>> thanks very much. "nbc nightly news" is next. on this saturday night, captured. authorities say they've arrested a suspect for the brazen murder of a texas sheriff's deputy. why it's being called a cold-blooded assassination. desperate journey. they're coming by the thousands. refugees risking death in search of a better life. richard engel is on the front lines of this growing crisis. doctor shortage. nurse practitioners using their signature touch to fill the widening gap in primary health care. why there are new questions about their training. ten years later. it was the deadliest hurricane in u.s. history, devastating new orleans and the gulf coast. why hardships remain all these years later. and ruff lesson. how man's best friend is teaching kids a new trick. it has something to do with stop, drop and roll over. "nightly news" begins

now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news." reporting tonight, thomas roberts. good evening. we begin with breaking news tonight in houston, texas. a suspect is now in custody. charged with capital murder for the execution-style killing of a uniformed sheriff's deputy at a gas station. deputy darren goforth had just finished refueling his patrol car when authorities say the shooter, quote, walked up behind him and literally shot him to death. grainy surveillance video captured the ambush in what the sheriff calls senseless and cowardly. jacob rascon has more from houston. >> reporter: tonight, authorities say the man who gunned down a houston sheriff's deputy has been caught. shannon j. miles charged with capital murder. >> we have identified the suspect responsible for the senseless and cowardly act. >> reporter: deputy darren goforth had

just finished an accident report and pulled into a gas station at 8:30 last night. >> six to eight shots and an officer is down. >> reporter: surveillance cameras captured images of the shooter and his red pickup. investigators say the man approached goforth after he filled up, firing repeatedly, even after the deputy collapsed. >> what happened last night is an assault on the very fabric of society. it is not anything that we can tolerate. >> we've heard black lives matter. all lives matter. well, cops' lives matter, too. why not just drop the qualifier and say lives matter and take that to the bank. >> reporter: tips led authorities to a house one mile from the gas station. with this red pickup in the driveway. friends and strangers left flowers, balloons and notes for the fallen deputy who leaves behind a wife and two children. >> he's got two kids that need to grow up and know their father was a hero. they need to know that. >> i'm going to miss him so much.

>> reporter: the sheriff says the deputy was targeted because he was wearing a uniform. now the man who took his life behind bars for what authorities call a callous and cowardly execution. the gas station has reopened but the pump where the killing happened has turned into a memorial. people from all over the community and beyond coming to honor the deputy. the 30-year-old suspect has a criminal record, but the sheriff says before last night, deputy goforth had not encountered his killer. thomas? >> nbc's jacob rascon in houston, thank you. overseas to a deadly and growing crisis unfolding on the borders of europe. thousands of migrants and refugees desperately trying to escape war and poverty in search of a better life. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is on the hungary/serbia border where thousands of refugees try to cross daily. >> reporter: syrian refugees are on the march across europe. we joined them today in serbia where we met

abdur rahman, 16 years old. like most here, he's heading north to seek asylum. abdur rahman has been traveling for two weeks already through five countries. the next stop is hungary. then he and everyone else here will be in the european union. and they hope safe. i'm optimistic, i hope to get there, and no one will stop us, he says. just one more country to go. the biggest migration of refugees since world war ii is under way. a new trail of tears from the war zones in the middle east to western europe. if they can make it. for abdur rahman, the day began across from a park in belgrade, packed with fellow syrians. then one bus after another battling other syrians to get on. >> please stand in line. >> reporter: determined, abdur rahman always managed to find a seat.

it's a huge responsibility. i'm my family's only hope, he says. his home in aleppo was destroyed in the war. he hasn't been to school in four years and plans to settle in germany and then bring his family. but he's spent nearly all their savings already and doesn't have much left. i walked 30 miles or more one day, he says, so i wouldn't have to pay $30 for a taxi. but he says he has to make it. one of thousands of teenagers and children traveling in difficult conditions for an uncertain future. this is a mass exodus. leaderless and spontaneous as syrians appear to have decided collectively there's no hope back home and to hit the road. richard engel, nbc news, along the serbian border. closer to home tonight, erika has weakened into a tropical low pressure system now heading toward florida where it threatens to bring

