chance for more showers tomorrow thunder for the hills. but 70s for the highs at the ends of the week. >> on this sunday night, when will it end? as march begins, more wicked winter weather hitting much of the nation. the snow, the freezing rain, the travel nightmares, including thousands of flights delayed or canceled. war of words. as venezuela detains americans, accusing the u.s. of spying and imposes new travel restrictions. moment of crisis. after a skydiver apparently suffers a seizure, the midair rescue that saves his life. and sister act. the unusual calling for a group of nuns, their sacred place at home on the range.

this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. substituting tonight, peter alexander. good evening. after this already relentless winter, severe weather is punishing much of the country tonight. millions of americans marching into another month of exhausting cold and snow. thousands of flights grounded and ice producing dangerous conditions for drivers. to give you some perspective, right now, nearly two-thirds of the u.s. is blanketed by snow, and boston is bracing for its snowiest season ever. we begin tonight with nbc's kristen dalgren. >> reporter: in minneapolis today, drivers were going nowhere fast. >> i got the car stuck now. my wife ran it down and we can't get it up the driveway. >> reporter: at least 6 inches of snow catching a lot of people off guard. >> i can't believe it accumulated so fast. >> reporter: getting around was down right hazardous. in rolla, missouri, crews finally have i-44 opened after this pile-up on saturday involving at least 25 cars, trucks and a greyhound bus.

in virginia, state police were working at least five separate crashes on route 60 alone. near boston, a youth hockey team is now telling a harrowing tale of being inside this ice rink when the roof collapsed under heavy snow. >> i immediately started screaming to get off the ice. i just knew that wasn't a natural sound. >> reporter: february is now officially the snowiest on record in boston. the city just under six inches shy of the snowiest year ever. new mexico has records show. 9 1/2 inches of snow in three days, that is normally what they get in a year. on the first day of march, more than 63% of the continental u.s. is still covered in snow. even dallas an icy mess this weekend, making roads slick and snarling air travel. nationwide, more than a thousand flights were canceled or delayed today. >> there is no patience.

>> reporter: but in the drought-ravaged west, the winter storm was much more welcome. ski areas like lake tahoe's sugar bowl got more than two feet. parts of colorado could see four feet. but while skiers may be digging it, for others, it just means more digging in a winter that just won't quit. and here in new york, it's been snowing for much of the day. it's now switching over to kind of an icy mix, peter, but a travel advisory remains in effect through monday morning's commute. >> all right, kristen dalgren, thank you. and if you think this is the end of it, think again. for more, let's bring in weather channel meteorologist maria larosa. maria, what's in store? >> peter, for the end of this sunday, it is more snow and as kristen mentioned, more ice snuck in. in providence, a little more snow as we go through d.c. there will be more of a morning rush, however, the damage will be done. look at that purple. that falls right along the i-95 corridor, so make sure you're ready for a messy monday morning rush in the northeast.

now we turn our attention to the next one, this taking shape monday night into the midwest. minneapolis, chicago with the snow, but that i-70 corridor, look at that freezing rain potential, st. louis into central illinois and indianapolis. by tuesday, yes, it is back into the northeast, this catching up with the evening rush from pittsburgh to philadelphia, new york, and yes, even into boston by tuesday night. notice all of that rain as well, peter. we're talking about flooding concerns for parts of the mid-south. so a real mess to start march with. back to you. >> maria, no rest for the weary. thank you very much. and overseas, this was two days of protests for moscow two days after a leader was gunned down by the kremlin. now it's a scene of growing memorial. many carry signs with his picture, others simply read, "i am not afraid."

james mates of itn was among those at today's protest. >> reporter: this mosque was meant to be a protest against the war in ukraine. he would have been one of the leaders, one of the faces at the front. the irony we face here is now everywhere as the crowd approaches the bridge and the point where he was killed. overlooking the scene, the walls of the kremlin from where many people marching today believe the orders to kill him may have come. >> james mates in moscow. there is new tension tonight in this country and venezuela whose social president has routinely accused the u.s. of plotting a coup to drive him from power. now, the venezuelan president is making new rules for americans who want to travel there. >> reporter: during a rally in caracas, the president claims the u.s. is trying to topple the country's social government.

