upper 60s at the coast, low 90s for the valleys. on our broadcast tonight, out of control, a massive wildfire has exploded growing ten times in size in just 24 hours. tonight an army of hot shot teams on the front lines in arizona as thousands are warned to be ready to evacuate as a moment's notice. damage assessment from the big new lawsuit levelled against the nfl. tonight, former players including a hall of famer speaking publicly about these new allegations. hidden danger, a frightening accident caught on camera bringing renewed attention to pool safety as we head into this traditional start of the summer season. and the graduates, the reason we are here tonight in nashville. an offer too good to renews.

"nightly news" begins now. >> this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams, reporting tonight from nashville. good evening from nashville and before we get underway tonight, a quick word about the past two evenings of unexplained absences with my thanks to lester holt for filling in. at the end of this broadcast, we'll show you why we are here in nashville tonight, but first, first, where we've been for the past two days. about 16 hours ago, i departed moscow, where moscow, where i traveled to interview edward snowden. he is widely referred to these days as the most wanted man in the world, the interview was months in the making and cloaked in the secrecy of his life as a fugitive living in exile overseas. our conversation went on for several hours and we're still going through it all and just starting the process of seeking comment from all those people and entities he discussed.

we are going to air snowden's comments next week on the other side of the three-day memorial day weekend and in prime time on wednesday night at 10:00, 9:00 central, you'll be able to see him and hear him tell his story, including a lot we have not heard before and as you will see and hear, edward snowden has a lot more to say. now, to dial back to our lead story tonight. we've been covering a dangerous situation unfolding in arizona. a massive wildfire exploding in size today, ten times larger than it was at this time yesterday. tonight hundreds of firefighters are struggling there to contain it as thousands are on notice, they may have to move in, others may be ordered to evacuate. nbc's miguel is covering in flagstaff for us tonight.

good evening. >> reporter: good evening. we're eight miles from the head of the fire because it is so difficult to reach on the ground. it's burning in the middle of the forest. today the story line is winds and while they are kicking up at this hour, while they have been calm, crews have made progress. chewing through dense forest land, arizona's slide fire is a blow torch in these drought conditions. whipping winds funnel flames up and down steep canyons. >> you're going to have extreme fire behavior 18 to 22 and high intensity fire that will want to move fast on you. >> reporter: thousands of acres have been burned but not a single structure destroyed. several communities warned be ready to evacuate. this afternoon, reinforcements brought in to hammer this blaze from the air. boots on the ground, 15 hot shot crews, the nation's top firefighters are on the front lines. the cedar city crew spent the night in the forest. this morning, chow time and a quick map before 16 hours back on the mountain. greg fryer, a 15-year veteran will work the summer away from his young family and on the front lines.

today, the memory of the 19 hot shots and lost their lives in the near by fire is still fresh. >> we were on a fire when we heard about it last year, and, you know, definitely a big hit and weighs on everybody. >> reporter: with the most dangerous months still ahead, so far in the west there's been nearly 1,000 more fires than last year with twice the acreage burned. >> fire is a good thing to clean fuels up and reintroduce fire in an ecosystem that had fire. it's bad burning hotter and more severe is a bat thing. >> reporter: tonight with homes in danger, crews are making progress saying they are winning this fight, though not yet the

battle. with at least 5,000 acres burned so far and plenty of fuel in its path, this fire could burn for weeks, containment is at zero percent but crews at this hour are working to build containment lines near nearby communities to protect them from this fire should it shift directions, brian? >> miguel thanks. here in the eastern half of the country, we have a very volatile weather situation. it's a related factor to the 89-degree temperature that greeted us upon arrival here in nashville. it's a violent weather front, the kind we usually see more like midsummer, the pictures out of redding, pennsylvania tonight show some violent hail damage there. earlier this evening, a highly unusual tornado warning for washington d.c., just one of the embedded and fast-moving storms. meteorologist jim cantore watching it all from weather channel headquarters tonight. good evening.

>> brian, denver for the third day in a row is under a tornado warning and this is a two-hour loop where we watch the tornado warned storm disappear and all of a sudden, it's starting to come back. so we need to watch this in the city of denver right now. in the east, thunderstorms here that are rotating. we call these super cells. 99% of the time they produce hail and that's what we've seen today. 125 reports of hail from upstate new york where we had four-inch hail in amsterdam new york and tomorrow the severe threat shifting south and back in the denver area once again, we will see thunderstorms erupt. the only silver lining, brian, areas so dry in north texas have a chance at some beneficial rain. >> all right. jim cantore watching it as we head into the holiday weekend. jim, thanks. to this continuing and still growing scandal involving treatment delays at this nation's va hospitals. both the white house and congress were dealing with it

