news," a shocking turn of events in the california wildfire that has forced hundreds to flee their homes. why police say this was no accident. >> we'll see you back here at 11:00. have a great night. tonight, racing to escape. a frantic turn in the worst flood disaster since superstorm sandy. now 30,000 rescued as more communities scramble to get out of the way. >> and the person who s a wildfire that burned homes and buildings to the ground. and trump and ailes? a report that the former news chief is now helping the gop nominee, plus what we learned about trump's first classified intelligence briefing. and what hillary clinton told the feds and why they recommend against charging her. and crossing the line, a photo finish

american champion denied a record gold. and america's golden girls back in action. "nightly news" from rio begins right now. >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news with lester holt" reporting tonight from the olympic summer games in rio. good evening. another big night of competition getting under way here in rio soon. we'll be getting to that shortly. unprecedented flood in louisiana. despite a welcome break in the rain, new areas are under water tonight as floodwaters move downstream. in already hard hit places, displaced residents are returning home to see what's left. 40,000 homes are damaged, where in some areas only one in eight have flood insurance. today the number of water rescues climbed to 30,000, while the death toll for the disaster reached at

our coverage again for us tonight. gabe, good evening. >> reporter: lester, another eight parishes have been added to the federal disaster declaration and we have seen rescue boats hurrying in and out of this neighborhood all afternoon, this as more communities downstream are preparing for the worst. today in ascension parish, a frantic scramble, residents rushing to get out with whatever they could. >> went from no 5:00 this morning and now you see it, three foot right up there by the house. >> reporter: more louisiana communities battling new flooding, dawna richardson hoisted to safety from the neighborhood she grew up in. she had just undergone cancer treatment, now this. >> lived there all my life. i grew up here. >> reporter: the river is rising, before and

emerging. more than 4 trillion gallons of torrential rain. all this water has nowhere else to go, so it's flowing south, down these rivers and bayous, devastating more communities in its path. >> no time for us to relax and put our guards down. >> reporter: this baton rouge movie studio has now become a massive makeshift emergency shelter. >> when we leave, we will be replaced. >> reporter: the rising wates spared him and his family. >> we work every day to pay for what we got. if we lose it, we lose it. >> reporter: it's the water already here that seems impossible to escape.

rouge, where bob gately is pushing away the debris around the door so he can see his home for the first time since the flood. within minutes his worst fears are confirmed. >> pictures of my daughter. we'll never get things like that back. >> up on the sidewalk now. >> reporter: his family had only minutes to escape saturday before five feet of floodwater rushed i his home of 15 we'res. >> i don't know what we're going to do i don't know where we're going to live. >> reporter: many here remember a great flood in 1983, but the wave of destruction that washed through here this week was far higher. gately feels fortunate because he was required to have flood insurance. in louisiana's high risk area, 42% are covered for floods, in

12%. gately who is a retired firefighter who helped survivors from hurricane katrina cleans up just one battered community, thousands of homes grappling the loss, while embracing what could not be washed away. >> it's going to be okay. and a stunning another disaster playing out on the other side of the country to tell you about. investigators now say a rapidly spreading wildfire that's destroyed over 175 homes and structures was in accident. now a suspect is in custody facing arson charges. >> reporter: a new revelation in the blaze that destroyed hundreds of homes, the

lake, a local construction worker arrested, held on a $5 million bail. >> western able to arrest the suspect on 17 counts of arson. >> cashlick has schad multiple run ins with the law. his neighbors are still shocked. >> that just blows my mind. >> reporter: homeowners forced to evacuate, angry that a cal fire's dan berlin surveying the damage and now a crime scene. >> it only takes a simple spark, and once that spark occurs with these drought conditions, it burns very rapidly. >> reporter: today another fire erupts in southern california, more evacuations and strain on firefighters in the midst of a long and dry fire season.

