>> perfect for the fans. >> thanks for joining us here at 5:00. we hope to see you back here at 6:00. >> see you soon. ight, on our broadcast tonight, a shutdown of the federal government hours away. chaos in washington. a lot of american families are about to pay the price. tonight, is there any chance they will cut a deal? it's here. the other big deadline at midnight. a major part of obama care kicks in. millions have to sign up. because there's confuse. night we'll take your questions to the woman in charge. getting out alive. a nbc news exclusive. the story behind the unforgettable image from kenya. the man who came to her rescue. and the call of the wild. an event that draws families from across the country. but is this year's show about to be canceled? "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. it appears likely now that barring a big last minute change, large portions of the federal government will shut down tonight at midnight eastern time. the first time in 17 years. the simplest way to put it is this. the republican controlled house is passing bills, the democratically controlled senate keeps rejecting. will keep operating while stopping aspect of the health care law. that's where we are. live pictures tonight show both ends of this drama in washington. this is in the hands of congress which now enjoys a 10% approval rating from the american people in the latest polls. this will be a long night, and a lot of government services appear poised to go away at least temporarily. it's where we begin tonight with nbc's chuck todd. he's on the white house lawn. chuck, good evening.

>> reporter: good evening, brian. no chance of becoming law. it includes some provision on the health care law is that senate democrats and the president have said are dead on arrival. when this clock gets to zero, the government begins to shut down. the house and senate were in recess. still many members found time to play the blame game. >> essentially holds the american people hostage. >> a banana republican mientset. >> i don't care what john mccain thinks. >> the hard right is demanding a pound of flesh. >> reporter: as for the actual budget bill, house republicans passed one saturday night to keep things going through the middle of september, but also delays the new health care law for a year. >> we are not going going to mess around with obama care. >> when they got back to work after lunch today, the senate stripped from the bill and sent

it back. >> the ayes are 54, the nays are 46. >> reporter: and behind the scenes, they seemed concerned with how this a playing. >> the people who said these kinds of things have happened before. >> reporter: late today he did. blasting republicans for trying to defund the health care law. >> one faction of one party in one house of congress in one branch of government. doesn't get to shut down the entire government just to re-fight the results of an election. >> reporter: a new poll today shows republicans would bear more blame for a shutdown. 36% put the responsibility on the president, 46% on republicans. in washington today, some frustrated visitors said they rearranged things to cram in simt sewnian visits before a shutdown. >> me personally i blame both sides. >> if it shuts down, who are you guys blaming? >> oh, man.

i say everybody. >> why does it have to come out last minute? we've had how long. >> it's just partisan politics. everybody digs your heels in. the more you dig your heels in, the less you get done. it's a vicious circle. >> reporter: late word this evening, brian. the president placed calls to all the congressional leaders including speaker boehner. their first conversation in over a week. >> all right. chuck todd at the white house. let's go to the other end of town. kelly o'donnell with a late development on capitol hill. all eyes have been on the moderate republicans, some of whom think it's a suicide mission to go after a 3-year-old settled health care law. >> reporter: absolutely, brian. one moderate republican said i'm disgusted. in fact, the house is now voting on the tea party-backed bill that would keep the government open but would make those

changes to the health care law. i'm told the senate will then quickly come back and kill that. that leaves us at square one. i'm also told speaker boehner is saying it will work out tonight. an interesting clue about what may unfold over the next few hours. brian? >> either way, it's going to be a long night. kelly o'donnell on the hill for us. thanks. let's take this story out of washington where the talking is going on, where what we just saw is already hitting home across america, after all, and could get a lot worse for a lot of families if there is a shutdown overnight. nbc's kevin tibbles with us from downtown chicago tonight. good evening. >> reporter: brian, tonight as the hour approaches, thousands of americans who work in and out of government are bracing for the consequences of a shutdown. at chicago's federal building today, dozens of government workers gathered to protest a government shutdown. elizabeth came on her lunch hour. you're worried?

