on this saturday night, benched. the nfl is rocked by another scandal, a second star player is out. this as ray rice makes his first public appearance since being suspended from the league. manhunt, a massive search underway after state troopers are shot in a late-night ambush. tonight, the killer is stilln the loose. and, waiting in the wings, the race to save a creature that's vanishing before our very eyes. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening everyone. just before coming on the air tonight we've received word that a british hostage has apparently

been murdered execution style by his isis captors in another videotape beheading. the video surfaced on the internet late today showing what appears to be 44-year-old aid worker david haines leading a statement before being brutally killed. the tape has not been publicly authenticated by british or american authorities. it appeared on the internet just a day after his family issued a public plea to his captors. nbc's kristen welker is monitoring this new development and joins us from the white house. >> reporter: lester, nbc news has learned tonight of a videotape released by the official media wing of isis purportedly showing the beheading of british hostage david haines, as you said, 44 been held captive since 2013 when it is believed he was taken from the turkish/syrian border. the white house has not commented. this comes hours after his family released a statement appealing to his captors. the statement reads in part, we are the family of david haines.

we have sent messages to you of which we have not received a reply. we are asking those holding david to make contact with us. isis is responsible for killing james foley and steven sotloff. the obama administration has embarked on what the white house spokesman is calling a war against isis. the u.s. has launched about 160 air strikes against isis targets in iraq and is expected syria will be next. the terrorist group is headquartered in that country. the administration has been working to build an international coalition to defeat the group. secretary kerry crisscrossing the middle east to get arab allies on board. while ten arab nations have signed commitments to provide some military aid, it is unlikely they will commit their armies. president obama continues to insist no u.s. boots on the ground. this latest incident could heighten the international outrage over this group. lester. >> all right, kristen, thanks. for more on this breaking news let's turn to nbc's richard engel. he's on the ground in iraq tonight. richard, why would isis put out this awful video at a time when the u.s. is putting together a

coalition to attack them? it almost seems like they're baiting the west here. >> reporter: well, i think the isis group has two objectives in this. one, this is a warning to arab nations, to neighboring countries not to get involved, especially turkey. turkey has many of its diplomats who are being held hostage by isis. and it is a message to turkey saying if turkey joins this coalition, this is going to happen to its diplomats. but there is also message to the united states, to great britain egging on a fight while isis believes that it can survive american air strikes, that there is no real ground force to push isis away. and it believes that if american air strikes come, the group will gain a tremendous amount of prestige. remember just a few months ago this was a not very well-known group. it controlled some territory in syria. now it has become a popular terrorist franchise around the world.

even eclipsing al qaeda. if you look online, a few years ago all the want-to-be terrorist groups, all the aspiring groups associated themselves with al qaeda. now all the franchises want to be just like isis. >> richard engel on the ground for us in iraq tonight. thanks. for more on how the administration plans to attack the threat of isis, let's bring in chuck todd, moderator of "meet the press." chuck, i know it's early, but this murder of david haines does it make the president's job easier in trying to form this coalition to go after isis? >> certainly, look, it was the american beheadings that galvanized the country over the last ten days and why the country is essentially backing some sort of strikes against isis to take on isis. so as far as the political dynamics in washington, they've already been there, the public's there, congress is there. the question is -- and that's the -- what richard just brought up, so far secretary kerry has had a very hard time finding

coalition members that will actually contribute combat troops. you cannot defeat isis in syria without combat troops. the u.s. does not want it to be theirs. and if you don't have turkey, if you don't have saudi arabia, if you don't have jordan committing to those combat troops, then you're not going to succeed against isis. i think that seems to be the big challenge for the administration even as the threat of isis clearly is now more and more public all the time. >> all right. chuck, thanks very much. of course chuck will have more on this topic tomorrow morning on "meet the press." tonight, yet another star nfl player is benched after being indicted on an abuse charge. this time involving a child. another head shaking scandal for the league after its admitted mishandling of the ray rice case. nbc's peter alexander has developments on both those fronts for us tonight. >> reporter: hailed as one of the best running backs in nfl history, adrian peterson turned himself in texas this morning charged with injury to a child, reckless and criminal neglect.

peterson's accused of abusing his 4-year-old son by hitting him with a wooden switch, a small tree branch. >> we take all allegations of abuse against children very seriously. >> reporter: in a statement peterson's attorney quickly downplayed the charge calling the 29-year-old a loving father, adding he used the same kind of discipline with his child as he experienced as a child in east texas growing up. adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury. peterson posted $15,000 bond and was released. but his team, the minnesota vikings, benched him for tomorrow's game. his image still prominently displayed on the ticket. >> i would argue that there's no time in the history of the nfl where this information coming out would be worse for adrian peterson than this week. >> reporter: today, ray rice was welcomed back to the sidelines at a high school football game in new rochelle, new york, his alma mater. his arm wrapped around his wife. their 2-year-old daughter raven named for his former baltimore

team in tow. >> ray, is there anything you want to say to your fans? >> huh? >> reporter: no comment. it's the couple's first public appearance since the tmz sports video showing rice hitting his then-fiancee valentine's day weekend. rice's former coach offered unwavering support. >> the mistake he made will be erased by the good deeds he will continue to do and because of the good deeds that he has done. new rochelle high school will always be ray rice's home. >> reporter: scrutiny of the nfl's handling of the domestic violence cases has exploded. and the controversy isn't going away with the carolina panthers greg hardy expected to play tomorrow despite his conviction in july for assaulting and threatening to kill his girlfriend. >> some girl is getting her -- beat upstairs. and i heard it. and i seen it. he is beating her -- right now. so get here now. >> reporter: hardy's appealing the conviction. >> it was a mind blowingly terrible week for the nfl.