heavy rains and possible flooding after leaving a deadly trail of destruction in the caribbean. our report from nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: today a wider look at the devastation in the small caribbean island of dominica. homes toppled, roads washed away, the airport battered as tropical storm erika battled through. the death toll now up to 20, dozens are unaccounted for. the prime minister says the damage will set this country back for two decades. >> we all have to pull ourselves together and steady ourselves. >> reporter: today, erika dissipated after slamming into the dominican republic and haiti, killing five. this woman in port-au-prince says she was lying in bed when her neighbor's house collapsed on hers. as the weakened storm moves west, the storm's remnants are now drenching cuba. florida still under a state of emergency and bracing for heavy rain as early as tomorrow. >> the storm has been completely

unpredictable the whole time. we have to continue to watch it. >> hello, this is u.s. coast guard aircraft. >> reporter: the coast guard is warning boaters of the looming storm which could restrengthen. >> all mariners are urged to use caution when transiting in the area. >> reporter: in dominica where it dropped a foot of rain in less than ten hours, communities are unrecognizable and the full scope of the destruction sinking in. gabe gutierrez, nbc news. ten years ago tonight, hurricane katrina slammed new orleans leaving mass devastation and heartbreak in its path. katrina was the deadliest hurricane in u.s. history. more than 1,800 people died, nearly half of them drowned. while today was marked by commemorations it was also a day to highlight the work left to be done. nbc's kristen dahlgren is in new orleans for us this evening. kristen, hi. >> reporter: good evening, thomas. none of us who were here during that time will ever forget the destruction. 80% of this city under water. 70% of its homes either damaged or destroyed.

but today, this is the headline. "resurrection." where ten years ago water filled new orleans' ninth ward, today, a flood of people. survivors celebrating resilience. >> we're back, though, we're back. and we love it. ♪ >> reporter: there was a wreath laying to honor victims who were never identified. a parade to show new orleans' music and spirit are stronger than ever. people were also doing what they have been every day since katrina -- rebuilding. bernardina marr has only been back in her house for a month. >> i've been through so much. and finally, 2015 was my year. >> i'm dedicated to new orleans. >> reporter: for felicia and scott washington, now living just a few blocks from the rebuilt levees,

there are still fears. you can see the levees from here. do you guys trust it? >> i don't trust it. >> you do not? >> i do not. >> reporter: like for so many, this is home, so this is where hope lives, too. >> i'm not going anywhere else. and i love new orleans. there's nothing else for me. >> reporter: a lot of incredibly strong people we've met over the past decade. while it is an uneven recovery, there are parts of this city that are thriving. as you can see, the french quarter packed tonight. >> resilience at its best. thanks so much. miles down the gulf coast in mississippi, the echoes of katrina still remain as well. ten years after that hurricane wiped out towns and destroyed families, the population hasn't fully yet recovered. while the scars are slowly healing, some towns are struggling to return back to normal. nbc's mark potter has our report tonight. >> reporter: when hurricane katrina struck the mississippi coast, the town of waveland bore the brunt of the storm. >> look how fast this water is rising.

>> reporter: and was obliterated by 120-mile-per-hour winds and a nearly 30-foot-high ocean storm surge. most of the homes and businesses when we arrived were destroyed. 25 residents were killed. susie destephano lost her mother to the storm. >> it was like the biggest bomb you could imagine had gone off. >> reporter: although scars still remain, waveland has cleaned itself up and many residents have rebuilt their homes near the coast. >> why would you not want to live here, and why would you not want to rebuild? >> this right here was a restaurant, a nice restaurant. >> reporter: mayor mike smith says there are problems. the town still struggles with its recovery. since katrina, waveland has shrunk. from 8,000 to 6,400 residents. the mayor blames strict building codes and high blood insurance rates for keeping people away. >> my flood insurance

is going to go to $3,900. >> reporter: from what? >> from $375. >> reporter: before katrina, there were 29 businesses here in downtown waveland. now there are only five. much of this area is nothing more than empty fields. the 29-member police department still works out of a trailer after 12 feet of water destroyed their old building, forcing officers to cling to rooftops and trees during the storm. >> every patrol car went under water. every radio went under water. >> you were literally lost in your own city. >> it was bad times. >> reporter: susie now paints in memory of her mom who did not survive, warning others in future storms to heed the evacuation orders. >> don't do it to the people you love. how hard is it to go? it's not that hard. go. >> reporter: ten years into its recovery, waveland's resilience continues, while an undercurrent of pain still lingers. mark potter, nbc news, waveland, mississippi.

