and frozen mountains there. it will take 16 months to get all the information collected by the new horizons spacecraft. nasa is thrilled. >> see you at 6:00. tonight, terror motive. the mystery over the man who murdered four marines. new questions about his travel to the middle east, his writings online, and how he got his weapons as a nation mourns his victims. run for cover. a massive tornado bearing down on a small town. part of a violent outbreak in the midwest. tonight dozens of homes damaged, some smashed to splinters. damage control. the head of planned parenthood apologizing for a top staffer caught discussing a practice many find abhorrent. on an undercover tape the organization calls heavily edited. social media anxiety. what the pressure for likes and the fear of missing out is doing to our kids who live so much of their lives online. and come sail

away. families facing tough struggles forgetting all their troubles on the open seas. "nightly news" begins now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news with lester holt." good evening. it was an act of terror but with no clear motive. remarkably, a day after a young kuwaiti-american man shot up a pair of military sites in tennessee investigators have yet to uncover the telltale pieces you would normally expect to find, answering the question why. it was confirmed today that police fatally shot mohammad abdulazeez but not before he had taken the lives of four u.s. marines. most of them we also learned today were war veterans. the question tonight is if he believed strongly enough to kill why didn't he leave behind an explanation? our team has been working the story all day. we want to start with kate snow. kate, good evening. >> lester, good evening. the fbi this evening

saying they have tracked down 70 leads and though so far there is no evidence to suggest that isis directed or inspired these attacks they are investigating the crime as an act of terrorism. u.s. officials telling nbc news that the suspect spent much of last year in the middle east and some friends and acquaintances now saying that that trip may have radicalized him. in a quiet neighborhood in the hills outside chattanooga fbi teams today removed potential evidence from the home where 24-year-old mohammad youssuf abdulazeez lived with his parents and sisters. investigators are now poring over abdulazeez's electronic devices, one official saying he doesn't seem to have left much of a social media footprint. but there is this, a blog created recently with a final post three days before the shootings. this life is short and bitter and the opportunity to submit to allah may pass you by. and investigators have found a visit last year to the middle east for seven months, entering jordan, where his father is from. as a naturalized u.s.

citizen, he carried two passports, american and jordanian. and authorities say that's complicating efforts to track his precise movements in the region. >> we have asked our intelligence partners throughout the world to provide us with any information he may have concerning his travel and other activities while overseas. >> reporter: officials say when he returned from the middle east last november he'd grown a beard and began attending religious services more frequently. >> i definitely think something happened in the last couple years because from what i knew of him, you can usually get like a creepy vibe off of someone. he did not put out that kind of vibe. >> single pop and then a brief second and that's when the other gunfire erupted. >> reporter: army sergeant first class robert dodge was inside the recruiting center when authorities say abdulazeez drove up and began firing from his mustang convertible. law enforcement sources say one of his weapons, an ak-47 type assault rifle. >> he did have at least two long guns which would be considered

rifles or shotguns and he did have one handgun we're aware of. some of the weapons were purchased legally and some of them may not have been. we will examine them. >> reporter: as the suspect drove seven miles to a second location, chattanooga police chief fred fletcher says police units caught up to him just before he arrived at a navy and marine reserve center. >> it was a tremendous battle. >> reporter: four marines were killed, a navy sailor and police officer injured before authorities say it appears the shooter was taken down by police fire. >> they put themselves in harm's way. they defended our community. they protected themselves. and they made sure that this brutal, brutal gunman harmed as few people as possible. >> reporter: tonight the suspect's former classmates were stunned. >> i didn't think it could possibly be the person i knew. >> reporter: they knew a kind young man, a wrestler, engineering student and mixed martial arts master, not someone responsible for so much pain. kate snow, nbc, chattanooga. >> reporter: this is miguel almaguer. today a city paused and a community mourned.

