on the broadcast tonight, not again. chilling flashbacks as children run from danger, a gunman with an assault rifle in their school. tonight, a big scare raising new security questions as the school year starts across the country. in cold blood. a bright young athlete gunned down while out for a run, and police s teenagers did it because they were bored. tonight, a shocking crime jolts the heartland. health scare for the vice president's son. a young stroke survivor now facing a new challenge. and top of the world. ann curry tonight in the place they call iceberg alley with a

fwr breathtaking view that's disappearing fast. "nightly news" begins now. >> announcer: from nbc world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news with brian williams." >> good evening, i'm lester holt sitting in for brian. we shudder at the thought as to how this broadcast might have read. the word of shots fired inside mcnair discovery learning center in decatur, georgia, was quickly followed by images of s.w.a.t. teams surrounding the school, children being hurried to safety by teachers. a scene we have witnessed far too many times with horrifying outcomes. this time thankfully no one was injured, but as the school year begins around the country, today's scare raises new and difficult questions about what we have really learned from the newtown tragedy. nbc's gabe gutierrez joins us from decatur now with details. gabe? >> reporter: lester, all 800-plus students have been

accounted for tonight, and no injuries have been reported. visitors are supposed to be buzzed into the school, but somehow the suspect got through. a terrifying scene in suburban atlanta. a reported gunman and an elementary school, children being quickly herded to safety, and dozens of officers swarming. >> why would you run into an elementary school with innocent babies? >> reporter: around lunchtime, police say a 19-year-old man wearing dark clothes walked into the front office at ronald mcnair discovery learning academy with an ak-47 and told the clerk to call a local tv station. as officers approached, police say he stepped outside the school and fired at least six shots. when police fired back, he dropped to the ground and surrendered. no one was injured. >> i never thought something like this would happen in my neighborhood, period. >> reporter: for linda bell, it was three hours of agony. the wait for her 6-year-old son. >> my husband called and said hey, the baby is -- there's a

gunman at his school. i'm, like, what? >> reporter: hundreds of other panicked parents crowded with her in this walmart parking lot. but many here are also asking how a man allegedly with a weapon got into the building. >> he entered that property, coming in we suspect behind someone. >> reporter: eight months after 20 students and 6 teachers were gunned down at sandy hook elementary in connecticut. many schools have tightened security, hired armed guards, even sponsored shooting sessions. >> how did he get in the school? >> let's make sure the kids are safe first. >> reporter: tonight they are safe. tragedy avoided. there is late word tonight from the police chief that the suspect held employees captive inside the school. investigators are not identifying that suspect or saying what his motive is right now. but detectives do say that a k-9 unit detected possible

explosives in his car nearby. lester? >> gabe, thanks. halfway across the country from there in oklahoma, another big story involving gun violence is getting a lot of attention because of the shocking nature of the crime in the reason. police say a group of teenagers killed a young man in cold blood, a stranger who was just out for a jog. we get our report tonight from nbc's randy mcelwane. >> reporter: 22-year-old christopher lane was out for an afternoon jog on the streets of duncan, oklahoma, friday when a car pulled up beside him and someone opened fire. witnesses say lane was shot in the back and fell to his knees. he was pronounced dead at a hospital. >> this is not something that we see happening here, and i'm going to do everything that i can to ensure that we see these three thugs pay for what they did to christopher lane. >> reporter: the australian was in the u.s. to pursue his passion, baseball, attending east central university in ada, oklahoma, on a baseball scholarship.

police arrested three teenage suspects who they say have no connection to drugs or gangs. duncan police chief danny ford says they had a more chilling motive. >> as was stated by the 17-year-old, "we were bored. we had nothing to do. we decided we'd kill somebody." >> reporter: the suspects, ages 15, 16 and 17, were in stevens county court this afternoon. all have been charged as adults. thousands of miles away in melbourne, australia, lane's parents and family are stunned. >> why he was taken away is [ bleep ] pointless. just so pointless. >> we were lucky that we had him for that period of time. >> reporter: christopher's girlfriend, sara harper, lives in duncan and is devastated. >> i just wonder what his final moments were. it means a lot to me. some people care. >> reporter: she stasrted a facebook page in tribute to his memory. she wrote, "you will always be

mine and in a very special and protected place in my heart." tonight in duncan people are leaving flowers and condolences at a makeshift memorial. and across the sea in melbourne, they're doing the same. randy mcelwane, nbc news, oklahoma city, oklahoma. tonight vice president joe biden's son, beau, is spending the night at the m.d. cancer center in houston. beau biden, the attorney general of delaware, went with his father for tests this morning after feeling weak and disoriented on a family vacation last week. he was seen at dinner last night with his father, but people close to the bidens told nbc news the family is taking this quite seriously. chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman is here with more. nancy, we don't know exactly what's going on here, but he did suffer a stroke three years ago when he was 41 years old. typically with a stroke patient, experience more problems down the line. >> well, typically one-quarter of those stroke patients have had symptoms before. and we do know that since his strike, beau biden has had