a teacher who died trying to protect her students at sandy hook elementary school has been honored with a school in her own name. the victoria soto elementary school opened friday in stratford, connecticut. soto was among six educators and 20 children killed in the newtown shooting in december of 2012. her family said she would have been proud to have taught in that school. to 2016 presidential politics and a new target for republican front-runner donald trump and yet another in his series of no-holds-barred remarks, trump blasted hillary clinton's top aide huma abedin and her husband anthony weiner. katy tur is on the trail with trump tonight. >> reporter: at the national federation of republican assemblies, presidential preference confession in nashville. if you are a rino -- republican in name only -- you're definitely not welcome. >> i think rino

hunting is on a lot of the minds of a lot of people here today. >> reporter: donald trump was here today saving himself as not just a true republican but a reagan republican. >> i'm a republican. i'm a conservative. but i'm just as angry with the republicans. >> reporter: the nra doesn't take to kindly to third-party runs. >> who doesn't? >> reporter: the nfra. by coming here, are you telling them you won't be doing that? >> well, i think over the next couple of weeks you'll see some things that are very interesting. >> are you a reagan republic? >> i think he's a trump republican. i think he's creating a new category based on people believing that through his sheer will that he will be able to deliver on some ethereal greatness in the future. >> reporter: the billionaire's nashville appearance a far cry from last night's rowdy event where trump was cheered for taking aim at hillary clinton's top adviser huma abedin and her husband anthony weiner who left congress in the wake of a sex scandal.

>> so huma is getting classified secrets. she's married to a bad guy. i know anthony weiner for a long time. i knew before they caught him with the bing, bing, bing. >> reporter: the clinton campaign calling him out on twitter, calling it disgraceful. also groups funding carly fiorina echoed her concern that he's kept off the stage. donald trump said it would be a shame not to see her up there. >> chuck todd will have much more on the trump effect tomorrow morning on "meet the press." when "nightly news" continues on this saturday -- when the medical professional in charge of your primary care is not a doctor. plus, spelling out the grammar gaffes that annoy people the most.

we are back with medical information about a growing doctor shortage in this country expected to reach 31,000 within the next ten years. so worrisome that more patients are now turning to nurse practitioners to help fill the gap in primary care. not all doctors and not all states are on board with that decision. nbc's joe fryer has our report. >> reporter: the hope family clinic in salt lake city probably looks like your typical doctor's office. but owner jody stubler will tell you something is different here. at this clinic, is there a doctor overseeing you? >> no.

here in utah, nurse practitioners do not need the oversight of a physician. >> reporter: a registered nurse for 25 years, she went back to school to become a nurse practitioner. she cashed in her 401(k) to open this primary care clinic in march, largely treating problems like colds, flu and ear infections. she also writes prescriptions and does stitches and small x-rays. stubler charges less than most clinics and already has more than 180 patients like amy. many don't have insurance. without this clinic -- >> i would have gone to the e.r. and had to figure out the payments eventually. >> reporter: experts predict the u.s. will have a shortage of more than 31,000 primary care physicians by 2025 and some feel nurse jody's clinic is the model that can help fill the gap. but 29 states prevent nurse practitioners from practicing with complete independence from a doctor.

