weather. so prepare for some rain, folks. >> so trick-or-treat at 4:00 is what you're saying? >> yes. >> see you at 6:00. our broadcast tonight, $200 million disaster. incredible new views of that explosion up close as a rocket fails to launch on liftoff to the space station. tonight, in this era of contracting out the space program, what went wrong? standoff, the ebola nurse not sick but being quarantined in her home and now vowing to fight. also, thorder from the pentagon tonight about members of the military in the hot zone. losing his temper, chris christie flies off the handle at a protester at the jersey shore on this second anniversary of superstorm sandy. and math problem, are you smarter than a second grader? why so many parents are feeling so frustrated these days just trying to help the kids with the homework. "nightly news" begins now.

from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. good evening. the flaming wreckage of a failed rocket launch on the virginia coast might just be a metaphor for the current state of the u.s. space program. the rocket that exploded last night stood 14 stories tall. it was en route to the international space station to supply the u.s. astronauts on board. americans who remember the race to the moon against the soviets may be surprised to learn that these days american rocket launches are contracted out. luckily this one was unmanned, but nasa has no way of getting nasa astronauts into space. we rely on the russians for that too. this may now all get more attention after last night. a whole lot of people on the east coast planned to watch the launch. it was going to be visible from cape hatteras north to cape cod. instead they along with the rest of the world saw a catastrophic failure on television. it's where we begin tonight with nbc's tom costello who's outside

that launch facility on wallops island in virginia, tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. good evening. the facts, they tell me for the most part the debris field is relatively contained because launch controllers hit the self-destruct button when they saw that the rocket was coming apart seconds into the liftoff. >> five, four, three, two, one. >> reporter: it was supposed to be a spectacular nighttime launch along the eastern seaboard. within seconds it turned into a spectacular failure. the explosion was enormous, ricochetted across eastern virginia and captured on dozens of cameras in the air and on the ground. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: photographer ken kramer captured incredibly detailed images as the antares rocket came apart.

>> it was like the sky was on fire. and i was stunned, actually, because i never expected to see anything like this. >> reporter: today, the search began for pieces of the wreckage on land and in the water. orbital sciences built the rocket and has had two successful previous missions. but it was the first loss of a commercial spacecraft since nasa stopped flying the space shuttle three years ago. >> a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into building this rocket and putting this together. we had a lot riding on it. >> reporter: on board 5,000 pounds of experiments, equipment, clothing and food destined for the space station, orbiting 200 miles above the earth the space station crew insisted they're not running low. >> we plan for four to six months ahead. so we've got plenty of food to keep us. all varieties. >> reporter: in some ways the antares rocket was a throwback to the cold war using two engines built for the soviet space program but recently refurbished. a competitor spacex founder elan musk called them a joke. but others insisted the engines

have a good track record. >> they're fuel efficient and tend to be fairly simple and cleverly designed to do the job. that said, they have been on in storage for many, many years, for decades. >> reporter: yeah. we should mention that one of these soviet-built engines just exploded a few months ago at a u.s. test facility. this was a re-supply mission but hardly the only one. just today a russian-built progress re-supply craft docked with the space station and another soyuz-type vehicle lifted off from kazakhstan. there are lots of vehicles faring cargo to the space station. brian. >> tom costello on the virginia coast tonight. tom, thanks for that report. the world health organization said today the number of ebola cases in west africa is now near 14,000. when american doctors and nurses who have saved lives over there want to return to their lives back here, there is no consensus now on how to handle them. tonight, the battle over

mandatory quarantines is moving into the courts. and the nurse who's become the public face of this debate could risk jail time if she steps outside her house. our report on all of it tonight from nbc's kate snow. >> reporter: in far northern maine tonight she talked to reporters. >> we have ben talking with the state of maine and trade to resolve this amicably. they will not allow me to leave my house and have any interaction with the public, even though i am completely healthy and symptom-free. the nurse who recently returned from sierra leone said she'll go to court to lift her quarantine. >> i'm fighting for something much more than myself. there are so many aid workers and it scares me how they'll be treated and how they'll feel. >> health officials in plaine in the process of filing a court