he told a crowd that venezuelan authorities had captured some u.s. citizens involved in what he described without detail as undercover activities and espionage. four american missionaries over the weekend working in this venezuelan village was released after being questioned. they said they did not do anything wrong. maduro also released a so-called anti-terrorist list of americans barred from visiting his country, including former president george w. bush. florida congresswoman, ileana ros-lehtinen who said, "proud to be banned from maduro's country. i'll continue to advocate for human rights. " he is now urging all american visitors to get visas. a senior u.s. official says the continued allegations at the united states is involved in efforts to destabilize the venezuelan government are baseless and false. this latest flare-up comes as the venezuelan economy is in

shambles with skyrocketing prices and widespread shortages of basic goods. a former ambassador to venezuela says he is using the u.s. as a smokescreen for his own failures. >> the maduro administration has tried to make the united states a scapegoat, but, in fact, the problems venezuelans face today are of their own making. >> reporter: today, pope francis prayed for a 14-year-old boy killed last week during an anti-government protest and urged venezuelans to reject violence and respect human dignity. mark potter, nbc news, miami. >> a new video has emerged reportedly showing the three girls joining isis militants. at the same time wither learning more about a young british woman who has been a key recruiter for isis.

we have more from scotland. >> reporter: this video was made public this weekend. three girls at the istanbul bus station 12 days ago. police believe shamimi begum and her two friends are believed to have left that day to join isis, drawn in by a known recruiter. two days before she left, shamima begum had reached tout her on twitter. her name, axsa mahmoud, a 20-year-old from glasgow, scotland, she left her family in november 2013. >> we were horrified when we learnt that our daughter had become radicalized and had traveled to aleppo in syria. >> reporter: mahmoud grew up in glasgow. she had attended one of the best schools. nick clemens looked into her past. >> she had little friends, she was into music, had a crush on movie stars. nothing unusual that would make you think she would become a

fantic or a radical. >> reporter: a stark contrast to her new life somewhere in syria. now on her tumblr blog, she lashes out at the west and encourages girls to join isis. "bring a good pair of boots and makeup and jewelry, because trust me, there is absolutely nothing here." in the months before she left, she started wearing a head scarf and talking about the war in syria. but her parents never imagined she would give up studying at this university and her own family to join isis. the family lawyer says there were no warning signs. >> if the family had known, they would have stopped her. she just simply got up one morning, was supposed to go to university, said goodbye to her family, gave everybody a hug. >> reporter: anwar says now, security services are constantly watching her social media and he questions whether they did enough to stop shamima begum. >> you would hope they would

knock on the door of the family knock on the door of the family and says we need to give you a warning. your daughter is in danger. >> reporter: in that surveillance video, the time stamp showed the three girls spent at least 17 hours at the bus stop in istanbul. no one ever approached them. police believer they're already in syria. nbc news, glasgow, scotland. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu arrived in washington late today, two days ahead of a controversial speech to congress on iran's nuclear arms policy. kristen welker is at the white house tonight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening. this visit marks a new low in the already thorough relationship between president obama and benjamin netanyahu. they are fuming because they said the prime minister snubbed the president by accepting an invitation from speaker john boehner without consulting the white house. today, speaker boehner says the white house has every right to do this. last week, national security

adviser susan rice called the speech, quote, disruptive to israeli-u.s. relations. today, secretary of state john kerry downplayed the tension, saying the prime minister is welcome to speak in the united states. netanyahu is expected to criticize the president's strategy dealing with iran's nuclear program which he says puts israel in mortal danger. according to the white house, the president won't meet with the prime minister because the israeli elections are just two weeks away. now, more than 30 democratic lawmakers plan to boycott netanyahu's tuesday speech before congress as well as vice president biden. tomorrow susan rice, an ambassador to the u.n. samantha power will represent the white house at the conference, the same day netanyahu speaks to the organization. as tensions mount, both sides will likely lay out different views on how to handle the iran nuclear crisis. peter? >> kristen welker at the white house, thank you. one of the two nurses who contracted ebola while caring for a patient in dallas plans to sue the hospital where she

