on our broadcast tonight, damage control. is the nfl commissioner in trouble? the ray rice scandal continues to explode. and late word tonight about how long ago the nfl may have had that video in their possession. plan of attack with the president about to address the nation in primetime, what we've learned about his strategy to take on isis. and our own richard engel in the place overseas where the u.s. is already in this fight. health crisis, a staggering look at this outbreak striking so many children in at least a dozen states now. dr. nancy snyderman in the icu with kids suddenly struggling to breathe. and making a splash, how the guy behind a new book of remarkable photos gets these pictures. and how he got his inspiration from a dog that would not sit still. "nightly news" begins now.

from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. good evening. the controversy surrounding the nfl is not going away even though a player who slugged a woman and knocked her out inside an elevator has been taken out of the game. now it's the nfl's customers who are having their say. and increasingly it's the nfl commissioner, roger goodell, who is under fire being pursued with the same questions. what did the league know and when did they know it? and how is it possible they didn't see that video from inside the elevator before the rest of us did? tonight, in fact the associated press is reporting an nfl executive was sent that video months ago. we begin our coverage tonight with nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: for days the nfl's been playing defense over questions whether the league saw this video last spring obtained by tmz sports. nfl commissioner roger goodell

told cbs news neither he nor anyone in the league saw that tape before this week. >> no one in the nfl, to my knowledge and i've been asked that same question, and the answer to that is no. >> reporter: but tonight the associated press citing an unnamed law enforcement official is reporting the video was delivered to nfl offices in april. the league says it has no record of that. the drum beat of criticism against the nfl got much louder today. the national organization for women is calling for goodell's resignation and the appointment of an independent investigator. >> the nfl doesn't have an individualized ray rice problem, it has a violence against women problem. >> reporter: commentators have accused goodell of a cover-up. >> mr. goodell is an enabler of men who beat women. his position within the national football league is no longer tenable. >> reporter: goodell says the nfl is providing rice and his family resources to help them. and he told cbs news rice may one day be allowed to return to the game. >> i don't rule that out, but he

would have to make sure that we are fully confident that he is addressing this issue. >> reporter: in this letter to ravens fans, the owner admitted we were wrong and offered an apology. i'm sorry we let you down. rice who is publicly advocated for the victims of bullying spoke to nbc news last november. >> it's a very powerful thing to be kind to somebody. because you never know what someone's going through. >> reporter: a friend of the rice family and wife of a former nfl athlete told nbc news the episode was out of character. >> they are not violent people. they're very loving, doting over each other, over their daughter. >> reporter: as for commissioner goodell, he doesn't think his job's in jeopardy. >> he probably won't be kicked out of the league because he's made millions probably billions for the league since he's been in there. this might be a little bit of a setback, but money talks. >> reporter: tonight roger goodell was scheduled to present a humanitarian award in charlotte to one of the league's owners but nbc news learned goodell is no longer attending

that event. meanwhile, brian, baltimore ravens are preparing for their next game without ray rice tomorrow night. >> peter alexander starting us off in our d.c. newsroom tonight, peter, thanks. for more on all of this we're joined by bob costas of nbc sports with us on the telephone from the west coast tonight. bob, within the nfl they talk about protecting the shield. they mean that logo and all that it entails, especially integrity. the commissioner technically works for the owners, but there are also the customers to worry about. they're getting heard from now. question is, do you think this commissioner can now survive? >> he is extremely well thought of by the owners. and i think they would give him the benefit of every doubt. if there's some plausible deniability, it seems credible that someone in the nfl office had this tape in april. but if this plausible deniability about the commissioner ever seeing it, then i think he survives but with his reputation damaged. but if the evidence indicates that he did see it before this

week, and i take no pleasure in saying this, i think he's done. >> and how -- what will you look for next, bob? >> i don't really know if perhaps there's somebody within the nfl office who has further information. who knows. people will continue to dig and try and report. if something connects roger goodell to having seen this tape before this week, i think it's a public relations disaster that he cannot survive. but absent that evidence, i think he takes a heck of a hit. maybe he goes down, but he gets back up. >> bob costas nbc sports, thank you very much for being part of our coverage. we turn the page now to washington where we will know a lot more in a few hours when the president tonight addresses a national television audience on this eve of 9/11 about his plan and possibility of an extended u.s. military air campaign against the terrorist militants of isis to stop their advance and diminish the threat they

