wiig and lady ga at midnight. >> see you at 6:00 and of course, at midnight for that as well. >> yes. bye bye. on our broadcast tonight, day of rage. a massive uprising explodes next door to russia, while the olympic games are underway. tonight the showdown that may be spiraling out of control. without warning. airline passengers describe a violent ride. several people injured, including a flight attendant in critical condition. tonight why the crew couldn't see it coming, and high they tell us to keep our seat belt fastened even while seated. sounding the alarm in cities big and small. the problem is they're running out of salt for the roads during what we now know has been a record winter. and against the odds. a mother who fought through so much just for her daughter to be here. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. tonight there are roaring flames in the equivalent of times square in kiev. it's a scene that may remind a lot of people of tahrir square in egypt. and yet this is happening right now in ukraine, next door to us here in russia where the olympic winter games are being held. and russian president vladimir putin, who is putting on such a huge and elaborate display here for all the world to see, is very much a player in this protest that has erupted in ukraine. he may even consider ukraine a part of russia, just as it once was a part of the ussr. but the protesters there decidedly do not. tonight americans there have been warned to stay indoors. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is here to start us off. richard, the death toll around 18. and given the pictures, it's likely to change? >> it certainly could change. this is an extremely volatile situation. it's extremely dangerous and

extremely important. the government wants to contain this. it doesn't want it to get any worse. so the government is now trying to seal off all the roads leading to downtown kiev as it's struggling to regain control of the capital. it has all the signs of a revolution. and it's taking place in kiev's independence square. anti-government demonstrators barricaded themselves in, setting bonfires. throwing stones and lobbing molotov cocktails, even fireworks to keep riot police from driving them out. they dared the riot police to kill them. to kill their own countrymen. today's violence began hours earlier when radical protesters tried to march on parliament. but riot police drove them back with rubber bullets, stun grenades, and protesters say, live ammunition. the protesters had weapons of

their own, including the government said guns. police officers were reportedly shot dead. government forces tried to shut down kiev, stopping subway traffic to keep new protesters from the square, and issuing a chilling ultimatum to clear out or the state would use all legal means to restore order. but the protesters made a stand in independence square, and now there is talk of revolution, even civil war with international implication, reminiscent of the cold war. the ukrainian government is backed by moscow. the protesters want closer ties with europe and the united states. moscow today directly accused washington of playing puppeteer, manipulating the protesters. russia thinks washington is behind the uprising, to make russia lose a key ally that was once part of the soviet union. today's violence the worst since

these clashes began three months ago, could be the start of a new future for ukraine. >> now, richard, remembering how long tahrir square went on, if you're in washington tonight, other than watching tv and wondering what happens to this government, what do you do? >> well, you have to look what is going on right now. you see the protesters are in the middle of the square, and they have surrounded themselves with a wall of fire. so you have a few thousand people trapped, barricaded behind bonfires. the government is either going to go in, send in tanks or it's going to just try to wait it out. what they're hoping washington is going to do is get behind them. they hope washington which is then supportive of the protesters so far will come out with a strong statement saying we want this to be resolved peacefully, we want this to have a political end and we don't want to have a tiananmen square situation happening in a very large country, 45 million people while the world is watching. >> the government has the ability to end it verbally and/or physically?

>> there was almost a deal yesterday. we thought this was over. this has been going on for several months now, and it looked like there was going to be a resolution. clearly that is not the case right now. what you have is this burning center of kiev, and the protesters now with bringing in more molotov cocktails, they have set up a little molotov cocktail factory in the center of the square, and they say they're going to be there until the end. we will have to see if they send in the tanks, which would clearly, you know, push them out. >> all of it taking place to the north and west tonight. richard engel, thanks for your reporting on this tonight. if you didn't know better, you would think something larger was at work. in two other major world capitals today, protesters filleded the streets and refused to move. in bangkok, thailand very violent scene today some of the most fighting in months. at least four were killed, dozens wounded as the police tried to clear the demonstrators off the streets. this is all part of a long political battle involving the

