on this saturday night, state of emergency. the battle against wildfires in the west turns deadly with dozens of new blazes and thousands now in the fight as a dangerous heat waves sends temperatures soaring. double tragedy. just days after news that an american dentist killed a beloved lion, reports that his brother may also have been killed deadly waters. a hidden threat, old abandoned fishing nets still trapping and killing sea life. and in the running. as the political season heats up, we'll take you to the tiny town where the youth vote takes on a whole new meaning. "nightly news" begins now.

from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news". reporting tonight, erica hill. good evening. qaa is a tinder box tonight. that description from governor jerry brown, who declared a state of emergency and activated the national guard. you can see the power and the proximity of these flames. fueled by the state's long-running drought. and this week the excessive heat. more than 20 major fires are burning. tens of thousands of acres scorched, homes destroyed. on the front lines, a grim reminder of the danger thousands of firefighters face each day with news that one of their own has died. we get the latest from nbc's joe fryer. >> reporter: firefighters today are mourning one of their owns. an engine captain from south dakota died in the modoc national forest. across the state, 8,000 of his fellow firefighters are now on the front lines including northern california where the

massive rocky fire scorched 22,000 acres so far. >> over here we are probably seeing flames in excess of 100 feet. >> reporter: in hot, windy conditions things change change at a moment's notice. >> there are quite a few homes spread out throughout the area. >> reporter: 20 large wildfires are burning in california. lightning sparked more than 50 smaller fires in a single county. meanwhile, south of sacramento, a small grass fire quickly turned into a big neighborhood fire. setting off propane tanks like they were giant firecrackers. >> too big too quick. when i got there, all i saw was smoke and a eucalyptus tree go up before my eyes >> reporter: several mobile homes were destroyed, one one larry rodriguez just finished remodeling a week ago.

>> the house is the one that got burned down, not me. >> reporter: california national guard is mobilizing several of its helicopter toss attack from above. every day brings dozens of new fires down below. joe fryer, nbc news, los angeles millions of americans are still in the grip of a dangerous heat wave this weekend one that stretches coast to coast. the record-setting heat is linked to at least five deaths. kristen dahlgren has our update. >> heat advisory in effect for pugent sound. >> reporter: seattle down through oregon, the oppressive heat just won't quit. >> hot, hot, hot, hot. >> reporter: temperatures in the pacific northwest hovered near 100 or even higher today. the region on track for its hottest summer on record. in an area where many people don't have airair-conditioning. in portland, all the fans are overloading circuits, causing problems for food carts trying

to stay cool. seattle just finished its hottest month on record. 11 days over 90 degrees. no relief even for the ice cream man. >> well, you know, you try not to eat all your own profits. >> reporter: it's not just the northwest. in phoenix, the scorched earth blew up into a dramatic dust storm. in parts of texas the heat index hit the century mark. >> it's going to be another hot day out there. >> reporter: and nationwide parents are being reminded not to leave kids in parked cars. after a new jersey toddler was rescued this week. he's one of the luckies ones. so far this year 11 children from died after being left in hot cars. in new york, the mercury again soared near 90 today. not historic, but for those outside, nothing to mess with. >> it definitely is hot. >> reporter: a giant slip and slide was set up to help beat the heat.

>> have your guns ready to go? >> yes, we do. >> reporter: water is proving key to staying cool. >> reporter: that he wants the only way to do it today. >> that's the only way to do it. >> reporter: high temperatures expected until next week. this is an especially tense weekend in israel and the west bank. a teenage protesters died after being shot by israeli troops. that shooting happened yesterday during a demonstration over the death of a palestinian child. and a fire allegedly set by jewish extremists. we get the latest tonight from kelly cobiella. >> reporter: on the streets of the west bank today, a funeral and anger. palestinians buried two men, including a teenager, killed by an israeli soldier during violent clashes on friday. he was one of thousands protesting this, a palestinian family's home firebombed in the early hours of friday morning as they slept. neighbors heard their screams

and pulled the parents and their 4-year-old son from the flames. the 18-month-old a ali couldn't be saved. >> i did my best. but i didn't help him. he died >> reporter: the word revenge was spray painted on an outside wall. police say it's a so-called price tag attack by jewish extremists angry at palestinians and israelis called it terrorism. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu ordering security force toss find the attackers. >> we're shocked. we're outraged. we condemn this. there is zero tolerance for terrorism. >> reporter: but the palestinian prime minister said israel is to blame. our partner darren vincent spoke to him at the scene. >> the prime minister condemned this as terrorism and makes a promise to bring these a attackers to justice.