worked. nina pham's lawyer confirms she plans to file the lawsuit tomorrow. the suit says texas health services is negligent for failing to treat the people accurately. when nightly news continues on this sunday, bringing out your inner entrepreneur. a company who wants your ideas. and later, escaping a disaster at sea. we'll hear from a couple who lived to tell about it.

who among us hasn't had a bright idea we were convinced was the next best thing but

couldn't make it fly? there is a company out there who will help you decide which ideas are worthy. here is nbc's rehema ellis. >> reporter: 7-year-old houston diaz may not look the part, but he's an inventor. his idea was borne out of frustration, how to keep the toothpaste on his toothbrush. >> the toothpaste fell in the sink a lot. >> reporter: with the help of his dad, houston invented the squeezey, a toothbrush that dispenses toothpaste directly. >> i think it's going to get big and it's going to go to a lot of stores. >> reporter: a start-up company called quirky took his idea and ran with it. squeezey is now available online and soon in a store near you. quirky gets 4,000 ideas submitted weekly, but only 10 get a real chance to get made. it's this game show-like atmosphere that really makes quirky different. once a week, the company reaches out to a community of more than a million online subscribers and

asks them and people here whether their idea should be bought. ben kaufman founded the company six years ago to give inventors what he once needed. >> it's access, support assistance, validation, design assistance. it's access to these resources, but at the same time, qualified people will help them do the legwork. >> reporter: research that let garth control his air conditioner. his wife leslie developed the smart air conditioner, developed through a cell phone. the adjustable power strip is the biggest hit for quirky so far. he's now made more than $780,000 and counting. this indiana welder has high hopes for the possum. yes, a water feeder for dogs. after nine years looking for help to develop his idea, once launched, the paws-it sold out in nine days. not bad for being a little

quirky.anine days. not bad for being a little quirky.tnine days. not bad for being a little quirky. nine days. not bad for being a little quirky.nine days. not bad for being a little quirky.nine days. not bad for being a little quirky. nine days. not bad for being a little quirky.mnine days. not bad for being a little quirky.anine days. not bad for being a little quirky.tnine days. not bad for being a little quirky.tnine days. not bad for being a little quirky.enine days. not bad for being a little quirky.r nine days. not bad for being a little quirky.ofnine days. not bad for being a little quirky.ine day daydays. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. >> drink it up. up next the dramatic midair rescue after a skydiver apparently suffers a seizure at 9,000 feet.

the northern illinois huskies didn't just bring down the house last night, they brought down the hoop. you've probably never seen anything like this before. the 6'7" player, a thunderous dunk, and you see what happened. he pulled down the entire hoop's structure, nearly taking out one of central michigan's opponents. fortunately, no one was hurt except the chippewas who lost by 18 points.

one of baseball's biggest ambassadors is dead. miniminosaute minnie minoso was a seven-time all star was the first major league black player coming out of cuba. during the 1950s, the outfielder was one of the best players in the game. today, president obama praised minoso for innovating baseball and cited his speed, power and optimism. he was 93 years old. it was a little over three years ago when the "costa concordia" ran aground and nearly 100 people died. tonight on "dateline," some of those who escaped that shipwreck share their own stories of survival. here is nbc's josh elliott. >> reporter: for emily lau and

