journalist, see what happens. >> see you at 6:00. on our broadcast tonight, rescue mission. emergency flights bringing two americans with the ebola virus back home. first known cases of the virus ever on u.s. soil. tonight, the isolation chambers that are being prepared. captured, a cease-fire collapses and israel accuses hamas of grabbing an israeli soldier behind enemy lines. we tortured, stunning words from the president about the cia after 9/11. and making a difference. an oscar winning actor's 30-year mission to feed american kids. a big star shows a side of him we've seldom seen. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. good evening. two very sick americans are

about to begin a journey by air to this country. and when they arrive they will become the very first known cases of the ebola virus ever on american soil. world health officials warned us today this outbreak is moving faster than the efforts to control it and contain it. some time on saturday the first american patient will arrive at an air base in georgia and then be taken to emory university hospital as americans and especially those who travel are watching this outbreak closely. in a moment, the things we all need to know about ebola. first tonight to atlanta, awaiting that arrival, nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: aid workers nancy writebol and dr. kent brantly fighting for their lives in liberia may soon both be home. one of them arrives tomorrow and will be rushes here to emory university hospital in atlanta in this specially equipped isolation room. >> the reason our facility was chosen for this is because we

are only -- we are one of only four institutions in the united states capable of handling patients of this nature. >> reporter: the medevac is a tightly controlled process led by the u.s. state department and the cdc. dr. brantly and writebol will be flown separately on noncommercial planes like this one. with multiple layers of protection to contain the virus, the gurney will be placed within a secured plastic tent. the patient enclosed in another layer of plastic. and anyone in that part of the plane covered head to toe in a hazmat suit and gloves. the flight will land at dobbins air base not far from the hospital. the facility is similar to nebraska medical center's biocontainment unit. where drills like this are regularly held. medical staff rehearsed in a special room equipped with air filtration units. the patient is contained at all times. doctors at emory say it's enough protection. >> i will be one of the individuals who will be coming into direct contact with the patients. i have no concerns about either

my personal health or the health of the other health care workers who will be working in that unit. >> reporter: despite assurances, the arrival is triggering some anger and fear. like this reader's comment in "the atlanta journal constitution." "it's just a bad idea, plain and simple." while just down the road from the hospital we heard confidence. >> i don't have a problem as long as the cdc's involved. because i feel like they'll take the right precautions. >> reporter: it may be the best chance of survival for two aid workers who went to africa to help and now need help themselves. the second patient is expected here early next week and will also be brought here to emory. doctors say families will be allowed to visit, but they're not going to be allowed inside the room. their only access, brian, will be through a glass window. >> stephanie gosk starting us off from atlanta. stephanie, thanks. some of this looks like scenes out of a movie of course. and there are a lot of questions about ebola. understandably a lot of fear as we just heard.

well, tonight we asked our chief medical correspondent dr. nancy snyderman for some answers. >> how contagious is ebola? it requires direct contact with vomit, diarrhea or blood. and when a patient is symptomatic. this is not something that is airborne like influenza. you can't catch this casually. you're not going to get it by being on an airplane. you can't get it by breathing the air. this is a disease passed from infected person to another person. another question is about symptoms and how easy this is to diagnose. symptoms can come on any time between two to 21 days after exposure and includes sudden fever as high as 104 to 105, weakness, sore throat, headache. and the body can then become very ill. nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and in end stage kidney failure and hemorrhage. there's so much concern about a person with ebola coming to the united states, but the reason these patients are coming is

because the american medical system is so sophisticated that their lives can be saved. every precaution is going to be taken so that this ebola will not spread to health care workers or anyone else in the country. for those who are lucky enough to survive ebola, they're no longer contagious. once the symptoms are gone, patients are considered cured. meantime, in africa i suspect the problem is just going to get worse. and a lot of our attention should be back there. bottom line is that this is a gruesome, tough virus that normally burns itself out. right now we're looking at the longest, deadliest ebola epidemic in history. but while we talk about the carnage, it's really in western africa. i want to score again tonight that americans really don't have anything to worry about getting these patients home, these two americans, brian, world class treatment is the best chance of saving their lives. >> one thing you hear about how virulent this is.

