a risk for gaye and for motown. barry gordie jr., the founder of the records told "the wall street journal" that marvin gaye insisted on making the record and barry gordie says marvin was right. that's our broadcast for now. on the broadcast tonight, firestorm. the arizona wildfire explodes with dangerous smoke conditions, spreading to neighboring states. pounding lybia. nato planes bombard tripoli as gadhafi says he'll fight to the death. hot seat. congressman anthony weiner faces calls to resign as a democratic leader refuses to defend him. good deal? online coupon company groupon, growing at a blistering pace, but do the daily discounts really add up? plus, rewriting history to stick up for your favorite politician. stick up for your favorite politician. "nightly news" starts now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. i'm lester holt, in tonight for brian. the massive wildfire that has now driven thousands from their homes in arizona is threatening parts of new mexico tonight, and even more of the country is beginning to feel its effects. now the second largest fire in arizona history, it's already burned close to 500 square miles. 2,500 firefighters from as far away as new york are trying to contain it. but there is no containing the smoke that has triggered air quality alerts and spread a thick haze as far away as iowa. here now live, the dramatic backdrop from springerville, arizona, where nbc's george lewis is, to bring us the very latest. george, good evening. lester, that plume of smoke is bearing down on springerville and eagar. the order will go out for springerville if the flames get too close to here. the fire has been roaring

aggressively through the mountains on the arizona-new mexico border, threatening towns in its way. >> the smoke covering that entire community. >> reporter: this morning the wind died down long enough for 22 water-dropping helicopters to get airborne, aiding firefighters on the ground. >> this is unprecedented in the way these fires are burning. you know, arizona is so dry that fires just burn like gasoline. >> reporter: it started nine days ago. since then it has spread rapidly day by day, growing into a monster, fueled by dry brush and rotting trees, driven by winds gusting up to 60 miles an hour. last evening law enforcement ordered people living in greer, arizona to get out of town. >> yeah, we're leaving right now. >> reporter: in the larger cities of springerville and eagar, people have been warned to get ready to evacuate. amy bigelow, her husband away with the fire crews, was loading her pickup truck and keeping an eye on her three kids.

>> they're doing okay considering mom's freaking out a little bit. >> reporter: ralph salce has lived in springerville 37 years. >> we'll just pray for our firefighters because they are -- excuse me. >> reporter: this time lapse shot shows the huge plume of smoke generated by the fire blowing eastward across the country. today's headline in the "albuquerque journal," "smoke chokes new mexico." as visibility in places dropped below two miles. in colorado springs the bad air has been deemed a health hazard. >> both me and my son have asthma, and it's very hard to breathe. >> reporter: and those problems will continue as the fire burns with no containment in sight. and tonight as eagarville evacuates the problem is the wind. more of the same in the forecast. lester? >> george lewis tonight in arizona starting us off. thanks. in the midwest tonight after a cold dark spring it feels like the dog days of august all of a sudden. it hit 102 degrees today in

minneapolis-st. paul, smashing their record for this date. and they weren't alone. 25 cities hit all-time high temperatures today, including chicago, jackson, and wichita. in the plains tonight high water is bearing down on south dakota's capital, pierre. flooded reservoirs mean dams have been opened and a huge cascade of water is now flowing down the missouri river. pierre is sandbagged and ready, but the high water conditions could last well into july because of a record mountain snowpack that's now melting. we turn overseas now. nato turned up the heat on libya today, unleashing a barrage of air strikes in the capital, tripoli. as the country's leader, moammar gadhafi, vowed once again to fight to the death. nbc's stephanie gosk is in tripoli now and joins us with the latest from there. stephanie, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. well, the minister of information said that this has been one of the most horrific

days of attack against his nation. 31 people killed in 60 airstrikes. now, those numbers may be a bit exaggerated, but without a doubt this nato assault on this city today has been the largest so far. in broad daylight nato unleashed its biggest barrage yet. dozens of air strikes in central tripoli rocked the uneasy calm here. among the targets, colonel moammar gadhafi's compound, nearly leveled in previous attacks. today nato planes returned to finish the job. state television was another target, hit in the early hours this morning. libyan officials say two people were killed and more than a dozen wounded. with air strikes still echoing around the city, state tv broadcast video of gadhafi meeting with tribal leaders. earlier in the day he phoned in, angry, calling the libyan rebels bastards, vowing to stay in tripoli dead or alive. "we will not surrender to nato,"

