on our broadcast tonight, outbreak, the largest-ever spread of ebola now infecting two americans trying to fight it overseas. and all it takes is a plane ride to bring ebola here. without warning freak storms hit coast-to-coast, tornadoes tearing through areas where they're rarely seen out east. and on the west coast, deadly lightning strike on a beach. raging attacks, a strike on a hospital, the fight over who fired the shot as israel warns it's preparing for the long haul. and as little as five minutes a day, that's all they say it takes to cut your risk of stroke or heart attack in half. "nightly news" begins now. good evening.

the deadly ebola virus is spreading rapidly in africa. it has so far infected two of the americans who have gone there to fight it. and here's the problem for americans, in the jet age the spread of a dangerous illness like ebola is no longer someone else's problem. in a world linked by air, a case of ebola is only a plane ride away from coming to this country. so far there have been over 1,000 confirmed cases. over 600 patients have died. public health officials here in the u.s. are moving fast and issuing warnings. it's where we begin tonight with our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: because deadly viruses now have the potential to travel to any part of the world within 24 hours, today u.s. health officials put out an alert asking american health care workers to be on the look out for ebola symptoms in people traveling back from west africa.

>> this outbreak highlights the need for us to enhance our efforts around global health security everywhere in the world. >> reporter: the alert comes after two american health workers contracted the ebola virus in liberia. dr. kent brantly and nancy writebol were helping ebola patients and now fighting for their lives. dr. brantly sent a message today. >> thank you for the prayers. i'm praying that god will help me survive this disease. >> reporter: brantly seen here wearing his protective suit before he became ill began complaining of fever and abdominal pains on wednesday. soon testing positive for ebola, he was immediately isolated and started on iv fluid. the current outbreak started in west africa's guinea in march. within days the virus spread to liberia and sierra leone. and last week for the first time the virus traveled by plane when a liberian citizen flew into lagos, nigeria. he died five days later.

and the world health organization has sent teams to track down anyone who came into contact with him. we start with michael on the front lines in sierra leone. with catholic relief services. >> they're typically underresourced. they work ten, 15, even 20-hour days. in those conditions it is possible for someone to slip up and become infected. >> reporter: dr. william fisher recently returned from guinea and says there's a great distrust of aide workers. >> there's a growing fear that perhaps the physicians from international communities were bringing the virus with them. >> reporter: ebola spreads by bodily fluids and can take up to 21 days for symptoms to appear. the cdc emphasizes that once symptoms subside, people may no longer be contagious. the symptoms can be frustratingly vague, feverent headaches, diarrhea and vomiting, weakness and stomach pain. but at the end, kidney failure, hemorrhage and death in many cases, brian.

>> and, nancy, because we're all linked by air, how long does it have to be until we see those warning signs at airports, maybe spot health checks at some of the big international airports? >> well, the centers for disease control today said they're watching this talking to foreign governments and right now no alerts other than health care workers going to western africa. but a real reminder that this is the time regardless of who you are, doctor and patient, when you see each other and one of you doesn't feel well, you must discuss where you've traveled and in this case western africa has to be the top of everyone's list, brian. >> all right. dr. nancy snyderman starting us off tonight. nancy, thanks as always. we continue to monitor reports of severe weather across our country. watches and warnings after a pair of freak storms hit including a deadly lightning strike at the beach in southern california and a rare tornado near boston. we get our report on all of it tonight from nbc's joe fryer. >> oh my god!

