got to be cold at the end of weekend. >> oh, my gosh. 30s? i'm keith jones. the news continues with "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. have a great night. on our broadcast tonight, a fifth american has contracted ebola, and he happens to be a member of our team. a cameraman for nbc news now in isolation in liberia while the leader of our team there, dr. nancy snyderman, reports tonight on his condition and their condition as they await for a flight out of there. also, stopping the spread of ebola on american soil. hazmat crews finally on the scene in dallas amid questions of hospital mistakes and critics who say we're not ready. not again, another awful beheading by isis. a british aid worker this time. and new threats now against another american. and making a difference, a promise kept. 26 playgrounds to honor 26 innocent lives. tonight, we are there for the

inspiring final act. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. good evening. we begin our broadcast with this ebola emergency. and as you have probably heard by now, it has touched an extended member of our nbc news family, specifically a cameraman working with our team in liberia. ashoka mukpo tested positive for ebola. he's in isolation and receiving the best care available until he can be flown back to the u.s. for treatment. our remaining team in liberia headed by our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman, has quarantined themselves closely monitoring their own health as a precaution. meantime, back in this country in dallas hazmat crews finally showed up to decontaminate the apartment where the ebola patient there became so

violently ill. there are a lot of questions tonight about missteps and mistakes along the way by the hospital and authorities there and whether this country is really prepared. that was addressed by the white house today, but first we want to begin by heading to the head of our team in liberia, our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: all week here we've been following strict safety protocols, spraying our shoes with bleach, keeping our hands sanitized. taking our temperature at least twice a day. 36.3. excellent. our cameraman, ashoka mukpo was also taking these precautions. he's a 34-year-old journalist from rhode island been on assignment in liberia for the past four weeks working for several news organizations. on tuesday we hired him to work with us. and wednesday evening he said he wasn't feeling well. a routine check showed his temperature was elevated. he quickly sought medical

treatment. on thursday a test showed he was positive for the ebola virus. he reached out to his parents. >> he texted me and he said, dad, you need to answer soon. i think i'm in trouble. and i immediately knew. >> reporter: ashoka is currently under self-quarantine in monrovia in the care of doctors without borders. we spoke with him today. and he's in good spirits. he will be taken to university of nebraska medical center for treatment. the ebola outbreak has made taking precautions here a way of life now. officials are vigilant about taking temperatures at the airport or even between towns. in hotels guests are encouraged to wash their hands in vats of bleach. i'm nancy. greetings are done at a distance. no handshakes. no hugs. for health care workers layers of personal protective equipment are required. it's a painstaking process.

we were brought into a room where very slowly and carefully our plastic protective suits, masks, gloves and goggles were removed piece by piece. they were then thoroughly doused with a bleach solution and incinerated. it's a meticulous process. but as far as we have seen even a small break in these protective efforts can be an opportunity for the virus to spread. >> dr. nancy snyderman starting us off with her report from liberia. and we spoke with her by phone a short time ago. i asked nancy how everyone in our traveling team is holding up there tonight. >> reporter: hello, brian. the team's doing well. obviously we're self-monitoring and keeping our eyes on each other. this is a team i have traveled with extensively to foreign countries before. so i think that teamwork comes into play when everyone is

stressed and a tenuous situation. sadly this epidemic shows no sign of slowing down. that's sort of adding to the social disintegration in parts of liberia. but we are under 21-day quarantine with a firm belief we'll come out the other end okay. and we believe that our co-worker is also going to be fine. and we just want the world's eyes remained focused on liberia. and we will be back to continue to cover this story. brian. >> nancy, thanks. dr. nancy snyderman updating us by phone a short time ago. such an urgent situation along the west coast of africa. much of the focus on ebola here in this country remains on a hospital and apartment complex in dallas, texas. and teams of what are known as contact tracers looking for anyone who might have come in tact with the victim here. there have been missteps as we said. and thus some people are worried our country is not prepared to

stop ebola here, our national correspondent kate snow at the hospital for us tonight in dallas. kate, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. those teams have identified 50 people who came into contact with duncan who they are now monitoring closely every single day to make sure they don't show any symptoms of ebola. and so far they have not. but meantime tonight because the patient may have not been totally frank about his experience with ebola, the local district attorney here says he may treat this as a criminal case. dallas county district attorney craig watkins says his office is investigating whether thomas eric duncan broke the law when he failed to disclose he'd been exposed to ebola and put so many others at risk. >> it may be more of a federal issue, but we are actively having discussions as to whether or not we need to look into this as it relates to a criminal matter. >> reporter: one week ago today the hospital says duncan told an er nurse he had not been around anyone ill. the same thing he told authorities when leaving

