on our broadcast tonight, crash course. scary conditions on the slopes here in sochi, including an american knocked unconscious. plus an emotional day for the most decorated olympic skier of all time. and team u.s.a. returning to the rink after an instant classic. also tonight, the deep impact of this relentless winter of 2014 taking a heavy toll with roofs collapsing, pipes bursting, ripped up roads and now a major strain on the power grid. ice castles. tonight, our team makes a breathtaking journey across the american great lakes, almost completely frozen solid now, and revealing something spectacular. and on the edge of history, americans who have been skating together all their lives. tonight, their moment arrives. "nightly news" begins now.

>> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams, reporting tonight from the olympic winter games in sochi, russia. well, good evening. and as much as we hesitate to say it, given the relentless winter of 2014 for so many people across america, the weather here, as we get off to a dank start this monday morning, continues to make news in these winter olympic games. more on that in just a moment. on the upside from the competition, one result we can talk about, because it was news in the states since before people woke up today, bode miller, already the most decorated alpine olympic skier in u.s. history, has now set another record as the oldest medalist. and u.s. hockey back in the rink today after the breathtaking game against the russians yesterday. nbc's kevin tibbles covering all of it for us here tonight. kevin, good evening.

>> brian, another great night for team usa here. as these winter olympics evolve, as these new sports come on to play, many of them are very exciting and very dangerous. in these olympics, it's faster, higher and more extreme and not without its casualties. >> ooh! >> reporter: u.s. snowboard cross racer jacqueline hernandez crashed spectacularly and was carried off the mountain. just minutes before, a norwegian competitor was also stretchered off. today, president vladimir putin visited an athlete in the hospital injured on the same course. but going to extremes has always been the motto of u.s. skier bode miller. in classic daredevil fashion, the 36-year-old downhiller brought home the bronze in today's super g. >> i took a little too much risk. i think i probably had a little too much emotion in my skiing.

>> reporter: emotion because miller said he was thinking of his late brother. he tweeted, "thanks for all the support. today was one of the most emotional days of my life. i miss my brother." american andrew weibrecht, nicknamed the war horse, won the silver. >> i think this will keep me going for a little while more anyway. >> reporter: bronze, too, for head-first speed demon matt antoine in the skeleton. not bad for a kid once told he didn't have the right stuff. >> first time i tried it, i was told that i didn't quite have it and was sent home. i didn't quite believe them. i refocused. >> he is an olympic medalist. >> i guess it worked out okay. >> reporter: in the mountains, not warm weather but fog pushed the biathlon competition to tomorrow. still as competition heats up, russians stream into the olympic park. nothing, it seems, could dampen their enthusiasm, except, of course, this. >> score! team usa wins. >> to be able to beat them in a

game that had a little bit of everything. just a great day for hockey for sure for team usa >> reporter: after beating russia, team usa kept its undefeated streak alive today, downing slovenia, 5-1. our friend and hockey analyst, eddie olcyk, warns it's still in the early days for hockey. with today's win, however, team usa is through to the quarterfinals. and, brian, for snowboarder jackie hernandez, she tweeted tonight that she was knocked unconscious in that fall but she's still looking forward to the men's competition tomorrow. >> after, at times, harrowing sunday games. kevin tibbles, thanks, as always. and we want to take a quick check at the medal count after this second weekend of competition now. the netherlands is in the lead with 17 medals. russia and the u.s. are next with 16. the germans have the most gold medals of any nation in these winter olympic games. now back in the u.s. today, it was all about digging out again from the latest storm that left over a foot of snow in parts of new england. not only have most of the people

in the affected area, as they like to say, simply had enough, but think about the toll all this is taking, from budgets, to pipes, to roads, to power. nbc's ron mott is on the cape tonight in massachusetts with more for us. hey, ron, good evening. >> reporter: hey, brian, good evening to you. another 15 inches of new snow on the ground here tonight. you can see, they've just taken to piling this stuff up wherever they can find room for it. it is getting time consuming, frustrating and, most of all, costly. the relentless pounding many parts of the country have endured this winter, like last night's blinding blizzard on cape cod -- >> i feel like it's siberia. >> reporter: -- is not just bruising the psyche. >> i'm pretty sick of it now. >> reporter: it's battling a fragile infrastructure. roofs are collapsing, pipes bursting, water mains snapping, this one in detroit, turning block after block into a surging

