2 inches and a ton of wind. >> thanks for joining us here at 5:00. we'll see you back here at 6:00. >> bye-bye. on our broadcast tonight, what's in the food? big changes coming to the grocery store. tonight, a makeover on thousands of product labels and a reality check on how much we're really eating. evacuation orders in california as a powerful storm closes in there. and across the country, 49 out of 50 states below freezing. and would you believe more snow in the forecast? painkiller controversy. a powerful new pill headed to market. despite objections, tonight what has so many doctors worried? and can you hear me now? a guy known for being funny on film makes a heartfelt plea, but hardly anyone pays attention. tonight, seth rogen calls out lawmakers in washington. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. if you have ever wondered who really eats a serving size that small, if you have ever read those nutrition labels on food and felt you had to do your own estimating to round it up into the real world, the federal government acted today to change that. the white house and the fda are asking for the first changes in 20 years to include real things like sugar and calories and reduce the guessing that we consumers are forced to do. when this goes through, it will affect every aisle in the food store and every american home. it is where we begin our broadcast tonight with nbc's tom costello in washington. hey, tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian, the idea is to get really good information by looking at the label, your calories might be inside, as well as your total

serving size. kind of a reality check on america's current struggle with weight. it's a constant challenge for anyone trying to plan a family meal. those nutrition labels are so often inaccurate. we generally eat much more than the serving size suggests. now the labels are getting a makeover, and the first lady was a driving force for change. she talked to the "today" show's jenna bush hager. >> my hope is this will be another piece in the puzzle towards creating that new norm and how we raise healthy kids. >> reporter: here is what an existing nutrition label looks like, and here is a new proposed label, including bigger and more accurate calorie and serving information. for example, the 20 ounce bottle soda that may have said two serves at 120 calories each, becomes one serving at 240 calories. the pint of ice cream offering four servings at 240 calories each becomes just two serves at 480 calories each. also on the new labels, manufacturers will have to include added sugars, the so-called hidden sugars getting

so much of the blame for america's obesity epidemic. how much of a villain are added sugars? >> well, we are over-adding things like sugar that are linked to things like heart disease and diabetes, so it is very critical that we reduce these in our diet. >> reporter: here's the problem. in 1960, the average american man weighed 166 pounds. by 2012, he was up to 160 for women, up to 164 in 2012. two thirds of americans are now overweight or obese, so will the new labels help us cut out the lbs? when the researchers at cornell university added nutrition labels in dining halls, they were surprised to see students cut by 7% their consumption of calories and fat. >> if it draws attention to the amount of calories you're consuming, that's great. then you make more conscious decisions how to reduce the calories. >> reporter: the challenge, turning the information into

action. yeah, one big complaint is that the new labels may have recommended levels of sodium and salt that are way over what doctors want to see. now the grocery manufacturers association says it would support the label changes but it wants to make sure they are based in science. these changes could cost the grocery industry or food industry $2 billion. brian, back to you. >> tom costello starting us off in washington. tom, thank you. now we switch to an urgent situation on the west coast tonight where they are counting down just in terms of hours until a huge weather system moves in that will bring for many people way too much of a good thing, if that is possible, and cause a lot of problems. at this hour, mandatory evacuations are under way. nbc's miguel almaguer is just east of l.a. tonight. miguel, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. here in the city of azusa, we're in a break between storms. but the concern remains high. the problem is that mountain behind me.

a recent fire turned that soil into a concrete mix. meaning when it rains the water will rush into this community down slope, many fear when it happens the mud will begin to slide. on ridgeview drive, the order to evacuate just before the next big storm rolls in. 65-year-old ed highline, a retiree, has been working around the clock. but now he is out of time. >> the water will come over first, and it rains, this whole thing will be full of mud. >> reporter: he knows it will not take much for this mountain to slide into his back yard. how worried are you? >> it's going to happen. we're going to deal with it. we need the rain. we don't want the mess. you can't have both, so we'll take the rain and clean up the mess. >> reporter: only four years ago a winter storm buried a nearby neighborhood in mud after a wildfire torched the foothills. today, all of los angeles is on high alert. >> we have storm watch live team coverage for you. >> reporter: the first round of heavy rain hammered the state this morning. it took only an inch to make freeways a mess.

