ming. "nbc nightly news" is next. more local news on nbc bay area at 6:00. >> hope to see you then. on this sunday night, getaway plan. stunning details about the alleged accomplice of two escaped prisoners, including claims the three planned to go on the run together. nightmare flight. passengers stranded for more than 20 hours in a cold military barracks after their plane is diverted, but with little explanation. on the loose, tigers, bears, even a hio, take to the streets. after raging floodwaters destroy a zoo. and a recipe for success. a school bus that offers a movable feast for kids in need. "nightly news" begins now. >> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. substituting tonight, carl quintanilla. good evening, day nine of the search for

those convicted murderers who escaped from a new york prison and not only are there no clear leads, officials say they could be near canada or mexico by now. the manhunt remains focused on the woods of the adirondack mountains and we're learning new details tonight about the prison worker who had planned to help the inmates by driving them about seven hours away. nbc's miguel almaguer starts us off tonight in upstate new york. miguel, good evening. >> reporter: carl, good evening. joyce mitchell began working here at the prison back in 2008. but now she is behind bars. accused of not only trying to help those two convicted killers escape, but for wanting to start a new life with them on the run. facing eight years in prison, authorities say joyce mitchell did much more than just sneak various tools into this maximum security facility. she worked for weeks, say investigators, with david sweat and richard matt on their escape. what kind of relationship would you describe it as? >> unusual.

>> reporter: district attorney andrew wily says mitchell became involved with the convicted killers in 2013. slowly learning of their planned prison break, agreeing to become their getaway driver, and planning a midnight rendezvous at this power plant. after the duo dug their way to freedom. so was her thought process to help them escape and eventually go on the run and move on with them? >> it appears that way. it appears that way based on her statements and i think at the last moment, that friday afternoon or friday evening, she bailed out. >> reporter: the d.a. says mitchell was to drive seven hours, towards an unknown possibly wooded location where they would need an off-road vehicle. the day of the escape mitchell had a panic attack. a no-show at the power plant because she didn't want to hurt her husband, says the district attorney. the manhunt for sweat and matt is now in day nine. the air operation has been launched around the clock. at night they're using infrared, during the

day several spotters on the choppers. an army of 800 searching for two, who could be long gone. >> we don't know if they are still in the immediate area, or if they are in mexico by now. >> reporter: how thick are the woods back here? >> very thick. >> reporter: bob landry owns two acres just three miles from the prison. police have swept the woods, a checkpoint is outside his front door. but there's little comfort in being home. how do you sleep at night? >> very, very lightly. it's tough. my wife and i take shifts. >> reporter: tonight the search for two killers while the woman who allegedly helped them is sitting behind bars. the district attorney says it's possible the two inmates had cell phones behind prison walls but he has no evidence of that just yet. as for joyce mitchell she'll be in court tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. for her preliminary hearing. carl? >> miguel almaguer tonight in upstate new york.

outraged airline passengers are safe in london tonight after a grueling couple of days. after leaving chicago, a maintenance issue forced their plane to divert to rural canada where travelers say they spent more than 20 hours in difficult conditions. nbc's gabe gutierrez has our report. >> reporter: today 176 passengers finally landed in london after a harrowing journey some thought would never end. >> no united representative ever reached out to anybody. no phone calls. no human beings. nothing. >> trying to get via chicago to london. >> reporter: shamit started his trip in wisconsin. then he boarded united flight 958 leaving chicago o'hare friday evening, bound for london, heathrow. but three hours into the flight, it was diverted to goose bay, canada. making an emergency landing due to an unspecified maintenance issue. >> the issue boils down to the way they handled us once we got down. >> reporter: this is where the passengers spent the night, in

military barracks. each were given a few blankets, in near-freezing temperatures. >> we froze through the night because there wasn't any heat. >> reporter: a passenger later took this picture of the flight crew and said they had slept in a nearby hotel. united telling nbc news hotel space was not available so we accommodated our customers at a local military base and provided meals. >> our biggest complaint was nobody came around to give us any information. >> reporter: more than 20 hours later, 20 hours later, a replacement aircraft arrived and flew them to newark. another plane took them on to london. united is apologizing to its customers and the air line now says it will refund their tickets to london. still traveler advocates say united could face penalties from the department of transportation. >> this falls squarely under d.o.t.'s jurisdiction, and they can fine united airlines for not communicating with the passengers. >> reporter: tonight shamit is staying with friends in london. >> we did not know what was going on.

