on this sunday night, severe weather. the threat of violent storms and tornadoes in a big part of the country tonight with tens of millions in their path. no end in sight. the growing death toll after almost three weeks of war in gaza and the impact on both sides. high time. a major new poll tonight for the federal government to legalize marijuana. tonight the arguments on both sides of the debate. and surf's up for the world's most famous dog on a board and how she has helped so many take the ride of their lives.

good evening. we're going to start here tonight with what may be happening outside your door this evening. severe weather, a violent weather system working its way from the midwest to east tonight with millions of people in its path. we've already seen strong thunderstorms and large hail on a vast stretch extending from illinois all the way to massachusetts. and as we look now at live radar, parts of kentucky, ohio, eastern tennessee, west virginia, and pennsylvania are under tornado watches and what could be a very tough and dangerous night. we'll get the latest guidance on the storms in a moment. first, nbc's john yang tells us what they've done so far. >> reporter: large hail, intense lightning, high winds and dangerous thunderstorms push through several states including illinois and kentucky triggering a dozen tornado warnings and watches. the tornado touched down in central connecticut this afternoon with estimated winds of 85 miles an hour.

trees and power lines were down and several homes damaged. heavy rains cause flash flooding in worcester, massachusetts, drivers pushing through several inches of rain on roadways. >> these severe storms will bring large hail and damaging winds and maybe even a strong tornado. of course, there is always the potential of deadly lightning. meteorologists in jackson, kentucky, we main on high alert. these meteorologists monitor severe storms, the potential for flooding, damaging winds and any dangerous weather in the region. they train for days like today working with emergency management teams and sending out warnings and advisories to residents in danger zone. >> we use radar as primary tool. when we see something on radar, we want more information, we have storm spotters and we also have chasers out there we can get the report as well. >> reporter: this round of dangerous weather produced a string of severe thunderstorms that made its way from canada to the great lakes and now

stretches to the southeast. people in morning 18 states are bracing for the threat of dangerous storms expected to continue throughout the evening. john yang, nbc news, chicago. for the path of the storms, let's bring in weather channel meteorologist kim cunningham. kim? >> we've had already over 160 reports of severe weather today. look at this radar. look at all the is severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado warnings we're seeing here in parts of tennessee. the watches we mention earlier in effect for almost all of the ohio, kentucky, even parts of north carolina until 9:00, even into pittsburgh. severe thunderstorm watch here and for detroit. so tore natnadoes are possible this as well. here's the forecast for tonight. possibly seeing severe weather ramping up in eastern pennsylvania here later on today. the watch may be expected there. so watch the cold front move east. tomorrow, behind it will cool down. ahead of it, still enough instability that we may see more severe thunderstorms in the

morning hours especially in new england, including boston and higher elevations and a few isolate storms behind it. the southeast is also looking at severe storms as that front continues to push off the south. we're going to see a much bigger cooldown for everybody. back to you. >> thank very much. fire fighters in northern california are battling a wildfire that hass forced hundreds to evacuate and has destroyed at least ten homes. the so-called sand fire is in the sierra nevada foothills near the wine growing regions in amador and eend el dorado count. it has grown to six square miles and now 35% contained. a big outbreak of the deadly ee b e b eboli virus. tonight we learned of two americans who have been infected with the deadly disease. we get the latest tonight from our reporter. >> reporter: tonight we learned

a second u.s. citizen has tested positive for the eboli virus. nancy has been in liberia with her husband working with the aid organization samaritans first. that's the same charity that dr. kent brantley was serving when he became infected with eboli this week. dr. brantley's infection comes amid the worst outbreak in the history of the e boli virus. there is no treatment for vaccine. >> symptoms near malaria and are flu like, fever and headaches, diarrhea and vomiting, weakness and stomach page. ebola is the most contagious and deadly virus in the world. it spread through contaminated body fluids, sweat, blood, saliva. >> reporter: the virus is already in the west african countries of begin yi, sierra leone and liberia where it claimed the life of one of the

top ebola doctors. it could be high spread in highly populated nigeria. >> if this really did take hold in one those two countries, then all bets are off. it could have a huge disruptive effect on economics, on trade, on travel, in many dimensions. >> reporter: in nigeria, international airports are screening arriving passengers for ebola after an infected traveler from liberia died. and now two americans are being treated for the virus. tonight doctors say brantley is in quarantine and stable while rightbull a mother of two is receiving treatment. two americans working to save lives now fighting for their own. nbc news, london. also overseas, despite talk of a new temporary cease-fire in gaza today, both sides in that war launched new attacks as the death toll among palestinians and israelis continue to rise. we have two reports tonight. we begin with nbc's kate snow in

tell akee tel aviv. what is happening there? >> good evening. the white house is losing patience, benjamin netanyahu getting an angry phone call this afternoon from the president saying we need to really work on an unconditional humanitarian cease-fire. but there is a telling new poll out of the "jerusalem post" that shows 87% of israelis do not want a cease-fire. you can see what the israeli government is up against. israel claims it was hamas who shattered the cease-fire that went into effect last night launching dozens of rockets over the course of today. appearing on "meet the press," benjamin netanyahu earlier made their position clear. he said if israel were to pull back and stop destroying the tunnel that's hamasilitants abo have built that, would cause them to regroup and come at them again with even larger attacks. that's why the sticking point over this cease-fire. secretary of state kerry, of course, unable to broker any kind of cease-fire while he was

