joins us next. >> see you back here at 6:00. facebook and twitter. wx ctr projector & 65 screens tonight, breaking news, terror in tennessee. four marines murdered in a shooting rampage at two military recruiting centers. the gunman killed after committing what authorities say is an act of domestic terrorism. the verdict is in, the jury taking fewer than two days to decide the fate of james holmes for killing 12 people in a colorado movie theater nearly three years ago. inside lockup, president obama gets personal on a historic trip into a federal prison for his push to reduce sentencing for many non-violent crimes in this country. and survivor story, she walked away from a small plane crash that killed her grandparents then hiked through the wild for nearly 48 hours. tonight, her dramatic tale in her own words. "nightly news" begins now.

>> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening. our country appears to have once again been struck by an act of terrorism. the question tonight, from w four u.s. marines are dead, gunned down by a lone shooter during attacks on two u.s. military facilities seven miles apart in tennessee. the gunman identified by authorities as mohammod youssuf abdulazeez was also killed. the motive for the attacks unknown. the justice department only saying this is being investigated as an act of domestic terror. let's get right to gabe gutierrez who leads our coverage from chattanooga, good evening. >> reporter: the fbi is on the scene taking the lead in this investigation. this is the building where the gunfire started and amazingly, everyone inside survived. just a few miles away, the violence turned deadly. terrifying moments

today in chattanooga. >> there is a mass casualty incident. >> reporter: as a hail of bullets tore through two military centers. this woman heard it all unfold. >> as soon as i turned, he was ducking down. he was on the phone. and we heard all those shots fired. it was loud and fast. >> reporter: police say around 10:35 this morning a gunman shot more than 20 rounds into this armed forces recruitment center and then drove seven miles to this navy and ma reern marine corps center and opened fire again. >> you don't ever think it will happen where you live but it can happen anywhere. >> we are conducting this as an act of domestic terrorism. >> reporter: the chaos lasted half an hour. authorities say four marines were killed, so was the gunman. law enforcement officials identify him as mohammod youssuf abdulazeez. it's not clear whether he took his own life or was shot by police. an officer was shot in the ankle, several other people were wounded. >> it is incomprehensible to see what happened and

the way that individuals who proudly serve our country were treated. >> reporter: the shooting spree prompted lockdowns at chattanooga state community college, a nearby hospital and even the state capitol and governor's mansion more than 135 miles away. in nashville. the department of homeland security deployed a strike team in the airspace over chattanooga was briefly closed. >> repeated constantly on social media. so important, so many people, so many of you who are saying pray for chattanooga, pray for our city. >> reporter: tonight, this community is remembering the lives lost and wondering how this could happen here. president obama was briefed on the situation just after it unfolded and tonight, the department of homeland security is stepping up patrols at certain federal facilities out of an abundance of caution, lester? >> gabe, how can it

happen? why could it happen? as we ask what inspired or motivated this attack, the fbi is busy gathering all it can about the suspected shooter. it has taken the lead in the investigation and we get that part of the story from our justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: federal investigators swarmed to the house where that is rights say the gunman lived. 24-year-old mohammod youssuf abdulazeez u.s. officials say he's the son of a chattanooga city employee and naturalized u.s. citizen from kuwait who lived in hixson near chattanooga. the shootings have become the subject of a fast-moving federal investigation. >> we expect probably by the end of the day, we will have several hundred fbi resources on scene to conduct this investigation. >> reporter: federal officials say tonight several factors point to the possibility that the attacks may have been terrorism, first the choice of targets, government buildings and military person in uniform. isis social media has in recent months relentless urged followers to stage attacks against the military federal government and anyone

in uniform as the fbi director warned congress just last week. >> there is a group of tweerts tweerts in syria and their message is too prompt, come to the so-called cal fate and live the life of some sort of glory or something and if you can't come, kill somebody where you are. kill somebody in uniform. kill anybody. >> reporter: and several officials say there is indications this may be an act of foreign-inspired terrorism but declined to offer specifics. investigators are carefully checking the gunman's car and looking at e-mails, phone calls, internet use and building a list of everyone he was recently in contact with. tonight officials say they think abdulazeez acted alone and they say they do not believe there was any explicit warning that this attack was coming. but three days ago in a blog he said life is short and bitter and stressed the importance of jihad. lester? to a major story we're covering tonight, late word of a guilty verdict in the colorado movie theater massacre trial. the jury deliberated

