were stunned by the murder of a woman in maryland. her name was amber and hers was an incredibly violent death. as it turned out the guy who killed her was no stranger. his name is andrew and had ig ignored a court order to stay away from her and today will spend his life in prison. >> accused of brutally killing will was sentenced his life to prison. >> the only conclusion that andrew was the murderer of our daughter we knew that because we lived it. >> they lived it because she had already lost three fingers from a previous assault by her ex-boyfriend andrew and she had a protective order to keep him away from her. >> god inserted his wisdom to

see through the shah raids that the defense was trying to put up and they saw through that and came to the only logical conclusion that was. >> prosecutors say he was distraught over his breakup and crawled through her basement window in july of 2012 and slashed her throat several times. he spoke to his mother on the phone after the killing. that conversation proved to be critical to the case. his mom was called to testify. >> his mother testified that she called him and she said where are you and he said i have done something horrible to amber. >> that led detectives to the gruesome scene. his attorney says he does not remember what happened that day and denies the charges. in court he said my deepest condolences to everybody. i love all of you. god bless you and may god be with all of you. >> one of her friends attended the sentencing.

>> she was selfless and loving and caring. if we could all be an 1/8 of her loving the world would be a much better place. >> news 4. >> this video captured national headlines this week. now we're learning about the suspect's violent past. delvin barns is in virginia tonight facing charges in the kidnapping and rape of a 16-year-old girl from richmond. her mother is speaking for the first time. police say barns hit the girl over the head with a shovel and forced her into his trunk and raped her and doused her with gasoline and bleach. she was able to escape while he was dirging her grave. her mother suppose to our sister station in richmond. >> he told her he was going to kill her. she was going to die. the burns of her skin. my daughter didn't look like herself. it was devastating to watch. i'll say to him god bless him.

you didn't succeed. and i hope that your [ bleep ] fries in hell. >> we learned that barns is on a suicide watch at the jail in charles city county. barns criminal record show as history of violence. he was released a year ago after he served eight years in prison for a 2005 assault on his estranged wife and family in philadelphia. barns beat and choked his wife, punched her mother in the face. hit her father in the head with a glass bowl. >> in virginia tonight the 19th ranked brier woods high school football team is taking the field in an hour. there is show to be quite a buzz because two seniors were charged with assault on a younger player. the virginia bureau chief live now with a look at whether this investigation revealed any hazing was involved. >> reporter: well, the short answer as to whether there was any hazing involved in this from

the sheriff's department is no. you can probably tell from the darkened field behind me the team is playing away tonight. but for the last three weeks since this investigation began they've been playing without several of their upper classmen and last night two were served with juvenile petitions charging them with assault and battery. in recent weeks there's been a cloud over the football team. the sheriff's department has investigated two locker room incidents in which upper classmen allegedly assaulted two younger players. last night two seniors were served with juvenile petitions charging them with misdemeanor assault and battery. >> there was physical contact between the perpetrators and the victim. >> this woman is a senior. she thinks the juvenile charges

are appropriate but laments the negative attention brought to her school. >> i think the football players did something terrible. i think they deserve the charges they got. i'm glad it's over. our football team did not need that kind of attention. >> the school officials say the allegations first surfaced on october 17th, just hours before a big rivalry game. the school resource officer was alerted right away. >> a student came to a coach who came to the principal who brought all the coaching staff in and the school resource officer and said we're going to get to the bottom of this immediately. >> the alleged assaults took place october 9 and october 14. the sheriff says there was not enough evidence to support charges in the second incident. the sheriff won't describe the precise nature of the assault but he and school officials stress it was not an instance of hazing. >> this was not organized. this was nothing the coaches knew about or the team

leadership knew about. this was not something where upper classmen regularly tormenting younger players. >> reporter: the two players charged are off the team. so is a third player whose involvement did not warrant any criminal charges but faces school punishment. reporting live from lou den county. news 4. >> the late development from the pentagon tonight, as many as 1,500 troops deployed to iraq helping confront the threat of isis. a deployment near this size will double the american presence in iraq. nbc news learned this mission will include some help helping the iraqi forces in a section of the province. that province is mostly under the control of isis. >> admission by a navy seal that he's the one that shot and