we were treated in a very inhumane manner. >> reporter: but his trip isn't over. he's still hoping to make his parents' 50th wedding anniversary in india. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, chicago. hillary clinton is on the trail following the first major rally of her presidential campaign. today she returned to the all-important state of iowa, a place that hurt her shot at the white house the first time around. nbc's kristen welker joins us tonight from des moines, iowa. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: carl, good evening. hillary clinton held her first public campaign event here in iowa today and she asked voters for a second chance to win this state and the white house. >> hillary. >> reporter: iowans came out today to hear hillary clinton, who has turned what started out as a listening tour into a full-fledged campaign. a day after her official rollout in new york, clinton returned to iowa, to make the case that she'll be a champion

for the working class. >> i'm running for president to make our economy work for you and for every american. >> reporter: and for the first time in weeks clinton weighed in on an issue that has divided democrats, trade. >> the president should listen to and work with his allies in congress, starting with nancy pelosi. >> reporter: just days after democrats and leader nancy pelosi rebuffed president obama's request for fast track authority to negotiate a deal with eleven other nations, clinton pushed back at the white house, expressing concerns that americans might lose jobs. >> and if we don't get it, there should be no deal. >> reporter: clinton's comments could help shore up support among the far left. voters who've been giving her rival bernie sanders who opposes the trade deal some unexpected momentum. >> we have lost almost 60,000 factories, and millions of decent paying jobs.

enough is enough. >> reporter: sanders is trailing clinton in the polls, still he's beginning to resonate. is bernie sanders a real challenger for hillary clinton at this point? >> in iowa anybody can become a real challenger to the big establishment candidate. that is why i think hillary clinton has to pay attention. >> reporter: voters in des moines say while it's still early they're listening. >> i want to hear how they're going to get these things done. how it's going to impact the middle class. >> i would love to see a woman as president. i know we can do it. i think it's time. >> reporter: now clinton has nine campaign offices here in iowa. compare that to sanders, who only has one. still after her bruising defeat in 2008, campaign officials say she can't take anything for granted. next stop, new hampshire. carl? >> nbc's kristen welker in des moines tonight. thanks so much. those on the republican side are gearing up for a big announcement of their own after exploring a

presidential run for months, jeb bush will finally make it official, kicking off his campaign at an event tomorrow afternoon. nbc's kelly o'donnell has a preview. >> reporter: the long expected launch of this bush campaign. >> i can't read the future. but i want to be authentic and genuine. i'm going to be who i am. >> reporter: and that means defining job ellis bush, jeb, as more than the son or brother of a president. >> well, jeb, jeb is different than george. and jeb is who he is. my life story is different. >> reporter: today, his campaign rolled out a glossy video. the official logo, minus the family name. >> america's best days are in front of us. >> reporter: their goal? portray jeb bush as a doer, with a record as governor by relying on the words of floridians. >> i think governor bush changed a lot of lives in florida. >> look at all this. >> reporter: the word you will hear often is heart, to define bush himself, and to explain his philosophy. >> my core beliefs start with the premise that the most vulnerable in our society should be in

the front of the line, not the back. >> reporter: a self-described introvert bush has not delivered the shock and awe jumpstart the republican establishment had expected. jeb's presence did not scare off challengers. and he rattled donors with fumbled response to the predictable question would he have evaded iraq based on what we know today. >> i would have. and so would have hillary clinton just to remind everybody. i would have not engaged. i would not have gone into iraq. >> reporter: the family connection bush will highlight is his four decades with wife columba, who was born in mexico. and bush will say the u.s. must do more to engage with the world. >> we can fix the problems that people think are intractable, with leadership we can move forward again. >> reporter: that last image you saw is the place where jeb bush will announce his presidential run tomorrow. advisers tell me that location sends a signal because miami-dade college is a diverse campus with students trying to move up in the world. team jeb says he will

