196 2a mc rambler american 400 convertible. showcased by actor french stewart. this one is just like the one he and his fellow aliens rode on nbc's hit sitcom "third rock from the sun." >> i love that show. >> i love that show. >> you can win tonight, monkeypox declared a global health emergency the world health organization announces its highest level of alert for the virus as cases climb. in the u.s., the first cases in children what you need to know. and out of control wildfire explodes near yosemite national park 6,000 people evacuated, homes destroyed, some residents desperate to get out. >> a husband and wife unable to get out of their house. >> it's california's biggest wildfire this year boiling point. 90 million people under heat alerts as triple-digit temperatures scorch parts of the country the death toll now rising and tomorrow, it's going to be even

worse. two americans killed while fighting in ukraine, the powerful interview with one of their parents. >> he went there because he wanted to help people. president biden is getting better, according to his doctor, but he's now experiencing new covid symptoms too old to fly should airline pilots be allowed to fly past 65 the new push to raise the age limits and how that could lead to fewer delays and cancellations. plus, , eyes in the sky, searching for predators below the surface. how drones are stopping shark attacks. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with jose diaz-balart. >> good evening, i'm kate snow in for jose tonight. it is the highest level alert issued for a disease. the world health organization declaring monkeypox a global health emergency, saying we have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly. the secretary of health and human

services late today saying that pronouncement is a call to action at the beginning of june, there were only 19 cases in the u.s. today, there are close to 3,000, including at least two children tonight, we'll lay out why public health officials are so worried but also what you and your family's own personal risk may be we begin with kathy park >> reporter: tonight, the world health organization sounding the alarm on the rapid spread of monkeypox. >> the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern. >> reporter: the highest alert level triggered with more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox reported in roughly 75 countries and territories this year in the u.s., there have been nearly 3,000 cases in 45 states maine, joining the growing list this weekend. the majority of the infections have been traced to men who have sex with men and can spread through direct contact with the infectious rash. prolonged face-to-face contact or intimate

physical contact a new study from the new england journal of medicine found that transmission was suspected to have occurred through sexual activity in 95% of the persons with infection. >> in addition to the increase in the number of cases is the concern that this is going to go beyond the current social network of high-risk individuals and that we're going to start looking at this to become generalized across the population. >> reporter: on friday, the cdc confirmed the first two u.s. cases of monkeypox in children, which some health experts say could have happened through holding, feeding, or sharing items like bedding. >> both of those children are traced back to individuals who come from the men who have sex with men community, the gay men's community. those children are doing well. >> reporter: already, the demand for vaccines is overwhelming health departments across the country. in new york city friday, 17,000 vaccine appointments were booked within 30 minutes. >> it's been really

difficult to find an appointment lately. >> reporter: in response to the outbreak, the department of health and human services announced that 2.5 million doses will begin arriving over the next year. but until then, some experts say we could be headed toward a new normal >> my big concern is that this becomes now a permanent fixture that we talk about, the united states. >> and kathy joins me now. just so everyone knows, what are the signs or symptoms to look out for >> so, according to the cdc, some of the symptoms attached to monkeypox include fever, body aches, headaches, and of course a rash that appears either on your face or all across your body. but they are noting something that's pretty interesting symptoms typically don't appear until one to two weeks after you are infected >> oh, wow >> but the good news out of all this is the mortality rate is actually extremely low. there are no deaths here in the u.s., and most people do recover from monkeypox >> that's good context. thank you so much. now let's go to breaking news out of california where 6,000 people are now under

evacuation orders after an out-of-control wildfire blew up in size overnight, and it's now near yosemite national park. steve patterson has the latest. >> reporter: tonight, fast-moving flames tear into more than 6,000 acres in mariposa, california gutting homes in mere minutes. >> sheriffs came up, you got to go now. it's just like a hurricane. >> reporter: overnight, the oak fire exploded, now forcing more than 6,000 to evacuate. the spread, so rapid, it reportedly trapped residents in their own homes. >> a husband and wife unable to get out of their house. >> reporter: the flames racing over a runway of drought-stricken brush, driven by heavy wind, stoked by high heat, and so far destroyed at least 10 structures, including homes. >> i know the one next to me, down at the bottom of the driveway, burned to the ground >> reporter: the emergency prompting governor newsom to call for federal assistance as the fire marches just 30 miles from the doorstep of yosemite national

