our top of the rock cam. three homes on fire. we'll keep you posted. >> nbc "nightly news" is straight ahead. breaking news tonight. caught in a lie. the tale of the tape in rio. surveillance footage revealed as police accuse ryan lochte of making up a story about being robbed with team usa swimmers. a stunning turn of events. country. raging fires and floods. so bad they can't even count the number of homes destroyed. face of war. a 5-year-old boy dazed, covered in dust, pulled alive from the rubble of a horrifying air strike in syria. the latest atrocity in aleppo shocking the world. and conspiracy theories about hillary clinton's health. outlandish claims fueled by the far right. the clinton campaign hitting back hard.

this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt reporting tonight from the olympic summer games in rio. good evening. did they make the whole thing up? the olympic games here being overshadowed tonight by the stunning announcement by rio de janeiro police today that ryan lochte and three other american swimmers were not robbed at gunpoint as lochte had publicly video shows a series of events at a rio gas station early sunday morning that supports some elements of the american story including being held at the point of a gun but contradicts much of what lochte has previously told nbc news. miguel almaguer is working the story for us and has late details. miguel? all right lester, good evening. two american swimmers were here at this police station by our account for at least five hours. at times they were joined by officials from the u.s.

have many questions. what's unclear is if they got all the answers they were looking for. tonight brazilian police say american swim star ryan lochte is not a victim but a vandal. after days of confusion, police now say lochte, jimmy feigen, gunnar bentz and jack conger were not robbed. instead police say the swimmers damaged this gas station bathroom, breaking a mirror and a soap dispenser. the athletes then paid around 50 u.s. dollars for the circuit videos. this footage shows the swimmers leaving a party at club france at 5:47 a.m. the swimmers then say they got into a taxi. by 6:06 a.m. they're at this gas station. this video shows them near the bathroom when an attendant walks up, they run out. brazilian officials say the swimmers tried to leave and the station called police. at 6:09 a man approaches the cab appearing to point a

three minutes later the swimmers get out. one appears to pull money from his wallet. another puts his hands up. at 6:56 a.m., the four men arrive back at the athletes village. both the video and police account are inconsistent with what ryan lochte told the "today" show's billy bush on sunday. >> we got pulled over in our taxi. a guy pulls out this gun. he cocked forehead, said get down. i put my hands up, like whatever. >> reporter: when lochte spoke to matt lauer by phone last night he changed some of the details admitting he was not pulled over on the street but was indeed at the gas station at the time of the incident. as for the gun -- >> i pointedly said to him, you had said before it was placed on your forehead and cocked. he said, no, that's not exactly what happened. >> reporter: police say two security guards pointed guns at the swimmers.

police say they refused to stay. lochte returned to north carolina earlier this week. today posting this video to a fellow swimmer on instagram and taking it down a few hours later. but the three other swimmers remain in rio. last night bentz and conger were pulled from their planes, detained for hours and questioned by police. some brazilians are demanding an apology from the swimmers. >> that's very good. police sub station, this was the scene after they were questioned by investigators. that's the americans leaving right now. and when they drove away, they drove off to the chant of liars, liars and people yelling you should be ashamed. tonight in rio security has been stepped up. police say their investigation is ongoing. the americans are now gone, but the anger isn't. lester, i have been covering and coming to

a scene like this one. the u.s. olympic committee has said all the swimmers were cooperating with investigators. and we have late word tonight that swimmer jimmy feigen is now talking to police at this hour. lester? >> miguel almaguer here in rio tonight. we want to bring in our colleague from nbc sports the host of nbc olympic primetime coverage, bob costas. many are incensed at the idea that the americans would make up t on the playing field what kind of stain might this leave on these games? >> i don't know about the games overall, but it certainly doesn't help ryan lochte. the other swimmers aren't helped by it either but he's the bold-faced name. swimmers generally don't make their money off competition, off prize money. they make it off endorsements. this is going to hurt him. this is going to stain his reputation. >> do you think an apology is in order if what the brazilian authorities are saying is true? >> i think an apology

general matter of decency, but i also think it's a matter of diplomacy. it seems to me unlikely that ryan lochte and his colleagues wind up in a criminal court, but somehow this has to be untangled and it is a public relations mess. the brazilians are sensitive about the reputation that rio has nor street crime. there's legitimacy in that reputation, but if a false claim has been made in the spotlight of the olympic games they want that claim to be cleared up. and they want it to be made clear that in this particular case they are not at fault. >> all right. bob costas, always good to have you on. thanks so much. >> thanks, lester. now to a pair of disasters unfolding in separate parts of the country at home. in louisiana, relentless flooding is forcing new evacuations. and in california fire threatens thousands of homes but some refuse to evacuate. we have it all covered

