noah was most popular for two years in a row. liam mason -- >> we want to contest this list. his friday night, military on alert. security at u.s. bases raised to its highest level in years amid growing concerns about violent home grown extremists, and tonight an urgent warning from the fbi about who they're tracking. millions bracing for impact as forecasters warn of another major tornado outbreak, while further east a massive system churns to shore, a tropical storm warning tonight. hung jury in one of the most infamous kidnapping mysteries in american history. etan patz, one of the first missing children to appear on a milk carton. the spectacular show in the sky today. american veterans reunite 70 years since victory over the nazis. and love letters from some adorable kids to their moms, just in time for mother's day. "nightly news" begins

right now. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news," reporting tonight from los angeles, lester holt. >> good evening. in a sign of growing worry over the threat of isis-inspired attacks in this country, the military has ordered u.s. military installations here at home to raise their security level for first time since the tenth anniversary of 9/11. while the fbi tonight is alerting its field offices to take a closer look at potential extremists on their radar. the actions come amid increasing anxiety over the potential threat from home grown terrorists on the heels of that terrorist shooting attack on a gathering in texas last weekend. jim miklaszewski has late details from the pentagon. >> reporter: the urgent warning shot out across the u.s. overnight, ordering more than 3,000 military bases and sites in the u.s. to raise the terrorist threat warning to

force protection bravo. bravo is in the middle of five threat levels, and indicates an increased or more predictable threat of terrorist activity and requires such security measures as an increase in i.d. checks and vehicle searches. defense and military officials tell nbc news while there is no specific or credible threat, there is concern that recruiting stations may be targeted. and there have been serious warnings. they point to last weekend's shootout in garland, texas, where two isis-inspired gunmen were shot and killed in a failed terrorist attack. and the startling warning from fbi director james comey that there are potentially thousands more isis-inspired terrorists in the u.s. thursday, comey told reporters, it's almost as if there is a devil sitting on the shoulder saying kill, kill, kill, kill, all day long and that he's concerned isis is focusing on the uniform military and law enforcement. and today, an urgent directive from the

fbi, because one of the texas gunmen, elton simpson, was known to authorities, but not under surveillance. the fbi ordered its field offices to review the list of all suspects and decide whether the right ones are being tracked. the alarming increase in the terrorist threat here at home is the result of isis' skillful use of social media to recruit potential terrorists inside the u.s. >> as long as you have isis supporters around the world, thousands of them, you know, issuing almost 100,000 tweets a day, that just guarantees that it is propaganda will remain in cyberspace without containment. >> reporter: it is not clear just how long this bravo threat level will last. but officials here are warning that these kinds of security measures could become the new normal, because the new evolving terrorist threat is not going away anytime soon. lester? >> jim miklaszewski at the pentagon, thank you. another major story we're following as we come on the air is the weather. forecasters warning of

another major tornado outbreak tonight. our partners at the weather channel say there say 70% chance of a major destructive tornado hitting this weekend. several states are on alert, with reported tornadoes on the ground already. nbc's janet shamlian is in tornado alley for us tonight. >> multiple vortices. >> reporter: for a second night, tornadoes blazed a trail of destruction. this view from a storm shelter in oklahoma. at least three tornadoes in texas, strong winds blamed for this train derailment, 17 cars blown off the tracks. >> oh, my god, a fire. >> reporter: lightning triggered a massive gas well explosion in north texas flooding travelers at the airport and in the panhandle, some drivers hit the road despite the storm risk. >> i'm afraid the worst is still to come. >> reporter: new warnings today. >> big time weather on the way for oklahoma. >> reporter: as homeowners in kansas and oklahoma rush to repair their homes -- >> do what needs to be

done. >> reporter: amid reports that saturday could be even worse. >> just lost everything i own and trying to get it out of here before the next storm comes. >> reporter: the university of oklahoma announcing it will move tonight's commencement indoors. >> every night when we go to sleep, we see the storm. i can hear the sounds of the tornado when we sleep. >> reporter: katie and her family had to be rescued when debris trapped them in their underground storm shelter. now, she's worried about what's to come. >> we already have been hit, why are we going to get hit again? >> reporter: tonight, as severe weather is set to strike again, moments like this. 5-year-old dawson collecting bricks from his fallen home, promising his mom for mother's day he will build her a new one. amid the destruction of just two days ago, right now in oklahoma city, we are under a severe thunderstorm warning and a flash flood warning. in fact there are storms all around us right now.