>> reporter: this is the heart stopping up-close view as a tornado tears through revere, massachusetts, just five miles north of boston. the first twister ever recorded in this well-populated county. >> i never seen that before in my life. i mean, i've seen on tv but not in revere. >> reporter: the ef-2 tornado came without warning and left a trail of downed trees and power lines, ripping the roofs off some homes while sparing others. >> it's really a miracle that nobody sustained more serious injuries. >> reporter: in northeastern tennessee, ten homes were destroyed by an ef-3 tornado with winds that reached 140 miles an hour. and in southern california it was lightning at the famed venice beach that sent eight people to the hospital. a blogger just happened to record the thunderous sound. >> holy. >> it literally sounded like a bomb went off.

i actually thought that the building next door blew up. >> reporter: it killed 20-year-old nick faniano, a college student who loved the beach as much as the mountains. another victim says he's lucky to be alive after feeling a shock pulse through his body as he swam in the ocean. >> next thing you know i was struggling to get my head back above the water. >> reporter: witnesses say the summer storm came out of nowhere. >> our first warning of lightning here at venice beach was the lightning that struck the patient. >> reporter: lightning can be as unpredictable as it is dangerous. in the u.s. 16 people have died from lightning strikes so far this year. six of them in florida where five counties have installed lightning prediction systems with warning sirens. but in california lightning is incredibly rare, especially this time of year. >> well, in southern california we can go years before we see lightning strikes on the beach. it's such a rare event. people were not prepared. and they didn't take action.

>> reporter: in much of the country it has been a summer of extreme, often wicked weather. and here in venice it proved deadly. southern california's first lightning fatality in five years. brian. >> joe fryer on venice beach, southern california tonight. joe, thanks. overseas this evening flares have turned night into broad daylight in the skies over the gaza strip amid the steady pounding of artillery, part of a renewed offensive by israel tonight after losing four soldiers on a day that also saw a deadly attack on a hospital in gaza that has each side blaming the other. and late today despite intense international pressure for a cease-fire, including directly from the president, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu told his people to prepare for the long haul. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in gaza. >> reporter: good evening, brian. things here are escalating quickly. we are seeing israeli air

strikes and illumination rounds right in the center of gaza city. people here are trying to bunker down feeling that israel's ground offensive could now be pushing deeper into the gaza strip after a cease-fire today completely collapsed. a hamas mortar, accurate, maybe lucky, landed on a group of israeli soldiers killing four and wounding three others. today was supposed to be a cease-fire. it didn't work. israel says two hamas rockets fired at israel also fell short landing right in gaza city. there has just been another explosion, and mostly we have seen children being brought into this hospital. one after another they came into shifa hospital, some tried to walk, others were tossed. the volunteers and medics rush back to get more injured. families wailed when the most serious cases arrived. in the er mohamed told us what he saw. kids were playing on swings and bicycles, i was watching them, he said. then all of a sudden there was a massive sound, smoke and dust. i was holding my youngest son's hand until i lost consciousness. a few beds down a 1-year-old was

cut by shrapnel. a 5-year-old called out for her baba, arabic for daddy. she held onto his finger while her mother tried to comfort her sister. everyone blamed israel, but israel said it didn't do it. >> what we know is that hamas and other terrorist organizations launch rockets from within the gaza strip. and they actually struck these two locations killing and injuring palestinians. >> reporter: hamas doesn't accept that and used the attack on the children as a reason to go on the offensive firing volley after volley of rockets at israel. israel's mission could get much more extensive. today, the cease-fire collapsed and a far more violent phase could be coming. a senior israeli official told us things could have gone either way today, but there could have been a cease-fire or an escalation.

for now it seems the cease-fire option has been taken off the table. brian. >> richard engel in the gaza strip tonight. again, all indications they're in for a rough night there. tonight, nbc news has learned that world powers are about to step up the pressure on vladimir putin over the continued violence in the eastern part of ukraine including again today as artillery landed near the wreckage of the malaysian airliner that was shot down, our own andrea mitchell is telling us from the state department president obama and european leaders have agreed on a new round of sanctions against putin and targeting sectors of the russian economy. a wild shootout on the streets of new york city today. two u.s. marshals and one nypd detective were wounded in west greenwich village while attempting to confront a fugitive wanted in california on child sex assault charges. a man who was just featured on tv by john walsh, the suspect was killed in the shootout. law enforcement officers all expected to survive their wounds. there is news of a potential turning point tonight after that