prime minister and her family and those who claim her administration is corrupt. today police fired on the crowd, and when a grenade came out of the crowd toward police and an officer tried to kick it away, he lost his leg in the explosion. and in caracas, venezuela, thousands of people took to the streets again today there, where there is growing opposition to the new president who took over after the death of hugo chavez. many there are feeling increasingly let down by the socialist government. bill neeley is there for us, and was watching all today. >> reporter: caracas was a sea of white fury today. tens of thousands marching against the government, angry at the killing of three protesters last week. >> we're going to stay in the streets until venezuela is free or we have good government. >> reporter: these protests are about a lot more than rising crime and falling living standards. this is a battle of wills. a fight for control of the revolution, that still doesn't deliver what it promises.

this is the protesters' new hero, harvard educated leopardo lopez, a wanted man. he organized this protest. the government ordered his arrest for inciting violence and murder. this was his show of defiance. "soon we'll have a free and democratic venezuela," he said. and then he gave himself up, surrendering to venezuela's national guard. his supporters were furious. freedom they shout, for him, for us. they weren't the only ones on the streets. government supporters forming a river of red, calling the protesters traitors. venezuela tonight is tense, braced for more confrontation. this crisis deepening. bill neely, nbc news, caracas. and now back home in the u.s., the season of discontent continues.

the big story in so many places remains the history-making winter as the snow and ice continue to pile up. a lot of places are now running dangerously low, if you can believe it, on salt for the roads. and tonight we're getting a new look at the staggering toll this season has taken. nbc's ron mott is in mount morris, new york, way up above buffalo. ron, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. they started the winter here with about 700,000 tons of salt out here on the pad at the american rock salt company. tonight they're working on 30,000 tons that's left, and just as fast as they can bring it up from down below, it's loaded up and shipped out. another day in massachusetts, more snow again. one of many states where record books may be rewritten by winter's end, a season increasingly measured by the inch and by the ton. a $50 billion price tag nationwide getting bigger with each storm. with spring still more than a month away, snowfall totals are climbing fast. in detroit, 76.4 inches so far, third snowiest.

chicago pushing 67 inches, 5th most in its history. philadelphia closing in on five feet, and new york city 57.1 inches. at american rock salt, an hour east of buffalo, new york -- >> 500 tons. >> reporter: -- orders are flooding in as road salt supplies dwindle around the country. shortages that led connecticut's governor to declare a state of emergency. there were similar concerns in neighboring rhode island. >> if there is salt that exists somewhere on the market, we'll see what we can do to get it. >> reporter: about 30,000 tons here? >> yep. >> reporter: american mine salt has ramped up mines operations to nearly max capacity. 200 plus miners are blasting salt a quarter mile below ground around the clock. a steady line of big rigs and train cars ready to haul it way from boston to baltimore, vermont to virginia. and it's all they can do to keep up with demand. >> it's been a winter from heaven for us here. with this winter demand, it's

been a tremendous shipping season for us. >> it gets to a point where you can't shovel it any higher, and, you know, it's just -- i'm ready for spring. >> reporter: while the misery factor is high for many americans, worn out from constantly digging out, salt miners are tired too, but happy for the work and all that overtime. >> it's going to be a banner year for all the workers. probably i'd guess some of them will probably push 50,000, $60,000 this year. >> reporter: more severe weather could be on the way in coming days in places like indianapolis, nashville, memphis, washington, d.c., they could see thunderstorms, flooding, and if you can believe this, brian, even tornados. >> ron mott in upstate new york for us tonight. ron, thanks. here in sochi, the weather has cooled off as you'll see tonight. it actually snowed up in the mountains today, but the politics heated up a bit today. two members of pussy riot, the outspoken russian performance artists and politicians were detained and questioned about a theft at a local hotel. after a few hours they were

cleared and released along with several others wearing ski masks, a little worse for wear after claim thanksgiving were roughed up during their detention. they're in sochi to call for greater freedom of speech in this country and to record a song critical of president vladimir putin. and in the good thing it wasn't needed department, we have learn from the pentagon that the uss taylor, one of the two u.s. navy ships in the black sea ran aground last week while preparing to moore in turkey. the guided vessel frigate is being inspected for damage. there's another vessel along with it in this region, from the sixth fleet, the uss mt. whitney. quick check of the medal count tonight at the games. the u.s. is on top, tied with the netherlands at 20 medals a piece followed by russia and norway close behind. and still ahead for us tonight, a frightening incident at 30,000 feet. passengers are describing the sudden impact that tossed people around the plan, leaving one in critical condition. and later, candy crush, the

surprise announcement today about the phenomenon that has taken hold of the lives of so many americans.