firefighters are out battling seven large firefighters. >> this is not a game that lasts 45 minutes or an hour like a sports match. this is weeks, upon months upon years. >> reporter: the national weather service issuing new red flag warnings, extreme fire danger over the next 24 hours is expected and lester, that is both for northern and southern california. back here in rio, it's a huge day for team usa on the beach, in the gym and on the track. we want to begin by telling you what's already been widely recorded the gold medal results in women's gymnastic's floor exercise, as expected simone biles and aly raisman have taken gold and silver respectively. it comes as another american lost on the track, making a dive

of the race. the 400 meter race is at the center of some controversy tonight. >> there's the gun, they're on their way. >> reporter: the 400 meter dash was over in 49 seconds. >> felix, alongside the challenger. >> reporter: the foot race that ended with a header. >> a dive by miller for the line. >> reporter: that dive, .007 seconds, the difference between silver and gold allyson felix. >> it was a tough night, i hoped everything would have come together. but i left it all out there, and i kind of felt like i gave as much as i took. >> reporter: it took a photo finish to reveal who won. >> i didn't know i won until i heard my mom screaming. >> reporter: but just as fast as the race,

blistering tweets. >> allyson felix was robbed. >> i just tried to dive to the line and give it my all. >> reporter: felix has been on the short end of the dive before, when jennifer fandini fell to the finish in july. >> for felix, it was maybe .001 too many. >> reporter: and when american a medal in beijing, he was hailed a hero. >> david neville diving to the finish line to finish third for the medal. >> reporter: nine time gold medalist carl lewis. >> i think that's part of the game. if john elway can dive into the end zone and win, why can't a runner do that? >> felix got the win. that makes her the most decorated track

a champion never down and never out. allyson felix is still in the running for gold, she'll likely take gold in one of two up coming relay races. >> miguel, thank you. tonight we're learning more about the fbi's interview with hillary clinton and why the feds recommend against it all comes tonight after notes were turned over to congress. the email controversy once again following her on the campaign trail. and we have the latest polls. andra mitchell with late details. tonight as hillary clinton was campaigning in philadelphia, fbi was sending congress notes from her interview to answer republican complaints that she should have been polluted.

letter today, the fbi repeated that while clinton was extremely careless in handling classified information, they did not find gross negligence, which is why they didn't charge her with a crime. >> let the public see what the fbi decides to let congress see. >> reporter: the controversy is hurting. in our new nbc news/survey monkey online poll, only 11% find clinton trust worthy. even some here having doubts. who are you going to vote for? >> i'm going to vote for hillary. >>. >> reporter: hillary's nine point lead over trump is holding. >> the only way we can lose, in my opinion, pennsylvania is if cheating goes on. >> reporter: what do you think of donald trump saying if he loses pennsylvania it's because people here cheat? >> i think you saw today, we have a lot

working hard to register a lot of new voters. >> reporter: but the campaign still has to persuade people they can trust her. andrea mitchell, nbc news, philadelphia. the trump campaign is pushing back in a bombshell report that roger ailes, the former fox news chief is now advising donald trump himself. we're also learning details on trump's first classified intelligence briefing. katy tur has more. >> reporter: donald trump is in wisconsin red. but down in the polls there and across the country, trump is running out of time. today's campaign fwlatly denying the candidate is turning to an old friend and republican stat gist roger ailes for help. ousted by fox, ailes is currently facing a high profile lawsuit for sexual harassment, trump is facing a widening gender gap.

down 23 points among college educated white women alone. >> he has one chance to turn his campaign around and convince the american people that he is worthy and ready to be president of the united states. >> reporter: tomorrow trump getting his first national security briefing in new york. a senior government official telling nbc news the briefings are d briefing and won't touch covert operations, nuclear weapons or espionage, instead, he'll get a broad overview. trump notified the director of national intelligence he would be accompanied by his foreign intelligenced a advisor general mike flynn. still ahead,

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turned into an offer too good to refuse. stephanie gosk explains. >> three-peat olympic gold. >> reporter: before winning a third gold medal in london, the greatest volleyball team of all time was finished. kerri walsh wasn't done, she needed a new partner a second right there across the net was april ross. >> i wanted to play with someone who wanted it with al her heart. >> reporter: an opponent turned recruiter. listen closely. >> i hugged her and with all my heart i said, all right, now let's go win gold in rio. i and i remember her being like huh, and kind of just -- >> didn't i answer?

