pool weather. >> enjoy the sunshine. thanks for joining us. on this friday night, violent outbreak. tornados tearing off roofs, ripping homes from their foundations. neighborhoods buried under four feet of hail. a police suv swallowed by a sinkhole, and new tornado warnings as millions face a dangerous weekend ahead. a dark secret kept hidden for decades. now a woman says former house speaker dennis hastert sexually abused her brother. and tonight for the first time nbc news talks to a high school friend. what he says the alleged victim told him years ago. city in fear. growing concern tonight in colorado that someone is randomly shooting at people. authority on hunt for a possible serial people. and dashed team. an american paralympic hopeful blazing fast and about to compete for a national

championship only to have his running blades stolen. "nightly news" begins right now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york this is "nbc nightly news." reporting tonight, lester holt. good evening. as we head into the weekend, millions will need to keep a close eye on the weather after a violent outbreak destroyed homes and left neighborhoods under feet of hail in could could. this afternoon new tornado warnings were posted in the west. at least one tornado already spotted today near denver. and the threat from these dangerous storms continues. our national correspondent miguel almaguer starts us off tonight with the latest. >> we have touchdown, people. >> reporter: rumbling across colorado, this violent punishing storm is packing it all, from multiple twisters to pounding golf ball-sized hail. the sheriff outside denver says it's a miracle nobody was killed.

>> it's really been unlike anything we've ever seen today. we talley saw the tornado from our front porch. >> reporter: the small town took a direct and violent hit, one neighborhood obliterated. at least 25 homes damaged. brandon scott's house literally flew away. >> it ripped the roof off my house and threw a bunch of insulation, shingles down to the bottom of the stairs. >> reporter: in some areas, hail up to 4 feet deep had to be shoveled away. whipping winds took down power poles, lightning piercing the sky. the wild weather even buckled roads. a police car swallowed by a sinkhole. >> lightning and thunder and everything continued for hours and hours. >> reporter: now it's rain doing the most damage. eight inches in parts of colorado. but states like wyoming, missouri and arkansas face their own severe flooding. along the red river, expected to reach its highest level in 70 years, evacuations are now under way. >> these storms have been going off and on now for about 72 hours.

soils are saturated. tornado warnings continue to be issued. >> reporter: dangerous storms packing a powerful punch. tonight they're on the move. miguel almaguer, nbc news. tonight in the ever-disturbing case surrounding former house speaker dennis hastert, a voice we haven't heard from before has emerged, telling nbc news about his conversation decades ago with a friend who told him about sexual encounters with hastert when his friend was a teenager. the man we spoke to is the second person to come forward in the past 24 hours with the story of steven reinboldt, a now deceased former student of the illinois high school where hastert coached wrestling. next's gabe gutierrez is on the story. >> reporter: steve reinboldt was the student equipment manager for the yorkville high wrestling team dennis hastert coached. in an interview with abc news his sister

jolene says years after he graduated her brother told her he had a sexual relationship with hastert. >> i asked him, when was your first same-sex experience. he just looked at me and said it was with dennis hastert. and i just, i, you know, i was stunned. i said, why didn't you ever tell anybody, stevie? i mean, he was your teacher. why didn't you tell anybody? he just looked at me, and he says who is ever going to believe me? >> reporter: her brother died of aids in 1995. another friend and classmate of reinboldt's who asked us to conceal his identity tells nbc news reinboldt confided in him back in 1974. >> started to talk about his relationship with denny hastert. and told me that they had been sexual, and i was flabbergasted. was flabbergasted. >> reporter: he says he believed there was more than one sexual encounter. >> i said what do you mean? and he said well, we would do things sexually, and it would sometimes start with a massage, and we didn't go much further into that. >> reporter: reinboldt's friend

says he does not know who individual "a" is the person cited in the indictment against hastert. it alleged that hastert agreed to pay someone from yorkville $3.5 million to conceal past miss conduct. law enforcement officials tell nbc news that the misconduct was sexual misconduct with a student. former state wrestling champion, gary matlock, coached by hastert, says he barely remembers reinboldt but has a hard time believing that hastert would sexually abuse a student. >> he was a good teacher, good coach, great motivator. >> reporter: former representative barney frank says the allegations are stunning. >> although though it's frankly to me a reminder of the hypocrisy among my republican colleagues.

