>> i thought it was going to be cold tonight. i won't make it through the weekend. for all of us on "nbc10 news," thanks for watching. >> the news continues with "nbc nightly news." on the broadcast tonight, tragic confirmation. worst fears realized for the family of the last american held by isis. her powerful final message in a letter smuggled to her family. tonight, the mystery of how and when she died. out of control, tempers flare as over six feet of snow pile up on roads and routes. there's nowhere to put it and there's more snow on the way. caught on camera a wild chase through southern california an armed suspect on the run, crashing carjacking and a woman's split-second decision at the point of a gun. and chronic fatigue syndrome misunderstood and often underdiagnosed especially among women. doctors say it's very real and they're laying out the symptoms to look for. "nightly news" begins now.

>> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. >> i'm lester holt tonight sitting in for brian. anxious months and months of hope and worry has turned to unimaginable grief today for family and friends of hostage kayla mueller. kayla is in fact dead. her isis captors first reported her death last week claiming she died in a jordanian air raid. but offered no proof at the time. leaving her family back in arizona a glimmer of hope. today president obama said about the young aid worker how she lived her life she epitomized all that is good in our world. it is the written words of kayla herself that tells us who she is and defines her remarkable courage. the report from her hometown, prescott, arizona. >> reporter: emotions are strong tonight a year and a half after

kayla was taken captive by isis. they received a message from her captors confirming her death. >> kayla has touched the heart of the world. the world grieves with us. the world mourns with us. the world wants to be more like kayla. and if that is her legacy and the footprint she leaves on the world, then that is a wonderful thing. >> reporter: u.s. officials tell nbc news the family received a photograph of mueller that appeared to show her dead with trauma injuries but it's difficult to determine the cause of death. in a statement mueller's parents say their hearts are breaking for our only daughter but we will continue on in peace, dignity and love for her. her family also released a letter handwritten by mueller last spring while she was in captivity. i have a lot of fight left inside of me she wrote. i'm not breaking down and i will not give in no matter how long it takes. >> i am in solidarity with the syrian people. >> reporter: 26-year-old mueller was working for aid groups along

the turkish/syrian border in august 2013. in a statement president obama says no matter how long it takes, the united states will find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible for kayla's captivity and death. >> on behalf of the people of arizona, and the united states congress i want to express the deepest condolences. >> we pray for kayla today. >> reporter: over the weekend in arizona, they prayed for mueller's return. tonight, they're grieving her loss. >> she was a fine young lady. that's for sure. and she's done prescott well. >> reporter: in mueller's letter which was smuggled out by her cell mate she said at the time she was in a safe location completely unharmed and healthy and treated with respect. what's unclear tonight is how exactly she died and when. >> joe fryer, thanks. journalists and aid workers

beheaded a jordanian military pilot burpedned alive. president obama is expected to ask congress this week to formally authorize the use of force against isis, though there's a good deal of force being applied already. richard engel has more for us. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. in many ways the international coalition against isis has never been stronger. and critically arab allies are now fighting with ooh renewed enthusiasm. the air strikes are coming harder, and faster now, bombing runs by the u.s. jordan and the united arab emirates flying new missions against isis targets in iraq and flying them from jordan, showing solidarity after the killing of a jordanian pilot. but they said the air strikes are not slowing it down and claims they cost american hostage kayla mueller her life.

isis says mueller was in this building near raqqa targeted by jordan at the direction of the united states. a claim dismissed by the commander of jordan's air force in an interview with nbc's kiera simmons isis also claims the u.s. is allied with syrian president assad, because they're both bombing isis. in a rare interview, assad hinted to the bbc that the two countries are in touch, though not directly. >> there's no dialogue. >> they tell you things? >> some things. >> you tell them things? >> no. >> reporter: this war is making strange bedfellows. president obama, who in 2011 said assad had to go. now faces a far more dangerous foe, isis. but isis has a problem. it's almost out of western hostages. at least one person is still missing in the middle east

