on the broadcast tonight, shocking lapse in security. late word tonight about a series of blunders by the secret service that allowed an armed intruder to make it deep inside the white house. new threats from the leader of isis apparently still very much alive and lashing out at the west calling for volcanos of jihad. thunder snow, whiteout conditions, treacherous snows and bitter cold now gripping two-thirds of the country. and good job. tonight what just might be the coolest place to work in america, beer on tap and unlimited vacation. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian

williams. good evening. i'm lester holt. brian is off tonight. we'll show you where he is a bit later on. but we start here with the head shaking account of last september's white house security breach. and what a new report finds to be a series of human and technical failures that allowed an armed intruder to make his way into the front door of the first family's residence. the report by the department of homeland security details lapses by members of the secret service including an officer who apparently wasn't where he should have been and malfunctions with communications and security systems. nbc's peter alexander has late details. >> everybody out right now! >> reporter: this is the home video of fence jumper omar gonzalez running across the white house north lawn in september. a damning review by the department of homeland security blames the secret service for a series of performance, organizational, technical and other failures. the report found the secret services alarm systems and radios failed to work properly.

and many officers on duty didn't see gonzalez armed with a knife as he scaled the fence. among the failures actions of a uniformed secret service officer with an attack dog not listening to his radio because his ear piece was out and a standby radio left in his locker. instead that officer was talking on a cell phone and only saw gonzalez after witnessing another officer running toward him. >> the secret service was designed with such redundancy that we can accept a couple human errors, but not as many that seem to happen in this incident all at the same time. >> reporter: gonzalez overpowered a uniformed secret service officer unaware he'd broken the first line of security because the alarm box was muted at request of the white house usher's office. he barrelled past the guard, turned left and ran into the east room. he ran the entire length of the white house to the other end of the east room before he was tackled by a heavily armed counterassault agent near the doorway to the green room. congress' reaction was swift. >> i'd just like to see it cleaned up, to go back to the organization that we all admired and respected so much.

>> reporter: tonight a law enforcement official tells nbc news that so far no one has been placed on administrative leave as a result of this report. and that at least for now the individuals involved all remain on their posts at the white house. leer. >> all right. peter alexander, thanks. the ruthlessness of their violent campaign propaganda has proven to be one of isis' most effective weapons. tonight from that front a new shot fired, a chilling message and a call to jihad believed to be from the isis leader many thought just days ago might have been silenced for good. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel has our report. >> reporter: this was the last time we actually saw abu bakr al baghdadi in july. he was dressed the part declaring himself the caliph or ruler of the so-called islamic state. since then nothing. he disappeared. as isis continued their rampage

across iraq and syria, attacked daily by u.s. air strikes. then last week reports out of iraq claimed baghdadi had been killed or at least injured by one of those air strikes. but today it seems reports of his demise were premature. in a new audio recording unverified by nbc news, a man sounding very much like baghdadi calls on others to join isis and unleash what he called volcanos of jihad. not very poetic, but isis is attracting more recruits than ever. and not just disaffected lone wolves. a dangerous militant group in egypt has pledged its allegiance. and in libya an entire city run by extremists says it's now part of the islamic state. isis has been hurt by u.s. air strikes, hundreds of its fighters killed. but for some, its reputation may have been enhanced by being

attacked by a super power. and there are reports, lester, that an al qaeda linked group in syria is considering joining up with isis. baghdadi no longer seems content to recruit individuals. he wants groups or even countries. he's ambitious. >> richard engel reporting from turkey tonight. thank you. a lot of people are keeping a close eye on the weather tonight as these extremely cold temperatures we've been following for days are headed for an even bigger part of the country and so is the potential for significant snow. even though we're still more than five weeks from the start of winter. nbc's janet shamlian has the latest for us from denver. >> reporter: in denver, another record. minus 14 degrees. the deep freeze now bearing down on two-thirds of the country. >> bundling them up in jackets and hats and just layers and layers. >> reporter: it's brutal for anyone who has to be outdoors like construction workers and electrician joe pancini. are you ready for three or four or five months of this, joe?

>> not really. if we continue with this kind of cold, it's going to be tough. >> reporter: in ohio thundersnow. from minnesota to memphis roads are littered with accidents. the south is also under siege. little rock seeing its earliest snow in more than a decade. extreme temperature drops in 24 hours. atlanta was 64 yesterday, only 43 today. asheville, north carolina was a balmy 65. only a chilly 41 today. and raleigh registered a 25-degree difference going from 76 to 51. the temperatures in montana so bitter a rancher moved this newborn calf into his home. look at these snapshots of snowvember. across the midwest lake effect snow starting to pile up across michigan, indiana and ohio. it's trees they're clearing in washington state, downed by high winds. and the region, especially oregon, is getting hit yet again with yet another storm. >> the snow is piling up and doesn't seem to be letting up.

