for china's flag football league. on our broadcast tonight, state of emergency. fearing a new explosion of violence in ferguson. tonight, the governor of missouri activates the national guard with that grand jury decision expected at any time. brutal killing, the latest american beheaded by isis. but this time did the executioners give away clues to their identity? record snow and tornadoes. half the country now covered in snow, more than we usually see by christmas time. and to the south an outbreak of twisters. and new allegations against bill cosby. another woman has come forward as he remains silent during a dramatic confrontation. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this

is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. good evening. once again tonight our attention has been focused right back on ferguson, missouri. there is now reason to believe we're getting close to learning the grand jury's decision on whether there's enough evidence to charge the white police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager. tonight, the governor of missouri has declared a state of emergency ahead of that announcement. and that gives him the ability to mobilize the national guard. everyone is calling for peace and calm in those streets that saw so much violence this summer, but tonight the governor is taking no chances. we start off tonight with our report from nbc's ron allen in ferguson. >> we want an indictment! >> reporter: a passionate group of demonstrators disrupted streets near the courthouse where a grand jury is deciding whether to indict officer darren wilson in the death of michael brown. how does this all end peacefully? >> they indict the cop.

>> reporter: that's it? >> i mean, we're not going to stop. >> reporter: today, missouri's governor declared a state of emergency, warning of possible expanded unrest and activated the national guard. hundreds of troops were called in last august when violence erupted after brown's death. police say all the protests have not been peaceful. >> it's been very hazardous. >> reporter: tension building as police records obtained by the "st. louis post dispatch" show new video of officer wilson hours after the fatal encounter at the police station. and police radio calls that day tracking a robbery suspect. >> 25, it's going to be a black male in a white t-shirt. he's running toward quick trip. >> reporter: officer wilson asks if he's needed. >> 21 to 25 or 22 -- you guys need me? >> reporter: later, wilson reports his location, the street where he shot and killed brown. >> 21, put me on canfield -- with two. >> reporter: the newspaper says analysis shows brown was dead some 90 seconds later.

>> get us several more units over here. there's going to be a problem. >> reporter: now, appeals for calm on the air from the local nfl team. and in high schools from police captain ron johnson, a ferguson native widely credited with helping keep the peace. what you saw on the streets, did that surprise you? that raise, that anger? that part of it, did it surprise you? >> the magnitude of it did. some of the people i saw as moms and dads and business people and educators. >> reporter: some still on the streets now with the decision from the grand jury expected any day. tonight protest organizers are criticizing governor nixon's decision to declare a state of emergency and activate the national guard saying it sends an aggressive message to authorities preparing for a confrontation. the governor says he's doing what's necessary to ensure public safety. meanwhile, fbi officials are confirming an advisory was sent to local police warning extremist demonstrators may try to use any protests following a grand jury decision to attack

law enforcement. brian? >> ron allen starting us off on a cold night in ferguson, missouri. ron, thanks. now we turn to news from overseas with the latest video featuring the murder of an american, a former soldier doing volunteer work. and a mass beheading, a video we will not show, obviously. isis keeps trying to outdo itself in terms of shock value. they remain the face of horror and terror in the modern will. this now ups the pressure to find them and defeat them. we get our report on all of it tonight from our chief foreign correspondent richard engel. >> reporter: in indianapolis friends and family remembered the 26-year-old iraq war veteran who dedicated his life to help victims of war, and paid for it with his own. >> our hearts though heavy are held up by the love and support that has poured into our lives these last few days. >> reporter: peter kassig traveled to syria last year to volunteer as a medic and was kidnapped. in captivity he converted to

islam and changed his name to abdul rahman. it didn't help. he was tortured and saw some european cell mates released for ransom. and others, american and british, marched out to be killed. secretary of state kerry defended the u.s. policy. >> the united states has set a heart rending but absolutely necessary example by refusing to pay ransom for captured americans. >> reporter: the isis video is revealing. kassig makes no statement and is never seen alive. it was shot in dabiq, an isis held town in northern syria. behind the hooded figure trees and buildings are visible that appear to match similar landmarks in aerial photographs. the video also shows syrian soldiers executed by isis fighters. the killer's face is exposed. like in the mafia they're now implicated. they can't go home.