>> oh, yeah. yeah. i'm the only one who's the breadwinner right now. >> reporter: she works for the epa, a mother and grandmother. her husband was recently laid off. she is frustrated, angry, and worried. >> congress needs to be turned over somebody's knee and spanked real hard, because they're acting like small children. >> reporter: as the business of government is poised to grind to a halt, federal employees across the u.s. head home not knowing what tomorrow brings. >> scary. how are we going to pay our bills. >> reporter: and it's not just federal workers. malik navid sells souvenirs near the statue of liberty. >> there will be no business here. less number of tourists. >> reporter: padlocking our national parks from coast to coast along with the national zoo and museums in the nation's capit capital. also federally backed loans on hold, delay tax audits and refunds, and suspend the special

supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children. >> what are we to do to feed our kids? who are we going to feed our kids? >> reporter: services which won't be effected will include the tsa along with tax collections, social security, unemployment, food stamps, and passports. while more than 800,000 federal workers stand to lose a paycheck, the president and members of congress will still receive them. >> i think they can take that -- those congress persons' paychecks away. >> if you feel government employees shouldn't be paid, i think you should give up your checks. >> reporter: as for elizabeth, she'll need to report to work tomorrow just to find out if she'll be sent home. >> they are in the sandbox. they are kicking sand into the american people's eyes. and it hurts. >> reporter: many estimates suggest a shutdown could cost the government between $40 million and $80 million a day. and that could hit very close to home for many american families.

>> kevin tibbles in chicago for us tonight. kevin, thanks. couple of other notes here tonight, while bickering over all this, washington politicians have not suspended their own effort to raise money to retain their own jobs. both parties have collected almost a billion dollars in the first half of this year according to federal records. tonight they were scheduled to raise even more in a gala in a building not far from the capitol. speaker boehner was to attend but canceled. democrats have their own big ticket event coming up next week at the fairmont hotel in san francisco. featuring house minority leader nancy pelosi and special guest michelle obama. millions of americans with money in the stock market are paying the price for this strike. stocks dropped in the effect of

a possible shutdown. all indexes down today. now to the other big story of the day, the other deadline at midnight. the new health care law at the center of the showdown in congress. a big part of that law will start to take effect tomorrow when people without health insurance can sign up to buy coverage. but our new poll with the kaiser family foundation shows 70% say they are very or somewhat worried they'll have to pay more for their health care or health insurance. and 62% of those without insurance say they are confused about this new law. our chief medical editor dr. nancy sneiderman sat down for an exclusive interview with the woman in charge today. kathleen sebelius. >> reporter: with all the run-up time to the eve of this, why the confusion today and why not more enthusiasm? >> well, i think it still isn't real for a lot of people and

there is a lot of confusion. >> reporter: is that your fault? >> i think we bear part of the responsibility of not being able to get through a lot of the noise. >> reporter: one of the big concerns is that as the numbers have been tossed out there, we really don't know how things are going to fall. and that the middle class may really take it on the chin. >> the middle class, i would say, depending on where that middle class employee worked has been taking it on the chin. >> reporter: but when the president says this is the cost of your cable bill or cell phone bill, that's not quite true. >> six out of ten people will have the choice, if they choose to make it, the choice of a policy for under $100. >> reporter: but the back end hurts. >> it's a debate. do you want to have protection for basically every checkup, every visit that you do, or do you have a situation where you are making a determination where you and your family don't use medical services that much and you want to make sure you have

protection if something goes terribly wrong? >> reporter: is it conceivable to you the number of a $6,000 deductible for a middle class family is a feasible number? >> i think families can make a budget choice. if that isn't something that clearly they can pay for and a lot of people couldn't pay for that out of pocket, they will want a lower deductible. >> reporter: what does success look like? >> well, i think success looks like at least 7 million people having signed up by the end of march 2014. >> reporter: this is coming tomorrow. people without insurance can start signing up to buy it tomorrow, october 1st. the benefits will then kick in january 1st, 2014, and you will have until march 31st of next year to enroll. i think a lot of people will start to look -- start looking at healthcare.gov where you can look at the market place in your own state and explore your options for your own coverage. there are a lot of options out there. i think people are going to be a