park, where firefighters are still working to contain the washburn fire. that fire tore through more than seven square miles, threatening hundreds of century-spanning giant sequoias, thankfully saved by round-the-clock crews. tonight, the oak fire, already the largest california wildfire this year, is burning out of control with no containment and no sign of slowing down a season of flames stoked by a worsening climate just getting started. steve patterson, nbc news and it isn't just the west baking right now. a deadly heat wave is making things miserable across much of the eastern u.s in all, 265 million people across the nation are right now sweltering under temperatures above 90 degrees. jesse kirsch reports from a brutally hot philadelphia. >> reporter: from dallas to new york city, tonight the nation's brutal heat wave won't let up. 90 million under heat alerts with at least 21 states nearing

record highs some areas feeling more like 110 degrees thanks to the heat index. >> don't let dehydration ruin your vacation. $1 water >> reporter: but the oppressive temps are shaking up weekend plans. boston's triathlon postponed, with a similar new york race shorted significantly. >> within my means, a lot of experience, because i am a lot older than when i first started doing this stuff. >> reporter: sadly, the weeks-long heat wave proving too much for some tonight, the death toll climbing to three with word a louisiana police officer died last saturday, according to his department bracing for triple digits in philadelphia, some are finding relief and fun. how much do you love this pool on a day like today >> if this pool was closed, i had no other plans for these two, because this was all we was looking forward to >> reporter: the city says more than a fifth of its pools, however, are still closed because of lifeguard shortages. >> the geography, to make sure that everybody in the city was within a mile of a swimming pool.

>> reporter: right now, everyone is within a mile of one that's open. >> correct, correct. the reason kelly pool is a great pool to open is not only does it serve primarily an underserved community, but also, it's huge. >> thank you, thank you. >> what number are we? >> 140 >> reporter: but with so many looking for relief from this heat, this pool day comes with a wait and a time limit. >> it's super hot right now in the city, and we're all just trying to have a awesome pool day >> and jesse joins me from philadelphia. how are emergency responders dealing with the heat wave, jesse? >> reporter: yeah, kate, the fire department here says they expect about 100 to 150 extra ems calls per day but the department says it is built for that stress. kate >> jesse, thank you. let's bring in wnbc meteorologist matt brickman. this heat wave has been so relentless and it gets worse tomorrow >> in fact, sunday might actually be the worst of this that we've seen for much of the country.

22 different states could see high temperature records set on sunday with new york included there. a chance of a record high boston making a run at 100 degrees as the northeast sees some of its warmest temperatures so far this year. now, relief is coming, but it comes with a catch. as this cold front makes its way to the northeast, moving across the midwest, it could spark severe weather from illinois all the way to new england with damaging winds and on monday, pushing farther to the east, spawning severe storms from the northeast down through the midatlantic, 54 million people at risk of severe weather from large hail and damaging winds, kate, so we do have relief coming, but monday could bring some very dangerous weather. >> matt, thank you so much we have breaking news out of ukraine tonight. the state department has confirmed that two u.s. citizens believed to be fighting in the war against russia have died. ellison barber spoke with one of their parents. >> reporter: tonight

in calabash, north carolina, cathy and george are mourning the loss of their son. >> he didn't go there to be a hero he went there because he wanted to help people >> reporter: 31-year-old luke, a father of two, a brother, a devoted friend, went to ukraine in early april. >> well, my husband is 100% ukrainian, and so he has 50% of him is ukrainian. and he saw the war going on, and he saw that they really needed help, and he said, mom, i'm going so, he went. and we tried to dissuade him >> every time i talked to him, i told him, why don't you just come home. >> just a week before he was killed, he kept sending us notes, mom, we don't have the right equipment. can you send me a tactical vest? >> reporter: how did you find out what happened >> around 4:00 in the morning on the 19th, they gave us a call. the state department gave a call and told us what happened

