>> good night, folks. feeling the heat. in sweltering temperatures behind the bullet proof glass, a different reception for barack obama in berlin. falling apart. startling new warnings about the bridges that millions of us drive across every day. and the state of disrepair they are finding across the country. >> the conspiracy theory about an american tragedy. twa flight 800. what to make of the charges of government coverup? the real-life drama we saw portrayed in a mob movie. the sensational trialing gripping the city of boston. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. for those looking for signs as to how much our world has changed over the years, it was all there today in berlin, all on display as president obama spoke on the once communist east side of the brandenburg gate. the president spoke not far from where president kennedy gave his famous speech at the height of the cold war, where ronald reagan urged gorbachev to tear down the wall that divided berlin. there was the president today, separated from the people of berlin by a wall of bullet-proof glass. a speech delivered in sweltering heat to a few thousand invited guests, not the throngs that came to see him in '08 when he was a candidate for president. and in a country where the subject of surveillance has its own dark history, all part of the appearance today in germany. chuck todd starts us off from there tonight.

chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. remember, berlin, once home to the symbol of the cold war. dividing east from west. a city that lived in constant fear of nuclear detonation was the president's back drop for a dramatic new proposal to reduce the world's nuclear stockpile. in sweltering 92-degree heat, behind eight feet of bullet proof glass at the brandenburg gate, president obama paid homage to predecessors who confronted communist in this country. >> ich bin ein. >> mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. >> for all of the authorities of government it is citizens who choose to decide whether to be defined by a wall or tear it down. >> reporter: this city who once cowered under the threat of a mushroom cloud, president obama outlined a drastic recallbration

on how the world's nuclear powers address nuclear threat. called the u.s. and russia to reduce nuclear arsenals by one-third. scrap the cold war era strategy to retaliate after a first strike. and the president will only go as far as the russians is willing to go. the president tried to pave the way with vladmir putin but fell flat. today, the russians expressed continued skepticism. this crowd, a fraction of the one that candidate obama addressed five years ago. no chanting today, but the president did quickly get a rise out of invitation only audience who had been sitting in the hot sun for three hours. >> thank you for this extraordinarily warm welcome. in fact, it's so warm, and i feel so good, that i'm actually going to take off my jacket, and anybody else who wants to, feel free to. >> earlier, a more combative crowd, the german press corps

who pushed him on issues like guantanamo bay and drones. things he once ran against. >> one of the things you discover as a politician, people don't exactly do what you want. it's shocking. and you have to keep on working at it. >> reporter: the president on his way home. two full work days this week, two full days next week and then back on the road with the first family. a week-long trip in southern africa. brian. >> chuck, thanks. now to the growing air war in the american west. crews battling to contain wildfires, exploding in half a dozen states, all of it happening as people who were evacuated during the most devastating fire in the history of the state of colorado are being allowed to return to their homes for the first time to see what if anything is left. we get our reports tonight from gabe gutierrez.

>> reporter: near prescott, arizona, nearly 500 homes evacuated after winds push flames in just hours. firefighters rushing in to contain what authorities are called a man-made fire that's growing fast. >> last night when i was out, engaged right in people's back yards. >> reporter: fires raging in utah, new mexico, oregon, and california. and one threatened a main route into yosemite national park. it could be the worst fire season in 100 years. >> we'll find something. >> for heather dubois in colorado, the worse is already here. >> my family is really close, so it's important. it's kind of sad. >> reporter: we met heather last week when she evacuated her trailer. she took this cell phone video of the terrifying escape. today, she and her mother are thankful her barn and animals were spared. but their return home is painful. this was her late grandmother's

vase. >> these are the things that are hard. >> reporter: neighborhoods in colorado springs were devastated by the black forest fire. more than 500 homes destroys, and 14,000 acres scorched. >> when i pulled up, the deck was on fire. >> reporter: plumber tim jones has lived in the area 52 years. he lost his workshop and all his tools, but his house is still standing. >> i'll stick it out. i'm not going anywhere. this is home. >> reporter: residents returning can't stay long. >> amazing what the heat did to the center i-beam through there. >> reporter: firefighters preparing for windy, hot, and dry conditions expected throughout the week. another test with little rest, in what's becoming an historic fire season. this colorado fire 85% contained. authorities have identified the couple who died trying to escape the flames. long-time members of the air

