matters. >> thanks for joining us. nightly news is up next. on the broadcast tonight -- state of siege. a deadly crackdown in egypt. tonight, hundreds reported killed, thousands injured after government forces move in to crush the protests. our richard engel with a view from the violent streets. deadly crash. the fiery scene in alabama as a u.p.s. jet goes down. tonight, questions about safety and cargo planes. diet soda. with sales taking a hit, the highly unusual ad campaign by coca-cola reassuring the public. but why? and outside the box. the boy who showed what you can do with a little cardboard and a big imagination, inspiring kids around the world and making a whole lot of money. "nightly news" begins now.

>> good evening, i'm lester holt sitting in for brian. the horrific images coming out of egypt all day capture a country rapidly spiraling out of control as the government made good on promises to disperse supporters of egypt's lawfully elected president who was ousted by the military last month. tonight hundreds are dead and thousands injured following the crackdown on two protest encampments. witnesses say security forces opened fire on protesters, but there were casualties on both sides. we want to get right to richard engel in cairo, who is now in a safe location after being on the streets all day. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. washington had been pressuring egypt not to do this, but egypt did it anyway, and now roughly 300 people are dead, including some 40 members of the egyptian security forces. a curfew is in place, as is a state of emergency for the next

month. egypt is unraveling. its hope of democracy obscured behind tear gas and bullets. at first light, egyptian security forces, which ousted the elected president mohamed morsi six weeks ago, moved in to finish the job and break up two camps of protesters who demand that the former president be reinstated. bulldozing into one at cairo university, it was over quickly. but at the other protest, they held fast. security forces fired on them with tear gas and then automatic weapons. egyptian security forces here are clearly using live ammunition. they are firing into the side streets. there are front line positions between protesters, security forces all over cairo. and this one looks like it is about to get very ugly. a 37-year-old customs broker

guided us through the streets, warning of government gunmen. already two journalists had been killed. >> even if you want to take a shoot, take cover to take the picture. >> reporter: why, there are snipers trying to shoot? >> yes. >> reporter: the man says he came here because he believes his vote was stolen. >> we're fighting for principle, for the president we elected, okay? it doesn't matter who -- >> get down. get down. >> reporter: a field hospital, chaotic and grim. impossible to know how many were injured let alone killed today. this man was shot in the upper thigh with a live round. some of the injured are being taken to ambulances and hospitals. others are being treed on the ground. but there is more to this story. police uncovered ammunition hidden in coffins in a protest camp, and video from an egyptian newspaper shows demonstrators armed and firing. protesters pushed an armored

vehicle off a bridge. five soldiers were inside. today may be just the beginning. islamic extremists who back the muslim brotherhood burned churches and attacked government buildings nationwide. egypt's military-backed government a close u.s. ally today chose to try to crush the muslim brotherhood. it's unclear if the iron fist will work. egypt's prime minister tonight defended the crackdown saying that no self-respecting nation could accept a state of anarchy. lester? >> richard, there's been sharp reaction from the u.s. secretary of state kerry made an unannounced appearance today at the press briefing to condemn the violence. >> today's events are deplorable and they run counter to egyptian aspirations for peace, inclusion, and genuine democracy. >> despite the strong words, the obama administration continues to walk a thin diplomatic line, still refusing to call the military overthrow of president morsi a coup, meantime

continuing to send egypt $1.5 billion a year in aid, most of it in the form of military hardware. tanks and fighter planes. richard, let me turn back to you and ask why the u.s. might be so hesitant to take a stronger stand against egypt's rulers. >> reporter: the american policy toward egypt is incredibly confusing right now. you saw secretary kerry a short time ago criticizing the egyptian government, the egyptian coup government, that took over, but a few weeks ago he was saying that it wasn't a coup, that this was an act to defend democracy. i think the united states wants to have it both ways with egypt. it wants to support the democratic process but also wants to maintain stability. and like it or not and like what you saw in this country today or certainly not, the egyptian military is considered one of the tent poles of stability across north africa and especially important for the country right across the border, namely, israel.