>> reporter: and tonight new york has issued a snow alert. salt trucks at the ready. and the east coast is next up to experience these dramatic temperature drops that have seen elsewhere as this system is expected to have a lock on much of the nation until monday or tuesday. lester, back to you. >> all right, janet. for more on where this cold wave is headed and what to expect in the coming days, let's bring in al roker who we should note is in the middle of a marathon forecast we'll have more on later. al, good to see you. thanks. >> thanks so much, lester. so the polar vortex still causing big, big problems. record lows last night. and tomorrow that arctic air continues to cause problems. afternoon highs chicago, 30 degrees, 19 degrees below average. denver 36, dallas 47. daytona beach 67, ten degrees below average. big snowstorm coming into the pacific northwest. we're talking six to nine inches of snow. some places as much as a foot and a half around idaho falls. and out here in the great lakes we're looking at anywhere from

three to 12 inches of snow from michigan on into western new york. and guess what, lester, there's another area of the polar vortex that's going to snap off early next week. even colder than what we've been looking at. >> all right, al, hang in there. we'll find out more about roker a bit later on. thanks. tonight, tensions remain high in and around the city of ferguson, missouri. the scene of violent protests in the past, residents are bracing for word from the grand jury as we near their decision about whether to indict a white police officer in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager. today they heard from one of their final witnesses. nbc's ron allen is there. >> reporter: dr. michael baden under a gag order said nothing about his testimony to the grand jury. taskedith deciding whether to charge officer darren wilson for killing michael brown. the browns hired the nationally renowned pathologist. they claim their son was surrendering to police when he was shot and killed. >> there's evidence shows michael brown had his hands up.

>> there's no doubt about that? >> no doubt about that? >> and forensic evidence as well? >> yes. >> reporter: police say brown attacked officer wilson in his police vehicle, fought the officer for his gun and that wilson killed the unarmed teenager in self-defense. also today the brown family pleaded their case before the united nations at a conference about torture in switzerland. >> this fight is not over. i'm not giving up. >> reporter: supporters also there demanding justice. with passions rising, police gearing up and ferguson hunkering down, more calls for peaceful protests and restraint by authorities. >> and that we minimize the chances that any legitimate protest devolves into violence. >> reporter: in this church basement training for scores of people, many saying they doubt the officer will be charged in the case, getting ready to take to the streets. she plans to join the demonstrators. >> knowing this happened, these

people that i love nearby -- >> reporter: at cathy's kitchen, near past protests, music is smooth, food filling. all the uncertainty making it tough to enjoy lunch. >> probably like most people that live in ferguson, we're ready for it to come to an end. >> reporter: and tonight with prosecutors right here set to announce any day now whether they will indict the officer, we're hearing about plans for protests in other cities across the country and calls for demonstrators to come here as well from out of town where it's likely to be a very emotional day. lester. >> ron allen in ferguson for us tonight, thanks. president obama is facing his first big confrontation with congress tonight since republicans made big gains in last week's midterm elections. the issue is immigration and word that the president will soon announce a big overhaul that would protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. we get more on this tonight from our senior white house correspondent chris jansing. >> reporter: while president obama today worked on human

rights in burma, at home the outrage over immigration reform isn't waiting for his weekend return. >> we're going to fight the president tooth and nail if he continues down this path. >> reporter: that path, the white house is now finishing a set of proposals to allow as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants to stay in the country legally including parents of children who are american citizens and those with high-tech skills, all by executive order, without the okay of a new congress. >> we'd like for the president to recognize the reality that he has the government that he has, not the one he wishes he had. >> reporter: but the democrats midterm election drubbing clearly didn't discourage the president. the white house and immigration advocates unmoved by some republican threats to hold the budget hostage if he moves on reform. >> backlash to president's action is going to come whether he decided that there was one person of worthy of protection or millions. >> reporter: so the stage is set for what one senator promises

will be war. >> surely the president understands the kind of explosion that will occur up here. >> we're saying to the president, don't use your executive authority. suppose he turned to us and say don't use your legislative authority. that's what presidents do. they have executive authority. >> reporter: and tonight the white house affirms president obama will sign that executive order before the end of the year. now when exactly and details of the plan have not been finalized. white house officials do tell me the president will be aggressive. that's exactly the word republicans are using tonight. and behind the scenes both sides are polishing legal arguments, lester, for what is surely a major political confrontation. >> all right, chris, nice to have you with us in new york tonight. cynthia mcfadden up next in search of the coolest place to work in america. what she found, unlimited beer and unlimited vacation. we'll show you where they're hiring. and later, and for the record.