in southern california, nearly 200 accidents. hazmat teams shut down this highway for a fuel spill. on social media, tweets like this. nobody owns an umbrella and nobody knows how to drive in rain. from police, buckle up. put down your cell phone and drive safe. the silver lining, california desperately needs water, but today they measured the snowpack, 75% below normal. ed highline knows more rain, the main event is coming friday into saturday so tonight his family is packed up and moved to safer ground. it could get hairy here after midnight. that is when we expect steady rain to fall throughout the evening and into the early morning hours. police say not everyone here is evacuating so they will be watching that hillside as well as the homes below. brian? >> pretty graphic example of the threat a lot of people face.

miguel almaguer in southern california tonight. well, you saw what an inch of rain did to that part of the world. now let's move east. a huge part of the country once again caught up in the grip of a deep freeze tonight and can expect more of the problems the severe cold has been causing all winter long. for starters, parts of new york city resemble kandahar on the hudson. some of the roads are barely passable because of huge potholes. a lot of other cities dealing with this as well. nbc's katy tur has all of it tonight from the port of newark, new jersey. katy, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. it's causing shortages from just about everything from snow boots to salt. in fact they're off-loading 2200 tons of salt here at the port. but even with it new jersey is still at critically low levels. this is just one of the many problems with this winter that just will not quit. from the hudson river to lake michigan waterways are looking

more like ice rinks. ice cutters working around the clock for nearly two months. in chicago, record lows and rescue drills. danger on the water and danger on the roads. whiteout conditions in buffalo and lansing, michigan, ice in erie, pennsylvania, led to this 30-car pile-up. the relentless cold causing havoc. the potholes are everywhere, swallowing school buses in new york and snarling traffic in detroit. so how does the winter actually cause the potholes? well, take a road itself. the pavement is just the top layer. below that is a base layer of gravel, and below that is soil. when it rains, water seeps through the pavement. and if it's cold enough, it can freeze and expand. then when it melts, a hole is created between the pavement and the base layer, meaning that when a car drives over the now weakened spot in the pavement, it breaks and a pothole is born.

from blown tires to bent wheel rim, aaa says potholes usually cost driver $6.4 billion. this year it expects it to be more. >> i use to be in the military and i've seen old minefields. >> they're averaging 15 cars and their angry owners a day. >> the challenge is the tire supplies start to run out. you call to get the tires from the manufacturer and there is no more left. >> reporter: for all the divots, cracks, holes and craters, it's no surprise many municipalities are calling this the worst pothole season ever. worst pothole season ever, worst winter in just about anyone's memory. and brian, it is not going to quit. we're expecting more snow and even more cold starting once again this weekend. >> it is indeed rough out there and getting worse. katy tur in the port of newark tonight, thanks. a personal and emotional event at the white house for the president today as he spoke

before a star-studded east room audience and launched a program aimed at giving young men of color a shot at success. it is called "my brother's keeper" and it combines political parties and government along with private philanthropy like the bloomberg and ford foundations. the president said bluntly today what many already know, some groups in society have the odds stacked against them, none more so than young men of color. he repeated what he told young men in chicago, and how they were surprised to hear aspects of his own life story. >> i explained to them when i was their age, i was a lot like them. i didn't have a dad in the house and i was angry about it even though i didn't necessarily realize it at the time. i made bad choices. i got high without always thinking about the harm that it could do. i didn't always take school as seriously as i should have. i made excuses. sometimes i sold myself short.

and i remember when i was saying this, chris, and you may remember this, after i was finished, the guy sitting next to me said are you talking about you? i said yes. and the point was i could see myself in these young men. >> well, a big part of the message from the man who grew up to be president was there can be no excuses. young men have to make the effort and meet the challenge and they cannot blame the circumstances of their birth, which he warned will take courage. one participant at today's event said he has never seen the president lay himself bare like this before publicly or speak so candidly about his anger at not having a father himself. but he said he is using the power of his office to make this happen. there is big controversy

tonight involving a new narcotic painkiller that goes on the market next month. it's drawing a lot of opposition over concerns it might be dangerously addictive and add to the epidemic of fatal overdoses from prescription drugs. the company that makes it maintains it is safe. we get more on all of it tonight from our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: in an unusual move tonight, a coalition of health care, law enforcement and addiction specialists is urging the food and drug administration to protect the public's health by keeping zohydro off the market. they say it is as much as ten times more powerful than other prescription painkillers. >> over the past ten years, more than 125,000 americans have died from painkiller overdose death. this is a severe epidemic that is getting worse every year. the last thing we need is a new high dose dangerous opioid to hit the market.