and icy river. now dealing with mountains of debris and bills. >> we're not thinking about the budget at this point in time. we'll spend whatever is necessary to get the job done and to protect the life and safety of our citizens. >> reporter: recent storms knocked out power to more than 1 million customers. >> powerlines and a lot of the trees are weighted down. >> reporter: crews are working around the clock to restore electricity to those still in the dark, particularly in the southeast, where more than 125,000 remain powerless. it's a problem exacerbated, some argue, by the nation's aging power grid. >> people are paying higher costs for power on a day-by-day basis because the grid, even when not stressed, doesn't perform like it should. >> reporter: budgets large and small are being pinched by costly repairs. in north carolina, heavy snow was the culprit at a charlotte church. >> i thought maybe a tree had fallen or something. i saw the roof go, boom, straight down. >> reporter: a story mirrored in other states. >> we looked outside, saw the snow come off the roof and then our neighbors downstairs said the roof collapsed. >> reporter: today, workers scrambled to clean streets and

fill gaping, growing potholes. and in one jersey city, a warning to stay off the road. staying true to form, more rough weather is on the way. now, this newest threat isn't expected to be a huge snow maker, perhaps a little consolation for a lot of folks hard hit. brian? >> ron mott in cape cod, massachusetts, for us. ron, thanks. and we've been looking at this as well. the severe weather making news beyond the u.s. in japan, for starters, parts of that country witnessed record snowfall. and the uk, where they cannot catch a break from record flooding that's been going on there for weeks. our report tonight from nbc's mike taibbi. >> reporter: the torrential rains took a day off today, but the consequences of six weeks of nonstop storm systems did not. tens of thousands of homes and businesses in southern england remain swamped by floodwaters with utilities damaged and disfigured rail lines needing repairs that will take weeks to months.

in addition, monster wind-driven seas pounded the coastline, smashing a cruise ship where one man was killed and everyone else was terrified. >> it was like a hand grenade had gone off. >> reporter: and prime minister david cameron says there's more punishing weather on the near horizon. >> what we do in the next 24 hours is vital. tragically, the river levels will rise again. >> reporter: it's not just england enduring unprecedented winter misery. it's across all longitudes. in northern india, transportation reduced to walking. in japan, as shown in this amazing time-lapse sequence, there's been more snow than some regions have seen in half a century. in the u.s., the west is encased in a drought for the ages and east coast storms have shocked states down the coast that rarely see this. for an explanation, more and more experts are citing climate change, which u.s. secretary of state john kerry in indonesia today likened to a weapon of mass destruction on par with any other. >> and those who refuse to

believe it are simply burying their heads in the sand. >> reporter: for now in england, it's sandbags and pumps in the hope that mother nature will show some mercy unseen this winter. mike taibbi, nbc news, london. other news from overseas, the need for some sort of solution to end the long and brutal war in syria was made clear once again this weekend, because new pictures show a situation both difficult to watch and equally impossible to ignore. we get our report tonight from our chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell. >> reporter: he appears to be only 5, perhaps 6 years old. he cries, "my brothers died, my brothers. my brothers," the dust from the regime helicopter bombing still on his eyelashes, mixing with his tears. one of the youtube videos this

weekend impossible to verify, but u.n. officials say telling the story of incalculable horror. in homes, people are starving, what the u.n. and u.s. call a war crime. but the bombing continues. bombs dropped by helicopters, despite a u.n.-brokered cease fire. evacuees say only a trickle of food is getting through. this man says we were eating leftover wheat, the stuff we used to throw out before, anything to just keep us alive. as the syrian people cry for help, peace talks collapsed this weekend. the video that has been sent out by an opposition rebel group, how can the administration ignore this? >> for one, the president is committed as legacy to the middle class, not the middle east. >> the middle class in america? >> yes. he is risk adverse, not risk ready, among the longest and least profitable wars in american history. >> the president is looking at 100,000 people killed, these

