>> see you at 11:00. on this sunday night, border crisis. the unprecedented wave of illegal migrants, many of them children prompts the president to ask for billions in emergency funding to control the surge. extreme weather, as parts of the midwest suffer through the worst flooding in decades, a threat of even more rain and severe storms. from the deep, a big increase in the sightings of white sharks. is the water safe. why some never switched from good old cast iron while the revival is a boom time for the last american maker. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening.

in the face of an unfolding crisis that has been leaving tens of thousands of children at this nation's southern doorstep, president obama tonight is presenting an urgent request to congress for billions of dollars to help stem the human tide. the flood of human migrants has never been bigger. 52,000 since october, along with 39,000 families with children. all at a rate of 1400 migrants a day. most of coming from central america. tonight the white house saying it needs money and the tools to speed deportations. kristen welker is standing by with the details tonight from the white house. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening. the president's request for new funding is the latest move by the obama administration to deal with the crisis along the border. the president is under increasing pressure to tackle the issue, but with relations already deeply strained between this president and republicans on capitol hill, there are no guarantees.

with unprecedented waves of undocumented children crossing the southwest border every day, a strong warning from the president. >> do not send your children to the borders. if they do make it, they'll get sent back. more importantly, they may not make it. >> reporter: and tomorrow, president obama will ask congress for more than $2 billion in emergency funds to deal with the surge. he'll also seek expanded authority for the dhs secretary to fast track deportation procedures and stiffer penalties for those who smuggle children across the border. but for the children who have already made it across? >> we have to house these kids and take care of them until the machinery under current law allows us to send them back. >> reporter: that law signed by george w. bush in 2008 says they must be held humanely until the courts release them to a situation that's deemed safe. immigration groups say president obama's idea my endanger

children. >> we're concerned it will result in children really being sent back to very dangerous situations. it seems it would be a significant rollback of our -- both our responsibility and our leadership. >> reporter: and there is bipartisan agreement that more needs to be done to secure parts of the border. >> it's a crisis like nothing i've ever seen before at the border. we have refugee camps now. i don't think the flow will stop until a message of deterrence is sent back to central america. >> it's a humanitarian crisis that we're facing down there. but at the same time, it's about homeland security. >> reporter: the question now, will congress approve the president's request. >> given how gridlocked this congress is, i don't think that congress is going to give him, president obama, a blank check on this one. >> reporter: a spokesman for john boehner said the speaker won't react until he sees the proposal. and the troubled department of

veterans affairs. tomorrow the president will nominate the ceo of procter & gamble to be the next va secretary. a veteran and west point graduate, he replaces eric shinseki. >> kristen welker this evening from the white house, thanks. we turn to the conflict in iraq where government forces continue their offensive today with help from the u.s. to take back at least one city, from sunni insurgents that control a big part of the country right now. number's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is following it all for us from baghdad. hello, richard. >> reporter: good evening, lester. the u.s. is now providing more military advice, and more weapons, but the iraqi government has a major challenge on its hands. there are at least 10,000 fighters from the militant group isis. once again, today, the group proves it has global ambitions.

iraqi forces have secured the highways between samarra and baghdad. and roads leading to tikrit. it's the yike iraqi military's first success against the advance. american advisers are also giving the iraqi military intelligence, and tactical advice. and warnings, too. cautioning the iraqis not to push too far, too fast. and not to try to take back major cities, and be drawn into urban battles. but isis is sending its own reinforcements to tikrit. in another video, an isis fighter who says he's from chile explains how the militants freely move across the border from syria into iraq. >> iraq, jordan, lebanon, all the countries.

>> reporter: isis's base is the syrian city of raqqa, from there, they have the direct supply line in mosul and fallujah. the militants have carved out a safe haven, and today declared the rebirth of the islamic empire founded in the 7th century known as the caliphate. the militants called on all muslims to swear allegiance to their leader al baghdadi, a former u.s. prisoner in iraq who said he will carry out attacks in the u.s. bigger than those of osama bin laden. >> higher. we're fighting to make the world the highest. >> reporter: isis is now fighting in the middle east. but today the group made it clear that its ambitions are far greater than that. the political instability here is certainly not helping the government's fight against isis. next week, here in baghdad, the iraqi parliament is said to convene to try and put a new government together. and there are growing calls for

prime minister maliki to step down. some of them even from members of maliki's own coalition. lester? >> richard, thank you. back in this country, we're following more severe weather tonight. especially in the midwest where they have been struggling for days now with some of the worst flooding in decades. another big storm is moving east tonight. we get the latest from weather channel meteorologist chris warren. >> summer storms brought more rain to the midwest this weekend. an already waterlogged minneapolis, a line of storms swept from west to east, triggering flash flood warnings in almost every county in the region. >> stay on this side of the street. don't go this way. >> reporter: water deep enough for this resident to paddle through an intersection. the governor toured the damage. >> i've never seen damage this severe and widespread. usually it's in one or two counties. this is all over the state. >> reporter: leaving close to 8,000 people without power. in wisconsin, more than 1,000

