brian williams is next. we'll see you back here at 6:00. >> good night. on nbc world news quarters in new york. this is "nbc nighty news" with

brian williams. >> good evening. it is getting worse tonight in iraq. a place where so many americans of course gave so much in a long war that is still today being fought over in m country. over there, this heavily armed and haley motivated group called isis continues its run from syria to the east across iraq. several major cities have fallen as you may know and as they near baghdad they have delivered a strike that goes to the heart of iraq's post war economy. it is a fast-moving situation we're covering tonight our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is back in iraq, having lived there for so many years, richard, good evening. >> good evening, brian. a few days a ago it looked like the isis militants would storm their way into baghdad. militants appear to have a new strategy to topple the government by crippling the infrastructure.

>> kurdish fighters battling isis militants just 90 miles from baghdad. overnight, militants attack the country's biggest oil refinery. the iraqi government claims it still controls the plant but unverified by nbc news, appear to show them setting parts of it on fire. iraqi security officials tell nbc news the militants may try to shut down baghdad's airport firing mortars and rockets at the runways. at gas stations in northern iraq, there are already long lines. none yet in central baghdad. a lawyer said, he's more worried about car bombings. iraqis remember all too well the vicious civil war that tore this country apart just a few years ago. it was the american troop surge that kept it from spiral be completely out of control. this time, the u.s. is keeping its distance.

>> general martin dempsey once ran the program to train iraqi troops. now he's chairman of the joint chiefs and is bitterly disappointed. he said today, that two full iraqi army divisions ran from the fight. some commanders in collusion with will militants. >> leaders of the military formation, the soldiers are not going to stick around and wait to see what happens. >> this video obtained by nbc's british partner showed iraqi troops in mosul, before their retreat. 30,000 strong well armed in control. 72 hours later, they abandoned iraq esecond biggest city. >> an act of treason rociraq's prime minister saying they would be punished for cowards and in the face of a few hundred extremist ep.

the u.s. is flying reconnaissance flights over iraq but is more reluctant to get involved than that. iran doesn't share the same concerns the iranian president saying today his country would not hesitate to protect shiite sites in the country. >> richard engel in baghdad. richard, thanks. john kerry weighing in on the subject of u.s. options under consideration for iraq. he did so in an exclusive interview with savannah gajry. >> there are senior officials in various news accounts saying airstrikes are offer the table that the u.s. is no longer considering that. is that true? >> nothing is off the table. all options are still available. the president has not made the decision on those options. we are very intensely vetting each of the possibilities. >> savannah's interview was conducted in washington. her full interview with the

secretary about the situation in iraq will air tomorrow morning on today. at the white house today the president held a meeting with congressional leaders in the oval office to talk about this crisis as former vice president dick cheney unleashed a blistering criticism of this current president's foreign policy. our political director chief white house correspondent chuck todd with more tonight. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the strongest advocate internally for a larger airstrike effort but i'm told military officials don't have the targets that would make a shock and awe strike attack feasible. instead the option the president is considering is consider one he uses in yemen, small targeted drone strikes. much of the day was laying the iraq war blame game. should we have ever gone in? should we have stayed longer? because of cheney it escalated quickly.

with his daughter by his side, cheney went on attack on a platform. >> leaving america diminished and weakened. >> a journal op-ed pinning the blame on president obama. writing, rarely has a u.s. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many. in his final day as white house press secretary jay carney turns the cheney attack into a punch line. cheney's criticism was all the more galling to democrats because it came from someone who helped sell the war publicly under false pretenses of mass destruction which were never found. >> if it is one thing this country does not need, it is taking advice pr dick cheney on wars. >> cheney wasn't alone on going after president obama today, his 2008 republican opponent john mccain, a long time champion of the iraq war, also got into the fray. >> president's mishandling of

iraq for the past five years is consistent in action on syria have now brought us to the verge of disaster. >> while washington engages in this blame game, the president may have bigger problems with the public as he pondered what to do in iraq. our new nbc wall street journal poll shows 57% disapproving of the job he is doing on foreign policy. a dubious record high for the president. brian as for when the president unveils his plan publicly, they know they need to get something in place by the weekend. >> chuck todd, white house north lawn. at the pentagon we learn new details about the suspected ring leader in the attack on the u.s. diplomatic compound in benghazi. reporting u.s. special forces captured him on a desolate stretch of desert after being tracked by an unmanned drone when delta force soldiers and fbi agents closed in he surrendered wut fight and taken

with from a small ship to the mediterranean. more clean up today in nebraska where the two twin tornadoes swept through town killing two people earlier this week, including a 5-year-old girl. then last night another tornado causing damage to several farms. but thankfully no injuries. in the east, the first real heat wave of the season, temperatures in the 90s along the mid-atlantic, including philadelphia where they sent kids home early from school, then again there's the scene in northern montana, if you can believe it, where glacier national park has gotten up to 16 inches of snow since yesterday morning. leaving some folks snow bound here we are in the middle of june. the pressure just increased ought the washington redskins to change their team name. starting with the fact that they may no longer have the exclusive use of their own name, in the lucrative business of nfl merchandise. the u.s. patent and trade mark office today cancelled its protection of the team's name.