>> reporter: cathy and george believe luke, who was serving as a medic, had been knocked unconscious by artillery when three other foreign fighters desperately tried to save him >> as they were trying to extricate him, a tank rolled in and started firing at them >> reporter: u.s. state department confirmed to nbc news the recent death of two u.s. citizens in the donbas region of ukraine. volunteers from canada and sweden reportedly died in the same fight. >> he said he couldn't leave until the rest of his friends, the rest of the battalion, left with him. >> reporter: news of the deaths of the americans comes after a renewed missile attack on the port city of odesa just one day after ukraine and russia agreed to a deal allowing safe passage of ships carrying ukraine's most vital export, grain. another sign of contradictions in a brutal war with no end in sight that once again is taking a personal toll across the seas in america. ellison barber, nbc news, kyiv, ukraine.

we have an update tonight on president biden's condition following his covid diagnosis on thursday. chief white house correspondent kristen welker joins me now. today, the president's doctor said he's doing well but experiencing even more symptoms >> kate, that's right. the doctor explained in the statement, president biden's primary symptoms, though less troublesome, now include sore throat, a runny nose, loose cough, and body aches as well. the white house has really aimed to downplay concerns about the 79-year-old president's covid diagnosis, releasing photos of him working, although they did not release one today. now, notably, preliminary results show the president likely contracted ba.5, which is the dominant variant in the country. mr. biden has been taking the antiviral paxlovid, he's vaccinated and twice boosted. the doctor said he's also using an inhaler, although not experiencing shortness of breath. the white house has identified 17 close contacts, including the first lady, her spokesperson telling nbc news she tested negative today

the president continues to quarantine at the white house. kate >> okay, kristen, thank you. still ahead tonight, high-tech shark search the new eyes in the skies helping keep swimmers safe. also, the age debate are pilots not as fit to fly after the age of 65? the new push to raise the age limit.

today, a popular new york city beach was closed again because of shark

sightings. that comes following more than two dozen attacks across the country this summer. it's why some beaches are now turning to a high-tech solution to spot sharks before they get too close, using drones aaron gilchrist has the story. >> reporter: they are the eyes above, looking for dangers below. how much of a game changer has this been for you? >> it really is a game changer. >> reporter: a fleet of drones over new york's jones beach on long island searching for sharks lifeguard carey epstein is also a drone pilot. >> to be able to put an unmanned aircraft like a drone up in the sky, 75, 100, 125 feet, and look directly down, was a point of view that we've never had before >> reporter: the drones launch three times a day and are not only looking for sharks but also large schools of fish that may attract sharks >> if we have a sighting or a potential sighting, we're able to pop that drone up in just a matter of minutes, and then make a decision on whether or not we feel it's safe enough to open up the water >> reporter: so far this year, there have been at least 25 shark

attacks in the u.s six of those off new york beaches the most recent one, this past week >> "jaws," sharks. not interested >> reporter: new york's governor is now ramping up the use of drones what you are seeing, is there anything in this picture just yet that would be alarming >> as far as marine life goes, still scanning the shoreline, nothing of concern, no large schools of fish, no sharks. >> reporter: while lifeguards are using drones to help keep people safer at the beach, scientists are also using drones to better understand how people and sharks do and don't interact >> drones have become a really common tool in science, and we use them, basically every single day. >> reporter: chris lowe runs shark lab at california state university flying drones over shark hot spots in southern california. where are they exactly where lots of people love to swim. >> reporter: sharks and people are together on a daily basis, and sharks have kind of learned to ignore people.

we have footage of juvenile white sharks up to 8 or 9 feet long swimming right underneath surfers who never knew they were there. >> reporter: lowe's research showing sharks may be more drawn to swimmers over surfers and paddle boarders because swimmers slap and kick the water. >> what we rarely see are people being consumed, and that tells us, humans are not on sharks' menu at all, but they do occasionally make mistakes. >> reporter: science and safety soaring above swimmers, trying to ensure it's safe to go into the water. aaron gilchrist, nbc news, long island, new york >> nobody wants to be that mistake when we come back, how old is too old to fly? the reason behind the new push to keep pilots behind the controls for years longer

probably don't have to tell you it's been a chaotic summer travel season so far, flights delayed, canceled, or overbooked some people are blaming that on a nationwide pilot shortage, but many pilots are actually forced to retire when they hit the age of 65 now, there's a new push to raise that limit, and it has some asking, how old is too old to fly here's lindsey reiser. >> reporter: it's a summer of travel chaos, canceled flights and seemingly endless delays, thwarting americans' long-planned getaways. >> it's crazy, because it's just like they just canceled. >> reporter: many airlines point to a pilot shortage as the cause of the turbulence, but some in the cockpit say they're being forced