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watch the clock. >> so we drove up and said, look, they're having a party in there. i think that's what people think from the outside looking in. but we work really hard. >> reporter: thirteen years ago with a little money, couple of friends and a lot of midwestern pluck, nancy took an old gas station and turned her dream into a tech company. >> i'm a woman with a mouse and big ideas. entrepreneurism is the path i had to take. and i wanted people who wanted to do the work and wanted to have some fun. >> reporter: today she has 75 employees and is expanding. >> if you look at our website, it says we like mondays. and it's true. >> reporter: her army of geeks usinesses figure out their strategy. target, best buy and general mills among their best clients. but it's how they treat their employees here that has everyone talking. >> i've been working for a while in lots of different places, and this is the best place i have ever worked. >> i would say it's not work-life balance, it's life balance. it's all life. we bring our work home.

we bring our lives to work. >> reporter: all right, so a cynic might say really all this family-friendly stuff is just a way to keep them here longer and make them more productive. >> sure. it works to the company's advantage often. and it works to the staff's advantage often too. who cares about the soda? if you don't feel good where you work and if you don't believe what leadership is saying to you, no can of coke is going to fix that for you. >> reporter: the secret sauce isn't so secret. it boils down, it seems, to respect. >> every person i talk to here says it's the best place i've ever worked. >> yeah. >> reporter: what does that do when you hear people say that? >> oh, i get choked up. yeah. because that's what i want. look at that. >> reporter: no wonder nancy lyons is being asked to consult with other companies all across the country and even the white house has called. asked if the clockwork approach would work at bigger would work at bigger companies, lyons believes it would.

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tonight, somewhere out there between mars and jupiter hundreds of millions of miles from home a tiny unmanned spacecraft is sitting on the surface of a comet as it hurtles through space sending back data and pictures. it's something that's never happened before in human history. our own katy tur has been watching the drama unfold at mission control in germany. >> reporter: a day after making history touching down on a comet, scientists got down to analyzing the first data from their tiny lander named philae,

and tried to figure out exactly how and where it landed. >> do we have somewhere here and it could be somewhere in the rim of this crater. >> reporter: this was how the landing was supposed to go. but when philae touched down, its anchoring devices failed to work. so it bounced more than half a mile. literally light as a feather in the comet's low gravity, taking two hours to come down. after another shorter bounce it settles on the comet's surface. >> we did what we said we were going to do. the added extra is we've got data from more than one location on the comet's surface. >> reporter: the scientists also had a little fun, sharing images through some stellar tweets. i'm in the shadow of a cliff on 67p, where exactly? that's what my team is in the process of finding out. that shadow is a problem. without enough light the solar powered batteries aren't expected to last more than a day or so. still the journey is far from over. mission rosetta has been

orbiting in front of this comet. and they say it's doing well. in fact, they say it will continue to orbit for the next year. all the while collecting vital information. data that could help unlock mysteries of the universe including just how we came to be. katy tur, nbc news, germany. and now about the absence of our friend brian tonight. he's got a pretty good excuse. he's been inducted into the hall of fame in new jersey at a ceremo ceremony. our congratulations to brian. he'll be back here tomorrow night. when we come back, people all over the world trying to break a record today. often enough, but thank you. thank you mom for protecting my future. thank you for being my hero and my dad. military families are uniquely thankful for many things, the legacy of usaa auto insurance could be one of them.

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in china the biggest line dance. in shanghai the most people eating breakfast in bed. and in japan they were doing whatever this is. and this guy set a new world record. it's the guinness world records day. so naturally the world's tallest man met the world's shortest man for the first time. in australia all previous head banging records were banged into oblivion. and in paris at the mulan rouge the dancers showed they can cancan better than anybody has cancanned before. this all started in 1951 when the head of guinness breweries realized people in bars are forever arguing about the fastest this, tallest that, biggest whatever. he thought why don't we publish a book that has the answers to all those questions. we won't be setting any records here today. >> 17 degrees below average -- >> reporter: and our own al roker is trying to set a record for the longest continuous weathercast.

34 hours. >> we just keep doing it. can i get a witness? >> reporter: there's a panel of witnesses in the room at all times to make sure that when he makes it it's official. some of the records require skill, like the guy in michigan who made a stone skip 65 times. or the harlem globe trotter who sank the longest shot with his back to the basket. most of us however will never set a record for anything that truly matters. but surely we can beat this feeble crowd of flip-flop throwers. and if this looks like a lot of people dressed up like penguins, we are sure someone somewhere can do better. harry smith, nbc news, new york. that's our broadcast for this thursday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt in for brian. as we mentioned, he'll be back tomorrow. for all of us at nbc news, good night. ñoñí

♪ you go -- oh! >> at the end, you'd be like, no! >> our question that prompted those scandalous reactions from