on our broadcast tonight, breaking away. a big move in ukraine threatens to escalate the crisis there and draws a new warning. the u.s. cracks down the only way it can. conduct unbecoming. big news in the battle against sexual assault in the military as the army officer who was in charge of enforcement faces an embarrassing charge himself. more extremes. the new prediction tonight about el nino, and would you believe the warming trend they say may be on the way? and the champion. the incredible athlete who has already broken so many barriers proving she's not finished yet. "nightly news" begins now. good evening. it appears one part of the old

soviet union would rather switch than fight. the parliament in crimea has voted to join russia and leave ukraine. they vowed to put it to a referendum in ten days' time. it is very clear tonight once russia is in some of these areas they intend to take some territory back with them, to hold it and never let go perhaps. the u.s. is holding its own military exercises. president obama announced various punishments today, some aimed at specific russians in addition to economic sanctions. another day of possible diplomacy was lost, in effect. this crisis continues to slide in a bad direction along some old ideological lines. we begin again tonight with our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell in our d.c. resume. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the president spoke for an hour with vladimir putin, emphasizing that a vote by crimea to break with ukraine would violate international law. ukraine's deep divisions were on full display today.

in crimea, pro-russian demonstrators cheered as the parliament voted unanimously for a speedy referendum to break from ukraine and rejoin russia. cossacks carried off a topless woman shouting stop putin's war. other women surrounded the university student who said i don't want to join criminal russia. while elsewhere, near ukraine's border with russia, ukraine police dragged pro-russian demonstrators out of a building they had occupied. but it was crimea's move to rejoin russia that most alarmed the white house. >> we are well beyond the days where borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders. >> reporter: today the administration ramped up economic sanctions. so did the european union in brussels, where ukraine's acting prime minister echoed ronald reagan famous speech at the berlin wall.

>> president putin, mr. putin, tear down this wall, the wall of intimidation, the wall of military aggression. >> reporter: but it is crimea that could be a tipping point. until 1954 it was part of russia and had been the strategically vital home to russia's crucial black sea navy base since the 18th century, russia's access to the mediterranean and beyond. but they argue there is more. recent history. in 1991, ukraine, including crimea voted overwhelmingly to become independent from the former soviet union. it later turned over its huge nuclear weapons stockpile. in exchange, russia, great britain, and the u.s. promised not to threaten ukraine's borders. now vladimir putin in sochi today to kick off tomorrow's paralympic games. pyatt has been accused of meddling. >> our role here in ukraine has been a diplomatic one and to suggest the dramatic changes that happened over the past three months were somehow instigated by the united states is crazy. >> reporter: the white house

says tonight that the president told president putin that there have to be direct talks between russia and the ukraine, and that russia has to withdraw to its base, something it has refused to do. u.n. ambassador samantha power today warned that today's move in crimea increased the threat of military escalation. brian? >> thanks, as always. and as always, we want to alert you to some of our further coverage in ukraine, including pete williams reporting on whether russia is committing an act of war here. it's all on our website tonight, nbcnews.com. and there is news as well on several fronts tonight on an issue that has become a huge problem in the u.s. military. the epidemic of sexual assaults an effort to make big changes on how these cases are handled by the military was defeated in congress today as the army officer once in charge of prosecuting these cases of sexual assault in the army is accused himself. our report tonight from nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: the latest suspect

in a series of military sexual assaults lieutenant colonel jay morse, the army's top prosecutor for sexual assault cases himself suspended after a lawyer who worked for him accused morse of trying to grope and kiss her at a legal conference in 2011. no charges have been filed and he has not commented. for more than a year new york senator kirsten gillibrand has spearheaded an emotional campaign to combat the sexual assaults. the complaints rose to a record high last year while thousands of others go unreported. >> people who do not trust the chain of command are the victims. >> reporter: gillibrand prosecuted outside the military chain of command, an effort opposed by pentagon leaders and others who insist that would undermine commanders. >> the evidence shows that removing this authority from our commanders would weaken, not strengthen, our response to this urgent problem.