>> reporter: the israeli government vowed to crack down on jewish extremists but only a handful have been indicted. ali's family buried him on friday. three deaths in two days. in a land bracing for the consequences. kelly cobiella, nbc news. the wreckage from a wing that may be that of a missing airliner arrived in france today. nbc's bill neely has our report >> reporter: in the depths of the indian ocean lie the secrets of malaysian flight 370. but one piece of its mist relative may soon heal some clues. the boeing wing flap has arrived at a specialist a lab. next week experts will say if it's from the missing plane. some believe it is very likely.

>> does this relate to where we are getting more and more confident. >> reporter: but experts caution that it may only tell us that the plane crashed in the sea, not how or why. only the flight recorders or fuselage can tell that. but it can eliminate some theories. >> translator: looking at this piece, we can be almost sure there was no explosion or fire. a suitcase found nearby will also be examined for traces of dna that might match the missing passengers. experts say spotting more debris will be hard. it floats just below, not on the ocean surface. oceanographers say just because one piece of aircraft debris washed assure here doesn't mean more will follow. the debris fields could be vast, scattered right across the indian ocean. and finding anything relevant amid all this junk will be hard. australia leads the search

effort. still going 24/7, scouring the sea bed in an area the size of texas. the debris find may change that. >> it may influence some of the areas that we are covering. but that is yet to be determined. >> reporter: in reunion tonight, they pray for the families of the missing and for help in finding answers to so many questions. bill neely, nbc news, reunion. british investigators are trying to determine why a small private jet crashed while trying to land at an airport in southern england, killing four people. the plane was carrying three relatives of osama bin laden when it crashed into a parking lot at the end of a run way. police say they were saudi citizens in britain on vacation. the pilot was also killed. there are reports the brother of cecil the lion may have been killed as well. this comes just days after news of the killing of an american

dentist sparked worldwide outrage. today zimbabwe wildlife authorities, suspended the hunting of lions, elephants in the area where cecil was killed. we have more tonight from kerry sanders. >> reporter: the brother of cecil killed by american dentist walter palmer is also now feared dead. cecil left behind several cubs. it is believed his so-called brother jericho had been looking after them. the two lions in this photo befriended each other on a protected wildlife refuge in zimbabwe. both with radio tracking colors. tonight there are reports that jericho has been shot and killed by poachers. they were notified by phone that jericho had been killed. but they say they have yet to see evidence that's true. in a statement they said, it is with huge disgust and sadness we

have just been informed that jericho, cecil's brother, has been killed at 4:00 p.m. today. we are absolutely heartbroken. what's confusing, say researchers at another local wildlife location, is that jericho's collar remains active, sending a gps signal and movements suggest he's still alive. all of this unfolding as officials in zimbabwe push to extradite american walter palmer. >> i understand already the processes have started and we are looking forward for his extradition. >> reporter: palmer admitted to killing cecil, claiming he thought his guides obtained proper permits. no charges have been filed against doctor palmer. tonight while the investigation oversees ill's death continues, many in zimbabwe and beyond are holding out hope that his brother is still alive. kerry sanders, nbc news. in washington, a enough security barricade in front of

the white house was put to the test last night after a woman jumped over it. nbc's kristen welker is there for us tonight. kristen, good evening >> reporter: erica, good evening that. barricade is similar to a bike rack. it was put in place as an extra deterrent to-be fence jumpers. it occurred at 11:00 last night. they arrested a woman who jumped that so-called bike rack which sits 15 feet away from the main white house fence. she hasn't been identified but was charged with unlawful entry. the bike rack is only about three and a half feet high. but it gives the secret service extra time to react to potential threats. and in this case law enforcement officials say it worked. it is one of several new security measures put in place here at the white house after a string of security breaches, including when a man with a knife jumped the fence and made it deep inside the executive mansion last september.

