have the lightning that is a problem as well. 4th of july, we will update that tonight at 11:00. on the broadcast tonight -- hurricane warnings. as tropical storm arthur gathers steam. with evacuations now under way, holiday and vacation plans a big question for millions tonight. security alert. new steps tonight to make sure bombs don't make it onto planes bound for the u.s. border crisis. taking sides in a desperate situation unfolding in california. mothers and children driven away from a town where angry protesters don't want them. and without warning. the story behind this terrifying scene on the streets of philadelphia. "nightly news" begins now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news with

brian williams". good evening. brian has the night off. i'm lester holt. july fourth holiday plans are on hold tonight for a lot of folks living and vacationing along the north carolina coas arthns sthening bricaneni coast counties in carolina including the yourt banks, are under a hurricane warning. arthur is packing maximum sustained winds of 70 miles an hour, just below hurricane strength, and could make landfall by friday morning. the latest fracking on arthur in a moment, but first kerry sanders in kill devil hills, north carolina, with the urgent preparations now under way. hi, kerry. >> reporter: good evening, lester. ning aearlyayve in thiseaeventot and by c a s recasa stand by. residents on the outer banks who went through hurricanere three years ago know the

routine. the storm surge i that hurre washed away parts of highway 12 cutting off cape hatterass from the mainland. this will be the first test of that reengineered, are rebuilt highway. >> don't put your stupid hat on. >> reporter: north carolina governor declared a state of emergency along the coast today. already hardware stores report residents have cleaned out batteries and lantern spliez but there's still plenty of lumber to board up which so far few have done. among the worried from florida to virginia, those lured into the atlantic by bigger than usual waves, hidden below powerful rip currents. >> usually most injuries occur can right before a storm or right after a storm. >> reporter: traffic to the outer banks is already building. this area is a popular july fourth destination, hotels in kill devil hills say their phones have been nonstop. >> we're hoping people will still stay with us, ride the storm out and then enjoy the rest of the weekend. >> reporter: farmers along the

coast are worried about corn and bean crops. >> early in the season so it still could pull it down, damage it. >> reporter: damage tonight a worry. will arthur punish the outer banks or move slightly west and only brush the coast? if arthur just brushes this area, it will still rain from here all the way north, which is why tonight in five states from north carolina all the way up to massachusetts 5 works shows have been postponed. lester? >> kerry, let's get more on the pa p. path of the storm. we bring in jim cantore on the outer banks himself. jim, what does it look like? >> reporter: lester, this thing is coming toward the outer banks no question about it. let's time it out for you. in about 12 hours very much a possibility of being a hurricane here, right to the east of charleston, south carolina. then about 8:00 a.m. friday, just off or right on hatteras

island, which is where we are right now. that will be the worst of the surf, rain and wind. the wind could be 90 miles per hour. by 2:00 p.m. friday, the area will be improved but continuing to move northeast toward nova scotia by 2:00 p.m. saturday. to recap for you, the ip pacts to the outer banks, a mandatory evacuation for hatteras island, many, many visitors and people starting at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow, dangerous surf beginning as early as tomorrow, even if the sun is out here. again, some of the worst weather we're expecting could be 90-mile-per-hour winds, very heavy rain and obviously a big interruption to holiday plans here on the outer banks. >> thank you, jim. new intelligence against the backdrop of growing instability in the middle east is triggering alarm bells here at home tonight about threats to commercial airline flights heading into the united states. today the department of homeland security announced plans to increase security at airports overseas, specifically they plan to step up screening for

passengers flying to the u.s. the steps in response to a growing concern that extremists in the middle east are trying to develop explosives that would escape detection. nbc's tom costello reports from washington bureau. >> government sources stress this has nothing to do with the july fourth holiday but intelligence that militants fighting in syria are cooperating with a bomb maker in yemen or bomb makers who are working on explosives that might get through airport security checkpoints. the concern, the commercial aircraft could be the target of extremists now fighting in syria and could slip onto a u.s.-bound plane departing from the middle east, europe or north africa. today homeland security told airlines and xlekt airports in the region to ramp up security for u.s.-bound flights. passengers are likely to see more pat-downs, screening of carry-on bags, swabbing for