killed osama been laden could be putting him and others at risk. robert o'neill says he fired the shot that killed bin laden. another member says three commandos fired shots during that raid. the pentagon is furious that o'neill and the other seal have spoken out. experts say it could be putting lives in danger. >> in the age of isis and other emerging global threats this is a life and death matter. seals can get killed. >> he is retired from the navy now and works as a motivational speaker. >> it was just lunch, certainly not a date, not dinner. today president obama and the republican leaders he will be up against for the next two years took a first step toward forging a new relationship. live at the white house with the latest. >> a lot on their plates including the increase in troops over in iraq.

it seemed to be a cordial lunch but not one that really gives them much confidence that both sides can bring the divide especially in the wake of tuesday's mid term elections. >> the american people just want to see work done here in washington. >> as the president and congressional leaders sat down for a working lunch at the white house republicans came to the table with an appetite for change. after sweeping wins in tuesday's mid term elections giving them control of both the house and senate -- >> we'll see whether we can work with the president. i hope so. that's what he says and we'll find out. >> i am not going to judge ideas based on whether they're democratic or republican. i'm judging based on whether or not they work. >> common ground will be difficult to find. >> you simply can't look at this situation and where we have been for the last four years and be optimistic about the two sides setting aside differences and coming to large scale

compromise. >> already the battle lines have been drawn over health care. and an immigration reform rally outside the white house is a reminder that bother sides are split on the issue but the president suggesting he'll act on his own using an executive order if necessary. >> the president made a promise he was going to act on immigration reform before the end of the year. >> we also expressed to him if more executive actions are taken that would make it difficult for us to work together. we think we should start with a fresh start. >> the heat clearly on the president and leaders from both parties to found some way to greg the gridlock. nbc news, washington. >> republican ed gillespie's fight to take mark worn ear es senate seat is over. some say his name may surface again in virginia races.

we're following gillespie's campaign since it began. >> his launch was far closer, less than 1 percentage point than werner. but with the votes now over, the republican candidate said today so too was his fight for the senate. >> and if i believe there were any conceivable way that we could find a viable path to win through a recount, i would fight as hard now as i have for the past ten months of this campaign for our policies and our principles. >> gillespie told supporters today he thought it would be wrong to put virginians through a recount when he knows the change in outcome is not possib possible. werner tells us i commend him on a hard-fought campaign and wish him and his family well. i'm sure gillespie will continue to contribute to the debate in

virginia and the nation. the mood at today's concession, a positive one. some republican strategists told me given how well he's performed he's positioned himself well for another run in politics. >> another 13 people charged in federal drug crimes here in d.c. are going free tonight. a judge dismissed their indictments because matthew lowry was involved in their cases. we told you yesterday about the ten other cases linked to lowry that were also thrown out. lowry is accused of trying to sell and use drugs that were seized as evidence in those cases. all of the cleared defendants could still be retried. new at 6:00 the reward for information has jumped to $11,000 after two businesses were set on fire one week apart. someone torched fred's sports gun shop and the spirit of halloween store both in waldorf

last month. investigating because a gun shop was targeted. >> a new twist after a car slammed into a teenager and took off. >> new questions about moms of defective airbags and reports that the company knew about this potential problem years before reporting it. >> sex, drugs and controversy reporting how local parents can step in to keep their middle school students from taking a rather racy statewide survey. >> a cold night tonight. up towards canada, very cold air that moves our way and in the next week i'll show you when it arrives and how cold that air is in our forecast.

