thanks for joining us. "nightly news" is coming up next. on our broadcast tonight, off limits, a big victory for personal privacy as the supreme court rules the information on your cell phone is your business and not subject to search by the police. high water, a flood emergency tonight in the upper midwest, with rivers at the breaking point and more rain sadly on the way. air war, it could get violent with all the flying objects taking pictures in neighborhoods across this country. the growing backlash tonight against drones. and the underdogs on the eve of the next big battle in brazil, as the u.s. trying to stay alive at the world cup. "nightly news" begins now. good evening, many years

ago, they were called scorpions in a bottle. like most of washington, the nine justices rarely agree on anything. but they did today, and it's about the phones we all carry and the information on those phones. this case wasn't about spying, it was about the cops and whether or not they can search your phone when you're under arrest. the justices seem to know your whole life is detailed on the phone. so no search of the phone without a warrant. it's a rare victory for privacy. we begin with our justice correspondent, pete williams. good evening. >> reporter: it is surprising and it is unanimous and so bold, and shows this that court which still gives out quill pens to the lawyers who argue here is thoroughly up to date on smartphone technology. so many people now carry cell

phones that a supreme court says a visitor from mars might assume they are part of the human anatomy. 12% use them in the shower. but it's what they can hold that made the difference in the ruling. a strikingly unanimous court, chief justice roberts said that the 90% of adults who have a cell phone keep a record of nearly every aspect of theirs lives, from the mundane to the intimate. to search one, police must get a warrant unless there's a genuine emergency. a huge victory for advocates of privacy in a digital age. >> just because the police pull you over for speeding, they shouldn't have access to your entire life. your phone records, your bank records. photo albums. frg everything that people carry around with them in their phone. >> reporter: the nation's police arrest 19 million people a year, mostly for minor offenses. they can search for weapons and evidence of a crime. but today's ruling said cell phones are different. they contain so much that it

would reveal far more than searching a house. for example, there's an app for that, is now part of the language. and the apps a person selects can reveal everything from political affiliation to pregnancy. the justices said today's decision will have an impact on police because phones can reveal whether someone was selling drugs or even speeding or texting while driving. but the court said, privacy comes at a cost. >> this is the first privacy decision of the digital era. it was almost a shock, the breadth with which the justices were willing to protect private informations on computers and cell phones on the internet. >> reporter: the court dealt a potentially fatal blow to a company called aereo. that allows users to watch tv on a computer or smartphone or ipad. to get around the part of the law of the public performances,

like tv shows, aereo says users got a private performance. by a 6-3 vote, the court rejected the claim saying they were improperly distributing copyrighted program without paying for them. nbc was one of the companies suing them. >> if the fourth amendment gives us the right to be secure in our persons, houses, papers and effects, if the police need a warrant to search through your phone, what about the nsa? >> reporter: that's a good question. what the government would say is when bi comes to you, they do get a search warrant. and that the nsa only finds the information and gives it to the fbi. the government is arguing that this isn't a search because your phone records, the meta data is in the company's possession, it's like the toll records and it's not a search. that's the next case. and if this is any kind of a sign, the supreme court is very

jealous of protecting privacy. >> pete williams after a big day at the supreme court. and late word from gm, after the troubles, recalling as many vehicles as they have sold in the last seven years. more trouble for the top-selling gm car on the road, chevy cruz. gm told dealerships not to sell 2013 and 2014 models until they can fix a potential problem with air bags. we have more information on our website, nbcnews.com. by the way, gm ceo mary barra sits down for an interview tomorrow morning on "today." and a big part of the upper midwest is struggling with a flood emergency. the kind of conditions not seen in that region in years. rivers are rising and there's more rain, sadly, on the way. john yang is along the mississippi river in st. paul tonight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. i'm on a walkway along the mississippi river, but as you can see, i'm actually in the mississippi river.

the river is swollen by rain and still rising. and flooding is just one of the weather extremes this region has been dealing with. >> tornado! look at it! >> reporter: violent summer storms tracked through the midwest this week. in indiana, tornados. in minnesota, record rain and widespread flooding. across the region, thousands have been driven out of their homes. and the ef-1 tornado touched down in southwestern indianapolis late tuesday, ripping the siding off several houses. >> and i could see it starting to form. and it wasn't maybe two minutes later, i started seeing debris everywhere. >> reporter: from minnesota to ohio, flash flood warnings. >> at least up to my knees down the street. >> incredible. because this doesn't happen -- you get a little flooding in the spring, but this is unbelievable right here. >> reporter: torrential storms downed trees and power lines, disrupting even the most important plans.