benji smith, this part of the mediterranean island will always resonate. >> i really want to see it. >> reporter: not because they honeymooned in these waters, but because they almost died here. the boston couple's return last year was their first time back since the terrible, tragic night in 2012 when their cruise ship, the "costa concordia," ran aground, a disaster which left 32 people dead. >> the crew members started pushing the lifeboat away from the ship. as they tried to lower it down toward the water, it starts hitting against the side of the cruise ship. sometimes it freefalls for three feet and then we suddenly get jerked into place. >> i suddenly realized that they had no idea what was going on and they did not know how to operate the lifeboat. >> reporter: the couple was eventually forced to abandon that lifeboat. >> we made loops in the rope. >> reporter: and it was only after rappelling down the hole of the sinking ship that the two

were rescued and taken to gilio. >> one of the things i remember walking around gilio was a housekeeper, walking like a zombie and she was saying, "housekeeping, housekeeping." and i knew she was looking for her colleagues. she was looking for her friends and she couldn't find them, and the voice and the look on her face was just heartbreaking. >> haunting, just haunting. >> reporter: the couple has since found inspiration borne of tragedy. smith has written a book about the experience, while lau channeled her feelings into music. >> that was nbc's josh elliott. you can watch the entire "escape" story right here tonight at 9:00 eastern on "dateline." he called it possibly the scariest moment of his life, and in this video of an australian skydiver, you're about to see why that is an understatement. everything was going according to plan until about 9,000 feet. that's when he says he suffered a seizure.

take a listen to the wind whipping by. the man says he spent the next 30 seconds unconscious in freefall until his jump master noticed that something was wrong. the other skydiver was able to grab hold of the man and pull his ripcord. at 4,000 feet, he became conscious again. at 3,000 feet, amazingly, both men landed safely. when we come back, we'll take you to colorado to meet a group of nuns who have found a higher calling.

finally tonight, it's one of the more unlikely success stories, a working ranch in colorado run by a group of women not normally known for their skills handling a herd of cattle. so we sent nbc's erica hill to check it out. [ bells tolling ] >> reporter: in the shadows of colorado's rocky mountains lies a sacred place, where benedictine nuns serve god and work on this 250-acre ranch. >> people are still sometimes surprised that women are running a ranch, but that nuns are doing it, we find it a real complement to our spirituality. >> reporter: it's a real self-sustaining community, although not everyone arrived ready to tackle this part. how many of the sisters here had any experience in farming or husbandry prior to coming to the abbey? >> no one. we learn from each other. >> reporter: now as word of their ranch has spread, the sisters are also learning to

manage a growing natural beef business. >> some of our customers like it because they know the beef is not produced in commercial markets. others people it because they know the animals were treated with reverence. >> reporter: last year alone, they produced 13,000 pounds of naturally raised beef for dozens of local families. but it's still not enough to meet the demand. are you surprised at all the reaction you've had to your beef? >> a little bit. i didn't expect quite that much. you know, my sisters at home say, oh, yeah, i'd like to have that. >> reporter: but did they have to get on the wait list, too? >> oh, yes. yes. >> reporter: even your sisters? >> even my sisters. that's the way it goes. >> reporter: and while the novelty of ranching nuns is high, it is a lot of work. >> you have to pray because you're not in control of any of it. it taught me also how to laugh and how to learn to let go.

>> reporter: a lesson even the most dedicated here are learning every day. erica hill, nbc news, virginiadale, colorado. >> nice way to end the night. that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. i'm peter alexander reporting from new york. lester holt will be back here tomorrow night. from all of us here at nbc news, have a good night. rback here tomorrow night. from all of us here at nbc news, have a good night. iback here tomorrow night. from all of us here at nbc news, have a good night. ghback here tomorrow night. from all of us here at nbc news, have a good night. tomorrow night. from all of us here at nbc news, have a good night.

right now at 6:00 a pitbull goes unit tack and nearly kills a woman in the east bay. we're live with the latest. good evening, everyone. >> thank you for joining us. the woman was air lifted to the trauma center after her own pitbull attacked her at her home. the attack happened at about 10:00 this morning on silverado drive. nbc bay area talks to neighbors and joins us live. this was a woman's own dog, kimberly? >> reporter: that's absolutely right, peggy. that lifeflight helicopters with you are talking about earlier today land at this park which is very close to victim's home.