pose to all in their path. our team is at the white house, in iraq and in syria tonight. we start off with our senior white house correspondent chris jansing. chris, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. president obama will lay out an picture of an increasingly complicated and fast changing plan threat and lay out the fight against isis. between tweaking the speech in the oval office today, the president did something he doesn't do all that often. he called members of the house who will now change their schedule and come back next week for a potential vote on this new strategy. after weeks of intense debate and deliberations, today president obama met with his national security team in advance of a high stakes speech to make his case against isis. he'll say, this counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out isil wherever they exist. as air strikes continue to rain down on iraq, 154 of them so far, senior white house officials say the president is

prepared to expand the air campaign into syria. he'll reiterate american combat troops won't be used. but will ask congress to okay arming and training the syrian rebels to fight the ground war. he also called the king of saudi arabia. sources say getting new commitments that will bolster his argument tonight that america will not go it alone. and as such john kerry to iraq, then jordan for a day of intense diplomacy. exactly one year ago the president unsuccessfully made a case for missile strikes in syria. >> if we fail to act, the assad regime will see no reason to stop using chemical weapons. >> reporter: but since then the landscape has dramatically changed. isis fighters have made unexpectedly swift advances taking land in iraq and syria to establish their islamic state, or caliphate. tonight, he'll outline plans to choke off their money supply. the political climate he shifted significantly too with the brutal murders of two americans galvanizing public opinion. >> so what i'm going to be asking the american people to understand is, number one, this is a serious threat.

number two, we have the capacity to deal with it. >> reporter: and perhaps most challenging of all, he'll argue for patience in fighting a barbaric and resilient enemy. chris jansing, nbc news, the white house. >> reporter: this is richard engel in northern iraq. through terror and mass execution, isis has carved out a vicious kingdom. in northern iraq, these u.s.-backed kurdish fighters are pushing isis back. we joined them in the zardac mountains and came across a valley of death. this is what american air strikes are doing on the ground. on this scorched hillside we've counted the bodies of more than a dozen isis fighters. the stench of death here is overwhelming. the bodies baking in the sun for five days are clearly fighters. the kurds aren't even bothering to bury them. the kurdish fighters have american weapons. they pass intelligence to american forces.

but in the larger war against isis, this is a minor front. the u.s. has no such trusted partners elsewhere. in syria the moderate rebels the administration hopes to partner with have never been weaker. in iraq, the u.s.-trained army fell apart. barham sala is one of the few iraqi leaders willing to own up to this colossal failure. many americans say, hey, we did our part in iraq. it's up to the iraqis, it's up to the syrians. >> it's our responsibility. the responsibility of iraqi leaders who have failed. failed a nation, failed their people. some people in the united states might have hoped that this is no longer our problem. we turn the page, this is not a concern of ours. isis has demonstrated otherwise. >> reporter: isis spread where iraq and syria collapsed. and now with few allies on the ground, the u.s. is stepping in again. the president has repeatedly stressed, brian, that there will

be no american boots on the ground fighting isis, that it will be done by local partner forces instead. the problem, brian, is except for right here those partners don't exist. >> richard engel back in iraq for us tonight. richard, thanks. perhaps this reminder is useful before we hear from the president tonight. syria's been consumed for three and a half years by a civil war that has killed almost 200,000 people. isis, it turns out, is also an adversary of the syrian government. one big irony here is that attacking isis in syria could actually end up helping the regime of assad. nbc's bill neely has covered the syrian conflict from beginning tonight. he is back in damascus. bill, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. from syria and what a difference a year makes. then president obama was prepared to bomb the regime. now he may be prepared to bomb its enemies in isis.