again today, and we're learning more about what may have been behind the claims by some hospitals that patients were given appointments more quickly than they actually were. we get our report tonight from nbc's kelly o'donnell in phoenix. >> reporter: the president's men on the ground today at the phoenix va medical center. white house deputy chief of staff rob neighbors. what can you learn in one day, mr. neighbors? do you have a goal for the meeting today, sir? no cameras were allowed inside for the meeting with staff, doctors and veterans. back in washington, just a glimpse of the secretary of veterans affairs, eric shinseki as he arrived for a private meeting with top senate democrat, dick durbin. damage control on display in the hallways today. the agency's new top health administrator says he believes va failures are not system wide. >> i'm not going to say it's

systemic. there may be issues in certain areas, and we'll get to the bottom of that. >> reporter: getting answers is not easy. frustrated house lawmakers stared at empty chairs today. >> we are not going to sit back and not get to the bottom of what has happened. >> reporter: three va officials failed to show up to explain why the agency has not yet turned over all the e-mails subpoenaed. >> they are selectively giving us the e-mails that they want us to have to help mold the story. >> reporter: turning to a possible motive, money. in a new letter mark kirk questions whether $16.6 million in performance bonuses paid at one illinois va hospital since 2011 related to expedited scheduling in order to fill bonus criteria. two whistleblowers who had worked at the phoenix va tell nbc news they believe bonuses were tied in part to achieving shorter waiting times.

>> financial, but mostly career advancement, power. >> they would receive bonuses for having a lower wait time. >> reporter: so far, no response from the va or inspector general about a possible link between bonuses and what happened. today secretary shinseki sent an e-mail to all 300,000 va employees saying as much as everyone wants quick answers, the inspector general report will take time. and after a full day of meetings and tour, the president's emissary rob neighbors flies back to washington overnight. brian? >> kelly o'donnell remains on this story in phoenix for us tonight. kelly, thanks. three days before the presidential election in ukraine, some newsworthy developments in that crisis today. first came signs russia was finally pulling back some forces from parts of the border with ukraine while inside the country there was a deadly attack on ukrainian troops. richard engel following it all from moscow tonight.

richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. for months, we've been talking about this very large russian force, about 40,000 troops parked right on the ukrainian border, a force large enough to invade ukraine. putin said repeatedly he's pulling the troops back. well, this time it seems like that is starting to happen. u.s. and nato officials remain cautious they want to see more but it seems that putin doesn't want to be blamed for sabotaging elections in ukraine this weekend. but inside ukraine, there is still a lot of violence. at least 16 ukrainian soldiers were killed when ambushed by pro russian militias. brian? >> richard engel reporting on it all from moscow for us tonight. richard, thanks. . in southeast asia this evening, a volatile situation we've been keeping our eye on,

the military in thailand staged a full on coup today with turmoil. involving supporters and opponents of the government. this comes two days after the declaration of martial law. the military took all the tv stations off the air. tonight a curfew is in effect, we have a team there on the ground, including ian williams. they will report from bangkok and updated reports on our website starting tonight. >> we have more this evening on a lawsuit filed against the nfl this week by retired players over painkillers they took and medical problems they say they are living with as a result. the nfl commissioner still hasn't reacted to this suit but some players including a hall of famer are speaking out about what they call the drug culture in the game and how it affected their lives. we get more on this tonight from nbc's ron mott. >> reporter: football and pain are inseparable, producing images of agony that helped sell

the nearly $10 billion sport as a game for tough guys. former nfl player jeremy newberry, one of eight former players suing the league says doctors and trainers illegally gave them painkillers leading to addiction and long-standing health problems. for him, it's his kidneys. >> i was in a walking boot and crutches, wouldn't practice a day, limp into the facility, give me vicodin, shoot me up with novocain, sprint out the tunnel and go play a game. >> reporter: the president of the nfl physicians society, a group of nfl doctors says he's surprised by the lawsuit. as an nfl team doctor for 14 years, i've seen outstanding medical care that team doctors provide to players on and off the field. as doctors, we put our players first. but richard dent, a player who played 15 seasons and won two super bowls says the nfl needs to be more concerned about the cumulative effects of these drugs. >> treat me like a racehorse and ride me until it's over and shoot me and put me to sleep.

that's been the way of doing things. >> reporter: ben bolland covers the new england patriots for the "boston globe." >> bh >> why did this come up now? where was this 10, 15 years snoog ago? >> he's among those questioning motives with this lawsuit among ex players. it's not money who says the hall of famer dent who lives with an enlarged heart. >> i make more money than i was playing. i'm fine there. what is not good is what you know that takes place and this has to change and help guys today and help the guys to come. >> reporter: first, concussion now alleged prescription drug abuse, another troubling issue the nfl is forced to tackle. ron mott nbc news boston. still ahead on a thursday night, a scary incident in a swimming pool captured on camera. everybody made it out of this alive. but this is how we start the

safety conversation for the summer season. and later, the class of 2014. we want to show you the graduating class that brought us here to nashville.

