the owner won $1,600. on this saturday night -- under siege. the big show of force aimed at stopping the assault in iraq as the insurgents take another key town and call for new recruits to join their ranks. border war. as the u.s. tries to stop the flood of migrants, we'll go to one area where smugglers still have a strong upper hand. paying the price. on this first day of summer, the cost of filling up is way up. what you can do to save at the pump. and game changer. it's not just any old ball to kick around. tonight, how even nasa had a hand -- or a foot -- in creating the newest star of the world cup. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news with lester holt." substituting tonight, kate snow. good evening.

we begin tonight in iraq where there was a major show of force today in baghdad and elsewhere. tens of thousands of volunteers taking up arms making it clear they will try to stop the sunni extremists who have captured a number of key iraqi cities from advancing even further. in just the last 24 hours those isis fighters have made new gains king control of two more towns, one of them a key crossing point on the border with syria. we have it all covered from iraq to washington, and we'll start with nbc's aman mow ha dean in kurdish northern iraq. >> reporter: good evening, kate. as secretary of state john kerry heads to the region, kurdish officials tell us that iraq may be coming to an end. despite the military engagement, some are questioning whether it's too little too late and whether or not it will be enough. iraq is on a war footing with heavily armed, well-disciplined

fighters flexing their muscles today. but these are not iraqi soldiers. they're shia militiamen, thousands of them, loyal to the cleric, a show of force with a clear message, putting out a slick propaganda video featuring english speaking fighters. calling on muslims around the world to join their so-called jihad in iraq and for isis bringing in new militants and weapons became easier today. overnight they crossed between iraq and syria. which means they now control the border but isis now has its sights set on baghdad. some of the biggest battles are taking place in these little villages. the only thing standing in the

place of baghdad are kurdish force like these. an elegal special forces unit, patrolling highways and towns, keeping a watchful eye on isis fighters below. the kurds know they can't win by killing the endless stream of isis fighters. >> their only goal is to get killed in the fight. >> reporter: only a political process can save iraq from breaking up, says kurdistan's prime minister. >> reporter: do you believe nuri al malaki should remain as the prime minister? >> in my view, he shouldn't stay as prime minister. >> reporter: for now, al malaki insists he will stay and retake all the territory he has lost to isis. and two one-time enemies are separately backing him, american military advisers and the powerful iranian backed shia militias who fought u.s. troops in iraq for years.

there are growing calls on prime minister malaki to step down including from senior religious figures in this country, including regional allies of the united states as well. but for now, his biggest backer stands firmly behind him, and that is the government in iran. kate? >> aman, thank you. for more on the u.s. involvement in the crisis in iraq, we're joined by david gregory host of "meet the press." david, the president announced this week the u.s. will send 300 military advisers to iraq. that seems like a big strategy shift for someone who once called the war in iraq dumb. how much push back do you expect from democrats who might fear mission creep? >> there are democrats and republicans who don't want the mission to creep forward at all. they don't want any intervention because they don't want to get involved in a civil war. neither does president obama. but i think he's trying to separate the two issues, isolating the fact that he has a terrorist threat in the form of isis that could directly affect the united states and western interests throughout europe and even the middle east.

so he wants to try to deal with that threat. at the same time, really push malaki out. i think this administration would like to see a new government in iraq that would be more inclusive, getting to that point may be difficult, may take time. as i say, the president doesn't want the safe haven that extends from iraq into syria as well to grow anying abouter. >> even if there is political will to be involved, what military options does the u.s. really have? >> well, the reality is that i think they'll try to degrade isis where they can, not just in iraq but in syria. that's a key point here. there are those sunni governments in the gulf and in the middle east saying to the administration, look, don't show sides in this civil war, don't pick the shia over the sunni. if you're going to hit them in iraq, hit them in syria, too. that would be an escalation. remember the president hasn't wanted to get involved in syria.

that could be a big step. and you'll see more of the president's exclusive interview on "meet the press" in the morning, an interview that will air in its entirety on "morning joe" monday where he'll talk about the differences between iraq and syria. >> david gregory thanks so much. also tomorrow on "met meet the press" more on the conflict in iraq including an interview with rand paul and an exclusive interview tomorrow with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. and there is late word tonight that vladimir putin has ordered forces in central russia on combat alert. some 65,000 troops are expected to take part in military drills, just a day after ukraine ordered a cease-fire in its battle between pro-russian rebels, something that putin expressed his support for today. two days after that big mud slide in minneapolis, officials there say the hospital buildings that were perilously close to it are structurally sound. the ground fell out just behind the university of minnesota medical center.