6:00 on a friday walking home from work, the weekend and her life ahead of her. shamika smith never made it. a year after her death her family is filing a lawsuit. they say that driver who hit her should never have been on the job certainly not behind the week. the family sat down with news 4. >> sad, angry. >> patrick smith is outraged. >> seven years is just a kick in the bucket. >> the man who killed his daughter was sentenced to seven years after pleading guilty to

voluntary manslaughter. he crashed into his daughter a year ago, 6:00 on a friday night. >> when this happened, i just died inside. >> shamika got off work in northeast d.c. she was walking home down the block. police say 52-year-old woodrow johnson was speeding out of control in an eco lab van crashing into cars. shamika was walking home trying to cross the road. police say she had the right-of-way. she was in this crosswalk when johnson hit her and kept on going. he then hit some more cars. he has a long criminal history. several traffic violations and drug convictions for pcp as far back as 1983. >> his employer did not conduct a reasonable and thorough investigation of his being before they hired him. >> a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against woodrow johnson

and eco lab. >> mr. johnson, the driver of the vehicle, we came to learn later at the time of the accident was high on pcp. >> eco lab told us they would not answer the questions about the lawsuit at this time. meanwhile patrick smith demands to know why johnson was hired. news 4. >> tonight the police are investigating whether a teenager was throwing rocks at a vehicle before he was hit by that vehicle. the hit and run happened last night. 17-year-old was critically injured. the driver told police a group of people were throwing large rocks at his suv so he sped away. he says he did not realize that he had hit anyone. police are now trying to figure out if the teenager was part of the group throwing those rocks. >> a live look at our roads on this friday evening. a story impacting a lot of drivers. there is new pressure on takada, the company that manufactured those millions of airbags being recalled. the company that's accused of knowing about the defects in

those airbags a decade ago. consumer reporter with the developments. >> and takada is facing a lot of heat tonight. now two democratic lawmakers are calling on the justice department to determine if takada in fact broke the law. the senators say that the criminal investigation is needed. this after the new york times reported takada new about the defective airbags for years before its first recall. the report details how the airbag maker initially learned of the issue ten years ago. an airbag deployed on an alabama a man in a crash and sprayed shrapnel. employees secretly tested the airbags in junk yard cars in weekends and holidays so nobody would find out. more than 14 million have been recalled. for the entire list of the cars with those recalled airbags go

to our website, nbcwashington.com and search airbag recall. >> thanks, erica. it's cold out there. in fact, it is colder than -- >> taking your breath away. >> it was unexpected. just like a little chilly and like whoa. it's seriously chilly. >> did you say it was unexpected? >> no. >> were you here at 5:00? >> no i wasn't here. >> you weren't? >> no. i was out sick. who knew. >> already. that's okay. vance was here. >> i heard you, man. >> he came in with a hat and gloves. it is a little bit on the chilly side. take a look outside. 50 degrees the current number. winds out of the northwest about 14 miles an hour. those winds are actually making things feel cooler across our region. we have some wind chills out there. 45 the current temperature. 43 in winchester and 39 in

petersburg west virginia. a cold start to the morning tomorrow. you know these temperatures are going down. if you're heading out, make sure you dress warmly because these are the winds. gusts at 25 camp springs. especially if you're going out in the city. the winds going through the building making it feel cooler. no rain. you won't need the radar as you step out. one thing you notice, the northwester lir coming across the lakes. we had laker effect snows into parts of pennsylvania and mountain snows back here towards west virginia and back towards snow shoe west virginia. for us, it's just going to be the cold air. 36 in d.c. 29 in leechburg and 28 towards winchester. one of the colder starts that we have seen so far this season. if you're heading to the heart walk on the mall, it's going to be okay. again, a little chilly. 38 degrees at 7:00 a.