it's said you can be fine in the morning and dead by dinner time, with a virulent case, true? >> probably not that dramatic. the symptoms are dramatic, but it comes on quickly, but the early symptoms are the trigger point. fever, headache, muscle weakness. that's when you know you're in trouble. the other thing that really cost you your life they come later. >> important stuff to know. dr. nancy snyderman, thank you as always. more news from overseas tonight. this was supposed to be a hopeful day in the conflict between israel and hamas. but almost immediately after what was planned as a three-day cease-fire started this morning, things took a bad turn with a new wave of violence then the apparent capture of an israeli military officer. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in gaza once again for us tonight. >> reporter: good evening, brian. israeli troops this morning were on a mission to destroy hamas' tunnels when suddenly militants used one of those tunnels to launch a surprise attack killing two israeli soldiers.

and israel says capturing a third. israel's big guns firing artillery barrages into southern gaza. keeping militants at bay as israeli troops search for one of their own. israel now has a missing soldier in hostile territory. >> we were 90 minutes into the cease-fire, minding our own business, defending our own positions when a terrorist came out with a suicide belt, blew himself up, killed two. another gunman came out shooting and then abducted one of our officers. >> reporter: israel identified him as 23-year-old second lieutenant hadar goldin. it's unclear if he's alive, dead or wounded. his father told reporters today, we are certain the israel defense force will not stop until they have turned every stone and brought hadar home. for a small country with mandatory military service, a soldier's capture is a nightmare. israel has been down this road before.

nbc's martin fletcher. >> this is the beginning of a national trauma for israel, which in the past has paid almost any price to get captured soldiers home again. the last soldier captured by hamas was kept for five years. israel swapped more than 1,000 palestinian prisoners to get him home again. >> reporter: in gaza city the day began with hope. with the u.s. and u.n. brokered cease-fire in place, gazans rushed out to fish, even play on the beach. but it didn't last. gaza city is now cleared out. most people trying to stay inside. everyone here knows israel will respond heavily to search for its missing soldier. for israel this has now become far more personal. and for gazans, even more dangerous. instead of a cease-fire today, escalation. and israelis and palestinians both fear what might happen next. just moments ago hamas's military wing said it does not

have a live israeli captive and all of its fighters involved in the attack were killed by israeli fire. brian? >> richard engel in gaza city tonight with those drones above audible in the background. richard, thanks. also tonight, this imagery from gaza. it's digital photography. it was taken earlier in this conflict, but you don't often get to see this. it shows an incoming israeli air strike, a freeze-frame showing it in midair headed for its target right before impact. just days before the release of a senate report on american interrogation techniques after the 9/11 attacks, president obama spoke at length on the issue today in what was perhaps his most candid comment on this, the president said among other things "we tortured some folks." we get more tonight from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: after receiving a still-secret senate report into the bush cia's post-9/11 interrogation, president obama

said today the united states tortured prisoners. >> in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, we did some things that were wrong. we did a whole lot of things that were right. but we tortured some folks. we did some things that were contrary to our values. >> reporter: the president banned waterboarding and other harsh techniques right after taking office. today he said he understands the pressure after 9/11. >> it's important when we look back to recall how afraid people were after the twin towers fell and the pentagon had been hit and the plane in pennsylvania had fallen and people did not know whether more attacks were imminent. >> reporter: bush officials have always denied that waterboarding done at secret black sites, prisons in poland and other cooperating countries, was torture. senator john mccain himself tortured for years as a vietnam p.o.w., says the long-awaited senate report leaves no room for

debate. >> i think the evidence is very clear that waterboarding was used as a routine technique, which is the definition of torture. >> reporter: still today the cia's former top lawyer defends the practices. >> they were harsh. but i didn't think then and i don't think now that they constitute torture. >> reporter: today chuck todd asked the president about his embattled cia director. >> i have full confidence in john brennan. >> reporter: that senate report described by some as dynamite. but tonight intelligence chair dianne feinstein is complaining that the white house, which has the final say on who gets -- what gets declassified and released to the public, cut too much out of it and she's not going to release it in its edited form. the fight continues. >> andrea mitchell here with us in new york. andrea, thanks as always. the president also spoke out about the strengthening economy today after the jobs report showed that employers added