no one was injured when tons of soil, trees and brush came crashing onto a parkway below, leaving six feet of mud behind. also in minnesota tonight, an investigation is under way into what caused a small plane to crash into a home, killing two people on the plane and starting a large fire there. a man inside the home was able to escape through a window. police say the people on the plane were on a sightseeing trip. now to an alarming new u.n. report released this week on the global refugee crisis. it says that more than 50 million people are now displaced, a number not seen since world war ii. most of them are escaping from areas crippled by conflict like iraq and syria. ann curry has reported from many of these regions and has more on the plight of the refugees. >> reporter: every refugee has a story. we met 7-year-old jilal in jordan. he fled the war in syria after being hit with shrapnel walk

ing for three days to get here. in nigeria, a 14-year-old escaped out of her bedroom window in the middle of the night as boca haram attacked her village. in the republic, this girl told us she could only pray as her mother was shot and killed. they are among the 51 million displaced people around the world, most of them women and children, refugees from war, persecution, and natural disaster. antonio who leads the u.n. agency on refugees calls the growing tide the crime of our times. the highest number of refugees since world war ii. what are your emotions? >> well, it's an enormous frustration because what we can do as humanitarians is to bring some mitigation to their suffering. but what they need is a solution for their plight. what they need is to be able to go back home in safety and dignity. >> reporter: the numbers are staggering. 32,000 new refugees a day, many

from the war in syria where 9 million people have fled their homes, many to neighboring countries like jordan. the region is near its limit ff it's the most catastrophic humanitarian situation we face at the present moment. >> reporter: humanitarian efforts are being overwhelmed he says and he is appealing to the world leaders to find peace. ann curry, nbc news, new york. we've been reporting on a growing crisis here in this country, the surge of immigrants, many of them unaccompanied children, streaming into the u.s. from central america. yesterday the obama administration announced plans to try and stop that surge, but the challenge is enormous. in arizona, nbc's mark potter went to a large border area where it can be very easy for people to cross over. >> reporter: when the sun sets in cochise county, arizona residents say the land begins to crawl with drug and immigrant smugglers heading north from mexico. it's been that way for decades

with no sign of letting up, occurring even in broad daylight now as shown by these recent surveillance videos. sheriff mark dannel says border area residents are more afraid as cartel smugglers have become more aggressive. >> when you have to live in fear, when you live in the united states of america, something is broke. >> reporter: cochise county is mostly agricultural and shares an 85 mile long border with mexico. the sheriff complains a federal plan to install steel fences, cameras and thousands of agents to protect the u.s. border cities has pushed the smugglers into the vast rural areas, including parts of cochise county, which has seen a rise in heroin trafficking. >> it's not just a county border problem. it's america's problem. >> reporter: he points to this area where the big border fence becomes a much smaller fence that extends for miles. the proof that this low lying fence is absolutely no deterrent at all to smugglers coming in on foot from mexico can be seen right here just a couple of

hundred yards from the border. look at all those foot trails right there heading into cochise county. >> he showed me the blood stains. >> reporter: border safety fears grew last year when karen gonzalez, a national park employee was brutally beaten and had her truck stolen near a known smuggling corridor. >> my courage is coming back. but i've lost my nerve. >> reporter: a shootout last fall left three wounded. cattle rancher larry dempster has been confronted on his land by people entering the u.s. illegally. >> the border is not secure, and anybody that says it is, is lying. >> reporter: rancher john ladd says even the big border fence on his land is routinely sawed open by mexican smugglers. >> they just cut everything at ground level now. >> reporter: who have driven 46 trucks filled with drugs across his property. >> in the last five years, the drug problem has increased a

thousand percent down here. >> reporter: while border safety is a federal responsibilities, sheriff dannel has created his own ranch and border security teams and says he wishes washington could soon agree on a plan to shore up and put more agents on the rural border to fill in the many gaps he sees every day. mark potter, nbc news, cochise county, arizona. tonight, we mark 50 years since a watershed moment in the struggle for civil rights, the killing of three civil rights workers in mississippi. andrew goodman, michael sh schwerner and james cheney went there to help register african-american voters, but the opposition was widespread and brutal. the three men were killed by the klu klux klan. all these years later, those three men are considered heroes of the civil rights movement. when "nightly news" continues on this saturday, rising gas prices and what you can do to minimize the pain. and later, one school's recipe for student success and like any good meal, it's getting rave reviews.

we're back with a look at gas prices in this country, which have been soaring in the last couple of weeks as the conflict in iraq escalates. aaa says the turmoil in iraq is likely to keep prices high this summer. so what can you do to ease the pain? here's nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: for shavon lambert,

there is nothing sweet about business this summer. rising gas prices make ten hours on the road very expensive. >> today i'm going to put in 70. $70. >> that's a lot of ice cream cones. >> yes. that is a lot. too many. >> reporter: with tensions in iraq, gas prices have skyrocketed. the national average $3.68 a gallon, almost 10 cents more than this time last year. the highest since 2008. >> i try to explain to my customers, it might have been $1.75 last year, but this year it has to be $2. >> reporter: at chicago's home town pizza, delivery trucks are packed with as many frozen pies as they can possibly fit. >> as gas prices rise and you're paying more for fuel, every cubic future of space becomes critical. >> reporter: and prices may continue to rise. >> it is guaranteed to be a long, hot and expensive summer when it comes to gas prices this year. >> you might think turning off your a/c and putting down your window will save you money, but experts say that actually makes your car less aerodynamic. they say instead let the hot air out, put the windows up and keep

the a/c on. other tips include checking your tire pressure, get a tune-up, driving at or below the speed limit and parking in the shade whenever possible. but even that may not be enough for people like edward brown on vacation with his family in stone mountain, georgia. >> it's getting tight. that makes it hard on us. next year, we might not be able to have a vacation. >> reporter: while back on the ice cream route, shavon can only hope things get better before her baby comes next month, knowing that for now this is the price of doing business. >> i'll be back here on monday. >> reporter: kristen dahlgren, nbc news, new york. when we come back, a potential game changer at the world cup. but just who or what is it?