out by what they call an arbitrary law >> we are losing thousands of pilots in upcoming months. >> reporter: pilots are currently forced to retire at 65, which means 13% of them will be out of work within five years but the largest pilots association denies there's even a pilot shortage, citing the 8,000 new commercial pilots in the last 12 months as an increase in recent years. still, lawmakers led by senator lindsey graham are working to raise the pilot retirement age from 65 to 67, a change that captain dan gogel would welcome. >> it is the perfect solution for the reason we have a logjam right now. >> reporter: but transportation secretary pete buttigieg has said he wants to look at other ways to strengthen the pilot pipeline >> these retirement ages are there for a reason, and the reason is safety. >> reporter: do you feel like you were at the top of your game when you were forced to retire? >> absolutely. >> reporter: patty marsh was the tenth female pilot hired by her airline. she didn't want to hang up her commercial wings in 2020 either >> if any occupation

ought to be able to perform after age 65, it is airline pilots >> reporter: is age really the best indicator for how well a pilot can fly a plane? >> oh, not at all. it's a terrible indicator for how somebody flies a plane. >> reporter: dr. gary kay wrote a cognitive test to determine a pilot's fitness to fly. currently, only those with certain medical conditions like adhd are required to take it i tried my hand at it. >> match to the direction of the arrow. >> reporter: border color, oh my -- okay it's that fast okay arrow, color, oh, the air traffic controllers would hate me pilots over the age of 40 already have to get a medical certification every six months, but dr. kay says everyone over 65 should also take a cognitive test. >> not every day you're flying is blue skies, sunshine, and no wind. it's the day when things aren't so good and there's a lot of air traffic and there's bad weather, and something's not functioning properly in the plane, you want

somebody who can make decisions and reason. >> reporter: lindsey reiser, nbc news, new york when we come back, how a connection made during the vietnam war finally came full circle

there's good news tonight about lasting connections and the vietnam war pen pals who finally found each other after more than 50 years >> hi, dominic, good to see you >> kathleen, so good

to see you. >> reporter: this is a friendship more than 60 years in the making >> it was so exciting to finally meet you and put the face to the name. >> reporter: a connection that almost never happened at all. in 1971, kathleen ryan's fourth grade class sent christmas cards to u.s. military fighting in vietnam. >> i didn't know where he was going to be from you know from the united states, i didn't know where. just that he was serving in vietnam. >> reporter: the 10-year-old from new york's long island soon got a letter back from 20-year-old army specialist dominic >> i wanted to let this little girl know, hey, thank you, i appreciate you. >> reporter: in it, he wrote. >> the best present anyone can get is a letter from people back home. it means a lot to a soldier to know that people are thinking of him. >> reporter: kathleen treasured that note for 51 years, wondering if dominic ever made it back from the war. >> i must have re-read his letter several times a year

i kept it prominently in my house. >> reporter: so, last month, she set out to solve the mystery, researching his name, she was astonished to find he'd been participating in veterans events near her own home she took the letter to one of those events and found dominic. >> actually, i think i summed it up perfectly with my expression shock. what how? when where? why? me could you believe it >> yes >> reporter: since then, the pair has been swapping stories from the last half century. kathleen is a married mom of two and a retired police officer. dominic became an auto mechanic after the war. he and his wife have a son. >> all these years later, to meet dominic, yeah, i feel like it has changed my life >> reporter: this simple gesture from the past >> i'm so glad we got to meet again. >> reporter: now the link to a brand-new friendship >> with all what's going on in the world today, this is a little bit of

happiness. i can't find anything wrong at all with a little bit of happiness. >> reporter: nothing wrong with that and if finding out they live near one another wasn't enough of a coincidence, turns out kathleen and dominic went to the same school, although years apart. this is nbc "nightly news" for this saturday. i'm kate snow. for all of us here at nbc news, stay safe and have a great night.

is absolutely exploding. we are talking about the fire burning in mariposa county, not far from yosemite. it more than doubled in size overnight. growing to nearly 10,000 acres. you can see, it is sending up huge plumes of smoke. mandatory evacuations are in effect for some 6000 people. 10 homes have been damaged and five others have been