journalist austin tykes. they do have british journalist john. in a video released this week he calls on isis supporters in the west to launch attacks. with the dwindling number of hostages left to kill such attacks may be a way for isis go deeper into battle. having and killing hostages has been a central way for isis to lash out at nations attacking it. now that it is running out of hostages the fear is isis could look for other ways to do that lester. >> richard engel tonight, thank you. tonight u.s. officials are telling nbc news the u.s. will announce shortly that it is temporarily closing the american embassy in yemen. as unrest grew there three weeks ago, most personnel were already moved out and all but emergency services with are suspended. the rebel group announced a

formal takeover of the capital on friday but the pentagon insisted today that critical american counterterror operations will continue inside the country. tonight the snow is finally stopped falling in boston now. tempers have reached a boiling point as most mass transit has come to a grinding halt and there is more snow on the way. ron, good evening. >> reporter: hey, lester good evening. this whole plaza should be full of people trying to get underground to get a train home. today there were no trains. that's got a lot of people pointing fingers at the transit chief, and today she fired back. in every nook and cranny snow so much the governor is calling up 500 members of the national guard, and asking neighboring states for help. on snow-packed railways snowzillas are roaring, trying

to clear the tracks for a morning commute. passengers forced to walk trains crippled. >> i want to move. i just want to get out of here. >> reporter: today a demand for answers. >> everybody is tired as heck. they are frustrated as heck. they are mad as heck. and they want all of this snow to go away. >> reporter: boston's embattled chief beverly scott redirected blame to the aging rail system. >> for anyone to have any belief that a system that's over 100 years old, to think it's going to have the resilience to wind up rebounding and flying like an eagle, that is absolutely the epitome of and i'm not going to say foolish. >> reporter: the governor called the disruption -- >> everybody is scrambling and working enormously hard to deal with all the issues this creates. >> reporter: the heavy snow piling up for weeks, now triggering building and roof collapses, and urgent plea for people to clear theirs. and with so many homebound,

including school kids -- >> they've been out of school more than they've been in school the last few weeks. >> reporter: they say stress is piling up like the snow. >> the last two days folks getting into downtown boston from the suburban communities, it's been incredibly stressful on the city as a whole. >> reporter: and there's no end in sight. one surn town now dumping its snow in the ocean. >> there are two more quick-moving systems that could drop snow thursday night and sunday. this weekend across the northeast, the coldest temperatures so far this season. >> reporter: now, government offices and schools are set to reopen tomorrow. the t is offering limited service. asking if they can be flexible and let people work from home another day. we learned today it's now eight babies who have measles in a day care outside chicago which we first reported on last week. this outbreak has spread to at

least 122 people nationwide triggering another alert today from health officials on capitol hill. they hope parents who have been afraid to vaccinate their children can now be convinced to change their minds. our report tonight from nbc's halle jackson. >> reporter: the baileys in southern california never planned on giving kingston the measles vaccine until now. what changed your mind? >> we had the measles outbreak happening in our backyard. the diseases that i think our jen rakes is not too familiar with. i have to make sure that he's safe. >> reporter: eileen and her husband examples of a new attitude that health officials hope to see more of to stop the spread of measles, reported in 18 states. on capitol hill today, warnings this may grow because of clusters of people who choose not to immunize. >> some of those unvaccinated microcommunities may be getting larger. >> reporter: changing those minds can be hard. a study in pediatrics found pro-vaccine messages actually backfired with some parents already opposed to immunization

making them feel defensive and less likely to vaccinate their kids down the road. doctors say another group of people are at risk too, parents who think it's safer to delay giving the measles shot like courtney stewart. >> i would go in for the vaccine and i felt really nervous and it made me feel really uncomfortable. >> reporter: she is the uncommitted 13 million people who do not follow the guidelines. levi is 5, and this is his first shotter. >> doing this today, i didn't hesitate. i didn't feel bullied into it. >> reporter: doctors say parents should stick to the schedule since delaying the vaccine can make it less effective. >> a lot of my decision-making was based more on fear not facts. if i could go back in time i really would have done my research. >> reporter: and public health officials hope that message is what spreads now. hallley jackson, nbc news irvine california. terrifying moments aboard a

