up at 6:00 p.m. >> thanks so much. that's going to do it for us. "nightly news" is next and we'll be back at 6:00. hope to see you then. tonight, mid-air tragedy. a military fighter jet collides with a cessna in the sky as horrified witnesses watch debris rain down on a neighborhood. what went wrong? could he face charges? that bombshell admission by bill cosby admitting he got drugs to use on women he wanted to be with. tonight a former prosecutor who investigated him says it could lead to new legal trouble. hooked on heroin. the shocking new face of this epidemic. a spike in the number of american women using and dying. and moment of crisis. an ice cave suddenly gives way with adventurers trapped inside. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york,

this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. good evening. our top story, a horrific air crash. a collision between an air force fighter jet and a small private plane over the skies near charleston, south carolina. witnesses described parts including a jet engine falling down from the sky moments after hearing the sickening impact. both planes went down in pieces, somehow sparing lives and property below. but two lives were lost in the collision itself. nbc's tom costello has the latest. >> reporter: on the ground in south carolina all that's left of an air force f-16 after it collided with a single-engine cessna raining debris on the fields below. it happened about 11 miles north of charleston over moncks corner near the cooper river. witnesses reported the f-16 appeared to have struck the side of the cessna. the impact causing a massive fireball in the sky and ripping the fighter plane's engine off, sending it crashing to the ground, narrowly missing a mobile home.

>> all we've seen is two planes collide up in the sky, and we've seen a little one going down. it was just burst into flames. >> it exploded in mid-air, fireball, and then the plane landed in my yard. >> reporter: tonight search teams are still looking for two people thought to have died on the cessna 150. local residents who just departed from the county airport headed for myrtle beach. >> we have debris of the small plane scattered over a large area. and part of it would be in a rice field. >> reporter: the veteran f-16 pilot major aaron johnson from nearby shaw air force base was on a routine training mission. he ejected safely and was checked out at a military hospital. >> all the facts at this point indicate that the pilot was talking to air traffic control as they normally do on an instrument flight rules recovery when the accident occurred. >> reporter: the 20th fighter wing at shaw regularly flies the f-16s on training missions over the carolina shore, and military aircraft routinely share air space with civilian

planes. but lester, mid-air collisions are rare to begin with involving a military aircraft. very rare indeed. back to you. >> tom costello, thank you. reaction is pouring in after that eyebrow-raising admission by bill cosby. a deposition now public in which cosby said he obtained powerful drugs with the intention of giving them to women he wanted to be with. it's a stunning revelation, leaving a lot of us wondering why is this just now coming to light? we'll get the answer from our senior legal correspondent cynthia mcfadden. >> reporter: for years bill cosby and his lawyers have vigorously denied allegations from more than 30 women that he drugged and sexually assaulted them. >> i had an encounter with bill cosby. >> he had gone from helping me to groping me. >> bill cosby raped me. >> and he made me a victim. and all my life i've been a victim. >> reporter: now a sworn deposition of mr. cosby released late yesterday by a philadelphia judge may provide support to some of those allegations.

in the deposition cosby himself admits he obtained seven prescriptions for quaaludes in the 1970s and gave them to others. "when you got the quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?" cosby responds, "yes." the deposition sealed for more than a decade came to light after the associated press petitioned a judge to release it. cosby's lawyers argued public disclosure would violate his right to privacy and would embarrass cosby. but the judge wasn't having it, issuing a stunning rebuke. the stark contrast between bill cosby the public moralist and bill cosby the subject of serious allegations concerning improper and perhaps criminal conduct is a matter to which the public has a significant interest." cosby sidestepped questions about who he gave the drugs to and when or whether he ever coerced or forced women to take drugs. "did you ever give any of those young women the

quaaludes without their knowledge," he was asked. cosby's attorney jumped in, "do not answer the question." cosby did describe one encounter in las vegas. "she meets me backstage. i give her quaaludes. we then have sex." no criminal charges were ever filed against mr. cosby and the statute of limitations on most of the allegations has now expired. one of the victims reacted to the new information. >> he can't run anymore. he can't continue to call us liars and call our stories untrue. >> reporter: well, i just got off the phone with the pennsylvania prosecutor bruce caster from back in 2005. and while he suspected cosby was guilty, he didn't have enough evidence to bring charges back then. in the meantime nbc news has just learned that the attorney for the plaintiff in a 2005 case is now asking all the women involved if it's okay to ask for the entire deposition to be unsealed. as for cosby himself, his

