"nbc nightly news" is coming up next and more local news on nbc bay area at 6:00. >> see you then. night, tornado outbreak. dozens of twisters from texas to minnesota as violent weather leaves homes underwater and people scrambling to be rescued. four bodies found after a suspicious fire at an upscale washington, d.c. home. tonight the search for a person of interest. good news for frequent flyers. why it just got a whole lot easier to use those mileage points. call to serve. a veteran who is giving deployed troops a little piece of home one care package at a time. and high note. a singer who hasn't missed a beat even though she can no longer hear the music.

this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. substituting tonight, savannah guthrie. good evening. as we come on the air tonight, one section of the country is bracing for a wave of severe weather. another is cleaning up after a night of powerful tornadoes. it is the upper midwest under the gun tonight with the threat of heavy thunderstorms and hail. and just look at the size of this twister. one of nearly 30 reported this week through the middle of the country over the weekend. nbc's john yang joins us from broken arrow, oklahoma. john, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. take a look at the damage here in broken arrow. this isn't a limb off of the tree. this is the trunk of the tree, the top snapped right off. take a look at the house across the street. one of two. the tops just peeled off and opened up like an onion. once again tornado alley has lived up to its billing. >> oh my goodness.

you can see it clear as day. >> reporter: overnight, tornadoes sliced across south western oklahoma. to the east homes were damaged in broken arrow outside tulsa. >> the roof gone. it's chaos. it freaked us out. shaking me. >> reporter: trees were uprooted and power lines down. just before the storm hit, brad shirley had been watching his favorite movie, "twister." >> it was definitely really loud. the house started to rumble. once that happened, i dove into the bathroom with the mattress. >> reporter: he found his home siding three blocks away. >> not really how i planned on spending my sunday. but at least i work at lowe's so i got access to stuff. >> reporter: going to make good use of the discount. >> absolutely. >> reporter: nine tornadoes in ten states from texas to minnesota. >> this is a violent

tornado down here and it is big. >> reporter: another round of lightning strikes outside oklahoma city and more hail and flooding in north texas where today the national guard helped rescue ten people from their homes and cars. outside kansas city, missouri, residents were evacuated when the river flooded leaving home under watt per. the severe weather there postponed a major league soccer game. in eastern kansas, authorities say strong winds derailed this freight train. tonight in oklahoma, a state where twisters are an annual rite of spring, residents are cleaning up. are you hoping this is it? >> yeah, but oklahoma, once you lived here 31 years, this is not it. >> reporter: as the storm moves east it is weakening so the chances of severe weather for at least the next few days is relatively low. >> good news for them. thank you. we are following a

late-breaking story out of waco, texas tonight. at least nine people are dead and 18 injured following a confrontation between rival biker gangs. police have now secured that scene but they're asking people to avoid the area. now to washington, d.c. where police are hoping this piece of surveillance video will help them break open a bizarre multiple murder case. it happened in one of the most well-to-do neighborhoods in the city. not far from where the vice president lives. a couple, their young son and their housekeeper killed, their house set on fire, their sports car missing. and tonight police are zeroing in on the so-called person of interest. nbc's kristen welker with our report. authorities say the man in this surveillance video is a person of interest in the fire that ravaged this home in washington last thursday. four bodies were recover, two confirmed to be 46-year-old

savvas savopoulos and his wife and son. >> it takes a special viciousness to kill four people, including a 10-year-old boy. >> police spotted the man on a surveillance video after discovering the family's porsche 15 miles away. >> a person could recognize a person from their gait. their walk and make a tip, call in the police and you could get way ahead in the investigation. d.c.'s police chief said >> the fire was set intentionally. >> we can say that there were at least on three of the four victims there were injuries discovered, appeared to be blunt force or sharp object injuries. >> adding to the mystery, a housekeeper told police amy texted her before work telling her not to come. >> savvas was active

in the community. their son attended a private academy in washington. two daughters were away at boarding school. the home is four blocks from where the vice president lives and near a house owned by hillary clinton and bill. recently spotted on a jog nearby. neighbors are rattled. >> i'm shocked and horrified that something like this could happen. >> a mystery that's gripped the nation's capital. overseas now where it is being reported tonight that isis militants have won control of a key city in iraq, ramadi. a senior official says that 90% of that town is under isis control but the pentagon puts it a bit differently tonight saying the situation there remains quote fluid and contested. back in this country, amtrak is working overtime to get the busy northeast corridor back up and running. starting tomorrow, service will resume between philadelphia and new york. but is the investigation any

closer to providing answers tonight? nbc's tom costello is in philadelphia for us once again. tom, good evening to you. >> reporter: first train leaves at 5:53 tomorrow. amtrak has been working round the clock to restart the service on this critical northeast corridor. five days since amtrak went off the rails, repair crews have finished the job of rebuilding the track. investigators are focusing on the chain of events that might have caused such a horrific accident and the ntsb says nothing has been ruled in or out. >> we're looking at three main domains, we're looking at the human, the machine and the environment. and all three of those things are still on the table. >> the human is engineer brandon bostian who told investigators he doesn't remember what happened jus before his speeding train crashed. the environment question includes whether projectiles hit the train just before the accident.