for 13 hours before deciding james holmes' fate for the mass shooting that killed 12 people in 2012. his attorneys argued he was not guilty by reason of insanity. nbc's jacob raskon now with late details. jurors two days to decide. >> guilty of murder in in the first degree. >> 911, where is your emergency? >> reporter: james holmes shot 82 people inside a packed colorado movie theater three years ago killing 12 of them. his capital murder trial lasted two and a half months. the jury of nine women and three men considered thousands of pieces of evidence and testimony from 256 witnesses, including ashley moez mozier who lost her 6-year-old daughter veronica and unborn baby in the shooting. >> i was told that she had, that she didn't make it, that she passed away. >> reporter: in closing arguments, the district attorney told the jury to reject holmes' claim that he was insane and

focus on his elaborate planning of the attack detailed in a diary. >> this guy walked into that theater and tried to murder everyone in it. >> reporter: defense attorney daniel king who admitted his client carried out the attack reminded the jury that every mental health expert who testified said holmes suffered from some form of schizophrenia. >> the mental illness caused this to happen. >> reporter: the guilty verdict is a relief for many in colorado and especially for the family and friends of the 12 victims and hundreds of survivors of the movie theater massacre. >> it was kind of unexpected. >> i felt so much relief. i felt closure and a weight lifted that i didn't even know was there. >> reporter: the jury found the defendant guilty on all 165 felony charges. inside the courthouse behind me, survivors could be heard sobbing. the jury rejected the insanity defense and now we move on to the penalty phase of the trial, which is expected to take about a month and after which the same jury will be asked to choose between life in prison and the death penalty.

lester? >> jacob rascon for us, thank you. a remarkable image today as president obama got a first-hand look inside this country's criminal justice system in a way no sitting president ever has. walking into a federal prison. he met with a group of inmates at a prison in oklahoma. all of it to underscore his recent push for criminal justice reform. we get more tonight from our senior white house correspondent chris jansing. >> reporter: it is a dramatic image, the first sitting president ever to walk the halls of a federal penitentiary looking inside cell 123 and calling for change. >> we have to reconsider whether 20 year or 30-year life sentences for non-violent crimes is the best way for us to solve these problems. >> reporter: he's talking about people like barbara, following a drug bust, she was sentenced to 30 years in prison leaving behind an infant daughter. >> i thought i would, to be blunt, rather be

dead than deal with this. >> reporter: on monday president obama commuted the sentences of 46 non-violent drug offenders like barbara. the u.s. is the world's biggest jailor, one out of every 99 americans is behind bars, the majority of them black or hispanic. at a cost of $80 billion a year. now reform is getting rare bipartisan support. today for the first time the speaker of the house got behind criminal justice legislation. >> i would like to see it on the floor. >> reporter: the president commuted barbara's sentence last year after 20 years, 11 months and four days away from her daughter. >> i had to do it either non-exist or secondhand, and it was devastating. >> reporter: now barbara is in college and an introspective president after sitting down with prisoners today for an upcoming documentary says more people should have a second chance. >> these are young people who made mistakes that aren't that different than the mistakes i made and the mistakes that a lot of you guys made. that's what strikes

me. there but for the grace of god. >> reporter: you can hear in the president's voice that this is a moral as well as legislative priority for him. when he went inside the cell in the prison behind me, he pointed out it would also help with overcrowding. the room just 9 x 10 he says it often now has to house three grown men. lester? >> all right, chris jansing, thank you. police here in the new york area are looking for whoever targeted a dozen commercial planes with a laser last night. all of those flights landed safely, but it's the most recent example of what federal authorities call an especially dangerous activity that can blind pilots in the most critical moments of a flight. nbc's tom costello reports. >> reporter: for pilots landing at newark wednesday night, a sudden green piercing light. >> we got a green laser shooting at us off the left wing about a mile out. >> reporter: for 90 minutes one report after another. >> we're getting a laser at 10:00.