he said. "being a martyr is a million times better." nato has been intensifying its operation across libya, hoping to push gadhafi out. >> gadhafi will fight to the end. and nato is making a big gamble by trying to kill gadhafi and the inner circle. really the situation now is beyond any kind of compromise. >> reporter: in washington president obama, alongside german chancellor angela merkel, sounded optimistic. >> the progress that has been made in libya is significant, and i think it is just a matter of time before gadhafi goes. >> reporter: in a late-night press conference libyan officials had a different message. >> nato is going mad because it could feel the resilience of the libyan nation. >> reporter: on state tv gadhafi called for protests outside his now destroyed compound. fewer than 200 responded. a sign perhaps that the dictator's support as the bombs continue to drop might be

slipping. we're hearing of a new defection. the minister of labor, who was attending a conference in geneva, has decided to join the rebels. he is just the latest official to abandon gadhafi's ever-shrinking government here. lester? >> stephanie, thanks. back in this country now, pressure, criticism, and calls to resign piling up on new york democratic congressman anthony weiner. nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joins me now with more. kelly? >> reporter: good evening, lester. congressman weiner tried to stay out of sight today while more uncomfortable details showed up on websites from women who said they've had explicit chats with the congressman online. and aides tell me that privately among democrats there's a growing feeling weiner should step down. >> thank you. >> reporter: from public confession to political isolation today. democrats backing away from veteran congressman anthony weiner. >> i know congressman weiner. i wish there was some way i can defend him. but i can't.

>> reporter: while prominent republicans say weiner should resign. >> the last thing we need to do is be enmeshed in discussion about congressman weiner and his twitter activities. >> reporter: admitting his lies and lewd behavior, weiner only seemed to fuel the scandal. >> i came here to accept the full responsibility for what i've done. >> reporter: tabloid headlines and late-night comics found more fodder over the explicit photos and messages the married congressman sent to women online. >> wow. that is some cleavage. >> reporter: when republican congressman chris lee had a shirtless photo scandal earlier this year, he resigned within hours. weiner refuses to quit. critics say the parties appear to respond differently. >> republicans will be showing this contrast. they'll be saying look, when we find this conduct, we throw members out and the democrats don't. >> reporter: adding some pressure, today house democratic leader nancy pelosi formally requested an ethics

investigation. >> i don't see anything that i did that violated any rules of the house. i don't see anything that i did that certainly violated my oath of office to uphold the constitution. >> reporter: elected easily seven times, today some new york constituents offered weiner support. >> people make mistakes. people do silly things like that. >> i don't think he should resign because it's his personal business. >> reporter: in trying to get some political advantage a republican campaign committee is asking democrats who've received campaign donations from weiner to return that money or it's being accused of condoning congressman weiner's behavior. lester? >> kelly o'donnell on capitol hill. thanks. the other big story in washington and beyond tonight, the economy. and more signs that the late spring slowdown driven in part by high gas prices is becoming more of a political challenge for the president. nbc chief white house correspondent chuck todd joins me now with more on that. chuck? >> reporter: good evening, lester. well, look, nobody here at the white house needs a poll to tell them how lethal of a political problem a sagging economy is for

the president. and today the issue trumped world events during a joint press conference with german chancellor angela merkel. and the president tried to sound reassuring. >> i'm not concerned about a double-dip recession. i am concerned about the fact that the recovery that we're on is not producing jobs as quickly as i want it to happen. >> reporter: look, this issue of the economy is becoming the issue in the 2012 presidential race. tim pawlenty went to the president's home town of chicago to unveil his own economic plan, and he came armed with some barbs. >> how are you enjoying your recovery summer? now, that's what the president said we were having. but that was last year, the recovery summer. >> reporter: look, white house aides are being inundated with a ton of advice on how to message on this tough economy. the president himself today fired back at republican