spokesperson tells us they have no comment. as of right now. lester? >> cynthia, thank you. a revelation from the country's top defense officials during a congressional hearing today has left a lot of people shaking their heads. in the battle against isis they acknowledge that a military program to train fighters to take on isis in syria is falling drastically short. and that is provoking sharp criticism from some republicans. we get more from our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. >> reporter: on the day after president obama came to the pentagon and laid out his strategy to degrade and destroy isis, republican senator john mccain claimed the president is delusional. >> isil is not ten feet tall. it can be and must be defeated. but that will never happen if we continue to delude ourselves about our current campaign. >> reporter: mccain claimed that u.s. air strikes and unreliable iraqi military forces have had little effect on isis.

and the u.s. is training only 60 syrian fighters to take on isis inside syria. far short of the 5,000 goal. >> i've got to tell you, after four years, mr. secretary, that's not a very impressive number. >> reporter: also today, joint chiefs chairman martin dempsey revealed that iranian militias killed 500 american troops during the iraq war. and while dempsey supports the current nuclear talks with iran, he warns iran still poses a serious threat. >> ballistic missiles, sea-based mines, cyber activities, arms trafficking and surrogates and proxies. >> reporter: despite the war with isis, the pentagon and army are expected to reveal specific details later this week on their plans to cut 40,000 troops from the force over the next three years because of shrinking pentagon budgets. lester? >> jim miklaszewski tonight. jim, thanks. let's bring you up to speed on another story we've been covering here, the decision on whether to remove the

confederate flag from south carolina's capitol grounds is now in the hands of the state house of representatives. the state senate gave its final approval to take it down leading to a moving moment on the floor. nbc's ron allen is there. >> ask that mrs. jennifer pinckney have access to the floor. >> a somber appearance by jennifer pinckney, widow of state senator and pastor clementa pinckney gunned down at mother emanuel church three weeks ago. to thank his colleagues after voting overwhelmingly to remove the confederate battle flag from the state house grounds. >> we would keep our arms wrapped around you and this family forever. it's the least that we can do for our brother, clementa. >> reporter: families of the nine massacred among the growing core us demanding the rebel banner be removed. >> this can be your heritage if you fly it in your backyard.

>> reporter: today's senate vote was 36 to remove the flag, 3 opposed. >> what they've done is taken people who respect their southern heritage and will have kicked them in the teeth. >> reporter: the vote the same day a grand jury formally indicted dylann roof on nine counts of murder, three attempted murder, one weapons possession. >> recalled for a second reading tomorrow. >> reporter: the flag issue now moves to the house with debate to begin tomorrow morning. in the house defenders of the flag say they plan to introduce some 26 amendments to the bill passed by the senate like provisions that would replace one confederate flag with a different version of it or let voters decide in the referendum. those who want the flag removed say that only delays the inevitable. the flag fight here continues. lester? >> ron allen, thank you. another day, another business announcing it is cutting ties with donald trump. this time it's the pga pulling a big golf tournament from one of trump's courses. meantime, we're hearing from a worker at one of trump's sites under construction firing back at trump's comments about illegal immigration. we get more now from nbc's katy tur. >> reporter: at the old post office pavilion just steps from

the white house donald trump is building his latest luxury hotel. here his immigration stance isn't just politics. it's personal. one worker who did not want to be identified told nbc news today, "we came to work to get ahead and not do anything bad. all the people i know are workers, not rapists." according to "the washington post," many of the workers on site are immigrants. some crossed the border illegally but are legal now while others remain quietly undocumented. >> the workers were both angry about what donald trump had to say about them, and some were worried about being pushed out of work. >> reporter: in a statement a spokesperson for trump said "our contractors are required to have prospective employees produce documentation that establishes identity and employment eligibility in compliance with immigration law." meanwhile, there's also word today that the pga and trump have parted ways. now at least the ninth

organization to cut ties. >> what about the fallout? i mean, companies keep backtracking, backing away from you. are you concerned that it's going to hurt your business? >> no. not at all. >> reporter: but some republicans worry it's hurting the party, dividing them on the key issue of illegal immigration, one they hoped to own. and opening the door for democrats to pile on. >> i feel very bad and very disappointed with him and with the republican party for not responding immediately and saying enough, stop it. >> reporter: but still number 2 in several polls, stopping trump doesn't look likely. katy tur, nbc news, new york. now to our ongoing series "hooked: america's heroin epidemic." there are some alarming new numbers out from the cdc showing a dramatic rise in the heroin epidemic in this country. between 2002 and 2013 the number of heroin overdose deaths nearly quadrupled and the number of women specifically using heroin doubled.