go anywhere, talk to anyone, trying to win support as he enters this race, not as the front-runner many had expected him to be. carl? >> pay attention this week. kelly o'donnell in washington. thanks. now to a bizarre scene that's unfolded overseas in the country of georgia. tigers, lions, even a hippo on the loose in that nation's capital after raging floodwaters damaged a local zoo setting many of the animals free. we get more on that now from nbc's kelly cobiella. >> reporter: it was a true urban jungle. zoo animals roaming georgia's capital city tbilisi, some just trying to stay dry. throughout the day, the military helped animal workers round up lions, tigers, and bears. warning people to stay inside. more than 30 animals escaped during a violent night of torrential rain and floods. a river of mud and debris cut through the city, sweeping away cars and homes, trapping people, and

destroying much of the zoo. including this bear enclosure. in the chaos, this hippo swam out of his pen. zoo keepers tried to save the other animals but there wasn't enough time. three of the zoo's staff died. >> it did look truly devastating. i can't say anything more. it was -- it was horrific. >> reporter: the zoo made headlines in 2013 after the birth of four rare white lions. the town favorite, famous for his friendship with a poodle, didn't survive. but rescue workers were able to save these two baby bears several miles from the zoo. today, parts of the zoo are still intact. lions, a zebra, and other animals alive and well. along with a hippo, the massive mammal was tranquilized in the main square, had a bite to eat, and was gently ushered back to a safe place. kelly cobiella, nbc news, london. with folks out west dealing with one of the worst droughts

in over a century this week the white house said it's giving more than $100 million in aid to communities that have been hit. a portion of that money will go to help farmers whose businesses have been dealt a huge blow. nbc's hallie jackson has a closer look as part of our special series going to extremes. >> reporter: this morning instead of harvesting his asparagus, joe is ripping it out. why? >> because we don't have enough water for it. and we're very uncertain about what we're going to have next year. >> reporter: he's plowing under 155 acres, ironically on the same land president obama visited last spring. >> there's a huge demand for all this fresh produce. that's what i mentioned to the president. we produce healthy food that the first lady would like to see our children eating. >> reporter: california grows the most asparagus of any state. the most broccoli. lettuce. and strawberries, too. in all, nearly half our produce comes from here. but this year, growers will leave more than half a million acres unplanted.

about 7% of farmland in a state that feeds the nation. but even the president can't make it rain. >> i think it's important that all of us take responsibility, because it's not just california. >> reporter: the drought could drive up food prices nationwide about 2%. but its costs are much higher for farmhands. >> as somebody who is relying on summer work to get them through the year, and it goes away, then the food bank is the alternative. >> reporter: food banks like this one in fresno, which president obama also visited. it's serving twice as many people as it used to, giving out ten times as much food to farm workers out of jobs and out of options. >> the drought is really what we would consider a slow moving emergency. we're just going to have to find a way. >> reporter: a way to make it work, but for farmers like dell bosce, work is drying up. hallie jackson, nbc, california. when "nightly news" continues on this sunday, imagine living in a world where sunlight is your

worst enemy. a look at one family's rare struggle.

with summer fast approaching, most kids are looking forward to some fun in the sun. but some are bracing themselves for a challenging few months. they suffer from a rare disease that makes any amount of sun exposure, even just a few seconds, deadly. national correspondent kate snow has the story of one family trying to cope while living beneath the bright, cloudless skies of utah.

>> reporter: paris feltner loves the freedom of night time. that's when she can walk around looking like any other teenager. during the day it's different. she wears a uv resistant plastic face shield, no part of her body exposed. even on a hot sunny day in st. george, utah. >> you really do feel like the odd one out when everybody is in their shorts and t-shirts, and i'm sweating to death. >> reporter: paris has to cover herself because she has a rare and deadly disease called xp. she lacks the enzyme that repairs dna damage caused by sunlight. dr. barry cunningham says there are only about 300 people in the country who have it. >> an xp patient is 20,000 times more likely to develop skin cancer than you and i. it is basically a cancer sentence. >> reporter: that's why her parents jennifer and todd put paris in this suit as a toddler and for awhile they didn't even think about having another child. they knew they'd have a one in four chance of having another baby

