this saturday and sunday. on our broadcast tonight, the spectacular show as they get under way here in sochi. russia raises the curtain with a dazzling display. and in keeping with expectations, there is already a controversy having nothing to do with competition. also, a bomb scare today aboard a commercial airliner. a would-be hijacker demands the pilots divert to sochi. and who did it? who leaked private conversations between u.s. diplomats, complete with profanity. it is a big embarrassment. some big allies are angry, and washington has shifted into damage control. and one moment in time. the american athletes who did not get to compete the last time the games came to russia because the president kept the u.s. team home. tonight, the scars that are still visible. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. there was more tension leading up to these olympic winter games than any other such gathering in memory. they are, after all, the most expensive and the most heavily defended by far. and now tonight we are finally, thankfully under way here. just as the opening games at the summer games in london was very british, as you can see tonight, these games are getting off to a very russian-themed start. the gathering now feels very spirited. but for a time today as we'll talk about it in a moment there was a scare that reminded us all of the high security stakes. first, however, the command that has gone out to let these games begin. nbc's kevin tibbles has more. kevin, good evening. >> reporter: brian, just a few years ago, sochi was a sleepy

little tourist town on the banks of the black sea. well, tonight, sochi welcomed the world with a festival of sound and color, and oh yes, a little controversy mixed in. the big show has come to sochi. and thousands streamed into the olympic park with smiles and cheers and a russian greeting for visitors. >> welcome to sochi! >> reporter: after the metal detectors and bag checks a daily ritual, it took those today attending this evening's opening ceremony just a few minutes to get to the stadium. >> i don't want to be late. >> reporter: security ever present, sometimes even friendly. inside, a spectacle about a proud people. many u.s. athletes celebrated with selfies. after six olympics it never gets old. todd lodwick chosen to carry the flag. >> i think it's going to be an

eye-opening moment, almost like winning the medal itself. >> reporter: just one noticeable glitch. one of the olympic rings failed to materialize. among those who carried the torch of the olympic torch, rumored to be linked to the russian president putin, though the relationship has never been confirmed. she handed it off to one of the most decorated figure skaters in russia, a national hero who has drawn international criticism for a doctored photo she tweeted of president obama last year that many considered racist. but for those in attendance, a breath-taking evening. tennis star and sochi hometown hero maria sharapova also carried the torch. she expects russia to wow the world. >> knowing our history of dance and art and culture, we enjoy a good program. we enjoy a great performance. >> and a great party? >> and a party, yes, with a couple of vodka shots. >> reporter: russia's olympic coming out party is under way, the most expensive games in

history. under the big top in sochi. and fears of empty seats in the olympic stadium seem to be a bit premature. the place was filled to the rafters. and of course those waiting to watch the show, the big show tonight. a couple of highlights that i noted, brian, being in there, one, the jamaican bobsled team got a great cheer. their gear finally showed up and they're ready to go. and then of course when team russia walked into the building, the roof came off. >> i think the games just needed to begin. kevin tibbles starting for us tonight. kevin, thanks. as mentioned, the big scare had arrived as the opening ceremony was under way, that a man had attempted to hijack this jetliner and ordered the pilots to fly it here to sochi. while it now turns out he may have been in an altered state and there never was a bomb on board it speaks to the hair trigger in this entire region.

richard engel has that story tonight. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. imagine if that plane had been diverted to sochi during the opening ceremony while the world is watching, a stadium full of vips. and don't forget this entire area is full of anti-aircraft missiles. but in the end it was averted. as spectators filed in to the opening ceremony, few had any idea a hostage drama was under way, that a hijacker was trying to divert a passenger plane their way. a turkish boeing 737-800 carrying 110 passengers took off from kharkov in the ukraine for a flight to istanbul. but once in the air, a ukrainian man claimed he had a bomb and demanded the plane divert to sochi. passengers took photographs and cell phone videos they say showed the hijacker in a red and white jersey. but it may have been cool thinking by the pilots that averted a major crisis.

