i still don't get it. but it is grown. >> i think i saw hazel and cream. >> brown. >> have a good weekend. good night. on this friday night, breaking news. the money for homeland security set to run out at midnight. a dramatic showdown with part of our national security at stake. deadly rampage. a small town shattered as a gunman goes on a house-to-house killing spree. face of evil. the isis executioner finally unmasked. how the man in the american baseball cap became jihadi jn. scandal in the air. allegations of misconduct of the federal air marshals service. were the people who protect us on planes moved around to accommodate secret affairs? and mr. spock. remembering "star trek" legend leonard nimoy. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this

is "nbc nightly news." reporting tonight, lester holt. good evening. we begin here tonight with a developing story. the federal agency responsible for securing everything from the planes we fly on to our borders and ports is in limbo tonight and on the verge of losing its funding just hours from now. a short time ago the house of representatives voted against extending funding to the department of homeland security, which has been a pawn in a high stakes partisan chess game. we'll get into the politics of how we got here in a moment, but first what it means to the american public and the hard choices homeland security officials are facing tonight. let's turn to senior white house correspondent chris jansing. hi, chris. >> reporter: good evening, lester. this is a stunning turn of events. speaker john boehner didn't have enough support for the republicans' own proposal. so now with a shutdown of homeland security just hours away, the next steps aren't clear. a chaotic outcome for thousands of federal employees.

inside the government's 24-hour-a-day cyber response center, 60% of the staff would be furloughed with no extension of the homeland security funding and 200,000 essential employees across dhs who still have to be on the job, tsa officers border patrol fema workers and secret service agents, won't get paid without new funding. unable to agree on a long-term solution, the house voted on a three-week extension for dhs but unexpectedly couldn't come up with the votes. >> the joint resolution is not passed. >> reporter: new york's police commissioner, who dealt with ab isis threat just this week says congress is playing a dangerous game. >> in a city that is arguably the number one terrorist target in the world, we are very dependent on federal funding. >> reporter: and anything short of fully funding dhs, including a proposed three-week extension, means new grants don't get approved unless there's a disaster like a hurricane. a lot of that grant money pays for local emergency response,

from surveillance cameras and explosive detectors to firefighters, oxygen tanks and haz-mat units. on capitol hill frustration growing. voting exposing a rift within the republican party over whether to fund homeland security without attaching a provision that would overturn president obama's immigration policies. >> basically i've said that i've had it with this self-righteous delusional wing of the party that basically this is like the charge of the light brigade. >> you can't keep bypassing the constitutional and bypassing congress with these presidential executive orders. >> reporter: tonight the president brought senior officials to the oval office for a meeting including homeland security secretary jeh johnson and called democratic leaders on the hill. now late word the senate has passed a one-week funding extension, the house could do the same. lester? >> chris, thanks. let's bring in our political director, moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd. chuck, is congress really going to let homeland security go out of business, or at least out of funding? >> reporter: well, lester, the leadership doesn't want to let

this happen, but john boehner, the speaker of the house -- and we've been down this before. he doesn't have full control of his members and can't get them to do what he wants them to do. this was a simple three-week extension simply to buy time to see if a judicial outcome would sort of put a pause to the president's immigration policy. that's all he was looking for. the fact that he couldn't get 218 republicans to agree to that. there's going to be a lot of work tonight. they're not going to go home this weekend without getting this done at least temporarily. so the ball game's not over, but this is very, very embarrassing for the congressional majority. >> i know you've got a busy weekend, chuck. we'll see you on "meet the press" on sunday morning. let's turn to a family tragedy playing out tonight in the small community of tyrone missouri rocked by an overnight murder spree. in all nine people are dead and one is injured. officials say the crime scene extends across six locations. some of the victims were part of the same extended family. the motive is still unclear. we get the latest from nbc's janet shamlian. >> reporter: the crime scene