the bodies of four marines killed not at war but here at home, headed for dover air base. lance corporal squire wells was the youngest victim at just 21. he grew up in cobb, georgia. his mother says he always wanted to be in the military. "my son died doing what he loved, for the love of his country and his family." >> he was loved. he's probably the best kid you could ever meet. >> reporter: sergeant carson holmquist from wisconsin was a maintenance technician who served in afghanistan and was decorated with eight awards for his service. staff sergeant david wyatt, an artillery operations man, married to wife laurie, served in afghanistan and iraq twice. 12 commendations and medals for his valor. gunnery sergeant thomas sullivan was the recipient of a purple heart after two tours in iraq. the middle child of three siblings from springfield, massachusetts today his family asked neighbors to lower flags, a tribute to their

tommy. the stars and stripes flew at half staff across the region, a salute to the fallen, tears for the brave who will never come home. >> my heart is breaking. i'm in chattanooga, and these were men that served their country, and that we loved because they gave it all. they gave everything they had yesterday to protect us. >> reporter: tonight they mourn the dead and pray for the injured. sergeant dennis pedigo, a husband and father with the chattanooga police department, was shot in the ankle. he ran toward gunfire when others ran away. >> we care about the people here. we care about our military. we care about our law enforcement. >> reporter: flowers and flags have also been placed for navy petty officer randall smith, shot multiple times, he was critically wounded. community ripped apart by grief. now coming together to take care of their own.

with the end of ramadan approaching, many in the muslim community were set to hold a celebration at a nearby mosque. in a sign of unity they moved that gathering here to a baptist church to hold an interface organization tonight. lester, i also want to take you to a location seven miles from where we are standing where that first shooting took place. in addition to those four marines who were killed, a fifth marine was wounded in the leg. good news tonight, he has been released from the hospital. he is on his way home. meantime, back here, lester, we expect hundreds more to continue to gather for tonight's religious service. lester? >> all right, miguel, thank you. and the attack leaves us with this unsettling thought, that the shooting rampage in tennessee represents what may be the new normal for domestic terror. we're talking about people unknown to authorities planning attacks all on their own. the rub, of course, is that they're virtually impossible to prevent. let's explore that further now with our justice correspondent pete williams.

>> reporter: the shooting rampage by mohammad abdulazeez appears to represent an fbi nightmare, an attack from someone inside the u.s. who did not talk about it in advance or leave an internet footprint that could be discovered. >> the individuals that are the hardest to detect are the ones that are planning this in their head. they're not reaching out to a circle of friends. they're not communicating internationally. >> reporter: the most worrisome terror threat used to be thoroughly planned al qaeda operations like the 9/11 attacks or the underwear bomb plot. but by far the biggest worry now is terrorism encouraged by isis. the fbi has arrested 62 people in the past year and a half for isis-inspired plots. either attacks here or plans to fight in syria. 46 were u.s. citizens. the cases have come from 18 states, with hundreds of people now under investigation nationwide. examples, alexander ciccolo of boston arrested july 4th, charged with plotting to attack a college dorm. the fbi says he told an interrogator that isis would never hurt anyone innocent.

>> people that you see being executed are criminals. they're the lowest of the low. >> reporter: elton simpson and nadir soofi of phoenix were killed while attacking the draw muhammad contest in texas. warning bulletins have repeatedly stressed an isis emphasis on continual targeting of military. in response the military has put all u.s. bases on a higher level of alert. but that doesn't apply to the more than 2,000 recruiting and reserve centers. like the ones attacked yesterday where military personnel are prohibiting from carrying guns. now some in congress say maybe that should change. >> if our military fights overseas to defend america, i don't want to put them in a position where they're defenseless here in the united states. >> reporter: the marine corps has closed its recruiting offices and told them not to wear their uniforms. and national guardsmen have been authorized

to carry weapons at their recruiting offices. >> pete williams in our washington newsroom. thank you. turning now to the imposing images out of the midwest, an outbreak of tornadoes overnight including a twister that slammed, a monster twister that slammed a small community and left a widespread trail of destruction. more than a dozen homes destroyed, several others damaged by winds that uprooted and snapped trees. nbc's john yang has the details. >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: in the skies over western illinois a terrifying sight. >> large wedge. >> reporter: a storm chaser captures two columns coming down from this single massive wedge tornado outside monmouth. on the ground flashes as the twister cuts across power lines. >> oh, man. this is not good. >> reporter: to the east tornadoes carved a trail of destruction through cameron and delavan slammed with ef-2 twisters with peak winds of 125 miles per hour. officials said at least 55 homes were damaged, 15 of them severely.