a united airlines flight attendant remains hospitalized tonight in critical condition recovering from injuries she suffered when her aircraft hit unexpected and severe turbulence in flight last night. it happened so quickly, the cockpit crew never had time to warn the passengers or brace themselves, several of whom were injured in the sudden drop. we get our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> look for the emergency aircraft, is on a three-mile final approach. >> reporter: it was a violent terrifying end to a routine flight. in just seconds, five people were injured, including a flight attendant with a serious head

injury. >> it's bleeding pretty badly, and they can't get it to stop, so they're requesting medical attention at the gate. >> reporter: it happened at 34,000 feet over montana. united flight 1676 was nearing the end of its flight from denver to billings when without warning the plane began to shake, then a sudden drop to the right. amid screaming, flight attendants and passengers were thrown about the cabin. a baby being held by its parents was thrown over several rows of seats. landing safely on another passenger's lap. >> all of a sudden they're screaming they can't find their baby. and she has flown across the aisle. there was wallets everywhere, and eyeglasses and ipads. and everything -- it looked like a tornado had come through there. >> it just felt like we were going down, and this was going to be my last moment. >> reporter: it came out of nowhere. just a few minutes earlier, this photo of a tranquil sky. clear air turbulence is essentially up and down wave light motion or even rolls created by atmospheric pressure, jet streams.

hot or cold pockets, and over the mountains, mountain wave turbulence that can bring a one thousand-foot drop. >> turbulence like this is difficult to forecast. you have to forecast an extreme wind sheer in a small layer. unless a prior aircraft has gone through and experienced it, sometimes it does come as a surprise. >> reporter: the faa reports 30 to 50 people are injured each year in turbulence. among the most vulnerable, flight attendants. >> if you're actually in the middle of the cabin and it comes, you immediately hit your head, it's really, frankly, too late. >> reporter: it's why they warn keep your seat belts buckled. tom costello, nbc news, washington. we're back in a moment from here with a photo finish that should not have been close.

richard cabela has died. he was the co-founder of the mammoth business that bears his family name. the outdoor superstore, catalog

giant where 50 stores in the u.s. and canada. dick cabela and his brother grew it into a $3.6 billion empire. he died at his home in sydney, nebraska. he was 77 years old. and mary grace canfield has died. she was a veteran character actress that long time tv viewers will recognize from "green acres," "bewitched," "the love boat," and let's not forget she played gomer pyle's blind date on "andy griffith." mary grace canfield was 89 years old. a case of premature celebration, almost cost an olympic athlete a gold medal here in sochi. he is a norwegian cross-country skier named emile hagel venison. after 15 kilometers of all out skiing in sometimes blinding snow, he raised his arms and made that i'm number one hand signal and almost lost, the silver medalist blew by him. venison hung on to victory by inches. he's hardly a rookie at this, he has two gold medals from vancouver and 11 separate world championships. if you have a friend or family member in the grip of its strange addiction, then you

know, candy crush is a web game with a brilliant design. it gets people to part with their money for nothing tangible in return. its parent company, king digital has filed for an initial public stock offering. they have revealed they've grown into an almost $2 billion company last year. well, the reason we didn't feel anything last night, as predicted, the asteroid that flew past the earth at 27,000 miles an hour missed us by 2 million miles or more. it was several times larger than the one that cascaded across the sky here in russia a year ago, that one was much smaller but caused a lot of damage. they won't all miss us, but last night a large one did. and with no danger from above, americans were free to watch jimmy fallon's debut as host of "the tonight show" and they did. in strong numbers, 11 million people saw jimmy introduce himself to a new audience. they also saw u2 play from the roof of 30 rock as the sun set

on a cold night in new york. and with that episode one is history, and "the tonight show" is now officially back in new york. when we come back from sochi, how a member of the american bobsled team made it here with the kind of support only a mother could provide.

