>> and a couple more giants games next couple nights. >> cool. the giants late inning victory just a couple hours ago. on our broadcast tonight, emergency response. there are big changes on the way as the head of the cdc admits mistakes. he says more could have been done, more should have been done to prevent that nurse from contracting ebola. tornado warnings. a dangerous night ahead as a big storm system is moving east. air scare at 30,000 feet when suddenly the walls of a commercial jetliner started to crack and buckle. and buying time for a growing number of women who want to have a baby but perhaps not just yet. apple and facebook tonight are offering to pay for their women employees who elect to freeze their eggs. "nightly news" begins now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. good evening.

the head of the cdc said today they could have done a better job than how they have handled cases of ebola. in fact, he admitted the government has made mistakes in its effort to control the virus. mistakes that may have led to a nurse getting sick. and today the cdc pledged to do better. mostly through the use of rapid response teams dispatched to any hospital within hours where cases of ebola show up. the good news today, the nurse who contracted ebola from a patient who later died is in good condition tonight. in fact, it's where we begin. our national correspondent kate snow remains at the hospital in dallas. kate, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. starting today anyone who walks into an emergency room in this country with ebola, then a specialized team, as you mentioned, will be deployed by the cdc ready to move that patient if necessary to another hospital. all of this coming too late for the nurse being treated here. a stark admission today. nurse nina pham might never have

gotten sick if the cdc had immediately sent a rapid response team of infection control experts to dallas as soon as thomas eric duncan tested positive. >> i wish we had put a team like this on the ground the day the patient, the first patient, was diagnosed. that might have prevented this infection. >> reporter: today we heard from nina pham directly. "i'm doing well," she said in a written statement, "and want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers." in her statement she defended texas health presbyterian hospital dallas saying, she was bless to be cared for by the best team of doctors and nurses in the world. but because pham was somehow infected while wearing protective gear, the cdc said today it will now monitor 76 hospital staff in addition to the four dozen already being monitored in the community. >> our teams have been working very hard to cast a wide net and identify everyone who might have been exposed. that includes anyone who went into the room and that includes people who might have handled specimens of blood that were

taken from him. >> reporter: pham was certified to work as a critical care nurse less than two months before helping treat duncan's deadly ebola, raising questions. >> i think we need to select those health care workers who are most experienced and, most importantly, have undergone extensive training for how to safely provide care for those patients. >> reporter: e-mails from nbc news asking the hospital to clarify nina pham's experience and role on the team have gone unanswered. the last time any doctor from the hospital spoke on camera was early sunday morning. >> we can't discuss any further details of the situation. >> reporter: this afternoon a surreal scene. hazmat teams preparing a new home for pham's dog bentley who is being monitored by a veterinarian although scientists aren't even sure if dogs can contract ebola. the man who came into contact with pham is here hospitalized but said to have no symptoms. brian, of the 48 people also

being monitored because they came into contact with duncan, none of them have shown symptoms. and frieden said today they've gone through the highest risk period now for ebola. >> kate, thank you. kate snow starting us off from dallas tonight. if there's anyone who knows what this nurse in dallas is going through, it's dr. kent brantly. he's one of the handful of americans who have contracted ebola and lived to tell about it. now he's also able to do something about it. it's his blood that is able to help patients like the young nurse in dallas. nbc's tom costello has our report. >> reporter: it's been ten weeks since dr. kent brantly walked into emory university fighting for his life. he himself had received a blood transfusion from a 14-year-old ebola survivor who he treated back in liberia. >> it is great. it is great to be here. >> reporter: brantly has donated roughly a gallon of his own blood to save others. dallas nurse nina pham. nbc cameraman ashoka mukpo and fellow doctor, rick sacra.

>> i appreciate drkent brantly, my dear colleague and friend, for his willingness to come all the way here to donate his plasma to help in my recovery. >> reporter: the blood of ebola survivors like dr. brantly is loaded with antibodies that just fought off the disease. in a blood transfusion, the donor's plasma is separated from red blood cells and given to the ebola patient in the hope that those antibodies will then kickstart the patient's immune system. >> you're trying to impart on the patient that advantage that dr. brantly now has in his own blood of these powerful proteins called antibodies which can block the virus. >> reporter: but the patient's blood type must match the donor's. dr. brantly was not a match for thomas duncan who died in dallas last week. still, it's not clear what works best, the transfusions, experimental drugs or the intensive care. >> i think we don't know whether the blood transfusion will or will not have a beneficial effect at this time in and of itself. it very well may in the context