>> richard engel in cairo tonight, thanks. we also woke up to news this morning in this country of another major air crash, the second in the u.s. this summer. this time it was a u.p.s. wide-body cargo jet that went down just short of the runway in birmingham, alabama, exploding in a ball of flames. tonight, as investigators begin their work, part of the spotlight turns to broader safety questions about air cargo. nbc's tom costello reports. >> reporter: in a field just north of the runway in birmingham, the burning remains of u.p.s. cargo flight 1354, both crew members dead. just before 5:00 a.m. central time, witnesses reported hearing what sounded like a plane in trouble, then the crash. >> a bomb was blowing up, like the whole house just shook. >> reporter: arriving firefighters battled several explosions. investigators say there was no distress call from the pilots. the nose mostly intact suggests the rear of the plane may have hit the plane first. >> the tail section of the

aircraft is still smoldering, still smoking. >> reporter: the ntsb hopes to recover the black boxes to learn more about what went wrong. while investigators won't know for some time what caused this crash, several recent accidents involving cargo planes have raised some serious concerns. a 2010 u.p.s. crash in dubai was blamed on a load of lithium batteries that overheated and caught fire. and in april, a cargo plane crashed and exploded in afghanistan. investigators believe the cargo on board suddenly shifted on takeoff. >> the ntsb investigators will look to be sure that the cargo remained secure throughout the flight and that it didn't unexpectedly shift. >> reporter: u.p.s. is telling customers to check their tracking numbers to see if their package was affected. meanwhile, investigators will be looking at the flight crew's work schedule. after a regional plane crashed in buffalo in 2009, the faa issued new pilot fatigue rules, including a minimum of ten-hour rest periods between flight duty days.

but the new rules did not apply to cargo pilots. the cargo industry lobbied for an exemption and won. tom costello, nbc news, washington. wildfires are raging out west, burning tonight in 11 states from alaska to new mexico. one of the most intense continues to be a fire near park city, utah, that has destroyed 13 homes and threatens hundreds more. the fire has grown to almost two square miles and is just 25% contained. and in idaho, some 600 firefighters continue to battle a blaze that has now grown to more than 100,000 acres. we're learning new details tonight about the harrowing experience of 16-year-old hannah anderson. her six days held captive by the man suspected of killing her mother and 8-year-old brother. and it appears anderson herself may be speaking out about it. nbc's joe fryer is in san diego with the latest for us. joe, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. the account was created by someone claiming to be hannah anderson.

it was created long ago and deactivated today. now, authorities will not say if hannah made these posts which contain a lot of information about what happened. sidestepping the mainstream media, the information and new images of hannah were shared through social media on ask fm, which allows users to ask each other questions. the account bearing hannah's name was active until august 3rd. on the 4th she was abducted and the messages stopped until this monday when she returned home and appears to have started responding to hundreds of questions and comments. the posts say james dimaggio tricked us when he invited her family over saying he was losing his house because of money issues. investigators later found the bodies of her mother and brother inside the home after it burned to the ground. the website says dimaggio had the house set to where it would catch on fire at a certain time. another comment says dimaggio was armed. >> kind of a gut feeling, like they didn't belong.

>> reporter: so when they ran into two couples riding horses in idaho's backcountry, the post says, i had to act calm. i didn't want them to get hurt. i was scared he would kill them. while in the wilderness, the website says dimaggio forced hannah to camouflage his car with tree branches and made her carry 50 pound back pacs up mountains back and forth. adding he took me to get him to the river. it's unclear exactly what that means. psychiatrists say coming back from such trauma is painful but possible. >> the most important thing for them to do as a family is to mourn and grieve. so going through the processes, whether it's a funeral or a memorial service, those are the next best steps to be able to allow those feelings to ensue. >> reporter: one post is heavy with grief for a lost mother and brother. it reads, i wish i could go back in time and risk my life to try and save theirs. i will never forgive myself for not trying harder to save them. we learned today from an idaho coroner that dimaggio was shot

at least five times in the head and chest during saturday's fatal confrontation with fbi agents. and late today, authorities said both cell phones were turned off on the day she was kidnapped. that's the time she was last seen leaving cheerleading practice. before that there were 13 calls between dimaggio and hahn b gnaw. lester? >> all right. thank you. this was sentencing day for the jacksons. jesse jackson jr. and his wife sandy now both about to spend time behind bars for separate felonies. and they'll serve the time in a way somewhat unusual for the sake of their family. here's nbc's justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: the long fall from grace for jesse jackson jr. ended at a federal courthouse half a mile from the u.s. capitol where he served 17 years as a congressman. >> i still believe in the power of forgiveness. i believe in the power of redemption. today i manned up and tried to accept responsibility for the errors of my ways.

