>> we'll have that video on our 6:00 newscast. thank you for joining us here at 5:00. >> good night. see you at 6:00. on our broadcast tonight, local danger. the wreckage is still smoldering after a propane explosion so powerful it shook homes for miles around. now it has folks wondering how much of it is stored in neighborhoods across the country. paying the price. after nothing less than a washout hitting american farms and about to hit consumers at the store. treating back pain. it's part of daily life for millions, and a big new report says a lot of doctors are getting wrong. and from the heart. a radio host chronicles his mother's death in a way that made people all over the country take notice and pay their respects. nightly news begins now. good evening. local police at first could not understand why so many people

across such a huge area were all calling 911 at the same time. but for the folks who live near the explosions that lit up the propane plant in central florida, they were enough to turn night into day. homes were rocked for miles around. there were eight injuries in all. something of a miracle no one was killed, when so much fuel ignited and then blew sky-high. propane is one of those things that makes life go in this country. it has to be handled carefully. and lot of folks tend to think about the danger only after a large quantity of it goes up the way it did in spectacular fashion. we begin tonight at the scene with nbc's mark potter. mark, good evening. >> and good evening to you, brian. many of the first responders who came here to fight the fire did not need to be called in by the dispatchers. from their own homes here in tavares and surrounding areas, they actually heard the explosion and saw the blaze. the overnight blast and flames could be heard and seen for many

miles and for several hours. as row after row of propane tanks exploded and sent hot metal flying through the air, injuring eight workers. the first of the explosions began at 10:30 last night at the blue rhino plant in tavares, florida, northwest of orlando. blue rhino fills and distributes propane tanks used in backyard grills. >> this is one of the worst fires i've ever come across. in the central florida area. >> reporter: officials say 53,000 20 pound tanks were at the plant and most exploded. today the charred canisters can be seen littering the property. this one actually flew across the road. authorities say the only good news is that the three 30,000 gallon tanks which supply the smaller ones did not explode. had they, the damage could have spread for miles. >> those exploding would have been like a bomb, and would have created huge damage. >> federal and state officials are now trying to determine the cause of the accident. >> we don't think there was any

act of sabotage or anything like that. we honestly think it was probably an equipment failure with a combination of maybe human error from one of the staff. >> reporter: in a statement, the company's ceo said safety has always been an integral part of our culture, and we maintain strict standards at each of our facilities. in the last three months, there have been eight plant fires or explosions around the country. including the fertilizer blast in west texas which killed 15 and injured 200. >> the communities are left in the dark, when they've got deadly hazards literally across the street, right on the fence line of their neighborhoods. >> reporter: greenpeace says there are more than 12,000 plants in the u.s. that use highly toxic chemicals that could threaten people living nearby if there was a disaster. now, today the investigation into the cause of the fire here was slowed when one of those big propane tanks sprung a leak.

they had to water it down, and the police once again had to seal off the area. brian? >> mark potter starts us off tonight from central florida. mark, thanks. there is a verdict to report tonight in the case of private first class bradley manning. a military judge found him guilty of espionage and other charges for leaking hundreds of thousands of secret documents on the wars in both iraq and afghanistan. but manning was acquitted of the most serious charge he faced. our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski has covered this story from the start. jim, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. for bradley manning, this was somewhat of a mixed verdict. the judge in the case found that bradley manning was no whistle blower, but stopped short of calling him a traitor. bradley manning emerged from court today appearing as if he had just dodged a huge bullet. manning was found not guilty on the most serious charge of aiding the enemy, but guilty on 20 other counts, including

espionage, computer fraud, and theft. manning was convicted of leaking 700,000 secret documents to the wikileaks website. military prosecutors argued that manning aided the enemy, because many of those documents wound up in the hands of former al qaeda leader osama bin laden. but the judge ruled that while manning was negligent, there was no intent to share the secrets with the enemy. the defense claimed manning first set out to reveal abuses by the u.s. military in iraq. in a pretrial statement to the court, manning admitted he leaked this classified video of an apache helicopter attack in iraq that killed a number of insurgents and two innocent civilians. and said he was troubled by the american crew joking about the killing. >> the most alarming aspect was the seemingly delightful bloodlust. they appeared to have. for me, this seemed similar to child killing ants with a magnifying glass. >> reporter: in london tonight, julian assange says manning's

