on on our broadcast tonight, the fudgive. a wild 24 hours and the hunt for a man who exposed the u.s. surveillance program. a fast-moving mystery and a chase around the world. the order from the supreme court on affirmative action, what the ruling could mean for the future of one of the most divisive issues in recent years. high drama, the george zimmerman trial under way in florida. tense moments in the courtroom. and high anxiety, high above the grand canyon. ratings are in. millions tuned to watch. what viewers didn't see behind the scenes, "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. he seems to be for the time being the most wanted man in the world. much of the day, much of this past weekend, no one was sure with any certainty where edward snowden is. that is true tonight. monitoring aircraft working hard to bring him to justice in the u.s., after his leak of surveillance data and methods that the u.s. is involved in, today the united states bluntly took on those who may behar boring him in the meantime. it's where we begin tonight with our chief correspondent andrea mitchell. tonight, snowden is still believed to be in russia after failing to show up for a flight that he booked from moscow to havana. a crowd of passengers discovered snowden's seat 17-a is still empty. america is furious with china

after letting him escape to russia, after having him bottled up in hong kong. >> i wonder if mr. snowden chose china and russia in his flight from justice because they are such bastions of internet freedom. >> reporter: severely undercutting complaints about china's cyber spying. this after snowden says that the u.s. was spying on china. >> this was a deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive, despite a valid arrest warrant. >> reporter: the pressure on rush wsia as the secretary of se made clear. >> we continue to hope that the russians will do the right thing. we think it's very important in terms of our relationship.

very important in terms of rule of law. >> reporter: vladmir putin is hardly an ally, most recently blocking policy on syria. jim maceda is in moscow. >> reporter: putin thrives on lookinstrong. putin may well think this is worth the risk. >> reporter: how is snowden moving around the world so easily? he has help from wiki leaks. >> edward snowden is not a traitor, not a spy. he is a whistleblower who has told the public an important truth. >> assange has asylum for a year in ecuador's russian embassy. and now snowden has applied for snowden in ecuador. >> reporter: they seem inclined to grant it, even at the risk of

angering the u.s. >> reporter: this is a growing embarrassment for the u.s. >> we're following all the appropriate legal channels and working with various other countries to make sure that rule of law is observes. >> reporter: today, john kerry told nbc news that snowden's actions were despicable. but the u.s. doesn't seem closer to getting him back. >> the u.s. can say whatever it wishes and the press secretary can get angry and so on, what real power does the united states have here? >> a lot of leverage against russia and china. working behind the scenes, short of rendition, that won't happen getting him out of russia, isn't anything physical they they can do. they have to exert the pressure and hope it works. vladmir putin is a tough customer. >> andrea mitchell in our d.c. newsroom, starting of us. in washington, the u.s. supreme court ruled on the issue of affirmative action.

back when created it was meant to be just that, affirmative action taken to correct racial imbalance at colleges and universities may continue to use it in admissions, but first first pass a stricter legal test. pete williams there for us for the ruling. with us tonight. good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. opponents of affirmative action hope that the court will use this case to put a stop to it. it did raise the bar that schools have to clear to justice it. the ruling a setback for the university of texas at austin, which uses race as a plus factor to achieve a more diverse campus. after first admitting the top 10% from texas high schools. this was challenged by abigail fisher, turned down five years ago. >> i am grateful to the

justices, in moving closer to a day when race isn't used at all in college admissions. >> reporter: distinctions based on race are always legally suspect. because of that, wrote justice kennedy, schools must show that no workable race neutral alternatives would produce the educational benefits of diversity. the lone dissenter, ruth bader ginsburg, said that texas already passed that test. civil rights advocates relieved that opponents didn't get their wish, an outright ban. >> what they wanted was a reversal, to strike down the plan. they didn't get that. >> there were a number of directions that the justices could have turned in today's ruling and the 7-1 ruling represents a positive outcome for the university, for the state and for the nation. >> reporter: but the decision will undoubtedly invite more lawsuits, forcing some schools to rely on economic background

or experience overcoming diversity instead of race to get a diverse campus. author on affirmative action cases says diversity may be harder to achieve. >> the heyday of affirmative action has turned. there will be less use of race, just a question of how long it will take until we move completely away from it. >> reporter: justice clarence thomas, a foe of affirmative action, he says it stamps minorities with a badge of in r inferi inferiority. >> the big ticket rulings we are still expecting? >> the two on same-sex marriage, prop 8 in california, the in defense of marriage act and then the voting rights act, the most important civil rights act ever paced.

