on our broadcast tonight -- under fire. the nfl commissioner and the growing questions about that hard-to-watch video like what the league knew and when. and now the widening conversation about domestic abuse. critical mission. the president prepares to make his case to the nation for destroying isis. tonight here we debut a new nbc news poll that reveals just how worried most americans are. diagnosing autism. the small study making big news. it's about parents identifying the signs earlier than ever. and in some cases actually reversing some of the symptoms. and the reveal. with its usual drama, apple unveils the new devices designed to make our old devices obsolete including what they now want us to wear. "nightly news" begins now.

>> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nightly news" with brian williams. good evening. the difficult-to-watch video of a football player punching a woman and knocking her out cold inside a hotel elevator tonight remains at the center of a growing conversation and controversy about domestic abuse and the big business that happens to be america's favorite sport, the nfl. and while it is hard to watch, it's also hard to believe the nfl never saw it until the rest of us did just yesterday. but the commissioner says tonight that is the case. and he now knows that every aspect of this case is being looked at all over again because of the widely held view that this was both a failure of the justice system and a failure of the sport. it's where we begin again tonight with nbc's josh elliott. he's live with us at nbc sports network headquarters. good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, brian. as you mentioned, roger goodell reiterated late today that

league officials never saw the video showing the altercation between ray rice and his now wife janay until monday, but the firestorm that tape has generated has the nfl scrambling still. football fans across the country reacting to the video showing the violent altercation between ray rice and his then-fiancee put their anger on display today. a fury directed at rice and the nfl. the collective rallying cry -- too little too late. videos such as this surfaced on social media of fans burning ray rice jerseys. >> he doesn't deserve to be on their team. and that wasn't all. nike, one of rice's sponsors terminated its contract with them. while the ravens as well as major sporting goods chain such as dick's and modell's announced an exchange program allowing fans to return unwanted rice jerseys. >> the give to ray rice. >> reporter: the video gamemaker announced it was pulling rice's

image from its best-selling madden football game. all while players from around the league tweeted their outrage. as players we must speak up, stand up for what's right. this is way bigger than football. don't be blind to what's really important. while ray rice's wife janay rice was angry as well but for a different reason. posting on instagram in part, this is our life. what don't you all get. if your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you've succeeded on so many levels. and for the first time since the tape's release, nfl commissioner roger goodell addressed the burgeoning crisis in an interview with cbs news. >> we had not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator. >> reporter: still a torrent of headlines from around the country today are calling for goodell to go. >> the nfl was not thinking about women first, the nfl was not thinking about domestic violence first. the nfl was thinking about

business and the law first and as a result they're in big, big trouble. >> reporter: the nfl has spent millions marketing the game to gain more female fans. now 45% of the total fan base. many of them now say they are fans no more. >> the nfl is so big and so powerful, it took their own fans to bring them around to the realization that they had really messed this up badly. they're going to have to take leadership on this issue to win those fans back. >> reporter: ray rice broke his silence today, saying, in his words, he had to stay strong for his family. he also confirmed to nbc news that he's hired a public relations firm and will speak about this matter when he says the time is right. brian? >> josh elliott, nbc sports headquarters starting us off again. josh, thanks. now the other big aspect of this story and that's domestic abuse. according to the cdc, nearly one in three american women will have experienced some form of domestic abuse at some point in their lifetime.

this very high profile incident has started something of a national conversation about a topic that, of course, is very personal to so many americans and that includes our own tamron hall who is with us in the studio tonight. >> reporter: good to see you. it is personal for millions of families including my own and for those who advocate on behalf of domestic abuse survivors. but this conversation today proves something. you don't have to be personally affected to know that this is a public crisis. 4.7 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year with women ages 18 to 24 most at risk. only 55% of the cases of domestic violence are ever reported to police. >> and he slapped me on the bed and duct taped me. >> reporter: i recently sat down with a group of strong women who are the faces behind the numbers like sheena. this woman told me she and her daughter were abused. >> he then grabbed my daughter's