tonight from washington, nbc's kristin welker has more on what this all means. >> reporter: what's in a name? that's the question at the center of the ongoing controversy surrounding the 81-year-old washington redskins. today the u.s.a patent office revoked the trade mark calling the name a racial slur in blight ant violation of trade marks. . the if it stands others will be allowed to sell merchandise. a victory for native americans who say the word should go, calling it racist as the "n" word. >> basic decency tell us we should do the right thing and change the name. >> today the team said it would appeal. saying they are confident they will prevail once again. reaching a similar decision in 1999 which was ultimately

overturned. the question now would losing trade mark protection impact the team's bottom line. merchandise sales are split among all nfl teams so redskins may not see a significant drop in that revenue. >> only way it begins to affect the bottom line of the redskins is if major sponsors stood up or if potential stadium backers stood up and said, we won't be involved with this. >> meanwhile, political pressure is mounting. 15 senators recently calling on the team to change its name. >> it is racist. this is about tradition. i ask, what tradition. tradition of racism? >> the debate is daily in sports bars. >> this is a change that needs to be made. >> no malice by use of the red skin name. >> as fans and courts consider whether this name is a racial slur or a tradition worth protecting. kristin welker, nbc news, washington. >> now to the sport most of the

world calls football, global athletic he event under way, visitors to the world cup in brazil. a harrowing trip off a crowded stairway. they turned around to record this video of the structure. shaking and swaying as hundreds of fans climb need a soccer venue. while dooms day predecks about brazil's preparations have not come true, the world cup is in many ways a vast warm-up act for an even more vast gathering in two years. the summer olympic games. we get a status report tonight from nbc's bill neely. >> reporter: world cup fever has gripped rio. american fans ecstatic after the u.s. team's first win. but not everything here is going well. with protests over the cost of the cup and of the olympic games. and even bigger looming crisis, rio will host the next olympics.

but the work has stalled. at the main site, construction is way behind schedule. olympic chief says preparations are the worst ever. at the second biggest site for eight sports, including equestrian, work hasn't even begun. on the bay where sailing and wind surfing will be held, a different problem. >> the bay, unfortunately, can just be described as a pool of sewage. it is frightening. >> the trash in the water led some olympic sailors to call it the worst they've ever trained in. in your view, will this be clean in time for the olympics? >> no. no. it's not possible. >> it is not just sewage and trash. one brazilian olympic sailor says he has come across human corpses on four occasions in this bay. one olympic medallist says rio isn't taking this seriously. >> you cannot have an olympic

medal by who has less garbage. that would be a shame. >> rio authorities admit delay but say everything, like the athlete village, will be ready. they are still battling to make the city safe. using troops to fight drug gangs. >> brazil's authority say the troops will stay on rio's streets for the next two years and during the games themselves. this is a battle that's not yet won. rio is struggling to deliver. it's been criticized by sports federation and warned by olympic chiefs. time isn't on its side. nbc news, rio de janeiro. >> still ahead for us, the video selfie that led to a diagnosis and may have saved the life. what this woman captured on her cell phone and her message for other women. and later, teenage stow away who survived what many thought was an impossible flight. what he is now revealing about that astonishing journey.

back now as promised.

with this moment captured on a smart phone camera reported as a selfie diagnosis. it was shot by a woman who knew something was wrong with her own body. despite having been told by at least one doctor, that it was just stress. but she knew something strange was happening and when her symptoms suddenly appeared again, she grabbed her phone and recorded it. ended up making a powerful statement in the process. we get the story tonight from nbc's ann thompson. >> i don't know why this is happening to me. >>. >> reporter: what would you do if doctors didn't believe you? >> so now i'm taking a picture for an example of what happens. >> reporter: state stacey took a selfie. >> all tingly on the left side. >> reporter: two days after being sent home from the er after what doctors say were stress-related symptoms, she took this video after feeling her face go numb again while driving. parked on the side of the road she used her smart phone to show them what was going on.

