on both fires. we'll have a full report on nbc bay area news at 6:00. hope to see you then. "nbc nightly news" is next. tonight, prison scandal. after the escape the corruption investigation. a dozen people on the inside placed on leave, including the man in charge, the one who showed the governor the escape route. also, the captured inmate reveals how they practiced the escape and how many times they were nearly caught. nbc news exclusive. chris christie's first interview as he jumps into the race for president after that bridge scandal and sinking poll numbers. he tells matt lauer how he thinks he can win. air disaster. a military plane slams into a neighborhood and hotel overseas. scores are dead and an urgent search for survivors who may be trapped. and point of history, as a woman who has shattered so many barriers makes her biggest move yet with a generation of young girls wanting to follow in her footsteps. "nightly news" begins

right now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news with lester holt." good evening. the likelihood that heads will roll in the wake of that new york prison breakout grew today as word came down that 12 prison employees including the superintendent have been placed on leave. the clinton correctional facility is the subject of a top-to-bottom investigation of how two killers managed to bust out. some of the answers, however, are coming straight from the surviving escapee himself. david sweat is said to be spilling everything, including the fact that this was not the first time they'd made it outside the prison. national correspondent miguel almaguer is on the story for us tonight. >> reporter: tonight the prison top boss, his deputy and ten other employees are suspended from clinton correctional after the brazen escape here. superintendent steve racette was the man who led governor cuomo

on a tour of how the convicts broke free. >> how did they do that? >> chiseled the box out. >> reporter: this as federal authorities probe an alleged heroin ring that may have helped fund the prison break. tonight the d.a. tells nbc news david sweat claims to be the mastermind, who started planning the elaborate prison break in january. he and richard matt never used power tools, only hacksaw blades to cut their way through prison walls and pipes. sweat says he navigated the maze of catwalks for months all alone. the night before their escape through this manhole wylie says the duo conducted a dry run, breaking out of the prison. >> they did get out to that point of the village and did actually pop one of the manholes up. >> reporter: but they retreated back to their cells. >> if they were able to pop open a manhole cover the night before, why not escape that night? >> i guess they felt they had a plan to have joyce mitchell pick them up in a car and drive away. >> reporter: according

to wylie, they abandoned their plan to head to mexico through west virginia. sweat tells investigators matt was sick, drinking, slowing him down. >> there was occasions where he heard the helicopters, the sheriff's deputy vehicle had pulled up in the vicinity of where they were and they were somewhat surprised. and he said matt -- i think he said matt fell backwards and made some noise but the sheriff's deputy didn't locate them. >> reporter: breaking into cabins like this one, sweat says they tuned in to a.m. radio, even changed directions as they moved toward canada. >> he probably thought he was going to make it until he came into contact with sergeant cook. >> reporter: sweat told investigators on several occasions he was just feet from being caught. he mentioned one incident in particular where he was on a tree stand suspended above search teams who were looking for him on the forest floor. meantime, the union representing correction officers here says during the

investigation they are asking the public not to rush to judgment as the men and women who work here continue to do their job day in and day out. lester? >> miguel almaguer in upstate new york tonight. thanks. tonight a major force in republican politics is shaking up the race for president. new jersey's outspoken governor chris christie says he's in, making him the 14th gop candidate officially in the running. after that bridge scandal and sinking poll numbers, christie never one to shy away from blunt talk, is telling matt lauer exclusively in his first interview since his announcement how he plans to turn his fortunes around and win. >> it's been a long journey, governor, to this announcement. back in 2012 a lot of your fellow republicans really urged you to run and you declined. and some of those republicans now look and go, that was his moment. do you worry that you can't capture that genie and put him back in a bottle? >> no. because here's the most important thing. in 2011 and '12 i was not ready to be president.