here in the region. they were hoping that the parties would come together and come up with their own cease-fires day by day allowing diplomats to keep talking in the background. that hasn't happened today. the israeli defense forces release new video as well. they say it shows a school in gaza being used as a firing point for hamas militants. militants using that school to fire weaponry. the u.n. which runs a lot of schools in gaza says that's not happening at their schools as far as they can tell. lester, a tense situation here tonight. both sides are entrenched and no one seems to be talking cease-fire just yet. back to you. >> kate snow in tel aviv. thank you. now the view from the gaza side. >> reporter: hamas today rejected a short term cease-fire firing rockets into israel. and israel fired back.

the fighting shattered hopes that soon there could be calm a admist the carnage. people are trying to deal with the devastation and make sense of it. she lost her home. when we met her, she was desperately trying to find any family photos. this man found one of his fondest, a picture of his father beneath the family home that israel destroyed. now along with his five brothers, their wives and dozens of kids, this family of 60 is living here, crammed into this tiny apartment. no furniture, just clothes on their backs. local aid groups donate one meal a day and they all have to share it. i work every day to give my kids everything they wanted he tells me and now we've lost everything. i miss my bike his 5-year-old son tells me. it, too, was destroyed in the

attack. still the man and his family are the lucky ones. their home gone but they are all alive. others like baby shima are fighting to live with every breath she takes. her mother was killed in an israeli strike. when doctors realize she was pregnant, they operated. she was born prematurely. her aunt named her after her mother. at just three days old, she's in stable condition, born into a war that has claimed her mother and destroyed the lives of so many more. >> tomorrow is -- one of the most religious holidays in islamic calendar, lester. it was supposed to be marked with celebration, joy, families celebrating with kids and buying toys. instead, the people of gaza are going to be on a knife edge, afraid they may not live through another day if this war resumes in full swing once again. lester?

>> all right. working both sides of this conflict, thank you. the fighting in libya rages on tonight. one day after it forced the u.s. embassy to close and more than 150 americans to evacuate the country. some of the most intense fighting between rival militias is going on around the airport in tripoli which was struck by shells today. dozens have been killed in the fighting. france, germany, and britain are among the countries warning their citizens to leave libya. in this country, a manhunt intensified tore two carjackers who crash into a family selling fruit in philadelphia killing three children and leaving their mother fighting for her life. we get the latest tonight from abc's kristen dalgren. >> reporter: ask anyone here about keisha williams and they all say one thing -- >> loved her children. her children were her life. >> the 34-year-old mother is now fighting to survive. unaware that three of her children are gone when two alleged carjackers in an suv plowed into them while the

family was selling fruit for a church fund-raiser. >> as a mother, would you want to tell her all three of your children are gone? >> reporter: tia brown's mother was with them and is also now in the hospital. >> how about your family? it could be your kids laying down there? it's hurting. turn yourself in. that's all i can say. >> reporter: police still haven't released much information about two suspects they say fled on foot. neighbor butch rush to the scene when he heard the crash. >> first thing i saw was the bodies laying out in the lot. so i stopped. one, two, three. >> reporter: he saw 7-year-old tarnts, kno terrance, known as his mom's shadow. thomas was sweet and shy and tried to revive 15-year-old kiara who was about to start high school. she died at the hospital. >> that is an image that will

never leave my mind. >> reporter: police found a bloody t-shirt near the crash site and visitors came to this memorial including terrance's stepmother. >> his smile and cheeks, he was so abhorable. he still lives. >> a family and a neighborhood in search of healing and answers. >> these young guys, whoever they are, they did what they did to these people and then to get out of this truck and run and leave these people for dead. >> reporter: now there is $110,000 reward for any information leading ton arrest. but part of that expires at noon tomorrow. meantime, tonight keisha williams remains in critical condition and today, lester, we learned she has two other children who weren't here with her. one of them has special needs. >> all right. thank you. we have another weather story and just word getting in of a rare severe weather outbreak in southern california where as many as 10 people were struck by lightning.

most at the venice beach boardwalk. the fire department responded and revived one person who was unconscious. when nbc "nightly news" continues on this zasunday, legalizing pot. a call to repeal the ban or marijuana. later, surf's up for a remarkable dog helping kids with special needs. when folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america. baand frustrating. e tough. but now, there's a better way. introducing the first-ever raid defense system.