>> reporter: today, despite 17 of 20 female senators voting in support of gillibrand's effort, her proposal failed. >> we know the deck is stacked against victims of sexual assault in the military today. and today, sadly, we saw the same in the hallings of congress. >> reporter: among the victims former marine ariana klay, who says she was gang-raped at washington, d.c.'s barracks in 2010. her husband recently condemned the military justice system. >> i'm lucky i married somebody so strong that she could do it. even if she still suffers and has never been the same. >> reporter: a fight to defeat an epidemic within america's armed forces. peter alexander, nbc news, washington. it had the look and the feel of a political convention in a presidential year, and in many ways it was a warm-up for some big republican names who appeared at cpac, the annual big conservative action conference. among those in attendance, nbc's kelly o'donnell.

>> reporter: brandishing a rifle in front of the committed pro-gun rights crowd, mitch mcconnell served up conservative red meat. >> the media doesn't even notice. they're too busy trying to fix benghazi for hillary. >> reporter: snubbed last year, new jersey's moderate governor chris christie got a moderate welcome from this year's right wing true believers. >> we have to stop letting the media define who we are and what we stand for. >> reporter: christie, whose star has diminished nationally, needs conservative support and touted himself as a pro-life governor in a very blue state. >> when we say we're pro life, we need to be pro life when they leave the womb as well. >> reporter: but texas senator and tea party champion ted cruz -- >> let's all of us remember president dole and president mccain and president romney. >> reporter: made the case that softening core conservative principles in an election year has not worked.

>> you stand for principle, you lose election. don't stand for nothing. >> reporter: this is radio row, conservative hosts are broadcasting their shows across the country. the focus here is on two big themes, winning control of the senate for republicans this year, and sizing up a wide-open presidential field for 2016. from paul ryan to donald trump, republican party stalwarts are here. they'll hold a presidential straw poll vote with a supersized list of choices, 26 names, including sarah palin, who will close out the convention saturday. kelly o'donnell, nbc news, national harbor, maryland. we turn now to the weather in the news yet again tonight. as we come to the end of an extreme winter, we learn there is something we'll have to keep a close eye on this summer. government forecasters issued a watch for el nino, the warming pattern that shows up every few years or so and can affect weather patterns from one end of our country to the other, and all around the world.

and yes, we just said warming trend. our report from our chief environmental affairs correspondent anne thompson. >> reporter: this is why the words "el nino" strike fear, houses collapsing as the ground gives way in california, weakened by the intense storms of 1997 and 1998, the last major el nino. southern california's rainfall total morse than double. farmers now praying for rain in some parts of the west took a big hit 16 years ago. the losses from that el nino cost u.s. agriculture as much as $1.7 billion according to a study by texas a&m. so just what is el nino? >> el nino is basically a warming of the sea surface temperatures in the central pacific. that warming of those above-normal temperatures anywhere from a half a degree to a degree doesn't sound like a lot, can actually change weather patterns not just in the united states, but all across the world. >> reporter: while el nino could

send california ricochetting from drought to downpours, in the northern half of the country, it could mean this miserably frigid, snowy winter will not be repeated next year. >> el nino may help to mitigate the brutally cold weather we have had in the northeast, the midwest and the northern plains. however, you are not going to be able to say definitely this will will get knocked out. why? because even though there is a forecast of an el nino it doesn't mean it will happen. >> reporter: it could also mean fewer hurricanes in the atlantic because water temperatures would cool, depriving the storms of energy. good news for the oil and gas in industry in the gulf of mexico. but el nino could also cause problems in other parts of the world such as droughts in southeast asia and australia, now, as al said, this is by no means a sure thing. just two years ago the government issued an el nino watch, but it never came to be. the government puts the chances of the el nino happening this time at 50/50. brian? >> never boring on the weather

front these days. anne thompson with all things environmental tonight. anne, thanks, as always. an emotional jolt today in the trial of oscar pistorius. the former olympic track star was visibly shaken as he heard testimony from the neighbor who was first on the scene after the killing of girlfriend reeva steencamp last year. the neighbor described seeing steenkamp mortally wounded and an anguished pistorius crying over her, praying for her to live, saying he shot her thinking she was a burglar. and still ahead tonight, a potentially deadly defect and it has some asking what took so long. and later, winning four marathons wasn't enough. she decided to ski, is now competing for team usa at the paralympics.