209,000 jobs in july. that makes this six months in a row for at least 200,000 jobs added. first time that's happened since 1997. unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 6.2% as more americans resumed looking for work. still ahead on a friday evening, the new twist after a shocking video that ignited a backlash. police officers caught on camera, an unarmed man is dead. tonight, it is being called a homicide. and later, the unusual thing that happened right there in the middle of a major league baseball game.

it provoked outrage here in new york and elsewhere, the video of a police officer violently restraining a man who then died right there on the street while we could hear him saying he couldn't breathe. today, the medical examiner said the officer's chokehold killed the man and ruled it a homicide. our report tonight from nbc's anne thompson.

>> don't touch me! >> reporter: caught on tape, the arrest of 43-year-old eric garner by new york city police. today, his death was ruled a homicide. >> i can't breathe. i can't breathe. >> reporter: the city medical examiner finding the chokehold used on the man suspected of illegally selling cigarettes caused his death. asthma, obesity and heart disease were contributing factors. the shocking and violent images have angered some city residents. emergency workers on the tape appear to do nothing to help a struggling garner. and then there's the issue of white police officers subduing a black suspect. >> i can't breathe! i can't breathe! >> reporter: the city's african-american community has rallied around garner's widow. then yesterday activists and msnbc host reverend al sharpton got personal with mayor bill de blasio bringing the mayor's son and star of his commercials into the debate. >> if dante wasn't your son,

he'd be a candidate for a chokehold. and we've got to deal with that reality. >> reporter: chokeholds are banned by the new york city police and commissioner bill bratton promised that message would be reinforced. >> we shall retrain the whole department, all 35,000 members, and particularly those 20,000 officers who routinely work the streets. >> reporter: the officer seen using the chokehold has been stripped of his badge and gun, another is on desk duty. four medical responders are suspended without pay all pending an investigation. tonight, the police union offers its sympathies to garner's family but says it believes if he didn't resist arrest "this tragedy would not have occurred." meanwhile a family mourns and a city debates the tactics used to keep peace. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. another break here. when we come back, the surprising admission from a big star this morning on "today." ...we need to break up.

is it the biting? cuz i can stop? no! i love you and your show. it's cable. customers are more satisfied with u-verse. switch and we can stay together forever. forever? ow. i'm not gonna lie to you. it's also the biting. break up with cable. choose u-verse tv from $19 a month for 2 years.

if you're a movie fan, then you already know they shot sunny on the causeway, linda blair threw up green in the "exorcist." and hal holbrooke does the best mark twain. none of these things wouldn't have happened without dick smith, the veteran makeup artist, a yale grad, world war ii veteran who started here at wnbc tv here in new york and found fame, fortune and hollywood. he gave brando jowls. dick smith was 92 years old. lyndon johnson was known as an arm twister on capitol hill, but he's got nothing on alaska republican congressman don young. watch this. congressman young was caught by our own producer, frank thorp, grabbing the arm of a congressional staffer like he was a misbehaving 3-year-old in the checkout line. the staffer was trying to keep him from entering a meeting through a wrong door. the veteran congressman ranks fourth in the house. he has apologized. the army has done this a lot lately it seems, and it means everybody has to get new stuff. they're changing camo patterns

again. the current pattern was known as digi camo. when it came out ten years ago. the new stuff updated to look like some of the old stuff features muted colors, way more vague patterns, and, no, the army says this new color does not mean they expect to be fighting only desert conflicts. baseball can be a cruel business, but you don't see this often. austin jackson of the detroit tigers was traded during an inning when he was on the field and was pulled from the game to a standing "o" as umpires halted play so he could trot off, at least say good-bye to his teammates and head to the seattle mariners. it was top of the seventh with one out and it was unusual. normally players who may be traded are benched beforehand. facebook went down today briefly stopping the world for various facebook users around the world. it was a breathlessly reported bulletin at midday. it was back up about two hours later.