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over legalizing marijuana in this country. "the new york times" became the largest newspaper to endorse the criminalizing pot at the federal level. it comes as many states have moved on their own in varying degrees. we get more tonight from nbc's kristen welker. >> reporter: all across the country, people are using pot with fewer legal consequences, colorado and washington becoming the first two states to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. and today, "the new york times" said the country needs to go further in a long editorial the paper wrote, the federal government should repeal the ban on marijuana. comparing it to the day of prohibiti prohibition, the paper argues in that period, otherwise law abiding citizens today are becoming criminals. >> $3 billion to $4 billion a year is spent on this. there are like 600,000, 700,000 marijuana possession arrests every year. >> reporter: the reaction was swift. >> i think it should be a state issue. >> i don't see how there would be anything that is so

substantially beneficial to society by lifting a ban like that. >> reporter: rewind to 1992 when bill clinton ran for president and his use of marijuana was a political liability. >> i didn't like it. and didn't inhale and never tried it again. >> reporter: compare that to candidate barack obama in 2008 who openly admitted to smoking and inhaling. 36 states plus the district of columbia have loosen their marijuana laws and polls show more than 50% of americans now think it should be legalize. >> we don't care if anybody smokes or doesn't smoke. this is absolutely not encouraging it. >> reporter: but the times argued it should still be off-limits to those under 21. in an interview from "meet the press," patrick kennedy who has admitted to battling drug addiction said legalizing marijuana is a slip ary slope. >> it ultimately will set up a marketplace for the commercialization. and with commercialization, you'll have a marketing campaign

targeting kids. >> a concern shared by some other parents. >> we do not know the outcome except the best evidence is that you lose -- if you use marijuana as a teenager regularly, eight iq points and i don't know about the rest of the table, but i don't have eight to lose. >> the times noted there is still some debate about the health risks. president obama said he thinks marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol. but he is not expressing support for legalizing it at the federal level fl meanwhile, two more states, alaska and oregon, will decide whether to allow marijuana for recreational purposes later this year. lester? >> all right. thank you. when we come back, it was found at a play market, the very personal meaning of this american flag for one military family.

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the scene in cooperstown, new york, as this year's class was inducted into baseball's hall of fame. they included greg maddox and tom glavine and frank thomas and joe torre, bobby cox and tony la russa. and a special tribute to a fallen u.s. marine has after nine years finally found its way to where it was intended to end up, with his family. tonight an american flag signed with messages from other marines in his unit is providing immense comfort to his still grieving mom as we hear from mark potter. >> reporter: patsy masio always treasured the american flag that draped her son's coffin nine years ago. her son was killed in a help captainer crash in iraq. >> he told me he was going to be a marine. so he died doing what he loved. >> reporter: now has come an unexpected tribute to her fallen

son from complete strangers who found another flag with very special meaning at a texas flea market. lany brown bought the flag with her husband for $5 because it was covered with writing. they showed it to their son, a u.s. marine. >> as soon as he looked at it, he said dad this is a tribute flag. everybody in the unit signs it when a marine falls. >> reporter: that marine was fred masio. through facebook, the browns were able to find patsy, his mother and lany called her. >> she goes, i want to meet you. she wanted to meet the mother of this marine that gave his life. that was awesome. >> reporter: the browns who live four hours away wanted to present the flag in person. >> all marine kids are your kids, too. and so we felt an immediate need and responsibility to get this back to them. >> i can't wait to meet them. >> reporter: and so on saturday, they did meet and two marine moms finally got to embrace.

>> i don't have my son but at least i have this. >> reporter: as a hallowed flag finally came home. mark potter, nbc news. and up next here tonight, why this dog has become a surfing phenomenon and it's not just about riding waves. jake and i have been best friends for years.

one of our favorite things to do is going to the dog park together. sometimes my copd makes it hard to breathe. so my doctor prescribed symbicort.

it helps significantly improve my lung function starting within five minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better. come on, boy! [ female announcer ] symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ man ] now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today, i'm hanging out with my best friend. talk to your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or go online to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

finally tonight on a beach near san diego, can you find a dog named ricochet. he loves to surf. before you start thinking this is just another story about a cute dog doing tricks, watch this report from nbc's mike t t tiabi. >> reporter: the word is out. kids know it and this family knows what ricochet taught kids like her 8-year-old son hunter. while still limited on land, he's literally in the water. >> just knowing because just because he's in a wheelchair doesn't mean he has to stay in the wheelchair. he can get out. he can surf. >> there are dogs that surf and a lot of dogs that develop some level of empathy of the needs and humes of their human

friends. the day ricochet first jumped on a board and helped steady the ride for a paraplegic teenager. she posted a video and 4.4 million views later ricky was a star. >> i thought well gosh, we're getting all this attention. we certainly don't need it for ourselves. let's use it for a platform to help other people. and that's how it started. and it's never stopped. >> reporter: a website later and ricky and judy were a fund-raising company. they raised more than $300,000 for scores of charities benefiting both humans and animals. ricochet's friends are all kids or dogs. her unique calm and empathy helped soldiers like this army medic randy demste emerge from the depths of ppd. >> i was very suicidal. i thought i tried everything. >> everything but this, that

four leg celebrity. >> it is ricochet. >> who can plow the road for an anxious soldier or apply the surf with 2-year-old caleb aboard or take hunter for one more ride, just the two of them this time, the longest they ever had together. >> i absolutely love it. >> reporter: all the way in, a boy and a dog. would they do it again? >> yeah! >> reporter: why wouldn't they? mike tiabi, nbc news. that's nbc "nightly news" for this sunday. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york for all of us here at nbc news. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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