little overwhelmed, brian, when they start to see what this market place looks like. >> what a time beginning with this 24-hour period. thank you as always. as the president tried to manage this budget showdown, at least his end of it, he also met for several hours today with israeli president benjamin netanyahu just days after the president's phone call with iran's president. netanyahu pushed the president to keep up pressure on iran to dismantle its nuclear program and said again that iran remains committed to the destruction of the state of israel. netanyahu is expected to deliver that very same message tomorrow at the u.n. here in new york. in chicago tonight, several dozen people are injured, though not critically after a train crash. two trains collided head on. one of the trains was in a rail yard for repair. somehow it rolled out of the station, no one at the controls. it was doing about 20 miles an hour when it hit the other train head on.

the ntsb is investigating. also tonight, the head of one of the largest construction companies in all of southern california and his son are believed to have been on board the crash of a cessna that slammed into a hangar last night. federal investigator on the scene last night reported no problems were reported before impact. still ahead for us on a monday night, a nbc exclusive. separated and trapped in that mall in kenya. a rescue captured in an unforgettable image. the story of how they got out of there. and later, trading places. two of the best known brand names in all the world. names in all the world. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve military members,

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tonight they are describing for the first time how they were able to make it out of there. their story tonight from nbc's ron allen in nairobi. >> reporter: the walton family is grateful for each day together. catherine and her five kids were rescued from the nairobi mall, including 4-year-old portia, a moment captured in this iconic image. dad philip was miles away in north carolina on business as his family lived through a nightmare. how long were you trapped? >> three and a half to four hours. it was pretty terrifying. >> reporter: catherine and the three girls had come down the main escalator. this escalator in ruins after the four-day siege. >> there was a loud explosion, sounded like breaking glass. then people started screaming and running. then i grabbed the girls and started just running. >> reporter: the two boys were trapped in the grocery store. here's that store after the siege. the most intense fighting happened here. these exclusive photos show the mall ravaged by gunfire, explosions and fire.

after becoming a battle zone. >> reporter: portia laid down flat as she could on her stomach, put her hands in her ears and laid there for hours and just motionless and quiet. >> we were trying to stay alive. >> reporter: local businessman abdul haji came to the mall to help his brother. when he spotted the waltons he called to portia. >> i just stretched my hand out and asked her to run. she just ran towards us. at that point, i thought she was very, very brave. >> reporter: what do you say to her to convince her to go? we teach our kids not to go to strangers. >> i think she just knew that it was a chance to get out. >> reporter: you're a father of four yourself. >> she's pretty much the same age as my daughter. >> reporter: catherine and the girls got out and learned the two boys had already escaped. haji and the waltons now share an intense bond. >> love him to death. you know, when we met him for the first time after this

started, i put my arms around him and just started crying. >> reporter: a family with a brave little girl and a stranger who came to the rescue. ron allen, nbc news, nairobi. >> incredible story. we're back in just moment with the big announcement today about one of the most beloved figures of modern times. n times, consider this: when the storms are this powerful, the batteries had better be powerful, too. introducing duracell quantum. only duracell quantum has a hi-density core. and that means more fuel, more power, more performance than the next leading brand. so, whether you're out on the front lines or you're back home, now you have the power. new duracell quantum. trusted everywhere. as your life changes, fidelity is there for your personal economy,