they're going to close this trailer park a little bit later, but for now, people are still here because this is their home. they don't want to leave, but they know they have to. they're trying to salvage what they can and then get out. lester, back to you. >> janet, there is a lot of weather anxiety tonight. in fact, another major weather event happening now, but we're following tropical storm warnings up for the carolina coast, very unusual for a named storm so early in this season as ana is churning to shore. millions bracing for heavy rains and flooding, damaging winds and dangerous rip currents. a live look at myrtle beach where the waves are kicking up choppy waters, a sign the storm is getting closer. let's go right to nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer at the command post inside the national weather service storm prediction center in oklahoma where she's monitoring both of the weather events. dylan, what's happening there? >> lester, we have spent the day at the national weather center here. this is the home of the storm prediction

center and also the local forecasting office for most of oklahoma and northern texas. it is right here in this room where the tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued. we even have ourselves under a severe thunderstorm warning at this time with baseball-sized hail reported just to the west of this forecasting office. now, we are looking at this severe thunderstorm and the most dangerous storms across parts of southwestern oklahoma and northern texas. this is going to be the threat through the night tonight. now, on saturday, it extends into kansas, oklahoma, and a small portion of texas. on sunday, we're going to lose the threat of a severe weather outbreak, but we will still see the chance of strong storms from iowa, all the way back down to texas. i also want to point out quickly, subtropical storm ana is stationary right now, with 45-mile-per-hour winds, but the outer bands could produce 4 to 5 inches of rain across the coast.

especially of north and south carolina. so we're going to focus on that over the next couple of days and also here it is going to be a busy night, but an even busier weekend. lester? >> dylan dreyer, thanks. a tragic accident on a busy highway in atlanta where a small plane crash, crash landed killing all four people on board and started an intense fire. single engine plane ran into trouble after takeoff. as it tried to land it grazed the top of a tractor trailer truck. witnesses say the fire prevented anyone from helping the passengers in the wreckage. they were flying to mississippi to attend a family member's graduation from college. the justice department announced today it is launching a civil rights investigation of a baltimore police department that will go well beyond the death of freddie gray in police custody last month. we get more from our justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: after 25-year-old freddie gray died from a spinal cord injury in the custody of baltimore police, touching off days of peaceful protest and nights of unrest and prompting a visit from the newly sworn in attorney general loretta lynch, today she said there has been a serious erosion

of public trust and ordered a civil rights investigation of the entire police department. >> this investigation will begin immediately. and will focus on allegations that baltimore police department officers used excessive force, including deadly force, conduct unlawful searches, seizures and arrests, and engage in discriminatory policing. >> reporter: investigators will ride along with police on the beat, interview officers and community leaders and analyze records of who's been arrested and for what. the news was welcomed by city leaders. the police union and the lawyer for freddie gray's family. >> the federal government has enormous additional powers than state government has. it has both the carrot and the stick. >> reporter: in the past six years, the justice department has opened investigations or is enforcing court-ordered changes in 32 police departments and sheriff offices in 18 states. baltimore's police say they too welcome the investigation, but if they decline to make

the recommended changes, the government can get a court to order them to do it. pete williams, nbc news, at the justice department. and there was a poignant reminder today of the dangers faced every day by police officers all across this country as a young new york city police officer was laid to rest six days after he was shot in the line of duty. his funeral brought together a huge gathering of fellow officers. nbc's ron allen has that story tonight. ♪ >> reporter: a somber sea of blue near new york city, tens of thousands of police from across the nation, paying their respects to officer brian moore, just 25, from a family of cops, shot and killed last saturday when he stopped a man suspected of carrying a gun, a suspect now charged with murder. the third nypd officer to give his life in five months. at a time when police here and nationally face criticism and protesters on the streets that new york's police commissioner said