41 around 9:00. the mall looking good tomorrow. tuesday for the concert of valor happening, the stage right in front of the capitol going to be a nice evening. 56 to 60 degrees. a little bit cool but very nice for this time of year during the month of november. high temperatures. 57 degrees. cool but nice. we're going to see those conditions right on through the next few days. your impact forecast saturday, on the low side for sure, just on the breezy side. temperatures staying on the cool side sunday. high of 58. plenty of sunshine. tuesday looks great and then the bottom just falls right out. high temperatures thursday and friday. 46 on your thursday. 45 on friday. overnight lows down to the low to mid 20s for most of you during the late next week period. >> it is late november. thanks. breaking news tonight from the white house. president obama is going to

announce loretta lynch as this country's next attorney general. she is a long time federal prosecutor in new york. a graduate of harvard university and will be the first african american woman to hold that post. she will succeed eric holder. >> the action by a local university after charges against a rabbi and a professor. new details behind a late night sweep of women's bathrooms. >> only on news 4 a new training facility for the washington facility for the washington wizards and i'll tell you

♪ good morning, usher! hey! did you know bees communicate through dance?

me too... we're practically twins!

. right now police are canvassing a neighborhood in prince georges count looking for clues in an attempted abduction. a 16-year-old girl says she was walking by a basketball court on her way home when a man grabbed her and tried to force her into some nearby woods. police focusing around largo road. that's where it happened. the girl was able to break free and ran away. >> e-mails obtained by the news 4 i team reveal a flurry of activity at towton university last month when news that a professor has been charged with voierrism. accused of secretly videotaping women at a bath at a synagog in

d.c. e-mails exchanged by top towson university administrators revealed students expressed concern that they might have been victimized when they visited there. also doing midnight inspection to make sure there were no cameras. according to the e-mails none were found. the school also made a list of women who to take in classes with rabbi frendel over the years. the rabbi's lawyer says there is no evidence of anything improper happening at that university. outrage from parents about a survey about sex and drugs given to local middle school students. we'll tell you when the questionnaire could be coming to your child's school. >> in a random attack a victim beaten with a brick on his way home from work. tonight he's sharing his story. >> we told you about plans to build a new training facility for the wizards but the question tonight is where is it going to go?

plan to build a maultty million dollar practice facility in d.c. and why there's competition across the river. local students asked about their sexual history and past drug use. >> i was surprised that the explicitness of the content of the questions. >> we have learned it's a

statewide effort. we'll report when that survey might be coming to your child's school. >> right now a story you'll see only here. a man randomly attacked and beaten with a brick as he left work sharing his story. >> jeff alvarez was ambushed in rockville. witnesses chased after the suspect. this is cell phone video of the takedown. we sat down with him today and we have his story. >> well jeff alvarez's doctors are amazed how he's recovered. five months ago his life was normal and then it changed one afternoon. >> i never did get a look at him. because it was just -- i was attacked with i believe they said it was a brick. it just hit me in the back of the head. >> jeff alvarez doesn't remember the attack that almost took his life. it happened in rockville.

>> they kept saying he's not going to make it. >> his vocal cords are damaged from the breathing tube. he is in a coma. doctors told his family to prepare themselves. >> they said he signed up as an organ donor and we need to take his organs as soon as possible. >> it was just before 4:00 in the afternoon in this parking lot his life almost ended. >> i remember the business day. it was a regular typical day. i had no reason or had no knowledge as to why i was there. >> you just woke up wondering why you were there. >> uh-huh. >> clayton mulenhof is charged with attempted murder. he has a record of mental illness and vile lens. >> do you remember seeing him. >> no. no. >> alvarez suffered a traumatic

brain injury. >> it takes me so much more time to be able to retain anything when it comes to short -- short-term memory. >> he's forever grateful for the help of strangers on that day. they worked next door and witnessed the attack from windows and ran out to help jeff and gave chase. police and canines confronted the suspect at the golf course. >> get on the ground! face down! >> we were constantly checking with his company to find out how he was doing and trying to discover where he was and what we could do to help. >> alvarez is back to work full time and back in school. >> i can't say how thankful i am to them for being such a great group of people to help a person that they didn't know. >> alvarez is 23 and taking classes at montgomery count