tonight some of the changing faces behind those numbers. our national correspondent kate snow reports. >> reporter: 26-year-old shay had the same dream a lot of us did growing up. >> i wanted a very like simple american life. graduate high school, go to college, get a car, and then i wanted the whole married and, you know, having a baby type of deal. >> reporter: she and her boyfriend are expecting now. but her story is complicated because of her heroin addiction. like so many it started with a dependence on prescription painkillers after a neck surgery when she ran out of pills she turned to heroin. she kept using for a year and a half. >> you ran out of money eventually. >> yes, ma'am. >> lost your jobs? >> yes, ma'am. i lost my home. >> reporter: when she realized she was pregnant, shay, desperate to quit, found help. prenatal care, addiction treatment, and therapy at a program for pregnant addicts. she stopped using heroin and switched to a maintenance drug to reduce the odds that her newborn will go through the pain

of withdrawal. >> oftentimes there's a focus on the baby without remembering that if the mom isn't well the baby's not going to be well. >> reporter: ann marie's three-month-old natalie was born healthy. >> she is the reason that i'm here today and i'm sober. she's giving me the power to do all of this. >> reporter: both women say they find strength being around other women in recovery in a part of the country where heroin is so prevalent. >> how many women do you know that are using heroin? >> i could name 20 off the top of my head. >> it almost seems like it's become kind of normal to use heroin around here. >> normal, yeah. very normal. you almost don't feel like you're doing anything wrong. you don't. >> reporter: they have a new apartment now with a nursery ready. shay wants nothing more than to be a good mom. >> we've moved. we've slept in a car. we've been homeless.

and for him to be here and healthy and kicking and just a good, joyful little baby in there all the time, it's just very -- it's an empowering feeling. and that's what keeps me from turning back. i don't want to go back. >> reporter: kate snow, nbc news, lebanon, new hampshire. a busy night still ahead including the firestorm burning out of control. massive fires exploding in intense heat and bone-dry conditions. we're on the front lines with the man leading the charge to stop them. what he fears it could get a lot worse. and later, we're with little league world series star mo'ne davis and a team on a powerful ride through history with a love of the game.

we're back now with a new series we're calling "burning up." it's all about the extreme wildfire season in the west. tonight the new frontier of the battle in the pacific northwest, a region that hardly ever sees these fires as bad as they are now. nbc's joe fryer has a report. >> reporter: washington might be the evergreen state, but this year folks here are seeing a lot of orange. in much of the state it was the hottest june on record. and because of the drought things will only get worse. all of the red on this map tells the story. experts predict the wildfire outlook is above normal for most of washington and all of oregon. >> unfortunately, i think one of the bylines for what the

weather's doing these days is to expect the unexpected. >> reporter: already in olympic national park, typically one of the wettest places in america, a large wildfire has been burning for weeks. and in forks a city that averages ten feet of rain a year conditions are so hot and dry, the july fourth fireworks show was canceled. >> we have this ridge of high pressure, this strong ridge that really hasn't been moving. so we're not getting that break. we're not getting that cooler weather that we usually see. >> reporter: today in washington and oregon 21 large fires are burning. washington alone has already seen 100 more fires this year than this time last year. that includes the monstrous flames last week in central washington which destroyed nearly 30 homes. >> you're seeing this for the first time. what goes through your mind? >> well, the destruction and the pain for the families. >> reporter: we toured the hardest-hit neighborhood with peter goldmark, who oversees firefighting on 13 million acres of land in this state. >> it's a very

abnormal, very unusual year, and we're already seeing fire behavior unlike we've seen for a long time. >> it was a firestorm. >> reporter: scott marboro knows that firsthand. he lost his home of 16 years. >> it meant a lot to us. but you can't take away memories, right? >> reporter: there's fear this scene will be repeated in more unsuspecting communities. as the front line of this fire fight grows. joe fryer, nbc news, wenatchee, washington. and there is new danger tonight from those scorching temperatures. still to come, a sudden collapse at a spectacular destination for adventure seekers.