this is the wettest june on record in the twin cities area. more than 25 inches of rain prompting 35 counties to declare emergencies. >> to have this river flooding in june is out of the ordinary and something we have never seen. >> reporter: an early spring and wet summer flooded rivers in four states. dozens of river gauges are reporting flooding. in st. paul, the mississippi river is already at 20 feet, 6 feet above flood stage. >> the flooding will continue to be a problem along the mississippi river with more severe storms and heavy rain for the northern plains and starting tomorrow and even the weekend, unfortunately. not just heavy rain, but even the possibility of isolated tornados. >> reporter: national weather service forecasters expect the river to crest here sometime tomorrow evening, 6 inches higher than it is now. and then the water will start to go down, but they don't expect

it to go below flood stage until sometime after late next week. >> john yang in the mississippi, st. paul, minnesota. story from the same region, some chilling words from a minnesota teenager who allegedly planned to kill his parents and blow up his high school. he reveals that he thinks he is mentally ill, but no one noticed as he tried to hide his illness. our report tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: 17-year-old john ladue pled not guilty to multiple charges, including attempted murder. but he gave police plenty of details about his plot. >> my plan was to enter and throw molotov cocktails and pipe bombs and when the s.w.a.t. came, i would destroy myself. >> reporter: he told investigators that the goal was to kill students and his own family. >> nothing wrong. i wanted as many victims as possible. >> reporter: a neighbor called

911 after seeing him at this storage unit. police found firearms, six bombs and enough explosives to make more. he posted these bomb tests online, and got his inspiration from columbine and the boston bombing. his father said the family never noticed anything wrong. >> there were no signs he was having problems. >> i don't think i have ever been bullied in my life. i have good parents, i live in a good town. i think i'm just really mentally ill. and no one's noticed. and i've been trying to hide it. >> reporter: some psychiatrists say the warning signs of violent tendencies may not always be obvious. >> it takes a village to help an adolescent. it's not just a teacher, not just a parent, not just a neighbor. it's not just other students. we all have to work together. >> reporter: throughout the questioning, the teenager repeatedly asked for psychological help. >> i want to find out what's

wrong with me, actually. >> reporter: an opportunity he and this small minnesota town now have. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. you don't see this every day, speaker of the house, john boehner, plans to sue the white house accusing the president of going around the law by using executive orders. boehner said the house will vote next month to authorize something called the bipartisan legal advisory group, majority-controlled by republicans to file the suit. he didn't specify which executive orders the lawsuit will focus on directly. and reverberating from the beltway and far beyond, the the cliffhanger we witnessed last night in mississippi. a veteran gop senator facing the challenge of his career against a fired up-tea party-backed candidate. and the most closely watched and in the end, thad cochran made a comeback with the help of an unlikely source.

our report tonight from our capitol hill correspondent, kelly o'donnell in jackson, mississippi. >> reporter: fears about a tea party attitude towards african-americans drove democrats run off. are they being used politically? >> politics is about self-interest. all of us get used to some disagree. >> today kim cosby said she was happy to be courted by republicans. >> it was long overdue. i'm glad they reached out. to the black population. to the black population. >> reporter: and that outreach delivered a surprise victory for thad cochran. >> we have a right to be proud of our state tonight. >> reporter: he's been in congress since the days of nixon. and was expected to lose until his team organized a strategy to win african-american voters, mostly democrats. >> i decided i was voting for senator thad cochran. >> i believe that mississippi can depend on thad cochran.

>> reporter: and he edged out the tea party's biggest hope to take down on incumbent. he lashed out at the republican establishment. >> once again compromising, reaching across the aisle, and abandoning the conservative movement. >> reporter: voters here said cochran's support for black colleges and federal programs was reason enough to do something this salesman had never done before. surprised yourself voting republican. >> yes, i did. in 20 years, i never have. but i did last night. good to see him win. >> reporter: the tea party challenger, state senator chris mcdaniel has not conceded, and today called the tactic unbecoming of the party of ronald reagan. he'll look for voting irregularities and decide on the result.

and the isis militants getting closer to baghdad, including an attack at one of the nation's largest air bases, and another near baghdad when a suicide bomber blew himself up at at outdoor market, killing at least 13 and wounding dozens more. and in nigeria, a shopping mall in the capital was bombed, 21 people killed. and islamic extremists have been carrying out attacks nearly every day. today's explosion happened as much of that country was getting ready to watch nigeria play argentina in the world cup. a memorable moment with pope francis has been captured on video. an unscheduled top on a kun side road over the weekend. the pope looked out and saw signs asking him to bless an angel who turned out to be a young disabled woman. here's what happened.

[ cheering ] >> bravo! >> along the roadside there in italy, they were overjoyed that the pope ordered his car to turn around and pay that visit. still ahead for us tonight, taking aim. americans fed up and fighting back against all those drones looking down on them from overhead. and later, win, lose or draw, the excitement building for u.s. fans. we're live at the world cup tonight.

