6:00. on the broadcast tonight, double impact. big storms triggering life threatening conditions on both coasts. tonight, new warnings affecting millions as we approach the holiday weekend. the isis threat, another u.s. citizen fighting for the smilitant is reported killed as an american mother who son is being held hostage appeals for his release. deadly lesson, a 9-year-old girl practicing with a sub machine gun accidentally shoots and kills her instructor, raising new questions about kids and guns. vaccine backlash. worries about a spike in dangerous childhood diseases as more and more parents refuse to have their children vaccinated. and, having a brawl, a decorated combat veteran having the time of his life.

so what if he's the oldest guy on the court. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. good evening. i'm lester holt sitting in for brian tonight. we begin with two powerful storms far from land that are still managing to pose a deadly double threat on beaches along the west and east coasts of the united states tonight, killing at least three people so far. here's the scene south of los angeles where they are seeing waves of historic po portions pounding the beaches courtesy of tropical storm marie threatening homes and putting swimmers at grave risk. now the view from the atlantic coast from the rockaways in new york city, high waves and rip currents are being churned up and down the east coast powered by hurricane cristobl. those waves have been so dramatic thousands of spectators have come to see them. they've proven to be a perilous

draw. miguel almaguer is live in seal berach for us. >> reporter: waves are smashing the coastline tonight. coast guards say they haven't seen conditions like this in 25 years. thousands are flooding to the beach as first responders warn everyone stay back. tonight, in southern california beauty and danger. 25-foot waves pounding the coast. this could turn deadly in seconds. over the last 48 hours more than 130 rescues. in malibu lifeguards scrambled to save lives. >> the surf is overwhelming with rip tides and high surf. stay out of the water for your own safety. >> reporter: but not everyone is heeding the warning. daredevil surfers flock to the waves. crowds of spectators line the shores. do you have any hesitation about going out there? >> none. i was hoping it would be bigger. >> reporter: tropical storm marie is churning in the pacific. the monster storm generating

incredible waves hundreds of miles away. >> marie is west of the southern tip of baja now throwing a big south swell up into our area in some of the highest wave conditions we've seen in years. >> reporter: the surf pounded communities from long beach to malibu, breaking apart the famous pier. the surging tide buckled floors and swamped patios. at the brown home the damage is in the thousands. >> it sounded like a thunderstorm. like if it was rain, like if it was lightning, thundering, that's how pop -- cause you could feel the ground. you could feel it. >> reporter: tonight from los angeles to jacksonville, florida. >> first at 5:00, rough surf and red flags. >> reporter: in the atlantic cristobal is moving towards bermuda. >> but as far as virginia beach and ocean city and maryland.

a red flag warning to stay out of the water just before labor day weekend. >> the rain's coming and who wants to come to the beach when it's raining? >> reporter: tonight, coast-to-coast the threat isn't over. protective measures are holding for now, but mother nature is still packing a powerful punch. over the last 24 hours lifeguards say at least one man died in the water. his death is under investigation. as for these huge surges behind me, the biggest may now be mind us. but authorities say the threat isn't over. lester. >> miguel, thank you. and for more on these dangerous conditions we turn to wnbc meteorologist janice huff. hello, janice. >> hello, lester. it's very dangerous on the west coast. those waves will stay big, up to 20 feet for the next 24 hours if not longer. it's not quite as big the swells on the eastern seaboard, but hurricane cristobal is creating waves of its own. we're expecting four to nine-foot seas across much of the eastern seaboard from north carolina to new england, but they may go high as 12 feet across southern new england as

the storm moves closer to the coastline and away from bermuda. dangerous rip currents are a result. and this will continue through friday, maybe even saturday for southern new england. and heavy rain over bermuda, they're expecting another one to two inches there. but the storm is moving away, so it should start to dry out across that area. back on the mainland u.s., looking at lots of heat over the central portion of the u.s. today. temperatures or at least feels like mid to upper 90s from dallas to indianapolis and triple digit heat in st. louis and kansas city. that's the heat index for you right now right at 100 degrees. what's going to happen with that? well, it looks like there are more heat advisories and excessive heat warnings in st. louis towards paducah, kentucky. more to go going into labor day weekend. back to you, lester. janice huff, thanks. overseas now and reports of another american being killed while fighting for isis. the same militants who are also holding americans hostage. all this as the obama