>> who's getting a laser at 10:00? >> united 330. >> reporter: in all, 12 planes, 12 flight crews. >> i didn't get it straight in the eye, i saw it out of the corner of my eye and a few more times it lit up the -- hit the top of our cockpit. >> reporter: surprisingly, it happens on average 12 times a day in the u.s. but last night, there were 35 reported cases and the problem is growing. in 2010, more than 2,800 reports. last year, nearly 3,900. police often launch helicopters in this case in florida, the police helicopter itself was lit up and officers tracked the person thought to be behind the laser. very often, the suspect is male in his teens or 20s. >> it could be somebody who's bored somebody who got a brand-new laser, somebody who has a beef against an airline or pilot. >> reporter: the laser can light up the cockpit, making it impossible for pilots to see their instruments. in some cases, causing permanent eye damage. the lower the plane is to the ground the greater the risk but the airlines say their

crews know how to respond. >> they are trained to fly the airplane, first and foremost. it's a two-pilot environment, so if necessary, they transfer controls. >> reporter: the danger, insists the faa, is serious. the faa and the fbi take this very seriously. the penalty for pointing a laser at a plane is up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine. lester? >> tom, thank you. in chicago and beyond questions are being asked how a young woman died after being held in a texas jail after a series of events that began with an alleged traffic violation. we get that story from nbc's john yang. >> reporter: how did a traffic stop escalate into a confrontation and end three days later with 28-year-old sandra bland dead in a texas jail cell? bland was in prairie view outside houston to start a new job at her alma mater.

>> the very last message that i had from her said, hey, sister, guess what? i got the job that i came down here for and i'll talk to you soon. >> reporter: texas officials say she hanged herself. her family calls that unfathomable. on friday bland was stopped by texas state police for changing lanes without signaling. bland's family believes this video shot by a bystander and not verified by nbc news shows her arrest, though it doesn't show the moments leading up to it. officials said bland was argumentative and uncooperative and charged her with assault on a public servant. the next day she called her oldest sister. >> she was very aggravated. she seemed to be in pain. >> reporter: monday morning, officials said bland was found dead in her jail cell. the fbi and texas rangers are investigating. >> i will admit it is strange that someone that apparently seemed to have everything going her way would have taken her own

life. and that's what is very, very important that a thorough investigation is done. >> reporter: social media exploded with skepticism about the official account of her death. >> black lives matter. >> reporter: bland herself used to post facebook videos called sandy speaks commenting on race in america. her own death, her family says, would have been a likely topic. >> sandy in pure sandy speaks fashion would create a clip to lay out the facts to you and ask you to seek to understand. >> reporter: tonight bland's family heads to texas in search of facts and understanding. john yang, nbc news, chicago. still ahead tonight, the will to live. from the moment her plane went down to the moment she found rescue after two nights alone. a teenager shares her harrowing tale of survival. for the first time. also, the speech so many have been talking about, caitlyn jenner's impassioned plea for acceptance

for the transgender.

for the first time, we're hearing from a brave 16-year-old girl who lived through a small plane crash in washington state. she was with her step-grandparents who were killed when their small plane flew into trees. after two nights alone in the woods, she walked to safety. and tonight she's sharing her remarkable story of survival with nbc news national correspondent miguel almaguer. >> feeling tired, sore but good.

>> reporter: autumn veatch is the definition of a survivor. >> i have second degree burns down the side and on my fingertips and fingers. >> reporter: the 16-year-old remembers the moment her small plane went down. >> we lost complete visibility. we couldn't see out of the front at all. everything was just white and grandpa, he was kind of just like wow, this isn't good. >> reporter: autumn was with sharon and leland bowman, her grandparents when they flew into frightening weather, she messaged her boyfriend, if i die, remember i love you. >> it was trees and then it was fire. >> reporter: autumn escaped, her grandparents were trapped. >> they were both screaming. i was trying to help them. >> reporter: burning her hand to try to save them, there was nothing she could do. >> i know they are with me. but it's still -- i'm going to miss them. they did so much for me. >> reporter: the 16-year-old ran. >> i was really shocked. my instinct was to go straight downhill. >> reporter: she followed a river downstream thinking she would give up.