back as promised with a growing federal investigation into a massive recall of general motors vehicles. more than a dozen people have died in accidents involving cars that have a problem with the ignition shutting off on enoates. the big question here, why did it take the company ten years to recall 1.6 million vehicles that it might have known had a fatal flaw? federal investigators are demanding answers. gm potentially faces more than $30 million in fines if it fails to comply. we get more on our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: the crash scene on a wisconsin road in 2006 was horrific.

three teenaged girls in a chevy cobalt slammed into a tree after their ignition allegedly switched off, locking up the steering. the air bags never deployed. 18-year-old natasha wagel and 15-year-old amy rademaker died. but lawsuits claim gm knew of the ignition problem two years earlier, yet never ordered a recall. >> these were our children. and they just act like they don't matter. they may not have mattered to gm but they mattered to us. >> reporter: those wisconsin teens among 13 people who died in accidents involving gm cars that were only recalled last month, including the chevy cobalt, saturn sky and pontiac solstice. now, the investigators are demanding an internal investigation. why did it take ten years to demand a recall? the names of personnel involved, how many complaints, accidents injuries and fatalities have there been, and how many lawsuits? it was only last december that

gm paid off a $49 billion taxpayer bailout. >> took billions of dollars in taxpayers' money which could have been spent for doing a recall, and yet they didn't do it. >> reporter: in 2005, gm even issued a service bulletin to its dealers. the trouble? the key can be easy jostled out of position. and when that happens, the engine suddenly shuts down, along with the electronics and even the air bags. >> this is the tip of the iceberg i believe that will be related to this defect. >> reporter: gm's north american president acknowledges they failed to act quickly enough. while gm's new ceo has launched an independent investigation and told employees le we will hold ourselves accountable and improve our processes so our customers do not experience this again. well, for the victims' families? >> the dollars and cents they were trying to save was my stepdaughter's life and there is no price that can be put on that. >> reporter: it's all too late. tom costello, nbc news, washington. and coming up here after a break, a story combining science

and real life. do you know someone whose toe doesn't tap to a good song? if their pulse doesn't race, their eyes don't glisten over, it turns out there is a scientific reason why.

♪ you don't have to have a wife and kids in baltimore, jack, to have a reaction to that

song or any great song for that matter. for people who love music, rock music, folk music, jazz, gregorian chants, whatever it is, it means we feel it. it means something. it takes you away. it causes an emotional response. unless, of course, it doesn't. in a new study of university students published in the current journal biology confirms what you may already know. some people have specific musical anhedonia, these are people who don't take any pleasure from music and show no reaction to it. one neuroscientist says they are the people who don't understand why anyone would pay money to go to a concert. you've got to be moved by this. spectacular new photos from the very top of what is now the tallest skyscraper in the western hemisphere, new york's freedom tower topping out at 1776 feet. as "time" magazine puts it, reclaiming the sky-high above

where the old world trade center towers stood. the first ads for weed have made it to the air waves, more accurately, rather, it is a service that connects those who want medical marijuana with doctors who can hook them up. the commercial shows a guy selling sushi in a back alley, saying he has got what you want including california rolls. the commercial then makes the point rather humorously that you shouldn't buy your sushi from a guy like this. why would you buy marijuana the same way? >> marijuanadoctors.com is the only service that connects patients with real doctors for real medical marijuana recommendations. >> the spot has so far sparked some attention. so far it is airing only in new jersey. it is applicable only in the 20 states where it is legal. breaking up is hard to do, and harder to do on camera. when it happens in deep space and when it is an asteroid that is breaking up. but the hubble space telescope has indeed captured such a thing and it is the first time we've seen such a thing.