several episodes in the past. and that makes this serious. we have established tonight, nbc news has confirmed that he has been admitted to m.d. anderson for further testing. and having already been seen at two major medical centers around the country and now at m.d. anderson, the procedure that he's going to have is most likely a biopsy. the concern is always when there's a seizure and ongoing neurologic problems, you have to find out what the problem is. so to have him overnight, to most likely have a biopsy and then keep him for observation to allow the doctors to get tissue, make a correct diagnosis and then have a formulated and very smart game plan. and i know, lester, a lot of people have been asking, well, is this any correlation with what his dad went through 25 years ago with his aneurysm? and the answer is no. >> hopefully we'll get some answers very soon. thank you so much. now a growing war from the ground and in the air, accelerating tonight as wildfires spread to nearly a dozen states now. the worst conditions in years.

late today the national interagency fire center listed two idaho fires as the nation's top priorities. nbc's miguel almaguer is live at base camp in haley, idaho, where one of the biggest fires is still burning. miguel, good evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening. base camp is a city within a city. firefighters from all across the country rotate in and out of this place 24 hours a day. but when they are on that mountain behind me, they all have the same goal, protect property and lives. today the buffalo river crew from arkansas clears the way near the front lines in idaho. this team of 20, men and women, spend 16 hours a day clearing brush, creating containment lines, it's back-breaking work. >> as the crew boss, it's my responsibility to make sure my guys are safe. >> reporter: ryan green has fought fires in 16 states so far this summer. this month he slept in his own

bed twice. >> why do you do this work? >> because i love it. it is the hardest work i've ever lo loved. >> reporter: the buffalo river company joined 1,800 firefighting personnel, battling the beaver creek fire, the most dangerous in the nation. crews are making progress. only one home has been lost here so far. the johnsons are among the nearly 1,200 evacuated who could lose their dream home. >> there was a wall of fire that i've never, ever seen in my life. phenomenal. it is a sheet of just gold. >> reporter: nationwide, 18,000 fire personnel are working on little sleep in scorching temperatures. in california, 9 of 19 national forests are on fire. the conditions here are explosive. listen. in oregon, mdatory evacuations at the dales fire, 714 firefighters here. back in idaho, it's pb&j and an

apple for lunch on day nine for engine boss shawn moore, a second-generation firefighter. he says this is the family business even though this summer he's rarely seen his own. >> for me the toughest part about this job is having a brand-new kid at home, you know. six days from now, he'll be 8 months old. a lot of his firsts are happening while i'm out here on the line. >> reporter: a sacrifice for men and women on the front-lines and their families at home, too. in addition to all of those firefighters on the front lines, private insurance companies have hired their own firefighters to protect some of the more exclusive properties in this neighborhood. but again, the goal is the same here, to protect structures. this fire, lester, is nearly 10% contained. >> all right, miguel, thank you. now to egypt and the stunning news tonight, it appears hosni mubarak, the egyptian president overthrown in the arab spring, could be freed from prison within days. our chief foreign correspondent, richard engel, is in cairo again tonight. richard, good evening.

>> reporter: good evening, lester. we spoke to mubarak's lawyer today who told us we should know if the former president will be released this week, and some people in this country say it wouldn't be such a bad thing. a new plague seems to have descended over egypt, exhaustion. the pyramids are closed. the streets around them usually a carnival of tourists and hawkers. empty. horses and camels wait without riders. a woman holds carved statues but no buyers. not a single customer has come for 20 days to buy the perfumes yasir makes from jasmine and lotus flowers. he says he's had enough of the last three years of turmoil brought on by egypt's experiment with democracy. he wants former president mubarak out of jail, says things were better back then. >> mubarak is like a father to us. >> reporter: mubarak in prison since 2011 faces a court decision tomorrow. he's already been acquitted of

corruption. while no one in egypt seriously expects mubarak to be restored to power, his release would be a powerful symbol, a return to square one. and perhaps even the start of the end of the arab spring and a reemergence of the strong men who have ruled these lands for millennia. it is a stunning turn of events. in just weeks, mubarak considered for release, the elected president, mohamed morsi, detained. the head of the muslim brotherhood arrested overnight. a new general in charge. if egypt, the biggest arab country, turns on the arab spring, so may other countries in the middle east. for americans living in cairo like byron skaggs' family, the last few weeks have been a wild ride. the u.s. embassy told americans to leave egypt, but byron, a public relations consultant, decided with his family against it. >> we're careful. we're definitely careful, but we're not afraid. >> reporter: mostly now they

stay at home, playing cards and computer games to ride out the clashes and curfews. and on the question of aid to egypt, lester, while the obama administration says some of it is under review, saudi arabia, which is a big backer of egypt's military-led government, says it will compensate for any cuts from washington. >> richard engel in cairo for us tonight, thanks. in pakistan, a dramatic turn of events there involving the former president and army general pervez musharraf. he has been indicted in an alleged murder plot in the assassination of prime minister benazir bhutto in 2007. she was the first and only woman elected to lead pakistan. musharraf was an important friend of the u.s. following the 9/11 attacks. he has pleaded not guilty. still ahead here tonight, sounding the alarm. a leaked report about the danger happening all around us tonight. ann curry from the top of the world with a firsthand look as the water rises. later, two extraordinarily