explosive residue and extra scrutiny of electronics and measures we won't see. >> i think what we see coming outs of syria and iraq is as dangerous as anything since 9/11. these groups are committed. they have people who can travel to the west and unfortunately they are likely getting the technology that gives them the capability to attack aircraft. >> reporter: government sources say their concern now is based on intercepting communications, the travel patterns of foreign fighters and the risk of poor airport screening in some countries. the tsa sets a security standard that airlines and airports overseas must meet. now the u.s. is offering assistance to tighten security and be even more vigilant. again, this doesn't affect u.s. airports, only select airports overseas with really special focus on the mediterranean, the middle east and parts of north africa. lester? >> when, tom, is this going to be kicked into gear? >> over the coming days is what we're told by officials within the government. they also say they need to

consult with other airports and p governments about how this is going to come into effect. they make a point, not every airport and not every country has the level of sophistication we have. therefore, they really need to try to work with these countries individually to help get them into proper compliance. >> tom costello, thank you. in california tonight, more than 1,000 firefighters are battling a quickly growing wildfire near the popular napa valley tourist area. it has burned more than five square miles and has forced the evacuation of 200 homes. it's reported to be 30% contained right now. authorities say none of the area's vineyards are threatened at this point. in southern california, an emotional human drama is playing out over how to handle hundreds of migrants who have been flown to the area after crossing the border no texas. hundreds more are expected in california by week's end, and, as we're seeing, people are now taking sides. nbc's miguel alma gguer is in

marietta, california. >> reporter: tonight a much different scene. only a handful of protesters and no buses for now, citing safety concerns officials would not say where those undocumented immigrants headed for this facility finally ended up. but nbc news has learned many have been released into communities. at the center of the immigration crisis, three buses forced to turn around and head to a holding facility along the u.s./mexico border. inside, 140 undocumented immigrants from central america, mostly mothers and their young children. now alone and scared, walking into an uncertain future. >> they're not born here! >> they need to go back to mexico! >> reporter: this is how they were greeted when they arrived in muarietta, california, 100 miles north of the border. >> more or you will be cited. >> reporter: the anger, tension

was palpable. >> usa! usa! >> reporter: dozens of protesters refusing to allow the young families into their community. >> thousands of people being allowed into our country illegally. we're coming out here to voice our objection against that. >> reporter: but more than voices were raised. this immigration add sorrvocate spit on. >> it's heartbreaking to see this happening coming from the land of opportunity. >> reporter: the spectacle spilled into the night. tension on both sides of the road. >> are you proud or embarrassed of what happened in your city yesterday? >> well, as far as exercising the constitutional rights, i'm proud of that. >> reporter: allen long, the mayor of marietta, knows what happened here has the nation watching and talking. >> people need to understand that they're showing their emotion and passion about a federal policy that's not working. >> reporter: afor donia cruz, t

it's personal. she carried her baby boy from honduras across 1,000 miles of uncertainty. it was very unjust and full of hate, she says, especially because we are people that are just coming here to look for a better life. the next group of undocumented immigrants may reach marietta on july fourth, independence day. city officials say what is happening here is just the beginning. they expect several waves of undocumented immigrants to arrive at this facility every 72 hours for the foreseeable future. lester? >> miguel, thank you. we turn now overseas, a day of fighting between palestinians and israelis in east jerusalem after a palestinian teenager was abducted and killed, a day just after a funeral of three israeli teenagers. we've been following the violent showdown. a

aim. >> reporter: the palestinian teen's family says he was killed in the revenge of killing the teens that were buried yesterday. they say his body was so badly burnt it wasn't recognized. israeli leaders are condemning the killing and calling for calm. in the neighborhood where we are and where his family lives, there's nothing but outrage. young pill stannians in east jerusalem chant forge their fallen, angry at israel, vowing to fight, barricading a major road, burning tires and targeting israeli security forces with stones and molotov cocktails. at first the soldiers keep their distance, firing stone grenades at the demonstrators who gather more rocks to throw. suddenly, things change. as palestinians try to reinforce their position, one is wounded and carried in an ambulance. israeli soldiers seize the moment and assault the front line, firing stun grenades and rubber bullets.