order to force hickox to stay quarantined. if she leaves her home she could be arrested. >> i do not understand why this common sense approach to ask someone to stay in their home for 21 days during incubation period, why that is not a reasonable request. >> many americans agreed. on facebook people called hickox a disgrace to the health field. some some people said she is putting her own self-interests ahead of everybody else. >> no. because she did not volunteer for this. she was pressed into this when she came back from west africa. >> the president met with others just back from the region today and again said he worried quarantine rules will discourage volunteering. >> they make huge sacrifices to protect this country that we love. when they come home, they deserve to be treated properly. they deserve to be treated like the heroes they are. >> reporter: despite the president's concern about mandatory quarantines, the u.s.

military is doing just that. the president's explaining the rules are different for military personnel because their movements are already restricted. more than 40 soldiers are confined on a base in italy for 21 days. 1,100 troops are on the ground in west africa. internal pentagon memos say the decision to quarantine was made after growing concern from military families. >> california became the latest state to enact some kind of quarantine. the attorney for kaci hickox says he thinks her case will set precedent across the board and help determine if all those will stand in various states. >> kate snow, thank you as always. just yesterday when he was told he could be sued by this nurse he ordered quarantined last weekend, new jersey governor chris christie said she can get in line. then came today the second anniversary of superstorm sandy, which chewed up parts of the jersey shore, a protester at an event today spoke up and held up a sign, and then the governor went after him.

we get our report tonight from nbc's kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: governor chris christie's impulse control, or lack of it, on full display today. >> if we're going to get into a debate here today, it's going to get very interesting and very fun. >> reporter: when a heckler protested what was supposed to be a serious event. >> i've been here when the cameras aren't here, buddy, and done the work. so turn around, get your 15 minutes of fame and then maybe take your jacket off, roll up your sleeves and do something for the people of this state. >> reporter: marking two years since superstorm sandy ripped across the jersey shore. >> somebody like you who doesn't know a damn thing about what your talking about. you want to have the conversation later, i'm happy to have it, buddy. but until that time, sit down and shut up. >> reporter: building to another christie-style public smackdown. >> there's about a thousand things i'll do tonight, going to dinner with you is about number 1,001. >> reporter: that protester says sandy recovery aid has been too slow. >> where's the money and why

aren't families getting it? >> reporter: this week christie's been on fire and defending his state's treatment against kaci hickox. telling never quarantine nurse had -- >> action to the internet and takeout food from the best restaurants in new york. she's doing just fine. >> reporter: an asset or obstacle for bigger things. >> it shows a character that seems to a good many people to be slightly out of control when confronted. >> reporter: no reaction tonight from christie's office. telling me the governor said it himself. kelly o'donnell, nbc news, washington. now all the way west to the slow-motion disaster unfolding in hawaii. the lava flowing into a town has moved about the length of a football field in a day's time. and tonight we get an incredible view from the air from the source, the eruning erupting volcano all the way to the town that's in its way.pting volcanol

the way to the town that's in its way. hallie jackson has our report again tonight from high above the big island. >> reporter: this is the leading edge of the pahoa lava flow. here in town about 40 to 50 homes are within potentially the direct path of this lava. this home looks to be one of the lucky ones. the flow path within just a few hundred yards of the house here. it doesn't look like the lava is moving at all, but it is. anywhere from five yards an hour to 20 yards an hour. this is so slow moving that the lava on top is hardening and blackening. there's still red hot lava underneath. right now it feels like we're in a furnace. we're close to the lava and you can see some of the breakouts. i'll tell you, you can feel it. you can barely breathe. it's smoky and it's thick. this is what is feeding that lava flow that's heading right over the town of pahoa. it's basically a bathtub full of lava. it's crested over on top, but it acts as insulation keeping the lava underneath incredibly hot.