huge scandal at the v.a. a major backlog of veterans waiting for care including some who died while waiting and is allegations of a subsequent cover-up. we trust you're sitting down when we tell you there appears to have been an agreement in congress on how to make things better. and we get our report tonight from nbc's kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: from national outrage over scandal inside the v.a. -- >> you can't do veterans like this. >> reporter: -- to a real compromise in three months. >> the v.a. is not sacred. the teran is. >> reporter: that is fast action in an age of gridlock. >> this issue should and must go beyond politics. >> reporter: just days before congress heads home to campaign under pressure to get something done. >> national disgrace, veterans died waiting for care that never came. >> reporter: today's announcement, a $17 billion

package. $10 billion to pay medical bills for veterans to see private doctors outside the government-run v.a. system, if they live 40 miles from a v.a. clinic or if the wait time for an appointment is more than 30 days. $5 billion for the v.a. to beef up its own hospitals by hiring more doctors. another almost $2 billion includes expanding community-based clinics, 27 locations in 18 states and puerto rico. and lawmakers are trying to fix the culture inside the v.a. making it easier to fire senior executives quickly when necessary. this package is called emergency spending and it does add $12 billion to the deficit. and, brian, congress still has to vote. and it's expected to pass in the next couple of days. brian. >> kelly o'donnell on capitol hill following it tonight. kelly, thanks. southwest airlines facing a potential enormous government fine for failing to keep the faa informed about its plans for repairing cracks in the skin of boeing 737s. faa is proposing $12 million in civil penalties.

that would be one of the biggest fines ever. but says the safety of southwest aircraft was not at issue. the airline now has 30 days to respond. and late word from southern california tonight, a judge has issued a tentative ruling against donald sterling and in favor of his estranged wife. the trial here was to determine whether shelly sterling could sell the l.a. clippers to former microsoft ceo steve ballmer. donald sterling sued after shelly sterling had him removed from the family trust that owns the team after doctors found him to be mentally incapacitated. still ahead on a monday night, cutting your risk of stroke or heart attack nearly in half. how doctors say you can do that in as little as five minutes a day. and later, the overwhelming response to one little boy's birthday request, what he wanted and how so many people delivered.

as we said before the break tonight's health news story is about significantly lowering your risk of heart attack and stroke. it will be of particular interest to perhaps the millions leading busy lives in this country who say they don't know where the time would come from to improve their health. but doctors say you can make a big difference in as little as five minutes. our report tonight from nbc's rehema ellis. >> we're probably actually only going to run for about 10 or 15 minutes. >> reporter: new york running coach, manda sessman, has heard every excuse in the book about why it's too tough to start jogging. >> it's too hot, it's too cold, i'm tired, i'm too busy. >> reporter: but a study out today from the journal of the american college of cardiology shows you only need a few minutes a day to get significant heart health benefits. >> running one to two times per week, running less than an hour per week was still producing very substantial reductions in total cardiovascular mortality.

>> reporter: researchers studied more than 55,000 adults over a 15-year period and found ten or even as little as five minutes of running a day at a slow pace can reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by approximately 45% compared to those who weren't running at all. it's good news for busy women in this group called moms in training. >> sometimes i don't have the 30 minutes even or two hours like i wish i could run or work out. so that's very encouraging. >> reporter: but jogging isn't for everyone. if you can't run, walk. even during the workday. doctors say just getting up from your desk is a great first step to get you moving. and there are lots of devices, like this pedometer, to keep track of your steps. it's easier than you think. a moderately active person racks up about 7,500 steps a day, which is about three and a quarter miles. doctors suggest at least 10,000 steps, about five miles a day.

jogger mom, jessica, is also a cardiologist and says this study backs up the important message she gives her patients. >> i tell them to start with small amount of exercise a day. >> reporter: even a little exercise can achieve a lot and doesn't have to interfere with family time. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. up next here tonight, any ideas out there about how to make the tsa process faster other than abolishing the tsa? if so, they'd like to hear from you and they're willing to pay top dollar.