you're looking at some remarkable images of this morning's sunrise at stonehenge in southern england. more than 30,000 people came out to celebrate the 2014 summer solstice which marks the longest day of the year. the festival itself dates back thousands of years. spoiler alert here. four big goals this afternoon as

germany tied ghana in the world cup and earlier an incredible messy kick gave argentina the win over iran. over past week, the goals have been coming fast and furious with more goals scored so far than at any other world cup at this point. at why is that? could it be all about something as trivial as the ball? here's nbc's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: it's the world cup star at the center of every play. it's called the bruzuca. >> bruzuca. not just the 2014 world cup ball but created for faster flight, weighing less than a pound, designed by adidas, studied by nasa. >> the ball is more accurate, it's more stable. it doesn't scatter around when you kick it. >> reporter: at the ames research center outside san francisco, scientists study its aerodynamics. the bruzuca has six polyurethane panels with longer

and deeper seams, a distant cousin from the traditional 32 paneled black and white. >> as far as the aerodynamics go, i think the most important change on this ball is the length and the depth of the seam. >> reporter: with its textured finish, the bruzuca is the 12th adidas ball used in world cup history. clarence goodson play nd the 2010 cup, that ball was banned by players for unpredictable movement. >> it was really a nightmare. the goalies on the team were saying, look, this ball is moving all over the place, and if the ball is not rolling true or flying true, it makes the game even more difficult. >> reporter: players have raved about the ball's advances. for most, it's the accuracy and speed that matter the most. in a game, it can top 60 miles an hour. with its very only brazuka cam and nearly go million followers on twitter, this tweet sums up the frenzy.

you guys realize you're following a ball, right? on the field where stars shine bright, the brazuka is always in the spotlight. miguel almaguer, san jose, california. and a note about iran's loss to argentina today, unfazed by that loss, iran's president tweeted, quote, well played to our persian cheetahs. it may not be the result you deserved but great effort and heads held high. up next, the homework diner and its remarkable impact on students' success.

finally, tonight, a story of an after-school program working so well it's being replicated across new mexico it's called the homework diner. nbc's chelsea clinton first reported on it last year. tonight she has this update on how a simple recipe is changing lives. >> reporter: success often starts with one great idea. like this after-school program we visited last year. the manzano mesa elementary school in albuquerque opened the homework diner. students and families are invited to stay after school for tutoring and share a home-cooked meal. >> we want everyone to feel like they belong. >> reporter: she's convinced students are more likely to

succeed when their families are involved. in the two years since the homework diner opened, the school has jumped a full grade on the state's report card. other principals in the district are so impressed, they are now opening home work diners at their school. the principal runs la mesa elementary, one of the city's neediest schools where most of the students are hispanic or native american. >> what do you like about homework diner? >> the homework. >> reporter: math and reading scores are 10% to 25% below the state average. to help change that, bernadette has opened albuquerque's second homework diner. >> education is the key to your future. it will make a difference for your whole life, how much money you make, how successful you are, and if you don't have a good education, your life is going to be hard. >> reporter: once again, a school cafeteria becomes a place where families make themselves at home. >> what goes on top? 1, that's right.

>> reporter: teachers support learning and college culinary students make dinner. giving everyone a night off from the kitchen. >> many of my parents work at least two jobs so the opportunity to have a meal together that is provided by chefs, that is such a luxury for them. >> reporter: for mayor richard berry it's an investment in his city's future. >> it's affordable. $111 per student per year. 100% of the students have improvement in homework, 90% improvement in attendance. >> reporter: this fall, ten albuquerque schools will be running homework diners. a creative idea that's spreading fast. chelsea clinton, nbc news, albuquerque, new mexico. maybe they should replicate it beyond new mexico. that is nbc nightly news for this saturday. i'm kate snow reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, have a good night.

flames come dangerously close to some bay area homes. the latest on the firefight as crews watch the hot spots. and san francisco's lombard street closed to cars. you'd think homeowners would be happy. find out why some are not. and bay area-based tesla gets high praise. why one wall street analyst is calling the company the most important carmaker in the world.

good evening, everyone. i'm terry mcsweeney. >> and i'm peggy bunker. we do have breaking news to tell you about. one person is dead after a small plane crash in livermore. this happened in a field north of livermore, near 580 freeway. the crash sparked a small brush fire before it was contained. we have a crew headed to the scene. a brush fire threatening homes in el sobrante is contained. two homes were in danger on olinda road. they burned 15 acres. some residents were evacuated. firefighters are still doing mop-up. >> it was very difficult. we had a wind-driven fire coming upslope. crews made an aggressive stance on it. we have it rapped right now.