the ntsb now says engineer bostian never radioed that he had been hit. the fbi is looking at the smash mark on three trains. amtrak says its trains are hit by projectiles all of the time. >> there's no shortage of rocks or concrete and a low fence line making it easy for somebody who might want to take aim at a passing train. residents say it's a common sport for local kids. >> big rocks, balls, ice, snowballs, anything you can think of to throw, it's been throw. >> reporter: it's not a new problem. the "the new york times" carried a story in 1905 of teddy roosevelt's train being hit on the same stretch of track. the question, if amtrak 188 was hit, did that distract or disorient engineer bostian who was new to if route just as he should have been slowing to 50, not speeding up? meanwhile at the crash scene this afternoon, a moment of reflection

for the eight people who died and the 200 who were injured on tuesday night. also eight doves for the eight people who died. 20 people remain hospitalized. five in critical condition. all expected to survive. now to presidential politics and yet another major candidate under scrutiny after struggling with questions about the war in iraq. it is not the way senator marco rubio hoped to make headlines in a weekend where all of the contenders were trying to stand out. nbc's senior white house correspondent chris jansing with our report. >> today it was marco rubio's turn to get tripped up. by what's been called the most obvious question of in presidential election. >> was it a mistake to go to war with iraq? >> it was not a mistake given he was the president. >> after jeb bush spent the week stumbling over questions on the war, today marco rubio found himself doing the same. >> it was not a mistake for the president to decide to go into iraq.

>> i'm asking you -- >> in hindsight. the world is a better place because saddam hussein is not there. >> a blunder on a weekend that was supposed be about republican unity at the dinner in iowa. >> we can beat hillary, we must beat hillary, we will beat hillary if she ever takes any questions. someone needs to ask hillary clinton was it a good idea to topple can a dafy in libya. >> the scene, firing up debate to defeat hillary clinton. >> have some ice cream. >> from rick perry to scott walker, 11 presidential hopefuls, 1300 republican activists in iowa with republican chatter to root beer float. donald trump was peddling a photo op with donald. each candidate got 10 minutes to sell themselves and their plan for victory in 2016. but hillary clinton beats all of them in

head-to-head matchups. >> i think republicans have been disappointed that some of the stumbles that hillary clinton has encountered do not seem to have wounded her. >> but republicans believe that cumulative attacks will whittle away her strength. >> can you beat hillary? >> we don't know whether hillary is going to be the nominee or not. >> if there's many more scandals that come up, even the democrats are going to sour on that. >> serving up some wishful thinking or the recipe for a win. chris jansing, nbc news, des moines, iowa. there is a new study tonight. it states that some of the kids suffering from as ma may also have an allergy to peanuts. i'm joining by dr. natalie azar. the upshot here, some kids who have asthma should get a peanut allergy test. >> yes. if your child is being

treated for asthma and you're having a hard time getting control of these symptoms an undiagnosed peanut allergy may be a factor. when researchers at mercy children's hospital in toledo ohio looked at the medical records of 1500 children diagnosed with asthma, they found that 11% of these children also had a peanut allergy. in that entire group, 44% had a blood test to see if they were sensitive to peanuts. and of those children, almost a quarter tested positive. many of these families, roughly 50% never suspected their children had a peanut allergy at all. >> who should be tested? >> kids that have acute exacerbations without an obvious trigger and also children who are doing well on their medicine but continue to have attacks. a lot of these inhaled medicines for asthma also contain soy. some children can cross react with that.

>> thank you. >> and we'll be right back.

this is swra could be rascon in los angeles. breaking news out of hawaii tonight. u.s. military officials have confirmed a downed aircraft at bellows air force station with 22 marines on board. 20 have been taken to local hospitals. officials say the mv 222 aircraft made a hard landing during a training expertise. smoke and flames could be seen for miles. stay tuned to your local affiliates for updates. now some of the nations biggest airlines are giving

frequent flyers a reason to smile by making it a bit easier to travel the world. here is cnbc's sharon eper son. >> good news for frequent flyers. believe it or not it's getting easier to use those hard earned miles in and points. the dire family is back in or a gone after taking a vacation in italy and spain, using their reward miles. >> we saved about $6,000 using reward miles on this last trip. >> for three seats the diers used 80,000 miles and spent $1,000 on another 30,000 miles. idea works an airline consulting firm looked at 25 airlines worldwide and found that 74% of the flights they checked had seats open for reward reservations the highest level in sick years. >> what i'm especially surprised by is the fact that we're seeing more and more reward availability closer to departure. >> reporter: the three largest u.s. airlines, united, american and delta all increased their reward seats this year.

why are airlines offering more seats? they're competing with credit card companies that are offering reward bookings without blackout dates, so airlines want customers to become loyal to their frequent flier programs. >> i typically go to california i'd say two times to three times a year on reward miles. >> you need a lot of miles to get a free ticket smr but not all points are equal. experts say read the fine print since programs can vary. >> some reward travel based upon how far you fly or how much you spend. >> reporter: when it comes to finding a reward seat think globally. sometimes you will find there is more availability on international carriers even for travel in the u.s. >> a triep trigger point that could be 25,000 miles round trip with american you might be able to get those same flights for only 9,000 miles round trip with british airways. >> reporter: if your travel dates are flexible fly on a tuesday on wednesday, experts say you'll find it's easier to get a seat to just about anywhere. >> that's what we're focused on looking for

what's available in the latter part of the summer for sourt east asia. >> the diers are already planning their next adventure. and still ahead, one man's had mission to bring the comforts of home to troops overseas.