>> i was like, i'm definitely going to die of hypothermia. definitely. it was so cold. i've never been that cold in my life. >> reporter: autumn spent two nights in the forest, fell down a cliff, scaled waterfalls but she pushed on. >> i just got this surge of willpower and was like, there is no way i can die without hugging somebody again. >> reporter: on day three, she found a road and help, reunited with loved ones at the hospital. >> i have such a newfound respect for life now. every little thing makes me so grateful. >> reporter: for autumn, surviving the crash was a miracle, but staying alive, that was all hard. miguel almaguer, nbc news, washington. we're back in a moment with a dire new warning about some of nature's disappearing marvels.

former president

george h.w bush is said to be in fair condition after he broke a vertebra in his neck. the bush patriarch who is 91 took a serious fall at his home in kennebunkport maine yesterday. doctors say the injury did not damage his spine and he has normal use of his arms and legs. though, he will have to wear a neck brace and undergo physical therapy. his wife barbara bush was quoted as saying a slip-and-fall is not going to take out a world war ii pilot. an alarming report about our world's climate. government scientists say surface temperatures are warmer than they have ever been recorded across the globe. they also say glaciers have been melting for 31 years straight. that's the equivalent of lopping 60 feet of ice off each glacier. the report claims four independent sources identify that 2014 was the hottest year on record. from mexico, we're getting a new look deeper inside the tunnel used by that drug kingpin to escape from a high-security prison. authorities say this

this motorcycle pushed a cart to remove tons of debris from digging the tunnel. the worldwide manhunt for joaquin "el chapo" guzman is now in its sixth day. when we come back the personal and powerful speech that struck a chord with so many last night.

next at 6: a local custody fight with national implications. ===take vo=== a divorced woman reveals in court... why she's entitled to the couple's embryos. ===take vo=== plus, the surprising bay area university that places the most students in tech jobs. ===next close=== the news is next.

==vo== a legal batt at the espy awards honoring athletes in los angeles last night, the speech by one former olympic champion resonated. at the event and far beyond. it was caitlyn jenner's first major appearance since telling the world she was transgender and nbc's hallie jackson was there. >> reporter: millions tuned in to see caitlyn jenner speak at the espys. >> if you want to call me names, make jokes, go ahead, because the reality is, i can take it but for the thousands of kids out there coming to terms with being true to who they are, they shouldn't have to take it. >> reporter: alex watched from 50 rows back at the award ceremony. he transitioned to male only recently. if she had delivered that speech when you were younger, do you think that would have helped you come out? >> i would have seen myself in her, and how

powerful a thing is that, to see yourself in someone else and i don't know -- it's indescribable because you don't feel alone in the world. >> for that reason alone, trans people deserve something vital, they deserve your respect. >> reporter: and that is resinating far beyond the trans community. >> we want to be ourselves and we want to be loved and that's universal truth for anybody. >> it's not just about me, it's about all of us, accepting one another. we're all different. that's not a bad thing. >> reporter: a powerful message from a champion for change. hallie jackson, nbc news, los angeles. that will do it for us on this thursday night. i'm lester holt, for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night.

nbc bay area news starts now. >> a legal battle playing out in san francisco. this woman wants the frozen embryos she created with her ex-husband back when they were married. i'm janelle wang. >> i'm raj mathai. a closely watched court case locally could shake the foundations of the embryo preservation preservation. a woman wants to keep the embryos she and her ex-husband agreed to destroy if they got divorced. today was a pivotal day in this

trial. >> reporter: it certainly was. the 46-year-old anesthesiologist was on the stand in a difficult position. back in 2010 she and her husband agreed to create the five fertilized eggs and to store them because they felt time was running out. but the situation has changed dramatically. >> reporter: mimi lee is no longer married. her former husband filed for divorce two years ago. because she's now infertile, the frozen embryos are the only way for her to have a child. on the stand today, lee did say she initialled that option on a form. on lee's form thaw and discard was checked and initialled by her. today she