>> smile they said, smile. >> reporter: you can see her mouth is clearly drooping. she tries to smile and can't. she is also having trouble with the left side of her body. >> my hand, it is hard it lift up. >> i just needed someone to see what was happening. when i tell people this is happening, they say this is stress. i'm like, i know this is not stress. >> reporter: with the help of the video, doctors determine she adminy stroke, also called a tia. in fact, she had three. the ontario woman is just 48. >> we think of it in older age. high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol. it is happening more and more often in younger people. young patients can present with strokes. >> reporter: there is a temporary drop in blood supply to the brain depriving it of oxygen. weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, confusion, speech or vision difficulties and sudden loss of balance. she had several signs.

today she is on medication and recovering. because she had the phenomenal presence of mind to use a device designed to save memory, to help save her life. >> and speaking of portable technology. back in a moment with a new challenger to the iphone that will also buy groceries.

we have an update tonight on the condition of the former u.s. olympic swimmer amy van dyken. she is a six-time gold medalist, first female athlete in american history to win four gold medals at a single olympic games, atlanta in '96. then just over ten days ago, she was in a terrible atv accident which severed her spinal cord. after surgery to stabilize her condition, today she spoke with reporters for the first time. >> every day you take a breath is a blessing.

you know, i think sometimes we take it for granted. yes, this injury sucks. and yes things hurt. but i'm alive, and i'm still thankful to be alive. so that's why i can be positive about it, you know. it helps get me through the pain. >> amy van dyken in her hospital today. we have much more on her story on our website tonight, nbcnews.com. no one can believe he survived it, but there he was on that surveillance video on the tarmac dropping from the wheel well of a flight from san jose to hawaii. 15-year-old stowaway who made the journey back in april. well, he has given his first interview to a san francisco tv station. in addition to saying no one else should try what he did, he says he could look down upon the clouds and the ocean during his voyage. his hearing, damaged by the engine noise, is just now coming back. he withstood 50 below temperatures and very thin oxygen.

he was trying to go west to be with his mother in ethiopia. he has been living in a foster home ever since he was taken into custody in hawaii. amazon has sold smartphones for years. as of today, they now make one. they entered the crowded field with a new phone they call the fire. the new 3-d graphics adjust according to where you're looking on the screen. it contains an advanced camera. and while tech types are still poring over it, the one thing it does very well is buy things from amazon. the phone debuts in july, has a starting price around $200. when we come back here tonight, our farewell to one of the heroes of d-day.

finally here tonight, we have a farewell to a guy a number of us came to know. we were just with him 12 days ago in normandy. 70 years ago when he was young, he parachuted into the french countryside as part of the u.s. army 508th parachute regiment. his name was jack schlegel, and we learned last night he died at the age of 90. this kind of thing is going to happen. we're losing our world war ii vets at the rate of over 400 per day, and we're going to lose,

sadly, all of the men we saw at that gathering for the 70th anniversary of d-day. it doesn't mean, however, we can't remember their stories and their bravery for all time. we get a look back at his life tonight from nbc's peter alexander. ♪ >> reporter: even among the old lions of d-day, paratrooper jack schlegel of the 82nd airborne was as tough and unforgettable as they come. 70 years ago while still a teenager, schlegel was the last man out of his c-47 transport plane before it plunged to the ground in flames. he landed in the small town of picauville, which in the decades since hasn't changed much. doesn't look any different than the day you landed? >> doesn't look a bit of difference. >> reporter: around town, schlegel was every bit the local hero. >> i have not met one frenchman in normandy that didn't want to shake my hand sincerely. >> reporter: schlegel was part of a unit that ambushed german troops at this house, killing a top general. the road now bears his name, an

honor he wished he could share. you wanted it chemin 508, after the unit. >> right. so many young men died, wounded, never got any type of medal. i get a little emotional. all my comrades that died in some of these actions, that they are not here to get the same type of honor. and it is very honoring for me to have all these people here, and they appreciate what the americans did. >> we appreciate you. >> thank you. >> reporter: schlegel was captured four times by the germans, escaping each time, but not before being tortured by the ss. but jack schlegel was unbreakable. unbreakable too the bond between schlegel and the people of normandy. peter alexander, nbc news. >> and that is our broadcast on a wednesday 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 starts now. everybody should do their own part to protect our children. >> right now at 6:00, rebuilding their lives. two bay area mothers revealing to us the hopes for the future after their two sons were killed during the uc santa barbara rampage. >> there are no words to truly describe the loss and suffering be felt by those mothers whose sons were killed at uc santa barbara last month. but despite their pain, they are

compelled to speak out about the values, the family care and ties they think could have p prevented their sons' deaths. they were killed when their roommate stabbed them to death before heading out on a shooting rampage. the shooter had a history of mental issues. we are outside a high school that is really still in mourning. >> reporter: this is where david wang graduated. and now his mom's friend shares the same grief. what they're saying is what happened to their sons should never happen to another family, and they believe the first step starts at home. >> if knock is done, it could happen next week. it can happen next month. >> and that's why these heartbroken mothers are speaking out.