on the broadcast tonight, path of destruction. deadly tornados ripping through the nation's heartland. a vicious sudden outbreak across nine states. winds up to 170 miles per hour. tonight, our team is there on the ground. dead in the water. another cruise ship nightmare. more than 1,000 people powerless at sea. tonight, the rescue mission is under way as we learn more frightening details about that other disaster. remembering davy jones. the news today that has an entire generation reflecting back when "the monkees" took over the air waves. ann curry halfway around the world with a brave american on a mission who didn't expect to fall in love on the way. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. it was a worst-case scenario. tornados among the largest nature can produce anywhere, ripping across the countryside late at night. after people had gone to bed. of course, can't always hear a warning. more than that, they hit during what's supposed to be the dead of winter, in late february, when there is supposed to be snow on the ground, not funnels in the western sky. some storms were moving at 60 miles per hour. too fast to outrun and the people and places in their path were no match. the same weather system is on the move again tonight after spawning tornados sightings in nine states. confirmed winds of 170 miles per hour. one of the storms carving a 22-mile-long path through branson, missouri. the hardest hit community is harrisburg, illinois. tonight lester holt is heading up our team there.

lester, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. there were 17 sighted tornados as storms leaped across the midwest. nine people are dead, more than 100 injured. the storms began at night. for those who survived, they are very much trying to take all this in tonight. john yang is in harveyville, kansas, to start us off. >> reporter: in the hours before dawn, a violent ef-4 tornado shattered this community, a former coal mining town with winds reaching 170 miles an hour. >> we were running through the hallways. it hit us. didn't have time to think about it. >> reporter: the twister flattened everything in its path, stretching for miles, homes and businesses torn apart, crushing trucks, uprooting trees. residents combed through the wreckage looking for anything worth saving and checked on neighbors. >> hearts broken, knowing we lost children, we lost loved ones. we lost part of our family here in this community.

>> reporter: in harveyville, kansas, population less than 300, this stormchaser video shows a tornado barrelling through at about 9:00 last night with lightening and swirling debris around the twister. winds up to 135 miles per hour. >> all of a sudden, the windows went out. just like a big shotgun went off. >> reporter: as the sun came up this morning, shocked residents could finally see the extent of the damage. close to half the small town structures, homes and businesses gone. rescue workers spent the day looking for the lost and injured, often going door to door. the governor declared a state of emergency. the red cross is assisting those with no place to go. folks in kansas are used to tornados. >> a lot of the people we are talking to do have basements. the problem is there was no time to get to them. >> reporter: another tornado touched down in branson, missouri, popular with country music fans. dozens injured there.

today, bulldozers worked to clean up debris scattered by the tornado that tore through the heart of the city. destroying businesses. country musician denny strickland stopped in town with his tour bus when the tornado hit. >> we heard all the rocks hitting the side first. then i heard this loud roar. before i knew it, i was upside down. >> reporter: now he's going to have to find another way home. >> you always see these things on tv or happen to somebody else. this time it happened to us. >> reporter: there was never even a tornado warning issued for this area, but despite this sudden destruction, no one here in harveyville was killed. brian? >> john yang in kansas. another of the nine states hit overnight. al roker is part of our team on the road covering this story tonight. he's also in harrisburg. al, i mentioned at the top, this is a real component here. you go to bed at 11:00 in late

february in this part of the world, among the things you're thinking of, tornados isn't one of them. >> reporter: that's absolutely right, brian. this thing happened 4:52 central time in the morning. we are standing in front of what was a mini wall that just wept up two years ago. as you see, it has been flattened. since 1950, there have been 15 leap year days, this is the worst one since 1952. the danger is not over yet. we have a potent brew going on right now, as a cold front makes its way to the east. we have currently tornado watches in effect until 10:00 a.m. eastern time, stretching from northern mississippi all the way up to just south of cleveland, and as far east as roanoke, virginia. we are not out of the woods yet for this area we've got a very, very rough area coming in. warm air coming up from the south. cold air from up north. so now we have friday on into friday night, including this area, a risk for strong storms including tornados again.

so it is going to be a very rough nervous 72 hours for folks in this roam-on. region. brian? >> al roker, part of our team tonight. thanks. we saw some of the devastation in branson, missouri. a lot of americans know it as a very popular tourist destination. weather channel meteorologist mike bettes is there for us tonight. mike, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, to you, brian. branson known as the live music show capital of the world taking a hard hit from the ef-2 tornado. windows are shattered. debris litters the street. this hit in the middle of the night. this took a the love people off guard. keep in mind, this is not the peak high holiday season for them where they see a lot of tourists that come here. about 10,000 people this time of year in town. they are working very hard to get power restored. this is branson strip. you see the crews trying to get those poles back up as quickly as possible. about 12 of the hotels here sustained significant damage. half a dozen of the music theaters sustained significant