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the commandant of the u.s. marine corps has taken an unusual step. for the first time since the vietnam war, two generals have been relieved of command. in this case because of a tuberculosis attack that resulted in the deaths of two marines and the destruction of almost an entire quad ron of combat aircraft. general james amos took the action because the base had not been adequately protected. pope francis will canonize

two of his predecessors on the same day this spring. sainthood for pope john paul ii and pope john xxiii. it is possible the former pope benedict could attend the ceremony in late april. a sad day in pittsburgh for football fans everywhere. l.c. greenwood has died. he was part of the legendary steel curtain defense, and he was a quiet giant who stood 6'6." he was a fearsome pass rusher. along with joe green, dwight white, and ernie holmes made up what was probably the best front four ever. l.c. greenwood was 67 years old. it's been called the field of dreams for collectors and fans of old chevys. we first showed you what was left of ray lambrick's chevy dealership in nebraska a few weeks back. now we can report they auctioned them all off. ray just couldn't part with the used cars, 500 of them. some were indoors all this time. some were outside in the elements. a top bid of $140,000 went to this cream puff. a beautiful 1958 pickup with 1.3

original miles on the odometer. folks who make up the best brands annual report which not surprisingly ranks the best brands have put apple in the number one position worldwide. coca-cola dropped from first to third leaving apple and google in the top two slots. the apple brand name is valued now at close to $100 billion. when we come back, something wild, something incredibly beautiful that might just fall victim to washington. ll victim to washington. 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 can lower your ability to fight infections,

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androgel 1.62%. our final story tonight is about an event that takes place only at this time of year inside yellowstone national park. it draws american families from all over across the country. but because of what's happening in washington right now, sadly and somewhat unbelievably, this year's show might be canceled. the story tonight from nbc's harry smith. >> reporter: every fall for just a week or two, you hear it -- [ animals trumpeting ] an eerie call that echoes through the valleys and canyons of washington national park. if you're an elk, that's a love song.

hearing the elk is one thing. getting a good look back here in the wilderness, not so easy. but, boy, is it worth it. it's mating season up here and the bugling bulls are letting other males know they should not even think about disturbing their harems. for park visitors like ichd vaughn, hearing the elk is as good as seeing old faithful. >> eerie at first if you don't know what it is. being from los angeles, we don't hear that often. it was very cool. fascinating to see that. >> reporter: at park headquarters, a whole herd has set up camp which makes elk viewing easy. beware the amped up bull elks says the ranger. >> we have had people injured before. we have had a lot of cars damaged. you have to watch when you exit a building. look both ways so you don't step in front of a bull elk. >> reporter: even with summer family traffic long gone, autumn the still a business season. rooms are hard to come by.

for julie mckinnon, her trip to yellowstone is an annual ritual. for her friend martha, it's her first time. >> when you hear the elk bugle, what do you think? >> it makes me think of the spirit of the forest. it's such an eerie sound that echoes through the trees. >> reporter: what does it mean to see these animals this close. >> goodness, it just puts you back in touch with nature. it's just amazing. >> reporter: a visit to yellowstone affirms our belief in america as a special place. but if the government shuts down, so will the park. and that's a shame. harry smith, nbc news, yellowstone national park. and let's look at one more beautiful thing. this is in a troubled place. our cameras picked up another gorgeous sunset tonight in washington. the question there is when we see the sun again tomorrow morning, will it rise over a city paralyzed by a government shutdown?

again, it will be a long night. that's our broadcast on a monday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we, of course, hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. right now at 6:00, an east bay police officer on the wrong side of the law. good evening, everyone, thanks for joining us. i'm janelle wang. jessica aguirre is on assignle. >> i'm raj mathai. a developing story, this afternoon livermoore police announced the arrest of a hayward cop accused of sexually abusing girls he taught at an after school program. girls at middle and elementary schools. a lot of concerned parents tonight.

>> reporter: raj, good evening. that's right. the first victim to come to police is now an adult. she claims robert mcleod abused her six years ago but only recently decided to come forward. as 38-year-old hayward police officer richard scott mcleod sits in santa rita jail held on $750,000 bail, police say they are interviewing his alleged victims who were girls when mcleod was the lead coordinator of the kid zone after school program in livermore. >> he was the teacher. he was the one that everybody liked. and he would hang out with them afterwards when the place was closed. >> reporter: police say the alleged abuse took place between 1998 and 2007. involving girls between the ages of 12 and 14. mcleod was arrested saturday on suspicion of sexual conduct and lewd acts with a minor. the abuse is alleged to have taken place at after school programs across the city of livermore but mainly at