critics, reminding them when this economic crisis started. >> and it's just very important for folks to remember how close we came to complete disaster. and recovering from that kind of body blow takes time. >> reporter: now, lester, aides admit that patience isn't a long-term strategy. they're already biting their nails about the next jobs report, realizing that if it's bad or worse than the one released last week they're in for what's going to be a very grim summer politically, never mind the state of the economy itself, lester. >> chuck todd at the white house, thanks. and a quick picture we wanted to show you tonight. take a look. looks and kind of sounds like something on another planet. but that is hawaii's kilauea volcano. a big river of lava feeding into a swirling molten lake. there's been no earthquake activity recorded along with those new lava flows. when we come back here tonight, irresistible daily deals from coupon website groupon.

but what's the bottom line for this fast-growing phenomenon? and later, the new political battleground. would you believe wikipedia? [ male announcer ] millions of men 45 and older just don't feel like they used to. are you one of them? remember when you had more energy for 18 holes with your buddies. more passion for the one ya love. more fun with your family and friends. it could be a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. come on, stop living in the shadows. you've got a life to live. [ male announcer ] so don't blame it on aging. talk to your doctor and go to isitlowt.com to find out more. i know you're worried about making your savings last and having enough income when you retire. that's why i'm here -- to help come up with a plan and get you on the right path. i have more than a thousand fidelity experts working with me so that i can work one-on-one with you. it's your green line. but i'll be there

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but it's done more in two years than most cars do in a lifetime. our next story is about a little company that in just a couple of years has changed the way we bargain hunt. it's called groupon. and it has done so well and expanded so fast that google offered to pay $6 billion to buy them out. incredibly, groupon turned down that offer. and now they're preparing to raise billions on their own by going public. how do they do it? and do the numbers add up? here's nbc's kevin tibbles. ♪ >> reporter: perhaps the only thing that could beat a romantic

dinner is a half-priced romantic dinner. >> what brought you in? >> groupon. >> reporter: groupon is the leader of an online explosion in what is called the daily deal business. pushing prices down by guaranteeing a certain number of customers. >> i've gone everywhere from chinese restaurants. i went paintballing. gotten discounts on hot dogs. all the way up to steaks and dinners. >> reporter: instead of clipping old-fashioned coupons, groupon negotiates lower prices and then e-mails the discounts free to its subscribers. >> in the same way that facebook has redefined communication on the web, groupon is in a way allowing people to redefine the retail business. >> reporter: for geja's cafe in chicago, it brings new customers and more. >> of the 2,400 new customers, 900 of them have come back in multiple times. >> reporter: so how big is the daily deal revolution? well, in just three years groupon has gone from a tiny chicago startup to a company operating in almost 50 countries.

and groupon isn't alone. today some 500 companies dish up the discounts. >> about a year ago there were only 50. in two years we expect that there will be thousands. >> reporter: but some retailers report headaches. >> they offer massive discounts. they take a loss on their services or their products. and then they end up getting inundated with customers for a very brief period of time, and then those customers don't return. >> reporter: after paying groupon its percentage and paying the instructors, this chicago yoga center didn't make much profit. but that wasn't the goal. >> groupon was an excellent way to expose our studio to new students. >> reporter: and that may be the point. daily deals may bring the customers. but it's up to each business to keep them coming back. kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. on wall street today stocks spent most of the day in positive territory but turned down in the final minutes of trading. the dow finished down just over 19 points. when we come back, the big news here at nbc tonight on the big event that's staying in the family. if you've been to the hospital

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here's a scene that's pretty familiar to nbc viewers. it turns out it's going to stay that way for a while. in lausanne, switzerland today the international olympic committee awarded nbc universal the tv rights to the 2014 through 2020 olympic games. the network agreed to pay nearly $4.4 billion for the rights. despite losing reportedly over $200 million on last year's winter games in vancouver. nbc sports group chairman mark lazarus told me earlier that despite today's high price tag he believes there is a strong business case for carrying the games. >> we feel that our new company, nbc universal, with our -- with our parent at comcast are in a unique position to know the value of the games.

