i think the fog on the coast may hold off for most of san francisco's show at this point. on the broadcast tonight, eye of the storm. hurricane arthur gaining strength and nearing landfall tonight as millions prepare for impact. plus, the hidden danger all up and down the coast this holiday weekend. startling evidence in the case of a father charged with murder after leaving his little boy in a stifling hot car. and an epic life. tonight tom brokaw remembers an american original. the world war ii hero who has inspired millions and a movie by angelina jolie. "nightly news" begins now. good evening. brian is off tonight.

i'm lester holt. a strengthening hurricane arthur is skirting the eastern seaboard tonight on track for a dangerous july 4th rendezvous with north carolina, forcing thousands of vacationers to flee the coastline. the storm developed into a category one hurricane early this morning. it now packs sustained winds of at least 90 miles an hour. arthur has steadily been making its way northward, gaining strength over the atlantic and is expected to make a direct hit on north carolina's outer banks as a category two storm. tonight, there are hurricane warnings along the north carolina coast, up to the virginia border and tropical storm warnings now posted as far north as nantucket and cape cod. the weather channel's jim cantore leads off our coverage from salvo, on the outer banks of north carolina. jim, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. arthur is trying its best to be the earliest known landfalling hurricane in history in the state of north carolina. and unfortunately it is going to pack a punch. it's already interrupted thousands of people's vacations

and it's going to do more harm before the night is out. let's time this out for you. as you mentioned, a 9 0e 90-mile-an-hour hurricane is expected to be a category two with winds of 100 miles an hour by tonight. it should come in just to the east of moorehead city around midnight or slightly after. by 2:00 a.m., 40 miles to the southwest of nagshead and friday morning once the sun comes up, it should clear the outer banks. friday, 2:00 p.m., 200 miles to the northeast of nagshead, in a much improved weather condition across the outer banks of north carolina. by saturday morning, especially early before the sun comes up, it will be pounding the cape and the islands with tropical storm warnings and that's why the winds there are expected to be 39 miles an hour. so the impact, let's talk about them. the worst will be the dangerous surf and rip currents. that will be after the storm is long gone. torrential rain, power outages, we will lose power in the outer banks and there will be extensive flooding in the outer banks, especially along highway 12, which is expected to go under water around midnight tonight.

lester, this hurricane trying to become also the first july 4th hurricane on record. >> jim cantore starting us off, thanks. let's go to nbc's kerry sanders who is just north on the outer banks tonight in kill devil hills as people get ready for the hurricane. kerry? >> reporter: good evening, lester. on hatteras island, there are mandatory evacuations. in so many places along the coast there are voluntary evacuations, which is why so many residents and visitors say they're staying put, believing that hurricane arthur is not a serious threat. the outer bands from hurricane arthur are already threatening wrightsville beach in north carolina. to the north on hatteras tonight, it's a stop and go dash to get out. this family is not taking chances with mother nature. >> we're packing up to go back to pittsburgh. there's 18 of us and half of them are kids so we don't want them to be afraid. >> reporter: few homes along the outer banks are boarded up.

one of the biggest concerns, coastal flooding. hurricane arthur could bring dangerous storm surges, up to five feet. beaches today were surprisingly busy, despite the miserable memories of irene three years ago. what is a native's decision? >> stay. >> why do you say that so confidently? it could be a category two. >> it's fun. it won't be that bad. >> should we go or should we stay? >> you don't know who to ask? >> i don't. >> reporter: emergency officials say too many vacationers here are not paying attention and could be trapped by ridesing water. >> if you encounter high water, turn around. there's a simple mantra there, don't drown, turn around. >> this family from connecticut say their reunion this week is all about celebrating july 4th. their beach escape cost the two dozen family members $12,000. >> hey, arthur, game on. which is a little bit of fun but what are you really doing? >> they didn't tell us to