one fighter, identified today as maxime hauchard, a french national, who went to syria last year. isis says its goal, is to drag the u.s. into a ground war and to show u.s. air strikes haven't stopped them. isis is still holding at least two western hostages, british photo journalist john cantly forced to become a spokesman for the group. and a 26-year-old american woman who hasn't been identified. richard engel, nbc news, istanbul. back in this country the weather is making news tonight. there is more snow on the ground across our country than we usually see by christmastime. in some places it's been measured in terms of feet on the ground. you can see the sheer size of the storm right now clocking the eastern seaboard. by tomorrow parts of every state in the union will have temperatures below freezing. and this same system has triggered an outbreak of tornadoes across the south as parts of florida, for example, go from the 70s to the 30s in a day.

our meteorologist dylan dreyer is covering it all. she's in erie, pennsylvania for us tonight, dylan, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. temperatures have been dropping fast here now that that first storm system is moving out. but this cold wind is going to turn on the lake effect snow machine. i-90 here, the main road to buffalo, could be shut down at times tomorrow because of whiteout conditions. it's not just here. bad weather is to blame for so many travel problems all across the country. record-setting cold is quickly sweeping the nation, bringing heavy snow and dangerous bitter cold. >> i'm freezing. >> reporter: high winds, even spawning ten tornadoes in the south. more than 200 million americans across all 50 states will suffer through temperatures at freezing or below tomorrow. many already in the midst of it. bad news for anyone trying to

travel by air in hard hit areas like columbus, ohio and louisville, kentucky where crews spent the day de-icing planes and shoveling tarmacs. treacherous ice-covered roads led to deadly crashes in minneapolis and indianapolis. at least six people killed this weekend. dozens of spinouts and trucks off the road in oklahoma. sleet, fog and plummeting temperatures will only make travel more difficult, like in ohio where the weather channel's mike seidel is. >> right now it's easy to clean the snow off the windshield, but tonight temperatures are going to plummet across the midwest. a forecast tomorrow morning here of 9. that's a record low. and everything out here is going to turn into a solid sheet of ice. >> reporter: on the banks of lake superior in ashland, wisconsin, ice is already forming weeks ahead of schedule. in the south 100-mile-per-hour winds and tornadoes tore through central georgia. and an ef-2 tornado hit the florida panhandle. watches and warnings have residents on alert tonight as this massive system pushes east.

now, lake effect snow will get started here tonight. it's already begun in michigan and areas downwind of the great lakes will pick up one to three feet of snow. elsewhere it's all about the cold. tomorrow morning we're looking at single digits, teens and 20s, afternoon highs tomorrow about 20 degrees below average and even colder for some on wednesday. but maybe, just maybe, brian, we could start to turn the corner in time for thanksgiving. >> dylan dreyer on a cold night in eerie, p.a., dylan, thanks. this past weekend as millions of us were watching nfl games, several teams got a big surprise when they walked off the playing field. d.e.a. agents were waiting with some questions and some demands. the feds want to know if team doctors are handing out painkillers illegally to players as alleged by some former players. we get our report tonight from nbc's ron mott.

>> reporter: agents with the dea conducted surprise inspections of the seattle seahawks, cincinnati bengals, tampa bay buccaneers and san francisco 49ers shortly after their game ended sunday. >> the dea and everyone else is always investigating teams to make sure everybody's doing things the right way. >> reporter: a federal official familiar with the investigation tells nbc news authorities want to know whether there's a prescription drug free-for-all in the nfl. if doctors are in fact failing to examine players before prescribing them drugs, if they're illegally transporting and dispensing drugs where they aren't licensed. and whether trainers have improper access to these medications. the officials say agents questioned team doctors and other medical personnel and inspected their bags. sally jenkins, a "washington post" sports columnist broke the story and said as many as six teams were targeted this weekend. >> when an extremely popular prominent american business like the nfl when there's evidence there may be painkiller abuse, when there are these sorts of