the pilots stayed calm, pretending to cooperate, telling the hijacker they were heading to sochi, while continuing on to istanbul. they turned off the in-flight map system so the hijacker could not see where the plane really was, and over the black sea at night, it would have been hard to identify any landmarks. when the plane entered turkish air space, the pilots tripped an alarm alerting the officials on the ground. two turkish f-16 fighters scrambled, escorting the aircraft to istanbul, where it was surrounded by security. >> this was textbook response on the part of the flight crew to keep them under control and get the aircraft to a safe place, and also to turkish authorities to make sure that even if this turned out to be nothing, they were prepared. >> reporter: the suspect, reportedly drunk, was taken into custody, bound on a stretcher. no bomb or weapon was found. ed turkish officials believe he was acting alone.

turkish police have identified the man as 45-year-old artem hozlov from the ukraine. they're investigating his background, but so far nothing suspicious. >> richard engel in the olympic village for us tonight. richard, thanks. and as they say, that's not all. there is trouble between the u.s. and russia tonight on another front. the business of diplomacy, after somebody posted on the internet the surreptitious and very clear recording between two u.s. diplomats over the dicey matter of the current unrest in ukraine. it is real, the u.s. can't hide from it and they are pointing the finger at russia. we get our report from chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. >> reporter: vladimir putin's government is having a field day over america's diplomatic stumble as protesters chanted outside the embassy in moscow. center stage in kiev today, victoria nuland, the top u.s. diplomat for europe, trying to make light of her diplomatic

undiplomatic gaffe. >> it was standard trade craft. the audio was pretty clear. >> reporter: too clear, they were heard around the world talking to the u.s. ambassador about ukraine, and using the f-word about the european union, the eu. >> [ bleep ] the eu. >> reporter: the bigger fallout on ukraine. in crisis for months. nuland was also heard sizing up the rebel leaders, sounding like a chicago ward captain. >> so i don't think klitsch should go into the government, i don't think it is necessary, i don't think it is a good idea. >> reporter: had russia bugged her phone? >> the russians were the first to tweet about this particular call. only a few countries have the level of capabilities needed. i'll let you use your own judgment. >> reporter: nuland has been tough on russia, and recently sided with ukraine's anti-government protesters, even feeding them bread. >> would you like some bread? >> reporter: putin has also gone after the u.s. ambassador to russia, who is now leaving his post and talked to richard engel

today. >> what is unusual to me is that this would be put on youtube or wherever it was. that seems like something rather extraordinary. >> reporter: germany's angela merkel is said to be furious over the insult to europe. since everyone spies, veteran diplomats say a word of caution is necessary. >> i think both sides should take a little more care in the way in which we share points of view with each other. >> reporter: in other words, watch what you say. someone may be listening. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. on the home rund today, we learned that the economy added 113,000 jobs in january. while it was, as they say, short of expectations, the unemployment rate did tick down to 6.6%. the problem is not fast enough growth for the millions of americans still struggling to find work, although a lot of economists continue to predict hiring will pick up the pace in the months to come. and an update on the weather in the u.s. power crews working around the clock in pennsylvania report more than 220,000 customers are

still without heat and light since that big ice storm moved through. they expect, however, to have most of the homes back up online tonight. still means a lot of hardship and a lot of frozen pipes for a lot of homeowners in that area. it seemed like half of hollywood came to new york today, and yet any one of them would have given anything not to make the trip. they gathered at a church in manhattan for the funeral of philip seymour hoffman who died of an apparent heroin overdose. last weekend. he was 46 years old. his death, sadly, has brought both a crackdown by the nypd, and now renewed attention to the surge in heroin use across the country. still ahead tonight, the american athletes who made the team the last time the olympics came to russia, only their team was held back by the president. and tonight, how they turn that into success down the road.