and i still believe in the resurrection. >> reporter: in court, he wept as he said, i want to apologize to my dad and mother, as they listened in the front row. his crime, stealing $750,000 from his congressional campaigns to buy himself a $43,000 gold-plated watch, fur coats, two mounted elk heads, flat-screen tvs and more during spending sprees. prosecutors asked for a sentence of four years calling it one of the biggest abuses ever of the campaign finance system. but judge amy berman jackson sentenced him to two and a half years in prison saying anything longer would have diminishing returns both for his future and in treating his recently diagnosed bipolar disorder. >> jesse's been very sick. this time a year ago i really thought we may have lost him. >> he will serve his sentence. he will come back out, and we believe and we're optimistic he'll do great things. >> reporter: his wife sandy was sentenced to a year in prison

for filing false tax returns. he'll report to prison this fall. then, when he's released, she'll begin serving her sentence. an unusual arrangement approved by the judge so they can take turns caring for their young children, ages 9 and 13. pete williams, nbc news at federal court in washington. private first class bradley manning said today he was wrong, wrong and sorry, for leaking 700,000 secret government documents to the wikileaks web site. the apology came during the sentencing phase of manning's court-martial. he faces up to 90 years in prison for espionage and other charges. manning said he was dealing with a lot of issues at the time, and a military psychiatrist testified that he was considering whether he wanted to become a woman. manning said he was responsible for what he did and must pay the price. still ahead tonight -- diet coke. why one of the biggest brands in the world is trying to reassure customers tonight. and later -- the young man who built an empire out of cardboard and inspired countless others.

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enjoy the relief! co coca-cola is playing defense tonight to confront concerns about diet drinks and whether they're really safe. the company is taking an unusual step to reassure consumers that drinking diet coke is something they can feel good about. but why do this now? here's nbc's anne thompson. >> reporter: in the war on sugary sodas, diet drinks are increasingly collateral damage. >> nothing but water or juice. i believe you should drink something healthy for yourself. >> i replaced soda with tea, coffee and seltzer, flavored seltzer waters. i feel like it's just a healthier choice. >> reporter: diet soft drink sales are on a six-year decline, even sales of diet coke, the nation's number two soft drink, have lost their fizz down 3% last year. >> i think the playing field has gotten more sophisticated, and anything that has something artificial in it is being questioned more and more today than ever before.

>> reporter: now coca-cola, the world's largest beverage company, is fighting back. in a full-page ad in today's atlanta edition of "usa today" it touts the benefits of its low and no-calorie sweeteners, saying the safety of aspartame used in diet coke is supported by more than 200 studies over the last 40 years. this is a far cry from diet coke's more glitzy campaign, using taylor swift today and in the '90s a handsome construction worker to sell the product. ♪ i just want to make love to you ♪ >> reporter: the federal government long ago declared aspartame safe. now the biggest debate in the beverage aisle is whether diet drinks really help you lose weight. some doctors say artificial sweeteners may backfire by convincing your brain it's getting real sugar. >> however, the calories don't follow so, as a result, you're left hungry. and when you're presented with a high-fat, high-sweet tweet, you're going to gobble it down. >> reporter: the american

beverage association says that science is in dispute. what's not in dispute is that coke is making an aggressive push to win back consumers who truly want the real thing. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. we're back in a moment with a question every parent can relate to. what does it cost to raise a child? tonight, a new estimate. like the last three weekends. asthma doesn't affect my job... you missed the meeting again last week! it doesn't affect my family. your coughing woke me up again. i wish you'd take me to the park. i don't use my rescue inhaler a lot... depends on what you mean by a lot. coping with asthma isn't controlling it. test your level of control at asthma.com, then talk to your doctor. there may be more you could do for your asthma. what are you guys doing? having some fiber! with new phillips' fiber good gummies. they're fruity delicious!