allegations, it's the dea's job to stet up and get involved in that. >> reporter: the searches were triggered by an investigation into an alleged prescription drug violations by nfl teams outlined in a lawsuit filed by former players six months ago. the nfl has sought to dismiss the suit. retired super bowl winning quarterback jim mcmahon said the nfl culture led many players like him to addiction and failing health. >> a lot of these guys in this lawsuit have bad kidneys, they have bad hearts. we just don't know what all these medications we're doing to our bodies. >> reporter: an nfl spokesperson said our teams cooperated with the dea and we have no information to indicate that irregularities were found. another off the field headline for the nfl in a year filled with them. ron mott, nbc news, boston. tonight we're getting what appears to be a new look at the malaysia airlines flight 17 crash in eastern ukraine. it was back in july. the video appears to show the initial moments right after impact. u.s. officials believe pro-russia separatists shot the plane out of the sky killing all 298 on board. conditions in the region have

further deteriorated since then. stepped up military activity including fierce fighting for control of the nearby donetsk airport. sad news from nebraska today where for the second time an ebola patient has died on u.s. soil. his name, dr. martin salia, he was a citizen of sierra leone who lived in maryland. dr. salia contracted ebola in his native country. just on saturday he was flown to nebraska medical center, the same facility that successfully treated dr. sacra and ashoka mukpo. dr. salia died there this morning. as he first led on to our own anne thompson, pope francis confirmed today he's coming to america. he'll travel to philadelphia next september for a three-day visit to attend the world meeting of families. philadelphia's mayor today said it will be the largest event in that city's history, an

anticipated 2 million visitors, more than doubling the city's population. the pope is expected to travel to new york and washington, but vatican officials have yet to confirm those stops. still ahead this evening, the storm of controversy surrounding bill cosby. the growing allegations of sexual assault as another alleged victim has come forward. and later, a young woman dreaming of a mission to mars, she's doing all the right stuff to get there.

some serious allegations have come roaring back against an entertainment and comedy icon of the modern era, bill cosby, a man who lit up the airwaves of this very network with the landmark "cosby show." but starting several years ago,

he faced a flood of accusations of sexual assault, some going back decades. now, while he has chosen silence, yet another woman has come forward. we get our report tonight from nbc's cynthia mcfadden. >> reporter: to many bill cosby was america's tv dad. >> i just want you to do the best you can. >> reporter: but nearly a decade ago the iconic television star was accused of sexual assault. he denied the accusation and no charges were ever brought by the prosecutor. >> i remember thinking that he probably did do something inappropriate. but thinking that and being able to prove it are two different things. >> reporter: cosby did settle with the alleged victim for an undisclosed amount, though that wasn't until her lawyer promised depositions from 13 other women with similar stories. several came forward at the time including former california lawyer tamara green. >> the first thing you feel is stupid. and then you feel that no one will believe you. this is the great bill cosby -- >> reporter: the story seemed to

have died, but it started up again about a month ago when video of the standup comedian accusing cosby of the old assaults went viral. still, cosby and his wife kept the long-scheduled interview with npr on saturday. they may wish they hadn't. >> there have been serious allegations raised about you in recent days. you're shaking your head no. i'm in the news business, i have to ask the question. do you have any response to those charges? shaking your head no. >> reporter: shortly after the npr interview the 77-year-old's lawyer issued this statement. "over the last several weeks decade-old discredited allegations against bill cosby have resurfaced. the fact that they are being repeated does not make them true." professor jonah burger studies why content goes viral and says this story presents a perfect internet storm. >> i think it caught on very quickly, but it's also going to

die out very quickly when the next piece of juicy news comes along. >> reporter: one effect of the rekindled interest on new alleged victim came forward sunday with a story almost identical to that of the others, what she says happened when she was just 19 years old. >> i said, this is my time, i can't let this go any longer. i wanted to join the throngs of people who have talked about this already. >> reporter: nbc announced plans last summer for a new cosby debut next summer or fall. some critics wonder whether those plans will move forward. nbc entertainment declined to comment. >> our senior legal correspondent cynthia mcfadden. cynthia, thank you as always. when we come back, he's a tall drink of water, now very wealthy as well after signing the richest contract in the history of american sports.