finally from here tonight, the story of an american bobsledder who like others here found a second life in that sport. her name is jasmine fenlater. and with her more famous partner, lolo jones, she's competing in prime time tonight and again tomorrow in women's bobsled. like many of the athletes here, her biggest supporter is watching the coverage very carefully. our report tonight from nbc's anne thompson. >> reporter: hurdling down a mountain track at 85 miles an hour, jasmine fenlator says riding a bobsled is a dance between aggression and finesse. >> in less than the blink of an eye you need to adapt and change and get back on the line. >> reporter: jasmine's 28 years is a story about a patient. as a child she dreamed of dancing her way to the olympics. >> at 6 years old, saying i'm

going to write to a congressman to tell him he needs to put dance in the olympics. my mom's like, whatever you want, whatever you think you can do, i'll support you. >> reporter: her mom's susan's support would be there all jasmine's life, especially facing indelicate questions from her middle school classmates. >> are you adopted? no, that's my mom. why don't you look like her? she's white, my dad's black and i'm brown. i don't understand why you don't understand. >> reporter: the dancing child became a teenaged track star. her skills set wouldn't get her to the summer games. but her college coach recommended jasmine to the u.s. bobsled team. had you ever been on a bobsled before? >> never. not even a passenger ride. i never saw one up close. all iney knew was "cool runnings." >> this daughter of a jamaican man got a tryout for the squad but didn't have the $50 a day for room and board. again her mom was there.

>> here's a credit card. don't be a woulda, shoulda, coulda. and off she went. >> reporter: and what parent wouldn't, except susan had her own challenges, fighting lupus that attacks her vital organs. >> quadruple bypass, two heart attacks and six strokes in the past three years. >> reporter: and their new jersey home flooded in hurricane irene. >> the water came right up here. >> reporter: as she did with her health problems, susan tried not to burden jasmine. >> she just broke down and said, i've been living in my car for two days, our house is gone, i don't know what to tell you. >> she's starting to learn i can't lie as well as i used to. >> reporter: what's the purpose of lying? >> to protect her and keep her on her goal. >> reporter: the house is repaired but for sale, unable to work, susan cannot afford it. >> i think over time i've learned that material things come and go, but my mom will always be my home, wherever she is. >> reporter: and jasmine's goal

remains intact, the medal stand in sochi, and that perfect dance of finesse and aggression, adapting every step of the way. anne thompson, nbc news, wayne, new jersey. >> just one of the many stories that make these games go. that does it for us on a tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams reporting from the olympic winter games in sochi. a reminder, prime time coverage tonight begins at 8:00, 7:00 central. another reminder, full coverage of all the overnight competition when america wakes up tomorrow morning on "today." for us, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

right now at 6:00. toxic concerns for the bay. how keeping water safe means wiping out an east bay's park smallest residents. >> thanks for joining us, i'm jessica aguirre. >> i'm raj mathai. plans to exterminate hundreds, maybe thousands of rodents in burkely and some are not happy. the target, squirrels and gophers right here at the popular cesar chavez park. their digging is creating a toxic threat for the bay waters.

jodi hernandez joins us in berkeley and jodi, how serious is this? >> reporter: it is very serious, potentially very serious. i'll tell you, these little guys have been having an absolute field day out here. take a look at the ground. holes like this one cover this area. now this is the area once again is that the digging rodents will soon reach the garbage burroed below sending dangerous pollutants into the bay. they are folks that frequent signs having been ignored and the population of peanut loving animals are booming, causing potential problems. >> these pocket gophers could impact the entire -- not the entire, but the ecosystem of the bay. >> reporter: the burroing rodents are diggi