blanketed three square miles of rural tyrone, missouri, in a community of about 50 people. seven were found dead in four homes. among them two married couples related to the shooter. authorities say the alleged gunman, 36-year-old james aldridge, later shot himself in his car about 25 miles away. >> at first i was in shock. i couldn't hardly believe it. i told dad, i was like, no. that can't happen. >> reporter: one couple was shot here. a 15-year-old girl inside the home heard gunfire and ran out a back door and over a snow-covered field in just a nightgown to call for help at this man's house, who didn't want to be identified. >> i immediately opened the door. she said that, my mom and dad's been shot. >> reporter: one woman survived the shooting spree and remains hospitalized. the gunman's 74-year-old mother who'd been ill was also found dead in her home. authorities say apparently of natural causes. even first responders were

unprepared for the discovery of body after body. >> it's not natural to see that sort of thing. and i'm sure they were as shocked as a lot of the people are, you know, in this room. >> reporter: almost a fifth of the people here died in the rampage for reasons still unknown. tonight, a close-knit community remains on edge. janet shamlian, nbc news, houston. there is more breaking news tonight. one of vladimir putin's top opponents who just last week was quoted in russian media saying "i'm scared that putin will kill me" has been gunned down in moscow, shot in the back. andrea mitchell is at the state department with late details for us. andrea. >> reporter: boris nemtsov, former deputy prime minister was the most outspoken critic of vladimir putin. he was supposed to lead a rally against putin on sunday. and now he was shot seven shots fired by an assailant from a car.

he was walking on the streets in the kremlin -- near the kremlin rather, when he was shot. four of the shots hit him in the back. a female companion from the ukraine was supposedly reportedly at least not hurt. and is being questioned. vladimir putin issued his condolences, but tonight they're in shock and grief. i talked to michael mcfall, the former u.s. ambassador to russia and said nemtsov was the most high profile outspoken critic of putin who dared to live in russia. and now he is dead. there's real grief here. the u.s. is scrambling for response. at the time of his death he was working on a report on russia's involvement in ukraine. lester. >> andrea, thank you. we're getting a better picture tonight of the isis killer long referred to as jihadi john now identified by name. and the life he led before those hostage execution videos he appeared in shocked the world. nbc's keir simmons has this report. >> reporter: the isis executioner now not only has a name, he has a face. this is mohammed emwazi several years ago at london's university of westminster.

and as a grade schooler in 1998 who wrote in his yearbook that he liked the "simpsons" and playing playstation. his favorite computer game duke nuke 'em, time to kill. he went on to join the most notorious killers in the world. tonight, his victims' families want justice. >> it's going to take time to bring him to a court of law and to prosecute him. >> reporter: mohammed emwazi was born in kuwait. a kuwaiti source tells nbc news the family was rejected for citizenship. they moved to britain in the mid-'90s. the emwazi family home is just over a mile away from the scene of a dramatic terrorist arrest a decade ago. the suspects have been hunted by police after a failed bombing. emwazi was then 18. but the british security agency believed that the men who were arrested here were linked to an associate of mohammed emwazi. that associate spent time in terrorist training camps in somalia. court papers say he and emwazi were involved in the provision

of funds and equipment to somalia to undertake terrorism-related activity. in e-mails emwazi complains about being questioned by british security officials. when he left for syria not long after, those officials failed to stop him. and many here are now asking why. keir simmons, nbc news, london. in this country, major problems tonight in texas where just a few inches of snow led to a major pileup and closed schools and businesses. more on that now from nbc's jacob rascon. >> reporter: sudden whiteout conditions and icy roadways led to hundreds of accidents in north texas, including a 20-car pileup on u.s. 75 outside dallas. >> a lot of brake lights, a lot of people scattering. >> reporter: traffic froze on nearly every major roadway. in ft. worth interstates 30 and 35 completely shut down. >> conditions very bad here. >> reporter: what are usually 20-minute trips took two to

three hours. >> i'm stuck on the side of the road. >> reporter: amber mcclure flew in from the east coast. >> this is not what i thought texas was going to do. i never believed the meteorologists, but they were right. >> reporter: hundreds of schools shut down early. some for the fourth time this week. at dfw airport hundreds of flights were canceled. others delayed for de-icing. >> y'all have more snow than we do in north carolina. >> reporter: enough to blanket the texas rangers stadium and create one of the most treacherous travel nightmares here in recent memory. this storm will pummel the area again tonight and tomorrow. and a new storm system will bring snow to the midwest and the northeast this weekend. lester. >> jacob rascon, thank you. with an eye on 2016, the republican presidential contenders tried to sell themselves today to an all-important conference of conservatives. nbc's kelly o'donnell reports. >> reporter: in a crush of