lawyers will fight his conviction on espionage charges. >> it is a serious precedent. it is a serious abuse. and it will mean the end of national security journalism in the united states as we know it. >> reporter: legal experts predict manning's convictions will have a chilling effect on future leakers. >> the government is very, very serious about protecting the status of classified information. and people who disseminate it are playing with fire. >> reporter: that message could be hammered home when the judge sentences manning within the next few weeks, even without the aiding the enemy charge manning still faces a maximum sentence of 136 years in prison. brian? >> jim miklaszewski at the pentagon, reporting on this widely watched case tonight. jim, thanks. in other news tonight, we have an update on an outbreak of a stomach illness across this country called cyclospora. federal health officials say at least 372 confirmed cases have been reported since mid june.

in 15 states now, 21 people have reportedly been hospitalized. iowa's had the most cases, 145 of them. officials say the outbreaks there and in nebraska have been traced to prepackaged salad mix. cdc and the fda say they're looking at other possible causes of this contamination. and for all the times and all the years we've reported on is this broadcast about american farmers struggling with seemingly relentless drought. right now the expression when it rains it pours comes to mind. a whole lot of farms, especially throughout the american southeast, have had way too much rain this season, and it's going to come with a big price. nbc's janet shamlian in ft. valley georgia for us tonight with this story. janet, good evening. >> brian, good evening to you. it is nothing short of mud soup out here in the fields and the orchards. usually the problem is too little rain. and this year the crops are drowning. duke lane can't believe these are the same orchards so parched and thirsty just a year ago.

this central georgia farmer harvests one of the largest peach crops in the nation. but after a summer of seemingly nonstop downpours, he's lost a full third of his yield. >> we were really picking in water for most of the summer. it's a problem for the peaches not to be picked in the proper time. >> reporter: and peaches aren't the only crop in trouble. across the southeast, the soaking won't stop. the ground is too wet to cut wheat. cotton and peanut crops are drowning. >> this is the worst amount of water we've ever had, since i've been farming. >> reporter: georgia's rainfall is 34% higher than normal. up 22% in alabama. north and south carolina up 25%. carolina up 25%. >> the forecast for the southeast is for continued above average, a wet pattern going into the fall. >> reporter: all that rain has meant billions of dollars in damaged crops, trickling down directly to your grocery store.

>> i wouldn't expect to see average prices for fruits and vegetables, maybe 10% higher this fall than they were in the spring or where they are right now. just because there's going to be less supply available. >> reporter: that may mean higher prices for summer staples like melons, tomatoes and cucumbers. the deep south is hardest hit. but vermont's corn crops are also soaked. and in upstate new york, saturated fields have crippled plows and other workhorses of the farm. endangering peas, tomatoes, even the most hearty of crops, the pumpkin. >> i've never sold green pumpkins at halloween, but you never know, it might be this year. >> reporter: that selling season is months off. for now, it's farmers like duke lane who are hoping after last year's punishing drought and this year's rain are hoping this year mother nature will be easier on him. and you can clearly see the impact of all that rain in this year's peach crop. this is a normal size peach, it's 2 1/4 inches. take a look at there year's model. three inches.

and when it's bloated with that much rain, brian, it dilutes the sweetness of the fruit. >> janet shamlian in a waterlogged fort valley, georgia. thanks. we have news from overseas tonight in the form of preliminary findings in on that high speed train crash in spain last week. they show the driver was talking on the phone when it happened. a court statement says the driver received a call in his work phone in the cabin from a railway official. they say he was not using his cell phone, he was also apparently reading something at the time. the train was going 95 miles an hour. that's twice the speed limit called for going into that turn. 79 people were killed in all. for the first time in years, middle east peace talks are officially underway. today the israelis and palestinians are back at it after both sides made big concessions to get there with an assist from the secretary of state john kerry. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell covering all of it from the state department tonight. andrea, we have seen this