liberia. but it's not just what the patient did that's coming under scrutiny today. it's the response. last night the hospital acknowledged a flaw in its computer system when duncan told a nurse in the er he had recently traveled to africa. only nurses could see that noted on his electronic patient chart, not doctors. he was sent home. >> every step along the way failed. so how can you reassure the public that you've got this under control? >> the case has been identified. the case is being dealt with appropriately. >> reporter: still, it wasn't until this afternoon that a specialized cleaning crew finally sanitized and removed items from the apartment duncan had been living in where his girlfriend and others were quarantined. the city of dallas posted photos showing a car wrapped in plastic that they believe duncan rode in. why wasn't that done days ago? >> that's a great question. i don't have a good answer for you. >> reporter: who's in charge of that? >> once again, this is a partnership. i think the state or the county was actually handling that aspect of it. >> reporter: officials said today agencies are working together to protect the country

because there could be more ebola cases. >> it is entirely possible we will see another case, but we have a public health infrastructure and medical professionals throughout this country who are capable of dealing with cases if they present themselves. >> reporter: but the first test in dallas some experts believe is not going well. >> the country is absolutely not ready for a large-scale epidemic. i don't think ebola is going to be the cause of an epidemic, but it's given us a window into some serious flaws in our ability to respond effectively. >> reporter: the cdc says since july they've been sending guidance about ebola and how to deal with it to health care professionals across the nation. as one official said to us tonight, they need to do more. brian. >> kate snow at the dallas hospital. television helicopters overhead tonight. kate, thanks. no joy in reporting this either, the terrorist group isis today released a video appearing

to show yet another barbaric beheading, this time it's british aide worker alan henning, a taxi driver back home in the uk. he was taken hostage in syria the day after christmas last year while driving an ambulance in a convoy. also in the video a threat to kill another american hostage, former soldier and aide worker peter kasig. more on all of this tonight from our chief foreign correspondent richard engel. he's on the border between turkey and syria. richard, other than the loss of life, what's been accomplished here? what's isis trying to accomplish with these executions? >> reporter: good evening, brian. by executing this british aide worker and threatening an american next, that soldier who went to syria to help provide some humanitarian relief. isis is trying to provoke a response. isis wants to get the u.s. more deeply involved in this conflict, which isis firmly believes will be a quagmire for

the united states and any other country. look what isis is doing on the ground, on the battlefield. right now isis is focusing on the city of kobani. kobani is right on the turkish border. there are many other towns and cities inside syria that isis could be attacking. but it wants to attack kobani right under the noses of turkish soldiers. now turkey is considering getting more militarily involved. that's the isis strategy, expand the war. >> richard engel on the turkey/syria border for us tonight. on the other side of the world in hong kong violence again erupting today in the streets where thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators have been protesting for days. men in masks broke through barricades as police looked on and attacked the protesters who accused the government of using hired thugs to come after them. the protesters promptly called off planned talks with the beijing-backed government less than a day after those talks were first announced. in this country a big headline on the u.s. economy.

early this morning something we haven't been able to say for a very long time, the unemployment rate has fallen below 6% to 5.9%. notable because it's the lowest since july of '08 as employers added nearly a quarter million jobs last month. it is a clear sign of an improving u.s. economy, but sadly it's not all good news. nbc's tom costello has that report. >> reporter: to see where the best jobs are, look no further than cvent in virginia. the event management software company is hiring 500 employees, average salary $50,000. >> we get them young, we bring them out of college. >> reporter: it's all part of the big picture, job growth in the country is on the rebound with 248,000 jobs added in september. and just as important more jobs than first thought were also added in both july and august. that pushes the unemployment rate down to 5.9%. five years ago this month it was at 10%. >> we're seeing better paying jobs being created now than we

had seen at any prior stage in this economic recovery. >> reporter: the most jobs in business services, construction, health care and retail. and it follows more good news about strong economic growth in the second quarter. >> this is a tale of two countries. some folks are doing well, but large swaths of the country still aren't. and in total everybody's boat rises, we're not going to feel like the economy's truly recovered. >> reporter: more than 9 million americans are still looking for work, millions more are working part-time or underemployed. which means millions of families are struggling to keep up. tom costello. big cleanup after a line of powerful storms moved through knocking out power to hundreds, hurricane-force winds in some areas. one civic official in dallas said it was among the top 20 worst storms ever in that region. still ahead for us on a friday evening, hard knocks for

the peewees and tykes and parents divided over the danger. and our day at the playground, an inspiring and hutch-needed friday night making a difference. huffing and puffi. kind of like you sometimes, grandpa. well, when you have copd, it can be hard to breathe. it can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. so i talked to my doctor. she said.. doctor: symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. you should tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. grandfather: symbicort could mean a day with better breathing. watch out, piggies!