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he was also a familiar face on the sunday talk show circuit. jack germond was 85. a reality check for parents tonight. a reality check for parents tonight. the cost for a typical american middle class family to raise a child in the u.s. is now more than $240,000. that number comes from the government and accounts for housing, food, clothing, toys, a lot of expenses, but not college. that, of course, costs even more, and as the cost of child rearing goes up, wages are going down. and more than three weeks after the arrival of the royal baby, things have settled down enough for his dad to take part in his first official event since prince george was born.

thousands greeted prince william as he attended a country fair in wales. william said the baby prince was, quote, pretty loud and of course extremely good looking. and he compared being a father with piloting a military helicopter over the welsh mountains. >> i have to say that i thought such rescue duties were physically and mentally demanding. but looking after a 3-week-old baby is right up there. >> as for the baby, some new photos of prince george are expected to be released next week. just ahead of the 50th anniversary of the huge march on washington in 1963, we're getting some fascinating new insights tonight about what that historic event was really like. we're working with our friends at "time" magazine, which is debuting a special issue and web site with interviews, rarely seen photos and footage and viewpoints from people like clarence jones, the last surviving member of the planning team of what became known as martin luther king jr.'s "i have a dream" speech.

>> i'm standing on the platform about 50 feet behind him, and, as i'm listening, i see that he is reading. maharia jackson is interrupting as i'm listening, i see that he is reading. maharia jackson is interrupting him while he's speaking, tell him about the dream, martin. tell him about the dream. his whole body language changed, and he changed to what i call the baptist preacher stance. and i say to the person standing next to me, whoever that was, i said, these people don't know it, but they're about ready to go to church. >> clarence jones on that defining moment. nbc news will have extensive coverage of its historic anniversary. you can find out more about "time's" project on our web site. up next, a little boy's big dream coming true. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen.

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and now i've got to take more pills. . ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. finally tonight, a reunion of sorts with a boy we told you about last year. he had spent the summer in his dad's auto parts store and using a little cardboard and a lot of imagination built his own arcade that got worldwide attention. well, caine monroy just celebrated his 11th birthday, and while his arcade may soon be a thing of the past, his inspiration for children around the world lives on. nbc's miguel almaguer has our

story from los angeles. >> reporter: when we first met little caine monroy, his imagination captivated the child inside us all. >> i started with a basketball net. i got tokens and prizes. >> reporter: in 2011, in his dad's shop, with scraps of cardboard and tape, he built caine's arcade. >> reporter: after a filmmaker discovered his creation, the boy who waited all summer for his first customer -- >> what's going on over here? >> reporter: -- suddenly had a huge following. >> we want to play! we want to play! >> reporter: caine has had quite a year. kids -- >> i look up to him. >> reporter: -- and their parents -- >> i think it's awesome. >> reporter: -- were still lining up to see caine on the last day of his arcade. so what do you think of the turnout today? >> pretty cool. a lot of people. >> please welcome our visiting professor of entrepreneurship caine monroy.

>> reporter: the 11-year-old is the youngest enter to lecture at university of southern california's business school. he's been featured in magazines, traveled the world and even accomplished his dream of being on a billboard. all while raising $235,000 for college. >> he was just messing around, a little basketball hoop and putting boxes and tape together. and he changed the whole world. >> reporter: caine's arcade grew into a global cardboard challenge. children around the world using their imaginations to create and build, with a goal to reach 1 million children in 70 countries. >> man, i don't know what to say. you're just famous. >> reporter: what do you think is the best part about all of this? >> people are getting inspired by me to make arcade games and other stuff. >> reporter: caine is moving on. he's growing up and wants to open a bike shop. but his arcade lives on in the imagination foundation, a nonprofit inspiring kids to dream outside the box.

miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. >> that's our broadcast for this wednesday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt in for brian. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. good evening i'm terry mcsweeney in for raj mathai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. we start with ai] follow up to story we broke yesterday. weñi are learning thejf identit a woman killed on "n" a construction accident on san jose cityq college yesterday. she wasn't a student there. but they think they know why she was on campus. >> reporter: jessica, officials here at san jose city college declined any on camera ñi

interviews but they released new information about thet( victim including her identity and what she may have been doing on campus. >> i got an e-mail this morning about a crisis counseling today. >> reporter: most students we talked to had not heard about the accident that killed the 49-year-old yesterday on the campus ofçói]çó san jose city c. gonzalezxd was run over by a tractor being used for on campus construction. >> in close quarters it would be moree1 someone directing lptraf. >> reporter: thet( san jose community college district police department is leading the the tragedy unfolded.rmine how ? gonzalez lived in san jose and she was on campus to reenroll in school. he had last been a student inó[ the fall of 2009. >> takeq more ó[precautions. the incident close to that happens here on