of other treatments. >> reporter: doctors believe someone who has survived ebola has the most antibodies to the virus in the months immediately after surviving, which means dr. brantly's antibodies are the most potent potentially right now. brian? >> tom costello in our d.c. newsroom tonight. tom, thanks. now to the weather making news. another dangerous night ahead for nearly 30 million americans as an already deadly outbreak of severe weather moves to the north and east. you see it there. a huge system already spawning tornadoes. the watches and warnings will continue throughout this night. nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer monitoring it all from charlotte. >> reporter: from alabama to the carolinas, a massive storm system packing high winds and heavy rain pushed its way across the southeast today. it spawned two tornadoes in the metro atlanta area. >> people's houses are just totally gone. they're having to rummage through their stuff. >> reporter: wesley cagle's family felt their house shake at 6:00 this morning. broken tree limbs punctured the house.

fortunately, no one was hurt. >> let's just look at how strong those winds are. >> reporter: tornado warnings sounded across north carolina today. >> take shelter right now. >> reporter: in lawndale, an hour west of charlotte, high schoolers forced from class to hunker down in a hallway. this storm spread 800 miles across more than a dozen states. at least ten tornadoes have been confirmed and hundreds of severe weather reports. two people were killed. a 75-year-old woman died after a tree fell on her home in alabama. and in arkansas, neighbors are rallying around a family of a marine who died after an ef-2 tornado tore through his family's home. his wife remains in critical condition. his three children are okay. now, here in charlotte, a tornado watch remains in effect until 10:00 tonight. in fact, severe storms are still possible from west virginia down into florida tonight. now, tomorrow we are going to lose the threat of tornadoes. however, through the mid-atlantic up into the northeast, we could still see strong storms produce wind gusts

in excess of 50 miles per hour and also produce some flash flooding. i want to quickly point out a major hurricane right now also in the atlantic. this is a category 3 hurricane gonzalo. with winds at near 115 miles per hour. as of right now, forecasts indicate it could hit bermuda as a category 3 hurricane on friday. brian? >> dylan, thanks. dylan dreyer in charlotte tonight. as we said at the top of the broadcast, white-knuckle fliers beware. a scare for 190 passengers and crew on board an american airlines flight from san francisco to dallas, when suddenly there was a series of loud banging noises, then an even bigger fright for passengers when they realized the interior wall of the plane began to crack. our report on this tonight from nbc's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: this is the midair scare passengers came face-to-face with. it ended safely, but shortly after takeoff, the wall of this

american airlines 757 cracked. >> all of a sudden there were loud popping and ripping noise. >> reporter: frightened passengers headed from san francisco to dallas/ft. worth monday alert the cabin crew. tense moments in the sky. >> both sides of the cabin started ripping in and tearing in. and everybody started screaming and shouting. >> reporter: passengers say the flight crew kept the nearly 200 aboard calm. the pilot radioed the tower. >> we're in an emergency airplane. >> reporter: the plane is turning back. emergency personnel are on alert. >> normal rollout but fire equipment standing by. >> reporter: airborne for an hour, the jet safely touches down back in san francisco. american airlines says they're investigating a possible blown air duct and a few of the interior wall panels cracked or came loose. the cabin never lost pressure and the oxygen masks were not deployed. still, this was a flight and a sight most will never forget. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. now, from news overseas to

the largest yet u.s.-led assault on the syrian city of kobani. the target here isis militants over the past two days. 21 separate air strikes near the city which is very close to the turkish border. a third of kobani remains under control of isis. meanwhile, here in the u.s., on a secure facility on the grounds of andrews air force base, military leaders from 22 different nations have gathered to strategize against isis. president obama emerged from this session to warn once again of a long campaign ahead to defeat the enemy. just three weeks from tonight we could witness a dramatic shift of power in this country. control of the u.s. senate is up for grabs, and even if there isn't a senate race where you live, these midterm elections could affect everything from national security to health care to how much we pay in taxes. one of the biggest and most closely watched contests is in kentucky. our senior white house correspondent chris jansing has our report.