we are back now with a deadly collapse in washington state. ice caves suddenly giving way while people were inside exploring them. and sadly, one woman was killed and five other people were injured. authorities say unusually high temperatures have made the caves unstable. they are melting a lot faster than usual. we get details on this from nbc's jacob rascon. >> reporter: tonight a

dangerous recovery operation is under way in the mt. baker snoqualmie national forest. the body of a 34-year-old woman found buried in rock and ice in a cave that could collapse again at any moment. >> the location of the victim deep back in that cave, anybody who steps in it is at risk of getting injured themselves. >> reporter: dozens of rescuers rate to the remote area on monday. six hikers reported trapped deep inside the ice caves. thousands flock to the caves every summer drawn by the spectacular beauty. but the danger is evident. record-breaking heat melting the ice. sending tourists scrambling on sunday, the front of the cave giving way. tonight these caves are closed indefinitely. the most popular attraction in these mountains now far too dangerous. >> reporter: warning signs posted everywhere you look. despite the danger, the stunning caves have proven too tempting for some as the survivors'

conditions improve, the cave continues to collapse. jacob rascon nbc news, granite falls, washington. when we come back, one of the best-known young ball players in the country along for a once-in-a-lifetime road trip. jo

what a ten-year-old girl endured, as thieves ransacked her home. ===janelle/take vo=== plus: a stunning twist in that deadly shooting, along san francisco's embarcadero. ===next close=== the news is next

finally tonight, a baseball team from philly with one of the biggest young phenoms in the game is on a journey together. they're visiting iconic sites in the struggle to level the playing field, not just in their sport but in this entire country. here's harry smith. >> reporter: when the anderson monarchs take the field, people notice. their poise, their love of the game, and their pitcher, mo'ne davis, the girl that threw a shutout in the little league world series last summer and won the hearts of the country. we caught up with them while they toured the baseball hall of fame in cooperstown. coach steve bandura. >> when they're with each other, they're so close like a family, that's what happens with our teams. >> reporter: several weeks ago the family jumped on an ancient bus and headed south. because the monarchs are about much more than baseball. they went to the church in birmingham, where four black girls were killed. >> knowing that some of them were our age, you know, it was -- it was pretty sad. >> reporter: in

montgomery they learned of rosa parks and the bus she rode. they stopped in selma, alabama and walked across the bridge. >> walking in the footsteps of john lewis and dr. martin luther king, it's amazing. >> reporter: and in little rock they stood at the doors where u.s. troops were summoned to allow black children access to central high. >> to actually be able to go to those places had to be a very powerful experience. >> yeah, it was really powerful. we had to really, like really soak it in and think about everything. >> reporter: fueled by bandura's tenacity and some generous donations the monarchs are also visiting big league parks, playing games, and meeting a hall of famer or two. for kids from a rec center in south philadelphia it's a trip of a lifetime. >> what eats at me the most is like for every one of these kids there's 100,000 more that will never get the chance to learn this stuff. >> reporter: character, role models, sports. sometimes it's just so much talk.

not with the monarchs. harry smith, nbc news, cooperstown. that will do it for us tonight on a tuesday. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching, and good night. it started with a knock at the door. and then suddenly a ten year old girl had a gun to her head as she watched robbers right now at 6:00, it started with a knock at the door, and suddenly a 10-year-old girl had a gun to her head as she watched robbers ransack her home. good evening. i'm janelle wang in for raj mathai. >> a home invasion robbery with a young girl being threatened. tonight how it happened and how the robbers got away. robert honda joins us from the neighborhood in san jose. i understand the girl is physically okay but do police

know who they're looking for? >> reporter: police do have a general idea. we're here in west san jose near saratoga avenue where officers have been canvassing the neighborhood looking for clues, surveillance video and witnesses to the brazen crime. many people in and around this apartment complex are still in shock over a home invasion that took place here monday afternoon when a 10-year-old girl was held at gunpoint. >> it really did scare me. because i have a daughter of my own. so that really is scary. >> reporter: police today are still investigating but say according to the family that was robbed, it started with a simple knock at the door. >> and immediately two suspects entered the property brandishing handguns. one of the suspects grabbed ahold of a 10-year-old female grabbed her around the neck pointed the gun