evacuate so we're going to try to ride this storm out and see how it goes. >> reporter: tonight, utility crews have extra crews near the coast because it's anticipated there will be downed power lines and electrical outages. those crews will move in after hurricane arthur passes through to restore power as quickly as possible. lester? >> kerry sanders tonight. kerry, thanks. some tense moments in california as a wildfire broke out and spread quickly near the town of julian. nbc's joe fryer is there. >> reporter: the banner fire wasted no time. it moved up to the town of julian with 200 homes in the fire's path, mandatory evacuations were issued for a couple of neighborhoods. >> we can't get in there

anymore. >> reporter: some homeowners fought to protect their homes with garden hoses on the ground. >> the fire trucks left. the hose was too short. they could have been covering the house. >> reporter: from the air, helicopters and tankers dropped much larger volumes of water and retardant. while the winds aren't terribly strong, temperatures here are in the low 90s and the ground is so dry there is no shortage of fire fuel. >> we are dealing with a multi year drought all over california and a san diego county. >> reporter: the latest drought map released this week shows that all of california remains in a drought and the parts of the state suffering through extreme and exceptional drought continue to grow. this latest fire is about 25 miles from are the scene of the massive cedar fire of 2003 which killed 15 people. even though it burned nearly 300,000 acres, fire officials

say much of the brush in the region has grown back, making today's banner fire even more dangerous. tonight here in julian, fire crews are gaining the upper hand. from where we are standing, no visible flames. so far 150 acres have burned here. two houses destroys, plus an outbuilding, but the fire is already 15% contained. still with such dry conditions this promises to be a long fire season. lester? >> all right, joe fryer, thank you. in a georgia courtroom today disturbing new allegations were aired about the man charged with murder for leaving his toddler son alone for hours in a sweltering car. our report tonight from nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: cooper harris was just 22 months old. today the story of his death took a startling turn. >> through the time you're talking with him about his son and the son's death, did you ever see any tears coming from him? >> no.

>> reporter: inside a packed georgia courtroom, prosecutors dropped a series of bombshell allegations against cooper's father, ross harris, charged with murder and child cruelty. >> most common term would be sexting. a cobb county police detective said harris was leading a double life. unhappy in his marriage, exchanging sexually explicit message with several women the day his son died and he'd looked at websites advocating against having children. >> i think the evidence now is showing intent. >> reporter: on the morning of june 18, police say harris took his son to breakfast at this restaurant then drove just a few minutes to his office nearby. investigators say harris left his son in the backseat around 9:30, briefly returned to his vehicle during lunch then went back to his office. after leaving work around 4:20, harris suddenly pulled over, telling witnesses he had accidentally forgotten to drop off his son at day care that morning, leaving him in the sweltering suv for seven hours. but detectives quickly began to doubt his story and alleged he

had done online research about child deaths in overheated cars before his son died. harris has pleaded not guilty. >> we said he's not guilty from the beginning. we said this was an accident from the beginning. that hasn't changed. >> harris' wife leanna came to court today and has been standing by her husband. police testified she showed no real emotion after being told her son was dead. she has not been charged with any crime and declined to answer questions after court. tonight, harris is behind bars after a judge denied him bail and ruled there was probable cause to move forward with a case that has left a community stunned. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, murietta, georgia. we turn now to the crisis at the border and the wave of undocumented migrants, many of them unaccompanied children making the dangerous journey from central america, most arriving in texas. their numbers, though, so large, immigration officials are bussing them to other states.

