>> president obama will be arriving ten minutes from now at moffett field. on the broadcast tonight, tracking your calls. why is the government keeping a record of every phone call you make? the stunning disclosure of a secret policy that's been in place for years. spy story. on the eve of president obama's crucial meeting with china's new leader, an nbc investigation reveals for the first time how the chinese hacked into obama's campaign for president. storm threat. the first tropical storm of the season hits florida with high winds and trenorrential rains. tonight andrea takes aim at a broader area with tens of millions in its sights. and hollywood's mermaid. a superstar from a bygone era who raised her sport. the one and only esther williams. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. i'm ann curry in for brian tonight. as new details are breaking about widespread government surveillance of americans, it turns out every time you pick up the phone the government has known what number you were dialing. a secret surveillance program is collecting telephone records of every single one of us. late today we learned of a separate and what could be a far more explosive government program tapping into e-mails and computer traffic. we begin with andrea mitchell. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, ann. today's leak was only the tip of the iceberg. nbc news learned under the post 9/11 patriot act the government has been collecting records on every telephone call made in america. not only foreign calls. that's causing howls of outrage on twitter and by members of congress who have voted to continue the surveillance

program. it's an enormous collection of data stored in giant national security agency computers for the last seven years. logs of telephone calls and their durations. not names and not recordings of what's said unless the government has a specific threat and asks permission to go back and check a number and then eaves drop. all approved repeatedly over the years by congress say defenders of the plan. >> within the last few years this program was used to stop a program -- excuse me, stop a terrorist attack in the united states. we know that. it's important. >> reporter: it all became public because of a leak in "the guardi guardian" a british paper which published this report from april telling verizon to turn over e intelligence records. it was a three-month renewal similar to renewals against all phone carriers. >> i'm a verizon customer. it doesn't bother me one bit for the national security administration to have my phone number. because what they are trying to

do is find out what terrorist groups we know about and individuals and who the hell they are calling. >> reporter: in the hot seat again attorney general eric holder. senators demanded details, even a promise that it doesn't permit the executive branch to snoop on them. >> i would be more than glad to come back in an appropriate setting to discuss the issues that you have raised. >> the correct answer would be to say, no, we stayed within our lane and i'm assuring you we did not spy on members of congress. >> reporter: the speakers of the house raised civil liberties concerns. >> i trust the president will explain to the american people why the administration considers this a critical tool. >> reporter: boehner voted for the program repeatedly. >> we have debated this several times, more than a dozen times in the intelligence committee. it has been the subject of judiciary committee hearings. it has been the subject of extended floor debate and votes. >> reporter: the entire senate was called to an intelligence

briefing. but intelligence committee member ron wyden tweeted the director of national intelligence denied that such a program existed. >> does the nsa collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of americans? >> no, sir. >> reporter: all this created a furor today. >> civil liberties are too important to push off to the side and not get answers. >> reporter: anger exe employeded online. al gore tweeted in digital era privacy must be a priority. is it just me or is secret blanket surveillance obscenely outrageous. and can you hear me now, # nsa, yes, we can, # verizon. tonight james clapper is explaining he didn't intentionally mislead senator wyden in march indicating he was referring to e-mails, not phone

records. ann. >> andrea mitchell, thank you very much for your reporting on this. now we are learning more about tapping into e-mails. pete williams has more. what are we learning? >> reporter: good evening. sources familiar with the separate government program, one that monitors the internet for suspicious e-mail and other traffic confirms its existence first reported by the washington post and guardian newspapers. the papers and officials say it allows the nsa and fbi to tap directly into the computer providers of some of the largest computer servers of some of the largest internet providers. government analysts can monitor the traffic in real time using special programs to watch for suspicious messages or postings. the equivalent of standing in the post office and watching for specific envelopes that go by coming from parts of the world or people that are deemed to be possible troublemakers. this is different, they say,

from the phone program andrea was talking about which stores pascals and allows the government to go back to the data rater when there is a specific number to check. this involves the ability to watch for suspicious activity as it is happening as well as to look for stored data. the sources say this is mainly oriented toward communications that originate outside the u.s. or that involve communications from the u.s. to a foreign country. ann? >> certainly will be a lot of reaction to both stories. pete williams, thank you tonight. the other developing story we are following, tropical storm andrea, the first of the season, is hitting florida tonight and taking aim at most of the east coast. the weather channel's mike seidel is in florida for us tonight with more on this. hey, mike, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you. tropical storm andrea, the first of the season, has been churned toward the sunshine state all day long. it finally made land fall this afternoon in the big bend area, florida. tropical storm andrea came

ashore, bringing with it drenching rains, gusty winds clocked at nearly 60 miles an hour and a stern warning from officials. >> this one is a fast-movinging storm. it will be a great reminder to all of us to get ready for hurricane season. >> reporter: this morning a tornado touched down in the palm beach area, toppled trees crushing homes and downing power lines. in sun city center, florida, outside of tampa residents were out surveying the damage. >> most of the roof is still on top of the house. it just did a lot of devastation for 15 seconds of fear. >> reporter: more than four inches of rain caused street flooding that slowed traffic and closed businesses for the day. >> the water isn't too deep but the wind is pretty intense. >> reporter: for vacationers like kristy fairchild from woodstock, georgia, the storm was just part of the getaway. >> we came for a sunny beach