thigh and just squeezed it with the same pressure that he was squeezing my neck. >> reporter: in 2004 my own sister was found dead in her home. while no one was ever brought to justice police told my family all signs pointed to domestic violence. sadly, she is not alone. today the hashtag why i stayed was trending on twitter. >> she may stay because she believes it's better to keep her family together. she may stay because she loves the abuser. there are a lot of complicated reasons why people may stay. >> reporter: then-senator now vice president joe biden introduced the violence against women act which was signed into law 20 years ago. it allows funding for shelters, gives prosecutors and police more power and allows an order of protection to follow a person state to state. >> the one regret i have is we call it domestic violence, as if it's a domesticated cat. it's the most vicious form of violence there is because not only the physical scars are

left, the psychological scars that are left. >> reporter: and since 1996, the national hotline for domestic violence received 3 million calls, brian. that means on the line with the woman asking for help. and who answered? someone who was there. that's incredible. >> tamron, we appreciate you being here tonight because it is so personal. thank you very much. tamron hall with us in the studio tonight. we shift gears to our other major story this evening. the president preparing to address the nation tomorrow evening to prepare the american people for a long campaign to destroy the terrorist group isis. tonight our new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll reveals nearly half of americans think we are less safe than we were before 9/11. that's the highest since we started asking this question back in 2002. our senior white house correspondent chris jansing on the north lawn of the white house where the president met with congressional leaders about this isis threat earlier today. chris, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. that meeting lasted almost an hour and a senior white house

official has just told me that the president asked for one specific thing from congressional leaders and that's the authority to train the syrian opposition. it would require a congressional vote and, although he didn't get a commitment in the meeting, house speaker john boehner issued a statement saying he would support the president if he chose to deploy the military to help train and play an advisory role. now, senior diplomat officials say time is of the essence. they believe right now they can get a buy-in from other counties -- countries in the region to help. they've been working toward that. also in that meeting, the president did not ask leaders to vote to authorize military action. he doesn't think he needs that. and sources say he didn't ask for additional funding for the isis operation either. he did outline the speech he's going to deliver tomorrow night to the american people and the scheduling in primetime does raise the stakes. it points to both the seriousness of the threat and awareness of the white house that it's making people increasingly nervous. brian? >> chris jansing at the white house tonight. we'll see you back there tomorrow night.

our moderator of "meet the press" and political director chuck todd with us here in new york with more on the new poll numbers. >> the spike in the 9/11 fear all comes from the coverage of the beheadings of the two american journalists. the most followed news story that we've tracked in five years. and that's where the anxiety level comes from. and that's why we've seen such a flip on somehow we now want to see intervention in syria. 61% in our poll say they'd like to see some military action including 33% who would actually like to see us send combat troops. talk about a flip. a year ago we were talking about military strikes in syria. a year ago only 21% wanted to do that because it didn't impact americans. that was about chemical weapons and assad. chris just talked about the stakes for the president tomorrow night. he's got a major political problem on his hands. handling a foreign policy in our poll has just plummeted. just 32% approve of the job he's been doing. 62% disapprove.

it's a huge spike this summer and it's all about what has appeared to be unsteadiness in handling this isis crisis. >> we'll have answers tomorrow night. our whole team will be on the air tomorrow night with live coverage of the president's address to the nation. again 9:00 p.m. eastern time here on this nbc station. now to business news, and it is tech season in the business world. and for apple today that meant product rollout day including the first all-new product in the post-steve jobs era of ceo tim cook. the apple watch. jacob rascon was there for the announcements. with us from cupertino, california, tonight. jacob, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening, it was a major moment for apple and ceo tim cook. a lot on the line here. a lot to prove. and with a handful of new products, the apple event seems to have lived up to the hype. the test now becomes will consumers buy it. [ cheers and applause ] >> good morning! >> reporter: departing from

tradition, apple ceo tim cook skipped the apple company updates. >> everything's great. >> reporter: and jumped right into what he called the greatest phones in the world. >> these are the new iphones. >> reporter: the biggest change might be the bigger sizes. then there's the faster processor, improved cameras, more user friendly text message options and a host of other one-ups. >> we have one more thing. >> reporter: cook has been criticized for not producing a truly original apple product since iconic apple co-founder steve jobs' passing. today he answered his critics with the apple watch. >> amazing what you can do from your wrist. >> they've been under pressure for not innovating. i think you can just feel morale in the company on this front rising. >> reporter: it comes in different colors and sizes and wristbands. and cases. apple says it's their most personal product ever. and there was something else. both phones and the watch come with apple pay, a mobile payment