administration prepares for possible air strikes on isis targets in syria. our report tonight from chief foreign correspondent richard engel. >> reporter: dozens of americans have joined militant groups like isis in syria. an act of terrorism, even treason. including this 33-year-old douglas mcarthur mccain. troubled as a teen, nine run-ins with a law, a muslim convert killed sunday in this fire fight in syria. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: he wasn't alone. u.s. law enforcement officials tell nbc news another american, also a member of isis, was apparently killed as well. he's still being identified. u.s. officials estimate 70 to 100 americans have gone to syria to join isis or other militant groups. >> but when we talk about the potential immediacy of the threat of isil, that's one of the factors that we're talking about. this idea that foreign fighters could go over there, get radicalized, get equipped, get trained and come back to hair

homelands. >> reporter: earlier this month isis butchered american journalist james foley and threatened to do the same to another american hostage, reporter steven sotloff. >> steven has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's an innocent journalist. >> reporter: sotloff's mother posted a video on arab media appealing directly to the isis leader, abu bakr al baghdadi. >> i ask you to please release my child. >> reporter: isis is hardly a mainstream muslim group. >> you do a simple google search on muslims condemning isis and you'll find the foremost authorities from all over the world. as well as people on a grassroots level condemning isis on a whole. >> reporter: many muslim leaders say isis attracts misfits and angry men under the guise of religion. but it's nothing more than a death cult. isis is absolutely vicious,

now the u.s. has to decide, the president has to decide, what if anything will be done about it. and it seems that air strikes against syria, against isis targets in that country, are likely. the u.s. military is now flying observation missions to look for isis targets in syria. lester? >> all right, richard, thank you. one of the ironies in all of this is that the united states now finds itself on the offensive against the same extremists the assad government in syria is trying to stop. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell has more on the american role. this is touchy ground, andrea. >> it is indeed. while the president's made no decision to launch those air strikes against isis in syria, as richard just pointed out, he approved those surveillance flights to identify targets. that's the first step down the road. and you're exactly right, lester, going after isis puts the u.s. on the same side of the conflict as assad. but officials are stressing today that this is not a classic case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend. they say there will be no coordination with assad to defeat isis. that would be politically and

diplomatically impossible after three years of saying assad must go. this week syria's defense minister warned the u.s. not to cross into syrian air space, which is well defended. but assad could turn a blind eye to american air strikes, targeting his worst enemy. the u.s. did manage to fly undetected into syria on that failed rescue mission to find james foley, but that is possibly because the blackhawk helicopters were flying below syria's radar and had been modified with stealth technology. lester. >> andrea mitchell tonight, thank you. a tragic story that is provoking a lot of debate tonight. it's about a 9-year-old girl who accidentally shot to death a firing range instructor as he was teaching her how to shoot a oozy sub machine gun. it happened in white hills, arizona. joe fryer is there for us tonight. joe. >> reporter: good evening, lester. the shooting range reopened today. the sheriff's department has released video showing the moments leading up to what

happened here. it does not show the actual shooting. still, some may find it disturbing. >> we have to keep that held in. >> reporter: the chilling video shows a 9-year-old girl learning to use an oozi submachine gun at the bullets and burgers, popular tourist attraction one hour from las vegas. >> turn this leg forward. there you go. just like that. >> reporter: after she successfully fires the gun in single shot mode, the gun is switched to fully automatic. the girl can't control the recoil and instructor charles vacca is hit in the head by at least one bullet. he later died at the hospital. >> we've lost a brother in this unfortunate -- we're going to review our rules and regulations. >> reporter: the shooting range's manager calls it an accident. the policy allows kids 8 and older to fire guns including high powered ones with adult supervision. nationwide, the nra says nearly 1 million youth are taking part in shooting sports events and affiliated programs. several states including arizona