community college. >> thank you, kristin. a school bus driver is going to spend a month at home detention. investigators say he left the bus unattended with children onboard so he could use the restroom. he forgot to put on the brakes and once he left, the bus rolled down the hill and hit a 6-year-o 6-year-old. >> we have learned new details in the shooting that we brought you as breaking news yesterday at 6:00. tonight we know the suspect's name. 21-year-old mohamed samko. his last known address in south carolina. accused of running through a walmart and smashing glass displays with two hammers and was shot by an off-duty officer. >> that's our story we broke here at 5:00. d.c. officials working on a

million dollar proposal to build a training facility for the wizards. one possible location is here. it's in the shaw neighborhood of northwest d.c. there's also competition coming from virginia. mark. >> reporter: jim, that's right our sources tell us there are possibly two deals being worked on in northern virginia. one in arlington and one in tyson's corner. one of those deals would be privately funded by a developer. no matter which side of the river this facility ends up on, the vision is the same. a 5,000 seat venue that can be used as a training facility and a revenue generating venue for events. hoping to attract superstars like kevin durant. >> according to multiple sources the district's plan is to build the 5,000 seat venue on land owned by the district that is now used by parks and recreation. a preliminary proposal is for the district to borrow between $30 million and $40 million to build the facility which would

be paid back through a tax on tickets and concessions at wizards games. sources say the team wants to get the deal done as quickly as possible so they can use the facility as an incentive to get big named players like kevin durant to sign with them. not all fans want to see ticket prices go up. >> i don't think that's a good idea at all. >> even if it meant bringing durant to the team? >> yes. i would do it. for kevin i would bring it to the team. >> then they could raise your taxes. >> because that would bring championships. >> the thought that the city would give up a piece of land in the center of the city that could be used for other purposes is something we should look at carefully beforehanding it over. >> mayor elect wants to know more before she signs off on anything. >> i want to see the details. the wizards have been great for us. it's always good to have facilities that can attract

sports and fans and tax dollars. but i will need to know what the taxpayers are expected to pay for as well. >> i can tell you skate borders and dog owners are not happy to hear the possibility they might be losing their parks. an official with the city tells us they would work to relocate the parks somewhere else in the neighborhood. wherever it goes it's possible the washington mystics could play there. reporting live, news 4. >> a controversy survey given to local middle school students. why kids are being asked about their sex life and drug use. >> also, a report on a local project that's designed to give veterans a voice by sharing their untold stories. >> a cold start to your saturday. we have got the 10k across the bay bridge tomorrow. it's going to be a cold start and i have the cold numbers in a

pretty much consensus that kids today are exposed than any previous generation. >> parents are raising concerns about a survey they're taking in school. asking about risky behavior like alcohol, sex and drugs. they think the content may be a bit too mature. >> this maryland youth tobacco and risk behavior survey helps policy makers find out what risky behaviors young people might be engaged in and aids them in drafting a policy to address the behaviors. the parents we spoke to say they don't object to it but they think some questions are not appropriate for middle school aged children. these parents of the middle school say they were taken aback by the questions in the survey. they want to remain anonymous and don't want their kids

singled out but they have some problems with the questions on page 6. >> have you had multiple partners the last time you had sex, did you use a condom with your partner. these struck me as questions that you would not ask an 11-year-old. >> yes, the world is changed and kids are exposed to some topics sooner than the generations before then. but these parents fear that having that exposure come this way in a school or classroom setting may send a message that the behavior is somehow condoned. >> kids have these questions in a school setting doesn't it make it okay for them if the school allows these questions they come home and say i'm 11 but i haven't had sex. am i wrong. is something wrong with me. >> reporter: the parents reached out to officials that told them their hands are tied since it's a state requirement and a spokesperson says the leading questions would make the survey less accurate. students are chosen random.

no one fills out their name and those chosen don't have to respond. >> it's data that we need for the state, for the nation. however, with those several questions on there i'm not about to let them take it. >> derrick ward, news 4. >> earlier in the broadcast we put out the question what you thought about the survey. whether you thought it was a good idea or not. most of those who have responded say and that's 61% say it's a good idea. 39% feel that it goes too far. >> alexandria was named a top shop small city as part of a nonprofit campaign. banners along mt. vernon avenue announced this honor. alexandria was chosen because most of the retailers are independently or regionally owned. shoppers can take advantage of free gifts, activities on shop small saturday in three weeks. >> sharing untold stories of war heroes reporting details behind

a local project that brings the experiences of veterans to life. >> the concert for valor is days away. what you need to know if you plan just like an interception,