damage. we talked with jay nixon, the governor here in missouri. he declared a state of emergency and said at least $10 million of damage here, if not more. >> mike bettes, thanks. this bears repeating. the same huge storm system that brought all this destruction also caused a dramatic snowstorm further north today. weather channel meteorologist mike seidel was out in the thick of it. this is duluth this morning. 65 mile-an-hour wind gusts. more than a foot of snow in some places. seven-foot waves pounding the shoreline. a full-on blizzard. everything was closed there today. it's now spreading east tonight, bringing snow to new england. accumulations between three and eight inches all the way from upstate new york through the coast. it's raining pretty good in massachusetts right now. last night's storyline was all about the gop primary. the primaries in arizona and michigan. mitt romney swept both. big win in arizona. more of a narrow escape in his

home state of michigan, where he had a rough fight. in fact, it was so close, romney did not win the majority of delegates. we are joined by our political director chuck todd in washington. is it still a win if they are going to divvy up the delegates? >> reporter: welcome to the battle for the nomination as many folks remember four years ago. it doesn't matter who wins states, it matters who acquires these delegates. interesting thing on santorum, he won, he didn't michigan, yet one more delegates out of michigan than he had in all the other states he won combined. technically hadn't gotten any delegates. that's what's going on. today you saw mitt romney went on to ohio. that's the next big test that is going to happen in a week from now. romney feeling better simply by winning because now it avoids all this talk of republicans in washington finding somebody else. for santorum and newt gingrich, the pressure is on to win big on super tuesday.

there will be twice as many delegates as have been available throughout this entire two months. it all happens on one night. 11 different states will be dishing out delegates. you have santorum trying to make a stand in ohio where he hopes to upset romney there. newt gingrich hoping to make a stand in georgia. we could be on for a long march. >> chuck todd, thanks. former nebraska democratic senator bob kerrey announced his intention to run for senator again after 11 years away. most spent as president of the new school in new york. he was a medal of honor res ip egypt for his time as a navy seal in vietnam. he once ran for president. is hoping to hold on to the seat held by democrats by the retiring ben nelson. an apology from the reverend franklin graham to president the obama. graham came under fire after he questioned that president obama

is a christian. it happened during an appearance on "morning joe." jamb says he is sorry and apologizes for any doubts he cast on the president's faith. >> now to the ohio town that was the scene of monday's school shooting. we learn more today about the victims and teenager accused of killing three boys. our report from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> reporter: teachers returned to chardon high school today. while students won't be back till friday, freshman casey and her family turned out to greet them. >> they are the reap why most of us are okay. >> reporter: as this ohio town struggled to recover from monday's shooting rampage, more news about alleged gunman 17-year-old t.j. lane. parents divorced, his father had numerous run-ins with the law and a brother with a heroin addiction. court documents from 2009 show t.j. lane was charged with assault, following a fist fight with family at the home of his uncle. he later pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. monday, lane was arrested a

short distance from the high school after five students were shot in the cafeteria. three have now died. danny parmentor, demetrius hulan and russell king. >> i can feel like if i wanted to i could call him and say, what's up, russell? but i can't. >> danny had just started his first job. >> he was so cute. he was my little boy. he was so cute. >> reporter: he worked here at the local bowling alley where the owner says he was always on time, well liked and now sorely missed. >> he was saving up so that he could get his first car. that's why he got the job. >> reporter: he was going to drop by to pick up his first paycheck. >> can't get the first paycheck. >> we are going to pick up the paycheck and we are going to bury the paycheck with him. >> reporter: that paycheck is still waiting and will be delivered before his funeral on saturday.

kevin tibbles, nbc news, chardon, ohio. still ahead for us tonight, another cruise ship nightmare. a packed ship dead in the water, no lights, no a.c., no working toilets, a rescue mission under way for 1,000 people stranded at sea. later, a remarkable love story for a man on a dangerous mission. you wouldn't want your doctor doing your job. so why are you doing his? only your doctor can determine if your persistent heartburn is actually something more serious... like acid reflux disease. over time, stomach acid can damage the lining of your esophagus. for many, prescription nexium not only provides 24-hour heartburn relief, but can also help heal acid related erosions in the lining of your esophagus. talk to your doctor about the risk for osteoporosis-related bone fractures and low magnesium levels with long-term use of nexium. possible side effects include headache,

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and people like that who work on engines every day. [ tom ] i would love to see this thing fly. [ kareem ] it's a dream, honestly. there it is. oh, wow. that's so cool! yeah, that was awesome! [ cheering ] [ tom ] i wanna see that again. ♪ the cruise ship disabled by a fire at sea off the coast of africa on monday is slowly being pulled toward port tonight. the second major incident now involving costa cruise lines in six weeks.

raising more safety questions about an industry that serves millions of people each year. our report here tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: the "costa allegra" dead in the water, under tow and now expected to arrive some time tomorrow. on board, more than 1,000 passengers and crew who have gone without power and hot food. their only supplies delivered by helicopter. meanwhile, its sister ship "costa concordia" remains half submerged off the coast of italy. almost seven weeks ago she ran aground, 25 dead, seven missing. as they continue to drain the ship of its fuel, engineers are still trying to decide what to do with the massive wreck. jane thomas' daughter rebecca is a dancer on the "costa allegra." in an amazing coincidence, her son james survived the "costa concordia" disaster. >> it was a nightmare we didn't think we would have to relive in six weeks.