the the topic of social media came up this morning on "today." matt lauer asked julia roberts what would happen if she were coming up today under these levels of constant scrutiny. >> i don't think i'd survive. it's just too nasty. it's a sport of ugliness. i'd pull out of it. i wouldn't have the stomach for it. >> julia roberts with matt lauer this morning on "today." now to another occupational hazard, all of us who make our living in live television have had to deal with the occasional problem of a ringing cell phone. turning it off or on mute is always best, but we forget and then we have to deal with it in our own way. a youtube video's now circulating from southeast asia. it shows a man on television dealing with it in his own way. [ speaking foreign language ] >> broadcast continues. can't watch that enough.

after a break, when we come back, chelsea clinton with our friday night "making a difference" report.

finally here tonight, for the millions of kids who don't get enough to eat in this country, the challenge is even greater during the summer months when there's no school to provide meals. that's where a campaign by a nonprofit comes in. and it's getting a boost these days from a hollywood veteran. our "making a difference" report tonight from nbc's chelsea clinton. >> i'm the dude. so that's what you call me. >> reporter: jeff bridges isn't just the dude in "the big lebowski "or the faded country star in "crazy heart." no. at this recent concert with his band, bridges reminds his audience he has a purpose. >> one in five of our kids struggling with hunger. and that's something that we got to change. >> reporter: bridges has been working on hunger for more than 30 years. joining with the nonprofit, share our strength. in nevada, not far from the las vegas strip, more than half the

children are eligible for free or reduced lunch at school. but what happens during summer break? >> for so many kids summertime is a very frightening time because school's out and so are the school meals. it's a pirate ship. >> reporter: and this is where they seek refuge from the heat, the local library. >> it's concerning because you see a kid that comes in at 10:00 in the morning and you know they had two hours of computer time and maybe did a story time program, but they never left. so you know they're not eating for hours and hours. >> yogurt parfait today. there you go. >> reporter: share our strength started a program bringing free daily lunches to kids at the library. it's expanded to include boys and girls clubs as well. >> so many ways of doing this kind of program. >> reporter: but people already are, right? >> yeah. >> reporter: going to places where the community already is, where kids are already likely to be. bridges says the lunches help

educate their palate. when i asked kids today what did you like most about your lunch, so many kids said the apple or the salad. >> i know it. me too. i loved that. >> reporter: preschool teacher jacqueline lowry depends on these for her two children. >> if they have an empty stomach, they're not going to be apt to learn anything because they're hungry. >> you're not going to have a strong america if you have weak kids. we're a community. we're in this together. >> reporter: bridges often talks about the moral challenge of childhood hunger. he calls for more political will to solve the problem, brian. >> by the way, haven't seen you for a while. best wishes to you on your impending arrival. >> literally. thank you, brian. >> chelsea clinton with us here tonight. that is our broadcast on a friday night. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. lester holt will be here with you this weekend. we hope to see you right back here on monday night. in the meantime, please have a good weekend. good night.

nbc bay area news begins with breaking news. wham! and i just, a big collision of some kind. >> right now at 6:00, breaking news. commuter chaos. two muni crashes injure dozens of passengers and create a traffic nightmare in san francisco. good evening. i'm janelle wang. >> it happened in japan town. dozens of muni passengers jolted from their seats, left injured. now questions about what

happened in the moments leading up to those crashes. the crashes happened just 5 miles apart. we have more on the bayview district crash but begin with christie smith. you were actually the first crew on the scene. >> reporter: yeah. we were. the passengers say they felt the bus driver slam on the brakes, then there was a sudden and loud crash. that people fell from their seats. but in the beginning they didn't really know what caused it. the impact of the crash was clear on the front of the muni bus. a 38 l on geary loaded down with passengers. >> i was halfway back on the left side. all of a sudden, wham! and a big collision of some kind. and people were all over the place. i went down too, i held onto the bar, the seat, maybe, that was there, and i went around it and went down, halfway down. >> reporter: 20 people injured.