us here at 5:00. up next is nightly news with lester holt. on this monday night, kill them all. was it a confession? a jaw-dropping twist jolts a decades long mystery. a millionaire drifter, a vanished wife, a murdered friend, and now a shocking moment caught on tape. have police finally gotten their man? disaster in paradise. a monstrous storm makes a direct and deadly hit on an island made famous by tv's "survivor". our team is on the ground. lowering cholesterol. new drugs unveiled a potential game changer that could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. and fashion firestorm. legendary designers dolce and gabbana under fire for comments about in vitro babies. families are furious, including one very famous family calling for a boycott. "nbc nightly news" begins now.

from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news." reporting tonight, lester holt. good evening. starting with the disappearance of his wife over 30 years ago, eccentric millionaire robert durst has confounded prosecutors and detectives from coast to coast as the murder suspect they could never quite make a solid case against until maybe now. tonight durst is behind bars in new orleans awaiting extradition to los angeles where he faces charges in one of those cases, the murder of a friend back in 2000. it's a case that may have been solved in part with millions of tv viewers watching. an hbo documentary provided a stunning twist to a long and sordid tale. our stephanie gosk was in the courtroom for his first appearance today. stephanie. >> reporter: good evening, lester. robert durst was

escorted into the courtroom. he was handcuffed shackled in an orange jumpsuit. the 71-year-old is waiving his right to an extradition hearing, but prosecutors here in new orleans are threatening unspecified new charges defense him and that could slow down the extradition. accused of murdering his close friend susan berman in her l.a. home nearly 15 years ago, robert durst's attorney says his client is not guilty and they are eager to prove it in court. >> we are frustrated because the local authorities are considering filing charges on him here and holding him here. we're ready to go to california and have a trial. >> reporter: a police report obtained by nbc news indicates the 71-year-old was found with a smith and wesson revolver. officers were warned he was armed and dangerous and a flight risk. the arrest took place just hours before the dramatic conclusion of hbo's documentary "the jinx." director andrew jarecki confronts durst with new evidence that could tie his handwriting to

a note sent to police by susan berman's presumed killer. >> i wrote this one. but i did not write that one. >> reporter: durst goes to the bathroom seemingly unaware he was still being recorded. >> there it is. you're caught. what the hell did i do? killed them all, of course. >> reporter: is this a confession to three murders? his wife, kathy durst who disappeared in 1982 and was never found. the texas neighbor who he quas acquitted of murdering in 2003. and susan berman who authorities say they were getting ready to question in his wife's disappearance. jarecki says the team didn't discover the audio until nine months ago, more than two years after the interview. as the series unfolded on tv jarecki told abc news he became nervous about his own safety and last week called the police. >> i was saying i'm uncomfortable. and i have security.

i've never had security in my life. my family's uncomfortable. and i feel that this arrest should be made. >> reporter: today executive producer said they wouldn't comment any further because they are now likely witnesses in the trial. one of kathy durst's friends is praising their documentary while having mixed emotions about the case. >> i am totally thrilled. it's not going to bring kathy back, but i feel vindicated. and i also feel that you know it's been such a long time in coming. >> reporter: authorities fighting to extradite durst back to california may disagree. the lapd would not confirm any connection between the new evidence they say they have and the documentary. and so far there's been no explanation for why durst was arrested the night before the final installment of that series aired. lester. >> stephanie gosk in new orleans. thank you. cynthia mcfadden is our senior legal correspondent. cynthia, we don't know the entire case the prosecution has, but what about that statement made in the restroom? admissible? and what about the two envelopes?