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so many veteran stories have never been shared. but there is a big push in our area to change that. chris lawrence is here with more on what you could do to help. >> it's pretty simple. go to any veteran you know, friend family member, doesn't matter. grab a recorder, even a cell phone camera and just ask them what was it like for you? >> every veteran has a story to tell. >> in 1962 i was a member of the

united states army preparing to go to cuba. >> in the library of congress is determined to hear them all. >> every story is important. >> bob patrick is director of the veteran's history project. an effort to record each veterans personal account from the fox holes to the motor pools in mess halls. this japanese american who enlisted in the army during world war ii. >> this guy was a guy from indiana who started out as a clerk. >> he wrote to his wife in a later. being turned down because of my racial origin. that awful nauseated feeling in my whole soul. when and if if i get into an air crew, we'll have $44 coming in each month. he was shot down twice and survived. >> he pours his heart out to his

wife about how important this was to him. >> the project has more than 95,000 collections. at its heart, someone, anyone sits down with a tape recorder or cell phone camera and asks the veteran what happened. >> haven't their families heard all these stories before? >> one of the great things is when the veteran says to you, you know, i never told anybody this but, and relates something they have held inside for many years. >> describing the rocket fire hitting her base in iraq and the shrapnel that tore into her face. >> when the rocket impacted, it threw debris everywhere. >> how she became the first female marine to be awarded the purple heart. >> i realized i was wounded when i felt the warmth of blood on my neck. for a couple of years, i thought that i was lucky by inch and it wasn't until then that i realized that i was lucky by

millimeters. >> millimeters. now a lot of veterans will say i didn't do anything. but the project is trying to get the message across. you don't have to be a hero or wounded in battle, they're looking for all stories including the mundane parts of military life. we hope you join us tomorrow morning at 10:00 for a special report. saluting our veterans. i'll introduce you to some local vets and show you how folks in our area are giving troops the support they need. >> stories we need to hear. we can't hear enough of them. preparations are underway for that huge concert for valor features stars like produce springsteen, carrie underwood, rihanna. the yellow line trains are replacing the blue lines. there will be more than a dozen road closures surrounding the mall. we posted the close you ares along with a list of what you

can ant cannot bring. search concert for valor. >> 25 years ago this sunday, the berlin wall was torn down. downtown d.c. has the largest public display of the wall outside germany. it includes what was known as checkpoint charley, one of the original watch towers. that wall was built back in 1961 to keep east germans from escapiescap escaping communist rule. each section weighs three tons and 12 feet high. >> friends of ours were journalists recovering it and have chunks at home. every time you -- you're so awed by that. >> you want to touch it. >> yeah. it's wonderful. we need to bundle up? >> yeah. one of the coolest areas tomorrow might just be a couple 00 fe

hundred feet up. chesapeake bay bridge. the race across the bridge was saturday. it starts sunday. music begins at the finish area and the first buses depart at 6:00 a.m. >> sunday. >> that is sunday. >> the air temperature early sunday morning will be around 40 degrees out that way and could be breezy. you might want to wear the jacket if you're heading out on sunday morning. thanks for that. 50 degrees and going down into the low 40s by 9:00 and 11:00. 43 in gaithersburg already and 45. just a little bit of wind and wind chills in the 30s. storm team radar. not worried about that at all. dropping 20 degrees early tomorrow morning. 42 in fredricks burg. just waking up on your saturday to a very cold day. high temperatures tomorrow. wouldn't this be great, this is