we are trapped behind a car full of reporters. yellingisraelrys we are journalists. soldiers take aim at us and order us back. as the clashes continue, we make our way down the street to the home of the murdered palestinian. inside, we hear gunshots and explosions just outside the door. there won't be any justices for us, the father says. the israeli government encourages violence and we had to pay the price of their revenge. on the streets outside, the clashes continue for hours, both sides refusing to back down. lester, the neighborhood where we are tonight feels like a battle zone. in fact, throughout the night these types of small grenades have been lobbed all over the streets, littered with rubber bullets and stones being thrown by the palestinian protesters. the israeli police insist they will investigate the murder with the same rigor and all the same resources they would investigate any attack on israel jews.

but it's far from calm and the problem and fear is that in the coming days after the body of this boy is released it could trigger more violence. lester? >> aman, thank you. still ahead, a huge explosion raising safety concerns tonight about propane gas on food truck and at home. and the world cheers for america's newest sports hero. the problem isn't likely to go away... ...on its own. so it's time we do something about it. and there's help. premarin vaginal cream. a prescription that does what no over-the-counter product was designed to do. it provides estrogens to help rebuild vaginal tissue and make intercourse more comfortable. premarin vaginal cream treats vaginal changes due to menopause and moderate-to-severe painful intercourse caused by these changes. don't use premarin vaginal cream if you've had unusual bleeding,

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many women around the world. by the way, you can track her journey on our web site nbc news.com. and a rocket carrying a nasa satellite lit up the skies in california early this morning. it's on a mission to track carbon dioxide, the main culprit behind climate change. the delta-2 rocket blasted off from surrenderberg air force base. the satellite is known as orbiting carbon observatory 2. it will monitor carbon dioxide, the goal to study how the environment absorbs carbon dioxide. here was the scene in northern new jersey, something right out of win any the pooh as a black bear cub got his head stuck in a jar he found in a trash can. as are rescuers approached, he climbed up a tree. they trin kwlized him, got him down and got the jar off the cub's head. everything was all right, but chances are he had a heck of a headache. next, a man who proved that

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knockout round of the world cup, howard's performance as goalkeeper against an p assault from the belgian team will be remembered for a long time to come. our story tonight from nbc's katy tur. >> reporter: for 93 minutes, tim howard gave the fans something to cheer about. diving, lunging and swatting away everything in his path. the team usa goalie was a brick wall. 16 saves, the most in a world cup tournament since 1966. >> that's what i signed up to do, you know. stick my face in front of balls and try to it keep them out. >> reporter: hash tag things tim howard could save. it starts from the evil king jaufry in game of thrones, the dinosaurs from extinction. for a moment, a keen wikipedia user appointed him the u.s. secretary of defense. >> i think even secretary hagel

would agree with me that tim howard demonstrated an ability to repel an opponent with remarkable couragery and athleticism. >> reporter: chuck hagel, the real secretary of defense, called him to congratulate him. born and raised in new jersey, howard was diagnosed with ter receipts at 10. soccer was his escape, and he was good. really good. going pro in new york at 18. soccer wasn't his only sport. >> no. he was a very accomplished basketball player in high school. >> reporter: eddie was howard's high school basketball coach. >> at graduation there were a lot of disappointed college basketball coaches. >> reporter: though team usa didn't advance be, they won over the crowd. >> we saw all the videos and highlights of our fans, and it was special to be a part of that. they felt like they were part of it here and we felt like we were part of it back home. >> reporter: there's no arguing howard is coming home on top.

katy tur, nbc news, new york. >> that's our broadcast for this wednesday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. michael strahan targeted in a chilling murder plot. break new details now on "extra."

a nut with a knife spent on killing morning tv star michael strahan. >> security here at abc stopped him the first time, but he came back. >> how close he got to strahan. monica lewinsky on the desperate moment she considered suicide. new bombshells from her scandal tell-all. beyonce publicly admitting jay-z cheated. the include she just dropped on stage. america's new golden boy. from his childhood struggle to international phenomenon. then our new a-list interview with halle berry. >> not being able to workout has been hard for me. plus jen aniston.

a sneak peek at the raunchy new sequel. now "extra" from the entertainment capital of