on the broadcast tonight -- day of rage. as tens of thousands in egypt defy government forces, sparking deadly new confrontations. plus, is the u.s. indirectly aiding the crackdown? back to school. at the scene of a massivend destructive tornado that killed dozens, the memories still raw and tornado safety still a big issue. desperate hours. we travel deep into the idaho wildernesses on horseback where the fbi tracked down that kidnapped teenager. tonight we speak with the horse back riders who spotted her and made the critical call. and reversal of fortd tune. how a young man, once homeless,

made enough money in a week to head off to college today. "nightly news" begins now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news with brian williams". good evening. i'm lester holt sitting in for brian. the world can only stand by and watch in horror today as one of the most vital countries in the middle east spiralled deeper into chaos and maybe even civil war. in egypt, two days after hundreds of its supporters died in the face of a government crackdown, the muslim brotherhood made good on its promise to take to the streets again in what it billed as a day of rage. the outcome was the one many feared. tonight an estimated 100 people are dead in cairo and other egyptian cities, and, once again, our richard engel was there to witness it all. he joins us now from cairo. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. there are now open battles between supporters of egypt's

democratically elected president and the military who removed him. and today the two sides clashed violently here in cairo. in cairo's aramsey square, just after three hours, it turned. gunshots rang out, demonstrators set bonfires, prayed for strength, broke stones for ammunition, slid barricades into place, and ramsey square, named for egypt's greatest pharaoh, became a front line. the protesters are taking cover under this elevated highway and seem to be taking life fire from a police station just up the road. wounded were hoisted on to motorcycles and ferried to clinics. some already looked dead. egypt says it's fighting its own war on terrorism and is running 24-hour coverage, demonizing the

muslim brotherhood. north of cairo, the army shot to kill. but in alexandria, thousands supported the pro0 testers. in ramsey square, we followed the wounded to a nearby field hospital. a mosque where some protest rz arrived barely alive. after chest compressions, we watched this man die. medics closed another protester's eyes, wrote his name on his forehead, and made room for the next victim. dr. mohammed moonsef had been walking by the mosque when he came in to help. >> i'm not with the muslim brotherhood. just trying to save lives. >> reporter: as the doctor made his rounds, his son-- this man screamed that his son was shot in the neck. >> i think he's dead. >> reporter: moonsef called for an air pump but just after working for a minute, his

initial assessment was correct. >> reporter: moonsef, himself a father, told the man his teenage son is now in heaven. from windows above the mosque, women looked down at what is happening in this ty, some stoic, others horrified. the situation now is so tense, lester, that, as we were on our way back to the bureau tonight, we were stopped at several different checkpoints where people were leaning into our car to see which side we were on, the muslim brotherhood or the military. and this could be repeating itself again and again. the muslim brotherhood is now calling for a week of daily protests. >> richard, thank you. and the u.s. has a lot riding on a democratic egypt, which it has long seen as a linchpin to its strategy for a secure and stable middle east. so what can the u.s. do to put pressure on the egyptian government to end the violence? a lot, actually, so why won't it? nbc's david gregory tonight on the obama administration caught

between a rock and a hard place. >> reporter: egypt's bloody crackdown has critics asking whether american taxpayers are footing the bill for all the violen violence. why the blame? follow the money. the amount of u.s. aid to egypt is an estimated $1.5 billion each year, including aircraft and tanks and military training for officers. only four other countries, including israel and iraq, get more. the president may condemn the violence -- >> we deplore violence against civilians. >> reporter: -- but won't call for an end to the aid. one adviser called that a, quote, knee-jerk move at this point. critics argue the time is now. america's only leverage to pull egypt back from the brink is the money. >> at the end of the day, i don't want american dollars to be used by this interim government to basically kill their way into power. >> reporter: u.s. aid to egypt dates back to the camp david

accords of 1979. it buys the u.s. military's access to the suez canal which connects the mediterranean to the red sea, ensures peace with israel and the sinai desert and is supposed to provide support for democracy in egypt. what democracy, you might ask, as the military has jailed democratically elected leaders and crushes protests in the street. >> anybody in egypt looking at the united states would see that we really don't have a game plan. we don't have a strategy. we have not articulated how we want to see this end. >> reporter: u.s. officials are hopeful egypt will pull back, noting the deep and historic ties between the u.s. and egyptian militaries. what's more, if america cuts off aid now, other countries have promised to fill the void. >> if we were to cut off aid, we would have no leverage with anybody in egypt, which is really the strategic nerve center of the arab world.