selfie-taking young conservatives, jeb bush found two very different receptions today. >> i think there was a pretty good start for today. >> reporter: a colder shoulder was widely expected at this three-day gathering of fired-up conservatives known as cpac. >> we don't need a bush. >> reporter: from the main stage, the buildup was not always friendly. >> hang on. >> reporter: but the larger crowd politely heard bush out on issues where he's seen as too moderate for the base, like education and immigration. >> there is no plan to deport 11 million people. we should give them a path to legal status. >> reporter: the stakes for every would-be candidate are high. wisconsin governor scott walker stumbled late thursday when he suggested his experience taking on public employees unions prepares him for isis. >> if i can take on 100,000 protesters, i can do the same across the world. >> reporter: every potential republican candidate hit the stage here.

>> it's time for hillary clinton to permanently retire. >> reporter: rand paul has long been a favorite with cpac's younger crowd. tomorrow's straw poll results will reveal this year's conservative favorite. kelly o'donnell, nbc news, washington. the man who was the voice of logic in one of the most memorable roles in television history has died. leonard nimoy who played mr. spock on "star trek" and helped the series gain a huge cult following that endures to this day. here's nbc's rehema ellis. >> reporter: for millions of "star trek" fans leonard nimoy will be forever known as the pointy-eerd vulcan in the '60s sci-fi hit. >> lawlessly logical. >> reporter: his portrayal of spock earned him three emmy nominations. >> open your mind. >> reporter: born in boston, massachusetts, leonard nimoy started acting at 8, moved to

hollywood at 18 and had small parts in film and television. but "star trek" in 1966 made him a star. >> there was something that we would call a humanity about this character. and for me it was a great experience to live with that for a long time. >> reporter: off screen nimoy was also an author, a lifelong photographer and a director. tonight, fans remember him tweeting photos of the famous vulcan hand gesture. nasa, which named a shuttle after the starship enterprise tweeted out, many of us were inspired by "star trek." his on-screen captain william shatner wrote, i loved him like a brother. we will all miss his humor, his talent and his capacity to love. in his last message just four days ago, nimoy wrote, life is like a garden. perfect moments can be had but not preserved, except in memory. live long and prosper. >> reporter: leonard nimoy was 83 years old.

rehema ellis, nbc news. still ahead for us tonight, scandal at the federal air marshal service. the undercover agents aboard planes who are there to protect us. explosive allegations they were moved around because of secret trysts. and later, your lying eyes. why do some people see this dress as white and gold while others see blue and black? the answer so many people want to know.

news tonight of investigation into allegations of serious misconduct at the

federal air marshal service. they're the undercover agents assigned to protect commercial flights. the investigation centers on whether marshals' schedules were manipulated to facilitate secret affairs. here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: outside of washington, the air marshal command center keeps track of potential terror threats every day, determining which high-risk passenger planes will get air marshal protection. but investigators are now looking into whether schedulers changed certain air marshals assignments as a personal favor or so they could later meet up for secret affairs. in one case an air marshal was allegedly rescheduled at least 20 times, taking him off assigned flights or missions. the center for investigative reporting broke the story confirmed by nbc news. >> these missions are created sometimes months in advance for a specific reason. and if air marshals are being taken off of these flights, that's a potential security risk. >> reporter: we don't know how many flights, if any, were left uncovered. now 60 employees are under

scrutiny including dozens of air marshals. at least one female scheduler has been on paid leave for more than a year. former air marshal clay biles wrote about the agency's culture in his book "unsecure skies." >> i was aware of these trysts and these people in the missions operation center manipulating air marshals' schedules for sexual encounters. pretty much common knowledge. >> reporter: the air marshal service has been under scrutiny for years. a 2012 inspector general report found employee accusations of misconduct, discrimination and retaliation. today, the tsa said it could not comment on the existence of an investigation, but tsa maintains a rigorous code of conduct for all of our employees, especially law enforcement personnel, and pursues appropriate accountability for violators of ethical standards and the law. tonight, a criminal investigation is also underway as the tsa says it's continuing a top-to-bottom audit of all air marshal operations and

instituting new scheduling procedures. lester. >> all right, tom, thank you. up next, the crisis facing so many families not saving nearly enough money. tonight, the steps people are taking before an emergency hits.