fails to appreciate the work of officers like moore. >> we cannot be defined by that criticism. because what is lost in the shouting and the rhetoric is the context of what we do. >> reporter: he promoted officer moore posthumously to detective. they called him a hero and a rising star, so determined to be a police officer like his dad, he passed the exam when he was just 17. young man lost, mourners say, who lived and died blue. ron allen, nbc news, new york. meantime, tonight, as the public argument rages over whether and how he should be punished, tom brady has spoken for first time about an investigator's report that concluded brady probably knew that new england patriots employees had a role in deflating footballs. he made the comments last night at an event in front of a hometown crowd, but he didn't exactly have a direct response.

>> i don't have really any reaction. it only has been 30 hours, so i haven't had much time to digest it fully, but when i do, i'll be sure to let you know how i feel about it. and everybody else. >> no word yet from the nfl on when any possible punishment would be announced. overseas tonight, in great britain, the election results are in. and they are a surprise to almost everyone. prime minister david cameron and his conservative party won a decisive victory, trouncing the opposition labor party, despite pre-election polls that predicted a dead heat. more positive news for the u.s. economy tonight, employers adding 223,000 jobs last month. the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.4%, the lowest since the spring of 2008. that prompted a big day on wall street. stocks posting their biggest gains in two months. the dow finishing up 267 points. nasdaq and s&p up as well. still ahead here tonight, new developments in an infamous murder

mystery. what happened to etan patz all these years later, a man on trial and a week's long battle in the jury room. also, the air war in california. critical mission in the sky where with a woman breaking barriers on the front lines.

in new york, one of the country's most agonizing missing children cases remains unresolved tonight after a judge declared a mistrial in the case of a man accused of abducting and killing 6-year-old etan patz

back in 1979. our report tonight from nbc's anne thompson. >> reporter: stan patz and his family have been waiting for justice for more than 30 years. today they were told they would have to wait even longer. >> this man did it. he said it. how many times does a man have to confess before someone believes him? >> reporter: pedro hernandez was on trial for the murder of their 6-year-old son etan, one of the first missing children to appear on a milk carton. after 18 days of deliberation and three times telling the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked, the jury was dismissed and a mistrial declared. >> etan simply disappeared. >> reporter: on may 25th, 1979, etan patz left his home in new york city's soho neighborhood to catch a school bus. a two-block walk. it was the 6-year-old's first time doing it by himself. soho was a grittier place back then. the bus stop is no longer here. neither is the grocery store where 18-year-old hernandez worked as a clerk, where he says he took etan into the basement

and killed him. >> etan was a beautiful, outgoing, friendly, curious little kid. he would have made a great adult. but that's what got him killed. >> reporter: so the boy's body was never found, hernandez confessed several times to killing etan. >> something just took over me and i just choked him. >> reporter: but the defense claimed hernandez is mentally ill, his confession is not credible and pointed to convicted child molester jose ramos as the possible murderer. in the end, the jury voted 11-1 to convict. adam, juror number 11, was the holdout. >> for me, his confession was very bizarre, and i could not get beyond reasonable doubt. >> reporter: prosecutors have indicated they will seek a new trial, hernandez will remain in custody. and the decades old question of who killed etan patz remains unanswered. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. up next here tonight, the major fire fight under way and a woman breaking new ground from the air.

there were observances today marking the 70th anniversary of v-e day, victory in europe against nazi germany in world war ii. secretary of state kerry laid a wreath in paris. queen elizabeth lit a beacon in london. and in washington, a spectacular flyover, the greatest gathering of world war ii aircraft since the war itself. 56 vintage planes and hundreds of veterans there to see it. here in california, firefighters have 1,100 wildfires this year, twice as many as they would normally see by now. and the dangerous fire season has just begun. well, thousands of crews fight these potentially deadly blazes from the ground, only a handful do so from the air in the state's cal fire helicopters. nbc's hallie jackson got a bird's-eye view from one pilot who is breaking new ground. >> reporter: this is a very intense fire.