the ten pieces in all, up to two football fields long and at 200,000 tons will mostly aim toward the sun, but we may see some of them as meteors in our night sky. we have covered the roads that need work, the bridges and airports, and now the center for education statistics says over half the nation's public schools need to be repaired, modernized, or renovated. they found the average main school building is now 44 years old. it's a matter of americans deciding on their infrastructure priorities. this priority would run almost $200 billion. and just because he seemed like a nice little boy and a joyous fan, security didn't try to stop the young man who ran onto the pitch after brazil defeated south africa in soweto. he wanted to meet his heroes, and he did. he posed for pictures. he was held aloft like vince

lombardi and had a grand old time as it became a kind of fantasy camp for one small and very lucky guy. when we come back, a great american athlete now going after it even more.

you may remember here last fall we introduced you to a remarkable young athlete, tatiana mcfadden had just won the new york city marathon after winning boston, london and chicago. and if that wasn't enough, she

is now where we were, in sochi in russia for the paralympics opening tomorrow. but not as a wheelchair racer. instead, she is in a sport she just decided to learn. as we hear from our national correspondent kate snow, it is a journey that has personal meaning. >> reporter: mcfadden doesn't like to do anything half way. she was the first person ever to win four marathons in a year, wheelchair or not. in the four months since her new york city victory, she took her finals, graduated from college and delivered the commencement address. >> to live the life that is worth remembering. thank you. >> reporter: oh, and started training in an entirely different winter sport. how many days have you been on snow now? >> about like 30 to 40 days. >> reporter: that is crazy. her coach says tatiana already had the strength and endurance for nordic skiing, she just needed to learn to ski. >> nice job, tatiana, that is

good. >> it's really challenging. i think that cross-country skiing may be a little harder than wheelchair racing. >> reporter: everything is new now, the altitude, the cold. she even tried her hand at biathlon this year. but when we followed her to nationals near park city, utah, she medaled in two out of four events. >> not too bad. for being on the snow for 37 days. >> reporter: and to hear her mom, debbie, tell it, there was another reason she was so determined to go to the olympics in sochi. tatiana was born in russia with a hole in her spine. debbie adopted her from an orphanage when she was six. she says that tatiana is a role model. >> it is not about what you can't use, it is about what you can do with your life. i believe tatiana will save lives by being an example. >> reporter: the rookie skier is a long shot for a paralympic medal, but that wouldn't stop her. >> i go in thinking i love the

sport, and that i'm going to give it my 110% and see what happens. >> reporter: and once the paralympics are behind her. >> i have ten days to get ready for the london marathon. >> reporter: what? ten days, so you will finish sochi and then ten days later you're going to run a marathon. >> yeah. >> reporter: you just never stop, do you? >> i love sports. it's just who i am. it makes me a whole person. >> reporter: a proud american, born in russia, ready to compete. kate snow, nbc news, midway, utah. >> incredible story. paralympics open tomorrow. we'll let you know how she does in competition. that is our broadcast for us on a thursday 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.

nbc bay area news starts now. right now at 6:00, police say they've broken up a crew that have been terrorizing a south bay bingo hall. >> not your usual scene. robbers hit the center on martin street. you see the map here. this is in santa clara. they hit this place for the send time just last night. they walked out with thousands of dollars. nbc's damian trujillo joins us

where the attacks occurred. >> reporter: police have arrested three suspects in connection with those robberies, and they have hired a security guard to keep an eye on things. a lot of rattled nerves here. last night police say the robbers entered the building and held up one of the workers at gunpoint. these are the same guys who pistol whipped a 78 year old woman two weeks ago in the parking lot. it's believed that the suspected robbers have been staking out the center for some time. tonight the suspects are in jail facing assault and robbery charges. some of the bingo playeri playe not want to go on camera but they are relieved that arrests have been made. they will now see if the suspects may be wanted in other robberies in the south bay. the lieutenant says these were men who braszenly attacked that elderly woman two