there's huge problems. there's no friendly government here. no friendly syrian air force. no effective allies on the ground. and isis here is very strong. so strategy is definitely a problem. how does president obama weaken isis without strengthening president assad? who are the rebels who can take the ground once the bombs fall? where are the moderate rebels the u.s. might arm and train? and in the end what does victory against isis and syria look like? is president assad also holding the trophy? so bombing iraq is one thing. bombing syria, brian, quite another. it is quite simply a leap in the dark. >> bill, you ask a lot of good questions there. bill neely with us from damascus tonight. thanks. and reminder we'll be back on the air for the president's address to the nation 9:00 p.m. eastern time, 6:00 p.m. along the west coast. millions of people in this country are watching for more severe weather tonight especially in the midwest.

the possibility of damaging winds and flooding. and tonight a california couple lucky to survive after their van got caught in a flash flood in nevada. we get more on all of it tonight including the season's first big cold snap from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> reporter: passers-by powerless to help. the van carrying lauren and margie miller was swept away. >> i just started praying as soon as i got in that water. >> reporter: the couple from fresno, california, had just begun a cross-country tour when a flash flood in nevada took them by surprise. >> she said i can't hold on. and then she was gone. >> reporter: severe storms sweeping the nation. more than ten inches of rain in browning, missouri. nine inches in nearby kirksville. eight in paris, missouri. flash floods in omaha stranded vehicles. more than 20 million people at risk for strong storms through the night in parts of indiana, ohio and michigan are under the greatest threat.

>> reporter: sirens blared today as a tornado touched down near akron, ohio. seven in the region in the last 24 hours. detroit's city schools heeded warnings and closed early. and work crews will spend days repairing the damage to that stretch of i-15 in nevada. while the millers salvage their van. by week's end temperatures are expected to plummet with plain states near the freezing mark. this map shows the white stuff has already blanketed parts of canada where all good things cold seem to come from. kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. and still ahead for us tonight on a wednesday night, combatting this scary outbreak of the respiratory virus striking mostly children spreading across the country. from the emergency room tonight, dr. nancy snyderman reports on how fast it escalates. and later the remarkable photos and the photographer who captures them. how does he get his subjects to cooperate like that?

we're back tonight with an update on this awful respiratory virus now showing up in 12 states. this strikes mostly kids. it's especially bad for those with asthma. starts off as a cold and then it gets bad fast leaving children gasping for air. our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman just back from denver, one of the hardest hit communities, with an up close look at how serious the threat is. >> reporter: in less than 24 hours jillian went from being a playful 4-year-old -- >> you have to drink all your medicine. >> reporter: to a child struggling to breathe. her mom was so frightened she took her to the rocky mountain hospital for children where she was admitted to the hospital after spending hours in the er. >> she started coughing and i went upstairs and she looked at me and she couldn't breathe. >> reporter: and then things get worse? >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: jillian has asthma which is normally under control, but doctors blame the rapid

decline on a respiratory infection caused by enterovirus. this hospital alone has seen nine times the number of pediatric respiratory infections as it did the same time last year. >> we've seen a lot of sicker children and having a lot more admittance to the hospital as well. >> reporter: aiden got so sick so quickly he required a ventilator to breathe for him. he also had to be sedated so his body could rest and fight the infection. when the doctors talk to you about a ventilator, did you think sounds like life support? >> yeah. i did. it's hard to see my 3-year-old like this. >> reporter: these patients do recover. >> but he's getting better. >> reporter: there's no specific treatment besides supporting their breathing, fluids and medicine to reduce fever. but with a new school year just underway, health officials worry the spread of this virus has just begun.

>> nice deep breath. >> reporter: dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news, denver. and we're back in a moment with a big development, rare good news about a crisis the world has been battling together for a generation.

while much of the world is focused on this threat of isis and iraq and syria, today russia test launched an intercontinental nuclear missile from a submarine. it can deliver a nuclear strike with 100 times the force of the blast that destroyed hiroshima. russian president putin explained today using some scary throwback language, he said it was a necessary deterrent to counter what he called growing security threats from nato, of course, namely the u.s. and others. six u.s. military helicopters landed in a field in poland yesterday. they were apparently forced to land due to thick fog. and regardless of the avionics