child giggles doctor: symbicort. breathe better starting within 5 minutes. call or go online to learn more about a free prescription offer. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. this is kathleen. setting up the perfect wedding day begins with arthritis pain and two pills. afternoon arrives and feeling good, but her knee pain returns... that's two more pills. the evening's event brings laughter, joy, and more pain... when jamie says... what's that like six pills today? yeah... i can take 2 aleve for all day relief. really, and...

and that's it. this is kathleen... for my arthritis pain, i now choose aleve. get all day arthritis pain relief with an easy-open cap. it's a friday night in october, that can only mean one thing in so many cities and towns across this country. it means football is being played on school fields everywhere and territory is being fought over a yard at a time. tonight we go to texas where

football has long been described more in religious terms. and we look at the effort to start players young in light of the headlines of late about the safety of the game so many of us love. nbc's janet shamlian has the story tonight from san antonio. >> reporter: grueling workouts in triple-digit heat. >> i don't care how much pain there is. >> reporter: push to the limit. >> quit crying. >> reporter: this is how football is played by elementary school children. and the reality show "friday night tykes" on the esquire network owned by nbc universal. >> we'll see who the fastest kids are, now we'll see who the meanest and strongest are now. >> reporter: it's an inside look at an ultracompetitive texas youth league where kids as young as 6 are encouraged to hit very hard. >> don't stop! >> reporter: but amid national outcry over concussion and high schoolers dying on the field, questions about whether it's all too much. >> in the less aggressive

leagues he gets a turn, no matter what. if he brings a half-hearted effort to the field, he gets a turn. he still gets to play. and that's not what it's like in the real world. >> reporter: lisa wants her 9-year-old here. >> you can do this. >> it's hard. >> reporter: it's hard core. two coaches were suspended, one for encouraging helmet-to-helmet play, so dangerous it's banned by the nfl. do you approve of the coach's method? >> absolutely not. not all the time. we've talked to them about that. >> reporter: matt is the show's executive producer. >> universal questions every parent asks. i'm a parent. you're a parent. we all want to figure out what is the best way to raise our child, what is best for our children. there are people in san antonio who are convinced this is the best way to raise their child. >> reporter: even in practice intense, helmets cracking, coaches yelling, these kids are 8 and 9 years old. >> if you don't push your kids, you're accepting failure.

you're enabling your kids to fail. >> reporter: the battlefield of practice sparking conversation on the culture of youth sports. janet shamlian, nbc news, san antonio. we're back in a moment with a stunning admission. we'll tell you who got turned down for a mortgage and why. when folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america. feet...tiptoeing. better things than the pain, stiffness, and joint damage of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist decide on a biologic, ask if xeljanz is right for you.

xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz can relieve ra symptoms, and help stop further joint damage. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. don't start xeljanz if you have any infection, unless ok with your doctor. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz and routinely check certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you have been to a region where fungal infections are common, and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take. one pill, twice daily, xeljanz can reduce ra pain and help stop further joint damage, even without methotrexate. ask about xeljanz.

even without methotrexate. on my journey across america, i've learned that when you ask someone in texas if they want "big" savings on car insurance, it's a bit like asking if they want a big hat... ...'scuse me... ...or a big steak... ...or big hair... i think we have our answer. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. creeping up on you... fight back with relief so smooth... ...it's fast. tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue ...and neutralizes stomach acid at the source. ♪ tum, tum tum tum... smoothies! only from tums. over the past four years pennsylvania has gone from 9th to 47th in job creation. and now, news about our economy is getting even worse. "pennsylvania's jobless rate is up for the second straight month as employment fell and unemployment rose."