>> send alison to the senate. >> reporter: from the start of her campaign democrats thought alison lundergan grimes was a strong bet to beat the top republican in the senate, mitch mcconnell. then this. >> did you vote for president obama? >> this election isn't about the president. >> did you vote for him? >> i respect the sanctity of the ballot box. >> you are not going to answer? >> again, i don't think the president is on the ballot. >> reporter: seven times in seven days she refused to say if she voted for the president, including last night during the only debate of this close race. >> you won't answer that question tonight? >> every kentuckian has the right for privacy at the ballot box. >> reporter: when the white house tried to make light of it all. >> i'll tell you that i voted for the president. >> reporter: but the democratic senate campaign committee which has put $2 million into the race, seems to be giving up on her. they stopped paying for ads. and other democrats are using their own air time to distance themselves from the president. >> i told the president no to special treatment for congress. >> he took the white house to task for the disastrous health

care website. >> i'll make sure president obama gets the message. >> reporter: so while president obama raised millions at 50 fund-raisers this year, they're behind closed doors. most candidates don't want a photo op with an unpopular president. >> he'll have to pick his spots where he can make a difference and he's going to have to tolerate some of these indignities along the way. >> reporter: supporters of alison lundergan grimes point out that the president's approval rating in kentucky is just 41%. they think her refusal to answer is smart. the president does have some campaign appearances coming up starting tomorrow in connecticut. >> chris jansing at the white house for us. chris, thanks. which brings us to chuck todd, our political director. moderator of "meet the press." with us in the studio. chuck, let's put it this way, three weeks to go, give us three races to watch. >> normally the president's unpopularity should be enough for republicans to get control of the senate. but three races i'm watching that are the big hurdles. one of their hurdles is organization. no state's more emblematic of

the democratic party's organizational advantage than iowa. there's a very close race. the democrat bruce braley, the republican joni ernst. as iowa senate goes, so goes control of the united states senate. it's negative, it's nasty, like every other race. then there are two other races that present a unique hurdle for the republicans. that's kansas and south dakota. independent candidates are surging. in kansas greg orman. in south dakota, it's a former republican senator turned independent, larry pressler. both of them could basically steal what were republican sure bets for the u.s. senate. complicates the map. and in many ways these independent races are actually more emblematic of where the country is. they're ticked off at both parties and they want to figure out how to punish both parties. and kansas and south dakotans have the vehicle to do it. that's what's to watch. >> we'll see you three weeks from now, but a lot between now and then. >> yes, sir. >> still ahead for us tonight in business news, the story that ruled the day. freezing their eggs until they

decide the time is right. a choice more women are making, and now apple and facebook say they will pay for it as employers. and later, "making a difference." a big announcement from the boss about money that shocked his entire staff.

it's a fresh approach on education-- superintendent of public instruction tom torlakson's blueprint for great schools. torlakson's blueprint outlines how investing in our schools will reduce class sizes, bring back music and art, and provide a well-rounded education. and torlakson's plan calls for more parental involvement. spending decisions about our education dollars should be made by parents and teachers, not by politicians. tell tom torlakson to keep fighting for a plan that invests in our public schools. we're back now with a story that first broke this morning on our website, nbc news.com, and has continued to generate a lot of talk today. apple and facebook appear to have become the first big american companies to pay for women who elect to freeze their eggs.

it's a choice more women, more couples are making, and today's news could indeed be a game changer. we get the reaction tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: fertility science has gone through a revolution, radically changing the landscape for women who want to have children. two tech giants are offering a benefit that just two years ago was deemed no longer experimental. egg freezing. apple and facebook will offer up to $20,000 when done for nonmedical reasons. each round costs around $10,000. storage, roughly $500 a year. done at a young enough age, egg freezing can dramatically increase the chances of getting pregnant later in life. >> if you come in to get pregnant, let's say, at 42, 43 and we have eggs frozen from when you're 35, it's like we're setting the clock back seven or eight years, which is a huge advantage. >> fertility doctor got an e-mail from a patient today

which she said kind of sums up the mood around the office. subject, omg, just announced facebook and apple to cover egg-freezing costs. >> with a thousand exclamation egg-freezing costs. >> with a thousand exclamation marks. just announced facebook and apple to cover egg freezing >> reporter: the majority of patients who come in, and there are more and more each day, can't afford egg freezing. >> what facebook did, what apple has done is going to be huge for women because it allows them the opportunity to do something that they may have never been able to do before. >> reporter: the clock ticks, but just not quite as loud. >> yes, exactly. >> reporter: she asked her parents for money. she's gone through two rounds of egg freezing. >> ultimately i just wanted an option. i want to focus on my career. i haven't met mr. right yet. and i wanted to know that when i was ready, i would be able to go back and i could have kids. >> reporter: she says a company that offers this kind of benefit could attract female employees. >> even more than salary these days, i always look at the benefits package. >> reporter: working women hoping to get pregnant at an older age may start asking their own employers to follow apple and facebook's lead.

stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. back in a moment with a big mystery up in the air and now here on the ground.

if you have $3,600 to your name, you are in the wealthiest half of all the people in the world. the other half of all the people on the planet own less than 1% of all global wealth. these stats were compiled by, of all things, an investment bank, but this study by credit suisse paints a vivid picture of what's going on in the world. for example, in just the next five years, they say the number of millionaires will have increased by half. it is called the x-37-b. the name just rolls off the tongue. it's universally referred to as the secret u.s. air force unmanned space plane. it's shaped like a small space shuttle and beyond that, there's something very secret about it. it's believed to have been in space in constant orbit for 22

straight months now. due to land either today or tonight at vandenberg air force base in california. if they told us, it wouldn't be secret. among other things, the project does get the air force back into the space business in a big way for the first time since the glory days back in the '50s and '60s. he was publicly invisible for almost six weeks there, but now north korean dictator kim jong-un has suddenly reappeared. north korean state media released pictures it said showed him inspecting a new housing complex. no explanation given for his long absence or for the cane he's been using. and here's where the mystery deepens. in these new photos he's favoring his left leg, but when we last saw him in early september he was clearly limping on his right leg. he's widely rumored to be suffering from gout. when we come back, our "making a difference" report. when bosses mention pay cuts they're usually talking about you and not themselves. "nbc nightly news" with

brian williams brought to you by pacific life. for insurance, annuities and investments, choose pacific life. the power to help you succeed.

we have an unusual "making a difference" report to take us off the air tonight. it's about an unusual boss, a college president, in fact, whoz who's done something generous in hopes that it would be paid forward and that others will learn a lesson from it. we get his story tonight from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> one, two. ♪ >> reporter: the kentucky state university thoroughbreds have a newfound reason to be loud and proud. and they point to this man as the reason. interim university president raymond burse. >> i want every one of the kids on this campus to believe that the sky is the limit of what they can achieve. >> reporter: following a successful business career, burse, a rhodes scholar, was cajoled out of retirement. his very first move, a jaw dropper. raise the salaries of the university's 24 lowest paid employees, and pay for it by slashing his own, to the tune of

$90,000. >> in doing that, what i'm trying to do is emulate to the students on this campus what i think it takes to be successful in this society. >> reporter: staffers on the lower end of the scale were given pay hikes from $7.25 an hour to 10.25 an hour. a 40% increase. employees call it a blessing. >> he gave up $90,000. you know, that's so beyond generous. >> reporter: and on campus, students now study his every move. >> for him to come in and just take that major pay cut really says a lot about him. >> reporter: burse hasn't even sought out those workers he's helped. that's just the way he is. >> i look at myself as a poor country kid from hopkinsville, kentucky, trying to do well in this world by treating people right. >> reporter: setting the tone for the next generation by showing many of life's lessons don't always come from a book. kevin tibbles, nbc news, frankfurt, kentucky.

>> that is our broadcast for a tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we, of course, hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. goodnight. a radical shift in our weather hitting the bay area right now. this is a live look at our doppler radar. the clouds and wind will soon lead to rain. good evening and thanks for being with us. i'm raj mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. we're tracking the change with our network of live cameras. i want to show you a live look across the bay area. strong winds, much cooler temperatures rolling in at this hour as fall finally makes its arrival known. nbc bay area's chief meteorologist jeff joins us. >> after 90s this past weekend, check it out.

right now we're dropping down into the 60s for those daytime highs, for parts of the south bay. cupertino, 68. currently, 66 in downtown san jose and campbell also checking in at 67. the other thing, of course, is the rainfall. we've been talking about it for over a week now. the possibility of any kind of rainfall. the problem we're finding with this storm system right now is the core of the storm is going to pass to the north. so, yes, we're going to get a few showers, but it's just not going to be a whole lot, at least for a lot of the bay area. you can see widespread wind totals right now are increasing, but that storm continuing to move closer out of the southwest, 10 to about 20 miles per hour. so do expect breezy conditions through tonight and as far as the first part of that rain timeline goes, by 11:00 tonight, marin, napa, and sonoma counties, expecting that rainfall to begin. we'll track the full timeline on that storm and two more storms coming up in about 15 minutes. >> thanks, jeff. we'll see you then. we invite you to head to our website for your personal microclimate forecast. theru