vacation. ended up with a tropical storm and making the best of it. >> reporter: beach goers on the west coast have been warned to watch out for dangerous rip currents. in gulf shores, alabama, authorities say more than a dozen swimmers had to be rescued in the heavy surf. >> we were just swimming. we didn't think we were that far out until we couldn't get back in, we couldn't touch and we were all freaking out. >> reporter: andrea's forecast to ree main a tropical storm through friday, bringing heavy rain and 40 miles per hour winds to parts of georgia and the carolinas. before racing northeast off cape cod on saturday. just since the first part of may we have covered record-setting snowfalls in the midwest, then the deadly twist rs in oklahoma city. now a land falling tropical storm during the early days of the hurricane season. following andrea there is nothing to worry about on the beaches. we have a long way to go. the peak of the hurricane season is september 10. ann? >> thank you so much. in philadelphia today rescuers

continue going through the are you able of a collapsed building a day after six people were killed in the accident. it was demolished and the question is how did it happen? kristen dahlgren is in philadelphia tonight with more on this. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, ann. search efforts have now ended here. they found no additional victims here today. in the midst of the tragedy there were cheers here overnight. a survivor pulled from the rubble just when many were giving up hope. after 13 hours of desperate digging at almost midnight a sign of life beneath the rubble. >> once we removed the building material we saw her head moving and she was moaning. that was the indication she was still alive. >> reporter: 61-year-old myra plekin had been shopping with a friend when the building under demolition next door came crashing down bearing much of the busy store and those inside. her friend was one of six people killed in the collapse.

but somehow nearby myra survived under four to five feet of debris. firefighters reassured her as they dug her out. >> just kept saying, we're coming for you, hang in there. we'll be there in a minute. keep with us. we were trying to keep her focused. >> reporter: earlier in the day eddie brown did the same for a woman trapped under metal and bricks for two hours. >> kept holding her hand. we're going to get you out of here. told her i wasn't going to leave her. >> reporter: 14 were pulled from the rubble alive. as the search continued today there were reports of concerns about the demolition project. steve was working on another project nearby. >> the way they were tearing down the building was inappropriate. you could tell they were undermanned, didn't have enough equipment out there. >> reporter: others in the neighborhood claim there were no support braces on the walls. officials launched an investigation. there are still a lot of

questions about what went wrong, what inspections were done when and what might have prevented this. ann? >> all right, kristen dahlgren, thank you. >> reporter: from london tonight, word that prince philip, the husband of queen elizabeth is in the hospital. kier simmons has more. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, ann. there is concern tonight for the health of prince philip who is 91. buckingham palace making the announcement late today that he had been admitted to this hospital forced to cancel a number of scheduled appearances over the next two weeks. he would undergo surgery for an unspecified abdominal complaint tomorrow. he looked fit and in good spirits today. he was by the queen's side tuesday as she marked the 60th anniversary of her coronation. prince philip will turn 92 on monday. it is a birthday he'll spend here in the hospital, ann. >> thank you so much. in washington senator frank

lutenberg will be buried tomorrow at arlington national cemetery. late today his casket was moved out of the capitol after lying in repose all day in the senate chamber. the new jersey senator died monday at the age of 89. today chris christie appointed jeffrey kieza to fill the seat until a special election is held in october. when "nbc nightly news" continues this thursday evening an nbc news investigation ree vealing for the first time how china hacked to the obama and mccain campaign computers. later, making a difference on a field of dreams that teaches kids much more than just how to play ball.

we're back tonight with an nbc news investigation. when president obama meets tomorrow with china's new president, cyberattacks linked to the chinese government will be high on the agenda. it is said they have routinely hacked stealing secrets and intellectual properties. but nbc news has learned that the cyberattacks have gone further to the heart of the american political system including president obama's campaign. our report tonight from nbc's national investigative correspondent michael isikoff. >> reporter: months before taking the oath of office. >> i barack obama hussein obama. >> reporter: cyberspies had penetrated the obama 2008 presidential campaign, including a direct hit on computers in his chicago campaign headquarters. >> hackers gained access to e-mails and a range of campaign files from policy position papers to travel plans.

>> reporter: what wasn't revealed at the time is that u.s. intelligence agencies quickly traced the attack to the people's republic of china. >> this is political cyber espionage against the two american political parties. >> reporter: in the summer of twoul when the world -- 2008 when the world's attention was on the olympics the fbi discovered that both the obama and mccain computers were under sustained attack. mccain officials were shocked when they got a phone call of a top chinese diplomat complaining about this private letter from mccain to china ease new president drafted on campaign computers. the problem was that letter had not yet been delivered. >> yes, we can. >> reporter: in chicago at obama's campaign headquarters a phony meeting agenda e e-mail was circulating among top staffers with an attachment which contained a hidden computer virus. obama's 2008 campaign manager david plouff got an alarming

phone call from president bush's chief of staff. >> he says we have reason to believe that your campaign systems have been penetrated, we think by a foreign entity. >> reporter: the campaign hire add private security firm to stop the sophisticated cyberattack. >> it was really designed to get in and stay in and to get data and keep getting it. >> reporter: chinese officials consistently deny any role in cyberattacks. but u.s. experts say the 2008 attack was a wake-up call to a persistent and growing threat from china that can no longer be ignored. michael isikoff, nbc news, washington. >> and when we come back, switching gears. remembering a hollywood icon like no other.

