right inside tornadoes right down at the ground level. >> reporter: the weather channel crew and samaras teams were two of dozens of storm chase teams, both professional and amateur, some providing urgent updates to radio and tv audiences, others in it for the thrill. >> there is serious inflow. >> reporter: every year hundreds of chasers converge on tornado alley. >> the chaser convergence is crazy. we have a funnel. >> reporter: many hope to capture dramatic video they can post online or sell to tv. some even offering tornado tourism. >> got another lightning bolt.

>> i see more inexperienced chaser, people going on chase vacations for bachelor parties and birthdays. that's really a concern. tornadoes are still dangerous storms. >> we don't know if we have much hail in the storm. >> reporter: tonight, many of the pros including mike bettes are rethinking the strategy. >> i just saw my wife's face. i thought, you know -- that's, you know, that's my life. i don't want to give that up just yet. thankfully i don't have to. >> reporter: how close is too close? tom costello, nbc news, washington. >> we're back in a moment with all those pausing to remember a primetime tv favorite. for our families...

our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created... a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more.. low and no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know... exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks... with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories... america's beverage companies are delivering. ♪ boy, the way glen miller played ♪ ♪ songs that made the hit parade ♪ >> ah, that voice. the great jean stapleton will be remembered as edith bunker. while she was wonderful and memorable as that character there is a bit of unfairness to it because she was such a serious and accomplished and

versatile actress. as a stage veteran she showed great range and depth. jean stapleton died this weekend in new york at the age of 90. in fact just today "all in the family" made the top five in the newly released list of the writers guild of american 101 best written tv series of all time. they rank "the sopranos" number one, followed by "seinfeld," "the twilight zone. there's "all in the family" coming in at four, followed by "mash." now you may be wondering about the mary tyler moore show or the wire or cheers or cosby, lucy or lost. that's why we posted the full list of 101 shows on our website tonight. united airlines has a big offer. how would you like to lock in services for a year in return for hundreds of dollars? more leg room will cost you $500. checked baggage, $349. the airlines long ago figured

out if they could charge for what used to be free they could make more money. they made a record amount in fees just last year. as you know, weird things start to happen when there is lightning around. dogs crawl under the bed. 4-year-olds crawl under your covers. we now know sometimes big grown men want to hold each other. this happened during the rain delay at yankee stadium. cameras aimed at both dugouts showed the moment they realized sitting in the clubhouse might be a better idea. it was, by the way, the tail end of the very same weather system that hit the midwest friday night. the great buffalo bills quarterback and nfl hall-of-famer jim kelly announced he's been diagnosed with cancer of the upper jawbone. he made the announcement prior to his annual golf tournament to bflt benefit childrens' charities. he faces surgery in a couple of days. the prognosis is good. speaking of which, angelina jolie made her first appearance since her double mastectomy and breast reconstruction procedure,

something she chose to undergo after genetic testing revealed she carried a high risk for breast cancer. she appeared with brad pitt at a london premiere and was moved to tears by the support from her fans. up next for us tonight, a woman who has become a living example of grit and determination. heading home and closing a chapter in boston.

finally tonight this was a landmark day in boston. 50 days after the marathon bombings, the last of the victims, the last of the patients has left the hospital. her name is erika brannock. she's a 29-year-old preschool teacher from maryland who was hit by the first bomb while waiting for her mom to cross the finish line. she lost her left leg above the knee. she was one of the six women amputees we met last week at spalding rehab in boston. the other five were outpatients at the time and now effective today so is erika brannock. >> my goal was to be home by my friend's wedding which is a week

from saturday. so i'll be able -- >> you're going to make it? >> -- be her maid of honor. >> you might get a little bit of attention at that event. >> right. >> we're hoping it stays on her. >> good. with her departure from the hospital today, she's on her way to achieving her goal of attending saturday's wedding back home. >> really excited to go hug my friend. and my other family members and to see my kids. i miss them terribly. i just want to sit on the floor with them and read them a story. >> all of the boston amputees found their own way to deal with the pain, the loss of limbs and what it will mean for their lives. erika has made it clear it's the children she teaches back home that have gotten her through these 50 days of hospitalization and recovery. >> they send me videos. they send me all kinds of things

and it really just lifts me up. you know, the support i get from them and even though they're 2, their parents send me e-mails. they want to tell miss brannock they miss you and want for you to come home. i have one kid that sends daily videos. >> i love you, miss brannock. >> what else do you want to say? >> i want you to come back. >> all right. can i turn it off now? >> mm-hmm. >> wave bye-bye to miss brannock. >> bye, miss brannick. >> they said they have a picture of me on the wall. she talks to it every night. >> when you go back they will smother you. >> my boss said they would be fighting over rides in the wheelchair. >> yes. >> as she heads back to maryland she said it's her new friends in massachusetts who have made all the difference in her recovery. >> i just really want to say thank you to the city of boston for giving me so much love and support. not only for me but for my family as well.

we have all met some really great people and developed really strong friendships here. >> erika brannock will be a bridesmaid in just a few days. perfectly emblematic of the strength that has emerged from this tragedy. that is our broadcast on a monday night. thank you for being with us as we start a new week. i'm brian williams. hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. now. good evening and thank you for joining us. i'm jessica aguirre. >> and i'm raj mathai. a violent crime wave in california's third largest city and now a state legislatorer wants to step in. she is suggesting bringing in the chp to help curve the violence in san jose. san jose's response we don't need the help. marianne favro joins us. why not san jose? >> reporter: i can tell you that the acting police chief says he is already deploying officers,

more of them out on to the streets to combat the recent spike in violence and he says because of that he has no intention of calling in the chp. 21 people dead, killed in san g five were killed just last week which is why state assembly speaker protempwants to call in chp officers for help. she sent this letter to the acting police chief asking him to rely on chp officers. >> my thing of concern for me is that we know that some of these violent crimes are happening near schools. and that's a huge concern. >> reporter: campo says she made the same request to the department last year but city leaders said no to chp help. today acting chief had the same response. he said while the san jose police department is always balancing staffing levels wit