>> the answer to a shortage of one profession is not creating more of a different profession. it's ensuring we have coordinated care across an entire team of health care professionals doing the best possible work for patients. >> if i have a patient who has a condition that's more than i can deal with, i'm going to refer them to a specialist. >> reporter: stubler does consult regularly with dr. seth wallace who sees the benefits. >> a good practitioner, regardless of whether they are a physician or nurse practitioner, they know their limits. >> his blood sugars are still way out of control. >> reporter: for patients with more serious needs, stubler is starting a foundation to help with more expensive procedures, like this knee surgery which will cost $10,000. so the clinic is going to try to help you raise the money? >> yes. >> reporter: what does that mean to you? >> it's wonderful. it's really nice. >> reporter: a healing hand with a nurse's touch.

joe fryer, nbc news, salt lake city. up next, american pharoah took home the triple crown. but could he capture glory tonight in saratoga? and the life-saving lesson these dogs have to offer. so a major upset

tonight for triple crown winner american pharaoh losing in the final moments at the traverse stakes in saratoga.

a horse named keen ice beat the odds to overtake the champion horse. in june, american pharaoh became the first horse in 37 years to sweep the kentucky derby, the preakness and the belmont stakes. a vast majority of americans say they are good sellers. but some words are still causing more trouble than others. the three versions of "there" along with february and definitely are all words that annoy people most when spelled wrong, according to a new survey by dictionary.com. women say they notice mistakes more than men, but millennials are the most annoyed. as for my grammar pet peeve, it's then versus than. legendary broadcaster vin scully will be back for a 67th season of calling l.a. dodgers games. the owner of the team, magic johnson, delivered the news last night on the stadium jumbotron along with jimmy kimmel. fans immediately cheered for the 87-year-old icon.

scully has been with the dodgers since 1950. no other broadcaster in any sport has been with a team longer than scully. congratulations to him. when we come back, how these dogs are teaching children new tricks.

finally tonight, this lesson might be "ruff" for some children but it's invaluable. when your teacher also is your best friend, the takeaway is even stronger. nbc's john yang has the story.

>> come on. let's go. >> reporter: at home in suburban indianapolis, jeff owens' black labs are ordinary family pets. but casey and cole are also on a mission to help save lives. >> what are you going to do when you see smoke? good job. your clothes are on fire. stop, drop, roll. good job. >> reporter: these pups are on the road 400 visits a year teaching fire safety. stop, drop and roll puppy style. >> if you don't know your fire and life safety skills, you can end up a dead dog. >> reporter: owens, a retired firefighter, says at least 15 kids have told rescuers they've used what they learned from his dogs to get out of a fire alive. >> you never go back in the house not for your toys or pets, not even for your baby brother or sister. >> reporter: if fireman jeff had come here all by himself,

do you think you would have remembered these lessons more? >> no, i think having the dogs here helped us remember them more. >> reporter: and a little comedy helps, too. >> i like when the dogs were rolling over and shows that you can end up a dead dog. >> reporter: owens has been doing this for more than 22 years reaching more than 4 million kids. >> i've been the firefighter in a fire pulling children out. i live with those images -- i'll live with that my whole life. if i can prevent a firefighter from having to do that just once, it makes all the difference in the world. >> reporter: with 12-year-old casey approaching retirement, the next generation of k-9 coaches is in training. meet 15-week-old callie. >> good job. >> reporter: already winning hearts, she may soon be saving lives, too. >> she gets all excited. >> reporter: john yang, nbc news, versaill versailles, kentucky. >> casey, cole, callie. that's a great story. and that is "nbc nightly news" for this

saturday. i'm thomas roberts reporting from new york. i'll see you right back here tomorrow night. have a good evening, everybody. fiallmovg ain.ur c chperaugth vo right now at 6:00, finally moving again. our nbc chopper caught this video of drivers who were stuck for hours, finally being able to drive down 101. now there is another closure

planned. good evening. thank you for joining us. >> it's one of the bay area's busiest freeways. for more than 15 hours, a portion of 101 was shut down as crews worked to shut down power lines and equipment. this is what it looked like from the air. on your right, the damage left behind by broadway. in order to get it fixed, the chp had to completely shut down 101 mean mill brae and deanza boulevard. and now another closure that's coming. >> reporter: certainly a big improvement this evening. that is of course, that 101 is back open. pg & e has a number of crews out here working on the transmission lines. we are hearing there will be another closure tomorrow night of 101 to restring overhead high tension power cables of the temporary overhead