system that apple hopes will eventually replace your wallet. >> google has had it in various android phones for a while but people haven't wanted to use it that much. the apple brand and the apple marketing machine and the partners they've lined up will probably give them the best chance that anyone's had yet to actually make this work. >> reporter: the eyes of the world were trained on apple today. >> apple watch -- >> reporter: and while the laundry list of new ithings will impress the masses, the tech giant still has a lot to prove. the question is will consumers buy it. >> what's the new thing? >> reporter: cook told brian williams during product development that's what apple's all about. >> our whole role in life is to give you something you didn't know you wanted and then once you get it, you can't imagine your life without it. >> reporter: and, of course, how can you get this apple watch? it comes out early next year starting at 349. both of the iphones you can start to preorder on friday. and brian, people are already

lining up to buy them. >> something you didn't know you wanted. those words reverberate. jacob rascon out in cupertino, california, thanks. tonight the threat of severe weather and flash flooding continues in the american midwest. torrential rain, tornado watches in several states and to the west parts of arizona, nevada still under water. a nearly 30-mile stretch of i-15 north of vegas remains shut down. at one point cameras caught a van washed away by rushing water. this is a major artery between las vegas and salt lake blocked. officials say it could remain that way for several more days. still ahead for us on a tuesday evening, diagnosing autism earlier than ever before. how a small group of parents were actually able to reduce the symptoms in their children, guarded excitement tonight in the autism spectrum community. and later a fairytale cinderella story. a young woman about to make history.

as we said before the break

tonight a groundbreaking but small new study is offering hope to so many families that just maybe there could be a way to reduce the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder if you catch them early enough. the numbers, as we've reported, are staggering. 1 in 68 kids now diagnosed in the spectrum. this new study is a small one as we said, and it's preliminary but it could lead to significant changes in the way the parents flag those early symptoms and then help their children. we get our report from our national correspondent kate snow. >> reporter: as a baby, isabel was unusually fixated on objects. >> say good morning, isabel. she wouldn't turn to look at me. she'd still just be looking at the bars on her crib as if i wasn't there. >> reporter: so when her parents heard about the work sally rogers was doing they moved the family to northern california to be part of her study of seven infants. >> parents aren't asking us where do i find therapists for my child. their very first questions to us are always what can we do.

>> reporter: like isabel the babies all showed early signs of autism. not seeking a parent's attention or interacting. abnormal repetitive behaviors or fixations, not making age appropriate sounds like mama or dada. for 12 weeks, researchers taught the parents how to read cues. >> is that too much? okay. >> we learned to pick up on her eyes away or a tiny frown. >> reporter: when the infants made sounds, their parents were forced to make sounds, to communicate that it matters. it became a way to force eye contact. the change in isabel was dramatic. >> december of 2011 she was 8 or 9 months and that was a very typical look just kind of disengaged. and then this april of 2012. and that, i mean, that makes me want to cry just looking at it.

it's a -- it's just light-years beyond where she was. >> reporter: isabel is 3 now, an age when many toddlers are just being diagnosed with autism. she's no longer on the spectrum at all. of all seven infants studied, six caught up on learning skills and language, a hopeful sign, but every child with autism is different. >> i think parents should be reassured that the earlier we start intervention the better but it's never too late. >> reporter: these methods need to be tested again in larger studies but even this pilot study offers encouragement that perhaps very early intervention can make a difference. >> this was, as we said, a small study. big, big results tonight and big news. kate snow, thanks. we're back with news about changing tastes in this country. quha americans are eating less of and drinking more of these days.