dennis hastert became speak to preside over the impeachment hearing of bill clinton. he went to put before the house twice, constitutional amendments that would have banned same-sex marriage. >> reporter: hastert has not commented, neither has his attorney. he's scheduled to make his first court appearance next week. >> gabe gutierrez, thank you. authorities in minnesota announce ed charges against the archdiocese. a strong condemnation by the prosecutor who said today, quote, we are alleging a disturbing, institutional and systematic pattern of behavior committed by the highest levels of leadership of the archdiocese of st. paul and minneapolis over the course of decades. the archdiocese says it regrets the abuse suffered by the priest's victims and will continue to cooperate with the prosecutors. communities in northern colorado are on the edge this evening over fears that a serial sniper may be targeting people at random. at least three people have been shot under mysterious circumstances so far.

now police are racing to connect the dots and stop whoever may be pulling the trigger. nbc's jacob raskon has this report. >> reporter: they are questioning many who are otherwise living in a peaceful neighborhood in northern colorado. who is this so-called serial shooter? and where and when will he or she strike next? >> it's happening all over, and they can't seem to figure out, find the guy. i know it's tough, but it's scary. >> reporter: investigators admit, they don't have the answers, only saying that two shootings are definitely linked, and a third is likely. >> 911, what's the address of your emergency? >> i'm on my way right now, and somebody just hit me, and i'm bleeding from my neck, and i'm scared. >> reporter: the first victim, 20-year-old cori romero survived her attack shot in the neck during the day while merging on the interstate. several weeks later only five mails miles away a 47-year-old special needs man john jacoby was gunned down after dark while riding his bike is first homicide in the

town of windsor in a decade. >> he's bleeding uncontrollably on the side of the road. >> reporter: and this week, there was a third roadside shooting, 65-year-old grandfather, bill connole shot and killed while walking near his home. former detective ray martinez says many serial shooters seem to be sociopaths who crave attention. so the search is desperate. >> it has to be desperate for the public's safety. to ease the mind of the public, it has to be. >> reporter: investigators are keeping some details about the shooting to themselves, but if and when they find a definitive link, they will likely share that information with the public immediately. lester? >> jacob rascon, thank you. the damage still being assessed from perhaps the largest hacking attack in u.s. history, data stolen on millions of federal employees, many of them with access to sensitive information, and as nbc's andrea mitchell reports, fingers are still being pointed in china's direction. >> reporter: you've

been hacked. that's warning that will be sent to 4 million federal workers, roughly half civilians, the other half retirees or contractors. unwilling victims in an escalating cyber war. >> the fact that somebody let this happen tells me that somebody isn't paying attention. >> my clearance and everything, they already know everything about me, but i don't want that stuff getting out. >> reporter: many targeted have security clearances although officials say the hackers wouldn't know who had the highest clearances. who did it? the fbi is zeroing in on china, despite china's denial. >> we hope the united states side could discard this kind of suspicion and stop groundless accusation. >> reporter: still, u.s. officials and outside experts say the attack had china's cyber fingerprints. >> we don't see enormous numbers of attacks like this against u.s. government institutions coming from china that are not government-sponsored. >> reporter: there's been plenty of warning. in april, the government accountability office

reported 24 separate agencies, including treasury, the state department, homeland security and defense had increased risk of compromise from cyber-based attacks and other threats. and in march the gao reported that the faa has significant security control weaknesses, threatening the agency's ability to ensure the safe and uninterrupted operation of the national aerospace system. why would another country like china want so much information? >> personal information is extremely valuable, and it's extremely sensitive. it effectively becomes a map to help an adversary target the individuals of greatest interest. >> reporter: officials say that many of the government's computers are so antiquated it won't be easy to figure out what was stolen. and if china proves to be the culprit, deciding how to retaliate against such an economic powerhouse presents a huge challenge, lester. >> all right andrea. thank you. there's good news for the american economy after a sluggish few months.