force base command. brian. >> terrible scene in a beautiful spot. gabe gutierrez in colorado springs. a new alarm sounding tonight on the state of the aging infrastructure, especially tens of thousands of bridges. millions of americans cross every day. and graphic proof of the sorry condition some are in. report tonight from nbc's john yang. >> reporter: north of seattle today, traffic on i-5 is again crossing the skaget river on a new span, less than a month when the old bridge collapsed. this is the worst accident since the i-35 w bridge plunged into the mississippi river in minneapolis, killing 13 and injuring 35. why are american bridges falling down? a report out today from a transportation advocacy group says we're not fixing aging spans fast enough. >> we americans will make 260 million trips over structurally

deficient bridges in this day alone. >> reporter: citing government numbers, the report says more than 66,000 bridges structurally deficient, more than 1 in 9. they would stretch from denver to washington, d.c. if laid end to end, more than 1,500 miles. the government says the price tag to fix bridges, including chicago's 85-year-old la salle street bridge, is $76 billion. this year's federal spending on all highway projects? only about $50 billion. chicago has more than 300 bridges and $100 million in maintenance projects that need funding. >> let's face it, sometimes the new construction seems sexier, and in a city like chicago, we have a lot of old infrastructure that we need to rebuild. >> reporter: despite the gloomy tone, there is a slight drop in the bridges that need repaired according to the government. >> fewer structurally deficient bridges in 2012, the last year

data available, than there were in 2007. >> reporter: but with scenes like this, are repairs coming fast enough? john yang. a new look into the explosion that brought down twa flight 800, 17 years ago now. the plane left jfk airport bound for paris and went down 12 miles out over the atlantic ocean. the calls for the new investigation coincide with a new film about flight 800. and they revive a theory that's been largely discredited. tom costello with more on this tonight. >> reporter: july 17, 1996. >> flight 800 en route tonight from jfk airport to charles de gaulle airport in paris, france, has exploded in mid air. >> reporter: all 230 people on board twa 800 died when their plane exploded 12 miles off long island.

immediately, investigators focused on eyewitness reports of one or more missiles in the sky. forensic teams recovered the plane from the ocean floor and painstakingly rebuilt it in a warehouse. a pain-staking investigation concluded that an electrical short has touched off a fuel vapor explosion in the central fuel tank. >> explosion, is that correct? >> yes, sir, it blew up in the air and i saw two fireballs go down into the water. >> reporter: a new film claims that the government ignored or covered up witness accounts and radar evidence of a missile. >> i believe that the twa flight 800 exploded as a result of explosion exterior from the outside of the aircraft. >> hank hughes joined by former investigators of the twa, chief

medical examiner and outside forensics consultant. veteran aviation correspondent robert hager covered the investigation. >> the key piece of who really knew what they were talking about, had the background and experience, they were unanimous in their opinion that it could not have been a missile or a bomb. >> there was no cover up and i don't think it was completely botched. >> reporter: tom, the head of ntsb major investigations at the time. >> no evidence of anything from the outside penetrating through the tank, no evidence of bomb inside. the fuselage itself. all of the wreckage, you don't see any evidence of a missile impact or missile detonating at close range. >> reporter: the man who led the fbi investigation called new allegations "bull crap." >> tom costello. that night 17 years ago, few of us will forget.

health news to report tonight. a new report says that the hpv virus has dropped by more than half now in teenage girls since the vaccine came online in '0 6. this decrease was 56%, the head of the cdc says it shows the vaccine is very effective, about 79 million americans are infected with hpv which can cause cancer in both men and women. chairman of the federal reserve, ben bernanke moved the markets today with highly anticipated remarks about the economy. he said the economic outlook is improving, unemployment is falling and expected to fall further as a result, the federal reserve will likely ease up on buying bonds, but that could drive up interest rates, including mortgage rates, which are at historic lows, wall street shuttered with the news. stocks fell more than 200 point. still ahead for us tonight, the story that inspired an oscar-winning film and now a real-life drama with one of the more feared men in america on trial for murder.