there was another reminder today of the dangers associated with swimming pools just as we prepare for the arrival of memorial day weekend. this one involves an incident caught on camera in the miami area and while fair warning it's difficult to watch and important to know everybody made it out of this alive. we get our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it happened at this condo complex last month. surveillance video captures the moment she grabbed a railing and went limp. her frantic father pulled her out but danella's ten-year-old brother diego was in the water for 15 seconds before his grandfather managed to pull him to safety. >> when they grabbed onto the metal railing, that's when they felt the shock and they were paralyzed. >> reporter: the brother, sister

and another child who was also shocked all survived. city inspectors say bad wiring was likely the cause. just two weeks earlier, also in the miami area, seven-year-old colter sloan died when he was elect cuted in his own family pool. police are investigating whether a faulty pool light is to blame. >> they found the ground cable wasn't hooked up, so essentially, he became the ground. the electricity traveled into the ground, it traveled through his body. >> reporter: experts say it's a frightening reminder what can happen when water comes into contact with electricity. too often the only thing protecting swimmers from electrical wiring is a pane of glass and a rubber seal. if that goes bad and wiring corrodes, it could be deadly. there were 13 deaths in pool electrocutions over a nine-year period. you have to make sure that is grounded properly. >> and the electrical equipment

is a safe distance' way from the pool and that your pool is properly maintained so there is no corrosion on the wires. >> reporter: electrical equipment should come with a kill switch and anything that could be used as a rescue pole should be made offiberglass or plastic, not metal. the families of the children are grateful they were within reach and all three kids could be saved. tom costello, nbc news. we're back in a moment with a summer prediction that has a lot of people taking notice.

the 2014 atlantic hurricane forecast is out from the national hurricane center. they are predicting for the record a quieter season than normal for this year, mostly because they expect the development of el nino. one or two hurricanes they predict will be major, category three or above but as you know,

it is always the case in the inexact business of any forecast beyond five days, we shall see. there is new pressure being put on the nfl tonight to change the name of the washington redskins. half of the members of the u.s. senate, 50 of 100 senators have signed a letter to the commissioner roger goodell to order a change because they find the name offensive. they drew a parallel with the quick action by the nba to ban l.a. clippers owner donald sterling over the offensive comments he made. the scene at arlington national cemetery where they placed an american flag over 260,000 of the head stones. this ritual is repeated every year for memorial day in honor of those who served and gave their lives. they have been doing for this 40 years. takes about three hours for them to put the flags in place.

when we come back tonight, we will salute the class of 2014 and their determination right here on display in nashville.

finally tonight as promised, a word about why we're here and where we are. we are actually on the grounds of lipscomb university here in nashville. we are using their auditorium because this is graduation night for 236 members of the senior class at hillwood high school here in nashville. long before we knew what these last two days would entail, specifically a round trip to moscow, i accepted an invitation from the students to be their commencement speaker tonight, actually, it was more of a crafty video assault on youtube than it was an invitation. and tonight is about honoring a commitment. >> we want you to speak at our graduation. >> brian, we want you at hillwood. >> their video invitation was so good and so well-made i didn't stand a chance and weeks ago, i got to accept their invitation while live on the air with our nashville station wsmv. >> we're doing this. i'll be there. [ applause ] >> we have hopes and dreams --

>> in the video the students posted on youtube, they used my advice to last year's college graduates to show the lessons they have learned and applied. >> i will break the silence. >> break the cycle. >> break the cycle of entitlement and expectation. >> hillwood high school is proud of the story they have to tell. grades here are up for the third straight year. >> when i first came here, my freshman year, there was a lot of violence and troubled kids and now our school has like a better environment. >> we're finally on the transition period from being semi bad school to being one of the best schools in the district. >> the graduation rate among the highest of public nashville schools. the motto is no excuses, make good choices and graduate. these students have done the work and it comes down to tonight. >> i'm just really proud of myself for making it through it. >> these past four years have been amazing. >> mostly, this is a chance for us to salute the class of 2014

all over the country, even though this is a story about one particular high school graduation, it happens to be just one of thousands going on right now. >> it's like i'm graduating. >> parents and students everywhere know what tonight feels like here at hillwood, the pride and joy and accomplishment. and maybe a substantial amount of fear of the unknown drowned out for tonight, at least, by excitement and celebration. >> all 12 years have finally came to one day and here it is, the moment of truth. finally crossing the finish line. >> and so it bears repeating, we congratulate the members of 2014 across this country. as for hillwood high school they are inside ready to go and having come all this way, so are we. that's our broadcast on a thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we will look for you back home in new york tomorrow evening. good night from nashville.

>> goods evening, thanks for being with us. chilling video. tonight, many people are questioning why police had to shoot at all the. outside of salinas police department, police commanders spoke about the case. damien, just last night, we saw protests in the streets. >> yeah, and there's fear that

it might get worse. one city councilman and the national group lulac have asked the department of justice to invei investigate. that ball is now rolling. if kmucommunity here says sometg has to change. >> these are the moments that the salinas police officer repeatedly fires on a man with garden sheers. >> the compelling part of this video, particularly in the upper part of the television screen, is where he's swinging them around and back and forth. >> but if locals aren't buying it. >> reporter: things had escalated last night during a community protest. one officer was hit over the head with a bottle. >> we have to rebuild this strus immediately.