>> reporter: zohydro is a hydrocodone-based judge in a family of painkillers which also includes vicodin and oxycontin. unlike many others, zohydro does not include acetaminophen which can damage the liver. it provides around the clock pain management. it is considered a schedule 2 drug, meaning it has high potential for abuse. and kit be crushed, making it easier to snort or inject. the fda approves zohydro, even though the agency's advisory panel overwhelmingly voted against it, sight concerns for addiction. >> i urge you to vote no. >> reporter: the fda says the findings are not binding, in a statement released today, the company said the fda concluded that the drug is safe and effective. in a statement released today the company said the fda concluded that the benefits of zohydro's extended relief outweighs the risks.

and doctors say if carefully managed it will help the millions of americans who suffer from extreme chronic pain. >> we are now able to give this medication, which is effective for pain control, without the risks for maybe ruining and hurting our liver. >> it is very unusual for the fda to ignore the advice of one of its advisory panels. but in this case the drug has been approved and it will be on the market very soon. it will be very carefully scrutinized. a reminder again, this is not for average use. it is intended for people with severe pain like burn patients and cancer patients for whom nothing else has helped. brian? >> dr. nancy snyderman on this newly approved medication tonight. thanks. overseas now, events in ukraine continue to move quickly, unpredictably, after last week's government takeover. today in southern ukraine, a russian flag was raised over parliament in crimea, the most russian part of the country, after the building was taken over by heavily armed

pro-russian gunmen. it raised new fears the country is going to split in two, east versus west, even as high-profile russian military maneuvers continue just across ukraine's border, all of it being watched closely in washington and in the capital city of kiev, here is how richard engel summed it up for us today. >> reporter: security has been increase heard in kiev in front of parliament. they don't want a repeat of what happened in crimea. we're now seeing a division of this country with two rival parliaments each surrounded by its reporters. >> and in this country from the white house, state and defense departments today we saw carefully coordinated warnings to russia not to interfere in ukraine. still ahead for us tonight, outrage. a funny guy gets suddenly serious before a room full of empty chairs in washington. tonight, powerful members of congress getting called out for not showing up and in some cases falling asleep.

the actor and comedian seth rogen has become active in a charity to educate the public, especially young people about alzheimer's disease. it is personal for him because of the slow decline of his mother-in-law. he went before congress yesterday, as so many do, appearing as a celebrity advocate, and he is now using his celebrity to tell the public what he found in washington, and the way he found our elected lawmakers acting. now he is telling the world what it's like to testify before a

largely absent senate cub committee. our report from nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: every day there are a lot of boring hearing on capitol hill. >> i don't know if you know who i am at all. >> reporter: but when a celebrity like actor like seth rogen who starred in comedies like "40-year-old virgin" and" knocked up" comes to town, it's a sure thing there will be plenty of people watching. >> you told me you never saw "knocked up" chairman, so a little insulting. >> i will wager this is the first time in any congressional hearing in history that the words "knocked up" came up. >> reporter: all that extra attention can focus lawmakers on serious issues like alzheimer's disease. it's left rogen's own mother-in-law unable to care for herself. >> after forgetting who she and her loved ones were, my mother-in-law, a teacher for 35 years then forgot how to speak, feed herself, dress herself, and go to the bathroom herself, all by the age of 60. >> reporter: but rogen, who sold out theaters for years, ended up

talking to a tiny audience, only 2 of 18 subcommittee members sticking around to listen. rogen made sure that didn't go unnoticed. all of those are senators not prioritizing alzheimer's disease alzheimer's, he tweeted afterwards. and when senator kirk tweeted this picture of the two together earlier and a note to seth rogen, thank you for speaking out. rogen shot back, senator kirk, thanks for meeting you. why did you leave before my speech? kirk said he had another meeting but later watched the testimony. >> seems like these people don't care. >> reporter: on "hardball," rogen, who launched his own campaign hilarity for charity took the missing senators to task. >> that is the direct message they're giving by leaving during your testimony is that they don't care. two of them are falling asleep during the testimony, literally. i saw it happening. >> reporter: a funny man driving home a serious message. >> there seems to be almost zero acknowledgment of it. >> reporter: even if washington was not listening. peter alexander, nbc news,

washington. we're back in a moment to remember a legendary figure from daytime television.