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to climate change mostly caused by humans burning fossil fuels. >> there's no debate, it's really quite simple. we've overloaded the atmosphere with trapping gas, and the rest are just details. >> reporter: the new report from the intergovernmental panel on climate change seems to confirm what box and other scientists have been warning long before the draft was leaked. among the findings, the main cause of long-term warming is carbon dioxide emissions, that sea levels could rise about three feet by the end of the century, and that even if we stop producing carbon emissions now, climate change will persist for hundreds of years. hearing what's known as iceberg alley, box who's been studying the arctic for 20 years, says the ice is now melting at a pace never seen before, affecting weather systems. so in ways that people don't fully yet realize, climate change is affected us in america and across the world? >> yeah.

there are manifold that climate change is having impact. the arctics a very useful bellwether of change, and it's ringing. >> reporter: but greenland, once called eskimos, don't need a scientist to tell them about climate change. >> the sea ice are disappearing. >> reporter: the leader says melting ice means his people struggle to reach traditional hunting ground. some have even fallen through the thinning ice and died. you're saying that a way of life is so threatened, it could die? it could be lost forever? >> the only humans around the north pole in the arctic are us. we have been here for thousands of years. and we tell you, things are changing. and you will feel it maybe tomorrow. >> his message essentially is that we in the industrialized

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♪ that's john travolta and the late dennis farina in "get shorty," just one of the films adapted from the great crime novelist elmore leonard who died today, weeks after suffering a stroke. as one report put it today, his string of best-sellers help achieve for crime writing what stephen king did for horror and ray bradbury for science fiction. elmore leonard was 87 years old. they are older now, their hair has grown gray, and the spring in their step is slower, but in time the 1972 miami dolphins were a powerhouse on the football field. they played the last perfect season, undefeated, untied, all

the way to the super bowl. they had great names like kick, csonka, mercury morris and greasy and the no-name defense. and they never got their due back then, so today president obama did what richard nixon did not. he honored football's last undefeated team. coach shula who now uses a motorized scooter told the president he's forgiven for being a bears fan. somebody else who is hanging out at the white house today, the obama family's new dog, sunny. she is a portuguese water dog, the same as the obamas' other dog, bo. the white house says she's a year old, and she arrived to meet her new family last night. when we come back, american heroes taking the field and making a difference. before copd... i took my son fishing every year. we had a great spot, not easy to find, but worth it. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function

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his day of coaching begins with knee pain, when... [ man ] hey, brad, want to trade the all-day relief of two aleve for six tylenol? what's the catch? there's no catch. you want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol? no. for my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve. finally tonight, a game to remember at boston's fenway park which has seen a lot of great plays. but last night was great because every player on the field was an american hero. people who put themselves in harm's way to help others. our "making a difference" report tonight from our nbc sports colleague, dave briggs. >> reporter: it's no secret boston loves its baseball. but these aren't the famed red

sox. they're boston's true heroes, first responders four months ago when two bombs went off near the finish line of the boston marathon. police sergeant bob ridge was just 60 feet away. >> it was just complete carnage. it was very bloody, very sad. a very sad time. >> reporter: while the fans look up to sergeant ridge, his heroes, the opponent, the wounded warriors. >> if you asked them, they'd say it was us. you ask all of our guys, we'd say it's them. >> reporter: veterans who lost limbs serving their country. rarely does fenway park play host to two teams that insist their opposition is also their inspiration. but one thing the first responders and wounded warriors agree on is just how special playing at america's most beloved ballpark is. >> i wouldn't even p up this on the bucket list because you know it's never going to happen. >> here you go, young man. >> reporter: sergeant first class todd reed lost his leg 20

years ago during "desert storm." he found the perfect place to show his spirit. >> you get back out there and live your life similar to before, you just have a few adjustment. >> reporter: army sergeant matt kinsey stepped on a land mine during his second deployment to afghanistan and lost his foot. he hopes those who lost limbs in the boston bombing take notice. >> for them to see us out here playing on prosthetic devices and at a high level and just enjoying our lives, i hope it helps them out and maybe cheers them up a little bit. >> reporter: during the game he drove in four runners and drove home his message to third grader shawn mclaughlin. >> you can do a lot of stuff without a leg. >> reporter: in the end, a win for the visiting wounded warriors. the home team fans still have plenty of reasons to cheer. dave briggs for nbc news, boston. that's our broadcast for this tuesday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt for brian. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.