on our broadcast this friday night, highway tragedy, a horrendous collision and a terrible death toll as a tractor trailer crosses the median and hits a bus carrying high school students on a college tour. stepping aside, the woman at the helm for the obamacare web debacle is out and the new boss faces a big fight ahead. inside the standoff, happening right now in ukraine, our team has made it to the front lines, and it's tense with 40,000 russian troops at the boarder. and a come back for a family of boston strong women preparing to finish what they started. an emotional return to the place where everything changed in an instant. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams.

good evening. there has been a horrendous collision that investigators say could take months to sort out. a fedex tractor trailer crossed the median on california's interstate 25 and plowed head on into a bus of college students in a tour. the death toll is at ten including both drivers. it was a column of smoke visible for miles. the bus started out in los angeles but the trip ended north of sacramento in orland. we go to nearby chico, california, miguel, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. 44 people were injured. two remain hospitalized in serious condition. of those ten dead, we know five were adults, five were teenagers. >> jus saw a very, very large explosion and fire ball. >> reporter: the collision with

a tour bus packed with seniors and a fedex big rig was so violent -- >> oh, my god. >> reporter: -- fire and smoke could be seen for miles. skid marks a mile long. >> i was sleeping and you hear "errrr" and girls screaming. >> reporter: he kicked out a window so he and others could escape the flames. >> three people were trying to fit in the window at the time. >> reporter: those who could, poured out from the back of the bus. >> we all started jumping up to run away. >> reporter: interstate 5 was used for treatment. a local high school offered shelter. investigators say the big rig crossed the center divide and plowed right into the bus. >> we don't know whether the fedex driver had fallen asleep, whether he experienced a mechanical failure with his vehicle, or whether there was a separate collision that caused him to lose control.

>> reporter: the tour bus was one of three headed to humboldt state university for a weekend college tour. but 200 miles short of campus in the small city of orland today, parents streamed into hospitals and shelters, desperate to find their children. 17-year-old jonathan gutierrez posted this picture so his is mom and dad would know he was alive. >> lucky i'm alive. i'm very blessed i survived. >> reporter: excited about their trip, students took pictures of their bus just before the accident. and then this, moments after. tonight, 26-year-old chaperon arthur azola has been identified among the dead. this was a trip so many young students were looking forward to, a peak into their future, now part of their past they'll never forget. miguel almaguer, nbc news, chico, california.

this is janet in los angeles. marissa and marasol were a mirror of each other. beyond their appearance, they shared big dreams. their bedroom dressers were lined with college acceptance letters. is they wanted to go to the same school. >> they were going to see this one. >> reporter: one of the few times the teens took separate paths is when they boarded different buses in l.a. now an unbearable weight. their mother only talked to marasol who is okay. she heard nothing from marissa. >> translator: the pain that i have in my heart as a mother, no, no, i'm not fine. it is heartbreak in what should be a happiest time. the season of prom and parties at their school, with graduation and celebration waiting in the wings. each time the phone rings, there is as much anguish as hope. >> it's torture because you want to answer it to see if it's good news but you're terrified it might be bad news. you don't know.

it's horrible. >> reporter: and late this afternoon, the family received a call from the coroner's office asking for medical records, dental records. they are praying for a miracle, and they are not alone. the students on these buses, brian, they come from 46 high schools including this one, el monte where they know they lost a student. but tonight, some families still don't know. >> what an incredibly sad story. our thanks to you both. police in murryesvilsville stale waiting on a motive, still trying to figure out what set off a 16-year-old boy charged in that stabbing rampage at a high school. for now they say it remains unknown. meanwhile, five students there remain hospitalized. doctors say the most severely injured patient, a 17-year-old remains critical, though he's improving after undergoing surgery today with more surgery

scheduled for him over the weekend. australia's prime minister says he is, quote, very confident now that the underwater signals detected are from the malaysia airlines 777. the search area has been narrowed significantly, though there was one set back overnight our time when it was reveal that a possible fifth ping detected by an under water buoy was not from those same black boxes. now, the news that was just breaking as we came on the air here last night, the resignation of the president's point person on health care. secretary of health and human services, kathleen sebelius. she's been under fire and not just from republicans for a long time. it got fierce when the obamacare rollout was an unmitigated disaster on the web. our political chief white house correspondent chuck todd has the story from the north lawn. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. kathleen sebelius tenure as

secretary of health and human services was rocky at best and even her exit speech didn't go as planned. it was an appropriate metaphor, a good-bye glitches. >> knowing they can take care of themselves and their families. unfortunately, a page is missing. [ laughter ] >> reporter: which is a sign the president praised sebelius for steering the sweeping health reform into practice and enduring lots of heat. >> she help guide its implantation, even when it got rough. she's got bumps, i've got bumps, bruises. >> reporter: but the president said it's the final score that matters most, the 7.5 million americans that have signed up for health insurance, exceeding their 7 million goal and giving sebelius a high note to go out on. but there have been hints for months her job was in jeopardy. in an interview during her darkest days of the health carolout, the president questioned her management skills. >> do you have confidence in kathleen sebelius? >> i think she would be the first to admit if we had to do

it over again, there would have been a whole lot more questions that were asked in terms of how this thing was working. >> reporter: sebelius was an early supporter of president obama, the twice elected red state governor of kansas was among the first prominent women to endorse obama in 2008 over hillary clinton. on the short list to be vice president, sebelius was instead nominated to be hhs secretary. >> i'm humbled, honored. >> reporter: and now the president turns to someone with more management experience, his budget chief, a harvard educated 48-year-old mother of two, burwell has private and public sector experience, including serving as president of two large foundations for walmart and bill gates. now burwell's confirmation is virtually guaranteed in the senate but the white house wants more than just a confirmation. they are banking on her skills to political tax in this election here, brian.