home depot is dealing with what will likely be the largest

breach of credit card information in retailing history. it's feared 60 million accounts were exposed. home depot's been scrambling in recent days to get on top of this and reassure customers. today the attorneys general of four separate states launched an investigation into the data breach. economic trends to report beginning with job openings. they remain near their highest levels in 13 years. hiring is the highest pace in seven years but a rising tide not lifting all boats. mcdonald's has posted its worst sales decline in a decade. down by much more overseas than they are here, and we don't know what this says about us either, but the u.s. has overtaken france as the largest consumer of wine on the planet. americans are producing more wine and drinking more of it than the french. a tip of the hat to our friend ann compton over at abc news. retiring today 41 years to the day after starting her career as a correspondent.

she has covered seven presidents, traveled to all 50 states and along the way she and her husband raised four children. and trust me, ann made life better for all of us who covered the traveling white house. thanks to her consistently good company, high energy and good cheer. so to our friend ann, we say well done, congratulations, and enjoy grandparenting. well, a little kid has been recorded for posterity and forever just by being a little kid. there was president obama saying good-bye to an outgoing secret service agent and his wife when their son did a face plant on the soft and inviting couch there in the oval office. his family now gets to cherish this photo forever and blow it up during his rehearsal dinner. when we come back, a fairy tale beginning for a young woman who's already made history.

last night here we talked about horton who came to be known for his uncanny ability to hear a who. tonight we have the story about another icon of our childhood, cinderella. and the opening tonight on broadway of a landmark rodgers & hammerstein production that's all about magic and history.

we get our report tonight from nbc's rehema ellis. >> reporter: it's the newest look for an ageless story. >> cinderella! >> reporter: starting tonight keke palmer is the first african-american woman to step into cinderella's shoes on broadway. >> i didn't think it was possible because i didn't even think being an actress was possible. >> reporter: but when the rodgers & hammerstein producers saw her, it was magic. >> when she walked in and started singing and reading the lines, it was just love. she had everything we were looking for. >> pterodactyl. >> reporter: since her 2006 breakout role in "akeelah and the bee" she's been someone to watch. from nickelodeon to several other movies. >> try to have a little fun. >> reporter: now at 21, she's the nation's youngest talk show host with her own program on b.e.t. ♪ in the arms of my love >> reporter: when palmer got the call for broadway she says she was overwhelmed. >> i don't even know how to describe this feeling.

i was just very -- this is crazy. this is crazy, girl! >> reporter: but she says this is more than just a role. >> this is the dress. >> reporter: oh. >> when cinderella turns into cinderella. >> reporter: the play "cinderella" is also about encouraging girls to broaden their expectations. >> young black girls that think that certain things aren't possible. it's good for them just to be able to see someone that looks like them and lets them know it's possible. but lets them know just because you have never seen it doesn't mean that you can't be it. >> reporter: keke palmer, a young woman living a cinderella dream. ♪ in my own little corner >> reporter: on broadway. ♪ in my own little chair ♪ i can be whatever i want to be ♪ >> reporter: rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. beautiful story to end on for this tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we'll leave you tonight with what you might have seen if you had a cloudless sky where you

live last night. last of the supermoons this year, the harvest moon. usually a harbinger of cold weather. look back for you here tonight night. -- tomorrow night. right now at 6:00, he works for the public, but he's accused of getting personal perks. now a new turn as a result of our investigation. good evening and thanks for joining us. i'm janelle wang in for jessica aguirre. >> and i'm raj mathai. tonight, he's no longer in charge. a local official feeling the heat after he uncovered he racked up personal travel awards using personal money. last we cek we exposed the director of child services in santa clara county. tonight, jenna sussco has the fall out. >> raj, john bar tannian is no

longer calling the shots. less than an hour ago, the county announced he is on paid administrative leave, effective today until an investigation into his travel expenses is completed. until then, the county executive's office will oversee the day-to-day activities at that apartment. our investigation exposed bartannian racked up credit card and hotel reward points on the county's dime. we went through thousands of travel documents, dating back to 2008, and found he put more than $55,000 worth of hotel stays and registration fees on his personal card for more than 30 employees. the county then paid him back while he banked those rewards. we even found he got points for conferences he didn't attend. bartannian has been with the county for 13 years. he was appointed director last year. we requested an interview with him last week and again today after this announcement, he declined due