and it had nothing to do with the football. >> reporter: 42 nfl players have been arrested for domestic violence in the last eight years. that's according to usa today. three-quarters of them faced no disciplinary action, just a handful were cut by their teams. as for adrian peterson, prosecutors say his first court appearance will be in a couple weeks. trial date could be set for some time next year. the question is whether or not peterson will return to the field this year. the nfl heading into another full slate of games tomorrow. >> peter alexander tonight, thanks. a pennsylvania -- manhunt tonight. police in at least three states are looking for the gunman. nbc's chris dal grin. >> reporter: looking for at

least one person who appears to have brazenly targeted law enforcement. >> this attack was an ambush. our troopers were leaving the barracks and were shot without warning. and really had no chance to defend themselves. it's a cowardly attack. >> reporter: it was a late-night shift change at the blooming grove police barracks in far northeastern pennsylvania. just before 11:00 p.m. when shots rang out. killed in the fire corporal bryon dickson, a young far and husband. trooper alex douglass was wounded, rushed to surgery and is now in stable but critical condition. after the attack local roads and even a major highway were shut down. officers from across pennsylvania and nearby new york and new jersey pitching in. >> i can't quiet anyone's fears because we don't have the person in custody. >> reporter: several people were questioned throughout the day. though officials say there is still no suspect. a $20,000 reward is on the

table. and the public is being asked to keep an eye out for anything unusual. while the massive search continues for officers, the mourning is just beginning. >> it has touched us to the core. >> reporter: but for now they keep working, hunting for whoever killed one of their own. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, new york. we turn now to the severe respiratory virus striking mainly children in more and more parts of the country. 16 states including some in the northeast are now investigating suspected cases. of those the cdc has confirmed the virus in six states. more than 1,000 kids have already been hospitalized and it's been particularly dangerous for those with asthma. now to the continued fallout over the oscar pistorius verdict. the olympic sprinter was acquitted in the murder of his girlfriend reeva steenkamp and convicted of a lesser charge. that has many asking was justice really served? nbc's jeff rosin spoke exclusively to her parents and

has our report from south africa tonight. >> reporter: when oscar pistorius walked out of court free on bail friday, the public reaction was swift and divided. one south african paper calling it, oscar's great escape. the once celebrated olympic sprinter convicted on the lesser charge of culpable homicide, comparable to voluntary manslaughter. that means the judge believed pistorius, that he didn't mean to kill his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. pistorius's uncle arnold says the family is deeply grateful. >> a tragedy like this, there's no -- >> reporter: but in an exclusive interview, reeva's parents, june and barry steenkamp tell me there was no justice for their daughter. >> i can't believe that they believe that it was an accident. >> reporter: do you think oscar pistorius got away with murder? >> i say yes.

i say yes. >> you know, i don't think this is the right verdict. there's been a lot of leniency with him. >> reporter: the sentencing hearing is set for october 13th, but reeva's parents have no plans to attend. >> i'm not coming back. we just have to -- >> reporter: wearing a reminder of reeva near her heart. >> and this is the first present she ever gave me. so i think i always wear them. >> reporter: reeva's parents told me they don't want revenge against pistorius. in fact, they don't even care if he goes to prison or not. one thing they do want, a private face-to-face meeting with him though they admit they don't even know what they'd say. he faces anywhere from zero days up to 15 years in prison when he's sentenced next month. jeff rosin, nbc news, pretoria, south africa. when "nbc nightly news"

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the monarch butterfly was once a common sight throughout the united states. now it's reign is being threatened and the race is onto save the beautiful creature. but not everyone agrees in just how to do that. here's nbc's anne thompson. >> it's really thinned out in here, hasn't it? >> reporter: the annual search for monarch butterflies is on in st. paul, minnesota. usually abundant at this time of year, the creatures with wings like orange stained glass are disturbingly rare. what changes have you seen? >> well, i'm certainly seeing a lot fewer monarchs. >> reporter: this conservation biologist reports a 90% decline nationwide since 1995. now environmental activists are asking the u.s. fish and wildlife service to declare the monarch a threatened species. the average adult monarch weighs as much as a paper clip. and every year at the end of summer it begins a journey that takes it thousands of miles all the way from minnesota to central mexico.