>> chuck todd with the story from the white house on friday night. thanks. overseas tonight, a tense stand off continues in eastern ukraine. prorussian militia clashed with police this week. they are barricaded in buildings, almost daring the ukrainian government to crack down. satellite photos released by nato show what the u.s. and western authorities are worried about. russian forces just across the border, aircraft, 40,000 infranty, clearly visible, ready to move into ukraine if there is a crackdown. that could trigger, of course, a much larger crisis. but the militia refused to back down. we got a rare look inside behind the barricades in the city of denetsk. >> reporter: the aim of the

protesters is to slow down any police advancements, that's why they created roads of barricades with sandbags, bash wire and tires they plan on burning if the police storm the building. we're being led inside by an organizer in there and they barricaded themselves inside. we'll see what the preparations are. we saw fighters reinforcing positions, molotov cocktails and russian and soviet flags. american government is accusing russia of being behind this, paying for this, is any of that true? >> translator: all lies he says. >> but sympathies with moscow. >> reporter: what happens if the police try to break this up? do you plan to do. >> we will fight he says. a fight many here would welcome. strong words today from pope francis at the vatican asking for forgiveness for what he called the evil of priests who sexually abused children. despite wide-spread praise in the years since he was elected pope, francis has come under

criticism of late from those who say he has not paid enough attention to the sex abuse scandal in the church. speaking to members of the international catholic child burro, he stress the that the church is aware of the damage that has been done. he went on to say the church will not take one step backward in how it deals with this problem. still ahead for us on this friday night, combatting the epidemic, our in depth series on the heroin crisis, and one solution that seems to be working by confronting addicts with a life-changing choice. later, what we learned about the duck and cover moment caught on camera involving hillary clinton.

all this week we have been airing a series of reports to shine light on the growing heroin epidemic and the lives destroyed along the way. tonight, we want to show you a program that's working to help addicts turn their lives around. here again tonight, our national correspondent kate snow. >> good afternoon, sir, thank you very much. >> reporter: in rural putnam

county, new york this judge is forcing addicts to get clean. through a combination of compassion -- >> please make good decisions. we're here to help you out if you need that. >> reporter: -- and consequen consequences. >> you probably came here to avoid state prison. >> yes, five years. >> reporter: judge reeds gave us rare access using defendant's first names only. he says heroin accounts for 60% of his case load. >> how many times i put you in jail? >> maybe four or five. >> right. >> reporter: it's one of more than 2800 drug courts in all 50 states. addicts who have committed crimes can avoid going to jail if they successfully complete a two-year treatment program. there has been resistance. there are those who think punishment is the answer. >> why wouldn't you want to give somebody a fighting chance to stay clean, sober, stay out of jail and become a productive member of the society? >> reporter: edward went from a straight a student to addict and thief. >> i stole my brother's identity and took any piece of jewelry in

the house. >> reporter: his own parents pressed charges and he ended up in judge reeds courtroom. he's been clean for sixth months. >> if i didn't come into the program, i would be dead now. >> i seen old people, lawyers, doctors, teachers that lost licenses because of the drugs. >> reporter: one of those teachers was michelle. you were teaching while high on heroin? >> yes. >> reporter: using in the bathroom? >> teacher bathroom. so irrational that i didn't even think twice in a teacher would walk in. that's how irrational my thinking was. >> reporter: were you shooting it into your veins? >> into my neck. >> reporter: when she failed to comply with court-ordered treatment, judge reeds sent her to jail. that was her wake-up. she's been clean for more than four years. >> treatment court motivated me to continue to do the right thing. >> reporter: now she's part of the judge's team and that's not all. >> it's possible to come out the other side. >> reporter: michelle met her husband brandon in drug court. when they married last summer, judge reeds presided.