they carry onboard, five blackhawks, one twin row tor shanuk landed to get their bearings. they were warmly greeted by the locals who brought cake and coffee and leaflets describing their polish town in english. they ended up taking off two hours later. for over a generation in this country we've been talking about the ozone layer. there's been a crackdown on refrigerants like freon and aerosol sprays. and it appears to be working. a group of 300 scientists working under the banner of the u.n. now reporting the first significant recovery in the ozone layer since 1989. they say it's an example of what the world can do if they come together to stop an environmental crisis. you may recall on labor day weekend the president abruptly chose to fly home to d.c. from what was supposed to be an overnight in westchester county, new york. north of the city. our station here in new york, wnbc, says the white house couldn't find a top tier new york area golf course or country club that would allow the president to play given all the security shutdowns and concerns

that come along with him. the president went back to the white house instead. it's not the first time a president has been turned away from a golf course or country club because of that reason. proof of how valuable perhaps a commodity at tee time can be on a beautiful saturday morning of labor day weekend for their members. and a major landmark for the u.s. population. for the first time since the government started keeping these stats in 1976, single americans now make up over half of the adult american population. that's close to 125 million people age 16 and older. one research economist called it remarkable because of all the implications here. more renters than buyers, fewer children, and vastly different spending habits. when we come back here tonight, a whole different perspective on some of our very best friends.

finally tonight, as an antidote to some of the more depressing news in the news of late, something completely different as they say. a photographer who loves his subject matter and has shown us the remarkable results when dogs hit the water and start their job paddling. we get the backstory tonight from nbc's jacob rascon.

>> reporter: when you love your pets, you take their picture. when you're seth castille, you love them so much you take pet pictures for a living. >> people say you should photograph weddings. i say i'm not a wedding photographer, i'm a dog photographer. >> reporter: it was hardly the best paying job. >> my cash flow was a couple hundred bucks. this was getting down to the wire. >> reporter: then seth met a dog named buster who didn't like land. >> he just started jumping in immediately. and the owner was so upset. buster, he wasn't upset. i said wait a second. let's see what's happening here. >> reporter: that day the definition of pet pictures took a plunge. a crazy, cute, playful and sometimes terrifying plunge. >> i just thought this is what i want to do every day. >> reporter: it wasn't easy. 2,000 pictures to get duncan, the pug, to look like this. but millions of online views later seth signed a book deal. and the struggling pet photographer became a "new york

times" best selling author. >> it was like living in a movie, man. living in a movie. >> reporter: and now -- >> first time in the water? >> first time in the water for this dachshund puppy. >> reporter: that movie will get a prequel. underwater puppies is, well, puppies under water learning to swim, dive, grin and just be. a special treat for dog lovers. >> i've seen my dog go under water like that and i've wondered what it looked like from that view. and now i know. >> reporter: now you know. >> now i know. >> reporter: and seth knows it wasn't really his idea. >> i can't take too much credit for that. i mean, it's the dog. >> reporter: it was buster's idea, the dog who wouldn't sit, behind the book that became a hit. now the prequel that promises pet picture paradise. jacob rascon, nbc news, los angeles. and that's our broadcast on a wednesday night. thank you for being here with us as always.

i'm brian williams. a reminder, we're back on the air tonight 9:00 p.m. eastern for the president's address to the nation. until then, good night from new york. good evening. thank you for being with us. this could be a defining night for president obama. in just a few moments, he will address the nation about his plan to fight isis militants. >> before president obama begins, we want to give you a quick look at our local headlines. wildlife officials have killed a mountain lion who they believe is the same big cat who attacked a 6-year-old in cupertino on sunday. and the napa earthquake has claimed its first life. a 65-year-old grandmother has passed away after suffering a head injury during the earthquake. a live look now at the white house.

it is almost 9:00 eastern time. president obama ready for his national address. let's now send it to new york first with nbc's brian williams. >> announcer: from nbc news, a presidential address. here's brian williams. >> good evening. just over a minute from now on this eve of september 11th, president obama has chosen to address the american people on what is still a relatively new terrorist threat. it group you'll hear him call isil, more commonly known as isis. we're talking about the same thing, however. the islamic extremists we've seen driving the vehicles the u.s. left behind in iraq, humvees, fords, using american made weapons left behind in iraq and beheading people every