back here in sochi tonight, the only other time russia hosted the olympics was back in 1980. it was the summer games, but the u.s. team never made it here. they were ready and able and revved up for it, but politics got in the way. president carter kept the team home right at the top of their game. and when we caught up with team members from back then, we found the scars of not competing are still evident now. >> reporter: this is nbc nightly news. good evening. there was a coup d'etat in afghanistan today. >> reporter: in december of 1987, 100,000 soviet troops marched into afghanistan. at the same time, the iranians were holding american hostages. at home, the u.s. economy was stalled. in his state of the union address weeks later, jimmy carter sent a clear message to the russians, withdraw your troops or there will be

consequences. >> neither the american people nor i will support sending an olympic team to moscow. >> reporter: watching the president's speech that night, the first american women's volley ball team ever to qualify for an olympics, debbie landrith was one of the ten women who had hoped to make history in moscow. >> we almost laughed at it like are you kidding? that's ridiculous. like we really didn't take it seriously. >> reporter: then there was don page, the number one american long distance runner. he was in the room along with other invited olympic hopefuls the day president carter announced his final decision. >> i can't say at this moment what other nations will not go to the summer olympics in moscow. ours will not go. >> and we're all like, he is serious. the president of the united states just said we're not going to go to moscow? we're not going to go to the olympics?

>> sure, you're disappointed. >> so congratulations. >> reporter: sue walsh was 17 back then. she had just clocked the fastest time in the world for the 100 meter backstroke, and to this day, the canceled olympics are an emotional topic. >> it was knowing that my parents had bought flights to go to moscow that were not going to be refunded. and now, as a parent what you -- sorry. what you hope your hopes for your children are and then knowing that my parents -- wouldn't get to experience that? i think that was the hardest thing. >> reporter: while the games were taking place in moscow, as a consolation prize, the u.s. olympic team was invited to washington. they wore their official levis western wear team outfits that they were supposed to wear to the opening ceremony. and that is when reality sunk in for another u.s. team member, ron gallamore. >> i broke down into tears.

>> reporter: gallamore grew up the son of the late chicago bears runningback willy gallamore, and he was set to become the first african-american gymnast to compete in the olympics. >> oh, what a landing! >> he knows it. >> it was not until that moment that, you know, i realized what i had achieved, you know, and the opportunity i wouldn't get. >> reporter: none of the four athletes, page, landrith, walsh or gallamore ever made it to another olympics, but they long ago decided not to let that disappointment stop them. don page founded a company that designed running track outfits for high school athletics. debbie landrith, now debbie landrith brown went on to coach at notre dame and recently celebrated her 600th victory. sue walsh competes as a swimmer and last year broke the record in her age group.

and ron gallamore supports today's u.s. olympians as an executive with the usa gymnastics. >> i feel grateful to have the job i have now and working with some of the young athletes. i get to relive my life through them with the happiest ending. >> reporter: these athletes have all proven their strength and history always proves if you think it's tense between super powers now, there is often a ready example of when it was worse. another break for us. when we come back, the start of something very big 50 years ago today.

you may recall that after billy jean king was named the to the official u.s. olympic delegation, she suddenly pulled out of her appearance here in sochi to be with her mother. we learned today her mother passed away this morning. betty moffet died in prescott, arizona at the age of 91.

we also want to take a moment to note the passing of marty pilsner. over at cbs news, he was a competitor of our ours. but along the way, he contributed to the national news lexicon. he is the one who coined the phrase "too close to call." martin plessnor was 87 years old. these days, very few people leave the game when they're on top of their game, and that's what jay leno did last night. we now know a record 14.6 million americans watched his good-bye. billy crystal led the way with a celebrity-studded take down with music. lots of old friends stopped by. but at the end of the night it was just jay and the audience, and after 22 years and over 4,000 shows, it got emotional. >> boy, this is the hard part. i want to thank you, the audience. you folks have been just incredibly loyal. this is tricky.