>> well, lester the unsatisfying but truthful answer is it depends. remember, robert durst has the money to hire the best lawyers in the country. he was represented by the same team today that he was when he was acquitted of murder in a case where he admitted to dismembering a body. so, having said that, the audio from the bathroom, the lawyers are most probably going to argue was not a confession at all. but rather the kind of mutterings we all do under our breath which aren't necessarily truthful. prosecutor's going to say that should be up for a jury to decide. as for the envelopes, probably the prosecutor's going to have to prove a chain of custody as well as get some experts in there about handwriting. on balance, i suspect the judge will likely admit both pieces of evidence, but i have to tell you legal experts are really divided on these two questions. >> all right, cynthia mcfadden, thank you. in the boston marathon bombing trial today, key testimony from a police officer about that shootout between police and the tsarnaev brothers. the jury also left the courtroom

for an up-close look at the boat dzhokhar tsarnaev was hiding in when it all came to an end. our justice correspondent pete williams was back in the courtroom today. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: watertown police say they feared for their lives three days after the bombing. >> a state police officer at the scene suggested that there were two people that they had. >> reporter: when they caught up with the two marathon bombing suspects. police say the brothers jumped out of their cars in this quiet neighborhood and began shooting and throwing bombs. they say when police tackled tamerlan about here, dzhokhar jumped in his car and escaped, running over his brother as he fled. police say during the shootout the brothers used the carjacked suv as cover. one officer told nbc news a month after the bombing that he came face-to-face with tamerlan. >> he was about six or eight feet from me firing his pistol at me. i was firing at him. i ran out of ammunition. >> reporter: police say tamerlan ran out of bullets, took off running but was stopped in the street. >> i holstered up and

chased after him and tackled him. >> reporter: sergeant maclellan said at one point i was afraid i was going to be killed. police say dzhokhar tsarnaev got back in the suv at the other end of the block. instead of driving straight ahead where no police were waiting, he turned around and drove toward them and his brother who was lying in the street. the day for the jury began with a trip about a mile from the courthouse to see the actual boat riddled with bullet holes where dzhokhar tsarnaev hid after he escaped the shootout. >> it's very unusual to have a field trip outside the courtroom during a criminal trial, especially when there's security concerns as there would be in this case. that said, it's certainly not unprecedented. >> reporter: reporters who went with the jury to inspect the boat say dzhokhar tsarnaev appeared placid. seeing for the first time in two years the spot where he hid. the jury hears more about that tomorrow. lester. >> all right, pete, thank you. the man accused of shooting two police officers during a protest in ferguson missouri, last week was arraigned today in court. prosecutors claim that

jeffrey williams has admitted firing the shots, though it's not clear to them whether he was actually targeting the officers. williams did not have an attorney present in court today. there is mass devastation tonight on an island made famous to american tv viewers on "survivor" following a direct hit by a monster storm. dozens are confirmed dead on vanuatu. many more are missing, and thousands are now homeless with the tolls expected to rise dramatically. nbc's miguel almaguer is there for us tonight. miguel, what are you seeing? >> reporter: lester, good evening. in a state of emergency tonight, many in this nation are in a state of shock. this picturesque harbor is now a symbol of the disaster. the death toll here is expected to soar as officials search for the missing in communities that have literally been washed away. locals are calling their devastated island nation hell on earth. boats smashed, roads washed away, power out. homes, bridges and hospitals are destroyed. >> it was terrifying. it was just the whole

room was like it was raining inside. >> food, no. no light. all of our gardens are destroyed by the wind. >> reporter: a direct hit from a category 5 monster storm with winds nearly 200 miles an hour. >> i've never seen or heard anything like that noise. it was frightening. supersonic. >> reporter: what the winds didn't rip apart the ocean swallowed. on outer islands locals tell us entire villages are washed away. vanuatu is a poor country also known as a paradise. the setting for the reality show "survivor" in 2004. this weekend haley and trent williams saw their dream honeymoon become a nightmare. >> mass destruction, yeah. >> a beautiful five-star resort just -- >> flattened. >> -- rubble. >> reporter: the true death toll may not be known here for weeks. this is what search teams are up against, a landscape that's been ripped apart and redefined. finding anyone in something like this would be a