>> i did. >> i didn't hear that. >> oh, no, i said that. >> even better, sorry. >> reporter: april is also a california native. at home a ceramic moose is looking for more medals. >> this is nice, but this is a fabulous moose. >> there was never any question about where i'm going to hang the the moment i got it, i'm like it's going on the moose. >> reporter: the 38-year-old didn't know it then, but in london, baby number three was already on the way. >> no crying, because this is so exciting. >> reporter: each day is fresh chaos. >> i can't say enough about how amazing it is to chase a huge dream and to be living a dream at home. >>. >> reporter: on the court, the new partnership was tested, kerry injured her shoulder and was

healthy and completely in sync. >> that was the hardest to get down. >> reporter: in rio, kerry and april could be the spoilers. beach volleyball is a beloved sport in brazil and there are tough hometown favorites. for april and kerry, it's the perfect stage. >> my day dream, my ideal, this is what i want. >> reporter: tonight they are facing the reigning world champion team. the other team got knocked out in the semifinals. the crowd here is going to be fired up and it's going to be a super tough match. we're back in a in a world that needs a hero, justice is spelled b-o-x. say hello to a powerful tool that gives you options to fit your budget. ? oh, i'm tied to this chair!

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for 30 years passed away this morning, missing his first show since 1982. as our own chuck todd said today, john mclaughlin's legacy and influence can be seen on at least five cable channels daily, he changed political tv. that he did, upending the soft spoken tv commentary style with a show that was boisterous, free wheeling and entertaining, always signing off with his john mclaughlin was 81 years old. catherine rainier is ending her 36 year career on the force to become security for the nfl. on top of her four gold medals, simone biles still had one more dream here in rio to accomplish and it

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welcome back. we have stepped off the beach. folks enjoying a lovely evening here in copacabana. finally tonight, not everything about the olympics is about gold medals. for some gold rings will be the cherished memories of the rio games. these stunning beaches and soaring mountains aren't just a great backdrop for olympic competition, but also for romance. here's peter alexander. >> reporter: turns out maybe there is something in the water in rio. this morning just moments after securing silver in the triple jump, american will clay took an even bigger leap, into the stands proposing to his girlfriend. their friends and family erupted.

what was more special. >> she was still glowing when we reached her this afternoon. >> well, let me put my hands here. i'm kind of still in shock. >> reporter: it's not the first time at these games one set of rings has led to another. immediately after a chinese diver stepped off the podium on sunday, dive chin ki dropped to one knee. a moment that needs explanation. but some say the show upstaged the diver's medal win. marriage is the ultimate team effort, making the playing field a perfect venue to kick it off. the rugby player accepting a proposal from her girlfriend. tom boss worth proposing to his boyfriend on copacabana beach. this summer, rio is the city of romance. one of brazil's celebrated songs

peace, love, togetherness, if it works for some, it might work for others taking the plunge. peter alexander, nbc news, rio. that's going to do

lights. access. rio. >> so i'm just going to take the positives and move forward. >> can we just stop with the hating? >> mom's got her daughter's back and so does hollywood. i'm natalie morales with a ton of support for gabby douglas after firestorm. >> we got a chance to meet your boys. >> one, two, three! >> his baltimore buddies are all here. they've got secrets to share like is michael ready for his wedding dance. >> that's my go-to, that's my move. >> we have a special message for you. >> okay. >> oh! >> just another wild day of surprises in rio where pretty much anything can happen. >> lights.