also waiting for power, after damaging winds whipped through the northwest part of the state. >> we got lucky and missed the propane and missed the houses. other than taking the power out, we got kind of lucky on that side of it. it could have been worse. >> reporter: an ef-1 tornado touched down in colfax friday captured in this newly released security video. you can see the debris flying as the twister moves through. in memphis, tennessee, flash floods sent rushing water down a residential street resulting in this surreal sight, a fish jumping over a normally dry road. it's been a month of record rainfall. 13 1/2 inches in sioux falls, south dakota, compared to its average of about 3 1/2. more than 11 inches in minneapolis, minnesota, compared to about 3 1/2. and 14 inches of rain in sioux city, iowa, compared to its average of about 4 inches. along with the heavy rain comes

lightning. >> look at that lightning. >> reporter: giving us something we don't see every day, lightning from space. this weekend american astronauts shot this video from a storm over houston, texas, as seen from the international space station. under the developing clouds here in the midwest, more dangerous weather expect. this includes a tornado watch for parts of missouri, iowa and nebraska. the threat tonight includes areas from kansas all the way to wisconsin. tomorrow, some of the same areas, but expanding to the east, including chicago. also the great lakes. could see some more strong storms, and lester, this threat early in the week will expand into the northeast. this includes the potential for damaging winds and very heavy rain. >> chris warren tonight, thank you. in the southwest tonight, hundreds of firefighters worked to contain a big wildfire in northeast arizona. the blaze has burned more than eight square miles in the white mountains, as the winds die down

crews were able to make some headway with controlled burns aimed at stopping the fire from advancing any further. in brazil, the fever is building again, as the americans get ready for their next game in the world cup. this time against belgium in the round of 16. this time it's win or go home. nbc's bill nealy is in salvador, brazil, where he's met some american fans who give new meaning to the word fa fattic. bill? >> reporter: good evening, lester. yes, the u.s. team arrives here in salvador, a few hours ago for a game they know they must win. they will train at this stadium tomorrow before the game tuesday. we saw mexico sent home today. tens of thousands of u.s. fans are on their way here. one group decided to do it the hard way. friends from new york, here at last after 45 days on the road. >> a lot of people have flown here. we drove here. and it's kind of unusual.

12,000 miles, 12 countries total. >> reporter: today they watched soccer on tv. on tuesday, it's the u.s. game. >> i think we're going to do good. it's a good team. but they're not experienced. we can beat them. >> reporter: it will be a stretch for the u.s. team. belgium has won all their games and let in just one goal. in offense, the u.s. team ranked 31st of 32 teams so far. and then there's remembering when the game is. >> i will speak to them between now and whenever the game is, i've lost track of days, guys, tuesday. >> reporter: a day they will relish the role of underdog. this american team is oozing with confidence. one of them just said we feel we haven't done anything yet. we want to do so much more. the men smiling. michael bradley has run further than any player at the world cup. 23 miles in three games. >> coming down to this. you've got to win to move on. we saw it yesterday with brazil. we've got to keep going.

>> we're thinking quarterfinals for sure. >> usa. you heard it first. >> reporter: salvador may be their final destination, or another step on-on unexpected world cup journey. no time to relax, it's sudden death knockout, two days from now. and world cup fever in the u.s. has really surprised the people who run this tournament. the interest, the tv ratings, the fever, has just amazed us, one official said. and should the u.s. win here on tuesday, that fever will surely be greater. when "nbc nightly news" continues this sunday, a look inside the world's largest online retailer and some claim the demands of the job are too great. a kitchen work horse. harry smith takes us to the last american company still making cast iron skillets.

we're back with a view inside what some claim are tough working conditions at the world's biggest online retailer, amazon.com. it's part of an hour-long documentary in the company airing tonight on cnbc. david facebober spoke with some former employees of what it was like to get the orders out so fast. >> reporter: across the space as vast as 20 football fields, workers manage the widest variety of inventory on the planet. and move tens of millions of products at lightning speeds. >> when i first started working at amazon, i had a 6-month-old, i guess. they gave me insurance for him, put food on the table for him. amazon is a good job. >> reporter: but dana and other

former employees describe a corporate task master that demanded workers meet strict productivity goals, no matter what. workers collapsed from heat ex hawks in pennsylvania. and in kentucky, just last year. >> you heard the ambulance called all the time. people were passing out from the heat, and, you know, having trouble breathing. >> reporter: after those incidents came to light, amazon took steps to ensure the fulfillment centers have air conditioning. kay johnson, a top performer who often packed more than 1,800 items a day, left the company after seven years, and won a worker's compensation claim against it. >> my knees, my back, my hands, they're never going to be the same anymore. >> reporter: but others had a good experience. >> i love the job. >> reporter: doc was a manager in pennsylvania. he said the demand on workers is all in service to the customers. >> if it slows down in tic, it slows down tac, which slows down

everything going out the door. >> reporter: warehouse work anywhere can be grueling. but protests, lawsuits and investigative reports raised questions about how hard amazon pushes its employees. >> i quit buying items from amazon. i have yet to buy anything to this day. i know how hard and strenuous it is on your body to actually be able to get a package to you. >> reporter: we asked amazon about conditions at the fulfillment centers. company officials wouldn't speak to us on camera, but in a statement pointed to amazon's strong safety records. >> they're doing work that robots can't do. i think if they could, amazon would probably eagerly replace their physical labor and fulfillment centers with robots. >> reporter: amazon has completely redefined convenience. but at what price. david faber, for nbc news. you can see the entire

program amazon rising tonight at 9:00 eastern on cnbc. when we come back here on "nightly news," what you need to know about all those great white sharks being sighted lately.