>> reporter: difficult memories for james. >> those first couple of seconds, i went, please do not say it's what happened to me because i wouldn't wish that on anyone. >> reporter: two other survivors told their harrowing stories on capitol hill today. >> we decided amongst ourselves and located a rock where we could swim to in case they kept us waiting any longer to get into the life boats. >> reporter: terrifying stories causing concern among cruise ship travelers in the u.s. they are owned by parent company carnival cruise line, the biggest operator in the world, last year carrying nearly 10 million people. today the coast guard insisted ships traveling into and out of u.s. waters have a good track record. >> we do have the most rigorous examination program in the world. >> reporter: back on the "costa allegra," it's been three days of no air conditioning and sleeping on ocean decks as the cruise ship industry suffers its second plaque eye in as many months.

tom costello, nbc news, florida. >> there are possible visible sides that north korea is under new management. they agreed to suspend their nuclear activities, putting a halt to uranium enrichment and long-range missile test in return for food aid from the united states. this is seen as a possible signal from the new young leader kim jong-un that he wants to improve relations with the west. secretary of state hillary clinton is calling this agreement, quote, "a modest step in the right direction." in the uk, word that rupert murdoch's son james resigned as executive chair of news international, in the wake of the phone hacking scandal at murdoch's british newspapers. james murdoch will concentrate on expanding their international tv business. when we come back, remembering a pop star who helped to define an american generation. it's time to get going.

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♪ the sad news today about the death of davy jones was a huge mortality reminder for an entire american generation. a lot of people, of course, can still name all four monkees, davy jones, peter dolenz, peter tork and michael nesmith. in the late '60s, girls would tell you you are either a davy jones girl or mickey dolenz girl. peter and michael not so much because they were more the brooding artist type. when we learned davy jones died at age 66, it had people looking back. davy jones was the consensus choice cutest monkey with the floppy hair and british accent that regularly caused swoons to break out. the men behind "the monkees" knew he was worth his weight in gold. "the monkees" were made for tv

literally. fans tuned in, not quite realizing what they were watching was nothing less than the birth of the music video. ♪ take the last train to clarkseville ♪ >> he was born in england as world war ii ended. owe originally trained to be a race horse jockey, but discovered acting and singing. later witnessed a history-making moment in music. he was in the play "oliver" performing a number on the "ed sullivan show" the same night as the beatles famous american debut. he watched from the wings and thought to himself, that wouldn't be a bad way to make a living. ♪ when love comes knocking on your door ♪ >> reporter: the record company had the same idea and "the monkees" exploded. in 1967, they sold more albums than the beatles and stones combined. a lot was thanks to the heart throb who sang lead vocals. ♪ homecoming queen >> davy jones was 66 years old. he leaves behind a wife and four daughters. up next on the broadcast, an

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the "name your price" tool. now available on your phone. get a free quote today. is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain. two pills can last all day. ♪ finally tonight, we meet all kinds of extraordinary people in the course of our "making a

difference" reports. tonight ann curry brings us the story of one young man, an american who traveled farther from home than most to make a difference. to sudan and the treacherous heart of africa, where he found a new life and a new home, and a remarkable sense of duty and purpose to some people in need. >> reporter: we are crossing into some of the most dangerous terrain on earth. our unlikely guide, 30-year-old american ryan boyette. he came to the nuba mountains nine years ago with a christian relief organization. he married a nuba woman and learned to speak the language. when war broke out just four months after his wedding, he was ordered to evacuate. ryan politely quit. why did you stay when everyone else went home? >> i decided to look into the eyes of the family of my wife,

to just get on a plane and tell them good-bye, i'm going now, i couldn't live with that. >> reporter: ryan wanted to tell the story of a war largely unknown to the rest of the world. to show the government's bombing of civilians, the destruction of homes, the starving children. journalists are banned from the nuba mountains. with ryan's help, we make our way in from south sudan. ryan warns us to listen to the sound of government jet fighters. >> has a very specific sound. i'll stop the car and we'll immediately all of us need to get out and lay on the ground. >> reporter: finally, we cross the border. we arrive and ryan leads us to the mountains, where it's estimated tens of thousands of nuba people are living in caves, seeking shelter from the relentless bombing. you've been living like this? >> since june. >> reporter: june? here we discover 64-year-old hanna cooley, struggling to find food for 12 children separated from their families.

when was the last time these children ate? >> the day before yesterday they ate a meal, but it was small. >> reporter: war planes overhead send everyone scrambling. overcome with emotion, hanna sings. there is no comfort in this world. >> i do feel that my job is to show the world what is happening. i'm a witness to it. if i don't show it, then i have some sort of guilt. i'm guilty. >> reporter: later on "rock center," we are anxious to show you the reporting of ann curry from sudan. she'll be here with us in this studio tonight at 9:00/8:00 central. that is our broadcast for this leap year wednesday night, the 29th of february. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. of course we hope to see you back here tomorrow night. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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