could be if you have dollar in your name it means you're going to rake in a lot of them. two big retail giants are getting together, dollar tree agreed today to buy family dollar stores for over $8 billion in all. the combined chain will have 13,000 stores in 48 states and

canada. that's more stores than walmart. a big anniversary in world history, world war i started 100 years ago today. of course they didn't call it that because no one could imagine a second world war after the conflict called around the world, the war to end all wars. it was triggered, as you may know, by the assassination of arch duke ferdinand of austria a month prior. it killed close to 2% of the world's population. approximately 18 million people. there were commemorations today throughout europe. and high above new york city today a silent anniversary of what happened on this day 69 years ago. days away from the end of world war ii a b-25 bomber flying over the city flew into the side of the empire state building. it was on a civilian mission from the cape to laguardia, ran into dense fog and then slammed into the high-rise. fuel exploded, parts rained down on the street. had it not been a saturday morning, the death toll would have been enormous.

all three onboard the aircraft were killed as were 11 others working weekends in the empire state building for the war relief service of national catholic welfare. now to modern aviation, specifically the hassle of flying in our post-9/11 era. even the tsa admits to the slog of airport security. and they say they want to make it better. they're offering rewards totalling about $15,000 for the best ideas for making the line go faster. we've put complete information on our website tonight. president obama admitted today he was among the generation of american men back in the day who had a crush on linda ronstadt. he came clean during a white house ceremony awarding medal of the arts and humanities. she's dealing with parkinson's these days, lost her ability to sing. she came forward to accept the honor after the president made his public confession of affection. more on the ceremony and all the recipients also on our website tonight. when we come back on this monday evening, the special deliveries that just kept on coming and coming.

the little boy whose birthday request unleashed an amazing response.

our final story here tonight is about the birthday wish from a boy in massachusetts.

some background here, he happens to be going through a very tough time. and when word got out about what he wanted, what would make him happy -- here's a hint, it's not what most kids ask for -- the response was overwhelming. we get his story tonight from nbc's harry smith. >> reporter: danny nickerson just turned 6. and for his birthday all he said he wanted was cards. this is what happens when the world finds out a little boy with a terrible illness has a wish. danny and his family made several trips to the post office in foxborough, massachusetts, last week. and each time they came there was more mail. mail enough to climb on. 100,000 cards and letters so far. a lot more mail than the entire town of foxborough usually gets. >> it's the best thing i've ever seen, anyone's ever done for anybody. >> reporter: danny has a tumor on the stem of his brain. he's been in treatment since last october, and the prognosis for his kind of illness is not

good. so time and birthdays become even more precious. >> it's amazing to see him so happy, so energetic, climbing, loving it. you could see his head sticking out and he's really, really happy. >> reporter: as word spread about danny's birthday wish, he found himself surrounded by his favorite football team, and local first responders responded too. by the hundreds, including a chorus of cops. ♪ happy birthday to you >> reporter: in a world gone haywire, there's some comfort in watching danny celebrate his birthday. this is what love and hope look like. you wish there was more to go around. harry smith, nbc news. >> with belated birthday wishes from everybody here, that is our broadcast on a monday night as we start off a new week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we certainly hope to see you right back here tomorrow

evening. right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com nbc bay area news starts now. right now at 6:00, safety concerns in the air. the faulty repairs that have southwest airlines facing a historic fine. good evening, and thanks for being with us on this monday. >> fuselage fine for southwest airlines. the faa announcing it plans to fine them $12 million. the solution is the fix to the aluminum skin which can peel off

mid flight. are they safe to fly? marianne favro is live where you spoke to passengers and safety experts as well. >> reporter: passengers here say they are pretty surprised to learn that southwest airlines is now facing millions of dollars in fines, but they are hoping that those fines will make their flight safer. the federal aviation administration says southwest airlines did not follow government regulations for maintaining their 737 jet liners. and today announced it is seeking a $12 million civil penalty against the airline. the faa says southwest failed to follow proper procedures for replacing fuselage skins on jetliners, making them more susceptible to corrosion and cracking. >> if corrosion gets in there, it's a wildcard and all your safeguards essentially go out the window. so it's a very real risk to the traveling