horrific images, the refugees and so on, and looking for answers, but the country wants him to be focused on the economy. >> reporter: but fighters like these men in homes are overwhelmed, fighting on two fronts against radical rebel groups aligned with al qaeda and against assad's air power, backed up by ground forces from iran. and today, the rebel military, general idris, was forced out. >> none of us want boots on the ground. but to not revisit other options which are viable, then i think is the only thing that we can do. this is shameful. >> reporter: a humanitarian disaster for all the world to see. a top official traveling with president obama is blaming vladimir putin for the tragedy in syria, saying russia can't say it wants a peaceful approach at the happy olympics while it also supports a regime that kills people in the most brutal way. brian? >> andrea mitchell in our d.c. newsroom tonight. andrea, thanks. questions about race and self-defense getting renewed attention after a verdict this

weekend in florida. this case, you may recall, involved a white man who shot and killed a black teenager. on the most serious charge, first-degree murder, a mistrial was declared because of a hung jury. our report tonight from nbc's kerry sanders. >> mistrial. >> reporter: the jury deliberated four days and, despite the deadlock, the multiracial, 12-member jury convicted dunn on three counts of attempted murder because he fired ten shots at the suv where three of jordan davis' friends were. jordan davis' mother says the conviction on those attempted charges gives her a small sense of closure. >> and we will continue to stand and we will continue to wait for justice for jordan. >> reporter: the sounds of the shooting a year and a half ago -- >> somebody is shooting out of their car. >> reporter: -- were captured on

six security cameras at the convenience store. dunn complained music from their vehicle was too loud. then he says he saw what looked like a gun pointed at him. >> quicker than a flash, i had a round chambered in it and i shot. >> reporter: deputies recovered dunn's pistol, but they never found a weapon in the boys' car. on just the attempted murder charges, dunn faces up to 60 years in prison. >> so he's going to learn that he must be remorseful for the killing of my son, that it was not just another day at the office. >> reporter: some believe this mistrial and the high-profile acquittal of george zimmerman in the shooting death of trayvon martin is a direct result of stand your ground. >> with stand your ground, he was entitled, if the jury believes he was threatened, to take the gun out of the glove compartment, shoot and fire the gun at jordan davis. that's what the law says. >> reporter: if he were still alive, jordan davis would have turned 19 today. kerry sanders, nbc news, jacksonville, florida. and still ahead tonight, our

team makes the long journey to a majestic spot in nature that winter tourists are flocking to because it's reachable for the first time in years. and later, one of the great, enduring relationships in all of sports. partners on the ice and hoping to make history.

as we've been reporting all through these winter olympic games, one of the big stories here has been the poor condition of the snow and ice at some of the events because of the spring-like weather. back home in the states, a staggering percentage of the great lakes is frozen over, the biggest freeze in decades. and along lake superior in northern wisconsin, it's giving visitors a rare and spectacular show of nature.

our report tonight from nbc's john yang. >> reporter: tens of thousands have made the pilgrimage here to the northern tip of wisconsin, trudging more than a mile across frozen lake superior, like penguins marching over polar ice. their quest? a rare view of majestic, natural cathedrals of ice. centuries of crashing waves created the caves. weeks of arctic blasts, freezing falling water created the stunning ice sculptures adorning them. >> it's beautiful. >> reporter: icicles hang like delicate chandeliers, suspended pillars creating chambers accessible only by crawling. for photographers, the challenge is finding the perfect angle. for kids, it's a giant frozen playground. molly olman and peter johnson found it romantic. >> we just got engaged. >> reporter: the right spot for another kind of ice.

in the summer months, i'd need a kayak to get in here. at this spot, the lake is about 40 to 50 feet deep. but instead of all that water, i'm standing on at least 18 inches of ice. with 88% of the great lakes now covered by ice, it's the first time in five years the ice has been thick enough to walk to the caves. >> over the last 30 years, there's been a huge decrease in ice cover and the length of the ice season on lake superior. this is a rare phenomenon and it's going to get rarer. >> the last time and maybe there were 20 people the day we came. this cave, we felt like we owned it. >> reporter: this time, drawn by photos gone viral on the web, people are coming to the national park in record numbers. they're exploring on hands and knees, pulling children on sleds, even with dogs. the crowds are an unexpected boost for local businesses. >> it's over the top, unbelievable. like nothing we've ever seen before. >> reporter: ice that puts smiles on people's faces for a

change, with a dazzling display of nature's beauty. john yang, nbc news, apostle islands national lake shore, wisconsin. >> you just don't want to be under those things when it starts to warm up. we'll take another break. we're back in a moment with the final clues tonight about who might be the favorite for hollywood's top prize.