but protesters in one california town are planning again to try and block their arrival. nbc's miguel almaguer with the latest on this growing crisis. >> reporter: the overflow crowd waited in if summer heat and long lines for a town meeting to tell city leaders in murrieta they want action. furious with homeland security officials, many threatened to block buses of undocumented immigrants if they tried to return to their city. >> this is an invasion. why is the national guard not out there stopping them from coming in? >> reporter: these are the faces and the stories of the desperate who recently entered the u.s. illegally from central america. today some were released at bus stations in texas. most arrived with no bags,

little money, some sick and many hungry children by their sides. this 20-year-old from el salvador, i was so afraid, she says, but i asked god for guidance. she and her two small children now have tickets to find relatives in atlanta and a court date to face deportation. but many immigrant children are alone. at houston's george bush intercontinental, kids are waiting for flights to other parts of the country. in tucson, this converted hotel is already home to nearly 300 children who crossed the border without parents. >> it's our taxpayer dollar. that's what gets me a little upset. we need to help our people first in arizona. >> reporter: today democrats and republicans found no easy solutions to the border crisis at a homeland security hearing in texas. >> the reason they are come ings the border -- >> if i may -- >> -- is because the border has not been secured.

>> reporter: and tonight, more undocumented immigrants are arrive, in cities like el paso and el centro, the buses were welcomed. but back in murrieta, many promised the undocumented immigrants won't get here without a fight. immigration holding facilities like this one all across the southwest tonight are overwhelmed. even though tomorrow may be a holiday, it will be no day off for border patrol officers. lester? >> thank you. we got some good news about the economy today. the government said employers added 288,000 jobs in june, fifth month in a row the number has been over 200,000. that news sent the unemployment rate down to 6.1%. that's a six-year low and on wall street, that sent the dow up 92 points to close above 17,000 for the first time. cnbc's sharon epperson is here with us tonight with more. sharon, does this mean the economy now has stabilize, turned that corner? >> it's certainly a very good jobs report, but it's not strong enough to say the economy is

back to normal. we need to continue to see the unemployment rate go down. >> and what about the unemployment picture, does it really tell the whole story. are we still seeing a good segment of the population left behind? >> this job recovery is not benefitting everyone. if you look five years after the recession ended, most states, 32 states seen in red, still haven't regained all the jobs they lost, even though the nation as a whole has. but there's still positive look for unemployed out of work for six months or more, that number fell to half of what it was three years ago. so lester, we are looking at some good news here with the job market and the job numbers, and some great news when you look at stock market at new highs. hopefully this will encourage consumers to spend more, businesses to hire and raise confidence overall. >> still ahead, potential road hazards for millions of americans hitting the highway this holiday weekend. and news they might not be repaired any time soon.

later, remembering an extraordinary life. the subject of the best seller "unbroken." tonight, tom brokaw with angelina jolie on the great louis zamperini.

tens of millions of us are hitting the road this holiday weekend, and as you may have noticed, repairs are still desperately needed in many areas. but the funds to pay for those

repairs in most of those areas is running out, leaving drivers out of luck. more now from nbc's chris jansing. >> reporter: eight hours a day, tony johnson operates heavy equipment that makes asphalt to pave roads. >> been good to me. i just need to, you know, keep it going. >> reporter: but now, work could dry up. congress went home for the holiday without replenishing the highway trust fund which helps states pay for road, bridge and rail projects. at stake, 112,000 construction and 5600 transit projects in nearly every state. from fixing the broadway bridge in boise to buys new buses in boise. and in west virginia, all new road construction could grind to a halt. one thing that's everywhere -- potholes. when potholes don't get fixed, they cost you money.

about $324 per driver per year, according to one study in extra operating costs and car repairs. without the trust fund, 700,000 workers could lose their jobs? are you nervous about work drying up? >> yes. yes, definitely. >> reporter: the president has been pushing congress to make a deal. >> that doesn't just put construction workers back to work that puts engineers back to work. that puts landscape architects back to work. >> reporter: it would seem to be a winner, since federal dollars have been a huge chunk of highway budgets in almost every congress member's state. more than 90% in rhode island and alaska. more than half in ohio and oregon. 39% in florida. tax hikes are never a popular option in an election year, and frustration is running high. >> i don't know why people in congress that they can expect to come to work every day and not do anything at all. >> reporter: a political tug of war over crumbling infrastructure, searching for a deal that won't fall apart. chris jansing, nbc news, the white house. >> we're back in a moment with an electrifying night in new york city.