in the spring and early summer they head north again through the heart of the corn and soybean belt. once plentiful with milk week, a life source for monarchs. so this is where the monarchs lay their eggs. and it's what they eat? >> right. this is the only thing that the cater pillars can eat. >> reporter: a crucial habitat that's disappearing. an area the size of texas lost since 1995. the land use and weather play a role, conservations point the finger at increased use of herbicides like roundup that kill milk weed. >> we have to change the way we farm. and we should start doing it sooner rather than later. >> reporter: the modified seeds in roundup are made by monsanto. when asked if it's responsible for the monarch's decline, this was their answer. >> we agree with the experts that have identified a number of factors that contribute to the decline in monarch population. we also agree that the place to focus our efforts is on

restoring habitat outside farm fields. >> reporter: monsanto says it's working with farmers and conservation groups. replenishing milk weed is the goal. the dispute is how to do it. anne thompson, nbc news, st. paul, minnesota. coming up, the rare sight that just goes to show the sky's the limit. for over a decade, doctors have been prescribing nexium to patients just like you. for many, prescription nexium helps heal acid-related erosions in the lining of the esophagus. there is risk of bone fracture and low magnesium levels. side effects may include headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. if you have persistent diarrhea, contact your doctor right away. other serious stomach conditions may exist. avoid if you take clopidogrel. nexium 40 mg is only available by prescription. talk to your doctor. for free home delivery, enroll in nexium direct today.

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the skies put on a rare show last night, a powerful solar flare made the northern lights

visible to millions who normally miss out on the display. folks from the pacific northwest all the way to new england were able to catch a glimpse of the dazzling colors. they could be in for another treat tonight. for most of us, conjures up memories of trails and melting marshmallows. a growing trend experiencing the great outdoors, just not the old fashioned way. here's nbc's jacob rascon. >> reporter: when the kids arrive, it all seems traditional enough. breakfast, bunk beds, beautiful scenery. but after roll call they quickly realize this isn't their father's camp. in southern california paint balling is the new pastime, ziplining the new hiking and

hollywood stunt training the new marshmallow roasting. >> we strive to give the experience you can't find anywhere else. >> reporter: this seventh grader and first-time atv rider -- >> this camp has everything. there's no dull moment. every time you're doing something exciting like something nobody else has. >> reporter: she used to be a regular at other camps. >> other camps, you know, they have a giant swing, maybe a diving board. this camp has atvs and minibikes. >> reporter: attendance here is soaring. nearly double today what it was in 2007. and it's all because they say they're giving kids what they want. >> this is where i'm getting nervous right here. >> reporter: and for some like avery polter, exactly what they need. terrified of heights, the 12-year-old fails to finish a ropes course. but decides to try again. with some encouragement. >> you're fine. >> reporter: success. >> it feels so good to like just

conquer your fears. >> personal growth. something that you may be nervous or a little apprehensive about. and being able to go on there and be with your friends and have your friends kind of help you out and work through some of the problems you may be having can be such a rich experience. >> reporter: the confidence, the challenge, the constant fun making this camp more than just an extreme adventure but a phenomenon that's becoming a new tradition. jacob rascon, nbc news, lake arrowhead, california. >> looks like fun. when we come back, a banner day for the country and one woman in particular.

this weekend the nation celebrates 200 years of the star spangled banner. tonight, we have a story of the woman who started the celebration a bit early hitting the road with the intent of performing the national anthem in every corner of this country. nbc's halle jackson has our story. ♪ oh, say can you see >> reporter: those might be the most famous five words in american history. and she has sung them over and over. ♪ can you see >> reporter: and the star spangled banner celebrates its 200th birthday tomorrow, she will sing them one more time at fort mchenry where francis scott

key watched. >> he wrote something because it came from his heart. it wasn't like this was going to be a hit song. this song is going to be around for 200 years. >> reporter: her performance will cap a journey that's taken her across america from madison square garden to a street corner in idaho. from florida to alaska. and just recently to rainy nashville in tennessee. the 50th state on her journey. where did the idea come from? how did you think, hey, let me do this? >> i love our military. i'm always a big supporter of people who embody the meaning of the national anthem. and i thought it was a perfect fit. >> reporter: stang's not singing the national anthem nationally for fortune or fame. instead of giving autographs after her performances, she asks her audience to do the signing. over the last two years stang has collected hundreds of thank you notes from members of the military. >> they don't know us personally, but they'll do it because they love this country. and what they're fighting for and their families. and i just think that's so

amazing. ♪ bright stars >> reporter: stang wants to honor those who protect the star spangled banner and the freedom it represents. >> no matter who you voted for, no matter what team you want to win, we are one nation, we have one song and this is our song. ♪ and the home of the brave >> reporter: halle jackson, nbc news, los angeles. and we salute her at the end of her long journey. that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and then right back here tomorrow evening. good night everyone.

welcome to the u.s. bank nbc sports report. >> the circle city on a saturday night. the shamrock series, to see notre dame play at the alamodome, fedex field, soldier field and jerry world down in arlington. this year, notre dame andurdue from the home of the indianapolis colts. welcome outside lucas oil stadium. guys, notre dame-purdue, not separated by a hundred miles on the map, but headed in very different directions. purdue have lost 13 of their last 15 games. so, these players, these teams, this stage, what does it all mean? >> just don't get caught up in the atmosphere. that's the number one