grain bins left twisted and flattened like soda cans. >> for such a small area there was a focused amount of force on this town. >> reporter: sam and diane charington's chimney was toppled and their garage destroyed. diane was home alone when the twister hit and rode it out in the baseball. >> really scary. i thought i was going to die, to be quite honest. >> reporter: sam and pat fox headed to their basement too. >> i finally got nerve enough to peek out and i said oh, lord, there's no trees in our yard anymore. >> reporter: today as illinois governor bruce rauner surveyed the damage, utility crews already at work to restore electricity lost when the main line blew down. despite all the destruction, amazingly, officials reported no significant injuries during a night of powerful tornadoes. john yang, nbc news. a secretly recorded video

released this week has caused a collision of medicine, politics, and abortion rights. and it's put planned parenthood in damage control mode, apologizing for the tone of one of its officials caught on that tape. but the group that made the video says this isn't over, that there's more to come. we get more tonight from nbc's hallie jackson. >> reporter: in a controversial undercover video released online this week the senior director of medical services for planned parenthood sipping from a wine glass talks about the process for donating tissue from aborted fetuses for medical research. shot by an anti-abortion group, the center for medical progress, the heavily edited footage implies planned parenthood is making money off the tissue donations, which would be against the law. >> i would say probably anywhere from $30 to $100. >> reporter: now the head of planned parenthood says she

should have been more compassionate. >> i apologize for the tone and statements. >> reporter: but planned parenthood is not apologizing for the tissue donations themselves, calling them legal and ethical, explaining any money collected is only used to cover costs. >> the allegation that planned parenthood profits in any way from tissue donation is not true. >> reporter: conservative lawmakers are using the video shot a year ago but rolling out now as a spring board to launch hearings on planned parenthood. >> i could talk about the video but i think i'd vomit trying to talk about it. it's disgusting. >> reporter: fetal tissue has been key to some major medical advances like vaccines for measles and polio and researchers are using it to look for a cure for parkinson's disease and to help people with crushed spinal cords. but last year twice as much funding went to research on embryonic stem cells compared to fetal tissue. some question whether its medical value is worth the political fight. >> it's not illegal to

use fetal tissue. it's just because it's so tied in to the terribly divisive and difficult issue of elective abortion it remains controversial. >> so far three states have opened their own investigations into local clinics. the white house is deferring questions about the ethics of the fetal tissue donations to planned parenthood. lester? >> hallie jackson, thank you. still ahead tonight the pressure to be liked online. social media causing social anxiety for our kids, and what experts say parents can do to help.

i'm dwad gadi schwartz with breaking news. a fast moving wildfire has ripped across an enter interstate. vehicles have been abandoned by drivers stuck in traffic. they were able to escape before the flames came through, but there are reports of burn injuries. we're told the fire is 3500 acres and growing. mandatory evacuation have ordered and five structures are burning. is this along the i 15 through the cajon pass. a major thoroughfare from l.a. to las vegas. now back to lester. we're back now with our series "disconnected" about how all this technology designed to bring us together may actually be doing the opposite for many of our kids. tonight, social media anxiety and the pressure to be

liked by getting likes on what our young people post online. nbc's rehema ellis has this report. >> reporter: for many kids life is often lived inside their phone. on snapchat, twitter, facebook, instagram. >> i check my phone a lot. >> probably very excessive. >> i do use it a lot. >> reporter: as 14-year-old best friends chiara, zenab and patty are like teens of every generation, eager to socialize, fit in, be accepted. but in a digital age, experts say, social media can sometimes cause likes anxiety. based on how many people like a post. >> i do feel as if the more likes that i get the happier i will be. >> reporter: of the 92% of teens who say they go online daily a quarter of them are connected almost constantly. teens on facebook average 150 friends. on instagram, 100 friends. experts say that's a lot of