it's legal for juveniles to fire guns of all types at shooting ranges if an adult or instructor is present. >> a 9-year-old child, any small child, should not be expected to be able to control a submachine gun. >> reporter: critics question why someone so young should be allowed to shoot a gun that's so powerful. >> i don't see this as a cry for more regulation or new law, rather some common sense. gun ranges, people that love shooting sports, they need to tighten this up themselves. >> reporter: a tactical firearms in texas ceo jeremy alcade is teaching his 10-year-old son to shoot all kinds of guns including high power ones telling him never to handle a firearm unless dad is present. >> because kids turn into adults. and if you don't train them at an early age, they're not going to respect it. they're not going to be safe around it. >> reporter: authorities have said no charges are expected in this case. the girl and her family were

tourists visiting from new jersey, lester. >> joe fryer, thank you. and in omaha, nebraska, last night a crew member of the long-running tv show "cops" was killed during the filming of a robbery. it happened during a gunfight with a suspect at a fast food restaurant. police fired at the suspect thinking that an air gun he was carrying was a real gun. they fired more shots as he tried to escape hitting the suspect and audio technician 38-year-old bryce deon. both men were killed. a search is underway for the pilot of an air national guard fighter jet that crashed in the mountains of western virginia. the f-15c jet based in massachusetts was on its way to new orleans for maintenance when it went down. authorities say they're hopeful the pilot, an experienced flier, may have been able to eject safely. an update tonight on malaysia airlines, which has suffered two disasters that killed hundreds of passengers in recent months. the airline has seen ticket sales decline with some flights almost empty. as seen in pictures posted on twitter.

the company is expected to announce an overhaul in coming days including major cuts in jobs and some routes. one report says the company may cut up to a quarter of its workforce. and millions of folks are reminded just how dependent we have become on the internet when the plug got pulled this morning. time warner cable reported a massive outage that shut down internet service to 11 million customers across the country. the company said it happened during routine network maintenance, what it called an issue with our internet backbone. service was restored for most customers within three or four hours. still ahead tonight, the impact of more and more parents saying no to vaccines. childhood diseases are on the rise. and later though, decades older, he's one of the boys, the combat veteran with a dream job on center court.

we're back with a story that has a lot of health care professionals and parents concerned as kids head back to

school. it's about the growing number of children who are not being vaccinated in some parts of the country. there has been a dramatic increase in childhood diseases. we get more on this from nbc's stephanie goss. >> reporter: with school starting in ft. worth, texas, the vaccination push is on. hundreds of children will cycle through this county clinic today. all 50 states require vaccinations for children going to public school. but nearly every state allows religious exemptions. some allow philosophical exemptions. the number of families using them is on the rise. in vermont, michigan, idaho and oregon, more than 5% of kindergarteners have non-medical exemptions, well above the national average. >> why the numbers have some doctors very concerned -- >> reporter: and in dallas nbc station kxas found that three times as many texas parents are refusing to vaccinate their kids compared to seven years ago. >> the interesting thing is that the demographic is upper middle class, highly educated moms.

they don't have an appreciation of the seriousness of these illnesses. >> reporter: there have been outbreaks of preventable diseases all over the country this year, in communities with lower vaccination rates. whooping cough in california and measles in ohio. this mom has chosen not to vaccinate her four children. >> we're concerned about the ingredients in vaccines. there are a number of different ones we don't know how safe they are. >> reporter: new york city pediatrician laura popper has heard all of the concerns before. >> absolutely zero proof vaccinations are dangerous. >> reporter: popper says parents who choose not to vaccinate their kids have to find another doctor. >> there is a public good. there is the common wheel. and that's one of the things that we're slipping very quickly away from.

>> and vaccinations are a part of that? >> vaccinations are the very foundation of that. >> reporter: this mother of three calls the decision a no-brainer. >> i'm concerned about other kids. >> reporter: with the number of unvaccinated kids growing, some worry that distrust in science may be spreading. alarming public health officials and parents alike. >> we're back in a moment. you have to see these pictures of one man's very close encounter of the inside of a volcano.