a glittering night in london as the british academy film awards, the bafta awards, were handed out tonight. "12 years a slave" won best film, while "gravity" won best british film and best director. the baftas are the last major awards before the academy awards about two weeks from now. if you had to guess the highest average rent in our country, would you likely guess new york, l.a. and san francisco? well, perhaps, but you would be wrong and not even close. williston, north dakota, is by far and away the most expensive rent in the united states.

now, $2,400 a month on average for a 700-square-foot, one bedroom. it's because of the oil boom going on there. thousands of people flocking to the area. many of them sleeping in their trucks, due to a lack of housing. not quite a source of pride for our host nation here, but a lot of people had their eyes on the sky today as a busted russian satellite, the cosmos 1220 satellite, fell back in the earth today. despite prediction of pieces falling into the planet, it appears no part of cosmos survived entry into the earth's atmosphere. when we come back, a chance for the americans to make history on ice.

tonight in prime time from here in sochi, a widely billed epic battle in the sport of ice dancing, it will pit the reigning olympic champions, a canadian pair, against the world champions, the americans, who have been partners on the ice for most of their lives. we get their story tonight from nbc's chris jansing. >> reporter: hearts melt when meryl davis and charlie white take the ice. the looks of longing, of passion. they're asked all the time, is it real? >> you know, being ice dance partners is a strange relationship. >> starting at 8 and 9, you know each other so well. it's a different kind of

relationship. it's not like brother and sister. it's not romantic. >> reporter: they grew up just ten minutes apart in suburban michigan and have spent almost every day of the last 16 years together. six hours a day, practicing. classes at the university of michigan. their families grew close, too. but for their first skate together, it definitely wasn't love at first sight. >> i would say when they started out, they weren't even really, like, friends. >> reporter: it's impossible to say when exactly the awkwardness of childhood faded and a bond was forged. >> somebody said try competition. so we put them in competition, and the two of them had a ball. >> he felt like meryl was the partner for him, and if he couldn't skate with her, he just wouldn't skate at all. >> reporter: by the time they were teens, they were already winning competitions. >> when i'm skating, sometimes i get nervous and it's a lot easier to have a partner next to you, with you all the time. >> reporter: for meryl, it was more than shyness.

dyslexia affected her depth perception. and in charlie, she found a partner she could depend on. and so when they do a breathtaking lift, it takes just seconds, but it's built on a lifetime of training and trust. >> it's like the movement that you're doing has a mind of its own. and almost to a certain degree, you feel like you have some sort of magical power. >> reporter: a bit of performance magic charlie and meryl hope will not only win olympic gold, but some respect for their sport. >> charlie and i certainly can remember the days when, you know, the fans were pretty sparse at ice dancing events, even at u.s. championships. >> reporter: they want to take ice dancing to new heights. parts of their program choreographed by derek hough of abc's "dancing with the stars." >> all it takes is a look. all it takes is a pause to create a special moment that people will remember. >> reporter: so even if they can't quite explain their

chemistry on ice, watching them dance "scheherazade," that age-old story of seduction, the audience is in their thrall. the biggest competition, those defending olympic canadians, training on the same rink with the same coach. it's been a great rivalry. now more than 16 years of training comes down to just two performances and, brian, just seven minutes on the ice. >> and i know this is your thing. i'll take another hockey game like yesterday. chris jansing on ice dancing coming up tonight. that is our sunday broadcast. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. a reminder that primetime coverage begins tonight at 7:00, 6:00 central. matt lauer is in the chair for you tonight. bob costas returns tomorrow evening. we hope to see you tomorrow as well. good night.

figure skating at center stage today. team usa is leading the pack so far. what gold medalist and bay area native kristi yamaguchi has to say about the american skaters. >> hikers and families are shocked to find a park swarming with police. a burned body found there. >> plus, a deadly hit and run in the south bay shuts down a popular street. we'll show who you police are looking for. >> good evening. thanks for joining us. we're on a bit later than normal because of the olympics. we're following a developing story, aus