>> you're looking into lava tube. >> reporter: that crust is like ice on a lake. underneath are these tubes, that's what's funneling the lava right towards civilization. it's been about 17 weeks, and this thing has traveled 12 miles. it shows no sign of stopping just yet. it's nature at its most powerful. breathtakingly beautiful, dangerous and devastating. >> that report just sent in to us from nbc's hallie jackson in the air over the big island tonight. in the coming days in ferguson, missouri, we are expecting to learn whether the officer who shot and killed michael brown will be indicted for it. and police there who have faced much public scrutiny for the shooting and the handling of the aftermath, they are bracing for the possibility the city could erupt all over again. we get our report tonight from nbc's ron allen. >> reporter: with ferguson on edge and prosecutors set to soon

announce whether officer darren wilson will face murder charges for shooting and killing michael brown, today attorney general eric holder condemned leaks of information from the investigation that he says are trying to shape public opinion. >> i said i'm exasperated, that's a nice way of saying i'm mad. whoever the sources of the leaks are need to shut up. >> reporter: leaks about officer wilson's grand jury testimony when he reportedly said he feared for his life, that brown attacked him in his car and grabbed for his gun. the official autopsy which says brown was shot in the hand at close range. forensic tests said to show brown's blood on the gun, the officer's uniform and inside the vehicle. and seven or eight unnamed black witnesses' testimony said to report wilson's version according to a media report. while other witnesses have said publicly brown had his hands up surrendering when he was killed. >> these leaks really just reinforce people's belief that the system doesn't work for them. >> reporter: also today police chief tom jackson denied he's being forced to resign.

state officials tell nbc news discussions are underway for st. louis county police to take over the entire ferguson department. with a grand jury decision soon, school officials in ferguson are warning some 20,000 students to be in danger. and emotional announcement to come separately on a sunday when students are home in case of more mayhem on the streets. ron allen, nbc news, washington. and still ahead on a wednesday night, common complaints. the lesson plan that has a lot of parents frustrated because they're unable to help their kids.

a gallup poll out this week shows most teachers in schools where the common core standards are already being taught have come to like them. and while most states agree to them, there have been a lot of protests against them among those who see it as a giant federal government overreach in the effort to build better students. but far from all that in the evening hours right about now in fact at kitchen tables across this country there's a different complaint from parents about the homework their kids bring home. our report tonight from our chief education correspondent rehema ellis. >> reporter: sue has been introducing math to students for 14 years. >> we do counting. >> subtraction and addition. >> one, two, three, four, five. >> reporter: but now the first grade teacher has a new lesson plan following the new common core standards. >> teaching is different, but it

is still good basic teaching. >> reporter: what is two plus three? >> easy, five. >> reporter: but for some common core is creating common confusion. take 34 minus 9. many would say that's relatively simple, carry the one, 14 minus nine is five, bring down the two, you get 25. under common core, second graders learn different methods and need to show all steps. one example, using a number line they can see nine as one away from ten, which is twenty away from thirty and four from thirty-four. add those together to get twenty-five. and nine of 25 of 34, 34 minus nine equals 25. using three times as many stems to get to the same answer. >> there are lots of ways to figure out 34 minus 9. who's to say what is the best way for any particular kid? it's my job to show them different ways to do it. >> reporter: stacy says helping

her kids with school work has become difficult. >> the work sheet wanted it to be shown a certain way. and a very easy problem turned into an hour-long problem. >> stop common core! >> reporter: common core standards adopted by more than 40 states and d.c. have been met with fierce opposition. a high school principal on new york's long island used to support common core. >> as teachers complain, parents complain, principals complain. we're told, well, you're just not doing the common core right. that's not correct. the common core is not working. it's falling apart. and it's time that we take it off the road. >> we have a long way to go making sure that we are all speaking a common language in terms of standards. once we get that together i think it's going to be a really positive thing. >> reporter: changing how we teach our children, a hard lesson the nation is still learning. rehema ellis, nbc news, brooklyn, ohio.

and we are back in a moment with what could be a major break in the enduring mystery of amelia earhart.