from italy, haunting new

images from the costa concord yeah, the luxury cruise ship that smashed into rocks nearly two years ago, killing 32 people. a diver took this video showing a deck of the ship, a hallway, and part of a tangled wreckage. the ship was righted on to a specially built undersea platform last year and will be towed away and scrapped later this month. the ship's captain is on trial, accused of manslaughter. here in new york some preholiday fireworks and an electrifying display of lightning as a storm passed throughment the new one world trade center building among those hit. people posted incredible photos and videos of the intense round of lightning. there could be a repeat performance tonight. video of a japanese politician apologizing has gone viral, probably because of the way he did it. take a look. [ crying ] >> weeping and sobbing uncontrollably, the 47-year-old

tried to address accusations he misused thousands of dollars in official funds, incoherently for the most part. social media pounced. the video has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. up next, his life was the subject of a best seller "unbroken." soon to be a film by angelina jolie. tonight, tom brokaw remembers louis zamperini.

finally tonight, remembering an epic life. not just worthy of a movie but about to be made into one by angelina jo lie, no less. louis zamperini died yesterday at the age of 97, surrounded by family. he was the son of immigrant, an olympic track star whose remarkable will to survive while lost at sea and later as a p.o.w. in world war ii was unbroken. tom brokaw spoke with him not long ago. >> tom brokaw. when we met earlier this year, i reminded louis that a friend of mine had passed along a message from him. louis said it's the heartiest generation, not the greatest generation, bro are kau. -- brokaw. >> well, we were hearty from the depression.

>> and no one was hardier than zamperini. he began life as a swift juvenile delinquent, so fast of foot he turned to track and became a world class miler. running in the olympics where hitler wanted to shake his hand. >> to us, he was a comedian. he looked like a comedian. he acted like a comedian. >> what did he say to you? >> all he said was, the boy with the fast finish. >> reporter: louis's track career was interrupted by world war ii and the legendary tale of survival at sea and in a japanese prison camp where he was tortured daily. >> they tried to get me to make a broadcast. there's no way. i would rather be dead than what we call a turncoat. >> reporter: after more than two years, louis came home a hero, but then his story was largely forgotten until "unbroken," laura hillenbrand's 2010 epic best seller. enter another legend, angelina jolie. >> hello. >> oh, my gosh. i miss you.

i miss you, honey. >> reporter: louis' new friend. and he's not lost his sense of humor. >> she's my new hugging gal. fortunately for her i'm not 21. >> reporter: jolie is the director of "unbroken," the film that premieres later this year. >> you train, you fight harder than those other guys and you win. >> the resilience and the strength of the human spirit is an extraordinary thing. and men like louie teach us it can be all right and we can pull through. >> he says we weren't the greatest generation, we were the heartiest generation, he reminds us. >> they were hearty. >> reporter: the lesson of louis' life? >> never give up. >> reporter: at 97, a life of trial and triumph of, louis didn't give up. he just ran out of the time. tom brokaw remembering louis zamperini. jolie's film will be released in december. that's our broadcast for this thursday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt. hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

it is no longer spreading. firefighters say they are far from getting an upper hand in that fight. it's not just the north bay. flames broke out in san jose today. we have team coverage for you

tonight. mark matthews has a story emerging in that napa fire him we have learned the cause of that golf course fire. robert. >> reporter: well, we are here along the coyote creek and the fire that started here monday apparently also caused today's fire, many people tell us there have been other incidents, including propane explosions inside these woods. san jose firefighters say the fire that burned along coyote creek started with smoldering embers and trees from monday's blaze. >> it's like bar-b-que coals drop down on the ground and re-ignite. >> reporter: many of the neighbors and people at the golf course tell me they believe the fire was the latest problem near a homeless camp near the fire scene. >> we have a lot of homeless in the city of san jose