the scene here in new york today at the annual gay pride march, which was expected to draw more than 1 million people. it came on the 45th anniversary of the stone wall riots which are considered the key event leading to the gay rights movement in the united states. over 1 million people were reported as well as the parade in chicago. similar celebrations were held in san francisco, and other cities around the world, and around the country today. it was almost 40 years ago that the movie "jaws" changed

the way many of us thought about going for a swim in the ocean. in reality, the great white shark population began to plummet around that time. but in recent years, they've come back in a big way, with fear in some cases by fascination and respect. we get more from ron motte. >> reporter: at fish tales go -- which one is the lucky rod -- steve hernandez has a whale of a story to tell about a great white shark he hooked off the coast of new york city. his excite over reeling in an 80-pound shark. they say it is dramatic turn-around in the population in the atlantic. hernandez and a growing roster of others like him can vouch for that. with sightings and close encounters rushed online nearly as fast as the great white itself. >> new york, dirty water, new york city, but when you have white sharks this close, it's a

good sign that the ecosystem is good. >> reporter: a good study by noaa finds great white sharks spread across the entire east coast in much healthier number than the period of decline in the '70s and '80s, up 42%, since 1997. >> while this is a victory for sharks at this particular time, it's only a partial victory. these animals still have a ways to go. and we'll have to continue to monitor them very carefully. >> reporter: though steven spielberg sent a chill down america's collective spine nearly 40 years ago, the shark's roaring comeback isn't a reason to shudder as they typically have little interest in humans. >> the sharks are really the lions in the sea. there have only been four fatalities in great white bites. >> he was biting the side of the boat right there. >> reporter: steve hernandez said he spotted three whites on

this trip alone, including yesterday, and that the surprise of catching one will last a long time. >> once we saw that, i mean, we went nuts. we were screaming, taking pictures. >> reporter: back into the wild, to thrill again. ron mott, nbc news, new york. why some still swear by cast iron.

finally tonight, you see them at yard sales and tucked

away in countless kitchens across america. many cooks both home and professional still swear by them, while others are just discovering them. that's a good thing for a company in the south that's been making cast iron skillets for more than a century. we sent harry smith to take a look, and to taste. >> reporter: they're famous for the home cooking. just off the main drag in south pittsburgh, tennessee, owner david johnson taught us the finer points of making cornbread. >> it's all in the skillet. >> reporter: buttermilk and white cornmeal are a given. if the cast iron skillet, he says, makes it special. that cornbread could change your life. cast iron and cooking never went out of style in the south. but it seems the rest of america suddenly thinks cast iron is cool. >> this is where you make the secret sauce? >> you got it. >> reporter: down the road at lodge cast iron cookware, they

can't turn the pans out fast enough. in fact, they're making the plant bigger. how surprised are you that your business is taking off the way it's taken off right now? >> i've always known the wonders of cast iron, now the world's finding out about it. >> reporter: pob kellerman is the fourth generation of his family to make skill lets. he's got iron in his blood. >> you hand it down to your children, grandchildren. like women and whiskey, it gets better with age. >> reporter: cast iron in its simplicity is the perfect friend of food. it heats evenly, and is great for dishes that go from stove top to oven. real cooks like melinda huffman can't live without it. especially at the price. a pan sells for about 20 bucks. >> it's the way to go. you need to get you some. this will be perfect. >> reporter: we met melinda at the lodge store. what's the best thing you make in it? >> cornbread. it's what i call my tennessee classic. and it's the best. >> reporter: of that, we have no doubts.

turns out lodge is the last u.s. maker of cast iron cookware. >> two competitors back in the '90s. they fell by the wayside. we're the lone ranger now. >> reporter: made in the usa, built to last, affordable, it's a recipe for success. harry smith, nbc news, south pittsburgh, tennessee. that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. from all of us here at nbc news, new york. from all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

pride filled streets, rainbow flags and a lot of love in the bay area. more than 100,000 people lined the streets of downtown san francisco for the pride parade. taking a look at the celebrations. they are still going on. big day and beautiful weather for it. good evening the to you. >> gay pride parade stepped up around the nations today. one of the biggest in san francisco. the streets packed for the city's 44th annual parade. the crowd for the parade alone estimated to be more than 100,000 people. christie smith join us livem