news today that employers added a healthy 280,000 jobs last month. the unemployment rate ticked up only slightly to 5.5%, but economists say that's for a good reason because hundreds of thousands more people are now seeking work as the economy improves. it's been 37 years since we've seen a champion claim one of the most elusive crowns in all of sports, but all of that could change tomorrow at belmont park where excitement is building for american pharaoh. nbc's josh elliott is there. >> american pharoah and victor espinoza have won -- >> reporter: he won the kentucky derby against a field many called one of the most talented in decades and overcame a veritable monsoon to win the preakness. but saturday's belmont stakes, the third and final leg of the triple crown, known at test of the champions will be the longest race of this young horse's life. over the only mile and a half race track in the country. the one they call big sandy. >> hopefully we'll see

a triple crown with american pharoah. >> he's won the other two. >> if anyone can do it, i hope he can. >> reporter: as the only horse to run in both the derby and preakness, he will face a field of well-rested contenders. >> he's a sweetheart of a horse. when he gets on the track he's all business. >> bob baffert is the first trainer ever to have a fourth chance at capturing the most prestigious honor in american horse racing. you're here on the cusp of history, for the fourth time. more than any other trainer. >> that's incredible. i mean, to me, i look back, and i still can't believe it's happening. >> reporter: victor espinosa will become the first jockey with the third shot at a triple crown. winning the most coveted title in the sport is something knows horse has done since affirmed in 1978. nevertheless american pharoah's owner says they are prepared. if american pharoah runs his race it doesn't matter who else is out there.

>> there's a lot of good horses, but this horse is going to win the triple crown. he's going to have to earn it the hard way. >> reporter: he drew post position number five for saturday's race, a start gate that has ended in a belmont win for 14 hourses, including seattle slew. >> this is the horse that ran in the race and set the pace and took first place. >> reporter: a triple crown winner himself, now just a mile and a half stands between american pharoah and his industry. . >> reporter: again that history is daunting since 1978 when affirm won. 13 horses have won the kentucky derby and the preakness. none have left here with horse racing's greatest prize. that history perhaps all ends about 24 hours from now, lester? >> all right, josh. thanks. we'll look for your live coverage of the belmont starting tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 eastern right here on nbc. still ahead for us tonight, what do you do when the only thing that can save your child is against the law?

parents fighting for their children and fighting to change the law. and later, 27 valedictorians at one school? isn't there supposed to be just one? why it's suddenly so crowded at the top.

we're back with a story about how far parents will go in the hopes of keeping, helping their children. while marijuana is still illegal in most states and there are serious concerns about its effects on health, a certain strain looks to be very effective in treating kids with

severe seize your disorders. our harry smith brings us the story. of one family's battle to get legal permission to use it for their daughter. >> i'm sorry, i'm a pain but it's fun. >> reporter: 15-year-old jennifer collins. she certainly looks like any other teenager. but if you look closer, you might see the flutter in her eyes. she's having a seizure. >> my oldest daughter said, mom, you know, when jennifer does that eye thing, she can't hear you. >> reporter: jennifer suffers from jeavons syndrome, a debilitating form of epilepsy. to treat it beth and patrick collins were advised to use very strong anti-epilepsy medications, but they were soon concerned about the side effects. >> she had one that made her rage so badly that we had to take all the doorknobs off of the doors because she had locked herself into the bathroom with a knife. so it was scary. it was really scary, and they didn't control her seizures. >> reporter: did you feel like you were

losing your daughter? >> absolutely. losing our whole family. >> reporter: the collinses heard reports about oils made from the cannabis plants. oils that don't get you high but reduce seizures. beth and patrick made the heart-wrenching decision to separate the family. beth and jennifer moved to colorado to see if the oil could help jen. patrick and their older daughter alexandra stayed in virginia. one oil, legal in colorado, helped jennifer, according to her parents. but there's little clinical research on this, and some doctors say more needs to be done. this family is convinced it works. >> reporter: what is it like for you to be free of some of those side effects? >> it's awesome. i don't feel like a monster anymore. >> reporter: a monster? >> because when i had the rages, i felt like a monster afterwards because i would just physically attack my

parents, and i didn't have any control over it. >> jennifer has a statement. but she's a little nervous. so i'm going to read it for her. >> reporter: the collinses are now fighting for laws that would make the oils legal in all 50 states. harry smith, nbc news, fairfax, virginia. >> much more on harry's "dateline" special "growing hope," sunday night at 7:00, 6:00 central. we're back in a moment with the athlete whose dreams of glory were stolen by thieves. >> he explodes out of the block.