we're back now with a sobering new report that shows two-thirds of americans don't save enough. with many unprepared for a financial emergency. that's why a new social media campaign was launched this week to help people get on track. here's nbc's anne thompson with more. >> reporter: with two young children, crystal counts her blessings and change. >> i never use change. i always save it. so everything that i break goes into the piggy bank. >> reporter: and that change will go to her children's education. she posted her goal on twitter.

one of hundreds taking part in a new social media campaign to get americans to save with the #imsavingfor. and we need help. a bankrate.com survey finds more than one-third of americans are at risk of financial disaster with little or no emergency savings. in the worst shape, generation x, 32% of those between 30 and 49 have more credit card debt than savings. if you're not in the savings habit, what's the best way to get started? >> the best way to get started saving is to have a goal. you can't get anywhere if you don't know where you want to go. >> reporter: to kick start your savings, have the amount automatically deducted from your paycheck. the ideal emergency fund should be six months of living expenses. crystal says she learned how to save from her parents and the great recession of 2008. >> when the recession hit, i learned what the term "moderation" was. that's how i saved. >> reporter: building financial security for her family.

anne thompson, nbc news, new york. when we come back, the dress that has millions divided and the answer to the question everyone is asking.

finally on this friday, a seemingly simple question for

you. what color is this dress? take a look. take a good look. that question has been dividing families and friends all day. tens of millions have seen it since it went wildly viral on the web last night. so many people asking why do some people see white and gold while others are just as sure they're seeing blue and black? it's an amazing optical illusion. tonight, nbc's hallie jackson tries to get us some answers. >> reporter: it's a dress that didn't just go viral, it infected the internet after katelyn mcneil got confused. about why she was seeing something different than her friend. she posted a picture online asking for help. 11 million weighed in on twitter. white and gold. black and blue. it became a sensation of tumblr and buzzfeed's most popular single-day post ever with close to 30 million views. >> people just really wanted to get others' opinions to make sure they weren't crazy. >> reporter: so why do some of us see white and gold while others see black and blue?

experts say the way we see color is like a delicate dance between cells in our eyes. >> white and gold. >> blue and black. >> i see white and gold, too. >> reporter: here's what the dress really looks like, yes, blue and black. but because this photo is shot at a certain exposure, it magnifies the differences in how our eyes interpret color. >> if you're seeing the dress to be white and gold, you might be seeing too much light on the dress itself and you're compensating for the dress to be bright. >> reporter: it's an optical illusion, like which yellow line is longer. they're actually the same. and when you look around this grid, do you see black dots at any intersection? if you do, look again. all the dots are white. back to that dress. >> i told her she could be wrong all she wants as long as we don't have to talk about it anymore. i want to go back to the llamas. >> reporter: after all this debate, one thing's clear, sometimes it's not as simple as black and white, or in this case white and -- well, never mind. hallie jackson, nbc news. that's going to do it for us on this friday night. i'm lester holt.

for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. right now at 6:00 google gets into the game with the office space of the future. but will the expansion plans be too much for the peninsula to handle? good evening and thanks for joining is. i'm janelle wang. >> i'm raj mathai. if you google mountview, google comes up. the company is taking over block by block. tonight we're getting our first clear look at google's next big thing, which has a lot of people concerned. we begin with the new images given top scott budman. they show the buildings but not the traffic. >> that's true, raj.

that shouldn't it be too hard for residents to imagine though. the tech industry is growing so quickly, lots of companies have plans to expand and expand with style. google the latest company to propose a new headquarters complete with the new buildings new architecture some of the sblgs actually shift and yes, they have some ideas how to make things less crowded. >> hello, martin. >> google made it official it wants to change the way you think of the corporate office. this is the planned googleplex of the future. domes and movable structures alongside a public thoroughfare with places to shop. it's the kinds of thing you see when the economy is good from a company with a market value of nearly $400 billion. >> now we're on the upside. so sometimes you like to have the upside to improve the quality of life for a lot of people. >> but a new headquarters can't