with the genetic disease. but they'd always dreamed of having a big family. so when paris was 5, jennifer got pregnant, and when paxton was born, he, too, is positive for xp. >> i did go through a time where i said, i did this to him. you know, it was, it was a feeling of guilt. >> reporter: you think a lot of people are going to hear your story and -- >> are you stupid? yes. >> reporter: what do you say? >> i say you have to meet my kids. >> reporter: the feltners have five kids in all. and in so many ways, the two who have xp are just like their siblings. they go to school. do they're homework. but as dusk approaches paxton sits and waits until a light meter reads 10 or below. only then is it safe to play outside. >> hey paxton, it's 7. that's really good, right? >> yeah. >> reporter: yay. there is some hope of finding a cure for xp. >> patients with xp are missing an enzyme so it's completely plausible that that

enzyme could be created and applied to the skin. i'm extremely optimistic that in my lifetime there will be a cure. >> reporter: it's what the feltner family prays for, but they've learned to adapt during the day and thrive at night. kate snow, nbc news, st. george, utah. >> and you can watch more of this family's story tonight on "dateline" at 7:00, 6:00 central. when we come back, some thrill seekers get taken for a ride they didn't quite expect.

well, it's happened again. for the second time this season the legendary coney island cyclone broke down. leaving passengers stranded for about an hour at the top of the 88-year-old roller coaster. those on board eventually made their way down by foot. the good news for all you adrenaline junkies, the ride's been fixed, they say, and is back open for business. dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago but they still rule the box office. "jurassic world," a universal film, which is part of nbc universal, posted the

biggest global opening for a movie ever. it raked in more than $500 million worldwide. also helping sales, a surge in 3-d tickets sold, nearly half of u.s. audiences opted to see the movie in 3-d. the navy has christened a new ship the "uss gabrielle giffords." dr. jill biden did the honors smashing a bottle of champagne during a ceremony yesterday in mobile, alabama. you'll remember that giffords was badly wounded in a 2011 shooting in tucson, arizona. navy chose her as the ship's name sake due to her courage and resilience following the attack. up next, a school bus going the distance for kids in need.

finally tonight, millions of children in this country depend on the school lunch program for a hot meal. but during the summer that's not always an option. with that in mind one town is getting creative and bringing the cafeteria to the kids. here's nbc's rehema ellis. >> reporter: the moment it's spotted in the neighborhood, kids race to get in line for a certain school bus. >> good to see you. you hungry? >> reporter: they get a free, hot meal on the chow bus. one of two reconfigured school

buses in murfreesboro, tennessee, outside of nashville. with some seats removed and tables added the buses bring food to kids during summer break. a big help for barbara jackson, raising her two grandsons on a fixed income. >> every month i spend half of my check on food. it's a very small check. >> reporter: in tennessee, and across the country, about 20% of children qualify for free or reduced meals at school or other locations year round. but during summer, barriers like lack of transportation, often prevent many of those same children from getting to those sites. in murfreesboro the food is prepared every morning in school cafeterias and hundreds of healthy meals are loaded onto the buses, the benefits are far reaching. >> the students are well fed, well rested so we want to promote that during the summer and that carries over into the school year. >> reporter: the buses travel 80 miles a day,

and all kids 18 and under are welcome aboard. >> they give you cauliflower, corn, broccoli. >> reporter: oh, my gosh. >> you get hot meals. twice a day. breakfast and lunch. >> reporter: a relief for parents, struggling to make ends meet. >> we fall in the bracket where we can't get assistance because we make too much. but we don't make enough, just the same. >> reporter: experts say it's a problem for many working families. >> we have some children who do not know where their next meal is going to come from. and i want them to know that they can count on us, that we will be there for them. >> wonderful, whoever did it. whoever thought about it, or had anything to do with it, thank you. >> reporter: one small town with the big idea, going the extra mile. rehema ellis, nbc news, murfreesboro, tennessee. that is "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. i'm carl quintanilla reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night.

nbc bay area news starts now. right now at 6:00 a toddler back at home after a desperate search in the south daybay. the latest on the investigation. good evening, i'm terry mcsweeney. >> new details about the alleged kidnapping involving the 4-year-old in the south bay. the boy's father has primarily raised the toddler up until this point. reportedly the mother had infrequent with the boy. so infrequent in fact she was not aware the boy was on a twice daily medication for a potentially life threatening ailment. here you see the mother and several additional suspects being put into squad cars. police say 4:00 yesterday,