this is just the beginning, an explosive start to a season that is already worse than usual, flames ripping through more than 4,000 acres so far. choppers racing to put reinforcements on the ground, piloted by people like desiree fortin. it is a hard job to do, and a hard one to get. she's one of just 20 full-time state helicopter pilots and the first female. >> this is my dream job. and this is something i've been working for my whole career. >> reporter: fortin and her crew are cal fire's first line of defense. she can drop her firefighters off on almost any kind of terrain, giving them the best chance to knock down a fire before it spreads. that's critical in california, where the drought has turned trees into tinder. with new predictions we'll see faster, fiercer fires this year, already 2600 firefighters have been called in weeks earlier than usual. constant training, even for marines. it is like a war and

horton is flying above the front lines. >> if i was scared, i shouldn't be doing this job in my mind. we all had moments where we think, you know, well, that was close. >> reporter: it is dangerous work, high risk, and high reward. when flames tore through the trees behind mark davis' house in 2013, he tried everything to stop them. a losing battle until suddenly backup, from horton. on the davis' street, they know she helped save their home. you realize what you're doing makes a huge difference. the difference, potentially, between the untouched and the unrecognizable. and cal fire's chief told me today the conditions right now are worse than they were last year, so fires could spread faster than ever. their new warning tonight, lester, get ready. >> could be a very long summer. hallie jackson, thank you very much. a bizarre smuggling case. authorities noticed a young woman with a wheeled suitcase acting suspiciously and when they put the

bag through an x-ray machine she discovered an 8-year-old boy was curled up inside. there is the image. he told them he was from the ivory coast, and was placed in the care of child protection services. the woman identified as a moroccan national was apparently trying to smuggle the boy to spain. when we come back, love letters to mom.

finally tonight, children everywhere have been trying to find just the right words this week as they write their cards for mother's day this coming sunday. just how do they do it? here's harry smith. >> reporter: diligent, dutiful, the students in the second grade class at the ascension school in manhattan are working on their mother's day project. >> i think of mom when i meet smart people. she is a lawyer so she has -- she must be really smart. >> i think of mom when i smell cooking. rice and beans is our favorite. >> i think of mom with love on mother's day. i love her very much. >> reporter: the real lesson this week, what it means to be thoughtful. >> i love my mom because she's always there for me. >> she keeps me safe and she's very caring. >> reporter: what we

say, how we say it, especially on mother's day, really matters, for kids of any age, it is hard to find just the right words. >> this one says a mother is someone who can take the place of all others, but whose place no one else can take. and that's her. >> reporter: and if your relationship with your mother is complicated -- >> i ended up with one, and this is what she would say, i don't give a rat's [ bleep ] if you don't want to eat the peas you're going to eat those peas. that's what the card said and that's what she would say. >> reporter: in the class, the tone was more poetic. do you love your mom? >> so much. >> reporter: really? >> mm-hmm. >> reporter: what do you think about when you think of your mom? >> well, i think -- i think about a tiny little rosebud. >> why? >> because they're sweet like her. >> reporter: while we all wish we could be as eloquent as daniel, the truth is, most moms we know would be satisfied with this. >> happy mother's day, mom! >> reporter: harry smith, nbc news, new

york. >> our sentiments exactly. that's going to do it for us on this friday night. i'm lester holt reporting from los angeles. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching. and good night. right now, home at last. two young kids back in the bay area after being stranded in the chilly sierra. >> quick thinking and preparation helped save his family. a bay area dad and his two young children are safe and the kids back home with their grandparents. they were stranded in the cold sierra for two days. here you see them arriving at

their grandma and grandpa's house this afternoon. i know in the past half hour you talked to the kids and they seem to think it was quite the adventure. >> reporter: i'll tell you these two children are something else. they are troopers. little mila talked about her helicopter ride. she said she liked it. she said she went way high up in the sky. the little boy says he's ready to go camping again. after roughing it out for two days stranded in the wilderness two very sleepy children arrive to their grandparents house in oakland this afternoon. >> we're so blessed. we're so happy. i want to thank all our friends and family that prayed so much for us and sent out so many positive vibes. >> reporter: they camped out with their father for two days surviving on peanut butter sandwiches and