>> that is why the stakes are so high here. but the real question is whether america lacks the influence it once had in the region. with centuries of religious and sectarian scores to settle. lester? >> there's nothing easy about any of this. david, thanks. i know we'll have a lot more on "meet the press" sunday. see you then. there is extreme weather and more misery on the way tonight for millions of people in the south, for whom rain has become a dirty word. we want to bring in weather channel meteorologist jim cantore for the latest now. jim, good evening. >> lester, good evening. the wet summer continues in the south, and of course the preexisting conditions are making it worse. several states, florida the first here in the top five wettest julys on record. look at this, all of these are top five states. that means the soil is already wet, and when we're talking about bringing in tropical moisture, which we are this weekend, that does not make it easy for anybody, really from new orleans all the way up to charleston, south carolina. here is the setup, the jet stream dips, pulls the moisture

northward. so many areas that have already had rain, even today around savannah, george georges, where they've had flooding they're getting it again. the stalled front provides the poke r focus for that rain and unfortunately it's asitting from charleston to new orleans. we'll see round and round of rains this weekend in some cases three to five inches so it won't take much for this area to flood. the first to go, savannah tonight, flash flooding in the city. lester, back to you. >> jim, thanks. meanwhile, in the west, firefighters say they're getting a massive wildfire near park city, utah, under control tonight thanks to calm winds. but it could be at least one night before all the families who have had to evacuate the fire zone will be allowed to return home. it's been an emotional day in moore, oklahoma, as the new school year began and many students returned to temporary schools, their own two elementary schools destroyed in may's devastating tornado. here's what moore looked like before that tornado and we'll show you how it looked around after its 17-mile path of

destruction killed 24 people and wiped out scores of homes and businesses. tonight, our national correspondent kate snow is in moore at the site of what was plaza elementary school. kate? >> reporter: lester, these are seven crosses for the seven young children who died here. they're rebuilding now for next year, but today students headed back to school at a temporary facility just down the road. there were smiles and hugs. >> are you excited today? >> reporter: back-to-school jitters compounded by all they've been through. >> a lot of her friends aren't coming back this year so it's been a rough summer. we're still not ready. >> reporter: today teachers did all they could to provide some normalcy. but it's hard to forget as xavier delgado waved at our camera today, he was pulled free in may after being trapped under a wall. >> i heard banging on the building and then the building just fell. >> reporter: six of the seven killed were in xavier's class.

their teacher ms. don stian sti recovering. >> this is what i want to do and where i want to be so i do want to come back. >> reporter: does this school have a storm shelter? >> no. >> reporter: if a storm hits this year, students would be moved to the junior high next it door to interior rooms. this doesn't look super sturdy. >> it's not tornado-proof but it's the safest place. >> reporter: it's the best you've got. >> right. >> reporter: but it's not enough for the legg family. >> when you hear that your school is the safest place to be and it blows away, literally everything around you goes up in the sky, you no longer feel safe. >> reporter: their son christopher died in may. they pulled their other two children out of plaza towers and put them in the one elementary school in moore that has a certified shelter. even so -- >> last night was full of anxiety. last night was, mommy, my stomach hurts, i don't want to eat or sleep. can i go to bed with you?

>> reporter: for principal amy simpson, one of the hardest parts is knowing that some kids no longer feel safe here. >> i'm afraid that they've lost the trust and that they've lost the security that we had before may 20th. >> reporter: but for many, just being back in school was therapy. >> just to have them in my classroom is exciting, that i get to love on them and comfort them and heal together with them during this time. >> reporter: they're trying to think of everything. there was rain in the forecast today, and principal simpson was worried that the sound of the rain on the new roof might scare the kids. well, the rain held off, lester. the sun is still shining. >> kate, thanks for bringing their story to us. there are new revelations that the national security agency intercepted e-mails and tracked phone numbers of americans in violation of its own rules. just a week after the president promised new steps to protect the public, "the washington post" reports that nsa leaker edward snowden provided proof of the nsa's record of breaking

privacy rules thousands of times. the agency says these were mistakes, not willful violations of the rules, and the white house tonight says the documents show the nsa is catching and reporting its own mistakes. still ahead on "nbc nightly news," an nbc news exclusive. we return to the mountains of idaho with the riders who gave authorities their big break about the kidnapping of hannah hander son. and later, news of a secret revealed after decades of speculation about what really went on inside area 51. g all th. it was very painful situation. i'm very athletic and i swim in the ocean. shingles forced me out of the water. the doctor asked me "did you have chickenpox when you were a child?" the pain level was so high, it became unbearable.

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weekend. and an exclusive first look at where she was found. hannah attended a fund-raiser for her family last night in san diego. friends saying she is grateful for the support. we know that the big break in the case came from a group of horse back riders who came across anderson and her abductor by chance in the wilderness. nbc's kevin tibbles made his way into that area and has our report. >> reporter: the craggy mountain trails and high pines of northern idaho are majestic and treacherous, which is why when these four seasoned riders came upon a man and a young girl 20 miles from the nearest paved road, something didn't seem right of the after all a, one is a former sheriff and the other a backcountry guide. >> thwe definitely knew somethi was drastically wrong. >> reporter: one thing in particular stood out. >> cradling the cat and just stroking it. kind of odd. >> reporter: it was only after they returned home and saw the