it's a crime that will leave you shaking your head in disbelief. thieves stole expensive running blades from a para-athlete in north carolina. and with an all-important race just days away, they may have robbed him of something that can't be given back, his dreams of victory. nbc's stephanie gosk has the outrageous story. >> he explodes out of the blocks. >> reporter: while peterson can run, one of the fastest in the

100-meter. he has his sites set on the paralympics in rio. >> it means a lot to my mom to see me. they trashed my closet. >> reporter: but on wednesday, the sprinter from charlotte, north carolina hit a hurdle off the track. someone broke into his house and stole almost everything, including 20 competition medals and three of his custom-fit running blades. >> they just took it all from me. why take somebody's medals away from them that can't be replaced? why take somebody's legs that they need to run on. >> reporter: even for thieves, this was pretty low. replacing the high-tech prosthetics could cost close to $50,000. a gofundme page only just kicked off and nationals start in two weeks. >> i won't be training, i don't have a leg to train on. >> reporter: peterson lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident when he was 15. >> it happened on thanksgiving day in 2007. it felt like it was happening to me, too. >> having to go back to school without a prosthetic at first it made me mentally tough. >> reporter: then

three years ago he discovered the track and realized he was fast. suddenly, the 22-year-old had a direction in his life and a goal. that for now hangs in the balance. >> this is not going to stop me at all. this is going to make me come back even stronger. >> reporter: for this paralympic hopeful, gritty determination is nothing new. stephanie gosk, nbc news. when we come back here tonight who says it's lonely at the top. the school with not one, not two, but 27 valedictorians.

finally, tonight, the title of valedictorian is traditionally reserved for a school's top-ranked student, or at least it used to be. some of this year's graduating classes literally have dozens of them. here's janet shamlian on the growing trend. >> 4.13. >> 4.0. >> reporter: at frosty grove high school in oregon, all of these students are this year's valedictorians. at vanguard high, in florida, 27 will share the title when they graduate tonight. >> i'm a valedictorian. >> i don't think of it as sharing. i just think of it as we all did this. >> reporter: but shouldn't there be only one honoree?

the dictionary defines valedictorian as the student having the highest rank in a graduating point so what's with the multiple winners? >> you have 27 students who met the requirements, so therefore they should be recognized, and they should be honored. >> reporter: in general, schools give more weight to top grades in advanced placement courses, so many students end up with a gpa above 4.0. >> we have like a family unit of valedictorians. >> reporter: but critics say the practice gets a failing grade and is like some kid sports where everyone gets a trophy. >> the more valedictorians we have the less meaning it has when it gets to the quote, unquote real world. they will have no way to know how to handle that competition. >> reporter: with the competition fierce to get into college, every valedictorian can legitimately claim top of the class status. >> i'm alexander worthels, i'm the valedictorian. >> i am hailey hughes. i am the valedictorian. >> reporter: crowded at the top, as the class of 2015 knows, there can be more than one number one.

janet shamlian, nbc news, new york. that is going to do it for us on this friday night. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and goodnight. with my own kids that's what came to my mind. >> a bus driver comes to the rescue of a kidnapped 3-year-old. we are there as police swoop in to save the little boy. good evening, thanks for joining us i'm janelle wang in for jessica aguirre. >> i'm raj mathai. this is a remarkable story. a little boy was kidnapped but soon after was saved thanks to an alert bus driver. the 3-year-old was abducted from the milpitas library. police say the kidnapper took the boy onto a bus headed for the fremont b.a.r.t. station,

but because the bus driver's quick actions, police were waiting for that man and that little boy at the b.a.r.t. station and promptly arrested him. our nbc chopper and crews were also watching it all unfold. that man is behind bars tonight. this is his mugshot. nbc bay area's chuck copal is at the milpitas police station with how this happened but we begin with jodi hernandez and the heroic actions by that bus driver. >> reporter: the bus drive her no clue what would happen when he left the bus yard this morning what would happen on his route today. he said he noticed that the little boy seemed upset when he got on the bus at the bus station with the man. he says the boy was crying but of course, he had no idea he had been kidnapped until he gotten a alert that a little boy was missing. >> pictured him online all the parents in front of the cameras, asking for their child to be brought back home. that what's came to my mind. these parents were going to be in front of the camera if