an emerging issue tonight on the topic of drones. now that they're available and affordable and not just meant for the military anymore, that means there are more of them in the skies. most of them looking down on what lies beneath with hi-definition cameras. some people seeing them above their beach or yard or window are tempted to grab a shotgun and treat them like skeet with rotors. that's the problem. our report tonight from nbc's

miguel almaguer. >> reporter: when lisa looked out her living room window in downtown seattle -- >> i saw the drone right there. >> reporter: she couldn't believe what was looking back. >> it was scary. then i realized, i had no clothes on. >> reporter: 26 floors up, she snapped this picture of a drone she feared was taking pictures of her. >> i do feel violated and i am concerned about how this sort of thing will change our world. >> reporter: exploding in popularity, drones are everywhere. and so is the fight over privacy. >> get off of me. you're assaulting me. >> reporter: police say this teenager in connecticut was assaulted by a woman after his drone was spotted flying over beach goers. >> they're trying to hit the drone out of the sky. >> reporter: in los angeles, hockey fans knocked this drone out of the air, then smashed it into pieces. drones can fly just about anywhere and shoot just about anything. they're fairly cheap to buy and

pretty easy to use. the pictures they take are incredible. with congress now asking the faa to come up with additional safety guidelines for civilian drones by next year, 36 states have already introduced legislation to provide privacy protection from drones. >> technology develops much faster than the laws can develop and keep up. this creates a gray area how it's appropriate to use technology. >> reporter: back in seattle, a real estate contractor apologized to her, saying the drone was shooting property. but the faa estimates there could be more than 7,000 civilian drones in the air by next year, bringing new perspective on the right to privacy. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. when we continue after the break, that was who we thought it was sitting next to matt lauer this morning on "today."

one of this country's greatest and most durable actors has died. eli wallach was a staple on stage and film and television for over 60 years. and shared the billing with his wife, anne jackson. wallach was born in brooklyn. he earned a masters degree in education, which may account for his precision with the english language. while setting out to become a teacher, he honed his acting chops in europe in world war ii where he started entertaining the troops. he was in the magnificent 7, the misfits, the good, the bad and the ugly, and recently the wall street sequel. and four years ago, he received a well-deserved honorary oscar. eli wallach was 98 years old. ronald reagan has been in the news the past 24 hours, not all of it for good.

the press office left off an a not once, but twice on president obama's official daily schedule. and a columnist suggests changing the name of the washington redskins to the washington reagans. as michael taub sees it, it would solve the name problem and be the ultimate tribute to the former president. the local television stations here in new york aired surveillance video from the nypd yesterday of a 68-year-old woman accused of casually swiping purses off the back of chairs while calmly walking through restaurants in new york. well, the public helped, she was arrested last night and charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property. matt lauer threw us a curve ball this morning on "today." where it was a morning like any other, except matt was missing. we assumed he was taking time off on a beautiful, summer-like wednesday. but he popped up on the screen sitting across from pippa middleton. matt slipped across the atlantic

to conduct the interview. the first television interview of any kind ever for pippa middleton. it will air on "today" monday and tuesday mornings next week. speaking of the long industry position of strong competition, we are losing a fierce competitor in this time slot. diane sawyer will step away from the daily anchor chair while staying in the game. and to extend the metaphor, diane has raced our game every night for the past five years. when we come back, we'll go to brazil on the eve of the game that means so much to so many.

finally here tonight, productivity in a lot of offices may not be so hot during the middle of the day tomorrow as the u.s. takes on germany at the world cup in brazil. natalie morales is there for us along with her closest friends on the eve of the big game, hey natalie. >> hey, brian, good evening. we are here in the middle of a pre-game u.s. soccer party. lots of excited fans who flew from all over the united states to be here for the game tomorrow, which is set to be an

epic matchup against germany. the fans are already here in force. they're rooting for the underdog. >> i didn't think we'd get this far. >> team usa has come on strong. beating ghana last week -- >> and they got it! >> reporter: almost beating portugal sunday, settling for the stunning tie in the final seconds. >> usa denied right at the deck. >> reporter: confidence is overflowing. >> usa! usa! >> reporter: now the hard part. the team here practicing today, facing germany tomorrow, the second-ranked team in the world. winner of three world cups. fans aren't worried, they've watched team usa get this far in record numbers, and millions will tune in tomorrow to follow every kick. >> i believe that we will win!

>> reporter: best case scenario, the united states wins over ties against germany. but these fans have all the confidence in the world that the u.s. is going to continue on. brian, back to you. >> all right, in brazil on the eve of the game. thanks. that for us is our broadcast on a wednesday night. thank you for being here with us, i'm brian williams, we do nbc bay area news starts now. looking live here at san francisco, it's the at&t park. a fantastic event happening there today, something we haven't seen in a long time. but nearby the water. and there are problems for the city of san francisco. good evening. i'm terry mcsweeney. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. climate change a hot topic in the city. where rising sea levels could soon mean trouble. but the city and county of san francisco have no comprehensive plan to manage that problem.

those are the findings of a civil grand jury today. at san francisco international airport, it will be a struggle to keep the airport dry and safe. on treasure islands, concerns about massive development projects going on there. we have live team coverage. rob mayeda is checking out the decision of the grand jury. >> reporter: according to the jury, the rise in sea level is causing the city to be at risk. you mentioned some of the spots. but another spot that is troublesome is ocean beach. most people probably don't look out over ocean beach and think wastewater treatment plant. but there's one very close. most of the facility is underground, and according to a grand jury finding,