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nbc's ron allen in boston tonight, covering for us. >> reporter: it is a trial all about what prosecutors called murder and mayhem, criminals running amok. and at the center of it, prosecutors say was james "whitey" bulger. now 83. captured after 16 years on the run. they called him a hands on killer, charged with money laundering, egs torsixtortion a murders. he pleaded not guilty to all charges. he in part inspired the movie "the departed" and was allegedly a top informant for the fbi with special protection from the agency. >> we're talking about a way of life that went on for several decades, in which these corrupt bands of agents assisted whitey bulger, enabled him to rise to power and then watched his back. >> reporter: this man's daughter debra was allegedly strangled by bulger. >> it won't be closed until he's finally passed away, dead. >> reporter: the star witnesses

against bulger are former associates, like john "the executioner" martorano. he claims he's testifying against bulger because he was a rat. bulger, known as whitey, because of a streak of white hair, was a legendary figure on the streets of boston. loyalty was prized above all else. it is a much different place now, parts of it young, diverse, somewhat upscale with condos and coffee shops, and bulger's reputation has changed a lot too. shelly murphy of the "boston globe" says the trial is destroying the bulger myth. >> he tried to perpetuate the myth of being a good bad guy. and good bad guys don't rat on their friends and strangle women. this is about whitey trying to re-write the narrative of who he is. >> reporter: a trial expected to last months with much anticipation about what more will be revealed. ron allen, nbc news, boston.

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well, think about this. hotter today in fairbanks, alaska, than it was in atlanta. temperature readings in alaska this week as high as 96 degrees. sun bathers broke out the bathing suits throughout much of the state as the heat wave shattered records standing for decades. skin being exposed in the 49th state that hasn't been in the sun like this for a long time. the national trust for historic preservation, out with the list of most endangered places in our country. we'll post the entire list on our website tonight, one place that stands out for neglect and disrepair, the cathedral of sports once known as the eighth wonder of the world.

houston astrodome, abandoned for years and looking for a buyer and new life of some sort. it's dilapidated and unsafe, pieces falling down, the seats rotting, and the astroturf looking like the old torn up carpeting that it is. fauquier times-democrat is taking the word democrat out of its title. fauquier county, virginia. even though it never had anything to do with party or politics, in fact, the party endorsed john mccain for president. the publisher fears the atmosphere is too charged for a world like democrat in the title. now it will just be the fauquier times. he was born otis dewey jr. he was known as slim. he died today. sold millions of records as a singer and fine yodeler, he sold

his own wares and a constant source of comedy for johnny carson. he was in on the joke. he wanted to be known as a guy with a good voice and a clean suit. slim whitman was 90 years old. and more today about the approaching birth of the infant who will be third in line to the british throne. buckingham palace says kate will give birth where prince william and harry were born it will be announced via paper document and simultaneously on twitter. we may not know his name for a while. prince william wasn't named for a full week after his birth. no advanced official warning of the delivery. expect it in mid july. up next, a genuine american hero. a guy who gave a stranger his shirt off his back. saved a life in the process. ger shirt off his back. 0 jobs here.

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congratulations. this is a big day. >> what finds ron bersaurd and ron wheeler makes ron more than just a face in the crowd at rob's graduation. >> i would like to briefly recognize one student, robert wheeler, who had just completed the marathon as the bomb exploded. >> rob ran back to help, took off his shirt and tied it around ron's severely wounded leg. captured in one of the many iconic photos of that day. >> i wouldn't say i think about the bombing every day, but i do think about the kindness i've seen every day. >> reporter: come back to him in extraordinary ways. starting with his friendship with ron. >> i don't think a day has gone by since, you know, since we met that one of the three of us, either my wife or my daughter or myself has been in contact with rob, either via phone or text. >> reporter: the 28-year age difference is bridged by humor

and faith. rob wasn't even supposed to run the marathon that day. >> i absolutely needed someone to help me, and that someone was rob. >> reporter: ron still thinks about it today. >> you wonder if you would run into each other at some other time. but all i can say we're happy on that day we did. >> ron has thrown out although they were still recovering, they were supported too. >> we're honored to be joined by the bresard family this afternoon. >> reporter: for ron, the next milestone is walking. for rob, earning a spot on the boston department. >> ron is healing, boston is healing, and i'm already running again, boston marathon will run again and no one will stop that.

>> reporter: graduating to the next phase of recovery. anne thompson, nbc news. >> and that is our broadcast on a wednesday night. thank you for being here with us, i'm brian williams, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

boston, massachusetts. nearly four cturies old and the nhl team almost 90 years old. that team, the bruins, has won six championships. if they are to have seven, they need two more wins. the battle for lord stanley's cup moved to boston monday following a pair of overtime thrillers. tension filled the air with the