if you didn't watch the dating game that must simply mean you were not old enough to back then. it was entertaining television and it was pretty out there even for the mid-to late '60s. well, today we learned that jim lange has died. he was the host for over ten years. he always kept it clean and civil with a wink. his fashions were something to watch over the years.

he was a veteran deejay before and after his tv days. jim lange was 81 years old. sign of the times on american airlines. they're dropping bereavement fares for those who must book a flight due to the loss of a loved one. they're blaming their merger with us airways. some carriers still do, but the passenger has to offer proof, and part of the problem is the web often offers even lower fares. another decline to report. this has to do with america's consumption of orange juice, which last year hit a 15-year low. per capita, orange juice consumption among americans down almost 40%. the industry blames the stigmatizing of sugar and changing of the american breakfast habits. when we come back tonight, how a professional race car driver is drawing on a tragedy that hit home to make a difference.

tonight our making a difference report is about a man who makes his living in drag racing. a few seconds of fire and smoke and a harrowing quarter of a mile at a time. but when tragedy struck doug herbert's family on the road he decided to turn that experience into something positive and developed a new passion for helping young drivers. nbc's janet shamlian has more from bristol, tennessee. >> it's called situational awareness. >> reporter: the last time doug herbert was at the bristol motor speedway, he was on the track in

a hot rod that can scream past 300 miles an hour. the professional drag racer has won six times here. >> this, to me, is a lot of therapy. >> reporter: but on this day he is on a different type of win just off track, as teen drivers navigate a hazard-filled course. >> it teaches them to be better drivers and maybe the consequences of making poor decisions. >> reporter: doug herbert knows those decisions can end in tragedy because he is also a dad. and this horrific scene is where his sons were killed in a 2008 head-on collision. james was 12. john was 17, and police say driving recklessly. >> they were my world, these guys. james was like my -- they're both my best friends. >> reporter: it was heartbreak that compelled him to step out of the driver's seat and put teens like these behind the wheel. with his own cash, the help of other pro drivers and kia donated cars, herbert started a free driving school called brakes, lessons on what to do in common road emergencies. this is not a learn to drive school.

instructors are teaching teenagers how to react in situations like this that they will likely encounter. recovering from a skid or a tire off the side of the road. 10,000 students in 17 states have taken the course, often signed up by their parents. >> i didn't want to do it. i don't need this. now i'm really glad because i was dumbfounded with all of this. >> reporter: that micayla and the other teens here learned something means the world to herbert. >> if i was not going to do anything i would be guilty of a crime. i was going to do something and i was going to make sure that john and james were going to make a difference. >> reporter: a dad who put the brakes on a fast-paced career to help save lives. >> turn right. >> reporter: janet shamlian nbc news, bristol, tennessee. >> that is our broadcast on a thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back

here tomorrow evening. good night. nbc bay area news begins with breaking news. right now at 6:00, the fallout from the shooting that shut down a highway in the east bay. >> it is a traffic mess in the heart of hush hour. all westbound lanes have now reopened, but our traffic map, you can see there on the right, still showing a lot of red, which means gridlock. traffic is backed up for miles. and here's why. the chp closed the westbound

lanes after shots were fired. one car was hit, but thankfully nobody was hurt. that's the vehicle that was hit. you can see some bullet holes in the windshield if you look carefully. earlier, officers were walking on the freeway searching for the shell casings. again, 580 has just reopened. happening now. getting ready for round two. on your right, a look at the calm before the next storm. in san jose, more rain is coming on top of the nearly one inch that fell last night. and it's not just rain, we're talking about strong wind headed our way. we begin with chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. >> it looks like this one definitely could be a stronger round. you don't have to be a weather expert to look at this satel