"bond rating agency has cut pennsylvania's rating to double a minus because of recurring budget deficits." "the state government is out of cash and is scrambling to make sure school districts and state employees can even be paid." crews tonight are on the scene of a fire of all places at the flight 93 memorial in shanksville, pennsylvania. there are reports of extensive damage to the headquarters building there. but we are told that the flames did not affect the 9/11 memorial itself. the families of the passengers released a statement saying they are grateful no one was injured in this, that they like us are awaiting word on damages. what does it say about our economy that ben bernanke, former chairman of the federal reserve is having a hard time refinancing his home loan? he now believes based on personal experience that mortgage credit is excessively tight. not helping things, the fact that he recently changed jobs

and departed government service. weather forecasts are about to get better thanks to some new science called h-rrr. high resolution rapid refresh. the weather radar graphics we use today will look like quaint oil paintings in terms of sharpness. in addition to looking sharper, covering the whole nation and small localities, this new system will allow the folks at noaa, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, to forecast severe weather with specificity as much as 15 hours in advance. and nasa's out with new imagery showing how dire the drought has been in california. it shows the progression of the water emergency underway now in the central valley from '02 to 2014. when we come back, it won't look like a typical memorial when it's finished, but for these volunteers that is exactly the point. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis like me, and you're talking to your rheumatologist about a biologic... this is humira.

this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage in many adults. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. talk to your doctor and visit humira.com this is humira at work

i have $40,ney do you have in your pocket right now? $21. could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement?

i don't think so. well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years, that retirement challenge might not seem so big after all. ♪ finally here tonight, our making a difference report is an idea that originally came out of hurricane katrina down south. someone thought a playground was the best way to bring back life and love and laughter to one gulf coast neighborhood. and it went on from there. this past week we visited watertown, connecticut, to see

how the idea has grown and how playgrounds are helping heal the hurt from a violent modern day tragedy of a different kind. by this time next week it'll seem like children have always laughed and played here. and they won't all know why it's here. they don't have to. but we do. for the men and women working on it, this is emotional work. this is number 26. you see the number on hoodies and signs around this site. but this is what it stands for. there were 26 victims of the newtown shootings at sandy hook elementary school. and now there's a playground somewhere for all of them, a beautiful place for each beautiful face. and this last one is for the woman who looked over them all, the principal. all of this was the idea of one man, retired firefighter bill laven. >> celebrates who these children were, who the teachers were,

their favorite color. doesn't talk about how they left us but rather the color pink and purple and butterflies. >> reporter: bill had another idea, to build the playgrounds in towns that were hard hit by hurricane sandy. then all he had to do was put the word out and they came from everywhere. >> i'm a firefighter in corning, new jersey. >> mississippi. >> toronto, canada. >> reporter: everything you see here was donated, land, materials, the tradesmen working for free and all kinds of volunteers. >> it feels real good to help someone but want nothing in return. >> reporter: it's personal work the families of each sandy hook victim get to work on the playground dedicated to their family member. and for this project that includes dawn's grandchildren and daughters. what would your mother make of all of this? >> she would be so incredibly proud of her grandchildren. this really just explains who

she was. she was full of love and life and happiness. and this is something that i don't think she could have done better herself. >> reporter: the father of this project, bill, the retired firefighter, says this work has changed his life. >> my mom would say throw your problems in a pile with everybody else's. and you'd scramble to get yours back because this puts things in perspective for us. most of us have wonderful lives. complain about the normal things. but to watch people suffer the worst possible tragedy and then show such grace and courage to lift communities up by sharing their child's memory. kids will play here for generations. >> the new playground opens this weekend. we will be there with our cameras. we'll show you the grand opening here monday night. and we're always, by the way, looking to feature those who are making a difference. you can nominate someone in your community, share their story with us on our website. and you may see their story broadcast here on the air.

that is our broadcast on this friday night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we sure hope to see you right back here on monday night. in the meantime, have a good weekend. good night. breaking couples news. derek jeter and his super model girlfriend planning a secret weekend wedding? >> now on "extra." new video, derek jeter and hannah davis hours from tying

the knot? his undercover party plans at this famous castle and the clues jeter just dropped right here. >> do you want kids? >> i dodo. three reality star scandals. >> joe and teresa giudice prison bound. is divorce court next? then kim k. laughing off reports she forgot baby north in a hotel. plus, kendra wilkinson today, why she's standing by hank baskett after his alleged affair. >> i'd be so dumb to divorce him right now. ashton and mila's baby fakeout. >> they posted eight baby pics. which one is she? "extra" in the dead zone. >> alert. >> we've got "the walking dead" stars is and their makeovers from crypt to couture. >> yummy. plus, a.j.'s with sarah silverman rehearsing for this weekend's "snl." >> you have to fake laugh so much at this job. this is "extra" at universal studios hollywood, the entertainment capital