inside the national cathedral in washington today it felt like a state funeral. the mourners included the vice president, secretary of state, assorted senators and a supreme court justice. it was technically a memorial for a newspaper man, but ben bradlee was much more than that. and one of his more noted acolytes bob woodward said today felt more like the end of the 20th century. to that degree the one man dominated one paper, printed on paper that dominated an entire town while living one of the great lives of the last century, bob woodward may have been right, ben bradlee was 93 years old. investigators now believe with a high degree of certainty that a section of aircraft recovered from a remote south pacific location over 20 years ago belonged to amelia earhart's

plane, the lockheed aircraft disappeared along with its pilot in 1937. it's believed to be a patch of aluminum that replaced a window on her aircraft during an eight-day stop in miami in that attempt to fly around the world. and there's this, what one writer today called a depressing sign of america's obesity problem, fatter crash test dummies. a company that makes them is developing a new obese version with a body weight of over 270 pounds. the ceo says obese people are more likely to die in a crash because their bodies react differently against restraints in the car. when we come back tonight, one way or another it all ends tonight. we'll take you to kansas city for game seven. .

the baseball season come down to tonight. for 29 years, no one has been able to say the kansas city royals are on the verge of winning the world series.

of course so are the san francisco giants because tonight it's time for that hoped for autumn ritual game seven. nbc's ron mott has our report tonight from kansas city. >> and it's official, game seven -- >> reporter: before the balls begin to bounce their way again, kansas city's baseball fortunes were anything but royal. season after season of losses after losses making for the longest postseason drought of any pro team in north america, 29 years. but suddenly this summer -- >> it is gone! >> reporter: -- winning with a flourish. >> royals win game six 10-0. >> awesome! >> reporter: it's no surprise the place is draped in blue, the wait for success long overdue. >> let's go royals! >> reporter: the town bursting at the seams with anticipation of one more "w," san francisco giants fans with slightly different plans. the giants are used to the spotlight going after their third world series crown in five years.

>> if it doesn't work out, we'll wait another two years and be back in 2016. >> for the title -- >> reporter: but the last time k.c. won it all, 1985 president reagan was in power, gas, ready for this? about $1.20, hair? well, it was big. so was "back to the future." >> i got a time machine. >> reporter: and george bret about the biggest sports star on the planet, at least around here. >> been around the ball club for a long, long, time, over 40 years, this is probably the most fun i've had since i retired. >> reporter: younger royals fans have never really known a winner, with that matter half the team hadn't been born. >> kansas city needs this and deserves this, so hopefully the royals take it home. >> reporter: the novelty of it all is what excites, old becoming new. growing up just a few miles from the ballpark here means of course i'm rooting for the home

team, but we all wish the giants luck as well tonight. >> ron, you better get inside. ron mott in kansas city. we wish the winner the best. that's our broadcast on a wednesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. of course we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. something's going to have to change that makes the job more attractive to new recruits. >> right now at 6:00, from bad to worse for the san jose police department. we have inside information from the academy that it doesn't have enough recruits. >> new at 6:00, they're sworn to serve and protect but it's increasingly clear they're swearing off san jose. we're talking about police officers. tonight new evidence that san jose is struggling to fill its

ranks with one of the smallest recruiting classes in recent memory. damian trujillo tried to understand why san jose has more openings than applicants. >> reporter: that's right, jessica. this huge banner is outside the plooe police department. there's a huge effort to get people to come here and become a cop but they're simply not coming. >> the san jose police department is currently hiring -- >> reporter: the recruiting video shows potential recruits the images of a rewarding career as a san jose police officer. but is the effort really working to recruit more cops? >> would you choose san jose? >> their police department? i would not. >> reporter: 40% to 50% of the student at san jose state majoring in justice studies want to be cops. but very few are choosing the san jose police department. >> i would definitely consider santa clara county sheriff's department. i'm big on the sheriff's department in general. >> they're looking for jobs in other bay area law enforcement organizations. ep