> trayvon martin, george zimmerman is claiming self-defense. ron mott covering the trial in sanford, florida. good evening. >> reporter: good evening. as the attorneys, judge, and jury settling in. the prosecutor opened his case with a jolt, a stream of profanities. >> [ bleep ] punks. these [ bleep ] always get away. >> reporter: a quote of george zimmerman's words to a police dispatcher, before trayvon martin was shot and killed. getting an already tense case off to a gripping start. >> george zimmerman did not shoot trayvon martin because he to. he shot him for the worst of all reasons, because he wanted to. >> reporter: zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. >> i shot him, point blank.

>> reporter: telling police he fired in self-defense after martin attacked him. >> knock knock, who's there? >> reporter: and defense attorney began his case with a joke. >> george zimmerman who? good. you are on the jury. >> reporter: west later apologized. detailing the call, saying martin who initiated the encounter and attacked zimmerman. >> reporter: he armed himself with the con kreelt sidewalk and used it to smash zimmerman's head. no different than if he picked up a brick or bashed a head against the wall. that's a deadly weapon. >> reporter: the state's first several witnesses talked about basic facts leading up to the shooting. >> so you think he's yelling hop help?

>> yes. >> reporter: determining who was screaming will not help. >> if they can, that may be the answer as to whether george zimmerman committed the crime of murder. >> the judge ordered the jury sequestered. jurors will spend tonight and many others in the foreseeable future together. >> ron mott, thanks. we should note, george zimmerman sued the parent company of nbc news for defamation. the company denies his allegations. prayers and a great deal of concern for nelson mandela after world that his condition turned critical. kier simmons with an update from pretoria tonight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. behind me, you can see the wall of this pretoria hospital now covered in messages for nelson mandela, people here, brian, are

deeply worried after president jacob zuma says the situation remains critical and urged people to play for mrecovery. signs last week he had been doing better, he has taken a turn to the worse. doctors are doing everything possible, but nelson mandela has been on a ventilator at some point, not confirmed. winnie mandela brought by police escort, suggesting she was in a hurry to get here. one close family member is privately expressing the hope that he could still recover and return home. but one of his daughters is quoted as saying she is praying for a "smooth transition." that he has done so much for the world, he is at peace with himself. a health news item of interest to millions of american

baby boomers, a panel of experts recommended today every adult born between 1945 and 1965 should get tested for hepatitis c. one generation in america accounts for 3/4 of all hep c cases in the u.s. fast-moving fires spreading to places we have never seen before. what is the reason behind the sudden acceleration. later, new fallout for paula deen, taking a hit to her once robust food empire. her once p robust food empire. efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers," "eliminating costly markups," "and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes,

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[ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings in every little bottle. with three of your daily vegetable servings la's congestion,itely ffor it's smog., but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the busses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution to the earth. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment. big storm making its way across the midwest. winds up to 75 miles an hour, damage to homes, flipped vehicles in several states, including iowa and illinois. severe thunderstorm watches and warnings across many parts of

the country, including chicago. people at midway were told to clare the clear the airfield, and move to interior areas as the storm passes through. a firestorm in southwest colorado. almost 1,000 people trying to contain a series of wildfires that have combined into the largest single fire in the country. it's in south farc, colorado. the place featured in this striking photo from last week. gabe gutierrez is on the front lines for us tonight. >> reporter: today in southwestern colorado. hot temperatures and high winds fanned a growing colossal fire burning out of control. first look behind the fire line. known as the west fork complex, a combination of three fires, the blaze spread to about 76,000 acres, under an am house in supermoon, the flames doubled in size.

threatening popular summer destinations. >> never seen anything like this. it's scary and very concerned for what it's going to do to the land. >> come on, girl. >> reporter: kim and ken have lived in south fork for seven years, they evacuated last week. >> the high winds, the beetle kill, the drought, all have the potential for a serious event and that's what we've got. >> reporter: officials are partly blaming an infestation of the spruce bark beetle for this year's fire explosion in colorado. >> 75% of spruce have been infested. almost all of those are dead. down to 5 inches in diameter. >> reporter: the spruce beetle devastated almost a million acres since the year 2000, killing trees and limbs, making easier for them to ignite. >> things continuing to dry out and red-flag type situations, high winds, low humidity, and it just takes off. >> reporter: the cost of fighting this fire has surpassed $2 million, and now the military is joining the fight. but so far, south fork has been spared.