u.s. airways plane forced to make an emergency landing in houston. when it was time to land the nose gear would not deploy. it wasn't pretty but the pilot managed to rest the plane down easily on that nose. 56 people were aboard, at least one taken to the hospital with minor injuries. to southern california a wild chase through the streets and freeways of los angeles. an armed suspect on the run, police on his trail. a very dangerous situation playing out last night as he slammed into several drivers along the way and then carjacked a woman at gun point. we get our report from nbc's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: they had their hands full. rush hour in los angeles. a high-speed pursuit for a suspect in a stolen car, weaving across freeways through red lights and often the wrong way. >> it's so dangerous. >> reporter: the drama televised live. >> we've got police chasing a suspect down there. >> reporter: the intense chase

lasted 45 minutes. four vehicles are rammed. the mangled car, now he's on foot. a 22-year-old woman is carjacked. >> i see them running towards me, i kind of froze. i stopped the car. >> reporter: after attempting a second carjacking the suspect is shot and wounded. incredibly no other serious injuries. in a city known for wild pursuits this is one of the most dramatic. miguel almaguer nbc news los angeles. big news in technology. apple has become the first american company to close the day worth more than $700 billion. that's roughly the equivalent of $100 for every man, woman and child on earth. not that they're planning on giving it away. still ahead here tonight,

chronic fatigue, a mysterious and often misunderstood disease. doctors say it's very real and they're laying out the specific symptoms you should be looking for. also paying it forward. a slice at a time something really special happening with pizza. but when i started having back pain my sister had to come help. i don't like asking for help. i took tylenol but i had to take six pills to get through the day. so my daughter brought over some aleve. it's just two pills, all day! and now, i'm back! aleve. two pills. all day strong, all day long. and now introducing aleve pm for a better am. at ally bank no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like mute buttons equal danger. ...that sound good? not being on this phone call sounds good. it's not muted. was that you jason? it was geoffrey! it was jason. it could've been brenda.

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in this day and age, ask most americans if they're tired, and the answer will probably be a bhig yes. that's why people who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome can have a hard time being taken

seriously, even by their doctors. a medical panel declared it not only real but the vast majority of people who suffer from it haven't even been diagnosed. our report on that tonight from nbc's ann thompson. >> reporter: morning rush at this family's home. robin and warren get themselves and their daughters ready for the day. but robin battles more than the clock. she has chronic fatigue syndrome. >> no matter how much i sleep, i'm still tired. >> reporter: it started when robin was just 23. after three years of doctors' appointments and tests, she finally got a diagnosis. how hard was it to convince doctors something was wrong? >> it was very hard. i remember being told that you just need to relax more. >> reporter: calling it a serious debilitating condition. today the institute of medicine issued a new set of symptoms to help doctors recognize the disease. patients must have a drop-off in normal activity for at least six

months with profound exhaustion sleep that doesn't refresh, and symptoms that get worse after physical or mental exertion. plus either cognitive impairment what patients call brain fog, or symptoms only improves when the patient lies down. it affects up to 2.5 million americans, more famously the author of "seabiscuit" and "unbroken." >> it clearly defines this illness as a physical disease. and i use the word disease not a syndrome. >> reporter: that's reflected in the new name by the institute, systemic exertion intolerance disease, a real disease with real consequences for its sufferers. ann thompson nbc news white plains new york. our medical contributor joins us a rheumatologist and treats the disease. how hard is it to diagnose and

treat this? >> there is no diagnostic test. we base it really on the patient's history, physical exam and excluding other disorders that can mimic it. treatment varies. some are candidates for medicine. cognitive behavioral therapy can be very effective, exercise can be very effective. what's highlighted in the segment here is it's brought this disease or syndrome to light. it's a very good education for physicians across a whole range of disciplines so they can diagnose and refer people to physicians who are suffering from it. >> thanks very much. >> thank you. we're back in a moment with a big show caught on camera at a vegas casino after dark where things didn't go exactly quite as planned. toenail fungus? don't hide it... tackle it with new fda-approved jublia! jublia is a prescription medicine proven to treat toenail fungus.