jolene kent in hesperia, california. >> reporter: lester, good evening. the destruction here is rampant. one of the major losses is the popular summit inn. it sits on historic route 66. this was the scene here 48 hours ago. today this man surveys the damage. >> it makes me sick at my stomach to see it. >> reporter: he owned the summit nearly 50 years entertaining celebrities like pierce brosnan and clint eastwood. >> i know where every plug is in this place. >> reporter: the fire just won't quit. flames threatening homes and businesses as more than 80,000 people are forced to evacuate as firefighters labor day and night. the mill creek hot shots are working 16-hour shifts. >> because it's really hot and didn't get much sleep. >> reporter: crews tirelessly defended the community center surrounded on three

residents are refusing to leave despite mandatory evacuation. 83-year-old john hockaday is sheltering in place spraying his home with a garden hose. >> i'm going down with the ship. >> if we ask you to leave, you have to leave. >> reporter: there is some good news. a critical rail line has resumed operation with shipping containers on the move again. and interstate 15 reopened. and residents slowly reunited with their furry friends. but with 34,000 structures still on the brink, the end of this monster inferno is nowhere on the horizon. jolene kent, nbc news, hess per ya, california. >> reporter: this is gape gutierrez in louisiana where the destruction is overwhelming. >> it's pretty hard. it really is difficult to see all this, but we're going to get through this.

baton rouge's main newspapers urging president obama to cut his vacation short and visit louisiana. today he played golf at martha's vineyard, as homeland security secretary jeh johnson toured the floodzone. >> the president can't be everywhere. i can tell that you the president has been closely monitoring the situation. >> reporter: the death toll now at least 13 including 20-year-old aly buddy whose car was swept away. another extended family losing 13 homes. >> e flooded. cars, houses. >> reporter: this woman survived katrina. she's now at a shelter again. >> it's like i'm going back to being homeless again. >> reporter: old wounds reopened. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, louisiana. there is breaking news tonight from the clinton foundation. the charity that bears the names of bill and hillary clinton. the foundation tells nbc news should hillary clinton be

donations. a subject which has been a source of scrutiny during this campaign. also nbc news has learned exclusively that bill clinton has not given a paid speech since last november and will not if his wife is elected. meantime tonight the clinton campaign is hitting back hard on conspiracy theories being stirred up by hillary clinton's health. we get details from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: tonight hillary clinton's campaign firing deranged conspiracy theories about her health. critics claiming this is not just the candidate joking with reporters but something worse. >> it almost seems seizuresque to me. >> reporter: a conservative website questioning whether she needs pillows to prop her up. and here's donald trump's new campaign ceo last week. >> i'm not saying that, you know, she's had a stroke or anything like that, but this is not the woman that we're used to seeing. >> reporter: then this blast from the candidate monday.

stamina to take on isis. >> reporter: all of it despite a two-page medical report from clinton's doctor a year ago concludes she is in excellent physical condition and fit to serve as president of the united states. fully recovered from a concussion in 2012. clinton's report more detailed than this note from trump's doctors saying, quote, if elected, mr. trump, i can state unequivocally will be the healthier individual ever elected to the presidency. clinton, allegations that the secret service agent was carrying a device to give her injections. the truth is that is a standard flashlight. clinton's reaction a hearty laugh. can you tell us how your health is? clinton a year younger than trump who, if elected, would be the oldest person to ever take the oath of office. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. a shocking and pitiful image has given a new face to

shared pictures of this traumatized little boy after his rescue following an air strike in syria's largest city. he's being treated in the same secret underground hospital we took you inside earlier this week. and as our richard engel reports, he's brought new attention to a war many accuse the world of ignoring. >> reporter: his name is omran daqneesh, just 5 years old, and his feet barely hung over the edge of a seat in an ambulance. and the dust from a building that collapsed around him in an air strike. his silence somehow reminded the world today of this silence in the face of the atrocities in aleppo. omran was pulled out alive wednesday. five other children died when the building they were in was hit during the relentless syrian/russian offensive on rebel-held areas in aleppo.

internet. one tweet called him the real representative of the syrian people. >> stop killing syrian innocent people, civilians. our children need to live in peace. >> reporter: the doctor who treated omran said today there were many more severe cases no one is paying attention to. >> we need to protect our hospital, our doctors, our medical workers from airstrike. >> reporter: omran is recovering. the same choice another boy's family made a year ago, aylan kurdi, whose body washed up on a beach. he, too, was an example of syria's youngest victims. today there's a new one. tomorrow there may be another. richard engel, nbc news. little children and powerful images. there's more ahead as we continue here. the wnba star taking