before. >> we have, indeed. and president at the white house today, brian, gave these two sides, the negotiators a pep talk and then sent them back here to the state department to try to resolve all of the intractable issues that have divided them for a half century, and do it in only nine months. people are right to be skeptical given that history. but there are some differences now when israel looks around, the most peaceful neighbors it cease civil war on all sides. so perhaps the most peaceful neighbors it has are the palestinians on the west bank. and there is also population growth. inevitably, by 2020, palestinians will outnumber israeli jews. it's in israel's self-interest to agree to a separate palestinian state next door. but there are some real down sides. netanyahu, bibinetanyahu, does not have strong support in his cabinet for this. the palestinian leadership is a lot weaker than it was three years ago, when these talks fell

apart after only three weeks. still, john kerry, the secretary of state, is a man on a mission, he has no political ambitions beyond this. he sees this as his legacy, and today the israeli negotiator at least said history is not made by cynics, it is made by realists who can dream, who are not afraid to dream. and let us be these people. so we shall see. brian? >> and so the clock set for nine months from now is ticking tonight. andrea mitchell at the state department for us tonight. andrea, thanks. still ahead this evening, the right approach to treating back pain, affecting millions of us, and an important new study that says so many doctors and their patients are going about it all wrong. and later, the loving messages from a grieving son about his mother's final days that are hitting home around the world.

as we mentioned before the break, our health news tonight concerns back pain. the fifth most common reason for doctors visits in this country. every case, every back is different. no two people are alike, a big new report says a lot of doctors aren't following the recommended guidelines to treat it, that leads to setbacks and wasted money. we get our report tonight from our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: nan coffee's back has been bothering her for two years. >> i feel it more when i'm sitting for a long time. >> she's one of 66 million americans trying to manage back pain. but a new report reveals, when it comes to treating it, more doctors and patients are getting it wrong. they're not following the established guidelines like first using over-the-counter pain medications and anti-inflammatory drugs, holding off on tests like mris and ct

scans, and doing physical therapy exercises before resorting to surgery. instead people are increasingly turning to stronger and potentially addictive narcotics. there's been a 50% rise in the number of prescriptions since 1999. the study also reveals advanced screenings and referrals to specialists have gone up, despite recommendations to treat back pain conservatively. >> we live in a -- in an instant fix society. everyone is busy, and you want to just click on it and be done with it. most people -- all of us don't want to wait to get better. >> reporter: most people with back pain who follow the recommended guidelines will get better on their own in about three months. still, there are certain signs a more aggressive approach may be necessary. >> severe pain and progressive neurologic changes you have to pay attention to. >> reporter: that's exactly what happened to nan's husband john. >> it just got worse and worse, i tried to take everything that was in the medicine chest that would cut it, but nothing really worked, so i went to my doctor. >> reporter: an mri confirmed a pinched nerve which was not responding to conservative

therapy and put him at risk for permanent damage. now, occasional steroid injections keep him comfortable. for nan, taking over the counter medication as needed has been enough. but her husband gives her credit for handling pain better in general. >> i'm a big baby. she's not. women are much more adept at pain. >> all joking aside, there are gender differences when it comes to how well we handle pain. both physically and psychologically, brian, women handle pain better. >> all right. no comment on that. but nancy, my question has to do with this, is anyone talking about prevention? >> yeah, prevention is a big thing. and it comes down to this. the stronger your abdominal muscles, that core group of muscles, the stronger your back is going to be. so increasingly, i think men are migrating away from upper body strength and a lot of weight lifting, into the classes where you've seen women for years, yoga, pilates, sometimes even

dance. and don't forget to stretch. the more limber you are, the less likely you are to injure your back too. >> nancy snyderman tonight on back pain, and as it turns out, gender differences. nancy, by the way, at our station in louisville tonight. nancy, thanks, as always. we'll take a break. up next this evening, remembering an oscar-nominated actress who played some memorable roles over the years.

well, well, lady luck. >> that was eileen brennan as the tough army captain in "private benjamin." we also remember her from "the sting" and "the last picture show" among others. the emmy award winner studied at georgetown. she was in "the king and i" and "hello dolly" both on broadway. she was a film and tv veteran who was hit and almost killed by a car back in 1982. which then led to a life of addiction and recovery from pain medication. eileen brennen was 80 years old.