not only that, we have new platforms. we have more platforms and more ways to reach consumers. >> the other networks who were competing for these games were all touting the fact that they were going to broadcast even the marquee events live. typically, nbc has saved marquee events for tape with games in faraway time zones. will that still be the plan? and how do you respond to critics who say that doesn't make sense in an environment where people get instant results? >> well, we'll look at -- we've done a lot of learning over the years. and as nbc has broadcast the olympics and many sports. i think you'll see that we'll start to provide more live coverage on multiple platforms, whether it's through broadband, through the tablets, through mobile devices. but we will still focus on telling broad stories about sports, broad sports about the athletes, broad stories about the trials and tribulations and how these great athletes come to the games. >> did it matter to the ioc whether you would be able to

carry prime events live or not? >> we did talk about the desire to do more live and to be more immediate with content and with results. but that was not necessarily a key focus of our presentation. >> you walked down a bit of a blind alley, an expensive blind alley here, in that you know the first two games. the cities for the other two games have not been decided, though, yet. how difficult was it to go for four as opposed to go for two sure things? >> well, that's as much a risk as it could be a reward. we don't know where they're going to be. we believe, you know, the olympic committee looks -- takes all factors into mind when they're selecting cities. we believe in going long in sports rights. and really interesting in this deal is the complete set of rights. any technology known now or invented hereafter, we will have the rights to exploit this content across those platforms. and that was very important in the decision-making. >> mark lazarus from nbc sports group. nbc outbid fox and espn for these rights. they get the 2014 winter games in sochi, russia.

the 2016 summer games in rio. as well as the 2018 and '20 olympics in cities not yet selected. nbc already has the rights for the summer games next year in london. as nasa's space shuttle program winds down, we got a view of the shuttle we've never seen before today. an italian astronaut snapped pictures of "endeavour" docked with the international space station as he was headed for earth in a russian spacecraft. the photos were taken on may 23rd on "endeavour's" final mission. the final space shuttle flight before the fleet is retired with the shuttle "atlantis" is scheduled to launch july 8th. up next, whose history is it anyway? the fight over facts now playing out on wikipedia. she has this thing about bugs. no, no, no... i do not have a thing about bugs. i have a thing about bugs in our house. we used to call an exterminator. ugh... now i go ortho. home defense max. i use it once inside to kill the bugs. stops them dead. guaranteed. and outside to keep new ones from moving in. that's up to 12 months protection against bugs.

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celebrated paul revere's famous ride, few really cared that he took some poetic license. after all, he was more right than most. >> paul revere and the raiders. i know that. they're a singing group. is that close enough? >> that's the guy that was yelling back in the days of world war ii, he was like "the british are coming. the british are coming." right? >> reporter: it's exactly the kind of brain freeze that wikipedia can thaw. the online encyclopedia has become the chief arbiter of the water cooler dispute. over the last few days its paul revere page has seen more fighting than lexington and concord. all because of someone else's ride through boston. >> you know, he who warned the british that they weren't going to be taking away our arms. >> if sarah palin had it to do all over again, my bet is that she would not say that paul revere was out there trying to warn the british. >> reporter: palin's critics quickly raced to wikipedia to wiki-prove that she was wrong.

but so did those who thought she was right. almost instantly dozens of revisions sprung up on the page that squared with palin's account. >> nothing is ever set in stone. we can come back and change and revise things and revisit them as needed. >> reporter: but only if it's accurate. >> yeah. >> reporter: steven walling is a wikipedian, one of the thousands of volunteers who act like online sheriffs, making sure what's posted on wikipedia isn't just flat out wrong. >> actually, the metaphor that a lot of wikipedians use is more like janitors. they come and, you know, someone adds something new, they need to decide whether it needs to be cleaned up or not. >> reporter: like his silver, paul revere's page needed a heavy polishing. so much so the site is now temporarily locked. unlike beauty, history isn't just in the eye of the beholder. unless, of course, you're writing poetry. lee cowan, nbc news, san francisco. that's our broadcast for this tuesday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt, in tonight for brian williams. don't forget to tune in tomorrow morning for meredith's final

broadcast on "today." and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com