social pressure, a lot of voices liking or not liking. >> who doesn't like to get likes? you know. we've all been handed these devices without education. i like to equate it to throwing a child in a pool without any swimming lessons. >> reporter: sometimes what they see online can hurt. it's called fomo, fear of missing out. >> sometimes i do have fomo because like sometimes i won't get invited to something and my friends will start posting it on social media and then i'll like be upset that i wasn't invited. >> reporter: experts say it's important for parents to set boundaries. >> so parents, do not lose your moral compass. do not lose your parental authority. do not cave. >> you have to be in their head. your kids have to think about the things you taught them. >> reporter: these teens don't let social media define them. >> i also like to see my friends in person and kind of have that sort of social face to face. >> some people are going to like it. some people are not. just have to deal with. >> best friends online

but careful to stay connected to the real world. rehema ellis, nbc news, roslyn, new york. we're back in a moment with why the president is breaking with tradition, skipping a hotel where he stayed and conducted business like every other president since hoover.

it's presidential tradition you naturally stay at the waldorf. everied president since herbert hoover has stayed there since it moved to its current midtown location. but tonight when president obama comes to new york for a fund-raiser, he'll be making in other arrangements. any connection to the fact chinese company bought the walldorf last year? the white house isn't saying. earlier in the day, the white house believed the woman 110 years old.

she was praised as a trail braiser. when we come back how a day on the water makes a difference to kid.

next at 6: breaking news in southern califonia. ===take vo raj=== first, cars burned on the freeway... now the fire has moved to nearby homes. ===take vo janelle=== plus, a stabbing in a palo alto parking garage. now police reveal what the hate crime suspects look like. ===next close===

finally tonight, it's a great summer escape for anyone lucky enough to get out on the water, a way to leave your troubles back on land. for a few hours or so. and for the kids in a special sailing program it's a daylong passage to freedom from the challenges they face. nbc's ron mott has tonight's "making a difference" report. >> reporter: on a sunny south florida day a 122-foot antique yacht has been transformed into a floating paradise for kids. >> yay! >> reporter: there's dancing, manatee watching, even a chance to take the helm. >> very good, very good. >> reporter: but best of all, there are no doctors, no nurses, no medicine. >> this is freedom. this is heaven to us. >> reporter: like all of the kids on this boat, katy gorman's 5-year-old son kalin is battling a life-threatening illness. kalin has a congenital heart defect. soon he'll need a transplant.

their lives an endless cycle of appointments, medications and treatments. but aboard the "mariner 3" the hospital feels far away. >> to not have to worry about his heart right now and absorb all this sunshine and to be with other children that are similar to him, this is wonderful for us. >> reporter: which is exactly what john willer hoped for when he founded freedom waters ten years ago. a six-time cancer survivor weller wanted to share his love of the water with the kids he met in treatment. >> this is a getaway from reality, and to be on a boat like this is something very, very special. >> reporter: the families agree. >> beautiful day. it's sunny. just a wonderful time. >> they give us a chance to take a break for a little while and just relax. >> reporter: when they step onto the shore, their battles will continue. but for now they just get to be kids on a boat. ron mott, nbc news.

>> that'll do it for us on this friday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching. have a great weekend, and good night. ==janelle/take vo== right now at six: a large brush fire - turning into terrifying moments. drivers forced to vacate their cars .. on a major southern california freeway ... as one-by-one, their vehicles go up in flames. injuries reported. ==take live== now, live pictures from our n-b-c helicopter of the fire, not just burning cars but now burning a home. it is leveled. it's going to be a long night for firefighters. ====short open=== ===janelle/2-shot=== thanks for joining us. i'm nel wang sitting in for jessica aguirre===raj/2-shot=== and i'm raj mathai. this is far from over. dozens of people -- as we speak -- scrali

good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm in for jessica. >> i'm raj mathai. dozens scrambling to get belongings andbelong ings and get to safety. this is the primary free way from la to las vegas. it was especially crowded hon this -- crowded on this get away friday. a car and truck caught fire. people in the car was terrified, stuck will there on the free way. getting to flames also problematic. drone activity in the area kept them from launching air tankers sooner. about 2,000 acres, that's the latest number now burning. there are evacuate in