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with 3 types of good bacteria. live the regular life. phillips' the world is filled with air. but for people with copd sometimes breathing air can be difficult. if you have copd, ask your doctor about once-daily anoro ellipta. it helps people with copd breathe better for a full 24hours. anoro ellipta is the first fda-approved product containing two long-acting bronchodilators in one inhaler. anoro is not for asthma. anoro contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. it is not known if this risk is increased in copd. anoro won't replace rescue inhalers for sudden copd symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition, or high blood pressure. tell your doctor if you have glaucoma, prostate or bladder problems, or problems passing urine as anoro may make these problems worse. call your doctor right away if you have worsened breathing chest pain, swelling of your mouth

or tongue, problems urinating or eye problems including vision changes or eye pain while taking anoro. nothing can reverse copd. the world is filled with air and anoro is helping people with copd breath air better. get your first prescription free at anoro.com. if you've ever had one of those days where it feels like the cosmos are smiling down upon

you, maybe you were more right than you know. the hubble telescope caught this image that looks an awful lot like a smiley face in space. the two points of light that look like the eyes are separate distant galaxies and the smile is caused by gravitational warping. the biggest show in vegas last night was the implosion of the clarion casino hotel near the strip known for years as the debby reynolds who used to own it. not everything happened as plan. the elevator core remained standing. leaning to the side. crews are now working to finish the job. when we come back it's sort of like a take a penny leave a penny idea if the penny, that is, is a pizza. ♪ during its first year,

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nobody told us to expect it... intercourse that's painful due to menopausal changes it's not likely to go away on its own. so let's do something about it. premarin vaginal cream can help 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 it if you've had unusual bleeding breast or uterine cancer blood clots, liver problems, stroke or heart attack, are allergic to any of its

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much as pizza. a pizza shop in philadelphia customers can spread that goodwill every time they order a slice. chanel jones has tonight's making a difference report. >> reporter: it's not your ordinary pizza shop. lining these walls, thousands of post-it notes, each worth one free slice, put there by a customer who wanted to feed someone in need by donating a slice. >> we've given away 9,000 slices so far. >> reporter: mason left a three-year career on wall street. >> on bad days i wish i wouldn't do this and on good days i'm like i'm really glad i did this. we help so many people, that i cast go back. >> reporter: mason admits he didn't start out intending to feed the needy. it was his customers who cooked up the idea and now keep it going, feeding about 40 people every day. >> it feels great to be able to help somebody else.

>> reporter: they leave a post-it note with a message. do you have a favorite? >> yeah. i like this one right here. it's an angel holding a hot slice of pizza with a heart inside. >> reporter: it doesn't feel so much like a handout to casey, homeless for six months. >> it's not something you're begging from someone else. the fact that it's a gift makes it taste that much better. >> just like any other restaurant recognizes their customers. >> reporter: for those in need it's food for the soul. chanel jones, nbc news philadelphia. that's our broadcast for this tuesday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt in for brian. we hope you to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. [screams] oh! [howls] (adam) you're going down, son. [laughs]

>> bobbi kristina's family letting her die on the anniversary of whitney's death? >> now, on "extra." bobbi kristina's date with death? the family response to the frorchd front page shocker they are taking off her off life support on the exact date of whitney's tragedy. now trending, bruce jenner back behind the wheel after his deadly car crash. and kanye under fire for his grammys rant. >> he is getting blasted by the stars. who told him to grow up and stop throwing his toys? >> plus hot gossip from the grammy afterparty sam smith spotted with a new mystery man. the voice stars extra wrong. >>