ossie schectman was not a household name in the world of sports. but among deep dive sports fans, he is known as the man who scored the first basket in nba history. he did it as a new york knickerbocker. the basket came in the opening seconds of a game against the toronto huskies back in 1946. ossie schectman died today of 94. the nba commissioner said he was a pioneer. well, they've had a nasty run of weather in europe of late. 80 mile an hour winds along the coastline of france. and now this. while no one thinks of italy as tornado alley, this was the scene in milan on monday captured swirling outside the window in an industrial park. it caused structural damage and injured 12 people before it blew over. new yorkers are expected to be celebrating in the streets tonight with a huge two liter beverage in their hands. after a state appeals court has blocked mayor bloomberg's proposed ban on large sugary drinks.

the first court took on the case called the proposed 16 ounce limit arbitrary and capricious. now, the appeals court says it violates separation of powers. either way, you never know, it could be a fructose fuelled wild night in times square tonight. when we come back after a break, a radio host's moving words from his dying mother's bedside that have millions of people passing them along and paying their own respects.

finally tonight, all of us who have lost family members have found our own way to deal with the loss and celebrate the life just departed. for most people, care giving during death and dying is an intensely private time. which is probably why so many people took notice when a well known radio host decided to chronicle his mother's passing, and do it on social media. it wasn't for everyone. it was quite powerful for some. and nbc's kevin tibbles has the story. >> hi, i'm scott simon of npr. >> reporter: for millions of listeners, scott simon is the saturday morning voice of national public radio. but in recent days, he's been at his mother's bedside at chicago's northwestern memorial hospital.

>> looking -- i don't want to say just death in the eye, but life in the face. >> reporter: with her permission, he took to social media, tweeting updates to his 1.2 million followers. >> i love holding my mother's hand. i haven't held it like this since i was nine. why did i stop? i thought it unmanly? what crap. >> reporter: simon's mother patricia lost her battle with cancer overnight. he previously interviewed her for the npr series story corps. >> my name is pat lyons, simon, newman, gelman. >> way to go. >> oh, boy. what a monogram that is. >> reporter: in her day, she was an unconventional mother. a model and a showgirl who appeared at chicago's chez paris nightclub. thrice married, once to scott's father, a comedian. >> if you say anything that is remotely funny, people say, that's your dad talking. actually -- >> reporter: it was your mom?

>> -- it was my mother. >> reporter: simon remembers a woman who never forgot a name and always sent a thank you note. reaction to his tweets have been overwhelming and mixed. is it weird to tweet from your mother's deathbed? no, it's real and moving and lovely. thank you npr scott simon for sharing your love. some things are best left untweeted. i love scott simon, but i disagree with him tweeting during his mother's death. >> perhaps your mother's helping to teach us that we shouldn't be so afraid of it. >> somewhere in everything my mother has said, there's a message. i'm getting a life's lesson about grace from my mother in the icu. we never stop learning from our mother's, do we? >> reporter: a lifetime of memories and a painful process shared in such a public and poetic way. kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. and that's our broadcast on a tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams, and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

nbc bay area news starts now. good evening. and thanks for joining us. >> going to the mat with banks. the city of richmond taking on mortgage lenders and banks saying if they won't help underwater homeowners they will and if by force if necessary. in the first of its kind, the city is considering using eminent domain so it can stem the 50% foreclosure rate. wall street is watching closely and it does not like what it

jodi hernandez joins us live. >> reporter: city leaders say the extreme foreclosure crisis that this city is dealing with requires an extreme solution. so they've sent out hundreds of hers like this one to mortgage lenders demanding that they sell the city underwater mortgages or else. >> but the thought of not being able to be here is very frightening, very disconcerting. >> reporter: 60 year old doris' home has been in her family for two generations, but she's not sure how long she can hang on to it. it's more than $100,000 under water >> it's very important. this home was my parents' home. and i'm here because i want to keep it within my family. >> reporter: but help could be