miracle. tonight the storm has passed, leaving behind one of the worst disasters to ever ravage the pacific. what do you do now? >> i don't know. i don't know what to do now. >> reporter: tonight, military from neighboring nations are arriving at the local airport here to assist with aid and the search and rescue. that number of missing and the death toll is expected to climb over the next several days. lester. >> miguel almaguer tonight, thank you. tonight, we've learned the names of the four louisiana national guardsmen who were killed when their chopper crashed off the florida coast during a training mission last week. those names are chief warrant officers george griffin jr. and george stroeter and staff sergeants lance bergeron and thomas florick. all the aviators worked either hurricane katrina or the gulf oil spill and

three served in iraq. they were killed alongside seven marines whose names were released last week. hours from a cliff-hanger election in israel. prime minister benjamin netanyahu said no palestinian state will be established under his watch if he remains prime minister. polls show netanyahu in real danger of losing with his party trailing a major rival. the election that could have ripple effects globally as the u.s. tries to hammer out a nuclear deal with iran. some alarming news tonight for the drought-stricken west coast. a dire warning from a nasa scientist that says under the current bone-dry conditions california's water supply may be all tapped out by this time next year. nbc's jacob rascon has the story. >> reporter: california's water supply is disappearing faster than we thought. the disappointing wet season colliding with a fourth year of extreme drought. nasa scientist jay

famliati. >> if we don't take measures, we have about a year's worth of water left. >> reporter: the water has run out for farmers like this man who used to pay $50 for an acre had been foot of water. >> we're paying close to about $975 an acre-foot. >> reporter: and the future looks just as thirsty. snow pack levels which typically make up a third of the state's water are at all-time lows. even the governors of washington and oregon are now dealing with drought emergencies. >> we haven't seen that much rain or snow at all for this entire season, and now we're seeing record-setting temperatures. >> reporter: heat waves like we haven't seen in more than a century. 90 degrees and parched in the winter would be a disastrous new normal. jacob rascon nbc news, los angeles. legendary fashion designers dolce & gabbana are responding tonight to a firestorm over comments they made about children born with the help of

in vitro fertilization. comments that angered a lot of people including elton john. the music superstar leading a charge to boycott the company. katy tur has this report. >> reporter: the anger lit up social media with parents posting pictures of their kids online and the terms "synthetic baby" and "boycott dolce gabbana" trending. outrage triggering after they told an italian magazine, you are born and you have a father and mother. or at least it should be like this. that's why i'm not convinced by chemical children, synthetic babies, wombs for rent. for many it came as a surprise that the two men, a former couple themselves, who once spoke to "vanity fair" about wanting a family would seem to come out against not just gay adoption but in in vitro fertilization and surrogacy. sir elton john a parent of two surrogate children himself, fired off a blistering response on instagram and called for a boy scott

saying, shame on you for wagging your judgmental little fingers. but it also struck a nerve with many other parents, gay and straight. in the u.s. alone some 60,000 ivf children are born yearly, including jen palumbo's 3-year-old son michael. >> these children should not be diminished and devalued because of how they were conceived. >> reporter: they insist they never intended to judge. in fact, this morning gabbana accused elton john of being the intolerant one. to them it's about freedom of opinion. >> i think the social ethical idea of free speech should probably apply even to really controversial speech, even speech that angers people. >> reporter: and like it or not, it got people talking. katy tur, nbc news, london. big medical news still ahead tonight. blockbuster new drugs unveiled that could be life-changing for millions of americans with high cholesterol. also a huge dream home and the owner who is giving it away for next to nothing.

there is big medical news tonight about lowering cholesterol. there's a new class of drugs and it could help a lot of people who have trouble keeping it under control. in experiments so far patients have seen dramatic drops in cholesterol levels, reducing their risk of heart attacks and strokes. nbc's rehema ellis has details. >> reporter: 71 million americans have high cholesterol. a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

but for some taking cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, both measures sometimes just aren't enough to reduce the threat of cardiovascular disease. >> genetics plays a pretty significant role in people's cholesterol levels. so in spite of their efforts to lower their ldl either with drugs or exercise or diet they just can't get the levels low enough. >> reporter: results from a new study show an investigational drug significantly lowered ldl, the so-called bad cholesterol, by as much as 60%. that's above and beyond the benefit of statins alone. >> these drugs increase the activity of receptors in the liver that actually pull cholesterol out of the bloodstream. and if you give both drugs together, those receptors become so active that they're literally sucking the cholesterol out of the blood. >> reporter: the drug called evolocumab could be approved by the fda later this year. it's designed to be