and you don't run just because you think you can win. you have to think you can win and that you're ready to do the job. and i wasn't ready, matt. >> reporter: following bridgegate i saw a much quieter chris christie, a more reflective chris christie. today it almost seemed like a relaunch of the blunt chris christie of old. >> there's no question that the badgering and battering i took in the media and the stress of having something bad happen on your watch, no doubt made me more reflective. and i'm still that reflective person. and more reflective now than i was in 2011 or '12. but -- >> if that old brand of chris christie was the combative, straight-talking in-your-face guy, what's the brand today? >> it's that same guy but with more wear on the tires. a little more wear on the tires. a little more wisdom. and i think that's great for anybody who's going to be president of the united states. >> some republicans worry about your temper. do you have the temperament to be president of the united states? >> absolutely. there have been very few times, matt, in

the course of my governorship where i've lost my temper. it's happened but very few times. you want to have the conversation later, i'm happy to have it, buddy. but until that time sit down and shut up. when you look at most of those moments, matt, it is an absolute controlled anger. a controlled anger. i'm angry about the fact that taxpayers were being ripped off in new jersey. i'm angry about the fact our urban kids can't get a good education. i'm angry about those things. you're darn right i am. and i think america wants someone who's willing to fight for that. as long as that anger is controlled. and with me it is almost all the time. >> how do you think you'll stack up against those other 13 candidates? >> i believe in myself, and i believe in what i have to offer the american people. and i believe i've always been able to connect with real people. and i think if i do those three things over the course of the next 18 months i'm going to be the next president of the united states. and if i don't i won't be. >> they covered a lot of other ground and we'll have much more of matt's interview with chris christie including behind-the-scenes access tomorrow morning on "today." overseas now to an

air disaster in indonesia where a military plane with more than 100 people on board, soldiers and their family members, went down in a crowded neighborhood. it slammed into homes and even a hotel. scores of bodies have been recovered and the search continues. nbc's bill neely has late details. >> reporter: no one survived this, and it's not hard to see why. there's little left intact of a plane that hit a hotel, two houses, then the ground before exploding in a huge fireball. most of those on board were the wives and children of soldiers. on the ground their distraught relatives, who had just said good-bye. "i lost five of my family," this man says. the plane crashed in the heart of indonesia's third biggest city medan minutes after takeoff trying to return to an air force base but falling short. the pilot asked to double back almost immediately. "that means something bad had happened," he says. exactly what isn't known.

but the plane was built in america 51 years ago. nor is it clear how many died on the ground. several were injured as it hit a built-up area. indonesia has a poor air safety record. there's shock and anger there at another deadly illustration of it. bill neely, nbc news, london. tonight we've reached the official deadline for a nuclear deal with iran. but officials say they plan to extend the talks for several days amid word of significant developments. our chief foreign affairs correspondent is at the talks in vienna. andrea mitchell, what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, lester, important developments today. western diplomats say the u.n. nuclear agency will report tomorrow that iran has complied with a key commitment, converting most of its stockpile of nuclear fuel into material that cannot be used to make a nuclear bomb. iran's foreign minister returned to the talks today, and he said that negotiations are at a very sensitive stage. but after iran's supreme leader raised

obstacles last week, today president obama sent a very tough message, saying that he will walk away from the deal if it does not prevent iran from building a nuclear weapon. and families of americans who are imprisoned in iran, still are in prison there, have come here to vienna pleading for help. today the president said he is pushing hard for them. it is a top priority, but it is separate from the nuclear talks. lester? >> and andrea, we got some news on another diplomatic front a short time ago regarding cuba. what can you tell us there? >> reporter: sources in havana say and now the u.s. government has confirmed that tomorrow both the u.s. and cuba will announce they're ready to open embassies in each other's capitals in the next few weeks. this means that all the diplomatic obstacles have been cleared up. it's expected secretary kerry will personally go to havana to officiate when the american flag is raised there for the first time in more than 60 years. lester? >> an important crossroads. andrea mitchell, thank you. back in this country, millions more americans could take home bigger paychecks under a plan president obama is unveiling.

he wants to more than double the salary cutoff that requires employers to pay overtime. but many of those employers are saying where's all that extra pay supposed to come from? nbc news national correspondent peter alexander has more. >> reporter: joseph garagosian left his job as an assistant manager at an illinois clothing store in part because he says he was working up to 70 hours a week but only getting paid for 40. >> i was doing the same job as the sales associates were doing. i just wasn't getting paid for all of the hard work i had put in. >> reporter: the president insists boosting overtime will help middle-class families. >> that's going to give a raise to 5 million people potentially in this country who really deserve it. >> reporter: the proposed rule applies to salaried workers often employed as managers who put in more than 40 hours a week for no extra pay. right now those managers are only eligible for overtime if they make less than $23,660 a year. that's less than $500 a week. under the new rule managers earning up to