it was quite an entrance, wasn't it? hard to believe it was 50 years ago today when disney released what would become one of its most famous films, "mary poppins," starring julie andrews. who magically appears and responds to an ad for a nanny, placed by the children of the banks family. the movie received 13 academy award nominations. it won five including best actress for andrews and best original song for chim chim

chiree. we got a look at what it's like deep inside a volcano. look at this video from an explorer who descended 1200 feet down into the crater of a volcano in the south pacific. wearing a protective suit he was able to get uncomfortably close to a boiling lava lake. acid rain, loose rock and other obstacles battled in the process. the lava melted part of one of his cameras. he described it as a reverse climbing of mt. everest. an unusual business listing by the government promotes a real growth opportunity for the right person. the national institutes of health is asking for proposals from those who can "cultivate and harvest, process, analyze, store and distribute cannabis." that would be marijuana. for research. the successful bidder will have a secure outdoor facility capable of growing and processing 12 acres of pot. as we said, it's for research purposes only. and if good things can come out of horrific events, there is this. the wedding this past weekend of

james costello to christa dougastino. he's a survivor of last year's boston marathon bombings. he was seen in this iconic photo from that awful day. she is a nurse who helped him get through months of surgery and rehab. they were married in boston before 150 family members and friends. the location, reception and even the bride's dress all donated by local businesses. we wish them well. when we come back, a combat veteran a once in a lifetime opportunity.

finally tonight, the u.s. open is going on here in new york for the next couple of weeks. and among the many participants who are thrilled to be there and getting a lot of attention is a guy who really stands out. you're about to see why. we get his story tonight from nbc's katy tur. >> reporter: turn on the u.s. open and among the balls, rackets and sweaty superstars, you'll notice something a little different. among the 275 mostly teenage ball boys -- >> ball person. >> reporter: -- is todd reed, a 53-year-old war veteran, green beret, retired cop, grandfather of 3 and amputee. so it's good to be different. >> it's great to be different. and the fact they have two legs and i'm missing one of mine,

that's a minor detail. >> reporter: and here he is on the tennis world stage, the oldest ball person of the bunch attending to players' every whim. >> when they're on break sitting in the chair, we hold the umbrella during the daytime. sometimes they want a banana, ice towel, water, powerade. >> reporter: and able to work with big personalities. >> and pleasant with a huge smile on your face when you're doing that. >> reporter: you're uniquely suited for all that. >> i think i can fit into that. i've had some challenges in life that make this pretty easy to work. >> it was three feet in front of her. >> reporter: reed's here as part of the u.s. tennis association's military initiative. a 13-year army veteran, he lost his foot and part of his right leg when he stepped on a land mine in iraq during operation desert storm. >> todd is an absolute role model. what he's been through and what he's done for his country, they definitely look up to him. >> reporter: as for the pay $8 an hour with a daily lunch allowance. >> i'm not doing it for the money.

i mean, that's just a little bonus on the side. >> reporter: a little bonus that he hopes to take advantage of. will you do it next year? >> if they would invite me, i'd do it in a heartbeat. >> reporter: after all, at 53 he's more than proven quitting is not in his nature. katy tur, nbc news, new york. before we say good night, we want to wish our good friend and competitor diane sawyer well as she anchors her last broadcast tonight on abc. she's been holding down the evening post for the last five years and will remain with the network in another role. she tweeted earlier, great adventures ahead. good luck, diane. that's our broadcast for this wednesday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt in for brian. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

nbc bay area news begins with breaking news. that breaking news, a fire in solano county. firefighters are battling the flames on ground and from the air. i'm jessica aguirre. >> and i'm raj mathai. this is happening near the intersection of highways 37 and29. if you're in the area or even driving through, you probably saw the smoke just a short while ago of the good news is, though, highways 29 and 37 are open. and it appears the firefighters

have this under control. it was burning dangerously close to a neighborhood. dozens of homes in this immediate area. moderate winds made it difficult to contain the flames, so they were using water tankers and aerial water drops. this was along sonora pass road. it has charred ten acres so far. they have established a line of defense between those flames and the homes. it appears they have this under control. let's bring in jeff ranieri. >> winds this time of the year could be a lot worse. you can see the fix on this fire just south of american canyon. as we zoom in and get a closer look, any hotspots that continue to blow. winds right now gusting as high as 16 miles per hour. again, firefighters have control of it, but still a little bit of wind tonight may be blowing areas of smoke. we are expecting winds to stay