injected every two to four weeks. the hope, the drug's benefits will go beyond lowering bad cholesterol levels and prevent patients who already have cardiovascular disease from having heart attacks and strokes. something the study suggested but was not designed to prove. though further tests for safety will be needed, for millions of americans struggling with our country's number one health problem this new study is promising news. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. up next here tonight after a bizarre disappearance, a big mystery solved, or is it?

the mystery is over tonight in russia though not exactly solved. president vladimir putin appeared today in public for the first time in 11 days. he did not explain where he'd been, but he did chuckle at the rumors and gossip which included everything from the

flu to slipping out of the country to attend the birth of his lovechild. the thrill of victory quickly turned to agony in defeat. georgia state's head coach ron hunter. he was jumping around celebrating with his son who scored the winning basket in yesterday's game when the coach apparently tore his achilles tendon. he had to be helped off the court. the win was enough to clinch a spot for georgia state in the march madness tournament. but by the way if you're filling out a bracket this year, good luck. the odds of nailing a perfect bracket are 1 in 9.2 quinntilion. no need to google it. that's 18 zeros. when we come back, you could win this getaway spot with a few bucks and the right turn of phrase.

if you've ever daydreamed about leaving behind the daily grind and becoming your own boss, there's a contest in maine you need to hear about. a beautiful bed and breakfast could be yours for practically nothing, but only if you come up with the right combination of words to claim it. nbc's harry smith takes us there. >> reporter: winter has been reluctant to let go this year in the white mountains of

western maine, but janice safe says she knows it's time for her to move on. >> i have a lot of packing to do. >> reporter: janice is the owner and proprietor of the center lovell inn. really sweet. >> thank you. >> reporter: after 22 years it's someone else's turn. >> the phone's been ringing off the hook. >> reporter: and that's because janice isn't selling the place. she's practically giving it away. >> no liens or mortgages. >> reporter: just the deed. >> exactly. yes. >> reporter: that's a pretty good deal. interested? send in a check for $125 and write a short essay explaining why you should be the one to take over. do you have a minimum number of entries you feel like you need to get? >> i would like to get 7,500. >> reporter: if enough people participate, it creates a pile of cash for the owner and a once in a lifetime opportunity for the winner. which is exactly how janice came to own the inn back in the 1990s.

a contest she heard about on tv. >> i did on a wing and a prayer and look what happened. >> reporter: the inn stays busy from spring through fall. along with 20-hour days, the winner will find themselves working to replace a local legend. you're smart, you're funny, you're charming as all get out, right? >> thank you. >> reporter: this is a one of a kind property. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: but how do you replace a one of a kind you? >> hopefully with somebody like that. yeah. we'll see. >> reporter: harry smith, nbc news, lovell, maine. and that will do it for us on this monday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night.

every case that he has touched should be investigated. >> at 6:00 racist and homophobic troubling text messages from four san francisco police officers now raising questions about everything those four have done on the job for years. good evening. i'm jessica aguirre. >> i'm raj mathai. we'll have that story in just a moment. first, we want to take you outside. a familiar look right now in san jose. dry skies. under current conditions california has just a year of

water left. that's the ominous warning from a senior nasa scientist. today san jose's mayor unveiled a bold water plan but it has big questions and a big price tag. chief meteorologist jeff ranieri is tracking our drought but we begin with marianne favro in san jose with details. >> reporter: as you can see here with this groundwater recharge basin, our water supply is quickly drying up which is why the mayor wants san jose to rely more heavily on recycled water. san jose's mayor wants his city to become the water recycling capital of the water and he wants the silicon valley advanced water purification center to play a critical role. >> san jose would become the largest city in the country to deploy this technology. >> reporter: right now that technology is used to recycle 8 million gallons of water a day for landscaping and industrial uses. he now wants to triple production within the next two