the wrong graphic but high 7 tomorrow? no. drop that by 20 degrees. we'll be about 56 to 57 tomorrow. 56 on your saturday and 58 on sunday. 64 on monday. right now it does look great. the concert of valor taking place tuesday evening. a great evening. very nice weather for veteran's day. but then the real cold sets in thursday and friday. temperatures 15 degrees below average as we end next week. i correct one mistake and give you another. >> that's how it is. >> we love you for that, doug. >> you know, but for two winter sports, it doesn't matter what temperature is outside. basketball and hockey. >> that's right. the wizards have a quick turn around tonight. one veteran on the roster wants more sleep. plus the capitals get a major boost ton

this is the xfinity sports desk. your home for the most live sports. >> it is a long season in hockey and you're going to have josh bell's bads spells buto start the season, this is rough. >> not off to a good start, the capitals and no one is blaming the new head coach. this is all on the players at this point. tonight we will see a preview of the winter classics set to take place on new year's day minus

the ballpark and out doors and chance of snow, it will be just like the winter classic. capitals and black hawks in chicago. it's been nearly two weeks since they last won. head coach is questioning his team's effort during this losing streak but also knows things can change quickly. >> i think our focus is really good. we understand that it's a process and through this process we're going to go through some rough patches and some good patches. but if we just stay constant on trying to get better, i think we have got enough pieces to be pretty good. >> one of those piece is returning tonight. brooks like. like hasn't played since suffering a shoulder injury october 18. liking getting back one of his teammates. brook is not a fan of being on the sidelines. >> it's tough when you're not playing.

hockey is a big joy in my life. when you're not part of the team, you're not part of the wins or losses, when you're not in the locker room with the guys it takes a big toll on you and it's tough to get that intensity and frustration out. i love to compete and engage. it's going to be fun to be back. >> puck drops between the caps and black hawks at 8:30 tonight. basketball, the wizards are in the midst of a tough four game stretch. two nights they were playing at home and tonight they're in another country getting ready. young guys can handle the back to back games but paul pierce who is 37 years old, it could be an issue. >> it's tough. people don't understand that. everybody looks at it and says maybe they should really handle the -- they don't have a lot of their stars. but when you have to travel and get home at 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning and don't get a good night sleep and kids wake you up at 6:45 and you got to go out

here and perform. nothing about that is easy. >> wizards and rafters tonight at 7:30. to mls, it's an up hill battle tomorrow against the red bulls. united needs a three goal win in order to move on after falling to new york 2-0 in the opener. head coach feels better about his team after that loss. >> i didn't feel like we were ready for that because we haven't had that mindset because we qualified for playoffs a little early. so we have seen it now. you know, we got a taste of playoff soccer. now we're hopefully that will hope us in a do or die situation this weekend. >> the playoffs are a different animal no matter what seed. new york had a good game against us and they clicked on many aspects. we played arguably our worst game of the year. you know, we got to make amends on saturday and right the wrong.

>> you can watch that d.c. united game on nbc 4 tomorrow. playing at home at rfq stadium. last night's nfl game between the bangles and browns wasn't entertaining. however, it was extremely emotional. leah stills the 4-year-old daughter of bangles defensive lineman devin still, she's battling stage 4 pediatric cancer. at the end of the first quarter the team announced a $1.3 million donation to cincinnati's children's hospital in leah's name. tremendous young girl. her dad did an outstanding job. how he's playing in the nfl and dealing with this. a strong man and daughter. >> great organization. >> yes. they really took care of them. >> that money will go far towards research to find a cure. >> it will. >> hopefully. >> major challenge indeed. that's our broadcast for now. we invite you to stay tuned. nightly news is coming up next.

>> we'll see you at 11:00.

on our broadcast tonight, back to iraq. a big escalation in u.s. involvement. the number of american troops there about to double including some very dangerous places. are you among those allergic to pencillin? stunning news about a big overreaction. something he said in our interview with him last night that got jerry seinfeld a whole lot of attention today on the subject of autism. and the crowd goes wild for a little girl going through a really tough time finally getting to see her hero, her own dad, in action. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. good evening. because terrorism is a mov