$50,000 a year, nearly $1,000 a week, would be assured overtime pay. but many businesses like white castle say there's no extra room for extra salaries. >> we know it costs us $8 million to $12 million more a year. that's money we want to invest back in our people and benefits like health care, retirement benefits, profit sharing. >> reporter: some employers say they may have to cut hours rather than pay more. >> there's no magic pot of money in order to pay people more money. no matter what government says. >> reporter: still, supporters argue it would put real money in people's pockets and grow the economy. >> employers have a choice. they can either pay time and a half for overtime or they can bring on additional workers. >> reporter: a heated debate over what's fair pay for hard work. peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. we turn now to the money crisis sending tremors around the world including here in the u.s. the nation of greece plunging deeper into financial crisis after missing today's deadline to make a nearly $2 billion payment while asking for yet another

bailout from its european creditors. here in the u.s. today stocks managed to climb back into positive territory after fears over greece yesterday led to the market's worst day of the year. and now, millions of american citizens are face an economic meltdown of their own. puerto rico, a u.s. territory and popular getaway destination, is trying to avoid a default on its staggering debt. it would be the largest u.s. municipal bond failure in history. nbc's gabe gutierrez reports tonight from san juan. >> reporter: for juan carlos cabrera the desperation is piling up. like the moving boxes inside his home. >> it's been really hard. really hard. trying to make ends meet. >> reporter: the puerto rican economy so dire he lost his business. >> you work for a lifetime to build what you have and all of a sudden you have to start all over again. >> reporter: now his family's uprooting to florida, joining a growing exodus to the u.s. mainland. governor alejandro garcia padilla says

the island cannot pay its $72 billion in debt and is facing a financial death spiral. the unemployment rate already tops 12%, more than double the continental u.s. because it's a commonwealth, puerto rico can't declare bankruptcy like detroit did. the white house says no bailout. the crisis would also affect people outside the island. much of puerto rico's debt is held by unsuspecting investors. >> millions of americans without even knowing it own puerto rican bonds, and when they look in their bank accounts and in their 401(k)s they are going to see a number that is lower than it was before. >> reporter: trying to raise money, tomorrow the government will impose a sales tax higher than any u.s. state. 11.5%. as lawmakers debate a new budget. >> the problem is so big and has been going on for so long that they just don't know what to do. >> reporter: so by the end of the summer juan carlos cabrera will move to the mainland, where his wife's found a new job. >> it's not easy.

>> reporter: what was once his home, his paradise, now lost. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, san juan, puerto rico. tonight in the west conditions remain dangerously dry as crews make headway against that wildfire that torched dozens of homes in washington state. and we're getting a pretty dramatic look tonight at the path of destruction before and after images showing the neighborhood as it was and then after with some homes burned to the ground and others nearby left untouched. there's a lot more to tell you about here tonight, putting a face to crime. how cutting-edge technology is giving authorities a new way to look at suspects from old crimes. and tonight we put it to the test. also, she was once told that she'd never make it. but now this dancing star has achieved something that no one else has before.

we are back now with a new is state-of-the-art tool that could fundamentally change the way law enforcement tries to crack the toughest cold cases. if a suspect leaves even a drop of dna behind there's now a way to generate an actual sketch of their face. it's based on their genetic code. our national correspondent kate snow reports. >> reporter: in the past, dna left at a crime scene was only useful if police could match that dna to a criminal in a database. it hasn't helped find 8-year-old april tinsley's killer, 27 years after her murder her mom janet is still waiting. >> she'd be 35 years