no injuries. >> while there's a lot of encouraging news, there is still a significant amount of risk. >> reporter: this family worries they will lose not only their home, but their forest. >> it's just not going to be anything for a while, you know. >> reporter: a state that has seen big fires before, this one is being called unprecedented. unprecedented because of how fast it has grown. firefighters can't catch a break. temperatures expected to rise. >> reporter: gabe gutierrez, outside south fork, colorado. thanks. back in a moment for a big loss in the entertainment world. loss in the entertainment world. [ children laughing ] energy efficient appliances. you can get a tax write off for those. a programmable thermostat, very smart, saves money. ♪ cash money sorry. i see you have allstate claim free rewards, for every year you don't have a claim,

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>> an onscreen credit viewers came to know. gary david goldberg has died. he gave us "family ties." the show ran from '82 to '89 and the movrpi it really resonated on millions. he based the character of the dad on himself and named his production company after his dog, ubu. tv productions included "new hart," he was 68. chet flippo has died. "rolling stones" readers probably remember that byline. he didn't discover willy nelson, dolly parton, or waylon jennings. he sure introduced their work to millions of readers. his role of hank williams' biographer, he was 68.

navy veteran and bureau chief. another american actor is joining the cast of downton abbey. paul giamatti will be the next character. he will appear in the finale of next season as a visiting "maverick playboy brother" of elizabeth mcgovern's character. it will be a long wait for viewers and aficionados. paula deen lost another piece of her once formidable food empire. smithfield pulled out of its deal. qvc is re-evaluating its relationship with her. comments on race led the food network to part company after not one, but two apology videos. she is scheduled to appear wednesday morning on "today" to talk about all of it. americans seem to hate their jobs in record numbers today.

gallop sur vaifed 150,000 workers. only 30% are into their jobs. 52% openly admit they are not. and 18% say they are actively d disengaged, with a personmanent case of the mondays. this may look like a raccoon, but it's a panda. a rare red panda named rusty that apparently busted out of the national zoo. last seen last night at dinner time. after going missing all day today, finally spotted, apprehended in a nearby d.c. neighborhood. it's back in the joint tonight, no worse for wear, but with stories to tell. when we come back, the stunt a lot of people found hard to watch, but we now know how many did as the drama unfolded. did as the drama unfolded. [ female announcer ] arms were made for hugging. ♪

hands, for holding. ♪ feet, kicking. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage your ra, now may be the time to ask about xeljanz. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz is an ra medicine that can enter cells and disrupt jak pathways, thought to play a role in the inflammation that comes with ra. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. don't start taking xeljanz if you have any kind of infection, unless ok with your doctor. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests, including certain liver tests before you start, and while you are taking xeljanz.

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as a lot of people watched and listened in on his commentary. a report from anne thompson. >> coming to you live. >> reporter: 13 million people watched nik wallenda. walk that thin line between life and death. >> that's a view. >> reporter: a terrifying walk on a steel cable just 2 inches wide across the little colorado river gorge near the grand canyon. wearing shoes made by his mom, listening to his dad's advice. >> take your time. >> reporter: the 34-year-old walked without a harness or net. 1,500 feet in the air higher than the empire state building. he seemed to feel his way with the feet. his narration a constant prayer. >> thank you, jesus. >> reporter: he spent weeks practicing in florida, using air boat fans and even walking during a tropical storm to prepare for the wind. sweaty palms were produced in

217 countries. and his hometown of sarasota florida. >> no harness. the man is such an incredible athlete. >> he stopped twice, three minutes in and halfway across. battling gusts that reached tropical storm force. >> there is no stabilization on these cables, so a rhythm is building. stop, and water a second. >> nik is the seventh generation of flying wallendas. his great grandfather karl fell to his death in 1978. his life is his wife and three children. >> if my wife came to me and said i don't want you to do this anymore. i would probably have to give it up. >> reporter: close to the end, he stopped, knelt, blew a kiss to his family and ran the rest of the way. on terra firma, but not for long. his sights set on walking between,'s chrysler and empire state building. anne thompson, nbc news.

>> that's our broadcast on monday night as we start a new week. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. see you right back here tomorrow ev

svedberg . boston, massachusetts. 4.5 million live here or nearby. two years ago they got over a million here for a parade. they would like to do that again. first things first no, room for an error. they need two out of two. >> saturday night after four battles had left two teams all square, the critical fifth game began with