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that's screen legend esther williams making an entrance in 1953's "easy to love." we learned that williams died in california today. she was a true movie star, a big box office draw, and leading lady in the 1940s and '50s. she began as a star athlete and that helped define her hollywood career. ♪ the titles of her film tell the stories ksh -- "bathing beauty," "million dollar mermaid." but esther williams never set out to be in the movies. >> i always felt that stardom was my consolation prize. >> she was a championship swimmer. in 1940 seemed headed for olympic gold, but the games were cancelled that year because of world war ii. she was discovered by a hollywood actor and became a favorite pinup girl during the war. she swam more than a thousand miles on camera and it took its

toll, including a spinal injury that left her in a body cast for months. >> i was in an aluminum crown, and when i dove in 50 feet in the air, i said oh [ bleep ]. ♪ >> she once said her favorite leading man was the water. but she also worked with some of the biggest names of her time, frank sinatra, gene kelly, and during an mgm screen test, clark gable kissed her in front of his wife. >> i heard him say i told you i was going to kiss me a mermaid today. and from then on i was known as the mermaid on the lot. >> reporter: in 1961 williams made her final movie directed by the third of her four husbands, fernando lamas. >> when he asked me to marry him, he said, can you stop being esther williams? >> she never really stopped being esther williams. >> esther williams was 91.

and from moscow tonight, the kind of stage craft that only vladimir putin can pull off. after putin and his rarely seen wife attended the ballet at the great kremlin palace, the couple entered a room and announced to a reporter that they were ending their marriage after almost 30 years. mr. putin said it will be a civilized divorce. up next making a difference on a field of dreams.

>> announcer: making a difference, brought to you by l alka seltzer plus. with the school year winding down, the boys and girls of summer will be taking the field in baseball programs across the country. and for some, this may be a life-changing experience as they learn what they can achieve both on and off the field. nbc's ron mott has our making a difference report. >> reporter: since 1991, young new yorkers like 14-year-old marlin silva have stretched beyond what they thought possible, thanks to baseball. >> it taught me how to be a team player, a person, a positive,

outgoing child that i am. >> harlem rbi, which grew from an abandoned lot to this youth program, recently attra attracted royalty -- prince harry. two decades ago there was another visitor here, an 11-year-old named jason medina who the coach said was no prince. >> i'm not exactly a go along get along type of kid. when he left here he was self-directed, knew what he wanted for himself and was also clear about what he owed to his teammates and the community. >> reporter: today's a 30-year-old cop in washington, d.c. named officer of the year in 2011. >> he's a hit on the police force because they're hitting baseballs again at this once drug infested park. part of medina's efforts to play it forward. he started ward 7 baseball. modeled largely after harlem rbi.

>> that was a good pitch! >> reporter: funding much of the grassroots operation from his own pocket with a simple goal. >> that's to change a life. try to show somebody that there's somebody that actually cares about you. that's not from your family or your parents, but somebody in the community who cares about your well-being, your upbringing, your growth in society, your growth in life. >> reporter: and that growth is a reality. already 72 players strong. >> it's good because people get to stay out of trouble and they come out here and have fun. >> it's a good community thing to do. keeps kids from being on the street. >> reporter: busy transforming lives. one kid, one pitch, at a time. >> you did a great job. >> reporter: ron mott, nbc news, washington. >> they did a great job. that's our broadcast for this thursday evening. i'm ann curry in for brian williams. as we leave you on the 69th anniversary of d-day at the world war ii memorial here in washington. for all of us here at nbc news, washington. for all of us here at nbc news, thank you and good night.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com nbc bay area news starts now. good evening, thank you for joining us. >> i'm jessica aguirre, let's go to where the president has just landed moments ago at moffett field. the president will be here for several hours, heading to do fundraisers, back-to-back fundraisers, pricey ones. and then the president will spend the night in san jose, and tomorrow he will deliver a speech on obama care. you can see the president

jetting off as he will be in his limo, heading to palo alto first. >> reporter: yes, good evening, you can see the president just got into his vehicle. and he is about to take off to palo alto. he just got done meeting and greeting a few dozen people who were invited by the white house. lots of kids up front. they just got done. it was about a minute where he was talking to them. they were very excited. they had their cameras out. he touched down early, took a while for him to get out of air force one. as he did, he greeted local dignitaries, and the white house will provide more information very soon. right now you can see the cars getting ready to take off. there is a long line of security vehicles here to take president