old. and it's like, would she be married? would she have kids? when she was taken away, it's like, i'll never know. >> reporter: janet is hoping a new composite sketch seen here for the first time might be the break investigators have been waiting for. but here's the thing. it didn't come from a witness's memory. this sketch was produced from dna. left behind at the crime scene. it was run through a revolutionary computer program that links genetic markers with physical characteristics. >> physical traits like eye color and hair color, all of that's written in the dna and we're using dna like a blueprint to find that information and predict it. >> hazel eyes, dark brown hair. >> reporter: so you have a 98% confidence that he has very fair or fair skin? >> yes. >> this is a genetic witness. our algorithms are serving the role of the sketch artist and the dna is serving as the eyewitness. >> reporter: we wanted to see for ourselves, so i drank from a water bottle and we sent it to parabon. they didn't know it

was my dna but processed the sample and produced a sketch. >> very fair face, brown eyes, brown hair, few freckles. northern eastern european. and that's our image of that. >> reporter: it's kind of close. confession. i'm not a natural blonde. that's actually pretty close to what my hair color would be. >> oh, really? >> yeah. >> without color. >> reporter: so far the technology can't determine a person's height or age, and face shape is one of the hardest traits to predict. >> you didn't quite get like the cheekbones. >> reporter: but law enforcement officials say even an imperfect sketch can help by ruling out suspects like in april tinsley's case. >> we've got 800-some tips and over 600 suspects. it will be easier with this to prioritize. >> reporter: parabon is working on a dozen cold cases right now. april's mom hopes the sketch in her case will lead to an arrest. >> we can say yes, we got him for you. >> reporter: kate snow, nbc news, herndon, virginia. we're back in a moment with a back yard campout where the

back yard just happens to be at the white house.

we're tracking two bay area fires and a south bay city covered in smoke. ===take vo janelle=== plus, eviction deadline. the last minute plea from some bay area families with nowhere to go. ===next close=== the news is next.

gs to leap over a historic barrier today and inspire so many others to follow in her graceful footsteps. our rehema ellis has her story. >> reporter: after years of dedicated preparation, misty copeland's dream finally came true today. >> i love a challenge, and i don't think i could be a part of this if i didn't like to work hard. >> reporter: she is the first african-american promoted to principal female dancer in the 75-year history of the american ballet theater. the big moment captured on copeland's facebook page. last week she stepped out as the lead in "swan lake" at the met, another first for an african-american woman. raised by a single mother, at times living in a motel, her struggle to the top has defied the

stereotype of what a ballerina is expected to be. her story featured in an ad campaign. >> you have the wrong body for ballet. and at 13 you are too old to be considered. >> i had to remind myself i really do believe i was born to do this and why would i let someone's small-minded opinion change my path? >> reporter: she began her studies at the advanced age of 13 in san pedro, california. soon labeled a prodigy. copeland's reach goes far beyond the ballet. >> do you know who misty copeland is? >> yes! >> reporter: at new york's national dance institute misty copeland is idolized. >> you should always try your hardest and never stop. like whatever happens, then you should keep going. >> reporter: gorgeous and graceful, with a body as strong as her desire to break ballet's barriers, misty copeland is dancing into history. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. >> what a terrific story.

we certainly wish her all the best. that's going to do it for us on this tuesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching, and good night. our chopper flying over a brush fire burning, south of gilroy. it's blowing smoke across southern santa clara county. firefighters battling flames, difficult terrain and triple digit heat. ====short open=== ===janelle//2-shot=== thanks for joining us. i'm janelle wang in for raj mathai. ===jdifficult terrain and triple digit temperatures. good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm janel wang. >> i'm jessica. let's take you back to live pictures from nbc bay area chopper. good news no structures threatened. firefighters say 40 acres have been consumed so far. it's been going for about two

hours now. started a little bit before 4:00 this afternoon. as we said no homes are threatened but that white smoke, that's the issue because it's blanketing much of gilroy. the fire is burning in a canyon off of highway 101 near highway 25. >> meteorologist rob joins us now. they are warning drivers about all the smoke in the area. >> another water dropped by helicopters on the scene. we're watching temperatures. air temperatures upper 90 toss just above 100 degrees. the record high we set today in the bay area is in gilroy. you can see san jose 90 degrees. as we show you the temperatures notice south of downtown you're still seeing temperatures near 100 degrees. los galos. 103 degrees right now. looking at the wind. of course, we have the hot temperatures and wind conditions right now pushing a lot of that smoke of the fire north to around gilroy. folks, if you have