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elena delle donne, a big name for the wnba, playing for someone close to her heart back home. one of rio's untold stories. >> rebound. ends up with delle donne. >> in basketball the shooting guard is the playmaker, the scorer, not typically the tallest on the court unless it's elaine in delle donne. the 6'5" wnba star scores more than 20 points a game, sinks her free throw 93% of 2015 mvp. rio is her first olympics. she started playing basketball when she was little, scrappy one on one with her big brother, gene. >> no freebies. we were going at it trying to win. >> reporter: did you ever cheat? >> oh, any time i got the chance, yeah. >> reporter: she grew up in delaware, the daughter of ernie and

ilyina's older sister was born with disabilities. she connects through touch. >> she has so many disabilities and things that haven't gone her way. she still smiles and has a laugh that will make everybody in the room crack up. >> reporter: the two sisters are very close. being apart isn't easy. >> she can't talk to her on the phone. she can't text her. she can't communicate with her other than being with her. >> reporter: in 2008 elena got the call that every high school girl who plays basketball hopes for, wanted her on the team. she accepted and went up to connecticut, but almost immediately the self-described homebody knew it wasn't right. >> my heart wasn't in the right place for it. and i knew i needed to do something else. >> reporter: elena took time off from the sport but did eventually play again for the university of delaware. >> here comes delle donne. >> reporter: in 2013 she was drft ft drafted by the chicago sky. now she balances the

camp alongside her fiancee amanda clifton. the camp is open to both children with special needs and those without. >> one, two, three. >> yeah, that's the person she is. >> reporter: elena says lizzy has given her something that sometimes seems rare among professional athletes -- perspective. >> at the end of the day i'm putting a round basketball through a little hoop, and there's other people out there so much more in this world and she's one of them. >> reporter: stephanie gosk, nbc news, rio. we're back in a moment with fierce of a new zika zone i this car is traveling over 200 miles per hour. to win, every millisecond matters. both on the track and thousands of miles away. with the help of at&t, red bull racing can share critical information about every inch of the car from virtually anywhere. brakes are getting warm. confirmed, daniel you need to cool your brakes.

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money from a decades-old account was conducted separately from the negotiations over the detainees and the u.s. did not pay a ransom. both of those events happened on the same day january 17th. there are concerns about a possible new zika zone in florida. a source telling nbc news two new cases were likely contracted in miami beach. that is outside the area in miami that's already been declared an active transmission up next here tonight, who's really got bragging rights here in rio? gary, gary, gary... i am proud of you, my man. making simple, smart cash back choices... with quicksilver from capital one. you're earning unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere. like on that new laptop. quicksilver keeps things simple, gary. and smart, like you! and i like that.

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ask your doctor about lyrica. count here has surged to well over 90, but the bigger story may be in who's leading the way. usa women have earned nearly double the number of golds won by the men and lead in the overall count. it's hardly a one off. >> it is a u.s. sweep. >> reporter: almost as easy as counting one, two, three. >> and the three americans come and shut out the rest of the world. >> reporter: brianna rollins, mia aly and

podium in the 100 meter hurdles last night. >> a great time to be a woman in usa. >> reporter: the clean sweep the first in any olympic event. tia bartolett and brittney reese also leapt into history. at the beach kerri walsh jennings, a three-time gold medalist, and her teammate april ross, took bronze. walsh jennings becoming the oldest beach volleyball. >> to be on that podium together was absolutely humbling and inspiring and it will be with me the rest of my days. and it was pure joy. >> reporter: team usa arrived in rio with the largest women's contingent in olympic history and recent history at their back. well, this is a story that really began in london and continued over to rio? >> no question. because in london, the u.s. women won about 60% of the american gold medals.

coming. >> reporter: in women's gymnastics team the so-called final five tumbled into history winning its most medals in a single olympics. olympics rookie simone biles led the way winning four golds. there is simone manuel in the 100 meter freestyle swim becoming the first african-american woman to claim gold in an individual swimming event. >> i'm just so blessed. >> reporter: then, of course, there's katie ledecky. >> ledecky is a gold home with five medals, four of them gold. the seeds of the american women success here weren't planted overnight. >> no, you know, i think title nine was gigantic. title nine has been in place now for over four decades, but it allowed funding. it allowed women to get into things and be able to make the most of their talent, and i think we're now seeing the benefits of that being paid off really in spades. >> reporter: the message to little

ability to be great and we all have a purpose and fulfill our dreams because there's always some destiny for each and every one of us. >> reporter: and that will do it for us. primetime olympic coverage begins at

lights. access. rio. >> here they are now in the taxi and what you're going to see is, it looks like it's unraveling. this is stunning. >> you heard ryan lochte's rio robbery story. has it completely fallen apart? i'm natalie morales. camera. >> put his hands up again right here. >> you guys are like a comedy troupe. >> channing tatum or liam hemsworth. >> give these girls their own reality show. i'm kit hoover asking the questions the final five have definitely not heard before. >> you owe me for making fun of me so much. >> huh-uh, grandma! >> yes, you do! they're watching the last match point all going joy, joy,