>> i see the end result right now, michelle proves that if we work together as a team in the community, we can change people's lives one day at a time and make a difference. >> nationwide the number of drug courts doubled in the last decade. studies have shown they save taxpayer money because treatment is far less expensive, brian, than keeping someone in jail. >> response is overwhelming. i know you'll stay on this top pick for us. kate snow with us, thanks. we're back in a moment with the newest auditions to the list of the greatest of all time.

the woman caught on camera throwing a shoe at hillary clinton during a speech in las vegas tonight has been charged with disorderly conduct. she apparently brought in an extra shoe in addition to the shoes she wore at the event and threw it from approximately 60 feet away. hillary clinton moved away and the shoe narrowly missed her. the woman has been identified as

alison ernst. even though they're not revealing what her motive was behind it, the secretary of state was addressing the trade association of the scrap industry in las vegas. the obamas released their tax return from 2013. they show an increase from before when the president released a children's book and income from those sales, which were donated to charity. for the year 2013, the first couple reported an adjusted gross income of $481,000, paid about $98,000 in taxes, donated about $60 to dozens of different charities. the controversial practice of fracking is in the news tonight. that's because government scientists in the state of ohio today said they have for the first time linked seismic activity in the shale region to fracking. they are changing the way they issue permits in some areas. in oklahoma there are dozens of earthquakes reported in the last week alone, well over 100

in the last month. seismic activity in oklahoma has increased dramatically in the last five years where many have speculated fraccing is to blame there. big night in brooklyn last night and not without controversy and at least one rock 'n roll cat fight. it was induction and included a rare performance by cat stevens, bruce got to induct the e street band, not before epic marathon speeches and the original four members of kiss appeared but did not play their music because of an ongoing feud. just your average thursday night in the rock 'n roll business. you know the feeling when your spouse's team beats your team in a yacht team? of course you do. the royal couple competed in two yacht races, kate who grew up sailing won both. the prince was gracious in defeat alleging in jest his

yacht had been sabotaged. when we come back on a friday night, an extraordinary mother and daughter determined to make a come back after a day that chajed both of their lives and their city forever.

>> finally here tonight, the women from one boston area family who we've come to know well for all the worst reasons over this last year. we first met them because they were among the wounded, the survivors, and this past year, we have watched them triumph of over the marathon bombing. in the course of putting together the hour-long special that frantic week a year ago that airs tonight, we went back to boston and checked in with the women of this extraordinary family. >> i used to always say what are we going to look like next year this time? are we going to be stronger, happier, a disaster? >> when you get through the trama they survived, it's hard to know how the pieces will come back together. are your memories of that day whole? >> i remember everything. >> i remember everything except for just a little tiny bit. >> kre celeste and her

17-year-old daughter sydney were the heart of carmen's cheering squad that day. >> i was so proud of my sister for having trained like that. it was so important for me to see her cross the finish line and i kept yelling back to my husband and our friends and did anybody see her? can you see her? and then just in the blink of an eye, i feel like i felt myself tumble. >> along the marathon route, rumors of the explosion at the finish line had quickly spread. >> my family was at the finish. i had friends at the finish, and i just remember standing there like could everyone be gone? >> not gone, but severely injured and separated. both were rushed to boston medical and prepped for surgery just rooms apart. >> i thought i was an orphan. it really struck a chord in me, like this is it. i'm dying and my family is not here. >> but they were there, and in time, extended family emerged to help including a couple of veterans who knew the struggle firsthand.

>> they were like, you know, this stinks, but this is temporary. you're going to get your life back, and at that point, the only thing that i could think of was that i was stuck in this bed. sidney was sick from whatever medication they had first given her. i think i felt worse that i couldn't function as a mom. >> sure. >> than thinking about the long term about my legs. >> what's the rule to keep yourself mentally sharp and sane? >> we all have our days, and we all give each other support. we call them amputee days and just like, just an amputee day. it will be better tomorrow. tomorrow will be better. >> for carmen who worried just how the pieces would come back together, part of making the family whole is to finish who she started a year ago. >> the first thing celeste said

to me was she couldn't believe she didn't see me finish this thing. this is our marathon as a family, so i think the running of the race is the last portion of it. we can put closure to it, and we can all finish something that we started. so i'm ready. >> couple of incredible women right there, not only is carmen running in this year's marathon to finish what she started last year, celeste and her daughter sidney will be there to cheer her on, making a huge achievement for both of them in the course of this last year. tonight, our hour-long special will look back on the 108-hour long drama in boston. it's on at 8:00, 7:00 central on this station. that is for us our broadcast for this friday night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. lester holt will be here with you this weekend. we, of course, hope to see you right back here on monday night. in the meantime, please have a good weekend. good night.

nbc bay area news begins with breaking news. right now at 6:00, federal investigators on the scene of a deadly tour bus crash. >> it was supposed to be a life-changing trip for the better, but it did not turn out that way for everyone after a fiery and deadly crash. investigators revealed new details aboutity go team on the ground and how they'll figure out exactly what happened. this is what the crash site looked like after the accident. it took the lives of ten people, five of them high schoolers happening on a northern

california highway when a fed ex truck veered across the median slamming right into a tour bus hiding to humboldt college. you can see the charred road from that inferno. our team is uncovering the safety records for the bus company and for fed ex but we begin with sam brock who's been on the scene all day. the ntsb press conference wrapped up about 30 minutes or so ago. no surprises certainly, the ntsb want to find out what caused this crash and to figure out whether there's any federal policy that they need to adjust. here's an excerpt. >> over the coming days, our investigators are going to focus on gathering factual information. they're especially focused on perishable kinds of information that can literally be hardware but also things like witness reports and memories. so we're aft perishable information that's really only going to be