♪

you may have seen ads with some hollywood stars sporting funny red noses and it's all for a good cause. our friend matt lauer is trying to raise awareness by setting out on a 226-mile journey. this morning he started the bike ride from boston to new york and it will raise money for red nose day which will benefit children in poverty. this is america's first red nose day. but in britain it's a popular day of giving for decades. on red nose day this thursday we hope to see matt ride into our home base at 30 rock live on the "today" show. for members of the military, the job often means long deployments away from family and friends. but thanks to operation troop aid, service members are getting a taste of home even if they're

thousands of miles away. here's lester holt. >> on any given weekend this retired navy veteran is rolling into town for a good cause. >> we've had a farm aid, a gulf aid, a katrina aid, a sandy aid. me being 21 years military retired, it's just time that as we a nation stand up. >> mark woods created operation troop aid, its mission to bring the comforts of home to military personnel deployed around the world. >> phone cards, beef jerky, toiletries, cds cookies candy. >> to date they've blifrd $7 million in care packages over the last decade. >> one of the biggest reasons i'm doing that to get the word out that hey, we still have military deployed all over the world. >> earlier this month operation troop aid was in fort worth partnering with the chris kyle foundation to raise awareness for veterans. >> letting our troops, boots on the ground know that people here

still care. >> it seems like a win win for chris kile's family who has become advocates in honor of their son. >> we want to make chris proud. and i think right now he's smiling down on us. >> we would like our country to take note of what our young men and women in uniform go through both abroad and at home, honor them, give back to them. do little things just to thank them. >> they are going to love it. >> dozens showed their support by assembling some 100 care packages that were immediately shipped out to afghanistan. >> everything is important for these guys. >> payback for all of the service that they've done for us. >> i love giving back to our veterans. >> as veterans like chris kyle's brother jeff sees it, this simple gesture goes a long way in a war zone. >> to get a little piece of home and know that the american people are still

behind us, it gives us the strength to fight another day. >> one veteran's efforts to pay it forward one package at a time lester holt, nbc news. coming up next, a young woman whose obstacles you can't see but make her music all the more remarkable to hear.

we are ending on a high note tonight. jazz musicians are known for their ability to improvise. but one young singer is doing that and then some. she's proof that you don't need to hear the music to hit all the right notes. nbc's erica hill caught up with her at a performance in florida. ♪ >> each night on stage is a dream come true for mandy harvey. ♪ >> it's who i am. i've always been a musician. and the blood, the sweat, the tears, i love every moment of it. ♪ >> her connection with the audience is undeniable. [ applause ] >> but for nearly a decade this 27-year-old hasn't heard any of the applause. or even the music. after battling gradual hearing loss

throughout her childhood, mandy's worse fears were realized as a college freshman when the music stopped. >> i broke. and i remember thinking, well, what do i do now? >> what was it like for you in those moments? >> like i died. i watched myself die. ♪ >> it took a year for mandy to even think about singing again. but eventually with encouragement from her dad, she tried. mandy's pitch was perfect. her voice had never left her. >> it was that awareness of yeah, yeah, that worked. >> that opened up a door for me and from there i kind of hit the ground running. >> eight years of losing her hearing, mandy has released three albums with two more on the way. >> you give me chills. it's been wonderful. >> much of her audience has no idea she is deaf.

>> jazz is such an improvisation nal u style of music. if you can't hear what's happening, how do you do that? >> it's a lot of faith and a lot of visual contact with the other musicians. >> mandy feels the tempo through the floor, reads lips and relies on the muscle memory of her brain and technology to find her note. and while she knows her story is a source of inspiration, she doesn't want it to define her. >> i don't see myself as the deaf jazz singer. to me, i'm just a singer. and i have certain hurdles and i'm overcoming them. ♪ >> hurdles that have made her stronger and more determines to share the music inside her. erica hill, nbc news kissimmee, florida. now extraordinary. that is nbc nightly news for this sunday. i'm savannah guthrie reporting from new

york. i'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning on "today." from all of us here on nbc news, have a great night. she's always smiling and always happy, and she would tell jokes and she would just -- she was amazing. >> right now at 6:00 a. community dealing with tragedy. today hundreds came together to remember a 15-year-old girl whose life ended too soon. good evening, everybody. >> it was supposed to be a day of celebration, but instead people are now mourning her. we are joined live from her high school in gilroy