this is hardly what our founders had in mind say nothing of the returning world war ii

vets who went to work on an engine of prosperity. the shocking stat out today showing that about 1 in 30 american children was homeless some point in the last year. that's about 2.5 million kids, half of them younger than 6 years of age. it all goes back to poverty with 20% of children living below the poverty line, many of them chronically hungry. well, if weather and cloudy skies and bitter cold aren't big factors where you live, you could head outside tonight for the annual leonid meteor shower. it will require patience, ten to 15 meteors are expected every hour, which for true space buffs is just plenty. he has been called the most exciting player in baseball, and now giancarlo stanton of the mar lins can pick up dinner. he is a tower of power.

now he signed a 13-year, $325 million contract extension. it comes out to about $68,000 a day, every day for 13 years. and it's the richest single contract in the history of american sports. for comparison, it's about 50 million more than the a-rod deal, and he has now signed for about three times what the milwaukee brewers total payroll was for all of last season. a morning news anchorman in australia has made an admission that underscores the huge fashion double standard between men and women. he says he's worn the same blue suit on the air for a year and nobody noticed. contrast that to his female co-anchor who is hardly able to repeat an outfit during the same week without attracting attention and scorn. his co-anchor said it best in fact, "women are judged much more harshly for what they do, what they say and what they wear." when we come back, mars or bust. the mission that began for one girl when she was 3 years old.

we have a final story here tonight about reaching for the stars. it takes some folks a lifetime and a few false starts to figure out their true calling. but there are others who find it starting at a young age simply by looking skyward.

tonight's story about following your passion from nbc's harry smith. >> reporter: a robotics tournament at a junior high in baton rouge where it's cool to be nerdy and fun to compete. the future is all over the floor here. scientists, engineers, problem solvers. and if 13-year-old alyssa carlson has her way, the first astronaut to mars. >> i guess i just love space because it's a curiosity of what's out there. you know, i've always looked at it as it's some place we need to explore. it's in our genes to explore as humans. >> reporter: alyssa is a space prodigy. she's been obsessed with the red planet since she was little. how old was alyssa when she said, daddy, i want to go to mars? >> 3 years old. >> reporter: a passion her father has indulged and nurtured with summers of travel to all manner of space camps and visits

to every single nasa facility. >> she's got e.t. in her blood. there's something calling her to that planet. >> reporter: you like wearing that suit, don't you? >> i love wearing my suit. it kind of represents everything i've done nasa-like. >> reporter: alyssa combines the whimsy of a 13-year-old with the wisdom of a space pro. that's alyssa doing a ted talk. >> it's now time for us to explore beyond this planet. >> reporter: when folks in washington wanted to discuss mars travel, they brought in some ph.d.s and, yes, alyssa. when you go to all these nasa facilities and say i want to go to mars, i want to be on that mars mission, what did they say to you? >> you know what? we're building a rocket for you. >> reporter: yes, nasa is still in the space business and will test its new orion spacecraft next month. a mars mission they say could be a reality in about 20 years, and we know someone who will be ready. harry smith, nbc news, baton rouge. >> she needs a co-pilot, she knows where to call. that's our broadcast on this

monday night as we begin a new week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we of course hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. we hear between 15 to 20 pigs pretty much every night. >> right now, they're proven to be pigheaded. wild pigs pushing their way into south san jose neighborhoods, too close for comfort. i'm jessica aguirre. >> i'm raj mathai. they're back. every year around this time the pigs go out on the prowl for food. and they leave a trail of destruction across a lot of people's front lawns. this time around it's happening near coyote creek and maynard drive and foursome road in south

san jose. some homeowners say a pack of boars terrorize them nightly. michelle roberts joins us at one complex where people are fighting back. >> reporter: there are fences hike this all over the neighborhood meant to block these wild pigs from coming to the grassy areas like this. obviously it's not working and they're somehow getting in. as you can see it's now completely covered in dirt. they just rip this up looking for grubs. there are grubs right under the surface, it's their favorite thing to eat. >> grunting. >> reporter: they destroy her lawn and keep her up at night. >> i can hear them coming through the bush, you can hear them outside the window grubbing and snorting away. >> reporter: she says more than a dozen wild pigs live in the wooded area across the street from her condo. since coyote creek dried up the pigs are hungry and the grass is greener on the west side of foursome road. >> it's a buffet for them. they have grubs there because ey