other changes include extra patrols and spikes at the top of the fence area here. senator john mccain jumped into the campaign today not as a candidate but a friend trying to help senator lindsey graham who is struggling at the back of the large republican pack. we get more tonight from kelly o'donnell in new hampshire. kelly, good evening >> reporter: good evening, erica. for the first time in this chaotic campaign season, the republican party's 2008 nominee is back on the trail. but this time as wing man. with 17 in the race, it's hard to get attention. but voters here can still give lesser-known candidates a shot. a republican tag-team in new hampshire today. the actual presidential candidate is lindsey graham. >> do you want to go first? because i can't wait. >> reporter: but john mccain is along for a nostalgic return to the heart of new hampshire politics. the town hall meeting. >> mr. trump said he had a good relationship with vladimir

putin. i'm glad to have been sanctioned by vladimir putin. >> reporter: two come from behind wins in a new hampshire gop primary in 2000 and 2008. today he urged voters to give graham, who is lagging behind in polls, the same long shot chance. >> tell the others all around. say, go see lindsey graham >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with nbc news, mccain and graham talked strategy. >> show up, take every question, be insulted. whatever it takes to get your message out >> reporter: both weighed in on hillary clinton's candidacy and reports that joe biden may still be considering his own run. >> i think that he sees this truck factor of hillary clinton in a steep decline. and i think that he's examined hutchins. frankly, it's understandable that he would be. >> one thing, she is not going to be able to tell the american people, trust me. >> reporter: both have been

swept up in the public sword of front-runner donald trump. trump will be among the top 10 contenders in the first primetime debate on fox. but graham will be among several lower polling candidates shifted to an earlier forum. >> when i'm in the first debate, which is the happy hour debate at 5:00, start drinking. by 9:00 donald may make sense to you if you drink enough. >> reporter: and that comes up on thursday. now, we checked with the vice president's office, and they say joe biden is still focussed on family and immersed in his work. nobody says whether joe biden has or does not have any future political ambition. >> and the questions continue. kelly, thanks. tomorrow on "meet the press", our latest poll on the candidates which could tell us who will make the cut for the first were republican debate. >> when "nightly news" continues on this saturday, danger in the deep. the battle to rid the

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dive team for clean up. 15 stories below the surface is the in fadel which sank in 2006. but it continues to catch and kill marine life. it is referred to by many as ghost fishing. >> you go down and you see the nets draped over these beautiful ship wrecks or reefs and you see all of these dead or dying animals in the mets. >> reporter: she and her husband have been pulling nets out of the waters for years. as the team preps for today's dive down to the in fadel, they explain these lost nets are a worldwide problem. >> they did not realize what's happening underneath the ocean. you see beautiful blue water >> reporter: the nets come in all shapes and sizes.

in the north pacific ocean alone, reports estimate over 4300 miles are lost each year. that's nearly enough to stretch from los angeles to washington, d.c. and back. and on the infidel alone -- >> the team just picked up two different nets. this is one of the nets right here. it's really heavy. this type of net lasts about 40 years. >> reporter: the teamworking below describes it as a graveyard of bones where fishes, seals, even birds are trapped. every so often they find something still a alive. in their moments like this, when they came face to face with an 18 foot great white shark. >> it was spectacular. >> reporter: despite the hidden dangers they brave the deep to bring awareness to what lies beneath. gadi schwartz, nbc news, catalina island. the mets player driven to

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pint-sized where tomorrow is election day. and where james is running for the job his older brother bobby used to have. all with their parents okay. here's nbc's kevin tibbles. >> reporter: is this america's next political dynasty? meet the tufts brothers. testing the run-up of the waters prior to election day. >> okay. throw it in the water now >> reporter: they may be small fry but they are big names in dorsett, minnesota. population, 22. we first met former mayor bobby walking tall and carrying his big stick down main street. with a platform you just couldn't lick. >> if you're elected are we all going to get a free ice cream cone? >> yeah. >> now it's james's turn to scoop out a few votes. >> i'm going to give this to grandpa.

>> reporter: it will cost you a buck to vote. all proceeds going to the annual town fair. no super pac necessary. the kids already a favorite in the exit polls. >> james has been a great ambassador for dorsett. so has his brother robert. >> reporter: any advice from big brother? >> be nice to people and look them in the eye when you speak. >> reporter: but a warning to the curious, don't get too personal with the questions. >> are you married? >> no! >> reporter: still, bobby does have a few concerns. >> i'm nervous because if he wins it will take up all his fishing time and we won't get to go fishing that much. >> reporter: two years ago i said this, vote for mayor bobby. he won't kiss your baby, but he'll kiss your fish. this time around it's vote for james. why? >> because i like baby. >> reporter: talk about two political peas in a pod. kevin tibbles, nbc news,

dorsett, minnesota. >> and that is "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm erica hill reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today", and then right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

♪ toyota alumni night and some of the fans catching up with some of the members of the 2008 phillies. scott erick to the right. and it's the beginnings of weekend with schmidt. the phils and the braves game fl3 of this four game series. and now where they are now. the braves