we wouldn't be on the air, without you people. secondly, this has been the greatest 22 years of my life. >> last night, jay said after losing his mother, father and brother, his "tonight show" family became family to him. the show now moves east as the baton and the time slot both get passed on to jimmy fallon. and in case you missed all the other coverage and tributes, this is the 50th anniversary of the beatles' arrival in the u.s. while they went on to change music forever, at the time, 50 years ago tonight on this very broorks knight broadcast, "nightly news" anchorman chet huntley was not impressed with their first visit to new york, and he said so on the air. here is what it sounded like to our viewers that night. >> like a good little news organization, we sent three camera crews to stand among the

shrieking youngsters and record the sights and sounds for posterity. the pictures are very good, but someone asked what the fuss was about and we found we had no answer. so good night for nbc news. >> turns out those 4,000 shrieking youngsters who showed up at kennedy airport that day might have been on to something. when we come back, you may notice something different about one member of team usa during tonight's opening ceremony, and we'll tell you why.

finally tonight, getting here. it's tough to put into words what it means to these olympic athletes. we'll see it on their faces later tonight. that is if they look out from behind their phones while they record it all. and yes, they say getting here is half the battle. but for those who get here and then have to go home because of fate or tragedy or injury or all three, that is a heartbreaker. it has already happened to one member of team usa. and chris jansing has her story tonight. >> reporter: it had been a good ski season for heidi kloser, second at lake placid, fourth in world cup overall. she first imagined going to the olympics when she was just three, and now it happened.

>> it was really cool standing at the top today. it felt like the olympics for sure. >> reporter: but thursday, just seconds into her moguls warmup, a terrible crash. as she was carried off the mountain, she says she knew the games were over for her before they began. and with the innocence of that young girl who wanted to represent her country for so long, she asked her parents, am i still an olympian? did you think you were not? >> i don't know. i just didn't know for sure. i felt like i had to start to be considered an olympian. >> reporter: her dad's posting on facebook brought a deluge of support, all echoing mike's answer to his daughter, of course you are. heidi had broken her right leg but wanted to walk in the opening ceremony anyway. when she tells you she was going to walk with all those injuries? >> well, i had had some reservations, but i know how strong she is. >> reporter: heidi was determined. so after arriving to the stadium in a wheelchair, when team usa

was announced, she got up, grabbed her crutches, and took in the olympic experience. and on this night of celebration, her teammates found something extra to cheer. >> she is a real american. >> she embodies that. she embodies the love and being a teammate and being out there. she is truly such an inspiration. >> reporter: on and off the slopes, life is full of twists and turns. and there is a moral to heidi's story. that champions are not just the ones who win medals. do you feel like an olympian? >> yes, i do. >> reporter: and how does it feel? >> it feels awesome. >> reporter: heidi told me tonight she hopes she doesn't have to return home to colorado right away for rehab or more treatment. she would rather stay in sochi to cheer on her teammates, brian. >> after all, she got here in the first place. chris jansing with a heartbreaker before these games begin. that is our broadcast on a friday night. and for this week, thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams reporting

from the now under way winter games in sochi. a reminder. nbc prime time coverage of the opening ceremony begins tonight 7:30/6:30 central. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. right now at 6:00 it's round two of the second storm of a bach that's hammering the bay area. we'll look at the live radar. you see a lot of green. rain is falling virtually everywhere but the worst is yet to come. thanks for joining us on this friday. i'm raj mathai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. we're in store for a big weekend. a major rain event like we haven't seen in sometime. right now the situation on the roads messy. drivers on 280 near highway 17

barely moving along. things not much better north of san francisco. this is a live look at the drive in san rafael on 101. this is what it looks like from the emeryville camera. you can see it's slow, slow going. lots of fresh snow, though, is falling in the sierra and many drivers are headed to the slopes. we have team coverage from the north bay to south bay. jeff remember neis tracking the >> it's by the stream of moisture moving. it's a subtropical moisture staying with us. we'll see conveyer belts of areas of rain in and across the bay. let's get you to the live doppler scan. it's been a mess across the north bay from santa rosa down throughout the golden gate bridge. it still remains wet. we'll see it like this tonight. a sore spot i