amber alert for 16-year-old han ana anderson that they became alarmed and called police. >> the horse back riders who saw dimaggio and hannah, that was tip number 200. and it turned out to be the one. >> reporter: for the past two days, mark and christa john and mike and mary young took nbc news along as they retraced their tracks. >> when they come into the lake and seen this beautiful lake, they thought they were alone. >> reporter: this backcountry is so remote it's even called the river of no return wilderness area. and the four riders say they rarely encounter anyone up here. nothing but rock and ridge for mile after mile has left them in awe that the young hostage in tennis shoes and sweats even made it this far. >> they call us heroes, but she's more than likely the hero. >> reporter: if this chance encounter far from civilization hadn't taken place, these four

riders shudder to think what might have happened. >> i don't know if we saved her life. i know we set the stage for somebody else to save her life. >> reporter: a chance encounter on a remote trail that likely saved a life. a search of james dimaggio's burned-out home found guns, incendiary devices and after spending two days in the woods with these riders, it's very apparent that this remote place and this chance finding were remarkable. lester? >> kevin tibbles tonight. thank you. we're back in a moment with news about a military secret revealed. also, why some zoo visitors did a double take at the lion exhibit. [ female announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain

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he was later cleared of wrong dog. president carter in a statement called lance a dedicated public servant and close friend. bert lance was 82. the truth is out, and tonight it's a victory for all those conspiracy theorists who thought they knew what's been going on at a sprawling plot of land in the nevada desert known as area 51. nbc's pete williams has details of a secret that's inspired a lot of speculation. >> reporter: the movies have been on to it for decades, something weird in the nevada desert. >> take my word for it. there's no area 51. >> that's not entirely accurate. >> reporter: 8,000 square miles an hour and a half drive north of las vegas, one so secret that people who work there, like radar and missile expert thornton barnes, could not tell their own wives. >> she had no idea where we were and thought we was in another country. >> reporter: the movies were right about one thing.

it was a super secret government testing site in a dry lakebed, its exact locationing long suspected and now revealed on this newly declassified government map, where the cia developed a cold war spy plane called the u-2. >> we obviously didn't want the soviet union to know about it and to ensure that, they wanted aa facility where it could be tested away from everybody else. >> reporter: but the need for test flights soon caused a huge spike in reports of ufos. the declassified cia documents say, as the sun set, commercial planes were flying in the dark while the u-2s 40,000 feet higher would still reflect the sun's rays and appear to be fiery objects. >> it can't be aircraft. aircraft can't maneuver like that. >> what else could it be? >> reporter: in all these newly declassified files there's nothing about aliens or their captured spacecraft. >> they're here, aren't they? >> mr. maulder, they've been here for a long, long time. >> reporter: leaving ufo buffs

to wonder what's next to be declassified. pete williams, nbc news, washington. and anyone there's the story of a lion who was living a lie. a chinese zoo is under fire for trying to disguise a dog for a lion. really? visitors thought something was strange when the beast inside the lion's cage started to bark. instead of roar. think that's a clue? the animal was actually aty betten mastiff, with a lane not unlike a lion's a. in its defense, the zoo says it wasn't trying to deceive anyone. just making due while the lion was away for breeding. when we come back, the young man who's following a dream thanks to a lot of people who never met him but were moved by his story. do you mind grabbing my phone and opening the capital one purchase eraser? i need to redeem some venture miles before my demise. okay. it's easy to erase any recent travel expense i want. just pick that flight right there. mmm hmmm. give it a few taps, and...it's taken care of.

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>> wow. >> reporter: but, unlike most kids, he won't miss the place he used to call home. >> where i slept was right around here. >> reporter: james was homeless for four years. he shared this cramped room in a shelter with his mother, younger brother and sister. >> i would just stare at the stars in the sky. >> reporter: his window to the world overlooked the streets of l.a.'s skid row. >> this is the place that i'll never forget. i would try to hide it from people, but now as i've gotten older i've realized that it was nothing to be embarrassed about to be begin with. >> reporter: james did well in high school, his ticket out of here. howard university offered to cover 70% of his expenses but he was still short $14,000. >> he's not looking for a handout. i he's just looking for a chance. >> reporter: jessica southerly, a volunteer at the shelter who also had been homeless launched the james fund, a web site that asks strangers for donations. after a tweet and plugs from celebrities, in just seven days

jessica's web site homeless to howard hit the target, though just for this year. >> i didn't know what to feel. i was -- i didn't believe it. it felt too surreal. it was like a dream. >> reporter: he's left skid row behind with this message. >> no matter who you are or where you are in life or what social class you're in, there's always somewhere out there to help you or someone out there who you can help. >> reporter: today james boarded a plane to get his college education, but he's already learned some of life's most important lessons through the kindness of strangers. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. as we end another week, brian has asked that we pass along his thanks to all of you, all the folks who have sentd best wishes to him following the knee replacement surgery he underwent 11 days ago. he is continuing to recover and has written about his expernce on our web site tonight so check it out. that's our broadcast for this friday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt in for brian. i'll see you a bit later on

"dateline." but, for now, good night and have a good weekend.